Movie Night

A gift fic for kanshisha-akira

Note: This story takes place in my World Under Siege universe, sometime during chapter 25 – 26. It's not necessary to read that story first, but (it'smybabysoI'dloveitifyoudid) it would help provide context.

()()()

"C'mon Jane, you've gotta admit—"

"No," she countered immediately, draining the dregs of her coffee—coughing on the grounds—and reached for the pot again. Her hands shook; she'd lost count of how many pots they'd brewed that day. "I don't gotta admit anything. As of right now, if it's not directly connected to our project—our "save the world" project—I have no opinions on anything."

Tony absorbed that for a moment, blinking. Like a toddler with a favorite toy, however, he refused to be pulled away.

"Jurassic Park. Best science-driven movie of all time. Banner, back me up."

"Not me," the man in question replied. He didn't look up for a moment from the screen where his energy tracking algorithm was still failing to locate the Skrull. "The book was better. And if we're just talking movies, I'd go with Lorenzo's Oil every time."

"Ah, of course," Tony grumbled, "should've known you'd go for the tear-jerking family flick over frickin' genetically engineered dinosaurs. You're so predictable."

"Yeah, because the idea of finding a cure for an incurable disease—even after it's too late—doesn't sound like something that would appeal to me at all," Bruce shot back in that resigned, wry tone of his. Jane winced. The situation aboard the helicarrier hadn't been the easiest for the man to live with. Especially with—

Loki snorted. "I have never seen either of the films to which you refer, but they seem to be perfectly fitting for the pair of you. A ridiculous premise for the one, and a futile wish for the other."

This was precisely why Jane wanted to forego all nonessential opinions. In the mix of the four of them, simple disagreements lit a powder keg that threatened to blow a hole in the whole damn ship. Also, she was getting frickin' tired of always being the one to put out the fuse.

Which she now did. "You're both wrong," she feigned disinterest in the latest round of the constant dick-measuring contest between Loki and Tony, and kept her eyes on the readouts spilling from Bruce's monitor over to hers. "The best science-driven movie is Gattaca, no question. Human strength and weakness, futuristic cautionary tale, a giant eff-you to a faulty system...it's got everything."

"Oh yeah, that's a good one," Tony didn't back down from Loki, but at least he moved sideways, back to his workstation. He snatched up a bag of yogurt-coated almonds and offered it to her. When she took one, he poured a palm's worth out and downed them all in one gulp.

"We should have a movie night," he said, chewing noisily. "Whaddya say, oh worshipful one? A night of simple mortal entertainment sound good?"

If looks could disembowel, Jane would have thrown herself between the two men in a heartbeat. She settled for venting her irritation in a swift stomp on Tony's foot. He muffled a squeak of pain under a throat-clearing cough, and shot her a vaguely apologetic glance.

"I have no desire to sample the kind of mortal culture that agrees with you and Dr. Banner," Loki said, "But if you will allow Jane the choice of entertainment, then I suppose it will be tolerable."

"Gee, thanks," she threw off the thinly-veiled insult with a shrug, "But," she smiled, "it would be nice to just...relax for a night. Steve's back from his mission, isn't he?"

"Yep," Tony nodded, helping himself to more almonds, "Cap's home for a medical check or two; took a pretty good battering in the latest engagement in Yokohama. I'm sure he'll want to thank you for that, by the way."

Loki feigned innocence. "I don't doubt the Captain would like to thank me for my assistance in bringing as swift an end to this conflict as humanly possible. Certainly you don't suggest that I have anything to do with the Skrull agenda now? I cut ties with them when I saved Jane's life in Italy."

"You giant sack of—"

"Nope," Jane laid a hand on Tony's forearm and tugged him back. "Forget it. If we're gonna have a movie night you've gotta set it up. Remember? Fury said he wouldn't let us use his support staff as caterers anymore. Not after you got the entire Delta shift smashed."

For a frightening moment, Jane thought it might not work. Every conflict between the two men was one more opportunity for this whole fragile alliance to shatter apart, leaving them all bleeding and wounded in its wake. At all costs, she had to stop that from happening...even it it meant feeling stretched as a wet noodle every second of every day.

"Make sure there's enough booze this time, okay?" she muttered, keeping her hand light. Trying to rein Tony in by force would only backfire. Like a toddler, redirection was the way to go. "What was the wine you brought last time? That was good."

"That was a reserve vintage. Italian. We drank up half the bottles I had, and they only produce a certain number each year," he said at last. "But I'll see what I can do."

He shut down his workstation with a careless wave of one hand. "Banner, you wanna take care of the download?"

"I've told you before, I won't pirate anything," he said. Jane watched the tension lines between and around his eyes, sighing soundlessly when they smoothed. "Besides, it's probably on Netflix."

"Fine, whatever...you could buy the damn thing and get it shipped here if you really want. It's not like we live in the twenty-first century or anything."

He stalked out of the room without a backwards glance. Bruce sighed.

"So I'll take care of the movie, Jane. You just...I dunno. You should take the afternoon off. You look tired."

Jane frowned. "What is with all the backhanded compliments? Take a nap so I can be ready for the movie night—the "barely tolerable" movie—that I don't even really want to watch?" she heard how shrill her voice was climbing, felt it grate in her throat.

