"Over the course of those years we hung out a lot; I actually had a friend.. It was weird, really." Natasha Stark paused thoughtfully before continuing. "He introduced me to some of his friends too, but they didn't compare to Rhodey. Rhodey helped the bullying stop too. Before I realized it he had become my best friend, if you don't count Jarvis."

"The day was November 9th, 2003…"

Natasha's phone rang as she began to turn off her computer. She answered on the second ring. "You've reached the phone of-"

"Nat, don't give me that crap." Rhodey's voice answered on the other side of the phone before she could continue. She smirked. "What do you want, Rhodey? Aren't you supposed to be doing whatever 22 year olds do?" She put the phone on speaker as she stood in front of her mirror to clean her glasses. "I am, as a matter of fact, which means I'm getting ready for that surprise party some of my friends are throwing." He paused, waiting for some form of reply. He didn't get one. He sighed.

"Which means, I kind of want my best friend to be there."

She blinked, not expecting his last phrase. "But you know I don't do parties, something usually stupid happens there. There's drinking and people thinking they can do anything when they can't because they're so intoxicated." She didn't like to sound like a buzz kill but she spoke from experience. Having seen her parents drunk at some of their house parties was enough to turn her off from the idea.

"Please? Come on, Allison said she was already heading your way to pick you up. Look I've got to go but I expect to see you there." He hung up before she could protest any further. She turned to Jarvis where he sat quietly on her desk. She looked up outside of her window. The leaves had changed into hues of reds, browns, and yellows. "Hmmmm…"

"Is there something wrong, Miss Stark?" Jarvis replied dutifully.

"I didn't notice before…" She said softly.

"Notice what?"

"When I was younger, it was just me and then everybody else. At some point, You joined my side, but…" She paused, placing her head to lean on the palm of her hand. "At some point, it wasn't just us anymore. Other people entered our world without us realizing it." She noticed a red car parking in the lot as the girl she knew as Allison popped out eagerly.

"I wonder how he did that…" She questioned aloud, not wanting an answer from Jarvis.

Allison reached her door in record time as she barged into the unlocked room. "Natasha! I'm here to get you ready." She grinned widely at the stoic 18 year old that sat by her window. "It's just normal clothing, no?" Natasha questioned.

"No, no, no. You're dressing like an 18 year old girl instead of a hobo that never leaves her room." Natasha's eye twitched somewhat, not wanting to dignify the statement with a response. "Look, as much as you hate to notice, you've gotten hotter over the last 3 years. Tis the gift of being a woman. You've gotten a chest and the butt to match and as one of your only girly friends, I'm going to make you be as girly as can be for at least one night."

She stood with her arms across her chest as Natasha sighed. "But… Rhodey doesn't care how I go to this thing. He just wants me there." Allison rolled her eyes. A disgruntled look appeared on her face. "For a kid genius you're really oblivious."

"Oblivious?"

Allison took Natasha by the arm and pulled her into the bathroom. It would be 2 hours until they would leave the dorm for the party.

"I'm starting not to like where this is heading." Bruce interrupted as he swallowed to relieve his dry throat. "There were multiple ways that night could have gone…"

It was 8:30 already and Rhodey still hadn't seen Natasha. What he presumed would be a party of 20 max was a party of 60 and over at his friend's house. He came to the conclusion that people must have just invited other people.

He had had alcohol at this point and his vision as only somewhat affected. He put his cup down on the table as he noticed a girl who looked oddly like Allison from behind. "Hey Allison, where is-"

He stopped mid sentence as the girl turned around. Natasha Stark stared wide eyed at Rhodey as he mirrored the same expression. "Natasha?" Allison had made her dump the glasses for contact and had placed light make up on her face. Her hair was let down and curled naturally at the tips. She wore jean shorts and a red top. Simple enough for Natasha and approved by Allison. "Did Allison do this to you? I swear I'm going to kill her." He chuckled jokingly as Natasha offered up a faint smile. "It's fine. It was kind of fun anyway." He returned the smile. "Also, Rhodey." She held up her red cup that Allison had handed to her.

"Happy Birthday."

Bruce gave her a knowing look. He knew what would happen next. "I didn't realize what I had been drinking. The smell of smoke and food covered up the alcohol smell. It was my first time drinking though, so I didn't know the taste of it either. Had Rhodey been completely sober he would have stopped me right there and then."

"How many did you have to drink?"

"Cups? About 5. Which is enough to get a young Natasha Stark drunk. I don't remember a lot of things from that night. But I remembered the important things."

A few more hours had passed, leaving the clock to say it was around midnight. The party had still been going strong. It took Natasha a little while to find Rhodey. He was out on the balcony finishing off his last drink. He had officially reached drunk. "Rhodey!" She laughed as she called his name. Rhodey, having been drunk before, had only the slight conscious to remember that it wasn't normal to hear Natasha sound like that. She came up happily to him. She held up a slice of cake with a candle on top.

