This Is Stella's Reality

August 1, 2015

The unfamiliarity of the compound astounded me. It really hadn't been that long since I was here last. Or maybe it had been. Time felt different on the island.

Bucky stood beside me, equally as anxious. His hand on my back was firm. He looked down at me. "Do you feel weird too?" He asked with a slight smile.

"Yeah," I mumbled as we walked down the hallway from our room and down the steps to the living room.

The team was sitting around in awkward silence. Tony fiddled with a cocktail shaker behind the bar, and Sam was texting on his phone. Clint and Natasha were lounging on the couch as Thor and Bruce sat at the bar with beer bottles. Loki, Vision, Wanda, and Pietro hovered behind Tony, waiting for drinks.

Steve smiled when we walked downstairs. His eyes lit up the way I'd hoped they would. "So," he said in that booming voice I loved, "we need to be a family again. We're having game night whether we like it or not."

"I'm sorry," Tony interrupted. "Are we really going to ignore the fact that the Wicked Witch of the West and the Tin Man just walked out of nowhere after abandoning all of us?"

"We didn't get abandoned," Thor quipped. He smiled over at Bucky and I. "We had a lovely dinner party. Perhaps you would have been invited if you hadn't called her a wicked witch."

Tony groaned. "The Wicked Witch, numbskull. Not a wicked witch. There's a difference."

Bruce shot him a glare. "Does it really matter?" He asked.

"It's good to see both of you," Nat said softly. She walked over to me and wrapped her arms around my neck. "Don't ever leave me with these morons again," she hissed into my ear.

Her breath was hot over my skin, sending pin pricking goosebumps down my spine. I smiled at her, "Never."

She touched my hair. "This looks good on you, by the way. You look hot as fuck. And you're literally glowing. The hell is in that drinking water on that island of yours?"

I laughed and looped my arm through her's. "More than you'd know."

Bucky was talking to Thor and Bruce, laughing about something they had said when Steve sighed. The air was still tense between him and Tony.

"Okay," Steve announced, "I get we haven't seen each other in a while or been together as a family. But I'd like to change that. I miss all of you, and we have some new faces that should get to experience being together."

That's why we're playing paintball. Same rules as last time. Every man for himself. Winner takes all. There are guns and ammunition in the training room. You have 10 minutes to put on whatever clothes you want and grab your equipment."

My heart skipped a beat. I had forgotten how exciting these games could be. Bucky turned to look at me with a sly grin. He winked and offered me his hand.

Natasha held my arm. "Sorry, Barnes, you see her every day. Tonight, she's mine."

"That's fine," Steve said, sliding his arm across Bucky's shoulders. "We'll be alright." The boys grinned and walked away together.

"Cocky motherfuckers," she mumbled. "We'll show 'em how it's done, babes."

I laughed and followed her lead. We picked some equipment up and headed for the kitchen, claiming that as our starting base.

FRIDAY turned the lights off, and I assumed that was the start of the game.

"So," Nat sighed as she peeked her head over the kitchen island. "How have you been? How are things with Steve?"