"Sir," Jarvis said, "Agents Barton and Romanoff have safely arrived in Stark Tower."
"Thank you, Jarvis. Bring them up after they've checked in." Tony turned to the triplets. "You might want to cover up Loverboy, or he'll be shot on sight."
They nodded.
"Loki, sweetheart," Lizzy kissed his cheek.
"Gladly, for your sakes." He slid her off his lap and then disappeared in a flicker.
"Are you cloaked?" Arriana asked.
"Yes," they heard his disembodied voice.
"Can you still see him?" Tony asked. All three nodded. "Interesting. I'll have to look into that more. Maybe his powers are just a higher version of yours or maybe it's because your brains are tangled."
They all shrugged.
"That's for your big brain to figure out," Michael said.
Tony gave him a wink and turned back to the screens.
The elevator dinged.
"Where is everyone and what do we know so far?" Natasha asked before she'd even exited the elevator.
Michael and Lizzy leaped up, and all three raced for her and Clint, slamming into them in a hug.
"Are you both okay?" Arriana asked.
"Were you on a mission?" Lizzy asked.
"Where were you?" Michael asked. "Was the food good?"
Clint snorted and hugged them. "Slow down, you three. Yes, we were on a mission in North Korea, and, yes, the food was good. Not that we ate much."
"Are you hungry?" Arriana asked. "We can get you something to eat. Tony..." She spun around.
"Sorry, kiddo. I sent the kitchen staff home. I didn't want to risk them being here if something went down."
"Oh, true. Okay, well, I'll make you something."
Romanoff put an arm around her. "We're fine. We'll grab something after we've debriefed."
"Bruce is still in the air," Lizzy said. "He's the last one we're waiting for."
"How far out?"
"A couple hours."
"It's going to be a long debriefing," Tony said. "I figure we'll wait until Bruce gets here so we don't have to start all over. You can head down to your floors and relax while we wait."
"Floors?" Clint asked.
"Yeah. You're a few floors below the triplets." He waved aside further comment. "They can show you. Or Jarvis can."
Arriana was already gathering up her hair and twisting it into a messy bun. "Lizzy, Michael, why don't you show Tasha and Clint their floors and I'll make everyone something to eat. We have a few hours before Bruce lands and I'm sure he'll be hungry when he gets here, and we'll have lots to talk about so we'll need nibbles."
"Knock yourself out," Michael said. "Tony, did you show Thor his floor?"
"Oh, right." Tony grabbed the screens and tossed them onto his phone. "Come on, Point Break. Then you can put that hammer away. And don't call it through the floors, I just repaired everything."
"Not unless it was an emergency, of course."
"Yeah, it's your definition of emergency I'm questioning." He rolled his eyes as he passed the triplets, making them laugh, and led the way into one of the elevators.
"Come on," Lizzy said, "it might take a couple hours to show you your floors. This is Stark Tower, after all."
"What do you mean floors?" Clint asked as they followed her.
"You each have a floor."
The doors closed.
Arriana glanced over at Steve. "Are... are you hungry?" she asked.
"Uh, I guess. I hadn't thought about it."
"You could come down with me if you wanted. Or just hang out here, or your floor. It's... it's up to you."
"I don't want to get in your way."
A sad smile lifted the corners of her mouth. "You're never in my way, Steve. You're more than welcome to come down to our floors while I make food."
"I'm sure Loki can keep you company."
Loki appeared with a shimmer out of thin air behind her. "I'm sure Arriana would enjoy your company, Captain Rogers. You are friends, are you not?" He lifted a smooth brow. "And I certainly have no objections, assuming you do not mean to punch me."
He gave a short laugh. "I'm not big on bullies."
"We have a great deal in common then."
Arriana frowned. "Please."
It felt as if Thor's hammer had just crashed into Steve's chest. "I... I think I'll stay here and keep an eye on... things." He looked around, knowing it was a pathetic attempt at an excuse.
