The Soul family hardly ever got together but when there was a huge alien attack that involved the youngest Soul member, there was an exception. Seren had arrived with a small duffel bag in her hand to her child home located in a more rural part of Hudson. As soon as she knocked, her mother had come out to shower her with hugs and kisses.

Liana Soul was as tall as Seren, which was only a 5'5 stature. Her dark chocolate brown eyes were heavy with concern that'd formed the moment the battle had been broadcasted. Her messy brown hair was pulled into a bun and Seren had to wonder if her mother had been sleeping ever since the battle.

Liana had been terrified to learn that her daughter - her only child - had fought in the alien attack that left such a chaos behind. "But are you sure that you're alright?" She had Seren's face cupped even when Seren tried to pry her pale hands off her.

"Mom, I'm good, trust me," Seren sighed. "Can I please come inside now?"

"Yeah, of course," Liana took Seren's duffel bag from her and ushered her inside first. "Brooks, she's here!"

Seren had only made it inside three steps before her father's figure appeared with the same needy arms as her mother. Once more, Seren was trapped inside a bone-crushing hug. Her father was far taller than her (and her mother) and was well built. Unlike Liana, his appearance was a bit more put together. His honey brown hair was neatly combed and his emerald green eyes, though concerned, weren't reddish like Liana's.

"What the hell was that?" Brooks kissed his daughter's hair. "We were so scared, sweetheart. Are you alright?"

"Yes, Dad, I promise you that I'm okay," Seren just smiled through her parents' worry.

"We saw what you did in the air," Brooks pulled away to meet his daughter's gaze. She was staring back at the owner of her green eyes and they weren't happy. "Your mother said that was a lot of energy you emitted to save the city."

"It was," Liana agreed with a huff. "Did S.H.I.E.L.D. tell you do that?"

"Of course not," Seren sighed and followed Liana down the foyer with her father right behind. "I did it because it was the quickest way to help those civilians."

"You shouldn't have done that, sweetheart. What if you'd gotten hurt?" Brooks asked and Seren dared to think that her parents had already come up with dozens of 'what if' situations.

"She wouldn't have," she heard her grandmother's voice right before they came into the living room.

Atria was sitting on the couch when Seren spotted her. She was tucked in the corner as if to put distance between her and the others. Seren would ignore the picture of how that seating arrangement had been created in the first place and instead rushed to hug her grandmother.

"Hi grandma," she gave Atria a tight hug.

"Oh, it's good to see you," Atria patted Seren's short hair. "And as beautiful as ever. Doesn't even look like you were in a battle."

Seren had a short moment to smile abashedly when her mother huffed. "But she was," she sent Atria a glare. "Because S.H.I.E.L.D. assigned her, no doubt."

"Mom," sighed Seren, but it made nothing. Liana kept going.

"She put herself in danger, Mother! She went into a space portal! She might not have made it out!"

"I knew that she would," Atria said calmly.

"Why? Because you 'saw' it?" Brooks' tone was coated with disbelief. All the years of marriage with Liana and he still wasn't quite a believer of his mother-in-law's psychic abilities. He preferred not to think about them, honestly.

Atria, however, simply nodded. "Yes, but also? I know my Seren is well trained for these missions. She is a strong girl and I believe in her power."

"Thank you, grandmother," Seren took a seat beside Atria. "You know what? I met a God. A-a um...a man from another world and he knows of Celessia. He's been there!"

Atria's wrinkled face curved into a smile. "He has offered you something."

"Yes," Seren smiled. "He says he can take me to Celessia in the future so I can carve a star of my own."

Liana's and Brooks' faces were heavy with concern again. Atria saw this but said nothing of it. Seren was much too excited for any of them to take it away. Seren had never seen Celessia, much less gone close to it. All she had were the stories Atria told her and the images she was able to psychically share sometimes.

"I think that would be a wonderful opportunity for you, Seren," Atria passed a hand over the side of Seren's face. "You deserve it."

"Do you think they would like me there?" Seren asked, trying not to sound as nervous as she actually was over it. Being only a quarter Celessian wasn't a big deal to her grandmother but it could perhaps be for a full Celessian who actually lived on Celessia. "Or would I be an outcast like I was here sometimes?"

"They would love you, I have no doubt about it," Atria promised her. Her eyes flickered to Seren's parents and motioned for Seren to stand up. "Why don't you go settle your things upstairs so we can have dinner?"

