New Beginnings
"So, anyone up for a movie night tonight?" Steve looked around the dinner table. "School's starting soon again and so I thought we might be able to have some family time before you're all seniors and busy with college applications and such?"
Lucy pulled her mouth into a rueful smile and shook her head no, as did Wanda and Peter.
"I'm meeting Madi and Heather tonight. We're just hanging out, but I'll be back by 12, promise," Wanda said, looking up from her phone momentarily to glance at Steve.
"Yeah, I can't do tonight either, I'm seeing Quentin," Lucy responded, giving an apologetic smile.
Peter nodded as well. "I'm meeting Ned, we don't have much time hanging out when we're back in school."
Before anyone had any chance to respond, Lucy's phone pinged, and she jumped up. "I gotta go, Quentin's waiting. See ya." With that, she made her way towards the elevator, texting and grinning to herself.
Wanda and Peter pushed their chairs back at the same time and mumbled something about having to get going too.
"All of you, back by 12," Pepper called after them and got three affirmative shouts in response before they heard the elevator doors close.
With a sigh Nat leaned back in her chair, but she wasn't the only one looking slightly uncomfortable. Tony's face had fallen, and Steve looked positively sick.
"Are they actually growing up?" he asked with a heavy sigh.
Tony pulled a face. "I guess we should be happy that they're behaving like normal teenagers. You know, not afraid of branching out and… well, frankly, not too keen on spending time with us."
"At least they have a social life," Nat remarked with a pained smile. "Unlike us."
Pepper nodded. "Yeah, I have to second that."
For a few moments the table was quiet before everyone erupted into laughter.
"I guess we should be glad that we have the tower to ourselves for a night," Clint got out eventually.
Bruce nodded. "Yeah, it's gonna be good practice for next year… when they move out… to college…" He trailed off and left everyone in quite the bittersweet mood.
Nat was glad that Lucy was behaving like a normal teenager – not overly clingy and not afraid to branch out for fear of losing her family. And she knew that their family was special. There was always room at the tower and the compound, and it'd be a part of Lucy's work, but having her daughter move out, be completely on her own was still a thought Nat didn't want to entertain for too long. From the looks of it, neither wanted Pepper, so the two shared a short glance before getting up, grabbing the wine glasses and heading to the living room. If the girls were able to have an exciting night, so were they.
###
"Mmhh," Lucy hummed as she softly bit Quentin's lip and tucked slightly.
He responded with a grin and an even more passionate kiss. He'd been especially thoughtful today, taking her to her favorite desert place, choosing the nicest walk though central park and she knew why. It was as clear in her mind – it was Quentin's final night in New York. Tomorrow he'd be flying out to Stanford and starting college. All while Lucy stayed in the city.
When they first started going out, the end of the relationship had been clear to her. But those pesky feelings developed and the summer vacations, away from her friends and Quentin, gave her a lot of time to think. If she'd been anyone else's daughter, she might've listened to the sweet promises her heart was trying to convince her of. That a long-distance relationship could work. That she wanted to be committed. That it'd all work out with him in the end. But she was rational and examined her feelings pretty clearly. They were there but they weren't as strong as his (from what she could gather about him). And they weren't strong enough to survive a long-distance relationship between two teenagers for an unforeseeable amount of time. Lucy didn't want to string him along and she didn't want to evoke any false hope. They'd had their fun – but also an expiration date, which was today.
Quentin pulled back and gave her a serious look. He'd probably felt her gears turning and he knew her well enough by now to know what the agenda now entailed.
"So… what's gonna happen to us?"
Lucy looked at him, a somber expression on her face and she could detect a hint of sadness in his. At least he knew what was coming. She knew this was going to be harder for him. Trying to be empathetic, she let out a small sniffle.
"I really like you, Quentin. And I've had so much fun with you over the past couple of months. You've been nothing but gentlemanly." She grinned and thankfulness spread over Quentin's expression though the sadness prevailed.
