Formerly "My Friends Told Me to Write This so I Wouldn't Get Bored"

Quick recap! Lauren's met all the original 6 Avengers, got employed by Tony as the team's cook/chef and she also works as a sort of virtual assistant to Pepper. The team then catches her singing which results in the team having karaoke night. While she's out getting groceries for karaoke night she meets her 'Kashi-nii' who gives her a non-explanation to the gun he sent her. The team then has their karaoke night where everyone gets drunk and has a good time.

After a year I finally got a title for this! 16 chapters in a year is actually an accomplishment for me. I appreciate your patience. This chapter is quite heavy in terms of emotions and information because plot. Yes, you read that right, after 15 chapters this fic plot is now evident!

This chapter dedicated to my friends whose suggestions and help helped me iron out the details of this chapter. I love you guys!

It's been two months since Lauren moved into the Avengers Tower. With no sign of any apartment vacancies opening up, she was very thankful that Steve convinced her to stay with them. Admittedly, she found it a bit suspicious there wasn't a single vacancy that she suspects that Tony may have had something to do with it. Regardless, she was still thankful. She had a roof over her head that had good food and a well-paying job. It really couldn't get better than that for an immigrant.

After that first karaoke night with that Avengers, Tony kept his word and tried to have the team have karaoke nights weekly. In the six weeks after that night, they were able to have three more which was quite frequent considering the team was often needed somewhere during the week.

Most of the time they would be called out in pairs, less frequently in teams of three. The whole team has yet to be called for a mission but given the number of missions everyone's been on the past week, they'd all be deployed soon. Thankfully, Peter, Wanda, Vision, and Pepper were volunteered to keep Lauren company if it ever happened.

Lauren met Wanda and Vision during one of the few times the soldier-trio was called to a mission. They were supposed to have a sort of check-in meeting with Natasha but were hi-jacked by Tony – who promptly decided to introduce them to Lauren calling her the team's newest member. She honestly didn't know what to think of Tony making her part of the team so she just shoved that thought back into the deep part of her mind.

Wanda was friendly glad to have another woman on the team who was close to her age. Vision, on the other hand, was pleasant albeit a bit weird. She asked Tony earlier what happened to Jarvis the old A.I. that she had the pleasure to encounter while she was an intern. Tony proudly informed her that Vision was basically Jarvis 2.0 but 100x better – in lay man's terms of course, not Tony-speak. So, while she was aware that Vision wasn't Jarvis, there was a tiny inkling in her head that somewhere in Vision's brain were video files of her talking to Jarvis. But other than that tiny bit of paranoia with Vision she had no problems interacting with him and was more than willing to answer his questions about her home country. The two have dropped off more often since then.

They were all about to sit down for dinner when Tony came in holding a tablet in his hand reading out loud:

"Iris Nagasaki, has quite a record for theft of car parts as a teen along with one Miet Carlotta Guilani aka 'Greez Monki'. They are both suspected to be connected to 'Reiji' a yakuza group. And get this, they are also suspected of being part of a drag racing ring along with one other person who was never identified. They were called the "Ganju Kids" since multiple eyewitness reports put them in the Ganju District although their vehicles were never found during police searches. Iris and Greez have been sighted frequently, allegedly, in illegal drag racing circuits in the past few years but the mysterious third member from their teens have only been three times in the past four years."

The more Tony read the more nervous Lauren became, she was not prepared for this confrontation. She could already feel the questioning gazes of Steve and James and could see the gears turning in Natasha's head as she reassessed her. She guessed that Clint would also have his opinion of her changed after this. He was already reaching for the tablet in Tony's hand to read the files himself.

"Ha! Look here, the third person isn't that mysterious. There are a few reports here where the two have mentioned the name 'Zemi' and what is assumed to be the code name 'Thread'. The two were never sent to court and were always bailed by a guardian named Kazemi Reikaze. Descriptions of said guardian varied hence the suspected connection to yakuza as Iris holds the same last name as the suspected head of Reiji."

As Clint read the file he would occasionally make eye contact with Lauren that she thought was supposed to alleviate her worry but sent chills to her bones. Natasha seemed to sense her discomfort and decided to take the information positively and said:

"We all managed to get ourselves into trouble in our youth one way or another."

