Author's Note: So sorry I haven't updated as frequently as usual but I guess I've been pretty lazy. I don't really have a good excuse. Luckily, this is a pretty long chapter so hopefully it makes up for that. There's also a Spider-Man Homecoming easter egg in this chapter so heads up. It's not Peter or anything so don't get too excited. So an update about the chapters before Age of Ultron. I can confirm that there will be three more chapters before Age of Ultron. I'm so excited because once we've gotten to Age of Ultron it's really close to Civil War. There will probably only be three chapters of Age of Ultron and then we'll have Civil War which means PETER! I'm so thrilled.
I just want to say that I've been listening to Lana Del Rey's new album Lust for Life while writing this chapter. I'm really loving her new album. A lot of the album has like a sixties folk rock sound to it and anyone who knows me knows that my two favorite decades for music are the sixties and seventies... Well, late sixties but the entirety of the seventies. Beautiful People Beautiful Problems (feat. Stevie Nicks) and Tomorrow Never Came(feat. Sean Ono Lennon) are two of my favorite songs on her new record. They remind me of watching a sunset whilst sitting in a meadow. Sorry if that's a lot rambling but I just really love the new album and it kind of inspired me to write more.
Just saw Dunkirk last week and I just have to say that it's a really beautiful film. Christopher Nolan is a genius. It was so intense and vivid... the music really brought that out. Hans Zimmer is amazing that way. I'm also super excited to see Atomic Blonde this weekend because it looks so bad ass. As you all know, I really love female ass kickers. lol.
Thanks for all the reviews I got last chapter! I really appreciate them all. I just have to say in regards to some of those reviews... I know that I'm making you wait forever until Peter comes but I'm just thankful that you've been so patient with me. I didn't plan on Emma's backstory being this long but it just kind of happened. I started writing and I'm just thinking that I can't just jump forward without letting anyone know who she is. It's important to me that she has an identity before she meets Peter. I want this to be a Emma story rather than just a Peter and Emma story. Peter is definitely going to be in it a lot but Emma is the lead character and she's very important.
So thanks and keep reviewing!
A week had passed since Emma and Steve's midnight talk in the living room. Emma was still learning how to be comfortable around everyone. Her days consisted of eating breakfast with Steve in the kitchen before they would walk aimlessly around the tower for a couple of hours. It was a big tower to explore. Mostly they walked around while Steve talked and Emma listened to him. He told her about his life before the ice… what it was like growing up in early 20th century Brooklyn, New York. She looked at him in fascination as he told her all about her great grandmother Sarah Rogers. Emma smiled in wonder when Steve told her how he'd fallen in love with her grandmother at first sight. He mentioned her grandmother was very much alive although she was sadly living in a nursing home in D.C. Steve suggested that they might take a trip down to D.C. sometime to visit her. Emma faintly remembered her grandmother from when she was little but it was more like blurry images in her mind.
After their walk around the tower they would spend some time with the other Avengers. Mostly it was just Steve chatting with them while Emma listened. Every now and then they asked her for her opinion on something and Emma would say something quietly but she wasn't intent on saying too much. They would return to the apartment for a few hours and read in silence, taking quick breaks with chatter about the books they were reading. Emma enjoyed the time she spent with Steve although she would never admit it aloud. Sometimes Sam or Natasha would stop by to spend an hour or so with them. They didn't stop by every day but it happened enough. The granddaughter and grandfather duo would then head back up to the main floor for dinner with the others. They would spend a couple hours up there having dinner and chatting amongst each other… well, Steve did at least. Emma was perfectly fine with just watching everyone interact, keeping to herself. The Avengers seemed very eager to include her in on the conversation but Emma was more than happy to just stay silent and watch.
They returned to the apartment after dinner. Emma would take a shower before going to bed, falling asleep whilst reading one of the books off her bookshelf. She was now on the fifth Harry Potter book and wondered how Hydra had managed to keep such an amazing book series out of her sight for so long. Her brief stint of happiness, however, didn't last long because she almost always woke up from a nightmare. It was always the same… She used to have nightmares about her time spent in the glass tank. She would dream about snakes constricting around her, taking the place of the plastic tubing she could still recall. Something had changed within the past couple of months. Her nightmares shifted from the injections and instead kept showing her the same thing over and over again. Every night Emma would relive the night that she finally broke… the night she lost what she had left of her innocence. Emma never told Steve or anyone about the nightmares. She didn't want to burden them with the knowledge of her pain and suffering. They had already helped her so much.
"What are you thinking so hard about, Mini Cap?" Emma looked up from plate which she had probably been staring at for the past fifteen minutes. She noticed that she had everyone's attention even Steve's as Tony asked her the question. Emma wondered why he insisted on calling her such a ridiculous nickname. Still… it was better than "Asset" or "Stupid Girl".
