You sat quietly as five kittens romped and played around you. They chased each other into your lap and back out, running in a circle around you or. The mother, Misty, wanted nothing more than to be pet and loved on. She attempted to get into your lap, but her rowdy children crowded around her and mewed loudly. She may have wanted your attention, but they wanted hers more. You giggled as the kittens overcame their mother and she lay in the grass, defeated. You reached out to pet her gently, but just as your fingers touched her soft fur, you heard a parade of vehicles coming up the long driveway. You glanced back behind you, excited to see your father's truck followed by a few others coming towards the large house.
You and your father had expected your special guests for a few months now. Your father's 2nd cousin, Tony, had just called one day in the middle of November asking about a place to stay for a while. You hadn't gotten many details out of your father, but you knew that Tony was bringing his "herd of a family" with him. Being 24 and stuck out in the middle of Texas with only your father and some animals wasn't awful, but you got lonely sometimes. You hoped that Tony had a daughter or two. You didn't know anything about this family Tony was bringing, but you imagined a ton of kids and a beautiful wife. Maybe even a grandparent. You'd met Tony only once before in your life, and you had been a little kid so you had no idea what kind of family this man would have.
After the five hour phone call from his cousin in November, your father had to sit you down and try to prepare you. You remembered how he had been laughing a little but seemed worried about something at the same time. When he informed you that Tony was bringing family, you had asked all about them. All you got in return was the number of people coming and names. In all there would be seven new people in your home; Tony (of course), Steve, Natasha, James, Sam, Wanda and a man that father had called "Vision." You assumed it was some kind of nickname and that maybe he could just see really well.
As your father pulled up in his truck, you got up excitedly and ran towards him. You could see a line of other vehicles, much newer than your father's, pulling in around them. All the windows were heavily tinted and that struck you as odd for a moment, but you brushed it off. You jumped happily towards your father, who smiled brightly. You both fell into a hug. He had left a few days before to go pick up Tony and his family from the city. The city they flew in to was a day or so away, so they'd stayed in hotels on the way back, leaving you alone for about a week. You were beyond excited to finally have company, especially since the company was a group of people you'd never met before.
You heard a door open and you looked eagerly as a man you could only assume was Tony stepped out. You knew he was wealthy, but you didn't imagine he'd dress so sharply just to come home. He wore a full suit and tie with a pair of sunglasses that you decided must have cost more than your own small car. You waved happily, calling out to him, "Tony! Hey! It's been so long!"
He turned and gave you a smile. It definitely wasn't the typical warm Texas smile you were accustomed to, but it was a smile nonetheless and you took it. By now you were shaking from excitement; you'd never felt more ready to meet all these family members. You'd had so much time to imagine what they could be like and look like and you'd decided it would be a ton of kids and a wife (what you got, you'd realize later, wasn't far from your initial thoughts).
You were ready to be attacked by a swarm of children, similar to Misty and her kittens. What happened was just the opposite. The first person you saw was a very muscular man with blond hair and a terribly handsome face. Your breath was taken from you for a moment when he got out of his vehicle, smiling the most charming smile you'd ever seen. He waved to you and your father and you had to remind yourself to breathe, wave, and stop staring for God's sake, you would only embarrass yourself. You couldn't imagine which name belonged to him. Maybe that's Vision...he's quite a sight! You laughed at your own little joke before seeing the other man that got out of Mr. Handsome's truck.
"Am I seeing double...?" you mumbled under your breath. This man had an equally impressive muscular frame, but his hair was longer and a dark brown. He was just as attractive as Mr. Handsome, but in such a different way. Handsome Man was boyish, charming and looked gentle and kind, like he would help you make a flower crown for yourself and go on a picnic for the first date. This next man looked rugged and intimidating, but not quite scary, and he seemed like a one-night-stand kind of guy you would meet at a bar. You also noted his impressively blue eyes. He wore all black and long sleeves, even wearing black gloves. It's almost May and we're in Texas, you thought. Who would be wearing long sleeves right now? How far North are they from? You decided that this could either be James or Steve because he certainly didn't look like he'd go by "Vision" or Sam.
Next, you watched as the two women climbed out of one of the vehicles. One woman, the taller of the two, wore all black like the James/Steve guy and seemed just as crazy in attire. She wore a slick catsuit and she seemed a little on edge. Her shoulder length red hair was in loose waves and perfectly framed her gorgeous face. The second girl seemed a bit younger and was dressed a little more appropriately. In comparison anyway. She wore jeans and a blouse with a jacket. You weren't sure why all these people seemed so obsessed with covering up. They have to be from way up North, there's no way they aren't, you thought silently.
Before you could try and decipher which woman was Wanda and which one was Natasha, your attention was grabbed by the last truck. The first thing you noticed about the man that got out of the driver's side was that he was wearing normal clothes for Texas. He was dressed lightly, like Mr. Handsome. You guessed they were the only two that did their homework on how to dress on a Texan farm way out in the middle of nowhere.
