"This is stupid," she sighed, her arms crossed as she stared into her glowering reflection. "I look stupid."
A pair of hands landed on her shoulder; she raised her glare to Tony, draped in a pristine suit, releasing a sharp buzzing noise between his teeth. "Incorrect. You look lovely."
She rolled her eyes, fiddling with the hem of her silk blue dress. This was senseless. Why did she decide to pester Tony into allowing her to go, and why did he choose to agree to it? She didn't know what she was thinking. This was a gathering for adults, which she had no business in. What could she do besides stand aside while the adults conversed on drab topics?
"Then why are you looking at me like that?" she questioned, eyeing his curling smirk.
"What can I say? It's nice to see you like this. Dressing up to go to a party. Bet you never thought you'd be doing anything like this."
"Obviously," she remarked. "Is it too late to back out?"
"A little. If you really wanted, we could always leave early."
"At your own party?"
"I can do whatever I want, like you said, my party," he nudged her shoulder. "Come on, everyone's probably waiting for us. Normally, I would say being fashionably late is the way to go, but not when a certain Natasha Romanoff is participating."
Understanding the stakes, she reluctantly agreed. As they arrived at the Party Deck, she practically felt all the colour in her cheeks dissipate. There were way more people than she was led to believe. She paused, tugging on Tony's hand.
"Abort!"
He ignored her and continued to walk, forcing her along with a firm hand on her back. Many curious eyes landed on them as they dived further in; she shrunk into his side, clutching the edge of his jacket with her free hand. She only minutely relaxed when they reached the bar where Steve, Thor, Rhodey, and Agent Hill conversed.
Steve waved them over as soon as he noticed. "There you are; we were starting to think you'd never show."
"Hey, we're only.... twenty minutes late," he trailed as he peeked at his watch. "Red didn't notice, did she? I'm already in rough waters as it is."
"She's too busy flirting with Banner to notice anything," Rhodey scoffed, gesturing to the left.
Jayden curiously followed his motion, and her face scrunched up as she saw the two talking; small grins were on their faces, and their bodies were uncomfortably close to one another.
"Just looking at them is giving me cooties," Tony shuddered. "Shield your eyes, innocent child."
His hand covered her eyes, making her scoff and lightly slap it away. She still averted her eyes; the sight was rather discomfiting.
"Banner is way out of her league, "Hill commented, taking a sip of her drink.
"I don't know... it could work. Opposites attract and all that."
"Well, whatever makes them happy is fine by me."
"Ugh. That is such a you thing to say," Tony cringed at Steve. "What do you think, Speedy?"
"Love is disgusting." She wrinkled her nose, making the three adults chuckle.
"Ah, the mind of a seven-year-old," Rhodey said wistfully.
"Give it ten years; I'm sure you'll change your mind," Hill chuckled.
"Never ever." She crossed her arms with a pout. "Boys are gross."
YOU ARE READING
Unforeseen¹
FanfictionJYD2641 had enough. In her seven years, she's only ever known the cruel hands of her doctors, who were determined to make her the next Winter Soldier. All she'd ever known was death, pain, and fear. Instead of a parent's loving embrace, she had the...
