They finally made it to the cave, the icy chill of the night air becoming almost unbearable.

Thor gently placed Bruce and Anna against the wall of the cave, while Steve sat down with Emma still in his arms. Bruce had now woken up, and was gently stroking Anna's arms in an attempt to warm her.

"Anna, you need to wake up now" He said kindly, wincing when he saw the bandages that covered her back.

He let out a sigh of relief when her eyes fluttered open."I hate lizards" She said sleepily, which made Bruce chuckle.

"I don't blame you. I have a feeling the Other Guy doesn't like them much now either" He replied, making Anna laugh in return.

"We need a fire or something in here, or there's no way we will get through the night" Clint stated, rubbing Natasha's back in an effort to keep her warm. Thor raised Mjolnir and boomed, "I MAY PRODUCE FIRE"

"NO!" , The remaining Avengers shouted in response.

"No offense buddy, but a bit of lightning in this cave may do more harm than good," Tony explained to the dejected Thor.

"I understand, Man of Iron. But how will we prevent the Maidens and fellow men from freezing?" Thor rumbled.

"I have an idea," Emma stood up, causing Steve to rush to her side before her bad leg could even hit the ground. She smiled up at him, "Thanks, but I should be fine.

Wincing , she limped over to a pile of leaves and rocks that had gathered in the corner of the cave, picking them up and carrying back to the centre of the circle the Avengers had formed.

"Stand back" She warned, before rubbing the two rocks in her hands together as fast as they would go - which hey, was pretty damn fast. A spark shot from the rock as planned, hitting the pile of leaves and starting a small fire.

"Let there be light!" Clint cheered, and everyone laughed.

Returning to her spot next to the now-burning fire, Emma rested her head gently against Steve's chest, smiling over at Anna who was now doing the same with Bruce, his arms around her.

"We need to keep watch , in case something happens.." , Bruce said reasonably and Tony murmured in agreement , "Emma and I'll do it.." , Anna said standing up and wincing, "Why don't Bruce and Anna take the shift?", Clint said , shooting Widow a look who snorted harshly.

"He's already tired. End of the story. Me and Emma are taking watch" , Anna said defiantly. "You can't.." , Steve argued and Emma cut him off."Look , Steve , you all idiots need your power more than us. We'll switch after 2 hours and we just have to wake up if anything goes wrong , you have more experience.." ,

Emma finished and Anna nodded , while Thor nodded too , "The maidens are right.."

"Plus , me and Emma need to catch up", she said winking at Emma , who grinned.

"Fine.." , Bruce said , in a defeated air and Steve and Bruce looked at them one more time before going towards the farthest places from the chilly cave entrance. Hawkeye gave them a smile , and followed Natasha to a corner , Tony on held out his hand handed Emma and Anna a blanket.

It was Thor's cape."No Thor , we cant take this!" , Anna blushed and Thor shook his head.

"It it for thee fair maidens"

"Thank you" , Emma said and Thor yawned and his eyes closed.

Tony smiled genuinely before yawning widely and heading towards a wall , muttering something about 'fine scotch' , Emma and Anna sat down on the wall nearest to the cave , and huddled together for warmth , while they pulled a blanket over them.

"So... It's been a rough day, huh?" Emma said with a smile, and the two girls let out small giggles at the absurdity of the situation. They never would have thought a year ago that they would be keeping watch for the Avengers. "You could say that" Anna replied.

"Although.. It wasn't all bad" She sighed, a smile playing at her lips. "Anastasia, tell me everything. Its time for a girl chat" Emma said with a cheeky smile. "Um.. Well... There's not much to tell really! I mean, I had a good talk with Bruce about some stuff, then we ran and then I carried him bridal style while impersonating a Norse God. The usual" Anna muttered.

Emma laughed, pulling the blanket over her friend's injured back."What I meant was... Tell me everything about Bruce. About how you feel" Emma said genuinely. Anna blushed, "Um, well... I don't know, really".

"I think you do" Emma smiled.

"I don't know! I mean... I don't have a lot of experience with this... stuff. You know that I haven't even kissed a guy yet" Anna blushed.

Emma gave a knowing smile. "Well, you did say you were waiting for the right guy. So here's a simple question. Do you feel kind of tingly, like you want to kiss him when you're with him?"Anna blushed even more furiously.

"... Yes" She muttered.

"What was that? I didn't hear you!" Emma said with a playful smile. "Okay, yes!" Anna said, this time assertive.

A smile accompanied her blush as Emma wrapped an arm around her shoulder, giving her a warm hug. "But he's literally 40 years old! We're 20 years apart , Anna. It wouldn't work." , she said sadly and Emma shook her head.

"Dude , love had no age. There's a 50 year difference between me and Steve-O"

"Funny. But I do like him. Bruce Banner is adorable." ,

She said flushing furiously as Emma laughed quietly so as to not wake the sleeping Avengers.

"I suppose you have your answer then"

"Yeah right! What about you and Steve?!" , she giggled playfully , and Emma laughed.

"He's kinda.. Old fashioned.. But he's cute.. In his own way.." , Emma said stringing her words carefully as she smiled , and Anna held her hand , "Well , what are you gonna do?" , Anna said and Emma signed , "I don't.. Know.." , she said and looked down , "Well , we can find something.." , Anna said and winked"I don't know, An. I mean.. I'm pretty sure that Steve would legitimately have a heart attack if he saw boobs" Emma sighed, and Anna exploded in silent fits of giggles.

"What?! It's true!" Emma huffed, making Anna laugh even more. "Look, how about both of us just see how it goes?" Anna finally managed to say, between giggles.

"Agreed. Let's not stress alright? Just go with the flow" Emma smiled. The two girls sat in comfortable silence for a while, looking out into the barren desert, before falling into comfortable conversation about their lives before this whole thing happened."in some ways , I'm glad these mis-fits found me" , Anna said wishfully and Emma nodded.

"Agreed".

Then Anna heard a thud.