And so it begins, my attempt at making Captain America question his sexuality. From this point on there will be one-sided Jormungand/Steve flirting, mutual flirting, and eventual sexytimes, but it's gonna take a while for Steve to accept the fact that he might not be as straight as he thought.
Anyways, on with the show!
Steve was an early riser—he always had been, and he probably always will be. His morning routine consisted of the following: get up an hour before sunrise, go for a quick jog, then come back and shower before watching the sunrise with a fresh cup of coffee.
Natasha and Bruce were early risers, too, but they were usually still asleep when Steve got back from his jog. Everyone was usually still asleep by the time he got his coffee, so it was a surprise to see Loki's son Jormungand standing at the kitchen counter wearing slacks and a green sweater, cursing at the coffee maker.
"—Stupid son of a bilgesnipe, why won't you work!?" Jormungand cursed, bending over to look at the back of the machine. "By the norns, this shouldn't be that complicated!"
"I'm pretty sure Jarvis could start it up if you asked him to," Steve said, leaning against the kitchen doorframe with his arms crossed. Jormungand unsettled him, sure, but it was nice to know he wasn't the only one who still struggled with basic technology.
Jormungand had jumped and whipped around so fast he almost lost his balance. "Ah, Captain. Well, yes, I realize I could ask the household AI to prepare it, but . . . ." he trailed off, looking slightly embarrassed. "Well, after watching my sister do it so many times, I though I could do it." He ducked his head, a small blush staining his face. "I may have miscalculated this task's difficulty, however, as I seem to have forgotten which buttons to press."
Steve hesitated, then decided to take pity Jormungand. "Here, I'll show you how to work it." He stepped up to the counter. "Did you fill the reservoir in the back with water?"
Jormungand nodded. "Yes, and I also put the coffee powder into the filter. My only problem is getting the damn thing to work," he grumbled.
Steve smiled and pointed to the front of the machine before pressing a button that was slightly larger than the others. "All you have to do is hit 'start,' nothing to it."
Jormungand's face went even redder. "Ah. I hadn't realized it was so . . . . simple. You must think me a fool," he muttered quietly.
Steve's eyebrows rose. "Hey, you're talking to the guy who had to make a jump from the 40's to 2013; it's been an adjustment, to say the least, and I've had my share of feeling like a dummy."
Jormungand snorted. "Try living in Midgard's oceans for a couple of centuries."
Steve held up his hands. "I spent enough time in water, thank you very much. Granted, it was frozen water, but it still counts."
Steve had never really bothered speaking to either of Loki's son, so it felt a little surreal for him to be standing in the kitchen with one of them comparing how out of the loop they were technologically.
Jormungand had let out a small chuckle at Steve's attempt at humor and Steve seemed to noticed something about the other man he'd never bothered to notice before. "You know, not that many people are taller than me," he commented off-handedly. "You're even taller than your dad."
Jormungand seemed to shuffle his feet. "This is not my true form—I can change it, if you'd like; make myself a bit smaller, if the height difference bothers you. I know it bothers others."
Steve shook his head. "It's fine, just something I noticed." The coffee pot dinged and Steve moved to get out two mugs. He drank his coffee with a little milk and sugar, and he almost choked on his drink when he saw how much sugar and CoffeeMate creamer Jormungand poured into his own mug. "Jeez," Steve muttered.
"I have a bit of a sweet tooth," the taller man confessed sheepishly.
"Yeah, I can see that."
"You know, I don't recall you ever being quite this chatty," Jormungand commented while stirring his coffee.
Steve shrugged. "Never really had anything to say; at least, not to you."
Jormungand saluted Steve with his mug. "Well, then, here's to bonding over confusing technology and caffeinated beverages. Cheers."
When Steve finally moved to the balcony to watch the sunrise, he was surprised to see that he'd missed it. Looking back inside to where Jormungand sat curled on the sofa with a book in one hand and his coffee mug in the other, Steve smiled slightly. He didn't really mind the breach in his routine. Sunrises were a daily occurrence, after all, but something new had happened that morning.
Steve sipped his coffee and sat back in his chair, still smiling.
