Thor

Thor sat at the bar, head in his hands as he thought about Jane. He was nursing his fourth shot of Scotch, and he was starting to feel the effects. Why wouldn't she talk to him anymore? What had he done? Had he not been good enough? Patient enough? Paid enough attention? What was it?

"Hey Point Break," slurred a tipsy man who walked up. Tony Stark leaned against the bar, pulling an indignant Pepper Stark after him.

"Tony, seriously, let me go mingle," she griped. "Oh hey, Thor. How are you doing?" The strawberry blonde tried to wiggle her way out of her new husband's clinging arms.

"I'm alright. How are you, Pepper? Other than the obvious?" Thor poked at Tony's elbow until the drunk man let go of Pepper to swat at his old college roommate. Tony began to pout as the bartender handed him a glass of water.

Pepper grinned at her childish husband. "I'm pretty good. Better now that I can move on my own. Thanks for that." Thor cracked a half smile. "Oh! Darcy was looking for you. Something about pulling you away from alcohol long enough to dance with your best friend?"

"Thank you, Pepper. Good luck with Tony. Call if you need help getting him out to the taxi, okay?" Pepper waved at Thor as he walked out to the dance floor in search of Darcy. He wove his way through the sweaty, gyrating bodies. A few women tried to press themselves against him in an attempt to get him to dance with them, but he just nodded politely and kept looking for Darcy.

"Hey muscles," came Darcy's voice in his ear. "Dance with me." He turned and began to dance with Darcy. His best friend was obviously drunk and was trying to be sexy. It was actually quite hilarious, the way she was attempting to grind against him. The music slowed and he spun her around in his arms, a genuine smile on his face. "Ha! It worked! You're smiling!"

"What are you talking about, Darce? I've been smiling all night," lied Thor, his cheeks heating. Hopefully his two-day-old beard would hide the blush.

"You've been mooning. I talked to Clint. He told me that you were downing vodka like water," accused Darcy. She wrapped her arms around his neck and perched her bare toes on his shoes. "You don't even like vodka. You're still upset about Jane, aren't you?" Thor nodded, his head dropping into Darcy's mass of brown hair. "But I thought you two really hit it off at Pep and Tony's wedding?"

He sighed heavily. "We did, at least, I thought we did. And I thought you were extremely drunk just now, you know that?"

"C'mon, let's get you a drink. And I was just trying to make you smile." Darce dragged him over to the bar. "Two Aethers, please," she said to the bartender. Thor looked at her questioningly. "Special drink I created for tonight. It's one of Betty's favorite colors, and if Betty's happy, Bruce is happy. It's yummy; I promise." The bartender slid the drinks over to them, and Thor took a sip. The cranberry juice and tequila was a very Darcy drink. "Now, spill."

"We slept together. That night, after the wedding. She was gone before I woke up the next morning. And now she won't talk to me other than about work. What do I do?" He hung his head in despair.

Darcy

Thor looked so sad, and Darcy's heart clenched. Nobody treated her best friend like that. He sipped at his Aether, looking dejected and broken. "I'll be right back," she growled, eyes narrowing. Thor looked at her in surprise as she stalked away, back straight. Darcy stalked through the crowd, looking for her soon-to-be ex-friend.

"Darce, hey!" Natasha called from her spot on the dance floor in Clint's arms. "You look phenomenal!" The red-haired MMA fighter wrapped the brunette in a hug that almost squished her boobs out of the tight green dress she was wearing.

"Nat! I'm going to fall out of the dress if you don't let go of me," said Darcy, returning the hug with much less enthusiasm. "Have you seen Jane around?"

"Not for awhile, no," said Natasha, releasing Darcy. "What's up? Do you want me to help look for her?" She brushed a few strands of hair that had fallen loose from her bun back behind her ear, a concerned look on her face.

"I just really need to ye- I mean, talk to her," said Darcy. "Just keep your eyes peeled, okay?" Natasha nodded and gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze. Darcy smiled and pushed her way to the crowd to see an exasperated Pepper supporting a drunken Tony with one shoulder and talking to Bruce.

"If you could call us a cab, that would be just wonderful," Pepper was saying as Bruce fished around in his pocket for his phone.

"No problem, Pep. Oh, hey Darce. What's up?" Bruce gave her a dazzling smile and a one-armed hug as he dialed the cab company. "Hey, could you send a cab to 235 East Adams? Thank you so much."

"What's up, Darcy?" asked Pepper, shifting Tony's weight so it rested more on Bruce, who had come to help her take him out to the cab. "Sorry we couldn't stay longer. You know Tony and his liquor." Darcy cracked a smile at that. She sobered up a moment later, as she glimpsed Thor resting his head on the bar through the crowd on the dance floor.

"I get it. I'm glad you came. But, anyways, have you seen Jane? I really need to talk to her." She shifted her weight from foot to foot, nervousness radiating from her.

Pepper put her hands on Darcy's shoulders and looked at her, worry etched on her face. "Darce, are you okay?" Darcy looked at Pepper, her big sister figure for as long as she could remember. Pepper had always been there for her, and there was no lying to her.

"I need to kill her. How much do you think Tony would be willing to pay to bail me out of a murder charge?" Darcy cracked a small smile at the mental image of herself in shackles as Tony was throwing bundles of money at people.

"Um, no murder. And I think I saw her dancing with Steve a minute ago."

A/N - Hey guys. Fast update, I know. :) I'm proud of myself, since I'm pretty much rewriting this as I go. Not too many more chapters, I think. I thought this would be shorter. Huh. Well, enjoy! I probably won't have another one up until next weekend.

Love-Rose