Chapter 36
Going back to a few days ago, when Natasha and Sam went on their second honeymoon.
The truth was, they didn’t even leave the country. They actually went to the bunker. They just wanted to be alone for a while and didn’t think they needed to leave the country for some tropical island for alone time. The bunker was more than enough for them. They just never told the others where they actually were, and thanks to Natasha's spy skills, they didn’t leave a trace of where they were going, so not even SHIELD would be able to know where they were.
In hindsight, that was a very smart move on their part. If they actually did leave for some island, they would have been hit by a couple of fireballs and were paralyzed somewhere far from home. The bunker’s underground, isolating walls managed to protect them from being tracked by those fireballs.
So, thanks to that, they didn’t know what the hell was happening outside the bunker until it was too late.
The first clue was Clint’s distress call. Natasha was his first emergency contact in case anything happened to him. So, after Clint fell victim to a fireball, he managed to send a distress call to Natasha right before getting hit.
Natasha tried to contact him back, but never got an answer. Worried, both she and Sam tried to contact everyone else in case they knew what happened to Clint, but things got worse when they just couldn’t contact any one of the others. They got nothing.
Frustrated, Natasha hacked into SHIELD’s system to try and understand what was happening before risking leaving the bunker’s safety, in case there was an actual danger out there.
From there, they knew everything that had happened. How their family was attacked by those fireballs. Almost all of them were lying paralyzed in hospital rooms.
Sam went frantic and wanted to go to his unconscious brother and brother-in-law, while Natasha, as frantic as he was, deduced that the only way they weren’t attacked was because the bunker protected their tracks. The enemy couldn’t find them to send any fireballs after them.
Meaning that, if they stepped out of the bunker, they would be tracked and haunted down by a couple of fireballs. So, even with how much it hurts them to not rush towards their family, it was reckless to make any rushed moves.
They decided that if it was dangerous to travel back to New York, they would get someone who could take them there in a faster, safer way.
They tried to reach out to Thor.
There was still no known way to call for someone in Asgard. Tony still couldn’t find a way yet, and Natasha and Sam had no form of technology on them to try that way. So they did it the old-fashioned way. They hit the lore books.
It took them days and a lot of research and trial and error. They drew a lot of complicated Norse sigils and spells, until by pure chance, one of them actually worked, and suddenly a bright, rainbow-colored beam of light landed from the sky right in front of them on the drawn sigil, almost giving them a heart attack, then there was a very concerned, very confused Thor standing in front of them, entirely perplexed to why they were suddenly calling him in this extremely old-fashioned way.
They immediately started reporting to him what was happening, after the initial shock. Only for Thor to panic for the fate of his lover and friends, grab the newlywed couple, call out to Heimdall, and then they were taken into a rainbow-colored, blinding light.
Then they were in Asgard. While Thor was explaining to a very irritated Heimdall, who did not appreciate bringing humans through the Bifrost, why they were there, Sam was fangirling hard about being in Asgard, awed by everything thing around him, while Natasha hated everything and everyone and was throwing up in the corner, much to Heimdall's frustration.
Then, after understanding Thor’s request, Heimdall sent them to their desired destination. Or rather, Thor’s desired destination.
They all appeared in a beam of rainbow light right in the middle of the labs in the hospital, almost giving Bruce Banner and Alexandra Rousseau dual heart attacks while they were working together on the antidote that would save the rest of the team.
While Bruce was being crushed in an extremely worried hug by Thor, Sam, and Natasha got acquainted with Alex, who really wasn’t even surprised anymore from all the Avengers dropping on her head every two seconds, and she told them about everything that happened and the fate of everyone else and what Tony had left to do and whom was he meeting as they speak.
And the plan began from that moment on. Their enemy was too distracted by Tony to notice that there were three Avengers who were back on the radar, plotting against him to bring him down with the others.
The plan worked. Everyone was awake and well. The mutant children were saved. The man was stopped from returning to his timeline and was brought down by extremely enraged Erik Lehnsherr and Charles Xavier. His Time ship was destroyed by the rest of the Avengers.
And history was theirs again. Safe and sound.
***
After what happened, no one really was in the mood to deal with anything else. They just left the clean-up to SHIELD and they all went back home to the Tower, except for Charles and Erik who didn’t have the luxury to sit and relax for a second, since they had traumatized children to deal with, before even thinking about catching their breaths.
