Hey! I am so sorry for the long wait! Now that it's summer, I'm hoping I can update more regularly. Thank you so much for the support! I love writing this story and Charlotte feels like a friend of mine. Thanks for giving me an excuse to write more of her. Enjoy!
There had never been a moment in my life where I honestly thought, Hey, maybe I should kill myself, but that had changed in under a second. How quickly could I reach the balcony and throw myself over the side? Maybe I could stab myself with a meat cleaver.
Unconsciously, I pinched my left arm. Okay, so I wasn't dreaming. Haha, of fucking course not.
Sick, I was going to be sick.
I locked my eyes on Tony's, my jaw hanging slack, and he quickly took up for me. "Well, show's over," he said. "Let's take our new best friend to where he'll be staying… at least until we lock him up." I kept my arms by my sides but my hands flailed out, fingers curling and uncurling.
"Oh, my God," I whispered. "This is not real." I finally raised my eyes from the ground and saw Loki. I moved my hands to start stroking my hair but I only ended up pulling at it. My face felt hot, feverish. I was breaking out in a sweat. Steve had moved at least five yards away from me and I wondered if he thought I was going to hurl. It was a possibility, a pretty huge possibility.
I glanced back into the living room and I felt frozen. I couldn't read anything on Loki's face, no real emotion. He was blank. He wouldn't be that way for long. I moved my hand to my throat because I felt bile rising up. I realized I was embarrassed… and scared. What the hell was I doing? I was being an idiot, that's what I was doing.
"I, uh, maybe I should leave," said Steve.
"Me too," I said.
"Charlotte, you live here," Clint replied.
"Oh yeah, yeah, you're right." What was I supposed to do? Where was I supposed to go from here? I clapped my hand over my mouth, still in shock.
"This night has already turned out to be the most entertaining night of my year," said Darcy. I practically heaved.
I moved to lean on my good ankle and I realized Steve still had yet to leave. He wasn't going to leave me alone to deal with this, at least, not yet. Still, I didn't want to put him through it more than was necessary. Steve must still be wary of Loki to act in the way he did. He didn't know what had happened in Asgard. Hell, what had actually happened in Asgard? I didn't need to feel guilty about anything and I hadn't felt guilty this entire time. Maybe that was a problem within me but I just didn't feel guilty. I felt embarrassed.
"Since everyone has witnessed the most awkward moment of my life, I say we pick this up tomorrow after I've slept for 12 hours," I said.
"I do not think so." Loki's voice sent a chill down my spine and my hands gripped at my striped tanktop.
"Okay, you wanna talk, let's talk," I said, gesturing with my arm to the hallway with my bedroom down it.
I heard Thor laugh and when I looked he was clapping Tony on the back, making him jolt forward. What the hell kind of joke had Tony told? I narrowed my eyes and Clint started a conversation with Jane and Darcy. Okay, the awkwardness wasn't as bad. Thor started saying something to Tony so I gave Steve a look. He nodded and walked over to stand with Clint and Darcy, who was looking at Steve like she wanted to eat him with a spoon. I started fuming.
Loki arrived in front of me before I could say anything. His lips looked taut which only made his high cheekbones stick out. He was wearing weird, casual clothing and I gave him a once over. He looked okay.
"Don't try anything… No magic, no tricks," I said slowly. He nodded, almost rolling his eyes. I looked around him one last time and I saw Steve nod at me again. He was looking out for me.
I led Loki into my bedroom and I shut the door behind him. When I turned back to Loki, he pushed me against the door and I pushed back. "You can't do this," I whispered to him. But I was caught and he had put his hands against my face with his green eyes sparkling like jewels and I stopped resisting.
"You have been hurt," he said back. His voice was so clear and I clenched my teeth. "Who did it?"
"I'm not at liberty to give out that information but I can tell you that I won. Now if you'll please stay at least five feet away from me." He backed off. I hadn't expected him to and in a way, it almost disappointed me that he had. Selfish, stupid, ridiculous. "Are you okay?" I asked. "How were the, uh, elves?" Loki mustered a sarcastic smile at that. "I take it the brother bonding time wasn't that great?" He smirked. "You not feeling like answering me when you're the one that wanted to talk?" I moved away from the door slowly as I watched Loki trace his hands along the cover on my bed. My hands started shaking.
"You know what I wanted to talk about." My heart sunk.
"I know," I said.
"Why?" Loki's voice seemed to shudder.
"Did I really hurt your feelings or are you faking to make me feel bad for you?" I heard a low whistle outside of my room and I turned to look at the door. Shadows moved back and forth in the light in the crack under the door and I groaned. Tony and Clint were probably eavesdropping.
"You should feel bad for me because I am in this predicament because of you and my brother and I should think you owe me an explanation." I scoffed as Loki sat back on my bed, settling in my favorite spot. It better not smell like him.
"First of all, would you have preferred the poison-falling-on-your-head-forever scenario? Second of all, I don't owe you a damn thing, least of all about this." He raised one of his eyebrows.
"Why did you want me to be here if you were just going to turn on me like that?" His hair was brushing against my favorite pillow and I think he knew it was getting under my skin.
"I didn't ask for this," I said. "I definitely don't think this is 'turning on you.'" This time Loki scoffed. "It's not because I didn't make you any promises in Asgard."
"You may as well have because as I recall, you did not resist-"
"No, okay, I didn't because I am a weak, weak woman." He laughed.
"What a lie. You would only do something because you wanted it." Loki turned on the bed to prop himself up, that Asgardian shirt rising up his torso unwillingly, and I quickly averted my eyes.
"Don't go there," I said. "I've worked hard for this and you are not going to ruin it for me."
"Huh," he responded. "I think I might."
"You wouldn't dare," I said. Steve might be strong enough to withstand whatever Loki would do but I wasn't and he knew it. "I didn't have time to wait for you."
"You knew we would be coming," he responded, now dark, rising off my bed.
"Again, I didn't make you any promises. Even if Steve wasn't a player in this game, you should have realized I can't do anything with you while you're on punishment here. You're a prisoner and you almost obliterated this planet."
"But still, it was only a matter of time."
"I don't have as much time as you do," I responded. "You'll live for thousands of years. I've only got right now. I mean, I could be killed next week. I had to take the opportunity and if you didn't spend so much time hating Steve, you might see why." He narrowed his eyes at me.
"I meant what I told you." I pressed my eyes closed and opened them again fast. He was going to sabotage me and he was well aware that I would crumble under that pressure.
"Why can't you let me be happy?" I asked lowly. He seemed to question that. "I would want you to be happy if our positions were switched." Loki smirked at me.
"You know that is not true. You displayed jealousy when you saw Jane's little friend even look at your dear Captain America." I felt my eyes widen and my cheeks flush.
"That's different."
"Of course," he responded. Loki moved towards me and I took a step back. He put his hands to my hips before I could protest and moved my shirt off of my stomach. I stared at him in disbelief as he ran his fingers across the bruises on my belly and then across the mark on my chest. I closed my eyes and tilted my head back when I felt pain alleviate. "Are you sure I am not the one you want?" Loki said into my ear and I shook away from him. He only smiled. "This one I will leave," he said, brushing the back of his hand against the bruise on my face, "only because it would be obvious. But tell me if anyone touches you like that again. I will ensure they do not anymore." I smiled back. Sometimes it was nice to be a little overprotected.
