Chapter 30: Dinner Traditions

*Half a season of Supernatural later*

            “Come on Sam!! Dean’s life is on the line!” Steve shouts at the TV while I smirk at him.

            “Alright so what do you want for din-”

            “Shhhh!!” Steve shushes Natasha. She stops walking and gives the back of Steve’s head an ‘excuse me?’ look. Seconds later Steve realizes what he’s done and turns around to face her. “Nat, I am so sorry, I just-”

            “It’s fine Steve. At least you’re getting into modern things.” Natasha says walking into the kitchen. Steve turns back to the TV and continues watching.

            “Well, I’m starving. What’s for din-”

            “Shhh!” This time it was Natasha shushing Clint, teasing Steve, but he’s so caught up in the show, he doesn’t even notice the mockery. Several minutes later, the TV goes black as Steve leans back with a tiring face.

            “It’s draining, right?” I say.

            “I never knew I could be so attached to two fictional men.” He says looking at me. I laugh at his comment and then hear another elevator ding. Thor and Bruce step out of the elevator and I also see Tony. I must not have heard him come in.

            “Do you think it’s safe now?” I hear Clint whisper to Natasha. She nods her head in return and Clint asks, “So, what’s for dinner?”

            “I don’t care, just no apple pie.” Steve says. I laugh and see everyone give us strange looks.

            “My god, you’ve created a monster.” Tony says.

            “I’ve created a wonderful thing.” I defend while getting up with the help of my crutch. Getting up from the seating pit was difficult due to the stairs and Bruce is immediately at my side.

            “How’s the knee?” He asks helping me up the stairs.

            “Well I’ve only tried to walk a couple times, but still sore.”

            “Well as long as you take it easy today, you shouldn’t need the crutch tomorrow.” Bruce says as I sit down at the counter. Steve simply stands and saunters up to everyone. Damn healing factor. It’s not like he healed rapidly, but he was able to walk after 2 episodes.

            “Why don’t we just order some of the circular crusted and cheesy meal?” Thor says.

            “Does he mean pizza?” I ask pointing to Thor. He has a sheepish smile and a slight blush.

            “My apologies, I am still not a costumed to Midgardian terms. Or meals, as it appears.” Thor says.

            “Nah man, don’t apologize, you’re from a different realm. And besides, it’s kinda cute. And with all your knowledge about Asgard, I’m sure you’re incredibly wise, in your culture.” I reassure Thor. He smiles at me and it turns into a goofy and boyish grin that would make any girl giggle. I almost do, but restrain myself.

            “O…kay… Jarvis?” Tony says while snapping and creating a hallow clap sound by clapping his right hand over his slightly agape left fist.

            “Your usual order sir?” Jarvis replies.

            “Yup, unless Handsy wants something.”

            “Oh, no, no, please, get whatever you want.” I say. It is their home I’m barging in on, I don’t want to be more of a hassle than I already am.

            “Order placed.” Jarvis says seconds later. After a minute, and yes I counted, passed, I decided to break the awkward silence.

            “Well you all have found out what Steve and I did today. What did you all do?” I ask looking around the group.

            “Are… Are you asking us how our day was?” Clint says, slightly confused. My first thought at that is a memory from when Peter was still in high school and his aunt asked me to get him because he forgot his phone. I always asked him how his day was and then he’d ask me and we would just talk. That’s one of the things I miss most. I consider Clint’s question and think I love listening to how people’s days went. Good or bad.

I look at Clint and say, “Yes, how was everyone’s day?”

Tony smiles and says, “Well I got in plenty of work in the lab and Pepper called and said she was coming in early tonight.”

“When will she be in?” Natasha asks.

“Late, but it’s better than when she was coming back in 2 days.” Tony replies.

“What are you working on Tony?” I ask.

“Fury wanted me to go over some schematics for new helicarriers.” He answers. I nod in response and look around if anyone else wants to talk.

No one continuing, I simply ask, “Thor?”  

“I talked with Jane mostly. Suggesting she come here, rather than I fly out to London.” He says.

“Why?” I ask. I’m not trying to be nosey, but him going to London seems much more logical seeing that he can actually and she’d have to get on a plane and all.

“I wish for her to meet you all.” Thor replies.

“Thor we’ve already met Jane, Darcy, and obviously Dr. Selvig.” Bruce says.

