Alpas

Chapter 15

"Tony, that doesn't seem possible. Adding a cup holder is just ridiculous. How's it gonna hold the cup and keep everything in it when you're​ upside down. How are you gonna hold it if it's inside the suit?" I sigh as I spin around in my chair, not being able to look at him any further.

"And this is why I have you. To make my dreams a reality. To give me all of the reasons this won't work, so I can work on those areas the most. So should it be on my right or left side?" He continues to ask questions and I can't help but laugh as I see that child like spark behind his eyes. His smile is genuine, and I know he is unfortunately serious about this.

"I'm gonna step out and check on Rhodey. He's been running for quite sometime now." I smile and walk toward the door.

"You've been really concerned with his recovery, haven't you? Is it because of Mac?" He asks as he rubs my shoulders.

"I don't know really. She won't talk to me anymore. I don't really blame her though. The rest of the band still comes to me, but she's been off the grid for a while now." I sigh, really enjoying the neck massage I'm receiving.

"You shouldn't stress about this babe. She will come around eventually. It wasn't anything you've done. It's on us." He says as he kisses my neck, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind.

"No, it's not on anyone. It's on her. I hope she comes around soon. Her band is worried about her." I smile, turning around in his embrace. I wrap my arms around his shoulders, kissing him softly. "I'm still going to check on him." I whisper as I pull away and walk toward the door.

"Oh, and the cupholder might work on the right side." I giggle as I see his smile widen. I leave the room and head toward the front door of the compound.

"Hey Dakota, fancy a run?" Sam smirks as he nudges me.

"Ha, good one. You know I'd smoke you. Actually, I was gonna go check on Rhodes. I might need to actually run to find him." I sigh.

"You gotta stop worrying about him. He's gonna be fine. Mac performed a miracle."

"Yeah, I know. That's not gonna stop me from worrying though. I worry about all of you accident prone shit heads." I mumble.

"I heard that." Natasha says as she joins us. "Going running Sam?" She asks as she stretches.

"Hey, got extra running gear for Dakota? She wants to catch up to Rhodey."

"Of course." Nat smiles as she grabs my hand and drags me toward her room. "I'm glad you're watching out for him. Honestly, I'm just as worried about him as you are. Once he got his legs back, it's like he doesn't come off of them. He doesn't let them rest." She trails off as I change into some of her work out clothes and a pair of tennis shoes.

"I'll wash all of this and bring it back when I go home later."

"Don't worry about it. I still have those clothes you let me use in Moscow." She laughs.

We both head out and Sam is still waiting on us at the front door.

"He normally takes that weird route, right?" I ask as I stretch.

"Yeah, we can go with. It's hard to remember which turns are which." Sam smiles and we all start to jog around the compound.

You'd think that the Avengers would use the track on site, but no. They had to be difficult. It wasn't "challenging" enough. Like running isn't already challenging.

We make our way around the complex and see the trail the boys have been working on. And it looks long. Shit. I haven't ran like this in years. I normally stop at my 4 mile mark and call it a day.