(Author's Note: Ah, the first of the promised one-shots for 'Second in Command' series! As I said, the first is going to be a bit from the wedding party. I'll label where all of these fit into the canon of my stories, so there shouldn't be any confusion. I've gotten some lovely ideas from readers that I plan to use, and credit as long as the idea wasn't sent anonymously. If anyone comes up with any other ideas, let me know!)
Everything Fits into Place
(Fits: Post epilogue of 'Redemption'.)
The wedding had been short and wonderful, and the party was fit to be nothing but rambunctious. Phoenix had known that it would be even when it was barely in the planning stages. It was a party that Tony Stark was a part of, how could it be anything but an alcohol soaked fest?
After the 'traditional' things were done (cutting of the cake and whatnot), they were all free to mingle with one another. They had went inside of Tony's Malibu home now, as sand in a cake is never fun. JARVIS was being a wonderful dear and playing along with the festivities, performing admirably as a DJ at the moment. Phoenix herself wasn't too fond of modern music, but he was playing a good mix and modern and older music, so she didn't mind too much. It seemed as if everyone else was enjoying themselves, after all.
However, it was when she went out for a bit of air that she spotted someone from a distance. Thankfully, she had already changed from her dress to a pair of cut off jeans and a green tank (a tribute to her husband), so it was nothing for her to catch up with the far away figure.
"I'm hoping that you at least brought a gift, Coulson," she remarked as she stood beside him.
"Actually, I did. At least of sorts," he remarked, pulling what appeared to be a communications device from his pocket. "Fury wanted me to give you this eventually. It's for when you're away and you're needed for Avenger problems."
She actually laughed. Of course the agent would give her something 'work related' at her own wedding. "When I get to take my honeymoon, I'm going to hide this thing somewhere. You know that, right?"
"If it's bad enough, we can find you anyway," Coulson reminded her.
"I'm not shocked at all," she admitted, turning and looking out at the ocean. "What are you doing out here? Why aren't you at the party, anyway?"
"I still haven't told them," Coulson admitted. "It's hard to explain away 'hey, I'm not dead like you thought,'" he explained to her.
"Well, while they're all a little drunk and happy is a good time," she said, grabbing him and throwing him over her shoulder. He struggled, exclaiming that he'd rather do it on his own time table, but she wasn't having any of it. Maybe it was the champagne that she'd had herself before coming out, but she was wanting to give these people back something that she knew that they wanted.
As she brought in the still mildly struggling agent inside of Tony's home, she called out, "I found a certain someone hanging around and watching the party!" She deposited Coulson into a nearby chair.
It was like one of those movies where someone scratches a needle across a record. Everyone stopped, and Phoenix realized that MAYBE this was a little rash. Things were completely silent for a moment, and then everything exploded into noise, several people talking at once.
"How is he alive?" Tony shouted. "Did Fury lie to us?"
"Did you bring him back to life?" Steve asked, staring spellbound at Coulson.
Those were the only two sets of questions that Phoenix had been able to pick out of the crowd of voices. Most of the people were converging on Coulson, happy to see him alive. Phoenix herself was just glad that she hadn't actually killed the man. All of them seemed happy that he was alive, and more than one person hugged the agent. Even though he seemed to show discomfort at the intimacy (which amused Phoenix greatly), she could see that he was happier that the others knew that he was alive as well.
"How long have you known that he was alive?" Loki asked, his hands slipping around her waist from behind.
"A few months," she told him. "He's actually the one who's been assigned as our tail. I couldn't help but be amused at Fury's pick."
"How long until you think Tony does something horrid to Fury for deceiving all of them?" Loki asked her.
"I give it a week, tops," she admitted with a giggle.
"Plotting, you two?" A deep, booming voice says from behind them. They both turn around, looking straight at Odin. He looks almost...out of place in the light suit that he was wearing. Phoenix was sure that he would look more at home in armor and carrying a sword.
"Actually, wondering if Tony Stark will be plotting and how long it will take," Phoenix said lightly to him.
"It seems that Midgard is full of mischievous people," Odin remarked with something akin to a smile. He looked like a man who smiled rarely, or maybe simply hadn't had too much to smile about for a long time.
"It's part of what makes this place interesting," Loki remarked, letting go of her and heading over to his mother, who was watching the scene from across the room. This left Odin and Phoenix standing together.
They stood in silence for a moment, before Odin finally broke it. "I thought I was doing the right thing...sending you away, and yet I almost played into Fate's hands by doing just that."
"Fate's a bitch, isn't she?" Phoenix remarked with a slightly dark grin. "Then again, if you hadn't of sent me here, Loki and I may not have ended up together, and now I cannot imagine my life without him." Her smile turned soft. "Humans have a phrase, hindsight is 20/20. It means that we can only see what would have been perfect to do after we have acted. It's better to live with our mistakes and simply move on." She finally turned and looked at him. "Was I really sweated out of someone's armpit? That really bothers me."
Odin let out a hearty laugh. "Goodness, no. Bards can come up with such creative tales, can't they?" He smiled at her. "They thought you were a male, after all."
"One of these days, I hope they get one tale right," Phoenix said, looking back over at her friends as they continued to overwhelm poor Coulson. At least now things were finally in place as they should be.
