Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel. Stella and the plot are mine.
Tony swung the door open with an unamused face, one hand clumsily holding a glass of whiskey.
"You're late," he said with no emotion towards Bruce. He turned to Stella, "Did he do anything inappropriate?"
Stella said nothing, unsure of what exactly to say, and looked at Bruce. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. He couldn't lie to save his life when it came to Tony.
Tony's shoulders sank. "You grew up too fast," he whined.
Bruce cocked an eyebrow, "Tony, are you drunk already?"
Tony widened his eyes and threw his head back in an attempt to clear his vision as he looked at his wristwatch, "I'm actually behind schedule tonight."
"May we come in?" Stella asked as she peered around Tony. There was a lot of noise coming from the Avengers' living area and it peeked her interest. What was happening?
"Oh! Yeah! Come in. Get ready to go wild!" He threw his hands up in the air and some whiskey sloshed over the side of his cup. Bruce and Stella eyed the billionaire warily as he sauntered in ahead of them. The shy scientist took the pink haired woman's hand and they both shared a small smile. Stella liked relationships, she decided. Especially with Bruce. He made her feel human.
His rough thumb rubbing along the smooth skin of her pointer finger was calming as they entered the main living room. A huge applause erupted, thanks to Tony's frantic pointing and shouting of "THAT'S HER! THAT'S HER!" and Stella stopped walking to stand still, eyes wide. This was most chaotic.
There were literally hundreds of people squished into the two story quarters. Music was pumping from a DJ booth and streamers were hanging from the catwalk, the ceiling, the tables, Thor. Confetti was everywhere and so was the alcohol- both in cups and out of cups, unfortunately. Guys and girls were mingling, screaming, canoodling, and dancing. There seemed to be double the amount of S.H.I.E.L.D agents looming around keeping (well, trying to keep) everyone at bay. The party was in full swing and Stella was extremely confused and scared. What manner of celebration was this?!
Then she spotted a large banner that hung from one side of the catwalk and spanned the length of the room all the way to the other side. In huge, bright pink letters were the words "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SUPERNOVA!" with pink stars decorating the edges.
Her eyes watered and she whispered to Bruce, "Is this for me?"
He smiled at her and squeezed her hand, "Happy birthday, Stella."
She beamed at him and squealed, "Birthdays are for humans, yes? This is wonderful! I do not know any of these people but this is still wonderful!"
"Yeah..." Bruce trailed off. "I don't think anybody knows these people."
"The birthday girl is here!" Tony yelled out, spilling more whiskey on the ground. "Time for the party to really start! Where's my girlfriend? Pepper? Pepper?!"
Everyone screamed and cheered as the music grew louder and Stella blanched, "It has not yet begun?"
Bruce sighed as he caught sight of his fellow Avengers, "Oh, boy."
Thor was covered head to toe in streamers, several party hats sitting atop his blonde locks. He was holding the largest mug Bruce had ever seen from which frothy golden liquid spilled over as the god animatedly regaled the group of listeners around him with stories of old.
"Oh, the Vanir thought that they had outsmarted we Aesir but my father, glorious Odin All-Father, could not be beaten so easily!"
"What happened next?" An eager, extremely drunk brunette asked as she downed another Cosmopolitan.
Thor looked puzzled for a moment before his eyebrows furrowed and he replied with much less gusto, "The Aesir and the Vanir settled on a truce and became unified."
The crowd's eyes all fell in disappointment at the anticlimactic ending. Thor, not one to let down a group of listeners, threw his stein up in the air.
"But have you heard of the victory of Odin against The Jotunns, Midgardians?!"
The crowd cheered as Thor launched into the tale, several streamers and a slew of confetti flying off of him as he spread his arms out wide.
Over in the corner, Steve and Natasha stood together - Steve with a terrified look on his face and Natasha with a scowl sour enough to drive anyone away. The assassin's arms were crossed over her chest, her foot tapping the ground impatiently as she stared at something off in the distance. Steve was slightly huddled behind her, his hand clenched around a bottle of water. The super soldier was unable to get drunk, so why bother? However, the advances of every woman in the room made him uncomfortable. None of them danced the way he would have wanted to dance with Peggy. He wished he was drunk. Or maybe a little bit like Clint.
Bruce followed Natasha's narrowed eyes over to where the archer was standing. He had one arm grasping onto the ice sculpture and the other swinging a beer back and forth. The ice sculpture was carved to depict numerous stars of all shapes and sizes sliding down a shining icy river and onto what was made to look like the top of Earth. Clint passed his beer down to a random guy who hooted and hollered in response as the Agent grabbed an arrow from his quiver. Dressed in normal civilian dress clothes, Clint looked silly with his archery gear.
