Chapter 19: Last Night
Arghhh, sorry for the long wait once again. Beginning of the semester scramble as usual, and I didn't have internet for several days, so yeah—Sorry!
But please enjoy the slightly long-ish chapter (which I decided to complete, rather than do any of my homework. Huzzah! Priorities!)
Around 6AM, Loki startles awake—wide-eyed and disorientated only briefly—before whipping his towards the unwelcomed soldier in the room. Steve watches as Loki's features placates to eerie calmness, like the peace before a storm.
"What are you doing here?"
Steve closes his book and swallows thickly under the accusing stare. He had tried several times to formulate a proper response to the inevitable confrontation, but his efforts only amassed to empty-mindedness. And therefore, he had long given up, opting to grasp on the slim hope that everything will fall into place one the time comes. And now, as the object of the god's icy disdain, Steve wonders perhaps he shouldn't have perished his efforts so easily.
"I woke up sometime during the night and thought I might as well check up on you—" It took an effort not to cringe. "—Turns out, you fell asleep, and—"
"For how long?"
"Three hours, at least. That's how long I stayed."
The god breathes heavily, lips twitching as if he's not sure where to begin on conveying his disapproval.
"Then, you should have woken me. Why did you not?" He eventually decides, and Steve is almost thankful that the god chooses to fixate on this matter, rather than the fact that Steve had stayed in his bedroom, like a creep.
"Thanos never got to you, right?" Steve asks, as the god narrows his eyes.
"How could you have known?"
"Well," Steve ducks his head. "I would have woken you up if you showed any signs of unrest—if they're anything like nightmares."
"For the last time, Captain—" the god grits his teeth, voice wavering with barely contained rage, "—They are not nightmares. You have no clue as to how his influence can manifest."
"So did he get to you?" Steve grimaces apologetically, and Loki appears to bite back his tongue, although not without effort.
"No," the god answers, "Fortunately, for both of us. If Thanos was able to reach me in Asgard, what chance would Midgard have? This was a needless risk, and you should have woken me."
"I—I'm sorry," Steve manages between a stutter, "I didn't want to wake you, since this might've be the only chance for you to get some rest—I guess maybe I shouldn't have—"
"Spend the remainder of your night watching me sleep." The conversation appears to have gone full-circle, as the god's lips twist wryly to a half-sneer.
Steve feels the flush creeping from ear-to-ear. "I didn't watch you sleep. I stayed just in case something did happen, and I did other stuff too, you know?" He picks up a random book off the pile for emphasis. "Read a little Kafka."
That was a lie, and Steve feels his face burn even more as he discreetly places the book over a small pile of loose papers. Truth is, he had done a few drawings during those hours of vacancy, and they were all of Loki asleep—quiet, and open, and incredibly young. It felt like a once in a lifetime opportunity, seeing the god like this, so Steve felt compelled to take the chance—although admitting it to the god would only make their predicament infinitely worse.
Loki's features appear to placate, and the soldier wonders if he had actually managed to fool the god. Or perhaps, Loki simply chooses to prod no further.
"Are you not tired, Captain?" The god eventually says, a hint of skepticism in his voice.
"A little," Steve responds in all honesty, "I can't stay up every night for two weeks like you do, but I don't need sleep like normal people do, either."
"It will not happen again," Loki frowns, frustration etched in the furrow of his brows. He made the promise once already and had failed to keep it, so perhaps he's expecting some form of reproach. Although whatever self-reproach Loki may feel can easily be converted to indignation towards the soldier, if Steve isn't careful with what he says next.
"Okay," the soldier nods, and Loki blinks back at him, almost surprised at the compliance of the response, "I don't doubt your abilities but—if you ever need a break, I want you to tell me beforehand. I don't mind looking after you if it helps in any way so—can you do that? It might not be the safest option, but it's better than the alternative."
Loki looks at him bemusedly, lips parting and pressing as if he's conflicted over what to say. Steve wonders if he had oversimplified their situation (considering he knows little to nothing of Thanos' abilities), and perhaps the god is withholding the urge to reprimand him.
