What a Rose Really Means (August 2011)

Logan and everyone decided not to press Natalya on the subject of Malcolm.

Three days later, Monday, 9:00am…

Once again Isabella had received a notification from Security. Richard, the security supervisor was on the comm link again. “Uh...Mrs. Stark, we have a...Malcolm Cross here. He says Steve Rogers promised him a tour of the tower? What would you like us to do?” He asked. In the guard room Malcolm handed out 2 signed baseball caps, a signed baseball and 3 signed baseball cards. One of the guards, a woman had him sign her chest right above her left breast. They had given him a cup of coffee and they were listening to him as he told them about the 7th inning where he almost blew a no-hitter in the world series. On the comm link it sounded as if there was a small party going on in the background and she heard Malcolm’s voice.

Isabella was in the middle of looking over some reports for the Stark Foundation when her comm link went off. Once again, it was Richard from security. Through the video feed she was able to see that Malcolm was there and he was handing out signed baseball gear. Richard told her that Malcolm was there for a tour of the Tower, but she didn't believe that. She sighed and shook her head a little, knowing that she and Tony were going to have to talk to him now.

"Send him up."

Tony was in the lab and she contacted him and told him to meet her at their office. She then went to greet Malcolm as he got off the elevator. She gave him a warm smile and a hug. "Mr. Cross. It is always nice to see you."

“Isabella!” Malcolm said and kissed her cheek and hugged her back. “You are looking very good though you always do,” He said honestly. He had always thought her beautiful with long, dark hair and perfect skin. “If this is a bad time I could always just schedule something, when I was with Steve...Kate, Logan and Natalya at the bar Steve said I could get a tour of the tower. Well, I had something suddenly clear in my schedule and decided to stop by,” he said. Kate had stepped out of their room and when she saw Malcolm she backed up and waved at Steve to come to her. Once Steve saw him he darted back into his room to retrieve his 2 cards he had of him. He stepped out and headed toward Isabella and Malcolm. Malcolm waved at Steve as he came up to them and shook his hand.

“Hello again Steve,” Malcolm said in greeting at Kate stepped up. “Good morning Miss Blackwell,” Malcolm said and shook her hand as well and smiled warmly at her. “Isabella, I had no idea you had so many beautiful people here,” Malcolm said as he released her hand. He saw that Steve had 2 of his cards. “If you give those to me Steve I’ll sign them for you,” Malcolm said and took the cards from him.

Malcolm was very charming. He made her smile whenever she saw him. She knew that Steve was free to give him a tour, and probably would want to. However, she did still want to talk to him. Kate had heard a familiar voice and had stepped out of their room to see what was going on. When she saw it was Malcolm she waved Steve over. His face lit up when he saw who it was. He immediately grabbed his cards and they walked out towards them. Kate smiled and nearly blushed at Malcolm’s compliment.

Natalya and Logan had just finished up a training session together. It had been particularly intense and Natalya was sweating. Her hair was pulled messily back and a few pieces fell in her face. She was wearing a black sports bra and a pair of tight, black leggings. She looked surprised to see Malcolm there. He looked at her but before he could say anything she stepped into her room and closed the door behind her.

Isabella looked at Malcolm. “Malcolm, why don’t you, Tony, and I talk for a few minutes. Then Steve can give you that tour.”

Malcolm almost didn’t hear what Isabella said as his eyes met Natalya’s eyes. He was about to go to her but before he could she turned and headed straight for her room. Malcolm frowned and then nodded to Isabella. Logan took the opportunity though to talk to Natalya. He did not hear her lock her door so that meant she likely did want to talk. He stepped in just as she removed her bra and he shut the door behind him. Neither of them reacted to one another’s nudity, they were beyond that now. He just raised an eyebrow and stood there with his arms crossed as he watched her undress for a shower.

“I’ve never seen you like this Natalya, either you really want Malcolm to leave you be or you really don’t. Obviously he didn’t get the hint so you’ll need to be plainer to call him off,” Logan said. He did see the black and gold rose on her night stand though.

