Next Step to Normal
Sage woke up in her bed with The Office still playing quietly on the tv she had in her room. Man, this was cool. She groaned softly, realising she’d fallen asleep watching tv. Now she was going to have to back up.
“Good morning, MIss Ahlers.”
“Mornin’ fren.” She sighed and facepalmed. “That was lame, sorry. He, uh, JARVIS? What t-”
“It is nine thirty-seven in the morning. You fell asleep at around one fifteen, during episode thirteen of season five. Currently episode sixteen of season six is playing.”
“Oh. Thanks.”
“The majority of the team is currently dining in the kitchen on the communal floor if you would be interested in joining them. I believe Sergeant Barnes has made pancakes.”
“Oooh, pancakes.” She climbed out of bed and threw on a pair of sweats, pulling her hair up into a bun. “Uh, JARVIS?”
“Yes, Miss Ahlers?”
“Who all’s in the kitchen?”
“Agent Coulson, Miss Romanoff, Mister Laufeyson, Mister Odinson, Sergeant Barnes, Captain Rogers, and Sir.”
“Right… So everyone but Hawkeye, Doctor Banner, and the twins.”
“That is correct. Doctor Banner routinely sleeps until ten, and Agent Barton is practicing in the archery range. I believe Mister Maximoff is with him, while Miss Maximoff is in her room, reading.”
“Oh.” She wandered to the elevator, muttering, “Of frickin’ course there’s an archery range. Hey, JARVIS? Is the Winter soldier… safe to be around?”
“Yes, MIss Ahlers. Sir and Doctor Strange have reversed his brainwashing completely. In fact, they did another cursory check to be positive that there was no possible way to trigger the Winter Soldier persona just before Sir and Mister Laufeyson began the process that led to fostering you.”
“Huh. And the Maximoff twins, there’s no chance that they’re… secretly evil?”
“None.”
“Cool.” She left the elevator and smiled slightly when everyone sitting around the island looked up. “Uh… Hey.”
“Good morning, Sage. You want some pancakes?”
She looked to the speaker, Steve, and noticed him motioning to the ingredients as if he, or Bucky who she’d heard was the one making pancakes,would have to make more batter. “Oh- no, I’m fine-”
“I’m making more anyway, if you were worried about that.” Bucky caught her gaze, blue eyes sparkling with mirth. “Between Steve and Thor we go through enough food to feed an army on a normal daily basis.”
Steve grinned at her sheepishly. “Fast metabolism.” He said, like that cleared everything up. Well, it kind of did, but it sort of didn’t.
Tony’s head emerged from where it had been buried in his arms, his hair a mess. “Hey,” he said soft enough that if she didn’t know better, she’d say he’d just woken up. “There’s coffee over on the counter, and Bucky’s making pancakes. Well, I think there’s coffee anyway. Unless you don’t drink coffee. Do you drink coffee? J?”
“I brewed a fresh pot a few moments ago, Sir.”
“Oh, thank god.” Tony rose and picked up the mug in front of him, pleased yet a little sad when Sage followed him, looking a bit like a lost puppy. He filled his own mug and, after a questioning glance at her, pulled another mug from the cabinet and filled that too. “Got any plans for today?”
She shrugged, spooning some sugar into her coffee and cradling it close to her chest, smiling when her glasses fogged up. “Dunno. Do you have plans for me today?”
He grinned a little guiltily. “Well, I don’t have plans for you… The rest of your stuff is supposed to get here today, though. I could help you settle in, if you want.”
“Sure, that could be cool.” She grinned softly at him, thankful that he wasn’t making her take all the steps to bond with him.
“Hey, Sage.”
She turned to Bucky, a little surprised that he knew her name. “Yeah?”
“One pancake or two?”
He smirked at her slight deer-in-the-headlights look, but totally empathized. Being thrown straight into a new situation and being expected to accept it as normal could be off-putting, he knew.
“Uh, two, please.” She smiled at him, silently praising the lord for pancakes. “Thank you.”
“Of course.”
“Sage, is there anything you’d like to do today?” Loki asked, cocking his head to the side and taking a sip of his tea.
She shrugged, looking back over he shoulder at Tony and pouring some syrup over her pancakes. “Unpacking sounds good. Organizing things is always fun.”
“Well,” Natasha piped up from her spot, “This was fun, but I’m going to go spar with Clint. Sage, if you get sick of boys, let’s set up a girl’s night, huh?”
“Y-yeah, sure!”
Nat smiled at her, a rare occasion as Sage would soon learn. “Good.” She exited after giving Phil a quick peck on the cheek.