The next morning, Leana checked out of the hotel and brought her stuff out to the front. She looked around at the vehicles parked on the side of the curb to try to figure out which one was Tony's. This task suddenly became much easier once she payed attention to the license plates, as "Stark 15" isn't exactly subtle, and neither was the man holding the back door open like a limo driver.
"You must be Happy," Leana said, walking over with her bags. "I'm Leana Armen."
"Pleasure to meet you. Let me take your bags for you," Happy offered. He went to the back of the very nice car, pressing a button on a small remote that popped the trunk. Leana watched as Happy carefully loaded her bags into the trunk. Once he finished, she slid into the back seat of the car, behind the passenger seat, since that was the door that was open. Happy closed the door behind her before taking a seat in the driver's seat and pulling out into the road.
"How exactly did you meet Mr. Stark?" Happy asked curiously.
"He helped me chase off a pervert at the bar," Leana told him. "Had him run off before I was able to show him that not all girls are helpless."
"Not exactly how he told it," Happy commented, sounding amused. "He said that he rescued you and he didn't know where you'd be without him."
Leana shook her head. "Only Tony Stark can be so likable while being so arrogant."
The two of them made small talk all the way to the Avengers Mansion. As soon as the car pulled up to the gates, they opened, and Happy drove right up to the doors. He got out of the car and opened the door for Leana, before unloading her things. Leana looked around the mansion grounds, taking in everything. It was a lot bigger than it looked in pictures.
"Thank you," Leana thanked Happy before taking her stuff and walking up to the gates. She was nervous, and already a bit star-struck. These people weren't just celebrities, they were super-powered celebrities. And Leana didn't exactly have the best track record when it came to avoiding being an annoyance.
She set a bag down so she could knock on the door, but even before her hand made contact, it opened and there stood Tony. "Hello there," he greeted, smiling. He pointed up to a small camera above the door showing how he was able to see her walk up. "Come in!" He stepped aside, holding the door wide open for Leana and her bags.
Directly in front of her was a large whiteboard with what she could assume was "WELCOME LEANA" scrawled out on it, with various colored lines and dots around for decoration.
"I made it when I was still drunk, and I didn't want it to go to waste," Tony explained. "Considering in my drunken state, I used permanent markers. It's an ancient relic anyway compared to computers."
Leana laughed. "Thanks again for letting me stay here," she thanked. "It's almost surreal to think that yesterday I was just a fan of the Avengers, and today I'm living with you guys."
"Well, not all of us stay full-time," Tony stated. "Some of us do have our own places, in my case a mansion. Steve, Thor, and Hulk are the full-time residents, as well as T'Challa when he's not off being king in Africa. The others stop by often, though, and sometimes spend the night."
"Awesome," Leana replied. "Is there any way I can repay you?"
"No need," Tony said with a wave. "As long as you clean up after yourself, you'll be fine. Stay as long as you wish."
"If you say that, I might never leave," Leana joked. He watched Tony's reaction for any sign that he was not fond of the idea.
"That's fine. We can use another girl around here."
"Tony? Who's this?" Captain America asked, walking into the entry hall.
"You didn't tell the others about me?" Leana asked Tony.
"I was drunk and it was late!" Tony defended himself.
"I'm Leana. I was kicked out of SHIELD yesterday and Tony offered for me to stay here."
"Steve Rogers." He held out a hand for a handshake, which Leana returned. "You're welcome to call me Steve or Cap. I answer to both."
"Or Star Spangled Man," Tony said in a stage-whisper to Leana, but loud enough for Steve to here.
"Tony, did you not offer to take her stuff up to her room for her?" Steve scolded.
"I was getting around to it!"
Steve walked over and grabbed the larger of the two bags, picking it up as if there was nothing in it. "Tony." He nodded towards the other bag.
"It's okay. I can get it," Leana told him.
"I got it. Cap will not be happy with me if I don't insist." Tony picked up the bag before heading over to the elevator.
"The stairs will be faster, Tony," Steve insisted.
"It's not about haste - it's about comfort."
"Well, Leana probably wouldn't be comfortable crowded in an elevator with two men, so I'm taking the stairs."
"Have fun with that!" Tony chimed as he and Leana stepped onto the elevator. She watched Steve head towards the stairs as the elevator door closed. "Sorry about Cap. He's a bit of a stick in the mud."
"I don't mind," Leana said. "How can I? It's Captain America." There was a small moment of silence, then Leana laughed.
"What's so funny?" Tony asked curiously.
"It's nothing. Don't worry." She didn't want to tell Tony that she just called him and Steve an old married couple in her head. "Just thought of something funny."
The elevator door opened on the second floor, and Steve was already waiting there for the two of them. "This way, Leana," Tony said as he led the way off the elevator. Leana and Steve followed him down the hall to one of the rooms. "And here you go!" He opened the door with his free hand and set the bag he was carrying just inside the door, though out of the way. Steve slid by and set the bag he was carrying further into the room. The room itself was a moderate size, with a bed, nightstand, table, chair, and closet.
"Thank you both," Leana thanked. "And, Tony, could you please tell the others? It'd be awkward to be sitting downstairs and having one of the others just walk in."
"Everyone's here, I think. Some are probably swimming, or watching TV, or something," Tony stated. "I'll give you the tour."
"I'll see you around, Leana," Steve said. "And if Tony ever does something you don't like, let me know." He gave a wave before leaving.
