A Second Chance

The M&M Thief

You slumped down on the sidewalk, placing your backpack at your feet and hugging your knees to your chest, before letting out a deep sigh and bringing your head back to look up at the stars. you had always loved looking at the sky... there was just something about it, but that moment was quickly ruined when you heard the loud revving of an engine, looking down to see a car speeding by driving through a large puddle Infront of you, and before you even had a moment to react you were soaked, covered in cold mucky water. "brilliant" you mumbled to yourself as you spat out the water that had landed on your lips and wiped your face dry with your hoodie sleeve.

You felt your stomach rumble and you groaned at the sound, you glanced down at your backpack that still remained at your feet also covered with splashes of the mucky water, and reached down for it pulling out what was left of your money, only $1.50... that wouldn't buy you much. You crossed your arms and sat back against the wall in frustration, now you were cold and hungry.

Your eye caught a glimpse of a LED open sign in the store window across from you. You had an idea. You grabbed your backpack and made your way across the deserted street and strolled into the store trying not to draw attention to yourself. You raised your eyebrows in surprise at how many people were in the shop at this time of night, you wandered over to the confectionary aisle, your eyes scanning the shelves for your favorite snack, you reached out and grabbed a packet of M&Ms before making your way over to the checkout.

You patiently waited in line for your turn to be served since there was only one cash register. "Next!" Called the man behind the till, you instinctively walked over and handed the man the packet of M&Ms, while giving him your best, most charming smile in an attempt to look innocent. The man furrowed his eyebrows at you before saying "that's $1.25" and opening the till ready to collect your money, clearly not impressed. You handed over the money while purposely knocking over an object on the counter with your elbow. "I'm so sorry" you said, trying to sound like you were actually sorry. The man glared at you and huffed before bending down to pick up the fallen object. Giving you just enough time to reach over and grab a handful of cash out of the till.

You started making your way to the exit, the poor man still not noticing the event that just happened. "Hey! Stop that kid" called out a woman's voice from behind you, ignoring her you continued making a beeline straight for the exit. Before the man could turn around to see what all the shouting was about you had already gone.

You now had a slight spring in your step as you walked a couple streets down from the store, silently celebrating at your success and counting the money in your hand, although this was not the first time you had done this. You will be eating well tonight. Or so you thought until you heard a strange noise behind you, spinning around and making eye contact with a man who wore a rather large necklace that shone green, and a red cloak. You looked the man up and down "You know Halloween isn't until October right?" You said with a smirk on your face.

The man took a few more steps towards you "my name is Dr Stephen Strange, and I need you to come with me" you laughed at the sentence, who does this guy think he is? "I don't think so" you said still smiling clearly amused, you spun back around turning your back on him and started making your way further down the darkly lit street. But you didn't get very far before you heard the strange noise again followed by a bright orange light beneath you, slightly blinding. You started falling, landing on your stomach with a groan.

"Hi" came a mans voice, not one you've heard before. You looked up searching for the source of the voice, "Tony Stark!?" You said still on the floor, "The one and only" he said throwing his hands up and smiling at you "Woah your-" you were cut off when a redhead walked in front of you and pulled the money from your hand, that you forget you were holding. "Hey!" You called after her scrambling to your feet.

"That's mine" you tried to grab hold of the money but her grip was firm and you had no chance. "We both know it's not!" she said, you could sense the authority in her voice as she looked you right in the eyes, making you take a step back and break the eye contact, clearly intimidated. But she didn't hesitate to close the gap, continuing to step towards you until you couldn't back away from her anymore.

She had stopped a few feet away from you and crossed her arms over her chest "So what's the plan Stark? Are we handing her over to the police" Tony laughed slightly and shook his head, walking over and separating the redhead from you, noticing you were uneasy.

"Give the her some space Nat" he told the redhead. "What's your name?" he asked, turning to face you. "Y/N" you replied, Tony nodded in response.

"Well, Y/N..."he said whilst patting you on the shoulder, making you jolt forward slightly "We've been watching you" you stared blankly back at Tony trying to figure out what to say. "you... you have?" he nodded and said "so what are you doing stealing money from stores?" you shrugged, clearly embarrassed. You caught a glimpse of the redhead, her stare was still strong on you. Tony tilted his head slightly forward towards you, awaiting your explanation.

You started fidgeting with the straps of your backpack "I needed money, I was hungry" you said looking at the floor. Nat and Tony both shared a quick glance at each other and then back at you. "Where are your parents?" Nat questioned.

You took in a deep breath before saying "my parents? they... they're not very nice people" hearing the shakiness in your voice, Tony stepped towards you and placed a comforting hand on your shoulder. "it's gonna be okay kid" Tony said softly while giving you a reassuring smile before saying "where have you been staying?" you hesitated to answer his question. "well?!" Nat said sounding impatient.

You sighed "on the streets" you went back to fidgeting with your bag straps. Tony clapped his hands together "Well we have plenty of room here" he said smiling. Nat walked past you and over to Tony "You're not seriously thinking of letting her stay here are you?" she hissed at him.

"it's my building Natasha" he said with a smile on his face "and the kid is more than welcome to stay" Tony had pulled the I pay for everything card.

"Mr. Stark, it's fine I can find somewhere else" you say while trying to edge your way over to the door, "no really, I insist" he stated, making his way behind you and putting both hands on your shoulders. "and since Natasha here is so good with kids, she can watch you" he said pushing you towards Nat.

"What?!" you and Nat both exclaimed.

"You clearly need an authority figure in your life , Y/N" Tony declared.

At that moment Captain America had marched into the room "We have a mission alert" he announced, "Who's the kid" he asked with a confused look. "I'll explain on the Quinjet" Tony replied making his way over to the door, "Nat you'd better stay here and keep and eye on Miss Rebellious" he said with a smirk before heading off.

"You've got to be kidding me" you muttered while trying not to roll your eyes.

"Alright Y/N, I've got work to do, don't bother me and I won't bother you, simple" Natasha said to you.

"Alright, Alright" you replied.