Avengers 1. Chapter 1: Run

Arya's Point of View:  
  
It was early in the morning, about 6:00 AM. The sun had just risen and no one was out quite yet. I was dressed in simple athletic leggings and a sweatshirt. I always liked to take a walk in the morning. It helped clear my head before I had to start my day.

I stood on the stairs of the Lincoln Memorial and inhaled the smoky city air of Washington DC. The wind blew my dark brown almost black long hair around. I turned around and gazed up at the giant clone statue of good ol' Abraham Lincoln. He stared right back at me with his stone eyes as if to say: _What are you doing up so early? _

Truth be told, I tried to stay away from my apartment where I lived with my brother as much as I could. More on that later.

I heard the sound of running footsteps on the ground and turned towards the noise. I squinted and saw a man running the National Mall in loops. It was kind of cool to see that I wasn't the only one who liked to take a stroll on the Mall in the morning. I raised my hand to wave at him. What can I say, I like to be friendly. To my surprise, he waved back. People in DC aren't always the nicest.

He ran up to where I was standing and I got a better look at him. He was tall, at least 6 feet tall. He had blond hair and startling blue eyes. Not to mention that he was well built.

"I didn't think that anyone else would be out this early," he said with a smile.

I shrugged and smiled back. "I usually go for a walk around DC. This morning was the first time I've ever walked the Mall though. You run around here regularly?" I asked.

"Pretty much, yeah. Unless I've got a prior commitment, then no," he replied. He sat down on one of the steps. He stuck out his hand. "Steve Rogers."

I shook his hand. "Arya Caldwell."

"Nice to meet you Ar...how did you pronounce that?"

I laughed and shook my head. "Don't worry, it's a hard name to say. Ar-ee-aah. It's spelled A-R-Y-A though."

"Cool name, it's unique," he commented.

A minute went by. "Sorry for asking, but are you _the _Steve Rogers?" I couldn't help asking.

"If you mean Captain America, then yes I am," Steve said with a laugh.

"Really? Are you serious? Whoa. That's so cool. I'm talking to Captain America right now," I exclaimed. I tapped the side of my head. "I think my brain is still trying to process that."

He turned towards me. "You look pretty young to be out and about DC alone. How old are you?" he asked.

"Oh, I'm 14. I know I'm kind of young but it doesn't matter. Besides, I'm street-smart," I answered as calmly as I could.

"What do you mean? What about your parents?" Steve questioned.

I looked down end scuffed the toe of my shoe into the concrete. "I don't have parents. They died 6 years ago when I was 8," I said softly.

He gave me a sympathic smile. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring something like that up," he apologized.

I shrugged. "It's okay. Sometimes it helps to talk about it."

"So who do you live with?" he asked. It wasn't like he was prying into my personal life. It was more like he genuinely cared about my well being. Well, what can you expect from Captain America?

"I live with my older brother," I said. My voice faltered for a second. If Steve noticed, he didn't say anything.

He stood up and stretched. "I guess I should start heading back. Maybe I'll see you around?"

I grinned. "Yeah, that would be cool," I said.

"Nice meeting you Arya," he said before jogging off.

Did I really just meet Captain America? Wow.

* * *

Steve's Point of View

I unlocked the door of my apartment and flopped down on the couch. I cut my morning run time in half since I stopped to talk with that girl I ran into. What was her name? Oh, Arya. She seemed like a nice kid. She was only 14 though and she was walking around DC by herself. Heck, it's dangerous for even a grown person to walk alone in DC.

I had a feeling that there was more to her than she was letting on. She didn't notice that I took note of the fact that she didn't sit down on the steps. I also noted that she wore long leggings even though it was summertime and warm. Maybe I was over thinking it. I probably was. This is what being part of SHIELD, or what's left of SHIELD does to a person. You start to analyze every detail.

Anyways.

I flicked on the TV to watch the morning news. Nothing new. Just power-hungry politicians arguing, as usual.

After a while, I decided to head over to the Smithsonian museum to look around the Captain America exhibit they have. They sometimes add new articles and stuff to it. Besides, it's a nice place to go and think.

Since it was early in the morning, I decided it was safe to not wear a hat in case someone recognized me.

I opted to walk instead of drive since it was summertime. I kept my head down and walked at a quick pace. I wasn't exactly watching where I was walking until I ran into someone. I heard a noise that sounded like me hitting a block of...wood?

"Oomph. Sorry!" the person said. They nearly lost balance before I took their arm and steadied them. "I wasn't watching where I was going, sorry," I apologized. Wait, that voice sounded familiar. I looked at the person's face and found myself looking at Arya. "Arya?"

She looked up and recognition dawned on her face. "Steve! What are the chances of running into you again? Literally," she laughed. "Where are you going?"

"I was just heading to the Smithsonian. Where were you going?" I replied.

Her eyes widened. "Me too! I was going to that exhibit that they have on you. Speaking of which, isn't it strange having an exhibit that's dedicated to you?" Her train of words spilled out. She stopped and covered her mouth. "Oops. Did I talk too fast?" she said sheepishly and blushed.

I laughed and shook my head. "No worries, you're fine," I said reassuringly. There was an awkward pause. "Well since you're going there too, mind if I join you?"

Arya's eyes lit up and she nodded. "That would be incredible."

We continued down the sidewalk towards the Smithsonian. We talked a little bit about our life, nothing too personal. We walked through the first few cases of the exhibit with my old uniforms in them.

"Hey, do you mind if I go and sit down?" Arya asked.

"Not at all, go ahead," I said.

She went over to a bench and gingerly sank down onto it. She sighed with relief and rubbed her thigh. I went over to her. "Everything okay?"

Arya nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired."

"Want me to walk you back to your apartment?" I asked. I figured that it'd be nice to do that for her. She mulled over it for a second. "Sure, thanks."

I extended my hand to pull her up off the bench. We walked back the way we came and went over a few more blocks. She stopped in front of a brick brownstone apartment building. "This is where I live. Thanks for walking me back," she said with a small smile. "Anytime," I said.

"I'll be out on my morning run tomorrow if you want to join me," I offered. Arya immediately tensed. "Um, I'm busy. Maybe some other time?" she said. "Sure, no problem. I'll probably see you around. Don't be afraid to come up and talk to me, okay?" I assured her. She relaxed a tiny bit. "Okay. Will do Captain."

I watched her walk up the stairs to the building. After I made sure she made it into the building, I turned and started to head back to my own apartment.

I began to wonder why I was being so friendly to this 14 year old girl I didn't even know. Arya seemed like a sweet and nice girl, but why did I feel like I had to protect her? That was strange. I didn't really mind being around her. She was easy to talk to.

Oh well.

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**Authors Note: 'Ello! This is TheFallenNightAngel, attempting to write another fanfiction! I hope you all enjoyed this first chapter. This story will include the Avengers, Fury, Hill, all of that good stuff. Why do you think Steve likes this young girl Arya so much? Why did Arya get nervous at the end? We'll see in future chapters! Suggestions, criticism, and comments are welcome!**


	2. Chapter 2: Look

Arya's Point of View:

I locked myself in my room and listened to my brother have a raging tantrum. He was 18 years old. When he got mad about something, all hell broke loose. Usually he was mad at me for something I did. Today it was because I said I didn't want him to go out tonight.

I stared down at my wrists. There were bruises scattered all over my skin. I had gotten them when he grabbed my wrists and squeezed hard. It didn't help that my skin was pale. It made the bruises more prominent.

I sighed and buried my face in my hands. I hated living like this. But I had no choice. He was the only family I had left. He's not my legal guardian so technically I could leave and be assigned to a foster home. I'd heard about foster homes. Some were alright and some were horrible. No, it was better that I stayed where I was. In a few years, I'd be out of here.

I sat on my bed and pulled up my pant legs. What should've been my calves, ankles, and feet, were prosthetic legs. Metal, plastic, and wood had replaced my legs from the knee down. I lost my legs in an..."accident" when I was 12. 2 years later, I had learned to walk normally and disguise my legs. Most people couldn't even tell. I learned to dance and run. Now I'm an advanced dancer at a dance school nearby. I have two prosthetic running legs in case I want to run.

When Steve asked me if I wanted to run with him a few days ago, I was tempted to say yes. After all, how many chances do you get to spend time with Captain America? I had to force myself to say no. I could only run with my running legs and I wasn't ready to spring that fact on him yet. Besides, how do you say that? "Oh, by the way, I have two prosthetic legs." Nope. Too awkward.

Besides, I had seen him a few other times around DC. If we encountered each other, we went for a walk around the city and talked. He had asked what I like, I said that I liked dance and music. I knew that eventually I'd have to tell him that I didn't technically have legs.

I listened to hear if my brother was still on a rampage. I didn't hear anything so I slipped out of my room and scurried out the door. Whew. I made it without encountering him. I breathed a sigh of relief.

I tucked my hands into my athletic pullover. It was late in the morning, humid and sunny. I headed over to the National Mall and towards the patch of green space there was. I looked around to see if I could spot Steve. It was silly to keep a look out, but I really did want to talk to him again. He was nice and easy to talk to.

I plopped down on under a tree. I grimaced when I felt my prosthetic legs creak and pop. I shaded my eyes from the sun and peered around the Mall. So far, no sign of Steve. Hm. Maybe it was too late in the morning.

After a few more minutes, I spotted him. He was finishing a loop around the Washington Monument. I stood up and waved my hand. "Hey Steve!" I shouted. He turned towards the sound of voice and grinned. "Hey Arya!"

I half ran half walked towards him. It was difficult since I wasn't wearing the appropriate legs to run. I realized that I shouldn't have done that as soon as I started. Once I got going, I couldn't stop easily. I attempted to stop but ended up stumbling and nearly falling flat on my face. Lucky for me, Steve caught me by my arms. Unlucky for me, he held my arms right where my bruises were. I yelped and screwed my face up in a look of pain.

He righted me back on my feet (Ha not really "my" feet) and then immediately let go. "Are you okay?" he asked, concerned. I nodded and fidgeted with my sleeves. "Yeah, yeah I'm okay. Thanks," I mumbled. Steve gave me a look that said: _I know you're not okay so just tell me already. _

I hesitated for a second. Then I realized that if I was going to be rubbing elbows with Captain America, I might as well be 100% honest. I sighed. "Look, I have to tell you something," I said. He raised an eyebrow. "Okay? What?"

I reached down and rapped on the sides of my calves. A hollow ringing sound came back. "I have two below-knee prosthetic legs," I said softly. I inched one of my pant legs up. "See?"

Steve was silent for a second. "I always noticed how you walked different and had a hard time sitting down. That would explain it," he said. I looked down. "Do you hate them?" I asked stupidly. He looked shocked. "Hate them? Why would I hate them? I think it's incredible that you can even _walk_. Didn't you say you dance? That's insanely amazing. I think you're so strong," Steve reassured me.

I looked up, hopeful. "Y-you really think so?" I said, disbelieving. He put his hands on my shoulders. "Absolutely."

I let out a sigh. "Wow. You have no idea how good it feels to get that off my back." He tilted his head. "I think I can relate."

"So now that you know...I could go for that run with you, if that offer is still open," I put out there. Steve nodded and crossed his arms. "Yeah, that'd be great." There was a pause. "What about now?" he asked. "Now?" I said, startled. He laughed. "Yes, now. It's a beautiful morning and tomorrow it's supposed to rain."

"Um...well I would have to change into my prosthetic running legs," I said. "As long as you don't mind if I go back to my apartment and switch, then sure."

Steve shrugged and smiled. "I don't mind. Want me to go with you?" he offered. I wavered. If my brother was still mad at me, then that would be a disaster. I decided that it would be okay. After all, Steve was Captain America. This guy had seen Nazis and a bunch of other stuff that was way more scary than creepy older brothers.

We headed in the direction of my apartment. When we reached it, I unlocked the door and let us both in. "Home sweet home," I muttered. I was suddenly self conscious of what state the apartment was in. There were a few dirty dishes in the sink, magazines strewn all over the coffee table, and shoes scattered on the floor. As if he could read my mind, Steve said: "This looks a lot like my apartment," he laughed.

I rifled around in my room to find my running legs. "Give me a second," I said. "I can never remember where I put these things." I pulled them out of my closet. I went and sat down on the couch. Steve wandered over to me and watched me. I couldn't blame him, they were strange looking. The "feet" were in the shape of a J. They were almost a bit scary. They worked amazing for running though.

I was nervous to display my stumps of legs, but scolded myself for being so insecure. After hesitating for a second, I removed my regular prosthetics and slid on the running ones. They attached to my legs by a suction cup. After I was sure that they were secure, I reached my arms out. "Hey, give me a hand?" Steve took my hands and pulled me up.

I wobbled for a second then caught my balance. He stared at my running prosthetics. "How...how do you even walk in those?" he asked, bewildered. I laughed and shook my head. "It took me weeks to learn how to use these."

We headed back out and started up our run. I was pretty in shape from dancing, but Steve was a super soldier. There was no way I could keep up with him if he went at his normal pace. I could tell that he slowed down for me.

My legs made clinking noises against the pavement. Steve watched me run. "I have to say, I'm pretty amazed," he commented. I blushed and said: "Thanks."

We looped the National Mall 3 times before I had to stop. "Wow. That was cool but exhausting!" I gasped. Steve grinned and stretched. "Not bad, you kept up pretty good."

I sank down onto the sidewalk. "Whew!" I stood up again and was surprised by a sharp stab of pain from my stumps. "Damn, what the heck?" I swore. Steve laid his hand on my shoulder. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"I think I overworked my stumps. I gotta get home and put something on them," I explained. I took a step a gasped in pain. "Uggghhh."

Steve looked really worried and maybe a tiny bit freaked out. Not that I blame him. "Do you need me to walk you home?," he asked.

"Uh, if it's not too much trouble, then yeah that'd be awesome," I managed to say through my head going blurry from pain. I reached up and slung my arm around his shoulder.

I can imagine we were an odd pair. Him, really tall. Me, relatively short, limping.

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**Authors Note: Whew! This was a long one. I just couldn't stop writing! Ooooopppppppssss. Anyways, thank you for the reviews on the first chapter! Quite frankly, I was going to abandon ship on this story but the more I wrote, the better it sounded. Enjooooy! Suggestions, comments, and criticism are always welcome. **


	3. Chapter 3: Help

Steve's Point of View:

I was half dragging half supporting Arya on the way back to her apartment. Apparently she hadn't been out for a run for a long time so her legs weren't used to the prosthetic running legs. I felt a bit guilty, after all it was my idea to go for a run. Arya had assured me though that it was her fault, that she should've been more careful. Well, alright. But still.

I offered to carry her since it was obvious that every step was killing her, but she had declined.

We got to the stairs that led up to her apartment. She stared at them like they were the Himalayan mountains. She gripped the railing with one hand and my shoulder with the other and hoisted herself up the stairs. I couldn't believe the amount of strength she must have.

Arya kicked open the door and collapsed on the couch. "Do me a favor?" she asked.

"Yeah, what?" I answered. She pointed at the bathroom. "There's a bottle of cream on the counter in there. Get it and give it to me please," she said. I did as she asked.

She popped off her running legs and rubbed the cream over her legs. I felt a bit uncomfortable watching. I wasn't sure if she wanted me to see. As if sensing my discomfort, she laughed and shook her head. "Don't be scared. I don't mind if you watch," she said.

So, I sat down next to her and watched. What was left of her legs were stumps. It wasn't as terrifying looking as I thought it would look like. There were matching jagged scars across the bottoms. I watched as she put her normal legs back on and flopped back on the couch. "Whew."

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you..." I trailed off, unsure of how to say it.

"How did I lose my legs?" she finished for me. I nodded. "I was 12. I was in a car accident. I was walking across the street when a car came at me all of a sudden. I'm still confused as to how that happened. I mean, I used the crosswalk and the sign said it was safe to walk. I looked both ways too. I guess the person driving was just careless," Arya said.

"Wow, I'm sorry that that happened," I said sympathetically. I couldn't imagine that happening. Especially at such a young age.

"Thank you. 2 years later I'm still getting used to it," she said bitterly. "I don't know why I haven't."

"Look, you gotta give yourself time to heal. I know you're healed physically, but the most important part is healing mentally. Everyone goes at their own pace. Don't beat yourself up for not being as fast as someone else," I told her. I felt that it was really important for her to know that.

Arya was silent for a second. "When you put it that way," she began but was interrupted by the noise of the front door banging open. Arya immediately stood up and clenched her fists. "What's wrong?" I asked, confused.

She didn't answer but instead went to see who it was. I heard a male voice say: "What are you doing here? Who's here with you?" Arya's voice floated over my way. "Just...a friend. It's not a big deal, calm down."

Then I heard a loud crash and a small scream. I shot up like a rocket and went to see what the hell happened. I saw Arya pressed against a wall, a vase broken on the ground, and a man about 18 or 19 years old with a look of pure rage on his face.

I shot Arya a questioning glance. "What's going on here?" I demanded. She gulped and was breathing heavily. "S-Steve, can you please step outside for a minute?" she stuttered. The man grabbed her arm and twisted it hard. "That's better," he spat. "Hurry up."

I took a step forward. "Hey, let go of her. I don't know who you are but let go," I warned. He turned towards me and balled his fists. "You don't get to tell me what to do. Get the hell out of my apartment and mind your own business or I'll do a lot more than twist Arya's precious little arm."

Her eyes had started to glisten with tears. "Steve, please. Just go." The man tightened his grip on her arm. "You heard her," he said smugly.

I wanted to slam my fist into his face, but for the sake of Arya, I did as she said.

After a few minutes had passed, she came out the door and joined me on the steps. She looked defeated and upset. "I'm so sorry Steve. I-I didn't know he was going to be home so early."

"Who was he?" I asked angrily, mad that someone could do something like that to Arya.

"He's my brother. He's 18 and has...anger management issues ever since my parents died," she said softly.

"You put up with that every day? Arya, you don't have to live like that," I exclaimed. "That's not fair to you!"

She looked down and took a shaky breath. "He's the only family I have. I don't have a choice. It's not about fairness anymore."

I was all for going back in there and dealing with her brother, but I don't think Arya would've liked that. Not that it matters. "Abuse isn't legal Arya," I said obviously.

"I know. I can't imagine living without anyone left in my family though. You understand, don't you? I couldn't do that and know that it was my fault," she said, her voice cracking.

I sighed, seeing her logic but still not happy with the current situation. "Fine. I'll tell you what, I'll give you my phone number and if it gets worst, call me and tell me."

She wavered for a second, thinking it over. "Okay," she said finally.

I pulled out my notepad with my list of things I had missed in the past years and tore out a page. I scribbled my number on it and handed it to her. She took it and tucked it in her pocket.

She turned to go back into the apartment. "Arya? You don't have to use my number for just that. You can call anytime," I said.

Arya gave a half smile and nodded. "Thanks Steve."

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**Authors Note: Hello readers! Thank you so much for the reviews! I'm glad to see that this is getting some love. Keep up the suggestions! I'm really busy this weekend so I'm not sure I'll be able to update. I'll probably post the next chapter at the beginning of next week or so. Ciao for now. **


	4. Chapter 4: Gone

Arya's Point of View:

I was still shaken up about what happened between my brother and Steve. Part of me wanted to get out of there and let Steve do a number on him. The other part of me knew I had to stop it and not let Steve get into the mess of my life. Enough people had been affected by my screwed up life.

It had been a week since that happened. It wasn't getting worst but it wasn't getting better. I was determined to stick it out.

I had called Steve twice in that time period just to talk. I kept up with my regular routine. I kept going to dance classes. I kept up with my music studies. I waved to the florist that had her shop next to the dance studio. Outside, I was smiling and confident. Inside, I was hiding secrets and falling apart.

Right now I was at the dance studio. It was empty which was nice because I could practice by myself. I ran myself through the choreography and steps over and over. I only tripped and fell twice which was an accomplishment.

After 2 good hours of practice, I was soaked in sweat. I slid off my dance shoes and put on sneakers. I packed up my dance bag and left. I dreaded going back home but it was getting late and I didn't want to be out at night.

I quietly let myself into the apartment and went to the kitchen. The counter was littered with empty beer bottles. My brother had be drinking. And by the looks of it, heavily. I always wondered how he got the alcohol since he was underage. I did some investigating and found out that he buys it from some sketchy guy down at the corner.

I heard his footsteps and braced myself for whatever was about to come.

"Where were you?" he demanded, drinking from yet another bottle.

I turned around and faced him. "I was at the dance studio. Why are you drinking so much? You know you're not at the legal age yet," I snapped. I was treading in dangerous water snapping at him like that, but I was sick and tired of it.

He grabbed my arm which was still sore from all the bruises he had given me. "Don't tell me what to do. I don't take orders from a crippled little girl," he snarled.

I wrenched my arm out of his grip. "What would Mom and Dad say? They'd be disgusted at you!" I cried. "You're a disgrace!"

He stepped close to me and grabbed me by the shoulders. "No, they'd be disgusted at the fact that their daughter is a demented walking freak."

I couldn't help it. I mustered all the energy I could and slapped him in the face.

He was surprised. He took a step back and looked stunned. I felt a pang of satisfaction. It didn't last long though.

I turned to go to my room when I heard him move. I whipped around and saw the bottle he was holding fly towards my face. I gave a shriek and instinctively put my arms up. It hit my left arm and shattered into pieces. The glass pierced my arm and blood started dripping.

I ran to the bathroom and locked the door. I pawed through the cabinet full of medicine and medical supplies, not caring that I was making a mess. I found a pair of tweezers and started pulling the glass shards out. I fought back a bought of nausea that was rising in my stomach. There were 5 sharp shards embedded in my arm. I set my jaw and slid them out one by one. The pain was overwhelming. Tears were rushing down my face.

I found a bandage and carefully wrapped it around my arm. That would have to do for now. I didn't know what he was going to do so I had to move fast. I hurried to my room and pulled out a backpack and a duffel bag. I set my running legs at the bottom of the bag and laid two blankets on top. I pulled out two sets of clothes and pajamas and put them in the bag. I threw my 3 pairs of various dance shoes in and zipped the duffel bag up. I picked my favorite book and a photo album and put in the backpack. I put my lucky rock (Okay, so what if I have a lucky rock? It's soapstone!) in there as well. Finally, I put my sketchbook, special drawing pencils, and colored pencils on top. I felt like I was forgetting something. Oh well, it'd have to wait.

I slung my jacket on and tucked my iPod into the pocket. I hoisted both bags onto my shoulders and left my room. I kept an eye out for my brother but it seemed that he was gone now. I took one last look around the apartment that I had lived in for so many years. I turned and opened the front door and left. I didn't look back. It was better to look forward. I wasn't going to wait till I was old enough. I was leaving for good.

I hurried along the sidewalks of DC, trying to not attract attention. I reached the Lincoln Memorial, where oddly enough was where I had met Steve. I sat down and put my bags down. I pulled out my phone and dialed a number.

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**Authors Note: Hi guys! I was reading your reviews (Thank you for those!) and you all wanted an update. So, I stayed up late last night to write another chapter before my schedule gets busy! I hope you like it. Next chapter will be up early next week. **


	5. Chapter 5: Save

Steve's Point of View: 

I was sitting on my couch watching the afternoon news when my phone rang. "Hello?"

"_Hi Steve, it's Arya,_" Arya said through the phone.

"Hey Arya! What's up?" I asked.

"_I left. I couldn't do it anymore,_" she said.

I immediately sat up in alarm. "What happened? Where are you?"

"_He threw a bottle at me and called me...something horrible. I'm at the Lincoln Memorial." _I could hear her fighting back tears. Her bastard of a brother threw a bottle at her? I was furious.

"I'm on my way right now, don't move," I said.

"_I won't. And Steve? Thank you,_" Arya said softly.

"Don't worry about it," I assured her. I hung up the phone and scrambled to get out the door. I contemplated driving but the traffic at this time of day was horrendous. I walked as fast as I could towards the direction of the Lincoln Memorial and prayed that I'd make it in reasonable time.

I reached the giant monument and scanned the steps, searching for Arya. After a second, I saw her sitting on the very bottom step with a duffel bag and a backpack. I rushed over to her. "Hey, are you okay?" I asked, needing to know.

She looked up and then threw her arms around me. "Thank you so much for coming. I-I didn't know what I'd do if you weren't here. Yes, I'm fine. Well, except for my arm," she said.

I laid my hand on her shoulder. "Of course I'd be here. What happened to your arm?"

Arya pulled up her sleeve and revealed her arm which was bandaged heavily. "When he threw the bottle, the glass shattered and a few pieces pierced my skin," she explained.

I felt flames of anger rise up in my head. "You were right to leave," I said, pulling her into another hug.

Her eyes filled with tears and she looked down. "I couldn't think of anything else to do. I just packed up my important belongings and booked right out of there."

"How much longer were you planning on staying?" I asked.

"I-I was going to wait till I was 18 to move out," Arya said quietly. "Today was the last straw though. I'd rather live in a foster home then live with that, that psycho."

"I don't blame you," I said gravely. She looked down at her bags. "I guess I've got to find a place to go now," she said sadly.

I was silent for a second. "You know Arya, you could stay with me for tonight," I offered. Arya looked up, a look of hope blooming on her face. "Really? You'd do that for me?"

Despite the situation, I laughed. "Of course I would. What do you say, want to hang at my place for a while?"

"I...don't know. Won't I be imposing?" she said doubtfully. I shook my head. "Definitely not. It'd be nice to have someone around," I prompted. A big smile broke out onto her face. "Okay, then yes. Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Here, let me carry one of your bags kiddo," I picked up her duffel bag. "Ready to go?" She slung her backpack onto her shoulder. "Ready as I'll ever be."

* * *

Arya's Point of View: 

"You know, your apartment is cleaner than I anticipated," I commented.

