The story has not been betaed. If you see any mistakes, let me know and I will correct them.
Leadership is set after the first Avengers movie and before the second Captain America movie. There are no spoilers for anything.
Steve is on some pretty strong painkillers and he's thankful for that, because he doesn't want to feel the wound in his chest. It was a pretty close call, even for him. Who knew that super-villains actually still used guns? Or that someone would actually be so lucky as to hit Captain America?
The team is being ushered out of his hospital room, but Steve manages to catch Thor's attention and beckons him to lean down.
"Take care of them," he says, and Thor nods solemnly.
Unlike what the media assumes, there is no official leader of the Avengers, and Captain America does not always call the shots. With Steve, Thor and Tony there are three strong personalities on the team that are difficult to unite under one commander. And each of them has strengths and weaknesses.
Steve has led men into battle in the past, but he doesn't always understand modern warfare. Thor has centuries of battle experience, and he is a prince and a god besides; but like Steve, he does not always know what to do on modern Midgard. Tony knows all about the theory and weaponry of war, and he likes it when people listen to him, but officially he is only a consultant, and he proclaims loudly and often enough that he is not a military man.
Clint and Natasha could take over as their leaders, and occasionally they do, but only in the field, never at home. Bruce doesn't want to lead, and Hulk was out of the question anyway.
What it comes down to is that the position of leadership is passed around depending on the situation and the expertise required. Each of them has their area of specialty. Outside of battle, Thor is the one who acts as an adhesive. He manages to make Bruce and Clint relax, Natasha smile and Steve relax. He manages to get Tony to leave his workshop and just hang out with the team, earning his respect mostly because Thor can drink anyone under the table and—unlike Steve—is more than willing to do so. Thor is the one who insists that brothers and sisters in arms must spend time together outside of battle to forge a bond. He's charismatic in ways that Steve and Tony aren't. Steve can hold a group of soldiers together with a common cause, and Tony can get a party rolling, but it's not the same. So when it comes to the team's emotional well-being and helping them unwind in ways that go beyond women and alcohol, Thor is the go-to-guy. And since Steve has just been shot, Thor is the right person to take care of their team.
The Avengers stumble into the tower, tired because they haven't rested since the fight, and it's been more than 24 hours since then. Thor, the most awake of them all, herds them into the living room. He reheats leftovers from the day before, or two days before, and sets the plates in front of each Avenger or alternatively presses it right into their hands. Bruce is barely awake by that point, but Thor makes him eat anyway.
"You need your strength, brother," he says to him, his hand warm and strong on Bruce's shoulder.
Bruce eats.
Tony is hyperactive, tapping away on his tablet more than stabbing blindly at the food on his plate. His foot is kicking steadily against the kitchen island. Thor would take the tablet away if it weren't for the strained look in the engineer's wide eyes. Most likely he was working on Steve's armor again. It should have been bullet-proof. Thor keeps an eye on him, making sure that at least most of the food would eventually go to Tony's stomach.
Natasha and Clint aren't as obviously exhausted. They dutifully shovel food into their mouth, mechanically, and Thor doubts they even taste the pasta.
He himself is not so affected. His superior strength has been more than sufficient, so now his responsibility to look after his worn team mates is even greater. He can be caring when he wants to, although he would freely admit that this is a side that Jane has brought out in him more than anything else. Looking back, he knows that he has missed many chances in Asgard; he hopes he makes up for his past mistakes now.
The last plate his for himself, not the first. He looks from one Avenger to the next regularly, catching Natasha's yawn, Clint's eyes drooping, and finally the clatter of Bruce dropping his fork. He goes to the scientist first, but Tony is already there. Stark gives Thor a look meant to convey that he'll take care of him and take him to bed, but he looks so bad himself with red-rimmed eyes that Thor doesn't leave him to it but helps in dropping Bruce on a corner of the huge sofa. He leaves him there, and Tony with his tablet, and goes to bring blankets. They need to stay close tonight, and it's not the first time they all crashed on the couch. Amazingly, all of them can fit, but usually someone ends up sleeping on the floor anyway.
By the time Thor returns, Clint and Natasha have already found spots of their own to sleep on either side of Bruce, and Tony is sitting on the floor. Half of his plate is still on the table, but Thor lets it go. If the other man isn't sleeping within the hours though, he'll take out the Asgardian mead, which makes Tony fall asleep more quickly and more deeply than any medication on earth.
In the end, it doesn't turn out to be necessary. Thor takes the tablet from his limp fingers and throws a blanket over him. Just as he is looking around at his sleeping team mates, Thor's cell phone vibrates on the table. It's Steve's name that's blinking on the screen; apparently, the soldier had somehow gotten a hold of a cell phone, and sent Thor a text. Even incapacitated in the hospital, he still has to check up on the rest of them. Thor understands why.
All is well. Go to sleep, Thor writes back. Then he takes one of the blankets for himself and beds down on the floor next to Tony, the almost miniscule phone close at hand.
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed. Reviews are always welcome.