Worthy

Part 29 - Surprise

When you wake up the next morning, you're safely tucked into bed with the TV still on. Sitting up and rubbing your eyes, you realise you slept in your clothes, and there is no sign of Peter or Happy. Stretching and getting up, as you put your feet on the floor you make contact with something soft. Losing your footing, you fall head first, landing completely on your face while Peter groans. "Ow!"

"What the hell Pete?" You shout, putting a head to your forehead. "Did you sleep on the floor?"

"How didn't you see me?" He yells, trying to untangle himself from you as the door bursts open, reacting to Peter's shout as you fell on top of him. "Miss Brooks? Mr Parker?" You look up to see Vision standing in the doorway.

"What is it Vision?" You ask, still rubbing your head. "Also, thank you for knocking."

"My apologies Miss..."

"Vision, for god's sake, call me Kate please." You stand, still half asleep, and now sore from falling out of bed.

"My apologies," he hesitates. "Kate. Mr Stark requires your attention in the lab." He looks over to Peter. "And Mr Hogan is waiting to take you to school." Peter lets out a big sigh before heading out the door.

"See you later Kate," he shrugs. Still being half asleep and wearing your clothes from yesterday, you just wave before giving your hair a quick brush and tying it up in a ponytail adding a quick spray of perfume before following Vision out the door.

As you get to the lab, you hear raised voices, but think nothing of it in your still half asleep stupor. "Ok, first of all where's the coffee in this place? And second of all..." you finally click to the silence of the room, clearly you've walked into something.

Finally taking in your surroundings, you notice Tony and Bruce standing close to one another, clearly you've interrupted them in some debate. Forgetting why your were in the lab your focus turns to Bruce. "You're back!" You absentmindedly play at your hair, sneaking a little sniff at your clothes before taking another scan of the room. "Why didn't you tell me?" Tony can't help but smile, knowing what, or rather who, you're looking for.

"You were sound asleep," Tony walks over to you and gives you a small uncharacteristically tight hug. "We didn't want to bother you after yesterday."

"So why are you bothering me now?" You give him a raised eyebrow, still suspicious after last night, even more so now. "What's going on?" Tony and Bruce look at each other - making you even more confused. The sudden redness in Bruce's cheeks confirming your suspicions. "Out with it Tony," you slap his arm. He just looks at you quizzically. "Okay. First you send Parker and Happy to babysit me and now this?" You gesture between you and him and the hug before pointing at Bruce. "And now Banner is turning a suspicious shade of red instead of green."

Tony hangs his head while Bruce walks away so you can't see his face. "OK, fine. Last night I sent Parker to make sure you stayed in your room all night." He puts his hands up defensively. "For a genuinely nice and relatively thoughtful reason."

"Which was..."

Exasperated Tony throws his hands up in the air. "I was planning a surprise for your birthday. I know its a couple days away but I wanted you to do something fun." You take a step closer to him. "And I know we normally just go to dinner and catch a movie, and I love that, but I thought you deserved something better. Something more you. "While you can't help but smile at the admission, you're waiting for the penny to drop.

"But?"

"There's no but." He shrugs, giving a grin; one you can see right through. You pinch the side of his neck, making him jump and pull away from you. "What is wrong with you?" He asks, rubbing his neck.

"You wouldn't have given in and told me so easily. Also there's always a 'but' with you Tony. Spit it out." He just shrugs, looking over to Bruce for help. Knowing that Bruce was more likely to divulge, you start walking towards him. Sensing you approaching, he starts to head in the opposite direction.

"Nope. Don't even think about it Kate," he half laughs, the sound full of nerves. "You'll make me angry." He tries to threaten you, feebly.

"Uh huh." You nod, taking another step closer. "And let me guess - I won't like you when you're angry?" You smile, while Bruce looks at Tony, now pleading for help.

"Ok, widow wannabe," Tony laughs before grabbing you by the shoulders and leading you to a chair, sitting beside you. "Fine, there was a but." He rubs his hand down his face - slightly exhausted having not slept the night before. "We were on our way to doing something for your birthday, just like I said, when Banner got back."

Bruce, now no longer afraid of being hit or nipped, starts to make his way over to you. "Alone?" You ask, a slight twinge in your voice at the thought that Thor had stayed on Asgard.

"Yes," Tony answers sadly, while Bruce pipes up, except he says "No."

"Damn it Banner," Tony gets up. "We agreed..."

"You agreed..." Bruce walks over and the two of them get into an argument again - clearly what had been going on before you had walked in. You look between the two men completely confused, shaking your head.

"Enough!" You shout, getting up and standing in between them. "Can someone just explain what's going on?" Instantly both men look down at their feet - once again neither of them looking at you. "Fine," you sigh in frustration. "Well while you two get your story straight, I'm going to get some coffee." You snap, instantly walking out of the lab, ignoring both men's yells as they ask you to stop.

Getting to the kitchen you start to make some coffee - agitated you start slamming cupboards looking for a clean mug, when a sudden sound of someone clearing their throat grabs your attention. You look over the counter to the dining room table, seeing the last person you expected.

"Surprise," his cold voice rings out, with both an uneasy, but wicked smile. Loki.