Team x reader
Requested by @storiesbystarlight
"Do you think Nick could have hacked into JARVIS?" You asked, watching as your partners packed and collected their duffles.
"SHIELD's not that advanced." Tony immediately responded. "I'd know if they were in my servers."
"Well, that was my only theory as to how he always knows when we've planned something." You sighed, leaning back on the bed.
"Did you ever consider that's his superpower?" Clint teased, sitting beside you. "Knowing when other people are happy, and because of his power's, he's turned into a sourpuss."
"Why would that turn him into a sourpuss?" Natasha asked, raising a brow at the archer.
"Because he's not happy."
"I think that's a stretch of logic, love," Steve told him. "But nice try."
"It's not a stretch. I just don't know all the finer points of Fury's ability. Just you watch, I'll work it out." Clint said as Tony's phone pinged loudly.
"That's the restaurant. They've rescheduled us." He announced.
"And they'll reschedule us again when we have to cancel once more." You said without thinking. "I take that back. That was rude of me." You said after seeing the disheartened looks on your partner's faces.
"But not untrue," Thor pointed out.
"We are sorry, doll. You know we wouldn't go if anyone else could." Steve told you.
"I know. I know you wouldn't." You said, taking his hand. "I know what I signed up for when we all started dating. I understand better than most what your schedules like and how quickly they can change. Sometimes it's just disheartening, especially when we make plans like this."
"We know, dorogoy," Natasha said, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. "But we promise to make it up to you when we get back."
"We'll get dinner," Steve said.
"Watch movies," Thor added.
"Lay together." Bruce continued.
"Use the hot tub on the roof." Clint smiled.
"We'll do all that and more." Tony finished. "It'll be our anniversary present for you."
"Can my present just be you all coming home and uninjured to me?" You asked the six. "Please?"
"We always come home to you, sweetheart," Clint said, squeezing your hand.
"But if that's what you, that's what you shall receive," Thor promised you.
Your partners had been gone for two days and still had another four weeks left. You felt bad for pulling the act you did when they were leaving, but you couldn't let them know how you really felt.
Honestly, it was the perfect timing for you to create your anniversary present. You had been planning out this painting for months, buying the brushes, paints, and sketching out the smaller image. Every aspect of this painting had to be perfect.
Yes, you had gotten everyone some smaller gifts, but you had been planning this out for months. This painting meant something to you, and you hoped it would show your partners how you saw them. You just never could find the time to start and complete it without alerting your partners to it.
Originally you were going to present them with the concept art for the mural, but the timing of their mission couldn't be better.
"Hey, Rapunzel," Rhodey called as he entered your living room.
Rhodey always came to check on you when all six of your partners would leave. He'd quickly become one of your closest confidants after meeting and was the only one who knew about the painting.
"My hair isn't long enough to justify that nickname." You said, not turning as you carefully finished the section you were on.
"Yeah, but she paints." Rhodey shrugged, lounging on the couch.
"Only in Tangled. How often have you seen that movie?" You asked, leaning back slightly.
"Too often." He groaned. "Morgan loves that movie, and I can't say no to her."
Morgan was the four-year-old daughter of Rhodey and Pepper. Morgan was quite possibly the sweetest girl you'd ever met, and she had everyone wrapped around her finger, especially her parents.
"You've gone soft, Rhodey." You teased, jumping down from the ladder.
"I've always been soft," Rhodey told you. "And don't jump off ladders, please. You could break something."
"You've gone soft, Rhodes." You rolled your eyes. "God knows some of the stupid shit you've done with Tony before."
"I plead the fifth." He said, looking over at the wall. "That's coming along great, Y/N." He complimented.
"Thank you." You nodded, moving to grab your water bottle. "I've got a lot left to do, though."
"I'd offer to help, but I think you might throw paint at me."
"I would never throw paint at you. That's a waste of product. I'd throw a paintbrush." You smiled cheekily.
"You've spent too much time with Tony." He sighed. "You know you're going to either inflate all their egos or make them cry. If it's second, send me a video, please."
"I'd never do that to them." You said, moving back up the ladder.
"Come on! I sent you the video of Tony crying when we made him godfather." Rhodey whined.
You sent that to everyone." You reminded him. "Besides Rhodey, they wouldn't cry. It's a painting. They've seen plenty of mine before."
"Not like this, Y/N." Rhodey shook his head. "Nothing like this."
"Come on, I'm serious," Tony said as you all chuckled. "Paint me like one of your French girls." He repeated, dramatically dropping onto the couch and laying his head on Thor's lap.
"You're never allowed to watch that movie again." Natasha sighed, leaning her back onto your chest. "Never."
"Come on, Nat, we have two artists in this group," Tony whined. "We need a nude portrait of us all."
"The only ones in this group who would go for that is you, Clint, and Thor." Bruce chuckled from beside Steve and Clint.
"Why does it sound like you're accusing me of something?" Clint asked the scientist.
"Oh no, I'm not accusing you of anything, just stating you three like to walk around naked," Bruce told him.
"Don't act like you don't like it." Tony scoffed before purring as Thor ran his fingers through his hair.
"I, for one, am not complaining." You raised your hand. "Walk around naked all you want. Just as long as I'm around."
"Seconded." Natasha agreed.
"What our ladies want, our ladies shall get." Thor agreed, leaning over to kiss first Natasha then you.
"You know, you can always see us nude if you just paint us," Tony said, looking between you and Steve.
"Not going to happen, Tony." Steve shook his head.
"Y/N, please," Tony whined. "Paint us like your French girls."
"Firstly, I've never had any French girls to paint. And secondly, not gonna happen, Tony." You shook your head.
