Kacie fidgeted with the bottom of her dress. "Marley," she started, "why are we even here? You know Stark's just gonna make a big show." She gave her over-excited friend a look.
"You know exactly why we're here." Marley said without blinking an eye.
"No, I know why you're here! You have a crush on Stark!" Kacie said and Marley huffed. They turned their attention back on the huge stage, where the Billionaire had just walked on, waving his arms and bowing, or, as Kacie had put it, 'making a big show'.
Kacie rolled her eyes at her drooling friend in favor of leaving. She walked through the crowd of people and into the expansive building surrounding the outdoor area, and wandered until she saw an exit. She was about halfway there when someone opened the door to her right, knocking her into it and putting her on the floor.
"Miss!" The person on the other side of the door shouted. "Are you alright?"
He stepped out and offered a hand. Despite the man's help getting her up, she stumbled. When Kacie didn't answer, the young man told her to stay where she was and rushed to the other side of the hall where he knocked on the door.
Kacie was swaying uneasily and used the wall for support.
The next minute, a short man with fluffy hair swam into her vision. "I'm Dr. Banner." he said to her. "And I think you may have a concussion."
He kept on talking but Kacie couldn't make out what he was saying. She felt her legs go weak beneath her and interrupted the doctor mid-sentence. "Can I sit?"
She didn't wait for an answer and fell against the wall onto the floor.
"Steve, get her inside one of the rooms, I'll be there soon."
He hurried off and left the man named Steve to carry her petite body into the room he was previously in. He gently set her down on the leather couch and Dr. Banner, or Bruce, as Steve called him, came in with a first aid kit.
20 minutes later after treatment from Bruce, she became aware of a sharp pain and groaned.
Holding a hand to her head, she asked, "What happened?" The blonde rubbed the back of his neck and answered sheepishly, "I hit you with the door."
Kacie nodded, instantly regretting the action, at the pain it caused.
"I'm terribly sorry," Steve told her, frowning.
She just waved him off. "It wasn't your fault."
The two sat in an awkward silence until Bruce returned with none other than Tony Stark. Behind him were a short man who looked like he was bored, and a tall, muscled guy with long blonde hair.
"Steve!" Tony shouted, "I had to come down for this?!" He gestured to Kacie who stood up angrily.
"Where are you going?" Steve asked when Kacie went over to the door.
"I'm sorry for causing you two trouble." she looked to Bruce, then Steve. She pushed past the muscled man on her way out and ran to the exit.
Back inside, the group was yelling at each other, or at least Tony and Steve were.
"She had a concussion!"
"So? Did you need to stop me for it?"
They kept at it until the other blonde spoke up. "The young lady has forgotten her bag." He held up the black purse that had been discarded on the couch.
Tony snatched the bag and started going through its contents.
"Tony! You can't do that!" Steve took it from him, resulting in a phone falling out.
"Hello?" A staticky voice said through the speaker.
Tony bent over and placed the phone next to his ear. "Hello." he spoke calmly.
An attractive, feminine voice replied worriedly, "Who is this?"
"Tony Stark, who is this?" The woman was clearly stunned.
"M-Marley Jaeger," she replied quietly. "Why do you have Kacie's phone?"
Somehow casual, Tony asked, "Kacie? Brown hair? Red dress? Captain America hit her with a door and gave her a concussion."
By now, Marley was speechless.
"Also, she left her purse here, so would you mind coming down to the Stark Expo and picking it up?"
"I'm already here."
Tony gave her directions to how to get to the room, and the team waited for her arrival.
There was a knock on the door and a tall, slender woman opened the door cautiously. She fixed her green dress, matching her eyes, and looked around the room.
"Hi, I'm Marley," she said to no one in particular, flashing a set of perfect white teeth. "I was told to come get Kacie's bag..." She bit her lip and a brushed her bangs off of her glasses, which were Ray-Bans, to the side, complementing her brown, slightly curly pixie cut.
Tony stared for a moment before nodding and putting Kacie's phone back in her purse. When he looked back up at her, he had on his famous 'player' grin. He instantly began to flirt with Marley and handed her Kacie's purse.
He got her number before she left, only to have her return about 10 minutes later. "She took my car," she explained awkwardly.
Tony took this opportunity to offer her a ride home, and Marley happily accepted.
"Tony, can I come with you? I would like to apologize." Steve asked.
"Sure Capsicle," Tony said with an undertone of disappointment.
The whole team decided to go and head home after. They were led outside by security and they all piled into Tony's mustang. Marley talked to the owner of the fancy car and a short while later, they arrived at their destination. Shocked as the boys were, they followed Marley into the boxing ring.
"Shhh," Marley quietly opened the door. Inside, they found Kacie furiously beating the punching bag. With one final blow, it flew off the chain across the room to join 3 others.
Kacie turned to put another one up, and froze when she saw the group gawking at her. She quickly recovered and straightened her dress. Tony started to speak but was left hanging, since Kacie had already dragged Marley out and driven off.
