It was hot. A blistering, breath-stealing kind of warmth that felt as if it were going to incinerate you on the spot. Layla Williams exited slowly out of the elevator and attempted to gasp in a breath, feeling it burn as it made its way into her lungs. Beside her, Anastasia had also come to a stop and immediately began to sweat, her brunette hair sticking to her face.

    "F.R.I.D.A.Y.?"

    "Welcome back Miss Williams and Miss Konstantinova. How may I assist you today?" The AI sounded just as proper as always, but Layla could detect almost a hint of sadness in the tone.

    "Fri, we've talked about this, you can just call me Anja," the brunette girl murmured. "Where is everyone, and why is it so hot?" Anja began to immediately strip her jacket and sweater off, leaving her standing in just a pair of black skinny jeans and a lace-trimmed tank top.

    "Boss had me turn the heat up earlier, Miss Anja. He's also in the living room. Vision is currently on a mission for the Task Force, Mr. Rhodes is visiting his family, Ms. Potts is out on business, and the former Avengers are – "

    "Out being vigilantes, pretending we aren't aware of where they are, yeah," Anja grumbled, still really angry about the whole 'Civil War' business, as the media was labeling it. "Anyway, why would Tony turn the heat way up?"

    "He kept saying he couldn't get warm, Miss Anja," the AI replied dejectedly, making Layla frown.

    "Is he sick? Turn the heat down to normal people levels, Fri." Layla, too, began to strip off her jacket, going down only to her leather leggings and her well-worn Stark Industries shirt. After debating for a second, she decided to leave her thigh holster and gun on, never knowing what would happen around the formerly named Avengers tower.

    She had just talked to Tony a few days ago to confirm their annual Christmas plans and he had assured her he was still going to be at the tower. Unfortunately, a lot of other people knew he would be at the tower, too. Moving away from the elevator, she made her way into the penthouse and glanced around. A thin layer of dust covered a lot of the surfaces and it didn't look like it had been lived in much for the past few months. Anja followed behind her sedately, taking in the same details with a concerned frown.

    Standing in front of the large ceiling to floor windows that overlooked the city was Tony, a glass of amber liquor hanging precariously from gloved fingertips near his thigh. He was clad in a heavy wool coat and black slacks, looking for all the world like he was getting ready to head outdoors for an extended period of time. Layla frowned but made her way over, coming to stand next to her longtime friend as she, too, glanced out over the city.

    "Hey, squishy," she murmured. Tony's lip quirked just slightly at the nickname, but he didn't respond, making the girl sigh. He continued to stare out at the falling snowflakes making their way down towards the busy street below. "Wanna tell me why it feels like the pits of hell in here?"

    "Couldn't get warm," Tony murmured, shrugging. The motion caused the tumbler to fall out of his hand and to the ground, spilling the amber liquid across the dark floor. Tony looked surprised, seemingly forgetting that he even held the glass.

    "I'll get it," Anja insisted, picking the glass up and going to grab a towel.

    "Sorry," Tony sighed, swiping a hand over his face with a grimace. Wrinkling his nose, he pulled his leather gloves off and shrugged out of his jacket. Layla was grateful that the bruises and cuts that covered his face after the battle so long ago had all vanished, but the psychological scars were definitely still there.

    "Tones... don't worry about it. Come on, come sit on the couch," the blonde murmured, guiding the genius to sit down. Anja had come back with a towel and quickly cleaned the mess up, tossing the towel in the kitchen sink before coming back into the room.

    "Boss has had episodes like this for the past week, Miss Layla. The cold is probably a contributing factor for his PTSD flashbacks of Siberia," F.R.I.D.A.Y. interjected, making Tony groan.

    "Jesus, F.R.I.D.A.Y., you couldn't just keep that to yourself," he hissed angrily.

    Layla softly carded her fingers through his hair, noting that it was getting shaggy and probably could do for a cut. "Hush, Tony. These are the kinds of things Anja and I, and well, Rhodey and Pepper, need to know about. You don't have to suffer alone. Screw those other guys. You're what is important." She watched as Tony only looked down at the floor and remained silent. "Look, I'll go make us some hot cocoa, okay?"

    Anja quickly moved to take her friend's place next to Tony and pulled him into a hug. Tony moved into it without a fight and just stood there. Making her way to the kitchen, Layla began to murmur quietly to F.R.I.D.A.Y..

    "We got everything we need, Fri? I know Tony has a tendency to forget that milk goes bad."

    "Yes, all the ingredients you need are in the pantry and the milk is fresh. Mr. Rhodes made sure of that when he left a few days ago. Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of actual food stocked. Boss hasn't really been eating much since Ms. Potts left a few days ago for her business trip," F.R.I.D.A.Y. remarked glumly. "I have yet to be satisfactory in getting him to acquire significant nourishment. He's only snacked on a few blueberries and some protein shakes in the past few days."

    Seriously Tony, Layla groused to herself, rubbing a hand across the back of her neck. "Yeah, go ahead and order some groceries that should last us for the week, Fri. Maybe just order something to be delivered for the night, too. Pizza will probably work. You know what we like."

    "Will do, Miss Layla."

    The blonde made her way around the kitchen and gathered all of the ingredients she needed and put them all on the counter next to the stove. Quickly pinning her hair up and ignoring a few strands that fell around her face, she took a minute to find an appropriate pan and some mugs.

    "Hey, Anja, you want some marshmallows?"

    "What kind of stupid question is that? We want all of the marshmallows," Tony called out, sounding like his old self for a moment. She could hear Anja snickering along with Tony.

    "Of course, whatever was I thinking," Layla laughed, smirking. She had just sat the pan on the stove when she heard the elevator ding. "Fri?"

