She drew herself up sharply when Loki raised his hands. Setting her jaw she stood and went to the panel by the door and slid it open. "Everything's just fine guys. I just need a minute here." She called out as she shut the monitors down.
She rounded on Loki, her clothes hanging loose at her shoulders, and poked her finger at him. "Now I don't know what kind of game you think you are playing with me. Whatever it is, you need to think again, because I sir, am NOT playing! SHIELD and Odin be damned, there is no way either of us are spending the rest of our lives in this fishbowl! I offer you a home, MY home." She shook her head. "No, I offer you my and DAVID'S home and this is how you act. Are you going to make me shove that key down your ungrateful throat?"
"As amazingly attractive as the image of you getting rough with me is, no you do not have to force it down my throat." His eyebrow rose while she poked his chest. Loki grabbed her hand and laced his fingers through hers. "I was making sure that you were serious, too many have made promises and reneged on them. I am done playing with the powers that be as much as you are. Now that we are done being snippy, I am going to my room and then to the kitchen." He squeezed her hand once more then walked away.
Sophie stalked out of the room after Loki, not able to drop her temper as fast as he seemed to. "I am nowhere near done being snippy. You are testing MY sincerity? That's rich. What makes you think that I don't need some kind of reassurance here? Maybe I need to know if I am just a diversion for a dead man walking or if there's something else, something more? Sure, you turned away that girl this morning, but maybe you need a bit more of a challenge than a random fuck toy to get off. Fine. I've had more than my share of one night stands. I'm a big girl. I can handle that. I can handle an 'until you do something stupid enough to make someone kill you' stand, as long as I know that's what it is. You want to play tragic romantic, let me get my damn petticoats and poetry books and I'll be Mary fucking Shelley until you're dead. But you made me think that you had hope and that you saw a future. Don't you DARE do that to me unless you mean it. Because I know I have serious problems here one way or another."
Loki paused at his doorway and wheeled on her. "If you were just a diversion we would not be standing here yelling at one another! What future can we have Sophie? We have already been over this, as much as I would love to plan on moving in and on with you there is a rather large problem to face, Thanos. We both know how that will play out unless assistance can be had, but if I recall correctly, you shot that idea down because it involves your ring correct? So no going forward with that. The idea of telling Thor was shot down as well."
He stalked forward, backing her into the wall behind them. "What do you suggest we do then, hmm? Right now I know exactly what your serious problem is, its standing right in front of you. You become mad because I question your sincerity, I have reasons for that."
He sighed and backed away to his door, opening it. "Those reasons do not matter anymore, I can virtually smell the fear coming off of you at the thought of being intimate with me for more than a day. Pardon me If I cannot grasp that concept from the woman I care for….not again." He walked through the doorway and closed the door.
Sophie yanked the door open. Her eyes were filled with tears and heat. "I told you to not ever think that I didn't want you." She drew in a stuttering breath. "And you, you told me that you wouldn't doubt me. So why do you doubt me?"
Loki sat on the bed with his head in his hands, he couldn't bear to see her tears. "Because, of the three women I have ever loved; two of them promised to share their lives with me, be my reason to deal with the horrors that surround me, and yet they left as soon as my so called brother batted an eyelash in their direction.
The third…" He looked up at her, tears brimming in his own eyes to match hers. "She stands before me saying to never doubt that she wants me, and yet is afraid to let it happen. She fears what everyone would think of her if she let the monster in, and she is afraid to care for the creature responsible for the death of her brother."
His breath stuttered as he inhaled. "I have no idea how to express how sorry I am for what happened to those innocents, do I regret what I did? No. Do I regret what happened to your brother and Sarah's family and the mother of those children and Brittany's fathers? Yes I do, even if their blood is not directly on my hands, I regret what happened to them."
The tears in her eyes fell out, running down her cheeks as she went to him and kneeled next to where he sat. Looking up at him she said. "Loki. You are not a creature or a monster. I promise that. And…" She took a deep breath. "Yes, I am afraid. I am very afraid. You're right about that part, but there are a hundred reason why that have nothing to do with that. And it doesn't matter if I am afraid to care for you, because I do. It not like it's a choice I have to make. I just DO."
