A/N: Well, that hopeful update time crashed and burned. Sorry. Senior year workload murdered me, and then I couldn't get my muse back in gear for ages after that. Anyway, well, here's the unintentional Christmas-That's-Barely-Christmas in July chapter. Sorry about the shortness, too, but the timing's to blame there. Anyway, enjoy.
Jarvis glanced at Darcy as she bounced up and down excitedly in her chair, looking around from the ground floor below them to the other patio across from the one she, Jarvis and Loki were sitting on. Two days prior, Tony had invited the group to his annual Christmas /"Whatever Floats Your Boat" Party, and they had all agreed for Thor and Jane's sake. He had been let in on the news by Thor since he had faith the man could be trusted, and he was just about the only one who wasn't about to give the man's plans away for being antsy. "Easy, Girl. They're around."
"But I don't wanna miss the Thing!" she insisted.
"They're entitled to go off on their own if it's a proposal, Darce," Loki pointed out.
"Uh, no, I have been her hired help and abused little sister for years now. I'm kicking Thor where it counts and slapping Jane if I miss seeing it, and you guys can't stop me." She jabbed a finger in each of their directions, then got up. "I'm gonna go find them. You boys in?"
"And by 'find' you mean go invade their privacy and possibly ruin Thor's timing?" Jarvis asked.
"Well, you're kinda third wheeling and invading our privacy, aren't you?" Darcy countered, looking to Loki, then back to Jarvis. She crossed her arms over her chest and raised an expectant eyebrow.
Jarvis gaped at her after a moment, then looked at Loki. He went to stand, but Loki grabbed his arm to keep him down. "It's fi-"
Darcy laughed. "Oh my God, J, I was kidding. Man, you are all whipped no matter what my relationship is with you," she shook her head. "It's the girls, isn't it?" she pointedly looked at her chest and grinned before looking back at them.
Both men groaned and pivoted away from her.
She scoffed. "Rude. Now come on. I need my handsome escorts to come with me just in case J's right and we have bad timing."
"Oh, 'just in case'." Jarvis scoffed, but let her take his hand and pull him to his feet with Loki.
Loki groaned and tossed his head back. "Look, I really don't feel like going hunting for something that's going to start another way of how Thor's going to beat-"
"You do realize she's gone?" Jarvis pointed out after a moment.
Loki lowered his head and looked around. He spotted Darcy already halfway down the stairs. "… If this prompts her trying to get engaged..."
"Again?" Jarvis countered.
Loki shot him a warning look, but gave up after a couple of moments and laughed. "I suppose I deserve that."
"You do. Now, let's go catch up to her before she finds them and ruins his timing…"
"If he even commits," Loki deadpanned, then paused. "Wait, do you really think that could work?"
"No!" Jarvis insisted before all but shoving him towards the stairs.
Loki reluctantly went down the stairs and nodded a greeting at Clint and Bobbi upon seeing them in the crowd.
Clint waved back before he grabbed Bobbi's hand and maneuvered over. "We didn't miss it, did we?"
"You're aware too?"
"Uh, duh, who do you think the best man'll be?
"Behave, you two. Clint, don't start anything."
"But he's such an easy target!" Clint objected.
Darcy stuck his tongue out at him, then grabbed Loki's hand. "Come on…"
"I'm not dancing," Loki objected.
"I know, dude. That's why we're going to go see Tony blow shit up with his new… suit… arm… things. He told us it starts in like, five minutes. It's your damn job, you should be out there helping."
Jarvis, on the other hand, was not at all thrilled with the development. "He's using that again even after he nearly reduced this place to ashes?!"
"It's outside," Darcy replied.
Jarvis all but growled and headed for the door a crowd was gathering by.
"You coming with us, J?" Darcy asked.
"No, I'm going to kill him before Pepper has the chance," Jarvis replied.
"No! NO MURDER TODAY!" Darcy objected. She ran after him. "Come- oh, you know what? It worked for Pepper, it better work for me. JAMES EDWIN JARVIS GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!" When it didn't work, she ran after him.
Loki sighed deeply and spotted a glass of untouched white wine and took a swig before he followed after them.
Her attempt didn't work, but neither did Jarvis' attempt at stopping Tony.
To their own surprise, the test turned out to be a fireworks show, where Tony had crafted his own fireworks that fired out of the mitts he had built. Loki had been torn between cursing the man as a showoff and being completely enthralled about just how he had made the mitts and how they worked.
