august 2016

"So you're saying Captain America is tearing apart the Avengers?" Jack shook her head in mock disbelief, a smirk lining her face. "Doesn't that go against his moral code or something?"

They were in the kitchen, having started the afternoon with some day drinking, which Tony had definitively suggested. The serum had healing effects that kept the asset from being intoxicated, so she'd hoped to get some extra information out of his slippery lips after downing a few beers. To his credit, he had a high tolerance for alcohol, making this process much more slow-going.

Sitting across from her, Tony nodded, a grimace molding his face into an expression of unmistakable frustration as he gripped his beer bottle tightly. "He's got his head so far up his ass that he doesn't see the damage we've done—are still doing—to the world."

The asset tilted her head. Sounds like he's got some insight into our problem. He might not be a complete idiot when it comes to cleansing the earth of all its threats. She adjusted her stance and crossed her arms. "I thought you were saving the world, though."

Her--what was he? Target? Victim? Roommate? He rolled his eyes and swallowed roughly. "Thanks, Jack. But it turns out the people saving the world are the same people making this world the dangerous place it is." He took a long swig, his eyes losing their usual mischievous light as he washed it down his throat.

Jack--Asset 53--felt a twinge twist her stomach in knots at the sight. She pushed it away as she asked, "Well, what are you going to do about it?"

"Which part?" Tony stared at her with a certain type of fatigue in his body that it was obviously more than just physical stress. The past few months, all the time he'd spent away from the tower, it was taking a real toll on him. His eyes were never always alert, and his movements, though still sharp like usual, were laced with exhaustion. Tony Stark was running on fumes.

The ghost leaned her elbow on the kitchen countertop and maintained eye contact with him, searching for any clue that would give her information to pass on to her Hydra superiors. Or Emile Boucher, whoever ended up being in charge. She supposed this action looked romantic to him, or maybe he didn't read it as anything at all. "All of it. Captain America and the United Nations. What's your move, Stark?"

He pondered over it for a second, staring into the neck of his beer bottle. Then, with a long sigh followed by emotionless words, "We need to be reigned in. It's the only way."

That's something we can agree on, she cocked an eyebrow as she realized it. He may have been a threat to Hydra at some point, but he claimed to have the same goals. Take away the uncontrolled power of the Avengers. But of course, his idea of solving the issue was not going to do anything. She still had her mission to complete. Only a few more weeks until they came for her.

Boucher's voice rang in her head. Things are changing.

Asset 53 let herself, just for a moment, zero in on Stark's face. His eyes were empty and his cheeks were sallow from lack of sleep. Bruises peppered his face like freckles, some only small inconveniences, and some so large they looked like stains on a white shirt. One particularly brutal one enveloped his right eye. When she'd asked about it, he'd only shrugged and said with more nonchalance than she thought possible, "I got shot in the eye."

He noticed her staring this time and stared back, his habit of making everything a challenge failing to fade away even in his most stressful times. Tony Stark could have anything and everything thrown at him, but he still stood again. He refused to be knocked down.

That was why he was so frustrating.

Over the last two months, even with her packing on the seduction to levels of unmatched ridiculousness, he'd never done anything apart from peer at her like she was a new lab experiment to test things out on. He'd rarely said anything that could be perceived as flirtatious, and it was making her skin crawl.

Any man or woman she'd had to seduce to gain intelligence for Hydra had crumbled under her touch within the first week. Desperate to feel something, to have someone to call their own.

But of course, Tony Stark was not just any man. He'd proven that several times over. Only allowing himself to be within her grasp a few times, never lingering too long in her presence. She'd realized, with a raging fire in her head, that he wasn't staying away from her because he was resisting temptation, no. He was keeping his distance because she was not his first priority. At this rate, she never would be.

And it was that fact that made her feel like gutting him right then and there.

No, not really. She didn't want to kill him for that. She wanted to succeed. She wanted victory. And he wasn't giving it to her. That's what made her want to run her head through a wall. It was never this hard.

"What do you see?"

The asset was yanked back from her murderous train of thought and into reality once more, focusing on Stark's eyes again. "What?" She asked roughly, her voice scratching up through her throat.

