Hello everyone! So, I started writing this chapter when I realized I made a grave mistake. This note is only to those who read Chapter One before I updated it. One major change: LOKI DOES NOT HAVE A MUZZLE ANYMORE, BUT HE STILL CAN'T SPEAK. But at least he can enjoy pizza ;)
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters.
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Loki sat by himself in the kitchen of Stark Tower, watching the Avengers goof around together. Tony Stark immediately went to the box of coldness, apparently called a "refrigerator", and pulled out what he declared to be frozen pizza that would soon taste better than heaven.
At this very moment, the pizza was baking, and Loki had to admit the aroma coming from the oven was tantalizing and pleasant. If it tasted as good as it smelled, it would be no wonder why Tony seemed as eager for it as he did.
Every member of the Avengers was crowded in the space of the kitchen and living room, which were conjoined. They were talking and laughing with one another, all waiting for the magnificent pizza as well.
Loki knew they were purposely avoiding him. Why wouldn't they? He had destroyed part of their beloved Earth, and brought harm to innocent people and to them. At first, he was glad they had given him space, but now a tiny part of him longed to be able to laugh and converse with them as an accepted member of their group.
What imprudent thoughts! He chided himself on letting them mess with the susceptible part of his mind; he couldn't forget that as of now, they were the enemy. He was a prisoner here, not someone who would be invited to friendly get-togethers.
Suddenly, Loki noticed Thor looking over at him. Determined not to look lonely or like he wanted any sort of company, Loki sat up straighter and put a haughty look on his face.
It didn't stop Thor from approaching him with looks of wretched concern all over his face. Loki would've groaned if he could have.
"Brother, why do you stay over here all by yourself? You may be at this place for a while; you might as well become acquainted with some of my friends."
Loki ignored him, and made sure Thor saw him visibly roll his eyes. It clearly said, "Leave me alone, I don't like you or your friends", but no, an old fool such as Thor would not acknowledge the blaringly obvious signs of rejection.
"Loki, I know we have grown apart throughout the years, but I think this is a grand opportunity to restore the bond between us, and make peace once more. I also think…" Thor continued his ongoing monologue; the same one Loki had heard dozens of times before. It's all about making amends, becoming united, yada, yada, yada.
To distract himself from the lumbering idiot in front of him, Loki looked past Thor and watched Tony Stark entertain his fellow Avengers, all while slowly getting more and more drunk. Loki observed Stark in amusement, and even more so when he poured himself another glass of scotch.
After a few minutes, Loki realized Thor had long since stopped talking, and was looking at him with a peculiar expression on his face.
"Why are you more interested in my friends than your own brother?" Thor asked, glancing behind him to see exactly what Loki found so enthralling.
You're not my brother. Loki thought in annoyance. Because Loki was unable to voice that particular thought, he settled for standing up and moving away from Thor. Loki barely noticed the hurt expression that Thor displayed, and didn't care to feel bad about it.
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Loki, who had now migrated from the chair by the window to the kitchen table, sat down and felt rather crowded as the other Avengers took their places around the table. He didn't feel welcome to be eating with them, judging by the sour looks Romanoff kept sending him.
The two chairs next to him remained empty, until Tony Stark and Bruce Banner arrived, bringing 6 large steaming pizzas with them. They each sat next to him, and Loki watched Banner warily. He wasn't very paranoid about Tony, and for some odd reason he felt like he could trust the genius mortal.
It was quite a feast that was laid out in front of him and the others, and he almost thought 6 pizzas was a little excessive until the Avengers started eating. They practically inhaled their food; Thor by himself had at least a whole pizza on his own, before Loki could even reach in and take a slice.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down guys." Tony said good-naturedly. Then he turned to Loki and took a huge slice of cheese pizza and plopped it down on Loki's plate.
"This is a big moment, everyone. This could quite possibly be the last adult on this entire planet who has yet to try the delicacy known as pizza."
The sounds of chewing and swallowing came to a halt, and Loki watched as each of the Avengers turned to look at him. Loki felt extremely uncomfortable with everyone's eyes on him, and averted his attention to the pizza on the table.
Tony nudged him and grinned, and Loki immediately knew some of the booze had gone to his head. Loki rolled his eyes and tried to appear nonchalant, and then, using a fork and knife, cut himself a tiny portion of the pizza and tried it.
Tony whooped, and Clint pretended to slow clap while still glaring daggers at Loki. But even Clint Barton's bitterness would not stop Loki from acknowledging his newfound discovery.
Loki decided he really liked pizza.
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Later that night, Loki was sitting in his room, unquestionably bored. He had already stared out the window for thirty minutes, imagined dozens of mean tricks he could play on Thor for an entire hour, tried to write in the little journal he found in the desk drawer for about 15 minutes before he gave up, and stared at the black screen of the flat contraption on the wall for another 20 minutes. In the end, he concluded that he needed to find something to entertain himself with before he lost his mind.
Just when he was thinking of taking his dresser apart and putting it back together again, his door suddenly opened. In came none other than Tony Stark, looking more than a little drunk and slightly peeved. It looked as though Steve or Bruce had managed to wrestle the alcohol away from Stark, and he wasn't very happy about it.
Loki brightened at his arrival, excited for something else to entertain himself with. Tony looked at Loki, then around the room.
"What have you been doing in here all this time?" Tony asked, stepping towards Loki.
