Chapter 11 - Pizza Night
Tony had been certain Loki would eventually lose her temper and do something stupid to blow her cover. Instead, it was the Friday night pizza order that had done it. "Anything so long as it's not anchovies and pineapple," said Loki, wrinkling up her nose in disgust. While it wouldn't have been too suspicious if "Lofn" had shared similar tastes with her brother, she shouldn't have remembered Erik Selvig's horrible taste in pizza.
"Shit," said Clint, pointing at Loki (kind of rude, really). "I knew Loki didn't have a sister. That is not a goddess."
"I am, at the moment," said Loki, indignant. Apparently it was one of her femme days. She didn't dress any differently when she was feeling one gender or the other, so it was hard to tell unless she said something about it.
Clint's arm swung around, so that now he was pointing at Tony (again, rude). "Explain."
"It's called being gender-fluid, Clint, or non-binary. Google it."
"Not what I meant, Stark. Why is Loki here and not in prison?"
Tony shrugged. "Well, to make a long story short, she accidentally turned herself into a mortal and got kicked out of Asgard."
"Too short. Try again."
"Point Break said only human women could wear pants."
"Sounds are coming out of your mouth, and yet—"
"Our dearest friend Thorston asserted 'twas not proper for little sister to wear trousers. Little sister pointed out that this twas hypocrisy, as she had seen Brother Thorston's girlfriend wearing them. Thorston then qualified that mortal women were allowed to wear blue jeans, and verily did she turn herself into a lowly mortal to spite him."
"And he—sorry, she can't turn herself back?"
"Nope. Oops, no magic powers. Plus she's stuck with lady parts, although it looks like today is one of the days that works out."
"So she can't do magic?" Natasha asked. She didn't seem too shocked that Lofn was Loki. (Steve, on the other hand, had been standing there with his mouth open, like someone had just informed him that his puppy was the reincarnation of Hitler.)
"At the moment I cannot work magic," Loki told her. "However, I am working on finding a way to fix that."
Natasha shook her head. "If you get your powers back, we're going to have a problem."
"We ought to be calling SHIELD right now anyway," Clint said. "Has everyone forgotten what he—she—THE ALIEN—did?"
"Loki, I think you ought to tell them what you told me," said Doc Samson.
Loki shook her head. "No. They won't believe me."
"I can try to explain it to them for you."
She growled that little feral growl that meant she was about to flip out. "Just mind your own business, mortal."
"That's no way to talk to Doc," said Tony.
"I'll speak to any of you any way I so choose."
"Uh, no. You'll apologize right now, or you'll go to your room and stay there until the pizza gets here." He wasn't going to ban her from pizza night, because she needed the calories.
Loki looked him straight in the eye and said, "I'm going to my room, but because I want to, not because you told me to."
Tony had to bite his own tongue to keep himself from laughing. He knew he'd said that himself a few times, like thirty-something years ago, but he'd never appreciated how ridiculous it sounded. "Fine, but you're still going to apologize to Doc later, after you've calmed down."
"And what are you going to do if I don't?"
So far, consequences for Loki's behavior hadn't gone beyond sending her to her room for a cooling off period, but maybe it was time to up the ante. "JARVIS, block Loki's electronics usage until she apologizes."
Loki's jaw tightened. She didn't like that. It had been less than a week since she'd been a resident of Earth, but he knew she was already practically addicted to the StarkPad he had given her to keep her out of trouble. He wasn't sure what the kid used it for—probably watching videos of fainting goats on YouTube or something. "I hate you all," she announced, and stomped off towards her room.
"What the heck was that about?" Clint asked. "Loki's acting, like, like—"
"A bratty kid? That's all she ever was, Clint. Asgardian lifespans taken into account, she's still a teenager."
"Well, shit—that doesn't change what he did, though."
"What she did," Tony corrected.
"She was a he at the time," Clint argued. "She goes back and forth, right? So it's not offensive to say 'he,' if I'm talking about what she did when she was male."
It seemed to take Doctor Samson a moment to figure out why both Clint and Tony were staring at him. He arched an eyebrow back at them. "Usually, it's a good idea to ask the person in question what pronouns they prefer."
Tony arched an eyebrow at him. "And you haven't asked?"
