Chapter 46: Drunk

*Peter's POV*

*10 Days Later*

"Hey Web Head, where's the Tiny Dancer?" Tony asks as I walk out of the elevator and to the fridge.

"Excuse me?" I ask, opening the fridge and grabbing a water bottle.

"Jade, it's almost 1 and I haven't seen her." He answers.

"Weird, well I haven't seen her." I say before taking a sip of water.

"Has anyone tried checking her room?" Natasha asks from the couch, skimming through a magazine.

"I'll go check." Steve says getting up.

"Wait!" I say quickly as I'm thinking why Jade been out and about.

"What?" Steve asks standing in the hallway.

"What's the date?" I ask looking around the room. Everyone is either in the kitchen or on the couches. It is the 12th? Please let it be the 12th.

"Uh, October 13th, why?" Bruce answers.

"Shit."

"Peter what is it?" Steve asks stepping forward to me.

"Shit!" I say louder placing my water bottle on the counter.

"Please Peter, we do not understand." Thor says.

"Today's the anniversary when Dinan was raided."

"Dinan, as in where Jade lived? Where HYDRA took her prisoner?" Clint asks getting up from the couch.

"That's the one. God, I can't believe I forgot!" I scold myself, dragging my fingers through my hair.

"Woah, woah kid, calm down. Let's just go talk to her, try to brighten her day." Tony reassures me. I take a deep breath before responding.

"Okay, I should probably go talk to her first." I walk past Steve and to Jade's door. I already now she won't let me in, probably won't even talk to me. "Jade?" I ask knocking on the door. I can just picture her, balled up under the blankets, sad and feeling empty. Just the thought breaks my heart. "Please Jade. Staying in your room won't help anything."

"Getting up won't help either." Her voice sounds so hollow, but her accent is thick. Has she been crying? Oh no Jade...

"Will you let me in then?" I try

again. My only response is silence. I walk away from her door back to everyone. When I come back alone, everyone seems to understand Jade won't be coming out of her room.

"Is she normally like this today?" Natasha asks.

"Well last time I was with her today, she at least let me talk to her." I say sighing.

Everyone stood in silence for a moment until Clint spoke up. "What's different this time?"

"What?" Tony asks.

"What's different?" Clint repeats. "What would make Jade more distant?"

"To start, she's here." Bruce says.

"She wouldn't care that much about that though." I respond.

"She's no longer a criminal." Thor offers.

"Why would that affect her though?" Natasha asks.

"She was trained to be a weapon. Today's when all that happened." Tony inputs.

"Luc." Steve says. We all turn to him. "She went out with him again, right? He was with her through most of it. And now he's back." Right, just another reason for me not to like that guy.

"Maybe she misses him?" Bruce asks.

"I don't know what we'd do to fix that. We can't bring him here, and I doubt she's getting up anytime soon." Clint counters. Thank God.

"She needs space. That's always what she's done. She'll come to us when she's ready." Steve says, kinda as if he were reassuring himself more than the rest of us.

"Perhaps we should check on her in several hours?" Thor suggests.

"Sounds good." Natasha says.

God. I hope she's okay.

*2 hours later*

The air was cold for an October evening. Everyone had been lounging around waiting for Jade. Steve tried going back there about an hour ago, but to no avail. The weather had become cloudy, blocking out the sun and leaving the room dim.

How can I get Jade out of her room? Maybe I should just go in and stay with her. I wish I could just take the pain away from her. She thinks she deserves this pain, but she doesn't and no matter how hard I try she refuses to see that. I could prob-

I stop my thoughts as I hear a door creak open. My spidey-senses sending a tingling sensation to the base of my skull. I sit up from my position on the couch, looking over it, down the hallway. I can barely hear her bare feet padding down the hallway, before she steps out of the shadows. When she does, I see she's wearing one of my hoodies and leggings. It's actually one of my Mid-Town High hoodies. I hop over the couch and in front of her. No one's talking, but I know everyone is watching us.

"Jade?" I say quietly. She doesn't look at me, but I can tell she's been crying. How is it that with a tear stained face and red eyes, she's still beautiful? She brushes passed me, walking to the bar. She grabs a bottle of Jack Daniel's and walks back around the bar, screwing the top off and letting it fall to the floor with a small clatter.

"Woah, woah, now I know I'm not the one to say this, but let's put this down." Tony says walking up to Jade and grabbing her hand. She pulls away from him.

