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batsutousaiTitle: Like So Much Shattered Glass
Chapter: 3 of 7
Fandom: Marvel (movie 'verse)
Author: Batsutousai
Beta: Shara Lunison
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Tony Stark/Loki Odinson(Laufeyson), canon
Warnings: Spoilers for The Avengers (2012) and prequel films, angst of the self-hate variety
Summary: Loki thought to break the Avengers, one man at a time, before killing them. His plans had never involved being broken in return.
A/N: Sorry about the wait. My computer overheated and shut down yesterday evening and I completely forgot that I needed to post this today. Sorry it's so late. *shame*
Minor fuckage with the mythology here, but considering how twisted this world already is, with Loki raised as Odin's son, I feel no true shame. In line with this, the sorcerer Loki mentions in the beginning, Heiðor, is completely made up. Even the name, which I just pulled out of my arse. (Literally, my arse. Apologies for the smell. XP)
Most of this chapter is so unplanned, it's not funny. It manages well enough, I think, though.
-3-
Loki woke feeling oddly warm and safe, but with the distressing undertones of exhaustion. The only other time he'd felt this series of sensations upon waking was after the Last Great Battle in the Æsir-Vanir War, whereupon Thor had almost met his death at the hand of an accomplished sorcerer, Heiðor, only stopped by Loki. Loki had won the battle, but nearly at the cost of his own life, and had woken two days after the battle to find Thor curled up next to him in his bed, an absolute wreck of concern, and Loki's own magic struggling to recover after being nearly depleted.
Loki forced his eyes open and glanced down at the uncommon weight against his chest. He sighed upon recognising Thor's arm, unsurprised and slightly irritated. Also, he felt the need to escape to the toilet, so he shoved at the arm and managed to roll out from under it. "Brute," he muttered to the sleeping form of his not-brother before stalking into the bathroom.
Once his bladder was silenced, Loki took the chance to take stock of himself. His magical reserves were low, lower than he'd have expected after what magic he'd performed the day before; he may have been using more than normal with Stark's tests and the teleporting, but he was no weakling when it came to magical strength, as his victory over Heiðor had proven. He was also irritated to realise that Thor had removed all but Loki's under tunic, and a glance around his room didn't help him discover the rest of his clothing's whereabouts. Normally, he would cast a spell to find them, but he much preferred to have some magic in reserve, in case he had need of it. (And his magic recovered faster when he left it to its own devices.)
Thor let out a groan from the bed and Loki watched as the elder god's hand reached against the bed for a moment before his eyes flew open and he jerked upright, panicked. He relaxed when he recognised Loki leaning against the doorframe to the toilet. "Good morning, Brother," he offered with a smile.
"Thor," Loki replied shortly. "What made you believe yourself welcome to invade my space whilst I slept?"
Thor's brow furrowed for a moment before his expression cleared to make way for a heavy frown. "You exhausted yourself yesterday."
"Inexplicably," Loki returned.
"Not without reason," Thor returned, voice sharp and Loki narrowed his eyes at him. "The Man of Iron– Tony said you've been wearing an illusion over your clothing for two days–"
"And you think–" Loki started, snarling.
"I have lived with you and fought beside you for nearly two millennia, Loki," Thor shouted, expression tight with righteous anger. "Do not think me so a fool that I cannot tell when your magic has left you, or what spells would drain you this much. I don't need to understand your tricks to know their effect upon you."
Loki turned away, unable to face his not-brother. For Thor had spoken the truth; for all that Loki's mind was closed to Thor, they knew each other too well to tempt him with lies about Loki's health and the state of his magic.
Fabric shifted and Loki heard Thor's heavy steps behind him before the elder's arms wrapped around the younger. Loki made a half-hearted attempt to get away, knowing it was useless, and Thor's grip tightened. "Loki," Thor whispered, broken, "please."
Loki felt like his stomach was climbing his throat and he closed his eyes, refusing to relax in Thor's embrace. "Let me go," he said without inflection.
"Stop pushing me away," Thor whispered, arms tightening around Loki just the slightest. "I want to help you, Brot–"
"I am not your 'brother'!" Loki snarled, pushing at the arms holding him, needing to put space between them.
But Thor was too strong, too determined, and Loki fell back against him, exhausted and breathing hard. Only once Loki was silent, did Thor say, "We have shared baths and beds, victories and sorrows, battle and peace; you are my brother, Loki, as you have always been. Whether it was from Mother or a Jötun that you birthed doesn't matter, will never matter. And I will tell you this again and again – until Ragnarök, if I must – until you are as willing to believe it as I."
Loki gasped through a pain that felt entirely too real, only remaining upright because Thor refused to let him sink to the ground. He wanted to scream and rage, he wanted to turn on Thor and bring violence down on his head, he wanted to skip his careful plans and just be done with all of this. He longed for the promised peace of solitary confinement until Ragnarök, where no one would beg for the love of a monster, only sit back and hate him forever on.
I am a monster, Loki remembered, and he'd always found changing his shape too easy, too like something he'd been born for. The Allfather's spells were broken now, leaving nothing for him to fight against, and Loki fell into the cold protection of his Jötun form. Thor's arms fell away, surprised by the sudden chill, and Loki spun on the spot, red eyes flashing hate as he spat, "You would love me still? Speak your pretty words to me now, Brother."
Almost two thousand years worth of fear and hatred flashed in Thor's eyes before he firmed his mouth against it and stepped forward, touching a hand to Loki's cheek. "I will always love you, Brother," he swore, sincerity in his voice.
"No," Loki breathed, pulling away and putting space between them. "That is not– You would never–"
"Loki, stop this!" Thor ordered, moving towards him again.
"I am a monster!" Loki screamed at him, terrified and filled with so much self-hatred. How could Thor bear to look at him? How could he even think to love Loki?
"You are my brother!" Thor roared and Loki flinched. Thor immediately gentled his tone, holding his hands in as non-threatening a manner as he could. "Loki, it matters not to me what skin you wear, it never has. I have loved you as a sister and a brother, as a horse and a serpent; why do you think me incapable of loving you as a Jötun?" He took a step forward and Loki flinched again. "Is it because you cannot love yourself?"
"Only a fool would find it in themselves to love a Jötun," Loki spat.
"You have always insisted I am one," Thor pointed out gently, a tired smile curving his lips. "Might I prove you right again?"
Loki crumpled to his knees, curling around himself and hiding frozen tears behind blue hands.
Then Thor was there, too warm against Loki's side, but Loki leaned against him like he'd done when they were children, after one of the other boys in the practise courts started in again about how only girls practised magic, and maybe they'd all have been happier if the Allfather's second son had been a daughter. Thor had always stayed behind to beat those who would mock Loki, then come running after the younger prince to hold him while Loki cried.
"I'm here," Thor whispered, both in Loki's memories of centuries past and in the present, voices young and old and somehow forever soothing, even when Loki just wanted to push him away. He wanted Thor to say he was a monster, that he should have been killed, not brought home to Asgard.
But Thor didn't. He said only, "I'm here," and "I've got you," and "It's okay to cry, Loki."
So Loki cried, hating the way the tears froze against his cheeks, falling to the floor when they go too heavy to stay attached to his skin and melting against the carpet. He hated the ice crystals that formed along the edges of his tunic and blossomed where one hand was clenched in Thor's tunic. He hated Thor's warmth against him, proving how very cold he was. He hated the way Thor's fingers soothed through his hair, so familiar and calming, when Loki wanted things rough and angry.
When there were no tears left and Loki was left feeling hollow, he let his body shift back to the Æsir form it was most familiar as. But, as had often happened after a long cry, Loki's form changed to that of a woman, and she let it be, curled against Thor's chest. Thor didn't falter, used to these sudden changes, and only moved to accommodate Loki's slighter form and longer hair.
Loki couldn't say how long they stayed like that, her feeling warm and safe in her not-brother's arms, before JARVIS broke in, apologetic, to say, "Thor, Loki, Sir is requesting that I report on whether or not you intend to come up for breakfast."
Loki pulled away then, brushing a hand over her dry cheeks and refusing to meet Thor's searching gaze. "I have food here," she said quietly.
"We'll eat here," Thor decided before touching a cautious hand to Loki's cheek. "Will you stay a woman long?"
Loki peeked up at him through her hair, too worn to feel angry, though she thought she should. "Yes. No. I don't know. Why?"
"I can have Jane bring you something to wear," Thor offered.
Loki shook her head. "I've my clothing." She frowned. "Where are my things, Thor?"
Thor sighed. "I had them sent for cleaning," he admitted.
"You–!" Loki reached out with over-long nails to claw at Thor's face, but the elder laughed and grabbed her wrists before she could make contact. "I'll have your eyes for that, you ugly brute!" Loki snarled. "Those are mine!"
Thor sighed and pulled Loki back against his chest, holding her wrists captive so she wouldn't attack him again. "They needed to be cleaned. And you've exhausted yourself to make others comfortable. I know you have Midgardian clothing, I was there when Lady Pepper brought them in."
"I don't want mortal clothing," Loki muttered, petulant. "I want my clothing."
"If you intend to wear your clothing, then wear it as is," Thor ordered. "For today, you can wear Midgardian clothing."
"Maybe I'll just stay in here all day," Loki muttered, pulling away from Thor and getting up. "Then I can stay in my tunic and no one will know better."
"We're making dinner tonight," Thor reminded her and Loki let out an irritated noise. Thor grinned and jumped to his feet, following Loki into the kitchen. "It will be a grand feast, Sister! Do you have Pop-Tarts?"
"You overestimate my cooking abilities. And, no, I don't have those disgusting things. I have bacon and bread. And some fruit."
Thor let out a mournful noise and found the bread to make toast while Loki worked on the bacon. "I will have to discover the recipe for Pop-Tarts and bring it home," Thor said after a long silence.
"You'll have to ban me from the kitchens again if you intend to ever enjoy them," Loki pointed out, flashing a mean little smile at Thor.
"You are truly heartless, Sister," Thor informed her.
