With Peter in mind, I release his hand and walk over to Kathy and Tony. "Hey. Have you gotten coffee yet?" Tony's eyebrows pop up at my sudden openness and Kathy seems similarly taken by surprise.

"No, I haven't." She answers carefully, eyes just a tad wary.

"Me either. Want to take a cup and talk?" I suggest and step a foot in that direction. It takes her a moment to nod. We head over and make our coffees, then slowly walk down the hallway for privacy.

"So, something change your mind about me? You seem...much more tolerant today." She says bluntly and I stop. She stops as well and faces me.

"I want to know why you're here. No bullshit. And if you lie, I will know. Just like I knew you were lying yesterday about just wanting to get to know me." I give her a minute to absorb this, sipping my coffee leisurely. Shockingly, her lips turn up.

"I was told you were sharp, but I'm still surprised." A pleased air wafts off her and throws me off further. Calling people out doesn't usually have this effect. "I was sent from a classified branch of S.H.I.E.L.D. to see if you wanted to join. It's a little like the Avengers, but covert. Not part of the news cycle. Heard you've had trouble there." I grimace a little a that, but it doesn't stop her from continuing. "It's headed by a former friend of the Captain and the team. Phil Coulson." I blink. I've heard about him, but...he's supposed to be dead. Kathy seems to read this on my face. "He's alive and well, I assure you. It's a testament to him and his team that this information has been kept under wraps, so it'd be best if it remained that way."

"I'm not promising anything. Especially since this group thought sending my long, lost aunt would convince me to join instead of just giving me a logical argument." I snap, irritated at the under-handed way that this is being done. Kathy shakes her head.

"I volunteered. I honestly wanted to meet you, Josephine." Earnest eyes look into mine and I take a moment to sip my coffee out of indecisiveness. "If you'll just give me the benefit of the doubt, I'll take you to meet Agent Coulson. He can explain what this would entail." I spin the rings on my fingers. This is not what I expected. "Of course, you have time to think about it." She continues.

"And I can't tell them about this," I state the question and swirl a hand in the air to indicate the facility. Her lips pull down at the edges.

"It would be best if none knew." She tells me and dislike rises in me so much I can taste it. "Perhaps one." Kathy allows and my eyebrows raise. I nod once.

"I want to meet him, but he's going to come here. No arguments." I make my stance clear. I'm not going anywhere with this stranger to meet another stranger. Kathy purses her lips.

"I'll make the call. No promises." I nod. "Alright. I'll go make the call. If he accepts, I'll come back with him." She doesn't say a thing about what'll happen if he doesn't accept.

"Fine." I agree and we hover in awkwardness a moment before she hands me her cup and just leaves. Sighing, I head back to the gathering room. Everyone but Steve and Bucky are gone, most likely to get on with their day. I avoid their eyes and set her cup in the sink while I pour myself another.

"Saw her nearly jog outta here. What you say to her, kiddo?" Bucky asks from the couch and I head over, settling between him and Steve with a sigh.

"Back to work again. Might come back another day." I tell the truth, but my mind is roiling with all the information just given to me. Should I think about it? I've just decided to permanently be an Avenger. I've just gained back the team's trust from my trip. I've just gotten Peter back. Is this really something I want to be considering? Does it make me a shitty person for considering to consider it?"

"Sorry, Jo," Steve says quietly, calling me back and out of my thoughts. I shrug.

"Not attached, Steve. She can do what she wants." A slight sigh exits his lips, but he settles down with an arm on the back of the couch behind me. "Need something distracting today." I huff and go to reach for my blanket, but Steve's already beat me to it. I smirk at his disapproving look at it as he drapes it over me. "Thanks." I murmur.

"Is it a movie day, drawing day, tv day, music day, swimming day...?" Bucky lists and wiggles my leg with a hand on my knee. I swat his hand away as I think about the question.

"I know what that calls for, Buck." Steve snatches up the controller from the coffee table and switches it to Say Yes.

"Yes." Bucky breathes and I turn to Steve with a smirk. I reach out and take his hand, wanting to talk privately.

"She wants to bring someone here to meet me. If they agree." I tell him vaguely, thinking as long as I don't reveal the details, I'm not betraying the secret. Blue eyes widen but don't turn to me. He knows I don't want Bucky to know what we're talking about. At least not yet.

"For what?"

"It's a sort of...job offer." His body stiffens and I automatically emit calm. "Chill. I'm just meeting the guy. I want to find out more about this. The whole thing is weird. Off-putting." I explain truthfully. I've got to learn more about this.

