I Don't Sleep (I Dream) 1/3
I Don’t Sleep (I Dream)
Are you looking to drive my dreams? You here to run my screens?
You come, deliver my demons hooray, hooray, hip hip hooray
‘I Don’t Sleep, I Dream’ by R.E.M
Steve looked at the coffee cup in his hand with distaste. It was not that the coffee itself was bad but more that he was tired of drinking it. They were on a job that was just as boring as the previous three jobs he had taken. The client wanted to know who was stealing secrets from his company because apparently it was impossible for anyone to be loyal to their jobs anymore. It was just him and Clint because they only needed one level and Clint was more than capable of building one. He was not pleased about the fact that he was running point and building but Clint rarely complained out loud about anything. Things had gone almost perfectly except for the fact that Bucky kept skirting around the edge of the dream, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
The thought of Bucky made Steve clench the cup a little tighter. It had been a year since the ‘accident’ and nine months since the first time Bucky’s shade had appeared in one of their dreams. The first time he had managed to tip off the mark about what was going on and made the entire thing fall apart around them. Clint had not been pleased and it had taken some sweet talking to make him come back at all. They were a team, the two of them, and Steve had assured Clint that he had it under control. Clint, who saw almost everything, did not call him out on the lie. They had not taken any high profile jobs since.
“It’s done,” Clint said as he slid into the chair across from Steve. “And the money will be in our bank accounts in an hour or so. We’ll vanish after that. Why do you look like the barista spit in your coffee?”
“Just thinking,” Steve replied, taking another sip. “When I retire I’m never drinking coffee again.”
“Right, when you retire, sure,” Clint said as he leaned against the table, watching Steve with those sharp eyes. Clint did not move for a good five minutes, Steve was not even sure he blinked, as he took in every detail. “Did you get a chance to talk to Bucky before we got the kick?”
“He stayed out of the way this time,” Steve said, ignoring the flare of pain from drinking too much hot coffee. Clint raised an eyebrow. “I’ve got it under control.”
“So you’ve said. Multiple times in fact, yet somehow I fail to be convinced.”
“So why are you still here then, Clint?” Steve asked.
“Because despite how many times you bat those big blue eyes at people, they won’t work with you.” Clint leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. “Plus you pay me absurdly well.” Clint looked like he had more to say when he suddenly sat up straight. Steve followed Clint’s line of sight to a man that was walking toward them with purpose. He was huge, looked like he could dead weight a car, with blond hair pulled back into a tight bun and a gray suit. He sat down at their table like he was invited and Steve tried not to show how nervous he was.
“‘Absurdly well?’ I wonder how well indeed,” the man said. The coffee shop was not exactly busy but having people around had never stopped Clint from pulling firearms on people. His hands were in his jacket in seconds but he froze when another man appeared behind him. It took a fairly impressive type of man to sneak up on Clint, and this Chinese man with the black ponytail had a gun, well concealed by a jacket, to Clint’s head in seconds. “I’m here to discuss business, Mr. Barton, I would appreciate if you didn’t pull a gun on me.”
“And I don’t like it when people show off,” Clint replied coolly and he winced when the man behind him shoved the gun into his head.
“That’s enough, Hogun, thank you, you can leave us,” the man said. His bodyguard nodded and shoved Clint none too gently in his seat. Steve had not seen Clint this mad since the first time Bucky had shot him.
“Who are you and what do you want?” Steve asked because while Clint had the patience of a saint, he still got twitchy when provoked.
“My name is Thor Odinson, you may call me Thor, and I would just like to talk a little business,” Thor said.
“It’s called a phone. Next time you should try calling before you drop in on people having coffee,” Clint said dangerously, ignoring the glare of the bodyguard, Hogun, nearby.
“You gentlemen were in town and I decided that going to you directly seemed like a much faster route. JFK can be such an annoying airport to fly into.” Thor smiled at them but Clint did not look convinced. He had a system and it was being thrown to the wind at the moment. Clint liked to examine his employers before he meant them in person, to watch them first, not the other way around. This was making him deeply uncomfortable, Steve could tell just by looking at him, but it was also the first time someone had taken such initiative to get to him in a long time.
“What would you like to discuss, Mr. Odinson?” Steve asked and pointedly ignored the sharp kick to his shin from Clint.
“I have a job I would like to offer to you gentlemen,” Thor said. “My brother seems to know something important and is planning on leaving my family. I don’t want to lose him but all of my resources have been unable to find out why he is trying to leave. I want you to find out what he knows.”
“So you’re asking for an extraction,” Clint said.
“Yes, and then I want him to change his mind about leaving the family,” Thor replied.
“So you want inception then.” Clint was starting to sound a little annoyed.
“Yes, Mr. Barton, I need that as well,” Thor said.
“No,” Clint said without waiting for Steve to say anything.
“Now don’t you think you should talk--” Thor started but Clint shook his head.
“Nothing to talk about. There is no way we’re pulling double duty on one mark. You don’t go into someone’s head twice because you never know how they are going to react. It’s not the way things are done so the answer is ‘no’ and that will be all.” Clint stood and looked at Steve, waiting for him to join him because Clint was right. There was a reason that they did not try again if a job went sour because there was no telling how a mark was going to react. Steve was not standing up though, he was staring at his coffee while Thor watched him carefully.
“You cannot perform the inception without the extraction. Whatever my brother is hiding, no one knows but him.” Thor stood and dropped a fifty on the table. “So you can have another round of coffee while you discuss this. Have a nice day, gentlemen.” If Hogun knocked shoulders with Clint a little harder than necessary Clint did not say anything about it. In fact he seemed to still be waiting for Steve to walk away.
“We should take the job,” Steve said and for half a second he thought Clint was going to throttle him in the middle of the coffee shop.
“Are you insane?” Clint asked as he sat down at the table. “Going in on a mark twice with the second job being inception?”
“The team can do this.”
“What team?” Clint snapped furious. “There is no team, Steve, there hasn’t been a team for years.”
“We can do this. Our team can do this,” Steve insisted.
“No, our team doesn’t exist or have you forgotten that? Tony’s gone legit, he doesn’t build anymore, and he won’t want anything to do with us. Bruce deals and doesn’t leave the country. And last time I checked Natasha won’t work with you. I still refuse to translate what she said about you that day because I really don’t think you want to know. And Bucky--” Clint cut himself off frustrated. “The team doesn’t exist anymore, Steve, it hasn’t existed for a year, why would you even consider this?”
“Because we’re bored, Clint. We were the best team out there and we let it fall apart. TThere isn’t anyone else out there who can do this now that Cobb’s team has broken up.” Steve leaned forward in the chair across the table because he needed Clint to understand this. “Inception is almost impossible but inception with an idea buried so deep it needed to be extracted? No one but us could pull that off and you know it. You’re just as bored as I am, Clint, and we can do this.” Clint stared at him with those piercing blue eyes that saw everything, that always saw everything, and did not move for several minutes. He just stared as if he was waiting for Steve to change his mind.
“If the extraction goes poorly, we’re out. I refuse to do this unless you agree to that term,” Clint said after a long silence.
“If the extraction goes poorly, we pull out,” Steve agreed. “I knew I paid you absurdly well for a reason.”
“Well you’re going to have to keep paying me well because I’m going to get Natasha on my own,” Clint said, taking the fifty off the table. “She won’t want to see you, trust me on that, so let me go talk to her alone. Can you manage to let me handle this one aspect of the job?”
“Clint, I’m an extractor, I don’t have the control issues here. That's your job,” Steve said grinning. “And one day you’re going to tell me what she said.”
“I’m really, really not.” Clint muttered, pulling out his cell phone.
---
Natasha picked up her glass of champagne but made no move to drink it. She had not come all of this way to make the mistake of leaving something like lip marks on a glass behind. Her long red hair hung in curls around her shoulders and her green dress matched her eyes. The party was beyond high class and the people around her were too busy looking down at each other to really notice her. She did not fit into any of their little social groups but these people did not seem to care as long as she fit the profile. She had been following the man of the hour for weeks and was finally ready to make her move. She could con and forge her way anywhere and now Natasha needed the final piece of the puzzle before she swindled this man for all that he was worth.
Natasha smiled and set her glass down ready to move in when a man cut through the crowd. She did not let herself react to his presence enough to tip anyone off but she did not hide the anger in her eyes either. Clint looked stunning in an all gray suit with a deep red tie. He was smiling as he walked up to her, and damn it, this is exactly what she did not need right now.
“Ma’am, I was wondering if you would like a dance,” Clint said, offering a hand. A few people were paying attention now, Clint knew that too, which was exactly why she could not say ‘no’ without drawing attention to herself.
“I don’t see why not,” Natasha replied taking his hand. Clint led her out onto the dance floor and placed a hand on her hip as he began to sway to the music. “What are you doing here, Clint?” she asked after they danced for a few moments.
“Couldn’t I just want to see you?” Clint asked, all boyish charm. Natasha pinched his shoulder harder than she really needed to but he smiled nevertheless. “How deep are you right now?”
“Deep enough that if my mark sees me with you he won’t do what I want him to do,” Natasha replied. She hoped that Clint would take the hint and back off a little but if anything it made him draw her closer to his body. “If you ruin this for me--”
“How bored are you, Tasha, that you’re back to swindling rich men for their jewels?” Clint whispered into her ear.
“This has nothing to do with boredom.” It was a lie, she was bored to the point that Natasha was sure her eyes were going cross eyed, but Natasha did not need to tell Clint that.
“If you’re not too bored I might have a job offer for you.” Somehow Clint managed to align their bodies in just the right places. It was a little much for this crowd and Natasha could feel a few sets of eyes following them.
“I don’t need you to bring me jobs, Barton,” Natasha said digging her nails into Clint’s shoulder. For once he listened and took a step back putting some space between them.
“I know that, I wouldn’t dream of considering myself your handler, but I do always bring you the best jobs.” Clint spun her to the music and pulled her in close. “If you’re ready to dream again meet me in my hotel room." He whispered a room number to her and took a step back. “Thank you for the dance.” He might have even bowed a little and Natasha was going to shoot him in the kneecaps. Clint turned and walked out of the party as Natasha watched her mark eye her suspiciously.
She regretted not having that glass of champagne.
---
Clint popped the top off a beer and looked out the window of his hotel room. He imagined the different vantage points he would need to make a shot if his target was standing at the crosswalk. Mentally he pictured leaning out the window at an almost impossible angle and looking through the scope. Clint could feel the trigger on his finger and imagined pulling it, the kick of the rifle enough to knock a lesser man off balance, but Clint was not that man. The scenario made him smile as he watched the light change and the fake mark crossed the street. He took another drink of his beer and missed the rush from sniping like a limb. Clint loved what he did now, he liked details and plans and the way extractors’ faces pinched when he took apart one of their plans but there was something about sniping that no amount of research and planning could replace. Idly Clint realized he would probably live longer if he had never switched careers but running point was what he did now and that was that.
