─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
Purple.
A big purple mass floating in space was what I had opened my eyes to.
My body spun slowly in front of it. Eyes, reflecting the bright hues of purple and tiny waves of black.
It was like the sun with its wavy exterior, buzzing the loudest buzzing I've ever heard. Although, it didn't affect me much negatively.
It was alluring... Enticing...
My hand reached out, only to find it was much further than I thought.
I couldn't move closer when I tried.
What was this?
Why was it here?
Why was I here in space with it?
Whatever it was, I found myself wanting to get closer. To touch it. I had to. Why wouldn't it let me?
Before I could further contemplate, my eyes blinked open.
The sight of my dad's face was the sole focus of my gaze as the rest of the world slowly faded into view.
"Hey, little Neoma, we're here," he patted my knee which I fully felt. The numbing and the pain had gone away.
"Where?" I asked groggily, rubbing my eyes to help them adjust to the bright sunlight leaking through the Jet's opening.
"Come on," a hand landed on the small of my back as I was led out of the ship.
I immediately stopped in my tracks at the scenery in front of me.
A small two-story house in an open field surrounded by nature.
Speaking of, instead of dirt, my feet were met with cold spiky stuff in the ground. I noticed the grass painting the land as far as the eye could see.
The sky was so clear and the air was so fresh.
My breathing hitched. It was so strange to see a normal-looking house. I'd been so used to living in a tall building surrounded by other tall buildings that seeing this small, secluded home generated an error in my system.
"What's up?"
I turned to my dad and shook my head. "Nothing... I just... This is very weird to me," I admitted, looking back at the house.
"You got a thing for small, cosy houses, Rapunzel?" He joked, following the rest of the team as they walked in a line towards the door.
I wouldn't mind living like this...
I quickly shook my head before I got too comfortable and caught up with the group.
"What is this place?" Thor asked as we stepped onto the porch.
"Safe house," my dad answered.
"Let's hope," Clint, who had his arm around Nat's back, pushed the door open, allowing everyone to flood in.
My brain instantly shut down as I stepped into the foyer.
The wooden doors with the tainted glass were a huge contrast to the minimalistic, monochrome ones back at the tower. And the lamps and ceiling lights were much different than the built-in lighting, I simply clapped my hands to turn them on and off.
The space was much more cramped than the wide, spacious hallways and rooms that were a pain to forget something in.
It was so different... So small... So homey...
"Honey?" Clint called out. "I'm home."
A lady came into the kitchen we were standing in.
She dressed differently, too. Rather than the fancy suits, blouses, and dresses I'd seen, her clothes looked more comfy and loose.
"Hi," Clint greeted.
She looked confused. The materials in her hand were put down.
"Company. Sorry, didn't call ahead," Clint approached.
The lady met him halfway, greeting him with a quick kiss on the lips.
"This is an agent of some kind," my dad said, clearly in denial of Clint having a woman.
"Gentlemen, this is Laura," Clint turned to us.
The lady waved. "I know all your names," she chuckled.
I light up slightly. "Even me?" I asked with awe in my eyes.
She lightly giggled and nodded. "Y/N, right?"
It was the first time anyone outside the tower knew who I was, and I loved it.
Heavy footsteps echoed down the hall. "Ooh, incoming," Clint took his arm off his wife and knelt as two small beings came running in.
"Dad!" The smaller one hugged him.
I jumped back into my dad in surprise.
"Hi, sweetheart! Hey, buddy!" Clint lifted the little one and hugged the other one.
"Dad, those are tiny people," I whispered, reaching back to hit his chest.
"These are... Smaller agents," he coughed.
Children. Other than myself, I've never seen another child before. Let alone two of different ages.
All of this was a lot to take in.
How much else was I missing?
"Did you bring Auntie Nat?" The little girl asked as she was put down.
Nat's attention was called, and she smiled, "Why don't you hug her and find out?"
The little girl ran into her arms, lifted once again as Nat carried her away.
"Sorry for barging in on you," Steve spoke.
"Yeah, we would've called ahead, but we were busy having no idea that you existed," my dad commented.
"Yeah, well, Fury helped me set this up when I joined," Clint explained. "He kept it off S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files. I'd like to keep it that way. I figure it's a good place to lie low."
Thor's foot collided with something, shattering it into bits. It looked like a toy house made of colourful bricks.
