Imagine that when you find safety at the Avengers compound and are all settled in, Joel admits that he might know of another colony in need of rescuing.
. .
. .
For a few hours, Joel helps you pack up all your gadgets, experiments and materials. You pack up the food and any available clothing, but are hesitant to pack it all up because should the compound ever be compromised then you were going to need another safe location to flee to. And when expressing your thoughts to Joel, he agrees to leave behind a small stash of everything in case you ever need to return.
All your personal belongings in your room were going with you, so Joel helped with that as well. He found a bunch of books and games in the main room to pick through, and you packed up most of the medicine and other first aid supplies.
Then when it seems like you've packed up all you could, you and Joel head outside with Boy and watch him run around for a bit.
Later, You and Joel are eating dinner when you notice how quiet he's gone. You were going to let it go, but seeing his contemplative expression was just too much. So placing your small pack of food down, you lightly kick out at his ankle under the table. "What's wrong?"
"Hmm?" He looks at you. "Nothing."
"Joel." You raise an eyebrow at him and he shifts nervously.
Finally, he sighs. "It's just- I just realized you're about to be reunited with your dad and all these people you know."
"Okay. And?"
"And.." He drawls, nervously rubbing the back of his neck as he averts his gaze. "Well I'm just assuming that there will be other people and you'll start to pull away."
"Pull away? From you, you mean?" Joel remains quiet, but his sudden blush is all too telling. "Just because I'm going to be in a more familiar territory with a lot more familiar faces doesn't mean I'm suddenly going to cast you aside," you say. "I like you, you dummy. Like genuinely like you. You're stuck with me until you say otherwise."
Joel grins and you know his fears have been put to rest. At least for now they have. The real test would be when you're actually surrounded by everyone. Then looking better, Joel goes back to eating and you follow suit.
Afterwards, you and Joel are sitting on the couch when there's a telltale zap!, followed by, "Sonnuvabitch!"
You snort, Boy perks up and starts to bark, and Joel looks around with wide eyes. "What the hell was that?"
"We're in the middle of an apocalypse, babe. Did you really think I wouldn't boobytrap the only entrance and exit to the bunker?" You get up and make your way to the entrance. "Who is it?" You singsong.
"Open the door, you little brat! My own flesh and blood is not supposed to treat me this way."
You grin and deactivate the bunker's defenses, yanking open the door to beam at your father. He looks exactly the same, if not a little more exhausted than usual, so it doesn't take long for your smile to crumble as the weight of the situation sinks in. The moment the first sob escapes your mouth, your dad is lunging forward and wrapping you up in the tightest embrace he can.
"Hey. Hey, kiddo, it's okay. I'm here now."
After a few moments of just clinging to one another, your dad steps back, and you laugh as you wipe your tears away while hugging the next person in line. Natasha is standing there, smiling as she readily hugs you. Clint is right behind her, followed by Steve and then Wanda. You usher them all into the bunker, shutting the door behind them and then introducing them to a clearly awestruck Joel.
"Guys, this is Joel," you say as you make your way to Joel's side and take his hand in yours. "Joel, this is- well you obviously know who they are."
Everyone has a friendly greeting for Joel except your father who suspiciously eyes the two of you holding hands. "Mhm. And where is everyone else, young lady?"
Your smile falters. "Oh. It's, um, it's just me and Joel actually. My colony either died out or left because they went stir crazy in here."
That seems to surprise your father long enough for someone else to say something and drag the attention off of you.
"So is this all you're taking?" Clint asks, gesturing to a pile of boxes and crates.
"Yeah. Yeah it is," you tell him. "Joel and I left some stuff behind in case anything goes wrong at the compound. Or you guys run into trouble if you're still in the life saving business and need a place to crash. This way we'll still have a safe place to run to with a bit of supplies in it."
Natasha proudly grins at you. "You've learned well."
"Yeah, well," you sheepishly shrug, "I learned from the best." Then looking up at Joel, you say, "Why don't you help load up the jet and I'll show dad to Mav1s."
"Y-Yeah. Okay."
As you walk towards your dad to show him to your lab, Wanda just so happens to be near him and grins at you. "Ooh. He's cute," she murmurs.
