Some Things Never Sleep

Chapter Twelve

Dinner with the Avengers wasn't something that Emma ever thought she would be having. If someone told her she would be eating with the Avengers a week ago she would've laughed for the first time in a long time. It was a completely ridiculous idea. The odd sort of dining room, the Avengers seemed to have, was right down the hall from the conference room but directly next to the kitchen. The kitchen looked like it had many upgrades that were probably beyond the appliances that normal people had but this was a place that Tony Stark had designed after all.

Emma watched with curious eyes as all the Avengers gathered around the long dining room table. They had excited looks on their faces as if they had been waiting all day for dinner...or maybe they were just excited to eat together. Emma wouldn't know. The room smelt faintly sweet with the hint of cooked vegetables in the air. She didn't recognize what kind of food it was...it didn't seem familiar to her at all.

Emma glanced at Steve who was her...what was he to her? She didn't think she could go around calling him grandpa and Emma already had a father. She supposed he might've been something like an uncle or older brother to her but for now Emma was just going to call him Steve. Steve who was her last remaining blood relative. He seemed like a good person but Emma hadn't met many good people in her lifetime to be a good judge of character.

She watched as Steve's smile brightened up his whole face as he listened to something Sam had told him. He would glance back at her every so often when he thought she wasn't looking. It was obvious he held some kind of concern for her but Emma didn't think she was deserving of it. She felt a pair of eyes on her and looked up, meeting Natasha's gaze. The redhead gave her an understanding smile and Emma knew that it wasn't just to be nice. Natasha actually understood her on some level. Emma had a feeling that if she would ever happen to make a friend it would probably be Natasha.

"So you're Emma." A soft voice said and Emma immediately looked up. There wasn't much that managed to escape her notice but Emma guessed that she was far too distracted at this point. She met the gaze of a woman with red hair that was several shades lighter than Natasha's own red hair. There was something different about this woman and Emma could immediately tell that she wasn't like Natasha in the least bit. Her smile was warm and friendly...almost motherly. Her pale blue eyes were full of light and happiness. The woman was also very tall, especially in the heels she wore, towering over Emma. While Natasha reminded Emma of her mother in the looks department...this woman reminded Emma of her mother because of her kind smile.

"I've heard so much about you from everyone else so I've been very excited to meet you. I'm Pepper Potts." She introduced, holding her hand out to shake and Emma grasped her hand gently. This woman looked to be the fragile, delicate kind. She wasn't someone that Emma would've preferred to hurt had she been back at Hydra. Emma smiled back at her even though it felt a bit odd but Pepper's smile was infectious. She thought she remembered Steve mentioning someone by the name of Pepper buying her the clothes she was now wearing.

"Emma," Emma said politely. "Thank you for the clothes by the way. Steve mentioned that you got them for me."

"Don't mention it." Pepper told her dismissively. "I never get to shop for any girls around here. Natasha won't let me shop for her. It's just a lot of shopping for the guys. You have idea how much I needed that." Pepper told her and she got the distinct feeling that she was right about before. Pepper wasn't a part of any of this. No, she was just along for the ride because she was with Tony. Emma could already tell that Pepper was an exceptionally kind and calm person so she didn't understand one bit about how a woman like her got involved with Stark. Emma had only spent close to an hour and a half in the same room as the man and she already disliked him. It was clear that the billionaire liked getting on people's nerves.