Just a quick little one shot that I thought up about Lena's New Year's Eve. It is somewhat inspired by my own NYE plans, which include lounging around the house and not doing too much :)

This also gives a little background on her relationship with Steve before Renew began. I hope you guys enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I don't own any Avengers or movies or websites (IMDb) that I discuss in this one shot. I only own my OC Lena!

"Which romantic comedy will it be this year, Miss Stark?"

Letting a huge sigh escape my lips, I crumpled down into one of the twelve plush leather seats in the Stark Tower theater room. My old Columbia University sweatshirt was soft and warm, the perfect companion for a night of lounging. A few butter enriched popcorn kernels tumbled out of my bigger-than-I-should-be-eating bowl and onto the thick carpet that Tony religiously kept clean. Oh well. After setting my snack on the unoccupied seat to my left, I readjusted my glasses and stared up at the 102 inch wide screen.

"I see you've taken the liberty of selecting a few options, Jarvis." I remarked with a laugh as I examined the titles he had selected.

My eyes found some of the regulars. He's Just Not That Into You, which I had watched last year, Pretty Woman, Love Actually, and (500) Days of Summer were among the films that the AI had suggested. I had seen each and every one of them at least 3 times, but that never seemed to stop me from watching them again and again. I was about to select my favorite Julia Roberts movie when an unfamiliar title caught my eye.

Raising an eyebrow, I took a sip of my Diet Coke and addressed Jarvis once again. "They actually made a movie called New Year's Eve?"

My response came immediately. "Yes ma'am. Although, you should be aware that it received a 5.4 out of 10 stars according to the Internet Movie Database."

"That's never stopped me before," I muttered. "And besides, who can resist watching a movie all about New Year's Eve on New Year's Eve? Go ahead and play that one, Jarvis."

"Right away Miss Stark."

The lights dimmed, creating an authentic theater experience, and I relaxed back into my recliner. My hands found the popcorn seconds later, shoving the delicious kernels into my mouth. Having my own movie time meant choosing whichever popcorn that I wanted, which is actually way more important than it sounds. Tony had always been one of those people who put weird, exotic, and sometimes downright disgusting seasonings atop the standard movie snack. He usually ended up overruling me, despite the fact that I always preferred a simple butter topping. I relished in the fact that I would be able to spend this night all alone with my own personal stash of seasoning free popcorn.

As the opening credits began to roll and the characters were being introduced, my mind drifted off to my own past New Year's Eve experiences. It wasn't that I absolutely hated the year end holiday or anything. I had just never been a huge fan of going out and getting crazy at a party that a random philanthropist - or even someone that I knew- was throwing. That was probably the main, striking difference between Tony and I. The elder Stark was known for partying until the sun came up, while I preferred to leave early or, sometimes, not even attend at all.

It had become a sort of tradition of mine to curl up in either a living room or theater and watch a-usually poorly made- romantic comedy. Tony always criticized me for my lack of festivity, but I didn't care. Around 7 we would part ways, with him heading off to a New Year's Eve celebration and me settling down onto the couch in my comfiest clothing. Due to the fact that he loved to enjoy his fair share of alcohol, I always had a driver ready to pick him up from wherever he had gone off to. If he could avoid being blown up into a million pieces while being Iron Man, than he should be able to avoid a simple drunk driving accident.

This year, I had been somewhat worried about my usual ritual, due to the fact that the Avengers had taken up residence in the tower. Although I loved spending time with the group of heroes, I feared that Tony would decide to change it up a bit and throw his own huge New Year's Eve gathering. If that was the case, then I would most likely be forced to attend and socialize until the late hours of the night and, eventually, early hours of morning. Lucky for me, the group had decided to part ways and enjoy their own personal celebrations. Clint and Natasha had gone off to have dinner somewhere in Manhattan, while Bruce had contacted a few of his old friends that resided in Brooklyn. Steve hadn't been to talkative about his plans, if he even had any, and the rest of us didn't really ask. Of course, Tony had left at exactly 7 pm along with Pepper to travel to his usual event. Their departures left me with an empty Stark Tower and no one around to bother me. And that was perfectly fine with me.

Taking another long drink of my Diet Coke, I sighed and tried to immerse myself in this year's movie.

"I should listen to you more often," I told Jarvis as I washed out the now empty bowl of popcorn in the sink. "That movie was pretty bad. And, might I add, very predictable."

"Better luck next year, Miss Stark." Jarvis responded.

I laughed and continued to clean out the dirty dishes. While the film had been a suitable way to pass time, it had nearly bored me to death. I also found it incredibly similar to the movie Valentine's Day, what with the intertwining, albeit confusing storylines. The one thing I didn't complain about was looking at Josh Duhamel, who always managed to make me smile. Completely lost in my thoughts and the scrubbing of the plates, I didn't even realize that someone had emerged from the hallway and into the large kitchen area.

"Hey, Lena."

Looking up with a start, the plate I was cleaning slipped out of my hands and clattered in the sink. My slightly widened eyes met a pair of pretty, familiar blue ones.

