Minor Language

"Okay, so when we get back, someone has to tell-"

"Not it!"

"No way in hell."

"Nope!"

"You guys are jerks," Clint huffed, resting his hands on his hips with a disgusted look on his face. "The last person who should tell Steve about this is me, are you serious? You guys all can't bail out on this."

"I vote that we just never go back," Natasha chuckled, "problem solved."

Tony shook his head, sitting in the pilot seat with his chin in hand and absentmindedly pushing buttons with his other. "Yeah, okay," he mumbled. His mind had been a jumbled mess when he saw Thor leave with you, and the team had waited for over an hour for you both to return; when you didn't, it did nothing to placate the confusion that had taken over. He didn't know why he had taken you or when you would return, and why hadn't he just waited to tell everyone rather than rushing off? The worst thought of all, the one that pushed its way through every other, was how would Steve react?

"I'll take care of it."

Clint spun his chair to face Tony with a look of complete shock but utter relief in his expression, and his body visibly relaxed, "you sure? I just about had myself prepared to get punched in the face."

"That would be great to watch," Tony smiled half-heartedly, still not turning to face the group, "but I think I should be the one to do it. It was her first time back and I should've been there. I should've been with her."

"Thor was assigned to her, Tony. Don't feel guilty about this," Wanda added, standing to put her hand on his shoulder, though he quickly shook it off.

"I'm going to, okay?" he snapped. "And I'm ready to take the hit. Even if that's literally."

~~~

"No, Thor, you need to take me back right now. Right now," you gasped, looking around at the Asgardian surroundings, marveling at the beauty of them and wishing that you were here under other circumstances, but the only thing you could think of was how Steve was reacting at this very moment. Thor set you on the ground next to him but maintained his grip, knowing that you were still unable to support yourself.

"You are injured. That's my doing," he replied matter-of-fact. "I cannot return you to Midgard without rectifying that."

"What do you mean it was your doing? Thor, I was the one who wrapped my leg in that tie so that I could reach you. That was my choice."

He looked around as if searching for something, or for someone, his grip never loosening. "Alright, even if I relent to your reasoning, we still have the matter of Mjolnir to discuss, do we not?"

"We do not."

"We do."

"Or...how about we do not."

Thor swung an arm beneath you and lifted you from your feet and held you as he walked without any further arguments. You weren't going to win, and you were on his turf, so there was no way for you to get home without him and nowhere to go where he would leave you be.

"Heimdall will have the answers, come."

"You say that like I have a choice, Thor."

He paused for a moment, stopping to look down at you with a coy curl of a smile on his lips and his eyes alight with amusement at a recent memory. "You are a worthy adversary, (Y/N). I would be wise to never doubt your ability to overtake me. Again." He began to make his way once more, keeping his eyes forward now and the levity gone from his expression. "Now we shall find out why that is so."

~~~

Steve paced back and forth across the hangar bay for what felt like hours to Tony, waiting for him to lash out in anger, or frustration, or anything at all. But as of yet, the Captain had been silent and had only held his thoughts within his own mind. It was annoying Tony to no end.

"Steve, I just need to know, for my own reasons," he said quietly with his hands raised, "are you gonna hit me? Because I'd like to get ready."

Steve stopped abruptly and stared at Tony in complete surprise, followed by a restrained laugh that didn't seem to make him feel any better about if he was getting struck or not. "Tony, why on earth would I hit you? Did you leave the planet with her and not tell anyone first? Did you not stop to think that maybe I should know about it? Hmm? No, you didn't."

"Well, no, when you put it that way," Tony nodded. "But Thor must've had a good reason, right? He wouldn't just take off if he didn't."

"Yeah, but that's what's messing with my head the most. What happened that he felt the need to hurry?" Steve began to pace again, his hand rubbing over his cheek as he thought aloud. "Was she injured? Did you see anything before he left?"

Tony sat on one of the benches along the hangar wall and leaned forward to rest his elbows and clasp his hands together, searching his mind just as Steve was. The room was eerily silent as Steve waited, watching and hoping for any piece of information that he could work with. "Oh, shit."

"What?"

"I do remember seeing something," Tony jumped up, pointing at the room but towards nothing in particular, his mind now racing almost faster than he could track and pacing just as Steve had done only moments before. "He was holding her up, and she wasn't putting her right foot down. Cap, do you think..."

"Goddammit, I knew this would happen!"

"Hey, I'm not sure, Steve, okay? I'm just guessing here, try to stay calm."

"No, I will not stay calm! I'm the one who cleared her and said she was ready. If her leg..." Steve paused, pinching the bridge of his nose in anger, "if she's injured, and I'm the one who sent her in, I'll never forgive myself, Stark. Do you get that? She'll never trust me again, and I can't lead this team anymore."

"Woah, Cap, that's taking it a little too far."

"Is it? How would you feel if you were me? If your judgment was so clearly broken?" Steve took a few steps forward and began to wring his hands together in front of him. "I need to punch something."

Tony ducked reflexively and raised his hands over his head, leaving Steve to gasp at the implication left once again that he would hit his teammate. "Seriously, Stark, I'm not gonna hit you. You know, for a guy named 'Iron Man', you're kinda soft."

~~~

"She is not of Asgard," Heimdall confirmed with a low voice, his eyes searching you; it felt as if he were looking both inside and out and it was immensely uncomfortable and intrusive. "You are certain that she lifted Mjolnir?"

"Maybe you hadn't noticed, but I am sitting right here. You can talk to me," you snapped. "And yeah, I'm sure."

"Her marksmanship was excellent," Thor added.

"I have no doubt, Thor." The inspection continued as both Heimdall and Thor circled you slowly as if you were some kind of experiment being studied. It was as if they were seeing an anomaly that they couldn't explain. "Her skills are impressive. I watched as she bested you."

"Okay, that's enough," you barked, "just tell me why I could pick up the damn thing so wonder boy here can take me back home."

Heimdall took a precautionary step back at your outburst, only to look at Thor and receive a pleased grin in return. "Is she always so aggressive?"

"No, but I can see her point. She has a Midgardian to whom she is betrothed and who is certainly quite worried by now. We need to be expedient."

"Yes, let's get expedient, shall we?" you hissed, holding Thor's gaze.

"The lifting of Mjolnir would indicate your worthiness, but there are rare occasions in which it can be lifted by worthiness of intention," Heimdall explained. "I believe that you were able to wield it because your intention was to rescue Thor from impending death."

"So I don't have to worry about sticking around?"

"You are not required to stay, no."

"Great! T-hammer, let's go," you sighed, hopping down from the table that he had sat you upon, stumbling when you forgot that you had a currently unusable leg. He reached out and caught you with a cautious glance and a clearing of his throat.

"We're not finished. I owe you a debt." Thor lifted you back to the table and looked to his cohort, "we are in need of a healer." He was about to lift you into his arms again to carry you away, when a familiar voice sent a chill through you, feeling Thor's grip on your arm tighten.

"I do believe that I can be of service, brother."