A/N. Hii! OMG I'm back! Yay! I've missed you all! xoxo Anyway, just to clear things up right now, THIS IS NOT THE 4TH INSTALLMENT TO THE COFFEE WITH YOU SERIES! THIS IS A SHORT NOVELLA THAT TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 3 AND 4. So it's 3.5 I guess you could say. I've got it all written out and it's only about 25,000 words or so. You have to read this to understand the fourth, so don't think you can just skip this ;) Anyway, it's written similarly to the timeline format at the beginning of SCWCR but with WAAAY more snippets of actual scenes, so I split this up into 6 chapters - one for each month. Here is the month of January. Also, because this is completed, I will TRY to post every day. And then at the very end, I'll give you guys a sneak peak at the actual 4th installment xD! Excited? I am! I hope I didn't forget to say anything, but anyway I hope you enjoy! :D

Disclaimer - I don't own the Avengers

BEING IN THE COFFEE SHOP WITH TANIA BANKS

A novella

CHAPTER ONE

January 27th – Steve sat in the solarium of the chalet, the warm sunlight filtering through the windows and illuminating the dust particles around him. He was clothed in sweat pants and a white T-shirt with socked feet and messy hair. Although on a snowy mountain "resort", Tony had had heated floors installed and JARVIS always kept the temperature at the perfect degree. So the Avengers all walked around in summer clothing unless they were going outside.

On this particular day, Steve had elected to polish his shield. He hadn't done so in a while and his weapon of choice could use a good cleaning. Little Rocky followed him inside and plopped down next to his thighs with her head in his lap while he scrubbed at his shield. He scratched the back of her ears gently before returning to his work.

He was about half way through removing the caked blood and dirt and who knows what else when Tania poked her head in the door. She spotted them and smiled, entering completely. "So that's where you went. I was looking for you."

"Well, I was here."

"Yes, Jarvis made that pretty clear. Although his directions were anything but." They chuckled together as she sat down next to him on his other side. Rocky yipped and leaped over his legs and shield to land in Tania's lap. She giggled and began fluffing the dog's fur and cooing to her. Steve watched with a small smile and went back to work, repeating the circular motions.

She observed him for a little while, noticing things she really should have noticed earlier. The way he caressed his weapon was… well, to be honest, it reminded her of when he kissed her. It was the same gentleness that bled through his actions as he softly cleaned the relic that had been with him throughout the majority of the war and more. It was one of the only things he still had from his home and it had been with him during his time in the ice. He had used it in the fight against the Chitauri and at Neil's house of horrors and against HYDRA (again). It meant a lot to him.

"What would you do if you lost your shield?" she asked out of curiousity.

Steve paused. "Mourn. But then Tony would make me a new one which would never be as good as the old one but would still be effective and life would go on."

The corners of her lips turned up. He really had learned to move on from his life experiences. Although the shield was very important to him, he knew that things and people could be taken away in a second. That's what made him live life to the fullest with the people he cared about.

"What about if you lost me?" she wondered.

He froze. It was different from his last pause. She could see the tenseness in his muscles and the horror in his gaze. He didn't move for several seconds and a spark of regret ignited within her. Had she crossed some sort of line?

Steve put down the cloth and set his shield aside before turning to face her completely on the bench on which they sat. He lifted his right hand to touch her cheek and she leaned into his palm, closing her eyes. He slowly pressed their foreheads together. "I can't lose you."

Her heart clenched. She felt the same way. "But what if you do?" Her voice cracked.

He gulped. "I won't."

"Steve…"

He sighed. "I honestly don't know if I could move on. I'd try, because I'd know that that's what you would have wanted me to do. Sometimes… sometimes I still wake up thinking I've slept another seventy years and that I… that I've lost all of you. I'm petrified that I'll miss more time and wake up and you'll all be dead. I can't go through it all again, Tania, I just can't."

She nodded. "I understand. I don't think I could live without you either." She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his lips, chaste and sweet. "I love you," she breathed, meaning every word.

He took her face into his other hand, holding her gaze steadily. "I love you." Their lips met once again, singing in harmony to the dance of their love.

January 31st – Tania sneezed and groaned. Her head ached and she couldn't breathe through her nose and her throat was dry and UGH she hated being sick. The day before, Tony had run inside and started throwing snowballs at the others – in the living room. This had led to a very impromptu snowball fight where everyone ran outside in what they had been wearing at the time and had a more serious than it honestly should have been, all-out snowball war.

And now, everyone was paying the price. Well, everyone except Steve and Thor. The super soldier and the demi God were both impervious to human illnesses and were the only two of the entire Company to remain in good health. So it had been left up to them to babysit everyone while they recovered. Pepper, Bruce, and Betty were the most helpful, even whilst sick. Tania would have helped more as well, but she had been hit the hardest. She couldn't even get up. Tony was in a similar state and was by far the whiniest. Graham and Clint were close seconds and Natasha remained totally quiet, for she had lost her voice somehow.

On this day, Steve and Thor had decided that it would be easier to watch over everyone if they were all in the same room. It wasn't like they could get any more contaminated than they already were, right? So there ended up being a huge Avenger puppy pile (with an actual puppy in it – somewhere… there were a LOT of blankets) in the family room.

Tania and Tony were sharing the rather small loveseat, seeing as they were among the most ill. The inventor was currently hogging the blanket they shared and she was extremely cold despite the temperature of the room. Leaning against the sides of their couch were Clint and Natasha, snuggling for warmth. Sleeping on their legs was Bruce, who in turn had Betty on his chest. Graham had fallen asleep next to Natasha with his face pressed against the couch cushion and his mouth wide open – drooling and snoring. Pepper lay across all of their legs, tangled up in the blankets and sleeping bags and one hand laced with Tony's.

