Avengers: The Hunted (Avengers × Reader)

24- Lock It

"And he said he was Tony's doctor?"

"Psychiatrist"

"Right. How do we know if he's telling the truth or not"

"Nat, I know he is. You should have seen how hurt he was after we interrogated him. I feel so bad like more than that but I know I regret it"

"Yeah but Y/N, you trusted him when he said his name was Hunter Lance how do you not know he's lying again. And you did say Tony denies it."

"I know. But apart from that he's never done anything else that involves lying" you say,
"And you can even ask Steve, Tony's been going through alot recently like that night in the lab I told you about"

Natasha seems slightly unconvinced

"I'm really concerned for Stark, honestly I am. He's not been himself recently and I know because he doesn't compete with me as much which isn't in his character"

Nat nods slightly to agree to your point
"How about we actually find out whether he's telling the truth or not"

"How?"

"Watch and learn from the master little Y/N"

~

Nat calls Bucky since Tony's study is password protected and he uses his metal arm to break open the door clean.

The three of you rummage through Tony's files. You felt guilty but you knew it was a hunt for the truth.

After about 5 minutes of opening boxes and restoring the files, Bucky lays his hands on a sacramento green folder.

"Guys, I think I've found it"

You flick through the unlabeled folder and Nat spots out the words "therapy" and "oath" seeing as you struggled and couldn't be bothered reading the entire thing.

Still turning pages, you stop in your tracks at the sight of the name "Dr R. Slater"

The three of you look up at eachother in shock. Of course you believed he was telling the truth, but a part of you wished Tony wasn't going through all of this.

"That's his name isn't it" Nat says in a quiet voice "so he was telling the truth"

You looked down in shame.

"What does the R stand for?" Bucky asks

"Ransom"

He bursts out laughing, "Who names their son Ransom? I wonder what he was given in return for"

You look up and raise your eyebrow
"James Barnes you better think wisely before you speak again"

"Sorry" he giggles quietly and the mood returns, with the three of you left hanging with the rope of regret.

"What are you doing and which one of you broke th-" Tony yells from the doorway, making his way in after realising what you were holding "give me that. Who the hell gave you the right to go through my stuff!"

"You told us he was lying, you said you weren't seeing anyone!" You yell

"Since when do you care who I date"

"You know what I mean Stark"

"Fine. I have a psychiatrist. But that's not him, Hunter Lance was never my psychiatrist okay. He was lying and I still stand by that"

"Tony his name isn't Hunter Lance, he said his name was Ransom Slater" Nat speaks up.

Tony looks horrified, "no, no, no, no. Ransom Slater is my psychiatrists name" he laughs "there must be some mistake"

He sees all your serious faces, "I'm not lying, I- I know what my doctor looks like. I- I- I'm not going delusional, it's s- s- swear" he stutters.

"Then what does yours look like?" Bucky asks.

"Tall, brunet, glasses from time to time" he pauses to think of any distinct characteristic or feature he may have had "Well he did always have some sort of chain around his neck, like a locket of some sort. Yeah it was a locket"

Your eyes widened with curiosity, and you asked for details.

"It was kind of emerald green with a gold scratch mark engraved. When I asked why he never took it off he said it was his fathers. That his father once lived within a pack of wolves, grew up with them

The wolves thought he was one of the family and he them, it's a long story. The scratch was the scar that was left on him after he left them to live his life and they attacked. It always reminded him of his past, who he truly was and the consequences of betrayal, wolves are loyal animals you know. He never took it off and

when he died, he swore to wear it from then on out in honour of him. It's a bit confusing so don't ask me questions. What?"

He sees that Bucky and Natasha were both waiting to make eye contact with you after your story but you're so lost in thought you don't look back.

"Tony, that's Hunter's locket. He told us all about it during our game of Truth or Dare" Nat speaks up

"But- but he doesn't have glasses right? Right?" He looks from Nat to Bucky.

"He did" you finally speak and the attention turns to you. "He only wore them on a night, just before bed he'd read his murder mystery books. Occasionally he'd wear them around but only if he had to".

Tony looks defeated and the four of you were left standing in silence.