Night Out on the Town

As Saturday morning rolled around, somehow everyone who lived in the Tower had found their way to the common level to hang out. Steve was off at the dining table by himself with a small notepad, where he had been sketching. Pepper was on the phone, dealing with stuff that Tony refused to. Natasha and Bucky were playing a game of pool, arguing in Russian about calling shots and cheating. And she and Tony were in the middle of a customized game of Halo doing a one-on-one competition on her favorite map. She had challenged him to: an invisible character, rocket launchers only, Hang 'Em High map. The screen was split, Tony on the bottom, her on the top, due to the fact that he started the morning with sexual innuendoes about her being on the bottom.

Bruce had wandered in to watch them, and they had all eventually just started talking about some of the different skills that she had used her ability to learn, leaving off the languages. That could always come in handy to annoy Tony with later, she decided.

"I've never tried to play anything but the piano and drums," she said glancing down at Tony's screen again to see where he was.

"Would you be willing to try something else? Just to see if it works?" Bruce asked watching the characters run across the screen, searching for each other.

"I guess so," she said launching a rocket, killing Tony again, laughing with glee.

"Stop doing that!" he yelled as he respawned.

"Just because you haven't figured out how to use my screen to figure out where I am doesn't mean that I can't do it to you," she said moving to the other side of the map, getting closer to him.

"There's no way you should be able to do that," he said running from her.

"It's not that hard, if you have the map memorized. The pattern doesn't change," she said chasing him down. Looking up at where he was running across the catwalk, she fired, killing him again as his body flew through the air, crashing onto the ground below. "What a lovely red splat you make."

"She has a point, Tony," Bruce told him as he respawned again.

"You're supposed to be on my side," Tony told him.

"Says who?" Bruce laughed as his body went flying again. "But at least you aren't going to lose any more cars to Victoria."

She had told Tony earlier that since she had 'won' the competition that she was now effectively removing herself from it permanently since she would always win every time she played. Tony had not even argued, knowing that she was right, and that his collection was safe. They continued playing for another twenty minutes before her cellphone, lying on the coffee table in front of her started to ring: a quick, loud guitar rift. She could see Richie's name on the screen.

"Time out," she told Tony killing him again, grabbing for the phone as he respawned.

"Not a chance, psycho-killer. I need all the help I can get," Tony said starting to hunt her character down. Swiping the phone's screen, she put him on speaker.

"Hey Richie, just so you know, you're on speaker. I'm in the middle of a video game and someone is trying to cheat by not pausing," Vic called out as she figured out where Tony was moving to.

"That's fine, but we have another emergency. Turns out that Paulo's plane coming back from Thanksgiving in Michigan with his family has been cancelled due to the blizzard that arrived there during the night. He won't be back in time for tonight's gig. Since you are still in town, would you be available to play?" Richie asked, causing Tony to actually pause the game, turning to look at her expectantly.

"I have a feeling that I'll be free tonight, but can I put in a request for a song?" she asked bringing a large smile to Tony's face, and a groan from Bruce.

"Sure, which one?" Richie asked, knowing that she never requested songs. She would play whatever they had already worked on.

"Iron Man," she said almost sighing in resignation. She actually found Tony's excitement amusing but she couldn't let him know that.

"No problem. You think that Tony Stark is going to show up at the club again? Trying to suck up to him?" Richie laughed.

"Something like that," Vic said looking at Tony starting to bounce slightly on the couch next to her. "Can you send me the list really quick?"

"Yeah, one sec," she heard a moment before her phone dinged letting her know the list had arrived. Picking up the phone, she looked down the list, making a quick decision to have a bit of fun herself tonight. "Could I request a change of song, by chance?"

"Really, what one?" Richie asked curious. She never did this.