So, in the main living room in the Tower’s penthouse, the Avengers spread out on the couches, staring aimlessly at nothing, complicating life and everything that went wrong the last few days.
Steve was sitting on one couch, with Tony sprawled across his lap, both staring at the ceiling with blank faces. Across from them, sat Castiel and Dean with their shoulders pressed together, no reaction on either their faces. Sam was sitting next to them, with Natasha sitting on his lap, her legs thrown across the couch on Dean and Castiel’s laps, and they didn’t really care or comment about it. Bucky, Sam Wilson, Clint, Thor, and Bruce were just sprawled out across the floor and other couches, reflecting and aimless.
No one was saying anything for a while. Not sure what to say or do now.
It was a pretty hard hit to their ego. After years of thinking that they managed to destroy Hydra once and for all, only to find out that they just went dormant and were plotting to rise again in the future against their descendants. To the point where they almost destroyed them and incapacitated almost the entire team in less than a week.
That was humiliating. A harsh hit. It made them feel unsafe. Not sure where the next hit will come from.
“So, you guys really went to the bunker for a second honeymoon?” Dean, who had his priorities right, broke the silence with that question, turning to starre at his brother and sister-in-law with an indignant raised eyebrow.
Apparently, that question was what everyone needed right now because literally, everyone turned to stare at the newlyweds with stares mixed with indignancy and confusion.
“Uhm, yeah. We did.” Sam answered carefully, giving his brother a none amused bitchface.
“Why?” Dean asked with a tone suggesting that he finds the whole idea absurd and maybe a little bit insulting. “You could go literally anywhere nice now. Either tropical or even historical for your nerdy ass, and you chose to go home instead? Seriously?”
“We just wanted to be alone in private?” Sam pointed out helpfully, not sure of himself anymore now from the stares they were getting.
“You couldn’t do that on a beach on a tropical island?” Clint snorted with a roll of his eyes.
“You don’t need to go somewhere fancy and tropical to have a good time, Clint.” Natasha narrowed her eyes at him, but he just snorted again.
“I can’t really relate.” Tony grinned, the glint coming back to his eyes as he remembered his honeymoon. Or honeymoons to be exact. “I took Steve to almost four honeymoons and they were all fucking awesome in a fucking awesomer place.”
“And fucking expensive too,” Steve murmured with a raised eyebrow and amused smile, as he thrusted his Swear Jar in Tony’s face while adding a dollar as well.
“But it was worth it, right?” Tony wiggled his eyebrows at him, leaning up to get their faces a little closer.
“Yes, Tony, it was really worth it.” Steve’s smile softened as he carded his fingers through his husband’s hair. “Each honeymoon was beautiful.”
“Yes, yes, we all remember your honeymoons,” Clint rolled his eyes so hard, they were about to fall out of his skull. “The era after your wedding was a very tiring, mushy, cheesy era. Your mushy lovey lovey-dovey selves were too much on all our single hearts then!”
“Yes, your pain was very amusing.” Tony hummed with no remorse, burying his face into his husband’s chest. He couldn’t help being cuddly and clingy right now, after seeing his husband paralyzed and unmoving on a hospital bed for several days, not knowing how to help him and feeling so incredibly, suffocatingly alone.
“I don’t understand why are you judging me, Dean.” Sam turned back to his brother, the one who started this whole conversation. “Do you remember what you and Cas did? You took him on a road trip, which involved stopping at each diner you found and trying their burgers then staying at random motels! That’s it! That was your honeymoon!”
“Ah, yes, the honeymoon quest of finding the best burger in the country.” Dean sighed dreamily, remembering all that in detail, almost tasting the burgers on his tongue. “That was glorious.”
“It was really nice.” Castiel smiled softly, craving a burger now. “It was adorable to see Dean’s reaction to each burger.”
“That sounds fucking awesome, can we do that too?” Tony got really excited as he shot up sitting, looking at Steve with gleaming eyes, not even caring when he paid the jar again.
“Did you find the best burgers?” Thor and Bucky asked with serious curiosity in unison, basically shuffling towards Dean, eager and hungry for that very important answer.
“Oh, yeah, we did.” Dean grinned and went into a long description of the best burger he ate in a small family diner in the middle of nowhere, making almost everyone drool a little looking like they wanted nothing but to devour that magnificent burger, completely forgetting about Sam and Natasha’s extremely boring second honeymoon.
