"Hurry up!" Carter yelled out the RV window.
"We're working on it!" Peter shouted back from his bedroom window.
Carter huffed and sat back in her seat.
"They better hurry up or I'm leaving without them." Tony told Pepper.
"We're not leaving without them, Tony." She replied not once looking up from the map unfolded in front of her.
A few minutes later, Peter and Wade bolted out their front door and into the RV.
"About time." Tony said under his breath.
The two teens plopped into the seats next to Carter and Laynie.
Across from them sat Steve, Natasha, and Bruce. Clint and Thor were busy playing a game of Crazy Eights at the table in the back of the RV. Meanwhile, Tony was at the wheel and Pepper was his navigator.
Peter nudged Carter, who sat to his left. "It's still strange to see the world's mightiest heroes doing things like that."
Carter snorted. "They're a buncha soccer moms at heart." As an afterthought she added, "Especially Thor."
"I think it's cool," Laynie whispered. "I'd be concerned if they were all a bunch of emotionless robots. I mean, we don't want people like that protecting us."
"It's still weird."
"I won't disagree." Laynie peered across her two friends to look at Wade, who simultaneously looked like he was trying to melt into his seat and about to vibrate right out of it. "Wade, didn't Peter make you go before you left?"
"Ha ha," he said in a monotone. "I'm excited! And terrified. I've never been camping."
"Why the terrified?" Carter asked.
"Tony hates me. I think I only got a free pass to come because Steve is trying way too hard to not hate me."
"Wade! That's not true. My dad doesn't trust you at all, but I doubt he hates you. Neither does Steve."
"Okay," Pepper called from the front of the vehicle. "We're stopping for lunch before we hit the highways. Any votes?"
Carter looked out the window. "I vote Taco Bell because I'm hungry and it's the closest thing to us."
Wade nodded in agreement.
Since the RV could never hope to fit through the drive through, it was parked in an adjacent, mostly empty lot and the Avengers trooped across the street for tacos. It was, as always, a spectacle. People treated them like royalty and took photos, and Laynie and Carter tried not to feel self concious. It was something they were still adjusting to.
With several armloads of mexican food, they crossed the street again and settled down for a not-so-healthy taco brunch.
Peter took a couple of bites of his taco before looking up at everyone else. "Do these tacos taste a little funny or is it just me?"
"It's Taco Bell, what did you expect it to taste like?" Clint asked curiously.
"Alas," Wade said mournfully (or as mournfully as one can with a mouthful of taco). "Not every taco is made equal. Or by Aunt May."
So the bunch munched on their tacos and set back on the road. For a while afterward, they played card games with the others.
Laynie was the first to fall. She said she wasn't feeling well and stretched out on the floor with her laptop. Peter was second, and then Carter, and Wade last.
"Taco bell did not give us food poisoning!" Wade cried, aghast. "Tacos are holy food, they cannot be tainted!" His stomach rolled as Tony took a sharp turn, and he secretly doubted his own words.
Laynie peeked out a window and saw nothing but a mountainside. Only a tiny rail and Tony's driving skills were keeping them from flying off the mountain and into the foggy oblivion waiting below. She crashed back to the floor. "Okay, I'm gonna puke. I hate heights."
"Why did I suggest Taco Bell?" Carter curled up on the RV seat. "I hate me."
"Taco Bell didn't do anything! It must be lunch from school yesterday," Wade insisted. "I feel fine."
"Liar," Carter spat. "There is no way you feel fine after eating that junk."
"I do!" he insisted. His voice sounded a little weak. "I- I have never felt..." Wade paused for a moment, and then threw up into the nearest Taco Bell bag.
Carter threw a hand over her mouth trying to shield herself from the smell. She yanked the window open, hoping to push some of the horrible smell out of the RV. "Oh..." She grabbed a bag near her and threw up in it.
"Tony," Bruce called as him and Natasha gathered around the sick teens. "You're gonna want to find a place to pull over I think."
"Ha! Good luck with that. There isn't an exit for, what Pepper, half an hour?" The smell reached him as he finished his sentence, and he instantly took it back. "Never mind! Hold on to your butts, we're pulling off the road!"
All four teens moaned as Tony swerved onto the side of the road.
