Just a note, a few plot elements are going to come from the cartoon Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. If you haven't seen it, it's pretty good. (You know for a Y-7 show.) Anyway, enjoy!
Cap's first test on the team came in the form of a few HYDRA robots. Not really anything severe. Bruce even stayed behind at the mansion and monitored the team's progress on a large screened monitor in the basement. This wasn't a situation severe enough for the Hulk. So he sat and sipped some tea while he watched the scene in front of him. There were two large robots with extendable mechanic arms. One of them had The Cap clutched thirty feet above the ground. Tony fired some raw energy from his hands to slice off the robotic arm that was clutching Cap. Cap managed to free himself from the arm but that didn't help the fact that he was now hurtling toward the ground. Tony swooped down, caught him, and set him back on the ground where he belonged. Cap gave a little salute as a gesture of gratitude and continued to bash some patrol units with his shield.
Clint and Natasha had a surprising ability to collaborate. They both seemed like the least social able on the team and yet Bruce was watching them work together on screen. It shouldn't have been such a surprise since Bruce was aware that Clint and Natasha had previously been partners. Yet he still marveled at their abilities. At one point a sizable crowd of HYDRA troops had surrounded them. Clint and Natasha stood back to back and repelled the soldiers with their attack specialities.
The gang arrived back at the mansion and they each had their own way of unwinding. Tony disappeared in search of a bit of hard liquor. Natasha proclaimed that she needed a shower. Clint slyly offered to join her but he was shot down instantly by her heated Russian glare. Instead he wandered off to, presumably, watch the large television in the living room. Steve found himself sitting on the edge of his bed with his chin in his hands. Today, he had fought against some old dogs who had unfortunately learned some new tricks. He had faced HYDRA before back in his own time, but now it seemed that they were stronger than ever.
At least the heroes are stronger too, Steve reminded himself. And they didn't even need some fancy serum for it.
"You alright there, Cap?" Tony had poked his head into Steve's room. Steve assumed that he had forgotten to shut the door all the way.
"Yup," Steve said quickly, assuming the best smile he could muster. He felt like one of the action figures they had started making of him. Plastic with a forced painted on smile.
"I know it was kind of sudden, hey Steve! Welcome to the twenty first century! Hey Steve! Go attack those HYDRA robots!" Tony rambled animatedly. He's either terrible at holding his alcohol, or he's already drunk enough to get him like this.
"Really Tony, I'm completely okay. I'm just thinking is all," Steve said in what he hoped was a reassuring voice.
"Got it," Tony took his cue to exit, "I'll just leave you to that. If you need anything, yeah you know the drill."
"So what did you think of the newbie's performance today?" Clint asked over a plate of the chinese takeout he had ordered for the team. The takeout boxes cluttered the kitchen counter and the group sat around a circular table. Their portions varied from Thor sized to Natasha sized.
"He's adorable," Natasha smirked. This incited a laugh from Bruce and Tony, but Clint scanned her face pleadingly as if he'd find an indication of humor there. Big muscled pri-
"He is quite the warrior," Thor stated heartily scooping rice and beef into his mouth.
"Indeed," Bruce concurred. "I think he makes a fine addition to the team."
"Speaking of which," Clint said, barely concealing his jealous tone, "where is the big guy?"
"He preferred to take dinner in his room," Tony explained.
"Not much of a team player, ay?" Clint teased.
"He's just getting used to everything. Before you know it he'll be team bonding like a true Avenger," Tony replied.
Clint was washing the remaining dishes from dinner. The kitchen was completely empty, and almost silent. He hummed quietly to himself. He hadn't heard her approach, but he heard the refrigerator door open and turned. Natasha was fishing around inside.
"Midnight munchies?" he teased.
"No thanks, I'm watching my figure," she replied, easing back into a standing position with a milk carton in her hand and closing the door.
Clint snorted and it became uncomfortably silent. "Is now an okay time to talk?" he asked.
"You're going to bring up my undercover work, aren't you," Natasha replied, pouring herself a glass of milk and leaning against the counter behind him.
