I'M MAKING MY TIME AS PRODUCTIVE AS I CAN SO I JUST KEPT WRITING AND WRITING.

Oh, and to make up for my slow updates recently.

I GIVE YOU CHAPTER EIGHTEEN!!

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ C H A P T E R  E I G H T E E N ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

"Natasha." 

"What?"

"What are you doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"That's iodized salt."

Natasha gave the archer a confused look. Clint gestured at the salt shaker that was currently in her hand.

"Crap." She mumbled under her breath, and proceeded to the sink.

"Well, that's a perfectly good cup of coffee to waste." Clint said, crossing his arms over his chest. "You feeling okay?"

Natasha let out a sigh of annoyance. "Jesus, why is everyone on this planet suddenly interested in asking how I feel?"

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed, today." he commented.

"Just drop it, Clint. Seriously. Just hide in the vents again or something."

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's wrong."

"And I'm not in the mood for any of this." she snapped.

Natasha shut the cabinet a little too harder than she normally would. If any other person was with her right now, they'd do as she say, since, well, she could easily take someone's eye out even with just a spoon in her hand.

But this was Clint. And he knew her long before anyone else did, he was her best friend. If anyone had the right to nag her about it, it would be him. "You've been acting weird these past couple of days. Did something happen?" he asked.

Figuring Clint wouldn't take no for an answer like her, she gave in, "Nothing. Nothing happened."

"You sure?"

"Mhmm."

"Are you really sure?"

"Yes. Would you cut it out? Seriously, I'm alright."

"You're just acting really strange, you know. You're quieter than usual and less of a killing mode."

"Gee, thanks for noticing, Clint."

"But you didn't deny it." He suggested, finally catching her, "What's going on, Tasha?"

"...nothing."

"I know you well enough to know if something's not right." Clint pressed on, thankful that the others were such lazy asses to get up early in the morning. It was enough time for him to make Natasha realize something, and that something was her own stubbornness. 

Natasha kept quiet. 

Clint tried again, "Does this have something to do with... you and Bruce?"

She shook her head.

"The siblings?"

"No."

"Smug-ass Stark?"

"Damn it, Clint—"

"Steve?"

That made her froze.

"Knew it." he smirked, "Don't think I haven't noticed you avoiding Steve for a while now. It's bugging him too, you know. Poor guy."

Seeing as there's no point to lie any further, and she knew she could trust Clint more than anyone, she gave in, "I'm sorry... I just... I...." she sighed, "I can't face him right now. I can't talk to him. I can't even look at him in the eye without..."

"Without?"

"...without feeling this thing. I-I don't know what it is and it's getting really annoying that I just want to—"

"Woah, woah. Calm down." Clint interrupted, "And put the spoon down before you break it in half."

She looked down at the oddly bent spoon and set it on the table. She kept her gaze down, "It's irritating because I don't know why I'm acting like this nor why am I feeling this—"

Clint eyed her disbelievingly, "You really sure you have no clue at all what this is?" He scoffed, "Nat, you're smart so don't expect me to buy that excuse."

"I'm not making this up." she defended.

"Fine, whatever floats your boat."

Her nose flared. "Why are you being such a shit?"

"Because you're being in denial, Natasha!"

"I am not!"

"You know what I think?" he asked rhetorically, smirking, "You're scared."

Natasha's eyes widened for a second, like she was taken aback by the accusation, but she soon snapped out of it. She fumed, "Barton, don't even go there—"

"Why did you even went out with Bruce, anyway? Huh?" Clint asked, "If I'm going to be honest, Nat, I really didn't expect him to be your type."

"Oh, yeah? Well, maybe, there's a lot of things you still don't know about me." she replied tersely.

"But you didn't answer my question, why Bruce? Don't get me wrong, he's a nice guy. He's my friend too."

"Wonderful."

"But it doesn't make sense."

"What is this, a postponed objection?" Natasha asked, still annoyed. "He likes me, and I like him, okay?"

"Why?"

"Because he's kind. He's quiet, unlike you."

Clint rolled his eyes.

"He's smart, thoughtful, and the list goes on." She explained, though it sounded more forced than of an honest answer.

"God, you sound very much in love."

Natasha was getting tired of this conversation. It was too early for annoying shit like this. "Clint, what's your point?"

"My point is, I don't get you. Right from the first time you told me you and Bruce were going out, it didn't make sense to me, but I figured, well, if he makes you happy then it's best to give it a shot. But from what I'm seeing now?" He sighed, "You know what I mean."

Unfortunately, yes, she does. After a while, she finally admitted, "He needs me."

"Yeah, for you to tame the beast."

"Don't call him that."

"Sorry." 

"And I need him too."

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "For what?"

"Bruce and I... we're... we're broken, okay? We're a mess."

"So you clean each other up and hope for the best."

"No, I mean, yes, but—would you let me finish?" Natasha snapped, continued, "We're not... we're not like you. We can't have a life as good as yours, and we both know that. We're... monsters." 

