AND NOW, a serious chapter…and I confess I wrote a lot of this chapter listening to a song suggested by Tom Hiddleston himself; Archangel by Burial. Great song.
As soon as Loki was feeling any better he immediately went back to work at S.H.E.I.L.D HQ. There had been a sudden escalation in criminal activities and Nick wanted Loki's personal opinion on the matter. Currently, the Avengers sat around Nick's conference table whilst Fury and Loki look upon a giant display map of the world. Several red blips blinked in small groups at various places upon earth. Each red dot indicated a place where a large scale villain attack had happened, all of the attacks had occurred consecutively. Now Fury decides what to do next:
"Ignore them. Ignore them all." Loki said in his reputatious, cold-hearted tone. Nick and Coulson gave him skeptical gazes. "We are hunting Dr. Doom, are we not?" Loki continued, "Then this is definitively an elaborate distraction. These attacks have been spread out over the globe…" he waved his hand in an arc across the map, "Obviously in an attempt to split you all up, leave you vulnerable." He turned to face the table of heroes and crossed his arms over his chest. Steve was the first to speak,
"What if these have nothing to do with Doom? People are dying." He was all military, the man that earned him his title. Loki shook his head,
"Irrelevant. People die regardless…that's why they're mortals." He countered the Captain's vicious glare with his own then paused to grabbed a tissue and blow his nose, "You must think of Doom as the crime lord of the earth…even when it doesn't look like he's involved, you must assume his hands are in it somehow. Don't underestimate how powerful he is." He finished.
"So what now?" Nick asked. Loki placed his fingers upon his chin, drumming them there as he thought.
"Well, we must also assume that Doom has a backup plan. I'm sure he has thought of every possibility…including this scenario where none of you take the bait…and he'll most likely do something worse now. Something to really get your attention…" he trailed off as he pondered.
"Shouldn't we also assume that you have a hand in all this somehow?" Coulson spat out accusingly. Loki looked at Coulson like he was wearing a clown suit,
"I have no power, you imbecile!" he countered. Coulson pointed a finger in Loki's face,
"But you've got plenty of wit!" he snarled. The two glared at each other as if they could fire lightening from their eyes.
"Enough!" Fury said, "Coulson, you'd better learn to get along with Loki, cause I'm giving him a promotion. He now ranks the same as you." Loki's glare turned into a bragging grin. "I'm splitting you up, no supers on this mission, just espionage. We can't let these attacks go completely ignored." Loki and Coulson gave their full attention to Nick now. "Each of you will have a small squad and will be dropped off at different attack locations. Just snoop around and see what you can find, got it?" he ordered. The two nodded. Thor's fist came down on the table with a loud thud,
"I do not approve!" he shouted and everyone turned to look at him, he gestured to Loki, "My brother is not leaving my sight! He is far too vulnerable and he has already been mortally injured under your watch Fury!" All the while that Thor was shouting at Nick, Loki slithered his way around the agents and over to where Thor stood. He gently slipped his arms around Thor's shoulder, making Thor jump, and whispered into Thor's ear, rather seductively. No one heard what was whispered, but Thor was silenced instantly and he took his seat, glaring at the table.
"Fine." He mumbled, "So be it." Loki smiled victoriously and ran his fingers through Thor's hair once.
"Then let us proceed…as you were saying Fury?" Loki said. There was a pause as everyone took a moment to process the strange display between brothers, then Nick cleared his throat,
"…right, yes. Um…" He turned to the display map again, "Here." He marked two locations. "Coulson, you'll go Austria and the smaller surrounding countries that were attack. Loki will go to Africa…" He turned to see the two men nod, "Oh, and Loki…?" Nick glanced at Black Widow from the corner of his eye, then nodded in her direction, "Take Agent Romanoff with you. Just to…insure…your safety a bit more, and ease Thor's distress." He said. Loki chuckled,
"Very well." He gestured for Black Widow to follow him and she rose from the table silently. Nick Fury looked at his watch,
"You've got five minutes to be ready, so get your teams and whatever you'll need!" he barked. After Loki and Coulson had left the room, Steve leaned over to Thor,
"What did Loki say to you?" He whispered, looking very concerned. Thor regarded him for a moment, then smiled and placed a soft hand on Steve's shoulder,
"Nothing to worry about, my love." He assured, "My brother has just always been good at…calming me." He said, "And manipulating me…" he added as an angry after thought. Steve didn't look eased at all by this answer, but he let it go.
