It was a nice Saturday morning and the whole team had converged at the communal. Rose was making breakfast and others were sprawled on the sitting area. Clint looked tired, Tony almost asleep. Nat was sitting on the carpet, her head resting on Bruce's knee, eyes barely open and looking at the TV. Others were just trying to keep up with the retelecast of some random show.
"I need a vacation"
that grabbed everyone's attention. Rose turned and looked at the team, breakfast was forgotten for a moment. Even Tony opened a single eye and looked at him
Clint sighed "I mean it. for the past three weeks, all we are doing are rescue missions, op missions, reconnaissance missions-"
"We get your point" Tony interrupted, grumbling, earning a frown from Clint before he sighed
"All I'm saying is, I'm tired and I need a vacation"
That wasn't entirely wrong of him to ask, though. Lately, Fury had been keeping the whole team-even Rose- on their toes with repeated missions. He seemed to think that leaving them alone and not busy would only make the Avengers do stupid stuff. For eg-turning into children (which as not exactly everyone's fault).
Fury had been in direct contact with Brittany Hughes (Rose nearly hexed him for contacting her PA. Her superhero life and corporate life were to be kept separate!) after Pepper refused to help him. Now he got her schedules and would occasionally send her to the missions as well. Tony or Pepper didn't like it at all, but they had to admit that excess work got her to rest more than she basically would.
Mia wasn't entirely okay with the idea, either. More missions meant more paperwork for her. And they weren't giving her a break!
"Aye, I second the motion" Thor nodded "We have been quite busy as of late"
"what do you wanna do? Bowling? 'Cause I don't think Fury will allow that" Nat replied, raising her head and looking at them
"But if we keep working, we are gonna be very tired for the upcoming missions" Tony argued, now awake "We might not even complete them"
"I agree. We need a break. A much-needed one at that" Steve nodded, earning weird looks from everyone. If Tony and Steve agreed on something, it was serious
Bruce cleared his throat "So, who's gonna talk to Fury? About the vacation"
Mia raised her brow from next to Thor "why is everyone looking at me for?"
"You are our handler" Clint offered
"So?"
"You are to represent us" Tony added
"So you want me to talk to the Pirate-Wannabe about getting the Avengers a vacation to where exactly?"
"Leave that to me" Rose smiled "Convince Fury. I'll cover the rest"
"So?" Bruce asked as Mia entered the communal in the evening. She flopped on the couch and sighed, looking over everyone
"We can go on a vacation but" she quickly added when Clint seemed like he was going to cheer " he laid some ground rules"
"Ground rules?" Thor asked
"Hmm-mm" Mia nodded "first, the place has to be quite desolate so in case one, or some of us, decide to go smashing stuff around, we won't around civilians. Second, no blowing up stuff that could show up on radar. Third, one call from Fury and vacay ends right there, with no complaints or 'five more minutes'. Fourth, no magical place, because right now Fury doesn't trust you lot with magic, especially with an untrained hedge wizard on the team. So, still want to go on a vacation?"
"What do you mean no magical place?" Clint whined, poker that he was playing with Steve, Nat and Tony, forgotten
"Never thought I'd say this, but Fury's right" Rose nodded, not looking away from her project simulations on her tab "You may have only a little magic, but you are still untrained in that segment of power. And if we go to a magical destination, the best case scenario-nothing happens. Worst case scenario-you blow up into smithereens"
Clint paled, mouth wide open "blow up into smithereens?" he repeated
"Untrained magic, no matter how little it is, reacts to emotions. And can be...uh...for the lack of a better term, explosive" Mia added, "that's why magical kids are given seven years to train their magic."
"Glad we cleared that out" Nat muttered "So where are we going? No one says Coney Island"
"Rose, ideas?" Steve asked
Rose finally looked at them, closed her tab and moved her glasses to the top of her head "I own this island near Puerto Rico."
"Yes!" Clint cheered, a big stupid grin on his face "Tropical island, here come the Avengers!"
The quinjet slowly landed on the beach sand. The hatch opened and everyone walked out
"Welcome to Île d'émeraude" Rose smiled as they all stepped onto the sand and looked around
"what?"
"French" Mia provided "Emerald Island"
"I'm in love with this place!" Clint exclaimed, jogging out, puppies on his tail
"You haven't even seen it completely" Tony laughed
Others came out slowly looking around the beautiful island and crystal sea
"It's beautiful" Nat smiled "when did you buy it?"
"I didn't. My godfather owned it" Rose replied
"Rhodey?" Bruce asked
Rose shook her head with a smile "My other godfather. Magical one"
"Ah" Nat nodded
"After he died, I got this place. I come here sometimes when I need a break and want to spend some time alone" Rose added
"How often do you come here?" Bruce asked
"Very little. I haven't been here in about 2 years"
Mia groaned, stretching, as she climbed out of the quinjet "It's good to be back"
"You've been here?" Steve asked
"Once or twice." Mia shrugged
"Come on. I'll show you where we'll be staying"
"Hera. Zeus. Come on" Mia called when she noticed the pups entranced by a crab. They barked once before following the group
"If I have said it once, I've said it a million times. I. love. this. Place!"
