Title: Out of Space and Time
Author: sheraiah
Rating: T
Genre: Avengers/LOTR crossover
Summary: The Tesseract and the Bifrost aren't the only ways by which to travel between the worlds, and there are more worlds than Thor has spoken of. When one of the pathways goes awry, the Avengers are called in to clean up the resulting mess.
Disclaimer: If I owned any of it besides the plot, I wouldn't be slaving away in retail.
Steve glanced at Legolas as the Quinjet they were currently riding in sped towards the Tower. He could see the tension in the elf's jaw, but his posture otherwise gave little indication of his unease. The super soldier didn't pretend to know the elf as well as Banner and Stark did, they had had more contact with him, but he knew how it felt to be completely mystified by the gadgets around them. Banner sat next to the elf, quietly conversing with him. The elf's replies were short, but polite, indicating that Bruce's ploy to keep his mind off the trip wasn't succeeding. Making a decision, Steve stood and walked towards the cockpit.
"Natasha?" She turned in the copilot's seat to face him when he addressed her. "Mind letting Legolas sit there for a few minutes?" She gave him a measuring look for a heartbeat or two and then nodded.
"Not at all, Cap." She rose gracefully, passing him with a half-smile. Of course she had caught on to what he was about immediately. He beckoned to the elf.
"Come on up, Legolas. We're flying pretty high right now, but we'll go to a lower altitude in a few minutes. It's a pretty amazing sight." The elf hesitated only a brief moment before rising and taking the proffered seat.
"We are above the clouds?" He asked, eyes wide.
"For the moment," their pilot, Grissom, replied, his attention on his controls. "We'll start descending in about three minutes.
"Have you ever been above the clouds before?" Steve asked.
"Only when traveling through the mountain passes," Legolas replied. "And to be fair, it was not so high as this." Movement outside the Quinjet caught both their attention. Iron Man flew along side the jet, waving when he saw them look in his direction.
"Show off," Steve muttered, humor lacing his tone. "We're descending in a couple minutes, Stark," he said into his com link. "Watch out for geese."
"Holy shit, call CNN! Capsicle made a joke!" Tony quipped back. "Don't worry, I goose-proofed the suit. Picking feathers out of the joints was a stone bitch."
"A goose? The bird gets bigger every time you tell it, Tony," Banner commented. "I distinctly remember scraping pigeon feathers off your chest plate, not goose feathers."
"Goose, it was a goose. Not a pigeon. Goose," Stark said firmly, executing a barrel roll. Steve chuckled, bracing a hand on the roof of the cockpit as the jet started to descend through the clouds. Soon, the sea was visible and Legolas gasped.
"It's amazing, isn't it?" Steve asked. The elf nodded, unable to give voice to his awe. "Wait until we get over the coast. Sometimes you can even see pods of whales offshore."
"And the farms look like patchwork quilts," Banner put in, coming up to stand beside Steve. The coast came into view and Grissom turned to skirt it. "Look," Bruce pointed to a spout of white rising from a gray hump in the water. "Looks like a pod of whales."
"What are they?" Legolas asked, leaning forward to see better.
"Marine mammals," he answered. "Air breathers, but they live exclusively in the sea," he clarified, responding to the look of confusion he got in response to the translator garbling the term.
"Ah, yes, I have heard stories of such creatures." He watched, fascinated, until they passed from view.
"We'll be coming in over Ellis Island in a few," the pilot said. Silence reigned until the Statue of Liberty came into view, and the city beyond it.
"What is that?" Legolas asked.
"New York City," Steve said.
"That is a city?" The elf's eyes were wide, amazement and dismay warring for dominance in his expression.
"An extremely large one," Banner confirmed. "Don't worry, you won't have to deal with any more of that than you want to. Tony's building is private, at least our part of it is,"
"I do not think there are so many Men in all of Arda," Legolas commented softly, eyes darting back and forth as they flew over the city towards the Tower's landing pad.
"Captain, Dr. Banner, you might want to take your seats, just in case," Grissom said, slowing his approach in preparation for landing. They complied. The landing was smooth and Grissom lowered the ramp. "Always a pleasure, gentlemen, Agent Romanoff." Tony landed just at the end of the ramp and raised his face plate.
"Thank you for flying 'Air S.H.I.E.L.D'. Please gather your belongings and take small children by the hand," he said. "How was your flight, Legolas?"
