#sgda

Your phone vibrated in your left pocket as you were falling asleep, forcing you to move uncomfortably to get it out as the bag on your lap weighed you down. "Hello?"

"Good Morning! Are you at the airport already?" A cheerful voice asked on the other side of the line.

"I am on the train, should be there in fifteen minutes. Are you picking me up from the airport?" You asked as your voice gained some energy. You were exhausted, but the excitement to see your best friend after so long tramped it all. 

"Of course, I will! What type of host would I be otherwise? Excited to see New York?" She tried to continue the conversation after hearing the sleepiness in your voice, scared you would fall asleep on the train and miss your flight. 

"I am more excited to leave London. I am only visiting to get away from this city and maybe meet an Avenger or two." You joked, pushing the bag from your lap to the floor before your blood circulation halted completely. 

"Bitch, you don't want to meet the Avengers. 99% of the time they are around, something bad is about to happen. You don't wanna be there" Sophie was not a big Avengers fan, but who could blame her? She lived in New York. She had to live through every fuck up Tony Stark, and his friends caused.

"Whatever, I hope I get a picture with at least one of them. I will be snooping around the city for them." 

...

You talked with Sophie for the rest of your train ride, got to the airport safely with plenty of time and boarded. The flight was quick, and you slept most of the way. 

You were starving by the time you went through security and picked up your bag. Thankfully, your best friend would want to grab food as soon as she picked you up. You were excited to have access to all the American food chains you could not get in London.

As soon as you stepped out of the security area, you spotted Sophie waving at you excitedly. You ran towards her as fast as your backpack and gigantic suitcase would allow.

"Aaaah, babe, I cannot believe you are finally here!" She hugged you tightly. It was like a suffocating breath of fresh air to hug her again after so long. So much had changed since you last saw each other, and although phone calls helped, it was nothing like having her by your side. She smelled like your childhood and felt like home, even after all these years.

"You look super hot! Where are you coming from?" You asked her as soon as she let go of you. She was wearing a lovely fancy red dress that gave her a corporate look you were not used to. 

"Just work, I had to deal with a last-minute issue, but everything should be fine now. I am all yours for the rest of the day." She reassured you, grabbing your suitcase. "Let's get you some food now."

"Great! I am starving!"

…

You grabbed a quick bite and caught up on the latest news in your life. You were both still very much single, but she was hoping to fix that. On the other hand, you wanted to stay away from any serious commitment, too busy with work. Sophie told you that she was working in some Risk Management corporate position, and well, you were about to make associate at a law firm in London. Five weeks from now, you would not have time for anything or anyone but work. So this was the perfect opportunity for you to enjoy your last weeks of freedom before working in something completely different from your original law school dreams.

After grabbing brunch, you headed to Sophie's place. She must have been making good money from the looks of her beautiful apartment in a building in Manhattan. You did not know a lot about rental prices in New York, but if they were even close to anything in London, this was an expensive place to rent. 

"Girl! I guess they are paying you very well at your new job!" You teased her as you entered the beautiful flat. 

"They have to. I am constantly saving their asses. They make me work 24/7, so the least they can do is give me enough money to have a nice place to crash after work." She responded dramatically, taking off her heels. 

"Look at her, Sophie Meyer, Columbia Graduate," you pointed at the graduation pictures on her wall. That had been the last time you two had seen each other almost four years ago (or nine if you counted the time you were gone). "This city is magnificent at night, and I must say, this is a little nicer than my view in London", you added, pointing at the breathtaking skyline surrounding her living room. 

"So, although I may be making enough money to have a nice apartment is still a one-bedroom, so we will have to snuggle up together. Like the old times." She said, reminiscing all the times she visited you in London, and you had to share your bed. "I have work tomorrow, but I should be free all weekend just for you. Feel free to do whatever you please, go Avengers hunting in Central Park or whatever," she joked. 

You spent the rest of the afternoon giving her the gifts you had brought from London and catching up on gossip about your families and friends from school. By 10 p.m., you were exhausted and jetlagged and decided to head to bed while Sophie sent some more emails. 

…

The morning after, you awoke to the smell of coffee and the tumbling of objects in the living room. 

"Yes. I will be there in 20 minutes. No problem. Have a good day." Sophie mumbled on the phone while trying to sip on her coffee as she put on her heels. Today she was rocking another dress, this time a navy blue one which was flowier and had a ribbon on the front. 

She ended the call and screamed, "fuck, fuck, fuck I have to go. Now." 

"Well, good morning to you too, sweetheart. Where are you headed to at…." You looked at your watch "7 in the morning?"