"Since we're doing Iron Man, how about instead of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, can we play the song I'm going to text you the name of, but don't say it out loud. It's going to be a surprise," she said typing in her request quickly. The three of them heard Richie laughing his head off at her choice. Vic knew that they could play the song, they had before, but tonight she could tease both of her warriors with it. Somehow she figured that they would not be familiar with it, but Tony definitely would, maybe Bruce and Pepper, but not Natasha, unless subjected to it here in the Tower.

"Seriously?" Richie asked. "Yeah, we can do that. Is there a reason for that particular song?"

"Yes, but I'll tell you later," she said getting strange looks from Tony and Bruce, neither of whom had seen what she had typed.

"Not a problem. We're at The Pit again, on at nine o'clock tonight. There are three bands on tonight," he told her as she re-read the list. There were two songs she would need to prep for.

"See you then," she said closing down the call, putting the phone back on the table.

Tony then jumped up from the couch, turned to look behind them out towards the large area where everyone else was, raised his arms above his head, and yelled, getting all eyes on him, "Night out on the town!"

Vic turned around to watch their reactions, which all seemed to be a bland acknowledgement of the statement, as if his behavior was not all that unusual. Even Steve just started to shake his head, knowing that there was no arguing his way out of it, which, once he found out why they were going out, he wouldn't mind. It would mean time doing something with her, and Bucky would never pass up the chance to be together anywhere.

"Alright, calm down there, A.D.D.," she said pulling up her music store to get the two songs that she was not familiar with. She had never explained to the band how her gift worked. They had a master list of songs they had practiced so she had just listened to all of them. She had just told them that she had been playing for a long time and knew a lot of the songs already. When they learned something new, she just added it to her own playlist and listened, like she was going to have to do now. "I have two songs to learn, then I can continue to treat you like roadkill."

Bruce was watching as she purchased the songs, and she waited for the questions to begin, but she didn't mind. It was nice to have someone interested in, not freaked out, at what she did.

"You are just going to listen to the songs to learn them? You don't have to actually practice on a drum set?" Bruce asked leaning forward in his chair.

"Yeah, it's just memorizing a pattern, just like on the guitar. The notes on the game never change, and the beat for a song never changes. I just have to concentrate without interference," she said as the songs began to download.

"And the mystery song?" Tony asked as she walked over to where he had headphones in one of the drawers to use. She pulled out a pair, unwinding the cord, taking her seat again.

"You'll know it when you hear it. But I'll give you a heads up," she plugged them into her phone. Turning to Bruce, "Alright, I'm guessing you wouldn't mind observing, even though it's a bit boring, right?"

"If it doesn't bother you," he replied sitting a bit forward.

"Just give me a few minutes," she said scrolling to the new songs. Turning the volume up slightly to drown out any sounds from around her, she closed her eyes. Hitting play she listened to the songs, letting the sounds of the beats, where they were made from, imprinting them in her memory. When they were over, she opened her eyes and removed the headphones, putting everything back down. Turning to where Tony and Bruce were intently watching her, she picked up the game controller and asked, "Ready?"

"That's it?" Tony said sounding very disappointed.

"Yes, just like with the piano the other day. Now, quit stalling and prepare to die, again, and again, and again," she said turning, holding the controller.

Later that night, the three of them arrived at the club, but this time they were all inside of her new, warm Jeep, which she pointed out would be better to take than three cold motorcycles. Then the two of them had to play rock, paper, scissors for the front seat. She just kept getting ready as they argued about delaying throws to cheat. Eventually Steve had sat up front with her, while Bucky sat behind him, his eyes always seeming to be on her when she looked in the rear view mirror.

Vic left the two of them in the main club as she took the bag with her outfit for playing into the back, where the rest of the band was waiting. She held off kissing or being overly affectionate to them since there was already a crowd in the club. Bucky blended in with his normal self, and Steve had once again borrowed some of his clothes, but there was always a chance they would be recognized. They definitely would be once Tony and the rest of the group got here in a little while.