"It was interesting. I shall not soon forget the experience," the elf replied, having regained his composure. He walked towards Tony, examining his suit minutely. Hesitantly, he reached out a hand to touch Tony's arm, glancing towards the billionaire's face for permission. Tony nodded and the elf laid his fingertips on the man's forearm. "You carried me. I remember the odd feel of this."
"Didn't think you were awake for that," Stark commented, arching an eyebrow. "Yes, I did carry you to the Quinjet so Bruce could patch you up a bit." He glanced at the rest of the group. "Meet you inside." He jetted off, flying down to his own landing pad. Legolas walked over to the edge of the roof, craning his neck up and watching with great interest as the suit was removed while Tony walked towards the common area of the Avengers' living space.
"Would that it was so easy to remove armor in Arda," he said, shaking his head in amazement.
"I can imagine," Steve said, thinking of the mounted knights of the joust at a Renaissance Fair Tony had dragged them all to a few months prior. "Come on. Let's get you settled."
"Welcome to my humble abode," Tony said, gesturing with the hand that wasn't holding the glass of bourbon. Steve had shown Legolas to the room Tony had set aside for him, just down from Steve's own quarters, and explained the basic workings of the bathroom and door locks to him before the two of them headed to the common area. "Drinks, anyone?"
"Stark, it's barely after noon," Steve protested.
"So stick to beer or soda, gramps," Tony quipped, "Not that it would make any difference to you anyway." Steve sighed.
"Have we got any Harp left?" The super soldier might not be affected by alcohol, but he had developed a fondness for the flavor of that particular brew. Tony grinned.
"Of course. I had JARVIS restock it while you were gone." He went behind the bar and poured a mug of it, handing it to Steve. "Cupid?"
"Just a Coke for now," Clint replied.
"Killjoy," Tony said with a smirk, handing him a can of the soft drink. "Natasha?"
"I'm fine for now, thank you," she said coolly. "I'll see you all later." She headed off in the direction of her quarters.
"Legolas, I'd give you a glass of wine, but not while you're still on meds. Try this, it's cranberry juice and seltzer. I think you'll like it," he said, setting a glass on the bar in front of the elf. "Bruce, your usual?" At Banner's nod of affirmation, he slid a glass of iced green tea towards the scientist. "Now, gentlemen and elf, what shall we do to pass the time until Miss Potts gets back from her board meeting?"
"Snacks and a movie?" Steve suggested. Barton and Banner nodded in agreement.
"As it happens, I programmed the entertainment system to add subtitles in Tengwar so you should be able to follow along easier," he said to Legolas. The elf had already been exposed to movies while in his infirmary room, courtesy of Tony, and he nodded his understanding. "Now: what should we watch?"
In the end, they had decided on something fairly tame, The Princess Bride. Steve sliced apples while Clint popped popcorn, telling JARVIS to filter the scent of it through the air ducts, which brought Natasha out of her quarters and she decided to watch the movie with them. Clint and Natasha claimed the left portion of the large, U-shaped sectional and Steve the right, leaving Tony and Bruce to sit in the center with Legolas between them so that they could explain when the translator garbled something. They passed the popcorn back and forth, Legolas opting for the apple slices although he claimed that he liked the popcorn as well, and settled in to watch the movie.
Though clearly enjoying it, despite only getting a fraction of the humor, it became clear that Legolas was struggling to remain awake towards the end of the movie. Tony and Bruce traded a look and Tony rose, exiting the room briefly before returning with a couple of pillows and a blanket. As the credits began to roll, Tony wordlessly set the pillows on the couch where he had been sitting and handed the blanket to Bruce before plopping down next to Steve. As the others began discussing what to watch next, Bruce convinced Legolas to stretch out on the center section of the couch. He was sound asleep before the opening credits of 'Labyrinth', the next movie they were able to agree on, started. Bruce settled by the elf's feet, on the side of Steve opposite Tony.
"Is he okay," the super soldier asked him quietly.
"Yes. This is just the longest he's been up since he was hurt, and it's been a pretty eventful day." He smiled at Steve. "Sensory overload. He needed to shut down for awhile to process it. He'll probably sleep for at least a couple of hours."
