Author note: I got you the fourth chapter! I'm pretty happy with it, I hope you enjoy! Once again, the Avengers do not belong to me.
"How long are you staying in New York?"
Teresa looked up from her book. "Well... since I planned for a month... and I've been here for what, three weeks? I guess I'm still staying here for a week."
Her heart tightened when she saw Pepper's frown, but the redhead kept painting her friend's toe nails on one foot, while Natasha did the other. Teresa had done Pepper, then Natasha came in and decided she'd like it too, and now they were both paying her back. She'd been at the Tower since the morning, when Pepper called, panicked because her hair was a mess (after a wild night) and she'd lost her hairbrush and she did not want to get out to ask, because Natasha's room was too far away and there was no way in Hell that she'd ask for Thor's. So Teresa came in running like the true superhearo she was, armed with a hairbrush and a cup of coffee. That was... twelve hours ago. Now they had just finished almost burning cookies and settled down to watch a movie when Pepper marveled on one of the protagonists' nails, and Tessa proposed to try doing the same.
She placed her book down and looked at the ceiling. "I think I'll go to France, or something... Actually, Spain would be nice. I hear the weather is great right now." She didn't dare say how she would go see some of her friends there, nor how she didn't really feel like leaving. It would simply make it harder for everyone.
"As long as you're happy where you are." said Pepper, and Tessa almost felt like hugging her tightly against her chest and tell her everything she wanted. It sounded so nice and relieving, but Tessa felt like it would only make things worst. She may have been scolding the inhabitants of the Tower about their bad living habits, but she was no better. Maybe that was why she thought it was so important for her to make sure other people were living well. For a 35 years old woman, she already had had too many mid-life crises. Sure, travelling everywhere made her happy, but... Getting really established, really have a home, stay with a family, having kids. That was what would make her completely happy. And she felt that way here, in New York. But she would never tell that to Pepper. Probably never. Maybe never. Depending on what happened.
She managed not to sigh as she retrieved her cup of coffee and ignored the attempt of a charming smile from the boy behind the counter. Every morning, she got coffee there, every moring that teenage boy served her, and every morning he made attempts to charm her. He even wrote his number on her cup once. She wondered if she should tell him she wasn't interested in the least. She turned around and almost bumped in someone before apologizing profusely. She smiled as she saw who it was.
"Steve."
"Teresa. Trying to escape teenage hormones?"
"He's a kid, he should know you don't always get what you want."
"With one of your smiles, you could get anything you want."
"What a charmer you are. At least you are more my age. But sadly, not my type." he smiled even wider and stepped closer to the counter to order.
"You going anywhere?"
"Nope."
"Mind joining me for a walk?"
"If it involves more compliments, I'm in."
She waited for him to get his coffee and they left the shop together, laughing. The boy at the counter seemed schocked when he saw Tessa talk to Captain America, and she just found it hilarious.
"Maybe he'll stop giving me his number."
"What did you do with it?"
"Gave it to a charity community, they might ask him soon when he'll come in to help."
"This is scarily intelligent, yet it only does good."
"Doesn't it?"
They walked through Central Park while chatting casually, exchanging stories and knowledge about everything and anything. To be honest, Tessa didn't want it to stop. She wanted to make more morning walks with him, and just talk endlessly. She wanted to wake up and make breakfast for everyone and know that at least she managed to make their morning good. She gulped her sip of coffee with difficulty, excusing herself from Steve for a moment just to regain composure. She wasn't a woman to cry easily, and she didn't feel tears well up in her eyes. No, she needed to be alone so she could think about it more, so she could make sure that she was fine, and to know how did she feel exactly. She cared so much about people, she wanted to ones she loved to be happy. And she already loved the people in the Tower too much, yet she couldn't do anything for them.
She stepped out of the bathroom and jogged back to Steve, who seemed attacked by fans. She slowly made her way to him and grabbed his arm before whispering in his ear. "Need to get out?"
He nodded and she smiled as she pulled him back. "Sorry, everyone. He's feeling a bit under the weather today, might not be the best time to get close."
The blond smiled as an apology and waved at the people while she pulled him again away from the small group. They went back to their walk and headed to the Tower.
"I don't really mind people coming up at me and asking me things, but..."
"It can get a bit overwhelming?"
"Exactly." She nodded in understanding and he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Thanks for the help."
"Anytime. I'll always help you guys." That was more true than she wanted it to be.
"I don't want to leave. I'm good right where I am, here in New York. Yet... here I am, with my plane ticket in my hands." she whispered. She stared at the ticket in her hand and wondered if it was good to do this. Was it the right choice? It didn't seem so. She loved the place, she loved the people. She loved the Tower. She loved the time she had spent there. They made her feel like she could take care of them, like they trusted her. She grabbed her hotel key and left the hotel, immediately heading to the Tower.
As soon as she stepped into the elevator, JARVIS's voice came up. "Good evening, miss Jones. Shall I tell miss Potts that you are arriving?"
"It's fine, JARVIS. I'll do it myself."
"Very well, miss Jones. Miss Potts is currently in the living room."
"Thanks, JARVIS."
The doors opened and she went into the living room, where Pepper was sitting on the couch, cuddling with Tony. Tessa almost felt bad to interrup them, being the caring person she was. The redhead noticed the woman standing behind them and stood up, surprised.