"You missed blowing out your candles." She grinned widely. Rhodey looked from her to the cake and gave his own smile. "Thanks, Nat." He paused, and then blew out the solitary candle. She held her happy expression and Rhodey frowned as his unstable thoughts finally connected together. He placed the cake down on a patio table.

"Natasha, are you drunk?"

"Drunk? Of course I'm not drunk!" She playfully pushed his chest but instead caused her own balance to mess up. Rhodey was ready to catch her but she caught herself. "See, I'm perfectly fine." Rhodey sighed. He should sober up so he could make sure she got back safe. Her eyes widened, as if she had just thought of something. "I almost forgot. Your birthday gift!"

"Natasha, you didn't have to-"He didn't finish his sentence. She had placed her lips on his without warning. She lingered for a few seconds before giving space between the two. Rhodey eyes, widened in shock. "Natasha, why did you just kiss me?"

"An hour ago Allison said it'd be the best gift."Rhodey held an angry look for a moment before Natasha continued. "But also I did because I like you." He blinked in surprise. "I didn't realize it at first because I didn't know what it was like to like someone. It seemed reckless and stupid to do that kind of thing but after talking with Jarvis and-" She continued on a tangent.

"You don't shut up when you're drunk…" he chuckled. She continued, not having heard him.

"Nat." He said her name louder, but she didn't respond. Rhodey lifted his hand to push a strand of hair behind her ear. She stopped at the touch of his hand on her cheek. "What are you doing?" She asked dubiously.

He kissed her, and it was all the answer that she needed.

"I can't tell who is worse. Drunk Stark. Young and drunk Stark. Or Young Stark." Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose. "I won't go on from there because what happened was both because we were drunk. He kissed me back and we went upstairs and we slept together. Simple as that."

"What happened the morning after?" Levyison smirked with that notable gleam of mischief in his eyes. Natasha returned the smirk.

Natasha sat up in a rush, immediately regretting it as the blood rushed to her head. She had a massive headache forming as she threw her head in to her pillow, shitting her eyes slightly. She clutched tightly onto her comforter that was within reach, hoping to sleep off the throbbing pain in her head. She felt an arm move across her waist and pull her closer. Her eyes shot open, recollecting everything.

Rhodey, who was slightly awake, felt her body go rigid. "You're awake."

He removed his arm from her and sat up slowly himself. It took Natasha a moment to realize she was nearly naked with the exception of undergarments. She glanced over at Rhodey who was shirtless. She remembered vaguely putting some clothing back on after they had finished.

"I suppose so…" She sat up, stretching her legs under the bed and briefly her arms. "It's about 8 in the morning." Natasha mumbled as she realized not only was she not wearing glasses but that she could see just fine. Contacts. She mentally slapped herself.

"It was a mistake."

The two of them stopped realizing there wasn't an echo in the room and that they had both said the same thing at the same time. Rhodey sighed in relief. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have taken advantage of you like that." Natasha shook her head. "Rhodey, don't. I remember what I did and if anything being drunk just gave me the courage to do what I really wanted. I think though that if we learned anything last night it was that…. How do I put this…" She pressed her lips firmly together.

"It was fantastic." Rhodey added.

"Oh definitely. No argument there." Natasha inserted. "But there wasn't this… spark that I think should have been there. And I think that might be because I understand now that we should be friends."

"Exactly. I feel the same way." He chuckled. "This doesn't put a damper on our friendship, right?"

"Of course not." Natasha sighed. Natasha slid herself out of the bed as she looked for her clothing. She threw Rhodey his clothing as she came across it. "Also Rhodey…"

"Hmmm?" He glanced up after he slid on his shirt.

"I'm glad you were my first." She smiled one of those few genuine smiles that only Rhodey would see. It'd be a long time until someone else would see them.

"You stayed friends right after it?" Bruce was perplexed at the social relations that Natasha Stark was able to create. She nodded. "Nothing really changed after that. I dressed like I normally did and there were a few guys that'd hit on me after because they saw me at the party but I was content with being the way I was before. Invisible and out of the way."

"Then if sex and getting drunk didn't turn you into a party girl, what did?" Levyison's questioned burned through Bruce's mind. He wanted to know the very answer to that question. Natasha Stark's expression darkened somewhat.

"You're graduating already?" Allison sat shocked in Natasha's room. Rhodey seemed to know all about it already. Winter had passed since Rhodey's birthday and time said it was June. Natasha was 19. "You seem shocked." She looked up. She hadn't meant the statement to come off as rude but it was what it was. Natasha had assumed it was only expected of her. "What are you graduating with?"

"Electrical Engineering and Physics." Rhodey answered for her.

"Wasn't Reed Richards also at MIT?" Bruce questioned as a side thought. "He was. We worked together on a few things but we didn't hold a longstanding friendship in college."

The day turned into the next and Natasha graduated. "I'm so proud of you." Obadiah hugged her tightly. Natasha hugged back. "Where are Dad and Mom?" She questioned somewhat hopefully, not seeing them around. Obi frowned. "I didn't see them when I landed. They might be running a bit late. You know how it is with your father." Obi added, trying to get her off the subject.

