Chapter 46
Harry awoke to the end credits playing to, what he had assumed, was Brave. But glancing at the clock, he realized that there was no way that the movie had only just finished.
"Good morning Sleeping Beauty," Natasha teased, looking over at the teen.
"It's not morning," Harry grumbled, voice groggy and a bit grumpy from sleep. "It's eleven."
"We went ahead and watched a movie without you, sorry about that," Natasha chuckled, and Harry had to smile as he realized that, at some point, Clint had moved back to his perch.
Harry stuck out his bottom lip out in a fake pout, but he couldn't help but giggle when he saw that Clint had tears running down his face.
"What movie did you watch now?" Harry asked, rolling his eyes at the sniffling archer.
"I showed him Homeward Bound," the assassin replied, shaking her head at her friend. How he managed to be so cut throat and badass on missions appalled her, considering the fact that the movie had been over for almost five minutes and he still hadn't composed himself once more.
"Is that the one Peter talks about with the dogs that get lost?" Harry questions, recognizing the name but knowing that he had never seen the movie. Based on both Clint and Peter's reactions, he wasn't sure he wanted to.
"Yeah. The big baby up there didn't even make it to the saddest part before he started bawling his eyes out."
Clint threw up a finger, and Nat returned it, an evil smirk on her face.
"The dog didn't think he could do it!" Clint whined, curling himself into a tighter ball within the nest. "I had to turn off my hearing aids at the end because his sad whimpering was making me cry."
Harry knew he shouldn't find this as funny as he did, but heck, he was tired, and the idea of Clint scrambling to come up with an idea to make the movie less sad, was cracking him up.
"Wow, I didn't realize it was so late," Nat spoke, glancing down at her watch.
"Are Steve and Bucky home yet?" Harry questioned, looking instinctively towards the elevator.
"Bucky texted me about an hour ago, saying they were heading home now. So they should be here any time," she replied.
Almost on cue, the elevator arrow lit up, and a soft ding echoed through the living room. Clint gracefully dismounted his perch and landed almost silently on his feet. Harry had always thought of Clint as a dog and Natasha as a cat, but with how silently Clint was able to land, he almost changed his mind.
"I believe it's past your curfew, boys," Nat teased, crossing her legging clad legs to sit in a position that reminded Harry of all strict parents in movies.
Steve blushed, but Bucky laughed. Harry noticed they were standing quite close to one another, hands intertwined and hidden a bit.
"Okay, Cap looks like he just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar, spill," Tony declared upon entering the room; straight to the point with no small talk. Behind him, Pepper shook her head as she, too, entered the room.
At this, Steve's face turned even brighter red. Harry had no idea how he managed to do all of the spy and agent work with S.H.I.E.L.D, and keep such large secrets, but when it came to him and Bucky, his face would tell all.
Bucky glanced towards Steve, a tentative look on his face. He hadn't expected everyone to still be awake and congregated in the living room when they arrived back. He had sort of hoped that everyone would be in their individual rooms, and maybe Steve would allow them to go to their room and do a bit of... celebrating.
"We live with two spies, a wizard, a genius, and Tony," Steve started- the part about a genius, and Tony, making Tony's mouth drop open in slight offense. "It's going to come out soon whether we want it to or not."
Bucky nodded, before biting back a grin.
"Well, I suppose that you all should be the first to know that," Steve held up their intertwined hands to show off the rings that they were both wearing (Steve's on his left hand, and Bucky's on his right because he didn't want to wear the ring on his prosthetic).
The room exploded with excitement as everyone began talking and cheering. In the midst of all of the excitement, Bruce stepped out of the elevator and looked around with a confused look on his face.
"Steve and Bucky are engaged!" Harry exclaimed to the scientist. He was practically bouncing up and down, all previous traces of sleep completely gone. Suddenly, he stopped and looked towards where Steve and Bucky were each hugging Pepper.
Storming up the two, Harry gave them a mock-angry look, but the twinkle in his eyes showed his true, happy, emotions.
"You assholes! Now I have two weddings to plan!
*
Harry rolled over with a groan, looking at the analog clock beside his bed blearily. Cursing his vision, he fumbled for his glasses and checked again. It was nearly 10- he should probably get up and ready. Tony had mentioned having plans today.
Last night's excitement had lasted until almost three in the morning, and by the time Harry had finally calmed down enough to sleep, it was almost six.
"Harry, your dad has requested your appearance in the kitchen as soon as you are ready for the day," Friday's crisp voice announced.
"Alright. Tell him I'm going to shower and I'll be down in a few."
