I ran nonstop until I saw Avengers Tower looming in the distance. I kept my pace up and eventually reached the front door. I was exhausted and yet felt very excited. I was home. I changed back into my human form and reached for the door handle but paused. Once I opened this door there was no going back. I took a deep breath and smiled, I had already made my decision. I opened the door and walked straight up to the elevator. "Hello JARVIS" I said.
"Miss Accalia!" I heard through the speaker. "Forgive my surprise but you were reported to have died, miss. The avengers..." "I know, JARVIS, I watched the news" I said in a soft tone. "Very well, Accalia. Should I notify Mr. Stark of your presence? He is currently in the labs". I shook my head "No, I think it's best if I tell him myself". "Then I shall bring you to his floor. And might I add that it is good to see again, Accalia. I am glad that you have returned." I grinned "Thank you, JARVIS. It's good to be back, I've dearly missed this place".
The elevator stopped at the lab and the door slid open. I walked out and headed for the lab doors. As soon as I walked through the doors Tony spotted me. The tools he had been holding dropped to the floor with a clang, but neither of us paid attention to it. "Tony" I breathed, which was all I could get out before Tony had reached me and pulled me into his arms. "You're alive." He softly said as he held me close. I hugged Tony back hard. "I missed you guys so much" I told him, while tears began to form in my eyes.
"Not as much as we missed you" Tony replied, before pulling back slightly. He carefully put his hands on either side of my face. "We thought you were dead, we even held a funeral". "I'm sorry" I said. Tony shook his head and wiped away the tears running down my face. "Don't be". He kissed my forehead and enveloped me in another tight hug. "I'm just so glad you're okay".
I don't know how long we stood there, but I moved back slightly when I noticed a faint scent I recognised. As it got stronger I realised who it was. "Bruce!" I said. Tony turned us around at my exclamation and we both saw an astounded Bruce standing in the door opening, who was struggling to speak. "Acc ... What?".
Tony grinned, arms still around me: "Look who I found, Bruce". I wanted to get to Bruce but Tony held me back with an amused look as Bruce still seemed frozen. I wasn't one to give up and turned into my wolf, effectively freeing myself from Tony, before I jumped up to Bruce in one jump. Out of reflex Bruce caught me and it only took a split second after that for Bruce to finally unfreeze and for the arms around me to tighten considerably. "Accalia, you're alright" he said, unbelief still clear in his voice. I nuzzled him and wagged my tail. "I'm okay, Brucie" I said. He held me even tighter.
Bruce hugged me for a long time and started subconsciously moving along to Tony's music after a while. Tony watched us with an amused smile and eventually broke the silence: "You gonna let her go sometime, Bruce, or are you keeping her?". "What, oh sorry" Bruce said sheepishly as he carefully put me down on the floor. I turned human and sat on the counter behind Bruce. I leaned my head against his shoulder and said: "I missed you guys". Bruce put an arm around me and absentmindedly rubbed my arm "We missed you too, kiddo."
I let my mind wander and stared ahead of me as I recalled the past few days and how I had doubted if I should even return to the avengers. I shook my head softly as I thought of how wrong I had been, which Tony noticed. "What is it?" he said as he moved to stand next to me. "I ... nevermind, it's stupid." I said. Tony softly nudged me and said "Nope, kiddo, wrong answer. Try again." I looked at Tony and he gave me an encouraging smile, so I said: "It was just that I was thinking about the past few days when I was away from you guys. How I told myself that it was for the best to stay away. That this way nobody would get hurt and you could continue your lives the way they were before you met me." I looked up at Bruce and Tony and smiled "And I just realised how stupid I was to think that."
The reaction I got was not at all what I expected. "You really can be dense sometimes, you know that?" Bruce said. Tony seemed as surprised as me by Bruce's reaction. "Eh Bruce, for lack of better words, what the hell?" Tony told him. Bruce didn't heed Tony at all and instead kept his focus on me and continued: "You really thought that staying away from us would be best? That we wouldn't miss you every single day?" I was taken aback by that and responded: "I ... I did see that you guys looked sad at the funeral, but I didn't think that sad feeling would ... last?" I trailed off.
