So I decided since you have all been so amazing to put this one shot I have been taking forever to proofread up as well. Don't worry it is proofread haha I hope you guys enjoy it! I wanted to remind you al that this isn't real a prequel or anything. It is more of just snapshots of how everything had started. These one shots will just be little stories of the characters that I either think will be fun to explain or show to my readers! Hope you enjoy (maybe review?)!

I DO NOT OWN THE AVENGERS OR THE TITLE (Get Home by Bastille) I do own Kahea and the storyline

This is just Another Night, and We've had Many of Them

An I-dock was softly playing in the kitchen, as it always did, the only sound admitting from the usually filled room. At least, since Kahea had starting working in The Avengers kitchen instead of the one on the bottom floor were the food for the rest of the building was made. Since she came it was always bustling with activity.

After a very interesting and with an unusual amount of skin showing for a first meeting, Tony had decided to adopt her. Well, he called it adopting even if she was way over the adopting age. The superheroes had then did all they could to fold her into the small group. Not knowing that as soon as they started opening up to her, she would in turn would push them into becoming a lot more then just a group.

She would turn them into a family.

Steve (who she was sure never really slept as much as napped) would sit there and draw or if she was making something he found interesting would ask about a million questions until she dragged him over to help. She would play a mixture of music for Steve. Some songs from his times, some from hers, and a mixture of everything between. He seemed to love just about anything jazz from Michael Buble` to The Rat Pack to Norah Jones and Otis Reading could be heard drifting from the kitchen.

Anytime Tony heard the soothing sounds of Frank Sinatra a detour would be taken. The Man of Iron would never admit this but amid all the ACDC, Aerosmith, and Metallica, the crooner could be found deep in JAVIS's music memory. Of course that didn't stop the billionaire from changing it to whatever was running through his head in the moment.

It would be the quickly escalating argument that was sure to ensure that would cause JAVIS to alert Pepper. Within minutes Tony's cell would ring or Pep herself would show. Toeing off heels that Kahea always drooled over before making a comment about too much testosterone and offer Kahea additional help. Pepper wasn't the best cook but she was always up for a taste test.

Between the laughter (Kahea), loud dry wit (Pepper), louder crude humor (Tony), and overly dramatic, put-upon sighs (Steve), Thor would inevitably show up. After blowing up the microwave a total of four times Thor was forced to stay at least ten feet away from the actual cooking part of the kitchen at all times. This didn't stop him from making booming suggestions, offering such powerful smiles that Kahea couldn't help but smile back.

Thor would always call Darcy, who in turn would drag both herself and Jane up from the bowls of the building to get both food and companionship. Jane would settle into her into fiancé's arms, complaining about some equation or another she should be working on instead.

"Dude its all about getting you around other people then the Geeks Three and the God of all things Ab-tastic."

Darcy's hands would make a take to the hand motion before Jane could make any kind of rebuttal.

"Nope! The time for food is now upon us my mistress of science and the grumblies will not be held off any longer!"

This dramatic statement would be ended when Kahea would slap Darcy's shins to get her off the counter that she always felt the need to climb on. After herding the quirky woman behind the ten-foot line with Jane and Thor Kahea would offer a small snack of whatever she had laying around to keep those pesky grumblies (as every one now called them much to Darcy's amusement) at bay.

Bruce refused to come up at first. Though he had made leaps and bounds in controlling the Other Guy, he was still wary of the people he surrounded himself with. It took a few weeks and the constant brewing of tea to get him to see the light. The cautious lab rat would slowly poke his head in taking the smell of herbs, fruit, and spices. Never pushing the man, Kahea didn't look at him as a scared cat as much as a man who went through some pretty traumatizing stuff.

Letting the music play low, the pair bonded over tea blends and instrumental melodies. Smiles were exchanged, turning into small talk, which soon turned into conversations, which soon turned into him being called up by Tony to join into the ruckus. Taking in his friends with dark, watchful eyes and a world-weary smile.

Natasha would always sneak in. Kahea never even knowing she was there until she heard the familiar sound of a knife chopping away at whatever she had laying around. It took Kahea about ten surprise visits before she stopped jumping at the red head's appearances.

Turning around to see the Black Widow holding a knife is never going to get not scary.

Now she just left a knife, board, and whatever she needed chopped aside for Natasha. It took Natasha almost a month to say something specifically to Kahea and another two months for her to show some sort of facial expression.

But now Kahea was privy to secret lip twitches whenever she said something extremely dry to Tony. Kahea counted this, the fact that she still was alive, and unharmed as a show of how much the Russian liked her.

