Winter's Fire. ~Book Three~

Chapter Four: The Rednapping.

The moment they landed on the landing dock, Tony had scooped Red up and into his arms before carrying her inside and toward the medbay. He had done a lot of work since the Battle of New York, it was a nice little apartment looking place now, for all of them to hangout in when they weren't on mission.
And now, Red was sitting on a cot with her head pounding from blood loss and all she could think about was that there wasn't enough bleach in the world to get all of this blood out of her clothes.
She leaned back on her hands and looked up at Tony as he stood before her, needle and thread in hand. "You've done a lot of work on this place."
"There wasn't really much for me to fix up." He said with a smile as he set the needle down on a tray and stepped closer to her. "Took only a few weeks to turn the penthouse and everything into our headquarters." He carefully looked over her head for a few long minutes before he finally started to fix her up.
"It's gonna be great for us in the future." Red said as she closed her eyes and tried to hold back whatever pain filled noises she might have. She didn't want him to feel bad for accidentally causing her pain.
He sighed as he glanced down at her face. "You don't have to pretend around me, Red, if you're hurting, you can let it show." She always loved, and hated, how he was always able to read her even when she didn't want him too. He cut the thread and reached down to cup her cheek, gently forcing her to look up at him. "Are you really okay? That fight with Derek looked intense."
Red closed her eyes and leaned her cheek against his hand. "I'll be fine." She whispered to him. "What matters is that we got Levinia back."
He ran his thumb over her cheekbone for a moment before he reached for a syringe, numbed her wound and went back to sewing it back up. "Why didn't we go to Asgard right away?"
Red shrugged as she let out a quiet hum of pain, she leaned forward with her head bowed and braced herself on her arms. "I want to give her a chance to catch up before we go through the Bifrost again." She opened her eyes and looked up at Tony. "When Frigga broke her own spell, it must have unlocked her memories too... it's probably jarring."
"She'll be okay."
"How do you know?"
Tony smiled at her before he leaned down to kiss her forehead. "Because she's modeled after you."
They turned their heads as Steve and Levi passed their part of the hospital wing. She looked weak and tired, and so small in Steve's arms, but all the same, Red knew that her daughter was in good hands with him, that she was safe with him.
As it turned out, the wound on Red's head looked worse than it really was, and soon she and Tony were laying on the couch, snuggled in with one another as his hand gently passed through her hair. She felt... comfortable, she was a long way from safe, but she, at the very least, felt comfortable with him.
"I didn't think we would get her back, Tony." She whispered to him as she wrapped an arm around his torso.
"But we did." He whispered back, she appreciated how calm his heartbeat was under her ear, at least that was keeping her grounded in the chaos that surrounded them. "And I knew we were going to because you're too stubborn to take no for an answer."
She smiled at that. "Yeah, I guess so." Red sat up and looked down at him, she was too tired to try and be serious, she was exhausted but at the same time, too strung up to actually sleep. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do now that I've found her."
Tony paused as he ran his fingers through her hair again and said. "I'm not sure either, but you could stay here? With me?"
"And leave Steve alone in DC? I don't think so."
"But he can come with you, and Levinia could too," she could hear him smiling as he spoke, like this was among the greatest ideas he's ever had. And it could've been, if Red could actually let her guard down around him. "We could live here."
But all the same, she smiled at the thought of living with Tony, of having the life she imagined they would have after everything that had gone down in that room two year prior to them sitting on that couch. Red glanced at the spot where Loki had thrown him out of the window and titled her head. "What were you going tot ell me after what happened here?"
He gave her a small smile. "I was going to tell you that I love you."
For a moment, hearing those words sent a thrill of excitement through her, but her excitement was quickly replaced by pain and guilt as it ran through her chest. "What about Pepper?" Those weren't the words anyone wanted to hear after professing their love for someone.
Tony sighed, and Red swore that she caught a flash of heartache as it ran across his face. "After what happened with Killian, she decided to stay somewhere else... somewhere far away from anywhere I am. Honestly, I don't blame her."
