Hi, guys! Luckily, I'm back from out of town, and I have good Wi-fi again! Always a relief... I'd like to thank all my favoriters and followers of this story for waiting! I'd also like to have this tribute to MusicalDivergentTribute, Saint of the Sinners, AvengerFrost, D, Savarra, DarkFlameJ, and niallsmyboo99 for their kind reviews! Thank you all so much for reading, following, and reviewing... everyone go buy yourself an ice cream!
I don't have much to say other than that... Enjoy the chapter! :)
The next week passed by quickly, and Esca had adjusted to living in Stark Tower with the Avengers.
She and Steve were getting closer each day, like old childhood friends. Often, they would talk to each other while cooking dinner for the rest of the gang, and their conversations lasted throughout the meal. He was always kind and was quite protective of her.
Clint and Tony were the same jesters they always were, calling her blondie and making fun of her about her deepening friendship with Pietro. Of course, Pietro would just say, "Shut up, old men," whenever they would bother him, and then he'd zoom off; but Esca had no such luxury as a quick escape, and often had to endure their taunting until she would threaten to withhold their dinner. Once she'd say that, the two would be sweet as pie.
Thor was becoming a better friend of Esca's, too. They spent a long time discussing Asgardian culture—he declared that the next time he returned, he'd bring Esca a sample of their music so she could listen to it. In return, she showed him what a piano was, as Tony had one in the common area. Esca tried to teach Thor a few notes, but he preferred to listen to her play it.
While Vision and Esca were still more acquaintances than friends, they were warm to each other, and often struck up small conversations about how strange New York City was.
Natasha and Esca had reinstated the sisterly bond that had been broken, and Wanda was becoming close as well. Though Pietro was still Wanda's priority—and vice versa, and rightfully so—she was opening up more and coming out more often to say hello.
And then there was Pietro, with whom Esca was becoming closer. For their second non-hypothetical date, he brought her to a café where they talked mostly about New York, and how they should explore it sometime. Afterward, he led her to a bookshop, which made Esca so happy she could hardly speak. Pietro had known she'd finished A Tale of Two Cities a few days beforehand; Esca was thrilled at the opportunity to buy herself another book. Or two. Or five.
Pietro, of course, insisted on paying for them, which made her sigh and say, "No, I got it. Really, I went to the bank and everything!"
"You forced me to let you pay for your own food," said Pietro, pointing at her sternly. "I'm buying your books."
Before long, it was ten days since she had arrived in New York City. Esca had grown to love the city and its boisterous charm, but she loved the people in Stark Tower even more. She figured, ironically, that the destruction of her old home was perhaps the best thing that had ever happened to her.
That evening, the Avengers were all lounging in the common area. Tony had hooked up Guitar Hero on the TV, and he was rocking out on guitar as Clint held the bass and Thor was whacking on the drums. Meanwhile, Steve and Pietro were sitting beside Esca as she read her newest book aloud to them, and Nat was talking to Wanda and Vision.
Esca was suddenly interrupted by Tony's shout of, "GUITAR SOLO!" And, since he was on the expert level, he got down on his knees and continued to jam out.
Everyone paused to watch—Tony Stark was undeniably amazing at Guitar Hero. When he got enough notes right, Esca exclaimed, "Use your star power, Rust Bucket!"
"Way ahead of ya, blondie!" shouted Tony as the guitar on the screen flashed bright blue. He didn't miss a single note; Clint and Thor were so fascinated by his performance that they almost missed their own cues back into the song.
The others laughed and shook their heads helplessly—Esca continued to read The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien. Steve especially seemed to like the novel.
Before she could finish the chapter, however, Esca was again cut off by Thor's loud yell of, "Good job, comrades! We have successfully appeased the mortals with our rock and roll performance!" Then he, Tony, and Clint shared a bro-five.
"Yes, I'm sure everyone's thrilled," grumbled Nat. She had long since asked them to stop screeching things like "High Score" and "Five Stars," but being the children they were, none of them had heeded her request.
Esca sighed and asked, "Am I allowed to finish this chapter now? There's one page left. I only need two minutes of peace and quiet."
"Go right ahead, blondie," said Clint. But then, he said to Tony, "We should do Carry On My Wayward Son next."
Somewhat appeased, Esca concluded the chapter before taking her blue ribbon out of her hair and using it as a bookmark, the way she always did. Both Steve and Pietro blinked once before realizing she was done for the night, and they smiled at her—Steve ruffled her hair while Pietro slipped his pinkie finger around Esca's, something they did often now.
Steve was about to say something, but Tony's groan drowned him out. "Nah, Barton, we can't do Wayward Son without a vocalist. And I think Nat would sooner shoot us than help us play another round."
"Got that right," exclaimed Natasha, reinforcing her statement with an evil glare.
Clint sighed and looked at Wanda. "Maximoff, you want to sing for us?"
Wanda glanced at Vision before shaking her head. "No thank you, Clint, I don't know that song very well."
Now Tony and Clint groaned. "Other Maximoff! Can you sing?"
Pietro just snorted and shook his head. But then a light came on in his eyes, and he glanced at Esca. She shot him a look that shrieked, "NO," but too late. The words were out of Pietro's mouth: "Esca Rarity can."
"No, I cannot," she exclaimed quickly.
