Devour Chapter 14: To Know That You Brought Meaning To My, an avengers fanfic

A/N: OH MY GODS, I completely missed Christmas! I'm such an ass. Well, it's useless to make it a Christmas themed chapter now, BUT I will include flashback moments so we can find out what everyone got each other. Instead, this is New Year's...so that in itself should be interesting. I hope this was worth the wait, I know I left you hanging there at the end of the last chapter. But who knows - maybe the Thorki will finally happen tonight! Also, we get a surprise...I don't know if it's technically a cameo when it's in writing...but yeah, surprise cameo from a few interesting people in this chapter, so...

Disclaimer: Do I even have to put this anymore? Marvel/Disney's. Not mine.

14. To Know That You Brought Meaning To My Life

Tony Stark, Loki reflected, could throw an intense party.

Granted, it was New Year's Eve, which Loki should have expected to be party-inducing, but even so...this was more than Loki had expected.

He stood off to the side with a drink in his hand, studying the party scene. He had to say he was surprised by the sheer amount of people; he knew the Avengers were popular, and he saw plenty of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in the mix (including Coulson's team), but the amount of civilians amazed him - he didn't realize the Avengers (mostly Tony) knew that many people outside S.H.I.E.L.D. and the team.

The Tower was packed. Almost every floor held people, but most of them seemed to have congregated in the lounge, which was where Loki stood. Tony had managed to hire a professional bartender, who seemed only minimally overwhelmed by the amount of people demanding drinks. Loki scoured the room for his friends, his gaze catching only briefly on the drawing of the eight of them - Loki included - that now hung on the wall. Steve had drawn it on Christmas Day, right after giving everyone his presents, which had been more drawings of each of them individually. Tasha's had been Steve's rendition of her caught mid-training session; Barton's had been a detailed sketch of the archer in the midst of a battle, his bow still held out to the side even as he looked away from an explosion; Banner's had been a wonderfully drawn face sketch, divided in two: Hulk and Banner; Thor's had been the Thunderer caught in a lightning storm; Coulson's, a security-cam sketch of him working in his S.H.I.E.L.D. office; Tony's, the self-proclaimed genius-billionaire-playboy-philanthropist hard at work on one of his suits; and Loki's, a breathtaking drawing of Loki himself standing half in the icy plains of Jotunheim and half in the golden magnificence of Asgard. Loki now had said picture on the wall in his room, though he had yet to ask Steve how he'd captured Jotunheim and Asgard so well.

Among Loki's other gifts from Christmas were multiple books, as Tasha had apparently clued the others in that he liked reading Midgardian fiction (he'd received the Harry Potter books from Tasha as well as a stuffed snake, the entirety of Rick Riordan's works from Tony, and the Six of Crows duology from Coulson); a set of exploding magician's cards from Barton, as a joke; the drawing from Steve; a playlist of songs and the URL of a website called Spotify from Banner, with instructions on how to create an account; and, perhaps the most heartfelt, a piece of Jotun jewelry symbolizing his station as heir to the throne from Thor. The thing was an intricately crafted necklace, though Loki supposed on a normal-sized Frost Giant it may be more of a bracelet (or possibly a crown, depending). It was made of a deep blue, almost rope-like material, and strung with beads made of the metal-ore found in Jotunheim's mountains. The central charm was everlasting ice, which due to Loki being a Jotun himself didn't even feel cold against his skin, where it lay at his collarbone. He hadn't taken it off in the week following Christmas, and he wasn't about to start tonight.

Loki's eyes found Banner first, sitting at the literal piano Tony had gotten him for Christmas and amusing a hanful of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents by playing the sheet music to the song "Thunder" by Imagine Dragons that Tasha had gotten him to accompany it. Banner, like Loki, had received a few books: one a gag gift on anger management from Loki and one a book comparing and constrasting Midgardian myths to real Asgardian history from Thor. He'd also gotten another prank gift from Coulson - a gift card to Men's Wearhouse, with the instructions to buy himself a few new shirts. Loki had actually high-fived Coulson for that one. Barton's glare had intensified tenfold.