"Yeah, alright," Seren nodded. She leaned down to press a kiss to her grandmother's forehead. "Thank you grandma, for believing in me." She turned to leave and offered her parents a small smile. She wouldn't ask, and they would never say it out loud, but their faith in her as Stardust wavered each day.

Liana and Brook suspected what Seren thought and as much as they talked about it, they couldn't make her see what they saw. It wasn't that they didn't believe Seren was strong, oh, because they did believe in her great strength. They knew that their daughter was incredibly strong. She endured such a difficult childhood growing up with her unique biology and still came out with a heart of gold. Their faith in her had nothing to do with that. It had to do more with what and who she worked for. They would always be fearful that one day the very organization she devoted her life to would turn its back on her when she was no longer deemed useful to them.

One day, long ago, S.H.I.E.L.D. had set its eyes on Seren and in the future, it might set eyes on someone else. They knew it would crush Seren if that day ever happened. How they wished Atria never allowed for this to happen.

"If you keep everything bottled in, Liana, you will explode," Atria warned her daughter when Seren was gone. "You too Brooks."

Liana shook her head and settled a cold look on her mother. "You shouldn't encourage Seren like that."

"Encourage her to do what? To help people? Or to be excited that she might get to visit the place where she comes from?"

"My daughter is from Earth," Brooks snapped. "She was born and raised on Earth."

"I don't argue that she isn't," Atria shrugged. "She is as much human as anyone else, but she's also part Celessian."

"We don't know the state of Celessia right now," Liana said curtly, "And I wouldn't want anybody on that planet to ridicule my daughter."

"They wouldn't," Atria said confidently, "Not when they see those stars on her neck and shoulder. I told you this the day she was born, Liana. Seren will be powerful — the only reasonable matriarch of the Despina family."

This only infuriated Liana even more. "I have told you time after time that my daughter is not going to follow the silly little matriarch rules of Celessia. I wanted her to have freedom."

"And yet she had to constantly hide from the humans," Atria pointed out, "That doesn't sound like a lot of freedom to me. I understand why she had to hide — we all had to do it — so wouldn't it make more sense to allow Seren to visit Celessia and prove her identity to those we left behind? They would undoubtly make her the head of the family."

"At what cost has this come to?" Liana frowned. "Look at everything she's had to do just to prove how—" she raised her fingers into quotation marks— "powerful she is?"

"How could you not be proud of Seren for what she did in New York? She saved thousands of people."

"By putting herself in danger. You do recall that she carried a nuke into a portal leading to outer space, don't you?" Liana lifted an eyebrow at her mother. She would never forget seeing that on the news. Seren had gone straight into that portal not knowing if she would make it out alive. "You have made it so easy for Seren to willingly go into situations like that without a care of what happens to her. What would you have done, mother, if she hadn't fallen out of the portal in time?"

"She did," Atria pointed out but Liana snapped that it wasn't the point.

"You've made Seren into a weapon. Your granddaughter. One day these battles aren't going to end well and Seren might pay a heavy price. Can you live with that?" Liana waited for her mother to answer the question. She wasn't sure whether to be satisfied that Atria couldn't seem to answer it, I feel worse that she hadn't been able to. Because if she wasn't able to answer then it meant that even she wasn't sure what she created out of her granddaughter.

Seren sighed from the staircase as the argument between her parents and grandmother continued. Years and years passed by and it was still the same argument. Didn't they ever get tired of arguing the same thing?

I guess not. With another sigh, Seren went up the staircase. Maybe by the time they had dinner, they would have everything out of their systems and leave room for a normal dinner.

She came to her old bedroom and pushed the door open. Everything was, as usual, clean and prim. Her mother was a neat freak and that would never change either. Seren often suspected that this was a huge reason why they moved out of the countryside in the first place. Plus, it was easier to believe that and not that it was because of her who'd decided to go into S.H.I.E.L.D. as an adult.

The countryside had been the perfect place to raise a child who often showed alien powers. There was nothing to hide from all the time and so Seren was free to develop her powers as much as she could. If she made a mistake, there were no witnesses. That all changed when Atria decided to volunteer them for the Initiative. Eventually, when Seren was 18, she was relocated to New York and her parents and grandmother soon followed. Seren just wished the move and everything had the power to change their arguing ways.

The duffel bag hit her turquoise colored sheets with a thud. If Liana wasn't busy arguing, she would've scolded Seren for not putting the bag in the floor instead. Seren pulled out her clothes she brought along for the next couple of days and put them away.

She didn't have much to put away anyways so it left her plenty of time to ride out the argument downstairs. She wandered around the room, opening her windows as she usually would. She liked the fresh breeze.

