Somewhere In The End
By Serena
Summary: Thor challenges the Avengers to a game of Dance Dance Revolution, or the "war dance of revolution." But Jane's got something a little important to tell her husband...
A/N: This is third in a trilogy of "Somewhere In Between" and "Somewhere In The Middle." Considering the response to Thor and Loki playing DDR, I decided to write a third piece. If you want a background of why Thor plays DDR, read Somewhere in Between.
Just to note. I'm excited. This is my 99th fanfiction. :D
WARNING: The characters will probably be out of character... this story is a little random.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
NOTE: My YA sci-fi mermaid novel OCEAN OF EMPTINESS is available on: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Apple iBookstore for $0.99. Please see my profile for direct links to these sites.
Here's a short summary of OCEAN:
What do you get when you cross a runaway rich kid, a space mermaid, and a stuck-up teen commander with a bunch of pirates in space? ABSOLUTE CHAOS. Throw in a little hint of romance, a few starship battles, and a lot of yelling, and you've got yourself an intergalactic tale. Think Star Wars meets Little Mermaid meets Treasure Planet.
Also, if you'd like to be a fan of me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter, links are on my profile as well, as well as a link to my Deviantart page.
I'm only going to tell you this once. Seriously, ONCE.
Never, never, NEVER hook up with a god of thunder. Yeah. Just... don't do it.
Because if you do, strange things will happen to you. It's just a given.
It had been over six months since Thor had returned, and our lives were falling into a comfortable, although crazy pattern. He'd go off to save the world, I might or might not get abducted in the process, but in the end, he would rescue me, everyone would go home sore, beaten up, but satisfied to know that the world was somewhat safe for another day.
Needless to say, they didn't prepare me for "Dealing with Superheroes" in Princeton. I was considering writing to them and asking them to start a class on the subject... If Thor would teach it, I knew I'd sign up. Scratch that. Every other girl on earth would sign up, too. And I certainly didn't want any other girls coming after my man.
I already had enough problems with Natasha Romanov, or the Black Widow, her codename was, going after Thor during assignments. I had never liked her, and I certainly didn't like the way she eyed Thor like a piece of meat. I still didn't think she played by team rules... and I knew she thought she was the hottest thing going. I wasn't impressed, even if she was Nick Fury's right hand woman.
Yeah. Considering there was less than no love lost between Nick Fury and me, I really didn't like her. I knew the feeling was mutual.
But one day, Shield called Thor in for a special, secret meeting. Thor, of course, told me about it, and I decided to hack Fury off and tag along. When we got to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secret base in Albuquerque and entered the meeting room, there were three men already in the room: Nick Fury, my new favorite guy Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye, and someone I didn't know. It struck me instantly, however, how utterly depressed and lost he was. He looked around my age and had sandy blond hair, a ripped body, and, I had to say it, was extremely handsome.
Thor. You have a boyfriend. God of Thunder. I repeated those words as I came in behind Thor.
"Good, you're here," said Fury shortly. When he looked up and saw me, his eye narrowed. "Foster. You're not authorized to be here." He deliberately ignored the fact that I'd exchanged fist-bumps with Clint, who threw me a grin.
"And I think there's a certain duel you're too chicken to accept, One-Eye," I replied airily, plopping down in a seat next to the new guy. Oddly enough, he had risen from his chair when I had entered the room. I smiled at him, but his eyes were fixed on the table. I frowned, wondering what had happened to this poor guy.
"This is a private meeting," snapped Fury.
"Okay," I said with a shrug.
Thor came and stood behind me, his brawny arms folded over his chest. He'd taken on new battle armor recently, and it showed off his arms more. I wasn't complaining.
"She stays," he said shortly.
"You weren't supposed to tell her," argued Fury. "That's a breach of protocol."
"Actually," spoke up Tony Stark, swaggering into the room, "I texted Janey and asked her to come in. Thought she might be able to help with Cap here, being a scientist and all." He nodded to the new guy I was sitting next to. "Wow," he added, "You're a lot... buffer than I thought you'd be." He made his way around the table and held out a hand. "Tony Stark."
The man rose and shook his hand, although his eyes were narrowed. "You gonna tell me you're related to Howard Stark?"
"Yeah, my dad. You worked with him, right?" Tony's eyes lit up.
But the other man studied him carefully, critically. "Who... who's your mother?"
Tony frowned, obviously confused. "Maria."
The new man visibly relaxed. "Oh. OK."
"Um... I miss something?" said Tony blankly.
"No. Sorry." The man returned to his seat, gloomy as ever.
"Enough chatter," snapped Fury.
I really felt like throwing something hard at his bald head. Even more so when Natasha slinked into the room, wearing that ridiculous skintight black leather jumpsuit of hers. After eyeing my boyfriend hungrily, her gaze turned to the new guy, who apparently Tony knew. Yeah. She could go for him. Just not my boyfriend. The new guy didn't seem interested, anyway.
When the last man, this really nice scientist Bruce Banner, entered the room, Fury cleared his throat and took control of the situation.
