Celia smoothed down the skirt of her dress, staring at herself in the mirror. She tried not to compare herself to the girl she'd had to pretend to be while she was a teenager. Nothing too short or tight or revealing. Couldn't give anyone the wrong idea and bring judgement onto the family. This outfit wasn't wild by any means, but it was a lot different than anything else she'd ever worn.

The day before, Pepper had made good on her promise of a girl day. They'd gone to brunch, then she'd joined Pepper on a few surprise errands that popped up. There was a bit of window shopping and a trip to a salon, where they got manicures and Celia got the first professional haircut of her life. It was just a trim, but it was still an experience. Her mom had always cut her hair, then she'd done it herself.

Throughout everything, Celia never felt out of place. Pepper wasn't anything like what she assumed someone in her position to be. You could tell she knew how to get things done and lay down the law, but in her down time, she was laid back and relaxed. And it was nice to spend time with someone who didn't know her story, or at least was a good enough actor to pretend like she didn't. Celia was just a woman living in her tower, and that was refreshing.

But now it was time to finish getting ready for the party. She was wearing a sleek black dress with a pencil skirt that landed just above her knees. The top had a sweetheart neckline, but with a short sleeved lace overlay. Jarvis was a very good stylist. She rounded out the look with a pair of black pumps Pepper had picked out for her. Celia had been leaning toward something with a shorter heel, but Pepper convinced her to go with something a bit taller. She said it helped her feel powerful to look people in the eye during things like this, so Celia was slipping on a pair of four inch heels. She needed all the help she could get tonight.

Celia gave herself one last look in the mirror then left to join Pepper in the other room. The party was starting soon and it was time for hair and makeup. Pepper said she was bringing up someone to do it for her, which was the right move. Ponytail or bun, her default looks, were probably not appropriate for this sort of event.

"Oh Celia, you look great!" Pepper said as soon as she stepped into the room. She was wearing a floor length royal purple gown, with a tasteful amount of sparkle. It was like something off a runway, which it probably was. Her hair was wavy and pinned to one side, held back by a jewel encrusted bauble.

"No, you look amazing," Celia said in awe. Tony was an idiot if he messed things up with her.

"How about we agree that we both look good?" Pepper suggested, fastening a pair of diamond earrings. "The beautician should be here any minute."

"You don't actually have to call me that," Clint chuckled, walking into the room in a tux and carrying a bag of supplies.

"Uh-"

"I had a mission a few years back where I had to go undercover in a salon. Took a few classes to be able to fit in better and found I had a knack for it. I do Natasha's makeup sometimes when she doesn't feel like it," Clint explained, laying out an array of brushes on a table.

"That's amazing," Celia grinned. Was there anything someone on this team couldn't do?

"So what are we going for here? Something avant-garde? Glitter? Goth princess?" Clint asked, twirling an eye pencil between his fingers.

"Uh-"

"I was thinking of something simple. Perhaps a winged liner and pink lip?" Pepper suggested.

"And the hair?"

"I like the natural curl, so maybe clean it up a little and pin it up in the back? I'd hate to cover up all that great lace detail," Pepper said, rubbing at her chin in contemplation. "How does that sound?"

"Uh-"

"Great! Let's get started. We're meeting everyone on the common floor before we head down for drinks," Pepper declared, guiding her into a seat in front of a big mirror. Clint immediately got to work, sectioning out her hair and clipping it up in a complicated way.

"You ever wear makeup?" Clint asked, shielding her eyes as he sprayed her hair.

"It wasn't really allowed when I was growing up. And then after, it didn't seem important enough to spend money on," Celia replied, watching her transformation in the mirror.

"Are you telling me you've never worn makeup?" Clint questioned, looking at her in a little bit of shock.

"Now, I didn't say that," Celia chuckled. "On the rare times I was able to sleep over at a friend's house, we'd mess around with it a little. And one of the women I helped was in cosmetology school and I'd let her practice on me. Those were some interesting looks, let me tell you."

"Sounds like a good time," Clint murmured, kneeling down to line her eyes. He was very precise, thanks to all of his training. Normally Celia would be antsy having someone doing something this close to her eye, but she trusted the steadiness of Clint's hand. "You'll have to let me do something more fun next time. Natasha never lets me use color."

"Next time? I hope you don't mean another one of these parties," Celia snorted. They hadn't even gone yet and she was already ready to leave.

"You should probably get used to them," Pepper admitted, swiping on a layer of nude lipstick.

"Think you can shoot an arrow into anyone who bothers me?" Celia asked, only half joking.

