In my own defense, I had not seen season three, episode eight at that point and therefore didn't know who Peter Pan really was and his relationship to Rumplestiltskin. I didn't get time to see it until way later, and when I finally did… I felt kind of dirty and disgusting. But at that particular point, I had no clue. And hey, ignorance is bliss isn't it?

When I finally went back downstairs to my own room and got in bed, there was another note on my desk. Cass, was written on the front, just like the other one. Same extravagant handwriting. I opened it up eagerly. Four words.

Until next time, Fire.

Great. So now to Loki and the Avengers I was Fireball, and to Peter Pan I was Fire. There would be no confusion on my part there. I hope you know I'm being sarcastic.

I spent most of the day running around the city with Pepper, Natasha, Jane, Callie, and some random woman looking for dresses to wear to the engagement party Tony was throwing for Jane and Thor later that night (the random woman turned out to be the wedding planner, by the way). Shoes would come next. We stopped at several dozen stores and tried on what felt like hundreds of dresses. If anyone hated dress-shopping more than me it was definitely Natasha. I enjoyed wearing fancy dresses and feeling like a princess on special occasions (don't tell Callie I said that, it would ruin my whole reputation), but I hated shopping for them.

Instead of everyone trying theirs on at the same time—which would have gone infinitely faster—we all tried them on individually with everyone else out in the waiting area critiquing.

Jane found hers fairly quickly, and for that I was grateful because it meant one less round of waiting in weird stores that smelled like too much perfume. It was long and form-fitting, made of satin and so bright red you'd be able to see her from adjacent buildings. A V-neck that was relatively low-cut but still modest—she was taken now after all—and beaded with little jewels that were maybe a shade darker than the dress just to give it texture.

Pepper found hers next. It was shorter—but not teenage-girl-ish short—and a dusty, silvery gray. The collar was round-necked and the back was open.

Natasha surprised us and selected hers after Pepper. It was black with thin red stripes going up and down, making her look taller. It stopped just above the knee with an extremely low neckline. It was slinky, tight, and meant to be alluring. I just thought it looked uncomfortable.

Browsing through racks and racks and racks endlessly, through dozens of stores, I realized I didn't even know what Jane's wedding colors were. Grabbing dresses in my size and stalking into the dressing room, I set them on the hangers and started to try one on. It didn't quite fit right. Yanking it off and throwing it on the door, I pulled on the next one. A silk chocolate one with a gold band around the waist that fell the just below my knee. The collar was high enough to keep my modesty but low enough to leave just the right amount of bare chest for a relatively short necklace. Honestly I was just glad there were sleeves. They were just cap sleeves, but it was better than strapless. I liked not pulling my dress up every two seconds.

"Matches your eyes," a new voice commented. Jumping, I whirled to see Peter Pan leaned up against the wall in the enclosed space, arms crossed and smirking.

"What are you doing in here?" I hissed. "If they find out you're here—"

"They won't, don't worry. They're all still looking for dresses for your friend," he replied dismissively.

"Her name's Callie," I put in.

"Okay. They're all browsing for Callie's dress." He spun his finger indicated for me to turn.

"So what are you doing here?" I repeated, giving him my back and moving my braid off of it so he could zip it up the last few inches where I couldn't quite reach. He did so. Putting his hands on my shoulders, he slowly turned me back around and made sure I was only inches from him. My discomfort of being so close to him multiplied by ten because of the close quarters of the dressing room. "I thought you were only coming back at night."

"The temptation of seeing what you look like in a dress was too strong to resist," he replied, leaning down to whisper it in my ear. So close, I could smell him. It was kind of… minty. Loki just smelled of cold and frost, but Pan was of outdoors and adventure.

"Umm… thanks?" I edged. He smirked again.

"Hey Cass?" Callie started knocking on the door to my dressing room. Peter winked and disappeared. I opened up the door. "Oooh! That looks good on you! What do you think of this one?" She held up a yellow satin dress with gossamer/tool/whatever floaty layers on top of it. I folded my arms and cocked my head to the side thoughtfully.