"Everyone, we have a new recruit. I'd like to introduce Captain Steve Rogers... also known as Captain America." He motioned to the new guy, who looked incredibly ill.
"Captain America?" I said. "That sounds familiar..."
"He's been frozen since World War Two," said Fury. "We found him and brought him back, but as you can imagine, it's been a bit of a shock for him."
"He can talk for himself," said Steve quietly. He looked up at Fury with a new determination. "Look, I don't know why this has happened to me... And I'm not gonna lie, it's been rough. It still is rough. But whatever this is... and whatever I can do to help, I'm in."
"Go you," I murmured.
Steve threw me a small smile. Beside me, as he'd taken his seat, Thor stirred.
I held out a hand to him. "Jane Foster. Astrophysicist."
His smile grew wider, more genuine. "Steve Rogers. Time-traveler." He shook my hand, and although it wasn't as strong a grip as Thor, it was still firm, and his hand was warm, calloused.
"Your title is better than mine," I joked, just wanting to make the poor guy feel better in some way. It seemed to work, when he laughed a bit.
"Cut the chatter, Foster," snapped Fury.
"Grow some hair, Baldie," I said without thinking.
Tony and Clint burst out laughing; Thor was chuckling, and even Steve cracked a grin. I reddened. I hadn't meant to say that out loud. Too often my mouth ran away with me. But apparently Fury was the only one that minded this time.
"Burn," crowed Clint and Tony together. They both fist-bumped each other after saying that at the same time. I swear those two were brothers parted at birth. Steve smiled faintly, and Bruce looked tired, but amused nonetheless. I knew he couldn't stand Fury anymore than I could, seeing as how the government had turned his life upside down like they had mine. Thor grabbed my hand under the table and gave it a warm squeeze before brushing his thumb over my palm.
I made a mental note to kiss my boyfriend senseless when we got out of here.
I had no idea that he was going to propose five seconds later.
Needless to say, what with me and Thor kissing like mad a few minutes later, all the guys arguing over who was going to be the best man, and Natasha glowering at me for being the center of attention, Fury didn't get much accomplished that day.
Six months after Thor returned, and we were happily married with our own big house in southern Connecticut. After Steve had joined the Avengers, which had officially become a team, Tony had created a private headquarters for the team (without Fury's knowledge or approval) in New York City. And since Steve wanted to live in New York, Thor and I wanted to be there for him in case he needed friends, which he often did, being in an unfamiliar time. Besides, Albuquerque wasn't the best place to live when Thor had to be saving the world every five seconds. Nothing happened there.
However, as it happened, all of the guys would end up coming over to our house after assignments. Tony's headquarters was a nice place, but not very homey. After all the guys debriefed at the headquarters, they'd come over to my house and hang out for the evening. Sometimes we'd have a barbeque, they'd watch a game, argue about who'd done better that day, and... Yes, much to Thor's delight, play DDR.
Sadly, all the men were hooked on the game. Steve had caught on surprisingly well, and he and Tony were arch DDR rivals. Don't ask me why...
So it happened that one evening, all the guys were over playing DDR. Thor had challenged Tony to "a war dance of revolution," and of course Tony couldn't say no. I, however, had had a doctor's appointment to go to, and left them in the hopes that my living room would not be a war zone when I got back.
A couple hours later when I returned, however, my nice living room was a pile of guys either wrestling, arguing, or stamping their hearts' out on the custom-built DDR mats Tony had created. I could tell that some serious fighting had gone down due to the fact that Hulk was sitting, hunched over in the room instead of Bruce. I threw the keys on the table and took off my coat, hurrying into the living room. I needed to tell my husband something very important...
"Honey," I said, standing a few feet away so I wouldn't be caught in the wrestling crossfire. "Thor."
"Hello, my love," he grunted before shoving Steve to the ground. "How was your appointment?"
"Great," I said, deflating. "I just... I have something to tell you."
"Good," he said, before Steve tackled him to the couch. "No! You will not defeat me!" Thor bellowed, grabbing Steve in a headlock.
I cleared my throat. "Honey." Nothing. "Thor." Still not listening. "Hey, guys! I have something to tell you!"
"WINNING!" yelled Tony, who was dueling Clint on DDR. "HAH! Take THAT!"
"YOU'RE CHEATING, STARK!"
"OR MAYBE I JUST OWN YOU AT PITBULL SONGS!"
"MAYBE YOU SHOULD SHUT UP BEFORE I KICK YOUR ASS THIS NEXT LEVEL!"
"I'M THE ONLY ONE THAT'S KICKING ASS AROUND HERE!"
"IN YOUR DREAMS, METAL-HEAD!"
"Guys, just..." I knew they weren't listening. Frustrated, I shouted, "You guys probably wouldn't even pay attention EVEN IF I TOOK MY SHIRT OFF!"
All of the guys instantly fell silent at my last declaration and stared at me.
I reddened. I hadn't expected that to work. "I'm not taking my shirt off, just so you know," I said archly, folding my arms over my chest.
