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***

IT WAS THE NEXT DAY.

After a much-needed day of rest for everyone who attended the party, things were slowly picking back up. It was Sunday, and regular S.H.I.E.L.D. and Avenger training and business was going to resume on Monday, just like always.

The day was nothing special— Joey and Claire slept in, spent half the day catching up and hanging out with Nat again, and then spent the other half of their day gossiping with Eris and Peter, screwing around in Tony's lab, and watching TV in the den.

It was almost six in the evening now, and still in the spirit of the first weekend of the summer, Tony had Greek food— Joey's favorite— catered for the team. Another welcome back festivity, her father had told her. Really, he just looked for any excuse he could to host parties and camaraderie.

Joey and Claire stepped out of the elevator, arm in arm, and just a few steps ahead of them was Peter.

"Peter Parker," Claire called, smiling. Peter looked over his shoulder, slowing his pace to walk beside the girls.

"It's still weird that you're here," he told Claire. Then, "Both of you," he added to Joey.

"Whatever, Mr. Internship," Joey teased. "Which one of us is here by blood?"

They could already hear people chatting it up down the hall as they walked, and when the tables came into view, Joey was desperately searching the tables for Greek salad— her favorite food, ever. Her mouth began to water when she spotted it.

People had already begun filling the tables by the time they made it into the dining room. Three large tables made up the room, one that was fully empty; there wasn't even any food on it. Joey assumed that there wouldn't be enough people to fill all three tables, then. Not that that meant much in regards to how many people would still be present at tonight's dinner— the other two tables were big enough to fit at least 20 people each.

The table farthest to the left was the most crowded at this point. Sam, Bucky, and Loki were seated along the front and middle of the table, with probably eight other people, none of which Joey knew or recognized except for Agent Carter, who shot Joey a wink and a small wave that said good to see you.

On the other end of that table were Joey's family— Tony, Pepper, Happy, Rhodey— and their closer colleagues. Agent Hill sat across from Agent Coulson, and Director Fury sat at the head of the table. On Agent Coulson's right was Agent May. Joey wasn't sure if Agent May would have remembered her, but Joey certainly remembered her. Agent May was the first person who brought Joey down to Earth at the age of 12 and made her realize that just because Tony Stark was her father, it didn't mean that she could mess around with equipment and resources that belonged to S.H.I.E.L.D. just because of her father's clearance and get off scot-free. In fact, she could get in lots of trouble for it, and yelled at very loudly (by Agent May, it so happened) because of it!

Joey looked past Agent May and instead smiled at her dad who waved at her before going back to his conversation with Pepper and Agent Hill. Joey, Peter, and Claire went to start filling the other table, picking three seats right in the middle of the table, just next to the giant dish of Greek salad.

Thor approached next, coming from another entrance, opposite where Joey and her friends had just come through. He first went to the open seat next to Bucky, who looked up at him mid-conversation and put his hand on the chair, shaking his head. Expressionless, Thor instead walked to the second table to take a seat in the back corner— but not before he noticed Joey.

"Joey!" Thor said cheerfully. "Brother," he announced, calling out to Loki, who was on the opposite end of the other table across the room, grabbing everyone else's attention as well. "The Little Stark is back!"

"I know, Thor," Loki said exasperatedly, and Joey held back a laugh as she caught Bucky rolling his eyes at Thor, who was now raising his hammer in a cheers-like manner. He hung it on his chair before finally taking a seat.

"It's good to see you, Joey! I trust you've retained your training, since the last time I've seen you?" Joey sat up a little bit to answer, but not before Peter could pause to ask, "He taught you to use your powers?"

"Of course," Thor said proudly. "One would only want the mightiest of Gods to teach them how to harness their capabilities."

Peter looked at Thor, and then looked at Joey and noticed the expression on her face— one that told him that that was definitely not the reason Tony had Thor and Loki teach her how to use her powers.

"Sure," Peter agreed, slowly nodding as he leaned back in his seat.

"To answer your question, Thor," Joey went on, "yeah, I'd say my skills are just fine."

"I'm glad to hear it."