Tony met them in their office and shut the door. Malcolm sighed as he shook Tony’s hand. “So is this where you two tell me to leave natalya alone?” Malcolm said. “I’d prefer she told told me that,” he said pre-empting what he thought they were going to say to him.

Natalya wasn't surprised when Logan followed her into her room. She pulled off her bra and then stood there partially undressed. She paused at what Logan said and he would see her struggling internally. "Logan, he knows nothing about me. The moment he learns the truth he's going to be gone."


Isabella took a seat and motioned for Malcolm to sit down across from Tony and herself. "We're not going to tell you to leave her alone Malcolm...but we do think you should know what you are getting yourself into. Natalya isn't like any other woman you've ever been with Malcolm. She was created by an organization called the SSB. They used the Super Soldier Serum to try and create the ultimate SSB agent. Natalya was trained at a very young age to be an assassin. She was tortured...abused...and raped. She killed countless numbers of people...including many SHIELD agents. Logan was sent by SHIELD Director Nick Fury to kill her, but he made the decision to spare her life and bring her here. The SSB is hunting her now. The want her back and will stop at nothing to get her back and 'reprogram' her...that includes hurting or killing anyone that stands in their way."

She looked over at her husband. She knew he had concerns about what might happen to Natalya mentally if Natalya and Malcolm started dating and he broke up with her.

Malcolm’s mouth started and stopped several times as he thought of how to respond to all of this. ‘An assassin? A murderer? And an SSB agent?’ Now it was beginning to all make sense to him though. Why SHIELD had kept her file from him. And yet his heart went out to her. “Raped and tortured…” Malcolm said softly half in thought. He could not sympathize with her victims because he wasn’t one of them. Because he had feelings for her though, he did sympathize with how she was treated. How the SSB made her their assassin. ‘You can just walk away’ he thought but Malcolm Cross never just walked away from a fight. His family was not in New York. It gained the SSB nothing to go after them. He felt to get her back they needed to capture her in some way. Or capture the man she loved perhaps but they were no where near that so even thinking that sounded ridiculous.

“She’s got alot of baggage Mal and you have alot to lose by not just stepping away from this,” Tony added. Malcolm looked up at them and Isabella would see the resolve building in his eyes. She was looking at a man that was like an arrow already loosed in flight toward its target. Tony saw it too and tilted his head down and rubbed at his forehead. Tony was the only one in the tower that knew who and what Malcolm really was. Malcolm had asked him not to reveal that to isabella or anyone but that didn’t mean isabella was going to let him not telling her slide. She hated not being in the loop on things and always took it personally. This...was going to hurt, Tony thought selfishly.

“I’m no longer working for SHIELD Tony,” Malcolm said. “There are no ulterior motives here. I just really like Natalya,” he said and stood up and stepped away from them. He lifted up his gaze to look at a painting on the wall. “She’s unlike any woman I’ve ever met,” he said.  

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“Just be honest. If he takes off then you know it wasn’t meant to be, but what if he doesn’t cut and run? What if he’s willing to take a risk for you, it’s his choice...I know, I know,” he began as she looked at him. “He could still be hurt,” Logan said and he knew she was right about that. Malcolm couldn’t possibly know the danger he’d be putting himself into and if he fell in love with her...oh boy, that would indeed be a mess. The trouble was he wanted that for Natalya. Wanted her to experience the mess that love brought with it. She was his best friend and he loved her. She deserved love, everyone did. “You could talk to him at least,” Logan said. Natalya was completely nude now and Logan had already turned to leave so she could shower. He paused at the door though in hopes she had a response for him.

Isabella looked sharply at Tony when Malcolm told him that he was no longer working for SHIELD. Based on the way Tony was not meeting her gaze she knew that he knew something about Malcolm that he had kept from her. She didn't like it when Tony kept things from her. She crossed her arms over her chest. "What does he mean by that Tony?"

