Chapter 8
A Twist at Night
NOTES:
Hi guys and welcome back!
So, you all remembered last two chapters?
- A race at dawn - where Loki and Peter challenged each other on the tracks.
- A shot at noon - where the two challenged each other at Archery (and where Steve tried to tell Tony... well, he tried to tell him something)
And now, get ready for - A twist at night.
Can you imagine what kind of challenge this will be? ... I hope not actually, cause I think you guys will love it XD It was pretty fun to write, anyway!
Well, hope you will enjoy! :D
'Left hand on yellow,' Clint instructed as he looked at Peter, who was already close to tipping over.
'Yellow?! Come on, man!' Peter sighed and he leant on his right hand as he moved his left.
'Could you perhaps not lean on me, Peter?' Loki grumbled, his body twisted in a very uncomfortable position. 'Why are we playing this again?'
'Because Twister is the ultimate game for an epic challenge,' Clint said as he spun the arrow on the board. 'It is about stamina and persistence. Plus,' he then looked over his shoulder, noticing how Bruce, Natasha, Rhodey and Sam were sitting on the couch, watching the two players with a smile. Thor, Bucky and Steve were standing from the sideline, making sure the two would not cheat. Sitting in a lazy chair was Tony, and although he occasionally smiled along, Clint couldn't help but notice his overall gloomy presence. 'Well, you two just look pretty ridiculous, which, I think, is a win for everyone.'
'Oh, I am going to get you for this one, archer!' Loki murmured but he quickly shifted his focus back to his own balance.
'No, you're not,' Clint smirked as he spun the arrow on the board in hand. 'Right foot on blue.'
'Right foot on bl-?! And how in the names of the Norns am I going to do that?!' he sighed as he looked at the blue spots. 'Peter, move your knee. Just because Thor is missing an eye does not mean I should lose one as well!'
'If you move your hip a little to the left, I can actually move,' Peter complained, trying to make way for the trickster's foot.
'Fine, just...' Loki grumbled as he tried to adjust his body, touching a blue spot with the tip of his toes. 'HA!' he managed to shout in victory though he felt every muscle in his body tremble.
'Okay, Peter, right hand on red,' Clint commanded as he sat back in his chair with a smirk, enjoying his view.
'Yeah,' Peter said slowly as he tried to move his hand, but as his muscles were already completely worn-out from running and the game of archery, he slipped, his feet knocking over the trickster as well as he shouted, causing them to fall over one another.
'PETER, YOU DUNCE!' Loki shouted, laughing loudly. 'Come on, we were doing so well. Who won, Barton? It is obvious that Peter fell over first, would you not agree?'
'Well, although I hate to say this, Loki is right,' Clint said as he could hardly contain his laughter. 'Sorry Peter, looks like you lost.'
'Ah, fudgecakes,' Peter laughed and he kept lying on the ground, causing the others to laugh along. 'Maybe I'll win some other time.'
'Yes, well, I am done playing games for today,' Loki chuckled, then laughed even louder as he noticed that doing so ached the muscles in his stomach. 'I can hardly move my legs. Or my arms, for that matter. Now get off me. I do not know about you, but I could really use a bath right now.'
'Or a bed,' Peter chuckled as he looked at the clock. 'Yeah, okay, just,' he said as he tried to move, but his body didn't respond at all. 'Uhm, a little help maybe? Anyone? I really can't seem to move a muscle, so...' he looked around the room with a bit of an embarrassed smile.
'Well, that could not possibly be because you two played Twister for about two hours straight, could it?' Steve asked sarcastically as he helped the boy up, but as Peter's legs almost immediately fell from underneath him, the blond laughed and lifted him up in his arms.
In the meantime, Thor walked over to Loki and lifted him first in his arms as well, but as the trickster protested strongly against this, the god of thunder decided to merely support his little brother.
'Thanks, Steve,' Peter sighed happily as he let himself slumber in the man's strong arms. 'Set course to the base, Captain! I need to rest at my headquarters!'
'Yes, sir,' Steve laughed as he carried the teen up the stairs, his smile only widening as he saw how Peter managed to lift his arm slightly and wave at his fellow Avengers.