Loki enjoyed the breath of fresh, foreign air when he stepped off the S.H.I.E.L.D helicopter unto African soil. It was a very small, isolated village, no more than a hundred villagers lived there and it had been reduced to rubble. As far as they knew no one had been killed, but all the buildings and farmland had been razed to the ground. Loki pondered this observation, but Natasha was the one to ask the question:
"Why would they not kill anyone? Did they come just to destroy?" she asked him. Loki nodded slowly,
"It would appear that way…" He looked around at all the trembling villagers, "Like I said…" he whispered back, "…just a distraction." Natasha seemed to agree. Loki waved his hand, giving the signal for his men to fan out and have a look around. Natasha moved to follow them but Loki grabbed her wrist,
"You stay with me." He ordered and she just nodded. Loki stepped forward,
"Who is in command of this village?" He asked in their native tongue. The fact that he even knew what language the people spoke, let alone that he could speak it as well, completely startled Black Widow. A very tall man, dressed in leopard fur and leather with a bone through his nose, stepped out of the crowd. He wielded a worn out hunters spear and the hand that gripped it was missing two fingers.
"I am he." He answered, "What are you people doing here?" he asked Loki. Loki smiled as warmly as he could muster, at least he thought he was smiling warmly,
"We are here to investigate the attack upon your home. Can you tell me anything about who it was?" He remained a safe distance from the man, in case he accidently angers the natives. The man shook his head,
"Now you wish to help us? After the villain has come and gone? NO! I shall not give you any information! BEGONE!" The man shouted and slammed the hilt of his spear into the dirt. Loki took a more aggressive demeanor,
"Actually…I could care less about this worthless village. I am not here to help you." He risked getting in the man's face, if only to get his point across, "I am here for information. Nothing more, nor less. And you will tell me what I want or I shall take it by force. Perhaps you'd like to lose some more fingers?" He finished by waving his hand in another gesture and instantly his agents turned their guns upon the villagers. Some women began crying. The leader snarled at Loki,
"You would not be so dishonorable to kill helpless women and children..." The man said. Loki laughed heartlessly,
"You would be wrong again. Honor has no meaning to the likes of me. Now tell me what I want to know. Who was this villain? What did he look like and where did he go?" he demanded. The man sighed, defeated,
"I do not know who they were. But they came from the sky…they were machines…not men…and after everything was destroyed…they simply flew away." He answered sorrowfully.
"Do you know if they were looking for something? Or someone?" Loki wondered. The man shook his head,
"They did not take anything with them when they left…they just destroyed…"
"Very well…" Loki signaled for his men to put down their guns, "Thank you for your assistance." He turned back to Natasha who was giving him a disgusted look, Loki simply grinned wickedly, then placed his hand to his ear,
"Coulson? What have you found?" he asked over the comm link.
"Nothing very helpful. Apparently robots came down from the sky and destroyed everything, then simply left." Coulson answered in a very businesslike tone. Loki nodded,
"Yes. Same answers here." He said. Coulson sighed in exasperation,
"Then let's get back to base." He clicked out. Loki looked at his men and gestured to the chopper, they all jumped back into the vehicle.
"How did you know their language? And what did you say?" Black Widow asked. Loki shrugged nonchalantly,
"I know many languages, my dear. As for what was spoken…well, let's just say I got my answers." He winked at her. She snorted,
"By threatening to kill them?" she continued, not wanting to let Loki off the hook. Loki rolled his eyes,
"Oh please! Like I'm the first man to ever threaten a village for information! He wanted to refuse me, so I had to motivate him." He hopped into the helicopter with Widow behind him.
"It's still not right!" she shouted over the noise of the engine as they lifted off the ground. Loki ignored her.
Hours later back at HQ…
"Doombots, ya think?" Hawkeye asked, in reference to the new information.
