Loki pressed his foot on the pedal, listening to the engine rev higher, feeling the resistance of the metal beneath his foot.
"Good. Get a feel for it," Vanessa instructed, encouraging him further.
Nearly two weeks had passed since the team's expedition at Norris Geyser Basin, the team spending the majority of that time in the lab. As promised, they were working more closely with William Red Bear, using his knowledge of the park to help them navigate the terrain and help to plan future expeditions. Most everything else was business as usual, with everyone focusing on their studies, as well as preparing for their next expedition.
Making good on her previous suggestion, Vanessa was currently teaching Loki how to drive. Truth be told, Loki was more than surprised she was following through with it, given his history. Yet surprise dawned upon him when she came to him that morning jangling her car keys, throwing them in his direction – a strong deviant smile upon her face. Loki found the idea both exciting and curious, as Vanessa apparently trusted him more than he thought.
Yet part of him was wondering if she was testing him once again. He certainly wouldn't put it past her. Despite his suspicions, he allowed his excitement to comfortably flow through his system as he used the energy to focus on his most current task behind the wheel, paying attention to the instructions Vanessa was giving him.
"It's good to get a feel for the resistance of the petal beneath your foot and how that effects the speed of the engine. If you look at the dash, you'll see the needle moving to indicate the speed you'd be going if you were in gear," she instructed, pointing to the circular dial-looking-thing in front of the steering wheel. Loki allowed his eyes to fall upon the needle, watching it move up and down as he experimented pushing the petal with his foot. Upon listening to the engine rev higher a few more times, Vanessa then instructed Loki to practice moving his foot from the accelerator to the brake.
The method of operation wasn't so different than other vehicles he had encountered before. He couldn't say he'd ever driven a car, but there were many more manner of vehicle and space craft he'd had experience with. Not to mention the good old fashioned horse and rein, which was far more prevalent and used on Asgard. Yet as Loki had noticed earlier, he was beginning to attain a certain appreciation for these vehicles the humans used. Sure, they were somewhat archaic and slow, but they did have a certain kind of comfort associated with them. And figuring he didn't have much choice in the matter, he knew he'd have to make the best of it.
Still in disbelief she had decided to teach him, he reflected upon their previous conversation regarding the matter as he continued to practice moving his foot from the brake to the accelerator.
"You can't be serious," he'd commented, an uncertain expression on his face.
"You, are learning to drive," she instructed with a strong confidence, swiftly tossing the keys towards him. Loki quickly caught them, startled by the gesture. Vanessa cocked her hip to the side, her hand resting upon it. "What. Don't tell me you're scared," she accused, a challenging look in her eye. Loki's gaze met hers.
"Not scared," he defended flatly. "Perplexed, would be a better word for it," he clarified, raising an eyebrow towards her.
Vanessa's eyes drifted to the side temporarily in stern contemplation. "Didn't we already go over this?" she asked, meeting his eye once again. Loki only stared at her, a skeptical expression upon his face. "What did I tell you about paranoia?" she asked, reading his expression.
"Forgive me if I can't shake some of my old ways," Loki commented. "Caution does have its purpose however."
"Well not today. Today you are throwing caution to the wind," Vanessa answered confidently. "Time to get wild and crazy, Loke. Gotta expand those horizons," she continued, an enthusiastic fervor in her voice. Loki continued to send her a stern stare, skepticism still emanating from his being.
"What if I were to argue that my horizons were expanded enough? Because I smell a trap," Loki countered.
"A trap?" Vanessa asked, a mock aghast expression forming upon her face. "Oh come on. Why would anyone want to trap you?" she asked incredulously.
Loki shot her a smug smile.
"Call it trickster's intuition," he replied smartly.
"Hey, I'm not the one tricking you, buddy. That's Adam's department," Vanessa argued. "And plus, isn't it logical to think that you learning to drive is granting you more freedom?" she pointed out.
Loki lowered his eyelids over his eyes.
"Which brings us back to the trap," Loki defended, still holding onto his guard. Vanessa threw Loki a disbelieving look.
"Oh, where's your sense of adventure Loki?" she asked accusingly. Loki raised an eyebrow.
"My sense of adventure is what got me into this mess," he pointed out, referring to everything which had led up to where he was now.
"That may be. But perhaps now is the time for you to learn from your mistakes," Vanessa countered, pointing her finger in Loki's direction.
"Perhaps," Loki commented, furrowing his brow and looking to the car keys in his hand.
Vanessa allowed Loki to mull it over for a few more minutes before nudging him again about it.