"Will do," I responded. "You take care of yourself while you're here and I'll do what I can for you." He nodded.
"Of course, Charlotte."
I threw open the door to my bedroom and saw Tony and Clint scoot across the hallway, pretending to be doing something other than eavesdropping. I cut my eyes at them and pretended to be angry. I had figured the minute I closed the door that someone would be pressing a glass to it and who better than Tony and Clint?
I saw Clint and Loki look at each other like they were sizing one another up. I only led the three of them back into the living room. I saw that Bruce had come down from the labs and evidently, Loki did too. I stopped walking and he practically ran me over. I threw out my arm to prevent myself from falling but I wouldn't have. Loki balled his hand into the fabric of my shirt, almost pulling me back. I turned to give him a weird look but then I realized that Loki was actually terrified of Bruce. He looked paler than he had a few minutes before and his eyes were locked on him.
I was tempted to explain that Bruce wouldn't hurt a fly but likely, everyone else had predicted this reaction and they wanted it that way.
"Ah, I see you've noticed that your new prison guard is here," said Tony with a laugh. I was totally right. They wanted to put the fear of God into Loki. And clearly, they had.
"If you rip this shirt, you're buying me another," I muttered. I'm not even sure Loki heard me.
"Chop chop!" said Tony. "We need a group meeting sans you! Bruce, take him to where he'll be staying and make sure he stays in line." I reached behind me and tried to push Loki back. It was the only thing I could think of doing, other than telling him to man up. But Loki really knew nothing about the Hulk. I'd never told him anything about it. Surely, his only encounter with the Hulk had been the one where he'd been pounded into the ground and I can see why he'd be skeptical to hang with Bruce. My thing was, how could he not tell the difference between the two?
Loki wasn't about to budge and I felt his hand against my back. Bruce only looked at me like I was the one who needed to do something. Steve looked like he hadn't yet figured out the situation; why was Loki so weirded out by Bruce? That's a thought that Steve should've had figured out. Darcy looked like she wished she had a bowl of popcorn and Jane and Thor only looked like they felt sorry for Loki.
"Hey," I said, turning to face Loki. His hand was still in my shirt and I yanked away from him to put my hands on his arms. "It's not gonna be for long. Thor will be down there in a minute," I whispered. "Pull yourself together."
Loki looked down at me and narrowed his green eyes, like I was pulling his fear out of thin air. But ultimately, he nodded and moved to follow Bruce. I sucked in my breath when the door closed behind them both.
"So what the hell was that about?" asked Darcy.
"All due respect, you're not an agent so…" said Tony.
"Neither are you," said Steve. Clint only laughed. Natasha arrived on the heels of Bruce leaving with Loki.
"So what'd I miss?" she asked, throwing open the apartment door like it was rigged with explosives.
"The most embarrassing moment of Charlotte's life," said Clint. I fake laughed.
"Obviously you don't know me very well if you think that was the most embarrassing moment of my life," I said. "Although it does make the top ten." Accidentally seeing your ex when you're with your new boyfriend could never not be awkward as far as I was concerned. "Nonetheless, sorry." I felt the need to apologize for somehow everything with Loki revolving around me but hey, if the shoe fits.
"Whatever, man, it was entertaining," said Darcy.
"Darcy!" scolded Jane. Darcy rolled her eyes in response.
"You were thinking the same thing!"
"Okay, so what's the deal with Loki?" asked Clint.
"Yeah," I said. "Powers or no powers?" I asked, pretending Loki hadn't just healed my midsection. "Where's he staying? Did anyone tell S.H.I.E.L.D. what was up? Please, God, let no one have called Bucky."
"My brother has retained some magical ability," said Thor, finally speaking, "but he is in no state to travel between realms or have contact with anyone not on this planet."
"Well, that's better news than I was expecting," said Steve.
"But what can he do with the powers he's still got?" asked Jane. Thor made a face, like he was trying to remember all the pranks Loki had pulled over the years.
"I take it he doesn't need magic to be an asshole," said Clint.
"Bingo," I replied.
"I told S.H.I.E.L.D. when I got Clint's message," said Natasha. Thankfully one thing was out of the way.
"Cool, so where's he staying?" I asked. Silence filled the air. I raised my eyebrows.
"He can't stay in S.H.I.E.L.D. all the time, can he?" asked Steve. Leave it to Steve to play Good Samaritan with an Asgardian god that wanted to kill him.
"In fact, he won't be staying there much at all," said Tony.
"Wait, what the hell are you saying?" I asked. Darcy tried to hold in a laugh and Jane looked positively worried that I might have a heart attack. Thor only looked confused.
"You see," began Tony, "we've already talked to S.H.I.E.L.D. and the thing is, the way they see it, Loki being here is all you and Thor's fault so they see no reason for him to stay at headquarters. He'll be staying here."
"You've gotta be fucking kidding me!" I exclaimed. Sometimes it felt like every decision S.H.I.E.L.D. made was one that they'd designed to give me an even harder time than usual.
"Yeah, you and Thor are gonna basically be babysitters," said Clint. I knew he was saying it to rile me up and not really because hey, it's somewhat true, but I almost snapped
"Charlotte," warned Steve. I nodded at him. I needed to calm down.
"You actually agreed to having Loki stay in your building?" I asked Tony. I thought it would be a cold day in hell before something like would happen. But he only made a face in response.
"Seeing as I'm not the one who will be taking care of him, thank God, I'm okay with it. I mean, let's be honest, Loki is at least 30% hair and 70% daddy issues," said Tony. I couldn't argue with that logic.
"This is just not gonna fly," I said. "I don't want Thor to be stuck inside all day and I still have a lot of training to do with Bucky." I would be more than happy to slag off there but I had committed to him, like it or not.
"I don't think anyone will be happy about him coming to HQ," began Natasha, "but I don't see a way to avoid it." I was glad to see that she was slightly on my side. I could never really tell where Natasha stood on a multitude of issues.
"They're just going to have to deal with it," said Steve. "It's what we've been getting ready for this entire time. S.H.I.E.L.D. is at least marginally prepared." Of course, he was right.
"I mean, I've got no qualms with looking out for Loki while we're there but I can't be in two places at once and I don't want Thor to suffer for this," I said. It occurred to me that Thor hadn't chimed in on how he was feeling about this new card the two of us had been dealt. I looked at him and raised my eyebrows.
"I will do whatever is asked of me," said Thor. "Make no mistake, even though Loki is weakened, he can certainly still do some damage."
The conversation meandered on for a little while longer until everyone finally got the hint that I was so tired, I was falling asleep on my feet. Jane apologized to me about everything, like the situation was anything but my fault. Darcy only made to high five me and I had to admit, that got her a laugh. Natasha gave a quick goodbye when Clint was ready to leave, leaving Steve, Tony, Thor, and I left. Thor hugged me and told me that the two of us would get through it together and I didn't doubt that he meant it. He went down to where Loki was staying. Tony made to go to his bedroom but I wasn't naïve enough to believe he wouldn't be eavesdropping on me some more.