Now both Tony and Bruce were giving me an incredulous look and Tony said: "You didn't think that if we got even a whiff that you were alive we would've come for you?". "No, it's not that" I answered, "I just figured that after everything that had happened it might be better to remove myself from your lives. I caused a lot of chaos and I thought perhaps your lives might be easier if I wasn't a part of it anymore."
Bruce shook his head and softly grabbed my shoulders: "Listen to me carefully, young lady. When you came into our lives, you became part of them. You changed our lives, you sweet, silly little girl. There is no going back to a life before you." A smile grew on my face as their words sank in and any possible doubt of the sincerity of their words was taken away when both Tony and Bruce enveloped me in a big hug.
When they pulled back from the hug Bruce nodded towards the elevator. "Now, go on. The others missed you just as much as we did, we can catch up more later. Steve should be in the tower, he is usually in the gym at this time." Bruce said. I jumped off the counter, then hesitated "Right ... Steve". Tony shook his head and said "Don't even go there, kid. Steve has missed you just as much as we all did. Go, shoo." Tony gave me a little push to the door and they both waved me out as I walked to the elevator and stepped inside. I took a deep breath and released it: "JARVIS, take me to Steve please." "Of course, Accalia" JARVIS answered. The elevator stopped at the gym and the doors opened. The memory of me attacking Steve was burning in my mind but I pushed it back. No Accalia, don't think like that, be brave. I mustered up my courage and walked out to see Steve lifting some weights.
Steve stiffened the moment he saw me. I should've expected him to be scared of me after what happened, but his reaction still hurt. I looked at the ground, better to just get this over with then. "Look, I only wanted to say that I'm sorry ..." I stopped as I felt strong arms pulling me into Steve's chest. "You silly creature" I looked at Steve's face, he was crying and smiling at the same time. "You're not mad?" I asked. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you". He replied. My face lit up as he said that. "I missed you so much, Steve".
With that I moved my arms around him and eagerly returned the hug. He was prepared for it and tightened the hug while moving so he could sit on the ground as he held me close. I was incredibly comfortable in Steve's arms and turned into my wolf to snuggle up even more. Steve laughed at my actions and responded by hugging me even closer. He started petting me after a while and I relaxed into him, feeling myself going drowsy. The adrenaline of returning home was wearing off and my exhaustion was starting to catch up with me. I startled when I suddenly felt myself moving as Steve picked me up and started walking. I raised my head and blinked tiredly at Steve "What are you doing?" I asked.
Steve smiled warmly at me "I promise you can sleep soon, but first we need to go to Bruce". I shook my head a little "I don't need to go to Bruce, I just came from there" I answered. Steve nodded "I suspected as much, but I noticed some cuts and bruises on you, meaning Bruce hasn't checked you over yet." I hummed in response as I was too tired to answer him. I let myself be carried by Steve and in no time we were back in the labs.
"Back so soon?" Tony said with a grin as he watched Steve and me come in. His face turned into one of concern when he saw that I was out of it. "What's wrong?" he said as both Tony and Bruce came up to Steve and me. "Nothing, just sleepy" I said, emphasizing my point by yawning while Steve laid me on one of the hospital beds of the lab and said "I noticed some injuries on her and wanted to make sure she's checked over". Bruce's inner doctor came alive at that comment and he stepped up "Of course, I'm sorry Accalia, I completely forgot." "Is alright" I mumbled. Bruce chuckled as he saw how tired I was. "I'll be quick, promise." I nodded and changed into my human form so Bruce could examine me.
Bruce carefully started checking me over. He frowned when he noticed my stitches and gently moved his hands over them. "Where did you get these?". I opened my eyes a little more and sat up to look at the stitches myself. "Long story short I was saved by the new owner of Dusty, an old man who lives in a cabin and took me in. He noticed that I was leaking a weird, transparent liquid from one of my wounds. When he examined the wound further, he found out there was something under my skin and took out several bags of clear liquid, he said. Must've been David who put Yellow-X in there to ensure I was under influence of it at all times, even if he forgot to douse me." Tired as I was, I didn't miss the looks of absolute fury on all three men's faces. "That bastard" Tony hissed under his breath.