The ride back to Stark Towers was brutal. Everyone wanted to say something about what they just witnessed.
Finally, Tony called Marley. "Explain."
"She does that when she's stressed, or upset."
"She can't be that strong!" Tony was getting irritated, or at least more confused. He didn't like not knowing things.
Marley ignored his last comment and Tony suddenly asked, "You know what? We should go on a double date."
The group looked at Tony, their expressions reading, "Don't you dare."
Marley was getting a similar look from Kacie in their car. "Oh yeah? So it'd be you, and me, and Kacie, and...?" She waited to see how he would answer.
"Can I call you back?" he asked, and said a quick goodbye before hanging up.
Tony turned to Steve, who was shaking his head. He thought quickly. "Of course Steve would never do it. Bruce... No wait, Bruce has a girlfriend, I think, and doesn't Clint have something going on with Natasha? That leaves..." Tony shook out of his thoughts to grin at the long haired blonde in the backseat.
"Thor," he said aloud.
Thor's eyes widened. "Are you about to set me up for a date? Jane just ended our relationship!"
"C'mon, it'll be fun! Kacie's pretty!" he pointed out.
"Then why don't you go with her?" Steve asked, frowning.
The billionaire blushed and turned his attention back to the road. "She's not my type."
"But you just said...?"
"Okay, you wanna know why? I want to go out with Marley! She seems like a real person, not a fake one made of silicone and lies." he nearly shouted, throwing his hands up and steering with his knees.
"You're going out with her because she's not made of plastic?" the stocky man next to Thor snickered.
"Shut up, Clint." Tony parked in the garage and turned the key. He was getting out of the car when a hand on his shoulder stopped him.
"I shall go on this date if it pleases you." Thor told him.
"Thank you," he nodded.
He immediately called Marley back. "So is that a yes on the double date?"
"Umm..." On the other side, she looked to Kacie, who was shaking her head. "We'd love to," she told him, grinning.
"I hate you," Kacie mouthed.
"When should I pick you up?" Tony triumphantly asked.
She grinned. "Hmm...You can pick us up at 6. I look forward to it, Mr. Stark."
"See you tomorrow," he hung up and did a little dance around the garage when no one was looking.
Marley smiled on the other side. "He kept saying 'you'...like 'what time should I pick YOU up' or 'see YOU tomorrow.' That's good, right?"
Sarcastically, Kacie replied, "Sure! And while you're making goo-goo eyes at Stark, I'll be stuck with who knows who!"
"I dunno, maybe it'll be Captain America. He's cute." she grinned, nudging her friend with her elbow as she drove.
"That'd be weird! He just seems so familiar..." She frowned.
Marley pulled into the driveway of Kacie's apartment and watched as she got out.
"Did he say anything as to who?" Kacie asked nervously.
"No," Marley shook her head. "All my drooling over Mr. Stark has finally paid off, by the way," she smiled.
"Yeah, good luck with that. See you tomorrow."
"I'll come around 4 tomorrow and we can get ready, kay?" she smiled widely at Kacie from the window of her '68 Volkswagen Beetle.
Kacie waved over her shoulder as Marley drove away.
The next day, Marley pulled into Kacie's apartment complex and hurriedly ran inside.
"Look what a certain high school friend of mine made me!" She placed two long plastic bags on Kacie's bed.
"I know what they are but I'm going to ask anyway." Kacie put on her best surprised face. "What could they possibly be?"
"Dresses!" Marley shouted happily and threw her arms up in the air. "Look, look, look!" She pulled the plastic off the dresses. "See? This green one's mine, and this purple one's yours." She pointed to each dress as she spoke. "He designed them specially for us."
"I have to say, impressive," Kacie admitted, eyeing her beautiful dress.
"Yeah, Alex is good." She smiled. "Try it on, try it on!"
Kacie rolled her eyes and carried the dress to her bathroom. She emerged a few minutes later wearing the gorgeous outfit, which fit her perfectly.
Marley gasped. "It's so pretty."
Kacie giggled a little. "Your turn."
She ran in and came out a few minutes later, sporting the beautiful strapless green dress. "It's an original Zavadil," she grinned.
"You didn't tell me it was a Zavadil!" Kacie gasped.
She finished her hair and turned to look at her friend for the first time. "Wow. Stark won't be able to take his eyes offa you."
Marley grinned. "That's the idea." She twirled and asked, "How should I do my hair?" She ran a hand through the messy pixie cut and pushed her glasses up.
"You're really asking me?" Kacie thought for a moment. "Make it look straighter, but tousled."
Marley nodded and parted it in her usual way with her fingers, then straightened it. Finally, she missed it up and struck a pose. "How do I look?" she asked.
With a thumbs-up, Kacie gave the affirmative. "So how long until your boy toy gets here?"
Marley looked at her phone. "We have about 15 minutes." She nervously traced the tattoo of a mustache on the inside of her left pointer finger and asked, absentmindedly, "You think I can wear my converse with this dress?"