"Here's a thought: maybe I wouldn't have to take a nap if everyone around here would just grow the hell up so I didn't have to play mother every damn day!"

She threw down her stylus and shoved past Loki, ignoring both their stunned expressions. For once, Jane vowed she wouldn't bring herself to care.

Let them chew on that for awhile.

()()()

By the time she got back to her room, she was boiling. The bulky door was too heavy to slam behind her, but she did find the heavy thunk of the lock satisfying. Once inside however, she found nothing else to ease her frustration.

"God forbid they take responsibility for their own shitty attitudes," she muttered, shucking the navy SHIELD-emblazoned sweatshirt. "No," Jane stomped the matching sweatpants underfoot, "I've gotta be a damn preschool teacher."

Huffing, she threw herself headlong on the bed and buried her face in the scratchy pillows.

Of course, it wasn't just the stress of playing referee between Tony and Loki that had her wound up. It was Loki himself. Jane didn't know how he'd done it, but somehow he'd placed a wedge between her and the other crew of the helicarrier. People that she might have been friendly with gave her a wide berth, as though her association with Loki had infected her with something catching.

Jane was lonely. And the sham of this "friendly" movie night was just exacerbating that. They weren't friends. They were barely even allies.

Jane fought back the hot swell of tears building behind her eyes by pressing her face even deeper into the mattress.

Just when she was settling in for a really good bout of self-pity, there was a rapid-fire knock at the door.

"What?" she mumbled, not bothering to lift her head.

"Will you open the door or should I just come around it?"

"Ugh," she groaned. "If you must. I'm not getting up."

A flash and the harsh smell of ozone announced Loki's appearance. Jane was true to her word, and didn't move an inch.

"I don't want to talk to you right now," she said. "I thought the storming out and the locked door would have told you that."

"Well, let it never be said that I let obvious signs deter me from my purpose," was his only reply. He tapped at her bare calves until she wiggled them aside, suddenly remembering with a shuddering blush that she was only wearing a tank top and underwear. The soft cloth and buttery leather of Loki's jacket brushed against her skin as he sat. She felt his warmth on her bare skin.

"What're you doing here?"

"I came to apologize."

Jane rolled over, nearly kicking him off the bed in the process. "What?"

Loki rolled his eyes and opened his mouth for what was clearly to be a snarky rejoinder, but visibly held himself back. "I am sorry, Jane. It has not been fair to keep putting you in a defensive position between myself and Stark, however amusing I might find it personally. You do not deserve that. I came tonight to promise that—for this evening, at least—I pledge to refrain from antagonizing him. You deserve a night free to enjoy yourself."

"Huh," she sat up, drawing one pillow over her lap and trying to forget that she was half-naked and very upset with him. "So...I get a night? That's your idea of an apology?"

He acknowledged the truth with a wry smile. "I am doing my best, Jane. I hope I have never pretended to be a paragon of virtue."

Against all odds, Jane actually found herself smiling. "A night without the two of you sniping at each other? That ought to be pretty funny. All right," she nodded, "I'm in. Now get out of here so I can put some clothes on."

"Must you?" he arched a brow, letting his gaze wander down her bare shoulders to the sharp bones of her ankles. "Is not the point of these nights to let free your inhibitions?"

"You may understand a lot about mortal culture, but you're way off base with that one," she laughed, "Movie nights require pants. So," she prodded his firm shoulder with one pointed finger, "move."

()()()

Tony welcomed her into the rec room with a hug, a brimming glass, and a gesture towards a table loaded with a shining regiment of wine bottles.

"Sorry for being a dick," he whispered into her ear. "He just gets to me."

"Like you're the only one?" she replied. "Try going one-on-one with him for months."

He winced. "Mea culpa. But look! I got your favorite!"

Jane bypassed the glass he offered and plucked the open bottle from the table. "Keep it coming," she ordered, and settled herself into the seat directly before the giant TV.

If this was the only night of peace she was going to get, she was gonna make the most of it.

After the first bottle of wine and the second hour of Gattaca, Jane turned sideways on the sofa and flung her legs over Loki's lap. He was six bottles deep by that time and so deeply engrossed in the movie he didn't look away for a moment. But his fingers tapped her ankle, running in idle patterns over the tops of her feet.

Jane swallowed some more wine and nestled deeper into the cushions.

Bruce was nearly asleep in his armchair, glasses adorably crooked on his nose. On the other side of the room, Steve and Tony were sharing a sofa and Tony was providing helpful background details in biology and astronomy.

It had been over an hour, and no one had insulted, belittled, or sniped at anyone else.

I could get used to this, she thought. This is nice.

And wrapped in the warm, confident haze of tipsiness, she grinned. But something else would make it nicer.

She pressed one foot up into Loki's gentle fingers. "Rub," she commanded.

He grinned. "First I am your footrest, and now your maidservant?"

"You promised me tonight," she shot back, digging a heel into his thigh, giggling when he flinched. "Besides, friends give each other footrubs. Friends at movie nights. You want to understand mortal culture, right?"

"I want to atone for my mistakes," he said, setting to his task. Jane's head flopped back on the pillows and she almost purred as his clever fingers pressed hard against her instep. "Let me begin here."