A/N: Another chap I'm not too fond of, I'm afraid. Ah well. Still fun and it gives you guys something. There's also a new poll up on my profile to see who else you'd like to see or see more of in here. Enjoy.
Thor poked his head into Clint's assigned hospital room and smiled when the said man glanced up from Bobbi to his friend. "Hey, brother!" He greeted.
Thor mock saluted, then stepped inside, with Jane at his heels.
Bobbi smiled at them and got up from the chair she was in before sliding onto the bed on Clint's good side so both of the new visitors had a place to sit.
Jane took her seat in the chair closest to the wall, and Thor took the other. "So, how are you feeling?" Thor asked. He glanced at the bandage on the other man's left arm. He wasn't lying- it didn't seem bad- it had a small amount of blood visible through the bandage, but it did cover a small amount. "You prove ninety five percent invulnerable once again." He quipped.
"You bet," Clint winked at him. "So, your brother enjoying the news too much to visit?"
Thor laughed. "No, just busy. Stark's just annoying him again. He did promise to stop by, even if he thinks 'you had it coming'." Thor replied.
Clint shrugged, then glanced at Jane. "Hey, I didn't interrupt ahem- anything, did I?" He waggled his eyebrows.
Jane blushed, Thor didn't look at all surprised, and Bobbi punched him lightly in the rib. "Ow! Injured and heavily medicated right now!" Clint protested.
"Oh yes, you're fine." Thor sighed, then reached over and clapped the man on the knee. "You're an idiot. I'm glad you're okay."
Clint beamed. "Thank you, Brother."
The four looked up when another visitor came in. This one, however, was unknown to all but Clint. He was tan-skinned, with dark, wavy hair and wore a doctor's coat that seemed at least a couple of sixes too large. He saw the other visitors and frowned. "Oh, sorry, I didn't realize you had company. I can come back later and do the checks…"
Clint waved him off. "Hey, it's just checking the monitors and crap, right Doc? Just tell them to move their asses if they're in the way."
The doctor let out a nervous laugh. "Right, won't go that far, Mister Barton." He arched an eyebrow at the vistors. "Any of you his family or future ride home or something?"
Clint pointed at Bobbi, "Girlfriend," to Thor, "Might as well be my brother," to Jane, "Pretty much my future might-as-well-be-sister-in-law."
Jane turned red again, and Thor promptly facepalmed.
Clint rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, people. I can see it now- lily white wedding- flowers and simple, gorgeous shit everywhere and Jane looking like a bombshell in her dress and Thor dapper as ever and the reception with no dancing because you two would be too terrified of showing off your lack of dancing skills, and-" He was cut off by Bobbi covering his mouth.
Thor laughed, then looked at the doctor. "How drugged up is he?"
The doctor offered a guilty smile. "Quite a bit. Probably a little more than necessary but the guy was actually taking a few swings because he was so determined he was okay even if he was bleeding like crazy for a bit. Sorry for the visual." He added the last part after a moment. "So, what was he going on about Thor now? He's not hallucinating, is he?"
Thoe laughed again. "No. It's my name, actually. I know, ridiculous."
The doctor shrugged. "Hey, I don't judge like that. I'm Doctor Bruce Banner by the way, in case any of you are those types who look up the doctors taking care of their loved ones more carefully than government agencies search people."
The gathered crowd stared for a moment, then laughed.
Bruce let out another nervous laugh, seeming relieved he got that reaction. "Right…" He nodded. He maneuvered around to the various machines around the room, scribbling notes on a sheet of paper that was on a clipboard. "So far, so good. I assume Clint's given you the low down on what happened. It's a light graze. Nothing severe. He should be fine. We'll just keep him overnight to make sure nothing goes wrong. Well, I might see the rest of you, I may not, so, have a good day." He turned and left.
After a couple of moments, Clint hummed. "… He's too cheerful for a man who spends his life in a hospital." He mused. Before the others could so much as respond, the S.W.A.T member looked distant before his eyes closed slowly, and was snoring within a minute.
Thor blinked at him for a moment. "Well, that was anti-climactic…"
"At least we saw him before the meds got to him." Jane offered.
"That's true," Thor nodded. "Bobbi, we were in the middle of a date when we got the call, so now that he's out cold…"
Bobbi waved her hand dismissively. "Go, you crazy cats. I'll stay with him. He'll understand. If the man's planning your wedding he obviously approves tenfold." She replied, scooting closer to him and wrapping her arms around his right arm.
The others nodded in reply and said their goodbyes before heading for the exit.
Once they were out, Jane burst out laughing.
Thor arched an eyebrow. "Clint in general or something he said?"
"The last one- well, the first, too. Promise you won't freak out if I say what got me." She insisted, clasping his hand closest to her in both of hers.
Thor glanced ahead, then shrugged. "Alright…"
Jane shook her head. "I'm not pushing or anything 'cause I'm not that kind of girl and all, but Darcy thought up the exact same scenario if you and I got married- down to the cursing."
Thor laughed. "Ah, no harm done, and that doesn't surprise me at all." He leaned over. "They're obviously plotting together."
"We need to start separating those two."
Thor snorted. "Good luck with that one."
"We can try, can't we?" Jane offered.
Thor smiled again, then wrapped an arm around her, continuing to walk towards his car. "That we can. No promises in so much as succeeding in the least, though."