Everyone laughed at the overexcited Clint
"Did he get on sugar or something?" Mia asked, skeptically
"Nah" Nat chuckled "He just has episodes of insanity. You guys are unfortunate enough to witness one"
"Rosie!"
Rose turned and looked at the archer
"How much will you sell it for?"
Rose laughed "Clint, no offense hon, it's way out of your paygrade"
"No seriously!" Clint demanded. It didn't matter. He'll pay in EMIs if he has to, but he loved the island! it was beautiful, secluded and completely safe
Rose shrugged "I have to ask my accountant"
"Roughly?"
Rose made a thinking face "Roughly...say, $60 million."
Clint gaped at her
"Private islands are expensive, Clint" Tony added, clapping Clint on the back "come on. Let's get your rooms"
Tony and Rose led them to the only property on the island
"A castle? A real castle?" Bruce blinked
"Yup," Rose grinned, opening the huge doors and letting them all in. The castle was built by Sirius' grandfather's great uncle, who originally had brought the island.
"Seems ancient" Steve looked around the lobby
"Takes one to know one, huh" Tony smirked over his shoulder and Steve frowned
"Real funny, Tony" he deadpanned
"It was built somewhere around the 16th century. So, a lot of stuff here's antique" Rose explained
"Antique, huh?" Clint asked, picking a sword from one of the wall decorations "So how much will this bid for if I auctioned it?"
"I don't know and you are going to do no such thing" Rose snapped, snatching the sword from Clint and putting it back
"this place was in Rose's godfather's family for generations before it came to her. Let's not do anything stupid that might get you hexed from her" Mia suggested
Nat walked forward and pulled Clint with her, ignoring his complaints "Where're the rooms?"
The castle had three floors and numerous rooms. Many of which were locked for years. Rose and Tony showed others the extra bedrooms. Once everyone chose their rooms Rose excused herself and got to the kitchen. Kreacher had cleaned the place quite well. Spotless.
Rose smiled. He deserved praise and a reward
She switched on the coffee machine and then moved to the quinjet to get the pantry stuff. It took her one trip to move everything. She was just stocking the fridge when others came in the kitchen
"I was looking around and found a lot of rooms here are locked," Nat said, "How come?"
Rose shrugged, cutting some fruits "I don't know. I never went Sherlock Holmes on this place. And knowing my god father's family, I'd rather not"
"You are speaking like there's a monster here or something dangerous" Clint scoffed, taking a slice of apple as did others
"Well, I'll never put them past his family," she replied, putting an apple slice into her mouth
"for all we know, there could be a ghost or two in some locked room" Mia added, sipping on some coffee
"You are jesting us" Thor argued
"Nope" both the witches replied
Tony chuckled "So what's the plan?"
"What all can we go here?" Steve asked
"Basic beach stuff. There's a tennis court (Sirius Black's courtesy), cliff-diving...um..."
"snorkeling" Mia offered
"That I'm not sure of" Rose added "It's a bit of migration time for fishes. Though, I can work something out"
"You know, let's just rest and unpack for today. We are here for quite a time. We have plenty of time to do a lot of things"
It was mid-morning and Thor, Bruce, and Steve were setting the barbeque, beach-chairs and basic stuff. They had changed into some casual cotton shirts and shorts.
"I'm taking full credit for this vacation" Clint came out, grinning, carrying a freezer
"I'm pretty sure someone would have brought it up, if not you" Steve argued
"Yeah yeah" Clint waved them off and placed the freezer on the sand next to the chairs
Tony came out next carrying all the stuff required for a nice barbeque
"I don't agree with Whistler completely. Mia convinced One-Eyed Willy" Tony added
"she gets bigger credit" Bruce chuckled
Clint scoffed "Whatever" he looked at Tony "What all we got?"
"Steak, pork, chicken, hot dogs...fish, kebabs" Tony replied "yup, that's all I got"
Then came the girls. the three of them were carrying large trays while talking and laughing.
Nat was wearing a tropical print halterneck bikini top and high waisted boyshorts. Her hair was loose and a pair of sunglasses on her nose.
Mia had changed into a white bandeau, blue denim shorts and a sheer flannel unbuttoned on top with a straw hat. her rich brown hair was up down in a loose messy braid with a scarf woven with it.