'Night guys, and thanks!' he smiled, his eyes then focused on those of Tony, who was merely staring ahead, lost in his thoughts. He looked at the playboy with a questioning gaze and spoke up a little with a smile. 'Good night, Tony.'
'Night kid,' the playboy said as he looked up and shook his head with a chuckle, watching his two favorite men disappearing up the stairs.
'I'll have my revenge next time, Lokes!' Peter managed to shout before they turned the corner. 'This day shall not be forgotten!'
'Yes, yes, whatever you need to tell yourself to sleep at night,' Loki chuckled as he tried to stand on his own feet, but failed immediately, causing him to fall against his brother's side.
'Do you require aid, my dearest brother?' Thor asked with a smirk as he helped the trickster up his feet again.
'Though every cell in my brain is screaming at me to say "no", I believe I have little choice,' Loki said as he sighed, his smile never fading. 'Fine, I accept your helping hand, brother.'
'Splendid!' Thor shouted merrily as he carried the trickster up the stairs.
'It seems like you and Loki had a pretty good day.' Steve said as he put Peter down on the Batman covers of his bed.
'Yeah, it was really fun,' Peter smiled widely. 'Thanks for being referee today, I know we kinda messed up your training schedule...'
'That's okay,' Steve smiled, 'It was fun to watch you two compete like that. I had no clue that you would both take this so seriously that you would spend two hours of your lives playing Twister. You really surprised me there.'
'Well, Lokes wasn't giving in, so neither was I!' Peter smiled as he tried to sit up. 'Damn, I can't move an inch! Who knew such a simple game could have so much impact?'
'Well, I don't think anyone has ever played Twister for two hours straight, so that might explain the muscle pain,' Steve chuckled, at which the teen managed to nod.
'So, how was dinner with Tony?' Peter asked, his question clearly surprising the captain.
'Oh, well, uhm…' Steve started, 'The food was great. Nice restaurant, too. We had to walk back home through the rain, but that turned out to be pretty fun, actually.'
'Okay,' Peter said slowly, squinting his eyes a little, after which he just decided to give it another go. 'But how was it to just, you know, have dinner, the two of you? I mean, was it a date or more like friends?'
'Well...' Steve started a little uncomfortable, 'I thought it was just like friends, but, Tony ran his mouth and he asked if I wanted it to be a date and I,' the captain stopped for a moment as his stomach started to cramp. 'I, I agreed to that, so... I guess that means it was a date,' he managed to conclude in a mumble, staring nervously at the teen as he waited his response.
'That's cool,' Peter said casually while nodding his head, after which he looked up at the ceiling above his bed, his mind drifting towards other thoughts.
Steve looked at the youth in complete surprise, 'You really think so…?'
'Hm?' Peter asked, waken from his reverie.
'This dating, I mean, me and Tony… You really think that it is... cool?'
'Sure,' Peter shrugged, but as he felt the puzzled eyes of the captain still staring at him, he looked at the blond, 'Or, isn't it?' he asked as he tilted his head a little.
'I... I don't know. I never expected to be in this situation, so this is all kinda new to me... I, I don't know if I'm, you know, ready for this, being with another man...' He then shook his head with a painful smile. 'That must've sounded really stupid, huh?'
'Not at all,' Peter said and he managed to sit up somewhat. 'I mean, this stuff is pretty new to me, too, so I think I know what you're going through, maybe, I mean you are about a century older than me and stuff, but I kinda get what you mean.'
'So, does that mean it's safe for me to say that you and Loki...?' Steve asked as he sat down on the bed next to Peter, a gentle smile on his face.
Peter blinked his eyes for a moment as he thought the question through, but then he nodded and a content smile appeared on his face. 'Yeah, I think so. I… I think I really love him. I mean, in Asgard, I found out that there are other people who love Loki-' As the smirking face of the Grandmaster suddenly appeared in his mind, a shudder ran down his spine, 'Well, they don't all love Lokes the way I do, but there was this girl, and she was really sweet and all, but when I found out that she wanted to tell Lokes she loved him, I, how do I put this?' He thought it through carefully. 'Do you know that feeling when someone comes up with a genius idea and you just wonder why you had not thought of it first?'
