When Max felt herself come to, she felt like absolute hell. Her limbs shook, her stomach screamed, and everything felt like someone had beat the holy hell out of her sometime during the night. Her eyes resisted her bidding to open for a short time, but when they finally did, she discovered she was on the living room couch with absolutely no recollection of how she got there. The blinds were still down over the windows, blocking out the sun from the kitchen and by the front door: what a blessing. Although it pained her, she managed to get herself up and into a sitting position, her duvet rolling down her body as she moved. It didn't feel much better to be vertical, but her arm had fallen asleep, and it was pretty obvious she had been in one position since she passed out.

Scratching at her scalp, she groaned a little and spotted Loki sprawled out on the other couch, the one usually reserved for coats and unwanted pillows. He was still wearing the same outfit from yesterday, minus the shoes, and Max suddenly noticed that she was still in her jeans and t-shirt. He had an arm thrown over his face, her laptop under his legs, and several mugs scattered across the coffee table.

What the hell had happened? Why were they in the living room? She couldn't place anything that had happened at the party after they won their game of beer pong, and she started to feel herself panic. Why couldn't she remember? She had never experienced a blackout episode because she was too drunk; yes, she had been really, really wasted out of her mind before, but there were never incidents in her drinking history where she had zero recollection of an entire night after a certain point. Plus she was experiencing a wicked hangover, even worse than the one induced from her and Loki's vodka adventure. All she wanted to do was curl up somewhere and go back to the unconsciousness. However, now that she was awake, that seemed fairly unlikely.

With a hand on the back of the couch, she managed to push herself shakily to her feet, only to have her stomach do cartwheels and send her flying down to the bathroom. She slammed the door behind her and proceeded to empty her entire gut out into the toilet, eyes watering at the violent upheaval. Something had to have happened at that party to get her like this, because had had only had maybe one full beer from her beer pong shots combined, and then whatever was in the keg. She wasn't sure if Loki felt like this, but he didn't look quite as wrecked as she did. She puked one and off for a good ten minutes or so, and when it finally felt like there was nothing left inside, she flushed and leaned back against the bathtub, shaking and teeth chattering.

What the fuck? Seriously.

Groaning a little, she managed to get herself to her feet to wash her face and rinse her mouth out, and then quickly brush her teeth. She may have felt atrocious on the inside, but she didn't need to have caked on make-up and morning breath for the outside. Once she was finished there, she staggered back to her room and started to strip out of her tight jeans. There were indent marks down her legs and around her waist, and she kicked off her underwear in order to slip into a pair of her comfiest sweatpants. She then dragged her t-shirt over her head and threw it on the floor, followed shortly by her bra, which had also left marks on her body.

"Oh, oh you're… shirtless," she heard Loki stammer from her open doorway, and she felt the heat rise in her cheeks. Thank God she had been facing the other way, or she would have totally flashed him. However, she definitely wasn't in the mood or headspace to actually care that much that he had seen her, and she quickly threw on a sweater and sauntered back out the living room.

"Sorry," Loki muttered as he leaned against the kitchen island, arms folded across his chest. "I saw you were up and I just wanted to check-"

"It's fine," she said shortly, waving off his embarrassment and then plopping herself back down on the couch. She then wrapped herself in her duvet and leaned against the back of the couch, her body an absolute nightmare from all the movement, "Did I get drugged?"

"You did, actually," he informed her, and her eyebrows shot up in surprise. It hadn't been a serious question; Max sort of just assumed something in the keg knocked her out. Loki cleared his throat and then eased himself onto one of the bar stools, hands resting on his knees. "Ben said some girl caught someone trying to put something in her drink… We assumed it happened to you and you consumed it, so I took you home."

"Oh my god," she moaned in disbelief, rubbing her hands across her face. "That's… That's fucking ridiculous. Are you serious?"

"We only went on assumption," Loki remarked, "but you weren't yourself when we left… You seemed far more intoxicated than you ought to have been for what you drank."

"Okay, okay, that makes a little bit of sense," Max muttered, nodding her head a little. "Why didn't we go to the hospital? I might have needed to get my stomach pumped, or something…"

"Well, I used my best judgement with that," he told her stiffly, and she realized she might have come across as ungrateful. "You seemed a little drowsy, but otherwise fine. You fell asleep once I put you on the couch and got your shoes off."

"You took me shoes off?" she chuckled. He nodded, discomfort plain on his face, and she smiled, "Thanks. I appreciate it."

"It seemed like the only decent thing to do," Loki told her. "Who knows what would have happened if I left you with your little friend…"

"What?"

"Ben," Loki said, his eyes suddenly alight mischievously. "You know he's just a little bit in love with you?"

Her eyebrows knitted together as she stared at him, her jaw open just a tad, and then shook her head, "No… No, he isn't. We've been friends since high school, so we're close. That's all."

