This chapter has been a long time coming. This is inspired by a Tumblr post by theunholygrails.

I had a lot of fun with this chapter, so much so that I even made a Spotify playlist for it. Some of the songs I had links attached to help visualize the scene and a few that are what I think the characters would sound like. But FFN doesn't allow hyperlinks, so if you want those you can go over to AO3 and find this story under reikazemi, same title.

Hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

The weekend after meeting Thor, Lauren found herself browsing the aisles of a grocery in search of karaoke night munchies. She could have asked Friday to just order it online and have it delivered, but she wanted to go shop for them herself. There was something about picking up stuff for a party yourself that added to the excitement. Added being the keyword. Yes, she was definitely excited for karaoke night.

She never mentioned her love of singing to Steve, or any of her college friends. Though she couldn't recall why she chose to keep it to herself. For close to 6 years she stuck to just humming or mouthing the lyrics of any song. She didn't even dare to sing out loud in the comfort of her flat. If she ever did, her voice always just above a whisper when she did. The only time she sang to her heart's content was during the summers she was back in the Philippines or Japan, where the people around her were already aware of her singing. Even then, those opportunities were far in between. That she sang out loud in the communal told her just how comfortable she's gotten with the Team. It's the fastest she's ever gotten comfortable with anyone. It took her about 3 months to open up to her two best friends when they first met. So it was definitely surprising to her, that she was this comfortable with them just after a week.

So despite the unplanned revelation of her hidden talent to the team, she had no regret. In fact, she was quite thankful for it. Not because she was gaining good friends, but also because she missed singing. When she was still studying in Japan karaoke nights were a regular choice to pass the time after school. So if the team finding out she could sing meant karaoke nights were going to be a regular thing, she had no complaints. In fact, she was really looking forward to it. Therefore, she was going all out to prepare not just because she was excited, but also because she wanted to show them how much she appreciated the comfort they somehow offered to her. It didn't matter that they knew it or not.

Tony already had the alcohol covered. So all that was left were the snacks. Chips were a given, maybe some popcorn, fries too. She briefly tried to recall if she's seen anyone in the team use hot sauce but her memory failed her. She decided on teriyaki glazed chicken wings for finger food and maybe some fried mozzarella sticks since she already had the oil going anyway. The cheese sticks were going to be of the frozen kind since frying the wings were going to take a while. Some sweets would probably a good idea – sour tape, gummy bears, M&Ms, and maybe chocolate covered nuts.

She idly continued to browse the aisles grabbing whatever caught her eye since Tony pretty much gave her free reign to his credit card for groceries. Her pushcart was already almost full when she realized she was already in the fresh produce section. An odd craving for strawberries coursed through her that prompted her to make a beeline towards the fruits and grab half of the strawberries. She vaguely remembered Clint snacking on some blueberries so she grabbed some of those too.

After she went over her mental checklist to make sure she had everything, she made her way towards the cashiers to pay. As she was unloading all the groceries, a shock of grey hair caught her eye. While it wasn't uncommon to see grey as a hair color nowadays, this particular set of hair seemed to defy gravity in the way that it stood out in different directions. Once she was able to unload everything, she turned to get a proper look at the owner of said hair.

The person's unruly hairstyle didn't seem to lessen their attractiveness at all. As her eyes went down from their hair to their eyes, noticing the scar that ran down their left eye. The scar nagged at her. She felt like she's seen it before. Before her brain could match it with someone in her memories, she had to turn away and hand over Tony's credit card when the cashier called out the total.

As she was helping the cashier pack away all the groceries, she felt someone approach her asking:

"Mind if I help you with that?"

The voice had her turning around so quickly she nearly gave herself whiplash. The low silvery voice was very familiar. What was it with her Japanese friends appearing to her unannounced?

She took a good look at the owner of the voice. It was the same person with the familiar unruly, silvery-grey hair. The bottom half of their face was covered by a wide scarf. The nagging feeling she got from the scar running down their left eye made sense now. The pawprint covered package she received recently should have told her that he'd turn up soon, but she chose to ignore it.

"Kashi-nii?" She asked cautiously. The scar and half-covered face was a dead giveaway, but one couldn't be too sure. After all, someone showing up on the other side of the world where they were supposed to be was supposed to be uncommon.

"Yo!" He replied as he nonchalantly took half of the groceries.

"What-…? How…? Ugh…" Lauren sputtered. It was one thing for Cervus to tell her that he was stateside. But her sort-of-mentor slash brother figure showing up unannounced as she was paying for groceries was a whole other thing. Because really, just… how?