She reached out to touch his leg. When he didn't shake her hand off, she laid her hand on his knee.
Loki didn't shake her touch away, but neither did he encourage more. "What is it then? What is it that makes your heart stone? Perhaps we can conquer our fears….together."
"Stone?" She almost laughed through the tears. "Hardly. Today was the first time that you even sounded slightly sincere about literally, any kind of future. I'm not talking about commitment or life plans or me. I'm talking about the fact that you seemed decided about the fact that you probably won't survive the week and even if you do, it will be pointless. Here, let me just toss my heart and any kind of future there would be without you out the window so we can have a good afternoon? I need to know that when you walk out that door, you want to and at least think it's possible for you to walk back in. And don't you realize that when I brought you that sweatshirt and let you know about the ring. It wasn't to plot and plan. It was because if you knew about it, neither of us had to be afraid alone. I've been… together with you since then."
"That's just it, Sophie, I do not want to walk out that door, I fear that I will not be able to walk back in next week. Fear for my safety as well as yours." He shook his head and moved her hand off of his leg so he could stand.
"Let us drop the subject and try to enjoy the last of the day shall we?" Loki went to his nightstand and dropped the key she handed him on the top, then left the room.
She turned her face to her lap and wept. "Then how do we fix it? I know you have made plans for the Tesseract, but I can't see how it can do anything but drop Thanos right on top of the world and us. You wanted Thor, but," her voice cracked, "all I know about him is that he can chat about executing his own brother over coffee and that he makes decisions that are disastrous for me. Help me here." She was talking to no one, but she still needed to say it.
Loki wound up in the kitchen where he grabbed a glass of ice water and went to sit on the window seat. He took a drink of the water and drew his knees up to his chest to rest his arms over them, glass dangling loosely from his fingers. He sat and thought, thought and thought more. About everything and nothing all at once, one thing for certain was he needed to speak to Thor.
" Heimdall" He whispered, "I know you cannot answer but please in your ever present wisdom guide me, I do not deserve anything that has been presented before me. Not the borderline kindness that those here have shown me nor the affection of the woman in the other room, who I am certain at this point wants nothing more to do with me, but I ask all the same."
He rested his head back against the wall behind him. "What would mother do? What can I do to prove that I am worthy of happiness? I wish Frigga were here, she would know exactly what to say, she always did." A tear slid down his cheek.
"If you would relay a message to Thor, I need to speak to him the next he is available." Loki released a shuddering breath. "I have information regarding the Titan Thanos."
Sophie calmed herself after a few minutes and left Loki's room wiping her face with the back of her hands. She saw him back in the window seat where he had been so happily sketching earlier. It almost made her cry again, but she blinked her eyes clear. "Loki? I….I'll make dinner."
He kept his gaze out the window. "I am not really hungry, don't worry about making anything for me."
She sighed and crossed to stand next to the windows. "I would have just been cooking for you probably, anyway."
"Save yourself the hassle then, not much point if no one is going to eat it. Besides, there are still enough baked goods to sink a ship." He gave her a weak smile and returned his gaze to the skyline.
Sophie took a few steps closer to where Loki sat and tapped on the glass with her finger. "It's behind that building right there, next to the blue glass one. In case you wondered."
His eyes followed to where her finger pointed. "I will keep that in mind, thank you."
"There's a tiny doughnut shop at the end of the block." She stared out the window. "The owners are really good people. They let me wait tables there in the mornings after…everything happened and my other job wasn't there anymore. It wasn't hard, but it was really early in the morning. They called me 'shell shocked' and 'poor thing' when they thought I couldn't hear, but they were good. That's where S.H.I.E.L.D. found me, brought me straight into Fury's office. That's why I looked so good, covered in spilled coffee and doughnut sugar."
Loki's lips quirked. "No wonder I had an adverse reaction when I saw you, it was the coffee. Horrible stuff."
