AN: I think it's time for Fenrir to have a little fun.
One of the most confusing things in Clint's life was how people never truly seemed to appreciate the vents. They really were the best part of any building. In addition to being one of the most comfortable places to stretch out and relax, they were the perfect place to pick up information. You found out all sorts of things that people didn't want you to know.
Back at S.H.I.E.L.D he'd been able to use the vents to find out details far above his security clearance. Now in the Tower it was more useful for finding out when one of his teammates tried to sneak in takeout. Really the only bad thing about vent related recon was when he occasionally heard his teammates make plans he would have liked to be included in but hadn't been. That and the one time a bird had gotten trapped inside the vent with him; but that was another story.
He'd been in a vent reading a comic the other day when he'd seen Pepper going from each member of the Avengers to tell them her plans for cheering Fenrir up. Since the majority of the team had had such shitty childhoods, and more family issues than you could shake a stick at, they were all willing to help out. It was a good plan. Anyone could see that Fenrir would need some help getting over all the miserable things that had been piling up lately. Clint was all for joining in but, there was one big problem, Pepper never came to talk to him.
He kept waiting for her to come talk to him, like she'd done for everyone else, but it never happened. At first he thought he might be paranoid but, after the third time he purposely bumped into her in the hallway in the hopes of starting a conversation, he had to admit that she just wasn't planning on involving him in this at all.
Which, really? Not fair at all. Sure he hadn't been too thrilled about Fenrir moving into the Tower when Thor'd first brought him down. But who the hell had been? Ok, sure, he and Fenrir had had that one incident in the library. Clint knew that he'd taken his resentment of Loki way too far, but Fenrir had forgiven him. They'd even gone to the circus together. If that didn't say that they were on good terms now than nothing did. Things between him and Fenrir, they were fine. So why did everyone still assume that he was going to be such an ass all the time?
Clint walked down the halls of the Tower until he found Fenrir sitting in the kitchen reading a book. This was good, if he'd been with Bruce or someone then he would have needed to reschedule. As it was everything was about to work out just the way he'd planned it.
"Come on," Clint said, going over to Fenrir and grabbing him by the shoulder of his tee shirt.
"What, what's going on?" Fenrir yelped, as Clint pulled him out of his chair.
"You're coming with me," Clint said, tugging Fenrir down the hall. "You'll see."
Clint hurried to get Fenrir down the hallway before someone saw the two of them together. It would be just his luck for Steve to appear and ask what was going on. Then there would be questions and then Tony and Thor would probably get involved and it would just be a mess. As it was he just needed to get to the room and they'd be set. Of course getting there would be a lot easier if Fenrir weren't walking so slowly! Clint couldn't understand why Fenrir was taking so long to make his way down the hall he finally got him there.
Clint pushed Fenrir into the room as he let go of his shirt. "Alright, sit," Clint said, following behind Fenrir.
Fenrir looked around the room and took in the tables full of snack foods that were in front of him.
"What?" Fenrir said, looking over to Clint.
"Sit," Clint repeated, handing Fenrir a soda as he sat down on the couch. Fenrir hurried to obey and sat at the other end of the couch. Looking at the other man Clint tried to remember if he'd looked so white when he'd been in the kitchen. Fenrir really was unbelievably pale, and Clint decided that he should tell Thor and everyone to get the guy outside more. But all that could wait for later.
"Okay, so we have Birdemic, Zoolander, Scooby Doo, complete extended edition of Lord of the Rings, Mean Girls, basically whatever you're in the mood for," Clint said.
"I'm confused," Fenrir said, staring at the stack of dvd's that Clint had just laid out in front of him.
"Movie day," Clint explained. "I figured that, since the last time I tried taking you out of the Tower everyone flipped out that it was probably a better idea if we just hung around here. So movie marathon it is." Fenrir just stared at him until Clint started speaking again. "I was going to put Star Wars on here but I heard that you and Thor already watched those."
"You…want to watch movies?" Fenrir asked slowly.
"And eat junk food. The pizza is on the way but the rest of this is ready to go," Clint said grabbing the bowl of popcorn from the table and offering it out.
"You want to watch movies. With me?" Fenrir asked.
"That's what I said," Clint said, feeling a little annoyed. Was it really so hard to believe that he just wanted to hang out? Fenrir stared at Clint for a moment and seemed like he was about to speak but then stopped himself and took the popcorn instead.
