PURE AND TAINTED
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
( don't have an adventure without us! )
THE DAYS AFTER SOKOVIA HAD been some of the slowest days of Aline's life, and that really meant something. Restless days and nights were spent in the hospital wing, even though she very clearly didn't need to be there anymore, seeing as how all her wounds had healed without a single scar left behind. It was incredibly boring since she had nothing left to do 一 watching TV and playing around on her phone only gave her so much entertainment, and her friends couldn't stay with her twenty-four-seven. Though it was nice for them to visit her, even the Vision (which was still a bit disturbing for her to see, since she'd always known him as J.A.R.V.I.S.). But when she was finally released from the hospital wing, it was then that she saw the true damage Ultron had left behind. The people of Novi Grad were homeless, now hoping to be relocated somewhere safe and be compensated for all their troubles. It broke her heart to know that plenty of them were alone or orphaned, and Aline wondered how they'd get on without anyone to aid them. Fury had explained that him and what remained of S.H.I.E.L.D. would help as much as they could, only after dropping off the rest of the Avengers off back in the States. It broke her heart a little to hear that they didn't have a solid plan for them yet, and the fact that Bruce had disappeared shortly after the battle.
A few weeks after everything, Tony had them moved into an old warehouse that used to belong to his father's company, but he had refurbished and renovated everything to make it a suitable place for them to live in. Her room was comfortable, all of her items and belongings from the tower now organized, and it did help that her room was right beside Wanda's.
Currently, Aline walked down the hall alongside Thor, Tony, and Steve. She swung her arms at her sides, cracking one of her fingers as Steve spoke. "The rules have changed."
"We're dealing with something new," Tony agreed.
"Well, the Vision's artificial intelligence."
Tony pointed out, "A machine."
"So it doesn't count."
"No," Tony said and gave a weak shrug. Aline rolled her eyes at their childishness; this was an argument they'd been having since coming back from Sokovia, only trying to lighten the mood after the recent events. "It's not like a person lifting the hammer."
"Right, different rules for us."
"Nice guy, but artificial."
"Thank you."
Aline gave a sly grin, shaking her head in disbelief. "See, it's moments like these that make me want to slap my forehead and then you two." She then patted them both on the shoulders, shaking her head once more. "Can't you both just handle the fact that compared to an android, you're both incompetent?" The tribrid winked at Thor.
The blond god smiled at her comment and spoke. "If he can wield the hammer, he can keep the Mind Stone. It's safe with the Vision and these days, safe is in short supply."
Steve paused for a moment. "But if you put the hammer in an elevator 一"
"It would still go up," Tony finished.
"Elevator's not worthy," Steve said, shaking his head.
Hearing that, Aline slapped a hand against her forehead. Her skin already turned red, and the sound resonated down the hall right when Thor spoke, patting Steve on the shoulder. "I'm going to miss these little talks of ours."
Aline grabbed a hold of Thor's arm, allowing him to drag her out as he leisurely walked out of the building. "No, Thor, don't leave me!" she begged. "Who will laugh at these idiots and their antics with me?"
"I have no choice," Thor said. "The Mind Stone is the fourth of the Infinity Stones to show up in the last few years. That's not a coincidence. Someone has been playing an intricate game and has made pawns of us. But once all these pieces are in position 一"
"Triple Yahtzee?" Tony said.
"You think you can find out what's coming?" Steve asked.
"I do," Thor said. "Besides this one, there's nothing that can't be explained."
The brunette waved her arm quickly, cupping her mouth as she shouted, "Don't have an adventure without us!"
Thor smiled at her before raising his hammer as high as he could, familiar rainbow beams surrounding him and a moment later, he disappeared, leaving behind a circular symbol burnt into the grass.
"That man has no regard for lawn maintenance," Tony teased. "I'm gonna miss him though. And you're gonna miss me. There's gonna be a lot of manful tears."
"Well, that, sir, is a very debatable topic," Aline muttered just as Tony's car pulled up beside them.
"I will miss you, Tony," Steve said.
"Yeah? Well, it's time for me to tap out," Tony shrugged. "Maybe I should take a page out of Barton's book and build Pepper a farm, hope nobody blows it up."
"The simple life."
"You'll get there one day," Tony said, then nudged Aline in the gut with his elbow. "Our Ali here is just a few steps away from them."
At that comment, Aline turned red. "I haven't even asked her out yet!" she protested, crossing her arms over her chest tightly. "Pfft, what, settling down?!" She started to stutter, barely able to get any sentences out as she started to imagine that simple life they spoke of. Waking up with Wanda at her side, cooking meals together in their cute shared apartment, playing with a small baby that had her eyes and Wanda's nose 一 oh, God, it made her turn a thousand shades darker. She moved to cover her face with both her hands. "Don't look at me, shut up!"
Both men chuckled at Aline 一 a thousand years old and still embarrassed at a comment like that, what a child. Steve moved to pat her on the shoulder. "But you'll be getting to it," he teased then looked to Tony. "I mean, I don't know. Family, stability 一 the guy who wanted all that went in the ice seventy-five years ago. I think someone else came out."
Tony turned and got inside his car. The dark tinted window was lowered. "You all right?"
Steve looked around, nodding. "I'm home."
___
After leaving Tony, Steve and Aline ventured back into the facility to find Natasha in one of the many rooms. "You want to keep staring at the wall or do you want to go to work?" Steve asked, looking at Natasha across the room. "I mean, it's a pretty interesting wall."
Natasha walked over to them. "I thought you and Tony were still gazing into each other's eyes."
"See?" Aline said, nudging Steve in the side. She playfully grinned at the blond. "I'm not the only one who thinks that. Some people think it's hot, like super hot. Like, I'm-going-to-write-a-lot-of-fanfictions hot."
Natasha laughed. "How do we look?"
"Well, we're not the '27 Yankees," Steve said.
"We've got some hitters."
"They're good. They're not a team."
"Let's beat 'em into shape."
"Stop using sports terms!" Aline nearly shouted, running a hand through her hair. "You know I barely understand them!"
The woman raised a brow. "You are a thousand years old, how do you not know understand sports terms?" Natasha wrapped an arm around Aline's shoulders, bringing her close to run her knuckles over her head.
She nearly stopped in her tracks, but pushed Natasha's fist off her head. "I'm old, not omniscient."
Steve smiled at the two, and shook his head as he pushed open the door. The three Avengers grinned ear-to-ear at the sight before them: Rhodey, standing proudly in his silver and gray War Machine armor; Sam, landing on the metal ground with his wings strapped to his back and goggles slid up to rest on his forehead; Wanda, feet touching the ground with her fingers wrapped in red and dressed in her new uniform; and the Vision, turning to look at the three others, his yellow jewel shining brightly in the sunlight.
"Avengers."