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7:00 am, Monday morning, Stark Tower
Y/N King stepped out of the elevator directly into a ballroom and one of the biggest messes she had ever seen. She sighed as she took in the hundreds of empty plastic cups littering the floor alongside streamers, deflated balloons, glitter, and something gold and gooey that she couldn’t immediately identify.“Greetings, Mrs. King,” a soft, British male voice said. Y/N jerked her head around the large room but didn’t see anyone.“Hello?” she called out tentatively, pulling her large brown purse close to her chest and taking a step back toward the elevator, ready to hit the call button.“Good morning,” the voice said. “My name is JARVIS.”“Good morning, Jarvis,” Y/N replied politely, her eyes darting around cautiously. “Um, w-where are you?”“Please do not be afraid, Mrs. King. I’m an artificial intelligence system and I run this building. . I am Mr. Stark’s personal assistant, of sorts.”“Oh,” Y/N said rather dumbly. “Um, well, that’s kind of cool. S-should I look in any particular direction to talk to you or are you just kind of…um… everywhere? And, um, does JARVIS stand for something?”“I am, as you say, everywhere. And JARVIS stands for Just Another Rather Very Intelligent System.”Y/N let out a small laugh in spite of herself, “That seems to fit you very well JARVIS.”“Thank you, Mrs. King,” JARVIS replied. “Mr. Stark is unfortunately indisposed this morning and will not be able to attend your interview, however, I have reviewed your application and background check and am authorized to hire you. And, I regret to inform you, that you have your work cut out for you today.”“Indeed, I do,” Y/N sighed. “JARVIS, please don’t be offended by this but, is this mess normal?”“It is not,” JARVIS replied confidently. “Sir had a party last night and it was rather more… enthusiastic than normal.”“Okay,” Y/N took in the scattered remnants of what she hoped had been a good time. If she didn’t need a job so badly and if working for Stark didn’t come with a boatload of benefits, this mess might have made her reconsider. “Well, how about we take it one room at a time and you can direct me as needed. Alright?”“Very well, Mrs. King,” JARVIS answered. “Welcome to Stark Tower.”“Thank you, JARVIS.”Y/N set down her purse on a small table next to the elevator doors and rolled up the sleeves of her button up, collared work shirt, being careful not to push them past her elbows. JARVIS directed her around the residence floor of the tower, showing her where all the cleaning supplies were stored and how to activate the robotic cleaners already installed in the building. Small robots that acted as vacuum cleaners, dusters, trash collectors, and even a robot that went around straightening the art on the walls with a level.“JARVIS,” Y/N paused while walking down a hallway. “Why does Mr. Stark even need a housekeeper when he has you and all this technology to take care of things for him?”“I am capable of many things, Mrs. King, and Mr. Stark has created many other machines to take care of the house, but there are some things that require, shall we say, a woman’s touch and thoughtfulness of which my systems are not capable.”“I see,” Y/N nodded and continued walking down the hallway. “I guess that makes sense.”The rest of the morning was spent learning how to direct the many machines to clean the ballroom and other unoccupied rooms of the main resident floor of the tower. JARVIS directed her from room to room, wisely avoiding the bedrooms until tomorrow. The last thing she needed on her first day of work is to deal with a hungover Tony Stark.Once all the rooms where clean, except for the bedrooms, she set up a pot of coffee for JARVIS when he sensed someone waking up and a huge plate full of thick bacon. She also put together a quick chicken casserole with ingredients she found in the kitchen and gave JARVIS instructions on baking it whenever anyone was ready to eat. Based on the mess from the party, she guessed they would have some impressive hangovers. It was nearly 4:30 pm by the time she left the tower.

5:00 pm, Monday afternoon, Stark Tower
Tony stumbled into the kitchen, following his nose to the coffee pot and finding a plate full of crispy bacon next to it. He poured coffee into his Iron Man mug and grabbed a handful of bacon. It was the perfect remedy for his hangover. Last night’s party had been impressive, even for the great Tony Stark. He didn’t remember all of it, but based on the pain radiating through his head, it must have been spectacular.Settling on a stool at the counter, he leaned his forehead on his palm. Taking a deep breath, he asked Jarvis for a rundown of the damage done at the party and the state of the ballroom. The damage was minimal but the ballroom had already been cleaned. Tony didn’t remember asking Jarvis to take care of that and simply assumed that he did it when he was drunk. Thanking the AI, he refilled his coffee, grabbed another handful of bacon. Steve and Bucky walked in, one right behind the other, looking way too fresh given how much they drank last night.“How’s the head, Tony?” Steve asked, pouring himself a cup of coffee.“Delightful,” Tony mumbled from behind his steaming mug. “Thanks for cooking bacon though.”“We didn’t cook it,” Bucky replied, leaning against the counter and crossing his arms over his large chest.“Who did then?” Tony asked. “Who else is awake?”“I don’t know who cooked it,” Steve said. “Clint and Nat left after the party last night, Sam is still sleeping and Buck and I have been downstairs in the gym all since 8:30. We got a late start.”“JARVIS,” Tony called. “Who cooked bacon?”“Mrs. King, Sir.”The three men paused, each wracking their brains trying to figure out if they should know who Mrs. King was. Three shrugs later, Tony raised his voice again.“Who is Mrs. King, JARVIS?”“Your new housekeeper, sir,” JARVIS replied.“What happened to Mrs. Tumbleweed?” Tony asked.“Treaklehorn,” Bucky corrected.“Trimblefoot?” Steve questioned.“Mrs. Trickelbank resigned, Sir,” JARVIS answered.“Oh, and you hired a new housekeeper? When did that happen?”“This morning, Sir.”“Oh,” Tony took a bite of bacon. “Well done, JARVIS.”“Thank you, Sir.”“You two didn’t see anyone when you went downstairs?” he asked Bucky and Steve.“Nope, but we heard the vacuums going in the ballroom, she must have been in there,” Bucky replied. “JARVIS knows what he’s doing right? Do we need to look into this Mrs. King?”“If JARVIS hired her, that means she met all the security standards that Steve and I put into place,” Tony replied, shaking his head and immediately regretting it.Bucky frowned but didn’t reply and the three men dispersed to their own corners of the tower. Tony went in search of those little red pills Bruce had given him for hangovers and then went back to bed.

8:00 pm, Still Monday, Stark Tower
Tony woke slowly, testing the pain level of his head. Finding it tolerable, he got out of bed and stumbled into a hot shower. Dry and dressed, he made his way to the kitchen, his stomach rumbling.“JARVIS,” he mumbled. “Where is everyone? Do we have any food?”“Everyone has gone out for the evening. I took the liberty of baking your dinner when you woke up. It’s ready to come out of the oven now.”“Oh, thanks,” Tony opened the oven and the heavenly scent of chicken, vegetables, and stuffing wafted out. “Wait. JARVIS, who put this together? Last time I checked I hadn’t given you hands yet.”“Mrs. King, Sir.”“Right. Remind me to meet her, JARVIS,” Tony spooned a large, steaming helping into a bowl and carefully took a bite. It was heaven in his mouth. The perfect post hangover meal. He grabbed his bowl and headed toward his lab to get ready to leave for a mission at 6 am the next morning.
10 pm, still Monday, Stark Tower
Steve and Bucky strolled through the kitchen on their way to their rooms and found most of a pan of some kind of chicken casserole. Steve raised an eyebrow Bucky and nodded toward the pan. Bucky leaned over and sniffed the food. Not detecting any scent of poison, he dipped his metal pinky into the pan and cautiously licked at the food that stuck to it. Both his eyebrows shot to his hairline and he nodded at Steve. Each man grabbed a fork and ate right out of the pan. Within minutes, the remainder of the chicken casserole was only a tasty memory.

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7:00am, Tuesday morning, Stark Tower
Y/N entered Stark Tower a few minutes behind her personal schedule. She had stopped on her way to grab a large coffee as a special “new job” treat but the line had moved a little slower than she liked. She waved her new security badge at the man at the front desk, whom she hoped would be more friendly than his initial scowl appeared, as she walked around to the private elevator JARVIS had directed her to use on a regular basis.“Good morning, Mrs. King,” JARVIS’s voice toned through the elevator as the doors closed.“Good morning,” Y/N answered as the elevator began to fly upward, checking her purse to make sure she had remembered her treats. Y/N found that giving people small rewards for cleanliness made her job a lot easier. Also, she just liked giving out candy.“The Avengers are all on an all-day mission, so you will have access to their personal rooms,” JARVIS informed her. “Every room except Mr. Stark’s personal lab, that is. You need never bother with that room, per Mr. Stark’s orders.”“Didn’t I see on the floor directory that he has a lab a few floors down with all the other labs?” Y/N asked, taking a sip of her coffee. She made it better than the coffee shop but she didn’t have the fancy flavors to add. Maybe one day.“He does indeed, but he also keeps a lab on the residence floor for smaller, more personal projects.”“Oh, that’s nice I guess.”“Indeed.”The elevator doors opened with a soft ding as Y/N exited into the main residence floor of the tower, unlike her first day when the elevators dropped her into the ballroom. Y/N wondered if they went sideways like Willy Wonka’s glass elevator. Y/N set her purse down and rolled up her sleeves. She quickly cleaned her way through the kitchen and living room to the bedrooms.The first bedroom was immaculate and as spartanly decorated as one would expect military barracks to be. This was Steve Rogers’ bedroom and it required very little cleaning except for his desk which was littered with drawing pencils, paper, files, and empty coffee mugs. After organizing the desk and cleaning all the pencil dust, she went into the small bathroom. It also was immaculate. She replaced his towels with fresh ones and emptied the hamper into the laundry shoot that was in each room. JARVIS told her that everything went to the basement to be cleaned. She pulled one of her favorite dark chocolate nuggets from her pocket and left it on his pillow.Next door was Bucky Barnes’ room. Y/N had never met Steve or Bucky but she knew their story. They were best friends but, based on their levels of cleanliness, they couldn’t be more different. Bucky’s room looked like it was inhabited by a teenager and took the most time to clean and organize. Y/N imagined that after gaining his freedom from HYDRA, Bucky might have needed to let loose in a safe way. Apparently living in a pigsty was his way of expressing his freedom. Y/N sighed and decided that it just wouldn’t do. She cleaned and organized his drawers, putting all his clean clothes away and putting what was clearly dirty down the laundry shoot to be washed later. She made his bed with clean sheets and left two Reece Cups on his pillow. Sometimes, a little incentive goes a long way.Natasha’s room was well-kept. Everything clearly had its place and she was consistent in putting it there. Y/N didn’t dare organize anything. Although, she kept finding guns and knives randomly stashed behind dressers and in the lampshades throughout the room. The bathroom was equally clean and organized. Y/N left a small white chocolate nugget on Nat’s pillow with a smile.Clint’s room needed a bulldozer just to open the door. Three larges piles of clothes lived in the middle of the room. One smelled clean, the other was clearly dirty and Y/N regretting smelling them at all. But the one in the middle was a bit of a mystery. Y/N could only assume it was the “can be worn again” pile but since that pile didn’t smell clean either, she shoved both piles down the shoot, hoping it wouldn’t clog. The large pile of arrows in the corner and the many other arrows stuck in the walls and threw lampshades, Y/N left alone. For now.His bathroom was much the same. The counter around the sink was nearly completely covered with empty coffee mugs.“JARVIS,” Y/N sighed. “Do you happen to have a little robot that can help me take all this to the kitchen?”“Indeed, Mrs. King,” JARVIS answered. “I will send it directly to you.”Y/N didn’t have long to wait before a waist-high robot rolled into the bathroom doorway. It beeped pleasantly and opened up a hatch on its front to reveal what looked like a dishwasher tray. Y/N put all the mugs upside down on the tray. The robot closed the hatch, it beeped again and rolled off, seemingly pleased with its job performance. Y/N couldn’t help but let out a small laugh. She finished the bathroom, threw her current pair of cleaning gloves away to be incinerated, and left one milk chocolate stuck on the tip of an arrow that had gone all the way through the lampshade of his bedside lamp.Sam’s room reminded Y/N of a boy who was obsessed with flying and music. Posters covered the walls of various aircraft and bands. He was pretty clean, but getting the oil stains out of the carpet was a struggle. As Y/N left him a miniature chocolate bar, she made a mental note to bring Sam a tarp to lay down when he worked on his wings in the bedroom instead of a lab or garage like normal people.Tony’s room was last and it required nearly as much work in Bucky and Clint’s combined. Discarded clothing and other unknown materials created a protective layer on the floor at least two inches thick. Nothing smelled bad, just like grease and cologne. Making sure he still had plenty of clothes in the closet and chest of drawers, Y/N tossed everything down the laundry shoot to be sorted out later. If he had a problem with that, he should learn to be more organized. His bathroom wasn’t half as bad as Clint’s, but the tall pile of wet towels that never stood a chance of drying was about to take over half the room. The sink was littered with tiny hairs, beard trimmings, Y/N guessed.“JARVIS?” Y/N put her hands on her hips, surveying the mess of the whole bathroom.“Yes, Mrs. King?”“When are the Avengers due back?” she asked, thinking through all the things she still needed to get done that day but wanted to do something extra for the hard-working team.“They are scheduled to return this evening. And everything seems to be running according to plan… for once.”Y/N nodded determinedly and quickly finished cleaning Tony’s bathroom, making plans in her head. Cooking hadn’t been a part of the job description, but she decided that someone needed to take care of this group. As she vacuumed the newly discovered floor in Tony’s room, she made a list of all the things she would need and stopped the vacuum occasionally to ask JARVIS if everything was available. It was. Of course it was. After making Tony’s bed and leaving him a couple of dark chocolate covered espresso beans on a small red and gold napkin on the pillow, she made her way back to the kitchen and pulled out every crockpot she could find.Five crockpots (Tony Stark owned five crockpots!) and three hours later, everything was ready to roll. She turned each pot on to the correct temperature and told JARVIS what time they would need to be turned off. If the Avengers didn’t make it back this evening, she would have some impressive cleaning to do tomorrow, but JARVIS seemed sure they would be back. With a small smile, Y/N picked up her purse and, with a satisfied nod at her work, left the tower for home just after 5pm.

9:00pm, Tuesday Night, Stark Tower
The Avengers trodded off the small jet wearily. How could a one-day mission feel like a week? After taking quick showers, Nat and Clint walked slowly into the kitchen, dreading the next hour because it was their turn to cook dinner, and ordering delivery was against Steve’s rules of bonding time. As she walked through the doorway, Nat stopped dead in her tracks causing Clint to slam into her back.“Hey, what gives?” Clint whined.“Look at this,” Nat whispered. Clint looked over her shoulder and saw all the crockpots lined up and turned on. He took a deep breath and took in all the scents of various food and he grinned.“JARVIS!” Clint called excitedly as he moved to investigate the contents of each pot. “Did you cook us dinner?”“I did not as I do not have hands,” JARVIS replied. “Tonight’s meal is curtesy of Mrs. King, the new housekeeper.”“I think I love her,” Nat said, lifting the lid of the 9x13 crockpot to discover a chocolate lava cake.Tony sauntered in and stopped short, taking in the many crockpots and Clint and Nat each standing over one in amazement.“Let me guess,” he started, “Mrs. King?” Nat and Clint nodded wordlessly.“Hey, what smells so good?” Bucky asked as he and Steve came in.“Pot roast, potatoes, a chicken dish, some kind of Italian sausage soup, and chocolate lava cake,” Clint answered, lifting each lid and taking in a deep breath over each pot.“Did someone say cake?” Sam asked as he entered the room. “Who cooked?”“Mrs. King, the new housekeeper,” Nat answered.“Is that who left Reece Cups on my pillow?” Bucky asked. “And cleaned my room? It took me forever to find my pants!”“She left us chocolates?” Clint asked.“I got two,” Tony smirked with triumph.“How come you got more than me?” Sam asked, crossing his arms over his chest."I got two too," Bucky added."What?!" Sam shouted. “Who cares about tiny candy!? Let’s eat!” Steve said, pulling down plates and tossing them like frisbees across the kitchen. The team dug in as fast as they could. Each giving a moan of pleasure as they put the first bites in their mouths.“I think I love this woman,” Sam said around a mouth full of pot roast. “When is she coming back and can we keep her?”“JARVIS, when is Mrs. King coming back?” Tony asked.“Tomorrow, Sir,” the AI answered.“Do you think she would cook for us again?” Bucky asked, his mouth full of chicken.“I guess we can ask her tomorrow,” Tony replied.

10:00pm, Tuesday night, across town
Y/N sat huddled in a corner in the living room of her small apartment. Wayne had been home for only an hour but walked in drunk so Y/N knew it wasn’t going to be a good night. First, he demanded steak instead of chicken but didn’t want her to leave to go buy the steak so he ate the chicken and then got angry that it was too dry. As usual, he took his anger out on her. A large bruise was forming over her ribs and dark handprints around her upper arms. Her neck ached from being shaken back and forth. She laid her head gently on her knees and let the tears silently flow. Wayne was now too drunk to truly pay attention to her, so she knew as long as she stayed out of his sight and quiet, she was safe until tomorrow night.