Speaking of living longer Clint tensed when there was a knock on his door. Off the top of his head he could think of three people that would shoot him dead on sight, two that would shoot him but make sure he died slowly, and four that would not shoot him but make sure he was alive so they could bleed him for information. Clint set his beer aside and picked up his gun from the end table, easing toward the door. He was not stupid enough to look through the peephole but he needed a way to gauge who was behind that door.
"I didn't order room service," he called out and whoever was on the other side of the door did not respond, they just knocked again. Clint clicked the safety off of his gun and positioned himself such that the person on the other side would not be able to shoot him right away. He listened for anything that might give his visitor away but they were silent which did not bode well for him. Clint turned the handle slowly and braced himself.
The door swung open and nearly splintered with the force of the kick. Clint raised his gun to fire but the attacker knocked it out of his hand and slammed their fist across his cheekbone hard enough that he the edges of vision turned white. His instincts were the only reason Clint was able to connect a punch and he could feel a lip split underneath his fist. The attacker kicked his feet out from underneath him and Clint hit the ground hard, knocking the breath from his lungs. Two hands like steel pinned his wrists to the ground and Clint could feel nails nearly breaking the skin.
"Bang, you're dead," a voice said above him and Clint grinned.
"Put me at a distance and you wouldn't be so lucky, Tasha," Clint replied and Natasha raised an eyebrow.
"You won't always have that option," she said coolly.
"Thanks, Mr. Miyagi." Clint grinned as he looked up at her. Her long red hair was pulled back in a messy bun and she had traded her green dress for a v-neck black t-shirt and a pair of black jeans, though Clint was pretty sure Natasha was one of those people that could make a garbage bag look amazing. Natasha rolled her eyes and kicked the door shut without releasing his wrists. “You know I could have shot you.”
“You would have to beat me hand to hand first and we both know that will never happen.” Natasha smirked and looked a bit too smug.
“So how did your con go?” Clint asked and the smug expression melted from Natasha’s face. Clint did not hide the wince when he felt her nails break his skin. “That bad, huh?”
“You ruined everything. I should string you up by your ankles and leave you here for housekeeping to find,” Natasha snapped.
“Kinky,” Clint replied and the hands on his wrists tightened and he knew he would have bruises. He shifted his hips beneath her and watched her pupils dilate a little. “I never knew you were into that type of thing--”
“Oh my god, I am derailing this conversation the only way I know how.” For half a second Clint thought Natasha was going to follow through on her threat but soft lips pressed against his own and god, finally, they were kissing. Natasha released his wrists and Clint wrapped his arms around her thin body, pulling her flush against him. He sat up slowly licking into her mouth as her strong legs wrapped around his waist. Natasha did not let him lead the kissing long before she was threading her fingers through his short blond hair and tugging gently. He deposited her on the bed and grinned down at her. It had been months since he had seen her and now she was smirking up at him with flushed lips and a coy smile. He opened his mouth to tell how stunning she was but Natasha held up a hand. “Don’t.”
“You have no idea what I was going to say,” Clint said as he crawled on the bed and leaned over her.
“You were going to ruin the moment,” she replied as she began to work on the buttons of his shirt.
“Baby, we’re nothing but one continuous moment,” Clint said and Natasha rolled her eyes. She was trying to look annoyed, he could tell, but a smile was hinting at the corners of her mouth.
“And there it is.” Natasha pushed his shirt off and rolled them over so she was straddling his hips. They kissed again, hard and fighting for dominance even though Clint knew he was never going to win, and Natasha’s shirt was almost off when his phone began to ring. Clint groaned and broke the kiss and Natasha glared. “Leave it.” She kissed him again and the familiar ring tone meant that it could be only one person.
“I need to get that.” He tried breaking the kiss again and the constant ringing was the only thing that kept him from whiting out completely when Natasha did something sinful with her hips. He practically growled and reached over, picking up the phone and holding up a single finger. Natasha crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. “Look, this is a really bad time.”
“What, are you captured or something?” Steve asked.
“No, I’m fine, but this is still a bad time,” Clint replied as Natasha pulled off her shirt. He missed whatever Steve was saying with the plethora of pale skin before him. “What?”
“I asked how you’re doing with recruiting Nat? We need a forger for something with sort of depth we need for incep--” Steve ranted and whatever he was saying was lost to the ether when Natasha began to kiss his chest.
“I’m working on it,” Clint replied, swallowed a groan when Natasha’s extremely talented tongue found one of his nipples.
“What is wrong with you? Are you sure you’re okay?” Steve asked sounding concerned and probably doing his puppy dog face that made Clint talk about feelings even when he didn’t want to, despite them not even being on the same continent. He was about to try and explain the situation without giving away too many details when Natasha took the phone from his hands.
“Hi, Steve. Clint is fine, we’re currently trying to have sex so whatever job he is here trying to recruit me for, we haven’t gotten that far. If you’re extracting you better hope he’s still amazing in bed or it might take some convincing, but considering we haven’t seen each other in six months that probably won’t be a problem. We’ll talk in about it in eight hours; have a nice night,” Natasha said in practically one breath and hung up the phone without waiting for Steve to respond. Clint stared up at her as she turned off his phone, trying not to show how turned on he was, but considering their positions it was really obvious.
“How do men keep any dignity around you?” he asked as Natasha tossed the phone across the room, her smirk obscene.
“They don’t.”
---
Steve stared at his phone and tried to ignore the fact that his forger had just informed him that she was having sex with his point man. He knew that Natasha and Clint were together but that did not mean he thought about it often. In fact he tried not to think about it at all because it made meetings very awkward. Tony never had a problem with it and once told them that they would make a killing if they sold a sex tape, which had ended in a black eye for him and Natasha threatening to bend his straight edge. Eight hours meant that he really just had time to kill because Clint would never let him go and get Tony and Bruce by himself. Steve eyed the PASIV that was sitting on the table nearby and contemplated plugging in. He could hear Bruce’s voice in his head yelling at him about how plugging in by himself was a terrible idea but that did not ease the temptation. Steve just wanted to dream even if it was for just a little while. His apartment was too quiet and he needed to fill it with sound.
The PASIV was a model that Clint had stolen from the military when he decided to go rogue. Steve did not own the PASIV as much as Clint did but Clint was not keen on carrying it around either so it usually fell into Steve’s hands. Not that he minded much because Bucky had taught him everything anyone ever needed to know about a PASIV and then some. For half a second Steve hesitated as he thought about Bucky but continued to set up the machine for five minutes. Just an hour in a dream, that was all, he just wanted an hour without the silence and limitations of this real world. The IV pinched as it entered the vein and the rush of cold that came with Somnacin.
---
Steve blinked and looked around. He was in different version of his first apartment after entering the dream crime world. Outside, Chicago, or this version of it, was noisy and that noise was almost a relief. It was just him in his own mind right now and there was no one to judge him for wanting to see the past even if it was not real. It was winter and Steve tugged his coat closed as he walked through the city. It was not very windy right now but even a small breeze cut like a knife.
“I never understood your love for this city,” a voice behind him said. Steve turned and had a gun out before he could think twice. Bucky raised an eyebrow as he looked at the gun and moved it aside. “Does Clint know you’re playing with guns? He won’t be pleased.”
“What are you doing here, Bucky?” Steve asked lowering the gun slowly.
“Let’s go inside somewhere; it’s freezing and I don’t want to deal with the cold,” Bucky said grinning. He turned and walked across the street to a small cafe. Steve clenched the gun tight and thought about shooting himself out of this nightmare because staying was just going to encourage him. He should leave, he should wake himself up, he should run the other way.
Steve made sure to look both ways before crossing the street and following Bucky inside the cafe.
"What are you doing here?” Steve repeated as he sat down across from his old friend.
“I should ask you the same question. You know you aren’t supposed to dream alone, never know what could go wrong topside.” Bucky folded his hands on the table and smiled.
“I don’t need to explain myself to--”
“--to a projection? Yeah, I’m dead, thanks for the reminder, Steve. You’re such a buzzkill.” Bucky sighed and looked out the window. He looked exactly the same as he did the day of the accident and it made Steve’s heart ache. “You’re getting the team back together.”
“We are the best and I need the best for this job,” Steve replied because there was no point in lying to his own subconscious.
“You won’t have a mechanic,” Bucky pointed out. “If anything goes wrong with the machine you’re screwed.”
“Bucky, you were one of the only mechanics in the world. No one knew the machines better than you besides maybe the ones that designed the things in the original program and those people are probably dead,” Steve said and clenched his fists tight enough that he felt his nails bite into his palms. “You were the expert and you can’t be replaced so I’m not going to try.”
“Good, because I wouldn’t want another mechanic in your life,” Bucky replied evenly though there was a dangerous edge to it. Steve looked up and found that Bucky was staring at him intensely and it was making him feel like he was being judged. There was no doubt in his mind that Bucky would have forcibly thrown another mechanic out of the dream if Steve dared let one in and the fact that he was almost flattered by that was worrying.
“This is going to be a tough job, Bucky. Are you going to make things difficult?” Steve asked despite the fact that he knew the answer already. Bucky also seemed to know that he did not need to answer that question because he leaned forward and kissed Steve gently on the corner of his mouth. Steve’s hands were shaking, fighting the need to shove the projection of his best friend and lover away or never let him go. The dream began to collapse around them and Steve squeezed his eyes closed tight enough that he saw stars and waited to wake up.
---
Natasha was not a cuddler, Clint knew that, so when she rolled off of him to catch her breath he was not expecting a hug or anything else. He was not so big on it either so maybe one day they would get to that point, where they were a functional couple, but right now they were lying side by side and Natasha did not break all of his fingers when he took her hand. They still had several hours before Clint planned on checking in with Steve and while he wanted to spend them with Natasha he was here with a purpose. That did not mean he wanted to ruin the bliss of just having an orgasm with a beautiful woman who could kill him with her bare hands, and it probably spoke volumes about his state of mind that he found those bare hands as attractive as he did.
“So tell me about the job,” Natasha said, rolling over so she was facing him. She did not release his hand, which was surprising but not unwelcome, and Clint turned so he was facing her as well.
“Businessman wants us to find out what his brother is hiding and then use it to change his mind about walking out on his family,” Clint replied.