"Oh, come on," Vanessa pleaded. "It'll be fun, it'll be fun, it'll be fun, it'll be fun," she promised, excitedly pleading.
Loki continued to eye her, enjoying his toying with her. Truth be told, he suspected less of a trap than he was letting on. But he couldn't help but play Vanessa - simply because he could. After keeping his eyes locked with Vanessa's for a few moments longer, he finally decided to concede.
"Fine," he sighed, pushing out his chair and standing up from the kitchen table. "If it will please you, my fair lady, then I guess I must oblige," he added. Vanessa smirked at his response. He walked over toward her, and they both began to make their way in the direction of the door leading out to the garage.
"I wish I knew what you were up to," he commented, wondering what her true motives of teaching him to drive were. Vanessa threw a look up at him.
"I guess you're just going to have to have some fun in order to figure that out," she smiled again smugly at him, then opening the door to the garage and exiting towards her Honda.
Loki found himself slightly smiling at the memory, as he was brought out of his reverie by Vanessa's voice explaining the functions of the gear shift. He listened intently as she explained the differences between the positions of forward, neutral, and reverse. She had already gone over the importance of the use of the mirrors, as well as the other gauges on the dashboard. Even though he couldn't read all the symbols, he was forcing himself to remember their meanings.
Along with teaching him to drive, Vanessa was also kind enough to begin to teach him to read. She knew he had been yearning to learn, and decided it would probably help him to be more efficient in the lab. Jesse also pitched in with the effort, being the only male team member to not taunt him as he started simple, reading stories about some Little Engine That Could and an unfortunate girl named Red Riding Hood and her foe the Big Bad Wolf. Earth definitely needed new material.
Truth be told the stories bored him to tears, but he hated to admit it was helping him learn the written language. Both Vanessa and Jesse were patient with him, but they noted how quick of a study he was. And currently, he was finding it helpful as he began to recognize letters and numbers involved in the operation of the vehicle.
"So, how about we shift this baby into gear and have you give it a real try?" Vanessa asked him, catching his attention once again.
Loki looked over to her, both of his hands on the wheel.
"You sure?" he asked, a sly expression on his face.
"As long as you promise not to crash my car," Vanessa responded. "Sure," she followed, shrugging slightly. "How else are you going to learn?"
"It goes along with the pattern the rest of my life has been following lately," he replied.
"You'll be fine," Vanessa reassured confidently. "Now get her in gear."
"If you say so," Loki said, pressing his foot down on the brake and grasping the gear shift. "Hold onto your butts," he said smiling, shifting the car into drive.
"Who let you watch Jurassic Park?" Vanessa asked, a wry smile upon her face, as Loki moved his foot to the gas pedal, forcing the car to lurch forward.
"So, did Loki total your car?" Adam asked as Vanessa and Loki made their way into the men's cabin. Vanessa sat down on the couch grabbing a nearby magazine, while Loki found an empty chair at the kitchen table across from where Stephen was sitting.
"He ripped the rear bumper clean off after attempting to jump that dumpster over at Sonic's, but you know, that's what duct tape is for," Vanessa replied nonchalantly.
"I told you jumping that thing would be sweet," Adam smiled widely. "Man after my own heart," he nodded toward Loki.
Loki responded with an acknowledging nod in Adam's direction.
"He actually did quite well," Vanessa stated honestly. "Paid attention to the road, figured out the connection between the dash board and the speed limit postings, used his mirrors," she listed. She narrowed her eyes toward him suspiciously. "Almost as though he's done this before," she said, her suspicious nature seeping its way into her voice.
"I'm just a natural," Loki countered confidently, a smug smile on his face. "Of course," he started, a slyness flashing across his expression. "It could be because I had such a wonderful teacher," he ventured to comment, more curious of Adam's reaction than Vanessa's.
"Nice try," she countered, lowering her gaze at Loki. "But you still ran over that pedestrian crossing sign," she commented.
"It was in the middle of the road," Loki argued back.
"That's the point. It's to make you slow down so you don't hit an actual person," she explained.
"What's one life really?" Loki asked, gesturing his hand in the air to better accentuate his point.
"A lifetime in prison," Vanessa countered back. Loki's eyes flitted up toward the ceiling as though in thought. He then brought them back to meet hers.
"I'm beginning to think you don't think that's worth it," he responded.
"That depends," Vanessa started. "What color is the shirt the person's wearing?" she asked, a quizzical expression on her face.
"Purple," Loki responded, playing along with her.
"Oh well, then of course. Nobody likes anyone in purple. Take 'em out," she commented. She and Loki shared a smile, Loki happy they could loosen up after the tense driving lesson.