"My boss needs me. There has been some complication with a contract that was leaked to the press. I have to solve it. Ouch," she added as she finally managed to put on her shoes. 

"I will see you for dinner?" You asked.

"Yes, yes. I'll try my best to be here. I'll ask my boss if I can introduce you to our team. You know, I need you to move to New York instead of starting that dumb, boring job in London."

"Yes, whatever, Sophie. It is one of the most coveted positions in London. You should be proud of me like the rest of the world is." You rolled your eyes at her, tired of her honesty and persistence on the topic. 

"I am proud of you. I just think you are giving up everything you believe in, all your dreams. You know success is great, but your values have always been more important than that. We both know no amount of money or success will fulfil you as much as chasing your dreams. You need to do what makes you happy, not what others think you should do." She argued while putting on her jacket, "Also, a friend from work asked me if I could take care of his dog while he is away, so we may have to do that. It is only for a couple of days. Anyway, I gotta go! Love you! Please be careful out there. This is not Notting Hill! Do not trust any strangers on the street! My spare keys are here. Please don't lose them!" she added before walking out the door.

"Byee!" You screamed as she closed the door. Although Sophie was right, this job was not per se your dream job. It was the dream of 90% of lawyers. Giving up this opportunity would be naive, and it would disappoint many people, including your parents and law school friends. This was too much pressure for you to simply not go for it. You would find happiness in other aspects of your life, in your apartment in Notting Hill, in your nights out in Shoreditch, in the cat you wanted to adopt and in the men that would entertain your evenings. 

…

You got ready to go on a walk; the day was super sunny, and the smell of spring filled the apartment. You painted your nails. You did that every day. It was inevitable; at some point during the day, you would start peeling it off and wouldn't stop until it was all gone. It was a habit you had developed through your years in uni. It was either the nail polish or your nails and cuticles, so it was a tedious but necessary habit. 

Opting for a comfortable yet stylish outfit, you wore a dress with flowers. You never know when you may run into an Avenger. 

You spent the day on the streets of New York, window shopping and grabbed a slice of pizza for lunch before heading to the MET in the afternoon. Galleries were your favourite place in the world. Nothing giving you more peace than standing in front of a beautiful painting. Sometimes you wished you could just meet these artists and hear what they were thinking about while painting.

…

It had gotten dark by the time you got back to the flat. You took off your shoes and laid on the couch immobile and exhausted, until the entrance door opened again.

"Good afternoon, babe! How was your day out?" Sophie sang tired as she entered the flat and took off her heels. 

"It was beautiful! I went to the MET, almost as nice as the National Gallery!" You joked, making her roll her eyes. "Anyway, how was your day, businesswoman? Chasing your boss around?"

"Yeah, whatever, it was nice, I ended up having lunch with the team, and I told them about you. My smart best friend from London sounds like somebody everyone wants to meet. I don't think you wanna meet them, though; corporate Newyorkers are not as nice as corporate Londoners."

"The fact that you are calling any corporate sell-out nice already says everything about your judgement on people", you answered sarcastically.

"Woa woa woa, look who's talking? Miss 'I will work in Banking and M&A and watch the world burn'" she spoke, throwing her jacket at you. 

"Now, to the important things. Is there anyone within your team you would like to set me up with? Because I did not come all the way to New York to go on Hinge dates." You asked, lifting your eyebrow and making an insinuating face.

"I don't know, really. I don't think anyone in my team is soo up their ass to be your type. Wait.. mmh... Nah, but I will ask around. Maybe they know some narcissist, tall, skinny, dark-haired asshole. That's still your type, right?"

"Yes, indeed. I am glad you still remember," you matched her sarcastic tone, getting up to grab some water.

"Anyway, my coworker is coming later today to drop off his dog. He will be with us just for five days. I am sure you will be happy to have somebody keep you company while you walk around Central Park. He is a cutie, a big cuddly golden retriever, so all the eyes will be on you." Sophie let you know and then added, "but going back to what we talked about before, babe. I don't think you should go back to London, I really don't. You were always keen to do something good for the world and help people, and now you are throwing all of that away." 

"That's not true. I will still do pro bono work once in a while," you argued. 

"You know that is not enough, and you will be unhappy. New York is a great place for you, and I will talk to my boss and tell him how awesome you are. We help people, babe, and you could do it too. I also know quite a few people that work for the UN. You could work there too." She answered as you both sat on the couch. 

"Is this why you invited me to New York? To kidnap me?" You laughed, and she kept her serious look.

Your conversation was interrupted by the intercom ringing. Sophie got up in a hurry to answer. "Yes, yes, I will be down in a second." She hung up the phone and started putting her heels back on. 

"Are we going downstairs to pick up the puppy?" You asked, curious to meet her coworker. 

