Hello, loves! So happy you're all still here and the reviews are amazing, thank you!

I had a thought. I might put a line from the next chapter as a little teaser at the end of every chapter before. I'll do it at the end of this one and you guys let me know if you like it and want me to keep doing it.

Please, enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think!

Words: 4,935

Ada wasn't sure she'd ever have this decision to make. Not for years to come, at least. And she thought that the moment it was presented to her, she'd know the answer immediately. Turns out, she was wrong.

There's a party, some kind of fundraiser. Nathan had told her about it before pausing and asking if she wanted to come. He'd looked so unsure but Ada didn't pay his expression any mind because she'd been so shocked.

If asked that question a few weeks ago, she would've said 'no' without hesitation. But now...

She has yet to give her father an answer. Instead, she stares at the two clothing items in front of her in thought. It felt different, having the choice to go.

Grumbling, Ada pushes herself to her feet and grabs the two hangers holding separate dresses and walks out of her room.

Nathan is in his office. Unsurprisingly. The door is open and Ada walks inside without stopping to stand in front of his desk. "So," Clearing her throat, the teenager waits until her father looks up before removed the dresses from behind her back, holding one at each side. "Which one?"

Setting his pen down, Nathan cracks a small smile. This was her answer. It makes him feel much better than he thought it would that she's choosing to come with him. "Your mother always loved red."

Dropping her arms, Ada turns to look at the red dress. She hadn't worn this one before. She usually didn't care what she wore. Tonight she did. "Red it is," Ada nods once in approval behind her.

Nathan nods before his head drops and he focuses once more on what he was doing.

"Okay," Walking back to her room, Ada puts the dress she's not going to wear back into her closet before entering her bathroom to fix her hair. It's gotten so long. She kind of wants to cut it.

An hour later finds father and daughter leaving their home and heading down to the awaiting car. Another thirty-five minutes, give or take, has them both walking into a crowded room.

"Mind if we split up?" Ada asks her father as they walk deeper into the room, her eyes trailing up to his face. He looks like he wants to say no but he stops himself.

"Sure," He nods. "Just, check-in, okay?"

"Yeah," Ada agrees with a smile. "Thanks, dad." Letting go of his arm, Ada politely pushes her way through the people around her until she reaches her destination. "Well, if it isn't my favorite soon-to-be husband and wife."

Pepper and Tony spin around at the teenager's voice and they both smile down at her. "Ada, sweetie, it's great to see you."

"You too, Ms. Potts." Ada responds while accepting the woman's hug. "Are you going to change your name to Stark after the wedding? Or will you hyphenate? I'm sorry, that's personal, don't answer."

"Wow, okay, how much caffeine have you had today?" Tony asks with a chuckle while wrapping his arm around her shoulder in a half hug.

"None. Not that it's any of your business."

"Alright," Mr. Stark raises his hands slightly but smiles. "How are you doing, kiddo?"

"Good," Ada nods sincerely. "I chose to come tonight. And uh, dad's been great. We actually talk now. Like, civil conversations. So, that's nice. Weird, but nice." But he already knows these things from their texts. He acts like it's no big deal but Ada thinks if she didn't answer him, he'd just come see her in person. "I mean, he's still busy with work, but he actually makes time now. We watched a movie together the other night for the first time in...forever."

"Good," Tony says as his eyes scan the crowd and he adds offhandedly. "So, I heard something about a birthday?"

"Peter," Ada grumbles with a shake of her head and Pepper chuckles.

"What do you expect, kid? He can't keep his mouth shut for more than two seconds." Mr. Stark tells her but his words are fond. "Anyway, how old are you going to be again? Twelve?"

"Oh, that's very funny." Ada mumbles sarcastically, rolling her eyes with Tony's smile grows.

"Just ignore him," Pepper says as she places her arm over the girl's shoulders. "It's what I do most of the time."

"Hey!" Tony nearly shouts, placing a hand over his heart in mock pain. "Love you too, darling."

Laughing, Pepper shakes her head before moving to kiss his cheek. "Steve is here, by the way." The woman says suddenly, as if only now remembering.

"Cap?" Ada asks in surprise, her eyes scanning the room for the familiar head of blonde hair. "Why?"

