Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“… What the hell are you doing?” Tony asked, standing in Kamala’s doorway.

Kamala looked up and grinned at him. “I’m building a pillow fort.”

Tony tilted his head a bit to the side, leaning against the door frame. “Isn’t that a little childish?”

“Does that mean you don’t want to join me?” Kamala asked, raising an eyebrow.

Tony stared at her for a moment, then looked over her fort, gaping a bit like a fish out of water. Finally, he looked back at her and smiled. “Scoot over.”

Kamala giggled and scooted to the side, making room for Tony. So far, she’d managed to set up the roof, which was a captain marvel blanket that she’d attached on one end to the bunk above her bed with clips, and then secured the other corners with books on her table and a pile of boxes she’d moved for a second support.

“Why are there two piles of pillows?” Tony asked, gesturing as he sat down.

Kamala looked up and followed his finger. “Oh, the larger pile are my pillows, almost all of them are Avengers themed. The other pile are pillows that Thor gave me when I mentioned I was going to do this, but they all smell like Bruno’s grandmas house for some reason and it was making my nose itchy so I separated them.”

Tony nodded sagely. “Thor really likes getting things from secondhand stores and dumpsters. Anyways, what do you want me to do?”

Together they created the perfect fort, adding 2 more blankets as walls, both Ironman at Tony’s insistence, and a fuzzy Hulk blanket on the floor. They piled pillows against the base of Kamala’s bed and all over the floor, creating a comfy place to sit.

“One last finishing touch.” Kamala said, biting her lip as she dug through one of her boxes.

Tony raised an eyebrow from inside the fort, lounging comfortably on the mountain of pillows with his hands behind his head. “More? I don’t know if we can fit anything else in here.”

“Aha!” Kamala exclaimed victoriously, holding up a small lantern.

Tony frowned in confusion. “A lantern?”

“Nope, even better.” Kamala said, sitting down next to him and clearing a small spot on the ground. She set down the lantern and flicked it on, small stars erupting onto the blanket above them.

Tony let out a small exclamation of awe, so quiet that she didn’t think she was meant to hear it. “Well kiddo, what’s the plan now?” He asked, leaning back, and crossing his legs.

Kamala thought about it for a moment before breaking out into a grin. “Have you ever played Avenger’s Guess Who?”

…

“Hey Kamala, you in here?” Steve asked, walking into the teenager’s room.

“Yep, under here.” She called and Steve walked towards the large mass of, well, stuff.

“Kamala, have you seen Tony? I need to- “Steve broke off, noticing that there were two people under the blankets.

Tony and Kamala were lounged on piles of pillows, having cleared enough floor space to put down two plastic sheets with an array of little flaps on them, and an assortment of snacks in bowls decorated with his shield. Each had on a face mask, Kamala’s purple while Tony was sporting a bright pink one with little flecks of glitter in it.

“Hey Cap, what’s up?” Tony said brightly, sipping from a can of soda with a swirly straw.

“Uhh, nothing, it can wait, you look… busy.” Steve stammered, unsure of what to say.

Tony raised an eyebrow at him and smirked. “Whatever you say o’ captain, my captain.”

Kamala snickered and popped an M&M in her mouth. “Want to join us? We’re having a spa day and playing Avengers guess who!”

“Don’t, she totally cheats. She’s won the past 6 games, and one of them she guessed in two guesses.” Tony stage whispered in mock annoyance, grinning.

“It’s not my fault you suck at this game. Although it is a little bit sad it took you 7 turns to get Black Widow…” Kamala retorted playfully. Tony rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out at her.

“Uhh, no I have some other things I need to do.” Steve said, confused.

Tony shrugged. “Suit yourself.” He turned back to Kamala. “Ok, your turn to ask a question.”

Steve walked back to the door, the sounds of the game filling the room as he walked away.

“Does the person have the power to move from place to place without walking?”

“Yes.”

“Is it Spiderman?”

Tony’s outraged cry resounded throughout the small space. “What? How did you do that?”

“Do what? Win again?” Kamala shot back, humor lacing her words.

“Nope, I’m not going to let a teenager win. Rematch.”

“You know, statistically, chances are I’m gonna win again…”

“Just set up the board Khan and watch.”

“Watch you lose again?”

“I regret ever teaching you about witty banter.”

Chapter Text

“Why are you sneaking around in the dark?” Kamala asked, amused and slightly curious as she stood up from the corner of the hallway where she was encased in shadows.

