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Howling2themoon - Thank you so much. I'm really glad you like it! It's always touching to see your name as you always review! Thank you!

Princess2017 - They shall get together soon, I promise. Yeah, Riley has been through a lot of shit.

Focus...just focus. You can do this. You can prove yourself. The thoughts flew through my mind, right up until the point where Natasha hit my square in the face as we sparred, sending me straight to the floor. I groaned when the other side of my face hit the mats. Fuck!

Before I pushed myself up, I clocked the looks that the other Avengers were giving me - most of them being sympathetic, but some were smirking...Clint and Pietro of course. I rolled my eyes and got to my feet, waiting for Natasha's pep talk.

"Well, that was shit," she noted, crossing her arms across her chest as I brushed myself down.

I scowled at the smug look on her face. "I understand that," I deadpanned, putting my hands on my hips. "Go on, what did I do wrong?"

She smirked and then proceeded to explain. "When you spar, when you fight, you need to be completely in the zone. Letting distractions come into your head for even a second makes room for hesitation, consequently making room for mistakes. Confidence in battle is the upmost important thing, but not too much. Too much can get you killed. As you train, as you train properly with us anyway, you'll learn the right balance between both. I've seen previous footage of you and it is obvious how hesitant you are. Not personal, just speaking the truth. You need to toughen up. Don't think about what you are doing, just do it. If you are going to think about something, think about the precision of your punch and your target's weaknesses. Psyching yourself up should be done before a mission, not during."

It was critical, but she was right. I did overthink things and I had lost fights because of it, but nowhere near as many as I'd won. "Got it. Stop thinking so much," I said, rubbing my hands together as I prepared myself for another round of face bashing.

4 painful hours later

"Oh my God," I sighed, sinking into the soft sofas in the living room. Those four hours had been spent sparring with Natasha. 'Sparring' with Natasha was practically hell. Every part of my body felt bruised and beaten, like I had taken a hit by a train. I had been trained to kill and manipulate, but my skills were rusty. I had been training less since becoming a doctor and it had definitely taken a toll on my ability to fight. I needed to get back to the high standard I was at all those years ago.

"Tell me about it," Pietro said, rolling his shoulders until they clicked. I cringed at the noise, but let him sit down next to me regardless. He groaned and rubbed his back with his hand, obviously feeling pain there.

"Did Clint kick you in the back?" I asked, slightly concerned for his injury.

He winced and shook his head. "Got throw down on the ground and he dug his knee into my back in order to pin me."

"Want me to look at it for bruising?" I don't know why I offered. It wasn't like any bruising would come up yet anyway and his regenerative powers would soon be able to fix the problem anyway.

He glanced back at me briefly as he leaned back against the sofa. "I'm sure I'll be fine," he said, exhaling as he shut his eyes. "Genuinely tempted to take a nap right now."

"Well, if you do, don't forget that the party is in a few hours," I replied, pushing myself to a stand as I suddenly realised how hungry I had become from all the training.

I heard him groan loudly from behind me. "I forgot about that stupid party." I walked to the fridge and opened it, scanning to see what food we had in it. I smiled at the chopped tomatoes that were in there, thinking that they would undoubtedly go well with some rice.

"I'm sure it won't be stupid," I told him, reaching for the rice and shoving it in the microwave. I fiddled with the buttons and put it to the correct temperature and time. I went back to the fridge to get the chopped tomatoes. "It's a party being held by Tony Stark and I've heard he throws some pretty impressive parties."

"I hardly have any clothes to wear, let alone a posh suit," he complained, rubbing a hand over his face that seemed genuinely anxious. I saw him place his feet up on the living room table and cross his arms over his chest. My eyes flitted over to the bunk bed, looking down at the bags that were neatly placed by the end of beds.

"You could look in the bag that Pepper gave us. That might contain a suit." He looked over and quickly back to me, before nodding. The bags for us were pretty big, but I hadn't had the chance to see what was actually in them yet.

