Ello' friends! Okay, sorry, not British...just in a wonderfully silly mood. And here is the product of said silly mood.

I suppose, again, this could be considered an Avenger-verse fic, but it only involves a few characters. I also decided to do something a bit different, and write this from a 'surprise' perspective!

I hope you enjoy! All my hugs-Nik

She had tried to stop it.

She had tried, so hard, to prevent it from happening.

She had even enlisted Jane to help put an end to it all.

They had warned.

They had reasoned.

They had pleaded.

And then they had threatened.

Nothing worked.

The challenge had been issued, and Thor was not the type to back down. Ever.

She really wasn't as concerned for him as she was for the challenger. Jane had told her of Thor's inhuman abilities. She felt confident (too confident) that he would come out of it victorious.

And that was what concerned her.

Together, she and Jane had sat on the couch of Tony Stark's living room, playing a hand (or five) of cards and sipping wine, occasionally giving each other knowing looks and wary grins.

In the kitchen, various echoing noises could be heard. The sound of breaking glass faded from shocking to common. Raucous laughter followed each crash and bang and knock. The familiar soft tinkling of liquid being poured became constant.

Several hours into the 'contest', and the kitchen grew more and more quiet.

By two o'clock in the morning, a sudden silence had Jane looking away from the television to peer at her with a look of concern and mild amusement.

Pepper Potts stood from the couch.

"Okay, let's go see who won."

Jane followed close behind as she moved to poke her head into the large kitchen area of the Stark mansion.

A hand immediately flew to her face, running through her hair in exasperation.

Of course.

Thor, son of Odin, sat straight and proud on the barstool of the island counter in the center of the kitchen. A confident grin plastered onto his face, he raised his glass to them and motioned to the floor.

Tony Stark lay sprawled out on said floor, broken shot-glasses scattered around him. The counter was littered with empty bottles of various liquors.

Iron Man raised a hand in his stupor, waving his comrade to him with a ridiculous half-chuckle, half-snort that made Pepper smile despite herself.

Thor moved off the stool, bending down to help lift his friend's head from the cold kitchen floor, tilting his own to better hear the giggly mumble the heroic billionaire was attempting to slur out.

"Hey, hey Thor….do ya think…if I go to Asgaard in the Iron Man suit…..Odin will make me an honorary Norse god? What….what do ya think they'd call me?"

Pepper paled and then blushed at her boss-slash-lover's drunken speech.

Jane giggled behind her, the soft sound clashing rather nicely against Thor's hearty laugh.

"I do not know, my friend. That would be something you would need to ask the Allfather himself. Perhaps we should get you somewhere more comfortable. You must concede defeat, now. I have clearly won this battle."

As Pepper and Jane helped the blond warrior move Tony to the couch, the three shook their heads simultaneously at the older man's consistent chuckles and smiled at each other.

Tony Stark had challenged an immortal alien being to a drinking contest.

Pepper had known before he had even finished the sentence that it would end in ridiculous disaster. Embarrassment flooded into her veins and she knew she was blushing.

She met Thor's amused gaze from the other side of the couch. Mouthing a silent "Sorry" to him, she leaned down and brushed stray hairs from Tony's glazed eyes.

Jane moved into the kitchen to begin cleaning up the mess her impressively alcohol-tolerant boyfriend had helped make. As Pepper and Thor left the living room to follow, a sudden happy shout filled their ears from behind:

"Got it! Tony Stark: God of AWESOME!"

Thor's head fell back as his mirth-filled laughter escaped into the home.

Pepper and Jane smirked at each other.

They decided the contest was worth it.