"Pssst."

Lainey furrowed her eyebrows and looked in the direction of the noise.

Gale Lewis had been the one calling her from a few desks down. Now don't get Lainey wrong, she was a friendly kid, but the fact that Gale was trying to get her attention, struck her as strange. The two almost never spoke, except to say hello in passing.

Gale smiled at her and passed down a folded piece of looseleaf paper, watching as Lainey opened it up and read the note.

Want to meet a couple of friends and I at the park after school? She read.

I have plans with Sarah after school. Is what she wrote in response before sending it back.

She wouldn't mind hanging out with Gale, but one, she had plans and two, she wanted to know why she was taking a sudden interest in her.

The piece of paper landing on her desk interrupted her thoughts. She said she'd come if you did.

Lainey shrugged and looked at Gale, giving her a thumbs up, indicating that she had accepted the invitation and she would go, pushing down that feeling of unease bubbling in the pit of her stomach.

She could have fun, couldn't she?

"Did you text your m…...guardian?" Sarah asked Lainey as the two walked to the park. The mid-spring breeze flew through their hair as they walked in opposition of the way it blew.

"Yeah, she said it was okay as long as I'm home before dark." Lainey ignored her friend's slip-up. "I texted Peter too, so he knows not to wait for me."

The last thing she wanted was an angry Peter calling her nonstop, beside himself with worry. He may look timid and quiet, but he could be a force to be reckoned with.

"Do you know anything about Gale and her friends?" Lainey asked suddenly.

"Yeah, they're good people, if that's what you're asking." Sarah answered her as they crossed the street. "They do really well in school and they stay out of trouble as much as possible. At least, that's what I heard."

That answer still wasn't enough for Lainey, but against her better judgement, she continued to walk with Sarah until they finally reached their destination. She hoped that she was overreacting, but deep down she knew she wasn't. Something was off about Gale and her friends.

"Hi guys." Gale smiled as they made their way towards her and her friends.

Lainey looked at Gale's friends and saw that they were at least three years older than them. They were dressed in shorts and crop tops with vulgar message written across them. There was nothing wrong with the crop tops, or the shorts, but Lainey knew that if she even looked at something that has a message so vulgar with the intent to wear it, Natasha would murder her and make it look like an accident.

"Guys, these are a couple of friends of mine. Lainey and Sarah." Gale introduced everyone. "Lainey, Sarah. This is Sam, Jane, and Marie."

"Hi." Sarah smiled as the three nodded in her direction. She was trying to make a good impression.

But apparently living with Earth's Mightiest Heroes, eradicated Lainey's ability to care about making a good first impression. "Aren't you cold?" She blurted before her mind could catch up with her mouth.

Sarah's jaw nearly dropped and tension rapidly filled the air.

Sam, Jane, and Marie scrutinized Lainey, who was unmoving, before looking at each other and back at Lainey with identical smiles on their faces.

"We try to ignore it." Marie answered, the tension leaving the air as quickly as it came. "I like you kid, you're unapologetic."

"Anyway." Jane interjected. "That's not we're here for today." She smirked and pulled a box of cigarettes from her Doc Martens.

And as hard as the wind was blowing, Lainey felt like she couldn't get enough air to breathe. Her heart dropped straight down to her stomach and her palms grew sweaty. Her breath quickened as Jane offered everyone a cigarette. Her body tensed and all she could do was stare at the opened box in front of her.

"Well? Aren't you going to take one?" The older girl snapped her out of her daze.

"…...I don't think that's such a good idea." Lainey found her voice.

"How old are you kid?" Marie asked.

"Just turned twelve." Lainey shrugged uncomfortably.

"I thought she was older." Sam furrowed her eyebrows. "We can't give cigarettes to a little kid."

"She isn't a little kid." Jane rolled her eyes. "She's just young. You have to start somewhere." She smiled and lit her cigarette, along with everyone else's, still holding the box out to Lainey.

Lainey shook her head, again, refusing to do something she knew was wrong.

