Hi guys! Sorry it took me a while.

Please make sure to read the a/n below.

  ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ C H A P T E R  N I N E ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬  

"No. No. No!"

"Keep it down, James!"

"What is he doing— oh God, is he gonna... I think he's gonna— oh no! Holy fu—"

"Language, kids."

"But it's his arm! Are you not seeing this? How can you guys be so calm?"

"And how can you be so fidgety over this? It's just an arm. Stop acting like you've just shit your pants!"

"Again, language! Jeez, kids! The old man wouldn't like hearing this!" Tony reminded, perching his wielding goggles over the top of his head.

"Don't look at me! Look at Allie! She has the foul mouth over here."

Allie rolled her eyes at the sight of his brother, who currently had his eyes glued to the big screen. 

"I'm sorry. My emotions got the best of me." she apologized.

They were spending their lunch break with their Uncle Tony and was initially planning to talk to him about their 'matchmaking plans' for their parents — only to end up watching a movie instead.

James was seriously attached.

"You guys seriously haven't watch that? At least one of the films?" asked Tony, astonished.

They shook their heads in response.

"Nope," James still did not spare him a glance. "And I'm starting to regret that decision."

"These films are ancient. When were these released like... late 70's? And we live in the year, 2037. That's quite a huge time gap you know." Allie pointed out.

"But still!" Tony exclaimed, stopping what he was doing. "Star Wars are like the best Sci-Fi movies in the history of mankind! In the whole world, even! I can't believe your parents didn't make you watch those! And this is a big thing coming from me considering I understand the language of Science."

"I can see that pretty clearly now." Allie said, but her tone was every ounce serious.

She looked at James whose eyes were now the same sizes are oranges.

"Man... why did Luke got to have his arm cut off?" he whined.

Allie went over to sit beside him, "Scoot over." she propped her feet on top of her brother's legs. They both watched in silence.

"There is no escape! Don't make me destroy you. Luke, you do not yet realize your importance. You've only begun to discover your power! Join me, and I will complete your training! With our combined strength, we can end this destructive conflict, and bring order to the galaxy."

"I'll never join you!" 

"If only you knew the power of the Dark Side. Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father." 

Tony watched in pure amusement at how adorable his nephew and niece looked right now. Well, they weren't literally his nephew or niece, but he really treats them like they were his own. But he still wondered... 

... if kids in their generation never even heard of Star Wars... then the future must be all messed up pretty badly.

"He told me enough! He told me you killed him!"

James watched intently as Darth Vader spoke out his next words. And the moment it came out, it really took him off by horror.

"No. I am your father."

"Noooooooo!"  

"What the heck? No!" James shot up from his seat like a bat— accidentally letting his sister kiss the cold floor below in the process.

"Ugh! James!" she groaned, punching his feet.

"Search your feelings; you know it to be true!"

"Did you hear what he said? That couldn't— that shouldn't be right! Tony, is this legit?"

Tony was trying to wield a couple of wires together from the time machine. "What is?" he looked up to see the troubled face of James Rogers.

"Darth Vader is Luke's dad?"

"That's what happened didn't it?"

"For real?"

"Yeah," Tony shrugged, snickering. "It's just a movie, kid. Don't let it get to you."

James looked at him in disbelief. "It's not just a movie! It's—it's..."

His uncle sent him a sympathetic smile. "I know how you feel, Jamester. Trust me, I've been through this phase right after watching that, and it's not that easy to move on from. And don't even get me started on the prequels. Those ruined me."

"They have prequels?" Allie sat back on her former seat.

"Of course," Tony arched an eyebrow. "Why did you think you started watching Episode 4?"

She shrugged, "For fun." 

Tony glanced at his watch and saw that their break was over. They should be heading back to work by now. "Well, that's enough for now."

"What?" Both siblings exclaimed.

He pointed at his watch. "Duty calls."

"Duty can wait," James said, turning his attention back to the screen.