I sat up a little straighter and looked at Steve "I know I was still under influence of Yellow-X, but nevertheless that was no excuse for hurting you, I'm really sorry, Steve." Steve put a hand on my shoulder and shook his head with a smile: "None of what happened was your fault, I know that wasn't you. David and Henry are the only ones to blame, alright? I will hear none of it." I looked in Steve's eyes and saw that he truly meant it. I nodded, but couldn't keep the confusion off my face, which Steve saw too. "What is it, Accalia?" he asked.
I looked at my hands and explained: "I already told Tony and Bruce that I wasn't sure whether it would be best for me to come back, because I didn't want to cause any more pain to you guys. But another part was that I was scared to return. I never hurt my parents, ever, and yet they often rejected me, told me I wasn't worth it to be their daughter. And ... I was afraid that if I came back, I might be rejected too. And I couldn't handle the thought of that. All I ever wanted was a family and you gave that to me and then I screwed it up. And I'm so, so sorry, I just don't want to be alone again." I finished as tears rolled down my cheeks.
"Oh, come here" Steve said as he pulled me into a tight hug. When Steve pulled back Tony put an arm on my shoulder and looked at me. "Kiddo, you remember when I said you had a family here with us?" I nodded, of course I did. It was the moment my life changed completely around, when I finally found a true home. Tony gave me a slight smile and continued: "I know you've had a hard time growing up and family didn't mean what it's supposed to mean. But to us, family is permanent. It's not something we give to someone and take back later. You became part of this group kiddo, there is no family without you." Tony said. "Thank you" I said with tears in my eyes and hugged Tony.
I pulled back and looked at Bruce who nodded: "You're like a daughter to me, to all of us. We love you like you were our own. And we'll never stop caring for you." Bruce looked me in the eyes as he said that and I saw the sincerity behind his words. Now I finally understood it, after all this time. A true family was forever and I was a part of this one. I was a piece of the puzzle that together made the avengers. And I was proud of that. They seemed to all notice the understanding in my eyes, that it had finally clicked for me. Bruce ruffled my hair and said: "I knew you'd get there, kiddo". Bruce hugged me for a second, before he let go and nodded to the hospital bed. "Come on, let's finish examining you. You need to sleep, little one." I nodded as I moved back onto the bed. Bruce took over again and eventually finished his examination. "Well, you're definitely not fully healed and I know you taxed your strength by running all the way here." Bruce said with a knowing look and I smiled back sheepishly "so what you need right now is rest. Don't walk around too much and take it easy for a couple of days and you should be back to normal in no-time."
I nodded "Thank you Bruce, I wasn't planning on running again for the coming while" I said with a grin "and rest sounds great". Tony laughed and said: "you try to run anywhere and we'll personally come drag you back. We're not letting you out of our sight any time soon, kiddo." Steve and Bruce nodded in agreement, before Steve moved forward to pick me up "Okay, time for bed, Accalia". Steve took me to my room and it felt great to be back in my own place. I got into bed while Steve wished me good night and then he started walking out. "Steve?" I asked him. Steve stopped at the door and turned to me. "Thank you, for everything". Steve nodded: "anytime kiddo" he said with a smile. "Now sleep, it's been a long day." I nodded, it had been a long day. Steve closed the door behind him and I let out a deep breath. I was home, truly home. This was my house, my place and there was nowhere I'd rather be. All these adventures I'd had for the past few months had been a lot, but I wouldn't change it for the world. It had taught me so much and especially the avengers had taught me so much. I knew that to the world they were heroes for saving the world by using their amazing powers. But to me they were heroes for being their normal selves and letting me become a part of that. I closed my eyes and was soon sound asleep.
I woke up and looking outside it was still dark. I looked at the time and saw that it was 3.12. I don't know why but an instinct was telling me to get up. I moved out of bed and towards the door, walking slowly as to not aggravate my wounds too much. It was quiet in the hallway. I paused and closed my eyes, concentrating on the feeling that was pulling me somewhere. I had to go up, to the roof. I walked up to the elevator, greeted JARVIS and asked him to take me to the roof. When the doors opened I walked out and was mesmerized by the view. I had never been to the top of the tower before and the stars seemed so much closer from here. I felt like I could reach out and touch them.
