A/N: Aaaaand it's Thanksgiving in America, so guess what theme this chapter is! Yeah, sorry to all my non-American readers, you're going to have to suffer through random American holidays. Also, non-American readers: You get a lesson on American history in this chapter! Sarcasm intended. American readers: I'm sorry, we learn this in school every year... Anyway, this should be interesting, because Asgardians, so...enjoy!
Disclaimer: Do I even have to put this anymore? Marvel/Disney's. Not mine.
11. -Power You
"Loki, wake up."
Loki blinked open his eyes to find Tasha standing in the middle of his room. He allowed himself a yawn, then looked at her curiously. Thor had left his side at some point the previous night, but Loki guessed he had remained long after he fell asleep.
"What is it, Tasha?" Loki asked, stretching. The wound from the night before was completely healed; there was no sign of what had gone down. Perhaps Thor had taken the broken knife when he left the room. He'd also, Loki noticed a little bitterly, put the magic-dampening cuffs back on at some point, but their remoal had done him good. It'd be a while before he got that magic-deprived again.
"It's Thanksgiving," she told him.
Loki looked at her blankly. Tasha gave him an incredulous look. "Don't tell me you've never heard of Thanksgiving," she said.
Loki shook his head. "Never."
Tasha glared at him. "Seriously. How have you never heard of Thanksgiving?"
"Raised on Asgard all my life, remember?" Loki reminded her. "I studied the other realms. I hardly studied this one. I thought it relatively unimportant. It's not anymore, naturally, but still."
Tasha shook her head. "Как ты так необразован в праздниках?" she asked. [How are you so uneducated about holidays?]
"Я буквально только что сказал тебе," Loki teased. [I literally just told you.]
Tasha laughed. "День благодарения - американский праздник," she began to explain. "Вот почему я собираюсь объяснить по-русски." [Thanksgiving is an American holiday. Which is why I'm going to explain in Russian.]
Loki chuckled. "Пожалуйста, продолжайте," he teased. [Please, continue.]
Tasha grinned. "По сути, это праздник колонизации Америки. История гласит, что группа белых людей по имени Паломники отплыла из Европы в Америку на лодке под названием Mayflower. Они «подружились» с некоторыми коренными американцами, которые помогли им осесть и создать колонии. Все они собрались на грандиозный пир в честь своего партнерства. Предположительно, первый День Благодарения длился три дня подряд. В конце концов, новые американцы начали традицию по очереди говорить за обеденным столом, за что они благодарны. Он стал праздником, который проводится каждый 26 ноября, что по какой-то причине обычно приходится на четверг. Сегодня 26 ноября, и поскольку Тони - это Тони, он настоял на том, чтобы мы все участвовали. Это включает вас, Обманщик." [Basically it's a celebration of the colonization of America. The history there is a bunch of white people called the Pilgrims sailed from Europe to America on a boat called the Mayflower. They 'befriended' some Native Americans, who helped them settle down and create colonies. They all gathered together for a huge feast, in honor of their partnership. Supposedly, the first Thanksgiving went on for three days straight. Eventually, the new Americans started the tradition of taking turns saying what they were thankful for around the dinner table. It became a holiday, held every November 26th, which is usually on a Thursday for some reason. Today is November 26th, and because Tony is Tony, he insisted that we all participate. That includes you, Trickster.]
Loki groaned. "So it's basically a Midgardian feast day."
"Yeah, pretty much," Natasha agreed.
Loki sighed. "We seem to have a feast day every other day in Asgard."
Tasha's expression grew concerned. "You say the name of that place with pain in your voice."
"It wasn't the greatest place," Loki sighed. "But it was my home."
"And where is your home now?" Tasha asked.
Loki shook his head. "I don't know."
Tasha seemed to like that answer. "Get up. We have stuff to do."
Then she left so he could get dressed. Loki shook his head with a smile; Natasha was always like this, particularly on holidays. He stood and stretched, then headed to his closet and surveyed his clothes. He settled on a black T-shirt with a dark blue hoodie and jeans. He may change into one of his Asgardian tunics later for the actual feast, but for now this would work.
Natasha was waiting in the hallway. She pushed herself off the wall and appraised him.
"It'll do," she declared. "Come on."
She led him to the elevator. Loki followed, a little bemused. "If you don't mind my asking, where are we going?" Loki asked.
"Out," was all Tasha said.
That's cryptic, Loki thought as he followed Tasha out the door. She grabbed a coat; he didn't need one, even though he supposed it was suppoosed to be cold. This was confirmed a few moments later when Tasha looked over at him and said, "How are you not cold?"
Loki laughed. "I've told you I'm a Jotun." She gave him a blank look. "A Frost Giant? My homeworld is literally a planet of ice."