Find anything?" I asked, looking at the microwave as if it would cook my rice any quicker. I opened the tin of the chopped tomatoes and found a plate for me to have my meal on.

"Hang on," I heard him shout before hearing the sound of whooshing. I rolled my eyes and waited patiently for him to come and show me his outfit. Within the space of me blinking, he was suddenly stood in front of me. The suit was black with a white shirt and a black tie. The outfit was plain, but managed to make his face look incredible. Maybe it was because the outfit was so bland that his jawline and blue eyes stuck out so much.

"What do you think?" he asked, putting his arms out and slowly do a full circle. I smirked as I quickly checked out his butt, but forced myself to push my lips into a pleasant smile as he turned his front round to me.

"Very smooth." His lips twitched into a kind smile as he looked down at the suit and ran his hands over the jacket ends.

"Thanks," he replied, a faint blush on his cheeks as he looked back up at me. I pursed my lips as we locked eyes, neither of us seeming to want to break away. It reminded me of the first time this had happened, when he had first woken up after his death. He kept looking at me even when Wanda had called his name, like he had been waiting for me to smile and that would be the only way he could break away. I smiled, half of me hoping that the eye contact would end. But it didn't. He kept looking straight at me with a cute smile on his face that I couldn't quite decipher the meaning of. We were comfortably stuck.

*PING!* I gasped and nearly jumped out of my skin as the microwave dinged. "Holy crap," I muttered, opening the microwave and quickly getting my rice out. I winced as I realised I hadn't asked Pietro if he wanted any. "I forgot to ask. Did you want any?"

I looked over my shoulder as I asked the question to notice that he had already changed back into his normal clothes. Part of me felt disappointed. "I'll cook some myself once I've showered," he said, flashing a smile before he was already off again. I frowned at the bathroom door that was now shut, feeling like I hadn't fulfilled my job as a doctor by not checking up on him. I would have to check after his shower.

I poured half the chopped tomatoes can in with the quinoa and grabbed a fork to stir it together. I took a bite and sighed, content with the knowledge that I would be full in five minutes. Thinking of Pietro, I grabbed another quinoa bag from the cupboard and stuck it in the microwave, waiting to turn any knobs until the water had stopped running. Fortunately, by the time I had finished eating, the water had stopped running from the shower. I turned the dial and waited for it to ping, prepared this time for that to happen.

I noticed a rush of blue energy head to the bedroom and decided not to go and investigate, knowing that Pietro probably forgot to take his clothes into the bathroom with him. Soon enough, I heard the ping of the microwave and opened it, taking out the rice I had cooked for Pietro. "Riley..." I heard an annoyed Pietro say from across the room. I poured the rice onto the plate I had gotten for Pietro and mixed in the chopped tomatoes.

"It wasn't any trouble," I told him as I placed his plate on the table. He scowled at me and I raised my eyebrows. "You're annoyed at me for making you food?" His scowl slowly lifted into a smirk of happiness.

"I guess you're gonna be a good roommate after all," he quipped, walking over to sit on one of the kitchen stools. I took my bowl to the washing up as I heard him tucking into the meal. "Thank you," he said from his seat, words muffled from the fact his mouth was full.

"That's okay, Piet," I replied, beginning to wash up the plate I had put my dinner on.

"No, no, no," I heard him say before wind blew past my face, the Sokovian ending up right next to me. He forced my hands out of the bowl and shook his head. "You did the cooking, I will do the washing. Understood?"

I smirked and looked down at my hands, covered in foam. My wrists were still incased by his fingers, but he slowly let go as I nodded my head in agreement to his proposal. "Good," he said, beginning to walk away, but I lifted up my foam covered hand and blew. The bubbles went all over his shirt as well as his face. I bit my lip in order to stop myself from laughing, but the look on his face was priceless. He looked angry, but I knew deep down he wasn't really mad. His lips were parted, slightly in shock, but he had to shut them as foams started to trail towards his mouth.

