A/N: Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated in awhile, things have been busy, but I will update more this week since i'm not working a lot.
A week and a half later and there was still no sign of Nebula and Thanos. The group didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but as Gamora had said, she was buying her time. Gamora had also gotten her leg brace taken off by Bruce, but he had still ordered her to take it easy as to prevent any more damage to it.
Emily walked into the kitchen with a dog following after her.
"What is that?" Drax asked, gesturing to the Rottweiler.
"This is Natasha and Clint's dog, Roxy. She was at the kennel for several days after you arrived." She said as she sat down at the table.
"We weren't sure how she'd react towards all of you." Maria added, looking up from her computer at the guardians.
Peter moved to pet the dog, only to be growled at.
"Don't take it personally. She doesn't like a lot of men, but she'll warm up to you." Bruce said as he started to make lunch.
When the dog caught sight of Rocket, she jumped on Gamora's lap with her front paws and started sniffing at the raccoon.
"Hey! Keep this thing away from me!" He yelled, trying to move away from Roxy, only for the dog to go to the other side of Rocket.
"Aww, she likes you!" Peter teased him, smirking at his friend.
"Really? Because it seems to me like she thinks he is a toy." Gamora said, raising an eyebrow
"Nah. She only likes bones."
"Lovely." Rocket grumbled, pushing the dog away. Roxy finally gave up and went to lie down beside Maria's chair.
"Oh and since all of you basically refused to go shopping for new clothes that Saturday after you arrived, I took the liberty of making clothes." Emily said, getting up and going to the fridge where she got an energy drink before she sat back down.
"Oh that's just great." Peter said sarcastically.
"Oh, she's actually good at making clothes that people like.. She made some clothes for us too." Pepper said, coming into the kitchen with Tony and Jace.
"Em, why don't you go call Sam and see what he's up to?"
Emily shrugged and ran out of the kitchen.
"She's got such a girlish crush on him it's so obvious." Tony said, sighing, "If they get together at some point, i'm not even going to be surprised."
"How do you know they like each other?" Drax asked inquisitively.
"Well, there's this sexual tension in the room when they're together." Jane said as Lilith came skipping into the kitchen.
"If that does happen, our dad won't be able to say anything because he married Emily's mom when she wasn't much older than Emily is now. I think she was Emily's age to be honest. It was before the age of consent laws were changed...or they just didn't give a crap about those laws. If he did try to say anything, she'd say, 'well you married my mom when she was my age!' she's also dated and had relations with guys that were much older than her anyway. He doesn't know that though."
"Oh yeah, wasn't your step mother also your aunt? Your mothers youngest sister?"
Maria turned to glare at Stark, "How the hell did you know about that?"
Tony shrugged, "Files"
"Wait...so would that make Emily your cousin or still your sister?" Betty asked, crossing her arms.
"Sister since we still share a parent."
"So can we assume Steve knows?"
"I may have skipped out on that detail. I'll tell him whenever I decide." Maria answered, shrugging as she took a sip of her water.
"Not good to keep secrets!" Emily called from the lounge.
"Not really a secret!" Maria retorted before she turned back to the others, "I always have reasons for keeping secrets."
"Anyway, when are they coming back?" Pepper asked, sitting down at the end of the table and taking out some paperwork.
"I called a few days ago. They wouldn't tell me when they were coming back, they just said 'soon'." She answered, sighing, "They always do that and it's actually starting to get on my nerves." She added, sighing again as she got up and let Lilith take her seat.
"Hey Maria!" A womans voice called from her right.
Maria abruptly turned and saw Natasha standing at the stove, which made her turn to her left and saw Clint less than a foot from her, making her fall backwards and have Steve catch her.
"By far the best reaction she's had!" Emily said as she came into the kitchen with her phone as everyone else burst into hysterical laughter.
"Em, please tell me you didn't take a video?" Maria said, making it sound like more of a statement.
"Okay. I didn't take a video to post on YouTube." She said, slowly putting her phone back in her pocket.
Lilith looked up, finally noticing her parents were in the room.
"Mommy! Daddy!" She squealed, running into her fathers arms.
"Were you a good girl, Lilith?" Natasha asked, brushing a strand of blonde hair out of her daughters face.
Lilith nodded, "Uh huh. Drax told bedtime stories, mama!" She said, holding out her arms for Natasha to take into her own.
"Really? Well what were these stories?" Clint asked, looking at Drax warily.
"Just stories my own daughter enjoyed when she was Lilith's age."
"Oh yeah, Maria, speaking of fathers, we saw yours in town on our way here. Let's just say he found out about..well, them," Steve started, nodding his head to the guardians, "And he isn't very happy."
"Well tell Dad that he can go suck a_" Emily started, only for everyone to cut her off.
"Emily!"
"You should not use foul language in front of the children, lady Emily." Thor said, making Emily roll her eyes.
"You think I don't know that? I work at a day care with children that range from six months to twelve-years-old for crying out loud. I learned the hard way." She explained as Maria leaned against the counter and the womans phone started ringing.
"And speak of the devil." She said, answering her phone.
The group could hear Maria and Emily's father yelling at Maria through the phone, hearing him say things like, 'stupid' 'danger' and 'children' which they put together to mean, "You're so stupid to let aliens stay with you and put those children in danger."
"Yes dad, I realize that_" She started to say, but he cut her off.
"I know. And i'm not_"
She couldn't get a sentence out before she was being yelled at again. After arguing with him for more than twenty minutes, well, him yelling at her as though she was a teenager, Maria opened her mouth once more.
The guardians, minus Gamora, and the Avengers, minus Pepper and Steve, were thoroughly amused.
She was forced to shut her mouth once more when her dad cut her off again. This time, he hit his mark.
"Steve, talk to my dad. He'll listen to you." She said, handing him her phone as she got up and quickly left the kitchen. She had looked as though she was about to cry.
Steve also got up and left while Gamora got up and went after Maria.
The zehoberian went to Maria and Steve's floor and to their bedroom, knowing that she'd lock herself in there. The door was locked as she had expected.
"Maria? It's me." Gamora said, knocking on the bedroom door.
"Go, Gamora." Maria ordered, making the other woman sigh.
I thought teenagers only acted this way. She thought, sighing before saying, "Maria Hill, if you do not open this door I will kick it open."
She waited for several more minutes before she heard the turning of a lock and the door opened.
Gamora studied Maria. She didn't look as though she had been crying, just as though she needed to cool off.
"What did he say?"
"He was just being condescending and verbally abusive just like before he went to rehab. He's trying his best not to snap like that, but occasionally it does still happen. Better emotionally and not physically, which i'm actually grateful for. He also mentioned my mother, and that was the last straw for me. It hurts when he mentions her because I never got to know her."
"If he knew it would hurt you, he should not have mentioned her."
Maria sighed, "He's like Emily. He doesn't think of the consequences when he says something."
"You are defending him?"
"Not defending him. Just stating a fact." She said as they went back to the elevator and made their way back up to the lounge.
Once back in the kitchen, Rocket said, "Thank God we don't have to get in the middle of this family shit."
"Don't jinx it." Peter said as Steve came back in and gave a mixture of a sigh and an eye roll.
"Do you always give Steve the phone when you do not wish to speak with family?" Drax asked, giving her a disapproving look.
Maria nodded, "Makes my life easier."
"Oh yeah, Maria's dad is on his way." Steve said almost casually.
Everyone groaned at Steve's announcement while the guardians glared at Rocket for jinxing them.
"Are you fucking kidding me!?"
A/N: Let me know what y'all think! Please review :)
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