"So which one do you want to watch?" Clint asked again. See, he wanted to say to his teammates, look at what a nice guy I can be. I'm even letting him pick the movie.
"Whichever you think is best," Fenrir said, after a pause.
"Lord of the Rings it is," Clint said, tossing Fellowship in.
It took about twenty minutes into the movie but Fenrir finally started shifting out of the bolt upright sitting position. Clint even caught him laughing a little at Merry and Pippin goofing off at Bilbo's birthday party. Clint smiled to himself as Fenrir actually began to eat the snacks and get caught up in the movie. They were just about to get to the big summit in Rivendell when Tony showed up.
"I smell popcorn," Tony said, making a beeline for the coffee table.
"Mine," Clint said, snatching the bowl away from Tony. With the popcorn out of his reach Tony actually took the time to look around the room and noticed all of the food. And the fact that Fenrir was there.
"What are you two doing?" Tony asked.
"Movie," Clint muttered, shoving a handful of popcorn into his mouth.
"Tony, I thought you were just-" Bruce said, stopping in surprise when he saw the group in front of him.
"Oh no," Tony said, when he saw what they were watching. "You're not making him watch this, are you?"
"It's a good movie," Clint said.
"It has Sean Bean in it," Tony said, grabbing the remote and turning the movie off. Clint groaned as Tony began digging through the movies for something else to watch. It wasn't exactly a secret how Tony felt about Sean Bean. A few years back the man had starred in a movie that was basically a rip off of Tony's experiences in Afghanistan. Tony probably wouldn't have been too bothered by the portrayal if it hadn't been for the one scene at the end.
"Tony, you can't hate all Sean Bean movies just because-" Clint began before being interrupted.
"He dies at the end, Clint. He stops the terrorists, flies away, and then he dies," Tony said.
"Well, it's Sean Bean, of course he's going to die!" Clint said.
"Fenrir's only seen about a dozen movies so far. You make him watch the world's longest series, starring Mr. I can't live till the end credits, and you'll make him give up on movies before he even gets to the good stuff," Tony insisted.
Personally Clint thought that Lord of the Rings was one of the good ones, but decided that there was no point in arguing it when he heard Tony telling Jarvis to get Steve and Thor.
"Hey, Cap, you still have that list of movies you needed to watch when you came back to life?" Tony asked, as Steve and Thor entered the room.
"Yeah, somewhere," Steve said, taking in the room like everyone else had.
"Go get it," Tony said. "Fenrir needs to get caught up."
"Actually Fenrir might need a different list," Bruce said, sitting down in an armchair. "Steve was catching up on about seventy years of pop culture, but he'd seen movies before. But Asgard doesn't have movies, does it?" The room split as everyone turned to either Thor or Fenrir for the answer.
"We have performers but this form of entertainment is uniquely Midgardian," Thor said.
"That's what I thought," Bruce said.
"So what you're saying is that Fenrir needs a complete introduction. I can handle that," Tony said, completely oblivious to Clint who was now pouting as he leaned on the arm of the couch.
"I still say we can use Cap's list as a starting point," Tony said, grabbing a chair across from Bruce's.
"But you'd need to take out a lot," Bruce insisted. "I doubt that Fenrir would be very interested in The Godfather or Pulp Fiction."
"So we rule out anything over pg-13. That still gives us a lot to work with," Tony said.
Steve grabbed the seat between Clint and Fenrir on the couch and Clint had to resist the urge to dump the remainder of the popcorn on him. The debate turned to whether or not Pixar movies should be on the list; with Thor arguing strongly in favor of Finding Nemo. Soon Thor was getting teary at the thought of "a father's epic journey to reclaim his honor," but by then Clint was just tuning them all out.
All of this had been his idea and then everyone had just come in and taken it over. Not fair at all. Tony could have at least waited until the movie was over to start making plans. They hadn't even gotten the chance to see Legolas shoot anything. Which, let's face it, is the best part of the movie.
Jane was back in New York. She had arrived early the night before to see Thor. She had missed him so she had come up to visit and stay a few days at the Tower with him. All of this made sense to Fenrir. All of it except for why she was currently walking down the street with him.
Jane and Thor had spent the evening together, which made sense since Thor hadn't been able to go to New Mexico in weeks. But then this morning she had come to tell Fenrir that they were going to the planetarium together – and that Thor would not be coming with them.
"I always loved going to the planetarium when I was younger." Jane said, as the two of them walked down the sidewalk. "During high school I would go there at least once a month. The one here in New York is supposed to be one of the best in the country. I think you're really going to enjoy it."