Steve jumped about a foot and clutched at his chest, breathing heavily. Kamala snickered and he but a finger to his lips, signaling quiet. She followed him down the stairs into the common area, stopping at the vending machines. The lights were on half, as with most of the Chimera’s crew asleep they turned off all the lights, only keeping the bare minimum for sight on.

“Tony doesn’t like it when I get midnight snacks.” Steve explained, slightly sheepish. He turned to the vending machine and hit a few buttons, a fiber bar dropping from its spot.

Kamala raised an eyebrow at him, leaning against the edge of the vending machine. “You’re literally the leader of the team. You can do whatever you want.”

Steve glanced at her, reaching down and grabbing his bar from the bottom of the machine. “Yes, but then I have to listen to him lecture me. Again.”

“That’s fair.” Kamala said, nodding. She stopped as a thought hit her. “Wait, doesn’t he basically live off caffeine? Why does he care so much about what you eat?”

Steve shrugged and opened the bar. “Something about making sure I'm healthy." Kamala gave him an unimpressed look and he shrugged again. "I know, I’ve learned its better just not to question it.” He took a bite of the bar before looking straight at her. “What are you doing up? It’s pretty late.”

Kamala grinned slightly sheepishly. “I’ve decided to have an all-night movie night. I was just waiting for everyone else to go to sleep so I could sneak out here and use the TV. So much better than my laptop screen.”

“That’s not good for you, teens your age need 8-10 hours of sleep.” Steve pointed out, frowning.

Kamala rolled her eyes. “Tony wasn’t lying when he told me you were reading parenting books then.” Steve blushed and she giggled. “Look, weren’t you just telling me you were concerned that I wouldn’t get to act like a normal teen? Well this is something a normal teen does. Plus, if I do fall asleep, I’m already wearing pajamas so it wouldn’t be a big deal.” She pointed out, gesturing at her Captain Marvel pajamas.

Steve seemed to consider this, but he didn’t look sold. An idea popped into Kamala’s head. “If you’re so worried, why don’t you join me?”

“Well…” Steve said, eyebrows furrowed. Kamala shot him her best puppy-dog eyes, pleading and he caved. “Ok, you set things up and I’ll be right back.”

Kamala pumped a fist into the air and got started on rearranging things. She moved the large coffee table over to the side and ran up to her room, returning with a pile of pillows, blankets, and her captain America bean bag. Placing the beanbag in the middle, directly in front of the TV, she arranged the other pillows and blankets around, making sure to leave a small pile of stuff for Steve to arrange how he pleased. She grabbed the remote and settled into her beanbag, pulling up Netflix.

Steve returned a few minutes later, clad in sweatpants and a t-shirt. Kamala smiled up at him. “I left you some blankets and pillows, wasn’t sure what you’d like to do with them.” Steve nodded and sat on the end of the sofa stiffly. Kamala raised an eyebrow at him. “You know, you can relax a bit. I’m not gonna judge or anything.”

Steve looked at her, seeming unsure of himself. “I just have never had a movie night before.”

“Really?” Kamala asked, slightly astonished.

Steve chuckled. “Well, being frozen in ice for 70 years doesn’t leave much room for fun nights with friends, and then I was kept in a satellite in space for another 5.”

“Yeah, that makes sense I guess.” Kamala said, turning back to the TV. “I’m going to choose the first movie cause I’m assuming you don’t have any preferences if you’ve never had a movie night before.” She scrolled through some options and landed on Super Buddies. Grinning, she clicked it and the opening credits began.

Out of the corner of her eye she could see Steve relax a bit more, grabbing some pillows and positioning them around himself. They watched the movie in companionable silence, laughing at different parts, especially when the puppies began using their powers. After each movie Kamala scrolled a bit more and chose another into the early hours of the morning.

Around 6:30 the door from the living quarters opened, admitting Natasha. Kamala glanced over at her, then back to Home, just as Tip and Oh escaped the police Boov in the Slushieus.

“Hey Nat.” She whispered quietly, glancing over at Steve. He’d fallen asleep around 3am, snoring softly, and she’d tried to keep the movies a little quieter since.

Nat raised an eyebrow at them, glancing up at the movie and back down at Kamala. “What happened in here?”

“Well, I was going to have a movie night by myself and then Cap was getting a snack and didn’t approve so I convinced him to join me.” Kamala explained, raptly watching the movie.

Nat nodded, walking to the coffee machine, and poured herself a mug, settling on the sofa across from Steve. He shifted and opened his eyes blearily, looking confused when he saw Nat sitting across from him. “Fun night?” She asked, grinning slightly.

