A/N: Hey guys! I'm so sorry it's been so long since my last update! I try to update every 1-2 weeks, but life has kept me busy. I promise I haven't forgotten about this story! And this is the first chapter of the Christmas Special, which means I have to stay on top of my writing. Thank you guys so much for all of the reads, votes, comments, (etc). I appreciate everything you guys do for me. Happy reading!
- Harper E. Pierce
December came around quickly, faster than anyone had ever expected. Tony had Christmas decorations up all over the tower, ranging from Christmas trees and garland to mistletoe hanging all around the penthouse, club and bar, and the games floors. And Tony was having a blast with it. He had included the rule that you had to kiss if you got caught underneath with someone. It was the first night of December, which meant his little mind games had just begun.
"Tony quit it with this damn mistletoe bullshit! None of us really have the want or need to kiss each other here," Lorelei rolled her eyes at the eccentric inventor.
"Oh, but here's the thing. I know that's a complete lie, Adams," Tony booped her nose in response and grinned at her widely, which earned Lorelei a nasty glare from Lorelei and her setting his pants on fire.
"Hey Tony, have you ever heard of the saying 'liar, liar, pants on fire?'" Quinn called after him as he ran towards the bathroom. Raven looked towards the girls in dismay.
"Was that really necessary?" Raven asked them like a disapproving mother.
"What? It was clever," Lorelei defended herself in response. Steve snorted a little. Every single person in the room turned to him.
"Did Steven Grant Rogers just... laugh at someone's misfortune?" Natasha questioned him with an expression of pure shock on her face.
"No! I would never-"
"You're lying," Quinn smirked at him.
"Stay out of my head, Atkinson."
"Ha! So you admit it!" Skylar caught him.
"I never admitted to laughing, nor did I deny it," Steve said with a smartass look on his face. He got up from the couch to go make himself a coffee.
"Steve, why are you being so ominous?" Asked Tris gullibly.
"Tris, he's being a smartass. Did someone slip Bailey's in your last cup of coffee again?" Tori called out to him.
"Can't I just be in a jokey mood?"
"No. And who the hell says the word 'jokey' anyway?" Skylar replied.
"Why not?"
"Because you're Steve Rogers." Tony walked back into the room, and everyone else nodded in agreement. Steve rolled his eyes as he returned to the couch with his coffee. "Where's Lexi?"
"She's in her room, likely moping again." Quinn rolled her eyes.
"She said she'd follow us up here, but that was over an hour ago," Tris told them.
"I'll get her," Raven said, getting up to go to the elevator. Just as that happened, Steve felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. It only took a second after he checked the caller ID for him to get up and leave the room.
Once Raven got to her floor, she got out of the elevator and heard faint music coming from a room. There was a faint voice singing along to the music as well, but it was the beautiful sound coming from the electric guitar she was hearing that she was focused on. Then she realized it was coming from Lexi's room. Her bedroom door was wide open, and Lexi had an electric guitar connected to an amp in her room, and she was singing along to the song she was playing, mind you she was not singing very well, but it wasn't terrible.
"When you feel so tired but you can't sleep, stuck in reverse."
"Hey," Raven made herself known. Lexi immediately put the guitar down and stopped everything, "whatcha doing?"
"Oh! Uh- nothing, really." She stuttered back.
"Really, then what's that guitar doing beside your bed?"
"Oh, I was just messing around with the guitar, I stole it from Tony's club floor."
"That didn't sound like messing around. You're really good at playing guitar, where'd you learn?"
"I taught myself. Having no friends in high school gives you more free time for your hobbies," she half-smiled depressingly.
"I'm sorry, Lexi." Raven put a hand on her shoulder.
"It's not too bad," she replied, still looking a little sad. Ever since July, she'd felt as if something wasn't right.
"I'm sensing that's not what you're upset about, is it?"
"You're not wrong. I'd just rather not talk about it,"
"I understand. Just know you have someone to talk about it if you want to. Now c'mon, it's the Christmas season, come to spend time with us." Raven pulled her to her feet.
"I did tell you guys I was going meet you in the penthouse a while ago," Lexi followed the black and blonde haired girl out of her room towards the elevator. "Do you think the rest of the squad wants me around right now?"
"What? Of course, they do, they've been wondering when you'd come up!" Raven made a face her strange question. Lexi nodded in response, deciding to keep her mouth shut for the rest of the short ride upstairs. The elevator doors opened, and the girls stepped out of the elevator.
"I'm just going to make myself a tea," Lexi said, making her way to the kitchen. Raven nodded and walked back to the couch, and passing Thor on the way. And she almost made it back there when a loud scream was heard.
"STOP! BOTH OF YOU NOW!" It was Tony. Raven and Thor just looked straight up confused, but then Wanda pointed upwards. Both of them looked above their heads, to see a white berried fake plant.
"Mistletoe!" Tori shouted out.
"Oh shit," Raven muttered under her breath, remembering Damon's accusation the last time they saw each other. It wasn't like she wanted to kiss Thor, she loved Damon. And it was just a Christmas kiss, right? He wouldn't care.
"Lady Wells?" Thor asked her softly. She turned to him and quickly gave him a peck on the lips, going back to the couch after that experience. She was going to have to watch out for that stupid mistletoe stuff.
"Well, that wasn't any fun to watch at all." Tony pouted.
