Unexpected Romance

Chapter 8

-Back at the Avengers tower in New York-

Steve:
I'm doing work on my laptop when I get a text from Tony asking me to come down to the lab. He says it isn't urgent and I need to finish up my work so I do so before heading to see Tony.

"You wanted to see me?" I ask as I walk in to greet him.

"Ah, you made it. How's it going?"

"Good. And yourself?"

"Good as well. Are you feeling ready for the mission? It starts soon," he asks without even looking up from his desk.

"Yeah, I think it's going to be..." I chuckle. "I almost said I think it's going to be good."

"Having doubts?"

"Well, no. I do think everything's going to go fine. I'm just more concerned that we're down two."

"Ah." He finally looks up at me.

"Do you know why they were sent to London, instead of fighting with us?" I ask eagerly.

"But of course. I know just about everything. I'm assuming you'd like to know, would I be correct?"

"Yes."

He looks at me for a moment before turning away and adjusting a part on one of his many Iron Man suits. He continues to distract himself with a bunch of different things.

"Tony," I say to him after five minutes of watching him avoid my question.

"Oh, right. I would hate for them to know so don't pass this along. Mr. Fury was very reluctant to tell me but you know me, I can find out anything. There is no 'mission' really. We- Nick, sent them to London for God knows what. He didn't tell me that part but what he did tell me was something along the lines of... oh right. 'A team needs to be unified or there's no team at all' and tell me if I'm wrong but we have two members who, and how can I say this in a nice way, don't like each other."

"Let me get this straight. Nick sent Natasha and Valerie to London as a bonding experience... for two months?"

"That's a good way to put it." He turns back to his suits and continues his adjustments.

I guess this conversation made Tony forget the real reason he asked me down here but I got the information I've been dying to know so I make my way back to the conference room where my computer is. I can't believe Fury sent two of our best members to another country during a real mission for a damn bonding experience. I know Tony said not to tell anyone but I have quite the urge to call the girls and tell them to get their asses back here. I try to stay positive that we'll succeed without them. We're still the Avengers after all, down two members or not.

"Hey, Rogers." I turn to see Wanda walk into the conference room and sit across from me.

"Hey, Wanda. What's up?"

"Nothing much. Have you heard from anything Nat or Valerie yet? It's strange that they aren't here for our mission. Do you know why that is?"

"Not a word from either of them." I hesitate before adding, "And no, I don't know why they aren't with us." I leave at that and hope she doesn't pry and figure out I'm lying.

Wanda:
Steve is a really bad liar. It's so obvious that he knows why Nat and Val were sent away but for some reason, he just isn't telling me. I also think he forgot I can read minds.

"A bonding experience? That's seriously why they were sent off?" I can tell Steve was ready to turn this down but I guess he remembered my telepathic abilities.

He puts his face in his palms and sighs. "Yes, Wanda. Do you know how frustrating you can be with your mind-reading? But if you got that much, you also got that no else can know, right?"

"Yup. Don't worry, my lips are sealed. But I guess I just want to understand why a bonding experience is more important than being on an actual mission. Does Mr. Fury understand the position he's putting us in by sending off those two?"

"I really don't know. I wish I did. I'm sure he could have had those two go bond at any time. It's not like their differences have made a negative impact on us. They always put that shit to the side when we're risking our lives." He looks back at his computer, hinting he wants to work. I respect his gesture and leave him to do his thing.

Tony:
What Cap said to me really made me think. The upcoming mission is kind of big so why is Fury risking it all just to have two members like each other? It's bothering me so much, I can't focus on my task, which says a lot because usually, nothing can distract me from perfecting my suits. I don't hesitate to get up and head straight for Fury's office. I knock on the door, out of respect. Usually, I would just walk in but I'm in a good mood today so no need for aggression.

"Nick, it's Tony."

"Come in."

"We need to talk." I cut straight to the chase, I can't waste any more time. "I think you need to bring the girls back from London. There's no sense in keeping them in a different country while we're over here risking our lives. Steve came to me with concerns about the success of our mission. He feels we might not do well without two of our teammates."

He looks at me for a moment and crosses his arms." And are you in agreement with Captain America? Do you feel as though the rest of the team will not succeed without Natasha and Valerie?"

"Well..." I stop to think it through before I make up my mind. "I don't think I would be here right now if there wasn't even a small, minuscule, part of me that understands the fear Steve has."

"Understanding fear is different than agreeing. I'll ask again, do you agree with Captain America or just 'understand his fears'?" I can tell he's getting frustrated with me. Maybe I shouldn't have come to him about it.

"No."

"Then why are you here?" He uncrosses his arms and walks past me out the door of his office.