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“Miss Scarlett, with the knife, in the dining room,” Thor said confidently. Steve picked the envelope and dumped out the three cards, flipping them over to confirm Thor’s accusation.
“Wow, you’re good,” Sharon remarked, collecting up the other cards and sorting them back into their categories. “Do we want to go again, or move on to Monopoly?”
“And let Point Break dig himself into an even deeper hole with his girlfriend?” Tony joked, only to get swatted on the arm by Pepper.
“Did Tony get in trouble when he used to win?” Jane asked Pepper sweetly.
“We never really did game night before you guys moved in,” Pepper answered, taking a sip of her Merlot.
“Then I suppose he wouldn’t understand,” chuckled Thor.
“Hey, I’m right here, don’t talk like I’m invisible,” Tony complained. “What am I not understanding?”
“Simple,” Jane took the deck from Sharon and separated a card from each pile before shuffling the rest together. “Thor knows that I don’t want him to let me win. When I do kick his ass at Game Night, it’s going to be all me.”
“We played Risk for nearly three hours last time, she was a formidable opponent,” Thor confirmed proudly. “And a hard-earned victory on my part.”
“You guys are so cute, it’s almost gross,” Sharon laughed. “Are you going to start taking that strategy with me, Steve?”
“Have you forgotten how you whupped me at poker? I’m the one who’s fighting to beat you,” Steve replied, kissing her cheek.
“I hate game night,” Tony muttered.
“It’s alright, honey, I still love you,” Pepper soothed. “So, do we want to keep the same colors, or switch it up this time?”
The rain came so suddenly, Tony very nearly fell off the landing platform as he came down. Jane had to suppress a giggle as she watched him sputtering and cursing while his armor retracted. “I thought we were very clear about weather warnings!” he fumed. Jane shrugged and continued to sit where she was on the balcony, letting the torrential downpour of water soak through her multiple layers of her flannel.
“It’s my birthday, and Thor likes doing these kinds of grand gestures. What kind of girlfriend would I be if I denied him that?”
“One who has concern for his teammates, especially the one funding her research,” Tony grumbled, standing under the balcony overhang. “And how is a thunderstorm a grand gesture?”
Jane just smiled and held up her hand, fingers spread wide as she counted down from five. When she reached one, the sky lit up in Asgardian runes spelling her name. “That’s how. And you might want to skedaddle and find Pepper, the weather’s only going to get worse.”
“Why would it—” Tony stopped as she waggled her eyebrows. “Oh, you two are disgusting.”
“Don’t be a hater, Stark.”
“Slide your foot back a little.”
“Like this?”
“Yeah, now wait til I’m back behind the safety glass and try it again.” Jane hurried out of the training room and sealed the door. “Okay, now.”
The laser blasts starts going off, and Thor used the adjusted position that Jane gave him to dodge and deflect them as needed. When the dust from the projectiles cleared, he grinned and gave her a lopsided thumbs-up, which she returned with a smile. “That was better.”
“That was physics,” she countered smugly.
“I’m familiar with the term.” He started to loosen the straps of his armor as he approached the opening doors. “But I think you elevate to magic.”
“Aw, shush.” Jane’s cheeks turned pink. “You’re just saying that.”
“You know I am not.” He kissed the top of her head as they walked into the kitchen and she started up the coffee maker. “I am never anything but honest with you.”
“Birthday presents?”
"The whole point of gifts is to be surprised by them, I stand by adhering to that tradition.”
“Yeah, sure.” The tower’s alarms blared to life and the two of them sighed, Thor refastening his armor into place.
“Babe, hang on.” Jane grabbed his cape and as he turned around, she tossed him a muffin. “You’re not going into battle on an empty stomach.”
He caught the pastry and bent down to kiss her. “I’ll see you in the lab when we get back.”