'Eh well, why don't you hold onto this." Jane handed her the entire pack along with a lighter. "Whenever you feel ready, just take one out and smoke."

Lainey looked at the pack of cigarettes in her hand as if they were the plague. She felt as if she was doing something wrong just by holding them.

But curiosity got the better of her, and she pulled a cigarette out of the pack, examining it as if she had never seen one before, and shoving it back in. As much as her mother drank, she never smoked. She used to say the combination didn't sit well with her.

Whatever that meant.

"You just wasted a good pack of cigarettes. Those were Marlboros!" Gale rolled her eyes so hard that Lainey thought they might get stuck in her brain if she continued.

"I'll get us some more. Lainey and Sarah can come too if they want to." Jane shrugged, not really caring that she had practically just threw a pack of cigarettes away.

It wasn't her money anyway, it was her mother's.

Her mother always had cigarettes lying around the house. She was a chronic smoker and she didn't care whether or not Jane smoked.

She felt as if she would be a hypocrite if she tried to stop Jane from smoking while she spent most of her days lighting up her cigarettes.

"What do you want to do Lainey?" Sarah asked her friend.

"I don't know."

That was a lie.

Lainey knew exactly what she wanted to do. She wanted to go home and forget all of this ever happened.

But she didn't want to seem childish either.

She was already the youngest at home and the youngest in all her classes and probably the youngest at her school! She didn't want to keep reminding people of the fact.

She also knew that you needed to be a certain age to even walk into a store and buy cigarettes. None of them were even close to eighteen.

This was illegal.

If she got caught, she'd probably go to jail.

But jail was safe, an angry Natasha wasn't.

"Let's go." She sighed, pushing aside all her reasonable thoughts.

She knew she wasn't making the right decision, but maybe it would all end up okay anyway.

The walk to the local Bodega seemed like it was miles long, even though the place was only a couple of blocks away.

With every step, Lainey's body grew heavier and heavier, until she felt like she was dragging a piece of lead around.

She couldn't even try to enjoy doing something rebellious, because she couldn't help but think of what Natasha would think of her or what she would say.

Lainey knew she would be disappointed, that's for sure. Here she was doing something she didn't want to do—something she knew was wrong, and for what? To fit in? To have a little fun?

This was stupid! She couldn't even pinpoint the exact reason why she was really doing this.

"You look tense." Marie threw an arm around her shoulder, pulling her away from her own mind., holding a lit cigarette out to her.

"I have a whole pack in my pocket…..." Lainey gently pushed the item away from her, in an attempt to regain some control. "I don't need it."

"We're going to buy some more anyway." Gale shrugged, not at all caring about the loss of cigarettes anymore. "Just try it, it'll help relax you, I promise."

Well if it would get them, to leave her alone…...It couldn't be that bad, could it?

Lainey allowed the cigarette to enter her mouth and inhaled sharply.

Big mistake.

The smoke entered her lungs and filled them with a burning sensation that she couldn't get rid of no matter how much she coughed.

Her eyes watered and her diaphragm contracted and released, doing its best to grasp the air for any tiny bit of oxygen.

"You're not supposed to inhale on the first try, geez!" Marie rubbed her back, trying to help her.

"Here, let me try." Sam rolled her eyes. "Lainey, lift your arms up."

Lainey did as she was told as was surprised when the coughing spell finally passed. She really didn't think it would. "Thanks." Her raspy voice escaped her throat.

"Are you okay?" Sarah asked, concern etched all over her face.

She was beginning to think that this wasn't such a good idea.

"Yeah." Lainey cleared her throat. "I'm fine. Can we go in now?"

"Sure, just keep your head low and don't draw any attention to yourself." Jane instructed as they stepped in.

Lainey just occupied herself by looking around the store, trying to act like she had no clue what was going on.

She became so distracted by the different kinds of chips and cakes that she didn't even notice when a few cops strolled in.

But she she sure did notice when they told everyone to stop what they were doing and freeze.

Only she didn't freeze.

She ran.

She moved so fast that she knocked down an entire shelf, causing all the potato chips to crash onto the floor, leaving behind a huge mess.

