It's five years after the death of Iron Man and the Black Widow. Five years after the retirement of most heroes, five years in which life has went on. But heroes are always needed, no matter the time. It doesn't matter if they do something small or...
The woman waited for some time, straining her ears to hear the slightest sound that would let her know the little girl had heard her. After some time, she could hear footsteps coming closer and in seconds, Morgan Stark rounded the corner, a wide smile on her lips. She hopped on a chair, bringing her caretaker to smile as she pushed her cup of hot chocolate towards her.
Morgan drank some of the hot chocolate as her caretaker walked over to the window and looked outside. Her brown eyes took in the sky above, searching for any sign that would let her know Morgan's parents were well. Pepper had asked her to take care of the child while she was gone, but she hadn't had the time to ask her questions. She had already put on a suit and was flying away. But then again, if she actually did have the time to ask her, she didn't know if she would do it still.
"Miss Aiyla, when will mum and dad return?"
Aiyla slowly turned around, offering a smile at the little girl who was looking up at her with wide innocent eyes. Slowly, she made her way towards her until she sat on the chair beside her.
"Mum and dad will be back soon," she said softly as she stroked her dark hair.
"Then why are you here?"
"To keep you company while they are gone."
"And make me hot chocolate?"
Aiyla couldn't help but laugh as she looked fondly down at the child she knew since the moment she was born. She was such a good child, smart too. She was also able to make everyone bend to her will.
"I'm here to make you hot chocolate among other things, yes," she nodded just as she noticed she had drunk her hot chocolate. "Would you like to play a game with me?"
Her eyes lit up. "Yes!"
Morgan ran out of the kitchen and to her bedroom, and Aiyla had no choice but to follow after her. If someone told her five years ago that she, a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and then worker in the Stark Industries, would be the babysitter of Tony Stark's daughter she would have called them mad and suggest she drove them to the nearest hospital herself to have them checked out. But in the end, things didn't always turn out the way people thought they would.
Aiyla had never imagined she would be someone Pepper and Tony trusted. After all, she was nobody. It was a miracle on its own how she had managed to speak to Tony. A miracle she was thankful for.
All had started shortly after the Battle of New York. Her apartment had been destroyed completely and as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, she had talked about it with some of her colleagues and soon, word reached the ears of Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff who apparently brought it up with their fellow Avengers. When Aiyla had been called in the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters a week after the battle, the least she had been expecting was to see Tony Stark waiting for her. But her surprise only grew when he gave her the keys to a new house he had bought for her.
From that day on, she was grateful. And whatever she did would never be equal to what he had done for her. Without his offer, she would have ended up living in the streets sooner or later, as her work as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent would surely not be enough for her to buy a whole new house.
From then on, she tried her best to ensure that he and everyone he cared about were safe. Any mission having to do with Iron Man, she volunteered to do the job, and Director Fury caught up to her plan easily and assigned her any missions regarding Tony immediately.
At some point, she met Pepper. A form of friendship formed between them especially when she started working for Stark Industries and she came to Tony's home often. Her bond with Pepper only strengthened after Tony's departure to space to save the world yet again, this time from a villain named Thanos, and somehow, she now found herself in this situation, taking care of little Morgan while mummy and daddy were fighting evil. She should have been there, fighting with them. But she would never do something Pepper didn't want her to. And at this moment, today, Pepper needed her to be with her child.
"You keep playing, Morgan," Aiyla said after some time as she left the doll she had been playing with on the floor and stood up. "I'm going to get some water and then I'll be right back. Do you want anything from the kitchen?"
Morgan shook her head as she kept playing. Aiyla smiled before turning around. Jogging slightly, she headed to the kitchen as she didn't want to leave the child alone for long. She took a glass of water and raised it to her lips, but before she could take the first sip, she heard sound from outside. With no hesitation, she leaned closer to the window so as to look outside, her hand moving to her concealed gun in her belt.
And then she saw who it was.
Aiyla's eyes widened, her hand fell from her gun and before she could even realise what she was doing, her legs were carrying her to the front door. She yanked it open and ran to the stairs, her eyes falling on the form dressed in a suit. The front part of the suit's head fell and she caught sight of Pepper, her eyes red and her cheeks wet.
She had been crying.
Aiyla looked around desperately before turning back to Pepper. "Tony-"
"No," she managed as she took an unsteady step forward and then another.
Aiyla's hand flew to cover her mouth, her eyes widened drastically. She vaguely paid attention to Pepper walking out of the suit and running in the house, calling her daughter's name on her way there. It seemed like her legs were too weak to hold her weight and she sank down to the ground, short breaths escaping her lips as she stared at the floor.
Tony Stark wasn't coming back. And it pained her to know it was true.
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Welcome, everyone, to Cobra!
I'm really excited for this story, especially since it's a chancefor me to create the kind of life Bucky deserves after Endgame. The inspiration for this fic came when I watched Endgame and I couldn'thelp but think that the way Cap left Bucky to live his life was wrong. So, I adopted one more character, and decided to make a fic for him!