She came across her desk still cluttered with her younger self's things. There were physics books threatening to fall. It was the only thing that Liana wouldn't touch. Said books were all connected to Seren's powers she was developing at a younger age because of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s push.

It was worth it, Seren happily declared when she started organizing the books. She did something good. She finally lived up to what the Initiative called for. Nobody could take that away from her, not even her parents.

By the time dinner came around, things were quieter. Seren was delighted to see all her favorite dishes on the dining table when she walked in. Being the only child had consisted of a lot of doting sometimes.

"It all smells so good," Seren eagerly grabbed a seat. She wouldn't even comment on the seating arrangement this time. Her father had taken the head seat and on his left was her mother. She herself sat on his right. Atria was sitting next to her.

"Does it?" Liana was happy to hear. "You know you could always move back in. You'd have dinners like these all the time."

The idea was tempting with all the food that consisted of. Seren laughed in the end. "I'd end up like an oompa-loompah, Mom."

"With those eyes, no one would notice." Liana came around with a bowl of salad. "It's how your father got me, you know."

Seren flushed. "Right."

"But what about that hair of yours?" Brooks reached over to push some of Seren's bright ginger strands from her forehead. "Orange as an actual orange!"

Seren laughed. Her father was never good at making pubs. "Dad, c'mon!"

"You c'mon! When do I get to see the real hair again?"

"I think she's beautiful the way she is," Atria said off-handedly. She had reached over for some sweet bread on a plate.

"Encourage her to do the opposite why don't you?" Liana sighed as she took her seat again.

"Please don't," Seren begged them just as they were about to start another round. "We're having a nice moment. For me, please." There were mutual 'okays' that followed which gave Seren a bit of hope that things would go smoothly for the rest of the night at least.

"So how are things in the city now?" Brooks asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Okay, I guess," Seren shrugged. "They're trying to clean up the destruction and I heard that Stark might be proposing something for that. Hopefully it'll work."

"That's good. I can't imagine how things must look like on the streets right now," Brooks reached over for his glass.

"More traffic," Seren said, only half joking.

"Oh Lord," Liana said as if she headed into the city every day. Being a local shop owner in the town let her avoid many such trips.

"And I saw that friend of yours - what was her name?" Brooks snapped his fingers repeatedly as he tried remembering on his own. "Blonde one? Makes a lot of faces?"

Seren had to laugh. "Chloe?"

"That's the one!" Brooks gave a final snap of his fingers. "We saw her on the news too. I thought you said she wasn't in New York."

Seren shrugged. "I never know what's going on with Chloe. I'm just glad that she was there."

"And I'm glad that you were there too to help," Atria patted Seren's arm softly. "My Star Soul, the hero she is."

Seren flushed at the honesty in her grandmother's face. "Thank you, grandma."

"Mother," Liana hissed.

"I haven't said anything wrong, Liana," Atria tried to say but Liana was shaking her head already.

"Of course not! Because you never do any harm, right?"

"Mom…" Seren put her fork down. Suddenly the breaded chicken wasn't that tasty.

"Let's not start again, Liana. For Seren," Atria said.

"Oh, now you want to do something for Seren?" Liana scoffed. "Where was that endeavor when you volunteered her for some freaky space experiment in 95?"

"Mom!" Seren exclaimed but seeing Liana wasn't even acknowledging it, she shifted towards her father for some additional help. "Dad?"

"She's not wrong, darling," Brooks shook his head.

"Oh my God!"

Atria was still trying to defend herself against her daughter. "Maybe I didn't do the best for Seren—"

"You think!?"

"—but I did everything with the best of intentions!"

"Really? Did that include sending her off into a portal!?"

"Of course not—"

"Because that's where she went last week! She nearly died, mother!" Liana's voice had risen into a shrill shout. "My daughter nearly died! Do you understand how I felt learning that?"

Atria was silent. Liana thought she at least looked decently guilty. As she should. Her heart had been in her mouth when she saw videos of Seren going headfirst into a portal with a nuke in her hands. Nothing could ever change her mind that Atria was responsible for Seren ever being in that situation in the first place.

"Mom, grandma, please…" Seren felt like a broken record having to call for her mother and grandmother to stop.

But it was like the sound of her voice reignited the argument. Liana started again, accusing Atria of paving the way that led Seren to be on that street with the Chitauri. Brooks wouldn't argue as blatantly as his wife but every now and then he would make his own remarks, siding with Liana. Atria would defend herself so passively that it seemed to only anger Liana even more.

