Chapter Text
Once again New York City was attacked by some evil maniac who thought he could go against the Avengers. While the heros went to save the day four women, a man and an AI were in lock down, for their own safety, in the tower.
„I am bored. I didn´t come to NYC to be in lockdown!“ one female complained. „Let´s do something fun, Lyra. Jane and Pepper won´t stop working and you are the only fun one here. Don´t take offence JARVIS or Happy.“
„None taken, Miss Lewis“ came the quick reply whereas Happy only nodded.
„Alright, what do you want to do? Play some games, watch movies or gossip?“
„I knew why I am friends with you. Gossip! So what´s new in Avenger´s mansion?“
Lyra raised one eyebrow.
„Yeah, you know like Playboy Mansion. C´mon, you live with Tony Stark, self declared playboy.“ This caused a chuckle from both Lyra and Pepper, and a grinning Happy. „Tell the juicy stuff!“
„I am really sorry to disappoint but there is no juicy stuff, Darcy.“
„Bugger, but what about you and hot hotter Johnny? Heard rumors of an illicit love affair against all superspies?“
This caused Lyra to burst in laughter. „Please never tell that to Johnny. He would love it as would Clint, secretly of course!“
„I don´t think he wouldn´t show his amusement up front, darling“ a voice from another room said.
„You are probably right, Pepper. But no, no secret illicit superspie love affair, Darcy, once again I have to disappoint you. And don´t you dare contratict me, JARVIS.“
"Of course not, I won´t breathe a word of your star crossed love affair.“ She only shook her head at the AI.
„So, you never thought about tapping that ass?“ Laughter echoed through the room.
Before Lyra could deny any of it, Johnny Storm sauntered into the room. „I know my ass is worth tapping it, but nobody present has taken me up on my offer!“ he exclaimed laughing, winking at Darcy, waving at the rest of the group before making himself some coffee.
„Shouldn´t you be fighting to save New York?“
„Battle is over, we won! Time to celebrate!“
„Then you should be at the briefing!“
Johnny made a face. „Briefings are boring. Stark and Reed will be arguing, Rogers doodles, the Widow will glare at me, Dr Banner and my sister will try to calm Reed and Stark down, while Barton looks like a love sick thirteen year old girl at Coulson causing everyone to roll their eyes. “
Laughing Lyra shook her head.
Darcy observed the interaction between the two. She came to the conclusion that the Human Torch did try a little too hard to make Lyra laugh, which made him smile forlornly at her in return.
´Not being more than friends, my ass` she thought.
„With the lockdown over, we could go out for lunch“ Darcy suggested. While Jane and Pepper agreed to the lunch idea, Lyra denied it saying she already had plans. Johnny looked a little taken aback after Pepper´s question about her plans and Lyra´s revelation that she had a date, not exposing the identity of her mysterious date. Not that Johnny didn´t pester her.
Darcy looked in expectation to Johnny who agreed to have lunch with the three lovely ladies and a handsome man, winking at them causing Jane to giggle and Happy to roll his eyes.
The group of five was just about to leave the tower as JARVIS announced the arrival of the other superheroes. Johnny looked at his lunch dates and told them that he would meet them at the restaurant, before escaping laughing via the balcony.
Susan Storm was the first one to exit the elevator, asking for her brother. JARVIS expressed his regrets about informing her that her brother had already left. Darcy and the other three walked past Susan into the elevator wishing her a nice day. At the lobby they greeted the others and made their way to the restaurant.
Darcy intended to interrogate Johnny about his relationship with Lyra and his true intent behind it, but was blocked all the time with Johnny flirting with everyone, even Happy, at the table. He made them all smile and seemed to really enjoy himself. Darcy soon realised that he was much sneakier than she originally thought and came to the conclusion that her plan needed work to be sucessful.
The lunch was cut short by a phone call for Pepper from Tony complaining about Reed, not that it surprised anyone. Pepper excused herself leaving Johnny, Jane and Darcy behind, who promptly looked over the desert menu. Happy followed Pepper, ever the bodyguard he was.
While Darcy was still looking for the perfect desert, chocolate cake or cheese cake difficult decision, Johnny suggested ice cream from this little shop he knew, promising them that it was the best ice cream in whole city.
With Pepper and Happy joining their group once again, they decided to try the ice cream and followed Johnny out of the restaurant. He began elaborating about the taste explosion the ice cream would give them, then he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. The women and Happy couldn´t help but ran into him, as they weren´t expecting him to stop walking.
They looked around in expectation of the ice cream shop, when they saw him staring at the other side of the street where Lyra was standing close to each other, holding hands, with one Harry Osborn, smiling at him, being chased by the paparazzi.
Darcy looked at him, understanding in her eyes, before he turned around to them.
„I am sorry, just thought I saw someone I knew. The shop is right around the corner, I tell you you won´t regret it.“ he said in a fake cheery voice, not looking at them.
They followed him, not talking about what they just witnessed.
After finishing it, they invited him back to the tower, which he politly declined arguing that Coulson probably wanted his head on a stick for missing another briefing.