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7:00am, Wednesday Morning, Stark Tower
Y/N stepped off the elevator, her eyes not leaving the lit-up screen of her phone. Her sometimes-estranged sister had been texting her all morning, needing to talk about her boyfriend who had just dumped her. Alexis was always needing something, it seemed. Y/N was so engrossed in trying to read the novel of a single-sentence text that she didn’t see the large man standing in her path as she walked on auto pilot to the kitchen until she walked straight into the wall of his chest. Gasping, she took a step back, placed an arm around her bruised ribs and dropped her phone. She looked up at her roadblock. A little over six feet tall, muscular arms, one flesh, one metal, now moving to cross over a wide chest and piercing blue eyes in a brooding face surrounded by dark hair stared down at her.“You cleaned my room,” he said in a deep voice, soft and just a little lethal.“It was filthy,” Y/N replied gently, working to keep her voice steady and her eyes soft. She didn’t want to anger him, even though he was one of the good guys.“I couldn’t find my pants,” he returned, narrowing his eyes and stepping into her personal space.“They were in the drawer marked ‘pants’. I labeled all your drawers on the inside,” she said as matter-of-factly as she could, not stepping back.“Oh. Well… you’re a good cook,” he said, lowering his chin, continuing to stare her down.“Is that an accusation or compliment?” Y/N asked softly, raising her chin to silently meet his challenge.“Can you make lasagna?” Bucky demanded.“I guess I could,” Y/N began but was interrupted.“Bucky, stop trying to intimidate Mrs. King or she’ll never cook for us again,” Sam came up behind Bucky and tried to shove him aside, but he refused to move for a moment. After giving Sam a long side glance, Bucky looked back down at Mrs. King, slowly winked at her, and then stepped aside to let her pass.Y/N hurried into the kitchen and took a deep breath as she put her purse down on the counter, forgetting her phone on the floor at Bucky’s feet. She shook out her trembling arms carefully and let out another breath. Bucky could be very intimidating but Y/N couldn’t see him as the Winter Soldier. He was just like an angry bear sometimes. The thought made her heart rate calm a little and a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. Running a quick hand over her collar to make sure all the buttons were buttoned tight, Y/N turned toward the door to get her day started but jumped with a gasp as she found herself face-to-face with a small, redheaded woman who, despite her small stature, still managed to look lethal enough to kill someone with her pinky. Y/N’s arm automatically wrapped around her middle.“That chocolate cake last night was amazing,” the redhead said in a soft voice with no hint of an accent.“Thank you. W-would you like the recipe?” Y/N replied, clearing her throat to get control over her voice.“Clint wants it actually, he’s our resident baker. Usually at 3am but we take what we can get,” she answered. “I’m Natasha, by the way.”“Y/N King,” Y/N answered, putting her hand out automatically and immediately regretting the lack of support to her bruised ribs.“It’s nice to have you here,” Natasha replied and was just about to comment on the phone Y/N dropped but was interrupted when Steve strolled in.“Hello, I’m Steve Rogers,” he held out his hand and took Y/N’s small one and shook it gently. She seemed fragile at first glance but the look in her eyes revealed strength.“Y/N King, it’s nice to meet you all,” Y/N replied, working hard to sound as normal as possible. She was meeting Avengers. Real Avengers.“We will leave you alone and let you work in peace,” Steve replied, giving Nat a hard look that Y/N couldn’t interpret and really didn’t want to try.“Thank you, Captain Rogers,” Y/N smiled up into his kind blue eyes. Steve and Nat left her in the kitchen. Taking a look around, she found that everything had already been cleaned from the dinner last night. They even put the crockpots away. Y/N started to roll up her sleeves but thought better of it since the whole team seemed to be in residence. She, again, made sure the top button of her shirt was securely fastened and got to work dusting the living room and getting the little machines running. She realized halfway through the bedrooms that she hadn’t seen Dr. Banner’s room. JARVIS informed her that it was on another level of the tower and he would see to it himself, it was safer that way. She got through the rest of the rooms in peace until she was headed down the last hallway.“I need to speak with you please,” a brisk voice came from behind her. Turning, she came face-to-chest with Tony Stark. He peered down at her with dark brown eyes that Y/N found a little hypnotic.“Yes, sir,” she replied, taking a step back to preserve her personal space. Tony jerked his head and walked into his lab. Y/N followed slowly.“D-do you want me to clean in here?” Y/N asked as she followed him, her eyes taking in the piles of tools, half-finished machines, and baskets overflowing with oil rags.“No,” Tony replied, turned back to her. “No, this is my mess. Well, mine and Dum-E over there.” He said gesturing to the robotic hand that was still holding a wrench and looking as confused as a hand possibly could.“Oh, well, how can I help you then, Mr. Stark?” she asked, keeping a distance between them and her hands clasped in front of her, her elbow at just the right angle to give her ribs just a smidge of support.“I just wanted to meet you,” he said. Looking her over, Tony took meticulous mental notes. Her hair flowed gently around her shoulders and appeared as soft as silk. Her eyes stood out against her skin, although he thought her face seemed to be just the wrong side of thin. Her shirt was a light blue long-sleeved button-up, cuffs and collar buttoned up tight. Her pants were a few inches too long and bunched up on top of her shoes, which were probably considered practical for a 70-year old.“Oh,” she fidgeted with her dust rag nervously. “Um, thank you for hiring me.”“Thank JARVIS,” Tony replied, his brain cataloging everything he saw and making notes on what he didn’t see. What he saw was someone who needed something. “I didn’t have a whole lot to do with it.”“Well, your name is on my paycheck, so thanks,” she replied, with an almost stubborn tilt of her chin. Almost.“Right, well, feel free to clean every room on this level except my lab. I’m sure JARVIS told you all that already though.”“Yes, he did. He’s very thorough,” she nodded, her hair falling over her shoulders. “Will there be anything else, Mr. Stark?”“No,” Tony replied. “That’s all, thank you.” Y/N nodded and left the room as quickly as she could without being obvious. Tony leaned back against his workbench, stroking his chin in thought. She wasn’t the conventional beauty that he was generally pulled toward, but there was something about her that was very attractive to him. But also, he had the distinct impression that something was going on with her, something he wanted to figure out. The way she stood with her arms positioned just so reminded him of something. “JARVIS, we have some work to do.”“Yes Sir, would you like me to run a full-body scan on Mrs. King?”“You read my mind. Send it directly to Bruce’s lab.”Y/N moved quickly around the corner before she allowed herself to lean against the wall and took a breath, wincing as her ribs reminded her they were still bruised. She knew she was being obvious and that needed to stop. They were going to figure out her secret and that would make her life hell. It wasn’t Wayne’s fault, he didn’t mean it. It was her fault really, she made him angry and then he just couldn’t control himself. He loved her too much, that was really his problem. She gently rubbed her arm that still held a bruise roughly the shape of his hand, remembering his anger last night over dinner, and couldn’t really make herself believe that he acted out of love.Sighing, she pushed herself away from the wall, running her hands down her sleeves and checking that her top button was still buttoned tight and went down the hallway to the last room. The music room, her favorite room so far. The piano was exquisite and the view was the best in the city. She would spend most of her time in this room if she could. Wayne never understood her love of music but maybe one day she would be able to convince him of its value.High in the vents of the ceiling, Clint looked down in interest, reading her movements like a book. 
7:00pm, Wednesday Evening, Stark Tower
The team assembled in the kitchen to see what bits of deliciousness Mrs. King had left for them. Steve opened the oven and the smell of lasagna wafted through the air, making them all moan with delight. A loaf of garlic bread sat sliced and wrapped in a towel with instructions on how to warm it. They sat at the table with steaming lasagna, fresh bread, and crisp salads.“I really think we need to keep this woman forever,” Bucky said. “I asked her if she knew how to make lasagna, I wasn’t expecting it to be this amazing.”“I thought you didn’t like her because you couldn’t find your pants,” Sam retorted.“That was before she told me that she labeled my drawers. It really helps,” Bucky replied. “But she labeled them on the inside of the lip of the drawer so that it wouldn’t be obvious.” Steve smiled over at him, thankful that Bucky was showing such improvement.“I don’t know guys,” Tony interrupted. “There’s something going on with her.”“You’re right,” Clint said. “There is something.”“Do you know what it is?” Tony asked, putting his fork down.“I’m not sure yet, but tomorrow we will try a few things and see if we can confirm my suspicions.”“Wait, what are you suggesting?” Steve asked. “Do you think she’s not trustworthy?”“No, nothing like that,” Clint replied. “I don’t want to talk too much about it until we can get some confirmation.” Nat looked hard at him, reading his mind like only she could do, and nodded with immediate understanding.“And I want to wait until Bruce gets back and examines her scans that JARVIS did today,” Tony put in.“You had JARVIS scan her? Did you ask her permission first?” Steve inquired.“Of course not, she probably would have said no,” Tony retorted with an eye roll.“Possibly, but isn’t that an invasion of privacy?” Steve argued back gently. He got the distinct impression that not all was well with their lovely housekeeper but wasn’t ready to start investigating her against her will.“Speaking of invasion of privacy, I have this. Maybe it will shed some light?” Sam asked as he produced her phone from his pocket and handed it to Tony.“How did you get this?” Tony asked.“She dropped it this morning and I honestly forgot to give it back to her,” Sam replied, avoiding Steve’s glare. “And then she ran out this afternoon before I got back from the VA.”“You could have left it in the kitchen with her purse,” Steve suggested, his eyebrows moving to show his disapproval. Sam shaded his eyes against the glare.“The phone will help. Tony and JARVIS can work on that while we handle the rest,” Clint said.“What do we need to do?” Nat asked.“Watch for her physical signs of trauma, even if she’s just favoring one side over another. Don’t go poking at her to see if she flinches though. Once Bruce gets in later tonight and looks over her scans, we can move with a little more purpose,” Clint said. “Although, if something is glaringly wrong, we will need to take immediate action. For her sake.”“So you think she’s being abused?” Steve questioned. “By whom?”“Husband?” Clint shrugged. “Could be a boyfriend or even a girlfriend. It doesn’t much matter to me who is doing the hitting, not yet anyway.”“We need to assess her level of abuse and see how she feels about the abuser,” Nat supplied.“Wouldn’t she want to leave whoever it is?” Bucky asked.“Want to? Not necessarily,” Nat answered and then fell silent.Everyone slowly nodded and ate, each wrapped up in their own thoughts. This new woman in their lives had already had such an impact that they felt protective over her. Tony kept his head down, not wanting his face to reveal his emotions. He was more drawn to this woman than he had been to anyone in his life, though he didn’t know why… yet.

10:00pm, Wednesday evening, across town
Wayne came home too drunk to care about anything. He completely ignored Y/N and she did everything she could to stay out of his way. He fell asleep quickly laying across their bed. After making sure he was covered and warm, Y/N pulled the only other blanket in the apartment, a small afghan, over as much of her body as it would cover and slept fitfully on their small couch.

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5:00am, Thursday Morning, across town
Y/N woke slowly, her neck and back aching from sleeping in a ball on the small couch. Standing quietly, Y/N tried to stretch the aches away. Wayne’s snoring came from their bedroom, so Y/N knew she had a small window of opportunity to get out of the house as long as Wayne didn’t wake up. He got grouchy when he woke up too early. She took a quick shower in a trickle of water so the noise wouldn’t leach through the thin walls into their bedroom. Getting dressed as quickly and quietly as possible, Y/N grabbed the small tarp she had set aside for Sam and slipped out of the apartment, blessedly, without waking Wayne.Halfway down the stairs from their third-floor apartment, she realized that she didn’t have her phone. Sighing, tears beginning to build in her eyes, she turned back up the stairs to retrieve her phone before Alexis texted again and woke Wayne. She searched the living room and kitchen. No phone. Staring at the bedroom door, she forced herself to breathe silently before tiptoeing into the room. Wayne’s snores rebounded off the walls as Y/N searched for her phone. Nothing. Thinking back over yesterday, she realized that she didn’t remember having her phone after arriving at the tower and Bucky scared her. Realizing that she left it there, she moved quickly to get out of the room, bumping a table and knocking a small lamp to the floor. Wayne jerked awake and eyed her.“Clumsy bitch,” he mumbled as he got up and moved toward Y/N.

7:30am, Thursday Morning, Stark Tower
Y/N stepped off of the elevator with her head up, not wanting to run into any super soldiers again. Her shaking hand strayed to the scarf tied around her neck, hiding the worst of the bruises that her shirt collar didn’t cover. She cursed under her breath for being late, it was too obvious. Being on time was imperative. Putting her purse down on the counter, she carefully turned to begin the search for her phone. Wayne didn’t know it was missing and there would be hell to pay if he found out. Soreness and ache that Tylenol couldn’t touch already spread through her tense muscles and pain shot through her if she took too big of a breath. Y/N shuddered through the pain at the thought of Wayne finding out about her missing phone.“You’re late,” Tony’s soft voice from the other side of the counter pulled her from her dark thoughts.“I’m sorry, traffic was very bad today,” Y/N lied easily, her hands wringing behind her back and then flying back around to her middle when holding them behind her hurt too much.“It’s okay,” Tony replied, leaning against the counter, reaching into his back pocket. “I just wanted to give you this.” He pulled her phone from his pocket and handed it to her.“Thank you very much, I was worried about my sister,” Y/N took her phone and checked her text messages. Twenty-five unread messages from Alexis. Scrolling through quickly, Y/N realized that Alexis was basically having a conversation with herself and didn’t seem to realize that she received no reply. Typical Alexis really. Y/N sighed and put her phone in her pocket. Tony was just staring at her, a thoughtful expression gracing his handsome features. Handsome? Where did that come from?Y/N gave herself a mental shake. Wayne. Husband. He was handsome. Well, he used to be anyway. Nat strolled in, saving Y/N from Tony’s silent staring.“Hey Y/N,” she greeted. “Could you help me with something?”“Sure, Nat,” Y/N nodded to Tony and left with Nat, a small sigh of relief slid through her lips. They went into Nat’s room where Nat showed Y/N a dress with a small rip in the hem.“I can fix that easily,” Y/N promised. “I have a sewing kit in my bag, leave this out on the bed and I’ll fix it before I leave.”“Thank you so much, Y/N, I really appreciate it!” Nat pulled Y/N into an unexpected hug, squeezing lightly around her middle. Y/N tensed but didn’t cry out when Nat’s hard arm rested rather heavily on one of her larger bruises that wrapped around her side.Y/N smiled tightly and nodded, moving carefully but quickly out of Nat’s arms. Moving back down the hallway to begin her daily cleaning, Y/N started in the living room getting all of Tony’s small cleaning machines working. She moved through the bedrooms quickly, leaving a tarp in Sam’s room with a note to lay it down before starting to work on his wings. She turned down the last hallway and bumped into someone new. An awkward but sweet-looking man with glasses. Bruce Banner.“I’m so sorry,” Y/N said quickly, stepping back to avoid being in his personal space, her hand flying to her scarf to make sure it was still in place.“It’s alright, I’m Bruce Banner. You’re the new housekeeper?”“Yes, Y/N King,” Y/N reached her hand out and Banner gently shook it, sensing her fragility.“Nice to meet you,” he replied. “I’ll get out of your way.” He nodded and moved past her down the hallway. Once he was down the hallway far enough, he raised his voice slightly. “JARVIS, run a fresh scan on Mrs. King and send the results to my lab as soon as possible. And then have Tony meet me there.”Y/N cleaned like normal, though a little slower. Her fresh bruises from this morning making bending over a little more painful than normal and the pain in her side was only getting worse. Ending in her favorite room, the music room, she sat at the piano and gently touched the keys.“Do you play?” Bucky’s voice shocked her so much that she jumped up and knocked the bench over, pain shooting through her.“A little,” she rushed to pick the stool up, checking to make sure it wasn’t broken.“Will you play for me?” Bucky asked softly. He walked slowly into the room and sat on the couch next to the piano. “Please?”Y/N smiled into his eyes, there was something about Bucky that made her want to take care of him. He was so strong and had been through so much that she felt like he deserved to be taken care of more than most.She rested her hands on the piano keys and took a breath. Slowly she began to play a soft lullaby that her mother had taught her years ago. The soft notes flowed from the instrument as she poured her heart into the melody and let pleasant memories of her mother resurface. As the music transported her to a happier time, Y/N was unaware of the tears falling down her cheeks as her eyes closed and her fingers swept across the keys. Tony stood in the doorway, silently watching her transform into someone else. Someone free.Bruce and Tony stared at the two scans that should have been identical but weren’t. The rest of the team walked in in response to JARVIS’s call and, giving Tony a glance, Bruce began his analysis.“This first scan is the one Tony had JARVIS run a couple of days ago. You can see some bruising along the ribs and around her arms. There’s a small darker area around her neck that might indicate some muscle strain.” Everyone nodded, following along. Bruce continued. “This second scan is one I had JARVIS run this morning. It shows significantly more damage to her arms, bruises on top of bruises, one cracked rib, and extensive bruising around her neck.”“What does this indicate, Dr. Banner?” Steve asked, although everyone already knew the answer, he just needed someone to say it out loud.“The most likely cause is abuse. Someone is grabbing her by the arms and shaking her, that accounts for the bruising around her arms and the neck strain. The cracked rib is most likely from a punch or a knee, and the new bruising around her neck is definitely from hands, most likely within the last 24 hours.”“How do you know it’s from hands?” Bucky asked, holding his metal arm across his body as if it might betray him at any moment.“Take a look here and here,” Bruce pointed to specific spots that were darker than most and put his own hand up to the screen, showing how the fingertips matched nearly perfectly. Although, whoever grabbed her by the neck had larger hands than Bruce.“She was strangled. And he kneed her in the gut hard enough to crack a rib,” Nat whispered, one hand moving to her neck and one wrapping around her middle. Clint put an arm around her shoulders, partly to comfort her but mostly to keep her in the room and stop her from finding and killing whoever was hurting their Mrs. King.“What do we know about her?” Steve asked, taking charge and already making plans in his head.“JARVIS, spill it,” Tony commanded.“There is nothing unusual in Mrs. King’s background check, Sir.”“You know what I mean, JARVIS. Give us all the details.”“Pulling the report for you now, sir,” JARVIS replied and the monitor blinked to show Y/N’s picture and profile.“Mrs. Y/N King, age 36, height 5’5”, weight 142 pounds,” Tony began to read, “born Y/N Y/L/N, lived a completely normal, boring life until she married Wayne King in upstate New York five years ago. Since then her visits to the Emergency room have risen an impressive amount and she goes to a different place every time. Her husband: Wayne King, age 41, height 6’5”, 310 pounds. Retired army, currently unemployed.”“Damn, he’s a giant. And he’s been beating her for five years?!” Bucky asked incredulously. “Why doesn’t she just leave his ass? It’s a miracle he hasn’t killed her yet.”“Abused women sometimes have a hard time leaving their abuser. Some out of fear, better the devil you know than the one you don’t. Some out of love, they honestly love the man beating on them and can’t imagine leaving. Others stay out of self-loathing. They believe that they deserve to be beaten,” Nat explained softly, her eyes never leaving the scans of Mrs. King.“I wonder which keeps Y/N with him,” Clint mused.“I hope it’s fear, that’s the easiest to deal with,” Nat answered.“Well, what are we going to do about this?” Tony asked. “I think Mrs. King has quickly come to mean a lot to all of us and she needs our help.”“You guys should have seen her play the piano today,” Bucky said, all eyes turned to him. “She changed right in front of me. She wasn’t the scared, timid woman she normally is; she was…well…”“Free,” Tony supplied softly. “I want to see that Y/N again. What are we going to do, team? Someone in our own house needs our help and she’s going to get it.”The team nodded as one and began to formulate a plan. The first step was getting her to open up to someone about the problem. That would be easier on her than just approaching her directly, they thought. They decided Nat was the most logical choice for a woman to woman talk. Y/N had taken Nat’s dress home to fix it after the sewing kit in her purse didn’t have the right color thread, so they would have a chance to talk alone tomorrow. After that, they would have the weekend to think the rest of the plan through.