He gave her an eye smile, seeing as the entire bottom half of his face was covered up with his scarf. She had no idea why he liked doing that but to each their own. He made his way to the exit and she had no choice but to follow since he was holding half of her purchases.

He led her towards a silver car, loaded up the groceries he held, and motioned for her to do the same. She got in after he wordlessly got into the driver's seat, knowing she'd get an explanation faster if she just went along with it.

After a few minutes of silence, she decided she couldn't wait any longer. She still had food to prepare after all.

"Ano sa… setsumei shite kudasai? Kashi-nii?" She asked trying not to sound like she was rushing him. She needed explanations! How on earth did he know that she was living in the Avengers Tower? How did he find her today? And also, why on earth did he give her a gun? As much as she respected and looked up to him. His actions needed to be explained. Which reminded her, how the fuck was he able to by-pass Stark's security network?

Lauren's mind continued to spin with questions as her silver-haired companion chose to stay silent. She was forced to wait a few more minutes before he decided to answer her.

"You got my gift?" He started, which earned him a blank stare. "I'll take that as a 'yes' then, though the how… you'll find out eventually."

"That still doesn't explain, why you gave me fucking gun. Also, how in the world did you know where to send it?" She scowled at him as she muttered under her breath how disturbing it was that he somehow found her.

"You'll find out eventually." He repeated, which just made her raise an eyebrow at him in annoyance.

"I thought you resigned?"

"There was a very generous offer."

His vague answers only increased her questions. What offer? And if he was back on the force, how in the fuck did they find her? She had minimal social media presence. The main reason why she kept her social media accounts active was to keep in touch with her friends and family. Was it possible that they were somehow able to find a way to access her messages? Or maybe even somehow got a GPS tracker on her? It was a very disturbing thought. Especially when she considered that she was staying in what is presumably one of the most secure buildings in New York.

"All that tells me nothing. No-thing…." She made sure to emphasize her annoyance. She even added in a choking gesture to make sure he knew how annoyed she was.

"Maa, maa…" He replied, unfazed as he ruffled her hair. With amusement clear in his voice, he vaguely answered, "Let's just say you'll get a very… generous offer in a few months regarding your more… unique skill set."

Lauren groaned and cursed him outright which only got another amused chuckle from the silver-haired man. When she was done cursing him she gave a heavy sigh and said:

"Fine, if you want to be vague I'll just give you my best guess." She took a deep breath wanting to get out as much as possible, in the vain hope that he'd change his mind and answer her properly. When he made no sign of stopping her, she continued with a huff. "You called in a favor from one of your old buddies in the force to find me when you realized that I graduated from college so you could send me a present or something. But then somehow you found out I'm living in the Avengers Tower and thought 'Oh, maybe I should give her something to defend herself since a lot of shit goes on with the Avengers' and decided to get me the gun I really liked when you were teaching me how to shoot." She raised a challenging eyebrow at him, hoping that her guess was right because she didn't want to be filled with paranoid thoughts then have to explain to the Avengers (Tony especially) why she was being so paranoid.

"Sure."

His nonchalant response was the last straw. Luckily, they were close to the Tower so she could just try to forget that this one-sided conversation happened once she got off. She groaned and gave up.

"Fine, be that way. Keep your secrets." She narrowed her eyes at him for added effect and held it for a few seconds before she gave up entirely. She sighed as the car pulled up in front of the Tower. She released her seatbelt and turned to face him fully to ask: "I'll get my answers in a few months?"

He met her eyes straight-on holding their stare-off for a few seconds before giving her another eye smile. She took it as confirmation and exited the car without another word. She called the attention of the doorman to help her bring the groceries to the elevator so she could give a proper farewell to her annoying sort-of-mentor slash brother-figure.

Once the groceries were unloaded, she turned to face him. "Next time I see you I expect a full explanation of all this shit you're making me hide from my boss and housemates, who are pretty much also my friends." She glared at him when he gave her a raised eyebrow in response to her calling the Avengers her friends. "Shut up you fucking scarecrow. They're the Avengers! You're lucky they didn't ask too many questions. It was fucking troublesome." She chided him.

"If you say so."

With that, she gave him a hug making sure to pull his scarf tight as she did just to annoy him. He retaliated by patting her head like she was a kid. She took it with a pout, knowing that retaliation was futile. They parted ways and he drove off. She continued to follow his car with her eyes until he turned the corner. When he did, she turned around to enter the building only to be greeted by the super-soldier duo.

"Was that bookstore guy?" James teased with a large grin, which made her sigh.