"Right," he snorted, sliding off the chair and sauntering toward her, "whatever you say."

She tilted her head back as he approached, and he placed a cool hand on her forehead suddenly, his eyes scrutinizing her in a way that made her feel a little awkward, "How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been drugged," she replied groggily, and he grinned a little. "Did you… Did you sleep on the couch last night?"

"Well, I didn't want you dying in your sleep, or anything," Loki told her as he felt under her chin, possibly feeling for swollen nodes or something.

Don't blush, she told herself – she was too sick to feel attracted to anything right now.

"Aww," she managed, batting her eyes at him. "Where would you live if I died?"

"I'd probably take your room, actually," he mused, giving her chin a little squeeze before finally releasing her. "I can hear our neighbours having sex through my walls."

"Awkward!" she laughed, wincing a little as her head raged at her for all the loudness. "They're just two passionate people living the dream."

"Yes, well," he said, seemingly flustered. "They could do it a little more quietly."

"Hey, don't tell me," Max mused as she wrapped the duvet around her a little more snugly. "Tell them."

"One day, I suspect," he muttered, shaking his head a little. "Now, would you like something to eat? Something to drink?"

Nothing seemed even the slightest bit appealing right now, but she knew she would have to start eating something in order to get whatever was in her system out. She shimmied down on the couch, her head tucked halfway under the comforter, and then glanced up at him, batting her eyelashes.

"Eggs?" she suggested, "And maybe just a glass of water for now."

"Right," she heard him say as he moved toward the kitchen. "I can do eggs."

Her eyes threatened to close for a moment, and she blinked a few times; just because she was warm and comfortable didn't mean she could go to sleep without eating anything.

"Wait," she said suddenly, sitting up a little and peering around the couch. She spotted him retrieving a glass from a cupboard, "Are you actually cooking for me?"

"I know, the sky is falling," Loki mused as he returned shortly with a glass. "I assure you the world isn't ending, but seeing as you have been drugged by some idiot, I think the only decent thing to do would be to spoil you."

"Yum," she murmured as she accepted her water, chugging down half of it before setting it on the coffee table. The fridge opened noisily back in the kitchen, and she heard Loki sigh. Oh, right.

"We don't have any food," he told her, and she nodded into the couch. "I think we planned to go today, if I'm remembering correctly."

"You are," she said quietly. "It's fine. Maybe I'll just sleep and go out later when I feel better."

"Well, I need something to eat," he emphasized, slamming the fridge door. "I'll go pick us something up."

"Okay," Max sighed, unwilling to form any coherent argument about why that wasn't really necessary. If he wanted something to eat and so happened to pick her up something too, that would be fantastic.

She heard him moving around the house for about ten minutes, migrating between his room and the bathroom. The apartment was small enough to hear pretty much everything, which had its pros and cons when you lived with another person. It was great to hear when someone came home, but it was a huge pain to listen to someone else's music or phone conversation.

"I'll return shortly," Loki told her, and she grinned beneath her duvet at his use of formal language, despite the fact it was just the two of them alone in the apartment. She suddenly felt a bony finger poke her sharply through the comforter, "Did you hear me?"

"Yes, yes, I heard you," she snapped, swatting his hand away. "Wait, before you go!"

She heard him stop, and she sat up a little, "Can I have more water?"

He shot her a bit of an annoyed look, but it lessened when she pouted at him from the depths of her duvet. He snatched the glass out of her hand and filled it back up, delivering it with a smile before stalking out of the apartment. Once she was completely alone, she reached out for the remote weakly and turned the TV on for something to get her mind off the pain in her body.

Why would someone drug girls at a party? Especially a party where everyone pretty much knew each other, and there weren't twenty years old scattered about drinking illegally. It was supposed to be a quick little shindig where she could introduce Loki to everyone, maybe grab a drink or two, and then be home at a reasonable hour. That definitely wasn't how the night panned out, but she now knew for the future to be far more careful with her drinks, even in a place where she thought she was safe.

Flipping through the channels, she finally landed on a rerun of Cake Boss, and when she realized there was nothing else on for adults on a Saturday morning at ten, this was going to be the best she could get. So, she chucked the remote down on the coffee table, wrapped herself up in her duvet, and attempted to block out the nausea that was beginning to build in the pit of her stomach.


Loki couldn't believe how often they needed to go out and buy food. He had never shopped for groceries in his life, as the servants back home used to prepare that for him. As a god, he could go for longer without needing sustenance, and yet here it seemed that almost every week humans must restock their ice boxes with all sorts of fresh foods in order to survive. It only made it worse that he and Max were equally terrible at cooking and remembering that they needed food, and he predicted he was going to be spending a lot of the bank's money on food someone else prepared for him.

