the end of the line | s.r.

1.

november 3rd, 2017

My first thought when I woke up this morning was that I needed coffee. I forced myself out of bed and slumped over to the kitchen, turned the coffee machine on, and sat down on the ground while the coffee brewed. One thing you should know about me, I was not a morning person. I would've slept until noon today if I could, but my father simply wouldn't allow it as he kept calling today "the best day ever."

"Dad, can you please stop bouncing around my apartment like that? You're giving me a migraine with all of your energy," I mumbled to my father, who decided to finish making my coffee for me.

"Today is a big day for you, kiddo. You should be excited," he said as he bent over to hand me the coffee mug. My father was Tony Stark, or Iron Man. Maybe you've heard of him. He was referring to my becoming an Avenger today and officially becoming a part of his team. Tony had waited until my 26th birthday before discussing my joining the team with Nick Fury. A few months after that is when Fury approached me with the non-negotiable offer for joining the team. To be honest though, I wasn't that excited about joining the team. I was only looking forward to seeing Steve again.

Steve Rogers and I met a few years back when my father asked him to train me in combat fighting, you know, in preparation of becoming an Avenger. I always had the biggest crush on Steve, but he was Captain America. He was perfect. We went out for drinks a couple of times over the years, but nothing ever came of it.

Although that was the one thing I was looking forward to today, I also thought that was one of the things that was stressing me out the most. I wish I could have a drink before we left for the team meeting, but Tony would never allow it. He would want me to be on my best behavior, and I didn't blame him for that. This was his place of work and his colleagues, and now both of those things were mine as well.

I had just barely finished my coffee when Tony started frantically yelling around my apartment again, this time, he yelled at me to start getting ready as "it would not be appropriate for me to leave the house looking like this." His words, not mine. My father was one of my best friends, but he always had a way of getting on my nerves. Maybe it was because we were both so similar, I didn't know.

I hadn't known what was considered appropriate to wear for this situation, so I just decided on jeans and a t-shirt, nothing too sloppy, and nothing too professional. I assumed this meeting wouldn't be wildly professional, it was just a meet and greet for me to finally meet the rest of the team that I would be working with, pretty much for the rest of my life. At the last minute, I decided to pair my outfit with my favorite heels, you know, to spice up the outfit. I was the daughter of Tony Stark after all; self-declared genius, billionaire, playboy, and philanthropist.

"Kiddo, let's go! We're going to be late," Tony yelled from the living room. I rolled my eyes and headed to the front room, not looking forward to this day one bit. Tony was so proud though, the least I could do was pretend I was happy too. One of the conditions of my contract with the team was that I was to live with them in the Avengers Compound. That was the hardest part for me, up until now, because I had loved living alone in my apartment. It was going to be like living in a dorm in college. I hated college.

Tony grabbed the rest of my things and loaded them into the back of the car. I had a lot of stuff, but could you blame me? I had no idea what to expect; I didn't know if we were allowed to leave the compound once we were there or if I would even have the time to, if it was allowed. I shrugged myself into the passenger seat, rested my head against the window and shut my eyes. Maybe if I were to fall asleep, I wouldn't be so cranky.

An unknown amount of time later, Tony shoved me into the door. "Wake up, kiddo. We're here."

I lifted my sunglasses onto my head and stretched out my body. That extra bit of sleep definitely helped  my mood. I looked out the window and saw a massive building in the middle of a plot of land. When I said massive, I really meant it. I rubbed my eyes because I felt as though I was in a dream and that none of this was real. I was wrong though, it was absolutely all real.

I rubbed my fingertips under my eyes, removing the bit of mascara that ran onto them while I was asleep. At this point, I had just accepted that I would look like a mess. Grabbing my things, I got out of the car and headed for the door.

"Kid, one thing I forgot to mention," Tony starts. "The team is really um, what's the word, judgy. They're not keen on outsiders. So, it may take them awhile to warm up to you."

"Okay, dad. That's fine, I could care less," I replied to him before making my way for the door again.

"When I say 'them,' I really mean Natasha. Just be...careful." Tony smiled at you before reaching back into the trunk of the car to finish gathering my stuff. This is it, I breathed to myself before entering the front door of the compound.

Once I was inside, the air felt thick; maybe from my anxiety or from the heat that seemed to be on, I don't know. Whatever it was, it made me extremely uncomfortable. I tried to brush off the feeling so I could calm myself down. I hadn't been nervous about meeting the team, I was just dreading it. Now, after my little talk with Tony, I wasn't just dreading it, I feared it. I was never one to be bothered by these things, so I was really thrown off. I wondered if maybe I was worried about seeing Steve again, but I was more excited for that than scared.

I stayed back in the hall while I heard the team gathering in the conference room. I had discussed this with Tony and Nick Fury; they wanted me to stay outside until the right time. I happily obliged and thankfully so because I now had time to get my act together. I was not about to make a fool of myself or Tony. As the chatter from the team grew louder, I started to calm down. The way the team talked to one another gave me hope that this team may become my family, something I didn't have a lot of growing up.

It had always been just Tony and I for as long as I could remember. That is, until he met Pepper years ago. I loved Pepper, and was so thankful to her for becoming a mother-figure for me at a time when I was in desperate need for one. Now, Pepper was my best friend. I would even go as far as to say that I was closer to her than Tony. My mom had left when I was a baby, and I hadn't seen my father happy until he met Pepper. I had so much to be grateful of her for.

I snapped out of my daydream when I heard Fury start talking.

"Now, I'm sorry to call you all here this early..." Fury started.

"No you're not," a female voice said. I wondered if that had been Natasha.

"You're right, I'm not. There is someone I would like you to meet. Aspen Stark will be joining the team," Fury finished. It was at that time, I finally made my entrance into the conference room.

A/N:

FINALLY! The long-awaited first chapter of the end of the line. Thank you all for the support on the tiktok series! I hope you enjoy reading this story with more depth.
Please comment and vote for the story!
Xoxo,
m.