Tony set down his beer and placed his strong hands on the counter, leaning in to face her. Their faces were closer than they'd ever been before. No flirting? Jack thought smugly. Now, this is more like it.

"What do you see when you look at me?" He blinked, his brown eyes flicking back and forth between hers. "You do it a lot, you know."

Jack stifled a sheepish grin. She wasn't sure how forced it was. "I didn't know you noticed. Always so focused on more important things, it seems."

She expected him to agree with her statement, but he only shook his head and leaned back, distancing their eyes form one another. "That's how my life has always been, I guess. I always have something that needs my attention." He held her gaze as he continued, "I don't mean to be such a standoff-ish person, Jack. It's just who I am." When she nodded, he asked again, "So what do you see, when you look at me?"

Her response wasn't anywhere near immediate. She pondered over how to best answer the question, savoring this conversation the longer it went on. "I see...a man with too much on his plate. Too much responsibility."

Tony made a face at that, coaxing a chuckle from her chest. "I'm a grown man, Jack. Are you saying I can't handle the responsibilities of being an adult?"

She shrugged. "Well, I don't know if Happy would agree with you, Tony. Sometimes he seems like your glorified babysitter." A smirk rose to her lips as she watched his reaction to her words, relishing in the wide-eyed expression he gave her before he composed herself.

"Now, that's just rude. Happy is my head of security. He makes sure everything is secure. It's very self-explanatory, actually." He picked up his beer and took another sip, looking disappointedly at it after swallowing. "This stuff really is a depressant." He lifted his head and cocked an eyebrow at her. "Let's go somewhere."

Jack scoffed. "Right now? At this time of the night?"

"The nightlife of New York City is something everyone should experience, Jack." Tony abandoned his drink on the counter and headed to the hallway. "You'd better wear something nice. We're going all out tonight. I need it."

His tired eyes gained a little bit of the life back in them, and with a renewed energy, Jack followed him into the hallway, finding her way to her room to change. This is going to be fun, she told herself. She wasn't sure if that was because she was going to get more information for Hydra or because she was going to spend more time with such a fascinating man.

—————

She'd only had one dress. It was the one she'd worn when she first met Tony in the high-end club she'd been instructed to go to. Times were so different then. Simpler, even. With one thought in her head: kill Tony Stark, and begin the extinction of the Avengers.

But now, as she stood there in her tight-fitting dress and seeing the way Tony looked at her, the way she'd been trying to get him to look at her, it was all too complicated. Pictures that she was afraid were memories swirled in her head, and she felt a blush grow under her skin as she watched the way his eyes hungrily took in her appearance.

"Looks even better on you now than when I thought you were trying to seduce a billionaire, Jackie," he grinned, reaching out an arm for her to hook hers through. "Got everything?"

Something in her shifted at the new nickname. Jacqueline turned into Jack. Jack turned into Jackie. What was next? The weight strapped onto her thigh gave her pause, draining her of the unexpected eagerness she had when going somewhere with Tony. Holding up a finger, she said, "Just a second," and hurried off to her bedroom.

It was an impulsive move, yet one that left her feeling relieved and disgusted all at the same time. Taking off the dagger that she'd had on her thigh the entirety of her mission, she stuffed it in her bedside table, wrapping it between the folds of a shirt. It was heavy on her body and kept her from moving freely. I'm not free, she reminded herself coldly.

But maybe for a night...

"Allons-y," Jack beckoned as she returned to the common space, where Tony was waiting for her. Let's go. She took this moment to look him over, the way he leaned against the countertop, his hair gelled into perfection and his posture oozing confidence. She didn't even notice what he was wearing, she just took in his body language and the easy way he stood tall and let a satisfied smile curl his lips upward as he saw her come back.

"Bien sûr, mademoiselle," he grinned at the use of French.

Jack twined her arm with his, an elegant pair walking out of a building too impressive to be real. But this was real. This moment was happening. And she was choosing to go with him.

When they arrived at the club, it took a while for Jack to settle into the noise of a Friday night in New York City. When she'd been here the first time, it was rather empty, at a low point for patrons at the time. But tonight, the place was filled to the brim with exquisitely-dressed men and women that had a strange obsession with high-end alcohol.

