TW: mentions of death (cancer), bullying

"Hi, I'm (Y/n) and I'm new here," you said and held your hand out.

The security guard looked down at the extended hand and then back up to your face, unamused. "You're not authorized to enter this premises."

You huffed in annoyance and crossed your arms, your suitcase was right by your side. "Well, Tony Stark is expecting me. You can get him down here right now to prove it, too," you said, the friendly demeanor fading a bit. It always annoyed you when people didn't take you seriously or even try to.

"That won't be necessary, I'm just coming back in from a lunch meeting," a voice behind you spoke, and you turned around with a grin.

Tony Stark stood behind you with his sunglasses still on his face in a nice suit. He opened his arms and you jumped in for a hug. "Uncle Tony!" you called, loud enough for the security guard to hear.

He wrapped his arms around you and patted your back. "Hey, kid. Long time no see. How you holding up?"

About two months ago, your mom AKA Tony's older sister passed away. She was a kind person and was never really one for the spotlight like your uncle was. In fact, the media didn't really pay much attention to her before she got married and changed her name. Her mind didn't even compare to the Stark men's, and they didn't think she had any other talents, so they ignored her.

She developed breast cancer six months ago, and it was caught too late to do much other than delay the inevitable. So after a four month battle, she decided to stop and pass on from the world. It broke your heart and, since you were still a minor (only sixteen) Tony was there to take you in.

He hated to admit how far apart he had gotten from his older sister, so he was happy to take over custody of you. The living situation would be interesting, living in the Avengers Tower with six other enhanced beings of some sort. It's not like he was going to ship you off to live alone in Malibu, though, so here worked.

"Come on, let's get you upstairs." Tony took your suitcase and brought you up to the first floor the living quarters started one. There were three total floors: the first had a living space that spanned two floors and had four rooms on that floor. The second floor also had four room, and the third floor was two huge rooms. One was Tony's, of course, and the other was now yours.

You cleared your throat and rocked on your heels. "Are the other Avengers here right now, or will I have to meet them at different times?" you asked.

Tony checked his watch. "They should all be here. I may have mentioned they needed to be so I could introduce you to all of them," he said. "But, I do need you to be careful. Loki, the bad guy, is staying with us on orders from his father. His brother is Thor and will be watching over him but I still don't want you going anywhere near him, okay?"

You sighed and nodded. This guy was an obvious nut job, but you felt like there was a reason for his actions. There's always something going on in the heads of tyrants like him, and some of it is trauma related. You wanted to learn more about him, but you would remain cautious as well.

"Well, let's hope I make a good impression," you said, and smiled at your uncle. You'd be fine, you were extremely friendly to people unless they gave you reason not to be. Like the security guard for not even trying to take you seriously.

Tony smiled and set your things down on the floor next to your bed. "You can either check out your room or come down and say hi. I know you're super excited to meet everyone so..." You smiled and set a couple things down on your bed.

"Well then let's go! I'm super excited to meet everybody," you said. Tony smiled, happy that you had some of his personality, and led you down to what he called the living room. It wasn't quite like the living room you remember having back at your old house but this was a billionaire's tower- it wasn't going to be like your suburban house. You hadn't seen it yet but Tony had told you about the tower.

As you guys walked out of your room and down a small hallway, you asked Tony, "Is everyone going to be there or will we just have to awkwardly sit and wait for them to arrive?"

He shrugged. "JARVIS is pretty smart, he sent out a little notification to everyone that you were here when we got in the elevator, and another when we talked about going down. If they're not there already when we get there then they'll be arriving at the same time."

You nodded. The two of you got into the elevator and JARVIS immediately started taking you two down to the level you two needed. He's smart, you've noticed, but it's not a surprise considering who created the AI.

"Is it weird that I'm nervous?" you asked quietly with a small smile. "It's not like a... uh... anxious nervous, more like an excited nervous?"

Tony smiled with affection and brought you in for a side hug. "Don't stress, kiddo. They'll love you. You've got quite the personality that everyone seems to fall for," he said. You smiled and leaned into the hug.

