Hello there, lovely people! I hope everyone is having a spectacular day... I am, because I finished another chapter! Yay! I like updating. :)
As always, a giant thanks to my readers, followers, and favoriters! Seriously you guys are so cool! Thanks so much for reading my story! And of course, a big thank you to my reviewers, loreleisand94, watchheart8969, Saint of the Sinners, and WriterandDaydreamer4218! I love hearing comments from you guys, so thanks so much for your words!
Okay, so I'm still looking for prompts for family Avengers... I've gotten some good ones, but some ideas I had that I thought would originally work are just not long enough. Because of that, I'm still about three chapters short for ideas!
Last note, I promise: a big thanks to watchheart8969 for pointing out a perfect song for Esca. It's called "Force of Nature" by Bea Miller and now I am officially obsessed with that song. It's pretty great. I think "Dark Side" by Kelly Clarkson also fits her... and "Robots and Aliens" by Forever the Sickest Kids is a Pietro song (I know the title is weird but trust me it works I looked up the lyrics XD). And that's just a random observation that I made and decided to share!
That's all for today, lovelies! Have a MARVELous day!
The next afternoon, Pietro was lounging in the common area with Barton, Stark, and Thor. They didn't know what to do—they'd hit the gym and made sandwiches for lunch. Now, in the early afternoon, they were bored.
"Want to go bowling?" suggested Barton.
"What is bowling?" asked Thor.
"Never mind. Maybe we could catch a movie."
"What's a movie?"
Barton looked thoroughly exasperated and started to explain what a movie was to Thor. Stark interjected bits and pieces about technical details that Pietro was sure the god wouldn't understand. Pietro, however, wasn't listening—Rogers had just come into the room, and the moment the captain saw him, he lowered his eyes to the floor. "Afternoon, gentlemen," he said, making a beeline for the kitchen.
Pietro, noticing his lack of contact, offered, "Want to come and join us, Cap? We're trying to figure out what to do today."
Rogers smiled somewhat, but made a point of not looking at Pietro. He opened his mouth to respond, but Pietro—who knew exactly what this was about—exclaimed indignantly, "I apologized already! Besides, you might have knocked or something."
This distracted Barton, Stark, and Thor. They looked between the two and asked, "What's going on?"
Pietro opened his mouth, but then James walked into the room, looking groggy. Rogers hustled over to him and asked if he would like any lunch, how are you feeling, I told you not to drink so much last night.
"You're not going to be able to avoid me forever, Cap," muttered Pietro, rolling his eyes.
"What happened?" asked Stark again, looking interested.
Too late, Pietro realized that perhaps he shouldn't have mentioned this in front of Stark. Oops. "Nothing important."
"Liar," grumbled Stark, looking like Christmas had been stolen from him. "I'll find out, you know. I always do."
Knowing that things could get real ugly real quick, Pietro sighed, "Let's just say that despite Steve's old-fashioned notions, he could do with a lesson regarding knocking."
For a moment, they stared at him bemusedly. But then Stark burst into laughter and exclaimed, "Ouch, Cap! That must've been something."
"I thought she was sick!" burst out Rogers, his face turning the exact shade of red it had become when he'd entered Esca Rarity's room that morning without knocking. Esca Rarity had been asleep, so she didn't notice, but Rogers had seen Pietro lying awake in her bed and noticed their clothes on the floor. "How was I supposed to—to—forget it," he sighed angrily, rushing to make himself and James something for lunch.
While Barton was snickering, Thor merely glanced around. "I do not understand."
"No need to worry, Point Break," replied Stark, slapping the god on the shoulder.
Thor frowned, but decided to let it go. "Anyway, back to our previous discussion—should we invite our female allies to join us at this movie? I know Romanoff is with Banner for lunch, and Wanda and Vision are somewhere around here—but where is Esca? Has she not awoken?"
