I am so sorry for the delay, and I don't really have an excuse other than writers block. It happens to everybody and it just did not want to sound good. I hope I did okay nether less and I hope you like it.


"You told him we had a drinking game?!" Elena cried.

Across from her James looked very happy with himself while Elena stared at him with an incredulous look.

This morning Elena had woken up in her dress from last night, her hair feeling greasy and her feet aching like no tomorrow.

Her morning groan had awoken her Father next door and seconds later she could hear purposeful steps coming her way from outside of her door, the sound making her feel as if she were in one of those films and the robber was coming to kill the beautiful lady.

Oh wait, that was just the events from yesterday. Silly me.

The only difference was that Elena felt as if at any moment she would die because her appearance in the mirror made her look like a corpse.

Pale faced, eyes half lidded and she had a gut feeling that she probably smelled like the alcohol the three had consumed last night mixed with some of Steve's puke.

In the next moment her bedroom door was burst open with a less than impressed Howard Stark looking at her with his arms folded and an eyebrow raised with his mouth in a tight line.

"And Where did you go last night missy?"

Oh yeah, Howard did not seem happy.

And if her lack of memory of just how she got home was any indication, she was in for a long lecture.

Just what did James say to her dad last night?

"So.. daddy.." Elena started, smiling slowly and coaxed her voice into a more manipulating one and noticed her father give her a dry look but still had enough of eye contact to reassure her that she had his attention.

"So what did James say to you last night?"

And if Howard had looked unamused before, he certainly looked unamused now.

He had let out a loud sigh and ran his fingers through his mussed hair, hair she noted was greasy and getting long still, and he also donned the exact same clothes that she had seen him in the day before.

It was painfully obvious that he was not taking very good care of himself since she had left, and since her return, it didn't seem as if she was doing a very good job of looking after the both of the either, choosing to rather go on late-night endeavours with acquaintances she'd only met a few hours before.

Elena felt guilt wash over her.

Howard's gruff morning voice broke her out of her spell, "Well, he told me, after he had rung the doorbell more times than necessary, he had promptly shaken my hand respectively and carried you up to your bed. Where he also took off your shoes and tucked you into bed" Howard didn't exactly sound venomous but he didn't sound overtly happy either.

"And once he had told me his name i asked him what the hell he was doing with my nineteen year old daughter at this hour of the night."

Elena cringed, it wasnt as if she slept with the man right? Of course it wasnt exactly a proper thing for a young woman like her to do but the girls in Chicago had done far worse than her at even a younger age.

"He replied honestly."

Oh lord.

"We were having a drinking game Mr. Stark."

Oh wow. So it was out then. At the very least Elena wouldn't have to tell her father herself but at the very worst her father could very easily ground her for the rest of her time here. And five weeks would be a very long time to be stuck in a house for with the only company being her highly intelligent father.

And his favourite jokes involved elements from the periodic table.

Elena peeled the covers off of her body and saw that her dress was still, respectively, on her body and only her shoes had been removed from her aching feet just like her father had said before.

And hopefully burned.

Elena never wanted to see those stupid Mary-Janes again in her lifetime.

Looking up at her father, Elena proceeded in making the best Puppy-dog face in her entire life of manipulating, but due to some strange power in the universe, or that she just looked horrendous from her little escapade last night, Howard wasnt falling for it.

He leaned on the side of the door with his hip bent out a little to show he was being serious, although it always made Elena wonder about his sexuality, and pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers, his eyes closed in frustration and Elena immediately felt guilty.

But then, for some reason Howard had frozen and looked as if he had something on the tip of his tongue. His body going stiff and he looked as if he'd been glued upright.

Howard Stark in all his glory looked like a deer in headlights standing in her doorway.

Maybe it was her forlorn expression that made him look extremely uncomfortable, but Elena had a sinking feeling he was here for something else.

And no one knew what Howard was going to say until he said it.

He took the first step in with more awkwardness than a giraffe and continuously played with his hands, looking at the walls and pictures but never directly at her.

Oh boy, she thought, this is going to be interesting.

"Dad?" she asked tentatively, as if testing the waters but he flinched as if she'd punched him.

Yes, this was going to be very interesting. Or horrifying.

Howard shook his head, as if shaking the jitters away and sat down at the foot of her bed, elbows rested on his knees and taking a deep breath, Elena took one too, bracing herself to whatever was about to come out of his mouth.

Rubbing his leg he looked at her with an awkward grin, "so... uh- how are you?"

What the hell?