"Thank you, Captain, but that is not necessary," Loki finally decides as he rises from the bed, face devoid of any readable expression. "I am well rested for the remainder of my stay. Now, excuse me."
Loki walks into the bathroom and closes the door behind him, which Steve will take as his queue to leave. He begins to regret making such a offer—along with the words he had chosen—but concludes that the worst impression he could have made, would be that of hopeful ignorance and stupidity, which is nothing new when it comes to Loki. Steve sighs and gathers his drawings and conceals them within the pages of Kafka, before stepping out to prepare breakfast as he always does.
###
Steve enters the lab with Loki to find Pepper among the scientists, smiling ever so brightly despite the early hour of the morning. Ever since Loki's fall to Earth, Tony has been devoting every minute to SHIELD, leaving Pepper to single-handedly keep Stark Industries running in the absence of their leader. Pepper has been traveling all over the country in lieu of the inventor, and Avengers Tower certainly missed her presence. While Jarvis did the best job any AI could manage give the circumstances, maintenance still lacked the elegant human touch only Pepper could provide. Steve is certainly glad to have her back, because Tony was beginning to look more and more ragged without his incredible girlfriend to firmly plant him. Maybe, Pepper can finally set some biological order to the routines of the scientists—or at least, force them to eat at proper times.
"Good morning, Steve. Loki," the hostess greets, open and radiant.
"Hey, Pepper," Steve returns a smile, "Glad to see you back."
Loki makes no hesitation in approaching the huddled group of scientists among the machines and wires. They work through their usual clashes and disputes, while Steve and Pepper observe musingly from a distance.
"So how has it been, really?" Pepper is the first to speak. "Living at the tower for the past week, or so."
"It's been great," Steve responds, perhaps too hastily, "—or at least, decent considering how crazy it has been. Thanks, again, for letting me live here after the whole—apartment thing."
"Oh, nonsense." Pepper waves a dismissive hand. "Those rooms are yours. You can come and leave whenever you wish, but what I meant to ask was—" She passes a fleeting glance towards the direction of the scientists, before lowering her voice to a comfortable whisper, "—how were the past few days without me? I told Tony to always have meals prepared for our guests, but I doubt he even fed himself appropriately."
"Oh, no, that's not necessary at all, for you or Tony to go through all that trouble" Steve fervently pledges, "We all get by just fine. You don't need to worry about us."
Pepper wrinkles her brows and smiles, and Steve swears this woman is too good for the world. "We're all going to have dinner at seven tonight, alright?"
"Honestly, it's your first day back. You don't have to do anything for us."
"Does Italian sound good?"
"Are you even listening to me?" Steve heaves a sigh, and Pepper responds with a laugh that reaches all the way to her eyes.
"Dinner at seven, and don't be late. Or it'll be a personal insult to the host."
"Oh, I don't know if I can. I have to look after Loki." Steve frowns, rubbing at the hair at the nape of his neck. He turns to the direction of the scientists and sees Tony speaking animatedly to the god, before bursting into laughter and slapping Loki on the back. Loki, however, god hardly seems to share his amusement.
"So bring him," Pepper says, and Steve falters slightly, never expecting acceptance to come this easily.
"Does he not like Italian?" she asks after receiving no coherent answer from the soldier, and Steve is quick to respond this time.
"No, Italian is actually—acceptable."
Pepper seems to smile with motherly patience, until the soldier concedes with a sigh. "Well, if it's okay with you guys, I guess I'll bring him."
###
"We completed the final touches on the prototype today," Tony says with a mouthful of lasagna, "You should see it. It's kind of cute. I might even keep one as a pet."
The final product of Tony's ingeniousness turns out much simpler for his taste, considering that the limitations of space travel left little room for extravagance. The finalized probe is a small replica of Loki, with a holographic projector inside its belly, so that the message can only be delivered once the machine is destroyed—like a piñata, almost. Tony had found his idea both brilliant and hilarious, while Loki was understandably unamused, but polite enough not to voice any of his disapproval.
"And I gave the blueprints to Jarvis to mass produce," the inventor continues, "I figured we'd want several tries, just in case we hit a bump in the portal."
"So when will you guys be ready?" Steve asks.
