♡

The Avengers sat, conversing amongst each other happily. Clint and Natasha were still trying to set Steve up on a date. Thor was trying to make himself a bowl of cereal and Bruce and Tony were in the lab.

Natasha sat next to Clint in deep thought. She tried to come up with names but came up with nothing. Clint was also having the same problem as he twirled a drumstick in his right hand.

The red-head snapped her fingers as a small smirk came to her face. Steve rolled his eyes and paused the movie he was watching. He smiled slightly and gestured for Natasha to say whatever she was going to say.

"What about Gabriella, the new receptionist that Tony just hired?" Natasha questioned, snatching the drumstick that Clint was playing with.

"No, I'm not really into what she's got going on," Steve replied, shaking his head.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Natasha asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Steve made a face as he tried to think of a polite way to place his words. He didn't have to though because Clint stepped in.

"He means, she's a whore!" Clint shouted, laughing at Steve's facial expression.

"She is not a whore. Isabelle is a whore," Natasha stated, giving Clint an annoyed look.

"Oh yeah that was Isabelle," Clint gasped. "I think Gabriella is the one who's married."

"You're right, she is married," Natasha sighed, making a face.

They went into deep thought again and Steve played the movie. Clint let out a loud "aha" causing Thor to jump and Natasha to send him a look.

Steve let out an annoyed breath of air as he paused the movie for the second time. "What Barton?" He asked, slightly annoyed now.

"What about that girl...Sharon from SHIELD?" Clint tried, failing to retrieve the drumstick. He gave up and rolled his eyes, earning a laugh from Natasha.

"She works in the police department now," Natasha corrected. "What happened I thought I told you to call her?"

"I got busy. I don't know if you guys have noticed but I move around alot," Steve said, giving them small smiles.

"What about Vex?" Tony asked, coming into the room and sitting down next to Steve.

Natasha scoffed and Clint rolled his eyes. "I am officially done with this conversation," Clint stated gruffly, standing up and leaving the room.

"What?" Tony questioned innocently. "You can't tell me that there wasn't any sexual tension between those two."

Natasha was quiet and Steve sent her a look. She raised her hands up in defense and shrugged. "You two were kind of close Steve," she admitted.

"I'm not dating the enemy," Steve said, moving away from Tony.

"But she's not the enemy anymore," Tony told him.

"But she's not on our side," Steve shot back, giving him a look. Tony understood the look clearly and immediately backed off.

Natasha chuckled to herself and leaned back into the couch, closing her eyes.

"I found the scepter!" Bruce announced, coming into the 'living room'.

Everyone turned to look at him with shocked expressions and he only smiled in return. He looked extremely happy and Natasha couldn't help but laugh a bit.

"Where is Loki's scepter Dr. Banner?" Thor questioned, coming next to the short man.

"Oh, I'll show you," Bruce grinned, leading everyone into the lab.

He gestured to a large screen with a large smile on his face, causing everyone to raise an eyebrow. Bruce frowned as he pressed a couple of buttons.

"It's in a place called Sokovia," Bruce explained.

"We get that, it sounds easy. But where exactly is it?" Tony asked, his voice stripped of amusement.

"Oh, it's just on a base," Bruce answered nonchalantly. "A Hydra base."

"Seriously, does it always have to be Hydra?" Clint groaned, running a hand through his hair.

"Sadly, yes," Natasha answered, stepping closer to Banner. "Did you find anything on the base besides the scepter?"

"No," Bruce answered, fixing his glasses. "But it's run by a man named Baron von Strucker. I think it'll be an easy job."

"He's lying," Tony interrupted, preoccupied. He searched through Bruce's research quickly and turned to the team. "There's a lot of men that are going to be there and to be honest I don't think that we can do it."

"That is coming from Tony guys," Clint gasped sarcastically, "I think we should listen."

"This is serious," Steve scolded. "We're going to Sokovia together to retrieve the scepter, that was the deal; and then Thor takes it back to Asgard with him."

"It's a suicide mission," Tony hissed, his brown eyes narrowed to slits.

Before Steve could say something in return, Natasha cut in. "I'd hate to say it Cap, but Stark's right, it's going to be hard," she said, typing away on the computer.

"So what do you suggest we do?" Steve questioned, sending them all annoyed looks. "You want us to just quit-"

"Not quit," Natasha cut him off harshly, catching him off guard. "We need help."

"From who? There isn't anyone in this tower who can-"

"I know who we can call," Bruce cut in, raising a timid hand.

"Ghostbusters," Tony sang.

"Shut the hell up Stark," Natasha snapped, glaring at him.

"Make me Romanoff," Tony shot back.

"Enough!" Steve shouted, his voice filling the entire lab. The team went silent as Steve turned his attention to Bruce. "Who do you think we can call to help us Banner?"

