Battle Scars

Chapter 8

Jarvis' announcement went through you like a cold wind, freezing you in place. Banner knowing was one thing. He was human, you could logically predict his behavior. You'd learned within your first week here that Jarvis was completely unpredictable. You cleared your throat. "What did you say?"

"When completing your background check, I discovered that on October 16 of your Sophomore year in college, you filed a report with campus police that your roommate had intervened, stopping a sexual assault the night before. That same morning Mr. Stark woke with bruising in the same locations as described in the report. He has been attempting to locate you since that day."

You ran a hand down your face. His matter of fact tone somehow made you feel even more exhausted. "That being the case, why haven't you told him what I am?"

"Because he hasn't asked."

"So, because Tony Stark hasn't asked you if I am the soulmate he's been looking for ten years you just haven't told him?"

"You misunderstand. I have been programmed with a variety of search points which Mr. Stark asks me to run on a regular basis and report my findings. The last time he instructed me to look for his soulmate was the day before your arrival."

That had been weeks ago at this point. You had to be running out of time. "How often does Tony ask you to run this search?"

"Prior to your arrival, he requested the protocol be ran no less than twice per week."

***

You knew it was time to tell Tony. It would be so much worse if he heard it from Bruce or Jarvis. But every time you tried to start the conversation something would interrupt the two of you. First an urgent mission came up and Tony had to hurry off. Another time, Fury showed up. Twice you'd been interrupted by someone else on the team. It wasn't the kind of thing you wanted to send in an email either. If you were completely honest there had been more than once that you'd chickened out.

"You want to pay attention here?" Natasha called getting your attention and you realized that you'd been staring at Tony. His little smirk told you that he was very much aware of it as well.

Your face heated as you put your attention back on the assassin. "Yes, sorry."

The team had apparently decided as a collective that you needed to learn some basic self-defense. Nat was using Clint to demonstrate and seemed to be enjoying herself more than she should. You'd no sooner had the thought then she flipped him over her shoulder and he landed on his back with thud.

"See, simple," Nat said as her friend groaned from the mat.

Your lips twitched as you peered at Clint. "I think I missed something. Could you show me again?"

"Come on," he groaned as he got to his feet.

You couldn't stop the little laugh that escaped you. His attention turned to you and he narrowed his eyes as he looked you over. "I'm sorry. I couldn't help myself. I don't need to see it again. I do appreciate your willingness to let Natasha throw you again for my sake."

Nat joined you in your laughter while Clint continued to grumble. He looked past you to Tony. "She's yours. Can't you do something about this?"

If you thought your face warm before, it was nothing compared to the heat that flared when Clint said you were Tony's. The billionaire in question cleared his throat and you didn't dare turn to look at him. "I've told you before, Katniss, she works for all of us. Not just me."

Clint chuckled and shrugged. "Sorry, forgot."

Bullshit. He'd done that on purpose. You just weren't certain if his intention was to embarrass you or Tony. You sighed and opted to ignore him. "As entertaining as your demonstration has been, I have had some pretty advanced defense training. Even some firearms training."

Nat changed her stance and looked past you to either Steve or Tony who both stood behind you. "I thought you were from a pretty safe area," Steve said as he approached.

You glanced over your shoulder and gave him a small smile. "I am. Sometimes things happen and sometimes you want to make sure they don't happen again." It was as close as you were going to get to discussing the incident in college. And you certainly couldn't admit you'd renewed your previous training when you discovered Tony was your soulmate. Even before you knew he was Iron Man, his position and money would make him a target, and by extension you should you ever actually be together.

The silence stretched as they processed what you'd just admitted to. Natasha was the first to break it. "How about a demonstration from you then? It will help us pinpoint what to work on."

You took her place on the mat and squared off against Clint. He grinned. "I'll take it easy on you."

"I appreciate that, Hawkeye."

He swung at you half-heartedly and you blocked him easily. He continued to increase his effort in relation to your response until the two of you were actually sparring. You knew he was taking it easy on you. Yes, your training had encompassed several different fighting styles, the focus being on adapting and using what you needed to take down your opponent, but you were no SHIELD agent. You thrust your hand forward, aiming for Clint's nose. While he blocked that, you took advantage of his distraction and swept his legs out from under him.

You grinned down at him and offered him a hand up. He took it and sprang to his feet. "Not bad," he admitted with a tilt of his head. His gaze shifted from you to Nat. "She's not going to be taking out any Hydra bases, but she's good. Beyond what we intended to aim for, anyway."

His praise had you beaming and you turned to face the others. Steve and Nat were smiling while Tony looked at you with a blank expression. "You okay there, Tony?" you finally asked when he didn't move.

He cleared his throat. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. I'm not sure if I'm more scared or turned on, but I'm fine."

A startled laugh came from you with his declaration which had him grinning.

Steve looked adorably uncomfortable and interrupted the brief moment. "I have to admit that I feel better knowing you have the ability to protect yourself if something should happen. I would encourage you to train with the team on occasion to keep your skills sharp."

"I would love to. I sort of miss my training and I am always up to learning new skills."

"Fantastic," he said with a nod. "I'm sure you can make arrangements on your own." With that he left.

"If you're free now, I've got some time," said Nat. "I'd like to see what you can do with a gun."

A strangled sound came from Tony and you glanced at him with an arched brow. "I...uh. Yeah, that's my cue to go. I'll see you later, hot stuff."

Your gaze followed him as he left the room, a fond smile on your face.

"I told you," Clint's voice said, interrupting your thoughts.

You turned back to the two assassins. "What?"

Nat smirked. "We knew he was crazy about you. I just didn't know if the feeling was mutual. Clint was positive it was. Guess he was right."

Your face heated again, making you annoyed with yourself. Tony Stark had you feeling like a shy schoolgirl again. Damn the man. "So, do I get to shoot something or what?"

It was plain to see neither agent was remotely fooled by your subject change though they let you get away with it just the same. You had a feeling that would be short lived however and decided to enjoy it while you could.