"Tell me about it. Dad's gonna be a total cockblock at the compound, isn't he?"
She snorts, shrugs, and then walks away to pet Boy instead of helping with the boxes.
When you get to the lab, Tony glances around with an impressed expression on his face. "You set all this up?"
"Yeah. I was already pretty good with electronics, but I picked up some books early on and read up to improve my skills. As you can see, it helped."
Tony slings an arm around your shoulders. "I'm proud of you, kid."
"I was proud of myself too." You huff a laugh and then gesture to Mav1s. "So will you be able to charge her at the compound or am I packing up that stuff too?"
"Leave your stuff here. The compound is fully equipped."
Instead of waking the robot, you and Tony leave her be. You unplug her and Tony takes the wheelbarrow handles to wheel her out to the front. When you get to the main room, you and Tony stop short at the sight of Joel attempting to holster his compound bow on his back and failing. Multiple times.
"That's who you've chosen?"
"Dad!" You hiss, swatting his arm. "Be nice." When you glance up at him, you see your dad smirking. "He's sweet. You'll like him. And if things don't work out, I'll happily let you guys prank him."
"Fine. You have yourself a deal."
When Joel finally gets his bow attached to his backpack, he smiles and winks at you. You snort as Tony rolls his eyes and you push your dad to head for the door.
"He likes me," Joel muses.
Laughing, you push him towards the door. "He's just waiting until you break his baby girl's heart so he has a real reason to dislike you."
Joel nervously laughs, but soon his laugh tapers off as he's left gaping at the sight of Wanda in action as she flings wisps of red energy here and there. As it turns out, Wanda only tagged along to keep the monsters at bay with her magic since the rescue was taking place in the dark of the night.
"How- how are you not impressed right now?" Joel asks.
You shrug. "I've had years to get used to the weird. You haven't seen anything until you see Banner hulk out."
Joel squeaks as you laugh and then tug him towards the quinjet where Steve and Tony are waiting by the ramp. When you approach, Steve gestures behind him into the jet. "All the survivors are going to come with us. Nat and Wanda are going to transport Mav1s, all the supplies and the cow."
"Gertie. Her name is Gertie," Joel says. When Steve and Tony look at him, he stammers. "It's just I've r-raised her since she was born. Her name is Gertie."
Steve's lips twitch. "Well Gertie is going to have a nice nap on the way to New York. We brought a tranq so she doesn't move about while Nat's flying."
Once everyone's on the same page, you quickly lock down the bunker before jogging up into the quinjet that Clint's piloting. Inside, Boy is happily getting head scratches from Steve while Joel is buckled up front with Clint, most likely to give him directions to his old colony. You take the seat next to your dad, hooking your arm through his and laying your head on his shoulder for the duration of the ride.
"So I'm only going to ask this one time," your dad starts off with. You sigh and across from you Steve grins. "Are you sure it's him you want? I mean you can do so much better. Parker's single now, just so you know."
You chuckle and pinch your dad's arm. "Even if we weren't in the middle of a monster apocalypse, I'd still choose Joel." Tony quietly groans. "He's a good person. And if I'm being honest, you have him to thank for keeping me alive."
Tony tenses under you. "What do you mean?"
"Until yesterday, I'd been alone for three years, dad. My people were killed and others couldn't handle being underground. When I was first left alone, I kind of went stir crazy myself and my mind went to a really dark place."
Across from you, Steve frowns. "What changed?"
"Joel. His voice came over the radio and I- well I'm not really sure why I answered him. He was looking for a friend of his and was checking around with nearby colonies. When I admitted to being alone, we got to talking and I kind of rambled on and on." You shrug. "I'm assuming he picked up on my mental state and then took it upon himself to check in with me every single day since."
"And now he's here," Tony says.
"He is," you grin. "He risked several days on the surface just to finally be with me."
Your dad exhales, mockingly annoyed. "Fine. I guess I can put up with him if he already means so much to you."
"Three years, dad. Three years."
When the quinjets finally land a mere handful of minutes later, you disembark alongside everyone. The plan is for Wanda to stay back and keep an eye out for approaching monsters, and Joel to take the lead inside the bunker since his people will recognize him. Your dad suits up in his Iron Man suit behind Joel in case there's a monster inside, then Clint with his bow, Nat with her electric batons, you with a spare set of electric batons, and Steve brings up the rear with his shield.
