Friends to the End: The One with London
May. 13th, 2013 12:13 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ericadawn16Title: Friends to the End: The One Where They're Going to Party
Author: Ericadawn16
Prompt: The wonderful mash-up of Friends and Avengers
Character/Pairing(s): Clint/Jessica Drew, Jessica Drew/Vange Whedon, Tony/Pepper, Phil/Clint, Clint/Natasha, Clint/?, Natasha/?
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Slash, lots of slash, mild language
Spoilers: a few references here and there, nothing big
Summary: Clint Barton and Wanda Frank are getting married in London. Almost everyone is there except for Pepper and Phil in New York. Loki is bored in London which coincides with Natasha being bored...
Beta: HUGE Thanks to lavendergaia and Valoscope
Author Note 1: I'm sorry about it being so long since I posted. However, this is a very long chapter full of laughter and tears...hopefully.
Author Note 2: I will incorporate Phase 2 things that will make sense but other stuff I'm changing. For example, my Sharon Carter is very different than the usual Sharon Carter.
The One with London
March 29, 2017
Pepper started to laugh. She was looking at her tablet. Then, she threw the information up in the air in front of them.
"Avengers hit London," she read off one headline. "Here's most of them at the airport. More of them hitting Buckingham Palace. Johnny Storm annoying a palace guard. Meeting William and Kate...oh, Tony, why would you throw the future heir to the throne in the air like that. That kid does not look happy."
"Kid seems to be enjoying it here," Phil argued and threw up a .gif from his own tablet. The three year old was laughing and smiling. "Besides, he's done worse with Ben."
"That's true," Pepper admitted. "Sometimes, I'm thankful both for Ben being the first Avengers baby and that he wasn't normal. I'm not sure a regular baby could have survived some of that."
"I'm not sure any of them could have a 'normal' child," Phil argued. Clint was probably the most normal of the group and he was Ben's father. "But it's nice to see them enjoying themselves."
"You could have gone. I have JARVIS. Kurt's on high-alert. I don't need a babysitter," she said as she looked at the photo-shopped graphics. There appeared to be a whole meme of incorporating Doctor Who with the London photos.
"And watch Clint marry Wanda?" Phil asked. "I'll pass. Let them have their fun without me. Right now, the pre-wedding party should be in full swing."
"No bachelor party? No bachelorette party?" Pepper asked. He shook his head.
"They rented out a whole hotel; karaoke, band, food, you name it without having to leave for anything. Supposedly, it'll cut down on the paparazzi," he explained. She rolled her eyes.
"It'll go wrong somehow."
*****************************************************************
"Steve!" Peggy greeted. He looked up and tried to hide his surprise. Peggy looked still older than the last time they had seen each other a year or so before. They hugged and kissed each other on the cheek.
"I thought I would finally meet Bobbi," she said. Steve shook his head.
"We aren't together anymore. She said things were moving too fast and..."
He trailed off but Peggy was nodding in understanding.
"I'm sorry," she uttered. He gave a curt nod. "Come on, I have so much to show you."
He took her hand and they left the hotel lobby.
***********************************************************************
"Any word on Jessica and Luke yet?" Pepper asked. She'd seen nothing on her tablet since yesterday when they went to Mount Sinai yesterday when the contractions started.
"No, but it's her first one so it could be a while yet," Phil explained. "They still haven't decided how they'll announce it to the public other than not letting the Daily Bugle have anything."
"After the way they treated Peter and everyone else, I wouldn't let them have anything either," she spat. "I'm glad Leila quit them."
Then, she caught another photo on her dash and threw it up. It was a familiar black haired woman by a motocycle.
"Why's Loki going?" Pepper asked.
"Same reason he does anything nowadays...he's bored and wants a change of scenery," Phil told her.
"He better hope they don't remember the last time he was in London," she said. "Or he better stay in his female form."
**********************************************************************
Loki hurried through the hotel doors and smoothed his jacket. After the crowd outside watched Captain America and the older lady leave, they had recognized him and started throwing things. Most of the items he had transfigured or disintegrated but they were too numerous. He scowled at a ketchup stain before making it disappear. However, he was still being watched.
He looked up to see Romanov smirking. She was going to pay for that.
Loki sat on a couch and pulled out his phone. He had a few more days before SHIELD discovered the number and he had to dispose of it. Eventually, the right opportunity came. Romanov went to enter one of the large meeting rooms. Loki held the door shut just enough that she had to struggle. When someone was about to open it from the other side, he let go. The force of Natasha's strength, plus the second person, made the door crash into her face. He hadn't heard the crack but blood began to run down. Her nose was broken. He made eye contact with her and she glared at him before running off. Perhaps they would meet up again.
*****************************************************************************
Natasha decided to wait it out. She'd had broken noses before and it didn't seem too bad. Instead, she waited. Loki was watching her. He expected some sort of retribution but she doubted he would guess which form it would take.
To be honest, it was part retribution and part test to see what he would do.
The hotel employee went up to the microphone. He smoothed his jacket, slicked back his hair and announced from a card, "Loki Laufeyson, you're up."
She looked at Loki who frowned.
"Is there a Mr. Laufeyson here? Singing 'The Supermen'?" the man asked. "You have five minutes before we call the next name on the list."
Loki stood up. For a moment, she thought he might do it. Then, he left the room. In the corner, Charles watched him go. Then, his blue eyes settled on her. He knew, naturally. His gaze was uncomfortable and part of her couldn't help wondering what Loki's next move would be.
She left the room, too.
**********************************************************************
"My father hates you," Wanda announced. Clint nodded. He had assumed that.
"He kind of hates everyone especially humans, right?" he clarified.
"To an extent I suppose you could say he hates everyone he didn't father, but he really hates you," she stated. He nodded again; unsure about what he was supposed to say to that. "I just thought you should know."
He took her hand and grasped it.
"Do you think we're just being insane?" Wanda asked. "It being so fast and all?"
"No, it'll be fine," he insisted.
"So, you're not still in love with Coulson? Just a little?" she asked. Was there a right answer there?
"I suppose a little but the same way I love Nat. We've just been through too much together not to have that but I love you most," Clint insisted.
"Good then," she said and started kissing his lips.
