Glitch: Hi.
MsMoon: ...
Glitch: Wot?
MsMoon: ... So, hello. I am MsMoon.
Glitch: And I am Glitch!
MsMoon: And we are the Knights of Shiloh responsible for this literary work.
Glitch: We kinda figured it was about time we introduced ourselves individually
MsMoon: Yus.
Glitch: So… uh….hi.
MsMoon: Yus… I suppose… I mean, we should probably be more specific about who we are and what we do..uh.. Glitch here is responsible for Elizabeth.
Glitch: Yes! I write Elizabeth!
MsMoon: And everything in first person. If it's in first person POV, then it's probably Glitch's doing.
Glitch: It's my specialty.
MsMoon: Indeed. As for myself.
Glitch: You're Mother Theresa :3
MsMoon: …uh… yeah. I write Theresa.
Glitch: And anything in third person…and you add stuff onto my stuff too, akshully ..
MsMoon: Yeah -..-' But, you know… half the time you're busy, and uh… you don't always… you know… get stuff done.
Glitch: Hey, I'm the one who works!
MsMoon: Yes…
Glitch: If I'm the one that's bringing home the bacon, the least you can do is fry it up in a pan!
MsMoon: …you're going to give people false assumptions about this relationship…
Glitch: …
MsMoon: …
Glitch: Right.
MsMoon: Yes. So!
Glitch: Hi!
MsMoon: -..- Hi.
Glitch: We will have another chapter up soon! There's just so much going on right now.
MsMoon: That's right. Glitch works part time and she's also a full time student. She also draws artwork for us both because I can't do any art worth anything.
Glitch: Yeah, but you're good with the words…
MsMoon: I use my words? :)
Glitch: Yeah :3 Yeah you do the words proper.
MsMoon: So…yeah…
Glitch: Hi! :D
MsMoon: Right :3 We, uh… we'll be putting stuffs up soon.
Glitch: I seen some things man…
MsMoon: And some stuff!
Both: Wouldn't recommend it! XD
MsMoon: OK, we're gonna stop with this now before it goes totally ADD.
Glitch: Please do enjoy!
I woke up to an empty bed, with a strange sense of both euphoria and soreness. I smiled, breathing in Mr. Stark's smell. Stretching, I sighed happily at last night's events.
Then reality hit me like a slap in the face.
I sat up and so many thoughts ran through my mind.
I had indeed become another notch in his headboard. I finally saw this man I've admired for what he really was. In my naivety and stupidity, hadn't believed any of the stories about him and his escapades. But I now knew all the stories were true.
I hastily checked into the security cameras that monitored the hallways... it wasn't even daylight yet, but I wanted to be certain that I wouldn't bump into anyone. Grabbing furiously at all my clothes, I hunched over the crumpled buddle and hurried down the hallway to my room. I sighed in relief once the door to my room was closed. My arms loosened, and I simply let my clothes frump to the floor. I could sort them out later, but right now… right now, all I wanted to do was dive under the covers and try to get over this intense feeling of self-loathing.
Loki opened his eyes slowly, letting them adjust to the onset of light that peeked through the heavy curtains. He started momentarily at the foreign surroundings before remembering the events that brought him here. He had slept harder here than he had since…since Asgard. Since what felt like ages ago…before he felt the need to compare himself to everyone else, since that was whatever else seemed so focused on. He sighed softly, reminding himself not to let it fester. He carefully rolled onto his side, wincing as his sore muscles protested. He had just enough time to wonder what his host was occupying herself with before he saw the swaying feet at the end of his bed…. There was a high backed lounge there, but evidently Theresa was laying on her belly, her legs forked up into the air as her feet peddled idly in the air. His curiosity took him, and he crept forward quietly to peer down at whatever had her attention. He only found a worn and abused notebook in which she was scribbling furiously. Her handwriting was atrocious, not at all like any of ladies at court that he'd known some of it he could barely make out. He stayed where he was, wondering over her ability to zone into her own thing.