"But you're going to college and there's no way we're going to be even on the same coast for a couple of years. And we- I'm not ready for a long-distance relationship." She stopped, apparently overcome by emotion, but his face hadn't changed much. So he'd been expecting it then.
"I understand." He smiled gently, though Lucy could feel disappointment radiating from him. "And you've been sweet and wonderful and challenging- in a positive way!" His smile widened. "So yeah, the past couple of months were great."
Lucy couldn't keep her own smile in anymore and they both rose from the bench they'd been occupying for the past half hour.
"Let me know how Stanford is." She smirked up at him, gloomily. "Don't be a stranger."
She put her hand on his cheek and gave him a kiss, soft and careful, a true goodbye. As she pulled back, Quentin's eyes had gone glassy.
"Promise. I'll miss you." He managed a smile and after taking a short breath, he added, "I love you."
Lucy's heart jumped for a second before her mind caught up with the moment and she changed her expression into full remorse.
"I know," was her sad replied and she saw an amused glint in Quentin's eyes before turning and embarking on the short walk home.
As Lucy entered her floor, she saw Natasha sitting on the couch in the living room, going over some files. The spy turned her head when she heard the doors slide open.
"Hey, how was it?" she smiled up at the girl but changed her expression into a sympathetic one when she saw the pained look on Lucy's face.
With a sigh, Lucy sank down next to her mentor. "About as awful as you could imagine." She turned her head towards Nat. "He was really upset and I was kinda scared he'd start crying. I pretended to be sad," she added apologetically.
Nat gave her an understanding smile as she put her arm around Lucy's shoulders.
"I just wanted to make it easier for him. I mean, if I'd gone, 'well I'm done, sucks to be you' – that would've been bad, right?" Her voice had gotten more desperate. "I feel like a bitch."
"You're not," Nat immediately replied. "I think you did the right thing. You did make it easier on him. Boys can be terribly fragile, especially with feelings and relationships."
Lucy grinned up at the redhead who smirked back. "I think you were pretty mature. Better a clean cut than stringing him along into nowhere."
"Exactly my thoughts," Lucy hummed satisfied, snuggling closer under Natasha's arm, who placed her head on her girl's.
###
"Alright, then we have everything for Peter," Pepper concluded and closed the folder in front of her, before pulling a new one from the stack.
Lucy didn't know how she ever survived the beginning of the school year without her. Pepper's pedantic organization and systematic structuring of everyone's subject, college plans and what not was a heaven sent.
"Lucy, you're taking CCS and CP with Peter," she nodded towards her own son, not lifting her eyes from the paper. "Plus, CL, CM and AP Government, AP Economics and AP US History." She looked up towards Natasha and Lucy who gave a frustrated look back.
"Yeah, that's right. The school insisted I take social sciences, although I have so many credits, I could've graduated two years ago." She rolled her eyes, earning her a warning glare from Nat.
"But graduating early isn't all it's cracked up to be," Tony chimed in. "Then you're the youngest in college too and it all just messes with your social development."
Lucy grinned up at him. "I can really believe that."
"So what's your plan for college then?" Pepper continued before Tony could throw out a retort. "Obviously MIT, but what can you actually skip?"
"We'll assuming I pass all my classes this year-" she grinned as Wanda threw her an exasperated look, "I can start straight in my Junior year. AP lets me skip the freshmen courses and CX the sophomore ones. That means two years at MIT, then starting the next possible Shield fast track course-" again she paused, smirking at Natasha, "provided I'm accepted onto it… which is eighteen months, so I'd be done just in time for my twenty first birthday, after which I can immediately take over RI." She took a deep breath. "That's my four-year plan."
Tony let out a small whistle. "Definitely a lot more structured than my four-year plan at sixteen. The only thing I had on that was-"
"Alright, I think we can skip that part," Natasha interrupted the genius, throwing him a similar glare she'd given Lucy earlier.
Pepper considered the girl with a thoughtful look. "That is very structured. One might even say… too structured. And you know that means a lot coming from me." She threw Natasha a look who shrugged her shoulders in reply.