"I'm just thinking about how annoying that nickname is." Emma told Tony, quickly steering attention away from what was actually on her mind. Tony only smirked as he looked back at the blonde teenager. She had been at the tower for almost two weeks already but she was quickly becoming more and more at ease. Her suspicious, paranoid persona was slowly fading away and a sassy, serious one was taking that persona's place.
"Why is it annoying? You are technically a Mini Cap… you know with being Capsicle's granddaughter and having the same enhancements as him and all." Tony said in his usual snarky tone.
"My name is Emma." She told him, her eyes narrowed at the smirking billionaire.
"Whatever you say, Mini Cap." Tony told her and Emma just shook her head as she resumed eating her food as if she had never stopped. The billionaire gave Emma a curious look as she went on with eating her meal. "So you're a southern belle, huh?" Emma looked up from her food, looking very confused at Tony's random comment.
"I don't know what you mean." Emma said, wondering what was going through Stark's head and if he perhaps had one too many of those glasses of scotch he seemed to favor so much.
"You're from Oklahoma, aren't you? Your file said that you lived in a farm house." The team all stopped what they doing at once to stare at Tony in shock. They couldn't believe that Tony was actually asking Emma about that. He was literally asking her about the house that she watched her parents get murdered in. Everyone looked speechless at the casualness of Tony's expression except for Steve who openly glared at Tony.
"Tony!" Pepper hissed, looking at him before looking back to Emma with a worried expression on her face. "What do you think you're doing?"
"It sounds a little dangerous there with all the tornadoes and all. I think Twister was a movie about all the reasons not to live in Oklahoma. What was it like for you?" Emma just stared at him with a calculating expression on her face. She glanced at everyone else from the corner of her eye and noticed their concerned expressions. She resented those looks on their faces. Emma didn't want to be pitied. She would do or say anything to get away from being pitied like she was some poor, abandoned animal.
"I don't remember much actually." Emma finally said. Everyone was tense at the table as Emma casually spoke about her life before the kidnapping. "It's more like pictures or a fuzzy home movie to me. I know that it was very warm… hot even. There were tornadoes every so often and sometimes we would hide in the storm cellar until the storm passed. My father and I would play cards while my mother watched… sometimes she would laugh when my father pretended to lose." A distant look reached Emma's eyes as thought back to times in her life when she had been happy and at peace. She remembered how oblivious and silly she had been to the true horrors that were out in the world. The Avengers watched in silent shock at Emma's admission because they had never heard Emma speak more than a few words outside of the debriefing.
"So you're like Dorothy? Did you have your own little Toto too?" Tony said suddenly, breaking Emma out of her train of thought. She blinked and glanced at the billionaire in moderate confusion. She didn't understand what he was talking about until she realized that he was referencing a movie. Emma remembered watching the film with her parents when she was very little but she barely recalled any of the plot. Just images of a delicate looking young girl with a scarecrow crossed her mind.
"The Wizard of Oz took place in Kansas, dumb ass. Not Oklahoma." Darcy Lewis drawled from her seat in between Jane Foster and Sam Wilson. Emma glanced at the glasses wearing brunette and wanted to thank the older woman for taking the attention away from her. Darcy Lewis, the lab assistant to Jane Foster, had arrived at the tower only a few days prior. From the moment Emma met her she wondered constantly about what was going through the woman's mind. Instead of pitying Emma or even fearing her, Darcy had been completely calm and seemingly uncaring of Emma's past unlike Dr. Jane Foster, Thor's girlfriend, who seemed nice enough but still weary of Emma. There was some mild little quips about Emma's past including the names Assassin's Creed and Hanna which were supposedly referring to a video game and a movie but that was it. Darcy appeared to be almost like a female Tony Stark except for the arrogance, fame, and fortune. Even though Darcy seemed to have similarities between herself and Tony, Emma found herself growing fond of the older woman. Emma knew that she could trust Darcy to tell her the truth and as bluntly as possible. Darcy reminded Emma of her father in that way.
"Whatever." Tony said. "You don't have to be such a nerd about it." Darcy narrowed her eyes at him and nearly all the Avengers groaned in dismay. The bickering between Darcy and Tony only happened just about every night during dinner. The two were so much alike that it was nearly impossible for them to get along. They sometimes wondered if Tony might've secretly been the biological daughter of Tony but with Tony's past as a womanizer… It was entirely possible.
"I'm not the nerd in this situation. Excuse me but I didn't graduate from MIT when I was a little boy still wetting the bed." Emma watched in amusement as the bickering between Darcy and Tony continued. This would probably go on for another half an hour at the very least. She went back to eating her dinner and wondered if Darcy had intentionally taken the attention away from her. Emma found that it didn't matter much to her either way. Darcy was a godsend, that was for sure.
