This chapter follows a different structure from the other chapters due to the amount of characters in it. They are snippets giving an insight into everyone's summer. Enjoy!
[Loki]
For the most part, Loki's summer had been quite uneventful. They had been to the beach as well as a few other places, but they had yet to have actual fun. Odin had promised them that they would be visiting their 'country' over the summer, but all of that had been put on the backburner as he was called into a very important council. This just meant that instead of being able to go back home for the summer, they were stuck here doing nothing. Loki was really annoyed by it all, with Clint, Natasha, and Tony away; he was left with only Thor for company. That wasn't going so well right now.
"Loki! Look at what Jane has taught me." Thor ran up to Loki waving a notebook in front of him.
This is what his summer had been so far, he wasn't having fun with Thor because Thor was having fun with Jane. "That looks very interesting." That had been his response every time Thor came running to him with something. It wasn't that he didn't like Jane, it was just irritating being in the same room with Jane and Thor.
"Oh brother, you should come with me. Perhaps you can learn from Jane as well." Thor gave him the kicked puppy look that he couldn't say no to.
"Alright, I'll be there in a bit." he turned back to his desk and grabbed his phone.
Next summer I'm sneaking into your suitcase as a stowaway. - LHe sent the text message to Clint then put his phone in his pocket and made his way over to where Jane was currently talking to Thor about the solar system.
It was hell; Jane took his disinterest the wrong way and thus began explaining everything in the slowest manner possible. If he didn't hate her before, after summer he most definitely would.
"I'll see you guys tomorrow." Jane said as she waved to Thor and Loki.
Thor was ecstatic that he'd be spending more time with Jane, Loki was hoping to get sick and not have to deal with them anymore. As he got to his room, his phone chirped.
Next summer we're totally bringing you along or staying home to keep you company. – C & N
He smiled as he set his phone on his desk, the day didn't seem to suck as much anymore.
[Thor and Jane]
"The stars were given names as they were discovered, but there are so many that only the most significant stars have actual names, they are the ones that belong to constellations. Like, Sirius, Sirius is part of the canis major constellation. It's named that because it looks like a dog when you connect the stars together." Jane smiled as Thor lay next to her looking up at the stars with her.
Thor listened intently as Jane spoke of the stars; it was his favorite subject of discussion. He loved how fascinated she was by it all, the amount of knowledge she held was just as amazing. "Kind of like connect the dots."
"Yes!" Jane flashed him a smile as she continued to explain. "Right above Sirius, a bit to the side, you can see a row of three bright stars, that grouping is known as 'orion's belt'."
"Why is it called that?"
"It's called that because of the constellation they are in, that is Orion the Hunter. The three stars serve as his belt. It's kind of like when you lie down to look at the clouds and you try to guess a shape that they're making. The same method applies to the stars."
Thor nodded as he gazed upon the stars, he could almost see the shapes Jane mentioned. "Right, and you keep track of it all through Polaris, right?"
Jane turned and smiled widely at Thor. "Yup! The one star never moves it helps keep track of everything else. When sailors or navigators are lost, they look to the sky to find Polaris because it's always in the north. It will always help guide you home."
He loved lying out under the stars with Jane it just felt right. If they had gone back home for the summer he wouldn't have had the opportunity to hang out with Jane and learn of the many names humans gave to the stars.
"Do you think there are aliens out there?" Jane asked as Thor continued looking at the stars.
"Yeah, I don't think they look anything like they do in the movies though. Some look blue and are ginormous while others look exactly like us. There are some that are a bit on the ugly side, but in the end, I don't think they mean us any harm. Do you believe in aliens?"
Jane sat up and turned to look at the stars as Thor sat up as well. "Yes, I don't think they mean us any harm either. I just can't wait for the day when we can explore something other than the moon."
After Jane left, Thor went to his room and looked out the window. Perhaps, one day he would be able to show her the stars and planets she loved so much.