Your attention was pulled away from everyone when Tony came over to you and your father. He smiled, he and father shook hands and exchanged greetings, during which you counted all of the adults (and no kids, sadly) that had emerged from the caravan. Then you stopped, furrowed your brows for a moment, and counted again. Mr. Handsome, James/Steve, Catsuit, Jacket, and the last man who now stood close to Mr. Handsome. Including Tony, that was only six people. You had been expecting seven. You looked to Tony with a confused expression. He glanced at you, back to your father and when your expression registered to him, he looked back to you.
"What? Is there something wrong with my hair?" he asked, reaching up to smooth out any stray hairs or mishaps.
"No," you laughed a little. Conceited much? "I was wondering where the seventh person is. Is it Sam that's missing?"
"No, Sam is over there with Steve and Bucky," a voice came from your left. You looked to see the catsuit redhead walking your way. She stretched out her hand and offered an introduction to you, which seemed contradictory to the way she looked. "My name is Natasha."
You took her hand and smiled politely. "My name is [Y/N]." Your father took her hand next while you looked around her at the group she'd gestured to.
Bucky? You tried to decide which one could be Bucky when Handsome man turned and caught you staring. You could feel your cheeks redden and you immediately looked down. A moment later he was walking towards where you stood with Tony, Natasha and your father. He smiled his charming, heart-melting smile and followed Natasha's lead. You shook his outstretched hand as he introduced himself as Steve. So then who is this Vision person if it's not you? The question sat in your head while the other two men came over to you and your father. You quickly found out that the punk rockstar guy was Bucky, which felt like an odd name for such a look. Sam had a similar charming smile and kind demeanor as Steve and you decided that you liked those two already. The other woman seemed to linger near the truck Sam had come from. You cocked your head slightly but figured she may have been shy or something.
After most everyone introduced themselves to you and your father, Tony explained that this was his team, but he considered them family (you swore you heard a scoff from someone after Tony said family). You and your father were quick to let everyone inside the house, offering drinks, snacks, and directions to their rooms. You had been in charge of assigning who would sleep in what guest room/extra space and now that you knew they weren't a band of children you were a little worried about the layout. You had put Steve, James and Vision all in one room in your little planner but now decided that their massive muscles would need more space than that. Quickly you went over the plan in your head and made small adjustments before leading everyone up the stairs. As you walked down the hall you pointed to each room, announcing where your guests would be staying.
"Steve, you and...Sam will be in this room," you said with mild confidence, hoping you'd chosen good roommates for each other in your last minute switch up. You heard a quick high five behind you and smiled to yourself. Good job, me, you thought as you high fived yourself in your head. Pointing to the room across the hall you announced, "Natasha, here's your room. Wanda's will be next door," you said half to yourself and half to Natasha. You were given a quick nod, a thank you, and Natasha disappeared into the room quickly. As you glanced back to watch, you could see Bucky looking longingly towards the room Steve and Sam were entering. You looked back ahead of you and frowned a little, feeling bad that you may have left a friend out.
As you rounded the corner of the hall, you gestured to the nicest guest room in the house. "Tony, here is your room," you announced, turning around to see him already inspecting it. His expression made him seem critical, but he smiled and thanked you. All that was left in the hall were you and Bucky and you suddenly felt nervous. Don't be awkward, you want these people to like you, you thought. Right then, Bucky stopped looking about the hallway and settled his eyes on you. You blushed suddenly and blurted out, "I'm sorry you didn't get put in the room with Steve and Sam!"
A small grin crept onto his face and he chuckled. "It's alright, I'll take whatever rooms you have available."
His voice fit his appearance perfectly, you noted. Quickly turning around, you looked down the hallway. There were two guest rooms left in your large home, but only one of them was on this floor. It was the one right next to your room. Trying to think quickly but not be awkward, you decided he might as well stay in that one. This mysterious "Vision" would have to hike to the third floor for his room.
You pointed down the hall in the general direction of what would be his door. "You can stay in that room. It's a little small compared to the others, but if you want there's-"
"Small is fine. Thank you," he cut you off suddenly but it didn't feel aggressive. It almost felt like he just wanted to save you from your own awkward rambling. You smiled slightly and let him pass you to get to the door. You were about to go back downstairs to check in with your father when you noticed that Bucky had stopped in front of your bedroom door. He reached to open it and you shouted just as he turned the knob.
"Wait! That's my room!"
Bucky looked at you innocently. "Oh. Sorry," he said quietly, stepping over to the door right next to yours. He reached for the knob, but looked at your first. His face told you that he was waiting for approval, just to be sure he wasn't entering the wrong room again. Your face was a bit red but you nodded. He smiled and then went into his room. As soon as the door shut, you facepalmed. Why did you yell? He was 8 feet away, you could have used your inside voice.