The elevator doors opened as you two pulled away and you heard the voices before you saw the people.

"So what do we know about her? I mean, Tony told us his niece was going to be here for a while and that's really about it," one voice said. It was masculine, but on the quieter side.

"Well, he also told us to keep Loki away," another voice added, this one also masculine but much deeper and more confident.

"Can't imagine why," a third voice added, this one the only feminine one you've heard. Immediately you knew this was Natasha Romanoff, AKA Natalie Rushman AKA the Black Widow. (You had Tony tell you about everyone beforehand so they'd seem more human to you rather than just superhero.)

You looked over at your uncle, excited. "I can't wait!"

Once you entered the room, everyone stopped talking and looked over at you and Tony. "Everyone, this is my niece, (Y/n). (Y/n), this is the team." There was no need for him to point out who was who to you, so he didn't.

You took in everyone and started matching names and voices- well, the two voices you heard. The first guy must've been Doctor Bruce Banner, or the Hulk. He gave you a small smile and wave when you made eye contact.

The second voice would've been Captain America- Steve Rogers. He smiled and nodded at you. And of course, the third voice was Natasha Romanoff who gave you a very warm smile. It felt... motherly, almost, which struck a chord. You smiled back.

You saw Clint Barton, Hawkeye, next to her who did a similar greeting to Captain Rogers. Returning the nod and smile, you looked over at the legendary God of Thunder, Thor. He waved in a less shy manner than Doctor Banner and you returned it with similar enthusiasm.

The last person you saw was Loki. He was sort of behind everyone, but you still had a view of him. He wasn't paying much attention to what was going on, but still glanced at you occasionally. You caught his eyes one time and did a small wave to him. He didn't really respond.

After those couple seconds of 'meeting' everyone, Tony spoke again. "She's going to stay here until further notice. Who knows, she might help out," he teased and pulled you in for a side hug.

You smiled brightly. "I'm just gonna hang around until the school year starts, then I'll be leaving everyday basically."

Natasha spoke up. "It's nice to meet you, (Y/n). Hope you like it here," she said. You wondered if she might know about your mom's death, but didn't question.

It's not like you're a private person, you just didn't really want to keep thinking about it, otherwise it would get super depressing and no one wants that. Also, the pity would be endless and that was something you loathed. Have everyone stare at you with sadness and constantly bring up how strong you were? Gross.

You'd tell them if they asked, but would also say to not- to never pity you because that would just be straight up annoying.

"I'm going to head upstairs and unpack a bit before I go to bed tonight," you said and waved a goodbye to everyone. There was a smattering of replies as you walked back over to the elevator, and JARVIS took you back up.

Tony looked away from you once the doors closed and then back to everyone else. "You guys are going to love her, seriously."

"Is she a new Avenger?" Thor asked, still unsure of the situation since most of the explaining happened when he was off world dealing with his father and Loki's punishment.

Tony shook his head quickly. "No, no, in fact she's staying away from that. I don't care if (Y/n) knows about missions and what goes on, I just can't have her going near danger or anything," he said.

The others nodded. "Can I address the elephant in the room?" Clint suddenly spoke up. Tony nodded and gestured for him to go ahead. "Why's she here? I'm not trying to be rude, just curious."

He knew this was coming and Tony sighed. His head hung and he thought of how to say it, or if he should at all. It wasn't really his place, but he didn't want to keep secrets from them. "Well, it's really not my thing to tell. She'll tell you guys if you ask or when she's ready."

~~

The next few days, you felt slightly out of place in the tower full of superheroes. The transition was odd for you in many ways and it was weird for the others, too. Natasha was happy to no longer be the lone female and was the first to ask you if you wanted to sit and watch something with her.

The others soon got used to it and acted like you were their little sister.

Except for Loki. Now, granted, Uncle Tony specifically warned you about him- you wouldn't be surprised if everyone threatened Loki about this, too. Any time he was around, he'd look at you occasionally but immediately look away if you made eye contact. It was weird.

There were a couple moments where you two were left alone together in the living rom (most likely not on purpose). Even though you knew his past and what he did, you still made an effort to know him.

