THINKING OUT LOUD || Avengers

-)Twenty Six: There are a Thousand Reasons to Dream of Unicorns(-

Dani was dreaming.

She knew she was dreaming.

This was for a number of reasons:

1) She remembered the bomb going off.

2) She could still sense her surroundings- the sofa she was lying on, the blanket pulled up to her chin, etc.

3) She was fairly certain that unicorn was not supposed to be there.

The dark hovered around her like a veil. She was sinking under layers and layers of it. And through the dark, shining like a beacon of light, was a horse with an upended ice cream cone on its head. 

Dani opened her mouth to speak, but she was too tired. Instead, she let the sick feeling wash through her body, and kept watching the creature. Noise drifted around it, a tune she hadn't heard in years. As she watched, she became more and more sure that the unicorn was a cartoon. Something out of a kids show. Something safe and welcoming. 

She didn't trust it.

All Dan really wanted was to wake up. There was too much to do, too much to explain. The Avengers were who she had now. She owed them.

If she could just wake up.

({(+)})

Laura Barton tended to think of herself as a regular woman.

She got up, sent the kids to school, took the toddler outside to watch the horses he seemed fascinated with for a bit, did the chores, wrote some opinion article on something she hoped was relevant, sent it to a bunch of editors she knew in the city, picked the kids up, cooked dinner and then went to sleep.

These last few days, however, and the meaning of 'regular' had turned upside down.

"Morning, Nat." Laura practically fell into the chair opposite her red haired friend.

Natasha put down the sheet of paper she had been reading to scrutinise her, "How're you doing?"

"I'd be better if I knew what was going on." Laura hinted heavily.

The other woman sighed, "C'mon, Laura."

"Seriously," She sat forwards, "You guys showed up out of nowhere, drop a ship in my yard, bringing the Avengers, a cat, and two bomb survivors, who I'm apparently not allowed to take to hospital-"

"Both of them are stable." Natasha argued, "Wanda thinks Dan's gonna wake up soon."

Laura edged closer, "Who is she? The kid? How'd she get mixed up in this?"

"It's a long story." Nat expressed, glancing into the living room, where Dani was laid out on the sofa. Laura's daughter- Lila- was watching her with an inquisitive expression that Nat knew from years of babysitting meant nothing good.

"Don't do that, Nat." Laura groaned.

She glanced at her, "What?"

"Don't 'long story' me." Laura answered, "It's trash and you know it. I just need to know if my kids are safe."

Natasha levelled her with the most genuine and deadly expression that Laura had ever seen, "As long as I've still got fight left, I'll be fighting for your family. I can't promise nothing bad, but I can promise I'll always be right here, protecting you."

Laura seemed pacified. She sat back again, letting her eyes drift through to the living room, "Lila's been interested in your sleeping beauty."

"Lila's interested in everything." Nat dismissed.