"You two are messed up," Adam commented, his eyes darting between Loki and Vanessa. They both only smiled at the comment.
"Come on Adam, they're not messed up," Gabe chimed in, walking in from the kitchen, a dish towel in his hands. "They're just," he started, looking over to Loki and Vanessa. Everyone looked over to him expectantly, curious of what he would choose to add to the conversation. "Adventurous?"
"That certainly wouldn't be too far off the mark," Jesse also walking in from the kitchen agreed.
"Pretty sure you mean dangerous, not adventurous," Adam countered.
"I'm not the one who put the hot sauce in our drinks the other night," Loki argued, pointing toward Adam.
"Yeah, but I'm not the one who knew to switch the drinks when the other wasn't looking," Adam stated just as passionately, referring to a prank he had tried to pull on Loki most recently. "I'm telling you, you're scary man," he went on to comment. "How'd you know?" he asked, truly curious how Loki had figured out what Adam was up to.
"Call it a sixth sense," Loki answered smartly, a smug smile upon his face.
"Scary," Adam whispered dramatically, looking at Vanessa, pointing a finger over at Loki.
"Well, that sixth sense will come in handy once you've gotten driving down pat," Vanessa commented, twisting on the couch to look back at Loki at the table. The others looked to her, wondering just where this was going. "Gotta get your ass busy carting more equipment around A.S.A.P.," Vanessa finished. Loki narrowed his eyes at her, albeit a wry smile upon his face.
"I knew you had an ulterior motive," he said, pointing a finger toward her.
Vanessa merely adopted a false innocent expression upon her face in response.
"Yeah, you gotta watch out for those," Gabe spoke up. "She's good at roping you into work under false pretenses," he continued, a pointed look upon his face.
"Which reminds me. You've been falling behind on the 'extra shift'," she mentioned pointing over to Gabe. Gabe merely rolled his eyes.
"Well, you know, I figured since Loki is living with you, he could fill in," he answered, a smugness present in his voice. Loki's eyes shot over to Vanessa, an expectant expression upon his face. Her eyes briefly met with his, but travelled to Gabe once again.
"Gabe, you of all people should know how irreplaceable you are," she answered, a sultry expression upon her face.
"Whoa, way to reject Loki there boss," Adam spoke up, looking between Vanessa and Loki. "Not that I'm complaining," he followed smugly.
Vanessa only adopted a challenging expression. "Oh Adam," she started dramatically. "If only you knew the things Loki and I were up to next door," she responded. Loki shot her a pointed look, as if to ask her what things they were up to indeed – or could be. Vanessa caught his eye, a sly expression upon her face. "The way he cleans dishes just does things to me," she continued. Loki merely looked to the side, rolling his eyes. He should have known something along those lines was coming. The rest of the men threw looks to one another almost mirroring Loki's sentiments. "And when he vacuums a room….mmmm," she commented dramatically.
"You must get really hot when he organizes rock samples," Gabe offered.
"Don't even get me started," she countered, her sultry demeanor maintained. Loki merely leaned back in his chair, resting his hands behind his head.
"Well I'm glad I can be such a strong source of arousal for you," he commented, his eyebrows raised pointedly. Vanessa shot him a challenging look.
"If only you knew," she responded, her eyes locking with Loki's. They kept their eyes locked for a few moments, Loki attempting to read just what Vanessa was communicating. He did have to admit she was good at toying with people, which normally he took pride in. He found it impressive that she was able to illicit such a response out of him. However instead of giving her the satisfaction, he merely narrowed his eyes to her, as though to communicate that it would take more than her flirtatious comments to seduce him. Yet admittedly, the very idea of seduction with her could not help but illicit an excitement from somewhere deep within him. After a few seconds longer, he finally cleared his throat, breaking his gaze and looking to Jesse and Gabe working away in the kitchen.
"Did you two need any help with anything in there?" he asked.
"Nah, we're all good in here. Dinner's just about ready anyway," Gabe responded, carrying out a steaming plate of spaghetti. Having picked up the cue from Gabe, the rest of the team began making their way to the table, grabbing plates and silverware.
"Yeah, and we wouldn't want to get Vanessa all hot and bothered putting you to work again," Adam jabbed, a smirk on his face.
"I make it look sexy, apparently," Loki responded, a perplexed expression upon his face Vanessa only smirked at Loki's comment, making herself comfortable at the table with the rest of the team.
Everyone else followed suit, helping with the setting of the table, finally sitting down to eat.
"Go ahead and dig right in," Jesse offered, allowing everyone to take their servings and begin filling their bellies with the delicious meal.