"Don't say that."

"But we are." She said, firmly. "And if this is the only for us to be happy—or awfully close to it... then I'd take it."

Clint stared at her. "You both deserve happiness, Nat. The real kind."

"I don't know about that, and we can't have it even if we wanted to."

"Because you're too scared to try." He deduced, trying to put some sense into her, "You're playing safe. You're settling with someone you have by the palm of your hand because you don't want to take risks."

That hit her straight in the gut. He was right in so many levels, and it was annoying for her to face the realization of what was happening. 

"Okay, you're right, and that's fine with me." She pretended to shrug it off, not wanting to have this conversation any longer.

"You can't keep lying to yourself, Tasha." He reprimanded, "Deny all you want but you know, deep down, I'm making a point here."

She sighed deeply.

"You can't keep avoiding him all the time, Tasha."

"Who?"

"You know damn well who." 

"I damn well don't."

"You keep avoiding the one guy who makes you feel something real. No wonder why you've been so unstable lately." Clint laughed, as if the idea was ironic, "The world's most righteous guy is the most dangerous one for you to be with."

Realization struck her, and she stuttered, "What? I don't..."

"Stop running away from Steve."

"I don't!"

"Really? Care to explain why you've made up every possible excuse not to attend our meetings or anywhere at all if Steve was there?"

"I was... busy." She said lamely.

Clint raised an eyebrow at her futile attempt of an excuse, "You could do better than that."

"And he could do better than me." Natasha said in all seriousness. "He has Sharon now. They're perfect for each other, okay? She... she's good. Like him."

"Cut the bullshit, Nat."

"Why can't you just accept that this is the way things have to be?"

"Because you love him." Clint spared her a side way glance, "don't you?"

She didn't need to answer. 

Because the look on her face said it all.

—————————————————————————————   

"Wow, this is good."

Allie took a sip of her iced coffee. She had it delivered from the new Starbucks store near the compound. 

"I can never understand why you like iced coffee." James remarked, "Coffee's supposed to be hot. There was never iced coffee back in the days."

"Thus, why people back then were so boring. Like you." Allie insinuated, taking another sip with a satisfied look, "You prefer black coffee, with no sugar nor creamer at all. How can you stand drinking that?"

James shrugged, "It's strong." 

Allie gave him a look of distaste. 

"Besides, I like to keep things simple. The simpler, the better." He said, taking a sip of his hot coffee. "And it's less fattening unlike yours."

She looked offended. "It is not!"

"It is too." James contented, "Iced coffee has sugar, creamer, and whipped cream on top. And you even requested for caramel syrup! I'm telling you, it's fattening."

"Oh, shut up." she snapped, sipping her iced coffee in peace. "At least it's better than—"

By the time they rounded a corner, Allie had bumped into a hard surface. 

She shrieked. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry!"

Unfortunately, that hard surface was a person.

"Oh no..." 

Unfortunately again, that person was Lucas.

"You know, we've got to stop meeting like this." Lucas said with a smile, even though his shirt was completely drenched in iced coffee.

"Lucas, I'm so sorry!" Allie exclaimed.

"It's cool." Lucas assured, then realized what it may have meant, "I mean, yes, it is cool, literally, but it's fine."

Allie began rubbing his shirt in an attempt to get the stain off. "Here let me."

James winced, "Uh, Als, I don't think that's going to—"

"Seriously, Allie, it's okay—"

"No, it's not! Look at your shirt!"

"You're sweet but—"

"It's almost gone, see?"

"—I think you're making it worse, actually." Lucas said as politely as he could.

Allie's movements slowed down, finally catching onto what he and James were trying to say seconds ago. "Oh."

James almost face palmed himself. "Great job, sis."

"No, no. It's fine, seriously. I can have this dry-cleaned in no time." Lucas reassured, giving a soft smile. 

"Sorry, man. We can pay for the dry cleaning if you want." James offered.

Lucas shook his head. "I got this. I'm sorry about your coffee though."

Allie sighed, embarrassed, "Don't be so nice. I'm the one who messed up your shirt. I feel really bad."

"Don't be." Lucas chuckled, "I promise it's fine."

"You sure?" she asked.

Lucas nodded, "Positive."

"Alright."

"I better get this cleaned right away." He went to move past them but not before saying, "I guess I'll see you both at the party?"

Allie's face brightened, "You're going too?"

"Well, yeah. Mr. Stark sent a memo to everyone. He wants everybody to be there." Lucas informed. "So, see you!"

As soon as he was out of sight, James turned to his sister. He gave her a disapproving look.

Allie was confused. "What?"

"I know that look, and I'm only going to remind you again that you can't be too friendly with him." James warned.

"What are you yapping all about?" She groaned, rolling her eyes, "I seriously don't need the brotherly talk from you."

