Hearts Collide

The Expected

"I don't think I can do this," Alex gulped; her hand quivered as it hovered over the small shiny button on her bracelet.

"Come on, Alex. We already went through this," Tony began, slightly irritated. "Clint's not going to get electrocuted. He's just going to feel a mild shock that's going to cause him to freeze up—like being short- circuited."

"Okay," Alex sighed nervously as she aimed the bracelet at Clint. "Are you ready, Clint?"

"Just shoot the damn thing before I change my mind about being your test subject. Why did I agree to this anyway?" he asked snidely.

"Because that's what friends do," Alex grinned. "Besides, if you want those other arrows I made for you then- you're going to have to do this."

"Well are you going to press it or not? Because I—"

Clint was silenced when he felt a mild shock on his arm, which caused him to freeze.

"Clint?" Alex asked as she walked over to him. "Are you okay?"

"He'll be fine," Tony scoffed. "The effects only last for about five minutes, so, in case you ever have to use it, you have enough time to run away."

"Hmmm, okay," Alex stated as she poked the frozen Clint. "I think I can work with this. Thanks dad," she smiled as she wrapped her arms around Tony.

"No problem, kiddo," Tony responded as he ruffled Alex's hair.

"Now, do you think this can short circuit your Iron Man suit?" she asked eagerly.

Tony pulled Alex away from him as he raised an eyebrow at her. "You're not thinking about using that thing against me, are you?" he questioned.

"No," she chuckled. "I would never use this against you. I just wanted to know in case I ever needed to short circuit a robot or something that's trying to attack me," Alex pointed out.

"Well, I'm not sure that thing can take down Iron Man, but it should be able to short circuit any other machine easily."

"Okay, that's all I needed to know," Alex remarked as she began walking out of the lab. "Give those arrows to Clint when he can move again," she said as she pointed to the arrows that were lying on the table.

As Alex approached the elevator, she took out her phone and began to dial an all too familiar number.

"Pick up," she mumbled as she waited for the person on the other end to answer. Instead, she heard an electric voice say, "Please leave your message at the tone," before beeping.

"Hey, Steve, it's Alex. I was just wondering if you wanted to hang out and play some videogames with me. If not, that's okay. I understand," she sighed into the phone. "Bye."

"Boyfriend trouble?" asked a female voice from her left.

Alex looked up and saw Natasha standing besides her also waiting for the elevator. "What do you want, Natasha?"

"Oh, nothing," she muttered as the elevator doors opened and the two females stepped inside. When the elevator began moving, Alex dialed another number on her phone, one whom immediately answered her.

"Anita's Pizzeria, Carlos speaking; how can I help you?"

"Hey, Carlos, it's Alex. Let me get three large extra cheese pizzas, five orders of garlic knots, two orders of Buffalo wings with ranch, and two 2 liter bottles of Pepsi— 30 minutes? Okay."

"You're going to eat all of that by yourself?" Natasha asked with a look of disgust.

"No. I'm going to eat it with Thor. He gets really hungry when we play 'Need for Speed'," Alex defended.

"And what about Steve?" Natasha questioned. "I heard about what happened. It's been almost two weeks. Is he still mad at you?"

"You know what, Natasha? Bite me," Alex declared annoyed as the elevator stopped on her floor and she stepped out.

"Alex, wait!" Natasha called out as she reached to grab Alex's hand. "I'm sorry. It's just— I've known Clint for a long time and I don't want other girls on him," she scolded.

"Why?" asked Alex. "It's Clint. He's— oh my God. You like him," Alex blurted out.

"Yes," Natasha sighed. "But don't go telling the whole world."

"I won't," Alex promised. "And besides, Clint is like an older brother—an annoying older brother."

"Oh that's good to hear," Natasha stated as the elevator doors closed. "Now…about that order of wings," she muttered to herself as she took out a small glass veil from her pocket.
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Alex groaned as she woke up with a strange feeling in her stomach. Nausea overcame her and she ran to her bathroom where she proceeded to throw up into the toilet.

"Alex," she heard Pepper's voice call out from her room.

"I'm in the bath room," Alex grunted before she felt her stomach turn and spilled its contents into the toilet once again.

"Alex, are you okay?" Pepper asked as she cautiously entered.

"I think there was something wrong with the Buffalo wings," she uttered. "Do you know if Thor is sick too?"

"I saw Thor this morning and he was fine," Pepper responded.

"His Asgardian stomach probably won't let him get sick," Alex muttered as she poured herself a cup of water from the sink to rinse her mouth.

"Or it could be something else," Pepper hinted.

"What are you talking about?" Alex asked confused.

"Alex— you had sex with Steve and now you're sick. Did it occur to you that you might be—"

"You think I'm pregnant?" Alex questioned as she raised an eyebrow at Pepper.

"You might be."

"No," Alex began. "I can't be because Steve and I used—" However she stopped midsentence when she realized they used no protection. "Oh crap, Pepper!" Alex stated frantically. "What am I going to do? I can't be pregnant. I'm only nineteen. My dad's going to kill me— oh shit, he's going to murder Steve. Pepper, I can't let that happen," Alex cried out. "What do I do?"

"Calm down, Alex, and take a deep breath. Everything is going to be alright," she reassured. "First, let's get you to a doctor to see if you really are."

"Okay. And then?"

"And then you go talk to Steve. You two haven't talked to each other in two weeks."

"I say hi to him sometimes when I see him in the elevator," Alex defended.

"No I mean really talk to him," Pepper stated.

"Fine," Alex groaned. "But no matter what happens, you can't let my dad find out. Promise?"

"I promise," Pepper agreed. "Now come on, let's get you to a doctor."
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"Steve, I know it's late, but I need to talk to you," Alex called out as she knocked on his door. "Steve, open up!" she demanded. However, Alex got no response. "Steve!" she exclaimed as she began pounding on the door. "Open the door, or I swear I'm going to—"

Alex ceased knocking when the door opened to reveal a shirtless Steve standing in front of her. She stood their speechless staring at the built chest she recalled kissing a few weeks ago. She was suddenly broken out of her reverie when Steve asked, "What is it, Alex?"

"Can I come in?" she asked as she bit her lip nervously.

"Alright," Steve sighed as he stepped aside so Alex could enter. "What is it that you have to tell me?" he asked as he sat on his bed.

"Well, before I begin," she began, "I want to apologize and that you have every right to be mad—"

"No, Alex," Steve interrupted. "I'm sorry. That day when you came to my room to apologize…I heard everything. It's just that—even though I know it wasn't your fault, it still hurt— a lot."

"I'm sorry," she whispered. As she turned to face him, a few tears escaped her eyes. "I never meant to hurt you."

"I know you didn't," he replied as he wiped away a few of her tears and placed a kiss on her forehead. "And no matter what, I'm always going to love you."

"I'm glad to hear that," she uttered before letting out a long sigh and saying, " Because—I'm pregnant."