𝕁𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕒 𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕜 (𝕃𝕠𝕜𝕚 𝕃𝕒𝕦𝕗𝕖𝕪𝕤𝕠𝕟 𝕩 ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕣)

Chapter Two: Birthdays

Y/N's POV (19 years later):

The sound of my alarm blaring the familiar tune of my favorite song, just like heaven by the cure, woke me from the oddly peaceful sleep I had been having. I had always made it a habit of waking up early, well late in comparison to the other residents of the tower but early for me. A quick glance over to the alarm allowed me to read the time. It was nine am which usually meant that, unless they had work to do, the famous avengers were sitting down eating breakfast. Pepper was usually also there, and would often save me a seat next to her, but her plane having come in late last night made me question if she would be up by now or still asleep. 

I rolled over slowly in the large bed, the silk sheets and the seemingly endless mattress making me never want to leave the comfort. Dad had always said that since I was little I gravitated towards the most comfortable spots in the house, and that I could always be found reading some new book I had just borrowed from the library. Pepper would double down on his statement saying that I reminded her of a cat, a introverted and calm creature that would melt into anything half way comfortable and never leave.

And that was exactly what I was hoping to not do today, my nineteenth birthday and still I was expected to get out of bed and go about my day as usual. Not that there was anything wrong with it, but a day where I could just relax and dig into a new book would be the perfect gift. 

And so, reluctantly, I rolled out of bed. 

The soft lush carpet beneath my feet just reminded me how much I wanted to return to the warm confines of my bed, a prison I would gladly be kept in for years. 

I closed my eyes one more time, the scent of freshly made bacon traveling from the kitchen straight into my nostrils. It smelled perfectly cooked and not burned in the slightest, which meant that Bruce was likely the one cooking it. As much as I loved my dad and the rest of The Avengers, Bruce was no doubt the best cook of them all. Well besides Pepper, but I knew she wouldn't be the one making it this morning. 

I quickly made my way towards my dresser where my slippers were sitting on the floor and where my housecoat was hanging off one of the drawer handles. I slid both on fairly quickly, wanting to get to the food before the others ate it all. Realistically I knew that there would be more than enough food for everyone, and that they'd wait for me given that it is my birthday, but a pack of superheroes could easily demolish any meal in mere minutes. 

My bedroom was fairly close to the kitchen, not as close as my dads and Peppers or as Steve's but definitely not as far away as Clint or Nat's. Pepper always told me she had mad dad put my room in the middle, so that if the tower were attacked at night I'd be safe. As much as I love Pepper and see her as a maternal presence in my life, she can be a tad overprotective at times. Once I had made my way to the kitchen I was greeted by the sight of the avengers and Pepper scattered around the living room and the kitchen, Bruce obviously near the stove cooking what looked like chocolate chip pancakes.

Pepper was the first to notice my presence in the room, and was quick to make her way over to me with a smile on her face. "There's the birthday girl" her tone was proud, and she wrapped me in a warm hug as soon as I was in arms reach of her. "Thanks Pepper" I gladly accepted the hug. Peppers hugs always reminded me of how I imagine a mother would hug her child, and they were among my favorite things in existence. "Greetings earthling! a joyous celebration indeed!" Thor's booming voice was the next thing I heard, accompanied by the near Shakespearean words that often exited the God of Thunders mouth. I laughed slightly as the blonde man gave me a strong pat on the back, Thor had the best bear hugs but would rarely give them out. He reminded of those older brothers on TV who were obviously big sweethearts but wouldn't show it regularly, but everyone knew it was who they are deep inside. "Thanks Shakespeare!" I yelled back, the nickname was something I had started calling Thor from time to time and a small smile paired with confused eyes painted his face. "Happy birthday kid" it was Steve who greeted me next; walking over and offering me a firm handshake, something that was a stapple of his reactions with anyone. Natasha was already offering me a small side hug before I even saw her make her way over to me, which was expected given that she was a spy. "Happy birthday Y/N" "aw thanks Nat" I returned the side hug quickly, noticing that Clint was making his way over. "Happy birthday kiddo!" he reached his hand out for a fist bump, which I quickly reciprocated. Clint and Nat were quick with their words but in a different way than Steve, their words still carried emotional depth but were still short and sweet. Bruce glanced over his shoulder, looking at the group for a second before lifting up the pan full of pancakes and stating "birthday pancakes will be ready in a minute" I smiled at the sight of the pancakes. Birthday pancakes were a tradition that Bruce had brought into the tower when the avengers moved in a few years ago, and it was something that everyone anxiously awaited on their birthdays. "They smell delicious Bruce" I gave him a kind smile, excited to dig into the chocolate chip pancakes once they were done.