I wanna be an idle teen ✿

[starkella]

Ella stumbles downstairs, Worf right on her heels. It's Sunday and she's dreading this whole family brunch thing. The other kids her age didn't get it. Why wouldn't you want to hang out with the Avengers?? What the hell is wrong with you? But to her they aren't the heroes on TV. They're really embarrassing aunts and uncles.

She grunts in greeting to her mother, brushing by her to pour herself a cup of coffee with far too much cream and sugar. Pepper doesn't respond to buttering up, so she's not bothering. She just has to steel herself for the argument surely to come.

It's okay to say you've got a weak spot ✿

[starkella]

Ever since Ella was young, it had made her feel safe. When she was upset, she would drag her pillows and blankets across the room and curl up next to the jungle mural her uncle had painted sixteen years ago. It's her birthday soon, the snow is coming down hard outside in the city. She traces one finger over the rhino's hoof and sighs, ear pressed against the lion's mane.

Her door is cracked, and she can hear footsteps. She holds her breath and hopes whoever it is can't tell that she's awake. They would only lecture her about sleeping again, but she can't. She doesn't want to, besides. If it were anyone but someone who belonged in the Tower, F.R.I.D.A.Y. would be sounding the alarm, but she can't help the way fear climbs up her throat anyway. She stays perfectly still and hopes it isn't one of the nosier ones.

Underneath it all we're just savages ★

[starkella]

They didn't tell her the whole story, not right away. She had learned pretty recently of the Sokovian incident, at least, from their lips. Google was still around and she very much knew how to use it. But hearing them say it for real -- in their voices. That her aunt had done all those terrible things, that she was hurt and confused and killed innocent people in the process. Had gotten her would-be uncle killed. Had invaded her father's mind and showed him unfathomable horrors?

That's sure something to process while teenage hormones did a number on her otherwise. Such a perfect little family, or so it seemed. Every one had skeletons, and she had learned the hard way that some were more figurative than others. Now as biased as she is, Ella knows her dad isn't perfect. He's made a lot of mistakes. Ultron being a big one. That was a story he'd told her a lot earlier on though. He owned his trespasses. It was harder for him to own up to his friend's mistakes. They never spoke of the 'Civil War' between Uncle Steve and her father either. But somehow this is different. It leaves a bad taste in her mouth.

Ella finds Wanda in the training room on her floor, and waltzes in. As usual, where Ella went, Worf was sure to follow. A silent witness to all her interactions throughout the Tower. Her Aunt Wanda had been more like a sister really, or an older cousin. She's still old enough to be her mom, but it had never felt that way. She was a young soul and they had often ran rampant together on occasions she'd never forget. Some that got them into serious trouble, but later became some of the best stories she had in her fifteen year old arsenal.

It's why it's so hard now, to see her aunt the way she'd been painted. She doesn't know how to express the feelings she's having, and so she just stands there in the doorway and watches pink-red light lance through the air. She had never found it scary, but today she shrinks away just a little.