An Age of Metal

A Safe House-Part One

After a few long hours of flying, Clint finally landed the quinjet in his mystery destination. It wasn't what they expected, to say the least. The sleek silver aircraft looked out of place in the rolling gold fields of a farm. In the center of the fields lay an enormous house, the kind you'd expect a large family to live in.

Peggy, who was mostly recovered, didn't like being in another new place without any information.

"Barton, where exactly did you take us?" She asked.

"A safe house. Let's hope." He answered, slinging Natasha's arm around his shoulders.

"Well, that isn't cryptic or vague at all." Peggy quipped, falling in line behind Clint. He lead them up a few stairs and across a patio, through a white doorway.

A group of superheroes walk onto a farm... Peggy started to think. If the circumstances were different she might have laughed. The teams looked foreign and out of place in their suits. They didn't belong in a quiet little farmhouse. 

"Sis? I'm home." He called out.

A heavily pregnant dark-haired woman walked into the room.    

"Hi. Company. I'm sorry I didn't call ahead." 

"Hey." She smiled at him, pulling him in for a hug.  

"This is an agent of some kind." Tony muttered.

"Gentlemen, ladies, this is Laura. My sister." Clint introduced them. 

She waved a little wave.

"I know most of your names." She said.

The giant group looked at her awkwardly. Tony was the only one to return the wave. 

"Oh, incoming." Clint laughed, with the pitter patter of little feet running toward him. A young girl and a slightly older boy came in. 

"Uncle Clint!" The little girl by the name of Lila said. 

"Hi, sweetheart!" He greeted, scooping her up and putting her back down. He hugged the little boy, Cooper, her brother.  

"Hey, buddy. How are you guys doing?" 

"These are...smaller agents." Tony continued, still in shock.  

"Look at your face! Oh, my goodness." Clint said to the two, kissing the top of Cooper's head. 

"Did you bring Auntie Nat?" The girl asked.

"Auntie Nat?!" A few of the New Avengers exclaimed.   

Natasha broke into a smile for the first time that day.

"Why don't you hug her and find out?" She said, picking up the girl after she ran into her arms.   

"Sorry for barging in on you." Steve said.

"We know it's...unexpected." Peggy added. 

"Yeah, we would've called ahead, but we were busy having no idea that you existed." Tony said.

"Yeah, well, Fury helped me set this up when I joined. He kept it off S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files. I figure it's a good place to lay low." Clint explained.

"I'm glad to see you." Laura said to Clint.  

Natasha layed a hand on Laura's stomach. 

"How's little Natasha?" She asked.

"She's...Nathaniel." Laura told her, shaking her head.

Natasha bended down, so her face was inches away from Laura's stomach. 

"Traitor." She whispered.

Thor stopped listening to the conversation. He was blindsided by what he saw in his vision. Wanda's hallucinations of Asgard crept into his mind, and he stormed out of the house.

"Thor?" Steve asked, halting him.

"I saw something in that dream," he explained. "I need answers. I won't find them here."

Thor, rapidly spinning his hammer, took off. He left a burning patch of grass.

Steve was about to walk back in, but he stood frozen in the doorway.

We can go home. Peggy's voice echoed in his head.

He went to find her. He didn't see her on the first floor, and found her sitting on a little couch up the stairs. She sat alone, seemingly taking in her surroundings, and thinking. 

"Hey," he said. "Mind if I sit?"

She moved over and patted the seat next to her.

"Of course not."

He curled up next to her.

"Why are you all alone up here?" He asked.

"I needed to think. About...everything." She answered.

"How bad was it? What the Maximoff girl showed you?"

Peggy sighed.

"It was something I'd never want to see again." She paused, then continued. "You were there."

"Oh yeah?" Steve asked, one eyebrow up. 

She smiled at him.

"Don't get cocky. It wasn't just you."

"Well, you were there for me, too." Steve told her. "And it made me very glad to have you here with me."

"Likewise, Steve."

They were quiet for a moment, listening to each other breath. 

"I'm not sure if I want this." Steve suddenly.

"What?" Peggy asked.

"A home. A family. Is it even possible?" 

Peggy was quiet for a moment. She had been wondering that question herself. 

"Well," she said, her brown eyes meeting his blue ones. "I suppose that's up to us, isn't it?"

He smiled, not because he wanted a family, but because he did have a choice. And more importantly, he had Peggy. 

"Yeah. I guess it is."

Steve leaned in to kiss her, but he was interrupted by the sound of a throat being cleared. They jumped apart, and saw Tony.  

"Laura has some logs she wants chopped, I thought it would be a good way to blow off steam. Although, if you want to stay here and get it out..." Tony trailed off suggestively.

"Oh, shut up Stark." Peggy said.

She turned her focus back to Steve.  

"I was going to call Sam anyways, fill him in. You two can do chores." She said.

Then she leaned into Steve and whispered, 

"To be continued."

She always thought it was fun to see him flustered. Peggy got up and walked to find a phone, and Tony went outside with Steve. They passed the New Avengers, and it seemed like they were arguing over whether or not to sleep in the quinjet. It was gonna be a long day.