Loki let his gaze wander again, finding Barton and Coulson in conversation with two of Coulson's team, Agents May and Ward, he thought. Barton had gotten countless arrow-themed presents: a gag gift of Cupid's bow and arrow from Loki, an actual Asgardian bow and quiver from Thor, a hand-made arrowhead from Tasha, upgrades on his usual bow and quiver from Tony, and strangely the Ranger's Apprentice book series from Coulson. Banner had been different andgotten him a card game called Exploding Kittens. Barton was quite intrigued. Coulson was actually in civilian clothes tonight, a rare sight but also a joke-gift from Tony (he'd made the remark that since Coulson never wore civilian clothes, he'd wondered if the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent actually had any). Coulson's other gifts varied a great deal more than most of the others' - a magically-created S.H.I.E.L.D. eagle that actually flew from Loki, a rune alphabet set from Thor (Loki wondered where he'd gotten them), a Queen record from Tasha (Loki had yet to listen to them; Tasha had been scandalized when he told her), a mug with Cap's shield on it from Barton, and an eagle-shaped paperweight from Banner.

Loki's eyes alighted on Tasha next, who was wearing most of her gifts, which had been largely jewelry. Around her neck she wore the hourglass charm that Loki had given her, enchanted with a powerful protection spell; she also wore the arrow charm Barton had given her, which she'd all but threatened the boys not to remark upon or fight over (Barton already hated him enough; Loki was in no hurry to push it). She was dressed casually, a simple red blouse and black jeans with the accompanying spider-shaped charm bracelet, which had been a somewhat shy gift from Banner. Among her other gifts were a set of Asgardian armor from Thor (Loki wondered, again, when he'd found the time to Bifrost portal back and bring the presents back to Earth), a new holster and gun from Tony that looked like he'd probably built it specifically for her (which he probably had; she now had the gun and its holster attached to her belt, just in case), and a CD collection of some of Tasha's favorite music from Coulson. Loki hadn't ventured into the training room yet, but he could bet she'd be blasting said music as she practiced in no time.

Loki moved on, searching for the three faces he hadn't found yet. Steve and Tony were standing together, engaged in conversation with Tony's friends Rhodey and Pepper, as well as young Skye from Coulson's team. Both men looked quite happy (albeit Tony a little drunk). Loki remembered their own presents from Christmas: Steve had gotten a lot of things bringing his past and present together - the everlasting-ice shield carving Loki had created, the collection of memos from Steve's old friends that Thor had given him, the iPod with 40s music on it from Tasha, the (surprisingly) handwritten short story about WWII from Tony (Steve had kissed him for that one), and his old dog tags, which Coulson had apparently managed to bargain out of S.H.I.E.L.D. custody. Banner's gift had been a new sketchpad and drawing pencils; Barton's had been new wrist guards for when Steve inevitably destroyed punching bags. Tony's gifts, on the other hand, were a bit more unorthodox, just like the man himself: an Iron Man cosplay costume as a gag gift from Loki, an Asgardian relic most likely taken from Odin's vault for Tony to play with from Thor, a fanart collage taken from real fans from Tasha, a new set of power tools from Barton, a book on advanced mechanical engineering and nuclear astrophysics from Banner, and an adventure game called "The Dungeon" from Coulson. They had yet to play the game, but Tony was quite excited.

And finally Loki's emerald gaze found Thor, laughing voraciously at something one of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had said, a small crowd of civilians hanging around in awe of whatever tale Thor was undoubtedly telling. Thor had been possibly the hardest to come up with gift ideas for, or at least Tasha had confided as much to Loki after the fact, but they'd managed nonetheless. Thor had received a collage of phenomenal lightning storm pictures from Tasha, a phone from Tony with patient instructions on how to use it (Loki himself had known what phones were since they were invented, but as Thor had never paid attention to Midgard before his banishment, he was still clueless), a rough sketch of a lightning storm viewed through the vents from Barton, a book from Banner explaining the way humans had put thunderstorms down to science, and possibly Loki's favorite, Coulson's gift of the large rock Mjolnir had landed in the first time Thor and his hammer had fallen to Earth. It still had a Mjolnir-shaped dent in it. Thor, upon seeing it, had promptly set Mjolnir down in the dent, which had caused everyone in the room to burst out laughing.

"You can stop staring at him," a voice said at Loki's shoulder, jolting him out of his thoughts.

Loki tore his eyes away from his brother, instead focusing on the S.H.I.E.L.D. commander that had materialized next to him: Maria Hill.

"Hello," Loki greeted mildly. "What brings you to seek my company? I thought you and the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D. hated me."

"You know, not all of us are still mad about New York," Hill pointed out. "But to answer your question, we know you've been using magic in public."

Loki allowed a mild expression of surprise to cross his face. "Pardon?"

"You've been using magic in public," Hill repeated clearly.

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean," lied Loki easily.

