Natasha held your file firmly in her hands, looking at the cover as if the answer to her question could be found in the fibers of the paper. How is Tony going to react to this? It could go well, or it could go really, really badly. He wasn't exactly a man likely to do things halfway, and this was sure to get quite the reaction.

During the collapse of SHIELD, when she and Steve found Zola's bunker, they had found information on experimentation that SHIELD had done, trying to replicate the success found with Howard Stark and Dr. Erskine. In an effort to create the perfect agent, they created someone to have strength, heightened senses, and genius intellect. Howard had volunteered his own DNA for intellect, and the experimentation itself had given you empathic capabilities with emotional manipulation. When SHIELD fell and HYDRA was exposed, you were released into the world, perceived as a threat to HYDRA's rebirth as a member of the Stark family.

When Steve left with Sam to search for Bucky, Natasha knew that she had to find you. Now, here she was, your information in her hands; one final step to her mission, but she couldn't get her feet to move. As she stared at your file, she didn't hear the footsteps rapidly approaching.

"Hey, red. Whatcha got there?" Tony snatched the papers from her grip, biting into an apple to hold it in his mouth as he walked away, reading the top page. Natasha didn't argue or follow, knowing that this moment was inevitable no matter how it played out. Tony's pace slowed, then came to a full stop; as his mouth hung open the apple dropped to the floor with a soft thud.

"Romanoff? What the hell is this?"

"Ok, Tony, let me explain..."

"I have a sister?"

~~~

As the car pulled into the garage at the Avengers tower, your stomach was filled with knots and your nerves were getting the best of you. You closed your eyes and tried to focus on your heartbeat, feeling the rhythm in your chest, trying to slow it enough to calm you, but it felt pointless. "Natasha, I don't know about this. Are you sure he wanted to see me, or are we blindsiding him?"

Nat put the car in park and turned the key, leaning back in the seat. "He said he would meet you."

"But," you pointed a finger in her direction, "does that mean he wanted to, or just to get it over with?" Your expression grew anxious as a realization struck you. "Oh, god, he knows that I don't want anything from him, right?"

"You worry too much." The redhead exited the vehicle, leaning down to look back at you. "Get your ass out of the car."

Even the parking garage was nicer than any other building you had ever been in. As she led you to the elevator, you began to realize just how much your new brother was worth, watching each floor pass by thru the glass walls of the lift. It did nothing to help your nerves. The closer you got to the top floor, where Tony was waiting, the stronger the sense of anxiety was that came over you.

It wasn't yours, it was his.

The elevator opened to an open lounge area, and you assumed that the man standing at the bar must be Tony. His features were familiar; you shared a few of the Stark traits, making it hard to deny your lineage. Natasha entered before you, pointing at Tony, you assume to remind him to behave.

"Hello, (Y/N). Care for a drink?"

"Um, no. Thank you."

Tony took down his drink in one swallow as he walked towards you, sizing you up; deciding if he believed you, if you worked for HYDRA, or if you were here for his fortune. The sense of anxiety that you felt from him before was slowly escalating. Did he know you were an empath? Was that why he was so extraordinarily nervous?

"Here," he reached for you, "let me take your coat." As he removed your coat, his hand brushed yours. He startled but then calmed as your power washed over him. "Was that...was that you?"

"I'm sorry, that wasn't on purpose, I swear. Although, you sure seemed to need it."

"So, what, are you like a mind reader?"

"No. Not at all. May I?" You gestured to sit on the couch and Tony agreed, joining you as he threw your coat on a nearby chair. "I'm an empath with emotion manipulation abilities. I can sense you and send you emotional signals, but only with consent or if the emotions you have are compromising your safety."

"Gotcha."

As you looked around the spacious room, your feet began to bounce a bit, revealing your nerves to Tony. Natasha had left you alone even though she was the only constant thing for you in this whole situation. You looked back at Tony, regarding him as he stared back at you. The silence hung in the air, making the scene awkward and uncomfortable.

"So..." you began, but nothing followed.

"So, um, did you ever meet my dad...I mean...our dad?"

It hurt him to ask, and you could feel it. "No, I believe he was gone before I was born." His feelings increased as they surrounded your mind, and tears began to well up in your eyes. "I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" As he spoke, he stood and walked back to the bar, pouring himself another drink. "His life, how he lived it, and how it ended are nothing we apologize for." His tone had changed, harsher and colder now as he spoke of Howard.

"I'm sorry that this is difficult for you. I had no intention of finding you, and it wasn't until Natasha contacted me that I would have ever considered it." Another few minutes of silence had passed before he spoke again.

"What do we do now?" He was stepping back towards you, so you stood to meet him. "I actually have no idea how to go about...this." You could feel his anxiety returning, and could see a small tremble in his hands. Beads of sweat were forming on his forehead.

"Tony, I know we've only just met, and you've been given no real reason to trust me, but will you let me help you? Please?" He looked at you as if he didn't understand the question. "Your anxiety?" His eyes widened at this, forgetting that you had inside information being fed to you constantly.

"Um...well, what the hell. Give it a go." He was now a few feet from you, his hands in front of him. "What do I need to do?"

You reached out and took both of his hands in yours with a soft touch. It wasn't necessary for you to touch him to use your abilities, but connecting with him made this whole crazy scenario feel real to you. Gently, you rubbed your thumbs over the tops of his hands, holding eye contact for as long as he would let you. He allowed the moment to linger, but pulled back as he regained his senses.

"JARVIS?" he spoke to the room, but was still looking at you.

"Yes, sir?"

"Let's set up a room for (Y/N), shall we?"

"Right away, sir."

"Wait, what? A room?" Tony had stepped back when your expression changed and your body tensed. "I didn't plan on staying over."

He laughed a bit at this, realizing that you didn't understand what he was doing. "(Y/N), I would like you to move in. If I'm gonna have a sister, I had damn well better to get to know her, don't ya think? I've got plenty of space," he paused, contemplating his next words, "and...this could be good for both of us."

As you opened your mouth to reply, the elevator opened, revealing a tall blonde man in a red, white and blue uniform. His hair was disheveled and his uniform dirty; he was carrying a shield and reading something on a tablet as he entered the room.

"Hey, Stark, we were able to secure-" he stopped when he saw you, realizing that he was interrupting a sensitive conversation. "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to barge in. I forgot that this was happening today. I'll just talk to you later." He was turning to leave, but Tony stopped him.

"Cap, this is (Y/N), my...sister. (Y/N), this is Steve Rogers."

"Ma'am."

He was gorgeous, almost to a fault. You had never seen anyone like him, and your attraction was instant. It wasn't only physical attraction though; you felt something that resonated with you as you looked at him, as if you were meant to know this person. You reached out to take his extended hand, trying to control the nerves building in the pit of your stomach.

"Captain." He kept a firm grip on your hand, maintaining eye contact until it became obvious that something more was happening here.

"Alright, it's a little early in this relationship for me to use the 'big brother' card, but this is getting weird." Tony walked back towards the bar again, shaking his head. "Surprise sister, sure. Surprise sister and Capsicle?" He took a large gulp then smirked at the two of you. "There's not enough liquor in the world for this."