"I'm just saying that—"

"Yeah, I know it can't happen and I know that." Allie interrupted, sighed, "It can't hurt being friends with him at least."

"Whatever your choice is, I'm not going to be a part of it anymore."

"Okay, got it." she said, checking the time, "I need to go."

"Where?"

She pointed at the watch in her wrist. "The party starts in three hours and I need to get ready."

James looked at her incredulously. "You're taking three hours to get ready?"

"You wouldn't understand. It's a girl thing." she chastised.

"And I am glad not to." 

—————————————————————————————   

"So, you think you're going to meet someone special tonight?"

Allie furrowed her eyebrows. "What?"

Pepper smiled, dabbing her brush on the sides of Allie's face. "I meant a boy, silly." She was already done with her makeup and was adding a final touch on Allie's blush.

"Oh," Allie sounded, "Nah. I don't think so."

"Why not?"

She shrugged. "I'm not really in a boy hunting mood."

Pepper looked surprised, "That's new. How about that SHIELD agent I've seen you bumped into a few times?"

Allie stuttered as she realized who she was talking about. "Oh, Lucas..." she chuckled nervously, "Yeah, he's just a friend."

Pepper didn't seem to believe her but she let it go. "I see."

Allie sighed in relief, glad that the conversation was over. On the other hand, her Aunt Pepper really had a knack for makeovers. She knew how to do her makeup but she still needed practice. And, besides, her aunt was the one who offered to help.

"There. All done!" Pepper exclaimed giddily, brushing her curls slightly so they fell into place.

She had absolutely no regrets that she had let her, because what she looked right now? Unbelievable.

"Woah," Allie didn't know what to say. She didn't want to sound vain but her aunt did a great job at cleaning her up tonight. She looked— "Damn, I look hot."

Pepper laughed. "You look stunningly hot."

Allie stood up to glance at her reflection from head to toe. It was a good idea to wear a dress instead of gowns. She felt that if she had worn a gown, she wouldn't be able to pull it of as much as she did now.

"You ready?" Pepper asked.

Allie grinned in excitement. "Let's get this party started."

On cue, there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it." Allie said. By the time she opened it, she was surprised to see who it was. "James! And... Tony—Mr. Stark?"

"Good evening, young lady," Tony greeted as posh as he could. He sighted Pepper in the background and immediately had his jaw dropping. "And good evening to you too, gorgeous."

Pepper blushed. "Not in front of the kids, Tony."

"Yeah, not in front of us." James agreed, wincing at the sweet gesture.

Tony rolled his eyes. "Anyway, come on, the floor's packed with people."

"Already? The party just started ten minutes ago." Allie said, shocked. In her time, when someone throws a party, people don't start appearing till an hour after the said time.

"Yep, and that means we're already late." Pepper nudged them to step out into the hallway.

Tony scoffed, putting on his iconic glasses. "The queen is never late, everyone else is simply early."

Allie glanced at him. "You did not just steal that quote from Princess Diaries."

Tony winked at her, holding out his arm for Pepper. She took it gladly and ushered them to follow.

Allie inspected her brother's look. "I gotta say, you look decent."

James held his head high, pretending to be smug, "Of course I do." He chuckled, dropping off the aura, "Thanks. You too. You look great."

She kept her voice lower. "Have you seen mom and dad anywhere?"

"I saw dad with Aunt Sharon." 

Allie groaned. "Great." she said, sarcastically, "And I bet mom's having a pleasant time with Uncle Bruce."

"We'll figure something out. We need to." James sighed, "because the time machine's already done."

She tried not to shout. "What?" She couldn't believe it. They were doomed. "We can't go back until we fix this."

"I know, I know." James agreed, "That's why we need to do something about it. Tonight. We need to get mom and dad away from their dates as much as possible."

"And how do you supposed we do that?"

"I don't know, but I'll think of something." he told her, "Just keep your phone close so I can text or call you when needed."

"Roger that."

As soon as they reached the main floor (of what turned out to be more of a ballroom at this moment), their eyes twinkled at the sight.

"Wow." Both Allie and James gasped.

It was breathtakingly beautiful.

"Who made this?" James asked their uncle.

Tony grinned. "I have connections. You like it?"

"We love it!" Allie exclaimed. "This is so cool!"

"Uh, Als..."

Their happiness was cut short when they saw their dad and aunt on the very corner of the ballroom. Despite the crowd, they stood out very distinctively.

They were standing awfully close to one another, laughing with Sam and Maria Hill. 

Allie watched the scene in disbelief. "This is like my dream and nightmare all in one."

James had no choice but to agree. "Yep."

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ E N D  O F  C H A P T E R ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Dun dun dun. The next chapter's going to be awfully dramatic and exciting as more heroes will be making guest appearances. Want to take guesses on who'll they be?

And here are James and Allie's ootd!

Don't forget to leave a vote and/or comment down below your thoughts! Thanks guys!

Stay safe!