A/N: HII BEAUTIFUL STRANGERS

currently, i am: rewatching twilight because why not and my god it is hilarious. i can't believe my 13 y/o ass actually took this shit seriously shsjaak. honestly the best thing about the entire movie is anna kendrick. sometimes i forget that she's in the movie but then i remember and it's great

life update! so my roommate situation was just a MESS but then it turned out that all of my classes were online so now i don't even have to leave my house for another six months. so ultimately, by the end of this semester im going to be quarantined for 10 months. i swear, im going to lose my fucking mind

anyway, adie's been knocked out for quite a few chapters now and i know you all hate me but just read this whole chapter, trust me

————————————————————
"I'm going to make you happy one day.

I'm going to give you all the

happiness in the world.

Because you deserve it.

And I'll make all the pain go away."
————————————————————

Adelaide was in a garden.

It was a lavish garden that looked like the gold of nature. There was soft green grass for as long as she could see. In the grass, there were small, colorful flowers sprinkled throughout like confetti.

There were tall, thick bushes surrounding the garden. They were so high that Adelaide could see nothing but the bright blue sky above them. A few feet in front of her was a small creek with a small bridge crossing over it. The bridge led to a narrowed paved path that slithered into the depths of the forest which looked alive with songbirds and color.

Just at the point where the land met the horizon in the forest, she could see a glimpse of a sparkling lake.

Adelaide turned around to see a swing behind her. It was tied up to a tree with a rope of flowers. She sat down on the swing, letting her feet dangle off the side. The warm sun bathed her skin in bliss and the wonderful smells of the lake and the forest hugged her.

Adelaide let out a quiet sigh. This was peace.

Her heartbeat slowed and so did her breaths. She never wanted to leave this place, wherever it was. She was tired of the outside world. This was the safest she had ever felt in years. She closed her eyes, beginning to swing herself back and forth slowly.

Just when Adelaide thought she had her peace, she heard the sound of a girl laughing childishly. It was happy laughter. A sound you'd hear at a carnival or at a playground.

Adelaide opened her eyes to see a little girl in a deep green frock running through the woods. She was holding a yellow ballon in her hands as she twisted through the trees delightfully. The trees seemed to sway with her. Adelaide watched her carefully. Who was she?

The girl seemed to realize that someone was there and at the sight of Adelaide, her entire face lit up with happiness and she began to run towards her. Adelaide got off the swing, watching this strangle little girl running towards her. She ran down the small, paved path and crossed the small bridge, crashing into Adelaide and hugging her knees.

Adelaide looked down at her curiously. Who was this girl? And why did she look so happy to see her?

"I knew you would come back for me," she breathed.

Adelaide gently pulled away enough to crouch down to her height. This close, she could see the girl had gorgeous, long brown hair and a rosy smile that seemed to make the sun shine brighter. She had crystal clear blue eyes like the sparkling lake in the woods.

Adelaide suddenly knew exactly who it was.

It was her.

"I thought you forgot about me," the little girl said.

Adelaide's lips parted. With a shaky hand, she reached up to touch the girl's face — her face. An overwhelming emotion rippled through her with such an intensity when her fingers made contact, that she was overcome with tears.

"Don't cry," the little girl whispered, wiping the tears off her face with her small hands, "You have to be strong."

"I'm sorry," Adelaide whispered, "I am so so sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry. You've always done what you had to do to survive," she said.

"I hurt you. I hurt everyone. I hurt— I hurt our parents," Adelaide choked out. The little girl gently tucked Adelaide's hair behind her ear, soothing her with a calming hand.

"You didn't know any better," she said quietly.

"I'm so sorry," Adelaide said again, sobbing and dropping her head. The little girl carefully pushed her face up by her chin.

"Don't cry. I know it's hard, but you're strong. Just look at me," she smiled, gesturing to the garden.

Adelaide looked at for a moment and her lower lip trembled as she attempted to stop crying. Then, without thinking, she threw her arms around the girl and hugged her close, sobbing into her hair.

This little girl represented all the pain and sadness that Adelaide had bottled up inside of herself. It was the years of oppressing emotions and neglecting her mental health. From when she was in HYDRA and she was taught to mask her emotions to when she was out in the real world where she didn't know how to express her emotions or even that she was allowed to do so. This little girl was her, only years ago.

Just moments before someone put a bullet in her father's head.

This little girl was the child inside of Adelaide, broken and scarred, just wanting to be healed.

"You've don't deserve anything you've been through," Adelaide said once she had calmed herself down, "You deserve to be happy. So, so incredibly happy."

The girl pulled away with a childlike, whimsical smile. She cupped Adelaide's tear-stained cheek as if she were holding a rare flower. Adelaide placed her hand over the girl's on her face, leaning into her palm with a sorrowful smile.

"I'm going to make you happy one day," Adelaide whispered, "I'm going to give you all the happiness in the world. Because you deserve it. And I'll make all the pain go away."

"Promise?" she said as her face flooded with hope and excitement. Adelaide swallowed.

"I promise," she said. The girl laughed and the songbirds sang a little louder and the sun shone a little brighter. The girl kissed her cheek.