She turned a page and heatedly scrawled another paragraph before sighing. She looked up slowly staring forward with a perplexed expression. Her eyes slowly trialed to the night before fully looking up at him. Her eyes widened as she rolled slightly on her side to look up at him looming over her.
"Loki." She smiled, but then she rolled a little too far to one side and let out a squeak as she hit the ground. She squinted up at him, her smile somewhat dampened. "Good morning."
"Good morning." He said with a grin. "And what, pray, are you doing?"
"You mean what was I doing?" Theresa asked as she levered herself up. "Just writing, as usual." She said with a wane smile. "It's the only thing I'm good at."
"After last night, I feel I should argue the point."
Theresa descended into a fit of giggles, and Loki really didn't know what to do with himself.
"I'm sorry." Theresa said when she finally had a bit of breath to spare. "Humans just don't function properly when they begin to get sleepy."
"You stayed up all night?" He asked, shock evident in his tone.
She nodded. "I said I would, didn't I?" she answered, finger-combing her hair back.
"I'm sorry…" Loki began, but she waved him off.
"I can sleep some other time. Besides, my sleep schedule is different from the average person." She informed as she planted a foot on the ground and began to rise. "I usually go to bed between 5 and 8 in the morning and sleep till 1 or 2 in the afternoon."
"Why?" Loki asked with a curious expression.
"The same reason any human has ever done anything. Because it works and because I can." She stretched her arms high above her head. "So, your usual clothes are still in pretty dreadful shape…" She said, making a squeamish face in the general direction of the bathroom. "I have some of my dad's old clothes that you could use."
He eyed the folded pile of what he'd arrived in yesterday. Relocating from one place to the other was one thing, but mending something that had been torn to tatters? Well, that took time to spin some clever magic… Funny, he didn't remember her folding it last night. She must've done it in the night to keep herself occupied. Still, he was in no shape to mend his clothing right now, and considering Theresa's reaction to his lack of clothing last night… well, he had few options.
"I'd be much obliged."
After a bit of rummaging in the bottom of a closet, Theresa pulled out a plastic bin with several pairs of shirts and pants. "Um… I'm thinking they might be a bit big on you, actually." She said with a smirk. "Daddy wasn't a small man." She observed. Finally she laid out a green and black plaid button-up shirt and some dark over-all jeans, the knees of which were so worn they were nearly holy.
"What were you writing?" Loki asked absently as he eyed the bottom half of that ensemble critically.
"Hm?… oh. Uh. Just a scene that popped into my head. Normally, I only write down snippets of things this early in the morning, and I get around to typing them up in the afternoon." She sighed. "I'll just, uh… step out and let you change." She said, her left hand reaching up to scratch the back of her neck while her right hand scratched her left elbow…it was an interesting knot that she'd twisted herself into. "Eggs and sausage, ok?"
He nodded. "I'm sure I'll enjoy anything you prepare." He said diplomatically.
Theresa scurried off to the kitchen to start cooking. She tried not to think of the fact that this had gone well beyond coercion and straight into aiding and abetting. Biscuits in the oven, sausage patties on the flat griddle, beating up some eggs for egg patties to go with, she'd need to take some cheese out of the fridge for sandwiches….Unfortunately, cooking was an activity she could do on autopilot, allowing her mind to wonder. She couldn't help but keep coming back to the fact that she was now genuinely concerned for Loki… she may even break conventional mores as well as established laws just to make certain he was safe. The fact that he had become more important than her own sense of security was beginning to make her anxious.
She sighed as she flipped the sausage patties, making sure they would brown properly on both sides. The egg patties were firming up quite nicely. She wandered back to the table and made sure it was clear, putting the bowl of fruit she'd ordered front and center. The oven beeped, signaling that the biscuits had only a minute left. She ducked down and noticed they were turning nice and golden. She took a moment just to inhale, taking in the scent of food in the kitchen.