"Tony kind of frowns on me bringing my quiver to these things, but Natasha always has some sort of weapon on her, so I'm sure she'd be happy to take care of any problems that pop up," Clint chuckled, brushing on a light dusting of blush on her cheeks. "All done. Gosh, I'm a genius." Celia laughed, moving closer to the mirror to give herself a final once over. She could admit she looked more polished and put together than she had in years. It wasn't a crazy difference, but it looked nice.

"Thank you," Celia said, accepting Clint's hand up from the chair.

"Are we ready to meet up with everyone?" Pepper asked, slipping on her shoes.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Celia sighed, letting Pepper lead the way to the elevators. This was going to be a long night.


Steve batted Tony's hands away for what seemed like the fifth time in two minutes. The man was adamant that there was a better way to tie a bow tie these days, but Steve was sticking with his tried and true method. Why mess with something that wasn't broken?

He was anxious to get to the party, since the sooner they went, the sooner it would be over. This was the third party he'd had to go to since he moved into the tower and they were all miserable. He much preferred quiet nights with the team. At least the general public still didn't know who he was. Steve suspected that more people in the tower knew his identity than he would've liked, but so far there hadn't been a big scandal in a newspaper about it. The fact that he was just going to be a face in the crowd at this thing was the only thing that made going bearable. Well, not the only thing.

Steve could admit that he was a little interested to see Celia all dolled up. It wasn't as if he had a problem with what she normally wore, but it was always fun to see how people looked when they made an effort to be fancy. Steve enjoyed seeing every member of the team dressed up, from Bruce's suit to Natasha's fiery red dress. His tux wasn't the most comfortable thing he'd worn, but after years of tight Captain America suits, he was used to anything.

"Ms. Potts, Mr. Barton, and Ms. Burke are on their way," Jarvis announced. Steve immediately perked up, moving casually to a spot he'd be able to see the elevator more easily. He'd barely seen Celia at all the past few days, so he wanted to make sure he had a chance to talk to her before they were thrown into the lion's den. She'd been so nervous about the whole thing, so he wanted to give her some last minute words of encouragement.

Pepper was the first person off the elevator and while she looked great, she wasn't who he wanted to see. Clint was off next, looking fine as well. Steve craned his neck to the side to see around him and barely registered the music that suddenly started playing over the speakers as he finally caught sight of Celia.

She looked beautiful, with her black dress and curled hair. She was looking down at first when she came into the room, but then she looked up and made eye contact with him. Steve couldn't stop the goofy grin from spreading across his face as they stared at each other for a few moments.

"What is this music?" Bruce wondered, staring at Tony in confusion.

"Kiss Me by Sixpence. It's a classic," Tony replied.

"But why?" Bruce questioned.

"Just be quiet and you'll see," Tony waved off. Steve was curious as well, but knew better than to bother asking about it. Tony would let everyone know soon enough. About a minute later the song ended and they all waited for the explanation.

"So?" Bruce prodded. Tony grinned, raising a glass of champagne in Celia's direction.

"Congratulations. You just got your first slow-motion entrance," Tony smirked, openly laughing when Celia rolled her eyes.

"What's that mean?" Steve asked, looking around at everyone for the answer.

"Just a reference to a shitty movie," Celia scoffed, walking over to accept her own glass. She grabbed a second one and handed it to Steve.

"A shitty movie? It's a classic!" Tony gasped in mock horror.

"The lead is cute, but that's all it really has going for it," Celia snorted, turning away from Tony as he went on a tangent about the movie preferences of the people in the tower. "You look great. Very dapper."

"You- wow," Steve breathed out.

"Jarvis picked it out. Who knew that he was a stylist as well?" Celia laughed, running her hand along the soft material. "It looks okay, right? Like I'm a professional and know what I'm doing?"

"I would trust whatever you told me," Steve replied, skimming his fingers across a curl that was hanging by her neck.

"Hey, hands off the merchandise!" Clint warned, pointing a finger in his direction. "Don't mess up her hair before we even get to the party. I worked hard on it."

"What?" Steve asked, snatching his hand back.

"Lots of surprise talents around here," Celia chuckled. "So, can I get some of that patented Steve Rogers reassurance? Tell me that this will go well and I'm nervous for no reason?"

"I'm sure everyone will be so busy with Tony that they won't pay attention to anyone else," Steve said. "But even if they do, I know you'll do great. After everything you've been through, this will be nothing." Celia stared up at him with a look of appreciation in her eyes. He was about to say more, just to try to keep that look on her face, but Tony interrupted.

"Okay all, let's get this show on the road. I've got money to talk people into giving me," Tony declared, finishing his drink and downing the rest of Pepper's for good measure.

"Don't let me get into too much trouble," Celia whispered, setting down her empty glass. Steve held out his elbow for Celia to link up with, tipping his head to speak softly in her ear.

"Don't worry, I've got your back."