I noticed his eyes flicker towards the bowl and then back at me, smiling slightly. It was my turn. "No..." I warned him, holding up my finger as he inched closer towards the bowl. "No, no, no..." I said, watching as his hand hovered above the huge pile of bubbles I had created with the washing up liquid. I now regretted my decision to be a child and fill the bowl up with as much foam as it could handle.

He scraped up a huge amount of soap and chucked it at me, covering my hair and clothes. I growled and darted for the bowl, using the water this time to completely cover him to which he did the same. There we were, in the kitchen, chucking water at each other and probably ruining all the brand new furnishings...and it was only the first night. I laughed as I cupped water in my hands and threw it at him. He laughed too and went to grab the kitchen hose, which I only now realised could extend.

I only had a second to gasp before he turned on the taps and sprayed the water at me. I screamed, putting my hands out to try and stop him from spraying at me. I laughed as the water hit, finding our little fight exhilarating. The water was warm, but not too hot that it scolded me, which was the only reason why I wasn't annoyed with him spraying me. I ran forward and reached for the hose, jumping up to try and take it from his grasp, but he held it above his head so that I couldn't get to it.

He laughed at me, but I wasn't going to be defeated. I went to the bowl in the sink, checked that there wasn't any washing up in it and picked it up. Smiling, I turned the bowl and I invisible, watching as Pietro stared in concentration, trying to find anything to give my position away. "You can't hide forever..." he warned me, but I just smirked and tip toed behind him, making sure that my steps weren't heard. I nearly slipped at one point, but managed to position myself behind him. I tipped the bowl and watched with satisfaction as the water poured over his body.

"You little..." I heard him whisper before he turned around and grabbed my waist. I screamed as he slipped and we went straight for the floor. I turned my invisibility off as I landed on top of him, my legs on either side of his ribs. "Whoops," he said, looking at the mess that we had made in the kitchen. There was water all over the floor and bubbles all over the furniture. Thankfully all of it was wood and would clean up easily, but it did look pretty messy.

We both looked at each other and tried to stop ourselves from laughing, but couldn't help it. My hands were on either side of his head as I hung mine from laughing so hard. I felt his chest rise up and down as he laughed and I tried not to tighten my legs at the feeling of his tight muscles against me. My laugh turned into a cough as I tried to clear the thoughts from my head. I put my hand on his chest and quickly tried to stand to escape the situation, but slipped and immediately fell back down.

I probably would've hit my knee if Pietro's quick reflexes hadn't caught me. His hands immediately came out to grab my hips and stop me from falling. My hands were pressed on his chest again as I tried to stop my heart from beating so fast from the near-death experience. Well...near-death experience may have been an exaggeration. "Sorry," I whispered, laughing slightly at how silly the situation.

"It's fine," he said, awkwardly smiling as his eyes looked at anything but my face. I hadn't seen Pietro embarrassed as much as I had in the past few hours and realised that it was something that he didn't seem to like. Perhaps he didn't like the vulnerability feeling of it. I steadily pulled myself up using the side of the table to make myself not fall. I nearly felt my foot slip but managed to keep standing. Pietro positioned himself on his elbows as I pulled my foot from across his body next to mine

"Jeez, we have made quite a mess," I said, breaking the slightly tense silence that had formed between us. I looked round at the devastation we had caused. This would take a while.

"JARVIS, is there a mop somewhere?" Pietro asked with a hopeful tone. He got to his feet and flicked his wrists, trying to get the water off his hands. It didn't really make any difference as he was still covered in water.

"I will turn on the drainers and the floor heaters, Mr Maximoff." Suddenly, one of the tiles near the sink area opened and began to drain the water out. The tiles started feeling warm underneath my feet and I could see the heat start to evaporate from the surfaces.

"Nice," I said, watching at the surfaces drained themselves. We would still need to wipe down the cupboards and the table, but it was far less water to clear up. I opened the cupboards until I found a cloth to clean everything up with. Pietro came up behind me, obviously trying to help, but I held up my hand. I pointed over to where his food was going cold. "Go eat," I ordered and then turned back to the cupboard, making it clear that I wasn't going to argue with him over the matter.