"Well?" She heard Loki say as he slowly entered the kitchen. "Will this suffice?" She turned to look at him and smiled. He was much taller than her father, but nowhere near as barrel-chested. The over-alls actually looked adorable on him, hanging off of him like a child playing dress-up.
"Well, you're no farmer, but it'll do in a pinch." She said with a chuckle. "Have a seat." She said, motioning to the kitchen table. Theresa had to resist the urge to help him pull out his chair and sit down, but she reminded herself that he really didn't need a 'nursemaid', as he'd said.
"So, what was it you were writing?" He asked and she smirked. Like a dog with a bone, he was.
"Oh… Just a little scene between Roderick and the elf princess Shaylin." She announced. His eyebrows hiked up very high as he eyed her taking the biscuits out of the oven.
"Uh… Yes." He said with a nod as he reached for one of the bananas in the fruit bowl. "Naturally… so this is a love scene?"
She blinked. "Not really…not at all. Though Roderick is professing his love for her, Shaylin seems less than swayed."
"Well, most ladies do require a bit of persuasion… or pursuit." He said with a half smirk.
"Speaking from experience, are we." She said with a smirk, he lowered his eyes to the table, but he was doing nothing to hide his wolfish grin. "I don't think Roderick realizes how impossible he suit is."
"I assume that she doesn't accept his affections."
"Not at all. In fact, she's warned him repeatedly to stay out of her father's territory, but he isn't exactly the type to temper himself."
"Sounds like the usual hero." Loki murmured. When Theresa looked back to the table, Loki had somehow managed to actually slice up the banana, even though she was certain he hadn't moved from the table and she hadn't given him a knife. Odd. But whatever.
"Well, it doesn't end well for him."
"Oh. The lady refuses him outright?" Loki said with a soft smile.
"…You could say that. I mean, when he declared his love for her, she gutted him and loosed her hunting hounds on him."
"I…what?" Loki's head snapped, his attention suddenly on the woman who was placing patties of egg, sausage and cheese in between the biscuits she'd just finished slicing. His eyes happened to catch the sight of her cat—Vlad, she called him—licking his chops.
"Breakfast." Theresa sang out as she placed the plate of breakfast sandwiches on the table.
"Uh…thank you." He said tentatively. He watched as she seated herself next to him, and studied how she grabbed one of the sandwiches so that he was certain he knew exactly how to consume this strange sandwich. He took one, placed his elbows on the table, and took a big bite just as she had…. It was delicious. He nodded and took another bite. "So…this scene between the would-be suitor and his vicious lady..."
She chuckled. "Well, Shaylin knows Roderick. She's observed him from afar, and she understands who his is. She learned early on that Roderick uses 'love' as a weapon to conquer women. Even if it means nothing to him, he'll tell a girl he loves her just to get under her skirt. She knows this, and he's infuriated her with his indignation over her constant refusals."
Loki's eyebrows were the most animated thing on his face as she explained this. Theresa wasn't sure why, but she enjoyed watching understanding dawn on his face, but she almost wanted to giggle at his eyebrows. She assumed this was from her keen need to sleep.
"Well, when you put it that way…" He murmured absently. "Still..it hardly gives him any chance to learn from his mistakes if you allow her to simply kill him off."
This time, it as Theresa's eyebrows that were peaking. "Maybe I can have him crawl away… become a bit of a badass and turn him into a dark horse… someone who could pose a threat to the elf kingdom…" she said with a shrug.
Loki's eyes narrowed just slightly. "Dark Horse?...I … I don't understand."
"'Dark Horse' is, uh… a colloquialism for someone who you assume is benign, but then turns out to be very skilled." She smiled. "I think it's a term that came from racing horses… Probably. Because the horses that would run their hearts out would get tired and then a dark horse would just chill in the back and burst into speed and take the lead from them." She nodded. "Seems legit." She looked over at him and grinned. "You're a bit of a dark horse, Loki."
"Am I?" Loki asked, looking to her in surprise.