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Natalya didn't know how to be in a relationship. She knew sex and that was it. But being in a relationship meant so much more than that and that terrified her. It meant opening herself up to him and being vulnerable and she could barely do that with Logan. She had so much baggage and she was afraid of him leaving and her getting hurt. However, despite all of that she kept thinking about him. She kept thinking about his smile and the way his lips had felt on hers.

"...I'll think about it," she said before going into the bathroom and closing the door.

Tony winced but Malcolm spoke up before Tony could stop him. “I’ve been working for SHIELD for the past 2 years. I asked Tony to keep that a secret. I’m...also a mutant,” Malcolm said. If he couldn’t be honest with her than he knew he would not retain her confidence. He needed that right now. Needed to bring her onto his side.

"Tony and I met a while back and he was the main reason I left baseball. I was using my powers to influence my pitching abilities though I didn’t really know it and Tony helped me recognize that. SHIELD must have known I was a mutant because they approached me right away and asked me to help them. I did for a while until Nick Fury and I had a...disagreement,” Malcolm said. “Only a hand full of people know about this and I’d like you to keep it secret as well Isabella,” Malcolm said.

Isabella listened to what Malcolm told her. She glanced at Tony when Malcolm confessed that he had asked Tony to keep what he had told him a secret. She sighed a little and nodded when he asked her to keep what he had told her a secret as well. "I will do that for you, but if you are going to attempt a relationship with Natalya you will need to tell her."

Isabella reached into her pocket and pulled out a flash drive. She handed it to Malcolm. "This is Natalya's full file. Read it all. Parts of it are...extremely difficult to read, but please push through it and read it in its entirety. Then, and only then, should you make a decision about Natalya. You said a few minutes ago that Natalya was unlike any woman you had ever met...that is the understatement of the century. Natalya deserves love more than any person I've ever known. But she requires patience and an understanding of why she behaves like she does. It has taken us several years to understand her...and everyday we learn something new."

Malcolm did not accept the drive. “No, I won’t take that. If she’s an Avenger now then you’ve come to at least trust her. She’s been able to forge relationships with all of you which means whatever is on that does not define who she is now. No offense Isabella but anything more I learn, I want it to be from her. If we don’t hit it off then I don’t have all of this information about her in my head. If we do I will learn it over time. I appreciate what your trying to do, I really do but I’ll be the judge of what I should and shouldn’t do,” Malcolm said. He tried to make that delicate but he was a little irritated with Isabella’s overbearance. They wanted to protect Natalya, he got that but she was hardly a child.

“I’m going to go talk to her now unless your going to stop me?” He asked and looked right at Isabella. Tony didn’t want him to leave the room. He felt a backlash coming hot and quick after he did leave. Malcolm left the office waved at Steve and Kate and he noticed Logan was there as well then moved to Natalya’s door. He knocked but didn’t hear her. He knocked again then opened the door. He saw the door to the bathroom was closed and he heard the shower running. He came in and shut the door. He thought about joining her in the shower but decided against that and to just wait for her to come out. He suspected she was going to tell him to leave but he had something up his sleeve for that and it made him chuckle. He took off his shoes and sat up onto her bed. He saw the rose he had given her and her discarded clothes on the bed. Her sweaty scent was...intoxicating.

Isabella tried to keep a straight face but she was feeling angry at what Malcolm had said to her. Now that he was gone Tony was the only person there for her to take her anger out on. She turned to look at him and crossed her arms over her chest. “I swear Tony if he undoes all the work Logan and I have put into her I will not be happy and I will blame you. I’m making it your responsibility to ensure that doesn’t happen.”

Natalya took a long, hot shower. The hot water worked at her muscles and helped to relax her. She eventually turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. She dried herself off with a towel and then out on her robe. She walked out of the bathroom and was surprised to see Malcolm in her room and sitting on her bed. She looked at him and stayed where she was.

“Please leave.”