Loki rolled her eyes and finished with the bacon before pulling out the offering of fresh fruits and slicing some up for them while Thor finished with the toast. They settled in the chairs in the main room to eat.
"What would you have us make?" Thor asked once he was finished.
Loki sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, fighting with some tangles and hating that she couldn't use her magic to soothe them like she usually would. "I don't know that we would find boar or deer, and I don't trust myself to make it without magic," she admitted, grimacing at her state. "Something simple, Thor. You know these humans better than I: What would they have interest in eating?"
"They like trying new tastes," Thor offered. "However, Bruce often turns away from meat, and Clint is known to hide his vegetables in creative places."
Loki snorted in remembrance of Barton's magically vanishing vegetables during the one meal she'd shared with the man while he was under her control. "So meat that can easily be removed from the equation and vegetables that can't," she deduced and Thor laughed. "I'll have to see what there is in the kitchen to work with," Loki realised, looking up at the ceiling. "Unless... JARVIS? Have you an inventory?"
"I do," JARVIS agreed and a holographic screen appeared at Loki's side with a list of their options.
Loki looked down the list, frowning, until Thor interrupted to say, "We can go out to collect additional things. Or have them ordered in."
"Loki is forbidden from leaving the premises," JARVIS reminded the elder god.
"Loki as my brother is forbidden," Thor replied, "but my sister will not be recognised by anyone, which was the main concern, yes?"
"That and his ability to wreck havoc," JARVIS agreed.
"I am quite incapable of wrecking anything more than a pile of poorly stacked bottles," Loki informed the AI drily. Which wasn't completely true, as she was still far stronger than an average human and clever enough to make trouble without magic, but she was warming to the idea of leaving the tower for a couple hours.
"This is not for my programming to refuse or approve," JARVIS informed them. "You will have to discuss it with Agent Coulson."
"We will do so," Thor decided, standing and grabbing both his and Loki's plates. "Sister, shall I enquire after clothing for you?"
Loki took a moment to consider returning to her male form before turning her thoughts to the Midgardian clothing that had been thrown haphazardly into the cupboard in her room. "Under things," she finally admitted.
Thor nodded, returning from putting their dishes in the kitchen. "I will have Jane bring you some, then," he promised. "You are about the same shape."
Loki shrugged; she was taller than her not-brother's woman, and her bust was perhaps the littlest larger, but it was true that they were of a similar build. "Thank you, Th–Brother," she replied and Thor beamed at her before leaving for the lift, asking JARVIS to send Jane down to their floor if she wasn't there already.
Loki sighed and made for her bedroom to look through her clothing options. While it was true that everything was shaped for her male form, it would all fit her well enough in her female form, though things might be a little loose in some areas. She didn't let it bother her, well used to making do with a warrior's clothing while a woman.
"Miss Foster is here with clothing for you," JARVIS announced as Loki was finishing putting the last of her Midgardian clothing away properly. "Shall I let her in?"
"Yes please," Loki agreed, stepping from her bedroom to meet the human.
Jane stepped in with a curious expression. She paused upon seeing Loki, then managed an uncertain smile and continued forward. "Thor said you would need these," she offered, holding out a bra and panties.
"Thank you," Loki replied, taking the undergarments.
Loki had nearly disappeared back into her bedroom when Jane called, "Why a woman?"
Loki blinked and looked back toward the human, confused. "Excuse me?"
Jane waved her hands helplessly in Loki's direction. "Why would you take the form of a woman? At all, I mean. And right now, I guess? I don't know."
Loki tilted her head to one side, watching Jane as the human flushed. "Because I am a man, you think me incapable of accepting a female form for longer than I might need to?" she clarified.
"Something like that."
Loki shrugged. "I discovered my ability to shift between female and male forms when I was still quite young, before I believed gender to matter. And Thor has long held friendship with a woman who is discontent to hold to social norms – you are acquainted with Lady Sif."
"Well, yeah, but a woman deciding to try her hand with a sword is different from a boy deciding to be a girl," Jane insisted.
Loki shook her head. "Not as much as it might seem. You must understand, amongst the Æsir, magic is believed to be a woman's calling, never that of a man. That I should choose to don a female form was not so surprising."
Jane scoffed. "Really? You people think someone shouldn't perform magic unless they have a vagina?"
Loki let out a startled laugh.
"Oh my God! Sorry, sorry! I shouldn't have said that," Jane hurried to correct, waving her hands in front of her face.
Loki shook her head. "I share your opinion, Lady Jane," she offered with a smile.
Jane sighed and allowed a tired smile to curl her lips. "Gender expectations bother me," she admitted. "I respect Lady Sif for her refusal to follow the norm. I didn't realise that you, too, faced stigma for your choices in life."
Loki shrugged, uncomfortable. "If I might change?" she requested.
"Oh, yeah! Sorry," Jane apologised, moving to sit in one of Loki's chairs.
Loki returned to the clothing she'd set out and made quick work of changing into the garments. The material wasn't as unpleasant as she'd expected, and she thought she might actually be okay with the Midgardian clothing if it fit her better; perhaps she would try them again as a male. (Loki spared a brief thought of a curse for Thor; she'd truly had no interest in trying the Midgardian clothing. Ever.)
When she returned to the main room, Jane held up a brush. "I figured you wouldn't have one."
"You believed correctly," Loki allowed.
When she made to accept the brush, Jane shook her head. "My best friend and I brush each other's hair," she offered. "I figure, since I'm sort of dating your brother..." She trailed off with an uncertain smile.
Loki considered that for a moment before inclining her head and settling into the chair next to Jane's that the human motioned to. "Thor would brush my hair when we were younger," she said. "He is terrible at braids."
Jane giggled. "I'll keep that in mind if he ever offers to try anything with my hair," she said and Loki smiled at the thought. "Do you want it in a braid, or something else?"
If she were capable of using her magic, Loki would let her hair hang straight, trusting her magic to keep it from getting too tangled, but now... "A braid, I suppose," she decided. "I can do it myself if–"
"No, no, I can do braids," Jane insisted. "As long as you don't want it fancy, like a French braid or something."
"I am unfamiliar with a 'French braid'," Loki replied.
"Ask JARVIS later," Jane suggested, setting down the brush and sectioning Loki's hair. They remained quiet while Jane worked until she tied it off with a band she'd brought and smiled. "There."
Loki pulled the braid over her shoulder to inspect it and nodded, approving. "Much better than Thor," she said and Jane laughed. "Thor and I are to go out to collect extra food for dinner," Loki said as they stood. "I do not know if you had interest in accompanying us."
Jane put on an honestly apologetic expression. "I should get some work done, since Mr Stark shouldn't be using his lab today. You should definitely go with someone, though, because Thor just... well, shopping with him is always an adventure."
"Everything is an adventure with Thor," Loki muttered and Jane laughed. "I am uncertain who would be most willing to go out with us." With me, Loki meant, because she had no doubt that anyone in the tower would be willing to go out with Thor if she wasn't along.
"You get on well with Bruce and Mr Stark," Jane pointed out as they stepped into the lift together. "I don't know how willing Bruce will be to go out shopping in New York City – he's not fond of large crowds – but Mr Stark would probably have a great time. Assuming you can pull him away from his machines for long enough. Or you could ask Steve; he isn't one to hold a grudge."
"We shall see," Loki said and Jane smiled in sympathy.
Jane got off at the lab, leaving Loki to exit into the main room alone. Everyone but Banner and Thor were there, watching something on the television, and they glanced towards the lift as Loki stepped out, only to do a double take when they recognised the change. Loki flashed them a cool smile, interested to see what further reactions they had.
"I thought you were too tired for magic," Rogers said, cheeks hinting pink.
"Changing my gender uses a different magic than everything else," Loki replied smoothly as she prowled towards the couches. "This is natural to me."
"You certainly seem a natural," Romanoff commented, mouth smiling under a flinty gaze.
Stark was suddenly standing in front of Loki, between her and Romanoff. He grinned at her, bright with mischief. "Why don't we head on down to my private lab for some tests of this lovely form of yours," he suggested.
Loki brushed closer, hands teasing up the man's arms. "Why, Mr Stark, are you propositioning me?" she breathed, watching him through half-closed eyes.
"Sister," Thor's voice cut over to them and Stark pulled back as if burned.
Loki looked over at where Thor stood in the passage to the kitchen. "Problem, Brother?" she enquired coolly.
"Behave," Thor ordered before looking at Stark. "Man of Iron, I suggest you refrain from continuing this game with my sister, lest she hurts you."
Everyone was silent for a moment, then Barton coughed and said, "Well, that's a different over-protective older brother talk than I'm used to."
"Seconded," Stark agreed. "You know, Thor, you're supposed to be threatening to break my neck or something if I hurt your...uhm...Loki."
Loki let out a peal of laughter and Thor sighed. "Loki is more than capable of taking care of herself," the elder god said, "and I have often been left to clean up her past lovers." He shot his sister an irritated look. "You agreed to behave yourself, Loki."
"You and I have very different definitions of the word," Loki replied, amused, before quickly switching tracks and announcing, "Thor and I have need to shop for food to make dinner. If that is acceptable?" she added, looking at Coulson.
Coulson shrugged. "Don't make a scene. And if Director Fury finds out, I'll leave it you to explain your reasons to him."
Thor groaned while Loki shrugged; she'd intended to keep a relatively low profile, anyway. "Lady Jane suggested we take an additional person with us, as Thor is incapable of actually shopping without supervision and I am unfamiliar with Midgardian customs."
"You're more familiar with them than you pretend to be," Barton accused.
Loki smiled at him, eyes glinting, and the archer mimed shooting an arrow at her head.
"Kids," Stark interrupted, "play nice or you'll both end up in time out." He looked at Loki with a serious air. "Jane can't go with you?"
"She has wish to utilise your lab, as you will not be studying me today."
"Huh. Bruce kicked me out for the same reason." Stark rubbed at the back of his head, then looked towards the couches. "Okay, no. Probably not. Maybe...but, no. Cap?"
