New Avengers Tower

[worthallthis]

The press meeting takes way too long. Then they're all taken to a hospital, because most of them are injured in some way. Then Mel takes them back to that stupid tower. Avengers Tower. Watchtower. New Avengers Tower. Nobody knows what they're calling it.

They get a tour, even though they're exhausted and grouchy, and even though half the tower is clearly in some state of construction and clearly not ready to be shown off. The labs are complete, hastily so, but none of them are going to be going anywhere near those. The rooftop bar is still in shambles, and none of them want to linger there. The kitchen and restaurant-like eating areas spiraled out around it seem intact, and well-stocked, at least.

They each have their own floor. Stark had originally made a whole floor for each of his superhero buddies, which hadn't really been renovated at all even in the multiple years the Avengers had been toast, so now they're the cleanest and least disturbed of the whole tower.

Bucky gets Steve's, Walker gets Thor's, Ava gets Clint's.

Yelena gets the one meant for Natasha. Of course.

And Bob gets Banner's, with its combination of calming decor and Hulk-proof walls.

Then they're left alone to "rest" with the promise that Mel and Valentina will be in touch over the next few days, which sounds more like a threat than anything else.

Comments

[worthallthis]

Bucky hesitates a brief moment, back to her as he collects some bowls. Little ones? There were still kids in the Red Room when Yelena busted out, however and whenever she did that? He feels a little sick that he hadn't known. He had thought the whole thing had gone down years ago, but mostly because he'd been so busy with his own shit that he hadn't thought about it for two minutes to recognize that organizations like that are difficult to take down. Hell, HYDRA still has its slimy little tentacles in a few places, he knows.

It's a brief pause, but Yelena, a spy, will at least notice it if not know why he made it. He turns back with a carefully blank expression. "You got dusted, too, huh?" He sets both bowls on the counter and goes in search of milk. This won't work nearly as well if there's no milk.

[musicdied]

She nods slightly. "So did Alexei. So did a lot of people, I guess. You can flip a coin for each one, more or less."

There is, in fact, milk in the fridge, the hyper-pasteurized kind in a plastic bottle that comes with an expiry date that's frighteningly far out. Yelena watches him search for it, her own expression a more natural-looking neutrality that is, in fact, just as constructed.

"I started working for Valentina after I got back."

[worthallthis]

"Mm, probably not the best choice, since she apparently tried to have to killed," Bucky says, casually enough to make it clear he means it as a joke. "But then, I ran for Congress, so who am I to judge?" That was, in hindsight, probably just as stupid of a decision.

He produces the milk and some spoons, bringing them both back. "Looks like we get a real breakfast, after all."

[musicdied]

"Well, I did try to get a job at Best Buy, but it turns out 'mind controlled assassin' does not really count as customer service experience," she replies with a little shrug, expression grave enough that it can't possibly be genuine. "A girl has to eat."

And with that, she peels away from the counter to join him at the table, for a breakfast neither of them has had to kill for.