Slowly, but surely, as they talked about burgers, honeymoons, and road trips, warmth seeped back into the room, after it was filled with cold, foreboding fear of the future and the bitter taste of humiliation. Now, slowly the warmth was coming back to their chests. Absorbing the fact that they were all here again. Safe. Alive. And together.
They took a hard hit. But they will come back from it. Much stronger and ready. And they will deal with whatever the future brings them together.
***
Things took a while to calm down and get back to partially normal.
SHIELD was on emergency mode 24\7 now. The idea of Hydra still out there was insulting to them, so Fury was taking serious measures to find any secret Hydra agents still lurking in SHIELD and find any trace of them in every country.
The Avengers severed any connection with SHIELD after all that happened. Even Natasha and Clint no longer wished to deal with any SHIELD-related mission. The way SHIELD had dealt with the attacks and cover-ups about the other's statues was the last straw.
The Avengers decided that they were completely and infinitely separated from SHIELD now unless there was a major emergency. Fury didn’t even try to argue much, knowing that he really did fuck up this time, so he just let them be, much to Maria and Coulson’s displeasure and dismay.
As for the X-Men, that took a little longer to deal with. The team went over to the mansion to help out with the rebuilding of the destroyed rooms and with the traumatized kids.
All while watching Charles from the corner of their eyes with a newfound intimidation. The mutant telepath proved that, even though he was the sweetest, kindest, gentlest soul to ever live, it didn’t mean he wouldn’t turn into something else when his loved ones were hurt or threatened.
It was terrifying and an eye-opener to see him, as he faced that future Hydra agent. It left them nervous around him for a while, with only one thought on their minds.
Never ever piss Charles Xavier off. Like Never. It was terrifying.
Meanwhile, Erik was now even more convinced that his husband was the second hottest thing in the universe right after the sun. He kept announcing that with the biggest, proudest shark smile ever and no one really objected or even commented on that, much to Charles's embarrassment.
One of the good things that happened next, was Charlie and Raven officially moving in together in Raven’s room in the mansion. Charlie even agreed to be one of the teachers in the school. She was now the new Technology teacher in Charles’ school and she couldn’t be happier to have a home and purpose like that. Everyone was incredibly happy for that cute couple after what they suffered through.
Another good improvement was Alex Rousseau. The entire team went personally to her in the hospital to thank her properly for all the effort she fearlessly and tirelessly made to help them all when they were incapacitated. Especially Steve, who gave her a big bear hug, thanking her for not leaving Tony alone, after he lost everyone, which almost gave the small girl a heart attack, as she melted all over the floor from all the praise and gratitude she was getting from her idols.
She had a major role in saving all of them, thanks to her allowing Charles to infiltrate her mind to get the antidote’s chemical compound, then she worked with Bruce to perfectly replicate that antidote, and moved fast to inject it into everyone under the influence of the mysterious substance, waking them up all, giving them back the ability to move again.
Tony was so grateful to her, that he built her a laboratory of her own in the tower along with a sick bay and personal room for her, as everyone approved to recruit her as the new Avengers’ doctor.
The poor, small Latina doctor took an entire half hour to wake her up after she collapsed after that news, which was an entirely funny scene to see all those big, large superheroes trying to wake up a 5 feet tall woman, which must have been a terrifying scene from her point of view to see them all towering over her like that, but she managed like a pro, proving that they chose right.
All in all, the aftermath of those traumatizing events wasn’t so bad. Charlie got a permanent home and they now have a new doctor for the team. So, life wasn’t so bad.
The only bad thing was Sam and Natasha deciding to continue their second honeymoon, by locking themselves up in their room in the Tower, which was horrible for everyone else, since the walls weren’t exactly soundproof, and no one really wanted to know how kinky those two were. Especially Dean, who kept having panic attacks each time he accidentally heard them.
When things calmed down enough, Steve, Tony, Dean, and Castiel who were still unsettled and nervous after getting separated yet again from their husbands and dealing with that pain once more, decided to take a small time off, recreating the road trip to find the best burgers in the country again.
After two weeks of being on the road, watching their husbands arguing over burgers, French fries, and milkshakes in every diner they come across, Steve and Castiel decided that even with how life keeps fucking with them, moments like this make all they suffer through worth it.
Whatever the future throws at them, as long as they are together, they will deal with it. Nothing could break down that family. Not in the future, past, or even the present.