"Really?" Steve said incredulously.

I nodded. "Yeah, it's really neat." I looked around at the living room. Everything was neatly arranged. There were tons of old newspaper clippings from his past and things like that hanging on the walls in frames. I went over to the small fireplace. There was a red, white, and blue shield propped up on the mantle. "Is this...?"

"My shield? Yeah," Steve finished for me.

"Wow, that's super cool!" I exclaimed. "I feel like there should be a glass case around it, like a museum."

He shook his head and grinned. "Nope, no glass cases here." He gestured towards a door. "Here's the guest room. You can sleep there."

I went over and opened the door to reveal a small but cozy and cute looking bedroom. It had a twin sized bed, a bookshelf, a dresser, a desk, and a small closet. I plopped my bags on the bed. "This is perfect."

Steve stood in the doorway. "You need help unpacking?"

I shrugged. "I guess." I tossed him my backpack. "Here, you can empty this out." I started taking things out of my duffel bag. I carefully put my clothes away in the closet and dresser. I tossed my dance shoes onto the floor of the closet. I propped my prosthetic legs against one wall. Steve handed me my book and photo album. I placed the lone book on the bookshelf and left the album on the desk. I put my sketchbook and pencils on the desk too. Finally, I placed my rock on the top of the dresser.

Absentmindedly, I opened up the photo album and glanced at the pictures. I stared at one that was of my mom and I when I was little. Steve looked over my shoulder. "Is that you and your mom?" he asked gently. I nodded and sighed. "She was beautiful, wasn't she?" I said. He nodded and was quiet.

I flipped the book shut, not wanting to dredge up old memories.

Suddenly, I remembered what I had thought I forgotten. "Damn it!" I swore. "I forgot to get my passport and identification papers!" I buried my face in my hands. I really didn't want to go back to that hell of an apartment.

"It's okay Arya. We can go back together and get them as well as the rest of your things. I'll make sure he doesn't come within ten feet of you," Steve said fiercely.

I looked up, surprised. "What do you mean, 'the rest of my things'? I won't need them since I'm only staying for a few days," I said confused.

"Do you really think I'd let you go to a foster home or something like that when I could easily let you stay with me for as long as you wanted?" he laughed. "You should know better Arya."

I blushed and looked at him hopefully. "Really? You'd let me stay with you? Are you serious?"

"Do I look like I'm kidding?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

I laughed and shook my head. "I guess not," I said giggling. I sat down on the bed. "So..."

"Tell me something I don't know about you," Steve said.

I thought for a second. "Um...Rwy'n mewn gwirionedd yn y Gymraeg. Gallaf siarad yn rhugl, ond ni allaf ei ysgrifennu," I said with a grin.

I burst out with laughter at Steve's face. He looked so confused. "W-what did you just say?"

"I said that I'm actually Welsh and that I can speak it fluently but I can't write it," I explained.

"Whoa, so you can speak Welsh? That's so cool!" he said excitedly.

"Says the guy who's Captain frikking America," I pointed out with a grin.

"Say something again in Welsh," he said.

"Diolch i chi am adael i mi aros gyda chi. Gyda llaw, gallaf gynnal eich darian?"

"Um, translation please?"

"Thank you for letting me stay with you. By the way, can I hold your shield?"

"Oh yeah, sure. C'mon, I'll let you hold it now."

He ushered me back into the living room and took down the shield from the mantel. "Here, put your arm in there like that. Yeah, okay now put your hand there. Now hold it up," he directed.

He let go of it and I held it up. "Wow, this feels so cool! It's lighter than I imagined," I said. I was holding Captain America's shield. When does that happen?!

I strutted around the room with the shield, probably looking like an idiot but feeling pretty darn cool. I slid it off my arm and handed it back to him. "That is seriously awesome. By the way...I'm hungry," I ventured.

"I guess it's that time of day for dinner, huh?" he said. "Well, if you don't mind, take out menus are on the counter."

I grinned and said: "Don't worry, I'm plenty used to take out." 

* * *

**Authors Note: SURPRISE! Another chapter posted! This is like, the 3rd chapter today. Well, I had this one half finished when I posted the last chapter this afternoon. I felt really guilty that I wasn't going to be posting another chapter this weekend so I finished this one up for you guys. I hope you appreciate it. Thank you for all the reviews! Love yaaaaa. **


	6. Chapter 6: Sketch

Steve's Point of View:

8 containers of Chinese take out later, Arya was asleep on the couch. Poor kid. She'd had a rough day. I think she deserved some good sleep.

I went over to sit next to her when I noticed that blood was soaking through her bandage on her arm. I carefully picked up her arm and examined it. It would probably have to be re-bandaged soon. Plus I didn't know if she had disinfected the cuts. I sighed, not wanting to wake her up.

I shook her shoulder. "Arya? Wake up," I said.

"Mmphhhh, 5 more minutes?" she said half-awake.

I laughed and shook her again. "It's not morning sleepyhead."

She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Then why are you waking me up?" she said grumpily. I was beginning to see that she was one of the those people who really enjoyed their sleep.

"I need to change your bandage on your arm and disinfect it," I explained.

Arya gave me a death glare. "You woke me up for that? Meh. That's not important."

"It is if you don't want to get an infection."

She stood up and ran towards the bathroom. "Okay! Okay! Fine!"

I followed her and saw her unwrapping the bloody bandage. She winced as it peeled away. "Damn bod phigiadau," she cursed.

I was still getting used to the fact that Arya could speak Welsh. I mean, Welsh looks like a bunch of random letters to me. "What did you say?"

"I said 'Damn that stings'"," Arya said.

"Oh. Swears sound different when you say them in a foreign language," I commented.

Arya eyed the bottle of hydrogen peroxide that I had taken out of the cabinet. "I hate that stuff," she muttered. "It stings like hell." She watched me as I drenched a piece of cloth with hydrogen peroxide and held it up. "Do you really have to disinfect it?" she asked.

"Like I said, unless you want to get an infection, then no," I said firmly.

She sighed and braced herself against a wall. "Okay, just get it over with," she demanded.

A few minutes later that included swears in Welsh and a bit of yelling, her arm was disinfected.

"Quite the vocabulary you have when it comes to swears," I teased her.

Arya crossed her arms and laughed. "So? As long as I don't say it in English, I'm okay."

"Good point," I admitted. I unrolled a length of bandage and started wrapping it around her arm. I was careful not to wrap it too tight.

She watched me intently. "Steve?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you loosen your grip?"

I realized that I was probably holding her arm where there were bruises. Oops, my bad.

"Shit, I'm sorry. I forgot," I said apologetically. I finished wrapping the bandage.

Arya examined my handiwork. "It's okay. Nice job. I guess being Captain America makes you good at bandaging people."

I shrugged. I didn't really know. I had been able to perform minor (And when I say minor, I mean minor) first aid skills for as long as I could remember.

I watched Arya scrutinize the array of bruises on her arms. "Eh. I hope these things fade soon. I need to tan up for the summer. I don't want to look like the belly of a fish," she said seriously before laughing.

I shook my head and chuckled. "All you teenage girls are so picky about how you look."

She flipped her hair and struck a pose. "Of course. Just kidding, I don't really care how I look. Besides, being Welsh makes me have that classic look of pale skin, dark hair."

"Okay Miss Beauty Queen," I teased.

Arya rolled her eyes and punched me lightly in the arm. "Oh shut up," she laughed.

She sauntered back out to the living room and went and got her sketchbook. She poised a pencil over the paper and hesitated. "What should I draw?" she asked me.

I shrugged. "I don't know. What do you draw?" She held up her sketchbook and showed me incredibly realistic portraits of people. "Wow Arya. Those are insanely amazing. The detail is incredible," I said in awe.

She blushed and gave a small smile. "Thanks. I taught myself."

I shook my head on amazement. "There's no end to your talent, is there?" I said.

Arya just grinned and started to sketch. I watched her face contort with concentration. I went over and peered over her shoulder. She covered the drawing with her hand. "No looking till I'm done!" she said.

"Fine, fine!" I held my hands up in mock surrender. She looked up for a second. "Don't you draw bit? Or last time I heard you did," she said.

I shrugged. "A little. Not as much anymore," I replied.

Arya's eyes lit up. "Really? Can I see?" I pointed to a framed picture on a wall. It was a drawing I had done in the 1940's of myself as a dancing monkey before I became a real Captain America and not just one for display.

She examined it carefully. "Wow. This is really good. The shading technique is perfect," she commented.

She yawned and stretched. "What time is it?" she asked.

"Time for you to get a watch," I joked. Arya gave me a look. "Uh, 9:30 PM. Want to head to sleep now?"

She thought it over for a second. "I guess. What are we doing tomorrow?"

"Well, if you want, we can head back and get your things," I offered.

I saw her hesitate in answering. I knew that she didn't want to go back there. "I could just go," I said softly.

Arya shook her head. "No, that's okay. You wouldn't know what I'd need. Sure, we can go tomorrow," she said reluctantly.

"Okay, sounds like a plan. If you need anything, just ask," I said.

"Okay. Here, this is for you," Arya said with a small smile. She handed me the sketch she was working on. I watched her go to her room and shut the door. I glanced at the sketch. I was surprised to see a nearly perfect likeness of me. I took it and pinned it on my wall in my room.

I wasn't exactly sure why I felt so protective over Arya. She had obvious strength, but there was something about her that was vulnerable and shy. She had gone 6 years without someone to trust. I was determined to be the first one to be there for her.

* * *

**Authors Note: Hi! Thank you Jules3033 for the suggestion. It was perfect for this chapter. Keep the suggestions coming! The next chapter will be up later this week. See you then! **


	7. Chapter 7: Back

Arya's Point of View:

I watched the streets of Washington DC zip by. Steve was taking me back to my apartment to finish packing the rest of my things. The wind mussed up my dark hair. I glanced at the backseat of the blue convertible we were in with the top down. A row of cardboard boxes were there. I had told Steve that I didn't have too many things so I wouldn't need a lot of boxes.

I was nervous as all get out going back to my apartment. If my brother was there, then all hell would break loose. Steve had promised me that he wouldn't let anything happen.

"Earth to Arya, are you there?" Steve's voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Oh, sorry. Yeah, I'm here and present," I said with a smile.

"Don't worry about anything today," he said as if he was reading my mind.

I sighed. "That's not easy. There's just so many bad memories of being there and all that."

He looked over at me for a second. "I can only imagine how hard this must be for you to go back. I think you're very brave," Steve said.

Me? Brave? Gosh no. "Thank you, but I'm not really," I mumbled.

He was silent for a second. "You know what the word selfless means?" he asked.

"Yes, it means you're not selfish and that you care about other people more than yourself," I answered.

"Exactly. Just think of this like being selfless to yourself. You're helping yourself. Helping other people is important, but so is saving a bit for yourself."

I thought about what he was saying. It made sense, in a way. "You're right," I admitted.

Sensing that the conversation had come to a close, he changed the subject. "Tell me 5 things that I don't already know about you," Steve said.

"Um, let's see. I'm a hardcore dancer, I'm obsessed with music, I love caramel, I love working with technology, and I like flying aircrafts, like planes and stuff like that."

Steve turned and looked at me in amazement. "You can fly planes? I thought the minimum age to start lessons was 14."

"It is. I just started the moment I turned 14 this year. I have to wait till I'm 16 to fly solo, and then 17 to get my official certification," I explained.

"That's a ways off. Pretty cool, though," Steve remarked with a grin.

"Yeah, it is. I wish I could go solo and get my certification now though. My instructor said I was a great pilot. Plus I'd probably do pretty well on all the medical certifications too," I said wistfully.

"It'll happen soon enough kiddo. You've got plenty of years ahead of you. If you want, I could try to get you into the Triskelion to tour SHIELD's air base. Maybe I can even pull a few strings and get you a couple of lessons there," he offered.

I instantly perked up with excitement. "That would be incredible!" I exclaimed. "Can you really do that?"

Steve laughed and nodded. "Of course, I'm Captain America," he teased.

I sat in happy silence for the rest of the ride. A tour and lesson at the Triskelion? Heck yes!

My bubble of happiness burst 10 minutes later when we pulled up in front of my apartment. I took a deep breath and got out of the car. Steve stood next to me and put his arm around my shoulders. "Remember, I'm right here with you," he reassured me. I nodded and unlocked the front door. I prayed that my brother was out somewhere and not here.

I walked in and there was no one there. I checked the kitchen and living room which were both empty. I breathed a sigh of relief. "No one's here. If we hurry, we can get out of here before he gets back," I said.

Steve tossed me a box. "Here." I caught it and went to my room.

Everything was still in place. I hurriedly but neatly packed all of my clothes into one box. I had Steve pack all of my books and CDs. I carefully put all my mementos and trinkets in another box. I completely cleared out my room till there was nothing left but the furniture. "I think that's everything," I said.

We lugged the boxes outside and put them in the car. Then we went back in to do a sweep of the house to see if there was anything else.

I remembered to grab my jar of money I had hidden in a cabinet. I also remembered this time to get my passport, ID, all my identification papers, etc. I took all of the family photo albums and pictures. My brother wouldn't miss them. I suddenly remembered that I still had my mother's jewelry box. Everything else that my parents had owned was in storage until I was old enough to inherit what they had left to me in their will.

I rushed back to my room and grabbed the jewelry box that was hidden under my bed.

"Arya? Are you finished?" I heard Steve call.

"I'm in here," I called back.

He appeared in the doorway. "You ready to go?" he said before spotting the box.

I opened the box and pulled out my mother's favorite necklace. It was a perfect round diamond with a ring of small diamonds surrounding it. It was worth several thousand dollars. I slipped it over my neck and looked at it.

"Was that your mother's?" Steve asked quietly. I nodded. I touched the pendant lightly. I felt better knowing I had a piece of her with me.

"Okay, I'm done," I said, carrying the box. Steve and I walked towards the front door. That was when my luck ran out. My brother was standing in the front doorway with yet another bottle in his hand.

"What the hell are you doing back here?" he sneered.

* * *

**Authors Note: Hello lovely readers! Here's the next chapter. I hope you all like it. This is a bit of a cliff hanger (Which I did on purpose -evil laugh-). By the way, I based Arya's mother's necklace on one of those "Center of My Universe" necklaces. They're absolutely gorgeous but SO expensive. (Look it up on Google if you're curious.) Until next time!**


	8. Chapter 8: Move

Steve's Point of View:

The moment Arya spotted her brother, she froze like a deer in the headlights. She immediately backed away a few steps and grasped my hand. I squeezed her hand, trying to mentally tell her that it'd be alright.

"Excuse us, but we'd like to get by you," I said coldly.

"Tough luck man, but that isn't happening," he laughed. He turned towards Arya and narrowed his eyes. "Isn't that Mom's necklace?"

She reached to her collarbone and touched it. "Yes, it is. Got a problem with that?" she snapped.

"Oh but I do. You don't deserve to be wearing something like that."

I stepped in front of Arya who looked like she was slapped in the face. "Hey, lay off of her. Now move out of the way," I said, curling my hand into a fist.

He turned his gaze to me and scrutinized me. "Aren't you Captain America or something stupid like that?" he asked.

"Yeah. Does it matter?" I glared at him.

"Tsk tsk Arya. Slumming around with these kind of people now? I thought better of you," he said, drinking whatever was in that bottle.

Before I could say anything, Arya stepped forward with a look of pure rage and anger on her face. "How dare you even say that to me! I find it incredibly sad that someone I just met a few weeks ago would care for me more than someone of my own family! Don't you dare criticize who I interact with since you have NEVER been there for me," Arya nearly shouted.

I put my arm around her and nodded. "You heard her," I said.

Her brother seemed a tad shocked at her outburst. I have to admit, I was too. I mentally made a note not to get on Arya's bad side. "C'mon Arya, this bastard isn't worth your time," I said.

She nodded but her eyes were still full of fire. We started towards the door, but then her brother lashed out and gripped his hand around her throat. Arya gasped and grabbed at his arm. "L-let go," she said, her voice breathy and small. I immediately and instinctively slammed my fist into the side of his face.

"Touch her again or come near her and I'll make sure you won't live to see the next day," I said under my breath to him. Then, I calmly guided Arya out the door and slammed it shut.

Arya slumped down on one of the stairs. "That almost went well, except he had to walk in right as we were leaving. Man, I'm sorry Steve. He's seriously just...horrible," she said with a groan.

"Hey, it's okay. We got your stuff, didn't we?" I said, trying to put a positive spin on it.

"Thank you Captain Optimistic," Arya said sarcastically.

I shook my head and chuckled. "Nope, I'm only listed as Captain America."

"Right you are," she said with a laugh. Laughter really transformed her face. It made her look happier and like a normal 14 year old. Not some girl who had been forced to grow up faster. It put a light of happiness into her eyes. Speaking of that, her eyes were fascinating. They were hazel which made them change color depending on the lighting or what color she was wearing. Such a beautiful and young girl that had so much and then lost everything. It twisted my heart to know that she had been through what she had.

"So, what do you want to do now?" I asked her.

She put her head in the palm of her hand and thought for a minute. "I don't know," Arya said finally. "I'm not used to people asking me what I want to do."

"How about we head back to the apartment and get you unpacked? Then maybe we can go for a walk around DC," I threw out there as an option.

She stood up and clutched her mother's jewelry box to her chest. "Okay. Sounds like a good plan to me."

* * *

Arya's Point of View: 

I sliced open the last box with the pair of scissors. "This is the last one," I said.

Steve turned around from investigating my CD collection. "Need any help?" he asked. We had unpacked all of my boxes and gotten me all moved in to the spare bedroom in Steve's apartment.

I shook my head and lifted out a few shirts and pairs of shoes. "Nah, there isn't much in here." I neatly put them away. When I was finished, I plopped down on the bed which was now covered with a fluffy duvet with a pattern of red, white, and blue stars. (Steve's, not mine, I swear!)

"You know, for a teenage girl, you're pretty organized and neat," Steve commented.

Well thanks, I think," I laughed.

He picked up a book from my bookshelf. "Greek mythology?" he said with an eyebrow raised.

I blushed and snatched it back. "I'm a bit of a mythology geek," I admitted.

"No kidding. You've got about a million books about it," he said teasingly.

I tried to think of a good comeback when the doorbell rang. Steve left to go answer the door. I trailed behind him.

He opened the door to reveal a pretty woman with red hair wearing all black. "Natasha. What brings you here?" Steve asked.

Natasha was about to answer when she spied me behind Steve. "Who's this?" she said with a faint air of curiousness.

"I'm Arya," I put in.

"What she said," Steve said ruefully. "She's my..." he hesitated, not sure what I was to him. Friend? Refugee? Problem? "Roommate," he finished.

"Ehhh something like that, yeah," I said, going with it.

Natasha raised her eyebrows and gave Steve a look as if to say: _What? _

Steve shot her a look back that said: _I'll explain later. _

"Well, very nice to meet you Arya. I'm Natasha Romanoff, one of Steve's friends," she said, shaking my hand.

I smiled and nodded. "Ditto." She kind of had that look where she could be either very nice or she could take you out in a second.

She gave me a tiny smile back and turned towards Steve. "We need to talk," Natasha said. Then she glanced at me. "Privately."

Steve sighed. "Nat, she already knows who I am and about SHIELD so don't bother."

I nodded in confirmation to his statement.

Natasha shook her head. "You told her? Who is she anyways?" she said, not meanly, just...demanding.

Steve looked uncomfortable. I don't think he wanted to spill my story without my permission. I stepped forward and took a deep breath. I told Natasha about what happened, my prosthetic legs, and how I met Steve. When I finished, Steve said: "I had to take her in Nat. I couldn't just leave her," he said reasonably.

I crossed my arms, waiting for her response.

"Okay, fine. Not my problem anyways. But make sure you run this whole thing by Fury. You know how he doesn't like surprises," Natasha warned.

"I was planning on it anyways," Steve reassured her. "Anyways, why are you here?"

"Fury needs you in on a mission today. Not a long one, it'll probably be done by tonight if you don't mess around. Solo mission," Natasha said.

Steve immediately looked up, interested. "Really? Why solo?"

"Fury thinks it'd be better."

Steve turned towards me. "What about Arya? It's not like I can just leave her," he said.

"Um excuse me, I'm 14! Perfectly capable of taking care of myself," I scowled.

"I know, but I'd feel better if you were with someone," he replied.

Natasha watched as bicker as to whether I was okay alone with amusement. "Cap, I can be with her while you're out," she offered.

"Spend the day with this woman I've never met before? Sounds like fun," I said sarcastically.

"C'mon Arya, you and Nat are going to get along just fine," Steve said. "Be right back, I'll go suit up." He left, leaving me alone with Natasha.

"I'm not as intimidating as you think," she said with a smile. "I'm only scary when I'm doing my job."

I thought about it. If she was Steve's friend from SHIELD, then she must be okay.

Steve came back in full the star spangled outfit and shield. "I'm heading out. Have a good time with Nat," he said. He gave me a hug.

"Thanks, I will," I replied.

"I'll be back late tonight," he said. He left the apartment.

There was an awkward silence. "Hey, sorry if this is offensive, but can I see your prosthetic legs?" Natasha asked.

"Don't worry, I don't mind at all," I said. I inched my pant leg up and showed her.

She whistled. "Wow. I don't know how you do it. You must be so strong to be able to walk on those," she commented.

I blushed and shook my head. "No, just a lot of practice."

"Give yourself a little credit. You deserve it," Natasha said kindly. She looked at her watch. "What do you want to do now?"

I shrugged. What do you do with a master assassin on a day out?

"We could go shopping if you want," Natasha said.

I thought about it. Come to think of it, I could really use some new clothes. "Okay, that sounds like fun," I said finally.

"Alright then, let's go."

* * *

**Authors Note: Hello! Here's the next chapter. Thank you for all the reviews. I'm sorry this wasn't up sooner, but I was so busy. I'm kind of running low on ideas so some suggestions would be awesome. Thank you!**


	9. Chapter 9: Out

Arya's Point of View: 

"I still think this one would look beautiful on you," Natasha insisted. We were out and about the streets of DC, shopping for clothes for me. We had already picked out 3 new shirts, 3 pairs of pants that went over my legs easier, a new dance outfit, and a pair of jazz dance shoes. I was going to pay for it all myself, but Natasha had insisted on paying.

Now we were in a store that had rows and rows dresses. Natasha had held a red dress that went just past the knees with a black silk sash. She kept encouraging me to try it on. As much as I liked it, I was a bit shy wearing dresses with my legs.

"Trust me, the color would be perfect on you," Natasha said.

I looked at it again and sighed. It was a lovely dress. I might as well, right? I took the dress from her and went to try it on. A few minutes later, I emerged from the dressing room with it on. Natasha smiled and nodded with approval. "I told you it was perfect," she said triumphantly.

I gave a little twirl. I really did like it. In fact, I actually really liked Natasha too. She seemed very nice and fun to hang around with. I had a feeling that we were going to be good friends.

"I love it! But are my legs too...distracting?" I asked worriedly.

"Nonsense, of course not," Natasha assured me.

"Well, if you say so," I said hesitantly. I went back to the dressing room and slipped it off, changing back into my regular clothes. Natasha went to pay for it while I say down on a bench, tired from all the standing I had done today.

After a few minutes, she came back and handed me a shopping bag. "Here you go kiddo."

"Thanks," I said with a smile. "What do you want to do next?"

She shrugged. "I don't have a preference."

"Can we go back to the apartment? I'm kind of tired," I said apologetically.

"Of course, no problem," she replied.

We headed back to Steve's apartment. Speaking of Steve, I wondered what he was doing right now. Probably saving the world.

* * *

Steve's Point of View:

I headed out of Triskelion. It was late at night and I had just got back from my solo mission. When I got back, I explained to Fury my current roommate situation. He wasn't exactly happy about it, but he said as long as she doesn't cause too much trouble, it's all fine. He also said that he wanted me to bring her in for him to speak to her. I wonder why. Oh well, I'll have to do that soon.

I had also stopped to speak with Maria Hill. I asked her if it was possible for Arya to tour Triskelion's aircraft base and to possibly take a few lessons. Lucky for me, she said yes. I was eager to get home to tell Arya that. She'd be ecstatic.

I texted Natasha before I left saying: _I'm on my way home. How'd your day go with Arya? _

_Not bad, it was fun. How was your mission? _

_I'm alive, aren't I? _

_True. What's your ETA?_

_About 15 minutes. _

_Gotcha. See ya then Cap. _

I put away my phone and headed for home.

When I walked through the doors, I saw Natasha sitting in a chair next to couch. Arya was sprawled out on the couch, fast asleep. The lights were turned down low. I laughed quietly at the sight. Natasha came over to greet me.

"Hey Rogers."

"Hi Nat. Thanks for watching Arya," I said gratefully.

"No problem, she's a great girl," Natasha said with a smile. "I gotta get going. I'll see you around." She left and closed the front door.

I glanced over at Arya. I didn't really want to wake her up to move her back into her room. I gently lifted her up an started carrying her to her room. She squirmed and then opened her eyes drowsily. "Steve?" she said sleepily.

"Hi," I said softly.

She glanced at my star striped suit and gave a small laugh. "I'm glad you're back," she said, leaning her head against my shoulder.

"Me too Arya. Me too."

"What time is it?" she asked.

"A little last midnight," I replied.

"Oh. Well, then good morning," she said smiling.

"Morning," I said with amusement.

I laid her down in her bed and tucked the blankets around her. I flicked the light off and left her.

I went to my own room and yawned. On today's mission, I was more careful than usual. I knew that I had to be back for Arya. If one more person left her, she'd break into pieces beyond repair.

