The next hour you debated if your decision was right. Your mind kept weighing the polar opposite options yet you put on your makeup as if you already made your choice. Every time you thought about going back to Loki's room and calling the deal off you lingered to how you deserved a night out with your friends, even if Loki was in the background. On the other hand, when you thought about how much you wanted to leave the facility, what would happen if you got caught? New York was big, yes, and you never told anyone which nightclub you were going to specifically as there were hundreds just in the city alone, but if someone saw you leave and grew suspicious who's to say what would happen? So many scenarios scattered in your brain. That person would rat you out to the team, they'd shun you for the rest of your life, Tony would kick you out immediately, he would second guess why he let you stay in the first place, which was something you never quite fully understood. If worse came to worse, you could always move back in with Lilly and Maya. But what if they thought you abandoned them? You didn't mean to. In fact, you were forced to leave your current living situation. They wouldn't lea-
Before your headache could grow any larger, you heard a knock on your bathroom door. Your breath hitched when a familiar voice spoke up, "It's me," Tony said, "I'm sorry about before, but we really need you to do this. We'll celebrate with a restaurant, your choice, just us two to get to know each other. Maybe Pepper. No, not Pepper." You could practically hear his head rushing with what he was trying to spit out as he hesitated, "What I'm trying to say is we're heading out. Don't let Loki… Honestly don't let him do anything but breathe and blink. Steve and his squad should be back tomorrow from their mission. Hang tight until then."
You didn't say anything, you were processing the fact that Tony actually said the words "I'm sorry" to you. On top of that he wanted to take you out to dinner and have a real conversation. Not just the chats you have in the lab about his works, but about both of your lives, something you have secretly been yearning since day one. "O-Okay." You stammered, careful not to burn yourself on the curling rod, "See you later." Great, now you'll feel some guilt for sneaking out. To be fair, it was Tony's own fault for not letting you live your life.
About an hour later you were dolled up in makeup and a form fitting maroon dress with off shoulder sleeves that Maya helped you pick out a few months back. It was already 8:00 and you promised you'd arrive at that time. You quickly texted Maya and Lilly that you were heading out and you had to "pick up a friend". Speaking of which, you needed to tell Loki you were ready.
Peeking your head out of your door, purse in hand, you checked the hall if anyone was around. Your heels clacked on the linoleum tile as you crossed the few feet to Loki's door. You knocked sharply, waiting for him to emerge. A part of you wanted him to not answer, for him to end his own deal so you could have a reason to stay home. Or you could leave him alone and go by yourself and deal with the repercussions later. Well, somebody was listening and decided to pull a joke on you as Loki opened the door.
You would've noticed him looking at you surprised by how you were dressed if it weren't for the fact that you were too distracted by his attire. He went with his usual Asgardian wear of green, gold, and black leather outfitted with actual gold bands.
"What are you wearing?" You asked.
"What do you mean?" Loki questioned.
"We're going to a party in a club, not a renaissance fair."
Loki was taken aback from your comment, "I am dressed for a party. In Asgard this was standard attire for events our family held."
You rubbed the bridge of your nose out of frustration, "You're on Earth now. You got to own something like a suit."
In almost an instant a shimmer of gold surrounded his head as a helmet with long horns manifested on Loki's head, "How is this?" He mused.
You crossed your arms, "If you can do that, you can illusion yourself human clothes."
Loki stared you down, then sighed rolling his eyes, knowing he wouldn't win this situation. The golden shimmer surrounded him as he changed into the black suit he wore on the first day you saw him. "This should suffice, but know this; " He leaned in, a little too close for comfort, before hissing his next words, "this night will not grant you permission to treat me like a cornered dog. Just because this is your planet does not give you access to order me whenever you please. I am a god in this realm- and for a moment your divine ruler."
You resisted the urge to step back from his proximity, for doing so would only pin you against the wall. Instead you stood your ground, trying to match the intensity of Loki's glare. "If you say so. But if you do anything that raises any red flags while we're out, I won't hesitate to drag your ass back here early." You pulled your phone out, it was a few minutes after you were supposed to meet up, plus you needed to pick up a gift. "We gotta go. Does the divine ruler want to stop for some fast food on the way?" You asked sarcastically.
Loki's manner transitioned from his intimidating look to amused as he let out a soft chuckle.
Getting to the garage was a lot easier than you expected. With practically everyone gone nobody saw you and Loki made it to the rows of cars that were perfectly lined up. When you were first moving in Tony explained to you that most of the vehicles had keys hung up accordingly on a grid wall. Most of that conversation he mostly bragged that at least three-quarters of the cars belonged to him personally, which at least gave you a wide variety to choose from. "Got a preference?" You asked Loki, perusing the key selections.