"Oh. Cold resistant, then," Tasha said.
"Very. It always puzzled Thor and the rest, that I could stand in the cold in just my tunic while they were buried under mounds of furs," Loki laughed at the memory.
"I knew," said a voice.
Loki stopped short. Tasha looked at him, concerned. Slowly, Loki turned around.
There, behind him, stood Sigyn.
She looked exactly as she did the last time he'd seen her, decades before all this. Her light red hair that tapered to blond at the ends was in its usual braid, though a little darker now than it had been before. Her deep red tunic and black cloak were exactly the same, as well as the gold sash and band around her arm in the shape of a rune, ᛥ. The scowl on her face was hardly a new one, but he hadn't seen it directed at him for quite some time before she left. And he'd seen many expression flicker through her blue-gray eyes, but never anger. Not this fierce. Not at him.
"Hello, Sigyn," Loki sighed, resigned to a severe tongue-lashing. She was good at giving those. Though, being the Goddess of Victory, she had to be good at giving speeches, and a tongue-lashing wasn't far off.
Sigyn stalked right up to him and slapped him. Loki took it with a straight face, then merely looked back at her and said, "Ow."
"How dare you!" Sigyn scolded.
"How dare I what, exactly?" Loki asked, though he got the feeling he knew.
"I heard about New York," Sigyn told him. "How dare you! You know as well as I do that trying to take over and rule one of the Realms doesn't work! You're lucky your punishment wasn't nearly as severe this time! The Allfather could have done a lot worse, and you know it! And this time I wouldn't be there to accept the punishment with you! What were you thinking?!" She didn't give him to respond. "You know, the only reason you're here instead of back in that cave is because of Thor and Frigga! They cared enough to spare you the cave a second time! If it had been up to me, I would've put you back there, since obviously you didn't learn your lesson the first time!"
"That hurts," Loki managed. "I thought you of all people would be on my side."
"Not after last time," Sigyn shook her head. "Not on something like this."
"Excuse me, what the hell is happening?" Natasha interrupted. She turned to Sigyn. "Who are you? How the hell do you know Loki? And what do you mean, 'this time'?"
Loki drew breath to explain, but Sigyn beat him to it. "I am Sigyn of Vanaheim, Goddess of Victory. I grew up in Asgard alongside Loki, Thor, and the rest, but left a few decades ago and haven't returned since except before coming here, to talk to Frigga. And I said 'this time' because he's attempted something like this before."
"You really don't need to tell her about -" Loki tried to protest, but Sigyn cut him off and told the story anyway.
"This was, oh, three or four decades ago. Loki was around...what would that have been, a thousand and thirteen? I was about the same age," Sigyn began. Tasha glanced at Loki questioningly.
"About thirteen," Loki clarified.
Sigyn continued. "Loki had the bright idea to try and impress Odin by taking over a neighboring realm - namely, mine, Vanaheim. At the time, we were both young and stupid, and I thought it was a good idea. So off we went on a failed conquest. When the Allfather found out, he was furious at Loki, though none of his anger was directed at me. He sentenced Loki to a cruel punishment - he was to be tied up in a cave and made to have a venomous snake drip poison onto his face. I stepped in at this point and told Odin it was my fault too, I'd go with him. He didn't see any reasn why not, if I was insane enough to do it. So we were sealed in that cave, me with a bowl to keep the poison from hitting him, but every time it got so full I had to leave and dump it out, the poison hit him. His screams were possibly the worst sound I have ever heard."
Natasha looked horrified. Loki himself grimaced at the memory; though the scars on his face had long since healed, the memory of pain was still there. Knowing that he could have faced that cave again had Thor and Frigga not stood up to Odin on his behalf...it sent a shudder running through him that had nothing to do with the cold.
"How long?" Natasha asked.
Loki spoke up, voice quiet as the memory overtook him. "Five years."
"Five years?!" Natasha yelped.
"It's the blink of an eye for us," Loki said. "Or it would have been, had I not been in agonizing pain the whole time from the poison. Sigyn's bowl was a relief, but when she was forced to dump it out...the pain renewed itself a thousandfold, each time sharper and more agonizing than the last. And, chained as I was and with Sigyn's hands busy holding the bowl, I couldn't squirm away either, could only howl in pain."
"Oh my gods," Natasha breathed. "Odin did that to you? When you were thirteen?!"
"Yes," Loki said bitterly.
"I left Asgard a few years later," Sigyn said. "I couldn't stand to live in a realm where the Allfather, the ruler of the Nine Realms and a father, could do that to his own son."
"But you said you knew I'm not Asgardian," Loki protested, looking at her curiously. "How?"