She didn't care, she wasn't getting arrested today.

She ignored the stitch in her side and kept running, trying to lose the cops that were tailing her. The wind whipped through her long, curly locks as she nearly tripped over her own feet, trying to cross the busy intersection, ignoring the honking horns of the cars that nearly hit her.

Her ears picked up the sirens of the squad cars as the officers figured out that the twelve year old was just too quick and slippery to catch on foot.

Rubber burned pavement and shoes slapped concrete as the chase became more intense.

Lainey bumped into anyone who couldn't get out of her way fast enough, clearly angering a few mothers.

Luckily for her, the Tower wasn't but a few feet away, so she kept ducking under arms and crawled between a few legs, finally making it through the front door.

"Good evening Little Romanoff, you are late for dinner. I have alerted Ms. Romanoff of your arrival." F.R.I.D.A.Y. spoke once Lainey hopped in the elevator, frantically pushing the button for her floor so the door would close.

Lainey wiped the sweat from her brow and collapsed against the wall, thinking about what excuse she was going to come up with for being late.

She certainly wasn't going to tell the truth.

How could she? She did everything wrong!

"You're late." Was the greeting she got from Natasha as she came through the door.

"Sorry." It was all she could say, placing her bag by the door.

"Did anything happen that you want to tell me about?"

"What do you mean?" Lainey's eyes widened at the question, sitting down at the island in the kitchen.

"Nothing." Natasha smiled, but there was something behind it that made Lainey nervous. "I'm just asking you a question."

Natasha never just asked questions. She wanted information.

She knew something.

"Are you hungry? Or did you eat with your friends?" The redhead asked, walking to the fridge.

"I'm hungry…...we didn't have time to eat."

Natasha eyed her suspiciously before she dug out some food and stuck it in the microwave. She wondered how long it would take Lainey to admit that something was up.

"How's Sarah?"

"She's okay." That was a lie. She didn't know how Sarah was, because as soon as the cops came, she ran out without looking back.

"Are you sure?" Natasha questioned. "I mean, I heard that she's pretty shaken up. Everything went up in smoke."

"Huh?" Lainey nearly choked on the air in the room.

"Yeah, her mother called me and told me something about Sarah coming home, smelling like cigarettes. I'm just wondering if you know anything about that, because I would hate to think that you went out and did exactly what I told you not to do and then, came home and acted like nothing ever happened." The Russian made no room for Lainey to shrink away from her. "That would really disappoint me."

That was it. That was all she needed to say for Lainey to finally crack.

If there was one thing she didn't want, it was for Natasha to be disappointed in her.

She had done too much for her to let her down.

"Natasha?"

"Yes?"

"I have something to tell you."

"Oh?" Natasha took the food out of the microwave and set it in front of the preteen with a fork. "Go ahead."

"Before I tell you, can you promise me something?"

"Depends. What is it?"

"You can't get mad when I tell you."

"I can't promise you that and I'm not going to promise you that. But I will promise you that as bad as you think this is, I'm not going to kick you out. We'll figure this out together."

"Okay...…Sarah and I hung out with some friends and they smoke."

"Interesting." Natasha tried to keep her face as neutral as possible. "Did you smoke?"

"Yes." Lainey dug into her pocket and handed her guardian the pack of cigarettes and the lighter that were given to her hours before. "Here. I didn't smoke from this pack."

Natasha opened the pack and found all twenty sticks in the box, and sighed in relief.

At least she knew the kid hadn't picked up the awful habit.

"How many did you smoke?"

"Not even one...…I inhaled and I choked on the smoke."

If this scenario wasn't so serious, Natasha would've laughed. Lainey was such a good kid that she couldn't even try to be rebellious.

"Serves you right." Was what she said instead. "You had no business doing what you did today. Why did you smoke?"

"You want to know why?"

"Of course I do."

"I didn't want to do it, but Marie told me that it would calm me down and she wouldn't keep it out of my face, so I took a little puff. I knew it was wrong, but I did it anyway…...I'm sorry."