Lucy sighed. "I know what you mean. And yeah, I know everyone says college is such a time to treasure and whatever, but my life has never been normal, and it never will be and the fact is, that I just wanna get through, get the degree and maybe actually learn something while doing it. It's not that I won't enjoy it, I definitely think that it'll be fun and probably quite relaxed but I just wanna get to do the things I've always wanted to do – which is to join Shield. And it's great, going on missions with you and being a junior Avenger, but I also wanna be a regular agent, train as one and go on missions like one, at least for a few years, because then I'll also have to take over RI officially and split my time and I just wanna do a few years of full-time Shield work. And thanks to you, I can already skip a lot of the introductory training, because hopefully," here she paused her speech and glared around the room, "you'll vouch that I've been doing that for years… probably even more than any agent in-training."
"We will, don't you worry." Steve gave a reassuring smile and Pepper also seemed convinced.
"I get it. And I have absolutely zero doubts that you'll achieve it all just like you planned."
"Yeah, it's all great, except that we won't be in any of the same classes in college," Wanda complained miserably.
"It'll be good," Lucy replied with a grin. "You know, sever those dangerous codependent tendencies before it becomes a real problem. Like us trying to go on missions and always having to book a triple room."
"Oh, yeah, that would become problematic quickly." Clint stared off into the distance, a reminiscing look on his face. "On that one mission in Paraguay this old guy for some reason decided to attach-"
"And that story won't be told today either." Natasha got up with a heavy sigh. "We're done with the school talk, right?"
Pepper nodded. "Yes, we're all done." She closed Lucy's folder and reached it over the table for Natasha to grasp.
The redhead took it with a grateful smile and nodded to her protégé. "We're meeting in the small training room in 15."
Lucy nodded in reply and made her way to her room to get changed.
"You feel up for some driving lessons?" Tony nudged Peter who'd been absorbed in reading some comments in the file that his English teacher had made.
"Heck yeah," the spider happily replied, jumping to his feet and already beelining to the garage.
Steve gave Wanda a questioning look. "Is there anything you'd like to do?"
Wanda seemed in thought for a moment before shaking her head. "I'm good. There're some summer assignments I need to finish. I don't exactly wanna start the year behind – you know like last one."
With that, she also left the common room, leaving the adults on their own.
Steve stared at the table in front of him, a worried look on his face.
"She's just figuring out her own life," Pepper encouraged him gently, reaching over the table and taking his hand. "She finally has friends her own age, is accepted by the girls in school and is finding interests outside the family. It's healthy."
The super soldier sighed. "I know you're right. And I'm glad… there have been points last year where I was worried. I just… time is going by so quickly and she's pulling away right now… right when she's about to leave for college." His rueful smile resonated with the other adults around the table.
Natasha found herself wondering for the second time that week just how different life would be a year from now. She'd grown accustomed to have Lucy around, to comfort her if the girl woke up with nightmares, to have an exhausted teenager fall into her arms after a long day of school. Time couldn't stop though and if there was something she knew how to do, it was focus on the mission. And right now, it included making Senior year the best one yet for Lucy.
###
Turning again, Lucy considered herself in the mirror. The brand-new skirt and blouse felt still stiff but there was also a tinge of sadness that Lucy associated with it. This was the last set of school uniform she'd ever bought, and it made her nostalgic. Not long ago, she couldn't wait to get out of school, go to MIT and do what she wanted to. But things had changed. The past year showed her that she actually could have a somewhat normal teenage experience and the fact that it was all just supposed to end like that was depressing. With a deep breath she reminded herself that she had an entire year and a smile spread over her face. As her stomach growled that minute, she decided that was enough introspection for today and went down to breakfast. The others were already gathered, and Bruce filled her coffee cup as she sat down. The atmosphere was filled with excitement and Wanda seemed actually happy to see the girls again. Maybe this year was going to be the best one yet.
