The Meaning of Trust: Brutasha

The Party Pt. 1

"Perfect timing, Banner. We were just about to get dinner."

Natasha lets go of Bruce's hand as she sits on a two-person couch with Pepper. Bruce takes a seat in the chair closest to her. As he looks around the room, Bruce notices that there are a few empty seats. "Tony," Bruce asks, "who else is coming?"

"Rhodey, Nebula and Thor."

"Thor is on Earth?" Steve asks.

"Should be. I saw him last week and asked why he was here. He just told me that he wanted a rest. Hence why we are all here; it's just a get together with food and games."

Bucky pitches in: "What kind of games?"

Tony, obviously annoyed by the questions, groans. "Fun ones, okay?"

Pepper grabs Tony's arm and pulls him into a chair next to her. "Let's just get some food," she suggests.

All of us order from various restaurants and make Tony pay since the party was his idea. Despite him being the richest too, he tries to get out of it. Using the excuse "I paid for this building and the tower," he is able to gain a few sympathy points, but not enough to make everyone pay.

Bruce offers to take everyone's plates to the kitchen after dinner. He gathers each piece of flatware and rinses them off and places them in the dishwasher. On his way back, he hears Jarvis's voice asking for him through the walls.

"Yes, Jarvis?" Bruce replies.

"There is someone at the front door and you seem to be the most free."

"Okay. I'll go get it."

Bruce heads to the door and opens it to find Thor's open arms. Before Bruce can prevent the inevitable, Thor's huge arms are wrapped around him.

"Dr. Bruce Banner! It is very nice to see you again!" Thor lets Bruce go.

"Ahah," Bruce takes a step back, letting him in, "good to see you too."

"Where can I find Stark?"

"He and the rest of them are in the large living room. We just finished eating, but there are some leftovers if you would like some."

"I had a great feast before coming. In fact, I thought it a good idea to invite two of them over for tonight's festivities."

Bruce opens his mouth to protest but is quickly cut off by Thor's booming voice. "Banner, you might remember Valkyrie and my brother, Loki."

Bruce nods unsure of what else to do.

Thor's guests follow him into the living room. Bruce takes a deep breath and shuts the door before continuing after them. Once Bruce enters the living room, Loki has taken his seat and almost everyone is watching Loki. Tony doesn't even seem to be bothered by the Norse god and warrior.

Unsure of where to sit, Bruce decides to stand in a close-but-not-too-close corner of the room. He can hear everything they are saying, but the distance keeps him unnoticed and away from the dangerous and uncomfortable conversations Tony keeps bringing up.

About twenty minutes after the arrival of Thor, Loki, and Valkyrie, the doorbell rings again. Bruce looks around and seems to be the only one who heard it. He makes his way to the door again, but instead of a giant man, Bruce is met with a pat on the back as Rhodey walks in without saying anything. Unsurprised by this greeting, he starts to walk away until a knock at the door alerts him. Bruce opens it once more to find the final guest: Nebula.

"Hello," Bruce offers his hand.

Nebula disregards Bruce's greeting. "Where is Tony?"

Bruce awkwardly takes his hand back and shoves it in his pocket. "Tony and the rest of them are in the living room. Do you know where that is? If not, I'm going there too; I'll show you."