Getting into the club was the most entertaining thing that Natasha had ever seen, if her laughter was anything to go by. This was mainly due to the fact that 4 of them didn't have in date identification.
"The Avengers, Earth's mightiest. You can go through." They all smiled and smirked, some, cough Tony cough, even clapped the man on the back as they passed. "Hey, ombre and Skinny, I didn't say you could go through." Kimberly stopped and sighed as Loki turned around.
"Did he mean me?" Kimberly nodded started to walk back to the bouncer.
"Is there a problem sir?" She knew that there was.
"Yeah, I'm gonna need some ID before I let you in, you got any, ombre?" Kim smiled.
"Ah, well there's the problem, I don't have any that you'll believe." Kim blanched as her knees gave way and she grabbed onto Loki to support herself.
"Well, then I will have ask you to leave-"
"No, you don't understand, we're both over 21, by a lot. That's the problem." Loki pulled her into a better standing position and Natasha appeared at the door, a smirk on her face.
"Scuse me, but their both Avengers, their with us." Nat was leaning heavily on her crutch as she spoke. The man eyed them both suspiciously before letting them pass. Kim pulled herself standing and walked with Natasha to the others, who had claimed a table to themselves.
"Mom." Taylor got up, her midnight blue dress floating around her as she attempted to pull her mother out for a dance. "What was that about?"
"Didn't believe I was over 21." Taylor snorted as she span her mother around. "Not right now Taylor, my legs are still playing up. Give it a couple of mins and I should be fine." Taylor frowned before looking past her mom and smiling.
"I sense a drinking contest." Kim turned and looked back at their table where Thor was eyeing Tony as they both drank. Kim rolled her eyes as her daughter shouted for 2 more beers, and walked over to the table, patting Tony on the back.
"Good luck Stark." she said as she sat down next to Loki. "Dare I ask whose idea it was?" Loki turned his head to Natasha who was counting out a handful of money Clint had just passed her.
"She bet Barton that she could get Stark to take the bait, as you can see he did. Are you alright?" Kim rubbed her leg and nodded, standing up and stretching when she saw Taylor.
"I believe it's time for our dance." Taylor smiled and pulled her mom away as the music kicked in again. It was an old song, one from before Taylor had been born, and one of her favourites, Funkytown. Kimberly laughed as her daughter span her around, the weight that had been making its home on her shoulders lifting. Her sneakers squeaked on the floor as she span, her red backless dress spinning out with her. She'd been warned against wearing heels, at least for tonight, as she would likely still have problems with her legs. They danced till the end of the song, laughing and almost stepping on each others feet, hair flying everywhere as Taylor had let hers down and it reached her mid back. Gasping for breath but smiling they both went back to the table and grabbed a glass of champagne that Tony had ordered whilst waiting for their next drinks.
"How many are they on now?" Natasha looked up and smiled.
"Tony's on 9, Thor's on 11." Kim whistled and smirked as she sat back down.
"Got some catching up to do Stark." He smiled over the brim of his cup and flipped her the bird. She smirked. "Enjoy the hangover. How many pints can Thor take?" She turned to Loki who had gotten himself a glass of champagne.
"A few more before he starts making stupid eyes at any woman. What is this?" He asked as he held up the glass. Kim smiled as she sipped her own glass.
"It's champagne, don't you like it?" Loki shrugged as Thor put down his glass heavily. 12.
"We don't have it on Asgard, nor do we have what you were doing with Taylor." Her green eyes widened as she put down her glass.
"You don't have dancing?" Loki shook his head. "Well then, guess I'll have to teach you." She stood up and grabbed his arm, pulling him onto the dance floor which was surprisingly empty. But then again it was a Sunday.
"What even is dancing?" He asked as she smiled at the song that the DJ put on.
"It's is a way of expressing your feelings, like writing or drawing. But it's more fun."
"What emotion are you dancing for then?" Kim looked up at him and smiled.
"I don't know, happiness?"
"You are holding back." She laughed slightly, a small breath of air escaping from her mouth.
"Shut up and dance with me, Loki." She placed his hand on her waist, it was a slow song one you could actually dance to, and held his other in her own. "Copy what I do. When I step forwards you step backwards, got it?" He nodded.
"I can't be that hard." She smirked.
"That depends on the music." She stepped with the beat and he stepped backwards. "Also, technically you're supposed to be leading me, but you don't know how yet. You can also move forwards and I backwards. Dancing is really just trying not to step on anyone's feet early on." she said with laughter in her voice. Loki smiled slightly and stepped forwards, Kim stepped backwards as she said she would. She noticed over Loki's shoulder that Thor was starting to, finally, look tipsy. Stark on the other hand was flat out drunk, she doubted that he could even taste the alcohol anymore. With a smile she turned back to Loki who raised an eyebrow.