"Car theft and drag racing don't seem so bad compared to the trouble this scrawny-ass kid got into when we were younger. At least they didn't go home all beat up." James said as he pointed an accusing finger over to Steve who sat next to him.

She stifled a sigh of relief. Although she still couldn't let go of the tension on her shoulders, she felt thankful for their defense on her behalf. Not to mention that it was enough to derail the conversation to most of everyone's shenanigans in their youth. Natasha seemed to be set on reminding Tony of all the shit he did in his youth as a rebellion against the media's expectations of him to become exactly like his father. Clint was even backing her up. Clint added in some stories of when he was still a fledgling marksman and Thor also contributed by retelling some of the adventures he pulled his brother Loki into most of which included Loki stabbing him for one reason or another.

Dinner went on as usual as the Avengers exchanged stories of the trouble they got into as youth. Though Lauren tried her best to push down the worry that crept into her it was a constant battle that she hardly noticed that dinner was done. She quickly excused herself from the group once they got the dinner table cleared. In her rush, she didn't notice three concerned faces watching her leave pale-faced with knitted eyebrows.

Once in her room, she quickly called Greez as she was less likely to be in some kind of shit. Her first call wasn't answered, as well as the second, so she tried to call Iris as a last resort. When that didn't go through she just left both a voice message begging them to try to stay out of national scale trouble for the foreseeable future because Tony Stark already dug up their rap sheets.

With that done, she let herself fall into her bed with a heavy sigh. By the team's reaction, she felt like it probably wouldn't be much of an issue for her to come clean to them about all the shit she got into during her teens. She was fully aware that at least half the team has committed some kind of crime or another. It still wasn't enough to settle her nerves though. She's never told anyone about what they did. It was true that car theft and illegal racing were minor compared to what the others had to do compared to her. But growing up in a conservative country where drinking at 16 is frowned upon and women who wear shorts and tank tops in public are skanks affected her perception of the severity of certain crimes.

Her contemplation was interrupted by a hesitant knock on her door. She called out for them to come in after a deep breath. She wasn't surprised to see Steve tentatively peek in with James right behind him who nudged the blonde to enter in exasperation. They exchanged awkward greetings and she tried to smile but it likely came out as a grimace judging by their reactions.

"You looked like you were being chased by the grim reaper earlier… What's up?" James started knowing Steve would skirt around the topic for an hour before he'd ask.

The question was expected, but she was still surprised. In the weeks she's been living with them she'd gotten to know them better. While she's known Steve longer than James, there are just some things you only learn when living with someone. Usually when they talk to someone together the one leading the conversation would depend if the person would handle straightforwardness well or not. She's clearly shown that she's part of the James-led category so she really shouldn't be surprised. Then again, with the shit that just happened and the concerning parties out of reach, she clearly wasn't in a state of mind to have logical thoughts. So all she could say in response was:

"Share a bottle or two with me?"

She got two disbelieving stares. The one with a hint of disappointment while the other was more amused.

"What?! I promised not to drink alone anymore and I've done exactly that since then."

"She's got a point, Stevie."

Steve acquiesced on the condition that she ate a bit more since she barely ate anything during dinner. Since stress eating was something she was planning to do with the level of stress she felt it was easy to accept his condition. She quickly tied up her hair in a bun and made her way to the kitchen to get some snacks while James went up to the communal kitchen to grab alcohol. Steve made it a point to not have alcohol on their floor to make sure that there was no repeat of the one night during her first week with them. The frequency of karaoke nights cut out a lot of the stress she was feeling from overthinking things like Sam seeing right through her and how the team's – James and Steve's specifically – opinion of her could change. She was aware that the two likely already connected the dots of what she'd told them previously and what was read earlier. So she knew where she'd start.

She was glad that she had the forethought of having extra nacho ingredients for whenever someone felt peckish. She also decided to have a simple tuna sandwich to make up for not having a proper dinner. By the time James returned with the alcohol everything was ready.

Steve had the forethought to let her have her first three shots before pushing for answers. If he noticed that she was taking her sweet time to drink them he didn't mention anything. In the meantime, the two men filled the room with their chatter.

Thirty minutes later, she was ready.

"So…" Steve prompted, only to be taken over by James.