Changing into her new outfit for playing, she talked with the band as they tuned their instruments. She held off on telling them about Steve and Bucky until after the show, not wanting to distract them from playing. As the group was about ready to head onto the stage, she took out her phone and typed up the group text, but held off on sending send right now. She would do that just before they started the song she had chosen for her warriors. She just had to mess with them.

As they walked out on stage, she looked out around the room, finding the large table in the back that they had claimed as their own, now filled with everyone. Looking at them, she gave a wave, just like the rest of the band, but hers was specifically for her new group of friends. Taking off the fuzzy slippers so her feet were bare, she picked up the drum sticks and took a deep calming breath. Giving a count of four out loud, they started to play.

Just under an hour after they started, Steve watched as they played, enjoying himself as the group continued to talk and drink. They had all been having a fun time, even Bruce and Pepper, who normally didn't like to head out on the town with Tony. There were a few people who had noticed them and recognized someone in their party, but it was not the circus that he thought that it would be. Just then he heard the start of Tony's favorite song, making the man jump up from the table, pulling Pepper with him into the crowd, disappearing as the song played on.

"He seems to be enjoying himself," Nat said taking a drink from her beer bottle, indicating the crowd.

"He always enjoys himself," Bruce, who was sitting next to her pointed out.

"As long as he doesn't start a fight," Bucky told them all.

When Pepper and Tony were walking back to the table once the song ended, everyone's phone suddenly buzzed, indicating a message. Taking his phone out, he saw that it was a group message from Victoria.

Vic: This one is for Steve and Bucky

As the first notes began to play, Tony dropped his phone on the table as he began to laugh the hardest he had ever seen. Steve did not recognize the song, but it was obvious that Tony did. Only Pepper and Bruce seemed to get the joke.

Leaning over to Bucky, he asked, "Any idea?"

"None," he said as the music continued. Then the lyrics started.

Even listening to the lyrics, he didn't get the joke until they finally reached the chorus.

"…I've got big balls, I've got big balls, And they're such big balls…"

Then his face turned a deep shade of red as the joke got to him. Glancing over at Bucky, his expression was somewhere between amusement and embarrassment, and also close to the color of his. Natasha got the joke around the same time as they did, laughing along with Tony. The entire group watched the two of them during song, Tony joining in with singing, getting a kick out of Victoria's tease at their expense. But then there was the fact that everyone in the crowd seemed to know the lyrics, the entire club singing out loud, telling him that this was a very popular song.

As the song finally ended, Tony managed to ask, "So, exactly how big are your balls?"

"Big enough," Bucky answered for the both of them, probably liking the humor even more than he eventually had, but he couldn't wait to get at Victoria for doing that to them. They played a few more songs before they were finished.

Getting up, he patted his hand down on Bucky's shoulder, as he walked towards the door she had disappeared into earlier to retrieve her. Standing right outside of it, he wasn't sure how long it would take, but with the next band not having started yet, he could hear talking from behind the plywood wall. Suddenly there was a loud cry out in surprise. He wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but whoever was talking seemed happy. It wasn't until a few minutes later, once the other band had already taken the stage and had begun to play that the door opened.

The other guys from the band walked out, heading into the club, not noticing where he was standing off to the side of the door, in a slightly darkened area. As soon as he saw Victoria emerge from the door, he took a hold of her arm, pulling her to him, not stopping until she was nestled in his arms. She was wearing her fuzzy pink slippers again, but this time he noticed a familiarity with the outfit she was wearing. Hidden behind the drum set earlier, he had not been able to properly see it. Her top was a royal blue that matched his blue, but in the center was a large red star, just like Bucky's. But the black shorts she was wearing were nothing like he had seen her wear before, riding very high on her thighs, making him want to rub his hands down them.

"The two of you are complete stalkers," Victoria grinned at him while wrapping her arms around him, sliding them under the jacket he was wearing. Her fingers moved just enough to almost be ticklish.

