Tony's POV

"Weird how Shadow's been silent this weekend." I say, sipping my morning coffee. "It's almost as if Bucky's disappearance has something to do with it."

Barnes furrows his eyebrows. "All I did was go for a walk. I never meant to get caught up in anything."

I hear the clicking of heels and turn in my seat. A smile forms on my face at what I see: Ally in a pencil skirt and fitted blouse with her brown hair curled and flowing down her shoulders.

"Good morning." She smiles. I see that her little cut is healed and am relieved that she actually got it taken care of. I'm sure Fury has a personal doctor for her.

"Now it is." I wink at her, making her blush.

"Director Fury assigned me to another classified task. He told me to inform you that I may not be here for the next few days." She speaks, waving hello to the others.

"Days?! What is this? How am I supposed to get anything done?" I rant.

"You could do things yourself y'know." Steve says, causing Bucky and a few others to chuckle.

"I'm sorry Mr. Stark, it's official SHIELD business." She smiles at me sympathetically.

"Mr. Stark is my father." I joke but nobody seems to laugh. "Just call me Tony."

She nods before turning and walking away just as quickly as she came.

"Hey Alex!" I call after her and she looks over her shoulder. "When you get back you owe me breakfast."

"I'm looking forward to it." She smiles before going on her way.

I notice Steve tapping the table anxiously as his mind wanders and raise an eyebrow at him.

"I should walk her out." He speaks, standing from his seat and speed-walking after her.

Nat stifles a laugh, which soon turns into Clint, Sam and Wanda also laughing.

"Looks like you've got yourself some competition, Tones." Rhodey teases.

Alexandra's POV

"Hey!" I hear Steve call after me and stop myself from turning around. "Ally!" He calls again.

Just as I'm about to open my car door, he grabs my hand and spins me around so that I'm facing him.

"I think he knows." I say, my fear building within me. Steve gives me a confused look. "I think Fury knows that I'm Shadow." I explain. "He's probably sending me to some interrogation camp."

"Hey, hey. Relax." Steve wraps his arms around me as I do my best to hold back my tears. "You're probably overthinking it."

"Am I?" I pull away and look up at him.

He takes a deep breath and goes to speak but is interrupted by Tony yelling. "Rogers! We have a briefing in two minutes!"

I look up at Steve once Tony goes back inside and give him a small smile. "Go on, they're probably waiting for you."

"I won't let anything happen to you." He promises.

I sigh. "I've never been a fan of promises." I admit, patting his chest. I get into my car and wave goodbye to him before driving off.

---

"Alex! How's my favorite girl doing?" Fury smiles as I walk into headquarters.

"Good, I miss being here." I smile as I walk towards him.

"I told you to give Stark a few days." He chuckles.

"So what's this new task you have for me?" I ask, hiding my nerves.

He opens his office door and gestures for me to come in. I take a seat and he closes the office door behind him before closing the blinds as well.

"You probably know what this is about." He clears his throat.

"Sir, I-"

"I think it's time you know the truth." He cuts me off. "Your father.. He's not dead." I furrow my eyebrows at the topic, completely catching me off guard.

"Sir, I really don't-"

He continues, cutting me off. "You're a great girl. You need that person behind you to support you and care for you. You've been on your own for far too long."

As he continues to talk I feel my anger and sadness rising.

"Nick." I stop him. He raises his eyebrow at me. "I don't want to know. It's too late."

His raised eyebrow quickly turns into a furrowed one. "You're almost 25. If I don't tell you now, you may never have the chance to have an actual father." He crosses his arms. "Who's going to walk you down the aisle at your wedding? Or spoil your children? Or give you dating advice? Take care of you when you're not feeling well?"

I stifle a laugh. "Well I'm never going to date.. or get married.. or have children, that's just not who I am. So that's taken care of. And I can take care of myself, I've done pretty well so far."

"You keep saying that." He sighs. "But I'm afraid with all the trouble you've been getting yourself into lately, you'll need someone on your side."

"Trouble? What trouble?" I furrow my eyebrows.

Fury chuckles. "Do you really think I'd hire someone without knowing their entire history?" My eyes widen. "C'mon now, Shadow." He winks, but I can't tell if he's just blinking.

"But.. If you knew all along, why did you-?"

"I've been watching you for years. I know you've changed since then. I assigned you to the case because that way you wouldn't be exposed." He explains.

"And why did you send me to work with the Avengers if you know that they hate me?" I question.

"Oh please, they don't hate you. Tony's just an ego-maniac." He laughs. "Now, back to the reason I called you here."

I groan, thinking I'd successfully changed the topic, and he chuckles.

"You've actually already met your father." He sits back in his chair. "And I know what you're thinking. To answer your question, no, it's not me."

"I wish it was." I mumble. "If you tell me the name of some Hydra operative I swear to God I'll-"

"It's Stark." He cuts me off, forever changing my life with those two words.

"W-What?" I ask, having difficulty breathing.

"Tony Stark is your birth father. Your mother, Allison Williams, did in fact pass during childbirth." He explains as I try to process everything. "She never contacted your father, she wanted nothing to do with him. Instead you were found and sent to an orphanage. That same orphanage was ravaged by Hydra a good number of years later when you were about 5." He pauses to make sure I'm okay before continuing.

"From 5-16 years old you were held at a series of Hydra bases until you got away and made it to amother facility, which happened to be under the protection of SHIELD. From there you've become your own person, applied for this job, and now here you are." He smiles.

I stare at the ground, tears threatening to spill from my eyes.

"I know your past has been a blur, and I'm sorry if this was too much at once, but you needed to know." Fury sighs, reaching over to grab my hand and comfort me.

"Are you going to tell him?" I ask, regarding Tony.

"I think it's better if you do." He presses his lips together. "He probably won't believe you at first so I took the initiative to print out any type of proof you'd need."

He slides a file across his desk and I hesitate before taking it.

"Take as many days as you need to sort things out. If you decide not to approach him, you always have a place here." He stands to walk me to my car.

"Thank you." I say to him before getting into my car. He gives me a small smile alone with a nod before sending me off.