Loki slipped silently out of his bedroom when morning came, and Tony looked up in mild surprise from his usual perch behind the counter, staring at the dark circles under the trickster's eyes that spoke volumes about the night he'd had. Thor turned as he sat on the sofa, his arm around Jane, and smiled hesitantly, blue eyes scanning his brother's face searchingly for any signs of hostility, and when he didn't find any, he jumped up, murmuring to Jane quickly before rushing over to sit down beside the seat he knew Loki would take, completely missing Jane's terse glare at his back, thrown over her shoulder from where she was watching the news. Loki sent him an empty, emotionless glance, only darkened by exhaustion, and his eyes fell to the cold cup of coffee from the previous morning, and he took hold of it and pressed the mug rim to his lips, chugging it down in only a few gulps, while Tony stared at him, wide-eyed, his face wrinkled in disgust. Loki set the cup down roughly on the counter, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth, standing before the bar stool, seemingly reluctant to sit down.
"Do you even have taste buds? That's been sitting there all night," Tony questioned in disbelief, brow furrowed as he gave Loki a judgmental stare. Loki looked around him, sighing.
"Your point?" He blinked, tilting his head absently.
"I assume Pepper is off avoiding me," he observed, distant, and looked to the chair, where Steve was sitting, his gaze flitting from Natasha to Loki so that he could properly glare at him for the comment, and Loki smirked, a sudden life coming to his features. Tony flicked something off of the counter and smiled.
"She's smarter than the rest of us, then."
Loki's eyes moved to Jane, and she turned back around at the abrupt silence, meeting his meaningful glare with one of her own, and Loki wished, not for the first time, that he was telepathic. Her presence was a quiet reminder of their deal, and yet he found that he couldn't hold a grudge for her lack of trying on her side of that agreement. The fact that he couldn't get angry at someone for something wrong that they'd done unsettled Loki, and he instantly turned his attention away, eager to rid himself of the feeling, and so he watched Natasha, sitting in a corner chair that he'd never noticed before. He narrowed his eyes at her, and she crossed her legs comfortably, a smirk glinting in her eyes.
"Why are you all always here?" He turned back to Thor for the answer, gazing at him imploringly, but before he could open his mouth, Tony spoke casually.
"We want to all be ready kill you at a moment's notice." He looked up from pouring himself a drink, the tinkling of the amber liquid falling against the glass a loud sound in the hushed air. "You know, if we have to."
The official voice of the news reporters on the TV screen served as a soft background noise, and Tony glanced down at his watch, smiling like he was pleased with himself, as Loki glanced away, apparently distracted by something on the screen. Natasha stood, stretching, and disturbed the whole atmosphere of the room, and Steve turned to her, one brow raised.
"I'm going to go to bed. Yell if you need me." She began to walk away, and Steve swallowed, eyes narrowed.
"But you just woke up," he said inquisitively, and she turned in his direction as she left, eyes bright, but didn't respond, and Loki watched Steve slump in his seat. Tony rested his elbows on the counter and leaned over it, sliding close to Thor with a small smile haunting his face.
"What's Loki like when he's drunk?" Thor looked to him in surprise, but the ghost of memory flashed across his gaze and he smiled faintly, remembering something.
"I've only ever seen Loki intoxicated a mere handful of times, but whenever he is, it's like a switch; it's like he's sober one second and in the next he's not. It's odd, with him, considering that he doesn't act like you'd expect."
"What does he do, exactly?" Tony asked quietly, almost whispering, and Thor replied in a whisper, as well, encouraged by Tony's own actions. Loki blinked, shaking his head like something had bit him, and a confused, brief look befell him.
"He doesn't lose any of his physical awareness. He might act…relaxed, but he never falls or stumbles or runs into things." Thor chewed on his bottom lip, stifling his laughter as another memory came to the forefront of his mind.
"His tongue slips, frequently." Tony's brow furrowed.
"What?" Thor looked to him, smiling sadly as he realized that the Loki in his head was now a long lost memory, a bittersweet sensation washing over him as he blinked away tears, remembering himself and Tony's question.
"He says whatever comes to mind, regardless of whether he thinks he should or not. He would make jests at our mother, even, when he had a single glass of wine. It was all in good faith, though, since we knew he couldn't really control it."
