Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Avengers. Arie is mine. But I give all credit for the rest of them to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, they rock!

2nd May 2014 Saturday

The Spring Fling

"I can't believe we actually went through with this."

Steve snickered in response to Tony's lament. "Don't sound so upset. I think we look smashing."

"Oh, of course we do." Tony waved away Steve's comment. "That's not the weird part. It's our color schemes." Tony pouted. "I miss my red and gold."

Clint shrugged. "You're the one who brought up the color switch in the first place, and you paid for all our suits too. Your fault." He smirked.

Tasha chuckled. "I'm most shocked that Loki's actually wearing the red."

Loki whirled around from where he'd been self-consciously patting his hair in front of the foyer's mirror, a snarl on his face." "We are never to speak of this after tonight." He warned.

Steve shrugged, not seeing the issue. "You look good." He surveyed the rest of his team. "We all do."

And they did. Bruce wore Tony's gold, Tony wore Steve's blue, Steve wore Bruce's purple, the brothers had switched colors, and the spies had gone with all white. Disregarding Clint, who preened in his all white suit, the boys wore basic black tuxes and their specified colored ties, and Tasha had gone with a floor-length tight, sparkly thing that made her look pale and striking. They were still teenagers, but their case was nearly solved, they all agreed that a night off wouldn't be remiss, and they looked good.

The Avengers lounged around, waiting for their dates to appear, and a few minutes later, right on time, they did so; color specified and pretty and excited. Their excitement was contagious and as the women chatted amongst themselves, Clint shot Loki a grin.

"I think your date totally bailed on you." He joked.

Loki rolled his eyes, but began patting his hair self-consciously once more. Thor nudged his younger brother lightly with his shoulder.

"She'll probably be fashionably late." He smiled.

Loki grinned. "Most likely. What are the odds she bursts into the auditorium 10 minutes before the dance ends?"

Thor chuckled. "Flames at her back?"

"Wearing jeans?" Clint joined in with a cheeky smirk.

"Probably covered in the blood of her enemies." Tasha added blank faced.

Steve and Tony shared a look, and then burst out laughing.

Bruce sighed exasperated, but a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"What are we laughing at?"

The group spun around as one to gape at the stop of the staircase…of THEIR townhouse.

At the top stood Arie, but one they'd never seen before.

She was wearing MAKE-UP, artfully applied and making her look older than her high school years, eyelids a smoky gray, lips a deep red that matched her dress…nearly.

The dress…it was something else. Like Loki, she'd gone with a deep blood red that looked nearly black, and it shimmered every time she moved. It was tight in the waist but loose and flowy as it draped around her legs. As she made her way down the stairs, a slit in the side showed a hint of leg, and the black sky high heels on her feet. Her hair was a mass of curls pinned tightly to the back of her head, bangs swept to the side and resting artfully over her forehead, skimming the edges of her eyebrows.

"Whoa!" Tony, of course, was the first to comment. "Someone cleans up nice!"

Arie's face, serious as she descended the staircase, trying not to fall, fell into a cheeky smile once she'd made it all the way down. "I know." She swept the group a glance. "You all aren't so bad yourself." She appraised Loki more closely, patting his cheek once she was close enough, a small smirk on her face. "You'll do."

Loki wrinkled his nose. "Had I known you were capable of this level of beauty, I would have tried much harder. I fear my date has far outdone me."

Arie laughed, a head thrown back, eyes sparkling laugh, and Loki smiled smugly, pleased with the result his words had produced.

"Alright…I really hate to interrupt your smooth moves, dude," Clint smacked Loki on the shoulder, "But we should probably go."

Arie nodded. "Yes, we should. Gentlemen, collect your ladies and we'll get outta here."

The Avengers dispersed to grab the student in their matching colors, and as they fell into pairs, Arie shot Loki a grin. "You probably don't what to hear this, but the red? It suits you."

Loki grimaced…..but then he shrugged. "I'm not as against it as I once was." He admitted, and Arie smiled warmly at him.

"That's a nice change." She commented, sliding her arm into the crook of his elbow.

Loki rolled his eyes. "You have no idea."

Arie chuckled. "I guess not."

Loki shot her a look at the weight underneath that statement, but Arie just smiled innocently up at him, and he relaxed.

"While red may look good on me," Loki murmured as he waited to help into the Limo that Benny had loaned them, "It suits you far more."

Arie raised a brow. "Perhaps." Loki held the door so she could slide in, and Arie paused, facing him, the door between them.