Seren finally had enough of it and slammed her hands down on the table, her strength showing in the cracks of the glass under her palms. "Enough!" She rose from her chair, fully aware that the only noise now was her heavy breathing. "Why can't you just let it go already? It's been 16 years already!"

"It's exactly because it's been 15 years that we're upset, Seren," Brooks was slightly more calm than his wife. "The point your mother has always tried to male here is that you should've never had to do anything with S.H.I.E.L.D. when you were 9."

"Nobody forced me to do anything!"

"You were nine, Seren. You weren't old enough to make that choice," Brooks said, "And then SHIELD went and made it a potential national threat to force your mother's and my hand in the situation. We couldn't say no to them. Don't you see how twisted that place is?"

Seren was about to open her mouth when Atria cut in. "They are right, my little Star Soul. You were a child."

Seren flipped her head in her grandmother's direction. "What?" That was the first time she ever heard her grandmother express any type of regret over her involvement in the Initiative. Even her parents had gone silent in shock. You don't think it was right to bring me in? I thought you said...you said you were proud…"

"Pay attention to my words, my little Star Soul," Atria said slowly as she watched her granddaughter get more and more worked up. "I am proud of you. I am so proud of you...but looking at things, everything I did in the past...you were a child."

"No, no," Seren quickly sat back down and reached for her grandmother's wrinkly hands, encasing them in her own. "Because if you hadn't done that then I would've never been able to do what I can do today."

"But it's not what you deserved," Liana said from her spot. Seren shook her head, eyes blinking slightly faster to rid the swelling tears. "You were a child. You could've had options!"

"I...I did what I wanted to do! God!" Seren got up, letting her grandmother's hands go in the process. "You're all talking about what I should have done like I didn't already do what I wanted! I did something great and instead of talking about that you're stuck in the past!"

Brooks tried reaching for her closest hand. "Seren, sit down—"

"NO!" Seren shouted and backed away from the table. "I'm not hungry anymore."

"Seren—" Liana was halfway up when Seren stormed out of the dining room.

Everyone calling after her vanished the moment she slammed her bedroom door shut. She heaved a heavy sigh and dragged herself to her bed. She wasn't sure whether to be angry or sad or both at this point. Each time she visited her family, whether her grandmother was present, things never went well. It was like the past was all her parents thought about her. She could do something as amazing and grand as she had done this week but it wouldn't be enough for them.

She heard her phone start to ring and for a moment she debated about whether or not to take the call. But, after realizing that it could be a new potential mission, she went in search of the phone. Eventually she found it under her duffel bag.

"Hi! Hello!" Chloe was on the other line.

"Is there a new mission?" Seren asked straightaway.

"What? No! Not that I know of but... you just save the world. Take some days off or something."

Seren sighed. "Yeah."

"I was just calling because I told Steve that I would treat him to dinner but this guy can't even remember what restaurant that you introduced him to that he really liked!"

A light smile came to Seren when she heard Steve in the background asking Chloe not to make him sound that big of an idiot. Chloe had no such sympathy for him.

"The guy can literally help save the world but he can't remember where he ate from last week!"

"Chloe."

Seren chuckled at the familiar scolding that Steve gave Chloe.

"It's weird how easily and quickly he learned that from you," Chloe told her after a moment.

"Don't be rude," Seren said simply and plainly. "And you're looking for Michael's Pizzeria."

"Pizza? Steve, you couldn't remember a pizzeria!?"

Seren couldn't help but laugh again. Steve sounded like he was getting really annoyed with Chloe.

"Anyways," Chloe said with a dramatic sigh, "How's the visit going?"

Seren instinctively glanced at the shut door on her left. She was sure that if she kept a close ear there she would still hear pieces of arguing. "...it could be better."

"Uh oh," Chloe said, already knowing the problem. "Are they arguing again?"

"Chloe, I don't want to ruin yours and Steve's night too." Seren felt like that would just be rude.

"Oh no, hold on!"

"What?" Seren waited for Chloe but she was already doing whatever she was doing. In a few seconds Seren heard the beeping in her phone, alerting her that Chloe wanted to initiate a video call with her. "Great," Seren muttered as her thumb hovered over the accept button. The last thing she wanted was for people to see her right now. Still, knowing Chloe, Seren accepted the call.

The blonde's face soon appeared on her phone screen. "What happened?"

Seren playfully rolled her eyes. "Nothing terrible."

"But nothing good either. What did they say now?"