Today was a different day than usual. The last two weeks during her time at the tower consisted of her and Steve spending almost every waking moment together. It wasn't entirely uncomfortable for her since she was used to spending a lot of time with her father but Emma was still getting used to Steve. She could tell that it slightly bothered him that he shared more with her than she shared with him but he accepted that about her. He accepted that it would be a while before she would share everything with him. However, two weeks of Steve spending all his time with Emma doing seemingly nothing, was bound to come to an end eventually. Steve informed Emma that he would be in the tower's gym, sparring with Natasha and Clint. He told her that she could come watch if she wanted to but she knew that it wouldn't be the best idea. Emma told him that she would be just fine with staying in and catching up on some more reading.
Emma always got up early in the morning so she headed to the kitchen in their large apartment. She couldn't hear any movement or smell the scent of Steve's bodywash anywhere in the area so she assumed that he had already left. She moved across the kitchen as she put together her own breakfast which was something she never had to do before. Hydra never exactly thought it was very important for her to know how to cook. Emma managed to find some poptarts, which she was sure was a courtesy of Darcy, and paired off the breakfast snack with a glass of milk before she returned to her room with her breakfast.
Emma set her breakfast down on the desk in her room, deciding that she was going to spend some time alone in her room. Since arriving at the tower, Steve hadn't really let her spend anytime in her room except for night time so she was going to spend some time by herself. It was really the first time she had been alone since meeting the Avengers and Emma knew that she needed to be alone. She was so used to being alone for most of her life that suddenly being surrounded by a bunch of people, who were concerned for her, was only a bit overwhelming. Emma needed some time to unwind from it all and process the last two weeks of her life.
She didn't know how long she sat at that desk, processing everything that had happened to her. It felt like it had been years since she had been at the Hydra base. There was something about being at the tower that terrified her. Emma knew it was because she was scared to wake up one day and realize that it had all been a dream. She sat there munching on her poptart, wondering if she could be happy there with the others or if it would all come to end some day. Nothing lasted forever, Emma thought to herself.
Eventually Emma finished eating and was left sitting at her desk, overlooking the city, with her glass of milk now half full. She glanced around her room and wondered what she was going to possibly do. There was so many books to read and there was probably many movies or tv shows to watch on the large flat screen tv. Emma knew that she wasn't even going to touch the tv because she had absolutely no idea how to work it. It was Stark tech and Stark tech seemed very complicated… Emma could do without any complications. So intead of spending the day fiddling with the television or reading yet another book she decided to explore her room. She started with the desk, searching the drawers, and was surprised to find that she didn't have to explore much before she found something that piqued her interest. Emma stared at the contents of the drawer in curiosity before she pulled everything out.
The young blonde girl stared at the pile of new items resting upon her desk. She noticed a rather large looking book and when she opened the book she was stumped to find nothing but blank pages. A sketch book. Sketch book? Emma wondered what that was doing in her desk. She had never mentioned being an artist or being interest in art so she wondered why that had been placed in the drawer. It wasn't like she would know whether or not she was interested in art either. Hydra never thought that art or any form of entertainment served a purpose. There was a tin container that held an array of sketching pencils inside. Emma raised a brow as she opened the container and eyed a note inside. She took the note out and held it in her hands as she read it to herself.
Mini Cap,
I know that I must seem super obnoxious to you(which I am) but Pepper said I should make up for some of my behavior. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable and I guess that being a ninja assassin during your childhood is bound to be pretty traumatic so sorry if I was insensitive about it. So as a means to make up for those ninja assassin comments, I decided to get you this sketch book amongst other things because Pepper said that I should give you a meaningful gift instead of giving you a credit card. I was all for giving you a gift card so you could go on a shopping spree at Assassins "R" Us. Anyways… My dad always used to mention how much your grandfather loved to draw. Apparently Capsicle used to work as a comic illustrator and even drew some plans up for my old man back in the day so I figured that maybe it was a family thing. I mean… I kind of do what my dad did because of family legacies and inherited genius intellect so I thought that you might be artistic like Capsicle even though Capsicle doesn't really do anything art related anymore. So I guess you should see if you can find a hobby or something. Hobbies can be really helpful. Trust me, I know.
-Tony
p.s. This is an apology.
Emma finished the note and was unsure of what to think about this new development. Was this Stark being nice? He kept talking about how Pepper was making him apologize but Emma knew that Tony Stark wasn't the kind of man that did something because he was told to. No, he seemed the type to do what he wanted and not what was on someone else's agenda even if that person was his girlfriend. She ran her fingers along the pages of the sketchbook and wondered how much this sketchbook costed. She doubted Stark just picked one up at a local arts and crafts store. Stark always had the best of the best and by the feel and look of the sketchbook Emma could tell that this was most likely a customed made sketchbook.