"So, Loki, do you like to do anything?" you asked him. The Avengers were currently away doing a mission somewhere and Agent Maria Hill was staying the tower to watch you and Loki. She stood off to the side of the room and watched as you spoke to the god.

He didn't answer you, so you tried again. "Like, reading? Art? Music? Anything?" you asked. He shrugged and you stopped talking.

A week later, you were reading in a chair by the window when Loki came in and sat on the couch on the end furthest from you. You watched him from the corner of you eye while marking your spot with your thumb.

He conjured a book from thin air and started to read. The title was in a language you had never seen before, but you smiled. He liked to read.

Three days later, you weren't able to sleep and wanted to get a snack, so you went down to the kitchen attached to the living room and got a glass of water and one of your Uncle's blueberry packets.

"(Y/n)?" a suddenly voice asked from a few feet away.

You gasped and turned around quickly, nearly knocking your glass down on the floor. "Oh my-" Breathing heavily, you stepped forward and saw Loki was sitting on 'his' end of the couch looking at you.

He frowned. "Apologies, I didn't mean to frighten you," he said.

"No- no, it's okay," you stammered out. These were the first words he was saying to you. A conversation was happening. You were getting through his tough exterior. "What are you doing up?" You were determined to keep this conversation going.

He shrugged, and for a moment you were worried you back the silent Loki. But then, he spoke again. "I don't like sleeping very much," he explained. You nodded, choosing not to pry. "Why aren't you asleep? Don't humans need to sleep?"

You laughed quietly at his question and popped a blueberry in your mouth before answering. "In theory, yes. But a lot of people- especially teenagers like me- don't get much sleep, whether it's because of school or just having too much going on in their head. Me, I was just hungry."

One corner of Loki's mouth started to twitch up into a smile and you counted this as yet another step closer to taking down Loki's cold exterior.

Even though you liked this conversation, you were still very tired. You suddenly yawned and proved that point. "You look like you might want to sleep," Loki suggested.

He was right, and you nodded in agreement. "You're right. Goodnight, Loki," you said and got your things before going back upstairs.

Loki didn't respond, but you looked over at him and he actually managed a smile. Now that- that was definite progress.

A few days later, you were sitting on the couch and reading your book again. It was a really good part and you couldn't bear to stop reading otherwise you'd lose your flow.

Then, you read the reveal and gasped. "No! How could he?" you asked out loud.

That's when you noticed a presence next to you. Without making it too obvious, you saw Loki sitting on his end of the couch- the same one you were on- reading his own book. You smiled lightly and kept on reading your book.

Natasha passed through a few minutes later, merely glancing at the two of you, and went on her way. Later, you found out why.

"Uncle Tony, chill out, everything is fine," you said. The two of you were arguing in his room in his personal living room.

He was pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and pointer finger and you could tell he was trying to keep it down. "(Y/n), trust me when I tell you Loki is dangerous. He's here to serve out a punishment for nearly killing all of New York and trying to take over the world. He brought aliens here, honey. I do not trust him and don't want him near you."

You were also trying not to explode because there was no reason to. Neither of you were doing anything wrong. In fact, you saw it as Loki getting comfortable around here rather than being so tense and isolated.

A sigh escaped your mouth and you sat in one of the comfy chairs. "Uncle Tony, we've had a single conversation and that's it. Today was the closest he's ever gotten to me. I don't think you have much to worry about," you said.

He also sighed and sat down in a chair next to you. He took you hand in his and squeezed it. "I trust you, (Y/n), and you know that. That means I trust your judgement. I have reasons not to trust Reindeer Games, too, but I know you can handle yourself. Plus, there's always JARVIS," he said, his tone light at the end.

You got up from your chair and leaned down to give Tony a hug. "Thank you. Besides, maybe he's not so bad and just needs to open up. Who knows!"

~~

School starting was something you looked forward to, because it was normal. The last few months have been anything but that, so this was good. Or so you thought.

By the end of the first week you only had one friend and they were your best friend from last year. Everyone else who you thought you were friends with only offered you sad, pity smiles and steered clear. What you least expected was getting bullied for having a dead mom.

