Christmas at Jane's
Chapter 10: The Party Continues
Steve dealt out the cards for each person, and they began a very heated version of Old Maid (Jane demanded it). At first, Darcy was confused (how would they win?) but Tony said that if the boys' team got the Joker in the end, they would lose. So it was not an individual game, but one that required teamwork.
Jane did not seem daunted, and she had no reason to be. In less than ten minutes, Clint was holding the last card in his hand and the girls were hooting with laughter at the boys' expressions.
"Didn't you know?" gasped Darcy. "Acing card games come naturally to science geniuses."
Tony sighed, and picked up the list.
"Our turn to choose."
They chose darts.
"Each person has three darts," coached Stark. "Outer rings are marked by number. Bull's eye is five points. Team with the highest number, all the points added together, win."
Clint could only grin.
Boys went first. Bruce got moderately good points, as with Tony. Steve got very close to the bull's eye. And, of course, Clint scored three bull's eyes in a row.
The girls went next. Tasha got three bull's eyes as well (spy training paid off, Darcy guessed). Ginny and Jane got several threes and fours (with the occasional five). Darcy hit one and two, and barely missed four. And Jane–
"How do you do two bull's eyes without any training?" demanded Darcy.
"Practice," Jane shrugged. "After Agent Coulson stole my equipment, I had his picture printed out and I spent hours throwing darts at it."
Tony snorted.
The boys won that round, with no doubt. Darcy groaned, but lightened up. There was the third round, after all, and the final round after that.
They decided on dominoes.
But Bruce was as good at building domino lines as Jane was, and Steve had even more talent than all the girls combined ("I played with wooden blocks when I was a kid"). They lost that round, too.
Last game. Darcy glared at Tony, who was giving out free smug smiles.
"This is how it goes," he said. "Part one, our two representatives do shooting. With dye-loaded guns. And distanced targets. No thanks to Darcy for this inspiration. Part two, they scale the climbing wall in the garage that I installed–" Darcy turned pale. "What?" she screeched. "–as fast as they can. Part three, they choose an instrument of choice and attempt to play a Christmas tune. Part four, they have a cookie-baking contest. Now. Before any of the boys says that this is unfair, let me remind you that Legolas is a good cook, and Bruce knows how to play trombone. So, discuss among your group about who you'll choose for each challenge. Because this ain't no hayride, and the winning team gets first choice serving of dinner. Any questions? No? Good. Now go discuss."
Darcy's mouth watered.
Jane gathered them together.
"Guys, this is too easy. Shooting, Darcy can do, since she's had lots of taser practice. Climbing, Tasha can do. Piano, I can do. Without making anyone deaf, that is. And Ginny can cook really good. So we're all set."
The girls nodded.
The game was on.
For the first challenge of the game, Darcy went against Steve (who said he knew how to shoot a gun, and that was good enough).
They assembled in the park, a mere five seconds' walk away. Four targets were placed on the trees, each farther away than the last. Steve and Darcy were handed small guns, and told to start when they heard Tony blow the whistle.
The whistle blew.
Darcy aimed, shot. Aimed, shot. Aimed, shot. Aimed shot. Four targets, the farthest about forty-five feet away.
Don't think. Just aim. Shoot. Aim. Shoot. You can do this.
She shot the last one, and looked and Steve, who was wearing a dazed expression.
"How'd I do?"
"Hit every single bull's eye, ma'am."
"Wow. I'm impressed with myself."
Far away, she spied the splatter of pink and blue dye staining the targets.
Beat that, boys!
"Girls win this challenge!" said Tony. "Back inside, please, ladies and gentlemen. Time for the climbing."
In the garage, Tasha was going against Tony.
"Are you sure about this?" said Darcy. " 'Cause Tasha's not called Black Widow for nothing."
Tony gulped. "Well, I can't cook or play an instrument, so it's worth a shot."
No, Tony. No, it was not worth a shot.
Tasha won easily. Scampering around the three-wall rock-climbing ridges, she made it to the end about three minutes faster than Tony did.
Back in the house, Tony laid out a circle of instruments. Saxophone, trombone, violin, flute, clarinet. And, of course, the piano in the living room.
Bruce went first and played a praise-worthy 'White Christmas'.
Everyone, even Darcy, clapped.
"If you want 'White Christmas', you'll get it," said Jane nonchalantly. She seated herself on the piano and paused, letting her fingers hover over the keys.
Darcy felt butterflies form in her stomach.
When was the last time Jane played piano?
You've never heard her. She just bought it a couple months ago, dummy.
Jane closed her eyes, smiled, pressed.
And the most angelic music flowed from her fingertips.
Tony and Pepper exchanged glances. So did Clint and Tasha.
Darcy's head swam.
Jane ended the song on a soft note, and stood up.
"Was that okay?"
Bruce nodded, and accepted his defeat.
To the kitchen. Ginny and Clint began to combine ingredients, though both were using different recipes (Ginny making gingerbread, Clint making chocolate chip). Many mouth-watering smells wafted throughout the house, from cinnamon to melted chocolate to everything in between. Pretty soon, the oven beeped and both cooks removed the trays of cookies, placing them on racks to cool.
Everyone tasted them.
"Tie," said pretty much everyone.
"Pepper wins," said Tony. Ginny swatted him with a spatula.
"HA HA!" said Darcy. "FOUR challenges WON! Take that, Tin Can Man!"
Tony waved his hand casually.
"Heh. We'll have a rematch on New Year's. Get ready to lose."
All of them, even the boys, snickered.
Ginny, Tasha, and Clint shooed everyone into the dining room, where they found their places and sat down. Each plate was framed with a fork, a spoon, a knife, and a napkin, and tea lights were turned on. The room was dim and "romantic" (Ginny's words).
"Girls, come and get your dinner!" said Tasha.
"Here comes the best part of the party," said Jane.
And, as always, she was right.