"How come I never had any toys?" I asked, looking up at my dad, who met my gaze and shook his head.
"You have Pompom," he said.
"You mean the first and only toy you bought me in my entire life?" I deadpanned.
"What about the Stark bots?" He shrugged.
Banner laughed at that. "Those weren't toys, Tony. You gave your eleven-year-old daughter high-tech nanobots that could only do one thing," he chimed in.
I laughed with him. "Yeah, Dad. Tiny robots that teach me the periodic table every day until I could recite every element, it's atomic weight and number, and electron configuration is not a damn toy."
"Don't say 'Damn.' And you made sure it was a toy by fiddling around with the remote until it could make the bots take the shape of a sword," my dad countered.
"You really should be careful about what you teach your kids at a young age," Banner joked.
Our conversation was cut short when the sound of Thor's hammer whirred in the background.
We peeked out the window in time to see him flying away.
"... So... You got powers?"
I tore my gaze away from the window and shrugged at Banner. "Apparently."
● ◉ ◎ ◈ ◎ ◉ ●
"And this is my newest. She doesn't have a name yet."
How exactly did I end up in Lila's bedroom playing tea party with her dolls? That I had no clue.
But I'd be glad to say this was better than helping my dad and Steve who were chopping some wood outside or sitting awkwardly as the third wheel with Nat and Bruce or Clint and his wife.
Cooper wanted a turn with me, asking me to race him on bikes, but I was too embarrassed to admit that I had no idea how to ride one in the first place.
So naturally, I went with moving shrunken plastic people and pretending to have a tea party with them.
"She looks like you. How about I name her Y/N?"
I almost dropped poor Lili with an I. Not to be confused with Lily with a Y as Lila scolded me earlier.
"That would be very confusing if we had the same name," I tilted my head at her, carefully setting down Lili against one of the chairs.
"But I really like your name. It's very pretty. Would you be angry at me if I named her Y/N?" Lila pouted playfully.
I shook my head with a small smile forming on my face. One that I struggled to hold back. "Fine. But if I ever get confused, that's on you, buddy," I pointed a finger.
"You already aren't doing a good job with Lily and Lili," she giggled, holding out the Y/N doll to me.
I took it from her grasp and looked down at doll Y/N.
She did look a lot like me. Same h/c hair, same pale —From the lack of sunlight— s/c skin, same e/c eyes. A ridiculous coincidence.
"This is almost creepy," I mumbled as I pushed the doll's hair back to see her clothes better. Not an outfit I'd wear.
I looked back up at Lila, who was focused on brushing Lily's hair.
Another smile crept up on my face.
Is this what it would be like to have a sibling?
My heart ached in my chest as I began to imagine what it would be like to live a normal life in a house like this and with a proper family.
I could already see it. Me, dad, Pepper if that works out, a little sister or brother, living in a house surrounded by nature.
I glanced down at doll Y/N.
Maybe if I grew up like that, I'd be wearing clothes like this, I'd let my hair grow like this, I'd wear makeup like this.
I internally scoffed at the idea, but it got me thinking regardless.
"Do you have any dolls? Or are you one of those girls who like boy things?" Lila asked, resting her elbows on the wooden table between us.
That was adorable. "I never had toys. I have one. A stuffed Pompompurin my dad got me in 2007. He's my best friend... My only one, actually," I admitted, putting doll Y/N down on the table.
"You only have one toy?" Lila groaned, laying her head on the table. "Your dad sounds boring."
I laughed. "Yeah. Richest man in the city and he can't even get me another toy. He's pretty lame, even for a superhero."
"You can have one of mine," Lila perked up, stumbling up from the floor and across the room.
"Wait, no, it wouldn't be very nice of me to take one of your toys," I said quickly as she rummaged through her things.
She paused and popped her head out from within her toy chest. "I can give you a small one!"
Before I could answer, she fished out a small yellow blob and climbed out of the chest.
A small bumblebee plush landed on my lap.
"It's an offering of friendship. Now we're friends," she smiled, holding out her pinky finger.
Something bloomed in my chest, making me feel something new. I didn't know what it was, but I knew I was happy at that moment. My first friend.
I held the bee close to my chest and reached out to link my pinky with hers.
"Yeah. Yeah, we are."
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───