Hello again! I'm here with the fourth chapter! Enjoy ^^

I don't own the Avengers, only Emma and the alterations made to the original story.

An Odd Evening

Fifth day

Wednesday is moving quickly. I don't do much, just read. I have now read through half the series of Harry Potter; and have reached almost half of The Goblet of Fire. If I don't find something to do soon I won't have anything to do by the end of the week.

All I can do is talk to the others, when they have the time, that is. Because they don't really seem to have anything for me to do. I get it; I'm not really an adult and it's not like I'm here to work. I just get bored. The good side of things is that I'm with my dad and we have had some good times together. We have fun and my father has found a few things for me to do.

But otherwise I haven't been doing much; not that I really mind, as long as I'm with my father, I'm good. But today I have decided to work out for a bit, because it's been a few days since my last training session; a week to be exact. And I found out that this Helicarrier has a gym! It really does have everything; it's kind of weird actually.

So right now I'm heading down the long white hallways to the gym. When I arrive I see Steve there. He looks like he's taking a break from training, so I guess I won't be disturbing him.

"Hey, Steve!" I call, and he turns around surprised. His expression adopts a gentle smile when he sees me.

"Hello, Miss Stark."

I walk over to him; he's standing next to the punching bag which looks kind of battered. "You don't need to call me "Miss", Captain," I say cheekily, consciously settling on the "Captain" instead of saying his first or last name.

"Sorry. Just trying to be polite, Miss… Emma," he hurriedly changes my name. I chuckle.

"That's okay. Is it okay if I call you Steve then? Or should I keep calling you Captain?" I grin at him.

This time he grins back. Success! "Steve's fine, Emma. But if you really want to you may call me Captain."

"I think I'll stick with Steve then, sounds better." I wink at him before asking, "Are you using the punching bag?"

"Uh, no. I'm done. You want me to hold it for you?" he asks. Hmm, it's a good way to get to know each other, I guess.

"Sure. Thank you, Steve."

After punching the bag a few times, I try to start a conversation with him. "So… Is it weird being here for you? I mean, have you gotten used to all of this yet?" I use my arms to gesture around me, and hope that he understands that I mean the time period and all that comes with it.

"I'm… managing, I would say. Sometimes it's the smallest things that matter, and luckily many of them hasn't changed. But this," he gestures to the walls surrounding us, "I'm not sure I will ever get used to."

I laugh. "No, me neither. I'm still surprised they really have this. But I guess you're right. The values and all haven't really changed, have they?"

"Exactly, that's what I mean. No, they haven't. But it's not just that. You know, the way people behave, the way they interact, that has changed. And that's one of the hardest things to adapt to, I think."

"I get what you mean. Like calling me "Miss" right?" He nods, so I continue, "Yeah, I guess people aren't as polite and… introverted now, as they were." I nod slowly, understanding where he's coming from.

"You're right. Sometimes I have to remind myself that I'm here, not there, and it's okay not to be so polite. I mean people are still polite, but it's in another way. You know, very few women from my time would be okay with working out like you are right now. Especially in front of a man." He sighs. "It's weird to think that people would think you and I were having an affair or something, just doing what we are right now."

"Seriously? It's not like I'm not dressed. We're just talking." I keep punching the ball while we're talking; making sure to keep up the tempo.

"I know. But people would assume that there was something going on if you were spending time alone with a guy. That's one of the things I'm glad has changed," he says.

"Yeah. That doesn't sound so nice, for the women at least." I frown. But then I smile. "What is the best thing about this time period then?"

He smiles back. "The internet's nice, I guess. It helps me to catch up on the time I've missed. But I don't know if that's the best thing. The technology in general has developed a lot, that's good." He pauses to think. "Yeah, I guess that's it; the technology."

"True. Technology is a good thing. And I'm not just saying that because of my dad," I smirk.

He actually laughs. "I sure hope not. What about you, Emma?" I frown confused. "What are your favorite subjects?"

"Oh. Well, I do like the science subjects, but I like languages and literature more. I love learning about different cultures and languages. And I love reading, and writing."

"What languages do you know then?"

"My father taught me Spanish, I'm learning German and I know some Italian. When I read the books about Norse Mythology, I actually picked up some of the Norse words. But I don't think I can remember them anymore."