“He wants an extraction followed by inception on the same mark,” Natasha said, frowning deeply. “That seems risky.”
“That’s because it is risky.” Clint sighed and reached over to touch her tangled red curls. “You should say ‘no’, hell I should have said ‘no’ if I had any smarts.”
“Why did you say ‘yes’ if you think it’s a bad idea?” she asked swatting his hand away from her hair.
“Because Steve pays me obscenely well and pointed out the fact that I’m bored. I got him to agree that if the extraction went poorly we would pull out but.” Clint shrugged. “He wants to get the entire team back together.”
“Bruce hates high risk jobs these days and you can’t sway Tony with payment since he’s worth more than all of us combined,” Natasha said. “Not to mention we’re a member short.”
“I won’t lie to you, Tasha,” Clint said after a moment of silence. “I don’t know what’s going on in Steve's head with that. He’s shown up a few times, put a bullet in my leg and left me to bleed out two jobs ago. You were right to walk away then and you should walk away now. Without a forger we can’t do this job and Steve won’t trust anyone but you. I don’t trust anyone but you.” Natasha released his hand and rolled onto her back to stare at the ceiling. She was cataloging, thinking deeply, and he needed to let her have the time.
“When you say ‘obscenely well’ how obscene are we talking about?” Natasha asked after some time. Clint grinned and pulled her into a deep kiss because that was the closest he was going to get to a straightforward ‘yes’ from Natasha.
---
Steve was dozing on his couch when there was a knock on his door. He practically tripped over his own feet and Clint looked bored when he answered. It had been almost two days of radio silence from Clint but Steve had not worried. Clint was not one of the best in the business because he was careless. Steve opened the door and let Clint walk in, surprised that he was alone.
"Did she say 'no'?" Steve asked as he closed and locked the door.
"She said 'yes' but I hope you're willing to pay her well. You know how Natasha is," Clint replied. He tossed his overnight bag on the floor and collapsed onto the couch.
"Pretty sure I know less and less about Natasha every time I see her," Steve said as he sat down across from Clint who scoffed but did not disagree.
"She decided not to come until we can confirm Tony and Bruce. Something about not wanting to watch you get shot down and wasting her time." Clint crossed his arms across his chest and stared at Steve. "Do you have a plan to recruit them?"
"I'm going to present Bruce with a challenge that he won't be able to resist," Steve replied.
"And Tony?" Clint pressed after Steve did not elaborate.
"Stroke his ego until his head is so big the idea of turning it down is an insult." Steve paused when Clint looked apprehensive. "And if that doesn't work I'll get Pepper to help me."
"Oh there's no way any of that is going to blow up in our faces," Clint said.
"Let's go collect our chemist." Steve stood and offered a hand to help Clint to his feet. Clint gave him a rather impressive side eye but accepted the hand. Steve chose to ignore the finger shaped bruises on Clint's wrists but when Clint caught Steve looking at them he smirked but did not say anything. Steve really did not want to know anyway.
---
Bruce liked living the quiet life. Unlike the rest of the people within the dreamshare community he much preferred mailing out the chemicals using increasingly dubious methods than being out there with the action. He was a scientist at the end of the day and he did not need to be running from scary people to get his blood pumping. After years of anger management through college the quiet life suited him. Betty liked him doing his work out of the house as well, for the most part, because they were the type of people that no one bothered. They went to block parties and shook hands with the police chief when an hour earlier Bruce had been wrist deep in Somnacin. It was something they both had a good laugh over in the privacy of their home over cups of tea. Nothing ever happened and Bruce liked it that way.
It was the lack of action in his day to day life that made the simple sound of a door slamming in the middle of the afternoon make his blood run cold. Bruce nearly dropped the Somnacin he was brewing and bolted up the stairs from his basement lab, taking the stairs two at a time. He was surprised to find Betty sitting in the living room reading.
"What happened?" Bruce asked trying to even out his heartbeat.
"What do you mean?" Betty asked looking up from her book.
"I heard a door slam," he said.
"Oh I had the front door open with the screen across to get some fresh air in here and the wind must have caught it," Betty explained, flashing him a smile but for some reason it did not ring completely true. He had no proof but his instincts and that was not enough to accuse Betty of lying. So he gave her his best smile and excused himself down to the lab where he got absolutely no work done for the rest of the afternoon.
Bruce had almost completely forgotten about the door slamming until the exact same thing happened the next day. He narrowed his eyes and sent Betty a text from the lab.
Wind get the door again?
You know how it is :) came almost immediately but Bruce could not shake the feeling that there was something else going on. It had been over a year since he had left the team for this type of life and getting out of the business directly meant that his paranoia should have gotten better, but now all he could think about was that something was very, very wrong. He stayed in the lab the entire day and crawled into bed after Betty had already gone to sleep. Part of him wanted to see if he could find a way to see what was going on in the dream crime world without someone like Clint finding out that he was interested but that was nearly impossible.
Around the same time as the previous two days Bruce wandered upstairs and stayed near the front door. He could not see much from where he was lurking but he could at least see what was going on. The front door was not open and he swallowed the lump in his throat when there was a light knock. Betty hesitated as she walked toward the door. She opened it just a little, barely looking out, before she slammed it shut. The person on the other side said something but Bruce could not hear what they said. Betty stayed with her back against the door for a moment, visibly pulling herself together, until she walked back the opposite way. Bruce eased toward the living room and looked outside just long enough to see a car pull away.
Betty was going to the university the next day and she dropped a not so subtle hint that he should probably just listen to music very loudly and forget the rest of the world existed. Bruce smiled and put in his ear buds. He knew exactly how long it would take until Betty was out of the house and when all was silent Bruce walked upstairs and put the kettle on. Someone was harassing them but it was someone that Betty did not want him to know was coming. That limited who it could possibly be but it also meant that someone that Betty did not like was seeking him out for probably less than legal reasons. The kettle whistled and Bruce poured himself the cup of tea and carried the mug to the front door. Betty had a porch and He sat down on their porch to drink and wait and wait for whoever wanted to talk to him.
The cup was nearly empty when the same car pulled up front. Bruce halfway considered standing up to meet these people that Betty was so desperately trying to keep away but he really did not want to. He took another sip and smiled over the rim of his mug as the two men approached him. He knew why Betty was slamming the door in their faces because he knew exactly what they were going to ask him before they were even in ear shot.
Bruce set his empty mug aside and smiled.
---
Steve was not entirely surprised when Betty slammed the front door in his face the moment she saw him. Betty did not dislike them but they were not her favorite people either. She was the one that had had to hold Bruce’s hand when he got poisoned by a mark as they frantically tried not to let the fever boil the chemist alive. That was the last time they had seen each other so Steve was not expecting a hug and a cup of coffee, but to get the door slammed in his face was a little harsh. The way he could hear Clint snickering behind him did not really help much in the matter.
“That went well,” Clint said as they walked back to the car.
“I’m not giving up. We need Bruce for this,” Steve replied.
“I know I’m just trying to figure out whether I want to make a bet with Natasha about how many times we’re going to get kicked off this property before we get him to agree to this,” Clint said thoughtfully. Steve glared but Clint did not seem to notice or care. They found a cheap motel nearby and prepared to come back the following day.
The next day Betty slammed the door in his face again and this time Clint did not bother to try and hide his laugh. Steve continued to glare and tried to remember if there was a way he could call or text Betty that could not be traced. Clint told him that there was but it would take time to route a line halfway around the world and she would probably kill him for the bill. Steve wanted to argue that he was probably scarier than Betty but Clint reminded him of the time she had screamed at a New York City cabbie and kicked a dent in the door with her shoe. So Steve went back the third time only to have her slam the door yet again.
“Betty, I know you don’t want me here, but I need to talk to Bruce. It’s important,” Steve said through the door. He could hear her leaning against the door. Steve sighed and walked back toward the car without looking back. They were losing time and he was considering just breaking in if this went on any longer.
Which was why Steve’s eyebrows shot straight up when they pulled up and found Bruce sitting on the front steps drinking tea and waiting for them. Steve walked up with Clint staying close behind smiling.
“Bruce, you’re looking well,” Steve said offering a hand. Bruce stood and shook it.
“You too, Steve,” Bruce said. “You seem to have a Clint following you around.”
“I can’t seem to get rid of him, what is your medical opinion?” Steve asked as Clint scoffed.
“I’d be offended if I wasn’t secure in the knowledge that Steve would be screwed without me,” Clint said as he shook hands with Bruce.
“You know you could have just called if you needed supplies.” Bruce picked up the mug from the porch and walked back into the house, gesturing for Steve and Clint to follow him.
“I need more than just a few chemicals, Bruce,” Steve said as they all sat down at the table. “I have a job that requires an extraction and inception performed on the same mark, and I’d like to avoid the risk of falling into limbo.” Bruce raised both of his eyebrows.
“You’re going to need a really good chemist for that,” he said folding his hands.
“I need the best,” Steve said, ignoring Clint’s eye roll because A) it wasn’t a lie and B) a little flattery never hurt anyone.
“You know I’m the best but this type of job requires me to be there. You want me to go out into the field.” Bruce narrowed his eyes but looked a little thoughtful.
“If you could invent a stable blend for three levels without the risk of falling into limbo we could revolutionize the entire dream share market,” Clint said.
“Who else do you have?” Bruce asked.
“Us two, Natasha is set to forge, you would be our chemist and we’re going to get Tony to build,” Steve said.
“Getting the team back together then. Betty is going to be thrilled.” Bruce stood and walked across the kitchen, pouring some more hot water into a mug. Steve watched as Bruce made another cup of tea and he sat back down at the table without offering some to either of them. “If you can get the entire team back together I’m in. I know how Tony builds so that will make tailoring the blend much easier.” Steve grinned and he did not bother to hide it when he heard Betty walk into the house. She froze when she saw him and if the clenching of her jaw was anything to go by she knew that Bruce had agreed to a job. That did not mean he wanted to be around during the fallout and he excused himself and Clint to let Bruce deal with it.
“I will contact you with a meeting place when I have one,” Clint said.
“I look forward to it,” Bruce said, closing the door. Steve walked across the lawn and got into the driver seat as Clint began to mess with his phone.
“I got us tickets on the next flight to New York which leaves in three hours. Let’s go collect a billionaire so we can get this show on the road,” Clint said. “I’ve been trying to reach Tony for the last two days and he isn’t answering any of my calls.”
“Don’t worry about it. You know how Tony is; we need to be a little more aggressive when it comes to him,” Steve replied, pulling out onto the main road. Clint huffed an agreement but remained silent on the way to the airport.
