To All Those Brave and Lovely

The Before

Nora had never thought about what it would be like to be rich.

She hadn't really seen the need, before, when her entire grade was stuck shopping at the same clearance rack in the same mall. They'd grown up with makeshift backyard swing sets and homemade Halloween costumes that only vaguely resembled the things they were supposed to be, but it hadn't bothered any of them at the time, because at least they were all in the same boat.  They had wondered about the doors that having money might open to them, but other than when it came time to go to college or start looking towards a house that had more than one bathroom, they never gave it much thought.

Now, Nora knows.  She knows what its like to have money, and to come from a family that has money, because she's walking straight into a dress shop not just to buy a dress, but to have a fitting for one that was custom made for her.  MJ and Evangeline designed it together, and Nora had given it her stamp of approval, an Pepper said that she knew someone who could make it

Or rather, Tony knew someone.

"Oh, come on."  He waved his phone in the direction of the seamstress, who smiled indulgently at him in the way that all of Tony's helpers seemed to like he was half their boss and have a beloved nephew that sometimes got them into trouble.  "Do we really need the cut that low?"

"Yes!"  The girl was young, fresh into the business, and Tony got fifty percent off here because he apparently got drunk one night and met her at a bar and decided that he would help start her business, as long as he got a small cut of the profits.  Nora's learned that there's a lot of people like this dotted around the city, all of them profiting from Tony's generosity.  "She's young, and its in style.  It's a classy, I promise."  The girl (Maggie?  Morgan?  Eva couldn't remember) tilted her head and then pinned more fabric off  to the side.  "Sort of."

"Lighten up, tony." Natasha was stretched across one of the chairs, examining her reflection in the mirror.  She slightly resembled a cat.  "You know what they say- flaunt it while you got it."

"She's not flaunting."  He spun around again, this time to point the phone at her, and even though he was trying to make today a fun day for her, Nora could see the stress he's been under lately.  "You hear me kid? No flaunting."

"I got it, Tony."  She did an experimental spin in front of the mirror, the skirt floating out and around her.  The fabric was light and silky against her skin, the finest thing she's ever owned.  Nora doesn't think she's going to get used to getting to have things like this, to having these things within her grasp, for a very long time.  She hopes she never takes it for granted.  "No flaunting."  She spun again, looked over her shoulder at the back, which was what MJ described as tastefully low cut.  "At least, not a huge amount of flaunting."

"A small amount is fine."  He winked at her, and then ducked out to leave, trying to take a phone call without her noticing.  He's been fending off alerts and notices all morning, just because he promised her that this was going to be a day all about them.  And Natasha, apparently.

Nora met Natasha's eyes in the mirror, trying to read whether or not this was something she should be worried about.  "Is it those people again?"  She said, and the dress didn't seem as pretty now, the whole experience not quiet as glamorous.  It just felt silly, to try on a fancy dress and spin around in front of giant glass mirrors when there are people out to kill the ones you love.  (If she was Eden, she would say that's all the more reason to enjoy these things, but she's not.  Eden isn't the one with a target on her back, anyways.)  "The ones that broke into the house."

Natasha studied her for a moment before getting up to walk.  The seamstress (Morgan, Margie, whoever) melted away, and Natasha watched her go.  "Tony always told me that he picked his friends based on who he can trust. Seems like he does that with this business investments, too."