Happy Thanksgiving weekend, all who celebrate! And to any who do not, have a happy weekend any way!

Asa was less than surprised to discover that Stark Tower also had an entire floor of training room. There was a shooting range, obstacle courses, gym equipment, a boxing arena, a variety of weapons and dummies, and what appeared to be a massive jungle gym. It was through this tangle that Natasha lead her, to a smaller room off to one side.

It was a dance studio, the kind that doesn't exist in real life. It had beautiful, smooth floors free of gaff, mirrors covering all four walls, and three levels of barres. There was a stand-up piano in one corner, and next to it, Natasha hit a few controls on the walls to reveal a complicated-looking sound system. Asa couldn't help but grin, turning around to take it all in. Even the light was perfect- not sunlight, since there were no windows, but as close as possible.

Natasha plugged in an iPod, then turned to look Asa up and down. She pursed her lips, and planted her hands on her hips.

"You dance."

Asa blinked, then shrugged.

"Sometimes, I guess. Not so much, lately. How did you…?" she trailed off, not wanting to ask how much Clint had told her about their imprisonment. Natasha, thankfully, caught on.

"I would've known even if Clint hadn't mentioned it. You walk like a dancer. Good habits. We're going to start with a warm-up, see where you're at, and we'll go from there." She turned around and pressed a button, and a four-count etude poured into the room from invisible speakers. Tasha didn't wait for Asa, but went straight to the bar and prepared for a basic barre. She was halfway through doing a set of plies in first before she seemed to notice that Asa was still standing, watching the barre warily, frozen in place.

"Asa, barre. Now."

Asa swallowed hard. She shook her head.

Tasha faced Asa square on and planted her hands on her hips.

"I gave you instructions, Asalynn."

Asa struggled and found her voices. "I… I can't."

Tasha considered her, then released her hands to her sides and spoke more softly. She didn't question Asa's fear, or her fixation on this one thing, this one element of her imprisonment. If this was the thing she just couldn't face, well, Tasha understood.

"Asa. It won't get better if you don't make it get better."

She waited for Asa to respond, and when she didn't, she took a threatening step in and crossed her arms under her chest. Her voice became low and soft and terrifying.

"Are you going to follow my instructions, Asalynn, or am I going to make you?" Asa glanced up, and was caught in Tasha's stare. There was the briefest moment of impasse, then, "Walk to the barre."

Slowly, Asa nodded. She could do that. Just walk to the barre. A few steps, and she was there. She wasn't wearing shoes, or rehearsal clothes, and was in no way prepared. But she made it to the barre, and placed her right hand carefully on top of it. Tasha followed her closely, stood behind her, and kept talking.

"First position." When Asa hesitated, she snapped, barking out the order again.

"First position!" She so reminded Asa of her second ballet teacher, a woman with too tight of a bun and a nasty temper, that she slid automatically into first position.

"Demi-plie, set of four. Now!" Of their own accord, Asa's knees bent, her core tightened, and she sunk into a decent demi-plie. Her left arm lifted from en bas to first. She breathed in as she squeezed her thighs together, returning to first, then followed it with another demi, then another, then another. It felt surprisingly good, and no less terrifying. She still wouldn't have been able to keep going had not Tasha stood behind her, barking orders. As long as she was just following orders, it was possible. Possible to be here, in this studio, rather than in a plain grey apartment, dancing the hours away while she waited for Clint to come back, or wake up, or for some way out.

Tasha pushed her as hard as she could go in her bare feet. Soon she was sweating and trembling, and only when her breath started coming in gasps did Tasha let up. Asa stepped away from the barre, and just then realized that the music was no longer playing, that it had stopped ages ago. Tasha was watching her, arms still folded across her chest. Asa shifted awkwardly, waiting for her to pass some judgment.

"You're not in bad shape. We'll start the real work after the wedding, but for now, meet me here tomorrow, same time." She started to walk away, then threw her last instructions over her shoulder. "And bring shoes."

Shopping was Clint's idea. The wardrobe that JARVIS had arranged for Asa was all high quality, but mostly pretty basic; jeans, slacks, a few skirts, and a variety of blouses. All very tasteful, but when Asa asked Clint if there was any way for her dad and ask him to ship her stuff, he got very quiet.

"It's not a good idea."

"Of course," she sighed. They still didn't know what had happened to Liretto, or even really what she'd wanted with Asa. Clint nodded, not looking at her. It suddenly struck Asa how unfair this all was. Just because she'd run into Liretto once in a train station, and now she was cut off from her dad, her life, even her work. All because of some stupid, skanky…

"Bitch!" she swore. Clint spared her a glance, but didn't say anything. They just sat silently on the rooftop, while Asa stewed in her own frustration until it finally wore out. Then she sighed. She wondered if her dad even knew she was alive, then decided she'd rather not know.

"Feel better?" Clint asked. She nodded, then shook her head. She sighed again, then drew her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them.

"Not really."

"You could go shopping."

Asa froze, her mouth working in astonishment. She blinked a few times.

"Wha- wai- what?! Where did that come from?"

Clint half-grinned. "You were just asking if you could get the rest of your clothes. I said no. You still need new clothes, and something to do. Go shopping."

Asa sat up straight, considering. "Huh. Not a bad idea. Look at you be all girl-savvy!" She grinned lopsidedly. Clint returned his attention to the city below.