"What's going on?" Fenrir asked, shaking his head a little as he tried to make eye contact with Jane.
"What do you mean? I told you we're-" Fenrir interrupted Jane.
"Why is everyone so determined to spend time with me?" Fenrir demanded, stopping abruptly. "Suddenly everyone wants to take me places. Do things together. What is it?"
"I don't know what you mean," Jane said, pulling Fenrir to the side and out of the way of morning commuters.
"Don't just tell me I'm imagining it. Pepper and Bruce taking me out might have been a coincidence, but you giving up a day to be with me when you could be spending it with Thor?" Fenrir said, the disbelief clear on his face. "And if that didn't make it clear enough that you all are doing something together then yesterday made it more than obvious."
"What happened yesterday?" Jane asked.
"Clint invited me to watch movies with him," Fenrir said.
"And that's… bad?" Jane asked, feeling increasingly confused.
"Clint can't stand me! The only time that we've ever spent time together in the past was when he brought me to the circus with him. And he only did that because he couldn't find anyone else willing to go. Now I'm supposed to believe that he suddenly wants to give up his day to sit with me?" Jane stared at Fenrir as he finished with absolutely no idea what to say.
"Is it…This has something to do with my father coming back, doesn't it?" Fenrir asked, slumping against the nearest building. He'd only been angry for a minute but he was already feeling exhausted.
"Yeah," Jane admits.
"Are you all really so worried about what I'll say to him when he returns?" Fenrir asked.
"Not really, Loki tends to do what he wants regardless of what anyone else says," Jane replied.
"Please just tell me what's happening," Fenrir said, quietly.
"From what Thor told me it was Pepper's idea. For everyone to work together and try to cheer you up. It isn't because you're a problem. It's because we like you and want to try and help." Jane said. Fenrir looked at Jane suspiciously but let her continue. "And, not that it makes any difference but, I don't think Pepper ever talked to Clint." Jane finished.
"What do you mean?" Fenrir asked.
"Thor called me a few days ago to invite me up for a visit and to tell me what was going on. As far as he knew Pepper thought that Clint wouldn't be interested in helping, so she never went to him," Jane said.
"She never spoke to him?" Fenrir asked.
"She might have. But last I heard, she wasn't going to," Jane said.
"The movies were a choice?" Fenrir asked, completely stunned.
"We're all doing this by choice. Pepper might have asked people to try and cheer you up, but she isn't making us do this. We're doing this because we like you," Jane said.
"But why?" Fenrir asked, genuine confusion showing on every inch of his face.
"Why not?" Jane said, with a shrug. "Now, are we going to go to the planetarium or not?"
Without waiting for an answer Jane continued on her original course down the street. When she looked back she was rewarded by seeing that Fenrir had come with her.
The actual show at the planetarium was more or less a success. Fenrir found the experience enjoyable but he couldn't quite grasp why they were looking at stars inside when they could just as easily stare at the sky. But he did enjoy learning about the Midgardian constellations.
"Do you go to these places often?" Fenrir asked, as they were leaving.
"Not so much anymore. I've got actual telescopes now and places like this seem a little more limited since, well, everything," Fenrir smiled at her clear reference to Thor.
"Well it was very enlightening. I am grateful that you brought me here," Fenrir said. "Perhaps we could do this again, sometime."
"Now that is refreshing," A voice said, interrupting their conversation. Fenrir and Jane looked up to see an old woman had been watching them. "It's nice to see that people your age can still have a nice day without all that craziness most people seem to like now." Just as the woman began to walk away she turned back and said, "You two make a lovely couple."
"Oh, we're not actually a- never mind," Jane said, leading a blushing Fenrir out of the building.
By the time they got to the restaurant where they'd decided to have lunch the embarrassment had faded a bit and they were able to make eye contact again. They were seated right away and were about to order when a waiter came up to Jane and said that they were going to have to switch tables. Jane considered arguing the change but the table where he reseated them was on the outdoor patio, and it was a beautiful day, so she decided to just let it be.
While they ate their lunch Jane asked Fenrir about what had been going on in the Tower, and was stunned when he began detailing the adventures and activities of the Avengers. This was a long way from the guy that Thor had dropped off at her house who could barely say his own name.
"You look better," Jane said.
"Then what?" Fenrir asked.
"Then the last time I saw you. Then when Thor brought you here. You look happier too," Jane said. "The makeover's a nice touch too," Jane said, with a smile as she put her hand over Fenrir's.
