AVENGERS: The Invisible Girl.

43. Stark Tower.

SCARLET POV:
New York 9th June 2012: Stark Tower:
We've all finished eating, the music is turned up louder than before, I notice Bruce approaching me, but a voice catches my attention "Scarlet." Natasha lays a hand on my shoulder "Dance?" I nod my head, she takes my hand and leads me to the centre of the room, where Tony and Pepper, Thor and Jane, Agent Hill and Colonel Rhodes are dancing, plus a few other Agents. While she leads me there I get a good look at her, she's wearing gold high heels and a tight knee length red dress.

She's so mesmerising.

A slow song starts 'Tale as old as time' and it takes everything in me not to sing out loud. She takes my right hand in her own, my other one on her shoulder, hers on my waist "So, what do you think of your party so far?" "Well, I've never been to something like this before, I didn't expect it to be like this." "It's not just for your birthday, you know, it's also to congratulate you on how well you handled the attack on the helicarrier." "Really?" "Yeah, we're all so proud of you, I knew you had it in you... but it still scared me." She starts to speak quieter "When we were on our way to the HYDRA base, I expected the usual but instead we weren't greeted by much resistance, we instantly knew something was wrong and when we couldn't contact the helicarrier we knew something was really wrong. The first thing I thought of, was you. I was scared to lose you."

Maybe I didn't imagine what happened after I was shot, maybe she really was going to kiss me! Here's my chance to tell her how I feel.

A small smile forms on my lips "You won't lose me, you trained me, remember? When the attack started and I got trapped, I thought, this is it, I'll never get to see my parents again. Then my mind drifted to you, I knew I had to get myself out of there, so I could see your face, hear your voice. What kept me going while fighting them, was you." I see her eyes widen a little, I look into her eyes, while I continue talking "When I got shot and saw you, I thought you were an angel." She laughs slightly "According to Stark you're the angel and I agree with him for a change." For a moment we continue swaying, holding onto each other, just staring into each others eyes. Then the moment I've been longing for, we lean in and I feel our lips touch, the kiss soft and gentle. I move my left hand off her shoulder and gently place it round the back of her neck.

I don't care if people see this, if they stare, even if they laugh. Nothing can bring down my mood now.

We pull apart, she smiles and we both start laughing. We hug, whilst still swaying to the music, I take a little look around to see no one paying attention to us, until I spot Clint, leaning against a wall with a huge grin on his face. Natasha and I dance for ages, talking about what we like about each other and just enjoying each others company until the party lights stop and the music grows quieter, the dark room is lit up by a giant birthday cake being pushed to the centre of the room.

I have never seen a cake that big before!

It's orange and holds 23 candles on top, Tony starts off the singing and everyone else joins in. I feel myself grow cold from the embarrassment, I bury my face in Natasha's shoulder as I disappear from view, I hear her whisper to me "It's good to know you aren't embarrassed about me."

It's true, I managed to stay visible while dancing with her, I'm not embarrassed about my feelings. But this, being the centre of attention definitely embarrasses me.

I move away from Natasha's shoulder and let go of her hand, I take a step towards Tony and the cake, while I think about warm things. I become visible once again and give the crowd a shy smile, Tony gestures towards the cake "Make a wish." I lean forward, blow out the candles and close my eyes.

I don't need more than this, I have my loving family, my kind friends and Natasha. What more could I want? I wish... I wish for everyone here to be happy.

I open my eyes, Tony's eager face hovers close to mine "So? What did you wish for?" I shake my head from side to side and put a finger to my lips with a small smile.

I'm not telling him.

He gets the message and wheels the cake into the kitchen, a few minutes later he passes me a piece of cake and a fork, although he almost drops it. He's clearly had a decent amount to drink "Thank you, for everything." "Sure thing, angel." We all sit around, eating cake and talking. Once the cake is gone, some people start to head home. Pepper approaches me "When your parents and Tony discussed this party, they thought about afterwards, you can stay here the night, if you want, or they can pick you up." "What's everyone else doing?" "Steve, Nat, Thor, Tony and I are staying here, everyone else is heading home." "I'd like to stay too, please." "Alright, I'll show you to your room later on." I look at the clock to see it's already 10pm, half an hour later it's just the 6 of us left. Pepper and Thor drag Tony to bed, he's barely conscious.