[Steve and Bucky]
Summer was bitter sweet for Steve. On one side, he got to go to the beach and the various fairs set up around town, on the other he didn't get to spend as much time with his friends, and he liked to. Not to mention he did rather miss doing schoolwork. After the first week of summer, his mom had taken away his vacation homework and had sent him out of the house with the order that he should not return until dinnertime. This left him with a whole afternoon of wondering what to do.
"Hey Steve, finished all your vacation homework already?" Bucky yelled out as he ran over to join Steve.
Bucky was one of Steve's very best friends, they had been friends since they were toddlers. Steve turned and smiled at him as he ran towards him. "No, my mom took away the packet and kicked me out of the house. She said I shouldn't return until dinnertime."
"Come on, Steve! The day is great, the sun is shining and we have no school for the next two months. You should at least try to enjoy yourself. Why don't we go over to the fair that's near the pier, you gotta have fun, Steve." Bucky didn't wait for Steve to answer before he was pulling him over towards the way to the fair.
"Wait, I thought your mom grounded you for helping Tony flood the bathroom at school?" Steve had wanted no part in it, of course Bucky always found someone to pull pranks with and it was usually Tony.
The boy laughed as he remembered the prank. It had been the day before school was over for the summer; he wanted to do something as a form of celebration. Too bad they had been caught. "Yeah, I was. She got tired of having me at home though. It just meant that instead of bugging people out here, I was bugging her the whole day. She just won't let me hang out with Tony anymore, but he's away at camp anyway."
"I told you it was going to get you in trouble." Steve smiled as they arrived at the fair, he wasn't big on them but it seemed like something fun for him and Bucky to do for the day. "What do you want to do first?"
"Let's get on the rides; I want to try the whirlpool one!" Bucky didn't wait for an answer from Steve, he just grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the ride.
Steve was sure he looked green by the time they got off the ride, it got stuck halfway through the spinning and to make up for it the guy had given everyone a free ride. He wasn't a fun of it, but Bucky had been excited over it. "Let's not do that one again."
Bucky laughed as he looked at Steve, good thing he hadn't suggested eating before getting on the ride. "Look at the bright side, now you know you'll never want to be stuck in a whirlpool."
"Right, because that was going to happen at some point in my life."
[Bruce and Betty]
Bruce had been disappointed to find out that Tony's dad hadn't sent him to science camp. They had made so many plans on what experiments they would do while at camp. This left Bruce with a whole bunch of other kids who he wasn't sure he wanted to befriend. Not that he thought he was better than they were, but it was hard for him to make friends. So far, he had only talked to one other kid and it was only because they were trying to decide which bunk to take. He had ended up in the bottom bunk.
"Hey Bruce!" a girl shouted as she ran up to him.
His head snapped up as he heard his name. It was Betty, he didn't know she was coming to this camp, she had told him she was going with her dad to visit some family. "Hey Betty, what are you doing here?"
Betty was glad she had found someone in the camp that she knew. She and Jane had originally made plans to attend the camp, but with her going away with her dad, those plans had been axed. As always, her dad had cancelled those plans because of work and decided to send her to camp after all. She didn't mind, but it always made it easier when she had at least one familiar face. "I'm here to do science, silly."
"Heh, I meant, I thought you were going with your dad somewhere." Bruce said nervously as he moved over to give Betty room to sit.
"I was, but you know how it is, work is always important." Betty took a seat next to Bruce and grabbed the book he had in his hands.
The sadness in Betty's voice when she spoke that last sentence cut daggers through Bruce. It angered him that parents could be so selfish like that. He knew full well how she felt, his parents did it all the time. The main reason they didn't argue science camp was because they had a conference they wanted to attend, with Bruce out of the way they could happily go. Seeing her flip through his book, he decided to change the subject. "I'm thinking of doing that."
Betty arched an eyebrow as she looked from Bruce to the book. "Physics?"
"Yup, I like biochemistry too, but Physics is far more interesting. The things you can learn from particles are so awesome." He smiled and looked away as he felt his face get hot. He could almost hear Tony 'Way to nerd out, Banner.'