"You're braver than you think," she whispered and deep down, Adelaide knew that it was true. She just had to find a way to show herself that. The girl pulled her hand away from Adelaide's face, still smiling brightly.

"Dellie? Dellie!" someone suddenly shouted.

Both girls looked up into the forest to see a man and a woman walking around. They spotted their daughter's green dress and Adelaide watched carefully as their gaze landed on her. The smiles fell from their faces in a shocking realization. The woman immediately began walking towards her and then broke into a slow run. She came to a stop just a few inches in front of her.

Her mother's eyes were filled with tears that were already spilling over quickly.

"Dellie," she whispered before engulfing her into a hug. Adelaide sunk into her mother's arms, feeling an overwhelming sense of relief. Every child always felt safe in their mother's arms. It had been their first home.

"I missed you. I missed you so much," Adelaide sobbed loudly. She suddenly felt like a little baby again and wanted nothing but to just crumble into her mother's arms and let her cradle her back and forth until everything was okay. She didn't want to grow up. No one could treat her right the way her mother could. "Why did you have to go?"

"I never wanted to leave you," her mother sobbed into her hair. She pulled away to look at her. She grabbed her face, pressing kisses all over as the sobs shook her. "My beautiful girl, I missed you— I missed you every day."

Words failed her so Adelaide just threw her arms around her mother again and sobbed into her shoulder. She clutched her mother tightly as if she would disappear again if she didn't. Ava buried her face into her daughter's hair. It had been too long.

"I'm never going to leave you again," Adelaide cried. Ava laughed, pulling away. She gathered her daughter's face up in her hands and pressed their foreheads again.

"It doesn't work that way, honey," she said, feeling more tears welling up. "You still have a whole life ahead of yourself."

Adelaide shook her head fiercely. The tears began to fall faster.

"No," she argued, her voice cracking, "I want to stay here. With you. And daddy. Please don't make me go back."

Ava sobbed, wrapping her arms protectively around her daughter once again.

"I can't," her mother cried, "As much as I want to keep you here, I can't do that to you. You have to go."

Adelaide clung onto her mother like a child would.

"It's too hard," Adelaide sobbed, "I want to stay with you. I messed up, momma. I always mess everything up."

Suddenly, she felt a warm hand on her back.

She looked up to see her father looking down at her with teary eyes. Adelaide silently begged with him with her eyes. He shook his head as his own tears began to spill over. Adelaide pulled away from her mother and threw her arms around her father, sobbing into his chest.

"Don't make me do it, please," she begged, "I don't wanna go."

"I know, pumpkin," he said, his voice cracking. He looked up at the sky, tucking her head under his chin. He tightened his arms around her. "I know it's hard out there. But you still have so much you need to do before you can come back to us."

Adelaide shook her head fast.

"I don't care," she cried, "I don't care. I need you both. Please."

"We need you too," Henry said. He swallowed down the knot in his throat and kissed the top of her head. "And we love you, pumpkin. So much that you could never believe it. But you can't stay. And you know it too."

Adelaide shook with sobs in his arms. She felt so...broken. The only thing holding her up were her father's arms. And she never wanted to leave them. On the other side, there was nothing but pain and guilt. Here, she was safe. Here, no one could hurt her and she could hurt no one. Right here, with her parents, nothing else mattered.

This was home.

But deep down, even Adelaide knew that she couldn't stay. There were still things she had to do. There was still so much more pain that she had to endure before she could come back here forever. Not matter how badly she wanted to just stay here, cradled in the comfort of her parents' arms, her life was still waiting for her out there. And she couldn't ignore it.

She felt a hand on her shoulder.

"You are so strong, sweetheart," her mother whispered and Adelaide lifted her head to look at her. Her mother gave her an encouraging smile. "I know you can do this."

"I'm gonna miss you, momma," Adelaide whispered, sniffling. Her mother pressed a long kiss to her forehead. Adelaide closed her eyes as she did. She felt the tears coming back up again, but she did her best to hold them down. Her time to be weak was over. Now she had to be the Adelaide that could face the world.

"It'll be like we never left," her mother whispered.

"And no matter what happens and no matter what you do," her father said, making her look up at him. She was still cradled against his chest, with her momma's hand on her shoulder. This was the safest she had ever felt before. "We will always love you, pumpkin. Don't ever forget that."

Adelaide nodded.

"I love you too," she whispered and then looked back at her mother, "So much."

It wasn't fair to her. None of this was fair to any of them. They hadn't done anything to deserve this. They had been a happy little family. And if life hadn't gotten in the way, maybe they still would be. But there was no changing the past, as Adelaide had come to learn. Her parents would never come back to life and this moment right here in their embrace would be the most she would get. And Adelaide had to accept that was okay. Because the longer she tried to fight life, the faster she would drown in its water. She could throw a tantrum and turn her back onto her problems, but that wouldn't change the fact that she would still have to deal with them one day or another. No matter how badly she wanted to give up, that wasn't the kind of person that she wanted to be.

Besides, her happiness was somewhere out there and she couldn't give up until she found it. She had promised herself that she would find it, after all.

Her parents had raised her to be strong. And she couldn't let them down.