************************************************************************
"I was evil once," Jean spoke before drinking her wine. "Scott and I still have issues."
"And you?" Natasha asked. The other's green eyes were downcast for an instant.
"Well, you never forget. You never forget how good it felt at the time, how powerful you were," Jean whispered and downed the rest of the glass. She held it up for another and a waiter approached them. Natasha tried not to think about how true her words were. Then, the waiter stumbled. The entire tray of full wineglasses felt on Natasha; drenching her black dress and ruining her hair. There were shards that hit the exposed parts of her feet. Jean gasped. Natasha laughed and shook her head.
"I'm so sorry, so very sorry. Please don't kill me," the waiter begged as he picked up the pieces.
"I have to go," she said to Jean. She stood up and saw Loki's reflection smirking in a mirror. She was going to get even.
****************************************************************************
"Ben's been outed!" Pepper yelled. Phil wasn't sure what she meant for an almost three year old so he ran in with his sandwich plate.
In the air was a clip of little Ben flying to the delight of London children his own age. It looked like they were at the zoo. His mothers were off to the side in sunglasses.
"What do the comments say?" he asked, wondering if Darcy had seen it, too. He'd told her to relax and have fun.
"'Hawkboy', 'Eaglet', 'Spiderling', 'Peter Pan', 'too cute', 'oh damn' and 'This further proof that they're all abominations and should be stopped,''' Pepper read. At least most of them were positive. Phil tried to ignore the bad press but it was still hard to see and hear how cruel people could be to a little boy. At least they could protect him and keep him a little boy unlike how society had failed Clint.
"The paparazzi are never going to leave him alone now," he hissed.
"Nope," Pepper agreed. "The Richards already have to home-school Franklin and Valeria. I thought maybe Ben could have some hope of a normal life."
She was rubbing her stomach and he knew she was thinking about the triplets she carried for her half-brother and his wife. They would have it worse than Ben and the Reeds if they took after Kurt at all.
"They'll figure out something," he tried to assure her. "At least Peter Pan is an appropriate literary reference for London and I'm sure they're having a blast at the hotel."
*****************************************************************
Loki considered letting his guard down; maybe finding himself a distraction to take to one of the beds upstairs. The level of inebriation would make this plan very easy. If that failed, he could watch Game of Thrones.
If only he wasn't still curious about Romanov and what she might be planning. She would be planning something. They had come too far to simply stop now.
Then, the girl had appeared. She had literally appeared out of nowhere. He glared at the small child with bright blue eyes and blond hair done up in a ponytail. Mortals had such strange names for things.
"Hi," she said with a smile.
He wouldn't greet her back. He would refuse.
"Hi," she repeated and was joined by two boys. The older boy appeared just as she had while the younger flew in.
Although all three had blond hair and blue eyes, he recognized the youngest. It was Ben Barton.
"Hi," said all three children.
"Hello," he greeted back. Romanov had a hand in this. He had no doubt of that.
"Is it true that you turn blue like Mr. Wagner?" the oldest boy asked.
He hesitated although he was so tempted to answer, to do whatever they wanted. Damn Romanov for figuring out the best secret weapon.
"My name is Valeria. Uncle Doom named me," the girl announced with a smile and held out her hand. It was the Richards children. He was amused by how she referred to Victor von Doom as 'Uncle'. Most of the Avengers referred to him as 'the asshole'.
"Loki," he said and shook her hand. "Now, you'll be running along?"
All three shook their head.
"Aunt Tasha said stay," Ben spoke. Loki smiled. There was more of a plan at work than he had assumed.
"Forever?" he asked.
"No, she said to stay until you gave us candy," Franklin explained.
"Candy!" Valeria screamed.
"Heh," said Loki. The request seemed simple enough. He gave them each a water glass full of candy but Ben paused before leaving.
"You sang to me," he stated.
"Me? I think you're mistaken," Loki insisted.
"You lie," Ben argued.
"That's what I'm known for," Loki admitted and walked away from him.
************************************************************************
Pepper finished off Phil's sandwich. Then, she rubbed her huge belly. Sometimes, she felt like she was a belly with a mouth and legs. A normal pregnancy would mean two more months but triplets meant it could be any moment. They were moving as much as they could in their cramped environment. She tried to tell herself that she didn't need to pee yet again.
"Danielle Cage!" Phil announced from his phone. "Seven pounds, six ounces, seventeen inches. No picture yet and they're still deciding on what to do."
Pepper laughed.
"I wish I could have seen Daniel's face when they told him," she said. Phil grinned.
***********************************************************************
Natasha swirled the stick in her drink while pretending not to see Loki walking up to her. While he would never admit it, Loki did have a knack for kids. She was still learning. It felt weird to be around them because she didn't understand them. Their world was foreign to her.
"We need to talk," Loki said, then grabbed her arm and their surroundings disappeared. She punched him as they reappeared in a room upstairs.
"Never punch someone in the middle of a teleportation," Loki hissed.
"Then don't take me without my permission," she spat back.
"What bothers you so much about me? Does the lady protest too much?" he asked.
"You wish. Should you even have to ask after almost ruining my planet multiple times, possessing my best friend, trying to kill my other best friend, breaking my nose, etc.?"
"You bested me at my own game, broke my wormhole and took advantage of my impaired mental capacities to force me naked in front of your friends. I would call us even so there is something more than that," he argued.
He was right and she hated that.
"You act like you're the only one to find out their whole life was a lie and you know you're not," Natasha spoke before adding, "Or did Barton not actually tell you everything?"
Loki frowned but nodded. Did he really understand or was he just humoring her?
"I feel our energies would be better used together on others in this hotel," Loki suggested.
It would be a lot more fun to do this to other people. Still, she'd keep her eye on Loki.
"Agreed," she said. "Be careful about Darcy or she'll want in on it."
Loki nodded. Darcy was nice but this was delicate work. She didn't want an amateur with them.
*******************************************************************************
"Did your dash just get hijacked?" Pepper asked, looking at her tablet at Avengers Tower.
"If you mean it's now all about Susan Bishop's engagement, then yes," Phil told her. There were some Avengers here and there but the young socialite's dating life was the majority of news at that moment. There were photos of her with the fiancé, with her father, baby photos...