"Are you going to be okay?" Steve's voice shook me from my thoughts. I only nodded.
"Yeah, I don't think it'll be a big deal, honestly," I said, although I had no way of knowing what was going to happen.
"What did Loki say to you?" Steve made it seem like he was asking out of simple curiosity but I could swear, he was trying not to bite his lip, which could only be a sign of jealousy. While I might have lied before, I didn't think I could now.
"Well, he seemed to think that his being here was orchestrated so that he could be close to me," I said. Steve breathed out harshly. "I think… I know that that was Thor's original intention for sending him here. He wanted Loki around people he knew and he trusted. I don't exactly blame him there." It was the first time I'd said that information to anyone and Steve seemed to catch that.
"What did you tell him?"
"I told him that I'd made my choice." Maybe I hadn't said it in so many words but it had been heavily implied and Loki knew that I didn't mince words. "Are you worried?"
"Should I be?" I gulped and I felt clammy. I shrugged.
"I don't wanna lie to you so I can't make you any promises." He nodded and turned away from me for a moment. My stomach turned in knots and I wasn't sure that I had ever felt this bad before. I didn't want Steve to be unhappy and I also didn't want to lie, even though maybe I hadn't been totally truthful with him to begin with. I thought I might start crying. "I'm trying, I'm really trying hard."
"I know," he responded, turning back to me. I sucked in my breath. "You can't turn off your feelings." I nodded.
"It won't get in my way but still…"
"You loved him." I nodded again. Steve only nodded down at me and made to leave. Was he angry with me? Or was I just angry with myself?
"I think I might love you too," I choked out. Steve turned back to me then, looking like he didn't quite catch what I'd said. I nodded. I was sure of it, totally sure, and I'd thought it for a while. Maybe it wasn't the opportune moment to say it but I needed him, whether he needed me or not. I couldn't live with something not being said, especially at a time like this.
His face seemed hard to read but when he almost cracked a smile at me, I felt relieved. "I might love you too," he responded. I nodded and rubbed my neck anxiously, trying not to reveal how unapologetically happy I was.
"I'm glad to hear it," I said.
"You're going to get through this, Charlotte," said Steve. "It'll be hard but you will get through it. I have faith in you."
"Glad to hear that too," I replied. "I'm going to get through this," I repeated.
"Yes, you are." Steve still looked intense, maybe a little hurt, maybe a little relieved. Still he walked forward and kissed me on the cheek before leaving, which made me think that maybe things still weren't quite right and he just wasn't saying anything. Of course, how could things be right? There was nothing okay about this situation. Like an idiot, I had chosen to ignore the fact that Loki would be coming back to Earth and like an idiot, I'd gone out of my way to avoid talking about it with Steve. That wasn't the right thing to do. Maybe if we had talked to each other and already had this depressing conversation, I would feel more secure. Maybe I wouldn't be so angry with myself.
I'd said it to Loki and it was true; I was a weak, weak woman.
I locked the door behind Steve and vaguely contemplated getting drunk before falling into my bed. That wouldn't be the responsible thing to do, would it? Still, it would drain my mind. I talked myself out of it slowly before shutting myself up in my room and getting ready for bed.
I didn't have a clue what to do. I could give myself one point for finally being vaguely honest with Steve but I needed to take three away because I might have hurt him. Steve didn't show hurt the way I or Loki did. Hell, he didn't show most emotions the way I or Loki did. Steve was largely in control of the way he thought and the way he did things. I guess that was required when you were in charge of a group of superheroes. Still, I'd come away from the night still largely on top. But I knew that things weren't going to be the same inside Steve and I's relationship. There was just no logical way for this night not to have taken a toll on us.
I put my hands to my face before pulling away just as fast when I hit my bruise. I would deal with everything tomorrow. My original plan had been to go to bed as soon as I entered the apartment and I think I owed it to myself to follow through with that.
I slid into my favorite spot, babying my weak ankle. That's when it hit me; the smell, the chill that normally wasn't there. I wanted to jolt out of my bed and go sleep on the couch. My brain was telling me that that was what I should do. A good person would crawl out of their fantastic bed and sleep on their couch. Unfortunately, I wasn't that good a person.
I turned and buried my face into my pillow, soaking up the cold and the smell that Loki had left behind. I rolled over and hid my whole body under the covers, trying to enjoy it before it faded. If Loki wanted to drive a wedge into my relationship, it was already beginning to work.
When I woke up, I moved in a daze to get dressed in some patterned office pants and a white shirt that you could see my bra through but I simply didn't care. Unfortunately for my ankle, I put on heels. Today I was going to be doing desk work and there was going to be a meeting. I was always given time to recover from my last fight before I got back into training. Although I might have benefited from shooting something.
Tony was up when I walked into the kitchen and he gave me a sympathetic look. "How was it?" he asked.
"Are you claiming you didn't eavesdrop?" I asked, my voice still tired. Regardless of what had happened the night before, I'd slept the best I had in a while.
"For once, I didn't." I believed him so I nodded.
"I might be getting dumped here soon so go on and get ready for us to hit singles clubs together." Tony laughed.
"I am not that desperate."
"Yeah, me neither."
"You gonna be okay?" I nodded.
"Yep. I am gonna be fine. I am a regular Sally Sunshine." Tony laughed again.
"Repeat it like a mantra."
"Should I drive Thor and Loki to HQ?" Tony nodded, his good mood gone. "I figured as much. I'll see you soon at the meeting we're bound to have." He briefly told me where Thor and Loki were staying.
I walked out of the apartment without much of a goodbye and luckily, I think Tony understood that I didn't want to hear one. I leaned against the wall of the elevator as it went down a floor. I babied my ankle on the walk to their room and I knocked on the door. I heard noises from behind the door and I winced. I hoped they hadn't torn apart the room.
I heard several locks unbolt and suddenly the door was thrown open. Bruce was on the other side, looking very tired, but he mustered a smile. "You're off duty, buddy," I said. "Now it's my shift."
"Do I look as tired as I feel?" Bruce responded.
"Tell me how that's different than any other day." He half-laughed. I looked beyond him to see that Bruce had somehow gotten the two Asgardians ready for their day at S.H.I.E.L.D. I was impressed. Thor was wearing normal clothes that looked appropriate for work, surprisingly enough, and Loki was wearing a Henley and had somehow managed to tame his hair. His clothes looked a little big on him. I wish I could have said he looked terrible but as it was, he didn't. I hate myself. "Ya'll ready to hit corporate?" Thor nodded and Loki didn't look thrilled. Good.
I gestured with my hand out the door and I nodded at Bruce before taking them to the elevator. "Did either of you get any sleep last night?" I asked as we got on. I figured making small talk might help me and it would've been rude to only address Thor.
"Did you?" asked Loki. I snapped my head back to look at him.
"No, Charlotte, neither of us slept," said Thor, stepping between the two of us. He was right to make sure I couldn't wrap my hands around that Frost Giant's neck. Oh, who was I kidding? Why was Loki to blame for me having feelings for him? That was no one's fault but my own.
"How were the elves?" I muttered, waiting to reach the level of the building housing my Jeep.
"They were not pleasant," Thor responded.
"But you took care of them."
"Indeed, I did." I nodded.
