Warning: Mentions of suicide
Loki should've known that his house would be getting another visit the day after he gave the Tesseract away. Then again, he always hoped for too much. He checked the peep hole this time, sighing in exasperation when he recognized one of them. Knowing that this was unavoidable, he unlocked the door to be greeted by Director Nick Fury and some smiling man in a suit standing dutifully beside him.
"Director Nick Fury." Loki greeted, locking eyes with Nick's single one that stared at him unwavering.
"Loki of Asgard." Nick returned, nodding in acknowledgement before turning to his fellow agent, "This is Agent Coulson." he introduced Phil who waved with a friendly smile on his face.
Loki nodded to Phil in greeting before facing Nick again, "I assume your Avengers have already informed you."
"You assume correctly." Nick stated as Loki sighed through his nose before tilting his head into his home, "Come inside, let's talk." he invited them into his house. Nick and Phil followed Loki inside, glancing around at the modest décor of the house before they caught sight of the little girl in front of the coffee table in the common room, taking out a game of Scrabble. The little green eyed child looked up and met their eyes before waving at them silently. Phil, still smiling, waved back before she returned to setting up the game.
"I can get you some coffee if you'd like." Loki offered, bringing their attention back to him. "I'm alright." Nick answered while Phil raised a hand, "Water will do nicely."
Loki nodded, "I'll be back, make yourselves comfortable." he said before retreating into the kitchen to get Phil his water. This left the two agents alone in the living room with Lucy who seems to be ignoring them as she continued her task in setting up the game. Deciding to take Loki's advice, Phil sat in one of the seats that were across the sofa with the coffee table between them. An awkward silence filled the air as the two agents continued making glances at the child who hummed a song under her breath.
Loki came back into the room with Phil's water, "Here you go." he said, handing the drink to the agent who took it with a polite smile as Loki sat on the ground in front of the couch in front of the coffee table with the Scrabble board laid out. Lucy surprised the two agents when she moved two more tile racks in front of them after she took out the number of tiles for her own. "Pick your letters." she requested as she arranged the letters on her rack while Loki took out the tiles from the bag.
"Excuse me?" Nick said with a raised eyebrow as Loki passed the bag to him and said, "You showed up when we were about to have game night, time to pay the price." After a moment of staring at the God of Mischief, Nick sighed before taking the bag from Loki. After getting the number of tiles required for the game, he passed it to Phil who seemed to be taking it in stride as he got his letters.
So there they were, all four of them, sitting on the floor around the coffee table playing Scrabble. Nick had already shed himself of his black coat and was currently taking his turn spelling out the word on the board. "Is that supposed to be 'duck'?" Lucy asked, seeing how the first tile was a blank while the rest ended with '-uck'.
"Sure, why not." Nick deadpanned, leaning his head in his fist while Phil chuckled under his breath and Loki shook his head at him.
"How did this even happen?" Nick felt he needed clarification on how he ended up playing Scrabble.
"We knocked on his door." Phil answered, not at all bothered by this turn of events as he arranged the tiles on his rack before spelling out another word that crossed with the others.
"So what was it you needed to speak to me about?" Loki asked, striking up a conversation as he watched Phil finish with his turn, Lucy followed soon after to begin hers.
"I'm curious." Nick stated, staring at Loki, "You were sent here to do a villainous act that would have branded you as a monster and enemy of this world. But you chose not to. Because of that, the Avengers, your big brother, have decided to trust you and honor your request."
Loki turned to him, looking him dead in the eye, "But you don't trust me enough to leave me in peace." he stated, expecting the Director to not let this go.
"I understand why you made your choice." Nick said, glancing at Lucy who was concentrating on what to spell before quickly turning back to Loki, "But I have my doubts. You're still a dangerous person. While the Avengers will keep their word, I'll still have my eye on you."
Loki leaned back on the couch behind him, "I don't doubt that." he said with a challenging look.
Nick sighed through his nose, "I'm grateful to you for not using the Tesseract as you originally intended." he said, conceding his thanks, "I'd offer you a spot in the Avengers Initiative, but that would break the deal that was just recently made, and you wouldn't want to join even if I asked." he added, watching Loki's face that hasn't changed from it's stoic expression.
"You assume correctly." Loki nodded as Lucy spelled out a word on the board, his turn coming up next. Leaning forward, he quickly made use of his vast vocabulary skills and spelled out the word he thought of earlier.
It was Nick's turn, "Tell me why you don't want to be part of the Avengers, what's the real reason you won't be a hero, aside from the obvious." he added, referring to Lucy who tilted her head curiously.
