She's afraid of the silence. The dark nights when her thoughts aren't whispers, but screams. She's afraid of the magic that leaves, the good that becomes bad, the full stop on the last page of the last book she'll ever read. She's afraid of conformity. She's afraid to make too many wishes, because there are seven billion people wishing on the same stars as her, and one day the sky might just run out of magic. She's afraid of love, in case she's already had enough of it. And she's afraid of falling, because people aren't reliable, and the ground is too rough to fall onto another time. She's afraid of people who are too kind, because everyone has their limits, and she hates seeing beautiful things break. Most of all, she's afraid of living a life afraid, of finding that at the end of it, she hasn't really lived at all.

-r.e.s.

Rachael always felt like the dreams had to mean something. Ever since they had infiltrated her sleep, nearly a year ago- they pressed on her mind with a strange sense of urgency. Ever after she had woken, panting and shaking, with a layer of sweat that made her hair stick to her neck. They returned week after week with little signs of stopping. Nightmares were inventions of the mind- like doodling on a paper in class without looking. It meant nothing. That's what she told herself at least. It always helped her when she lay in bed alone, struggling with the fear and horror that threatened to make her cry out.

Now, she knew what they meant. And that knowledge filled her with a sharp dread she had never felt before. A dread that had been absent when she had tagged along with Clint and Natasha for what they promised her father would be a quick and relaxing trip around Europe, disguised as a graduation present. It had been anything but though Tony Stark was still in the dark when it came to that. And if Rachael ever wanted to leave the house again, it had better remain a secret. Natasha had Budapest. Rachael had Italy. The first time someone had come after her with a knife or shot at her hadn't prompted this overwhelming and suffocating response. Dreams couldn't touch her, she reminded herself over and over when she woke in the middle of the night, her blankets wrapped around her legs and panic tainting the air. Dreams couldn't touch her but what came after them, what they were warning her of, could.

She reminded herself that this was what she wanted. To be a part of the action instead of being left behind like she was far too often. Clint and Natasha understood. They trusted her abilities the most. After all, they had trained her for years, ever since she was little and walked in on Natasha laying her father flat on his back. She had been shocked then- her father and hero, the Iron Man gasping- laid low with a mere twist of her wrist. She had looked up at Natasha with huge eyes, not in fear like Nat had initially worried but amazement.

"Can you teach me how to do that?" she had asked, only 8 at the time. Tony had groaned and Natasha had grinned like a Cheshire cat.

Now, the event barely registered a response. It was all so normal to her. But then, she reasoned her definition of normal probably differed compared to most.

The others, all uncles- Thor, Steve, and Banner remained united in their overprotection. With family like the Avengers, it was hard to stay quietly to the side, no matter how much they all tossed her-sometimes literally- out of harm's way.

Her father was the legendary Iron Man, admired and worshipped by millions. But to her, he had always just been the overprotective dad who had done a background check on the first boy she brought home. They had only been 12 and playing at cards. Though he left them in the room, Rachael could feel Jarvis studying them. She could almost hear his voice reporting to her father whenever the boy moved.

That had been 10 years ago and little had changed. There had only been one or two boys she had ever been interested in that way. But eventually, they were chased off. She didn't even get the chance to have a first fight with any of them. Realistically, they had no chance. The other Avengers would visit often, either between missions or healing from recent missions. Rachael knew Thor to be the one who had thrown her in the air impossibly high just to catch her, safe every time. On the contrary, Tony had gasped each and every time, like she would shatter at any moment. But to others, he was still the god of thunder.

In her whole 22 years, she only had one boyfriend. Three years ago. Chris. They had met in a library and to her delight, he had no clue who she was. She wasn't constantly on the TV like the others but being around them brought more attention to her than she liked. It wasn't unusual to glimpse her face in the news when they reported on the Avengers. Sometimes it was even something as simple as a quick photograph of her and Natasha shopping. Or her standing beside her father at a charity event. There had even been a picture of her and Steve, with his arm slung over her shoulder comfortably and her laughing up at him. The news anchor wondered at their possible relationship. Rachael had burst out laughing at that and immediately called Steve. It had taken him a minute to understand what she was saying; she had been laughing too hard. She could feel his embarrassment even over the phone. It wasn't proper of them, he said. She was too young for them to be hinting at those things but it amused her to no end.

It didn't take long for her and Chris to bond over coffee and books. At least that's what she thought. She found out three months later that he had only been acting, pretending to care about her, pretending that he didn't care about her money, her fortune.

Before she knew, back when she thought he was a decent human being, she had finally convinced her father to have dinner- just the three of them. To her surprise, Tony had accepted with no fight. She should have known then. That night, the elevator doors had opened to reveal- the entire Avengers waiting at the dinner table. The sky outside began to rumble when Thor saw Chris touch her leg. Captain America- Uncle Steve was maybe the biggest surprise. In all her life, Rachael had never seen him act rude. He was always the epitome of good manners, the perfect gentleman. Maybe when they were in the middle of a fight but even that he kept to a minimum. For the first time, she had seen what looked like an attempt at a sneer on his face. At least he wasn't very good at being rude, even if he was trying. Natasha smiled sweetly at Rachael, brushing her fingers through Rachael's wavy blonde hair, but she soon turned the conversation to daggers and knives and weapons, reminding Rachael of her proficiency with such things. The message was clear to everyone, especially Chris. Bruce cracked his knuckles the entire time and Rachael thought she saw the smallest tinge of green on his fingertips. Clint hadn't said anything to Chris, just watched him with his hawk eyes. Tony didn't even need to do anything; the others had done it all for him.

She couldn't really even get angry at them. Especially a week later when Nat had found out his true intentions. Maybe the worst part was that it truly didn't bother her. She was in a rage about Chris but hurt? Not really. When he found out, Tony had come home with the ugliest stuffed animal she had ever seen and boxes upon boxes of chocolate, promising her revenge. She had laughed at it but part of her knew he was serious. There was little he would deny her. Maybe it was because she never really asked him for anything…except to accompany the team on missions. Most of the time, she was quickly denied.

Now, here she was, about to go to somewhere exciting. Asgard. She was finally allowed to go. Thor had regaled her of his bloody battles for her bedtime stories. She loved hearing about the land of gods, where strange plants grew and even stranger animals lived. She had begged him to take him with her just for a quick visit. Her father would never know, she assured him, a small child tucked into the safety of his arms. But the god would only shake his head and promised her that some day when it was safe, he would take her to see the wonders of the world.

And then last week, Thor had brought news that the dark elves that had plagued his world for thousands of years had been defeated. A sound victory.

She stuffed her jeans into her bag along with a sweatshirt. She wasn't sure how cold nights got in Asgard. For as much Thor had told her about Asgard, he had never mentioned anything as useful as the weather.

She wished she could ask him to take the dreams away from her but even gods needed protection sometimes. Besides, he had saved her before so now it was her turn to return the favor.

Most of all, the urge to tell her father had been overwhelming. She almost had countless times before, but the words remained buried in her throat. If he knew, he would never let her go. And she had to go. She was the only one who could stop it.

She knew what she had to do. She only hoped she would be alive in the end.

Hey guys! This is my first Avengers fic so reviews would be awesome!