Shockingly, he wasn't especially upset to fetch Max something to eat that morning. After he had tucked her into the couch the night before, she hadn't so much as rolled over or forced him to do anything extra for her in her sickened state. He spent the majority of the night researching Stark Industries, along with all the information he could find on Steve Rogers. However, the mind was willing, but the flesh was weak and human, so he was forced to retire to get a little bit of sleep sometime around four that morning. Six hours later, he heard Max slam the bathroom door, and he realized it was time to face yet another day of being exceptionally ordinary. Thankfully, Max did not regurgitate anything onto him, and he did not have to deal with her mess in the bathroom.

For someone who had been drugged the night before, she handled herself rather well; she was coherent, functional, and still loaded with her usual sass that kept him on his toes. It was pretty clear that she felt terrible physically, so it made perfect sense for him to dote on her a little while she recovered. After all, she had fetched him a meal while he recovered from that atrocious drinking game they had previously played, so now he was out of her debt with the favour returned.

His march to the downtown area took about ten minutes, as he was now used to a few short-cuts and throughways between neighbourhoods. He was blinded by the sun for the entire walk there, and the wind was chilly enough to make him regret wearing a shirt with short sleeves. However, he had few other ones that would not have been wearable currently, having only purchased thick sweaters and thin shirts for the extremes of this climate; it might take him a little while to get his wardrobe sorted.

However, as he stood inside the little sandwich deli, ordering an egg wrap for Max and a BLT – whatever that was – for himself, he noticed a very quick, abrupt chance in the weather. The skies clouded over, the wind picked up, and he predicted the arrival of a storm. He frowned as he stood in the window while waiting for his sandwiches to be toasted. No rain fell, and yet the sky was immediately dark, clouds full and heavy moving across the landscape. An older man and a young boy sat at a table nearby, clearly enjoying their own breakfast. Suddenly, the boy leapt out of his chair, pressing his hands to the glass.

"Duncan, what are you-"

"Did you see the lightning?" the boy cried, tapping on the glass as Loki eyed him distastefully. "I bet the thunder's coming soon."

"Sit back down," the older man scolded. "Don't press your hands against the glass."

Loki squinted at the sky once more, and then rolled his eyes as two prominent bolts of lightning ripped through the dark clouds. Well, wonder who that might be? He scoffed irritably, and then picked up his sandwiches from the counter. The attendant handed him a bag, and then told him to get home before the rain started; the rain was the farthest thing from his mind at this very moment. It certainly wasn't a concern. He departed from the shop quickly, but instead of hurrying to the shelter of his shared apartment, Loki took a stroll to the east in the direction of the trails where he occasionally jogged. If that bumbling false brother of his was going to show up anywhere, it certainly wasn't going to be in the town itself.

No, Thor was, supposedly, no longer a man who wanted flash and extravagance. He glanced up at the sky just as another bolt of lightning cracked across it, and he decided that some things might never change. It took him about fifteen minutes to reach the start of the thick forest, and he stood at the edge of the trail, a stern expression on his face. The mass of lightning seemed to resonate over this side of town, and he knew that if Thor was searching him out, it wouldn't take long for the Asgardian prince to find him. So, he remained rooted to the start of the dirt trail, hands clasped behind his back, eyes solemn and vengeful as he glared out at the dark forest.

He wasn't kept waiting for long. Shortly after his arrival, a figure emerged from the woods: wide, tall, a telling cape swishing with each step.

"Brother," Thor called, his voice venom to Loki's ears. He said nothing in return, keeping his features expressionless as the man approached. They stood before one another, the small smile falling from Thor's lips, and Loki quirked an eyebrow.

"Have you come to gloat?" Loki asked stiffly, "Surely the All-father knows everything that has happened to me since he banished me to this pitiful place."

"I would never gloat," the man boomed, shaking his head as though Loki were some child who couldn't quite understand everything. "I know the perils of living without one's power… I came to see how you were faring, perhaps give some advice-"

"I neither need nor want any advice from you," Loki spat, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "And do not pretend for a moment that you came to Midgard to see how I am faring. We both know you came to see your woman… Jane, was it?"

Thor's smile had completely disappeared now, and he knew that he had touched a nerve by bringing up the man's beloved. Really, what did he have to worry about? Loki hadn't the slightest idea where this Jane woman might be, and even if he did, he had no means to do anything to her in his current state.

"It seems you've found a woman of your own," Thor commented, nodding down to the bag in Loki's hand. "Does she have you fetching her breakfast already?"

His jaw clenched, but instead of engaging with him, Loki turned away and stalked back in the direction of the town, the first drops of rain hitting his head.

"No, don't walk away," he heard Thor say as he marched after him. "I do want to help you. I want to see you redeemed, and I want you back in Asgard where you belong."

"After everything I've done?" Loki sneered when he turned back to face him, a look of disgust on his face, "You can't be serious."