When we reached my Jeep, I made sure that Thor sat in the front with me. Loki sat in the back smirking in my rearview mirror. Before I backed out of my parking space, I crooked the mirror down. Sure, I needed it to drive with but I doubted we'd make it to headquarters without Loki pulling some kind of stunt. But by the time we were halfway there, Loki hadn't tried anything. I moved the mirror back into position after minutes of silence.
Loki moved forward, putting his head between me and Thor. I rolled my eyes. "If you're planning on wrecking my car, just make sure I hit something that instantly kills me," I said.
"Charlotte, you seem to be in a mood," Loki replied.
"Do I, Loki?" I narrowed my eyes at him in my mirror.
"Is that the new headquarters?" Thor asked. Bless his heart for trying to distract me. It worked. Thor knew why I was in a mood and if I didn't know any better, I'd say he was on my side.
"Yeah, New York took quite a beating and still has quite a bit of recovery to go through but S.H.I.E.L.D. was ahead of the curve," I said. Ours was one of the first buildings that substantially recovered from the alien attacks a few months back. From the outside, it was nothing more than a boring office building which was exactly the cover that S.H.I.E.L.D. needed.
Thor didn't seem to know how to deal with me when I was in a bitchy mood and I figured he had yet to deal with that personality on Earth. Sif had to have given him hell from time to time.
I parked the car in the underground parking garage and made it clear I meant business when the two of them emerged from my Jeep. "You behave yourself, Loki, no matter what the cost," I said in the elevator. "You sit on your hands if you need to. Hell, maybe I'll tape your mouth shut. That might give me some joy."
"I have not even begun all the things that I plan to do here and to do to you and yet, I have already won," Loki responded. I grit my teeth together. I couldn't even deny it. Thor looked down at me and raised his eyebrows. "If you would be so kind, would you care to tell me what my newest victory is?" He had leaned forward, almost touching me. I only pressed the number to our floor again.
"I am going to get through this," I muttered to myself.
But when the three of us got off the elevator, the last remaining sliver of confidence I had faded away. I led Thor and Loki down a hallway, the two of them falling behind me, flagging my left and right. I pretended not to notice the weird stares we got. I'm fairly sure one person dropped their coffee mug. This was probably what many of the lower agents had been afraid of. They assumed I'd always been in league with Loki and had some way of keeping in contact with him even when he wasn't on Earth. This might confirm all of their fears.
When we arrived in the break room where most of the higher agents, including the Avengers, came, I almost lost my mind. Bucky was standing inside, chatting up some chick I vaguely recognized from HR. When he turned his money-making face, the reaction I got was priceless.
"What the hell is this?" he demanded, spurning his girl of the week to talk about Loki.
"It really isn't what it looks like," I responded.
"Is he who hit you?" asked Loki.
"It's none of your business," I said, "but yes. We are required to hit each other nearly once a week." I looked around the room slowly, wondering who might be watching this scene. Steve was there, which nearly made my heart stop, and so were Clint and Tony. Natasha was lounging on a couch, pondering whether she should waste her time watching Bucky and I go up against each other again. Bruce was pretending to get coffee and the girl from HR only looked pissed.
While I'd looked around, Thor had moved in front of me to almost challenge Bucky. "I know not who you are but Charlotte is a friend of mine and you will pay dearly for hurting her again," Thor said. That warmed my heart so much that I wanted to cry.
"Thor," Steve and I said at the same time. Thor snapped to Steve rather than to me. "They're partners. They have to train together."
"I'm just not very good at it," I said. "But Barnes, let me make myself clear, this isn't any of your concern. This is a me-and-Thor problem, apparently." Although I had a few ideas about getting the other Avengers in on the action.
"I don't appreciate being patronized, Kent," Bucky said back. He may have had a point but I was angry at myself and I just needed to push it as far as it would go. "Tell me why an international fugitive is on Earth, walking around freely, or I'll find a way to take care of it." I laughed in his face.
"How, Barnes? Who could you call? The Soviet Union? Besides, I don't have the time for this petty argument right now." I tried to move past him but he blocked my path. I looked up at him and narrowed my eyes.
"I think we're all owed answers."
"Well, you're the only one who wasn't aware Loki was coming because I knew that you'd give me hell. Now you can't tell me I didn't make the right decision."
"Why are you so angry?"
"Why do you always have to get in my face?" I said back.
"This isn't about me," said Bucky. "Something's up with you." I narrowed my eyes at him again.
"Both of you need to cool off," said Steve. I shot my eyes over at him and I only got angrier at myself. Normally just hearing Steve made it sink in that I really needed to calm down and it helped me but today, there was just too much going on.
"We've got a meeting anyway," said Natasha. Bruce nodded.
Everyone seemed to wait for either Bucky or me to make a move. I backed down from the alpha stance I'd fallen into and Bucky backed up a couple of feet before descending on me again. I moved to block him from hitting me but instead was shocked when he pulled up my shirt. I attempted to push him off me but Loki had done it for me. In a matter of seconds, Loki had thrust Bucky away from me but without hurting him.
Everyone in the room froze, including me. Loki and Bucky stared each other down before Loki backed down of his own volition.
"What the hell is going on?" demanded Steve. I threw up my hands.
"You are healed," said Bucky, directing his comment to me, pointing a finger. The breath froze in my lungs and Loki only gave me a look. He hadn't been trying to get me in trouble when he'd done it, I knew that. "There is no possible way that you should be looking as good as you do right now when I punched you in the gut twelve hours ago. The only things that are still the same are that shiner on your face and your twisted ankle." Steve looked between the two of us, openly in shock.
"Some people bruise easy and then they fade," I said. "There's nothing supernatural about it."
"Oh, I'm not saying it's supernatural… I'm saying you had help." Bucky turned his eyes on Loki whose face was a mask.
"I do not have that ability anymore," Loki said, "which might happen to be lucky since I will not have to be begged to use it on you." I couldn't help the smile that came onto my face. Loki was an evil and sadistic son of a bitch but damn, was he on my side.
"I've never thought much of you," began Bucky, "a woman who would betray her own country for a couple of one-off dates with a psychopath, but I didn't think you were a cheater."
"Damn," said Clint.
"You know, I'm getting really tired of defending myself to you," I said. "One, I didn't betray my country, not knowingly, and you can take that to the bank. Two, if cheating is having an above-average immune system, thank God, no one penalizes you for beating me into the floor every chance you get. I think if I'm cheating then that's exactly what you're doing. How in the hell is it right for you to drag out every single challenge just so that I can suffer more and you can embarrass me in front of my friends? I'm sick of it! Three, if you have problems with me that you just can't live with, please quit S.H.I.E.L.D. so that I don't have to hear your whining 24/7. We're all getting tired of the fact that you're jealous your best friend replaced you."
"Preach, Charlotte!" said Clint.
"Charlotte," muttered Steve.
"I'm sorry that I'm not sorry," I said. "I've kept this in so long that I thought I would explode."
"None of it changes the fact that you're a traitor," said Bucky.
"I was never a traitor, you asshole." I vaguely registered that other agents were coming into the room, no doubt to secure Loki… or hell, maybe they were here to secure me.
