Title: Midnight Snacks and Good Company
Fandom: West Coast Avengers (Marvel Comics)
Characters: Quentin Quire, Kate Bishop
Rating: Teen
Warnings: non-prescribed painkiller use.
Word Count: 865
Summary: Both Quentin and Kate have trouble sleeping after a mission leaves them with more bumps and bruises than they’d like.
Written For: @fan_flashworks challenge 290: Crush, @monthlysupergo Feb. Table 2 prompt: midnight snack, and @allbingo ’s Valentine Fest prompt: staying up late



Quentin groaned as he rolled out of bed. The day's battle hadn't been as easy as they expected it to be and he'd ended up with some pretty spectacular bruising on several areas of his body. He had managed to keep the team alive though, that was something. He wasn't sure how he'd managed to become the default protector of the team. Bishop had said something about his skill set and how it was important, he wasn't sure -- he'd kind of drifted off during that particular speech.

He'd always seen himself as more of an offensive fighter than a defensive one. He was the kind of person who was more likely to cause harm than to prevent it. The idea of people actually depending on him for their safety was a seriously frightening thought.

His stomach growled. Great, he was restless, cranky, sore and hungry. At least he could do something about two of those things. He retrieved the bottle of pain pills he kept in his sock drawer and headed to the kitchen to find something to wash them down with.

The refrigerator was surprisingly full. Someone must have finally gone shopping. Probably Bishop, she was responsible like that. Whoever it was had even gotten the Strawberry Crush soda he'd asked for. Quentin grabbed a bottle and went scavenging through the cupboards for an easy snack.

He felt Kate's restless mind before he turned and saw her enter the room. "Couldn't sleep either, Bishop?"

Kate groaned. "My head is throbbing, my shoulder is burning -- honestly everything hurts right now. I'm like a giant ball of pain."

"I could help with that -- tweak the pain receptors in your brain a little." Kate made a face. She was obviously less than thrilled by the idea of him tinkering in her head. "I also have pain pills -- the good kind." He shook the bottle at her. "I'm willing to share."

"If you can tweak pain receptors --or whatever with your power, why the pills?" Kate asked.

He grinned. "The pills are more fun." There was also the fact that tinkering with his own head didn't always work out that well for him. He wasn't about to share that information though.

Kate sighed and held out her hand. "Okay, give me a pill."

Quentin placed a pill in her hand before popping two into his mouth and washing them down with Strawberry Crush.

Kate stuck out her tongue and gestured to his soda. "I can't believe you actually drink that stuff." Kate grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.

"By the way, thanks for picking it up for me."

"Not a problem. But you really have Gwen to thank for that. She insisted. She said it was gross, but that you liked it and we had to get it."

"That I do." Quentin took another sip of his soda. "I was thinking about staying up for a little while and maybe watching some TV while I wait for the pills to kick in -- did you want to join me?" He shrugged like it was no big deal.

He didn't think she would actually hang with him. Kate mostly avoided him when they weren't doing actual team stuff. People generally said no to voluntarily spending time with Quentin. He was used to it.

Kate hesitated a moment while she swallowed the pain pill. "Why not?"

"Cool, I'll grab us something to eat." Quentin tried to hide his surprise but wasn't quite sure if he managed to pull it off or not.

"There are some chips on the bottom shelf, behind the dog food," Kate said.

"Hiding the good stuff, huh? I'm impressed." Quentin grabbed the chips and headed to the living room. He picked up the remote and sat down on the couch. "Any preference?"

Kate sat down next to him. "Dog Cops."

"Seriously? What is up with you and Barton? You guys watch that show all the time."

"It's a good show."

"It's really not. Logan watches that shit."

"Well, apparently he has good taste."

Quentin rolled his eyes and handed Kate the remote. "Okay, fine. We can watch Dog Cops." He could put up with bad TV in exchange for good company.

"I'm sorry you got hurt, I should have done a better job on my end," Quentin said.

"What? No, Quentin, you did great. You followed my orders --with very little whining even, and you kept everyone from getting killed. So, I got a little banged up -- it wasn't the first time and I know it's not going to be the last."

"You Hawkeyes fall off buildings at an alarming rate - especially for non-powereds."

"Tell me about it." Kate laughed and took another handful of chips. "You got pretty banged up yourself. How're those bruises coming along?"

Quinten lifted his sleeve. "They've turned a pretty impressive shade of purple."

Kate whistled. "Nice. The color really complements your hair. Mine are coming along nicely too." Kate shifted to show off the huge bruise blossoming on her thigh.

They watched TV and ate chips and it was -- comfortable. Quentin was beginning to think that maybe he had a home here with this team. Maybe even a family.