Finally, Rose had changed into a sheer white mini dress over her purple and blue printed bikini. Her gradient hair was up in a top bun quite messily and a pair of reflective sunglasses on top of her head with big seashell hoop earrings
"there you go" Mia announced, keeping her tray near the barbeque and looked at the stuff other two girls were carrying "hot dog buns, burger buns, and some bread. We also got salads, pasta, sauce, fruits, cutlery...and ice cream"
"You girls are angels" Clint grinned, grabbing a piece of fruit
"Agree to disagree" Nat replied while the other two snorted
Soon they got the grill started and Tony and Bruce took up to them for the barbeque.
"Food will take time" Bruce declared
"Anyone heading for the sea?" Clint asked removing his ridiculous Hawaiin shirt(it was bright cerulean blue with yellow flowers; Nat had cringed when she saw it and barely managed from tearing it into shreds). He had a perfectly chiseled body for a man his size. Though Clint had a leaner and athletic stature-his job demanded that- he was still quite good looking. There were a few scars on his body, but who on the team didn't-except, Steve. Damn the super-soldier serum.
"I'm in" Rose stood up and quite literally dragged the other two girls with her. Mia had removed her sheer shirt and denim shorts. Steve and Thor came with them too, once they removed the extra clothing. Tony was called, but he denied saying he wasn't sure how seawater would react with the arc reactor. Rose gave him a soft smile. She knew the real reason why he was avoiding the sea-Afghanistan Incident
The six had quite fun in the water. swimming, pulling and pushing each other. They even played tug. it was a girls v/s boys, but despite having a demi-god and super-soldier, the girls won. Nat was still teasing the boys about that. Clint argued that it had something to do with having two witches on the team. And their bickering started.
Tony chuckled as he looked at the group
"why does it feel like we are the parents for the day?" Bruce asked amused
tony grinned at him "Dibs on Daddy"
Bruce chuckled and shook his head "So, Dad, do make sure the pups don't go too deep"
Tony looked at Hera and Zeus who were trying to attempt to go into the sea. It was probably the first time the pups were seeing a beach and ocean. They'd chase every wave that'd go inside but once it'd come closer, they run away
"Hey!" Tony called over the gang approaching the pups "Why don't you introduce the pups to the awesomeness of the sea?"
Mia came and carried both the pups in her arms to where the group was. Clint took Zeus from her and slowly the two placed the pups in the water, providing them the needed support. Soon the pups got the hang of it and started swimming around, chasing around the team and playing when needed
"Food's ready!" Bruce hollered
Picking the pups, the six made their way back to the beach. Pups shook themselves dry and headed for the food Bruce had placed in their bowls. Rose quickly overthrew her wet white dress, since it was making her uncomfortable and sat down for lunch Tony had handed her
"Rosie?"
"Hmm?"
"Is that a tattoo?"
Rose stopped chewing and looked at Clint and followed his gaze. He was looking at the tattoo which was just above her left breast curve. It was a medium-sized red lily flower with green leaves.
"Uh..yeah." she nodded
"How long have you had it?" Clint narrowed his eyes "And how come we have ever seen it before?"
Clint (and others) had seen her in strapless tops, spaghetti tops, tank tops, even bikini once before, but he had never seen the tattoo. And it was quite big to hide
"I have had it for..about 6 years. One of my first tattoos. As for not seeing it, I keep them hidden" Rose mentally berated herself. The gold studs she wore all the time had glamor charms on them so her tattoos would remain hidden (or she'd use a temporary glamor spell). Why did she think it was a good idea to remove them for the vacation? Not to mention, she forgot te glamor spell!
"What's the point of hiding such beautiful pieces of body artwork?" Thor asked
Rose sighed "They are all personal. The last thing I want is for media and paparazzi to question and criticize me further"
"So, what's that supposed to mean?" Nat asked, pointing her fork
Rose looked down at her tattoo "My mum's name was Lily. I got it done in her memory." what she didn't add was that there were the names Lily&James written in cursive along the borders of the flower. They were made from special ink and could only be seen under UV light. Tony was her father, but she knew that her mother's heart belonged to James Potter.
"What about others?" Nat asked
"How many do you have?" Bruce asked
"A couple" Rose shrugged and turned to show her ribcage. On the right side was an asterisk of sorts with different symbols on different line ends
"It's a Norse rune!" Thor exclaimed
"Yes, it is" Rose smiled "I used to get hurt a lot in school days, so I got it done. It helps me with healing, fertility, defense, better control of my magic and mind magic"
"All in one?" Steve asked
Rose grinned "I like multitasking."
"Can we get it done?" Nat asked, eyeing the quite small tattoo
Rose shook her head "Sorry. Norse runes need magic to be activated. I think the only other person that can get it done on the team is Clint. His teensie bit of magic should be able to power the rune"
"Note to self. Get that tattoo done as soon as we head back to New York" Clint raised his fork and nodded to himself
"You do know, it hurts, right?" Mia asked, raising a brow "Your skin is pierced by thousands of injections at the same time"
Clint gave them a look
"I got two more" Rose smiled and turned a little more. On her right arm, just above the elbow was a long symbol tattoo joining almost up to her shoulder
"That's Star Trek" Bruce blinked "You got a tattoo from a movie series?"
