Out Of Time

sixteen

Happy drove Tony, Y/N, and Pepper to the Stark Mansion. Y/N tried to hide her amazement of the place as she walked in, needing to keep her cover. But it was a truly amazing place.

"I have a room with your things set up upstairs," Pepper told Y/N. "I'll show you up there before I give you a tour of the rest of the house."

Y/N immediately noticed that Tony went downstairs, without saying anything. "Where's he going?" She asked.

"The workshop. He spends a lot of time down there. You'll need an access code to get in. I didn't know what you'd want, so JARVIS set your birthday as your access code."

"That works." The two women started up the stairs.

"You have free range of the house, including JARVIS."

"Okay."

"I have a room right next to yours, but I rarely use it. This-" Pepper opened a door, unveiling a grand room with an ocean view. "Is yours."

"Impressive." Y/N walked around the room, examining the room, ensuite, and closet. She avoided enjoying the view. The height and the fact that it was looking over the ocean scared her.

After Pepper gave her a tour of the rest of the house, Y/N decided to go and check in with her new boss. She was supposed to be watching him after all. Y/N went down to the workshop, carefully typing in her birthday before the door unlocked for her. Tony was hunched over, welding something together. He glanced up, clearly just to check to see who it was, before continuing with his work. The only room Y/N hadn't had the chance to fully inspect was the workshop. With her hands clasped behind her back, she walked around the workshop.

"Looking for something?" Tony asked, still focused on his work.

"Just doing my job, Mr. Stark," she replied.

"I read your resume, Miss Barnes. You're quite young to have done what you've done and become a personal security guard to the richest man in the world. You're 29, correct?"

"Yes." Give or take a few decades, she thought.

"What made you want to go into this business?"

"My twin brother and my- his best friend were in the army. Did what I could to follow them."

"Were?"

"They died."

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine."

Though it wasn't. She still struggled with their deaths. Every day. It was something that haunted her at night. No one but Phil knew about her nightmares, he was the only one she trusted. Tony and Y/N were silent for a few long minutes before Tony spoke up again.

"What's the craziest thing you've ever done?"

"What?" She stopped and turned to look at him. Tony now had his arms crossed and was staring her down. "I don't think I understand, Mr. Stark-"

"I've done a lot of crazy, stupid shit in my life. Most of them I was drunk for. You ever stopped and done anything?"

"Haven't had the time."

"Maybe you should make time. Find some friends, go out and enjoy a night."

"I have friends, Mr. Stark. They're just all in the same field I'm in. It's a lot of dangerous work and busy schedules. We don't really have time to enjoy a night."

"Maybe I could show you how."

Y/N pursed her lips together before walking closer to Tony. "I know that I'm young, Mr. Stark, and that you've had success in the past with getting people my age in bed. But, I can promise you, that I take my job very seriously. And I will not be sleeping around with you or drinking on the job. My only priority is making sure your life is safe. Not to feed your caveman appetite." She turned and headed towards the door. "I'll be in and out for security reasons. Let me know if you need anything, Mr. Stark."

This mission was going to take a lot out of Y/N, she could feel it. It didn't help that while she was inspecting the room, she caught a glimpse of a picture of Howard and Tony. The past two years of living in the twenty first century, had not been easy. Though Y/N had adapted well by Fury and the others standards, a lot of her struggle had been kept personal. She dearly missed Howard, and being this close to his son didn't help.

She went to her room and got out her phone to call Coulson. As her supervisor on this, he needed to constantly be updated. Y/N moved into the bathroom, as the phone rang, turning on the sink.

"Agent Rogers," Coulson greeted. "Surprised to hear from you so soon."

"I just wanted to let you know that they're keeping me in the house. It's going to be hard to stay in contact."

"You've found out anything yet?"

"He has something in his chest. I don't know exactly what it is though. I'm pretty sure it's keeping him alive."

"Figure it out and keep us informed."

"Will do."

She quickly hung up before he could ask her anything else. Coulson always worried about her, and she didn't want to worry him. Y/N didn't want anyone to doubt her ability to do this mission than she was already doubting herself.