My thoughts were interrupted by a sound. I turned wolf on instinct and concentrated my attention on where the sound had come from. I could see a shade, there was a figure on the roof and soon the scent reached my nose. It was Clint! I slowly walked up to Clint as to not startle him and happy as I was I rubbed against his shoulder before snuggling up to him.
Clint started and almost shot up, before he recognised me. "what ... Accalia, it's you!" he happily exclaimed. Clint put his arms around me and pulled me onto his lap. He gently held me against him, as if he couldn't fully believe it was me. "I'm sorry" I tried but I felt Clint shaking his head. "Don't, kiddo. You're alright, that's all that matters". I changed back to my human form and snuggled up in Clint's arms.
"I am sorry for almost attacking you though" I mumbled into his shoulder after a while. Clint laughed, which caught me by surprise and I looked up at him. Clint leaned back so he could look me in my eyes and said: "Accalia, if anything you saved my life back there. You broke through its control and took out the bad guy. If you hadn't, I wouldn't be sitting here today". I hadn't thought of that. It was true. If I hadn't regained control for that split-second I would've killed Clint. I felt Clint's hand gently lift my chin up so I looked him in his eyes again. He had a very fond and amused look on his face. "You zone out way too quickly, you little furball. I didn't mean it as something bad, it was a compliment".
I grinned back as I now understood where he was going with this and decided to push it. "And?" I said with a raised eyebrow. Clint laughed even harder "You're gonna make me say it, aren't you?" He asked me. I grinned and then faked a very serious expression: "Yep, definitely. I need to hear it, Barton". "Oh Barton, is it now" Clint said with a smile. "Okay, fine. Thank you for saving my life, Accalia". "You're welcome" I answered him off-handedly. He laughed once again and pulled me into a hug. "Wait" I said as I pulled back from Clint. He looked at me expectantly. "Does this mean you owe me?" I asked him with a smirk. Clint pretended to seriously ponder it before he eventually grinned: "Yeah definitely, Wolfey, I owe ya". "Wolfey?" I asked him. "What can I say, I'm creative like that. So, what favour do you want then?" he asked me. I already knew what I wanted. "I ... Would you teach me how to shoot your bow?". "Really? That's the favour you want? I'd love to, Wolfey".
I felt myself going drowsy and turned into my wolf. I stood up and curled myself around Clint, laying my head on his lap. "Tired?" Clint asked as he looked down at me. "Hmm" I answered him. "Alright then" Clint said as he put his arms around me and moved to get up. "Wait" I said. "Would you mind if I slept here tonight? I've always loved looking at the stars and from up here they seem so close, as if I only needed to reach out ... I don't want to leave yet." Clint thought about it for a second, "What did Bruce say?". "He told me to rest and not run around too much. I promise I'm fine, Clint. I'm a wolf, used to sleeping outside."
Clint sighed "I bet he didn't tell you to sleep outside though, but alright. Just for tonight though." Clint leaned back against the wall behind him and got comfortable. I grasped his intention and said: "You don't have to …" "Stop right there, kid." Clint interrupted me. "I'm already g onna get chewed out for letting you sleep outside, I'm not letting you sleep out here alone." I thought of arguing, but realised it would be a losing battle and I appreciated his company. I moved my head a bit in Clint's lap, trying to get comfortable. Clint must've noticed that it wasn't working as he picked me up and fully placed me on his lap. I snuggled up against Clint and relaxed contentedly. "Thank you" I softly told him. Clint tightened his grip a little in response. It didn't take long after that for sleep to overtake the both of us.
Well guys, it's been absolute ages again. I loved writing this chapter, I wanted to keep the reunion soft and sweet and I hope you feel it worked out as much as I did. And don't worry, I haven't forgotten about Nat or Thor! They'll show up in the next chapter ... which will also be the last chapter of this story. But for now, as always, enjoy!
