Good afternoon, all (or whatever time of day it is for you)! Chapter 8 is obviously up! Per regulations, thank you to Saint of the Sinners, wehavetofindthesun, Marvel18, WriterandDaydreamer4218, Tanley662, D, Savarra, and my Guest for reviewing! And all ye who follow and favorite this, thank you so much as well! You make me very excited to post my new chapters and whatnot; you're the best!
If you guys have an idea about a "family Avenger" chapter, please leave a prompt in a review! I might take one or two, as I want this to be about 25 chapters or so. I'm not sure yet, though, because that requires thinking and planning and stuff I'm not good at. All I know is; I'm adding a prank war between all the Avengers and Esca somewhere in the fic... Enough said, I believe...
Thank you so much for reading, guys! I hope you enjoy, and have a MARVELous day! :)
PS-Yes, I will be using the above farewell note in each of my chapters now. MARVEL fans unite, amirite?
Throughout the next day, Esca felt extremely guilty for using her power to make Pietro fall asleep. While he probably had no idea that she'd convinced him to rest—something she did only because he started to discover the extent of her abilities—she still felt bad about it. Normally, whenever she'd heal someone, she would just make them forget all about her once it was clear they'd recuperate.
But she didn't do it to Pietro. She figured she knew why… she didn't want him to forget she helped him. It was nice to have him be interested in becoming her friend.
Esca just hoped that she'd be able to keep him as a friend. She'd have to keep her past hidden from him—and everyone else—so they would accept her.
That afternoon, after being given a tour of Stark Tower by Tony, being taught by Clint how to shoot a bow and arrow, and talking to Steve, Esca was out shopping with Natasha and Wanda, seeing as they wanted to get more clothes and wanted her to come along.
Natasha was getting a new outfit for clubbing in, Wanda was looking for something comfortable, and Esca was awkwardly looking at dresses, seeing as she didn't have anything to wear except what Tony's girlfriend Pepper had left for her and she wanted to get her own clothes so she wouldn't be a mooch. As the other two slowly trickled back to Esca's side, she was stuck between a pink dress with white stripes and a royal blue dress with long sleeves.
"These are pretty," she said simply. Then she caught sight of a pair of jeans and murmured, "I like those too…"
"Well, since we already exchanged your foreign money for American dollars, you can check the prices and get what you'd like," said Natasha. As she looked at Esca's indecisive expression, however, she added softly, "I'd be more than happy to make up the difference, if you need it. You'll need clothes, Esca."
Esca glanced at Natasha out of the corner of her eye, but before she could say anything, Wanda piped up. "I'd be happy to help, too."
She smiled at the women and replied softly, "Thank you both, but I wouldn't want to do that. I'll manage."
They started to protest, but Esca escaped them by declaring she wanted to try on the pink dress and the pair of jeans with a silver sweater. Then she ran into the dressing rooms.
Within the next five minutes, Esca showed the other women what she gathered—both Natasha and Wanda liked the pink dress, but they thought that waist-level jeans would be more Esca's style as opposed to the low-rise jeans she'd grabbed. Esca agreed, though soon she wished she hadn't, because the two were seizing more clothing for her to try on.
"H—hey!" yelped Esca as Nat dumped three more dresses and another sweater into her arms. "What's going on?"
Wanda giggled and replied, "We're bringing you things we think you'll like! After all, you need clothes, and we've already gotten all we want."
"But I just came to find something for my d—uh—for… dinner! Tonight!" exclaimed Esca, her face turning pink. Natasha had displayed her approval of her dinner plans earlier, and Esca was very hesitant to resurface the topic in her presence. "I didn't mean to go on a shopping spree. Anyway, I told you that I'd have to go to the bank first."
"Don't worry about it," insisted Natasha, giving her the look that meant there would be no arguing with her. "I'm sure there'll be plenty of opportunities for you to pay us back. Now try on this dress! It'll compliment your eyes. By the way, you need a necklace."
Natasha positively flung the new dress at Esca before rushing off towards accessories.
Esca sighed once she was gone and looked at Wanda. "She's determined to kill me, isn't she?"
Wanda laughed and said, "She's looking out for you. She sees you as a sister. I do not know if you are aware how happy she is now that she knows you are alive. Since Dr. Banner has been gone… she's been different."
Esca sadly watched Natasha pore over pearl necklaces and matching earrings. "Yes… perhaps you are right," she murmured. "I've missed her."
"I would think so… were you two close?"
"Closer than I've ever been to anyone before," sighed Esca, still watching the redheaded assassin. She felt sorrier than ever for leaving the Red Room, even though she'd had no say in the matter. "I'm hoping… that I can make it up to her while I am here. And that I can make more friends at the same time."
Wanda smiled, seeing the sincere hope in Esca's face, and replied, "Well, you are off to a good start. Everyone likes you."
The blonde girl sighed. "I don't think Vision likes me…"
"Oh, no, he does," reassured Wanda. "He is just hesitant about meeting new people—I promise, he likes you."
Esca glanced at Wanda curiously, wondering how she knew what Vision thought about her. Wanda seemed to notice the unspoken question and flushed a little, declaring, "I've become friends with Vision. He was nice to me."
