Steve awoke to an empty bed. He wasn't surprised, but he was still disappointed. He glanced at the clock realizing it was the next day. Had he really slept that long? He sat up rubbing his eyes until he heard a distant heaving sound. He listened for a bit longer until he realized it was coming from his bathroom. Slipping from his bed, he slipped on some pants then followed the sound. He found Loki hunched over his toilet, spilling his guts. Steve gawked at him, "Are you okay?"
Loki wiped his mouth then slowly turned to look at Steve, "I feel like I have a need for a market," he replied quietly.
"How about a doctor?" Steve suggested.
Loki shook his head and rose to his feet. Steve took notice that he was still naked, but at the moment, he was more concerned with him being sick. "I'd prefer a market place first, before we jump the gun," Loki said.
"Steve frowned, eyeing Loki once more, "Very well."
After they dressed, Steve lead the way down the stairs and to the apartment's parking garage where Steve had his bike parked.
"What's this?" Loki asked.
"My motorcycle," Steve said as he got onto it. "Hop on," he said gesturing towards the seat behind him.
"No way!" Loki protested. "Besides, too many people recognize my face. Wont that be bad for your image, riding with the enemy?"
"What, like last night?" Steve asked, turning Loki's words against him.
Loki felt the heat rise in his cheeks, almost startled by the suaveness in Steve's words. He had pulled a Loki on him, and Loki wondered if he was rubbing off on the man. Loki snorted and his body glowed, transforming himself back to Lonna. "I think I'll be more comfortable, like this."
Steve gawked at her. He knew he shouldn't be surprised, but he had mixed feelings on seeing her again. Sure it's the same person, but something about it made him hurt on the inside. "Hop on," he said again.
Lonna kicked her leg over the side, sitting really close to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her cheek into his back. The feeling was nice and made her feel quite at home. Steve started up the motorcycle and they drove off. They road down the street, passing in and out of traffic until they reached a small stop and shop. Steve came to a stop, allowing Lonna to get off.
"You don't have to come in, I know what I need," she assured him.
"Do you even have any money?" Steve asked.
"You think I was working for SHIELD for free?" Lonna smiled. Her smile was much more inviting in this form.
"Oh...alright then," Steve got up off the bike anyway, "I'll just wait out here then." Lonna started to walk towards the door when Steve called out again, "And get me a pop!"
Lonna waved her hand over her shoulder than entered the store. Steve leaned against the mail container that stood outside the shop, waiting for Lonna to get whatever it was she was looking for. He wasn't sure what kind of illnesses Asgardians got, but he hoped it wasn't anything serious.
"Mommy! It's Captain America!" came the voice of a young girl.
Steve glanced over at her, seeing her run towards him brought a smile to his face.
"Candace, don't go running up to him like that!" her mother called.
Steve smiled, squatting down to the small girl's level, "It's all fine by me ma'am," Steve beamed up at her.
The woman rested a hand on her chest, her cheeks flushed. "No need to call me ma'am," she stammered.
Steve smiled, "Only being polite, ma'am."
The woman held her cheeks, completely embarrassed, but Steve directed his attention to the small girl, "So your name is Candace, huh?"
The girl suddenly became really bashful, but nodded, her blond pigtails bouncing as she did so, "Uh-huh!"
"I'm guessing you're a fan?" Steve asked.
The girl's face brightened up, "Yeah," she beamed then spun around to show him her backpack which was made to look like his shield, "Good ol' red, white, and blue!" she announced.
Steve nodded, "Only the best," he agreed. Suddenly, Steve was tackled from the side, but he wasn't quick to react. Something told him he didn't have anything to worry about. Once he looked over his shoulder, he knew he was fine. Clinging to his side was a small boy.
"I'm sooo sorry," came another female voice, "He just insisted on saying hi," she giggled.
Steve smirked, "Is this how he usually greets people?"
The mother shook her head, "He's actually quite shy," she admitted.
Steve looked to the small boy, "Is that true?"
The boy didn't respond, but that was answer enough. Soon Steve found himself surrounded by children and hungry mothers, taking pictures, (as well as a few fathers). To his relief, Lonna finally exited the store, bag in hand. The look on her face was priceless as the bag almost slipped from her fingers. Steve glanced over at Lonna, relief filling his face.
Lonna smirked, "Having fun?"
Everyone's eyes locked on her in an instant. A sense of jealousy filled the air. Lonna swallowed hard and rose a brow. But as Lonna had said before, she doesn't threaten. Smiling, she approached the Steve, weaving in and out of the crowd of children. Once she reached Steve, she reached into her bag and pulled out a lollie pop.
"What's this for?" he asked.
"You said you wanted a pop, right?" she tilted her head, now confused for once.
Steve sighed, "Soda-pop. I forgot most people call it soda now, but I guess it all depends where you're from."
"Well next time be more specific," she said jabbing him in the shoulder. Her attention was drawn away by a sudden tugging on her pant leg. She looked down to see a small boy staring up at her. Steve tensed up, unsure how she might react. Lonna stared at the boy a bit longer, "Yes?"
"Who are you?" the boy asked.
"She's my friend," Steve replied, not giving Lonna a chance to come up with some elaborate response.
"Is she a superhero too? Does she have powers?" the boy asked.
"She's very powerful," Steve replied.
"Are you an Avenger?" a small girl asked, looking up at Lonna with cute brown eyes.
Another girl came up alongside her, "Did you help fight away the aliens?"
The boy that was already at her side asked, "Or that bad guy?"
Steve could see the hurt in Lonna's face. Usually she was so good at hiding how she felt, but at that moment, it was clear that each question chipped away at her a bit. "Unfortunately," he started, "She wasn't here when the aliens attacked. She was in a completely different realm." he assured them.
