The Tower

The Assassins

The 'I love yous' slowly started to trickle in after Wanda's declaration. After saying it to her I felt I needed to tell the others considering I felt it for them too. I still knew that for a lot of them I may never hear those particular words in that particular order. That didn't matter to me. It just mattered to me that they knew.

Sam said it back almost automatically. Like he'd been waiting to say it but was a little bit scared to go first. He didn't like to make a big deal of it though, and if I went overboard at all he'd tell me to stop getting mushy.

Natasha was the next one to return it. It took a little longer and when she did say it, she made a big deal about it. It wasn't just an 'I love you too'. She pulled me aside and told me how much I meant to her. How she had trouble expressing herself. How happy she was that I'd put myself out there to make this work. Then she had told me she loved me. We kissed and she left the room as quickly as she could. I didn't see her again until the next day.

Clint wouldn't say the words out loud. I did find though if I signed them to him, he'd sign them back. He wouldn't do it if Natasha was looking. It was like it was a secret just between the two of us.

Steve told me the day he had to take Clint on a mission for a few days. He pulled me aside just before he got on the Quinjet, dressed in his uniform and ready to go. He'd said, 'I love you, El. Take care of yourself.' He then kissed my forehead and got on the plane. It made me anxious. I worried that he'd just said some final goodbye to me.

"He's a punk. Don't worry about it." Bucky said as I sat on the recliner opposite both him and Natasha, hugging my knees.

"Why'd he have to tell me then? It was super final." I whined.

"He probably did tell you just in case he didn't come back. He's had people in the past he didn't do that with. But he's coming back." Bucky said firmly.

"Didn't come back that one time he crashed a plane in the ice," I muttered.

"Woah, doll. Come on now." Bucky said leaning forward and rubbing my knees.

"He's coming back, Mishka. You don't need to worry. But this is the job we have. It has risks. If something did happen, he wanted you to know he feels the same way for you. That's all." Natasha explained. "That is something you need to come to terms with."

"But I don't want to come to terms with it," I whined.

Bucky looked at the others. "What's the sleeping arrangement tonight?"

"Well, I'm with you," Nat said.

"Tony and Bruce are caught up in the lab, they'll probably stay together. I was going with Sam." Wanda added.

"You want to join me and Tasha, Elly?" Bucky asked, his thumbs drawing circles on my bare thighs.

"But you don't like it when I sleep in with you. In case..." I trailed off. He knew why he didn't like me actually sleeping over. He was worried about waking up trying to kill me. He only ever agreed if he, Steve and I were in his apartment and he felt too guilty to ask me to leave. If he came to my apartment they always left and if it was just him, the guilt wasn't enough. I didn't think that Natasha would be strong enough to hold him down if something did happen. I would have thought that would be worse.

His hands slid a little further up my legs, his fingers continuing to draw small circles. "Maybe you can think of a way that might make all three of us sleep much better?"

My thighs twitched and I squirmed in my seat. "But normally Steve..."

"I'm feeling alright, doll. I promise. I wouldn't ask if I was worried." He said. "Tasha is much stronger than she looks." Bucky soothed. "So how 'bout it?"