Silver Dusk

Chapter One

Wanda Maximoff walked slowly out of the NY Shield facility, her face a mask of calm. She walked at this pace for a few yards, until she turned into an alleyway. At which point she let out a inarticulate cry of frustration, and kicked a nearby trash can hard enough to knock it over and send it rolling down the alley, the crash echoing for several minutes after the can stopped rolling. She ran her hands through her long hair, yanking at it. For six months Shield had been investigating the mysterious race of people that her amnesiac twin now lived among, after a long and convuluted argument between Nick Fury, Wanda herself, and the other Avengers. She had checked on the results of this 'research' periodically, yet they had supposedly found nothing! She exhaled heavily. Fuming wasn't going to make answers appear out of thin air.

Her cell chimed in her jeans pocket. She tugged it into her hand, still in a temper but grateful for any distraction.

"What?"

"Whoa, hello to you too!" Tony's voice sounded like it always did- amused, sarcastic, and half distracted because the billionaire was focusing on twenty things at once.

A wry smirk spread across the young woman's face. Tony might be aggravating, but somehow he always managed to make people want to laugh. "Are you calling me for a reason, or are you just bored?"

"Meh. You're more fun to talk to than Jarvis."

"Thank you for that compliment, sir." The AI's voice sounded put out, even over the phone, and Wanda stifled a laugh. She could just imagine Tony's expression...

"Hey, by the way, Wands, you're late."

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?" Wanda snapped, not in the mood for Stark's banter. "And late for what?"

There was silence on the other end for a moment. "The party, Wanda. You know, to celebrate your boyfriend's thawing?"

Wanda swore fiercely. "That was today?"

"Yep," the billionaire replied, laughing. "And where did you hear that one? I am so going to use it on Stern the next time he's a-"

"I'm on my way," Wanda interrupted, her mood not improving. She disconnected the phone call, scowling. How could she have forgotten? Had she really got so caught up in the hunt for Pietro that she'd forgotten the (ill-advised) party? Though she had told Tony Steve might not appreciate a huge fuss, it hadn't dissuaded him from his plans. She was going along to try and keep things under control. Hopefully, between her, Bruce and Pepper, Tony wouldn't go too crazy... he wouldn't give details, except to say it would be 'an awesome surprise' for Steve. He could have arranged anything!

Shaking her head, she pocketed her phone and began walking home, vaguely wondering how exactly Tony was keeping Steve out of the way while the party was set up. She wasn't sure she wanted to know...

The top floor of the tower was utterly silent when she got there. The lights were on, but there was no sign of anyone...until Steve walked into the lounge, looking confused, but smiling warmly at her.

"Did you find anything out at Shield?" His face fell as he took in her expression. "I'm guessing not..." He shifted uncomfortably. "Where is everyone, do you think? Tony sent me off to try and get hold of some component he ordered, but the shipment isn't due for another week, apparently."

Wanda shrugged, "Maybe Tony just got the delivery date wrong?" Seriously, Stark, you couldn't think of a better excuse than that?

Thankfully, Steve seemed to accept her explanation. He peered around curiously.

"Where is everyone? Normally Tony at least is here at this time of day...typical of him to send me on one of his errands, then disappear before he has to do any actual work. No-one else here?"

She shook her head, despite knowing full well everyone was hiding in the rec room. She tried not to smirk as she beckoned him to follow her.

Steve blinked. "Ok, something's going on here..." Not receiving an answer, he followed Wanda, a puzzled frown creasing his forehead. "Where are you going?"

Wanda walked quickly, slipping into the darkened rec room with Steve a few minutes behind her, glancing back once to make sure he saw where she went. She stifled a yelp when she collided with someone.

"Oww! Wands, that was my foot!" Tony's voice was muffled suddenly- Pepper must've put her hand over his mouth, Wanda mused. It'll be an interesting adjustment for Tony when they tie the knot...maybe he'll finally grow up. Tony had proposed to Pepper- what was it, two weeks ago now? She forced her mind back into the here and now.

"Wanda?" Steve's voice was utterly confused as he came into the darkened room. "What is..."

"SURPRISE!"

