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The scene was a haze, a fog of indistinct figures, lying on a cold metal table, her small frame towering by the looming shadows of figures standing over her. They were faceless, blurry outlined with gloved hands and harsh voices, their words muffled yet filled with cold intent. She couldn't make out their faces, but the glint of surgical tools in the dim light was unmistakable, each glimmer sending a jolt of terror through her veins. Pain seared through her like wildfire, erupting in sharp, agonising bursts that tore screams from her throat. She shook, but her limbs were restrained. Her cries echoed back at her, a plea of desperation and fear that echoed through the void, bouncing off walls she couldn't see.

The figures moved, unfazed by her agony, their hands probing, slicing, and invading. Her vision blurred further, her surroundings fading into a sickly, pulsating darkness, yet the pain remained, a relentless reminder of the helplessness that gripped her. She screamed again, her voice breaking, desperate to make it stop, but the figures continued, as the nightmare tightened its cruel hold on her mind.

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Jonah was on an edge today. Aurora had noticed. She tilted her head and with calculating eyes, observed the way he was pinching the bridge of his nose, then the same hand was twitching as he hastily spoke on the phone. He had been doing that a lot lately, refusing to tell Aurora what had been making him stress a lot, always diverting the subject to something else, rather focused on her.

Feeling eyes on him, Jonah turned around to find Aurora giving him a small smile and he winked back her, a wide smile on his face. "I'll call you later. I'm with Rory, right now," he emphasised the last part and disconnected the call.

"Are you okay?" Aurora's gentle voice spoke as she stepped closer to him and rubbed his arm in comfort.

"Always around you." He leaned down to give her a kiss.

"You sure?" She asked, looking up at him.

"Of course, baby," he nodded, then placed his arm around her waist, walking with her. "So, tell me about this friend we're going to meet now."

"Natalie is one of my closet friends! I love her so much. We actually met at ballet school, the one I did in summer, 3 years ago in New York before we met. I was new and she became my first real friend who wasn't just my friend because of Tony. She actually didn't even care that i'm a Stark," Aurora gushed with a bright smile as she spoke about her best friend. "She's in California, to see me so why not use this opportunity for my best friend to meet my boyfriend."

"Should I be worried about her?" Jonah chuckled.

"No," Aurora laughed. "She's sweet. Completely harmless."

They made their way inside the restaurant, her eyes immediately scanning the room for Natalie. "Is that her?" Jonah pointed to the woman sitting across the room.

"Yes!" Aurora squealed. "Red!" She beamed with excitement, and quickly ran towards the woman, throwing her arms around the other as they laughed and held each other tightly.

"Freckles," Natalie laughed. "I've missed you so much."

"Me too," Aurora giggled, pulling back to take in Natalie.

Aurora had always been struck by Natalie's presence; she was poised and impeccably professional, with an aura of quiet confidence that suggested she was always a step ahead. She was dressed in a fitted charcoal grey trousers that accentuated her slender figure, paired with a crisp white blouse. Her auburn hair was styled in loose waves, framing her flawless, porcelain-like complexion. There was a subtle but unmistakable grace in the way she moved, every gesture measured and deliberate, as if nothing ever took her by surprise.

Aurora had no idea that beneath the polished exterior of Natalie Rushman lay the world's most skilled assassin; Natasha Romanoff. Assigned to keep an eye on her.

"Jonah, this is Natalie Rushman," Aurora said with a warm smile, gesturing between the two. "Nat, this is Jonah Stane, my boyfriend."

Natalie extended her hand, as she offered Jonah a polite smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Jonah," she said, her voice smooth and professional, though her eyes held a keen, assessing glint.

"I've heard good things about you." Jonah's eyes flickered up and down, a smirk on his lips as he shook Natalie's hand, the smile faltering to a wince when her grip tightened on his hand, sweetly smiling at him when he managed to pull back.

Jonah, visibly relaxed, returned the smile, seemingly unaware of the depth behind those icy blue eyes.

"Rory, is my biggest fan, what can I say," Natalie joked.

Aurora playfully rolled her eyes at. "Oh, please. I tolerate you, that's more accurate."

Natalie's sharp blue eyes flickered from Aurora to Jonah, taking in every detail with a quick, almost unnoticeable scan.

Jonah's phone rang, immediately looking down at the contact name and cursed under his breath. "I have to take this. It's urgent." He turned to Aurora with an apologetic smile.

"It's okay," Aurora leaned up for a quick kiss, which he returned to.

"I'll make it quick," he said and she nodded to that.

"So-" Aurora turned to Natalie with hopeful eyes.

"I hate him," Natalie said instantly, without hesitation.

Aurora frowned, taking the seat across Natalie. "You just met him!"

"And I don't like the vibes he gives off," Natalie shrugged.

"I love him, Nat," Aurora spoke softly.

"Wow," Natalie's eyes widened. "You actually said those three letter words to that?"