"Anything you wanna tell us?"

Lauren took one more shot for good measure before she answered.

"I know you have questions, but I gotta give you a bit of background story that will probably answer most or some of them. I'm warning you now though I might get sidetracked or stuck at certain points so remind me please?"

The two nodded and so she started to explain.

"I've told you guys how I feel about my family right? Well, it wasn't always that way. I was a kid once too, I clung to my mom a lot because she tended to spoil us more because she'd often be out of the country because of work. But then as I got older I started to dread any interaction with them. My dad was the type who meant well but never thought to mince his words or think about how the other person would feel. Mom would always try so hard to make up for her absence by buying almost anything we want that I'm honestly surprised we didn't grow up spoiled. We were lucky we had our nanny I guess. My older brother was a bit of a lone wolf in the family, while my older sister was the smart and talented one. She was always shown off during family reunions, she'd do a song or two and she was always the topic of choice. I'd usually just be the youngest kid who looks cute and got my cheeks pinched by all the aunties and cousins."

Lauren paused to take a breath, the next part was something she'd accepted a long time ago but still felt a bit of bitterness when she remembered it.

"Being the proud little sister I was, I basically followed in her footsteps. It wasn't that hard to have the same interests and hobbies as her as we lived in what you Americans call, a gated community. When we moved in there, there were no other kids our age to play around with so we only had each other most of the time. We got the occasional visit from our cousins but for a kid, a week is a long time. It made me happy at first, to have people tell me that I was just like my sister. Did I mention that I look a lot like her too? That was a favorite opener of whoever I met that knew my sister. 'Oh my, you look so much like your sister! Sound just like her too!' It got to the point that I was dubbed a nickname that was similar to hers. I was quite fond of the nickname, to be honest, it made me feel closer to her. But the comparisons got so similar to the point that I think I was starting to have an identity crisis. By the time I turned 11 I was questioning whether or not I even had my own identity or was I just a clone of my sister?

So the summer I was turning 12, I decided to do something that my sister never did. I was already slated to enter the same middle school she went to but then my mom found the exchange program so I took the opportunity. But somehow even when I was in a vastly different situation as my sister, they still managed to find points of comparison. At first, it was just minor things like why was I still getting such good grades despite the fact I don't seem to study at all after school hours. Or why don't I check in on them as much as my sister? Then when my sister graduated senior high and decided to become a doctor they started asking me my plans for the future? I was fucking 13! I didn't know what I want! I just wanted to have fun and explore Japan for fucks sake. Life after high school wasn't even on my mind. They kept badgering me about my future that I made all the excuses not to take their calls and basically ignored their college brochure-filled emails. By the time I turned 14, I couldn't stand them anymore and just had to unload my stress to someone so I finally opened up to Iris and Greez about it. And you know watch Iris – that bitch – said to me after it all? She said 'How about me do something really unexpected with those smarts of yours?' and my teenage rebellious ass just went with it.

And rebel I did, at first it was just small things like staying until it was dark out, then it turned into sneaking out past curfew to go to Greez's place or just to hang out in front of the convenience store. The worst we did at the time was when Iris managed to grab a bottle of gin from who knows where and we tried it at my place." Lauren gave them time to process all of what she just said. She wasn't sure how long it took, but she made sure to have a shot once in a while blatantly ignoring Steve's reprimanding glare. She may or may not have lost count of the number of shots she's had already, but who cared? She was about to bare her life to these two. Sue her.

She didn't know how long she kept silent but she knew that she was getting drunk as there were so many things that she wanted to tell them that her mind could barely keep up. Her mind went back into focus when Steve spoke.

"You started drinking when you were 14?" He asked disbelievingly.

"Oh no, no, no. The underage drinking only happened twice. Japan is pretty strict about that. Both times the alcohol was provided by Iris. She said that she'd sometimes have a relative stay over at her place who'd drink to help them sleep. The times she brought them over, they weren't able to drink it because of some emergency at their job or something."

"If you say so…"

"I definitely say so. I only started drinking this heavily in college. Shit happened."

"Well, we've got all night," Bucky replied getting comfortable in his seat.

