The Seventh Avenger

Chapter 35: A Friend is Fine Indeed

After suggesting that Tony would make a good patsy for our plan, I soon left Coulson and Sitwell by themselves to call Tony to ask whether or not if he was willing to do so. I would have called him myself though Coulson had requested that he do it, as he had other matters to discuss with the billionaire himself. So I had asked him to say hello to Tony for me before I had then left them to it, paying for the drink before I had then walked out of the diner, feeling as if a massive weight had been lifted off my shoulder which greatly contrasted to the nervous wreak that I had been earlier this evening when I had first walked in there.

And for some strange reason, I wore a huge grin on my face as I started to walk through the small town back towards the bar, where no doubt Erik and Thor would still be waiting for my return. Yes, the fact that Blonsky could potentially be released from custody and added to the Avengers roster was a possibility that loomed over my head like a dark cloud. And yes, I knew that Thor, Erik and myself weren't exactly in the all clear just yet as I knew Coulson well enough to know that he wouldn't just so easily accept the lies that we had told him. But for the moment, we were OK. Thor was safe and out of custody which would make Jane happy, Tony was most likely going to be successful in preventing Ross from handing Blonsky over to us and for now, the Council seemed to approve of the initiative. Besides the bruises that stained my face, everything was just fine.

"The mood is good,
Our hearts are full,
There's magic in the air..."

The shit-eating grin disappears from my face in a flash at the sound of two male voices drifting from around the other side of the building, as well as the sound of feet shuffling along the dirt ground that was slowly drawing closer and closer towards me. I come to a halt as I hear the slur to their words and the small giggles that they exchanged between the verse of whatever song it was that they were singing, alerting me to the fact that they were drunk.

"It's all because we're here tonight,
And haven't got a care..."

I hadn't stopped because they were drunk though. The smile hadn't slipped off my face because of the fact that they were getting closer. I wasn't nervous because of the fact that two drunk men were obviously heading my way. Hell, a couple of drunks I could handle, having done so in the past before.

I had stopped for an entirely different reason.

"So raise a glass,
And toast to life,
Wherever it may lead..."

I had stopped because I had recognized the two voices that were singing this song. They were the unmistakable voices of-

"Tra-la-la
Tra-la-la,
A friend is fine indeed,"

Thor and Erik suddenly turned around the corner, the sight of them stumbling around causing for my eyes to widen in disbelief at the sight of the state that they were in. They had one of their arms slung around the other's shoulders, with Erik having to stand up on the tips of his toes to ensure that his arm could stretch over Thor's broad shoulders properly. The two of them had their eyes cast downward focused on their feet below as they did some form of side-stepping dance, trying their best not to trip over each other's feet in the process. Erik seemed to struggle the most as he was practically leaning against Thor as they moved, which in turn caused for Thor to stumble along with him. Erik's movements were also sloppy and uneven, indicating to me that he had had even more to drink since I had left the two of them by themselves seeing as he couldn't even stand on his own two feet properly or walk in a straight line.

I had only been gone for just over twenty minutes, and already he was drunk?

"Tra-la-la,
Tra-la-la,
A friend is fine indeed!"