Natasha lasted halfway through the movie before nodding off against Barton's shoulder. He slid over, easing her into a prone position, he head pillowed on his thigh. Tony got up and brought back another blanket, tucking it around her before resuming his seat as the Fireys did their dance on screen.
"JARVIS, lower the volume of the elevator indicator and the phones," he ordered, sotto voice.
Bruce dozed off next, science periodical on his lap and glasses halfway down his nose. The scientist could sleep literally anywhere, and waking him suddenly was a bad idea of epic proportions so Tony just got a third blanket and Steve used pillows to shore him up in case he listed and beyond that they let well enough alone.
A soft snore reached their ears and they both glanced over to see Barton, chin in his palm, out like a light. Steve grinned at Tony.
"He's on his own," the super soldier whispered and Tony nodded emphatically in agreement. "Are you interested in finishing this?" he asked, gesturing at the TV.
"Maybe later when they wake up," the billionaire said, shrugging. "What would you rather watch?"
"We could finish 'Planet Earth'. It's quieter than this is."
"Good thought." Tony flipped it over to the documentary. "Where did we leave off?"
"Hmm, the part about the plains, I think." They lapsed into silence, Tony rising after a few minutes to refill both their drinks.
The elevator dinged some time later and Tony rose, circling around the couch to greet his girlfriend with a quick kiss . "How was the meeting?" he asked. "Do I need to have Thor and Cap go glower at the board of Directors again?"
"No, everyone was relatively well behaved this time. It helps that your latest version of the technology is being so well received and that the stock is up." She sighed, setting her briefcase down and rolling her shoulders. "Where's our house guest?" Tony pointed to the couch and Pepper walked over, peering over the back of it, her eyebrows rising.
The elf lay on his side, his left hand tucked under his cheek, right fist tucked under his chin, and his hair fanned out over the pillow, exposing his right ear. He looked impossibly young for someone that according to Tolkien's claims about elves could well be thousands of years old. The healing cuts and scrapes visible on his face, neck and hands only served to make him look younger and more vulnerable. A slight softening of Pepper's expression told both Tony and Steve that her maternal instincts had kicked in with him, just as they had when she first met Steve and the rest of the Avengers. Pepper cheerfully mothered the lot of them, even Natasha when the S.H.I.E.L.D. assassin would tolerate it. Her gaze swept the couch, taking in the rest of the occupants.
"Any more incursions?" she asked, careful to keep her voice low. "Not that I know anything about them." Steve chuckled, rising and walking towards the kitchen. Tony and Pepper followed.
"None in the last 24 hours." There was no point in pretending that she didn't know what was going on. If Tony knew something, so did Pepper. That was just the way it worked.
"More of the creatures?"
"Orcs, Pep. Some of them, yes, and something else that looks like a hairless mammoth on steroids that Legolas says is called a Mumak. That one was fun, I have to say." He grimaced, remembering. "I don't have a problem taking out nasties that are trying to kill me just to get their jollies, but having to kill a terrified animal just because some loser made a weapon out of it? Not my idea of a good time, kids." The hug Pepper gave him eased some of the tension lines around his eyes and he shook himself, pushing the memory into the back of his mind. "Off the topic, what do you feel like doing for dinner tonight?"
"Ordering in sounds good to me," Pepper said. "I just want to get out of these heels and veg on the couch for awhile."
"That's pretty much what we've been doing all afternoon," Steve said with a laugh.
"So why mess with a good thing," Tony said flippantly, grinning at Pepper. "How about I order from West Island Cafe, real food not junk this time see, Pep, and we continue the movie marathon when everyone wakes up? I already know what everyone likes."
"Except Legolas, but he's not proven to be at all fussy about his food thus far," Steve mused. "West Island works for me."
"I'm in." Banner said, setting his empty glass on the counter. "Hello, Pepper."
"Bruce," she returned the greeting, kissing his cheek.
"Steve's right, Legolas isn't a fussy eater. He told me that after having to survive on grubs and insects while out hunting orcs with his people a time or two, almost anything is a feast by comparison." Bruce shrugged. "After some of the cuisine in some of the more remote locations I've been in, he's not wrong."
"Ew. Thanks for that image, Brucie," Stark deadpanned. "Okay, JARVIS, make it so."
"Very good, sir. Shall I include enough for Thor as well?"
