Loki Misses the Asgardian Prison System

Chapter 151

Tony has decided to throw a housewarming party.

As he's explained it, he's throwing this party for two reasons, neither of which is related to having recently moved in here. The first, he says, is because Pietro wanted to see a Stark party, and he was all too happy to oblige. The second reason – and, as much as Natasha loves the kid, she does consider this the more important one – is to coax Loki out of his shell a little bit. He loves a good party. He even agreed to let them host it here instead of the tower, Tony's backup plan if he'd refused. He's definitely going to crash it, and she's excited to see it happen.

Until then, it's largely an ordinary party, as far as Stark parties go. The dress code is a bit fancier than most, and Natasha decided to add a splash of color to her wardrobe, donning a low-cut, skin-tight maroon gown. This is one thing she loves about Tony's parties: she gets to go shopping every time he throws one. After all, she's a celebrity now, and celebrities aren't allowed to repeat outfits. (That, and, more importantly, Tony leaves his credit cards in very obvious places, and how can she not take advantage of that?)

She's bounced around a bit throughout the night. She spent some time with Clint and Laura – whose kids are being babysat by a teenager who is doubtlessly about to be very rich because Tony promised to pay. She spent some time with Steve and Sam, which largely consisted of teaming up to tease their favorite old man Steve Rogers. She spent some time with Wanda and Pietro, whom she also brought shopping, and while the latter thinks suits are weird, Wanda is absolutely shining in her glittery red gown. She's spent a bit of time with just about everybody, really.

Eventually, she makes her way over to Tony – or, more specifically, Tony's friends; Tony himself is too busy being everybody's favorite person to actually talk to her. Pepper and Rhodey seem more than willing to have a conversation, though, and she's just as willing to oblige.

"You guys having fun yet?" she asks with a grin.

"Lots of fun," Pepper replies with a smile of her own.

"I'm pretty sure Tony is two drinks away from busting out the worm," Rhodey says, "and I don't know if I should be excited or terrified."

Natasha huffs a laugh. "Oh, that would definitely go on YouTube."

"Believe me," Rhodey says, "I've got my phone at the ready."

Natasha grins. She can always count on him when she wants to embarrass Tony.

"Loki's not here, is he?" Pepper asks. "Or... She? I don't know how to..." She trails off awkwardly.

Natasha shakes her head. "Not that I've seen," she says. "But you know Loki: always gotta be fashionable late."

"Oh, he's pretty damn late, alright," Rhodey says. "It's been, what, an hour? Hour and a half? And he's still not here?"

Natasha shrugs. "I don't know; is that later than usual?"

"Well, I don't know if it's later than usual," Pepper says, "but it's late enough that I'm starting to think he – she? – doesn't want to come."

Natasha pulls her phone out of her bra – the lack of pockets is this dress's only design flaw – to check the time. It is pretty late. Maybe she should... "I'm gonna go see what he's up to."

"You want company?" Pepper offers.

Natasha shakes her head. "I don't want to overwhelm him," she says. "We can save the 'overwhelming' for the party."

"That's a good point," she agrees. "Okay, go find Loki. I want to dance."

"Not 'til after I get my dance," Natasha says with a teasing grin.