Peter, Joey, and Claire began serving themselves at that point, and just as Joey reached over to start heaping some salad onto her plate, another person went to try and take the seat next to Bucky, who faced the same fate as Thor. Joey reined in a laugh; it just so happened that the seat at hand was right in her eye line.

"Come on, man," the guy, who tried to take the seat, grumbled. He walked over and plopped down next to Thor, instead.

"Hey, Scott," Peter said happily, before starting to chit chat with him across the table.

Now that Peter had been sucked into a conversation with Scott, Joey went through with her previously intended heaping-on of salad in silence as Claire checked her phone and more and more people made their way into the dining room. Wow, she thought, The team had gotten exponentially bigger from when she was a kid.

Two more people came and took seats at the table, across from Peter.

"Hey, Peter Parker," the first one greeted, drawing Peter out of his chit-chat with Scott. She had long, dark hair with caramel-colored highlights, and a smile on her face. The man next to her smiled, too, and when they sat down, he put his arm around the back of her chair.

"Hi," Peter greeted back. "Guys," he said, grabbing Joey and Claire's attention, "this is Daisy and Lincoln."

"Agents Johnson and Campbell to you, kid," the one on the right— Lincoln— teased.

"Nice to meet you," Joey said, smiling. "I'm Joey."

"Stark?" Daisy asked. "No kidding. Welcome back."

"Thanks!" She nodded her head to the right. "This is my best friend Claire. She's been visiting this weekend."

"Nice to meet you, Claire," Daisy greeted, before she and Lincoln started to serve themselves some food.

Joey and Claire talked and giggled to each other quietly while they ate. In moments of silence, Joey looked around the room, guessing to herself who each person she didn't know was, and what it was she thought they did around here. She watched as Steve eventually came in and sat between Bucky and Sam at the other table, but Joey didn't pull out of her conversation with Claire until Nat and Clint came in with Brenna and Agent Carrelli.

"Hey, Jo." Joey looked up at Natasha, who was taking a seat on her left. "Claire. Peter."

"Hey," Joey replied, relieved to have someone she knew take a seat on her blank side.

"Stark," Clint said, a glint in his eye while he took a seat on Natasha's other side. Joey flushes, remembering that Clint saw her in her... inebriated state the other night, and then blabbed about it.

"Hi, Clint," she managed.

Meg took a seat across from Claire, and Brenna took a seat next to Peter, instantly falling into conversation with him.

"Agent Carrelli," Joey remembered, smiling.

"Hey," Agent Carrelli said. Then, she added, "You can just call me Meg while we aren't on duty."

Joey nodded and took a bite of pita bread.

"You know, the last time I had Greek food was when I almost got jumped last year in Greece," Nat said, pointing at her plate as she served herself some dolmas. "Emphasis on almost. They should've known they were no match for me."

"Oh?" Joey exclaimed, eyes widening. Meg laughed easily. It seemed she'd heard this story before.

"It's too bad Bobbi and Hunter are gone right now," Natasha said. "Bobbi would vouch for me. She was there. Saw the whole thing." Joey didn't know Bobbi or Hunter, but she assumed that by 'gone,' Nat meant they were on a mission. She'd meet them when they returned, she guessed.

The chatter in the room only grew louder as the minutes went on. After a little too much hot sauce on her gyro, Joey offered to grab drinks for anyone who wanted one, since she was in desperate need of something to cool off. She left the room quickly, retrieved Cokes for herself and Nat, and water for Meg, as requested, and as she shut the fridge, a burble of voices got louder, until five more people were standing in the kitchen.

"Joey!" Dr. Banner smiled when he saw her.

"Hi, Dr. Banner," Joey laughed, walking over. She attempted to give him a hug, but it was a little awkward while she tried to balance three drinks in her hands. He didn't bother asking her how she was doing— he figured she was probably sick of that question by now, and he was right.

Behind him was Eris, Agent Murdock, Pietro, and another girl— one who Joey recognized. She remembered her, she realized, from the picture frame in Natasha's room.

"Hey, Joey," Agent Murdock said. Nervously, Joey replied with, "Jane, right?"

