Shadows (BuckyxOC)

Caught in the Mistake

When we arrived back at the house, everyone was already gathering inside for dinner. When we entered, Steve's hand was on the small of my back, guiding me forward first. It was the gentlemanly thing to do, after all. The surprise of seeing Fury there at the dinner table as well was what had us pausing for a moment before taking our seats.

Coming in with Steve had my dad giving me funny looks, but I ignored them the best I could as I helped myself to some food. The meal was delicious, and I told Laura as much as we all dug in. Being away at college and deep into my studies meant eating a lot of take out. So the home cooked meal was a wonderful change of pace.

All through dinner, there was idle conversation. Nothing too deep going on, or important. The kids were present after all and with nothing to distract them, it would be a lot for them to take in. Sitting beside my dad had its disadvantages, though. He kept trying to whisper in my ear about what I was doing with the Cap. I kept shrugging him off because nothing but friendship was present between Steve and I. My dad just couldn't take a hint.

It was after dinner that the actual conversation happened. The kids were told to help bring the dishes into the kitchen and then go play so the adults could have their 'grown-up' conversation. That's how Clint explained it to them, anyway. I was at the sink helping wash the dishes and clean up the mess from cooking as I listened to the conversation.

"Ultron took you folks out of play to buy himself time." Fury explained, "My contacts all say he's building something. The amount of vibranium he made off with, I don't think it's just one thing."

"And I thought he just wanted an indestructible body." I said, drying a dish and handing it to Laura to put away.

"That might be part of it, sure. But what's the rest for?"

"What about Ultron himself?" Steve asked from his position leaning up against the door jam.

"Oh, he's easy to track. He's everywhere." Fury said.

"Take it from someone who can be in multiple places at once. It's not as easy as you might think." I said, drying another dish.

"The way you're everywhere differs from what I heard." Giving me a knowing look, "Ultron is multiplying faster than a Catholic rabbit. It still doesn't help us get an angle on any of his plans, though."

My dad was in the side room throwing darts at a dartboard. "Is he still going after launch codes?" He asked.

"Yes, he is, but he's not making any headway." Fury said, washing a dish and handing it to me to dry. He, Laura, and I made a great tidy up crew.

"I cracked the Pentagon's firewall in high school on a dare." My dad bragged.

"Yes, breaking the law is definitely something to be proud of." I said sarcastically.

"Yes, well, I contacted our friends at the NEXUS about that."

"NEXUS?" Steve asked.

"It's the world internet hub in Oslo." Bruce explained, "Every byte of data flows through there. Fastest access on Earth."

"Everything you think is a secret, isn't. Think of it as a glorified post office." I threw in, drying the last dish.

"So, what did they say?" Clint asked.

"He's fixated on the missiles, but the codes are constantly being changed." Fury said.

"Changed?" I asked, wiping my hands and sitting down at the dining table near Nat.

"By whom?" My dad asked, only to be almost hit by a dart that Clint threw from across the room. I use almost loosely, as we all knew if Clint wanted to, he'd have been able to hit my dad with his eyes closed.