Wow, this is my longest chapter yet, guys! I hope it's to your liking! As always, a special thanks to MusicalDivergentTribute, sweetlove91, and D for their reviews! They make my day, so everyone, please tell me your thoughts on the story! Again, a giant thanks to my followers and favoriters. I wouldn't be writing this story without you! :)

One more thing: I'm still looking for general prompts for a chapter or two! My ears are open to any ideas you might have... Leave them in a review or feel free to message me, and I will definitely be glad to see what you think up.

There isn't much else for me to say other than have a MARVELous day, wonderful people! Thanks so much for reading; you're the best!


More days passed, and it was officially three weeks since Esca had taken refuge in Stark Tower. The people within the Tower celebrated by insisting that they take her out to dinner instead of letting her cook for once—they brought her to an exceptional pizzeria that had all kinds of pizza imaginable. The best thing about it was that they came in slices, so everyone was able to get their favorite.

Esca, for instance, ordered a slice of Hawaiian pizza with extra pineapple. Steve preferred the classic pepperoni while Tony and Thor both requested meat lovers. Clint and Natasha shared half of a cheese pizza, and Wanda and Pietro shared sausage. Vision did not order any food, but seemed to like being in the company of everyone else.

While the dinner was delicious, it was the superb company that made Esca happier than anything else. She had good conversations with everyone, and she finished her pizza quickly, as she'd never had gourmet pizza before.

Needless to say, Tony and Clint started teasing her about how she needed to eat more because she was too skinny.

"On the contrary, I probably eat too much," she contested, shrugging. To emphasize her point, she quickly requested a second slice of pizza.

"Honey, you're a stick," muttered Nat, but she was smirking.

"She is nothing short of perfect," retorted Pietro agitatedly, glaring around at the others as if they personally insulted him.

Tony held up his hands in surrender. "Hey, now, Maximoff, we're just teasing."

"Perhaps that is not something to tease about," murmured Wanda.

Esca smiled uneasily and said, ready to change the topic, "It's all right, Wanda, Pietro. They are harmless jesters. With these two around, I can never take anything seriously—I worry that one day, they will start a prank war around the Tower."

Natasha's pizza froze halfway to her mouth. "Esca," she gasped, "what have you done."

Clint and Tony, meanwhile, were rubbing their hands together evilly.

"Say, there, blondie, that's not a bad idea…" chuckled Clint.

"Indeed, I say we get started right away…" added Tony.

The others simply rolled their eyes and redirected their attention to more important matters, such as their pizza.

Before long, everyone was finished eating. After they paid, Pietro lightly locked his pinkie finger around Esca's and murmured, "Would you like to see the Statue of Liberty? It'd be from a distance, but…"

He was interrupted by Esca, who frantically nodded and exclaimed, "Yes, of course! Did you know that it was a gift from France, and that it is supposed to represent the Roman goddess Libertas? She represented freedom and—I'm rambling." Esca stopped suddenly, her cheeks pink.

Pietro looked both amused and impressed. "I didn't know you love history."

"Yeah, well," she murmured, shrugging slightly. "There are a lot of things you probably don't know about me."

"Why do you think I want to bring you to see the Statue of Liberty?" murmured Pietro, smirking a little. "I want to get to know more about you, Esca Rarity."

Esca flushed again, but smiled all the same. She and Pietro informed Wanda that they would be out for a while longer; she nodded and said she'd let Tony know so he wouldn't lock the Tower on them or something.

Once they were gone, Esca glanced at Pietro and said, "So… you know your way to the Statue of Liberty, then? Because I haven't the faintest."

He nodded and replied, "I actually walked to it three times today so we won't get lost."

It was Esca's turn to be amused. "So you've been planning this?"

"Absolutely," was all Pietro responded, but the look in his eyes said a lot more.

Admittedly glad to be spending more time with him, Esca smiled and took his outstretched hand so he could lead her to the spot he had picked. At first, as they walked, it was silent—longing to break that silence, Esca asked, "So how are you liking New York so far?"

"It's nice," responded Pietro thoughtfully. "It's large and confusing, but I've always liked cities more, myself. Wanda is the opposite, but she's accustomed relatively well."

Esca smiled somewhat. She figured, what with Wanda's reserved personality, that she could live on a farm and be very happy there. "I see where you are coming from. I am glad you like New York City. I know you've lived in Sokovia your whole life, so I've been hoping this isn't too difficult for you and your sister."

Pietro looked at her briefly before focusing back on the street so he wouldn't run into anybody. "There are some definite upsides here that I didn't have at Sokovia."

"Like what?"

"You, mainly. I didn't have the fortune to meet you back there until we almost died."

Esca laughed somewhat, as this was true. "It was certainly good luck that we met that day. Otherwise we'd both be dead, probably."

"I know I would be," said Pietro. "Perhaps you would've gotten out of the way of that train somehow, since it was going quite slowly—"

"I wouldn't have made it," interrupted Esca, shaking her head. "I am certain of that."