Barton had trouble maintaining a poker face at Thor's question. "Probably still sleeping," he sniggered. "She must be exhausted after last night."
"Exceptionally fatigued," added Stark, shooting Pietro a crooked grin. "Her very constitution must be shattered."
Pietro's eyes narrowed. He didn't quite like how they were insinuating what happened. At any rate, they were exceptionally wrong. He would never admit it out loud, but he had gravely underestimated Esca Rarity. At least now he knew not to do that again.
"Cut it out, guys," he muttered.
Stark just smirked. "You've been dating for six months! Allow us to have our fun. You do realize we've been waiting for this for—"
"Enough," snapped Rogers, his face red with anger as opposed to embarrassment. "Do not degrade her like that. You two should be ashamed of yourselves. If we were to bother you about… about Pepper or Laura like that, I don't think you'd like it much. Don't you agree, Buck?"
James nodded. "Sorry guys, but I'm with Steve and Pietro. If anyone ever insulted Zelda, I'd throw them into a beverage table. I've actually done that before, and that was just when the guy made her feel intimidated."
Steve frowned. "What happened after that?"
James's face grew dark. "He used her. So I killed him."
There was a silence in which everyone just stared at each other. It was like a giant elephant had barged into the common area and sat on the coffee table; but then they heard the elevator ding, footsteps around the corner, a bang and, "Ouch! Crap!" and suddenly, Esca Rarity was running into the common area, squeezing a towel to her wet hair. An extremely apologetic look was on her face. "Guys, I'm really sorry! I totally overslept—and missed breakfast—and have you had lunch yet? Or is it too late?"
Pietro was about to say it was perfectly fine and that she deserved the day off, but Stark spoke up first. "No worries, blondie, you needed the rest. It was a helluva party last night."
Esca Rarity nodded and sighed in relief. "Got that right," she sighed, rolling her eyes. "I can't believe I let you sucker me into drinking another beer, Tony."
Stark just chuckled and waved his hand.
Now that she had calmed down, she glanced over everyone and smiled. "So… what's going on? Where are Nat, Wanda, Bruce, Zelda, and Vision?"
"They're out for a day on the town," replied another voice. Everyone looked over and saw Zelda, who was wearing sweatpants and a tank top. "If I heard correctly, the men were thinking about watching a movie."
Esca Rarity beamed, which made Pietro's chest hurt. Even though she had just gotten out of the shower and was wearing a plain t-shirt with jean shorts, she was incredibly beautiful. He couldn't help but think of the previous night, and the things he'd done to her beautiful body.
As abruptly as the memories entered his head, he shook them loose. The last thing he needed was for Wanda to come back and read his mind or something. Actually, that would be mortifying, because she was his little sister, and he didn't care that she was only twelve minutes younger than him she wouldn't be allowed to date or do any of that stuff until she was thirty.
He rolled his eyes at his own thoughts. As if Wanda would ever listen to him, anyway.
"You guys want to head to the bar down the street tonight?" asked Stark, bringing Pietro back to the present.
"Sure," replied almost everyone. Zelda said something about needing to meet Robbie for dinner, but Stark reassured her that he'd be welcome, too.
"All right—eight o'clock, we'll meet here. Don't be late or I'll leave your ass."
"Better watch your mouth, Stark, or Steve'll come after you with a bar of soap," smirked James, throwing his arm over the captain's shoulder.
Rogers just shoved James to the side, which made the ex-assassin laugh.
With that, Barton and Stark resumed their lecture about what a movie was to Thor, and once they were done, they plugged in Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban and settled down for the next few hours.
Seven hours later, everyone was ready. Natasha, Banner, Wanda, and Vision had all been informed of the plans. Rogers was trying to tell James the basics about bars, and the do's and don't's of a night out. James seemed a little exasperated as Zelda had taught him most of it already, but for the sake of Rogers feeling better, he let the captain continue.