"I pay attention."

Ultimately, that was how Clint got roped into coming. Asa and Stephanie both needed some things, but Fury didn't want either out in the city alone. A precaution, he called it. Everyone else was either busy with the wedding, the serum, or trying to get Beth on the phone, so Clint it was. Before they left, a very harassed Pepper handed them both silver credit cards. They tried to hand them back, to no avail.

"Don't worry," she assured them, "they top out at 2,000 a month. Tony won't even notice." So, totally awed by the amount of money in their pockets, off they went. Thankfully, Clint both drove and had a car, a sleek little model that Asa knew nothing about, but which Stephanie whistled admiringly over. He took them, at their mutual request, to a nice mall.

Clint was right. Shopping did make her feel better. There was something about figuring out exactly what she needed, then finding the best quality for her money. Her money might be, for all intents and purposes, unlimited, but she still couldn't resist a bargain. She and Stephanie debated colors, fits, styles. They tried on more clothes than Asa had ever owned in her life, and they were soon laughing and bickering like old friends. Clint tailed them surreptitiously, always within easy earshot if they needed an extra opinion on a dress. He was actually more helpful than Asa would've guessed, and she wondered how much time he'd spent helping Natasha pick out clothes.

They bought shoes, scarves, jewelry, and Asa splurged on a beautiful brown-pink suede jacket. Combined with the basics that JARVIS had picked out, they created respectable wardrobes. She wandered listlessly around a dance store for a while, just running her fingers over the various leos and even taking a skirt off the rack. She put it back quickly, then remembered that she had another lesson with Nat that night. She hesitated, not wanting to even think about trying on anything that she would need for a proper dance lesson. She remembered the way Nat had snapped at her, winced, and glanced at the store across the way to make sure that Stephanie was still occupied. Slowly, she forced herself to pull several leotards and a pair of skirts off of the rack, let herself quietly into a dressing room, and finally settled on three leos, in black, grey, and red, and two skirts, both black. It took much longer than she would have liked, but then dance clothes always did. Stephanie was already starting to look for her. . Asa caught Clint's eye, slightly panicked, and he nodded slightly. Her heart eased a little as he stepped over to Stephanie and pointed out a set of jackets on the back wall, distracting her.

Tentatively, Asa approached the saleswoman loitering near the shoes.

"Hi…"

The girl, no older than sixteen and heavily mascara-ed, smiled brightly.

"Hi! Can I help you?"

Asa swallowed, and attempted a grin back. "Yeah, I'm just looking for shoes." She gestured vaguely at the shelves of shoes behind her.

"Absolutely. Flats or toe-shoes?"

Asa chewed her lip, waffling.

"Uh, both, actually. Split-soled canvas for the flats, fives." The sales girl, obviously surprised by her confident specificity, dug around the shelves for a second before she pulled out a few boxes.

"How many?"

Again, Asa debated, then remembered the black credit card burning a hole in her new wallet.

"Three, please." That would be enough to get her through several months, even if she was dancing every day.

"And what would you like for the toe-shoes?" Asa recited her preferred brand and size, and the girl found a pair for her to try on. Asa set her basket on the floor, and sat on the low bench in front of a mirror. Slowly, she pulled off her sneakers, taking the time for once to untie them. The sales girl handed her a set of clipped-off tights, which Asa pulled up past her calves. She rubbed her sweaty hands together, and carefully took off the box lid. The shoes had been packed with tissue paper, which she pushed to the side as she pulled out the shoes. She unwound the ribbon, took a deep breath, and starting with her right foot, pulled the shoes on. Her fingers were shaking so badly that she had difficulty tying the ribbons, but her hands remembered the motions, and she eventually got them knotted.

Then came the hard part. Very slowly, unsure of whether her toes and ankles could take the weight, Asa stood, then rose onto a wobbly pointe. It had been a very long time since she had danced on her toes, and it hurt more than she remembered. But the shank was right, and the sating pulled tight enough over her toes. She was grateful that her old brand still fit her, and she didn't have to spend any time trying to find new ones. She thanked the sales girl, added a few sets of tights, standard and convertible, to her basket, and made her purchases. She was still shaky walking out the door, but it was surprisingly easy to smile at Clint and Stephanie as they moved on to the next store.

Thankfully, Stephanie remembered other things she needed; makeup, hair products, and other miscellany. It was Clint who reminded them about the wedding; neither of them had anything to wear. So off they went, this time to a variety of high-class boutiques. Asa felt awkward and out of place. She was sure that all of the suited employees just knew that she was shopping on a borrowed card. Stephanie seemed equally tense. Clint had no such qualms, and after a few quiet words, the suits were more than hospitable. They helped the girls find dresses, selecting items off the rack seemingly at random, but that always seemed to suit them perfectly. Asa had a hard time deciding, long after Stephanie had settled on a beautiful blue lace piece that hugged her just right. It wasn't until one of the suits practically forced her into a concoction of pink ruffles that she would never have chosen for herself that she knew what she wanted. It may have looked like a cotton-candy atrocity on the rack, but somehow… it was perfect. Another pair of dresses for the rehearsal dinner, and they were done.

They stopped for pretzels on the way back.

As always, leave a review, let me know if you liked it! Also, kudos to those who caught my Community reference. :) It is not mine, just belongs to those lovely people who make the show.