Chapter Text
You’d like to think of yourself as normal, really. You grew up in a small town, moved to New York for university, and worked two part time jobs to keep busy. You didn’t really have many friends, except for Alex. She was awesome, and was the only reason you did anything other than study or work.
So yeah, you saw yourself as quite normal, for the most part.
~~~~~~~~~~
You were exhausted, it had been a long day of finals and customers who apparently didn’t understand that you did not, in fact, want to go to dinner with them. Your patience was almost non existent at this point, so when you were a block away from your apartment, and some idiots tried mugging you in the alley, you were done.
There were three of them, the typical leader with his two lackeys. You sighed at them as the leader pulled a knife out of his pocket, and you slammed your forehead into his nose, making him pull backwards, hissing in pain.
“You bitch!” He growled in pain, and gestured to the two others to get you. You grinned, normally grey eyes becoming a bright green as vines on the side of the building suddenly wrapped around all three of their feet.
You shrugged at their shocked faces. “I may be a bitch, but I am one capable of kicking your ass.” You said, and made a gesture with your hands, making the vines lifting them up, and made sure they were tied up nice and tight. “Bye boys, I have a movie marathon waiting for me.”
Once back in your apartment, you flopped on the couch, giggling.
Normal, is after all, subjective.
~~~~~~~~~~~
After a few nights of staying in and studying while marathoning the Batman movies, Alex had finally convinced you to go out with her and some Uni friends. So when you got home, you threw your bookbag on the couch like usual, and it wasn’t until you heard someone cussing that you realized something was off.
You whirled around, ready to tear this person a new one. You stomped over to the couch, already yelling. “Who are you and why the hell are you here!”
“Oh, Cap is just going to love you.” You froze at the voice, which seemed semi familiar, like you had heard it in a crowd, or somewhere on tv. You cocked your head in confusion, finally taking a second to look at your home invader, and you felt your jaw drop.
That was Tony Stark. “You’re Tony Stark.” His smirk made you want to punch him in the jaw, and you quickly recovered from your moment of starstruckness. Billionaire superhero or not, he was trespassing. “Cool, I guess, why the hell are you here.”
“You wanna know something? I like to keep track of promising people in certain fields, like Biomedical Engineering. Kinda like yourself.” He pulls out his phone, throwing up a hologram in the middle of the room. It had your file, one that you didn’t even know existed until now.
Your eyes narrowed, and you crossed your arms over your chest. “Okay, Mr.Stark, if you wanted to recruit me, there are such things as emails, no need to be creepy. Anything else?”
“Oh, ouch. I am not creepy.” He defended, and you raised your eyebrows. “Okay, I may be a tad odd, but I’m not creepy. Also, it’s just Tony, not Mr.Stark.”
“Get on with it.” The longer he was here, the less time you had to get ready.
He sighed, and pulled up what looked like a streetcam from the other day in the alley. “Alright, you got me. I was going to recruit you, but not because of your work, which is admittedly pretty good. It’s because I want to know more about this.”
Mentally facepalming, but outwardly shrugging, you tried to act nonchalant. “It’s New York, weird shit happens constantly. It was crazy, but I have no clue how it happened.” You lied.
“Oh, really? I beg to differ. Look, I know that you probably have some reason for not showcasing your abilities, but the let’s face it, you have some pretty powerful abilities, and you could be doing more with them than protection from some petty thugs.” He told you, and you sighed, glaring at him.
“I’m so glad to see that the media doesn’t exaggerate your pompous assholeness.” You told him. “Look, it doesn’t matter that I can do that, I’m not a hero. I’m just a Jane Doe, trying to get through school, and maybe not die in the process.” You told him, reaching for your phone. “Now, I’d appreciate it if you left, I have plans tonight and you’re kinda in the way of that.” Looking through your contact list, you called Alex.
“Y/N-” He called out your name as the phone dialed, and you held up your hand to tell him to shut up.
“Hey Alex.” A pause as Alex spoke to you. “Yeah, no, I’m still going, I just might be a bit late.” You cringed at her loud exclamation. “No, no, nothing bad happened, I was just a bit late getting home, so I’m running a bit behind.” You laughed at something she told you. “Yeah, I’ll text you when I’m on my way, bye Alex.” You hung up after that, and turned to glare at the Billionaire who was still in your apartment. “Why the hell are you still here?”