Steve was still wary of Loki and his children, but after that morning spent showing Jormungand how to work the coffee maker, things were less tense. Steve was coming to realize that Loki was not evil incarnate, and neither were his kids. Jormungand and Fenrir fought and bickered, sure, but that was normal for brothers, and after some coaxing from Erika and a few new fashion choices, they were at least starting to blend in.
Steve was starting to feel guilty about how coldly he'd been treating Erika and her brothers—the boys weren't really too bad, and Erika was a sweet kid. That's why he didn't put up much of a fuss whe she insisted Jormungand and Fenrir attend a charity gala with all of them, and it was also why he let her dress him up in a tux for said gala instead of his dress uniform.
"Relax, Cap, you look fine," Erika said to him for the thousandth time since they arrived at the gala. "Stop worrying what others think of you and just enjoy the moment."
Easy for her to say—she looked every inch the stunning Stark heiress the media expected her to be, wrapped up in a backless gold dress with her hair in ringlets. "Besides, you clean up pretty nice," she added with a wink.
"I just wish Thor hadn't left for Asgard business; if he were here, maybe I wouldn't be the only one feeling out of place," said Steve. "Tony says Loki's been to these kinds of parties before, so he doesn't count." Only after he said this did he realize what—or who—was missing. "I thought your brothers were coming," he said, picking up a passing champagne flute.
Erika smirked. "If I'm not mistaken, I believe they just walked in." She gestured through the throngs of people to the door.
It was like the day she brought them home in regular clothes—Steve hardly recognized either one of them.
Both brothers were wearing black tuxedos with white shirts; the only difference between their suits was that Fenrir's suit vest was silver, while Jormungand's was gold. The taller brother still had his hair up in his signature high ponytail while Fenrir's hair had been gelled and slicked back.
Erika waved them over and as they approached, Steve saw something glint in the light; Jormungand was still wearing his gold snake hoop earring.
"Well, look at what the cat dragged in," said Erika as the brothers stopped in front of her and Steve. "Took you long enough, you guys should have been here ages ago."
"He didn't want to leave the car," said Jormungand, gesturing towards Fenrir.
"We look ridiculous," Fenrir snarled quietly, the savage look on his face looking odd with his tidy appearance. "There's a reason Midgardians call these 'monkey suits.'"
"Jesus, stop complaining, you look fine!" Erika sighed. "Honestly, you're as bad as Steve." She turned towards Jormungand. "Please tell me you're aware of how good you look in a tux," she asked. "Honestly, it's a shame we're related."
Jormungand smirked and shifted his weight, cocking his hips slightly. "I believe the phrase is 'I'm sexy and I know it,'" he said proudly, which caused Erika to laugh.
"I think you just wasted a perfectly good reference on Cap," she giggled.
Steve shook his head. "Actually, I understood that reference," he said proudly. "Clint's been drilling me on modern music."
"Well, good for Katniss," said Erika, plucking a champagne flute off a passing waiter's tray. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go see if I can talk our resident rage monster into a quick dance." She wandered off through the crowd, leaving Steve, Jormungand and Fenrir to fend for themselves. Fenrir's attention was grabbed by two women passing by and he went chasing after them.
"I swear to the gods, that mongrel has no taste," Jormungand sniffed. "There's absolutely nothing appealing about walking skeletons." Steve almost missed the way Jormungand glanced at him briefly. "I prefer my men and women with a little more meat on them."
Steve almost dropped his drink. "Men?" he choked.
"And women," Jormungand added. "I'm flexible," he said with a coy smile. "metaphorically and literally speaking." His smile widened into a grin as Steve's face reddened. "Why, dear Captain, I do hope I haven't offended you." The look on his face made it clear he didn't really care if Steve was offended.
"No, not offended, just . . . . surprised, is all," Steve managed to say. "I gotta say—I never would have guessed."
Jormungand shrugged, his sharp grin softening. "I don't advertise," was all he said, aiming to wander off. Before he was out of earshot, however, he turned back around and gave Steve a look that briefly made him question his sexuality. "That is, of course, unless you're interested." He winked, and then sauntered off.
Steve desperately wished he could still get drunk.
A/N: Let the games begin!