“Yes, but not Peter and Jade.” Thor says. I let myself smile at the fact he wants me to meet his friends.

“So…” I trail off, indicating him to tell us how it went.

“After much persuading, she agreed to come.” Thor says with a toothy grin.

“Great!” I say back with a smile of my own. Again, no one speaks up, so I look to Bruce. “Bruce, how was your day?”

“Just time in the lab.” He says blandly. I gesture with my hands for him to continue. He simply shrugs in response.

“Oh, come on Big Guy. I’m sure feeling up Cap wasn’t that boring.” I say after seconds of silence. Bruce looks at the ground, rubbing the back of his neck, unable to meet anyone’s gaze. Everyone laughs and I look back at Steve who is almost as red as when he came in after my shower. I smile at him which he simply looks away from. I laugh and turn back to everyone else. “Clint, Natasha?”

“Well I started making your file. Which I’ll need your help with.” Natasha says.

“Of course.” I reply.

“And then Clint and I went to the Triskelion.” She adds on.

“Where we talked to Fury about your training.” Clint says.

“Okay…” I trail. Did I do something wrong? Was it because I only almost beat Captain America? He’s a freakin’ super human. Oh it can’t be that…

“Don’t worry, it was nothing bad.” Clint says. I must have shown my worries through my expression…

“We just thought you might want other people to train with.” Natasha says.

“Why? I got a crick in my knee, I’m not traumatized.” I say confused.

“No, no, despite Thor, we’re all human, and it’s clear you can hold your own against us.” Natasha clarifies.

“Ah, okay, so you’re bringing in what, mutants, psychos, creepy green alien monsters?” I ask, still slightly confused.

“You think we have green alien monsters just on hand?” Clint asks.

“Okay, one, you actually battled aliens last year, and two, you live with a god from another realm. Who knows what the hell he could get his hands on?” I say.

“Not necessarily, although all of those are debatable, but Fury did want you to be in the dark about it. You said yourself you’re better when you know your opponents, so we’ll see how you do when you don’t know your opponent.” Natasha says.

“Well that’ll make for an entertaining day.” I say. In all honestly, I am slightly worried. Slightly. I mean, I don’t even know who I’m fighting. It could be friggin’ Wolverine, or Dr. Strange for all I know.

“Wait, you can tell us though, right?” Tony asks.

“Sure.” Natasha says. “As long as you don’t tell Jade.” I glare at the two as Natasha whispers in Tony’s ear. Tony rolls his eyes while leaning back.

“And they’ll be staying her?” He drones. Natasha simply nods.

Reluctantly, Tony says, “Fine, but if the rock from the Bronx wrecks anything, they’re out of here.”

“Oh, come on, they aren’t that bad.” Clint says.

“Wait, ‘they?’ As in more than one?” I ask growing edgier the more they talk about it.

“Uh, hey Jarvis? Is the pizza here?” Tony asks, not answering my question.

“Yes, actually.” Jarvis replies.

“Alright chow’s on.” Tony says. And with that, they all get up and leave me at the counter. I roll my eyes and gingerly stand, without my crutch. Okay, this is good. A little painful, but bearable. I make my way to the table and sit down in between Bruce and Clint while Tony come back with… 6 boxes of pizza?

“You’ve said so yourself multiple times, we live with a god.” Clint says taking 4 slices of meat lovers.

“And you.” Natasha remarks, taking a slice of the supreme. How did… Right, I can’t keep my thoughts to myself. Almost 10 years, and still forgetting, Leiton? Thinking about Clint’s comment, I turn and see Thor with 2 of his own boxes stacked in front of him.

“Well, eat.” Tony says across the table. I look around to make sure everyone has their own food before I help myself. Bruce has what looks like a couple slices of spinach and cheese, Steve has 3 plain and really greasy cheese slices, and Tony has pepperoni… *Cue The Office (or Supernatural) camera stare* I’m sorry that was bad, stop trying to be funny Leiton. I’ll be back with that one thought…

I grab a slice of the supreme and lean back. As the occasional lip smacking sound echos, I can’t help but think of when we were at  the SHIELD facility eating Shawarma.

Apparently, I’m not the only one because, Clint swallows and says, “So, last time we ate together, you told us about yourself. Care to keep that tradition going?” I silently wish Peter was here. He’d push me on to open up to people, to these people.