Rose shrugged "Dad and I used to geek out over Star Trek" she grinned "and then dad & I got into a bet"
"which I lost" Tony scoffed showing his left arms where a similar tattoo was there on the same place, just smaller in length "And as a result, had to get a tattoo"
"After that, he never made bets with me" Rose grinned
"So if I were to make a bet with you" Clint started "and I lose, will you make me get a tattoo?"
"Depends" Rose shrugged "Dad's scared of needles. So, tattoos for him. I'll make you do what scares you the most" Rose grinned and winked at Clint
"that's for letting an unknown fact about me be revealed" Tony deadpanned, though there wasn't any heat in that
"Then there is this" Rose showed her left wrist, where there was a small tattoo-a line and a circle within a triangle
"Deathly hallows" Rose almost deadpanned. It was the only 'tattoo' she had not gotten from a parlor. Instead, the symbol had just appeared on her wrist.
"The last one's this" she smiled showing her back. There was a quote written a few inches below the nape of her neck in cursive
"A lion doesn't lose sleep on the opinions of the sheep" Thor read
"Yup" Rose sat back relaxed, resuming to eat "helps me deal with the criticism, bad press and peoples' opinions on me"
"Anyone else got any interest in getting their bodies pierced by tiny needles?" Tony asked
"Actually, " Nat started "I have one too"
"You do?" Clint blinked at her "why did you never tell me?"
Nat shrugged with a smile "You never asked" She twisted her left leg and showed her inner ankle where there were two intertwined circles and an A in the one of the circle
"Who's A?" Bruce asked
Nat fixed him a look "Not telling"
"Oh, mystery lover." Tony nodded "someone you know, Barton?"
Clint shrugged "I didn't even know she had one"
Rose and Nat shared a look. She knew who exactly A was.
"Talking of tattoos," Rose began "I was hoping to talk to you guys about something."
"You want us all to get a tattoo?" Steve guessed "All of us?"
"Sure" Rose smiled and raising her right index finger drew a figure in the air. It was a stylized A with an arrow and a 7 intertwined.
"Steve came with the design" Rose added
"You asked for a team logo" Steve looked at her
"I did and I meant that" Rose nodded "But in about a fortnight we mark our first anniversary. I thought we could do something as a team, to commemorate it"
The seven Avengers looked at the design and exchanged glances
"I'm down for it" Nat replied
"Yeah, sure. one's better than two" Clint added "I'm getting that rune one anyway"
"What's one more?" Tony shrugged "I'm in"
"Well," Thor boomed "If my fellow warriors think this is a wise decision, then I shall get this tattoo as well"
"I'm already in." Rose crumbled the paper plate and tossed in the dustbin
"You two?" Mia looked at Bruce and Steve
"You don't want one?" Bruce looked at Mia
"Nope. Not interested in piercing my body with needles and fill ink in them, however that works" Mia shrugged "Besides, I'm not an Avenger. I know it"
"This doesn't sound very bad" Steve shrugged "I'm in"
"Would it be bad if I backed out?" Bruce nervously asked
"Bruce?" Nat asked,
"I mean..." Bruce began "What if I...the Other Guy comes out during the tattoo?"
"We can overdose you with Calming draught" Clint suggested
"We'd rather not take that risk" Mia tsked
Bruce shrugged "I'm good without one"
"Whatever you say, Brucie"
The next two days went in quite a blur. To say, the Avengers+Mia enjoyed those days to the most. They played numerous beach games, went swimming in the quieter channels, cooked various stuff and enjoyed. What none of them did was work. It looked like the puppies were also enjoying the vacation
One evening Rose found Steve on the beach around some rocks with his sketchpad. She quietly walked behind him and looked over his shoulder. he was drawing the sunset, which was almost complete. And it was beautiful.
"It's gorgeous"
"Jesus!" Steve jumped and almost knocked out his paints and brushes
Rose snickered but quickly shut up when Steve looked at her
"Sorry. Didn't mean too" Rose smiled innocently
Steve narrowed his eyes "Is it still about your dress?"
A few days after the Prank Day, Thor had let him quietly know that Rose was the one to vanish his clothes after he painted on her super expensive dress. Though his clothes had returned two days later in his wardrobe the way they were, he had a feeling that Rose was still not over him spray-painting her closet
"Not at all" Rose smiled and sat on the sand and smiled at him "why would you think so?"
"Uh...just got the feeling" Steve muttered
Rose smiled and looked at the sunset and pulled her knees closer to her chest, wrapping her arms around her knees
"It's always beautiful out here" she smiled.