"He won't be in for a couple of days from New Mexico." He smirked at Pepper. "He decided to make a booty call to Jane. Ow! Pepper, that hurt!"
"It was meant to," she said sweetly. "You know he misses her when he's on Asgard and when he's here. Be nice."
"Moi? Nice? Tony Stark doesn't do nice. Billionaire, playboy, genius, philanthropist, asshole, remember?"
"Except when you do," Pepper said. "Shut up, Tony." She kissed him. Steve chuckled again, grabbing a Coke from the refrigerator. Bruce just looked down, a slight smile pulling at his lips. "I'm going to go change. Be back in a few." She walked to the elevator, heading towards the suite she shared with Tony. He waited just long enough for the elevator to return.
"Or not." He said, following her. Steve and Bruce looked at each other and rolled their eyes at the same time.
"Last part of 'Planet Earth?" Bruce asked.
"Good idea," Steve replied.
The elf twitched in his sleep, held fast by the nightmare. Something touched his head and he flinched hard, drawing his breath in sharply. The touch came again, soft rather than hurtful, and the dream's grip on him eased, fading as he became aware of a soothing voice accompanying the touch. He stilled, unable to make out the words, but the tone was unmistakable. He took a deep breath, releasing it slowly and opened his eyes. That alone was enough to unsettle him, that he was still injured enough to sleep with closed eyes. The face above him was unfamiliar, a female with reddish-blonde hair and a pleasantly pretty face. She smiled, speaking again. He frowned, fumbling for the translator before finding it and activating it.
"Forgive me, the device was not active," he said, trying to regain his composure.
"Sorry, I should have realized," the woman said. "I'm Pepper Potts, Tony's girlfriend."
"He has spoken of you with great affection, my lady," the elf said, running a hand across his face, wincing when it pulled on healing cuts, and shifted into a sitting position. "My name is Legolas. It is an honor to meet you."
"The honor's mine, Legolas," she said with a smile. "Everyone's gone to clean up before dinner."
"Then I should as well," he said, rising too quickly before sitting back down rather hard as his head swam.
"None of us care about that. You've been hurt." She pressed him back into a prone position, tucking the blanket around him. "And it seems to me that you've already done more today than you should have." She shook her head, a look of fond exasperation crossing her face. "That's something you apparently have in common with the other people in this Tower,' she said, deliberately raising her voice as Tony, Steve, and Bruce entered the room.
"Hey, I resemble that remark!" Tony shot back, leaning down to kiss her.
"Yes, you do. So do Steve, and Natasha, and Clint," she said, the look of fond exasperation softening into a smile. She looked back down at Legolas. "Dinner should be here soon. We'll eat in here and watch another movie."
"I liked the one about the princess and the pirate," he ventured, giving her a tentative smile. "And the one that Tony brought me before, about the archer who defied the evil prince trying to steal the throne from his brother."
"Robin Hood?" Steve asked. "Which version?"
"The good one," Tony said. "The Errol Flynn version, not the crappy Kevin Costner one."
"Thank God!" Clint said, entering the room in Natasha's wake. "Sitting through 'The Prince of Thieves' qualifies as cruel and unusual punishment."
"The Sheriff was great in that one, though," Steve said.
"Alan Rickman is amazing in anything," Pepper opined.
"Too bad even he and Morgan Freeman combined couldn't save that movie," Clint said, flopping down on the end of the couch. "What're we watching tonight?"
"The choices are: Phantom of the Opera, Pirates of the Caribbean, or The Fifth Element." Tony said, hopping over the back of the couch to sit by Legolas' feet. "Votes?"
"Pirates," Clint said.
"Pirates," Natasha put in. "The film version of Phantom wasn't half as good as the stage version, and Chris Tucker needs to be fitted with a ball gag."
"Pirates," the super soldier said. "I wasn't here the last time you watched it."
"Duly noted," Tony acknowledged. "Pepper?"
"Pirates." She smiled at him. "You know I like Johnny Depp."
"Well, I know what I'm going to be for Halloween this year," Tony said, smirking at her. "Bruce?"
"Far be it for me to go against the majority," he said, "I haven't seen it yet, either."
"Legolas?"
"I have not enough knowledge to form an opinion. I have been entertained by your choices thus far. I see no need to dissent." He sat up again, running his hand through his tousled hair, straightening it and wincing as the snarls pulled on healing wounds hidden by his thick locks.