"That's impressive. I like languages a lot, too. But I don't know many; I just find it fascinating when people speak them." He laughs slightly. "I like drawing a lot, so I used to pass the time with that."

"Really? Can I see something you've drawn some time?" I ask interested. I guess looks really can be deceiving. I sure wouldn't have thought of him as an artist.

"Sure. Are you done with the workout?"

I nod. "Yeah."

I walk next to Steve the entire way back to my room. I have never in my life been followed to my door before, and this wasn't even a date! He's just generally nice to people. He probably doesn't even think about it: he just does it. It's natural for him. And I think that's nice.

I smile at him. "Can I see your drawings now? Or is it a bad time?"

He's about to answer, when an agent comes running. He runs past us without noticing us. But then Steve calls out to him, and the agent turns around. "I was looking for you." That's all he says, and then the two of them talks quickly before the agent leaves again. Unfortunately I can't hear what they're saying.

Steve turns to me with an apologetic face, "Sorry, Emma. We should do it another time, something has come up."

I only furrow my eyebrows. "Sorry, but I really can't tell you." And then he takes off too.

I enter my room still thinking about what happened. My father is already there. Weird. "Something odd just happened, dad," I start.

"Odd? What do you mean?" he asks me. It's only then that I notice that he's standing in front of the table, which is set with food.

"What's going on here?" I ask while stepping closer. "Did I come at a bad time?"

"No, no. You came at a perfect time. Dinner's ready!" he proclaims happily.

"Why are we eating already, dad? Isn't it a bit early?" I ask confused. I'm not really that hungry myself.

"I'm just really hungry, darling. I have been working all day, you know," he smiles reassuringly. But I can't help but think that there's something wrong about this. Maybe it has something to do with Steve? But I choose to ignore the feeling and just eat with him.

"Okay then, I guess." He immediately sits down at the table, which is already set, and I sit down next to him.

"Well, this is nice, isn't it?" He seems a bit too eager, to be honest. It seems a bit fake, but again I push the worry aside.

"Yeah, I guess," I answer hesitantly.

Dinner proceeds without much talking; my father is quickly eating without really having the time to talk, and I just follow. The dinner is pretty much a bit dull, and not like yesterday at breakfast. But I guess he's just stressed; he has been working nonstop for the last days, so I accept it without asking questions. In the past he would also eat a lot with no conversation after working hard for days, so I guess it's normal for him. That's how he does it. He works hard and then he eats, even though it's not like he hasn't eaten the other days, but still. That's just kind of his thing; that's how I know when he's been working really hard.

Having already finished dinner, he just sits contently and watches me eat the last bites. When he keeps watching me after I'm done, I ask him, "What, dad? Do I look weird or something?"

He hurriedly shakes his head. "Nope. Beautiful as always, darling," he smiles at me. I don't fail to notice that he didn't answer my first question, but he does look away from me, so I'm guessing it was nothing.

I yawn. Come on! It's only 5.20PM, it's not late! How am I sleepy now? I notice my father looking questioning at me.

"Are you tired, Em'? We have done a lot these last few days, so I guess it's understandable," he says, again something sounds wrong, but I can't quite figure out what. And now I'm yawning again.

Nonetheless I wave him off. "Of course not, dad. It's only 5.20." Another yawn completely ruins what I was saying.

"Honey, it's okay to be tired now. You can go to bed now, and read for a while. Then you will wake up even sooner, and I know you like that," he says gently.

The idea of lying down begins to sound pretty good to me. "Maybe I'll do that," I agree sleepily. I stand up and almost immediately sit down again. I guess I really am tired.

I slowly get ready for bed, getting sleepier and sleepier; it gets harder and harder for me to move and think. Finally I'm ready and I lie down in my bed with my blanket tucked around me, fully intending to read for a while. But the second my head hits the pillow I'm sleeping. I don't know when my father leaves me; just that he does eventually.

I hope you liked the chapter! Thanks to those people who have favourited, followed or reviewed, it makes me so happy ^^ Please feel free to do so and make me even happier ;) Loki will appear in the next chapter, which will arrive on monday. I have planned twenty days to this story, and so far I have written fifteen of them, so don't worry about updates. I will make sure to update regularly! Have a nice weekend ^^