"Don't look at me," Tony holds up the hand not wrapped around Pepper and raises his eyebrows. "Pep got him to come for some reason."

"Huh, maybe I'll go look for him."

"Yeah, probably save him from some boring conversation." Tony mumbles. Pepper squeezes his arm before leaving his side to go have a 'boring conversation' with someone a few feet away.

Ada opens her mouth to speak again but snaps her jaw shut when her eyes fall on the person approaching from behind Tony. Clearing her throat, the teenager sarcastically states. "This will be interesting." Upon Tony's confused looks, she nods behind him and he turns to look.

"Hey, dad," Ada mumbles a greeting with a small smile.

"Ada," Nathan nods to his daughter before turning to the man beside him. "Mr. Stark."

"Well, I'm gonna go," Ada says before they have the chance to say anything else. "Uh, play nice, please. I don't want to come back and find one of you with a broken nose." And with that, the dark-haired girl disappears into the crowd.

Gracefully maneuvering through all the people, Ada keeps an eye out for Steve. She doesn't pay any mind to anyone around her. She didn't want nor did she have to talk to them. It takes a while, but she soon comes across a familiar blonde. Just not the one she was looking for.

"Fancy seeing you here." Chris sees her before she can duck out of sight and Ada sighs. Of course, he was here.

"Not really the word I'd use." She mumbles in response, gaze still sweeping the room.

"Don't tell me you're still upset about what happened." Chris says as he leans on the wall next to her. Ada slowly turns her head towards him and glares. 'Still upset'. What an asshole. "Okay, so you are."

"Really? What gave it away?" Ada's rhetorical question only earns her a laugh. Much to her annoyance.

"You know, you get these lines between your eyebrows when you're mad," Chris tells her while pointing to his own forehead. "It's cute." Closing her eyes, Ada sighs while thanking whoever organized this event that they decided to make the room dark. She might die if Chris could see the heat rising in her cheeks. "I take it flattery won't work."

"Does it ever?"

"More than you'd think." Chris raises his brows but drops them quickly before pushing off the wall to stand next to her. "But, I like a challenge."

"Is that all relationships are to you?" Ada finally looks up at him. "Games?"

Shrugging, Chris slides his hands into his pants pockets. "Games are fun. What's life without a little fun?"

"Wow," Ada huffs to herself. "Um, are you, like, okay?" She turns to face him more, cocking her head to the side to look up at him.

Chris looks genuinely surprised by her question. Ada isn't sure she's ever seen such a true emotion on his face. But before he can answer, a new voice appears behind the girl. "Ada?"

Turning around, Ada smiles at the sight that greets her. "Stevie, hey."

"Pepper mentioned you were here."

"Yeah, I was looking for you." Ada nods and takes a step closer to him. "Figured you might need an out of some conversation or something."

Chuckling, Steve nods. "Can't deny that. Who's your friend?"

Looking over her shoulder at Chris, Ada hesitates just long enough for the boy himself to step forward. "Christopher Fletcher, sir, pleasure to meet you."

"You too, son," Steve smiles and shakes his hand while Ada resists the urge to roll her eyes.

"He was just leaving," She steps forward, angling herself between them.

"I was?" Chris asks while sending her a look.

"Yes, you were," Ada tells him sternly, her eyes boring into his until he gives a quiet laugh and holds his hands up.

"Guess I was," He says. "See you later." Backing up a few steps with a wave, Chris disappears behind some bulky man with a grey suit.

"So, hows your night going?" Ada questions Steve, hoping he would ignore what just happened.

"I'm sure you can guess," Steve says are they start a slow walk on the edge of the room. "You've been to more of these things than I have."

"Oh yes," Ada nods with a little chuckle. "Each one more boring than the last. But uh, they have their moments."

"Do they?"

"Sometimes." Shrugging, Ada clasps her hands together behind her back. She shouldn't have worn heels. Though, Steve is really tall compared to her, so they do help in that area. "I don't know how Ms. Potts does it."

"What?" Steve says in question to her mumbled statement.

"Heels," Ada responds in an annoyed grumble. "They're cute but not very practical."