"Tomorrow."
Steve swallows his own meal with difficulty, and Pepper beside him, sympathetically pats him on the back. "Already?" he manages as the bolus finally descends his food tube.
"Things progressed a lot faster with Loki's help," Jane smiles politely, "And it's great, isn't it? We still have so much time to spare too—I always procrastinated so much in college, and it just feels amazing to be early for once."
"Yeah," Steve nods somewhat absently, "Yeah, that's great news."
Loki is seated beside him, picking listlessly at his food and not uttering a word. His expression is impassive—disinterested, almost—so Steve figures that he must have known of his earlier than planned departure (maybe that's why he didn't seem particularly worried about falling asleep again). He could have dropped Steve a hint, though, anytime during the day, so the news wouldn't have snuck up like a nasty surprise—but then again, maybe Steve is the only one who feels this way.
"This calls for a celebration," Tony remarks, raising his beer in a toast, "Tomorrow, we'll be the first humans to contact Asgard, and I think we should break out the good champagne."
Tony's proposal is met with less enthusiasm than he had anticipated, so naturally he decides to compensate for it himself. "Come on, guys, I'm throwing a party. Don't you know I throw the best parties?"
"Well—I kind of wanted to sleep tonight," Bruce says reluctantly, to which the inventor responds with a thunderous frown.
"Are you kidding me? What kind of a lame excuse is that? You'll have all day to sleep once we get reindeer games off the planet."
The doctor then shrugs, which only feeds the inventor's mania. Tony rises from his seat and saunters over until he is standing between Steve and Loki. "Come on, this might be Loki's last night here. We should at least do this for him."
"Well, as long as it's about Loki, and not in any way about you," Jane smiles into her cup, "I'm in."
Tony heaves a heavy sigh, but nonetheless, accepting the bargain to share his glory. "Since we're all overlooking what you did last summer—" He lofts a hand onto the god's shoulder, much to the Loki's chagrin, "Looks like you're invited, even if your chains are a bit of a drag."
The god doesn't respond, gingerly shrugging off the Tony's hand instead, although the inventor takes no offense.
Tony then turns to the soldier, with an almost haughty sneer. "I guess you're invited too, Cap, even if you're not actually part of Team Science."
"I'm guessing the name stuck, then." Steve rolls his eyes, mildly insulted, but then again, he's used to it by now.
"What about me?" Pepper offers a sympathetic smile, before teasing Tony on behalf of the soldier. "I'm not part of your team either."
"You get an automatic in to any party I throw. You should know that by now." Tony leans forward to plant a chaste kiss to his girlfriend's lips. If Clint were here, gagging noises would have ensued.
"Shouldn't Loki be part of Team Science at this point?" Jane quips, and Tony's eyes widen dastardly, before his face splits to a handsome grin.
"I believe you're right, Dr. Foster."
"I have no interest in your meaningless organization," Loki speaks for the first time, perhaps sensing the danger.
"Oh, don't be a buzz kill." The invertor says dismissively, "It'll be perfect when they turn Team Science into a movie. Think about it—the billionaire, the radioactive doctor, the professor, the twinkie—ow, fuck!—the astrophysicist, and the God of Mischief. It's great!"
"Like a dysfunctional family," Bruce shakes his head and laughs, "Who would want to watch a movie about you blowing things up, anyway?"
"Hey," Tony points an accusing finger, "That's not all I do."
"Just take it," Steve laughs, nudging Loki slightly with his elbow, "Or he'll never shut up."
Loki presses his lips thinly but refrains from making any more objections, to which the inventor gladly interprets as consent. After dinner, Tony reveals his extravagant assortment of alcohol and encourages all the guests to drink themselves silly. He then proceeds to blast music loud enough to burst eardrums.
Bruce and Jane seem to loosen up after their third drink, joining Tony and Pepper on the makeshift dance floor, in a tangle of incoordination and laughter. Dr. Selvig refrains from drinking anymore than a glass—his liver, he had explained, from drinking so much in his youth, but the life of a scientist warrants such behavior—and Steve can understand, considering the professor's many hardships before and after his involvement with SHIELD.