"Doesn't she have a younger sister?" Phil asked.
"Yes, Katherine Bishop but I haven't seen anything about her in months except a charity event now and then. I don't think the paparazzo even bothers to follow her anymore," she explained.
It was probably better for her that way.
*********************************************************************
"He can't recognize us," Natasha reminded him.
"I know that," Loki snapped. "Come."
He pointed to a full length mirror and she studied their reflections. Both were nothing like themselves. They were both made up to women who were barely legal with a large bust on the verge of bursting out. They were both also blonde.
"Perfect," she declared and they went to find him.
Johnny Storm was talking on his cell phone until they approached.
"I gotta go," he said in haste and hung up. He smiled a big toothy grin and told them, "Hello ladies."
"We're such big fans!" Loki said.
"Really?" Johnny asked in what appeared to be his best seductive voice. Natasha tried not to roll her eyes.
"Oh yes," Natasha confirmed.
"Are you ever in New York? Maybe I could arrange a private tour of the Baxter Building," Johnny suggested. Yep, the bait had gone on long enough, time for the good part.
"Ooh, could you introduce us to Ben Grimm? He's our favorite," Loki told him.
"He's so hot! We just want to have sex with him!" Natasha declared.
"Is his penis as big as the rest of him?" Loki asked.
Johnny's face fell. You could literally watch as his smile turned into a frown while they talked.
"I...I have to go," he announced and left them. They took off in a different direction. As soon as they were alone, Loki began to chuckle. It was an honest glee that she didn't remember hearing before and it allowed her to join in. It had been masterful. Loki waved his hand and they changed back into their old appearances. She even still had the partially broken nose.
"What's next?" Natasha asked.
******************************************************************
"Did you ever just assume that you and Clint would end up together?" Pepper asked. Phil was silent a moment.
"Maybe a little. It's really not good to assume anything in our line of work," he told her. She gave him her patented glare. It was the one she gave Tony. He sighed.
"Fine, I may sometimes have fantasies about a deserted beach and just the two of us. We had our problems just like any couple but when we didn't, it was..." he paused before continuing, "It was nice."
Pepper grinned.
"You should go to London," she suggested once again. "Tony's jet would only take a few hours."
"What would that even accomplish?" Phil asked.
"You would both know how you really feel and you wouldn't have that regret hanging over you forever," Pepper told him. "I'm also being a little bit selfish and trying to preempt seeing you mope because stoic moping is actually worse than regular moping."
"I don't mope," he argued.
"You do, you just do it with a bit more stealth and silence but I know you too well, Phil, like all of today? You've been moping."
Phil set down his tablet.
"I was stupid. I thought I was trying not to make the same mistakes as before but I made new ones. It's too late now. It would be embarrassing for Wanda. Her father would murder me and I don't know for certain that he even still feels the same way."
"Then, you could ask him in London," Pepper suggested. He closed his blue eyes for a moment.
"What about you? I always thought you and Tony were inseparable. Now, you've been apart for almost a year," Phil said. "Sometimes, when he thinks no one's watching, Tony plays with Ben and when I catch him, I think he'd make a half-decent father."
Pepper laughed although her hormones threatened to make her cry. He always acted awkward with Ben in front of her but Phil didn't usually lie to her. She did have some ideas about Tony's hang-ups with children although she did get him once to tell her about Harley.
"I never imagined us being this way either. I thought maybe I'd even convince him into being pre-engaged. I did get him to put my name on the newest lease but..."
Phil moved closer.
"I still imagine us being old together, like this is a passing thing. It has to be a passing thing. I hate being this way but I can't fix it yet and he can't fix it either," Pepper complained. It was too much and a few tears came free. "If only everything could be easily fixed the way he can with his suits."
Phil hugged her.
************************************************************
Steve and Peggy arrived back at her flat which was already occupied.
"Paul!" she exclaimed. "Come say hello to Steve."
Steve hadn't seen Paul since his wedding a few years before. Paul Carter took after his grandfather; tall with dark looks but with his grandmother's last name. Steve was happy that Peggy hadn't spent her life pining after him and had learned to love again. He wouldn't have want the guilt otherwise. It was bad enough to reconcile the Howard Stark he left behind with the one who was described as hard and cruel.
"I bought Alice with me. She's just changing the baby," Paul explained.
"Peggy told me about the baby, congratulations," Steve told him.
"Thanks man," Paul acknowledged and turned his head behind them. "Come on, come on baby."
His daughter took a few steps, became pleased with herself and promptly fell. Alice put her in Peggy's arms.
"Doesn't she have Gabe's smile?" Peggy asked Steve. He nodded because she did. Marrying Gabe Jones couldn't have easy back then. Steve certainly missed a lot of things from back then but he couldn't go back to living in such bigotry. He remembered how much people were beaten and killed just because of how they looked or who they loved. Now Paul and Alice could be together with very little problems.
"Oof, she's getting heavy. Take her, Steve," Peggy requested and placed her in his arms. She smiled with all of her five teeth. The baby had hazel eyes and light brown hair that curled. "Can you believe I'm a great grandmother now?"
"What's her name?" Steve asked.
"Sharon Margaret Carter," Alice said with a smile.
***************************************************************************
"I need help, Phil, real help," Pepper sniffled. "I can't handle all of it by myself."
Phil hugged her and rubbed her back.
"Whatever you need..."
"No, you don't understand, like a shrink. I just thought it would get better and it did but then other things would come along and I'd just hide it better and now I can't be with Tony and I want to," Pepper rambled. He had noticed her problems since Maria died but this seemed like more than that.
"I don't want to be that person again. When Tony was bad...I was kind of a bitch. I didn't understand what was going on with him and it scared me. He was so different and I thought he could hurt me, not because he wanted to but accidentally. I didn't know who to turn to. Everyone else told my every move to Tony and I didn't want to pile more onto him. He didn't need that and...and you...you were dead!" Pepper complained and hit him with her hands.
Phil didn't know what to say. This went back five years?
"When you were dead, I had no one," she uttered. He hated seeing a woman cry and felt like he was on the verge of crying himself. Faking a death always seemed like a good idea at the time but never seemed to work out in the long run.