"I did, actually." Samson leaned back, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples. "Loki said she didn't care what pronouns other people use to describe her, because the only time she would hear other people use them was if they were talking about her in front of her 'as if she wasn't there.' According to her, that's rude anyway. She also doesn't like it when people talk about her 'behind her back,' which I guess is what we're doing now. Then she said that it didn't matter which pronoun you used so long as you capitalized it, but I'm ninety-nine percent sure that was a joke. Anyway, from a grammatical standpoint, I think Tony's right? The verb is past-tense, but the noun would still be present-tense."
"I never thought about a noun having a tense, but I think I get what you're saying," said Bruce. "You're talking about her in the present, even though what she did was in the past. Let's say Tony and Pepper got married, and Pepper took Tony's last name. Would you say, 'Pepper Stark became the CEO of Stark Industries in 2010,' or 'Pepper Potts became the CEO of Stark Industries in 2010?'"
"I'm pretty sure she's going to want me to take her name—"
"I believe either could be correct, depending on the context," said JARVIS. (Wait—since when did JARVIS start contributing to conversations without being asked?) "Also, pronouns referring to Norse deities are not normally capitalized unless they come at the beginning of sentences, so I would surmise that Loki was, in fact, joking."
"JARVIS, look up the word 'pedantic' in your dictionary," Tony ordered. "You don't need to share the definition with the rest of us. Just read it, then update one of the definitions to say 'JARVIS.'" How had they gotten this off-topic? Clearly, Samson knew something thatwould change something, if not everything, and which was probably more important than whether Loki preferred to be called he, she, or zie. "So, what is it Loki doesn't want us to know?"
Samson shook his head. "It would be against doctor-patient confidentiality for me to tell you unless she consents to it."
Tony could have guessed that would be the answer, but you couldn't blame him for trying. "Come on, Doc. It's something we really need to know, isn't it?"
"It's something that I wish she would tell you, because it might make things a lot easier for her. She doesn't agree that it would, however."
"If it's that important, can't you at least tell her mom, since she's a minor?" And then Frigga could tell them—
"First, I'm not too clear on whether or not she would legally be considered a minor by our standards, but she was considered an adult on Asgard. Second, I'm worried that I would lose her trust permanently if I did that."
"And you believe you have her trust now?" Natasha asked, her tone business-like. "Even after what just happened?"
Tony answered for him. "Loki didn't mean any of that, Nat. It usually takes her less than ten minutes to calm down after one of her tantrums, and then she just goes on like it never happened."
"So, Doctor Samson has been treating her? I thought it was a little too much of a coincidence that you hired him the same day Thor's family showed up. I don't suppose he can tell us what he's been treating her for, though."
"It still hasn't been long enough to make a full diagnosis," Samson told her, "but you're right in assuming that I wouldn't be able to share that information with you without permission."
"Surely an exception could be made in this case," said Steve, coming out of his stupor. "Loki is a criminal currently in the custody of the Avengers, although half of us weren't aware of it until now." He shot Tony a dirty look.
"It's not like Loki has any legal rights here," Clint said. "What's she going to do, sue you?"
This time, it was Bruce that spoke up. "Preserving a patient's privacy is a matter of ethics, Clint, not just legality."
"If we're talking about ethics, isn't it more important to protect innocent people from Loki?" asked Steve. Of course, Steve would think he was the ultimate authority on ethics.
"If I thought Loki was a danger to anyone, including herself, the information would still be on a need-to-know basis," Samson told him.
"But you don't think she's a danger?" asked Natasha.
"At this time, I don't believe Loki to be a danger."
Natasha arched an eyebrow at Doc. "Doctor Samson, I was the one that completed Loki's psychological profile for SHIELD, and I have to say my conclusions were a little different."
"With all due respect, Miss Romanoff, your assessment was made several months ago, under different circumstances."
"Agent Romanoff, please. And if she becomes violent in the future?"
"I would ask that you call me instead of trying to handle it on your own, Agent. If it becomes necessary to restrain her until I arrive, please remember that Loki is currently no stronger nor more durable than the average teenage girl."
"Actually," said Bruce, "she's weaker, because she's still suffering from the long-term effects of malnutrition."
"And if that changes?" Nat asked.
"If she suddenly becomes immortal again, we can call Thor and have him haul her back to Asgard," Tony told her. "And remember, Mama Frigga is around here somewhere. She's some kind of witch too."
"Sure, it makes me feel much better that there are two of them," Clint grumbled.
Steve frowned at him. "Frigga is Thor's mother, Clint. I don't think she'll do anything to hurt us."