"Oh, okay." She followed Loki into the elevator.
Loki wrapped his arms around her and glared back at him. He turned and stared at the nearly darkened cityscape as he listened to the elevator doors close.
"I'm an idiot," Steve sighed, turning.
"You are." Loki appeared in front of him.
Steve yelled. "What the hell? What's the big idea popping up behind me?"
Loki prowled around him. "I swear if you break her heart, Rogers, I will show you how dangerous I can be."
"Are you threatening me?" Steve said, standing to his full six foot height.
With a dark laugh, Loki straightened, standing a couple inches taller and looked down at him. "Yes." With a maniacal laugh, he disappeared in a glimmer of light.
"God, I hate that," Steve sighed.
"Do you?" came Loki's voice from behind him again. "Good to know."
Steve spun around. "I thought you'd gone with Arriana."
"Just one question," Loki hissed. "If you love her so, why torment her? Or is that your preference? To hurt those you profess to love?"
Before Steve could answer, Loki spun around and dissipated.
"What the hell was that?"
No answer came.
Steve finally breathed a sigh of relief and dropped onto the couch. "Now what?" he sighed.
Tony jogged off the elevator from showing Thor his floor and screeched to a halt when he saw Steve standing by the windows. "I thought you'd be down..." He cut himself off as Steve spun around. "Oh, of course, you're being an idiot."
"What are you talking about, Stark?" Steve shot, his voice sharp.
"Hey, don't take it out on me that you're throwing her away."
Steve stormed toward him. "I am not throwing her away! She made a choice and I will respect her choice."
"You're not respecting her choice," Tony spat. "You're being a coward and making the choice for her."
"She chose Loki."
"She doesn't know she has a choice!"
Steve's hands jolted into fists, but he kept them carefully at his sides. "I think it was clear how I felt about her when she stayed with me, Stark," he said, his voice purposely quiet and level.
Tony gave a derisive snort. "Please. You going on and on about 'it's just friends with benefits, just friends with benefits, we're just friends'. Give me a break. If it was so clear how you felt, how did she feel about it?"
"That we're friends." Steve could only hold his gaze for a few moments before he turned away to stare out at the darkness again.
Tony stared, slowly shaking his head. "Here I thought I'd been wrong about you. That you weren't full of your self-righteous, self-sacrificing bullshit." Steve looked over at him, a frown pinching his brows. "But I shouldn't have doubted myself. You are exactly the self-righteous martyr I thought you'd be." Tony's chest heaved as he glared for a moment, the next the anger melted away. He shook his head. "You don't deserve her. Not for a second."
Before Steve could say anything, Tony jogged over to his makeshift console and tossed the screens all around him, blocking any view of the rest of the room.
Steve stared after him for a moment and then turned back to his darkened reflection in the windows. He's right. You don't deserve her. You never did. Your life has one purpose – to protect peace for the innocent. Nothing else. I'll do what I have to. He looked away, not even able to look himself in the eye. Whether I have to live or die, I'll give her the life I never had, even if it's with another.
"Is everyone outfitted with suits?" Clint asked as they perused the suits and equipment.
"Yeah," Lizzy said, "everyone has a hidden compartment in their closet that contains a basic supply of suits, survival gear, and weapons. If they have specialty equipment that'll be in there too."
"Is that where Thor's gonna put his hammer?" he laughed.
"No," Michael said, "Tony figured Thor wouldn't be willing to put it in a closet. He created a pedestal at the center of Thor's entry for Mjolnir. You know, proper respect and all that."
"How extra is his floor?" Clint asked as they headed back out into the closet, the hidden door sliding shut and disappearing into the wall again behind them.
"Really extra," Lizzy laughed. "And actually fairly reminiscent of the palace in Asgard."
Natasha spun around. "How would you know?"
"That's what Thor said," she said, her voice hesitating slightly.
"Thor hadn't seen his floor yet," Clint said, narrowing his eyes. "What did you three do?"