"I trust you, Jo, but I still want you to be careful." Steve's trust means the world to me and I don't want to put it in jeopardy again. Even though with the whole 'be careful' thing, it sounds like he doesn't trust me at all. I work my lips together for a moment.

"Would you come with me? To the meeting?" I ask and feel his surprise, then pleasure. Whether or not I'm allowed to bring him or not doesn't matter to me. If they want me that bad, they'll put up with it. His hand squeezes mine.

"Course, I will."

"Thank you."

"What about that one, kiddo? Or did Ellen scare all wedding talk out of you?" Bucky teases and I release Steve's hand with a huff.

"Shut up." I elbow him and glance at the screen. "Too lacy and too many layers." Bucky hums and Steve does his best not to laugh.

"Josie! There you are. Mind helping me a minute?" Tony comes in and requests with bright eyes and messy hair. Sighing, I hop up and drop the hated blanket over Steve.

"Yeah, I'm there." I slip over and duck under his arm as we walk down the hallway.

"Alright, so I've been working on an addition to your suit." My eyes roll.

"And hopefully getting some semblance of sleep." Now his eyes roll.

"God, you and Pepper. Yes, yes. A solid five to six each night. Promise. Now, the addition is something like Peter's webs, but metal and not as far-reaching." He explains as we jog down the stairs. "Metal chords that you can attach to whatever you like and make a field, just trip people up, whatever. It'll save me the trip for those metal poles next time something like that happens." We arrive at the lab and I smile at the sight of a greasy handed Peter. "Pete's been helping me. Just need you to practice." I slip off my Avengers ring and hand it to Peter who instantly opens it and starts messing around with the intricacies inside.

"Like the sound of it, Tony. Just hope you've been eating as you've been working." A heavy sigh leaves him as he points to the crumbs on a discarded plate near Peter.

"Already covered." He says and I smile. "Your boyfriend brought me a sandwich when he came down. Pretty good one too, I must say." Peter's satisfaction and joy at his praise reaches me and I pass the feeling to Tony. He grins in return. "Anyways, how's the family reunion going with Aunty spy?" Tony questions with a playful fluff of my hair. We sit near Peter on stools with Tony's eyes switching between me and Peter's progress.

"Left again. She'll be back though."

"How very Terminator of her. Hey, careful right there. This should attach to this." Tony pauses and points something out to Peter before handing him a double-eyed microscope. Then he's back to me.

"You ever think maybe you multitask too much?" I question with a small smirk. He sighs and his mouth twitches, amber eyes still sparkling with life from his new invention.

"It's a possibility. This guy keeps my hands full every once and a while so I do occasionally only do one thing at a time. You too, Josie." My smirk grows. Popping up, I peck his cheek.

"Good." His gaze softens when he looks at me before we both turn to Peter when we hear the screech of metal on concrete.

"I've got it. Jo, ready to give it a try?" He asks me with wide, bright eyes, not unlike Tony's. I hum a yes and slip the ring back on my finger.

"Is it to all my suits or just the conductor?" I question, glancing between the two.

"All the suits. It's permanently embedded." Tony answers with an idle hand wave while Peter gives me a thumbs up.

"Alright. Lightning Sense Protocol One." I put on my normal suit. All black with armor in my soft bits and bright, electric blue at the openings; my sleeves, cuffs of my pants, and my collar. "Sans mask. Sorry, Jac."

"No problem, Jo." She tells me in her chipper tone before the mask melts back into the rest of the suit.

"Let's do this," I tell the boys with a large grin.

"Ah, ah, ah." Tony catches my wrist before I can do anything. "Not in my lab. You have caused enough explosions. Outside." He banishes me, but I'm glad to go. Experiments are more fun outside anyways. I take Peter's hand and we run out happily. Tony's quieter footfalls and soft chuckle follow behind. We duck out the front doors and stop in the middle of the field just to the left of the fountain. Releasing Peter, my fingers dance over the hard cords now lining my inner wrists. I shoot my arm out towards the fountain and a thin line of metal shoots out along with it. My other arm copies me and the metal strings connect to the metal of the fountain. "Hey, don't screw up my stuff!" Tony warns as I move towards the nearest tree. I jerk both metal ropes loose from my wrists and tie them around a branch.

"Peter," I call and he's instantly at my side. Tony steps out of the way too as I slowly move to the middle of the string with my hands outstretched. An electric blue membrane stretches across with me until I'm back at the fountain. I break my hold on it and just watch it hum on its own. "Who wants to test it?" I invite the boys and Tony instantly beams. Two taps on his chest brings his armor crawling over him and in less than thirty seconds he's hovering a few feet away from the blue wall. "Give it your all." I encourage and both Peter and I retreat behind Tony in the suit. He gives it a good punch or two just to test it, then backs up and blasts it a couple of times.