"You're all ready to get going?"
Happy appeared from the garage and gave the three kids an encouraging smile. Lucy got up, downing the rest of her coffee and grabbing her bag, before passing Nat who pressed a kiss to the side of her head.
The ride to Columbia was pretty quick and when they got out, they disappeared in the sea of students that were greeting each other and noticing new hairstyles and tans with excited voices.
"Lucy, Wanda, Peter, over here!"
The familiar voice turned three heads and a smile spread on Lucy's face when she saw Liv appearing from the school gates.
The four hugged each other and Wanda immediately dove into stories from their vacation on the yacht and Liv was suitably impressed. She herself had visited her family's holiday home in the Bahamas with her nanny and Lucy was once more reminded just how much she'd lucked out. Although – Liv's vacation sounded better than many of her own previous summers, especially after her grandma had gotten sick.
Thankfully, Wanda and Liv's relationship had improved lots over the past couple of months and Lucy had no reservations to letting the two of them walk off to their AP Psychology course together while she and Peter headed to CCS. They'd checked out their prospective teachers over the summer and Mr Schott for CS who was also their personal tutor for senior year seemed promising. It being a CX course, there were only three others in the class beside her and Peter, all of whom Lucy already knew. Sabrina had been a pretty quiet girl throughout their time at Columbia but Lucy appreciated her capabilities with computers and the two other guys, James and Xavier, she'd interacted with in her AP courses.
The classroom was small and instead of the typical U-form, Mr Schott had arranged two tables facing each other, allowing everyone to sit close and interact easier. Lucy and Peter exchanged excited looks and let themselves fall into neighboring seats; Lucy next to Sabrina with whom she started a lively conversation about the summer break.
Class went by pretty fast, mostly the usual administrative stuff in the beginning of the year, but Mr Schott – no, Brian, as they were allowed to call him – asked them about any personal projects or interests they'd like to investigate. Lucy already loved him and from his excited expression, she could tell Peter felt the same way. At least one class wouldn't be boring.
AP US History was next and the two were reunited with Wanda who had been equally blown away by Psychology – good for her, Lucy thought. She joined Olivia afterwards for the Economics course (where she had to content with Harry as well) before meeting up with Peter again for College Physics. This was one class both were pretty interested in. They'd exhausted all AP Physics courses – not something normal as most teachers pointed out – and together with six others, all of whom slight geniuses or incredibly hard-working, Columbia offered them a "rigorous academic experience beyond the high school level". Bozhe moi.
The atmosphere was notably different as they entered, because Mrs Buckley was already standing at the door, showing them their assigned seats. Like in second grade. Lucy could barely keep a snicker in but thankfully her seat was right next to Peter's, so she wasn't terribly upset. That all changed when her teacher moved on to a PowerPoint presentation of the classroom rules though.
The first one was already fantastic. 'Go immediately to your assigned seat' and 'You are to sit at a 90 degree angle to your desk with your feet on the floor and good posture (spine straight)'; Lucy's mouth dropped open and she exchanged an incredulous look with Peter. This wasn't physics class, that sounded like boot camp – and it continued exactly in the same way.
'Students are to show respect at all times and in all manners toward themselves, others, and staff. This includes all verbal and non-verbal forms of communication including body language, facial expression and tone of voice' made Lucy almost whisper something to Peter but she caught herself in time and decided she didn't want to start the year off with a negative impression within the first five minutes. She was almost ok with the usual 'no gum, no food, no make-up, no electronics' but of course, it got worse again.
'I do not argue with students. If you are told to move your seat or given any other direction you are to do so immediately and without complaint. If you feel this or any other direction is unreasonable you may arrange to discuss it with your counselor or arrange a parent conference on your own time. Otherwise, follow all directions immediately and without complaining'. After that rule, Lucy seriously began to wonder if Mrs Buckley had went through the Red Room or at the very least attended the same parenting classes as Nat. But where she'd accept these rules from her mamochka, they'd definitely would lead to issues where her Physics teacher was concerned. On the other hand – thinking about Natasha – she'd probably get nowhere complaining about it. Why did she have to be saddled with all the strict ones?
