Lost the battle, win the war
I'm bringing my sinking ship back to the shore
We're starting over or head back in
There's a time and a place to die but this ain't it

-Now; from Paramore

Once Opal was in her bedroom, she practically threw herself on her bed. How one morning managed to be so hectic baffled her. She knew a few of the things that happened were done under good intentions, but it still stressed her out. Thor's desire to be helpful was endearing, Opal was willing to acknowledge that, but part of her didn't appreciate the mess he'd made. Between the coffee and wanting to help make breakfast, the mutant knew that he'd have to be watched a majority of the time. Thor had a knack for inadvertently making mistakes, which meant he couldn't be alone under most circumstances. And while Opal did leave him in charge of eating and watching over Erik, she was too tired to really care. She wanted to have a moment to rest and clear her thoughts. It felt like everything was starting to overwhelm her, which wasn't good. Closing her eyes, she let out a sigh and threw an arm over her face, covering her eyes. If she could just stop thinking about all the things that were going on, then maybe she wouldn't be so stressed. It was a helpful thought, and Opal knew it would be beneficial, but she also knew she would continue overthinking everything until she wore herself out. That was how it was for her sometimes; her mind just in a constant state of overdrive.

Just take a deep breath and calm down, she thought. You'll drive yourself crazy, thinking about all this all the time. You came into your room to relax; so do that.

O.O.O.O

Thor had taken a moderate amount of scrambled eggs and took it back to the kitchen table. He made sure to leave enough for Opal and Erik, just as requested, though he had wished for someone to at least keep him company. Thor usually wasn't one to constantly need companionship, though he did enjoy it when it presented itself. Letting out a huff of air, he picked up a fork and started eating the scrambled eggs. They were delicious, and he was grateful Opal had been generous enough to make breakfast despite the morning's craziness. Part of him wondered just what other delicacies she could come up with. By the time Thor finished, he gathered his dishes and put them in the sink. He understood that it was customary for dirtied dishes to go there to be cleaned.

"Oh God, did she have to make eggs?" The sound of Erik's voice snapped Thor's attention to the kitchen's entryway. The older man looked pale and a bit disheveled, as if he'd just rolled out of bed. There were some dark circles under Erik's eyes, showing just how exhausted he truly was.

"How are you feeling?" Thor asked.

"Awful." The response was accompanied with a sharp laugh, with Erik rubbing his face with both hands. "I don't think I've had that much to drink in years."

"You made your ancestors proud."

With a grunt as the only response, Erik dropped his arms at his side and looked around the kitchen. It was in decent condition, minus the mess at the stove. It wasn't too bad, at least. That had to be a plus, right? When his gaze fell to the mug of water by the stove, Erik let out a sigh of relief. "Is that for me?" he asked.

"I believe so," Thor responded. "Opal wanted to give you medicine, but she was going to wait until you were ready."

"She may be killing me with the eggs, but she's always considerate."

"There's bread for you, too, if you want that."

"Bread?" Erik's gaze went to the toaster, where he felt his stomach do a little somersault. His body was already feeling a bit nauseous due to the overwhelming smell of Opal's breakfast, but the toast seemed to make it a bit worse. Erik had to admit, though, that he was grateful. Opal was trying. She was always trying to look out for the people she cared about. With a nod, Erik mumbled a few words of gratitude under his breath.

"Do you need any medicine?" Thor asked. "Opal requested I look after you while she rested."

"I'll be fine." The Norwegian man shuffled over to grab the water-filled mug. He took tentative sips and leaned against the counter. "I thought I told you to leave after our drink."*

"You did, but...I can't bring myself to leave Opal."

Erik's gaze went to Thor's quickly. It was intense and filled with a lot of emotion, none of which looked pleasant.

"I care about Opal," Thor explained, "I do. We talked last night, after you fell asleep. After what she told me, I couldn't bring myself to leave her. I want to be involved with her, to be there with her."

"I'm not quite following," Erik grumbled.

"All I can tell you is that I don't want to leave her alone. I want to be with her, to help her and watch her become a better, stronger person. She deserves to have as much support in her life as possible. She didn't get it from her parents, and she only got a limited amount from that institute she attended."

"You're staying out of pity, is what you're saying."

"No," Thor sighed, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "I'm not staying out of pity. Opal is strong and capable, she can hold her own in a fight and I admire her for that. But behind every strong warrior should be family and friends who support them."

"Except Opal isn't a warrior. You dragged her into a secret government facility." Erik could see the defeat on Thor's face. The explanation was starting to make sense, and it was no use having the conversation go on any further. "But I think what you're saying is starting to make sense. Opal deserves people who'll support her in what she does, but I want that support to be good on her."

"And I understand that completely."