"Unanimous! Cue up the movie and we'll start as soon as everyone's got their food." Tony bounced off the back of the couch, heading to the elevator.
Legolas jolted awake, groaning. By far the worst part of being injured to his mind was not the physical pain, but the lack of control over his dreams that accompanied the necessity of shifting his will to healing his body. Elves were not immune to nightmares, but tended to suffer them far less than the other races when they were whole in body. He drew a deep breath, blowing it out slowly and calming his pounding heart as he stared at the unfamiliar ceiling. Sitting up, he fumbled to light the beside lamp, still less than comfortable with the wonder of a light that did not require flame. He rose, going into the bathing chamber briefly before returning to his bed, lying there sleeplessly for some time before rising again.
The room he had been given use of was large and luxurious, and included a large bathing chamber with a huge tub, shower (for which he had developed a definite fondness) and a balcony. There were plants in pots everywhere, ranging from trees down to flowers on nearly every surface in the room. Given that the rest of the building did not contain more than a few decorative potted trees here and there, Legolas had to guess that it had been done for his benefit. He appreciated the consideration, and in truth he was benefiting from the presence of the plants. They calmed him, and he could draw small amounts of strength from the larger trees. He sat underneath his favorite of the large trees, placing a hand on the trunk. While he did not necessarily understand this tree's language, nor it his, they managed to understand each other's intent and the tree had soon lost it's reticence with him. It ghosted it's leaves across the top of his head in an affectionate caress and he smiled.
"You are nearly as out of place here as I am, my friend," he said softly. "The Men are kind, and they are trying to make me as comfortable as they can, but I miss my home." He lifted his face, letting the loneliness wash over him. "I miss my father, and Gimli. I miss Aragorn, Arwen, and her brothers. I miss Faramir and Eowyn." He rested his head against the tree trunk, closing his eyes. "They will worry so, and I do not know if Adar can sense me at this distance as I cannot sense him." He fell silent, allowing the tree to give him what comfort it could.
The gradual lightening of the sky outside the glass doors that led out onto the balcony indicated that he had drifted into reverie for awhile. His sense of hearing, far superior to that of anyone in the Tower save Steve, picked up the sound of movement in the direction of the super soldier's room. Legolas sighed, his natural shyness warring with the loneliness that had driven him from his rest into taking what comfort he could from the tree he currently sat under. He heard Steve's footsteps going down the hall and heard the elevator ding. He sighed, leaning his head against the tree again. His stomach rumbled and he frowned, irritated with himself.
'This is pointless. They have been nothing but kind to me. I have no reason to behave this way other than idiocy. I will not behave like an ill-mannered child.' He rose, moving toward the small room Steve had called a 'closet'. There were clothes there, strange to him but of a similar type to what the Men wore. They fit reasonably well and were not uncomfortable, even if the shirts were odd with strange patterns on them. He showered, lingering under the hot spray of water because it felt good on the residual soreness of his injuries, before dressing in a pair of loose fitting breeches made of a soft, gray fabric and one of the odd shirts that had what looked to be lettering on it, grabbing the translator and padding down the hall to the elevator.
The common area was quiet when he exited the elevator, the sun's first rays just beginning to appear on the horizon. This level was mostly windows, floor to ceiling, except for the free-standing walls that made up the home theater area. He hesitated at the kitchen island, eyes roaming over the vast expanse of cabinets, feeling rather lost. He did not want to open every cabinet in search of something edible as it felt far too much like prying into his host's personal spaces. He chewed his lower lip, a bad habit from his childhood that occasionally resurfaced when he was stressed or unsure of himself, trying to decide where he might be most likely to find apples or even cheese.
"It is a bit daunting, isn't it?"
He spun, startled that anyone had been able to get so close to him without being heard, to face the speaker, nearly losing his balance and catching himself on the edge of the island.
"You should sit down, before you fall down," Natasha said, walking to him and moving one of the counter stools behind him. "It takes awhile to get your balance back completely when someone's tried to pound your head through something." She stood, head cocked looking at him until he sat down. "Now, what were you wanting to find?"
"An apple, or perhaps some cheese." He frowned, annoyed at himself for being taken by surprise. She chuckled, making his frown deepen.
