Because everyone deserves a Cinderella moment...


Fun fact about Rome Matthews. She's never been to prom in her entire life which, apparently, is a fucking travesty according to Tony. The whole conversation had come up when they were all watching a Molly Ringwald movie. Tony had said that his prom was nothing like that and he began asking the rest of the Avengers what their proms were like.

Rome was guessing this the only time that Tony was going to be the odd one out. Because none of the other Avengers had ever gone to prom. Although, the rest of them had pretty good excuses compared to her. She had just been too poor and depressed to go to prom. Bruce had stated that he didn't care about prom and he wasn't asked either. Natasha was an assassin, Clint was in the circus, Steve was too busy trying not to die from all his ailments, and Thor, well, Rome's been to Asgard and she's pretty sure they didn't have a prom there.

Which came to Tony's brilliant idea of throwing a prom. Sure, it could also be seen as a PR stunt but Rome knew that Tony wanted to throw a prom because he could. Out of all of them, Tony was the only one to have a relatively normal high school experience. Okay, maybe she and Bruce had more of a normal time than Tony. Still, Tony was the only one who had attended a prom and to him, that was a problem.

Actually, she should make a point that it was a surprise prom. In fact, it was such a surprise that Rome hadn't learned about it until she was about to walk through the doors.

She and Tony stopped at the doors to the main Avenger common area when he finally spilled the beans and told her about it. Rome should have known that something was wrong from the moment Tony had told her that she needed to wear a fancy dress.

When she had opened up the door and saw everyone is beautiful dresses and tuxes. She had turned to Tony and gave him a look of surprise to which he merely shrugged and held out his arm for her to take. Rome took a nervous breath and stared at all the people ahead. Glancing back at Tony, she grabbed all of her courage and linked her arms through his. Tony smiled and squeezed her hand in reassurance and smiled proudly as he escorted them into the room.

He had truly gone all out for this prom. As Rome looked around in wonder, she saw that there were twinkling lights hanging from the ceiling. Flowers of all different kinds were in clusters all around the room on different tables. A buffet table was placed in the corner along with an open bar that seemed to house many people. Rome felt a fluttering in her chest and couldn't help the smile that graced her face. Small tears had formed in the corner of her eyes.

"You did all of this for me?" She asked turning towards him.

Tony smiled, a real genuine smile, his eyes lit up as he saw the look on her face. "You like it?" He asked.

Rome laughed, "I love it!" She exclaimed, "But, why try so hard?"

Tony grabbed her shoulders and brought her in closer, "Because everyone deserves to be Cinderella for one night." He then swallowed thickly and brushed a piece of her loose hair back, "Because you deserve it, Rome. I will never be able to state how thankful I am for you so…" He rolled his eyes, "I guess I'm stuck showing you."

Rome had no words to say. Although he hadn't said it Rome got the implication of what he meant. In his own way, Tony was saying he was proud of her. Boy, it had been a long time since she had ever heard those words uttered to her. For as long as she could remember it had been just herself who believed in her. Her mother, bless her, tried but she never could fully back what Rome wanted to do. Her father loved her but his fear of his own family held him back. She could think of two times that he had said that he was proud of her. Both times she had done something that she hadn't wanted to do.

That was the complicated thing about her family growing up. She had been too different from what her parents wanted. She was ambitious, she craved to travel and see the world, to constantly keep moving and to keep going forward. Her parents wanted her to stay where she was in a small town that could barely be found on a map. Marry some small-town boy and maybe become some sort of teacher or daycare worker. She tried her hardest to appease her parents and make them happy, she tried to force that life down. Rome always ended up spitting it back out because it never felt right, it always left her wanting more.

Rome then saw Tony looking over her shoulder and he grinned. "Oh, by the way," He said mischievously putting a finger to his chin and tapping it. "There's one more surprise for you tonight. It was a little hard to track down, but I eventually found it."

"Oh, God, what now Tony?" She asked rhetorically as she turned around waiting for whatever ridiculous surprise there was.

Only, as she turned around, it was nothing stupid or ridiculous. It was something that made her heart stop and then flutter a thousand times against her head. Her eyes let out small tears as she stared at the person it front of her. Nothing could ever top the joy she was feeling right now as she stared at the person in front of her. Thinking to Hell with all the other people around her, Rome took this moment to enjoy as she leaped forward. She found herself in the embraces of her cousin Roxanne or better known as Roxie.

She buried her head into her cousin's chest and smiled/cried as she held her close. Roxie laughed and hugged her close as well. "I'm not gonna lie here, I thought you were going to pass out when you saw me?"

