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You woke up—barely—to the sound of your phone's loud alarm, fumbling to turn it off as you shifted beneath the covers. It took you about 30 minutes to gain the smallest bit of motivation left in your body to actually sit up on your bed, rubbing your eyes as you slowly widened them further.
Lazily, you walked into the bathroom, hair clipped back loosely as you turned on the tap and started to wash your face with the ice-cold water—you skipped the facewash. You just couldn't bring yourself to take some time to grab it, squeeze it into your palm, and rub it on your face until it stung.
Next thing you knew, you were already striding towards your Apartment's kitchen, staring at the setting for a few minutes before proceeding to make yourself breakfast—just something edible. You didn't have the energy in you to actually turn on the stove and cook something up. Coffee and Bread will do, maybe with some jam in there too.
You grabbed the plastic bag of loaf bread and jam from the fridge as you waited for the water to boil in the kettle. With a heavy sigh, you started to spread jam onto a slice of bread.
This was your routine, ever since... everything. Ever since all of that superhero stuff, you settled down to have a quiet life. No missions, No accords, Living Alone, Mostly just sleeping and eating everyday, Working out every now and then to maybe give yourself a little boost of energy—but it never really worked. Just silence and peace. And it didn't seem like your style years before.
Your hand stopped spreading jam onto another slice of bread as your gaze remained fixated at the very corner of the kitchen, staring at a framed picture on the countertop. Slowly, you placed the kitchen knife and bread down on a plate as you walked towards the picture, staring at it.
A framed picture of the Avengers. The only one you guys ever took all together. It wasn't formal, it looked messy—but it was real. At least, the way you smiled in it with your mouth open and teeth showing was.
After everything you went through, you've changed a lot. You're starting to realize it now, staring at the picture.
Now, you felt awkward when you try to curve the corner of your lips upward for a picture—or even when staring at the mirror. Your landlady would refer to you as a frown-faced kind of person, You couldn't laugh or even scoff when your favorite—or at least it used to be your favorite—comedy show flashed a new episode on TV, Even getting up in the morning was hard for you. You were practically drained thoroughly, like a remote control battery after half a year of use.
But there was once a time.
“No.”
“Please?”
“No, Y/N. The wings are off-limits.”
“Sam, c'mon! Just a bit? Or at least fly me around!”
“Still No.”
“I'll say hi to the red thing every time you use it.”
“Red Wing, Y/N. Also, it's 'Him' Not 'It.' And still No, sit your ass down.”
“I'll pet him.”
“Deal.”
It was hard at first, With Sam laughing hard whenever you fell onto the grass face first. But when you got the hang of it, it was fun. You asked Sam in secret every time knowing that Steve or Tony might scold you if they found out. Clint caught you, told on you, and eventually you were forced to stop bribing Sam to let you borrow his wings.
Tony was at the lab, tinkering with his suit—again. He was all up on that new technology, constantly upgrading his suits for every mission he goes to. Or whatever flaw he finds. He was carefully attaching another piece into the suit, one you assume was very delicate with how careful he was. And that's not fun.
“Boo.”
He jumps, almost letting the piece fall but successfully catching it after multiple failed attempts. He sighs deeply in relief before turning towards you.
“Not funny, Giggles. Stop sneaking around like that, you a ninja or somethin'?”
You laugh, and he rolls his eyes. You ask him what he was doing. And as usual; “I'm adding new features to my suit.” But what you didn't expect was what he said next.
“Wanna try, Dimples?”
God. Him and his ridiculous nicknaming habit.
But, of course, that doesn't stop you from agreeing. In the end, you almost broke the whole lab down into dust.
You walked into the compound's common room, the nice aroma of breakfast dragging your feet towards the kitchen. The smell? Yum. The sight? What the hell.
Clint is cooking breakfast. Wow! He's doing something besides hiding in the vents! But you're assuming he's somehow going to trick you into washing the dishes later.