Tony took Leana around the second floor first, since they were already there. He pointed out where the bathroom was located, as well as everyone's rooms. Next he took her upstairs onto the roof, where the pool was located.
As soon as Tony opened the door, Leana heard some splashing around.
"I am telling you, Jan, I do not want to swim. Just sticking my feet in is enough," Hank said.
"I don't want to be the only one swimming," Janet pouted.
"Janet, Hank, meet Leana," Tony announced, making their presence known. "She's going to be staying here for a while."
"Awesome, finally I'm not the only girl!" Janet exclaimed, climbing out of the pool to greet the newcomer. Hank stood up from his spot on the side of the pool. His tanktop seemed pretty wet for refusing to swim, probably due to Janet trying to splash him.
"I'd introduce Hank and I but you probably already know us," Janet said as she, then Hank shook hands with Leana.
"It's nice to meet both of you," Leana greeted, grinning. "I'm a fan of the Avengers, so this is like stepping into a dream for me."
"Even I get that feeling sometimes, too," Janet said. She elbowed Hank in the side. "Say something!"
"Pleasure to meet you, Leana," Hank greeted. "If the others' craziness gets too much to handle, you can hang out in my lab with Jan and I."
"I'll keep that in mind. Thanks," Leana replied with a nod. She looked at Tony. "Next destination?"
"The downstairs." Tony took Leana back down from the roof, the girl waving farewell to Hank and Janet as she closed the door behind her.
Upon Leana's insistence that she can walk down stairs and didn't have to use the elevator, the two of them did just that. As they went down the last flight of stairs, a dark-skinned man wearing all black turned around the corner to go up the stairs.
"And this is T'Challa. Better known as Black Panther," Tony introduced. "T'Challa, this is Leana. She'll be a new houseguest."
"Welcome," T'Challa greeted with a nod. "I hope you like it here." He then walked past them and up the stairs.
"Don't mind him," Tony said. "He's a man of few words, unless he's in the process of proving me wrong."
"Noted," Leana replied with a nod.
"So, over there's the kitchen, where Hulk is currently eating," Tony pointed out. "Hey, Hulk, come greet our new housemate," he called. The Hulk simply put up a hand in greeting, not even turning to look at Leana. Tony sighed. "When he's eating, he just never gives a damn about anything else. Moving on!" He continued walking, leading Leana into another room, where the two final Avengers were lounging. Hawkeye seemed quite comfortable spread out, taking up the whole couch as he watched TV, while Thor sat on a chair nearby and asked questions about the show, which seemed to annoy Hawkeye.
"Clint, Thor, I'd like you to meet Leana," Tony introduced.
"And which bar did you pick her up in?" Hawkeye asked good-humoredly as he went to get up.
"The usual one, but it's not what you think, Clint," Tony replied. "She was just fired from SHIELD and she needed a place to stay, so I offered for her to stay here."
"Oh, not in your bedroom?"
"Clint, I do not think it kind to tease Tony as such," Thor pointed out as he stood up as well. "You may offend Leana."
"You're lucky I thought it was funny," Leana said, crossing her arms. "It's very nice to meet you guys."
"Pleasure to meet ye as well," Thor replied, while Clint nodded in agreement.
"I'm sure I'm going to have a lot of fun here," Leana said, grinning. "Thanks for the hospitality." This right here was an amazing experience. Right in front of her was Hawkeye himself. Luckily, the only manifestation of this was her grin. "Tour over, Tony?"
"Yep, we covered everything," Tony told her.
"Great! I'm going to go unpack my stuff then. See ya all later!" She gave a wave before she headed to the elevator to go back up to the second floor and into her room.
Leana took her time with unpacking her stuff, making sure everything was right where she wanted it now, even though she new the cleanliness wasn't going to last for very long. When she finished, she headed back downstairs to see how the other Avengers were doing.
"I do not think it is a good idea, Tony," came a voice from the living room. Leana recognized it as T'Challa's. "We don't know anything about her! And we're just going to have her stay here?" Leana stopped. They were talking about her! And, from the sounds of it, it doesn't sound like they were all very happy. She stood against the wall by the door to listen in.
"She needed a place to stay, and we have plenty of room here," Tony defended himself.
"I see where Tony's coming from, and I would probably do the same," Steve stated. "But, Tony, you should've at least warned us. It's kind of a big deal to have a new person move in indefinitely!"
"Oh, come on! I was drunk!" Tony stated. "I would've forgotten my own name if I weren't so famous."
"How do we know she is who she claims to be?" Clint asked. "Anyone could claim to be a former SHIELD agent. Trust me on that one."
"Look, I still have SHIELD files here. I can check to see if she's in the system," Tony said.
"And even if she is, how do we know she's telling the truth about why she was fired? 'Distracted on the job' seems very vague," T'Challa pointed out.
"You guys are so cynical!" Janet chimed in. "You act like everyone we don't know is a threat. Can't we just trust her?"
"Jan, you just want another girl around here," Hank told her. "In my opinion, yes, I see the risks. We can just have JARVIS watch and report if he sees anything suspicious. I'm with Steve in that it was a generous offer, though it would've been better if Tony had let us know ahead of time."
"That seems reasonable," Tony agreed with a nod. "I'll have JARVIS keep an eye on her, while I do a bit of a background check."
Since the meeting seemed to be over and Leana didn't want to be caught eavesdropping, she hurried over to the kitchen to get herself a snack. She should've known that the others wouldn't instantly like her. The thought just never crossed her mind, since everyone was being so polite.