"Tease," muttered Tony and Clint together. They grinned at each other and fist-bumped. Twins, I swear...
"Don't talk that way about my wife!" bellowed Thor, hurling a pillow at them.
I rolled my eyes. "Oh, give me a break... Guys, seriously..."
"Just one more round," said Tony, jumping on his feet. "Really. One more round."
"We'll be careful," rumbled Hulk.
"Sweetie, I know you will," I said, patting the green man on his arm. "But it's just... um... there's something I have to tell my husband. It's kind of important."
"ONE MORE ROUND!" shouted Clint, and shoved Tony off the mat, taking over. Steve tackled Thor before he could reach the mat and jumped on the mat beside Clint.
"You're on, tough guy," challenged Steve. "Bet you can't beat a kid from Brooklyn."
"With both eyes closed," retorted Clint as Lady Gaga's "Telephone" started up.
I whimpered, but all the guys were too busy fighting or playing DDR to pay attention. When the door knocked, I stomped over and threw it open, glaring glumly at whoever happened to be standing there. Turns it out it was none other than my brother-in-law, Loki himself. "Oh, it's you," I said.
He blinked. "You are not surprised to see me."
I sighed, stepped back. "The guys are in the living room playing DDR. Come on in."
Still wary, he stepped into the house and immediately started for the living room, just as eager to play DDR as the rest of them. I folded my arms over my chest, decided to order a pizza, and wished not for the first time that I was in a resort, relaxing in a spa, getting a massage and treated like a queen. I guess technically I was a princess of Asgard, but I'd never met the in-laws. I made a mental note to tell Thor (when he wasn't busy, which was never) that I wanted to visit his home.
And now that I had some news to tell my husband...
I snatched the phone off the hook and stomped into the living room. Loki and Tony were now battling it out to Cascada's "Evacuate the Dancefloor," and the others were partially watching, partially wrestling. Bruce, who'd apparently transformed back into himself, however, was just sitting there, watching, and eating a box of Pringles.
"I'm ordering a pizza," I announced.
No one heard me.
"I exist," I said loudly. "And I'm ordering a pizza."
Still, no one heard me. Tears welled up in my eyes.
"DAMN IT!" I screamed, and hurled the telephone at my husband. It bounced off Clint's head, unfortunately, and he tumbled to the ground.
"Hey!" he protested, rubbing his forehead. "What the hell?"
"SERVES YOU RIGHT!" I shrieked. "I'M ORDERING A DAMN PIZZA, and I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU GUYS WANT!"
"Pepperoni," said Tony.
"Bacon," said Steve.
"Hamburger," muttered Clint as he slowly rose to his feet.
"Extra cheese," murmured a bleary-eyed Bruce.
"Sausage," said Thor, shooting me a smile.
"Green peppers," said Loki. "Goes with my suit."
Thor shoved him from behind.
I just stood there, trembling from fury. When Thor and Loki started to argue, and Tony joined in, I knew another all-out fight was inevitable.
Panting, I suddenly screamed at the top of my lungs, "I'M GOING TO HAVE A BABY!"
Instantly, the room fell silent.
"Wha... right now?" said Clint blankly.
A look of pure joy had crossed Thor's face. "Jane... is this true?" He rose to his feet and started for me. He looked so utterly happy, it was very hard for me to stay mad at him. But I could.
"Yeah, it's true," I snapped. "I'm pregnant."
"Is it mine?" piped up Tony. Steve shoved him.
Thor slipped his arms around my waist and lightly touched my stomach. "Jane... I can't believe it... a child..." His awe and huge smile were almost enough to quell my anger at him.
"Well, Thor, when a man and a woman - " Before Tony could finish the sentence, Steve had shoved him again.
I smiled faintly up at my husband. "You're going to be a dad, honey." I placed my hand over his on my stomach.
"I'm going to be a father," breathed Thor. "I'm going to be a father!"
"I'm going to be an uncle!" cried Loki, jumping gracefully to his feet.
"I'm going to be an uncle!" echoed Tony, starting for me.
"So am I!" piped up Clint.
"Am I?" said Steve, confused.
"Yep," said Bruce. "You are. And so am I, it seems."
Soon enough, all of the men had crowded around me and were helping me to the couch, saying things like I shouldn't stress myself, and they would take care of everything, and the baby would have the best uncles in the world, and I need to get off my feet and let them do all the work. In fact, they were already giving me suggestions for baby names.
"Kanye!" suggested Thor. "I will teach my son how to master the art of the war dance of revolution..."
"How can you teach him if you suck at it?" said Tony slyly.
Thor glared at him.
"I like Loki," said Loki.
"No," argued Tony. "I like Anthony. Good strong name."
"I like Thomas," put in Steve.
"How about Jim?" Bruce suggested.
"Humphrey," joked Clint.
I blinked. "Guys... what if it's a girl?"
THE END
Couldn't resist, mate. :D The thought of all the Avengers playing DDR was too much to pass up. Saw Captain America the other weekend, and the Avengers trailer that followed. Great movie! Can't wait for the Avengers next year.
- Serena