"Nah, just a family friend who happened to be in the area." She explained vaguely since it was the closest definition she had to who just dropped her off. It was also the only explanation she could give that didn't dig up questions she had no answers to.

Thankfully, the two blue-eyed men accepted her answer and took the last of the groceries off her hands.

"Did you guys just come from somewhere?"

"Nah, Friday told us you arrived so we came down to help you with the stuff," James replied offhandedly. "Figured that you'd go crazy with the shopping since Tony gave you his credit card."

She had the decency to blush since she did buy quite a lot. "Well you guys eat as much as a two dozen people without Thor around so…" She tried to defend half-heartedly, "Besides, I could've done worse." She added vividly recalling her mom's version of a grocery trip. Hoarding would be an apt description of it. The memory of her mom returning from the grocery to buy bread with a large box full of things other than bread made her smile.

Evening arrived at a crawl for Lauren, she prepared everything as soon as she arrived. The only thing left to do was to fry the chicken and mozzarella sticks and nuke the popcorn. She already made four dips for the chips and even added in some veggie sticks. Salsa, cheddar cheese dip, garlic herb cream cheese dip, and guacamole. There was still about an hour and a half more before the agreed time and she was already restless with excitement. So for the 45 minutes, she had to kill before she had to start frying she decided to just listen to music while she checked on her social media accounts.

Just as she was about to start the music, Tony came in with the karaoke system. She didn't know why, but she didn't expect him to come in with just the system. She expected a stage, mic stands, and maybe even a teleprompter or something. Mostly because – Tony Stark.

"Mind playing some music while you set that up?" She called out to him as he unpacked and connected the system to a large TV that came out of the wall.

"Sure thing," he replied as he started to connect the system to the TV. "Friday?" was all he said to prompt the A.I. to do as she requested. It will take her a good while to get used to living in a building run by an A.I.

She hears a familiar intro that makes her bob her head along to the beat as the song plays on. She doesn't remember the first few verses but as the bridge comes on her face lit up and she softly sang the chorus.

Pour some sugar on me

Ooh, in the name of love

Pour some sugar on me

C'mon, fire me up

If she was honest, she only really knew the lyrics to the chorus but she enjoyed the song nonetheless. The song continued on then faded off to another song whose intro she immediately recognized.

Darlin' you got to let me know

Should I stay or should I go?

She continued to sing softly, but whenever the beat picked up she unconsciously started to sing a bit louder that eventually, Tony turned around to look at her – not that she noticed.

Should I stay or should I go now?

Should I stay or should I go now?

If I go there will be trouble

And if I stay it will be double

So 'ya gotta let me know

Should I cool it or should I blow?

"Well, that was totally unexpected. I didn't peg you as a musically cultured person."

She had to raise an eyebrow at him, she felt mildly offended. She couldn't help but chuckle at his indignant "What?"

"If there's one thing you must learn about us Filipinos, Tony, it's that we love our karaoke."

He made a face that said he sort of got it but not really. He made a motion for her to elaborate as he turned around and continued to set up.

"My mom had me when she was 40 and has a 9-year gap with my dad. So, that and having a family that loves music but has their own unique tastes… Well, let's just say it's hard for me to say that my music library is very confused." She finished with a shrug.

"We should have karaoke night at least once a month then." Tony replied offhandedly, "weekly even, if we could." He amended,

Lauren wanted to squeal and dance a little at his offer. She was about to impulsively hug him when Steve and James arrived carrying a small platform that Tony directed them to put down in front of the TV. Sam and Peter came in next, carrying mic stands and a teleprompter. When she saw this the only thing she could think of was, 'I was right.'

They fixed everything up and the music kept on playing, a few more songs from the 80s that Lauren sang along to. Everyone who came in saw her mouthing along with the words and could hear her singing along a few lines. They all exchanged looks and made sure to point it out to everyone who came in after.

Once almost everyone expected arrived, Lauren started frying, making sure to turn on the exhaust fan so the smell of oil won't fill the communal. Steve and James started to move the snacks on the coffee table while Thor set the cooler on the side of the coffee table. By the sound of its thud as it was set down, it already had the beers in it. With the karaoke set up done, Tony was filling up a smaller cooler with a cocktail. Peter volunteered to nuke the popcorn while Nat and Clint were practically baby proofing the communal. Lauren tried very hard not to think of what that implied for tonight. Once Bruce realized what Nat and Clint were doing, he brought out the first aid kit and made sure it was somewhere they could easily see and access (even when very inebriated).

