"There you are!" I spin around to find Pietro at the end of the hall.

"Here I am." I grin as he approaches. He's wearing a dark gray t-shirt and a pair of black jeans. Guess I called it correctly in terms of wearing something casual and comfy. "What's up?" 

"Are you ready for our date?" The blonde asks once he's closer.

"Absolutely. So where are we off to?" I ask and link my arm with his after he offers it. He looks down at me with a devilish glint in his eye. "Oh no. We're about to do something illegal or against the rules, aren't we?" 

"What's a first date without a little excitement?" The older twin whispers as he guides me out the front entrance to the facility. On the landing pad to our left is a Quinjet with its ramp lowered. I can't stop myself from beginning to smile.

"Pietro! We're gonna get caught!" I whisper-yell, but my tone shows I'm close to laughing as he looks around cautiously before gently tugging me along at a jog.

"Shhh! No, we aren't. Everybody's busy doing something. They won't even notice it's gone!" He grins at me as we run up the ramp to the aircraft. I pull on his arm upon noticing there's an agent in the cockpit. "It's okay. I bribed him to fly us into the city." I relax at once and shake my head. This boy really does have it all figured out, doesn't he? Behind us the ramp begins to close as the engines fire up. The two of us quickly take our seats against the wall and strap in. This day was off to a good start and I was for sure it was only gonna get better.

▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁

I guess I shouldn't be surprised to find that our place of landing is Stark tower considering there isn't exactly a good place in the city to put down a SHIELD jet. "Alright kids, have fun!" The agent yells back to us as we quickly leave our seats and exit the aircraft before it takes off once again. 

"So, where to first?" I ask Pietro as we enter into Stark's entertaining quarters of the tower.

"I was thinking lunch first then a walk through Central Park. What do you think, you hungry?" The speedster asks as he hits the down arrow for the elevator.

"Pietro, dear, one thing you should know about me is that I'm always hungry." The two of us step into the elevator as it arrives before I hit the button for the ground level. "But yes, that sounds like a wonderful idea." My smile must say it all as Pietro relaxes where he stands next to me. Once we reach the lobby, we both exit calmly as we head for the front doors of the tower. It doesn't seem like anyone is around, save the receptionist. I give the receptionist a quick wave before Pietro and I slip out of the front doors to the tower. It's a beautiful sunny day in New York. Pietro and I link arms again as we turn and head in the direction of Central Park. I watch the hustle and bustle of the busy streets as I allow Pietro to guide us through the city that never sleeps. "Okay, so I gotta ask." I finally pipe up and turn my head to look at the troublemaker.

"Shoot." He looks over at me as we weave around multitudes of people while walking. "Just...not literally, please." Despite his grin, I can still tell he's touchy about the Sokovia incident.

"Okay, so what's up with Wanda and Vision?" I finally ask, my curiosity getting the best of me. "I mean, I know when I last saw them they seemed friendly but now...oh ho, they seem real cozy with each other. Come on, spill the dirt." Pietro simply laughs.

"While you were away, the two of us got a little lonely. Since Vision was also new to the team, the three of us started hanging out. We became fast friends. Wanda however...well, I think she quickly started to develop feelings. I don't really know how it happened so much as it just did really quickly. They're really into each other." He recalls with a smile.

"And you're not super overprotective about it?" My eyebrows knit together as I sidestep a man chattering loudly on a cellphone.

"No, no. Wanda deserves to be happy. But yeah, I'll always have her back and I'll always be looking out for her. She doesn't need me making choices for her." The speedster gently tugs me closer to him so I don't accidentally run into a couple walking in the opposite direction of us.

"Pietro?" I look away from the busy streets to train my eyes on his face.

"Yeah?" He briefly looks at me before keeping an eye on where we're headed.

"I'm so glad I met the two of you. You guys are like the closest thing I've ever felt to having a family, other than my very brief time with Carter four years ago. And I'm just so glad I was wrong about you guys too. I thought you were stuck-up brats in the middle of a rebellious and revenge phase. You guys turned out to be the complete opposite though. You're both smart and mature and you know when to admit when you're wrong...and you're both just so kind and compassionate." I splurge happily, smiling as we continue walking. I take note of the way Pietro's face erupts with a blush.

"You know, I'm glad we were wrong about you too. We thought you were an aggressive hot-head who couldn't think for herself and just wanted to be seen as a hero by the world." Pietro regards me with a soft gaze for a moment. "But you turned out to be this brave, albeit reckless, woman who wanted to pave her own future and prove to HYDRA you weren't what they wanted you to be. We found you were intelligent, quick on your feet, and always ready to see the good in people -- even if they didn't see it yet themselves." Now it was my turn to blush.