"So, remember those foster siblings I have? I was around 7 I think when we first started fostering cadets. They were all in their 20s already by then and I've always wanted to have a brother who was involved in my life. I was always the first at the door to greet them whenever they visited and I clung to them like a koala whenever we went out. When they graduated and were deployed I made sure to check in on them as much as I could by sending them messages. Needless to say, I was quite attached to them, especially that first batch. But then while I was in my third year of college one of them died. I was quite attached to him too so… it was quite a blow. What sucked more is that when we went to the funeral I just stood there crying alone as he was buried. My brother didn't come along because of school, mom had dad, my sister had her boyfriend so yeah…" Lauren could feel the lump in her throat building that she had to stop and take a breather, it was way too early in this drinking session for her to cry. So she kept her eyes low to avoid their gazes and continued pouring herself shots.

Steve and Bucky exchanged glances as they processed everything that Lauren had just said. They were aware that they should probably stop her from cleaning out the bottle but with how unexpectedly heavy everything she just said was, they couldn't find it in themselves to stop her. Steve was reeling from the fact that Lauren had to mourn someone important to her alone. Did her family not think to give her comfort knowing how attached she was to her foster brothers? Didn't they see that she mourned his death so deeply? Were they so caught up in her similarity to her sister that they didn't see her anymore? He really shouldn't judge because he never met them but he just had so many questions.

Bucky on the other hand was more occupied with connecting the dots between what she just told them and what was read before dinner started. But he was brought out of his thoughts by a single sniffle, followed by another one. By the time he realized what was happening the sniffles were accompanied by deep intakes of breath that could only mean waterworks. He looked to Steve in panic. He only had experience wooing women damn it, not comforting them. But then he remembered that his blonde friend had less experience with women than him so they silently agree to call Sam. He should know how to comfort people, he had that stint at the VA.

Since Steve was closer to her, they agreed to have him move her to the couch while Bucky got in touch with Sam.

This better be an emergency Buck, or I swear to God!

"We need your help," Bucky muttered casting a worried glance towards a crying Lauren. She was starting to hyperventilate a bit which was not a good sign. He watched as Steve tried to comfort her by patting her back awkwardly. "It's Lauren she… she's uh..." He pointed the mic towards the sound of Lauren crying to explain. He would've been embarrassed by his ineptitude of handling someone who's crying if he wasn't so worried.

Sam seemed to have quickly understood the situation and told them that he'd be there in 15 minutes. With Sam on his way, Bucky tried to use what little relevant skills he had to comfort his friend. He considered her his friend since that day she told him the truth of why called him James instead of Bucky. It was during the second karaoke night they had. She had quite a few drinks then that she was already flushed but was still speaking clearly. It was the level of inebriation that loosened the tongue and gave people a little bit of courage but didn't addle the memory. He was on the same level when he managed to ask her again, knowing that the first answer she gave was for Steve's sake. He only realized that she was lying when he noticed her tells the week after he first asked. He was honestly happy with her first answer the one that Steve told him. It was like she respected that the name 'Bucky' had a history that he hadn't quite come to terms with yet. It was an opportunity to start with a clean slate with someone. That second karaoke night he couldn't help but ask her. Turns out how he interpreted her choice was right, but it went deeper. She told him:

"Bucky I think is a guy who's stuck in the past. Steve is the same most of the time if I'm honest but he literally fell asleep in the 40s and woke up in the 21st century, you can't really blame him. You, on the other hand, have all this baggage from being the Winter Soldier. That's changed you from that ladies man Steve knew into who you are now. That's why I feel like calling you James is more appropriate."

So, yes, he thought of Lauren Grimms as a friend and he will try to comfort her despite his inexperience in doing such dammit.

The first thing he did was gently wipe away her tears that continued to fall as she told them how much she missed her foster brother so much and how she felt so abandoned by her family that let her grieve alone. Her family, who didn't even think that she was still grieving when they found out that she got piss drunk from a relative of theirs who had to fetch her from a bar a few months after the funeral. He tried to comfort her by telling her she's okay and that she's got them now, but his words fell on deaf ears. So he continued to wipe away her tears and whisper words of assurance that she wasn't alone.