"As it happens, I came in to get some breakfast for myself. It's as easy to find something for two as it is for one." She glanced at him. "I imagine you're pretty hungry. Healing takes a lot out of you."
"You are correct, it does, but I would not have you go to trouble on my account, my lady." She snorted, startling him again.
"I'm no lady," she said sharply.
"You are every bit as much a warrior as I, Agent Romanoff, and perhaps more so, but you are also most definitely a lady," he retorted, returning the sharp gaze she fixed on him. Unexpectedly, she smiled.
"Nice to meet someone who doesn't think those two terms are mutually exclusive," she commented. "Not the team, they know better, but most others assume either one or the other."
"Being underestimated is an advantage," he said, agreeing with her, "But it gets tedious in the long term."
"It definitely does." She turned, opening one of the larger doors and taking out the apples, a wedge of cheese, and a glass jar with a red substance in it. She gave him a slight smirk. "I don't really cook, never learned how, but I think I can solve the hunger issue for both of us." From a smaller door, she took an odd-looking, clear bag that contained a partial loaf of bread. Opening it, she placed four slices into a device on the island, pressing levers on the side of the device until the bread disappeared into the device. Taking a knife from the block in the center of the island, she deftly cored and sliced the apples and sliced the cheese, dividing both between two plates she had retrieved from yet another cabinet. The bread, now perfectly toasted, popped up from the device and she used another knife to smear the red substance on each of the slices before adding them to the plates. Taking two of the glass goblets from another cabinet, she poured fruit juice into each, setting one in front of Legolas and the other in front of another of the stools on the counter. She placed each plate the same way, pausing to fill another device with water and pressing buttons on it. "The tea will be a few minutes longer, but in the meantime we can start on this."
"Thank you. It will be my turn to do this next time, now that I know where things are kept," he said, before taking a bite of apple.
"Deal," she said, giving him a brief smile. They ate in silence for a few minutes. "A little later Cap, Clint, or Bruce will cook something more substantial. If it's Cap or Barton, it'll be eggs and bacon or sausage. If it's Bruce, could be anything. Bruce tends towards the exotic, he's traveled a lot, Cap and Clint are both military types who just like to eat." She shrugged, picking up her toast. "It'll just depend on whether Cap and Clint get back from their run before Bruce gets up."
"It sounds remarkably similar to traveling with two Men, four Hobbits, a Wizard, and a Dwarf," he remarked, smiling a bit in reminiscence. "Aragorn and Gimli cooked a variety of things, having traveled much, Boromir and Gandalf cooked not at all, and the Hobbits cooked homey things in great quantities." He looked away as a wave of homesickness passed through him.
"That must have been quite the experience," Natasha commented, her attention seemingly on her food. Legolas was not fooled, but he smiled and chose not to call her on her attempt to distract him.
"It was," he said simply. "I know no finer beings than the Fellowship and it grieves me that there are two of them that I will not see again before the breaking of the world." He shook himself. "Forgive me, I tend towards the maudlin while I am healing."
"We all do," she said. "You're at your lowest point, defense-wise. I've seen big men cry for their mothers when they're hurt." He watched her out of the corner of his eye, wondering if she ever did anything that was not deliberate. The elevator dinged and Bruce wandered in, looking slightly more rumpled and rubbing sleep from his eyes.
"Good morning, Bruce. The water should be hot momentarily."
"Good morning, Natasha. Thank you." He yawned, stretching his shoulders. "Good morning, Legolas."
"Good morning," the elf returned. "Did you sleep well?"
"Once I got to bed I did." He gave them both one of his gentle smiles. "Tony got an idea after you both went to bed and we worked on it together until I went to bed around 3. I don't know if he went to bed or not."
"Knowing Stark, I doubt it," Natasha commented, rising from her stool and placing her dirty dishes inside yet another device. "I'll see you later. Play nice, boys."
"Thank you, Agent Romanoff," Legolas called after her. She turned, giving him a measuring look.
"Natasha," she said. "You're welcome." Legolas nodded.
"Natasha." Legolas wore a slight smile as he picked up the last of his apple slices. Banner smiled again, shaking his head as she headed off towards the elevator. He looked at the elf.
"How did you sleep?"
"Well enough," the elf shrugged.
"Nightmares?" the scientist asked, setting out a mixing bowl and an oddly shaped carton. Legolas sighed heavily.
