Daffodils: An Avengers Romance

But I Thought They Were Gay

Steve's voice was deep, his breath tickling my ear as he leaned in right onto me. Bucky was on my other side, his arm slipping around my waist.

I eeped and let myself be guided out of the building by them, all the way to the car. Steve sat in the back with me, staring at me as I nervously picked at my chicken bacon wrap.

"Is there something you want to tell us, princess?" Steve asked, leaning his head against his hand, elbow on his knee.

"Peter has a field trip on Wednesday," Was the first thing I could come up with, "Oscorp Inc."

Steve tilted his head, "I remember, but you know that's not what I'm talking about."

"You're talking about Strange."

"Yes, I'm talking about Strange."

I slumped back in the seat, setting aside my delicious un-eaten lunch as I groaned.

"He needed a favor from me and it took a little longer than I thought." Wow, way to not sound shady, Aida. Great going.

Steve's eyes hardened, but he kept his relaxed posture, "What favor?"

"The supernatural kind," I admitted, not wanting to explain. I could not out Thor like that, it would be so rude.

"What exactly does that mean, doll?" Bucky's voice had taken on that deep, growly tone it did, "What favor took you two hours to do?"

Oh, it had been two hours? Well, a lot of planning had happened.

"Oh, you know," I did not think they did.

"Baby, you're pushing it." I did not expect the full body shiver that went through me when Steve called me that. Oh, it did things. Things that I am choosing to ignore.

"Why does it matter?" I asked instead, "Why do you care what I talk to Strange about?"

I could see Bucky's grip tightening on the steering wheel, knuckles going white, "We're in charge of making sure you're safe. And you're our friend, Aida. Strange isn't bad, but he's very manipulative. We just want to make sure you're safe."

"Thank you," I said, "But I can assure you I am perfectly safe."
"How do you know that?" Bucky asked, "You don't know him."

Which was very true and a fair point. But we were bonded by trying to prevent Thor from destroying the town when he got his powers back. It was a deep bond, one that I couldn't explain.

"It's fine guys," Was what I said instead, "I trust him." That seemed to be the wrong thing to say as Steve tensed up, his posture no longer relaxed. He did that thing he did where he flexed his fingers and I knew he was angry.

"Aida," Oh, he went straight to my name, "What happened while you were gone?"

"Again, he asked me for a favor," My voice raised a bit, getting upset by their lack of trust in my decision, "And seriously, can you just trust me on this? I'm not a bad judge of character."

Bucky shook his head, "We do trust you, doll. It's Strange that's the problem."

I scoffed, "That is such an ex-boyfriend thing to say. Seriously, it doesn't matter. It has nothing to do with SHIELD or Hydra or anything. He just needs my magical expertise with something. A personal something."

The car went quiet, the trees passing by quickly outside. I looked away from them and focused on the view, feeling tears prickle my eyes.

I hated lying to them or keeping things from them, but it is the nature of a lot of what I do. I now understood why mages and those connected to the supernatural stick together, secrets really tend to put a strain on relationships.