I've never written an Avengers Fic before so let me know what you think. Thank you!
It had been almost 2 months since the whole Loki disaster and things were finally beginning to return to normal, the city was well into reconstruction and the people were finally beginning to move on. It had been near on 6 weeks since the Avengers had last seen each other; there had been slight interaction between a few of the members but no group meetings. Pepper, being the organised, event planning woman that she was had decided that now things were finally returning to normal it was time for the members to reconvene, perhaps this time buildings wouldn't be destroyed or the public terrified, but who knew what was going to happen? Pepper had described it as 'team building', a group that to be fair most of the members didn't want to be part of if it meant going on a trip together.
Pepper had booked a 2 week trip to a cabin in the middle of nowhere, the heroes could make as much noise as they wanted and no one else would hear a thing. Begrudgingly, almost everyone had agreed to go, She, Tony, Thor, Jane, Clint, Natasha, Steve and Maria were going be spending a fortnight together, alone, in the middle of nowhere, it definitely was going to be an interesting trip.
xxx
Maria had never been one to make friends easily, even as a child she was always the kid who sat on their own because they weren't as sociable as the rest, or when it came to high school was 'far too busy with school work for friends'. Yet somehow, the social outcast and the last possible person anyone would predict to become a social butterfly, was about to go on holiday with real human beings, well mostly human anyway. She'd come to the conclusion that Pepper had only invited her to even out the male, female ratio, but still, she was going away with 'friends' and that was very foreign to her. Since she had started at S.H.I.E.L.D her life had been the job, she had worked hard to get to where she was and she wasn't willing to risk losing that for friendships. Fury had heard about the trip and had insisted that she go, so she had no real choice in the matter, she was hoping for a quiet, easy trip, but the chances of that happening were slim to none.
Everyone was traveling down in pairs, Maria had been asked to drive Steve down, he could drive just fine but the modern road system confused him and they didn't want to risk him crashing into anyone. Maria had willing agreed, Steve was by far the nicest of the men and definitely the one she'd rather spend a few hours in the car with if she needed to.
Tony had kicked up a bit of a stink when he found out that he wasn't allowed to use his suit to get to the cabin, Pepper had even told him that he couldn't take the plane either, she wanted everyone to drive in, it was what normal, non-super people did and she wanted everyone to experience that. Needless to say Tony had spent most of the trip sulking in his chair, making the occasional sarcastic comment like a whining child.
xxx
When Maria arrived on Steve's street he was already standing outside next to a very large suitcase, he seemed rather jolly and was just staring into space, occasionally smiling at passers-by. Maria smiled appreciatively, men nowadays seemed to lack common courtesy and general manners that Steve seemed to have and it was nice to actually meet a guy who was different, even if he was from a different time. As soon as the car had come to a complete standstill Steve had already opened the boot and placed his case inside, he wanted to do it fast so Maria wouldn't have to get out and try and help him, she shouldn't have to. He jumped into the front seat, an overall bounce in his step. Maria just stared at him startled, her hands were yet to leave the steering wheel, the man had managed to load his luggage and get into the car before she had even undone her seatbelt.
"Morning" he smiled, not even noticing the gone out expression on Maria's face.
"Lovely day isn't it? The sun is just lovely." Still no words were able to exit Maria's lips.
Steve turned to face his neighbour once he realised she hadn't moved an inch since he entered the vehicle. He instantly noticed her change in clothing, no longer did she wear her uniform with her hair pinned up tight, and instead she wore a pair of denim shorts and a loose white vest, her hair tumbling down just past her shoulders in soft waves. Her outfit matched the weather, it was definitely far too hot to wear much more than she was. Steve smiled once again, surprised at how pretty she looked, "May I say Miss Hall, you look very nice today, I don't believe I've ever seen you in anything but your uniform, normal clothing definitely becomes you."
Maria, now recovering from the Captains speed 'check in' somehow managed to project a smile towards the man with a simple "Thank you", unsure of what else to say.
The 2 hour journey seemed to go by for the pair with general ease; they stuck to light conversation and the occasional joke, nothing too intrusive or risky.
They were second to reach the lodge, only beaten by Pepper and Tony who had to get there early to collect the keys.
While Steve unloaded the luggage, Maria was faced with a very surprised Stark, "Miss Hill, look at you, who knew you were hot?"
"Tony!" they heard Pepper yell from inside the lodge before Maria could even reply.
"What? I didn't say anything" He boomed back.
"I can't hear you but knowing you, you've said something rude or perverted to whomever you're talking to"
"I'm talking to Maria hunny." The agent could see that Tony was still unhappy about having to leave his suit at home.
"Perverted it is then" Pepper yelled back, finishing the conversation.
Tony sighed defeated, "You look very nice Miss Hill"
"Thank you" She smiled, half a smirk and a half an empathetic consolation.
Pepper soon came striding out, sporting a similar set of shorts to Maria. She smiled and gave each of her guests a hug. "I'm sorry, I was on the phone, the others are running late, it'll be a couple of hours until they get here."
"It's fine" Steve smiled, his charm becoming prevalent again, "We'll just have to enjoy ourselves without them for a while."
Pepper grinned happily, "how about you two unpack in your room and we'll meet up in an hour?"
"I'm sorry, OUR room?" They asked in unison.
Pepper winced slightly, she knew this moment would come but she didn't want to tell them until they got here just in case they backed out, "Well, this place only has 4 bedrooms and everyone else is already pared up in relationships, so you two are going to have to share."
"At least tell me it has two beds?" Maria asked, stoic as usual.
"Well…"
"Great!" she sighed, her indifferent façade quickly melting away, "Come on 40's boy, looks like you're with me for 2 weeks, but if I find your hands anywhere they shouldn't be…" She turned and looked at Tony pointing at him to show that she was talking to him too, "…then I will not be held responsible for what I'll be doing with my hands, are we clear?"
"Yes" Steve nodded, not wanting to mess with the armed woman.
"Kinky" Tony winked, eliciting a moan and an eye role from both Pepper and Maria.
Maria exhaled sharply, there was no real point even trying with Stark, she'd leave that to Pepper.