"I don't think you're going to like it," Bruce began nervously, playing with his hands.

Steve stated at Bruce for a moment before he sighed. He ran a hand through his hair and looked to the ground.

"You guys have five minutes to meet me on the quinjet, pack whatever you need," Steve ordered, exiting the lab.

"Where are we going?" Natasha asked, stopping him.

"We're going to France."

•

Usually when it was a bright day, Vex would just relax in her backyard. But that was before, when she had SHIELD on her back.

She was free now.

Vex grinned as she threw on a flowy white dress and some brown sandals, running out of her house. She took in a deep breath of air and a large smile came onto her face.

"belle ul!" She exclaimed. "I want everyday to be like this! And it will!"

Walking around, Vex examined and admired many things. She had lived in the same 'house' for over five years yet she had never ventured out and explored the nearby town.

Many people waved, smiling at her, and Vex returned the favor without hesitation. She hadn't felt this happy in years, her face would surely hurt later though from all of the smiling.

As she stood in a clothing shop, Vex picked up two dressed and placed them in front of her. She frowned as she looked into the mirror.

"Which one should I get?" She questioned out loud.

"I think the pink would bring out your eyes," a familiar, deep voice said.

Vex smiled slightly as she turned around. "I hate pink...but I've been told I look good in purple," she stayed.

"That's too bad," Steve replied, a slight smile on his face.

"I didn't know you went dress shopping in France," Vex smirked, turning her attention back to the dresses in front of her.

"I'm international," Steve answered, standing closely behind her. "I thought I'd pick up a gift for a friend."

Vex turned around, her face only inches away from Steve's. "Considering our current situation, I would hate for that friend to be your girlfriend," she said, pouting slightly.

"I'm a little too busy at the moment," Steve answered, staring down at her.

"Hopefully not too busy," Vex told him, a small smile on her face as she bit her bottom lip.

Steve swallowed hard as his blue eyes traveled down. They landed on Vex's lips and he ended up staring for a bit too long. When he looked back up, he found that Vex was already staring back at him.

She raised a suggesting eyebrow and Steve coughed, his face turning red. Vex chuckled as she stepped away from him, causing Steve to let out a small breath.

"Are you going to tell me why you're really here Mr. Rogers?" Vex asked, looking at some shoes.

"I need your help," Steve began, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"With what?" Vex asked.

"Sneaking into a Hydra base," Steve answered. Vex quickly turned around and Steve jumped back slightly.

"Is this a SHIELD problem?" She questioned, slightly angry. "Because if it is then-"

"It's an Avengers problem," Steve cut her off. "SHIELD was compromised and brought down a while ago."

"Shame," Vex commented, shrugging with a small smile on her face.

"So can you help my team and I?" Steve asked hopefully, his blue eyes pleading.

"That depends, what are you retrieving?" Vex questioned. "I will not take part in anything that isn't right or something that can get me caught up again."

"I just need you to help my team retrieve the scepter," Steve said.

"Is there anything in it for me?" Vex asked, raising an eyebrow.

Steve made a face. "That depends," he told her.

Vex's gaze traveled from Steve's eyes to his lips. She did that about four times before he had finally caught on.

"Absolutely not," he hissed.

Vex pouted. "It's just one kiss. What, are you afraid you're going to catch feelings?" Vex teased, smiling.

"I'm not going to kiss you," Steve said, ignoring the last part of her comment.

"Then I'm not going to help you," Vex smiled, tapping his nose before walking off.

"Do you want to know what's in it for you?" Steve asked, grabbing her arm and pulling her back. "You'll be saving people's lives."

"What are you going to do once you get the scepter?" Vex asked.

"We're going to give it back and keep it away from earth," Steve replied simply.

"You sound like SHIELD," Vex laughed, shaking her head.

"We aren't SHIELD!" Steve yelled, angry now.

"But you came from SHIELD, yes?" Vex shot back, her blue eyes narrowed intently.

"We have nothing in common with them," Steve told her. "We are going to give the scepter back-"

"That's what SHIELD said about the tesseract, that's what they said about the scepter, hell they-""

"We aren't SHIELD," Steve repeated, slightly more calm.

"How do I know I can trust you?" Vex questioned, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Look, you don't have to trust me or my team," Steve replied. "I just need you to help us get the damn scepter."

"That's pretty hard coming from someone who one even give me a kiss," Vex frowned, smiling when she saw Steve's face.

"I'm not going to ask again Vex," Steve stated seriously, ignoring her words. "Are you with us or not."

"I can never catch a break," Vex snapped, rubbing her face. "Why in the hell not?"

"Good," Steve smiled, "now go get your stuff together; the plane leaves in thirty minutes."

Vex smiled slightly as a thought came to her mind. "You know, that still gives us enough time to-"

"No!"