Word soon got around about Tony's 'small' get together, and keeping it at just the eleven of them (well, twelve if you included Steve's cousin) was proving difficult. Tony had always been popular, a side effect of being rich, but his friends weren't so used to the attention they were receiving; their classmates all desperate to get an invite to check out the Stark mansion.
Friday sixth period thankfully ended, and the group of friends all headed to Tony's (other than Natasha who had to go home first, and Steve who went home to meet his cousin before heading to the billionaire's home)
Clint was nervous, Darcy even more so. She hadn't had the courage to actually broach with Steve the topic of exactly what capacity they'd be going to this party as? Friends? Was it a date? Just two single people thrown together as a result of belonging to a group full of couples? Jane had tried to drop some hints to Steve on her behalf, but he was just as oblivious as ever...
Tony had gone all out; he'd got more pizzas than they could ever eat, candy, chocolate, chips; you name it, he had it.
"Tony is that beer?" Bruce asked, noticing the table full of bottles as Jess added the cupcakes she'd baked for Clint to the table of food (which could easily feed them all for the better half of a week)
"Yeah, I just took a few bottles out of my dad's store room, he'll never notice. I've got some gin, scotch and vodka too... Hey Clint, Tasha's Russian right? They like vodka don't they..?"
"I don't think it's such a good idea Tony..." Pepper began, but he shooed off her concerns and went to greet Jane and Thor who'd just arrived. She shared an uneasy look with Bruce before Jessica dragged him off. Pepper moved a few of the bottles into one of the cupboards, hoping no one would notice them there and Tony would forget about them...
Steve arrived shortly after Thor and Jane, his older cousin Bucky in tow. He quickly introduced him to Carol Danvers, the only one at the party without a date; not that she minded, she'd just broken up with Matt Murdoch, but Bucky was nice and had a friendly smile; it'd be nice to talk to someone different for a few hours.
Steve walked up and tapped Darcy on the shoulder, she was pretending she hadn't notice him arrive and was talking with Jess and Jane. She turned, trying to act nonchalant; which lasted all of about five seconds before she spilt her drink all over him. Jess and Jane couldn't bear to watch anymore, and headed back over to where Bucky and Thor were quickly making their way through one of the pizzas having recently been introduced, and informed they both played for their respective schools football team, Bruce and Carol stood with them and greeted Jessica and Jane when they joined them.
"I am so sorry" Darcyblushed
"No, no, it's okay. I shouldn't have startled you" he told her, wiping down his wet shirt
She blushed even more now, not having the guts to admit to him that actually, she knew he was there
He smiled at her awkwardly as the red flush to her cheeks increased.
There was a loud clatter as Thor broke a glass;
"Sorry friend Stark" he said quickly, rushing to pick up the shards littering the floor
"Don't worry Point Break, I've got a million more where those came from!" he winked, erasing the uneasy look on Jane's face; she still felt Thor wasn't quite part of their friendship group, not like Pepper and Natasha who's slipped right in, it had been harder with Thor, but he was making progress and Tony's use of some stupid nickname cemented it in her mind.
There was music on in the background and lights on in the large expansive garden; it was (for once) a nice evening, and most of their time was spent outside; chatting and joking in groups or pairs. But as the night grew on, there was an absence that didn't go unnoticed;
"Hey Barton, your girlfriend going to show up at some point?"
"She's not my girlfriend Tony" Clint sighed, looking out over the fields Tony called his backyard
"Say what you want about you and Red, we all know how you feel about her"
Clint didn't deny it, he'd allowed himself to look forward to this, for the first time in a long time he was actually happy and excited about something, but she hadn't turned up
Pepper joined the two of them, stood by the edge of Tony's pool;
"Hey Clint, is Tasha coming?"
Clint did nothing but groan in response, causing Pepper to apologise
"It's not your fault Pepper, I just... I really like her, and I thought she liked me too... I really thought she'd show" he said sadly, before Tony awkwardly cleared his throat to get his attention. Clint turned to see Natasha stood there, listening curiously to everything he'd just said...