Aurora sighed, sipping on her lemonade. "I think he's the one."

Natalie choked on her drink, coughing and regaining back her posture. "And I thought I was delusional."

"Nat," Aurora warned. "Once you get to know him, the real him, you'll like him."

"Bet," Natalie rolled her eyes. "But if he's the one, then I guess I can't argue with that. I just want to see you happy that's all."

"I am," Aurora nodded. "Besides you wouldn't win the fight anyway."

"I'll take you up on that offer," Natalie smirked.

"So tell me, have you met anyone yet?" Aurora wiggled her brows.

"I don't have time for that," Natalie scoffed. "My job pretty much keeps me occupied to have a love life."

"Urgh- You need to quit that job, Nat. 1. Your boss is horrible and your talent is wasted over there. 2. Move to California and i'll easily get you a job at Stark Industries. 3. We'll have so much fun together!" Aurora beamed.

"Hmm- I'll think about it," Natalie murmured, sipping on her wine. "So, you're moving in with him then?"

Aurora gave an almost hesitant nod, which didn't go unnoticed by Natalie. "Yes."

Natalie mused, "Are you okay with that?"

"I can't live with Tony forever," Aurora said. "I need to learn to be independent."

"Have you told your brother yet?"

"Not yet," Aurora murmured. "I'm figuring a way to slowly break the ice. He already doesn't like Jonah anyway."

Natalia gave a quick glance down at her phone with furrowed brows, which Aurora questioned her. "Is everything okay?"

"It's just my boss," Natalie brushed it off. "He can be an ass sometimes."

"I'll deal with him," Aurora winked.

"Oh, he'll definitely be scared of you," Natalie humoured.

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"What's Mark 2?" Aurora questioned, peering from behind where Tony was sat.

He jumped in surprise and glanced over his shoulder to see his sister, tilting her head with curiosity set in her eyes. "I told you to stop doing that." He pointed his pen towards her.

"Never. It's fun," she laughed lightly, taking a seat next to him as she laid her head on his shoulder. "Tell me, please," she urged.

"This is our secret project." He opened up a few files in front of them and Aurora's eyes squinted with wonder. "I'll need your brains for this as well."

"Just admit that I'm smarter than you." She nudged his shoulder.

"Nah, i'm still smarter than you, but two brains is better than one, right?" He nudged back.

"Fine," she shook her head at his arrogance. "I'm in."

"Yes!" Tony cheered, standing up as he showed her the first prototype of his suit. "I've done this so far, now I want to test it out."

"Okay," she nodded. "Show me."

"I'll need you to help me put this on," Tony gestured to the part of the suit, he began to lay his arm on. "It's a repulsor so it-"

"Draws power directly from your arc reactor," Aurora finished as she looked up from the tablet and made her way towards her brother, helping him put it on.

"Miss Potts, is making her way downstairs, sir," JARVIS spoke as the siblings continued their work.

"It's fine, JARVIS," Tony said.

Pepper entered the room with a box and a mug of coffee in her hand, eyes directly fixated on the Stark siblings, working on another project like they always did together. "I've been buzzing you. Did you hear the intercom?"

"Sorry, we're just busy at the moment," Aurora gave a quick glance over her shoulder, then focused back on fixing the technology around Tony's chest.

"What?" Tony asked, too focused on his task.

"Obadiah and Jonah are upstairs, both are looking for you two," Pepper informed. "What do you want me to tell them?"

"Great, we'll be upstairs," Tony said, as Aurora helped lift his arm up.

"I thought you said you were done making weapons." Pepper took a step closer.

"It is," Tony grunted. "This is a flight stabiliser. It's completely harmless."

Pepper turned to Aurora with a raised brow to confirm. "It is," she nodded. "I think?"

"Switch it on, Rory," Tony nodded to his sister.

"3... 2... 1... go," Aurora pressed the button.

Tony went flying back instantly, his body hitting the wall as Pepper covered her ears and flinched. Aurora wincing and rushing to help Tony up. "I didn't expect that," he mumbled.

"Come on, let's take this off and go back upstairs," Aurora said as she took the brace off.

The siblings along with Pepper made their way upstairs shortly, finding Obadiah sat on the piano, playing with the keyboard, and Jonah sitting on the sofa, fixated on his phone with furrowed brows.

"Hey, you," Aurora sat down besides Jonah, and he quickly turned off his phone, giving his full attention to her.

"Hey," he smiled, leaning towards her.

"No smooching allowed in my house. That's the rules." Tony shoved himself in between Aurora and Jonah, the couple narrowing their eyes at him.

"Rules are meant to be broken," Aurora shrugged with a cheeky smile.

Tony turned to Jonah with a sinister smile. "You break them. I break your legs," he whispered to him.

"Leave the happy couple alone, Tony," Obadiah chuckled, still playing the piano.

"How'd it go? It went that bad, huh?" Tony opened the box of pizza, giving the first slice to Aurora to eat.

