Pepper was waiting for Loki in the hallway and ushered him into the other elevator the moment he stepped out, then pressed the button for the lobby.
"I don't fully follow the logic behind the elevators," he admitted. The one he took from the penthouse to the upper level had no buttons for any of the levels between the workshop – three floors beyond the penthouse – and the basement on minus one."
"That's Tony's idea. The other one is for private use only and serves only the floors which are not commercially available. It doesn't even have doors on lower levels, so people wouldn't try to use it. This one would only take you to the penthouse on Jarvis' authorization and won't go to any other of the private levels. The bank on the southern side serves all floors but only one shaft goes all the way through the building, to save space, and it too requires authorization."
"That's awfully complicated." And rather ingenuine. That way, Stark could naturally keep his private quarters separated from the commercial floors while still keeping it all fully operational without taking up too much space.
"Welcome to the world of Tony's designs," she chuckled.
The lift stopped and the door opened, revealing the grand atrium of the tower. Despite spending a while here, Loki had no opportunity to see it yet and now hesitated. It was grand: two-story-high, all polished stone and big windows facing the busy street outside, corners adorned with greenery and the overhead lights shining brightly. And it was full of people.
Well, not full perhaps, but there were people there – a couple of workers leaving the elevator to their right, the guards by the security gates, the clerks in the few shops lining the far wall and a few customers there, a man on a bulky machine that might be some kind of a device designed for polishing the marble floors, for it left a trail of shiny wetness wherever it passed, then a few more guards at the main exit.
"I don't think this is the best idea," he said.
"Nonsense," she said nonchalantly and slid her arm under his, then pulled him out into the open.
He wished he hadn't left the power source in the room, or he'd spent more time on drawing from it at least, instead of wasting time in the shower, so he could shift and hold the change for a while without fear of fainting or shifting back in the middle of the crowd. But he had done neither and had no other choice but to resign himself to it, to the scene that was ought to follow. It was different than the situation at the food place, back when he and Romanoff were traveling to DC. They were in a car and could drive away at any moment. Here? There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Soon, the people would know who was living just a few stories above their heads.
Pepper's fingers curled around his arm in a reassuring squeeze. "You're doing great," she said.
She pressed a card to the reader at the gate and it opened, but then started beeping in a warning as they walked through. Loki's heart jumped into his throat.
"Excuse me, but it's only one person per…" the guard said and paused with his mouth open when his eyes landed on Loki's face. The man blinked, then frowned and Loki wished the ground swallowed him whole and spare him the embarrassment.
"Hello, Greg," Pepper said cheerfully, and the man's gaze slowly drifted to her.
"Oh, excuse me, Miss Potts, I didn't see you there," he said, getting a – very loose – grip of his reactions. He pressed his own card to the reader and the alarm stopped wailing. Loki looked around. A couple of people stopped and were now glaring at him with wide eyes. There was… curiosity in the looks, yes, but no disgust he could recognize, nor fear. They were not running, no one was screaming, no one was calling the authorities. They simply... stared.
"This is Loki, Tony's friend. He will be staying at the tower for a while. Would you be so kind as to get him the private floors pass?"
"Of course, Miss Potts, I'm right on it."
She inclined her head. "We'll get back to you in a moment, we're just picking an order."
"Of course," he said, stole the last look at Loki, and venture back towards the security booth, just to stop a few paces away and turn back to them. "I'm going to need your ID, Sir."
Loki frowned and looked at Pepper for guidance.
She chuckled. "They don't issue those where our guest is from. Just take my word for it, okay?"
"I'll need a surname then."
Loki didn't answer. He didn't have one, not anymore. He killed one father and had been cast out by another; he didn't have rights - or desire - to use either of the patronyms.
"Loki?" Pepper prompted quietly.
He shook his head. "I have none. It's just Loki."
The guard stood there, chewing the inside of his cheek nervously, unsure what to do.
"You've heard the man," Pepper said.
"But…"
"Just leave the field empty. Jarvis will overwrite the protocol for you."
The guard nodded and disappeared into the booth and Pepper dragged Loki towards one of the stands, with a big, green sign with a name the All-Speak translated as an underground train, which was rather confusing, as this seemed to be a food place.
Pepper waved at one of the clerks – who Loki guessed must be Larry – and was handed a bag and a molded paper tray-thing with four cups on it, which prompted her to finally let go of Loki's arm. He almost stumbled on the break of contact, with the reassuring touch gone he suddenly felt unmoored, more exposed. He looked around, but the people who were staring earlier were gone and no one seemed to pay them any attention.