Rogers shot Stark a tired look while everyone else shook their heads at Stark's oddities. "Tony, why don't you go with Thor and Loki? You need to get out of the tower for a couple hours."
"Got out of the tower yesterday," Stark pointed out.
"For a fight," Rogers agreed. "Go. Waste money."
"Get yourself a new coffee machine!" Barton added.
Stark shot the archer a glare, then shrugged. "Yeah, okay." He glanced down at his two-day old, oil and grease-stained jeans and muscle shirt and grimaced. "I'll go change. JARVIS, let Pep know I'll be out in town so she doesn't kill me when I do something scandalous."
"You could just behave," Rogers suggested.
"Now where's the fun in that?" Stark replied, stepping into the lift. To Thor and Loki, he added, "Come on. This one goes down to the garage, too."
Thor and Loki were in the garage, looking curiously at the line-up of cars that all had tags labelling them as Stark's, when a long black automobile pulled up. An older man stepped out of the front and nodded to the two gods.
"Driver of Gladness!" Thor boomed, striding forward to take the man's offered hand in a shake.
The man returned the shake with only a hint of a wince, then nodded to Loki. "I am Happy Hogan, the personal driver of Mr Stark and Miss Potts. Miss Potts sent me to pick you up for your shopping trip."
"Stark stopped to change," Loki replied.
Hogan shrugged. "I'm used to waiting," he admitted. "And, forgive me, but you are?"
"This is my sister, Loki," Thor introduced, wrapping an arm around Loki's shoulders.
Hogan blinked. "I see."
The lift dinged behind the gods and Stark stepped out. "Ah, Happy, always a pleasure to see you."
"Likewise, sir," their driver replied. "Where to first?"
"Saks, if you would," Stark requested, holding the door open and waving his companions in. "Come along, you two."
"I am unfamiliar with this 'Saks'," Thor said once they were all in the vehicle. "Do they offer unusual meat there?"
Stark flashed them both a smile. "Not quite." His gaze focussed on Loki. "As long as we're going out, we might as well see you dressed properly."
"I am dressed sufficiently," Loki snapped, scowling.
"Not if you're shopping with me," Stark returned with an easy smile. "Those would fit you fantastically as a man, but they just aren't right on you now, so we're getting you something better."
"And undergarments," Thor added, warming to the idea. When Loki turned her scowl on him, he pointed out, "You cannot wear Jane's things forever."
"Yeah, not nice to steal her stuff," Stark agreed. "I mean, given, you're not really nice, but everybody likes Jane and we're going to be nice to her. Also, Thor will kill us if we're not."
"I will indeed," Thor agreed.
Stark nodded. "See? So, you, clothing. Clothing that fits. Also, can we talk about pronouns? Because, really, what do I call you? Are we all 'she' and 'her' today, or are we sticking with the 'him' and 'he'? Explain this."
Loki sighed. "Whichever you are comfortable with; Thor, Mother, and Lady Sif have always followed with my apparent gender at the moment, but the Allfather, the Warriors Three, and much of the court have always referred to me as a male."
"Yeah, okay. But what would you prefer?" Stark insisted.
Loki was still for a moment before admitting, "I would prefer you follow the gender I choose to be at the moment."
"Done," Stark said, then ducked out the door as they stopped outside a white stone building. Stark stopped to talk with Hogan while Loki and Thor got out of the vehicle. Once the door was shut, Hogan drove off.
"He'll be back in an hour, unless I tell him otherwise," Stark said, leading the way into the shop.
A hopeful assistant met them before they were more than a couple steps into the shop. "Mr Stark," the woman babbled, "what can we do for you today?"
Stark looked over his sunglasses at the young woman, then nodded and reached back to pull Loki forward. "We're shopping for Ms Odinson, today, if you would."
Loki carefully extracted her arm from Stark's grip and bit back the urge to correct the man; she was Loki Friggadottir, not Odinson, in this form. But Stark likely didn't know there was a difference – humans' last names followed them through family lines, rather than matching to the names of their parents – so Loki thought she could forgive him. Perhaps.
The assistant led them upstairs, to the racks of female clothing. "Where would you like to start?" she asked. "And do you have a budget?" She glanced back at Stark for that question.
"No budget. Go crazy."
Loki flashed Stark a cold smile. "You may wish to retract that statement, lest I take you at your word."
"I could buy out this entire store and still have money to spare," Stark returned, amused. "Really, have a ball. And feel free to show off some lingerie."
"I will wait by the stairs," Thor decided, looking more than a little disturbed, and Loki and Stark chuckled at his expense. "Behave, Sister," he added over his shoulder as he turned to find a bench.
"I always behave," Loki said, though not loud enough for the elder god to hear.
"I think he means behave well," Stark pointed out before looking towards the amused assistant. "Start from the inside out: Undergarments, casual shirts and slacks, then maybe something formal."
"What need have I for formal clothing?" Loki asked as the assistant motioned for them to follow her to one side of the floor.
"We do these charity parties sometimes, because Steve or Pep insist," Stark replied, watching their assistant's arse as she moved ahead of them. "Unless you want to spend four hours locked up with your babysitting squad, you'll want something to wear."
"I would think I'd have been 'locked up' whether I had clothing or not," Loki pointed out.
"Sure, maybe. Behave yourself today and we might be able to talk Fury into letting you tag along."
As long as no one recognises me, Loki added, but kept it to herself. She wasn't certain she wanted to attend a human party with the Avengers and her not-brother, but it would almost certainly be preferable to sitting in some out-of-the-way room on the helicarrier, a line of guns pointed at her head.
An hour of looking through racks of clothing and trying on things that caught her eye followed. She did show off an undergarments set for Stark, scandalising their assistant and at least one shopper. Stark compounded the situation by letting out a whistle and clapping for her until Loki spun in front of him, purposefully hitting him in the face with her braid. She smirked at his wounded look over her shoulder, and he was all good cheer once she came out with an actual outfit to model. A couple other outfits she or Stark picked out got some amusing reactions from their audience and Loki heard the human teasing more than one other couple who were using the changing rooms that 'his girl' made everything look fabulous.
When they finally made their way back to Thor, purchases bagged up and Loki in a new outfit, Loki was grinning wider than she had in over a decade, having had a fantastic time.
"You look much refreshed, Sister," Thor commented as he took some of her bags.
"I have never had so much fun," Loki replied, wrapping her free arm around Thor's. "Well, no, wait, there was that one feast–"
"I'm gladdened to see you happier," Thor hurried to say.
Loki flashed him a knowing smile, but let him distract her from the utterly embarrassing story; she would bring it up for Jane at a later date. "So, we're to look for food now?" she asked, glancing towards where Stark was leading the way out of the building.
"Unless you had something else you wanted to do," Stark agreed, waving towards where the vehicle they'd arrived in sat.
Loki shook her head. "No. And I should start on dinner sooner, lest it not be finished for the usual hour."
"How much food are you intending to make?" Stark wondered, concern in his voice.
"Not nearly as much as Thor would prefer," Loki allowed, "but enough that even Volstagg might find himself sated."
"Who–? Right. Warriors Three." Stark sighed and looked towards Thor's wide grin. "I'm not sure we need that much food, but I've also never actually seen Thor full."
"He is not much changed, beyond a slight drop in volume," Loki replied drily, casting a long suffering look at her not-brother. "And that is often negated by an overabundance of alcohol."
"I am familiar with drunk Thor," Stark said. "I have seen too much of drunk Thor, during some of Thor's parties. The one where they played strip poker, most memorably."
"That was a most excellent game!" Thor insisted.
"Thor, the idea was to keep your clothing, not lose it all," Stark replied, lips twitching with a suppressed smile.
"It's more entertaining my way," Thor assured him, grinning. "Lady Natasha seemed not to mind."
"Natasha's sole purpose in playing was to get all of us starkers so she could hold the photos over our heads as blackmail." Stark chuckled and shook his head before turning to Loki and commenting, "She didn't realise that Cap is an excellent poker player, and none of the rest of us batted an eye at her version of blackmail. Thor even modelled for her."
"You would," Loki said, amused. "Did you make her wait while you called Mjölnir?"
"Of course. Where is there a portrait of me without Mjölnir?"
"My rooms in the palace," Loki replied without pause, "and Mother's vanity."
"Ah." Thor smiled fondly. "Yes, there are those." He tilted his head, curious. "I had thought you rid of it."
Loki's expression fell flat for a moment, then she shrugged and forced a smile. "Placed away, not destroyed," she allowed, the honesty bitter against her tongue.
They were silent for a long moment, Thor beaming and Loki uncomfortable while Stark watched them, expression so incurious that Loki was certain he was faking it.
The vehicle stopped then, and Stark glanced out tinted windows before nodding and ducking out. Loki and Thor followed him in time and, after checking with Hogan, he joined them in front of the large grocery they stood before. "If you can't find something here, I'll have JARVIS sort out our next destination before we meet back up with Happy."
The gods nodded in understanding and they made their way into the grocery. Loki was quick to direct Thor to push the cart, hoping it would keep her not-brother from causing trouble or adding unneeded items. For the most part it worked, but they had a minor argument when Stark pointed out a new flavour of Pop-Tarts, which the human ended by reminding them it was his money and if Thor wanted the sugar, he wasn't going to stop him. So the Pop-Tarts ended up in the cart and Thor was triumphant until Loki snarled, "If I find out you've had any before dinner, you get nothing." Thor had little doubt that Loki would hold true to her word.
They managed to find everything on Loki's list, though she'd had to substitute some things, owing to the need to make the food with Midgardian ingredients. Thankfully, Stark's mobile connection to JARVIS helped her figure out what to substitute with little hassle.
Back at the tower, Loki left to drop off her bags of clothing in her room, then made her way up to the kitchen, where Thor and Stark had dropped the food before dropping in front of the television again. She rolled her eyes at them, but got to work making food. When she needed help with something, she would stand at the end of the short hall to the kitchen and glare a hole into the back of Thor's head until he noticed her and scrambled to do her bidding, the laughter of the others following him.