"And then, Tony tried to fix everything and it seemed that way so we never told anyone. Nobody knows what happened, nobody knows what happened to me," she continued between sobs.
"Do you want to tell me now?" Phil asked.
Pepper shook her head.
"But I want to want to tell you, to be able to talk about it and for that, I think I need a professional," she spoke. "Tony even tried to tell Bruce once."
"He's not that kind of doctor," Phil tried to joke.
"No, he's really not," she agreed. He couldn't believe something that major had happened without him or anyone else knowing. What could be bothering her so much now? Did her new knowledge of having mutant abilities bring it up somehow?
*****************************************************************************
Thor had asked Jane to accompany him. Sif had been his companion to balls as friends without romantic expectations. Still, Jane had turned him down. It was a delicate time at work and she claimed to be on the verge of a break-through.
"Come on, shake it!" Darcy declared and tried to show him the proper dance steps. Dancing was so much more involved here although even on Asgard, Loki was the better dancer. He didn't care how he looked and Thor felt like every miss-step was being immediately mocked.
"Yeah, we don't need anybody else!" Darcy screamed. She appeared to be very drunk. "Whoa!"
Thor felt less confined. Then, he saw how Darcy's green eyes were very wide and staring at him. He looked down.
He was once again naked in public.
"You should probably..." Darcy motioned to leave. "Not that it's not good because it is, it's all good but...yeah."
"By Odin's beard, again!" Thor complained. "Loki."
At least being a hotel, he didn't have to find something to cover himself immediately like the incident in the park.
"Could be worse," Darcy said. "Could be zombies."
Drunk Darcy was weirder than usual.
*********************************************************
"That will never not get old," Loki said with a smile. "What's next on our agenda?"
Natasha had an idea. She knew Thor would love it but wasn't sure about Loki. Either way, she would enjoy it.
"Franklin Richards has a device that I think we can have fun with," she said.
"What kind of device?" Loki asked as they walked to a different part of the hotel.
******************************************************************
Susan Richards liked to think she was smart. At least she had a degree to prove it and a good start to getting that Ph.D. However, being around her husband and Bruce Banner discussing things always made her feel stupid.
"Mommy, where do babies come from?" Valeria asked. Uh...
"Why?" she asked her small daughter.
"Because I asked the red man what he was doing and he said he was making babies," Valeria explained.
Deadpool, she thought and rolled her eyes.
"Honey, he was messing with you. He was trying to be funny," Sue told her. The little girl frowned.
***********************************************************************************
Natasha pressed the button and a large fart sound came out, appearing to come from Melinda May who reddened. Even Loki seemed to be biting his lip to keep from laughing.
"Let me try," he requested and she handed over the machine. She wondered who he would pick. Then, Nick Fury stood up and Loki pressed the button that had a really long fart. After playing with it for fifteen minutes, this was the best one. Natasha was about to lose control so she snuck into the hallway where she could laugh freely. Loki joined in.
"I suppose we can return it now," she suggested.
"Not just yet, it may still be of use," Loki argued. She smirked at his response. In some ways, he and Thor were just alike.
"Any ideas?" Natasha asked. "I know you've played pranks before on Asgard."
Now Loki smirked.
"Oh I was quite good. I even turned Thor into a girl once although there is one thing I haven't done in quite some time," he mused aloud. "A love spell."
"That's not a made up thing?" she asked. He shook his head.
"I'm going to do one tonight," he declared.
"Make it temporary. I don't want to ruin Barton's wedding," Natasha stated.
"If I wanted to ruin it, I'd involve kittens," he said. She rolled her eyes and then, narrowed them.
"Fine," Loki agreed. "Temporary with conditions that must be met. Now, let's find Tony Stark."
*********************************************************************
"Pepper, I'm calling it a night, just wanted to see how you were," Tony said into the phone. Pepper smiled at Phil.
"Tony, you really didn't have to do that. I'm fine, no babies yet, sweet dreams," she told him. His night terrors were a lot better now.
"Love you," Tony said and hung up. Phil squeezed her hand. It was all on her now.
**********************************************************************
"Who's Stark going to fall in love with?" Natasha asked.
"The next person he comes across," Loki told her. They watched as Stark got off on the wrong floor, looked around and was about to enter the elevator again when Steve appeared.
"Tony, wait up! I got lost, too," Steve explained and jogged towards him. They looked at each other for thirty seconds in an odd way. It was working.
"I, uh..."
Tony had started to talk but Steve had started kissing him. Natasha opened her mouth in surprise and that's when she felt Loki teleporting them again. When they reappeared, they both started laughing. Loki's green eyes seemed to study her for a second and she was about to mutter a smart remark to make him knock it off when he ran his finger along her nose. She could tell immediately that it was fixed but that's not what startled her so much.
Natasha knew Loki's body temperature was lower than most. Still, the cold on her nose had taken her back to her childhood. She remembered waking up as a girl and her nose being cold from the night being colder than when she had fallen sleep. The cold was full of possibility. Before she opened her eyes, she could pretend that she was somewhere else with a loving family.
She liked the cold.
They both looked at each other a moment more. Then, they started kissing.
*************************************************************
"Okay, you have JARVIS and Kurt. You could even call May," Phil suggested. She nodded.
"And in a real emergency, Lola," Pepper countered.
"That's not funny," he argued and she smiled. He didn't like joking about his car.
"What's up?" she asked.
"I'm going to London," he announced.
************************************************************
Author: Ericadawn16
Prompt: The wonderful mash-up of Friends and Avengers
Character/Pairing(s): Clint/Jessica Drew, Jessica Drew/Vange Whedon, Tony/Pepper, Phil/Clint, Clint/Natasha, Clint/?, Natasha/?
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Slash, lots of slash, mild language
Spoilers: a few references here and there, nothing big
Summary: Clint Barton and Wanda Frank are getting married in London. Almost everyone is there except for Pepper and Phil in New York. Loki is bored in London which coincides with Natasha being bored...
Beta: HUGE Thanks to lavendergaia and Valoscope
Author Note 1: I'm sorry about it being so long since I posted. However, this is a very long chapter full of laughter and tears...hopefully.