The bunker's entrance has clearly been tampered with and Joel has a bad feeling. Everyone files down the ladder, making sure to keep an ear out for anything out of the ordinary. Joel calls out for his friends and you feel bad when you don't hear any response. But then after the third call, he rounds the corner and gasps, and there's an eruption of cheer as everyone greets Joel.
"Iron Man?! You got freakin' Avengers to come rescue us, man?"
Joel sheepishly chuckles as you push your way to the front, smiling and waving at everyone. Joel places his arm around your shoulder while introducing you to everyone he had bunked with for nearly seven years. "And this is YN."
"Hi." There's even more cheer as one by one, Joel's colony brings you in for a hug or handshake.
"So, uh, where's this Gertie I've been hearing so much about?" Clint asks.
"I'll show you. Follow me," Ray says. As Clint walks off with Ray, everyone chuckles when they can clearly hear Ray still mumbling about freakin' Avengers.
"Is that all going out to the jet?" Steve suddenly asks, gesturing to a pile of boxes and crates.
"Sure is," Tim says. "Hope you have room for it."
"Oh. They do," Joel says. "They brought two jets."
Tim shakes his head in awe, grinning. "Not that I'm complaining, but how exactly do you know Avengers?"
The question is directed towards you. "You see that lump of tin over there?" You nod towards Iron Man.
"Hey!"
"That's my dad."
Everyone's surprised for a moment before Steve and Natasha get the ball rolling. Everyone helps pick up the boxes and take them out through the back exit. Ray lures Gertie into the proper quinjet and Clint helps him get the cow to lay down before tranqing her.
Loading up all the supplies is quick work, but just as the last boxes are being brought out, Wanda alerts you all.
"We've got incoming."
Everyone freezes and then looks towards where Wanda is staring, eyes glowing red.
"Oh. Don't hurt them!" Joel says. "Those are sky jellies."
"Sky jellies?" Ava Lucia frowns.
"Yeah. I ran into them on my travels. Mav1s is actually who told me all about them."
The iridescent sky jellies float closer and closer, but they never swoop down. They stay about twenty feet overhead and seeing them in person, they're actually really beautiful.
"Huh. It's our very own monster aurora borealis," Clint muses. "Cool."
You spend another handful of seconds watching them before Steve urges everyone that it's time to go. Natasha and Wanda, after making sure all the supplies are loaded up, head into their jet. Steve ushers everyone else into the other jet and Clint goes around making sure everyone knows how to buckle up.
"Okay," Steve says as Clint and Tony head to the cockpit, "please make sure all small items are secured before liftoff." He makes sure to keep Boy near his feet.
Across from you, you watch as everyone glances around nervously. But Joel- Joel looks you up and down, his gaze lingering on your feet just barely skimming the jet floor. "What?" You shift, self conscious under his gaze.
"Do you feel safe?"
Your eyes widen before your jaw clenches, your eyes narrowing as the snickering around the jet starts. "I will murder you."
Your dad is the first to burst into laughter, followed by Clint and everyone else. You shake your head at Joel, grinning a moment later as he winks at you and is happy with himself to see he made the Avengers laugh.
The trip to New York is not a quiet affair, the atmosphere very lighthearted as excitement runs through everyone at the thought of a new home. Steve informs you all that monstrous ants do roam the perimeter, but that they have nothing to worry about since AntMan- or Scott, as you know him- controls them to keep the Avenger colony safe. The enclosed lake behind the compound is monster free, several pieces of land are fenced off for cows, pigs and chickens, and everyone must help with the crops they've managed to plant and grow if they wish to stay there.
When asked how they keep out the monsters that can leap or fly, Tony admits that there's a dome-like shield around the entire colony's settlement that goes up when something pops up on the radar and it has enough voltage in it to fry the monsters.
"Think of it like those lamps that zap the flies and mosquitos," Clint says. "It's great, but scary. We'll have to make sure you know what the perimeter of it looks like so you don't accidentally walk into it."