Loki sighed through his nose again as he played with one of the tiles in his hand. "You know Thor is the older brother, and the heir to Asgard." Nick nodded as he continued, "I would always join him and his friends in their quests, but only because he asks me to, one of his methods to make me spend time with him." Loki stared off at the bittersweet memories he has with his brother, "I am not the ideal warrior like my brother Director, I did my part to make sure he and his friends came back alive. But I gained no recognition, respect, or even joy from his adventures. People on Asgard and Midgard see me as an evil trickster long before I found out the truth of my parentage. Me being on your Avengers will not change anything. I'm not a hero." Loki said, shaking his head at the very idea of being part of the same team as his brother again.
Something small pressed into his side, making him look down in surprise as identical green eyes stared up at him adoringly, "You're my hero Papa." she said in the most beautiful voice that made Loki smile as he reflexively wrapped an arm around her and kissed the top of her head, forgetting they had company.
"Kid can't seem to lie." Phil said, smiling at the sweet scene, "Which is ironic seeing as you're the God of Lies." he added, making Loki look up at him before laughing through his nose, "You're right about that."
Nick hid his smile at the adorable moment between Loki and his kid before composing himself. "So is that your final answer?" he asked as Loki turned his attention back to Nick, but still kept his arm around Lucy. "I'm afraid so, Director. This is how it is. I'm sorry if this disappoints you." Loki said, being cordial as ever.
A feint smile ghosted across Nick's face before he responded, "At least you're honest." he said, a joke hiding in that statement as Loki smiled at the irony. "Since you won't join, care to tell us who sent you after the Tesseract in the first place?" Nick asked, watching the smile vanish from Loki's face as he tensed up, a memory of that horrible moment in time flashing before his eyes.
Turning to Lucy, he said, "Snow Angel, can you continue the fight for me? Director Fury and I have some things we need to discuss." Lucy nodded before she separated from him.
"Agent Coulson, do keep her company for moment." Loki requested as he stood up with Nick who followed his lead.
"Of course." Phil responded as Loki took Nick's coat off the couch and handed it to said man before they walked out of the door. Nick followed Loki until they were at the edge of the tree line that surrounded the house. The black haired man let out a breath as he turned to face Nick, "I didn't want to discuss this in front of Lucy because I don't want her to know about all the horrible things I went through at the hands of another." he said as Nick nodded in understanding while the other leaned against the tree.
Loki closed his eyes as memories he wanted so desperately to forget surfaced, "I won't go into detail with you Director, the pain I suffered from that monster who wanted to break me doesn't compare to the lasting effects it left behind. You have no idea how badly I wanted to die, just so I can rest peacefully and not be in agony anymore." He gripped the fabric of his long sleeve greenish-grey shirt as he opened his eyes, looking down on the ground. "But he didn't allow me to die, he needed me as one of his tools to gain the infinite power he so desires. He tampered with my memories, it hurt worse when you try to fight it, but the image of him is all to clear for me to sleep peacefully anymore."
Nick saw the way this man trembled at the thought of his tormentor, what he went through under the power of another left him even more fearful for his planet. Loki let out a shaking breath as he shook his head, trying to dispel the awful memories, "His name is Thanos. I don't know where he came from, all I can tell you is that he has massacred many planets to come into power." he said, looking the Director in the eye, "He is a monster your people should fear the most, he dances with Death for the sickening joy of it. He's gained himself a ruthless reputation, even earned himself the title, the Mad Titan." Loki finished his description of the monstrous war lord.
If Nick felt fear, he didn't visibly show it, just stared at Loki's fearful expression as the latter described the monster who tried to control him. "What did he want the Tesseract for, why send you to concur a planet?" Nick asked as Loki sighed, "If I have to guess, his own twisted pleasure." he shook his head, "He wants to use that Cube as a weapon...or part of a weapon." he had a contemplative expression.
Nick's eye widened, "'Part of a weapon?'" Loki nodded, though with uncertainty, "I'm not sure. As I've stated before, he tried to temper with my memories." He massaged his temple, "It's all fuzzy, I don't know if I did hear it correctly. But if it is true, then I'm afraid the Tesseract is not the only alien artifact he's seeking. The Cube is indeed powerful, but if there are more like it in the galaxy and he's seeking them, then I fear this planet, and many others, will be in even more trouble than I originally thought." Loki said, his mind going over the fuzzy memories of his imprisonment by the Mad Titan.