"Yes, you can, and you know it. Now grab that microphone and help your brothers out."
"Pietro—AIGH!" This last was because he had swiftly grabbed her and sprinted her over to Tony, Clint, and Thor. At her sudden entrance, Tony grinned and held out the microphone.
"It's a classic," he prompted, a hopeful look on his face.
Esca just sighed and said, "I'm sorry, Tony, but I don't—"
"Oh, come on," sighed Pietro exasperatedly. "It's harmless."
She looked at him and was about to refuse again, but Steve beat her to it. "Leave her alone, guys, if she doesn't want to, she doesn't want to. Esca, you can come back here if you'd like." He shot the others a glare to let them know that if she returned to her seat, she would stay there or leave on her own terms.
Esca was about to sit back down next to Steve, but Pietro caught her arm. His gray eyes were somewhat pleading. "Come on, Esca Rarity," he murmured. "I know what I heard when you healed me ten days ago. Will you sing? Just one more time, please?"
Hearing the please made Esca submit. "All right… Fine… but I would like to choose the song, if that's all right with you three."
Ecstatic that they finally had their vocalist, they nodded simultaneously, as if they were trained puppies. Esca giggled seeing their swift consensus and said, "Tony, you've downloaded all the possible songs for Guitar Hero, haven't you?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Brilliant, because I want to do Ignorance by Paramore."
"Ooh, that's a feisty song," exclaimed Clint, raising an eyebrow.
Esca smirked, her eyes containing a hint of malice. "Believe me, there are people in the world whom I'd like to dedicate it to."
"One Paramore song is on the cue!" announced Tony.
The song had a countdown of three seconds, and then it started. At first, Esca was trying to remember how the song went. But before the first verse had ended, she remembered. She'd listened to it because it was a song about how other people didn't know who she was, and that they wouldn't trick her again, not after the first time.
As she sang, Esca remembered all the people who'd crossed her path and tried to harm her, throughout both Russia and Germany. But Germany was the worst. The worst. She remembered so many people that she hoped were dead by this time, because of what they'd tried to meddle in without fully knowing what they were doing, and because of what they'd done to her personally.
While she didn't kill them, Esca had wanted to. So badly, she'd wanted to kill them. But her conscience prevailed, and she didn't. She didn't even hurt them.
I BEST BE ON MY WAY OUT
That was it. That was the last line. The song was over.
With a deep breath, Esca carefully set the mic down on the table. Her anger dissipated somewhat, and with another slow inhale, she turned around, a small smile on her face.
But that immediately vanished. Everyone was standing up, their fists balled, fury in their eyes. Steve's gaze was filled with uncharacteristic violence. Tony was gripping the guitar in his hand so hard Esca was afraid he would break it. The same was with Clint. Sometime during the song, Thor must have hit one of the drums so hard it broke, because the red drum was on the floor. Natasha had one hand on her gun, the look in her eyes one of indescribable fury.
Pietro was gazing at her, detectable anger in his eyes, but he mostly looked sad.
The only ones who looked normal were Wanda and Vision.
Esca swallowed. "I shouldn't have done it," she murmured. Then, she began to sing The A Team by Ed Sheeran. As she got to the refrain, the Avengers began to loosen up from their blind ferocity and sat back down, blank expressions on their faces until Esca stopped singing.
Wanda was the first one to speak. "You picked two songs that meant something to you; two songs that represent your life."
"It was a poor choice," murmured Esca. "I affected all of you. This is why I don't sing."
Pietro stepped forward, broken from his trance. "What happened?" he asked quietly.
She sighed and flumped down on the chair beside her. The rest of them were gazing at her curiously, except for Wanda and Vision. It was like those two already knew… since Wanda could read minds, Esca wasn't surprised if she knew. But Vision… she had a feeling he knew as well, and she wasn't sure if she was comforted by that.
"My voice, it… It helps me heal people… but it also affects them. If I sing, and I am angry, everyone around me will be angry. If I am sad, everyone else will be sad. If I tell a story, everyone will be involved in it. That is why I do not sing. Because I can affect people with my voice, and I do not want to control people's emotions."
The others looked at her with solemn expressions. "I'm sorry I made you do it," murmured Pietro. "I shouldn't have—"
"It was my fault for letting it get out of hand," sighed Esca. "Do not blame yourself, Pietro, you did not know. I knew this might happen, but I failed to control myself. I'm very sorry to all of you for doing this. It was not my intent."
Tony moved forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's no trouble, blondie. As it is, I don't know who made you so angry, but just say the word and Uncle Stark will find them."
Esca laughed; hearing it, the others instantly reverted back to normal. It was Clint who next said, "I second that!"
This got everyone to loosen up. Esca smiled at them and opened her mouth to say something, but Tony beat her to it. "By the way, blondie, I've been thinking… If you and the Maximoffs are staying here—which you are very welcome to—I'm going to have some sort of housewarming party for you. How about it?"
She smiled. "If I get to meet some of your friends, I think it would be quite fun. Thank you, Tony… Now I should get some sleep."
He nodded. "Night, blondie."
The others bade her goodnight as well; Esca waved farewell, smiled at Pietro, and left. But when she reached her room, she tried not to be unnerved… If Wanda and Vision knew about her voice, and could read her mind, wouldn't that mean they'd know everything else about her, too?