"No, they don't seem like it," Steve responds while matching her stance. "Though, if you wear them more, Sam might stop calling you half-pint. And short stuff. Pipsqueak."

"Okay, okay, I get it," Ada chuckles, cutting him off. "Sam loves his nicknames. I think he called me babydoll once. That was odd."

"It's his way of showing he cares."

"Hmm, yes." Ada hums with a single nod. "He's like the annoying older brother I never had." Gaze sweeping over the floor, Ada stops in their slow walk when she sees the back of Nathan's head. "This was a good talk, Stevie, but I must leave you now. Maybe I'll catch you before I leave."

"You stopping by again soon?" Steve asks when she turns to him, his hands connected behind is back much like her own. "I heard your birthday was coming up."

"Does everyone know?" Ada throws her arms out in exacerbation.

"Yeah, I think so." Steve sighs and nods slowly. "See you later, kid."

"Bye, Steve," Carefully spinning on her heels, Ada marches through the room and to where she'd last seen her father who greets her with a smile when she reaches his side. Maybe tonight wasn't super interesting, but she's glad she came.

Grumbling, Ada stomps down the steps and into the back seat of the waiting car, closing the door behind her with more force than necessary.

"Good afternoon to you too." Peter greets her from the opposite seat and Ada sighs.

"Sorry," The teenager grumbles. "Chemistry sucks." At Peter's raised eyebrows, Ada continues. "I got a bad grade, dad wasn't happy." The slight narrowing of the boy's eyes didn't go unnoticed by her. "We didn't fight, just argued a bit. He's still letting me come on the promise that I'll get a tutor. Again."

"I can tutor you." Peter shrugs. Ada's gaze snaps to his face. "I mean, I've helped you with homework before."

"Huh," Ada hums. It was a much better idea than sitting with someone she barely knows, droning on and on about boring stuff that she can't understand. "Alright, bet."

Snorting, Peter bobs his head back and forth. "Alright." The rest of the ride to the compound was spent with both teenagers trying to get Happy to laugh at their stupid jokes.

"I swear, the cat is crazy." Ada continues to tell Peter about the cat living in the alley next to her apartment. She was cute, a little dirty, but evil.

"So you have something in common, then?" Gasping, Ada hits Peter's shoulder and the boys allows himself to be pushed away with a laugh. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding."

"Yeah, whatever. I don't blame her though, poor things gotta be mean to survive." Ada shrugs as they enter the building, backpacks thrown over both their shoulders. "I'm gonna buy some cat food for her."

"How do you even know it's a girl?"

"She's a calico. Calicos are only female." Ada informs him. "Although there have been males, it's rare."

"I'm not gonna ask how you know that." Peter mumbles as they enter the elevator. FRIDAY greets them before taking them to the right floor.

"I googled it." Ada says, furrowing her brows at him. "I didn't have to kill someone to get the information."

"I'm sorry, what?" Both teens turn around at the new voice, smiles breaking out over both their faces.

"You're here." Ada grins while accepting the hug from Natasha.

"Yes, and why are you talking about killing people for information?" Clint asks her with raised brows.

"Ada found a cat."

"Yeah, that clears it up." Clint mumbles but his words go unheard by everyone but himself.

"Where is everyone?"

"The basketball court." Natasha answers Ada's question while grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge. "Want to go see who's winning?"

"Yes," Smirking, Ads takes Nat's outstretched hand and lets the woman lead her away. Shouting reaches both their ears when they open the door to the gym. Ada's eye immediately land on the game currently being played. It's Wanda and Tony vs Sam and Steve.

"Hey, I think there are some pom poms lying around," Sam shouts when he sees them. "You know, if you want to cheer for your favorites."

"Wanda and Mr. Stark?" Ada questions innocently, tilting her head to the side. Gasping, Sam puts a hand over his heart in mock offense as Tony burst out laughing. Sticking her tongue out at the man in a very mature manner, Ada walks around the court to a bench and sits down.

"Come on, kid, play a few rounds." Mr. Stark calls, waving her over.

"The teams won't be even." Sam grumbles as Ada stands and joins them.

"Afraid you'll lose to two girls and an old man?"