"Yes," she replied, with what Joey thought had to be her signature soft smile. She refrained from sighing in relief— she wasn't sure if the first-name basis thing was allowed, like it was with Meg.

"Joey, I don't think you were here when the twins were recruited," Dr. Banner noted, gesturing to Pietro and the redhead.

Joey shared a look with Eris.

"This is Pietro and Wanda," Dr. Banner continued. "Wanda, Pietro, this is Joey."

Suddenly, Joey noticed every similarity between the two of them. Brother and sister.

"Hi," Joey squeaked cheerfully— it was mostly directed toward Wanda, though, seeing as she and Pietro had already... met. "Shall we?" She asked, shrugging and turning back toward the direction of the dining room.

And with that, she was leading the way back to the dining room, taking her seat again. Pietro took the head of the table, and Wanda sat across from Nat with Dr. Banner and Jane on either side of her.

"Coke for you," Joey said, handing a can to Nat, "and a water for you," she finished, handing the bottle to Meg.

"Thank you, milady," Nat teased, before she and Joey cracked their cans and Meg opened her bottle. "Clink it and sink it, ladies," she said, and though Joey rolled her eyes, she laughed as she and the other girls cheers'd their glasses together.

"Oh!" At the other table, Tony was standing up. "Good, you're all here." He mimed the clinking of a glass since he didn't actually have one at the moment. "Ladies, gentlemen, as you can see and taste, I've had Greek catered for the night, in honor of my lovely daughter over there," he gestured to Joey, "and Peter and Eris. But mostly my daughter."

"Hey," Peter grumped. Eris laughed, unbothered, but Peter and Joey were both blushing.

"Some of you already know Joey, but if you don't, she'll be spending the summer here, as while I am no longer legally responsible for her, I am still morally responsible for her, despite her old age." He winked at her. "Joking. Kind of. Anyway, that's all. Dig in."

He sat back down, and Joey relaxed slightly now that the direct attention was off of her. "I had no idea he was going to do that," she muttered. As she settled back in, so did the conversation she was having with Meg and Nat before.

The room was loud, between what was probably 10 different conversations and the laughter that came with them. Joey was content listening to the conversation next to her, especially when Jane and Clint joined in and she didn't have as much to add.

She looked around the room which was almost completely full, now. She looked at Pepper, who was laughing and wiping something off of Tony's face, and Joey couldn't help but smile. She was silently grateful that she got to be there, even if it was only for the summer. Because really, Joey loved her family. So much.

Steve was laughing his ass off at something that Bucky said, and even Bucky, despite his hardened disposition earlier this evening, had a smile on his face. Sharon was giggling with the redhead on her left, and Sam was turning around from where he was facing Steve to face the redhead instead— maybe to tell her what Bucky said.

Scott and Thor seemed to be having a deep conversation, but based on what Joey knew about Thor and what she collected about Scott, she assumed it couldn't have been too serious.

Claire seemed to be intently listening to the conversation the Parkers were sharing with Daisy, Lincoln, and Brenna— presumably something about S.H.I.E.L.D., since Claire didn't know anything about Peter and Eris' Avenging.

Joey looked forward again, and she saw Meg smile guiltily after whispering something to Jane, who grew her own guilty smile and laughed after taking in whatever Meg said.

When Joey finally looked to her left, she caught Pietro looking at her. But as soon as she noticed, his eyes darted off of her, and he was suddenly really interested in whatever Dr. Banner was talking about. Wanda noticed this, and her eyes moved from Pietro, to Joey, and then slowly to Dr. Banner. Joey turned the other way, deciding to join Claire's conversation, but she didn't bother trying to really listen to whatever Daisy was saying, just then. Instead, she was thinking about Pietro, and wondering if Wanda had any idea why he ditched her at the party on Friday.

It was in Joey's favor when people started slowly making their way out of the dining hall, so as soon as she could leave without searching for a reason to, she tapped Nat on the shoulder and told her she was heading upstairs. She came around the table and kissed her dad on the cheek, and then like that, she headed for the elevator.

*

"Knock knock."

It had been about an hour since Joey had said goodbye to Claire, who was heading home now that true business was to resume after a weekend of novelties, and nearly two since dinner time. She looked up at Nat, who was letting herself in the room.