Sigyn shrugged. "I could just tell. The way the air around you cools a few degrees, the fact that you could stand in the cold without furs while the rest of us shivered, even the way Odin treated you. I didn't know for sure, but I suspected, and Frigga confirmed it for me before I came here."
"Why did you come here?" Loki asked.
"To scold you," Sigyn said simply. "To admonish you for New York. And to let you know that I know you're a werewolf, too."
Natasha chuckled. "I like her."
Loki glared at her. "Shut up," he said. He turned back to Sigyn, alarm registering. "What did you say?!"
"I know you're a werewolf," Sigyn repeated, sounding a little bored. "I figured that out ages ago."
"What - how?" Loki asked, actually confused.
Sigyn chuckled. "I'm a woman, Loki," she said. "I'm just perceptive that way."
Before Loki could respond, Sigyn looked to the sky and shouted, "HEIMDALL!" The Bifrost opened above her in an instant, and the last thing Loki saw of her was her sly grin before she was whisked away back to Vanaheim.
Loki stared at the sky after her. "I taught her that grin," he muttered.
Tasha laughed. "She was...quite the character," she said.
"That's Sigyn for you," Loki shook his head. "Anyway, we were going somewhere?"
"Oh! Yeah, right. Well, Tony asked me to get dessert for tonight, and since you're somewhat of an expert on this whole feast thing, I decided to bring you along. Also you haven't been outside since the full moon so..." Tasha trailed off; no further explanation was needed. Loki understood.
"So we're going to a bakery?" Loki finished.
Tasha nodded. "Yep."
Loki grinned. "Off we go. Lead the way, fair maiden."
Tasha must have known he was teasing, but she punched him in the arm anyway. "Shut up and folow me, Обманщик."
Loki chuckled and obeyed, following Natasha through the streets of New York. "I thought you saved the punches for Barton."
"This is a special case," Tasha teased. Loki rolled his eyes and smiled.
They stopped in front of a small but crowded restaurant called Baker's Square. Loki looked at it; it seemed legit enough, despite being squished between two larger buildings. Tasha glanced over at him.
"You ready?" she asked.
Loki gave her a look. "Why are you asking me? This was your idea."
Tasha laughed and opened the door.
Loki was instantly assaulted by an onslaught of sights, smells, and chattering voices. It was a lot to take in: the interior of the restaurant was already crowded with people looking to buy dessert for that night, and a few getting a late breakfast or early lunch. It was rather bright, with most of the windows open to let in sunlight and the many still lifes of food hung on the walls lit up in all their vibrant colors. The walls themselves were brighly colored, a slightly muted orange that didn't seem that way in the sun's glare. The entire place was overwhelmed with the smell of freshly baked treats, pies mostly as far as Loki could tell. And the chatter of the people waiting in line was only slightly short of deafening.
That is, until they noticed Loki and Tasha, which caused them all to fall instantly silent.
"Does this happen every time you enter a public place?" Loki asked Tasha, his voice rather loud in the sudden stillness of the restaurant.
"Yeah, pretty much," Tasha said.
"Can you take at least one of these cuffs off?" he asked quietly, leaning in so the civilians wouldn't hear. "I had Thor modify them so you had access to take them off as well. Besides, I'm trying to get them laughing, and it's easier with my magic."
"Fine, but only for a little while," Tasha hissed. "Tony will kill me otherwise."
Loki grinned. "A little while is all I need."
Tasha removed the cuffs; Loki straightened up again as he felt his magic run back through him. He glamoured a curtain into the room, covering him and Tasha from view, then shouted, "Pay no attention to the Avenger behind the curtain!"
That got a scattering of laughs. Loki grinned; he was just getting started.
He dropped the curtain illusion and walked up to a man standing still, watching him with wide eyes. Loki didn't speak, just glamoured an object to appear behind him, then reached for it...straight through the man, who yelped. More laughs this time as Loki waved from the other side of the room, where he'd quietly snuck off to as his illusion copy did its work. A young woman was the closest victim, so he turned to her.
"Madam," Loki said, startling the woman as all eyes that weren't already on them moved to be there, "have you checked inside your purse in the last few minutes?"
"N-no, why?" Her voice sounded shaky, but whether that was from fear or not Loki couldn't tell.
"I seem to have misplaced the phone Tony Stark handed me a few weeks ago. It's quite a useful tool, really, helping me learn your Midgardian ways through...what was it, Goggle?"
Most of the civilians laughed this time at his intentional mispronounciation of the word "Google," including the young woman he was about to torment. "You think it ended up in my purse?" she asked.
"What's your name, madam?" Loki asked, avoiding the question.
She giggled a little and said, "Rose."
Loki did a quick survey of her: blond hair that fell to her shoulders, blue eyes, slightly nervous and slightly awed expression. "Rose," he repeated, a sly smile creeping across his lips. "A beautiful name for a beautiful girl."