"You should be proud. Last year I started at noon." Jade says, her voice barely above a croak, as she takes a swig from the bottle. I sigh and sag my shoulders as I look at Jade. She tries to walk back down the hall, but I step in front of her. "Peter." She says sternly.

"Jade." I reply in the same tone. She scowls as she looks up at me. How this adorable face can make grown men run for the hills, I'll never know. I just want to scoop her up and make her laugh. Instead, I raise my hands in innocence and say, "Hey, I'm just standing here."

"Yeah, and I'm just walking here, and I'd appreciate it if you got out of my way."

"Yeah but then you'd be able to go back to your room. And that's not gonna help." I say. She rolls her eyes and jumps over the couch, landing with a plop.

"Fine." She says, taking another swig. "Please, don't let me stop what you were doing. I'm sure I interrupted something." Jade says loud enough for everyone to hear. When no one does, Jade sighs and lays down, taking another drink. She's already had a fourth of the bottle and I'd say is still relatively sober. Before I can do anything, Steve goes and sits next to Jade. She twists to look up at him, his arms resting on the back of the couch.

"Can I ask you a question?" He asks.

"Go for it." Jade says, flopping her arms.

"Why?"

Jade looks up at him confused, but when Steve continues to look at Jade in all seriousness, she straightens out and sighs. "Today makes me very sad, very angry. You've seen firsthand, I'm not nice when I'm angry and contrary to popular belief, I don't like not being nice. This," Jade lifts up the bottle, "helps me forget today, and also doesn't make me angry or sad, sometimes it makes me happy." Jade finishes. She tips the bottle back again. Steve sighs and it's easy to tell he doesn't know what to say. What would you say? Yeah Jade, give me the bottle and continue to suffer. God, I hate this! Jade stretches, letting out a satisfying moan and flopping back down on the couch. Her hair falls over her face and she tries blowing it off, the alcohol starting to get to her. Steve moves it for her, brushing it along her face. "See, it makes me happy." She says with another drink. Steve furrows his brow and frowns down at her. "Hey." Jade says sitting up and swinging her body to face Steve. "Smile." She says, poking his cheek. She places the bottle in between her legs and starts to pull the corners of Steve's mouth up into a smile. "You shouldn't frown, it doesn't look good on you. Plus your smile is so pretty." She takes her hands off of Steve's face and takes another swig. "Yes, I know it's terrible, but it's easy." Jade says. "I'm sure none of you are particularly fond of the day New York happened." She takes another sip, most of the bottle gone now. "And at least this tastes great." She says holding up the bottle. Clint chuckles at that. "Yes!" jade almost shouts, causing Steve to jump. "Today might be shit for me, but I'm making it better." She giggles. God she's adorable. "So yes, laugh, I'm funny. Especially drunk." Jade finishes. She grins back at Steve, who does release a dry laugh. Jade giggles again saying, "Good." While booping Steve's nose. She tips the bottles back and rinks the rest of it. She clears her throat and stands, walking back to the bar, handing Tony the empty bottle on the way back. She looks around the assortment of drinks before spotting one.

On the top shelf. Jade hoists herself up on the counter, standing on her knees and grabbing a bottle of Bailey's. See, it's adorable. As I walk over the bar, my fear of Jade falling getting the better of me, Tony says, "don't clean me out."

"You?" Jade asks, spinning around, me catching her with my hands on her stomach and back while she's still on the counter. "Oh, please. You've got plenty, Mr. Billionaire." The she gasps, making, me especially, everyone jump. "Holy shit." She says barely above a whisper. "I'm friends with a billionaire." I hear a few snickers behind me, Tony being the loudest. Then Jade bends down, my support the only thing holding her up. "That idiot over there," She points to Tony, "Is a friggin' billionaire." This time I do laugh, as I pick her up and set her on the ground. She grins up at me and says, "Merci, Tigré." She turns around still in my arms, leaning back against my chest and opens the Bailey's. She's practically chugging the stuff, until I stop her.

"You're drinking can match an Asgardian warrior after battle." Thor says, believe it or not, astonished. I guess that's true, half the bottle is gone. Jade grabs the bottle from me and pushes herself off of me.

"You bet yea, hot stuff." She says walking back to the couch next to Steve. "Hey! You're hot too!" Jade exclaims upon seeing Steve. She grabs his arm, poking it with the hand that's grasping the bottle. "Hey, do we have any nuts?" Jade asks.

"Why?" Natasha asks.