When you're finally stepping off on the lawn of the compound, it's yet another tearful reunion with Pepper. Bucky, Rhodey, Peter, Bruce and Scott are all happy to see you, and you're happy to see that Clint and Scott have their own personal families with them.
"Are we all that's here?" You ask, wondering why the compound wasn't bustling with survivors. Surely they had made contact with some.
"Yep." Tony says. "We don't leave unless it's an emergency. Peter's made contact with several colonies, but most were all too content to stay within their bunkers. Some tried to make the trip out here, but none ever made it."
Everyone is then instructed to bring along one personal bag so they can be shown to their rooms and that they'll get to the supplies a little later. Much to Joel's relief, all the couples get their own rooms. And after explaining how often he had to hear and sometimes walk in on his friends in the midst of shenanigans, the team wholly understood his relief.
Tony proceeded to try and push Joel into a room of his own, but you had grabbed Joel's hand and dragged him to yours. Pepper grinned the entire time Tony griped about his daughter being defiled under his roof, but you assured him no defiling would take place while he was in earshot.
After the supplies were brought in and everyone had a much needed proper shower, Joel joined Wanda and Laura Barton in the kitchen to make dinner for the entire compound.
Afterwards, you and Joel settle down in your room. Wanda had magicked a bed for Boy, so he was already happily dozing in front of the foot of the bed.
"So are you sure this is okay?" Joel asks, stripping off his shirt as he gets ready for bed.
"Yes." Chuckling, you change into a tank top and a pair of sleep shorts that Natasha had given you. "Not only am I an adult whose father has no say so over who I choose to have in my bed, but if dad were serious about us not cohabitating then he'd have found a way to make it not happen." Climbing into bed, you and Joel scoot towards one another until you're laying in the crook of his arm once more. "JARVIS, please turn out the lights."
As the lights turn out, you snuggle against Joel as he chuckles softly. "You were such a spoiled kid, weren't you?"
"Only when I spent time with my dad," you say. "Now go to sleep or this spoiled kid is gonna make you sleep with Boy."
"Yes, ma'am, Iron Man Jr."
"Oh my god, you're a moron."
◈◈◈◈◈◈
Over the following two weeks, everyone settles in quite comfortably at the compound and learns a new routine fairly easily. The Avengers are grateful for the extra help with the animals and crops, and you spend time helping your dad make new legs for Mav1s. You've managed to split your time with your family, Joel and Joel's friends, and it almost feels normal.
Natasha, Bucky and Steve have taken upon themselves to make sure that those who want to continue going on hunting trips know how to properly discharge weapons, and how to duck and dodge monsters should they run into them.
You're in the kitchen with Pepper one afternoon, trying to come up with a dinner plan while mostly everyone is outside. Tony saunters in, tossing blueberries into his mouth and leaving you wondering where the hell he got the berries in the first place.
"Where's the boy toy?" He asks.
Pepper shakes her head in amusement at him while you grin. "Somewhere with Parker. You would have thought they were best friends pre-apocalypse."
"I'm glad everyone's fitting in comfortably," Pepper says. "I was worried too many personalities would clash."
"Same. Bucky, Natasha and Wanda have always been prickly, and I didn't know much about Joel's colony so yeah. I'm glad everyone was just eager to train and have a job to do around here."
"Hello there, YN." You startle at Mav1s entrance, chuckling a moment later as you smile at the robot. "It seems like it's been forever since I've talked to you."
"Sorry, Mav1s. I've been catching up with my family around here," you say. "Nice legs, by the way. How are you liking them?"
Mav1s' screen face displays a confetti popper. "Oh I love them! Don't you think they're beautiful?"
Your dad and Pepper laugh along with you, and you nod. "They look fabulous!"
"Who looks fabulous?" Joel appears in the kitchen then, suspiciously a little sweaty, but you smile anyway as you look upward. He leans down and presses a quick kiss to your lips in greeting.
Tony groans, Pepper quickly swats him, and Mav1s emits an excited chirp. "Don't you think they'll make the cutest babies?"
Your and Joel's attention instantly snaps towards the robot as Tony chokes on one of his blueberries, and Pepper snorts. "Oh yes. The absolute cutest."
