2013-01-20 Thor Brings Mead

Does as Asgardian ever need a reason to drop by a friend's house with gifts? Not really. Thor, after stopping some odd Grecians in Midtown, had flewn to Tony's place with a keg of Asgardian Honey Mead on one large shoulder. Of course, flying in from SoHo took him near the helicarrier, and it could have drawn some attention. He lands down on the big H near the building's summit, stormy eyes looking for the doorway.
Despite Tony's couch in his penthouse suite being exceptionally comfortable ("sleazy-cush" Natasha would joke), Natasha still managed to have a terrible night's sleep. Head full of nightmares... uncommon for her, at least these days... she spent the last hour fidgeting around the small kitchenette near Tony's bar, making a bowl of oatmeal and berries and some ginger spice tea. Her body felt like hell, and her first day back in New York City, she'd already engaged several criminals just going about her day. Stiff, headache, bruised. She was due for a week of rest, so spoketh her S.H.I.E.L.D. contact. New York somehow seemed different, though, since she'd been away for three months. Surreal, almost. She mused about the idea that all these heroes and villains, cops and criminals were playing some sort of pretend game, like actors. Snickering for a moment, she sipped her tea. Might she actually have a moment to relax? Is that even possible?
Pepper Potts was alerted to Thor's arrival just before he touched down on the helicopter landing pad, and thus is just stepping out of the door closest to him when he does so. With a genuine smile, she walks toward the Asgardian. "Thor, hello. What can we do for you?"
Asgardians aren't the only ones who don't need a reason to drop by someplace they would like to be. Cats, of course, always feel like they can come and ago, as does this one, even if she stays in human form while in the more public areas of the Tower, shifting back to feline form when she expects only to encounter fellow Avengers. Upon changing, she picks up the scent of the others, and pauses before entering properly, not wanting to intrude.
Tony himself was just getting out of the shower. Shaved for the first time in weeks and dressed casually, he makes his way into the main area of the penthouse. JARVIS can be heard speaking from one room to the next, following Tony as he moves. The polite AI is giving Tony a rundown on weather, news, and market information. His creator on the otherhand, is more interested in coffee. "JARVIS, spare me the headlines. 32 ounces of espresso, black as pitch." - JARVIS seems to sigh before acquiescing, "Right away, sir." and the steam and hiss of the espresso machine can be heard from the cavern like kitchen. "By the way," JARVIS informs him, "It would appear that you have visitors - Thor and Miss Nelson are both present within Tower living area, sir." as Tony comes with enough supercharged espresso to kill a hummingbird, "Excellent. Breakfast soiree." he raises his cup to Tasha, when he sees her by the bar. "Morning, Natasha. Sleep well?"
"I come to see good friends, lady Pepper, and to exchange stories," replies the Odinson simply, indicating the keg with a faint roll of a shoulder. His smile is warm and genuine, happy to be able to see those very same friends for a while. The wind about him drifts about as he clips Mjolnir to his belt.
Finishing up her tea in a few lengthy sips, she twitches her head to the left, noticing Tony... watching him cut-off JARVIS. She finishes brushing her hair, stepping a few feet closer. A good third of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s technology and computer interfaces have been modified versions of StarkTech, but seeing the original inventor work with it was a little marvelling. Just a little. "My second day of..." she hesitated, feeling awkward, "...vacation." She just stared, unable to say anything. Was she really this bad at having no agenda?
Pepper Potts looks up at the keg on Thor's shoulder and has to think quickly to find a way to keep that honey mead from being paraded in front of Tony. "That sounds splendid. But... I'm not sure if you've heard. Tony has just recently recovered from feeling unwell, and I'm not sure the mead would be the best thing right now." She knows about the god feeling the need to bring a gift every time he visits, so she adds quickly, "Your presence is more than gift enough. Please, come in, I'm sure Tony will be happy to see you."
"Oh that is very good stuff," Tigra says as she enters properly, and smells the mead in Thor's keg. "Be careful with it, it disguises its kick pretty effectively." And now she's able to smell Tony's espresso. "Y'know, I think if I drank that, my stripes would jump off and dance around the room." She pauses a moment. "Actually, I thought that happened the last time I had that mead, come to think of it. But maybe it was just me."
Tony Stark smiles, "Natasha Romanov on vacation, imagine that. I think I know exactly what that calls for," he says, taking a long drink of the coffee. Tigra gets a raise of his eyebrows, "I'm trying to remember what happened the last time I tried to go drink for drink with blondie and his super Asgardian hooch. There's still parts of that night I can't remember. Can't wait to do it again." and he grins again, waiting for the Pepper and Thor to enter the suite. He walks over to a waist high table and claps his hand twice. The surface, which seems to be nothing more than glass, comes to life with a keyboard and 3d digital display that seems to hover above the table. He starts punching commands in, pulling up some merchant websites.