Steve was trying his best to help Bucky comfort their friend. But he really didn't know what to do. The only women he has experience with were military agents and they sure as hell never required comfort from him. He graduated from awkward pats to rubbing circles on her back when he had an idea. He went off to their rooms to grab all their pillows and blankets. He placed the pillows on the rug directly in front of the couch creating a sort of nest for them and set aside one pillow for Lauren to hug. He then draped Lauren's blanket on her shoulders and handed her the pillow. Once she grabbed onto it, he motioned to Bucky to scoot a bit closer so they could share the other blanket between the three of them, and the last blanket was draped over their legs.

By the time Sam arrived, they were seated on the floor propped up by the couch with Steve and Bucky on either side of Lauren who was still sniffling a bit but sounded load better from what he heard over the phone. Steve had one arm over Lauren as she rested her head on his shoulder. One hand was wiping away her tears and snot while the other was holding Bucky's metal hand. He arrived just in time to hear Lauren say:

"You know James, I kind of wish I met you first."

"And why's that?" Bucky asked her amused and relieved that the worst of her crying was over.

"Because then, I'd have seen this softer side of you much, much sooner." She replied with a small sound and nod that made it seem that she had to confirm what she just said to herself.

The three couldn't help but laugh at her antics, who would've thought that drunk Lauren would act like such a child.

The two told Sam to help himself with the alcohol over at the kitchen as the last bottle was guzzled down by Lauren. He took a bottle of beer after he commended the two for handling the situation well.

"So what exactly brought this on?"

Steve quickly explained what happened during dinner along with what she's told them so far. He also just had to tell him his frustration about it that Sam quickly told him was his Captain America speaking.

"You also forgot to mention that she told us to keep her on track, and we're definitely off track now." Bucky chimed in once they were finished bantering. By then Lauren had switched to leaning on Bucky's prosthetic arm enjoying the coolness of the metal. Her crying had turned into occasional sniffles now and she was able to talk clearly although her voice was still filled with much emotion.

"Right so let's get her back on track?" Sam motioned to Bucky making him nudge Lauren a bit to get her attention towards Sam. "Hey, you feeling better?"

She nodded in response and took the glass of water Sam handed her. She drank it all before turning back towards Sam but continued to hold Bucky's hand in hers as she pulled the pillow she was holding closer to her chest.

"So Bucky here tells me you got a bit side-tracked trying to tell these two shit heads something. You think you're up to it?"

"Yeah…" Lauren responded, her voice coarse from crying. She swallowed to try to get her voice to clear and tried to clear her throat for good measure. Sam went to get her some more water that she took a sip off before asking them what was it she was supposed to talk about again.

"I think you were trying to tell us more about your best friends. You mentioned doing some rebellious teenager stuff like sneaking out past curfew and drinking alcohol that Iris' relatives left behind." Steve reminded her.

"Oh, so… I just turned 14 then and Iris boldly decided that we should try using my smarts for something really unexpected. At the time I thought she just said it as a joke. You know to comfort me or something. Our little rebellious acts didn't go further than drinking alcohol. But then, Greez mentioned that the motorcycle she's repairing is missing a part that's hard to find because of how old the motor frame she got was. So Iris had this brilliant, brilliant idea to just… grab it from one of those car and motor shows."

Lauren felt bewildered. She was speaking but her mind wasn't processing what she was saying. She could tell that she was leaning on something cool as well as holding something cool in her hand. She could see that Sam was in front of her listening to what she was saying and Steve was on the other side of her. Once she felt her mouth stop moving, she turned towards the cool thing she was leaning on only to find James' metal arm that she inevitably was sort of cuddling now along with the pillow that she was hugging tightly to her chest.

They noticed her trailing off in her retelling as she felt three worried stares watch her as she slowly straightened herself out.

"Uhm… yeah.. hi?" She tried as she had no recollection of what had just happened. How long was she out?

"Welcome back." Sam greeted her handing her a glass of water. She felt quite parched. How long had she been talking? When did Sam get here? Last she remembered she was talking about what made her move to Japan.

"Yeah… uh, so. What was I saying?"

"You just told us how you cooked up plans to help Greez build up her first motorcycle but then Iris had another brilliant idea," James told her as he subtly offered his hand back to her.