Michael looked at Lizzy, his eyes meaningfully wide.
She winced. "If we say we'll explain everything once Bruce gets here, will you leave it alone for now?"
They both crossed their arms, standing shoulder to shoulder.
"What did you do?" Natasha asked again.
"Guess that's a no," Lizzy mumbled. She sighed. "We went to Asgard, alright? We had a really, really good reason that we'll explain later."
"You left the planet without permission?" Clint said.
"You left the universe without permission?" Natasha hissed.
"Oh, we are in so much trouble." Michael ran a hand over his face with a sigh. "We really will explain everything later. And we hope you won't hate us."
The words and the pleading looks on their faces stopped Clint and Natasha's tirade in its tracks.
They let their prepared lungfuls of air slip out.
"Okay, fair enough," Clint said. "We want a full and complete explanation as soon as possible, but we're not going to hate you. No matter what."
Natasha groaned and pulled them both into a hug with Clint. "You know we love you. That didn't change after you hijacked the jet or went to the Stark Expo without telling anyone. It didn't change when missions went wrong. It didn't change when you stupidly adopted that puppy-dog Lightman, and it won't change now... Whatever you've done this time." She gave them a gentle shove.
Clint kissed them. "You three managed to make us love you, and that doesn't happen often, so you're stuck with us."
"We like being stuck with you," Michael said, gripping them tightly, terrified that having broken Loki, of all people, out of prison and then hooking up with him would be the last straw.
"Come on, let's go up to your floor and see how little miss chef is doing," Natasha said. "Then we'll head up to the Party Deck and see where everyone's at."
"I should check on Bruce again," Lizzy said. "Michael..."
"I got you." Michael took her hand and started toward the elevators.
Lizzy's eyes slid out of focus as they walked.
"Isn't it tempting sometimes to just walk her into a wall or something?" Clint asked.
"Always," Michael said with a wicked grin. "Though not at the moment. I want her to be able to contact Bruce."
"Can she hear us right now?" Natasha asked.
"No. She's way deep in our brains."
"So are she and Banner together yet?" Clint asked.
Michael snorted. "No. They haven't talked much except for sending each other funny texts every now and then since he left for India again."
"And I'm guessing it's the same for Arriana and Captain Courage."
Michael nodded. "Things aren't so good on that score." He waved aside the comment. "You'll understand when we explain. I'm guessing it'll make things worse with Bruce, too."
"Should we assume that's why the girls look underfed again?" Natasha asked.
He nodded. "They're trying really hard, but yeah, they're struggling to eat again."
"You look a little underfed too," Clint said. "How are you doing?"
"I'm okay," he shrugged as he sat down on the bench in the elevator and pulled Lizzy down next to him. "Not great, but okay."
Clint moved around to stand in front of him. "Honest?"
Michael nodded. "Honest."
"Okay."
Lizzy jolted back to herself suddenly. "Oh, Jarvis, let Arri know we're coming up."
"Yes, ma'am."
Loki glanced over from the pot he was stirring at the small sniffle. "Arriana, my pet, are you alright?"
"I'm fine," she said, her voice clearly straining for what little feigned calm she was managing.
He abandoned his task and slid up behind her, brushing his fingers down her arms. "What is it, my darling?" he cooed.
Tears burst their banks. She spun around and buried her face in his chest. "I'm fine!"
"Shhh... it's alright, my pet." He wrapped her in his arms, holding her as tightly as he dared, always afraid his powerful build would hurt one of his precious, fragile Midgardian loves. "What is it, my love? Tell me."
"I don't know," she gasped. "I don't know. There's so much anger. So much sadness. I can't face it. It's crushing me."
Tani trotted over and nudged her leg, whimpering softly. When she didn't immediately receive pets, Tani sat and leaned all her weight against her leg.
Loki pressed her head to his chest, stroking her hair. "It is moments like these that I curse your powers for hurting you so."
"Mr. Loki, sir..."
"What is it, Jarvis?" He hushed and cooed to Arriana as she sobbed into his chest.