* * *

**Authors Note: Thank you for all the reviews! Yes Alexia, I will have Arya meet the Avengers soon. DanceAlpineRaceRead, I definitely have ideas for Tony and Arya. Tessamohorse, that's a great suggestion! I think I know exactly where it can fit in future chapters. Thank you all again for your lovely reviews and suggestions.**


	10. Chapter 10: Meet

Arya's Point of View:

"Everyone please step forward and take your places. Let's put all our effort into this last dance," my dance teacher said. I did as I was told and posed for the opening music. I was in jazz dance class, sweating like crazy. I was wearing long athletic leggings to cover my legs, a tank top, and my jazz shoes. Jazz dance isn't like, dancing to jazz music. It's just dancing to popular music. Kind of like Michael Jackson. Anyways, jazz is my favorite kind of dance. It merges all sorts of dance styles into one. Today our class was dancing to some rap song.

It had been a few weeks since Steve let me move in with him. I'd been enjoying it so much. It was nice to not have to worry about what was going to happen in my life every single second. I got to relax for once in my life. Steve had become almost like a brother/father figure to me. We got up together at 6 AM to go for a run. We liked going for walks around DC. We watched movies almost every night. If he was called on a mission, he'd call Natasha to stay with me. He kept up with my normal schedule of dance classes. It was absolutely perfect. For the first time in 6 years, I was truly happy.

As I moved with the beat of the music, I stole a quick glance at Steve. He was sitting on a bench watching our class. Sometimes he would sit in on my classes. He always said afterwards that he was so impressed with me.

The song ended and everyone started to pack up and leave. I was eager to leave since Steve was finally taking me over to Triskelion for a tour. I slipped on a jacket and changed my shoes to a pair of bright red Converse. I jogged over to Steve. "Hey! How'd you like it?" I asked excitedly.

"You were amazing! I mean, you can dance with 2 prosthetic legs better than I can dance with 2 regular legs," Steve said with a laugh.

I tugged at his arm. "C'mon, let's go! I can't wait to see Triskelion!"

He laughed again and shook his head. "Okay, okay, I'm going!"

We hurried through the streets of DC. Steve stopped me at a gigantic glass building. He held the door open for me. My jaw dropped at the sight of the interior. It was insane. "Welcome to Triskelion," Steve said with a grin. I closed my jaw but remained speechless.

He went up to a man with a SHIELD logo on his jacket and said a few words to him. The man handed him a card. Steve beckoned to me. "C'mon, let's take you up to see Hill."

We got in an elevator which said in a computer voice: _"Verifying occupants. Welcome Steve Rogers. There is an unidentified occupant in this elevator. Please verify unidentified occupant with a security code. If security code is not given, the unidentified occupant will be ejected from the premises." _

"Uh, 2553," Steve read from the card he had gotten. It didn't eject me so I'm assuming that it worked.

"Triskelion is much bigger and...grander than I anticipated," I said in awe, watching the elevator climb higher and higher.

"You should've seen it before HYDRA trashed it," Steve replied with a shrug. Ah, right. I'd forgotten about that.

After a few minutes, the elevator stopped and opened. We exited and ended up in front of 2 large doors with the words: "Restricted Access" on them.

"Hill's going to meet us here to give you a tour," Steve said.

Right on cue, Maria Hill rounded the corner and approached us. "Captain Rogers, good to see you. I see that you brought your guest."

He nodded and propelled me forward. "This is Arya."

I gave a small wave and smile. "Hi."

She shook my hand. "Pleasure to meet you. C'mon, let's take you in to see SHIELD's airbase."

I eagerly followed her through the 2 doors. My jaw dropped yet again as I took in the sight of the airbase. It was gigantic. It was like an airport inside of a room. I turned to Steve. "This. Is. Amazing!" I exclaimed.

"So Arya, I heard that you fly planes?" Hill said.

"Yup, I do!" I replied.

"What kinds have you flown?"

I shrugged. "Mostly small ones, like puddle jumpers. You know, the ones that usually take people to islands. I did get to fly a Flying Wing aircraft though. If I recall correctly, those were first used in World War 2. I think the Flying Wing is my favorite."

Hill nodded in approval. "Maybe we can get you up in one of our improved Flying Wings soon," she said. "How did you start flying?"

"I uh, well, I have 2 prosthetic legs and I was told that learning to drive eventually would be really difficult. So, I decided I'd learn to fly a plane," I explained shyly.

"Good for you, overcoming the odds. Here's a little tip, if anyone says you can't do anything, prove them dead wrong," Hill said with a wink.

I grinned. "I've been doing that for the past 6 years."

Hill turned to Steve. "You taking her up to see Fury today?"

"Yes, I am. In fact, we've got to be there in 10 minutes," he said, checking his watch.

"Hold up a second, who's Fury and why am I being taken to see him?" I asked suspiciously.

"He's the director of SHIELD. He said he wanted to meet you," Steve explained.

"Um...okay?" I said in confusion.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine," he reassured me.

10 minutes later, other elevator ride, and a security check, Steve and I stood outside an office door. "Well, go on in. I'm right behind you," he said.

I opened the door and saw a man with an eye patch sitting behind a desk. He looked up as Steve and I entered. "Captain Rogers," Fury acknowledged. "And you must be Arya," he said, turning towards me.

"Yes, that would be me," I said.

Fury gestures to a seat. "Sit down. I'd like to hear your story, if that's alright."

So, I sat down and told my whole story. He didn't ask to see my legs, which was interesting since most people do.

"I see," he said when I was finished. "How are you enjoying staying with Captain Rogers?" he asked.

"I like it. It's much better than where I was before," I replied.

"Was your brother your legal guardian when your parents died?"

"Um, I don't think so. Wait, no he wasn't," I said.

Fury tapped a pen against the desk. "Do you have any living family or godparents?"

I shook my head. "I've checked already. Nothing."

He turned to Steve. "I sense a problem here. This girl here has no legal guardian. Something's got to be done about that Rogers. She's your responsibility, isn't she? Sort that out as soon as possible," Fury said flatly.

"What?" I said incredulously.

Steve laid a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry about it. We'll figure it out when we get home."

"One other thing Rogers. Have you considered relocating to New York now that you have this girl?"

Ahem, "this girl" has a name.

"I've thought about it," Steve said hesitantly.

"I recommend you do it. HYDRA is still out there. We don't know what could happen. I say you move to New York under the rest of their protection as soon as possible," Fury said.

Wait. New York? HYDRA? Who's "the rest of them"?

"Thank you sir. I'll be considering that as an option," Steve said.

"Nice meeting you Arya," Fury said to me.

"Thank you. You as well," I said politely. Steve guided me out of his office. I waited until we went down the elevator and got outside into the car to ask questions.

"What was that all about?" I asked.

Steve sighed. "It's complicated. First off, Fury thinks you need a legal guardian, which, you actually do."

"Oh," I said softly. "Then...you're going to put me in a foster home?" I said quietly, terrified of the answer.

"Of course not!" he said, shocked. "I'd never do that. There's only one option I see open here."

"What's that?"

"If I get your permission, I'm going to adopt you."

* * *

**Authors Note: Whew, I got up early to finish this next chapter. Flying Wings are a real kind of plane from World War 2, just so you know. Who do you think "the rest of them" are? I left this at a bit of a cliffhanger just for fun. Mwuhahaha. **


	11. Chapter 11: Letter

Arya's Point of View:

I wasn't sure I had heard Steve correctly. "Repeat that again, slowly?"

"I said, if I get your permission, I'm going to adopt you," Steve said, as requested, slowly.

I let out a big breath and looked at him. "You're 100% serious? You're not kidding?"

"110% serious. I wouldn't joke about something as important as this," he said.

"Wow. I don't know what to say," I said honestly. Half of me told my head: _Say yes! This is the best opportunity you could have. You could have a real family for once. You need someone who can take care of you. _The other half of me told my head: _Don't be in such a hurry to say yes. You never know what could happen. _

"Steve, I really do appreciate you saying that," I said hesitantly. "I just...I'm a little on the fence about it. Only because I've been in some bad situations before and I want to be sure I'm not getting into another one."

He was quiet for a minute. "I understand. But Arya, I can promise you that I will never let anything happen to you. And if something did happen, I'd make sure whoever or whatever did it never comes near you again."

When he put it like that, it sounded like heaven. It would be perfect. I had already started to think of myself as fitting into Steve's life. This was just the next step, right?

"Arya, you've taken care of yourself for the past 6 years. I think it's time to let someone else take care of you and for you to just be a kid," Steve said softly.

I thought for exactly one more minute. I let a giant smile break out onto my face. "Yes."

"Yes, as in you'll let me adopt you?" Steve said hopefully.

"Yes, as in yes to what you just said," I replied, wiping a (happy) tear that was streaking down my face.

He reached over and gave me a hug. "Thank you," he said.

I shook my head with a small laugh. "No, thank _you_."

He started the car and we headed for home.

"Steve?"

"Yeah?"

"What did Fury mean by relocating to New York?"

Steve glanced over at me quickly. "You don't need to worry about that."

"Well, obviously I won't stay up late at night worrying about it, but I'd like to know what it means," I said stubbornly.

"You'll find out when the time comes," he said with a sigh.

"Alright, alright. I was just curious," I said, giving up. I knew I wasn't going to get an answer anytime soon. Oh well.

* * *

Steve's Point of View: 

"Hey Tony. How are you? Yeah, I'm good. Look, I've got a small favor to ask. No, it doesn't involve something illegal. I need you to do some legal documents for me. Yes. Just write a letter recommendation saying that I'd be a good legal guardian. No. No! Tony, it's really important. Really? Okay, thanks. Yeah, just have JARVIS or Pepper or someone email it to me. Yes, I can figure out an email. Okay, thanks again. Bye." I hung up the phone and sat down next to Arya on the couch. "That was the last one."

I had spent the entire rest of the week after I told Arya I was going to adopt her tracking down the Avengers. I needed them to put forward a letter of recommendation/approval for the adoption process. Normally, I'd just have to do a bunch of paperwork, but the courts made an acception for me since I don't exactly have my records or anything. They let me get some letters saying that I'm not a psychopath. So, I decided I'd contact the Avengers (minus Thor since I can't exactly call Asgard...) to get them to do it. They all agreed, thankfully. If all goes well, Arya will be officially under my protection by the end of this week.

I've been thinking more about what Fury said about moving back to New York. He wants me to keep Arya and myself in Stark Tower, thinking it'd be safer. Reality, he's right, we should do that. But I don't want to uproot Arya again. It's not fair to do that.

I glanced over at Arya who's reading a book. She looked up. "So...are they are willing to do it?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yep, we'll have all the letters by the end of the week."

"Let me get this straight, you asked the Avengers to write you letters of recommendation. Wow. I'm being adopted by Captain America and it's being finalized by the Avengers. Why do I find that weird?" she said laughing.

"I have no idea," I said grinning.

The doorbell rang just as Arya was about to reply. She jumped up to go answer it. "Natasha!" she said happily, giving her a hug. Arya and Natasha had grown close in the last days.

"Hey Ayra, how are you kiddo?" Natasha said, hugging her back.

"Not bad. A little tired but that's probably from getting up at 6 AM to go for a run," Arya replied with a fake yawn.

Natasha glanced over at me. "Seriously Steve? You make her go with you?"

I held my hands up defensively. "Hey, exercise is important!"

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, whatever. By the way, here's the letter you asked me to write," she said while handing me a piece of paper.

I took it and scanned over it. Arya looked over my shoulder to read it. "Thanks Nat, this is perfect," I said gratefully.

Natasha waved my thanks aside. "Anytime. I'm happy that you're finally taking a step forward in your life." She turned to Arya. "And I'm happy that you get to have a family now."

"Me too," Arya said with a smile.

"So when is it going to be official?" Natasha asked.

"If everyone gets their letters in soon, probably within the next 2 days," I estimated.

"You do know that you should be considering heading back to New York?" Natasha said.

Arya instantly perked up, eager to hear what this New York thing was about.

"Yeah, I know," I said simply, giving Natasha a look that said: _Drop the subject. _Luckily, she got the message.

"Hate to break up the party, but I gotta file some paperwork. I'll see you guys later. Call me when it's official," Natasha said before leaving.

Arya flopped back down on the couch. "I'm bored," she announced.

"Well, it's nearly 8 PM."

She thought for a second. "Let's watch a movie," she decided.

"Fine with me," I replied.

She flicked through the TV guide to find one. "By the way, dance class is cancelled tomorrow so my day is open. Anything you want to do?" she asked.

"Actually, there is. Do you mind nursing homes?" I asked her.

Arya looked at me, confused. "Um, they're okay. Why?"

"I want you to meet someone. Her name is Peggy."

* * *

**Authors Note: Yay! Steve's going to adopt her. Woohoo! So what do you think about the whole New York thing? And what do you it's going to be like when Steve takes Arya to meet Peggy? (As in, Peggy Carter!) **


	12. Chapter 12: Fly

Arya's Point of View: 

I looked at myself critically in the mirror. "Yr wyf yn edrych yn ofnadwy," I muttered under my breath.

"Excuse me, no self-deprecating statements," Steve said, walking into my room.

"You don't even know what I said!"

"Well, you're looking at yourself in a mirror, scowling. I can assume you said something along the line of 'I look terrible.' Am I right?"

I made a face at him. "How did you know that I said that? Have you been studying Welsh?" I asked suspiciously.

He laughed and shook his head. "No, I can just read your facial expressions really well. Are you done yet? We're going to be late."

Steve was taking me to see his old girlfriend from the 1940's today. Her name was Peggy Carter. She was now really really old and in a nursing home. I was excited but nervous to meet her.

"Yeah, I'm done. Kind of," I replied. I was wearing jeans and a nice blouse over a tank top. At the last minute, I remembered to put my mom's necklace on.

A half an hour later, I was waiting outside a door in the nursing home. Steve had gone in first to tell Peggy about me. I couldn't help listening to them talk.

"So Peggy, I'm going to adopt a girl. She's 14 and her name is Arya," I heard Steve say.

"That's wonderful Steve. I know you'll be a good father. You always deserved something important in your life," a female voice said.

"Yeah. I hope so." I heard footsteps and then Steve opened the door. "Come on in Arya," Steve said.

I went in and saw a frail but still beautiful woman lying in bed. Her gray and white hair was lightly curled in the 1940's style. I sat down in one of the 2 chairs that were next to the bed. "Hi, I'm Arya. You must be Peggy," I said with a smile.

"Steve, is this the girl? She's lovely," Peggy said, reaching out to touch my hand.

Steve sat in the other chair. "Yes, that's her."

"Beautiful," she said simply.

I blushed and shook my head. "Thank you," I said shyly.

"You finally found someone else who can be your favorite girl besides me," Peggy said weakly.

"Yeah Peggy. My 2 favorite girls in one place," Steve said smiling.

"Take her dancing Steve," she said softly. "That way I won't owe you a dance. You'll do that, won't you Arya?" she said, looking over at me.

I remembered Steve saying that before he crashed in the ice, he and Peggy promised that they'd go for a dance afterwards. "Of course I would," I said quietly.

"I'll do it Peggy. I'll make sure it happens," Steve assured her.

Peggy seemed satisfied with our answers and closed her eyes. "I'm so glad you came back for me Steve," she said. Within minutes, her breathing slowed and she was asleep.

Steve rose and beckoned for me to follow him. Once we got outside on the sidewalk, I turned to him. "She seems really nice," I said.

He nodded and put his hands in his pockets. "She is. Today she remembered me and didn't flip out," he said absentmindedly.

"That's...good," I said uncertainly. I didn't really have too much experience with elderly people. I could tell that Steve needed a few minutes to process seeing Peggy. I stayed silent and looked at the ground. The sound of a phone ringing interrupted the silence.

Steve answered his cellphone. "Hello? Really? Yes, that'd be perfect. Yep. We'll be right over." He hung up and turned to me. "Maria Hill just called and said that if you're available, she can give you a flying lesson."

I instantly snapped my head up and smiled. "Yes yes yes! Like, now?"

He laughed at my eagerness. "Yes, now. C'mon, let's hurry."

* * *

"I'm flying this?" I said in awe. I was standing in front of a Flying Wing plane in SHIELD's airbase with Hill. Oops, I mean Agent Hill. The Flying Wing was different than the one I had flown before. It was much more modernized and sleek.

"You ready?" Hill asked me.

I nodded and rubbed my hands together. "Let's fly this thing."

She climbed into the plane and I followed her. I sat down in the pilot's seat with Hill in the copilot seat. I buckled myself in and examined the controls. Relatively simple. Nothing I wasn't unfamiliar with. Hill pointed out certain features like the fact that you don't need to take the plane down a runway to take off. It just lifted up. Hill also showed me the guns that were installed on the sides of the plane to take out enemies. Obviously, I wouldn't be doing target practice with those until I had more practice.

I took a deep breath and started the Flying Wing. I felt the engine hum within the plane and relaxed. I loved flying planes. The technicality and feel of it was intoxicating. I watched the airbase floor start to shrink and I slowly eased the plane forward. Within minutes, we were out in the open air.

"Just start doing loops around DC. Start by flying around Triskelion," Hill said.

I did as she said, circling around Triskelion. I knew Steve was watching us from one of the windows. It made me proud to know that he was watching me doing my favorite hobby.

"Keep it steady," Hill said as the plane wobbled just a bit.

I nodded and made my grip tighter on the controls.

After a good half an hour of flying of DC, Hill told me to head back to Triskelion and land. Landing was the one thing that made me nervous. I was always scared I was going to screw it up.

The concrete of the landing strip came closer every second. I slowed our descent and leveled out the wheels. We landed with a gentle bump. I slumped back in my seat and let out a sigh of relief. "That was amazing."

We met Steve back at the entrance to Triskelion. "Captain Rogers, you've got a prodigy pilot on your hands," Hill said.

Wait, what? A prodigy pilot? Me?

"She's much more advanced than her age level. She's better than some adult pilots I've encountered. I recommend for Arya to try to get a SHIELD pilot's license soon."

"I thought you had to be 16 to fly solo and 17 to get a license?" Steve said.

"Technically yes, but SHIELD might be able to make a few exceptions for her," Hill said with a wink. "If you consider it, let me know and I can pull a few strings."

Steve shook her hand. "Thank you."

I shook her hand too. "Thank you for the lesson. It was fantastic," I said.

"No problem, anytime you're available I'd be happy to do it again," Hill replied.

Steve and I started walking back home. It was starting to get late. "Do you think I could get a SHIELD pilot's license?" I asked Steve.

"I think so. If Hill thinks you can do it, then you can. Are you sure that's what you want though?" he said.

"Yes. I've dreamed about being a pilot for ages," I said confidently.

"What kind of pilot specifically?"

"Uh, I think I'd like to be a pilot that transports and delivers agents to missions and combat."

Steve looked at me in surprise. "That's really what you want to be? Wow, that's incredible. When I was your age, I didn't even think about that kind of thing."

I shrugged. "After my parents died and my legs were cut off, I started to think more about it." I yawned and blinked my eyes to stay awake.

"Someone's tired," Steve chuckled. "Let's get you home to rest."

* * *

**Authors Note: Since it's Fourth of July this week, I decided to do a double update in one day! I had the idea about Arya and Peggy meeting in my head for a while so I finally put it in this story. Tell me what you think! **


	13. Chapter 13: Jet

Steve's Point of View: 

It was late at night, dark and quiet. I was about to head to sleep and call it a day. I quietly opened Arya's door to check on her. She was laying on her side, sleeping soundly. I pulled up the covers around her. I glanced at some of the papers that were on her desk. It looked like she was working on a new drawing.

As I headed back to my room, I felt like something wasn't quite right. I couldn't tell what it was though. Arya was safe and sound in her room. Nothing was wrong. I was probably just being hypersensitive. _  
_

I laid down in bed and tried to shake off the feeling. Just as I closed my eyes, I heard a commotion outside. It sounded like there was a brawl going on. Well, DC is crime infested so I wasn't really surprised at that.

I don't remember falling asleep, but I must've at some point. I woke with a jolt when I heard the sound of a door breaking open. I jumped out of bed and grabbed my shield. Normal people don't break into apartments in the middle of the night. My instincts told me that this was bad news.

I went to the living room and found 5 men wearing all black in there. Well shit.

One of them stepped forward. "Captain Rogers. Terribly sorry to barge in like this, but we require you to come with us."

"Sorry to disappoint, but that's not happening," I replied before slamming my shield into the nearest man. I easily took out the rest of them. Except for 1. He pulled a gun out and aimed it towards Arya's door. Apparently she sleeps like a rock since she hasn't been woken by the noise.

"Don't move, or I'll shoot your precious little girl," he warned. "I assure you, this gun can fire through doors."

Damn.

"Blackmail is a low way to get what you want," I said before throwing my shield like a frisbee at his head. He fired at the door but was still hit in the head with my shield.

I made sure all of the men were knocked out. I noticed a symbol on their jackets. The HYDRA logo. Can these guys leave me alone for once?

I heard a door open and looked up. Arya stood in the doorway. "W-what happened?" she stuttered.

"HYDRA," I said simply. I went over to her and examined her. "Are you hurt?"

"No, I woke up when I heard the gun fire," Arya said worriedly. "Why were they here?"

"I don't know, but we can't stay here. Reinforcements may be here soon. Go pack a bag with some clothes. You can bring some other things like your drawings and a maybe a book or 2. Do it fast," I told her.

She ran off to do it without any questions. I went to my room and did the same. I dialed a number into my phone and packed at the same time. I had no choice. I had to relocate us to New York.

"_You have reached Tony Stark's personal AI, JARVIS. Mr. Stark is not available. Would you like to leave a message?" _Tony's AI said through the phone.

"JARVIS, this is Steve Rogers. I need you to wake up Tony and let me talk to him. Now," I commanded.

"_One moment sir._"

Arya appeared in my room looking scared. "I'm all set," she said. I motioned for her to wait.

"_What do you want Steve?_" said Tony's tired voice.

"Tony, change of plans. I'm coming to New York right now. HYDRA just attacked us in the apartment," I said urgently.

"_Are you bringing the girl?_" _  
_

"Obviously, yes."

"_Okay, I'll have JARVIS send one of my jets out right now from Triskelion. It'll be there in a maximum of 10 minutes. Good luck,_" Tony said before hanging up.

I tossed my phone in my bag. "Don't use your iPod or cellphone until we get to Stark Tower. HYDRA could track it," I told Arya.

"Wait, Stark Tower? You're taking me there? Why?" Arya asked.

"HYDRA is going to start targeting us now. I've been debating bringing you there since day 1 but I didn't want to uproot you again. We can't wait any longer now. Tony is sending a jet to pick us up in a few minutes. I'll have a SHIELD team come and pick up your things later next week," I explained quickly.

Arya was quiet for a second. Then she hugged me tight. "I'm fine with that as long as you're going with me."

"Of course I am. I couldn't leave you all alone," I said softly. "Come on, we need to go to the rooftop."

I took her hand and my bag and pulled her up to the roof. I spotted a quinjet in the distance. "There's our ride."

Arya gripped my hand. "Will the other Avengers be at the tower?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe," I said. "I think Natasha will be there."

Arya instantly looked a bit happier at the thought of seeing Natasha.

The quinjet landed on the roof. I helped Arya get in and buckled her in.

"_We will be landing in New York at Stark Tower in approximately 45 minutes,_" JARVIS's smooth voice said.

"Wow, who knew JARVIS can fly planes," I muttered. I took a seat next to Arya and strapped myself in.

She leaned her head against my shoulder. "This beats flying commercial airlines," she murmured. "I really don't like people messing up my sleeping. I'm starting to dislike HYDRA more and more."

I laughed at her attempt to make things light. "Don't worry, you can go back to sleep once we get there."

The time flew by quickly. In no time, we were landing on top of Stark Tower. We exited the quinjet and found Tony and Natasha waiting for us.

* * *

**Authors Note: Hello! It's 9:35 at night and I'm updating. I must be crazy! So it looks like HYDRA is after Steve and Arya. Uh oh! CLIFFHANGER. DUN DUN DUNNNN. **


	14. Chapter 14: Sleep

Steve's Point of View: 

We walked over to Tony and Natasha. I was surprised that Natasha was still awake. Then again, I'd never really seen her sleep. Arya went over to Natasha and gave her a hug.

"Hey kiddo. Are you okay?" Natasha asked worriedly.

She nodded her head. "Yes, I'm fine. Although I think my room has a bullet wound."

Natasha looked at me. "You should've come here sooner," she said in a lecturing tone. "What was HYDRA after this time?"

I shook my head. "I don't know. They wanted me to go with them, I don't know why. We'll have to be careful if we go out."

Tony turned to Arya. "So you're the munchkin I've been hearing about. I'm Tony, nice to meet you," he said. "By the way, cool jammies," he said sarcastically.

She frowned. "Nice to meet you too, but I'm not a munchkin. I'm definitely not short," she said. "What's wrong with these PJ pants and shirt?"

"Standing next to Capsicle here, you are. And you're meeting me, Iron Man. I was expecting something fancier than PJs."

"Well you're not too tall yourself, are you? How lucky for you that the Iron Man suit must make you taller," Arya shot back.

He was silent for a moment. "Steve, we might've found someone who's more of a smart-ass than me."

I laughed and shook my head. "Only to you Tony."

"So what are you useful for? Like, cleaning doorknobs or something?" he questioned Arya.

"I dance, fly planes, and I'm good with technology. Does that count for something?" she said.

"The flying planes and technology part, yes," Tony said, looking like he might just enjoy her company after all. "Are you really good with tech?"

Arya shrugged. "So I'm told."

"I'll show you my lab sometime and maybe you can show me what skills you got, okay?" Tony said.

She smiled tiredly. "Okay," she replied with a yawn.

"I think we need to get you back to sleep," I said.

Well, good news is that your room is where it's always been Cap. Bad news is that Arya's room won't be done for several days. I thought I had more time to finish it but..." Tony trailed off. "We could always put her on the couch."