Rome pulled back and looked at her cousin in disbelief, "How are you here?" She asked looking at her up and down, "I thought you were still on the run after…" Rome trailed off.

Roxie lifted an eyebrow. "You mean after I left the country because I let out national secrets to the public?" She said finishing Rome's sentence. Roxie merely shrugged her shoulders, "My time as a criminal is over, the job got boring anyway. When Rich Bitch over there found me, I had been working as a fisherman in Norway."

"Fisherman?"

"I like Deadliest Catch, sue me." She said casually, "Besides, we finally get to go to each other's proms!" She ended excitedly.

Rome laughed and shook her head, "You risked your own safety for me?"

"Hey," Roxie said playfully as she swatted her shoulder, "You've done way more for me."

They stood there for a moment before Roxie took a look around. "Well, I don't know about you but let's get this party started!" She then pumped her fist into the air and rushed off towards the bar. Her bright red dress shined through the darkness of the room. Even in a group of people Roxie still seemed to stand out.

Everyone in the room had come with muted or dark-colored clothing. Rome herself chose a dark blue dress. Everyone else had on long gowns with elegant hair and makeup, but Roxie, she always had to outdo everyone. She stood alone in a short puffy red dress. Her light blonde hair that she shared with the rest of her family was down in a wavy mess. It had grown longer since the last time they had seen each other, then again, that had been years ago.

Rome laughed softly and turned to see who else had come. Natasha was talking to Clint about something. Tony had found his way to Pepper and the two were dancing quite erratically. Thor seemed to be adamantly listening to something that Bruce was explaining to him. Then Steve was in the corner looking around nervously at all the other people. He was clutching the drink so close to himself she thought the glass might break.

Taking pity on him she walked over to him making sure the grab a drink for herself as she went. "Hey," She said softly, hoping not to scare him. "You look kind of nervous."

Steve gave her a guilty look, "Is it that obvious?"

Rome held up her index finger and thumb creating a small space in between. "Little bit," She said while giving him a wide smile, "Don't worry though, you aren't the only one who's nervous." She then gestured to the whole room, "I've never been to a prom before too."

Steve nodded his head lightly, "Is it always like this?" He asked while tilting his head to the side.

Rome chuckled, "No, probably not, Tony went all out for this," She then looked around the room again. Admiring all the different decorations, "But the concept is all the same."

Steve smiled and took a sip from his glass. There stood in silence as the music boomed around them. Rome's heart began to race and she could feel her anxiety levels starting to rise. She was unaware of what to do next. Hell, she didn't even know what to say next, she had never been in this type of situation before.

"Do you want to dance?" Rome blurted out startling Steve only slightly.

His gaze turned back to her and he blinked a couple of times. He then grinned shyly, "I don't really know how," He confessed as he looked down at his shoes, "I never learned how."

Rome shrugged her shoulders, "Neither have I," She said and his eyes snapped back to hers. Rome held out a hand to him, "But I'm sure we can figure it out."

Steve glanced down at her hand for a moment. He stared at his with great contemplation before setting aside his drink and grasping it tightly. Rome smiled widely and practically dragged Steve into the middle of the dance floor. She let go his hands and began moving her shoulders back and forth, softly trying to encourage Steve to do the same.

His moves at first were awkward, so were hers, but eventually, they both found a rhythm. Rome laughed in joy and moved closer to Steve. She watched as Steve smiled as he grasped her one hand forcing her to spin. It caught her by surprise but she wasn't mad about it, Steve was enjoying himself and if this helped then so be it. As she came back from the spin, he caught her other hand and together they began to sway from one side to the other.

It oddly reminded her of the dance that Harry and Hermione shared in the Deathly Hallows: Part One. There was no skill or coordination to their dance, it was just two friends having fun at prom. Rome spared a glance around her and saw that everyone else was having fun as well. All of them were smiling, laughing, and enjoying themselves.

It was one of those few rare moments where Rome felt like time had slowed down. Like the world was at peace for once and they could all relax. It was a moment that she knew she would remember forever. It was a moment like this that was worth all the pain and hardships they endured.

She looked off to the side and saw Roxie standing at the edge of the dance floor. She was watching her with a smile and a sad look in her eyes. Rome watched as Roxie lifted her champagne flute into the air and nodded her head in acknowledgment. Rome smirked and nodded back to her while shrugging her shoulders slightly. What was else was she supposed to do, brood in the corner?

Turning her attention back to Steve and proceeded to teach him the moves to the Macarena.