Hi! I've gotten some great reviews and suggestions, and I would like to thank every one of you who reviewed, favorite, or followed this story! It truly means a lot to me.
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That night, Loki had nightmares. It wasn't unusual for him to wake up in cold sweat because of the terrors of his subconscious, and he often had agonizing memories of being tortured and imprisoned.
However, during the second night at Stark Tower, his dreams had changed. For the first time, the Avengers made an appearance in his nighttime endeavors, plaguing his mind and innermost being.
He dreamed that Tony Stark was the one who came to Asgard to torment him, and dreamt over and over again of being attacked by the normally friendly, (though sometimes arrogant), genius until Loki was begging for mercy. A reoccurring nightmare that seemed to not ever go away was Bruce Banner transforming into the Hulk and beating up Loki until he could no longer feel his nerve endings.
Even Steve Rogers was there, his normally righteous shield turned into a weapon of destruction against Loki, constantly being thrown at him until Loki was just a bloody, crumpled heap on the ground. The last dream was Thor and Odin staring at Loki like they didn't recognize him, like he was a mistake and a disgrace. They slowly came towards him, their eyes an unnatural shade of red, and Thor brandished his hammer with an insane glint in his eyes.
Loki woke up stifling his screams just as Mjolnir came flying towards him.
He sat up in his bed inside the guest bedroom of Stark Tower, clutching his blankets and repeating to himself that it was just a dream. The nightmares haunted Loki's fragile mind, and he wondered whether he could truly trust the Avengers. The shadows in his room gave him a peculiar feeling of being watched, as if someone was waiting within the darkness to attack him.
He couldn't stand being trapped in that room a second longer, and he desperately wanted somewhere calm and safe to gather his thoughts. So, while still in gray sweatpants and a black t-shirt, he pulled on shoes and walked quickly and quietly to the ground floor. He found himself in the kitchen, and with fear still lingering in his thumping heart, he proceeded to turn on every single light around him.
Loki hoped that perhaps a glass of water would calm him down, and he could peacefully find sleep once more.
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Clint Barton remained awake in the dead of the night once again. He increasingly had more and more trouble with insomnia since the last attack of the Chitauri, and now that Loki was here in the same building as him permanently, he could not sleep at all.
To ease his mind, Clint stood up and began walking towards the elevator to go downstairs. He felt more at peace knowing that he could spend some time alone in the living room, with thoughts of Loki left far behind.
He stepped inside the elevator and realized he was doing the same routine he had done hundreds of time since being mind controlled. Clint felt weak, like Loki was still controlling him even without his stupid magical scepter. He recalled a conversation he had taken part in with Black Widow soon after Loki arrived, and knew sometimes he ought to listen to his ninja-assassin girlfriend.
"I don't understand why he has to be here," Clint had said bitterly, despising Loki and everything about him.
"It's for the safety of Asgard. By keeping him here, we are also keeping him from trying any more destructive behavior." Natasha had responded sensibly. She always knew to not let any emotions get in the way of her thoughts.
"I know. It just brings back bad memories," Clint said quietly, hating how vulnerable he sounded.
Natasha looked up and met his eyes, giving him a reassuring look. "You are coping better than most people would. But I'm afraid with Loki being around here frequently, you might lose it. We can't afford for you to do that."
Clint had understood what she meant. Even just in the last couple hours that Loki had been there, Clint had gotten very closed off and passive-aggressive towards everyone. It was like Loki had turned on a switch when he arrived, and all of the terrible memories of attacking his own teammates came rushing back to Clint.
"Maybe you should confront Loki," Natasha had offhandedly remarked. "Let off some steam, and let him know that you're the one in control now, not him."
Clint's miniature flashback ended there, and he mused over what she had said. Maybe it was time to get control back of his own life, and Clint even pictured how it would play out perfectly, with Clint finally being the one who would end up on top. But deep inside, he knew the fear and anger he had when he was around Loki would repel any opportunities to talk to him.
At least that's what he was thinking when he strolled into the kitchen of Stark Tower, and saw that the infamous God of Mischief was already there.
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Loki had his back to Barton, and a tiny voice in Clint's mind said that it wasn't too late to run back to his room and avoid an encounter. For a fleeting moment, Clint considered doing just that, but then regained enough will power to keep himself where he was.
Hawkeye incidentally liked the vantage point he had, and could see Loki without a chance of Loki turning around and seeing him. He hid in the shadows for a bit as he tried to figure out what Loki was doing in the kitchen in the middle of the night.
Revelation dawned on Clint when he noticed the empty cup in Loki's hand, and noticed the puzzled way he was looking at the refrigerator. Loki looked like he wanted a glass of water, but didn't know how to use the Midgardian appliance to get one!
Clint accidentally let out a snicker, and Loki immediately whirled around, his eyes sharp with alertness. Loki's gaze swept past him, and at first he did not notice Clint blending in with the darkness. Realizing he was going to be found out somehow anyway, Clint stood up and stepped into the light, exposing himself to Loki's prying eyes.
"Hi." Wow, Clint, real articulate.
