I have decided to go through my stories and fix some mistakes that I've noticed and maybe change some things here and there but nothing major.
Of course I do not own any part of the avengers.
Chapter: 1
"Stark, must you insist on watching that garbage?" Steve asked as he carried a large bowl of salad to the dining table. Since moving into Stark tower, so appropriately renamed the Avengers Tower, it was an unofficial rule that they eat dinner together at least once a week on what Tony had named the Common Floor. It was a nice ritual in which those who were halfway decent at cooking would help prepare a huge meal and those who weren't would either stay out of the way or help to set the table.
"Shh," Tony glanced at Steve waving his hand for him to be quiet. "The rumor mill is spinning," he said with a hint of deviousness in his eyes. He turned back to the TV in time to hear the group of people talking on whether or not Tony Stark would ever tie the knot with Pepper Potts. He quickly reached for the remote and turned it off. "Maybe you're right Cap that junk is bad for the mind," he said frantically as he approached the kitchen. "So what can I help with?" Steve, having heard the topic being discussed on the TV, smirked at Tony's reaction.
"You can help Natasha," he nodded to where the redhead stood next to several bottles of alcohol and other drinks. Tony stepped around Bruce who was preparing some homemade garlic bread, Clint who was working on spaghetti, and stood on the opposite side of the counter from Natasha. She was pouring all kinds of stuff into a glass and Tony watched for a moment before interrupting.
"Whatcha working on little red?"
"Playing," She said and finished pouring whatever she had been mixing then raised the glass to Tony. He took a sip and nodded his approval.
"Amazing," he said then handed it back to her. She handed him another to try and after taking a sip he had to wait a second before speaking. "Don't get me wrong I love it but I'm pretty sure if I were a normal man with much less experience I would be dead with just one of these." He took another sip then handed it back as well.
"Tasha let's try to keep everyone alive tonight," Clint said as he stirred the sauce and shot her a smile over his shoulder.
"Here," she said handing him another glass. Tony accepted and once again nodded but this time kept the drink.
"You're good Red I'll give you that." It had become a regular thing for the two of them to test their drink experiments out on each other. Drinking was something that they enjoyed every once in a while and it seemed to be a way for the two of them to bond. Clint was just happy that Natasha had taken to him, and to everyone else, as well as she had and vice-versa. Pepper didn't mind because Natasha always cut him off when he had too much and he returned the favor on some occasions. There were a few times where the Russian had more than she should have because of a bad dream, or if a mission ended badly, and on those days when it was just the two of them drinking it was up to Tony to call it quits. It was the same way for Tony when he had nightmares and issues of his own. Though there were also those occasions where both of them would have way too much and the others would have to stop them both. Those days were either really good days filled with too much free time, fun, and dares, or really bad days filled with past memories, fear, and sadness. Either way it was something the two of them enjoyed.
Actually they all seemed to have developed different ways to bond with each other and not just the obvious people like Tony and Bruce with their love of science. For example, Steve and Bruce had bonded over their love of literature. Natasha enjoyed a good book every now and then as well but Steve and Bruce were constantly sharing their different opinions about whatever they were reading at the time and trading books with each other. Clint had bonded with Steve through the use of target practices. He was helping Steve to improve his aim and the two of them liked to challenge each other. Tony bonded with Clint when he found out that the archer wasn't scared to try out his new inventions. Tony and Steve found that they enjoyed talking about cars and even went to a car show or two. Steve and Natasha liked to spar. In fact Natasha spent almost as much time sparing with him as she did with Clint. Bruce and Clint bonded over cooking and enjoyed trying out different recipes to prepare. Bruce and Natasha shared a love of tea and they enjoyed spending time alone talking while drinking the warm beverage. Thor wasn't around as much as they would like but when he was there he took up an interest with almost everything they all did. According to him he wanted to better understand their skills and hobbies.
"Hey can you two pour drinks for dinner? It's just about ready." Bruce said taking the bread from the oven. Natasha nodded then she and Tony got to work pouring the non-alcoholic drinks that would were to be served for dinner and passed them around on the table.
"It smells amazing in here," Pepper said as she made her grand entrance. She put her briefcase down and took off her suit's jacket before joining them all in the kitchen. She gave Tony a quick kiss then picked up two of the drinks that had been poured and brought them to the table.
"How was the meeting," Natasha asked as her and Pepper took their usual seats at the table.