“Well.” He started, and you were already unimpressed. “You only got half my mini speech, which means you only got half the impact. Look, L/N, there isn’t one perfect type of person for being a superhero. I mean the only thing that you need to be a hero is to want to help people, which you obviously want because why else would you go into Biomedical Engineering.” He realized that he was getting nowhere fast, and switched gears. “Look, you don’t have to join right now, just think about it, and maybe meet the team sometime. From there, we can figure it out.”
“If I say yes, will you leave?” You asked, and he laughed slightly before nodding and heading towards the door. “Fine, I’ll stop by Monday. Goodbye.” Shaking his head, he handed you his card before leaving.
You sighed, going to your room to change into the dress Alex had insisted you wear, ready to forget what just occurred, at least for the night.
You had a feeling your definition of normal was going to change yet again.
~~~~~~~~~
It was Sunday, and you were sat on the couch in the living room, Alex sitting beside you as you binged Supergirl on the couch.
While your friend was busy screaming at James and Kara to just kiss already, your mind was occupied with tomorrow's visit to the tower. Tony had said that you weren’t joining the team right away, probably thinking that you would need some secondary training, which made you scoff internally. Your parents were so protective they wouldn’t let you out of their sight without knowing at least how to throw a punch.
Realistically, you knew from the moment that you agreed, that there was only one possible outcome, and it made you want to scream. You knew, that it would lead to you ending up as an Avenger, and you were so done with even the idea already. Glancing at Alex, you debated telling her.
Ever since you guys were little, like grade five, you two were inseparable. One hilariously failed science project, you stuck together like glue, and she was the first person you told when you realized what you could do, and she had even helped document the progress.
So it had confused you when you struggled with telling her about the whole, Tony Stark showed up in my apartment sitting in pretty much the same place you are now. You shook your head, resolving to tell her after meeting with them tomorrow. After all, there was no need to get her hopes up, she was almost as much of a nerd as you, except she favoured Superman, which has caused far too many arguments.
You leaned your head on her shoulder, eyes sliding closed as she continued her rant.
This was your favourite type of normal.
~~~~~~~~~~
You had just stepped out of the small diner, your shift ending just a few minutes ago, and stopped when you saw a Lamborghini sitting on the street. You went to continue on your way, when a voice called out your name.
“Y/N!” Tony yelled, getting out of the car. “C’mon. I figured you could use a lift.” He said, probably seeing some of the confusion on your face. “Y’know, to like, the tower?” He questioned.
Blinking rapidly, your brain finally processed the question. “You are so lucky that I’m not working tonight. Fine, let’s go.” You said, and he cheered just a slight bit as you slid into the passenger seat, and you felt your lips twitching at the antics of the grown man.
The ride was quiet, with small talk interspersed. Most of it was just you enjoying riding in such a nice car, with half decent music. He pulled into the garage, and led you towards elevators. They opened and you both got in.
“Welcome back sir. I take it this is Miss L/N you told me about?” You tried not to startle at the voice, you really did, but you couldn’t help the tick your head made at the sudden voice.
The amused smirk that you got showed that you hadn’t done a good job playing it off. “You got it bud, Y/N, meet Friday, my personal AI that helps keep things running around here. Friday, this Y/N, set her up with clearance for everything except our personal floors, would ya?” He asked the air.
“Of course sir, would you like for me to gather the others in the common room?” The AI asked, and you marveled at how humanlike se was, even without a physical body.
“Sounds like a plan, while you’re at it, would you bring us there?” Tony asked, and the elevator finally started moving. You turned and gasped, just slightly at the sight. It was about eight thirty in the evening, and it had started to get dark enough out for the city lights to come on, the tail end of the sunset of the day growing more noticable the higher the elevator climbed.
You didn’t realize Tony had moved closer until he spoke up. “Yeah, it’s quite a sight, isn’t it? Looks better from the roof, but this is a pretty cool substitute.” You rolled your eyes at his attitude.
“Alex will actually kill me when she finds out what this view looks like.” You responded, making him chuckle. Alex was a photography major, after all.
