The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Patriots

Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story except the idea. And someone else has probably already done something like this in the past...

It's a little under a month after their day at the beach that the Avengers meet up again, this time for a celebration. Steve had set it up with Pepper's help. This day is one of his favorite days. This day is July 4th, and Steve plans on having the biggest party around.

Per usual, everybody is gathered and waiting for the Asgardians to get there. This time they have three new people waiting with them. These three people are none other than Jane Foster, Erik Selvig and Darcy.

Jane is getting a little impatient, shifting from foot to foot anxiously and looking up at the sky. When Thor and Loki finally come down, she rushes over and throws her arms around him. He returns the hug, grinning.

Nobody noticed the woman clutching onto Loki at first, but now Clint can't stop staring. He is trying to figure out who she is, and it's pretty obvious. Loki seems to be waiting for someone to ask who she is before he introduces her. Clint can't wait any longer.

"Who is this?" he asks, obviously curious.

Loki smiles and introduces the woman as Sigyn, his wife.

"Hello." Sigyn's voice is soft and very feminine.

Steve seems a little shy. Especially when he says kindly, "Hello, ma'am." He's always been this way around women though, so it isn't anything new.

Ten minutes later, everyone is packed into the bus. And they are literally packed. There's barely enough room for them all.

Sigyn sits in Loki's lap, her hands folded neatly on her knees and his arms around her middle. This is a drastic change from the homicidal madman crazed by jealousy who tried to take over the earth. Clint had wondered why anyone would marry Loki at first, but now that he sees the soft light that fills the other man's eyes when he looks at Sigyn he knows why.

Natasha and Clint sit beside each other, crammed into a row with the very chatty Darcy. Thor and Jane sit on the side of the bus right across from them. Bruce and Steve are sitting in the last available row. Pepper is yet again driving and Tony is in the passenger's seat.

Now, you may be wondering why they're all stuffed into three rows. School buses have more seats than that! Well, the answer is simple. With all the equipment in the back, there isn't a lot of room for a group of grown men and women. Especially when two of them are very muscular and large, as is the case with Thor and Steve.

Anyway, it only took about four minutes for Pepper to safely navigate the streets of New York and get them to their destination. An open park. It's the perfect place for fireworks. Plus anyone else who wants to join in the festivities will have plenty of room.

Everyone clambers out of the us and starts to pull out the stuff from the back. There's quite a bit of stuff, too. Loads of fireworks, a grill, food, lawn chairs and a popup table.

The only people who aren't helping are Sigyn and Darcy. Darcy because Tony said she was getting in the way, and Sigyn because Loki had told her that her situation was too delicate for her to be working. The women all understood immediately what he meant, but the men were clueless. All except Bruce. He had smiled knowingly and told Sigyn to stay rested and not overexert herself.

So, as it is, all the men are setting things up. Pepper and Natasha help with most things, but Jane only helps with small things. She has to keep an eye on Sigyn and Darcy, too.

After everything is set up, Sigyn plops down in one of the fold-out lawn chairs. At her sigh, Loki rushes over, fussing over her.

Clint elbows Natasha and says quietly, "I've never seen a worse mother hen."

Natasha smacks him on the back of his head. "Shut up! You don't even know what's going on."

Bruce walks over to Sigyn and asks, "You expecting?"
At the woman's nod, everyone seems to get it. Then they all rush over, wanting to feel and touch. Sigyn doesn't seem to mind the attention. In fact, she practically basks in it.

Steve is a little more reserved than the others, but he too places a hand on her belly and says, "I wish you two nothing but the best."

Sigyn smiles up at him. Her voice is again very soft, "Thank you."

Loki mutters to Thor, "I never got this much attention when I was pregnant."

Thor laughs and doesn't bother to lower his voice when he says, "You were a mare!"

Everyone's heads turn in their direction. At Tony's questioning look, Loki's ears and cheeks turn pink and he says quickly, "That's a long story."

Tony blinks. Then a look of recognition crosses his face. He snaps his fingers and points at Loki. "Hey! I think I remember something about that! There's a myth that tells about how you were-"

"Yes. I know. It did happen to me. Could we please drop this?" Loki sounds a bit desperate and highly embarrassed.

Sigyn grins and pokes his ribs. "But you love Sleipnir! You always say that you're proud to be his mummy!"

Clint nearly chokes on his soda. "Mummy?" He has a glint in his eyes, showing that he has some sort of plan forming in his mind.

Loki swallows and says, "Yes. Mummy. I am Sleipnir's mother. If you want to know more, just look it up. There are plenty of books on Norse mythology. If you are too lazy to go to a library, use your Midgardian computer. If that's too hard, ask Thor."

Clint nods slowly. He hasn't heard Loki speak in such a cold, reserved manner in a while. He didn't, however, miss the embarrassment that laced the god's words.

