BORN TO BE AN AVENGER

07: Great to Really Bad

"You cold?" Marshall asked, his questioning blue eyes still as striking as ever in the night.

"A bit." Albany lied, ignoring her best friend's look.

"Then maybe, you should just go back to the tower, get warm pajamas on and go to bed." He suggested, in a motherly tone.

"But mom!" Albany whined sarcastically, a wide smile gracing her lips. Marshall couldn't hold back a chuckle, and sighed at his childish friend.

"Fine Winny. Five more minutes, but at least grab one of my spare hoodies from the back." The blonde compromised.

"Yeah this sling is getting itchy anyways." Albany hoped off the Civic with a grunt, and ran to the back, grabbing the first sweatshirt she saw in the pile of many. She ditched the fake sling and threw it in replacement of the hoodie in the car.

She put in on while walking back to her spot. "You're collection of hoodies is getting out of hand, Mar. You should donate them."

"No way!" He squealed as Albany hopped back onto his car. 

"Yes way!" She screamed back, and when he didn't reply, she sighed and leaned back in content. The sky was so dark it appeared completely black. Not many stars were ever able to be seen in the New York sky. The city itself created too much light for any of them to be able to shine through. Marshall had promised Albany a while ago that he would drive her down to Wisconsin, right in the middle of nowhere, just so she could could see the millions of stars.

Albany had had a fascination with stars ever since she was a kid. Whenever she was able to, the girl would sneak out of her orphanage and star gaze. Marshall accompanied her many times, just to be in her company. Albany held onto the belief that so much more was out there. So many different forms of life, planets, species, the list was endless. And she wanted to see it all, travel the galaxy.

Though her childhood dreams of being a space traveler had died quickly, Albany never lost her fascination with the universe.

"Still going to drive me to Wisconsin?" Albany asked, turning her head towards Marshall below her. She had broken the peaceful silence they had been holding for several minutes. 

"Yeah, I promised Al." He said confidently, easily remembering the day he had made the promise. "Actually, we should go right after your internship. I can take off of the dealership for a few days, and you still have one more paycheck to pick up from the coffee shop."

"What if I land a job with Stark?"

He inhaled. "We'd only be gone half a week, just a little road trip. It should be alright."

"Sounds like a plan Sting Ray."

Before the couple could relax into the silence they had created previously, Marshall had to ruin the night. "It's getting late, almost three. You should get going."

Albany sighed in defeat because she knew he was right. She couldn't stretch the night any longer. "Alright. Call me in the morning."

She slid off the hood, reaching Marshall's open arms. "Good night. Love you." He placed a light kiss on the top of her forehead, leaving Albany a smiling mess.

"Night." She murmured, and with one lass glance, she skipped slowly to the back doors of the tower. The doors closed behind her with a loud thud, making her wince. She didn't want to wake anyone. She waved at Gina who worked at the desk, who immediately started typing, probably checking Albany in. 

She tiptoed to the elevator, deciding to go to the kitchen to grab a snack rather than going straight to bed. JARVIS held no hesitation in zooming her up to the respective floor, the elevator giving a 'ding' once arrived. The doors pried open with their usual hiss sound, and Albany's head swung up towards the sound of laughter.