"Tony, why do you hate us?" Carter grumbled, curling into herself.
Pepper grabbed the first aid kit they put together and started to rummage through it for something to help with the nausea.
"This kind of stuff wasn't supposed to happen until we actually got to the camp site." Tony said, holding his shirt over his mouth and nose.
"What can we say, we're over achievers," Laynie joked feebly.
Peter groaned, and nobody knew if it was at Laynie's bad joking or the horrible stench in the RV.
The car stopped smoothly and Tony jumped out as if it were on fire. Five second later, everyone found out that Clint gets sympathy nausea.
"This is awful," Laynie commented, sitting in the grass on the side of the road.
Thor, Natasha and Steve, who apparently had the strongest stomachs of the group, were cleaning out the RV while the four teens and Clint sat on the side of the road, sheltered by the RV, recuperating.
"Taco Bell has betrayed us all," Wade mumbled.
Peter was still feeling too sick to speak, but he was sure he'd never eat at Taco Bell again.
Tony folded up the road map and sat down between Laynie and Carter, putting an arm around either of them. "There's good news, though. We're only about an hour away from the camp site. Natasha's almost got the RV smell-free. We're not asking how."
Laynie smiled and leaned into her dad, taking shelter from the wind. "Natasha is magical. She's my new favorite person."
"Everything's cleaned up," Bruce said, as he walked toward them.
"Yay..." Carter cheered weakly.
The four teens and Clint slowly got up off the ground and made their way back into the RV. Tony returned to his seat at the wheel, while Bruce practically threw pills for the nausea at everyone.
It wasn't long before Carter passed out next to Bruce. Bouncing back quickly, Wade took to pestering Peter for the rest of the ride to the campsite. Laynie decided to take refuge in the back of the RV with her phone.
A hour later, they pulled onto the campsite, and started unpacking.
Steve enlisted Laynie and Carter's help with the tents.
"Where does this pole go?" Carter asked in confusion.
Laynie grabbed one side of the tent. "I think it goes here." She said, looking at the tent curiously.
Steve sighed, but smiled watching them try and fail to put their tent up. Eventually he took mercy on them and helped them set it up.
"Big boyscout," Laynie grumbled, watching the super soldier put her tent together.
She looked at the growing camp around her, seeing Clint helping Wade and Peter set up, Bruce putting up the large one he would share with Clint, and Natasha sitting at the mouth of her small, finished tent. Steve and Thor's tent was long set up, and the Asgardian was snoring off his Taco Bell.
"Where are my parents sleeping?" Laynie asked the question to any who would answer.
"The RV," Natasha answered. "Tony's too much of a wuss to sleep out here like a big girl."
"That's not fair!" Carter burst out. "Why are they sleeping in there when we have to sleep with the bugs and dirt?"
"Aw come on!" Laynie cried, slinging an arm around her friend. "Don't be such a baby. This will be fun!"
"Sure, you say that now. But, what about when a spider gets into our tent and tries to kill us? What then, Laynie?" Carter asked.
Laynie snorted. "I don't think any spiders are going to kill us, Carter."
"That's what they want you to think," Carter hissed.
"You know, a spider tried to kill Peter. That's how he got his awesome spider powers."
Laynie punched Wade in the arm. "Shut up, you're gonna tip them off."
He scoffed.
"Anyway, spiders. They are not out to get us. Taco Bell, on the other hand..."
"Taco Bell is not to blame!" Wade shouted from his tent.
Laynie rolled her eyes.
"Spiders, they're going to kill us." Carter nodded, before crawling inside their tent to set out her sleeping bag.
Laynie scoffed, "They are not." She followed Carter inside.
After setting out their sleeping bags, they rejoined everyone else at a nearby picnic table.
"So, what exactly are we going to be doing on this trip?" Carter asked curiously, "You know, besides being attacked by all the horrible bugs that the wilderness has to offer." She quickly slapped a hand over her shoulder, effectively killing a mosquito that had landed there.
"I'd like to go hiking," Bruce said, looking to others for more suggestions.
"I want to poke wild animals." Wade nodded to himself, as if agreeing with his own idea.
"Hiking sounds good," Steve said. "We brought a telescope to look at stars."
Tony coughed "Boyscout," and said no more.