Author Note 2: I will incorporate Phase 2 things that will make sense but other stuff I'm changing. For example, my Sharon Carter is very different than the usual Sharon Carter.
The One with London
March 29, 2017
Pepper started to laugh. She was looking at her tablet. Then, she threw the information up in the air in front of them.
"Avengers hit London," she read off one headline. "Here's most of them at the airport. More of them hitting Buckingham Palace. Johnny Storm annoying a palace guard. Meeting William and Kate...oh, Tony, why would you throw the future heir to the throne in the air like that. That kid does not look happy."
"Kid seems to be enjoying it here," Phil argued and threw up a .gif from his own tablet. The three year old was laughing and smiling. "Besides, he's done worse with Ben."
"That's true," Pepper admitted. "Sometimes, I'm thankful both for Ben being the first Avengers baby and that he wasn't normal. I'm not sure a regular baby could have survived some of that."
"I'm not sure any of them could have a 'normal' child," Phil argued. Clint was probably the most normal of the group and he was Ben's father. "But it's nice to see them enjoying themselves."
"You could have gone. I have JARVIS. Kurt's on high-alert. I don't need a babysitter," she said as she looked at the photo-shopped graphics. There appeared to be a whole meme of incorporating Doctor Who with the London photos.
"And watch Clint marry Wanda?" Phil asked. "I'll pass. Let them have their fun without me. Right now, the pre-wedding party should be in full swing."
"No bachelor party? No bachelorette party?" Pepper asked. He shook his head.
"They rented out a whole hotel; karaoke, band, food, you name it without having to leave for anything. Supposedly, it'll cut down on the paparazzi," he explained. She rolled her eyes.
"It'll go wrong somehow."
*****************************************************************
"Steve!" Peggy greeted. He looked up and tried to hide his surprise. Peggy looked still older than the last time they had seen each other a year or so before. They hugged and kissed each other on the cheek.
"I thought I would finally meet Bobbi," she said. Steve shook his head.
"We aren't together anymore. She said things were moving too fast and..."
He trailed off but Peggy was nodding in understanding.
"I'm sorry," she uttered. He gave a curt nod. "Come on, I have so much to show you."
He took her hand and they left the hotel lobby.
***********************************************************************
"Any word on Jessica and Luke yet?" Pepper asked. She'd seen nothing on her tablet since yesterday when they went to Mount Sinai yesterday when the contractions started.
"No, but it's her first one so it could be a while yet," Phil explained. "They still haven't decided how they'll announce it to the public other than not letting the Daily Bugle have anything."
"After the way they treated Peter and everyone else, I wouldn't let them have anything either," she spat. "I'm glad Leila quit them."
Then, she caught another photo on her dash and threw it up. It was a familiar black haired woman by a motocycle.
"Why's Loki going?" Pepper asked.
"Same reason he does anything nowadays...he's bored and wants a change of scenery," Phil told her.
"He better hope they don't remember the last time he was in London," she said. "Or he better stay in his female form."
**********************************************************************
Loki hurried through the hotel doors and smoothed his jacket. After the crowd outside watched Captain America and the older lady leave, they had recognized him and started throwing things. Most of the items he had transfigured or disintegrated but they were too numerous. He scowled at a ketchup stain before making it disappear. However, he was still being watched.
He looked up to see Romanov smirking. She was going to pay for that.
Loki sat on a couch and pulled out his phone. He had a few more days before SHIELD discovered the number and he had to dispose of it. Eventually, the right opportunity came. Romanov went to enter one of the large meeting rooms. Loki held the door shut just enough that she had to struggle. When someone was about to open it from the other side, he let go. The force of Natasha's strength, plus the second person, made the door crash into her face. He hadn't heard the crack but blood began to run down. Her nose was broken. He made eye contact with her and she glared at him before running off. Perhaps they would meet up again.
*****************************************************************************
Natasha decided to wait it out. She'd had broken noses before and it didn't seem too bad. Instead, she waited. Loki was watching her. He expected some sort of retribution but she doubted he would guess which form it would take.
To be honest, it was part retribution and part test to see what he would do.
The hotel employee went up to the microphone. He smoothed his jacket, slicked back his hair and announced from a card, "Loki Laufeyson, you're up."
She looked at Loki who frowned.
"Is there a Mr. Laufeyson here? Singing 'The Supermen'?" the man asked. "You have five minutes before we call the next name on the list."
Loki stood up. For a moment, she thought he might do it. Then, he left the room. In the corner, Charles watched him go. Then, his blue eyes settled on her. He knew, naturally. His gaze was uncomfortable and part of her couldn't help wondering what Loki's next move would be.
She left the room, too.
**********************************************************************
"My father hates you," Wanda announced. Clint nodded. He had assumed that.
"He kind of hates everyone especially humans, right?" he clarified.
"To an extent I suppose you could say he hates everyone he didn't father, but he really hates you," she stated. He nodded again; unsure about what he was supposed to say to that. "I just thought you should know."
He took her hand and grasped it.
"Do you think we're just being insane?" Wanda asked. "It being so fast and all?"
"No, it'll be fine," he insisted.
"So, you're not still in love with Coulson? Just a little?" she asked. Was there a right answer there?
"I suppose a little but the same way I love Nat. We've just been through too much together not to have that but I love you most," Clint insisted.
"Good then," she said and started kissing his lips.
************************************************************************
"I was evil once," Jean spoke before drinking her wine. "Scott and I still have issues."
"And you?" Natasha asked. The other's green eyes were downcast for an instant.
"Well, you never forget. You never forget how good it felt at the time, how powerful you were," Jean whispered and downed the rest of the glass. She held it up for another and a waiter approached them. Natasha tried not to think about how true her words were. Then, the waiter stumbled. The entire tray of full wineglasses felt on Natasha; drenching her black dress and ruining her hair. There were shards that hit the exposed parts of her feet. Jean gasped. Natasha laughed and shook her head.
"I'm so sorry, so very sorry. Please don't kill me," the waiter begged as he picked up the pieces.
"I have to go," she said to Jean. She stood up and saw Loki's reflection smirking in a mirror. She was going to get even.
****************************************************************************
"Ben's been outed!" Pepper yelled. Phil wasn't sure what she meant for an almost three year old so he ran in with his sandwich plate.