Darcy had had a rough day at work. Being that Tony Stark had decided to shadow Loki for the day, the building had at least six times the calls for him they usually had- half of them demanding where he was. Darcy, of course, had tried to go with the 'in a long, important meeting' approach, but like she had a moment after she said it, no one believed her. She had promptly claimed something was on fire and hung up. She was pleasantly surprised when she spotted Loki talking with a tall, blonde man dressed in a black suit in front of one of the restaurants she and Jane had used to go to religiously on the way home. She pulled over as soon as she could, and walked over to him.
Loki did not at all expect the resulting hug from behind he got. He glanced at his companion closest to him, who merely arched an eyebrow, then at the two other brunette men at the table a few feet away he had occupied minutes ago, who looked more confused than anything.
"Work sucks," Darcy announced into his back.
Loki sighed, turned around in her arms, returned the hug awkwardly, then turned her around again so he was facing the blond again. He shot a look at the other two who 'awwww'ed. "Oh, shut it. You forget I can rig things up so you go up in flames with the motorcycles when we're in California." He threatened.
"Bring it, Green Eyes." The older brunette man replied. The younger laughed in response.
Darcy pushed her hair out of her face. "California? What? And who are these people?" She looked at the blonde, who had a look of mixed boredom and curiousity. How that was possible, she would never know, but she was most definitely looking at it.
Loki motioned at the blonde. "This is Stark's personal assistant, James Jarvis. He's trying to get the man off my back since he nearly blew all three of us up today, and those two over there are stuntmen. The one with the ridiculous hair is Logan Howlett, and the one who's eyeing you like a piece of meat when he shouldn't is Wade Wilson."
Logan nodded a greeting, while Wade winked and said, "Howdy." Logan leaned back in his chair. "And… you are, Sweetheart?"
"Darcy Lewis, his neighbor. Seriously, are you going to California and not inviting me, Dude?" Darcy demanded, looking at Loki.
Loki gaped at her. "I wasn't-"
Wade came to the rescue… that ended up getting Loki in deeper water, as far as the latter was concerned. "Oh, you're Darcy. No wonder Lo is so protect-" He jerked when Logan kicked him in the shin and offered a 'stop' look. "-IVE! Ow! In a totally… fraternal way of course."
Darcy waved, then turned back to Loki. "Seriously though, California and no invite?"
"I'm not even inviting Thor! It's business!" Loki argued.
"I'm buying a ticket tomorrow. You're giving me info. A vacation would be fantabulous. Buy me a drink after the Hell I went through today?"
Loki looked at James. "I don't have a choice, do I?"
James offered a tight lipped smile and shook his head. "The problem with men and women- women always win no matter how hard you try." He clapped Loki on the bicep. "Good luck. As for Anthony, I'll see what I can do. No promises, though."
"I don't expect much." Loki replied. "That's not against you, that's-"
"Stark, I know." James nodded. "For your sake, I hope he listens. Now, I have to go before he finds someone else to coerce into doing something that will end in him being sued. If you'll excuse me…" He turned and left.
Loki closed his eyes, shook his head, and returned to his friends. When he saw that Wade and Darcy were already in a conversation, grinning from ear to ear and Logan looked like he wasn't sure if he wanted to know what came next, he replaced his chair next to them and shouldered his way in between them. "No California,"
"Yes, California!" Darcy objected.
"No, because if you do, I'm going to have to babysit you all the time." Loki objected.
"You won't!" Darcy objected.
"Yes I will! You see one of the big names on set and have a fit and not leave." Loki insisted.
Darcy gawked. "I will not!" She looked at Logan. "You! Stranger! Tell him I won't!"
Logan arched an eyebrow, then shrugged. "I don't know, Sweetheart. That usually does happen."
"Happened with my girl back in the day." Wade agreed.
"No, that happened 'cause you were boning another girl." Logan replied, then glanced at Darcy. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you don't seem like you're the kind of girl who would be offended by that comment, so…"
Darcy shook her head. "Pft, yeah. None taken at all. Some taken with my best friend not telling me he's going to California without me." Darcy countered.
"I wasn't- Oh, I'm not even going to bother."
"You wouldn't." Darcy challenged.
"Oh, shut it. You want your drink or not?"
"Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaane! Loki's being a jackass!" Darcy called about an hour later as she entered their condo. However, the conflict died quick when she smelled something cooking. "Hey Jane, who's the cook you hired? Last I checked neither of our concoctions smell that good." She walked into the kitchen, not at all expecting to see Thor hovering over a pizza that looked homemade, with Jane giggling at his efforts right beside him. "Holy shit. You learned! I'm so proud!"
Thor glanced up at her and smiled, then turned his attention back to the pizza, poking around the toppings like something was rigged to explode if one thing turned out uneven. "Jane's in the bathroom. What did my brother do now?"
"He's not taking me to California. California!" Darcy replied.
Both stared at her, then laughed. "You're ridiculous." Thor added.
"Buuuut, that's why you love me, right?" Darcy countered. She went over to him. "You would totally take me to California since I'm awesome, even if it was business, right?"
Thor shrugged. "Possibly? Of course I'd take my girlfriend over you first, but there's still the possibility if you paid your own way."
Darcy squeaked in approval, then hugged him. "That's why you're really my favorite brother." She kissed him on the cheek, then took a piece of pepperoni off the pizza and popped it in her mouth, despite Thor's protest.
When she skipped away, calling thanks over her shoulder, Jane also took a piece. Thor shook his head and gave up. He wrapped his arms around her, tucking his chin on her shoulder. "Alright, so what's next?"
She skipped towards her room, trying to formulate a plan on how the Hell her latest mission would succeed. She was going to California- whether the others liked it or not.