He notched an arrow, expertly balancing himself against the sculpture, and fired towards the ceiling. The arrow exploded into a small firework of a star, glowing brilliantly with pink sparks. The crowd cheered as he shot off more starburst arrows.
"So that's what he was working on that day," Bruce mused to himself, remembering Clint working on the sparking arrow on the day Stella had learned that hand holding was not sex.
"I am unsure of what to do," Stella said to no one in particular.
"I'll show you, Supernova!" Tony came swooping in, Pepper in her heels trying to keep up behind him. She looked exasperated but extremely accomplished.
"Happy birthday, Stell," the strawberry blonde told the pink haired woman with a warm smile.
Stella ignored Tony pulling at her hand and beamed at the woman before her, "You did this for me?"
Pepper rolled her eyes, "Tony thought of it but I put it together."
"Wouldn't have happened without me!" Tony swayed on spot and grabbed onto Stella again to steady himself. The pink haired woman stood ramrod straight, confused by her hero's actions and wondering what in the cosmos was wrong with her friends.
"Why is Thor wearing so many hats?" Stella asked quietly as Tony sloppily fell against her. She paid no attention to him as her eyes stayed focused on the Asgardian across the room.
Pepper could barely hear her over the music but managed to understand what the pink haired woman was talking about when she got a glance of the god.
"He's..." Pepper couldn't find the right words and sighed, "He's very happy right now."
Stella smiled at her friend's merriment, "Well that's good, then."
"Come onnnn!" Tony drawled out. "Come see your cake. I'll make you a drink. Oh my god I'm giving you alcohol. Is this what a father feels like on his kid's twenty-first? I mean, you're thirty but -Pepper! Get the camera. Where's Steve? He should be here. Bruce, what are you doing standing there like a schmuck? Loosen up! What were we doing? Oh, right. To the alcohol!"
Tony dragged Stella over to the bar, the pink haired woman looking horrified and confused as all hell. The Iron Man started mixing a few drinks together with expert deftness and handed the glass over to Stella. Her eyes were wide as she tentatively sniffed it. Tony encouraged her to take a sip and she did so. When the liquid hit her taste bids she cringed and pulled a face. With much difficulty she managed to swallow her mouthful but immediately afterwards she thrust the glass back at Tony, closing her eyes and shaking her head.
"That was not pleasant at all! What was that?"
Tony held up the glass, as if forgetting what he put in it, and shrugged, "Can't remember. I can't believe you're not a drinker," he pouted. Then he mumbled, "Must have gotten that from Steve..."
Pepper rolled her eyes, "You're not her actual...forget it."
Tony shrugged to himself again, downed the rest of Stella's drink, and got up on top of the bar. Bruce came up behind Stella, trying as hard as possible to shrink into nothing so that he wouldn't have to mingle, and reached for her hand. She laced their fingers together and pushed herself close to him, extremely uncomfortable with the party but very grateful that her friends had thought of her.
"Everyone!" Tony shouted out, "Everyone listen up! I'm going to," he swallowed and gave a small burp, "Woah. I'm going to give a speech."
Clint came over and slung an arm around Stella, "Happy birthday, Stell."
She smiled at the archer, "Thank you, Clint. I very much liked the star arrows."
"Happy birthday," she heard from behind her. Natasha appeared over her shoulder, extending a friendly hand and giving Stella's free hand a short squeeze before releasing it. "Your file says you were made today."
"Yeah, happy birthday," Steve said, ducking underneath a guy who had a girl atop his shoulders.
"Don't worry about age," he shrugged. "It doesn't really matter when you're as old as we are," he said referring to the fact that they both slept for a very long time.
"But Tony thinks you're thirty," Clint added anyway, earning a glare from Natasha.
Stella nodded politely, not really sure what any of that meant, and stood with the other Avengers as Tony swayed on top of the bar.
"Someone hold my drink. Stella! Hold this, babycakes. Thanks."
Stella looked up at him as she held his new glass of brown liquid. Babycakes? That did not sound appetizing. She hoped there were no cakes made from babies at her party...how horrid. She took a sip of his drink and squealed. No. No, she did not like alcohol one bit.