When Esca Rarity came down, Pietro's mouth dried. She had her hair in a long ponytail, and she was wearing a black crop-top with silver shorts. She also wore make-up, which was uncommon; she looked confident with herself, but when she approached him and asked shyly, "Am I dressed right for this?" she was as timid as always.
"Who cares? You look stunning," replied Pietro, making sure to lock his pinkie finger with hers.
Esca Rarity smiled at him, and he kissed the top of her head before hearing Stark announce, "All right, Avengers—move out!"
Within the next few minutes, they were at the pub. It wasn't super crowded as it was a Thursday night; Pietro figured it wasn't filled to its maximum potential. Still, there were quite a few people. When he looked down at Esca Rarity, he saw that she was fidgeting uncomfortably.
"It'll be all right. Promise," he whispered, knowing she was anxious around new people.
She nodded gratefully and tightened her hold on his pinkie finger.
Ten minutes passed, and Natasha, Barton, Thor, Zelda, James, Pepper, and Stark were on the dance floor, most of them having popped open a bottle of beer or requesting some mixed drink to help them have some fun. The rest of them, however, preferred to sit on the sidelines, at least for a while.
Rogers, Wanda, Vision, Banner, Esca Rarity, and himself simply watched their compatriots before beginning a conversation about the movie they'd watched. Apparently, Esca Rarity had never seen the Harry Potter movies, though she'd read the books many times. She soon requested to have a marathon of the movies, which made Wanda exclaim excitedly and begin a passionate rant about the series.
Pietro smiled as his sister went on—other than himself, those books had been her rock whenever their parents had died… For a while, she was convinced that she would get a letter to Hogwarts any day. Pietro remembered when she had received a letter from "Harry" declaring that she would be welcome to come and visit anytime they visited London.
"And I would like to be there, of course, whenever you finish," exclaimed Wanda at last, apparently done with her spiel.
Esca Rarity giggled. "I wouldn't dream of finishing without you, Wanda."
Pietro smiled at that. She was unfalteringly kind, as always.
More time passed in which people on the dance floor began to swap out with people on the sidelines. Before long, Pietro was with James and Rogers, casually drinking a beer, while the others were all in the middle of the crowd. He and Rogers were attempting to fill James in on the Ultron adventure—Rogers was doing a better job telling it, as he'd fought Ultron the entire time, and Pietro… he didn't like recalling that he'd helped the android for a period of time.
Pietro smiled as he watched Rogers and James talk. It was obvious that the two had a friendship that ran deeper than anyone knew—he took a swig of his drink and looked out to find Wanda and spend some quality time with his sister.
She was nowhere in sight, but Pietro found something else that made his blood boil.
Esca Rarity was on the outskirts of the floor, as if she had been about to come join himself, Rogers, and James—but a giant of a man with dark hair and darker eyes was gripping her wrist, leaning close to her face. She was trying to peacefully talk herself out of her situation, but when she saw Pietro looking at her, her eyes widened in an obvious cry for help.
Red entered Pietro's vision—he suddenly knew how James had been able to kill the man that used Zelda. This man was going to regret even looking at Esca Rarity.
"James," said Pietro, his voice abnormally cold and serious. Both James and Rogers looked at him, followed his line of sight, and inhaled sharply. "Hold my beer."
James immediately took the drink, and Pietro speed-walked over to Esca Rarity and the man, who was starting to pull her towards him and lean closer to her face.
"Hey!" shouted Pietro, yanking Esca Rarity free of his grip. "Back off."
The man frowned. He wasn't as drunk as Pietro had anticipated, which made him even angrier. There was no excuse for his behavior now. "No, you back off. Whataya think you're tryin' to do? I found her first, see?"
"She's. My. Girlfriend. Now get out of here before you start something you won't win."
"Pietro," gasped Esca Rarity, weakly pulling at his arm. "Let's just go back to Steve."
"No," he retorted sharply. "This idiot tried to hurt you."