You gasp. "Pepper! Not. Helping."
"Can we- can we not talk about procreating?" Tony asks, trying not to make a disgusted face.
"Yes. Absolutely. Change of subject would be swell!" Joel agrees.
Mav1s giggles. "Boys. You're so silly. Well it was great speaking with you all. I'm going to have a chat with JARVIS now."
You gape at Mav1s as she takes her leave, but then shake your head to clear it. "So, uh, survivors," you muse, quickly changing the subject. "Have you guys heard from anymore?"
"No," your dad says.
Joel finally takes a seat next to you and gulps. "If you guys a-are looking to bring in more people, I might know of a colony that's in need of some help. But it's all the way out in California."
"We can fly out to California. When was the last time you had contact with them?"
"Before I left to be with YN, sir." You huff a laugh at Joel's formalness with your dad, but your dad seems all too happy to soak it up. "I, uh, I have a friend there at the colony at Jenner Beach. She's the only young one, so she pretty much takes care of the older folk and the pipes around the place since they've been breaking down lately."
Tony hums. "Alright. We can be ready to fly out in about two days. We'll get Mav1s to connect to their wavelength and see how many want to come. You good to come with?"
Joel's eyes widen at the invitation. "C-Can I?"
"Sure, kid. You survived several days on the surface all on your own. Surely you can handle the day on a jet and loading up supplies or whatever."
Joel looks to you as if asking permission and you raise an eyebrow at him. "It's your decision, babe. Whatever you want to do."
For whatever reason, you can't help but feel a little anxious at the thought of 3022 joining the compound. By now you've been told all about Aimee and the past she shared with Joel, and that it was she who broke up with him. But she only broke up with Joel because they lived in different colonies and didn't think they'd ever see each other again. And now that everyone was about to live together, Aimee was going to be reunited with Joel and you had a terrible feeling that their old feelings for each other would crop up when they reunited.
Joel stands up from beside you and you startle back to attention, pasting on a smile as he pecks your cheek and follows Tony out of the kitchen.
"Okay. Spill," Pepper says. "What's that look for?"
"What look?"
"That look of realization and then utter anxiousness." Pepper raises an eyebrow at you. "You were fine before Joel started talking about this friend of his."
You grimace and then sigh. "That friend of his is his ex-girlfriend," you tell her. Pepper winces. "Yeah. Exactly. And the only reason why they're not together is because Aimee called it off. She didn't think she'd ever see Joel again so yeah."
"And now that she's going to be here," Pepper says, connecting the dots.
"I'm kind of scared he'll remember how much he was in love with her."
"Oh honey." Pepper walks around to join you, sitting next to you and wrapping an arm around your shoulders. "Everything is going to be okay. Joel is absolutely smitten with you. We can all see it and it's pretty much why your dad didn't do anything drastic to try and drive a wedge between you two. You're perfect for each other."
"Yeah? Well he was perfect for Aimee first."
Pepper chuckles as she squeezes you one last time. "It's going to be fine. And if it's not, you have plenty of pseudo aunts and uncles to dole out punishment. Or you can be an adult about it all and keep the relationship drama between you three."
"Whatever," you mumble. "If we break up, you better assign them the smallest room possible."
"Deal." Pepper stands up then and holds out a hand towards you. "Now come on. Let's go pick some vegetables for tonight."
◈◈◈◈◈◈
Over the next couple of days, everyone but Joel, Tony and Bruce seem to realize something is up with you. You say nothing about what's going on and only come clean to Bucky when the two jets take off to go pick up more survivors. He listens to you and basically tells you the same thing Pepper said about Joel being smitten with you, but you can't seem to make yourself believe them. At least not until you see Joel and Aimee together yourself.
Around mid-morning, after watching you mope around long enough, Bucky seeks you out.
"Suit up, kid. We're going out."
You roll over from your place on the floor. "Out? Out where?"
He shrugs. "Gonna hit up a few buildings for some extra clothes. Our newbies are going to need a new wardrobe."
"And I need some stuff to keep me entertained," Peter says as he drops in from out of nowhere.
You glance between Bucky and Peter, and shrug. "That's a good enough reason for me. Any newbies coming with?"
