So, hey everyone. Long time no see. I've returned from an unplanned hiatus that I can only sincerely apologise for. Many things happened. Some not so good.

I wanted to surprise you all with Chapter Thirty-Two of I've Got You and You've Got Me. I've missed writing these two so much. #ScarletQueen (their official ship name!) are legit my Avengers OTP. I just can't get behind ScarletVision. It pains me. Paul Bettany (although he is an awesome Vision when Viz isn't being a sanctimonious prick) is not compatible enough with Lizzie Olsen. Like they would be awsome besties but, lovers? I just can't roll with it. So, as I'm about to deal with a shit-ton of ScarletVision in Infinity War, I've given myself a dose of ScarletQueen.

Hope you enjoy it?

I woke up the next morning to find Tony and Bruce were the only ones still left in the room besides me and my girlfriend. She was still happily asleep and curled into me.

I shifted myself as slowly as possible so I didn't disturb the sleeping sorceress in my arms.

Blinking myself awake, I surveyed the room and saw Bruce was watching the news and Tony was munching away on a piece of toast, only half-awake. I let my head hit the pillows again with a half a mind to go back to sleep. Footsteps disturbed my plan and I saw Steve walk in, half-suited up.

"Are we off somewhere?" Tony asked, clearly noticing Steve's attire.
"No, we're not. I just like to be ready." Steve replied, and started making himself a fry-up.

The smell of smoked bacon, eggs, and sausages appeared to get through to Wanda who opened her eyes and smiled at me.

"Morning, beautiful," I started, kissing her on the forehead.
"Morning, love." Her voice was hoarse and sleepy. "Did I crash during the movie last night?" She rubbed her eyes, sleepily.
"Everyone did," Steve spoke from the kitchen.
"I'm fairly sure I was the first to go, though."
"That you were. But by the time I was ready to sleep, you helped." A snort came from behind me and I saw Natasha walk in.
"It's only half eight in the morning and the lovebirds are getting mushy already," she snickered. Wanda picked up a pillow and threw it blindly behind her. It hit Nat straight in the stomach. "Violence is not the answer, Maximoff."
"Violence is always the answer, Romanoff," Wanda shot back, peering over behind the sofa to grin at the assassin. "And you were the one to teach us that 'vital' life lesson!" Nat merely shrugged before joining Steve in the kitchen.
"It's only half-eight? I'm going back to bed," I grumbled.
"No way, Piper! We have actual work to do today." Oh, look, Clint has joined the wake-up call. The brunette beauty's voice appeared in my head. We'll find a cupboard to sleep in later, it's fine. I smiled. Good idea, babe. They'll probably find us, though. I'm willing to risk it.

Steve managed to lure us off the sofa with his excellently cooked food. After breakfast, we went back to our room and got ourselves ready for the day. We would be training all day as a full team, even Tony, Thor, and Bruce would be taking part.

The training ended up being intense, as we did simulation after simulation, with FRIDAY making them more difficult every time we succeeded. We hit the gym immediately after, Steve and Natasha pushing us all to our limits, and then throwing us over them. It hit seven in the evening and Steve relented from his insane workout. I watched Tony collapse onto his mat. Steve and Rhodey helped him up, and he was carried to the lounge-area. Vision was a pillar of support for myself and Wanda as we limped after them. We thanked him with a smile as we leant on him. One by one, we dropped onto the couches. Steve handing out bottles of water to everyone.

"Why did you nearly kill us all during training, Steve?" Sam panted heavily.
"Because, you've had some time-off, so I was bringing you all back up to standard."
"Okay… Well, we're all definitely back up to standard now," I informed him. "And, I think you've killed Tony."
Steve chuckled, looking over at the engineer. His head was resting on the back of the couch with his eyes shut. "Tony? You good?" Steve asked, sitting down next to him.
"Will be…in ten years… Thanks for that workout, Rogers." Stark was breathing heavily.
"You're welcome."
"It was sarcasm…" Tony lifted his head to glare at Steve.
"I know. I ignored it because you and I both know you needed it." They continued bickering between each other for ten minutes.

Our training routine continued daily in the run-up to Wanda's birthday. We went on a few simple missions. War-lords and such that needed to be stopped. There was a rogue HYDRA unit causing havoc in Nigeria that we attended to. They weren't exactly a match for us, though. In hindsight, Steve and Falcon could have handled it on their own but we hadn't known that at the time.

Tony kept himself busy with Wanda's birthday. He wanted her to have a good time, no matter how low-key it was. He stole Laura's number from Clint's phone at one point so he could plan without needing the archer present. He would go out and come back with bag after bag. Each of which would be full of various party supplies.