"No, Pepper. Forgive me. I have not heard of Tony's illness. I hope he is feeling well," Thor replies eyes filled with a touch of worry as he moves toward the doorway. "If I had known of it, I would have stopped by sooner with some mead to spice and warm. Little does an illness in faster than spiced mead," adds the Asgardian even as he gently sets the keg down just outside the door. "But then, such is the case for Asgardians. If thou doth say that mead would make him feel ill once more, I shall leave it here for now. If thou art certain that only my presense is not rude, I thank thee," he adds moving to open the door and hold it politely for Pepper to enter before him. After all, there are friends on the otherside.
With a slight hint of defiance, Natasha blurts back to Tony, "It's not my decision. Been a rough couple of weeks." She keeps reminding herself she's supposed to keep a tight lip on what's been going on, but damn it, she has to tell someone. "And... I was poisoned," she declares, a bit quietly... with a sudden jump, realizing that Tigra is in the room. "Greer. And Thor outside?" she turns to Tony, "Another one of your surprise, impromptu meetings?"
Pepper Potts smiles up at Thor as he holds the door for her. "He seems pretty much back to himself, and I know he'll be happy to see you." She decides at the last moment to not ask Thor to leave the barrel of honey mead outside, figuring she can probably steer Tony away from drinking it all. Stepping into the main room, she sees that Tony is up and about, and there are already two other people here. "Good morning, everyone."
"I'm looking forward to it, myself," Tigra says to Tony with a broad grin. She watches him tapping away at a display curiously, before quickly shifting her attention to Natasha. "What happened?" she asks, joking fading to more serious tone, though lightening a touch again when Pepper and Thor step in. "Morning, Pepper, and Morning to you, Thor the Lord of Storms, Bringer of Lightning, God of Thunder, and Protector of Midgard."
Only after Pepper steps in does Thor do so, catching Tigra's greetings. His eyes sweep over, spying the typeytypey Tony (always with thos conputers!) and the Black Widow. A warm smile graces his face as he sweeps a bow for them all.
"Greetings to thee, Tigra, Natasha, Tony. I am pleased to see thee all again," Thor rumbles happily. Like a warm summer thunderstorm.
Knowing full well that an entirely detail-less response will simply not due to her fellow Avengers--they seem to care about her, after all, Natasha decides to share at least a crumb of info. "S.H.I.E.L.D. op," she sputtered out. Looking at their flat expressions, she realized this wasn't enough. "Undercover for the last few months. Japan. Last week, my cover got blown. still not sure how. Let's just say... the group didn't intend to let me live." As Natasha said this, onlookers would notice she's a bit more pale than usual, with bruises and small scars on her neck. She attempts to conclude the topic, dismissively stating, "I'll be fine." A moment of quiet reveals her lack of certainty.
Trying to change the subject, she asks the group, "And I don't suppose the Avengers have had any major catastrophies, hm? Just sitting around, playing card games..." her voice trails off. She smiles brightly at Thor's entrance, spotting the mead. "Ah, you've brought the requited salve of your people," she sneakily suggests, homing in on the drink.
Pepper Potts walks toward the wet bar as Thor says hello to everyone, her eyes studying Natasha for a moment before she reaches under the counter and brings out an elegant-looking wooden box. Opening the box reveals blue velvet lining and a chalice of Asgardian design. She then pulls a handful of other containers from the bar, crystal flutes that are extravagant by themselves but somewhat simple next to the chalice.
The feline Avenger seems, well, if not exactly satisfied with Natasha's answer, at least willing to not push things further. SHIELD business, after all. "I'm glad they weren't successful," she says with a quick grin. At the mention of major catastrophes, she has to grimace a bit. "Wasn't Avengers business, but I paid a visit to sunny Latveria recently. Lovely place. Friendly people. Especially that Doom fellow they have running the place. There's someone I hope to never see again." Her grim mood fades as quickly as it came at the sight of the box and the flutes, whistling softly at their appearance.
"There have been various minor things which required my attention," Thor comments. It's been quiet for him as well. "Thou does know that thou need only speak my name, and if I am able, I shall come to thee, Natasha," Thor says, moving to the woman to gently place a hand on her shoulder. Of the mead, Thor grins and glances to Pepper. OH! The chalice. He turns his stormy eyes to Ms. Potts, almost like a labrador puppy, wordlessly seeming to beg permission to bring in the keg for everyone. Come on, please? Tasha wants some! "My gift to share is in my host's hands."
"Doom is like an over-educated, spoiled child," Natasha says flatly. "Such men should not command countries, but it is all too common," she says, taking a few random steps to pivot her body, now facing the entire group. "I'm told her rarely forgets a grudge, be warned. But I'm sure you can handle yourself," she concludes, trying to instill a vague sense of confidence her her ally Tigra. "What shall we do this late morning, but bask in Tony's sunlit windows and take a much deserved break. Are we not lucky to not have flaring alarms and disaster, even for a moment?" she says with an unusual hint of optimism. Even she surprised herself saying this.