Sophie cocked her head. "I make good, no, great coffee, thank you."
"You could be the best coffee maker in the nine realms, it would not change my tastes."
"I very well could be and no one will ever know, cause here I am. I'm tied to a tea drinker." She sighed dramatically.
He took a drink of his water and his smirk grew a little more. "Not tied, that particular kink would be later in the relationship."
Sophie looked back out the window at the shimmering buildings. "How much later? Like 11 o'clock?"
Loki startled and rose a brow at her. "Pardon?""
'Well, you're the one with the schedule. Not me."
"Thank you for reminding me." His lip curled slightly. "Speaking of, I should go repack my bag for morning."
Loki went to the sink and set his glass inside before going to the laundry area and grabbing his empty bag. Bag in hand he retreated back to his bedroom.
Sophie emptied the dryer into a basket and took it into Loki's room and sat it on the bed. "It's not folded or ironed or anything yet, but this is what came out of the bag, if you want any of it."
He paused from grabbing clothes out of his dresser. "Thank you, I will look through it."
"OK. I'll see if you have anything else around" She went back to her bathroom and picked up the things from the floor. But they were crumpled and she just brought them out and set them on the washer. Pacing around the kitchen, she made a pot of mint tea.
"I make good tea too." she mumbled to herself.
Loki finished packing, then wandered back to the kitchen. "I smell tea, mint I would say?"
"Yes." Sophie ventured a brief smile at him and held out a cup." Some?"
"Please." He relieved her of the steaming mug, holding it in both hands and inhaling the fragrant steam. Taking a sip, he hummed in appreciation. "Thank you, it is delicious."
She slid the container of brownies toward him. "You said you wanted to enjoy the rest of the evening." Pulling a face she said, "This is the LEAST enjoyable thing ever." And laughed.
Loki smiled softly and took a bite out of a brownie. "Yes, absolutely dreadful these are."
"Horrid, I would venture." She sipped at the hot tea and held his eye contact.
"Vile, atrocious, worst thing to have ever been placed between these lips." Loki's eyed her intently, wondering exactly what she was playing at.
"Well, that's that then. I'll just throw it all out." She reached slowly for the container.
Quickly, he snatched the container off the counter and hid it behind his back. "No need, I will take care of it."
"Isn't it funny? Now you like the vile atrocious, worst thing ever and are going to take care of it." Sophie grinned and stuck her tongue out at him.
Loki licked his lips and grinned. "I had meant that I will dispose of them for you, so that you do not have to. You have done so much for me already, allow me to throw away these chocolate doorstops."
"Oh please do, they totally deserve it," She purred.
His shoulders sank and he sighed. "OK I give up, they are delicious and I have no intention of throwing them away. Happy now?"
Sophie leaned on the counter and rested her chin on her hands. "Yep. I feel the same way."
Loki leaned against the counter as well. "You are not getting these back."
"That's just fine. They aren't what I want."
"And what exactly is it that you want?" He licked his lips again and glanced at hers.
She watched his pink tongue flick out. "Maybe, just a taste…"
Loki slid the container across the counter. "Here you go."
"Loki," she stared at him intently as she pushed the box to the side. "If you don't kiss me, I will scream."
"Is that so?" He straightened and walked around the counter where he pinned her between himself and the island, arms on either side of her. "And who exactly is going to hear you if I do not?"
"Well, there's at least Jarvis, your Heimdall and whoever has their ear against the door trying to figure out what's going on in here. And you." she smirked.
He leaned in closer until he could feel her breath on his lips. "Hmmm, I have heard you scream, as have Jarvis and Heimdall. That just leaves whomever is on the other side of that door, wondering what is happening. Perhaps it is best for you not to scream."
Sophie whispered breathily against Loki, "Perhaps."
He leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead, lingering for but a moment and pulling away.
"A kiss for the lady," Loki whispered then walked back toward his bedroom.
Sophie dropped her head to the counter with a small bang. "Fine, be that way." She sighed.