Loki just shrugged in response.
"Ah, I see." Tony nodded as if that explained everything. "Well you know what? We need to get you out of this room."
Loki fully agreed and stood up, letting his long legs stretch out. Tony spirits seemed to have lifted, and gladly opened the door for Loki.
"I know just the place." He said, a smile forming on his face.
The duo walked down the hall in a comfortable silence, and Tony only stumbled a few times; it seems as though the alcohol was finally wearing off.
Meanwhile, Loki was trying to take in as much as he could of Stark Tower. He looked at the various doors that lined the hallway, and wondered what could be behind each of them. Perhaps one day he would ask Tony.
Suddenly, they stopped at a murky glass door, the kind that when you peer in, you can only see vague outlines and distorted colors. Loki felt curiosity building inside him, especially when he glanced at Tony's eager-to- please face.
Tony opened the door, and Loki immediately looked inside. It was an enormous room lined floor to ceiling with books, with several inviting and homey armchairs to sit in and read. Loki never would've thought Stark Tower would have a library, especially not one as elaborate as this one.
"So do you like it?" Tony looked at Loki hopefully, and for a moment Loki thought Tony Stark might actually care about his well-being and opinions. Loki nodded, because he did indeed like it, and didn't want to disappoint Tony.
Tony smiled in satisfaction. "I always pinned you as a book person."
Loki was undeniably a voracious reader, and wanted to go and find a volume from one of the library's towering shelves that very instant. Tony must've taken note of his interest, because he smiled and then put a hand on Loki's shoulder.
"I'll give you lots of time later to bury yourself in a novel, but right now, we need to go downstairs and see what clothes Pepper thoughtfully got for you." Loki was surprised that she had already gone wardrobe shopping for him, for he had only been there less than a day.
Loki obediently followed Tony down the stairs once more, thinking about meeting Pepper and how she would act towards him. He hadn't done that much harm directly to her that he could remember… Well, besides throwing her boyfriend out of a window.
When they finally reached the bottom level, Tony Stark seemed rather out of breath. "You know, you're going to have to get over your fear of elevators, because my legs are killing me right now. Most normal people don't go up and down 8 flights of stairs normally."
Loki smirked as he cockily waited for Stark to catch his breath, purposely making it obvious that he was not challenged by the long trek from his room.
Tony noticed this, and punched Loki in the arm with mock irritation, much like he did with his fellow Avengers. Though it kind of stung the bruise Tony happened to hit, the thought of Tony treating him like an equal raised Loki's spirits.
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Pepper's room was nice and pleasing to the eye. It was larger than Loki's, and adorned with various shades of purple and white. She was sitting on her bed doing laundry, and looked up at her evening visitors.
"Hello gentlemen, what can I help you with?" She asked politely, glancing at Loki for a moment before turning back to Tony. Loki liked how calm she was, and seemed very level headed compared to Tony Stark's sometimes sporadic actions.
"We just came in for the new clothes that you bought for Loki." Tony answered.
"Oh, I see. Well they're in the bag over there on the couch." Pepper answered, gesturing with one hand as she continued folding shirts with the other.
"Thanks, dear." Tony said lightly, and walked over to the bag and began looking inside. "Hmm lots of black and green… Don't you think that's a little stereotypical?" Tony asked Pepper dryly, with hints of amusement in his eyes.
"Well I figure if those are the colors he chooses when he tries to take over the world, he must like them. That kind of thing is usually excessively televised, meaning lots of people will see." Pepper quipped in a wry manner. And it was true, Loki's favorite colors were black and green, and he was thankful for Pepper's keen observations.
"The old saying is that beggars can't be choosers, so hopefully you like what you get." Tony addressed Loki. He pulled out a random black t-shirt and held it up to Loki.
"Looks about right… Darn you, Frost Giant, why do you have to be so tall?" Tony muttered to himself. Evidently, Tony didn't realize that Loki was a midget compared to normal Frost Giants. Loki didn't intend to let him find out, either.
"If it's not the right size, don't blame me. I just got the size you told me to get." Pepper piped up, making sure the right person was held responsible for any mistakes that were made.
"Well of course, I was just estimating." Tony replied. Then he looked up from inspecting the shirt, and looked Loki in the eye. "But don't forget my calculations are very rarely wrong."
Then Tony Stark grabbed the bag of clothes, and handed it to Loki.
"You can try them on as you please, anything that doesn't fit or you don't like just return to me and Pepper can return it."
"If you ask nicely maybe I will." Pepper interjected. "Don't forget, I have a company to run, and don't have time to run all your errands for you."
Tony laughed because he knew that Pepper always ended up running the errands, no matter how many times she threatened Tony that she wouldn't.
"Alright Pep, you're right, I bet you're very busy running my company that I happen to have to invent all the merchandise for. And you know with me occasionally saving the world and housing villains, I clearly have lots of time on my hands." Tony responded sarcastically, but not with ill intent.
Pepper just rolled her eyes, "You know you'd be a wreck without me." She said.
Loki left Pepper's room, deciding that he liked her and her snarky personality. He also wished once again that he could speak, because he would very much like to participate in friendly banter with Tony Stark someday.
Loki liked conversing with intelligent people, and there was no doubt Tony Stark was as intelligent as they come.
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And there's the second chapter for you, my lovelies! I was very motivated today, and so far am pleased with how it's going. Please, please, please review! Thanks!