"You know..." She trailed off as she took a deep, but sharp, breath. She felt another stab of pain as she saw Bucky's face in her mind. "I haven't dated or anything since... since Bucky died."
"I know." Tony carefully moved so she was kneeling down in front of her and reached up to cup her cheek, his thumb gently ran over her cheekbone as he spoke. "I know that no one will ever be able to replace Bucky, and I'm not asking to the be the replacement option... I'm just asking for you to give me a chance to make you a bit happier."
Red gave him a gentle smile as she took her face away from his hand and leaned down to kiss his cheek. "I just need some time to think about it, okay?"  
"Yeah, of course." He leaned away from her before he got to his feet. "I'll be here waiting."
Red slowly stood up and closed her eyes. Her brain felt like it was pounding against her skull, it felt like it was about to break out of her skill and all her body needed right now was sleep. "I'm gonna take a nap and then clear my head." She looked up at him as she wrapped her arms around her middle, she felt like she was trying to keep her body from collapsing right then and there. "Is there a room I can stay in?"
"You have a whole floor to yourself." He said, giving her another smile as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "I mean, we all do."
"Which floor?"
"Sixteen. I hope you find it to your liking."
"I probably will." Red muttered as she hobbled away and toward the elevator. She had too much on her plate right now, had too much to think about, especially in her current condition. As soon as the doors opened and closed behind her, she closed her eyes and leaned against the wall behind her.
A nap would do her some good.
+++
Tony relaxed once the elevator doors closed behind her. On one hand, he was glad that he finally told her that he loved her, it was something that he was wanting to say since they fixed up the Helicarrier. On the other, however, he felt guilty because he might have sent her mind, which was was probably already on overload mode, into a deeper and Bucky filled spiral.
As he turned away from the elevator, he took a moment to look around the room and the rooms surrounding the sitting room. Upstairs, Bruce was checking over Levinia one more time as Steve walked down the stairs and towards him, while Natasha, Clint and Thor were talking by the bar.
"You know," Steve said as he approached Tony, his hands deep in the pockets of his jeans. "I can tell that you have some sort of feeling for her," he nodded toward the elevator that Red just stepped into. "So, I'm going to give you some advice."
Tony sighed as he hung his head and looked down at the ground under their feet for a few seconds before looking back up to him. "I'm that obvious, huh?"
"Very. Especially since we all just watched the snuggle fest on the couch." Steve cracked a small grin. "Kinda leaves little to the imagination."
Tony was thinking about arguing against that, but decided to leave it be with a shrug. "All right, well, what's this advice."
"She's lived most of her life with people trying to woo her with their money. I mean, she grew up in a gigantic golden castle with Thor and Loki," he glanced toward Thor. "When she came to Brooklyn, she fell in love with how simple it was and, in the end, that's also what made her fall in love with Bucky."
"So... what I'm gathering here is... simplicity is key." He was mentally kicking himself right now. He gave her a whole penthouse suite to herself, and he knew he was missing something. Realizing it now, that something wasn't the rows of motorbikes and armor he got made for her.
Steve nodded along with his words. "Simplicity is key."
"And giving her a penthouse suite?"
"Not very simple, but she'll appreciate it."
Tony started to nod before he gave Steve a very confused look. "Why are you helping me with Red? You're practically her brother, shouldn't you be protecting her from guys like me?"
He gave a short chuckle. "Because she deserves to be happy, you both do. I can't tell if she feels the same way about you or not, but I do know that she's scared to open herself up again after Bucky. I hope you're the one that's able to do that for her."
"I hope so too." He was genuinely surprised that he, of all people in the whole wide world, got Steve's approval to date Red. If Tony was being honest with himself, he believed that someone like Clint would be better for her, he always seemed more stable than the rest of them did.
"Well, it's been a long night. I think we all could use some sleep."
Tony nodded as he reached up to rub at one of his tired eyes. "Yeah... sleep sounds good."
"I should go and make sure that Red sleeps okay, she doesn't like being alone." He said as he looked toward the elevator doors.
"Of course." Tony felt a surge of jealousy rush through him. He should be the one going down there to comfort Red, but he knew better than to intrude. Steve was Red's comfort person. "It's the sixteenth floor, you'd know it's for her from a mile away." He then turned around and headed toward the bar to hangout with Clint, Natasha and Thor.
