Sunshine | Pietro Maximoff

CHAPTER 3

"So, how's all the science stuff going, Dr Madden?" Clint asked, walking into the lab and looking around.

"You don't have to call me that." I said with a laugh. "It's coming along, though." I answered.

"Glad to hear it."

Stark, Banner and I had been working on uploading what we found in the sceptre to the Ultron program for the past three days now. Although we had made a little progress, we were nowhere near where we wanted to be at this time.

"You mind if I steal this one for the afternoon?" Clint asked Tony and Bruce.

"Go for it." Stark replied. "Not like we need her around here." He added, shooting a wink at me.

"You know you'd barely manage without me." I teased, shoving Tony's shoulder.

Tony laughed. "'Course we wouldn't."

"Have fun, Ophelia. We'll let you know if we make any more progress." Bruce said, giving me a kind smile.

"Thanks, Bruce. At least one of my co-workers is nice to me." I replied with a chuckle.

With that, Clint and I made our way to the door.

"Don't forget, party tonight! Don't be late!" Tony called out.

"Wouldn't dream of it!" I responded.

Clint and I were headed to the quaint little coffee shop we often frequented on a Saturday afternoon. As usual, Natasha had been out all day, yet promised she would meet us there. I never questioned her weekly disappearances, I knew how much she valued her privacy. I also never questioned how Steve always seemed to disappear at the exact same time.

Once we reached the coffee shop, we saw Natasha waiting for us at our usual table beside the window. I greeted Natasha with a hug before Clint and I sat down.

"How's my favourite scientist?" Natasha asked with a grin on her face.

I let out a chuckle. "Same as always." I replied.

Clint leaned back in his chair and picked up the menu left for us on the table.

"Oh, by the way," Clint began, in a voice just low enough for us to hear, "you guys might want to start looking at art galleries, 'cause the kids have got about a ton of drawings to give you."

I let out a small laugh, a smile lighting up my face. This right here was what I looked forward to every single week. Here, I had the chance to simply relax; away from avengers business, away from the lab, away from all the fighting. It reminded me of a simpler time. This was the closest I could get to getting back to it.

"What about you, 'Phelia?" Natasha asked. "You in?"

"Hm?" I responded, lifting my head to meet her eyes.

"I said, Clint and I have a bet riding on tonight." She explained.

"Go on..."

"I bet that Tony and Thor will have another 'my girlfriend's better than your girlfriend' contest within the first ten minutes of the party." Nat said.

"I'll take the bet." I said with a laugh.

All I had to do was keep Tony and Thor from bragging about their significant others for ten minutes. How hard could that be?

~*~

Stark's party was due to start any minute now, yet I was having a little trouble with my wardrobe. It wasn't until this moment I realised how few formal outfits I had. This wasn't the first party Stark had thrown at the tower, yet my work at the lab usually prevented me from attending. Not knowing what else to do, I knocked at Natasha's door.

"Come in!" She called from inside.

I entered the room to see Nat standing in front of the mirror, fastening an earring in her ear. Once she saw me, her face lit up.

"Hey, 'Phelia, what's up?" She asked.

"I uh- realised I don't have anything to wear..." I replied rather sheepishly.

"Well, we can fix that."

Natasha gave me a kind smile and headed over to her wardrobe. She perused through it for a moment, eyebrows drawn together. Then, she pulled out a satin, cowl neck dress and held it up to me. A smile once again formed on her face.

"Try this on." She said.

After my clothes had been placed neatly in a pile on Natasha's bed, I stood in front of the mirror and admired the dress Nat had chosen; it was a beautiful champagne colour and came down to just below my knees.

"It's perfect." I said, beaming. "Thank you, Nat."

"Anytime." Natasha replied. "We better get going, I think I can hear the guests arriving."

Arm in arm, Natasha and I entered the party to see it was already bustling with guests. Tony noticed our arrival and gestured me over. Nat said she was going to get a drink and departed for the bar. With that, I joined Tony, Thor and Rhodey; the latter of whom was in the middle of telling one of his many War Machine stories.

"But, you know, the suit can take the weight, right? So I take the tank, fly it right up to the General's Palace, drop it at his feet. I'm like, 'Boom. You looking for this?'"

Rhodey paused, clearly expecting laughter. When none came, he spoke again.

"'Boom. Are you looking for....'" He began, yet quickly changed his tune when both Tony and Thor remained unamused. "Why do I even talk to you guys? Everywhere else, this story kills."

"That's the whole story?" Thor asked.

"Yeah, it's a War Machine story." Rhodey replied.

"Oh, it's very good, then." Thor said, a beaming smile on his face. "It's impressive!"

"Quality save..." Rhodey muttered.

"Madden, glad you could join us." Tony greeted.

"Glad to be here." I replied with a smile. "If it's any consolation, Rhodey, I liked your story." I said.

"Thank you! At least someone appreciates me." Said Rhodey. "So, no Pepper? She's not coming?" He asked Tony.

"No." Tony replied.

"What about Jane?" Maria Hill asked, having joined our conversation. "Where are the ladies, gentlemen?"

"You know them, probably both busy." I said with a small laugh.

Just as I opened my mouth to change the subject, Tony spoke up.

"Ms. Potts has a company to run." He said.

"Yes, I'm not even sure what country Jane's in. Her work on the Convergence has made her the world's foremost astronomer." Thor added.

"And the company that Pepper runs is the largest tech conglomerate on Earth. It's pretty exciting." Countered Tony.

"There's even talk of Jane getting a Nobel Prize." Thor said with a grin.

I let out an inaudible sigh. I now owed Nat ten bucks.

"Yeah, they must be busy 'cause they'd hate missing you guys get together." Maria said. "Testosterone." She added, faking a cough to disguise the word.

"Oh my goodness." Rhodey remarked. "Want a lozenge?"

Maria nodded and the two walked off together.

"If you gentlemen will excuse me," I began, "I have to go and find Natasha."

"But Jane's better." I heard Thor say to Tony as I walked away.