The Day We Met

Part 1: A-force!

~Natasha~

New York. New York is a place where lots of not-so-great things happened. But nevertheless, it's truly a beautiful place. I woke up slowly in my pajamas. I checked my phone. Shit! It's 10 am and it's Friday. Every Friday is an A-force day. I recall the night before, Pepper called me at 2 am. She fought with Tony. That's why I woke up late. She finally calmed down around 4 or 5. I grab my phone. Yikes, Carol called me 5 times already. I call her back.

When she picks up, I greet her cheerfully. "Good morning, Carol!"
I guess she's not in the mood for pleasantries because her only response is "Where the hell are you?"
"I was asleep," I reply defensively. "Where are you and the girls?"
"We are in Pepper's house."
"Really," I reply making a face, "Dont tell me you ate without me!"
"No we didn't. We are waiting for you. You have 30 minutes!"
"I'll be there in 20!" I cry into the phone before jumping out of bed.
I jumped into my old, worn in jeans and a blue t-shirt. Then I grabbed my bag and hopped into the car. 30 minutes later, I've found myself in front of a beautiful house in front of a beautiful lake. I knock on the door and Wanda opens.

She greets, "Finally, Nat! Who wakes up at 10 am?" She accuses.
I make a face and hold out my hands, replying "Hey, It's not my fault Pepper called me at two in the morning."
I heard a grumble from Wanda's stomach and letting out an exasperated sigh, she moved out of the door way and motioned for me to come in.
I step into the dining room to find Carol, Hope and Sharon already around the table, their eyes lighting up when they see me. Which I'm sure is half because it means they can eat.

"Hey," I greet, feeling bad about making them wait."

Hope replies "Morning lazy girl" in a playful voice and I heave a sigh of relief. If hope's not mad, then maybe there's nothing to worry about I say to myself but then Carol jumps in.
"I called you nearly 40 minutes ago! You said 20, I am not surprised!" Carol shakes her head and rolls her eyes but I can tell she's happy to see me.
Sharon also chimes in. "Hey, Nat!"
"Hey Sharon, do you guys know where Pepper is? I didn't see her, how is she?" I asked, and then added "You know, after what happened between her and Tony," I whispered.
Wanda answers, "She's in the kitchen."
"She told us that there's a very big surprise but she didn't want to tell us until you showed up," Sharon adds.
As if on cue, Pepper walked out of the kitchen. "Nat," She exclaimed," Finally! We are starving!"
Not wanting to point out she's the reason behind my tardiness, I just replied "Well, I'm here now. And of course I wouldn't miss the A-force day! The only day the boys aren't allowed in! I give her a smile, and she gets a funny look on her face.
"Um.. about the boys thing..."
She couldn't hide the smile on her face any longer, nor the glimmer in her eyes. "What's go—" I was about to ask, but she held up her left hand. Tons of small diamonds surrounded a larger, heart shaped one on a gold band. I could feel the room take in a deep breath. Pepper screamed "TONY JUST PROPOSED THIS MORNING!"
"Oh my gosh Pepper" I cried.
"We're so so happy for you!"
"Our girl is getting married!" "Congratulations, Pepper!"
Everyone was screaming their joy all at once and it seemed as if only a second later we were all scrambling to get a closer look at the diamond.
We surrounded and gave her a big group hug and I felt tears spring to the corners of my eyes. These girls are my family and I truly felt at peace.
"You know that I am lucky to have you girls," Pepper cried, her smile brighter than before, even through the tears streaming down her cheek.
I felt a buzz in my back pocket. My phone was ringing. I really wanted to ignore the call but thought better of it. Instead I slipped away while everyone was literally peppering Pepper with questions about the ring. I promised myself I'd answer quickly, I didn't want to miss the story of the engagement.
It was Steve. I stepped out the back door.
"Hi old man!" I chuckled.
"Hi! Did you hear the news?" Steve replied.
"About the party?"
"Yeah! Tony doesn't didn't stop talking about it! And remember when I told you you would see the boys in the A-force one day?"
"Really Steve? Are you calling me to tell me about this? Because Pepper is in the house and I want to hear every detail," I respond, getting annoyed.
"Well, and to check on you!" Steve replies defensively.
"I am okay, Steve! No need to worry about me!"
I heard Steve hesitate before giving in, "Okay, I guess I'll see you at the party then."
"Okay, bye old man." I chuckled to myself before racing back to the house.
The group of girls where starring at me from the tiny window in the door. "Who was it? We saw you smiling." Carol probed.
"It was just Steve." I replied nonchalantly
Wanda, with a smirk, replied, "Don't tell me you and Steve are together!"
Sharon, who had resumed eating looked up, clueless and asked "What?"
"No way!" replied Hope.
"Girls, girls, Believe me, nothing happened between us!"