I heard him huff quietly and walk over to his seat. I managed to wipe down all of the surfaces without too much trouble. There were a few spots that were too high to reach and I couldn't be bothered to climb up to reach them as my body was still tired from the sparing sessions. "Thanks."

I turned round and saw him walk towards the sink with his plate, reaching for the washing up cloth. "What for?" I asked, hoisting myself up to sit on the now dry surface next to where Pietro was washing up. He stopped what he was doing and looked up at me with a small smile.

"You've been like a breath of fresh air to my life, you know..." I watched him as he stared at me, subconsciously biting my lip as I tried not to smile. It felt like it was a big deal for him, to have that new air in his life. "You've really been kind to me, much more than I deserve, so thank you."

I couldn't help but smile at his adorable revelation. He sheepishly looked back to the washing up and was about to start again, but I reached for his wrist. His eyes snapped up as I hopped off the counter and jumped up to wrap my arms around his neck. "You'll never be alone, Piet," I whispered, knowing it was what he wanted to hear. He had been looking after Wanda his whole life, had gotten used to cooking, cleaning and being a guardian to her, but it was his time to be looked after. They both deserved proper care.

"I'm getting you covered in water," he said, hesitant to wrap his arms around me as I clung to his neck.

"You already did that," I told him. He shrugged in response. He wrapped his arms around my waist and held me to him. We had been in close contact a lot in the past ten minutes. He squeezed me tightly and I giggled, feeling a little ticklish from it. I heard his sweet laugh next to my ear and couldn't stop the heat rising from my chest to tinge my cheeks. I slowly withdrew my arms, which he followed and stepped back from me, returning to his duty of washing up.

I sighed as I jumped back onto the counter, tapping my fingertips against the marble surface. "JARVIS, how long until the party starts?" I asked, grabbing the tea towel from next to me and moving to where Pietro had been placing the washing up.

"1 hour and 3 minutes," he replied. I smiled at the ceiling, thankful that one of Tony's creations was super helpful. I moved next to Pietro to do the drying up, but as soon as he noticed what I was doing, he used his powers to get it all done within a few seconds. I was suddenly moved five metres away as blue filled my vision. I heard a few clattering of plates as he quickly put the crockery away. He stopped by the sink and wiped his hands with the drying cloth before chucking it on the draining board. He turned to me. "You cooked, I clean," he reminded me and strolled past me, heading for the sofas.

"Wait," I called, walking up to him. "I want to check your wound to make sure that it has healed properly." He nodded, knowing there was no point in arguing with me, and lifted up the small portion of his shirt that he would let me see. He was sensitive about the scars that undoubtedly lied beneath his shirt and I wasn't the type of person to force someone into being comfortable.

I looked down to examine the wound that was left to find that it was practically healed, a scar being the only thing that remained. I ran my finger over it, watching to see whether his skin reacted. He seemed okay, even though I felt his muscles tighten underneath my fingertips and heard him take in a sharp breath. "Good," I said, coming to a stand as he let his shirt fall back into place.

He sat back down on the sofa and I stared at him curiously. "Are you not going to start getting ready?" I asked, looking down at his outfit that was still soaking wet.

He raised an eyebrow. "You're talking to the guy with super speed that can dress himself in under five seconds."

I rolled my eyes, taking myself towards the bathroom. I managed to peel off my clothes, the cold room air making me shiver slightly at my skin was exposed. I stripped down and turned the shower on, watching the water spray down from the ceiling. I checked the water was at the right temperature and stepped in, smiling at the feeling of the warm water on my skin. It felt so nice to relax after the trying day I had.

I squirted some shampoo onto my hand and slowly washed my hair, soothingly kneading my fingers into my scalp. I didn't usually like hanging around in showers, but the water felt so nice that I didn't want to leave. Once my hair was clean, I got some of the shower gel and started washing my armpits. It felt very luxurious as all the products were new. There were two large shelves, one for Pietro and one for me. I shaved my body with the new set of razors that I saw sitting on the shelf that was mine.