"What, is my dancing that bad that it's laughable?" She laughed at his concern.
"No, your brothers just finally gotten drunk and Stark is thoroughly smashed." Loki looked over his shoulder and laughed slightly. Kim stopped moving and jumped up and down slightly.
"What?" She grinned at him as he continued dancing with her.
"You laughed, you've never done that before. Nat you owe me $10." Loki raised an eyebrow at her when Nat cursed in Russian. "I bet I could get you to laugh, I did." He rolled his eyes at her. "You've changed since then, you know. Even a couple of days ago you and Thor were still arguing and hating each other in general."
"I never hated him-"
"Besides the point. You've changed. You never would have laughed at something so trivial as Thor being tipsy. You probably wouldn't have even smiled. You have changed so much since I met you." He span her around, copying the move that Taylor had done earlier.
"Have I changed enough to ask you something?"
"You just did. Sure go ahead." Her eyes glittered with laughter.
"If it had been you, would you have killed him?" She looked up at him and furrowed her brows.
"It wasn't my choice. It never would've been anyway, it would have been either the Cap's or Natasha's." She shook her head as she saw Taylor and Clint dancing as friends. Pete wasn't there, they hadn't had a chance to pick him up on the way.
"Would you have been able to though?"
"I don't know. He was my father. He raised me after my mother died during labour, sure he married me off to the highest ranking man and tortured me and damn near killed me. But I'm not sure I would have been able to. Besides my choice was earlier."
"You had a choice?" Kimberly smiled at his question.
"We all did. Nick's was whether or not to call me at stupid o' clock. Stark's was whether or not to trust me enough to stay in the building. Bruce's was whether or not to out me as a mutant, which I'm technically not as I'm half alien. Steve's was whether or not to listen to me. Your brother's was if I should go after you myself. Nat's was whether or not to knock me out. Clint's was if he could trust you. Yours was jumping after me. Mine was before Clint made his choice. Mine was letting you out of that room to help us. That was my choice." Loki's eyes widened as she smiled up at him.
"How did you know that it was the right thing to do, letting me out?" She let out a breathy laugh and shook her head.
"Honestly? No, I didn't. But you had shown me things that already hinted that you had changed from then. And you genuinely seemed worried about me. Now, shut up and dance." She took his hand again and span around him, making him turn after her. He pulled her closer with the hand on her hip and she staggered slightly.
"Are you alright?" He looked down at her and she nodded though she soon turned them towards the table where they both sat down as a shout went out.
"Tony's out Thor wins!" It was Na, who had only started it because she couldn't dance because of her leg.
"How many in the end?" Kim asked as she saw the exchange of money.
"Lady Kimberly, I had 14 I believe and-" Loki sighed as his brother went white.
"It seems that brother dear has reached his limit as well. Perhaps we should go back to the tower." He suggested as Nick came over with Taylor who had swapped friends.
"That sounds like a good idea." Nick said as he sat down. "How many did it take anyway?" Natasha smirked.
"Thor thinks he had 14, but in reality he didn't finish it so only 13. Tony had 12. I almost pity them, I don't think Tony realised that it was all going on his tab." Kim laughed outright as Stark, somehow still conscious, swore before being pulled back under.
"What time even is it?" Taylor asked as she stood up and started to the bar with the empty glasses, hovering at the table to wait for the answer.
"Just past 12. Why?" She let out a string of curses and Kim choked on her drink as she realised the exact same thing.
"I have a paper due tomorrow, shit." Kim got up and put her glass down, walking after her daughter. "Do you reckon they'll give me an extension?" She turned to the bar and placed the glasses down, smiling thanks to the wait staff.
"In all honesty? No, this is New York. Come on Loki, you're coming with us, you've got nowhere to stay and we have a spare room." She waved goodbye to the others as Natasha wolf whistled and yelled something along the lines of;
"I may not have gotten Steve together with someone but I will claim this one." She rolled her eyes as she pulled her car keys out of the purse at her side.
"How much coffee you gonna need this time?" She asked as they passed the bouncer and smiled.
"Sorry 'bout earlier ombre, skinny." She waved him off and continued to her car, chucking the keys to Taylor.
"You're driving, I can't feel my legs." As if to prove her point they gave way underneath her and she grabbed the railing on top of the mini and pulled herself up. She let go with one hand and pulled the door open and jumped in, pulling her legs in after her. Closing the door she ran her hands up and down her legs, as though trying to warm them, and pinched them. She sighed at the pain that she was met with as feeling started to return.