"Well, everyone underestimates your capabilities, but it doesn't stop you from putting them in their place." She said with a tiny smirk. He had to smirk back at that. "So…What are your plans for today?" She asked as she rose to get some juice from the fridge.
"I feel, now that I've eaten, I definitely have the strength to leave." He said with a nod. "And you? What will you do today?"
She chuckled softly, placing glasses on the table. "Well, for now the only definite thing on the agenda is sleep." She said, pouring them both a bit of juice.
He nodded. "I'd say you've earned it." He sipped at the dark crimson liquid in the glass, his lips puckering slightly at the bitter taste. Or perhaps the contrast of the savory sausage and cheese biscuits was making the juice seem stronger than usual. It wasn't a bad flavor… very clean and rich.
"You are looking much better." She said, single finger plucking along the length of his chin as she tilted his face up so that she could exam it better. She smiled softly as she looked him over, and there was a gentle fondness in her eyes that made his stomach clench slightly…. The feeling was most curious, but he reasoned that it had been quite a while since anyone had been genuinely concerned for him.
"I…" He cleared his throat. "Thank you for…your assistance. I..." What could he say? Really? 'Thanks for the bath, see you around?' It felt odd… finding this safe place. Even more so since she really owed him nothing. She was not his kin, nor a worshiper, nor obligated to serve him in any fashion. In fact, it was quite apparent that he was often imposing on her… and yet she had guarded him quite dutifully, attended to him almost benevolently, and bantered with him effortlessly. If he was being honest (and he could do so much with himself if nothing else), he'd admit that somehow in the still and quiet while neither of them were looking, a bond had formed between them. He could feel it, as tangible as anything physical. And yet this knowledge only made him feel.. awkward.
Her smile widened. "You're welcome, Loki." She said, incapable of finding his verbal clumsiness anything but adorable. "You'll have to come around some time when you're not near exhaustion. Hopefully after I've gotten some sleep."
His head tipped down slightly, smiling as he nodded. "I look forward to it." And he did. He really did.
I couldn't get up. I just couldn't bring myself to walk through this house in front of everybody to get to my office.
I turned over in my bed, looking at my calendar, and realized it was Saturday. I glanced over at my alarm clock.
8:05p.m.
"Where have I been? It's already night."
I sighed and slinked out of bed. I looked at my unkempt appearance in the mirror.
"I'm glad I'm not working today," I said to myself. "I don't feel like getting dressed."
I slipped on my house shoes and left my room. After I shut the door behind me, I looked up and down the hallway.
It was too quiet.
I sneaked up stairs to the kitchen and looked around.
"Jarvis," I said. "Where is everyone?"
"I'm afraid that is classified, Miss." Jarvis replied.
"Classified, my ass." I mumbled.
I tapped in to the Stark System to see what was so classified. I landed upon a man with an eye patch, lecturing some of the Avengers. A performance review? Interesting. It seems even my higher-ups have higher-ups. The man's tone was stern, and his over-all manner just seemed severe.
I knew an officer when I saw one. And this was an officer who looked like someone who should not be messed with. I backed out of the feed before the system could detect my handle, and found myself back in the kitchen.
I was home alone, which meant I could get some housework done without interruptions. I walked up to the sink and stood staring at the immense amount of dishes with my hands on my hips.
"Thor." I sighed.
I shook my head and started filling up one side of the sink with soap and water.
While thinking about last night's events, I washed dishes in silence. I wasn't in the mood to bust out into random song and dance while washing dishes along with the beat of a quirky song.
I'd been used. Another notch under Mr. Stark's belt, and I should have known that was going to happen. This is why his and Pepper's relationship failed. I couldn't shake the feeling that Mr. Stark didn't love me…or the fact that I'd just assumed that he did because he had been acting 'so romantic'. It's difficult to see the ugly side of someone that you've admired for so long.
After a while of monotonous dishwashing, I heard footsteps behind me, and I froze. I wasn't alone in the house after all.