Steve stepped carefully over the tangle of bodies to reach his girlfriend as he kneeled on the side and over the arm rest, where her head sat. She was clammy and pale and it was not a good look on her. He gently brushed his palm over her forehead and felt the immense heat radiating from her. Her fever had to be in the hundreds somewhere. She groaned.

"Your hand's cold…" she mumbled, eyes closed.

He chuckled. "No it's not. You're just hot."

"Thank you."

He chuckled again and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I'm going to go take the snowmobile out to the closest pharmacy and buy a whole truckload of stuff for you guys."

"Do you know what to get?" she asked groggily.

"I spent my entire childhood and adult life before the serum riddled with sickness. Times may have changed, but I know my stuff."

"Don't get in an accident on the way there," she breathed, shifting her head slightly under his palm.

"I won't. I'll come back to you and I'll take care of you. I promise."

"What about the rest of us?" Tony grumbled. "We can all hear you, you know."

"What happened to, 'I don't need babysitting'?" Steve asked with amusement.

Tony rolled over, taking the rest of the blanket with him. Tania whined and tugged on it while the genius pulled back. It was a weak tug of war, but eventually he won and she was forced to relinquish it. "Only Pepper is allowed to act like a nurse for me. She's the only one who can pull off the uniform."

"I resent…" Tania yawned, "that statement. If anything, at least Natasha would be able to pull it off."

Tony seemed to think about it for a few seconds. "Yeah, you're right. Red can pull off almost anything. Except Pepper. Only Pepper can pull off Pepper."

"That doesn't even make sense…"

"I'm sick! Leave me alone!" He rolled over again so that he faced the back of the couch. Within seconds, he was out cold.

Steve laughed quietly. "Thor will watch over you guys while I'm gone, make sure nothing happens to you." He kissed her cheek. "I love you."

"Mmm… love you more," she mumbled.

"Enough with the lovey dovey stuff, just leave already," Natasha groaned into Clint's chest. The archer was fast asleep.

"Alright, alright." Steve pushed himself to his feet. "I'll be back within the hour. Don't go anywhere unless it's to the bathroom. You better all be here when I get back."

A chorus of, "Yes, mom" 's echoed from the room (Betty, Bruce, Pepper, and Natasha). With that, Steve grabbed his thick jacket (still didn't like the cold – never would) and was gone.

Pepper was the next to fall asleep. Natasha dozed off after her. Bruce followed. Betty drifted off sometime later. Eventually, only Tania and Thor were awake. The brunette shivered and curled up into a ball, a cold sweat breaking out across her body.

With Tony hogging the blanket, she buried her feet between the billionaire's legs. If he were awake, he would probably say something dirty about trying to spread his legs or get in his pants or whatever, but he wasn't, and for that, she was grateful. With her feet now tucked safely in a place of heat that shifted seemingly to adjust to her position accordingly, she still had to take care of the rest of her body. She knew she would never be able to fall asleep if she didn't warm up. She couldn't adjust the temperature in the room because that would affect everybody in the room, not just her. And there were no more blankets or sleeping bags – they had all been taken up by the pile of Avengers on the floor. Rocky was somewhere in there, probably buried in a sleeping bag next to someone.

That's when Tania spotted the little ball of fur sleeping peacefully on Bruce's legs. It was as far away from Tony as physically possible, which was good because of his allergies. She shivered again and was brought back to reality as her head throbbed.

And then suddenly she felt something light and soft delicately fall over her body. She forced her eyes to flutter open and all she could see was red. She panicked for a moment, immediately associating it with blood, before relaxing when she realized it was a blanket of some sort. She looked up at Thor, ready to ask where he had found it, when she realized that the God (garbed in his most comfortable armour) was lacking a cape. She looked back down. Sure enough, his cape rested on her shoulders and body and it was honest to God smoother than silk and had the warmth of the sun – or at least, that's what it felt like.

"Thank you," she croaked, snuggling deeper into the couch and blanket as Tony's body reacted to her shifting, stretching his legs out more so that her feet could have better access to the warmth between his calves. Apparently, Tony subconsciously felt guilty about hogging the blanket and was trying to make it up to her through his legs. Yeah, sure. Tania was going to go with that.
Thor nodded, arms crossed over his chest. "You are very welcome, Lady Tania," he boomed.

"Shh!" She whispered, furrowing her eyebrows together as her head pounded. The others shifted and groaned but to her knowledge, no one awoke.

Thor appeared a little sheepish. "My apologies. I shall try to lower my voice," he said quieter, which was normal volume for everyone else. It didn't matter. It was still quieter.

"S'okay." Even though she felt extremely sleepy, Tania knew that dreamland was far away yet. "You know, we don't hang out much."

He nodded in agreement. "Tis true. I sometimes feel as though we hardly know each other. Perhaps now would be as good a time as any to remedy that?"

"Perhaps. Maybe we should tell each other about things like pasts and… I dunno, shit."

"Ladies, first." He bowed only slightly.

She laughed silently, chest shaking but no sound coming out. She told him stories of her childhood and about her and Graham having fun and about learning sign language from Aunt Gemma. Thor listened intently and hardly spoke a word throughout.

When it came to be his turn, he regaled beautiful tales of Asgard, his home world. It sounded fantastical and magical and Tania eventually faded away into her own little world, dreaming of golden castles and princes and princesses and generous queens…

A/N. Sorry it was so short. The others will be longer. So this takes place almost immediately after Sharing Coffee With Captain Rogers when the Avengers are on vacation at the chalet. It will span over six months where the next story will take place. It's action packed and full of D-R-A-M-A! I can't wait! Can you? ;P Stay tuned for the month of February!