"Oh…" was all she could say before her mind started racing. Lauren could feel her entire body tensing at the realization that that was it. A tightness in her chest began to build up until it was hard for her to breathe. Her breaths were coming up short and shallow but no matter how much air she tried to take in, it never felt enough.

Then suddenly all the tension in her body fell away. If it wasn't for James and Steve at either side of her, she might've fallen on the floor.

Lauren was so lost in her panic that she didn't feel Sam gently holding her face, his hands cupping her jaw. She could see his lips move, he was probably trying to tell her something. He pulled her hand towards his chest where she could feel the slow rise and fall of his chest and his heartbeat. It reminded her of her need to breathe so she tried to match her breathing with his. It was slow going, as she tried to inhale, it would come up in consecutive stutters of air. As she consciously tried to breathe along with Sam it felt like her head was floating. The longer she inhaled the more grounded she started to feel.

Eventually, she could finally hear what he was telling her, "In through your nose and out your mouth." Doing as he said did the trick. She heard him tell her that she was doing a good job. She would've felt embarrassed that she needed help breathing. But she was more occupied with the fact that she could finally, properly, take the air into her lungs, giving life to her conscious thoughts.

"I… I'm sorry." She stuttered, her breath hitching. "I was just so worried that you'd all hate me if you found out. I mean I knew what we did isn't as bad as what some of you guys had to do but…"

"Hey, hey… none of that. There's nothing to be sorry for. You're good. You're good." He told her as he brushed her hair out of her face. When he saw her eyes starting to water he gently pulled her towards him, tucked her head under his chin. This just made her start crying once more but this time she was quiet. The only reason he knew was because of the dampness he could feel on his shirt. He quietly shushed her telling her that she's alright and that they've got her. It took her a while to get her breathing in control again from crying but she eventually did.

Once she was coherent enough, she felt so embarrassed. She just cried on someone she wasn't exactly close with not to mention Steve and James had to witness her crying again. That one time when she was fired was enough.

"This would be the third actually." James piped up, it was obviously an attempt to try and cheer her up. But it only made her realize that she'd voiced her thoughts out loud. "This is 100 times better than the first one earlier this evening though."

"Oh god," was all she could reply. She's never had one of those heavy episodes of crying before, she sincerely hoped it wasn't as bad as her sister's where her hands could practically freeze into rock-hard fists and numb arms. "How bad was it?"

"You were bawling."

"Like hyperventilating almost,"

"And you were crying so much that we had to call Sam because I and Steve don't have any experience with crying women."

"So we just decided to let you keep going and give you comfort."

"Which is why we're currently sitting on a pillow nest?" Lauren asked the two who alternated telling her what had happened.

"Exactly." The two answered in unison.

"You also decided that my metal arm was the best thing to cuddle. Kept saying 'wow' and 'how is it still so cold?' Not that I minded, at least it got you to calm down a bit."

"You also told Bucky here that you wish that you met him first instead of Cap so you saw his soft side earlier," Sam said teasingly.

"Sorry?" She answered, if she thought the team teasing her about Cervus was the most embarrassing thing then this definitely topped that. "I just… I miss being able to show platonic affection with my friends okay?"

"You could've just asked you know?" Steve told her placatingly.

"Yeah, you're welcome to ask for a hug from us if you need it," Sam added.

"No complaints here." James chimed in.

"Thanks… Uhm, before I embarrass myself further where was I again?"

"Iris' second brilliant idea,"

"Right, so… Just when Greez was almost done with her first bike, Iris noticed that I had an interest in cars. I liked collecting Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars. And I'd turn my head towards any eye-catching car I'd see on the street and often followed it with my eyes until it went out of my line of sight. So, her next idea was for Greez to build us cars. We were turning fifteen by then and we estimated that it'd take us maybe a year or two to collect what was needed and have it built. Then once that was done… Iris inevitably signed us up to a race. And well the rest is history as they say."

"So let me get this straight… at 14, you guys were stealing car and motor parts from who knows where and because of your interest in cars you got into illegal drag racing? I… I can't… How?" Sam summarized, he was equal parts impressed and confused.

"Yeah… Though I never really participated in the stealing part. I just made the plans and was responsible for getting them out of trouble. Hence the nickname 'Thread'."

"Who the hell is Kazemi then?"