The super-soldier almost jumped out of his skin as the lights came back up, revealing Tony, Pepper, Wanda, Bruce, Clint and Natasha gathered around the strangely-decorated rec room. There were a dozen or so other people there, although James Rhodes, Phil Coulson and Betty Ross were the only ones Steve recognised.
Tony was grinning. "Welcome to your Thawday party!"

Steve blinked. "Thor's here?"

"Huh? Oh, no, I said thaw, not Thor. You know, cause its been two years since you were defrosted?"

"Oh, uh, thanks, guys." Steve managed a smile. "Surprise parties aren't really my thing, but...this is really cool of you." He shifted uncomfortably, glancing at the decorations. Posters of a man in a suit, often accompanied by a young girl, several prints of cylindrical robots with arms, a model of an old-fashioned phone booth of some kind... "What is all this?"

Pepper and Wanda giggled, Bruce went red. "I, uh...I like Doctor Who. I just thought it'd be a good time to introduce you guys to it."

"Nothing wrong with a little culture." Natasha observed. She was stood closer to Clint than usual, but then, Steve reflected, they had been dating for a few months now...

"Um...I've never heard of Doctor Who. Sorry."

Wanda slid her hand into his. "Don't worry, until Bruce set all this up, I hadn't heard of it either. It's a British TV series or something..."

"It's one of the best sci-fi shows ever!"

"It's a pathetic sitcom that should've been axed years ago."

Bruce's enthusiastic voice and Tony's dry one were utterly in contrast. Clint rolled his eyes as they glared at each other.

"Truce, kids, ok? Let's agree to disagree about the obscure tv show, and just get on with the party." He grinned at Steve. "I didn't think it'd be much of a party with only seven people, so I asked a few of Nat's and my friends from Shield. Plus Tony invited Rhodey. Hope you don't mind?"

"No, no, it's...fine."

"Ok!" Tony held his hands out dramatically. "I got some of my best vintage out for this... Jarvis?"

"I'm sorry, sir. Miss Potts insisted no alcohol be allowed at this party unless Mr Rogers requested it."

Tony's jaw dropped. He looked at Steve pleadingly. "One drink, Spangles? Please?"

"As it's supposed to be my party, no. I'm sure you'll survive one day without a drink."

Tony looked imploringly at Pepper. Getting no response, he sighed. "Alright, fine. Music time!" He clapped his hands, and 'Shoot to Thrill' by 'AC/DC' began echoing around the room.

Everyone stood around awkwardly for a few minutes, before spreading out, making conversation with some of the casually-dressed Shield agents. Steve had to admit that it was fun to spend time with a large group of people- it reminded him of his time with the Howling Commandos, back in WWII... but he was trying to focus on his future, not the past. He let Wanda drag him off to get some snacks.

Coulson elbowed his way over to them, grabbing a handful of nachos.

"Great party." the agent nodded, his voice as mild as always. "Love the decorations, by the way." He grinned. "Nice to know I'm not the only fan of the Doctor around here."

"Huh? Oh, no. Bruce chose the decorations." Steve's voice was apologetic. "I'd never even heard of it til today."

Coulson raised an eyebrow. "Banner's a fan? Wonder who his favourite Doctor is..." He idled over towards Bruce to ask that very question- so few Americans were intersted in the classic TV series, it was a minor miracle in his eyes to have found one! Soon he, Bruce and Betty were caught up in a discussion about the TV show- apparently, Ross was a fan as well.

"Does he ever not wear that suit, do you think?" Wanda smirked. "Every time we see him, he looks the same!"

Steve snorted. "Sometimes I think he must sleep in it, to be honest."

She put her head on his shoulder. "Great party, right? Sorry I didn't tell you, but Tony was so adamant about it being a surprise..."

He squeezed her hand. "It's amazing." And it might help you focus on something other than the lack of information about Pietro, as well. Her single-minded determination to track him down was worrying him- she wasn't sleeping well, for a start. He cleared his throat, looking over at Tony and Pepper, who were dancing (at least, Steve thought it was meant to be dancing, although the 'modern' style just looked bizarre to him). "Would you like to dance?"

Wanda opened her mouth to answer, when klaxon-like alarms began blaring throughout the whole tower.

To be continued...