"A side effect of healing. I must shift my will to healing my body and thus have less control over my dreams. It is annoying."
"You can control your dreams?" Bruce paused, interest plain in his face.
"Usually, yes." He nibbled on the last piece of cheese. "Nightmares are not unheard of, particularly when we are distressed, but they are exceedingly rare when we are well in body as well as spirit." He shrugged. "Our wills control our bodies."
"Does that extend to all things? Hunger, pain, and such?"
"Are you referring to physical functions? Pain and our reaction to it, only to a degree. Hunger, we are like any creature: we must eat to fuel our bodies, that is the way of it." Legolas gave him a slightly impish look. "What is it that you truly wish to know?"
"Would you answer if I asked?" Bruce asked, returning the look. He had had enough discussions with the elf to have become familiar with his habit of answering a question with a question if he was uncomfortable giving a plain answer.
"While it is just the two of us, yes, it is likely that I would." He chuckled. "I merely find it amusing that Men seem fascinated with that particular thing." Bruce laughed outright.
"We do, don't we?"
"I can see why, however. We are both alike and different there. Alike in that the basic functions are identical, and different in that our wills control our reproduction and that once we do find our heart's desire, we are incapable of desiring any other for the rest of our existence. We, like the wolf or the hawk, mate for life. We have offspring only at a time of our choosing, and only if both agree to do so."
"That suggests a far deeper control than we've ever documented in any human," Bruce mused. "It would also explain your accelerated healing."
"It is not without cost, I assure you." He rose, pausing to steady himself for a brief moment before copying Natasha's actions and putting his dirty dishes in the large device. "That is why I have been sleeping as Men do, with my eyes closed. Ordinarily, I would not do so." He sat back down on the stool. "I would help, if I may, Friend Bruce. I am competent to chop things, and to stir, if nothing else."
"Uh, sure. Here, slice these for me, please. In pieces like so." Bruce demonstrated. He then went back to measuring and mixing. "So, your people normally sleep with your eyes open?"
"We do. We can also rest while walking, or doing other things. But it is not as effective as true sleep and we do eventually have to truly sleep." He swept the pieces of the pecans he was chopping into the small bowl Bruce had set by the cutting board. "I have, at need, gone up to two or more weeks without true sleep."
"Did you suffer much in the way of adverse affects from doing that?" Bruce asked, placing some odd looking fruit before him and demonstrating how he wished it to be sliced.
"Extreme fatigue, impaired judgment and senses, and a very angry king and two Peredhel lords. And getting my ears boxed by my dear friend, Gimli when he found out what I had been up to." Legolas wore a fond smile. "Gimli worries that I do not take enough care for my own well-being." Bruce chuckled.
"Steve is like that, too."
"He seems a fine leader," the elf ventured.
"He is," the scientist confirmed. "For all that he's technically the youngest of the lot of us. Even Tony listens to him, and that's quite a feat in and of itself."
"Age means little when it comes to courage and leadership ability." Legolas shrugged. "I willingly followed Aragorn's leadership, though I had known him from when he was a small child and am very much his elder. He had earned my respect as a leader long before the War began."
"May I ask a personal and very impertinent question?" Bruce grinned at him and Legolas threw back his head and laughed.
"You wish to know my age, correct?" Bruce nodded and Legolas shook his head, obviously greatly amused. "I am just shy of 500 years old." He gave Bruce an arch look. " Do not be impressed by that, please. I am considered to be very young amongst my kindred."
"I might have been more impressed before I met Thor," Bruce said, returning his attention to his mixing bowl. "He's older than that, and considered rather on the young side, too, by his people."
"As I said, age matters little." He handed Bruce the sliced fruit. "What are we making?"
"Muffins. I thought I'd do several different kinds. The basic batter is the same, you just put different kinds of fruit and things in."
"Ah. What are theses fruits called? These look similar to some I have seen grown in the Shire," the elf remarked, indicating the strawberries.
"Strawberries, and I have to be careful with those. Pepper is allergic to them." Bruce set them aside, washing his hands after touching them. "I'll do those last. The others are blueberries, bananas, and blackberries." He indicated each in turn. Legolas frowned.
"What does this mean, 'allergic'?"