"Ms. Lizzy wanted me to inform you that they are returning to this floor with Agents Barton and Romanoff to see Ms. Arriana."
"How long?"
"Moments, sir."
"Thank you." He pressed a kiss to her hair as the elevator dinged. My pet, he cooed in her mind, I have cloaked myself. So do not worry. But you must stand as if I am not here. He nudged her to stand a little straighter and lean back against the counter.
"Arri?" Michael called.
Tani yipped and whimpered, but didn't leave her side.
Arriana fought to take a deep breath and steady her voice. "In here."
All four burst in the next moment.
"What's wrong, detka?" Natasha asked, hurrying over to her.
Loki leaped back as Natasha wrapped her arms around Arriana. He nearly tripped as he leaped to the side as Clint raced to her.
"I'm okay," she whimpered.
"It's alright to cry, Carebear," Clint said, stroking her hair.
Lizzy and Michael glanced over to the corner where Loki had taken refuge. Meowing overhead made them look up. Munchkin was on top of the cabinets, pawing at Loki, whether able to see him or just aware of his presence there, and meowing to be picked up. Loki rolled his eyes and motioned out the archway to the butler's pantry. They nodded. He disappeared through the doorway. Munchkin looked around for a moment, and then started yowling into the void as he wandered the kitchen. A moment later, Loki wandered up behind them.
What's wrong? Lizzy asked in their minds.
Emotions are running high. Her powers are overwhelming her.
Poor thing, Michael sighed. Steve and Tony are at each other's throats, she's missing Steve, he's all depressed and moping about her, and then we're all worried. Thor's probably the only one not adding to the emotional spike.
Not necessarily, Loki said. Being back on Midgard will make him think of her.
Her who? Lizzy asked.
Jane Foster. He's sure he'll never see her again.
Super! So literally everyone's emotions are dumping on her, Michael said.
Lizzy shook her head, arms crossing. And now we're going to have to go through every detail of why and how we broke a fugitive out of jail.
Not to mention all of us fell in love with him and now we're all banging the villain. Michael ran a hand through his hair. Oh, yeah, this is going great. I'm sure we won't all end up dead.
Loki's breath caught and he pulled both of them back against him. Please don't say that, my love. Please. I swear I will protect you. I will give everything to keep you safe.
Sorry, sweetheart, Michael sighed. I didn't mean it. We are likely to come out okay. We'll probably just have to stay here for a while and everything will blow over. He glanced at Lizzy, but they neither said nor thought any of doubts that filled them.
"Sdelay gluboky vdokh, detka," Natasha cooed. (Take a deep breath, baby)
Arriana fought to obey, years of training battling with the overwhelming power of the emotions swirling inside her.
"I can beat him up for you," Clint said.
A watery laugh burst through.
"No, you couldn't," she giggled.
"Well, I can shoot him."
"Well, I don't want you to." The smile faltered. "And it wouldn't help. That's not what this is anyway."
"You're telling me Cap has nothing to do with these tears?" Clint said, pressing his thumb across her wet cheeks.
"Not... not all of it," she said with a shrug.
"I still wanna shoot him." He looked at Natasha. "Can I shoot him?"
"No." She shot a teasing glare at him. "Besides, it won't help anything. She's not going to be less upset if he's dead."
"No, but I'll feel better."
Natasha whacked him upside the head. "No, Clint."
"I'm just saying." He shrugged and continued to stroke Arriana's hair while she cried into Natasha's shoulder. He glanced over at the other two as they stood, arms crossed and looking anywhere but at their sobbing Arriana, and nodded toward their little huddle. "Come here, you two."
Loki nudged them forward. Go. I'll be here.
They hurried around the island and dove into the pile.
Clint and Natasha wrapped their arms around all three, exchanging knowing glances that if Coulson had been there, he would've cuddled them up and made them feel better. But Coulson wasn't there and they were the only ones left to take care of their triplets.