"It is" Steve nodded "Maybe we should have built a base here"
Rose chuckled and looked at Steve "We could have. But then there isn't pizza here. And you know, it's our comfort food, emergency food, dinner-gone-bad substitute"
Steve chuckled "Clint would have a nervous breakdown"
"Or a cardiac arrest"
Steve laughed "Or both"
Rose chuckled then took a deep breath "You wanna see something worth capturing in the paper?"
"something better than this sunset?"
"Way better"
She stood up and dusted the sand off her cotton shorts "Come on"
Steve stood up and started packing his art supplies
"Just leave them here. they're not going anywhere"
Steve agreed and stood up
"So, where is this place?"
Rose smiled over her shoulder "Want me to tell you everything right now? Relax"
She led him towards the trees and entered.
"sure we should be going in the wild region bare feet?"
Rose shrugged "Since when are you scared of tiny thorns?"
"Usually these thorns hurt more"
Rose hummed "We'll be fine"
She led him deeper into the forest region. it took another five minutes before she looked at him again
"We are here"
Steve came to stand next to her and his eyes widened. The place was beautiful. On the other side were small cliffs with a couple of waterfalls. and under the waterfall was the most beautiful emerald green lake he had ever seen. The water was crystal clear and he could see the lakebed. the trees around were bloomed with bright red flowers. The place looked very serene.
"It's truly beautiful" Steve breathed. Now he understood why the island was called Emerald Island.
Rose chuckled and exhaled
Steve looked at her "Thanks for showing me"
Rose scoffed "It's not like you are family or something, are you?"
Steve raised a brow
"Like said once earlier. You are part of the family. You should be introduced to our traditions"
"If only I could draw this" Steve whispered
"Why don't you?"
Steve looked down at her and she looked at the rock below, where he found all his art supplies, causing him to chuckle
Rose patted his back "Get to work, soldier"
Steve gave her a look, which got a laugh from her. She climbed on one of the higher rocks and settled comfortably, back resting on a tree. She folded her arms under her head and closed her eyes. Steve sat down on one of the lower rocks and began drawing
Steve had no idea how long he stayed there drawing, but he knew it had been quite long. When they had arrived, the sun was about to touch the horizon. Now he could tell that not only had the sunset taken place, but it was going to be dark soon.
A shuffling of the bushes behind him got his attention. they were told that they were the only inhabitants of the island. So it had to be someone from the team. And then Nat appeared
"Hey"
"Hey" she smiled and approached him "You were here for long"
"It's beautiful out here" Steve replied, "how did you find us?"
"Us?" Nat raised a brow
Steve looked at the direction where Rose was sleeping. She had dozed off a few minutes after finding a perfect perch. Her body was still in that position and something told him she was gonna have bad neck ache when she'll wake up
"Oh," Nat muttered and sat down next to him, "Tony told me. He listed a few places on this island where Rose would have gone. I wasn't expecting you here with her"
"she showed me this place" Steve replied before looking at her "How long were we gone?"
"About two hours." she looked at him amused
"What?" he asked, dreading the amused look
"Just...when Clint found out that you two were missing, he took advantage of the situation. he suggested that...um...you were with her, which is true,"
"but?"
Nat chuckled "He actually joked that you were having your way with her"
Steve's eyes widened and he could feel his face going red as he looked away. Good thing, it was almost dark. The bad thing, it was Black Widow in front of him.
"Bruce flashed a little green skin and Tony smacked him with a pan. It was quite funny. too bad the castle doesn't have cameras" Nat looked at him, lips quirked and eyes narrowed "Nothing like that happened, right?"
Steve frowned at her, face still warm and red "N-No. Nothing"
Nat hummed and then stood up "Why don't you head back to the castle. I'll get Rose"
Steve nodded, gathered his art supplies and left as Nat headed for Rose
"Hey, Rose" she muttered and then shook her. She woke up rather quickly
"What?" she muttered, sleepily, rubbing the sleep off her face
"It's dark. Time to head back"
Rose nodded and got up, yawning and stretching
"Where's Steve?"
"Left already"
"Hmm. Why's my neck hurting?"
Next day, the whole team was in the kitchen having breakfast when Rose rushed in
"Where were you?" Mia asked
"Getting a job done" she replied, taking a seat "Not SI"
"What job?" Thor asked
"I got us green lights for snorkeling today. For the next few days, actually. So, who's up for it?"
An hour after breakfast found the Avengers and Mia on top of the highest cliffs on the other side of the island
"Ugh..." Bruce looked uneasy at the sea "How deep is the drop?"
"65 feet" Rose replied "And that's the sea, about 50 feet. So, safe"
"Who here hasn't ever done cliff diving?" Clint asked
Only Steve and Bruce raised their hands
"wow" Clint spoke, "Aren't you both charming?"