She bit her lip as she continued to analyze the gift. Stark had said in the note that Steve used to be an artist. Emma felt surprised by that fact. She hadn't known Steve very long but she had never gotten the impression from him that he had an artistic soul. Emma supposed he didn't really give her any reason to but it was still something that was slightly surprising to her. A part of her wondered why Stark decided to give her the sketchbook if his only reason was because of her grandfather. Just because her grandfather was slightly artistic didn't mean she was as well. She supposed Stark didn't know what else to get her. It didn't seem likely that Stark spent much time reading fictional books so he wouldn't have much to offer her in terms of her only other hobby. It made sense that he just took what he knew about her, which wasn't much, and gave her a sketchbook. It couldn't hurt to give the sketchbook a try. She would need a hobby like Stark told her. Especially if she was going to give this whole normal teenage girl thing a try. Her days as Hydra's most powerful weapon were presumably over. Steve already seemed overly protective of her so she didn't see him allowing her to join the team either anytime soon. Emma wasn't so sure that she wanted to either. She already spent the past nine years fighting and Emma didn't know if she wanted to do that anymore. It was also all that she knew so maybe she did... want to fight again that is.
Emma didn't know what she was going to draw when she first put the pencil to paper. Part of her was afraid that she would draw something unsavory… that she wouldn't be able to control herself and draw something that depicted her past but she did no such thing. It seemed that drawing was so simple that she managed to draw what was exactly in front of her. Emma found herself sketching the office building that was directly across from Avengers Tower. It wasn't a perfect sketch on the first try but it wasn't terrible either. The lines weren't completely right or angled in the correct way but it wasn't completely terrible either. So Emma spent the rest of the morning continously sketching the building and with time and practice, the sketches began to look better and better. Emma was so busy with her sketching that she didn't keep track of time for once in her life. Pretty soon it was one in the afternoon and Steve had returned to their floor of the building.
From the time Steve had entered the apartment he was stricken by just how deadly silent it was. He didn't know what to expect when he entered the apartment. Maybe he expected a mess or music blasting through speakers because that was what normal teenagers did… Emma, however, wasn't a normal teenager. When he finally left the gym level of the tower, he politely asked Jarvis to tell him where Emma was. The AI system told him Emma's location was still in their apartment on his floor. That piece of information had caused Steve to frown slightly because he didn't really like the idea of Emma still being locked up in the apartment. He had kind of been hoping that Emma would be social but he could see that he might've been a little too hopeful.
"Where's Emma, Jarvis?" Steve asked the AI system once more as he glanced around the living room and the kitchen.
"I believe Miss Rogers is located in her bedroom, Captain Rogers." Jarvis told him and Steve nodded to himself as he began to head towards Emma's room, wondering what was keeping the teenaged girl cooped up in her room. He noticed her bedroom door was wide open as he stood in the doorway, peaking into her room. Emma nearly always closed it usually when she was sleeping but also whenever she was absent from her room. He peered into her room and noticed the familiar figure of his granddaughter sitting at her desk, her blonde hair pooling over a book. Steve thought she was reading something off her bookshelf at first but was delightfully surprised when he saw that she had a pencil in her hand… a sketching pencil. Emma was seemingly sketching something in a sketch book which made Steve curious as to where she had gotten it from.
He was suddenly reminded of himself when he was a young boy before the ice and when he was still trapped in his own little world. A world where the only thing he worried about was bullies and whether or not he could ever find a dame that would accept him… a dame that would look past his short, skinny stature and like him for who he was. Steve had found that in Peggy but he had then lost her in some unlucky twist of fate. He missed the world where he had Bucky and they would goof around all the time as best friends would do. It occurred to him that he may never have that Bucky back in his life but he knew that something was better than nothing. Steve had always thought that him and Peggy would get married after the war, living the American dream with a nice house, a couple of kids, and a dog. Steve knew that he would never get to live out that dream the way he thought he would. For a while he had thought that he had lost everything from that life but he was delighted to find out that he had been wrong. Emma was his chance to still have that dream and he wanted to spend every day trying to make her happy. She deserved to be happy. With a small smile on his face, Steve walked away from Emma's doorway and headed back down the hall to get a drink of water. Emma was beginning to adjust to her new home and that was more than what Steve could ask for. She was going to be very happy here.
"Come on, Em, it's time to take you shopping!" Darcy told her excitedly as they stood in the lobby of the building. It had been a week later when Steve had finally decided it was time to get her out of the tower. She had spent enough time cooped up in the place according to everyone else. Pepper was originally supposed to be the one to go shopping with Emma and Steve but she had been caught up with meetings so Darcy volunteered instead. Emma wasn't quite bothered by Darcy but the older woman could be very hyper at times. "You can't just have Pepper buying you clothes forever although I think Pepper kind of enjoys shopping for you. I don't think shopping for Tony is really that exciting."