9:30pm, Thursday Evening, across town…
Y/N leaned her head back against the cool porcelain of the bathtub as she soaked. She avoided looking at her body in the water, not wanting to see the older bruises her husband had given her, and definitely not wanting to see the new ones forming. It seemed that nothing ever had the chance to heal before something new took its place. She had gotten home a little later than normal. Traffic in this city would be the death of her. Unlike her excuse to Tony this morning, it really was the traffic that held her up tonight. Wayne didn’t believe her, of course.He took a few swings at her but they were drunken and uncoordinated. He managed to land a couple on her shoulders and a very unfortunate one on her face before he passed out in the living room. Y/N sighed, thankful that once Wayne was out, he was out for the night. He typically avoided hitting her in the face, not wanting others to see the bruises. But tonight, his drunkenness made him careless. Y/N spent the rest of her bath thinking up ways to excuse the black eye that was already forming.She pulled herself from the cooling water and dried off. Walking into the bedroom, she pulled on soft, fuzzy pajamas and crawled into bed, thankful that she would get to sleep in the bed tonight. The couch wasn’t very comfortable, but she would take it over the floor, which was where Wayne ended up. She wasn’t strong enough to move him, but she did make sure that he was covered up and as warm as possible. Autumn nights in New York could get cold. Turning her light off, she laid her head down on the soft pillow, thankful for another day.

11:13pm, Thursday night, Stark Tower
Tony laid in his bed staring at the ceiling. Sleep alluded him on the best of nights, but tonight his mind was flying a mile a minute.“JARVIS?” he called.“Yes, sir?” the AI answered.“Did you choose to hire Y/N because you knew what was going on with her?”“I hired Mrs. King because she met every qualification you gave me for a housekeeper, sir. Including the final qualification that I should find someone who needed the Avengers as much as the Avengers needed them.”“Did I say that?”“Yes, you did sir.”“Huh. That’s surprisingly deep for me.”“Indeed, sir.”“Thanks, JARVIS,” Tony replied and rolled over, his eyes sliding closed with a sigh.“Goodnight, sir.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

7:00am Friday Morning, Stark Tower
Y/N entered the floor as quietly as possible, despite sleeping in the bed the night before, she was tired and her body and head ached. She kept her sunglasses on, not wanting to have to talk about her black eye yet, it still looked pretty bad despite all of her best efforts to make the swelling go down. In the kitchen, she quickly cleaned up from last night’s dinner she left the Avengers. A simple but tasty meal of Sloppy Joe sandwiches and potato wedges. They were so good to put their dishes in the dishwasher and running it, all she had to do was put the dishes away.Making coffee, she leaned her hip against the counter and watched the steaming liquid drip into the pot. She needed a plan to get through today in case her eye was seen, which it logically would be, she couldn’t wear sunglasses all day without suspicion. She had been trying to come up something good but everything sounded trite. The best idea she had was that she could clean quickly and beg off the rest of the day. Whatever she did, she needed to think up something quick before someone came in and she wasn’t ready with an explanation. Lost in thought staring at the coffee maker, she didn’t hear Tony come in.“Coffee that interesting?” he asked, causing her to jump and put her hand on her collar. Habits had formed over the years and one of them was always making sure her collar was buttoned up tight to hide the bruises and sometimes welts left by Wayne’s angry hands around her collar bone. She had added the scarf today in case the red marks from his fingers around her neck were also still visible.“Is it bright in here?” Tony asked, pointing to her sunglasses.“No, I-I just have a headache and the light hurts,” Y/N replied, not lying because her head was pounding.“Do you want to go see Bruce? He has these magic pills that can cure anything,” Tony said, trying to keep the conversation easy but wanting so much to see her out of pain.“Oh, no, no please, don’t trouble yourself,” Y/N hurriedly replied, moving away from Tony. “I’m fine, I have work to do, but thank you Mr. Stark.” Y/N nearly ran from the kitchen, leaving Tony feeling two inches tall. He wanted to help her and he wanted her to want him to help her. He shook his head and filled his Iron Man mug with coffee. She made the best coffee. Whatever it took, he was determined to help her.Y/N moved as quickly as she could through the rooms. She left Nat’s repaired dress on her bed and cleaned faster than she had ever cleaned before, ignoring the pain it put her in. She did her best but it was nearly 2pm before she got back to the kitchen to set up dinner. Bending to pull crockpots out of the lower cabinets, Y/N groaned as a flash of pain shot through her middle.“Do you need help?” Bucky asked from behind her, making her jump up and gasp in pain, her arms wrapping around her middle. She turned carefully to find Bucky and Clint standing in the middle of the large kitchen.“Why are you wearing sunglasses?” Clint asked.“I’m fine, guys, it’s just a headache, the light bothers me,” she said softly. Bucky sighed and ran his hand down his face. He looked hard her, exchanged a glance with Clint, and nodded as if he had made a decision.“You’re not fine, Y/N, it’s obvious that you’re hurting,” Bucky replied, taking a step toward her, his eyes pleading with her. “Please let us help you.”“Bucky, I don’t need help, I’m okay, it’s just a little headache,” Y/N insisted, moving away from him.“Y/N, I might not be completely right in the head yet,” Bucky started, Clint put a soft hand on his shoulder in support. “But I can see your pain.”“What are you talking about Bucky? I’m not in any pain that Tylenol and nap can’t cure,” Y/N stepped away, letting out a laugh that she hoped convinced them to move on.“You just said you had a headache and you’re sensitive to light, that sounds like a migraine so you have to be in more pain than two Tylenol,” he shot back.“No, no, I’m fine,” she replied carefully. Not looking where she was stepping, she nearly backed into Tony who was coming through the door, he hopped back just in time to keep her from running into him. She didn’t even notice him behind her.“Lier,” Clint mumbled with a concerned frown, reaching toward her and expertly whipping her sunglasses off before she could even move. Tony’s hands came up to her shoulders, causing her to jump out and let out a soft cry before she realized who was behind her.“Talk to us, Y/N. Please,” Tony said as softly as he could, his hands running down her arms trying to comfort her. “Please tell us what’s going on.” Y/N looked from man to man to man, tears filling her eyes, looking trapped. A panicked sound warbled from her throat just as Nat hurried in behind Tony.“What the hell are you idiots doing?” she hissed at the men, pulling Y/N into her arms and out of the kitchen. Sitting her down on the couch in the living room, Nat sat next to her with an arm around her shoulders. With one pointed look from Nat, the dam broke and Y/N’s tears flowed freely. Nat pulled her into a hug and watched over her head as Bucky, Clint, and Tony came out of the kitchen looking helpless and very worried. She gave them a grim smile. This needed to happen. Words could wait until later, tears needed to happen now.Deep sobs wracked through Y/N’s body. She cried until she began to hyperventilate. What were they going to think about her? How could she stay working here when she let her emotions lose like this? No one would want to be around her and Wayne would be right. She really was worthless. Y/N’s breaths began to come out in gasps and her hands flew to her chest as she struggled to breathe.Tony sat on the coffee table in front of her, his knees touching the outsides of hers.“Hey hey, Y/N, breathe with me. Breathe,” he instructed as he started taking breaths and placed her hands on his chest so that she could feel his movements.  “Match me, come on, you can do it.” She slowly began to focus on his chest and breathed in time with him, tears continuing to fall.When her breathing regulated, a water bottle was pressed into her hand and a soft tissue began drying her tears. She didn’t lift her head up to look at anyone and didn’t even notice when Nat moved and Tony took her place. Y/N simply leaned against whatever shoulder was offered and continued to cry until sleep rescued her, the still-closed water bottle clutched in her hand against the chest connected to the shoulder under her head. Tony, leaning back against the arm of the couch, looked up at Nat, Clint, and Bucky, and a silent decision was made. Y/N King was now theirs and she was home. Whatever it took, they would make sure that she was safe and knew they wanted her there.Bucky carefully pulled the fluffy afghan from the back of the couch and laid it around Tony and Y/N. Tony put his arms around her, careful to avoid putting too much pleasure where he knew she was hurting most, hoping that the weight of his arms and the warmth of the blanket with help her stay calm as she rested. When she woke, they would all try to sit down and hash this out. 
8pm Friday Night, Stark Tower
Y/N woke with a start. It took her a couple of seconds to realize where she was and that it was now dark outside. With a whimper, she leapt from the couch and started to run to the elevator, ignoring the pain shooting through her body. Wayne was going to be mad at her for being so late. He needed his dinner on time or his blood sugar dropped and he got even angrier than normal. She made it around the couch and halfway to the elevator when Nat stepped in front of her.“Whoa!” Nat held her hands up, ready to catch Y/N if she fell in her panic. Using the same calm tone she used with the Hulk, she tried to calm Y/N. “Where ya headed so fast?”“I-I-I-I have to go h-h-home. Please, Nat. He’ll be so mad,” Y/N pleaded in a panic, her eyes wide and tear-filled.“You don’t have to go back to him, Y/N,” Nat replied softly. “You never have to back to him again if you don’t want to.”“B-b-but I do have to. You don’t know what he’ll do to me if I don’t go back,” Y/N tried to push past Nat but no one gets past Black Widow until she’s good and ready for them to go.“Y/N, listen to me,” Nat put her hands onto Y/N’s shoulders and gently turned her around and started pushing her back to the couch and to sit down. Nat draped the afghan around Y/N’s shoulders to offer some physical comfort. “Do you really think he can get in here, of all places? And do you really think we are just going to let him take you away and hurt you again?”“W-w-well, why wouldn’t you?” Y/N asked, her eyes staying glued to the elevator as if Wayne would come through those doors any minute and drag her away.“Because you’ve been adopted,” a voice came from behind her. Y/N whirled around in her seat to see Tony walking in to sit in an easy chair in front of her, a glass of whiskey in his hand. “Yeah, it’s a thing we do. You need us, we need you, it’s a give-give situation that makes everybody happy. Well, almost everybody. If you had let Steve name you, you’d have been in on the first day.”“Please, doll, we can help you,” Bucky appeared on the other side of her. Nat behind, Tony in front, and Bucky on the left, Y/N turned right only to find Clint and Steve filling the gap.“P-p-p-please, you don’t understand,” Y/N began to cry, finally looking at Tony, pleading. “He will kill me! Or worse, he won’t kill me and I’ll wish he had.”Tony sat his glass on a side table and stood, trying to remain calm. Her tears were pulling at his heart.“Listen, Y/N,” he began taking slow steps toward her, wanting to be close to her but not wanting to frighten her even more. “We can keep you safe from him. We’re the Avengers after all. We will never let him get to you.”The elevator chose that exact moment to ding, Y/N jerked around with a pitiful whimper, her arms pulled close to her chest as if she were protecting herself. Sam stepped out, his hands raised in surrender and a confused expression on his face. A plastic bag hung from his elbow.“Hey hey, doll, it’s okay,” Bucky said, his hands reaching to touch her shoulder but he thought better of it. “It’s just Sam coming back with dinner.”“Dinner,” Y/N eyes blew wide open in panic. “Oh, no! Wayne will need his dinner. He’s diabetic, he can’t eat late.”“He can take care of himself for once,” Nat said, her voice dripping with anger at the man.“Listen, let’s all just sit down and talk about this rationally. Y/N needs to hear what we have to say and we need to hear when she has to say,” Steve said, trying to calm everyone and help Y/N find some ownership in what was going on. Everyone seemed to accept that and moved slowly to the couches, Nat stayed in between Y/N and the elevator until Y/N sat down. Sam carefully laid a couple of bags of sandwiches on the coffee table.Y/N sat in the middle of the couch, Tony on one side, Bucky on the other. Nat took the chair in between the couch and the elevator. Everyone else quickly found a seat and waited for someone else to begin.“Well, someone has to start,” Steve said. “I guess it’ll be us. Y/N, we want to help you. We don’t want to force you into anything you don’t want, but we also see where you might feel trapped with this guy. We want you to know that we are here for you.”“But you don’t understand, I have to go back,” Y/N said softly, shaking her head and wringing her hands in her lap.“Why, Y/N? Help me understand why you have to go back to him,” Bucky asked, resting his metal hand on hers, stopping her from wringing her hands. She held onto his flesh and metal hands as if they were a lifeline. Everyone held their breath, hoping that she wouldn’t confirm their fears that she loved him and actually wanted to go back.“Well, I-I-I don’t have anywhere else to go, Bucky,” Y/N whispered, tears building in her eyes again, as she looked down at their clasped hands.“Is that all that’s stopping you?” he asked, leaning down, trying to see into her downturned face.“No,” she whispered, tears dropping onto Bucky’s metal hand.“Then what else?” Tony asked softly.“H-h-he-he’ll find me again. Always does,” Y/N replied just barely loud enough for everyone to hear.“What do you mean ‘always’?” Tony asked, the gears in his head began turning faster.“I tried to leave him once before when my parents were still alive,” she began to explain, not looking up at anyone, just rubbing her thumb absent-mindedly over Bucky’s metal hand still on hers, wiping at the tears that had fallen there. “I ran to them after he first started hitting me. They told me that they would help but wanted me to try to reconcile with him and try to make my marriage work as theirs had worked. I tried but Wayne wouldn’t come to counseling. He was just out of the army and everyone said he would calm down and everything would be fine.”“But it wasn’t fine,” Bucky supplied when Y/N paused.“I ran from him and he followed me and dragged me home and beat me until I couldn’t stand,” she shook her head as tears flowed harder at the memories resurfacing, her hands shaking.“Y/N,” Tony started, taking her hands gently from Bucky and pulling slightly for her to look at him. She gripped his hands tightly. “I need to ask you a couple of things, Y/N, and I need to answer me honestly. It might be hard but it will help us know how best to help you.”“Alright,” she agreed with a nod and sniffle.“Do you love him?” he asked, his eyes staring into hers, looking for any sign that she wasn’t being truthful with them or herself.“I should love him, he’s my husband. And I’m sure I used to, but I haven’t loved him in a long time,” she replied softly but instantly“Do you want to go back to him and continue living with him?” Tony questioned, still staring hard.“Not if there’s another way, but I just don’t see any other way,” she looked up into his eyes. “Everything I have is there, it’s not much but it’s important to me. My mother’s jewelry and my father’s military funeral flag.”“Okay, if we could get those things for you, get everything you want out of your apartment and set you up here, what would you say to that?” Tony asked, scooting a couple of inches closer to her.“Here?” Y/N’s voice and eyebrows shot up. “As in, in the tower, living here?” She jumped when Bucky’s hand rested lightly on the small of her back, he mumbled sorry but didn’t take his hand away. Y/N and Tony never broke eye contact. “You want me to live here?” she whispered.“Yes,” Tony replied softly, his eyes wide and pleading. “What do you say?”For Y/N, Tony’s earnest brown eyes became blurry as tears filled her own eyes and she could only nod.Y/N was sure that living with the Avengers would bring its own set of problems, but looking into Tony’s eyes and seeing the truth of what he was saying, Tony would do everything in his power to keep her safe, and he had quite a lot of power. His arms immediately wrapped around her in a fierce hug followed by Bucky’s tight hug from behind, making Y/N hiss with pain from her cracked rib. Bucky immediately let her go.“JARVIS,” Tony called. “Get Y/N’s room ready, she’s staying!”“It’s ready now, sir,” JARVIS replied.Y/N laughed nervously and wiped at her wet cheeks as cheers went up around the room. She was overwhelmed and still harboring a deep fear that Wayne would find her. He knew where she worked and when she didn’t come home, even he could put two and two together and get four. Being surrounded by superheroes ought to have belayed her fears, but she still jumped when the elevator dinged to let Bruce in. Once she saw the gentle man, she sighed and shook her head.“It’s okay. It’ll take time for the adrenaline to go down,” Bucky said softly, keeping their conversation under the din of the other conversations that had started up in the room.“I know,” Y/N agreed with a sad smile. Tony stood to tell Bruce the news that Y/N was moving in, but he didn’t let go of her hand, so he ended up pulling her along with him to Bruce. Y/N followed him with a wince, her other arm wrapping around her middle, the afghan fluttering like a short cape behind her.“She’s staying,” Tony began, talking to Bruce with Y/N standing behind him. “First thing is a full medical exam. She’ll need X-rays and I want to do a full blood workup too, just to be safe.” Bruce nodded once as his eyes moved to look over Tony’s shoulder to Y/N. She nodded in agreement but could feel the blood draining from her face as fear and pain started to take over. Tony felt her hand begin to tremble and turned just in time to catch Y/N as her eyes rolled back in her head and her knees gave out.Bucky rushed forward and gently lifted Y/N from the awkward position Tony had caught her in and Bruce waved them all to the elevator. Once in his lab, Bruce had JARVIS run a full scan. The cracked rib, black eye, and bruising were thankfully the only physical damage. The entire team filled the small room as Bruce worked on Y/N, drawing a vile of blood.With a start, Y/N’s eyes flew open and her hands grabbed onto the lapels of Bruce's lab coat. Terror written across her face.“It’s okay, it’s okay, you’re safe, Y/N,” Bruce comforted softly. “You’re in Stark Tower and we’re going to take care of you. I’m going to give you a shot for pain and it will help you sleep for a while, okay?”She took a few breaths and nodded, laying back down and turning her head to find all eyes on her. Tony moved to sit by her side and took her hand gently. Y/N managed a small smile at him before falling asleep when Bruce gave her the shot. After a few minutes, he turned to the group with a sigh.“She had passed out but now she’s just sleeping. We will need to go very slow with her. Not pushing her too far for a while until she starts to feel safe again. She’s had so much adrenaline pumping through her veins for so long, it’s going to take her a while to come down from that. It’s also going to take her a while to relearn how to feel safe,” he explained to a bunch of nodding heads.“I get that,” Bucky said, mostly to himself, but Steve heard and rested a comforting arm around his friend’s shoulders. Clint rubbed a hand down Bucky’s back.“What can we do to help?” Steve asked.“Simple things,” Bruce replied. “Establish normalcy, as much as we can around here anyway. Don’t sneak up on her, make noise when you enter a room, keep all touching to a minimum unless she initiates it. We need to watch for signs of PTSD. She’s very strong, obviously, but she might need help remembering that about herself.”“I don’t know if this will help or hurt, but there’s a mission coming up that will pull most of us away,” Steve put in reluctantly. “Someone can stay here with her, but this mission will take most of us.”“That might be good for a while but she’ll have to get used to being around all of us if she’s going to live here,” Bruce agreed. “When do we leave?”“In two days, we should be gone for about a week,” Steve answered.“Alright. In the meantime, let’s move her to her room and let her rest. I’m confident she’s in no danger. JARVIS has done all the scans I want right now, and I took a little blood so I can run tests while she’s out. I also gave her shot for pain; it will help her sleep,” Bruce said. Bucky stepped forward to lift her off the table, but Tony gently stopped him.“I’ll take her,” he said softly, his eyes not leaving her sleeping body. Bucky simply nodded as Tony stepped forward and carefully lifted Y/N with one arm under her knees and one around her back. Bruce carefully laid her head on Tony’s shoulder. As a group, they took her to the room JARVIS had prepared for her next to Bucky’s and across the hall from Tony’s. They all watched as Tony carefully laid her down on the fluffy bed and covered her with a soft blanket.“I’ll stay with her for a while in case she wakes up,” Tony said as he pulled a chair over next to the bed. Everyone nodded and started to turn away to their own rooms, it had been a long and emotional night. Each walked away making plans, some for the protection of Y/N, and some for revenge on Wayne.“Let me know if you need a break,” Bucky said softly. “It’s not like I sleep much anyway.” Tony only nodded. He didn’t sleep much either.Letting his eyes wander over Y/N’s serene sleeping face, he felt a surge of anger he hadn’t felt in a long time. This Wayne guy was going to pay for what he had done to Y/N, in more ways than one. Tony leaned back in the chair and began plotting all the ways he was going to make Wayne suffer. Physically and mentally. Making some mental notes of his ideas, he began to draw up a short list of what and who he would need. He would use these next two days to plan and then start his personal mission against Wayne when everyone returned from the mission. First on the list, send someone to pick up Y/N’s things tomorrow. Secondly, when his personal mission against Wayne truly began, he was going to need the help of two people in particular: Thor and Loki.