Loki eyes widened just a smidge in surprise, before returning his expression to indifferent. Clint almost didn't notice the small sign of catching Loki off guard, but he did, and it made him realize Loki wasn't as invincible as he pretended to be. He also took note that Loki wasn't acting as high and mighty as he usually did.
"To get water, you just press the cup into the little button on the fridge, you know."Clint offered in mock helpfulness.
Loki seemed like he was trying to appear like he didn't need any help from Clint, but his glass was still uncertainly hovering a few inches from the water dispenser.
Clint sighed, and squashing the rising apprehension he had in his gut, walked over to where Loki was struggling.
"Here, princess, let me show you." Clint took Loki's cup and pushed against the side of the dispenser, and magically water filled the glass. With a smirk, he handed the now full cup back to Loki.
Clint felt like he was floating above the scene and watching someone else impersonate Clint in his own body. Where had all this confidence come from? Maybe it was the fact that Loki needed his help on something as simple as getting his own water, and it actually gave Clint a slight edge and power over him.
Loki looked at the glass as if to make sure the substance inside was actually water, but still didn't take a sip. He looked at Clint questioningly, and Clint didn't know why.
"So what are you doing up-"Clint turned and glanced at the digital clock on the kitchen counter, "At 3:00 in the morning?"
Loki shrugged slightly, and Clint knew that he could get a real answer judging by the pad of paper sticking out of his pocket, but Loki just chose not to give one.
Suddenly, Clint noticed something about Loki he didn't notice before. He was rather pale this particular night, and he kept shifting tentatively on his feet and not looking Clint straight in the eye. It was almost as if Loki was nervous around him, though the very thought was laughable, knowing of Clint's past experiences with the demigod.
There was one fact Clint was sure of however, and it was that Loki was very tense and extra cautious, as if Barton was an untamed animal likely to attack at any second. Clint almost wanted to jump at Loki just to scare him and see how he would react, but then quickly dismissed the idea as a not very smart one.
"Well if you're secretly nocturnal, no worries, I won't tell anyone." Clint said, using humor as his best defense as to not let his thoughts take a hold of him. He then walked past Loki to the cabinet where his sleeping meds were and pulled the well-used bottle out.
What is that? Loki placed a paper beside Clint, and Barton looked at the elegant handwriting in masked surprise. He wasn't expecting Loki to try and converse with him.
"Um, they're sleeping pills. To help you sleep." Clint even sounded dumb in his own ears, and inwardly face palmed.
Loki nodded, and with interest decorating his features, his long thin fingers wrapped around the pill bottle as he picked it up to inspect it.
"Do you want one?" Clint asked, more because he needed something to say than from the kindness of his heart.
Loki raised an eyebrow and then nodded, perhaps wondering why the guy he had mind controlled was being nice to him.
Coincidentally, Clint was wondering the same thing, but nevertheless handed Loki a small white pill, and then took two for himself. Loki waited until Clint swallowed both of his before gingerly doing the same.
"Loki, you know in about 10 minutes we're going to be conked out on the kitchen floor from these pills, but I want to let you know that even though I'm still peeved about…what you did to me, I'm going to, uh, try to be nicer to you. I guess."In his head, Clint expected his speech to Loki to be more fiery and well, more rehearsed than that. He actually intended to make Loki feel guilty for what he did, and for Clint not to be the one making the apologies. Dang it Barton, why can't you do anything right?
Yet, when he looked at Loki, Clint felt like maybe he had, by chance, said the right thing after all. It was almost as if Clint's attempt at compassion meant a lot to Loki, like all Loki really wanted was to be accepted. Clint snorted at the thought in his head, feeling childish for thinking of something so naïve.
Loki was still trying to write a response, and seemed to keep rereading and crossing out what he wrote to make sure it portrayed what he wanted it to.
I am genuinely sorry about whatI did to you during the Battle of New York. It was nothing personal, believe me, and I regretall the decisions I made.
Near the bottom of the page there was what looked like entire sentences marked out to be completely unreadable. Clint looked up at Loki's guarded face after reading the note, and tried to understand why it felt like a big moment had just occurred.
Suddenly it clicked. Clint Barton had just received a formal and sincere apology from one of the biggest villains in all of the nine realms. Not only that, but Clint realized Loki wasn't just apologizing for brainwashing Clint to do his dirty work, but for all of the actions he made against Earth and the Avengers.
Loki was known for his ability to lie, but Clint had seen Loki lie before and it was nothing like this. Loki looked almost timid now, as if he was embarrassed and thought he made a mistake by opening up to Clint.
Clint, though he was having trouble keeping his eyes open because of the sleeping pills, grinned and felt like a huge burden had been lifted off his chest. He almost wanted to hug Loki, but that might make things awkward.
He settled for saying "Apology accepted, dude." before finally passing out on the kitchen floor. Loki at least managed to make it to the couch before falling into a dreamless, deep, and content slumber.
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Yay, we finally got Loki and Clint to make up! Clint was pretty much the last Avenger that Loki had to make amends with, because if Clint's happy with Loki, so will Natasha. I wasn't planning on using different POV's other than Loki's at the beginning of this story, but there wasn't much of a way to do this without Clint's POV. So please, tell me what you think! Review please!
ALSO Thanks to Danneyland for helping me edit parts of this story, along with giving me some great input and ideas!
