Stark & Silver (Tony Stark x Reader)

Chapter Five

The car ride was mostly silent, apart from the quiet music filtering from the radio and Tony's humming. YN had yet to mutter a sentence longer than a word to Tony since their initial conversation, and Tony was beginning to get frustrated.

"We're five minutes from his place, I'm going to go in, you stay in the car unless I signal you." YN muttered, tossing Tony a halfhearted look.

"What's the signal?" Tony asked, finally satisfied that the silence had ended.

"Torch from the window, I'll park so you can see it." YN said, pulling up outside Derek's building. "If I'm longer than ten minutes, you come get me." Tony nodded, biting his lip as he watched YN open her door. "And don't try to be a hero, ten minutes or the signal, got it?"

"Roger that." YN rolled her eyes as she left Tony sitting in his car. She felt her heartrate increase the closer she got to Derek's door, her mouth drying. Lifting a knuckle, she knocked softly on the door.

The door creaked open at the pressure and YN's eyes closed, the worst possible scenario rampaging behind her lids. She stepped through the threshold, holding her breath as she noticed the state of the apartment.

"Derek?" She whispered, wincing as glass crushed below her boot. "Derek, you here?" YN continued through the apartment, avoiding scattered furniture.

She rounded the corner to the man's bedroom, stepping in with only an ounce of hesitation. What greeted her nearly tore a shriek from her mouth, her hand covering it just in time. Her knees buckled as she fell beside the body, her hands itching to fall onto his still chest.

Knowing she had three minutes before Tony came looking for her, YN bit her lip harshly, blood pouring into her mouth as she forced away her tears. Derek's eyes were wide open, staring at the ceiling as blood pooled from his forehead.

Leaning forward, YN pushed his eyelids down, closing his eyes for the last time. A whine of pain left her throat as her own eyes closed, pushing down the urge to scream out. "I'm sorry." She whispered, getting to her feet. "I'm sorry, Derek."

YN exited the apartment quietly, carefully navigating to make sure she didn't leave any of her presence at the scene. She walked back to the car, schooling her features and trying to stop the shaking of her hands. Slipping back into the car, YN rested them on the steering wheel, staring at them blankly.

"He wasn't there?" YN swallowed, shaking her head. "He good then?" YN shook her head again, starting the car up without saying anything else. "YN-"

"We need to find somewhere to stay." YN said, her tone flat. "We'll get a motel." Tony nodded, letting YN fall back to silence.

His eyes were itching to look back to her, watch her for any sign of an emotion he could recognize. YN was as forth giving as a cardboard box. Tony could see she'd shut him out, hell she'd shut everyone out by the looks of it. He was worried about what she'd seen in the apartment, what had made her shut down so quickly but so... completely.

They stepped into the motel silently, YN moving to place her belongings on the bed, but she didn't move, just stared at the bed as if it had offended her with its plaid covers.

"YN, what was it?" Tony whispered, staring at her from the other side of the room, his hands resting at his sides awkwardly. "You need to tell me-"

"He's dead." She muttered, walking away from her spot and towards the bathroom. "Gun shot wound to the head, looked like a sniper." Tony blinked, his mouth falling open. "Looks like it happened around nine hours ago, same time as my attack."

"Silver, you know this wasn't your fault-" YN chuckled dryly, and Tony swore it was the first time he'd actually heard her laugh, even if it was cruel and humorless.

"Say what you like, Stark. We know it's not true." She said, pulling the door closed. Behind the door, YN rested her head against the surface, her hand over her mouth. Tears gathered in her eyes, forcing her to look up to stop them from falling. On the other side, Tony lowered his gaze, his own heart hurting for the obviously affected agent.

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YN was awake early the next morning, the laptop in her lap as she typed quickly. Tony jolted awake, nearly shocking the coffee from YN's grip.

"Jesus, you sleep worse than I do." Tony said, lifting himself into a sitting position. YN made a noise of acknowledgement, finishing her third cup of coffee. "What are you doing?"

"Booking flights." Tony frowned, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "For D.C."

"Why are we going to D.C?" YN glanced at him, a brow raised. "What?"

"I'm going to D.C, you're going home." Tony scoffed, slipping his feet into his shoes and following YN to her bag, crossing his arms. "Listen, Tony, this is my job. It's what I came to S.H.I.E.L.D to do, so I don't need you hovering over my investigation."

"YN, I signed up for this as well. The minute I told the world I was Iron Man," YN rolled her eyes as she pulled her shoes onto her feet. "I knew this was the job. So, either you book me a flight, or I do it myself. Actually, let me do it. I can afford first class."

YN sighed, dropping her elbows onto her knees as Tony fell back onto the bed. "You're not going to listen to me, are you?" Tony shook his head, a cocky smile on his face. "Fine, we're going to D.C, because that's where the helicarriers are being kept." Tony's eyes widened and he jumped to his feet. "I have a feeling Alexander Pierce is heavily involved in the dodgy shit going down, and I am determined to prove it."

Tony opened his mouth to speak when his phone rang, holding a finger up to YN who raised an eyebrow at it. YN listened to the one available half of the conversation she could, her eyes following Tony as he paced around the room. Tony hung the phone up after a short conversation, his face slightly paler than it had when he answered it.

"What is it?" YN asked, cocking her head at his sudden change in attitude.

"Fury's dead. Sniped in Rogers apartment."