Hill smacked him with her free hand (her other held a drink). Loki barely reacted, merely a sarcastic "Ow," but Hill talked over him. "Someone took a video, Loki, at that bakery on Thanksgiving? Not to mention the Halloween party we were all at. And the snowball fight that someone taped."

"To be fair, the Avengers allowed me use of my magic on Halloween," Loki reminded her, dropping the act. "And it was Natasha that took off the cuffs to let me be the distraction while she got dessert. The snowball fight was completely different magic."

"Where are the cuffs now?" asked Hill pointedly.

Loki glanced at his wrist and smirked. "It was a mostly unanimous vote among the Avengers to take them off permanently. And I haven't used my magic to harm anyone," he added at Hill's look of dismay. "Just for small things. Including half of their Christmas gifts." Loki nodded to where Tasha had found Banner and spun him out onto the dance floor. "That necklace Tasha's wearing? Enchanted with a powerful protection spell. As long as she wears it, she can't be touched, at least not by magical forces or long-range weapons."

Hill seemed impressed, though Loki doubted she'd ever admit it. "Fury's seen the videos," Hill said.

Loki raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"He's kind of amused, actually," Hill admitted. "I don't think he quite realized who he was bringing back to Earth when he struck that deal with Odin."

Loki grinned his signature mischievous grin. "I am the God of Mischief that nearly destroyed New York. He can't really have underestimated me that much."

Hill shrugged. "He probably didn't. But he seemed amused nonetheless."

She made a move to leave. Loki caught her by the wrist.

"Did you really mean that? About not all of S.H.I.E.L.D. hating me?" Loki asked, wondering why the words were tumbling from his lips but unable to stop them.

Hill gave him a long, considering look. "Happy New Year, Loki," was all she said, before tugging her wrist out of his grip and disappearing into the crowd.

Loki shook his head. She hadn't answered him, but that was alright; Loki knew the answer anyway.

He started to wander through the crowd, not entirely sure who he was looking for but wanting to be at least somewhat involved tonight. He wasn't entirely paying attention, and so nearly ran into a man walking in the opposite direction though the crowd.

"Oh!" The man looked up, startled and apologetic, even more so once he realized who it was he'd crashed into. "I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there -"

"Entirely my fault," Loki said, surveying the man. His voice had a distinct British accent, and his hair was short and light brown. His eyes were blue-green, though there was more of the former, and the worried frown his mouth was currently set in caused a small crease to appear on his forehead. All in all, Loki decided instantly, a likable face; hopefully his personality matched.

"I'm so sorry -" The man apparently hadn't heard Loki's statement. Loki cut him off.

"You don't need to apologize," Loki repeated with a small chuckle. "It's entirely my fault. I wasn't paying enough attention." At his still-worried look, Loki asked gently, "What's your name?"

"Tom," the man now known as Tom replied, a little nervously. "Tom Hiddleston."

Loki switched his drink to his left hand and offered Tom his right. "Loki, God of Mischief, though I take it you knew that already."

Tom shook his hand, recovering. "What do you do for a living, Tom?" asked Loki politely.

"I'm an actor," Tom said. "I'm actually part of a movie franchise based off of your and Thor's adventures."

"Really?" Loki was surprised such a thing existed. "Who do you play?"

"Er...you, actually," Tom admitted.

Loki was a little surprised. "Really?" he repeated. "I feel I should be honored."

Tom may have blushed. Loki couldn't entirely tell due to the strobing lights Tony had rigged for the party.

Loki continued. "How good are you? At acting like me, that is."

Tom grinned, and the grin was so much like Loki's own that he had to restrain himself from congratulating Tom before he'd even said anything.

"'I am Loki, of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose,'" Tom quoted. Loki fought to maintain his poker face - his portrayal was amazing. Tom continued, "'It is the unspoken truth of humanity that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel.'"

Loki was quite impressed, and now he allowed himself to show it. "You definitely have talent," Loki praised. "I don't think I've ever met anyone who can do that good of an impression of me - and believe me, Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff have both tried." Loki knew he was, in a way, name-dropping, but this at least was true - both Tony and Tasha had tried to impersonate him. Neither had been very successful.

This time Tom definitely blushed, but he also chuckled a bit at Loki's mention of Tony and Tasha. "Thank you," he said.

Loki smiled, a genuine smile rather than his mischievous grin. "Don't mention it." Loki noticed Tom's attention wandering and followed his gaze to where a group of other civilians stood talking and laughing. "They're your friends?"

Tom nodded. "Yes."

"Go on," Loki told him. "It was nice meeting you, Tom."