"Yes, you were," he responded. "You betrayed your country and your so-called friends for a man that tried to take over the world!"
"That really does it." I didn't think before balling my right hand into a fist and connecting it to Bucky's jaw. He moved back from the blow and I yelped before clutching my hand to my chest. "Shit, that hurt," I muttered. When I looked up from babying my wrist, I saw Steve standing between me and Bucky, looking furious. I felt like crawling into a hole and dying. "Whoops."
I looked around the room slowly and I saw that everyone seemed shocked, even Natasha. Bucky and I had always had tension but we'd never called each other out before. When I saw Thor and Loki, I felt myself start to clam up. Thor didn't seem to know what to make of the situation and Loki didn't seem ruffled by it. Then again, he never did.
"Barnes, Kent, come with me." I turned my head slowly to see Fury and I groaned. "Rogers, you take care of everything else and ready us for the meeting."
I put my head in my hands but I followed him anyway. I heard Bucky on my heels and it made me clench my fists again. I immediately stopped doing that when I felt the strain on my right hand. Why couldn't I ever do anything athletic without some sort of consequence?
When we arrived at Fury's office, I sat in a chair in front of his desk beside Bucky. The two of us cut our eyes over at each other angrily.
"Do I need to put you two in time out?" I glanced back to Fury and rolled my eyes. "Don't mock me or make faces, Kent. The two of you are acting like children. Now I know you've got your problems and no one is claiming you don't but this takes everything to a whole new level. What the hell started it?" It was true that it was at a whole new level. Bucky and I had never gotten physical outside of training and after the first couple of weeks, we didn't tell each other off in front of other people.
"Well, maybe you can explain why Loki is on Earth, sir," said Bucky.
"The simple explanation is that this is his punishment, Barnes. He's here to make it up to us, specifically by working with the Avengers. In all likelihood, you won't be dealing with him very much. This is an Avengers and Charlotte Kent problem. It has nothing to do with you." Dare I say that Fury sounded like he was defending me?
"That's what started it though," I said. "I brought in Loki and Thor and Bucky reacted." I couldn't deny that maybe I had wanted to incite some fury from Bucky, just so that I would have someone to take out my anger on. That hadn't been right and now that I had calmed down, I knew I needed to apologize. "I specifically requested that no one tell Bucky about the situation with Loki and that is entirely my fault. I thought he would overreact, given how he feels about me personally. So I'm sorry I kept it from you, Barnes, but Fury is right. This really has nothing to do with you." Bucky only rolled his eyes.
"Maybe everyone else falls for that but you can't tell me that you won't be partnering up with Loki again," said Bucky. I didn't respond.
"Okay, okay," said Fury. "Cool it. Charlotte, why did you hit him?"
"Maybe because he called me a traitor to my country? Or maybe it was because he insinuated that I was cheating when we're training? Oh, I don't know. Pick a reason!" I said.
"Neither of you have gotten violent outside of the fights and I find it hard to believe that that has all changed today. I think something set you off, Charlotte, and given the situation at hand, it's not at all unbelievable that you'd be riled up."
"Please," I said. "That's ridiculous." Fury made a face and Bucky was only staring at me. They both knew it was true.
"Fine, you don't have to tell me but we're not leaving until this is settled. Now I really don't like giving lectures but I feel like I have to give one to the two of you. Your complaints about each other are not wrong and it's completely normal to experience some animosity with a new partner. You're both trying to find ways to work with each other and you're getting angry when one of you is better than the other. Again, that's totally normal. And I can't say, given both of your backgrounds, that I didn't expect you to clash. Agent Kent has committed a few felonies and yes, Barnes, they were committed in service to Loki Laufeyson. Agent Barnes has a few nasty things in his past too and yes, Kent, he did them in service of the Soviet Union. Do these few things mean that you absolutely cannot work together? No. And of course, you're allowed to have your own opinions about those things but you have to realize that these things happened in the past. I know that you must think you're entirely different from one another but you need to focus on the things you have in common."
"We have nothing in common," I said. "That's the problem. That's why we can't work together." Bucky nodded in agreement.
Fury shook his head. "You're both blinded by unsubstantiated hate for each other. You've got that in common." I mustered a laugh at that. "You're both good agents under pressure." Sure, okay. "You're both willing to make the sacrifice play."
"That's a joke," said Bucky. "Charlotte wouldn't do anything for me."
"You got that right," I said.
"Yeah, you say that," said Fury, "but Charlotte is capable of it. She would go down for Rogers or Thor or Stark or Barton. Hell, she may even take a bullet for you when the time comes. So the attitude can stop now. This leads me to the major thing you have in common."
"And what's that?"
"Rogers." I felt my hands start shaking so I gripped the handles on the chair. I went rigid. I noticed Bucky beside me do the same thing. "Maybe I should bring him in here for the lecture. You might actually listen to him."
"It may be something we have in common but it's also the reason we can't work together."
"I'm really getting sick of the excuses. You've almost fully completed your training together and you'll be able to be sent out on missions soon. Do not ruin it. I'm not giving either of you a new partner so keep dreaming. Now I'll leave you with this before you go. Your problems with each other end right now. I'm gonna clear up some discrepancies for each of you." He turned to Bucky. "Barnes, Charlotte Kent has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for over six years. She happens to have only one black mark on her record and it's the one thing you can't seem to get past. I understand that it's a big deal and you think you're looking out for a friend but I can tell you that I am sick of you undermining my authority."
"Sir?" said Bucky. I started smirking. This was going to be good.
"Every time you mention that Agent Kent should be in jail and that she shouldn't be here or be trusted, I cringe a little. You know why? Because Kent is here under my jurisdiction. She's a great agent who made a mistake. Do you honestly think that I would allow her to be on the premises, let alone training for a field position, if I thought for one second that she was selling us out to some aliens? I can tell you, the answer is no. Do you think that Rogers would defend her every chance he gets if she was a traitor? No. Do you think that any of the Avengers would continue a friendship with her if that was the case? No. Kent doesn't deserve the backlash you've given her. She's a good agent and she's done nothing but prove herself worthy of everyone's trust since the battle for New York. So the next time I hear a complaint from you, Barnes, there will be hell to pay."
"Thank you, sir," I said. Fury turned to me.
"Oh, you're not off scot-free, Kent. The mistakes Barnes made, the killings he committed, were not even done to his knowledge. The more you guilt trip about the Soviet Union and his connections there, the more unsympathetic you come across. Barnes is recovering from losing years of his life and your teasing is not helping his recovery. I suggest that the both of you reevaluate what you've been thinking of each other. If there is another problem like this, I'm sending in Rogers. So Barnes, you're dismissed but Kent, I have a question for you."
I stayed seated while waiting for Bucky to leave. I wondered if the lecture had gotten through to him. It hadn't really gotten through to me. Then again, I wasn't thinking straight. I was still so angry with myself, now about this too, that I could barely sit still.
"Barnes may still not know you very well but I do, Kent. Tell me what the hell is going on." I shook my head.
"Nothing is going on," I responded. "At least, nothing I can't handle." I knew deep down that I was being irrational. Last night hadn't gone as badly as it could have. Hell, Steve might not have been angry. But now, he certainly was.
"Is it about Loki?" I smiled.