"Hey," Joey greeted, sitting up from where she had been lying on her bed, scrolling on her phone. Nat jumped onto the bed and sat against the wall.

"You've been back for a whole weekend," Natasha said with a grin. "Scale of one to ten?"

"Hmm. I'd say a solid eight," Joey decided.

"Eight," Nat repeated with a nod. "What happened to the other two?"

"Well, I did get horrifically drunk on Friday night," Joey said, and Natasha cringed lightheartedly. "I still don't know everyone. But other than that, it's been good. And Claire got to be here, so that too." Joey shrugged. "How have missions been?"

Natasha could tell by the change in Joey's voice that she'd been dying to ask this question for days now. It was always Joey's favorite topic when she was little; she had always begged to come along on missions, but of course, Tony didn't want his adolescent daughter, with no powers or precedent to fight, in or around any sort of battle that the Avengers were facing. Once Joey did get powers, he and Heidi immediately agreed that the best place for her was as far from the battle as possible, which included visiting her dad at the compound, once Ultron hit.

"I mean, they've been... laid back, so to speak, since Ultron. There are still smaller assignments that Fury sends two to three of us out for at a time— like Bobbi and Hunter, they're out on a mission right now, that's why you didn't meet them tonight— but those kinds of missions have always been around. We've knocked out a couple more HYDRA operations since then, which are usually a full team effort, but still nothing as extreme as Sokovia. Which is... gone. And now, the twins are here."

"Peter and Eris?" Joey wondered.

"Pietro and Wanda," Nat corrected.

"Oh," Joey said. She reddened at the mistake.

"What?" Nat asked. "Why are you looking like that?"

"What? Nothing," Joey dismissed. Which was a lie, of course. She was partially embarrassed for not putting together the connection between the Maximoffs and Sokovia, but also because she was thinking of her odd interactions with them. "They've been around since Ultron?"

"Joey, you're being weird," Natasha said. "Does this have to do with... the party?"

Joey's brow furled and she tilted her head, incredulous. "God! Clint just cannot keep his mouth shut!"

"I'm sure he only told me," Nat reasoned.

"Yeah, and then you went and told Bucky."

"Whatever! It's all hearsay, anyway. The Avengers love to gossip."

"So I've heard." Joey rolled her eyes.

"Just tell me. Is Pietro your mystery blond?"

"Mystery blond?! How much did I say in front of Clint?!" Joey groaned into her hands, sliding them down her face.

"I'm taking that as a yes," Nat assumed.

Joey looked at her, and her eyes said it all. Yes, and I'm fucking humiliated.

Nat had a funny look on her face before taking in Joey's expression and suddenly going serious.

"Pietro ditched you? What gives?"

Joey grabbed the duck plushie on her right and hugged it in front of her, and then stretched her legs out across Natasha's. She took a breath.

"We were at the party together for at least half an hour. And then all of a sudden, he got all... freaked out. And then tonight at dinner, neither he nor Wanda said anything to me even though we were all part of the same conversation for most of the night. It's just... it's weird. I don't know." She shrugged.

"I can't believe you just used the word 'nor,'" Nat said with a laugh, before returning to the caring outlook she had moments ago. "The two of them can be a little weird," she admitted, "but it's reasonable. They're here because they were held captive by HYDRA, and their home country was destroyed in the process of rescuing them and saving the world from Ultron. And even before they were experimented on with HYDRA, their apartment was bombed and their parents died when they were kids. They've never known normal. They're trying their best."

"Oh my god," Joey whispered.

"Yeah," Nat agreed. "It's fucking awful."

A moment of silence passed between the two.

"I'm just trying to say, it probably wasn't personal, Jo."

Whether she was talking about tonight, or the party, Joey couldn't tell. But, she nodded.

Natasha picked Joey's legs up off of hers and stood up. She yawned.

"OK, girl. I'm gonna head to bed. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Sure," Joey told her with a tired smile, standing up and following her to the door to close it behind her.

*

It was nearly midnight by the time Joey decided to make her way down to her dad's lab. If she knew one thing about her father that hadn't changed, it was that he was almost always working in his lab, if he couldn't be found anywhere else.

