Rogue | Ava Starr AU [DISCONTINUED]

VIII | Atmospheric Anomaly

REMEMBERING WHAT HAD been put up as bet between Sam and Bucky, Ava sipped the coffee with no complaint. However, she wasn't entirely sure it was something she was happy to drink on a daily basis. It was too strong.

Now, she had the freedom to drink whatever she liked, not just to drink something for necessity. Coffee was to keep her awake in the moments she needed to be alert. But now she didn't have that tight reign of worry constantly pulling her. It felt strange.

Coffee together was rather silent, which Ava assumed wasn't entirely normal in the household. Bucky and Sam did bicker, but it was quiet and felt constrained.

"Ava, let me give you the grand tour of Steve's palace," Natasha said, finally breaking the awkward silence. Slapping her thighs as she removed herself from the old couch, she snickered. Palace wasn't exactly the right word for the abode, but everyone had cottoned on to calling it that, and it eventually stuck.

The week prior, Natasha had even hand-painted a small sign and nailed it the door.

Hesitant but also slightly curious, Ava followed.

"This is the shitty kitchen / dining room / living room: the communal area we are all squished into like rabbits. Then we have the bathroom, which you are already acquainted with. Good luck sharing that with three males. Then we have the long and dark hallway with creaking floorboards! My favourite part of the museum. The hallway of hell then splits off into the three bedrooms you see here. The one on your right is Steve and Bucky's room. Cute eh? Then on your left is Sam's room. Don't go in there. He has a weird electronic bird fetish. And the one straight ahead is your room! Open up the door and see the wonders inside!"

The presentation of the tour was definitely not lacking, which made Ava smile a little bit. Natasha was trying rather hard to make her feel at home, and it was appreciated greatly.

Following the instructions given, Ava cracked open the door and peered inside. There was one metal bed in the middle of the room, a small mirror hanging on the wall and a rather tiny closet door tucked away in the corner.

"It's the least furnished room in the house. You can blame Bucky for that one. He dislikes clutter," Natasha explained, gesturing to the emptiness of the room. She wasn't wrong about the lack of clutter. The only thing in abundance was dust.

"When was the last time this place was cleaned?"

A voice suddenly appeared behind the two of them. "That's not important. I think I left my knife under the mattress. Excuse me." Bucky shoved his way through the girls and dug his way under the mattress. A little ripping noise filled the room and he paused, wincing. "Whoops."

As fast as he appeared, he was gone, into the room which he now shared with Steve.

Ava hadn't even heard a single footstep the whole time.

Under her breath, Natasha whispered, "about a year ago, when they moved into this place. The last tenants cleaned it for them."

"That's disgusting." Ava wrinkled up her nose and moved toward the window. It didn't look like it had been opened for a number of months. The locks were rusted almost completely shut and the hinges looked ready to turn to dust.

Using a bit of quantum force, she managed to open the window. Fresh air poured into the room and made it a little less stale.

"Better."

Natasha took a deep breath, the corners of her mouth turning up. In her mind, it wouldn't take long for Ava to settle down into the boys' routine, no mater how stupid it was. She'd probably somehow manage to become their little live in house maid, without being treated like rubbish, that is.

But Natasha was missing a key factor. Time.

"I have a total of three belongings and two of them are gloves. How do I . . ." Ava let her words trail off. It felt strange, unnatural, to ask Natasha Romanoff, world-known assassin and hero, for clothes.

Snapping out of her daydream, Natasha finally realized that there was a whole other person in front of her who needed help. Ava had been on the run for two years, and would have kept the least amount of things possible. It hadn't occurred to her till now, and she silently cursed herself for being so stupid. "Okay, we can start by going shopping tomorrow. But for now, you'll have to borrow some of the clothes I keep here."

Ava watched closely as Natasha walked to the closet in the room and began pulling out clothes. Her spare garments were kept in the room Bucky usually slept in, which was strange. She made no comment. It wasn't her place.

Returning, every item Natasha held was black. In the past two years, Ava had worn exactly three colours: grey, red and white. Black had never been her colour. S.H.I.E.L.D. had looked into making her suit black, but she had protested after trying on the prototype. It contrasted the colour of her skin and hair.

"I don't wear many other colours, definitely not around these idiots," Natasha explained. "But I might have an idea. Stay here."

There was little time to react. She disappeared from the room, so Ava sifted through the clothes being lent to her. She liked the black skinny jeans, but that was it. The sooner they could go shopping the better.

Natasha was by her side again in an instant, an armful of button-up shirts. "These belonged to pre-serum Steve. I don't know how or why he kept these, but he must have been tiny. Try one on."

The light blue shirt on the top of the pile was snatched immediately, and Ava began to release herself from her suit. Having not been around many people for two years, it felt strange to strip in front of Natasha. But she didn't feel self conscious. Having not been influenced by the negativity of society tended to have that affect on people.

"That's better," Natasha concluded once Ava was dressed. Frankly, it had surprised her that the woman in front of her had stripped down without hesitation. She had expected her to be shy about those sorts of things, but the outcome was admittedly better. "Steve's a bit of a sucker for a pretty girl, let me tell you that. He'll stare for a little bit and then hopefully he'll be over it. Let's go."

The window was left open as the two vacated the room, filling that side of the apartment with cold, but fresh air. Ava had already changed the atmosphere in the apartment, it was a wonder what she'd do next.