Chapter 1
Tony is sitting on the L- shaped couch in the common area of the common floor which isn't common in and of itself, but the good captain, bless his soul, threatened to break into his lab and drag him out kicking and screaming if he spent one more minute in there. It'd been only 36 hours which wasn't anything to write home about according yo him considering he had a record of 52 hours ("that's not as comforting as you'd like to think it is, Stark") before he'd been startled out of his engineering fueled stupor by the avenger's alarm and causing his millionth near death experience in the month, but who's counting?
He can see the redheaded shadow hunter curled on the floor a sketch book in her lap drawing...something with coloured pencils strewn around her in organized disarray much like his own in the lab. And further sprawled along the length of the couch, their own redheaded spy assassin reading a book. A book! with actual paper. Tony can't say he understands. He doesn't and won't try, just like when Rogers reads the morning fucking paper like they don't have access to the most high tech... no no he won't go there not right now it gives him a migraine.
Just when he's asking JARVIS to save the schematics for the new widow bites he'd been working on on his starkphone the elevator doors slide open and the resident assassin and the blond shadow hunter Jack? Jake? spill in rough housing like cavemen and Tony barely resists the urge to lift his brow. Natasha does it for him. And Clary smiles at them like some Pavlov's dog at seeing Jackie.
Tony doesn't know how he feels at having them at his tower, but having it so empty before makes the company wholesome and entertaining and good more so since Pepper isn't coming back anymore...not in that way anyway.
" Hey Birdbrain, "Jason greets the ceiling and Tony smiles that's why he likes Jared he's loud and brash and lacks acknowledgement of societal norms and he calls Clint birdbrain that's a plus in Tony's book. An arrow whistles through the air and Jeff evades an arrow to the thigh with a cocky smirk. It goes through the supremely expensive brand new vase that he replaced just yesterday after Thor put his hammer through the the previous one the day before yesterday.
" Hey !" Tony screams indignantly and gets no further before a dagger flies and a yell later Clint crashes into Tony's couch yanking the dagger from his boot and flinging it in Bucky's direction. Bucky catches it without changing the direction to where he's dragging Jose with his flesh arm around the blond's shoulder the metal left tucking the dagger somewhere no one sees.
"I will not stand for this, my tower, my rules, you can't just ," Tony waves his hands in the air as he works himself into a rant, "I fucking pay for all your sorry asses's shit and this, this right here is-"
The elevator doors ding open and captain America and tall dark and handsome walk in Tony tries not to stare as Clint rolls to the floor with a groan, his train of thought forgotten. He almost screams when he hears a snicker from Natasha. And here he was calling Clary Pavlov's dog.
Captain America smiles, "Hey Tony " and Tony melts into a puddle of goo.
"Yeah, greet him like the rest of us don't exist, why don't you, " Bucky snips and they laugh at the red colouring the tips of Steve's ears.
Tony is suddenly captivated with something in his phone and refused to look up at Clint's wagging brows. Steve and Alec stand side by side no unnecessary touching, in control, mature, sturdy, complete opposites to their respective best friends. Tony can see why they traded best friends though he doesn't think that's how friends work. Tony looks up to catch the hostile vibes in the room. Bucky and Jacob are both glaring holes at the best friend of their new best friend and somehow that doesn't surprise Tony. It makes sense that the erratic ones are the protectors. Alec catches Bucky's eye and shrugs and Steve doesn't even look at Jamie's that's beneath him Tony figures.
Bucky takes a knife from his boot and starts sharpening it on his metal fingers the grating noise becoming oddly soothing the longer he keeps it up. Alec gravitates toward his, frankly speaking, otherworldly beautiful, sister who is talking on her phone about shax and raven? demons(what exactly is his life?). Steve places a sandwich and a glass of orange juice in front of Tony.
" You gotta take something that isn't coffee or whiskey "
Tony can feel the warmth in his cheeks as he looks at Steve's smiling face.
"Mama Rogers, I haven't eaten anything since yesternight ," Clint says overly sweet with his back to Natasha's chest; being the small spoon.
"Get your own food, Barton"
Steve says and collapses next to Tony and he tries not to get flustered when Steve reaches up and takes a bite of his sandwich.
"I call favouritism!" Clint yells
The sound of grating metal gets especially sharper and Clint winces .
"I take it back" he curls further into Natasha and the grating regulates. Steve chuckles under his breath.
Eventually they go quiet with the exception of Bucky and his knife. And somehow Tony ends up with Steve's feet in his lap, Joe is on a couch behind Clary watching her draw, Clint and Natasha are probably asleep but Tony knows better, Izzy is on her phone and Alec left awhile ago with a "I'll go look for Mags"
Thor comes in a while later with the vampire Simon? dangling from his shoulder begging to carry mjonlír. Thor places the hammer on the floor, leaves him to it and heads over to the shelves for pop tarts.
Further away several floors away there are muffled booms and the tower shudders. They are all suddenly on high alert.
"J?" Tony prompts
" It appears that there is disquiet on the Asgardian floor, Sir"