If there was one thing Steve Rogers was starting to learn, it was how many secrets Agent Phil Coulson could keep. Coulson's death brought about meeting his adopted daughter Evelyn, another person who carried many secrets and mysteries of her own, ma...
I flinched at Uncle Nick's tone, even though it was said softly. He was angry.
"I don't know what you're talking about." I wanted to snatch my arm away, but I had the feeling Steve was watching, which meant others would notice the sudden movement too.
"I saw what you did."
"I didn't mean to." I just thought of it, and it happened, but he wouldn't understand that.
"You need to get back to work."
"Back to the lab for more tests?" I locked eyes with him. "The only reason I went through those is because Uncle Phil--my father--wanted me to." I swallowed hard. "I don't care what my lineage is anymore. He was my family. He was all that mattered." I felt my throat tighten, I didn't want to talk anymore.
"I still think you need to find out, Evie."
I shook my head. "Stop, okay? You're upsetting me." We both knew that could be bad. I watched him distance himself a little, his grip on my upper arm loosening. For some reason I felt more alone than ever.
"I think some of them saw."
"It happened so fast," I shook my head at him. "Sure it'll be okay."
He escorted me to the repast. I wished it was Steve. I looked around the room. I felt so out of place. I had read about these people, but truly I'd never said so much as had coffee with any of them-except Clint and Natasha-till now. I scanned the room for Captain America....Steve... I looked at Tony Stark. He was watching me closely. He might have seen something. He tapped on his phone and I closed my eyes. Freeze. I watched as he dropped the phone, and when he picked it up, he was frustrated. I had frozen the phone from a distance, without touching it. Another new ability. Great. I am everything but thrilled. I sighed, I hate geniuses; they think they know so much, but the truth is they know too much. I looked up at Uncle Nick, who knew something had happened; he didn't know what. The air had to shift for that little stunt. "Look, I'm just going to go back to my quarters." I started heading for the exit.
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Uncle Nick didn't let go of my arm. "Everyone knows you're his daughter, you should stay."
"They'll understand--"
"Eve?"
I suppressed a audible gasp and turned, seeing Steve standing there. God, he was handsome in his uniform. "Hi."
He offered his arm to me. "I promised." He was challenging Fury silently. My breath caught as I looked up at Fury.
Fury's focus was still on me. He didn't appreciate this at all, and blamed me for it. His eye slid toward Steve. "Captain--"
"I'll be fine." I looked at Steve pleadingly. This was like a family spat, and I didn't want any problems.
"I agree." He gently pushed Fury's hand off my arm, and put his arm around me. "I actually don't mind." He gave Fury a look I didn't quite understand, but I could smell the conflict between them. It was aggression. As far as Steve was concerned, I was his territory, or he didn't like how Uncle Nick treated me. I liked that idea, either way.
God, I was melting inside. I wanted to distance myself from him because he was just being compassionate and sympathetic. I was feeling more, and I knew it. I'd heard and read about this man all of my life. I looked at Uncle Nick. I didn't want to talk to him anymore. Steve's hand slid to mine and grasped it gently.
"If you'll excuse us?" He led me away.
"Thank you."
"What was that about?"
"What?"
"Fury was not happy."
"He thinks he can tell me what to do," I sighed. "It's complicated."
"More complicated than being frozen in ice for decades and then revived?"
I laughed at him. "Maybe."
He walked me back into the gathering. "Well, you're old enough to make decisions. You are old enough, right?"
"Of course." I wasn't sure if I could tell him how old I really was. I know that I had almost a couple of decades of birthdays. That was another thing the lab was trying to uncover, my rate of aging. Childhood was growth spurts like years sometimes then completely slowed where I barely aged at all.
He looked around and then turned to look at me. "Where do you wanna go? Do you wanna stay?"
I looked up at him. He was ready for anything. "Can we just walk around the ship? I don't feel comfortable here. I feel like I'm under a microscope." Truthfully, it was Tony that made me uncomfortable. He was watching me and had been tapping like crazy on his little device; he looked like he was reviving it. He was going to get to the bottom of things, I could feel it.