Shrugging, Kacie replied, "I think so, you can always pull a pair of converse off."
She smiled at her and went to fetch of pair of 'emergency converse' that she kept in Kacie's closet. She put them on and checked herself out in the mirror. "Yup, that's hot," she nodded.
Kacie rolled her eyes and checked the time as the doorbell rang.
"Eep." Marley squeaked and checked herself out in the mirror one last time before she slowly walked towards the door. She opened it and smiled. "Hi."
"Wow," Tony said dumbly, and handed her a freshly cut rose. She smiled and took it, blushing slightly.
She looked out in the hallway, expecting someone else. "Where's Kacie's date?" she asked.
"He's outside," Tony explained shortly, not taking his eyes off her.
She noticed this and blushed some more before turning to call back to the apartment, calling, "Kacie, you ready? Your mystery date awaits!"
Tony chuckled a little and Kacie appeared next to Marley. "Hey."
"Hello," he said politely. He smiled and fixed his black tie, nearly blending in with his shirt and the rest of his suit. "Shall we go?"
The girls nodded and Tony showed them outside.
As soon as they were in sight of the Mustang, Marley shouted, "Shotgun!" Once she realized what she had said she covered her mouth with a hand and blushed. "Sorry, it's just a reflex. I'll sit wherever."
Tony laughed and said, approaching the car, "That's okay, you can have shotgun. These two can sit in the back." He gestured to Kacie and the man sitting in the back with long, blonde hair. "Oh, right! Kacie and Marley, this is Thor. Thor, this is Kacie and Marley," he pointed.
Thor gawked a little at Kacie, and once he regained composure of himself, said, "Hello, it's nice to meet you." He shook Marley's hand and kissed Kacie's gently. Kacie blushed at the gestured and giggled slightly, and Marley gently elbowed her in the ribs, grinning and winking.
Tony opened the door for Marley and she sat down, crossing her legs, showing off her converse. "So, where are we going?" she asked.
Kacie and Thor also got in the car.
"We," Tony paused for dramatic effect as he backed the car up, "are going to a ball." Kacie eyed him suspiciously and slid low into the backseat.
"A ball?" Marley also raised an eyebrow and laughed a little. "What sort of a ball?"
"One where you dance," Tony answered simply. Marley snorted a little.
"I'm gonna dance now?" She realized she was being rude and shut her mouth, a grin twitching at her lips.
Slightly fazed by someone actually being normal with him for once, Tony almost stopped the car.
Marley looked down and traced her tattoo, something she did when she was nervous, while still grinning a little.
They finally arrived at the ballroom, and Tony ran over to Marley's side to open the door for her. Thor did the same and the girls both blushed.
The boys held out their arms to escort them in.
"This isn't so bad," Kacie whispered behind Marley to her.
Tony led them all into the large and decorated ballroom. Both the girls looked around the room like idiots, not used to such fanciness. The majority of the people in the ballroom looked at the two couples strangely.
Marley leaned over to Tony and whispered, "You do realize that you just walked into a very fancy ball with the most un-fancy, weirdest girl possible, right?"
Tony stopped walking and pulled her to the middle of the floor. "You do realize, I think you're beautiful, and I don't give a damn what anyone else thinks about you, right?" He smiled at her.
Marley blushed at his forwardness and smiled back.
Thor and Kacie awkwardly stood at the door after Tony deserted them, until Thor held out a hand, smiling, and asked, "Would you like to dance?"
"I would, but I'm just warning you, I have no idea what I'm doing."
"No problem." he brought her to the middle of the ballroom and put his hands on her waist. "Is this okay?" he asked.
"Of course." They danced for a while until Kacie couldn't stand the silence.
"So, where are you from? If you don't mind me asking?"
Thor bit his lip uneasily. "I would love to tell you, but you would probably think me strange."
"Trust me, I won't." She gave him a reassuring smile.
"Very well... I'm from-how do I explain this-" Thor struggled. "Asgard," he shrugged.
Kacie nodded, as she had heard about this from her friend Darcy.
He looked at her, smiling. "You do not think me weird?" It was more of a statement.
"Not at all, I've heard about this, but I never really thought much of it." She smiled more and came to the realization, "So you're Thor Odinson?"
He nodded. "I am."
"Alright." Kacie acted as if she wasn't dancing with a demigod.
Meanwhile, Marley was awkwardly dancing with Tony, when she started laughing hysterically.
"What?" he asked, self-conscious. "Is there something on my face?" He began to furiously wipe some imaginary substance off of his mouth.
"No..." she giggled. "It's just...I'm dancing with Tony Stark. Every part of that sentence is contradictory of who I am." She shook her head a little in disbelief.
"How so? Your friend is dancing with a god if that makes you feel any better..."
She blushed. "Well, for one thing, I don't dance. And, I mean...it's you." She looked over to Kacie, happily dancing with Thor, to hide her burning face.
Confused and slightly hurt, Tony asked, "What's wrong with me?"
"Nothing!" she replied, looking back to him, flustered. She blushed even redder. "Nothing."