"Or she could bunk with me," Natasha offered.

Arya instantly squeezed my hand in alarm. I got what she was trying to tell me. She was in a new house (if you can call Stark Tower a house) with strange people. She wanted to stick with me.

"Thanks guys, but I think I'll just have her in my room," I said.

She relaxed and nodded. "That's fine with me," Arya said.

"Alright then. We'll see you in the morning. You can meet the rest of the Avengers then," Tony said before walking back to his room.

Natasha gave Arya one last hug. "I'm glad you guys made it out okay. Go get some sleep, we'll deal with this tomorrow," she said.

"Yes ma'am," I said jokingly before I lead Arya to my room.

I opened the door and looked around. Everything was in order. I hadn't bothered putting too many pictures on the walls or anything.

Arya took in the room with tired eyes. "This is huge," she said obviously. "Huge but bland. You need more color in here," she said.

I chuckled and shook my head. "You can redesign it later," I told her.

"I'm seriously going to do that. Add some red, white, and blue in here," she smirked.

I pulled back the covers on the bed. "C'mon, jump in."

Arya dropped her bag and did as I said. I tucked the covers around her and then laid next to her.

"Steve?"

"Yeah?"

"Is HYDRA going to hurt us?"

"Absolutely not."

"Good. Is the adoption finalized?"

"Almost. I sent in all the letters. The courts just have to approve it."

"Yay. When it's final, do I have to call you Dad? That just seemed weird."

"No, you don't. You can still call me Steve."

"Oh good. That's less weird."

"Whatever floats your boat Arya."

"I say whatever flips your pancake."

"That's funny. I like your saying better."

"Steve?"

"Yes?"

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight Arya."

* * *

**Authors Note: I got up at 6 AM and I couldn't get back to sleep so I wrote a slightly shorter chapter. Looks like Tony and Arya are going to get along well! I'd love some suggestions for Arya meeting the rest of the Avengers. Thank you! **


	15. Chapter 15: Make

Arya's Point of View:

I force my eyes open. I took in my surroundings. I was still in the Stark Tower in Steve's room. It looked like it was morning though. I noticed that Steve was gone. There was a note on my pillow though.

_Arya, _

_Hope you slept well last night. I'm sorry about having to leave on such short notice. I'm in Tony's lab with him and Bruce. (As in Dr. Bruce Banner) Go have something to eat and meet everyone then have JARVIS show you the way to the lab. _

_Love,_

_Steve_

I read the note 2 times. I lingered on the word 'love' for a few moments. It had been so long since someone had told me that they loved me.

I pulled a change of clothes out of my bag and changed. I went to the bathroom and brushed my hair and teeth. I looked down, debating whether to wear pants or shorts. I ended up picking pants since I wasn't ready to broadcast to everyone that I had prosthetic legs.

I glanced at the clock. It was 9 AM on the dot. Steve neglected to mention in the note where everything was. I decided to experiment.

"JARVIS?" I said into open air.

"_Yes Miss Arya?_" his cool voice responded. _  
_

"How is the tower laid out?"

"_Each floor is a room. Each Avenger has their own room. There are many accommodations such as a gym. The common living space is on the top floor._"

I opened the door leading out to the hallway and found myself in front of an elevator. So this place was like one very large hotel. Sweet.

I got into the elevator and hit the highest floor number button. I tapped my foot o the floor in various beats as I watched the skyline of New York grow smaller through the glass elevator window.

When the elevator opened, I saw a massive living space with plenty of windows to show off the views of New York. I went over to the kitchen and saw a few people sitting around the counter. Natasha turned to me and smiled.

"Good morning Arya. How did you sleep?" she asked kindly.

"Pretty good, thank you," I said.

A woman with strawberry blonde hair smiled at me. "I'm Pepper Potts. CEO of Stark Industries and Tony's girlfriend."

I smiled back and nodded. "Nice to meet you," I replied.

The man sitting next to her stuck out his hand. "I'm Clint Barton," he said.

"You're...Clint Barton? So you're technically Hawkeye?" I said in awe.

He laughed. "Yes, technically I am."

"Where's the rest of the crowd?" I asked.

"Tony, Bruce, and Steve are in the lab. Thor is in Asgard," Natasha explained.

"Alright. Well, let me just grab something to eat then I'll go join Steve," I replied.

I made myself a piece of toast and a glass of orange juice.

"So I guess you're the new girl Arya?" Clint asked me.

I nodded. "Yep, I guess so."

"I've heard a lot about you from Steve and Nat. It should be fun having you around," he said.

"Thanks, by the way. Steve told me you guys did letters of recommendation for the adoption. That means a lot," I said with a smile.

He waved my thanks aside. "No problem. We're happy to do it. Besides, I think you and Steve are good for each other."

I finished my breakfast. "I certainly hope so. Um, JARVIS, where's the lab?" I asked shyly. I wasn't used to having an AI at my service.

"If you need anything, just ask!" Pepper called after me as I left.

JARVIS directed me to the lab. When I walked in, Steve immediately looked up.

"Morning Arya," he said, coming over to hug me.

"Morning," I replied.

He motioned to a man I'd never met before who was standing next to Tony. "This is Bruce Banner."

I shook his hand. "Nice to meet you," I said politely.

He nodded. "You as well."

I looked around Tony's lab. It was incredible. Iron Man suits were scattered everywhere. Various mechanisms and trinkets littered nearly every surface. Something caught my eye. "Is this...?"

"A holographic computer system? Yes," Tony finished for me. "Cool, huh?"

I marveled at system. "Wow. I've wanted one of these for ages but they're obviously nearly impossible to buy. Pricey."

I looked closer at what was displayed on the holograph system. "Why are you looking at a map of the DC area?" I asked curiously.

"We're trying to track the HYDRA agents that broke into our apartment last night," Steve said. "I took one of their guns and we found that they have a unique kind of bullets that they use. Tony set up the system to track any trace or signal of that specific bullet material."

"That's...ingenious," I said, stunned.

"Thank you, thank you very much," Tony said in an Elvis Presley voice. "Let's test your technology knowledge. JARVIS, ask her a few questions that I prepared."

I raised an eyebrow and glared at him. "Did you really prepare those?"

He shrugged. "Yeah. So?"

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, go for it JARVIS."

JARVIS proceeded to ask me various questions, testing my knowledge. When he was finished, I looked at Tony. "Did I pass?"

"JARVIS, results please," he said.

"_Miss Arya has passed your test with a perfect score sir,_" JARVIS responded.

"Seriously? You're kidding," Tony said doubtfully.

"C'mon Stark, admit that you're not the only computer genius," Bruce said.

"Thank you," I said, smirking at Tony.

He gave a humph and was silent for a second. "Here. Using this box of scrap materials, make me something. Anything, just make it actually useful." He shoved a box towards me over the work table.

"Okay, can I use your tools?" I asked.

"Fine, just don't break anything," Tony warned.

"I won't, I won't," I said, annoyed.

I got a piece of paper and pencil from Bruce and started brainstorming my ideas out. I didn't want to do something complicated and risk having it fail. I sketched out the basic mechanisms and structure. Then I started writing out a program code that I think would work. Steve peered over my shoulder.

"You know, that would actually be kind of cool if it worked," he commented.

I grinned. "I know, that's why I'm trying it."

I pulled some parts out of the box. Basic parts, nothing too fancy. I examined the row of tools on the table. Also pretty basic. Whatever. I could make it work. I picked up a welder and started on my project. Tony tried to sneak a peek at what I was making, but I hid it.

I don't even know how long I worked for. When I flew a plane, danced, or worked with technology, I completely lost track of time.

Bruce, Tony, and Steve continued to monitor the holographic system. They found nothing yet.

Tony had put on some sort of music. I didn't really know who it was, but I hummed along to it anyways. I accidentally scorched my hand a few times with the welder and gotten a minor cut from the metal, but other than that, I had it under control.

A few hours later I went up to Tony and tapped his shoulder. "Done," I said triumphantly.

"Alright, let's see what you got kid," he said.

I hid it behind my back. "Ready?"

Steve and Bruce turned around to watch as well.

I placed my creation on the table. It looked like a bird, a big one. I had based the body of it on a hawk. It looked extremely life-like because of the different shades of metal I had used.

"It's pretty enough, but what is it?" Tony asked suspiciously.

"It can fire bullets," I explained. "I designed it so that it looks like a real bird so people won't be wondering about it. Want a demonstration?"

"This I gotta see," Steve said.

I took the small remote control I had made and powered it up. It flapped its wings realistically and took flight.

"Wow, that's incredible," Bruce said in admiration.

"Yeah, but does it actually work?" Tony insisted.

"Okay Mr. Pessimistic, I'll show you how it works," I said. I aimed the bird for a glass jar on a shelf and hit a button. The bird let loose a round of bullets hidden in its wings that instantly shattered the glass.

"I have to admit, that's pretty cool," Tony said reluctantly. "Not bad, for a 14 year old."

"C'mon Tony, it's pretty good for anyone," Steve prompted.

I hit another button and it fluttered down back on the table. "I'm going to go show this to Natasha and Clint," I announced, exiting the room.

* * *

Steve's Point of View: 

I picked up Arya's blueprints for her bullet-firing bird. I showed them to Tony. "Are these accurate?" I asked curiously.

He looked at them for a second. "Yes, they actually are. The programming codes are spot on. The mechanisms are good. There's a few bugs in it, but overall a good start," he commented.

So Arya was a technology/inventor. There's a lot I'm learning about her these days.

I walked back to the common living space where Arya was showing Natasha and Clint her creation.

"Impressive," Clint was saying. "Is it a hawk?"

She laughed. "Yes, actually. I thought that it'd be a good bird to choose."

"I approve," Clint said.

Natasha nodded. "You've got quite the skill Arya. I'm amazed."

She blushed and fiddled with her necklace. "Thank you," she murmured.

She spotted me walking towards them and came over to me. "Natasha and Clint like my bird! Natasha said she'd actually use it," Arya said excitedly.

"That's great," I said with a smile. I was happy that Arya seemed to be getting along with all of the Avengers. Maybe this wouldn't be such a hard transition.

* * *

**Authors Note: SURPRISE! Happy Day Before Fourth of July! I decided to do another double update for you guys. I think this is one of the longest chapters I've written. I hope you all like it. Thank you all SO much for all of the reviews, follows, and favorites. You all are amazing. :) **


	16. Chapter 16: Room

Steve's Point of View: 

"What exactly are you doing?" I asked Arya. She was spread out on the living room floor with a giant canvas and paint.

"It's a surprise," she said mysteriously. "You'll see."

It had been 2 weeks since Arya and I had moved into Stark Tower. She ha been adjusting well, getting along with everyone. Her room still wasn't ready so she had been still staying in my room. Not that I minded. It was nice having her near me.

"I've got something to tell you," I said.

She instantly got up from the floor and plopped down on the couch where I was sitting. "What? Tell me!" she said.

"You're officially mine. You're Arya Caldwell Rogers now," I said, unable to contain the smile that was growing on my face.

She said nothing at first and then jumped up and did a little twirl. Then she tackled me in a hug. "Are you serious? It's finally official?"

"It's 100% official."

Arya curled up next to me and sighed with happiness. "I've got a real family now," she said in awe.

I put my arm around her. "I'm glad you're happy Arya," I said.

Tony and Natasha walked into the room. "Did I hear something about an adoption being finalized?" Natasha asked.

Arya beamed and stood up. "Yes! It's official. I'm Arya Caldwell Rogers now," she said excitedly.

"Congratulations Capsicle," Tony said.

"Thanks Tony. Thanks for the letter and the extra money," I said gratefully. Tony had pitched in with some money to help with the adoption. Adoption could be expensive.

"I came to tell you that your room is ready," Tony said to Arya.

She bounced up and down and smiled. "Can we go see it, like, now?" she asked, unable to contain her excitement.

"Yeah, c'mon kiddo. This way."

* * *

Arya's Point of View: 

"Ready? On 3. 3, 2, 1..." Tony counted down and then opened the door.

My jaw dropped. I had a panoramic view of New York. There was a computer with a holographic system on a desk. A TV was mounted on the opposite wall from my bed. There was a stereo system with a surround sound system. There was a table with endless art supplies. A gigantic magnet and chalk board was one entire wall. I had my own bathroom and walk in closet. Floor to ceiling bookshelves contained all of my books. Everything I owned had been moved from Steve's apartment to here.

"Go look around," Tony urged, poking me in the back.

"Tony..this is...perfect...," I said breathlessly. "How did you know I'd like all this? I mean, the surround sound system, the holographic system, the magnet board wall, how'd you know?"

He gestured towards Steve and Natasha. "I had help. They told me what you liked."

I stepped further into the room and looked around. I jumped onto the bed and laughed. "I could totally get used to living here," I said. "Thank you so much for this guys."

Tony and Natasha left, leaving Steve and I alone. "I'm glad you like it," he said. "I made sure Tony put in hardwood floors since I know carpet is a pain with your legs," he told me. "Plus, I figured it'd be better for your dance practice."

"Did you really think of all those details?" I asked, shocked.

Steve grinned and nodded. "Of course. I'm a detail orientated person."

I went over to the magnet board. "You even hung up my art and posters," I said with a smile. I went over and hugged him. "Thank you so much for adopting me," I said softly.

He hugged me back. "You're welcome. I was happy to."

I examined the art supplies. "Wow, this stuff is really high end. I can finish my project with this," I said.

"And what kind of project is this?" Steve questioned.

I rolled my eyes. "I told you, it's a surprise!"

He held up his hands in mock surrender. "Okay, okay," he laughed.

Pepper poked her head in through the door. "Dinner is ready you 2," she said before shutting the door again.

I instantly lit up at the sound of dinner. "Dinner!" I exclaimed. Then I stopped in my tracks. "Uh, Steve, question for you."

"What?"

"When am I...you know, going to tell them that I have prosthetic legs?" I asked quietly.

"I don't know. I guess whatever way you're comfortable doing it," Steve said gently.

I stuffed my face in a pillow. "That's the problem, I'm not comfortable doing it," I groaned.

"They aren't going to hate you because of it," Steve pointed out.

"Yeah, true I guess," I said reluctantly.

There was silence for a bit. "I have an idea," he finally said.

I sat up. "Tell me."

"Put on a pair of shorts and just strut out there. Don't say anything," he said.

I contemplated his idea. "You know, that's not a bad idea. I'll do it."

I jumped off the bed and went to the closet to change into a pair of shorts. I walked back out. "How does it look?" I asked, scared of the answer.

"You look fine. Arya, you don't have to be self conscious with your legs. You're beautiful with and without them. Trust me," Steve reassured me.

I instantly felt better about myself. If Steve thought so, then it must be true, right?

He opened the door. "You ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be."

We took the elevator up to the top floor. Before we got out, I took Steve's hand. I felt a little bit more confident. I stepped out and found the Avengers waiting for us. I shyly took a spot at the table. I could tell they were a tiny bit shocked, but no one said anything.

It was halfway through dinner when someone finally said something.

"Truth be told, I couldn't even tell that you had prosthetic legs," Clint admitted.

"Neither could I," Bruce said.

"Your walk is so smooth. I would never know if you hadn't...," Pepper said awkwardly.

I instantly relaxed and shot a glance at Steve. He looked back at me and smiled as if to say: _See, I told you. Nothing to worry about. _

Only Tony remained silent. He was staring at me. I was beginning to feel uncomfortable when he said something.

"If you'd like, I could make you some top of the line prosthetic legs. Something that might be easier for you to dance in," he suggested.

"Could you really do that?" I asked.

"I think I could," Tony replied, smiling at me. "After all, I'm Tony Stark, aren't I?"

I laughed shook my head.

Maybe life here wouldn't be so bad.

* * *

**Authors Note: Happy Fourth of July! I'm glad you all liked Arya's bird in the last chapter. So now everyone at Stark Tower knows about her prosthetic legs. I based her room off of what my dream room would be. YAY Steve is officially her guardian! The next chapter will have some pretty intense stuff so stay tuned. P.S. I haven't introduced Thor yet because I haven't really had an excuse to put him in. Don't worry, he'll be in this story soon!**


	17. Chapter 17: Missing

Steve's Point of View: 

I quietly opened Arya's door. It was 6 AM and I was pretty sure she was still asleep. I went over to her bed and looked at her. She was peacefully fast asleep. She had 3 blankets piled on top of her. It wrenched my heart to know I had to wake her up and tell her something.

It's been a month since I officially adopted Arya. We've been having an amazing time as 'father and daughter'. Even though we're not connected by blood, we're connected by love. She's so much like me and vice versa.

I've taken her on tours of New York. She found a new dance school to attend to since her old one is in DC. We've developed a comfortable routine. She fits into my life like a perfect puzzle piece. She's really loved living at Stark Tower too. Natasha and Clint have been teaching her self defense. Bruce and Tony have been working with her to make her new prosthetic legs. I'm glad that I'm able to give her a better life than the one she had in DC.

Fury had gotten word that I had adopted so he tried to not give me missions. We both agreed that Arya needed some time to adjust and to have quality time with me. I'd been lucky for the last month. I hadn't gotten any missions. As much as I missed being in the field, I enjoyed being with Arya. But today, my luck ran out.

I gently stroked her hair and touched her arm. "Arya?" I said softly.

She didn't wake up but she squirmed towards my voice and touch instinctively in her sleep.

I shook her a little bit. "Arya, wake up."

Her eyes slowly opened. "Hmphmmhh. Steve? Why are you waking me up at...6 AM?" she asked sleepily. "And why are you dressed in your Captain America suit?"

I sat down on the edge of her bed and sighed. "Arya, Fury called me in on a mission. I have to go," I said.

She sat up and her face fell. "You do? How long will you be away?"

I winced, dreading to tell her. "About a week."

"But that's a long time and we..." she trailed off.

"I'm sorry Arya I wish I could do something about it," I said.

"It's okay," she said sadly in a way that twisted my heart.

"Tony, Bruce, Natasha, Clint, and Pepper will still be here," I told her, trying to make her happier.

She looked down at the blankets. "When do you leave?"

"As soon as I'm done talking to you."

She looked back up at me, her hazel eyes full of sadness. "Okay, well you better get going," she said. "I'm glad you came to say goodbye though." She threw her arms around me all of a sudden. "Please please please be careful," she mumbled.

"I will, don't worry," I said while I hugged her.

She reluctantly let go of me and laid back down. "Go save the world, okay?" she said.

I saluted her and smiled. "Will do Miss Arya. When I get back, how about we prank Tony and watch a movie in your room? How's that sound?"

Her eyes lit up and she grinned. "Yes! I'll start planning the prank while you're gone," she said.

"Okay, but I expect a high quality prank," I said teasingly. I tucked the covers back up around her. "Try not to cause too much trouble while I'm gone."

She made a face. "I'll try not to, but no promises if Tony eggs me on."

I laughed and shook my head. "Just be careful." I kissed the top of her head. "I'll see you soon Arya."

"Bye," she said softly.

I gave her one last smile before I left, shutting the door behind me.

* * *

Arya's Point of View: 

I ran around the living room, trying to escape from Clint. He was chasing me around the tower because I had woken him up by jumping on him. He had been napping on the couch.

"Come back here you little munchkin," he said.

I vaulted over an armchair. "Sorry, no can do buddy!" I giggled.

He caught me as I was rounding a corner. "Gotcha!" He slung me over his shoulder so I was hanging upside down.

"Clinnnnnnnt, put me down!" I shrieked.

"No can do buddy," he said, mimicking me.

I spotted Natasha and Tony out of the corner of my eye. "Guys, tell Clint to put me down," I said.

Natasha came over and laughed. "C'mon Clint, put her down."

He sighed and put me back on the ground. "Fine."

"Thank you so ever much," I said sarcastically. I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to fix it. He took a bow and left to go shoot some arrows in the gym.

"Arya, we need to talk to you," Tony said.

"Okay, about what?" I asked.

Natasha took a deep breath. "It's about Steve."

I instantly became more alert. It had been 4 days since Steve had left. I was counting down the days till he came back.

"Arya, we're sorry to be the one to tell you this but..." Natasha trailed off.

I sucked in my breath, terrified of what she was going to say.

Steve's missing in action," Tony finished for her.

"W-what do you mean?" I stuttered, not wanting to believe what I was hearing.

"He went off the radar today. SHIELD's trying as hard as they can to locate him. I'm sorry kiddo," he said gently.

I stood there, frozen. I couldn't speak. I felt like my world was crashing down right in front of my eyes.

Natasha put her hand on my shoulder. "We'll find him," she said comfortingly.

I pulled away from her and ran towards my room. I slammed my door shut and buried my face in a pillow.

What if they didn't find him? What would happen to me?

I hated crying but I couldn't help it. The tears started to slip out one by one.

* * *

**Authors Note: This story has 50 reviews now! OH MY GOSH. Thank you all SO much. Thank you 6FtUnderTheStars for that awesome suggestion on how to introduce Thor. I'm definitely going to use that. I actually got a bit emotional writing this chapter. I'm so mushy. P.S. Sam Wilson will be in the chapter! **


	18. Chapter 18: Track

Arya's Point of View: 

"Maybe we should check on her."

"I think she needs to be alone."

"Have JARVIS open the door."

"Give her some time to be alone, okay?"

I was curled up in my bed, trying to fight the tears that were streaming out. I could hear Natasha and Tony bickering outside my room as to whether they should check on me or not. Tony was trying to convince Natasha that I needed time alone. I agreed with him.

After a few more minutes of hearing them argue, they left. I knew it was stupid to be upset, but I couldn't help it. Steve was the only life I had left and now he was missing. I was starting to notice that every time something good happened in my life, something bad happened immediately after. It was like a cruel game.

I remained curled up for a while. Then I got up and went to the bathroom. I looked at myself in the mirror. My eyes were bloodshot and my cheeks were red. I splashed some water on my face and took a deep breath. Crying over this whole thing wouldn't make it better.

I went over to the holographic system and started creating a new digital program. I tinkered with it until it was perfect. I didn't realize that hours had passed while I was working on the program. I looked up when a knock came at my door.

"Arya? It's Natasha. Can I come in?"

"Sure," I replied.

She let herself in. "I'm sorry about Steve. SHIELD's trying to find him but HYDRA must have him well hidden," she said.

"HYDRA captured him? No surprise there," I murmured.

Natasha looked over my shoulder at what I was doing. "What's this?" she asked.

I fixed the last bug in the program as I spoke. "I created a digital program that'll track any traces of vibranium it can find. Anytime, anywhere. Since it's one of the rarest metals ever, I should be able to narrow the search down," I explained.

She looked at me, amazed. "So you can track where his shield is! Wherever his shield is, he's probably in that general location. Arya, you're a genius."

I shook my head. "Not really. I got the idea from Tony's tracking thing he used to track HYDRA with the bullets."

"Give yourself some credit. I bet Tony wouldn't have thought of using that to find Steve," Natasha said.

"If you say so. I just thought I'd make it and see if it worked. It's better than sitting around crying about it," I said with a shrug.

Natasha gave me and smile. "I can agree with that. Don't worry Arya, we'll find him one way or another."

I sighed. "I hope so."

* * *

"So what exactly are you doing?" I asked Tony.

We were in his lab, talking over the new prosthetics he was making me. Pepper had suggested he show me what he was making to take my mind off of Steve missing.

"I'm making it so that you can run, walk, dance, swim, do anything at all in these prosthetics," he said proudly. "Also, they'll be more firmly attached and keep you more steady."

"That would be epic," I exclaimed. "Can you really do that?"

He pretended to be hurt. "You dare to question my brilliance?"

I rolled my eyes. "Okay drama queen." I turned to the tablet I had transferred the program I made onto. It was easier to carry around. Still no signs of vibranium. It takes a long time for it to completely scan the entire world. "Well, I told Natasha and Clint that I'd meet them in the gym. See ya later," I said.

Bruce looked up from his worktable in the lab. "You were serious about wanting to train?" he asked.

"Uh, yes," I said. I had told everyone after I had come out of my room that I wanted to train as an agent. After all, I'd need the skills if I wanted to be a SHIELD pilot. Plus it'd keep me busy.

"Good luck, you'll need it," he replied before returning to his work.

Balancing the tablet in my hand, I headed to the gym. I placed the tablet on the ground in a corner. I went over to Natasha and Clint. "I'm ready."

"Let's start then. Well, for starters, when you're fighting someone, you have an advantage and disadvantage with your legs. The advantage is that you have tons of power in your legs to knock them out. The disadvantage is that they could grab your leg and throw you off balance," Natasha commented.

"Tony's working on new prosthetics for me. They'll stabilize me more," I said.

"Okay, then that should be fine. The second thing is that you must have pretty good arm strength from being amputated, am I right?" Clint asked me.

I nodded. "Yes, I pushed myself in a wheelchair and used crutches for a long time."

"Also, I'm guessing you have strong upper body strength?" Natasha said.

"Right again," I replied.

"Watch Clint and I," Natasha told me.

They stood in fighting stances and then attacked each other. I watched them intently. I noticed that Natasha was more offensive and Clint was more defensive. They both were skilled, but in the end Natasha pinned him down.

"One of these days I'm going to win," he groaned.

She rolled her eyes. "Okay Arya, let's see your fighting stance."

I matched her pose and put my fists up in front of my face.

"Not bad, but lower your hands. You don't want your opponent to sack you in the stomach," she pointed out.

Clint came up behind me and shook my shoulders. "Loosen up kid, you're too tense."

"You have to anticipate your opponent's attacks," Natasha said.

I spent the next several hours being trained by the 2 master assassins. It was hard work but I enjoyed it. I felt like I was actually doing something productive.

After the training session, I trudged back to my room with my tablet. "JARVIS, tell Pepper that I'll pass on dinner tonight. I'm just gonna sleep a little," I said.

