Chapter Text
The clap of thunder seemed to rock the room, and Peter Parker sat up in his bed. Why did it have to be so loud? He walked to his window and looked out. The Avengers tower made the thunderstorm seem close by, and from where he stood, the city seemed to be on the verge of a deluge.
Mr. Stark was in his bedroom. That meant no interruptions, and even otherwise Peter didn't want to wake him. Wake him and say what? "Hey, Mr. Stark! There's lots of thunder and lightning, come and see!?" Peter went back to bed, till the next thunderclap hit. He started pacing the room.
Tony Stark downed a gulp of whiskey. The storm was irritatingly loud, and Jarvis had announced it would get worse before it was over. The tower was secured though, and he had nothing to do but drink to get over the boredom. Boredom, not nervousness, Tony told himself again. Just boredom, because it was something he could not control.
Wanda Maximoff sat on her bed, meditating, or, to be exact, trying to. The thunder and lightning were distracting her, and the small ball she was trying to move up to the ceiling and back down bounced around the room instead. Wanda took a deep breath. She knew what she needed. She needed her brother. Grabbing a robe, she headed to Steve's room.
Bruce Banner was also trying to meditate, but with even less success than Wanda. The thunderclaps were pushing his pulse up. He got up, hoping the exercise would calm him down. Or maybe, some hot chocolate would.
Clint Barton maneuvered the quinjet carefully through the storm, focused on both his instincts and instruments. The mission had been a success, but now the challenge was to get home.
"Should we stop?" He called out.
"Only if that's the only option." Natasha answered.
The same thought ran through their heads. It was easy being assassins and special agents without families.
Steve Rogers was asleep - the few hours he got every night. He suddenly felt that he was being closely watched, and carefully opened his eyes a little. Pietro Maximoff was sitting next to him, staring at his face.
"What on earth are you doing?" Steve snapped.
"Cap, it's just that, well, the thunder was loud and you didn't wake up, so I was checking if you were OK." Pietro said, his words running together. As if on cue, there was a loud thunderclap.
"That is loud!" Steve said, and smiled at Pietro. "We still need to sleep, pet. Grab your pillow." He sat up and leaned against the headboard.
Pietro was sleeping on a separate bed in Steve's room because of his nightmares, but they had quickly found that he slept better if he was lulled to sleep by Steve or Clint. But sleeping on the same bed was not an option. Steve's bedroom had zero privacy, as Pietro put it, "Everyone walks into your room, and they can't see me like some sort of baby!" A compromise was arrived at - Steve moved Pietro to his bed as soon as he drifted off. Pietro now scrambled up with a pillow, lying down next to Steve, and Steve began to rub his back. The loudest thunderclap yet fell, and Pietro curled up. "Hush, pet." Steve soothed, when Wanda stuck her head in the doorway.
"Are you two OK?" Wanda asked, and Steve beckoned her to the bed. The twins were in each other's arms almost immediately, talking in rapid Sokovian. Steve leaned back against the headboard. The way the storm sounded, the twins weren't likely to leave each other, which meant he wasn't likely to get any more sleep that night. The twins stretched out next to him, Wanda's head near his arm. He ran his hand through her hair. The wind had picked up, and now it was shaking all the windows in the tower. The rattling increased and Peter appeared in the doorframe, upside down.
"You can come on to the bed, but only if you walk here." Steve said, and Peter jumped down and leaped on to the bed, which groaned a little. "Careful, spiderling." Steve warned, "What are you doing here?" Pietro and Wanda got up to sit on the bed, but were still sitting close to each other.
"Just wanted to check if you're all right. This is the biggest storm in a hundred years, so it might be the first time you're hearing all-" Peter was cut off by thunder "That!" he finished.
"Same as all of you." Steve countered. "Get over here." Peter crawled over and grabbed the pillow that Pietro had left. He leaned on the headboard next to Steve.
"Cap, when is it going to get over? Should we go out and see if people need help?" Peter asked.
