The Mimic

4

"Tony, if we want them to be on our side we can't keep them in cells like wild animals! They need their freedom." Steve argued, earning an annoyed sigh from Tony. Tony was sat at the breakfast bar on the counter, hunched over a bowl of cereal. He glanced up at Steve with raised eyebrows, pointing his spoon at the super soldier. "You really wanna argue about this? Right now? It's nine in the morning, Cap. No means no, now let me enjoy my cereal." Tony said with a sarcastic smile, focusing his gaze back on his cereal as he continued to eat. It was an awkward atmosphere, with most of the team trying to mind their business. Wanda glanced over at Natasha with wide eyes, trying not to smile as the pair argued. Natasha met Wanda's gaze, smiling a little as she rolled her eyes. They always had something to argue over. 

"Yes, we are going to argue about this right now. You're torturing them! Leaving them with nothing but their minds-" Steve was suddenly cut off by Tony, who stood up from where he was sat. Tony pointed his spoon at Steve once again, an angry look on his face. "Don't. Don't say I'm torturing them. We just saved them. That was a big enough favour." Tony snapped, picking up his bowl with a sigh as he begun to make his way out of the kitchen - he could enjoy his cereal somewhere else. Steve followed Tony out in to the hallway - he wasn't going to give up. "They can't even sleep, Tony! We were supposed to free them from captivity, but now they're just under somebody else's control." Steve spat, watching as Tony stopped in his tracks to face him. He knew he was pushing his buttons, but that seemed to be the only way he could get his point across. "Look. I'm just trying to what's best for the team." Tony snapped, trying his hardest not to raise his voice as he made his way toward Steve. "They're dangerous. They're unstable. I don't care if your best friend is down there. You need to look out for your other friends too." He muttered, an angry look in his eyes. Steve rolled his eyes a little, crossing his arms over his chest. "We're supposed to be helping them back in to normal life. We can't do that if they're locked up. Especially y/n. She's strong. I would've thought you'd want someone like her on your side." Tony opened his mouth to argue back, but nothing came out. Steve had a point. As much as he hated it, the only way he was going to earn their trust was to allow them to move freely around the compound. "I- Fine. But if they destroy anything I'm blaming you." Tony said after a few moments of thought, knowing Steve wasn't going to stop until he got his way.

By the afternoon, y/n and Bucky were allowed out of their cells, but neither of them actually moved out until much later. The idea of freedom was terrifying for y/n. She didn't know how long she'd been with Hydra, nobody knew. She didn't have Bucky's luck - anyone that could know or recognise her were dead. 

Y/n sat in her cell, staring at the open door with nervous eyes. She'd been trying to psych herself up to leave for almost an hour. Even if being in the cell was terrible, at least she knew she couldn't hurt anyone. The first few steps outside of the cell were slow ones, as if someone was going to scold her for it. But she was just met with a labyrinth of empty hallways. It was weird - eerie even - but she could hear the team upstairs. She followed the sound of laughter with a slight smile of her own, curious as to what was going on. Her steps were almost silent as she made her way up the stairs to the main floor - perks of being almost invisible for so many years. But as she got closer to all the commotion in the kitchen, y/n paused, her hand hovering over the door to the room. Doubt filled her mind as a frown appeared on her face, seeming to tense ever so slightly. She didn't know any of these people, and they didn't know her. She was an outsider. She didn't want to intrude on them. Y/n turned around, seeming to have convinced herself that she shouldn't intrude on whatever was going on, starting to drift back into her own thoughts. 

That was when Wanda and Natasha turned the corner, a little further down the hallway. Upon seeing y/n they seemed to give each other a knowing look, and without hesitation, a warm smile appeared on both of their faces. "Hey! Y/n you should join us! We need an extra pair of hands." Nat grinned, tossing one of the towels she was holding over to her. "Yeah, Peter and Scott tried to make smoothies for the team, but they forgot to put the lid on." Wanda laughed, making space between her and Natasha so y/n could walk in the middle of them.

Y/n caught the towel with ease, a bright smile on her face as she heard what had happened. "Oh God.." She laughed, beginning to walk with the pair over to the kitchen. All her doubts seemed to fade away as she walked between Wanda and Natasha, only focusing on wanting to clean up what she could only expect as a smoothie explosion in the kitchen. Wanda glanced over at y/n with a fond smile, happy to see her invested in the situation. She just wanted her to fit in and feel at home, she deserved it. Wanda knew the feeling of loneliness far too well, she didn't want to see anyone else suffer through it.

The kitchen was a complete mess. The bright red smoothie had been sprayed everywhere, from the floor to the ceiling. The blender was still whirring, and smoothie was still being launched everywhere, but everybody seemed to be too busy yelling and laughing to actually realised they should turn it off. Scott and Peter were drenched. Under the bright red smoothie, Peter was red in embarrassment as he laughed. "We didn't know, Mr Stark! We thought we put the lid on!" Peter laughed over the noise. Tony wasn't impressed, but he couldn't help but smile. It was nice seeing the kid happy, it was nice seeing the whole team happy. Scott had his hands up in the air as if he was surrendering, trying to hide his laughter. Steve had his head in his hands as he laughed, he wasn't as drenched, but sitting at the breakfast bar wasn't helping. Bucky was leant against the back wall, somehow unscathed. He couldn't help but smile at the chaos before him, but it was obvious he had other things on his mind. Sam was using Steve's shield to protect himself from the smoothie spray. "I swear to God Scott! If this doesn't wash out I'm never talking to you again!" He shouted over the noise, laughing a little at how drenched Steve was. 

Wanda, Natasha, and y/n stood in the doorway. Both looking as surprised as each other at the mess. "I think we're going to need a few more towels..." Y/n murmured, causing the other two to nod in agreement. "Yeah.. maybe just a few more." Wanda laughed.