It’s Never Boring At Avenger’s Tower…

Once upon a boring day, when Thor was on Asgard and Banner was out shopping (that‘s a story for another time)…

Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong.

Steve frowned as he stared down at his shield. There was something off with the weight. He readjusted it on his arm. Yep, something was definitely off. He pulled the shield off of his arm and gripped both sides tightly. A second later, he split the shield in half with a resounding crack.

There were only two people who could’ve snuck into the room to replace the shield while he was absorbed in the baseball game, and there was only one person who would have the expertise to make such a realistic replica. “Clint! Natasha! Stark!”

Natasha poked her head in the doorway. “Steve, what’s – whoa! What happened to your shield?” The look of surprise and shock on her face was enough to almost convince him that she wasn’t to blame, but best not to rule her out too soon.

Clint came in another door, his jaw dropping. “In a destructive mood? Let me guess, the Dodgers lost.” But there was a little gleeful twinkle in his eye that assured Steve that this was the culprit.

“Tony!” Steve yelled again.

The billionaire poked his head around the doorway. “Nice job,” he grumbled to Clint. Natasha leaned on the other door frame, a grin spreading across her face.

Steve nodded solemnly. “You’re lucky we didn’t have an emergency or anything.” He kicked one half of the broken pseudo-shield and it slid across the floor towards the pair. A quirky smile came onto his lips. “This isn’t over.”

Clint grimaced. “Uh-oh, I don’t think I like that look he had on his face.”

Stark grinned and picked up the shield piece. “Ah, what harm can he do? He’s just an old guy. I’ll bet there weren’t even pranks in his day and age.”

Natasha smiled. “He may just surprise you.”

—

Tony walked into his lab, humming. He was working on a surprise for Pepper – the vacation cruise she so desperately was longing for – and that had put him in a good mood.

JARVIS’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “Sir, I finished the modifications to the Mark V.”

Tony frowned. “What modifications? I didn’t order any modifications.” Why was he getting a bad feeling about this? He hurried over to his suit area and stopped dead in his tracks, horror crossing his face. The Mark V was now pink. Bright pink. Who – who would have done this? There was only one possible answer. “Did Steve do this?” Tony yelled at his AI.

The AI gave an uncharacteristic chuckle. “You should see your face, sir.”

“It was him, wasn’t it?”

“I’m not at liberty to say, sir.”

Tony stomped to the other side of the room. “Now JARVIS is keeping secrets. Perfect.” He left and stomped down the hallway. “Steve!”

—

Clint stood in his room in his plain white t-shirt and shorts. Natasha always teased him about never cleaning his outfit. What she didn’t know was that he actually regularly cleaned his outfit. He had two, so when he was washing one, he would wear the other. “Girls,” he growled as he slid open his drawer. He stopped, his jaw hanging open.

“Pink?” he squeaked, his eyes growing wide. His hands were gripping the drawer as if it was the only thing keeping him on the ground. “It’s pink!” he yelled.

Steve.

“Steve!”

—

When Natasha saw Tony run by, his face inflamed, she set down her book (in spite of it just coming to a very tense moment) and thought she might as well follow. It would be interesting to see what happened. She could only assume Steve had exacted his revenge. As she stepped into the hallway, she was nearly bowled over by Clint, who yelled something unintelligible as he hurried on. Natasha hoped it was an apology, otherwise… Ah, well, she had enough satisfaction seeing him running around in shorts in a t-shirt. Since when did he do that? She had a feeling this was going to be good.

She hurried down the hallway and found them facing Steve in the kitchen. She smiled. Steve was attempting to look innocent while helping Pepper put away a few groceries and trying not to laugh. Innocence and laughter don’t go too well together.

“You had JARVIS spray paint my Mark V PINK!” Tony yelled, his face furious. “That one is my favorite!”

Pepper frowned at him. “I thought you said the—”

Tony shot her a glare that could fry an egg. “They’re all my favorites,” he growled.

Clint pushed Tony aside. “And my vest! Seriously, my vest? Why would you do that! Pink does not fit my personality.”

“I’m not sure I’d agree,” Natasha said under her breath, earning her a glare from Clint. She grinned.

Steve smiled. “It’s okay, guys. Tony, the paint is washable. I already gave JARVIS instructions on how to wash it off, and he’s probably doing it right now. And, if that really was your favorite, in my defense, I just asked JARVIS to do one, I didn’t specify which. Clint, I already got you another vest.”

The two glowered at him. “This isn’t over yet, Rogers,” Tony growled and the two of them hurried out. Natasha moved into the kitchen and started helping Steve and Pepper.

“Feel like you need an accomplice yet?” Natasha stuffed the cereal into one of the cabinets.

Steve smiled. “You just want in on the fun, without being a target. Clint hasn’t even seen his new bow and quiver yet. They were on clearance.”

Natasha’s jaw dropped. “You didn’t.” Steve just smiled.

There was a very unmanly shriek from down the hall. “STEVE!”