"Jarvis?" Steve asked, pulling Peter to lean against him. He wouldn't mind going out to rescue someone either. Anything was better than sitting in the tower while it was hit by lightning over and over. Highest building in the city, of course.
"Captain, none of the civilians are at risk. The storm is following its predicted course, and will be over in a few hours' time. It will however, get worse before it ends." Jarvis' level voice was calm, but somehow infuriating.
"Cap, Shall I try to deflect the lightning?" Wanda asked, and got a look from Steve. She quickly went back into Pietro's hug.
"Keep talking, sweet sister of mine," Pietro teased. "I want to see if you get some lightning and thunder from Cap."
Steve laughed. "Settle down, kids. If you can't go to sleep, think of something else to do."
"I know, let's play-" Peter started, but was interrupted by Bruce's voice calling out a tentative "Steve?"
"Bruce, come to the bedroom!" Steve called out. Bruce walked in with a big jug, and nodded at Peter. "Go grab some mugs from the kitchen."
Peter ran out, and Bruce joined the others on the bed. "My pulse is soaring. I asked Jarvis how everyone is coping, and he said all the teens are here, so I made some hot chocolate and headed down. Thought I would check on you guys" he said, and Steve fought back a smirk. Peter came in with mugs and Bruce poured out the hot chocolate.
Wanda did not pick up a mug immediately. "Dr. Banner? Can I try bringing your pulse down?" To Steve and Pietro's utter surprise, Bruce agreed. Steve watched, every muscle alert as Wanda moved her hands around Bruce. A few moments, and Bruce opened his eyes, looking much calmer than before.
Steve crooked a finger at Wanda, grinning. "I think it's my turn first." Bruce said, gripping her in a side hug. Wanda threw her arms around him for a proper hug, however, and then moved over to Steve for another hug. Peter and Pietro looked at them, rolled their eyes and simultaneously groaned.
"Is the chocolate too sweet, Pietro?" Peter asked in an extremely formal tone.
"No, but there's so much sweetness around, it seems so." Pietro answered, matching Peter's tone.
"We might become diabetic, my friend." Peter replied.
"Let's make things interesting?" Pietro asked, dropping the formality and Peter grinned. He knew who would reduce the sweetness in the air.
"Jarvis, call Mr. Stark here!" Peter yelled out before Steve could stop him. "No, Jarvis. Don't do that." he said, giving Peter a frown. Before Steve could say anything more, Pietro looked up and practically flew off the bed. There was a crash, and Clint was groaning on the floor with Pietro next to him. Wanda jumped up next, running to Natasha.
"Is that hot chocolate?" Natasha said, kicking off her combat boots and moving to sit on the bed. "We came in, asked Jarvis how everyone was, and he said everyone's here." Clint got up, dusted himself off and followed. "Why are you all sitting here though? Is the storm that scary, kids?" This drew protests from all the teens, and Steve held up a hand. There were seven people now on the bed. It was crazy.
"Guys, there are too many people on this bed. It can't take the weight." Steve said. "It was made for just one person, remember?"
"Nah, it'll take the weight." Clint said, picking up a mug.
"How did the mission go?" Bruce asked, pouring out more hot chocolate. Steve felt a little stupid. That was what he should have done the moment he saw Natasha and Clint.
"Everything went smoothly." Natasha answered, putting an arm around Wanda. "But what do we do now? Just sit around?"
"Basically, yes. Unless anyone has other ideas?" Bruce answered.
"Pillow fight?" Peter asked, and there were enthusiastic nods from everyone other than Steve and Bruce.
"No, you're not wrecking my bed!" Steve snapped. Peter had found his way to lean on him again. Apparently thunderstorms were an exception to his "No cuddling in public" rule.
"But then we'll be bored!" Pietro said, his head on Clint's lap.
"Well, well, well!" A dry voice came from the door. "What are you guys? The Von Trapps?" Peter began to giggle.