"Okay, Darcy, we're going." Steve told Darcy in a reassuring tone, an attempt to calm down the excited brunette. "I think Emma's knows that."
"I just don't want her to try and get out of it. Come on, Em, you're a teenager. It's okay to rebel a little and goof off." Steve didn't look thrilled at the idea of Emma rebeling or goofing off but he remained quiet. Emma just watched Darcy in amusement, listening to the brunette's usual chatter in silence. It wasn't that Emma was shy or anything which some of the others had assumed but it was just that she lived in silence for a long time. She was used to being silent because of her father and his reluctance to speak. However, it amused her a great deal to see someone like Darcy with the ability to talk so much at such a rapid pace. It amused her so much that Emma let Darcy call her "Em". Emma didn't know how she would react if someone like Stark began to call her by the same name although he still received the same death glare whenever he referred to her as "Mini Cap".
The trio then began to exit the tower and Emma walked outside the building for the first time since she arrived there. Immediately, she was blown away by the city, the people, and all the noise. It was different being in the city compared to looking at it from a window. Steve and Darcy seemed to cushion her from the swarms of other people as they led her to a car parked right outside the tower. Emma spotted a burly looking man standing outside the car. Feeling her old assassin tactics enter her mind, she immediately assessed his appearance. Emma observed that he had the faint impression of a gun from the inside of his sport's coat which alarmed her. The man opened the door for them before Steve introduced Emma to the mysterious man.
"Emma, this is Happy Hogan, Tony's chauffer and head of security of Stark Industries. Happy this is Emma, my… well, she's technically my granddaughter I guess you could say." Emma raised a brow at this new piece of imformation as looked at Happy. Stark needed a head of security at Avengers Tower? A tower literally filled with a bunch of superheroes. As much as this piece of information bothered Emma she knew better than to voice her thoughts. She noticed the way he cautiously glanced at her and immediately knew that he was privy to information that the Avengers were also privy too. How interesting.
"It's nice to meet you, Miss Rogers." Happy said in a pleasant tone, a kind smile on his face. Emma plastered a fake smile on her face as she looked at him.
"It's nice to meet you too, Mr. Hogan." Emma said in a pleasant tone.
"Please, it's just Happy, Miss Rogers." Emma nodded silently as he then ushered Steve, Darcy, and herself into the back of the car. It was a luxurious car, Emma noticed, as she took in her surroundings which was really more of a habit of hers. Happy got in and it wasn't long before they were on the road. Emma never had that much experience with being driven around in cars… at least not like this. Sometimes her father would drive her around when they were on a mission and when Emma was on her own she would drive a getaway car at times. Darcy told Happy the address of the mall they were going to and Emma was left alone with her thoughts. She remembered a very different circumstance involving cars. One which she wasn't sure that Natasha had ever forgiven her for.
Emma had never been in a mall. There hadn't been any missions that had ever required Emma to spend her time in such a place. From what Emma could gather as soon as stepped into the building was that it was a place swarming with people. It seemed to be a few stories tall as Emma glanced up above and noticed the escalator. It seemed to be a nice, clean building but then again it was only the morning. She was fascinated with the different kinds of people she spotted within the mall. Young couples that held hands as they chatted about nothing of importance. Emma saw an older couple that had a little girl that couldn't be older than three or four. The little girl didn't look anything like Emma at that age but she still couldn't help but make comparisons. Emma wondered if her parents had ever taken her to a mall… probably not. Oklahoma wasn't a place that might've had a lot of malls.
Emma's eyes then rested on three teenage girls who were giggling and talking amongst each other. Their arms were weighed down by shopping bags and they each had a cup of Starbucks ice coffee in their hands. She analyzed their clothing and all the make-up they had caked onto their faces. They wore crop tops with short skirts paired off with a pair of heels. Emma finally felt revolted at the sight of those girls with the high pitched voices and annoying laughter. Was that how she was supposed to act? How could those girls walk through the mall like that without even seeming weary of their surroundings? Their arms were so weighed down by their shopping bags that if someone attacked them they wouldn't stand a chance. The girls also seemed so wrapped up in whatever topic they were discussing that they wouldn't even notice if someone began to follow them. Emma really didn't want to be anything like those girls. Those were the kinds of girls that always needed to be saved because they always got into trouble. Emma wasn't the type that needed saving.