"Okay," Laynie said slowly. "Any other ideas?"
After a moment of silence, Natasha piped up. "Why don't we go for a walk?"
"Why not?" Pepper smiled.
"Sounds good." Carter leaned against the table lazily. "Looks like you might get to poke those wild animals, Wade."
Wade grinned.
Natasha grabbed the pack with the first aid kit in it and threw it over her shoulder. "Then let's go."
Minutes later, they were trekking through the nearby woods.
Wade caught sight of a raccoon and ran after it.
"Wade, no. No, come back." Peter hurried after him.
"There are too many bugs." Carter whined.
Bruce chuckled. "It's the woods, Carter. There are going to be bugs."
She swatted at a few more mosquitoes. "But they're coming in droves. Droves. Why are they all after me?"
Bruce grabbed a bug out of the air. "Because you're an easy meal," he teased.
Carter sighed and sat on a fallen tree. "I don't like the woods."
Bruce sat beside her and ruffled her hair. "It'll be okay. Just don't wander off alone, or the mosquitoes might carry you off."
"That's not funny." Carter pouted.
Bruce smiled. Grabbing her hands, he pulled her up off the tree. "Come on, when we get back to the campsite we'll find some bug spray."
They started walking to catch up to the rest of the group. When they did, they saw Wade climbing up a tree.
Carter came to stand next to Laynie. "What is he doing?"
"He chased the raccoon up the tree." Laynie sighed.
"Wade, leave the poor animal alone." Peter shouted up at him. "It didn't do anything to you."
Laynie groaned, putting her head on Carter's shoulder. "He's gonna die."
"He's not gonna die," Peter argued.
"I POKED IT!" Wade shouted. There was a screech a second later.
"He's gonna die," he sighed. "I'll go get him."
Peter went up the tree at a remarkable speed, tossed Wade down, and made it safely back to the ground.
"No more animal poking."
Wade, still sitting on the forest floor, closely examined his bleeding finger. After a moment of deliberation, he stuck it in his mouth. "Okay."
Laynie threw up her hands and walked away.
Carter ran after her. "Can we go back to the campsite now?"
"I think that's a good idea." Steve nodded.
Steve led the way back with everyone else trudging along behind him.
As soon as they got back Carter snatched up the bug spray and completely doused herself in it before crawling into her tent. "Come get me when dinner's ready."
Laynie snorted at her friend. She joined Tony and Pepper inside the RV as they set to making dinner.
Laynie stretched out in the back of the RV, watching her parents bicker and banter while they cooked. "You know, most people cook outside when they camp."
Tony stopped, giving his daughter a perplexed look. "Where all the bugs are? No way."
She threw her hands up. "Why is everyone so afraid of the bugs? Like, they aren't evil or out to get us or anything!"
Pepper laughed, but Tony was less amused.
"I'm not going to die of bug poisoning. We are cooking and sleeping inside, where nobody will be bitten, stung or bitten."
"You said bitten twice," Laynie and Pepper both pointed out.
"I couldn't think of a third thing!" He threw down the towel that had been on his shoulder and made for the exit. "I'm going to see if I can find the tongs."
Laynie jumped up and ran after her dad, linking their arms together once she caught up. "So, trees. Autumn trees. So colorful. So romantic."
"I know what you're doing little person. I am not proposing to Pepper amidst these animals."
"What did the forest animals do to anyone?"
He pointed to where Wade and Thor were sitting cross legged by the most pathetic campfire ever, already covered in marshmallow goo. "I meant those animals."
Laynie drew her lips in a tight line. "Okay, I have no excuse for those two. But! I heard Steve talk about some falls nearby. You could take her there and propose!"
"What if I get dirt on my knee?"
The conversation died away as they reached Steve's tent. Tony harassed Steve until he gave up the tongs, and they picked up again on the way back to the RV.
"Dad, I know you aren't afraid of dirt. I'm convinced you /like it. So just propose already or I'll give the ring to Pepper and let her do it."
Tony pouted a little. "Fine! God, I wouldn't have taken in the little pest if I knew how pushy it is!"
Laynie grinned. "And I wouldn't have let you if I'd known you were a big fat wimp."
Tony rolled his eyes and waved her away. "Shoo, go annoy someone else."