LACIE'S POV

The elevator dinged as I reached the penthouse. My thoughts about Johnny were cut off as I stepped out of the elevator and into a bone crushing hug. " Happy birthday, Charlie!", came a gravelly voice above my head. I untangled myself from the giant-orange-rock of a man, smiling so widely I felt like my cheeks were going to crack.

"Thanks, Ben. I thought you and Alicia would be coming in later. Weren't you two supposed to be vacationing down in Fiji?", I questioned, gesturing toward the black woman who stood by the kitchen counter. She had the most beautiful smile and she was Ben's better half. Ben used to say that the only reason she was in love with him was because she was blind and could only see his personality. He didn't bother saying that anymore, he knew now that he was wrong. I thought Alicia could see better than most people with 20/20 vision. Ben tended to be the blind one in the relationship.

"We were but-" Ben started, Johnny (interrupting like usual) finished for him by putting words into his mouth.

"They just couldn't wait to see you all grown up. At least, Ben couldn't. Alicia can sense you more than anything.", Alicia laughed at this," Sorry, Ali. I was just clarifying."

I rolled my eyes saying,"Shut up, Johnny. No one needs the clarifying."

He just smiled and asked," Is that a pimple?" I flushed, angry and embarrassed Of course he noticed. How could he not?

" Well I don't see a thing, Charlie.", Alicia said. She walked over to Ben smiling softly. Ben wrapped an arm around her and I smiled. Auntie Alicia to the rescue. Johnny looked at me annoyed.

"Charlie? They both called you Charlie. We did have a conversation earlier about that, didn't we? One where you didn't like the name Charlie?"

" No, Johnny. You called me Charlie and I yelled at you. I don't count that as a conversation. That's more of a sentence."

He looked even more annoyed," That's not the point! Why can they call you Charlie but I can't?"

"Because I like them more than I like you.", I snapped.

"That's a lie,Lacie.", he said seriously. Does he know?

Wait. Wait. I don't like him, I don't. So there isn't anything to know.

"Well then maybe it's because they don't annoy me to the point of clocks getting murdered!"

"Enough you two!", Reed yells. I blinked in surprise, turning toward him. I didn't even realize that he was standing next to the coffee pot or that Sue was next to him. Then again, my powers of observation seemed to be off today. Until Reed's reprimand I hadn't noticed that Johnny and I were almost touching, we had gotten so close during our little show. My heart lept into my throat, he had definitely been working out and it showed through his tight navy blue shirt. No, not doing this. Focus on Reed.

I turned to Reed and my heart went back down, I felt guilty. Reed looked utterly exhausted with us. I bit my lip. I didn't want to be the cause of his grey hair. Sue rested her hand on her husband's shoulder to comfort him before turning to me. "Happy Birthday, Lacie!", she gushed, breaking into a glowing smile. I seriously love Sue, I didn't always though.

She immediately started talking about things on her, I mean, our to-do list for today. I caught snippets of her monologue and I nodded along, smiling. Tickets for a Broadway show tonight, shopping, a dinner she had booked two months ago, shopping, a Just Dance competition later (Ben groaned at this, while Johnny cheered, Reed was too mortified to comment) and, of course, more shopping. I tried to pay attention to her chatter but my thoughts were taken back seven years ago.

When we first met.

When I hated her.

I was eleven years old and Reed had just taken me in. Everything was new but I liked it. There were no drunken fights where the cops got called, I never went hungry because of Daddy Gary's drug problem and I wasn't told I was a mistake, a waste of space, a misuse of life. I had known Reed for two weeks, I trusted him more than anyone I had ever met in my life. I got protective, maybe a little possessive, very fast.

Then came Sue.

Sure, she was utterly beautiful. Long blonde hair, gorgeous blue eyes with a perfect tan complexion That didn't make me like her. Reed and Sue had been dating for a while but there was trouble in paradise, even an eleven year old could tell. I only saw her three times before they broke up, that was more than enough for me.

Each time she seemed to have two completely different personalities. She'd be sweet and soft with me, complementing my eyes or my hair. Then she would change when she talked to Reed. Sarcastic to the point of cruelty, bitter and jealous of how much time he devoted to work. Couldn't she see how much she hurt him? Did she understand how much he contributed to the world?

Apparently not.

They broke up about three months after I started living with Reed. I was only sad to see her go because Reed was. Then, four years ago, Reed took a trip into space that changed everything. I'm, of course, referring to the space station incident that made the Fantastic Four so... fantastic. Long story short, Reed and Sue got back together, they eventually got married and everyone was happy. Even me. I got a friend, sister and, sometimes, mother.

First impressions can be a bitch, am I right?

A hand, knocking on the side of my head, brought me back to the present. "Screw off, Johnny.", I muttered, he was starting to irritate me. He raised an eyebrow as his hand dropped to his side, smirking at me.

God, my eyes focused on his lips, I wonder how those lips would feel if they were put to good use. Wait, no. I do not want to kiss Johnny.

A sweet, seductive voice in the back of my head whispered: Maybe you don't, we can think of better things. Things that would make steam pour out of Reed's ear in anger(my pulse jumped). Things that happen farther down( I shouldn't be listening-no-thinking this), involving that snarky, talented tongue(my legs feel wrong, they feel shaky). Things-

" Lacie? Lacie, are you alright?", a female voice asked. I laughed nodding, asking Sue when we were going to meet Marley and Anna, trying to shake lose the roaring in my ears. She gave me a worried look but answered me. I listened intently but Marley and Anna weren't my priority right now. This shit was going to be the end of me.

"We'll meet them in 20 minutes, at the diner. It'll just be us girls for a while. Reed is hopeless at shopping and Johnny is too enthusiastic.", she said. Sue continued on talking, making Alicia laugh, as she poked fun at the guys. I would have laughed under normal circumstances but my body was hyper-aware that Johnny was standing so close to me that our arms brushed. This wouldn't just be the end of me, I decided, this was going to violently, slowly kill me.

Just as I was about to lose it, Roberta's voice came on.

"Dr. Richards, there is a man here requesting to speak with. He says he is with an organization called S.H.E.I.L.D. but I don't have a meeting time recorded for today."

"Ask him to come back tomorrow, Roberta." Reed replied.

"I can't, sir. I'm afraid he bypassed my codes and,", the elevator dinged behind me "he has already reached the penthouse." Johnny wrapped an arm around me, pulling me back, one of his hands catching fire.

Out of the elevator stepped a man in a black suit and black sunglasses. He wasn't the tallest guy and he was balding slightly but he seemed to hold enough authority for Ben to not clobber him right away. He took off his glasses and inspected all of us.

His stare settled on Johnny a little too long for my comfort. Johnny must've felt the same because he tensed up slightly, the fire spreading up his arm. He pushed me back a little further.

His eyes left Johnny, turning onto Reed.

"My name is Agent Coulson. Phil Coulson. I work for S.H.E.I.L.D. We need to talk, Dr. Richards."

Notes

PHILLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!
Told you he wasn't waiting long. But why did he stare at Johnny like that?
And poor Lacie. Poor hormonal Lacie.
All (well some) to be revealed next time.