girl ― saved by captain america

[seven] something important to save

[Steve]

Girl's teeth begin to chatter as we stand in front of the closed elevator doors, waiting for it to drop back down to our level. Eyeing the lit-up button on the panel in front of her, the little one tilts her head, not seeming to understand. "We're just waiting for the elevator," I explain, "it'll take us up to the place where we live."

The Avengers tower is a monster, totaling in at an impressive fifty floors, though I've honestly never been on most of them. We only use the top few levels; that's where our living quarters are. We have access to a training facility, too, and Tony and Bruce have a floor designated to lab work.

"We live all the way up on the fiftieth floor!" Peter tells the little girl enthusiastically. Her eyes grow wide at his comment, and I can't tell if she's intrigued by it or just more anxious now than she was before.

As soon as the elevator bell rings, the large metal doors slide open in front of us, revealing the car that's thankfully empty. We all pile in, and I take to rubbing Girl's back gently as the doors close. Someone scans their hand and presses the button for the top floor, and I feel Girl beginning to tremble slightly against me. Looking down at her, her eyes meet mine, glittering with tears. "You're alright, bub," I promise her, "we won't have to be in here for too long at all."

As we shoot up through the shaft, the whole group is strangely quiet. After the normal two minutes or so, the bell sounds again, and the doors open. I'm the first to walk out, straight into the living area. Looking around sheepishly, the little girl in my arms seems to be fascinated by the sight before her.

"Welcome home, Girl," Natasha says gently as she pauses beside us. The others are quick to settle themselves in; Tony, Bruce, Thor, and Clint all settle in on the large sectional in front of the television, while Wanda takes an armchair, along with Peter. The exhaustion from the mission and the travel is clear on everyone's faces, though I'm not surprised since it tends to be like this whenever we come back from big assignments.

"You know, some of us are gonna have to go take care of the cargo we still have on the ship," Bruce comments.

"Nose goes," Tony says, quickly bringing his finger to his nose.

"Quit being a baby," Nat teases back at him, "no one else is gonna-"

"I-I'm doing it, Mr. Stark," Peter chirps up nervously, shooting up his hand to copy his mentor. As Tony gives Peter an air-five, a few of the grumpy faces around the room form into smiles.

"I can go back down. Thor, Wanda. How about you guys come too? It can't take more than the three of us," Clint offers.

"But I want pizza!" Thor complains, causing me to roll my eyes at the six-foot-something-man-child.

"We can order pizza while you're down there. We'll let you know as soon as it gets here," I reason with him, feeling like I'm trying to sate a toddler. Sighing, the god nods, standing. Clint and Wanda rise as well, and together they head back towards the elevator. Looking down at Girl who's still resting quietly in my arms, I ask, "You wanna find somewhere to sit in here?" The child looks around warily before dropping her gaze to the ground, clearly not knowing what to say. I offer her a kind smile and glance around as well, trying to see if there's anywhere that might be nice for her to settle in.

"I had Peter and Wanda fix up the spare room at the end of the hallway," Tony says to me, and I give him a nod. "Obviously we can, um... decorate, and stuff, too. I just figured we would want to have the basics covered."

"We should probably get her in a bed," Bruce adds. "We can bring her down to medbay, or I guess we could probably accommodate her in the room Peter and Wanda worked on, too."