"Nope, it can't. Come on, the old man's not going to like it if he finds you two slacking out. And I'll be lectured on about it again."

"You can just tell him you like our company and decided to save us from all the trouble," Allie said, a lopsided smirk etched on her lips.

Tony looked at her dully. 

"Tempting, but no."

Allie scoffed.

"Come on, get going." Tony urged, getting back to what he was doing. "Use your charms to play matchmaker for your momma and daddy."

When the two still continued to ignore him, he rolled his eyes and in one flick, had the TV shut off.

"Hey!" The two Rogers protested.

"Had to get your attention somehow," he said.

"But it's only ten minutes until the end!" James exclaimed, "And dad and mom are gonna be fine. Aunt Sharon and dad still haven't made up have they not? And he's been talking to mom more often."

"Don't speak too soon, young cricket," Tony warned, pointing a screwdriver at her. "You might eat your words. You only have two days left until the party."

"We can handle this. Have faith in us, Master Stark." James said, amusement laced in his tone.

Tony sighed, exasperatedly. He felt like these two were being a little more out of it than usual. He thought that making them busy would do the trick to keep them back on track. 

"Alright, here's a job for you guys. Go to the second level and ask Maria Hill for the SHIELD files that she was supposed to be for me. I think it's the Avengers' profiles. I think I was assigned to update it or something since Fury left."

"I thought that was dad's job?" asked Allie.

Tony gave her that look.

A look of realization crossed her face. "Ah, right. Too techy stuff for him to handle."

James rose to his feet, stretching his arms out in satisfaction. "Alright then. Let's go. The sooner we get this done, the sooner I can get back to my movie."

"You are so obsessed." Allie mused.

"Als, it's Star Wars. Need I say more?"

  —————————————————————————————  

It had been exactly fifteen hours since he had last spoken with his girlfriend.

Alright, that probably was a little weird that he was counting off the time, but Steve couldn't help himself. He and Sharon rarely fought, and in the past days, it seems as if they would be exceeding their usual limit.

It was troubling him.

But moreover, he was feeling very confused about his feelings because they had been recently feeling out of place. 

Steve knew better to not admit that he was feeling something else towards a certain friend. Towards a certain redhead.

He couldn't deny that he every time he looked at her, he was seeing her in an entirely different light than before. And he knew this feeling. The last time he felt this way... it was not with Sharon, no, but with Peggy.

And that was enough to tell him that this was a dangerous line he was walking on.

No. he shook his head. He needed to put his mind back to his girlfriend. He needed to win Sharon's affection back and not think of anyone else.

Steve stopped in his tracks the moment he saw Sharon standing over her desk. She was wearing her usual SHIELD uniform and was busying herself with a pile of files. Steve could tell she was stressed out judging by the way her eyebrows furrowed together.

He sucked in a breath. Was this a good time to talk to her? Or should he come back later?

But the second she snapped her head up, her eyes landed on his figure. The captain, still every bit of nervous speaking to her, mustered up the courage to finally mend things between them.

You got this, Rogers. You love her right? Now man up.

"Right," he muttered under his breath, before beginning to walk towards her.

I love her... I love her.

But why did it felt like he was trying hard to convince himself of that?

In a way, it felt wrong coming out of his mouth.

And Steve had absolutely no idea why it did.

    —————————————————————————————    

"Yup. We're dead alright."

"So much for having faith, huh?" Allie asked him, sarcastically.

James glared at her, "Shut up."

The two siblings were currently hiding behind a wall— not liking what they were seeing at all. When they got down to the second level, they immediately came to the sight of Steve and Sharon. They were just about to strike up a casual greeting before noticing how serious of a conversation they were having.

They decided to hide behind a wall and spy on them instead. 

Allie had thought that their dad was ending things between them for good—somehow getting excited about it even though she knew it was mean of her. But the moment they saw Steve and Sharon getting all cutesy and touchy, their theory was proven wrong.

