A waiter promptly appeared and noted down their orders with a dazzling, white-toothed smile. Nat winked at him. In response, he gave her a quick once-over and a cheeky smirk before leaving.
"What?" she asked Sam, who was stared at her with a very surly expression as she tossed back her vibrant curls.
"I think Wilson is jealous." piped up Clint.
Sam sent him a murderous look as he flushed the same shade of red as the tomato sauce bottle on the counter.
"Oh really?" asked Nat with mock-surprise. She shuffled suddenly close to him and leaned her head on his arm, gazing up at him and fluttering her eyelashes. "Not jealous are you Sam?" She asked sweetly with a razor sharp grin.
"No." he muttered, staring hard at the table and leaning away from her.
She laughed. "Oh Sam, I'm sorry! You look so sweet when you're embarrassed. Forget Clint said anything." She gave him a quick hug and a peck on the cheek in apology, giggling as his eyebrows rose up into his hair in surprise.
"Get a room, will ya?" joked Clint.
Everyone but Steve laughed. Bucky tried to catch his eye but he was staring very firmly at his pizza.
"Don't think too hard, you'll hurt yourself." Sam said to him in a dramatic stage-whisper, and grinned proudly as Nat snorted. Maybe today hadn't been such a disaster after all.
Steve glanced up and nodded to pretend he had heard and understood what Sam had said, but it only proved the opposite.
Nat tried to say something to Bucky, but he was too busy trying to get Steve to look at him and only gave a vague, mumbled reply.
Nat pouted at this and turned pointedly back to Sam.
Clint hid his laugh by taking a large bite of pizza.
Steve finally looked up, and his blue eyes were shining. "Bucky-"
"FRIENDS!" cried Thor, charging into the parlor in delight and knocking the waiter completely off his feet with one large shoulder. "I have been having such a wonderful time! How was your mission?" He was laden down with a huge teddy bear won from a stall, seven Primark shopping bags and an ironing board.
"What mission?" murmured Clint to Nat, who kicked him savagely in the shins beneaths the table.
Bucky turned Thor with such a ferocious glare that he stopped in his tracks. His lower lip began to tremble and his large sapphire eyes flooded with sparkling tears.
"Comrade Bucky, I do not think you are pleased to see me…" he said softly.
"Your damn right!" hissed Bucky aggressively, furious at this interruption of something that was so obviously important.
Tears slid down Thor's cheeks into his blonde beard, and he took a step back. Once again, he collided with the waiter, who was sent head over heels for the second time in 5 minutes.
The others all glared at Bucky in outrage and horror, before clustering around Thor. Even Steve looked shocked.
"Hey, buddy, its okay…" soothed Clint, patting Thor's shoulder.
"I'm sure he didn't mean it." Said Steve, throwing a confused look over his shoulder at Bucky, who was still sat at the table and looking very sulky.
Nat squeezed Thor's large arm. "Where ya bin all this time?"
"Yeah," added Sam, "what the hell you got an ironing board for?"
Thor wiped his nose on his forearm noisily. "Well," he sniffed, "I thought Jane might like it as present. I don't really know what it does…" he admitted shyly.
The others all laughed warmly.
Bucky finally got up from the table. "Er… sorry about that, I guess…" he muttered.
Thor immediately forgave him and threw his arms about him, squeezing him tight. When he let go Bucky was a little purple and breathless, and probed his ribs to check for damage.
"Come on, Thor, let's get you an ice cream or something." Said Nat with a smile, and whisked them out the parlor.
The waiter breathed a sigh of relief.
Outside, Bucky tried to approach Steve again. "What was it you were sayi-"
"That was a terrible apology Bucky." Steve cut him off angrily. "You can't just lash out at people like that. Why did you have to be so mean?"
Bucky stared at him wounded. "I-"
"Don't come up with excuses - act like a grown-up for once!"
Bucky practically growled "I'm not a child so don't treat me like one."
"Don't act like one then, and apologize properly to Thor!" Steve retorted.
They stared angrily at each other for a moment, before Steve stalked off angrily after the others. Bucky stood watching him go, breathing deeply and trying to unclench his shaking fists.