"I wasn't sure you're ready for another coffee so I got you a Coke. I hope you don't mind," she said, showing up the tray.
Loki frowned and she laughed.
"Have you ever had a soda in your life?" she asked.
"Once."
"I take you didn't like it."
"The bubbles feel weird," he said and realized how stupid it sounded a heartbeat too late, because she was already laughing.
"I guess they are, if you think about it. I'm guessing Asgard is not big on carbonated drinks?"
"They have beer, but it's different. And I don't really like that either."
"You wouldn't last a day in a small town in Montana," she chuckled, then added, "That's where I am from."
The guard stepped out to meet them as they approached the gate again. "Here you go, Sir," he said. "Have a nice stay." The smile was forced, but it was there and if the man's eyes didn't really focus on Loki, just on some unspecified point above his shoulder, Loki couldn't really blame him.
He swept the card on the reader and – when the gate opened without a delay – he stashed it in his pocket, then ran his hand down his thigh, to make sure it was still there. It was a weirdly comforting feeling, to know it was.
Steve was sitting in a flimsy folding chair and stared. There was not a lot to stare at, but what was there was enough to keep his attention intact and his mind running.
On the other side of the glass partition, sprawled out on the floor, lay Bucky. Steve managed to convince Tony to forgo using the shackles, but the glass panel was secured, keeping Steve from staying closer to his friend.
Not that he would know Steve was there. He was still unconscious and Tony's curt comments about how it might take a while planted a seed of worry in Steve's mind that refused to be pruned.
It was twenty-twelve, the war was over for sixty-seven years and Steve spent the time frozen under the Arctic Ocean, and yet, here he was. Bucky looked older, but not sixty-seven years older. Had he been frozen, like Steve was? Or was there any other factor at play? Other than the supersoldier serum, that was, because there was no doubt Bucky had been given some form of it, just from the way he fought. Had he taken it willingly? Where was it from? Did that mean that…
No. The time for answers would come. Steve needed to be patient because that was what Bucky needed him to be now. Bucky, who did not know his face, nor his own name. Bucky, who attacked Steve – and his companion – with wild fury in his eyes.
And yet, Steve couldn't help the visions his imagination painted before his mind's eye. He and Bucky, together in this new, unfamiliar world, exploring it together, learning it at their own pace. There was a lot of conjecture involved in those musings, but wasn't that what imagination was supposed to be about? Steve wouldn't know what happened until Bucky could tell them, but he was still allowed to dream.
The vault door hissed and rolled aside, and Pepper and Loki came in.
Loki inclined his head politely and lingered behind, close to the exit. Steve could see there was hesitation in his moves whenever he was around Steve since the accident and even more so now, after he had been brought back, stolen from the brink of death, wounded and exhausted. He did look a lot better already though, for which Steve was grateful.
"We're doing the laundry," Pepper said, "and we figured you might use something to eat." She pulled out a tinfoil-wrapped bundle and handed it to him. "There's a coffee, too."
"Thank you," he said and placed it in his lap. He wasn't really hungry, the worry killed it off too effectively, but it would be impolite to decline after they went through the trouble to bring it to him.
"You know that there are cameras here and that Jarvis will inform you if something changes, right?"
"Yes, but I'd rather stay here if you don't mind."
"Of course," she said and stepped away. "We can come back later, after we deal with the laundry."
"There's no need. I'm fine on my own," Truth be told, he would rather be alone right now. "Thank you."
Pepper nodded and turned to leave.
"Your friend was mind-controlled," Loki said.
Steve looked up at him, frowning. "What are you trying to say?"
"SHIELD had a machine to do that. That's why he didn't recognize you," Loki explained. His voice was low and quiet. "There might be a chance to undo it."
"How?"
Loki shrugged. "There are types of conditioning that could be undone easily, and some that require work and time. If I had my magic back… I could try. Should you wish me to, of course."
"But you can't, right?" Steve said, frowning.
"There might be a way," Loki said, his words careful and wary. "I'd need a few days to get there though." He turned to Pepper. "I won't try without permission, of course."
"Loki…" she started, then tried to place her hand on his shoulder, but he jerked away, on instinct.
"I should go," he said, when, just a second later, he got the control of his reactions back. "I'll concern you with my presence no more." Then he turned on his heel and left.
Pepper sighed. "See you later, Steve," she said, and followed Loki out of the room, and Steve heard her calling, "Hey, do you even know where the laundry room is?!" before the door rolled back into place and secured with a hiss.