"Her body doesn't tolerate them, and it reacts adversely. She has trouble breathing if she comes in contact with them." He mixed the banana pieces and the pecans into one batch of the batter and filled the tins he had already greased. He repeated his actions with every batch except the strawberry and placed the tins in the oven. The batch of strawberry, he placed in a separate oven. He glanced over at Legolas. "I'm going to make omlettes for the heavier eaters, just as soon as they get back." He scrubbed the utensils and cutting board they had used for the strawberries, taking care to thoroughly scour and rinse several times before drying it and putting it back in front of Legolas and handing him more items to chop.
"Something smells insanely good," Barton commented as he and Steve entered the kitchen area.
"Bruce made muffins," the super soldier said, grinning like a boy who had been given a rare treat. The entire team knew that Steve had a fondness for sweets and teased him about it often. However, all of them tended to indulge him as well, knowing that his metabolism would counter any ill effect that eating them might have caused anyone else.
"I did," the scientist confirmed, handing him one he had just removed from its tin. "I'm also making omlettes. What do you want in yours?"
"Everything," Steve said before taking a bite of the blueberry muffin and rolling his eyes appreciatively. Bruce chuckled, dropping a pat of butter into the pan before adding the egg mixture he had already whisked. He dropped a bit of the contents of each of the small bowls on the counter next to him onto the egg mixture.
"One 'Everything But The Floor Tiles Omlette', coming right up," he said. Steve laughed, grabbing another muffin and passing it to Clint before taking two more, one for himself and one he handed to Legolas, who was still perched on the stool. "What about you, Clint?" Bruce asked.
"Same," Barton said, around a mouthful of muffin. "Damn, Banner, these are a food group all on their own."
"Thank you. There are some strawberry ones on the other counter," Banner said, nodding to the cooling tin. "I know you two like that kind." Steve and Clint traded a look before Clint went for the tin of strawberry muffins.
"We'd better take care of these," he said, running a butter knife around the edges of each muffin. "Tony won't touch them because of Pepper, and Tasha doesn't like strawberries."
He tossed one to Steve, who handed it to Legolas before catching another. "And Thor won't be back until tomorrow night. They'd be stale by then."
Steve was polishing off the last of the strawberry when Pepper entered the kitchen, dressed for work and carrying her briefcase and purse, which she set on the floor in the corner.
"Good morning," she said, going to the coffee maker and pouring herself a cup before patting Bruce on the shoulder as she passed him on her way to the center island. "II take it Tony had another stroke of genius last night after the movie?" she asked, settling herself decorously on a stool.
"He did," Bruce confirmed, sliding Steve's omlette onto a plate and handing it to the super soldier. "We think we might have a workable solution to the compatibility issue on the latest tablet."
"Good. Apple has gotten a bit complacent. We need to shake them up a little," she replied, sipping her coffee and perusing the selection of muffins. "Are there any blueberry?"
"Left side of the basket," Clint said, washing his hands in the sink. "There's blackberry and banana, too." He walked back over and handed her one. "Steve, Legolas don't forget to wash your hands." He gave Pepper a slightly sheepish look. "We decimated the strawberry muffins right before you came in."
"Thank you for looking out for me," she said, obviously amused.
"Anytime," he replied, grinning at her.
Tony wandered in, hair tousled and bleary-eyed. "Coffee," he growled. Pepper handed him her nearly full cup. He downed it and flopped onto the stool next to hers. Bruce shook his head, grabbing another cup from the cabinet and filling it before fixing the coffee the way Tony normally drank his and setting it in front of the billionaire and then refilling Pepper's cup. Tony grunted, picking up the cup and taking a swallow.
"He means, 'Thank you, Bruce'," Pepper said, picking up her own cup again. "And so do I."
"You're welcome." He flipped Clint's omlette. "Would you like an omlette, Pepper?"
"No, thank you," she replied. "The muffin is plenty for me. But, Tony would like one with sausage, onions, and provolone, please." She fixed a stern gaze on Tony. "If you aren't going to sleep, you at least need to eat."
"Half of one," Tony corrected. He glanced at Pepper. "I'll eat a muffin, too." His eyes flicked to Bruce. "Thanks, Big Man."
"No problem," Bruce replied with a half smile. He turned to Legolas. "Would you like the other half?" The elf nodded and Bruce turned back to the stove.
TBC