When everything was ready, Loki sent Thor to set the dining room table while JARVIS called Jane and Banner upstairs from their work.
"Multiple courses?" Jane asked with surprise as she stepped into the kitchen to see if Loki needed any last minute help.
Loki shook her head. "A salad and main course," she replied. "Thor said Barton dislikes vegetables, and I do so enjoy tormenting him."
"It's mutual, I think," Jane said, amused. "He could just avoid it entirely."
"He'll look quite the fool, then." Loki snorted. "Here, help me take these out to the table?"
"So what's tonight's poison called again?" Stark asked as the two women brought out the bowls with the cucumber salad. "I can't get my tongue around the names."
"This is agurksalat," Loki said as she slid into her seat between Thor and Stark and passed her bowl to the elder god, Jane starting her own bowl on the other side before taking her seat on Thor's other side. "There is dyresteg and klubben after this, with hjortebakkels for pudding."
"Translation?" Pepper asked with a discontent look. She didn't often eat at the tower, Loki had discovered, and it was chance that she was in that day. Loki hadn't been there to hear Stark explain why Loki was a woman, but the arm waving she'd seen out of the corner of her eye when she went out to gather Thor at one point had looked entertaining.
"Cucumber salad, venison with cheese sauce, potato dumplings, and doughnuts," Thor offered around a bite of his salad.
"I'm behind the doughnuts," Barton said, perking up from where he was poking at his cucumbers. "Can we just skip right to that?"
"The hjortebakkels aren't done yet," Loki lied with an easy smile.
"Eat your salad," Romanoff added, turning sharp eyes on Barton. When he grumbled, her hand moved under the table and he flinched before going after the salad with a vengeance. When Romanoff looked up, Loki inclined her head in thanks for the intervention and the human returned the gesture.
Once most of the salad was cleared away, Loki rose to collect the next set of dishes, ordering, "Thor, you're helping me."
Thor huffed good-naturedly and rose next to her, reaching out to grab the two mostly empty large bowls. "Do you need more help?" Jane asked as the two gods moved to return to the kitchen.
Loki smiled and shook her head. "No, Thor should be able to manage; it's the only reason I keep him around." Ahead of her, Thor let out a booming laugh of amusement while most of the table shared a chuckle.
The venison earned its fair share of compliments, and Banner did try some, but ended up defaulting to the potato dumplings, as Loki had expected.
"I need this recipe," Pepper decided, appearing to have completely relaxed around Loki. (Truly, most of the group had; if she'd realised making them food was the way to buy into the hearts of these humans, she would have done it the first night.)
"I'll make certain JARVIS has it in his systems," Loki promised. "He should have most of it already, but I may have helped the cooking along in ways you cannot."
"Loki," Thor admonished.
"Did you not want hjortebakkels, then?" Loki replied, unrepentant. She'd almost forgone the treat – Thor's favourite or not – but decided her magic was recovered enough to help the dough along so it would be ready in time.
"Well, of course I want them," Thor said, looking wounded. "But you were supposed to let your magic rest today."
"I am sufficiently recovered that a few minor tricks in the kitchen will cause me no harm," Loki returned, shaking her head. "Trust me to know how best to handle my own magic, Brother."
Thor frowned at her. "I will not," he replied, firm. "Loki, I haven't see you so poorly in over a millennium."
Loki bit her tongue to keep from snapping at Thor, which gave Stark the opening to say, "I'll take some of the blame, because I knew you were keeping an illusion up and I didn't call you on it; I won't make that mistake again."
Loki shoved away from the table and stalked into the kitchen to keep herself from responding with violence. She didn't need their protection or concern. She was here to destroy them, and no amount of kindness on their parts would change her mind. Loki wanted to see all of them burn.
Arms came around Loki without warning, pulling her back against a familiar chest and trapping her arms at her sides. Loki kicked backwards, letting free a violent grin when she felt her heel connect with Thor's ankle, but he made no reaction beyond a quiet breath of surprise and his arms didn't loosen around her when she tried to twist away.
Loki gave in easily enough – she had never been a match for Thor's strength, man or woman – and Thor waited a beat before saying, "Loki, I love you."
Loki slumped in Thor's arms, her anger drifting away. "Don't," she whispered.
"I'm a wretched brother to let you believe I wouldn't care about you," Thor continued, not heeding Loki's plea. "I am more the terrible for not noticing you were wearing yourself thin until you collapsed. It is a mistake I won't make twice, even if I must trust in Tony to tell me when you are hiding how weak your magic is getting. Loki," he finished in a whisper, "please don't make me ask Tony to watch you."
Loki reached up and grabbed Thor's forearm where it rested under her breasts, uncertain if she wanted to pull it away to free herself, or pull it tighter. "Okay," she whispered, and she didn't know if it was a lie or not.
Thor let out a quiet breath, then stepped away and around Loki so he could look her in the eye. "Good. Now, hjortebakkels?" He widened his eyes with pleading.
Loki huffed a laugh and shoved at him. "You great hog."
Thor grinned, cheered by her returned good humour. "It's no fault of mine that you have so mastered the creation of hjortebakkels."
"Flattery will get you nowhere," Loki returned, moving to collect the platter of sweets from where she'd hidden them behind her cooking mess. Despite her comment, she did hold out one of the doughnuts to Thor before starting back to the dining room and he took it with a gleeful bounce, shoving the whole thing in his mouth.
Loki laughed at the blissful expression he wore and slipped out into the dining room. She set the platter down in the centre of the table and grabbed one for herself before dropping back into her chair. She nibbled on it and smiled at the flow of compliments, absently smacking Thor's arm when she caught him grabbing three doughnuts at once.
As the doughnuts dwindled, the table started to empty, people heading out to the television or whatever work they had been in the middle of when JARVIS called them away. When Loki rose to help collect the dishes, Thor shook his head and plucked her plate from her hands. "You made dinner, I will clean up."
"And I'll help him," Jane added, gathering her own pile of dishes. "Really, thanks for making the food for once; I was beginning to feel like Thor's day to sort out dinner plans was really my day."
"I'm familiar with the sensation," Loki replied drily before turning to leave the dining room; she wasn't about to insist on helping with the clean-up when Thor had already waved her away once.
Out in the main room, she found that the group had turned on the news, so she settled down in the spot Thor seemed to think was hers to watch, more interested than she'd been in their various programmes.
During an advertisement break, Barton asked, "Are we going to be seeing a lot of you with tits?"
Loki raised an eyebrow and left it to Romanoff to punish the archer, which she did with pleasure. "Perhaps," she allowed.
"I like having another woman around," Jane offered as she and Thor joined Loki on the couch, the human woman taking Thor's usual spot at Loki's side and tugging out the tie that had kept Loki's hair in the braid. Loki slid a glance at her, but didn't make a comment, so Jane started undoing the braid, soothing out the occasional tangle. "It's rather testosterone-heavy in this building."
"Nothing wrong with a bit of testosterone," Stark commented. "Have to say, though, I'm loving the view." He shot Loki a grin, looking pointedly at where her shirt's top buttons had freed themselves, showing her cleavage.
Loki's lips curled and she reached up to undo the next button down, only for Thor to reach around Jane – who grinned behind his arm – and grab her wrist. "Sister," Thor said, harried, "please refrain from being indecent in my presence."
"Thank you," Rogers breathed, cheeks pink with embarrassment and eyes turned pointedly away from Loki.
"Perhaps I was intending to fix my shirt," Loki returned, all smooth innocence.
"Of course you were," Thor said, so obviously disbelieving, and let go of her.
Loki rolled her eyes and buttoned all the buttons, then smirked at Stark, who grinned back. On the other side of Jane, Thor sighed but didn't comment.
They fell to silence as the reporters returned to the screen, everyone turning their attention to them. Loki almost didn't realise she was dozing off, soothed by the feeling of Jane's finger's in her hair, but an explosion on the screen startled her awake and she shook her head to clear it before pushing herself up from the couch.
"You are well?" Thor asked as she passed him.
"Just tired," she replied, allowing a slight smile. "Good night, Brother. Lady Jane." She nodded to where Stark and Barton were watching her out of the corners of their eyes, distracted away from the action on the screen.
"Good night, Sister," Thor replied, smiling back at her.
"Pleasant dreams, Loki," Jane added. "Let me know if you need any help with your hair in the morning."
"I will keep your offer in mind," Loki promised, though she thought it was more likely that she would be able to settle it with magic in the morning, assuming she felt like retaining her female form.
She took the lift down to her floor and took only the time needed to change into her under tunic before climbing into her bed and curling under the covers. The lights darkened without her having to ask and she smiled up at the ceiling, grateful for the AI's expectance of her needs.
As she was drifting to sleep, Loki recognised that the first step of her plans were in place: The Avengers had accepted her into their lives; there had been no snarky comments about the possibility of poison in their food or glares beyond Romanoff's before they'd left to get food. Loki could start working towards step two with little to no trouble.
She drifted off with the question, Why is my chest so tight? bouncing through her mind.
-0-
-0-
A/N: I will admit, I have neither made, nor had any of the recipes Loki made – though the hjortebakkels are similar to the cake doughnuts that they sell at some groceries. I found everything I needed about them online, searching for Norwegian dishes. The Norse names were given in the recipes, so any mistranslations I shall rest fully upon the shoulders of the recipe writers. XP
Chapter Four will be up on Sunday the 12th, rather than Monday the 13th, because I will be largely without internet during the week. (Or air conditioning, actually. Talking about a lack of 1st world creature comforts...)
~Bats ^.^x
The Shattered Glass Series:
Whatever Lies Beyond This Morning
Like So Much Shattered Glass Chapters:
One | Two |Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven
Rough Edges Chapters:
One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven
Christmas Tunes
..
Chapter: 3 of 7
Fandom: Marvel (movie 'verse)
Author: Batsutousai
Beta: Shara Lunison
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Tony Stark/Loki Odinson(Laufeyson), canon
Warnings: Spoilers for The Avengers (2012) and prequel films, angst of the self-hate variety
Summary: Loki thought to break the Avengers, one man at a time, before killing them. His plans had never involved being broken in return.