"Unless you do something to hurt her baby," said Tony.
Clint shook his head, as if he couldn't believe that Tony had just referred to the person who had brainwashed and used him as someone's baby.
"The pizza has arrived, Sir. I've taken the liberty of having Dum-E bring it up for you."
Tony looked at one of JARVIS's cameras and arched an eyebrow at the AI. Dum-E wasn't any better equipped to transport pizza than U was to handle the coffee machine, and JARVIS knew it. "Tell Loki pizza's here."
"So we're just going to sit here, eat pizza with Loki, and act like it's normal?" Clint asked.
"She's been hanging out with us all week," Tony pointed out. "Besides, you and her go way back, right? You're the one that remembered what pizza she likes."
"I hate you."
"Now, now, Clint, watch the attitude. Do I need to send you to your room too?"
"I really f*ing hate you."
The elevator door opened onto the common room, and out rolled Dum-E with a tottering stack of pizzas balanced on top of his claw. As soon as he had made it two feet into the room he lurched forward, sending pizzas spilling all over the floor. A moment later, Loki appeared, stepping around the pizza boxes that no one had bothered to pick up yet. She ignored all the eyes on her (Clint was trying to shoot lasers at her with his, from the looks of it) and sat down on the couch between Bruce and Leo.
"I'm sorry, Doctor Samson," Loki apologized. Not only was she acting like a sane, calm person again, her apology sounded sincere.
(Holy crap, thought Tony. He really hadn't been sure revoking Loki's electronics access wouldn't just piss her off more, but it actually seemed to have worked. He had always assumed he'd make a terrible parent, but maybe he was a natural?)
"It's alright, Loki. You're forgiven," said Leo.
Loki threw herself at Doctor Samson, and Clint and Steve both jumped up. But when they realized Loki's intention hadn't been to attack him, they were both left looking a little embarrassed. Leo patiently allowed Loki to cling to him for a moment before patting her lightly on the back, which anyone else might have interpreted as a signal to let go.
"If you think we should tell them, I'll allow it," she said, not taking the hint.
Leo gave up patting her back and pushed her gently until there was enough space between them for him to look down at her. "Are you sure, Loki?"
As if magnetically attracted, Loki glomped onto him again and nodded into his chest.
"Do you want to tell them, or do you want me to do it?"
"I'll tell it," said Loki, finally releasing him. "Can we eat first, though?"
[==pizza==] (%%%%)
The pizza had been eaten in silence, and though Loki attempted to focus on her food, the way everyone else either seemed to be looking at her or pointedly not looking made her self-conscious. She didn't have much of an appetite but managed to consume one large slice of pizza—enough so that Doctor Banner stopped looking at her in a reproachful way that made her a little nervous.
Loki wasn't sure where to begin. Perhaps she ought to have allowed Doctor Samson to speak for her. "You will not believe what I have to say—"
"Is that because you're about to lie through your teeth?" asked Barton.
"No, though I do find that a curious expression. How else would one lie? Unless one did not have teeth, I suppose—"
"Don't overthink it," Barton told her. "Just talk."
Don't overthink it. Loki had often spoken without thinking in the past, but Doctor Samson had suggested that it would be to her benefit if she slowed down and put her thoughts in order first. She wouldn't allow Barton to rush her.
"Why don't you just start with your fall from the Bifrost?" Doctor Samson suggested.
Loki nodded. "I thought I would die, and yet I did not." She drew in a deep breath, and then continued. "I fell through Yggdrasil's branches, for how long I do not know. For a time, I thought I would simply drift through the darkness forever. There was a peace to that." She bit her lower lip as she wondered how to continue. Somehow, she did continue, her lips moving almost of their own volition. "But then I was wrenched from the darkness. Perhaps I truly had died, and it was some act of necromancy."
"Okay, either you're a zombie now, or you tried to off yourself but it didn't work. What, are we supposed to feel sorry for—"
"Clint," said the Widow. "Just let her talk."
Doctor Samson gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze, prompting her to continue, but then she was drawing a bit of a blank. "To be honest, everything after that was a bit of a blur."
The Widow frowned. "Everything after that and up until when?"
"Things became quite a bit clearer after Doctor Banner's other half introduced me to the floor."
Romanoff's eyebrows shot upward, and she turned to her partner. "Cognitive recalibration," she said.
