I finally finished another, albeit short, chapter. I will try to get the next on it's way soon. Thank you to everyone that commented and helped spur me on. It is always appreciated. Please enjoy.
I brushed past Loki in the living room and moved quickly through to the guest room had I claimed for my own. I was frustrated and confused. Nothing felt right. I trusted Steve with my life and I was truly grateful for his help, but I felt like I was betraying him with my convoluted and vaguely familial feelings for Loki. In a fit of violence, I yanked the blankets from the bed. I stood with the corners clutched in my fist, and the quilt crumpled on the floor. I was frightened by the tumultuous feelings churning in my gut. Then,like the child I was, I wrapped myself in the blankets and sat on the floor as if the fabric was a shell and if I never moved, the world could no longer affect me.
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Loki listened to the exchange between the captain and Elizabeth from his perch on the couch. He understood that the captain thought much more highly of dirt than of Loki, but he found himself mildly surprised by the strength of the man's devotion to the girl he had met on the opposite side of a containment cell. Elizabeth, on the other hand, sounded confused by the sincerity and even a little bit distressed. Loki felt her aura graze his consciousness as she passed him. The energy surrounding her was tumultuous, unable to settle on one feeling and form.
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Stark shrugged dismissively. "Look, Nick, I don't keep tabs on everyone I meet. I only came here to ask about the use of my resources. I want to know what the money that I am being so generous with, is being used for. By my calculations, there is a small fortune that is disappearing into thin air. What kind of air am I funding and why?" Tony crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows at the man across the table. Fury drummed his fingers lightly on the polished aluminum. "Full details of operations are disclosed in my reports. If you want to reevaluate the data, I'm sure you will find that you have miscalculated. I will also remind you that, when you addressed such generous support for S.H.I.E.L.D. operations, you did not make specifications for its use. Now, as I had originally asked, can you contact Mr. Rogers?" Tony pulled out his phone and typed intensely for a moment. He stopped and placed the phone on the table. "No." He said, pushing the device across the metal surface. "But I can show you where he is." The director picked up the phone, clenched his jaw, then set the device back down. Without acknowledging Stark, he stood and left the room. Grinning, Tony grabbed the phone, still displaying the photograph of Fred Rogers' headstone. "I could probably get you his sweater for Christmas" Tony yelled down the hall at Fury's receding figure. Tony laughed to himself. I might be the best diversion ever. He knew that Fury would get his revenge eventually, but Tony decided that it was totally worth any retaliatory consequences.
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I can absolutely be a blonde! I thought as I inspected my new hair in the mirror. Steve hovered proudly behind me. "It suits you." I nodded but immediately regretted it. My head hurt from the smell of the chemicals. I waved him away and moved to the kitchen. Loki was standing in the corner by the sink. He raised his eyebrows slightly, carefully appraising my new, yellow locks. I smiled and did a little spin. Steve had to grab my elbow and hold me up when I stopped. I felt lightheaded. Waving Steve off, I stumbled over to the cabinets to retrieve a glass. After filling it with water, I headed to the living room to claim a couch to lie on.
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Darcy was actually having a great time with her imprisonment. She hadn't been able to really relax in much too long. Now that she was technically jobless, free of any social commitments, and completely provided for, she had all the time in the world. After Fury's initial questioning, and subsequently being declared useless, Darcy was confined to a cell. Normally she would have been unhappy with the situation, but she was given any entertainment she wanted and the friends she had on the base visited regularly. The inseparable James and Angela were her favorite companions. They brought her news, gossip, pictures of her cat at home, and the occasional junk food. For Darcy Lewis, life was pretty good.