Chapter 9

Tony has just come back and I gotta say, he looks like shit. He was on the news, because that's the first thing you do after being kidnapped, and he looks like straight ass. He probably lost about 15 pounds and he didn't have alot to lose in the first place. This made him look gaunt. He needs a cheeseburger ASAP!

Oh look at that! He's eating a cheeseburger. Odd, I must be psychic or something.

Anyways.

With Tony back life is about to get interesting real fast. First off is his partner Obadiah. He is the first big villain and, if everything goes according to plan, Stark should be fighting him in a couple months. I need to get close to him. With this train of thought I head to HQ.

-Back at HQ-

The doors open and I can only describe the situation as a madhouse.

"Zach! Where the FUCK have you been?"

"Uhm... home... Why Fury?"

"Cuz I fuckin needed you 2 hours ago!"

"Why didn't you call then?"

All the people running around freeze at my question.

"The fuck you mean?"

I show him my phone, which shows no missed calls.

"God damnit." He turns around. "Some one fire my assistant right fuckin now!" Back to me. "I need you for a mission."

"I gathered that."

"Shut the fuck up! God the sass has gotten bad with you." He rubs the bridge of his nose.

"Luv ya too Nick."

"Sigh. Ok listen. I need you to go and get an in with Stark. He invented some shit and I want it."

"Bad idea."

"The fuck you say?"

"Bad idea?... Ok listen. First Tony has just been through a traumatic experience right? Ok now he has also seen firsthand that his weapons are in the wrong hands. Now if you were in his shoes would you want to give such dangerous tech to a secret entity?"

"Fuck fuck fuck tripple fuck! Ok. Yea I see... What do you suggest?"

"Treat him with respect. Help him. Sure I know you are gonna hide things from him but just be decent. Maybe instead of me trying to get his tech I instead be his friend and body guard?"

He snaps his finger with a smile on his face. "I knew I liked you. Yes! Do that. Get in. Be as honest as possible. Shit you could be upfront about being a secret agent. Help him and guide him. The last thing I want is for him to go full playboy dumbass and take over the world or something."

"You got it boss." I turn to leave but before I step out the door. Nick calls me.

"Oh and Nat is going with you. There is no such thing as solo missions. Someone is always helping. Now Stark tower is here but his home is in Cali. So, I'll have a flight set up in about 10 min, private jet out back. No need to grab shit we have your sizes so clothes will be at the house we will rent for you. Don't worry about the details it will be taken care of before you land."

"Got it!" I wave and head out and around to the back where SHIELD's private airfield is. We only use this on missions that don't involve murder. Something that can be noticed but won't be tied to anything "nefarious". Pretty smart now that I think about it, thinking is all I can do at the moment since Nat isn't here yet.

Show the people that can track us that we have an airfield. Never use it for "those" missions. Never hide the airfield but also never advertise. Those that do find it think it's like some super-secret thing, it is of course, but then they never find anything. This leads them to believe that were just a rich company that has its own airfield. A secret in a secret that the conspiracy theorists help us maintain since they "watch" so closely.

Well enough of that. Nat has joined me and damn. Blue jeans, white tank top and her hair pulled up in a nice ponytail. Actually, we match now. See I too have a nice ponytail going on. I mean the sides and back are shaved but the top is nice and long. probably about a foot. I mean I have been here for 2 years. Also nice big bushy beard. Can't forget that. Yea... I like this look. Got that Viking show look going on.

Anyways enough about me. "Hey Nat! Ready for fun?" I tease.

"Oh yea. Cuz a traumatized man child is what I think of for a good time." She says sarcastically with a scoff at the end.

"Yea I know but hey. We get to finally have some good Mexican food. That has to be a plus right?"

"Hmmm... Yea that sounds good." She pats my arm as she walks past me. "Also! You are getting me street tacos."

"It's a date!" I put on my most winning smile.

She stumbles and looks back at me seeing my smile. "You know we've been working together for a year and a half. If I didn't know you were joking, like usual, I would think you were serious."

I sigh. "Nat I am serious. I do like you. I know about your past but I don't care. I know you for you. I gotta say... I like what I've found." She just stares at me. "So yes Nat. It is a serious invitation to a date."

"Ok"

That was all she said. Needless to say the ride to Cali was awkward as hell. We didn't talk. She just sat in front of me watching in silence. She didn't look upset just.. neutral. It was unnerving. However, since I have been married before I like to think that I have gained some smarts. That being that I didn't say a damned word.

Now I don't really know if this was the right choice, women are women after all, but I stuck to it. The ride lasted about 6 hours of us not saying a damn thing to each other. This means that we left at 9 and landed at noon.

As soon as we left the plane Nat grabbed my hand and took me to the rental agency. "Pick one"

"Ok do you want sporty or comfy Nat?"

"I want comfy."

I chose an SUV that had the full package. We hopped in and left LAX. "Zach, where are you going?"