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8am Saturday Morning, Stark Tower
Y/N woke slowly, taking stock of herself. This had become her normal morning routine, take stock before moving so as to not incur any undue pain from injuries that had bruised more or gone stiff as she slept. She was feeling some pain in her side, which logically she knew was from a cracked rib, but seeing as how Tony Stark himself was sleeping in a chair next to her bed and Bucky was slouched down in another chair against the wall at the end of the bed she could just see out of the corner of her eye, Y/N decided to wait on logic until she was fully awake. Memories of last night came to back her in a rush of flashing images. Mostly she saw Tony’s face light up with pure joy when she agreed to move into the Tower. They actually wanted her to live at the Tower. The Avengers wanted to help her and as she watched the two men sleep, she actually, for a brief moment, allowed herself to think that they just might be able to do it. If anyone could, the Avengers could.Turning her gaze to Tony, she wondered at this man who could have anyone, anything and everything he wanted, and yet he still seemed to care about her. Y/N wasn’t sure why just yet, but she had a feeling that truth would out eventually. She would have to prepare herself to find out what he wanted from her in exchange for helping her this much.A snort from Bucky across the room interrupted her thoughts and woke Tony. His head jerked up and he put a hand on the bed to steady himself on the chair. He blinked a few times before realizing that Bucky’s snoring woke him. Looking over at the bed, he finally noticed Y/N’s eyes open and an amused smile flitted across her mouth.“Morning,” he said softly, scooting closer to the edge of the chair. He reached out to take her hand but stopped just short of her fingers and rested his hand on the bed. “How do you feel?”“Sore, still groggy, but I need to get up and move around,” Y/N answered in a whisper, not wanting to wake Bucky. Tony nodded and moved to carefully help Y/N get out of the soft bed and walk across the room to the en suite bathroom. He showed her the fresh towels in the cabinet and a fully stocked shower. He told her that Nat had brought her some fresh clothes as well. Overwhelmed by his kindness and Nat’s thoughtfulness, Y/N wrapped her arms around him in a quick hug before he awkwardly excused himself so she could shower.Stepping back into the room, Tony found Bucky awake.“She okay?” he asked Tony, head jerking in the direction of the closed bathroom door.“Yeah, she’s just gonna have a quick shower,” Tony said, his mind completely occupied with the feeling of her arms around him.“Are YOU okay?” Bucky asked, a small grin forming.“Yeah, um, she, ah, hugged me,” Tony explained, running his hand through his hair.“Well that’s a good thing, isn’t it?” Bucky asked, his smile growing with Tony’s awkwardness.“Oh yeah, totally, I mean, I guess it is. Just kinda… caught me off guard, I guess. I didn’t expect her to feel okay with that, but I guess she could be, I mean, obviously, she is or should she wouldn’t have, but I don’t wanna push...”“Tony, you’re babbling,” Bucky interrupted with a laugh. “You like her, it’s obvious. It’s okay that she hugged you, it means she’s starting to trust you. And you and I know better than most that trusting doesn’t always come easily.”“Yeah, that’s true enough,” Tony replied, his eyes on the floor, replaying the hug over in his mind. Over-analyzing per his usual method.“I’m going to get some coffee. You want me to bring you anything?” Bucky said as he stood and stretched his back.“No thanks. As soon as she’s done, we will just come to the kitchen, maybe brew a fresh pot huh? If Clint’s up the first pot will be completely empty by now. I know Y/N makes the best coffee but yours is okay too.”“Gee thanks,” Bucky laughed as he left the room and pulled the door nearly all the way closed. Tony had barely sat down on the edge of the bed when he heard the water turn off. A few minutes later, Y/N emerged hesitantly from the steaming bathroom wrapped in a large towel with her hair wrapped up in a second, smaller towel. The black, purple, and yellow bruising around her neck and shoulders stood out against her natural skin tone.  Tony silently gestured to the closet and Y/N stepped in to find clothes.Nat at left her plenty of options although none of the shirts had a high enough collar to cover the bruising. And there were no scarves. Nat thought of everything else though. Y/N found a chest of drawers filled with sealed packs of underwear of various styles and bras of all kinds with the tags still on. Y/N examined each before settling on something simple. Wayne had never approved of anything more than basic necessities so Y/N wasn’t sure what to do with more frilly and strappy pieces. One long wall was completely lined with shoes so Y/N decided to indulge in something fun and put on a pair of purple Converse Chucks. She exited the closet in a pair of denim capris and a boat-necked striped shirt, her hair hanging wet down her back.“Would you like some coffee? And breakfast? We never did eat dinner last night, you must be hungry,” Tony said.“Oh, I’m sorry. I’ll go start some coffee,” Y/N said, moving into housekeeper mode without realizing it.“No, no, that’s not what I meant. Bucky’s making coffee and, if we ask nicely, Steve might cook some pancakes for us,” Tony replied, holding up his hands to stop her. “We don’t expect you to work 24/7 just because you’re here.”“Oh,” Y/N fidgeted with the hen of her shirt for a moment. What would they want from her if not work? “Bucky’s making coffee, you said?”“Yep,” Tony said, leading her out of the room and down the hallway.“Well, his coffee is okay,” she replied dryly causing Tony to let out a burst of laughter that carried them into the kitchen.“What’s funny?” Bucky asked, turning away from the coffee pot with a mug with the Avengers logo on it full of coffee, which he then handed to Y/N.“I have no idea,” Y/N replied with a small smirk, leaning against the counter. Before Tony could answer, Steve came into the room, coughing loudly as he came through the door. Y/N’s head jerked in his direction but she didn’t jump enough to spill any coffee from her mug. When she saw who it was, she relaxed again.“Steve,” Tony got his attention. “How about some of your famous pancakes?”“Sure, I could go for some carbs. Y/N, pancakes sound good?” he turned his head to Y/N, trying not to be obvious that he was watching her for any signs of stress. She nodded with a small smile as Tony helped her get comfortable on one of the stools at the counter while they watched Steve and Bucky cook. They moved together in the kitchen like the well-oil team that they were in the field. Tony kept stealing glances at Y/N out of the corner of his eye, wanting to make sure she was okay and not starting to panic again. She seemed calm, sipping her coffee.“Tony,” she whispered, but the two super soldier’s enhanced hearing picked up every word. “Please stop looking at me like I’m going to break down any second.” Tony blushed at being called out, Bucky snickered.“Sorry, I just want you to be okay. Last night was a lot to deal with and I’m sure you have a lot of questions,” Tony explained.“I do have some questions actually,” Y/N replied, turning on the stool to face Tony. “The first one is for you. Now that you have me living here, what do you expect from me? Am I the live-in housekeeper? The Mrs. Hudson to your Sherlock? Or… what?”Tony cleared his throat and wracked his brain. He hadn’t thought about it before and his knee-jerk response wasn’t really appropriate seeing as how she was married to someone else and only just beginning a road to recovery. He took a deep breath, trying to make his brain work appropriately. His mouth opened and closed a couple of times trying to formulate an answer for Y/N when Nat walked into the room, followed closely by Clint, who sneezed.“Morning everyone,” Nat said softly as she poured herself a cup of coffee and sat at the counter on the other side of Y/N. Clint hopped up to sit on the counter near where Bucky had paused mixing pancake batter and made grabby hands for his full “Coffee makes me feel less murdery” coffee mug Bucky handed him.“Pancakes? Nice! Blessed carbohydrates!” Clint said just a little too loudly then adjusted his hearing aids when Bucky motioned to his ears.  “How are you feeling this morning, Y/N?”“I’m sore, but okay,” Y/N replied with a small smile. “I was just asking Tony for some clarification on what my duties will be as the live-in housekeeper.” Nat glanced over at Tony and seeing that he was still floundering, she smoothly took control of the conversation.“Well, once you are feeling up to it, I would like to teach you some basic self-defense. Steve and Bucky can help too. We have found that our job brings a certain amount of danger and while we want to protect you from that and will do everything in our power to keep you protected, there might be times that knowing how to throw or block a punch will come in very handy.”“Damn aliens and insane Asgardians,” Clint muttered into his coffee.“I would like that. I have considered taking a class but Wayne didn’t want me gone that long,” Y/N replied, looking down into her coffee as her mind wandered back to her apartment and back to Wayne.“Or so he said. Douche canoe,” Clint softly grumbled, his mouth turning down into a deep frown into his coffee. Bucky gently nudged his knee, Clint glanced up at him and smiled.“Hey,” Bucky’s voice interrupted her thoughts, “listen Y/N, we want to you feel safe here with us but we also want you to be happy here.”“Yes, indeed we do!” Tony finally found his voice. “And in keeping with that thought, I’m going to send someone over to your apartment today to pick up your things. It would help if you could make a list of what you want and where it is.”“Okay, that won’t take very long, I don’t have much,” Y/N replied. “Who are you sending? Maybe it should be someone big and intimidating.”“I think I would like to go after breakfast,” Nat answered with an evil grin. “I’ll take Clint.”“Ooooo, yes please!” Clint agreed quickly, waving his now empty coffee cup towards Bucky for a refill. “Especially if what’s-his-face is there. That’d be fun!”“Um, don’t you think you might want to take someone… bigger?” Y/N asked hesitantly. “Wayne is kind of large.”“Don’t worry about us,” Clint said with a wide grin. “Nat will protect me. She’s tougher than Steve and Buck put together and still much less likely to rip the man’s arms off.”“No, no, don’t be silly,” Nat answered him with a wave of her hand. “I’m much more creative than that!”“Oh yes, I remember,” Bucky replied with a smirk. Y/N’s head whipped back and forth as she watched them talk about her past exploits. Finally, Steve placed a plate of pancakes in front of Y/N and she could focus on something else. Bruce wondered in with a cough and Y/N couldn’t take it anymore.“Okay, enough. Are you all getting sick?” Y/N asked loudly, her fork clattering onto the plate.“Um, no?” Bruce replied, looking nervous and confused.“Then will everyone please stop coughing when you enter the room? I’m not made of glass!” Y/N replied quickly.“Y/N, we’re sorry,” Tony soothed, taking one of her hands in his without thinking about it. “We just wanted you to feel comfortable here and didn’t want you to be scared. Most of these people are either super soldiers or trained assassins, it’s their job to sneak around and we didn’t want to alarm you by inadvertently sneaking up behind you.”“Thank you for your consideration,” Y/N replied, leaving her hand in Tony’s, even letting her thumb run across his knuckles. Tony’s insides shivered in the small victory. “But it’s not necessary. I need to learn how to live without everyone walking on eggshells around me and feeling like they have to be anything other than themselves in their own home.”“It’s your home too, doll,” Bucky reminded her from where he had hopped up on the counter next to Clint to eat his pancakes.“Thanks, Buck,” Y/N replied with a smile, dropping Tony’s hand and eating her own pancakes. Steve really was a pretty good cook. 
1pm Saturday afternoon, Y/N and Wayne’s Apartment
Nat and Clint arrived at Y/N’s apartment with her list of possessions and her keys. Not feeling the need to knock or even announce themselves, they simply unlocked the door and strolled in. Finding the apartment vacant, they flashed a look of disappointment at each other. They had been looking forward to meeting Wayne and having an assassin-to-asshat chat with him. Y/N had asked them not to hurt him and they meant to keep their word to her. Talking never hurt anyone, right?It didn’t take long to pack up Y/N’s things. She was right, she didn’t have much. Her mother’s jewelry fit in a small cloth bag and her father’s American flag was in the top of the closet. Nat packed Y/N’s minimal clothing in a rolling suitcase she found in the closet. As she packed, her face showed her anger and disgust. Y/N had said that Wayne only allowed her the basics but this was ridiculous. Y/N owned three pairs of plain slacks, five long-sleeved button-up shirts, plain ankle socks and underwear, and one extra bra. Nat had already seen the shoes Y/N wore every day; those were apparently the only pair of shoes she owned. Everything was a dull color or plain white. Everything designed to keep Y/N down. Nat made herself a promise that she would expand Y/N’s wardrobe and help her add some brighter colors and a variety of styles. Clint shook his head as he zipped up the suitcase. They were just about to leave when Clint paused halfway across the living room and squatted to the floor.“What’s up?” Nat asked.“Listen,” Clint replied, his hand on the floor. Nat stood still and focused. Someone was coming up the stairs. Loud, heavy steps. With a grin, Nat leaned the suitcase against the arm of the couch right where it would be seen and the two stepped back into the kitchen where they could watch the door without being seen. Sure enough, keys sounded in the door and it opened to reveal a large, ugly man with an even uglier scowl on his face enter the apartment and throw his keys into a bowl by the door with a clang.“Y/N!” he bellowed angrily. The silent apartment had no reply. He turned toward the couch and stopped in his tracks when he saw the suitcase. “Y/N! What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” he yelled, stomping to the bedroom. His loud footsteps sounded through the bedroom to the bathroom and back again. He stared at the suitcase with a dumb expression on his face before he began to move toward the kitchen.Nat stepped into the doorway just before he stepped through.“WHAT THE HELL?!” he yelled, raising his big fists. The tip of an arrow at his temple stopped any movement he would have made toward Nat.“I wouldn’t get any bright ideas if I were you,” Clint growled.“I don’t think he’s capable of bright ideas,” Nat said with a smirk, stepping around the large man. “She’s not coming back Wayne, she’s leaving you for good.”“What are you talking about?” Wayne demanded, his eyes following Nat around the room.“Y/N, you moron,” Clint answered. “She’s not yours anymore.”“I have the law on my side! She’s my wife,” he bellowed, his face turning red with anger.“The law?” Nat whispered menacingly, her eyes narrowing dangerously as she stepped into Wayne’s personal space. “Does the law give you the right to hit her? Strangle her? Break her ribs?”“She’s not your personal punching bag anymore,” Clint added, moving away from Wayne just in case Nat forgot her promise to Y/N to not hurt Wayne. He didn’t want to get in Nat’s way but he needn’t have bothered.“I’m not going to hurt you,” Nat said to Wayne, disappointing Clint just a little. “Not yet anyway. But know this, the instant Y/N gives me the go-ahead, your ass will be in a sling, put there by me and I’m just the head of a rather impressive line of people who want nothing more than to see you pay for the hell you’ve put Y/N through.”“Watch your back, Wayne old boy,” Clint added as they both backed to the door and picked up Y/N’s things. “You won’t get another warning and you won’t see us coming.”With that, they left Wayne alone in the apartment, his face red with anger.