Then came along Clint. The archer wasn't a shadow like his counterpart, coming in whistling or humming to whatever was playing. It was kind of funny because as much noise as he made most of it wasn't actual talking. He would laugh or snort if the joke was funny enough, sing and dance along with whatever song was on. His gracefulness of the field translated well to the dance floor it seemed and he knew it. He never really talked. Her favorite thing to watch him do was steal her wooden spoons and start drumming.

Oh he was never impolite, answering when asked a question, telling a joke, or making a random sarcastic comment but never starting a conversation own his own. He was a goofball, yet Kahea noticed that he seemed more then content to just drink in the moods of others around him.

So this was how Kahea had gotten to know the top layers of the Avengers and Company. They had become her friends, people she now knew enough to care about their wellbeing. She knew likes and dislikes, favorite dishes, and food that meant something to each person. Still, they weren't quite what she would call family.

That time wouldn't come until a particularly grueling mission.

A mission that seemed so simple had gone wrong. A scenario that shook them to their core. A fight in a supposedly deserted wood.

It was five in the morning, about an hour after Kahea would show up to start the day, when the crew toddled in. One by one they showed up, sometimes holding the hand of their better half. Thor showed up first, carrying Jane as if she was a bride, he couldn't stop touching her even when he put her down. Jane must have texted Darcy because she soon followed. Thor embraced his "little sister" before she to was sat down next to him.

Tony walked in hand and hand with Pepper, neither going for a seat but rather leaning against the counter. Tony had settled Pep so she leaned into him. His arms wrapped tight and face ever so slightly angled into her hair so he could small her with every breathe. For once Tony didn't change the music. Relaxing instrumental music was playing. The sound of an orchestra washing over everyone's senses.

Bruce stumbled in. His face deepened with sorrow. He sat down on a stool with out his usual preciseness, instead collapsing as if he couldn't hold himself up any more. He only lifted his head when Kahea set a cup of tea down on the table. His face stony and crumbling all at once. It was the lack of light in his eyes that gave him a level of defeat that no one in the room seemed to be able to achieve.

Then Steve showed up. His uniform was still on and by the red around his eyes Kahea could tell he was beyond exhausted. It didn't take a genius to figure out who had been picked to debrief S.H.E.I.L.D. His shield fell to the floor, the weight more then he could handle. The responsibility for the world had come to rest down on his shoulders. The weight of a man out of time who felt as if he was here only for this one purpose, to protect.

A purpose he had failed at completing. No matter if it was another team member's actual mistake or just nothing they could do, he was Captain.

Natasha seemed the least shaken. That was until Kahea realized she hadn't tried to sneak in. Instead she just walked over and stood by the cutting boards. She stood at her spot looking ahead blankly. Her hands searched for the knives and food Kahea usually left for almost half a minute before Natasha noticed none was left out.

Kahea didn't say anything, just handed her some oranges and grapefruits. Not even looking her in the eyes when she took the woman's hand in hers. One tight squeeze later and Kahea moved as if she hadn't been there in the first place.

"Has any one seen Barton?"

Steve's words though quiet seemed to echo through the space.

There had been family involved. The children made it, the parents didn't. Two kids, both under the age of ten, now orphans. Two dirty-blonde haired boys left with no one but each other.

Everyone except Kahea, who still didn't know much about the mission or Clint's past, turned dark. All of the sudden any wariness was cast aside as they got ready to find one of their own.

"I'm here. I…I'm here."

The voice was rough, much huskier the little chef had ever heard. The ruggedness only surpassed by the man himself.

In Clint Barton walked. The shadows themselves seemed to grasp on to the man. Leaving only enough light for the barest of features to show.

He, like his Captain, still wore his battle armor. If Steve carried the weight of a failed mission, Clint's carried the devastation of ruined lives. No one's past, or even present, was made of fairytales. No one had known a normal family life, not any of the Avengers in that room.

Kahea was starting to think that was the requirement when it came to going their super club.

But it was this strange echo of Clint's past. Better parents then his, ones who had sacrificed their lives so that their children may live. So that the children would carry the scars that came from knowing what it was like to live because someone else died. They may not be physical but mentally they ran deep.

Clint's were a bit different. He carried the scars of knowing that his parents didn't want him in the first place. Some more physical then mental reminders.

Yet, scars were still scars. Now another set of brothers would be sent to the wolves. A sad story of an unprepared pair against everything and anything.

A helpless situation.

Or it would be if they didn't have the Avengers in their corner.

Clint had spent the last couple hours silently watching them from a rooftop. He needed to know they were safe and warm, and in the right hands. With one phone call he made sure they would stay that way until they could fend for themselves.

Tony unbeknownst to Hawkeye had also made a few phone calls with Pepper's help.

These boys would be cared for, want for nothing, and hopefully, most importantly, be loved.