Tony looked at her, wildly confused.
Marley sighed. "I've had a celebrity crush on you for...a while." She looked at her converse.
"Oh," Tony stopped dancing.
"And I hate to say that, because that makes me just like any other girl you've gone out with, and I'm not like them, and... I'm sorry," she whispered.
"Don't apologize. It's just-when people say that to me, they're usually just interested in my money..." He let go of her waist and she in turn dropped her arms from his neck.
"No, no, no!" she said quickly when she heard this, shaking her head and furiously tracing her tattoo. "No, I've always liked you because…well, you're a genius."
Tony was taken aback. "Really? ...I think that's the first time anyone's ever said that to me."
"Mhmm, it's true.." She nodded slightly, finally looking up to meet his gaze.
Tony looked at her with a dopey grin on his face. "You're not like other girls." He paused. "And also...I think we should do this again sometime."
She smiled back at him like an idiot. "I'd love that."
Tony grabbed her waist again and spun her around a few times, smiling.
Thor looked at the other couple from across the room and smiled. "The Man of Iron seems...happy."
"So does Marley..." Kacie agreed.
"I am surprised. Generally when Tony is with a woman, he does not smile as much."
"He looks completely love-struck," she smiled at them. She turned back to Thor and asked, "How come Tony wanted to come on a double date? Why didn't he just go alone with Marley?"
Thor frowned. "I believe that if I told you, you would hate him."
Kacie was very curious now. "Oh? And why would I hate him?"
Thor bit his lip. "I don't know that I should tell you..."
"Thor...why did he invite me here?" she pulled away from him.
He reached for her and stopped to run and hand through his hair. He sighed and said quietly, "He wanted to find out how you were so strong."
"Oh," Kacie looked disappointed. "I'm just gonna...go." She slowly began to walk towards the exit.
"No, please do not leave!" Thor gently grabbed her arm. "I will be honest. He did want to find out why you were so strong. But when we suggested that he just went with you, he admitted that he wanted to go out with Lady Marley. He did want to. And I did not want to tell you why he brought you here not because I care what you think of him, it was because I feared this would happen," he gestured to her still facing the door.
Kacie looked to the door, them back at him. "I think...I'll stay here," she grinned.
"Thank you," he said, smiling, and pulling her close to him. "Please do not think that Tony would be an inadequate mate for your friend...he is a good man underneath."
"I won't, but I will yell at him about it when Marley's not around."
Thor shrugged. "That is acceptable," he said, swaying with her to the music.
"So would you want to do this again, or...?" she asked nervously.
"Of course! I mean, er, yes," he blushed.
"It's a date," Kacie grinned.
Marley, meanwhile, dragged Tony over to a small snack table and dipped a pretzel in some chocolate. "So what is this ball for, anyway?"
"It's for our date," he said, nonchalantly.
"The whole ball?" she asked, thinking he was joking. She received a cocktail from the bartender and began to sip it.
"Yes," he replied seriously.
She snorted, and some of the cocktail came out her nose. "Th-the...whole ball?"
"Well, it's for their date, too!" he gestured behind him to the other couple and looked worriedly to his date.
Marley laughed despite the drink all down her dress. "You know, you could've just brought us to a bar. We would've been happy there."
"You deserve better though," Tony replied quietly, throwing Marley off guard and she blushed a little.
"Okay, then a nice restaurant," she smiled.
Tony smugly told her, "Well I know where we're going on our next date!"
"I like the sound of that," she grinned at him and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"It looks like they're going on a second date, too." Tony let go of her waist for a moment to point to the other couple, dancing.
"I'm glad...between you and me, Kacie needs a man."
"Really? Well between you and me, he needs a girl, especially after what happened last time."
"What happened last time?" she asked, furrowing her brow and looking to Tony.
"He caught his girlfriend cheating on him...not a pretty scene," he said, shaking his head.
"Aww," Marley frowned, looking back to Thor. "I don't understand how you could do that to someone." She pouted a little and turned back to Tony.
"Yeah, it sucked," he replied dumbly, looking into her eyes.
"That's too bad." She smiled widely as AC/DC came on over the speakers, much to everyone's surprise. "I love AC/DC!" she exclaimed happily.
"They're the best band ever!" Tony shouted with the same enthusiasm. She smiled at him like an idiot and sang along to 'You Shook Me All Night Long,' dancing around.
Tony sang with her and danced since no one else was, not caring that everyone, including Thor and Kacie, were watching. When the song finished, she looked up at Tony, giggling and blushing.
"Yup, they're perfect for each other," Kacie said to her date on the other side of the room as a slower song came on.
Thor replied, "Yes, they are," without looking away from her.
She turned to meet his gaze. "You have pretty eyes," she said randomly.
He blushed a little. "You do, too..." He leaned in a little closer, nervously.
Kacie leaned in closer and met him halfway for their first kiss.
"Aww," Marley said from across the room, looking over.
"Wha-?" Tony put his head next to hers to see what she was looking at.