There were a few "ooooh!"s from people in the crowd, mostly young boys. Rose blushed, hard. Loki's smirk was quite real; the flirting wasn't, which Tasha knew quite well. Loki could see her knowing smirk.
"Well, my things have a habit of randomly disappearing and reappearing in the strangest of places," Loki informed her. "Check your bag."
Rose obeyed - and shrieked, snapping it closed, as a hissing filled the room. Everyone laughed; Loki's smirk widened into a grin. The snake trick was his favorite.
"What did you see?" Loki asked, his features falling into the appropriate expression of concern, though the glint in his eyes spoke volumes about the mischief he was up to.
"Snakes!" Rose gasped. "There were snakes in my purse!"
"Mmm...look again, love," Loki said, adding the "love" to make her blush again. She obeyed, and this time a scent even stronger than the baked goods filled the room - flowers.
She closed it on them too. "What's going on?" she asked with a smile. "Now it was flowers!"
"Oh, what kind?" Loki asked, feigning curiosity.
"Cala lillies," Rose blushed. "My favorite."
"Look again," Loki suggested. "I'm sure my phone ended up in there somehow."
She did indeed look again, and this time Loki's phone was actually in there. He produced it with a flourish, making the gathered civilians laugh again. Rose herself was a bit flustered.
"I don't understand," she said. "How did it end up there?"
It was simple, really: while she'd been distracted by the snakes, Loki had dropped his phone in whilst creating an illusion that made it appear as if he was remaining in his position. Of course, he wasn't about to tell her that. He did, however, allow himself the satisfaction of a grin.
"Come now, I'm the God of Mischief," he said, addressing the patrons. "I meant what I said about my things mysteriously disappearing and reappearing."
He subtly motioned at Tasha to go pick up something while he was busy distracting everyone. She mouthed at him, "What should I get?" He magically made a sheet of paper with his instructions on it appear in her hand. She headed to the counter as he continued his act.
"For example," Loki said, starting to walk in the opposite direction along the crowd, "I was looking for my book in the Tower the other day and couldn't find it, though I could have sworn I had it overnight." As he walked and talked, he also magically pickpocketed, stealing some items from people and putting them in other people's pockets. One item he kept for himself. "I searched what seemed like the entire tower. As it turned out, Hawkeye had hidden it in the ventilation system. I had to glare at him for half an hour before he finally climbed up to retrieve it. Agent Coulson and Black Widow both had to smack him to get him to actually hand it back to me."
The civilians laughed again. Loki made his way back to where Rose stood. The poor girl looked like she may faint.
"Though I wonder," Loki grinned, "how many of you have ever had something mysteriously disappear on you." He singled out a man from the audience. "You, sir. What's your name?"
"Eric," answered the man. He was middle-aged, with brown hair and light green eyes. Loki had to admit he was cute, although not his type at all.
"What do you find you lose most often?"
"My car keys," admitted Eric. "I'm always losing my car keys."
"Check your pockets," Loki suggested with a wicked grin.
Eric did, then - "Shit!" he cursed loudly. A few people chuckled.
"What is it?" Loki asked, once more feigning innocence.
"I've lost my car keys!" Eric exclaimed. "Even though I could have sworn I left them in my pocket..."
Loki nodded at a woman across the room. "Ma'am? What's your name?"
"Veronica," answered the blond, her gray eyes curious.
"Check your purse, Veronica," Loki suggested.
She dove into her light purple purse, which matched the rest of her outfit (which was also varying shades of purple), and withdrew Eric's car keys. "What -?"
Eric looked confused too.
"Eric, check your pocket again," Loki told him. He did...and pulled out Veronica's keys.
"What the hell -?" Eric's tone mirrored his expression.
Loki picked out another pair of people from the crowded restaurant - a man in his fifties with liberal streaks of gray in his black hair and cobalt blue eyes, whose name was apparently Sefan, and a black woman in her thirties with dark hair and gold eyes that reminded Loki a little of Heimdall, though of course his eyes were orange. Her name, when he asked, was Esther.
"Check your wallets," was all Loki said.
Both of them pulled out their wallets only to discover that they weren't, in fact, their own wallets; each had the other's. This process was repeated with two other pairs of people - a pair of women who had mysteriously swapped earrings, and a pair of men whose watches had been switched. The laughter had been slowly building throughout his performance, and Loki could sense that it was about to burst. It just needed one more push...
"All of you, ignore the items that have been swapped for a moment," Loki instructed. When he saw they were all doing as he asked, he cast a simple blindfold charm over them all. "Don't panic," he said. "This is temporary. I want all eight of you to walk towards the sound of my voice."