When she walked inside, AC/DC was blasting at what only Tony would consider a reasonable volume. He was hunched over the main lab table, poking around at the suit-defense he had told Joey about, and just behind him, Peter was toying around with some robot-looking thing that was making whirring noises.

"Good evening, daughter," Tony said impassively, not needing to look away from his project. "What's going on?"

Peter turned around and nodded at Joey before going back to his robot.

"It's late," Joey noticed. "You're still working?"

"It's—" Tony looked at his wrist— "11:40. Relax, grandma. Pepper'll probably be in here to tell me the same thing soon anyway. Unfortunately," he pulled away from the table and turned down the music slightly, "I actually have to listen to her."

Joey scoffed. "What's up?" Tony repeated.

She pulled a face, involuntarily, and Tony immediately understood.

"No."

"Dad."

"Why would this time be different from the other eight years of your life that you've spent here? It's good stuff to learn."

"I've already learned it. I quit boxing and karate, you know."

"I do know, because your mom told me it was one of the first things you did after you turned 18— that doesn't help your case, by the way. How high did you rank in karate anyway? Green? Blue?"

"I was a second-degree black belt!" Joey guffawed at her father's underestimation.

"Same thing," he dismissed, though it was not. As he returned his attention to his project, he went on. "I know you know the stuff, J, but it's good to practice it. That's what everyone else here does, and it's what you'll do while you're here. Plus, you have powers now. It's more fun that way, probably."

"Mom doesn't want me using my powers. She doesn't want me getting 'scouted' by Fury."

"Well, what doesn't kill her, amiright?" He joked, but his face matched Joey's slightly nervous expression about how Heidi might react if Fury truly did prospect her. Tony pulled away from the lab table again. "Fury isn't going to scout you, Joey. I want you on the initiative just about as much as your mom does. I don't exactly have a choice with the whole Enhanced testing and data collection— don't give me that look, Peter and Eris have to do it, too— but as for the regular defense training, I think you should participate. I'm not saying we've had a security breach in this facility, but in the case that you leave here and something happens, I'd feel better if you were recently practiced in your self-defense."

"I didn't need the spiel," she muttered. Then, "So I can use my powers? In training, and elsewhere?"

"Why couldn't you?" He returned to his project yet again, eyeing her. "Everyone else does it. Everyone else with powers, at least. Peter and Eris. Wanda and Pietro. The guys from Xavier's, when they're here. I'm sure the Enhanced S.H.I.E.L.D. agents use theirs in their training, too," he listed.

"OK," Joey hedged, her tension alleviating slightly. "OK," she decided.

"OK," he agreed, bringing his eyes back down. "Glad we've got that settled."

The lab door burst open behind them.

"Tony, it is 12:00! You should be asleep." Pepper didn't wait for an acknowledgment before turning her attention to Peter and Joey. "You two." She shook her head. "Don't take after him!" She said, pointing her finger.

"Sorry, Miss Potts," Peter said, whirring coming to a stop. Joey just gave her a slightly apologetic look.

Peter scurried out of the room, clutching a jumble of belongings (not including the robot) to his chest, breathing a "Night, Mr. Stark. Night, Joey" on the way out.

"You have training in the morning," Pepper told Tony. Then, to Joey, "I think I can say the same for you."

"Yes, you can," Tony confirmed. Joey didn't hold back her eye roll.

"You two are the only ones who aren't in for the night right now. You'd think you might show a little bit of an example?"

"Sorry, Pep," Joey said, though she wasn't that sorry.

"Don't Sorry, Pep me," Pepper said, squinting, though there was no denying the care and light heart behind her intention. "Just get to bed," she said. "Both of you," she added, turning back to Tony.

Sighing, Tony shut off the light above his table, and then walked over to Joey and slung his arm around her shoulder. When Pepper caught up to them, he put his other arm around her, and then looked between the two of them.

"I'm so glad to be back with both of my girls," he said, and though his tone was playful, Pepper and Joey both knew how matter-of-factly he really meant it.

***

don't forget to comment, react, and vote! thank you for reading!

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