I couldn't NOT include Bucky in this because I think he is like one of the coolest Marvel characters ever! I hope you guys like it! Please review! ;)
10.
Finally the day came that Anne could get out of bed again. It felt so liberating to be able to move again. She was on crutches, but that still didn't stop her. She went upstairs and downstairs, went through all the hallways at least twice and kept going round and round again.
No one could stop her from moving, and, fromTony's part of view, no one actually wanted to because it was so much fun to watch her.
Bruce kept telling her she should keep it easy, and she tried for a while, but she just felt the necessity to keep going.
Things seemed to be going back to normal at the Tower too. Everyone was still keeping a close eye out for any Hydra attacks, but the carefreeness had returned. Pepper even got back from her buisness trip from Hong Kong.
Now that she was Stark's C.E.O. , she was often gone on buisness.
Anne woke up early one morning and went downstairs to find Thor sitting at the table eating breakfast by himself.
"Ah! Anne! What a joyous occasion to see you standing once more! Come! Join the feast!"
Anne almost burst out laughing. The feast was, obviously, pop tarts. Thor just loved them! He loved how you just put them in the toaster and they would just pop out.
He handed her a cinnamon pop tart and started devouring another box. He ate like four of them.
"How good it is to you doing so well! I do believe you shall stand soon!"
"I wouldn't get my hopes up. Banner says it might be a few more weeks before I can start walking on it again. I'm just glad he took the casts off!"
"And how is your arm?"
Anne moved it and showed him how strong it had already become from jumping around on the crutches.
"Good as new. I just can't wait to start training again. I hate being inactive. "
"Ah, yes it is quite dreadful. I too once took a terrible fall! My father would not allow me any gaming with my companions for many a fortnight!"
By companions Anne took that he meant "friends" and by gaming he probably meant "going out to play".
She liked how he talked. She thought it cute.
After his seventh box of pop tarts, Barton came and joined them.
"Guess I can't dump water on you today either, huh?" He said looking at Anne.
"You can try, but I won't guarantee what will happen next.." And they both chuckled.
"So, what's on the agenda today? More dangerous bungee crutching? Or do you plan to jump off the roof with your crutches?"
"Actually, I was planning to step on your feet with them." She answered, already getting into position.
"Ah! Not today!" And he knocked one out of her hand.
"Hey! No fair! I'm injured here!"
"So you say! But where's the proof? Who tells me your not just using them as an excuse to beat me to death?"
The young girl burst out laughing. How he did it, she never knew. It was just in his nature, she guessed, other than a defense mechanism.
"No... No one!" She replied still giggling.
Those were the mornings she was beginning to cherish. They were fun, without any worries or cares and she was starting to forget all she had been through and moving on.
She hadn't even thought about her father or Bucky for the last few days. At least, not that she recalled.
All of a sudden, even Tony appeared.
"Shakespeare, Legolas." He greeted. And then he turned to Anne, pressuring his brain to find a funny name for her.
"Can't find anything?"
"Just wait a second Arrowette! Oh, that reminds me... I have to show you something."
"I'm touched Tony, but I just don't think we're right for each other."
Barton spit out his cereal and starting gasping for air while trying to laugh at the same time. Even Thor got the joke and couldn't hold back a diverted smile and a small chuckle.
For the first time in history, she supposed, Stark didn't have a comeback ready. He got so angry at himself that he just said: "Come on." And dropped it there.
Anne followed him to what she called the suit room. He kept everyones suits there. She had been there a thousand times, but she had never noticed the glass tube on the far left. Inside it was a dark green suit.
"It is with great disgust that I hand over to you your own personal avenger suit."
The pants were in green leather, the belt was brown. Then there was a hard brown leather corset, with two brown leather gauntlets and a brown leather archer's glove. The hood, that started from the shoulders, was the same color as the pants and the brown leather boots came up to her knees.
"Now this looks like regular leather, but being an incredible genius I obviously couldn't just let you run around in some medieval costume, so I designed a stronger, bullet proof leather. Adding to my genius, I also made you this..."
Out of a juror, he pulled out a black stick and gave it to Anne.
"What is this supposed to be?"
"Press the button, genius."
She pressed and out of nowhere, the stick started constructing itself into a black compound bow. Anne just stared at it amazed.
"Wow... Wasn't expecting that."
"Oh and this too."
He handed her a quiver full of arrows. Many of them were black, others were blue or green.
"Let me make this very clear. Even Legolas got this one, so you shouldn't have any problems. The blue one's go boom and the green ones go "zzzzzz". Got it?"
Anne couldn't help but smile.
"Thank you Tony. For everything."
"Ow... Is this one of those emotional moments? Because I don't do emotional."
She giggled.
"Besides, I didn't do it for you. I did it for Pepper."
"Pepper?" She asked adding a tone of sarcasm.
"Of course! If I hadn't, how would Pepper have survived?"
While he got back in the elevator, the girl cried:
"You know, you're really just a big softy at heart!"
"Not true!" And the elevator doors closed on his convinced look.
The girl turned back to look at the suit. It was perfect. Everything she had ever imagined it would be. A mix of old and new and she loved the touch of the hood. She loved hoods. And she loved green.
When she went back upstairs, the Avengers were sitting on the sofa, in front of the TV watching Arrow.
"Hey! That was one of my favorite TV shows!" She exclaimed. Tony turned around as sarcastic as ever and said.
"Now, why doesn't that surprise me?" Putting enfaces on Why and Doesn't.
"Hahaha Tin Man, watch the Wizard of Oz much?"
"You know that SHOULD hurt, but strangely, it doesn't."
And he turned back around happy and satisfied.
"Hahaha..." Was Anne's reply and she sat next to Steve.
After a while they turned the TV off and started doing other things. Strangely, no one noticed Anne had stopped using her crutches. No one except Steve.
When she got off the couch, he saw her flinch.
"You know, you really should keep using those crutches for a while."
"I'm fine, Cap."
But just as she set her foot back down, a shooting pain went through her leg. And she would have fallen on the floor had Steve not caught her just in time and picked her up.
"Now, lets see where you left those crutches."
Anne sighed.
"My room."
Steve held her in his strong arms and walked her up to her room.
It was strange, that feeling she had being in his arms. It made her blush.
She felt the warmth of his body against hers and felt his breath upon her cheek.
All of a sudden, she found herself thinking of what would happen if she just pulled herself up and kissed him.
But she didn't have time to imagine it, because as soon as they were in her room, he set her back down and helped her to her crutches.
"And don't stop using them until you're sure okay?"
And he gave her a big smile and left.
"Yeah, yeah... Sure..."
Anne couldn't stop thinking about his arms around her, his breath, his beating heart...
That was something she hadn't felt in a while, that feeling...
Not since James.
But things didn't start getting weird around them. Anne disguised her feelings perfectly.. She always had.
About a week later, she felt safe enough to abandon her crutches again and this time she had more success. She could almost walk perfectly now, but she still had to take it slow. Banner and Rogers's orders.
By now, she had bonded with almost all of them. Nat was never there and neither was Pepper, but she was glad of this because she hadn't really liked Natasha since day one.
She and the Captain were getting on great. They would talk, laugh and she would make him listen to all her favorite music and he would tell her about the old days.
Living with the Avengers was really starting to warm to her.