"What?!"
"You cannot be serious."
"This has to be stopped immediately."
The common area was in uproar at what Stark had told them of his discovery.
"How can we stop this exactly?" Romanov questioned.
"What right have any here to stop them?" The room turned to see Thor standing near a wall, arms folded, his expression one of anger and annoyance.
"You knew this?" Rogers asked in shock.
"Oh yes, that is something else, Thor here has been keeping this little nugget of information from us." Tony turned and pointed at the blonde.
"How is it any of our concern?" Thor frowned.
"Are you serious? How is it not our concern? This is Loki we are talking about; I mean has she taken a severe blow to the head we're not aware of?" Barton asked.
"How do we know if there is any consent in this?" Rogers asked.
"Because she is well able to talk, as well you know." Stark stated.
"So we can assume that you too had your proverbial ass handed to you for anything you said on your little discovery." Thor raised a brow, the look on Stark's face told the room of the verbal castration he may have suffered. "I am curious to know why you felt it your right to tell everyone something that is essentially nothing to do with you, or indeed them?"
"Why didn't you?" Barton demanded.
"It is not our concern, it is that simple." Thor reiterated. "None here make comment of the family man you are; or at Agent Romanov and Banner, yet this pairing resembles your pathetic television programming where it is up for public vote"
"Even you had to think that is peculiar." Romanov looked at him.
"I do not, for one second understand it, but I can accept that many would not understand Jane and I, nor would they understand other pairings here, yet I walk in on you all demanded that we intervene in this one. How can Loki make amends and try and get over what has been done if he is not being permitted to do so?"
"What do you mean 'get over' what he did here?"
"In light of what I have read of what you mortals do to one another, I would have been a most kind ruler." Loki walked into the room, passing Thor and giving him a small nod of thanks, clearly having heard what he had been saying. "I neither know nor care as to why any here think the going-ons of my life are their concern. So long as I am not endangering anyone, then it is nothing to do with anyone, bar of course…" A small smile came to his face.
"You are only using her." Rogers squared up to him.
"I am doing no such thing. Why do you not look at the recordings of this hovel, you will quickly see that we share much time around one another, and not once do I have to feign interest in what she says, as opposed to every time I am in a room with you and I have to nigh on pinch my own skin off to remain awake in your pathetic company." Loki stood straight, showing the solider he held a slight height advantage.
"If you do anything to hurt her…"
"You will what, destroy the rest of her clothing, are you ever going to replace that garment? I have never hurt her, and I have no intentions of such."
"Like anything you say can be taken as truth, you're the God of Lies." Barton stood beside Rogers.
Loki sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I am known as the Liesmith, it is true, but I got the title of the God of Lies for both that and another reason. You see, I have an exceptional capability to tell when others are lying also. I can tell when any is untruthful, not just be convincing at it myself."
"Bullshit." Stark commented.
"No, it is fact." Thor informed them. "It is one thing father always had Loki at court for, if any were untruthful, he could sense it in seconds." Then he began to chuckle. "Do you recall when Baldr tried to convince the realm that he had not been inept at his post, only for you to declare him a liar?" Thor laughed, turning to Loki.
"And he was not allowed leave until he admitted the truth."
"Yes, what was it again; he was in a tavern with some woman was he not?"
"I regret to tell you, that was not true either." Loki grinned.
"But the woman admitted it, and you nodded, saying she was being honest."
"She only did that because she was paid to, so the truth would not be revealed."
"So what had he been doing?"
"He had been with Princess Ailbhe."
"The Queen of Alfheim?"
"Yes. And for the record, Princess Bali is not of the kings blood."
"Why did you not say anything?"
"They pleaded with me not to."
"When?"
"When we were in the room, they begged me with their eyes, and as soon as court ended, the rewarded me with some of the greatest books of Alfheim magic in existence." Loki smirked.
"Look, as interesting as this edition of Asgardian Gossip Weekly is, can we get back to the matter at hand?" Stark demanded.
"There is no matter at hand, there is nothing to concern yourselves with, so continue trying to find out who is attempting to destroy the less destructible of your little clan of misfits and leave personal relationships be." He snarled before turning to Stark. "You are aware that she will view this as a betrayal on your behalf, you had best tell her yourself before I am forced to."
Stark silently glowered at Loki as he sucked his teeth, knowing the God was right. You were going to be hurt and angered by what he did, he had no right to tell everyone else.
Loki walked to the kitchen area without another word and grabbed the food he had come to retrieve and passed the now silently watching Avengers, when passing Thor; the older gave an approving nod, which Loki returned, before going to the elevator again.
"Are we really going to do nothing about this?" Barton looked around at the others.
"What is it possible to do pray tell?" Thor challenged.
"How is he even able to go on her floor, I thought that was forbidden?" Barton looked to Stark.
"She demanded I change that."
"Why did you?" Rogers interjected.
"Listen Capsicle, I had no idea this was going to happen either, but I could hardly say no based on nothing."
"Nothing. He is a killer."
"Are we not all?" Thor disputed. Silence met his words. "Loki is changing back to his former, better self in recent times, and I know that this is mostly the reason as to why, I will not interfere in it, nor will I allow others to. What right has any here to prevent the happiness of others? This nigh on ensures he is not interested in harming anyone."