Emma gave the trio of girls one last look of disgust before she turned her attention to Steve and Darcy. Steve had a small smile on his face as she looked back at him and she knew he had probably been watching the way she was looking at those girls. Emma realized that the average teenaged girls now were much different than the ones back in his day. Darcy began to talk about a particular store which she thought Emma would like and the young blonde returned her attention to the task at hand. She was there to shop, Emma told herself. She was absolutely not there to cast looks of revulsion towards other teenagers.
Eventually Darcy brought Emma and Steve to a trendy looking store called Forever 21. Emma curiously looked around the store in mild interest, noticing the reflective white floors as well as the blinding white walls. The color scheme, which was apparently white on white, almost reminded her of her room back at the Hydra base if it wasn't for the neon lights and odd looking ornaments within the store. The clothing took Emma by surprise as she saw the assortments of clothing that were in all different styles. The styles of clothing seemed to be separated by section which might've been helpful in aiding a troubled young girl in trying to explore her fashion likes and dislikes but for Emma it just made her want to vomit. The clothing itself wasn't disgusting to Emma but it was rather the reactions of the teenage girls that made her sick. The swarms of teenaged girls constantly buzzing about the store and squealing in excitement whenever they saw something they liked.
"Lydia, isn't this dress so cute?! Do you think Tommy would like me in it?"
"Of course, Gigi, Tommy just's going to love you in that dress. What do you think about this skirt? It's hella hot, isn't it?"
The employees of the store were just going to have to excuse Emma if she puked all over the floor of the store. Emma had never heard anything more disgusting in her life than the insistent squealing of silly teenage girls. Darcy took Emma by the hand, which Emma forced herself not pull away, and led her to some racks in the back of the store as Steve followed behind them. If there was anything delightful about this experience it was the enormous blush on Steve's face as he followed them around the store. Darcy led Emma to a section of the store that was filled with clothing that looked similar to the kind of clothing that Pepper had been buying for Emma. There was a lot of high waisted, bell bottom jeans and floral looking blouses. Emma didn't really mind the type of clothing but she was more disturbed by the other girls that were shopping around them.
"Why did you bring me here?" Emm asked in a quiet voice. Darcy was about to tell her that she brought her there to shop for clothes obviously but then realized that it wasn't what Emma meant when she saw the way the young blonde was staring at the other teenage girls in disgust. Darcy was slightly amused by Emma's reaction to girls that were her own age. Not all teenage girls were like those ones, Darcy wanted to say. There were cool teenage girls like Darcy had been and there were the ones that Emma was glaring at… those were the girls that made Darcy's life a living hell in high school. Darcy made a note to start making Emma watch high school movies like Mean Girls. Maybe that would make Emma understand everything better.
"This is somewhere where the majority of teenage girls shop for clothes." Darcy explained but Emma didn't look reassured by that information so Darcy just sighed. "Look, just explore the store a little and see if anything calls out to you. Pick out whatever you want and then you can go try it on in the dressing room. Don't worry, money's no object." The brunette then smirked as she held up a credit card in her hand. "It's Tony's treat."
Emma was a little taken back by what Darcy just told her. She was actually given the option of choosing her own clothes? She couldn't remember there ever being a time in her life that she actually got picked out her own clothes. Pepper had been awfully nice in getting her clothes but she didn't pick any of them. Hydra had never cared much about fashion so Emma only had a few options of clothing. She glanced back at Steve who gave her a reassuring smile and Emma slowly began to walk away from Steve and Darcy in search of some more clothing.
Emma barely knew where to start amongst all the racks of clothing. She saw different styles and different colors which made Emma feel indecisive. How did she choose when there were so many options? Emma never had a lot of options given to her so she was just a bit overwhelmed by the entire experience. The other teenage girls didn't seem to mind getting in her space as they skimmed the rows of clothing and Emma took a deep breath as she struggled not to escape or attack. Perfume that smelled faintly of some sort of candy invaded her nose and Emma bit the inside of her cheek hard until the moment passed. As soon as the teenage girls passed by her she let out the breath she had been holding in and reminded herself that this wasn't Hydra and those girls weren't targets. Emma then started focusing on the clothing in front of her, trying to find a shirt she thought would look nice on her. She left behind any feelings of discomfort when the next girl grew too close to her.
It didn't take Emma that long before she had a pile of clothing in her arms. The clothing was very similar to the clothing that Pepper had bought for her. She found that she rather liked the floral patterns and high waisted jeans or she liked the style more than the other styles she saw within the store. Steve had since returned to her side and kindly carried the extra clothing she picked out. Shopping wasn't as bad as Emma had thought once she gotten over the annoying teenage girls. It was quite easy to block them out once she became focused on what she was doing. Once they met up with Darcy, Steve carefully deposited the clothing in the brunette's arms so that she could take Emma to the dressing rooms. He told them he would be waiting towards the front of the store until they were ready to check out. Darcy thanked him and led Emma to the dressing room.