---
Tony was well aware what the rest of the world thought about him. Mostly because he could read what they wrote in the gossip magazines but that was besides the point. Tony loved architecture, and even if that was not what the rest of his company did, that was the section that he paid attention to. He had not slept for five days when the inspiration for the tower struck and he was fairly sure the only reason he fell asleep at all was because someone had spiked his coffee. When he woke up twelve hours later Pepper screamed at him for a good twenty minutes straight, much of which he only remembered bits and pieces of.
The world seemed a lot lighter since he had given Pepper the keys to the Stark Industries car. Tony was an artist, he loved declaring this whenever Pepper complained that he had trashed the apartment again, and he did not need to be running a company. Howard had been all about mechanics and robots, and while Tony was all right with that sort of thing, his mind was much more comfortable designing buildings that he would charge a fortune to build. He used his father’s technology to furnish them so they were elegant and high tech. And if sometimes his assistants had to point out that something in his design would not work in the real world, well then that’s what assistants were for.
Hidden in his desk were piles upon piles of notebooks of nothing but mazes. To anyone else they would appear to be nothing but Tony could not get rid of the itch beneath his skin. He was a legitimate member of society now. Well, if he was honest, he had never really stopped being one. If there was one thing Tony was excellent at, it was bullshitting, and now that he was not building for dreams anymore there was a lot less running around meeting with shady people. It was ironic that he had not given Pepper the CEO position until after the accident and the team broke up. Now he had all the time in the world to build dreams for shady people and he had dropped out of that game.
Tony rubbed his eyes as he walked out of his drawing room and stumbled into the kitchen for more coffee. He had been commissioned by some guy named Hammer to make the most Amazing Factory Ever (at least that is what the file was named) and he really needed more coffee to deal with it. The morning, or maybe afternoon, they tended to blur, got much better when he saw Pepper making sandwiches.
“Pepper, I thought you had a meeting this morning,” Tony said as he poured himself a large cup of black coffee.
“It’s the afternoon, Tony, so the meeting is over.” Pepper handed him a plate with a BLT on it and he just loved her more than anything in that moment. “Investors still want to know if you’re willing to share JARVIS with the rest of the world.”
“And the answer is still a resounding ‘no.’ My dad and I built JARVIS from the ground up and I perfected him. I don’t want him getting into the wrong hands. Can you imagine what kind of evil some sort of super villain could do with such advanced technology?” Tony asked over bites of his BLT.
“This isn’t a comic book and you aren’t a superhero, despite what your ego might tell you,” Pepper said.
“I’ll wait for the conclusive evidence.” Tony finished his sandwich and kissed Pepper on the cheek. “I’ll be in my office.”
“We’re having dinner tonight. Can you try not to forget?” Pepper called out as he walked away.
“Will do my best!” Tony replied as he opened the door to his office and froze as he looked at the two people sitting in front of his desk. “Pepper? We need to improve security.”
---
Steve turned in his chair and smiled when Tony walked in the room. Clint smirked and gave a two fingered salute but Tony looked like was trying to figure out if it was possible to light them all on fire with his mind. This was about the reaction that Steve thought he was going to get when he told Clint his plan was to just break into Tony’s apartment in Stark Tower.
“JARVIS, why didn’t you tell me that someone was in the tower?” Tony asked as he walked to his desk and sat down slowly.
“Because you told me that your friends were an exception,” JARVIS’ voice replied and Clint smirked.
“We need to amend that,” Tony muttered as Pepper walked into the office.
“Tony, what are you--” She froze when she walked into the room and her fierce stare locked with Steve’s. It made him feel small and not just because she could put one of those three inch heels through his eye. “Steve Rogers, you get up and give me a hug right now.” He smiled and pushed himself to his feet, pulling Pepper into a tight hug. “How are you?”
“Oh, you know, same old,” Steve replied pulling away.
“I’d ask if you were staying out of trouble but I know you’re not, especially considering Clint is sitting over there looking a bit too smug.” Pepper grinned as she hugged Clint around his shoulders and kissed the top of his head. “How are you?”
“I’m doing well, Pep, thanks,” Clint replied as he smiled one of those boyish grins that he used whenever he was trying to butter someone up.
“Can we not make nice to the two wanted criminals that just broke into our apartment?” Tony asked loudly. “Give me one good reason not to call security and have you thrown out right now.” Pepper squeezed Clint’s shoulders and excused herself quietly. Steve took a deep breath and released it slowly.
“We need you,” he said.
“You need me. That’s your explanation for breaking and entering when I told you I didn’t want to design dreams anymore and you just come and tell me that you need me. How about I give you two chuckle heads a head start on the way out the door for old times’ sake.”
“I’m serious, Tony. No one else will do this job without you. We’re getting the entire team back together and no one will commit unless we have everyone. You’re the last person we need.” Steve leaned forward, smirking. “We need four levels from you; one for an extraction and three for inception on the same mark.” Tony raised an eyebrow but did not call security like he was threatening.
“Look, Stark, we’ve all always worked best as a team and I know you’re bored just sitting around spending your money. Just say you’ll do the job,” Clint said. Tony glared at Clint and looked like he was about to say something when a voice called out from the hallway.
“You’ve been more insufferable than usual; take the job!” Pepper called out.
“Eavesdropping is bad manners!” Tony called back.
“I’m not eavesdropping. JARVIS is telling me everything.” Pepper sounded like she was about to burst out laughing and it made Steve smile. Tony, on the other hand, looked annoyed.
“Betrayed by my own AI yet again,” he mumbled. “Fine, I’ll take the job.”
“Great. When I get a location set up I’ll be in contact. Just make sure you pick up your cell phone when I call you this time,” Clint said, standing up.
“No, tell everyone to come here; we’re working out of the Tower,” Tony said calmly. Steve had seen Clint glare at a lot of people but he had never seen Clint get so angry that he was almost vibrating so fast.
“I beg your pardon?” Clint asked which was not the way Steve pictured Clint saying those words.
“I need JARVIS to build the best mazes and he is part of the Tower, hence we work out of the Tower. There are entire floors that no one is using and we can be protected with my security--”
“--which can be broken--”
“--and we’ll do it all here,” Tony continued as if Clint had not said anything. “Make it look like our client is commissioning one of my designs and no one will notice Bruce or Natasha coming in or out. We plan here and that is not up for negotiation.” Tony was talking to Steve because it was his job but the statement was directed at Clint who usually went about finding somewhere safe for them to do the planning. Steve did not like the idea of working in such a flashy place but Tony had complete control of the building and once they fixed any security loopholes Natasha or Clint found it would be a fortress. A fortress with warm running water, high speed internet and an open liquor cabinet.
“Fine,” Steve said. “Give Natasha and Clint access to security and JARVIS to find and fix any blind spots and we have a deal.”
“Unlimited access,” Clint amended sounding almost murderous. “And the second it looks like we could be compromised here we relocate.”
“Gentlemen, it looks like we’re in business,” Tony said with a slow smile. Steve tried to smile but it felt forced; this was either going to go really well or he was going to buying a lot of flowers for teammates in the coma ward and he was not sure which option freaked him out more.
---
Clint was on his laptop looking for ways to get Bruce into New York with all of his lab equipment that would not involve driving when his phone rang. He picked it up and answered without looking at who was calling. It was three in the morning the night that they had picked up their final team member; there was only one person that it could be.
“Are you ready to take New York by storm, Tasha?” Clint asked.
“I want to know how Steve is doing,” Natasha said without humoring him. “Is Bucky going to be a problem?”
“We’ve dealt with shades before; we can deal with this one,” Clint said.
“You can pull the trigger and so can I despite how much it might hurt but can anyone else? Can Steve?” she asked. Clint did not know the answer to that because he had not seen Bucky and Steve interact in one of the dreams. So far he had only seen Bucky take him out and then the dream had ended or Steve had kicked him out. “Clint, they were close, they loved each other, and losing him hurt Steve much more than it hurt any of us. Can he pull the trigger even if it’s a shade?”
“I don’t know,” Clint said honestly because he really did not know and he did not like not knowing. “I guess we’ll just have to make sure we’re there to look out for him. Protecting the team is my job and if that means I have to shoot Bucky Barnes in the head then I will. You can trust me to do that much.” A long silence passed between the two of them as Clint finished getting Natasha a ticket to New York. The sooner they started to plan the better.
“You know I trust you. Email me my flight details and I will see you soon.” Natasha hung up the phone and Clint set it aside. He opened his desk drawer and pulled out one single picture. It was the entire team a year ago, before the accident that took Bucky’s life and ripped them all apart. Now they were all going to be in the same room again but it was not going to be like before. They did not have their mechanic and friend anymore, and Clint had to steel himself at the thought that he was probably going to have to shoot a projection of one of his best friends because his other best friend couldn’t do it.
Clint put the picture away and dialed a number on his phone.
“Hey, Stark, Bruce needs a ride from Virginia with all of his toys, you willing to go pick him up?”
---
Steve went down to a small restaurant around the corner from the Tower to meet with Thor. Natasha was on a plane to New York and Clint and Tony were on their way to go pick up Bruce. Now all Steve needed to do was convince Thor to get in contact with Tony and everything would be going well. He was anxious to start the actual planning because that was something he could understand. Everything else, all of the details of this real world, they bothered him. The dreams, however, he could mold those into anything that he wanted. The dreams that defied the laws of the universe were starting to make more sense than the real world. That should have worried him more than it did.
Steve nodded to Hogun as Thor took a seat at their table. The man was still a presence and seemed to command attention wherever he went. Trying to keep someone who took up the entire room on the down low was not going to be as easy as he wanted.
“Do you have your team, Mr. Rogers?” Thor asked.
“Please, call me Steve, saying Mr. Rogers makes me think of that kids show,” Steve said which made Thor crack a smile. “I had my last team member agree to the job yesterday. We’re going to get started in New York soon but we’ll need you to make a cover so you can come and go in the building. I need you to call Pepper Potts and arrange a meeting. You’re hiring Tony Stark to design a building for you.”
“I see. I will make that happen as soon as possible,” Thor replied. “Do you think you’re going to be able to do this job?”
“The extraction should go well but inception is far from a perfect art. We will do our best,” Steve said. Thor did not look entirely pleased by that but he did not say anything else. The rest of the team would be arriving in the next few days and they would have to start to plan the extraction. He did not want to think about the inception just yet because there was still the chance that the extraction would go poorly and Clint would do everything he could to make sure the second part of the job did not happen. He had seen the reports from when Clint used to perform hits, he knew how ruthless his friend was when he wanted to be, and he did not want to be on the receiving end of that gun.
forward -->
Are you looking to drive my dreams? You here to run my screens?
