Stark belched, sat back in his chair and rubbed his stomach. "How about we end it on a high note and go grab a drink?"

"Tony…" Bruce started, before Stark silenced him with a raised hand.

"Now, I'm not saying we should party all night or anything. But as we are all a group of reasonable adults," he said and glanced at Loki, "or at least so I assume, I don't see why we shouldn't be allowed to indulge once in a while."

""I really should be heading back," Rogers said evasively. "This was a difficult day, Tony."

"I can think of a couple of ways it could be worse," Tony mused. "Come on! It could be a great team bonding exercise!"

"We're hardly a team," Clint scoffed. "And the Council will think twice before they allow Fury to call on us again."

"Let's hope there will be no need for that," Banner said placatingly and rubbed his forehead. "I should be going. I still have to find a hotel…"

"Bruce, do not insult me," Stark said with a feigned offense. "I told you, you can crash at my place."

"That was before… that Thor incident. Isn't your tower, uhm, ruined or something?" Bruce asked carefully.

"Only one floor," Stark laughed, "I have like the other ninety or so which are all perfectly fine. I'd take it as a personal slight if you picked some dinky hotel over my awesome, state-of-the-art tower and my electrifying personality that goes with it."

Banner's face was still undecided.

"I'll give you a tour of the labs and my workshop in the morning. And let me tell you, you haven't seen anything like this yet. It makes SHIELD facilities look like an abandoned shack in the middle of the woods."

Banner sighed and nodded. "Thanks, Tony."

"Can I stay too?" Clint asked then laughed at her glower. "What? It's like an hour and a half drive back to Riverhead and we've already dismissed our ride for the night."

"Sure, I don't see why not," Stark said then turned to her. "You want to stay too?"

She bit her lip. There was very little she wanted more than to go and collapse onto her own bed and sleep for the next sixteen hours, but as of now that particular scenario was out of the table. Stark ought to have at least some kind of security in his tower and it couldn't possibly be less safe than her place.

"As you probably have guessed, I'm a package deal tonight," she said warily.

Stark laughed. "I think I can manage that."

"I'm fine on my own," Loki said with a scoff. He didn't say much through the meal and only replied with single-word, vague answers each time he was asked a direct question, even if they were of the kind Stark – because he had been the one to ask them, more often than not – probably considered general knowledge for someone who could travel through space from another planet.

"And where do you plan to go? It's four days till Monday. Do you intend to sit on SHIELD's doorsteps until then?" Clint asked. There was a bit of spite in the question, that much was true, but he was mostly asking what they all have been wondering, herself included.

Loki shrugged. "If I have to wait, I will wait."

"Suit yourself," Stark said lightly. "I'm just saying you don't have to. I'd be getting prestige points for hosting an interstellar guest, you'd be getting a place to sleep. It's a win-win situation."

Loki's eyes drifted up and he trained a sizing glare on the man's face. "I don't understand why you care so much."

"It was just a friendly offer, geez, don't get you hackles up. You want to stay outside in the rain? Be my guest. Or don't be my guest, rather."

"It's a clear night," Loki said, matter-of-factly.

Stark pinched the bridge of his nose. "It was a figure of speech. Anyway. How about we all go and grab a drink at my tower and then you decide what to do next?"

Rogers' eyes dashed around, then stopped on Loki, just for a brief moment, and he nodded. She was sure he agreed not because he genuinely wanted to go, but because of his inherent sense of obligation and his unwillingness to leave Stark alone in a potentially dangerous situation. Which was exactly right up her alley, really.

"Did your famous stash of booze survive?" Clint asked.

"It did," Stark said with a smirk.

"I'm down!" Clint exclaimed.

"Romanoff?"

"Yeah, sure, why not," she said with a smile. Loki sighed. "You don't have to go if you don't want to."

But it would make a lot of things easier for me if you did, she thought but didn't add it out loud.

Loki flexed his fingers in his lap, then – as if finally remembering his manners – straightened up, pulled forth a polite smile and said, "Thank you for your thoughtful invitation. I'll be honored to be your guest, Anthony Stark."

"Great!" Stark exclaimed and got up to pay. As proper as it would be to split the bill, no one even mentioned that. Such gestures made very little sense when Stark was involved.

"Hey, what's your address?" Clint called as Stark was returning to the table.

Stark sighed theatrically. "What did I do wrong?" he muttered. "And what do you need the address for anyway?"

"I'm calling a cab. Unless you want to walk?"

Stark scoffed. "Oh please. I have a limo waiting in the back since we came here."

The main area of Stark's penthouse did look a bit rough. Many windows were missing and most of the furniture lay in splinters under the walls, some of which bore quite telling, Thor's-hammer-sized holes. The main lights were down, leaving only emergency illumination in an ominous shade of blue and the wind was whistling past undisturbed.

"The lounge one floor up is in a much better shape," Stark announced, leading them from the main elevator that brought them from the underground parking lot to his private one.

Indeed, the floor above looked rather undisturbed. It might not be as grand as the main area of the penthouse, mostly because of the lower ceilings, but still quite luxurious, with lush carpeting over hardwood floors, multiple loveseats and armchairs that looked rather comfortable and a lit-up bar in a niche by the windows overlooking lower Manhattan.

"Welcome home, Mr. Stark," sounded from the ceiling. Clint's hand dashed to his holster and Loki's shoulder twitched nervously.

"Hiya, Jay. Meet Jarvis, my awesome AI. Jarvis, meet the Avengers."

Clint scoffed and rolled his eyes. Unlike him, she had no interest in dragging Stark out of his delusions, even if she could understand the urge.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," the voice said. "I allowed myself to heat up the sake and set up rooms for your guests, sir."

"What would I do without you, Jay," Stark mused. "Where's Pep?"

"Miss Potts went to bed after you called saying you won't be returning to the tower right away. Should I inform her on your arrival, sir?"

"Only if she's not asleep yet."

"My sensors indicate that Miss Potts is sleeping."

"Don't wake her up then. There's nothing that couldn't wait till morning."

"Very well, sir."

Stark waved his hand at the ceiling and went to stand behind the bar. "So, who wants some sake?"