Chapter One:
"Order for Gamma Ray?"
Gamora met the barista's eyes in a moment of confusion.
"You had the caramel macchiato?" Said the barista impatiently.
"Yes, but my name's not…" Gamora started.
"Have a nice day!" The barista interjected, walking back over to the cash register.
Gamora picked up her drink and walked over to her table, where a crowd of women were waiting for her.
"Sorry about the wait, ladies."
"Oh, don't sweat it. They get my name wrong all the time." Okoye responded, nonchalantly spinning her straw throughout her frappe. "That's why I give them a basic name. Like Amy. Or Natasha."
"Hey!" Replied Nat, crossing her arms in mock offense, causing the two women to giggle.
"I think I got the worst one." Said Hope, squinting at the cursive handwriting on her cup. "I don't think they intentionally left out the P?"
A scattering of laughing spread throughout the table.
"What did you guys get?" Gamora asked Nat and Wanda.
"Well, I got the pink drink." Said Wanda, holding up a pastel pink mixture with floating slices of stawberries. "But then this one…" She gestured to Nat, who had a mischievous grin as she toyed with her straw wrapper. "Decided to be all cute."
"I ordered the Green Tea frappe, and told them my name was Cosmo!" Nat said, looking around the table expectantly. No one laughed. "Get it? Cuz…the Fairly OddParents?"
"I think we've been babysitting Clint's kids for too long." Wanda said teasingly, playfully elbowing Nat.
"I think you're right."
"Speaking of kids," Said Okoye, "How is Cassie doing, Hope?"
"Oh, she's great! She just won her school spelling bee the other day. You should have seen Scott's face, he was so proud."
"He seems like a great dad." Said Wanda.
"Oh, he is. It makes me melt." Hope replied.
"Any of you guys want kids?" Nat asked.
"Definitely not. But I get to watch the children of Wakanda grow up, so it's not like I'm not missing out on anything." Okoye responded.
"I don't know. Not anytime soon, for sure.
But I can't help but think how nice it'd be to have a little girl like Cassie." Said Gamora.
"You really think Quill would be up for it?" Asked Wanda.
"Oh sure he will. Besides, Ex-cons make great parents." Said Hope, giving Gamora a wink.
"Woman after my own heart." Answered Gamora with a smirk.
"Yes, you two have great taste." Okoye replied with a joking eye roll.
"Well, there's actually a reason I called all you ladies here today." Nat said, bringing her hands together on the table all officially.
"You're pregnant." Hope said, deadpan.
"What? No! Off the table, remember?"
"Right."
"No, Bruce and I went to a show yesterday, and…"
She unclasped her hands, bringing one of them to the center of the table to reveal a sparkling diamond ring.
"He asked me to marry him!"
The other girls burst into explanations of shock and joy, squealing over the beautiful ring. Choruses of:
"Oh my god!"
"Congratulations!"
"We're so happy for you!"
(And a "About damn time." from Okoye.)
Rang throughout the entire restaurant, causing other customers to stare.
"When is the wedding?" Asked Gamora, taking Nat's hand in hers to get a better look at the ring.
"We don't have a date set yet. But what I do know is…"
Nat took a deep breath, looking adoringly at each woman in turn.
"I'd like you all to be bridesmaids."