The older woman nearly groaned when she saw that there was a bit of a line. Emma simply raised a brow as she got in line, standing in front of Darcy. She noticed that impatience was a common trait that the avengers and their companions shared. Hydra taught Emma that patience was an important quality especially when it came to missions. Emma learned this on the job as well. When it came to her targets, the targets hardly ever showed up on time. Sometimes Emma would have to wait days before they came within her line of sight and only then could she kill them. Patience really was a virtue. The young blonde noticed that a mother and daughter stood in front of her in line. She could tell that they were mother and daughter given their shared dark skin and very similar facial features. It was another skill Hydra had taught her. Analyzing facial features. The older woman looked to be in her late forties while her daughter seemed to only be a couple years older than Emma at the most. The girl was very pretty, Emma noticed, with her big, brown doe eyes and long dark hair. The girl was also quite tall for her age. Emma glanced away from the mother and daughter pair, focusing on the wall in front of her with a blank look on her face. Unlike Darcy, Emma was quite patient and could probably wait in line for hours if she absolutely had to.
"This is quite the line, isn't it?" A voice said, breaking Emma out of her thoughts as both her and Darcy turned to look at the speaker of the voice. Emma noticed that it was the mother she had noticed from before. The dark skinned woman gave her and Darcy a kind smile. Emma deduced that this was the woman's attempt at making small talk.
"Are you kidding me? This is the longest line ever!" Darcy agreed enthusiastically.
"It seems to be an incredibly busy day today here at the mall. I was just taking my daughter out for a couple of new outfits with it being almost summer and all." The woman then glanced at Emma, looking as if she was trying to pick out any similiaries between Emma and Darcy. "What about you? Are you here for a day of shopping with your sister?" Darcy just shook her head.
"This is actually my friend's sister. He's waiting outside while we try on some outfits. It's already enough that we brought him inside the store." Darcy said jokingly and the woman laughed.
"No, I understand that. My husband tends to wait in the food court while we do our shopping so I have to give your friend some credit for actually stepping inside the store." Darcy laughed in response to the woman's humor.
"Your husband sounds like a typical guy. I honestly don't know how my friend has lasted this long inside the store. I'm afraid he probably won't make the same mistake twice." Darcy responded and the woman nodded knowingly before a surprised look came over her face.
"I can't believe I've been so rude. We've been talking for so long and I haven't even introduced myself or my daughter. I'm Doris Toomes and this is my daughter Liz." The woman introduced and the quiet teenaged girl gave Emma a kind smile that looked the same as the smile her mother had. The girl wore minimal make-up but she still looked very pretty without it. So far she didn't give Emma the impression that she was like any of the other teenage girls in the store. "Liz is fifteen and about to start her sophmore year." Doris said proudly as she looked down at her daughter and Liz blushed uncomfortably from the attention.
"It's nice to meet you." Darcy said before introducing herself. "I'm Jane Foster and this is Natasha." Darcy said and Emma raised a brow as she looked back up at Darcy. She understood not wanting to give out her own name or Emma's name but why was she giving out names of people she already knew? Emma couldn't believe she was asking herself that. Of course Darcy would do that… she was Darcy Lewis after all. "So you're going to high school, huh? What high school is that?" Darcy asked the teenaged girl politely.
"Mid-Town Science." Liz answered and Darcy raised her eyebrows.
"That nice, smart people high school?" Darcy asked in surprise and both Doris and Liz laughed at Darcy's description.
"Essentially yes." Doris answered before the motherly looking woman looked at Emma who had been silent throughout the entire conversation.
"What about you, Natasha? How old are you?" The woman asked Emma in a kind tone and Emma plastered another fake smile on her face.
"I'm thirteen." She answered politely but also very vaguely, not revealing anymore information than she had to.
"What school do you go to?" Doris asked.
"I'm homeschooled." Emma deadpanned. Darcy watched Emma, intrigued by how Emma flawlessly answered every question that Doris gave her in a calm and level headed fashion. She supposed that Emma wouldn't be trained to be an assassin if she couldn't lie so flawlessly. The conversation shifted back to Darcy as the two women began chatting about things that held little interest to Emma. Emma noticed how the slightly older girl gave her a curious look as the both of them stood in between the chatty adults.
"Sorry about my mom." The girl apologized quietly. "She's a little too friendly sometimes." Emma was taken back by the girl's sudden apology but didn't show her surprise as she casually shrugged her shoulders.
"My friend blabs a lot too. It's not that much of a problem… especially if you learn how to tune it out." Emma told her, surprised by how easy it was for her to talk so casually with a stranger. The girl laughed, her brown eyes lighting up with happiness, as she glanced back down at Emma who was only a couple of inches shorter than her. Emma was sure that her height would surely increase soon. She knew that she was already tall for a thirteen year old and there wasn't a doubt in her mind that the serum would continue to kick in as she grew older.