It was so alleviating that she didn't have to explain the whole thing to Chloe. She was aware of the Soul family's constant arguments between each other. Chloe was aware that it usually centered around Seren.

"They're still not proud," the words tumbled out of Seren, her eyes low. "I thought that it would be different this time because of the circumstances but it just gave them new ammunition instead. I thought that maybe this time it would be different because...you know? But I guess in the end it wasn't enough, so... I wasn't enough."

"Nu-uh," Chloe's voice was sharp enough to make Seren wince. "You are not going to sit there and push yourself down, not on my watch - not on our watch! Steve! Come here!"

"Chloe, no," Seren barely said before Chloe had practically yanked Steve to her side.

Naturally, Steve was first and foremost impressed with the fact that it was a video chat. It did bring a smile out of Seren for a moment there.

"This would've made things so much easier in the past," he said with wide, blinking eyes.

"Focus!" Chloe hissed beside him. "Did you hear what our dear Seren said?" Of course Steve hadn't so Chloe quickly filled him in. It amazed Seren how talented Chloe was when it came to this. She had mentioned once that in her high school years she was a gossiper. It showed.

"Seren, I'm sorry about that," Steve said once he had enough information. He could straightaway see how upset Seren was and it irked him that it was all because of her family. "But Chloe's right."

"Oh, dangerous words," Seren shook her head, smiling lightly when she heard Chloe huff.

"You did something amazing and no one should take that away from you, not even your parents."

That sounded nice — that actually sounded really nice and for a moment, Seren couldn't decide if it was nice because of the chosen words or if they were nice because they had come from Steve. Whatever the answer was, it made her feel good. It gave her air to breathe.

"Seren?" called Steve when the woman stayed silent on the other end. He was worried that his words weren't helping her at all. He could only wonder how crushed she was that her parents weren't receiving her latest actions as what they were: heroic. She didn't deserve that.

"Yeah, I'm here," she ultimately said. "My grandmother isn't really helping either. She went back on her words. Made it seem like I wasn't supposed to be at S.H.I.E.L.D. in the first place."

"Seren? Hey," Steve had to cut in when he saw Seren's eyes glimmering. That was the first time he ever saw her close to crying. It was surreal and he hated it. She shouldn't be crying — she should never cry. She didn't deserve that...so how could he stop it from his spot? He never actually dealt with women and much less crying women. If Bucky was there, he would've already come up with something good to say. At the very least, he would've pushed him to do something. But no, Bucky wasn't here. That meant he had to figure something out—

"Seren, you are not going to cry," Chloe suddenly snapped.

"I'm not—"

"You bet you're not. Don't let anyone make you cry. You know what you did was amazing, you are a frickin Avenger whether your parents like it or not."

Steve's eyes had widened at Chloe, nearly scolding her for being so rough on Seren when the woman herself started nodding her head.

"Right," Seren rubbed her face free of any tears marking her skin. She wasn't completely convinced but she was not going to let herself cry in front of them.

Steve was unconvinced as well. He pulled on Chloe's sleeve, making her stop whatever else was about to come from her mouth. "Seren, just take it easy, alright? Don't be hard on yourself."

"Yeah, yeah, of course," she nodded too quickly to actually be genuine. She was trying to seem better than she actually was. For now, he'd have to let it be. He was powerless from his spot.

"When do you come back?" He asked her.

"Friday."

"Okay. We're still on for curry, right?"

Seren nodded without a moment's hesitation. "Yes of course. Seven sharp. Don't be late."

Steve smiled at her. "Wouldn't dream of it." If he had been paying more attention, he might have noticed how familiar those words were. Right now, all he could think about was everything he would do to help cheer her up this Friday when she came back.

~ 0 ~

The next day, Seren was up early. Her rigorous routine when working always had her getting up early so even when she had days off, she would still wake up at the same hour. She spent the first early hours getting ready for the day (which she hoped would go along smoothly in comparison to yesterday).

She pulled on a pair of navy dark jeans with a red and blue flannel shirt. There was no need to dress up today and she would take advantage of it. She straightened her hair to the side and left her room when she heard footsteps downstairs. It was her father who was making his usual coffee.

"Morning sweetheart," he flashed her a warm smile when he saw her coming in. He lifted his white mug into the air, asking her if she wanted some.

Seren nodded. "Thanks." She trudged up to the small table. It was the same table she had breakfast before school, lunches with the family, and then dinner. She even spotted the small carving she did at one point which earned her quite a sentencing in her room. Everything was still the same.

