I scan the Smithsonian, looking for a person which Fury sent me after. I spot him. Baseball hat, dark coat, left arm completely covered, including the hand. The face matches the picture I saw. I approach him slowly, like one would with a frightened animal. Once I get near enough, I speak.
"Mr. Barnes." I murmur, watching him.
He turns to me, muscles tensing, eyes narrowed.
"Calm down. I'm not here to hurt you, I promise. I'm here to help. I can give you more information on your past than you can find out here. I have a place you can stay."
He doesnt say anything, just watches me, suspiciously so. "How do I know I can trust you? That you won't take me back to those people?"
"You just have to trust me. I have been where you have been. Alone, not being able to trust anyone, no knowledge of where you are or what to do."
He still isn't completely convinced, but he nods. I give him a half grin. "Follow me."
I slip out of the museum and hail a cab, Barnes following me the whole time. I climb in the back of the car and tell the taxi driver the address of my apartment as Barnes follows my lead. I slump down in my seat as the guy starts to drive.
"Kodiak Aurora."
He glances over at me questioningly.
"That's my name. Well, it's what I go by. I don't know my actual name."
He nods. "Well, you already know my name."
I grin. "Yep. That I do."
We stay in silence, it's almost awkward, until we arrive at my apartment building, where I pay the cab driver and jump out and enter the building, making sure Barnes is following me as I dash up the stair up to the second level. I stop and go over to my door, fumble with my keys for a moment, then open the door.
"Welcome to my humble establishment." I say, letting him enter first, then close the door after I go in. My ginger tabby, Flynn, who is missing his right eye, comes limping to me, meowing loudly.
"Yes, yes. I know. I'll feed you, you little turd." I say, smiling and flipping my hood back, revealing my purple eyes and teal hair. "Barnes, that's Flynn, my cat."
I walk into the kitchen and pour the cat's food into his dish, him purring and rubbing against me the whole time. I pop back into the main room, which is poorly decorated, and James is looking around. The room contains a couch, brown, and a chair which is red, a lamp, coffee table, which is mahogany, and a TV, which is set on a wall, the walls being plain white.
"Do you want the information now?" I ask, leaning against the wall.
"... Sure."
I nod and go into my office and take the file from my desk and toss it on the coffee table. "Read it when you want. It'll be there."
My phone starts going off and I sigh. "Just a sec."
I check the number, Fury as I suspected. Walking into my bedroom, I answer it. "Yeah?"
"Agent Aurora. Did you succeed?"
"Yes, sir. He's at my apartment right now."
"I'll send some agents over."
"Please don't, sir. I can take care of myself, you know this. Just trust me."
There is a short silence. "Alright. But if anything goes wrong, I'm taking over."
"Thank you, sir."
"And remember that you are still stationed at Stark's."
"Yes, sir. Good bye."
"Good bye, Agent."
He hangs up and I throw my phone on the bed and walk back into the living room, to see James holding Flynn and petting him. I grin.
"Well, James. I have work tomarrow, so I will be leaving around 7:30 in the morning. If you decide to stay, try out the stuff around here... Try not to break anything, but if you do, it's fine. I'll leave an extra key here just in case. I'll probably be back around 5-5:30."
He looks up and nods. "Alright."
"Hungry?"
"A bit."
"I can fix that." I grin and go into the kitchen and open the fridge. Chicken. Milk. Eggs. Celery. Carrots . Cheese. Barbecue sauce. Lettuce. Tomatoes. God I feel lazy.
"Alright. Since I'm feeling lazy, I am not going to cook anything. Pizza fine?" I ask, standing up and closing the fridge door.
"Uh.. Sure." He replies, looking up from the cat.
"Okay."
I go and order two pizzas, one plain and one pepperoni. I pay the delivery guy once he arrives and set the pizza on the kitchen counter and grab a couple slices before going into my office and sit at my desk, powering up the computer. I start typing up my resume, because Stark will want to see my work history. Well, at least Pepper Potts will. It takes a bit, but I finish it and lean back in my chair for a few moments before going to check up on James.
I look into the living room, and he is asleep, stretched across the couch, and Flynn and curled up beside him. I smile and lay a blanket over him, shut the light off, and head to my own room and go to bed.
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Hey guys. This is my new story. I will try to update on a regular basis. Thanks for reading!
*I do not own Marvel or any of its characters*