"I haven't decided yet, I might just end up being a researcher or something." Betty smiled as she saw Bruce blush. She liked Bruce's love for knowledge; she may have even liked Tony if he wasn't so irritating. "Come on; let's see what experiments we can do while we're here."
Bruce was about to tell her she'd be good at whatever she decided to do, but stopped himself as he saw Betty get up. Without another word, she grabbed his hand and began pulling him towards one of the bungalows. This might actually be the best summer ever.
[Tony and Rhodey]
He had not seen this one coming. Tony looked down at the dishes he was currently not washing and frowned. Apparently, that 'Terminator' incident hadn't been forgotten or pushed aside by his dad, added with the prank he and Bucky pulled his dad was furious. Much to his horror, his dad had sent him to military camp as opposed to science camp. He was currently washing dishes for not following orders. If his dad thought this was going to teach him anything or turn him into the model son he wanted, he was in for a rude awakening. This didn't bother Tony as much as his dad may have thought. Sure, he wasn't exactly fond of having to wash dishes or scrub floors as punishment, but it didn't exactly push him to be the best that he could be. Hah.
"You know, if you actually followed orders you wouldn't be stuck doing all this."
Tony's frown grew even more as he was given an unwanted opinion. He turned to look at the boy who had spoken to him, he looked to be about the same age as he was, but he was one of the goody two shoes. "And be like you, no way. You do everything they ask and you're still stuck here with me."
The boy smirked and placed more dirty dishes on the counter. "I'm only here because they needed someone to supervise you."
"What do I need supervision for; I'm washing dishes, not handling weapons." Tony glared at the new stack of dishes in front of him.
"My name is James Rhodes, what's yours?" The boy in front of him had amused him since camp had started. For some reason the punishments the sergeants thought of didn't have any effect on him. If anything, they caused him to be even more obnoxious.
Tony turned to look at James; he stayed quiet for a while. He wasn't being rude, he just wanted to size him up a bit. "Tony Stark. What are you doing here, Rhodey?"
James smiled as he walked over to where Tony stood and began helping him wash the remaining dishes. "Well, Stark, I want to be in the Marines when I grow up. My dad felt it was best if I started off now as opposed to later, this way when I am old enough to join, I go in with more knowledge than most."
"Uhm, so you really like all this?" Tony was speechless, why anyone would enjoy being yelled at and given orders was beyond him.
"Yeah. Why are you here?" It was obvious Tony didn't want to be there, he thought he knew the answer to his question already but he was interested in seeing how Tony phrased it.
Tony turned around grabbed the last stack of dirty dishes and began working on them. "My dad got mad because I destroyed the house two months ago. It wasn't my fault, if he had asked how JARVIS works; his stupid robot wouldn't have gone homicidal on all of us."
For once Rhodey was at a loss for words, he didn't even want to ask about the robot. "Well, I already told you what I want to be when I grow up. What about you."
"Weapons manufacturing, like my dad. I am going to build the first fully functioning AI." Tony had plans for JARVIS that lay way beyond using him only for his computer.
"Wait, your dad is Howard Stark, the main weapons manufacturer for the department of defense?" Rhodey's eyes widened as he spoke to Tony, he had read about Tony's dad in a magazine his dad had bought him.
"Yep."
Rhodey nudged Tony with his elbow "Maybe one day we'll work side by side, I don't plan on taking orders my whole life. I'm going to be the guy giving orders one day."
"I'll make sure you have the best tech then." Tony said as they finished their chore.
[Clint, Natasha, and Phil]
It was his first time on an airplane; it was the coolest thing ever. Clint had to bribe Nat with his dessert in order for her to let him sit on the window seat. He spent the whole plane trip looking out the window, he was amazed with the clouds and how miniature life looked below. The plane trip to Hawaii was during the day, but the plane trip back home was going to be at night that sounded much cooler. He turned to look at Phil with a big smile on his face. "Dad, I want to fly planes."