11pm Sunday Night, Stark Tower
It had been decided that Tony would stay with Y/N while the rest of the team went on the mission. They were scheduled to leave the next morning and would be gone for the rest of the week. Y/N, with Bucky’s help and Clint’s constant sampling to make sure everything was “safe”, had fixed a full meal for them that night and everyone sat around the table after the food was gone, patting their full stomachs and talking. Y/N sat back in her chair between Tony and Nat and let her heart soak it all up. They weren’t just treating each other like a team, or even as friends, they were a family. And they seemed to want her in it.But insecurities nagged in the back of Y/N’s mind, wondering if and when they get bored with her, what will she do? Assuming she can really free herself of Wayne, what would she want to do, where would she want to go? She didn’t really want to leave the city, but she might have to, depending on what happened with Wayne. She considered the possibility of moving to Seattle, her sister Alexis might take her in until she could get on her feet. Y/N was lost in these thoughts, unaware of Tony’s eyes straying to her face and Bucky watching her from across the table or the tear gathering in the corner of her eye at the thought of leaving.“Y/N?” Bucky said softly, under the dim of other conversations. “You good?”Y/N’s eyes snapped his and she forced a smile and nodded, dashing the tear away with a quick swipe of her hand. Bucky smiled back and returned to his conversation with Sam and Steve. They sounded like brothers the way they fought over which of the original Star Trek characters was the best. Steve and Bucky had only recently discovered the show and had binge-watched the series on Netflix. Steve like Kirk best, Bucky was a McCoy man all the way, Sam thought Uhura was hot and liked to pretend he could pull off Scotty’s accent.“Hey,” Tony’s voice floated into her ear and she turned to look into his concerned eyes. “You sure you’re okay? You seem kind of pensive.”“I’m alright, Tony,” Y/N replied with a gentle smile that turned his heart to mush. “I’m just thinking.”“Care to share?” he asked, leaning towards her but trying to not invade her space too much, Bruce’s words of warning ringing in his head. He needn’t have bothered because Y/N leaned forward to speak just inches from his face.“Let’s talk tomorrow morning after the team leaves okay? I don’t want to bring anything up here with everyone that can be hashed out with just the two of us.”“As you wish,” Tony replied with a smile, secretly hoping she followed his reference. She smiled and turned to talk to Nat without any open recognition of his reference. The team broke up soon after that, everyone needed to get sleep for the sunrise take-off in the morning.

12:30am, Monday Morning, a bar across town
Wayne King leaned against the bar as he watched his pals fight over a game of pool. The glass of whiskey in his hand was empty but he still tipped the glass into his open mouth just in case there were a few errant drops left.“One more, Lewis,” he called to the bartender as he sloppily put his glass back down on the bar. Lewis shook his head with a frown but filled the glass again.“Last one Wayne, then you’re cut off,” he said gruffly. Wayne nodded, knowing the bar down the road was his next stop anyway.“Hey Wayne,” his friend Kenny plopped down on the stool next to him. “Why aren’t you heading home yet?”“No one to go home to,” Wayne replied as he lifted his glass to his chapped lips.“What happened to your wife?” Kenny asked, signaling Lewis for another beer.“Gone,” Wayne replied as the amber liquid burned his throat.“She left you?” Kenny asked, eyebrows raised. He knew Wayne could be an angry, rough man but had no idea just how abusive he was.“Not for long,” Wayne replied as he dropped some money on the bar and stood to leave. “I’ll get her back, one way or another.”Kenny watched in stunned silence as Wayne haphazardly walked out of the bar. Any woman who could put up with Wayne for more than a few minutes was to be commended. If Wayne’s wife actually left him, Kenny wished her good luck and God’s speed to stay away from Wayne.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

5am, Monday Morning, Stark Tower
Y/N rose early to make sure everyone at least got a decent cup of coffee before they left. Steve may be a master at pancakes but his coffee tasted like it was brewed through a combat boot. The large coffee pot had just filled when Bucky stumbled into the kitchen, mostly led by his nose to the coffee pot. Once he had a full mug in his hands and had taken a sip, he turned to see Y/N sitting on the opposite counter, her legs crossed at the ankles.“Mornin’,” he mumbled with a small smile, his hair sticking up everywhere. He may have been dressed, but he wasn’t really awake yet. He was truly at ease in the tower. Y/N only hoped she could be that way too one day. Bucky looked at her with a raised eyebrow and pointed to the coffee pot. Y/N nodded and he grabbed a second mug and filled it for her.“Morning,” Y/N replied with a soft smile. “Thank you.” Bucky handed her mug of coffee to her and then turned to lean against the counter next to where she was sitting. His shoulder just barely touched hers. They both took some comfort in the connection and let silence sit in the room for a moment as they sipped their coffee.“Y/N?” Bucky said softly.“Yeah, Buck?”“Do you have nightmares?”“I used to have them when Wayne first started… showing his anger, but then they stopped for some reason about a year ago, even though he didn’t,” she replied looking down into her half-empty cup.“I think I might know why they stopped,” he replied, looking over at her profile.“Why?” she asked, turning to look into his blue eyes.“Maybe it’s the same reason I didn’t have nightmares much when I was the Winter Soldier. Bruce says that dreams are the subconscious’s way of dealing with reality. But I think, for me anyway, reality was so bad that my subconscious didn’t know what to do with it, so I didn’t dream at all. But here, living here and being safe, I have nightmares a lot. My subconscious is finally dealing with all the shit that happened.”“What are you saying, Bucky?” she asked. He turned and stood in front of her, resting his flesh hand on her arm.“I’m saying that now that you’re safe here, your nightmares might come back to try to deal with what happened. I want you to know that I’m here for you, at any time of the night, if you need anything. I’m in the room next to you. All you have to do is call out and I’ll hear you.”“Thank you, Bucky,” Y/N put her coffee cup down and pulled him into a hug. His arms rested gently around her waist and he let her hug him as long as she wanted, knowing what it felt like to have a hug end before you were ready. The sound of a throat clearing broke them apart, they turned to see Clint standing in the doorway with a sheepish grin stretching across his face.“Good morning,” he said. “Is that coffee I smell?”“Yep,” Y/N replied, letting Bucky move back to hop up on the counter next to her. “Freshly brewed and not by Bucky.”“Hey,” Bucky tried to look offended but couldn’t stop his smile. “My coffee’s not that bad.”Clint sniggered, “No, it’s not that bad, Buck. Thanks, Y/N.”“Of course, I wanted to make sure you all got off to a good start,” she replied. The rest of the team filed in slowly, drawn by the smell of fresh coffee and when Nat strolled in with two boxes of doughnuts, Tony finally made an appearance looking like he hadn’t slept at all. Steve walked everyone through the specifics of the mission one more time as they ate and finally, it was time to go. They put their mugs in the sink and one by one said goodbye to Y/N.Bruce and Sam simply sent her a wave as they left the kitchen, Clint smiled a wicked smile and asked about having his favorite meal when they got back. Bucky gently slapped the back of his head. Nat told her to call her if she needed anything. Steve made sure Y/N knew she could ask JARVIS for anything she needed before he filed out of the kitchen. Bucky couldn’t help but pull Y/N into a bear hug and kiss the top of her head.“See ya later, kid,” he said softly as he followed Steve out of the kitchen and to the elevator. Y/N sighed, feeling an echo in the empty kitchen until a throat cleared behind her. Turning, she smiled at Tony, sitting on one of the stools at the counter.“Time to talk now?” he asked, standing to refill their coffee cups. “Doughnut?”“I believe I will. Chocolate covered please,” she replied, taking a seat on a stool. Tony sat next to her, placing her coffee and doughnut in front of her.“So, what shall we talk about?” Tony asked, his heart beating hard and fast, hoping she didn’t want to leave already. He had no less than 9 plans in his head to keep her there longer, each one was more selfish than the last. Y/N took a sip of coffee and a bite of her doughnut, chewing slowly as her thoughts formed into coherent sentences.“I’ve been thinking,” she started, swiveling her stool to face Tony. “I know everyone has told me that I’m welcome here but last night I started to think that eventually, I might need to leave the city if I’m to truly be free of Wayne. He will follow me anywhere in New York but he won’t leave the state for me.”“Where would you go?” Tony asked, trying not to let his face reveal his feelings. His brain brought up plans 1-5, ready to go depending on her answer.“Seattle maybe. My sister is there.”“Seattle? As in Washington State? As in, across the country?” Tony asked, a lump forming in his throat.“Yes, that Seattle,” she replied slowly, trying to discern his reaction.“Well, that’s an option but what if I could assure you that Wayne won’t be able to find you again?”“How can you do that, Tony? I know you have a lot of influence, but you can’t take him out or anything.”“How about we make a deal. I promise to make sure that Wayne can’t find you, get to you, or hurt you. And prove it to you to your satisfaction,” Tony replied with plan 3 firmly in place.“And what do you want from me in return?”“Stay,” he answered quickly, his hands beginning to sweat. “Stay here in the tower or even at the compound upstate, but stay with us. Give us a chance. We’re not perfect, and I admit, we are a strange and often dysfunctional family, but everyone wants you to stay. I want you to stay.”Y/N let her thoughts wander to all the possibilities, a million images flashing through her head. She could see herself staying there but she could also see herself following some of her life-long dreams that she’s never had the opportunity to really explore. Although she thought, there’s no reason she couldn’t do both. Could she really have it all, Y/N wondered but then put the question away to be pondered later.“Alright, but I need some ground rules,” she finally replied.“Name it.”“First, I need you to lower my pay or let me pay rent of some kind. It’s not right to let me live here for free. Second, I would like to know that I’m not locked in here permanently. I do have other interests outside of my job that I might want to explore after all this is over.”“Okay,” Tony began, his mind racing for scraps of plans 4 and 5 that fit the evolving situation. “First, no, your pay will stay the same for now. I’m not taking money from you or charging you rent to live in a safe place. We can discuss that again once Wayne is a non-issue. And second, as much as I want you to have total freedom, I think for now, it would be best if you stayed in the tower. Again, just until Wayne is taken care of and you’re free of him. Until that time, if there’s something you want to do or someplace specific you want to go, I think we need to make sure you are escorted.”“I guess that makes sense,” Y/N nodded thoughtfully and sighed. One day life would normalize, whatever that meant. “In the meantime, it is Monday so I guess I should get to work. Everyone will be gone for a week so I’ll have plenty of time to do some deep cleaning in their rooms. Sam’s oil stains aren’t going to clean themselves.”“Whatever suits you, I’ll be in my lab. JARVIS knows you have access to all our labs and offices one floor down.”“Okay, did you want me to clean those too?”“No, I have people who take care of the offices and labs. But just in case you need anything, I’ll be in my lab on this floor today.”Y/N nodded and went off to work, her mind replaying Tony’s words. It wasn’t like she was just itching to leave the tower, but she knew that at some point, she would want to leave. It probably was too early to think about leaving with Wayne still looking for her, at least, she assumed Wayne was looking for her. When Nat and Clint came back with her few belongings, they didn’t mention running into him at her apartment, but that didn’t mean that they didn’t see him, just that they didn’t want to tell her about it. Either way, Y/N was sure Wayne wouldn’t let her go without a fight.“Mrs. King,” JARVIS’s voice interrupted her thoughts.“Yes, JARVIS?” Y/N replied to the ceiling simply because she didn’t know where else to look.“Mr. Stark would like me to inform you that he does not require you to prepare dinner this evening, but would like you to meet him on the roof at 7pm.”“Alright, thank you JARVIS,” Y/N replied, picking up her cleaning supplies and moving into another room.“You’re welcome, Mrs. King,” the AI replied politely. Y/N chuckled. She didn’t yet know where the inspiration for JARVIS’s personality came from, but it certainly wasn’t from Tony himself. JARVIS was way too polite.At 6:45pm, Y/N asked JARVIS how to get to the roof. He directed her to the elevator and moved it up the roof without being asked. Y/N exited into a small greenhouse on the roof. In the middle of the greenhouse, Tony had set up a small table covered in a white linen cloth and candles. She walked through a myriad of flowers and green plants, their scents wafting through the air dancing on the light notes of soft piano music that played through speakers hidden throughout the planters. Just as she arrived at the table, Tony stepped out from behind a tall plant with a single rose in his hand.“I thought you could use a little time out of the tower and this is easier than buying out a whole restaurant,” he said with a small, if cocky, smile.“Tony… this is lovely,” Y/N responded just above a whisper. It had been so long since anyone took any extra time for her, much less planned a candlelit dinner. Tony stepped in front of her and handed her the rose.“I don’t want to overstep, I know your life is in the middle of some drastic changes, but I wanted to…” Tony paused, looking his feet for a moment, searching for words. “I wanted to make sure you knew how special you are… to all of us. You deserve so much more than life has dealt you so far and I want to make sure you get every chance at happiness.”Y/N bit her lower lip to keep the tears back but it wasn’t working. She looked down, trying to hide her wet face so that Tony wouldn’t see, but his hand on her chin lifted her face to his. He slowly wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close, tucking her head into his shoulder. Her arms wrapped around his neck. He slowly began to sway with the music, bringing Y/N along with him in a slow dance that was more comfort than dance.“Tony,” Y/N lifted her head to look into his face. “This is one of the most amazing nights I can remember having in a very long time.”“And dinner hasn’t even been served yet,” Tony replied cheekily. Y/N laughed as he sat her down at the small table and wheeled in a cart covered in food that Tony promised he didn’t cook himself. Without reservation, Y/N admitted to herself that she could get very used to this.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

