Stars Dance

The Hard Part

"Guys!" I shouted hitting my hand against the door frame to Astella's room.

"What?" Tony asked appearing at the end of the hall shoving a bagel into his mouth.

"Astella is gone." I told him marching back into the living area. Damnit. I was right. We couldn't trust her. It was all a trick. A lie.

"She's gone." Natasha repeated.

"The alarms would have sounded." Pepper argued standing up and looking around like she might be hiding somewhere in the room. I let out a string of curse words and glared at the floor.

"No she's gone. She..." I stopped when I glanced up at the window. Astella landed lightly on her feet right outside the balcony. She caught my eye. "She's right there." I said. Everyone turned and followed my gaze. I cocked my head and she raised her hand in a small wave. Nobody said anything or moved really. I too in her water logged clothes and the cut on her cheek that was bleeding. She pursed her lips and made her way to the sliding glass doors. She moved her hand slowly out and we watched the door slide open without her touching it. She stepped inside, water dripping down onto the floor, and gave me a small smile.

"Hi." The door slid shut behind her.

"Where were you?" I demand. She cringes at the harshness in my tone.

"Out." She mumbles.

"Out where Astella! This isn't a game!" I shouted at her regretting it immediately. She trembled slightly and stared at the floor.

"Hydra headquarters." She muttered in a small voice. The room exploded.

"What were you doing out there!"

"Why are you wet?"

"What happened?"

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Everyone was shouting at her then at each other as they tried to come up with reasonable explanations for her to be out there.

"She came back! Why would she come back!"

"To trick us! She's still on their side!"

"We don't even know what she did out there!" Everyone was yelling and it was driving me insane. Grinding my teeth I stared at Astella. Her bottom lip was sticking out like she might burst into tears.

"Enough!" I shouted over them all. The room quieted down. "What happened Astella?" I ask moving towards her, around the sofa.

"I wouldn't Steve." Maria says. I send her a look but she's sending one my way as well.

"Why are you all wet?" I murmur running my hand through her dark hair that hung in strands down her back and spilled over her shoulders. She looked up at me and I could see how watery her eyes were. I cupped her cheek in my hand and she smiled even though I was being awful to her seconds before.

"It rained. I had to put out a fire." She said with a shrug.

"You made it rain?" Tony questions.

"I guess." Astella says with a shrug.

"It could have just been Mother Nature." Clint says and rubs his forehead. "So why were you there?" He questions in a tired voice.

"Let's get her dry first shall we?" Pepper interjects stepping towards us she takes Astella's hand. I drop my hand and Astella lightly touches my arm before allowing Pepper to drag her back of her room.

"I'm going to make her something." Tony mumbled under his breathe which surprised me until he called his people stairs to come and bring food down here and todo them to bring down hot chocolate as well.