"I don't like it," I decided. "You need to wear a light blue dress that goes with the tie Steve's gonna wear."

"How do you know what tie he's gonna wear?" Callie demanded. "He hasn't even told me that!"

"He came by this morning when I was just finishing up my hair and told me to help you find a dress that went with the tie he had in his hand. It was light blue. Keep your hair on. He wants it to be a surprise," I explained.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me this the second we got in the car," she pouted.

"Why do you think I've been pushing the blue ones all day?"

"I don't know."

"Well, chill out and don't be whiny. I told you now. When Steve asks, just say I never said anything. I almost didn't."

I seemed to diffuse most of her shock, because she changed the subject. "That dress goes with your eyes," she commented. I smiled and nodded my thanks, holding in my recoil. Peter had said almost that exact same thing moments before and I was still a little appalled at his sudden appearance. I withdrew back into the dressing room and closed the door. I hung it on the maybe peg and dropped another dress over my head.

It was mint green, and way too short. I was pretty sure it had been shoved into my arms by the wedding planner woman. The second it was on, I went out into the waiting area, gave the women a spin, and stalked back into the small room. It went on the no peg.

"Cass," Pepper entreated. "Come back out and show it to us better."

"I'm already out of it," I replied with a bit more bite than I'd intended. "I didn't like it. Too short and not my color."

"But you look so good in natural colors."

"All colors are natural," I muttered, my knowledge of science speaking out.

"I know, but the greens, blues, and browns go so well with your skin tone and your eyes and hair!" she protested.

I slipped my arms through the sleeves of the next dress and smirked. This one would catch attention. Zipping it up—this one's zipper was low enough that I could do it without help from the back—I adjusted my hair and beamed at my reflection in the mirror.

Behind me, Peter's form flickered into existence for a moment, and gave me a smile, wink, and nod of approval before disappearing.

I turned and opened up the door. Pepper took a few steps back and returned to the couch.

"Um… wow," Callie said, her mouth opening in surprise.

Okay. The dress was bright orange. It was another color I looked good in. It was down to just below my knees, showing that I was young but modest. It was loose enough to be comfortable but tight enough to be appealing. There were cap sleeves—always a bonus. The back was kind of low but the neckline was high enough I wouldn't even need a necklace.

"Does it look that bad?" I asked. There was a joke in my tone, but also a legitimate question.

"No. It looks good," Natasha put in. Jane nodded. Her dress you'd be able to see from the buildings around the Tower. This one would be able to be seen from the top of the Empire State Building several blocks away. Talk about bright.

"It's gotta be that one or the brown one," Callie said decidedly.

"I didn't see the brown one," Pepper remarked. I pulled it out of the dressing room and showed it to her. When she saw it, her eyebrows shot up. "Yeah, definitely one of those two," she agreed.

"We should get both of them and let Loki decide," Callie suggested. I pressed my lips together thoughtfully, my eyes shifting to Pepper.

"That… sounds great," she remarked. "And whichever one you don't wear to the party you can wear to the rehearsal dinner or the reception—or even the wedding." I snorted and tried to hide it behind my hand—but that didn't quite work. Pepper's eyebrows scrunched. "What? What's wrong?"

"If Loki decides on the brown one for the party, I am not going to wear a bright orange dress to my friend's wedding!" I exclaimed. Callie started laughing, Natasha snickered, and Jane cracked a smile. The wedding planner hadn't made two facial expressions the entire time we'd been with her, so I wasn't surprised when she didn't react and if anything there was a distasteful look in her eyes of Darn right you aren't. Probably because I was gonna be a bridesmaid and had to wear a bridesmaid dress.

"I see your point," Callie commented through the giggle fit.

End Note: Eep! Love it! Next chapter is where things get a little more interesting. And the chapter after that is going to be even better. I love you all and I'm SO glad you're liking this as much as you are! Catchathief and callieandjack, don't you dare take this away from me. I'll sic my fictional boyfriend on you. Seriously, love you guys!

~Cass