Tucked down Macdougal Street came to rest the Shawarma Palace that Tony had mentioned a celebration meal taking place. In the billionaire's company came to sit, Bruce Banner, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanova, Steve Rogers, and Thor, and yet, as they all took bites of their meal while resting their aching joints, the group was completely silent. Every so often, they looked over in the direction of a couple of chairs at the table that remained empty, as if they were expecting company at some point, but no one came to sit with them.
It certainly was lacklustre in regards to a celebration as none of them were cheering, they were barely even smiling. But it was hard to rejoice in the saving of the world, even in the presence of good food with everything they had been through as of late. They were tired, their bodies mostly sore, and in the background, the workers of the Shawarma Palace, were attempting to make the repairs and clean up after the damage brought on from the Chitauri. Glass littered the floor upon entering and yet, the cooks and waitress had greeted the Avengers with smiles.
There had been many repairs to the city, mostly the large buildings and streets, but the little shops were left to suffer quite a bit as they were forgotten or maybe, the last on the list when it came to receiving any aid. The workers just seemed happy enough to see people thinking of their shop and actually wanting to eat there. Perhaps they would still be able to get some business that would help make all the repairs that they needed.
Of course they would, Tony by all means was willing to leave a rather large "tip" once they left the joint as it would only be right for him to actually put forth the effort to help. The sound of the little bell that hung over the door would go off every so often as the workers were bringing out trash or bringing in items to make their repairs. Mixed with the sound of the waitress sweeping in the background, it didn't exactly make for a lively atmosphere. It seemed they all wanted to talk, that something was on their minds, but each time one of them looked up and opened their mouth, they thought against it and looked back down.
But they were praying for something to break the awkward silence as the sounds of Bruce slurping the last bit of his soda and Thor's aggressive chewing was enough to drive even the sanest person mad.
The little bell continued to go off, the workers calling back and forth, and Tony was just about to call it a day. He planned on leaving a heavy check behind in his wake and just make his way back to the Tower. No one would probably stop him and it would probably just lead to the others dispersing as well. The atmosphere was not as fun as he anticipated it to be, there was just something missing, or rather someone.
But as Tony went to rise, two hands were placed on his shoulders, forcing him to sit back down suddenly that he plopped right back down. A panic surged through him as he was fully prepared to fight whoever had dared to touch him, but before he could actually react, he was left in a state of shock as several scoops of an ice cream sundae were placed in front of them. Over the top was an assortment of sprinkles and seconds later several spoons were placed down in the centre, one spoon for each member.
"Did we order ice cream?" Bruce asked, but he was the last to catch on and actually look up like the rest of them.
Standing behind Tony, with her hands resting on the back of his chair, was Duffy.
"They told me they were out of nuts at the shop," she said, " but I told them where I was going, there would be plenty of them."
Immediately, the group rose to their feet, surprised to see her there as they were certain that the last time they spoke to her would be the last time they saw her again. She claimed that it would more than likely be the last time they worked together simply because the ways of her people wouldn't allow her to return. She apologised, claiming that it was nothing personal, and while she had been given strict orders to obliviate them or as she explained, erase their memories of her ever being there, she simply couldn't bring herself to do it.
There was no guarantee that they would be able to keep their memories of her if her plan ceased to go through, but it seemed she had actually managed something because she was there, standing before all of them with a smile. Behind her, was Duncan, who already had his own personal sundae with a spoonful of it in his mouth. He offered a wave to the group, which brought them all to wave back in awe.
"Come on, why do you all look so surprised?" Duffy asked them. " We agreed on shawarma and ice cream, remember? I even remembered the sprinkles. You got your rainbow assortment and chocolate!"
Tony appeared to be the most thrilled among all of them, although they were all happy to see her. He was the first to stand and immediately pulled her into a hug, bringing Duffy to smile as he thanked her for the sprinkles. She had a feeling that was his own personal way of saying that he was glad to see her without actually saying it.
He invited her to sit, offering his own seat to her, but Duffy grabbed her wand and pulled up two chairs for her and Duncan. The No-Majs of the joint looked over, their eyes wide, but Duffy didn't look bothered at the moment as she sat down and grabbed one of the spoons.
