Sometimes waitressing is bullshit.
You get creepy fuckers grabbing your ass, rude, pompous assholes that either try to flirt or argue their way out of the bill, the same questions and answers over and over, all with a big, fake smile plastered over your face.
But some days, very rare days, waitressing at a popular pub in New York City can be unexpectedly amazing.
Thea ponders this revelation with a smirk as she takes a long drag from her cigarette and leans back against the brick wall beside the back door to the pub.
'The Nordic' is the name of the pub where she works and Thea doesn't usually mind working there but after three years, she has been considering quitting waitressing altogether. That is, until tonight when a large group rented out the party room in the back of the bar and she found herself serving drinks and food to a bunch of rowdy Asgardians.
Thea grins to herself as she takes another drag from her smoke.
That Thor is a well-packaged piece of man candy.
She thinks to herself as the back door of the pub opens again and a dark figure hurries out into the alley across from her.
The man in the dark suit turns slightly and Thea sees that it's the dark-haired, quiet Asgardian that has been hiding in the corner booth of the party room all night, away from the others. She brought him a few glasses of wine, but he hasn't said more than a handful of words to anyone all night. Even Thor tried to rile him up and join the raucous party to no avail.
"They getting too much for you?" She asks with a chuckle and the man turns fully towards her as he straightens the lapels of his black suit jacket.
"Indeed." He says and takes a step into the light as she takes another drag of her cigarette.
Seeing his face in the street light, Thea's smile drops and she narrows her eyes.
"Hey, didn't you try to enslave the planet a few years ago?" She blurts out suddenly and the man raises a dark brow at her as he adopts a resigned expression.
"There were extenuating circumstances… but yes, I did try. Aren't you the barmaid that has been refilling my wineglass all night?"
Thea's eyes go wide, and she ignores his condescending comment, as her mind begins to whirl. Loki's eyes zero in on her cigarette.
"Does shortening your already miniscule lifespan by inhaling burning tobacco satisfy you in some way?" He asks with genuine curiosity that is tainted with arrogance.
Thea takes one last drag of her cigarette and stubs it out in the metal coffee can at her feet, beside the door. She eyes him, wondering how this man could possibly be the same one responsible for the Battle of New York, before she shrugs and responds.
"Only physically. I hate the thought of them, but my body craves the nicotine."
She watches Loki roll her words around in his mind before a smirk forms on the corner of his mouth.
"Well, as much as leaving my brother to pay for the cost of my wine is a mildly amusing thought, you have made my night slightly less painful, therefore I will offer you payment of a different sort."
Thea's eyes narrow in suspicious confusion and Loki chuckles as he takes another step towards her, lifting his hand to lightly press against her temple. She feels a brief but pleasant jolt through her body and sees a flash of gold for only a moment. She tries to blink away the spots in her eyes and sees Loki a few steps away again.
"What the hell was that?" She asks irritably, undecided whether to be outraged or not at his touch.
Loki shrugs as he looks down at her half pack of cigarettes in his hand.
"I have rid your mind and body of their addiction to these things." He says, examining the pack in his hands. Thea is confused and shocked and takes a second to examine herself inwardly, checking if she feels any different as Loki pulls a cigarette out and puts it between his lips. Summoning fire from god-knows where, he lights it and takes a deep pull of the smoke as he turns back to Thea.
She watches the Asgardian grimace at the taste of the smoke and toss the cigarette into the coffee can at Thea's feet as he exhales.
"Uhhh… Thank you…?" She says dubiously and Loki chuckles to himself as his eyes land on the name tag on her black work shirt.
"Thea?" He asks with a knowing smirk before speaking again.
"Greek, I believe. God's gift." He says with a laugh as her steps forward into her space again.
Warning bells are sounding in Thea's head as Loki gets closer, but she holds her ground and crosses her arms over her chest to eye him warily.
"Are you?" He asks with a badly smothered grin.
It takes Thea a second but then she gets his meaning.
"Ah, because you're the 'God of Mischief'?"
Thea tilts her head and holds Loki's eyes.
"I've read a few books on Norse mythology." She says as she steps closer still to look into his eyes with a challenge.
"Hey Loki, didn't you fuck a mare and end up with an eight-legged colt for a kid?"
Thea watches the cockiness drain from his face, but the teasing glint is still in his eyes before he looks up to the stars in annoyance and laughs humourlessly. When he looks back to Thea, he sighs audibly.
"No. In my youth, I preferred the company of animals over people and my brother thought it a great joke to tell everyone I had a more… intimate relationship with them." He explains in an irritated tone but then he smirks genuinely and continues.
"I did have an eight-legged horse though. When I was first learning magic, I would practise in the stables where I could hide from my brother and his rowdy gang of bullies. A pregnant mare and her colt suffered the consequences of my fumbling attempts at magic."
Thea ponders his words as she looks up into his oddly handsome face.
"Huh. That makes a lot more sense. Was Thor really that much of a dick?" She asks and Loki laughs loudly.
"Yes. He and his gang of warriors delighted in my discomfort." He pauses to think and then scowls as his eyes flicker to the back door of the bar.
"It seems they still do."
Loki seems to snap out of his introspective thoughts and looks uncomfortable with his over-sharing as Thea watches him back up a step.
"You're not anything like I would have expected you to be." She says pensively and Loki's guarded expression solidifies.
"And what did you expect, mortal?"
Thea raises an eyebrow at his distancing use of 'mortal' and goes on.
"Well, for a guy who tried to enslave the human race and blow up New York by way of an alien invasion… it just doesn't fit the description of the man in front of me. I'm kinda picturing a quiet, Emo kid that read books and played Dungeons & Dragons."
She says with a smirk as Loki shakes his head once and very seriously answers her.
"I never played with dragons."
Thea smothers a smile at that but then her face drops.
"Wait, dragons are real?!"
Loki doesn't answer her, and she mutters to herself.
"Now I'm just picturing scenes from the Hobbit in scary detail."
"The Hobbit?" Loki asks and Thea waves a hand at him.
"Oh, it's a book." He nods in understanding.
"No what I meant was that you were painted as such a villain after the Battle of New York, that I…"
Suddenly Loki is towering over her and his face is an inch from hers. The power and intent in his voice makes Thea's knees want to buckle as she stares up into his hard, green eyes.
"WOULD YOU RATHER I COMMAND YOU TO KNEEL BEFORE ME!"
As quickly as it happens, Loki is backing away from Thea and returned to his calm, teasing demeanour. Thea takes a second to make sure her heart is still beating and then stares fearfully at Loki as she tries to catch her breath.
"Is that closer to what you expected of me?" He asks snidely and Thea lets out a long breath.
"I guess. Now I'm trying to figure out if I'm terrified or turned on, to be honest."
Her response takes Loki by surprise and then he laughs and shakes his head as Thea gives in to her own laughter.
"Shouldn't you be getting back to serving steins of mead to my brother and his comrades?" He asks, motioning towards the bar.
Thea nods but pauses as she turns to the door.
"Are you leaving? If you come back in, I could probably find a better wine than the crap I've been serving you." She says with a laugh and Loki smiles at her.
"Another time. Thor is fairly consistent when he finds a place that he likes. Perhaps next time he drags me out for drinks and revelry, I won't be quite so apprehensive."
He says with a small bow of his head in her direction as he backs away down the alley.
"Ok. Well, until then." She says with a smirk and steps backwards inside the door and towards the hearty roars of the muscle-bound God of Thunder.