"I'd say it's safe to assume." Loki answered. Coulson sighed,
"Don't you know where Doom is?" he barked at Loki, "Why don't you just tell us the location of his hideout and we'll ambush him? Or are you protecting him?" Loki ignored the insinuation,
"I know a few locations of a few of Doom's bases." He was buffing his nails upon his uniform, "But just like all egotistical, world dominating villains…Doom is very paranoid, constantly looking over his shoulder and never taking chances. He has hundreds of bases and he never stays at any one for long at all, and in his absence he has duplicates…artificial intelligences built to look and act exactly like him. So even if you came upon one of his bases, you'll never know if you're facing the real him or a robot." He finally looked up from his nails to look at the others, "And even I have no idea where the real him is." He shrugged, "You think he was dumb enough to trust me with information like that? Villains never trust each other." He chuckled.
"Wonderful…" Tony grumbled, "So we'll be fighting a butt-load of robots no matter what we do." Loki nodded at him.
"Alright…" Fury said. "Then now we wait, wait for his next move. We don't have enough information at the given time to be able to do anything. Avengers dismissed." He waved his hand and then turned around to face his computer display screen.
Back at Avengers Mansion…
"This whole situation is very fishy!" Tony said from his work spot on the carpet of his bedroom, he shouted to Loki, who was in the shower but had left the bathroom door open.
"I completely agree!" Loki called back, "But we don't have much to go on! We just have to wait, like Nick said!" The shower shut off and Loki stepped into the room with a towel around his waist, dripping wet. Tony looked up at him and stuck his tongue in his cheek while wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Loki rolled his eyes. Tony sighed and went back to being serious,
"And what do we think he'll do next exactly?" he continued, Loki shrugged as he slipped into a pair of Tony's navy blue sweatpants,
"I'm not sure." He answered, "Anything's possible at this point." Tony made a face,
"I'm not so sure if I completely believe that you're not involved…I mean…you are kinda the God of Betrayal and Backstabbing and such…" he mumbled, but instantly regretted it. Loki turned on him,
"What…?" he whispered in astonishment, "What did you just…?" his mouth slacked open in heartbroken disbelief. Tony got off the floor and threw his hands up in defense,
"No! Wait wait! I didn't mean it like that! Let me explain…"
"NO!" Loki turned feral, "HOW DARE YOU, YOU SELFISH PIG! I'VE LOST EVERYTHING! And here I am! IN THE CARE OF THE LIKES OF YOU!" His voice broke as tears of fury began to sting his eyes, Tony tried to speak,
"Loki, PLEASE! You know my mouth engages before my brain!" he said, but Loki ignored it.
"I did something that I've never done before…" Loki continued, "I gave myself to you. A mortal man! I trusted you with my heart! AND THIS IS HOW YOU SMASH IT! YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME?" He sobbed, "How can you do this? YOU SWORE TO BELIEVE ME!" Loki turned and left, slamming the door behind him. Tony punched the wall in an outrage,
"GOD DAMN IT!" he shouted at himself, then slumped to the floor, "God damn it, Stark. What the fuck is wrong with you?" he dropped his head into his hands and only hoped that Loki would calm down and forgive his stupidity. Loki stormed into Thor's room to find Thor and Steve cuddling on the bed, both men looked up in surprise, slightly embarrassed.
"Oh…" Loki sniffed, wiping at his nose and eyes, "Forgive my intrusion…never mind…" he mumbled pitifully and left. Thor jumped off the bed,
"Wait! LOKI, WAIT!" he ran into the hall, "What happened!" he called out, but Loki was gone, as if he'd vanished into the air, like a ghost that hadn't really been there to begin with. Thor looked around, wide-eyed and confused. Steve came to his side,
"Where did he go? And was he crying?" he asked, searching the halls just like Thor. Thor sighed,
"Yes. And I think I know exactly who is to blame…" he looked at Tony's bedroom door. Steve grabbed his shoulder,
"Hold on now…let's not just go slamming through doors, hammer flying, ok? They fight all the time. I'm sure Tony just opened his stupid mouth at the wrong time. They'll be alright." He assured.
"I hope so…" Thor growled, clenching his fists, "For Stark's sake." Steve gently pushed Thor back into his room,
"C'mon, big guy. Don't worry about it." He placed a gently kiss upon Thor's cheek, "Let me calm you down." He whispered sweetly, and it was as if Thor completely forgot what he was angry about.
"Mmm." He moaned in anticipation, "That sounds promising…" he closed the bedroom door.