“Morning Cap!” Kamala said brightly, glancing at him for a moment before going back to her movie.

“Good morning Kamala.” Steve said, stretching. He got up and, stepping around the pillows and blankets strewn around, got himself a cup of coffee. He sat back down at looked over at Nat. “Yeah, it was a fun night. Kamala here introduce me to all sorts of movies.”

Kamala grinned widely. “Which one was your favorite?”

Steve considered that for a moment before answering. “Super Buddies. It was pretty funny and I liked the dogs, even if their powers were a bit outlandish.”

“Outlandish?!” Kamala exclaimed, turning on him.

Nat smirked at him and Steve shrugged. “They just seemed unrealistic.”

“You have super strength, I have the ability to polymorph, Nat has her invisibility thing, Scarlet Witch can control people, and Quicksilver has super speed. Not to mention that just on our team, we also have an ex-billionaire that flies around in a metal suit, a Norse god, and an enormous green rage monster, and you’re calling the dog movie outlandish.”

“… You may have a point.”

Chapter Text

“Is there something on my face?”

Kamala jumped, her hand slipping out from under her chin, sending her face plummeting towards the coffee table before she caught herself. “What?”

“You keep staring at me.” Natasha stated, an elegantly manicured eyebrow raised. The assassin was perched across the couch from Kamala, filling out paperwork on her tablet. The Chimera’s common room bustled around them, the door to the hanger bay hissing open and shut as people passed through it.

Kamala winced. “Shoot, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I was being so obvious. There’s nothing on your face, I promise.”

“Then why the staring?” A hint of amusement crept into Natasha’s voice.

“… Honestly? I just really want to play with your hair.” Kamala admitted, eyeing Nat’s glistening red waves. She held her breath, silently berating herself for making it weird before Natasha’s lip twitched up into a smile.

“Do you know how to braid hair?” Natasha asked, sliding down onto the floor in front of Kamala, sitting crisscrossed. She placed her tablet onto the table.

Kamala’s mouth fell open in surprise, before breaking into a grin. “Yeah, one braid or two?”

Natasha’s head tilted slightly as she thought. “Two.”

Kamala nodded, running her fingers through Nat’s silky hair to remove any pesky tangles. She split the hair into two sections, tying one in place with a hair tie from around her wrist as she began to braid the other side.

She braided in silence, her tongue sticking slightly out of her mouth as she forced herself to concentrate.

Kamala jumped slightly when Natasha spoke. “Kam, I know you well enough to know that this silence must be killing you. Ask your questions- I know you have them.”

Another moment of silence passed. Then words began spilling out of Kamala’s mouth like a dam bursting. “So, what is Carol really like? Have you met her? Will I be able to meet her?”

…

“Ah Natasha, there you are. I wish to ask you about-“

Kamala looked up from her work to see Thor standing at the hanger bay door, a peculiar expression on his face. “Hey Thor!” She greeted, turning back to her task. She had finished the first braid and was now about halfway through the second.

“What can I do for you Thor?” Natasha asked, not moving her head.

“It can wait, you seem to be in the middle of something.” Thor said, walking over and sitting down on the couch next to Kamala. “What are you doing young one?”

“I’m braiding Nat’s hair.” Kamala explained, gesturing with her free hand to the already completed braid.

“Ah yes, I have seen this done during my five years among the people of Midgard.” Thor mused, stroking his beard thoughtfully.

Kamala finished the second braid, Thor watching diligently over her shoulder. She tied it off with a hair tie and pulled gently on the pieces of the braid to make it a bit thicker. “All done!” She announced, grinning.

Natasha reached around her head the felt the braids, nodding. “Nice job, Kam. You’re pretty good at braiding.”

“Thanks!” Kamala said, warmth bubbling in her chest at the compliment. She glanced over at Thor and noticed his look of awe at the braids adorning Nat’s head. “Would you like me to braid your hair Thor?”

The god brightened, nodding. “If you wouldn’t mind Kamala.” He switched spots with Nat, settling on the ground in front of Kamala as Natasha lounged on the sofa next to her, tablet back in her hand.

Kamala gently pulled the hair tie out of his hair, releasing it from the half ponytail. She ran her fingers through it, detangling the strands. “How many braids do you want?”

Thor hummed thoughtfully. “How about 100?”

“Uhh… That’s a lot of braids…”

“Oh, I see. How about 20 then?”

“Keep going down.”

“10?”

“Less than that.”

“5?”

“Just a little farther.”

“3.”

“… Close enough.”