"Steve?" I half gasped, my heart still pounding from his surprising entrance.

He gave me a small smile as he leaned against the granite countertop behind the sink. "Sorry I scared you. I got back about 20 minutes ago and didn't think anyone was home."

"It's okay," I said with a shrug as I picked up the dish and began to dry it off. "I didn't think anyone was here either."

I glanced back up to examine his appearance. The usual brown leather jacket was paired with a plain blue button up that reminded me a lot of the color in his irises. His cheeks were still a tad pink, most likely from the cold weather that he had endured. I noticed that the smile he was sporting didn't really reach his eyes. That was odd.

Steve pulled up one of the barstools and took a seat, watching as I moved on to the next plate. "No exciting New Year's plans?"

I shook my head, still focused on the kitchen sink, and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "Not exactly. I just stayed here and watched a pretty terrible movie. Big parties aren't really my thing."

"Are you sure you're related to Tony Stark?"

We both laughed at that one. I didn't exactly know why I was still willingly cleaning dishes, so I set my current one down and dried off my hands. Tossing the towel onto the counter, I walked around and took a seat on a stool that was next to Steve's.

"Where did you go off to tonight?" I wondered, propping up an elbow on the granite.

Steve briefly glanced down, his smile fading for the briefest of moments. It was obvious that something was off with him. Maybe he shared the same general dislike for this hectic holiday that I did.

"I just sort of... walked around." He started with a shrug. "I'm still getting used to all of this. The modern world, I mean. I grew up in New York, but nothing about this city is the same anymore. I guess I thought that walking through the streets on the night of its biggest tradition would be a good idea, but I ended up getting a little overwhelmed."

He trailed off with a small laugh, eyes flitting down towards his feet. As I stared at him, I tried to imagine what he was and had been going through. I couldn't imagine waking up one day and realizing that everyone I knew was either dead or too old to recognize me. The thought put a hollow feeling in my chest. I wanted nothing more than to reach out and give him a comforting hug.

"Hey," Steve said, ending my window of opportunity to reply to his statement and successfully breaking me from my deep thoughts. "It's already 11:58."

My gaze immediately went to the clock above the oven. Sure enough, the Captain was right. There were only 2 minutes to go before the New Year would be rung in, and the entire city would erupt into a joyous frenzy.

"Come on," I started, jumping up and grabbing a hold of his wrist. "The balcony gives us a perfect view of all the fireworks!"

We rushed to the opposite side of the room and out the glass door. Luckily, the balcony had been repaired since Loki and Thor had beat each other up on it. The cold air hit me very suddenly, making me wish that I could've grabbed a sweatshirt or a jacket. Despite my shivers, I tugged Steve to the very edge of the space, so that we would have a good view of the colorful pyrotechnics.

We stayed silent, still hand in hand, until the clock struck midnight. Although neither of us had a watch, we knew when the streets below were filled with excited yells, and the sky above became illuminated with blues, greens, reds, and purples. Somewhere out there, the ball had dropped and Ryan Seacrest had excitedly counted down to the moment of its descent. Up here from our place on Stark Tower, there were no screams or banging of pots and pans, but it was still perfect. Both of us seemed to be content with watching it all unfold around us.

I stole a glance towards Steve. There was a smile, a real smile, on his face as he stared upwards at the wild fireworks. Quickly, without thinking much into it, I leaned upwards and placed a quick kiss on his cheek. He immediately looked down at me once I had pulled away, the grin still on his face.

"Happy New Year, Steve Rogers." I whispered, turning back towards the celebrating city.

I felt a light squeeze of my hand. "Happy New Year, Lena Stark."

We didn't say anything else for a while, both of us still admiring the bright lights and excited sounds. After awhile, the cold became too much, and we retreated back to the warmth of the living area. By then, Clint and Natasha had returned to the tower. Upon seeing Steve and I enter together, the Black Widow raised an eyebrow and smirked. I gave here a similar look, wondering about her night out with her fellow SHIELD Agent. After sharing a few more glances, we were able to communicate that we would discuss everything later.

Bruce returned somewhere around 12:30, not really being up for much partying past midnight. The most surprising occurrence of the night, however, was the fact that Tony and Pepper arrived a little after 1 am. Actually, more surprising than that, was how my older brother was able to stand on his own and form complex sentences. It appeared that he had had less to drink than usual. A lot less.

Once everyone was back, we all shared hugs and wished each other well for the year to come. Pepper retrieved one of our nice bottles of champagne, which we all drank in small and elegant fluted glasses. The night ended with our unusual group sitting around the living room, talking, laughing, and sharing stories. For the first time since the Avengers had moved into Stark Tower, it felt like we all really belonged there. In a way, it was like our own little, extremely diverse and powerful family.

It was safe to say that this had been my favorite New Year's Eve of them all.

Hope you enjoyed this! The next chapter of Renew should be up tomorrow or maybe even later tonight, depending on how tired I am.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

xo, liz