Sensory Saturation
So far, Loki's work as an Avenger is less than stellar he'll admit. He still isnt' accustomed to this entire hero thing, and the concepts of civilian safety and protection of property are the last to register in his mind when he's fighting against some gibbering supermutant.
After about the third time Steve or Tony has to swoop in to save a screaming woman from being crushed by one of Loki's fallen foes he gets allocated to the worst of the jobs: blowing up the giant supermutants...from the inside.
It is not fun being eaten by a monster that salivates foul smelling green slime. It will never be fun. It is even more not fun when the monster explodes around you, showering you in its noxious gore and slightly acidic blood. But Loki bites the bullet and does his job, 60 times.
By the time he finishes he can't remember any other colors then dull brown and green and S.H.I.E.L.D. has set up a fifty yard perimeter around him.
It is not pleasant.
About five showers and more Midgardian soap than the country they're in can supply later, Loki at least looks clean and smells half decent.
He is fully prepared to collapse in whatever meager quarters S.H.I.E.L.D. has set up for him and sleep the entire ordeal off when Tony bursts into his biohazard marked bathroom, tossing him some clean clothes and telling him to get a move on.
Loki does not like Tony Stark.
He doesn't really like any of the Avengers actually but that can mostly be attributed to the fact that they all hate him...except for Thor, and that's his brother.
So why Tony Stark, a man who hates him would invite Loki to this 'party' of his is beyond him.
Mostly Loki just sits on the corner couch and tries to make himself scarce, especially when Clint, Natasha or Fury are in the area. Thor had lingered about for awhile, trying to get him to come out and socialize with his ex-enemies but Loki had held fast to his space on the wallpaper and Thor had eventually given up and went off with his Midgard maid and the others.
Loki settles back, eyeing the motley crew in front of him.
The team is dramatically retelling their exploits of the day to the civilian guests of this party.
"So then I say to Thor, hey, if they're not lightning proof then why don't you get busy? And he does and the entire block is cleared in like three seconds flat!" Tony tells his red-haired maid...Pepper or something like that.
"I tell ya' the worst part was when the smoke from that building made it hard to see and everyone thought that I was one of the monsters." Bruce comments, taking another sip of his drink.
"Hey!" Clint protests. "I managed to tell you apart just fine, don't lump me with the blind idiots that that place calls an army."
"And then what?" Asks Jane, smiling as Thor lazily drapes an arm over her shoulders.
"And then bozo over here," Tony jerks his thumb back towards Loki who stiffens, "decides that he'll just ignore all the crying women and children that are running around on the streets and just keep dropping the dudes from up high."
Loki flushes.
"So after about the third leading lady I have to dive roll in to save," Steve says, laughing, "we just assign him to Jonah duty."
"What's Jonah duty?" Hill asks, frowning.
Thor laughs. "It is when an enemy is quite large and possesses armor too strong to be dealt with from the outside."
"So it has to be dealt with from the inside." Tony says, wiggling his eyebrows.
"And my brother did a splendid job of dealing did he not?" Thor asks, eyes wrinkling with mirth.
Ah, there it is, the careless question.
Loki prepares himself for the barrage of insults that are no doubt about to answer Thor's question. It's not like he cares, he is Loki, Trickster King, Liesmith, god, the opinion of a few puny mortals is but dust in the wind to him.
And yet...
The team glances back towards Loki where he sits, looking more like an ugly house plant than a party guest.
"Yeah I guess he did," Tony says after a moment of thought. "Although the smell sort of distracted me before I could count how many guys he managed to bring down."
Clint's nose wrinkles in disgust. "Forget distracting, that shit was disgusting, I was on the roof and I could still smell it."
Natasha laughs a little, pointing at Loki. "I remember that by the end of it he looked like the seaweed monster from Prague."
For a moment the group roars with laughter and Loki is left nonplussed. Yes, their commentary isn't exactly singing him praises but it seems almost...good natured.
Slowly the laughter dies down and the entire group moves on with their story, but not before Steve looks over his shoulder and hazards a small and not entirely unawkward grin at Loki. "Good job by the way."
The corners of Loki's mouth tremble in what cannot be a smile.
someone stop me! This is getting out of hand!
-Schyzotypal X