In her heels, she wasn't too much shorter than him, and their eyes met for a charged moment. She smiled, so deeply that the dimple in her left check made a rare appearance, and spoke.

"I am a much bigger fan of the color green."

With her last sentence hanging in the air, she winked, and began joking with the other passengers of the limo before she'd even fully entered. Loki followed, a little stunned.

And then they were off.

The dance was…typical.

The decorations were cheap, the music straight from the top 40, and everyone was having a blast.

Tasha refused to dance, and it was the only reason Clint had come, so he'd dragged Thor and a reluctant looking Steve off to the dance floor. Loki had slunk off to some dark corner to converse with his motley group of "friends," and Tony and Bruce had been roped into helping fix the disco ball that had been broken since before Steve was born.

Tasha watched her teammates with a fond smile. She wasn't surprised at how much they were enjoying the crappy high school dance; for most of them, (okay, all of them) they'd never had a chance to really enjoy something as mundane as a crappy high school dance.

"Poor Bruce looks terrified." Arie slid into a seat next to Tasha, who turned to look where Arie had pointed, where Bruce was shaking his head quickly, indeed looking terrified, as the group of girls Arie had found as dates for her boys, urged Bruce to join them. After a few moments, and Tony's contributing to the urging, Bruce found himself on the dance floor, nervously surrounded by the well-meaning teenagers, all trying to show him "how to move." He watched their tutorials for a few moments before bursting out into his own maniacal hop-skip-shimmy move that had the girls in peals of laughter, all trying to copy him. Bruce smiled.

"Whoa there!" Arie laughed. "That guy has some moves!"

Tasha grinned. "That he does." She turned to give Arie a once-over. "You really do look great."

Arie smiled a bit self-consciously. "It's a far cry from my usual jeans and a t-shirt, that's for sure." Then she laughed. "Oh my word, look, the girls caught another one."

Tony had jumped in, swaying and shimmying like his life depended on it. It was hilarious, and slightly traumatizing…Tasha felt like she should've been taking pictures, for later. When they were adults again.

…IF they were ever adults again.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" Arie asked, and Tasha looked over, surprised.

Her answer surprised her even more. "Yeah. I am, actually." Arie grinned.

"I know this isn't exactly your thing," She began.

"Well, it isn't exactly yours either, is it?" Tasha prodded gently, and Arie sighed.

"Honestly? I wasn't even going to go to this, before you guys showed up." Tasha's eyes widened.

Arie shrugged. "If I had skipped out, you all would've too. But I thought you guys might need this…" Arie looked back out at the dance floor, at the boys being silly and crazy. "A night off, with no cares, no worries, a chance to be just…kids. Well, normal kids."

Tasha sent Arie an assessing look. Sometimes the things she said… "You hit it right on the head." Tasha agreed. "Thank you. For this." Tasha shrugged. "For everything."

Arie shook her head. "No. Thank you."

"Ugh. They all look like buffoons." Arie and Tasha snickered as Loki joined them, and Arie patted Loki's arm. "Don't feel like joining them?" She teased.

Loki scoffed. "Not on your life." Arie and Tasha laughed again, and Tasha stood.

"Well." She said brightly. "I think I'LL go join them." She winked at Loki who narrowed his eyes, and then moved away.

She thought the two could use some privacy.

The two sight in silence for a few moments, then Arie chuckled.

"What?" Loki asked.

"You. At a high school dance. It's just funny to me."

Loki pursed his lips. "Why? Because of my riveting personality?"

"No, because of your love of being social." Arie joked, and Loki ducked his head.

"I suppose it is odd..." He mused. Then he shrugged. "I'm not who I was."

Arie nodded slowly. "I can see that."

Loki and Arie locked eyes, and for a moment, the two let the silence speak for them. Then Arie grinned.

"Hey. You wanna go break into Parkk's office?"

Loki beamed. "With everything in me."

Arie laughed. Then she held out her hand, and Loki looked at it for a moment, before he clasped his hand in hers.

Something changed, in that moment, for the both of them yes, but more specifically for Loki, and yet neither of them had the time to acknowledge it…they had an office to break into.

UGH I love them so much. And Tasha...

Anyone getting the feeling that Arie knows more than she should? SPOILER: It's because she DOES. Anyone have a guess as to why/how? And if she DOES know, (SPOILER; She DOES,) then why hasn't she said anything?

I'd love to hear your thoughts! (Reviews/Follows/Favorites inspire me!)

Next chapter here we go!

LOVE TO YOU ALL

~CLC~