Back at the tower they were met with Harry and Lyra laying seperatly on the two couches in the comunal living room, watching something on the tv. Both looked up when they heard them entering.
„Where is Johnny?“ Lyra asked.
Jane was about to say something when Pepper cut her off.
„He didn´t want to meet Phil in fear of getting in trouble for missing another briefing.“
„Sounds like him, so how was lunch?“
„Great, and your date?“ Darcy retaliated.
„We had fun, didn´t we? Oh and before I forget Harry and me are together.“ she said in a bored tone.
„Lovely, how happy you are about it, darling.“ Harry said in an equaly bored tone
. „You feel my love, babe!“ Lyra replied laughing.
Jane looked at Darcy mouthing Babe at her, Darcy just shrugged. They left the living room, leaving the new couple on their own.
Dinner that evening was an interessting affair, as the Avengers were a little taken aback by the whole situation. They watched their interaction warily, not quite believing the whole situation.
The only people talking during dinner were Lyra and Harry, who bickered over the smallest things, while the Avengers and Jane, Pepper, Happy and Darcy just stared at them except for Phil who tried to find the reason for their sudden behavior. Tasha wasn´t staring either, just looking bored as ever.
After finishing, Lyra dragged Harry away from the table to show him out, muttering under her breath about how insuspicious they all were.
With them gone, the table burst with voices and questions. Tony being the loudest, asked the question which was on everyones mind.
„What the hell? I thought the rich boy was mooning over this Peter boy? Doesn´t he always look at him love sick when they are both here?“
The others nodded.
„Maybe we were wrong and they are really only friends!“ Steve exclaimed.
„Friends who want to fuck each other“Tony replied earning a shocked „Tony“ from Steve.
„Yeah but it´s true, Stevie. And what about firebird and their star crossed love affair?“ Tony asked, earning a raised eyebrow from Phil.
„Oh, c´mon Agent Agent you can´t say you didn´t notice their innocent love struck stares at each other?“
Nonchalantly Phil looked at him. „No, I did notice but star crossed, really Stark?“
Tony shrugged. „It´s catchy, sue me“
„It doesn´t really matter, though we all agree that something is definitly fishy about it, right?“ Clint concluded, earning nods from everyone.
The next two days were even more, for a lack of a better word, exciting than normally. For one the Tower was surrounded by various members of the media waiting to catch a glimpse of the new couple, making life thusly miserable for everyone who tried to leave or enter the Tower.
Tony finally managed to ban them from the grounds, but the media still was close enough to bother everyone. The second day the tower was under atttack from a very pissed of Gwen Stacy who had a very loud converstion with Lyra, who mostly stayed silent.
Nobody at the tower had the decency to at least pretend not to listen and they were surprised to learn that Lyra didn´t say one word in her defence. After Gwen had finished her yelling, Lyra spoke up and led her to some more privacy away from the tower.
Although Tony voted for following the girls, the Avengers stayed behind, hoping for the best. Lyra didn´t say a word when she came back from her discussion, driving Tony mad.
The following days were quieter, with the exception that Harry, Gwen and Lyra spent more time with each other. Just once Peter joined them, but the mood was heavy and the boy, as Tony described the situation, looked always near breaking out in tears.
Bruce said that Harry didn´t look much better but nobody listen to him as Tony had another possible epithany about the situation, creating a scenario where in the teenager were comploting against superheroes, trying to be new supervillains, wanting to bring the Avengers down and Peter was against the idea, so he was left out.
After this elaborated explanation, everybody looked like him like he had gone mad.
Phil did not check the information he had about the teenagers because of Tony´s crazy mind. It was just coincidental that he happened to open them. Better save than sorry.
Most surprising nothing major changed between Lyra and Johnny, or so it seemed. He still came around and watched movies with her, though he left the moment Harry appeared, leaving the both for themselves. He had more dates, presenting the media with a new girl every few days, fighting with the Oscorp heir for the media presence, or so it seemed.
The relationship between Lyra and her boyfriend was still a mystery for the tower, fthe main mystery being that nobody knew for sure if they were the real deal, as Tony called it.
They bickered a lot, riling each other up about silly stuff only to break down laughing. When watching movies together, they only shared a couch if necessary, although Steve claimed that they might be considered of the others. Clint added that Lyra was a Coulson after all, and that they weren´t big on PDA causing everyone to discuss his marriage with Phil and their lack of PDA. Bruce tried to bring their discussion back to the topic of Lyra, claiming that in open public, ouside the tower, both teenager were always seen holding hands, embracing each other, thus destroying the PDA theory.
Darcy, who had left New York with Jane few days ago, wanted daily updates to the situation, hoping to come to a conclusion about the situation as well.
Two weeks passed and the Tower was slowely used to the new couple, treating them a little more normal.
Harry and Lyra spent most of their time together and even the media stopped following them the whole time. Gwen on the other hand, could convince Peter to spend more time with them. Strangely enough, the boys were left to their own device as the two girls went shopping together or studying for their finals.