Nick glared into space at the thought of this Thanos threatening his world, "If so, then you have to join us, we need more muscle if this crazy bastard does come here." he said, trying once again to get Loki to become part of the Avengers.
"I'm not a fighter anymore, I renounced those ways the moment I became a Father." Loki said, feeling angry at the man who wanted to drag him to that fight. "You can call me a coward if you want, but I have no wish to participate in anymore battles Director, I've had enough of that. I won't make much of a difference." his voice was hoarse as he spoke, "My place is here with my child, and I want to spend every moment I have left with her without being called into war." he shook his head, eyes glistening with emotion, "I don't have time for that."
Nick knew when he was pushing too far, this man's devotion to his daughter was admirable, inspiring even if he was willing to renounce his ways just to raise her. Letting out a sigh, he asked Loki, "Is there nothing I can say to convince you otherwise?"
"I have given my word that I will stay out of trouble. You must honor your word as well, Director Fury, fore time is too short for me in the hours I spend with my child." Loki said as he shook his head, "There are many heroes out there who are willing to die for this world. I am not one of them. I am not a hero, neither am I a villain. I'm just a Father who is an outcast among his people. My existence will hardly make a difference for this planet." he said, feeling inferior and unimportant in the face of everything around him.
"You're a hero to your kid though." Nick said, bringing a smile to Loki's face, "She's still a child, her views on heroism will change as she grows older, her eyes will shift to many other heroes for her to idolize. Personally, I find Captain Rogers to be the perfect role model for her. Honor, integrity with a dash of humbleness." he added with light humor as Nick breathed out a small laugh. "So that's a 'no' then." Nick said as Loki nodded.
Nick let out a sigh, "Guess I have no choice but to accept it seeing how you just gave me the information my people need to prepare ourselves this war the Mad Titan will no doubt bring." he said, incensed by the fact that he lost a potential candidate for the Avengers, but was satisfied with this piece of knowledge that will benefit his organization.
Loki nodded his head, "As you should, fore the chess board is already set up, it is only a matter of when the game really begins. Just don't sacrifice your pawns so needlessly." he said, warning him not to get his brother killed.
"Do I really look like the type of man who would do something like that? Wait, don't answer that." Nick said as Loki chuckled before walking back to the house with the former following him. "I suppose this concludes our meeting?" Loki asked, not turning to the Director. "It does, what you have given me is more than enough, and I thank you for your cooperation." Nick said as they approached the front door with the Trickster opening it to see the agent and his daughter enjoying themselves.
"...you certainly have a wide vocabulary kiddo." Phil said, praising Lucy on their game.
"I read a lot of books." Lucy said, "I am at a critical age, so it important for my mind to develop and expand in order to take in and process knowledge presented to me so I can make informative decisions in life." she said in a serious tone that made all of them smile, even Nick no matter how hard he tried to push it down. The way she spoke like a mature adult was just so cute that it made Loki chuckle, bringing their attention to him and Nick.
"Agent Coulson, our business is done here." Nick said, composing himself to maintain his reputation before turning to Loki to shake his hand, "Thank you for your time Loki." Loki shook his hand, "You too Director." he said before releasing his hand as Phil stood up from the ground, groaning at the aches he felt from the position as he walked over to Nick. Turning to Loki he said, "It was nice to finally meet you Loki, this was quite fun."
Glancing at Lucy, he gave her a thumbs up, "Stay smart."
Lucy returned the gesture, "Stay alive." Phil chuckled as he followed Nick out of the door with Loki closing the door behind them.
The two agents sat in the car, the Director watching the house for a long moment. "You're not really gonna leave him in peace, are you?" Phil asked, catching that look in his superior's eyes.
"Never planned on it in the first place. We need him on our side." Nick said as he started up the engine and drove away from the house. "Did you plant the bug?" Nick asked, not taking his eyes off the rode.
"Right under the coffee table sir." Phil said, feeling somewhat guilty for deceiving the little girl like that.
"Good. I want to keep an eye on them. When the opportunity arises, we'll bring him into the fold." Nick said, his decision to have Loki as part of the team enforced by the knowledge of the Mad Titan lurking in the galaxy.
Blood red eyes watched the black vehicle drive away from the house, their teeth gleaming in the moonlight as they snarled at the two occupants inside the isolated home. They were supposed to do their job tonight, but this S.H.I.E.L.D. organization has put a lag into their plans. They can't risk the knowledge of their existence being known by this technologically advanced group that will no doubt hunt them down. Not wanting to take any chances just yet, they left the area to wait out the next opportunity to snatch their prize.