Heartlines | Steve Rogers

XXV

TWENTY FIVE
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Tony, Rhodey, and Pepper were glad to see Meredith bringing someone by. He was good-looking, all of them could admit. He was a great guy, which they learned as they were getting to know him. He was witty, smart, gorgeous, anything you could want in a guy. They were all just happy that Meredith finally starting to lighten up and seem like herself again. But, Tony, being the overprotective brother he is, he was worried this guy was going to hurt her like Steve did. She couldn't handle being hurt like that, not again, and she didn't deserve it. And he was going to do everything in his power to prevent that from happening again— to both of them. Maybe he had some trust issues, but in his opinion, you can never be too safe when it comes to protecting your family and yourself.

So, one night when Chris was working late in the lab and Meredith was on a mission, Tony decided to speak with him one on one. He stepped in and took a look around. Chris shot him an innocent smile upon seeing him, one that would turn you away from suspecting he could ever do anything bad. It wasn't that Chris seemed like he could do no bad, but he definitely seemed like he was within the better percentage of the world that did mostly good. "Whatcha workin' on?"

"Oh, just the same as the past few weeks. We've thought of implementing the nanotech in different aspects of the compound—" He was cut off as he began to ramble by Tony's overpowering voice.

"I'll cut straight to the chase. Meredith is my sister, and I love her more than anything on this Earth. I would do anything for her. I can tell that you are developing feelings for her, I'm not an idiot, anyone can tell. My point is, she's been through a lot and I don't want her getting hurt again. Especially by someone who doesn't meet her worth, no offense." He stepped around the room nonchalantly, his hands gracing the tabletops and swiping through some of the information on the holographic monitors. Chris was slightly taken aback by his words, but he wasn't wrong. He knew Meredith was deeply bothered by something, anyone could tell, but he wasn't at a point where he could ask her to speak of that yet.

"I would never hurt her, Tony. I don't know what happened to her, but I would never purposely do anything that would hurt her." He shook his head quickly. After spending all this time with her, this was the first person Chris had ever genuinely cared about in a long time. He'd been hurt, too, and maybe it was nothing like what Meredith experienced, but he still would never wish that hurt upon anyone. It sucked getting betrayed by the one you love and trust indefinitely.

"Well, he said he'd never hurt her, and he did. People lie, it's what they're best at. I'm just warning you that if you do her wrong in any way, I will kill you." Tony threatened as he gave him an intimidating look. Chris knew he was serious, but he wasn't scared. He knew there was nothing he could or would do to hurt Meredith, and Tony was just being the caring brother he is.

"You don't have anything to worry about, Tony, I promise." Chris offered genuinely, and Tony eyed him for a moment. Everything told him to believe him, but Tony just couldn't stop thinking about how many times he'd been lied to.

"I'll believe it when I see it." He muttered out, and Chris wondered what happened between all of them. It was obvious that Tony had extreme trust issues, and Meredith probably did, too. He wanted to ask her what happened, but he didn't know how. Tony was right when he said that Chris had some feelings for her. How could you not? It was Meredith Stark. She's the most gorgeous, brilliant, and gallant woman in the world. When she came back from her mission the next day, he was waiting for her at the compound. Well, he made it seem like he was working, but he was also waiting for her to return.

"How did it go?" He asked her. Even after being in that suit, she came out just as gorgeous as ever. Her hair was short and wavy, a gorgeous brown to gray balayage. Her outfit was typically jeans and a tank top when she was in the suit.