Phil couldn't help but smile as he saw the excitement on Clint's face. He knew Clint loved high places, but that didn't mean he would like flying, he was glad he did. "I thought you wanted to be like me, now you want to be a pilot?"
"I can be like you and be a pilot, can't I?"
"Yeah you can." Phil let out a chuckle as Clint resumed looking out the window. Recently, Clint had said he wanted to be like him when he grew up. Meaning he wanted to be a SHIELD agent, Fury was happy to hear it, Phil was on the fence about the whole thing. It made sense for him to want to be a SHIELD agent, but Phil wasn't sure he wanted Clint to take up the dangerous profession. He rather Clint be a pilot.
The plane ride came to an end as they reached their destination. It was all a first for Clint and Natasha; they had never been to the beach or an island. They were ready to try everything they could, he wanted to surf, go on a boat ride, and she wanted to swim with dolphins. "Any chance we'll see a shark?"
Phil turned to look at Clint and shook his head, a shark? "I am hoping we don't."
"Come on, dad! Sharks are cool, Nat and I were watching shark week, this shark came out and just chomped on this one guy's leg it was so bloody." Clint turned to look at Natasha who smiled and nodded.
"I want to try and pet one." Natasha added as they walked towards the beach from the hotel.
"Maybe we should just stay out of the water." Phil said staring at Natasha and Clint who merely laughed. Their view of danger was so jaded it made sense why they both wanted to be in SHIELD when they grew up, now he was going to spend the rest of the vacation time trying to make sure the two of them didn't go of looking for sharks.
First up was surfing, they had both shown a lot of interest in learning how to surf. They met up with an instructor at the beach who would help Phil in teaching Clint and Natasha how to surf. It was fun. Clint fell a few more times, than Natasha did, but once they got the hang of it, they were able to stay on the surfboard for longer periods. To Clint and Natasha's disappointment, they didn't see any sharks, they did see a jellyfish, but before they could even think of touching it, Phil interfered.
Then they were able to swim with a dolphin, something that Natasha enjoyed more than Clint. She was able to ride the dolphin by hanging onto the dolphin's fin, while Clint failed epically. In Clint's defense, it looked like the dolphin liked Natasha much more than him. They stayed a whole longer to see the show that not only had the dolphin, but also other sea animals. Clint enjoyed the part where the whale splashed them with water, he laughed while Natasha glared daggers at it.
"Phil, are we going to do this every summer?" Natasha had never really been anywhere outside of Russia or New York. She liked the idea of being able to spend summers on the beach, but also hoped they would get to go to the mountains or something.
Phil turned to look at Natasha; the three of them were currently walking along the shore watching the sunset. "Do you want to do this every summer?"
"Well, maybe we can go to other places." Natasha said as she kicked up some sand with her foot.
Clint let go of Phil's hand and ran forward to pick up a shell. "Yeah, like the grand canyon or somewhere where it snows."
"Hmmm, I think we can. It depends." Phil stopped and smiled at Natasha and Clint who turned to look at him.
"On what?" they asked in unison.
"Well, for one, I want you guys to do well in school. I also want you guys to stay out of trouble. That means no hitting people because they're annoying" He looked specifically at Natasha who smiled innocently. "No climbing roofs or trees."
"Hey, what if I want to get into the tree house. How am I supposed to get into the tree house if I can't climb trees?" Clint knew what Phil meant, but it didn't mean he had to outright agree.
Phil chuckled "You know what I mean. Do we have a deal?"
"I guess so." Clint answered.
Natasha took a little longer, but she agreed as well. "I won't hit people who are annoying me."
Clint tugged on Phil's shirt to get his attention. "Dad, can we try and find a shark before we go back home?"
AN: Alright, school starts next week for me, super lame. I am on the final chapter already, it will be one of the longest chapters as I rather not drag it on. This chapter was more to include in characters that some of you had been asking for, I apologize if it's not what you wanted but it was what worked best for me.
Next update shall be Tuesday.