Yeah, that was seriously happening. It was a public school, so it wasn't a complete surprise, but it was an asshole move. Your last name had also stayed the same- your mom's- and none of them knew of your current living arrangement. They all decided to make jokes that you lived in an orphanage with other weird kids.

The worst part was the Avengers had a mission in Europe all week, so talking to any of them was not happening. Uncle Tony was the one you needed most, too, and he wasn't even able to send you a quick message.

Today was the worst of the bullying so far. It was bad enough that you left the school in tears and silently cried your entire walk to the tower.

No one in the lobby asked you what was wrong (partially because you nearly ran to the elevator). JARVIS tried but you ignored him and finally asked him to stop talking. It was rude, but you weren't in a nice mood.

The first stop was the kitchen to grab ice cream from the freezer, maybe a Pop-tart, then you'd go up to your room and watch your comfort movies.

None of that happened, though, because when you walked to the kitchen you saw Loki sitting on the couch.

He looked up from his (new) book to see who it was. When he saw it was you, he was content and ready to go back to his reading. When he saw the tears streaming down your cheeks and red eyes, however, he closed the book and stood up.

"Are you all right?" he asked in a gentle voice.

You wanted to lie. You could just tell him you got stuff in your eyes and just wanted some snacks before going to your room. It could be that simple. In reality, it wasn't.

Your mouth opened to say words, anything, but instead more tears came and you covered your mouth to muffle a sob about to escape. This concerned Loki even more. You were the only person he could tolerate- or, dare he say, liked.

"(Y/n)?" he asked quieter, taking a few careful steps forward. Agent Maria Hill was back here on babysitting duty and he was worried she'd come in and put the wrong pieces together. Your sobs drew him back to the present, and he ignored his hesitation and walked all the way to you until he was a foot in front of you.

This surprised you, but you couldn't say anything out loud. Loki was here, though, and he seemed to care a bit. You wanted to try and speak again but all you could do was sob.

So Loki made a quick decision and pulled you into a hug.

You didn't question it and wrapped your own arms around his torso, burying your head into his chest and hoped the world would disappear so it wouldn't hurt anymore.

"It's okay," Loki whispered. He didn't really know what to do- this was very new territory for him. But he knew you were nice and didn't deserve to be crying like this. He did what he thought would help, and it seems that it did.

A few minutes later, the crying stopped but you continued to hold on. "What happened?" Loki asked softly, worried the dam would break open again.

You sniffed lightly. "My mom died. That's why I moved here. Some kids at school think it's funny to make fun of my dead mom. They've been doing it this entire week, but today was so horrible. One kid said she killed herself to get away from me- that's not even how she died!"

Loki rubbed your back and nodded. "They're dumb. They're stupid. Not one intelligent person on this plant would ever do something like this. I'm really sorry, (Y/n)," he whispered.

He didn't specify what he was sorry about- the dead mom or the bullying- but you accepted it. With one final sniff, you finally let go of him and wiped your face. "Thank you," you mumbled as you looked up at him.

Suddenly, Loki felt really awkward. "Yeah, um, it's what... friends... do I guess," he said, struggling a bit to say 'friends.'

You smiled a bit and looked over at the fridge. "Want to watch a movie and eat ice cream with me?" you asked, deciding to work with this whole friendship thing.

Loki nodded, and the two of you got spoons and ate out of the tub of ice cream and had JARVIS put on The Lorax and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon.

When the team came home later that night, Agent Hill gave them all death stares with her finger over her mouth, then nodded over to the sleeping pair.

JARVIS explained to Tony what happened when he asked, and Tony decided he was fine with it.

After a small... incident... involving the Avengers taking you to school the next day (Loki included, making jokes with you the entire time there), people started to back off.

~Fin~

A/n: This is just something cute that I had on my ideas list for a while now. I wanted to write something fluffy and reminiscent of the old days before Infinity War, Civil War, and Endgame. I hope you guys liked it!

Bye Lovelies!!!!!!!!!!!!