I swallow and say, “Well, you already know more than most. So, what do you want to know?” I take another bite of pizza as they all look at me.

After several more seconds, Steve asks, “What was your father like?” I take a deep breath, grateful it wasn’t a question about HYDRA or my captivity. As I think about it, about my father, it brings a small smile to my face.

“He was wonderful.” I start. “He was a general. He was English and I loved his accent.” The more I talk, the bigger my smile gets, I tip my head down in an attempt to hide it though. My family is my weakness, it always has been. I clear my throat and smile while looking back up. “He was strong, powerful, caring, intelligent, and I aspired to be like him… He would tell me stories of when he was in the wars… He would tell me actually about CAptain America. He and my mom would read me comics, and we had copies of your propaganda films.” I say looking towards Steve. He blushes slightly while looking down. “When he was shipped out, he would always write, and when he got home, he’d pick me up and spin me around, then embrace my mother giving her a kiss and he’s say, ‘Back where I belong, back with my girls.’ and we’d all cook and create a grand dinner for the night.” I don’t realized, but as I talked, the more my accent came through, but I didn’t stop it. “And then that Sunday, we’d all go down to the bakery and no matter what I got, he’d take the whip cream or frosting and dab my nose. Later that night, he’d go drinking with his mates and the next morning, my mother always had me wake him up, rather loudly.” I smile at the memory of jumping on my father and shouting a ‘Good morning!!’ to him.

“He sounds like a good man Jade.” Bruce says next to me.

“He was.” I simply respond. When I look at Steve, he’s hiding a smile. I think he’s happy I shared that with them, with him. When I look around, I see everyone’s finished, even Thor’s plowed through his 2 boxes. I stand and begin to pick up the empty boxes, used napkins, and also move any any extra slices to one box.

“Jade, you don’t have to do that.” Tony says.

“Please, I’ve invaded your home, injured one of your teammates, and am another burden towards you all. Cleaning up after dinner is the least I can do.” I say throwing away several of the boxes.

“Jade, you are not a burden.” Thor says.

I walk back over to the table and while grabbing the filled box, say, “Hey, that’s the first time you called me Jade.” I walk back to the fridge, rearrange the contents a bit, and slide the box in. I close the fridge and turn back to the table while clearing my throat back to my American accent and ask, “Now wh-” I see a little silhouetto of a man, Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the Fandango? Thunderbolt and lightning, Very, very frightening me, Galileo, Gal “Hello?” I say silencing my phone.

“Hey Jade!”

“Uh, hi Becca? What’s up?” I ask turning slightly away from everyone.

“I have the Avengers Charity Ball coming up and I need a dress.” Becca says on the other line.

“One sec.” I hold up my hand to the receiver and ask everyone, “You guys have a charity ball?”

“What? No…?” Tony says.

“Oh it’s another dimension thing.” I say more to myself before going back to Becca. “Okay, and you’re telling me this because I have so much experience I dress shopping.” I say, sarcasm very evident.

“Wait, you’ve never been dress shopping?” Becca asks, shocked.

“Sorry my calendar has been pretty booked since I was about 10.” Again, my saliva is practically sarcasm right now.

“Well now you have to come.” Becca says, drawing out the ‘have.’

“I don’t know, isn’t that more of Flair or Lilly’s game? Or what about that Stella chick you were telling me about?” It’s not that  I don’t want to hang out with Becca, dress shopping just isn’t my forte.

“Wait, Jade what’s going on?” Bruce asks.

“Hold on, Bec. You guys remember that girl, Rebecca Banner?”

“The one who gave me a 5-star on my face? Yeah I think I recall her.” Tony says sourly.

“Right, well she asked if I would go dress shopping with her.” I answer.

“Hello! Jade!” Becca whines.

“What about the others?” I ask again.

“Flair is looking for her sister and nephew, Lilly just got back with the Avengers and Stella’s story has barely even started.” Becca explains.

“O...kay… Well, I’ll meet you at the mall I guess.” I say turning and leaving the kitchen.

“Yes!” I can just imagine the fist pump. “See you soon Jade!”

“Bye Becca.” I lock my phone and begin walking down the hall, but stop due to the pounding feet after me.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Tony asks me for the second time today.

“I don’t know, some over priced dress shop, I’m sure.” I say turning to face everyone.