"_Yes Miss Arya._"

"Make sure you wake me if the tablet gets any notification of vibranium," I yawned before closing my eyes.

* * *

I woke up to the sound of an alarm. "What the hell is that?" I muttered.

"_Miss Arya, you directed me to wake you up if your tablet received any notification. There is a notification so I proceeded to wake you up,_" JARVIS said.

I shot out of bed and grabbed my tablet. Sure enough, the scanner had found a large trace of vibranium. It zoomed in on the location. New Jersey? What was in New Jersey?

I glanced at the time. It was nearly midnight.

"JARVIS, wake up everyone and tell them to come to my room," I demanded.

"_As you wish._"

I paced anxiously back and forth, waiting for everyone. They all burst through the door at the same time.

"What? What's wrong?" Tony asked.

"Nothing's wrong, I found where Steve is! The scanner program actually worked. He's in...New Jersey," I told them excitedly.

Tony took the tablet from me. "She's right," he told everyone. "We need to send out a team now. Call Fury."

Natasha started dialing a number into her phone. "I'm on it," she said, exiting the room.

"Nice work Arya," Bruce said.

I smiled. "Thank you. I'm glad I could help."

Natasha came back. "I just told Fury. He's sending in Sam and a couple of agents. He said it's best if we don't get involved. He doesn't want to lose too many assets," she said, clearly not thrilled with this decision.

"Wait, who's Sam?" I asked.

"Sam Wilson. AKA the Falcon," Clint told me.

"The Falcon? Are you serious?"

"Dead serious."

"Damn."

I grinned in excitement. I had found where Steve was! He was coming back!

As if reading my mind, Natasha came over to me. "Don't get too excited. It may take a few days to get him out," she warned.

"I'm not, I'm just hopeful," I replied.

Eventually, everyone left my room to be on stand-by. I laid back in bed and couldn't stop smiling. This morning I wasn't sure if I'd ever see him again. Tonight I'm almost positive I will.

* * *

**Authors Note: Aaaaaahhhh this story now has 59 reviews. That's INSANE. Thank you all so much! Queen of Derp, that's the best compliment ever, saying that this is your 2nd favorite fanfiction of all time. Thank you! DanceAlpineRaceRead, that's a great idea. I decided to put a little bit of that in this chapter. More is on the way. I only put Sam in here a tiny bit, but he'll be present in future chapters. One other thing: I've been trying to come up with a nickname for Arya. Can you guys suggest some?  
**


	19. Chapter 19: Update

Arya's Point of View:

"Uggghhhh," I groaned as I slammed to the ground yet again. I was sparring with Natasha and it wasn't going so well. I obviously wasn't cut out for training as an agent. I didn't have the instincts or the swiftness. I couldn't fire a gun straight, I was hopeless with a knife, and sparring one on one? Forget it. I was definitely not agent material. I could probably defend myself if I got attacked but I was never going to be an agent.

"Nat, I think I should just give up this whole agent thing. I'm not really the right kind of person for it," I said with a sigh. "It was fun at first but now it's not really enjoyable."

"Are you sure?" she questioned.

I nodded as fast as I could. "Hell yes."

"Well, at least you can defend yourself," Natasha said.

"Yeah, woohoo," I said sarcastically.

It was the morning after I had found Steve's location. Apparently one of Steve's friends, Sam Wilson, was searching for him. I was a bit miffed that I couldn't do anything else to help.

Clint walked into the gym. "Hey Capsicle Jr.," he said, using my new nickname. "I just checked in with Sam and he's searching high and low in New Jersey. By the way, Hill told me to show this to you and she says that she's sorry." He handed me a piece of paper.

I examined it. "This is the requirements to be a SHIELD pilot," I said. "You must be a minimum age of 17, no younger. No exceptions will be made," I read aloud. I crumbled the piece of paper. "There goes my shot at being a pilot anytime soon."

"In 3 years you'll be able to get your license," Natasha reminded me. "That's not so bad."

"Good point. Besides, I kind of like being just normal, you know?" I admitted.

"Enjoy it while you can kiddo," Clint told me.

I was about to respond when JARVIS interrupted me.

"_Excuse me, but Mr. Stark is requesting that you join him in his lab,_" he said.

"Thank you JARVIS, we'll be right up," Natasha replied.

* * *

I perched on a stool in Tony's lab. Everyone was gathered around his worktable. He had his holographic system pulled up.

"We've gotten some specs on Steve's location. It's obviously in New Jersey, but we just found out that it's where the old army training camp was. More specifically, it's where Nat and Steve found the creepy German dude's conscious uploaded to a computer," Tony said.

"That place was blown to pieces," Natasha said. "I clearly remember that."

"HYDRA rebuilt it apparently. I guess they thought it'd be ironic," Bruce explained.

"I never did like irony," I commented.

"Ah, I forgot, I finished your new prosthetics Arya," Tony told me.

I slid off the stool. "Really? When can I try them? Now?" I exclaimed.

"Sure kid," he laughed.

"Mind if we stay and watch?" Natasha asked, gesturing to herself and Clint.

"I don't mind," I said with a smile.

I went and stood over where Tony was. Apparently where I was standing was where he first tested his Iron Man suit. Sweet!

He handed me 2 prosthetics. They looked pretty much like normal ones.

"Here ya go. They're similar to your current ones, but they allow you to run and dance easier. Plus, you won't have to switch prosthetics," he explained.

"If this blows up in my face, I'm suing you," I warned.

Clint started laughing but Natasha elbowed him to shut up.

I sat down and put them on as I normally would. I carefully stood up. I looked down in disbelief. "These feel like real legs, how did you do that?"

"Top of the line technology," Tony said simply.

I took a few steps. "Wow. It's like I'm not made of metal and plastic anymore!" I said happily. I did a few dance steps to try it out. For the first time, I felt like I didn't have prosthetics. I was 1 whole person again.

Bruce watched me shimmy around the room. "I gotta say, that's pretty impressive," he remarked.

"JARVIS, play a good rap song or something," I told the AI.

He did as requested and I busted out some cool dance moves. Soon enough, the entire room was breaking out into dance mode. I saw Tony take a few pictures of us.

We were having so much fun, we almost didn't hear JARVIS.

"_Sir, Mr. Wilson is on the phone,_" he said.

Everyone immediately stopped and gathered around Tony's computer.

"What's the update Sam?" Natasha asked.

"_Good news is that we found Cap,_" he said. "_Bad news is that we're kind of having a hard time getting out of here. Our plane is destroyed, courtesy of HYDRA_."

I let out a breath of relief I didn't even know I was holding. They found Steve!

"Is Steve okay?" I couldn't help asking.

"_Who's that?_" Sam asked, confused.

"That's Steve's daughter, Arya," Natasha explained.

"_So you're the famous Arya I've heard about,_" he said. "_We'll get more introduced when I get back with Cap, okay? Tony, do you mind sending out a jet to pick us up?_"

Tony groaned. "Why does everyone suddenly have to use my jets? Okay, fine. I'll send out one from Stark Tower. It'll be there in about 20 minutes. Don't trash it," he said.

"_Fine, we won't. We'll rendezvous at Stark Tower,_" Sam replied before hanging up.

I couldn't help it, I started jumping up and down with excitement. "They're coming home!" I said happily.

Natasha shook her head in amusement. "C'mon, let's go wait for them upstairs."

* * *

**Authors Note: Thank you so much for all of the reviews! Princess Crayola, I totally understand what you're saying. I'm definitely going to use your constructive criticism. I really appreciated your review! (Don't be afraid to criticize my story guys) Lightnings Pride, I decided to use your nickname. It sounded really good in my head so I decided it use it. hateme101, I never planned on Arya becoming an agent, I just threw it in there because I wanted her to try something but fail at it. (That kind of relates to what Princess Crayola said, no one is perfect!) I thought the same thing you did, that she gives Steve a normal life. queenImno, yes, Arya will definitely meet Sam. DanceAlpineRaceRead, YES! That's a great idea! Flaming Crow, I'm glad you think it's adorable. :) The next chapter will be the reunion of Steve and Arya. Cue the "aww"'s from everyone. **


	20. Chapter 20: Scared

Steve's Point of View: 

I tapped my foot against the floor anxiously. Tony's jet had picked us up a few minutes ago and we were on our way to New York. I couldn't wait to see Arya. I felt really bad about being captured by HYDRA and having her know it. It was necessary though. If I hadn't been captured, I wouldn't have had access to their base in New Jersey. Speaking of that, it was creepy to be back in that army training base. That was where I began this whole journey. That was also where Natasha and I were almost killed.

I was lucky to get out of there with minimal injuries. Just a few cuts and bruises. Thankfully Sam got to me when he did.

"Arya seems like a cool kid," Sam said, interrupted my thoughts.

"How do you know? You only talked to her for 2 seconds," I replied, spinning my shield around.

"I got a good vibe from what she said in those 2 seconds."

"Right," I said. I wish I could've talked to her for those 2 seconds but we had to limit the phone call time since HYDRA could track it.

"Calm down man," Sam told me.

"Sorry, I'm just kind of jumpy," I admitted.

"No kidding," he muttered.

A half an hour later, we were landing on the roof of Stark Tower. I couldn't get off that jet any faster.

I saw everyone standing on the roof, waiting for us. I spotted Natasha easily because of her red hair. Arya was standing next to her. Her hair was blowing around in the wind. Natasha poked her in the back and whispered something her. Arya separated herself from the crowd and ran full force towards me. She threw her arms around me.

"You're back! Don't you dare disappear like that again or I'll handcuff you to a staircase," she said, half laughing half crying.

"Consider me warned," I replied. "I missed you Arya."

"I missed you too," she said with a smile.

We went over to the others.

"Good to see you back Steve," Natasha said.

"Hey, we got the duo back, Capsicle and Capsicle Jr.," Clint remarked.

"Watch it," Arya said, glaring at him.

"I just had a brilliant idea!" Tony exclaimed.

"Please tell me this doesn't involve blowing up something," Bruce warned.

"I just got back, can we hold off the shenanigans?" I sighed.

"No, we can't. Let's have a party, a famous Tony Stark party to celebrate our newest addition and Cap being back. Uh, minus certain features," he said with a glance at Arya.

"Look, you can do whatever kind of party you want, but I'm NOT a party person," Arya said, crossing her arms defiantly.

"I actually think it'd be fun," I said. "Good idea Tony. Just minimize the alcohol and inappropriateness." I figured it'd be nice for Arya to be more social and to meet some more people.

"But I don't want to go to a party," Arya wailed. "I don't do parties!"

"Calm down, you'll like it. I'll help you pick out an outfit," Natasha said.

Arya made a face at her. "Fine," she muttered.

"Am I invited?" Sam said behind me.

"Oh, Arya, this is Sam Wilson," I introduced.

"Nice to meet you," she said, shaking his hand.

"You too. I heard that you and Cap are one small happy family," he said.

"Yup, we are," she replied with a smile.

I liked the sound of us being a family. It made me happy to know that Arya thought of us like that.

"C'mon kiddo, want to help me unpack?" I asked her.

"Okay, but only if I carry your shield," she bargained.

I handed it to her an followed her to my room.

Arya propped my shield up against a wall and flung herself on my bed.

"So what happened while I was gone?" I questioned.

"I started training as an agent but then I quit, I was rejected from becoming a pilot right now, Tony built another Iron Man suit, Natasha bought me a new shirt, Clint broke 3 arrows, and Bruce didn't turn into the Hulk. Oh, and Tony made me new prosthetics," she said all in one breath.

"Sounds like you were busy."

"No kidding. And I spilled paint on my hands and it still hasn't washed off," she said, showing me her hands. They were splattered with red and blue paint.

"Still working on that painting?" I asked.

"No, it's finished."

"When do I get to see it?"

"Now, I guess," Arya shrugged. She ran off to her room to get it. When she came back, she was lugging a giant canvas. She turned it around and showed me. "How do you like it?"

It was a painting of all of the Avengers. It was divided into 6 sections, one for each of us, and cut in half. The top half of each section showed us in our "regular" form. The bottom half showed us when we were in Avengers form. Every detail was perfect.

"Your lack of response is concerning," she said.

"Sorry, I was just...wow, how did you do this?" I said in awe.

"Staring at people or Googling pictures of them. Okay seriously, getting Natasha's hair color right was a pain in the ass."

"We should hang it up," I suggested.

"I was thinking of putting it up on that empty wall in the living room. Do you think Tony and Pepper would mind?" she asked.

"Tony, yes. Pepper, no," I laughed.

Together, we went to hang the painting up. Clint walked by and stopped.

"Where did you get that? Did Tony order a new painting?" he asked.

Arya giggled and shook her head. "No, I painted it."

"Are you serious? Man, that's really awesome. You got my good side too," he remarked.

She whacked him on the arm and laughed. "Shut up."

Arya and I spent the rest of the day catching up on what had happened.

It felt so good to be back with Arya. She was happier and more animated according to Natasha. I realized that Arya was my number 1 priority now. Everything I did revolved around how it would affect her. It was a strange feeling, but I was enjoying it. I finally knew what it was like to protect someone you cared about.

* * *

Arya's Point of View: 

I quietly padded down the hall towards Steve's room with a blanket wrapped around me. It was late at night. I opened the door and slipped inside. I walked over to his bed. "Steve?" I whispered.

"What?" he asked drowsily.

"I can't sleep. I'm scared that you'll..." I trailed off.

"Scared that I'll what?" he prompted.

"Scared that you'll...disappear again," I finally said.

He was silent for a second. "Arya, I can never promise anything when it involves my job, but I'm going to try my best and make sure that won't happen again," he said to me.

"I know that's what you do and all but it scares the hell out of me sometimes," I mumbled. "You're the first real, steady thing I've had in so long. I'm scared that it'll slip out of my hands again."

He got up and hugged me. "I promise you that I'll always be here for you. No matter what happens, okay?"

I hugged him back tightly. "Okay."

Not even having to ask, he flipped the covers down and looked at me expectantly. I smiled. It was like he read my mind. I climbed into his bed and curled up. He laid back down next to me and kissed my forehead.

"I love you Arya."

"I love you too Steve."

* * *

**Authors Note: Bonjour! Haha just kidding, I don't speak French. Anyways, EEEK! They're going to have a celebratory party for Arya being a part of the tower and for Steve being back! I'm super excited to write that. Oh, some unexpected and...interesting "guests" might show up...**


	21. Chapter 21: Party

Arya's Point of View: 

I tugged at the hem of my dress. It felt way too short. I was wearing that red dress that Natasha had bought for a while ago. I was wearing leggings to cover up my prosthetic legs. I had decided to wear my black dance shoes since my prosthetic feet were molded to them.

Natasha came into my room and slapped at my hand.

"Don't yank on it. It looks perfect," she scolded. Of course, she looked perfect. She was wearing a fitted black dress with black heels.

"It's too short," I groaned. "How did I let you talk me into wearing this?"

"You didn't. I shoved it at you and made you wear it," she smirked. "Now sit down. I need to do your hair."

I made a face at her and slumped down in a chair. Natasha started to curl my long brown hair with a curling iron.

"If you scorch me, I'll sue you," I warned.

"Don't worry, I'm an expert at this," she said confidently.

"You better be," I muttered.

"Be quiet and put your head forward," she ordered.

I did as asked. Don't ever question the Black Widow. After a few minutes, she let me put my head back up.

"There you go. What do you think?" Natasha said with a smile.

I looked at myself in the mirror. My hair was done in perfectly loose curls. Before now, my hair had never even touched a curling or straightening iron.

"Wow. This looks...amazing. Thank you so much," I said in awe.

She waved a makeup brush in front of my face. "Makeup time."

I pushed her hand away. "No way. Nope. Not happening."

She gave me a glare. I shut my mouth and sighed. "Fine."

She started putting the makeup on carefully. "Close your eyes," she said.

A few minutes passed. "Okay, you can open them now."

I opened my eyes and I was amazed at what I saw. I saw a more beautiful and sophisticated version of myself. Natasha really knows how to do makeup. She didn't cover up my face. She just enhanced my features.

"All ready?" Natasha asked me.

I stood up and smoothed out my dress. "Ready as I'll ever be."

We took the elevator up to the living room/kitchen area. The lights were dimmed down low, lights were flashing, and tons of people were there. Some sort of EDM music was playing. A small section of the room had been reserved for dancing. Tony had reassured us that there wouldn't be any alcohol at this party.

"Good luck," Natasha said with a wink before disappearing into the crowd.

I awkwardly stood against a wall, not sure of what to do. I scanned the crowd to see if I could spot any familiar faces. I saw Tony and Pepper dancing together. Natasha was mingling with various people. Bruce was absent since he didn't want to risk the Hulk emerging. Nick Fury suddenly appeared next to me.

"Hello Arya," he said.

"Hey Fury. I didn't know Tony invited you," I replied.

"He didn't, I just wanted to check in to make sure everything was going okay."

I raised my eyebrows. "Really? Well, okay then."

"How are you enjoying being Captain's daughter? I've heard that you 2 are quite the happy family," Fury commented.

"To be honest, I'm the happiest I've been in 6 years," I said with a smile. "It's been amazing."

"I'm glad to hear that. If you'll excuse me, I need to head back to HQ. Nice talking to you Arya," he said before leaving.

I watched him go, confused at that whole conversation. I then spotted Clint and Steve standing in a corner of the room. I weaved in and out of the crowd, making my way over to them.

"Cool party, huh?" I said, standing between Clint and Steve.

"Hey Capsicle Jr. You look pretty nice!" Clint remarked.

"Thanks, so do you. You do too Steve," I said. They both were wearing dress pants and button down shirts.

"You look beautiful. You should wear your hair like that more often," Steve said, smiling at me.

I blushed and shook my head. I noticed that Clint was holding a glass of sparkling liquid.

"I thought Tony banned alcohol at this party," I frowned.

"It's ginger ale. Here, taste it," he said, holding the cup out.

I took it and sipped it. I made a face. "Yep, that's ginger ale alright." I handed it back to him. "Can you get me some Sprite?" I asked Clint as innocently as I could.

"Get it yourself," he replied smartly.

"Pleeeaaase?" I said, widening my eyes and pouting.

He threw his hands up in defeat. "Fine!" He glared at Steve. "Why does she have such an affect on all of us?" He left to go track down some Sprite.

"I think you owe me a dance," Steve said.

"Say what?" I asked, confused as heck. "I don't dance."

"That sounds wrong coming from an advanced dancer."

I sighed. "Okay, I don't dance with a partner. Like, at all." Then I remembered why he was saying I owed him a dance. I remembered that Peggy had asked me to dance with him to make up for the fact that they never got to. "Fine, I'll dance with you, but no fancy schmancy dancing, okay? Besides, it's not like you can square dance to EDM."

"Whatever works. I'll probably copy off of everyone else anyways," he laughed.

I shuffled over to where everyone was dancing. I tapped into my inner dancing skills and started to move to the beat of the EDM. "This is a really good song! Martin Garrix, Animals. Great EDM music!" I exclaimed. I grabbed Steve's hands and we danced together. Nothing too difficult, but we still had fun. He even managed to twirl me around a couple of times.

Once the song was over, I leaned back against the wall. "Whew. That was awesome."

"I still can't dance," Steve said.

"Not true. I've deemed that statement untrue," I stated.

Clint materialized next to me with a cup. "Here's your Sprite," he grumbled, handing it to me.

"Thank you," I answered, sipping from the cup. I turned around to look at the panoramic view of New York out the window. I frowned when I saw a streak of thunder in the sky. "It wasn't supposed to thunder, was it?"

Steve looked troubled. "No it wasn't," he said. "Wait here." He disappeared into the crowd. Clint shot me a worried look and followed suit. Natasha came over and stood next to me.

"This doesn't look good," she muttered.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Before she could answer, the music stopped and Tony stood up on a table and cleared his throat. "Excuse me, but due to classified reasons, the party is now ending. Please file out in an orderly fashion. Thank you."

"Nat, what's going on?" I demanded.

"Thunder means Thor," she said simply.

Tony managed to get all of the people out of the tower in record time.

"What the hell is going on?" he exclaimed. "Why would Thor be visiting now?"

I listened the Avengers debate the options. I thought I saw the air shimmer in front of me, but I brushed away that thought. The flashing lights must've done funny things to my eyes. But it felt like someone was standing right behind me.

"Guys, I think-"

All of a sudden, I felt someone grab me from behind and hold a knife against my throat. I shrieked and clawed at whoever it was.

"Don't make any funny moves, or I'll tear the pretty girl's throat out," a man's voice said.

Everyone whipped around to see what was happening. Their eyes widened.

"Loki," Steve breathed. 

* * *

**Authors Note: Looks like Thor's going to make an appearance! And y'all finally got Loki! WOOHOO! Who knew Asgardians were party crashers, right? **


	22. Chapter 22: Fall

Arya's Point of View:  
  
Wait. Loki? The crazy psychopath from Asgard who trashed New York? HE'S HERE AND HAS A KNIFE AGAINST MY THROAT? I'M TOTALLY NOT FREAKING OUT.

"Let her go Reindeer Games," Tony said.

"I'm afraid I can't do that. You owe me something that only you have possession of," Loki sneered.

"Loki, let Arya go. You'll regret this if you don't," Clint warned.

"I'm curious to know why you all seem to be so attached to this girl here. Is she important?" he said coldly.

"Yes, she is. She's my daughter," Steve snapped. "If you hurt her, I'll kill you myself.

Despite the situation, I couldn't help feeling pleased that Steve really did care about me.

"I'd listen to him. You'd have to be pretty dumb not to," I said bravely.

Loki pushed the knife deeper into my throat so it cut the skin. "Be quiet you pathetic girl."

I instantly shut my mouth. I could see that the Avengers were torn. They wanted to attack Loki but they'd risk me getting hurt.

"What do you want in exchange for Arya?" Natasha asked.

"My scepter," he said simply.

"Sorry, no can do Reindeer Games. How 'bout you just hand Arya over and scurry back to Asgard? Please and thank you," Tony said sarcastically.

Loki tightened his grip on me. "Then I'll take her back to Asgard if I have to."

I'll admit it. I panicked a little when I heard that. I squirmed around in his death lock. The knife was rubbing into my throat. I was considering taking desperate measures and hitting him in some...sensitive body parts when the heavens opened up. Okay, not really. But the ceiling caved in so that's close enough. Everyone dove for the sides of the room to avoid the debris. Unfortunately, Mr. Psychopath wasn't smart enough to do that. I ended up with dust in my eyes, mouth, nose, everywhere.

When the dust cleared, I saw a man that seemed to be wearing a cape standing in the midst of the remains of the ceiling.

"Why do you Asgardian people keep trashing my tower?" Tony exclaimed angrily.

Wait, there was more Asgardian people present right now?

The man stepped forward. He had long blonde hair and sure enough, he had a red cape on.

"Loki, let the daughter of Steven Rogers go. Holding a girl hostage is beneath you," he said.

"Not until they give me my scepter! Stealing a source of power so they can't be threatened by it is beneath them," Loki spat.

I weakly raised my hand. "Excuse me, but I'm kind of confused here. I'm being held hostage by a guy who has antlers and then a guy wearing curtains shows up? Explanations please?"

"I am Thor of Asgard," Thor said. "Loki is my brother."

"Please tell me you aren't as crazy as him," I muttered.

"Silence!" Loki commanded, threatening me with the knife again.

Steve stood next to Thor. He had his shield now. "I'm telling you now, this'll pay for this for the rest of your life," he warned.

Loki laughed and shook his head. "I won't have to. I'll be king of Midgard. Now if you'll be so kind, my scepter or I'll slit her throat."

I prayEd that Steve had some sort of grand plan.

At that moment, Natasha, Clint, Thor, and Tony (now wearing the Iron Man suit) all jumped on him. Loki was caught off guard so he loosened his grip on me briefly. I wrenched myself away as fast as I could. But not fast enough. He still managed to reach out and slash my throat. I gasped at the sting of the cut. My brain went fuzzy for a few moments. I didn't realize I was standing in a full blown battle until Steve grabbed my arm and yanked me away.

"Are you okay?" he asked frantically, inspecting me.

"I-I think so," I said, still confused.

"Shit, no you're not. That bastard cut you," Steve said angrily.

I looked down and saw blood dripping from my neck. Shit is right...

"Okay, I'm getting you out of here right now," he said.

"What? No! They need your help," I said, gesturing towards the Avengers.

"They'll be fine for a few minutes while I get you to a safe place. JARVIS, are the elevators working?"

"_I'm afraid not, Mr. Rogers. The damage to the ceiling has compromised the mechanisms of the elevators,_" the AI said.

"Damn," Steve muttered. "Fine, you can stay but keep out of the w-"

"You mortals cannot defeat me," he said before unleashing wave of energy. It swept the Avengers against the walls. His wave didn't affect for some strange reason. Loki turned towards me and glared at me. "You have caused me much more trouble that I would've liked," he snarled before releasing another energy wave my way. It hit me square in the chest and sent me flying. I saw I was heading for the panoramic window and screamed. I braced myself and felt the glass shatter around me. I felt myself free fall into the wind of New York.

* * *

**Authors Note: I'm so happy you all are excited about Loki and Thor! Trust me, you'll find out about how Loki escaped in the next couple of chapters. I'm sorry that this is a shorter chapter but I didn't have a lot of time. Another cliffhanger! Ooooooh. **


	23. Chapter 23: Save

Steve's Point of View:

I watched my life fall away from me. Literally. Loki had shot her in the chest with a wave of energy, causing Arya to crash into a window and fall into the sky.

As I ran to the remains of the window with the rest of the Avengers behind me, I saw Loki disappear and Thor follow him. I shoved that thought to the back of my head. Arya was the most important thing now.