I finished rinsing myself off and looked at the electronic clock by the door, surprised that I had spent 15 minutes in the shower. I dried myself off and wrapped the towels around my body after putting on some deodorant. My wet hair was flopped on my shoulders, irritating my skin as well as making me cold. I picked up a hairbrush next to the sink, raked through the mess that I called my hair and grabbed another towel. I twisted it round into a turban and relished the free feeling my skin had around my shoulders and chest. Something about hair turbans and being in a towel made me feel elegant.

I poked my nose out of the door and noticed Pietro sitting on the couch watching something on the television. I left my invisibility cloud over and made my way across our shared apartment to see what was in the bag that Pepper had brought for me. As I walked over to the beds, I saw a blue energy whizz towards the kitchen out of the corner of my eye and the suddenly gush of wind made me shiver. What I didn't expect was for myself to walk into Pietro, still in my invisible form. His mouth was open as he frowned to himself. "Wanna move out the way?" I asked him, but he shook his head, obviously still unaware to my position as he was staring a few inches away from my eyes.

"Stay invisible and stay still..." he instructed and I nodded, not moving an inch. I suddenly felt very nervous in two white towels, the one around my body being very short, and nothing else. I gripped the towels tightly as I waited for him to do what he was going to do. His head became a blur, seemingly shaking from side to side incredibly fast. I stared at him in curiosity, wondering what an earth he was doing.

He stopped what he was doing and smiled, this time practically staring at me. "I can see you if I do that," he said, a small smile on his face.

"What?" I asked, a little shocked at his statement. Did that mean he could see me whenever he wanted when invisible? I clutched the towel even tighter.

"I can see you when I use my powers and move my head really fast. I don't know how, but that could be so important in the future." His eyes were lit up, like a child that had been given exactly what they wanted for Christmas. It was exciting, but what would happen if I wanted to get away from everything, to disappear for a while if things went bad - he would be able to find me. We stood in silence for a moment as I thought of a response.

"We can tell Steve later," I answered hesitantly, looking from the bed to him and hoping that he would get the hint that I didn't want to keep standing here. I felt like face planting when I realised that he couldn't see me as I was still invisible. He cleared his throat and looked over to the couch.

"Sorry, I'll leave you to change," he said and walked back over to the sofas. Thank God.

I quickly walked over to the bag at the end of the bed. Attached to the bag handle was a note:

Hey Riley,

Hopefully you will like the things that I have picked out for you.

Much love,

Pepper

How sweet of her. Tony's girlfriend seemed very nice, the complete opposite of Tony. The first and only time I had met her, I noticed immediately what Tony was attracted to. She seemed loveable and was extremely beautiful.

I looked around, checking to make sure Pietro's head wasn't in my direction before letting the towel loose. I opened the bag and found 3 pairs of underwear, 3 pairs of socks and 2 new bras, one of which was extremely thin and lacy. When the fuck am I going to wear this? I thought as I dropped the item back into the bag. There were two tops, one black and one white, as well as a dark purple professional dress for work and a more...revealing dressed that was obviously for partying. Attached to the party dress was another note - Wear to tonight's party? P

I held the dress out and looked at it properly. I was slightly concerned about how she knew my measurements, but was glad she did as the dress was beautiful. I smiled wildly when I noticed two new pairs of tights in the bag, very thankful for that as I no longer had any pairs without holes in. I also noticed a few necklaces and earrings to wear as well as a shoe box that I was yet to dip into. I slipped on a new pair of the black lace pants and the bra that seemed to be more supportive.

I slipped the dress on and smiled when I realised it fit me. It was tight, very tight, and showed off everything. The straps were thin and crisscrossed at the back and I was very thankful that the bra I had put on had removable straps. The dress had a mesh strip across the middle that showed off the area between the bottom of my bra and the top of my belly button.