The group stays quiet for a moment. Nobody really knows how to react to Loki's sudden coldness. Finally Darcy breaks the silence.

"I thought it'd be warmer. It is summer, after all."

Steve nods his agreement. "Yeah, come on guys. Loosen up. I didn't plan this thing so everyone could be mad at one another."

The tension vanishes when the smell of hot dogs and hamburgers reaches their noses.

"Oh my gosh, that smells great," Bruce says, looking around in search of the source. He sees Erik Selvig by the little grill they had brought along.

He looks up and wipes his hand on his 'Kiss the Chef' apron, saying, "Thanks. They'll be ready in a bit."

The easy chatter picks up as the team waits for their lunch to get ready.

"That was excellent."

"Best hamburgers I've ever had."

"You need to cook for us more often."

"When's dinner? I want more."

The praises ring through the air as the hot dogs and hamburgers are polished off. Erik just waves away the compliments, but everyone can tell that he's happy.

Clint is busy shoving another colossal bite of hamburger as he tries to speak. "Air ih oo eye eez?"

Eyebrows are raised and everyone waits as the archer chews, swallows, and tries again. "Where did you buy these?"

Erik looks slightly amused and answers, "Down at Publix. The store brand is the best."

Clint nods and is about to say something when a Frisbee smacks the back of his head. He whirls around, a finger pointing. "Who did that? Who hit me?" He faces Loki. "You!"

Loki raises his hands in surrender. "Not me."

Clint narrows his eyes and jabs his finger at the god, his mouth open to say something else. Before he can, though, there is a tug on his pants and a small voice floats up.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Hawkeye Sir. I didn't mean to hit you."

The voice belongs to a little boy with blond hair and blue eyes. He looks afraid of Clint as he stares up at the archer, eyes wide.

Clint immediately relaxes and ruffles the boy's hair. He smiles and says, "Not a problem, kiddo."

The child grins, showing the gap where his missing tooth should be. He picks up the Frisbee and turns to walk away, but Clint stops him.

"Hey, does that have Cap on it?"

The boy nods and holds it up for Clint to see. "He's my favorite! You guys are all awesome, but Captain America is the coolest!"

Steve blushes and rubs the back of his neck as the kid goes on, "Someday I'm gonna grow up and be just like him!"

Clint's smile widens. He stretches his arms out and asks, as if this should have been the first thought that went through the lad's brain, "Why don't you ask him to sign it?"

The youth's eyes light up and he looks at Steve. "Will you?"
Steve nods, smiling. "Sure. Do you have something for me to write with?"

The shaver shakes his head, a bit disappointed. Everyone digs around, searching for a pen or other writing instrument. Finally Pepper pulls out a Sharpie and holds it out to Steve, asking, "Will this work?"

Steve nods and takes the pen. The little boy hands him the Frisbee and the soldier signs the toy, 'Captain America'. The kid stares at it, amazed. Then he grins up at Steve.

"You wanna play?"

Steve throws up his hands, grinning. "Why not? He looks over at the others and asks, "Anyone else want to join?"
Hands shoot up into the air. Clint, Tony and Thor are all excited and eager to play. Loki, Bruce, Erik and the girls sit by to watch as the game begins.

First Clint explains to Thor how to throw. Once everyone is fairly confident that the god won't kill anyone with the plastic disk, the actual game commences. The toy goes from Tony to Steve, Steve to the boy - they had learned that his name was Robbie - Robbie to Clint, and from Clint back to Tony.

They play until Robbie's parents call him, saying that it's time for them to go. Robbie grins up at Steve and hugs him, saying, "Thanks, Mr. Captain America!"

Steve ruffles the boy's hair, like Clint, and says, "Hey, call me Steve."

Robbie's eyes light up again and he nods. "Okay!" Then he scampers off to his parents. When he reaches them, he turns back and waves at the group of heroes and their villain.

"Bye! Thanks for playing!"

Steve raises his hand to wave in return, but seems to think of something. "Do you guys want to stay? We're going to do some fireworks later."

The parents think for a bit before walking over to them.

"My husband and I were planning on inviting some friends over," the mother explains. "But Robbie was going to go to bed."

Steve nods in understanding. "Ah, I see."
The woman smiles and goes on, casting a glance over at her husband. "But since you all saved the world, we thought that he could stay with you and still be safe. If that won't cause any problems, that is."

Steve shakes his head. "Not at all! What time should we bring him home?"

They make plans to take Robbie home at around ten thirty. His mother gives Pepper, the team's official navigator, a slip of paper with their address written on it. Then Robbie's parents drive away.

About three hours later, it's starting to get dark. Bruce says that it would be a good idea to get the fireworks ready so they won't have to stumble around in the dark. Tony agrees and he and Steve begin to set up all the fireworks.