He kept talking, smirking as he watched their attempts to walk through the crowd, whose laughter Loki could sense was barely suppressed now. Eventually, all eight of them made it.
"Now, all of you hold out your hands. One will hold the item that has been misplaced; the other will be held out palm up. Find the person whose item you have and give it back to them in their open palm."
"How do you expect us to do this without sight?" asked Stefan.
"Trust yourselves," Loki said, and let them at it.
It was quite amusing for the first few moments to watch them stumble around. It was only when Eric tripped that the crowd finally burst out laughing though. And without realizing it, Veronica helped him up; their keys were returned to their owners. Esther stopped Stefan from tripping over his own feet as well, and the wallets were returned; then followed the woman and their earrings and the men and their watches.
Loki lifted the blindfold charm. "Good job."
All eight of them looked at him, then at each other, and all stimultaneously burst out laughing.
In the midst of this panedmonium, Natasha slipped out the door with their desserts. Loki took a bow. Over in the corner, Rose actually fainted. All eyes once mroe turned to her. There was silence for a moment before Loki remarked, "Oh, dear. Is she dead?"
That got everyone laughing, and a few moments later a friend was helping Rose back to her feet. Loki took another dramatic bow, then headed for the door.
"Until next time, Midgardians," he said, and with a poof of magical smoke as his vanishing act, he disappeared out the door.
Natasha was waiting for him with the pies she'd gotten in hand. "Was all that really necessary?" she asked with a smile.
"Yes," Loki said simply. Tasha laughed and handed him the cuffs.
"I know you hate these, but..." Tasha trailed off.
"Yeah, I know," Loki sighed. "But first -" He snapped his fingers, and a carry-out tray full of hot chocolate appeared in his other hand - "hot chocolate for the rest."
"You didn't just steal those, did you?" Tasha asked suspiciously.
"No," Loki laughed. "There's extra money in the Starry Buck register."
"Starbucks," Tasha corrected with a laugh.
Loki grinned as he put the cuffs back on; he'd said that wrong on purpose too.
Everyone at the Tower, even Barton, seemed quite grateful that Loki and Tasha had brought home hot chocolate as well as the dessert for the night's feast. Tasha told them all it was Loki's idea; everyone, except Barton, thanked him, though Barton mumbled something that could have been either a thank you or an expletive after Tasha punched him.
Loki declared to the rest that he would retreat to his room until their guests - which consisted of Fury, Hill, and a few other high-ranking S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, as well as Coulson's team - arrived for the Thanksgiving dinner. He'd expressly wished to be alone, yet Thor had followed him anyway.
"Loki!" Thor called. Loki sighed exaggeratedly and stopped, though he didn't turn around.
"What, Thor?" he asked, irritation evident in every syllable.
"What's that around your neck?" Thor asked.
Loki had almost forgotten. He seized Thor by the shirt and all but dragged him the last few steps to Loki's room, then threw him in, followed, and shut the door.
"Loki, what the -?" Loki didn't give Thor a chance to finish.
"Be quiet about it, would you?" Loki hissed. Thor shut up. Loki nodded, then pulled out the runestone necklace he'd stolen off a Celtic woman at Baker's Square. It wasn't from her people's mythology; it wasn't of any importance to her.
Thor's eyes widened. Loki turned the pendant over to look at the rune engraved on the stone: ᛖ, an eihwaz rune. A symbol of Death, and of eternal life. Of endurance and age. The rune of transformation and testing. One of the most powerful runes in the entire alphabet.
"Where did you get that?" Thor asked, his voice barely a whisper.
"Stole it off a Celtic woman," Loki replied. "It's not her religion, so she has no use of this."
Thor looked at it almost reverently. "Loki, this is..."
"I know," Loki breathed. "I know."
Loki handed it to Thor, who ran his thumb across the carved runestone. "I've never seen one up close," Thor murmured. "I know Mother has a set, but I never got a good look at them, and after Karnilla went back to Nornheim the runestones weren't really seen around the palace anymore."
"I know," Loki reminded him. "I lived there too, remember?"
Thor nodded and handed the eihwaz runestone back to him.
Loki lightly traced the carved rune with his fingers, reverently. "Do you have any idea how much power is contained in this stone?" Loki murmured. "Even with my magic suppressed, I can feel the energy coming off the stone."
"How does it feel?" Thor asked after a moment. Loki looked up from the runestone in curiosity.
"What?"
"Magic. How does it feel? You and Mother have both mentioned the sensation of magic, yet I have never experienced it. So I'm curious," Thor said.
Loki hesitated, words on the tip of his tongue that he didn't know if he could say. He didn't know how to describe the sensation of magic. For once, his silver tongue was failing him.
"Magic is...well, I can't really explain in words," Loki sighed. "There's no way to describe the sensation."