I looked down towards the ground. Damn it, why did Tony have to make his tower so tall? I nearly cried with relief when I saw that Arya hadn't fallen and hit the ground. She was hanging on for dear life onto a tiny ledge that was about 20 feet down from where we were.

"Um, help? Anyone?" she yelled.

"Hold on Arya, we're coming," I told her. "Tony, fly down and get her," I demanded.

"I'm sorry Cap, but Loki's wave of energy knocked out all of the power in my suit," Tony responded mournfully.

I made a noise of frustration. "Can we climb down there then?"

Natasha shook her head. "There aren't any good footholds. Clint, Tony, let's take the stairs and go to the ground. If she falls, we could possibly catch her. Steve, you stay here and try to think of something," she said. They ran for the back stairs and went down them as fast as they could.

I clenched my fist and thought quickly. I needed to think of options. Fast.

Just as I was about to say something, Arya let out a scream.

"I'm slipping!" she shouted.

Just then, I thought of an idea. "Arya, I need you to let go of the ledge," I yelled down to her.

"What the hell? Are you serious?"

"Do it Arya, I promise I'll catch you," I said. I didn't make many promises, but I knew this one had to count.

Arya let out a small sob. "O-okay." She loosened her grip slightly. She immediately tightened it again. "Steve, I can't do this!" she said.

"Yes, you can, I know you can. Arya, please. I'll catch you," I pleaded. I needed her to do this. It was the only way I could save her from this.

"I must be insane," she said shakily before letting go of the ledge.

I didn't think. I just positioned my shield in front of me and jumped over the edge.

I fell through the air towards Arya. I prayed that my plan would work. I waited for the exact moment to reach and grab Arya so we were falling together. Arya locked her arms around me and let out a strangled gasp.

The ground was coming closer and closer by the millisecond. I made sure my shield was covering both of us. "Don't try to land on your feet," I told her. I felt her nod and adjust her grip on me.

Right before I knew we were going to hit the ground, I closed my eyes and hoped for the best.

* * *

Arya's Point of View: 

I was awake, but my eyes wouldn't open. I was aware of the sounds and smells that were around me. The beeping of a heart monitor. The smell of clean sheets. I knew I must be in a hospital or something like that. But why? I didn't remember anything that could've put me in the hospital.

All of a sudden, I felt someone slide their hand into mine. My eyes flew open and I blinked at the bright light. All of my thoughts slammed back into my head and I remembered it all. Loki. Thor. Energy wave. Me falling out a window. Steve jumping after me.

I struggled to sit up but gasped at the pain that was coming from my ribs. My eyes adjusted to the light and I looked at who was holding my hand. It was Steve. He was sitting in a chair next to where I was laying. He looked tired and had a few cuts but was otherwise unharmed. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Steve, w-what happened? Where am I?" I asked shakily.

He leaned forward and squeezed my hand. "You're in the hospital. One of SHIELD's. When we hit the ground, we landed on my shield. It absorbed most of the impact since it's vibranium."

I looked at my surroundings. Sure enough, the room looked like a hospital room. I had IVs protruding out of my arms and I was laying in a hospital bed. I looked down at my arms. Just a few cuts and scrapes.

"If you hadn't had prosthetic legs, you would've snapped your legs. Your prosthetics took a lot of the impact too. You also have some bruised ribs. They aren't broken, thankfully. They'll be sore for the next couple of weeks but you'll bounce back," Steve said with a smile.

I smiled back. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"Same goes for you."

My smile faltered as I remembered who did this. "What about Loki? What's going to happen?"

"Thor said that he tricked his guards to let him out of his prison in Asgard. He came back here to retrieve his scepter," he explained. "Thor has been working with Tony to make a magic barrier around the tower so that Loki can't magically appear in it anymore."

"Wait, how long have I been out?" I questioned.

"Almost 2 days," Steve replied.

I groaned and leaned my head against the pillows. "That long, huh?"

"Yeah, that long. The team's been worried about you. We've all taken turns watching you. Well, minus Thor since he's been busy trying to track Loki."

"Can I see them? Please," I said, pulling a sad face.

"Okay, okay, but just for a little bit. You need your rest," Steve said before getting up and opening the door. The Avengers were all sitting in chairs that lined the wall opposite the door. They all eagerly got up and crammed into the small hospital room.

"You're awake!" Clint exclaimed.

"No kidding Mr. Obvious," I said with a laugh.

Natasha gave me a gentle hug, making sure not to jostle my bruised ribs.

"How you feeling kiddo?" Tony asked.

I shrugged. "Not bad I guess. Though my ribs kind of hurt."

"I should've been at the party," Bruce said sadly. "I could've unleashed the Hulk on Loki again."

"Puny god," I said, mimicking the Hulk.

They all stayed for a few more minutes before a nurse came in and made them leave. They promised that they'd visit again and that I'd be out of the hospital in no time.

Steve sat back down in the chair next to my bed. I shifted around, restless. "Let's play a game," I announced.

"What game?" he asked.

"20 questions."

"Fine, you first."

"No you."

"Why me?"

"Just do it Steve."

"Okay, um...what's something you've always wanted?"

I thought for a second. "A dog. I've always wanted an Alaskan Klee Kais."

"What's that?" Steve inquired, confused.

"A dog that's like a mini Husky. Oh my gosh, they are SO cute!" I said excitedly. "Here, give me your phone and I'll show you a picture." He handed me his phone and I Googled it. "See? Isn't it adorable?"

"I have to say, that's pretty darn cute," he admitted.

"Awwww Captain America thinks an Alaskan Klee Kais is cute!" I cooed.

A nurse came in and interrupted us. "Excuse me, but Miss Caldwell really should rest for a while," she said.

"She's right Arya. I should leave and let you sleep," Steve said, rising from his chair.

"But I'm fine, I'm not tired," I said unconvincingly since I yawned as I was saying it.

"I'll come back and see you in a little bit, okay?" he said.

I sighed. "Fine. Bring me back a bowl of pesto rigatoni pasta though, will you?"

"Alright, alright I will," Steve said, amused. He left, closing the door behind him.

I flopped back on the pillows and groaned. Bruised ribs seriously hurt.

* * *

**Authors Note: This is a suuuuper long chapter! I did it so you guys wouldn't be mad at me for those cliffhangers. 2 things, 1: An Alaskan Lee Kais is SO cute! Check them out on Google if you haven't seen/heard of them. 2: Pesto rigatoni pasta is one of my favorite things in the entire world. **

**Okay, so this story will probably be ending in the next couple of chapters. I think I'm going to close it up at around 30, 35, maybe even 40 chapters. Don't worry though, I have amother idea. How would you guys like a story that is just a bunch of one-shots about Steve and Arya (and the rest of the Avengers too)? You know, just cute family things. Let me know if you guys would like that. Once this story is finished, I'll start on that one right away. **


	24. Chapter 24: Free

Arya's Point of View:

"Got any queens?"

"Nope, go fish."

"Dang. How come you never have any of the cards I want?"

"Just because. Do you have any jacks?"

"...maybe."

"Yes, he does," Natasha said, coming in and sitting down. Clint and I were playing multiple rounds of Go Fish. I've been slaughtering him at every game.

"Hey! Cheater," he mumbled.

"It's not cheating, it's called declaring the truth," I said smugly, prying the 3 jacks from his hand and putting them down with my last card as a match. I held up my hands. "I win."

He threw down his cards and put his face in his hands. "How do you do that?"

"I'm magic," I smiled.

I'm still in the hospital recovering from Loki. My ribs still hurt like hell. Steve and the others were doing their best to keep me occupied. Tony and Clint had been switching off from playing games with me. Natasha was nearly always with me when they were in the room with me to keep them under control. Bruce popped in once in a while to check on how I was feeling, but he was busy sit his lab work. Thor came in once to apologize for Loki. Pepper was busy with Stark Industires but she had called several times. Steve barely left my side. He was practically glued to the chair. I made him go out and get me a decent lunch (since hospital cafeteria lunches are utter shit). Tony went with him since he was bored of playing Go Fish.

Speaking of them, Steve and Tony came into my hospital room holding takeout bags.

"Okay, we've got one pesto rigatoni for the munchkin," Tony said, handing me my pasta. "One chicken piccata for Capsicle, one tuna salad sandwich for Legolas, and shawarma for Nat and me!"

"What's the big deal with shawarma?" I asked, digging into my pesto rigatoni.

"It's delicious," Tony said matter-of-factly.

I rolled my eyes. "Right."

"How are you feeling? Any better?" Steve asked me.

I shrugged. "I guess so."

"Well, hopefully you'll get to go home soon," Clint said comfortingly.

I nodded in response since my mouth was full.

After everyone finished their lunch, a nurse, and to my surprise, Fury walked in.

"Fury? What are you doing here?" Natasha asked, stunned.

"I'm here to break Miss Caldwell out," he said, almost cracking a joke. "I'm giving you full clearance to leave the hospital today. Just take it easy for the next few weeks."

"I can go? Hell yeah!" I cheered, punching the air with my fist.

"I trust that you all have taken precautions to ensure this won't happen again?" Fury inquired.

"Yes, Thor has placed protection barriers on the tower. We're working as hard as we can to track Loki down," Steve answered.

"Good. Hope to see you up and around," Fury said to me before leaving.

The nurse unhooked the IV in my arm and removed the oxygen cannula tubes from my nose. I swung my legs out over the floor and slowly stood up. I let out a small shriek as I nearly collapsed since my legs were weak. Steve caught me and straightened me out.

"Careful," he warned.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm fine!"

I turned to look at my reflection in the small mirror. I looked like a mess. My hair was a long tangled mess. There were dark circles under my eyes.

"We brought a change of clothes for you," Natasha said kindly. "And a brush in case you needed it."

I took the clothes from her and smiled gratefully. "Okay, everyone who isn't a female, get out so I can change," I ordered. They all obeyed, not wanting to argue.

I turned to Natasha. "You might have to help me," I said shyly.

She said nothing but came over and helped me put on the clothes. Then she started to brush out my hair.

As much as I missed having a mother, Natasha and sometimes Pepper filled that position. They had automatically done that since I was legally adopted.

I looked down at Natasha's choice of clothes for me. "I didn't even know I owned this dress," I said with a frown. It was a turquoise sundress.

"Well, now you do," she said.

I walked over to the door unsteadily and opened it. Everyone was ready to go. I started to walk down the hall but I stumbled a few times. Steve looped his arm around my shoulders to keep me steady.

"You ready?" he said.

"Yeah. Let's go. I want to see how you guys Loki-proofed the tower."

* * *

Steve's Point of View: 

I was sitting on the couch, flipping through Arya's art portfolio. She had given it to me a few hours ago and told me to look through it and to tell her if I liked her art. So far, I loved it. She was a talented artist.

I was so glad that Arya came home from the hospital today. I could tell that it had really sapped her of her strength. She was more tired, less vibrant. I hated Loki even more than I did before. If I ever saw him again, I was going to make sure Thor took him far, far away from my daughter.

I glanced at the clock. It was 10 o'clock. I heard footsteps behind me. Tony came and sat down opposite from me.

"Is she asleep?" he asked in reference to Arya.

I nodded. "Yeah. She was having a hard time though. She's scared Loki's going to come back."

He sighed. "Poor kid. She doesn't deserve that."

There was silence for a few minutes. "So what's it like being a dad?" Tony said out of the blue.

"It's better than I imagined. It's a great feeling, being able to make her happy. You kind of realize that they change your life as much as you change theirs," I said honestly. "I just hope I'm doing it right."

"I think you are Cap. I'm no expert, but I see the way she is around you. She's happy," Tony commented.

"Thanks," I replied.

"My dad wasn't the best, but I did learn a lot from him. I know that Arya is learning a lot from you."

"I hope so. I didn't think that I'd ever be having this conversation with Tony Stark," I said, shaking my head.

"What can I say? That girl's been good influence on all of us," he said defensively.

"Whatever you say Stark."

* * *

**Authors Note: I'm so sorry that this chapter wasn't up sooner. I was really busy this week. Thank you infantswine for pointing that out to me! I did some more research and discovered that Pomskies are a designer breed of dog so you're right, they aren't actually a real kind of natural dog. I changed it to an Alaskan Klee Kais like you mentioned in the previous chapter. Thank you again for correcting me on that. Everyone seems to want Steve to get Arya a dog...hmmmm we'll see! ;) I'm glad you all like the one-shot idea! Like I said before, I'll start that after I finish this story. WOOHOO 100 REVIEWS! **


	25. Chapter 25: Trouble

Steve's Point of View:

"How did I let you guys talk me into this?" Arya said, hiding her face under a blanket.

We were watching a scary movie with Tony and Clint since everyone else was out doing something. Tony had decided that Arya needed to see an Alfred Hitchcock movie, so we were watching The Birds. Arya was terrified of it.

She snuck a look at the TV screen only to see a woman get attacked by a flock of birds. She shrieked and hid under the blanket again. "Do we have to watch this?" she groaned.

"Calm down Capsicle Jr.," Tony said. "It's just a movie. And it's educational. Alfred Hitchcock movies are legendary!"

Arya reluctantly lowered the blanket and focused on the screen. She seemed determined to make it through the movie. She was quiet for the next couple of minutes, but then the birds attacked another person. Arya jumped and dove for the nearest person. That happened to be Clint.

"Turn it off, turn it off, turn it off," she groaned. "I can't take it anymore."

Clint sighed and looked down at her clinging to him. "Tony, turn it off. I think she's had enough."

Tony grumbled in protest but turned it off, as requested.

Arya sat up in relief and detached herself from Clint. She then jumped on me.

"Can we do something fun today?" she asked eagerly.

"Like what?" I inquired.

"I don't know," she admitted. "Maybe we could go out somewhere? We've been stuck in this tower for ages."

"I'm sorry Arya, but Loki is still out on the loose. It's safer if you stay here unless absolutely necessary," I told her. We'd been extra careful with Arya if she had to go out anywhere. Luckily, she only had to go to her dance classes. Usually at least 2 Avengers accompanied her there and back.

Her smile instantly dropped. "Oh. Alright I guess," she said sadly.

"But that doesn't mean we can't do something fun," Clint put in, elbowing Tony.

"Hm? Oh yeah," Tony said hastily.

"What's there to do?" Arya scoffed.

"We could...run laps in the gym?" Clint offered.

"Hell no," she responded immediately. "I don't feel like exercising till I pass out."

"How about we play a game?" I said.

"Monopoly?" Arya asked excitedly.

"Whatever you want," I said with a smile.

She got up and ran to find the Monopoly box. After a few minutes, she came back. "I can't find it," she said. "JARVIS, where's the Monopoly game?"

"_I believe it's still in your room closet from when you were playing with Mr. Rogers_," JARVIS replied.

"Oh! That's right. I forgot," Arya said before dashing off to her room to retrieve it.

"Wait, you were playing Monopoly with her?" Tony snickered.

"Yeah, so what? She had to stay in bed for a while since her ribs hurt. I thought I'd play it with her to help pass the time," I said defensively.

"Did you win?"

"Um, no. She did. But only because she bankrupted me on her 'victory corner'."

"Whatever you say Capsicle."

* * *

Arya's Point of View:

"Pay up," I said triumphantly, holding my hand out.

"That's not fair!" Clint protested.

I had bought all the yellow and green property cards so that whenever they went around the board, they almost always hit it. I had also put hotels on each of the property cards. So far, my strategy was working. Clint had just come around the board and landed on one of my properties.

"Hand the rent over," I said with a smile.

He glared at me before counting out the money. He was $200 short.

"Uhh, do I have any more properties to mortgage?" he asked.

"Sorry, nope," Steve replied.

"Ha! You're bankrupt!" I crowed.

"Well you don't have to rub it in," he muttered.

"Cheer up Legolas, at least it's not real money," Tony said. He'd already been bankrupt for several rounds.

I rolled the dice in my palm. "You sure you want to get slaughtered by me, the master of Monopoly?" I said to Steve, who was the last man standing.

"I'll take my chances," he said. "Roll."

I was about to roll the dice when JARVIS interrupted our game.

"_Sir, Agent Romanoff is on the line. She says it's urgent._"

Tony pulled out his phone and put it on speaker. "Hey Nat! What's up?"

"_Tony, Loki's terrorizing New York City as we speak. Get Steve, Clint, and Bruce together and get your asses down here now,_" Natasha said.

"What about Thor and Pepper?" he asked.

"_They're heading to the tower to secure it and to watch Arya. If Loki tries to get into the tower again, Thor's the best person to stop him,_" Natasha replied.

"Okay, we'll be there in a maximum of 15 minutes," he said before hanging up. "Suit up guys, we've got a troublemaker to catch."

I crossed my arms. "I'm going to be babysat by an Asgardian? Oh boy, I can't wait," I said sarcastically.

"Pepper will be here. Don't worry," Steve reassured me before going to change into his suit. Clint and Tony followed.

I got my tablet out and hacked into New York's security cameras. I got some live video feeds of the streets. Sure enough, New York was in chaos. Not as bad as when the Chitauri attacked, but still pretty bad. I found a camera that gave me a shot of Loki standing on a building, casting spells. I also saw a person in the streets attacking people. Whoever they were, they were well trained. I tried to zoom in but it wouldn't let me.

Steve came back put in his spangled suit. I showed him the video feed.

"I don't know who this person is, but they look like bad news," I said.

"We'll have to see if they're working with Loki or not," Steve replied. "Here, put this in your ear. It'll link you to the team's communication earpieces. If anything happens, we'll know right away. If we need you to, you can tell us where the action is since you have the video feeds."

I took the earpiece. "Be careful, okay?" I said softly, hugging him.

"I will," he said, hugging me back. "We'll be done with this before you know it."

Clint and Tony came into the room. "Do we get hugs too?" Clint asked.

"No. Now get going," I said with a wobbly smile.

They left. I waited for Thor and Pepper to show up. I sat on the couch with the tablet, monitoring the video feeds closely. I looked down at the Monopoly board. I guess we wouldn't be finishing our game.

* * *

**Authors Note: This chapter was meant to be up earlier, but I've been dealing with family/personal issues. I'm so sorry! Periwinkle Skittles, your review made me laugh. UltimateGingeDW, thank you for all your reviews! I don't actually have prosthetic legs. I got the idea for Arya to have them from Amy Purdy. (Look her up! She was on Dancing With the Stars and she's an athlete with 2 prosthetic legs) I based parts of Arya's personality and interests on myself. Who do you think the person attacking people in the streets is?! P.S. The one-shot story will be up soon!**


	26. Chapter 26: See

Arya's Point of View: 

Thor and Pepper had showed up. Pepper had excused herself to go and put extra security defenses on the tower. I was a little nervous to be stuck with Thor. Oh well.

I had been monitoring the video feed of New York. Clint had said through the communication earpiece that they were going to find Bruce. Apparently he wasn't in the tower when they left, so they assumed he was out somewhere. I hadn't heard from any of the team in a while so I guessed that they had found him and were making their way to the action.

I put the tablet down for a second. Thor was sitting across from me.

"You are Lady Arya?" he asked in his Asgradian accent.

"Yes," I said simply.

"I've heard quite a bit about you from Lord Steven. He speaks highly of you."

"Really?" I asked.

He nodded. "I understand that you were adopted by him?"

"Yes, I was."

"We're very much alike, you know," Thor said.

"We are?" I said in confusion.

"Yes. We both have brothers that are evil and not worthy."

"I...I never thought of it like that. You're right," I admitted. I knew the story of Thor and Loki, but I didn't think it matched my own story.

"You're mad at him, are you not? But you still care for him," he said.

"You're right. I-I feel like I shouldn't still care about him since he was so horrible to me, but he's still my biological family," I answered.

"I feel the same way with Loki. He has wrecked havoc upon Midgard, yet he is still my brother."

"I guess we're kind of in the same boat," I said with a weak smile.

"I'm afraid I do not understand," Thor said, confused.

"I mean that we share the same kind of problem," I clarified.

"I must go and make sure the protections on the tower are sound. If you ever need to talk about your brother, I'd be happy to talk with you," he said kindly before leaving.

Well then. My dad was Captain America. My 'family' consisted of the Avengers. My life counselor was Thor. Anything else?

I picked up my tablet again. I turned on my earpiece so that I could hear the entire team's correspondence and background noise. Tony, Natasha, and Clint were planning out how to attack Loki. Steve was making his way towards the person who was attacking people in the streets. I checked the cameras and I still couldn't make out who the person was.

"_Arya?_" Steve said through the earpiece.

"Yeah?"

"_Do you still have the video feed on that person?_" he asked.

"Yes, I do," I answered.

"_Where specifically is he?_"

I gave him specific directions and landmarks as to where the person was.

"_Okay, thank you,_" Steve said after I relayed the location.

"Why are you heading in the opposite direction?" I said, watching him sprint down a side road. "What are you going to do?"

"_I'm going to approach them from behind. They won't be expecting it, hopefully,_" he explained quickly.

I anxiously watched him sneak across the streets behind the person. I knew I shouldn't be worried since he's freaking Captain America. I found a security camera that was relatively closer to whoever that person was. I furrowed my brow in concentration. This one was a bit harder to hack. Probably because it was some fancy hotel's camera.

I hacked into it eventually. I got a good view of the person and Steve behind him. Lucky for me, this camera had a zoom feature. Just then, the wifi decided it'd be fun to glitch. Oh, did I mention that Tony created his own wifi for his residences like Stark Tower? Guess you can't just call up Verizon to have them fix it.

"Damn it! Tony, your wifi is acting up," I said, frustrated.

"_I'm a little busy here! __Tell JARVIS to reboot it,_" he replied.

"Ohhh. Right! JARVIS, reboot the wifi please."

"_Yes Miss Arya,_" JARVIS said before doing as asked.

"Cut it out with the 'Miss Arya' thing. It's creepy," I muttered.

A few seconds later, the wifi was stable again. I quickly zoomed in on the person. Just as I got a clear view of their face, I heard Steve make a strangled noise.

"What? What's wrong?" I asked frantically.

"_That's...Bucky..." _

* * *

**Authors Note: ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER! I'm sorry that this was a shorter chapter, but I wanted to end it on a cliffhanger! I'm so evil. I think that Thor and Arya really get along well together. Casey, you were right! It's the Winter Soldier! What's going to happen?! DUN DUN DUN. **


	27. Chapter 27: Fight

Arya's Point of View:

Wait, Bucky? As in the Winter Soldier? YIKES.

Steve had once sat me down to tell me the story of HYDRA and SHIELD. He had explained how HYDRA infiltrated SHIELD and how they brainwashed his best friend, Bucky Barnes. At first, Steve had relentlessly searched for him after the main HYDRA threats were destroyed. He said that he had given up searching for Bucky when he found me. He told me that it was probably for the best that Bucky was left alone and he couldn't risk putting me in danger. I felt bad that I had put an end to Steve's search for Bucky. Steve had shaken his head and told me that it was time to let Bucky go since he had a new life with me. Besides, Bucky wasn't under the control of HYDRA anymore. He was a more peaceful person searching for answers about his past.

But here we are now.

"Steve, are you okay?" I asked hesitantly. He was frozen, staring at the Winter Soldier like he couldn't believe he was real.

The rest of the team were shouting things through the earpiece, asking what the hell was going on. I blocked them out the best I could.

I zoomed in on the Winter Soldier and got a better look at him. He had a metal arm and looked like he'd seen better days. I watched him take out an innocent pedestrian.

"Steve, snap out of it!" I urged. Without a word, he sprang into action and threw his shield. The Winter Soldier turned and deflected it. Within seconds, they were engaged in intense combat. I could tell that Bucky was putting up a good fight. I heard Steve trying to tell him that he was his friend. It wasn't working.

"_We have Loki in our custody, does anyone copy?_" Natasha said.

I tore my eyes away from the tablet and tool a deep breath. "Copy that. Steve found the Winter Soldier."

"_Are you serious? He must be working with Loki then,_" she hypothesized.

"I don't know. What's your next move?"

"_We need to get Loki in a secure prison and we need to help Steve out. We can't do both at once though. Not unless we have some serious firepower._"

I was silent for a second. "I think I can help with that."

I ran to find Thor and Pepper. I quickly explained the situation to them both. I instructed Pepper to at the tower in case there was an emergency. I told Thor to fly to where the team was.

I hurried up to the top of the tower. I knew that Tony kept all of his aircrafts at a nearby airfield, but there was always at least one quinjet on the roof. Lucky for me, there was one waiting for me.

I hadn't flown a quinjet before, but I hoped that my skills and JARVIS would help me. I strapped myself in and powered the jet up. Once I was in the air, I relayed my plan to Natasha.

"_Be careful, quinjets can be hard to fly if you aren't cautious,_" she warned.

In no time at all, I landed on the street where Natasha, Clint, Tony, Bruce, Thor, and a chained Loki were.

"Your ride is here," I said.

They all got on. Thor secured Loki in the back of the plane, making sure he wouldn't escape.

"You cannot restrain me. I am a god!" he spat.

"Right, keep yakking up a storm Reindeer Games," I replied. "No time for interrogations. It'll have to wait till we get Steve and...Bucky."

"Impressive," Tony said with a nod of approval. "You can fly pretty well."

"Thanks, but hold the flattery until we're out of this mess," I said. Natasha took a seat in the co-pilot's chair while the others strapped themselves in in the back.

"Let's get this show on the road," she said.

I got the quinjet in the air and maneuvered it through the narrow openings between the buildings. "They should be on the next street..." I said.

Steve and the Winter Soldier came into view.

"What's the plan Nat?" I asked her.

"Get as close as you can without it being dangerous. We'll drop down from above. Thor, Bruce, and Loki will stay here on board. You keep the quinjet aloft in case we need backup. Got it?"

"Yeah, but isn't it dangerous keeping Bruce with Loki?"

"We'll put him up here in the co-pilot's chair so he won't be with Loki. Anything else?" Natasha said, getting out of the seat.