But he did hope and wish that one day, he'd be able to be Red's comfort person.
+++
Once he got down to the level that he was directed to, Steve saw what Tony meant. This penthouse suite was meant for someone like Red, she had a beautiful view of the New York City skyline. Instead of marble floors, she had hardwood and built into the wall opposite of the chair she was sitting in, was a grand fireplace with a TV built into the wall above it.
The living room and kitchen were as simple as they could be, though they had their own touch of high tech, and he couldn't even imagine what the bedroom must of looked like.
And all the while, there sat Red, curled up in a chair with her knees drawn up to her chest and her chin resting on top of them as she looked out of the giant windows. She looked so small surrounded by everything the penthouse had to offer. Especially since one of the walls were made up of tech that Tony had made for her.
Steve let out a low whistle as he looked around them. "I gotta say, Stark really does go all out."
Red smiled as she relaxed from her curled up position and leaned back against her chair. "Yeah, he really does." She now rested her chin on her hand as she looked away from the window. "He offered to let the three of us stay here with him and Bruce." She spoke in a low, tired voice that made it almost impossible for him to tell if she was happy about that offer or mad about it. All he really knew was that he was confused about the intentions behind his words.
"He did?" He asked as he sat down on the arm of her chair. "He must really care about you."
She almost smiled at that. "He does... and I don't know what to do about it."
"Are you afraid of loving him?"
She hesitantly nods. "I am, I just..." Red sighed as she reached up to run a hand through her hair. "I don't trust him, Steve. I have these feelings for him, but I don't trust him."
He moved into the chair opposite of hers and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. "Why don't you tell me about it?"
"I know that James would want me to be happy," she looked up to meet his gaze as she slowly shook her head. "But I keep thinking about him when I think about moving on. And I want to be with Tony, but since he's been so..." She puffed out her cheeks and then sighed as she found the right word. "Absent the last couple years, I can't find it in me to let it be him."
"I know it hurts." He said, his mind drifting back to Peggy and how they could have grown old together. Blinking, he forced himself to focus back on Red. "And I know that you miss him, but you're right. You should be able to move on and find someone."
Absentmindedly it seemed, she reached up to rub a spot on her chest with her knuckles. "Maybe I should... I don't know. I just feel like I'd be forgetting him."
"Finding someone doesn't mean forgetting. You of all people should know that."
Red gave him a small smile as she sat up in her seat. "All right, I'll make you deal, Steve."
"What's the deal?"
"If I move on, you have to do it with me."
His mind now drifted to Levinia, who was asleep in the hospital wing upstairs. They had shared a connection as he pulled her out of the crater only hours earlier, it was like the world had fallen away and it was only the two of them standing there. He was already starting to.
"Alright," Steve finally said. "Deal." He got to his feet and leaned over to kiss the top of Red's head. "Now, go and rest. Clear your head a bit before we head to Asgard."
"Yeah... I'll see you in the morning." She gave him a hug as she stood up. He gently held her head to his chest before she took a step away from him and padded off to where her room must be.
Steve stood there for a bit longer, even as her door closed behind her, looking at the skyline and finally took his compass out of his pocket. As he opened it, he looked down at a picture of Peggy Carter, smiling sadly as he ran his thumb over her face. A lifetime ago, she was everything he wanted in life, he saw the two of them growing old together. If you had asked him yesterday what he wanted more than anything in the world, it would have been to go back in time and be with her again. But now, deep down, he knew that that had changed.
Now, what he wanted more than anything in the world, was to protect Levinia. Protect her and keep her happy for as long as he possibly could.
As he laid down on one of the couches and started falling asleep, he thought about where he'd take Levi for a date when things settled down.
+++
In her dream, she was back in the train where Bucky had fallen, their hands were only inches apart before the train car's handle broke and he was falling from the speeding train, yelling her name as he fell. Gabe had held her back as she screamed in agony, one that she hadn't felt in so long, and she struggled against the grip that was keeping her from going after her Bucky, her James.