Loki sat upon the edge of the roof, staring down at the concrete below. He made a face of disgust,
"Ugh. How pathetic that I could just fall off this roof and be dead." He told himself; "Although...it doesn't sound like a bad idea…" he stood up and leaned over the edge a bit more, but then mentally slapped himself.
"No!" he turned away from the edge and walked a few steps, "Suicide is even more pathetic, disgusting…weak. I'll never be that weak." He assured himself. He sighed and slumped back down, bringing his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around his legs, then placing his chin upon his knees. He sighed again, exhausted and sorrowful.
"Stupid, stupid man." He whispered, "Stupid man, I hate you, I hate you Tony…" He tried to convince himself, but the words held no weight and he couldn't stop the warm tingle that bubbled in his chest at just the sound of Tony's name. Part of him wanted that warmth to never leave, wanted to cradle it forever, and the other part of him wanted to stab it out viciously and bury it while it was still beating…then tear it out of its grave and stomp it some more…and then maybe set it on fire and bury it again…or throw it into a chasm. Loki sighed again, knowing that he could never actually do any of those things, because as much as he hated to admit it, he was in love. And once love got into you, you couldn't kill it even if it was to save your life. He looked up at the sky, a few tears finding their way down his cheeks,
"Oh Anthony…you'll be the death of me…" he smiled despite himself and blinked away his tears, then rose to his feet. He made his way back into the house, down the stairs, through the living room, and out the front door. There was a sleek, black car waiting for him at the curb. He got into the back seat.
"Go." He told the driver, a S.H.I.E.L.D. employee, and the man nodded before accelerating them forward. Loki decided that as long as The Avengers refused to trust him, then he didn't need their help any longer. Fury needed Loki, whether he trusted him or not was regardless, it was all busy. Loki could live with that. So he would stay with S.H.I.E.L.D., at least until this all blew over. He told Nick Fury as little as possible, saying that he'd made this decision to be as close to HQ as possible, in order to optimize his helpfulness. Nick accepted the answer and gave Loki a bunker to himself. Loki retired to said bunker as soon as he was done talking to Nick. He climbed into the one-man sized bed, without even undressing, and fell asleep savoring the familiar cold, metal, and lonely darkness. Something he could always depend on to be the same.
Like any other night that Loki wasn't there, Tony didn't sleep. But he refused to drink as well, he'd refused to drink anything at all since the last time. So he found himself in his workshop, protective goggles on, angry music blaring. Loki'll come back, Tony told himself, when he's calmed down…when he's good and ready…he'll come back. He'd been repeating this thought to himself for the past six hours, as he mindlessly melted metal together. But Loki didn't come back. Even when Pepper made her way into the workshop with Tony's morning coffee, Tony was still alone. He looked at Pepper in surprise and removed his goggles lethargically,
"What are you doing here?" he asked her, his voice was strained. She took in his appearance and her jaw dropped slightly. She put the coffee down and placed a hand upon Tony's brow,
"Tony! Have you been down here all night?" she asked, her voice sounded like a worried mother. Tony blinked once, very slowly, then his brow came together in confusion,
"All night? It's only been a couple hours…" he rubbed his eyes. Pepper looked at him like he'd grown a third eye,
"Tony…" she spoke softly, "It's nine in the morning. The same time I always bring you your coffee." She explained. Tony glanced at the coffee cup that Pepper had put down and realization hit him,
"Oh god…" he moaned, "He never came back…" his voice cracked just a fraction, "I've been here…waiting for him to come back…I kept telling myself that I'd wait just a little longer…just a little longer…" he rubbed his temples, "I waited all night…?" His voice broke again and he sat down upon the workbench chair. Pepper pulled the goggles off his head the rest of the way,
"You've been waiting? For who? Loki?" she asked. Tony nodded, then looked up at her in horror,
"Oh god…" he said again, "I did the most horrible thing to him…" he wiped his eyes.
