Bruce looked around as the temperature in the lab dropped by thirty degrees. His first thought was that Loki was back and ready to freeze anyone in his way, but there was no black-haired trickster in sight. The scientist pressed a nearby button to call the building's AI.
"Hey, F.R.I.D.A.Y?" he asked the ceiling.
"Yes, Dr. Banner?" F.R.I.D.A.Y's smooth voice answered him, sounding more human than J.A.R.V.I.S ever had.
"Why is the heat out in a self-sustaining building?" Bruce shivered as he spoke. He pulled his lab coat tighter around him, knowing the cold could easily set him off.
The bot was silent for a moment. "It seems that the pipes have leaked, and the building shut it down immediately. Mr. Stark has sent some maintenance robots to fix the problem. He and the others are in the living room and have requested that you join them," she finally answered.
Bruce sighed and began moving towards the elevator. "Might as well. Thank you, F.R.I,D,A.Y."
"You're welcome, Dr. Banner."
/////////
When the elevator doors slid open to reveal the Averngers' shared living room, Bruce was surprised at what he saw. Steve was wrapping blankets around Bucky to keep his metal arm from constricting, and Sam and Clint had strung a net across one of the corners and were building a bird's nest. Tony had decided to ignore the problem, and he and Thor were building a pillow castle. Natasha was perched on top of the couch and filming everyone. Bruce's eyebrow raised at the others' child-like tendencies. "What's going on in here?"
Tony looked up from where he was arguing with the muscular blond god about the placement of a pillow. "Building a pillow fort, duh. We have to keep warm! Get over here." He leaped up and dodged various piles, grabbing Bruce's arm and pulling him into the fray. He nearly knocked the other man's glasses off when he tossed Bruce a blanket. "Drape that across that hole," Tony said as he pointed toward an intricately built wall.
Bruce rolled his eyes and waded over to it. "Do I want to know where you got all of... this?"
"Nat and I broke into everyone's rooms and stole them," Bucky answered from the middle of the room. "We also got into the storage rooms and found a bunch there. The question you should be asking is why the hell does Tony have so many pillows." The ex-assassin shrugged and pulled his arm away from his fiance. "Steve, I'm fine! It doesn't hurt!"
"Yeah, that's because I'm keeping heat on it!" Steve retorted.
Bruce sighed at their bickering and turned to Tony for an explanation.
"Well, uhh, when I was first building the suit, I kept crashing into walls. So I padded them with pillows. Still hurt, though." The engineer grinned and pushed another pillow into place.
Clint called down from his nest. "Could someone pass up a couple more cushions? We're nearly done up here!"
"More blankets, too, please!" Sam's voice chimed in.
Thor expertly tossed them up, Natasha's camera following every move. "Anything else?" the god boomed.
"Nope! Everything's good!" The two men spoke in unison, both pairs of dark eyes peeking over the edge.
Tony stood back and admired his work. "Well, I'm done here too. Come on!" He pulled Bruce inside, then Steve, Bucky, and Natasha followed.
"It's pretty warm in here," the woman remarked, turning off her camera and setting it in her lap. Bruce shed his lab coat and curled up in the corner.
Steve and Bucky nodded in agreement. Due to their serums, they were bulkier than everyone else, but miraculously, they both managed to fit. "Feels good," Bucky said. Steve hummed and began absentmindedly playing with his fiance's hair, running his fingers through the knots and braiding bits of it.
Tony smiled. "At least we're all warm in here. I feel bad for anyone who's not." He sat down between Natasha and Bruce. "But I'm gonna let you in on a little secret."
Everyone's attention turned to him, Steve's hands freezing in Bucky's hair. The half-finished braid dropped when Tony spoke.
"The heat's not broken. I shut it off to get us all here together."
"Tony!"