"Cut it out, Legolas" Rose walked closer to the edge "There's always a first time for everything"
"Besides, Cap jumps from jets. He'll be fine." Mia added
Clint shrugged "Who's first?"
No replies
"Oh for the love of God" Rose rolled her eyes, trying her pink hair into a tight bun. She pulled her mask (a new invention by SI that can convert oxygen present in the water into breathable oxygen acting like a pair of artificial gills of sorts. Only that it covered the lower half of the face) and took a few steps back. then she ran and jumped, screaming in excitement all the way. She changed her pose before hitting the water and entered with her hands extended in front of her head with perfection.
A few seconds later, a little dot of pink poked from the water
"It's great!"
Everyone chuckled. Nat went next, then Clint. Then Thor, who created quite a big splash
"What about you two?" Steve asked
"I'll be getting the boat," Tony said
"I'm going with him" Bruce quickly added and the two older scientists vanished. Mia and Steve exchanged a look
"After you, Cap" Mia smiled
Steve took a few steps before jumping too. And just when he had started enjoying the fall, he entered the sea. Rose was right, it was great.
He swam to the surface and looked at others. A few minutes later Mia joined them all
"You were right" he looked at Mia "It wasn't that different"
"told you" Mia smiled
A few minutes later, Tony and Bruce appeared in a white speedboat. Tony placed the anchor near the cliff before he too pulled the mask and jumped in the water, Bruce following his lead. Rose had given them both a dose of calming draught and she personally was keeping an eye on Tony, should he have any panic attack
They spent the next five hours underwater. Looking at the corals, tropical fishes and the basic marine life. Mia had charmed two ordinary cameras to work underwater. So Bruce and Clint were taking pictures. And thanks to the masks, they didn't have to worry about running out of oxygen or heavy oxygen cylinders.
After that, the seven went back to the castle to have food and relax. Tony pulled a few movies he had brought along and revealed a huge TV in one of the rooms. Following the dinner and movie night, the seven retired to their rooms and called it a night
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
Rose stumbled and fell off her bed.
"Ow!" She winced, rubbing her head. Someone had screamed at the top of their lungs
"What time is it?" she groggily got up and looked at her phone-3AM
Grumbling, she opened the room's door and came out into the hallway. The door next to her opened and Tony stepped out, yawning. Then came Bruce, Mia, Steve, and then Thor
"What is happening?" Thor frowned. Clearly his beauty sleep was disturbed
"I heard screaming" Steve added, stepping completely into the hallway
"Us too, Cap" Rose replied
Bruce looked around "Where're Clint and Nat?"
Not finding them, the four walked to Clint's room, which was empty
"Check Widow's" Tony muttered, opening the door to Nat's room and the five stopped at the doorway. Nat and Clint were huddled on the bed, holding onto each other. A certain arrow was being aimed. But what was surprising and shocking were the two almost invisible beings floating next to them, dressed in victorian Era clothes
Rose and Mia exchanged a look
"Eddy, Missy, cut it out, please," Rose said
The two ghosts(?) stopped terrorizing the two spies and looked at the speaker.
They were inhumanly pale. Their eyes were plain white with no life in them. The female ghost even had dried blood on her chest. In all, they looked quite scary and right out of some horror movie
"Oh," Eddy said, straightening up, as his look changed into more of a man. Missy followed. Their eyes became more human and they appeared less scary
Eddy nervously chuckled, lowering his voice as low as possible, but still audible " 'Tis awkward"
"Rose" Missy said a bit nervous, guilty and amused "We didn't know you were here"
"I didn't feel like meeting with my friends around" she replied
"Your friends?" Eddy looked at the two spies on the bed "These are your friends?"
"They are" Mia nodded
"Why, hello Hermione" Eddy smiled and did a small bow, finally noticing the brunette witch
"Hello" Mia smiled
"WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?"
All the heads turned towards Clint, who looked on the verge of a panic attack and passing out
Rose took out a small vial of calming draught and brought it to Clint
"These are Eduardus and Misapinoa" Rose introduced "My godfather's ancestors."
"and ghosts" Bruce deadpanned
"Yeah" Mia nodded
"So you two weren't joking?" Steve asked
"Of course not." Rose replied "Eddy and Missy mind heir own business and usually don't terrorize people, do they?" she narrowed her eyes at the ghosts
"Certainly not," Eddy looked at Steve with a soft smile "We just haunt this place and keep it to ourselves"
"But you see over the years, it gets a bit lonely out here" Missy added, "Can you blame us for seeking some fun?"