"It's holding up!" Peter exclaims and wraps an arm around my waist, pecking my cheek with joy. I smile at the praise and pride emanating from him. Tony throws everything he has at the wall; little missiles, full blast, curved blades, everything in his arsenal. Nothing breaks it. Peter and I are sitting in the grass by the time Tony decides he's tired and flies down, the suit melting back into him. He shakes his head and runs a hand through the messy curls on his head.

"Great job, Josie. Can't break it." He admits with a bit of a crazy look in his eye. I walk up and curl my hands into myself, then shove them up into the sky. Like a liquid, the blue follows my hands and disperses. After untying the metal, I reconnect it to the leftover ties and they zip back into my suit. I turn back to Tony and tap my ring. My suit melts away.

"Well, you both did an amazing job with this. It's incredible." Tony perks up a bit at that and Peter smiles.

"Thanks, kid," Tony replies and turns, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "Have you eaten yet today?" He questions and I suddenly realize that I actually haven't. "Mmhmm, shame. I'm going to tell your other parents. Come on, let's nibble." We all head in and into the gathering room. Shockingly, Bucky and Steve are still in here, although their spots have changed. Bucky's at the bar and Steve's at the table munching on various foods. God, they eat everything. "Uh, who was in charge of feeding the monster today?" Tony asks and shoves me lightly into the room. I shove him back and make my way to the fridge.

"Jo, you should've told us you hadn't eaten." Steve instantly scolds.

"I just forgot." I insist and start rooting around in the fridge. "Natasha came in and got me before I could grab an energy bar or something," I explain.

"And what were you doing before then?" Bucky asks and I glance at Peter, face tinging pink.

"Nope, nevermind. Just eat next time." Tony says and that abruptly ends the conversation. Thankfully.

"Someone order a sandwich?" Sam's voice drifts over to me and I look up just in time to catch a sub. He winks at me as I smell it.

"My favorite. Mm." I moan quietly and leave the fridge happily. "Thanks, Sam." He nods as I sit at the kitchen table and he collapses on the recliner. Steve brushes an affectionate hand over my hair before throwing away his trash and sitting on the recliner.

"You know, it's not fair to play favorites," Bucky grumbles, glancing over at my sandwich jealously. Sam snorts.

"She's everyone's favorite. Or did you not carry her into the jet the other day?"

"Shut it."

"You first."

"Gentlemen, you're both insufferable and I care for you both. For some reason." I roll my eyes, but they fall silent. Peter joins me with a sandwich of his own.

"So, how was your talk with her, really?" Peter asks quietly. He's always able to see when my mind is full of too many of my own thoughts. I nervously glance over to meet his brown eyes before entering his mind. Not sure how he's going to take this.

"She offered me a job led by Phil Coulson," I tell him. His eyes slowly grow wider than saucers.

"But...but he's supposed to be dead?" Peter questions instantly. My shoulders lift and fall.

"I know. No clue what's going on, but apparently, it's a covert team like the Avengers. No news cycle, no one knows they exist, nothing." Peter's expression is disbelieving, but his mind is full of thoughts and excitement. I'm glad he seems more curious than anything. "Kathy is going to call Coulson and see if he'll come here to meet me."

"Here? He's coming here?" Peter repeats incredulously.

"If he agrees. It was my condition that he come here. He may refuse." I tamp down his excitement, but there's only so much I can do. He's basically a ball of excitement. "If he wants me to join badly enough, he'll be here." Peter nods.

"Any idea when?" He questions. My head shakes. "And..." He swallows and glances down at the table before meeting my eyes again. "And what are you going to do?" I feel his worry and my hand takes his under the table.

"I don't know."

A/N

Boom. Have I surprised you? :) Thoughts on Kathy? Do you like her? Hate her? Don't care at all? I'd love to know your thoughts about it.

Now, some discourse because I can't seem to help myself. Why did Jo tell Peter about Kathy's offer and not Steve? Well, I'm glad you asked. ;) The power dynamic has shifted in the last three years. Jo is a young woman who no longer has to answer to anyone else and the Avengers taught her to be self-sufficient. While she normally tells Steve what she's doing, she is by no means obligated to. It's a courtesy she pays him because she loves him and respects him.

The reason she tells Peter is because they're in a partnership. While Peter is a good boyfriend and will let Jo decide for herself what's best for her, Jo is sharing this information because she values him and his opinion. If he says he doesn't want her to do it, or he's just unsure, this will influence her decision because she wants to stay with him. That's how a good partnership works.

Okay, end rant. Keep reading, loves!