A young teenage girl who had been standing off to the side, asked, "So...you're like...an alien too?"
"Something like that," Lonna replied.
"But you don't look like an alien," the young boy said.
"Do you guys know who Thor is?" Lonna asked.
"Yessss!" the group of children said in unison.
"He's an alien," she smiled, "We're from the same place, in fact."
"Wow," a girl swooned, "Do you have a magic hammer too?"
Lonna smiled then crouched down to the girl's height, "No...but I have magic." With a gesture of her hand, she conjured up three cats. One black, one white and one golden brown. The cats purred and meowed, moving around the crowed and rubbed up against the small children. The children laughed as the cats passed by them and got in a line. Suddenly the cats rose onto their hind legs and from thin air they conjured bright colored balls and began to juggled. The children laughed in delight. Even Steve was taken aback by Lonna's genuine smile.
"Sorry to cut this short," Steve interrupted, "but we need to get going."
The crowed of people that had gathered, awed simultaneously.
"Sorry guys," Steve waved as he hopped onto his bike.
Lonna rose back to a standing position and disbanded the cats as she got onto the back of the bike, wrapping her arms around Steve's waist. Steve stared up the bike, saluted to the crowed and drove off.
They came up to a small diner that Steve had come to favor. Pulling to a stop, he let Lonna off then followed behind her. "You're pretty good with kids," Steve said suddenly.
Lonna smiled, "I have kids of my own," she admitted.
Steve stopped in his tracks, "Wait...what? Really?"
Lonna turned to face him, "Are you really that surprised. I've been around for a long time, I get bored."
"So you decided to spawn a few children in spite?"
"Not all of them were born of boredom," she assured him, "I was married for a while," she paused, "a few times actually."
Steve was utterly baffled, "Well...what...happened?"
"Life...some things just don't always last," she shrugged.
"And what about your kids?" Steve asked.
Lonna let out a long sigh, "It's complicated." She shook her head, "I haven't seen most of them in a long while, mostly because my...the Allfather banned them to different realms to punish me." She bit her lip, "But that was a long time ago. Let's get something to eat," she said turning back towards the door.
Steve took in a deep breath, then slowly let it out. It would surly take him a while to wrap his mind around that bombshell. He followed Lonna inside, managing to get to the door just as she did, but like any gentlemen, he couldn't resist holding the door for her. Once inside, she turned to him again and said, "You get a table, I'm gonna run to the rest room really quick." Steve nodded and found a booth as Lonna disappeared into the single person stall.
Reaching into the bag she still held, she withdrew the white box that lay inside, opened it up and followed the directions. A few minutes passed and she found herself gawking at the plastic stick in her hand. It was positive. A loud bang came to the door, "I'M BUSY!" she shouted back. She hadn't quite thought of what to say, nor did she care. After a few more minutes of gawking at it, she tossed it into the waste bin and left the stall.
Steve waved to get her attention, signaling where he was sitting. As if nothing happened, she sat with a smile. After all, she is the king of lies. Looking down, she glanced at the menu, "Midgardian food is strange," she said.
Steve smiled, "Never had a hamburger before?" he chuckled.
Lonna rose a brow, "What's a hamburger?"
"Just what kind of food do you have on Asgard?" Steve snorted.
"Real food," Lonna replied reading through the menu, "Nothing like...why in the world would you need to stuff a turkey into pork, stuffed into beef?" she asked, scrunching up her nose. Just the idea of trying to figure out how that worked made her stomach churn. This is not going to be fun, she thought to herself. "It sounds like something Volstagg came up with, which I don't doubt."
"Volstagg?" Steve asked.
Lonna looked up from the menu, "He's...a friend...of Thor's," she shrugged, "Let's just say he really likes food."
Steve nodded, "I'm sure. Speaking of which, have you decided?"
"I think I'll get the strawberry pancakes...no...blueberry french toast...no the crepe," she mulled it over a bit longer. "The strawberry french toast." She looked up at him, but flushed slightly when she saw his amused stare.
"Hungry?" he chuckled.
"Indecisive," she corrected. But the truth lay within her, literally.
Moments later, their food arrived and Steve got a good laugh out of watching Lonna hork down her food. If only he knew the true reason behind her growth in hunger and sudden food mood swings. "So, that's a hamburger?" she asked unsure if she really wanted to know the answer.
Steve wiped his mouth on a napkin, then gave a nod, "Wanna try?"
Lonna scrunched up her nose in distaste, but she couldn't help but admit that it did smell pretty good, "I guess...maybe...?"
Steve held it out for her, which she took hesitantly, "Am I holding it right?"
"Yeah, you have it," Steve chuckled.
Lonna took a bite of the burger then quickly handed it back to Steve like it was poison.
"Well?"
"It's good," she admitted, "I just never expected the combination to work."
"Well now you can bring it back to Asgard and share it with your friends," Steve suggested.
"Are you trying to get rid of me?" Lonna asked.
Steve's eyes quickly shot back to his burger as he struggled not to look into her eyes, "No...I...like yo- having you around," he replied.
Lonna looked to her plate, which was practically clean by now, "Things might be easier if you didn't," she mumbled.
Steve's eyes shot to her, "What do you mean by that?"
Lonna shook her head, "Nothing," she assured him. "Maybe next time I visit Asgard, I'll bring you with me," she said suddenly.
Steve perked up, "Really?"
Lonna feigned a smile, "Sure, I mean so long as it's ok with Thor...and the Allfather...and Heimdall, I wouldn't see why not," Now you've done it, she told herself.
A/N: And so Loki keeps getting himself into deeper shit. :D Time to mess with him for a bit.