'I do not give warnings. This is your warning. Any violation of these rules will be met immediately with a 15-minute detention to be served immediately during lunch or after school and/or other consequences such as copying the rules, parent conference, meeting with the Dean or suspension from school.' Sure, Lucy thought sarcastically, that seemed reasonable. She threw Peter another look who at this point wore an almost panicked expression on his face. To her, annoyance was the most prevalent emotion. The fact that she probably wouldn't run into many difficulties in this class in addition to her general contempt for authority that seemed senseless made her urge to break those damn rules just for the sake of it greater and greater.
Finally, Mrs Buckley was done, and the rest of the time was spent going over the curriculum, books and all other expectations – of course, on an insanely high level. After they'd left the classroom – quietly and calmly as required – there was still a shocked silence until they walked around the corner and Lucy could finally let out a groan and roll her eyes.
"That woman is insane."
"Sit at a 90 degree angle?" Peter mocked. "And obey immediately without complaint? Is this physics class or boot camp?"
Lucy shook her head in frustration. "All those crap rules are just tempting me to break them."
Peter looked at her in disbelief. "Not even you're ballsy enough for that."
"But you're forgetting something," Lucy grinned. "I don't have balls, I have ovaries."
Rolling his eyes, Peter disappeared into his Spanish class, while Lucy, still grinning, walked into her College Latin course.
The other students, Lucy also already knew but there were few scientists; herself and Leonard who was an aspiring medicine student. Most of the others were languages and humanities focused – she was aware that Jemma was interested in philosophy and Beverly wanted to go into linguistics. Lucy also really like Mrs Meyer – she looked very comfortable with her tweed blazer and elbow patches and her enthusiasm for Latin and the authors they'd be studying was infectious.
During lunch, Lucy beelined towards the cafeteria and found Wanda and Peter already seated at one of the round tables. They exchanged stories –Lucy and Peter venting their annoyance about physics and Wanda buzzing with excitement over all her classes, now that she started out at the same level as everyone else.
College Math went by pretty uneventfully and as expected and finally, Lucy sat down for her final course, AP Government and Politics. She was joined by Liv who agreed with the blonde that their teacher was pretty cool – he was engaging, definitely not stuffy and again, super excited to teach them. All in all, the year seemed to start out well – with the exception of physics, but at least she wasn't alone in her suffering.
That night during dinner, they told the family and Lucy managed to elicit a smile from Natasha when she mimicked Mrs Buckley presenting the rules. Nevertheless, she could tell that Nat wasn't pitying her – if she was a teacher, she'd probably expect the same. Lucy was glad that that wasn't a reality.
###
"I've also corrected the multiple-choice tests you completed over the summer," Mr Blockus ended the lesson and Lucy sighed.
She took US History because the school said she needed to – they thought she was too focused on the sciences. No shit, that was what she was good at and what she planned to do in the future. To her, there was no point in putting any more effort than what was needed to pass. Sure, she'd made sure the exam was good, but she wouldn't have to actually work in class for it.
Mr Blockus continued. "Since you completed this at home with the book, most of them turned out very good."
He started making the rounds, handing everyone a piece of paper and finally came to Lucy's desk. She couldn't decipher the look he gave her.
"I'd like to talk to you after class please, Lucy," he said in a conversational tone, but Lucy felt he wasn't happy.
She realized why when she looked down on her paper and saw the red 'D' staring back at her. Whatever, she didn't fail.
Class was over soon after and Lucy took her time taking her things and strolling up the teacher's desk at the front of the class. Mr Blockus was awaiting her with that same stone-faced expression and kept it as he started talking.
"Lucy, you got one of the worst grades in the class and that's quite unusual for you."
She knew he was watching her but she was determined to keep her eyes glued to the desk and she could hear him sigh and continue when it became clear she wasn't going to say anything.