Thor strode over and, before Loki could blink had removed the cuffs for the second time that day.
"Then show me," Thor requested. "Please."
Loki shrugged, the eihwaz in his hand feeling more alive than ever with his magic returned. "Take off your shirt," Loki said.
Thor eyed him. "Why?"
Loki rolled his eyes. "This will work better if I have physical contact, don't get excited." Though seeing you shirtless is an added benefit, Loki added silently.
Thor seemed to find no further fault with the request and promptly shed his shirt. Loki tried to look away, but once the shirt was off he was unable to; now the effort was to keep from staring, and even that was failing. Thor shirtless wasn't something one could simply look away from. Loki approached and hesitantly laid a hand flat on Thor's chest. He concentrated, letting some of his magic temporarily flow through him as well. Thor drew in a sharop breath at the sensation.
"It's a rush, isn't it?" Loki murmured. "This is what it feels like every day of my life." He started moving in a slow circle around Thor, one hand never leaving contact with his skin. "Magic is a constant hum beneath your skin," he continued, finally finding the words. "It lives in you, like a sleeping wolf, its steady breathing that hum you feel. And when you use it, particularly for something on a large scale, that wolf wakes, and it builds its power within you and when you use it it explodes outward, leaping forward to do the job you've tasked it to do." Loki had barely noticed, but as he spoke the lights in his room had magically dimmed and the green mist he used to make small snakes occasionally had appeared, writhing around the brothers and losing them in its embrace. Loki kept going, running his hand along Thor's back, enjoying the touch of skin-on-skin far more than he should. "And the runestone. Can you feel its energy?"
"Yes," Thor breathed. "It's strong."
"Multiply that feeling tenfold," Loki said. "That's the reading I'm getting off of this stone, because it holds so much more power than either of us combined. he stone feels like it's alive. With my magic, I feel alive." With you near me, I feel alive. "Now you see what I've lived with every day of my life." He came to a stop directly in front of Thor again, his hand resuming its original position, palm flat on his chest. Loki looked up and his breath caught in his throat as he watched Thor take in the sight of him, watched Thor's eyes roam his body. Gods, how Loki wanted to close the distance between them, especially when Thor's arms went around his waist, whether to steady him or for some other reason Loki wasn't sure.
"You're glowing, Loki," Thor murmured, a small smile appearing on his face.
Loki looked, and he was indeed glowing with a soft green light, possibly from sharing his magic. He looked back up and caught Thor's eyes; his heart stuttered in this chest, a staccato rhythm he was almost positive Thor could hear. Loki attempted to keep himself from drowning in Thor's eyes, trying to keep his head above water while in reality only sinking further beneath the waves.
One of Thor's hands left his waist to reach up and brush Loki's hair out of his face. That simple motion was enough to jar Loki back to reality - what were they doing? This was hardly appropriate, and Loki knew he should pull away, he should end it, but damn that look on Thor's face, in his eyes. It was tempting, so very tempting, to close the distance between them and find out if kissing Thor was anything like it was in his dreams...
A song chorus flitted in and out of his head, Serpentine by Disturbed:
"With a tortured soul
And an honest design
My will cannot endure
As my heart is torn away!
I was caught up in the moment!
We were alone and
You seemed to harness the light!
Even though I felt cold inside when you told me
It would be alright...
I had given up control and
I didn't focus hard enough to see
The warning signs...!
Your heart is serpentine..."
It was with great effort that Loki forced himself to pull away. Thor gasped at the removal of the magic as Loki slowly removed his hand.
"And that's how it feels," Loki murmured, "when those cuffs are on. When I can't breathe. Part of the reason you found me trying to kill myself the other night? Desperation from lack of magic to keep me sustained."
Loki turned away so he wouldn't have to see the disappointed look in Thor's eyes; whatever had passed between them, it had died when Loki removed his hand. A moment later, Loki felt Thor pass by him on his way out the door.
"See you tonight," Thor said, tone emotionless. Loki winced a little; that was his fault.
The door closed behind him, and Loki was left in the middle of the room, the eihwaz in his hand pulsing faintly to the beat of his serpentine heart.
Loki had to admit, Tony had outdone himself this time. He'd changed into one of his Asgardian tunics, thinking it more appropriate for a feast day, and then entered the formal dining room that until Tasha had told him about it he wasn't even aware existed and found it completely covered in decoration.
There were candles on the long table at strategic intervals, and a real cornucopia in the center. Fake leaves decorated the walls and the edge of the table, along with a fall-themed tablecloth. Colorful leaves, whether real or fake Loki couldn't tell, littered the floor as well, making a sort of carpet. It was quite a regal setting, the candlelight being the only source of illumination in the room.