Pepper wasn't there yet but that was expected since she had to fly over to California for a meeting. Although she promised Tony that she'll drop by before leaving. It was probably why Tony was very liberal with the amount of alcohol. (see: no babysitter) How he got Steve to agree with the amount of alcohol there was she didn't want to know. Though it said something about their friendship, although it was clearly still strained, they were slowly fixing it.

With everything ready, Tony served everyone shots. Peter included - but his was a mocktail. The kid also had his own cooler of soda and juices, he won't get drunk from alcohol but would probably get drunk from all the sugar. He was already eating some of the sweets.

Tony told everyone to take their shots saying that they won't start karaoke if they don't. He first tried to subtly guilt those who didn't want to drink (yet) by pointing out how excited Lauren was. She eventually caught on and started making puppy dog eyes at whoever Tony was trying to convince. When they were sure that everyone had some alcohol in them, Clint went up the stage and prompted Bruce to start the song. Lauren wasn't the only one excited for karaoke it seemed. He started off the night with Call Me Maybe, he sings it so enthusiastically that everyone's energized and starts singing along to the chorus.

By the time he's done, Peter's so hyped up on sugar that he grabs the remote from Bruce (who's volunteered to be the night's DJ and clearly stated he has no intention to go up the stage) and follows up Clint's Call Me Maybe with Thrift Shop, where even though the accompaniment is there he still chooses to make his own sound effects when he can. He even does the same hand gestures as they do in the music video. It was quite a memorable performance for the start of the night.

Tony, not wanting to be outdone by his protégé, tells Bruce to enter "his song". Everyone expected an AC/DC song to come on. Instead, the orchestral intro of Defying Gravity from Wicked came on. Comments of "Holy Shit" (Lauren) and "Is he serious?" (Clint) to which Bruce replied with a shrug when they turned to him for confirmation. He sings it with such gusto that just told that it was definitely his song. If they eventually managed to make Bruce spill that Tony sang it at least once whenever he worked in the lab, especially when he was frustrated with the project. Nevertheless, when he finished, he got a standing ovation.

Lauren isn't daunted by his performance though and goes up next with Everytime We Touch that gets everyone dancing a little, Peter and Clint even join her up on stage as backup dancers. They dance so erratically that everyone's encouraged to just let themselves dance along energetically. Tony even adds to the chaos by calling out shots that a few take up his offer and downs a shot or two during the song. By the time the song's done everyone's a little red from dancing or the alcohol.

No one volunteers to go next, so Bruce plays a few upbeat Disney songs. Why? Because everyone knew those, even if it was just the chorus. Clint noticed that she knew all the songs in their entirety and so plopped the second mic in her hand. It almost never left her hand that night except for when there were duets who went up. Tony made a note to get a third mic for the system.

Sam then whispered something to Bruce and pulled her up the stage after taking a sip of his beer. Bruce entered the song and Sam just smiled at her as she stood there with him awkwardly. He started off the song that she recognizes quickly enough that she's able to do the female part of the intro.

Now I've had the time of my life

No, I've never felt like this before

Yes, I swear, it's the truth

And I owe it all to you

Cause I've had the time of my life

And I owe it all to you

Her quick uptake of the song just made Sam grin as if he knew something she didn't. Sam then decided that they should dance along with the song and took her hand and starts doing the basic salsa step albeit in smaller movement. Tony and Peter then decide to join in when the part that leads up to the lift comes up and do the whole sequence complete with the lift. It was both so ridiculous and amusing that during the short instrumental before the song ended Thor makes Peter do the lift with him too. By the time the song was ending Thor was practically just juggling Peter in the air that they were having a hard time completing the lyrics.

After that, no one went up as most were still trying to catch their breath and compose their selves from laughing so much. Bruce then decided to play Circle of Life which everyone tried to sing the intro of. Their botched attempt and different lyrics of a few threw everyone into another laughing fit for the rest of the song. In the interim of catching their breaths, Sam somehow managed to convince Steve to go up and sing with James. Lauren expected them to choose a song from the 30s but was pleasantly surprised when they sang Under Pressure.

While they were singing, Lauren prompts Sam to sing solo which he initially shot down, but after she promised to help him convince Steve and James do a solo song too he goes over the songbook and chooses Higher Ground by Stevie Wonder. After that point though he joins Lauren in with singing along to any song that he knew.

After Steve and James's song, Tony calls on Peter to sing If I Didn't Have You. Which seems to have been planned because they acted out the song flawlessly. During this Lauren and Sam teamed up to convince James and Steve to sing solo too. Steve needed more convincing and a little more of Thor's Asgardian Liquid Courage (it was the only thing that could get the two inebriated). James goes first singing I Get a Kick Out of You. Steve doesn't go up immediately after, letting Bruce play another Disney song that everyone sang along to. Thor somehow convinced him to go immediately after that song.