"You don't complete sixteen AP courses and take four college courses in high school without being a little bright. I also know that you didn't put any effort into this assignment and that's not a great start to the year."
Lucy took a deep breath and tried to keep her facial features under control, but she couldn't help an annoyed glance towards the side and for a defiant expression to settle on her face.
Mr Blockus seemed to have noticed and he hardened his tone slightly. "I know that you don't like the social sciences and they don't come as easy to you as physics but it's important that we challenge ourselves. And you never know, you might actually learn something useful in this course."
He regarded her intently, trying to see if his words got through but Lucy wasn't having it. She took another breath and crossed her arms in front of her, still avoiding his gaze.
"But I'll tell you something: Until I can see that you put effort in, that you put your best work forward, I'll keep giving you D's." At that, Lucy's eyes shot up, meeting his with an incredulous look. He couldn't be serious!
Mr Blockus seemed pleased to finally have gotten her attention. "I'm giving you a chance. The others have to complete the first paragraph for two of the questions as homework, but I want you to write the entire essays instead."
Lucy's mouth dropped open in shock but before she could start protesting, he continued.
"It takes you probably as long to do that, as it takes some of the others to do their own small exercise. Show me that you can put the effort in. Show me that you can work hard on something that might not come as easily to you as science – although it's still a lot easier for you than for the others." He was completely calm as he delivered the words, but Lucy grew angry.
She didn't know what she could answer because anything she'd say would only get her in trouble for disrespect. Instead, she settled for taking another breath and scowling.
Mr Blockus seemed to have realized that he wasn't going to get any kind of response, so he just nodded. "Two essays on Friday."
This seemed like she was dismissed, so Lucy turned on her heal and walked out, fuming and hoping she'd make it far enough so he couldn't hear her complaints.
###
"I can't believe it's the second day and they've already got it out for me!" With a huff, Lucy flung her backpack onto an empty chair.
Nat and Tony, both seated at the dining table, looked up and closed the files they'd been reviewing as the three teenagers entered the floor.
Wanda walked past the table, setting her bag on a chair – softly – and grabbed a soda out of the fridge.
"She's been complaining non-stop since lunch," the witch rolled her eyes, earning a venomous glare from the blonde.
Peter had already stuffed half a piece of pie into his mouth. "It's really not that big a deal," he mumbled barely comprehensible.
Nat looked up at Lucy, who had set her face in a defiant expression, with a knowing look. "You're not by any chance talking about your history class?"
Lucy threw her a pained look, a horrible idea already forming in her mind.
"I got an interesting call from Mr Blockus today." She fixed her stern glance on the younger woman who sighed and looked to the side.
"He told me you got a 'D' on your very first assignment – that you completed at home."
Lucy could tell from Natasha's tone that she wasn't in a flippant mood, but she was still so annoyed with her teacher – calling her parent?! – that she couldn't keep control of her facial features. She was well aware that rolling her eyes and evidently showing no interest in the conversation wasn't an intelligent thing to do.
As soon as Nat saw, her expression and tone hardened. "Alright, we're doing this here then."
Lucy really should've known.
"You are showing me very clearly right now, that you don't care. And you know well enough that that's not ok. You will work to the best of your abilities in all of your classes, not just the ones that come easy to you."
"Maybe that was the best of my abilities?" Lucy challenged the redhead and immediately regretted it when she saw Nat's stern expression. She swallowed hard and looked down onto the table.
"You and I both know that's not true," her mentor responded in a calm tone, but Lucy wasn't fooled. "These subjects are outside your comfort zone but that's the point. That's how you grow and develop self-discipline."
"But he's making me do two essays when the others have to do two paragraphs!" Lucy whined, still not caring that it probably wouldn't help her cause – at all. "It's not fair!"
"Here's a hard fact for you," Nat immediately countered in a tone that held a clear warning to Lucy to stop the complaints, "life's not fair. Do you think it's fair that you were able to do postgraduate engineering at ten? But you're still reaping the benefits of it. Mr Blockus is smart enough to recognize your potential and ensure that you won't get bored. Because we both know where a bored you leads to."