A/N: Sorry about the wait. My computer overheated and shut down yesterday evening and I completely forgot that I needed to post this today. Sorry it's so late. *shame*
Minor fuckage with the mythology here, but considering how twisted this world already is, with Loki raised as Odin's son, I feel no true shame. In line with this, the sorcerer Loki mentions in the beginning, Heiðor, is completely made up. Even the name, which I just pulled out of my arse. (Literally, my arse. Apologies for the smell. XP)
Most of this chapter is so unplanned, it's not funny. It manages well enough, I think, though.
Loki woke feeling oddly warm and safe, but with the distressing undertones of exhaustion. The only other time he'd felt this series of sensations upon waking was after the Last Great Battle in the Æsir-Vanir War, whereupon Thor had almost met his death at the hand of an accomplished sorcerer, Heiðor, only stopped by Loki. Loki had won the battle, but nearly at the cost of his own life, and had woken two days after the battle to find Thor curled up next to him in his bed, an absolute wreck of concern, and Loki's own magic struggling to recover after being nearly depleted.
Loki forced his eyes open and glanced down at the uncommon weight against his chest. He sighed upon recognising Thor's arm, unsurprised and slightly irritated. Also, he felt the need to escape to the toilet, so he shoved at the arm and managed to roll out from under it. "Brute," he muttered to the sleeping form of his not-brother before stalking into the bathroom.
Once his bladder was silenced, Loki took the chance to take stock of himself. His magical reserves were low, lower than he'd have expected after what magic he'd performed the day before; he may have been using more than normal with Stark's tests and the teleporting, but he was no weakling when it came to magical strength, as his victory over Heiðor had proven. He was also irritated to realise that Thor had removed all but Loki's under tunic, and a glance around his room didn't help him discover the rest of his clothing's whereabouts. Normally, he would cast a spell to find them, but he much preferred to have some magic in reserve, in case he had need of it. (And his magic recovered faster when he left it to its own devices.)
Thor let out a groan from the bed and Loki watched as the elder god's hand reached against the bed for a moment before his eyes flew open and he jerked upright, panicked. He relaxed when he recognised Loki leaning against the doorframe to the toilet. "Good morning, Brother," he offered with a smile.
"Thor," Loki replied shortly. "What made you believe yourself welcome to invade my space whilst I slept?"
Thor's brow furrowed for a moment before his expression cleared to make way for a heavy frown. "You exhausted yourself yesterday."
"Inexplicably," Loki returned.
"Not without reason," Thor returned, voice sharp and Loki narrowed his eyes at him. "The Man of Iron– Tony said you've been wearing an illusion over your clothing for two days–"
"And you think–" Loki started, snarling.
"I have lived with you and fought beside you for nearly two millennia, Loki," Thor shouted, expression tight with righteous anger. "Do not think me so a fool that I cannot tell when your magic has left you, or what spells would drain you this much. I don't need to understand your tricks to know their effect upon you."
Loki turned away, unable to face his not-brother. For Thor had spoken the truth; for all that Loki's mind was closed to Thor, they knew each other too well to tempt him with lies about Loki's health and the state of his magic.
Fabric shifted and Loki heard Thor's heavy steps behind him before the elder's arms wrapped around the younger. Loki made a half-hearted attempt to get away, knowing it was useless, and Thor's grip tightened. "Loki," Thor whispered, broken, "please."
Loki felt like his stomach was climbing his throat and he closed his eyes, refusing to relax in Thor's embrace. "Let me go," he said without inflection.
"Stop pushing me away," Thor whispered, arms tightening around Loki just the slightest. "I want to help you, Brot–"
"I am not your 'brother'!" Loki snarled, pushing at the arms holding him, needing to put space between them.
But Thor was too strong, too determined, and Loki fell back against him, exhausted and breathing hard. Only once Loki was silent, did Thor say, "We have shared baths and beds, victories and sorrows, battle and peace; you are my brother, Loki, as you have always been. Whether it was from Mother or a Jötun that you birthed doesn't matter, will never matter. And I will tell you this again and again – until Ragnarök, if I must – until you are as willing to believe it as I."
Loki gasped through a pain that felt entirely too real, only remaining upright because Thor refused to let him sink to the ground. He wanted to scream and rage, he wanted to turn on Thor and bring violence down on his head, he wanted to skip his careful plans and just be done with all of this. He longed for the promised peace of solitary confinement until Ragnarök, where no one would beg for the love of a monster, only sit back and hate him forever on.
I am a monster, Loki remembered, and he'd always found changing his shape too easy, too like something he'd been born for. The Allfather's spells were broken now, leaving nothing for him to fight against, and Loki fell into the cold protection of his Jötun form. Thor's arms fell away, surprised by the sudden chill, and Loki spun on the spot, red eyes flashing hate as he spat, "You would love me still? Speak your pretty words to me now, Brother."
Almost two thousand years worth of fear and hatred flashed in Thor's eyes before he firmed his mouth against it and stepped forward, touching a hand to Loki's cheek. "I will always love you, Brother," he swore, sincerity in his voice.
"No," Loki breathed, pulling away and putting space between them. "That is not– You would never–"
"Loki, stop this!" Thor ordered, moving towards him again.
"I am a monster!" Loki screamed at him, terrified and filled with so much self-hatred. How could Thor bear to look at him? How could he even think to love Loki?
"You are my brother!" Thor roared and Loki flinched. Thor immediately gentled his tone, holding his hands in as non-threatening a manner as he could. "Loki, it matters not to me what skin you wear, it never has. I have loved you as a sister and a brother, as a horse and a serpent; why do you think me incapable of loving you as a Jötun?" He took a step forward and Loki flinched again. "Is it because you cannot love yourself?"
"Only a fool would find it in themselves to love a Jötun," Loki spat.
"You have always insisted I am one," Thor pointed out gently, a tired smile curving his lips. "Might I prove you right again?"
Loki crumpled to his knees, curling around himself and hiding frozen tears behind blue hands.
Then Thor was there, too warm against Loki's side, but Loki leaned against him like he'd done when they were children, after one of the other boys in the practise courts started in again about how only girls practised magic, and maybe they'd all have been happier if the Allfather's second son had been a daughter. Thor had always stayed behind to beat those who would mock Loki, then come running after the younger prince to hold him while Loki cried.
"I'm here," Thor whispered, both in Loki's memories of centuries past and in the present, voices young and old and somehow forever soothing, even when Loki just wanted to push him away. He wanted Thor to say he was a monster, that he should have been killed, not brought home to Asgard.
But Thor didn't. He said only, "I'm here," and "I've got you," and "It's okay to cry, Loki."
So Loki cried, hating the way the tears froze against his cheeks, falling to the floor when they go too heavy to stay attached to his skin and melting against the carpet. He hated the ice crystals that formed along the edges of his tunic and blossomed where one hand was clenched in Thor's tunic. He hated Thor's warmth against him, proving how very cold he was. He hated the way Thor's fingers soothed through his hair, so familiar and calming, when Loki wanted things rough and angry.
When there were no tears left and Loki was left feeling hollow, he let his body shift back to the Æsir form it was most familiar as. But, as had often happened after a long cry, Loki's form changed to that of a woman, and she let it be, curled against Thor's chest. Thor didn't falter, used to these sudden changes, and only moved to accommodate Loki's slighter form and longer hair.
Loki couldn't say how long they stayed like that, her feeling warm and safe in her not-brother's arms, before JARVIS broke in, apologetic, to say, "Thor, Loki, Sir is requesting that I report on whether or not you intend to come up for breakfast."
Loki pulled away then, brushing a hand over her dry cheeks and refusing to meet Thor's searching gaze. "I have food here," she said quietly.
"We'll eat here," Thor decided before touching a cautious hand to Loki's cheek. "Will you stay a woman long?"
Loki peeked up at him through her hair, too worn to feel angry, though she thought she should. "Yes. No. I don't know. Why?"
"I can have Jane bring you something to wear," Thor offered.
Loki shook her head. "I've my clothing." She frowned. "Where are my things, Thor?"
Thor sighed. "I had them sent for cleaning," he admitted.
"You–!" Loki reached out with over-long nails to claw at Thor's face, but the elder laughed and grabbed her wrists before she could make contact. "I'll have your eyes for that, you ugly brute!" Loki snarled. "Those are mine!"
Thor sighed and pulled Loki back against his chest, holding her wrists captive so she wouldn't attack him again. "They needed to be cleaned. And you've exhausted yourself to make others comfortable. I know you have Midgardian clothing, I was there when Lady Pepper brought them in."
"I don't want mortal clothing," Loki muttered, petulant. "I want my clothing."
"If you intend to wear your clothing, then wear it as is," Thor ordered. "For today, you can wear Midgardian clothing."
"Maybe I'll just stay in here all day," Loki muttered, pulling away from Thor and getting up. "Then I can stay in my tunic and no one will know better."
"We're making dinner tonight," Thor reminded her and Loki let out an irritated noise. Thor grinned and jumped to his feet, following Loki into the kitchen. "It will be a grand feast, Sister! Do you have Pop-Tarts?"
"You overestimate my cooking abilities. And, no, I don't have those disgusting things. I have bacon and bread. And some fruit."
Thor let out a mournful noise and found the bread to make toast while Loki worked on the bacon. "I will have to discover the recipe for Pop-Tarts and bring it home," Thor said after a long silence.
"You'll have to ban me from the kitchens again if you intend to ever enjoy them," Loki pointed out, flashing a mean little smile at Thor.
"You are truly heartless, Sister," Thor informed her.
Loki rolled her eyes and finished with the bacon before pulling out the offering of fresh fruits and slicing some up for them while Thor finished with the toast. They settled in the chairs in the main room to eat.
"What would you have us make?" Thor asked once he was finished.
Loki sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, fighting with some tangles and hating that she couldn't use her magic to soothe them like she usually would. "I don't know that we would find boar or deer, and I don't trust myself to make it without magic," she admitted, grimacing at her state. "Something simple, Thor. You know these humans better than I: What would they have interest in eating?"