'Yeah, I get that,' Steve smiled as he patiently waited for Peter to continue.
'Well, when she told me she was going to tell Loki how she felt, I just felt like an idiot. I just... panicked, and even cried, and I was sure he would choose her and they would live happily ever after and all, and I even prepared myself to leave Asgard without him, but then he told her he did not love her like that...'
'Maybe that could be because he loves someone else?' the captain suggested. 'I mean, I can't look inside Loki's head, and most of the time I can't really tell what he's thinking, but I have noticed how he acts... different, around you. More relaxed.'
'Yeah, I thought about it all for a while, and I remembered all those times that he was Meya and we, you know, we kissed,' Peter blushed a little at that part, knowing the captain's eyes were still on him, 'and I suddenly understood that all this time, it was really him I was dating. We were having so much fun and I just feel so happy when I'm around him, I just...' At a loss for words, he just allowed himself to fall back on the sheets of his bed again with a deep sigh. 'Do you know that feeling?'
'Well, no, I mean, I don't have any friends who pretended to be a girl, but I think I can imagine,' the blond said as he slowly nodded. 'Have you ever thought about telling this to Loki?'
'At first, I didn't, but ever since Asgard I can't stop thinking about it. I just don't know how to say it. It's kinda hard to tell someone that you love him.'
'I guess so,' the captain said and he chuckled, 'Peter? You mind if I lie down for a sec? I'm pretty beat myself.'
'Sure!' Peter said, awkwardly shuffling over his bed to make some space for the captain. Steve lay down next to him and for a moment they just stared at the ceiling.
'I'm really sorry, kid, but I'm afraid I can't really help you with all this, other than say that you should "just" tell him. Maybe you should ask Tony for advice? He has quite the dating record, maybe he could help you better than I can...'
'Maybe,' Peter shrugged, 'But you had a girlfriend once, right?'
Steve gulped and a melancholic smile appeared on his face. 'Yeah, there was a girl…'
Peter looked aside and as he saw the captain struggling with his thoughts, he quickly laid a hand on the strong arm next to him. 'We don't have to talk about it!'
'That's okay, Pete,' the captain smiled at him, 'It's just... I know it's been ages since Peggy and I, well, planned a date... but it really feels like it was just yesterday, even now that she has... has passed away...'
'I'm, I'm really sorry, Steve, I-I didn't know that...' Peter said softly.
'That's okay, you couldn't know, it all happened during the fight over the Sokovia Accords. You were with Tony at the time, so...' The captain then looked at Peter, whose guilty look was only growing worse, and Steve just smiled. 'Really, Peter, don't worry about it, okay? I'm trying not to look back too much and neither should you.'
'I get that,' Peter nodded, his face showing how relieved he was. 'But, can I ask you one more thing? About the present?'
'Sure, go ahead,' Steve nodded.
Peter gulped and took a deep breath. 'Well, you and Tony... Are you like Lokes and me? Are you in a similar situation or is that not the case...?'
'I guess we are, sort of... I mean, Tony asked me on a date, so I guess that must give some sort of indication that he likes me... right?' he then looked at Peter for confirmation.
'Yeah, it's safe to say that,' Peter chuckled.
'And, even though I never thought I would say this, or feel this, especially for another man,' Steve rambled a little as his heart started to beat louder, but quickly took a deep breath to keep himself from continuing. 'I think I might... like him as well...'
'Okay,' Peter nodded, 'That's cool, but just know that there is no pressure, okay? Just take your time to figure it out.'
Steve looked at Peter with wide eyes for a moment, followed by a snort. 'I'm a bit confused, I thought I was supposed to give you advice.'
'Yeah, so was I,' Peter laughed, 'Well, come on, you've got to have more advice for me, so tell me. I can take it!'
'I think that was all I got,' Steve laughed. 'Sorry, Pete, I'm not much of a love expert. Want me to send Tony in?'
'Nah, that's okay, I think your first advise might be the best, you know, the one to "just" tell him.'