She pointed them out to him. Tony grinned and got out his phone, taking lots of pictures. Marley giggled and copied him, snapping a few pictures.
"They're cute," she smiled, returning her phone to the pocket in her dress.
"Yeah, but we're cuter." He grinned at her.
"I think so, too." She grinned back and put her arms around his neck again. Marley gasped as 'Rock you like a hurricane' came on.
"This is my favorite song!" Tony told her, smiling.
"Mine too!" she grinned.
"You wanna try that?" he asked, suddenly, nodding to the other couple, still kissing. "It looks like fu-un." He moved closer and pulled her into him by her waist.
She grinned at him and moved closer, kissing him as the Scorpions wailed 'Rock You Like a Hurricane'
"That was fun," Tony said a bit breathlessly, after pulling away.
Marley grinned and kissed him again quickly. "It was."
"So...good first date?"
"Excellent first date." She smiled at him. "I ruined my dress," she gestured to the cocktail down the front and giggled, "but that's okay."
Tony laughed with her. "I'll get you a new one."
"Naw, s'ok, I didn't pay anything for this dress," she shrugged.
He shrugged too and leaned in to kiss her again.
She grinned and happily kissed him back.
Thor looked over to Tony and Marley and pointed. "Look," he said to Kacie.
"Well would you look at that."
Thor laughed. "They copied us."
"They did!" Kacie laughed. "So...does that make us...in a relationship? Just asking...cuz I'd like to be."
Thor smiled. "I think it does."
Kacie kissed him again, catching the demigod off guard. The lights suddenly went out and a thunderstorm could be heard outside.
"Whoops," he said quietly, blushing.
The two jumped at Tony's voice, which was suddenly next to them in the dark. "Excited, are we, Thor?" he snickered.
"Uh..." Thor stammered.
"Uh huh. Well this ball is...well, no more...d'you guys wanna go somewhere else? Maybe get something to eat?" Marley suggested.
"Let's go get dinner, my treat!" Tony suggested.
Marley laughed a little. "Why thank you, Mr. Stark." They all left the ball and headed towards the car.
"Where to?" Tony asked the group.
Marley turned to Kacie in the back seat. "What's that Chinese place we went to last night? Or maybe it's wasn't Chinese, I can't remember. But we had that thing, in the pita bread...I can't remember what it was, but we really like it...?"
"You mean the shawarma?" Kacie asked.
"Yeah! Where was that place?" She turned to the boys. "Have you guys ever had shawarma? I still don't really know what it is, but I tried it...it's really good."
Thor and Tony shared a look at this. Tony turned back to her and slightly bounced up and down in his seat. "I love shawarma!"
"Us too!" Marley smiled. "I think it was down by that pizza place near your apartment, right, Kace?"
"Right, so we can stop by my apartment if you want to change."
"Good idea. I have some clothes over there, I think."
"Of course you do, you leave your stuff at my place all the time!"
"Well it's good that I do!" she smiled. She directed Tony to Kacie's apartment and ran inside.
"Omigod omigod omigod omigod," she said as soon as the door shut.
"Yes?" Kacie asked, smugly.
"He's amazing! Thank you thank you thank you!" she ran over to hug her.
"What did I do?" she asked, awkwardly hugging her back.
"You got concussed by Steve and left your purse so I had to get it and so I met him!" she giggled.
"Yeah, I did get concussed...and I may have left my purse on purpose..."
"Thank you," she hugged her again. "So now what should I wear?"
Kacie went to her closet and threw a black dress to Marley.
"Is this mine, or yours?" she asked, eyeing the dress.
"My friend gave it to me this morning when I told him you had a date with Stark. It's a Barton original."
"Lemme go put it on." She went to the bathroom and came back out wearing the gorgeous dress, checking herself out in the mirror. "This is so much...sexier than the other one. Thank you," she grinned.
"Don't thank me, thank Barton, my best gay friend who's straight."
Marley laughed a little. "Well thank you, Barton." She checked herself out. "You changing?"
"I don't think so...it's not like I have anything better..." Marley frowned and dug out a blue dress. "Here."
Kacie came out a minute later wearing the short dress.
"See? Sexy!" Marley told her in a sing song voice.
"We shouldn't keep them waiting," Kacie said, and sashayed out, Marley behind her.
Marley followed her out to the boys and asked, "Ready?"
Both guys sat staring, open mouthed in the convertible, at their dates. "Huh?"
"Are you ready to go?" Marley grinned and scoot over on the front bench seat, so she was right next to Tony.
"Oh… Right," he shook his head a little. She didn't move but instead chose to sit in the middle of the bench. She buckled up and grinned at him.
"Are you okay?" Kacie asked Thor, who was still staring. He nodded.
Marley giggled and turned back to Kacie. "I'm going to make this car ride fun." she winked.
Grinning, Kacie said, "Can't wait."
Tony began to drive and Marley leaned over to put an arm around him.
"Just make sure we don't crash." Kacie warned before scooching closer to Thor.
