THINKING OUT LOUD || Avengers

-)Twenty Two: It's Hammer Time(-

"I know this one! It's normal."

"Not quite. It's sarcasm."

"But he always pulls that face."

"Yes, he does."

Dani scrutinised the picture of Tony Stark on the bed in front of her carefully. She and Wanda had been lying across the duvet for a good hour, still in combat gear, still with bloody cuts and wild hair, slowly building a portfolio. Dani had a feeling that the other girl was only there to keep her occupied, but she was grateful all the same. Watson had wedged himself in between them, paw occasionally shooting forwards to bat at the pen as Dani moved it across the page.

"Okay." Dani finally applied Pritt Stick to the back of the image, sticking it down on the paper and jotting 'SARCASTIC' next to it in gigantic letters, before pulling a new picture in front of them, "What about this one? Hungry?"

"No." Wanda narrowed her eyes at the distinctly unhappy billionaire, "That is the face for when Steve isn't listening to him."

Dani nodded, writing 'MAD AT COFFEE'.

knock! knock! knock!

They both looked up to see Steve at the door. He was wearing grey sweatpants with a white shirt, both plain, as Dan was beginning to notice was his theme, but most importantly, he was holding a plate of cookies.

"Sam went out and got food." He said, holding the offering higher, "We thought you might be hungry."

Dani bounced off the bed and scooped the plate out of his hand like a squirrel diving for a peanut, and began shovelling food into her mouth, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Yeah, well, the Key's been destroyed and Carthas is in custody, so we owe you a major one, kiddo." Steve ruffled her hair- or the place where her hair would have been if a beanie wasn't covering it- and managed to salvage a few biscuits to chuck to Wanda, "You two haven't got changed yet?"

The girl looked down at herself as if she were just realising for the first time, "We were working on a thing."

"Oh yeah?" Steve peered curiously down at the open notebook page on Dani's bed, giving Watson a scratch behind the ears absentmindedly, like a reflex, "What sort of thing?"

"Usually, I use context clues for how people are feeling and stuff," Dani said, "But sometimes people's faces confuse me. I have a record of expressions for everyone I know. Wanda was helping me."

"I thought it sounded like a good idea." Wanda explained, unnerved by the captain's lack of response, "But if-"

"Sounds useful." Steve commented, straightening. Watson made a disgruntled sound and jumped off the bed, pushing himself along Steve's leg for attention, "You're both gonna need a cheat sheet for surviving if you stick around here any longer."

Dan tried unsuccessfully to clamp down on the excitement that insinuation caused, distracting herself with another line of questioning, "Am I allowed to meet the god-man yet?"

"Thor?" He glanced at her, "He's in the second kitchen on the third floor. I'll never understand why Stark needs so many kitchens."

Wanda shared a glance with Dani that the girl only pretended to understand. 

"Okay!" Dan handed the plate back to Steve, "I'm gonna go meet the god-man."

"No, you're not." Steve handed her back the plate, "You're going to clean that up, get changed into something clean, head down to the hospital level to get those cuts looked at and then maybe you can go see Thor."