"It is not right." Barton growled.
"Neither is having a wife and children with your chosen life path, but I do not attempt to interfere, do I?" Barton's lip curled slightly at that. "From what I gather, this was not a decision taken lightly by either party, and so we must respect that."
"What do you mean?" Romanov inquired.
"Kiddo may have had a seriously screwed up experience before this. Her boyfriend, well he sort of, knocked up another girl and made a fool of her, but only after he had her thinking she was hideous, boring and stupid first." Stark explained.
"How do you convince a genius that she is stupid?" Barton asked genuinely.
"By making a fool of her, repeatedly." Stark turned to Thor. "That is part of my concern here, she doesn't deserve that again."
"It is good to see there is something resembling a conscious within you Stark, but we none can protect others from life, for then they do not get to live." Thor shrugged, turning to leave himself.
Once he was gone, stark simply shook his head. "I forget sometimes that behind that Labrador-esque demeanour, he is actually really smart."
"So we do nothing?" Barton asked in shock.
"What can we do?" Romanov shrugged.
"This is not right."
"That is not for us to decide."
"Nat, you cannot be seriously okay with this."
"I'm not, but there is nothing I can do about it. I know when to pick my battles, and this is one I am choosing to stay out of." She then turned to Tony. "You had best be the one to tell her, if she finds out you held a meeting to simply gossip, she will kill you, blind or not. Now if you will excuse me, I have to go and process the information that Stark actually has a caring bone in his body."
X
Tony went to your floor, slightly surprised to see Loki there with you, helping you arrange a few things the way you wanted.
"What is it Tony, I can almost smell the worry off you." You sighed when you sensed him staring at you.
"I told the others." He spat it out.
You turned slightly to half face Loki. "And this is why you've been tense since you returned from getting the food; you heard them. Why didn't you say anything?" there was no accusation in your voice as you asked.
"I wanted to give him a chance to tell him himself first, had he not made an attempt to, I would have." Loki stated before placing his hand on yours.
Stark stared silently at the small caring gesture, hardly able to compute it. "Kiddo…"
"You know, I thought you of all people had my back, until today." You turned to face what you hoped was towards him, sadness in your features.
"I…"
"There is nothing you can say Tony, seriously, what business is it of anyone else's?" you never raised your voice.
"The others…"
"Are biased. Barton hated Loki over the mind control thing, Romanov is sceptical of her own shadow, and well Rogers, well; his ego is bruised."
"His ego?" stark's brow furrowed.
"Yes, so I am not interested, none of you are here all the time, so none of you know what goes on when you are all away."
"If it is anything like when I walked in on you yesterday, I don't want to know." Stark put his hands up immediately.
"I mean it Tony, this is no laughing matter. I am seriously hurt by what you've done." You rose to your feet and felt around for Beauty. "I think I need to go to bed for a while." Loki did not make to follow you.
"Happy?" stark snapped.
"No, for I knew that would hurt her, but I am relieved you were man enough to tell her yourself."
"Nothing about this makes sense."
"Welcome to the greatest realisation of life. I myself do not understand it, yet it is concerning me. All you can do is try to continue on as you attempt to comprehend it."
"If you hurt her…"
"I will end up hurting myself also, but I understand your sentiment."
"I mean it; I have made a blaster that will blow you all the way to China."
"What is China?" Loki cocked his head slightly.
"It's the other side of the world." Stark answered as he left the room. "I mean it Ice Boy, I will end you."
Loki grimaced at the reference to his heritage, but he said nothing else as Stark left. When the genius had closed the door, he looked to your bedroom. He knew you did not want to be disturbed, so he decided to go back to his own rooms and get a few things organised there while you calmed down.
On arriving on his floor, he stepped out of the elevator to see someone standing in the hallway. "What do you want soldier?"
Rogers turned to look at him. "To speak with you."
"Well then, speak. I am listening."
"What is your plan Loki? To get that formula?"
Loki's fists clenched. "How dare you, I have no agenda, leave now if this is all you are doing, accusing me of such things."
"What else could you be up to?"
"Perhaps, against my better judgment, I have become fond of a Midgardian that does not spend hours a day despising me for what I was, but cares for who I am. It could possibly be that simple."
"Nothing is that simple with you."
"And you know such do you? Tell me Captain, why is it you attempt to find the one that was once your greatest ally, even with everything he has done, the horrors he has caused, thinking there is still good in him, but you cannot extend the same courtesy to me."
"Bucky's intentions…"
"Intensions, you are concerned for mine, but you think I do not know yours."
"What are you talking about?"
"Your intensions, I am well aware of yours. I am curious, does it irk you so greatly that she never once so much as concerned herself with you, but instead only seems interested in me. I dare say that was a blow to your ego." Loki smirked as he stood as tall as possible over the soldier. Rogers could not meet his gaze. "I thought as much. Leave now, I have not intentions of spending the day arguing with you." He brushed passed the blonde and into his rooms with a satisfied smirk, leaving a red faced Captain America in the hallway.