"Nope, that's it. Good luck," I told her.

"I don't need it," she said with a smile. She went to the back of the quinjet. A few seconds later, Bruce came in and took her place.

"I don't know much about aircrafts, but I can probably use the guns if needed," he said.

"Good, because I can't fire a gun besides the ones that come with this jet," I responded, expertly lowering the jet as close to the ground as possible.

The noise of the jet made both the Winter Soldier and Steve look up. Steve caught a glimpse of me through the bulletproof glassed cockpit and gave me a '_what the hell are you doing?_' look.

Just then, Tony, Natasha, and Clint dropped from the jet onto the ground. Tony immediately tackled the Winter Soldier. The Iron Man suit was strong, but it was no match for that metal arm that Bucky had. He grabbed Tony's arm with it and twisted. The metal of the suit was distorted.

"Damn you! I spent months on that paint job," Tony cursed. The Winter Soldier then proceeded to sack him in the face, sending him flying backwards.

Natasha instantly pounced on the Winter Soldier. She used her extreme combat skills to hopefully do some damage to him. Clint had disappeared.

"Clint, where the hell did you go?" I asked.

"_Trust me on this one,_" he said through the comms.

I saw Steve jump onto the quinjet's cargo bay. Oops. I forgot that I had left that open.

He came into the cockpit with a look of shock. "Arya! What are you doing here? You should've stayed at the tower!"

"You guys needed backup. Natasha let me go, chill out," I reassured him. "I'm in the stupid jet, not in battle. I'll be fine. Besides, I got the Hulk sitting next to me," I said, gesturing towards Bruce.

"_Arya, get the jet up higher! I've got a plan,_" Clint said.

"Got it." I inched the jet upwards.

"_Do you know how to work the guns on the jet?_" he asked.

"Uh, I think so," I answered doubtfully.

"A_im them at the Winter Soldier. Don't fire unless I say so._"

"I hope you know what you're doing Clint," Steve warned.

I carefully aimed the guns at the Winter Soldier. Damn, I wasn't sure if I should call him the Winter Soldier or Bucky.

"_Tony? You in place?_" Clint asked.

"_Yeah,_" he responded.

"_Okay Natasha, whenever you're ready,_" Clint said.

Natasha gave the Winter Soldier a kick in the chest, propelling herself backwards with the force. An arrow came flying out of the air and embedded itself in the Winter Soldier's arm.

"Make one funny move and we'll blow you to pieces," Clint shouted.

I leaned forward to look at the situation. Clint was poised on a building with another arrow aimed at Bucky. It looked like an explosive one. Natasha had her gun and stingers aimed and ready to fire. Tony was levitating in the air, his hand that emitted explosives trained on Bucky as well. And then me in the quinjet.

Bucky didn't move at all. In fact, he was still as a statue. There seemed to be a green tint around him. I narrowed my eyes. This didn't seem right. Suddenly, it dawned on me what was going on.

"Steve, Bruce! Man the jet, I know what's happening," I exclaimed. I slapped the autopilot button. I got up and pushed Steve towards the pilot's chair. He made a noise of protest, but I was running to the back of the quinjet before he could say anything.

I found Thor and Loki sitting on the floor in the back. Loki was handcuffed with special Asgardian cuffs.

"What's wrong Lady Arya?" Thor asked.

"What the hell did you do to Bucky?" I spat at Loki.

"I unlocked his true inner self," he said simply.

I stepped forward and raised my fist. "What. Did. You. Do?" I said threateningly.

"Answer her brother or it will go very badly for you," Thor said.

"If you must know, I approached the young man to recruit him. He refused, so I cast a spell upon him," Loki admitted with a smirk.

"Break the spell then," I exclaimed.

"Now why would I do that?" Loki said innocently.

"Because I'll have my friends knock you into next year if you don't."

"Ah, such a young, gifted girl with a troubled past. It's a shame that your family abandoned you," Loki said with fake sympathy.

"Nice try Reindeer Games. I have a family. They're called the Avengers. Maybe you've heard of them?" I replied with sarcasm.

Thor stepped in. "Loki, break the spell. The consequences will not be as severe if you right your wrongdoings."

"I'm afraid not," he said, crossing his arms.

I had to physically restrain myself from slapping him as hard as I could in the face.

"Fine. You want to play like that? Bring it on," I said, spinning on my heel and running back to the cockpit. "Loki's got him under some kind of spell. We've got to break it."

"Any ideas?" Bruce said hopelessly.

"Wait. Didn't Natasha do something to break the spell that Clint was under when Loki first terrorized New York?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, she conked him on the head really hard," Bruce said with a nod.

I snapped my fingers. "That might work!"

"Who's going to do it? Tony, Clint, and Natasha are all occupied. Thor's watching Loki. Bruce is too much of a risk," Steve listed.

That left either him or me.

"Let me do it," I said.

"Are you kidding me? No. It's too dangerous," he immediately said. "I'll do it."

"No! He might recognize you and slaughter you," I reasoned.

"He might slaughter you too!"

"I've got a better chance! I'm smaller than you, I can sneak up on him easier."

Steve was silent. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but okay. Be careful though. Take this," he handed me a gun. "You've got the entire team here in case something goes wrong."

I took the gun and nodded. "I got this."

"I love you Arya. No matter what happens, I love you," he said softly.

I gave him a quick hug. "I love you too."

"Good luck Arya," Bruce said, politely ignoring our mushy love fest.

I gave them both a sharp salute. I went to the cargo bay and crouched down. My plan was to jump from the jet at the perfect time so that I'd land right on top of the Winter Soldier. Just before I land on him, I'd smash the end of the gun into his head. I'd seen this done in a few movies, so I figured it'd work.

I touched my mother's necklace and took a deep breath. I jumped off the jet and felt myself fly through the air, quickly closing in on the Winter Soldier.

* * *

**Authors Note: Wow, this is a really long chapter! To everyone asking if the Captain America 2 movie already happened, yes it did! This story takes place after that movie. I'm sorry if I didn't make that clear. UltimateGingeDW, I'm probably not going to include Spider-Man. I'm not sure if I'm going to put in Agents of SHIELD. I might include Agents of SHIELD in the one-shot story, but I haven't decided. Just a few more chapters left in this story! **


	28. Chapter 28: Shot

Arya's Point of View:

I didn't realize how high up I was in the jet until I jumped out of it. I was at least 100 to 150 feet in the air. Not extremely high in terms of skydiving or epic movie stunts, but still pretty high for me.

I tucked my knees in and fell faster. I tightened my grip on my gun. I watched the Winter Soldier get closer and closer. The wind blocked out all noise and stung my eyes. I didn't see the Winter Soldier pull out a gun. I didn't hear Clint, Tony, and Natasha yelling. I didn't see a bullet flying though the air. I didn't realize that the bullet was aimed for me until I felt a searing pain in my left shoulder.

Note to self: Getting shot in the shoulder while flying through the air isn't fun.

My head was getting blurry from the pain. I tried the best I could to keep focused on the Winter Soldier. I didn't see the other bullet fired. I screamed in pain when I felt it hit my stomach.

Another note to self: Getting shot in the stomach while flying through the air isn't fun either.

Any minute now I was sure I was going to black out from the white hot agony of the bullet wounds. I wanted to close my eyes and just fall to the ground, broken beyond repair. I heard voices shouting through my earpiece. I couldn't make out what they were saying.

Suddenly, a random thought raced through my mind. I remembered the time that Steve told me that he always finished a mission no matter what. He said that people counted on him to finish it.

I gripped my gun and put my other hand over my stomach to staunch the bleeding. The Winter Soldier looked up at me. I couldn't figure out why he wasn't shooting at me anymore. Not that I was complaining.

I untucked my knees and mustered all of my strength. I raised the gun, waiting for the exact moment. I slammed the end of the gun down on his head and used the force of the fall to knock him to the ground to cushion the landing. My body felt like it was on fire from my wounds. The impact of the landing jarred the wounds and made me cry out. I felt darkness creep into my eyes. The last thing I saw was a flash of red, white, and blue. Then total black.

* * *

Steve's Point of View: 

I'm so stupid. How could I have let Arya do that? I should never have let her jump off the jet and take on Bucky. I felt the jaws of guilt eating me alive.

When I saw Bucky pull out the gun and fire twice at Arya, I felt my world stop. I immediately lowered the jet to the ground. Tony was the first one to reach her. He gently pulled her off of Bucky's unconscious form and laid her on the ground. Clint and Natasha gathered around her too. Bruce and I got off that damn jet as fast as we could.

When I got to them, I saw that Natasha had already tried to stop the bleeding with Clint's jacket. It was heavy with blood in seconds. I pushed past Clint and knelt next to Arya. She was unconscious too. I carefully took off her jacket which was soaked in blood. I could instantly see that she was shot in the stomach and shoulder. I didn't know that much about bullet wounds. I never needed to since I recovered from them quickly because I was a super soldier.

"We need to get her to a SHIELD medical center," I said harshly. "Now."

"If the bullet pierced any vital parts..." Bruce trailed off.

"No time to think about that. Is the jet still working?" I asked frantically.

"Unfortunately, no. You landed it kind of roughly," Tony said.

"Any cars we can borrow?"

"None that have keys in them. We could hotwire one but that might take too long," Natasha replied.

"Damn," I swore. I pushed down harder on the jacket to try and slow the blood flow that was leaking out of Arya. She was losing blood too fast for my liking.

"Let me take her," Tony said suddenly. "I can fly her to the SHIELD base here in New York. It'd be faster."

"That sounds kind of dangerous," Clint said doubtfully.

"Yeah, it does. You sure about that Tony?" I asked.

Before he could answer, I felt a hand on my arm. I turned back to Arya and saw that she was awake.

"Steve?" she said weakly.

"I'm right here," I replied quickly, holding her hand.

"I...I got...shot," Arya coughed out.

"I know, does it hurt a lot?" I asked, trying to determine how much discomfort she was in.

She gave a small smile and shook her head. "See...Mom...and Dad...again..." she said softly before closing her eyes.

"Tony, now would be a good time to go," I said shakily, letting go of her hand.

"Got it." He scooped her up gently and positioned her so that she wouldn't be too uncomfortable. He took of, heading in the direction of the SHIELD base.

I watched him fly away with my life in his hands. Natasha cleared her throat.

"We should take care of Loki and...Bucky," she said awkwardly.

I turned around and looked at Bucky lying on the ground. I felt a surge of anger rush through my head. I had to keep reminding myself that Bucky was being controlled by Loki. Bucky had been a neutral person after HYDRA distanced themselves from him. This wasn't technically his fault. I still was mad at my old friend for hurting Arya. I was going to make sure that Loki didn't, no, couldn't mess with my life anymore.

* * *

Arya's Point of View:

_"Mom? Dad? Is that really you?" I said breathlessly, running towards my parents._

_"Arya, we miss you so much," they said, catching me in a hug._

_"I miss you too. Why did you have to die?" I said, tears threatening to fall out of my eyes._

_"It was meant to be. Everything in life happens for a reason," my mother told me, giving me a sad smile._

_"Where am I? Is this...heaven? Do I get to stay here with you?" I asked._

_"No honey. You're only visiting," my father said._

_"B-but why don't I get to stay with you?" I cried, frustrated. "You don't understand. I can barely live without you."_

_"You have a new life with Steve. If you stay with us, won't he be upset?" my mother said, looking at me in the eyes._

_"Yes, but..."_

_"Then you must fight to stay alive and stay with him. He's your guardian now," she said._

_I hugged my parents tighter. "I'll still miss you," I sobbed, letting the tears flow._

_"We will too. You're growing up into a beautiful young lady Arya. Never forget that," my father said, smiling at me._

_"I love you."_

_"We love you too."_

* * *

Steve's Point of View: 

I paced outside of the room that Arya was in. The SHIELD doctors had operated on her, successfully removing both bullets and stitched up the wounds. They had given her blood to make up for the amount that she lost. They said that she'd recover well enough. That didn't stop me from worrying though. The doctors wouldn't let anyone in to see her yet. She was still unconscious. A few times she had tossed and turned around like she was distressed. I wanted to comfort her, but I couldn't. I felt so useless.

The only reason why Bucky hadn't shot her more than twice was because the fun was out of bullets. Thank God for that.

"How is she?" Natasha asked, coming over to stand beside me. Everyone else had gone back to the tower to recover after they had come with me to see Arya.

"The same," I said emotionlessly.

"She'll be okay, you know," she said.

I nodded. I didn't feel like debating it.

"Look Steve, you can't blame yourself for this," Natasha said forcefully. "It wasn't your fault. It was Loki's."

"It _was _my fault. I let her go," I replied, gritting my teeth.

"It was her decision. She wouldn't have done it if she didn't think she could do it. She got the job done, didn't she?" Natasha questioned.

"Yes, but at a high stakes price," I snapped.

Natasha fell silent.

I didn't mean to snap at her, but I couldn't help it.

Tony had handcuffed Bucky and taken him back to the tower and put him in 1 of the cells there. Thor had placed an Asgardian mask over Loki's face that prevented him from using his powers. We were going to interrogate them both later.

I looked back at Arya. There was an oxygen cannula threaded into her nose, helping her breathe. She was hooked up to numerous IVs that were pumping painkillers and drugs into her system. A heart monitor beeped next to her. Her hair was tangled. She looked so small, pale, and fragile.

A conversation that she and I had shared popped into my mind. I turned around from the viewing window and started down the hall.

"Where are you going?" Natasha called after me.

"You'll see."

* * *

**Authors Note: AAAAHHHHH. Arya got shot by the Winter Soldier! Note: I looked up the survival rate from getting shot in the stomach. Apparently if it doesn't pierce any vital organs, (like when Skye was shot in Agents of SHIELD, the bullets pierced her organs) you've got a good chance of living. I didn't want to kill off Arya, I just wanted to add another twist to the story. By the way, the part that's in Arya's point of view that's in italics, that's her having a dream of seeing her parents while she's unconscious. **


	29. Chapter 29: Wake

Arya's Point of View: 

I was floating in a haze of dreams and drugs. I was vaguely aware of people standing over me and talking.

_"Will she live?" _

_"Arya, can you hear me?" _

_"I love you Arya." _

_"C'mon kiddo, you can push through this." _

_"Please wake up Arya." _

_"You're so strong." _

I slowly opened my eyes. The lights were too bright. I lifted my arm to rub my eyes but a searing pain burned through my left shoulder. I groaned and put my arm back down. I blinked several times, trying to clear away the black spots in front of my eyes. I tried to sit up but a hand pushed my down.

"Don't try to sit up. It'll just put you into more pain," an unfamiliar voice said.

My eyes finally cleared and I saw that I was in a hospital room and a nurse was standing over me. She had the standard nurse uniform on, but the SHIELD logo was on it. I must be at one of those SHIELD medical centers.

"What happened?" I said weakly.

"You were shot 2 times. Once in the shoulder and once in the stomach. Lucky for you the bullets didn't hit any vital organs. You'll be okay," the nurse said, smiling at me.

"Oh," I said simply. I looked down at my stomach. My shirt was bunched up, revealing my stomach. It was covered in sterile, white bandages. I guessed that my shoulder looked the same way. "How long...?"

"You've been out cold for a good 2 days," she answered, taking a blood test with a syringe. "Your family's been worried sick."

I just nodded. I felt too tired to do much more than that.

"Would you like to see your family?" the nurse asked kindly.

I perked up a bit at that. "Yes, please," I answered.

"I can only let one person in at a time. Who would you like to see first?" she inquired.

"Who's here?"

"Well, there was 6 people here earlier. 5 of them left earlier. One of them made quite a ruckus. He didn't know what anything was. There's still one person here though."

I smiled and laughed. I knew exactly who I wanted to see. "Could you please send in that person?"

"Of course," the nurse said. She left the room.

I tried to ignore the throbbing pain in my shoulder and stomach. I closed my eyes and sighed. I opened them when I heard the door open. I raised my head a little and saw a tired and worried looking Steve.

"Do I look like shit?" I asked.

"Not really," he replied. "I mean, you've looked better but you don't look horrible."

"Thanks. I think."

"God Arya, I was so worried," Steve said, sitting in the chair that was next to my bed. "The doctors told you'd live, but..." he trailed off.

"I know. I'm sorry," I said.

"Why are you sorry? I'm the one who let you do it," he said, surprised.

"I was the one who wanted to do it," I reasoned.

"Yes, but-"

I held up my hand. "Please. I'm too tired to argue," I said.

"Does it hurt a lot?"

"Want the honest answer or the sugar-coated answer?" I snorted.

"Honest would be preferable," he said with a small smile.

"It hurts like hell."

"You'll fight through it. I know you will."

"Are the others okay?" I asked worriedly.

"They're all fine. Worried about you, but fine," Steve reassured me. "After you were shot, Tony flew you here."

"What about...?"

"Loki? He's at the tower. He's in one of the prison cells. So is Bucky."

I couldn't tell how he felt about that.

"What's going to happen?"

"Well, Natasha going to interrogate both of them soon," he replied, looking at his watch. "She said she wouldn't start until I got there to watch and listen."

I toyed with the edge of the blanket that was pulled up to my hips. "You should go then," I said. "That's pretty important."

"You're more important," Steve insisted, reaching over to hold my hand. "That can wait."

"No it can't," I said, trying to hide a yawn.

Steve instantly caught me yawning. "You should get some sleep," he told me sternly.

I flapped my hand. "Whatever."

"Get some sleep. That's an order," he said, using his Captain America voice.

I yawned and groaned. "Okay, okay. Fine. But...can you stay? Just until I fall asleep," I asked hopefully.

Steve smiled and nodded. "Of course."

I shifted around a little, being careful not to brush against all the bandages. I found a comfy spot and closed my eyes. I slowly fell asleep, comforted by Steve holding my hand and the steadiness of the sound of the clock on the wall ticking.

* * *

**Authors Note: I'm sorry that this chapter is a tiny bit shorter than usual, but if I had kept going with the next scene, it would've been WAY too long. Aww Steve and Arya fluff. So cute! Natasha is going to interrogate Loki and Bucky...uh oh! Badass Black Widow coming through. **


	30. Chapter 30: Talk

Steve's Point of View: 

"Ready?" Natasha asked me.

"Ready," I replied.

Natasha was about to go into Loki's cell to interrogate him. I was going to watch from the cameras outside of the cell. Natasha was the best person for this job. She never broke her composure.

She opened the cell door and walked in. The door shut behind her and sealed itself. Tony and Thor had made sure that the cell was Loki-proof. I went over to the computer monitor to watch the interrogation.

"Ah, I knew someone would come and visit me eventually," Loki said casually.

"Let's not skirt around the issue. Where did you find the Winter Soldier? What did you do to him?" Natasha asked coldly.

"I found the young man in this city you call District of Columbia. I simply unlocked his true inner rage."

"You cast a spell on him?"

"If you must put it that way, yes," Loki said, rolling his eyes.

"Why?"

Loki remained silent.

"You better start talking. It'll end horribly for you if you don't," Natasha threatened.

"He needed a sense of direction. I gave it to him. I needed a scepter. He was going to give it to me. It was all going work out very nicely until you quims interfered," he spat.

"So you took a young girl hostage and had him shoot her. Wow, that's totally the way you go to get things done. Look Reindeer Games, you technically shot a girl twice. SHIELD doesn't like that, I don't like that, and I know a certain fellow standing right outside this door who doesn't like that. You've got 2 options. Option number one is that you can have Thor banish you to some god-forsaken place where you'll never use your manipulating powers again. Option number 2 is that you can have your choice of which Avenger wants to slice your throat. Which one would you prefer?" Natasha smirked.

"I prefer option one," Loki muttered.

"Lucky for you, option one is the only option. I just wanted to see your reaction to option 2," she said. She turned and walked out the door, slamming it shut behind her.

"That went well," I said, crossing my arms.

"Quite frankly, yes it did. But what about Bucky? What're we going to do about him?"

"I'm going to talk to him," I replied. "Maybe he'll...understand me."

Natasha looked at me. "He's not the same Steve."

"I know that. It's not a lost cause though. I'm going in to talk to him," I said firmly, turning away and walking over to Bucky's cell.

"Just be careful Steve, okay?" Natasha warned before getting into the elevator.

I unlocked the cell door and went inside. I carefully shut the door behind me. I turned around and saw Bucky sitting in a chair. The cell was made of concrete and metal. There was a small cot in the corner. Other than that, it was empty. No windows or anything. He looked up at me. There wasn't any anger in his eyes.

"Here to finish me off?" he asked hoarsely.

I was caught off guard by that question. "No. I'm here to talk to you."

"Why? I'm a...killer."

"No, you're not. You're my friend," I said.

He shook his head. "Friends don't do what I've done."

"Wait, you recognize me? And you know who you are?" I asked, confused.

"Yeah, you're Steve Rogers. AKA Captain America. I'm Bucky Barnes. AKA the Winter Soldier," he replied tonelessly.

"When did you figure all that out?"

"A while ago before Loki brainwashed me."

"Why didn't you..." I trailed off, not wanting to push.

"Come and find you? I thought you'd hate me after all I did."

I was silent. "Bucky, I could never hate you. You're my friend."

He looked up. "I'm not the same person I was. I've changed," he said forcefully. "I've killed so many people thanks to HYDRA. I shot an innocent person a few days ago. I don't know even who the hell that person was."

Something in my expression must have changed, because he slammed his fist into a wall.

"You know who I shot, don't you?" he growled.

"Bucky..."

"Well do you?"

"I...yes. She's my daughter, Arya," I said finally, giving in.

The shock on his face was clear.

"Y-you have a daughter? How?" he asked.

"I adopted her a while ago. She was in a bad place so I stepped in," I explained simply, not wanting to get into the details.

Bucky gave a short laugh. "I always thought you were the fatherly type." He shook his head. "This proves it."

"Proves what?"

"That I'm dangerous. I shouldn't be trusted. I shot your freaking daughter Steve. That's not okay to do," he spat.

It was obvious that he wasn't mad at anyone but himself.

"You didn't know. It wasn't you. It was Loki messing with your mind," I insisted.

"No. I'm not going to blame it on anyone else but me," he said. He crossed his arms and looked away.

* * *

**Authors Note: Poor Bucky! :( But at least he's back to normal! How did ya like Black Widow threatening Loki? That was so much fun to write. By the way, I'm sorry this chapter wasn't up earlier. I have a logical excuse though! Chapter 21 decided to delete itself and copy chapter 22 into it. Soooo I had to rewrite chapter 21. It's a bit different than how it was first written, but I personally think it's better. If ya want, you can head over to chapter 21 and reread it. 6FtUnderTheStars, your review made me laugh. Believe me, I wanted to break his nose too. Catsandorchids, I went back into the ENTIRE story and changed ALL of the "1"s to "one". That was a LOT of work. Until next time!**


	31. Chapter 31: Visit

Arya's Point of View:

I made a face, erasing a part of my drawing. Tony had brought me some paper and pencils while I was in the hospital. I had just woken up a half an hour ago. I was disappointed that Steve wasn't there, but I knew that he was busy with Natasha doing the interrogation. Instead of Steve, Tony was sitting in the chair next to my bed. He claimed that it was his turn to sit with me. I was willing to bet that Pepper made him.

"What're you drawing munchkin?" he asked, looking up from his phone.

I turned the drawing around to show him. "This."

He leaned forward to look at it closer. "Is that an Iron Man suit?"

"Yep! I modified the tech parts of it and changed the color layout," I said, pointing out each detail.

Tony was silent, examining the drawing I did. I was nervous as to what he thought. I hoped that he wasn't offended that I changed the suit design.

"How did you do this?" he questioned.

"Uh, I kind of snuck into your lab one day and uploaded the specs of a few of the suits to my tablet. Then I put it through my holographic system to look at it closer," I said. "Don't worry, I didn't touch anything," I confirmed hastily.

"How'd you get in?" Tony asked with a frown.

"Pepper gave me the passcode."

"Can I take this?"

"Sure, why?" I said, confused.

He folded it into quarters and put it in his coat pocket. "This might just end up being Mark 43."

My jaw dropped. "Are you serious? You're going to use my sketch to make Mark 43? Dude, that's epic!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah, once you get out of here, you can help me build it," Tony said, grinning.

I punched the air with my fist. "Oh yeah!" I crowed.

"Take it easy kiddo, I don't want my head on the chopping block if you injure yourself again," he warned.

"Relax, I'm fine," I said, waving away his concern.

Reality, I wasn't really fine. My stomach and shoulder hurt so much. The doctors and nurses hadn't put me on that many painkillers just because they didn't want me becoming dependent on them. I understood what they were trying to do, but that didn't mean I had to like it. Plus, I didn't want to sound like a whiny brat.

"Do you know if Steve is done with the interrogation?" I asked.

Tony gave me a mock hurt look. "What, are you getting sick of me already?"

"No, I just want to talk to him."

He heaved a dramatic sigh. "Alright, I'll give him a call and find out. He whipped out his phone and dialed Steve's number.

"_Hello?_"

"Hey Capsicle! Did you get Reindeer Games and your friend sorted out?" Tony said cheerily.

"_Yeah, Nat and I just finished that up. She's looking over the recordings right now. You can watch them later,_" Steve replied.

"Capsicle Jr. is getting tired of my good looks, so she was wondering you were able to mosey down here to keep her company."

"_Sure, I can do that. I'll be there in...15 minutes. How's that sound?_"

Tony looked at me for confirmation. I gave him a thumbs up.

"Sounds good. See ya later Cap," Tony said, hanging up the phone. "Well, I better get going. I'm going to start drawing up the blueprints for Mark 43."

"Alright, thanks for hanging around Tony," I said gratefully.

"No problem," he replied, heading out the door.