Loki looked back at the cars with a sour look, "Please tell me we are not driving any of those."
You were bemused at his remark, "What's wrong with them? I mean, sure they're a bit pretentious like that Ferrari- and those other two Ferrari's… but there are a few cool ones we could borrow." You scanned the row, a black car caught your eye. "How about this Tesla? I heard they're pretty cool." Part of you knew that taking a car that glamorous would catch a few eyes, but if you were going to break the rules might as well go all the way in style.
"Whatever you think is best." Loki responded, "Personally I would never be caught dead in any of these, but if this is the only mode of transportation, then it will be adequate for the night." No matter what you said to the man you could never seem to satisfy him, even if it was for a moment.
You plucked the key from the slot and the two of you made your way to the sleek Tesla. Simultaneously you both entered the car. When you turned the key in the ignition you expected the screen in the dashboard to show different selections, except you were greeted by the display illuminating a video of a lit fireplace. A wave of warmth flooded the car as if the fire actually gave out heat from the heating system. The speakers blasted a funky tune of smooth jazz music, and without warning both yours and Loki's seat reclined backwards.
"Well well well, I didn't realize this was your true intention for the night." said Loki, showing off a wicked grin. "If you wanted to go a different route, we could have stayed upstairs."
"What? No! I didn't-" Your face went beet red. You shot up away from the reclined seat when you tried to fiddle with the controls. After a few buttons pressed and smacks on the screens the fireplace video and heat turned off as well as the music. You readjusted your seat before selecting the maps to enter in the location of the club. God I hope they cleaned in here before we got here. You thought to yourself. "We're never going to talk about this again."
You only heard a chuckle from the god next to you, your heart was beating out of your chest. Why was it doing that? Maybe it was because you were still in shock by the unexpected romance mode the car was set to.
Yes, that was it.
Driving in downtown New York at night always brought a sense of surrealistic peace to you. The way the lights lit the structures in the distance, the ambiance, the shadows bent in contrast, everything melded together perfectly.
You have only lived in New York for less than a year, but you would consider it to be one of the only few places you enjoyed residing in. After the incident in 2012, you fled as far as you could until you reached Maine. For a year it was your shelter, then Pennsylvania for six months, then Vermont for two years, and so on. You jumped from state to state in the northeast area for five years. For even longer you knew that Tony could be your biological father. At any time you could have gone to Stark Tower, to follow the only lead you had read once in a file years ago. Yet you didn't. Instead you hid from the past of who you were and what you were forced to do. If it wasn't for the voice in the back at your head screaming you would have left the country the second you had the chance. When you finally had enough of the voice there was only one remedy you knew that could soothe the coarse yells that have been echoing in your ears. The moment you stepped foot in front of the tower, the voice ceased.
Now you wished there was another voice to tell you what to do now. Originally your plan was to leave the country, perhaps Paris, find a cozy cottage on the outskirts of town away from the population. Maybe get a cat or two, maybe a bird. The point was to finally be free and forget the past, to finally be alone. But there was a tug in a different direction. The direction that kept you with your friends, Maya and Lilly. A chance to be part of a family with the Avengers, who's trust you have gained from most of the team the near two months you've been there. Even Bucky was slowly starting to initiate conversations with you. Even with the new, unexpected life that was thrown your way, making the decision to leave it behind or stick with it was a sea of voice in your mind.
For tonight however, you were going to drown out the voices with liquor, loud EDM, and dancing. All of course while keeping an eye on the Asgardian prince.
Speaking of which, you thought that he has most likely never been to an earthling party.
"So…" you droned out, Loki's gaze still out the window, "I'm sure you probably haven't been to a club on Earth before, so I'm giving you a heads up that this is going to be different than whatever parties you're used to."
Loki cocked an eyebrow, finally turning his head to you, "And what parties would that be?"
"I don't know. I thought it was more like royal stuff with balls and fancy dresses." Considering he was a prince and the stories Thor told you about Asgard (not to mention Thor and Loki's choice of fashion and speech), you only assumed Loki had only been to medieval like parties.
Loki smirked, almost as if he was reminiscing about the memories, "We did have parties similar to those on Asgard. However I have observed and even participated in Midgardian-like events."
"Oh yeah? When was the last time you partied or to put it in simpler terms, 'go out'?"
Loki thought for a moment, "The most recent I recall was on Sakaar. True the ruler was a clueless sociopath who wanted everything his way, but he did throw marvelous events."
"He sounds like somebody I know." You teased, not getting a very positive response from Loki. You changed the subject before an awkward silence could interfere, "We need to make a pit stop before we get to the club."
"What for?"
"I didn't have time to get my friend a gift."
