"Go! Go! Use your shell!" Tony was shouting at Steve, trying to instruct him in the ways of Mariokart. We were all in the living room, shouting and laughing during an impromptu game night. There were soda cans everywhere, and video games strewn across the coffee table. It was awesome. I heard the doorbell ring.
"Pizza's here!" I yell as I grab the money off the counter and run to the front door. I turn the lock and open it.
"Bethy!" the familiar man on the doorstep shouts as he wraps me in a huge hug.
"You are definitely NOT the pizza guy..." I mutter.
He pulls out of the awkward embrace, he doing all of the actual hugging, me just standing there waiting for it to be over.
"You've changed so much." he says.
"Yeah, four years will do that to a person..." I bluntly reply.
Thor walks into the hall. "Beth? Do you have the...Greetings, Midguardian. Have we met before?" he asks and roughly shakes the man's hand.
"Thor, this is my...Dad." I explain.
"Um, can I get you anything? Coffee? Tap water?" I ask, feeling oddly out of place, even though I have more right to be here than my dad does.
"No, Bethy." he says. I cringe at the use of an old nickname. "I'm fine. How have you been holding up."
"Pretty good I guess." I answer. By this time everybody else had crowded into the kitchen. One 'Attention! Beth's father is here!' from Thor is all it took for the games to be paused. "So, Dad. How about I get to the point...Why are you here?"
"Well, Bethy. I decided that I wanted to be there for you more than I was. I felt bad because I know that I haven't been a good father and I wanted to change that. So here I am." he replies, looking truly remorseful.
"Lemme get this straight. I haven't seen you since I was thirteen. That was four years ago. Even before then, you were hardly around, if ever. So now you decide that you 'feel bad' about it and show up at my house and expect me to jump into your arms?" I ask.
"How about we go try out the new Rock Band?" Clint says rather awkwardly, and the gang slowly walks back into the den.
"Bethy, come on. This isn't your house. This isn't your real family." he says.
"Maybe not, but they are way better than you will ever be. I actually see them on a day to day basis." I say.
"Bethany. I will have no more of this nonsense. Go and pack up your things. I'm bringing you back with me." he stands, taking on a harsh tone.
"Excuse me? I'm never going anywhere with you. How can you expect me to just leave my life here to be with a man who calls himself my dad but doesn't know a thing about me?" I say, anger boiling my blood. I didn't care if the others heard me. "What's my favorite color? Favorite food? Hobbies? Did you know that I play ultimate Frisbee, or can fire a bow and arrow?" I fling questions at him, eyes flashing and voice rising with every one.
He falters, realizing he doesn't know the answer to anything I just asked him. "I...I...Look. The point is, I'm here now! Why isn't that good enough for you?" he angrily yells.
"Because you should know my favorite color! You should know what I like to do! You never came to my dance recitals, my band concerts, my anything. My whole life, I've wondered why you weren't there; made excuses for you, thought it was my fault. I'm done with that! No excuses anymore!" I shout.
"Bethy, look-" he begins.
"No!" I interrupt. "Why can't you understand!? You. Aren't. My. Dad. You don't help me with homework, Tony does. You don't make me tea when I'm sick, Natasha does. You don't deal with my bad days or celebrate my good ones. They do. That's what they do for me. That's what you were supposed to do."
"I'm sorry I couldn't be there! It wasn't like my job made it easy!" he shouts back.
"That's not a good enough reason! The Avengers are a part of S.H.I.E.L.D. too, and they go on missions every week! But every night when they're gone saving the world, they call me to see how the fort's holding up. They'll say 'We'll be home soon, don't eat the bacon without us!' And even if the mission goes longer than planned, I know that they will always be there for me, and that they will always try to come back. You never did."
"Alright. That's enough guilt for a lifetime. Goodbye, Bethy. I'm glad you found a family." my dad says, all of the previous energy gone from his voice. He simply turns and walks out the door, slamming it for good measure.
I sit in the kitchen, and let tears slide off my cheeks that should have been cried long ago.
"Beth? Are you alright?" Thor asks as he tentatively steps into the kitchen. "We heard you and your father fighting..."
I wipe the tears off my cheeks and clear my throat. "I'll be okay. You can't really miss a guy you never knew, huh?"
"I suppose so." Thor agrees as he balances his huge frame on a stool next to me. "If this consoles you; My father banished me from Asgard. I was enraged for the longest time. I thought he had abandoned me, that he did not love me. But, if he hadn't, I never would have arrived where I am in the present. Good will come to you, Beth." he says as he places his huge hand on my shoulder.
"I'm pretty sure it already has. It's not every day you get to live with a team of superheroes." I say and smile.
The doorbell rings for a second time. "Shall we get the pizza?" Thor asks and pats me on the back as we walk to the door.