"I'm disappointed in you, kiddo," Tony said offhandedly at her alcohol intolerance. "Anyway! This party," he held up his hands, "isn't for me. I know, I know, you're shocked, but it isn't. This party," he held his arms out to the room and then pointed down at Stella, "is for this woman right here. Our own little supernova. Now, most of you don't know this, but this woman destroyed my car."
The crowd gasped out loud.
"Yep. Destroyed my Bentley. It was a travesty. BUT!" He shouted out and made Stella jump. "It changed my life forever -in the good way, of course. So I just want to say thank you, Stella, for bringing so much light, literally, to my life and to all of our lives. And for blasting Steve through, like, seven walls."
Stella blushed and Tony swayed backwards before regaining his balance.
"You're our own little starburst and," he looked out into the crowd and seemed to sober up significantly, "you belong here. With us."
Stella's eyes started to water and Bruce caressed her hand gently while Clint squeezed her shoulders.
"So, happy birthday to the light in all of our lives!" Tony raised his hand, noticed there was no drink in it, and reached down to grab his drink from Stella. He resumed his toasting and chugged the entire thing, followed by the rest of the crowd who cheered loudly.
Tony hopped down off the bar and kissed Stella on the cheek.
"Thank you, Tony," she said quietly, her big doe eyes looking around at all of the festivities.
"You deserved it," he shrugged. "You deserved to be noticed for what you are."
She looked at him, "What is that?"
Tony smiled, "A genuinely good person."
A single, happy tear trailed down from her silvery grey eye as Stella reached up to return the kiss on Tony's cheek. She looked over at Clint and started giggling in contentment. Natasha smiled at her friend and shook her head to herself before retreating back to her corner. Steve quickly followed, hunching his body to become as low as possible as he wove through the throngs of people.
Tony clapped Bruce on the back as he walked by.
"You know what birthdays mean, don't you?" He said slyly.
Bruce choked on air and gave Tony an incredulous look, "What?!"
"Birthday cake," Tony deadpanned. He grinned at Bruce's horror at being found out to have a dirty mind, "And birthday sex. Duh."
Bruce's lip trembled, "N-no."
"Ah, I know you won't. That's why I said it." He became serious all of a sudden, "Because if you did I'd have to kill you."
Bruce was actually convinced that Tony would, so he nodded at his friend and watched him swagger away with an arm draped over Pepper.
Stella didn't even know what sex was yet.
Thank God.
"No."
"Come on! One more time!"
"I believe that you have had enough."
"One more time!"
"No."
"Come on, Stell. Everyone, chant with me! One more time! One more time!"
Stella's eyebrows leveled as the entire room began to chant. She sighed and held up her hand, pointer finger to the sky.
"One more time," she said sternly- which Bruce couldn't help but laugh at since her's and Tony's roles were reversed. This time Stella was acting like an adult. Actually...Tony never really acted like an adult. Bruce pursed his lips in thought.
Tony clapped, "She said one more time!"
The crowd cheered and Stella sighed again, letting out a 'humph' as she blew a strand of hair off her forehead. She opened her palm so that it was facing the ceiling and the crowd watched as it was engulfed in a shimmering, silver glow. A streak of blue bolted across the orb which made the guests all whoop and holler. Stella rolled her eyes (Natasha smirking proudly from behind the crowd with Steve still huddled behind her) and placed her open palm over the top of Tony's newly replenished shot glass. She gently lowered her hand until the very edge of the starbolt ignited the top of the alcohol.
"Are you sure this is safe for him?" Stella questioned of Bruce.
The scientist nodded, "It's only stardust around the edges. He'll be fine. Just a little heartburn in the morning."
"His heart will be burned?" She whispered harshly, turning her head with her hand still extended over the glass.
"He- no. It's - the glass!"
At his exclamation Stella returned her gaze to the glass and saw that she had, in fact, melted the glass almost down to Tony's hand. In his drunken stupor he failed to notice the heat and his reflexes reacted as an afterthought. He dropped the glass, hearing it shatter as it hit the ground, and pouted. Pouted.
"You did that on purpose."
Stella and Bruce both brought their hands to their faces.
"Well!" Tony turned to the crowd, "No more Stargazers for the rest of the night. Sorry, folks!" He turned to Stella, "Clever name, eh? I might patent it. Sell, like, a bajillion."
"A what?"
"Nevermind. Anyway," Tony swayed, "I should probably stop drinking. I want to show you your gift."
Without letting Stella reply, the billionaire hopped off the table they were both on and took Stella's hand, pulling her down and leading her away from the crowd. The rest of the Avengers saw the two heading over to the staircase and followed.