“Morning Clint. What're you cooking?” You asked as you made your way towards him, hands on your back as you peeked from behind him.
“Hey, Monkey. Bacon & Eggs, but edible. Thor tried cooking some earlier, ended up looking like breakfast from hell. He ate it all up by himself, thankfully.”
“Sounds a lot like Thor.”
Clint scoffed in response.
“Want some?”
“You'd give me some?”
“Usually I wouldn't, since you eat like a champ. But why not?”
You scowled and nudged him on his side, he winced then laughed.
He lied. He didn't share. He gave it all to you and watched you eat while you talk about whatever comes to mind. He'd either give a snarky reply, grin, or scoff in response to whatever you were yapping about. But eventually took over the talking when you choked on a bacon while speaking too much.
“Good morrow, Y/N. Great Timing.”
“Hey Vis! What's up?”
“Me and Wanda are planning to go on a... I believe it's called a ‘Shopping Spree.’ Would you like to tag along?”
“Wait, what?! Hell Yeah! I need new shoes and clothes anyways.” You excitedly accepted.
“But i need to get ready first... will you guys be okay with waiting for a bit?”
“Of course, Miss Y/N. Please, take your time. Me and Wanda will wait at the common room.”
You thanked him before running off into your room, digging through your closet and wearing a casual set of clothes that someone going to the mall would usually wear. After about 15 minutes, you went to the common room, Where Wanda and Vision were talking to each other while waiting.
“Oh, there she is! Y/N!” Wanda noticed you first, smiling brightly. Vision turned and smiled as well.
“Thanks for waiting, both of you.”
“It's nothing extraordinary, Miss Y/N. We are family, after all.”
“Awe, Vis. You're so sweet!” You complimented, Wanda giggled as Vision turned visibly happier.
“Okay, enough standing. Let's get moving, there's money waiting to be spent in my pocket!” Wanda exclaimed.
“You should be more careful next time, Y/N. Your wound could've gotten infected if you ignored it even longer.” Bruce scolded you, but his tone still as calm and quiet as ever.
“...Sorry. I thought it was just a scratch so i didn't bother looking under my pants.”
Your knee was scraped because you tripped while playing on the yard of the compound. Yes, That's right. A crime fighting avenger who had faced aliens getting injured over running around. How awesome.
“It shouldn't hurt that much if it was just a scratch.” Bruce added as he carefully bandaged your knee before he guided your leg to straighten.
“ow. ow. ow.” Yeah, definitely not a scratch.
“Better?”
“Yes, thanks doc.” You smiled, Bruce smiles back and nods.
“No problem. Just don't do that next time, it could've been serious.”
You nod, and he pats your shoulder.
“Can i ask you a question?” You ask.
“You already are.”
“...”
“Just kidding. Go ahead.”
“So... you're also a doctor kind of doctor?”
He paused for a moment, confused. “What?”
“I mean, medical person.”
“Yes, of course. I'm not called 'Doctor Banner' for no reason, right?”
“Oh.”
“What did you expect...?”
“I thought you were a, uhm... science doctor.”
“...What?”
“Like... 'Research about... dangerous elements and stuff' kind of doctor.”
“Well, Yes. I'm... also like that.”
You paused, lips pursed and eyes just staring at him like you just made a new discovery.
You were sprawled all over the common room's floor in the middle of the night, the cold surface touching your skin as you laid comfortably. For some reason, you preferred sleeping on the cold common room floor recently rather than your own bed. Tony scolded you two days ago and threatened to take away your room, so you tried to endure it. But you couldn't sleep properly—so, here you are. Intending to sleep on the floor forever.
You were just having your peace until you turned sideways and realized there was a ginger woman who was laying next to you on the floor, staring at you with purposely widened and unsettling eyes.
“AAH! OH MY GOD!”
You screamed, leaping with your butt as you sat up and moved away, arms positioned in a defensive way.