“You can’t leave though.” Natasha says. I roll my eyes at that.

“Oh, come on. I”ll be with a superhero!” I defend. “Plus, although I can’t say I’m giddy about it, I’ve never been dress shopping.”

“Whoa, you’ve never been dress shopping? Don’t girls do that for fun?” Clint asks. For once, Natasha and I are in sync as we roll our eyes sky high at Clint’s closed mindedness and stereotyping. I wait for a verdict, but all I get is silence. Right as I’m about to make the point of ‘she’s a superhero’ again, Steve speaks.

“I think we should let her go.” Everyone, including me, is shocked. “I’ve spent the whole day with her, plus after that story, I’m confident in saying Jade is a good person. We can trust her to leave for a few hours.” It happens before I can stop myself, but I hug him. I stride towards him and wrap my arms around his neck. I can tell he’s surprised because he stumbles slightly at my embrace.

“Thank you.” I quietly say as he returns the gesture. He doesn’t say anything, so I pull back. I smile at him and turn to my room. I’m not so excited about being able to go out, but because Steve finally used what he learned about me to make a judgment. And, you know, it was a relatively good one. I pull on a pair of jeans and converse, and grab my jacket and wallet. As I walk out of my room, I shrug on my jacket and walk to the living room. “Pressing my luck here, but do you think I could stop by my apartment to get some clothes and other stuff?” I say upon entering. My only response is everyone giving me a ‘nice try’ or ‘Don’t push it’ glares. I raise my hands in defeat and walk to the elevator. I’m about to enter the elevator, but stop at Tony’s words.

“Hey wait up, Frenchy.” I turn to meet Tony holding a piece of plastic towards me. “Pepper just called saying she’ll be home soon, but she said that this is apparently… important.” I look down at the shiny card in Tony’s hand as he talks about how dress shopping is “important.” Is he implying I take his credit card? “Yes, he is.” Tony says referring to himself in 3rd person. He takes my hand and places the card in it.

“Thank you Tony, but you really don’t need to. I have plenty of money.”

“Yeah, about that.” Clint says walking over to us. “Anything you’ve stolen, has to be returned.”

“Hey, I haven’t stolen anything…” I begin trailing as I remember the diamond. “Okay, I haven’t stolen anything, money wise. It’s out of my control as to where the people who paid me got the money, but since mobsters haven’t come a-banging on my door, I assume it’s all clean.”

“Look if you don’t take it, I’ll get an ear full from Pepper, so get yourself something pretty and don’t max out. There’s only $20,000 on it.” Tony says pushing me into the elevator.

“Only?!” I shriek as the doors close. Seriously, we’re going dress shopping, not gambling. I blow a few stray strands of hair out of my face as I slip the card into one of the slots in my wallet. The doors pull open, even though I never touched a button, and I’m at the bottom of Avengers Tower. I walk out to the street and make my way to the mall where I first met Becca and Flair. 

A/N: HELLLLLOOOOOOOO

hi, so I bet your thinking, Maddie, this is so sudden, I just read a chapter, now another? Well, yeah, another chapter! Remember a few eons ago when I was going to Girl Scout Camp? A Hunger Games Camp to be specific? Yeah, well that was such a ball that my troop is doing it again! We had a waiting list from that last one that added up to enough people to do another camp, and it's such a good fundraiser that I'm doing it again. Seriously though, a troop that came to the last one is coming back. So I am no longer Maddie, I am Snoopy. Anyway, yeah that's this weekend, and I normally update on weekends, so I wanted to get this to you guys! I would have updated tomorrow, but we're leaving right after 6th period.  

Okay, the chapter! Are you guys liking all the info about Jade and her past and family? I know I haven't told you guys who her dad is yet, but he ties into the Marvel Universe, so if you do some digging, I'm sure you would at least get an idea. Oh, and Becca's back!! Yeah, Rebecca Banner from the Locked Love Trilogy by @Marvel_Mockingjays! She's back and her and Jade are gonna have a nice chat while Becca takes Jade dress shopping for the first time ever! Again, some of the parts like, "But Jade's worn dresses before? Doesn't that mean she's had to buy a dress?" are gonna be explained later.

Oh, and guys, new cover! Hope you like it! 

Okie doke! I think that's it! Wish me luck spending the weekend with a bunch of little girls and access to a bow and arrows! Love you all, to death!!!

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