A woman tried to make a pass at Steve and he jumped nearly a foot in the air, blushed in embarrassment, and gently told her, "I'm sorry ma'am but I'm waiting for someone."
Natasha nearly winced at the sadness that laced his voice. Acting by Stella's example, she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder before nodding towards the staircase, indicating that they should continue following. Steve broke from his sad memory and nodded gratefully.
Tony abruptly stopped them outside of Stella's room which caused the pink haired woman to slam into the billionaire's back which made Bruce walk into and almost topple over Stella (which made him blush, of course).
"We're here," Tony announced.
"This is a door," Stella said dumbly.
"Yes," Tony deadpanned. "We got you a door."
"No, we didn't!" Steve ran up from the back of the group, alarmed that Tony would lie.
Tony blinked at him, "Sarcasm."
"Oh."
"Go inside!" Thor impatiently said to Stella. He was standing in anticipation as if he had also never seen what was behind the door before.
Stella sprang forward at his insistence and typed in her access code which, by the way, still baffled her. How did the little numbers know how to open a door? When the door opened, all questions left her mind and instead a squeal escaped her mouth.
"I think she likes it," Tony smiled over at Steve who smiled back proudly.
Stella took a tentative step into her new room and couldn't help the smile that burst onto her face. The bright, warm yellow glow of her newly painted walls illuminated her face as she spun around in the room, taking it all in. The ceiling, painted to look like like Nine Realms thanks to Thor's knowledge, twinkled and gleamed above as if she was really looking into space. Her bathtub still stood in all of its strange majesty where it had been before. A pile of presents, some horribly wrapped, were set off to the side.
She turned to thank the Avengers for brightening up her room and making it more bearable, but before she could something on the wall that hadn't been there previously caught her eye. Tony smirked to himself because although his vision was blurry and he was still swaying from side to side, he knew what she had seen.
The twisted, destroyed burgundy hood of a car was hung on the wall. It's deep red color contrasted against the bright sun-like yellow paint of the room. Attached to the center of the hood, fixed against the deep dents, was a picture. The photo was of the day Stella fell onto Tony's hood. The view was from the side, Stella sitting deep inside the hood with her legs dangling out and Tony staring at her in amazement mixed with fear. She was looking up at him, curiosity and apprehension clearly written across her face. Both stared at each other. Tony and Stella. Stella and Tony. The day it all started.
"Bystander video," Tony mumbled an explanation not so silently to Steve. The super soldier shushed him without looking his way. His eyes were locked onto Stella as she surveyed the rest of the mural of sorts.
Underneath the photo, painted in elegant black script, were the words "Wisdom begins in wonder" and the date that Stella crash landed on Earth. Her eyes watered, the tears spilling over, as she turned to her friends. She sniffled and smiled, a tiny cross between a sob and a laugh leaking out.
"Thank you," she squeaked.
"Socrates said that," Bruce said quietly to himself. He knew Stella would have no idea who the Greek philosopher was so he didn't bother to mention it any louder.
Tony shrugged, "You changed our lives forever, Supernova. And in some weird way you're the wisest out of all of us. So...yep."
Stella launched herself at Tony, hugging him around the middle, and grabbed the back of his shirt in her hands. The billionaire found a strange comfort in her habitual shirt grabbing and realized he wouldn't mind if the pink haired woman did that for the rest of her life. Although he was clearly inebriated, Tony took the moment to cherish the hug being given to him. No one really showed him that they cared besides Pepper. It was nice - really nice.
"I think I might be wiser," Fury's voice sounded from behind them, "and I'm saying ya'll better tell me what's going on and why Avengers HQ has hundreds of drunk people running around downstairs while there's a madman on the loose."
"It is Stella's name day!" Thor bellowed out to the director.
Fury was not having it, "I don't care what day it is, Thor. Ya'll brought drunk civilians into a government facility. What the hell were you thinking?" He directed the last question at Tony.
"Okay, first off," Tony blinked hard, "don't yell. I have a headache. Funny how that started the moment I heard your voice. And second, relax. Have a drink. You should try a Stargazer. They're out of this world. Literally." He turned and pointed at Stella, "New slogan."
"What the hell-"
Tony cut Fury off, "I put extra S.H.I.E.L.D agents around the entrances -hope you don't mind that I hacked your systems again, which are actually my systems anyway- and I programmed the elevators to never go above this floor. Everyone working on the upper floors can take the stairs. It's exercise. Good for the soul and all that. I'm actually surprised it took you this long to find out about this. What were you and Agent Hill doi-"
"Round those people up and get them out of here now," Fury gritted his teeth and effectively silenced the room.
