A/N: I'm not gonna lie when I say I struggled with this one lmao It's in a bit of a different style to what I usually write in I guess, just wanted to try something new. Just one more fill to go! It's going to be so strange not staying up until 3 in the morning trying to get these done after a whole month of it
The Avengers had adopted many things over the years. After New York, there had been a cat that lurked at the base of the Stark Tower Complex that Natasha had all but brought into the complex itself. After discovering that the cat's body was the house for many a disease, Bruce had kicked up a fuss with Tony and Clint - who wasn't a cat man - on his side. They never saw the feline again.
After Ultron, the Avengers had adopted what became a form of custom. Each morning at around one-thirty, they would gather in the common area that overlooked the city and silently pour themselves a drink. They would sit in silence in various forms of dress; some still wore their suits and formal attire from a day of meetings and business, while some leaned back on the reclining lounge chairs donning soft pyjamas from head to toe. Tony would never admit it, but he was pining for a pair of Nat's soft rabbit slipper socks...in men's sizes.
The silence eventually morphed into a lighthearted exchange of jokes and turning the hardships into a form of humour. They figured if they didn't laugh about their experiences, they would cry. None of them were sure what was worse.
Following the events of Siberia, the Avengers had adopted a new policy: silence. None of them called one another, and none of them wrote. There was complete and utter radio silence despite many of them residing in the same building. They had all felt like estranged family members, and none of them had wanted to brave the discomfort or attempt to navigate the unsteady waters of the new social contract. No one had really written up a set of rules or legislation on it.
While they all stayed in their separate rooms on their separate floors of the new Avengers facility, the tension was palpable. The 'not talking' prevailed, instead shifting to tight-lipped smiles in the corridors or the acknowledgment of the sadness in each other's eyes as the end of another day came with no sign of change in sight. The worst of the 'not talking' was between Tony and Steve. The two men who had formed the collective lynchpin, the push-pull dynamic, the yin and the yang, had all but vanished as far as the others were concerned. They left behind a state of emptiness and emotional disarray. Their room were so far apart that they could easily go for years without seeing one another if they wished, and there was no doubt in anyone's mind that they would be stubborn enough to allow that to happen. Although each day the halls filled with light, there was a heavy darkness that was spread like a thick blanket over the compound.
The Avengers had adopted many things over the years, including a teenage boy from Queens. Peter had gone from inconvenient stowaway to everyone's adopted son...well, Tony had taken it upon himself to become the kid's adoptive father, so in a way, Peter was the rest of the Avengers' adopted nephew.
Less than a week after Peter settled into his room within the compound, the life rendered in greyscale within the facility underwent another transformation. With his heart made of gold and preciously naïve view of the world, warm light filled the halls once more.
A cat appeared on the front doorsteps of the Avengers facility. Where the first cat had been a grey striped tabby, the new feline had a coat that was a shade of pure white that was so unnaturally clean and almost shimmered in the light, they had assumed it belonged to one of the staff in the building. Within the day, its new residence was inside Peter's room, in the centre of his bed, paws tucked under its body with a regal air. In what imitated a roster-like level of professionalism, Bruce, Clint, and Natasha took turns visiting the cat, who Peter had so creatively named Snowy.
Just after one-thirty in the morning, as Peter finished pouring himself a mug of hot chocolate in the common area kitchen, he watched Tony stumble in bleary-eyed, dress shirt untucked but already donning rabbit slipper socks in a men's size. As Tony poured himself an ounce of scotch in a tumbler that reflected the moonlight, the silhouette of Thor emerged from a dark hallway. The Asgardian grasped an empty glass and poured out a fraction of whatever mystery concoction he carried with him in his flask, the smell burning off Peter's hair from where he stood a few feet away. Next came Steve in a plain t-shirt and soft fleece pants.
Soon after came Bruce, followed by Natasha. The last to arrive was Clint, whose pyjamas looked almost identical to his battle gear: a soft black singlet coupled with long black cotton pants. Peter was sure he'd never seen Clint wearing anything other than monochrome black.
They all sat in silence, having drifted to the formation they used to take years prior. Each Avenger sat with glass in hand, sipping quietly but contentedly. As Peter joined with his mug of hot cocoa, steam lifting lazily into the air, the seating arrangement transformed from what used to be an almost-circle. As he took his seat, the circle became whole.
Not three weeks since Peter began living in the compound, the 'not talking' became muttered 'hellos', with the occasional 'how've things been?' thrown in for good measure. Clint and Thor were seen reminiscing on the balcony overlooking the large expanse of green that surrounded the facility. There were no forced smiles, no overtly cautious walking on eggshells. When Bruce passed by and decided to join in the conversation, each face lit up in a smile.
The real miracle that had Peter - and the rest of the team - lurking in the shadows as if they were studying a species that had allegedly been extinct was seeing Tony and Steve sitting in the lounge, both of them with a drink in hand. The 'not talking' had turned to 'talking', and whilst it was a far cry from before Siberia, it was a step forward.
Sometimes the Avengers adopted new things, like forgiveness.