Author's Notes: I AM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG. I was at a convention last weekend and I've had like five tests in the past two weeks. But my schedule is clearing up, and ONWARDS WITH THE STORY.
Today had been a particularly long day.
The sun had just begun to set over the cityscape, lighting up the buildings in a various array of colors. Normally, the man storming along the street paid more attention to these type of details, appreciated the subtle hints of beauty this realm had to offer, but his thoughts wandered elsewhere.
As much as he hated to admit, he had begun to grow content living amongst the Avengers. They had been rightfully weary of him at first, but with the truth behind his forced cooperation with Thanos revealed plus Thor's enthusiastic support/begging, they were willing to test how he worked with the team. After the first few months of awkwardness, a rhythm had formed within the group, creating an unspoken set of rules to shape the team's dynamic.
Unfortunately, nothing about the members of this team could ever be classified as remotely 'normal, ' and some of the Avengers—a.k.a. Stark— made it his life's goal to drive everyone around him utterly insane. He would throttle the man if he could get away with it. Honestly, Loki sometimes wondered if Stark had a death wish. How Banner could willingly subject himself to Stark's presence so often baffled him.
Needing some time to breathe and clear his head before he threw Stark out of a window—again—Loki found himself wandering the darkened streets of New York, his mind drifting as he reached the outer areas of the city. Lights warmly shone through the various shop windows, and the buildings became less and less gargantuan in size.
A chilled breeze floated through the air, not bothering him too much due to his Jotun heritage, but what traveled on that breeze caught his attention. A sweet voice, edged in husky, breathy tones, caressed his ears and drew his attention to a small coffee shop on the corner of the street. He could see people crowded inside, all clustered and facing the same corner of the shop. With the voice still drawing him in, he slowly approached, and the words became clearer.
"…I'm falling…"
Edging into the shop and around the outskirts of the crowd, his eyes searched out the singer, only to find his gaze locking onto a young woman seated on a small stage. Her hands clasped tightly onto the microphone before her, eyes shut as the melody seemed possess her and her audience.
"There's no escape. I can't wait. I need a hit, baby give me it. You're dangerous…" Her eyes slowly opened, somehow locking on his in the middle of the crowd. "I'm loving it..."
A deep blush grew upon her cheeks as she continued to sing, her almost gold colored eyes dropping to her hands which tightly clasped to her mic. His emerald eyes, however, never stopped boring into her. He found himself entranced, his curiosity peaked over this mortal. He could not for the slightest ascertain why she intrigued him, just that she did.
"It's getting late, to give you up. I took a sip from my devil's cup." She held no extraordinary marks of beauty. She held herself in almost a timid manner. She was nothing like his past lovers. "Slowly…."
Yet Loki had decided that he wanted her.
"…It's taking over me."
Today was going to be a long day.
Perhaps this was jumping the gun a bit, but over the years, Hawkeye had learned to trust his gut. And from the moment Cap had called in the Avengers meeting earlier this morning, he knew something was up.
Casually sprawled in his chair, pushed back from the table to lean against the wall behind him with his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes flitted around room, assessing the occupants. As was his normal habit, his position in the room gave him the perfect vantage point, tucking himself in the far corner with entrance near directly in front of him. Most of the team had already trudged in, leaving two members yet to arrive.
Banner sat closest to the entrance, sipping on a steaming cup of tea, slight bags under his eyes. The scientist obviously had not gotten much sleep the night before, if any, and he hunched over his cup with an almost dazed look, his clothes slightly disheveled. The resident God of Thunder, decked in his casual Asgardian garments, sat closer to Hawkeye, somehow managing to look both lively and bored at the same time. Like a puppy that wants to play and is waiting for someone's attention.
The last two of the room's occupants, Nat and Steve, stood over at the front of the table, dressed in their combat gear. Both had given Hawkeye approving nods when he had been the first to enter the room and take his usual seat, Nat throwing in her usual smirk to show that the mission had been a success to some degree. They had been gone for the past week or so, gathering intel on the whereabouts of Loki's scepter, and he could only assume that this meeting was a debrief of some important and urgent information, given the god awful hour of the morning. The sun had just barely begun to peek over the distant skyline.
But as far as team members went, that left only two unaccounted for. One was to be expected. Tony never showed up on time, and given that Barton saw him actually heading to bed late last night, he knew that the billionaire would be protesting coming down in every way possible… And just as the Hawk thought this, in strolled said billionaire, dressed only in a pair of hot rod red pajama pants and a pleased smirk, who promptly plopped himself down in the empty seat beside the still-dazed Banner. The Captain quirked a brow at Tony's entrance, but whether it was over Tony's lack of proper attire or unusually chipper mood for having just woken up, Barton couldn't tell.
"So, Stark," Natasha drawled, face neutral but a questioning brow raised towards the upbeat member of the 'Science Bros,' "What's got you in such a good mood this early in the morning?"
Stark gave her one of his big, shit-eating grins. "I haven't the faintest idea to what you are referring. Oh, and where is Reindeer Games? Cause I need to talk to him and one of you needs to film it."
"Tony, stop poking the God of Chaos," Banner flatly stated while not looking up from his tea.
Steve still looked at Tony as if he were insane. "Do you want to end up being dropped in Times Square in your boxers again?"
"I honestly think he enjoyed that," Nat piped in.
Thor began to straighten in his seat a bit. "Where is my brother?"
And speak of the devil, a slight shimmer of green tinted smoke materialized against the wall to Barton's right. Like Thor, Loki chose to wear his casual Asgardian clothes, the usual shades of black and green that they had come to expect out of the fallen prince. Unlike usual, though, his hair hung slightly askew, not slicked back or tied in a ponytail. While his face remained neutral, his eyes glinted dangerously and his body remained tense as he opted to lean against the wall rather than sit.
Though Loki had only been with them a few months, Hawkeye knew how to read the so-called 'God of Lies' like an open book. A creature of habit, any slight deviation from his usual routine immediately signaled that something was wrong. At every meeting, Loki was normally the first to arrive, always looking crisp and presentable due to his magic aiding with both teleportation to the conference room and throwing up a simple glamor to perfect his appearance. Like clockwork, everyone could count on Loki to be the first to arrive and the most likely to look as if he were about to go to a dinner party with foreign diplomats. Now, here Loki was, last to arrive and tense as all hell.
Yep, today was gonna be a long day.
"Do try to not waste too much of our time, Captain." Snark and barbed wit often seemed to be as necessary to the God of Mischief as breathing, but the tone of his words held more bite today than usual. Mentally, Hawkeye, along with what he was sure included every other occupant in the room, starting repeating the mantra, Tony, no.
From the manic grin on Stark's face, Hawkeye could practically hear him reply, Tony, yes!
"So, Reindeer Games, did you have fun last night?"
Loki's shoulders stiffened—
"Because I was in the elevator just a few minutes ago, and I just met the most interesting girl—"
—his fists clenched tightly—
"—who was coming down the elevator from your room, and I do believe that she had stayed the night—"
"Stark…" Barton began in a warning tone, watching as a greenish tinge of energy swirled along Loki's fists.
"Said her name was Alice, and honestly, she is kind of out of your league- AHH."
This was the point when Stark had flown up into the air, only to land on his back on the center of the conference table with a loud thud and a groan, sprawled out in a spread eagle formation. Every other member of the room jumped into a defensive position, weapons drawn at the seething God with swirling green magic, sans Banner who slowly stood, clutching his tea with both hands, and shuffled out of the room muttering, "It's too early for this crap…"