“It's just me, get used to it.” Natasha said with a grin, staring into the ceiling.
“There's no way I'll ever get used to THAT.”
“Aw, Shucks.”
Even after scaring you two more times, you decided to just stay there and lay with Nat.
You talked for a bit, barely any words used but continuous. She told you she also couldn't sleep, simply because the floor on her room wasn't cold enough. Then you realize she doesn't sleep on a bed, or she just doesn't have a bed at all. Great! She just never fails to weird you out!
“Move over, you're absorbing all the cold from the floor.”
“What? No! I was here first.”
“Actually, I was. I've been here since 10, you arrived at 12.”
“...What's wrong with you?”
Natasha just shrugged. Even after bickering about the distance, you ended up being curled together on the floor when the morning came the next day. Oh, and Tony set the common room as your new room. Congrats!
“Thor, No! That's not an accessory!”
You exclaimed as you found Thor walking around the compound with a literal napkin on his head. With wings and everything.
“What are you saying lady Y/N?! Tony gifted this magnificent hat to me for my... birthday!”
“That'a not a hat, Thor! Oh my god...”
You sighed, massaging the bridge of your nose right after you stared at his ridiculous appearance. Has he been going around all this time with that on the top of his head? And Tony?! Why does he always do this! Last time, it was a watering can, and now this?! When will that guy ever stop.
You tried to take the napkin stuck on his head, but he grabs your wrists before you could even touch it.
“Why are you acting maliciously, Y/N? Do you envy me and my appeasing hat? Are you jealous? Well, too bad. Gods don't give objects as gifts to to midgardians.” He boastfully spoke, a wide grin on his face.
“That hat is called a napkin, Thor. It's a sanitary product for women, SPECIFICALLY.”
“So... Not only is it stylish, but it may also clean my hair?! I will get multiple boxes of this!”
“No, Thor! You sho–” Then, you realize you had no stock of pads left. You facepalmed, sighing defeatedly.
“Better sneak me in with some boxes of that nakpin.”
“Will do, lady Y/N!”
You shifted around and grumbled as someone tried to shook you awake.
“5 more minutes...” you muttered, pulling the comforter to cover yourself fully as your turned away from the person's direction. You were almost falling back asleep when the person spoke.
“Wake up, Y/N. It's 1 in the afternoon.”
Oh, it's Cap.
You immediately sat up, eyes wide in shock.
“WHAT?!”
“What time did you sleep?”
“Uh...”
You paused, struggling to find an answer—because there was NO WAY you're admitting to Steve you slept two hours ago.
“Uhm... 11 pm.”
“Don't lie to me, Y/N. You know that's bad.”
'You do it all the time.' You mocked him in your mind.
“Fine, 11 am.”
Steve's eyes widened. “WHAT?!”
“What?”
“Do you realize how Late that is?!”
“So?”
“It's unhealthy!”
“All of you get less sleep than me, how come I'm the unhealthy one?”
“First of all, that's a lie. It's mandatory for us to get at least 6 hours a day—”
“Nobody follows that rule.” You mumbled.
“—Second of all, it's unhealthy to sleep in the morning! You're ruining your body!”
“We all have different body clocks, Cap. Not my fault I'm more of a party person at night.”
“Midnight, you mean?”
“Did you really wake me up just to scold me?”
“No. I woke you up because there's something important we have to do.” His tone shifted to a more serious one.
“What is it?”
He paused for a moment, looking around with a worried glint on his eyes. “I'll tell you if you get up.”
“What the hell? Fine!”
Steve smiled as you finally got off your bed and followed him out you room.
“What's going on, Steve? Why is the Barndoor Protocol active? It's so damn dark, not even the lights are on.”
“I'll tell you at the common room.”
“Well, where are we now? I can't see anything so how will i be able to tell?!”
You paused when no one responded, and you didn't feel Steve's presence beside you anymore. You blindly reached out around you, trying to feel if he was still there.