"Exhausting," Pepper replied and Natasha nodded. It was a strange relationship between the two of them. When Pepper had found out that Natasha was really a spy that had been deceiving her and Tony she was a bit angry at the woman. However, she was also happy because the spy had helped to save Tony. She was also relieved to find out that Natasha had no interest in Tony at all. Pepper couldn't quite understand why but there was some kind of barrier between the two of them. Since the battle of New York they had started to warm up to each other more but they weren't exactly best friends, barely even friends at all. They did get along well enough though.
"You know what," Tony spoke up as he took his seat across from Pepper "I'm thinking that we should all go out somewhere tomorrow." Both Natasha and Pepper looked at him. The rest of the men came in as well, Clint sitting across from Natasha, Steve beside him, and Bruce beside Natasha.
"There's a party tomorrow isn't there," Natasha asked.
"There may or may not be a small get together tomorrow night that would be a lot more interesting if we all showed up." As they talked food was passed around from person to person.
"What exactly are Bruce and I suppose to do," Steve asked. Tony shrugged then a second later snapped his fingers.
"You could be each other's wingman." He grinned widely at the thought. "There will be plenty of ladies there looking for someone to take them home."
"I think I'll pass." Bruce said shaking his head at his friend.
"Yeah I think that's a no for me too." Steve agreed and handed the salad to Pepper.
"Can't be alone forever big guy," Tony replied then looked to Bruce "and ugh...bigger guy."
"None of your business Tony," Pepper reminded him gently.
"I don't know," Clint spoke up "I think I agree with Stark on this one."
"Thank you!" Tony said loudly.
"Then it's a good thing that it's none of your business either," Natasha told him with a look that said to drop the subject.
"Its ok guys," Bruce said "I'm just, I'm not ready for that yet." His thoughts involuntarily went to Betty and he had to shake the memories away before he got upset. He didn't want to ruin the night with the past.
"I'm with him," Steve agreed, his own mind going back to Peggy and the time that they had lost. The conversation dropped after that. A silence filled the air as everyone started eating. Bruce was the first to break it up.
"Clint this spaghetti is amazing."
"Thanks, this bread is awesome too." A chorus of agreements echoed around the table.
"So Stark," Steve began when the silence settled in again. He flashed Tony a grin "any good gossip on the TV lately?"
"No," Tony answered just a bit too fast. Pepper gave him a questioning look while the others tried not to laugh. Tony glared at Steve once Pepper's attention was elsewhere.
"Just curious," he said acting innocent. Tony's face lit up with a devious smile that shut Steve up immediately.
"So Hawk man," Tony reached over and grabbed his drink then made a show of taking a sip and sitting back comfortably in his chair. "Have you and the Spider gotten a little rough with each other lately?" Steve choked on the food in his mouth and was instantly uncomfortable. Tony grinned victoriously.
"Stark I don't think that..." Steve was cut off by a dagger that flew across the table, shattered Tony's glass that was still in his hand, and embedded itself in the wall behind him. Everyone went silent and looked from the pale faced Tony to Natasha who had a deadly serious look in her eyes.
"Don't use us for your games Stark." Her voice was dark and if Tony were a lesser man he would have fled the room at the killer vibes flowing from the Russian.
"Ok Widow jeez, there's no need to get violent. Learn to take a joke." He took his napkin and dabbed at the drink that he was now wearing.
"And Stark,"
"What," Tony Stark would never admit that the woman made him nervous as hell but it was obvious that she did. Everyone else remained silent throughout the whole exchange and ready to step in if necessary. They all watched as Natasha blinked and her eyes switched from absolute death mode to amusement.
"I win." Clint was the first to burst out laughing, followed by Steve, then everyone else joined in. Everyone except for Tony who was staring unbelievingly at her.
"You're scary woman." A smirk played across her face as she stood from her seat.
"It's a talent," and with that being said she went to get a towel to clean up the mess she had made. Tony shook his head and looked at Clint who was still chuckling.
"Where did that knife even come from," Clint raised his hand and did the lips are sealed motion before turning his attention back to his plate. Tony glanced down at his then looked back up at the archer. "You don't think she'd actually hit me..."
"She wouldn't kill you," Clint interrupted.
"Ok, that's not what I asked."
"It's the only honest answer I can give." Tony didn't find that comforting at all.
