SANCTUM | Avengers

13

- THIRTEEN -

As the large group sits scattered across the living room trying to not look as exhausted as they really are, Laura brings a steaming casserole dish to the coffee table. Behind her, Barton places bowls and cutlery down, too.

I pull the sleeves of the borrowed shirt over my hands, fiddling with the fabric. The worn-in jeans and loose, white long-sleeved shirt that Laura had lent to me are completely foreign on my body.

"I didn't know, um, what you guys would want for lunch," she says nervously. "So, I just made something that the kids love: macaroni and cheese!"

A light smile plays on both of their faces as both Stark, the Captain, Banner, and Natasha all sit up to dig in. I just sit and stare at the steaming dish. I have never eaten "macaroni and cheese", nor have I ever eaten a meal in a living room homemade by a mother. My breif childhood was not been made up of hearty, hand-cooked foods.

"Macaroni and cheese?" Thor questions, also staring at the food. Evidently I am not the only one out of the loop.

"Just try it," Stark insists, shoving a steaming fork-full into his mouth. "Oh my gosh, this is so good," he utters, barely intelligible through the mouthful of food. This earns a slight snicker from everybody else in the room.

"See, Laura, I told you," Barton says to his wife, "they're just like the little kids."

This sends the team into tired laughter, each one of them left with a lingering smile before it disappears completely.

"Well," Barton says, breaking the silence, "I have a fence to mend."

He smiles at his wife and squeezes her shoulders tightly before he leaves. Slowly, the rest of the crew does, too. Laura says something to Tony about an old tractor needing to be fixed, the Captain mentions getting some fresh air, and Banner is nowhere to be seen. Natasha is the only one left and she just nods in my direction before she, too, disappears out the front door.

I try my best to stay seated and resist the urge to explore, but I fail and stand up from the wooden chair. Wandering out on the front porch, a soft breeze picks my hair off of my shoulders. From here, the whole garden is visible, along with far stretching fields and an old white barn. This would be perfect time to escape. If they found me here, it would be a disaster.

If Ultron found me at all, it would be annihilation.

This would be my only chance. Heading back inside, I silently climb up the staircase to the room where I had changed and left my suit. Slipping off the jeans and sliding on the tight suit, I cover myself in the light sweater Laura had also laid out and clip my belt back around my waist. All I would need to do was start the plane and I would be gone. I'd hot-wired enough cars to do it with my eyes closed, so hopefully this would work.

Slipping without a sound down the stairs, I carefully move towards the exit.

"Going somewhere?" a voice calls from the kitchen.

Turing, I see Laura pouring lemonade out of a pitcher into two glasses. I don't say a word. I slap myself internally, knowing I should have known she was there. I was too focused on my freedom.

"Seriously, though, I love that sweater. So if you left with it, we would have a major problem."

Without breaking eye contact I slip off the sweater, place it on the railing of the stairs, and turn back towards the exit.

"You never answered my question," she continues.

"I'm leaving," I reply, turning to face her yet again.