Elena stared at him dumbfounded, what was he doing? Why was he being so awkward? He hadn't asked her this question since she was twelve.

"Dad? Why don't you just tell me whats going on?" Elena suggested, the look on his face didn't reassure her in the slightest, he looked as if she was making him do something he was not comfortable with doing.

"Uh- Well.. Since you've been spending some time with James Barnes lately-" Howard started. He put an emphasis on Barnes and it became obvious that he knew about Bucky's reputation with women, another indication that this would not be a fun conversation for both parties.

Oh so he'd heard of him, that meant that the whole town must have rumors about the handsome gentleman who brought her home last night.

Elena inwardly fumed, she was slightly appalled at how he was acting with him. James had been nothing short of a gentleman last night and who was Howard to say otherwise. But why was He so upset? She really hoped Bucky didnt-

"And I don't know what you two do when you two were- well- spending time together and-"

Oh god. He doesn't think that-

"I know you don't have a mother figure to talk about this and Abraham warned me that this day would come but-"

"Dad.. I don't think-" Elena tried but Howard beat her to it.

"Sex is a very natural thing."

OH MY G-

"DAD!" Elena yelled in shock before covering her ears desperately, she had never felt so exposed and embarrassed in her entire life. Why the hell would he even bring this up!

Now she understood why the girls from chicago would get all squirmy when she mentioned their parents talking to the about the 'birds and the bees', this was so embarrassing, Everything about it just felt wrong.

Howard didn't seem to get the hint and continued on through his discomfort, determined to get this out whether or not she wanted him to.

"I guess i never really explained this to you but, Every man has a.. needle per say"

Oh lord above. PLEASE stop this from happening..

"Oh my gosh.. Dad.. God stop!"

It was as if she were invisible and he couldn't hear her at all, Elena was trying everything from flailing her arms and yelling to blocking her ears but he kept on going.

And that didn't take her mind off how horrible this conversation was, all Elena could do was repeat the mantra in her head:

Please stop talking, please stop talking, please stop talking, Oh lord please stop talking Howard.

"And every woman has a.. uh.. test tube?"

Oh lord, a test tube? He was going to try an describe sex with science tools? If this were any other situation it would be hysterical but right now all Elena wanted was for the ground to open up and swallow her whole.

"And when a man and women want to.. Experiment, the man puts his needle into the womans test tube.."

I want to die. Please let me die.

"This will feel great for the test tube and the needle but eventually the Needle is going to um- leak, per say."

Elena had had enough, she could not simply listen and smile because she had never felt most disgusted in her entire life.

"DAD I KNOW HOW SEX WORKS!"

Well. If it was awkward before, it was definitely awkward now.

Tense awkward silence had settled between them and Elena had never felt more emotionally exhausted in her whole life.

But, when she saw how exhausted he looked Elena felt her guilt return to her.

The man was exhausted, both physically and, now plausibly, emotionally.

He was just trying to be the father he promised her mother to be and she knew how much it must suck trying to be a parent when you're barely out of your own adolescent years, well, she understood.

After a few more silent moments Elena swiftly embraced her father, feeling his warm and slightly smelly body pres against hers and buried her face into his chest.

"I love you dad" she mumbled into his chest and felt his arms wrap around her in return. His head came to rest on her own head and he let out a long sigh that she felt he was probably holding this entire time.

"i love you too Elena. Never forget that.."

After several long moments Elena kissed her father on the cheek and ruffled his hair gently, like she used to when she was younger, she had then slipped out of the room and went to have a bath, making a silent plan to stay in the boiling water until she felt completely clean again.

It was only when she began to strip herself when she saw a small piece of paper ripped out of a book near-by her bed, if the writing was any indication, and little but neat note written on the paper:

Meet at Clyde's, 1 o'clock sharp. I'll bring Steve.

The small note had made Elena's heart speed up like a car in a race and a smile to grace her lips.

Judging by the sun outside the bathroom window it couldn't possibly be past twelve o'clock, she could still make it if she hurried to wash and get changed.

But her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her father in the other room, would he be okay without her for a while? Would he get upset since she was seeming a little distant since their initial conversation in the kitchen? Would he-

"Im heading back to the Lab Elena, Love you"

Wow. Even after an awkward conversation and their relationship becoming strained he still had his mind on one of his projects.

With a sigh Elena promptly began to bathe with her mind firmly set on going to have lunch with her new friends with no guilt involved.

This would be good for her.

But once she finished getting ready with half an hour to get to the diner, she felt a wave of guilt follow her from the state of her father. He was really working himself t the bone wasn't he? And he even went so far to ask her about what her intentions were with James.