"What? That's not—seriously, Natasha?"
"I suspected it at the time, although it was just a theory."
Rogers had gone rather quiet ever since the revelation that "Lofn" had been a fabrication, but now he seemed to perk up. "And you weren't going to share your suspicions with the rest of us, Agent Romanoff?"
"My suspicions were included in my evaluation, which I submitted to SHIELD. It was SHIELD that decided to sit on my reports."
"In other words, Fury decided we didn't need to know." Tony spit the name out as if it were something acrid. "I really hate that guy."
Barton's eyes scrunched together, and for a moment Loki thought his skull might spontaneously combust. Then his face relaxed and he opened his eyes, only to narrow them at Loki. "Who were you talking to?"
Loki couldn't be sure what he was on about, since she was certain she had talked to quite a few people during the invasion. "Who was I talking to when?"
"Whenever you started zoning out. One time, I thought you were meditating or something, but you didn't look too zen when you were finished."
"Oh," Loki said, trying to sound casual, even though she felt lightheaded and could hear blood pounding in her ears. "I was speaking with the Other."
"The other what?"
"He is a servant of Thanos. The Chitauri were under his command." Loki breathed in deeply through her nose and out through her mouth, attempting to calm herself.
"The Chitauri weren't under your command?" asked Tony. Loki couldn't understand why, but he sounded almost hopeful.
"You have to be joking. You think I had any way of communicating with those creatures? I was tasked with securing the Tesseract and opening the portal. I had no way of knowing what would happen after that." Loki wasn't certain what she had expected to happen, but the level of destruction wrought by the Chitauri had gone beyond anything she had expected. The idea that she had ever had control over them was laughable.
"Wait, go back—who or what is Thanos?"
Loki forced herself to answer Tony's question. "A genocidal warlord, known to the rest of the universe as the Mad Titan. I was to hand over the Tesseract to him. For what dark purpose he desired it, I know not. All I know is that were it to fall in his hands, the results would likely be a disaster of unimaginable proportions."
"But you would have given it to him anyway?" asked Barton. It felt more like an accusation than a question.
Loki rolled her eyes, feeling the answer ought to be obvious. "I may not be one of you hero types, but as I do live in this universe, its destruction is not exactly in my interest."
"So you had another plan?" Romanoff prompted.
Rogers furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "If Loki was under the influence the scepter—"
"Doctor Selvig managed to build a shut-off feature into the portal while under the scepter's influence," pointed out the Widow.
"He did, and I knew about it," said Loki. "I didn't stop him from doing it."
"So were you under the scepter's influence, or not?" asked the Captain.
"Not in the same way Selvig and Barton were, but—"
"But you weren't in your right mind," Doctor Samson said. Obviously, he had at last come to the conclusion that Loki needed help explaining whether she wanted it or not. Maybe he'd just gotten frustrated with her inability to explain herself clearly. "You said that you had undergone psychological torture, and that using the scepter made things worse."
Right, she had kind of skipped over that part. "Oddly enough, nothing the Other did actually made me want to comply with Thanos' plans. Again, I quite like having a universe to live in. Even I'm not stupid enough to think Thanos would have left anything for me to rule."
"So what was your plan?" asked Romanoff.
"Ah—this is where you're probably going to be none too happy with me."
"So you really did want to rule the Earth," she guessed.
"I wished to secure the Tesseract, eliminate the organization called SHIELD, and bring Midgard to heel, yes."
They all looked so disappointed in her.
It wasn't fair, they had completely misunderstood, but she took a deep breath and reminded herself that losing her temper would help nothing. She tried to explain herself calmly. "The Tesseract is much too dangerous to be in the control of mortals. SHIELD is—not what you think it is, most likely." She could have been more explicit, but why ruin the surprise? She had a feeling they would find out soon enough. "And don't tell me that this planet isn't a complete and utter mess that couldn't possibly benefit from the rule of a benevolent god. If you all make it another century without either killing each other or exhausting your natural resources, I shall be shocked."
"We already have a God," asserted the Captain.
Loki rolled her eyes, not so much at the man's blind faith, but at his ethnocentrism. "It is my understanding that this world has many gods, but where were any of them when your realm was attacked?"
"We came out of that one alright."
The corner of Loki's lips quirked upward. She couldn't help herself. "Let me guess, your god works 'in mysterious ways.' So do I, and I do hate it when others receive the credit I am due."