"Slight bit of honey," Brooks came by with two mugs in his hands. "Just like always."

"Thanks," Seren took her mug into her hands and gave it a sniff. "Like always," she agreed with a small smile.

"Don't you miss it?" Brooks asked after Seren had taken a sip from her mug.

"What, the coffee?"

"No - well, that too - I meant the house, me...your mother?"

Seren lowered her mug once she understood what her father was getting at. "Dad, we do this every time I come home. Must we do it this time too?"

"Do what?" Brooks laughed shortly. "Try to convince my only daughter to come home? My absolute sunshine? My sweet puff?"

"Dad," Seren couldn't help but laugh for that moment. He always came up with the cheesiest of sweet names for her. It used to embarrass her as a child.

"Oh c'mon, I'm just pulling your leg," Brooks gave her a playful pat on her arm. "I miss doing that. You don't come home often, you know."

"I think we both know why," Seren whispered, her expression hardening. "Each time I come, I argue with you two. And when grandma comes...it's an outright mess."

"Your mother and I just wish things could've been done differently, Seren."

"Differently? You mean like never going into S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"You could have had options, Seren. You've made your entire life about S.H.I.E.L.D. because of your grandmother." Brooks pulled his chair closer to Seren's, urging her to listen to him and not just roll her eyes and shut him out like she always did. "You know, when you were a child, before S.H.I.E.L.D., you were always so fascinated with botany. You loved planting things and watching them grow."

"Dad, I like gardening. That was never a career option," Seren sighed. She used to love planting different seeds with her mother in their backyard. She learned how to grow plants and vegetables within a short amount of time. She vividly remembered one dinner that was exclusively made up of things she had planted. Her proudest seven year old moment.

"But it was beyond gardening," Brooks insisted. "You-you loved studying biology. You liked learning about it. It was your favorite subject, remember?"

"Of course I do," Seren agreed. The several science experiment ribbons were still hanging in her bedroom to this day. "But it's just what you said - it was my favorite subject, nothing more."

"Because you were always so focused on training for S.H.I.E.L.D. you never got the chance to explore other career options. You could've been a scientist, a botanist."

Seren propped an elbow on the table and rested her chin over her hand. "Get real, Dad. I was a mousy girl in high school. I was never going to get anywhere." She looked away when the memories of her rather lonely high school years came back to mind.

She was always careful not to accidentally show her powers and that was a 24/7 job. It was hell when she was a high schooler. Being mousy, apart from her timid personality, simply worked to ward off any unwanted attention. She didn't make a lot of friends for the same reason. She didn't want to accidentally shoot star matter at them or something like that. Always hiding and never drawing attention didn't exactly leave for many career options.

"Seren Soul, I never want to hear that again," Brooks said sternly. He reached a finger under his daughter's chin to turn her head. "You were always intelligent beyond belief. What you didn't know, you made yourself know. On some part, I understand why Atria would bring you to S.H.I.E.L.D. - who else would know how to fight off criminals?"

Seren swallowed hard. That...almost sounded like a compliment. "I like what I do, Dad," she whispered. "I like being an Agent. I love being Stardust. I didn't need options because this is where I was meant to be." Brooks withdrew his hand but Seren quickly grabbed it. "Please, please, please be proud of me. I finally lived up to the Initiative. I did what I've always wanted to do. I got to save people. Doesn't that make you just a tiny bit proud?"

All this time she had gone through her life with her parents' little to no support for her. If she could just hear it once then maybe it would be enough.

"I have never not been proud of you, Seren," Brooks said as if he was only just now realizing that this is what she thought, what she had always thought about their feelings towards her. "Your mother and I may not agree with what you do, but that does not mean that we are not proud of you. You've had a lot of challenges in your life and the fact that you haven't lashed out speaks volumes of who you are. You're my daughter and I will always be proud of you. I'm always in awe of you, actually." He reached over to dry some tears off her face, tears she hadn't even noticed.

"Really?" Her voice had cracked like a child's. "I always thought you were specifically disappointed in me."

"Why? Because of the whole S.H.I.E.L.D. ordeal?"

"Because I'm not entirely human," Seren practically choked the words out. It was what always made her feel like an outcast, like it would make her less. She fought tooth and nail to make Tony see that she was just as human as he and anyone else, but sometimes the truth came back to haunt her. Biologically, she wasn't entirely human and because of that, she did things differently. High school had been all about keeping a low profile. Walk with your head down, avoid big crowds, don't talk to anyone you don't have to. No school events, no school games, etc. There were only few opportunities for her parents to come to her schools to give her support, like the science fairs. The only reason she did them in the first place was because they were required to pass the class. Had she been completely normal, she would've done far more. She missed out and therefore her parents missed out as well.

