Chapter 22: And Then There Were Two
(Alexis P.O.V)
The following morning had a relaxed feel to it as I ate my blueberry pancake, courtesy of Steve, while wrapped in my fluffy, blue dressing gown. As I eat at the island table in the kitchen, I watch Steve flip a pancake.
"Steve?" I ask as I take another bite of my pancake, savouring the taste in my mouth. Who knew that Captain America had the secret talent of cooking.
"Yeah, Buddy?" he replies, flashing a smile at me.
"What is the mission about?" I ask, curiousity finally getting the better of me.
Taking a deep breath before turning around, he says, "Sorry bud, I can't tell you. But I can promise that you have no reason to worry. We are just rescuing a long, lost friend."
"Why can't you tell me?"
"Because it is classified and only people who work for S.H.E.I.L.D can know about it."
"Oh," I take another bite of my pancake. "That seems understandable."
"Sorry, Buddy," He sighs as he turns back to his pancake.
"It's okay," I smile as I finish half my pancake, "I was just wondering, that's all." Pushing my plate away, I jump off the stool.
"Aren't you going to finish that?" Steve asks. Turning around, I look at him and shake my head.
"Nope. I'm full. You can have it if you want, I don't want it to go to waste."
"Alright, then," He shrugged and dragged the plate towards him.
I skip out the kitchen and halt abruptly. Loki and Clint were talking on the couches. Loki's back was to me. Stifling a giggle threatening to escape me, I slowly, silently creep towards the couch. I catch Clint's eye and smile at him. He doesn't acknowledge me, just lets me keep creeping closer. I keep my eyes locked on my target, who was still unaware of my presence. Or so I thought.
I ready myself to jump when he says," If you want to surprise me, Aithne, you will have to work on your sneaking skills." Turning around to face me, he smiles as I pout at him.
"I thought you almost had him,"Clint says to me as I walk around the rest of the couch and flop next to Loki.
"I thought I did too," I pout, making them both chuckle.
"With a little bit of training, I'm sure that you could sneak up on whoever you want," Loki grins as he reaches to ruffle my wild mop of hair.
"Are you a good sneaker?" I ask him, as I bat his hand away.
"The best," Clint pipes up," but don't tell Nat I said that," he winks, making me giggle.
Turning to Loki, I smile up at him and ask," Could you teach me to be sneakier?"
Loki's grin turned almost maniacal. "It would be my absolute pleasure, my Lady."
I hear footsteps entering the room and look to see who it was.
"Tony," I squeal, as I scramble off the couch and skip over to him. My dressing gown trailing on the ground.
"Good morning, shortcake," he greets, as he ruffles my hair.
I grumble as I try, unsuccessfully, to tame my wild mane, making him chuckle as he crouches down and pulls me into a hug.
Grinning to myself, I wrap my arms around his neck.
"Good morning, Tony," I say. My words muffled as I tuck my head into the crook of his neck.
"You are nice and snuggly," Tony comments. "I might not want to let you go."
My eyes widen, I try to pull out of his grasp but found I was trapped. Huffing, I try again but to no avail.
"Come on, Shortcake. Gotta try harder than that," he grins.
Thinking quickly, I smirk wickedly, before jabbing him in the side. He yelps and his arms loosen. Immediately, I scramble out of his arms and run over to the couches where Clint, Steve and Loki were laughing at our antics.
Leaping on to the couch, I turn around and see Tony running towards me. Squealing, I attempt to jump over to Loki, but trip and fall onto the floor. I scramble to get to my feet and race away, but I was too late. Hands grabbed me from behind and tossed me back onto the couch. I squeeze my eyes shut as my breath catches, but I quickly remember that it is Tony and not my father. Opening my eyes, I see Tony grinning as his hands descend to my stomach. Realizing what he intends to do, I try to squirm away, but was too slow.
Quickly, I dissolve into giggles, and my breath runs away from me. Tears stream from my eyes as I can't stop laughing. This lasts for about five minutes before Tony finally lets up.
Taking deep gulps of air, I glare at Tony, who just winks and says," That's what you get when you mess with me."
