"Veronica? Are you in there?"
I quickly wiped the tears off my cheeks before standing up and looking myself in the mirror. I rubbed my cheeks to get some colour on them before realising it hardly mattered thanks to my red eyes. I looked around my room before my sight landed on the floor.
"Veronica, I believe I heard you... crying, and you have me quite... worried, to be honest," Pietros voice sounded from outside the door. I bit my lip before picking the scissor up from the floor.
I could have easily stepped on it. If I admitted to being upset, Pietro would want to talk. If I'd been clumsy and had stepped on a pair of scissors, he would leave.
I took a deep breath before letting the blade slide over my heel.
I resisted letting out a moan of pain, and instead threw the scissor back on the floor.
"Come in," I greeted. The large door opened, and Pietro came in.
"Veronica, I - what happened to your foot?"
With his speed, he was bowed next to my bed in under a second, gently holding my foot to look at the wound.
"I just stepped on a scissor. You can go, I'm fine," I lied.
"This is not fine, in fact, it looks quite deep," Pietro commented; "I can carry you to Doctor Banner, he can look at it."
"No, don't take me to Bruce," I mumbled, trying to pull my foot out of his grip.
"I will go slow, I promise." He looked at me with a crooked grin.
"No." I couldn't help but smile a little; "I meant just don't take me at all."
"I will make you a deal," Pietro decided; "you tell me what really happened, and I will not tell Bruce."
"I told you, I stepped on-""No, you did not. This wound is deeper than stepping on a pair of scissors would have made it. You harmed yourself. Why?" His voice was demanding, and I couldn't help but be somehow impressed by his determination.
"I was upset. I didn't wanna talk. I figured if you thought it was just that, you'd leave," I admitted and finally relaxed my foot, allowing him to see the wound. He sighed deeply.
"Another deal?" he suggested calmly. I looked at him.
"If you do not want to talk, just say so. But do not lie to me, and do not ever injure yourself."
I rolled my eyes before nodding.
"Must've been bad," he mumbled as he quickly got some paper from the kitchen and gently wiped the blood off. He noticed my confused look.
"What upset you. You clearly did really not want to talk. Must've been bad," he repeated with a shrug.
"No talking about it, remember?" I asked while watching him hold the paper against my foot.
"We need to wash this," he decided before standing up.
"Can you carry me? I don't want to get blood on the floor," I explained as I stood up, balancing on my good foot. Pietro looked doubtful but nodded none the less.

"My dad wanted to talk about sex," I admitted after a while. Pietro gently dubbed the cleaning wipe over my foot. It stung.
"He said I wasn't having sex," I continued, still observing Pietro carefully cleaning the wound.
"He was wrong," I stated. Pietro froze for a splitsecond before continuing.
"Well, that is hardly any of my business," he stated quietly. I shrugged.
"Maybe not. But I don't have anyone else to talk to," I admitted; "I was having sex. I have had sex."
"Well, you are old enough, that is your decision," he stated before getting a bandage.
"It wasn't. I didn't want to," I mumbled. Pietro looked up at me.
"Your ex?" he asked, not paying any attention to the wound.
"James, yeah. He's the only guy I've ever slept with," I told honestly. Pietro sighed as he placed the one end on my ankle and carefully started wrapping it around my heel.
"You did not sleep with him," he mumbled; "he slept with you."
"That's the same. Sex takes two," I stated.
"Yes. But rape only takes one. And this was all him."