"We'll open the rest of your gifts later," Clint not so quietly said as he walked past.
The Avengers filed out (Tony wobbling and being supported by Steve) while Fury gave them all a hard stare. As Stella went to exit, Fury swung out his arm and stopped her from passing. She looked at him, wide eyed and afraid, before bringing her hands up to her abdomen. She started to nervously wring them out in front of her. Bruce stood at the doorway behind Fury, wanting to make sure Stella was alright.
"You better check inside your bathtub," he said sternly to her. Stella noticed a small gleam in his good eye as he spoke to her. This confused her.
"I am sorry?"
Fury gave her the ghost of a ghost of a smile. "Happy birthday, Stella," he told her quietly with a nod. "Welcome to the family."
Stella blinked several times as Fury turned and swept out of the room. Bruce hurried in, a look of pure confusion gracing his handsome features.
"What just happened?!"
Stella looked at him blankly, "I am not sure at all."
They both peered over the side of her bathtub and saw a square, black box. Sharing a look with Bruce, Stella reached down and went to remove the lid.
"I hope it's not a bomb," Bruce mused.
Stella's hand stopped, "Is that a normal gift for someone on their day of birth?"
Bruce looked timid, "Well it's Fury so..."
They both stared at the box again as Stella finished removing the lid. Inside was a S.H.I.E.L.D issued uniform that matched the one Agent Hill wore. The deep blue material was sleek and shiny, unbroken and not yet battered. Laying on top of the suit was a laminated identification card with the S.H.I.E.L.D logo in the background. Typed over the top were Stella's credentials, her picture, and her status as a member of the Avengers Initiative.
"I belong," she whispered to herself, running her finger over the smooth surface of the card.
There was a note inside the box as well, which Stella reached for and unfolded. The only thing written on it were the words "Every hero has a name. Welcome to the team, Starlight."
Bruce smiled from next to her as he watched her pretty face react to her gift. She kept smiling and laughing quietly to herself, finally feeling like she truly belonged somewhere. He was amazed by her -her resilience, her patience, her kindness. She never lashed out at Fury, never. She didn't hate Tony after learning that his father created her. She never once defied any of them or betrayed them. She was perfect and wonderful and literally the best thing that had ever happened to Bruce ever.
On impulse, he grabbed her face and crashed his lips down onto hers. Stella let out a squeak due to being caught by surprise but found herself melting into his kiss. Warm tears trailed down her cheek and Bruce wiped them away with his thumbs. He pulled away, his nose gently pressed against hers, and stared into her eyes.
"I am so happy you crashed Tony's car."
She sniffled and nodded her head, her nose caressing his, "Me too."
A crashing from downstairs drew their attention away from each other and Bruce grabbed Stella's hand before pulling her out of the room. They reached the railing of the catwalk and looked down to see what was the matter. Stella grabbed onto the back of Bruce's shirt out of fear.
"I did not invite you," they watched Tony stumbled around downstairs.
Owen Reece stood in the middle of the party, a large smirk on his face. The guests formed a circle around him, all completely silent. Stella felt her legs give out as his eyes locked onto hers. The way he looked at her made her feel so small, so inferior and feeble. Fury stood behind him, gun aimed and ready to fire, but the criminal continued to stare at the pink haired woman.
"Happy birthday," he grinned up at her.
Bruce started to push Stella behind him, his neck beginning to turn the slightest shade of green as Owen opened his mouth to speak again.
"Too bad it will be your last."
Don't hate me! A lot of ya'll knew that was going to happen. Kudos to those who did :] Anywho, I apologize again for the wait. I'm in the process of moving into a new apartment and I still have the summer class every day AND I teach kids music two nights a week so I'm a pretty busy gal. But I love writing this story and ESPECIALLY love all of you guys, so don't ever worry that I'll abandon you!
I do hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. It's always fun to write semi-relaxed, slightly chaotic, Avengers off-duty scenes. Especially when Tony is drunk and Thor is wearing several party hats. But now that the lightheartedness is over and Owen has appeared...ya'll might want to get a tissue box. I'M JUST SAYING! The upcoming chapters...well, you'll see ;]
As always, your reviews are phenomenal. I appreciate every single one of them to no end. I want you all to know that. Seriously, you guys are remarkable, amazing, stupendous, superb! So much love from me to you.
An update coming your way tomorrow. It's already written and everything. Woo hoo! Stay tuned! xx