𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬

𝐱𝐢

𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐀 𝐇𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐃 𝐀 𝐓𝐔𝐍𝐄 as she brushed through Adelaide's hair in the bath. Addie's clothes swirled in the water as she lifted small droplets in the air with her hands. Nat then added some shampoo to the girl's hair in an attempt to wash out the blood from her hair.

'We might have to cut it.' She concluded, breaking the silence between the two. The water plopped back into the bath with Adelaide's upset.

'I've never cut it.' She announced, now fiddling with her fingers. Natasha continued scrubbing at the blood trying to get it out from Adelaide's white hair.

'You'd look nice with shorter hair.' Nat complimented, moving Adelaide's hair out of the way of her neck and looking at the chip imprinted in her neck, softly laying her hand on it. 'Does it hurt?'

'Sometimes. It's more of an uncomfortable feeling more than anything. I can often feel it in there. Ultron I mean.' Adelaide revealed, looking into the bath water at her reflection. Natasha nodded, then covered the metal up again. Addie could tell there was a tension between them since she'd been in her mind, like an unspoken block between them.

'Natasha-' Adelaide began.

'I know.' Her friend responded, and the girls just sat in silence with each other.

Clint sat on his bed, head resting in his hands. Laura, Clint's wife, folded some clothes and put them away in their drawers neatly. She wandered around their room as Clint spoke.

'She's just a kid, you know? She doesn't know any different, and that... man that looked after her, he really didn't treat her very well. Addie's been perfect despite all the shit she's been through, yet he thinks he can kick her off the team just like that.' Clint ranted to his wife, who nodded as she took off her makeup opposite him at her dresser. She wiped off her lipstick with one swoop of makeup remover.

'It sounds to me like Tony's just worried for the team.' She responded, rubbing off her eyeshadow and then tying her hair up into a small ponytail. Clint looked up at Laura with a pondering look upon his face.

'What if she stayed here?' He asked. Laura stopped what she was doing and turned around so she was facing Clint, a look of slight disapproval on her face.

'Clint...' She began, 'We have a baby on the way, we can't just take in another kid.' Laura sighed. 'Let alone a girl like Adelaide.' Clint got up from where he was sat on their bed and walked over to where Laura was. He cupped her face in his hands and she smiled at him.

'We could look after her, Laura, you know we could, better than anyone!' Clint told Laura, almost winging a bit. Laura removed his hands from the sides of her head and placed them on her lap.

'We can't Clint.' She said, and Clint frowned before kissing Laura softly and then walking over to the door and leaving the room.

Adelaide dried herself off after getting out the bath and she put on black joggers and a small black top and looked in the bathroom mirror. She ran her hands through her now short white hair that just to her shoulders; She had let Nat cut it after all, Addie felt like a bit of a change would be good for her (and Nat begged her multiple times until she gave in).

Adelaide walked downstairs to where the team were all sat, at a table in the middle of the kitchen. She listened in to their conversation, but only really caught the end and soon the Avengers were standing from their seats and walking towards the door. Natasha noticed her on her way past, and smiled at her. Tony, however, didn't wear the same expression, instead he walked straight over to Addie with a small frown painted on his face.