"I agree with Maximoff. At any rate, Steve is right here," said the captain's voice. Pietro didn't have to look back to know that Rogers and James were right behind him. Still, he looked back—and was shocked to see Stark, Thor, Barton, Natasha, Vision, Wanda, and Banner standing with them, too.
"It's all right, guys. I've got this," muttered Pietro. As grateful as he was for his friends and their willingness to help, Esca Rarity was his girlfriend. And he would be the one to protect her from scum like this that lusted after her.
"You sure, Maximoff?" asked Rogers.
Pietro turned to gaze at the captain; he looked across his friends' faces and answered in a deadly serious voice, "I'm sure."
They all glanced at one another, but drizzled back to where Rogers and James had been standing, watching beadily, ready to jump in if Pietro should require their aid.
"Be careful, Pietro," murmured Wanda, placing a hand on his arm. Her brown eyes flashed the way they always did whenever she attempted to read someone. "Sometimes, things are not worth your time. Perhaps this is one of them."
He chuckled, but replied, "If this isn't worth my time, Wanda, nothing is."
She looked worried, but hearing the fortitude in his voice, she left as well. That left only Esca Rarity, whose gorgeous blue eyes were boring into his pleadingly. "Pietro, I don't want to start anything. Please, let's… go back and drink something, relax for a while."
"You should listen to your pretty li'l prize," slurred the dark-haired man. "You're out of your depth, kid. Why don't you let the girl choose—"
"I choose Pietro," exclaimed Esca Rarity before the man could even finish. She pulled weakly on his arm again and murmured, "Come on, it's not worth it."
The man, however, grabbed her arm again, which made her yelp. "You gotta be kiddin'," he spat, glaring at Esca Rarity. "You're seriously goin' with this punk? You're nothin' but a lowdown slut."
Pietro had heard enough. "Don't you ever talk to her like that again!" he roared, and he grabbed the man's shirt collar and threw him over the bar, he was so furious. There was a mighty crash as the man sprawled atop the counter before rolling over and landing on shards of glass with a loud groan. Bottles of the drink were spilling all over the floor, and after a split second of silence throughout the entire establishment, Pietro heard Stark shout, "Not the Moscato! Really, Maximoff?! You couldn't have aimed for the tequila?!"
Pietro just cracked his knuckles and glared around the bar, letting everyone know they better not lay a hand on his girl or they'd be next.
The other men seemed to register this threat, and they beelined away from Esca Rarity. A smirk appeared on Pietro's face after this.
Once he turned back to her, she blinked and stared up at him.
"Wow," she exhaled at last. "That was… something. I didn't expect…"
Pietro's smirk grew. "Nobody messes with my girl."
She smiled shyly and, remembering that she couldn't hide behind her blonde hair because it was in a ponytail, put a hand to her face. "That was impressive, but you didn't really have to do that …"
He shrugged, yet kissed her forehead. "You're my girlfriend, and I love you. Protecting you is my job."
Esca Rarity smiled and sighed, "Then thank you, Pietro. Now really, let's go back to the others. I think we'll be all right for the rest of the night."
He nodded and escorted her to the Avengers, where James returned his drink. "Thanks," grinned Pietro; he'd quite forgotten that he had a beverage. As it was, he walked over to the splintered remains of the counter, grabbed a miraculously undamaged bottle of Moscato and slapped it into Stark's hand. "Help yourself. Just do me a favor and get Esca Rarity to try this."
Stark wiggled his eyebrows. "Don't mind if I do!"
With a laugh, Pietro then witnessed Stark trying to convince Esca Rarity to have just one more glass of wine—he put an arm around her waist and pulled her close. A warm feeling spread throughout him as he realized he'd passed his own test. He had proven that he could and would protect her from anything or anyone that came their way.
A/N: May I just say that "James. Hold my beer." is one of my favorite lines. You KNOW it's about to get real when Pietro Maximoff hands off his drink.
That is all. Carry on! :)