Thor didn´t mind them, for they, especially Peter, presented him with a new challenge in the various video games. Tony lamented about their ever present at the tower after loosing to them in Mario Kart, wondering what they were doing in the tower when Lyra was clearly absent.
Johnny stopped missing the briefings in favor of visiting Lyra after he came by and was met by the image of Lyra and Harry watching some movie, laughing together. To his own horror he wasn´t quick enough to get out without being noticed and was roped into watching with them. When the Avengers came back to the Tower they were greeted with a strange vision. Johnny sitting as far as possible away from Harry and Lyra, who seemed to cuddle. Storm looked both extremly uncomfortable and relieved as they entered the living room, nearly running Phil over with his wish to brief him right away, anywhere but the living room. As Phil was dragged away by Storm, Lyra got up and left the tower in favor for some fresh air, being followed by Harry.
Being gone for over an hour she came back alone, in a tense mood. At being asked for the absence of Harry she snapped and muttered something about an arguement. Surprisingly Peter came by that evening to console her, telling her that whatever happened couldn´t be that bad and wanted her to forgive Harry. Lyra felt bad about that and gave in, not answering his questions about the arguement but to make peace with Harry.
The following day Gwen, Harry and Lyra were seen arguing with each other in the kitchen. Tony swore he heard something about a plan destrying someone´s life being said. JARVIS didn´t say anything about that just told his maker that he shouldn´t worry. Tony didn´t find that consoling at all and muttered somtehing about the three laws of every robot and that Asimov was right.
Disaster struck a week after and again media was to blame.
The night before Harry was invited to some fundraiser and Lyra went with him as his plus one. It was a big event and most of the high society of New York was present, with Tony representing the Avengers and Stark Ind. Accompanied by Pepper. The media was in turmoil to get a picture of the alleged Stark heir with her family and the boyfriend, which Lyra denied, keeping her distance from Tony and any media.
Harry and her danced a few times before both decided to leave the party early, using their status as seniors at school as plausable excuse.
Everyone should not have been surprised at the media presence she got the next day. Nearly every newspaper and tabloid had a picture of her and Harry in it, dancing closely together, laughing with each other.
An article wrote about how both of them left early to enjoy the night to find some place more intimate, as a insider told them.
Another article had a picture of her and Harry dancing, with her laughing at something Harry said and Harry looking „love struck“ at her, as the writer called it and went on about true love at such young age.
Her favorite article was the one about her and Harry being seen kissing each other passionatly in the garden by another insider who swore that she could already hear wedding bells.
Poor Tony was pestered by a somewhat charged Steve who wanted to know why he didn´t keep an eye on her. Tony only spluttered earning himself an I-am-so-dissapointed-look from Steve.
Pepper came to his defense explaining that she watched out for them and that the media shamelessly exaggerated. The others stayed thankfully silent as she entered the kitchen.
Lyra told them to not believing anything that was written when JARVIS announced the arrival of Harry, who sauntered into the kitchen.
„Good morning, my beautiful fiancé!“ he greeted her smiling, kissing her on her cheeks.
„Looks like I get rich after all!“ she replied laughing.
„Oh honey,sorry to burst your bubble, you have to sign a prenup before our wedding!“
„So you don´t trust me?“
„It´s not about trust but money!“ he noted, still smiling. „Anyways, ready for school?“
„Ready as ever, see you guys later!“ Lyra exclaimed following Harry out of the kitchen.
Thor, who only entered the kitchen shortly after Lyra left, boomed in excitement over the news congratulating Phil and Clint
„Such a happy occasion, my fellow companions! We have to have a celebration with the finest mead of Asgard to celebrate it! Jane informed me that matrimony is a very special occasion on Midgard too!“
Bruce only shook his head. „Thor, nobody will get married here, it is a hoax from the papers!“ he tried to explain.
„But, it is written there, that our dear Lyra will marry her special friend, right after the part about their joyous night together, although I wasn´t aware that Midgardians tend to announce such private matters!“ Thor boomed, not understanding the situation at all.
Tony sniggered at the mention of the joyous night, earning a clap on his head from Pepper. Phil sighed
„Thor, buddy, nobody will get married here and there was no...night together. It is all just a misunderstanding, just like the thing with Tony and Lyra!“ Clint tried his best to make Thor understand.
Tony muttered something about how he wanted to know that there wasn´t a joyous night, earning himself another clap. Phil, who stayed deadly silent the whole time, took a sip from his coffee.
„There will be no wedding and certainly no joyous anything“ he said, getting up leaving the kitchen, followed by a slightly hysteric Clint who talked in a low voice to him.
School was horror, for everybody seemed to have read the article and pestered them about a date. Peter was avoiding them the whole day and Gwen only sent them long deadly stares. It didn´t help that Harry only refered to her as his fiancé in front of others, clearly obvious to Peter and didn´t stop doing it no matter what Lyra said.
At the tower, the others seemed to have believed her and didn´t ask her anything. Only Thor said something about how he was nearly fooled by the article and urged her to play Mario Kart with him, as she was a worthy adversary.
After letting Thor win a few times, she changed places with Steve who was fascinated with the game.