"Too bright, too bright," You winced when you woke up, shielding your eyes with your arms, "Turn the sun off, not today you foul creature!"
"The spell might've corrupted her brain, let me-"
"Hold on, Bruce," Natasha told him, and you scrunched your nose up in disgust, looking away, when she put her hand on his arm to stop him, "Y/n, do you know where you are?"
"Hell?" You quipped and then sighed when she tilted her head, unamused, "Fine, the medical branch, bay, section, whatever this place is called and I passed out," You didn't wait to see if that was enough, so you kept going, "My name is Y/n L/n, and I did a bad, bad thing." You said the second part with your deepest voice, quoting the song, but only Natasha had a ghost of a smile.
"Do you tend to get...confused before blacking out?" Bruce asked you from behind his glasses.
"I usually don't remember."
"Does this happen a lot?" Natasha asked, her voice dripping with concern, as she leaned over to put a hand on your knee from where she was now sitting on the bed, facing you.
It didn't go unnoticed by the doctor or the soldier standing at the door who both shifted uncomfortably.
"More often these days." You mumbled, feeling embarrassed again in front of the assassin, and your stomach churned at the thought of being left so vulnerable in the hands of the avengers.
"A side effect?" Steve guessed and you glared at him.
"Yeah, so do you always wear your suit, or will I catch the boy in blue flouncing around in some grey sweatpants one of these days?"
"Why grey?" Bruce asked curiously when you seemed to emphasize the color and you smirked, eyes landing on Natasha who just rolled hers with a groan.
"It be a long, boring story," You started without being asked, ignoring the question, even though the elephant in the room was getting impatient, "But I accidentally acquired the...two stones," You admitted, getting a look from Steve as he stepped forward, only having known for sure about the one Strange already had, "And the guy said it'd be safe with me, even if he never came back for it."
"What guy?" Natasha asked before the others could.
"Didn't give a name," You shrugged, "But he was having trouble letting go, so I hid the weird thing and put it out of my mind and then that witch doctor came for the other one that the first guy didn't know I had."
"So-" Steve started, but you cut him off just to be petty.
"So, here we are," You smiled at them, "Shall we do lunch?"
"I think I should call Strange back." Steve mumbled, already dialing that guy up.
"Wishing for pizza." You thought out loud, ignoring the conversations going on around you.
"Does this have to do with-"
"But I like options," You continued, cutting off the doctor this time, "So, maybe half Hawaiian, half pepperoni, ugh, but then cheese...it's hard."
"Could he be back?" Natasha asked Banner, really just thinking out loud and not expecting an answer, but she was still rubbing her hand up and down your lower leg for comfort and to let you know she was listening to your ramblings.
"I should text Cory, see if they can take Ollie out and then bring us some pizza," You muttered to yourself, finding your phone on the side table, "Man, I hate hospitals."
"No," Bruce was shaking his head as you texted your friend, "Thor killed him before anything could happen, I don't know how she got the stones, they were supposed to be returned, but..."
"My dad gave the orange one to me before he died, okay?" You groaned, putting your phone back in its place on the stand, "But I don't know why the guy who wrecked New York would give me the blue one, he must've just been insane."
"Loki?" Natasha blurted, "But he's dead."
"Makes sense why I still have that thing in my – I mean, dammit Bruce, what drugs did you give me? Truth serum? Fuck you."
"Y/n," Natasha pleaded, this whole thing unravelling a lot faster and becoming more complicated than she could've predicted, "You said he didn't give a name, but you knew him," She pursed her lips, eyeing you with determination, "Are you sure you're okay? You're acting a little..."
"Loopy?" You guessed and she reluctantly nodded, "Yeah, sometimes I get sleepy, sometimes I get loopy, just depends really," You smirked, "But speaking of Loki, in another...lifetime, I think it would've been me and him, not you and me, but don't worry, I think 'fate' likes you much better."
"Can you give her something to help her sleep?" Natasha asked him and you let your head fall back against the pillows with a groan.
"No," You whined, "I want to stay awake."
But you knew it was for the best because you weren't thinking straight and being in this frame of mind, every second a second closer to your finish, was almost like being drunk. The things you wanted to keep to yourself threatened to spill and even though you trusted Natasha, the people around her weren't your closest confidants, so it might be better to go under for a bit, let your body recharge.
"Romanoff," Steve's voice came from the doorway, but you were already feeling whatever you agreed to let Bruce give you a moment ago, "Fury's calling us in for a mission."
"I'm not leaving her."
"He wasn't asking." He told her apologetically and she looked back to you, torn between her duty and you.
"Maybe Cory could come and keep you company?" She asked, sounding hopeful, but you pouted, shaking your head.
"They're caught up at work." You frowned, not wanting her to leave.
Natasha looked back to Steve, hoping he'd understand that she couldn't leave, but they both knew she'd be in a heap of trouble if she didn't and then the soldier seemed to light up with an idea.
"Didn't she like Happy? She got along with him, right?"
"Oh my god, I miss Haps, it's been so long since I've seen that done with everything bitch."
"If he stayed with you, you wouldn't mind if I left for a bit?" Natasha asked you as she lightly brushed some hair out of your face and you hummed, tiredly nuzzling your face into her palm that had her heart soaring.
"Yeah, that's good." You yawned, about to fall asleep in her hand, and she smiled softly before carefully moving you over to the pillow as you dozed off.
"Tell Fury I'll leave when Hogan gets here, but I'm not moving until that man is sitting in that chair," She pointed to the chair on the other side of your bed, "And Rogers?" She called him before he turned to make another call, "Fury probably already knows, so this isn't going to be a routine mission."
"Where do you think he's sending us?" Steve couldn't help but to ask and Natasha glanced back at you when she answered.
"Vormir."