"Is that a problem?" he asked looming over her a bit.

"Not in the least," she said leaning up to give him a kiss. He pulled her further away from the door, towards the darkened corner to his left for a bit more privacy. As he pressed his tongue against her lips, they opened up for him, allowing him to explore inside. His arms grabbed a hold of her hips, pulling them hard into his own, earning him a sweet moan at the deed.

"That was quite a song that you dedicated to us," he said after finally braking the kiss, but still pressing his body against hers, holding her hard against the wall, as her arms became a bit tighter around his waist. He then felt her slightly run them under the waist of his pants, touching his bare skin right above his boxers.

"Did you like that? I wanted to make sure your night out was memorable," Victoria was smiling deviously at him.

"Is that what you were trying to do?" a new voice said joining into their conversation. Bucky then appeared on Steve's left, almost to the corner. She turned to look at him, but Steve was only focused on her, leaning down to give her exposed neck a kiss.

"Of course, I would never tease ya'll," she blatantly lied with a grin while Bucky moved so that he was now against the wall, right next to her, so Steve used his grasp to twist her body slightly so that Victoria now resting against Bucky chest. He heard her gasp aloud as Bucky's hands grabbed a hold of her hips, pinning her firmly between them, but it was certainly not fear on her face.

Knowing how they were positioned, he doubted that anyone could see what was going on in the dark corner, probably not even being able to see that there were three of them hidden. Never had he been so blatant when it came to public displays, but there was something enticing about the three of them being here, public yet private.

"You can't lie to us, Victoria," he said leaning towards her left ear while Bucky's head rested near her right one. Her right hand left his backside, and he saw her gently place it against Bucky's cheek.

"Doing so may earn you a punishment," he could barely hear Bucky whisper into her ear, shocking Steve with the boldness of his statement, going somewhere slightly different than he had intended. Worried about what Victoria may think, he went to say something, but she beat him to it.

"You're going to scare Steve talking like that," she then pulled Bucky into a kiss as her hand around his own waist pulled him harder into her, rubbing him against her causing him to grow firm at the sensation, so he kissed her neck again, wishing they could do more. Bucky's phrase had not scared her it seemed.

"But not you?" Steve then whispered into her other ear. He needed to know that she was not worried about what may eventually happen between the three of them. Steve knew that no matter what, there was no way either of them would ever truly hurt Victoria, but he knew that modern sex was much different than what they had grown up with. From her previous statements, Victoria seemed open to the idea of them being together at the same time, something both he and Bucky used to talk and fantasize about. They had yet to have their grown-up discussion and here was definitely not the place.

"I'll never be scared of either of ya," was all she answered before giving him a deep kiss, as he felt her hips press backwards, into Bucky, who was kissing her neck. They lingered like that for a few more moments before he knew they needed to stop and head back to the rest of the group.

"Let's head back over before they send out a search party," Steve told the two of them, drawing a groan from Bucky, but all three of them began to straighten up their clothes, reminding him about Victoria's shirt. "Where did you find that?"

"I bought the tank top but I added the star using some paint from Tony's workshop. I thought the two of you would like this a bit more than seeing me in Tony's colors," she told them, pulling at the hem of her shorts so they went down a bit. It must have been Bucky who had raised them some, but he was not sure when he had done it. Taking her hand in his, they walked together as one towards the table where everyone was talking with the rest of the band.

"Just so you know, I told the band about us. I didn't want them to find out some other way," Victoria said as they getting to the table, everyone turning to watch them. The guys from the band offered congratulations and they sat back down, with Victoria between them as everyone talked.

"I can't believe you had us play Big Balls so that it could be dedicated to Captain America and the Winter Soldier," Kevin admonished Victoria, but not sounding angry at all. Raising the back of his hand to his forehead, he dramatically exclaimed, "That feels to un-American."

"Would you have played it if I had told you beforehand?" she laughed.

"Of course not. We don't have a death wish," Richie informed her.