The elevator doors opened, and Tony walked out, not even bothering to check if you were following behind. You glared at him as you walked, although there was no real heat, the guy was already growing on you, even if he was a tad presumptuous. “You ready kiddo?” He asked as you both stopped outside of a door where you could clearly hear many voices. A sudden nervousness that hadn’t been there before make your stomach turn slightly, but you refused to show any weakness, so you merely nodded. “Okay, here we go.” He told you, pushing open the doors.
Most of the conversation stopped as you two stepped into the room, except for what seemed to be a pretty heated argument about codenames between who you recognized as Hawkeye and Falcon. A moment later though, both the Captain and Black Widow elbowed them, and after they both yelped in sync, you had the entire team's attention.
You resisted the urge to hide any further behind Tony than you already were, the gazes were making you slightly uncomfortable, you weren’t entirely used to being the center of attention. Awkwardly, you raised your hand in a small wave. “Umm, hi?”
The Captain got up then, striding towards you, and he held out his hand for you to shake, which you tentatively did. “Nice to meet you, I’m Steve Rogers, miss-”
“It’s Y/N L/N.” You were being more awkward than usual, but you figured that it was excusable.
Steve’s smile made you feel a tad better though. He turned slightly, and started pointing out the others still sat at the table. “Okay, over there in order, is Thor, Natasha, Clint, Sam, Wanda, Vision, and Bruce.” All of them either waved or nodded to you when their names were mentioned, not that it’s like you needed it, their faces and names could be seen all over the place on pretty much any given day.
Tony placed a hand on your shoulder, and guided you to sit down beside Bruce, Tony sitting down on your other side as Steve went to reclaim his spot between Sam and Wanda. Almost as soon as you sat down, you turned towards Bruce. “It’s kind of an honour to meet you sir. You’re half the reason I even considered going for a PhD.” You admitted, and then blushed. “Sorry, that sounded way more creepy than I thought it would.”
He chuckled lightly. “It’s all good, we all have our moments. Though considering your field of research, you really should be talking to Dr. Cho.” You nodded, still embarrassed.
Clint laughed. “Great, another nerd in the group. You’ll fit right in with those two.” He gestured to Tony and Bruce.
“Though I was under the impression that Tony brought miss L/N for another reason.” Vision asked, and Wanda nudged him slightly.
“Sorry about him, though he is right. He did say that you were here because of you abilities, but never divulged what they were.” Wanda stated, making the others turn their attention which had previously drifted back to you.
You rubbed the back of your head nervously. “Umm, it’s kinda a long list, but it’s elemental manipulation, I guess is the best explanation.” Looking at some confused faces, you figured a demonstration was in order. “Do you guys have like a potted plant or something? It might be easier to show you.” You asked, and Natasha went out onto the balcony and brought back a fern in a sleek black pot. You nodded your thanks to her as she sat back down and slid the pot over to you.
“So.” You stated, lifting a chunk of dirt from the pot without touching it, your eyes going dark green as you did this. “I can control dirt and certain earthy metal, along with helping plants grow.” Your eyes turned a brighter green as you put the dirt back and the fern unfurled from the ball it was in. Your eyes switched to blue as you sucked the water from the dirt out. “There’s water manipulation, and theoretically ice, I’ve never really tried. Air and fire are a thing too, they’re just harder to show off.” You finished, and saw the interested looks on their faces. “What?” You asked.
Clint just shook his head. “And now we have the airbender.” You laughed as most of them looked at the both of you in confusion.
“It’s one of the best cartoons that America has ever made.” You explained.
After that, conversation passed pleasantly, and you found yourself smiling a lot more than normal, which only really happened while hanging out with Alex. You had been there for about an hour and a half when your phone started ringing.
You glanced at the caller ID and groaned. “I gotta take this, it’s work.” You told them, to which Tony spoke up.
“Thought you didn’t have to work tonight.” He said and you just rolled your eyes.
“Yes, Tony, I didn’t, but in the real world, sometimes you have to work to keep your job.” You retorted, getting an “Oooh!” From Sam as you went to stand by the elevator.
You picked up when you were pretty sure you out of hearing range. “Hello.”
“I need you to come in tonight.” Rayvin, your second boss, told you.
You weren’t surprised, but you were still annoyed. “Did Trinity not show up again? Because I swear to god, I am not picking up another shift for her.”
You could hear Rayvin laugh. “No, it’s not her, it’s Terra, she had a family emergency tonight, but I’ll keep that in mind about Trinity. God knows that she has dropped more shifts that I have guys. Anyways, I need you to come in for ten forty-five, otherwise I’ll be the only one here.”