I started doodling on a napkin. I drew an intricate Welsh dragon. "Hyfryd," I said softly. I was so caught up in my drawing, I didn't even bother looking up when the door opened. "I don't want any more medicine. I'm already drugged up," I snapped.

"Sorry to disappoint," Steve said, coming in and sitting down.

I put down my pencil. "Sorry, I thought you were a nurse."

"It's okay. How are you feeling?"

"Fine. How'd the interrogation go?" I asked.

"Fine."

"Did you find anything out?" I prodded, wanting to know.

"Nothing you need to be worried about," he said evasively.

"I'll just ask Natasha, she'll tell me," I sighed.

"Doubt it."

"Well then, Mr. Pessimistic."

"By the way, I have a present for you," Steve told me.

I instantly perked up. "Really? What is it?"

"You'll get it when you come home," he said with a smile.

"Whaaaat? That's not fair! You can't just tell me and then not tell me," I exclaimed.

"But I just did, so obviously I can," Steve pointed out.

I made a face at him. Man, I had to get home as fast as I could. 

* * *

**Authors Note: Yay! Arya's going to make an Iron Man suit with Tony! I thought it'd be really cool for them to build something together. Mark 43, here we come. **


	32. Chapter 32: Home

Arya's Point of View:

I pulled a funny face behind the doctor's back. The doctor was examining me one last time before I left to go home. I'd been in the hospital for a week and I was more than ready to escape. Steve was standing in the doorway, trying not to laugh as I made faces at him. The chair I was sitting in was abnormally tall so my feet didn't touch the ground.

"Well, your vitals look fine. Your overall health seems good. As long as you don't do any strenuous activity, you should be fine," the doctor said. "We'll have you come in for regular check-ups just to be sure." He signed a form and handed it to Steve. "You're all set to go."

I beamed and clapped my hands. "Finally!" I exclaimed.

The doctor left. Steve came over and held out his hand to me. I took it and stood up. I was still extremely weak and not at full strength. My stomach and shoulder still throbbed with dull pain, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. Besides, that's what painkillers are for.

I proudly walked out of SHIELD's medical center without a stupid wheelchair. A SHIELD agent drove us to Stark Tower. I guess that they were taking extreme precautions with me now.

I never felt so relieved to be in the elevator that was going up to the living room and kitchen area in the tower. I don't remember when I started calling Stark Tower home, but it was absolutely perfect.

"Welcome home Arya," Steve said with a smile as the elevator doors opened.

I was surprised to see every inhabitant of the tower sitting around the table. Even Thor was there. Pepper, being the more sentimental person out of the group, came over and gave me a hug.

"It's good to see you back Arya," she said.

"Thanks Pepper. I've missed you guys so much," I said.

One by one, they all came over to hug me. Thor managed to not suffocate me. Tony was more reluctant to give me a hug, but he still did it.

"How are you feeling?" Bruce asked me.

"Fine but if I hear that one more time, I'll explode," I warned. I was sick of people asking me how I was. It's not like I was going to drop dead right in front of them.

"I think you owe the girl a present Cap, don't you?" Natasha said with a mischievous look.

"That I do," he replied. He went into another room and came back with a cardboard box in his hands. It was a relatively large box, like a moving box. He handed it to me. "Here you go."

"Didn't bother with wrapping paper, did you?" I teased before opening it. My breath caught in my throat when I saw what was inside. "Oh my gosh..." I lifted out an unbelievably adorable puppy. I immediately knew what kind of dog it was. It was an Alaskan Klee Kais. The exact dog I had told Steve I wanted. It was black with patches of white. "You got me a puppy?" I squealed. "How? When? Why? Is it a girl or boy?"

"Slow down there Arya," Clint laughed.

"I got it when you were out cold in the hospital. I figured it'd be good company for when I'm gone. It's a girl," Steve explained, grinning.

The puppy nuzzled her nose against my face. She was absolutely perfect.

"What're you going to name it?" Bruce asked.

I stroked its soft fur and smiled. I knew just the name. "Oreo. She looks like one," I said.

"Oreo. Hm. Seems fitting," Tony shrugged.

I knelt down and put Oreo on the floor. She scampered around my feet and yipped.

It was so cute to see Oreo go over to everyone and sniff them. The best part though was when Thor was confused.

"I do not understand, what is a dog?" he questioned.

"Um, it's an animal. You don't have those on Asgard?" I said.

"No, I'm afraid we do not. These dogs seem to be very good companions though. Perhaps I should consider getting one and taking it back to Asgard!" he exclaimed.

Tony rolled his eyes. "Whatever cleans your drapes."

* * *

I gently stroked Oreo's sleeping form. I was in my room, listening to some music. Oreo had fallen asleep (Probably because I'm really boring. Ha ha ha...). It felt so good to be home. I got to have fresh smelling sheets and not those horrible musty hospital ones. I was around my family again and not a bunch of cold, uncaring nurses and doctors.

I sighed and closed my eyes. This moment of quietness was all I needed. Suddenly, I remembered that Loki and Bucky were still in the tower. Steve had told me that SHIELD was still deciding as to what to do with them. I really wanted to talk to both of them, but I knew that everyone would forbid me to.

I grabbed a flash drive, quietly crept out of my room and took the elevator down to the cells. I hoped that no one had decided to take a surprise visit to the cells. Lucky for me, no one was there.

I went over to the computer monitor sitting on the desk outside of the rows of cells. I stuck the flash drive in the side, copying the interrogation videos onto it. I tried a bunch of password combinations to unlock the cell doors. None of them were working. Suddenly, I thought of it.

"IronManIsAwesome," I said as I typed.

_Access granted _the screen said.

"Seriously Tony?" I scoffed. I stuck the flash drive in my pocket and went into Loki's cell.

"Here to punch me again?" he said in a drawling voice.

"I don't know who you were expecting, but no," I answered, crossing my arms. He was sitting in a chair, handcuffed with special Asgardian handcuffs.

"I was expecting the red-haired one," he clarified, gesturing to a bruise on the side of his face. "She was quite miffed at me."

"Rightly so. You shot me," I said.

"Pardon me for correcting you, but it was not me. It was the Winter Soldier."

"Don't be so smart alecky. It was you. He didn't do it on purpose, he was being controlled by you."

"Why do you even care so much? Your petty organization will cart both of us off anyways," he sneered.

"Why do I care? Because he's my dad's best friend. That's why," I replied smartly. "Plus he's innocent. He's been brainwashed by morons like you."

Loki narrowed his eyes at me. "You think I can't hurt you, don't you? Let me tell you something. Even if I'm locked in this cell I can still hurt you. I can manipulate you and your pathetic family into twisted people. You just wait and see."

It sounded so ridiculous to me, I laughed. I couldn't help it.

"Yeah, right. Natasha said you'd try to scare me. Don't even go there, okay? Your tricks don't work on me," I said with a glare. I turned around and kicked the cell door shut. Bruce was right, his brain is a bag of cats.

I found the cell that Bucky was in. Weirdly enough, I was more nervous going to in to see him. I wasn't sure what to expect. What if he didn't like me? Everyone had told me that Bucky wasn't a psychopath so I hoped that he was okay enough to talk to me.

"JARVIS, is anyone looking for me?" I asked the AI.

"_No Miss Arya. They are all currently either asleep or working,_" he replied.

"Thank you," I said, opening the cell door.

* * *

**Authors Note: YAY! Arya got her puppy! Kudos to all of you who guessed right. I think Oreo was the perfect name for an Alaskan Klee Kais. It's just so adorable. ihgh00, I'm honored that you read all 31 chapters at that time in the morning. That's incredible! Arya's going to talk to Bucky next...what's going to happen? Sadly, this story is almost finished. -sobs- :( **


	33. Chapter 33: Guilt

Arya's Point of View:

What do you say when you're first meeting your dad's best friend from the 1940's who used to be an assassin? I should've run through a speech. Problem is, I don't think like that. Whoops, my bad.

"Who's there?" he asked reproachfully.

"Just me," I said, waving my hand.

Bucky narrowed his eyes at me. "Who are you?"

I fell silent, not sure if I should tell him. I didn't want to make him feel bad.

Realization dawned on his face. I guess he put the pieces together and figured out that there's only one kid that could possibly be living at Stark Tower.

"You're Steve's daughter, aren't you?"

"Um, yes..." I responded softly.

"God, I'm so sorry," Bucky said, looking at me. "I-I shot you."

"It's okay, I'm still alive, aren't I? Besides, it wasn't really your fault. It was that moron in the cell next to this one."

"It was my fault. I was the one who pulled the trigger."

"Sometimes the person behind the trigger doesn't know they are," I said softly.

"How old are you?" he asked.

"14. Why?"

"That phrase you said just then sounded really philosophical," he commented.

"It was just a play off of the phrase 'Sometimes the person you'd take the bullet for is the one behind the trigger'," I said shyly.

"Still, it was pretty intelligent."

"Do you have any idea why Loki had you shoot me?" I questioned.

"You were the nearest available target. He doesn't have anything personal against you, you were just interfering with his plan."

"That's good to know I guess. At least I won't have an army after me," I said ruefully.

He nodded. "So, how'd Steve end up adopting you?" Bucky asked curiously. He seemed to have put the whole thing about shooting me into the past for now.

"Well, my parents died 6 years ago and I was living with my brother. Let's just say that my living situation wasn't ideal. I was out on a walk in DC one day and I met him. He got me out of that hell. That's basically the 5 second rundown," I explained briefly.

"Is Steve a good father?" he asked.

I nodded. "Definitely."

"He always seemed like he'd be a good parent. He's got that kind of personality," Bucky said. "You live here at Stark Tower?"

"I guess so, yeah. I doubt Steve and I will move back to DC. Apparently it's safer here."

"Has SHIELD tried to recruit you yet?"

"Not yet. They might, but I doubt it. I'm too crippled for them," I sighed.

"What do you mean?" he said, confused.

I lifted up my pant legs and showed him my prosthetic legs. "These."

"You're like me," he said, showing me his metal arm. "I can't imagine having 2 though."

"It's a challenge," I admitted. "I've had quite a few years of practice though." I looked at the clock on the wall. "I should leave, no one knows I came down here."

"Quite the rebel, huh?" Bucky said with a dry laugh.

"Not usually, just today. I wanted to talk to you."

"Why?"

"You seem like a nice guy. Besides, you're Steve's friend," I said.

"SHIELD's probably going to lock me up for a long time," he said lifelessly.

"If I know Steve, he'll make sure that doesn't happen. I'll make sure it doesn't happen either."

"Don't make promises you can't keep," he warned.

"It's not a promise," I replied. "It was nice to finally meet you Bucky. When you get out of here, it'll be nice to get to know you."

"You too Arya," he responded, giving me a small smile.

I walked out of the cell and locked both doors, leaving everything as it was when I first came. I took the elevator back up to my room and plopped down at my computer. I stuck the flash drive into the side and played Loki's interrogation video. None of it was very interesting. I didn't bother playing Bucky's video.

I shut down my computer and hid the flash drive at the bottom of a drawer. I turned on my holographic system and pulled up the blueprints for Tony's new Iron Man suit he sent me. I started tinkering with it, making small modifications.

"_Miss Arya, Mr. Stark is requested entry to your room,_" JARVIS said.

"Let him in," I said absentmindedly.

A few moments later, Tony came into my room.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi. How ya doin'?" I asked, reworking the ionizing glove.

"Fine, but I should be asking you that," he replied, looking at the blueprints. "How's the suit coming along?"

"Pretty good."

"Run me through the specs of it."

I spent the rest of the day working through the blueprints of the new Iron Man suit with him. This was my new normal and I loved it.

* * *

**Authors Note: It seems like Arya and Bucky are going to get along great! 6FtUnderTheStars and Periwinkle Skittles, I know, I can't believe that this story is almost over too. .3954, that's amazing that you read the entire thing in one sitting! hateme101, I think I fixed that problem of why Loki attacked Arya and not Pepper in this chapter. Qweb, I'm glad everything's properly linked now. I totally agree, Arya is definitely a spitfire.**

**Good news, the one-shot story that takes place after this story is now posted! It's called "Life Out the Window" so go and check that out! Let me know what you think. I'll be posting new one-shots in that regularly, even after this story is finished. I could always use suggestions for the one-shot story so PM me with those ideas.**


	34. Chapter 34: Innocent

Steve's Point of View:

"Remind me what I have to do again?" Arya asked, her voice trembling.

"All you have to do is tell the story of the whole thing. That's it," I said.

We were standing outside of a conference room in SHIELD's New York headquarters that was filled with SHIELD agents. Fury wanted the witnesses and the victim (Arya) of the whole incident to recap it. It had been 2 weeks since it happened. SHIELD was still trying to figure out what to do with Loki and Bucky. Mostly, the problem was deciding whether Bucky was innocent or not. The whole team was fighting for the Council to say he was innocent. I told Arya that she didn't have to speak in front of the Council, but she insisted that it would help.

"Right. Are you sure I can do this?" she asked uncertainly.

"Of course you can. If you need help, I'll be right there with Natasha, okay?" I reassured her.

"O-okay. Let's go," she said.

We walked into the conference room, immediately drawing everyone's attention to us.

"Captain Rogers, Miss Caldwell, are you all set?" Fury asked us.

"Yes, we are," I answered.

Arya took her place at the podium and I sat down next to Natasha.

"Hi," she said softly. "I'm Arya Caldwell Rogers, Steve Rogers's daughter. I was adopted by him a few months ago. Um, where should I start?" Arya said, looking towards Natasha and I for help.

"Start at when it first happened, when I called Tony to tell him Loki was in New York," Natasha prompted.

Arya explained the event in detail, her voice faltering at the scary and morbid parts, but keeping the story straight and steady. When she finished, she stepped off the podium and made a beeline for the seat in between Natasha and I.

"You did great," Natasha whispered to her. I nodded in confirmation.

Arya let out a sigh of relief.

A SHIELD agent stood up and cleared his throat. "How do we know this story is pliable? She's a child," he said with a pompous air.

"Excuse me sir, but Arya is far from a child. She's mature and grown up. Every word of she said is true. All of the Avengers will back it up if needed," I replied coldly.

"Yes, we will," Natasha put in.

The man instantly sat down, flustered by Natasha's hard glare and our reprimanding.

All eyes turned to Fury.

He leaned forward in his chair. "I've come to the conclusion that Loki will be sent back to Asgard with Thor. They can take care of him in whatever way they want to. On the matter of Mr. Barnes, I've decided that the man is to be cleared of all charges and released. We'll keep tabs on him," he said, standing up and leaving the room.

The group of SHIELD agents protested and followed him out the door, leaving Natasha, Arya, and I.

"Good job kiddo, you were perfect," I said to Arya, giving her a hug.

"Does that mean Bucky's free? He's not a prisoner anymore?" she said with a grin.

"Yes, it does."

"Yay!" she exclaimed, twirling around in a happy circle. "Can we go home and tell the others?"

"Sure, but I've got some business to take of while I'm here. Can you take her back by yourself Cap?" Natasha said.

"Yeah, no problem. Let's go Arya," I said.

"See you later Nat," Arya said, giving her a smile. "Can I be the one to tell them? I want to tell them how good I sounded!"

"Whatever you want Arya..."

* * *

Bucky, Arya, and I all stood on the rooftop of Stark Tower, taking in the view. Bucky still felt guilty about shooting Arya, but he lessened the burden of the blame on himself. He was happy to be out of that cell and back into the real world. Arya and Bucky really hit it off. They seemed to get along well. They had the same kind of personalities.

"Thanks for getting me out guys," he said, shaking my hand and ruffling Arya's hair.

"I'm with you till the end of the line," I said, remembering what we said to each other so long ago in the 1940's when my parents died.

He nodded, remembering that moment too.

"So what are you going to do now?" Arya asked curiously.

"Now that I don't have SHIELD breathing down my neck, probably explore the world," Bucky replied.

"You aren't staying here?" she said, looking a bit crestfallen.

"Sorry kiddo, I think it's good if I went out on my own for a while. I'll come back and visit," he said.

"You don't have to go Bucky. I'm sure Tony wouldn't mind you living here," I said, not wanting my best friend to disappear.

"Thanks Steve, but I need to do this alone. I'll keep in touch, don't worry. You aren't getting rid of me that easy," he said with a crooked smile.

I sighed, not liking it, but knowing that he was right. "Just be careful, okay?"

He saluted me. "Yes sir."

Bucky gave Arya a tentative hug and gave me a nod. He turned and got in the elevator. I didn't follow him. I didn't think I could handle letting my friend go like this again.

Arya leaned against the balcony. The wind rustled her long brown hair.

"Do you think he's going to come back?" she asked.

"I think so," I answered honestly.

"I hope so," she said softly.

I put my arm around her shoulders. "Me too."

* * *

**Authors Note: Sadly, this story is slowly coming to a close. There'll probably be one or 2 more chapters left in this story. Maybe even an epilogue. Lauren, I'm so sorry it seemed like I didn't give you credit. I actually had the idea that Arya would talk to Bucky and Loki before you suggested it. I must have looked over your review when I was writing the authors note for that chapter. Once again, I'm very sorry.**

You guys seem to really like the one-shot story! Do me a favor, if you loved this story, go to my profile and read the one-shot story. Review, favorite, and follow that one. Please PM me with any ideas you might have for that story. Thank you!  



	35. Chapter 35: Normal

Arya's Point of View:

"So, how was dance class?" Steve asked.

"It was awesome! We learned some new choreography. It was kind of challenging at first, but I picked it up pretty fast," I replied.

"You looked really good in there from what I saw," he said.

"Thanks," I said, beaming.

Steve had just picked me up from dance class and we were walking back to Stark Tower. I'd been slowly slipping back into my regular dance class routine. It had been 2 months since the whole thing with Loki happened. 2 months. 2 months to forget it all and move on. Nope, that didn't happen. It was still etched into my mind. I was told by the doctors that I'd probably always have some sort of scar on my shoulder and stomach. I didn't really mind though. But it still was hard to see those scars everyday.

"After you milady," Steve said in a mocking tone, holding open the door to Stark Tower for me.

"Thank you sir," I replied in an equally mocking voice, curtseying.

We took the elevator up to the living room and kitchen floor.

"Wanna hear a pun?" I asked, helping to pass the time in the long elevator ride.

"Go for it."

"Did you hear about the guy who got hit in the head with a can of soda? He's lucky that it was a soft drink."

"That was awful Arya," Steve said, bursting into laughter. "I should make you sleep on the roof just for that."

"Right," I said sarcastically. "You do that Captain."

We laughed the rest of the way up in the elevator. When we got out, I immediately shut my mouth when I saw none other than Nick Fury.

"Fury. What are you doing here? Do you need me on another mission?" Steve asked.

"No actually. I'm here to talk with Miss Caldwell here," he replied, looking at me.

"Oh, um, why me?" I asked, confused. Whenever the former head of SHIELD wants to talk to you, it's usually not good news.

"Have a seat," Fury said, gesturing to a chair. "Could you give us a minute Captain Rogers?"

I held up my hand. "No, he stays or you don't get to talk to me at all."

He gave me a long, hard look. "Very well," he said finally. "But only if he keeps quiet. This is directed only to you."

Steve sat down in the chair next to me. "Yes sir," he said.

"So what did you want to talk to me about?" I asked.

"I've been analyzing your actions when Loki was in New York most recently. You reacted very well considering you're young. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you flew one of Stark's jets to the battle scene?"

I nodded in confirmation.

"I also realize that you jumped out of the jet and knocked out Mr. Barnes."

"Uh, yeah..." I said hesitantly, wondering where this was all going.

"Those actions are to be commended. They were heroic," Fury commented.

"Thank you," I replied, smiling.

"As you know, SHIELD is still being rebuilt piece by piece. We need new young recruits for SHIELD. We've already recruited several young people like yourself. I'm going to make you an offer to join SHIELD. We'll assign you a S.O. to the respective department you want to work in," Fury said.

For a second, I was rendering speechless. Fury wanted me join SHIELD?

"Arya, you don't have to," Steve told me, looking concerned.

"Captain Rogers, please, this is her decision," Fury said sharply.

I already knew what my answer was, I just was too scared to say it aloud.

"Miss Caldwell," Fury prompted, impatient for an answer.

"Thank you for this offer Fury, but I'm going to have to say no," I said softly. "As much as it seems like a great opportunity, it's not the right path for me."

"Are you sure? I won't be making this offer again," Fury said.

I nodded. "I'm positive. Thank you again, but no."

Fury's face showed no emotion to my answer. "Very well. Have a nice day Miss Caldwell. You as well Captain Rogers," he said, leaving the room and taking the elevator down to the ground floor.

There was silence for a little while.

"Why'd you say no?" Steve asked finally.

I turned towards him. "I want to be normal. If I joined SHIELD, I wouldn't be normal. I know it's not exactly normal having your family be the Avengers, but you know what I mean. I want to be a regular teenager who goes to dance class, high school, prom, college, all that. Maybe I'll help out once in a while, but I don't want to join," I explained quietly.

He had a thoughtful look on his face. "I can understand that. I'm proud of you for making that decision Arya," Steve said, smiling at me.

"Thank you," I replied, returning his smile.

"So, do you want to watch a movie?"

"Sure, what movie?"

"I was thinking we could watch the last Star Wars movie to finish that saga up."

"I'll go and ask Tony, Clint, Bruce, and Natasha if they want to watch too."

"Sounds good."

As I ran down to Tony's lab to ask them, my mind went into replay mode of my life in the past few months. I had been adopted by Steve Rogers and my life had been turned around completely. My new family consisted of the Avengers. I was shot twice, but it only made me want to bounce back more. Yes, my life has definitely changed, but I wouldn't want it any different. This is a new chapter in my life and I'm ready to sit down and read it.

* * *

**Authors Note: This is the end of Save Me Now. -dramatic music plays- There will be an epilogue though, so don't worry. I'll be posting that soon. Also, just a reminder that the one-shot story following this story is called Life Out the Window and is posted. Please go favorite, follow, and review that if you haven't already. Thank you!**

**Thank you all so much for staying with me on this story. Thank you to each and every one of you who has reviewed, favorited, and followed Save Me Now. I started writing this story thinking that it wasn't going to be very good. You guys proved me wrong! This story has 163 reviews, 85 favorites, 121 follows, and 26,074 views. THANK YOU SO MUCH. You guys have given so much great feedback! You've really boosted my self confidence in writing. I have more ideas for future stories so be sure to be on the lookout for those. Once again, thank you all. **

**There will be an epilogue after this.**

**Check out Life Out the Window, the one-shot story that corresponds with this story. **

**Many thanks,**

**~TheFallenNightAngel**


	36. Epilogue

**Epilogue:  
**  
Third Person's View:

You honestly couldn't tell that they weren't related by blood. When you saw Steve Rogers and Arya Caldwell Rogers together, you immediately thought they were father and daughter. Maybe he had blonde hair and she had dark brown. Maybe he had blue eyes and she had hazel. It didn't matter. Even if they didn't look like each other, the happiness that radiated off both of them was obvious.

Steve was still looking for the right partner in life, but he had accepted that maybe he would never find one. It wasn't a terrible thing though anymore to think about that. He wasn't alone. He had friends that cared about him and a daughter that deeply loved him.

Arya was still traumatized and haunted by her past. She still missed her parents to no end. She knew that no matter how amazing her life was now, she would always miss what she used to have. Steve was very patient with her on this topic, knowing that nothing could replace her parents in her heart.

Being Captain America, Steve frequently had to go away on missions and whatnot. Most of the time, some of the other Avengers would go with him. Arya was never alone though. Usually Pepper was there to keep her company. Arya would wait for days for her family to come back from their missions. She would always wait in the lobby of Stark Tower on the day she knew they were coming home. She'd always tackle Steve in a hug first, but made sure that the others got hugs too.

Pepper and Natasha had filled the space of Arya's mother. Pepper was more of the motherly one, always telling her to be careful and to wear a hat outside in the wintertime. Natasha was more of the sisterly type. Arya always went to Natasha for advice about almost everything.

Tony, Clint, Bruce, and Thor all got along very well with Arya. Tony and Arya loved to work in the lab together on various projects. Pepper and Steve had started monitoring their projects when Tony 'accidently' blew something up once. Clint was like a brother to Arya. They liked to pull pranks on people and cause mischief. Bruce was who Arya went to if she wanted peace and quiet. It was always calm around him. Thor wasn't around much but when he was, he and Arya usually ended up with her trying to teach him about "Migardian Perks".

And then there was Steve and Arya. They were the perfect little family. Yes, they had their occasional father-daughter spats and fights, but it usually was resolved within a few hours. They both got up at 6 AM to go for a run almost everyday. During the week, Steve would go to SHIELD's headquarters in New York during the day. He'd come home before dinner time. They frequently watched movies after dinner. On the weekends that Steve wasn't away on missions, they'd go out places. They often went to the parks where Arya could let her dog Oreo run around.

Holidays and birthdays were different for the Avengers now that Arya lived with them. Before, they never really celebrated anything to the extent they could've. Now, they went the full 9 yards (Mostly at Arya's insistence).

Oh yes, Arya's life was full of excitement and happiness.

And that was the way she was going to keep it.

* * *

**Authors Note: And that my friends is the official end of Save Me Now. I'm extremely happy as to how this story turned out. To everyone asking if there will be a sequel/they want a sequel/want me to do a sequel, I don't have any plans for a sequel right now. Periwinkle Skittles, that's exactly what I think. If I do a sequel, it'll be because I feel like I can, not because people are urging me to. I'm not saying it's definitely a no to a sequel, it's just not on my top priority list right now. Keep a look out for future stories though. queenImno, the one-shots are a separate story called Life Out the Window, and yes I will be making many more one-shots.**

Thank you all so much!

Time to create another story.

~TheFallenNightAngel  



End file.

Avengers, Family, Hurt-Comfort