The man was barely standing. Clint's body trembling as the last of his adrenaline drained. Lips tinged just a bit blue from being in the cold for so long. His arms uncovered, pale, and limp, he was shaken.

Kahea turned off the music. She walked over to the table to set down a simple plate of fruits and spreads before grabbing her knife kit. Thinking that the small crew needed some time to unwind away from prying eyes she made her way to the door. They were slowly becoming a family, they came together instead of breaking apart and that was an important step.

Sure they were friends, even best friends, but friends only got you so far. It was family, whether God given or chosen, that witnessed the breaks, the crashes, and the vulnerability. They had chose to come together during when the fighting was done and all that was left was the darkness inside. They came together for support and a need to heal. They needed to feel safe.

Kahea wasn't about to ruin that. As friendly as she had gotten with them she was still an employee.

Letting her fingers gentle pass over Darcy's hair she threw a small smile over her shoulder. She walked quietly unaware of the silent conversation going on behind her back. She had made it half way to the elevator when a hand snatched her arm back. Surprised hazel met a stormy grey.

"Could you please stay? I…We all get pretty hungry afterword."

A groan from behind the pair had the archer sighing.

"What I mean is we could use some one like you around. Seeing you, it reminds us what we fight for on days like these. It helps seeing something normal, good, and safe around. Please."

Kahea peeked around Clint's shoulders taking in the way every one else felt about his statements. She might not be a superhero but she did excel at reading body language. Plus Tony and Bruce were nodding in agreement.

So Kahea stayed. She started taking out ingredients to make hot cocoa from scratch, whip cream to. Not wanting to act like nothing was wrong or to keep letting the weight in the room grow Kahea started telling stories of her own childhood.

Her childhood wasn't all roses but she had a family back home who loved her. She had younger siblings she adored, and adored her back. She had parents who would do anything for her, their love an all encompassing one. She had grown in a happy and unbroken home, all because there were people like them to keep it that way.

They Avengers would not win every fight. When they would come home though, Kahea and the rest would be there to show them why they shouldn't give up.

"My favorite band growing up was Blink 182, mostly because my mom forbade me from listening to them and every time I did it was like hearing pure rebellion."

Tony snorted, sighing as he let his head lean further down Pepper's neck. Clint was now sitting right next to the stove, not looking at her but his head was tipped to the side to take in everything she said.

"I also loved to watch Real World, for the same reason of course. Then there was the time I decided that I did love black and should wear it all the time."

Natasha's eye moved up and down Kahea slowly taking in her pale yellow long sleeve shirt, light grey jeans, white apron, and turquoise high-top sneakers.

"Hey! I didn't say it lasted for very long!"

Kahea smirked and pointed her whisk in Tasha's direction before waving it threateningly over to a laughing Darcy.

"Hey lady! Watch were you're point that thing! Besides I went through my own emo stage that lasted until I realized I could be sleeping instead of putting on makeup. Though my eyeliner game is still one of the fiercest around thank you very much."

The young woman then pointed to her eyes to show off her admittedly even and perfectly thick eyeliner. At Kahea's raised eyebrow Darcy shrugged.

"Hey I have watched The Nanny! I know the rules! Always with the earrings and makeup just in case the building starts burning up and we need to be saved by hot, single, and hopefully Jewish firemen."

"As oppose to the way the building almost goes up in flames more then once a day? Also, what firemen? I mean what about the hot superheroes we see everyday? Or, I don't know the super computer in the wall? Of course if all that fails I am sure there are some kind of S.H.I.E.L.D agents running around here."

Darcy again shrugged at Kahea's rebuttal.

"Okay switch firemen to agents then. Though I still never got my I-pod back."

Darcy turned to glare at Clint. Kahea and Tony snorted, Jane giggled behind her hand as she snuggled back into Thor. It was Clint's turn to shrug.

"Whatever Kahea called us hot. Probably almost as hot as hot as her face must be with that blush climbing up her cheeks."

Kahea just put her hands over her face. Cringing when she heard the rest of the group laugh and cheer.

"This is why I can't be nice to you guys."

The rest of the night went as such. Kahea letting out little facts or antidotes about her life, some one commenting or adding a story of their own.

From that night on whenever a mission went badly they could all be found in the kitchen. Kahea would either already be there or be called in, hot cocoa with whip cream would be made and she would talk until they didn't look like the weight of the world was on their shoulders.

So the I-dock would play softly, something instrumental, and she would remind them that not everything was corrupted. She would remind them that there were people out there who knew nothing of the violence or terror the world could bring. That people had nice, boring, amazing, lives because of the Avengers.

They would sip away and slowly relax, taking the first steps towards becoming a family.