A/N: And now we start to flesh out the time between Age of Ultron and Civil War. This should be fun. We're going... Canadian.
When the Avengers returned, they were battered and bruised, and carrying two extra members. Evie was introduced to Vision, who sounded like Jarvis, which weirded her out a bit, and Wanda. After debriefing and a little rest, everyone was going a little stir-crazy in the tower.
They needed a break.
Evie was the one who had come up with the idea.
"My Mom and her brother own this cottage, up north of the Thousand Islands. It's perfect – remote, quiet. Mom's in Cuba, and her brother is in Europe on business. It's perfect. I'll arrange things with her," she grinned. "Come on, road trip!"
In the end, the road trip consisted of her, Steve, Vision, Wanda and Nat. Clint had opted to head off on his own, Thor had returned to Asgard, and Tony and Bruce decided to hold down the fort and do whatever they got up to in their science-y stuff, Tony declaring Canadian cottage life 'too rustic' for his liking. Evie gave Tony the phone number at the cottage, because cell service up there was patchy at the best of times, and the five of them had packed up the black SUV with the roof rack.
"Dibs on driving!" Evie snatched the keys from the table.
"Shotgun!" hollered Nat.
"Aww, come on," Steve groaned.
"Just call that you aren't riding bitch!" Evie punched him on the arm playfully.
"What is… riding bitch?" Vision asked, looking so earnestly curious that everyone burst into laughter.
"It means being stuck in the middle of the back seat. Which can be a nightmare if you get carsick."
"Well, I know that's impossible," Vision said. "So I will ride the bitch."
"Oh my god, Chou, that's hilarious," Evie collapsed against the counter, laughing. Since her version of Jarvis had been completely disconnected from Tony's, Vision didn't have the same recollection of it, and therefore didn't object to the pet name like he did being called Jarvis.
"Come on, let's get a move on, it's a long drive," Steve said, sighing.
Nat sat with her feet up on the dashboard, drumming along on the armrest to the radio. All of the music was new to Steve and Vision, so Nat and Evie were performing impromptu Car Karaoke, sometimes very badly, much to the mutual annoyance and amusement of the backseat hostages.
"Can we stop at the next rest area? We should eat something. And I have to pee," Nat said, as one song ended.
"Sure, no problem. Next one's coming up in two exits. I should fill the tank, while we're at it."
"How long is this drive, anyway?" Steve asked. Vision was looking out the window in fascinated wonder, and Wanda was reading a book quietly, headphones jammed in her ears.
"Eh, seven hours tops, unless we hit a traffic snag somewhere. We'll stop to pick up some supplies, but we should get there by about eight tonight, if we don't dawdle too long."
"Did anyone ever tell you that you drive like a maniac?" Steve chided from the backseat, as she automatically swerved to avoid a pothole.
"I drive like a Montrealer, we're all nuts," she retorted. She pulled off at the next exit, and they all got out of the car to stretch their legs.
Wanda opted to switch seats with Vision so he could look out the window – which he did, almost like a puppy dog, window rolled down and all. She snoozed in the middle seat, her head eventually drooping onto his shoulder. He didn't seem to mind. Nat decided to give Steve a break and swapped seats with him – his knees were getting cramped, and she wanted to nap. Evie switched stations and turned the radio down, humming along to it softly, as they rolled up to the Canadian border.
Evie handed over all of their passports, and after the guards checked the trunk, they were on their way.
They stopped in Kingston and grabbed some groceries, then headed north. Bumping along gravel roads through thick woods, Evie eventually pulled into a gravel driveway and parked the car. Down a set of steps, through the trees, was a big log cabin, stone chimney against one wall.
They dragged their luggage down to the door as the light was beginning to fade, Evie fetching the spare key from underneath a random rock and unlocking the door.
"Home sweet home," she said, plunking the cooler down on the counter. "We'll get everything inside, and then we'll figure out sleeping arrangements," she grinned, opening the fridge and arranging items inside, including a case of beer.
She gave them the grand tour. The downstairs was open-concept, a kitchen and a living room with squashy, comfortable couches. A huge stone fireplace took up most of one wall, and there was a little dusty old CRT TV in the corner. There were built in bookshelves stuffed to the brim on either side of the fireplace, both with books and board games. A patio door led out into a glassed-in porch, which had a huge dining room table. The porch led out onto a deck, which looked out over a huge lake. The water was still, disturbed only by a couple of loons, whose haunting calls pierced as Evie opened one of the porch windows, letting in the crisp September evening air.
There was a bedroom containing a double bed and the bathroom downstairs. Upstairs was a lofted bedroom that also looked out over the lake, and a second bedroom with bunk beds.
"There are more beds in the outbuildings," she explained. "We have the bunkie – which has four bunks, usually that's where my brother and his drunk friends get put, and the Love Shack, also known as the shed-with-a-bed. But everyone can fit inside the cottage, unless they feel like going off alone, I think."
"I don't really need sleep, as it were," Vision explained. "I'll be content to pass the nights reading. I can rest, but I don't operate the same way you do."
"I'll share the bunk room with Wanda," Nat said, tossing her duffel on the top bunk.
"Downstairs or upstairs?" Evie turned to Steve.
"I don't think I could beat waking up to this," Steve said, looking out over the sunset on the lake. "Upstairs."
"Well, Chou, that means you get the downstairs bedroom," Evie patted him on the shoulder. "That actually works out. If you're puttering around at all hours, at least you won't be disturbing anyone else. Now, you guys make yourselves at home, I'm gonna rustle us up some Kraft Dinner."