"What are we going to do now?" James let out a groan, turning away as Sharon embraced Steve in a very affectionate manner; he did the same.

Allie let out an annoyed huff. "So does this means all our hard work for the past days was for nothing?"

"Pretty much." he grumbled.

The redhead peeked a glance to see Steve leaned in just in time. She quickly averted her gaze, shuddering in disgust. "Gah! We can't just stand here and do nothing while they're eating each other's faces!"

"You're overreacting." James glanced back only to wince at the sight. "Okay, maybe they are... but look — Aunt Sharon's the one doing it. Dad seems... eh— he looks tense."

"No. Stop. Stop telling me about their kiss or I'm throwing up on you this time." Allie threatened.

James backed away, "Okay, okay! Sorry!" he sighed, "So, what do we do?"

Allie pondered for a moment, before speaking out, "I have an idea."

"What?"

"Come on," she tugged at her brother's arm. "Let's stop that kiss."

"How? What's the plan?"

"That is the plan." Allie retaliated, facing him with a smirk, "Stop them."

Before James could even respond, his sister started walking nearer to where their dad and aunt where. Without any warning, Allie suddenly clapped her hands.

"Excuse me!"

The couple, definitely surprised, broke off the kiss as quickly as it started and turned to the cheerful voice beside them.

James suddenly felt embarrassment creeping up his neck. He did not expect Allie to do this very bold action. No matter how much he did not like them together, he still did have a respect for privacy. Unlike his sister, who was too much of a rebel.

Sharon, trying hard not to show her annoyance, forced a smile instead, "Oh, Agent Rogan, do you need something?"

But Allie could see straight through her. She could feel the irritation radiating off her aunt. Well, truth be told they were never really close friends in the future anyway. And the way she's starting to know more about her, the more she was glad about their status in her time.

It was bad to compare. But really, what did his dad ever saw in her? She's nowhere near her mom! And she's not even half as good as her aunt— Aunt Peggy. She, well, Allie had to admit she was a badass. That she understood why her dad fell for her—but this? It made no sense.

Allie's gaze switched over to Steve, whose ears were turning pink. His hands were on his sides while Sharon's was still perched on his arms.

"We were just meaning to ask, do you know where Maria Hill is?" Allie asked, as sweetly as she could.

"No, I'm sorry but I haven't seen her." she said dismissively.

"Oh, I think she's in the storage room. She said something about arranging some weapons?" Steve interjected.

"Ah," Allie smiled and started to turn on her heel before stopping to look back again, "I'm sorry, but we're still kind of unfamiliar with the place yet... and we kind of forgot where the storage room is again?"

Steve opened his mouth to speak but Sharon beat him to it.

"I thought you were already given a tour?" she asked, her tone somewhat off.

James' eyes fleeted over to his sister. He knew what she was trying to do but he wasn't entirely sure if this was going to end well and exactly like what she predicted.

"Yes but it's still hard to remember all of the places. And this compound is quite a spacious one." she remarked.

"Go the directory then." Sharon said curtly.

Allie pressed her lips, feeling the slight vexation rising on her chest. Did she have to be so rude just to have the quality time with their dad?

"But—"

"Thank you. We're sorry for interrupting you." James cut her off, gently pushing her in the opposite direction.

Allie turned to him with a startled look. "What?"

"Uh..." Steve started awkwardly, "Maybe this wouldn't take too long we could help them out—"

"No."

The three's gazes immediately snapped towards Sharon. All were stunned by her firm interruption.

"It would just take a few minutes, sweetheart—"

"Steve," she sighed, looking at him with slight annoyance. "Are we really going to do this now?"

Steve understood what she meant. That they had just made up and not a few minutes later, they were walking straight into another argument. Even though he wasn't sure why Sharon wasn't willing to help these two, he couldn't do much. He wasn't risking another possible disagreement between them.

He just had to make up for these two the next time around.