The smirk on Tony's face grew, and by the end of it, he was shaking with suppressed laughter, taking a seat at his bar stool and rubbing his hands together, digging his phone out of his pocket to take a video. Loki watched Steve as the captain looked so forlorn in his seat, looking distractedly down at his hands, and the trickster sidled over to where Jane was sitting, plopping down on the empty cushion beside her, and she jumped at his sudden presence, wide eyes surprised. He laid an arm on the back of the sofa, looking over to Jane with an amused, lazy grin on his face, and she swallowed, uncomfortable with how unpredictable the situation had turned. Steve glanced up and glared at Loki, and the action seemed to beckon Loki's attention, for he turned and showed the same smile to the captain. His eyes were glassy, and they shined brightly before the windows just behind Steve, who felt overly scrutinized beneath Loki's gaze.
Tony hit the 'record' button on his phone, a devilish smile on his face and shining in his eyes.
"You hate me," Loki observed softly, seemingly happy about the fact, and leaned forward, clasping his hands together as he rested his elbows on his knees. Steve didn't know where the man was taking the conversation, but he finally decided to play along, frustrated.
"For good reason," he muttered lowly, so Thor wouldn't hear, and Jane raised an eyebrow. Loki's smile only widened, and he lifted his index finger, pointing at the blond.
"You hate me because you only see in two distinct colors. You see in black and white, in good and evil, in right and wrong. It's an inaccurate view, if I may say so myself." Steve leaned forward, gaze heated with anger as his nostrils flared.
"No. I know what deception looks like," he ground out, blue eyes bright with loathing. Loki leaned back, glancing to his hands.
"I expect that you would, given how often you watch her." Steve raised his head, curiosity taking precedence over the fury gleaming in his stare, and his jaw muscles tensed.
"Her?"
"Agent Romanoff," Loki drawled, glancing at his knuckles, and Jane's mouth parted in surprise as she saw small, tiny cuts over the skin there, partly distracted by the information Loki had just released. The trickster glanced up, meeting Steve's eyes.
"What? It was hardly a secret." Jane leaned in, encouraged by the captain's silence.
"I like secrets," she said to Loki, and he turned to her, smiling.
"The captain carries affection for the spy."
"I do not," Steve interjected, indignant, and Loki chuckled.
"You sound like a petulant child." Steve's hands balled into fists, and Loki's eyes flickered to them as he smiled, leaning forward further.
"You see, Captain, just as you believe that the spy holds no affection for you, so have I been misinterpreted." Steve narrowed his eyes, swallowing past the lump in his throat at the mention of Natasha.
"I'm not excusing myself or my actions, but I do know that there is far more residing in between than there has ever been on either side. I know the colors of black and white, but I am all too familiar with the grey areas in the middle. Perhaps you should get to know them, as well, and you might be able to figure out your own situation." He shrugged and let out a slow sigh, and Jane smelled coffee on his breath, but it couldn't mask the scent of alcohol, and she stifled her gasp nervously, knowing that Loki would never willingly make himself so vulnerable around enemies. She immediately thought of Tony and felt scared for the man. Loki's revenge was a definitely unwanted thing, and he'd just made himself next on the hit list. Loki stood and brushed something invisible from his pants.
"After all, it has been those exact areas that have perplexed you in the past. Correct?"
He walked off, and Jane turned in her seat to watch his loose, lazy gait, eyeing the way he seemed to drag across the floor, and he turned just before he went to his room as Thor watched him, his expression a classically comical one, filled with questions and no answers. Loki waved, wiggling his fingers, and disappeared through the doorway as the door shut quietly behind him. She looked back at Steve and saw that he was staring intently at his hands, his face flushed.
...
Loki entered his room and then stopped, staring at the person lounging on his bed. Natasha saw him and sat up, crossing her legs as she leaned against the headboard.
"I was wondering when you'd get here," she said quietly, amusement laced in every syllable. Loki decided not to question her presence, since he knew that he'd seen her disappear down the stairs on her way to her room and also knew that the agent had a knack for sneaking into places. He carried the trait, as well, but his developing headache, a sudden, irritating throbbing in his skull, prevented him from thinking about it further, and he sighed and took a seat at the edge of the bed, glancing fleetingly at the picture of Pepper on the nightstand. He turned his attention to the spy before him, her red curls bright in the dim lighting as her eyes roamed over him curiously.
"You seem…different." Loki made a face, and she would have laughed if she was in a laughing kind of mood. The spy was rarely ever in a laughing kind of mood, even more so now that Clint was away and probably in danger, danger that she couldn't save him from.