"Yeah. They're sending along Tim, Ana Lucia and Connor."
"Ooh. Nice," you muse as you sit up and push up onto your feet. "Let me get properly dressed and grab a weapon or three."
You jog to the locker room where the three newbies were already dressing and offer them a smile as you head to the locker you claimed for yourself. You pull on a pair of jeans and lace up some boots, but instead of a proper shirt and vest combo, you settle for a regular tshirt and a flannel since it was too hot for the bodysuits. You clip on a thigh holster, adding an upgraded handgun that shoots miniature energy blasts rather than bullets. Then for some backup, you slip on some arm bracers so when you fling your arms out at your sides, batons fly out. But the batons are far from normal, only becoming electrified the moment you pressed the buttons on the hand grips.
As you walk out to the front, you pick your hair up into a ponytail and then loosely braid the loose strands so it'll be out of your face. Mostly everyone's already gathered by the time you meet them.
"So how are we travelling?" You ask.
Bucky smirks and tosses you a helmet. "Electric motorcycles. Stark designed them so they don't make too much noise."
"Nice, but I don't exactly know how to operate a motorcycle."
"That's why you're riding with me." You shrug, accepting the fact that you're going to ride with him. "Ana Lucia can ride with Tim, Connor can ride on his own, and Peter's gonna swing alongside us."
Everyone nods along in agreement before Tim frowns, raising his hand before voicing his question. "What do you mean by swing?"
You snort as you glance at the now confused newbies. "You haven't pieced it together yet?"
"Piece what together?" Tim asks.
Just then Peter drops in, in all his red, blue and silver glory. His mask dissolves and you can't help but giggle when you see jaws drop. "Peter's Spiderman."
After letting the newbies come to terms with finally finding out Spiderman's identity, Bucky makes sure Tim and Connor know how to operate the motorcycles. You, Ana Lucia, Connor and Peter are given empty duffel bags for your finds, and then once everyone has a helmet and knows to follow Bucky, you're off.
Bucky leads the group to a street that's lined with stores of every type, but the main spot is a thrift shop where you know you should be able to find some clothes. Ana Lucia and Tim are instructed to find clothes for themselves and their friends, you and Connor are tasked with finding clothes for the survivors coming in from Jenner Beach, and Bucky and Peter are looking for anything useful for around the compound whether it be more clothes, medicine, or things for entertainment. And if you bully Peter into picking out a few outfits for yourself, well then that's between you and spider boy.
After you've filled two bags, you take your findings outside. Being the only one done, you drop the bags down by the bikes and head across the street to where a concrete bench sits in front of a pond. It's quiet and actually quite peaceful, but after a few minutes of silence you find yourself missing the chaotic energy of the compound. Before you can get up though, the ground beneath your feet starts to vibrate.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck," you swear softly. Part of you wants to run, but the smarter part of you knows better because of all the vibrations you'll cause. But the moment you see what appears like small tentacles wiggle through the soil- legs, they're hundreds of legs!- you throw caution to the wind. "Oh fuck this."
You jump to your feet, but the ground breaks all around you as an enormous centipede unearths itself. You shout as you pull free your gun from your thigh and take aim. You shoot once, twice, three times, one out of the three shots hitting its target. It swings its tail end around, hitting you on the side and sends you flying.
You land with a grunt and try to push past the pain in order to scramble back up on your feet, but then something's wrapping around your neck and lifting you off your feet. The gun falls from your grasp as both your hands scratch around your neck to loosen what you now know is the antennae from the centipede, and you can hear your friends shouting.
Someone shoots, but the energy blast passes way too close to you. Knowing you need to be out of the way, you relax your right hand so you can fling out the baton from the brace. And once you're gripping it tight in hand, you hit the button. The electrified zap gives you hope and you quickly reach up to hit the antennae with the baton.
The centipede screeches and you drop, pulling in as much oxygen as you can.
"YN, run!"
Tim's shout garners your attention as Ana Lucia, Connor, and Peter keep the insect busy. Though when you see the blinking light in Bucky's hand as he readies to throw the small grenade, you scramble for the pond right next to you.