"You're right. I'm sorry." he sighed, looking apologetically at the two young agents in front. "Is there any particular reason why you're looking for Maria?"

Allie felt her jaw dropped in horror. Did her dad just seriously choose Sharon over them? She felt a blow to her gut.

James recognized the look on her face and answered Steve's question instead.

"Mr. Stark gave us an assignment. Something about retrieving some SHIELD profiles. He said he needed to update the information written in the files." he explained.

"I think I know what you're referring to but I can't remember where I had them put. The ideal thing is to ask Maria. She keeps in check of every file contained in SHIELD." Steve said.

He nodded at his statement, "Thanks, Captain. Sorry for the... disturbance again. Let's go, Allie."

Before she could even get a word in the conversation, her brother grabbed her hand and led them out of the room. Sharon continued to narrow her eyes at the sight of the two before looking back at Steve.

"Glad that's over." she bit out.

Steve sighed, "I'm not trying to start an argument okay? But what is it about them that made you hate them so much?"

Sharon raised an eyebrow, asking him back, "And what made you like them so much anyway? You barely know anything about them, Steve."

"Well, they haven't done anything wrong. I find no reason to dislike them at all." Steve defended.

She placed her hands on her hips, looking at him to answer honestly, "I feel like they're hiding something. I don't know—I could be wrong, probably just a feeling—but somehow... it's like... they're not being fully honest."

Steve simply stared at her, not knowing what to say to her conclusion.

"But it's just what I think, okay? I'm not jumping into anything else unless I have a proof of it." she added. "I still respect your decision about them, Captain."

The captain felt a smile crawl its way to the corner of his lips. He was glad that she was being honest with him. And he can't blame her because they really didn't know a lot about the two to be complacent with them.

But so far, they were falling onto the Avengers' good side, especially Tony— that was enough for Steve.

He was just thankful that Sharon wasn't being too aggressive about this like she did the last time. That she had actually listened to his words, for once.

Steve wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer to him. He kissed her temple lightly. "Thank you."

All the while that was happening, a spy stood above them.

She was watching the sight through the glass panes from the upper level. Her arms crossed together, and her face deciphered a swarm of emotions. But most of all — she was feeling very confused about this.

Natasha had been watching Steve and Sharon even before James and Allie walked in on them. She knew they had made up, and she knew that she was supposed to be happy about it. She was supposed to be relieved that her friends have finally settled down their disagreements.

But she didn't.

In fact, she was feeling the opposite.

How relieved was she that Allie walked in and interrupted their sweet moment. The way Steve and Sharon kissed in front of her, the way Steve cradled Sharon's waist like a gentleman would— it bothered her to an extent that she had to avert her gaze.

Suddenly, her mind flickered to the time she was in Steve's hold, not Sharon. And the funny thing is... while her mind is telling her to that Bruce should be the one enclouding her thoughts, that he should be the one whom she imagined being in his arms — her heart was telling her another thing.

And Natasha knew that this is a terrible terrible sign.

"God..." she pressed her hands to her face. "What on earth is wrong with me?"

She glanced one last time at the couple, feeling her chest tightening with every passing second. And walked away from it.

From the sight causing her confusion and pain.

  —————————————————————————————  

"Has it ever occurred to you how annoying and irritating Aunt Sharon can be?"

"Just let it go, Als."

"But she's really annoying!"

"Pipe it down. Someone might hear you."

"Oh yeah, who? Casper?"

James shot her a serious look. 

Allie ignored him, still feeling irritated about what happened but nevertheless kept silent. They eventually found the door to the storage room. They didn't actually need to ask for directions since they know the whole facility by heart because they live here.

Her brother pressed his thumb to the plate. The lines cross over his thumb before turning green.

"Access Granted."

The two of them stepped inside and was greeted by the sight of thousands of cases filled with papers and folders. Now they understood why this was a restricted area. Everything about SHIELD, probably about the world, is located here.

"How are we going to find the Avengers' files on this mansion?" Allie asked in disbelief.