"This does nothing for me," Loki, seated beside the soldier, frowns at his glass.
"Me neither." Steve says, swirling the golden liquid in his hand. "I metabolize way too quickly for any of it to take effect, because of the serum."
"Then, perhaps Asgard ale will you good."
Steve laughs at that, shaking his head. The music is too loud, so Loki has to lean to him every time they speaks, and Steve likes it a lot—the way their arms are almost touching.
"Would I be so fortunate?" He asks half-jokingly, and the god merely shrugs.
"Considering you will be the first to contact Asgard, why not?"
Steve wonders if this is a subtle invitation, but Loki is hardly in any position to make such promises. He humors himself with the possibility that the god might even miss him, but with the war in Asgard inevitable and looming—he doubts Loki would hold him to any importance on his long list of priorities. Maybe once the war is over, the god would even pay an occasional friendly visit, but who knows how long that will take in the timespan of mortals? And that is, if everything works out for Loki in the end. God knows what will even happen to him once he leaves Earth?
"Alright, kids," Selvig announces as he dismounts from the stool by the kitchen island, "I think I'm calling it a night?"
"What?" Tony stills in his drunken swaying long enough to glare at the professor in disbelief, "We're not even done with the champagne."
"You just go on ahead, don't mind me." Selvig maneuvers his way past the dance floor, rubbing gingerly at his neck, "My liver and I need some well deserved rest."
"Oh, come on!" Tony cries out as the doors close behind the departing professor, "You're not even that old!"
"Let him be," Pepper smiles and kisses the inventor on his pouting lips, "He probably wants to sort out his sleep schedule, like any normal person."
"Well, his loss, because I was just about to propose a drinking game. We'll need to finish all of this, tonight."
"Are you insane?" Jane turns to the inventor, aghast, "You have practically a gallon of hard liquor left. We'll drink ourselves to death."
"No, we wont," Tony declares as he lowers the volume to the music, grabbing two bottles of scotch in the process. "Not with Cap and Loki, here."
"Maybe, we should sit this one out," Steve shares a look with the god, "It'll only be wasted on us."
"Oh, nonsense," Tony snorts dismissively, before filling Steve's glass with more golden liquid, "It's not like I can't afford it. Just humor us."
"This is pathetic and it tastes like water," Loki says as Tony pours into his glass as well, and the inventor makes a face, before advising the god to behave, or he's out of Team Science.
"Are we seriously going to play never-have-I-ever?" Jane groans, but nonetheless takes a seat in Tony's orchestrated circle.
"Yeah, what is this, high school?" Bruce chuckles, although the inventor doesn't fall for his provocation.
"What is this game?" Loki leans closer to Steve, whispering as if to hide his curiosity, but his efforts are soon thwarted by Tony's prying ears.
"I'm glad you asked," Tony declares as all eyes fall to the god, "It's easy, which is why I picked it, since we have a newbie, here. Basically someone says, never have I ever done something, and if you've done that thing, you have to drink."
"And what if I lie." Loki deadpans.
"Then you're douchebag, which everyone already knows, so it doesn't matter."
"It's not meant to be anything serious," Steve offers a small smile, "You don't have to drink to anything, if you're uncomfortable with it."
"Christ," Tony groans, "Quit babying him. And it's not like I'm out to get him through some dumb drinking game. Here, I'll go first just to prove my point. Never have I ever made out with Thor."
Jane huffs indignantly before bringing her glass to her lips. "I hate you so much."
"Hey, give me some credit for keeping it PG," Tony smirks, while Pepper slaps him lightly on the arm, telling him to play nice.
"Never have I ever—" Jane begins as she glances to everyone in the room, "Never have I ever made out with a woman."
"That's weak," Tony says as all the men take their obligatory swigs, and directs his attention to Steve, who is next in the circle. "You have to make all the women drink now, Cap. It's your obligation as a man, to do so."
Steve rolls his eyes but abides, not quite in the mood for petty name calling with the inventor tonight. They're all supposed to be celebrating, after all. "Never have I ever made out with a man."
Jane and Pepper toast each other before taking a drink, but no one misses—out of the corner of their eyes—Loki taking a small sip from his glass as well. Steve feels his heart hammer and his stomach drop at the same time.