"They like trying new tastes," Thor offered. "However, Bruce often turns away from meat, and Clint is known to hide his vegetables in creative places."
Loki snorted in remembrance of Barton's magically vanishing vegetables during the one meal she'd shared with the man while he was under her control. "So meat that can easily be removed from the equation and vegetables that can't," she deduced and Thor laughed. "I'll have to see what there is in the kitchen to work with," Loki realised, looking up at the ceiling. "Unless... JARVIS? Have you an inventory?"
"I do," JARVIS agreed and a holographic screen appeared at Loki's side with a list of their options.
Loki looked down the list, frowning, until Thor interrupted to say, "We can go out to collect additional things. Or have them ordered in."
"Loki is forbidden from leaving the premises," JARVIS reminded the elder god.
"Loki as my brother is forbidden," Thor replied, "but my sister will not be recognised by anyone, which was the main concern, yes?"
"That and his ability to wreck havoc," JARVIS agreed.
"I am quite incapable of wrecking anything more than a pile of poorly stacked bottles," Loki informed the AI drily. Which wasn't completely true, as she was still far stronger than an average human and clever enough to make trouble without magic, but she was warming to the idea of leaving the tower for a couple hours.
"This is not for my programming to refuse or approve," JARVIS informed them. "You will have to discuss it with Agent Coulson."
"We will do so," Thor decided, standing and grabbing both his and Loki's plates. "Sister, shall I enquire after clothing for you?"
Loki took a moment to consider returning to her male form before turning her thoughts to the Midgardian clothing that had been thrown haphazardly into the cupboard in her room. "Under things," she finally admitted.
Thor nodded, returning from putting their dishes in the kitchen. "I will have Jane bring you some, then," he promised. "You are about the same shape."
Loki shrugged; she was taller than her not-brother's woman, and her bust was perhaps the littlest larger, but it was true that they were of a similar build. "Thank you, Th–Brother," she replied and Thor beamed at her before leaving for the lift, asking JARVIS to send Jane down to their floor if she wasn't there already.
Loki sighed and made for her bedroom to look through her clothing options. While it was true that everything was shaped for her male form, it would all fit her well enough in her female form, though things might be a little loose in some areas. She didn't let it bother her, well used to making do with a warrior's clothing while a woman.
"Miss Foster is here with clothing for you," JARVIS announced as Loki was finishing putting the last of her Midgardian clothing away properly. "Shall I let her in?"
"Yes please," Loki agreed, stepping from her bedroom to meet the human.
Jane stepped in with a curious expression. She paused upon seeing Loki, then managed an uncertain smile and continued forward. "Thor said you would need these," she offered, holding out a bra and panties.
"Thank you," Loki replied, taking the undergarments.
Loki had nearly disappeared back into her bedroom when Jane called, "Why a woman?"
Loki blinked and looked back toward the human, confused. "Excuse me?"
Jane waved her hands helplessly in Loki's direction. "Why would you take the form of a woman? At all, I mean. And right now, I guess? I don't know."
Loki tilted her head to one side, watching Jane as the human flushed. "Because I am a man, you think me incapable of accepting a female form for longer than I might need to?" she clarified.
"Something like that."
Loki shrugged. "I discovered my ability to shift between female and male forms when I was still quite young, before I believed gender to matter. And Thor has long held friendship with a woman who is discontent to hold to social norms – you are acquainted with Lady Sif."
"Well, yeah, but a woman deciding to try her hand with a sword is different from a boy deciding to be a girl," Jane insisted.
Loki shook her head. "Not as much as it might seem. You must understand, amongst the Æsir, magic is believed to be a woman's calling, never that of a man. That I should choose to don a female form was not so surprising."
Jane scoffed. "Really? You people think someone shouldn't perform magic unless they have a vagina?"
Loki let out a startled laugh.
"Oh my God! Sorry, sorry! I shouldn't have said that," Jane hurried to correct, waving her hands in front of her face.
Loki shook her head. "I share your opinion, Lady Jane," she offered with a smile.
Jane sighed and allowed a tired smile to curl her lips. "Gender expectations bother me," she admitted. "I respect Lady Sif for her refusal to follow the norm. I didn't realise that you, too, faced stigma for your choices in life."
Loki shrugged, uncomfortable. "If I might change?" she requested.
"Oh, yeah! Sorry," Jane apologised, moving to sit in one of Loki's chairs.
Loki returned to the clothing she'd set out and made quick work of changing into the garments. The material wasn't as unpleasant as she'd expected, and she thought she might actually be okay with the Midgardian clothing if it fit her better; perhaps she would try them again as a male. (Loki spared a brief thought of a curse for Thor; she'd truly had no interest in trying the Midgardian clothing. Ever.)
When she returned to the main room, Jane held up a brush. "I figured you wouldn't have one."
"You believed correctly," Loki allowed.
When she made to accept the brush, Jane shook her head. "My best friend and I brush each other's hair," she offered. "I figure, since I'm sort of dating your brother..." She trailed off with an uncertain smile.
Loki considered that for a moment before inclining her head and settling into the chair next to Jane's that the human motioned to. "Thor would brush my hair when we were younger," she said. "He is terrible at braids."
Jane giggled. "I'll keep that in mind if he ever offers to try anything with my hair," she said and Loki smiled at the thought. "Do you want it in a braid, or something else?"
If she were capable of using her magic, Loki would let her hair hang straight, trusting her magic to keep it from getting too tangled, but now... "A braid, I suppose," she decided. "I can do it myself if–"
"No, no, I can do braids," Jane insisted. "As long as you don't want it fancy, like a French braid or something."
"I am unfamiliar with a 'French braid'," Loki replied.
"Ask JARVIS later," Jane suggested, setting down the brush and sectioning Loki's hair. They remained quiet while Jane worked until she tied it off with a band she'd brought and smiled. "There."
Loki pulled the braid over her shoulder to inspect it and nodded, approving. "Much better than Thor," she said and Jane laughed. "Thor and I are to go out to collect extra food for dinner," Loki said as they stood. "I do not know if you had interest in accompanying us."
Jane put on an honestly apologetic expression. "I should get some work done, since Mr Stark shouldn't be using his lab today. You should definitely go with someone, though, because Thor just... well, shopping with him is always an adventure."
"Everything is an adventure with Thor," Loki muttered and Jane laughed. "I am uncertain who would be most willing to go out with us." With me, Loki meant, because she had no doubt that anyone in the tower would be willing to go out with Thor if she wasn't along.
"You get on well with Bruce and Mr Stark," Jane pointed out as they stepped into the lift together. "I don't know how willing Bruce will be to go out shopping in New York City – he's not fond of large crowds – but Mr Stark would probably have a great time. Assuming you can pull him away from his machines for long enough. Or you could ask Steve; he isn't one to hold a grudge."
"We shall see," Loki said and Jane smiled in sympathy.
Jane got off at the lab, leaving Loki to exit into the main room alone. Everyone but Banner and Thor were there, watching something on the television, and they glanced towards the lift as Loki stepped out, only to do a double take when they recognised the change. Loki flashed them a cool smile, interested to see what further reactions they had.
"I thought you were too tired for magic," Rogers said, cheeks hinting pink.
"Changing my gender uses a different magic than everything else," Loki replied smoothly as she prowled towards the couches. "This is natural to me."
"You certainly seem a natural," Romanoff commented, mouth smiling under a flinty gaze.
Stark was suddenly standing in front of Loki, between her and Romanoff. He grinned at her, bright with mischief. "Why don't we head on down to my private lab for some tests of this lovely form of yours," he suggested.
Loki brushed closer, hands teasing up the man's arms. "Why, Mr Stark, are you propositioning me?" she breathed, watching him through half-closed eyes.
"Sister," Thor's voice cut over to them and Stark pulled back as if burned.
Loki looked over at where Thor stood in the passage to the kitchen. "Problem, Brother?" she enquired coolly.
"Behave," Thor ordered before looking at Stark. "Man of Iron, I suggest you refrain from continuing this game with my sister, lest she hurts you."
Everyone was silent for a moment, then Barton coughed and said, "Well, that's a different over-protective older brother talk than I'm used to."
"Seconded," Stark agreed. "You know, Thor, you're supposed to be threatening to break my neck or something if I hurt your...uhm...Loki."
Loki let out a peal of laughter and Thor sighed. "Loki is more than capable of taking care of herself," the elder god said, "and I have often been left to clean up her past lovers." He shot his sister an irritated look. "You agreed to behave yourself, Loki."
"You and I have very different definitions of the word," Loki replied, amused, before quickly switching tracks and announcing, "Thor and I have need to shop for food to make dinner. If that is acceptable?" she added, looking at Coulson.
Coulson shrugged. "Don't make a scene. And if Director Fury finds out, I'll leave it you to explain your reasons to him."
Thor groaned while Loki shrugged; she'd intended to keep a relatively low profile, anyway. "Lady Jane suggested we take an additional person with us, as Thor is incapable of actually shopping without supervision and I am unfamiliar with Midgardian customs."
"You're more familiar with them than you pretend to be," Barton accused.
Loki smiled at him, eyes glinting, and the archer mimed shooting an arrow at her head.
"Kids," Stark interrupted, "play nice or you'll both end up in time out." He looked at Loki with a serious air. "Jane can't go with you?"
"She has wish to utilise your lab, as you will not be studying me today."
"Huh. Bruce kicked me out for the same reason." Stark rubbed at the back of his head, then looked towards the couches. "Okay, no. Probably not. Maybe...but, no. Cap?"
Rogers shot Stark a tired look while everyone else shook their heads at Stark's oddities. "Tony, why don't you go with Thor and Loki? You need to get out of the tower for a couple hours."
"Got out of the tower yesterday," Stark pointed out.
"For a fight," Rogers agreed. "Go. Waste money."
"Get yourself a new coffee machine!" Barton added.
Stark shot the archer a glare, then shrugged. "Yeah, okay." He glanced down at his two-day old, oil and grease-stained jeans and muscle shirt and grimaced. "I'll go change. JARVIS, let Pep know I'll be out in town so she doesn't kill me when I do something scandalous."