    Quickly making her way to the elevator, she frowned as F.R.I.D.A.Y. failed to respond swiftly. Grabbing her gun, she whipped it up and was standing in a defensive mode just as the elevator doors opened fully.

    "...Thor?" Layla was shocked to see the god strolling out, his normal thunderous entrance non-existent.

    "Lady Layla!" the man boomed, rushing forward to pull her into a hug. "It has been so long!"

    "Facial recognition complete. Thor Odinson, Bruce Banner, Reindeer Games, and one unidentified person," F.R.I.D.A.Y. responded belatedly, sounding exasperated.

    "You've got to be joking," a tall man with raven hair hissed in annoyance.

    Ignoring him and how familiar he looked, Layla eased away from Thor, holstering her gun before she accidentally shot the man. "Uh, hey. It has been a really long time. Where the hell have you been? Playing Pretty, Pretty Princess?! And Fri, remind me to have your processing power looked at." It was then she registered the three other people standing behind him and what F.R.I.D.A.Y. had said. "Holy shit, Bruce?!"

    "Hey, Layla," the scientist greeted, looking sheepish as he rubbed the back of his neck.

    "I'm not sure of this game you call Pretty, Pretty Princess, Miss Layla, but Loki has occasionally taken a female form, so I suppose that does make him a princess. And a lovely one at it," Thor teased smugly, ignoring the nasty look the dark haired man shot his way.

    "That's... interesting. My question still stands, though. Where have you guys been?"

    "Probably doing the smart thing and staying away, but alas, I see the prodigal son has returned. And oh, look, he brought a terrorist, a deserter, and another alien. Swell," Tony's voice sarcastically drawled out from behind the blonde. Turning around, Layla noticed the genius staring at the group with a blank stare with his arms crossed over his chest, Anja just behind him.

    "Man of Iron and friend Anja! Loki is here as a friend, not foe," Thor assured, patting the tall man with long, raven hair next to him on the shoulder. "Bruce had been detained, my friend, and therefore unable to return to Midgard."

    "Uh huh, sure," Tony replied skeptically, shaking his head. "And who's Xena Warrior Princess over there?"

    "Is that an insult?" the woman in question asked, standing up straight and looking confused. Loki just watched with amusement on his face as Tony straightened up as well and gave her an unimpressed look, fingering the metal bracelet around his wrist.

    "Ah, this would be Lady Brunnhilde, my friend," Thor explained, stepping forward as if to stop an oncoming fight. "She is a Valkyrie and is sworn to protect the royal family."

    "She's also Scrapper 142 and likely to electrocute you, isn't that right, brother?" Loki smirked, expertly dodging a blow coming from the woman.

    Layla watched on in amusement, shaking her head at the whole group's antics. Unfortunately, she could see how tense Tony was and figured she should step in. "It's nice to meet you, Loki and Brunnhilde. Welcome to Stark Tower." Loki stared at her with one eyebrow raised as Brunnhilde bowed her head slightly in greeting. "Uh, seriously though. Again, where the hell have you guys been?"

    "Doesn't matter. Leave. The Avengers compound is still open and you can find your accommodations there," Tony spat out, turning to leaving the room.

    "Tony, come on," Anja spoke up, grabbing his wrist with an aggravated sigh. "Bruce is your friend. So is Thor. Don't just turn them out into the cold like that."

    Tony turned his head and gave Anja a dark, angry look, ripping his arm out of her hand. "I don't have friends."

    "Excuse me?! No, you don't get to do me dirty like that, Anthony Edward Stark," Anja hissed, slapping her hand on his chest. "Forget the rest of those assholes you called teammates, but you don't get to act like Pepper, Rhodey, Layla and I haven't been here with you every step of the way. Don't play that bullshit with me."

    "Anja," Tony started, looking slightly stricken, but the brunette was on a roll.

    "No! Look, if I find Captain Bullshit before you do, I'm going to strangle him with those star spangled spandex pants and then feed him to some damn eagles for poetic justice!"

    Thor, Bruce, Loki, and Brunnhilde all watched on with varying degrees of amusement and shock, making Layla sigh sadly but it was Thor who eventually spoke up.

    "I'm afraid I don't understand, Man of Iron. What-"

    "I really think we should all just move this to the living area and get some drinks before we have this conversation, Thor. You guys have missed a lot of events," Layla cut the god off, looking at him apologetically.

    Thor sighed. "It seems we have. I have good reasons for being away, of which I will speak of after you fill me in, Lady Layla."

    For the first time, she noticed just how truly disheveled the group looked. Thor's hair was much shorter and he appeared to be missing an eye, Bruce looked gaunt, and Loki and Brunnhilde both radiated exhaustion. "Yeah, sounds good. Uh, Fri, perhaps up that pizza order by like three times. And get some variety?"

    "Already taken care of, Miss Layla. Should be here in about an hour," F.R.I.D.A.Y. responded, making Loki and Brunnhilde startle at the voice that came from everywhere yet nowhere.

    "Alright, look. Before we even start discussing things, maybe you guys should go clean up and change into something comfortable? Tony has clothes everywhere in all sizes and fashions, so I'm sure we can find you something to wear. Bruce, Thor- your floors are still as they were I imagine, so it should be easier for you to find something."

    "Don't worry about it," Tony broke in tiredly, waving the girl off. "I can take care of that. Everyone can just meet back here in an hour."

    "Yeah. We can talk over food and drinks," Bruce nodded, looking at the genius in concern.

    "Alright. One hour. See you guys soon," Layla murmured, quickly moving out of the room. She was going to need that drink.