10pm Wednesday Night, Stark Tower
During the first two days of the team’s absence, Tony and Y/N developed a rhythm together. They would pass each other in the kitchen as Y/N went out to work and Tony stumbled in, typically from his lab instead of his bed. They worked separately most of the day, Y/N spent a couple hours in the music room, either playing the piano or reading a book. She even had a favorite chair that had just the perfect amount of natural light and cushion. When she played the piano, JARVIS piped the music into whatever room Tony was in and he would stop and listen to her music. She never ceased to amaze him. Her music flowed steady and strong, filled with emotion even a few rooms away. They would meet in the kitchen for dinner and then either watch a movie or just relax in the living room and talk until one of them, usually Y/N, started yawning around their words.Tonight was no exception but their normal evening chat was interrupted by JARVIS telling them that the jet had returned a few days early. No sooner had the announcement been made than the elevator doors dinged open and Bucky stepped into the room, limping and holding his side with Clint on his heels.“What happened?” Y/N cried, running to Bucky’s side.“I got shot,” Bucky grumbled but accepted her and Clint’s help to the couch. Once Bucky was seated and as comfortable as he was going to get, Clint started to explain. Bucky’s cover got blown and a stray bullet went straight through his side. Clint had already bandaged Bucky up but Steve sent him home. Clint was to drop him off and immediately returned to the team. The rest of the team would finish the mission and be home in three or four days.“So let me get this straight,” Tony said from his chair, waving his glass of whiskey around. “You, a super-soldier with a million-dollar arm, got shot through and through, and you got sent home like a sick kid from school?”“Yeah,” Bucky said, not able to meet Tony’s eyes. “Steve said it would be best since they couldn’t use me anymore on the mission and I needed to stop moving to heal.”“Of course it was right for him to send you home!” Y/N said, sending Tony an indignant glare and patted her hand on Bucky’s arm.“Speaking of his Patriotic Righteousness, I should head back,” Clint interjected, standing and moving behind the couch toward the elevator doors.“Be careful,” Bucky warned, trying to stand with a grunt but ultimately just leaned back on the couch to look upside-down at Clint and giving his hand a squeeze.“‘Careful’ is my middle name, you know that,” Clint winked at Y/N, dropped a quick kiss on Bucky’s forehead, making Tony’s eyebrows have a quick conversation with his hairline. “See you guys later!”“Bucky, I’m sorry you got hurt but you should be home resting where I can take care of you while you heal, however long that takes,” Y/N said to Bucky once the doors closed behind Clint.“It shouldn’t take more than a couple days, doll,” Bucky said, covering her hand with his. “I heal very quickly.”“Even so, you should be home. Do you need help getting to your room?” Y/N asked.“No, I can make it,” Bucky stood slowly and carefully. “Goodnight, I’ll sleep as long as I can tomorrow. Sleeping helps the healing process.”“Okay, goodnight, Bucky. Have JARVIS get me if you need anything,” Y/N instructed. Bucky nodded to Tony and went to his room.“He will be okay, right?” Y/N asked Tony, her eyes showing real concern. “He just seems like he needs caring for. It’s a shame Clint couldn’t stay too, that would have made Bucky happy I’m sure.”Tony grinned, having gotten the answer to a question that had been nagging him but he feared to ask. He suspected that Y/N just wanted to help Bucky, that she saw a wounded puppy of a man instead of a potential boyfriend, he just needed confirmation. Happy with what he now knew of Y/N’s feelings for Bucky and storing Clint’s kiss away for a later conversation with Steve, he stood and stretched.“We will see what we can do in the morning, okay?” Tony suggested, taking slow steps toward Y/N. “Let’s let him sleep tonight.” He continued forward until he was right in front of Y/N and waited. She slowly nodded thoughtfully, not taking her eyes from his.“Tony?” she started hesitantly.“Yes?” he answered, waiting patiently as she gathered her thoughts.“I’ve been through too much to dance around a topic. I need straight answers and honesty. No games.”“Okay.”“How do you feel about me?” she asked, raising her chin with a boldness she didn’t really feel.“I want to kiss you but I will wait until you want it too,” he answered immediately and honestly.“Is that all?” she asked, taking a step toward him, putting them toe to toe.“No,” he whispered. “That’s not all, but you’re not mine to have. You’re still married and you deserve time and space to heal without anyone influencing you.”“Until I’m ready to make a decision, you will still protect me?” she asked in a small voice.“Always. Even if you never chose me, I will always protect you to the best of my ability,” Tony promised, the back of his hand grazing her cheek. Tears filled her eyes as she saw the truth in his words and the depth of his feelings in his eyes.“Thank you,” she whispered, a tear making its way down her cheek only to stopped by Tony’s thumb banishing it away. He pulled her into his arms and they stood holding each other until Y/N pulled away and reluctantly said goodnight.Tony watched her go, wanting so much to comfort her and care for her, but knowing that she needed to have space to heal. She deserved that and much more. He sighed and drained his whiskey glass. Another long night in his lab, he was almost finished with his latest inspiration…

12am, Wednesday night, outside Stark Tower
Wayne stared up at the tall tower as if he were sizing up the enemy. She was in there and he was going to get her back, he just had to be patient. Staying out of sight, just in case there were cameras that might spot him, he watched through the glass walls of the ground floor as the guards in the lobby changed and noted the time and how long they ignored their screens and chatted. He would come back during the day and make note of all the cameras and their patterns and timing. And if he was patient and very careful, the perfect time would come and she would be his once again and forever.

1:30am, Thursday morning, Stark Tower

“Damn you, woman! Why can’t you do anything right?! I’ll teach you who’s boss in this house!” Wayne yelled harshly as he started swinging his huge fists, hitting Y/N’s shoulders and chest. She knew it would make him even madder, but she curled into a ball and tried to protect her head as best she could. But she wasn’t expecting him to grab her and haul her to her feet. He held in her place as she bent over in pain from his blows and brought his knee up into her ribs. Her breath left her in a rush and Wayne let her fall back to the floor, gasping. Tears filled her eyes but she kept silent to avoid Wayne’s wrath even more.
Y/N tossed and turned all night, her dreams filling her sleep with images of Wayne’s angry face and his large fists landing blows on her arms and chest. She bolted up as she woke, holding back a loud cry. Even in her panic, she didn’t want to bother anyone. She sat on her bed, trying to control her breathing when a soft knock sounded at the door causing her to jump.“Come in,” she called hesitantly, forcing down the bile that rose in her throat. The door cracked open and Tony’s dark head came through.“You okay? JARVIS alerted me that your heart rate was high,” he said, stepping into the room and taking a seat in the chair that was still by the bed.“I’m okay, Tony,” Y/N replied, sitting up with her back against the headboard. “It was just a bad dream.”“So the nightmares have started?” Tony sighed. “I wish you would have had some more time before they kicked in.” Y/N merely shrugged, not really having a response for him. She imagined that he had had his fair share of nightmares and suspected that was why he didn’t sleep much. That being said, he probably wasn’t the most qualified counselor in this area.“You weren’t sleeping?” she asked, knowing he wasn’t.“No, but that doesn’t really matter. JARVIS would have woken me anyway,” Tony replied with a wave of his hand.“What? Why?” Y/N leaned forward slightly, momentarily forgetting her nightmare in her concern for Tony. “If you get to sleep, you should stay asleep.”“I told him to wake me if it looked like you were having a nightmare,” he answered. “If your heart rate sped up abnormally.”“Oh,” Y/N replied a little sheepishly. She had never had someone watch over her so carefully. Tony’s words before she went to bed were still ringing in her head and it made her shy. A huge yawn suddenly took over her mouth and she couldn’t help but let it out.“I’ll let you try to get back to sleep,” Tony said as he stood. “If you need anything or just want some company, let JARVIS know and he will get me, okay?”“Okay,” Y/N replied as she scooted back down under her fluffy blanket.“Promise me, Y/N,” Tony demanded gently as he stood in the doorway.“Promise,” Y/N whispered just loud enough for Tony to hear. She was asleep again when her head hit the pillow. Tony smiled at the serene expression that took over her features and softly closed her door.Back in his lab, he worked quickly. He was almost finished and wanted to give it to her as soon as possible. He glanced up at the clock and realized that 4:37am wasn’t exactly the best gift-giving time of day. He gently boxed it up and went to the kitchen. Sitting on one of the stools by the counter, he laid his head on his crossed arms and waited. She would be starting coffee in a couple of hours.

6:45am Thursday morning, Stark Tower
Y/N walked into the kitchen and stopped, surprised to see Tony sound asleep and lightly snoring at the counter, a small red box with a golden bow on the top was sitting in front of his folded arms. A smile spread across her face as she stood in the doorway and took a moment to watch him sleep. She had long since given up on the guilt of not loving her husband, he clearly didn’t love her back. She had decided just this morning to take the plain gold band off of her finger. Marriage wasn’t what she had with Wayne and there was no longer any need to maintain the farce of it. Tony had inserted himself into her life and kind of taken it over. She still felt like she had control, but Tony was such a big personality that whenever he was near her, she felt surrounded by him. And it wasn’t a bad feeling.Walking into the kitchen softly, she slowly started the coffee machine. As the scent of coffee filled the kitchen, Tony’s snoring stuttered to a halt and he slowly lifted his head, eyes blinking, trying to focus.“Good morning, sleepyhead,” Y/N said softly from across the counter as she leaned on her arms towards him. “If you think sleeping in the kitchen is good, you ought to try a bed, it’s amazing.”“Been there, got lonely,” Tony mumbled, wiping a hand down his face to wake up. “I was waiting for you though, I made something for you.” He pushed the small blue box across the counter toward Y/N. She smiled into his eyes and carefully opened it to reveal a silver locket on a delicate chain.“Oh Tony, it’s beautiful!” Y/N exclaimed as she lifted the chain from the box. The locket dangled in the air as Y/N examined it. “You made this?”“Well, JARVIS helped,” Tony shrugged. “It’s got an interesting feature though.”“Oh really?” Y/N asked, her eyes dancing. “Do tell.”“Open it,” Tony instructed, moving to the coffee pot and picking up his red “Iron Man in the greatest” mug.Y/N popped the locket open to reveal what looked like the tiniest version of an Arc reactor ever created. She gently touched it with her fingertip and watched as the tiny reactor began to glow a blue identical to the reactor in Tony’s chest. Staring at it, Y/N missed the actual reactor in Tony’s chest also glow at the same moment.Y/N grinned as she opened the clasp and locked the necklace in place around her neck. Moving across the kitchen, she wrapped her arms around Tony’s neck and hung on.“Thank you, Tony,” her voice muffled against his neck. “It’s beautiful and I’ll wear it always.”“I hoped you would,” he replied, his arms holding her firmly but gently. Even Bruce would have approved of this hug. The clearing of a throat drew them apart and Y/N turned to see Bucky standing in the doorway with a smirk on his face.“Am I interrupting anything?” he asked, knowing good and well he was.“It’s fine Bucky. I’m going to get to work,” Y/N replied, stepping away from Tony with a quick smile. She quickly left the kitchen, leaving the two men standing on either side of the coffee pot, leaning against the counter.“She’s still a little jumpy,” Bucky noted, taking a sip of coffee.“Not as much as a few days ago though,” Tony replied thoughtfully.“Sorry I interrupted your hug.”“No, you’re not,” Tony lightly teased.“Actually, I am,” Bucky countered. “I see how you look at her when you think no one’s looking. I may not know much, but I know that look.”“Yeah well, I don’t want to push her,” Tony replied, refilling his cup and moving away from the counter. “You can cook breakfast for yourself?”“Yep, I’m good,” Bucky replied, lifting his mug in a salute as Tony exited the kitchen heading toward his lab.

1:30pm, Thursday Afternoon, Stark Tower
Y/N cleaned quickly, her mind staying stubbornly focused on Tony. The necklace lay warm against her skin and every time she bent over, it moved, reminding her even more of Tony. So preoccupied was she that no sooner had she started cleaning than she realized she was done. Having no one to make a mess sure made cleaning go much faster.Entering the music room, she sat at the piano and lightly ran her fingers over the keys. She always took a moment to appreciate the beauty of the instrument before she started playing. A soft love song ran through her mind and her fingers followed the notes and the piano began to sing under her hands. Her mind wandered as she played, free from all constraints and frailty. She was untouchable when she was creating music.Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Bucky walk in and carefully sit himself down in a chair where he could see her face. A smile played over his lips as his eyes closed and he let the sound wash over him. He didn’t know the name of the song, but he felt its positive power as he let his emotions float on invisible notes through the air. As the tune slowed, it took a sad turn and Bucky opened his eyes, surprised to find Y/N blurry as tears filled his eyes in reaction to the music. Y/N’s weren’t dry either.In his lab, Tony’s heart fluttered when the notes of the love song floated around him. He smiled to himself, when did he become such a hopeless romantic? The song swelled and his heart followed, he couldn’t stop it even if he wanted to. But with a softly played minor chord, the song took a sad turn. He put his wrench down and looked toward the door of the lab as if it held answers to his questions. As the sad tune continued, Tony couldn’t stay in his lab anymore. He stood and went to find Y/N, knowing exactly where she was. When he got to the doorway of the room, he stood and watched for a moment. Y/N was at the piano, the tones of the sad song still ringing through the room and hallway. Bucky was on a chair watching her play. Tears streamed down both of their faces as they let the music sweep them away. Pulled toward her by a force stronger than any he had ever know, Tony sat down next to Y/N on the piano bench. He waited until the music stopped, tears still flowed freely down Y/N’s face and small gasps of breath escaping from her slightly parted lips. She turned to look at him and he took her face in his hands, wiping at the tears with his thumbs.“Please,” he whispered, heedless of Bucky watching them, his eyes searched hers, pleading.“Yes,” she replied, moving her hand to cover his. Tony slowly moved forward until his lips hovered over hers and waited for one more confirmation. “Yes.”Tony’s lip touched Y/N’s in a kiss so gentle that butterfly wings seemed harsh. The world slowed to a stop around them. One of Tony’s hands left her face to wrap around her waist and the other hand slipped into her hair, holding her reverently. Y/N wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him closer on the bench. Tony tilted his head to deepen the kiss, his tongue begging entrance to her mouth. With a moan deep within her, Y/N opened her mouth and let him in. Tony’s hand on her back fisted into her shirt but quickly let go and just rested on her waist. Tony slowly pulled back from the kiss, brushing his lips softly against the corners of her mouth and finally, her forehead. He rested his forehead against hers and inhaled her scent. She smelled clean and fresh with a hint of lavender. Both were breathing heavily with the many emotions behind the kiss and tears stained their cheeks.When Bucky left the room, neither knew. Y/N buried her face in Tony’s neck, breathing him in and reveling in the feel of his strong arms around her, protecting her. She took a deep, stuttering breath and pulled back from him to look into his face.“Tony,” Y/N started, not truly knowing how she was going to finish the sentence. “I wish I could…”“Shhhh,” Tony interrupted. “I’m not asking you to make decisions right now or to make me any kind of promises. Let that kiss be what it was.”“What was it?” she asked softly.“It was me and you,” Tony answered in a whisper, wiping the tears from her cheeks and brushing a few strands of her hair behind her ear.  “It was us finding comfort and expressing emotions to each other. I’m here for you and I always will be, even if I never get to kiss you again.”Y/N smiled into his eyes and sighed relief. The feel of his lips was amazing and his touch calmed her, but she needed to find a place of calm and healing within herself before she started to rely too much on him. Tony returned her smile, let his hand graze down her face before he reluctantly took himself back to work. He needed to leave the room while he could. One more kiss and he wouldn’t be able to make himself walk away from her. Sitting down at his workbench, he sighed. His heart was hers. Inexplicably. Irrevocably. Hers.Y/N sighed once she was alone, letting the kiss run through her mind, analyzing every millisecond of it before she forced herself to move on. Turning her mind to dinner, she decided to make something special for Tony and Bucky. The rest of the team wouldn’t be back for a few days so cooking for three would be a cinch.In the kitchen, she took stock of the ingredients at hand and realized that a few things were missing. Not wanting to bother anyone, she asked JARVIS where the nearest market was to the Tower. Luckily it was just a couple bucks away and she could easily walk. Grabbing her purse and phone, she headed to the elevator and rode down to the ground level quickly, humming a tune to herself. She felt lighter and freer than she had in years.Exiting the tower, she turned right as JARVIS’s instructions indicated and found the market a couple of blocks down. Finding what she needed quickly, she paid for the purchases and set back toward the tower. The tune Tony and she had danced to earlier in the week was playing through her head as she stopped at a flower vendor and chose a mixed bouquet of flowers for the kitchen.Turning back toward the tower, Y/N had one bag in her hand and a bunch of flowers lying across her arm. She walked heedless of the people around her, so high on cloud nine was she. She didn’t notice the man who followed her from the tower. Or when he walked into the store after her. Or when he stopped at a magazine stand while she bought flowers. She would have recognized his tattered ball cap and scratched sunglasses had she noticed him. She would have smelled his cheap cologne on the breeze if the scent from the flowers in her arms hadn’t blocked out all other scents. And it’s because of all these factors that, when the rough hands grabbed her from behind and pulled her down an ally, she couldn’t even scream. Only a scattered bunch of flowers and a small paper bag of groceries marked the spot where she once stood, and they were quickly dispersed by the feet of unknowing passersby. Terrifying knowledge flooded her mind as soon as she smelled his aftershave: Wayne.Y/N was shoved into the back of a car and Wayne pushed her feet aside as he got in after her.“Drive,” he said in a rough voice to someone in the driver’s seat and the car sped into motion, throwing Y/N into the back of the seat. She pulled herself up to sit properly and scooted as far away from Wayne as possible. He leered at her from across the dirty seat. “You thought you could hide from me? I will always find you and I will always get you back.”Y/N swallowed and didn’t answer. Her muscles froze with fear as his dark beady eyes watched her carefully, almost as if he expected her to make a move. The car slowed to take a right turn and Y/N grabbed onto the door handle to make an escape but Wayne was too fast and he jerked her away from the door. Pinning her hands behind her painfully, he quickly bound them with a zip tie so tightly that she immediately began to bleed. The car swerved again and without being able to hold on, her head smacked into the window and with a crack, darkness invaded her world.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