Submerging yourself under water, you keep yourself there a couple seconds after you hear the explosion. Then when you resurface, you stand up and trudge back to dry land. You spit up some water, coughing and wiping your face free of the pond sludge.
"You good?" Bucky's lips twitch in amusement at you.
You flip him off before bending down to pick up your baton and pushing it back into it's bracer. "Yeah. I-I'm good."
Peter and Ana Lucia rush up to you, checking you out to make sure you're telling the truth. You chuckle at them, swatting at the fretful hands as they try to see your neck. You've no doubt you're going to have some gnarly bruising later tonight.
As you're being led back towards the bikes, your vision swims and you stumble. You stop and squint your eyes, relaxing them a moment later in hopes of correcting your vision. It doesn't work and your vision swims again. Your stomach turns itself into knots and it takes everything in you to keep from spewing your guts.
"Hey g-guys," you say. "I, uh, I think something's wrong."
"What do you mean?" Bucky marches until he's standing in front of you and he cradles your face in his hands before angling your face upward. "What's wrong?"
"I don't- I don't feel so good."
"Shit, Barnes, look at her veins." Peter pulls down the neckline of your shirt, gasping a moment later. "Leeches!"
Your vision swims and blurs, and you let your friends quickly pull your shirts off. Fingers grasp at different parts of your chest, stomach, ribs, and back, and pain erupts from each site they pull a leech off of you.
"The leeches are poisonous," you hear Bucky say. "We need to pump her full of anti-venom asap."
The last thing you hear before your vision blackens is Bucky telling Peter to web you to his back so he can speed back to the compound.
◈◈◈◈◈◈
Joel has never been so happy to be back at the compound. When he and the Avengers had gotten to Jenner Beach, it was just in time to save Aimee and her colony from three assholes who were trying to rob them and then feed them to their captive crab. And when he'd been dangling upside down in the crab's claws, he thought for sure it was over. At least until he was ready to take the kill shot and realized the crab didn't give him monstrous vibes. So he set the crab loose from it's chains and watched as the crab swam back to the yacht the three assholes were hiding on to rip it apart.
So being home now, with YN waiting for him, he knew he wasn't going out again anytime soon.
But the moment they disembark the jets, Scott and Ray are greeting Aimee and her colony as Pepper stands back with puffy, red rimmed eyes. When Tony makes a beeline for her, Joel follows and hears YN and infirmary in the same sentence and knows something is wrong.
The moment Tony takes off in a dead sprint, Joel is quick to follow. Heart pounding and dread filling him, he slides to a stop outside the hospital wing doors and enters at a much calmer pace. He glances through the glass walls into each room until he finds the one YN and Tony reside in, and he exhales a sigh of relief when he sees YN up and on her own two feet.
Inside your hospital room, you're letting your dad squeeze and scold you.
"I'm fine, dad. Bucky got me back in time."
"You were poisoned, YN. You are not fine." Tony releases you to step back, pointing out your still visible blackened veins from where the poison had travelled and the several patches of gauze taped to your stomach, ribs, chest and back since you were just in a sports bra and shorts. "What were you doing in the goddamn pond anyway?"
"Barnes threw a goddamn grenade. That's why," you huff. "And it's not like I knew there were leeches in the water. Or how they suddenly turned poisonous as well."
"Whatever the case, you are not allowed out for the next few months."
Your jaw drops open. "What?!"
"Don't make me make it a year, young lady!"
You snort at his exclamation, shaking your head in amusement. The door slides open a moment later and you smile at Joel as he hesitantly enters the room.
"You are not going anywhere for at least a month."
Tony brightens at Joel's words and you sigh. "I like him. Have I told you how much I like your boyfriend?"
Your eyes roll and you shove your dad back a few steps in order to turn towards Joel and hug him. His arms wrap tight around your waist, face pressed against the side of your neck as he breathes in deeply. "I'm fine. I'm going to be okay."
"Yeah, yeah. Just let me- I need to hold you for a moment longer."
"Well now that my fatherly duties are over for the time being, I shall leave you in the capable hands of Mr. Dawson. I'll see you at dinner tonight, kiddo."