You come, deliver my demons hooray, hooray, hip hip hooray
‘I Don’t Sleep, I Dream’ by R.E.M
Steve looked at the coffee cup in his hand with distaste. It was not that the coffee itself was bad but more that he was tired of drinking it. They were on a job that was just as boring as the previous three jobs he had taken. The client wanted to know who was stealing secrets from his company because apparently it was impossible for anyone to be loyal to their jobs anymore. It was just him and Clint because they only needed one level and Clint was more than capable of building one. He was not pleased about the fact that he was running point and building but Clint rarely complained out loud about anything. Things had gone almost perfectly except for the fact that Bucky kept skirting around the edge of the dream, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
The thought of Bucky made Steve clench the cup a little tighter. It had been a year since the ‘accident’ and nine months since the first time Bucky’s shade had appeared in one of their dreams. The first time he had managed to tip off the mark about what was going on and made the entire thing fall apart around them. Clint had not been pleased and it had taken some sweet talking to make him come back at all. They were a team, the two of them, and Steve had assured Clint that he had it under control. Clint, who saw almost everything, did not call him out on the lie. They had not taken any high profile jobs since.
“It’s done,” Clint said as he slid into the chair across from Steve. “And the money will be in our bank accounts in an hour or so. We’ll vanish after that. Why do you look like the barista spit in your coffee?”
“Just thinking,” Steve replied, taking another sip. “When I retire I’m never drinking coffee again.”
“Right, when you retire, sure,” Clint said as he leaned against the table, watching Steve with those sharp eyes. Clint did not move for a good five minutes, Steve was not even sure he blinked, as he took in every detail. “Did you get a chance to talk to Bucky before we got the kick?”
“He stayed out of the way this time,” Steve said, ignoring the flare of pain from drinking too much hot coffee. Clint raised an eyebrow. “I’ve got it under control.”
“So you’ve said. Multiple times in fact, yet somehow I fail to be convinced.”
“So why are you still here then, Clint?” Steve asked.
“Because despite how many times you bat those big blue eyes at people, they won’t work with you.” Clint leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. “Plus you pay me absurdly well.” Clint looked like he had more to say when he suddenly sat up straight. Steve followed Clint’s line of sight to a man that was walking toward them with purpose. He was huge, looked like he could dead weight a car, with blond hair pulled back into a tight bun and a gray suit. He sat down at their table like he was invited and Steve tried not to show how nervous he was.
“‘Absurdly well?’ I wonder how well indeed,” the man said. The coffee shop was not exactly busy but having people around had never stopped Clint from pulling firearms on people. His hands were in his jacket in seconds but he froze when another man appeared behind him. It took a fairly impressive type of man to sneak up on Clint, and this Chinese man with the black ponytail had a gun, well concealed by a jacket, to Clint’s head in seconds. “I’m here to discuss business, Mr. Barton, I would appreciate if you didn’t pull a gun on me.”
“And I don’t like it when people show off,” Clint replied coolly and he winced when the man behind him shoved the gun into his head.
“That’s enough, Hogun, thank you, you can leave us,” the man said. His bodyguard nodded and shoved Clint none too gently in his seat. Steve had not seen Clint this mad since the first time Bucky had shot him.
“Who are you and what do you want?” Steve asked because while Clint had the patience of a saint, he still got twitchy when provoked.
“My name is Thor Odinson, you may call me Thor, and I would just like to talk a little business,” Thor said.
“It’s called a phone. Next time you should try calling before you drop in on people having coffee,” Clint said dangerously, ignoring the glare of the bodyguard, Hogun, nearby.
“You gentlemen were in town and I decided that going to you directly seemed like a much faster route. JFK can be such an annoying airport to fly into.” Thor smiled at them but Clint did not look convinced. He had a system and it was being thrown to the wind at the moment. Clint liked to examine his employers before he meant them in person, to watch them first, not the other way around. This was making him deeply uncomfortable, Steve could tell just by looking at him, but it was also the first time someone had taken such initiative to get to him in a long time.
“What would you like to discuss, Mr. Odinson?” Steve asked and pointedly ignored the sharp kick to his shin from Clint.
“I have a job I would like to offer to you gentlemen,” Thor said. “My brother seems to know something important and is planning on leaving my family. I don’t want to lose him but all of my resources have been unable to find out why he is trying to leave. I want you to find out what he knows.”
“So you’re asking for an extraction,” Clint said.
“Yes, and then I want him to change his mind about leaving the family,” Thor replied.
“So you want inception then.” Clint was starting to sound a little annoyed.
“Yes, Mr. Barton, I need that as well,” Thor said.
“No,” Clint said without waiting for Steve to say anything.
“Now don’t you think you should talk--” Thor started but Clint shook his head.
“Nothing to talk about. There is no way we’re pulling double duty on one mark. You don’t go into someone’s head twice because you never know how they are going to react. It’s not the way things are done so the answer is ‘no’ and that will be all.” Clint stood and looked at Steve, waiting for him to join him because Clint was right. There was a reason that they did not try again if a job went sour because there was no telling how a mark was going to react. Steve was not standing up though, he was staring at his coffee while Thor watched him carefully.
“You cannot perform the inception without the extraction. Whatever my brother is hiding, no one knows but him.” Thor stood and dropped a fifty on the table. “So you can have another round of coffee while you discuss this. Have a nice day, gentlemen.” If Hogun knocked shoulders with Clint a little harder than necessary Clint did not say anything about it. In fact he seemed to still be waiting for Steve to walk away.
“We should take the job,” Steve said and for half a second he thought Clint was going to throttle him in the middle of the coffee shop.
“Are you insane?” Clint asked as he sat down at the table. “Going in on a mark twice with the second job being inception?”
“The team can do this.”
“What team?” Clint snapped furious. “There is no team, Steve, there hasn’t been a team for years.”
“We can do this. Our team can do this,” Steve insisted.
“No, our team doesn’t exist or have you forgotten that? Tony’s gone legit, he doesn’t build anymore, and he won’t want anything to do with us. Bruce deals and doesn’t leave the country. And last time I checked Natasha won’t work with you. I still refuse to translate what she said about you that day because I really don’t think you want to know. And Bucky--” Clint cut himself off frustrated. “The team doesn’t exist anymore, Steve, it hasn’t existed for a year, why would you even consider this?”
“Because we’re bored, Clint. We were the best team out there and we let it fall apart. TThere isn’t anyone else out there who can do this now that Cobb’s team has broken up.” Steve leaned forward in the chair across the table because he needed Clint to understand this. “Inception is almost impossible but inception with an idea buried so deep it needed to be extracted? No one but us could pull that off and you know it. You’re just as bored as I am, Clint, and we can do this.” Clint stared at him with those piercing blue eyes that saw everything, that always saw everything, and did not move for several minutes. He just stared as if he was waiting for Steve to change his mind.
“If the extraction goes poorly, we’re out. I refuse to do this unless you agree to that term,” Clint said after a long silence.
“If the extraction goes poorly, we pull out,” Steve agreed. “I knew I paid you absurdly well for a reason.”
“Well you’re going to have to keep paying me well because I’m going to get Natasha on my own,” Clint said, taking the fifty off the table. “She won’t want to see you, trust me on that, so let me go talk to her alone. Can you manage to let me handle this one aspect of the job?”
“Clint, I’m an extractor, I don’t have the control issues here. That's your job,” Steve said grinning. “And one day you’re going to tell me what she said.”
“I’m really, really not.” Clint muttered, pulling out his cell phone.
---
Natasha picked up her glass of champagne but made no move to drink it. She had not come all of this way to make the mistake of leaving something like lip marks on a glass behind. Her long red hair hung in curls around her shoulders and her green dress matched her eyes. The party was beyond high class and the people around her were too busy looking down at each other to really notice her. She did not fit into any of their little social groups but these people did not seem to care as long as she fit the profile. She had been following the man of the hour for weeks and was finally ready to make her move. She could con and forge her way anywhere and now Natasha needed the final piece of the puzzle before she swindled this man for all that he was worth.
Natasha smiled and set her glass down ready to move in when a man cut through the crowd. She did not let herself react to his presence enough to tip anyone off but she did not hide the anger in her eyes either. Clint looked stunning in an all gray suit with a deep red tie. He was smiling as he walked up to her, and damn it, this is exactly what she did not need right now.
“Ma’am, I was wondering if you would like a dance,” Clint said, offering a hand. A few people were paying attention now, Clint knew that too, which was exactly why she could not say ‘no’ without drawing attention to herself.
“I don’t see why not,” Natasha replied taking his hand. Clint led her out onto the dance floor and placed a hand on her hip as he began to sway to the music. “What are you doing here, Clint?” she asked after they danced for a few moments.
“Couldn’t I just want to see you?” Clint asked, all boyish charm. Natasha pinched his shoulder harder than she really needed to but he smiled nevertheless. “How deep are you right now?”
“Deep enough that if my mark sees me with you he won’t do what I want him to do,” Natasha replied. She hoped that Clint would take the hint and back off a little but if anything it made him draw her closer to his body. “If you ruin this for me--”
“How bored are you, Tasha, that you’re back to swindling rich men for their jewels?” Clint whispered into her ear.
“This has nothing to do with boredom.” It was a lie, she was bored to the point that Natasha was sure her eyes were going cross eyed, but Natasha did not need to tell Clint that.
“If you’re not too bored I might have a job offer for you.” Somehow Clint managed to align their bodies in just the right places. It was a little much for this crowd and Natasha could feel a few sets of eyes following them.
“I don’t need you to bring me jobs, Barton,” Natasha said digging her nails into Clint’s shoulder. For once he listened and took a step back putting some space between them.
“I know that, I wouldn’t dream of considering myself your handler, but I do always bring you the best jobs.” Clint spun her to the music and pulled her in close. “If you’re ready to dream again meet me in my hotel room." He whispered a room number to her and took a step back. “Thank you for the dance.” He might have even bowed a little and Natasha was going to shoot him in the kneecaps. Clint turned and walked out of the party as Natasha watched her mark eye her suspiciously.
She regretted not having that glass of champagne.
---
Clint popped the top off a beer and looked out the window of his hotel room. He imagined the different vantage points he would need to make a shot if his target was standing at the crosswalk. Mentally he pictured leaning out the window at an almost impossible angle and looking through the scope. Clint could feel the trigger on his finger and imagined pulling it, the kick of the rifle enough to knock a lesser man off balance, but Clint was not that man. The scenario made him smile as he watched the light change and the fake mark crossed the street. He took another drink of his beer and missed the rush from sniping like a limb. Clint loved what he did now, he liked details and plans and the way extractors’ faces pinched when he took apart one of their plans but there was something about sniping that no amount of research and planning could replace. Idly Clint realized he would probably live longer if he had never switched careers but running point was what he did now and that was that.