"Well, there's no need to wait, you all can dig in as you like-"
"Duffy," Steve said, giving her a look, " you cannot make an entrance like that and not give us an explanation. You have to tell us what happened."
"Told you he would be the first to say something if you didn't," Duncan pointed out, " you owe me five dragots."
As Duffy reached into her pocket, she pulled out foreign coins that the others didn't recognise and handed it over reluctantly. Duncan threw his hands up in silent triumphant before slipping the money into the pocket of his robes. But then she turned to face Steve as he was obviously waiting for her explanation, like a father who had just caught his teenager sneaking into the house after a night out.
"Well, I think it's safe to say that everything went alright," Duffy told him, " I wouldn't say that went incredibly smooth, but I'm known to be very convincing when I need to be and when I'm not-"
"You turn people's heads into pumpkins," Tony said, spoken like a proud father at the moment. "Please tell me you turned a council of wizards into pumpkinheads. I'll take that to my deathbed so I can one day die happily-"
"Eat your ice cream, Tony," Duffy replied with a chuckle, " it's melting."
The moment called for celebration because while the International Confederation of Wizards wasn't exactly thrilled with Duffy's plan, they couldn't deny that the witch had several inarguable points. The world was changing around them and with the No-Majs more knowledgeable about everything around them, they knew they were in some sort of danger. Duffy had agreed to work with the Avengers and make sure that the wizarding world was aware of any incoming threats that could potentially happen globally.
She made sure that she would not expose the wizarding world, claiming that she was enhanced with abilities that held no ties to her people if anything were to happen. She was willing to make the Unbreakable Vow to protect her world that she would not expose them to any other threatening force.
Kingsley Shacklebolt seemed to be the way that truly had faith in Duffy's ability to carry out the work and since she had taken to mention the Order of the Phoenix, he couldn't help but think of a wizard he worked with very closely within the Ministry. A young wizard who had the fate of the wizarding world on his shoulders and had successfully saved them all, no matter what the sacrifices were. He could see the same determination in Duffy, only her responsibility would be the No-Maj world most of the time and he saw that as a bigger mission.
Before she left, he offered that if she ever needed any assistance that all she had to do was call upon him and he would be willing to help. He also knew several witches and wizards that would be willing to provide their assistance as well if needed. She was overwhelmed with joy, but at the same time, she knew what she had done in order to get what she wanted.
Perhaps she hadn't changed much from the time of her teenage years, but at least her manipulative abilities were able to go to good use. She had altered the memories of the MACUSA president, adjusted the memories of the Aurors to her liking and hadn't obliviated the Avengers like she had been instructed to do so. If the members of the Confederation had been aware of what she had done, Duffy was sure that she would have been locked up for good, but at the same time, maybe they did know.
Maybe some of them knew and realised that her heart and mind were in the right place and that's why they allowed her to walk out as the victor in the situation. Of course, Duffy had her own conditions to place down as well, as she had stated before, she and Duncan were a packaged deal and she needed him.
He kept her grounded, he made her think decisions through, and overall, he was able to tell her to get her shit together when she entered a state of panic. She needed that because she was sure the threat of the Chitauri was only the beginning of something bigger to come.
What was the bigger thing, she didn't have the slightest of clues, but maybe her time with the Avengers would offer her some insight so that she could be prepared.
But for the time being, in the company of the people that had helped save the world, or at least, New York City, Duffy enjoyed her ice cream and experienced shawarma for the first time. It would lead to some serious diarrhoea later on that evening, but at that moment, it wasn't a worry, she was just happy. She turned around in her seat, looking at the workers behind her and raised her wand once more.
"Reparo," she said within her mind and watched as the shop began mending itself. A smile planted itself on her face as she watched the workers of the joint look around in pure awe. Unfortunately, they could not bask in the idea of magic being real forever, as it was left on Duncan to obliviate them, making them believe that their shop that been so fortunate not to suffer any damages during the attack.
"Hey, kiddo," Tony said, wiping his mouth with one of the napkins on the table, " no wands at the table, you know better."
She snorted and placed it away, holding her hands up to show that they were free before they turned to the rest of the group with an expectant smile.
"So, what's next on the agenda?"
A/N: Are you guys ready for the sequel?