“Steve?”
You called out once.
“Hello? This isn't funny.”
It's so dark, you don't like the dark.
“Cap? Guys? Is there anyone here?”
You could hear your heartbeat pumping out of your ear as it gets a little hard to breath.
“You sick f*cks, there's no time to be joking around.”
There's nothing. You can't see or hear anything. But you could feel like there's something in there with you.
“...Guys? I'm actually scared, don't pull this sh– AAAH!”
You screamed when someone suddenly grabbed—well, hugged—you from behind. The lights flashed on as the sounds of party poppers and blowers filled your senses, confetti flying everywhere.
“Happy Birthday Y/N!”
You sighed heavily in relief. It was Nat who jumped at you from behind, with the rest of the group in on the surprise. Clint, Sam, & Rhodey—woah, he's actually here?—were holding party poppers. (God, the confettis are a mess) Everyone else had Party Blowers, and Vision was the one holding your cake.
'Happy Birthday you Little Shit!' was written on top. It was obvious that Tony was probably the one who bought the cake. Or maybe Clint, who knows?
“What's up, you little punk? Scared of a little dark?” Clint teased.
“Probably scared that a purple-lookin' alien would jump her.” Sam added, which caused a laugh from the crowd.
“Shut it, No i wasn't!” You defended.
“Happy Birthday Y/N.” Nat whispered from behind as an attempt to break the nervousness lingering on your shoulders. And it does work, kinda.
This just all seems... strange to you. This doesn't just feel like a super hero group that gathers when given a mission—this feels like a family. With people looking out for each other all the time. It feels like home. Somewhere you can feel good without the burden of pressure.
“Awww...” Wanda hummed as she walked towards you, wiping a tear that you didn't even know slid down your cheek.
You can see how each Avenger softened—except for one. Thor was bawling his eyes out.
“Are you a kid?”
“NO! I'M JUST EMOTIONAL...”
“Yeah, exactly. A kid.”
“NOT A KID, YOU MIDGARDIAN!”
You smiled at the sight of the Avengers bantering, Vision sighing as he still held the cake.
~~~~~
“Okay, I'm starting the timer! Get on your positions.” You commanded as you finished setting up the camera, joining them as everyone started squeezing into frame.
“Move, Tony.”
“No, You move Cap.”
“You both are not about to start a civil war.”
“Thor, can't you let go of that damn hammer for a second?!”
“NO! MJOLNIR IS MY BESTEST FRIEND!”
“God, You're all weird.”
“Please, everyone, stop pushing around. I might accidentally drop the cake.”
“UGH! WHO'S HAIR DID I JUST EAT?!”
“God. It smells like something died in here.”
“That's just you.”
“Excuse me?”
“SHUT UP!” You shouted, which the others immediately followed suit.
“Okay. 1, 2—”
Before you could even finish counting, Thor leaned too much and tumbled forward, taking everyone else with him. But before the disaster happens, the Camera flashed, snapping a well timed picture with some distraught, and some laughing.
You tiredly chuckled to yourself as you remembered the story behind the picture, and some other memories.
You realized you smiled for the first time in forever, staring at a damn disaster of a picture. You took it by hand, running a finger over the glass protector before rubbing it with your thumb, a small smile curved on your lips—and it didn't feel weird.
Yes, there was once a time.
When you weren't alone. When you smiled more than a normal person could. When you woke up without the need of alarm clocks. When you still celebrated your birthday. When you had a family. When you had them. When you had everything.
As you placed the framed picture back down the countertop, you walked towards the fridge and looked inside. You took a piece of cupcake, given to you by the landlady the day before, and some candle from... you're not really sure where it came from or when you got it.
You gently pierced the candle into the cupcake, lighting it up. And humming yourself a little birthday tune. You shut your eyes and wished in your mind before blowing the candle, a little smile on your face.
“Happy birthday to me.” You muttered.