"Hey!" Mr. Stark's protest goes unheard as Sam and Ada stare at each other. "I'm not that old."

"You're on, little lady." Tossing her the basketball, Sam backs away to join Steve's side. They're only able to play for a few minutes until Peter and Clint join them and they split the teams up best they can before playing until everyone's sweating and out of breath.

As they're leaving the gym, chatting out this and that, throwing jokes and laughing, Ada jumps onto Steve's back and he carries her without question into the kitchen where Pepper greets them.

"Darling," Mr. Stark smiles, placing a kiss to her cheek only to get pushed away.

"You stink," Pepper tells him with a slight grimace. "No offense, but you all stink. Go shower and then we can eat."

"Yes, ma'am." Ada jumps to her feet, straightening her posture and saluting the woman before turning on her heels and heading to do just what she'd said. She'd brought her own close this time, so borrowing Peter's was unnecessary.

Collecting her damp hair into a ball on top of her head, Ada startles when hands grab her arms and pull her back the way she'd come from. Peter pushes her back until they hit a wall.

"Buy a girl a drink first." She jokes when her eyes look up to find his eyes, chuckling when he glares. "What are you doing?" She asks in a whisper, gaze shifting behind him.

"Thor's here."

"I'm sorry, what?" Ada questions, her eyebrows nearly disappearing into her hair while Peter backs up to peek around the corner.

"Thor." Peter's head turns back to her. "You know-"

"I know who Thor is, Peter," Ada cuts her friend off while resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "He's here? Like right now?"

"Yeah, he's talking to Mr. Stark." Peter nods but continues to look around the corner even though he can't see anyone. "Loki's with him."

"What the-" Ada cuts herself off. "I was gone for like, ten minutes." Sighing, Ada hangs her head and pinches the bridge of her nose. "Here I was hoping for a quiet weekend. Should've known that wouldn't happen anywhere near the Avengers." Her rambling goes unheard by all but herself.

Lifting a single finger, Peter shifts towards her and states like he'd just remembered. "Oh, and Bruce Banner, too."

"I think I slipped in the shower," Ada nods to herself, accepting her words as the true reality. "Hit my head. Now I'm lying unconscious, imagining all of this. Probably in a coma."

"What?" Peter finally turns his full attention onto his friend, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Nothing," Ada waves him off while joining his side to look around the corner that shows nothing. "Where are they?"

"I don't know," Peter shrugs helplessly. "Mr. Stark asked me to step out so they could talk."

"Right," Biting her lip in thought, Ada taps her fingers on her leg. "Probably shouldn't eavesdrop."

"Yeah, that wouldn't be right." Peter nods along with Ada and their eyes meet before they both wordlessly sneak around the hall.

As they were about to round another corner, someone clearing their throat has both teenagers jumping and spinning around. Natasha stands a few feet behind them, her arms crossed over her chest, a single raised eyebrow.

"So much for super hearing," Ada mumbles to Peter who shoots her a look.

"She's a spy!" He whispers shouts at her.

"What are you two doing?" Nat ignores their bickering and walks closer to them calmly.

"Just walking," Ada shrugs, relaxing her posture while Peter still stands rigid. "What are you doing?"

Smirking, Nat looks down at Ada with an appraising look. It wasn't a bad lie, actually. "I was sent to collect you both."

"Running errands now?" The words escape Ada's mouth before she can stop them and the teenager's eyes widen. "Sorry," She mumbles before clearing her throat. "That just...slipped out."

"Mm-hmm," Nat hums before moving on and motioning for them to follow.

"Did you seriously say that?" Peter whispers to Ada as they walk. Nat kindly pretends like she can't hear them.

"You know my brain to mouth filter stops working sometimes." Ada shrugs in her defense. "That was one of those times."

When they reach a door Ada's sure she's never been through before, Natasha pauses and glances at them before opening it without a word.

Upon entering, Ada's eyebrows raise and she makes an odd squeak sound she's not proud of. She'd known they were there, but seeing them was different. And had Thor always been that large?

"Alright," Tony inhales sharply when he sees them before releasing the breath slowly. "Kids, I'm sure you know who these guys are." He gestures into the conference room where everyone is gathered. The only new faces being Bruce, who sits at the table, Thor who stands close by and Loki, who stands in the far back by a window, looking unamused and bored of the entire situation. "These guys, this is Peter and Ada. My- we'll talk about it later."