5:00pm, Thursday afternoon, Stark Tower
“WHERE IS SHE?” Tony yelled at JARVIS. “Find her now!”Exiting his lab after dozing off for a few hours, Tony couldn’t find Y/N anywhere. Bucky had fallen back to sleep as well so neither man realized she was gone. Standing in the kitchen, they waited on bated breath as JARVIS finally popped up a holographic image of a dilapidated warehouse somewhere near the river. A small blue dot indicated Y/N’s location on the west side of the warehouse.“What do you want to do?” Bucky asked Tony. “Suit up and take them out or something more subtle?”Tony paused with an uncharacteristic moment of self-control. Suiting up and taking them out meant that lives would be lost, possibly innocent lives. That warehouse wasn’t abandoned and JARVIS was displaying multiple red dots indicating people. Tony knew that he and Bucky both would do whatever necessary to return Y/N safely and that they could and would kill to do so. And while Tony was personally ready to kill Wayne, he wanted something so much more painful and creative to repay Wayne for his actions against Y/N.“Frostbite,” Tony began, laying a hand on the other man’s shoulder. “If we go in, fully loaded guns blazing, I’m going to kill Wayne quickly and I have other plans for him. Let’s just get Y/N back in one piece and when the rest of the team is back, talk with everyone together.”Bucky frowned, “I sure hope you have something particularly devious planned for Wayne because I’m thinking of ripping his arms off and beating him with them.”“I agree, but trust me, there is a plan and it’s pretty damn masterful,” Tony nodded and pulled Bucky with him. “Let’s go get her back and do our best not kill Wayne.”“But punching is okay?” Bucky asked hopefully.“Punching is more than okay, just not to death,” Tony replied as the elevator pulled them down to the garage. “Make sure he’s still breathing when we leave. And only minimal broken bones.”“Okay,” Bucky replied grumpily. The men jumped into one of Tony’s many cars which was fully loaded with guns and ammo. Bucky prepped his guns while Tony drove following JARVIS’s instructions. They arrived at the warehouse quickly, exited the car, and slowly edged up to the building.“JARVIS, how many are we looking at in there?” Tony whispered into his watch.“Heat signatures indicate three in Y/N’s near vicinity,” JARVIS’s soft voice replied. “Mrs. King is currently located in the west end to the building while the other two are on the south end. Multiple others are located on the North end, separate from Mrs. King.”Tony nodded to Bucky and moved to silently open a side door of the warehouse. Slipping in, they separated. Tony went west and Bucky went south.“Hey,” Tony whispered just before Bucky rounded a corner. “Don’t kill him.” Bucky nodded with an angry frown. Tony sighed and moved forward, hoping he was making the right decision in not doing away with Wayne right here and now. JARVIS quietly directed him to a large metal door in the westernmost part of the warehouse. With a prayer that it wasn’t locked, Tony leaned into the door with his shoulder and it creaked open. His heart broke at what he saw, his resolve to not kill Wayne instantly tested.On a dirty mattress on the floor, Y/N lay on her side facing the door. Her hands bound behind her back, her ankles tied with a piece of rope, and a filthy strip of cloth blindfolded her but couldn’t hide the blood covering her head. The front of her shirt had red spots all over it, possibly from her head wound. When the high-pitched creak of the door echoed through the room, she visibly started shaking but made no sound.“Oh honey,” Tony whispered as he rushed to her. “Y/N, it’s me, babe, it’s Tony.”“Tony?” her voice was hoarse and cracked as spoke and her sob echoed throughout the empty room.“I’m here, babe,” Tony replied as he moved behind her and cut her hands and feet lose. Removing the zip ties around her wrists reopened the wounds and they started bleeding again. He carefully removed the blindfold, trying not to pull too hard against the dried blood that bonded the nasty cloth to her face. Once it was finally off, he helped her sit up, making sure that his hands never left her arms or shoulders in case her head injury was severe.“How did you find me?” Y/N whispered, her eyes filling with tears and blinking in the light. Tony tapped the locket around her neck.“As long as you wear this, I will always find you,” he promised. Y/N’s tears began to fall in earnest as Tony took her in his arms and cradled her against his chest. Her eyes closed as she rested her head on his shoulder, her arms around his neck, wrists leaving droplets and smears of blood on his t-shirt. Tony took a selfish moment to just hold her, stroking her head and whispering shushing noises to calm her as her body shook with sobs. When she had calmed slightly, he slipped one of his arms her thighs while the other stayed around her back. He stood with her cradled in his arms, her head still resting on his shoulder. Walking out of the room, he met Bucky coming down the hallway.“Ready to go?” Tony asked him. Bucky nodded but stopped at the sight of Y/N’s blood crusted scalp and bleeding wrists dangling over Tony’s shoulders. He carefully put his hand on the back of her head, causing her eyes to open and look at him.“Buck,” she sobbed. “You didn’t kill him, did you?” Bucky paused, his eyes meeting Tony’s over her head.“No, doll,” Bucky replied, his voice harsh with held back emotion. “He’s alive. He’s not happy, but he’s alive.”“Thank you,” she replied, laying her head back down on Tony’s shoulder as the throbbing in her temples grew worse. “Please take me home,” she whispered as she lost consciousness and her head plopped onto Tony’s chest.The men practically ran back to the car with their precious cargo.“Keys are under the dash,” Tony said, getting into the back seat with Y/N in his arms. “You drive and don’t spare the horses.” Bucky nodded and got them back to the tower in half the time it took to get to the warehouse, only breaking a moderate number of traffic laws.Bucky held the doors open for Tony as he carried Y/N straight to the medical lab. They stopped in surprise when they found the rest of the team gathered there, but Tony wasted no time in answering the barrage of questions and yelling that instantly ensued when everyone saw the blood on Y/N’s head and wrists. He quickly carried Y/N to the small hospital bed in the corner and called JARVIS to run a full scan. He vaguely heard Bucky explain in the background.“Wayne kidnapped her,” was the only part Tony heard and it made his blood boil. He wondered again if he shouldn’t have let Bucky kill him. Or better yet, killed Wayne himself. Bruce cautiously moved around to the other side of the bed and began examining Y/N who was still unconscious.“JARVIS, what’d ya got?” Tony asked when informed the scan was complete.“Light concussion, abrasions to her left temple, both wrists and ankles, high levels of adrenaline,” JARVIS reported impartially. Bruce nodded his agreement about the concussion and began lightly rubbing at her head with some damp gauze. Without warning, Y/N’s eyes popped open and she sat up with a scream, shocking everyone into silence.“Hey, hey, hey, you’re safe,” Tony put his hands on her shoulders to get her attention. “You’re safe, honey.”“Tony!” her voice cracked as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, buried her face in his neck, and let her tears loose. “He took me, Tony. He took me and said that I would never be free from him. He said he would always find me, that I would always be his.” Her words tumbled out with her tears. Tony could only rub her back, hold her close, and let her cry and get it all out. Finally, she seemed to calm down and lifted her head to look into his eyes.“Thank you for saving me,” she whispered.“Always,” he promised, bring his hand to wipe away the tears left on her face. Y/N finally noticed that they weren’t alone. Looking around, every single member of the team was crowded into the room watching her with concern. Nat, however, looked ready to kill someone.“You’re all back,” she said with a sniffle.“It’s a long story,” Steve began with a wave of his hand.“Finished early,” Clint interrupted from behind Nat, both of his arms were around her shoulders, keeping her from finding Wayne and strangling him with his own intestines or something equally as grewsome and deserved.“Apparently not that long,” Steve mumbled.“Oh,” Y/N replied, her eyes blinking. Bruce went back to dabbing at her head while Tony began cleaning her wrists. It didn’t take them long to get her cleaned up, Bruce gave her some pain killers that relaxed her enough to let a nurse take over. Tony made sure she was calm and then gestured the team outside.“What the hell happened?” Nat demanded, her eyes shooting fire at Tony and Bucky.“From what JARVIS told me, she went to the market a couple of blocks away and Wayne grabbed her,” Tony quickly explained.“And what were you and the Winter Fairy doing while she was just walking around town vulnerable?” Nat asked, crossing her arms over her chest and tilting her head dangerously.“Sleeping,” Tony mumbled behind his hand. Nat threw her hands up in exasperation, Clint moving behind her to hold her back if necessary.“Listen, we screwed up,” Bucky said. “But now we have a decision to make. How do we deal with Wayne?”“You didn’t kill him?” Nat asked, preparing to take care of it herself.“No, I have a better idea,” Tony said, his words stopping her in her tracks. “Besides, Y/N doesn’t want us to kill him. I’m going to need Thor and probably Loki to make this work though.”“Thor is scheduled to drop in tonight,” Steve explained. “When we finished the mission, he and Loki were going to check on Jane and Darcy and then come here.”“Good,” Tony replied. “Team meeting tonight over dinner.”Everyone nodded and went to get cleaned up from their mission, Clint and Bucky walked with Nat between them in case she tried to bolt and kill Wayne herself, both knowing that they probably wouldn’t stop her if she tried. Hell, they would help!Tony returned to Y/N’s side. She was awake and calm. He moved a chair to sit next to her bed and took her hand, gently kissing her knuckles.“How you feeling now, babe?” he asked softly, his thumb making gentle tracks across the back of her hand.“Better, the meds have kicked in,” Y/N replied with a small smile. Bruises on her face and along her collar bone were beginning to show.“Why did you leave the tower?” he asked, his eyes pleading with her.“I wanted to get a few ingredients because I was going to cook something nice for dinner tonight,” she explained, realizing how stupid it was. “Why didn’t JARVIS tell you I was leaving?”“I didn’t want you to feel like I was taking over your life or holding you prisoner here so I told him to stop monitoring your location,” Tony explained.“But you felt like you needed to give me a tracker?” she fired back gently.“Well…. Yeah, I needed to know that you were safe,” Tony replied, sheepishly looking down at their clasped hands.“I’m glad you did,” Y/N replied, making Tony’s eyes fly back to hers. He saw nothing but gratitude. “And thank you for not killing Wayne, although I’m sure Bucky did some damage.”“I’m sure he did, I haven’t asked him yet though,” Tony replied, scooting the chair forward a bit. “Listen, I need to talk to you about Wayne. I have a plan but I will only share it with the others if you are okay with it.”“Tell me,” she replied. Tony outlined his entire plan to her, making sure she followed all the ins and outs and the legal work required. He made sure that she understood what she would get out of it and why he was doing it. He needed her to know that it was all for her and not himself.Many people have labeled Tony Stark selfish and spoiled and they were not always wrong. But this wasn’t about him, it never was about him, it was always about her and always would be. Y/N listened carefully, adding a few details here and there, but ultimately nodded, agreeing with his plan. He laid a gentle kiss on her hand that he still held and couldn’t make himself leave the room, even after she fell to sleep.

11pm, Thursday Night, Stark Tower
The team sat around the huge table in Tony’s lavish formal dining room. This conversation felt like they were about to lay out plans of attack on an army instead of on one man. Thor and Loki stood against the wall in their armor as Tony laid out the plan for them. Bucky had already filled Thor and Loki in on who Y/N was and everything that had happened to that point. Thor had to restrain Loki from killing Wayne right there. Loki declared that Wayne had no honor; no Asgardian man who ever think of harming his wife in such a manner and if he did, there would be more than hell to pay.As Tony laid out the plan, everyone was on board, although Nat and Bucky wanted to take things a step further. Thor and Loki grinned when they heard their part of the plan, Loki was especially excited and had a few details to add (with Sif’s permission), to which everyone heartily agreed.While everyone began to get food from the massive sideboard, Tony stole away from the table briefly to see if Y/N felt like joining them. He found her sitting up in her bed where he had moved her after she fell asleep.“Hey, babe,” he started softly. “You feel like eating and meeting Thor and Loki?”“Oh, um, do I look okay? I’ve never met a god before,” Y/N ran her hand nervously through her hair. She had a bandage on her head, both of her wrists were wrapped, purple and yellow bruises littered her face, neck, and shoulders, and her once healing black eye was now as dark as if she had just been punched. She looked exhausted and wary but her eyes held a sparkle that verified to Tony that she was fully here and alive.“You look perfect,” Tony assured her, giving her his hands to help her stand and remain steady on her feet. She wore borrowed yoga pants from Nat and one of Tony’s t-shirts that swung around her thighs. Tony ignored the rise of his blood at the sight on her in his shirt. Once she was solidly walking on her own, he wrapped an arm around her waist in support and because he couldn’t seem to stop touching her as they walked to the dining room where everyone was still around the table. Thor and Loki stepped out into the room as soon as they saw her and moved to greet her, both silently marveling at how strong she looked considering what she had been through in the past couple of weeks.“Lady Y/N,” Thor began in all his grandeur, “It will be my honor to fight in your name.”Y/N let out a giggle as Thor laid a gentle kiss on the back of her hand. Tony frowned. Loki stood to one side, his eyes darkening as he took in her injuries and bandages.“This is my brother, Loki,” Thor gestured to Loki. Loki stood frozen and staring at Y/N. “He is honored as well.” Y/N locked eyes with Loki. She raised her chin and met his gaze as he silently evaluated her. She was battered but her inner strength was apparent and the sparkle in her eye caught his attention. To Y/N, Loki had much the same look as Bucky. He was misunderstood and needed looking after.“Nice to meet you, Loki,” Y/N said softly but without wavering, despite how nervous he was making her. Thor bumped Loki with his elbow, jarring him out of his thoughts. Loki gave a small bow and took Y/N’s hand in his, she was startled at how cold his skin was to the touch but didn’t pull away or flinch.“I assure you, Lady Y/N,” Loki began, taking Y/N’s hand and bowing slightly over it. “It will be the ultimate pleasure to see the human who did this to you pay dearly. And often. You do me a great honor by allowing me to stand for you in this scheme.”“Thank you for your help,” Y/N replied with a smile. Loki merely grinned and began to lead Y/N to the table where a place had already been set for her and a plate filled with food.“I have one detail to add to Stark’s plan, if you don’t mind,” Loki added, helping Y/N sit at the table."What is it?” she asked. Loki explained what he had in mind and Y/N couldn’t keep the smile from her face as she quickly agreed to his addition to the plan. They shared a wide grin that made everyone just a little bit nervous. Tony cleared his throat from the chair on the other side of her.“Alright everyone,” Tony called to get the room’s attention. “Eat up! Tomorrow we go Wayne hunting!” A cheer went up from around the table as the food was passed around and conversations began. Y/N glanced up at Tony and found him looking at her. She smiled a slow smile and he returned it as his hand held hers under the table and his heart dip flip-flops in his chest.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

10am, Friday Morning, Across town
Wayne stood in the shambles of his living room rubbing his very sore and bruised shoulder. That man who knocked him out last night had packed a wallop, and they had taken Y/N back. No matter, he would take her back again. He owned her. She belonged to him and always would. He was a patient man and she would be his. The sound of keys in the front door startled him but not as much as what walked in. A maniacal sneer spread across his face as Y/N hesitantly stepped into the apartment and closed the door. She stood with her back to the door, shaking slightly. They had bandaged her up nicely but they shouldn’t have bothered, he thought as he stepped toward her, he was just going to pull those bandages off and make sure she never got away from him again.“So you’ve come crawling back, have you?” he leered. “Couldn’t stay away?”“I had to come back,” she replied, taking a step back but her back hit the door, thus trapping herself.“Because?” Wayne pushed.“Because I missed you and I need your help,” Y/N said, trying to lift her chin to look into his face. Tears began to flow down her face. “They took my ring and won’t give it back.”“Your wedding ring?” Wayne bellowed. “How dare they?! You’re MY wife! They have NO RIGHT to mess in our affairs and steal what I GAVE YOU!!”“I tried to come back to you Wayne, they forced me to stay there with them. They stole me from you last night. I finally escaped and came directly here. Please Wayne, please take me back,” she begged tearfully. Wayne paused, trying to decide if he trusted her or not. He growled and moved toward the couch."We will get your ring back, don’t you worry. Make me some breakfast,” he demanded gruffly.“Don’t I get a hug? Didn’t you miss me?” Y/N asked. Wayne frowned but moved toward her. He slowly wrapped his large arms around her but all of his muscles instantly froze as electrical current coursed through his body. The current stopped and he fell to the floor. As his vision blurred and darkness overtook him, the image of his small wife wavered, flickered, and morphed. The last thing Wayne saw was a tall man in a sleek black suit with longish dark hair and an evil grin.