'Yeah, maybe I should listen to my own advice as well,' Steve nodded. 'Couldn't I have thought of a way to actually say that? It sounds so easy like this, but I'm sure it's not...'
'Nope, it will probably the hardest fight of our lives,' Peter laughed. 'Anyway, I think I'm tagging out for today. I'm beat and I think I'll need every minute of sleep my mind will allow me to have, so...'
'You want me to tuck you in as well or are you good?' Steve said as he stood up from the bed with a teasing smile, though he grabbed a hold of Peter's blankets anyway, readying himself to place them over the tired teen.
'Nah, I think I can move my toes,' Peter tried, though he knew the captain was probably going to tug him in anyway. 'If I can do that, I should be able to tuck myself in. I'm good.'
'Okay, good night, Peter, and thanks,' Steve said, casually draping the blankets over the teen, though making sure he was completely covered, before he walked towards the door.
'Likewise,' Peter smiled and he watched as the captain left his room, both his heart and mind racing as he was thinking about the big news he was going to tell the god of mischief tomorrow morning.
NOTES:
And that's it! Now, to quote a "definitely-would-have-become" Avenger: "You didn't see that coming?"
We had a lot of fun writing the Twister scene, imagining the two tangled and cursing at each other X'D
Also, FREAKING FINALLY PETER! You go tell Lokes tomorrow morning! :D
Anyway, now for some facts on the hero I would have loved to see joining the Avengers and who managed to make me cry like a little girl even though he had only, like what? About an hour of screen time? Here are three facts you hopefully didn't know about Quicksilver.
Pietro Django Maximoff - Quicksilver
He and his sister Wanda were once more than just siblings.
So, I'm just gonna start right off with this one. As we all know, Wanda and Pietro share a very intimate Brother-Sister Relationship, both on screen and in the comics. It was Jeph Loeb who wrote Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver taking their relationship to the next level. He decided to light a match and watch everyone's innocence burn as he wrote an relationship between the brother and sister duo into the storyline of The Ultimates. Granted, The Ultimates was based in an alternate universe and nothing really counts outside of it, but still, once fans read that about Wanda and Pietro, it was pretty hard to unsee and forget. As far as everyone was concerned, Scarlet Witch's main love interest was and always will be Vision, but it doesn't stop Quicksilver from popping up on her list. Also, everyone in the MCU seemed to be perfectly okay with this except our dearest Captain America. The scene is set between Captain America and The Wasp. Cap has just had a bit of an altercation with Pietro about the way Wanda is dressed, and in typical quick-tempered Quicksilver fashion, he flies off the handle and threatens Cap, telling him to mind his own business. When The Wasp then tells Captain America that Pietro's like that because he loves his sister, poor, innocent Rogers is like, "duh, they're siblings." Then The Wasp drops the major bombshell, which is that they love each other, as in "lovers".
Pietro sees Wanda as his sister, his lover and his mother.
If you're thinking: surely this whole plot line couldn't get any weirder, well, it most certainly can. It's one thing that the brother and sister superhero pair can't keep their hands off each other now, but add the fact that Pietro loves Wanda so much because she reminds him of their mother Magda, and you have a whole new level of… well, unusual. Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch's mother Magda was forced to abandon her children, and then we were also told that Marya Maximoff was actually the kids' mom. Then, there was the whole incident of the Maximoff home burning to the ground with Marya in it, so it's safe to say that the kids are probably craving some parental love. However, that being said, one would suggest that it might be time for Pietro to get some serious help as he now draws links between his mom and sister in that way. I guess you could call this some next-level Game of Thrones plot.
Quicksilver's abilities;
Quicksilver can outrun Thor's lightning bolts. Quicksilver also can run fast enough that his feet don't break the water's surface. Also, according to writer Peter David, Quicksilver's arrogance is a side-effect of his power. He explained that Quicksilver is like that guy waiting in line behind the old lady with 20 packages wanting to know each way to send them to Africa. Quicksilver is faster than every other being on Earth so naturally, each and every being irritates him.
And that's it for today. Hope to see you again next time!