You sighed, knowing that you’d feel bad if you left the place to herself, even if it was a Monday. “Fine I’ll be there for ten forty-five, see you then.” I told her, and she said thank you before I hung up on her.
You walked back into the common room sheepishly. “I’m sorry guys, but I’ve gotta go. Another girl had a family emergency, and the other one refuses to pick up others shifts.” You explained.
“It’s cool, we get it. We’ll see you later, right?” Sam said, the others nodding.
Steve stood up. “I’ll walk you out.” He told you, and you simply nodded, not bothering to argue. You waved goodbye to everyone, and you both made your way over to the elevator. When the doors closed, he spoke to you again. “So, where do you work?”
“Hmm?” You asked, distracted by the equally lovely view of the city at night, before realizing he had asked you something. “Oh, just a bar that’s close to my place. Step-sister bought it when she turned twenty one, and told me that I was working there as soon as I was old enough, taught me to mix drinks at seventeen, well, at least the more complicated ones.” You turned to look at him, and saw the scandalized look on his face.
“How young were you when you were doing the less complicated ones?” He asked, and he sounded so much like an overprotective soccer mom that you just started laughing.
“I was fourteen, but don’t look so scandalized. My parents were always there, I didn’t do the whole party thing.” You told him once you were recovered, still slightly wheezing.
When the elevator reached ground level you groaned. “What’s wrong?” He asked.
You rubbed a hand over your face. “I told Rayvin that I’d be there for ten forty-five, but it takes forever to get there on the subway, I don’t have enough cash for a taxi on me, and I have to stop at home so I can change.” You rattled off, and you watched as he grinned. “Tony picked me up from my other job, so I didn’t have to worry then.”
“Don’t worry, I can drop you off if you want.” he said, and you nodded eagerly. He chuckled at you and made his way to the garage. “Here we are.” He stated as you stopped in front of a motorcycle that made you drool.
“Thanks.” You told him as you both got on.
“No problem. Where are we headed?” He asked, and you gave him directions that were pretty easy to follow.
When he stopped in front of your building, you climbed off as quickly as you could without seeming rude, as you had to get changed and put on makeup. You didn’t see him eye the area warily, after all, it was a pretty rough area. “Hey Y/N?” He asked before you had a chance to thank him for the final time and disappear into the building.
You turned around. “Yes Steve?”
“How about I drive you to work? I can wait down here if you want.” He said, and your eyes soften at his kindness.
“You really don’t have to, but if you are cool with it, it’d be pretty awesome. You can come up, just park your bike on the street. It’ll only take me a few minutes.” You said, and Steve nodded, following you as you walked up the stairs to the third floor, the elevator having been broken by your neighbors last spring.
You unlocked the door and walked in, continuing to your room as you called out to Steve. “You can hang out on the couch, I won’t be long. The remote for the tv is on the coffee table if you want to watch something.” As soon as the door to the bedroom closed you threw off the blouse that you had to wear at the diner that you never had a chance to change out of off, and shucked the blue jeans that you always changed after the diner from the skirt.
Looking through your dresser, you quickly pulled out a pair of black tights with mesh cutouts down the outer seams, and a black halter top that clung to your skin and stopped just above your belly button. After some light makeup, consisting of mascara, lipstick and just a tad of blush, you walked out of your bedroom, realizing that you only had ten minutes left.
“Steve? I’m good to go.” You told him, grabbing your leather jacket hanging by the door. He got up when you called, seeing you before you had put on your jacket, and blushed heavily. You looked up at him, confused by his silence. “Steve? You okay there bud?” You asked, which made him blush even more at his screw up.
“Yeah, I’m fine Y/N, let’s go.” He said quickly, and you shrugged at his weird behavior.
You both got back onto his motorcycle, and before you knew it, he was pulling up to the Black Dragon, your step-sister’s bar. You were almost sad to let go, he was nice and warm, and since you right outside the door, you didn’t have to worry about being late.
You sighed and got off though, because you actually liked this job and you loved your step-sister. “Thanks again, Steve. I never would’ve made it on time without you. You’re such a gentleman.” You said, and before he could respond, you kissed him on the cheek and disappeared into the building, leaving the blonde with a grin on his now very red face.