"We'll figure it out." Natasha reiterated. "Is there anything else that happened?"

"Yes…...we went into a Bodega to get another pack, but I didn't plan on helping! I just went!" Lainey made sure she made that point clear. "Then the police came and I ran all the way here with them chasing me."

Natasha rolled her eyes. This kid didn't get into trouble very often, but when she did, she went to town with it. What was she supposed to do with this information? She was so new to this parenting thing and she didn't want to screw anything up, but at the same time, she couldn't let Lainey get away with something like this.

She was going to have to talk to her about this calmly and rationally.

"Lainey, do you know how dangerous it is to smoke?" She asked, thinking that it was a great way to start her lecture.

"Yes." Lainey fiddled with a loose thread on her sweater.

"Do you really? Natasha questioned. "Because I don't think you do. If you did, you wouldn't have done what you did today."

"But I do!" Lainey insisted. "The nicotine is addicting and the smoke damages your lungs and other things in your body, which is why you shouldn't do it, but I didn't want them to think I was a little kid, so I did!"

There it was.

It was insecurity that drove her to do the wrong thing. That almost changed things.

Almost.

"Lainey, I'm going to tell you something, and you need to listen to me. Okay?"

"Okay." Lainey huffed.

"You are twelve years old, but you've been through a whole lot more than some of the kids in your class ever will. You came out of that so bravely and confidently, why are you so worried about the way people, you don't even know and don't know you, view you?"

"I don't know...…I guess, I'm just tired of people looking at me differently, like I'm some baby that needs protecting. I just wanted to be equal."

"When the police were chasing you, what was the first thing that came to mind?"

"I wanted to run." Lainey's eyebrows furrowed, confused about the change in subject.

"Why?"

"Because I thought I was going to get arrested and put in jail."

"So you didn't think you were safe?"

"No."

"What was the first place you thought of running to?"

"Here."

"Why?"

"Because you're here."

"And you know I would never let anything happen to you." Natasha drove the point home. "Everyone needs to feel safe and protected sometimes, there's nothing wrong with that. Don't try and change who you are, you'll run into trouble the same way you did today, maybe even worse. Always trust the little voice in you head that tells you when something is wrong."

"Okay. I really am sorry."

"I know, but you're grounded for a week. No electronics or hanging our with friends, although I really recommend you refrain from hanging out with those delinquents again."

"Okay."

"Come here." Natasha crooked a finger at her and waited for her to come into arms length before pulling her into her arms for a bear hug. "You're a good kid. You know that?"

"Even after this?"

"Even after this." Natasha confirmed. "Doing something wrong doesn't make you a bad person. What defines you is what you decide to do after. Will you continue to do the wrong thing and not care about how it affects everyone else, or will you learn from it and try to be a better person? That's the difference between a good and a bad person."

"Oh...…so then that means you're a good person too, because if you weren't, you'd still be out there doing bad things, but you're not. You're taking care of me and you're an Avenger."

"I guess we're a couple of good people, huh?" The Russian ruffled the child's hair.

Lainey just growled and tried to push her away to no avail, so she dug her fingers into the former assassin's sides and smirked evilly as the woman screeched and jerked away.

Lainey actually didn't know that she was ticklish, she just thought she'd try it no matter what reaction she got.

Who'd of thought the the Black Widow was ticklish?

"I'm going to kill you!" Natasha breathed out, trying to catch her breath.

"You're going to have to catch me first and if you do, I'll just tickle you again!"

And despite the awful day Lainey had and how long she was grounded for, Lainey couldn't think of a better way to live.

Right there in that Tower, surrounded by so many people that loved her.

A/N: Helllooooo! I'm back! Sorry for the very long unofficial hiatus! Writer's block is really getting to me and I had to literally force this one out! Despite that, I really hope that you enjoyed it. I won't be updating Behind These Shining Eyes until after the Black Widow movie comes out, because I want to see how I can incorporate Lainey into the mix. Soooooo, I decided to finally create this story of one shots! Requests are always open, so if there is something you would like to see, let me know!