Joe stopped when Roxie asked him to and turned around. Things /weren't/ tense at home, but they would get that way in a hurry if his parents pressed him for information too quickly. Dad was doing his best not to pry but Mom was asking questions that probed just a bit deeper each day. It was only a matter of time before they tried the team-up to get him to talk.

Besides, living at home with his parents, while he was grateful to do so, made him feel weird, especially at his age.

And staying at Avengers' Mansion when he wasn't truly part of the team didn't feel right, either. He didn't want to freeload.

"Look, I don't want to impose on you, Roxie. Staying here at the Mansion when I'm not on the team would be like freeloading...and I'm not sure how well my style mixes with the Avengers.

But my parents are going to drive me nuts sooner rather than later. I don't want to be ungrateful to them, but I don't want my work getting in their way, either." he said.

He paused for a moment.

"You've got a rooftop garden, huh? What's your rent like? I'm paying you /something/ if I take you up on this. And you won't even know I'm there. I won't disturb your schedule with my...night work." he said, knowing she'd get the message.