"How could you possibly guess?"
"Look, your personal life is none of my business and I can assure you that I really don't want to know details but if somehow, your personal life is causing you problems professionally, I have to step in. It would be in your best interest to tell me."
"Okay," I said. "Steve and I never really talked about what would happen when Loki got here and now that he is here, I feel like I'm having trouble with it… and I think that means Steve is having trouble with it too. I mean, I know he is. We semi-talked a little last night and now I'm just angry at myself."
"I am in no way a therapist and I don't claim to know what's going on inside that psychopath's brain but I think this is part of Loki's plan. You can't give into it, Charlotte, otherwise he wins. He's not happy about being on Earth and I'm sure he's not happy about you carrying on with Rogers. I understand it's difficult for you but I am telling you, you can't let this get in the way of what you have to do."
I nodded. "I understand that."
"Don't take it out on anyone else… and maybe you should talk to Rogers about it."
I left to go to the meeting room and let the things Fury had said sink in. He was right about more than one thing. I really appreciated that he had gone out of his way to defend me to Bucky. I also really appreciated the fact that he had defended Bucky to me too. I didn't feel like he was playing favorites and I knew that, for the most part, he was entirely right. But it wouldn't be easy to get past Bucky not trusting me. Trust was a major part of working with partners and I couldn't magically get Bucky to have faith in me. It was going to take a lot of work and with Loki in town, Bucky and I would have to go on the back burner.
Next on the list of things to do was to talk to Steve. I really did not want to lower myself to that level of groveling but I felt the need to anyway. Steve had been really good to me about everything so far, including Bucky and my old relationship with Loki. He didn't deserve the bullshit that was going on. But how could I possibly explain myself? 'Oh, whoops, I hate myself and decided to take it out on your old friend, who you adore more than life itself.' No. Nope, this was a terrible idea.
I would wait until my shift was over… or at least until it was lunch.
When I arrived in front of the meeting room, I saw Steve and Bucky talking farther down the hall. I strained to catch a glimpse of them and see if I could hear what they were talking about. It was heated, that much was certain, and even from this angle, I could see a bruise welling up on the bottom of Bucky's jaw. That made me smile.
I saw them break apart and Steve start walking my way so I opened the door to the meeting room quickly and stepped in. Avoidance was my number one way of dealing with problems. My wrist throbbed and I looked around the room slowly. Loki was handcuffed to the table and I hadn't realized how much I wanted to see that until I did. This was a nice form of payback for leaving me in the office in New Mexico to take some slack.
"Looks like you've got a mean right hook!" said Clint. I put a finger to my lips and shook my head.
"My parole officer will be walking in at any minute," I said. Steve wasn't a parole officer but God, did it sometimes feel like he was. He was probably getting tired of having to defend me all the time and really, I couldn't blame him.
I quickly took an empty seat beside Thor, who just seemed confused, and left the chair next to me empty for Steve. I doubted anyone had decided to fill Thor in on what was going on because Thor was basically attached at the hip to Loki. Not that it would matter whether Loki knew about Bucky because our pretty public fight had probably given him all the information he could want.
"So you have a new partner, I take it?" Thor broke the silence between us. Everyone else seemed to be chattering away, other than Loki, who was watching everyone and taking in the scene.
"Unfortunately, yeah," I responded.
"You do not like him?" I shrugged.
"It's not so much that I don't like him… We just don't get along."
"Why could you not be my partner?" I half-smiled.
"I'd really like that, Thor. I don't think you know how much." I had to admit, that above most other things, the friendship I had gained by meeting Thor had been the biggest benefit to dealing with the Avengers. He had never been uncouth with me or rash and he had always listened whenever I spoke, whether other people listened or not. Something big would have to break my bond with Thor and I hoped it never came.
"Who is he?"
"His name is Bucky Barnes… and he happens to be Steve's best friend." I glanced over at Thor, waiting for him to judge me and ask why I couldn't get along with Bucky. If Steve favored us both, we had to be similar. There was no reason for there to be strife between us. But Thor didn't give me any of the arguments I'd gotten used to over the past few months. Instead he just rumpled his brow and asked me a question.
"I thought you were Steve's best friend?" If there was anyone I knew that could comprehend the idea of having multiple best friends, it was Thor. So why was he acting like I was possessive of Steve?
I shrugged again as Steve finally entered the room with Fury (no doubt, Fury told him about the stern lecture Bucky and I had gotten). "I really don't know where I stand with him anymore," I replied, cutting my eyes over to Loki. He had heard every word of Thor and I's conversation, which, like I mentioned, wouldn't have bothered me… but now he knew. That last sentence confirmed that he was winning whatever this current game was.
I looked back to Thor, who shifted his eyes between Loki and I before focusing again on me. I felt weird, like I always had, to even mention the idea of going back and forth between Loki and Steve to Thor. It wasn't that Thor wouldn't have good advice or that he'd tell either of them what I told him… but Thor was invested in all three parties. Steve had become close with Thor through the Avengers. The two of them could bond over confusing technological advances. Thor had essentially become my best friend and I knew that he thought of me in the same way. His father had even told me that Thor thinks of me as a long lost sister. Then there was Loki, who Thor accepted and loved no matter what he did.
"I do not know what to tell you," said Thor. I could tell that if he had answers, he would've given them to me, no matter what the cost to himself or anyone else involved.
"You're a good man, Thor, and I don't ever want to put you in a position where you feel like you're playing both sides of the fence. I don't have to talk to you about this stuff." He shook his head.
"You can tell me whatever you like." I smiled.
"Yeah, I know."
It seemed like it had taken several minutes for Steve to decide to sit beside me. I bit my bottom lip when he finally did and I wondered if I had made an incredibly stupid decision to leave the seat next to me open. Steve wasn't going to bring anything up now and I was so confident in that that I turned to him and smiled. He gave me one back but it was fake. I could tell because of my recent field agent training in body language analysis.
I moved my hands to my lap and clenched and unclenched them. It was a good strategy to keep me from freaking out. "I'm really sorry," I muttered, staring down at the table.
"He deserved it," Steve replied. I breathed a sigh of relief. It was a good sign that he was on my side with it, right?
Fury got our attention and started the meeting, which had to have been one of the most boring occasions of my life. Maybe he was dragging it out to torture Loki. At any rate, I couldn't wait until I was done for the day.
Steve managed to block my view every time I looked back to Loki. I knew that, for the most part, it wasn't intentional because it couldn't be. Steve wouldn't go out of his way to do that because it would be so incredibly juvenile. Just because he wanted to slouch on the table didn't mean a thing. Except for the fact that Steve didn't slouch.
At lunch, I was relieved when Thor said he was on Loki duty and had a meeting with Fury and Coulson. My credibility was already down the drain and I didn't need Loki's help to cement other agents' hatred of me.
Steve and I normally ate lunch together, other than when Steve thought he should eat with Bucky. For all I knew, that's exactly what he wanted to do today. He could successfully avoid me and teach me a lesson at the same time. But Steve wouldn't do that to me, right? He had never played that card yet and I had faith that he wouldn't.