"Hey, Steve," I greeted out of breath as I caught up with him on his run.
"Hey there, Babystark," he greeted and slowed down, only to stop completely. He watched me panting after running the thirty meters.
"So, what are you doing out here?" He asked calmly, not even haven broken a sweat. I held up a finger as to say 'one second', still trying desperately to catch my breath.
"Don't you have powers, Vee? How can you be so out of shape?"
"Shaddup, I'm in great shape. The shape just happens to be chubby," I explained with a shrug as I got a hold of myself.
"Hey! You're not chubby, I don't want you talking about yourself like that," Steve mentioned while pointing a lecturing finger at me. I glanced unimpressed at it before handing him the reason to my run of agony.
"Here. The invite to my birthday," I explained as he received the white, thick paper.
"Ah, thanks. I was starting to think I wasn't invited," he joked, his eyes looking over the invitation.
"Funny," I complimented sarcastically; "Have you seen any other Avengers? I still need to hand out the rest of the invites." I hold up the stack of invites my father had insisted I delivered in person.
"No, I don't think so. Wait, I think I saw Wanda earlier, actually, she was training with Clint."
"So, training room?" Steve nodded confirmingly, and after quickly thanking him I headed back into the tower.

"Hey guys!" Clint let go of the arrow, allowing it to soar through the air before hitting its mark.
"Hey Veronica," Wanda greeted calmly, turning away from the punching bag.
"I just have some invites for you," Veronica explained as she walked the distance between herself and Wanda in order to hand it over.
"Oh, thank you, Veronica," she said politely; "do you have one for my brother as well?"
"I do, could you hand it over?" Veronica suggested as she looked through the remaining invites in order to find the one with Pietros name on it.
"Oh, I will just forget, but I know he is up on the roof, you should go up with it now," she suggested eagerly, making Clint raise an eyebrow from his spot at the other end of the gym.
"I'll do that, thanks Wanda." Veronica sent her a smile before turning to Clint, raising her voice in order for him to hear.
"I've got an invite for you Birdie!" She mentioned loudly. Clint quickly and quietly raised his bow and shot an arrow towards the invite she was holding up. She quickly pulled it closer to her, making the arrow pass through the open air next to her.
"Nice try. If you want it, you'll have to come get it," She enunciated as she waved the invite proudly in the air. Clint rolled his eyes, but nonetheless jogged his way over to grab the invite.
"Oh, it's your birthday soon? Hadn't guessed," he joked mumbling.
"I'm gonna go find Pietro," Veronica decided, completely ignoring Clint; "thanks for the tip, Wanda."
As she left, Clint turned to Wanda.
"What is Pietro doing on the roof?" He asked curiously.
"Looking for Veronica," Wanda stated calmly.
"Veronica is looking for him, though?"
"Yes, and she will find him. On the roof," she added with a sneaky smile.
"You've lost me. Why on the roof?"
"It is the most romantic place in Stark tower, is it not?" She asked before erupting into a big smile.
Clint furrowed his brows; "wait, are you - trying to set them up?!"
"Of course not! I simply placed the two of them at the same time and at the same place, that place happening to be the roof. If something were to happen, it would e thanks to my brother and your... friend," she explained proudly.
"Veronica is practically my niece," Clint explained; "and actually, I do think the two of them would be cute together."