"Smooth," Ada comments under her breath, ignoring the way Peter nudges her shoulder with his own.

"Ground rules are simple, stay away from the skinner brother," Tony says casually while clapping each kid on the shoulder. Ada thinks she sees Loki's eyebrows furrow slightly. "And he'll do the same? Sound good? Good. Okay, now that that's out of the way, you guys can go do whatever teenagers do," Tony starts ushering the kids out of the room, only to stop when his own words reach his ears. "Wait, no, don't. Uh, go do something Pepper would approve of."

"Wait," Ada stumbles with Peter out the door, turning back to look at him. "Dude, that's it?"

"Yes," Tony nods once before tilting his head to the side. "Did you just call me 'dude'?" Opening her mouth, Ada looks up and to the left in thought before shrugging her shoulders. "I'll find you later." And with that, the door closes.

"Well, that was just rude."

Snorting, Peter grabs Ada's wrist and pulls her away. "Ned's gonna freak."

"Ned? I'm freaking," Ada says, throwing the arm Peter wasn't out to the side. "Out." She adds when the other words sound weird without it. "Okay," When they reach the common room, Ada falls into the couch. "No offense towards him, but I thought Loki was a bad guy?"

"I don't know, man," Peter sighs and sits next to her, his head falling to rest on the back of the couch. "No one tells me anything."

"We should start a club." Ada nods to herself and Peter turns his head lazily to look at her. "The 'No one tells us anything' club."

"Funny," Peter mumbles while Ada leans against his side. "I can't believe Bruce Banner is here."

"Okay, fanboy," Ada chuckles, patting his chest. She was tired after playing basketball for so long. She needed to exercise more. Peter wasn't even out of breath when they decided to quit. Though, he was enhanced, so he had that advantage. "Just, when you see him again, you gotta play it cool."

"You mean like you did when you met Natasha?"

"Shut up." Ada grumbles.

The rest of the day goes by quietly. Well, as quiet as it can get around the group of crazy people called the Avengers. Tony came and found the two teenagers later like he'd said he would, giving them a bit more information.

Supposedly Thor had found Bruce on some planet somewhere or something. It was a whole thing, many details were left out of the story. And apparently, Loki was on their side now? Mr. Stark was skeptical but Thor had given him his words and Tony trusts Thor. So that was that. Though both teenagers were given strict instruction to steer clear of the trickster.

Dinner with everyone had been an event to remember. Despite Ada's advice, Peter had gone nerdy fanboy over Bruce. Much to everyone's amusement and the man himself's bafflement. Ada found out Thor eats a lot. Possible more than Peter. And his arms were as big as her head. Loki didn't join them. The teenager didn't blame him.

Then off to bed everyone went. Ada sleeps in the room across from Peters'. She sometimes thinks of the building as the tardis. Sure, it looked huge from the outside but once inside, it felt like there was no end.

The clock reads two-twenty-eight when Ada wakes up. She checks her phone, shielding her eyes against the bright light. She drags herself to the bathroom before falling back onto the soft mattress, wrapping the sheets around herself. But she's awake now.

It was still so early, no one was awake and there was nothing to do, so Ada turns until she gets comfortable in bed and closes her eyes. And she lies there. For forever. A glance at her phone tells her it's been an hour.

Groaning, Ada flops onto her back and stares up. She can't see the ceiling, it's to dark in the room. She misses the glow in the dark stars that hang above her bed at home. Thinking of those stars reminds Ada that she hasn't seen the real ones in a couple of weeks.

Giving herself seven more minutes, Ada throws the covers off herself and slides her feet to the window. It was still dark out, the stars would be disappearing soon as the sun rises in the sky. Ada did like a good sunrise.

Suddenly giddy, Ada marches back to her bed and grabs a blanket, wrapping it around her shoulders before tiptoeing out of her room. She pauses outside of Peter's door, debating. He always comes with her to see the stars, but he was sleeping soundly now. Young superheroes need their sleep. Everyone needs their sleep. With this in mind, Ada turns down the hall towards the elevator.