"Piper?" He called from his lab. I was sat in the lounge, playing Xbox with Sam and Rhodey. Having repeatedly kicking their arse at Call of Duty, I gave them both a break by dealing with Tony.
"What's the matter, Stark?" I walked over to his office.
"Have you got your girlfriend a birthday present yet?"
"Shit, no."
"Do you know what you're getting her?"
"Of course, I do. But what with all the paperwork and training that Steve's been throwing my way daily, I haven't had the time."
"Go get it now. Take one of my cars, keys are in the office in the garage. Here's a credit card, just in case." He handed me the card which I slipped into my wallet.
"Sure thing, Tony."
"Most of us are waiting to see what you get her so they can work around you."
"I'm going." I walked back into the lounge to get my stuff. "Sorry, guys. I'm on birthday present shopping for the light of my life. I'll be back later though." I grabbed my jacket and phone, headed for the lift.
"Have fun, Piper." Sam didn't take his eyes off the TV screen as he called out.
"Yo, Knight?" Tony yelled as I headed for the elevators.
"What?" I paused in my step.
"You're welcome!"
"For what?!" I peered around the corner to stare at him.
"For organising your girlfriend's birthday." I smiled before running over to his office. He opened his arms for a hug and I ran straight into them.
"Thank you, Uncle Tony. Truly." I kissed him on the cheek. He chuckled and turned back to his desk.
"It's my pleasure, Piper."
"See ya later, Stark. I'll try and be back before Wanda finishes her one-on-one with Steve."
"They'll probably be there all day." He called out.
"I know, but in case she's not, tell her I'm doing paperwork in my office if I'm not back."
"Sure."

With a smirk, I headed down to the garage. I spent the five-minute elevator ride down figuring out what shops I needed to go into. I had to find a jewellery store, a card store and possibly a clothes store. I also dropped Steve a text telling him what I was up to but to cover with the excuse I was doing paperwork if that was required. When I reached the garage, I headed into the office and grabbed a random set of keys off the hook, which turned out to be for Tony's deep blue Porsche 911 Turbo.

I climbed into the car happily as it was my favourite one in the whole of Tony's collection. I connected my phone to the speakers and started blasting out music. Putting my shades on, I opened the garage remotely and pulled out. It only took me five minutes to get to where I roughly needed to go. The main problem in Manhattan is finding a place to park. I drove up and down streets, looking. As soon as I saw a gap, I grabbed it. Otherwise I would have blinked and it would be gone. I parked up and grabbed my backpack and phone from the passenger seat. Walking up and down the streets of Manhattan, I tried to find a jewellery store. It took me twenty minutes to find a decent one. Finally, I came across one a couple of blocks away from where I parked.

I spent a few minutes looking around it and I came across the most gorgeous ring. It was a cluster ring with a yellow gold band, with an intricate triple crossover. It had a ruby at its centre and is finished with shimmering diamonds. The ruby was the perfect match for the colour of Wanda's magic. This was clearly the ring for me. A pretentious shop assistant walked over to me as I admired it and half-glared as he addressed me.

"Can I help you, young lady?" His voice irritated me alone but I smiled and paused my music.
"Yeah, I was just wondering about that ring there?" He glanced at it and stuck his nose even further in the air.
"I think it is well out of your price range, maybe you should try another store."
"I don't think so, buddy. Despite the awful customer service, I'm staying. How much is it?"
"$399. Like I said, probably out of your price range."
"No, I've got that." I held up Tony's credit card. He saw the name and the guy's eyes widened.
"You know, Mr. Stark?" His entire attitude changed instantly.
"I'm a colleague of his."
"Don't you mean employee?" Maybe not all of his attitude.
"No, I mean colleague."
"But that would mean you're-" I cut him off quickly, not needing anyone to hear."I know what you're about to say so I'll stop you there. Yes, I am. Please may I continue with this purchase?"
"Of course, I'll just get the ring for you," he stammered.
"Thank you." I gave him a false smile as he led me to the counter. As he picked out the ring from the display, it dropped.
"Would it need to be re-sized?"
"What size is it currently?"
"It's currently at 7.5."
"Yeah, I'll need it smaller." He nodded.
"And what size must it be?"
"I will need it at 6.5. Wanda's fingers are only small, bless her."
"Indeed. I can have that done now if you wish?"
"Er…will it take a long while?"
"No more than ten minutes for a colleague of Mr. Stark."
"Well then, yes please."
"Certainly."

The assistant ran to a small room at the back of the store with the ring. When he came back, he started ringing up the purchase. I paid with Tony's credit card, vowing to pay him back as soon as I got access to an ATM machine. As the transaction went through, I turned my iPod on. It went through with no problems. The man smiled and handed my back the card, telling me it would be about five more minutes for the ring to be done.

"Can I get a receipt for the purchase?"
"Oh, of course. Apologies." He tapped on the till's screen and waited patiently for the till to print. When he handed over the receipt, I tucked it safely in my wallet.
"Thank you. I'll wait over here out of the way."

I patiently waited in the corner of the shop waiting for the ring to come back to me. A different man came out, holding the ring. He approached with a friendly face.

