- EPILOGUE -
I have never seen autumn before. In all my twenty-five years, the falling leaves have passed by without my eyes catching the reds and yellows of the trees readying for winter. Now I watch as leaves from a distant forest are carried on the city's winds over the tops of the buildings and swirling onto the streets.
New York, despite the cold weather masked by the brilliant sun and clear skies, is bustling and busy below as I stare down from my fire escape. Through the terraced ivy, I watch people mill around, living their lives with purpose and care. With freedom.
Turning back, I finish tending to the garden. It has been five months since I moved into this small apartment. Tony bought it for me when I refused to live at the compound; the last thing I needed, and I know now it was the right choice, was to life yet again far away from society.
Now I wake every morning with a view brick buildings and the Brooklyn bridge spanning across the water. My little garden is a wooden box perched on the fire escape. The tomato plants are heavy and ready for picking and the flowers in planters along the railings that I coaxed and grew from seed are enjoying the last of the season's sun.
My hands are coated in dirt, the scent of it as intoxicating as it is calming. I listen to the city as I pluck some lettuce and carrots from the soil.
The doorbell rings and I jump, my heart starting to race. Quickly wiping my hands on my jeans and climbing in through the window, I run to the door and pull it open.
"You're early!"
Tony walks past me with a smile, wink, and two expensive bottles of wine in his hands, Thor squishing me with a tight and warm hug before following.
"We're twenty minutes late, Nina," Steve smiles with a laugh, nodding towards the clock. I pull him into a quick hug and realize that they are, in fact, late.
"Oh shit!" I exclaim.
"Good to see you, too," Clint says, following Steve and Tony into the living room.
"No, I forgot to put the food in the oven!" I say, giving him a quick shove before running to the kitchen and pushing the dish in and closing the door with a small kick.
I turn to see Natasha, her steps quiet as usual, grabbing wine glasses out of the cupboard.
Thank you, I offer her a smile and furrowed brows. I wash the lettuce and toss the salad quickly before placing it down at the table and joining them.
"Looks like you've made a home here, Shadow Girl," Thor says, looking up at hanging plants and planters tucked into every nook of the apartment. I smile, looking up at the art collected from markets and around at the plush rug and sofas topped in quilted blankets.
"I like to think so."
Natasha hands me a glass of wine and I don't bother to sniff it or test it before I take a long sip. Old habits fade when given the right time. Sun streams through the windows as we chat and catch up. They have all been busy, it seems, readying and preparing for the life that comes with being a part of the Avengers.
Sat on the couch, squished comfortably between Steve and Thor, I listen to the conversation roll by, interjecting only when I want to or when somebody comments on how nice the place looks since they had all helped me move in.
When the timer chimes, I tell everyone to take a seat and they do, obediently going to the table with only Tony and Clint fighting over their seats. Natasha intervenes and takes the seat before either of them reach it, which results in a lively battle of Rock Paper Scissors as I bring the dish towards the table.
"Out of the way, Clint, unless you want me to singe your feathers!" I say, giving him a gentle shove with a smile as he falls into the nearest chair and everybody falls silent with hungry anticipation.
I place the casserole dish of Macaroni and Cheese on the table and they tell me it looks wonderful and smells even better. Clint looks almost nostalgic and I know he recognizes the rising scent and recipe. Laura mailed it to me when I asked, sent along with some seeds from her garden and a cookbook full of homemade recipes.
They all dig in and Tony cracks the third bottle of wine. I can feel my cheeks warming, but accept when he tops up my glass and offers me a small wink.
Somehow the conversation never dulls. Between Natasha and Clint's stories, Thor's tales of Asgard, and Tony and Steve's inability to sit next to each other without angrily asking for the salt and pepper, the meal flies by in a blur of laughter wine glasses only saved from spilling by super-human speed.
The room is washed in the sunset's gold by the time everyone makes their way back to the living room slowly with full bellies and easy hearts. Somebody mentions a board game but I quickly remind them that we don't need another Battle Of New York. Our last attempt at board games lasted a week and I threatened to level a city block.
It is all a perfect harmony; Clint and Natasha make quick work of the dishes while Thor explains the bifrost- an intricate link between Asgard and Earth- and Tony lights the hearth as the sun fully sets. I nod along until I hear the gentle hum of the record player sat next to the fire coming to life.
Steve gave it to me fro my birthday, a present from one person far removed from the world to another. The song is familiar and also foreign, the melody lifting me from my spot on the carpet and towards Steve's outstretched hand.
I had learned ballet by the crack of a whip, but Steve teaches me step by step the steady pace and easy sway of the waltz. It's easy enough that I follow his lead, letting the music fill my heart as it fills the room. I have never had the luxury of a gentle touch or lilting melody until now.
I laugh as Thor takes Tony's hand and the two sway like lovers around the room. Steve throws his head back laughing and Natasha and Clint come to see the commotion. They join in, too, Clint's over exaggerated spins threatening to overturn the coffee table.
Such real joy, such lasting happiness. I let contentedness seep into my bones as the record fizzles to a stop and everyone topples back onto the chairs and sofa.
Family, I realize, as I stare at them all- their red cheeks and stretched grins. They're my family. And though this peace may not last forever and one day the world might need its saviours, I chose them and they chose me. And it is together that we will save the world.
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SANCTUM | Avengers
Fanfiction"The scary thing is, is that at some point the targets changed to people but I can't remember when" ... After everything the Avengers have been through, it seems like nothing can stand in the their...