“I will leave, after you hear me out,” he said. He tried to remain casual but seeing her...wanting to put his arms around her and not being able to was difficult. “Everyone’s telling me about who and what you were but I’m more interested in who and what you are now. You’ve got a good thing going here. You’re an Avenger, you help people and put your life on the line for them. I don’t wanna fuck that up for you Natalya. I really don’t,” Malcolm said. “It’s just when I look at you...or think about you or touch you...It just feels more right to me than wrong. I know you got baggage, we both do...hardcore stuff and the SSB is still after you. Well...they can get in line,” Malcolm said and stood up. “I know you felt something that night just like I did. Even being in the same room with you I feel it,” he said and lifted his hand as if to demonstrate that. He had very strong hands as all pitchers did but his were very soft. He made a fist and brought his arm back down to his side. “Let me in, Natalya, please,” He asked.

Natalya looked away from Malcolm but she listened to him. As he spoke her will to push him away faded and she felt the wall around her heart start to crumble. She wanted to yell at him and tell him he was an idiot for getting involved with her and to tell him she hated him for putting her at risk of getting her heart broken, but she couldn’t.

“Damn you.”

Suddenly, she moved forward and was in his arms. Her arms wrapped around him as their lips met in fast, passionate kisses.

In her arms Malcolm melted yet again. The feel of her arms around him and her lips against his made all of the tension he had been feeling fade away as if it had never existed. He opened up her robe so he could get at her flesh and he felt her hands unbuckle his belt and draw down his pants and boxer shorts is if a moment was too long to have him inside of her. Malcolm felt that too and then he was inside of her, their bodies pressed together once more as he made love to her.

A considerable amount of time later, they had both cleaned up and dressed. Words needed to be spoken yet between them and he had to admit, he was somewhat concerned about what she was going to say to him. But he had to go first and he pulled her down to sit onto his lap as he sat on the bed. He wanted her close as what they had to talk about was important and he was going to be honest about everything.

“I had always thought that some day I might have children Natalya but it is in no way a deal breaker for me. If it were I wouldn’t be here,” he said as he touched her cheek. Unfortunately, that was the easy part, though it was hardly that. This was going to be much harder…

“I’ve been working for SHIELD in the past 2 years. I’m not anymore, Nick Fury and I have had...a falling out. I’m not certain I’ll ever trust that man again,” he said. He could tell she wanted to say something, that and she had shifted on him but he didn’t let her move much. “Shhh, just let me talk,” He said as he put a finger over her mouth though it was clear he would have preferred to just kiss her again. And more. God how she distracted him and she wasn’t even doing anything to distract him.

He reached into his pocket and removed a quarter. He showed it to her and offered it to her. “Go ahead, toss it,” he asked. When she did he applied his power to it. The coin continued to rotate just as fast as it had before but its fall back down into her hand slowed.He slowed it as much as he could slow it and it was odd to look at. It spun normally but moved so slowly down toward her hand she could reach up and take it easily. “I’m not a mutant, not really but my DNA has been changed forever. It happened when I was in high school during a field trip. I can control inertia and velocity of an object or objects. Even kinetic energy but only in a straight line,” Malcolm said then looked into her eyes.

Natalya hoped that Malcolm understood the significance of what had just happened. She had never before been in a relationship and she was opening herself up to him much faster than she had for anyone else. He would need to be patient and understanding with her. She wanted there to be honestly between them and so when he showed her his abilities that meant a lot to her. She was still surprised by them though.

“So, you played baseball with this kind of ability?” she asked.

Malcolm winced. “I was wondering if you’d ask me that. It was actually Tony Stark who pointed that out to me. The ability was so inbred in me I didn’t even really know I was doing it. I knew what I could do but never tried to use my abilities when I played. I could hurt someone. One part of being a baseball pitcher was how fast you can throw. Maybe the smaller part. The rest was throwing it where you needed the ball to go. I focused so much when I pitched I never could tell if it was me or my abilities. When I couldn’t be certain I quit,” he said. “I’ve known Tony for years but I asked him to keep it a secret. I think that made Isabella angry,” Malcolm said. “I won’t blame you if you think less of me for that,” Malcolm said.