"Do I?" Loki asked absently, shaking his head at her.
"Why are you here, Agent Romanoff? I do believe I've already offended enough people today to want to avoid putting you on the list, as well." She raised a brow at him, cocking her head, and crossed her arms against her chest, smirking.
"So how many people you offend actually matters to you now?" He shrugged, wincing as his headache flared up, like fire running through his sinuses, and he recognized the effects, eyes narrowing into slits.
"I try to keep it mild, you know that." He leaned back to give her an observing glance.
"But I don't think you snuck into my room just to comment about my daily limit on hurting feelings." Natasha swallowed, steeling herself, and sighed quietly, and Loki thought that it was the only true glimpse he'd ever gotten inside the Black Widow's mind.
"I want you to stop egging Steve on." Loki threw his head back and laughed, but immediately regretted it as pain blossomed in his head, and he started to ache all over, just like the pain was snaking through his veins. He winced, but still managed to smirk at her as she glared at him, annoyed with his response.
"Steve has been through a lot, and I'm sure you bring up memories that he'd rather forget; you sure as hell do with the rest of us. You don't underst-"
"I know that man better than you think you know him, Agent Romanoff," Loki interrupted, sounding almost offended, "I see his life as it is written in his eyes, as I see yours." Natasha stared at him, knowing deep down that he was telling the truth, and knowing, far deeper than she could willingly go, that she could see Loki's life, too, in that panicked stare of his, and she scooted to the edge of the bed and stood to leave, but he grabbed her before she could, his fingers circling carefully around the thin bones of her wrist, like they were fragile, and she looked down at him, wary and terrified of herself and her thoughts.
"Similarity is not always a dreadful thing," he murmured, eyes wide and round and just a bit pleading, and she swallowed, angry at herself for seeming weak, and ripped her arm out of his grasp, leaving his room in the most obvious manner that she could. Loki's shoulders lowered, and he knew that Steve was no doubt watching her walk out of his room with a surprised, angered look on his face-maybe even a hurt one.
...
Jane watched Natasha leave and managed to simultaneously watch Steve's reaction, taking into account the new connection she'd just discovered, and things started to make sense to her, finally. She slid over onto the cushion Loki had been on and swallowed, preparing herself for an awkward conversation with Steve.
"He's not so bad, you know," she started, perhaps wrongly so, because Steve looked to her like she was completely out of her mind, and she shrugged, "when he's not so angsty and…murderous, I mean." She started to smile, but gave up, sighing inwardly as she tapped her finger against her knee, nodding awkwardly.
"He's…difficult, I know, but-"
"He's evil," Steve interrupted, his expression impassive, and she laughed.
"I know, but Thor loves him. And I love Thor, so I can't hate the guy completely. And you love Thor, too. He's your friend; you all love him in your own kind of way." She swallowed nervously, shaking her head as she gave up with trying to convince him of Loki's non-bloody tendencies.
"There are two sides to him," she murmured quietly, "and you need to decide which side you're blind to, because it's pretty obvious to me." She stood, shoving her hands into her pockets for lack of something better to distract herself with.
"Just…don't become his biggest fan or anything, but at least give him a tiny chance. Thor changed his whole outlook in a matter of days. Who's to say that Loki can't, too?" She walked away, off to go talk with Thor and have a scolding conversation with Tony, leaving Steve to stare after her, eyes wide and confused, heart pounding from the memories coming to the surface.
...
Later, when Loki was hunched over the edge of the bed with an arm wrapped about his stomach, just about ready to vomit from his throbbing, pulsing headache that had become a full, single body ache, he heard a knock at his door, and the sound of sliding paper broke the silence. Intrigued, he carefully padded across the room, wary of worsening his pain and increasing nausea, and he slowly bent down to pick up the folded piece of paper that had found a way into his room from the space beneath the door.
Unfolding it, he saw messy writing scrawled across it in pen ink, and felt his blood boil at the message.
It's a special brand. Starts fast and ends fast. Enjoy your night.
-Tony
He'd never ripped up a piece of paper so aggressively in all of his life.
Hey, guys, please tell me if there's an error or typo in these chapters. I was scrolling through the last chapter and found two typos that I'd never noticed before, one of which had me laughing a whole lot. So, por favor, mi amigos? ;D
Please R&R! Feedback of any kind is always appreciated! ;)