It was maybe three quarters of an hour of heated discussion before they called me through. Bucky was still standing by the wall, not looking like he'd had anything to do with it. I sat down awkwardly next to Cap, and waited.

"There are still some details we're going to have to hammer out," Cap told me. "But we've decided that, for now at least, you can stay." Well thank goodness for that. Now I just had to speak to Auntie and Uncle Milton to see if I could go back and get my stuff.

"Thank you so much," I said sincerely. "I don't fancy going back and ending up in an asylum. What are the details that we have to hammer out?"

"Mostly about your aunt and uncle," Tony took over explaining. "There are various forms that may need to be filled in, I'm afraid. We are effectively adopting you, and we would need to figure out exactly who would be registered as your guardian, as well as how to prove we are able to look after you and why it shouldn't be your current guardians. Luckily, because you're seventeen, you could choose to leave school and just live here independently, with us as just your roommates, but then it would be difficult for you to continue your education here."

"I'm not sure," I admitted. "I've thought about dropping out of school before, but I feel like I would be missing out on a lot of things, though it would free up more time for your teaching. I think I might go back for at least one more year, but I'm undecided as yet, especially since I was home schooled for most of my life." School had never helped with the depression, and it was what had given me most of the other things. There wasn't a lot else it could teach me either, because I had nicked the cleverness of others, and I had passed my exams with ease, so I decided I didn't really need anything else. Not to be an author. Which is of course what I wanted to do. Through everything, writing was my constant. Words you wrote never let you down.

"Well, you have plenty of time to think about it," Tony smiled. "Because we are going to have to arrange for you to go home to speak to your aunt and uncle, and ultimately pack everything you need to move here. But until then, you might as well spend a week actually on holiday, and we're happy to offer you a room here for now."

"That would be perfect," I grinned. "Thank you so much. I'll do my best to stay out of trouble, though the laws here are going to take some getting used to. The whole random people on the streets having guns is confusing for me." Some of them looked a bit surprised - I think they'd grown up with and just accepted the guns - but then they began to filter out, clearly going back to work. Cap crossed the room to talk to Bucky, and Tony took me to what would be my room for just now.

"I can bring you clean bedding, but I'm afraid you'll have to organise the room yourself - I'm due to go to a meeting soon."

"No, no, it's fine. I'll see you later?" I wanted to give him a hug, but that was of course out of bounds.

"Yeah. Steve and Vision will be around here if you need them." I smiled again and turned my attention to my bulging suitcase. Not knowing how long I might have had to stay had of course forced me to bring plenty of extra clothes. I stood with my hands on my hips and surveyed the small chest of drawers and medium amount of hanging space with a mixture of amusement and irritation. It was fine for a holiday, but if I moved here, I would have to get a bigger wardrobe. I'd figure that out when I actually moved. Now, the joys of unpacking.