Selcouth -L.L. (ON HIATUS)

5. Jealousy

The evening had ended, and the Avengers were heading out.

"Eliza, you got a ride?" Tony asked his niece, who shrugged.

"Taxi." she responded.

"Absolutely not. No niece of mine is taking a Taxi this late at night. You can ride with us!" The man thought for a moment, then turned to Clint. "Clint, you're walking. Eliza, take Clint's seat." The archer's eyes went wide and he made a face of betrayal, glancing from Tony to Eliza.

"Clint, you just got the boot!" Nat chuckled.

"Hey, it's better than doubling up." Steve reasoned, a sly smile on his lips.

"Ally did that once when we went to the beach, it was.....very unpleasant. I love Ally, but that ride was the worst."

"I'm sure Tony would have switched places with you in an instant." Loki muttered to the girl, causing them both to laugh. No one else seemed to hear the comment, only adding to their fit of laughter.

"Oh, god, she's ensnared Bambi!" Tony exclaimed, throwing his hands toward the two giggling people.

The billionaire couldn't help but stare at the man speaking to his niece. He didn't fully trust him (or anyone for that matter) around her. This was why, when the dark haired god leaned down and whispered something to Eliza, he felt a tinge of anger rising in his chest. Sure, Peter had been doing the same all day, but he was a young, innocent kid. Loki, on the other hand, was most certainly not.

"He does!!" Eliza laughed, looking at her uncle. "I'm keeping this one." she stated, pointing to the god standing next to her. "He's coming home with me."

"I hope you like cats, Loki." Tony said, trying to dismiss the emotions he was feeling. He didn't like his niece trusting the man so quickly.

"-and snakes, and parrots, and the occasional wild Ally." Eliza added, counting on her fingers.

"You own snakes?" The god of thunder's eyes lit up upon hearing the word. The woman nodded, only causing Thor's smile to broaden.

"Oh, joy." Loki groaned, rolling his eyes.

"What?" Eliza asked, tilting her head.

"You've just become my brothers best friend..." he sighed, shaking his head.

"I love snakes." Thor said, mouth scrunched in childlike excitement.

"You should stop by, I'm sure Kaa and Aaron Burr would love to meet you." Tony chuckled at the snakes names, and Eliza shook her head. "Aaron Burr was Ally's idea. Our cat is named Alexander Hamilton." Steve laughed loudly.

"I see why Tony likes this Ally. They have a shared affinity for strange nicknames." Loki commented.

"As do I but, I don't name my pets after historical figures." Eliza replied, smiling.

"Yeah, you name them after Disney characters." said Tony. "Anyway, I think we can squeeze Eliza in between the fangirl and horns." He added, motioning for the group to follow him.

They got to a large, white SUV and stopped.

"The Avengers mode of transportation is an SUV?" Eliza mused, tilting her head at the unassuming vehicle. Tony simply hummed, confirming her question, and opened the doors. "That's a sight. Earth's mightiest heroes; cramming into a Subaru." she chuckled.

"Keep insulting my vehicle of choice, and you'll be walking!" Tony called from the driver's seat. Everyone got in, Nat, Bruce and Steve sat in the back row, Peter was in the passenger side, and Loki and Clint were in the middle row. Everyone was there, except for one person.

"Where's Thor?" Eliza asked, sticking her head in and looking around the vehicle.

"He flew here using the hammer of destiny." said Bruce.

Tony honked the horn and Eliza rolled her eyes. She hopped in the vehicle and paused for a moment.

"How skinny do you think I am, Tony?" she asked, weaving over Clint's legs. Both men scooched to the side, trying to make room for her. She sandwiched herself between the god and archer, trying not to touch either.
"-because this feels strangely like the beach incident with Ally." Eliza added, looking at anything but the people she was squished between.

"You'll live." said the billionaire as he drove toward his niece's apartment.

"Ooh, a headline already!" Nat exclaimed form the back row. "Thor spotted flying through Manhattan: stops at local doughnut shop." she finished her sentence, laughing.

"What am I going to do with him?" Loki sighed.

"Buy him doughnuts?" Eliza asked, causing the car to erupt in laughter.

-
Tony had been eyeing the three in the middle row the entire drive. Maybe it was the light from the traffic signals, maybe it was his mind playing tricks on him, but he could have swore that whenever the dark haired god whispered something to his niece, her face would go red. The archer sitting next to them had his headphones in and was looking out the window, oblivious to whatever the two next to him were talking about.

Tony was disappointed, to say the least that no one had seemed to be paying attention to the two except for him. Nat and Bruce were explaining some of the references that were in the chat to Steve, and Peter was texting someone. Tony wished he could turn the radio off and listen to what was causing his niece to giggle and blush, but he knew it would only halt their conversation.

"Uh, Tony? You just passed my apartment." Eliza pointed out the window.

"Oh, I guess I did." he said, snapping from his thoughts.

He stopped in front of the building and put the car in park.

"Bye, guys! It was super fun hanging out with you all! Tell Thor that, too." Eliza said, crawling out of the car.

The windows rolled down and the Avengers all waved and said goodbye.