"You could've had a perfectly normal daughter but you got me instead. Mousy, star girl Seren."

Brooks was aghast with what he heard. He could only assume the thoughts that were running through his daughter's head at the moment. "That has never been a concern to me."

"Dad, c'mon—"

"No, of course not. You think I didn't know what kind of child I would have with your mother back then? I promise you that I was very aware, Seren. And I was happy. I knew that he or she would be amazing. They would be half of me, half of your mother. You inheriting her Celessian genes was something that we were prepared for. You are the best thing that happened to the world.

Seren playfully rolled her eyes. That sounded very Dad-like. "Okay, we don't need to exaggerate here…"

"I'm not," Brooks chuckled. "You are amazing and that battle in New York only proved what I already knew." Seren froze as soon as she heard that. Brooks sighed and covered her hand on the table. "I guess it is very cruel of us not to tell you that. That's not what we were trying to do. Of course we're proud of you, we were just terrified at the same time. We didn't know if you were going to come back."

"Truthfully, neither did I," Seren said, biting her lower lip when the reality of the situation truly hit her. Of course she knew that there was a chance she wouldn't make it back from the portal the moment she flew in but because of everything going on, it was pushed to the back of her mind. The most urgent thing was to get the nuke out of the city and possibly get Tony down as soon as she could. Dying hadn't been part of her thoughts in those few minutes. She supposed that afterwards hadn't been the time either. She was unconscious then she was up and searching through the news to see what happened to the city afterwards. And then she had to be there to see Thor and Loki off. She didn't really think about it...until now.

Fresh tears welled in her eyes. She really could have died and she would have never seen her family again. Even if they fought like cats and dogs, they were still her family and she loved them so much.

"I'm so sorry," she apologized when the weight slapped her. "Oh my God I'm so sorry! I didn't-I didn't realize…"

Brooks knew she was being honest. He'd known from the start. "It's okay, sweetheart. We know that you were doing what you thought you had to."

"I'm sorry," Seren sniffed. "I really am, believe me." She got up from her chair and encased her father in a tight hug. Brooks held her until she could stop the tears from flowing down her face.

~0~

Atria has been the very first one to wake up that day. She was sitting on the front porch bench for God knew how long when Seren found her. Her grandmother never really needed that many hours of sleep, making her an excellent agent back in her day.

"Good morning my star soul," Atria patted the open spot beside her. "Sleep well?"

"Eh, I guess," Seren took the seat with a sigh. "It was hard. I might have been a little hungry." Skipping dinner wasn't her smartest choice.

"I'm sorry about that," Atria patted her granddaughter's hands resting over her lap. " I do try to not argue but...it just happens."

"Why though? I'm 25. This feud has been going for 16 years. Isn't it about time we give it a rest?"

"Liana will never forgive me, and she will never stop reminding me of my mistakes." Atria spoke in a resignated manner. She was accepting the reality. "She's not wrong, which makes it hard for her to stop."

"Not wrong about what? That I shouldn't have ever been brought into S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Seren shook her head. "All this time I thought you would be on my side."

"My little Star Soul, I am always on your side, but I cannot continue acting like I couldn't have done something better for you."

"I like my life, grandma. Why are you suddenly against it?"

"Not 'suddenly'," Atria corrected. "This has been in my thoughts for many years."

Seren's eyes widened. "What?"

"I realized that you were a child and that I shouldn't have brought you up to S.H.I.E.L.D. until you were old enough to make your own choice." Atria let her eyes fall shut. "After everything that happened with Carol Danvers, we were in desperate need of something new to protect Earth. Everyone was scared. I thought that I had come up with a viable plan, but all I did was plunge you into a world you had no business being in."

"Grandma, it sounds like you regret that I work for S.H.I.E.L.D…"

"Do not make the mistake of believing that I'm not proud of you, because I am so proud. I believe that even if you had been old enough to decide for yourself, you would've come in anyways. But had it been that way, you would've at least gotten to live your life before."

"Why does everyone act like I didn't live my life the way I was supposed to?" Seren groaned, letting her back hit the bench behind her. "I was always going to gave to hide my true self around others. You have no idea how hard it was as a teenager! I have no idea how Mom made it because I sucked!"

"Your mother was less timid than you," Atria shrugged.