"What? What happened?" Pepper wondered. Tony sniffled for a minute,
"I called him a liar…I broke his heart…after I'd promised to be the one to always trust him…I called him a liar." He smacked himself in the head, "What the fuck is wrong with you, Stark?" he yelled suddenly, making Pepper jump. She gently grabbed his shoulders,
"Ok. You need to sleep. I'm sure that if you were down here all night, Loki probably went to bed upstairs. If he was mad at you he probably didn't want to talk to you anyways…" she pulled him over to his makeshift bed on the floor, "Just go to sleep, and I'll find Loki and talk to him, ok? Does that sound good?" Tony dropped unto the bed,
"Yeah…you're…a lot better…with…words…" he began snoring. Pepper sighed a breath of relief, placing her hand on her brow. She left Tony's coffee there, he could always warm it up later, and made her way back upstairs. She went into the living room and addressed everyone sitting there,
"Has anybody seen Loki?" she asked. Faces turned to her, all wearing the same look of confusion, Peter and Clint shrugged in unison. Steve was shaking his head. Pepper sighed again and went up the stairs to the bedrooms. She knocked on Thor's door first, but the only answer she got was the large man's thunderous snoring. She went further down the hall to Tony's room and knocked upon it. There was silence. She opened the door slowly and poked her head in,
"Loki?" she called softly and stepped further inside. There was no one. She pulled out her phone as she headed back down the stairs. She dialed a familiar number and put the phone to her ear,
"Coulson? Yeah, hi, it's Pepper Potts. Oh! Yes, I'm fine, thanks for asking. Hey, I'm looking for Loki, you wouldn't know where he…Oh? He is? Oh wonderful! I'll be there soon. I need to talk to him. Mhmm. Thanks." She clicked the phone off and hoped into one of Tony's cars. "To S.H.I.E.L.D HQ, please." She told the driver. When the elevator opened up on the top floor, she found Coulson, Nick Fury, and Loki all leaning over the conference table looking at something she couldn't see from this angle and debating amongst each other in low voices. She stepped over to them and cleared her throat, they looked up at her,
"Good morning." She said cheerfully, "Loki can I have a word with you?" she asked. Coulson and Fury glanced at Loki, but Loki didn't look at them. Instead he put on his best innocent face and smiled at Pepper,
"Of course, Lady Pepper." He said equally as cheerful and stepped away from the other men. Pepper led him over to a corner of the room then gave him a serious, yet concerned, gaze.
"What happened? Last night, with you and Tony?" she asked. Loki gave her a friendly smirk,
"I'm quite certain such things are not for the ears of a lady." He teased. She slapped his arm,
"You know what I'm talking about, don't play games. I found him in his workshop this morning. He was a zombie. He told me he'd been waiting for you to come back…" she lowered her voice more, "He waited all night! Without even knowing it." Loki's jesting face vanished to be replaced by worry. Pepper could tell he was trying to look apathetic, but the sorrow and concern shone in his eyes like a lighthouse.
"Now tell me what happened." She demanded, crossing her arms over her chest. Loki sighed, sounding as exhausted as Tony had looked,
"We…we just argued…" he said, looking down at the floor. Pepper wasn't buying it,
"Oh? So how come you never came back? He said he called you a liar, that he'd broken your heart…" she said. Loki rubbed his face with one hand,
"Yes…he called me a liar. He said…he thinks that I'm still working with Dr. Doom…" he confessed. Peppers eyebrows went up,
"Are you?" she asked. Loki looked at her in horror,
"NO! No, I am not! But no one seems to believe me!" he cried out. Pepper gave him a sympathetic look,
"You can't blame them for not trusting you, Loki." She said softly. He looked down at the floor again,
"I know." He whispered. She put a gently hand on Loki's shoulder,
"So what are you doing now? Are you going to go to Tony and accept his apology? You know he didn't mean to say that." She continued. Loki shook his head,
"Tell him, of course I've forgiven him. Tell him, I love him. But I'm staying here." He turned to walk away from her. She looked surprised,
"What? Why?" She followed him.
"Until this monster, Doom, is behind bars or dead…I'm staying here. I've caused The Avengers, and my brother, enough harm and problems…I'll earn their trust somehow…and I'll get my powers back…but Doom comes first. I'll end him…" he growled the last part through his teeth, clenching his fist and shaking with anger. Pepper was taken aback by this display of fury, but she was also happy to see Loki so determined to do something good. She smiled at him,
"Alright. I'll tell Tony what you said. I'll make sure he knows you still love him." She said. Loki's entire demeanor changed to that of a teenaged boy, and he beamed at her words,
"Thank you, Pepper." He smiled sweetly back at her, and she nodded to him before heading back into the elevator.