It was only when she was halfway there she remembered that James Barnes had caused the awkward conversation with her father this morning.

Oh yeah, he was going to get it.


Once Elena had made it to the diner and had an entire speech to deliver to James it suddenly fled her mind when her eyes landed on him.

She'd forgotten how handsome this man was what with her hazy mind and slightly sore feet protesting even though her shoes were flat on the bottom.

He looked fresh out the shower just like she did with his face freshly shaved and his hair brushed to the side carelessly and was falling onto his forehead like someone had styled it to.

He wore a simple black pants and white long-sleeved button up shirt with a large black coat hanging on the back of his chair , his shoes were hidden under the table he sat at and he was lounged in the chair comfortably, chatting to Steve absent mindedly while sending the waitress cheeky glances and a smirk, causing Elena to smile.

Looking over at Steve she had to keep herself from bursting out with laughter.

If she thought for a moment that she looked bad, looking over at Steve she realised that she probably could not even begin to compare to what Steve must be feeling at the moment.

The poor man looked half dead. No exaggeration.

His eyes were drooped and underneath were prominent dark circles that looked similar to a bruise at the moment. His hair looked messy an unkept but not in the handsome rugged way that James own hair did, Steve's kinda just looked.. well, messy.

His skin tone was as pale as the table the two sat at and he was leaning over on the surface like he was about to pass out.

The reason that Elena laughed in that moment was because she remembered that he had only consumed about the same amount as she had the night before when they had the competition.

Thinking of the competition reminded Elena about James big mouth, but she knew the second he spoke she would be reduced to a babbling mess when trying to remember what she was supposed to say.

James apparently heard her laugh and scanned the room for her face.

Elena decided to just walk over and caught eyes with James's own Blue ones.

"Afternoon Miss Faye" James drawled with that almost too sweet charm that Elena could vividly remember.

She gave a curt smile and replied the same saying back to him with her own cheeky charm and a wink before turning her attention to Steve.

"Afternoon Steve" Elena teased and tapped him lightly on the tip of his nose.

Steve grumbled unhappily at the reference of him being a child but still mumbled a polite "Good afternoon, Elena" back to her.

Once she sat down James had revealed something he had hidden on his lap.

Elena rose her eyebrow wondering what it was when he held it out to her with a smirk, "You dropped this, didn't you?"

It was her coat she'd forgotten at the bar last night, had he really remembered?

James must have liked her to some degree as to go and fetch it for her.

"Thank you" Elena breathed and took it slowly from his hand, her eyes wide with shock, James only returned it with a smile and shrugged lightly.

And without letting her say another word he announced, "Now order whatever you want guys, lunch is on me".

Steve's head perked up with his words and eagerly picked up his menu.

Elena had smiled along with James and allowed herself to be content with this, she was glad she found these two friends.

But one thing kept nagging at her mind.

The bar was closed from three am to three pm, so James must've gone to retrieve her coat just after he dropped her home.


Over the next week James and Steve became her unofficial, as they'd never sat and talked about it, but wonderful friends.

Elena was always happy to fifth wheel on their double dates since Steve's girl would always prefer James and Elena would merely talk to Steve and make him feel better about the situation.

Elena had learned that James had no clue that he was stealing all of these potential girls away from Steve and Elena truly believed that James didn't have a choice in the matter.

After their little night in the park the two hadn't really spoken about it, it neither got awkward or weird but Elena still thought about it from time to time and found herself thinking about what could of happened were she not drunk and had allowed James to seal his lips over hers for the first time.

For her first time, no doubt James had kisses loads of girls on a nightly bases.

Of course she'd kissed on stage but never a proper kiss.

And she was turning twenty soon.

Elena found herself okay with James wooing girls, knowing in the back of her mind that it would never progress more than a little kiss or more, but it did make her a little sick in the stomach which made Elena very confused.

Over the course of the week, many of the townspeople had gotten used to her presence and were more hesitant to bother her, but maybe that had something to do with the fact that she had James Barnes at her side most of the time and people liked to whisper to each other whenever they were in the same vicinity together.

But when the weeks ended Elena remembered why her father was working so hard over the weeks.

His presentation at the World Exposition of Tomorrow.

And also the last night that Bucky would be here with her and Steve.


Review! I love it SO MUCH!

And also, the movie kind of starts now so I'll sort of just follow the events but not strictly.

It'll also be easier to write now.

Take Care,

-PrincessJade