"You must be happy," Natasha commented, placing herself next to Bucky. He looked at her, not even bothering to voice his question. He had moved to leave the living room at the same time as Tony, but refrained from doing so when he noticed who stayed behind, and was instead leaning against the doorframe to the living room with his shoulder, observing Lana, Thor and Loki converse.

"That she went to get Loki," she explained, thinking about what she knew Bucky had feared earlier.

"Yes. I love that they're friends," Bucky agreed quietly, Natasha smirking slightly at the humourless attempt at sarcasm.

"I'm not sure they are, Barnes, she's just being nice to him," she told, looking at him to see his reaction.

"She's wearing the ring. In fact, she hasn't taken it off," Bucky told, finally turning to face Natasha.

"So? I'm wearing a dress that I bought at a boutique in Paris, doesn't mean I'm in love with the place. Granted, it did have some pretty nice crown mouldings, but-"

"She's standing up," Bucky whispered, tensing as he watched her and Thor stand. She spoke a few words to him, ending the conversation in a smile before turning around with Thor.

"Hey, guys. We're going to go back down to the party, you coming?" Lana asked cheerily, stopping in front of them. Bucky bit the inside of her cheek, glancing his eyes over her slightly faltering smile.

"We'll be right down," Natasha told, rolling her eyes to Lana and nodding discreetly towards Bucky. Lana agreed with a shrug, passing the two with Thor close behind her, the two quickly disappearing.

"They forgot Lana's husband," Bucky stated unhappily, looking at Loki. Still sitting on the couch, Loki conjured a book from somewhere unknown, immediately flipping to a certain page and begin reading.

"It's just a ring, Barnes. Besides, he's staying here. Didn't you pay attention to Cap's orders?" she asked curiously. Bucky frowned even deeper, keeping his eyes set on the newcomer.

"C'mon, let's go get drunk," Natasha suggested, grabbing hold of Bucky's arm.

"I can't get drunk," Bucky muttered unhappily.

"Okay, well, you can sulk by the bar so I at least can be drunk. Come on," she ordered, pulling him with her towards the elevator.

"They're dancing," Bucky informed Natasha, keeping his eyes on the moving body of Lana, her black dress allowing him to see every small movement.

"Yes, they're at a party. Drink," she ordered, handing him a short-edged glass. With his eyes still fixated on Lana he grabbed it, taking a small sip. He frowned his eyebrows as he looked at Natasha and sniffed the drink.

"What is this?" he asked suspiciously, his attention suddenly on Natasha.

"It's a drink, Barnes. Now drink it," she ordered. Bucky lowered the glass, looking at her with narrowed eyes. Natasha rolled her eyes and laughed slightly.

"It's from Asgard. I heard Thor offer it to Steve, supposedly it can get even you drunk," she told; "I thought you might need a drink after everything, so I borrowed the flask."

"You're a good friend, Romanoff," Bucky told honestly, bringing the glass to his lips again.

"So... How drunk do I have to get you to admit you like Lana?" she asked, looking at him curiously.

"I definitely don't like her," Bucky told grimly, sipping from his glass.

"Well..." Natasha decided, smiling slightly; "Good thing I kept the flask."

"Still don't like her?" Natasha asked, laughing at Bucky, who was lying across the bar with his head on his arms, looking sadly at Lana, who seemingly had finished dancing and instead gone with Thor to the bar, a drink in her hand and a smile on her lips.

"I think I might hate her," he told, sounding almost sad. Lana laughed at something Thor said, gesturing for the bartender to come over.

"Alright, I thought you'd be fun drunk, turns out you're even more of a buzzkill. I'm cutting you off," Natasha decided, placing her elbows on the bar.

"Some friend," Bucky scoffed, clearly not agreeing with the call Natasha had made.

"Oh shit, I think Thor's reaching for the flask," she realised suddenly, quickly getting on her feet; "We have to give it back."

"He's gonna be mad at you," Bucky told, smiling slightly at the thought.

"Not if I get it back before he notices it's gone, c'mon," she ordered, pulling him with her.

"What am I gonna do?!" Bucky asked her unhappily.

"Run interference, obviously," Natasha told as they neared Thor and Lana, neither of which had noticed them yet.

"How?!"

"Bucky," Natasha said flatly, turning to him when they were almost there.

"We are part of SHIELD, we are Avengers. We are some of the best spies, assassins, and agents in the world. I have a plan," she promised before giving him an uncomfortably hard push, forcing his body to run into Lana's, his suddenly sobered mind and reflexes quick to catch both her and himself before they hit the floor.

