The Tear of Celeste

Chapter 27: Back to Normal

Life went back to the new normal that you had gotten used to at this point, mostly just hanging out in the tower and doing activities with the others inside and sometimes outside.

You didn't go outside on your own, you got why that was not allowed, so you were quite excited when you could, like when Clint had taught you how to shoot his bow.

He didn't want to teach you in the start, catching you the first time inspecting his very fancy bow.

"No! Absolutely not, put that down, right now," he said, pointing down and looking at you like a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

You are not sure when he changed his mind, but when he had brought you a training bow you thought maybe he had never been against the idea, just not wanting you to touch his bow before you knew how to use it.

And so he was standing with you, you're facing a target with the bow and arrows. He adjusted your stance slightly when needed, gently moving your hips to stand right, and using a finger to lower your elbow.

"Alright now, shoot," he instructed when he had moved your body into the right stand.

And so you did, surprising yourself by hitting the bullseye. He looked surprised too and gave you a high five telling you that was rather impressive.

You spend more time in the lab with Tony and Bruce too. Bruce was working on analyzing Stella while Tony was working on some other project, an engine of some kind, he was having a problem getting it to work, and had asked you to help with it. He knew a lot more about it than you, but he tended to stare himself blind at a problem, so a pair of fresh eyes were always welcome.

And you had promised to spend more time with Peter.

You might have been an adult, but sometimes it was nice to still let yourself be more of a kid. Peter was young, barely 18, but he was very polite and clearly trying to be more adult, but still a kid.

So you hung out with him, looking over his shoulder when he did homework, played video games together when you went on breaks, and talked about random stuff like you were all teenagers again.

You say all because Wanda and Pietro had quickly joined after you caught them spying on the two of you from a doorway, looking like two small puppies that had been locked out. They quickly decided to adopt Peter like they had adopted you, him becoming the youngest in your little makeshift family.

You also spend some alone time with Vision, and the news about The Tear of Celeste brought up some new questions between the two of you.

"Is your stone sentient?" You asked, looking at Vision worried. You had seen his true form by this point, learning that Wanda was the one helping him look more human when there were strangers around.

Vision took a finger up to his forehead, gently stroking the stone. "I think so... But not in a way that it talks with me," he said, looking back at you. "I... Feel stuff sometimes... Knows stuff that I have no explanation for other than something else is sharing it with me," he said with a shrug.

"Speaking of feelings," you said, giving him a sly grin, "how are things going with Wanda?"

Vision blushed, a very weird look when his skin was already red. "I am still trying to understand the depths of these feelings, thank you for helping me out with them," he said, looking at his hands. "Have you ever felt like this before?"

"... Not before I came here." Was the only answer you gave, blushing slightly as you looked at your own hands.

You and Loki had gotten a lot closer after everything that had happened. Before you had been very friendly, but there was still a distance between the two of you. You were not sure if it was you sharing stories, thoughts, or something else that had changed that, but it seemed the distance had vanished.

Loki was a lot more relaxed around you now. He reminded you of a cat sometimes, in that he before had been just looking at you from a distance and just him tolerating your presence was a blessing. And now he was the kind of cat that would run to you when you entered the room and rub against you.

Not that he literally rubbed against you, but you found that you both just gravitated closer, leaning against each other when reading, grabbing each other's hand if you needed to drag each other somewhere, he even hugged you one time before leaving!

He was always cold to the touch, but it always felt nice and left a tingling sensation on your skin. You have been too shy to ask about it, and for now, was just enjoying it when it happened.

Stephen was still the one most away, either working at his own home, working on something else, or when he was here working on The Stella alone. You didn't get a lot of time to spend with him, so when you did you were excited.

He had started teaching you about the basics of the multiverse, and he had started showing you more magic, still not teaching you how to use it since that was not something you should bring home with you.

"Honestly," you told him one day, laying over the counter surface in the common room with your arms acting like a pillow under your arms, legs swinging from the bar stool you were sitting on, "I'll be sad to go back."

He slides a cup of tea over to you, you again see how his hands shook but didn't comment on it. Nat told you the story.

"What do you mean?" He asked, sitting across from you.

"Well, I don't really have anything TO go back to, you know?" You sighed, sitting up and stretching your back. "By this point I'm probably been assumed dead right? And even then I don't have any friends or family, that would be missing me.... At least not there, you know?" You say, giving a slight blush, turning to look at the others that were currently in your room.

"... You don't necessarily have to go back," he said in a quiet voice. You spun around so quickly that you almost fell off the chair, staring at him with big eyes.

His face was serious, so you gave him a bright smile. "Really?" You really didn't have anything back home to miss! The only thing you ever held onto was your necklace, and that was to stay in this world too.

He sighed and held up a shaking hand to stop you. "I can't guarantee it, but if it causes no harm there are no reasons you can't stay in this world."

You sprinted around the table to give him an excited hug. "Thank you so much!" You had a feeling he was one of the bigger voices about if someone from another multiverse was allowed to stay here!

He blinked surprised at the hug, but sigh, giving your head a soft pet. "Please there is no need, stay calm."

You nodded and let go of him. "No guarantees," you repeated, letting him know you understood that, but still had a bright grin.