Before the End

H O M E

• Pre-Avengers: Age of Ultron •

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The sun was up once again. You'd think that at one point, it must get tired for always rising to the horizon to present its gift, but no, it never does. It didn't shy away from providing everything its much needed light and it persistently allowed itself to cascade its beautiful rays down on the world—the city of Manhattan, New York included.

The Manhattan borough was still as busy as the residents expected it to be. The streets were still filled with people hurrying to get to their jobs, cars that never stop moving are still present, and the ubiquitous skyscrapers still stand tall.

Manhattan was notable all over the world for many things. It's known as the center of theater, museums, finance, advertising, and yet, it still has so much more to offer like its remarkable landmarks. One certain building wasn't officially considered as an attraction of the city but people from all sorts of places always wondered what it was like to be inside of its premises.

It was the Avengers Tower.

People often pondered if staying at the place means living each day like it's your last but that wasn't always the case. The residents of the building do admit that they have moments where they live their lives as if it was their last but that was only on occasions where they were fighting whatever enemies has come to surface. For the most part, they lived an ordinary life. At the end of the day, they still manage to live like normal people.

And today was no different in the Avengers Tower.

Thor was, as usual, off to Asgard to deal with imperative matters. The team though has an upcoming mission concerning the retrieval of Loki's scepter and Thor has willingly accepted to be part of the operation, even going as far as to say that he has been meaning to talk to them about it. He has already informed the team of his arrival in one week's time.

Bruce was sitting on the couch with a book in his hand. He'd frequently be found in the laboratory he and Tony share but sometimes, he'd take a break from whatever experiment he was working on and simply open and read a book to help pass time.

Steve can be found preparing lunch in the kitchen since it was almost the middle of the day. He still has his apartment back in Washington D.C. but sometimes, he doesn't mind staying in the Tower for a couple days. He does admit that living alone was quite forlorn but he can handle the loneliness. He is part of a team now, a team he leads—but a team he doesn't know. He has to change that.

Tony was busy upgrading their weapons in his workshop for today. He often complained about doing all the heavy lifting but everyone knew he was only saying that so he can say something. No one really asks him to improve their armor but he does it anyway. He also throw parties occasionally and he even manages to make all the Avengers agree even though most of the time, they refuse—except for Clint and Thor who never fail to be the life of the party.

Clint, on the other hand, was simply seated in one of the high places in the building, making sure he has a view of everywhere. He was busy texting on his phone, a smile or a laugh escaping his lips every now and then.

Steve just finished serving the food and Bruce was just flipping through the next page when Clint suddenly screamed excitedly and dropped down from wherever he was. He was clutching his phone tightly in his hands as a goofy smile made its way to his lips. Steve immediately rushed out of the kitchen to see what the commotion's all about while Bruce just stared at him, completely flummoxed.

"Barton, what's wrong?" Steve asked, alarmed.

"Huh?" Clint asked, confused for a moment before realization settled in. "Oh, sorry. Nothing's wrong. It's just that—"