Caffeine Rush (Avengers Fanfic)

Chapter 28: Party Time

I had to say, the party I got was far from what I expected given the rumors. From the moment it started until about ten thirty, there was as many people as you would have expected, but every single one of them was a vetted SHIELD agent and their extra-vetted plus one, or an official Avenger, both full and part-timers. It felt a lot better knowing that I wouldn't be surrounded by strangers for hours, I'd grown to know quite a few agents because of my extracurricular activities around the compound and the occasional site-wide coffee run. Not gonna lie, those were kinda fun, my record was seventeen minutes and twenty-three seconds but only because of the sheer number of people at the compound.

Where was I? Right, the party went great, I was, thankfully, not bartending. As much as I liked everyone present, I was not willing to give up my night to show off my mixology for so many people. Tony and Pepper, recently back together, were kicking it up on the dance floor and Natasha got Bruce to join her for a few turns, and somehow Auntie Wanda was able to talk Vision into actually doing the robot, which immediately garnered a crowd-wide cheer. Despite being quick on my feet, I had to admit that when it came to dancing, I had two left feet, so I steered clear of the dance floor for as long as I could . . . and I was not the only one.

Bucky had been having a rough go of it since the press conference and the party scene didn't seem to be helping. Steve had once told me that he had some wicked dance moves and the Archangel had been the perfect partner to show them off. For quite a while, Bucky just watched everyone else dancing with an empty look in his eyes, like some part of him wasn't there, but that was no way to live and certainly no way to celebrate.

Moving at superspeed—not impossible in heels, but certainly way more of a tripping hazard—I ducked behind the counter and opened the secret drawer that no one knew about to grab what I needed. I sifted through the contents, looking for just the right one, and, having found it, closed the drawer and sped my way back through the crowd. On my way back to the couch I'd claimed, I stuck the magnet on Bucky's metal arm and acted as if I hadn't moved when I returned to my seated position.

He knew it was me, obviously, but we both pretended it wasn't. The little things helped, even if it wasn't much, and acknowledging it would make it into something different. Moving on doesn't mean letting go. Everyone here had firsthand experience in that regard and if the stupid little magnets with cheesy sayings and cartoons on them helped for even a moment, it was worth it.

Movement from his side of the lounge caught my attention as Bucky stood, then he was in front of me, holding out a hand. "Come on, no sitting at a party."

"I can't dance, Buck," I replied, hesitating to put my hand in his, "I've got two left feet in that regard."

"Step on my feet all you like, but we should be dancing." Huh, well, if he was willing to make the sacrifice then I should do him the courtesy of accepting it. I put my hand in his and allowed him to lead me to the dance floor, where I knew something would end up tripping me, even if it was just air.

Lo and behold, a self-fulfilling prophecy. I managed to trip on nothing a number of times, and my feet or someone else's on even more occasions. Eventually, Bucky just nudged my feet onto his and did most of the moving himself, like a parent would do for a child, which was sweet but also a tad embarrassing. A dancer with enough skill to wow Captain America—remember the performance before he joined the war? Yeah, he had skill—and a partner that couldn't tell her left from her right foot, what an awesome match. Luckily, he was willing to indulge me anyway.

Tony cut in at some point and took up the parental role, half-jokingly scolding me for dancing with men more than twice my age (and his). I clapped back at him with a comment about his dancing skill not being as good as an old man and he faked offense at the remark and tossed me into the arms of another Avenger.

Natasha and I spun around, doing some hip-swish kick thing with no real technique somewhat reminiscent of a very bad salsa dance. She pulled me close and pushed me back a few times before Bruce cut in and she twirled me into the arms of a patiently waiting Loki who managed to catch me before I could trip over either his feet or my own. I stood on his feet as a slow song played, leaning my head against his shoulder as his body swayed as the mortals around us would. He could certainly pick up a dance easier than anyone else I'd ever seen, perks of being raised a prince, I suppose.

My Lokitty and I swayed until long after the song had changed, my head against his chest, listening to his heart beating softly beneath my ear.

When all the non-Avengers had left, everyone else congregated in the lounge area in a quieter and more personal after party of only Avengers and close friends. Clint and Nat were telling stories in the corner that were most definitely classified, Rhodey was attempting the same with Tony and Thor, who seemed rather unimpressed. Steve was drawing something in his sketchbook, glancing around the room every once in a while, Bucky looking over his shoulder when he thought Steve wasn't looking. Vision was speaking adamantly with Bruce, I caught snippets of technical computer science jargon but was otherwise uninterested. The fun really started when Loki and I teamed up to play games. I showed off my mixology skills and made drinks for everyone, including those with enhanced metabolisms (curtesy of Thor's Asgardian liquor), then Loki would drain away the glass slowly but enough that they would notice something was up. We were caught pretty quickly and I was then made to be the official Avenger bartender as well as barista as punishment. Guess drinks are on me now.