Natalya listened closely to Malcolm’s explanation and she shook her head. “I would only think less of you if you had known you were actually using your powers when you played. It was actually rather honorable of you to quit when you couldn’t tell.”

She was quiet a long time before speaking again. “So, what were you doing for Nick?”

Malcolm shrugged. “Different things. My ability gives me alot of mobility. I could even break the sound barrier if I wanted but I think that would likely harm me. They made me a bodysuit so I can use my power to propel me quickly or slow me down quickly. I can get into almost anywhere and that’s what they had me doing. Taking photos, recon, that sort of thing. I...did extractions too and that was where it ended for me. I took someone back to HQ but only found out later that SHIELD had kidnapped them..that I did. Nick tried to spin it but I was so angry I didn’t even listen to his bullshit. I left and never looked back. Phil Coulson tried to get me to come back a few times but I never did,” he said. SInce then I’ve just been running my company. My sister Rachel is my manager and my ‘guardian protector’. He said. “Don’t worry,” he said quickly when she began to look concerned. “For now its just you and me ok? Let everyone else just find out naturally as this happens,” he said as he leaned forward and kissed her neck. He exhaled his warm breath and took in her scent. “God I just want to stay here with you and forget about the whole world,” he whispered into her neck. Her hair was so soft on his face as he continued to softly kiss her neck.

Natalya tried to avoid SHIELD and Nick Fury as much as possible. He wasn’t happy at all that Logan had let her live and she didn’t trust Nick as much as he didn’t trust her. She began to silently wonder if perhaps Malcolm could join the Avengers team. Perhaps Tony could design a suit for him that would keep his identity a secret.

She closed her eyes as he kissed her neck and she sighed out of contentment. Then, a thought came to her. “Is Steve waiting to give you a tour of the Tower?”

Malcolm shrugged. “I doubt he’s still waiting but that was how they let me into the tower. So I guess so?” Malcolm said with some degree of uncertainty. “I still have to sign his baseball cards,” he said in between kisses then he leaned back to look at her. “God your beautiful,” He said then sighed. “I suppose I should have a look around...I would like to take you out somewhere though...anywhere,” He said but then winced again. “But unfortunately I have some engagements and a meeting today. I have enough time for a tour though,” he said then shifted to put Natalya onto her back and he helped her leg shift to allow him to lay on top of her. He looked down at her and smiled. “Call you later?” He said and slid his hand between her legs over her yoga pants. “I want more of you later too,” he said and kissed her once more.

Steve, Kate and Logan were watching TV on the projection screen and all eyes turned toward them as they left the room. Malcolm smiled as he stepped toward them and he rubbed his hands briskly. “Ok, I was told there would be a tour?” he said. Steve smiled and practically tossed Kate off of him as he got up. And then the tour began.

Steve had been anxiously awaiting Malcolm to come out of Natalya’s room. She saw him occasionally glance back at Natalya’s door. He seemed disappointed that he hadn’t been able to spend much time with him. Then, the door to Natalya’s bedroom opened and Natalya and Malcolm stepped out together. Malcolm looked happy and when he mentioned the tour Steve stood up so fast that Kate was nearly thrown to the floor.

“Well, I see I’m no longer needed,” she teased with a smile. She let Steve give the tour alone and she went into the kitchen to make some tea, leaving Logan and Natalya alone. Natalya looked at Logan.

“So, I guess we’re giving this relationship thing a chance...”

Logan nodded. “Then I guess the cat is out of the bag,” Logan said with a grin. He hoped they could work it out and it appeared that they had. Logan felt a stab of jealousy at that but it faded quickly in him. Natalya was growing as a human being and that meant more to Logan than anyone would ever imagine. It proved that he had done the right thing in sparing her life. She had risked her life so many times for others. In his mind she had paid back her debt to the world. It was time that she stop being held to that and high time she started living her life. Logan turned to face her and put his hands onto her face. “I’m so proud of you Natalya,” he said and smiled at her. “I hope you two are very happy,” Logan said.