Everly || Steve Rogers

33 1/2. Clean Slate

"Facial recognition complete. Good evening, Ms. Walker."

Everly willed herself to open her eyes and grinned at the sound of Jarvis's smooth accent. A deep breath pushed past her lips and she looked down at the ground, which remained a few feet below her. Slowly, she brought her hands in front of her face to find that they were covered by metal gloves. She let out a small laugh as she knocked against her helmet.

"Holy crap." She uttered under her breath. One of Tony's suits had saved her life. It actually surprised her how light it felt. She had expected his suits to be heavy and feel like they were weighing you down. That was obviously not the case. "Okay, uh... how do I-" She held a hand out and a beam shot from her palm, spinning her in a circle. "Nope. That's definitely not it."

Everly wobbled through the air for a while with no idea what she was doing before she finally managed to at least move forward. All sorts of icons and numbers flashed across the screen inside the helmet, distracting her from what she was doing. She was amazed at how Tony did anything with one of these suits on.

"Jarvis, where's Tony?" She asked as politely as possible.

"Locating Mr. Stark." Jarvis answered. The screen zoomed into where he was laying on the ground, and before she knew what was happening, she was headed straight for him. She slammed into the ground just before Tony and stumbled a bit. He looked up at her oddly. 

"Nailed it." Everly sang as the face mask flipped open. Tony scoffed, shaking his head in the slightest. His gaze ultimately landed on something just behind her, he looked scared. Everly slowly turned around to see Killian limping toward them. He looked to be made of lava, his charred skin glowing orange as he pieced himself back together. Tony tried to stand, but winced in pain and fell back to the ground. Everly stepped between the two, backing away as Killian grew closer.

"No more false faces. You said you wanted the Mandarin." She swung at him, only for him to grab her metal hand in his. He latched onto her other wrist as she went to push him away. "You're looking right at him." He growled. "It was always me Tony. Right from the start." Her eyes widened as he crushed the metal in his hands, the entire suit heating up inside. "I am the Mandarin!" He shouted. Everly flinched as he was sent flying through the air. She glanced to her left and saw Pepper holding a large pipe. Her eyes shone a bright orange, the same color that pumped through her viens. She couldn't believe it, Pepper was alive. Pepper let the pipe fall to the ground beside her and stared at Tony, who's face housed a look of shock. 

"I got nothing." He shrugged, eyes wide. He glanced into the sky but did a double take when he saw a suit heading straight for them.

"Jarvis, subject at my 12 o'clock is not a target, disengage!" He demanded in a panic, looking to his left to see that his earpiece had fallen out. 

"Jarvis stop!" Everly shouted. The incoming suit held out a hand to Pepper and fired a blast at her, just barely missing. It circled back around and Pepper sent Tony a glare.

"What?" She started toward him.

"Oh, what, are you mad at me?" Pepper launched herself off of his knee, plunged a fist through the chest of the suit, and slammed it to the ground. She then ripped the arm off and used it to backhand Killian, who Everly hadn't even noticed was running up behind them. She spun around, kicking a small cylinder on the ground and fired a beam at it, exploding it just as it reached Killian. Everly watched with wide eyes, mouth agape. She glanced back at Tony, who still clearly didn't know what to think of everything. "Honey." He said cautiously. Pepper looked from him, to the rubble, then back to him.

"Oh my god." She breathed. "That was really violent." Everly's face softened and she sighed in relief.

"You just scared the devil out of me. I thought you were-"

"I was dead. Why? Because I fell 200 feet?" Everly's smile faded and she cringed. "Who's the hot mess now?"

"Still debatable." Tony retorted. "Probably tipping your way a little bit. Why don't you dress like that at home? Hmm? Sport bra. The whole deal." Everly ran a hand down her face. He sure had a knack for digging himself a deeper hole.

"You know, I think I understand why you don't want to give up the suits. What am I going to complain about now?" Pepper said quietly, giving herself a once over. Tony picked up his earpiece, rose to his feet and slowly started toward her.

"Well, it's me. You'll think of something." He held his arms out to her and she pulled away.

"No don't touch me. I'm gonna burn you." She hurried.

"No, you're not. Not hot." He said, touching her shoulder lightly.

"Am I gonna be okay?"

"No. You're in a relationship with me. Everything will never be okay. But I think I can figure this out, yeah. I almost had this 20 years ago when I was drunk. I think I can get you better. That's what I do. I fix stuff." Everly smiled down at the ground.

"And all your distractions?"

"Uh... I'm going to shave them down a little bit. Jarvis, hey." He tapped his earpiece a few times and sniffled. 

"All wrapped up here sir. Will there be anything else?"

"You know what to do." Tony said as he gazed into Pepper's eyes.

"The Clean Slate Protocol sir?"

"Screw it, it's Christmas. Yes, yes." He finished, wrapping Pepper in a hug. Everly's suit opened up and she stepped out. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as it shot into the air, along with the others. Once every suit was far enough in the sky, it exploded, almost like a fireworks display. She locked eyes with Tony, who's chin was resting on Pepper's shoulder. She could see how much it pained him to do this, but he did it regardless. He cared about Pepper more than he could ever care for any hunk of metal.

~~~

As promised, Tony was able to get Pepper's situation sorted out. He even dealt with his own, finally getting the surgery needed to safely remove the arc reactor and shrapnel from his chest. It was odd thinking of him without it, as Everly had only ever known him with it. It seemed like a part of him. But it was a part that had overstayed its welcome. He was starting with a clean slate.

Happy had finally woken up, and was in the clear. All was well with Pepper and Tony. He had even left a little surprise for Harley. Everything was right again, and yet, something was missing.

Everly looked back at the empty hallway behind her and sighed. She bounced on her toes and brought her hand up to the door, but froze. Why she was so nervous, she couldn't understand. She looked once more at the golden 4, afraid that maybe she had gotten the wrong apartment. Finally, she took a deep breath and knocked three times on the wooden door. She cleared her throat and waited anxiously.

Footsteps were heard from inside before the door swung open, revealing none other than Steve Rogers. His eyes grew wide and he stared and her in awe. His gaze raked over her, taking in the cut above her brow, another on her cheek, and the fading purple bruise that wrapped around her neck. He slowly reached out, gently touching her shoulder as if to ensure that she was real. It felt as if her heart leapt to her throat.

"I uh, I was wondering if maybe I could stay with you for a while?" She rubbed the back of her neck. Upon hearing her voice, the smallest of smiles tugged at the corners of his mouth. Without saying a word, he pulled her in for a hug. She hesitated, but gladly returned the gesture, a smile lighting up her own face. And there in his arms, for the first time in a long time, she felt safe.