That made Esca smile. "That is good to hear… I hope I can be friends with everyone."
"That will be an easy task for one so amiable as you," smiled Wanda. "You've already found a place in the hearts of everyone back at the Tower. Stark is insistently calling you his 'new best friend' because you can cook."
They both laughed at that; just then, Natasha returned, three necklaces, a pair of earrings, and a bracelet in her hands. Since she wanted Nat to be happy, and since all the jewelry she picked out was rather lovely, Esca took them all and proceeded to try on everything the two women had brought her, if only for their entertainment.
An hour later, when they left the store, Esca had the pink dress, a pair of jeans, two sweaters, and the pair of earrings in her bag. Luckily, she'd been able to pay for most of it—Wanda and Natasha split the cost of one of her sweaters, since Esca hadn't had enough on her for it but they both insisted she should get it because it was silver and very pretty with her hair.
As they walked along the New York City streets, Esca asked, "So… back to Stark Tower?"
"Yes, back to—" agreed Wanda, but Natasha interrupted her with a gasp.
"Uh, no! Not yet, I'm… starving. Yes, I am very hungry. I forgot to eat lunch today. How about we stop and get some food? There's a burger joint just down the street," suggested Natasha. Esca noticed she was trying to shove her phone back in her pocket. There was a message from Clint on it.
She decided not to ask about it. After all, that would prove she was looking at Nat's phone, and that was none of her business. Instead, she answered, "That sounds nice."
And thus, the three girls went to Schwarma, where they were greeted and served by a cheerful guy with curly brown hair. His name tag read Robbie, and upon hearing that Esca was new to the country, he gave her a chocolate milkshake free of charge.
"We're pretty famous for our shakes," said Robbie with a happy smile. "Everyone loves them; even my best friend loved them, and when I met her she didn't like chocolate! Crazy female… I miss her. She went to Salt Lake City for a while with her boyfriend or whatever."
Esca understood what it was like to be moved away from a good friend, so she started a conversation with Robbie. Before long, all four of them were chatting. Esca decided she liked Robbie; he was very nice, and very spirited.
But… it might've just been Esca… Natasha seemed to be fueling the conversation a lot, as if she were intentionally keeping them talking.
Esca's suspicions were at a peak when Nat checked her phone and suddenly declared, "Oh, it's been wonderful talking to you, Robbie, but we better get going. We'll be sure to come back!"
Robbie waved farewell and moved to serve other customers. The three women left a good tip for him before walking back to Stark Tower.
On the way, Esca finally had to say something. "So Natasha, are you going to tell me what you and Clint are plotting, or am I going to have to guess?"
Natasha didn't make any sign to indicate she was surprised by Esca's words. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, you've been stalling," declared Esca. "You're up to something. You and Clint, anyway, as I'm rather sure that's whom you've been exchanging texts with."
The other women giggled. Then Wanda exclaimed, "She wasn't the only one stalling."
"What? What's going on?"
"You'll see," was all they would say, much to Esca's frustration.
It wasn't until they returned to Stark Tower that Esca got her first hint about what was going on. When she walked in the common area, she saw Pietro and Clint talking. They shook hands, but Clint looked over and said, "Oops, they're back."
Pietro looked over, locked eyes with Esca, and zoomed away without even a hello.
"I see!" exclaimed Esca once he was gone. She turned to face Wanda and Natasha and put her hands on her hips. "This whole shopping guise was to get me out of the Tower!"
Clint chuckled and drew closer, and Esca could see there was a teasing edge in his eyes. "You're quick," he announced with a grin. "Unfortunately, that's all you're going to know for another hour."
"But—!"
Esca could get no more out before Natasha interrupted her. "Come on, let's put your new clothes in your room!" And she started pushing the blonde girl out of the common area.
"Everyone seems to know about this plot except me," grumbled Esca.
"Oh, hush up and put your dress on," sighed Natasha. "You'll thank us later."
"Thank you for what, exactly?" retorted the blonde girl as she removed her baby-blue sweater and gray jeans. She pulled the dress over her head and asked, though her voice was a little muffled, "Are you all seriously trying to set me up with Pietro?"
"We're just trying to surprise you. Now be quiet and hurry up so I can do your hair!"
Esca sighed, but allowed herself to be dolled up by Natasha. She figured it was the least she could do, seeing as Natasha did help buy her that sweater… Still, she muttered, "I thought Pietro was the only crazy one around here, but I was mistaken. You're all bonkers."
Natasha just laughed. "We'll see about that."
Within the next forty minutes, Esca had a lovely braid in her hair, a few powders on her face, and her new pair of earrings on her person. Natasha shooed her downstairs with a, "Hurry up, Esca, you're late!"
"You made me late!" groaned Esca, but she obediently exited her room, trying to ignore the silly butterflies in her stomach. After all, she was just going to dinner with Pietro. And they'd just talk. And oh God she hadn't allowed herself to get close to people for a long time what if she messed something up.
"Stop it," she grumbled to herself. "Everything'll be fine. You and Pietro are just friends. You're just hanging out and eating food. It's fine."
With that, Esca put on a smile and entered the common area.