Pepper Potts smiles at Natali...uh, Natasha's words of wisdom then nods to Thor. "I think as long as we're not trying to empty that barrel in one sitting it should be fine, Thor."
"Oh, only a little bit for me," Tigra murmurs, though somewhat regretfully, at the possibility of mead being powered out. "THough it'd be nice to have enough to forgot about Doom. He's definitely educated. I don't know about spoiled, but I do know this, he's powerful and he doesn't like being crossed. Fortunately he's got a lot of people to choose from who were on that little escapade, so I don't think I'm going to hold any particular interest for him." She glances at one of the aforementioned windows, and grins. "Honestly, basking in sunlight does sound rather nice." And a nod of agreement with Pepper. "Or at least, if we're not all having to help empty it."
Could there be anything brighter than the smile of pure joy that Thor gives Pepper as she relents to him bringing in the keg. One gentle squeeze for Tasha's shoulder, and Thor bounds toward the door. Literally, since he flies over the furniture that might be between him and his destination: that very large keg of Asgardian Mead.. though by the way he handles the wooden barrel, it must not be all that full. He floats toward the bar and moces to set is down on the counter top. It settles with quite the dull thud, speaking to its true mass. The keg is full, untapped, and possibly very very heavy.
"Of course not, Pepper. Each may drink as he or she wishes. May I?" Thor holds out a hand for a drinking vessel to fill.
Moving at comical speeds, Natasha seems to have a wine glass in hand at the very moment Thor plops it down. Sparing not a moment, she winks at the group to fill her cup, budding in front of Thor's efforts to offer Pepper. She can't help but giggle a wee bit, and as soon as her glass is full, she takes a step to the window, addressing the group, "It's a delight to see you all here--coincidence seems to be delightful veil for me lately, across this mired city."
"Certainly, Thor. And tha..." She can only chuckle softly at Natasha's claiming first dibs of the mead for herself, though she had intended for the chalice to go to the SHIELD agent. She then hands the remaining beverage containers to Thor one at atime, including one of those short tumbler glasses that Tony favors for his scotch. She figures that that's probably the most he should be drinking right now anyway.
Tigra indicates with a clawtip how far to fill her own drinking vessel. Enough to enjoy it for a bit, without getting into trouble, she hopes. "Should do this more often. Team building thing. And then doing stuff as a team, as well. Show people this Avengers thing can work. Be a force for good." She grimaces. "Now I sound like a Navy recruiting commercial."
Thor happily pours as much or as little as everything wants, before filling the mug Pepper has for him to nearly the brim. "To the Avengers," Thor offers, holding out his drink in cheers and toast and good will. Becasue this is hos you build teams on Asgard.
After three successive gulps, Natasha puts her glass down on a nearby small table, with an awkward slide, indicating that perhaps the mead has *already* hit her a bit. "I do suppose it's as if the world forgot we were here. They hear the muffled shadow-work of forces like the X-Men, Reed's team, SHIELD.. but were we not the public face of what it meant to be a hero?" she caught herself rambling like Tony, probably out of her element. Especially since it was her to be the teammate that ran in the shadows most frequently, more than even Black Panther.
Pepper Potts accepts her calice back after letting Thor fill it only about a third of the way, then moves to sit on the couch, actually kicking off her shoes to tuck her feet under a cushion on the couch. She finally takes a sip of the mead, but it's a tiny sip. She knows exactly how much of kick this stuff has. "Do you have any plans for this week, Natasha?"
Tigra's content to sip her mead, enjoying the otherwordly taste with her sharp senses. "We're -a- face, not the only face. We're still trying to find our way." She takes another drink of the mead. "Maybe we need a little prodding, but I think the important thing is that we all still do want to find that way." She takes another pull of her mead and smiles. "I'm honored to be doing that with all of you."
"Aye. We'll find our place. Though, truth be told, the accollades mean far less to me than the safety of Midgard," Thor says, moving to settle himself a bit carefully on the arm chair across from Pepper. He gulps down his mead easily, licking his lips of some clinging drops of amber liquid. That he's honored to be a part of this group of heroes is clear, and needs no words. His eyes turn to Natasha to hear the tale she'll tell of her up coming weekend.
Sensing others wondering about her plans reflexively makes Natasha nervous, and she shifts the subject by beaming her agreement: "Yes," she starts, looking towards the group. Checking her communications device as she speaks, "The role we play is a promise to this world--it's not of obligation, is it? It's merely the inevitable path of the protector..." This was too stoic, she thought. Definitely the mead. With an odd sense of relief--her eyes jump as she reads numerous alerts on her news feed via SHIELD. "Okay, well, we'll be in touch," she says suddenly, gruffly, as she swings a thin dufflebag over her shoulder and moves towards the door, rapidly. She really was terrible at taking vacations. "Somethings come up." And she was gone.
Pepper Potts blinks as just like that Natasha is gone. What just happened?
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