In the air was a clip of little Ben flying to the delight of London children his own age. It looked like they were at the zoo. His mothers were off to the side in sunglasses.
"What do the comments say?" he asked, wondering if Darcy had seen it, too. He'd told her to relax and have fun.
"'Hawkboy', 'Eaglet', 'Spiderling', 'Peter Pan', 'too cute', 'oh damn' and 'This further proof that they're all abominations and should be stopped,''' Pepper read. At least most of them were positive. Phil tried to ignore the bad press but it was still hard to see and hear how cruel people could be to a little boy. At least they could protect him and keep him a little boy unlike how society had failed Clint.
"The paparazzi are never going to leave him alone now," he hissed.
"Nope," Pepper agreed. "The Richards already have to home-school Franklin and Valeria. I thought maybe Ben could have some hope of a normal life."
She was rubbing her stomach and he knew she was thinking about the triplets she carried for her half-brother and his wife. They would have it worse than Ben and the Reeds if they took after Kurt at all.
"They'll figure out something," he tried to assure her. "At least Peter Pan is an appropriate literary reference for London and I'm sure they're having a blast at the hotel."
*****************************************************************
Loki considered letting his guard down; maybe finding himself a distraction to take to one of the beds upstairs. The level of inebriation would make this plan very easy. If that failed, he could watch Game of Thrones.
If only he wasn't still curious about Romanov and what she might be planning. She would be planning something. They had come too far to simply stop now.
Then, the girl had appeared. She had literally appeared out of nowhere. He glared at the small child with bright blue eyes and blond hair done up in a ponytail. Mortals had such strange names for things.
"Hi," she said with a smile.
He wouldn't greet her back. He would refuse.
"Hi," she repeated and was joined by two boys. The older boy appeared just as she had while the younger flew in.
Although all three had blond hair and blue eyes, he recognized the youngest. It was Ben Barton.
"Hi," said all three children.
"Hello," he greeted back. Romanov had a hand in this. He had no doubt of that.
"Is it true that you turn blue like Mr. Wagner?" the oldest boy asked.
He hesitated although he was so tempted to answer, to do whatever they wanted. Damn Romanov for figuring out the best secret weapon.
"My name is Valeria. Uncle Doom named me," the girl announced with a smile and held out her hand. It was the Richards children. He was amused by how she referred to Victor von Doom as 'Uncle'. Most of the Avengers referred to him as 'the asshole'.
"Loki," he said and shook her hand. "Now, you'll be running along?"
All three shook their head.
"Aunt Tasha said stay," Ben spoke. Loki smiled. There was more of a plan at work than he had assumed.
"Forever?" he asked.
"No, she said to stay until you gave us candy," Franklin explained.
"Candy!" Valeria screamed.
"Heh," said Loki. The request seemed simple enough. He gave them each a water glass full of candy but Ben paused before leaving.
"You sang to me," he stated.
"Me? I think you're mistaken," Loki insisted.
"You lie," Ben argued.
"That's what I'm known for," Loki admitted and walked away from him.
************************************************************************
Pepper finished off Phil's sandwich. Then, she rubbed her huge belly. Sometimes, she felt like she was a belly with a mouth and legs. A normal pregnancy would mean two more months but triplets meant it could be any moment. They were moving as much as they could in their cramped environment. She tried to tell herself that she didn't need to pee yet again.
"Danielle Cage!" Phil announced from his phone. "Seven pounds, six ounces, seventeen inches. No picture yet and they're still deciding on what to do."
Pepper laughed.
"I wish I could have seen Daniel's face when they told him," she said. Phil grinned.
***********************************************************************
Natasha swirled the stick in her drink while pretending not to see Loki walking up to her. While he would never admit it, Loki did have a knack for kids. She was still learning. It felt weird to be around them because she didn't understand them. Their world was foreign to her.
"We need to talk," Loki said, then grabbed her arm and their surroundings disappeared. She punched him as they reappeared in a room upstairs.
"Never punch someone in the middle of a teleportation," Loki hissed.
"Then don't take me without my permission," she spat back.
"What bothers you so much about me? Does the lady protest too much?" he asked.
"You wish. Should you even have to ask after almost ruining my planet multiple times, possessing my best friend, trying to kill my other best friend, breaking my nose, etc.?"
"You bested me at my own game, broke my wormhole and took advantage of my impaired mental capacities to force me naked in front of your friends. I would call us even so there is something more than that," he argued.
He was right and she hated that.
"You act like you're the only one to find out their whole life was a lie and you know you're not," Natasha spoke before adding, "Or did Barton not actually tell you everything?"
Loki frowned but nodded. Did he really understand or was he just humoring her?
"I feel our energies would be better used together on others in this hotel," Loki suggested.
It would be a lot more fun to do this to other people. Still, she'd keep her eye on Loki.
"Agreed," she said. "Be careful about Darcy or she'll want in on it."
Loki nodded. Darcy was nice but this was delicate work. She didn't want an amateur with them.
*******************************************************************************
"Did your dash just get hijacked?" Pepper asked, looking at her tablet at Avengers Tower.
"If you mean it's now all about Susan Bishop's engagement, then yes," Phil told her. There were some Avengers here and there but the young socialite's dating life was the majority of news at that moment. There were photos of her with the fiancé, with her father, baby photos...
"Doesn't she have a younger sister?" Phil asked.
"Yes, Katherine Bishop but I haven't seen anything about her in months except a charity event now and then. I don't think the paparazzo even bothers to follow her anymore," she explained.
It was probably better for her that way.
*********************************************************************
"He can't recognize us," Natasha reminded him.
"I know that," Loki snapped. "Come."
He pointed to a full length mirror and she studied their reflections. Both were nothing like themselves. They were both made up to women who were barely legal with a large bust on the verge of bursting out. They were both also blonde.
"Perfect," she declared and they went to find him.
Johnny Storm was talking on his cell phone until they approached.
"I gotta go," he said in haste and hung up. He smiled a big toothy grin and told them, "Hello ladies."
"We're such big fans!" Loki said.
"Really?" Johnny asked in what appeared to be his best seductive voice. Natasha tried not to roll her eyes.
"Oh yes," Natasha confirmed.
