FORTUITY ☆ B.BARNES ✔️

18; Pale

EVERYONE HAD A GREAT TIME AT THE CLUB, but when they got home at what Rocket called "the ass-crack of dawn", everyone was completely wasted. Nebula retreated to her room almost immediately as she knew her hangover would allow her to hibernate for the whole day tomorrow. Scott was occupying the top floor bathroom with his nausea, Sam and Bruce had passed out on the floor, Drax and Mantis had somehow fallen asleep on each other with each person leaning on the other for support, Rocket was nowhere to be seen and Bucky and Peter were the only ones sober-somehow. Maeve was half-drunk, but she was sober enough to stumble back into her room without a single soul knowing.

"Did you drink?" Peter asked. Bucky nodded, "My 'superhuman' abilities don't allow me to get intoxicated." He answered, mockingly emphasizing on the word superhuman, "And you?"

Peter let out a low laugh, "I've drunk Xandarian beer before, that shit hits harder than whatever you've got here on Earth." he joked. The two of them chuckled for a moment.

"Where's Maeve?" asked Peter as he looked around, "Ah nevermind, she's probably back in her room. You know, that girl is always so organized and composed." He commented, smiling to himself as he decided to take off his maroon trenchcoat.

"Hm, you're right Quill," Bucky said as he stared off into oblivion thinking about Maeve, with a big smile on his face.

-

Maeve woke up at exactly 10:43 AM with a pounding headache. She groaned as she clung on to her curtains, hoping to close it as she hung off her bed. She was still dressed in her dress and sighed as she looked at her makeup, she must have smeared it when she was sleeping. Maeve decided to change into a big t-shirt. Her hair was messy but she decided to eat breakfast before showering and cleaning up. She brushed her teeth and washed her face of all makeup.

She couldn't hold in her laughter at the scene that unfolded in front of her. A quarter of the Avengers still asleep, with a mess in the living space. Maeve decided it was time to wake them as some of them had missions in the evening. She decided to wake Bucky first.

As Maeve crept into the room, she noticed he was curled up in his bed. Somehow he looked so much...smaller. She smiled at the fact that he finally fell asleep by himself, and quite peacefully so. She sat down gently on his bed and out of reflex, she ran her fingers through his shiny brown hair. So soft... Bucky woke up to the birds chirping and right next to him, his current favorite person whose company he enjoys more than anyone else's.

Bucky looked up at her and smiled, with her looking back at him a little confused. "What?" she asked as she giggled. Bucky shook his head and moved to wrap his arms around her waist and rested his head in her lap as she continued to run her fingers through his hair.

"Nothing. I just want to stay with you for a while."

-

Waking up Mantis and Drax were easy, she gently patted them awake. Sam was a bit tricky because he was a grumpy person in the morning. She whispered profanities into his ear until he was awake. "I'm up! I'm up, woman!" he grumbled. Maeve decided not to wake Nebula up, it was kind of a safety hazard. She figured Scott had probably stumbled home but to her horror, she found him passed out in the bathroom. Maeve resisted the urge to gag at the smell of his vomit. But somehow she found it funny and snapped a picture of him. She sighed as she evaded the various toiletries sprawled out on the floor and let him wrap his arm around her shoulder for support. Maeve lightly patted him on the cheek. "Hey, pissant. Wake up." She turned on the faucet and washed his face with ice cold water.

"Ahh!" Now he was wide awake, "Oh god. Screw you!" He said, a little grumpy. But Scott couldn't help but let a grin creep onto his face as Maeve giggled uncontrollably. Maeve stayed and cleaned up his mess. The two of them were in the bathroom, with Maeve cleaning up and Scott getting ready for the day. "Hey, do you like Barnes?" He asked after a long silence as he slathered shaving cream on his face. Maeve froze. "Um..no?" She said, her high-pitched voice giving it away. Scott scoffed and darted his eyes at her. "You're a terrible liar, Maevey." Maeve snorted, "Maevey? Really?" Come to think of it, no one had really given Maeve a nickname before, and no matter how much she said she hated it, deep down she liked it.

"For real though, he likes you too, you know that?"

"Yeah I do, he told me. How did you know though?"

Scott chuckled, "Are you kidding? He talks about you all the time on missions. Remember when he refused to eat your dinner? He would sneak around late at night and eat the leftovers. He only did it because being around you made him nervous. Everyone knows." Maeve blinked and jolted her head a little bit in slight shock.

"Huh. I guess I never really paid attention to that." She said to herself.

"Either that or you're just really stupid."

"Shut up, pissant!"

-

After Maeve fully woke everyone up, she decided to make a little breakfast for Bruce and took it to his lab as he continued to study the quantum energy. "Close to making a breakthrough?" She asked as he focused on the hologram. Bruce grunted in response, too busy to find a valid reply. He picked up a small metal tool and took out a small round object. "Well, I'll leave you to it." She patted him on the back and decided to make her way to the common room, not before picking up some dirty lab coats and tidying up his lab.

As she was just about to leave, a sharp pain coursed throughout her entire body. Her knees felt weak, her mouth dried up and she dropped the empty breakfast plate in shock, grabbing the attention of Bruce.

"Maeve? Maeve!"

He found her on the floor, her face pale.

-

"Well, she's alive -but in critical condition. I'm not sure if she will wake up just yet." said the Bruce. Bucky observed her through the familiar glass cage. "She's not an animal, Bruce. You can't keep her in there!" argued Bucky. "Barnes is right, why can't she stay in a normal hospital room?" added Sam. Bucky hated it, he hated seeing his Maeve cooped up in a glass cell like a lab rat. He just wanted to hold her in his arms. God, she was so pale and sickly looking, like she was on the verge of death. "If she went to a normal hospital, it would blow up. The energy seems to erupt at dangerous levels when she's unconscious. I don't like seeing her like this either but it's for the best, guys." replied Bruce. He fidgeted with a pen in his hand as he watched his friend.

Scott cleared his throat, "At least the bed's comfy, right?"

Bruce looked at him, a bored look in his eyes as he cringed at Scott's fail attempt at humor. "Really?" he deadpanned. Scott grumbled and shook his head, he sat against the glass cage and traced his finger on it out of boredom and anxiety. "S-she'll be better, right?" Mantis asked, looking up at Bruce with her big, black eyes. Bruce sighed in response, "Yes, she will. It was just like last time. She'll be fine she just needs to rest. What I need to do is figure out why this is happening all the time."

"How long before she wakes up?"

"Hey, cool it, Fabio. You gotta relax. She'll wake up when she can."