"Yeah, I was mousy and awkward," Seren folded her arms over her chest. Those two things have nothing to do with her alien biology.

"I just wish I had done things differently," Atria confessed. "Maybe then my daughter wouldn't hate me. I lost my husband and my daughter because of my choices. I never wanted to hurt you either."

"Oh grandma, you haven't," Seren scooted herself closer to her grandmother to give her a side hug.

"I'm afraid not yet," Atria whispered so quietly that Seren didn't hear it. As of late, there were many things she saw that weren't good.

~0~

It was near lunch when Seren finally had the courage to face her mother. Liana was already making lunch for them, something delicious and Seren's favorites no doubt. Seren thought she smelled the faint scent of zucchini somewhere amongst the pots. She loved chicken pot pie with zucchini.

"There you are," Liana was pleased to see her daughter coming in and already picking a spoon up to help mix whatever was boiling in one of the pots. "I'm naming chicken pot pie."

"Mm, thanks," Seren said.

Silence fell over them afterwards, but it wasn't the usual terse silence. It was amicable. Liana would direct Seren over the pots, reminding her to stir, to add a little more peas, to set the oven. It was nice. When the oven finally had the pot pies, Seren started doing the dishes while Liana cleaned up the stove and table.

"Mom, I talked to Dad," Seren started, keeping her eyes trained on the hard burnt spot of the pot she was scrubbing. "It was a good talk, actually, and I realized that maybe I didn't really realize the gravity of the situation when I went into that portal. I knew I could die but it didn't really hit me until today. I would never want to make you worry about me, to hurt you. I'm sorry that I did." Seren still wouldn't face her mother but she was anxious to hear what Liana would say. The dreadful silence wasn't helping her calm down.

"Thank you," Liana said, sounding breathless. She put her rag down on the counter and walked over to Seren, turning off the faucet and forcing Seren to drop the sponge and pot in her hand. "Thank you for that, really. I'm glad that you're seeing it from my perspective. A mother should never have to watch their child go headfirst into an unknown space portal." But if she was being honest, she was sure that Seren wouldn't hesitate to do it again if the situation called for it.

"Mom, can I ask you something?" Seren nervously said. She gripped the edge of the sink and glanced at her mother to see her nodding. "Do you hate grandma?"

Liana shifted awkwardly. "Of course not—"

"Mom."

"I don't," Liana's tone was hard, leaving no room to argue. "I do not hate my mother. I just can't forgive her for what she did to you."

"But Mom, she didn't do anything."

Liana seemed ready to correct Seren but instead of snapping, she shut her mouth and tried going in a different direction. With a calm voice, she started. "Imagine you have a daughter, your only child and you raise them with your best efforts to keep them safe and nurtured and loved. You tell them that they can do whatever they want in the world but then your own mother comes along and informs you that she has volunteered not only herself and you but your child as well. Your child who's only 9 years old has been volunteered to train for some government organization. They train her like she's to become a weapon for them. And she loses any other choice she had in the process."

Seren looked down at the wooden floor. Her heart ached knowing that she was the weapon, that her mother actually considered her a weapon. That's not at all what she wanted to believe she was but if her own mother thought that...what could possibly really think of herself?

"I do not hate my mother, Seren, but I hate what she stole from you," Liana sighed. "You could have been whatever you wanted to be. You could have stayed here and lived with us. We could have had all the family dinners, you could have brought home someone to meet, you would have been able to find your own house one day, start your own family."

Seren looked up to meet her mother's crestfallen face. "Whether or not I worked for SHIELD, I don't think I could've ever done that. Where's grandpa, again?"

Liana lowered her head; of course she had no answer.

Seren pursed her lips together, almost regretting bringing that up. Her grandfather had walked out on Atria and Liana when Atria had revealed she was an alien. "Mom, you got lucky. You found someone who doesn't care what we are. Do you know how hard it'll be to find someone who can overlook my Celessian side?"

Liana gently moved back a loose strand of ginger hair off Seren's forehead. "It's fairly easy, actually. If they love you, they'll love all of you. But I'm afraid with your life at SHIELD, you won't ever be able to experience that. It's not too late to leave that place. It'll get to be a lonely life, Seren. I don't want that for you." She pressed a kiss to her daughter's cheek. "Pot pies will be done in about an hour." She left Seren to think about the advice. There was a lot to mull over.

A/N:

I mean...both sides make some good points, don't they?

P.S. As always, I have a tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's a place where anyone can comment about a story or even just talk to me! I often drop aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is "saiilorstars"