Rhodey had said his goodbyes to Natasha, promising to keep in contact with her. She had leave immediately to work with Obadiah on her working in the company. She had told Rhodey about it long ago but he hadn't thought the day would come so quickly. A week had passed since Rhodey had last seen or heard from Natasha. He turned on the TV.

"You should put on Crash! It's a great movie." Allison smiled as she stopped him from changing the channel. "I'm not in the mood for a movie." Rhodey frowned as he continued to flip through channels. The news caught his eye. "Thanks Ted." The brunette smiled at her coworker. "In other news, tragedy strikes Stark Enterprises as reports are coming in that both Howard and Maria Stark were both killed upon impact in a fatal car accident early Tuesday morning." It was a Thursday. It had been two days. "This event leaves many questions open about what will happen to Howard Stark's legacy." Rhodey's blood went cold as two pictures of Howard and Maria disappeared and were replaced by a picture of Natasha and a man labeled to be Obadiah Stane. "Currently the Board of Directors is discussing who should be next in line for the company: the young girl genius who recently graduated MIT with two masters degrees at the young age of 19 or should it be Howard's right hand man? Either way, it seems that the weapons manufacturing company has a lot to discuss in the upcoming days."

Rhodey tuned out everything else as he reached for a phone and dialed for Natasha. On the second ring, the phone picked up. But it wasn't Natasha.

"Hello?" A man's voice came through. "Hello sir, I was wondering if I could speak with Natasha Stark. My name is James Rhodes. I'm a friend from college." The man seemed to sigh. "This is Obadiah Stane. It seems she hasn't come out of her room since what happened. I'm assuming that's what you're calling about?"

"Rhodey would later tell me how he found out. I hadn't come out of my room after I had heard. I was shocked and angry and a whole mixture of things I couldn't explain. I had all these emotions building up and I didn't know what to do. It took me two weeks to realize what I should do."

"You went out partying." Bruce connected. Natasha nodded. "Working on inventions reminded me of Howard and how angry he'd make me and playing the violin reminded me of Jarvis and being in the house at all reminded me of Maria. I remembered how it felt being drunk and it was looking like a far better feeling than whatever it was I was feeling then and there." Her face couldn't be read. She really was tired enough to the point where she couldn't hide behind lightly played sarcasm.

"Banner, if you'd let me have a minute or two to speak with Natasha alone for a minute…" Levyison looked up at Bruce. He was hesitant but he nodded anyway, with a lingering look at Natasha he walked out. He'd talk to her later, but he understood that there was a time and place for everything. Bruce Banner walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. He turned to his left to see Steve Rogers sitting on the couch. He stood up.

Steve had been waiting for him. "Can we talk, Doctor Banner?"

Bruce frowned, unsure of what the soldier would want to speak with him about. He gave a faint smile, trying to ease the anxious look Steve held.

"About what, Steve?"

Levyison and Natasha sat in silence for a few minutes. Neither Natasha not Levyison moved. Levyison broke the silence. "You said you had nightmares. Afghanistan, the portal. Tell me about that."

She glanced at him with curious eyes before sitting up once more. She stood up and approached the coffee maker on the other side of the room, pouring herself and him a cup. She added her crème and sugar and did so with his. She placed his cup down as she took a sip of hers. She looked him the eye.

"Loki…"

"Yes?" He replied softly.

"When I fell from the portal, I was in free fall. You have a horrified feeling in the pit of your stomach at first and then you become used to it. You begin to feel breathless as you slowly give in because… because you don't know what else to do. You can't do anything else. You're one hundred percent helpless. Has that ever happened to you…?"

His jaw clenched as he took a deep breath. "The moment I was separated from Thor and Odin. They tried to bring me back up but I let go. I let myself fall into the vastness that was the various different realms." He paused, meeting her gaze. He shuttered slightly at the thought as he saw the reason she poured him a cup as well. The warm liquid travelled down, calming him instantly. He spoke softly.

"I think about that moment every day..."

Next Chapter: Steve and Bruce's talk, Steve has an appointment, and Thor and Stark have a heart to heart.

AN: Woah now, 2 chapters within days of each other? Haven't done that in a while. So again, I like when you tell me guys what you thought, thoughts, concerns, etc. You know, so I know if I'm doing a decent job here or not. I've had a few people ask me what I'm doing with my other stories.

ATP: The plot I haven't figured it out but if you couldn't tell, it's basically a LOT of fluff and the problem I'm having is trying to figure out multiple fluff moments to have in the red envelopes Steve is finding. I already know what I want the climax to be but I'd like to have something planned before I write things.

Iron Mischief: I am building up a relationship set up in this story that will, like I said, act as a branch for the Loki/fem!Tony. In ATP, they were all buddy buddy and snarky together and it was like a brotp. In this one I want to connect with their issues because they do share a lot of the same issues. And then in Iron Mischief I'd like to bring all of that together. I know what I want the plot to be already it's just character practice for me I guess.