Rogers didn't look too happy, but Tony snorted in amusement.
Romanoff shook her head at both of them. "I think we ought to get off the topic of theology and stick to verifiable facts. What do you mean SHIELD isn't what we think it is?"
Loki shrugged. "You'll find out in due course. Far be it from me to spoil the surprise. Next question."
The Widow scowled at her, and if anything looked more determined to get an answer then and there, but Tony spoke before she could press her on the SHIELD issue. "You know, Loki, your problem has always been that you vastly underestimate humans," he said. "Of course, now we know that you get that attitude from the rest of Asgard."
Loki arched an eyebrow at him. "I do not underestimate humans at all, Stark. Unlike Aesir, humans are innovative and naturally curious. You wouldn't be able to resist trying to harness the Tesseract's power—which is a horrible idea, and I think you know why. I know you uncovered SHIELD's plans for it. Do you know where the Tesseract is now? Other than the few times my brother used it to transport himself and others between realms, the Aesir have had it sitting in a vault, collecting dust."
Understanding dawned on Romanoff's face. "And that was what you intended all along."
Loki shrugged. It was a shame to waste all that power, but like the Bifrost, that unassuming little cube was powerful enough to wipe out worlds. (And she had let Thor use it to pick up pizza.) Her first choice would have been to have hide it where no one would find it, but leaving it in the care of the most unimaginative beings in the nine realms would have to do for now.
The Widow leaned forward. "Did you really think you could rule the Earth, though?"
"I thought—" What was it she had been thinking? That she could somehow "fix" everything that was wrong with Midgard, and then the All-Father would see that she was every bit as worthy as Thor? "I don't know what I was thinking," Loki admitted. "So there you have it. I do not claim innocence. I expect you all to continue in your condemnation of my actions. But the truth is what it is."
"Are you even the least bit sorry for any of it?" Barton demanded.
Loki shrugged, even though she had a pretty good idea what he was getting at. "Should I feel sorry?"
"You forced me to kill my own coworkers, jackass."
Loki did what he always did when accused of something terrible—she was much too glib in answering. An automatic reaction, and not a particularly useful one. "Ah. I can see how that might have been awkward for you. Very well, I apologize for any awkwardness I might have caused, Barton."
"If you weren't a girl right now, I'd punch you in the mouth."
"Well, that's a bit sexist, isn't it?" Probably the wrong thing to say, but never let it be said that Loki was not a feminist.
"Huh, good point." Clint laced his fingers together and cracked his knuckles, and Loki braced herself.
Doctor Samson stood, putting himself between Clint and Loki. "I think everyone here just needs to take a few deep breaths."
"If Barton wishes to strike me, let him do it," Loki said. "Obviously, there is nothing I can say that would make him feel better."
Doctor Samson shook his head. "Hurting you would only make him feel better temporarily."
"Hurting me always seemed to make Thor feel better," Loki argued.
"I doubt it did, but it isn't okay for anyone to hurt you for any reason," said Doctor Samson.
"I always found a way to hurt him back," Loki told him. She wouldn't tolerate being thought of as some kind of bullied weakling or abused child. She would have told him that it had all just been a little rough housing between siblings, but she liked Doctor Samson too much to tell him that big of a fib.
"And did hurting him make you feel better?"
"Yes?" The lie came out sounding like a question, quite frankly embarrassing for someone who bore the appellations Silvertongue and Liesmith. She just found it incredibly difficult to lie to the man, when Doctor Samson had been the first one in a long time to believe anything she said. Earlier, he had forgiven her just because she had apologized, and wasn't that novel?
Loki stared down at her nails, which, given how brittle and prone to breaking mortal nails seemed to be, she had decided to keep short. Perhaps she'd paint them black. Even as a male she wouldn't mind having black nails.
"Loki, I don't think you enjoy hurting people. And I think you do feel bad that Agent Barton was hurt, whether or not you meant for him to be."
She wanted to scream at him, tell him that he presumed too much, but she just couldn't. Taking her feelings out on the others was one thing, but Doctor Samson truly didn't deserve it. He had done nothing but try to help her, though she couldn't understand why. Yes, it was his job, and Stark was paying him handsomely, but he'd still gone above and beyond the call of duty in her estimation.