"You could just behave," Rogers suggested.
"Now where's the fun in that?" Stark replied, stepping into the lift. To Thor and Loki, he added, "Come on. This one goes down to the garage, too."
Thor and Loki were in the garage, looking curiously at the line-up of cars that all had tags labelling them as Stark's, when a long black automobile pulled up. An older man stepped out of the front and nodded to the two gods.
"Driver of Gladness!" Thor boomed, striding forward to take the man's offered hand in a shake.
The man returned the shake with only a hint of a wince, then nodded to Loki. "I am Happy Hogan, the personal driver of Mr Stark and Miss Potts. Miss Potts sent me to pick you up for your shopping trip."
"Stark stopped to change," Loki replied.
Hogan shrugged. "I'm used to waiting," he admitted. "And, forgive me, but you are?"
"This is my sister, Loki," Thor introduced, wrapping an arm around Loki's shoulders.
Hogan blinked. "I see."
The lift dinged behind the gods and Stark stepped out. "Ah, Happy, always a pleasure to see you."
"Likewise, sir," their driver replied. "Where to first?"
"Saks, if you would," Stark requested, holding the door open and waving his companions in. "Come along, you two."
"I am unfamiliar with this 'Saks'," Thor said once they were all in the vehicle. "Do they offer unusual meat there?"
Stark flashed them both a smile. "Not quite." His gaze focussed on Loki. "As long as we're going out, we might as well see you dressed properly."
"I am dressed sufficiently," Loki snapped, scowling.
"Not if you're shopping with me," Stark returned with an easy smile. "Those would fit you fantastically as a man, but they just aren't right on you now, so we're getting you something better."
"And undergarments," Thor added, warming to the idea. When Loki turned her scowl on him, he pointed out, "You cannot wear Jane's things forever."
"Yeah, not nice to steal her stuff," Stark agreed. "I mean, given, you're not really nice, but everybody likes Jane and we're going to be nice to her. Also, Thor will kill us if we're not."
"I will indeed," Thor agreed.
Stark nodded. "See? So, you, clothing. Clothing that fits. Also, can we talk about pronouns? Because, really, what do I call you? Are we all 'she' and 'her' today, or are we sticking with the 'him' and 'he'? Explain this."
Loki sighed. "Whichever you are comfortable with; Thor, Mother, and Lady Sif have always followed with my apparent gender at the moment, but the Allfather, the Warriors Three, and much of the court have always referred to me as a male."
"Yeah, okay. But what would you prefer?" Stark insisted.
Loki was still for a moment before admitting, "I would prefer you follow the gender I choose to be at the moment."
"Done," Stark said, then ducked out the door as they stopped outside a white stone building. Stark stopped to talk with Hogan while Loki and Thor got out of the vehicle. Once the door was shut, Hogan drove off.
"He'll be back in an hour, unless I tell him otherwise," Stark said, leading the way into the shop.
A hopeful assistant met them before they were more than a couple steps into the shop. "Mr Stark," the woman babbled, "what can we do for you today?"
Stark looked over his sunglasses at the young woman, then nodded and reached back to pull Loki forward. "We're shopping for Ms Odinson, today, if you would."
Loki carefully extracted her arm from Stark's grip and bit back the urge to correct the man; she was Loki Friggadottir, not Odinson, in this form. But Stark likely didn't know there was a difference – humans' last names followed them through family lines, rather than matching to the names of their parents – so Loki thought she could forgive him. Perhaps.
The assistant led them upstairs, to the racks of female clothing. "Where would you like to start?" she asked. "And do you have a budget?" She glanced back at Stark for that question.
"No budget. Go crazy."
Loki flashed Stark a cold smile. "You may wish to retract that statement, lest I take you at your word."
"I could buy out this entire store and still have money to spare," Stark returned, amused. "Really, have a ball. And feel free to show off some lingerie."
"I will wait by the stairs," Thor decided, looking more than a little disturbed, and Loki and Stark chuckled at his expense. "Behave, Sister," he added over his shoulder as he turned to find a bench.
"I always behave," Loki said, though not loud enough for the elder god to hear.
"I think he means behave well," Stark pointed out before looking towards the amused assistant. "Start from the inside out: Undergarments, casual shirts and slacks, then maybe something formal."
"What need have I for formal clothing?" Loki asked as the assistant motioned for them to follow her to one side of the floor.
"We do these charity parties sometimes, because Steve or Pep insist," Stark replied, watching their assistant's arse as she moved ahead of them. "Unless you want to spend four hours locked up with your babysitting squad, you'll want something to wear."
"I would think I'd have been 'locked up' whether I had clothing or not," Loki pointed out.
"Sure, maybe. Behave yourself today and we might be able to talk Fury into letting you tag along."
As long as no one recognises me, Loki added, but kept it to herself. She wasn't certain she wanted to attend a human party with the Avengers and her not-brother, but it would almost certainly be preferable to sitting in some out-of-the-way room on the helicarrier, a line of guns pointed at her head.
An hour of looking through racks of clothing and trying on things that caught her eye followed. She did show off an undergarments set for Stark, scandalising their assistant and at least one shopper. Stark compounded the situation by letting out a whistle and clapping for her until Loki spun in front of him, purposefully hitting him in the face with her braid. She smirked at his wounded look over her shoulder, and he was all good cheer once she came out with an actual outfit to model. A couple other outfits she or Stark picked out got some amusing reactions from their audience and Loki heard the human teasing more than one other couple who were using the changing rooms that 'his girl' made everything look fabulous.
When they finally made their way back to Thor, purchases bagged up and Loki in a new outfit, Loki was grinning wider than she had in over a decade, having had a fantastic time.
"You look much refreshed, Sister," Thor commented as he took some of her bags.
"I have never had so much fun," Loki replied, wrapping her free arm around Thor's. "Well, no, wait, there was that one feast–"
"I'm gladdened to see you happier," Thor hurried to say.
Loki flashed him a knowing smile, but let him distract her from the utterly embarrassing story; she would bring it up for Jane at a later date. "So, we're to look for food now?" she asked, glancing towards where Stark was leading the way out of the building.
"Unless you had something else you wanted to do," Stark agreed, waving towards where the vehicle they'd arrived in sat.
Loki shook her head. "No. And I should start on dinner sooner, lest it not be finished for the usual hour."
"How much food are you intending to make?" Stark wondered, concern in his voice.
"Not nearly as much as Thor would prefer," Loki allowed, "but enough that even Volstagg might find himself sated."
"Who–? Right. Warriors Three." Stark sighed and looked towards Thor's wide grin. "I'm not sure we need that much food, but I've also never actually seen Thor full."
"He is not much changed, beyond a slight drop in volume," Loki replied drily, casting a long suffering look at her not-brother. "And that is often negated by an overabundance of alcohol."
"I am familiar with drunk Thor," Stark said. "I have seen too much of drunk Thor, during some of Thor's parties. The one where they played strip poker, most memorably."
"That was a most excellent game!" Thor insisted.
"Thor, the idea was to keep your clothing, not lose it all," Stark replied, lips twitching with a suppressed smile.
"It's more entertaining my way," Thor assured him, grinning. "Lady Natasha seemed not to mind."
"Natasha's sole purpose in playing was to get all of us starkers so she could hold the photos over our heads as blackmail." Stark chuckled and shook his head before turning to Loki and commenting, "She didn't realise that Cap is an excellent poker player, and none of the rest of us batted an eye at her version of blackmail. Thor even modelled for her."
"You would," Loki said, amused. "Did you make her wait while you called Mjölnir?"
"Of course. Where is there a portrait of me without Mjölnir?"
"My rooms in the palace," Loki replied without pause, "and Mother's vanity."
"Ah." Thor smiled fondly. "Yes, there are those." He tilted his head, curious. "I had thought you rid of it."
Loki's expression fell flat for a moment, then she shrugged and forced a smile. "Placed away, not destroyed," she allowed, the honesty bitter against her tongue.
They were silent for a long moment, Thor beaming and Loki uncomfortable while Stark watched them, expression so incurious that Loki was certain he was faking it.
The vehicle stopped then, and Stark glanced out tinted windows before nodding and ducking out. Loki and Thor followed him in time and, after checking with Hogan, he joined them in front of the large grocery they stood before. "If you can't find something here, I'll have JARVIS sort out our next destination before we meet back up with Happy."
The gods nodded in understanding and they made their way into the grocery. Loki was quick to direct Thor to push the cart, hoping it would keep her not-brother from causing trouble or adding unneeded items. For the most part it worked, but they had a minor argument when Stark pointed out a new flavour of Pop-Tarts, which the human ended by reminding them it was his money and if Thor wanted the sugar, he wasn't going to stop him. So the Pop-Tarts ended up in the cart and Thor was triumphant until Loki snarled, "If I find out you've had any before dinner, you get nothing." Thor had little doubt that Loki would hold true to her word.
They managed to find everything on Loki's list, though she'd had to substitute some things, owing to the need to make the food with Midgardian ingredients. Thankfully, Stark's mobile connection to JARVIS helped her figure out what to substitute with little hassle.
Back at the tower, Loki left to drop off her bags of clothing in her room, then made her way up to the kitchen, where Thor and Stark had dropped the food before dropping in front of the television again. She rolled her eyes at them, but got to work making food. When she needed help with something, she would stand at the end of the short hall to the kitchen and glare a hole into the back of Thor's head until he noticed her and scrambled to do her bidding, the laughter of the others following him.
When everything was ready, Loki sent Thor to set the dining room table while JARVIS called Jane and Banner upstairs from their work.
"Multiple courses?" Jane asked with surprise as she stepped into the kitchen to see if Loki needed any last minute help.
Loki shook her head. "A salad and main course," she replied. "Thor said Barton dislikes vegetables, and I do so enjoy tormenting him."
"It's mutual, I think," Jane said, amused. "He could just avoid it entirely."