Speaking of living longer Clint tensed when there was a knock on his door. Off the top of his head he could think of three people that would shoot him dead on sight, two that would shoot him but make sure he died slowly, and four that would not shoot him but make sure he was alive so they could bleed him for information. Clint set his beer aside and picked up his gun from the end table, easing toward the door. He was not stupid enough to look through the peephole but he needed a way to gauge who was behind that door.
"I didn't order room service," he called out and whoever was on the other side of the door did not respond, they just knocked again. Clint clicked the safety off of his gun and positioned himself such that the person on the other side would not be able to shoot him right away. He listened for anything that might give his visitor away but they were silent which did not bode well for him. Clint turned the handle slowly and braced himself.
The door swung open and nearly splintered with the force of the kick. Clint raised his gun to fire but the attacker knocked it out of his hand and slammed their fist across his cheekbone hard enough that he the edges of vision turned white. His instincts were the only reason Clint was able to connect a punch and he could feel a lip split underneath his fist. The attacker kicked his feet out from underneath him and Clint hit the ground hard, knocking the breath from his lungs. Two hands like steel pinned his wrists to the ground and Clint could feel nails nearly breaking the skin.
"Bang, you're dead," a voice said above him and Clint grinned.
"Put me at a distance and you wouldn't be so lucky, Tasha," Clint replied and Natasha raised an eyebrow.
"You won't always have that option," she said coolly.
"Thanks, Mr. Miyagi." Clint grinned as he looked up at her. Her long red hair was pulled back in a messy bun and she had traded her green dress for a v-neck black t-shirt and a pair of black jeans, though Clint was pretty sure Natasha was one of those people that could make a garbage bag look amazing. Natasha rolled her eyes and kicked the door shut without releasing his wrists. “You know I could have shot you.”
“You would have to beat me hand to hand first and we both know that will never happen.” Natasha smirked and looked a bit too smug.
“So how did your con go?” Clint asked and the smug expression melted from Natasha’s face. Clint did not hide the wince when he felt her nails break his skin. “That bad, huh?”
“You ruined everything. I should string you up by your ankles and leave you here for housekeeping to find,” Natasha snapped.
“Kinky,” Clint replied and the hands on his wrists tightened and he knew he would have bruises. He shifted his hips beneath her and watched her pupils dilate a little. “I never knew you were into that type of thing--”
“Oh my god, I am derailing this conversation the only way I know how.” For half a second Clint thought Natasha was going to follow through on her threat but soft lips pressed against his own and god, finally, they were kissing. Natasha released his wrists and Clint wrapped his arms around her thin body, pulling her flush against him. He sat up slowly licking into her mouth as her strong legs wrapped around his waist. Natasha did not let him lead the kissing long before she was threading her fingers through his short blond hair and tugging gently. He deposited her on the bed and grinned down at her. It had been months since he had seen her and now she was smirking up at him with flushed lips and a coy smile. He opened his mouth to tell how stunning she was but Natasha held up a hand. “Don’t.”
“You have no idea what I was going to say,” Clint said as he crawled on the bed and leaned over her.
“You were going to ruin the moment,” she replied as she began to work on the buttons of his shirt.
“Baby, we’re nothing but one continuous moment,” Clint said and Natasha rolled her eyes. She was trying to look annoyed, he could tell, but a smile was hinting at the corners of her mouth.
“And there it is.” Natasha pushed his shirt off and rolled them over so she was straddling his hips. They kissed again, hard and fighting for dominance even though Clint knew he was never going to win, and Natasha’s shirt was almost off when his phone began to ring. Clint groaned and broke the kiss and Natasha glared. “Leave it.” She kissed him again and the familiar ring tone meant that it could be only one person.
“I need to get that.” He tried breaking the kiss again and the constant ringing was the only thing that kept him from whiting out completely when Natasha did something sinful with her hips. He practically growled and reached over, picking up the phone and holding up a single finger. Natasha crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. “Look, this is a really bad time.”
“What, are you captured or something?” Steve asked.
“No, I’m fine, but this is still a bad time,” Clint replied as Natasha pulled off her shirt. He missed whatever Steve was saying with the plethora of pale skin before him. “What?”
“I asked how you’re doing with recruiting Nat? We need a forger for something with sort of depth we need for incep--” Steve ranted and whatever he was saying was lost to the ether when Natasha began to kiss his chest.
“I’m working on it,” Clint replied, swallowed a groan when Natasha’s extremely talented tongue found one of his nipples.
“What is wrong with you? Are you sure you’re okay?” Steve asked sounding concerned and probably doing his puppy dog face that made Clint talk about feelings even when he didn’t want to, despite them not even being on the same continent. He was about to try and explain the situation without giving away too many details when Natasha took the phone from his hands.
“Hi, Steve. Clint is fine, we’re currently trying to have sex so whatever job he is here trying to recruit me for, we haven’t gotten that far. If you’re extracting you better hope he’s still amazing in bed or it might take some convincing, but considering we haven’t seen each other in six months that probably won’t be a problem. We’ll talk in about it in eight hours; have a nice night,” Natasha said in practically one breath and hung up the phone without waiting for Steve to respond. Clint stared up at her as she turned off his phone, trying not to show how turned on he was, but considering their positions it was really obvious.
“How do men keep any dignity around you?” he asked as Natasha tossed the phone across the room, her smirk obscene.
“They don’t.”
---
Steve stared at his phone and tried to ignore the fact that his forger had just informed him that she was having sex with his point man. He knew that Natasha and Clint were together but that did not mean he thought about it often. In fact he tried not to think about it at all because it made meetings very awkward. Tony never had a problem with it and once told them that they would make a killing if they sold a sex tape, which had ended in a black eye for him and Natasha threatening to bend his straight edge. Eight hours meant that he really just had time to kill because Clint would never let him go and get Tony and Bruce by himself. Steve eyed the PASIV that was sitting on the table nearby and contemplated plugging in. He could hear Bruce’s voice in his head yelling at him about how plugging in by himself was a terrible idea but that did not ease the temptation. Steve just wanted to dream even if it was for just a little while. His apartment was too quiet and he needed to fill it with sound.
The PASIV was a model that Clint had stolen from the military when he decided to go rogue. Steve did not own the PASIV as much as Clint did but Clint was not keen on carrying it around either so it usually fell into Steve’s hands. Not that he minded much because Bucky had taught him everything anyone ever needed to know about a PASIV and then some. For half a second Steve hesitated as he thought about Bucky but continued to set up the machine for five minutes. Just an hour in a dream, that was all, he just wanted an hour without the silence and limitations of this real world. The IV pinched as it entered the vein and the rush of cold that came with Somnacin.
---
Steve blinked and looked around. He was in different version of his first apartment after entering the dream crime world. Outside, Chicago, or this version of it, was noisy and that noise was almost a relief. It was just him in his own mind right now and there was no one to judge him for wanting to see the past even if it was not real. It was winter and Steve tugged his coat closed as he walked through the city. It was not very windy right now but even a small breeze cut like a knife.
“I never understood your love for this city,” a voice behind him said. Steve turned and had a gun out before he could think twice. Bucky raised an eyebrow as he looked at the gun and moved it aside. “Does Clint know you’re playing with guns? He won’t be pleased.”
“What are you doing here, Bucky?” Steve asked lowering the gun slowly.
“Let’s go inside somewhere; it’s freezing and I don’t want to deal with the cold,” Bucky said grinning. He turned and walked across the street to a small cafe. Steve clenched the gun tight and thought about shooting himself out of this nightmare because staying was just going to encourage him. He should leave, he should wake himself up, he should run the other way.
Steve made sure to look both ways before crossing the street and following Bucky inside the cafe.
"What are you doing here?” Steve repeated as he sat down across from his old friend.
“I should ask you the same question. You know you aren’t supposed to dream alone, never know what could go wrong topside.” Bucky folded his hands on the table and smiled.
“I don’t need to explain myself to--”
“--to a projection? Yeah, I’m dead, thanks for the reminder, Steve. You’re such a buzzkill.” Bucky sighed and looked out the window. He looked exactly the same as he did the day of the accident and it made Steve’s heart ache. “You’re getting the team back together.”
“We are the best and I need the best for this job,” Steve replied because there was no point in lying to his own subconscious.
“You won’t have a mechanic,” Bucky pointed out. “If anything goes wrong with the machine you’re screwed.”
“Bucky, you were one of the only mechanics in the world. No one knew the machines better than you besides maybe the ones that designed the things in the original program and those people are probably dead,” Steve said and clenched his fists tight enough that he felt his nails bite into his palms. “You were the expert and you can’t be replaced so I’m not going to try.”
“Good, because I wouldn’t want another mechanic in your life,” Bucky replied evenly though there was a dangerous edge to it. Steve looked up and found that Bucky was staring at him intensely and it was making him feel like he was being judged. There was no doubt in his mind that Bucky would have forcibly thrown another mechanic out of the dream if Steve dared let one in and the fact that he was almost flattered by that was worrying.
“This is going to be a tough job, Bucky. Are you going to make things difficult?” Steve asked despite the fact that he knew the answer already. Bucky also seemed to know that he did not need to answer that question because he leaned forward and kissed Steve gently on the corner of his mouth. Steve’s hands were shaking, fighting the need to shove the projection of his best friend and lover away or never let him go. The dream began to collapse around them and Steve squeezed his eyes closed tight enough that he saw stars and waited to wake up.
---
Natasha was not a cuddler, Clint knew that, so when she rolled off of him to catch her breath he was not expecting a hug or anything else. He was not so big on it either so maybe one day they would get to that point, where they were a functional couple, but right now they were lying side by side and Natasha did not break all of his fingers when he took her hand. They still had several hours before Clint planned on checking in with Steve and while he wanted to spend them with Natasha he was here with a purpose. That did not mean he wanted to ruin the bliss of just having an orgasm with a beautiful woman who could kill him with her bare hands, and it probably spoke volumes about his state of mind that he found those bare hands as attractive as he did.
“So tell me about the job,” Natasha said, rolling over so she was facing him. She did not release his hand, which was surprising but not unwelcome, and Clint turned so he was facing her as well.
“Businessman wants us to find out what his brother is hiding and then use it to change his mind about walking out on his family,” Clint replied.
