A/N: This will be my final update for the next 10 days or so.
When he was sure that Sigyn actually had let him go, Clint shouldered his bow and padded lightly back to the general area in which his room had been and veered across the hall. He wasn't surprised to see that the light was still on in Natasha's room. Nor was he surprised that the door opened after his first knock. The look that she gave him was enough to confirm that she knew what he had been doing so late in the night, but she didn't confront him on it, didn't even ask for details. She just stepped back from her door and silently invited him inside.
"Was I compromised beyond redemption?" he asked as he set the bow down and sank onto the bed. He let his head fall into his hands.
Natasha sat down beside him, curling her body around his as she kneaded the knots from his shoulders. "No more than I," she said and it was enough.
When Steve first woke the next morning, he was disoriented and tensed at the unfamiliar surroundings. Then, memory slowly unraveled itself before his eyes and he relaxed, knowing he was mostly safe. Years of training and honing his skills made it second nature to assess the situation and though he knew that his team was more or less with him, he couldn't be completely sure that everything was what it seemed to be.
Shelving the deeper analysis of their situation for later, he kicked off the sheets and crossed the room in two strides to the bathroom where he stripped and turned the shower on. He was slightly proud of himself for figuring out the complicated knobs and dials that adjusted temperature and the pressure of the spray. Why Stark figured his guests would need such devices was rather beyond him.
Clean and dressed in a casual tee and jeans, he made his way back to the dining area where he had seen the kitchen. They hadn't had much of a chance to see the place as Stark had offered, but he was relatively certain that he could make use of the building that he did know and if there was a gym somewhere in the building, then his day was complete. As he neared the kitchen area, he realized that he could smell the cooking of eggs and a little over cooked toast as well as acidic smell that made him wrinkle his nose. There were voices that were only vaguely unfamiliar to him.
When he placed the higher, feminine voice he froze and, for one horrible moment, he thought that the other deeper, more baritone voice was that of Loki's. Then, he remembered hearing the AI speak the previous night. He wasn't entirely sure why he stopped at the edge of the hall to listen to the conversation, but he realized that it might be one of the rare moments when Sigyn wasn't on guard and trying to protect herself against them.
"Like this, Jarvis?" she asked and the sound of metal scraping against metal made his cringe.
"Exactly so, Ms. Sigyn. The next step would be to deposit the vegetables into the eggs and allow them to reach a simmering point," Jarvis instructed her.
"And then I would want to make a sandwhich of it using the bread?" she asked.
"Yes. There should be sufficient food there to allow the other occupants to consume as much as they desire," Jarvis said and she laughed. It was a strangely pleasant sound, uninhibited and carefree.
"I have not cooked like this for many years," she said and the tone was slightly wistful. "You are sure your creator does not mind my taking his supplies to prepare food?"
"My creator is unlikely to have noticed that these supplies resided within the fridge in the first place," Jarvis said dryly. "If anything, you are saving me the trouble of having to order food for him and reminding him that he must eat once in a while."
Silence fell over the kitchen and Steve peered cautiously around the corner. Sigyn was wearing the same clothes that she had yesterday and the sleeves of her shirt were rolled up to the elbow. There was a towel over her right shoulder and food strewn across the counter like she had been up for a few hours. A knife, cutting board, and various slicings told him that she had used fresh vegetables. Cracked egg shells and an empty egg container were evidence enough of the smell he could identify as seasoned scrambled eggs.
"Good morning, Captain Rogers," Jarvis intoned so close to his ear that he jumped away from the wall. "Breakfast is nearly ready, if you are hungry. If you do not desire scrambled eggs and vegetables, then there are other items stocked should you wish to eat something. If nothing in the kitchen suits your tastes, then inform me of what you find most nutritionally beneficial to yourself and I shall endeavor to order it for tomorrow's breakfast."
Sigyn turned her head to look at him and she smiled slightly. "Captain Rogers is your name, then?" she asked.
Feeling the blood rush to his cheeks, he stepped fully out of the hall and closed the distance between him and the counter. "Ah. No. Just Steve is fine," he said, clearing his throat.
She hummed her acknowledgement and turned back to her cooking and Steve had to blink at the sheer size of the pot that she was using. "Alright. Steve it is, then," she said. "Would you like anything of what I have made?"
He hesitated and he was sure she heard the pause before he said, "Of course."
After all, if she was going to eat it, then that meant it was probably safe to eat it. Different species aside, he had seen Thor eat enough human food to know they probably processed food like humans. Besides, isolating her when it looked like she was simply trying to be kind wasn't something he wanted to intentionally do. Since she had made the first gesture of friendship, he found it easier to accept it than to try and hold onto his suspicions.
When Tony emerged from his rooms around noon, he was still half asleep and groggy from the four hours he had actually managed to grab. Pulling an all-nighter in the lab had sounded like a good plan, had looked like a good plan, and even tasted like a good plan until Jarvis reminded him that he'd been working on the suit for three days and that he hadn't even remembered to sleep before the contractor arrived. Hell, he would have worked through another day if Jarvis hadn't threatened to taser him and call Pepper back from the conference.