"Will do," Friday agreed. Harry couldn't help but smile as the realization that Tony had altered Friday's settings so that she would call him 'dad' when talking to Harry. Sometimes, it was the little gestures that he made that brought the most happiness to Harry.
Though buying him the bakery was pretty damn amazing.
Sluggishly, Harry made his way to the bathroom and got in the shower. Thankfully, the warm water helped him wake up, and by the time that he was quickly running a brush through his crazy hair, he felt mostly awake.
After slipping on a pair of wool socks, Harry began padding down the hallway towards the kitchen, arching his shoulders slightly as he noticed the tightness in his back that had accompanied the cool morning temperatures.
"Good morning!" Tony called, spotting Harry as he emerged from the hallway.
"GOOD MORNING!" A voice boomed, and Harry involuntarily flinched at the loud voice. He quickly, however, recovered, and his face fell into one of excitement.
"Thor!" He exclaimed, hurrying the best he could to the god of thunder, who gently embraced him.
Harry found it odd that, out of everyone, Thor gave him one of the gentlest hugs. It was amusing, but Harry enjoyed them much more than he believed Thor could ever guess.
"How have you been feeling, young one?" Thor asked, a genuine and patient smile on his face.
"I'm alright. Some days are better than others emotionally, and some days are better than others physically. And sometimes both are great or both are amazing- it just depends," Harry rambled. For whatever reason, he felt so comfortable around Thor. He felt as though he could speak for hours and the man would just sit and listen.
Maybe because, in all reality, he would.
"And how are the feelings of today?" Thor pressed again, tone soft.
Harry bit his lip and snuck a small glance at his dad, who was waiting patiently with a coffee cup in his hand.
"Today is an okay day. I'm a bit sore, but I know that as the day grows warmer, it'll get a little bit better. And so far, I'm fairly happy this morning," he replied, keeping his answer short, but truthful. It had been a difficult habit to break, but slowly, he was beginning to learn that lying about his pain was only going to hurt him more, not inconvenience anyone else.
"This is good news, correct?" Thor looked at Harry, and then turned his gaze to Tony. Both gave a small nod.
"I believe it is excellent news, brother, to see the young Maj healing so very nicely," a voice from behind Harry drawled silkily. Harry didn't even have to turn to know that Loki was standing behind him. As soon as the god had walked into the room, he could feel the warm magic crackling around him and embracing him in a hug-like manner.
Harry figured it was the closest thing to a hug that he would ever receive from Loki.
"Loki!" Harry exclaimed, turning around on the stool that he had been seated on, and facing the man.
"Hello," Loki's voice sounded uninterested, but Harry knew that he was happy. His green eyes were twinkling brilliantly, like they only did when the man was in a good mood.
More footsteps echoed through the hallway, and suddenly Steve and Bucky appeared, standing in the entrance to the kitchen. It wasn't unusual to see them this early in the morning, but it was unusual that they were still in pajamas. Usually, the two men had already completed a rigorous workout that made Harry break into a sweat even thinking about.
But there they were, sheepishly standing in the entry way to the kitchen, hand in hand, still wearing pajamas. Or, at least, pajama pants.
"Ah, my friends!" Thor boomed, one staccato clap echoing through the room as he stood up. "My sincerest condolences on your engagement!"
He gave Steve and Bucky both hearty slaps on the back, a broad grin spread across his face.
"Brother, I do believe you mean 'congratulations'. Not condolences," Loki raised an amused eyebrow at the other Asgardian, who was now looking quite perplexed.
"Condolences are a negative, comforting thing. Congratulations is a positive, happy or excited thing to say," Harry explained. He knew that Thor wasn't used to the dialect of people outside of Asgard. And he especially wasn't used to the dialect of New Yorkers.
"Ah," Thor nodded. "I see. My sincerest congratulations on your engagement!"
Harry and Tony glanced at one another, biting back laughter at the way the god had phrased it, but somehow managed to refrain themselves.
"Thank you Thor," Steve nodded, giving Bucky's hand a squeeze.
"You are the most welcome," Thor replied, a proud smile on his face.
"I don't mean this in a bad way, because it's a pleasant surprise that you're here, but what brings you to Midgard?" Steve questioned. Bucky planted a small kiss on the top of his fiancé's muscled shoulder, before releasing his hand and walking over to make a cup of coffee.
"We came for the surprise!" Thor cried, voice loud and excited.
"Surprise?" Harry asked, looking between Thor, Loki, Tony, Steve and Bucky. "You two already got engaged, is there more?"
"There just might be something up my sleeve," Tony stated, putting on a face of innocence. Harry raised his eyebrows at his dad, curious about what else the man might be planning.
Tony grinned mischievously, and wagged his eyebrows at his son.
"You're just going to have to wait and see."