Different Vacation // An Avengers x Reader Story

Chapter 1

Welcome back, everyone! Just as an FYI -- the MCU timeline is going to get messed with, so just try to follow along. Basically, I'm trying to write a story that doesn't involve me rewriting an entire movie with you in it, and it can make things complicated.

~~~~~

"We're going to miss you tons, Miss Spitfire," Shuri said, enveloping you into a giant hug.

You glared at her. Ever since Clint had called you that name jokingly at a conference panel, the Press (and especially Shuri) wouldn't let the stupid name go. Honestly, you'd rather just go by your real name, not the 'superhero' name. People knew your identity anyway, so it didn't really make sense to you why you would need a fake, cheesy-sounding one in the first place.

"Me too, Shuri," you said, ignoring the 'superhero' name, "but I don't know what the Avengers would do without me in New York. You know Tony and Bruce need all the help they can get in the lab," you joked, knowing perfectly well that Tony and Bruce were doing perfectly fine without you. Sure, they called you from time to time to ask for your opinion, but they could have figured it out on their own.

The last few years had been crazy. Right after defeating Madame B and Fedor Bram, HYDRA and the Red Room collapsed. Natasha had found her long-lost sister, Yelena (who had remained in the brutal system), and the two and Bucky helped rehabilitate the awoken Widows and Soldiers. After that, Earth nearly got dusted by a purple titan named Thanos, who believed that the world would thrive if 1/2 the people died. Luckily, Thor sliced Thanos' head off right before the damage was done.

"Stay in touch, ok?"

You nodded, grasping Shuri's shoulder. "You know I will. Besides, I don't want to be greeted by an angry Shuri when I come back to Wakanda in the Fall AND it would take way too long to catch you up on everything."

"Who said anything about you coming back? You're a menace, (Y/N)," T'Challa teased, walking towards you with a smile on his face. "After all of the lab pranks you and Shuri pulled on me, you're never coming back."

"There's no getting rid of me, your mother loves me too much. She already promised to send me those traditional Wakandan desserts over the Summer as well."

"You know I'm kidding," he said, pulling you into a hug. "After all we've been through -- HYDRA attacks, Thanos -- we're family. Our mother thinks so too. She would have been here, but she had some business to attend to so I could be here."

"No worries. She is a leader of Wakanda, after all," you replied, pulling away and soaking in the bittersweet moment. You looked around, admiring the vast and beautiful land of Wakanda. Even though you'd only be away from the country a few months, you knew it was going to feel even longer than that. You'd stepped foot in numerous countries, but none were as bountiful or as beautiful as this one. You were sure that Shuri would send pictures and videos, but nothing was as good as a view or face to face with your own eyes. That's exactly why you had to visit the Avengers in New York. They were your family, too, and FaceTime calls were hardly enough.

"But who knows," Shuri interrupted, "something crazy may happen this Summer and maybe we'll see each other much sooner than --."

"Don't say that, Shuri. We could all use a little bit of normal."

You turned and stepped foot on the plane that would take you halfway across the world, all the way to the Avengers base in New York.

"You're in the wrong business for normal, (Y/N)!" Shuri yelled as the doors slowly began to close.

You buckled in as the engines started whirring. Of course you were in the wrong business for normal. The Avengers fought had fought a vast majority of villains, and they never seemed to catch a break. Who knew what they had secretly been up to while you'd been studying in Wakanda?

"One can hope," you mumbled as the plane lifted off into the sunset.

~~~~~

You woke up with a jolt. Your heart was racing, and you had to loosen the seatbelt of the plane in order to be able to take full, deep breaths.

The dream seemed especially real this time. You were dancing in a dark room, all by yourself, when all of the sudden the words YOUR FAULT appeared on the wall, all written in fresh blood. Though it was just a dream, you could feel the pain of all of HYDRA's victims seep into your veins with every contact your pointe shoe made with the creaky wooden floors.

Regardless of how normal the life around you seemed, there were still things in the past that you couldn't shake. HYDRA was a big part of that.

No matter how many lives you had saved by shielding the bomb in New York with your body, no matter how much you had done to stop Thanos -- the lives of many were still on your hands. Everyone kept telling you that what HYDRA forced you to do wasn't your fault, but the memories were real.

The scars on your back may have disappeared, but just because wounds the wounds were gone doesn't mean that the memories were.

And the serum -- that was still with you too. You and the Avengers thought that all of the serum had been sucked out of you during the encounter with the serum bomb in New York. Shuri had run multiple tests, and they all confirmed that to be true. As much as you wanted the serum out of your system, you didn't truly believe that it was. All the evidence showed that it was gone, but there was still an odd feeling in your stomach that it wasn't.

"Pardon me, (Y/N), but I'm noticing an increase in cardiovascular and respiratory rate. Is everything all right, or should I contact Mr. Stark and tell him to prepare the medbay for when you arrive in New York?" a voice boomed through the speakers of the plane.

"Is that you, JARVIS?"

"Of course it's me. Who else would it be? I'm the only one, besides you, on this plane, and someone has to fly it."

You shrugged, still trying to get out of your daze from just mere moments before. "It has just been a while, I guess. It's good to hear your voice."

"Technically, I do not have a voice, as I am just an AI --."

"I get it, JARVIS," you said, interrupting him. "And no need to contact Mr. Stark. It's just a nightmare, that's all."

"I know a thing or two about nightmares, and sometimes they are a sign of PTSD, depression, and anxiety. They can lead to things like ---."

"I assure you JARVIS, I'm OK. Besides, I have some medicine from Wakanda to help me with them."

It was a lie. You didn't have medications from Wakanda, because no one knew about them. Yes, that went against pretty much every single mental health book on the planet, but it was hard enough to dream about what you had done and experienced. Telling people the story out loud would be like reliving the event again, and again, and again.

Luckily, JARVIS didn't seem to notice, and he didn't engage with you anymore. It looked like your prank pulling with Shuri and acting like you hadn't done anything was paying off.

"We will be arriving in New York in one hour."

"Thank you, JARVIS," you replied, doing your best to suppress all of the baggage once again. For now, it was working.

This Summer, things were going to be normal. No bad memories, no aliens, no monsters, no robots, no titans.

It was all going to be okay. Right?

Guys -- writing this story was a VERY hasty and last-minute decision, so I hope this all turns out ok (and that I can actually complete it). I have a very thin outline & ideas all over the place, so please hope that I can make this story OK. Please vote/comment so I know what to do next!