Before You Go (Avengers x Reader)

Bruce - when you go on holiday

1 Year Later...
Once the smells of the city were alien to you and their chaotic fragrance set you on edge. There was no tinge of earthy loam to the air, no fragrance of spring growth or heady warning when rain was due. The fumes from belching vehicles underpinned everything but punching right out of it would be the spicy offerings of the street vendors, coming sharply into focus like a camera zoom and then ebbing away again; only to be replaced by the next vendor and the next. Now these are the smells of home every bit as much as the old ones were, perhaps less healthy but reassuring, nonetheless.

You hitch your backpack onto your shoulder and head into the hotel. The blonde girl at reception shifts her gaze from the computer in front of her and smiles brightly.
"Welcome to Silver Creek Hotel, how can I help you?"
You smile awkwardly.
"Um, I'm checking in." You pause. "The room should be under the name (Y/L/N)."
She nods, typing your last name into the computer.
"Ms (Y/N) (Y/L/N), I see you've booked a twin room with a hot tub." Her brown eyes sparkle as they look up at you. "Is that correct?"
"Yep."
"Ok, will there be anyone else joining you?"
You nod. "My, um, boyfriend."
She giggles.
"Here's your key. I hope the two of you have a great time!"
"Thanks." You mumble, taking the key and heading towards the stairs.
How can people be so nice to strangers all the time? You shiver just thinking about it.

The room is like any other hotel room. Pictures of the mountains, plain grey covers and a slightly worn couch. You dump your bag on the bed and take a deep breath. You grab your notebook and open it up to today's date.

Arrived at Sun Valley, Idaho. Spoke to a stranger on my own and checked into the room. Colin hasn't arrived yet.
Episodes – 0

You smile, closing the notebook and flopping back onto the bed with your eyes closed. It's taken a year to get to this point. When you first arrived in New York, you couldn't even go to a different room without someone with you. Now, you're in a different state on your own and life feels good. You finally feel free. Your moment of tranquillity is shattered by your mobile ringing. Colin.
"Hey." You answer, a grin forming on your face. "I did it! I checked in."
Colin laughs. "Well done, (Y/N/N). I'm so proud of you." He pauses. "Listen, I'm not going to make it till tomorrow. Work is crazy at the moment and I can't leave."
Your breath hitches in your throat.
"W-what? So, you won't arrive today?" You question, your skin starts to constrict as panic sets in. "You are supposed to arrive here at eight in the evening."
"No. I'm sorry, (Y/N/N). We practised this, remember? You know what to do if the plan changes."
"Yeh, but that was in New York. I'm in a different state on my own." Your breathing quickens with each word.
"(Y/N), calm down!" Colin demands. "You will be ok. It doesn't matter that you are in another state. It's the same procedure." He sighs. "I'll call you as soon as I know what's happening. Stay calm, you can do this. I love you."
"I love you." You repeat as a mumble, listening as Colin ends the call.
You hold the phone to your chest, like it's the most valuable thing in the world. You try to follow the steps you know so well. The steps you have memorised from your binder. But they just fly out of the window. Your hands shake as you pull up a contact you know, Bruce, and you send him three numbers: 911.

The thoughts are accelerating inside your head. You want them to slow so you can breathe but they won't. Your breaths come in gasps and you feel like you're going to black out. Your heart is hammering inside your chest like it belongs to a rabbit running for its skin. The room spins and you squat on the floor, trying to make everything slow to something your brain and body can cope with. You feel so sick. You want to call Colin, but the phone is too far away, its too far away, its too far away. You don't know who to call, what's their number, who to call, too far away, he's gone, he went, breathe, gone, what number, too far away ... blackness ... creeping blackness ... you're on the floor in a ball – the foetal position. Where is he, what's my name, who to call, what's the number, the stairs are too steep, the room is spinning ... he's gone ... blackness.