Underhanded. That's what those tactics were called. Unfair, dirty tactics, but even Tony was willing to admit by that point he had been working cross-eyed. So maybe his AI had been in the right, not that he would admit that point to Jarvis.
His feet led him automatically towards the kitchen where he could smell the coffee brewing. There were voices as well and the occasional clatter of dishes as someone moved around the space where the ambrosia liquid was waiting for him. Wait…Pepper was away and…right. Guests. Tony barely grunted at the other occupants of the kitchen as he made a direct beeline for the coffee pot and poured himself his first mug of the day.
Sigyn was slightly amused to notice that Anthony was near oblivious to her presence as he sipped gratefully at the brown liquid. She had tried the very concoction earlier that morning, but immediately spit it back into the cup. Still, she continued on with cleaning the dishes that she had used that morning as well as the plates and utensils that the rest of Anthony's team had used.
The Hawk had been especially tense around her, not that she had minded in the least, and his lady friend, Nat she vaguely recalled him calling her, had been very…strange towards her. The woman had barely spoken three words to her and already there was a sort of apprehension building between them. Steve had been awkward in his pauses and the length of time it took him to choose his words, but he had at least been trying. Anthony and Jarvis, at least, were as uninhibited around her as they could be and if Anthony's current state was anything to judge by then he really didn't mind her presence at all. And Thor, bless him, had entered the room with his usual loud announcement that he was hungry before he proceeded to devour everything in sight, except the two sandwiches which she had stashed in the fridge for Anthony at Jarvis' request.
Her gaze slid to her brother-in-law again where he sat in the common area, apparently engaging with Jarvis in some sort of verbal word play. She couldn't hear half of what they were saying, but just Thor's grand gesticulations and amused expression told her enough. The Hawk and Nat were with him and she wasn't sure, but she thought that Steve had perhaps left for the area designated as a "gym."
Pulling her hands from the soapy water, she rinsed off the final pan and asked, "Jarvis, where does this go?"
"Left hand corner cabinet, all the way in the back," Jarvis said.
She was impressed that anyone, even someone that was disembodied, could split their attention in such a manner. Making a mental note to ask several questions later, she put the pan away and turned to find Anthony staring incredulously at her. He had in his hands another mug of coffee, but he seemed to have mostly forgotten it.
"Good afternoon, Anthony," she said, pulling the plug to the sink and drying her hands off. "Jarvis wished me to inform you that there is food in the fridge for you." She paused. "What is a fridge and how is it supposed to work? I understand the function well enough, but the device seems to be attached to the wall and the name is unfamiliar."
"It…uh…You cooked?" he asked, apparently sorting through his thoughts.
"Several hours ago. The last of it is in the fridge. Jarvis was very insistent that you actually eat something. He said it would be good for you to get several decent meals into your system before you pulled a repeat performance," she said, gesturing to the device in question.
"Right," he said, eyeing the fridge and wondering if Jarvis had enlisted Sigyn as a permanent part of the 'Get Tony to eat something' plan his AI was so fond of. "Well, since you have questions, want to trade answers? I promise I'll even eat most of what you put in front of me." He grinned, but she only looked wary.
There was a moment of silence that stretched between them. "You may ask what you wish, but I reserve the right to refuse to answer. In exchange for that, you may refuse to answer what seems too…personal or vital as you see fit," she offered. He nodded and leaned against the counter.
Thor wasn't surprised to glance from his conversation to see that Tony and Sigyn had become engaged in their own conversation. Magic and technology, after all, were about the manipulation of energy through different means and the two of them were more than proficient in their own arts. That didn't mean he was eager to get pulled into such a conversation. Turning his head back to the conversation at hand with the Hawk and the Lady Natasha. Their interest in the spells that Loki had used upon the Hawk was understandable, especially when Sigyn was able to use magic in her own right.
Jarvis occasionally asked a question as he explained the difference between permanent spells and temporary spells. "It is in the intention of the spellcaster whether or not they intend to keep the object or person bound to them or else a matter of how long the spell is to last. One does not leave a spell open ended without consequences," Thor concluded, suddenly glad he had actually listened to his mother so long ago.
"So," Natasha said slowly. "You can make a spell permanent by ensuring that it has a sufficient power supply, such as the individual's own life force, but if you wish it to be temporary then you charge it with a certain amount of power."
"That is correct," Thor confirmed.
The Hawk rose to his feet and took a step back from them, his eyes momentarily darting to where Sigyn and Tony were conversing quietly. "And you really think she's harmless to us?"
Thor frowned at that, reviewing his memories of he knew of her. "If she had meant you harm, Hawkeye, she would have already attacked you. With or without magic, both she and Loki are formidable opponents, if a little weaker than most other Asiers."
The answer seemed enough to sate both their curiosities before the Lady Natasha nodded and they retreated from his presence. As they stepped into the elevator, he heard them asking Jarvis to direct them towards the gym.
He knew his comrades wouldn't completely trust her for a long while yet, but it was to be expected. With everything that their realm had suffered since Loki had been banished, they would need time to heal the wounds that had been created and he could only hope that Sigyn could help that process along somehow.