𝙱𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝙸'𝚖 𝚒𝚗 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚐𝚎

Chapter Twenty

*the next morning- about 7 o'clock, in your office*

Your POV

     I was drowning in paperwork today. It was Monday, and things accumulated over the weekend.

     I had maybe tackled about half of the thick stack on my desk, when I just gave up for the time being. I hated desk jobs, but someone had to do it. I put my head down on my desk as I took a minute to just breathe. I was broken out of my sulking when someone knocked on my office door. I didn't even look up as I yelled for them to come in. I was surprised to say the least, when I saw Steve standing in the doorway, a small brown bag and a cup in his hand.

"Oh, hey." I spoke as I sat up all the way, trying to seem fine, even though my expression said otherwise.

"Hey......I came to talk to you, if you have time, of course." Steve shut the door the my office slowly.

"Tell me what you have, then we can talk." I was barley holding my eyes open as I spoke, being completely exhausted.

     Steve came closer and opened the bag, setting down a delicious looking  (favorite breakfast pastry), and the cup he was holding, coffee. I graciously gulped down some of the coffee, despite it being scalding hot. I had skipped my coffee this morning, needing as much time as possible to finish my work for today.

     I took a bite out of the (favorite breakfast pastry) and moaned at the taste. I was still chewing when I motioned for Steve to tell me what he said he wanted to talk about.

"I'm sorry for how I treated you last night after we......kissed. I panicked and acted without thinking." He twiddled his thumbs together as he stood in front of my desk.

"So the kiss was a mistake. I'm sorry, I just thought that was what you wanted.......it was what I wanted." I sunk down into my chair as my voice got smaller and smaller the longer I spoke.

"It was what I wanted, too! Trust me, I don't regret doing what we did at all. I don't.......I don't know if I'm——." I cut Steve off and gave him a soft smile.

"If you're ready for that yet. I understand that." I took another bite of my pastry.

"So......are you okay with us going slow?" Steve shifted from foot to foot as he waited for my answer.

"Yeah, Steve, I'm more than okay with us going slow." I gave him a reassuring smile as I finished off my food.

"But if you keep bringing me breakfast, I don't know how slow I can go." Me and Steve shared an honest laugh.

     Steve decided to hang around in my office while I worked, and it was nice to have his company. Since I got my office, I made a few changes and added a few things. I added a small couch and armchair in the corner, with a reading lamp, and I also moved all of my books onto the shelves in here. My office felt like home to me, and I loved that.

     I had about a two inch stack of paperwork left in the tray, and I went to pick a few sheets up, but realized that they were all attached. I furrowed my eyebrows as I pulled out the thick stack of papers. My breath caught in my throat when I saw the words 'Avengers Initiative' printed on the cover of the thick booklet in bold letters.

     I flipped through the pages quickly, skimming the texts and signing where it said to. I let out a sob as I shut the booklet. This caught Steve's attention, and he was quick to come over beside me. Once he saw what was in front of me, he gave me a tight side hug.

"Welcome to the team, Y/n." He congratulated me and I tried to control my breathing.

     **time skip to later that day, in the conference room of the Avengers Compound**

Third Person POV

     Everyone sat around the conference table, buzzing with excitement as they waited for Fury's request for his hologram. Fury had sent an email to everyone that there was an emergency meeting that was going to take place today, and everyone was there. The team had immediately been informed that you filled out the paperwork to become a member of the team and they were ecstatic.

     Everyone's excitement died down once you all laid eyes on Fury. He didn't look like normal, he looked like he was fed up with everyone and everything, even more so than usual.

"How fast can you get Y/n's legs done, Stark?" Was the first thing that Fury said once his hologram appeared.

"I've got the prototype finished, but I've got some bugs that I need to fix before they are fully functional." Tony sputtered to Fury.

"Well you better fix them quick, I need you all in Italy ASAP. The rebels are sending threats to SHIELD from the inside by having their recruits lash out on loyal agents." Fury spoke as he paced around the room.

     Everyone held their breath as they all shared different looks with each other.

"When do we start?" You spoke up from your wheelchair that was in the corner of the room, armed crossed, and eyes focused on the floor.

"Next week, at the latest." And with that, Fury's hologram disappeared.

**Time Skip to the next day (Tuesday)**

Your POV

I was in Tony's lab, and he was getting my new legs ready to go on. The original plan was to have my metal legs attached to my nerve endings where my legs used to be, but we were cutting it close as it was. The procedure itself would take up to six hours, and healing time was two to three weeks, not including therapy.

Steve was also in the lab with Bruce, Tony, and me. I pulled two large cotton sleeves over my thighs, like large socks. Next was two rubber sleeves that Bruce had designed earlier in the week to fit perfectly around what was left of my legs. The rubber fit snugly, but not too tight to cut off my circulation.

Tony and Bruce then attached my new metal legs to me. My legs had no definition, like Bucky's arm had, they were only the joints, since this was the prototype. Tony promised me that he would make me legs with thunder thighs once we got back from Italy, and I'll hold him to that.

Usually, patients would have lots of physical therapy before they could walk on prosthetics, but I had no time for therapy as I stood up as soon as I got the 'okay' from Bruce and Tony. I held onto Steve as I wobbled, hesitantly taking a step forward.

I took a few steps with Steve's help, then let go of his arm when I wanted to try and walk on my own. I took my first few wobbly steps on my new prosthetics, and it slowly got easier.

**Time Skip to after dinner**

After a few hours of just walking up and down the hallways, I finally got the hang of it, and could run, jump, and walk as easily as I could when I had my real legs.

I ran to Steve's room and beat on the door. He answered a couple of minutes after, with squinted eyes and messy hair. I tackled him in a hug as soon as he laid eyes on me.

"I can walk again Steve!! I can walk!!" I cried into his chest as he held me tight, telling me how brave and how strong I was.

After talking to Steve for about half an hour, I went back to my room to get ready for bed. I couldn't stop smiling as I took my prosthetics off, and then both of the leg sleeves.