Party On, Avengers, Party On

An Avengers Story.
Tony Stark throws a party to celebrate the remodelling of Stark Tower and he wants all of the Avengers there. But there’s only one way to get them there while avoiding the paparazzi... and it involves costumes... Oneshot. Post-Avengers.

Party On, Avengers, Party On

          Tony Stark was holding a party. No surprise there - he was notorious for his glamorous events, organised to perfection by the beautiful and efficient Pepper Potts. Though he hadn’t had a party like this since the Battle of Manhattan, partly because his home had been half-destroyed, but also because no one really had much to celebrate.
          Apparently, Tony had found some cause to host a party however, as Stark Tower had finally been rebuilt and remodelled to Tony’s specific, complicated and flashy instructions. The surprise was that he wanted all of his colleagues to attend. And by that, he meant all of them.
          Of course, that wasn’t as simple as it sounded. The Avengers were quite well known now since every news station in the country had caught them on camera. And it might be expected by the paparazzi that they would make an appearance at any of Tony Stark’s famous soirees.
          They’d been trying to catch a glimpse of the superheroes’ real identities since the battle; so to circumvent any awkward moments or photographers being beaten half to death, Tony came up with a plan - well, it was actually Pepper, but Tony was determined to insist that it was his idea.
          A costume party. It was a big event, so many people were there dressed up in fancy costumes and masks of all sorts. And the Avengers could blend in if they wanted to - which they most certainly did. But Tony was never one to blend in. Tony had picked the most outrageous costume that he could come up with.
          Because Tony showed up to his own party dressed as the Hulk. He really was a genius with technology. Somehow he had managed to construct a suit that worked much like his own Iron Man suit, but that looked almost as huge - and definitely as green - as the Hulk himself.
          Bruce Banner was quietly amused by Tony’s nod to the Other Guy. He gave a slanted smile, but stayed away from Tony for the rest of the evening. It was easier to avoid him than to wait for his joking attempts to bring the Other Guy to the party for real.
          For his part, Banner had decided to don a simple outfit, dressing as a scientist. Tony had frowned at Bruce’s attempt at dressing up, claiming that it wasn’t much of a costume since it was pretty much exactly his work clothes anyway. Banner had just shrugged, the more inconspicuous he could be, the better.
          He was determined to stay out of the way of other people - drunk people really did nothing for his temper. He had only just been convinced to show up at all. After a while though, Pepper took him down to the R and D floors and away from the rest of the party. He was far more comfortable there.
          Thor didn’t turn up, of course. He was on a different world. No one was even sure if he could tell what was happening on Earth, let alone how it would be possible to RSVP through space and other realms.
          Steve Rogers, however, did turn up - and he was looking rather smooth. He’d brought a date too, a pretty blonde. They’d come in matching costumes; a 40s gangster and his moll. And they looked good together. Really good. Though that could partly have been because Steve felt far more comfortable in clothes that were made for his decade.
          On finding out about Steve’s date, Tony had done some investigating and found out that this ‘Beth’ worked as a waitress in a café not too far from Stark Tower. And she knew about his secret identity. But Tony just couldn’t give up the chance to tease Steve; just a little.
          “Woah, isn’t she a little young for you, Cap?”
          Steve scowled at Tony. Sure, Beth had found out about his other identity when she’d seen him in the Battle of Manhattan, but he hadn’t quite got around to mentioning the fact that he was technically old enough to be her grandfather.
          “Nice to meet you too, Mr Stark,” Beth smiled.
          “Call me Tony, I’m not ‘Mr’ type.”
          Steve rolled his eyes.
          “Formality isn’t exactly Stark’s strong suit,” he chipped in.
          Beth opened her mouth to say something, but Tony got there first.
          “And having a good time isn’t yours, Cap.”
          Beth interrupted them before their jabs could continue.
          “Well that’s what I’m here for,” she said.
          Then she kissed Steve on the cheek, her lips leaving behind a bright red imprint on his cheek.
          “Touché,” Tony shrugged as the couple walked away.
          There were two other Avengers that he was waiting on anyway. And he had no idea what costumes the two super spies might pick; they could be anyone. Tony remembered the previous week when he had suggested that Natasha come dressed as herself. She’d just punched him and laughed it off.
          There was no way that she was coming as herself. She was a spy. She didn’t get recognised. Ever. So when she walked out of the elevator and into the party, she was sure not to be identified. And to do it, she turned up to Stark Tower dressed as Hawk Girl. Because what was more deceptive than someone dubbed as a ‘superhero’ dressing up as a superhero? At least she was amused by it anyway.
          Clint appeared the next time the elevator doors opened and, apparently, he’d had the same idea as Natasha; because he’d dressed up as Spiderman. She grinned at the sight of him and waved a hand to get his attention. Tony found them after a while. It wasn’t all that hard. After all, they were the only two people at the party that were standing around looking like they’d rather carefully watch everyone else and be prepared to pounce than have any type of fun.
          He walked over to them with an eyebrow raised and said, “Seriously, you guys?”
          They looked blankly between each other, not comprehending what he meant.
          “What?” Clint asked.
          “You’re Spiderman, she’s Hawkgirl.”
          There was a long pause. They clearly aren’t getting it, Tony thought with a roll of his eyes.
          “And?”
          “‘Spider’man? ‘Hawk’girl?”
          They stared. And that was the exact moment that Pepper chose to join in and help the two spies out.
          “I think what Tony’s trying to say here is that it’s a little telling that you two wore the particular costumes you chose.”
          Natasha blinked.
          “What exactly are you trying to say?”
          Tony grinned.
          “Considering you’re one of the world’s top spies, I’d have thought you’d have been able to deduce that you dressed up as different sex versions of each other... Spider. Hawk,” he added, giving a tiny wave to each of them.
          Clint and Natasha met each other’s eyes just as Tony dragged Pepper off. He was happy with just planting the idea in the spies’ minds and letting them deal with it. The two of them just stood there for a moment, not knowing what to do. Well, this is awkward... Clint thought.
          “He’s just joking, right?” Natasha said with a tiny frown.
          “Yeah, our costumes are... just costumes...”
          She gave a single nod.
          “Yeah...”
          Maybe they were both lying; they were spies, that’s what they did after all. Despite what Tony had said, today was not the time for that revelation - but it did inspire thoughts in both of them. Their subconscious minds might have been telling them something, after all. But it wasn’t something that either of them wanted to talk about at one of Stark’s famous parties.
“I need a drink,” was all that Natasha said before walking away.