Only a few minutes later, Victoria stood up, telling them that she wasn't waiting for the waitress to circle around and she was going to get a drink from the bar.

As everyone talked over the sound of the last band playing, there was no denying that everyone was enjoying their night out. He watched as Victoria's shape disappeared into the crowd surrounding the bar. A few minutes later, as while Kevin was telling the group about how glad they were that she was staying in town, Richie slammed his drink down on the table startling everyone.

"Oh, shit! It's Troy," he said looking towards the bar area. Kevin and Tommy both turned to look where he was, as did most of the table. Steve saw that Victoria had been on the way back to the table with a cup in her hand when a guy had blocked her path, stopping her to talk. She seemed to be more listening than talking, but between her body language and expression they could see she was nothing short of aggravated.

"Steve," Bucky's voice was stern, as he was straightening up in his chair at seeing the two of them. Asking the band, "Who is that?"

"Troy used to be our go-to replacement for Paulo. He was a bit of dickhead. Actually, he still is," Tommy answered, watching the exchange also.

That was when it happened.

As Steve focused on the exchange and Bucky went to stand, he saw Troy shift his weight to his right foot and quickly lift his left foot off of the ground. Troy then brought it down a bit forward and very hard, aiming directly for Victoria's right foot, the one she used to drum with. But, all it made contact with was the floor, not her foot. She had slid her own foot backwards, then lifted her leg up and across her front. As Troy was now leaning forward with his leg extended, they watched as Victoria kicked sideways into Troy's knee, making him drop forward towards the floor. But as he was falling, Victoria's right arm came across and her elbow contacted hard with his left cheek, knocking him prone on the dirty floor.

Everyone in the immediate crowd were laughing at the guy on the floor, having been taken down by a single female in fuzzy pink slippers, who was now casually stepping over his limp form, sipping from her cup. The guys from the band were also laughing. Bucky, his face dark with anger, had barely had a chance to stand up since the exchange had been so quick. Neither one of them had been there to protect her, but they never expected something like that to happen. Steve was also still in shock at what she had done to the guy.

Victoria then sat back down in her chair between them, placing her hand on Bucky's shoulder as she did so, gesturing for him to sit, which he did. The guys from the band were still laughing at the incident.

"That was better than that damn robber," Kevin said between laughs, talking to Victoria.

"Robber?" Natasha asked still watching the guy she had taken down, who was unsteadily trying to get to his feet. Both he and Bucky were more focused on Victoria, who was quietly sitting between them, not looking at either one of them.

"Yeah. As we were loading the van one night after a gig, this guy with a knife threatened us, wanting our pay for the night which we had just gotten. Vic held out her share in her hand, and when he stepped over to take it, she swept his leg out from him, and when he landed on his back, she stomped on his crotch. That almost made us feel sorry for the guy but we still turned him over to the bouncers for the cops," Richie told him laughing as he took another drink from his beer.

"Victoria, what was that man saying to you?" he leaned forward to ask her, drawing Bucky in some also.

"The same thing as last time, just criticizing my being a girl and playing the drums. He's a bit of a chauvinistic pig," she told them, but everyone at the table could hear.

"Troy's just mad that you're so much better than him," Tommy said saluting her with his beer, causing the other band guys to join in.

"When we needed him to sub for Paulo, he demanded half the pay for that night since his reasoning was that we wouldn't get any without him. Meeting up with Vic was the best thing to happen to us," Richie told everyone.

Steve noticed that Victoria was a bit quiet as the guys talked about her, shying a bit at their praise as she just keeping sipping from her drink. Bucky leaned over so that he could whisper into her ear. He could not hear what he said, but he could guess the topic had to do with protecting her. Victoria turned her head, giving Bucky a look that actually had him sitting back in his seat, dropping whatever he had spoken of.

So, instead of having that same look put towards him by asking a lot of questions, Steve just decided that now was not the time.