“He wants an extraction followed by inception on the same mark,” Natasha said, frowning deeply. “That seems risky.”
“That’s because it is risky.” Clint sighed and reached over to touch her tangled red curls. “You should say ‘no’, hell I should have said ‘no’ if I had any smarts.”
“Why did you say ‘yes’ if you think it’s a bad idea?” she asked swatting his hand away from her hair.
“Because Steve pays me obscenely well and pointed out the fact that I’m bored. I got him to agree that if the extraction went poorly we would pull out but.” Clint shrugged. “He wants to get the entire team back together.”
“Bruce hates high risk jobs these days and you can’t sway Tony with payment since he’s worth more than all of us combined,” Natasha said. “Not to mention we’re a member short.”
“I won’t lie to you, Tasha,” Clint said after a moment of silence. “I don’t know what’s going on in Steve's head with that. He’s shown up a few times, put a bullet in my leg and left me to bleed out two jobs ago. You were right to walk away then and you should walk away now. Without a forger we can’t do this job and Steve won’t trust anyone but you. I don’t trust anyone but you.” Natasha released his hand and rolled onto her back to stare at the ceiling. She was cataloging, thinking deeply, and he needed to let her have the time.
“When you say ‘obscenely well’ how obscene are we talking about?” Natasha asked after some time. Clint grinned and pulled her into a deep kiss because that was the closest he was going to get to a straightforward ‘yes’ from Natasha.
---
Steve was dozing on his couch when there was a knock on his door. He practically tripped over his own feet and Clint looked bored when he answered. It had been almost two days of radio silence from Clint but Steve had not worried. Clint was not one of the best in the business because he was careless. Steve opened the door and let Clint walk in, surprised that he was alone.
"Did she say 'no'?" Steve asked as he closed and locked the door.
"She said 'yes' but I hope you're willing to pay her well. You know how Natasha is," Clint replied. He tossed his overnight bag on the floor and collapsed onto the couch.
"Pretty sure I know less and less about Natasha every time I see her," Steve said as he sat down across from Clint who scoffed but did not disagree.
"She decided not to come until we can confirm Tony and Bruce. Something about not wanting to watch you get shot down and wasting her time." Clint crossed his arms across his chest and stared at Steve. "Do you have a plan to recruit them?"
"I'm going to present Bruce with a challenge that he won't be able to resist," Steve replied.
"And Tony?" Clint pressed after Steve did not elaborate.
"Stroke his ego until his head is so big the idea of turning it down is an insult." Steve paused when Clint looked apprehensive. "And if that doesn't work I'll get Pepper to help me."
"Oh there's no way any of that is going to blow up in our faces," Clint said.
"Let's go collect our chemist." Steve stood and offered a hand to help Clint to his feet. Clint gave him a rather impressive side eye but accepted the hand. Steve chose to ignore the finger shaped bruises on Clint's wrists but when Clint caught Steve looking at them he smirked but did not say anything. Steve really did not want to know anyway.
---
Bruce liked living the quiet life. Unlike the rest of the people within the dreamshare community he much preferred mailing out the chemicals using increasingly dubious methods than being out there with the action. He was a scientist at the end of the day and he did not need to be running from scary people to get his blood pumping. After years of anger management through college the quiet life suited him. Betty liked him doing his work out of the house as well, for the most part, because they were the type of people that no one bothered. They went to block parties and shook hands with the police chief when an hour earlier Bruce had been wrist deep in Somnacin. It was something they both had a good laugh over in the privacy of their home over cups of tea. Nothing ever happened and Bruce liked it that way.
It was the lack of action in his day to day life that made the simple sound of a door slamming in the middle of the afternoon make his blood run cold. Bruce nearly dropped the Somnacin he was brewing and bolted up the stairs from his basement lab, taking the stairs two at a time. He was surprised to find Betty sitting in the living room reading.
"What happened?" Bruce asked trying to even out his heartbeat.
"What do you mean?" Betty asked looking up from her book.
"I heard a door slam," he said.
"Oh I had the front door open with the screen across to get some fresh air in here and the wind must have caught it," Betty explained, flashing him a smile but for some reason it did not ring completely true. He had no proof but his instincts and that was not enough to accuse Betty of lying. So he gave her his best smile and excused himself down to the lab where he got absolutely no work done for the rest of the afternoon.
Bruce had almost completely forgotten about the door slamming until the exact same thing happened the next day. He narrowed his eyes and sent Betty a text from the lab.
Wind get the door again?
You know how it is :) came almost immediately but Bruce could not shake the feeling that there was something else going on. It had been over a year since he had left the team for this type of life and getting out of the business directly meant that his paranoia should have gotten better, but now all he could think about was that something was very, very wrong. He stayed in the lab the entire day and crawled into bed after Betty had already gone to sleep. Part of him wanted to see if he could find a way to see what was going on in the dream crime world without someone like Clint finding out that he was interested but that was nearly impossible.
Around the same time as the previous two days Bruce wandered upstairs and stayed near the front door. He could not see much from where he was lurking but he could at least see what was going on. The front door was not open and he swallowed the lump in his throat when there was a light knock. Betty hesitated as she walked toward the door. She opened it just a little, barely looking out, before she slammed it shut. The person on the other side said something but Bruce could not hear what they said. Betty stayed with her back against the door for a moment, visibly pulling herself together, until she walked back the opposite way. Bruce eased toward the living room and looked outside just long enough to see a car pull away.
Betty was going to the university the next day and she dropped a not so subtle hint that he should probably just listen to music very loudly and forget the rest of the world existed. Bruce smiled and put in his ear buds. He knew exactly how long it would take until Betty was out of the house and when all was silent Bruce walked upstairs and put the kettle on. Someone was harassing them but it was someone that Betty did not want him to know was coming. That limited who it could possibly be but it also meant that someone that Betty did not like was seeking him out for probably less than legal reasons. The kettle whistled and Bruce poured himself the cup of tea and carried the mug to the front door. Betty had a porch and He sat down on their porch to drink and wait and wait for whoever wanted to talk to him.
The cup was nearly empty when the same car pulled up front. Bruce halfway considered standing up to meet these people that Betty was so desperately trying to keep away but he really did not want to. He took another sip and smiled over the rim of his mug as the two men approached him. He knew why Betty was slamming the door in their faces because he knew exactly what they were going to ask him before they were even in ear shot.
Bruce set his empty mug aside and smiled.
---
Steve was not entirely surprised when Betty slammed the front door in his face the moment she saw him. Betty did not dislike them but they were not her favorite people either. She was the one that had had to hold Bruce’s hand when he got poisoned by a mark as they frantically tried not to let the fever boil the chemist alive. That was the last time they had seen each other so Steve was not expecting a hug and a cup of coffee, but to get the door slammed in his face was a little harsh. The way he could hear Clint snickering behind him did not really help much in the matter.
“That went well,” Clint said as they walked back to the car.
“I’m not giving up. We need Bruce for this,” Steve replied.
“I know I’m just trying to figure out whether I want to make a bet with Natasha about how many times we’re going to get kicked off this property before we get him to agree to this,” Clint said thoughtfully. Steve glared but Clint did not seem to notice or care. They found a cheap motel nearby and prepared to come back the following day.
The next day Betty slammed the door in his face again and this time Clint did not bother to try and hide his laugh. Steve continued to glare and tried to remember if there was a way he could call or text Betty that could not be traced. Clint told him that there was but it would take time to route a line halfway around the world and she would probably kill him for the bill. Steve wanted to argue that he was probably scarier than Betty but Clint reminded him of the time she had screamed at a New York City cabbie and kicked a dent in the door with her shoe. So Steve went back the third time only to have her slam the door yet again.
“Betty, I know you don’t want me here, but I need to talk to Bruce. It’s important,” Steve said through the door. He could hear her leaning against the door. Steve sighed and walked back toward the car without looking back. They were losing time and he was considering just breaking in if this went on any longer.
Which was why Steve’s eyebrows shot straight up when they pulled up and found Bruce sitting on the front steps drinking tea and waiting for them. Steve walked up with Clint staying close behind smiling.
“Bruce, you’re looking well,” Steve said offering a hand. Bruce stood and shook it.
“You too, Steve,” Bruce said. “You seem to have a Clint following you around.”
“I can’t seem to get rid of him, what is your medical opinion?” Steve asked as Clint scoffed.
“I’d be offended if I wasn’t secure in the knowledge that Steve would be screwed without me,” Clint said as he shook hands with Bruce.
“You know you could have just called if you needed supplies.” Bruce picked up the mug from the porch and walked back into the house, gesturing for Steve and Clint to follow him.
“I need more than just a few chemicals, Bruce,” Steve said as they all sat down at the table. “I have a job that requires an extraction and inception performed on the same mark, and I’d like to avoid the risk of falling into limbo.” Bruce raised both of his eyebrows.
“You’re going to need a really good chemist for that,” he said folding his hands.
“I need the best,” Steve said, ignoring Clint’s eye roll because A) it wasn’t a lie and B) a little flattery never hurt anyone.
“You know I’m the best but this type of job requires me to be there. You want me to go out into the field.” Bruce narrowed his eyes but looked a little thoughtful.
“If you could invent a stable blend for three levels without the risk of falling into limbo we could revolutionize the entire dream share market,” Clint said.
“Who else do you have?” Bruce asked.
“Us two, Natasha is set to forge, you would be our chemist and we’re going to get Tony to build,” Steve said.
“Getting the team back together then. Betty is going to be thrilled.” Bruce stood and walked across the kitchen, pouring some more hot water into a mug. Steve watched as Bruce made another cup of tea and he sat back down at the table without offering some to either of them. “If you can get the entire team back together I’m in. I know how Tony builds so that will make tailoring the blend much easier.” Steve grinned and he did not bother to hide it when he heard Betty walk into the house. She froze when she saw him and if the clenching of her jaw was anything to go by she knew that Bruce had agreed to a job. That did not mean he wanted to be around during the fallout and he excused himself and Clint to let Bruce deal with it.
“I will contact you with a meeting place when I have one,” Clint said.
“I look forward to it,” Bruce said, closing the door. Steve walked across the lawn and got into the driver seat as Clint began to mess with his phone.
“I got us tickets on the next flight to New York which leaves in three hours. Let’s go collect a billionaire so we can get this show on the road,” Clint said. “I’ve been trying to reach Tony for the last two days and he isn’t answering any of my calls.”
“Don’t worry about it. You know how Tony is; we need to be a little more aggressive when it comes to him,” Steve replied, pulling out onto the main road. Clint huffed an agreement but remained silent on the way to the airport.