"I believe this is for you?" I nodded. "It's all done. Size 6.5, ready to go." The guy opened the ring box for me to check. I examined it and made sure it looked good. When I was satisfied, I closed the lid and put it in my bag safely.
"Thank you, kind Sir."
"No worries. Have a lovely day, Miss."

I finished my day off with getting wrapping paper, and decorative supplies, as well as Wanda's birthday card. It was a little geeky with two kittens and two puppies on the front but the words inside were adorable. I checked my watch and still had twenty minutes to get back to the tower and get everything hidden.

On my way to the car, via an ATM, Tony rang me, trying to find out where I was. As soon as I told him I was on my way back, he started questioning my purchases. I could hear him scrabbling around for a pen and some clear paper.

"I will be with you in literally ten minutes, after which I'll still have another ten minutes to show you." I stopped at the first ATM I came across, to get the money out to bay back Stark with the ring.
"But-" he went to complain but I cut him off.
"Tony, chill. I am only a five-minute drive away from the tower. We have time." The machine started whirring as it completed my request.
"Fine. Hurry it up, though, Knight. Unless you want your girlfriend to know that you left it this late to get her, her birthday present."
"Emotional blackmail will not work on me, Tony Stark. Especially as I still have three weeks until her birthday, and I also know that you don't have the guts to tell her."
"Dammit!" he whined.
"Bye, Tony, see you soon." I hung up the phone on him as I reached the car. I put my backpack next to me on the passenger seat. I checked to make sure the ring was still there. I opened the box and smiled to myself. Hopefully, Wanda would love it.

The drive back to the tower was a quick one. As soon as I reached the garage doors, they opened automatically, Tony having built sensors into all of his cars. I parked up, grabbed my bag, and climbed out of the car. Before going back upstairs, I put the car keys back in the office, otherwise they could get lost in the chaos that is mine and Wanda's room. Wandering over to the elevator, it was thankfully there waiting for me. I scanned my pass to be allowed upstairs and pressed the appropriate button for the offices.

In the time it took for me to reach upstairs, I cleared my phone notifications again. I had received nearly 100 new follows on my social media accounts in an hour. Apparently being an Avenger made you quite popular. Who knew?

As soon as the elevator doors opened, I walked over to my office, found some completed paperwork I had yet to file and left it in my out tray, making my excuse more plausible if Steve had told Wanda the excuse we had discussed. I then climbed the few flights of stairs up to the lounge area. I put my bag one of the sofas and then wandered into the kitchen to grab a soda, before I sat down, with an Xbox controller in hand. Tony walked out of his office with a smile.

"FRIDAY told me you were back. We have, like, five minutes until your girlfriend gets back. So, what did you get? What did you get? What did you get?"
"It's like having an over-excitable puppy who just got a new toy…" I muttered, reaching for my backpack to get the ring out of my bag to show Tony. "…I got her this." I handed it to him. His eyes widened.
"Wow! Piper, that's amazing."
"What's amazing?" We both jumped out of our skins before realising it was actually Natasha speaking, not my other half. She and Bruce had walked in.
"The ring Piper has bought for Wanda." He handed her the ring and her jaw hit the floor. While they were distracted by the ring, I got my wallet out.
"Tony, here's your credit card and $400." I handed them to Tony as he handed me the ring back. I tucked it safely in my backpack.
"Why?" He raised an eyebrow.
"That's how much the ring was. I had to put it on your card. The sales assistant was the most pretentious asshole in the world. Had he not seen your name on the card, he probably would have refused to serve me. And if anyone struggles with a gift, I remembered Wanda's been telling me she wants to take guitar back up. She used to play when she was younger. I think she misses it a bit."
"Sounds perfect!" Tony grinned.
"Nothing too fancy, though," I ordered. Tony gave me a look to contest it. "I mean it! No over the top customisations. Just an easy-going acoustic guitar."
"That's no fun."
"I know. But I promise the simplicity of it will be well worth her happiness. Trust me." We were interrupted by Tony's phone beeping.
"That's Steve, they've finished." As I grabbed them both a drink from the kitchen, my beloved walked in with Steve and flopped down on the couch.
"Tired, sweetheart?" I gave her and Steve a bottle of water, before sitting down next to Wanda.
"Exhausted!"

She looked over at me, tiredly. I patted my lap, and she moved instantly, wrapping her arms around my waist and resting her head on my shoulder. I placed a kiss to the top of her head, as we snuggled into each other. Wanda used her power to grab a controller, and we spent the evening taking down Steve and Tony on Call of Duty. The rest of the team appeared at various points during the afternoon. A quiet evening in with my family was something we all appreciated because of how difficult our job can get. But all of us, laughing and joking, taking turns to play various games was a fab way to spend our time off.

Yay? Nay? Any comments at all? Constructive Feedback is always appreciated.