"You alright mom?" Taylor asked as she glanced in the rear-view mirror, grey eyes worried as Loki opened the door on his side and sat down.
"I'll be fine, you didn't answer the question. How much coffee?" Taylor smirked as she started the car and turned the corner as Thor was pulled out of the club by Steve and Nick, Clint holding the door open for Nat who waved at them.
"Well, I'm only in the 3 paragraph of a 4000 word essay." Kim rolled her eyes.
"Wow Tay, great time management there. So a lot is the answer."
"What is an essay?" Loki asked, looking between the 2 women.
"Something you don't have to worry abut, it's a thing that is stupid." Taylor answered as she drove down the street, a smirk plastered on her face when she pulled up outside the house.
It was small, 2 storeys above ground, in comparison to the Avengers tower, and three times as cluttered. However, it was obvious it was a home even from the outside. Taylor unlocked the door as Kim got out of the car, hand on the top to balance her.
"I'll make the coffee, you get started." She gestured as Taylor started up the stairs to her room, ditching her shoes halfway up. Kim took her shoes off and placed them at the door as Loki stepped inside. "Uh uh, shoes." She smiled at him, holding the spoon she had been using for the coffee out at him. He took them off and looked around the room as she turned a small radio in the kitchen on. It was an average sized room, with cream carpet and wood floorboards extending into the kitchen. There were pictures of her and Taylor on almost every visible surface. One caught his eye in particular. It was taken outside the house he was in, though it looked almost empty. Taylor looked about 9 with her hair pulled into a bun though a few corkscrew of hair had escaped.
"That was taken the day we moved in, it was our first house, still is. Ah." the kettle popped and she turned back and went to pour the coffee as Taylor came back down the stairs. She'd gotten changed into a long sleeved top and a pair of checked shorts, and was carrying her laptop with a pair of glasses on her head. "Kettle's just boiled, I'm gonna get changed. C'mon Loki, I'll show you your room" She started up the stairs and turned halfway up to make sure that he was indeed following her.
"Your house is very- nice. I like it here, it feels safe." Kim looked over her shoulder at him and smiled as she opened a door to a nearly empty room.
"It's meant to, it's not a home otherwise." Loki nodded as she stepped into the room and reached into a nearly empty wardrobe. "This is your room, the sheets were changed, um- damn where is it- they were changed last week. Ah here they are." She handed him a pyjama set in grey and green. "Pyjama's, they should fit. Anyway, I need to get changed, I'm next door if you need me." She closed the door and went to her room to get changed.
When she was changed she went downstairs to check on Taylor who was busy typing. She heard her come down the stairs and turned to look up at her, smiling slightly.
"Good coffee."
"That better be done by 3 okay, you can do that?" Taylor nodded and drank some more coffee. "Then goodnight." She kissed her her daughters head and turned to go back up the stairs. Most children would find it odd that their parents went to bed before them, Taylor as used to it as her mother would undoubtedly wake up before humane hours.
"You dressed?" she asked as she knocked on Loki's door.
"Wha- oh yeah." She pushed the door open and smiled at him as he put a book down.
"Where did you get the book?"
"Book shelf at the top of the stairs."
"Ah, fair enough. I was just gonna say that we can go shopping to get you some clothes tomorrow if you want."
"I don't need knew clothes, you've already given me these."
"Temporarily, and you can't just walk around in armour all the time. Remember I can see through your illusions." He looked about to say something but closed his mouth. "Its that, and then we can go bug the ones with hangovers after. Sound like a deal?" He smiled as she leant against the door.
"Sounds like fun." He went to pick up the book again but she stepped inside.
"Also, about what you said when you took the bullet for me, I didn't realise that you had actually turned into me to draw their attention. But that's besides the point, I was gonna say that I kinda like you to. Maybe."
"Maybe?" He sat up straighter as she walked towards him, her shorts showing more of her leg than he had seen before.
"You're the one that said I am not sure." She smirked, though she was blushing, as she sat down next to him. "Maybe this can help us both decide." She pressed a kiss against his lips lightly, her green eyes closing, as his hands moved to her hips so that he could pull her closer to him as he kissed her back.
"I think I just decided." he said out of breath as he lost balance and fell back onto the bed. Kimberly let out a squeak and started to laugh as she rested her forehead against Loki's before she got up.
"I should go to bed, if I am to get any sleep." She started to the door before turning to look at him one last time. "Good night Loki." then she closed the door.
"Definitely a good night."