It was only five minutes later when you got to the store Lilly loved. It was a small spiritual shop that sold crystals, candles, all sorts of things that Lilly had interest in. She's a self-proclaimed witch, which didn't bother you, except for certain incense she burned that filled the entire apartment, nearly setting the smoke alarm off. Hopefully they sold something that Lilly would like and didn't have. You turned off the car and unbuckled when you noticed Loki wasn't moving, "Come on, I'm not leaving you alone." Loki gave an annoyed look, but quietly obeyed and exited the car.
The store was small but had a lot of aisles to peruse. You and Loki definitely were out of place, with it's dark wood floor and even darker concrete walls. Actually, with Loki's black suit and demeanor he could fit right in. But you were only there for five minutes tops, not wanting to waste any more time. Going through each aisle you took note of what Lilly would enjoy. Most of the items you knew she already had, except for a few mugs that were cheesy like "Witch Please" or "Witches Be Crazy".
The first thing you needed to do was pick out a birthday card, which thankfully the store had a small display on the side. While reading through the cheesy ones, you settled on a card that had a cat on the cover, but had a thoughtful message on the inside. Looking over to Loki, you found him perplexed at not only the greeting cards, but the general atmosphere of the store. "So this friend, she actually is a witch?"
"Yeah, but she doesn't practice a lot of spells. She mostly does tarot cards and sage burnings." You didn't fully understand her lifestyle, but you respected it nonetheless. Loki furrowed his brows before continuing down the aisles.
After finding Lilly's card, you skimmed down the aisle until a book caught your eye. The title read: 101 Love Spells to Spice up Your Relationship. You picked up the book, examining the cover and flipped through a few of the pages, taking notice of the more sensual spells. You actually considered buying it as a joke, until a familiar voice rang in your ear. "I didn't realize Midgard had spell books, especially of the sultry design."
You jumped from the sudden lack of personal space. Loki was leaning towards your ear, observing the book from your hand. "I'm not buying it." You blurted, taking a step away that ended more like a shuffle, "I mean, this is just a gag book. I wasn't actually considering it." If only you had a mirror to prove to yourself your face was red. You tossed the book back onto the shelf with a thud. Next to it was another book, Spells For Self Care. Flipping through the pages this was the perfect book for Lilly. D.I.Y. organic face masks, spells to calm your mind, even some advice on how to deal with stressful energies. You tucked the book under your arm along with the card, "Let's get out of here," you said to Loki, determined for you and him to forget about the conversation prior.
The two of you checked out the items along with a gift bag and some colorful tissue paper. You were in there a little over five minutes, but you would still make it to the club in time. The drive was short, but the silence made it feel longer. You didn't know what to talk about to a literal demigod, and small talk wasn't your forte in the first place. If it weren't for the traffic you would speed just a bit faster to get to the club even sooner. What else could you talk about with Loki? So what's your favorite color? Your hopes and dreams? If you had to marry, kill, or f-
"Y/N?" Loki asked.
"Hm?" You were so lost in thought you didn't realize you arrived. "Oh, yeah I'm just looking for a spot." You pulled into a parking garage a few blocks away. The only space you could squeeze into was on the third story, and just your luck the elevator was out of service, forcing the two of you to walk down the concrete stairs in your heels.
When you finally made it to the front of the club, the line wasn't extremely long, but you remembered Maya saying something about telling the bouncer your name and you were in Lilly's party. So just as Maya said, the bouncer pulled away the velvet rope, but not before asking about Loki.
"He's with me." You stated. The bouncer gave a questioning glare, but let him through as well. Before you opened the doors to the club itself, you pulled Loki aside in the lounge. "Before we go in, there are a few ground rules."
Loki rolled his eyes, "I thought we already settled those earlier."
"Yes and no. First off, you're not allowed out of my sight. If I need to go to the bathroom, my friends are in charge of you. Second, don't try anything funny. Thor told me you like to play tricks, but not tonight. Are we clear?"
He grinned ear to ear, placing his hand on his chest, "I give you my word I will not play a trick on your friends."
"Great." You nodded, averting your gaze, "And one question, do you think anybody will recognize you?"
Loki's grin slowly faded as he tilted his head, "What do you mean?"
"Your reputation isn't exactly… favorable. I don't know how much you made the news."
"You didn't know who I was when we first met." He had a point, you were a bit busy escaping with your life from actual creatures. "Not many people cared to memorize this face. I've been here long enough and nobody bats an eye. Now I must ask you the same question." You tilted your head this time, "I was told of your predicament. Are you sure no one will recognize you?"
To be honest, you didn't know. You've been really good about keeping out of trouble, and you haven't seen any agents in years. "I'm sure we'll both be fine."
Loki's grin curved its way back in, "Great."
You sure as hell hoped you sounded convincing. Not just for him, but for yourself.