Loki is running around in the growing darkness, Robbie sitting on his shoulders. The little boy has a huge grin on his face as he urges Loki to run faster. Sigyn watches them as she listens to the other girls' chatter.

"He isn't really so bad," Pepper says as she looks from Loki to Natasha.
"He's actually pretty cool, now that he isn't trying to take over the world," the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent replies.

The smell of Erik's glorious food wafts through the air, drawing Loki over. He sets Robbie on the ground and offers to help Erik.

"Wow, he really has changed."

Pepper looks over at Jane and asks, "You didn't believe us?"

Jane shrugs. "I don't know. I believed that he had changed, but I didn't know how much."

The girls talk for a while before realizing that Sigyn barely speaks. Darcy looks away from Steve, who is trying to teach Robbie how to whistle with grass, and says to Sigyn, "Why so quiet?"
Loki's wife looks a bit startled and jumps. She blushes faintly and says softly, "Loki often gets terrible headaches, so I try to stay quiet. It's a hard habit to break, I guess."

Darcy nods and says, "Ouch. I don't think I'd be able to stay quiet. I would end up screaming, and that wouldn't help at all."

Sigyn smiles. "No, it wouldn't."

An hour after dinner, everyone sits back in their pop-out chairs. They are waiting for the perfect time to set off the fireworks. Just as the sun slinks down, the lights in the park come on.

"Seriously? What the heck? Why can't we ever have a single-?"

"Do quiet down, Clinton. I can fix this," Loki drawls. He raises a hand and snaps his fingers. All the lights go out, leaving only the moon and stars to illuminate the night.

"Oh my gosh, you are so cool," Clint says. "I'm so glad we didn't kill you."

Loki chuckles softly. "Me too."

They wait for a few moments before Steve says. "Okay, Loki. Now."

The sky lights up with bright, clearly visible fireworks. The display is made up of unusually bright fireworks and colors not usually seen. Pink, orange and purple explosions are mixed in with the more common red, white and blue ones.

Robbie's eyes are, yet again, wide in wonder. Steve smiles over at him, glad to have made the little boy happy.

Once the show is over, Loki returns the lights to the lamps and the group is bathed in the glow. Everyone looks amazed. Loki's eyes are side, seeking approval.

All at once, everyone starts to say how beautiful the fireworks were. At first Loki is guarded. He isn't really sure if they mean all the kind words or if they are teasing him. At Tony's huge grin and Steve's genuine thanks, he loosens up and smiles. He's glad that he could finally do something to make everyone happy.

An idea crosses his mind and he makes everyone sit back down. The lights disappear once again and the sky is lit instead by a huge firework in the shape and coloration of the America flag. After a moment it begins to move like a real flag in the wind. It only lasts for a little over a minute before it begins to fade away.

When Loki looks over at Steve, he sees the tears shining in the soldier's blue eyes. A feeling of apprehension floods into Loki's heart. It beats so loudly that he is sure that the others can hear it. He just knows that he's done something wrong and ruined the moment, erased whatever good things he had done.

"Good job, Loki."

Now he is positive that he's messed up. He looks over at Tony to see how angry the billionaire is. He is surprised to find that he isn't angry at all. His comment was truly meant.

Tony's eyes are soft as he says quietly, "That was perfect. It really was."

Any question Loki had is wiped out by Steve's crushing hug. It lasts only a second, but the warm feeling of satisfaction lingers. Loki smiles up at Steve.

"Glad you liked it."

After they drop off Robbie, who had fallen asleep right after the fireworks, the group drives back to Stark Tower. It's a good thing that Loki isn't driving, because his eyelids are drooping and Sigyn has to keep waking him up.

Once it's time for the Asgardians to go, Loki doesn't even realize that he's hugged everyone until he comes to Tony. The genius has a smirk on his face.

Loki looks at him for a moment before he puts his slender arms around the man before him, muttering, "Oh, shut up."

Tony's smirk grows as he says, "Really feelin' the love there, Reindeer Games."

Loki rolls his eyes and replies, "That's strange, Man of Iron, because there is none to feel."

Bruce smiles and says to Tony, "You just got served."
Tony lets out a huff and mutters, "I was being sarcastic."

Pepper rolls her eyes, mimicking Loki's movement, and points out, "You're just upset because you lost."
Loki smiles sleepily and walks back over to where Thor and Sigyn are standing. The other two have already said their goodbyes.

Thor turns his eyes up to the sky and thunders, (pun intended) "Heimdall! Open the Bifrost!"

The usual gust of wind blows through and when the leaves settle, Thor, Loki and Sigyn are gone.

Natasha and Clint go back to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters and the remaining Avengers retire to their generously given rooms in Tony's huge tower.

A/N: How do you all think that the present tense worked out? It's really my first time writing a story in this tense, but I have used it before. (Haven't we all?) Anyway, do you prefer past or present? Please let me know!

Happy July Fourth, everybody. Stay safe out there!