Loki, in fact, didn't know where the laundry room was. That was the whole bloody point of the escapade. He didn't point it out though, more concerned with berating himself for his actions. And reactions. First, he allowed that stupid suggestion to tumble out before he thought it through. He just wanted to help, wanted something to offer to the Captain for how he wronged him, and it backfired. Of course, there would be mistrust and doubt in Rogers' eyes. Loki was enough of liability without his magic and now, with that promise he so foolishly left dangling in the air, he only made himself more of a threat.
And he didn't even truly know he could do it; it would require holding on to his Æsir form for long enough to nudge his powers back to life and there was no telling how long it would take to gather that much energy.
Second, he jumped away from Pepper, after she'd shown him nothing but patience and kindness. As if he was some skittish animal without an inch of self-control. No wonder she was looking at him with grief in her eyes now.
"I'll return the source Stark gave me," he said.
She stopped and turned to him, so he stopped too. "What source?"
"An… arc reactor. Natasha brought one for me. So I could heal. But I'm healed now, and I don't need it anymore. Without it, I won't be able to regain access to my magic."
"Then why would you give it up?"
He clenched his teeth. This was getting more and more confusing.
"So I wouldn't be a threat."
So you wouldn't think about sending me away to SHIELD or locking me up again. So I could live among you. So I wouldn't hurt anybody, ever again.
"Loki," she said and reached out to touch his arm, her long, gentle fingers looking so out of place on his skin. "I believe I'll speak for everybody here when I say this: we don't want you to limit yourself. We don't want you to be afraid of us. We just want you to get better. And I'm sure everyone would be overjoyed once you're at your full strength again, because your strength is our strength too."
He blinked, the treacherous tears burning in his eyes again.
"I don't know what your life has been until now and I'm not going to pretend I know what SHIELD or the man who sent you to Earth did to you – or that I want to – but I know that you're not a bad person and that's enough for me."
"I'm not a person at all," he said – not quite managing to keep the tremble out of his voice – and turned his gaze away.
"Why would you say that? Of course you are."
"Look at me!"
"I am looking at you, Loki. I keep on looking at you since the day we met. And you know what I see? I see someone who is lost and sad and hurt. But also someone who cares about others, a man with a bright mind and a heart that might have been broken one time too many. And yes, I can see that you don't look like any of us, but it doesn't matter, because it's not what's important. It's what in here…" She touched his temple lightly, then her hand wandered down, to his rest on his chest, right above his heart, "and here that is. And both seem fine to me."
Loki looked at her, desperately trying to swallow the tears.
"Come here," she said, and spread her arms, and – against his best instincts – Loki dropped the basket and allowed himself to be hugged, for the second time the same day.
It must've been some new record.
"That's all?" Pepper asked, when she was done stashing Loki's clothes into the washing machine.
"Yes?" he said. "I don't have any other garments, but the ones Stark got me."
She frowned and regarded him with a sizing glare, head to toe. "Well, that would explain a thing or two," she said with a smirk, sat down on a bench by the wall, and pulled out her phone. "Luckily, now I'm here and we can do something about it."
What followed was a long – and quite one-sided – discussion about Midgardian fashion during which Loki protested, at least three times, that he didn't really need more than a couple of shirts and lost the argument each time, a win that Pepper punctuated with adding more and more articles to her virtual shop basket – which was apparently a thing – to be delivered to the tower.
He soon realized that arguing with Pepper when it came to clothes shopping was a pointless endeavor, especially since his experience in that matter was limited only to what he gathered by careful observation and might be a few years outdated. It was hard to keep up with Midgardian style for casual outfits, since the fashion for those changed seemingly every season and Loki had been sticking to well-crafted, timeless elegance in the past, just because it was safe. And he liked how it looked.
It would be out of place for a ward to wear more flashy clothes than their masters though, wouldn't it?
"I love Tony, I truly do, but he has absolutely no fashion sense and he would wear the same t-shirt and grease-stained jeans every day until it fell apart," she said after Loki got dragged into another argument – about the superiority of buttons and zips over laces this time. "So I'm glad not everyone here is completely oblivious to that."
Loki inclined his head at the perhaps-compliment. She laughed at him, but it wasn't a mocking laugh, and Loki found himself laughing with her.
They went through trousers and shirts and even underwear and were now at shoes – much to Loki's delight, because the only footwear he owned was taken away by the men at the Triskelion – when the AI's voice sounded from the ceiling.
"I'm to inform you that Captain Rogers' friend has woken up."