"The fact that you think watching someone kiss someone else is fun makes me question your sanity," Skylar replied. Lexi came into the living room and immediately felt the awkward tension coming off of her and Thor.
"Jesus I can feel the awkwardness from a mile away," Lexi scowled, also feeling an unreasonable amount of guilt coming from Raven, "and what are you pissed off about Skylar? You were fine three seconds ago."
"Huh?" The girl came out of her trance, a split second of panic filled her eyes, "
"I feel your-"
"Lexi I need you to come with me," Steve spoke sharply as he appeared in the elevator. She could feel the anxiousness radiating off of him. She nodded and immediately took off with him, tea still in hand as she disappeared.
"No time to say 'Hello', goodbye I'm late I'm late I'm late!" Skylar snickered. Tris immediately gasped at the beloved Disney reference.
"That's my favourite Disney movie!" Tris shouted.
"I thought the director was high on ecstasy the entire time I watched that movie," Quinn retorted.
"Don't insult Disney!" Peter chimed in.
"Thank you, Spider-boy," Tris said.
"What is this Disney, you speak of?" Loki asked her.
"Disney is a company that makes family movies," Skylar explained to him.
"Interesting,"
"Hey Raven, are you okay?" Lorelei asked her. Raven was staring off into space with a guilty look on her face.
"Hm? Sorry, I wasn't paying attention," she said. Lorelei knew something was wrong, Raven was not one to stare off into space when there was drama to hear about. But the girl decided not to ask about it just yet.
"Nevermind, it's not important," Lorelei replied. Raven went back to staring off into space. Lorelei went to back to the conversation about Disney. After about ten minutes, she noticed Raven get up to leave the floor, but knowing that something was wrong, Lorelei followed her to their floor using the stairs instead of the elevator. She found the psychologist in her room, crying. She was on her knees, and she had her hands covering her face.
"Raven?" Lorelei called. Immediately she looked up at Lorelei, her eyes tear-stained and upset, "are you okay?"
"Yes, I-I'm fine." She replied glumly.
"Raven, you may be a great therapist and amazing at giving advice, but you're a terrible liar. What's going on?" Lorelei followed her into the room and sat on her bed.
"You're the only one who seems to think so," Raven sniffed, "I've been lying to everyone."
"How so?"
"You've never known the reason why I've been disappearing at night and on some of the weekends,"
"You're still doing that? But why?"
"I try to keep it on the down-low. Lorelei, about a year and a bit ago, I remembered I had a boyfriend,"
"Raven, that's so sweet! But why are you upset?"
"He doesn't know about us."
"How? You're away all of the time, how can he not know?"
"He thinks that when we were kidnapped, that I was actually living at a mental institution, to train. I told him the training program I was in required me to go away for months, without contact with anyone. He thinks I live at the hospital as a psychiatrist. He doesn't even know about my powers. It's been like this for over a year now. He knows nothing, and I'm so afraid he's going to leave me when I tell him, so I decided not to until the time is right. I've only seen him about eight times in the past year," Raven sobbed. Lorelei didn't know what to do. Raven was never the one in the tower to have a breakdown. Lorelei hugged her.
"I don't know what to tell you," sighed Lorelei.
"We got in a big fight about a month ago, he thought I was cheating on him. I wanted to tell him so badly, but I couldn't bring myself to. I was too scared."
"Raven, can I be honest with you?"
"Go ahead. I know it was stupid,"
"Had you told him from the beginning, despite the Avengers swearing us to secrecy until our identities are revealed, this would've been completely avoided. I hate to tell you this, but you have to tell him, the sooner you tell him, the better. Because if you don't and he finds out from someone else, he's not going to leave you for your powers and your new job, he's going to leave you for lying to him. And you're likely never going to see him again if that happens,"
"I know. But what if-"
"If he leaves you for being different and being an Avenger, he's not worth it. That's the harsh truth,"
"I want you to swear to me that you will never tell the others about this until I am ready."
"Fine, but I want you to swear something to me too."
"What?"
"By Valentine's Day, he has to know about us."
"... I'll do it."
-
"Lexi, I've been worried about Bucky's well being. All of the HYDRA stuff is out his head, but according to T'Challa and Shuri, something's been bothering him."
"Why are you talking to me about it?" She crossed her arms/
"Because went he went to Wakanda back in July, you were one of the last ones to talk to him. Not to mention you were in a big fight with him."
"Bucky and I always fight about shit."
"Bucky's not the type to fight like that unless it's about someone he cares about."
"He doesn't give a shit about me, and the feeling is mutual. Can I go now?" Lexi turned to leave the room.
"Don't lie," Steve called her out. It stopped her dead in her tracks. "You care about him, to the point that it frustrates you. If you didn't, you wouldn't try to sacrifice your own happiness for him."
"I stopped doing that when I knew it was getting dangerous."
"Then why did you offer to help when we were on the quinjet?"
"Because now I'm trained. I'm able to do that without hurting myself," she excused, "Steve, I don't give a shit about Bucky. Even if he cares about me as you claim, the feeling is definitely not mutual. So stop trying to place the blame on me for his problems, that's all him. We're not even friends, let alone anything else. And we will never be anything more than just two people who just fight all the time," Lexi turned to walk out of the room once more. She felt her old self coming back, the self she hated so much.