"I don't think giving Clint an almost heart attack is fun, Missy" Mia folded her arms
"Of course," Missy looked at Clint "We sincerely apologize for that, dear young man. We were just plotting on having a nice time. Clearly we are getting rusty"
"I wouldn't say that" Nat muttered, her voice seemingly back to normal and she wasn't shaking anymore
"What did you do?" Rose looked at Clint
"What?" Clint asked, color finally returning to his face
"I locked Eddy and Missy in the west wing of the castle, solely for this reason. They wouldn't have come out if you hadn't done anything"
"Ugh.." Clint rubbed his head
"You went snooping around" Rose frowned, "I told you not to do that"
"I thought it'd be interesting!" Clint argued back
"Was it?" Mia asked, now frowning
"Hell no!" Clint jumped to his feet "These two scared the fuckin' shit out of me!"
Rose looked at the two ghosts
"Don't look at us" Missy replied "We didn't think that he'd be scared so easily. You didn't tell them about us?"
"We did" Rose snorted "Mia and I warned them that there are ghosts in the house. But only if they listened"
"Are you both stuck here?" Thor asked "Some unfinished business?"
"Not at all, young Prince of Asgard" Eddy chuckled "I, merely, am the original owner of this island and the castle you are currently staying in. After being disowned from my family, I brought this place as a safe haven for myself."
"What about you?" Tony looked at Missy. He had known of the ghosts, but never seen or met them.
Missy scoffed "Those pureblood arses, my so-called wretched family. Caused me all kinds of pain and grief for marrying the love of my life. But of course, I don't expect those vazey blood obsessed arses to understand what true love feels like" she pulled an equally pale handkerchief from her gown's pocket and wiped her (fake) tears and sniffed "Disowned me and threw me out for marrying my love, my husband." she let out a sob and sniffed again "After my loving husband died, I had nowhere to go. Then Uncle Eduardus sent me a letter and let me stay here." She sniffed and snorted "I spent rest of my life here and still am, after my death"
Everyone looked at Tony, who looked like he greatly regretted asking Missy about it.
"Uh...happens" was all Tony managed to say "Blacks have that reputation"
"They sure do" Eddy grimly nodded and rubbed Missy's shoulder in sympathy
"Well, more like did" Rose added
"Pardon?" Eddy looked at rose and raised a brow. Missy also looked interested
Rose bit her lower lip "Black family's main bloodline ended with Sirius. He was the last of Blacks"
"Your godfather?" Eddy asked
"He was your cousin as well, wasn't he?" Missy asked
"Distant one, but yeah sure. But still" she shrugged, sighed and got up "Let's get you back to your rooms"
"Do we have to?" Eddy almost pouted, which looked weird on a ghost
"I'll let you out when we would be leaving. Promise." she smiled "Come on. Enough terrorizing for tonight. I don't think they'll watch any horror movie soon. Come on"
Others separated as Rose made her way out of the room, Eddy and Missy following her
For a moment Eddy stopped to address the group "It was delightful to meet you all. though Misapinoa and I apologize from the cores of our hearts for what entailed. It was a...what is it the word as of late...yes!...cool experience" he did a bow and tipped his hat "I hope to see you lot once more, of course, if young Rose permits" he grinned and then left
"wow" Bruce breathed and nervously chuckled "That was some experience!"
"Easy for you to say!" Clint frowned "You didn't go through what I went through. I think I'll need a fuckin' therapy!"
"What did they do?" Steve asked, a bit amused as Clint flushed. Mia gave Nat another vial of calming draught and the Russian quietly drank it
Clint shook his head "I was sleeping, nicely for a change. My comforter is removed. Thrice. Then someone pulled my leg and almost threw me on the floor. And then I hear weird creepy laughing and...and..a-and...Eddy comes out, scaring shit outta me. I shot him, but it went right through him"
"He's dead, Clint" tony deadpanned
"then I rushed to Nat's room" Clint continued as if not interrupted "And she called my bluff!" Clint frowned at Nat
"What did you expect me to do when you barge into my room in the middle of the night, screaming rubbish about ghosts? I thought you were pulling one on me, especially after Rose and Mia mentioned the possibility of ghosts in the castle" Nat rolled her eyes
"Not rubbish now, was it?" Clint folded his arms with a frown
Nat snorted
"And then Missy joined the party" Clint grumbled "It was too much!"
"Can't Rose get rid of the ghosts?" Nat asked
"Only if it were that easy as you think" Mia replied "Eddy brought this place and built the castle. He can't be removed. And Missy ain't going anywhere unless Eddy tells her so. Besides, we are staying at their place, you know"
"Mia" Clint stood up and faced Mia with a very serious expression-one rarely seen on Clint-"Eddy and Missy are dead. Dead. D-E-A-D. Dead. Their claim on this place ended with them. Rose owns this place now. Rose, who's alive. How the fuck does Eddy still own this place?"
