(OC POV)

I watched as Tony walked away after Laura asked him to look at their tractor, the question interrupting a fight that Tony and Steve were in the middle of. I took the opportunity to walk up to Steve, gripping his arm as he turned to resume cutting wood.

"Take a walk with me?" I asked softly, the man sighing before nodding and dropping his axe.

"Lead the way." The soldier said with a tight smile as he watched me, my own smile appearing before I turned and led the way into the trees. We walked for about ten minutes, my eyes glancing to him periodically as I watched him think through whatever was bothering him.

"What's wrong?" I said as I finally stopped, the man's head snapping up in surprise at the sudden sound of my voice.

"Nothing." He said too quickly, my eyebrow rising at his constant denial when asked about his wellbeing.

"You're never so irritable. Something's wrong." I said simply, the captain sighing before rubbing his temples and staring at me intensely.

"Just leave it alone. Please." He said sternly before turning away and continuing to walk, my irritation becoming present when he walked away from me.

"Keeping it in will only make it worse. You need to talk about it." I retorted as I moved to follow him, the soldier turning on his heels suddenly and glaring down at me in irritation.

"What are you, a shrink? You wouldn't understand." He hissed out angrily and my temper finally snapped, my hands curling into fists as I pushed him back and away from me.

"I would if you would tell me!" I shouted at him, hurt coloring my voice if you could look past the anger as his eyes widened before narrowing dangerously.

"Fine! You want to know? I saw the love of my life for the first time in years! I held her and danced with her like I promised so long ago. And then she just disappeared. And you took her place. You, who I barely know, but feel so drawn to. You hugged me and comforted me and it felt so right. And then you were taken from me too! And killed right in front of me! I watched as the life left your eyes. The worst part is…I realized I cared more for you than I knew. And it took losing you to get that." He started off angry and slowly he became more upset and confused, my own eyes wide with pleasant surprise and a little bit of hurt though I wasn't sure why. All was silent for a few minutes, both of us trying to gather our thoughts enough to say something.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry you had to see all that, and I'm sorry that doing so made you realize you cared. But if it's so bad to care about me, then don't. I would rather be no one to you than a burden." I said softly before smiling sadly and taking my coat in my arms, shooting up into the sky with a flap of my wings before he could reply.

"Aly! Wait!" I didn't hear anything else past that, knowing that I would have to stay away if we were both to survive the fight ahead.

(Steve's POV (Surprise!))

"Damnit." I murmured as I watched her disappear from my sight, the trees blocking her from my view as I collapsed against a tree. Flashes of her gripping my face and bringing my lips to hers played through my head, my hands tingling as I still felt her soft skin beneath my fingertips. The pleasant scene turned into one from a nightmare, multiple gunshots ringing as her blood coated my suit and hands. She whispered my name before dropping to the ground, my voice ringing through my ears as I yelled for her to hold on. Within seconds she died in my arms, my eyes snapping open to see the forest floor instead of her lifeless gaze.

"I screwed that up before it even started." I whispered to myself and gripped my hair roughly as I realized she wouldn't leave my mind anytime soon, sighing in resignation before getting up and moving back to the farm so I could finish chopping the wood.

(That Night) (OC POV)

"Ultron took you folks out of play to buy himself time. My contacts all say he's building something. The amount of vibranium he made off with…I don't think it's just one thing." Fury said as he moved to cut himself some bread, glancing at me over his shoulder to where I sat next to Nat at the table.

"What about Ultron himself?" Steve said, glancing at me again like he's been doing every five minutes since he came inside and saw that I was here.

"Oh, he's easy to track. He's everywhere. The guy is multiplying faster than a catholic rabbit. It still doesn't help us get an angle on any of his plans, though." Fury said as he poured himself a glass of wine, moving back to his bread as he shrugged and glanced at Steve.
"Is he still going after launch codes?" Tony said from the other room where he was playing darts, not even bothering to glance over as he focused on the board.

"Yes, he is. But he's not making any headway." Fury said as he cut the slices from the loaf, not looking up from the cutting board and the knife he was holding.

"I cracked the Pentagon's firewall in high school on a dare." Tony said in disbelief though there was a hint of smugness in his voice, the man turning to look at Fury as he twirled a dart between his fingers absently.

"Well, I contacted our friends at the Nexus about that." Fury said as he folded the bread in half, Steve shifting from where he was leaning against the wall.

"Nexus?" he questioned, turning towards Fury as he asked the question.

"It's the world internet hub in Oslo. Every bite of data flows through there. Fastest access on Earth." Bruce answered for him which got Steve's attention, the captain's eyes flicking towards me since I sat in front of the doctor.

"So what did they say?" Clint said as he examined a dart Tony left on the counter, a perplexed look on his face though I believe he was just planning something.

"He's fixated on the missiles. But the codes are constantly being changed." Fury said with an almost confused look on his face, he eyes glancing at me though I shrugged and shook my head in confusion.

"By whom?" Tony said, jerking back when the darts hit the bullseye of the board he was standing in front of. We both looked at the archer, who merely smirked smugly and shrugged in playful innocence.