I let my hair out of the turban and ran to the bathroom to brush it through quickly. I gave it one more scrub before letting it dry naturally. I preferred letting my hair dry by itself for some reason. Hairdryers always tended to make me feel hot and bothered, like it was more of challenging than therapeutic. I went back over to the bag and decided to shed my invisibility as I was dressed. Even though I did, Pietro was too interested in watching...the football...I think? I couldn't quite see from where I was standing.

I opened the shoe box and saw a pair of small purple heels that matched the formal dress, but could easily go with the dress I was wearing. I slipped them on and reached for the jewellery box. I attached a small pair of studs to my ears and selected a really delicate necklace. It seemed expensive, real expensive. It was a simple gold chain with a small diamond encased in a gold circle.

"Allow me?" I nearly jumped out of my skin at Pietro's words. I turned round to face him and nodded, delicately giving him the necklace. Somehow he was already changed into his suit. I had no idea how that happened or when, but he was changed and looking just as attractive as before.

His gentle fingers unclasped the necklace and I turned around, using one of my hands to keep my hair out of the way. He slipped the necklace around my neck, his hands brushing my skin with the lightest touch, and clipped it. He placed his warm hands on my shoulders and gently guided me to face him. He looked at my face for a second before his eyes looked down at the outfit I was wearing, not leaving his eyes in one place for too long. We were only inches apart and it felt like I was trapped in his gaze, the air from my lungs freezing in a second. I looked at what he was wearing and how he suited it so well. Screw the idea of a guy complimenting the girl first, I'm doing it.

"You look beautiful by the way. Suits suit you," I said with a smile and he chuckled to himself, shaking his head. I did a very good job at not letting a blush form on my face as he absorbed my words.

"First time I've worn one, so thank you," he replied, adjusting his tie slightly as he spoke. He looked over my outfit once more. "That dress looks gorgeous on you." The comment seemed somewhere between heartfelt and thrown away. Pietro was a smooth talker indeed.

"Thanks," I replied, fiddling with the charm on the end of my necklace as I admired it in the mirror. I looked up at him. "Are you ready to go?"

He nodded and held out his arm. "M'lady," he jested, tilting his head as he awaited my arm to wrap around his elbow.

"You're such an idiot," I replied, but put my arm in his nonetheless. We walked over to the door and I took my arm away from his to open the door. We didn't link arms again afterwards. Pietro shut the door and we made our way towards the living room. "Were we even given a plan of what is going to happen tonight?" I asked, pushing through a set of double doors.

"No idea, but if Stark is involved then it'll..." he trailed off as we entered the living room. There was no music playing. There were a few drinks at the corners of each room, untouched by the people convening in the middle who seemed to be having a very serious conversation. A very serious conversation until they heard us that is.

"What's going on?" I asked, but was only greeted by silence. Clint, Tony, James, Sam and Wanda were looking between each other as if wondering what to say. "What's happened?" I prompted, hoping that someone would tell me what the problem was and why everybody was so silent. Clint stepped forward, a concerned look on his face.

"It's Steve..."

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Dear readers,

I feel so loved by all of you that follow me and be aware that this isn't me saying I'm never writing again, don't worry. This is an apology. Recently, not going to lie here, I have been through a ridiculous amount of shit, including moving into University on my own and coping with being away from my ill mother. I'm constantly worried about her. I promise that I am going to try and update more often.

Posting a chapter on here is a really accomplishing feeling and knowing that people read it is amazing. If you don't review already, please review because it gives me so much motivation to keep writing. I only got two reviews on the last chapter and I have 67 followers, which is fucking insane by the way! Thank you to all 67 of you, because you keep me going at times when I can't keep myself going. Fanfiction is honestly such a big part of my life, so thank you so much for reading my romantic tales that are 100% not realistic, but are 100% enjoyable...hopefully anyway :)

Today, tell someone that you love them, whether it be a family member, a friend or the person you've had a crush on for the past three years (like any of us would have the balls to do that). LOVE YOU ALL!

abstract0118 - (This is a little secret by the way...my real name is Lucy!)

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