"The Gods do as they please with mortal realms, and you made a terrible decision, but it isn't one I will hold against you for the rest of our lives," Thor told him plainly. "You must be punished for your cruelty, and I think our father-"

"Your father."

"-has done a fine job in charging you for your crime," he finished, emphasizing the last word for some effect. "You made a foolish play for power and you lost. We all want you to learn and come home where you belong, where you've always belonged."

Loki scoffed noisily and turned away once more. He felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder and he froze, hands balling into fists.

"Please, let me do something to help you," he heard Thor plead. "This punishment is terrible, and I know it firsthand. I have tips-"

"I have lived longer as a human now than you ever did," Loki hissed over his shoulder. "Do not pretend you have more experience in this area. You were a human for a few weeks, and the entire time you displayed yourself as a god regardless of your lack of power. I cannot afford such luxuries."

"Come now," Thor laughed, giving his shoulder a squeeze. "It cannot be all that bad… I hear you've gone back to school with the woman you live with. Tell me, are you learning anything in class? Doing your assignments on time?"

There was a hint of a jab thrown into those comments, and Loki felt his eye twitch; Thor had pushed him a smidge too far. Without much thought, he whirled back and clocked the god directly in the face, slamming his fist into Thor's jaw with all the strength this pathetic body had to offer. Unfortunately, the contact hurt Loki more than it hurt Thor, and he stumbled away, clutching his battered hand to his chest, swearing violently at it.

"Careful, brother," Thor scolded, holding a hand to his face. "Don't hurt yourself…"

"Don't ever return to this place," Loki spat, ignoring his bloodied knuckles for the time being. "I have no need for your sort of advice. In fact, if I were to never see your face again in this lifetime, it would be a much happier one, I can assure you."

He reveled in the brief moment of hurt that flashed across the man's face, but it was gone in the blink of an eye.

"Loki," Thor said softly, "I know you're angry-"

"Angry doesn't even begin to describe how I feel," Loki seethed, glaring at the man with such hatred, such rage, that he thought he might attack him again. It would have been pointless, of course, and Loki instead turned and left the scene without another word. Thor also remained silent, and at the crack of another bolt of lightning, he was gone.


Max woke with a start when she heard the front door slam, and she groggily pushed herself up to see a soaking wet Loki storming across the room.

"Hey," she greeted, rubbing her eyes as she sat up completely. "Apparently it's raining."

"Yes."

He stood behind the couch and fished her out a sandwich from within a white plastic bag, and as he handed it to her, she noticed his knuckles were split and bleeding.

"Oh my god," she cried, ignoring the sandwich and grasping his hand. "What happened? Did you get in a fight at the deli? Dude, this looks awful-"

"It's nothing," Loki told her, wrenching his hand away.

She looked up at his face this time and she saw an anger in there that she had never seen since meeting him. He looked like he was ready to throttle someone; it was actually a little scary.

"No," she persisted, pushing herself off the couch and into a standing position despite her aching body. "No, it isn't nothing… Tell me what happened!"

"Max," he snapped, turning back to face her so sharply that she actually sat back down on the couch. "Don't ask me. It's none of your concern, and, quite frankly, none of your business."

"Okay, okay," she said quickly, holding up her hands to show her surrender. "Do you need any help?"

"No," he all but shouted. Max flinched when he slammed his bedroom door shut, and she sat on the couch, completely dumbfounded by the enormous change in demeanor from the time he left to the time he returned home.

What the hell had happened that got him so riled up? She actually felt a little shaken by the outburst, not used to men shouting and being this angry around her. Swallowing down the emotion that it brought out in her, she settled back into the couch and unwrapped the plastic outer layer of her sandwich, mind racing with possibilities that might have upset him this much.


AUTHOR'S NOTES:

The way I kind of see Thor and Loki's relationship after Avengers was sort of how I see a lot of interactions between the Greek gods in their stories. They do so much stupid shit all the time, and yet they're sort of just like … mehh only a few humans died, it's fine. So, I see Loki being punished, but I don't think he would be held to the same level on Asgard with his adoptive family as he would by people on Earth.

I keep getting ahead of myself for this story. I have a lot of fun scenes planned, but I need to get there first. I also keep planning way too much of the sequel because I'm nerdishly excited for it, but we've got to power through this story first! I know people might be sniffing around for some sort of romance... Here is my little hint: it is currently September in the story, and by the end of October something will happen to make one person in our duo here realize they have some feelings for the other. That's all you get!

I also notice with this story I do a lot of dialogue... That's something I've always wanted to do, but I'm usually kind of bad at conversations. So, this story is kind of my breakout for that. It's fun!

Thank you for the continued support with reviews, adds to favourites, and everything else. The support for this story is actually overwhelming, and I love hearing from you guys!