"Parties unknown." Fury said as he looked at the archer and the genius, his tone almost disapproving which caused me to giggle into my hand quietly.

"Do we have an ally?" Nat said as she looked up from the drawing that was in her hand, her gaze catching mine and it was just as cautious as mine was.

"Ultron's got an enemy. That's not the same thing. Still, I'd pay folding money to know who it is." Fury said as he gathered his snack together, taking a sip of his wine as he finished with the bread.

"I might need to visit Oslo. Find our unknown." Stark said as he moved away from the board, entering the room from the little doorway that separated us.

"Well this is good times boss, but I was kinda hoping when I saw you you'd have more than that." Nat said before anyone else could say anything, looking at Fury with disappointment as I looked at the table blankly.

"I do. I have you. Back in the day, I had eyes everywhere. Ears, everywhere else. You kids had all the tech you could dream up. Here we all are, back on Earth, with nothing but our wit and our will to save the world. Ultron says the Avengers are the only thing between him and his mission. And whether or not he admits it, his mission is global destruction. All this, laid in a grave. So stand. Outwit the platinum bastard." Fury said as he moved to sit down, winking at me which caused me to roll my eyes and smile softly at my father figure.

"Steve doesn't like that kind of talk." Nat said sarcastically, a scoff leaving me as I shook my head and grinned in amusement.

"You know what, Romanoff?" Steve said with a slight smile that made me think that he was feeling better, the spy grinning triumphantly at the fact that she irritated him once again.

"So what does he want?" Fury said as he glanced at me like I had all the answers, my eyes narrowing in irritation at the man though I didn't voice it.

"To become better. Better than us. He keeps building bodies." Steve said as he glanced at me to see me smiling, a slight smile on his face before he became serious again and looked at everyone else.

"Person bodies. The human form is inefficient. Biologically speaking, we're outmoded. But he keeps coming back to it." Tony said in confusion, glaring down at the floor as he tried to figure it out in his head.

"When you two programmed him to protect the human race, you amazingly failed." Natasha said as she looked up at Bruce, said doctor looking over her shoulder and down at the drawing of a butterfly that Clint's daughter gave her.
"They don't need to be protected. They need to evolve. Ultron's going to evolve." Bruce said softly, looking up at us before exchanging knowing glances with me as I realized what he was getting at.

"How?" Fury said as he stared at the doctor intently, the rest of the team doing the same as they tensed in anticipation.

"Has anyone been in contact with Helen Cho?" I whispered as I stared at the butterfly, curses flying around the room as it suddenly became a flurry of movement. Within a few minutes everybody was suited up and gathering in the living room, Natasha and I talking about the new Frappuccino that Laura told us Starbucks just released.

"I'll take Natasha and Clint." Steve said as he attached his shield to his back, glancing at me before Tony stole his attention as he walked up to him.

"All right. Strictly Recon. I'll hit the Nexus. I'll join you as soon as I can." Tony said while fiddling with his watch, Steve following him to the doorway where they stopped.

"If Ultron's really building a body…." Steve faltered as he glanced at the ground, looking up as I approached the two boys after leaving Natasha to say her goodbyes.

"He'll be more powerful than any of us. Maybe all of us." I said as I secured my coat to my shoulders, watching as Steve studied me with a soft look in his eyes.

"An android designed by a robot." Tony agreed as he fiddled with his watch some more, glancing up in time to see Steve looking back to him.

"You know, I really miss the days when the weirdest thing science ever created was me." Steve said as he shook his head, glancing down at me when I giggled which made him smile softly.

"I'll drop Banner off at the tower. Do you mind if I borrow Miss Hill?" Fury said as he stopped in the doorway, stealing our attention as he pulled on his coat and took a few steps closer.

"She's all yours. Apparently. What are you gonna do?" Stark said as he looked at the man in irritation, leaning closer in anticipation after he asked his question.

"I don't know. Something dramatic, I hope." Fury said with a grin as he glanced at me, winking again before turning and walking away from us.

"Well I better go get the jet started up." Tony said, leaving Steve and I alone as I glanced at him to see him already watching me.

"You know…I never said it was bad to care about you. I just said it was bad that you had to die for me to figure it out. I…like…caring about someone. After being alone for so long…it's nice. Maybe after this whole Ultron mess…if we survive…would you like to go to dinner?" he stuttered through his words right up to the finish, my eyes widening as I realized he would like…this…to go somewhere.

"Like a date?" I asked very ineloquently, a smile coming to my face as he nodded hesitantly.

"Yeah, a date." He said as he smiled back, becoming more confident once he saw my smile.

"I would love to, Captain." I said with a wink, a blush crossing his face before he cleared his throat and straightened up.

"Good. Now let's go get that platinum bastard." He said before gesturing for me to lead the way, a laugh leaving me as I shook my head and raised my eyebrow.

"Language, Steve." I said teasingly and watched as a frown appeared on his brow, my head rising to give him a kiss on the cheek before he could respond. I skipped out the door after I pulled away, missing his wide-eyed expression and the happy smile that slowly spread across his face along with a blush.