"What's that?" Steve asked.
"Didn't you watch 'The Sound of Music'?" Natasha asked.
"Oh, that movie? With the 17 year old Nazi boy?" Steve answered, and there were groans from the whole bed, punctuated by a very loud series of thunderclaps. Jarvis was right, the storm was getting worse.
"Why do you have to fixate on Nazis?" Bruce asked.
"Must I answer that question?" Steve raised an eyebrow, and Clint said "No, please, Captain America!"
"That was rude!" Natasha punched Clint, and Wanda and Pietro quickly scrambled out of the way. Clint threw Natasha face first onto the bed. She locked her legs around him and pulled his hair. The teens and Bruce took a sip of their hot chocolate, watching them tussle.
"Both of you, stop it. You can fight after the storm!" Steve shouted, and Tony began to laugh hysterically. Steve turned to glare at him. "What's wrong with you now?"
"I never realised how much of a governess you are!" Tony said, making Steve glare even more. When Steve turned however, every head was muffled by a pillow. He pulled Peter's pillow away from him.
"Well, Cap, you're always telling us to sit straight and stuff and you're teaching the twins and-" he closed his eyes, and as he expected, Steve pulled him across his lap for a swat. Peter rolled over, placing the pillow on Steve's lap and curling up on it. He had barely felt the swat, but it still meant a cuddle. Steve obliged.
"If Cap's the governess in that movie, you're the youngest little girl!" Pietro said.
"No, I'm not!" Peter threw a pillow at him, which exploded into feathers. "You were probably cuddling with him before everyone else came."
"I was not!"
"Yes you were!"
Steve wondered whether to tell them to stop. Tony would probably say something about governesses again. He looked away and saw Clint, who was clearly looking for a fight and was about to-
"Clint, don't pull her hair, for God's sake!" Steve said, and everyone started laughing again, with the exception of Natasha, who punched Clint hard. They began to fight again, and Steve just shrugged. How was the bed even staying up, though? Steve thought, looking at his headboard.
Tony climbed up on the bed and stood on it. "The bedstead will hold up, Captain, because I calculated the possible forces that it will have to endure." He proclaimed, waving his glass.
"Told you so!" Clint said, twisting Natasha's arm while getting his other arm bent backwards.
"I didn't take into consideration that you were practically a nun in training." Tony finished. "Shh!" Steve said, making Tony laugh and fall on to the bed. Tony leaned back on a pile of pillows and Peter immediately crawled over to him. "What's with you?" Tony squinted at him. "You're looking younger than you are. That's too much."
"Stop it, Tony. You're drunk!" Steve said. "Yes, Fraulein." Tony answered. "Why does he look like a baby though?" In his fluffy robe and tousled hair, on all fours, not to mention the feathers, Peter did look a few years younger.
Peter was looking a little hurt, and Steve pulled him into a hug. "Because smart children always look younger than they are." he said, kissing Peter's head and making him blush.
"That's certainly true, Tony. Your MIT pics look like they were taken during kindergarten." Bruce said, making Peter giggle.
"No, they don't." Tony crossed his arms. "Jarvis, pull them up."
Clint landed in front of Tony, thrown on to his back. Natasha jumped on top of him, grabbed a pillow and brought it down on his head, sending more feathers flying. Before the feathers cleared, there was a huge pillow fight going on between Peter, Pietro and Wanda, next to Natasha and Clint, who were still trading punches. Bruce and Tony sat on the edge of the bed, comparing school pictures.
"You look like you're 12. But an overgrown 12." Tony said, squinting.
"I was 12, you idiot. Now in that graduation pic, you look like you're 10 years old!" Bruce retorted.
"Imagine if you hulked out when you were 12. They would've put you in a green crib."
"That doesn't make any sense!" A pillow hit Bruce in the back of his head and he whipped around. Instantly, every person froze.