"Are you ever in New York? Maybe I could arrange a private tour of the Baxter Building," Johnny suggested. Yep, the bait had gone on long enough, time for the good part.
"Ooh, could you introduce us to Ben Grimm? He's our favorite," Loki told him.
"He's so hot! We just want to have sex with him!" Natasha declared.
"Is his penis as big as the rest of him?" Loki asked.
Johnny's face fell. You could literally watch as his smile turned into a frown while they talked.
"I...I have to go," he announced and left them. They took off in a different direction. As soon as they were alone, Loki began to chuckle. It was an honest glee that she didn't remember hearing before and it allowed her to join in. It had been masterful. Loki waved his hand and they changed back into their old appearances. She even still had the partially broken nose.
"What's next?" Natasha asked.
******************************************************************
"Did you ever just assume that you and Clint would end up together?" Pepper asked. Phil was silent a moment.
"Maybe a little. It's really not good to assume anything in our line of work," he told her. She gave him her patented glare. It was the one she gave Tony. He sighed.
"Fine, I may sometimes have fantasies about a deserted beach and just the two of us. We had our problems just like any couple but when we didn't, it was..." he paused before continuing, "It was nice."
Pepper grinned.
"You should go to London," she suggested once again. "Tony's jet would only take a few hours."
"What would that even accomplish?" Phil asked.
"You would both know how you really feel and you wouldn't have that regret hanging over you forever," Pepper told him. "I'm also being a little bit selfish and trying to preempt seeing you mope because stoic moping is actually worse than regular moping."
"I don't mope," he argued.
"You do, you just do it with a bit more stealth and silence but I know you too well, Phil, like all of today? You've been moping."
Phil set down his tablet.
"I was stupid. I thought I was trying not to make the same mistakes as before but I made new ones. It's too late now. It would be embarrassing for Wanda. Her father would murder me and I don't know for certain that he even still feels the same way."
"Then, you could ask him in London," Pepper suggested. He closed his blue eyes for a moment.
"What about you? I always thought you and Tony were inseparable. Now, you've been apart for almost a year," Phil said. "Sometimes, when he thinks no one's watching, Tony plays with Ben and when I catch him, I think he'd make a half-decent father."
Pepper laughed although her hormones threatened to make her cry. He always acted awkward with Ben in front of her but Phil didn't usually lie to her. She did have some ideas about Tony's hang-ups with children although she did get him once to tell her about Harley.
"I never imagined us being this way either. I thought maybe I'd even convince him into being pre-engaged. I did get him to put my name on the newest lease but..."
Phil moved closer.
"I still imagine us being old together, like this is a passing thing. It has to be a passing thing. I hate being this way but I can't fix it yet and he can't fix it either," Pepper complained. It was too much and a few tears came free. "If only everything could be easily fixed the way he can with his suits."
Phil hugged her.
************************************************************
Steve and Peggy arrived back at her flat which was already occupied.
"Paul!" she exclaimed. "Come say hello to Steve."
Steve hadn't seen Paul since his wedding a few years before. Paul Carter took after his grandfather; tall with dark looks but with his grandmother's last name. Steve was happy that Peggy hadn't spent her life pining after him and had learned to love again. He wouldn't have want the guilt otherwise. It was bad enough to reconcile the Howard Stark he left behind with the one who was described as hard and cruel.
"I bought Alice with me. She's just changing the baby," Paul explained.
"Peggy told me about the baby, congratulations," Steve told him.
"Thanks man," Paul acknowledged and turned his head behind them. "Come on, come on baby."
His daughter took a few steps, became pleased with herself and promptly fell. Alice put her in Peggy's arms.
"Doesn't she have Gabe's smile?" Peggy asked Steve. He nodded because she did. Marrying Gabe Jones couldn't have easy back then. Steve certainly missed a lot of things from back then but he couldn't go back to living in such bigotry. He remembered how much people were beaten and killed just because of how they looked or who they loved. Now Paul and Alice could be together with very little problems.
"Oof, she's getting heavy. Take her, Steve," Peggy requested and placed her in his arms. She smiled with all of her five teeth. The baby had hazel eyes and light brown hair that curled. "Can you believe I'm a great grandmother now?"
"What's her name?" Steve asked.
"Sharon Margaret Carter," Alice said with a smile.
***************************************************************************
"I need help, Phil, real help," Pepper sniffled. "I can't handle all of it by myself."
Phil hugged her and rubbed her back.
"Whatever you need..."
"No, you don't understand, like a shrink. I just thought it would get better and it did but then other things would come along and I'd just hide it better and now I can't be with Tony and I want to," Pepper rambled. He had noticed her problems since Maria died but this seemed like more than that.
"I don't want to be that person again. When Tony was bad...I was kind of a bitch. I didn't understand what was going on with him and it scared me. He was so different and I thought he could hurt me, not because he wanted to but accidentally. I didn't know who to turn to. Everyone else told my every move to Tony and I didn't want to pile more onto him. He didn't need that and...and you...you were dead!" Pepper complained and hit him with her hands.
Phil didn't know what to say. This went back five years?
"When you were dead, I had no one," she uttered. He hated seeing a woman cry and felt like he was on the verge of crying himself. Faking a death always seemed like a good idea at the time but never seemed to work out in the long run.
"And then, Tony tried to fix everything and it seemed that way so we never told anyone. Nobody knows what happened, nobody knows what happened to me," she continued between sobs.
"Do you want to tell me now?" Phil asked.
Pepper shook her head.
"But I want to want to tell you, to be able to talk about it and for that, I think I need a professional," she spoke. "Tony even tried to tell Bruce once."
"He's not that kind of doctor," Phil tried to joke.
"No, he's really not," she agreed. He couldn't believe something that major had happened without him or anyone else knowing. What could be bothering her so much now? Did her new knowledge of having mutant abilities bring it up somehow?
*****************************************************************************
Thor had asked Jane to accompany him. Sif had been his companion to balls as friends without romantic expectations. Still, Jane had turned him down. It was a delicate time at work and she claimed to be on the verge of a break-through.
"Come on, shake it!" Darcy declared and tried to show him the proper dance steps. Dancing was so much more involved here although even on Asgard, Loki was the better dancer. He didn't care how he looked and Thor felt like every miss-step was being immediately mocked.