"Uh... to Tony?"

"Oh! So you already forgot our date?"

"What?" I stammer while driving. "Hey! That's not fair! You didn't say anything."

"I didn't say no."

"Ugh. Yea you're right." I pull out my phone and ask it to look for good street tacos. "My sweet wants tacos and that is what we will get."

"Your sweet? Ewww. Yea no. Try harder."

"Cinnamon stick?"

"What in the actual fuck is that?"

"I love cinnamon?"

"So do I but that is easily ten times worse."

"Well I don't know! I'm tryin here!"

"Ha! You're cute when frustrated."

"Ugh... Women." I say under my breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing firecracker."

"Now that one I am "ok" with."

"Glad you approve."

"You should be." She said and stuck her tongue out at me.

I just chuckled and continued driving. We reached a taco truck shortly after and shared a nice time talking and flirting while eating delicious Mexican cuisine. I could tell she enjoyed it. We have both been in each others lives for while now and she kept casting cute eyes towards me. She never turned away when I caught her either. Like she was daring ME to get embarrassed. Sadly for her I have no shame. I proved this when she had a little crema on her lip that I wiped off and stuck in my mouth. At that she turned bright red.

After a fun time we headed to the house SHIELD had gotten for us. It was nice. Two bedrooms and one bath, probably cost about 500k in California. We settled in and took turns taking showers after our flight. We had a meeting with Tony at his home in the morning so to kill time we went out and got food for the house. Not a lot but a decent amount. This led to me whipping up dinner.

While I was cooking Nat came in in a baggy t-shirt. "Oh now that is hot."

"What? A t-shirt?"

"Yup. It hides so much and leaves everything to the imagination. Ten outa ten milady."

"Oh god. You're a nerd." She face palmed.

"Guilty!"

"Meh. I guess I can live with that. What are you cooking?" She takes a big whiff of my cooking. "It smells good."

"Oh just some spaghetti with chorizo."

"Interesting."

Another 10 minutes and it was ready. I plated everything and set it at the table. Oh! Did I mention that it was fully furnished? Well it is. "All done!"

She sat down and ate. Not a word was heard as we devoured the food in front of us.

Finally after Nat finished she spoke up. "Where did you learn to cook?"

"Well I live alone." I shrugged.

"No. You lived alone. I'm here now."

"Yes of course. I lived alone. My apologies. Either way I wasn't gonna order out every night. It's an important skill to learn. Saves money and is very satisfying."

"Yea. A little pragmatic in the way you look at it but I have to say, the results speak for itself."

"Ha! I'm glad you like it. Wait till I cook you a steak with some garlic and lemon asparagus with a nice arugula salad for a side." I laugh out.

"Oh, I can't wait! I case you didn't know, I love meat." She said seductively.

Oh this woman. Gonna be the death of me. I gather myself from my raging hormones.

"How about tomorrow? We are only meeting Tony after all."

"Oh! A second date in your home? How forward."

"Ha. Ha. Ha. Very funny."

"I'm kidding Zach. That sounds great." She says with a soft smile.

"Ok... I see you like to tease."

"Guilty!"

"Ha. Ok So who gets what bedroom?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well Nat... We only had one date so I figured you would get one room and I would get the other."

"But our clothes are in the same room."

"What? Why?"

"Cuz were are posing as a couple, like usual." She gives me the "DUH" face. "Wait! You didn't read the brief?"

"I wasn't given one."

"Well fuck. Ok so like all our other missions, you know the ones that we stay in a room, we are a "couple"."

"Oh were just a "Couple"? " I say giving the air quotes.

"Well. For real we are now but... Hey! You know what I mean!"

"Hahahahaha. Yea. Just giving you a hard time."

"Asshole."

"I know. Anyways, so we are sharing the bed?"

"Yup and I have very cold feet."

"Good. I like cold while I'm sleeping. Helps me pass out."

"Huh... Ok. Well I'm thinking it's time to go to bed."

She gathered the plates and put it all in the dishwasher and turned it on. While she did this I headed up to the room and changed into my sleepwear, also known as my underwear.

Nat Came in as I was getting in bed. "Just your underwear?"

"Yup. It's the most comfortable."

"Ok. Oh and I like being little spoon."

"Say less."

I pull her towards me. Her scent was intoxicating as I fell asleep. A mix of fruity and cinnamon. "You smell good." I say bluntly.

"Well you said you loved cinnamon. So... I picked up something at the store."

"It was a good choice."

She sighed and snuggled in closer. Her breathing evened out and a light snore escaped her. It was adorable. It has always surprised me that such a strong woman can be so vulnerable. I mean I've seen it before but still.

I quickly followed her into dream land.

The morning came fast and we woke up to a bright day with clear skies. I kissed her cheek good morning, which earned me a sigh of contentment from her, and we headed downstairs for breakfast.

After a bowl of cereal, we left to our meeting with Tony. I had a feeling that today was going to be a good day.