Inheritance of ash

hijack

Pepper walked in, perfectly poised as ever, her knowing smile directed straight at Vicky.

Vicky's cheeks flushed slightly, but Pepper's expression held no judgment—only quiet understanding.

Pepper's voice was soft but clear: "Hey kid. I heard about last night."

Vicky swallowed, giving a small nod.

Tony peeked over his shoulder, shooting Pepper a soft look.

Meanwhile, Pietro was still busy scrolling through his phone, muttering under his breath.

"Okay, so what was her name again? The girl from last night?"

Wanda rolled her eyes dramatically and answered without looking up from her tea.

"Sandy. It's Sandy."

Pietro grinned sheepishly. "Right. Sandy."

Somewhere near the stove, Thor flipped another perfect pancake, the sizzling sound punctuating the room's soft energy.

"Thor's pancakes," Sam murmured to Bucky, "are actually edible. That's wild."

Bucky nodded, eyes still on his plate. "I might have to reconsider some assumptions."

Vicky caught Peter's eye again and smiled, a little less awkward this time.

Peter smiled back, the kind of smile that said maybe this—whatever this was—wasn't so scary after all.

And somewhere near the counter, Kate was still frozen, clutching her tea, eyes darting between Yelena's smirk and the twenty-dollar bill she'd been handed earlier.

Yelena caught her gaze and just shrugged.

"Your move, Bishop."

⸻

The compound felt quieter than usual. Half the team had cleared out early that morning for a S.H.I.E.L.D. briefing in D.C., leaving behind only a handful of the younger crew and a glorious, unsupervised Saturday afternoon.

The living room was strewn with pillows, blankets, and open snack bags. A few mugs were scattered around — evidence of either coffee or cocoa — and the oversized TV was casting the warm tones of Friends across the room. The laugh track filled the space in bursts, fading only for the characters' perfectly timed one-liners.

Vicky had claimed the biggest beanbag, arms tucked behind her head, legs stretched out. Peter sat right next to her on the floor, cross-legged, his knee barely brushing hers every few seconds. Neither of them had mentioned it.

Kate was on the far end of the couch, a book open in her lap that she hadn't turned a page of in at least twenty minutes. She kept sneaking glances at the other end of the couch, where Yelena sat sprawled out, one leg up, staring at the TV with an expression that said she wasn't exactly watching.

Their eyes met for the third time in the last five minutes.

Kate quickly looked back down at her book.

Yelena smirked.

Wanda wandered in with a bowl of cereal in hand, plopping down on the couch between Kate and Yelena like she didn't notice the building tension at all.

Pietro followed a second later, tossing a pillow at Vicky on his way in before flopping dramatically next to Wanda.

"What episode are we on?" Wanda asked casually, crunching her cereal.

"The one where Ross gets the leather pants," Vicky said without taking her eyes off the screen.

"Oh," Pietro groaned. "That's painful. Even for him."