New Year's Day

Chapter 8

March 14th, 2015

The last few days had been spent milling about the compound with nothing to do. Tony and Bruce had spent a majority of their time in the lab at the Avengers Tower in New York City, only coming back to the compound once to pick something up. Steve had been working; he didn't leave but spent most of his time in the conference room looking through files on HYDRA agents and researching names Strucker had provided since being captured. Thor had opted to stay for a few days and go back to Asgard tomorrow, so he spent some time with Nat, Bucky, Sam, Clint, and me while he waited. Tony was throwing a party at the tower tonight and convinced Thor to go so he and Bruce could play with the scepter for a while.

All-in-all things had been quiet, but it was mid-afternoon now, and I needed to start getting ready. I walked upstairs to go back to my room, leaving Sam and Nat on the couch where we'd been watching Friends.

Once I got upstairs I showered, then headed to my closet to pick out a dress. I had something in mind, but I wasn't quite sure if I wanted to wear it. I grabbed a few options and laid them out on my bed.

The first was a short black dress, littered with glitter that was embedded in the fabric. It was tighter and made of a velvet-like material. The second was a little longer: a dark teal-blue midi dress that was made of silk and conveniently matched the color of my powers. The third was red, I liked the style but put less thought into it. Nat pulled off red way better than I did.

In the end, I decided on the second, so I slipped it on and went back to the bathroom. I started on my makeup, using a light concealer and putting on my mascara, being careful not to smudge it all over my eyelid. I did anyway. I pulled out my eyeliner and leaned closer to the mirror, but I hesitated. I sucked at eyeliner.

"JARVIS," I spoke, "can you call Nat to come help me?"

"Certainly. She'll be here shortly," he responded.

About 30 seconds later Nat walked in. Her hair was cute, curled and pinned up into a shorter bob, and she wore a short black and white dress. "Is it your eyeliner again?" she asked me.

"Maybe," I started, slightly embarrassed. "Could you do it? Your hands are way more steady than mine."
    "Of course," she sighed. "Sit on the counter, you're too tall for me to do it standing."

I gave her a grin and obliged, hopping on the counter and leaning forward so my face was level with hers. She was quick, applying the black liner in swift and precise motions. When she was finally finished I turned and looked at myself in the mirror. Both eyes were perfectly symmetrical. "I honestly don't know how you're so good at that," I complimented her.

"Practice makes perfect," she said, setting the pencil on the counter and turning around to leave. "Finish your hair, we're leaving soon."

Nat left and I unraveled my hair from the towel I'd had it tied up in. It was still slightly damp, so I blow-dried it while my curling iron began to heat up. I wasn't particularly gifted at curling my hair either, but Nat had been helpful enough. I could manage.

I curled my hair somewhat quickly and put on some deep red lipstick, then found a pair of black heels to go with my dress. Lastly, I slipped a pair of dangly pearl earrings in along with some smaller gold hoops. I'd gotten a number of piercings when I was still in high school but didn't usually wear jewelry because of missions. I kept a diamond stud in my cartilage on both ears most of the time, but only because they were a hassle to remove. Other than that I normally didn't bother. I threw on a few small gold bracelets and decided I was done. I grabbed my bag and did a quick once-over in the mirror, then descended the staircase.

    I was the last one to come down, and everyone was sitting in the living room waiting. Steve was leaning against the fireplace, talking to someone on the phone.