Marley leaned back and whispered, "Well, I don't know Mr. Stark's level of self-control yet, so no promises." She scooted closer and draped a leg over his lap.
Tony slammed on the brakes, cashing the two in the back to hit their heads on the seats in front of them.
"Mr. Stark," Marley asked innocently, "why did you stop?"
"You can't do that while I'm driving!"
She grinned. "Too bad," she pouted then and scooted on the far side of the car.
Tony thought for a moment and floored it, and within minutes the car was at Stark Towers.
"You two are on your own," he told the other couple.
Kacie raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"
She got an answer when Tony began to drag Marley into the building. Marley smiled back at her and gave her a thumbs-up.
"I can't believe her," Kacie told Thor.
"How do you mean?" he asked, putting an arm around her.
"She's having sex on the first date."
Thor blushed. "Oh."
"Not that sex is bad," she clarified. "But I mean, she just met him."
Thor shrugged. "I will agree with that. I think Tony likes her though, and I do not think he will kick her out tomorrow morning."
"He better not," she said, and snuggled with Thor. "Wait- how am I getting home?"
He sat up a little. "Umm...you could spend the night, if you would like...you could take one of the spare rooms?"
"Oh...okay," she blushed. He grabbed her hand and pulled her into the house.
"Kacie? What are you doing here?" Clint asked, when the two walking into the living room.
"You two know each other?" Thor asked, confused.
Kacie sat down next to Clint and gave him a side hug. "He's my best guy friend."
"Oh," Thor nodded. "So why are you here?"
She blushed. "I was on a date with Thor."
Clint jokingly teared up and said, "Aww, they grow up so fast!"
"Shut up. Did you notice Marley was wearing your dress?"
He snickered. "For about 5 seconds, then he brought her to his room."
Thor sat down in a chair. "I believe he really likes her," he told Clint.
"He did look different..." He stood. "Well, I'll leave you two lovebirds alone."
Thor glared at him a little. He went to sit in Clint's spot after he left and put his arm around her again. She leaned into his side. "That's Clint for you."
"Did you two ever...?" Thor asked, distracted.
"Did we ever what?"
"Did you two ever date? Or...?"
"Oh, no. No no no. Clint is more like my brother," she smiled weakly.
Thor nodded and smiled. "Okay."
Kacie surprised him again with a kiss. He kissed happily back.
"Are you sure you still want to sleep in the spare room?" he asked between kisses.
"Now that you mention it..." she grinned and kissed him again.
He lifted her up and carried her to his room, never breaking the kiss.
~the next day~
Tony woke up with Marley at his side. "Hi, Mr. Stark," she grinned at him, her hair a complete and utter mess.
"Please, call me Tony," he grinned back.
"Okay," she paused for a moment and closed her eyes. She opened them again. "Hi, Tony," she grinned.
"Good morning, Marley," he said, chuckling.
"Now, is this the part where you kick me out, or kiss me?" she asked nervously.
Tony kissed her. "I would never kick you out."
"Yay!" she smiled. She scoot closer to him. "Last night was great." She paused for a moment. "And not just the sex," she added, grinning.
"Agreed," Tony agreed, smiling and pecking her on the lips.
"Although," she grinned wider, "that was great, too."
"Mhmm," he grinned devilishly, remembering.
She smiled and kissed him. "So...what now?" She bit her lip.
"Let's go get some breakfast!"
"Yay!" She was about to get out of bed but blushed. "D'you have any clothes I can borrow?"
Tony got out of bed and handed Marley a pair of his boxers and a t-shirt. "Is this okay?"
"That's fine," she smiled and got dressed. "Now let's go!"
They headed downstairs and were met with the sight of Thor sleeping on the counter. Marley gently shook him. "Thor? Wake up."
"I've already tried." Kacie came in with a cup of coffee.
"Oh, look who spent the night!" she grinned.
"I had no choice! But I didn't mind."
"I'm sure..." Marley winked.
"So how was your night?" Kacie smugly asked.
Marley waggled her eyebrows. "Great," she said and kissed Tony, who was distracted poking Thor.
"Hey sweetie, wake up," she whispered in his ear when Tony wasn't poking him.
Thor stirred and woke up. "Hello," he said sleepily.
Kacie moved to his lap. "Morning."
He smiled and said, "Good morning."
"What do you guys wanna eat?" Marley asked.
"Waffles," Kacie and Tony replied.
"I'll make 'em." she rifled through the cabinets until she found Tony's waffle press and she found all the ingredients. "Hey, Tony, do you have any hot cocoa?" she asked, looking around.
"Hot cocoa?" he asked confusedly.
"Yeah, I don't like coffee, so I have it instead," she blushed.
"Uhh, yeah, that cabinet." he pointed.
"Ahh thank you." Marley smiled.
"Hey-" Bruce paused at the doorway.
"Hi," Marley said happily. "Wait! You're Dr. Banner! I've read all about you! Your work on the effects of adrenaline on the psychological and physical body is unparalleled!" She ran over and shook his hand.