Lana yelped in surprise before noticing Bucky's shocked face, breaking into laughter as he helped her to her legs.

"Damn, Lana. Look like you just fell for him," Natasha commented slyly, making Thor laugh loudly.

"I see! It has several meanings! How amusing!" he complimented, slapping Natasha's back with more strength than he probably intended.

"We're about to do shots, wanna join?" Lana offered, smiling brightly.

"Thor, I thought you couldn't get drunk? Seems unfair," Natasha commented with feigned curiosity.

"Ah. That is why I have this!" Thor said proudly, pulling the very flask Natasha had had before out of the inner pocket of his blazer. Bucky looked impressed at Natasha, who winked at him. Lana's smile fell slightly as she noticed that, not even hearing Thor's brag about how strong he was and how strong his liquor had to be.

"Did we agree to four shots?" he asked Lana, who snapped out of her daze.

"Let's do six," she suggested, plastering the big smile on again. Thor broke into laughter, complimenting her ambition as the bartender prepared the drinks. Bucky watched Lana as Natasha counted down and she and Thor raised. In spite of Thor winning (a lot), she laughed, seemingly enjoying herself.

"Is this really the best we could be doing? We just found a new threat," he pointed out, not being able to stop himself before the words had already left him. Normally, he would remain quiet and judge in silence, but now he looked at Thor with narrowed eyes.

"There is not much we can do for the moment, I fear. We might as well enjoy while we can," Thor replied poetically.

"If you think about it," Lana interjected, using the bar to keep her posture steady; "Technically, our last threat was Loki, and technically, he's upstairs. Technically, he's not a threat anymore, so, t-technically... We managed the threat!" she exclaimed joyfully.

Natasha almost laughed at how both Thor and Lana's faces lit up at the poorly constructed argument.

"Right you are! And as such, we must celebrate!" Thor agreed merrily, raising his hands in a victorious stance.

"Let's dance!" Lana cheered.

"Dance we shall!" Thor agreed, grabbing her hand as they made their way through the crowd to the dancefloor. Bucky sighed deeply, turning to look at Natasha with annoyance.

"C'mon, how is that my fault? I'm on your side, Barnes," she reminded him with a slight laugh.

"Are you?" Bucky questioned frustratedly, sitting down on a bar stool.

"They're just friends. Does that at all look like romance to you?" Natasha argued, looking at the two dancing as she sat on the chair next to Bucky's. Bucky turned to look, only seeing Lana's body moving carelessly, her hair gradually having fallen apart throughout the evening and at that point, lying messily on her shoulders in a way that could only be described as one thing; hot.

"That looks... Exactly like romance," Bucky decided unhappily.

"No, you moron, she looks like romance, but that's only because you're in love with her," Natasha argued; "Look at Thor. Does he at all seem to be interested in her?"

Bucky did as told, ignored his immediate focus and shifted his eyes to Thor, who was dancing joyously in a way that included spinning slowly around with his arms lifted in the air. He looked at Natasha, who raised a single eyebrow while smiling at him. Bucky couldn't help but smile slightly as he turned back to the bar, ordering a drink.

Before he could finish it, Lana and Thor returned, Thor with an arm tossed across her shoulder.

"My side is cramping. I think I'm dying," Lana said laughingly, her British accent having become clearer and clearer with every drink she'd had, sitting on the stool next to Bucky, making him immediately straighten his back.

"Your friend is in poor shape," Thor told the two, teasingly ignoring Lana.

"Agree to disagree," Natasha spoke up, sending Lana a suggestive wink.

"Oh, you cheeky li'l thing!" Lana said laughingly, making both Natasha and Bucky laugh, too. The only one who failed to see the amusing part was Thor, who didn't quite recognise the languages enough to recognise the accent as slightly foreign and Lana herself, who was smiling at the ceiling.

Natasha and Thor began a lighthearted conversation, Bucky zoning out as he looked at Lana's happy face, a slight hint of sweat across her forehead and her mascara slightly smudged. Sensing eyes on her, Lana looked at him, smiling lovingly.

"Have I told you how fit you look tonight? A proper sort, I reckon," she told, smiling even wider.

"You said my suit was tacky," Bucky reminded her teasingly, only then noticing a plamage on her dress.

"I think you spilled something," he told her, nodding to the spot the dress was sporting on the stomach. Lana furrowed her eyebrows before looking down at the black fabric.

"That's weird," she muttered, placing a hand on top of the spot. Her eyes widened as she retracted it, the red blood previously well hidden and camouflaged by the black fabric suddenly contrasting the skin of her palm.