"Yeah, we don't need anybody else!" Darcy screamed. She appeared to be very drunk. "Whoa!"
Thor felt less confined. Then, he saw how Darcy's green eyes were very wide and staring at him. He looked down.
He was once again naked in public.
"You should probably..." Darcy motioned to leave. "Not that it's not good because it is, it's all good but...yeah."
"By Odin's beard, again!" Thor complained. "Loki."
At least being a hotel, he didn't have to find something to cover himself immediately like the incident in the park.
"Could be worse," Darcy said. "Could be zombies."
Drunk Darcy was weirder than usual.
*********************************************************
"That will never not get old," Loki said with a smile. "What's next on our agenda?"
Natasha had an idea. She knew Thor would love it but wasn't sure about Loki. Either way, she would enjoy it.
"Franklin Richards has a device that I think we can have fun with," she said.
"What kind of device?" Loki asked as they walked to a different part of the hotel.
******************************************************************
Susan Richards liked to think she was smart. At least she had a degree to prove it and a good start to getting that Ph.D. However, being around her husband and Bruce Banner discussing things always made her feel stupid.
"Mommy, where do babies come from?" Valeria asked. Uh...
"Why?" she asked her small daughter.
"Because I asked the red man what he was doing and he said he was making babies," Valeria explained.
Deadpool, she thought and rolled her eyes.
"Honey, he was messing with you. He was trying to be funny," Sue told her. The little girl frowned.
***********************************************************************************
Natasha pressed the button and a large fart sound came out, appearing to come from Melinda May who reddened. Even Loki seemed to be biting his lip to keep from laughing.
"Let me try," he requested and she handed over the machine. She wondered who he would pick. Then, Nick Fury stood up and Loki pressed the button that had a really long fart. After playing with it for fifteen minutes, this was the best one. Natasha was about to lose control so she snuck into the hallway where she could laugh freely. Loki joined in.
"I suppose we can return it now," she suggested.
"Not just yet, it may still be of use," Loki argued. She smirked at his response. In some ways, he and Thor were just alike.
"Any ideas?" Natasha asked. "I know you've played pranks before on Asgard."
Now Loki smirked.
"Oh I was quite good. I even turned Thor into a girl once although there is one thing I haven't done in quite some time," he mused aloud. "A love spell."
"That's not a made up thing?" she asked. He shook his head.
"I'm going to do one tonight," he declared.
"Make it temporary. I don't want to ruin Barton's wedding," Natasha stated.
"If I wanted to ruin it, I'd involve kittens," he said. She rolled her eyes and then, narrowed them.
"Fine," Loki agreed. "Temporary with conditions that must be met. Now, let's find Tony Stark."
*********************************************************************
"Pepper, I'm calling it a night, just wanted to see how you were," Tony said into the phone. Pepper smiled at Phil.
"Tony, you really didn't have to do that. I'm fine, no babies yet, sweet dreams," she told him. His night terrors were a lot better now.
"Love you," Tony said and hung up. Phil squeezed her hand. It was all on her now.
**********************************************************************
"Who's Stark going to fall in love with?" Natasha asked.
"The next person he comes across," Loki told her. They watched as Stark got off on the wrong floor, looked around and was about to enter the elevator again when Steve appeared.
"Tony, wait up! I got lost, too," Steve explained and jogged towards him. They looked at each other for thirty seconds in an odd way. It was working.
"I, uh..."
Tony had started to talk but Steve had started kissing him. Natasha opened her mouth in surprise and that's when she felt Loki teleporting them again. When they reappeared, they both started laughing. Loki's green eyes seemed to study her for a second and she was about to mutter a smart remark to make him knock it off when he ran his finger along her nose. She could tell immediately that it was fixed but that's not what startled her so much.
Natasha knew Loki's body temperature was lower than most. Still, the cold on her nose had taken her back to her childhood. She remembered waking up as a girl and her nose being cold from the night being colder than when she had fallen sleep. The cold was full of possibility. Before she opened her eyes, she could pretend that she was somewhere else with a loving family.
She liked the cold.
They both looked at each other a moment more. Then, they started kissing.
*************************************************************
"Okay, you have JARVIS and Kurt. You could even call May," Phil suggested. She nodded.
"And in a real emergency, Lola," Pepper countered.
"That's not funny," he argued and she smiled. He didn't like joking about his car.
"What's up?" she asked.
"I'm going to London," he announced.
************************************************************
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2013-05-14 04:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-05-23 03:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-05-22 12:20 am (UTC)I kind of like Loki getting a bit of red on him from Natasha, even if it is only ketchup. Seems fitting somehow.
Loki being called up to sing karaoke makes me smile.
Jean bonding with Natasha seems very fitting. Both have had a lot of darkness in their past and I like the line about it being hard to forget about how good it felt to be so destructive.
I kind of like Loki being good with kids. He was picked on a lot and had his own taken away from him so maybe he is more gentle with them to make up for that?
Loki and Natasha playing pranks on people in the hotel together is amusing. It was a bit of a more innocent take on them, a hearkening back to what Loki used to be and what Natasha could have been. I rather like them together.
It was heartbreaking to see Phil and Pepper both pining for their lost loves but the contrast between them and Steve and Peggy was good to see.
no subject
Date: 2013-05-23 04:21 am (UTC)If you enjoy Loki singing as much as I do, you'll like the next chapter.
I think that's definitely part of that. There's truth to something I saw on Tumblr, Those who no longer care once cared too much. Loki must have once had infinite patience. He grew up with Thor.
After about fifteen minutes of Pre-Midgard Thor, I can't stand him and LOKI GREW UP WITH HIM!
That alone kind of made me think...well, it's really understandable that he snapped even before finding out the whole Frost Giant thing.
Actually, even though he's scheming, you can see the actual truth within it and he does seem to be trying to advise Thor and act a bit fatherly with it, even makes sure that the guard tells Odin. So, Loki does have a parental streak to him.
I liked the idea of Loki being more "traditionally" feminine than Natasha.
I do admit to shipping Loki and Natasha a lot.
As always, I'm curious what you will think of the next chapter.