"But you've never painted us before. How beautiful would it be if the first painting of us all is a nude mural?" Tony asked. "We could put it on that wall there." He added, pointing to an adjacent wall.
"I've had many nude paintings before," Thor mentioned. "I quite enjoy them and know others enjoy to gaze at them too."
"Well, they can have the paintings because we've got the real thing," Clint said, grinning stupidly at the God.
"Oh, you're out of it, aren't you, Clint?" Steve chuckled at the archer.
"C'mon Y/N, one nude painting, please." Tony pleaded.
"Maybe one day, Tony." You said. "But the first painting I do of you six is not going to be a nude one."
"How come you have never painted us before?" Natasha asked, turning in your arms.
"Because I'd never be able to do any of you justice." You told her. "I get to see more sides to all of you than any member of the public does. I get to see what makes you genuinely feel something, what makes you as people, faults and all. I'd never be able to paint all that."
"What did we do to deserve you?" Steve asked as Tony reached over to squeeze your hand.
"We did save the world." Clint offered. "Got to have something to do with that."
"Technically, we've saved the world a couple of times," Bruce told him.
"You're right. That makes more sense." Clint nodded.
"Darling, you're paintings make us all incredibly proud to see. Anything you could paint for us would be more than justice." Thor told you.
"Are you still there, darling?" Thor asked, snapping you out of your thoughts.
"Yeah, I'm here." You confirmed. It had been two weeks since your partners had left. They had been allowed to call you three times since they'd left, and this was the fourth. You were currently sitting on the floor of the living room, painting despite the late hour. "Sorry, I'm just a little tired."
"Are we keeping you up?" Bruce questioned you.
"No. I never sleep well when you all go out on missions." You told him. "I worry too much."
"Y/N, you shouldn't worry about us. We're fine, and we're going to come home in one piece." Natasha said to you.
"I know, I have no doubts about any of your skills, but anything could happen out there." You reasoned with her.
"Well, if it makes you feel better, we have a surprise for you," Tony told you. "Who wants to take it away?"
"We're going to be home Friday!" Clint told you. "We're already ahead of schedule, and at the rate we're going, we'll be home early Friday morning."
"You'll be home that soon? That's amazing!" You told them as you nervously looked at the mural.
Friday was only three days away. You'd only completed three of your partners and were halfway done with the fourth. You weren't sure if you'd be able to finish in time.
"We're glad you think so, sweetheart. Because we were thinking we'd make up for our anniversary and go out for dinner," Tony suggested.
"You know you don't have to make up for anything." You told him. "I'm just really excited you're coming home, especially so soon."
The seven of you spoke for another hour before they needed to go. After hanging up the phone, you looked at the half-completed painting and let out a sigh.
"Well, fuck me."
Non-reader POV
Friday had finally come, and true to their word, the team was on their way home. They had pushed to finish the mission as quickly as they could, and they did.
"I think even my eyelashes are bruised." Clint groaned as he grabbed his bag.
"Not your best feature." Tony gasped in mock horror.
"Fuck you," Clint said, flipping the bird at him.
"What did I ever do to deserve such a rude partner?" Tony asked, turning to Thor, who merely smiled.
"I don't think you want me to answer that." The God shook his head as they entered the elevator.
"I'm looking forward to a nice long shower." Natasha sighed, leaning against the wall.
"I second that," Steve said, throwing his arm around Bruce's shoulder. The tired scientist happily leaned into Steve's hold.
"Do you think Y/N's awake?" Bruce asked.
"At four in the morning? I doubt it." Tony snorted. "She loves her sleep."
The six arrived on their floor and began to quietly pile out of the elevator. Everyone had just put down their bags when they noticed the wall adjacent to them.
Instead of a plainly colored wall, there was now a floor-length mural decorating the space. Featuring the six of them.
Natasha was standing at one end, her eyes soft, her hair loose, and her smile wide as she stared at Steve beside her. She was dressed in casual clothing and holding onto a pair of ratty pointe shoes. Shoes everyone knew she kept in the back of the closet in a black bag.
Steve was next also dressed in his regular clothes. His hair was tousled, and he was looking up as he smiled broadly. In both his hands, he held his shield loosely.
Tony was beside the blond. He was facing Bruce with his familiar smirk on his face. Instead of his usual suits, Tony was dressed in greasy clothing he reserved for around his partners, his trademark sunglasses tucked into his shirt. In his hands was his original arc reactor.
Bruce stood next to Tony. A shy smile adorned his face as he looked down. Bruce had on casual clothing but had a lab coat thrown over the top, his Ph.D. held tightly in his hands.
Clint was fifth in line, a proud smile on his face as he looked at Thor beside him. A bandaid was on Clint's cheek, and his hair was bed tousled. He too was, dressed casually, clutching a battered coffee pot to his chest.
Thor ended the line. He was looking at all his partners, a gentle smile graced his face. Instead of his trademark armor and cape, he was dressed in Midgardian fashion. Thor was holding Mjolnir by the pinky of his right hand.
"So, this is how she sees us," Bruce murmured, staring up at the painting in aw.
"She must have been working on this since we left," Steve said, stepping forward and towards the painting. "Must have been working on it all night too." He added, nodding towards the couch.
Tony peeked over the top of the couch to see Y/N was curled up into a tight ball. Her clothes and skin were covered in paint, but there was a smile on her face even as she slept.
"Should we wake her?" Clint asked.
"No, let her sleep," Thor said, moving beside her. "We'll thank her when she's rested." He said, taking her into his arms.
The seven moved into their bedroom and settled into bed together. When morning came, Y/N was happy to see everyone had returned to her safely and was happier to see them than to hear their appreciation about the painting.