"I wanna see if he can crack one by flexing." Jade says still holding on to Steve. That's when Steve starts to squirm, pulling away from Jade. She immediately retracts, pulling her legs up with a shy grin on her face. "Pardon, I get a little handsy with alcohol." Jade apologizes.

"Fitting." Tony chortles sitting on the other couch. Jade takes another sip while standing up. She walks across the room to the balcony which sets off a red flag for everyone. We all rush out after Jade. She leans on the railing, looking down, but then she quickly turns to face everyone.

"What? Did you actually think I was going to jump?" she asks. She snorts at us turning back around. "No, suicide is not on my agenda. I might be one depressed fucker, but I never plan on taking my own life."

She takes another sip and Clint walks up to her. Even so, why don't you spare us all the anxiety and come back inside?" He asks wrapping an arm around her.

She leans on him and giggles. "You know what this reminds me of?"

"Hm?"

"Our mission. I'm a damn good actor, aren't I?" they walk back through the doors, everyone trailing. Jade lets go of Clint and falls back onto the couch.

"So Handsy," Tony begins returning to his place on the couch, "Are we just going to babysit you until you pass out or do you actually want to do something?" Jade gasps, springing upright.

"Yes! Let's go down in your workshop and play with your suits!" Jade says excitedly, standing up and walking to Tony's elevator. She doesn't get very far though before Steve grabs her shoulder. "Oh come on Wonder Tights!" Jade says spinning around and brushing Steve off of her. "It'll be fun!" Jade continues to the elevator, but this time Steve stops her by wrapping an arm around her waist and lifting her up. "Weeeee!" Jade says, throwing her arms up. She brings the hand with the bottle back down to her lips and downs it. She tips the bottle back, sticking her tongue out, trying to get every last drop. Steve sets her down on the couch and she lets the bottle roll out of her hand. "Again!" She says like a child, holding her arms up to Steve.

"What?" He questions looking down at her.

"Pick me up again. It was fun." Jade says simply. Steve gives dry chuckle and walks around the couch. "What?" Jade asks, pouting and folding her arms.

"The last time I set you on that couch, you didn't want to be anywhere near me, let alone have me carrying you." Steve says.

"Oh yeah! When I was blind." Jade exclaims. "Yeah, I really hated you guys then" she giggles standing up and walking back to the bar. She grabs another bottle of whiskey, screwing the cap off. She stumbles back to the couch, sitting down and taking a swig. How that little body can down that much alcohol without being phased... It's strangely astonishing. "Come sit!" She gestures around to everyone. "Hell, pour yourself a drink." She mumbles to no one in particular before taking another swig. Everyone eventually comes and sits, me next to Jade. She stares off, out the windows before snapping back to me. "Why are boys so complicated?" She asks with wide eyes.

Before I say anything, Clint chuckles and says, "We could say the same thing about girls."

"Girls are just mean and want to make you feel sorry for what you did. And yes, you most likely did something. Or she's pregnant." Jade responds, matter-of-factly.

"What's this sudden fascination with guys?" Natasha asks. Jade turns before answering, leaning against me and propping her feet on Steve. Who immediately picks up her les and moves closer, so the heels of her feet aren't balancing on his thigh.

"Because Luc and I went out again, and... and..."

"And what?" Bruce asks.

"And nothing!" Jade exclaims flailing her arms. I grab the bottle before she smacks me in the face with it. "We go to dinner, have a good time, he leaves me with a kiss and that's it." Jade continues. I swallow hard, not liking Jade talking about Luc. Seriously, what does that douche have that I don't!

"D-do you want more to happen?" Steve asks.

"Yes! And not just sex, but what we had before. Better than what we had before. No HYDRA breathing down our necks, but he's so hesitant!" Jade complains, taking the bottle back from me and swallowing another gulp. "I should be drunk, laying on him, the both of us wallowing in our grief."

"Why aren't you?" Thor asks.

"Hell if I know. How do you casually ask that? 'Yeah Luc, our lives were fucking destroyed 15 years ago, wanna get drunk off our asses and feel miserable together?'" She tips the bottle back once more.

"Luc is from Dinan?" Clint asks.

"No, Lanvallay. The city next to Dinan, much bigger." Jade explains.

"HYDRA took the entire North-Western area of France..." Steve states quietly.

"You bet your bottom dollar, sonny boy!" Jade says.

"How was that not recorded?" Thor asks.

"HYDRA covers its tracks." Steve says clenching his jaw.