"That...was...mean," I say, in between breathing precious oxygen.
"That was revenge, Shortcake," he grins, as he lifts me up, and then sits down with me on his lap.
Tucking my head into the crook of his neck, he turns to the others and asks," You guys ready?"
"As we'll ever be," Clint replies.
Steve just gives a nod as he was busy eating his pancakes.
"What time are you leaving?" I ask.
"About an hour," Tony grimaces.
"Oh," I frown and snuggle closer to him.
"Come on, Shortcake," he smiles, softly," It won't be for that long. We will be back before you know it, and while we are gone, you and Loki can hang out."
"I know, but I'll miss you. All of you," I whisper.
"We will miss you too, Shortcake," Tony replies softly, squeezing me gently," But remember my promise?"
I nod and smile a bit.
"Good girl." He presses a kiss to my forehead and then turns back to Steve and Clint to talk about preparation for the mission
The hour went by too quickly. Soon, I was taken up to the Quinjet hanger where the rest of the Avengers were.
Stepping out of the elevator, I beckoned over by Clint, to the ship. Scampering over, I follow him up into the cargo hold and avoid getting in the way of anyone. I follow him up to the cockpit. He gestures for me to sit in the pilot's seat. I carefully, clamber up and grin as I take the controls in my hands.
I giggle and look around. There were so many gauges and buttons and switches.
"How do you remember where everything is?" I ask Clint, taking it all in.
"Just plain practice and training," Clint replies as he crouches next to me.
"Does this have guns?" I ask, my eyes widening.
"Yep," Clint replies with a grin.
"Awesome, but scary," I whisper with a grin.
Clint and I sit there for a few more minutes with Clint explaining what a few of the dials did before I hear Tony calling for me. Carefully slipping off the seat, without pressing buttons, I make my way out the ship and see Tony, Pepper and Loki, all standing in the entrance of the hanger. I skip over and stand between Loki and Tony.
"Did you call for me?" I ask, rocking over my heels.
"Yea. Pepper is leaving for Washington now, and was just stopping by to say farewell."
"You're leaving as well?" I frown.
Pepper smiles softly down at me," I am, It was a last minute thing. I wish I could stay, but I am sure that you and Loki will be fine on your own."
I run over to her and wrap my arms around her waist. "I'll miss you," I whisper.
I feel her arms wrap around me and then presses a kiss to the top of my head. "I'll miss you too," I hear her whisper.
I pull away and go back to stand beside Tony. He ruffles my hair and winks down at me. I sigh and let my head fall down in resignation. I will never be able to stop them messing with my hair.
Pepper presses a kiss to Tony's lips before walking away.
"Well, we best be off too," Tony sighs as we walk toward the ship.
The other Avengers walk out the ship and towards us. They reach us and Nat crouches in front of me and pulls me into a hug. I wrap my arms around her neck and hang on tight.
"We'll be back soon," She whispers, before pulling away from the hug. I walk over to Steve, who kneels down in front of me and wraps me in another hug.
"I'm gonna miss you, buddy." He smiles before pressing a kiss to the side of my head. I, then, get hugged by Clint, Bruce and a very careful hug from Thor, before getting to Tony. The others walk off to the ship while Tony crouches in front of me. I leap at him and tightly wrap my arms around his neck. He holds me close. One arm around my waist while the other has its hand in my hair. Keeping me close.
"I'm going to miss you so much, Shortcake," he whispers.
"I am going to miss you too." My voice cracking as I mumble against his shoulder."Do you have to go?"
'I'll be back soon," he soothes."And always remember my promise, alright? I am always here for you. If you ever want to talk to me, just tell JARVIS, and he will contact me, and I will try my hardest to answer you."
I sniffle slightly against his shoulder but nod, before reluctantly pulling away.
"Bye Tony," I whisper.
"See ya, Shortcake," he smiles, before walking over to the ship. Loki jogs over to me and takes my hand in his as we watch the Quinjet start up and fly away.
"So now what?" Loki asks as we watch the Avengers disappear.