7pm, Friday evening, Stark Tower
Y/N watched Wayne through the one-way mirror as he paced the small room Loki had deposited him in. Whatever Loki had hit him with must have been strong because Wayne stayed unconscious most of the day. When he was finally awake, a medic went in to check him out, left him a glass of water which Wayne swiftly smashed against the wall, and since then no one had entered the room or spoken with Wayne. They were waiting for Tony’s lawyer to finish his work.The lawyer finally came with a completed packet of divorce paperwork and a restraining order from SHIELD itself. Y/N looked them over even though she really didn’t know what divorce papers ought to say. The lawyer explained everything to her, that Wayne was getting a very good deal given his actions against her. The reason for divorce was “irreconcilable differences” and, per Y/N request, all of their possessions were split according to what each brought into the marriage. Y/N kept her stuff and Wayne kept his. Given that they didn’t really have anything, this was kind of a moot point.Now, the trick was how to get Wayne to sign them. To Tony, this was the easiest thing in the world. Simply inform Wayne it was over and he had no choice but to sign. Y/N knew better. Wayne would have to be convinced that he would never win, couldn’t ever win, and then maybe he would sign willingly. Loki said he would be more than happy to continue lending his assistance, but it was important to Y/N that Wayne sign the papers willingly. She had a hard time explaining exactly why, but everyone agreed that if it was important to her, it was important to them.Now, watching Wayne pace around a small table in the holding cell as the lawyer walked him through the divorce papers was making Y/N rethink her decision. The way Wayne had his jaw set, she knew he wasn’t ready to sign willingly. Bucky stood to one side of the table, arms crossed menacingly across his wide chest, ready to protect the lawyer if necessary. Tony stood by Y/N’s side as they waited.“You don’t have to be here for this, you know,” Tony said, wrapping an arm around her waist.“I know,” Y/N replied, leaning into Tony without thought. “I want to be here. I need to be here. In fact, I need to go in there.”“Wait a minute, honey,” Tony stepped in front of Y/N so that he could look directly into her face. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? He just kidnapped you yesterday, are you sure you’re ready to be in the same room with him?”“Tony, this isn’t some stranger who wishes me harm, this is my husband. I have lived with this man, slept with him, cooked for him, and loved him even while he was hitting me. Now, it’s been a long time since I actually loved him, but being in the same room with him is nothing anymore. Besides, you’ll be with me.”“I will?” Tony’s eyebrows met his hairline.“Yes,” Y/N grabbed his hand. “Let’s go. I have an idea that might help Wayne realize just how over our marriage truly is.”“Lead on, beautiful,” Tony said as he allowed Y/N to pull him towards the door. Y/N took a deep breath, gave Tony’s hand a squeeze, and opened the door and walked in with her head held high, Tony’s hand held tightly and prominently in hers.Wayne’s head snapped in her direction and he leered as he lunged toward her with an angry growl. Tony easily pulled her to the left and Wayne slammed against the wall. Bucky grabbed him and forced him into the chair facing the still-calm lawyer. Tony’s lawyers were used to, what they termed, supped up theatrics.“What do you want, bitch?” Wayne sneered at her. Y/N, still holding tightly to Tony’s hand, sat next to the lawyer, Tony stood beside her.“I want you to sign the divorce papers, Wayne,” Y/N responded, her voice strong and firm. “We’re done. I’ve already signed, I’m not doing this with you anymore. I’m giving you this one chance. Sign and I won’t press charges.”“You think you can get rid of me?” Wayne growled, leaning forward. “You’ll never be rid of me, never!”“Look at where you are, Wayne,” Y/N’s voice remained calm and steady, her head tilted to the side a little as she eyed Wayne with a spark in her eyes that made Tony smirk. Her bruises stood out but paled compared to her spirit at that moment. “You’re in Stark Tower, surrounded by the Avengers who want nothing more than to see you pay dearly for every bruise, black eye, and cracked rib you ever gave me. You are not going to win this. In fact, you’ll be lucky to get out intact. The only thing keeping him,” she gestured to Bucky “from beating you to a pulp is because I asked him not to. And he’s just the start of a rather impressive line consisting of a few master assassins, super-soldiers, geniuses, gods, and a hulk. Do you really think you stand a chance against all that?”“Y/N…” Wayne’s voice wavered slightly.“And another thing,” Y/N continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “I’m with something else now.” She raised her and Tony’s clasped hands. “I’m not yours and I haven’t been for a long time. I’m not your wife, I’m not your punching bag, and I’m not your cook or maid. You are not my husband. You are my past, getting even more distant with every passing second. After this, I won’t think of you again. I forgive you, Wayne. Not because you need it or deserve it but because that’s how done I am with you. I’ll not even hold hard feelings against you because I’ll hold literally nothing against you. When I leave this room, I will leave you and every thought of you behind.”The four men remained speechless as Y/N rose from her chair. Bucky smiled proudly at her from behind Wayne. Tony looked at her in amazement. The lawyer held the pen out to an astonished Wayne.“Sign the papers, Wayne,” Y/N pointed to the empty signature line. Wayne looked down, back up at Y/N, and then down at the papers. Slowly, he lowered the pen and scrawled his name across the line. The lawyer immediately witnessed and notarized his signature.“We’re done here,” Y/N said as she turned to the door and left the room, Tony at her heels. On the other side of the mirror, Y/N found the rest of the team. They looked at her silently with a mixture of awe and pride.“He’s all yours,” Y/N said to Loki and Thor. Thor nodded and Loki grinned, both gods excited for what was about to happen. Y/N pulled Tony out with her and into the first empty office she found. Closing the door, she fell into Tony’s arms, burying her face in his neck.“That was amazing, sweetheart,” Tony soothed as he rubbed her back, rocking back and forth slightly. “But I have a question.”“What?” Y/N asked, her voice muffled from his neck.“What you said in there, about being with someone else, with me, did you mean it?” Tony asked softly, trying not to let his voice betray his feelings but failing miserably. Y/N pulled her face away to look up at him.“Of course, I meant it, Tony,” Y/N eyes shone with unshed tears. “If you’ll have me, that is. I’m kind of a mess sometimes.”“I’ll be your mess if you’ll be mine,” Tony grinned.“Deal,” Y/N smiled back and Tony quickly closed the distance between them, letting his lips seal the pact. She was now truly his and he never wanted to let her go.
6 months later, Asgard
Y/N stood on a balcony overlooking a training courtyard that was filled with Sif’s warriors, each woman as formidable as the next. Odin and Loki kept watch as her side as one of Sif’s latest trainees was sparing against a man covered in the day’s bruises. He was slightly thinner and his face no longer held his signature sneer, but Wayne was still very recognizable.“They use him for training. He is allowed to hit back but hasn’t landed a single punch yet,” Loki sniggered. “Each day, when they are done, he is taken inside to be healed, fed, and to rest for the next day. He is well taken care of and fed so that he can last as long as possible each day.”“And they all know why he’s here?” Y/N asked quietly. “What he’s done?”“They do,” Odin replied. “Each trainee knows his deeds. However, no one is allowed to kill him. Lady Sif keeps careful watch.”“And he cannot escape?” Y/N pushed, she needed to know once and for all that he was out of her life and wouldn’t come back.“He is under careful and constant watch,” Odin assured her. “His pride has kept him from learning much in the way of fighting or defending himself. And if he does begin to show improvement, that knowledge will be taken from him.”“And all Sif’s warriors are women?” Y/N asked, not taking her eyes off of Wayne as he failed to block a kick and received a boot to his gut.“Indeed, they are,” Loki grinned. “Poetic, isn’t it? He will be here for the remainder of his life, playing the part of the ‘punching bag’ that he once used you for.” Y/N nodded silently, not taking her eyes from Wayne.“Loki,” Odin jerked his head, indicating for Loki to give them some space. Frowning at being sent away, Loki moved to the other end of the balcony. “I’m going to speak frankly with you, Y/N.”“Yes, Sir,” Y/N responded, turning her face up to looking into Odin’s eye. She was still not quite sure how to address the All-father.“Are you quite certain that Stark is your choice of mate? I have had Heimdall watch him and he is not without his faults.”“I know Tony isn’t perfect, but neither am I. We will work out our imperfections together,” Y/N replied confidently.“Should you change your mind, know that you are always welcome here and I suspect Loki would gladly fill the metal man’s place for you. All you need do is call for Heimdall and he will bring you here.”“Thank you,” Y/N replied sincerely. “I think you’re right about Loki but I have made my choice and I think it’s a good one.”“Very well,” Odin replied with a slight bow of his head. He raised his hand and Loki instantly appeared at his side. “Loki will see you safely home.”“Well well,” Loki said softly as they watched Odin walk away. “High praise from the All-father indeed.”“Loki, I don’t think you were supposed to be listening,” Y/N chuckled, allowing Loki to wrap his arm around her waist and steer here away from the balcony, away from the sound of fists hitting their mark followed by a tell-tail grunt as Wayne missed yet another block.“I couldn’t help but overhear, darling,” Loki teased. “But are you really sure about Stark, darling?”“Yes, Loki, I’m really sure,” Y/N replied with a confident smile. She had gotten closer to Loki over the last six months and he had a special place in her heart but Tony had totally won her over. “I expect you to be at the wedding, you know.”“I know,” Loki sighed dramatically. “I just haven’t made up my mind yet about attending.”“You better show up, mister,” Y/N poked him in the side. “You have a job to do, you know.”“Indeed, I do!” Loki grinned as he nodded to Heimdall. “Very well then, I shall see you in a couple of weeks.”Y/N smiled, waved, and stepped into the Bifrost for home.
2 weeks later, a small garden in update New York….
Tony waited nervously, surrounded by Rhodey, Steve, Bucky, Sam, and Bruce. Y/N was inside the large house with Nat and Loki. Everything was set, the cameras and satellites were set to broadcast worldwide for everyone who wanted to see Tony Stark’s wedding but few were invited to attend in person. Tony paced nervously and shook out his arms, he hadn’t seen Y/N in two days and he couldn’t help it as his insecurities ran wild.“Maybe you should go check on them,” he suggested to Steve for the 20th time. Steve laughed and jerked his head at Bucky, who jogged into the house, much to Tony’s relief. Inside, Bucky knocked on a bedroom door and Nat slowly stuck her head out.“Can I help you?” she asked, her eyes twinkling.“It’s time and Tony’s sweating through his Hugo Boss,” Bucky laughed. From inside, Y/N giggled. Nat opened the door and let him in. Seated in front of a mirror, Y/N looked amazing in her champagne colored wedding gown. Her hair was curled and up with a few tendrils hanging around her face. The light in her eyes shone bright with happiness.“Bucky,” she said, “you are wearing Hugo Boss, Tony is wearing Armani.”“Wow, doll, you look amazing. Are you sure you’re marrying the right guy, I’m right here looking good in my…. Um, suit.”Y/N stood and graced Bucky with a kiss on the cheek, being sure not to leave any of the dark red lipstick on his face. “I’m sure. Loki, are you ready yet?”Loki entered from an adjoining room. He had exchanged his normal black and green leather for an all-black tux of his own design. He ran his hand over his slicked-back hair and stood next to Bucky. Nat joined them and they looked like they were professional models posing for a photo. All in black, all hair slicked back, all looking fabulous and deadly.“Looks like we’re ready then,” Y/N said. “Thank you all for standing by me all this time and for standing with me today.”“Oh shut up before you make the men cry,” Nat said as she pulled Y/N in for a hug. They ushered her outside to the small garden. Twinkling lights graced the branches of trees that lined the garden. Roses of red, pink, and white stood starkly against their dark green foliage. A white silk carpet marked where Y/N would begin her walk “down the aisle” to Tony and her future. With a nod to Loki who swished his hand through the air, soft music began to play. Nat took her place as Maid of Honor and, with a single white lily clasped in her hands, she walked into the garden. When she made it to the end of the short aisle and stood in her place, Bucky and Loki each took one of Y/N’s arms and the three strode into the garden.Tony, flanked by Rhodey, Bruce, and Sam, couldn’t withhold his gasp when he finally laid his eyes on Y/N. He had dreamed of this day since asking her to marry him (begged her, really, but he had no regrets) but Y/N outshone even his most magnificent dream. Her face radiated joy, her eyes twinkled with the spark that he had come to crave, her hair could have resembled a bird’s nest and he still would have thought her the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.Bucky and Loki walked her to join him and, taking her hand in his, they turned to face Steve and Thor, who would officiate together. The ceremony was short but beautiful and full of everything that represented Tony and Y/N. They had both overcome so much to get to where they were and both had plenty more to deal with, but they would be together. At the reception, only Avengers and select SHIELD personnel were invited, making it a big comfortable party for everyone.“Excuse me, Mrs. Stark?” Tony interrupted Y/N’s conversation with Maria and Phil Coulson. “There’s something over here that needs your attention.” Tony pulled her away to the dance floor.“What needs my attention here, Tony?” Y/N asked, smiling up at him.“Oh, that would be me,” Tony answered cheekily. Y/N sighed happily and wrapped her arms around Tony’s neck as he led her in a slow dance. Foreheads resting together, they were completely unaware of the many pairs of eyes on them as their friends lined the small dance floor, watching them dance.“Do you think they’ll last?” Sam asked Steve.“I think they stand a chance if Tony doesn’t screw it up,” Steve answered.“More of a chance than most of us in our line of work,” Bruce responded.“I’d hate to have to kill him if he hurts her,” Bucky added.“Get in line,” Nat said.“I do not believe Lady Y/N will allow Stark to do anything untoward,” Thor added.“I’ve taught her a few tricks that I’m sure will come in handy if he does,” Loki grinned. “Y/N is very special, in ways that even she does not yet realize.” All heads turned to Loki as he continued to watch Tony and Y/N dance. Taking a sip from his glass of champagne, he looked back over the line of heroes and smiled. They had no idea just how special Y/N really was or what the future had in store for her.As Tony and Y/N finished the dance and moved to the balcony for some privacy, Loki and Bucky had their own private conversation in the corner of the large reception room. Loki filled Bucky in on what he knew about Y/N and tried to explain a little of what Bucky might need to watch for until Loki could return. Being magical himself, Loki knew exactly what he saw in Y/N and knew how to help her when the time came. Poor Tony wouldn’t know what hit him and they needed to be ready because once it started, it was going to happen fast and Y/N needed to be ready when danger struck.