---
Tony was well aware what the rest of the world thought about him. Mostly because he could read what they wrote in the gossip magazines but that was besides the point. Tony loved architecture, and even if that was not what the rest of his company did, that was the section that he paid attention to. He had not slept for five days when the inspiration for the tower struck and he was fairly sure the only reason he fell asleep at all was because someone had spiked his coffee. When he woke up twelve hours later Pepper screamed at him for a good twenty minutes straight, much of which he only remembered bits and pieces of.
The world seemed a lot lighter since he had given Pepper the keys to the Stark Industries car. Tony was an artist, he loved declaring this whenever Pepper complained that he had trashed the apartment again, and he did not need to be running a company. Howard had been all about mechanics and robots, and while Tony was all right with that sort of thing, his mind was much more comfortable designing buildings that he would charge a fortune to build. He used his father’s technology to furnish them so they were elegant and high tech. And if sometimes his assistants had to point out that something in his design would not work in the real world, well then that’s what assistants were for.
Hidden in his desk were piles upon piles of notebooks of nothing but mazes. To anyone else they would appear to be nothing but Tony could not get rid of the itch beneath his skin. He was a legitimate member of society now. Well, if he was honest, he had never really stopped being one. If there was one thing Tony was excellent at, it was bullshitting, and now that he was not building for dreams anymore there was a lot less running around meeting with shady people. It was ironic that he had not given Pepper the CEO position until after the accident and the team broke up. Now he had all the time in the world to build dreams for shady people and he had dropped out of that game.
Tony rubbed his eyes as he walked out of his drawing room and stumbled into the kitchen for more coffee. He had been commissioned by some guy named Hammer to make the most Amazing Factory Ever (at least that is what the file was named) and he really needed more coffee to deal with it. The morning, or maybe afternoon, they tended to blur, got much better when he saw Pepper making sandwiches.
“Pepper, I thought you had a meeting this morning,” Tony said as he poured himself a large cup of black coffee.
“It’s the afternoon, Tony, so the meeting is over.” Pepper handed him a plate with a BLT on it and he just loved her more than anything in that moment. “Investors still want to know if you’re willing to share JARVIS with the rest of the world.”
“And the answer is still a resounding ‘no.’ My dad and I built JARVIS from the ground up and I perfected him. I don’t want him getting into the wrong hands. Can you imagine what kind of evil some sort of super villain could do with such advanced technology?” Tony asked over bites of his BLT.
“This isn’t a comic book and you aren’t a superhero, despite what your ego might tell you,” Pepper said.
“I’ll wait for the conclusive evidence.” Tony finished his sandwich and kissed Pepper on the cheek. “I’ll be in my office.”
“We’re having dinner tonight. Can you try not to forget?” Pepper called out as he walked away.
“Will do my best!” Tony replied as he opened the door to his office and froze as he looked at the two people sitting in front of his desk. “Pepper? We need to improve security.”
---
Steve turned in his chair and smiled when Tony walked in the room. Clint smirked and gave a two fingered salute but Tony looked like was trying to figure out if it was possible to light them all on fire with his mind. This was about the reaction that Steve thought he was going to get when he told Clint his plan was to just break into Tony’s apartment in Stark Tower.
“JARVIS, why didn’t you tell me that someone was in the tower?” Tony asked as he walked to his desk and sat down slowly.
“Because you told me that your friends were an exception,” JARVIS’ voice replied and Clint smirked.
“We need to amend that,” Tony muttered as Pepper walked into the office.
“Tony, what are you--” She froze when she walked into the room and her fierce stare locked with Steve’s. It made him feel small and not just because she could put one of those three inch heels through his eye. “Steve Rogers, you get up and give me a hug right now.” He smiled and pushed himself to his feet, pulling Pepper into a tight hug. “How are you?”
“Oh, you know, same old,” Steve replied pulling away.
“I’d ask if you were staying out of trouble but I know you’re not, especially considering Clint is sitting over there looking a bit too smug.” Pepper grinned as she hugged Clint around his shoulders and kissed the top of his head. “How are you?”
“I’m doing well, Pep, thanks,” Clint replied as he smiled one of those boyish grins that he used whenever he was trying to butter someone up.
“Can we not make nice to the two wanted criminals that just broke into our apartment?” Tony asked loudly. “Give me one good reason not to call security and have you thrown out right now.” Pepper squeezed Clint’s shoulders and excused herself quietly. Steve took a deep breath and released it slowly.
“We need you,” he said.
“You need me. That’s your explanation for breaking and entering when I told you I didn’t want to design dreams anymore and you just come and tell me that you need me. How about I give you two chuckle heads a head start on the way out the door for old times’ sake.”
“I’m serious, Tony. No one else will do this job without you. We’re getting the entire team back together and no one will commit unless we have everyone. You’re the last person we need.” Steve leaned forward, smirking. “We need four levels from you; one for an extraction and three for inception on the same mark.” Tony raised an eyebrow but did not call security like he was threatening.
“Look, Stark, we’ve all always worked best as a team and I know you’re bored just sitting around spending your money. Just say you’ll do the job,” Clint said. Tony glared at Clint and looked like he was about to say something when a voice called out from the hallway.
“You’ve been more insufferable than usual; take the job!” Pepper called out.
“Eavesdropping is bad manners!” Tony called back.
“I’m not eavesdropping. JARVIS is telling me everything.” Pepper sounded like she was about to burst out laughing and it made Steve smile. Tony, on the other hand, looked annoyed.
“Betrayed by my own AI yet again,” he mumbled. “Fine, I’ll take the job.”
“Great. When I get a location set up I’ll be in contact. Just make sure you pick up your cell phone when I call you this time,” Clint said, standing up.
“No, tell everyone to come here; we’re working out of the Tower,” Tony said calmly. Steve had seen Clint glare at a lot of people but he had never seen Clint get so angry that he was almost vibrating so fast.
“I beg your pardon?” Clint asked which was not the way Steve pictured Clint saying those words.
“I need JARVIS to build the best mazes and he is part of the Tower, hence we work out of the Tower. There are entire floors that no one is using and we can be protected with my security--”
“--which can be broken--”
“--and we’ll do it all here,” Tony continued as if Clint had not said anything. “Make it look like our client is commissioning one of my designs and no one will notice Bruce or Natasha coming in or out. We plan here and that is not up for negotiation.” Tony was talking to Steve because it was his job but the statement was directed at Clint who usually went about finding somewhere safe for them to do the planning. Steve did not like the idea of working in such a flashy place but Tony had complete control of the building and once they fixed any security loopholes Natasha or Clint found it would be a fortress. A fortress with warm running water, high speed internet and an open liquor cabinet.
“Fine,” Steve said. “Give Natasha and Clint access to security and JARVIS to find and fix any blind spots and we have a deal.”
“Unlimited access,” Clint amended sounding almost murderous. “And the second it looks like we could be compromised here we relocate.”
“Gentlemen, it looks like we’re in business,” Tony said with a slow smile. Steve tried to smile but it felt forced; this was either going to go really well or he was going to buying a lot of flowers for teammates in the coma ward and he was not sure which option freaked him out more.
---
Clint was on his laptop looking for ways to get Bruce into New York with all of his lab equipment that would not involve driving when his phone rang. He picked it up and answered without looking at who was calling. It was three in the morning the night that they had picked up their final team member; there was only one person that it could be.
“Are you ready to take New York by storm, Tasha?” Clint asked.
“I want to know how Steve is doing,” Natasha said without humoring him. “Is Bucky going to be a problem?”
“We’ve dealt with shades before; we can deal with this one,” Clint said.
“You can pull the trigger and so can I despite how much it might hurt but can anyone else? Can Steve?” she asked. Clint did not know the answer to that because he had not seen Bucky and Steve interact in one of the dreams. So far he had only seen Bucky take him out and then the dream had ended or Steve had kicked him out. “Clint, they were close, they loved each other, and losing him hurt Steve much more than it hurt any of us. Can he pull the trigger even if it’s a shade?”
“I don’t know,” Clint said honestly because he really did not know and he did not like not knowing. “I guess we’ll just have to make sure we’re there to look out for him. Protecting the team is my job and if that means I have to shoot Bucky Barnes in the head then I will. You can trust me to do that much.” A long silence passed between the two of them as Clint finished getting Natasha a ticket to New York. The sooner they started to plan the better.
“You know I trust you. Email me my flight details and I will see you soon.” Natasha hung up the phone and Clint set it aside. He opened his desk drawer and pulled out one single picture. It was the entire team a year ago, before the accident that took Bucky’s life and ripped them all apart. Now they were all going to be in the same room again but it was not going to be like before. They did not have their mechanic and friend anymore, and Clint had to steel himself at the thought that he was probably going to have to shoot a projection of one of his best friends because his other best friend couldn’t do it.
Clint put the picture away and dialed a number on his phone.
“Hey, Stark, Bruce needs a ride from Virginia with all of his toys, you willing to go pick him up?”
---
Steve went down to a small restaurant around the corner from the Tower to meet with Thor. Natasha was on a plane to New York and Clint and Tony were on their way to go pick up Bruce. Now all Steve needed to do was convince Thor to get in contact with Tony and everything would be going well. He was anxious to start the actual planning because that was something he could understand. Everything else, all of the details of this real world, they bothered him. The dreams, however, he could mold those into anything that he wanted. The dreams that defied the laws of the universe were starting to make more sense than the real world. That should have worried him more than it did.
Steve nodded to Hogun as Thor took a seat at their table. The man was still a presence and seemed to command attention wherever he went. Trying to keep someone who took up the entire room on the down low was not going to be as easy as he wanted.
“Do you have your team, Mr. Rogers?” Thor asked.
“Please, call me Steve, saying Mr. Rogers makes me think of that kids show,” Steve said which made Thor crack a smile. “I had my last team member agree to the job yesterday. We’re going to get started in New York soon but we’ll need you to make a cover so you can come and go in the building. I need you to call Pepper Potts and arrange a meeting. You’re hiring Tony Stark to design a building for you.”
“I see. I will make that happen as soon as possible,” Thor replied. “Do you think you’re going to be able to do this job?”
“The extraction should go well but inception is far from a perfect art. We will do our best,” Steve said. Thor did not look entirely pleased by that but he did not say anything else. The rest of the team would be arriving in the next few days and they would have to start to plan the extraction. He did not want to think about the inception just yet because there was still the chance that the extraction would go poorly and Clint would do everything he could to make sure the second part of the job did not happen. He had seen the reports from when Clint used to perform hits, he knew how ruthless his friend was when he wanted to be, and he did not want to be on the receiving end of that gun.
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