Hey guys, I'm back with a new story.
As you've probably guessed from the summary, this story is a collection of one-shots and short stories that will explore the team as they grow as learn together in the time from Age of Ultron to Civil War. I'll be doing mission stories as well as ones that are more fluff based. There'll be crazy shenanigans and lots of fun, along with a bit of angst in the mix.
Now, this first chapter is a little shorter than the length of most of the chapters I've got written. At the moment I have 4 complete chapters, 2 nearly finished, and 2 that are just about started. As this is mostly independent stories it maybe doesn't matter as much which order I post them (excluding the multi-chapter tales). However, there will be some references to earlier chapters in others as well.
Well, here we are. Of course, I still don't own Marvel. But its still my pleasure to present my newest story to you all.
EDIT: I should probably have mentioned that it'd be a good idea to read my first story in this series, Nemesis, first before reading this one. There are two main OCs that go through the Age of Ultron storyline with the Avengers and will feature heavily here. There'll be certain buts of information you'll need from reading Nemesis, although the events of AOU stay virtually the same.
Midnight meetings
The kitchen lights are on when Astraea patters down the wooden hallway, barefoot and tired, which surprises her. It's just about midnight, and surely no one else is awake now, right? A soft murmur of multiple voices trickles under the door and Astraea pauses, hand on the handle. She only wants to get a glass of milk, but it seems like others are struggling to sleep as much as she is. Perhaps some company will be nice.
She pushes the door open, slipping into the room quietly and blinks at the sudden brightness of it. Astraea had wandered down to the common room/kitchen in the dark, using the pale light of the moon outside and muscle memory to travel this far. The light is almost blinding and she stands still for a few moments, eyes screwed up against the brightness. Someone clears their throat and Astraea heads into the kitchen, searching for a clean glass in the cupboards.
Steve, Natasha, Sam, and Madison are all sat at the breakfast bar on stools, chatting softly as they sip from an assortment of mugs. The air is heavy with a sweet, chocolatey smell.
"Hot chocolate?" Astraea asks, filling her glass with milk.
"Well hello to you too," Madison chuckles, raising her mug to her. "Come to join the party, Rhea?"
Astraea shrugs. "I just wanted milk. Didn't think anyone else would be up." Four pairs of eyes look at her in surprise. "What? Are you guys having an insomniacs-anonymous meeting or something?"
"We're actually insomniacs-united if you want to join." Natasha deadpans and takes a sip of her drink.
Astraea's mouth waters; that hot chocolate smells so good.
Natasha notices. "Steve makes the best hot chocolate ever. Seriously, I think it's another superpower because nobody makes it as good as this." She spins around to face Steve. "Do you have a secret ingredient or something?"
"Made with love, Natasha." Steve chuckles slightly. "Or maybe people just can't make good hot chocolate anymore."
"Touché," Natasha concedes. "Say, super ears, reckon you can make something with your lab buddies to make this hot chocolate every time so we can have when Steve's not here?"
"Maybe," Astraea considers. "I'll need to try some first, see if it's reproducible." She waggles her eyebrows at Steve and sighs but gets up to make another mug. Astraea fist-pumps the air. "Whoop! Love a bit of hot chocolate."
"Rhea has a massive sweet tooth," Madison tells the rest of them. "I don't how she does it, but if there's something sweet nearby she'll track it down. Very useful for finding good bakeries for tasty treats. Although," she gives Astraea a critical look, watching as she licks a chocolate moustache off her top lip, "I'm pretty sure she'll eat anything sweet if she can get her hands on it."
"Hey! That's not entirely true. Super senses make it easier to find the good stuff."
"And your insatiable appetite for sweets and stuff."
Astraea makes a face and continues drinking her hot chocolate.
A few moments later, a brown-haired head pops around the corner. It's Wanda, clad in plaid pyjamas and rubbing at her eyes sleepily. She starts slightly at the sight of them all before shuffling into the kitchen and peering at their mugs with interest.
"Is that hot chocolate?" She asks, quiet and timid. "Could I … I mean, would it be okay if I could try some?" Wanda drops her gaze to the counter. She's been unsure about what she can and can't do ever since the Avengers accepted her to the team. Despite the pool party the previous weekend, Wanda often looks as though she's worried they'll all leave or say she can't stay anymore. As such, the other Avengers have made it their mission to make sure Wanda knows she's loved and protected her, with her new family.
"Sure, Wanda," Steve says. "You can have anything in the kitchen anytime, remember?"
She nods slightly and accepts the steaming mug with a muffled, "Thank you." Wanda joins Astraea, leaning against the countertop on the other side of the island breakfast bar.
They sit in silence for a few minutes, sipping at their mugs and soaking in each others' company. Then Sam gets up to put his empty mug in the sink and Vision walks through the wall. Sam screams and swears an impressive list of swear words.
"Jesus, man. You know how to scare someone. Almost gave me a heart attack."
"Evidence suggests that you did not nearly undergo myocardial infarction," Vision says, tilting his head at Sam. "I do not understand why you think you nearly had a heart attack."
"It's a figure of speech," Sam explains, "meaning that you scared me really bad."
"Ah. Thank you. I shall add the phrase to my list of human sayings that make no logical sense."
Rhodey pops through the open kitchen seconds later, panting slightly and half-dressed in normal clothes and half-dressed in pyjamas.
"I got a message from FRIDAY, saying none of you was in your rooms," he pants. "Nice of her to mention it was because of a midnight meeting and not an attack from giant, green slugs."
They all shudder, remembering the mission. It had been a very messy battle and the first of their missions as a team. They'd done pretty well, except for the incident with a particularly large slug that had exploded all over a wedding as they stood outside for photographs. The resulting slime had painted everyone in neon green and made the wedding day memorable for all the wrong reasons. The Avengers had apologised, of course, but the furious looks of the bride and groom's faces were scary than the slugs.
"Well, looks like we've got everyone here," Sam observes, looking around at the group leaning against the counter or sat on stools at the breakfast bar. "Insomniacs-united is now ready for our first official meeting."
"Hey, I'm Madison and I live in the Avengers' compound," Madison starts to talk, sending everyone into a round of giggles.
They're all tired and exhausted but unable to sleep properly. But, somehow, getting together as a team really helps them relax. Maybe none of them has shared why exactly they can't sleep, but it's a start. Trusting each other, spending time together as a team really makes them draw closer. Makes them become a family, Astraea realises with a small smile. Maybe they aren't your average, perfectly functional family but they build on each other's strengths and support one another, the way you should.
oOo
It's three in the morning when FRIDAY announces that they should go the bed as they have training in the morning and could be called out for missions at any time. They need rest, she tells them, and that will only come from sleep.
Still, they all have another round of the special Roger's hot chocolate before Rhodey suggests a toast.
"What for?" Wanda questions softly.
"Midnight meetings, and the friends that share them," he replies.
"To midnight meetings!" The team choruses, raising their mugs in a toast to the night and each other.
Well, there you go. A nice little chapter to start of this collection. I'm thinking this one is near to the time when the team have only recently moved into the base. They're still finding their feet a little around each other, but as time goes on they'll get closer together.
I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, and feel free to tell me if you have.
Thank you for reading.
Look-for-the-miracles