Natasha let her last statement hang and Lucy wasn't able to refute any of it. Of course, she was right, but that the consequence of it was more work was just… argh, it just wasn't fair. Not wanting to admit that to Nat but also feeling like she couldn't argue against any of it, Lucy just kept silent, only her facial features relaxing slightly.
"I think your teacher is completely justified in assigning you more work," Nat continued, her eyes still fixated on the girl in front of her, refusing to meet her eyes. "I don't want to see a 'D' again and I don't want to receive a phone call like that, do we have an understanding?"
Her tone was pretty unmistakable, so Lucy forced her eyes up and responded with a quiet 'yes' before sighing again.
"You're not the only one suffering under the extra genius workload," Tony quipped with a small, encouraging smile from the other side of the table. "It won't be as bad as you imagine right now."
"I hope so," Lucy responded darkly, before Wanda walked past her, taking her arm and pulling her towards the elevator.
"Come on, grumpy," she teased the other girl. "You gotta help me with my math homework."
With that, the two girls disappeared, and Nat took a deep breath as she watched her daughter exit the floor. Fantastic start to the year – but maybe, now that she'd laid down the law, things would go smoothly for the rest… one could dream.
Tony focused his own eyes on the spider who'd plopped down in the chair beside him. "You don't have any homework to do?"
Peter shook his head no. "Math and CS were just review and I'm doing Physics with the grumpy birdy on the weekend."
"You call her that to her face?" Tony asked the spider with a huge grin, to which he only shook his head with a terrified expression.
"Heck no, and if you ever tell her I said that, I'll deny it. She's really scary." Getting up, he continued, "is Bruce in the lab?"
When he got a positive response, he mumbled something about working on the web fluid before disappearing towards the labs.
Tony turned to Nat who'd been watching their interaction with a grin on her face.
"You think turning your kid into as scary a person as you are is funny, huh?"
"Kinda, yeah," the spy responded with a proud expression. "If she's now gonna take all her classes seriously, I'll be ecstatic."
"She will," Tony sighed. "Believe me, it's not easy for us gifted people out in the world. Everyone expects so much," he complained in a faux-weary tone.
"You poor, rich genius," Nat cooed, while eyeing him with an exasperated look. "If you breathe that to Lucy, you'll regret it."
Tony nodded in earnest but had to laugh as Nat's face broke into a smile. It was nice to remember that their superpowered, genius level kids were sometimes just that – kids.
With a sigh, Nat turned back to the file they'd been going over, hoping she'd be able to finish her planning with Tony before dinner. The kids would be training with Rhodey and Sam today, so she had an entire afternoon free to work on cracking the next case in front of them. They were still trying to make headway on the Rutherford's assassination and slowly but surely a picture started to emerge. She wouldn't tell Lucy about it though – not yet. She trusted her kid but not her impulsivity where that topic was concerned. Reckless actions were the last thing needed at this junction but eventually, Lucy could know. Just not yet.
###
The students were emptying out of the classroom and Lucy stalled, not wanting an audience for what came next. When it was only her and Mr Blockus who was collecting and putting papers into a leather satchel, she took a deep breath and walked up to him, reaching out a paper to him as she reached his desk.
Her teacher looked up expectantly and took the paper from her hand.
"I thought you might wanna get a head start on grading this," Lucy explained which brought a small smile on his face. Taking in another breath and focusing to keep his gaze, she continued.
"I wanted to apologize. I'm sorry I was so rude yesterday and just walked off." She stocked. "You were right, I didn't try – at all. But I promise that's gonna change."
Mr Blockus gave her a small nod and another smile. "Thank you, Lucy, and I know you will. I'm very interested to see what you wrote here." He waved the essay a little before putting it with his other papers.
Glad she got it over with, Lucy said goodbye and saw herself out of the room, but not without her own smile.