He could feel her eyes on the back of his head as he wiped the dishes dry. "Naturally," he said trying to sound nonchalant.
"Then, no. Now isn't an okay time to talk," she replied taking a long sip from her glass.
"We were partners, Tasha," Clint threw the rag down and turned to face her. "Everything kind of ended with a big question mark. You explained you were working undercover, great I got it. You wouldn't explain why. You wouldn't join the avengers at first. Then you suddenly decide that you want to join the team. I mean I just don't get you."
"Well now we're part of a team," she replied as she set her glass down on the counter and moved next to him at the sink. She took the discarded towel and began to wipe down another plate.
"What does that even mean?" Clint shot at her. He fished a glass out of the murky dishwater and began to sponge it dry.
"It means that we're a part of something bigger than just you and I," Natasha explained, drying off another plate.
"For once, can you please cut the mysterious and dangerous crap?" Clint grumbled.
"They don't call me the Black Widow for kicks, Clint," she replied. There was humor in her eyes this time and Clint looked down to hide his smile.
There was a certain humor in the situation. He was here, with the most dangerous woman in the world, cleaning up after one of the most powerful 'super human' allegiances on the globe.
Tony had a tough time trying to sleep. His first escapades as Iron Man were trivial. He didn't feel any sort of distress during or after the battles. After so many, that apathy had begun to wear down. Sometimes he would return home and have nightmares or flashbacks. He couldn't stop them once they started. Sometimes the only way he could evade them was through alcohol. So that's what he did. He sat in his private study and drank himself into a slumber. Sure, sometimes he woke up with a cramp in his neck, but at least his sleep was nightmare free.
He lifted himself from his bed, turned on the light, and slipped into the hallway. Coincidently he ran into another Avenger in the hall. It seemed that Steve had finally been drawn from his room. "Good evening, Cap," he greeted him.
Steve whirled around to face Tony and gave him a weak smile. "Hey, um, I was just about to get something to eat," he said nervously.
"And I was about to drown myself in some booze. Awesome!" Tony said with fake jolliness. The two headed down to the kitchen in silence.
Tony watched the bronze liquid spill into his crystal glass. He swirled it around a bit, the sound of the ice clinking around was more familiar than he'd like to admit. He took a sip and watched Steve eat. If you could call it that. He looked more like a starved animal feeding on the carcass of its prey. He hadn't bothered with chopsticks. He ate the left over chinese food with a fork. Out of the box.
"This is delicious," he commented quietly. "What's it called?"
Tony moved over and leaned over Steve's shoulder to inspect the contents of the box. Steve's muscles clenched a bit, but he didn't move away. "If I'm not mistaken, that's Beijing Beef," Tony noted and then stopped suddenly, "You've never had Chinese food before?"
Steve shook his head.
"My God!" Tony gasped. He retreated to the fridge and grabbed the rest of the boxes.
"What?" Steve asked, watching Tony's sudden excited movements closely.
"You've never had Chinese food before. That's like saying you haven't lived!" Tony was emptying the contents of the various boxes on a large plate. A little bit of fried rice. A little bit of Kung Pao. A little bit of-no a lot of pot stickers. He popped the plate in the microwave. The forty seconds that ensued seemed to last an eternity. The aroma of the spices and seasonings filled the kitchen.
"That smells amazing," Steve said, dumbfounded. He wasn't used to such exotic dishes.
"Oh you wait," Tony grinned, he pulled the plate from the microwave and set it in front of his friend. "It will taste even better."
His prediction was accurate. Steve was soon shoveling the food into his mouth as fast as he could. Tony watched him, completely amused and slightly enthralled. How could anyone eat so much? he wondered. He grabbed his discarded glass again and took a sip. He secretly wondered if Steve was going to be a chronic insomniac like this. It would be nice to have a little company, Tony decided.
My apologies for the late update! This story got such an immediate and lovely response. Thank you all for the reviews and you can look forward to some more Stony soon :