"Hey!" Jade says, leaning forward and taking her feet off Steve. "It makes me angry too, and despite how sexy that jaw clench of yours is, we can't do anything about it. Not now." Jade sets the bottle down and puts her hands on Steve's face, making him smile and relaxing his jaw. "I know I smell like alcohol, but I also know you don't care." She states, holding onto his face.

"How do you know that?" Steve asks a sense of mockery in his voice.

"Cause you're a good man. You may suck at first impressions, but you make up for it." Jade says. She lets her hands fall from his face and down his arms before grabbing the bottle again. I feel a burning sensation in my chest as Jade grips Steve's arm while downing the rest of the bottle's contents. She places the bottle back on the coffee table with a clank. "You never answered me." Jade says to no one in particular.

"What?" I'm not entirely sure who said that – Tony? – but I can't help but stare at Jade and Steve so close to each other.

"Why are guys so complicated?" Jade states.

"Are you unsure because Luc isn't complying with your wishes?" Okay, I know that's Thor.

"Maybe, it just feels like he's not trying. Like more talk, less walk." Jade replies.

"Why are you asking us? None of us have the best romantic history." Natasha says.

"Better than mine!" Jade says before giggling and almost falling off the couch. But Steve catches her. His arms are wrapped around her and pulling her back up to him. I clench my own jaw looking at them. Jade still giggling, a hand on Steve's chest, the other covering her mouth while Steve keeps her upright with his arms around her waist and shoulders. "But really," Jade says, becoming completely serious. "He says he wants to be a couple, but he doesn't call, he leaves me at my door, practically begging for more – that rhymed – and when we talk he adores me, but never does anything. What happened to the passionate Luc who knew exactly what I wanted?" Jade says looking at her gesturing hands the entire time. I release a breath I didn't realize I was holding and finally tear my gaze from Jade and Steve to everyone else. No one says anything for a moment, until Steve clears his throat.

"Well you've both changed. Maybe Luc isn't the same. You certainly aren't." Jade looks up at him, a hint of a smile tracing her face.

"The rest of you should be embarrassed. The guy with the shittiest love life, just gave me advice." Jade says, her eyes never leaving Steve's. I can't even make words. I look at them and a million things run through my head, but not a single damn one comes out. "Well if that's all you have for me, then I'm gonna go pass out." Jade says pushing Steve's arms off of her hand attempting to stand. She lamely fails. Again, Steve catches her, standing and supporting her.

"Hold on Handsy," Tony says, standing as well.

"Yes, Sugar Buns?" Jade responds. "Get it, cause I call him Iron Buns." She giggles while Tony snickers at her.

"Well we were discussing earlier, what made you feel the need to do all this? You know you can come to us with anything." Tony states. I'm happy there's no longer a barrier between everyone and Jade, and but the smile on her face I'm sure she is too. "The kid said you at least talked to him before getting hammered. What's different?"

Jade sighs, turning in Steve's arms towards Tony. "Today, I lost my family. Now I have a new one. A fucking amazing one at that. I didn't know how to act. So I stayed away. But you guys are pretty fantastic." Jade finishes and looks back up at Steve and holding his face in one hands and squeezing his cheeks.

"Okay come on now." Steve says with a smile. Jade almost falls again, so Steve scoops her up and carries her down the hall.

"Wait, we're your family, right?" Clint asks. Steve turns so Jade can see him.

"Yes, you idiot." Jade says giggling. Steve chuckles, we all do, before he turns again and takes her down the hall to her room.

"At least she's going to rest happy." Thor says standing.

"Not so happy rising though." Tony says laughing and standing as well.

"What did she mean by idiot? I'm not an idiot." Clint says.

"Of course you're not." Natasha says patting his back before standing.

"Yeah, she called me an idiot too, and that's obviously not true." Tony adds in.

"She's not calling you idiots because you are." I say standing slightly agitated.

"What?" Bruce asks.

"Jade," I sigh, dragging my fingers through my hair. "It's hard for her to say she loves someone. So she calls you an idiot. If she calls you an idiot, you're one lucky guy."

A/N: Helloooo everyone! And Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you all still love me even though I'm awful and am updating over a month later. Anywhoo, I hope you all like it, I love this chapter, just imagining it happening, like a movie, is awesome for me. We find out a little more about Luc, how Jade feels about everyone and also it's in Peter's perspective! How exciting! Let me know what you think, and I'll talk to you all in the comments! I love you!!!!

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