Fenrir looked down at the clothes he was wearing and turned bright red.
"The clothes were mostly chosen for me," Fenrir said quietly. "They're much different from what I'm used to but I hope that I'm presentable." Fenrir stopped talking when he saw that an old man and his wife had stopped alongside their table as they were leaving the restaurant.
"Remember when we were like that?" The man said to his wife, before aiming a wink at Jane and Fenrir. "Young love." He said, happily as he left.
Jane and Fenrir sat in awkward silence for a few minutes before they let themselves laugh at the repeated confusion. Not long after they began their meal it became obvious that Fenrir couldn't stand the taste of the shrimp he'd ordered and they began preparing to leave.
"I hope that you aren't leaving before you take a look at our dessert menu," Their waiter said, hurrying over when he saw them getting up.
"I guess we could stay a little longer," Jane said, with a smile when she was actually able to hear Fenrir's stomach growl at the word dessert.
"I have to recommend our double chocolate kiss cake. Couples like you always love it," He said, pointing to the picture of the dessert in the menu.
Just as Jane was about to correct the waiter, something slammed down next to their table and shook the ground.
"She is not Fenrir's girlfriend she is mine! Fenrir is far too young for any such relationship!" Thor yelled, sending the waiter running inside. Fenrir sat in his chair, stunned by Thor's sudden appearance, but Jane was much less impressed.
"Where did you come from? Wait, is this why we were moved outside?" Jane demanded, as realization hit her.
"I could not see you inside," Thor said.
"Have you just been following us all day?!" Jane demanded.
"Perhaps," Thor said.
"What are you making again?" Steve asked Bruce.
"Butternut squash risotto," Bruce said, grabbing another knife. "I've never made it before so you don't have to eat it if you're not interested."
"No, I'll eat it," Steve assured him. "I'll eat it just to make Tony try it."
"Tony won't try it," Bruce insisted. Steve shrugged and went back to the sketch he'd been working on. He hadn't been drawing as much as he'd used to but when he'd been running in the park that morning he'd seen a woman trying to take her cat for a walk and he'd felt compelled to try and recreate it.
"If you wanted to come along then why didn't you just say that this morning?" An angry Jane said as she stormed into the kitchen, followed shortly after by Thor and Fenrir.
"I thought that you and Fenrir would enjoy the time together. I wanted for you to know each other better," Thor said. "You are the two most important people in my world and I wanted you to have a chance to get to know one another without me interfering."
"Then why didn't you just stay at home?" Jane asked.
"I meant to, but I became concerned," Thor said.
"About what?" Jane replied.
"What if there had been an attack while you two had been in the city? Or what if there had been an incident at the planetarium? Or what if someone accidentally poisoned your food at the restaurant." Thor continued to list all of the things that could have possibly gone wrong while Jane and Fenrir were out of the Tower. Bruce paused in his cooking to watch the battle and saw, out of the corner of his eye that Steve had switched to a new page in his sketchbook.
"Thor, none of that happened," Jane said.
"But it could have. I only wanted to continue to protect you both," Thor insisted.
"Wait, did you just say- Have you done this before?" Jane asked.
"I do not know what you mean," Thor said, trying to avoid eye contact with Jane.
"Have you followed Fenrir when he'd been out before?" Before Thor could think of an answer Jane jumped in again. "Have you ever done that when I've been here?" Thor pointedly ignored the question and stared at his feet. "Thor, have you ever followed me?"
"This city can be dangerous," Thor said. Fenrir let out a small snort of laughter at Thor's defense.
"Oh my God. No. No, Thor, that is not okay," Jane said.
Bruce fought against his desire to burst out laughing and reached out to take his food off of the stove. He wanted to make sure that he was able to give this his full attention. Glancing over at Steve he saw that his friend was also fighting off laughs. Taking a few steps over to the table Bruce was able to see over Steve's shoulder at what he was drawing. At first glance it looked like the scene in front of them. Thor standing in front of Fenrir and Jane. When he looked more closely he realized that what he'd thought was extra shading on Thor was actually mounds of hair. That combined with the apron that Steve was quickly adding made the subject abundantly clear.
"Mother bear?" Bruce whispered to Steve. Steve just smiled as he continued his sketch.
AN: Well that was unabashedly fluffy. I really need to mess with someone's life soon or I'll start going through withdraw. Let me know what you think of Project Happy Fenrir.