(Come to think of it, why was Stark paying for her mental healthcare? At first she had assumed he wanted Samson to drug her in a state of senseless submission. But so far it had been agreed that she would only need to be sedated if she had the kind of meltdown that had led to the Destroyer incident, and she wasn't too worried about that, as it had so far been a one-time event. Tony had treated her fairly so far, and actually seemed to care about her wellbeing. Doctor Banner seemed a little nervous around her at times, but his behavior towards her had been curiously sympathetic as well.)
Loki forced herself to stop and think about whether she might feel empathy for Agent Barton. She decided that she wasn't sure she did feel too badly for him given how he'd acted towards her, but she could answer his earlier question, about whether she was sorry for any of it. "I'm sorry that innocent people died," she told him. "Collateral damage is to be expected in war, but the loss of innocent life is unfortunate." Then she looked past him to the Widow. "I am also sorry I called Agent Romanoff a mewling quim. That was uncalled for." She hadn't meant to sound glib that time, but Barton doubled down in his efforts to glare at her, and Tony—Tony had the audacity to laugh at her. "I'm sorry, do you find something funny?" Loki asked.
"No, not really," Tony said, coughing in a poor attempt to cover up the fact that he was still laughing. "You're just one messed up kid, you know that?"
"I am aware that I am 'messed up.' But why do you persist in calling me a juvenile goat?"
Tony blinked. "You're joking, right? 'Cause that is like, such a Thor thing to say. I thought you spoke better English than he did. Actually, how do you get what 'messed up' means, but you still haven't caught on to the fact that baby humans—including humanoid aliens, as far as I'm concerned—are also kids?"
"I am not an infant, Stark. I am over a thousand years older than you are. And never, ever compare me to Thor or I will hurt you, regardless of how it makes me feel." She knew he shouldn't even pretend to threaten one of them given the conversation they had just been having, but it had just slipped out, and hopefully, they wouldn't take her seriously.
Tony lifted his hands in a placating gesture. "Sorry," he said. "You're nothing like Thor. If anything, you're snarky, immature, and a huge pain in the ass—you're me, basically."
"I'm not sure I care much more for that comparison either." Except she did, because she actually liked Tony. She would never, ever tell him that though, or the man would be insufferable. "Of course, if I am the child you suppose me to be, I suppose I might eventually grow out of being you."
"Eh, maybe the immature thing. You'll probably always be a snarky little such-and-such. But hey, there are people who actually love that about me." He looked around to the others. "Right guys?"
The others just stared at him blankly. Eventually, Doctor Banner cracked a smile.
"Ah, see? Jolly Green likes me, anyway."
"I might find you tolerable." Banner also knew better than to feed Tony's narcissism.
Loki collapsed back down on the couch, feeling exhausted. Couldn't they just be done here? She had told them the truth, as Doctor Samson had been pestering her to do. There wasn't anything she could do now but wait for their inevitable rejection.
Tony might be acting as if nothing had changed, but he had already known he was harboring a criminal in his home.
"Loki, why don't you go to bed?" Doctor Banner suggested, and Loki had the feeling she was being dismissed so that adults could talk. Pride should have dictated her refusal, but she truly was tired, and she would rather go willingly before someone ordered her to her room like a misbehaving child again.
╮(. ❛ ᴗ ❛.) ╭
Author's Note:
There was actually a lot more cursing in the first draft for some reason, and I've been cleaning it up as I go. I blame it entirely on Tony, Clint, and Loki. Really, I don't curse this much in real life!
I am also entirely aware that cursing is a cheap way to get a laugh, and that resorting to it is probably a failure on my part to come up with more creative dialog. On the other hand, in real life, people use bad words. (Sometimes, they use bad words in the middle of educational videos on YouTube, rendering them unusable for teachers who would like to use them in their classrooms.)
Clint says a certain word in this chapter, and I put an asterisk in it, as if you guys won't know exactly what word it is anyway. (It's the same word Tony already used in the last chapter, although in my mind that, asterisk and all, was a reference to the title of an adult coloring book.) But I rated this story for Teen Audiences and Up, so I feel like I shouldn't spell it out unless I up the rating.
Does swearing bother you? Does it bother anyone anymore? Am I worrying about this too much?
While I was posting this, I caught a mistake where Loki referred to herself as "him." So if it ever seems like someone isn't respecting Loki's pronouns-just keep in mind, it might be a typo ^_^;;
(I also caught myself yelling at my barking dog to "shut the f* up" while I was posting this, so maybe I swear more in real life than I think.)