Loki followed the smell of cooking food into the kitchen to find a handful of the others already there. Rogers was busy taking the turkey out of the oven, while Tasha supervised the mashed potatoes and Banner struggled with marshmallow fluff, swearing under his breath. Loki found that amusing; he didn't think Banner was usually the type to swear.
Tasha noticed him first. "Hey, Обманщик."
The others looked over. Rogers smiled, which shocked Loki only a little, and Banner gave him a nod. Loki raised a hand in greeting.
"Where are the rest?" Loki asked.
"Tony's busy frantically decorating the lounge, for after dinner," Rogers said with a fond smile.
"Clint's in the vents, waiting to come warn us when Fury, Hill, Rumlow, Sitwell, and Coulson's team arrive," Tasha added.
"Coulson himself will be arriving with them," Banner said. "I'm not entirely sure where Thor is."
Loki tried and failed to conceal his expression at the mention of Thor. Whatever had passed between them behind the closed doors of Loki's room still lingered in some corner of Loki's thoughts that he seemed to reserve just for Thor.
"He'll be around," Loki said, his voice surprisingly even. "He stopped by my room earlier. Told me he'd see me here." Loki wasn't about to divulge the rest of what had happened between them - Thor shirtless, the magic, the moment where they had almost kissed -
Loki cut his own thoughts off, forcing them back to the matter at hand: surviving the Thanksgiving feast when it was supposed to be full of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, none of which would trust him in the slightest. While Loki had made some headway with the Avengers, most of S.H.I.E.L.D. still regarded him as an enemy.
"Food's just about ready," Rogers said. "You mind helping us get everything on the table?"
Loki shrugged. "Sure."
Rogers handed him a bowl of cranberries. "Come on then."
Loki was assisting Tasha when she leaned over and murmured, "Так о чем вы нам раньше не рассказывали?" [So what aren't you telling us about earlier?]
Startled, it took Loki a second too long to reply with a convincing lie. "Я понятия не имею, что вы имеете в виду," he said. [I haven't the faintest idea what you mean.]
"Давай," Tasha insisted. "Я знаю тебя лучше, чем это." [COme on. I know you better than that.]
Loki sighed. "Я показал Тору, что такое моя магия. Он был без рубашки. Что-то произошло между нами ... что-то, чего я не могу объяснить," he explained quickly. [I showed Thor what my magic feels like. He was shirtless. Something happened between us...something that I can't explain.]
"Такие как?" Tasha asked pointedly. [Such as?]
"Ты не сдашься, пока я не скажу тебе, правда?" Loki sighed. [You're not going to give up until I tell you, are you?]
Tasha grinned. "Неа." [Nope.]
Loki was silent a moment, hesitating, and then the words tumbled out in a rush: "Мы почти целовались, и я не знаю, что делать, я в замешательстве ..." [WealmostkissedandIdon'tknowwhattodonowI'msoconfused...]
"Slow down, Loki," Tasha murmured. "Slow down."
Loki shook his head. "Я так сбит с толку ... Я не знаю, что случилось, я не знаю, что с этим делать сейчас, но что-то ТАМ между нами было в моей комнате раньше. И я думаю, что сломал его, когда оттолкнулся." [I'm so confused...I don't know what happened, I don't know what to do about it now, but there was something there between us in my room earlier. And I think I broke it when I pushed myself away.]
Tasha studied him. "Ты поймешь это, Локи," she said finally. "А что там было раньше? Я не думаю, что это ушло. Я думаю, вы просто не хотите позволять себе слишком увлекаться этим, чтобы понять, что это такое." [You'll figure it out, Loki. And whatever it was that was there earlier? I don't think it's gone away. I think you're just unwilling to let yourself fall too far into it to realize what it is.]
And with that, she headed back into the kitchen. Loki really hated it when she did that.
Loki followed her in, just in time to hear a rattling from the vents. A second later Clint Barton fell out, rather ungracefully, and landed hard on his back in the middle of the kitchen. He was a bit dusty and very out of breath, probably from having traveled so many floors through the vents so fast. He hadn't changed out of the civilian clothes he'd been wearing al day, either.
"They're here," Barton announced.
"We couldn't tell," Banner remarked dryly. Loki glanced at him with newfound respect; so the physicist did have a sarcastic side.
"Clint, you're a mess," Tasha said. "Go get yourself cleaned up, and into something a little more formal than flannel."
"What's wrong with flannel?" Barton protested.
Tasha glared at him. "Go!" she ordered.
Barton scrambled to his feet. "Yes, ma'am," he said, only half joking, and darted out of the room.
"That was interesting," Loki remarked.
"That was normal," Tasha corrected. "You should see him over Christmas. He spikes his eggnog a little too much every year, and it does sometimes get quite amusing."