"Tessa? Is everything alright?"
"I'm leaving tomorrow."
Pepper's face made Tessa want to throw up. It was exactly the kind of face that she never wanted to see, let alone cause. Pepper ran up to her and threw her arms around Tessa, hugging the air out of her. They closed their eyes and Tessa nestled her face in her friend's neck.
"The plane is leaving at 12 tomorrow. I got my ticket I few days ago, but I couldn't get myself to tell you, I'm sorry."
"Oh, Tessa, I'll miss you so much." Pepper felt awful. She thought she had more time, she thought she could manage to help her friend, to help her find what she wanted. Because that was what this trip to New York had all been about. Tessa wanted to know what to do with her life, and Pepper wanted to help her find it, wanted to keep the woman she considered as her sister close to her. That way, she could make sure Tessa wouldn't get hurt while they were separated again.
They separated and Pepper placed a hand on Tessa's cheek. "You don't have to leave, you know. You can stay here."
"Stay where? I don't have anywhere to stay, Pep."
Before the redhead could say anything, her boyfriend spoke. "Here."
They both looked at Tony, who had stayed on the couch and looked at the women. "You can just stay at the Tower."
"But the others..."
"Hey, it's my tower. Besides, I'll remind you that they wanted to kidnap you for your food. Just make food, and everyone will be happy. And someone who knows their way on how to take care of a house wouldn't hurt." Pepper beamed at him and he smiled back. He wasn't a genius for nothinhg. He had picked on how Pepper was acting with her friend, making her meet everyone, bringing her to the Tower, exaggerating about their food habits, calling her when she could've easily just called Bruce or asked JARVIS. Frankly, he didn't dislike the woman at all. She reminded him of the women who took care of him because his parents were too busy.
Her eyes were glued on him in a mixture of shock and relief. Yeah, that was a strange combination, but he supposed it was to be expected from a woman like her. She slowly parted from Pepper, searching for words. The only words she managed to say were...
"You can't make your mother cry! That's bad!" she exclaimed and at the very same moment, the rest of the Avengers came in. Clint was the first to react.
"Um.. did we miss something?"
"Well, Tessa apparently just adopted me."
She opened her mouth and closed it back, looking at all the Avengers, who looked like they were watching a very interesting drama, eating popcorn and chips. Once again, the only words she found to say managed to dig her hole even deeper.
"Don't stain the couch with the food! It's hell to clean!" she blurted out and watched as they all started to laugh. She just stood there, crossing her arms. "I'm going to get offended, you know."
Tony swung his arm around her shoulders whil Pepper passed her own around Tessa's waist. "Come on, Tessa, we promise we won't stain it. And if we do, we're gonna clean it. I swear!"
"On your stack of beer and coffee?" Pepper asked.
"Er, maybe not."
Tessa sighed. "Do whatever you want. I'm not going to clean up after you guys."
"So? Are we watching this movie or what?" asked Nat casually. They all sat down onto the couch and Bruce tried to take the remote when Clint snatched it. Then, it all went to chaos. Natasha ripped it from his grasp but he dropped his chips on her. In her surprise, Steve took hold of the remote, only to be tickled by Tony. The blond dropped the remote and it fell into Pepper's hands, but Tony fell on her lap because he wanted to get it back, so she tossed it to Tessa, who, in her panic, stuffed it in her hair. After a while, they had managed to all calm down and clean up the food on the floor. When they were all settled once again, Steve looked around and frowned.
"Where's the remote?"
"Yeah, where is it?"
"Did it fall in the couch's cracks?"
"Maybe under the couch?"
While they searched for the remote, Pepper discretly pulled it out of Tessa's hair and the two woman put on a movie without the Avengers seeing them. They only noticed when the movie started, and everyone looked at them in shock.
"Where was it?"asked Bruce, puzzled.
"Tessa's hair." the redhead simply responded. The Avengers looked at them in disbelief as the girls went back to their movie.
When she opened her eyes, the first thing that she noticed was the arms around her waist. Then, the two heads on her lap, the weight on her feet and the head on her shoulder. 'Where am I?' she asked herself. Then the memories of the night before went back to her. After their movie, Tony had proposed a drinking game were they had to take a shot for every cliché they saw in the next movie. They pretty much all ended up drunk as they watched at least three other movies. Then Pepper started crying about how she loved Tessa so much and passed out while hugging her while the brown woman tried to help Clint with his headache. Tony then got jealous of the attention Pepper gave to Tessa, accidentally pushed a tired Steve on the floor and Natasha and Bruce started laughing so much that they got hiccups.
Tessa rubbed her eyes and looked around, making a mental checklist of everyone. Steve on the floor, Tony on her shoulder, Pepper hugging her, Clint on her lap, Nat and Bruce sleeping against each other. She smiled sweetly and decided to go back to sleep, already making a mental note to herself to make her special hangover soup later.
Author note: There it is, I hope you liked it! I'm pretty happy with how it came out. From now on, the chapters will consist of things that happens while Tessa lives in the Tower and practically rules the place. Like I said in earlier chapters, please give me prompts to write about! Thanks a lot for your reviews, it always manages to cheer me up! Please review, and I'll see y'alls next chapter!