The ride up is smooth. Though FRIDAY does ask why the teenager is up so early. Ada shrugs to the AI, telling her she just couldn't fall back to sleep and hoped the stars would calm her mind.

The early morning air is cold on her face. Ada wraps the blanket more securely around her shoulders. She's walking to the normal spot where they always sit when a shadow catches her eyes, causing the girl to jump with a quiet yelp, her hands coming to rest over her heart.

"Holy shit."

"Such crude language." The smooth voice responds but the shadow doesn't move from its place resting near the edge of the roof.

"I don't think you can reprimand me for my language." Ada says quickly. Her heart calms inside her chest, finding it's normal rhythm again.

"Perhaps not," Loki shifts his head slightly, the small smirk pulling at his lips evident in his voice. "Why are you out here?"

"Why are you out here?" Ada throws his question back at him, still slowly inching towards him until she stands a few feet away.

"I was here first." Ada has to suppress a snort at how childish the god sounds. Mr. Stark's rule about staying away from his enters her mind but the teenager ignores it.

"The roof, maybe, but I was in the building first."

With a growing smirk, Loki finally turns his gaze down to the girl next to him. "You're not afraid of me." It's not a question but a statement. The surprise he feels leaks into his words.

"Should I be?" Ada raises a single brow, meeting his eyes best she can in the dark. "You don't seem so bad to me."

"That depends." His voice is quiet but clear and Ada cocks her head to the side in question.

"On?"

"Your definition of bad." He says, once again gazing down at her.

"Uh, do you plan on pushing me off the roof?"

The question actually catches him by surprise and his brows furrow. "...no?"

"Then we're good." Ada shrugs and Loki's lips twitch. "You never answered my question. Why are you out here?"

"As I recall, I asked first." He easily schools his features, twisting his body to face hers more.

"Wow, okay, I couldn't sleep so I came to look at the stars. Your turn."

Hesitating, Loki's green eyes look the young girl up and down before his gaze moves away from her. "Similar reasons, I suppose."

"Missing home?" He glances at her from the corner of his eye but doesn't respond. "It happens." Sighing, Ada takes a few steps back and lays her blanket flat on the roof before sitting on it.

"What are you doing?" Loki turns to her, looking down at where she sits with furrowed brows.

"I told you, I came up here to see the stars." Ada says, patting the empty space on the blanket beside her as an invitation. "Suit yourself." She shrugs when he doesn't move from his place. Tilting her head back, Ada lets her eyes fall onto the little shiny dots in the sky, releasing a breath.

Silence falls over them, allowing the sound of the bugs to easily reach their ears. Ada momentarily feels bad. Mr. Stark had told her to stay away from Loki and though she'd run into him by accident, she could've left. So was she breaking that rule?

As if reading her mind, Loki speaks again. "I don't think Stark will be happy to know you spoke to me."

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him." Ada says without looking away from the sky. She felt bad for saying that but she was fine. And Tony wasn't her parent. Though the compound was his and she was staying there...maybe she should follow the rules.

When the silence returns for a long time, Ada wonders if Loki was still even there. He was so quiet. It nearly startles her when she sees his shadowy figure moving from the corner of her eye. When she looks over, she sees he's taken a seat on the roof in the same place he'd been standing. They don't talk and neither complains about the others company.

I'm going to say Asgard didn't get destroyed and all that cause I don't wanna write it, I'm lazy. We'll just say Thor found Bruce and Loki is well, Loki. But not Evil. Okay? That was all Thanos being an angry, purple, wrinkly grape. And sure, maybe the avengers should hate Loki, and they do a bit, but I just want everyone to be happy, so. This is therapeutic for me.

Getting closer to...something. I can't say. I love reading what you guy think, though. It's the highlight of my days.

Should update either tomorrow or the next day. Depends on how much writing I get done. I don't actually have the next chapter done. I've been writing ahead in the story and I just need to fill in the gap.

Teaser for next chapter: 'Iron Man, Tony Stark arrested for the murder of Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye'

Cue evil laugh. Until next time, friends.

Oh, and a word of advice. Remember, things aren't always as they seem.

'-'