june 2016

The asset woke up slowly—though she wasn't sure it could be called waking up so much as those green cryo pills wearing off. One by one, her senses became less dull, fading in like a gentle piano piece. First, it was the feel of the cushions embracing her in her lying position, and a...blanket covering her shoulders.

That wasn't there when I laid down.

It seemed she was already charming the man of iron. Good, too; she had just under two months to complete this mission. And if she wanted to make it as satisfying as she could, if she wanted to savor the betrayal that would surely shine in those eyes...well, she had to start luring him in right from the start.

Next, she forced her eyes open, blinking a few times to rid her vision of fatigued blurriness. Staring down at the carpeted floor beneath the couch she was still laying on, she focused on a dark stain that looked as if it were from dirt or drink that had been neglected, never washed out. She thought about how something so simple, so trivial, could seep its way into the foundation, transforming it into something sinister, something beyond evil.

The asset looked up as she heard voices coming from somewhere behind her, sounding like there was a door or a wall in between them. She perked up her ears in an attempt to decipher the muffled words from two males—presumably that Happy Hogan and his boss, her next victim. For a few seconds, she couldn't hear anything but the angry intones of their voices, deep and rumbling for a moment before shifting to a higher, almost whiny pitch.

Asset 53 smirked. They may be men, but they'll always be boys.

"What did you expect me to do, Tony?" Stark's assistant was clearly not happy, though it sounded like this exasperation wasn't anything new for the poor man.

There was a pause. "She's not an animal, Happy, you could have at least given her one of the guest rooms! She's not just a stranger off the street!"

A disgruntled mumbling. Then, "No, that's actually exactly what she is, Tony. You met her and danced with this woman for, what? Fifteen minutes? Then she passed out and you made me drive her—"

"I didn't make you do anything!" Stark responded indignantly. The asset stood up, brushing her dress off and making sure it wasn't too wrinkled. As she padded closer to a door that no doubt blocked her view from the two men, she heard Happy's retort.

"You bribed me, Tony. That's a pretty clear definition of making someone do something."

She was able to see them now, still hanging out of sight by the doorframe that hid her mostly from view.

The billionaire shrugged, crossing his arms. "You didn't have to do it, though."

Happy scoffed. "And give up free Downton Abbey? No thanks. Speaking of which," he held up a hand, "I've already put the Amazon order through, so don't worry about doing all the hard work. I should get my reward for putting up with your bullshit in five to seven business days."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "How did you—?"

"Friday knows I have good intentions," Hogan answered smugly.

Friday? Maybe a pet name? The asset wondered, her brain wired to decipher any type of code she might come across. It couldn't be a pet name. This man had too much OCD tendencies following him around for there to be a pet in this building.

Then again, there was that dark stain on the carpet.

"Hey, you're awake."

Asset 53 looked up and let a gentle smile grace her lips as she met their eyes. "Hi."

"Uh, I'm gonna go. Call if you need help with the stranger in your house." Happy spun on his heel and started to walk towards an elevator, but then stopped. "Actually, don't. I'm gonna sit this one out."

Stark waved him away and stepped closer to the asset, unknowingly stepping closer to his fate. "How'd you sleep?" He asked, but his eyes jerked away from hers as he walked to the kitchen and fumbled around with the cabinets, searching for something. He found a coffee mug in the cupboard, pulling another one from the strainer in the sink. "Do you like coffee?"

The asset smiled wider. "Do you have tea?"

She'd actually never had the bitter morning drink; she'd much preferred a scalding hot cup of tea. It was the one trait that seemed to be unique to her. According to what her superiors bothered to tell her, she was the only one who required tea throughout the days she spent at the Hydra compound. A strange habit for a trained assassin.

Once their drinks were made and the asset comfortably twirled the tea bag around in hot water as she waited for it to steep, she watched as the iron man leaned against the doorframe, sipping his cup of coffee.

He paused before opening his mouth, taking a few seconds to peer at the woman in his kitchen, still wearing the dress she'd worn the night before. "You've never been to the city, have you?" He implored.

Asset 53 ducked her head, letting an embarrassed smile curl his lips upward. "It's that obvious, huh?"

Stark, ever the gentleman, shook his head. "No, I just figured. Something about you looks like a country girl. Like you'd rather be surrounded by trees and open air than people and pollution." He shrugged and sipped his coffee.

She cocked an eyebrow. "What do you know, Tony Stark's an observant man." She hummed as she drank her tea, hurriedly thinking of a story to tell this man. "I grew up in a rural town in South Dakota. Loved it there, and I still do."

"Why'd you leave, then?" Stark inquired, his eyes burning into her.

The asset shrugged. "My parents died when I was fourteen. A drunk driver was passing through our town and hit them as they were crossing the street. It was immediate." She made sure to speak with detachment, as though the trauma brought up nothing but numbness in her, so many years later.

"Damn. Mine died in a crash too." He looked genuine as he spoke, trying to let this stranger know that he was telling the truth. "I'm sorry."

Asset 53 was quite the actress. Shrugging, she blinked and sighed. "I moved out of town when I was eighteen and could take care of myself. I just couldn't be there anymore, in such a small town where everyone knew me and knew what I'd gone through. I couldn't handle it. I just wanted to escape. So I came here." She glanced up to meet his eyes as she added, "And look who I stumbled into the arms of."

The billionaire didn't have a reaction to her words, just stared at her. She stared back, taking it everything about him. The dress shirt he was still wearing from the night before, the mismatched socks he wore on his feet, the way he leaned up against the countertop that exuded confidence. Nothing escaped her gaze.

"The way you look at me," he began, his words tapering off, "it's like you're...analyzing me."

Asset 53 shrugged again, grinning. "I'm always analyzing. It's what I do."

Tony made a noise of thinking. "Huh. You've got a scientist's mind, Jacqueline Kingston."

She cocked an eyebrow. "Peut être." Maybe.

His eyes brightened at the sound of the foreign words. "Ah, vous parlez français aussi? Merveilleux." Ah, you speak french also? Wonderful. "We're going to get along quite nicely, Mademoiselle."

"Yeah? Who says I'm going to be here long enough for there to be any getting along?"

Tony smiled. "I'll tell you what. You can stay here until you get your own place. But just until then, Miss Kingston." With a wink, he added, "I can't have people taking advantage of my hospitality."

The assassin returned the smile. "I wouldn't dream of it, Tony."

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agh this is several weeks late, but what are ya gonna do when writer's block hits and school is getting busy again? the only good thing about this is that this story is only gonna be about fifteen-ish chapters. so hopefully i'll have it done by the end of march so we're all ready for salvation. one can hope, right?

well, did you notice how the asset changed from addressing tony as "stark" or something along the lines of that to actually saying his name? hahaha i feel clever for once.

thank you for reading!

published on: march 19, 2019