I sat in the break room, after searching through the refrigerator for something worth eating. Should I torture myself with a salad? Or should I go for an onion bagel and make myself repulsive to everyone else? Whatever, onion bagels didn't even make people smell bad. Someone stupid manages to ruin their enjoyment for us all.
Another day in the head of Charlotte Kent.
I settled for the bagel and slathered it with cream cheese before sitting at an empty table in the corner of the room. I somewhat missed having a cafeteria but S.H.I.E.L.D. was working on it or at least, they promised they were in the last company email. I looked up before taking my first bite and saw Steve enter the room. All of a sudden, I lost my appetite.
Steve came over and sat at the table with me. "Hey," he said, sounding more cheerful than he had earlier.
"Hey," I said back. I felt my nails dig into the bread of the bagel. "Where's, uh, where's your lunch?" He pulled it out and I felt my heart break a little. Steve sometimes brought his lunch in a lunchbox and there was just something about that that was so cute. It made me smile. "Do you wanna talk about, you know, stuff?"
Steve smiled a little in response. "I suppose we should," he replied. "Fury told me he had to lecture you and Bucky." I nodded while making a face.
"I hope that never happens again."
"It won't if you and Bucky learn to control your animosity." I nodded.
"Yeah, I know… It's just…"
"It's hard for him and I know it's hard for you but is there any way the two of you can put this stuff in the past and start working together?"
"I think you need to be asking him that."
"Maybe I should. But Fury was telling me that there were some extenuating circumstances that caused you to lash out this morning. What were they?" Steve really didn't seem to get it.
I took a bite of my bagel, hoping it would work the way it worked for people in Twix commercials. They took a bite of a Twix and it gave them time to come up with an answer to a question or know how to handle a situation. Unfortunately, my bagel wasn't a Twix bar and I was stuck being as ineloquent as I always was.
"Steve, I'm not really good at this," I said. "I'm not really good at talking about this kinda thing."
"Yes, you are. You can talk at a mile a minute. Don't sell yourself short. I'll understand it, whatever it is." Yes and that was exactly the problem. Steve would understand if I resorted to cannibalism!
"The day I came home from Asgard, Loki kissed me and I should've been straightforward from the beginning but I wanted you to think that there was nothing stopping me from being with you. It was wrong and I'm really sorry. I feel like I've been playing you this whole time but I… I really, really adore you and then everything else didn't really matter. I knew Loki would be expecting something from me but I chose to ignore it when I should have talked things over with you and you could've helped me figure everything out. And then, last night, I couldn't honestly tell you that you shouldn't be worried and now I'm just so angry with myself because I still have feelings for Loki. And you understand it because you seem to understand everything. I'm sorry that I lied to you. I'm really, really sorry… and if you want to leave me, please do it now."
Steve sat back in his chair and stared over at me for a moment before responding. I actually think I was on the verge of tears. "I don't want to leave you and yes, you should have to talked to me about it because we could've made a plan… but I don't want you to beat yourself up over this." I leaned onto the table and pressed the bottom of my palms against my eyes to stave off tears.
"What am I supposed to do?"
"Well, who do you want?"
"You, of course. I want you." And maybe a little bit of Loki. Just a little.
"Then what is the problem? You can't stop loving someone in a few months and I would never have expected that of you. You're going to get through this, Charlotte."
"I am going to get through this." I balled my hands into fists and kept them covering my eyes. I heard Steve get up and come over to me. I took my hands away from my eyes and quickly engulfed Steve in a hug. The fingers of one hand curled into his shirt and the other grabbed at the back of his neck. I wanted to stay like that for the rest of the afternoon but duty calls.
The rest of the day went by fast. Unfortunately, there was an Avengers only meeting at the end of the day that had to do with Loki (and probably, to a lesser extent, me) so Loki and I had to ride home together. I was grateful when he didn't talk to me in the elevator on the way down. There were cameras everywhere in headquarters and the last thing I needed was some newbie going over footage of Loki antagonizing me.
"How was your first day?" I asked as I turned on my Jeep. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Loki turn to me with a look of disgust on his face. "No one welcomed you with open arms? Imagine that."
"What is wrong with you?" Loki demanded. I laughed.
"What's wrong with me? Oh, that is too good." Loki only raised one of his eyebrows. I'd never managed that before. How could you raise one eyebrow without raising the other? Whatever. Stop staring at him. Look back at road.
"Dare I say it has something to do with me?"
"Well, there you would be mistaken because it has everything to do with my new partner." I couldn't give Loki the satisfaction of knowing he was driving a wedge between Steve and I. I really didn't need that right now. "Besides, I really don't think we need to be talking about me. How are you doing with all this? It can't be much fun."
"I do not exactly have a choice, do I?"
"No, I suppose you don't. But it'll get better. Once everyone gets used to you and you get the hang of things here, it will be different. And yes, maybe I shouldn't take out my anger on you. So I'm sorry. I'm having to deal with a lot right now and that's not making your situation here better. I do owe you, I guess." I would never get over the fact that Loki had prevented me from falling to my death. That had shown me that Loki hadn't really tricked me. So yes, I owed him.
"Then answer me a question." I nodded. "Can you still see a person's memory when you come in contact with their skin?" I hadn't given that much thought lately, probably due to the fact that it just really didn't matter. Bruce had told me it would fade and really, it had.
"I don't think so," I replied. It had to be gone because when someone touched another person as much as I do, there was no way that the power wouldn't overwhelm me. Just a few hours ago, I'd touched the back of Steve's neck and got nothing. I would kiss him and get nothing. And I wasn't trying to block out the memories either. If anything, with Steve, I wanted to see them. I wanted to know anything and everything about dealing with Bucky without having to ask Steve about it.
"I suppose that is a good thing, is it not?" I nodded again.
"I guess so. It was sort of annoying. Besides, I don't think anyone wants someone to see anything that private." Based on the look on Loki's face, I would say that was right. I had seen more invasive memories of Loki than I had of anyone else. "I've tried lately, to see if I can pull anything from Steve but there's been nothing. I think it's really gone."
I pulled into the parking garage under Stark Tower and walked with Loki to the elevator silently. "I must say, I'm proud of you for not trying anything today," I said when we reached the floor with Tony, Bruce, and I's apartment. I didn't see any reason to prevent Loki from hanging out with us, especially if he was going to behave.
"It was difficult not to, particularly when I was strapped to the table," he responded. I laughed.
"Now you know how I felt, having to sit there listening to boring lectures and getting dirty looks from people. Man, you have got a lot to look forward to." He laughed back.
"I may try a few things tomorrow."
"Hey, as long as they don't involve blowing the place up, I'm okay with it. I need a good laugh at the expense of others."
I opened the door and walked in with Loki. I went to lounge on the couch in front of the TV. Hadn't I earned that? Right before I plopped down, Loki interrupted me.
"Can I touch you?" he asked. I gave him my best WTF face. "To see if you can see my memories?" I knew I should say no but the temptation was overwhelming. Loki's memories had been the most potent and touching his skin was almost like a drug.
"I don't see why not," I responded.
I raised my hands in front of me, spreading the fingers. I just wanted us to touch hands, like a light high-five. Loki moved toward me and I felt my heart pound when he looked down at me. He raised his hands and extended his fingers to meet mine before touching our palms. I felt a chill but that was it. For Loki's sake, I actually tried to pull something from it but I couldn't force it. I'd never been able to.