Mia shrugged "Rose lets them stay. I don't complain"
"And don't let them hear you complain" Rose added, joining them "Eddy'd be hurt and Missy...uh...she's quite"
"drama queen?" Tony supplied
"Can you blame her?" Rose shrugged "Anyway, I think it's enough adventure of a while. Let's go to bed"
"uh-uh," Clint settled in Nat's bed "I'm not sleeping anymore. Not alone. Nuh-uh"
"What do you mean, Barton?" Thos asked, tired. He could tell they all wanted to go back to bed, all but Barton who seemed to be still on an adrenaline high
"I'm sleeping with Rose. That's it, final" Clint closed his eyes, arms crossed and visibly stubborn
At once there was a mixture of reactions. Tony and Bruce were gaping. Steve and Mia looked horrified. Thor chocked on phlegm. Nat looked a mix of amusement and horror. Rose looked aghast at the statement and the way it sounded
"Won't be the first time" Clint added after god knows what thought
"What?!" Bruce and Tony demanded at once, breaking everyone's' stupor
clint opened his eyes and looked at the two pissed looking scientists
"What?" he asked, a bit confused
"What the fuck do you mean you are sleeping with my daughter?" Tony demanded, voice quite slow and calm. And everyone knew that if Tony used that tone, one better run for the farthest hills.
Rose was still shocked enough at the blunt statement to comment any further
"And how many has it happened?" Bruce asked, eyes flashing green for a split second
Clint frowned before looking at everyone. Nat held back a snicker and Clint realized what he had said
"NO!" he screamed, jumping to his feet "It's not like that! Just sleeping. Sharing a bed. That's it. I swear! Come on! She's like my little sister!"
"When was the last time?" bruce asked again, the green-ness gone but an edge in his voice
"When she was sick and couldn't sleep. I just slept next to her to give her company. Ask Steve! he came to check on her and saw us. Nothing happened like that!"
Tony frowned. He knew about Barton's wife and kids(Rose could never keep a secret from him) but Clint was known to be suave and flirty. Not that Clint was unloyal or something, but he knew that men cannot be trusted, especially around young beautiful women.
"He's not lying" Steve added, after a second and rubbed the back of his neck nervously
Bruce scoffed. He knew that Clint flirted a lot around so he wouldn't put it past Clint to attempt to get in Rose's pants. He had not been kidding when he had said that Rose was a niece to him. He meant it. Clint was one of his good friends but no way was he letting Barton around Rose. And like those rarer times, Hulk seemed to be agreeing.
"Share my room" Bruce offered
"Uhm..." Clint cleared his throat and shuffled
Bruce's eyes flashed green
"Okay!" Clint almost jumped and rushed out towards Bruce's room
"Well, I had my quota of awkward and hilarious. I'm going to bed" Mia declared
"You can sleep in my room if you want" Rose offered Nat
"I'm good. I'll let you know if something happens"
"Okay"
rose closed the door and stretched "Don't wake me up tomorrow. I'm gonna sleep in"
"Would your descendants be returning, Rose?" Thor asked
"Not tonight" Rose smiled softly "good night, guys" she entered her room and closed the door
"Okay. I'm sleepy" Tony added and left
And others followed
It had been about 8 days since the team got to the island. Clint and Thor were cooking dinner. Bruce was relaxing on the sand. Steve had found a new hobby of sand sculpting. Tony was using Rose's lap as his pillow as the two were on the porch of the castle. Nat and Mia were gathering some fruits from the only garden near the castle.
The two had gotten closer since the mishap. And Nat was not the only one. Mia was now the part of the team, the family.
Rose looked up from her novel when she heard Nat and Mia approaching, fruit baskets in hand. She often wondered in the past 8 days, that when not working, no one could tell any of them had any super-powers. and it just made her smile.
Nat threw a guava at Rose, which she caught.
"What are you reading?" Nat asked
"Just something I found in the library" she replied, "and I also fou-"
Rose was cut off when Mia's phone rang. the three girls exchanged a look of trepidation. Oh how much they hated that sound now!
"Well, answer it" Rose prompted
Mia grunted and answered the call "...yes?...right now?...30 minutes...okay"
"So?" Nat asked
"There's an attack on the city. Some mutant aimals the size of houses. They need the Avengers" Mia sighed
"I'll get Clint and Thor" Nat noted, but no one missed the sadness in her voice
"I'll start packing" Mia followed inside
Rose sighed and kept her novel down "Dad?"
"I know. I heard it. Give me a second" he got up, stretched "I'll get the suit"
Rose sighed. Sometimes she really wished Fury would understand that they deserved a normal life too. But being the asshole he was, she sighed again and got up
"Boys!" she called, grabbing their attention "Fury called. Time for work"
So another chapter down.
Reviews reviews reviews! please!
Other than that,
A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE OF MY READERS. MAY YOU HAVE A VERY SUCCESSFUL YEAR AHEAD AND ACHIEVE ALL YOU WANT. GOD BLESS YOU!
See you at the next chapter