"Urrrr!" Bruce said. Tony yelled "Jarvis!," Peter started talking something about Alpha particles, Wanda sent streams of magic, and Natasha moved to sit right in front of Bruce. Bruce started laughing, tears streaming down his face. "That's not funny!!" Steve said. and bit his tongue as the group laughed, now with relief mixed in.
"It really isn't funny, Frankenstein. I'm sober now." That made the group laugh again.
They stopped laughing when a tremendous thunderclap hit. "Jarvis?" Steve called out. There was no response from the AI. The whole group looked uneasily at each other, when a huge figure blocked the doorway.
"My friends! Why are you all in one bedchamber? Why are there feathers scattered around? Is this a Midgardian ritual I am not aware of?" Thor took a graceful leap onto the centre of the bed, as all the Avengers yelled "NOOOOOO!!!!" The next moment, they all fell on each other as the bed finally reached its breaking point.
The Avengers extricated themselves from the pile and stood, looking at the wreckage. The storm still roared outside.
"It's fine, it's fine. I'll replace it tomorrow." Tony shrugged.
"Can't you get it fixed?" Steve asked, his hands on his hips. He was more disheveled than the group had ever seen.
"That might take days, Cap." Tony said. "Where will you sleep?"
"In one of the three guest rooms? On any of the dozen couches? Heck, even the carpets are better than most of the beds in the country!" Steve was almost shouting. "Do you have no sense of economy, Stark?"
"No, Mary Poppins!" Tony said, and Thor asked "Poppins?" Steve glared at Tony.
"Thor, can you stop the storm?" Peter asked. Tony and Steve were making him nervous.
"I cannot interfere with the natural patterns of Midgard, young warrior." Thor started, but was interrupted by Jarvis saying "Avengers, I am functional again."
"Jarvis? What happened to you?" Tony asked.
"Mjolnir, Mr. Stark. It disturbed the circuitry momentarily." the AI answered.
"You won't fix the weather but you'll mess up Jarvis?" Tony turned to Thor.
"I wanted to be certain that all of you were unharmed by the storm. Was that a mistake?" Thor asked Tony.
"The storm has died down." Jarvis announced, and the group heaved a sigh. No one wanted to see Tony and Thor argue.
"What's the time, Jarvis?" Steve asked.
"4 AM, Captain." Jarvis answered.
Steve threw Pietro over his shoulder. "We're going to the kitchen, and then to one of the guest rooms, and you're staying in bed till ten." He turned to Wanda and Peter. "I don't want to see you two before ten, understood?" They nodded, and Steve turned to the adults. "The rest of you, get some sleep as well. I'm clearing the morning schedule."
Tony said "*cough* Yes, Miss Rogers *cough*." The adults snickered, Peter bit back a chuckle, Wanda giggled, and Steve felt Pietro laugh silently. Steve set Pietro down, and gently pulled Peter into a hug, wrapping an arm around his back and cradling his head on his chest. Peter looked up, a little confused.
"MOVE IT, YOU USELESS LUMPS! I'M TIRED OF SEEING YOUR STUPID FACES. GET THE **** OUT OF MY ROOM AND INTO YOUR OWN, AND DON'T LET ME SEE YOU TILL YOU'VE SLEPT SOME OF YOUR IDIOCY OFF!" The words echoed around the room, to astounded faces. Natasha was still smirking, though. "Would you prefer that instead?" Steve asked in his usual voice.
The team froze for a second, then muttered various forms of "No" and walked away, quite rapidly. Pietro ran to the kitchen.
Peter was still in his arms. "Were you scared?" Steve asked Peter.
"No!" Peter said a little too quickly, and Steve laughed.
"Off to bed then, little spider," Steve released Peter after another squeeze, and Peter ran off.
"Cap?" Pietro said later, as Steve rubbed circles on his back. "You're scarier than the thunder, you know that?"
Steve laughed. "Taking care of you three is more frightening, pet." He said as Pietro drifted off. "Good night, lightning!"