"Woah, there. Woah." Tony looks around fervently to make sure the others have realized as well. "I think we just witnessed something very important."
"The lives of gods span thousands of your Midgardian years, and experimentation is the most dependable cure to boredom," Loki remarks with airy aloofness, "Is that a problem, Mr. Stark?"
"Not at all." Tony takes a swig even though it's no one's turn. "Of all the problems I have with you, that's not one of them."
Loki is next in the circle, grimacing as he attempts to keep the pattern going. "Never have I ever made out with—" his eyes flicker briefly with mischief "—Miss Potts."
And in that moment, the entire room bursts into laughter, probably at the sheer strangeness of Loki participating in a stupid drinking game, and trying to pick on Tony, to boot. The god appears to withdraw slightly at the others' reaction, unsure if it's a good sign or bad.
"Please, call me Pepper," the redhead smiles brilliantly, before Steve has a chance to voice his own encouragements.
"Well, that's good to know," Tony nods as he tips his glass to the god, "And I better not see anyone else drink to that."
Moving on, all eyes fall to Bruce as the doctor takes a brief moment to consider his options. "Never have I ever made out with two Swedish interns during the Loebner Prize ceremony."
"Hey! I told you that story in confidence!" Tony objects before turning to Pepper guiltily, "Of course, that was before us—and—"
Pepper smiles and nods sympathetically as the inventor trails off to take his drink. She then leans closer into the circle, preparing for her turn. "Never have I ever made out with Christine from Vanity Fair Magazine."
"God fucking damnit!" Tony bemoans before finishing all the liquid in his glass. "This is definitely not what I had in mind."
The night ends with the inventor a drunken heap on the floor, while everyone else seems a little woozy and way too happy—with the exception of Steve and Loki, of course, models of sobriety.
"Here, I got him," Steve says to Pepper has he swings Tony's arm over his shoulder, helping him to his feet.
"I love you, man," Tony slurs wetly against the soldier's ear, earning a grimace, "Don't move back to your apartment."
"Alright, Tony, I won't," Steve sighs, more of a consolation than an actual promise.
"And don't think I'll forget in the morning, either," the inventor manages before passing out completely head lolling on Steve's shoulder.
After delivering the inventor safely to his room, Steve exits the main doors to find Loki waiting for him by the elevators. The sight tugs at his heart, knowing that this might very well be the god's last night on Earth.
"You really are something," Steve says without really thinking, "It's like you have this strange ability to bring people together, even if you're not trying."
"I am aware," Loki responds with a touch of indignity, "I am the reason for the Avengers initiative, for the heroes to unite."
"No, not just that, though. Tony and Jane stopped fighting after you moved into the tower and—well, if it weren't for you, I'd still be living in that apartment downtown."
"Why were you living alone at that time?" Loki turns to him, expression otherwise impassive save for a faint glint of curiosity in those dark, green eyes. Steve knows he will grow to miss them.
"Oh, I don't know." The soldier shrugs. "I just wanted to, I guess. I really liked that skylight."
"Then, I apologize for your skylight," the god responds flatly, and as always, Steve is quick to compensate for his poor word choices.
"That's not what I meant, and—Well, it's not like it was your fault to begin with." He pauses briefly to reconsider the remainder of speech, before deciding to hell with it. If this is Loki's last night on Earth, he might as well make the most of it. "Hey, are you tired right now? I mean—are you in a hurry to go back to your room or—"
"No," came the curt reply, and Steve feels his heart race as the rest of his words roll off his tongue.
"Well, come to the roof with me."
"The roof." The god sounds skeptical, probably because he was never allowed outside before, and Steve wonders if he is taking another needless risk. But then again, if Loki truly had the ability to leave, he would have done so already, so a trip to the roof shouldn't put them in any worse of a predicament.
"Yeah, I want to show you something," the soldier hums as he presses the highest button on the elevator, "Why I liked my old apartment so much. If you don't mind, that is."
Thanks for reading! Feedback is motivation and love (although, heads up, there's only going to be 3 chapters left, but there's a surprise uhuhu)