"Why, thank you. And you are...?"
"Oh! Sorry, I'm Dr. Marley Jaeger," she smiled.
"When did you become a doctor?" Tony asked her.
"When I turned 21, so four years ago," she nodded.
Bruce talked to her about science for a minute and then recognized the girl on the other side of the room. "You're-" he thought for a moment. "Kacie! How's your head?"
"A lot better, thanks for asking." She kissed Thor, surprising both him and Bruce.
"Are you two...?" he asked.
"Yes," the demigod replied.
"And I'm guessing you two are...?" he gestured to Tony and Marley.
"Yup," they both replied.
"I'm making waffles, would you like some?" Marley asked him, stirring the batter.
Bruce shrugged. "Sure, thanks." He walked over to Tony and whispered, "Finally, a smart girl."
"Tasha's gonna kill you!" Clint overheard, walking in and scolded the doctor.
Bruce looked confused. "You mean the smart girl comment? That was directed at Tony! He always brings in floozies!"
"Oh suuure. When Natasha kills you, don't say I didn't warn you." Clint shrugged.
"But I didn't!" Bruce assured him.
Steve appeared in the doorway. "What didn't you do?"
"I'm not saying that Natasha isn't smart, I'm just congratulating Tony for bringing a smart girl over!"
"Tony brought a smart girl home?" Steve asked, astonished.
Bruce nodded and pointed to Marley, who was giving out waffles. She was too distracted to see him, and she was currently arguing with Kacie. "Chocolate chips are so much better than blueberries!"
"I agree with you there, but Vermont maple syrup is unbeatable!"
"I agree with that, too. Why were we arguing, again?" she was suddenly very confused.
Kacie sighed "I dunno, Tony wanted blueberry and you said they were terrible, I had to argue that."
Steve leaned over to Bruce. "She's smart?"
Bruce chuckled. "She's a doctor."
"What kind of a doctor?" he asked, unbelievingly.
"Don't ask me, I just met her." He moved to go sit next to Tony at the table, but decided against it and took the seat next to Clint
Marley handed him his waffles at the table and finally saw Steve. "Hi," she said to him. She waved her spatula, accidentally whacking herself in the head in the process. "Ow."
"I swear she is!" Bruce told him.
Steve didn't believe the physicist for a second. "Hello," he said.
She carefully set the spatula down and bounced over to Steve and shook his hand. "I'm Marley...and you're Steve, right?"
"Steve Rogers." Steve looked around the large kitchen to spot Thor, someone on his lap. Ignoring that for now, he asked Marley what kind of doctor she was
"Well, my degree is in theoretical physics, but I also studied color psychology, sensory neuroscience, and engineering." she listed on her fingers and smiled.
"Oh...Wow." Bruce gave Steve his 'I told you so' look. Tony walked over, having overheard. Steve nodded his approval to him.
"Are you hungry? I'm making waffles," Marley asked the super soldier, gesturing to the batter. His stomach growled in response. She laughed and skipped back to the waffle iron and poured some more batter in.
Steve turned to Tony. "Finally, a smart one."
"Yup," he grinned, "she's awesome."
Steve raised an eyebrow. "Someone's excited. Why?"
"This isn't just a date Steve. Marley is wonderful…and I think I might be falling for her." Tony was very quiet.
Steve grinned. "Tony Stark is falling for a dame? Now how is she any different from all the other floozies you've dragged in here?"
"She's not a floozy!" he said, overly defensive. He composed himself and added, "She's just... What's the word I'm looking for…? Real. She's a real person who isn't afraid to speak her mind. She's smart, and sexy, and funny, and she's just…Marley, and no one else," he smiled a little and looked across the room at her through his eyelashes.
Steve smiled and pat him on the back. "I'm proud of you, Tony."
Marley brought him over some waffles. He took a bite and his eyes widened. "Tony," he instructed, whilst shoveling more waffles in his mouth, "marry her."
"Really, Cap?" Tony laughed.
"Yes Tony, you have to marry her." Steve ate another waffle, slower this time.
"Indeed," Bruce agreed with a mouthful of waffle.
"I'll agree with you guys on this one, these things are delicious!" Clint stabbed a waffle with his fork.
Marley came over with a large gravy boat full of warm Vermont maple syrup. "You guys know I can hear you, right?" she grinned and kissed Tony's hair before making herself some waffles.
"I just don't see why you haven't told me about her waffle making skills sooner," Clint told Kacie with his mouth full.
"Sorry, it never came up." she punched him playfully on the shoulder. "The dress you made was beautiful... too bad it's lying on the floor of Tony's room right now." Kacie whispered to Clint.
Clint frowned and put his fork down. "Great. Now I can't eat these delicious waffles!" he shouted, and then pouted.
"I could have told you what Thor and I did..." Kacie smirked and was punched in the arm by Clint. "Which was nothing."
The rest of the team watched in awkward silence and Marley pulled up a chair and began eating her waffles.