"Well, considering you chose to stay, despite our deal, I'll give you one last shot. You prove to me that you'll be good on Opal. One wrong move and I want you out; I mean it this time."

"You have my word."

O.O.O.O

Opal couldn't say when she fell asleep, but she did. She'd spent a couple minutes trying to calm herself down before her mind started wandering. She was remembering times from when she was at Xavier's institute, then to the move to New Mexico. Opal's mind was memory lane as a means of keeping her distracted, of trying to block out the overwhelming morning she'd endured. It was a pleasant feeling, and then she was asleep. Opal didn't know how much time had gone by since she started napping, but all she knew was that she felt a bit crappy when she awoke. It felt like someone sprinkled sand into her eyes and her body felt heavy. Her joints felt stiff and her breathing felt a little heavier. Slowly sitting up, she rubbed her eyes and grumbled incomprehensibly for a moment. After she dropped her hands, she just sat in her bed and looked around. She hadn't been disturbed by Thor or Erik, which was probably good, but also a little bad. Did Thor need any help with anything? Did he know what to give Erik for his hangover? She could faintly hear a muffled conversation between the two men, which was could very well be good. That meant Erik was up and moving around. Getting herself out of bed, Opal shuffled out of her room and into the kitchen.

By the time she made it there, she stopped just a little ways outside. She could tell even before she made it to the kitchen that the two men were in some deep conversation. For a second, Opal reconsidered going into the kitchen at all; she didn't want to disturb either man from what they were saying, but she was hoping to get a bite to eat, too. It didn't seem to matter in the end, though, since Opal's appearance came around the end of the conversation.

Just go in there, she thought. Looks like they're done talking; quit acting so nervous.

It was definitely easier said than done, but Opal knew that she wasn't going to be standing around all day waiting for something to happen. Thor and Erik looked to be done talking, that was all she needed to know. Once she really entered the kitchen, both men turned to look at her. Erik looked exhausted, understandably, and Thor looked a bit upset.

"You guys OK?" Opal asked.

"We're fine," Erik responded, though his voice sounded a little strained.

"You look like shit," she said, pointing to the hungover man, "and you look upset." She pointed over to Thor, who hadn't said much since her arrival.

"Listen, we are fine." Erik tried to make himself sound more convincing, but it wasn't really working. "I'm going to take some medicine soon to help with the hangover, and I'd suggest not eating those eggs. You've been out for a while."

Opal's brows furrowed. "How long was I out?" she muttered.

"A little over an hour," Thor answered. "You must have been more exhausted than you predicted."

Humming in response, the mutant went over to check on the eggs. They still looked fresh, and part of her was saying Erik was wrong in telling her not to eat it. Though another part of her reminded her she could get a little sick from eating it. If they were sitting out for over an hour, she wasn't going to risk it.

"Any word from Jane or Darcy?" she asked. She picked up the egg-filled pan and dumped its contents into the trash.

"Not a word, thank God," Erik grumbled, sipping from his mug.

"I still have Jane's book from last night," Opal sighed. "I should probably go return it to her."

"I'll accompany you," Thor offered.

"You sure? Someone should stay with Erik."

With a scoff, the astrophysicist waved the notion off. "Go, I'll do just fine by myself," he sighed. "I don't need either of you hovering over me."

"Well aren't you a little grumpy," Opal muttered sarcastically.

"I haven't been this hungover since I graduated college," Erik exclaimed.

Nodding, the pan was put into the sink before deciding to take a glance over at Thor. He looked upset, still, but it looked like he was trying to mask it more. The one thing that seemed to stick out for Opal was whether Thor wanted to go to distract himself or because he was genuinely interested in Jane's book being returned.* It was a little hard to tell, but she assumed it was a mixture of both reasons.

"I'll get dressed and we'll head out," she said.

Thor only nodded in response.

"Remember to take some medicine," Opal told Erik, giving him a pointed look. "You look like shit."

He simply chuckled as she walked out.

(A/N):

OK, so one reason why I don't like this chapter is because I wrote it while severely sleep-deprived. And because I wrote it while in such a state, it turned out poorly written. If you can tell me which parts need improvement, I'll greatly appreciate it. Constructive criticism is always welcome!

Nothing in the MCU belongs to me. All I own are my OCs, the subplots I put in, and emotional wreckage from seeing INFINITY WAR.

So, I got to see INFINITY WAR on the day it actually got officially released! Now I'm just an emotional wreck. In my opinion, I honestly loved the movie. Each character had their time to shine and it filled me with so many emotions. I'd also like to just talk about the movie as a whole, but I don't want to give away any spoilers to those who haven't seen it! So for those of you who have seen the movie and are looking for someone to talk to about it, I'd be more than willing to do so over PMs. Other than that, you guys can leave thoughts on INFINITY WAR in your reviews.

Thanks!

Judith W