Venomous

19. Party Favors

Parker.

"Mmrumph." I woke up immediately, however, when I felt a liquid sensation of tendrils lightly tapping my face. It felt like someone was smacking me with wet, thick, fettucine noodles, and I was not a fan. "Yeah, we're going to work on your wake-up skills, bud."

Sorry. Next time I can just throw you out of bed. I pondered my options as I sat up slowly and rubbed the residual sleep out of my eyes. I got the distinct impression that, despite the sentiment, AV was not the least bit sorry. Now the question was what we were going to wear to the party. White. Like me. I blinked and shrugged at my teammate, preferring not to argue when the request was perfectly reasonable. I selected a white button-up, white slacks, a black bow tie, and black shoes. We look nice. I grinned at AV's reflection in the mirror.

"Not bad, right?" Their laughter echoed in my head, as the reflection's mouth opened wide, tongue licking the mirror slightly. Ew. "What was that for?" I chuckled.

We look delicious. That one had me laughing out loud. I was still chuckling as I made my way down the long hallway, pausing for a moment in front of Wanda's door. I took a deep breath, nodded to myself in reassurance, and knocked. The door swung inward slowly, and my eyes went wide when they caught sight of the brunette in front of me.

"Wow." I managed to say, unable to stop staring. Wanda grinned.

"You like?" I nodded but shrugged slyly.

"I guess it will do." Wanda playfully slapped my arm, but continued to open the door, accepting my elbow when I offered to escort her.

"You clean up good, Parker." She murmured in my ear lightly, her heels putting her at just about the right whispering height – and the height to drive me up a wall. I felt the goosebumps start to rise on the back of my neck and I shivered involuntarily.

You're welcome.

Wanda laughed out loud, nodding her head in appreciation. "It's got good taste," she admitted.

"I like to think that I have some say in..."

You don't.

"You don't." I blinked at the in-stereo sound I was now experiencing.

"Oh no, you two aren't ganging up on me." Wanda shrugged.

"We'll see." She tugged lightly on my arm, pulling me towards the elevators and the party. I glanced at my watch as the elevator doors slid open, revealing a party already in full swing by the time we arrived.

"I thought we were on time," I muttered, frowning.

"We are. Stark likes to pre-game with some of his 'closest friends.'" Wanda did air quotes around the last two words. I glanced around the bustling room. There had to be easily two hundred people here.

"Closest friends?" I murmured. I didn't enjoy crowds in general, but crowds of people that I didn't know were worse.

"Donors." I gulped. The situation just went from bad to worse much more quickly than I had anticipated. I especially did not excel in front of crowds of people that I was supposed to impress. Wanda leaned in, her breath brushing the hairs on the back of my neck again. Well now I was anxious for an entirely different reason. "You'll be fine, I've got you." I nodded, clearing my throat, straightening my tie and nodding.

"Let's do this." Wanda and I made our way down the stairs together, and I caught Natalie's eye from across the room. She was bartending, apparently. I smirked to myself. Everyone at this party was going to get smashed.

"Brock, over here!" I glanced up to see Tony waving at me vigorously. Wanda squeezed my elbow before letting go.

"I'll go get us some drinks," she murmured and I nodded as I reluctantly made my way over to Tony. I shook hands with so many people in the next two hour that I thought I was going to get blisters. Wanda had procured me a drink but then proceeded to drink it herself when I was dragged into another conversation with Tony and Colonel Rhodes. I was parched, I was exhausted, and I was...something else I wasn't going to think about in case anyone was listening, particularly a brunette witch. I excused myself finally and congratulated myself on my own good fortune as I finally made my way over to the bar.

"The usual?" Natalie looked up at me, a small smile on her face. I hesitated for a moment, but nodded. She began mixing the drink and I watched her skills appreciatively. At least in certain areas she hadn't lost her touch. She slid the drink over to me, catching a cocktail straw between her teeth, chewing slightly as she smirked at me. I smirked back, tasting the drink, my eyes immediately going wide.

"Wow," I coughed, chuckling. I felt an arm slide around my waist and turned to see Wanda, whose other hand was now reaching for my new drink.

"You might wanna..."

"I wouldn't drink that..." Wanda's eyes started to water as she gingerly set the drink back down on the bar.

"Okay. Wow. Can you make me one of those?" She grinned at Natasha, who smiled and obliged. I watched as Wanda sipped her drink, impressed that she was able to do so with a straight face. "Parker, do you want to come get some air with me?" I grinned and nodded. I turned back towards Natalie with a smile.

"Thank you for the drink...Natasha." The redhead chuckled at me and nodded.

"Anytime, Brock." I turned back, following the witch out onto the balcony. Wanda was standing by the railing, examining the view by the time I made my way outside, her arms wrapped around herself to protect her from the sudden drop in temperature from inside. I came up behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist lightly.

"Hi," I murmured. I watched in satisfaction as she shivered, grabbing my hands and pulling them more tightly around her.

"Took you long enough," she teased. I grinned and kissed the top of her head.

"So sorry to keep you waiting," I said playfully. She tilted her head back slightly against my shoulder so she could look me in the eyes.

"Want to make it up to me?" I raised my eyebrows, all of my energy currently spent on thinking of nothing but bunnies and rainbows.

"Depends on what you had in mind." Wanda frowns for a moment, her eyes flashing red before she chuckles.

"Bunnies, Brock?" I shrugged.

"They're cute." She crinkled her nose at me.

"Cuter than me?" My breath caught in my throat for a moment before I was finally able to exhale and answer her.

"Not a chance in hell." Wanda smiled.

"Good answer." We both glanced back as the patio door opened, Steve Rogers stepping out into the cool night air to join us.

"Evening," he nodded towards us.

"Hey Steve," Wanda smiled. I noticed that she kept ahold of my hands, not letting my grasp leave her waist. It was adorable.

"Stark wants everyone back inside in fifteen minutes," he added, chuckling lightly. "I think the guests are leaving, which means the party can start." I frowned, looking down at Wanda, confused.

"There's more?" I asked. Wanda and Steve both laughed.

"It's only a real party when it's just us," Wanda explained, still giggling.

"And there's games," Steve added, chuckling under his breath.

"Games?"

"Yep. Just like high school," Wanda laughed, finally moving from her spot flush in front of my chest, taking my hand and tugging me lightly towards the door. "We're going to need more drinks for this, Parker."