Tony was not happy with Pepper's news. She'd told him after he'd woken up and had two cups of coffee, and now he sat in his shower, alone. He let the water run until it went stone cold, then he switched it off and continued to sit in the bathtub, brooding in his thoughts. He knew Loki believed he was doing the right thing, and it probably was the right thing, but it was still so God damned lonely…
Nick Fury had enlisted the help of his favorite tracker. Wolverine. Loki knew Wolverine had unbelievable military and espionage experience, not to mention his time spent as an assassin, and he was a fairly easy guy to get along with so Loki looked forward to actually working with him. Nick and Logan were grumbling quietly to each other about something while Loki sat in Fury's favorite chair with his feet upon the desk. Coulson and some other agents stood stoically by the door, but every few minutes Coulson's suspicious eyes fell upon Loki.
"How long have you had him working on this…?" Loki heard Logan asking.
"I haven't been making him do anything. It's by his own choice that he's stayed here to work on this." Nick responded. Loki caught Wolverine glancing at him for a second,
"He looks terrible…he's exhausted…" Logan said to Nick. Nick shrugged,
"He doesn't sleep…" he answered nonchalantly. Logan grunted, then stepped over to Loki.
"Alright. It seems you guys got a pretty good plan laid out here. But we're still waiting on another move from Doom, right?" he asked Loki.
"Well, it would be a good thing to avoid that, considering his next move might just be blowing us all up…" Loki answered, warily.
"Seems unlikely. I think you're over thinking this, buddy. You've been up for weeks…ya gotta take a break…and consider that maybe Doom doesn't know what his next move will be either." Loki gave him a look, like he was an idiot, but Logan just playfully slapped Loki's arm, "C'mon." he headed for the door. Loki looked completely uninterested and didn't even blink,
" "C'mon" where?" he asked dully. Logan crossed his arms,
"Me and Kurt are going out tonight, just to a bar, to relax. Everybody's gotta relax every now and then. Yer commin' too." He said and nodded in the direction of the door. Loki made a "pfft" sound at him,
"I think not." He mumbled, and then yawned. Logan huffed,
"Look, buddy, Wolverine don't take no fer an answer. So get up, or I carry you out." He said. Loki didn't respond nor make a move to comply. Logan shook his head then marched over to the desk and grabbed Loki by the waist, in one heave he threw Loki over his shoulder and held his legs down. Loki was hollering and kicking for Logan to put him down, but Logan ignored him. He saluted playfully to Nick,
"See ya later!" he called as he headed out the door, a very flustered Loki grumbling over his shoulder. Logan tossed Loki into the back of his car when they got to the street. Loki gave him a death glare. Logan laughed,
"Aww get over it. Ya don't weigh much now that you're human. And this is fer your own good." He got into the driver's seat, "You'll thank me." Logan called Kurt on his cell when they got close to the X-mansion, so that when they pulled up to the grand gates, Nightcrawler was waiting for them. Kurt hopped into the passenger seat and looked at Loki in surprise,
"Oh hello Loki!" he said with a smile, "I hadn't been told you were joining us this evening." He said looking at Logan. Logan shrugged,
" 'S not like you wore something skanky." He replied. Kurt laughed,
"Logan, I don't ever where anything skanky."