"Still me, just an alias that I chose. Since I was a minor too, I'd go ask random people to help me get my friends out with some sort of sob story that their guardian would hurt us if they found out they got into trouble."

"So basically you're the mastermind behind all the crimes those two have allegedly committed." James summarized. He looked very amused and impressed.

"That makes me sound so evil, though I can only really take credit for a few of the more recent ones. The ones in their juvenile sheet though? Those were all me."

"Never thought you'd have it in you," James told her with a grin. "Your height and big doe eyes are deceiving."

"Never underestimate us small Filipino women." She chided him with a large grin.

"Now we know." The three replied, with grins of their own. They were smiling so wide that eventually, they all broke out into laughter.

"I… Thanks, guys." Lauren told them once they calmed down. She met each of their eyes and tried to convey to them just how thankful she felt for their support and comfort.

"You'll be fine." James told her with a small smile on his lips, but somehow in her mind, she could hear him say, 'We've got you' and it made her teary-eyed once more. Seeing this James opened up an arm to her to offer a hug which she gratefully took. Once she was settled into the hug, she could feel her tears start to fall once more. But this time she knew it was of relief. With all the crying draining the energy out of her all she could hear was James whispering:

"We got you, you'll be okay… Steve, Sam, and I have got you're back. You'll be okay."

And the next thing she knew was sweet oblivion.

Lauren woke up with a start. The first thing she recalled was "waking up" from being blackout drunk and talking to Sam, Steve, and James. She looked around and found herself in her bed, which she did not recall getting into. There was the mild headache she could now feel the more she stood up. As much as she just wanted to lie in bed, she acknowledged that getting some food and liquids in her first was more important.

She briefly wondered if the three were still in or if they'd gone their usual routine for the day. When she checked the clock on her phone she stood up so fast that she made herself dizzy. It was late, Steve and James would be back by now. She hasn't made anything! She gave herself a few seconds to get her balance back before she rushed to the kitchen only to find that Steve, James, and Sam were already there.

Steve and Sam were at the counter. Steve was mixing up more pancake batter while Sam was cutting up fruits to eat with the pancakes. On the other hand, James was at the stove flipping pancakes. When they spotted her, Sam wordlessly handed her a glass of water and ibuprofen. Once he saw her drink the medicine he went over to the coffee machine and made her a cup of coffee after asking her how she liked her coffee. Steve gestured for her to take a seat on the barstool and handed her a plate with a stack of pancakes - a super-soldier stack of pancakes that is. Knowing she needed the carbohydrates she didn't protest the amount of food and dug in.

As she ate, she felt someone sit beside her but was a bit too occupied suppressing her happy noises when she realized that they gave her chocolate chip pancakes that were topped with strawberries and cream.

"Are they any good?" Sam asked from beside her.

She enthusiastically nodded her head and couldn't help the childish confirmatory sound that came out. Instead of teasing her about it as she expected, she only got her hair ruffled. She gave him an indignant glare that he only laughed at making her pout at him.

"I smelled food," Clint called out, popping out from somewhere. She suspected that he used the air vents more than the elevator or stairs.

In the two months that she's been in the Tower, he would randomly pop up while she preparing food. So she'd gotten used to his antics. He chose to take the other vacant seat next to her. He teased Steve and James on how they didn't look like people who knew how to cook. But when the two super soldiers brushed him off with a "fuck you", he turned to her. She felt like he wanted her to look at him so after taking another bite, she turned towards him and made a questioning sound.

"Nat and I have got your back too, you know." He resolutely told her while making purposeful eye contact until Steve placed a plate in front of him. He turned away and gave her three pats on the back.

She sat there bewildered at what just happened but just decided to take it as it was. She would later make a sound of exclamation in her room when she realized that Clint definitely hung out in the vents.

We finally have Lauren's backstory! What did you guys think? Writing this chapter was a rollercoaster of emotions for me. I teared up a little bit while I was writing Lauren's history, and was grinning like a loon while writing the scenes with Sam, Bucky, and Steve. And this will likely only be the chapter where the perspective breaks away from Lauren, so don't get your hopes up for chapters from the perspective of different characters.

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Until the next one!

P.S. Yes my pen name is actually the name of my OC, I'm very attached to it thanks.