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Thinking of everything that had ever went wrong in his life was a popular Sunday night activity that the Avengers were just going to have to get accustomed to, because there was no way in hell Peter was going to give up this tradition. They, of course, hadn’t accepted it easily, and Peter knew it was wishful to think that they would, seriously, why would they let the youngest member of the team wallow in misery when he should be too young to really know what that word in entails. Tony, unsurprisingly, got it, surprisingly, Tony started to join him in the living room while doing it, not speaking thankfully, only quietly fostering a glass of whiskey.
Later on, they moved their ritual into the lab, because Tony thought it would be thoughtful to let Bruce join their sad little pity party, and Peter had to agree that Bruce would make a great person to mope around with. Soon enough, Clint joined them occasionally, never really saying anything or doing anything, he sat close to Peter but not close enough that someone would think that they were sitting together if they walked in. After that Bucky joined them, begrudgingly, because Steve thought it would help the team bond some, he sat away from everyone else at first, but gradually moved closer to Tony, so the two could share the bottle of whiskey without ever saying a word.
It wasn’t until Wanda joined the tradition that anyone ever broke the silence, and it broke a dam and let in a tsunami of emotions spilling from everyone.
“It’s like a void,” was what Peter said. “I can’t escape it, and everyone is getting sucked into it.”
Bruce and Bucky give a sad nod, thinking back into the past about everyone that they’d ever lost.
“I can relate,” Wanda says, resting her hand daintily on Peter’s.
Normally Peter would mind, but he can’t bring himself too, knowing what has happened to Wanda is a nightmare in itself, the girl probably just needs to be comforted.
“Same,” is Tony’s input.
If over time, the group becomes less solemn silence and more therapy session, no one is saying anything. The new Sunday tradition starts with Peter and Wanda, cuddling away the emptiness, it’s all platonic and they know this situation would never happen outside of Tony’s lab, but for a few hours every Sunday night, they cuddle on the lab couch, watching as the group slowly gives in. Bruce is the next one to join their cuddle group, letting Peter rest his head on Bruce’s lap, while Wanda settles in by Peter, her head on Peter’s shoulder and hand resting on Bruce’s arm that is, in turn, resting on Wanda’s shoulder.
It’s intimate and comforting, physical in a way that each person in this room would fear to be with anyone else, a way to admit that every person in this room craves it, they just can’t let it happen outside of this room. One Sunday, they find the couch folded out into a bed, Bruce waiting in the spot he always does, and Clint at the opposite end, shrugging, Peter and Wanda settle in, throwing their legs over Clint’s lap. It’s terribly domestic and fiercely needed by the cuddling crew.
Tony settles onto the couch that same Sunday, hugging Wanda’s back and resting in a similar fashion to the other two, he’s silently wishing that he were in the middle but just being able to cuddle without fear of hurting or fighting was enough for now. They just lay, silently moping about the terrible things in their lives while cuddling, it was strange, but great for team bonding. They didn’t really want it any other way.
Bucky was the last to join their cuddle party, and it devolved into everyone laying together, Bruce and Clint on the outside, Tony and Wanda safe on the inside, Peter beside Wanda, because they grew used to to each other. It was as close to domestic bliss as they would ever get, and no one wanted to think about their Sunday night ritual coming to a close. It was probably the best thing any of them had, and it was easily becoming the favorite day of the week for all of them.
“So this is what they’ve been up to,” Natasha laughed quietly.
“This isn’t what I meant by team bonding,” Steve says, exasperated.
“Think they’d want food?” Sam says, seemingly popping up out of nowhere.
“You’re a mother falcon,” Scott giggles, clapping his ‘best bro’ on the back.
“That was pretty good,” Sam sighs.
“How does he get cuddle the team out of me saying he should bond with the team?”
“Give it up, Steve,” Natasha says. “They’re cute like that.”
Steve had to admit that she was right, even if he didn’t agree with her taking pictures of the group sleeping. They all quietly made their way out, not wanting to disturb any sense of privacy the group thought they had, it was a fantastic sight to see the group not moping. Steve personally didn’t want to deal with more moping if they discovered that the other members of the avengers knew.
Sam just decided he was going to cook a huge breakfast for the Avengers, filled with great breakfast comfort foods to ward off any lingering sadness from the cuddle squad. If he roped Scott into helping him, no one was going to dare say anything about it in fear of angering the mother falcon of the team.