"Just because I brought pizza back from New York doesn't mean it went bad."

"Sure doesn't."

"It would have gone better if you were there." Obadiah stopped playing as he turned around to them. "Both of you," he indicated to Aurora.

"I'm not the CEO," she shrugged. "I don't need to be there."

Tony took a bite of the pizza. "Uh- huh. You told me to lay low. That's what I've been doing. I lay low, and you take care of all-"

"Hey, come on. In public. The press. This was a board of directors meeting." Obadiah stood in front of them.

"This was a board of directors meeting?" Both Stark siblings asked at the same time.

"The board is claiming you have post traumatic stress. They're filing an injunction," Jonah stated.

"A what?" Tony asked. Aurora looked over Tony's head to give Jonah a raised brow who in return shrugged.

"They want to lock you out," Obadiah stated.

"Why? Cause the stocks dipped 40 points? We knew that was gonna happen," Tony shrugged.

"Fifty-six and a half," Pepper chimed in.

"Wow," Aurora whispered.

"It doesn't matter. We own the controlling interest in the company," Tony shrugged, giving his sister another slice of pizza.

"Tony, the board has rights, too. They're making the case that you and your new direction isn't in the company's best interest," Obadiah sighed.

"I'm being responsible! That's a new direction for me, for the company. I mean, me on the company's behalf being responsible for the way that. This is great." Tony stood up, taking the pizza box with him.

Obadiah followed behind him "Oh, come on Tony."

"I'll be in the shop."

"Hey, hey! Hey, Tony. Listen. I'm trying to turn this thing around, but you gotta give me something. Something to pitch them. Let me have the engineers analyse that. You know, draw up some specs."

"No. No, absolutely not." Tony looked to Aurora. "Back me up on this, sis?"

"I agree," she nodded without hesitation.

"It'll give me a bone to throw the boys in New York!" Obadiah argued.

"This one stays with me. That's it, Obie. Forget it," Tony rebuked, moving away from them.

"All right, well, this stays with me, then." Obadiah takes the pizza box back. "Go on, here, you can have a piece. Take two."

"Thank you."

"You mind if I come down there and see what you're doing?"

"Good night, Obie." Tony walked away from them.

"Can I have another one?" Aurora softly asked, her head tilted to the side with a sweet smile.

"Of course you can, sweetheart," Obadiah smiled. "Take the whole box. Jonah a quick word." He then left Jonah and Aurora alone.

Jonah chuckled, wrapping his arm around Aurora, and pressing a kiss to the side of her head. "You always get what you want, huh?"

"And I want you upstairs. In 5." She walked away and looking over her shoulder with a sultry smile.

"I'll be there," he licked his lips, eyes flickering down to her back.

"Jonah!"

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Aurora felt restless that night, unable to sleep as her mind buzzed with ideas and the ever-present hum of anxiety. Knowing that tossing and turning in bed wouldn't help, she gently removed herself from Jonah's sleepy embrace, slipping into the workshop downstairs.

She decided to occupy herself by tinkering on a new piece of tech she thought Tony might appreciate for the suit he was making. Losing herself in the rhythmic click of tools and the glow of her workstation, she felt a sense of peace she rarely found elsewhere.

After a while, she needed a specific tool that she was certain was stored in one of the back rooms. As she rummaged through shelves and drawers, her eyes landed on a dusty box pushed far back on a high shelf. Intrigued, she carefully pulled it down, revealing a collection of her father's old documents. Most were technical blueprints and notes she could barely decipher, but one file caught her attention immediately

Steve Rogers.

Aurora's brow furrowed as she stared at the name. It wasn't familiar, and her curiosity piqued. She hesitated for a moment, glancing back towards the workshop, then carefully opened the file just enough to glimpse the top page. Before she could dive deeper, the sound of footsteps echoed down the hallway. Tony entered, wiping at his tired eyes, his expression shifting from surprise to a mild, amused curiosity.

"What are you doing in here, Rory?" Tony asked. "Nightmare?"

"Not tonight," Aurora absently closed the file and set it back in the box, offering Tony a sheepish smile. "Just couldn't sleep," she replied, shrugging lightly. "Thought I'd work on something for you. Needed a part and, well, got a bit distracted by Dad's old stuff."

"Yeah, Dad kept a lot of weird, old junk around. Probably nothing useful in there," he said, trying to sound nonchalant as he waved a dismissive hand. "Come on, let's get back to the good stuff over there."

She nodded, casting one last glance at the box before following Tony out. They walked back into the workshop, leaving her with more questions than answers about this mysterious Steve Rogers. For now, she pushed them aside, returning to her work, but the thought lingered in the back of her mind.

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author's note:

- decided to introduce Natasha in Iron Man instead because she's my favourite character and i have excited things to write about her and Rory together.

- and a quick Steve Rogers mention. can't wait for you all to read about when Rory meets him which will be just before the Avengers plot.