"Well, you know how adults are sometimes." Liz said before glancing at the pile of clothing in Emma's arms. "That's a really cute shirt, you've got there." Liz told Emma suddenly as she changed the subject. The older girl pointed out one of the floral patterned blouses in Emma's arms.
"Thanks." Emma said politely before glancing at one of the items of clothing in Liz's arms. "The dress you picked out is really nice." Emma told her as her eyes honed in on a blue summer dress that Liz had in her arms. The dress was truthfully beautiful but it wasn't something that Emma could ever see herself wearing. All the clothing Emma had in her arms were shirts and jeans because she honestly didn't know if she felt comfortable wearing a skirt or a dress. Maybe if the occasion really called for it. Maybe if she ever got back into action and Steve allowed her to be a part of the team. Emma could see herself going on a mission with the Avengers and maybe then she would wear a dress if the mission required her to as a cover or something... only if Emma didn't have any other choice.
"Thanks." Liz replied. "I wasn't sure whether to get this one or this really pretty emerald green one I saw but I think this one will look way better on me." Liz then proceeded to talk about the dresses she had picked out and Emma had tried, with absolutely all of her might, to nod her head in agreement when she received the cue to but she found it difficult. It didn't take long before she found herself bored with Liz's conversation. It was a bit sad seeing as how Liz seemed a lot more nice and genuine than the other teenage girls she had seen in the store but that didn't stop Liz from being interested in the same things as them. Emma wanted to relate to her in some way or find something in common with her but with every passing moment she found that she wanted more and more to walk away. It struck Emma in that moment that she could probably never have anything in common with any teenage girl. The feeling of never relating to someone her own age made her realize how different she was from the rest of them. The feeling didn't give her any comfort.
"So did you and Liz hit it off?" Darcy asked Emma once they were waiting in the check out line. Steve had returned to their side the moment they left the dressing rooms. Emma had only managed to leave behind a couple of items of clothing but chose a lot more to purchase than what she thought she would buy. She was a bit hesitant at first but Darcy assured that all the clothing wouldn't even cause the smallest of dents in Tony's bank account.
"What do you mean?" Emma responded, playing dumb.
"I saw the two of you talking while her mom and I were talking. Her mom is the coolest by the way. I wish my mom was that cool." Darcy said as she went on about Liz's mom. "Nope, my mom wasn't cool in the slightest. She was a borderline alcoholic though so there's that. At least there was always some booze around the house."
"Did you make a friend?" Steve inquired curiously as he glanced down at Emma and ignored the rest of what Darcy said. Emma almost hated the way he said that… as if she was a child that was incapable of socializing. Well, that wasn't completely untrue but it still annoyed Emma.
"It was more like her talking and me nodding occasionally and pretending to care what she talked about." Emma said bitterly, causing Steve and Darcy to look at her in surprise. Emma then looked at Darcy with a bored expression in her eyes. "Great job with the names by the way. That was very original."
"I'm sorry if I'm not some super spy that can come up with a backstory on the spot. It was the best thing I could come up with at the time." Darcy defended, a blush coming over her face as Steve just looked confused. "Besides… Jane's always my go to cover. Whenever creepy guys ask for my phone number I always give them Jane's so I don't piss them off or anything."
"What's wrong with Liz, anyways?" Darcy asked, changing the subject. "Was she super bitchy or something?" Steve looked like he wanted to scold Darcy for her language but was much too concerned about Emma to try.
"She was too delicate." Emma answered simply. Steve and Darcy exchanged looks before they looked back at Emma with a bewildered look on both of their faces.
"What does that mean?" Darcy questioned in confusion and Emma only sighed.
"It's mean that I have nothing in common with her. There's never going to be someone my age that I can ever relate to." Emma admitted. Her voice was even without any falter but there was something in her eyes that looked quite sad. "I understand that now."
Steve and Darcy looked at the young blonde sadly as they moved forward in line. It was obvious that this made Emma sad and possibly even lonely. Steve felt so helpless as he worried about his granddaughter. She felt so lonely because of her experiences in life and there was absolutely nothing he could do about that. He watched on and couldn't help but wonder if Bucky would be disappointed in him. Bucky had told him where Emma was so that he could help her but Steve wasn't sure if he was really helping her. A determined look reached Steve's eyes as he began to focus on the task at hand. He needed to be there for Emma and he wasn't about to give up anytime soon… he was actually never going to give up. If there was one thing Bucky had always found annoying about Steve it was how stubborn he was. No, Steve was dead set on being there for Emma and making a happy, wonderful life for her. Emma was going to have the life she deserved.