Somewhere in Afghanistan.
To avoid drawing attention, Leon, Tony, and Yinsen didn't linger. They sat atop the low-flying Jet Sliger, coasting leisurely toward home.
A few hours passed.
From the distant horizon came the telltale whup-whup-whup of helicopter blades.
"Hey! Over here, Rhodey!"
Tony leapt up, waving like a kid spotting his ride.
The armed helicopter landed. Several black-clad special forces descended alongside a fully-geared Colonel Rhodes.
Rhodey didn't ask why Leon was here.
He didn't ask how Tony had escaped.
He just cracked a wry grin and said:
"Next time, can you two please just ride in the same damn vehicle?"
Tony gave a sheepish smile.
Leon just shrugged.
Yinsen smiled quietly, taking it all in.
Soon, under Rhodey's coordination, the brothers and Yinsen boarded a military transport jet, a much better ride than the Jet Sliger, at least if you preferred not to sit stacked like a sandwich.
Leon, for once, was happy to take it easy.
J.A.R.V.I.S. had already flown the Sliger back to the airfield ahead of them.
When they touched down,
Medical teams rushed over with stretchers, only to be waved off impatiently by Tony.
Happy Hogan was waiting at the landing zone.
Pepper Potts stood nearby, tears brimming in her eyes, laughing and crying all at once as she saw them both, safe and sound.
Before Tony could react, Leon launched himself into Pepper's arms like an oversized child.
"Pepper! I missed you soooo much!"
"I missed you too, Leon," she laughed, hugging him back.
"Oh, give me a break!"
Tony grimaced, storming over to pry Leon off her like peeling gum from a shoe.
"Go play in traffic, kid!"
Then, facing Pepper, he smiled sheepishly.
"Hey... are those tears? Were you crying for your missing boss?"
"I'm crying with joy," she retorted. "Now I don't have to job-hunt again."
"Is that so?"
Tony didn't give her time to respond.
He leaned in.
And kissed her.
Hard.
Leon, Rhodey, and Yinsen exchanged knowing auntie grins.
The nearby soldiers didn't even blink. After all, Tony Stark's playboy reputation wasn't exactly classified information.
Leon, surprisingly, came off as the more "well-behaved" one.
But what they didn't know was,
Leon genuinely saw Pepper as a sister and future sister-in-law. There were lines he'd never cross.
This wasn't going to turn into one of those stories.
If it ever did, Tony would build an anti-Leon armor just to whoop his ass.
Wait.
Anti-Leon Armor?!
Leon suddenly froze.
His eyes narrowed as he looked at Tony's back.
Don't tell me the bastard's already thinking about it…
After the kiss, Tony grew serious.
"Alright, kids. It's time to get to work."
He turned to look at Leon, who nodded silently in return.
Tony and Yinsen got into the car with Happy and Pepper.
The original plan was to take Tony straight to the hospital.
Tony vetoed that and insisted on going to the press conference first.
Just before they left.
"Hey, string bean! Don't forget your burgers."
Leon retrieved two Whoppers from the Jet Sliger and tossed them cleanly through the window to Tony and Yinsen.
"You're a real one!" Tony grinned, taking a big bite. "That hits the spot!"
He was dead serious now.
After all he'd been through, Tony had made up his mind,
He would shut down Stark Industries' weapons division.
Leon had no objections.
He just didn't feel like going to the press event.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., remind me to have my suit cleaned, and patched, please."
"Understood, Master Leon."
When Leon returned to the Malibu seaside mansion, someone was waiting at the door, someone unexpected, yet completely predictable.
A composed man in a tailored black suit stood there, exuding the same scholarly calm as Yinsen.
"Mr. Stark, may I have a moment of your time?"
"And you are?"
Leon asked as he parked the Jet Sliger and waved J.A.R.V.I.S. to shut it down.
"Phil Coulson. I'm with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division."
Leon blinked.
"Ugh. What a mouthful."
"Why not just use the initials? S-H-I-E-L-D. You know what, screw it, let's just call you guys the Shield Agency."
And thus, before Nick Fury even had the chance, Leon unofficially named S.H.I.E.L.D.
Coulson's eyes lit up.
"That's… actually a fantastic suggestion. I'll pass that along to my superiors."
Shield Agency… has a nice ring to it, he mused.
"But seriously, why you guys? Why not the D.O.D., FBI, or CIA?"
"Compared to them, we're a more specialized and autonomous unit," Coulson replied. "And right now, Mr. Stark, I'd like a detailed account of how you and Mr. Tony Stark escaped captivity."
He handed Leon a photograph.
Leon glanced down.
It was a blurry image, an aerial satellite view showing a blinding red energy beam from above.
Most wouldn't know what it was.
But Leon recognized it instantly.
That was his chest cannon.
"We detected abnormal radiation spikes in the region," Coulson explained. "Our satellites flagged it as a possible reactor meltdown, so we captured this image."
"We cross-referenced it with the Ten Rings base where Mr. Stark was held."
"Mr. Stark… can you tell me what kind of weapon caused that beam of light?"
Coulson smiled politely.
Leon's face twitched.
Goddamn, S.H.I.E.L.D. works fast.
Or maybe this was plot armor for the villains?
After all, aside from Coulson, the only "clean" agents in S.H.I.E.L.D. were Hill, Sharon, Nick Fury, Natasha, and Clint.
The rest?
Hydra interns.
To this day, Leon had no idea how Nick Fury managed to survive all that backstabbing and still keep his job.
When it came to surviving double-crosses, Leon would gladly declare:
Fury is the GOAT.
"Agent Coulson," Leon replied with a grin, "I'm just the younger brother. If you want details, better wait for my big bro to hold a press conference."
With that, he turned and vaulted over the three-meter-high mansion gate, leaving Coulson standing there, empty-handed.
"..."
Coulson stared at the white wall for a long moment.
His polite smile faltered.
Just a bit.
=====
Back in his car, he answered a call.
"How'd it go?"
"Sir, the target's not cooperating."
"Tch… tight-lipped little punk."
A stop.
Then orders came:
"Fine. Forget him. Go talk to Pepper Potts instead."
"As for Leon Stark… dammit, Natasha's still on a covert op in the Far East. Won't be back for a few days."
"Send Sharon."
"That kid's got a reputation for being… indulgent, right?"
"Let him indulge."
"Understood."
Meanwhile
Leon, soaking in a hot bath, completely unaware of the trap dinner S.H.I.E.L.D. was cooking up for him, would've probably said:
"Wait, I get to flirt with a government agent?"
"Why didn't you say so sooner?!"
Every 250 P.S = 1 Extra Chapter
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