"FRIDAY? Can you hear us?" James called out.

"Yes, Agent James Rogan. I can hear you perfectly."

"Great." he said, looking around, "Do you know the location of the Avengers' files? Mr. Stark asked us to get them."

"It's at the last aisle, sir. You will need to enter another restricted area."

"That's expected anyway," James said, gesturing for Allie to follow him. "Thank you, FRIDAY."

"My pleasure, Agent James Rogan."

Once the two finally got what they were looking for, they started to head back to the door of the storage room. Both were a little surprised that their files were contained in a suitcase, unlike the other files that were just strewn in between folders and envelopes.

Guess their family really is the big deal.

"Are you sure that's all of their files?" Allie asked, eyeing the single suitcase from James's hand.

He nodded, "It's the only one inside the restricted room."

"Hmm... I wonder what it says about mom and dad's files. Is it possible to read more about their past?"

"What's there to read, Als? They told us everything."

"Well, yeah, I know that. But I'm pretty sure they left some pretty good details. Aren't you curious about our parents' lives before they became Avengers?"

James sighed, "You sound like as if you don't think they're telling us the whole truth."

"What? No, that's not what I meant. I mean... being the children of Natasha and Steve Rogers... I think it's our responsibility to know more about who they were before they became Black Widow or Captain America. Don't you think?"

"They told us everything we need to know. As for the details they left out, I think they did it for a reason. Don't dig into their past lives just out of curiosity."

Allie frowned, stunned by her brother's coldness. She didn't really mean any harm. She just wanted to look at their parents' profiles because she wanted to know more about them. And she definitely trusted them... but was it really wrong to yearn to know more about their past?

"Okay then..." she simply muttered, clearing her throat awkwardly. "Sorry."

James didn't know why he felt defensive. But he had huge respect for his parents' privacy. He had to admit that he was curious too, but he was afraid that he and his sister might know things they weren't prepared to know yet.

Don't get him wrong, he knows his parents are honest with them. They know everything they needed to know, but not literally everything about them. But it didn't bother him and Allie, really. Their past didn't matter anymore, all they know was that they were the best parents anyone could ask.

And that they were lucky to have them.

As they reached the main door, James had pressed his thumb to the plate once more. Waiting as the red light turned green again.

"Access Granted."

The moment the doors opened, he felt like dropping the suitcase in shock. Allie froze at the same time he did.

Because there they stood, face to face, with Clint Barton — looking just as shocked as they were. Then his startled expression turned to one of grim and doubt. His eyes landed on the suitcase in James's grip.

Clint faced the siblings.

"What did you just say?"

The two could not speak, not even as much as a word.  

"You said something about your parents being..."

"Please let us explain." Allie pleaded.

Clint's gaze became hardening, one that caused Allie to back away. "Alright, kids. Playtime's over. Tell me, what really is your purpose here?"

James swallowed.

"I just want to know the truth. And I'm not going to ask you guys again."

He crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes.

"Why are you really here?"

The siblings glanced at one another, feeling the loud drumming against their chest. They were this close to exploding in nervousness and anxiety.

"And what's really your relationship to Cap and Natasha?"

    ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ END OF CHAPTER ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬    

Okay guys, sorry it took a long time for me to update. My school's been killing me! We have so many projects and homework.

Anyway...

There's this fanfiction contest that I would really like to join. It's called the Fanfiction Awards 2018.

And you see... the only way I can win is if you guys nominate me and my book. So, if it isn't too much trouble, I'm asking for your help to participate in it!

Please nominate my book! Any of my books really. It would certainly mean a lot to me because all I wanted was for one of my books to win a contest in Wattpad.

No matter how little or big this contest is, every win is a big win for me.

So... I hope you'll help me! Please nominate any of my books in the category: Slowly but surely in the Fanfiction Awards 2018.

I'll put the link in the comments section below. Please help me make my dream come true!

Please leave comments and votes! Thank you!