He glanced at her again and saw the conviction on her face. Then, with a small smile, he replied, "Perhaps you are right. Luckily, we will never find out. As it is, I want to know more about you… Let's examine what I do know. You love books, you listen to Frank Sinatra, you speak French, and you've lived in five different places, six if you include New York City. That isn't very much, Esca Rarity."

She couldn't help but laugh. "I'm sure there's more about me that you haven't thought of. You know I can cook. There's one."

"Ah, yes, how could I forget?" he mused. "You make the best pancakes the world can offer." After another moment, however, he stopped and announced, "We're here."

Esca looked ahead to see the glowing yellow shore of the lake. It was rather quiet, a nice luxury to have whilst in New York City, and deserted except for herself and Pietro. In the distance stood the Statue of Liberty, illuminated by countless spotlights so that it remained visible even in the dark. Seeing it, she grinned and moved forward eagerly, Pietro by her side.

"Look at it," she sighed. "It's beautiful."

Pietro and Esca both gazed at the structure in the distance; it was positively glowing like a great beacon of green light. It was silent for a moment, but then, Pietro turned back to Esca. "It is quite captivating—but I do not think it can compare with the lovely woman standing beside me."

The comment did not register for a split second, but when Esca realized what he had said, she flushed and brushed her hair forward to hide her face.

"Still hiding behind your hair, Esca Rarity?"

"Still calling me Esca Rarity?" she retorted. At last, she faced him full on and said, with a hopeless smirk, "That's not even my full name, you know."

Pietro looked like the world had been stolen out from underneath his feet. "Whaat," he exhaled, practically flopping to the ground. Esca gasped but laughed at his sudden movement—she felt herself being pulled down and allowed him to sit her down next to him. "What you do mean your full name isn't Esca Rarity?"

"I mean, it isn't my full name," repeated Esca, a guilty laugh on her face. "It's actually Evanesca Rarity Smithlandson… but I never tell anyone that. You should feel special."

He stared at her blankly, then declared, "I realize I wanted to get to know more about you, but I cannot believe your name isn't just Esca Rarity. My whole life is a lie!" This last was said as a shout, his hands extended to the sky as if to ask why this was happening.

Esca grasped his hands, laughing, and pulled them back down into his lap. "Relax, crazy," she sighed. "I never go by my full name. I always introduce myself as Esca Rarity."

"But now that I know, it won't be the same," he grumbled.

She sighed, knowing that there would be no winning against this man. Instead, she said, "All right, how about you tell me something about you that I would never guess in return?"

He decided that was fair. He thought for a moment before saying, "All right… Something that you don't know about me… well, my sister and I almost died when we were ten because Sokovia was being bombed."

"My goodness," gasped Esca, throwing a hand to her heart.

Pietro laughed. "I know what you're thinking—'wow, that escalated quickly!'"

Esca giggled, a tad uncertainly. "No, that's not… I mean, yes, but…" She trailed off, which was just as well, because Pietro was laughing.

"It's all right," he reassured her. "In all honesty, I only said that because I couldn't think of anything else to say."

"I see," replied Esca, shaking her head. "But I am sure that must have been terrifying."

"It was," he agreed solemnly. "We were trapped in our house for two days, expecting… someone to come and kill us. Luckily, we were rescued. But we… lost our parents that day."

Esca's smile faded entirely, and eyes morphed from interested to sympathetic. She placed a hand atop his and murmured, "I'm very sorry."

"Yeah, well," he sighed, looking back at the Statue of Liberty. "They would've wanted us to find our way in the world. I think we did." He glanced back at Esca and smiled. She quickly returned it.

After another second of quiet, he said, "I still want to hear more about you, Esca Rarity."

"Truth or truth?" she suggested with a short laugh.

He smirked, but replied, "Why the hell not?"

"Somewhere in Stark Tower, Steve is preparing for the speech he'll give you about your language when we return," mocked Esca, raising an eyebrow.

Pietro just snorted and shook his head before declaring, "All right, I'm asking you something first. I'll just go ahead and assume you're picking truth. So here's my question: why do you go by Esca Rarity and not your full name?"

"Delving right into the deep stuff, are we?" she queried, which made him laugh. With a sigh, she answered, "I did not have a good relationship with my parents. So I dropped my last name entirely because I did not want to be associated with them, and I shortened my first name to Esca because I knew they would never call me that. Plus, it's easier to say a five syllable name than a ten syllable name."

She glanced at Pietro once she finished and saw that he was watching her curiously. Knowing, however, that it was her turn to ask a question, she said, "Now it's my turn. What's the most embarrassing thing you've done?"

"Besides asking you what the best thing about living in Switzerland was?"

Esca giggled. "Besides that."

Pietro wasted no time before answering. "When Wanda and I were first learning how to control our powers, I ran as fast as I could down a flight of stairs and bashed my head through a wall."

Esca threw a hand up to her mouth, but it was too late to restrain her peal of laughter. She couldn't help but giggle relentlessly at the tale—Pietro was watching her, biting his lip as if to restrain from laughing himself.