She felt a tug on her shirt that made her look down. Her younger self was standing there, a small smile on her face.

"You have to wake up," the girl said gently, stepping backward, "There are people waiting for you."

"And you?" Adelaide whispered, letting go of her parents' embrace to turn towards the girl. She smiled.

"I will always be with you."

Adelaide looked over her shoulder at her parents. They gave her an encouraging smile. And that was when Adelaide knew.

With her parents by her side, she could walk through fire. She could fearlessly march straight into the face of danger. With her parents by her side, she could do anything.

So with one last smile, the garden faded away.

—————

Adelaide opened her eyes.

Her vision was blurry as if she was looking through a thick sheet of ice. She winced under the harsh glare of the bright lights. Bruised lights danced in her swaying vision. They sent a sharp pain through her skull that made her eyes squeeze shut again.

Beep. Beep.

Cold, icy air was burning through her nose, making her eyes water. Her throat felt dry like it had been scrubbed with sandpaper. She tried to wiggle her toes just to make sure that her body was still here. Her back was aching miserably as if she had been stuck in this same position for hours on end. Her neck felt stiff.

Beep. Beep.

Then, slowly, she opened her eyes once again. The glare still hurt her, but the blurriness of the room slowly cleared until she could make out various objects in the otherwise empty room. There was a closed door and a sofa beside it. Two chairs and a lamp on the other side of the door. Another chair beside her. A closed window. She was sitting on a plain white bed that seemed to glow brightly under the glare of the fluorescent overhead lights. Slowly, her gaze traveled over from her legs stretched out in front of her to her wrist. It was colored various shades of red, blue, black, and purple. There were needles in her arm that led to a machine beside the bed.

Beep. Beep.

The steady beeping coming from her right made her turn her head towards it. She saw several monitors and a mess of tangled wires. None of it made any sense to her except that she now realized that she was in a hospital. How...How had she ended up here?

And why did everything hurt so much? Her entire body ached. Her limbs felt too heavy to move. They felt like they weren't hers. There seemed to be sparks running all throughout her body. It was painful. So, so painful. But she couldn't move. It just kept hurting and hurting...She took a deep breath to make sure she was still breathing. The air felt like tiny, sharp particles of ice ripping the tissue on its way through her windpipe and into her lungs. Fresh tears pooled at the corners of her eyes.

Everything hurt. It hurt so much. She begged it to go away. She closed her eyes, feeling them burn.

Just then, the closed door opened.

—————

Tony was exhausted. After having spoken with the doctor for the millionth time in the past hour, there was nothing new he could tell him. It was always the same thing. She has to wake up on her own. I'm sorry, Mr. Stark. He supposed asking them same questions over and over led to the same answers.

All he had left now...was hope.

So when the billionaire opened the door to the teenager's room and saw her lying her on the bed, her face pale as a sheet of ice and blue eyes open wide, he swore he felt his knees give away.

He froze right there in the doorway.

He stood there with parted lips and a dizzying array of thoughts that raced by too fast for him to actually comprehend before they were replaced by another. He stared and stared and stared, hoping, praying, begging that this wasn't a dream.

And when he was certain it wasn't, tears — an abundance of tears — pooled his eyes and blurred his vision. Just as quickly as they had come, they fell from his eyes even faster. Something deep inside his chest constricted and relaxed all at once, like a painful dance.

He took the smallest of steps forward.

Without daring to let go of her gaze, he took another step forward. And another. And then another. Until he was standing right beside her bed.

Everything suddenly felt...silent. Not only in terms of sound, but in all senses. His vision had fallen silent except for the blueness of her eyes. His ears refused to hear anything except for the sound of her small, steady breaths. His body felt still— so still that it was as if he was stuck in a picture.

A moment in time.

And then, as if they had all the time in the universe, the billionaire slowly raised his hand from his side. He held his hand out towards her with his palm facing up.

The teenager's gaze left his eyes to look down at his calloused hand in front of her. Tony couldn't tell what was going through her mind as she stared at his hand. She stared for such a long time without making a move to hold it that Tony dared to approach a devastating realization.

She had forgotten who he was.

The thought pierced into the billionaire's mind like a spear. It nearly shattered him. The tears of relief that had been falling from his eyes quickly turned into tears of sadness and regret and guilt. She had forgotten him.

His Adie didn't remember who he was.

All that hope and time spent holding her hand, silently begging for her to come back to him had all been...for nothing. She had been right there, in his grasp and he had let her slip between his fingers. The best gift he had gotten from the universe, he had let escape. The memories and moments and time...that was all he had now. She had forgotten all of it. gone.

Even here, she wasn't here. Even his, she wasn't his. He had imagined that when she woke up, he would apologize. He would apologize for everything he'd done and maybe, just maybe, she would want to come back into his life. But now...that was impossible. She would never be his Adie again.

It was a punishment. A well-deserved punishment. After all he had put her through, he couldn't have her back now even if he so desperately wanted. No amount of apology or money or regret could fix this. And he deserved it. He deserved it so much. Every ounce of pain that was creating an uproar through his veins and lungs and heart and very soul was his own creation. And there was no