The Soldier and the Spy.

Chapter 5

****Variel****

I wake up to Fury's obnoxious voice calling all the Avengers to the meeting room. What a perfect way to wake up from a nap- NOT. Getting out of bed, I walk to the meeting room, softly slipping into a seat next to Natasha. She squeezed my hand once, and Fury started talking.

"As you have surely guessed by now, the earth is in danger. Before, we didn't have enough evidence to say for sure, but now we have enough to take action. We recently received photos that show strange lights in the night sky- they aren't far enough north to be the Northern Lights, and they are not near any known military or scientific bases. Closer inspection proved that these lights are semi-portals- existent tears in the time-space continuum, but not large enough for something to pass through."

"With the help of Erik Selvig, we concluded that they are made up of energy, just like the Tesseract. Thor has also received word that that Loki has escaped. However, he is not on earth. We believe that Loki is trying to take over earth again, but he doesn't have the Tesseract, which would provide him with the raw energy necessary to bend all our minds to his will. Several of our agents have reported suspicious behavior from the head of most (if not all) terrorist organizations- S.T.O.W. ...

My head shot up at the mention of S.T.O.W. I shudder, trying to keep all the memories away. Natasha winced too, and she looked at me with compassion. Not even she knew what had happened after she left. Torture, pain, nightmares, and "surgery." That was the worst- the operations without anesthetic, the only medication being a sedative that made me powerless. I held back a hysterical laugh at the irony of it all - I've spent years of my life running from these people, and in a matter of hours I'm thrust back into their path.

My thoughts are interrupted by Fury's voice.

"You have probably all noticed that there is a case file in front of each of your chairs. Each one contains all the intelligence that we have on S.T.O.W. and its various affiliations. Please read it and become familiar with the material inside. You will be expected to know the information at the debriefing tomorrow. Shortly after we review the information, we will split you into teams for the mission. You are dismissed."

When the meeting is over, Natasha and I head to the training room. I was always good with hand-to-hand combat, so now Natasha has an opponent that almost equals her skills. Dodging her blows, I try to concentrate, but my thoughts kept going back to the debriefing. Suddenly, I feel myself flip over and land on my back. Rats!, I think. While I was zoning out, Natasha took the opportunity to sneak up behind me and land me on the ground.

"You ok?" she asks me. I knew she wasn't just talking about taking me out.

"Fine," I said."Just thinking about the debriefing."

"Yeah," she said."Who would guess that we would have to deal with them after all this time?"

"Not me. I tried my whole life to stay away from them, and now I have to deal with them again!" I said.

"It's as if our past has come back to haunt us after all these years," she said.

For you. I thought. The pain was all too recent for me- I had only escaped five years ago. No one knew about the nightmares that plagued my dreams. I often wished I could tell someone about everything - my nightmares, scars, and memories. But if I opened up to anybody, they would see me as a weak, traumatized little girl. And there was nothing I hated more than being weak. Weak meant vulnerable, and vulnerability meant pain, and pain was bad.

"I just can't believe S.T.O.W. found us again!"

"They didn't find you, though," she replies. "We found them. You'll be perfectly safe with the Avengers. I promise."

Hearing her earnest voice again almost brings tears to my eyes- it's just like old times, except neither of us is in a cage. I shake off the gloomy thoughts.

"I'm going back to my room. Do you want to come?"

"I'm good. I'm going to train some more," Natasha says.

"Ok," I reply, and with that I leave the training area. I head down to my room, so caught up in my own thoughts that I run straight into someone.

"Oh man! I'm so sorry!" I say, looking up into the face of whoever I ran into, and hoping I hadn't offended somebody important. Rats!, I think, finding myself looking into Steve's eyes. Wow, those eyes are blue!

"It's okay," he says, smiling down at me."Where are you headed?"

"Just to my room. Natasha and I were training."

"OK, um...can I walk you to your room?" Steve says, holding out his elbow with a mock bow.

I blush. Can he get any more perfect? I mean, he's such a gentleman.

"Sure, it's down the hall" I answer, then mentally kick myself. Stupid, stupid! He knows where your room is! I wish I was a better conversationalist. We could get lost in deep, meaningful conversations about our lives....

However, no such thing happens, and we walk down the hall without exchanging more than a few words. When silence does fall, it's not awkward, but friendly and companionable. When we arrive at my room, it seems much too soon. *What are you doing, Variel? Who thinks that walks down a secret base's hallways is romantic?*

"Well, have a good night," Steve says.

I realize that I am so lost in my thoughts that I'm just standing there.

"Oh yeah- um... goodnight," I say awkwardly. Oh real smooth, Variel. I smile at Steve and go into my room. Changing into some pajamas I get into bed and try to fall asleep, shoving away all thoughts of Steve.

****Captain America****

I turn away from Variel's room and see Tony standing there smirking. "What?" I say, annoyed at the grin on his cheeky mug.

"You like her!" he teases."Has the big, brave soldier fallen in love? I bet you wanted nothing more than to kiss her goodnight...."

"Tony shut up! I'm not like that. I don't like her that way-she's Natasha's sister for goodness sake!" I turn and head for my room, trying to ignore his laughter. Why does this bother me so much? I wonder. Because I want to do exactly what he said.

I mentally shake myself, trying to get all these thoughts out of my head. Why can't I forget her? I think about her all day, and whenever we're in the same room, it takes all of my self-control not to stare at her. I can't be in love! There can't be anyone in the world that I could ever love like Peggie.

I pull up the covers and slide between the cool sheets. Thanks to my soldiers' training, and despite the thoughts swirling around in my head, I fall asleep at once.

****Tony Stark****

I'm coming out of the lab when I see them- Variel and Steve, heading to her room. Curious genius that I am, I followed them, watching them, at a safe distance, of course. I see the quick glances that pass between them, the comfortable friendship that is beginning to form. But is it something more than friendship? Despite what the other Avengers think of me, I'm not a complete moron when it comes to people. I notice how Steve's ears get red every time Variel's hand brushes against his, and I see Variel blushing more than a few times herself.

When they get to her door, I lean forward around the corner of the wall I'm hiding behind, curious to see whether they sense the growing chemistry between them. Unfortunately for Tony's Private Soap Opera, nothing happens. I watch Steve's face as he looks at her closed door. He has a soft expression that I have never seen before, so of course I have to kill the mood.

"Well hello there," I say.

He turns and starts when he sees me leaning on the wall. I smirk as he blushes quickly. He must have been so love-struck that he didn't even know that I was following him. Man I'm good!

I start to tease him, just to see his reaction, and I grin even wider when he starts getting all defensive. That means he likes her- normal Steve would just calmly deny it. He walks away and I start forming a plan in my mind to get them together. First, however, I need to devise a test to see if she really likes him.