"Hey," I greeted as I caught sight of Pietro admiring the city view.
"Hello," he greeted, not looking away. I slowly walked up next to him and followed his look, only to see nothing but the blue sky.
"I've always liked this view," I admitted; "especially at night. Being out here at night... it feels surreal, somehow."
"This is the first time I'm up here," Pietro mentioned, still not looking away from the sky.
"Why did you go up today then?" I asked curiously as I leaned against the railing.
"I was looking for you," he mentioned before tearing himself away from the pretty sky to me; "to check on your foot."
"Ah. It still kind of stings. Didn't help when I had to go running after cap," I admitted with a slight smile.
"You ran on it?" Pietro asked with his eyebrows raised. I shrugged and instead looked to the sky.
"You really are something special, Veronica," he stated honestly.
I smiled sadly; "yeah. Some days I wish I wasn't. I wish I wasn't the daughter of Tony Stark, that I wasn't a millionaire, that I wasn't.. well, me."
"Never wish to be anyone but you, draga mea, for you a perfect." I smiled as I bit my lip and turned away from the sky to lean my butt against the railing instead. I looked at Pietro next to me.
"Draga mea means my dear," I stated. He nodded.
"Can mean my love, too," he informed lightly.
"Why do you call me that?" I looked at him with big eyes as he carefully avoided my look.
"I am not sure, to be honest, but if you mind I will stop-""no!"
He looked at me as I shrugged it off; "I kind of like it."
"So do I... Draga mea," he admitted quietly.
"So, what were you looking at?" I redirected the topic as I turned back to the city view.
"I was just imagining how it may look with stars," he explained as he turned with me, looking the same way.
"Sadly, they are not very clear. Something about the light from the city, I think," I explained.
"It is still beautiful here, even if I do miss the starry nights," Pietro stated.
"Yeah? How is it in Sokovia?" I asked curiously.
"Beautiful," he started; "beautiful. Especially at night, but I do believe there is some people here who shine brighter than even stars." I looked at him.
"You sister?"
"My sister will always be dear to me, yes, and I do believe she is thriving here, even more so than she was back home. But she was not who I was referring to."
"Oh. Well, I guess it is none of my business," I stated and cleared my throat before remembering the invites in my hand.
I took the front one, the one with Pietros name on it, and handed it to him; "I just popped by to give you this."
"What is it?" He asked curiously.
"An invitation to my birthday," I explained as I looked through the remaining invites. Nat, Bruce and Bucky was the only ones left.
"Oh, I did not realise I was invited," he admitted as he flipped the invite over to look at the other side.
"Kidding me? Of course you are. But, I still need to invite the rest of the avengers, so I'll see you later, okay?" I sent him a quick smile before leaving.

"Never wish to be anyone but you, draga mea, for you a perfect." Pietro bit his tongue to stop himself from continuing, and instead watched Veronica as she turned around and leaned her lower back against the railing separating the roof from the open air. She looked at Pietro.
"Draga mea means my dear," she mentioned, making Pietro nod.
"Can mean my love, too," he informed lightly, trying to make it sound casual.
"Why do you call me that?" Veronica looked at Pietro with big eyes, and he struggled to pull his eyes away from both that and her soft red lips.
"I am not sure, to be honest, but if you mind I will stop-""no!"
Pietro looked surprised at Veronica, who awkwardly shrugged.
"I kind of like it."
"So do I... Draga mea," he admitted quietly.
"So, what were you looking at?" Veronica asked curiously as she turned to look at the sky once again. The wind slightly hit her hair, even though it was pretty calm, and Pietro couldn't help but think that she looked nothing but perfect like that. Like something out of a picture.
"I was just imagining how it may look with stars," Pietro explained as he turned to Veronica. She placed a lock of her dark, slightly curly hair behind her ear as she smiled confidently,
"Sadly, they are not very clear. Something about the light from the city, I think," she mentioned.
"It is still beautiful here, even if I do miss the starry nights," Pietro stated quietly.
"Yeah? How is it in Sokovia?" Veronica asked, turning her full attention to Pietro.
"Beautiful," he started; "beautiful. Especially at night, but I do believe there is some people here who shine brighter than even stars." Veronica looked carefully at him.
"You sister?"
Amongst others.
"My sister will always be dear to me, yes, and I do believe she is thriving here, even more so than she was back home. But she was not who I was referring to."
"Oh. Well, I guess it is none of my business," Veronica mentioned before clearing her throat. Pietro couldn't help but wish she had asked, even if he knew he could not tell her.
She was beautiful, she was a star, she was the star - how could she not know that?
She looked at the papers in her hand Pietro only then noticed before picking one out and handing it to him.
"I just popped by to give you this."
"What is it?" He asked curiously.
"An invitation to my birthday," Veronica mentioned casually.
"Oh, I did not realise I was invited," Pietroadmitted as he flipped the invite over to look at the other side where a little more information was written.
"Kidding me? Of course you are. But, I still need to invite the rest of the avengers, so I'll see you later, okay?"
She sent Pietro a last smile before turning her body away and leaving Pietro with a warm and somehow fuzzy feeling evolving in his chest.