The rest of the demonstration went off without a hitch, and when the end came, Tony was swarmed by a pack of scientists that had been in the crowd, leaving Jarvis and Pepper to return to Darcy and the others. Pepper led them to the kitchen to get them away from most of the crowd. They made small talk until Darcy had demanded that they all go hunting for Thor and Jane again. Fandral, Hogun, Sif and Volstagg joined them a few minutes in.
"You know, maybe they don't want to be found…" Fandral pointed out. "If you've been at this almost all night, you know, they may just be off… alone," he offered with a cheeky grin and elbowed Sif for his trouble.
Sif merely shoved him in return before shrugged. "He's got a point… unfortunately."
"Well then, it'll all be awkward and fun," Darcy replied. "Come on, let's try the main patio."
The rest shuffled after her.
Darcy's hunch ended up being right for once. She was barely a few feet outside on the second floor balcony before she spotted them on the patio below, alone, with Thor grinning like a loon but still shifting uneasily, and Jane jabbering away.
"Oh. My. God. Guys, guys! They're here! I think it's happening!" Darcy hissed. She motioned at them to come out onto the balcony.
They all scrambled over, trying desperately to get as close to the edge as possible without trying to be detected, trying to hear the events below.
"And… you really are part of the light of my life here, and… I need to make sure I have that from here on in… so…"
Jane, to her credit had already caught on to what was coming and was just about hyperventilating already, all but choked on air when he got down on one knee.
"So… will you do the best honor you can do me and be my wife?"
Jane laughed nervously. Her hand shot to her mouth and gaped for a few moments.
"Oh. My. God," Darcy sighed heavily. "SAY YES, YOU STUPID BITCH!" she yelled and slammed her hand down on the railing for good measure. When Thor and Jane's heads shot up to see where the noise she had come from, she caught her error and clapped her own hand over her mouth before she threw caution to the wind. "Oh, heh, heeeeyyy guys! Not that I don't love you, but uhhh- oh just answer him already!"
Thor and Jane laughed before turning back to each other. Thor offered a raised eyebrow and a weak smile.
After another bout of nervous laughter, Jane exhaled sharply. "Yes,"
"Yes?" Thor beamed.
"Yes!" she nodded before she grinned and jumped to hug him.
Darcy led with the cheers- or, in Loki's case, a tight, controlled smile, then the group jumped when there was an explosion from above them. They looked up to find a firework had gone off, and then Tony laughed from his spot in the back of the crowd. They looked expectantly at him and frowned.
Tony saw the attention and shrugged. "What? Figured I'd… make it a little more special if it happened at my place. And come ooonnn, I had to test the party one if the actual one… didn't… exactly work out."
Clint snorted and turned back to the couple. Upon seeing that they were still hugging, he rolled his eyes. "Kiss her!" he barked. He chuckled when Darcy reached behind her to offer him her fist and bumped it with his own. They both peeked over the railing to see Clint's request had been listened to.
Darcy turned around and hooked an arm around Clint's shoulders.
"Alright, everyone! Clear out! Let's leave the lovebirds alone!"
"Oh, now you want to leave them?" Jarvis teased.
Darcy threw her free arm around his shoulders. "Weeelll, now that we've seen it and we haven't missed it and I put my two cents in, we're good."
"You, my dear, are incorrigible," Jarvis replied.
"And don't you know it," Darcy replied.
A few feet ahead, Tony all but threw open the doors into the house. "Everyone, I need your attention! Because I am a great friend to my… friends, and because my parties inspire the best in people… we have Mister Thor Odinson and the soon to be Mrs. Thor Odinson A.K.A Jane Foster… more or less under this roof! They're having a moment in right now, but they'll be back inside, and I highly suggest you all congratulate them when they get back in here!"
More applause started up and Tony grinned ear-to-ear before heading downstairs to the party below.
Loki shook his head. "It's always about him…"
Darcy scoffed and untangled herself from Jarvis and Clint to drop back over to him. "He means well,"
"I suppose," Loki shrugged. "Now… you do realize that Jane's going to become a bridezilla and you're probably going to be one of the main people encountering that, don't you?"
"Wow, dick," Darcy countered.
"It's true though, is it not?" Loki replied.
Darcy paused, then nodded. "Yeah. Didn't think that far ahead."
"Have fun with that,"
"Well, yoouuuu can have fun trying to fight over who gets to be best man with Clint, Andy, Stag and Gun," she jabbed him in the chest with a finger, then grinned. "… Bet ya a hundred bucks that one of you and your guys come to blows over best man stuff before Jane has her first pre-wedding breakdown."
"I will most definitely take that action, Darling."
"Oh, you better. 'Cause you're gonna lose."
"Dream on."