Unexpected explosions ... or how Steve is the only Avenger that doesn't cause irreparable damage in the kitchen

Neither Pepper nor any of the Avengers could seem to work out what had gone wrong for the end result to be the sight in front of them. All of the Avengers figured that it was only a matter of time now before the kitchen ended up getting damaged yet again. It had happened five times already and they figured that that set a precedent for it to happen again. None of them were all too happy at the prospect but they couldn't deny the likelihood, even with all the new rules they had introduced to try and stop any repeat experiences.

They also expected the next person to make a mess of the kitchen to be Steve. He was the only one who hadn't done that yet and he also had problems with the technology in the kitchen, even if he was a surprisingly good cook. They had taken some measures to counteract the possible mess and mayhem that could happen. There were more fire extinguishers installed in the kitchen and everyone tended not to go in there alone so as to try and stop each other from doing anything wrong.

They had figured that letting Pepper in the kitchen, even alone, was safe however. It was Pepper for heavens sake! She was the most sane and normal of all of them and it was her tower after all so they had no right stopping her doing anything, they knew they wouldn't stand a chance anyway. She was a good cook as well and so they were quite happy to let her go and cook up a big evening meal when she offered. They had had another large battle that day and were all exhausted. They only wanted to eat and the sleep, preferably in that order but they didn't mind as long as they managed both, so they were quite happy for someone else to cook when Pepper decided she was.

Pepper, wanting to provide a good meal for them all having seen the effects of the battle on them, had been working away for about half an hour in the kitchen and the Avengers expected that the meal was probably nearly done so they started to get up. That was when the fire alarm went off and the bang was heard. Six pairs of eyes widened as the Avengers hurried towards the kitchen, grabbing the fire extinguishers that were handily placed along the way.

It was like an automatic response now just to douse the kitchen in foam in case, it had caused some annoyance when there hadn't been any need but everyone knew that when it was needed then the prompt response was often important considering the mess they tended to create, and they definitely needed it in this case. Pepper was found curled up under the counter, trying to avoid the flames that were lapping at all of the surfaces.

The Avengers set about putting out the few remaining flames that survived their initial use of the extinguishers while Steve stopped to help Pepper out from her hiding place as Tony was too busy surveying the damage and looking horrified to help his girlfriend. This was much worse than he imagined would happen, the oven was completely ruined, seemingly having exploded. Bits of shrapnel had travelled an alarming distance and were embedded in cupboards and walls, one even penetrating the sink and, much to Natasha's horror, the normal coffee maker. The fire, that seemed to have also originated in the oven hadn't been given long to explode but seeing as it was everywhere the best guess was that the shrapnel had been on fire and caused the extensive damage that could be seen. That thought had Tony distracted with the idea of a flaming shrapnel weapon. Everyone else was left wondering how a casserole, they guessed that was what it had been from the remnants splashed over the kitchen and the occasional scorched dumpling, there was one that was somehow stuck to the ceiling, could cause an explosion that bad however anything in the tower was possible, they knew after months of living there.

The kitchen was beyond patching up, it would have to be yet another full repair job, and Pepper was seriously considering the purchase of a kitchen furnisher now seeing the frequency of occurrence of the damage. She reached for her phone only to pause. She couldn't see her phone or even the charred remains of her phone anywhere and that made her think. She had been on the phone just before she put the casserole in the oven, she'd turned to check the time just as she put her phone down but she didn't see her phone after putting the dish in, she was sure it hadn't been on any of the surfaces. A sinking feeling grew in her stomach, would a phone cause an explosion of this magnitude? Seeing as no one realised and she doubted they would do the clean-up, she decided maybe that it would be better to not mention the possibility that she cooked her phone and that had been what had caused the spectacular explosion... After all, a mysteriously exploding casserole was certainly more interesting...and less embarrassing!

Just as Pepper reached this conclusion, the dumpling that had been attached to the ceiling promptly disattached and struck Tony rather hard on the head, the explosion having made it somehow rather like a small rock. This shook him from his reverie of weapon contemplation with a bump, quite literally, and the moaning and whining of the man-child billionaire brought everyone back to reality. Deciding that this was an appropriate time to raid Clint's stash of takeaway menus and leave the mess of the kitchen until they all had more energy and less bruises, everyone traipsed out of the kitchen into the lounge to await the delivery, which would be fast due to Tony using his influence to get speedy service.

On her way out, something caught Natasha's eye. Despite the destruction, in amongst the mess of the mangled oven there was a rather distinctive object. Grudgingly she had to give Stark props for his design, how the phone had survived that scale of explosion with so little damage she had no clue. A little smile passed across her face briefly, Pepper, for all her perfection, could be as destructive as the rest of them even if she didn't mean to and this was certainly more believable than the exploding casserole. Remembering Pepper's guilty expression and lack of a comment, Natasha decided to help her out, after all she'd always been kind to her. Picking up and wiping off the phone, Natasha slipped it into her pocket. No one ever had to know what happened, she'd make sure of that.

Much later, after all the food had been eaten and the Avengers retreated for sleep, Pepper found a box with a note on her desk. Opening the note warily she found it simply had the words 'I won't tell if you don't' written in the cursive script that she recognised as Natasha's. Slipping the lid off, Pepper found her missing, explosion causing phone nestled in there looking remarkably undamaged. She smiled. It was always nice to know that you had a dangerous spy on your side, especially when you lived the life that Pepper did, knowing the people she did.

Natasha stayed true to her promise, no one became any the wiser to what happened and Pepper had the kitchen cleaned up within a week, the new business acquisition helping majorly. There were many more kitchen disasters as time went on from everyone...everyone except Steve to the shock of everyone else. No one knew how he managed it but nothing exploded on his watch in the kitchen and he was often dragged in to supervise because of this. Everyone learnt to accept that kitchen disasters were just part of living with a group of people as interesting and bizarre as the Avengers.

And that's the end! I just want to say thank you so much to everyone who has read this story, I know I'm not the best writer but I enjoy it and the support of everyone who reads, reviews or favourites my stories is so important to me. Thank you to everyone who has been so patient while I haven't been updating, I'm so sorry for the lack of updates. This is once again unbeta'd as all my work is so I apologise for any mistakes.

A special thank you goes to rings of purity, Cap's Best Girl and HistorianKate for reviewing this story for reviewing and making me smile reading the reviews.

Hope you enjoyed it!