Loki smirked; that he would have to see.
"Well come on," Rogers said. "We have a Thanksgiving dinner to get to."
Loki honestly thought he'd never seen anything that looked more delicious, and for someone who'd been fed like a prince his entire life, that was something of an accomplishment.
The Thanksgiving feast laid out before them all looked enticing - the warm turkey, the mashed potatoes and gravy that Tasha had told him were an essential part of Thanksgiving, the cranberries he'd put out, the stuffing (Loki still wondered why it was called that; he was under the impression that "stuffing" was the fluff inside teddy bears and other stuffed animals), the still-warm yams from the oven, green bean casserole (an Earth food that Loki had, as yet, not tried), the warm Hawaiian rolls...not to mention the pumpkin pie Loki had spotted before he left the kitchen for the final time.
The atmosphere around the table at first was one of confusion as everyone found their seats; with the four high-ranking S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and Coulson's whole team (which by now consisted of seven extra S.H.I.E.L.D. agents), there were far too many people in one room, and it took a few minutes for everyone to get situated. Once they were, the mood went from confused to tense in a few moments as the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents realized that Loki was indeed sitting with them.
Loki surveyed the table: Tony sat at the head, with Rogers on his immediate right and Banner on his left. Tasha was next to Bruce, Loki next to Tasha. The other side of the table saw Clint and Coulson side by side, with Coulson's team starting to fan out from there - May was on his right, then Daisy, then Ward, while Thor took the seat on Loki's left, with the scientist pair FitzSimmons beside him. Mack was next to Fitz, and Bobbi and Hunter claimed the seats next to Ward. Rumlow, the head of the S.T.R.I.K.E. team assigned to Rogers, was across from Hunter; Agents Sitwell and Hill were beside them; and Fury sat at the other end of the table.
All in all, more S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in one place than Loki had seen since the helicarrier.
Loki fidgeted with the cuffs, which he'd begrudgingly put back on after the incident with Thor. He'd figured having them off with a ton of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents coming over for dinner was probably not a good idea. Also, he had no clue what Barton's reaction would be.
"So Loki's here," was all Fury said to break the silence.
"Yes," Tasha spoke up first. "Sir, he's my friend. Over the past few months we've gotten to know him a little better, and he's really not all that bad."
"How can you say that?" snorted Rumlow, shooting a rather nasty glare Loki's way. "He's the guy that nearly destroyed New York."
"And believe me, I regret that and all the choices that led to it, and have regretted them ever since," Loki defended himself.
Rumlow snorted again. "Like we'll trust the word of the so-called 'God of Mischief.' You lie with every breath you exhale."
"Leave him alone, Rumlow," snapped Coulson, which startled Loki out of his mounting anger towards the smug S.T.R.I.K.E. leader. Quite a few of the others appeared surprised by Coulson's defense as well.
"I -" Whatever Rumlow was going to say, Coulson cut him off.
"Let Loki speak."
Loki gave Coulson a respectful nod, then said, "In the past I have lied with every beat of my heart and cheated with every breath I exhale, yes, but I am telling the complete truth when I say that New York was one series of bad decisions after another, mostly driven by emotion rather than logic. So go ahead and think what you want of me, but don't judge people based on the way they used to be. Allow them to be who they are now. And yes, I do include myself in that category."
The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents shifted, but Fury and Hill seemed satisfied, so Loki suspected he'd passed whatever test this had been.
"Enough with interrogating Loki," Tony declared. "It's Thanksgiving. Let's all just forget the animosity, at least until after the meal."
"I think the whole 'say-what-you're-thankful-for' thing is in order," Barton declared. "So let's get it over with so we can eat."
That eased the tension around the table as everyone laughed. They went roughly in order of who was sitting where; Tony went first, then Rogers, then Banner, and back and forth across the table. Then it was Loki's turn.
He tried not to let how nervous he was show as he spoke. "A few months ago, I was brought back to Earth as part of my punishment for the events of the Battle of New York. None of us assembled in this room were too happy about that. But the Avengers gave me a chance - a chance to prove I'm changing and to redeem myself. For that, for that chance, I am forever grateful."
Tasha glanced at him and smiled; Loki looked over and saw Tony's grin, too. The gratitude statements went on, and Loki glanced briefly to the side; there, he caught Thor's smile, brighter than the lightning he could throw around with such ease.
And at that, Loki smiled as well, and turned back to the feast, ready to join the Thanksgiving celebration and feeling like despite all the pain and the nightmares and the struggle of how he fit in, his life was finally going to turn around.
Kind of a shit ending but I was in a rush so. Yeah. That happened. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the holiday chapter, and next time we get - *gasps* - snow! And a little more info on Loki's backstory. Please leave reviews!