"I'm sorry," she gasped through a deep breath. "I had not expected to hear that, I just… you have such great control over your power, and normally you are extremely smooth, and I really wasn't expecting that…"

"It's fine," he reassured her, shaking his head. "It wasn't my proudest moment."

"We all have those," she encouraged. "Now you ask me a question."

"All right. What are you thinking right now?"

"I'm thinking that I like talking to you," she replied immediately. "I like spending time with you. What are you thinking?"

"Many things," he replied, leaning back on his elbows. "I'm thinking that I'm very glad I met you in Sokovia, that I'm glad we are talking, and that I want to kiss you right now even though I know I shouldn't."

Esca had been smiling throughout his answer—but then she flushed a little at the last part. She blinked once and was glad she had been looking at the stars instead of at him, because she was sure he would see the shock and hesitance in her eyes if she had been. As it was, he softly requested, "Now what are you thinking about?"

"I…" she started, but in truth, it was impossible to answer, because she was thinking so many different things at the same time. She was thinking that she'd like to kiss Pietro too, but at the same time she didn't, because it might lead them to become something more than she intended. "I'm thinking many things right now. To which are you referring?"

"All of them, I suppose. Or whatever you feel comfortable divulging."

Esca spent a second to gather her thoughts and relay them properly. "Very well. Half of me is thinking that I would like to kiss you too, although the other half is worried because if I do kiss you, I'll have to tell you more about myself, and I'm rather scared to do that."

"Why is that, Esca Rarity?" The shuffling of the sand let her know that he was moving, perhaps to face her.

"Because… well… I don't have the most angelic past," she sighed, flopping onto her back to look at what little there was of the stars. "I'd prefer… if we can avoid that… for now."

Whether it was the pleading in her voice or the fact that she did not look at him, Esca did not know, but Pietro refrained from persisting. It was quiet for a while; the only sounds were the honking cars and the shouting people from the streets. But then, Pietro said, "Very well, Esca Rarity. The last thing I would like to do would be to make you uncomfortable or upset. But it will cost you something."

"What will it cost?"

He moved forward and gently kissed her temple. "That," he replied simply.

Esca shuffled to look at him—seeing that he was looking back at her, she smiled and squirmed towards him, putting her head on his shoulder. "That was hardly a price I was reluctant to pay," she murmured.

He just smirked and replied, "Don't give me any more ideas, Esca Rarity, or I will kiss you."

She laughed lightly and looked at him. "Maybe I won't stop you."

Pietro looked back at her. "Is that a challenge, or an invitation?"

"Depends on how you interpret it, Pietro Maximoff."

He chuckled and gently brushed a stray piece of her blonde hair back behind her ear. "All right then," he murmured, his lips brushing hers—

"Damn it," exclaimed Pietro suddenly, making Esca jolt and gasp in surprise. Seeing that he had shocked her, he quickly apologized before muttering, "Stupid phone." He pulled said stupid phone out of his pocket and, seeing that it was Tony, answered irately. "What?"

"Ooh, feisty," said Tony's voice over the other line. "I just wanted to let you lovebirds know that the Tower's closing at midnight, and it's eleven-thirty."

"Can't FRIDAY just unlock the door for us?" retorted Pietro.

There was a moment of quiet, and then Tony said, "Oh, yeah…"

"Good-bye," exclaimed Pietro, and he hit the hang up button. As soon as he hit the button, he threw the phone into the grass beside him and Esca and groaned.

Esca giggled at his exasperation and kissed his forehead. "Perhaps we should go…"

"Yes, perhaps we should," he replied. With that, Esca got to her feet and went to grab Pietro's phone out of the grass. It took her a moment to find it, but she managed. When she returned, however, Pietro threw an arm around her waist, pulled her close, and kissed her fiercely.

For a moment, she simply stood, paralyzed. But then, realizing she was perfectly okay with this, Esca closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck, letting him part her lips and taste her. His hands tightly gripped her waist, holding her body straight against his; it felt like he would never let her go, and part of her hoped that he wouldn't. Esca had never been kissed or held like that, as if it really meant something… She felt like a warm liquid was drizzled all throughout her body—she stood on tiptoe to wrap her fingers in his hair, and she moaned softly when he bit her lip.

She felt him smile at that—when he broke away, she stared at him quizzically.

He shrugged, but was grinning as he rested his forehead against hers. "You didn't see that coming?" he asked, his lips barely brushing hers, making Esca half-hope that he would kiss her again.

"Perhaps I should have," she replied, grinning herself.

"Sorry if it was abrupt, but I figured I wasn't going to let that old man kill my resolve."

"I'm glad he didn't," returned Esca, raising an eyebrow.

He kissed her again, though it was a quick, softer kiss, and murmured, "So am I. We should get back to the Tower before Tony starts spreading a rumor that we ran into a suspicious dark alleyway."

"He's probably at work spreading it right now."

"Although he might exaggerate and tell Steve that we're at a strip club."

"Oh, God," Esca moaned. "Oh, let's hurry before our predictions become reality…"

He just laughed and took her hand in his before leading the way back to Stark Tower.