"Thanks, Pietro. That means a lot to me." I inform him.

"Anytime, Sparky." A grin works its way onto my lips at my newest nickname. We walk in a comfortable silence as Pietro guides me towards a section of the city right off of Central Park where a number of restaurants are.

"So, I miss anything else good while I was away?" When Pietro starts to giggle like an idiot, I narrow my eyes at him suspiciously. "What?"

"While you were at Carter's, you missed Sam getting his butt kicked by some guy who could shrink." He laughs when my expression turns to absolute shock. Like, jaw hanging open and everything.

"What!" I exclaim just barely below shouting. This causes the Speedster to burst into another fit of laughing. "You guys are the literal worse! I'm gone for like, a month and I miss all the good stuff!" Now I'm shaking my head while laughing. Before either of us can continue the conversation someone accidentally stumbles into me. "Ompf." I grunt and shoot out a hand to steady the younger teen who is about to fall backward. "Woah there, kid."

"Oh, my gosh, I'm so sorry I wasn't--" When the kid finally looks up at me, his eyes grow as wide as saucers before he's degraded to a stuttering mess.

"Paying attention? I gotcha. I am rarely paying attention myself." I shoot a grin at the kid, who looks to be no older than 17, maybe 16.

"Y-you guys are A-avengers..." He gawks, shuffling his backpack on his shoulder.

"Yeah, something like that." I tilt my head at the kid as Pietro unlinks our arms before resting an arm around my shoulders. He curiously gazes at the teen.

"B-but a-aren't y-you de-dead?" The kid asks timidly. I let out a quiet snort before laughing.

"Everybody seems to think so. I think Tony needs to release another press statement about my status." I sideways look at the Speedster, who is mildly leaning on me. He shrugs his shoulders before turning his attention back to the boy. "What's your name, kid?" I ask, lifting my brow and offering my hand.

"P-Peter." Peter shakily takes my hand and gives it a quick shake.

Poor kid. He's shaking like a bloody leaf.

"Just Peter?" I ask sarcastically, my lips pulling upwards into a teasing grin.

"P-Peter P-Pa-Parker." The kid stumbles out, reaching out to grab the hand Pietro was offering him now.

"Nice to meet ya." I offer while the Maximoff twin nods, flashing the kid a quick smile.

"It-It's an honor to meet you both. Wow, this is crazy. Aunt May is never gonna believe me." With lips twitching upwards into a smirk, I look over at Pietro the same time he looks over at me.

"You got a phone, kid?" I suddenly ask and I watch as the color drains from Peter's face. He quickly begins to dig through his pocket for his phone. When he finally is able to retrieve it, he looks to me with a questioning look. I look to Pietro and give him a quick nod and he takes a step forward and holds his hand out. Parker shakily places the phone in his hand before I move to his side and casually rest my arm over one of his shoulders, smirk still in place on my lips. The Speedster then moves to my side and holds the phone up and positions it quickly before taking a selfie of the three of us. Poor Peter still looks starstruck and Pietro, of course, has his usual cocky smile. When the phone is handed back to the teenager, I lift a brow at him while removing my arm from his shoulder. "Think that'll be good enough proof for you?" I tease.

"Y-yeah..wow, thanks." He looks up at the two of us with wide eyes and I give him a quick nod.

"No problem kid. Stay in school, stay out of trouble, yeah?" I point a finger at him as I begin to move past him, Pietro right on my heels.

"O-of course." He stutters, looking down at the photo on his phone, and then us. The admiration in his eyes is bright.

"Cool. See you around, kid." I offer a curt wave before turning and continuing on our way.

"Y-you too!" Parker calls after us before I hear him begin to shuffle down the street again. My attention then shifts back to the Speedster walking by my shoulder. He seemed pretty lax around that kid.

"What?" He questions, lifting a brow at me.

"Nothing." I smile and turn my head back to watch where I'm walking. "You just seemed really calm back there."

"I'm used to it. I've been back longer than a month, remember?" He states and I quickly nod. I keep forgetting he didn't just get back to the world of the living like I did.

"Well, at least you're accustomed." I reply. We then continue down the sidewalk in silence, happily enjoying each other's company. It's not every day two superhumans can leisurely walk down the street without fear of destruction, damage, or war looming over their heads.

"Here we are." Pietro stops and I look up at the cute little cafe on the corner of the street overlooking the edge of Central Park.

"This is perfect, Pietro." 

"I'm so glad you think so. Wanna sit on the patio or inside?"

"Oh, definitely the patio."