"Nice meeting you, too," Tom replied, and politely escaped to find his friends.

Loki watched him leave with a small smile - he got the feeling those movies would be excellent. He downed the rest of his drink and had just turned towards the bar for a refill when a hand on his arm stopped him.

Loki turned to find Agent Rumlow, the head of the S.T.R.I.K.E. division of S.H.I.E.L.D. He sighed.

"What do you want?" Loki asked.

"Have you been to Central Park lately?" Rumlow fired back. Loki was a little caught off guard by the question.

"No," Loki lied. "What makes you think I would have been in Central Park recently? Last time I was there, we all had a snowball fight. I believe someone caught it on camera."

"Then explain the giant portal thing burned into the ground," demanded Rumlow.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Actually he did, of course, since he'd been there that night. As far as Loki knew, the Bifrost mark hadn't disappeared, and the New Yorkers had noticed. Word had evidently gotten back to S.H.I.E.L.D.

"Don't fucking lie to me, Trickster. You know exactly what that thing is and why it's in the middle of Central Park."

"I knew you hated me, but this is a little extreme."

Rumlow actually growled, a sound so feral that Loki thought he sounded like a wolf (and he would know). "You're walking on thin ice, Loki. Most of the Avengers may have forgiven you, but you don't have friends here."

"Funny, I got the opposite impression, seeing as you're all sunshine and daisies."

"Tread carefully, Alpha," snarled Rumlow. "One of these days, you're going to slip through a crack and drown. And I'll be there to watch you fall."

With that cryptic note, Rumlow stalked away.

Loki made his way to the bar, his head spinning. Rumlow had called him Alpha. Despite the sneer in his voice, Loki knew with absolute, terrible clarity what that meant.

Somehow, Rumlow knew he was a werewolf.

Loki waved down the bartender. As the man refilled his glass, Loki couldn't help wondering how he knew. As far as Loki knew, the only people aware that he was a werewolf were Tasha, that Valkyrie, Sigyn, Frigga, and naturally Heimdall (since he knew everything). Most of them were on Asgard, and Loki knew Tasha would never tell anyone.

So how had Rumlow found out?

"Hey, do you mind moving? You're in my way," said a voice. Loki looked to find an old man with large glasses gesturing at him.

"Sorry," Loki apologized, moving out of his way. "Didn't see you."

The old man walked away, grumbling. Loki wandered back out into the crowd, looking for Tasha. He found her and Banner taking a break from dancing - Banner was busy entertaining the infamous FitzSimmons duo, and Tasha was actually watching Loki.

"Hey, Обманщик," Tasha greeted. "Who was that man you were just talking to?"

"No idea, Убийца," Loki sighed. "Apparently, however, I was in his way."

Tasha grinned. "Enjoying yourself?"

"Mostly." Loki told her quietly about Rumlow, making sure Banner was distracted enough with FitzSimmons to not overhear.

Tasha looked grave. "That's not good. Rumlow's ambitious, and with the S.T.R.I.K.E. teams behind him, he's got a lot of power. If he lets this slip..."

Loki shuddered. "No thanks."

Tasha deftly changed the subject. "Have you seen Thor tonight?"

"Not personally, though I have caught glimpses of him occasionally," Loki admitted, grateful for the subject change. He scanned the crowd again, looking for Thor, and spotted him only because of his distinct long blond hair.

Tasha shoved him a little. "Go ask him to dance. I've got a good song in mind, I'll tell the DJ."

"Nat, I don't -!" But Loki's protest was futile as Tasha dashed off to talk to the DJ.

Loki sighed and figured she'd probably kill him if he didn't at least go ask. So he downed the rest of his drink, found a table to set his glass down on, and made his way through the crowd to where Thor stood.

"Loki!" Thor exclaimed upon seeing his estranged brother approach. "Where've you been all night?"

"Around," Loki said. "Tasha's talking to the DJ. Care to dance?"

Loki expected rejection. He did not expect the Thunderer's eyes to light up. "Of course!" Thor exclaimed. "If you're offering."

Loki smirked. "I asked, didn't I?"

He led Thor out onto the dance floor as the DJ spoke. "Requested by none other than Black Widow herself, 'Bad Word' by Panicland!"

Loki shook his head at Tasha's choice of song even as it began to play and the crowd began to dance along, Loki and Thor included. Loki noticed Tasha pulling Banner back out, as well as Steve and Tony taking the floor. Barton and Coulson began to dance as well, Skye and FitzSimmons joining them.