"Exactly." Logan chuckled and drove them out of view of the mansion, back to the city. Kurt moved into the back of the car to sit next to Loki. He gave Loki a warm, inviting smile,
"How are you doing? Must be hard trying to adjust to a mortal life." He wondered. Loki shrugged one shoulder,
" 'Tis just like any other routine, once you get the hang of it, it's not difficult." He yawned. Kurt was nodding,
"I guess so. Still, it's always hard to be taken out of the familiar and thrown into something you know close to nothing about. It can wear you down." A strange shadow came to Kurt's expression but he quickly snapped out of it and smiled at Loki, "I hope you'll have fun with us tonight!" he exclaimed. Loki gave him a look, then glanced at Wolverine,
"Yes…but not TOO MUCH fun, hmm?" he said carefully. Kurt laughed nervously and Logan chuckled,
"Oh trust me, Kurt would never…" Logan said through another chuckle, "He's too innocent. You don't know how long it took before he'd let ME touch him, let only anybody else." Kurt covered his face in embarrassment,
"Logan…" he whined, "Be quiet…" Logan parked the car in front of a hole-in-the-wall bar and hopped out to open the door for the boys. They both got out and that was when Logan noticed Loki was still in his S.H.I.E.L.D uniform, Logan frowned,
"Hold on…you can't go in like that…" he opened the trunk of his car and started digging through some stuff. He pulled out a pair of blue jeans and a cropped Beck's German Imported Beer t-shirt. Loki looked at Logan as if his face had just melted off,
"Are you mad!" he shrieked, "My entire midriff would be seen in that sad excuse of a shirt!" his cheeks went red at the thought. Logan laughed,
"Well it was a whole shirt once…till…see what happened was…me and Kurt were at this other bar and…I got pretty drunk…and his shirt was in the way…" he stopped when he saw the disgusted horror on Loki's face,
"You want me to wear clothes that you had SEX with your boyfriend in!" he was appalled. Kurt face palmed.
"Well to be fair…he wasn't actually IN the clothes when we started…"
"SHUT UP!" Loki threw his hand up, "Please, stop talking!" he said and snatched the clothes from Logan. He crawled back into the backseat of the car to change his clothes. He sighed at the shredded shirt. Logan chuckled,
"Sorry…but trust me, we really don't want the kind of attention that your uniform would get us." He explained and headed for the bar's front door. Loki agreed with him on that. They took seats at the bar and Loki could feel curious eyes upon him, he self-consciously wrapped his arms around his exposed midriff and stared at the bar countertop. A glass of dark red wine was placed in front of him and he looked at Logan in surprised, Logan shrugged,
"You seem more like a wine kinda guy." He said. Loki smiled and relaxed a bit,
"Indeed, I am. Thank you." He gingerly sipped the wine, just to taste it first, "Mmm." He licked his lips, pleased with the drink, then downed half of it in one swallow. Kurt and Logan wore equal expressions of concern, but neither said anything. Kurt and Logan got lost in their own conversation for a while, which Loki was glad for, he wasn't one to "talk about his feelings". He stared into his wine as Tony's beautiful brown eyes smiled at him in his mind. He smiled to himself unknowingly and took another drink. A woman suddenly slid unto the bar stool beside Loki and leaned over to look into his face,
"Hey there…" she said softly. Loki was startled from his reverie and looked at her with wide eyes. She smiled, bright red lips, brunette hair, and a teasing cleavage.
"You're looking awfully alone and heartbroken over here." Her voice was sweet and sympathetic, "And I hate seeing such a beautiful man so sad." Loki couldn't help the blush that came to his cheeks,
"Beauti…" he blinked a few times as his brain processed this. Tony had really been the only person to call him that. He regained his composure and smiled, chuckling embarrassedly,
"Well, thank you. But I'll be alright." He told the girl. She nodded and took a sip of her martini,
"Maybe you just need a stranger to talk to?" she offered. Loki couldn't understand why this woman would care…except that she was interested in sex…but he wouldn't go there.
"That's quite alright. I'm sure you don't really want to be bothered listening to my problems." He mumbled into his wine as he took another drink. Logan leaned over,
"Hey." He pointed at the woman, "Buzz off, slut." He barked. The woman looked horrified, Loki threw up his hand,
"No no! She's fine, Logan. It's alright." He assured and Logan backed off with a snort. The woman gave Loki a very flustered look. Loki laughed,
"Sorry…he's just…very protective…" he explained and she nodded.
"But, what's he protecting you from?" She wondered. He turned his big, emerald eyes to her, looked her up and down once, then said,
"The possibility that I'll do something I'll really regret, I assume." He raised an eyebrow at her, not once wavering his gaze from her brown eyes. She flushed, blinked and looked away,
"Oh…" she said, "A taken man, then?" she guessed, not looking back at him. He nodded,
"Yes. Sorry if that ruins your plans for the evening." He finished off his wine and waved for another. The woman laughed,
"Maybe a little. But that's ok." A comfortable silence fell as Loki started on his second glass. He dared a glance at Logan and Kurt, they were talking quietly, Logan's hand stroking Kurt's thigh under the counter. Loki smiled at that. He sighed into his drink again, wishing Tony was here.