"What's wrong?" I heard Natasha ask.
I whirled around, soapy water dripping from my hands.
"What?" I asked, confused.
"You're doing dishes without having music blaring through the house."
I just stared.
"I know you a lot better than you think. I am a spy after all." Natasha said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Your hair is a mess, you're still in your pajamas, you're not dancing around, and you're in a hurry, nearly breaking the dishes. Usually, you're well dressed, bouncy, and you take your time with chores. Hell, you practically celebrate your chores."
I turned back to the sink, my eyes welling to the brim with tears.
Natasha slowly walked next to me and started rinsing dishes.
"Talk to me." she said quietly.
"You wouldn't understand." I sniffed, still occupying myself with washing. "You've never been used."
Natasha suddenly burst out laughing.
"I've never been used? How many times do I have to tell you? I'm a SPY! I use people and people use me, that's how it goes."
She had a point.
"It's Mr. Stark." I blurted, turning to her. She stopped rinsing a coffee mug and slowly looked up at me.
"What stupid thing did he do this time?"
This made me laugh a little, but tears started to come back.
"It's really nothing." Before Natasha could protest, I looked down at her bandaged foot. "What happened?"
"Oh, I just sprained it during our last brawl with Loki; it's no big deal. I've been in my bed since then."
I blushed. "So you were here last night?"
"Yeah." she simply said, picking up another dish and cleaning it off.
"So, you knew Mr. Stark and I were here alone last night. Well, I thought we were alone."
"Actually, I thought everyone had left to go out for the night. I didn't know you two-" She trailed off. Natasha suddenly looked at me, her eyes wide as if she'd suddenly had an idea.
"You and Tony." She barely uttered.
I slowly nodded, turning from the sink. The dishes were now done, and I sat at the kitchen table to take a break before my next task. Natasha kept her injured foot hiked and stayed at the sink.
"He'll sleep with anyone," She murmured to herself. She suddenly glanced over at me. "No offense."
I nonchalantly waved my hand, dismissing her remark.
After a few minutes of silence, I said, "I just don't know what to do. I mean, work is going to be awkward now. And I feel like an idiot."
"Just act casual." Natasha told me, hobbling over to join me. She sat down before continuing. "You're going to have to continue to work with him and do what he says. Just keep playing employer and employee. I really doubt he'll mention anything. He'll sleep with someone else soon and probably forget all about the night with you. No offense, but that's just how the man works."
"I know," I groaned. "I should have seen it coming, but I've admired him for the longest time."
Natasha nodded in understanding. I glanced down at her foot again and suddenly got an idea.
"Okay, girl," I said, standing up. "You need a pedi and I need to let off some more steam. I'll help you to your room."
Before Natasha could protest, I pulled her arm around my shoulders and helped her down the stairs to her bedroom. I opened the door for her and walked her to her bed.
"Just wait here while I get my mani/pedi kit," I smiled. Natasha and I had never had girl time before. "This'll be so much fun," I gushed to myself. "Girl time with an Avenger."
As I walked down the hallway toward my room, I suddenly got light headed.
"Wha-?" I held myself up against the hallway wall. "What's going on?"
Suddenly, everything in front of me started fading in and out. Random images started going through my mind and I started to panic.
I slowly made my way to my bedroom, but I couldn't grip the doorknob when I tried opening my door. After a few attempts while random images kept surfacing, I finally managed to open my door. I knew something had to be wrong with my technopathy, so I tried tapping in to the Stark security system. When I tried, I kept seeing a red flash of an error and static kept appearing.
"Not again." I groaned before hitting my floor from collapsing.
Glitch: …I need to get my shit together…
MsMoon: .. indeed. So, yeah. There ya have it…
Glitch: Who's looking forward to chapter 10 :3
MsMoon: … next month?
Glitch: …oh, you're hilarious ..
MsMoon: I now pronounce you finished and posted...if anyone should object—
Glitch: NO!