I shook my head while staring at our hands. His hands were so much larger than mine and probably even smoother. Loki moved his fingers through mine and linked our hands. I wanted to resist but I responded to it, folding my fingers over his. I closed my eyes and focused. No, there was nothing. I dropped my hands and shrugged.
"Not a damn thing," I said. Loki nodded, almost pursing his thin lips. He turned when I sat down on the couch and seemed to walk into the kitchen. He looked a little lost and I clenched my hands into fists. I was too strong to fall for this. It was a ploy. He wanted me to feel sorry for him. He wanted me to ask him to hang out. I groaned. "Do you wanna watch Jeopardy with me or something?" Loki turned on his heels and he began smiling.
"What is Jeopardy?" he asked, walking over to the couch. I felt my heart jump when Loki sat on the middle cushion. He was almost close enough for me to smell.
"It's a trivia game where you have to answer everything with a question," I said, throwing off my heels and curling my legs underneath me. I turned on the TV. "It comes on every weekday at 7:30. There are three players and there are three rounds. The first two rounds have six categories with five questions each and the last round is a single category with a single question. It is hilariously fun."
Loki nodded. "I can try it."
"Yeah, 'try' is the right word because it is not easy."
I played with him and actually managed to answer more questions correctly than Loki did. I ended the game laughing and almost falling off the couch.
"Who exactly is Tommy Hill-fager?" Loki asked. I starting laughing all over again.
"Hilfiger! Tommy Hilfiger! He's an American clothes designer."
"Well, he has a stupid name."
"So do you," I said back. Loki began laughing then. The pressures of the day lifted off me and I felt like everything that had happened didn't matter much if I got to enjoy myself like this every day.
The door to the apartment opened, revealing Bruce, Tony, and Thor, so I shut my trap and tried to quit laughing. Loki was funny because he wasn't exactly trying to be. Besides, he'd always been hilarious when he was trying to deal with stuff on Earth.
"I guess you two have been having fun," said Tony.
"No, not really," I responded. "Haven't you heard? It's a crime for me to have fun."
"Yeah, it's starting to sound like it."
Thor walked around the two of them and moved to come sit beside Loki. Loki clammed up when Thor sat down and moved closer to me. I felt his leg brush my feet. "What's wrong?" I mouthed at Loki. He only shook his head. I guess bonding over defeating the elves hadn't solved the brotherly problems.
"Actually, can we speak with Charlotte please?" asked Bruce. "Alone?" Thor nodded and stood to leave. Loki brushed his hand against my leg and I think it meant that he was trying to comfort me with it before leaving.
"What's up?" I asked when they left.
"Nothing really," said Tony. "We were wondering if you could tell us what's up with you." I rolled my eyes.
"What do you think is up with me? Steve may be on the brink of breaking up with me, even though he says he isn't, and I have to hang out with Loki."
"Well, the Steve situation can be repaired by not cozying up to Loki like you were when we came in." My jaw dropped.
"He needs a friend, I owe him, and besides, you made it very clear that Loki is me and Thor's problem. It's not a crime that we watch TV together."
"No but you shouldn't be enjoying it as much. How do you think anyone else would've felt if they'd walked in on this?"
"You know what, Tony, I actually don't care. I've already had one lecture today and that was more than enough."
"Tony, she's right," said Bruce, cutting Tony off before he started talking again. "We just wanted you to know that you can talk to us about what's going on."
"Thanks," I responded.
The next few days went without much of a hitch. Loki found ways to bug everyone without them knowing how; except when he dyed the coffee green. Everyone knew how that had happened. I had laughed harder at the coffee dyeing Coulson's teeth green than I had laughed in months.
Bucky and I were slowly getting more comfortable around one another, probably due to fear of Steve. We were due for another fight soon and I had beaten Bucky at archery again. Beating him was like Christmas morning for me.
Steve had been normal for the past week so I figured that everything was totally taken care of. I didn't have any reason to worry, right?
I was sitting in my cubicle, writing up a couple of files for Maria Hill, when Steve walked up. I didn't find that odd because when I was in my cube, Steve normally came by for a while. When Clint and Natasha followed him, along with Fury and Bruce, I got confused.
"Hey, uh, what's going on?" I asked as the rest of the Avengers, along with Bucky and Loki surrounded my desk.
"Who's authorized to be looking at the scepter today?" asked Fury. He seemed incredibly serious and when he stared over at Loki, I figured it was important. Everyone else seemed on edge. Had there been a meeting I didn't know about? Had they been watching surveillance footage without me?
"If I'm not mistaken, no one," I said. I started typing and pulling up info on the scepter. "No one has had any interest in it in a couple of months. We can't pull any info out and we can't take it apart. Besides, it has weird effects on people so it's been in a room quarantined from the rest of the facility. Is someone down there?"
"We're wondering if something is fishy," said Steve. "Someone reported that Agent Mills and a few other guys were looking at it. We didn't think it was odd until we thought about it. No one has been down there in months." I shook my head at him and slammed a few keys to bring up Mills' file.
"It's weird enough that someone would be down there at all but Mills?" I said. "Mills doesn't have that kind of authorization. He's not a scientist, he's not a field agent, he's barely a secretary."
"I don't think it's anything to worry about," said Clint. "Everyone's been curious about it. These guys just wanna see if it makes them wanna pick it up."
"That's why it's quarantined, Clint," I said. "It will. It's dangerous."
"We're crowded around you because we're wondering if you know of anyone that wants it," said Natasha. I wracked my brain and shook my head.
"I can see why you'd be concerned but honestly, no. No one even knows we have it and even if they did, would they know what it was?"
"Well, we're thinking someone is getting them to do their dirty work for them," said Bucky. I watched him give Loki a look.
"Hey, he's basically on parole. We have no proof that Loki would do anything. Besides, Odin would throw a fit."
"You may not believe me but I have no part in this," said Loki. I believed him and when everyone took off their blinders, they'd believe him too.
"Can I pull up surveillance?" I asked. Fury gave me the go ahead. I watched as Mills and a couple of other lower agents surrounded the scepter. "How long have they been in there?"
"Twenty minutes. Maybe more," said Bruce. I nodded.
I didn't see anything unusual until Mills turned. His eyes connected with the camera and I jumped.
"What is it?" asked Steve.
"This is weird, really weird," I said. I made the video freeze and I zoomed in. "Do you see Mills' eyes? He's got really blue eyes… unnaturally blue eyes, really. But Mills has brown eyes. It says it right there in his file." When one of the other guys turned around, he had the same thing; tesseract-y blue eyes.
Fury raised a walkie to his mouth. "Everyone needs to treat this as a break in. Get down there and secure the scepter now."
Almost on cue, Mills and the group of guys grabbed the scepter and high-tailed it out of there. "They're gone," I said. "They're moving."
Being close to the garage had given them the chance they needed. They were out of the building with the scepter on the back of S.H.I.E.L.D. motorcycles. I looked around in horror. "What the hell?" I said.
"I need someone in pursuit," said Fury. "Barnes, Kent, it's time to show us what you got."
I looked over at Bucky and he nodded. We both took off running.