"He'll look quite the fool, then." Loki snorted. "Here, help me take these out to the table?"
"So what's tonight's poison called again?" Stark asked as the two women brought out the bowls with the cucumber salad. "I can't get my tongue around the names."
"This is agurksalat," Loki said as she slid into her seat between Thor and Stark and passed her bowl to the elder god, Jane starting her own bowl on the other side before taking her seat on Thor's other side. "There is dyresteg and klubben after this, with hjortebakkels for pudding."
"Translation?" Pepper asked with a discontent look. She didn't often eat at the tower, Loki had discovered, and it was chance that she was in that day. Loki hadn't been there to hear Stark explain why Loki was a woman, but the arm waving she'd seen out of the corner of her eye when she went out to gather Thor at one point had looked entertaining.
"Cucumber salad, venison with cheese sauce, potato dumplings, and doughnuts," Thor offered around a bite of his salad.
"I'm behind the doughnuts," Barton said, perking up from where he was poking at his cucumbers. "Can we just skip right to that?"
"The hjortebakkels aren't done yet," Loki lied with an easy smile.
"Eat your salad," Romanoff added, turning sharp eyes on Barton. When he grumbled, her hand moved under the table and he flinched before going after the salad with a vengeance. When Romanoff looked up, Loki inclined her head in thanks for the intervention and the human returned the gesture.
Once most of the salad was cleared away, Loki rose to collect the next set of dishes, ordering, "Thor, you're helping me."
Thor huffed good-naturedly and rose next to her, reaching out to grab the two mostly empty large bowls. "Do you need more help?" Jane asked as the two gods moved to return to the kitchen.
Loki smiled and shook her head. "No, Thor should be able to manage; it's the only reason I keep him around." Ahead of her, Thor let out a booming laugh of amusement while most of the table shared a chuckle.
The venison earned its fair share of compliments, and Banner did try some, but ended up defaulting to the potato dumplings, as Loki had expected.
"I need this recipe," Pepper decided, appearing to have completely relaxed around Loki. (Truly, most of the group had; if she'd realised making them food was the way to buy into the hearts of these humans, she would have done it the first night.)
"I'll make certain JARVIS has it in his systems," Loki promised. "He should have most of it already, but I may have helped the cooking along in ways you cannot."
"Loki," Thor admonished.
"Did you not want hjortebakkels, then?" Loki replied, unrepentant. She'd almost forgone the treat – Thor's favourite or not – but decided her magic was recovered enough to help the dough along so it would be ready in time.
"Well, of course I want them," Thor said, looking wounded. "But you were supposed to let your magic rest today."
"I am sufficiently recovered that a few minor tricks in the kitchen will cause me no harm," Loki returned, shaking her head. "Trust me to know how best to handle my own magic, Brother."
Thor frowned at her. "I will not," he replied, firm. "Loki, I haven't see you so poorly in over a millennium."
Loki bit her tongue to keep from snapping at Thor, which gave Stark the opening to say, "I'll take some of the blame, because I knew you were keeping an illusion up and I didn't call you on it; I won't make that mistake again."
Loki shoved away from the table and stalked into the kitchen to keep herself from responding with violence. She didn't need their protection or concern. She was here to destroy them, and no amount of kindness on their parts would change her mind. Loki wanted to see all of them burn.
Arms came around Loki without warning, pulling her back against a familiar chest and trapping her arms at her sides. Loki kicked backwards, letting free a violent grin when she felt her heel connect with Thor's ankle, but he made no reaction beyond a quiet breath of surprise and his arms didn't loosen around her when she tried to twist away.
Loki gave in easily enough – she had never been a match for Thor's strength, man or woman – and Thor waited a beat before saying, "Loki, I love you."
Loki slumped in Thor's arms, her anger drifting away. "Don't," she whispered.
"I'm a wretched brother to let you believe I wouldn't care about you," Thor continued, not heeding Loki's plea. "I am more the terrible for not noticing you were wearing yourself thin until you collapsed. It is a mistake I won't make twice, even if I must trust in Tony to tell me when you are hiding how weak your magic is getting. Loki," he finished in a whisper, "please don't make me ask Tony to watch you."
Loki reached up and grabbed Thor's forearm where it rested under her breasts, uncertain if she wanted to pull it away to free herself, or pull it tighter. "Okay," she whispered, and she didn't know if it was a lie or not.
Thor let out a quiet breath, then stepped away and around Loki so he could look her in the eye. "Good. Now, hjortebakkels?" He widened his eyes with pleading.
Loki huffed a laugh and shoved at him. "You great hog."
Thor grinned, cheered by her returned good humour. "It's no fault of mine that you have so mastered the creation of hjortebakkels."
"Flattery will get you nowhere," Loki returned, moving to collect the platter of sweets from where she'd hidden them behind her cooking mess. Despite her comment, she did hold out one of the doughnuts to Thor before starting back to the dining room and he took it with a gleeful bounce, shoving the whole thing in his mouth.
Loki laughed at the blissful expression he wore and slipped out into the dining room. She set the platter down in the centre of the table and grabbed one for herself before dropping back into her chair. She nibbled on it and smiled at the flow of compliments, absently smacking Thor's arm when she caught him grabbing three doughnuts at once.
As the doughnuts dwindled, the table started to empty, people heading out to the television or whatever work they had been in the middle of when JARVIS called them away. When Loki rose to help collect the dishes, Thor shook his head and plucked her plate from her hands. "You made dinner, I will clean up."
"And I'll help him," Jane added, gathering her own pile of dishes. "Really, thanks for making the food for once; I was beginning to feel like Thor's day to sort out dinner plans was really my day."
"I'm familiar with the sensation," Loki replied drily before turning to leave the dining room; she wasn't about to insist on helping with the clean-up when Thor had already waved her away once.
Out in the main room, she found that the group had turned on the news, so she settled down in the spot Thor seemed to think was hers to watch, more interested than she'd been in their various programmes.
During an advertisement break, Barton asked, "Are we going to be seeing a lot of you with tits?"
Loki raised an eyebrow and left it to Romanoff to punish the archer, which she did with pleasure. "Perhaps," she allowed.
"I like having another woman around," Jane offered as she and Thor joined Loki on the couch, the human woman taking Thor's usual spot at Loki's side and tugging out the tie that had kept Loki's hair in the braid. Loki slid a glance at her, but didn't make a comment, so Jane started undoing the braid, soothing out the occasional tangle. "It's rather testosterone-heavy in this building."
"Nothing wrong with a bit of testosterone," Stark commented. "Have to say, though, I'm loving the view." He shot Loki a grin, looking pointedly at where her shirt's top buttons had freed themselves, showing her cleavage.
Loki's lips curled and she reached up to undo the next button down, only for Thor to reach around Jane – who grinned behind his arm – and grab her wrist. "Sister," Thor said, harried, "please refrain from being indecent in my presence."
"Thank you," Rogers breathed, cheeks pink with embarrassment and eyes turned pointedly away from Loki.
"Perhaps I was intending to fix my shirt," Loki returned, all smooth innocence.
"Of course you were," Thor said, so obviously disbelieving, and let go of her.
Loki rolled her eyes and buttoned all the buttons, then smirked at Stark, who grinned back. On the other side of Jane, Thor sighed but didn't comment.
They fell to silence as the reporters returned to the screen, everyone turning their attention to them. Loki almost didn't realise she was dozing off, soothed by the feeling of Jane's finger's in her hair, but an explosion on the screen startled her awake and she shook her head to clear it before pushing herself up from the couch.
"You are well?" Thor asked as she passed him.
"Just tired," she replied, allowing a slight smile. "Good night, Brother. Lady Jane." She nodded to where Stark and Barton were watching her out of the corners of their eyes, distracted away from the action on the screen.
"Good night, Sister," Thor replied, smiling back at her.
"Pleasant dreams, Loki," Jane added. "Let me know if you need any help with your hair in the morning."
"I will keep your offer in mind," Loki promised, though she thought it was more likely that she would be able to settle it with magic in the morning, assuming she felt like retaining her female form.
She took the lift down to her floor and took only the time needed to change into her under tunic before climbing into her bed and curling under the covers. The lights darkened without her having to ask and she smiled up at the ceiling, grateful for the AI's expectance of her needs.
As she was drifting to sleep, Loki recognised that the first step of her plans were in place: The Avengers had accepted her into their lives; there had been no snarky comments about the possibility of poison in their food or glares beyond Romanoff's before they'd left to get food. Loki could start working towards step two with little to no trouble.
She drifted off with the question, Why is my chest so tight? bouncing through her mind.
-0-
A/N: I will admit, I have neither made, nor had any of the recipes Loki made – though the hjortebakkels are similar to the cake doughnuts that they sell at some groceries. I found everything I needed about them online, searching for Norwegian dishes. The Norse names were given in the recipes, so any mistranslations I shall rest fully upon the shoulders of the recipe writers. XP
Chapter Four will be up on Sunday the 12th, rather than Monday the 13th, because I will be largely without internet during the week. (Or air conditioning, actually. Talking about a lack of 1st world creature comforts...)
~Bats ^.^x
Whatever Lies Beyond This Morning
Like So Much Shattered Glass Chapters:
One | Two |
Rough Edges Chapters:
One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven
Christmas Tunes
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no subject
Date: 7/8/12 22:11 (UTC)Anyway, this was another entertaining chapter! ♥
Oh, and I just noticed, but underneath the list of chapters it says "Rough Edges", is there going to be a sequel?
I feel like you've mentioned this before, but for the life of me I can't remember...no subject
Date: 7/8/12 23:33 (UTC)I'm still working on chapter one of Rough Edges, though. But I'm writing again, and if Tony stops being difficult, I shouldn't get hung up again. *swats Tony*)The only way that Loki's gender is at all important to the plot is that Male!Loki can't really be seen outside Avengers Tower and SHIELD installations, but Female!Loki can. The sex, when it happens, will be with Male!Loki.
In case that was a concern...no subject
Date: 8/8/12 03:53 (UTC)OMG it's the apocalypse! Or should I say Ragnarok...