"Alright, dad. See you later." You watch as Tony takes his leave, eyes twinkling at the sight of Joel holding you so close when he chances one last look from the hallway. Then when it's just you and Joel, you lean back and kiss his cheek before moving in towards his lips. "How was the trip?"
"Trip was fine. Good, actually." Seeing his hesitant smile is enough to bring reality crashing down on you and remember why you were so anxious for the newest survivors to be joining you. "Are you, uh, are you allowed to leave here? Aimee is so excited to meet you."
Your heart aches at seeing his excitement, but then his words register and your brow furrows. "Wait, what? She wants to meet me?" He nods. "Your ex-girlfriend wants to meet your new girlfriend?"
Joel's grin slowly widens. "Mhm. Yeah."
"But- but why?" His grin falters. "Don't get me wrong, I'll happily meet her. It's just- I for sure thought that-"
"That I'd want to get back with her?"
A blush heats our face as he hits the nail right on the head. "Well yeah." You shrug. "You told me she only broke it off with you because you were too far away. And now that you're both going to live here I figured she'd want to give things another go."
"YN." Joel cups your face, tucking a few strands of hair behind your ears and smiling fondly at you. "What Aimee and I had is over. For good," he tells you. "She was a little shocked when I admitted that we were actually dating, but ultimately she was happy for me. She wants to meet the girl who meant so much to me that I left the safety of my colony to travel on the surface for several days to finally meet."
"..oh." He chuckles at your expression and then you start looking around. "Just let me get a shirt on and I can leave."
As you scour the cabinets for a shirt that will fit, you spy Joel talking with Doctor Cho to make sure it absolutely is okay for you to leave. You quietly laugh to yourself as you dress and then join Joel so you can thank Doctor Cho for everything she did.
Joel grabs for your hand, tangling your fingers together before he raises your clasped hands so he can kiss the back of your hand. The two of you end up walking outside where the jets are currently being unloaded and people being asked if they wish to bunk together or separately.
When Joel points out a girl around your age and who looks to be of Asian descent, you can't help but admire how pretty she is. Then when she turns and spots the two of you, her smile makes her even prettier.
Aimee approaches you. "Hey! So you're YN. I gotta say, it's nice to actually meet you. Joel's told me so much."
"Likewise. I, uh, I hope the flight was good."
"Yeah. Yeah, it was fine. It was before that wasn't."
From the corner of your eye you see Joel shake his head and you turn to face him. "Oh yeah? What exactly happened out there?"
He looks at you, chuckling nervously. "W-What makes you think something happened?"
"Because you're awfully squirrely all of a sudden." Aimee snorts and you glance at her. "Care to fill me in, Ames."
"We ran into some bad guys last night. They promised us safety and food, but really all they wanted was what we had. The Avengers and Joel showed up right when they were going to feed us to their pet crab. Joel was nearly crab food, but miraculously he wasn't."
"Oh really." You turn towards Joel once more, smirking. "And you are tag teaming with my dad, telling me I was going to have to stay put because I ran into some poisonous leeches."
His mouth opens and closes several times, but fortunately for him Aimee gasps. "Leeches? You got the anti-venom in time, right?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I did."
"Good. Because if left untreated, hallucinations start up. And let me tell you, those are not fun."
"Speaking of personal experience, huh?"
"I've treated a few individuals. Lost a couple, too, before I realized we were surrounded by ferns that counteracted the poison."
"Whoa. Really?" You ask and she nods, grinning. "You should talk to Banner and Doctor Cho if you know your herbs. They've still got a stockpile of medicine from before, but I'm sure they'll be stoked to know there are ferns out there we can use as a replacement."
"Yeah. Of course." Someone calls her name and Aimee turns to address them. Then facing you once again, she says, "Well I should get going, but I'll see you guys later."
You nod. "For sure."
As Aimee takes her leave, Joel nudges you. "So what's your verdict?"
"She's pretty. If you ever break up with me, she's my next bed warmer." A strangled noise leaves Joel's throat and you laugh when you see his gobsmacked expression. "And if I ever hear a threesome joke out of you, I'm siccing Wanda and Bucky on you. I don't share."
"N-Noted."
"Now come on, Dawson. Let's go see what Peter got from the stores. He found a pretty cool game shop before my run in with the monsters."