"We got into a fight…" he suddenly mumbled and the woman turned her gaze to him again, "He called me a liar…" Loki whispered and took another drink. He saw her jaw drop just a bit as she came to understand Loki's sexual orientation, but she didn't say anything. "I haven't seen or spoke to him in weeks…I don't know if it's that or the sheer exhaustion that's killing me…" he continued, "Probably both." He decided.
"Do you still love him?" she asked. Loki's heart tugged just a bit.
"Of course…I…I just…" he searched for the words, "I can't bare to disappoint him…" he covered his eyes with his hand, but the tears found their way, silently dripping off his chin unto the countertop. Loki was startled by the sudden warmth of two slighter arms wrapping around his chest. He looked at this woman in astonishment as she hugged him. He smiled softly and hugged her back, letting her hold and comfort him. She stroked his hair and he actually cried on her shoulder. He knew it had to be the alcohol getting hold of him, because he'd never normally cry in public, especially in front of this total stranger. Despite the oddness of the entire situation, he was greatly comforted by this woman. Maybe it was just because she was so openly willing and comforting, and no one had ever been like that with Loki. She was a good woman, he decided, a good person, to want to help a stranger so much. He calmed down and they started talking about their boyfriends, well her ex, and all the stupid things that men do. Loki laughed and enjoyed more drinks with her.
"I'm sorry…" he said through another laugh, "But I never got your name." She forced herself to stop laughing in order to answer him,
"Oh, sorry, my bad." She put her hand out to him, "Jane Foster." She said. He shook her hand,
"Loki." He answered. They both froze and looked at each other in complete shock, "Wait…" Loki started, "Did you just say…?"
"Loki!" She snatched her hand away from him as if it'd been burnt by his touch. They stared at each other in silence for a moment before Loki scratched the back of his neck and looked away,
"Well this is awkward…" he mumbled.
"Yeah…whoa…what a creepy coincidence…" she agreed, "EW! And I was hitting on you!" she stuck out her tongue and waved her hands around like she'd touched something slimy. Loki glared at her,
"Perhaps you shouldn't be such a slut!" he said, she returned the glare,
"It's a bar! It's where you go to get laid when you're lonely and don't care anymore!" she countered. Loki waved his hand dismissively,
"Whatever. I'm too drunk to care." He sighed. Jane twiddled the edge of her glass,
"So…how is Thor anyways…? Or are you guys still fighting a lot? Wait…what are you doing getting drunk in a bar anyways?" she gasped suddenly and threw her hand over her mouth, "And WHO'S YOUR BOYFRIEND? Oh my gosh!" she stated as she put two and two together. Loki rolled his eyes,
"Thor's fine. He was in love with me, but now his with Steven. No we aren't fighting. I got turned mortal by my own magic. The Avengers are trying to help me. I work for S.H.I.E.L.D. And Tony Stark. Did I answer all of them?" he rattled off. Jane blinked a few times,
"He was in love…WHAT! Tony Stark? Whoa whoa whoa! Back up!" she made a "backing up" gesture with her hands. Loki sighed and dropped his head unto the table,
"I really don't feel like it…" he whispered, closing his eyes and enjoying the cold countertop against his face. Jane watched him for a minute, then placed her cheek upon the counter, facing him,
"Ok." She said, "You don't have to explain anything." She smiled at him. He chuckled,
"Thanks." He slurred, those five glasses of wine really kicking in. He didn't even realize that he'd fallen asleep until he was being shaken by Wolverine. He snorted as he suddenly sat up, regretting it instantly as the dizziness of inebriation over took him,
"Uuuhh." He moaned and rubbed his head. Jane was gone. Logan grabbed him, throwing his arm over Logan's shoulders and pulling him to his feet,
"C'mon, skinny. We'll take ya home." He told Loki. Loki could barely keep his eyes open and his feet kept tripping over one another, but Logan kept a good hold on him.
"Not...Tony's…house…" he mumbled pitifully. Logan paused for a minute then sighed,
"Alright, I'll take ya back to S.H.I.E.L.D." he assured, then pushed Loki into the backseat of the car. Logan let Nick and some other agents drag Loki to his bed when he got to the HQ, then he hopped back in the car and went home to his own superhero filled mansion.