"Hey, hey, say my name, say my name
You more beautiful than everybody else in the game
A good girl with a bad attitude
All dressed up like you Rihanna
Work, work, work in the room

Show me what you got, got
Let it
Roll right off your tongue, tongue
Hit me with your best, shot
Tell me off, tell me off, tell me off...

I said hey, so hit me where it hurts (ohh!)
Say my name like it's a bad word!
Say my name like it's a bad word!
Hey, so hit me where it hurts (ohh!)
Say my name like it's a bad word!
Say my name like it's a bad word!"

Loki grinned at the song's lyrics. Loki suspected there was a reason Tasha had selected this song. But he was having fun, and from the grin on Thor's face it looked like he was too.

"Hey, hey, every touch is a trap
I know you got the best of me
But the rest is up for grabs
So blah, blah, you're my favorite noise
So baby, say my name until you losing your voice

Show me what you got, got
Let it
Roll right off your tongue, tongue
Hit me with your best, shot
Tell me off, tell me off, tell me off...

Loki let himself fall into the music, dancing along expertly. He noticed that he'd drawn a crowd with his dancing, and the appreciative look Thor was giving him was definitely worth it. Loki shot him a grin as the song continued and then finished.

"Show me what you got, got
Let it
Roll right off your tongue, tongue
Hit me with your best, shot
Tell me off, tell me off, tell me off...
(Oh!)

Hey, so hit me where it hurts (ohh!)
Say my name like it's a bad word!
Say my name like it's a bad word!
Hey, so hit me where it hurts (ohh!)
Say my name like it's a bad word!
Say my name like it's a bad word!

The song ended; Loki stopped dancing; a literal round of applause broke out. He grinned at the crowd and took a dramatic bow, then allowed himself to be swept away from them all by Thor.

"Loki, that was amazing!" Thor said, electric eyes shining.

"Thanks, Громовержец," Loki replied.

"Where did you learn to dance like that?" Thor asked.

"I taught myself," Loki shrugged.

"You never danced on Asgard," Thor noted. "You talked, you laughed, you played tricks, you drank, but you never danced. What's different here?"

I am. "Asgard was never a place I felt I could be comfortable in my own skin. Besides, dancing like that on Asgard would most likely have gotten me locked in my room for a week for something along the lines of 'improper conduct'."

Thor's eyes searched his. Loki had to forcibly remind himself how to breathe. The last time they were this close, Loki had pushed his brother and his feelings away. Now...well, it was the start of a new year. Maybe it could be the start of a new Loki, too.

"You know you're beautiful, right?" Thor murmured.

Loki was a little caught off guard by the statement, but it warmed his heart. "You think so?"

"Yes," Thor said. "Of course."

"No, don't 'of course' me, just answer," Loki insisted.

Thor nodded. "Alright. Yes. I do think so. Loki, I know so." Thor reached up and brushed a stray strand of hair out of Loki's face. "You're beautiful."

"You're not so bad yourself," Loki teased. Thor smiled, and it lit up his face. Loki wanted to drown in his eyes.

Loki heard the music die as the entire Tower started the countdown. He smirked at Thor, then spoke with them, getting Thor to add his voice as well.

"Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! One! HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

And, on the stroke of midnight, driven by either the party mood or some other impulse, Loki kissed Thor.

He highly anticipated resistance or rejection. Instead (Loki really should have learned by now that Thor didn't work that way), he found Thor kissing him back, just as desperately. Loki melted into it as Thor wrapped one arm around his waist and buried the other hand in Loki's hair; Loki himself siezed Thor's tunic in his hand, pulling him closer, his other arm going around Thor's back and up to his shoulder.

They separated eventually, both breathless from the kiss. The party went on, the music starting up and people reveling in the new year. Loki ignored it; his focus was only on Thor.

"Loki..." Thor murmured.

Loki didn't say anything, just caught his breath and gazed at Thor with wide green eyes.

Thor moved the hand that had been in Loki's hair to caress his face. "Do you have any idea how long I've wanted to do that?"

Loki smiled. "I can imagine."

Thor kissed him again, lighter this time than before. Loki enjoyed it nonetheless.

"Happy New Year, Loki," Thor murmured.

Happy New Year indeed, Loki thought with a smile as the party raged on long into the morning.

Happy New Year! Aren't you happy? You get to start 2021 with Thorki! That bodes well, right? Hopefully? Kind of? Sorry again for the wait, I hope this makes up for it. Also, the old man Loki talked to? Stan Lee. Anyway, please leave reviews!