"Nothing?" Clint asked.
"Nada. Well, unless you count kissing as something." she shrugged and went back to eating.
Marley slunk low in her seat and tried to remain unnoticed until the subject passed.
That wasn't happening.
"So, did you like the dress? I wonder where it is now..." Clint glared somewhat at Marley, she blushed.
"The dress is gorgeous. And it fits me perfectly."
"Mmhm. I think you were happier getting it off than on-" Tony interrupted him by throwing a blueberry at him.
Marley blushed even redder but gave Tony a look of appreciation. "Y'know, Clint, I have a friend who is also in the design industry, he designed the other dresses we were wearing yesterday...maybe you two could meet sometime?"
"You design?" the last avenger, Natasha, strutted in.
Clint blushed. "Yes, and my designs are very good when they aren't crumpled on the floor of Tony's room covered in-" Tony chucked another blueberry at him.
"Stark, you're a whore," Natasha told him.
Tony shouted, "No, I'm not!"
Marley was practically crimson and this point and quietly ate her waffles.
"Hey, Tasha!" Kacie said happily, despite the others arguing.
"You two know each other, too?" Thor asked, confused.
"Yea, so it's weird to see you here..." The assassin made herself some waffles using Marley's batter.
"How?" Kacie replied, "I can't really disclose that information, but I may have worked for SHEILD at one point."
Marley choke on her waffles when she heard this. "What the fuck?!"
"Yea! What?" Tony asked, almost choking as well.
"I've known you since 4th grade, how could you not tell me you were a secret agent?" she asked, frowning.
"I didn't want to have to kill you!" Kacie argued.
"B-but secret agents! That's way cooler than us talking about Indiana Jones, or Star Wars!" she pouted.
Tony looked at everyone with wide eyes and mouthed "She likes Indiana Jones and Star Wars!"
"She probably would've had to kill you," Clint muttered under his breath.
"Oh, eat your waffles." she told him.
"This conversation is not over!" Kacie said with determination. "I'm sorry if I didn't want to murder you in your sleep!"
Marley winced and stuffed another bite in her mouth.
Kacie huffed angrily. "Do you want to know? Because I can't really hide it from you now."
She shook her head and played with her food.
"You can't be mad at me."
"I'm not." she shrugged. "I just don't like thinking about you maybe killing me. And I feel like an ass now." she frowned and picked at her food again.
Kacie frowned with her "Sorry about that, I kinda yelled at you."
The Avengers sat there, not knowing what to do.
Marley shrugged and smiled a little. "S'ok." She traced the mustache on her finger as she looked around the table. She noticed everyone staring. "Yikes."
"So yeah, Clint, would you be interested in meeting my design friend?" she asked, not stopping tracing.
"Sure..." An awkward silence fell upon the table.
Kacie looked at her watch. "I have to go to work."
"Shit. I'm supposed to be at work." Marley said, frowning.
"It's ok, I'll call your boss." Tony shrugged and watched as Kacie left the room and came back with her dress on from last night.
"Umm..." Marley said awkwardly. "Can I just wear these home?" she asked Tony, gesturing to the boxers and t-shirt. "The dress...isn't really...uh...clean."
Clint groaned while most of the team laughed.
"Sure, I'll drive you." Tony said.
"Bye guys, nice seeing you again." Kacie went over and kissed Thor before leaving.
"You don't need a ride?"
"Nope," and she was gone.
"Just for the record, I have no idea what that was all about," Marley said, pointing after Kacie.
Natasha and Clint grew very quiet on the other side of the room.
"Annnnd you two do." she walked over next to Clint.
"Next time I come over, I'll make waffles for you if you tell me..."
"Tell you what?"
"Where'd she go?"
"See, I can't tell you! It's a mission that can't be compromised!" Clint crossed his arms. "Not even for lots of my waffles?" she pouted.
"Well..." he got a slap upside the head from Natasha. "All I can tell is that's it's an undercover mission."
"That doesn't help." she frowned. "But it's too early for this, and I don't want to use my brain power on it." She turned to look at Tony. "Can we go?"
"Yea sure." He walked her to the elevator and they took it down to the garage "Pick a car."
Marley smiled and ran over the Rolls Royce. "Always," she said, pointing.
"So are we going to your house? I don't think you want to go to work in that..."
"Well why not?" she joked. "Is it distracting?" she grinned and struck a pose, utilizing her mustache tattoo.
"Ooh, nice tat. And yes, it is distracting," he said, eyeing Marley down in his boxers. "Where do you work?" he asked, forcing himself to look away.
"At the university. I do all my research there, and I teach a little. So yeah, I should probably change." she pouted a little.
"Mmkay." He drove Marley to her house and walked her to the door. "I'll see you soon?"
"I hope so." she grinned. "I'll call you when I get off work and we'll figure something out, kay?"
"Okay," he smiled at her and gave her a kiss.
She kissed him back and when he drew away, she said hesitantly, "Okay, bye." She gave a small wave and went into her house.