"Care to dance?" Tony asked her eventually when the music changed from a jazzy tune to a slower, crooning melody. He stepped out towards an open area that had been made into a makeshift dance floor by moving tables out of the way. Holding out his hand for her to take, his eyes crinkled as he smiled at her again.

And again, something shifted inside her. I always wondered what it would be like, she thought, to have a man smile at me like I was his entire world.

The thought shocked her to her core. She'd never had any thoughts of her own, especially something of this manner. It was the lack of cryo pills, she knew. They were opening chasms in her brain and flooding her mind with images that she wasn't sure whether or not to trust.

"What?" She blinked, trying to remember his question.

Tony, if he was embarrassed, didn't show it. Instead, he grasped her hand in his, pulling her up from the chair she was sitting in. "Dance with me, Jacqueline," he hummed in her ear as he pulled her to his chest.

The name sent shivers down her spine. Taking his hand, Jack followed him to the dance floor and accepted his hand resting on her back, a few words breaking through her mental blockade.

If he wanted to drag his hand along my spine, feel every notch and bump, I'd let him. I'd let him do it for hours.

She was supposed to be scared of that thought, but when he slid his hand down to grip her waist and curve around to the dip of her lower back, she only felt as though he'd read her mind. Or she'd said it aloud.

The music faded away as they swayed together. She wanted to look at him, but she knew she couldn't allow such a thing. Off the cryo pills, she was vulnerable. In the worst way. This night could blow her entire mission.

When Tony brushed his fingers under her chin to turn her head to him, she realized that she didn't care one bit.

He winked at her and whispered huskily, "There's a man behind you that looks like he wants a turn to dance with you."

Jack smirked. "Yeah? What do you say to that, Tony Stark? Is there competition in your midst?"

"No." Tony merely shook his head. "He's much too insecure to handle a woman such as you, Jacqueline." He tugged her even closer as he whispered her name.

Her eyes fluttered closed. "Say my name," she breathed.

It was so quiet that he couldn't hear her. "What?"

"Just...say it."

"And why would I do that?" He asked, drawing out her obvious embarrassment with every word. He was loving this, it was crystal clear.

The girl out of time sighed, resting her cheek on Tony's shoulder and letting something inside of her guide her words. "I...I like the way it sounds when you say it. Like it's...a secret. Something only you can say."

"Jacqueline," he obliged immediately, running a hand up and down her arm, tilting his lips so close to her ear that they brushed against her sensitive skin. "Jacqueline Kingston. You are exquisite."

Jacqueline's knees almost gave out at the sound. She almost didn't have the energy to lift her head, but her willpower won out and rose her head to look at him, seeing a certain light in Tony's eyes that had nothing to do with the yellow lights hanging from the ceiling. "Tony," she replied, tilting her head up. They were sharing the same breaths, so close that their lips would brush together with the slightest movement. "Tony."

This is your moment, a voice in her head snarled at her. You finally got him. He's putty in your hands. You could have shed his blood right here on the dance floor. But you got soft. You left your one weapon in the possession of the enemy. They will not be happy with you.

Jacqueline Kingston, the asset, the ghost story, they were one and the same when she leaned up and whispered, "Non volunt occidere me ad te, Tony."

I wish I didn't have to kill you, Tony.

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wowowowow this is soooooo long but i didn't want to split it, i decided to feed you with this jacktony content tonight than make you wait another week until i updated again.

i hope you noticed the strategic placement of using jack, the asset/asset 53, and jacqueline in this chapter! i hope you realize how important this piece of her identity is to her, and she's just realizing this as well.

the next chapter is gonna be the final chapter in the past(i know, haven't had one in a while), and it's gonna be a bombshell!!!!

oh, and one more thing: we have three chapters left, people! and then an epilogue, so four more updates until HEARTLESS is done! CRAZYYYYY

thanks for reading and staying with me, people. this story has been a ride.

one last thing!! just some shameless promo for my frand s-saetanic , if you wanna go check out cece's new chris evans imagines book, it's super fun and amazing and she's looking for people to request fics! so don't be afraid!

published on: may 7, 2019