Sam and James tease him by singing The Star-Spangled Man with a Plan as they waited for Bruce to enter his song. Everyone sort of expected him to actually do it, he later admitted that it was his first choice for a solo song but then saw Over the Rainbow and just had to sing it.

When he finished, Clint chimes up that the next song is for Lauren in a challenging tone. She isn't drunk yet, but the amount of alcohol in her system makes her a little bolder than she goes up the stage with no questions asked. The backup vocals of Love on Top start and the song made her smirk at Clint as if to say "You call this a challenge?" She says the first line with pizzaz, and makes a performance out of the song, Friday somehow catches on and played the appropriate sound effects and adjusted the lighting to go with the beat and lighting. As she comes to the part where the pitch started to climb she gets loud cheers from everyone each time she reached the high note. She ends the song with one last high note that earns her a standing ovation along with a call for shots from Tony to celebrate her performance.

Thor then decides to chug his ale along with a shot of the Asgardian wine and went up to Bruce. After he made sure that Bruce found his song, he went up the stage and waited for the song. Everyone looked on in anticipation, so when the intro of I was Made for Lovin' You came on Tony made sure to cheer loudly along with a few others. He wasn't the best singer and often goes off-key but he makes up for it in his enthusiasm. He's so into the song that Steve and James have to coax him down the stage with promises of more beer. Everyone then has a silent agreement to always have someone to distract him from a repeat performance.

From then on, the next choices seemed to have been chosen for shits and giggles. Although they all decided to match Thor's enthusiasm with their performances. Peter goes first with Stand Up, channeling his inner Michael Jackson with his dance moves. His performance seemed to have drained the last of his energy because once he sat down he started to nod off but was valiantly trying to stay awake. "Sugar crash," he mumbles when Clint offers him a cup of coffee which he gratefully accepts. He perked up when he saw Steve approach Bruce once more without prompting and went up the stage and performed Let it Go. He's so into the song and everyone loves it. Lauren sings along with him and gets a wink in response. Whenever the line "the cold never bothered me anyway" came up, James would grab the mic from her practically shouting it, especially the last line. He doesn't let go of the mic and approaches Bruce once more, strutting to the stage as the intro to It's All Coming Back to Me Now started.

James' performance is witnessed by Pepper who caught the tail end of it. Tony then manages to convince Pepper to sing one song with him before she flew off to California. They sing Cruisin' together, whose slow tempo signaled them to start winding down. Tony follows up their song with I was Meant for the Stage. Clint then goes next with I'm Still Here.

Nat who's been quiet most of the night except for cheers and catcalls told Bruce her song and went up the stage saying "Now that I'm sure everyone's inebriated…" She snaps and whatever lights were left turned off, and she's given a spotlight as she sang the first lines of La Vie En Rose. She gave an epic performance reminiscent of lounge singers from the 50s. She gave all the boys little touches and caresses but interacted more intimately with Lauren. She ends the song with a grin but quickly, morphed into a blank face and said "This never happened." After which she gave another smile to the crowd and went back to her seat.

By this time, everyone's pretty much drunk. Peter is milking the last of the effects of his one cup of coffee with Thor who's still singing I was Made for Lovin' You. Steve, James, and Sam are having an animated discussion about one thing or another. Tony and Clint were talking about adding more destructive power to the arrows, with Nat chiming in from time to time. Bruce and Lauren were browsing the songbook together, entering whatever slow song they recognized just to make sure that music kept playing in the background. Eventually, people started dozing off in their seats. Peter was first, followed surprisingly by Thor, who decided to just curl up on the rug beside Peter's seat. Next to doze off was Sam, Nat, and Clint. Tony followed almost an hour after Clint, but not before calling Lauren a walking jukebox. Steve, James, and Lauren were the last to doze off, but only after Lauren prompted the two to grab some blankets for everyone for some level of comfort. Friday then chose to take over the music and played some soft instrumentals to which the last three standing eventually dozed off too.

A wild Naruto character appeared! Which makes the identity of Cervus very obvious. :D The only things from Naruto that will be appearing in this fic will be things involving the two characters that have already appeared so I won't be listing this as a crossover fic. With that, I wanna know...

What is your favorite part so far?

Also, I posted this as soon as I could and haven't bothered and will probably never read it over any time soon, so if you find any errors please let me know.

Til the next one! Ciao!