"No need, you can wait up here. I will be back in a minute." She said, closing the door behind her. 

…

After 10 minutes, the door slung open, and a giant golden retriever entered, dragging Sophie in with him. As soon as he saw you and Sophie dropped the leash, he ran and jumped on your lap, covering your whole body and almost suffocating you.

"Well, hello boy, what is your name?" You spoke to him sweetly, petting his head, trying to keep him calm as he tried to lick your face. 

"His name is Bjorn. It means bear. He kind of is a bear." Sophie answered for him, and you giggled as he moved from your lap to the side of the couch so you could finally pet him properly. 

"Thank you for not suffocating me, Bjorn, you cutie."

"I have just been informed that they need me to go into the office tomorrow morning. Will you be okay?" Sophie asked. "Also, I may have found somebody I can set you up with, but I am not 100% sure yet." 

"Uhm, interesting; keep me updated." You winked at her. "This cutie and I will go for a walk in Central Park, and then we can meet you at your office?" You asked without taking your eyes off the furball. 

"That's okay. I'll meet you there, I'll bring lunch, and we can eat in the park."

…

You had a quick dinner, chitchatted while playing with the pup and then headed to bed. Sophie refused to show you a picture of your possible set-up, letting you know she needed to check some things before it was confirmed. Bjorn decided there was not enough space for the three of you on the bed and slept on the couch instead. 

…

Around 8 in the morning, you woke up hearing the shower in the bathroom turn on. You got out of bed, went into the living room, grabbed Bjorn's food from the bag the owner had prepared for you two and served him some kibble. He was still half asleep on the couch but jumped up as soon as he heard his food being served.

Sophie got ready and ran around, as stressed as the previous morning. "So plan for today, I go to work, we meet at Central Park, you find us a nice place to sit down and have lunch and tonight we go out for drinks? Saturday night fun?"

"Yes, sure," you answered while petting Bjorn, who had joined you on the couch after devouring his breakfast. 

"Please take care of Bjorn! Love you!" She said, closing the door behind her as last morning. 

You made yourself some coffee and a sandwich and then proceeded to sit down on the couch, turning on the news. Tony Stark was being interviewed on his decision to accept Loki Odinson into the Avengers after what he had done in New York. Stark explained how Loki was under the control of Thanos and had now shown loyalty to the protection of earth and the Avengers team. 

You did not know how to feel about it. It must be so difficult for the families of the people that died in the attack. Seeing the killer of their loved one free and revamped as a hero. However, if it is true that he was being controlled by Thanos, then he may deserve a second chance. You guessed this was another Winter Soldier situation where villains are not truly villains, and heroes are not true heroes. 

After eating, you proceeded to repaint your nails, going for a baby blue. Once they dried, Bjorn started bothering, wanting to go for a walk. So you went into the bathroom, took a shower and changed for the day. 

"Okay, okay, cutie, we can go now. You gotta find me a man in the park or a job at the UN, whichever is easier." You joked, putting his collar on, excited to have some company on today's walk. 

You left the flat and started walking towards Greenwich Village, looking to see a different part of the city. It was a 30-minute walk from the apartment in Chelsea, and you would take the underground to Central Park later to meet with Sophie. 

Once you made it to your desired destination, you started to walk down this beautiful wide street. Although a cutie, Bjorn was not the best-behaved dog. He kept on trying to chase pigeons and wanted to play with every dog he saw on the street. Given his insistence and strength, it had gotten increasingly difficult to hold him back. Your whole upper body had started to get sore as you held tightly onto the leash while he pulled.

You took a deep breath as you finally managed to calm him down enough to stop for a second and look around. Almost as if he could feel you finally relax and look away from him, he pulled with all his strength to your side, making you trip. You tried to keep him calm, but he pulled your shoulder, causing you to cry out in pain. He was uniquely strong for a dog, or you were just particularly breakable. 

"Ouch, Bjorn! Stop it!" You pulled the leash again, holding it with your opposite hand, getting him to finally sit. You looked up, realising he was trying to jump on a man holding a sandwich between his hands. 

"I am so sorry! He is a little too excited to be outside. Your sandwich must smell delicious," you apologised profusely while trying to stop the pain in your shoulder to no avail. 

"No problem. He is a big dog. Did you hurt your shoulder?" The man answered unimpressed, noticing how you were slouching your shoulder.

"Oh no, it is okay. He just pulled harshly. I am sure it is nothing." You responded, looking down at Bjorn, that was now behaving properly, sitting by your side. 

"It looks like it could be dislocated. That is pretty bad. I can call a doctor if you want?" He replied, taking a bite out of his sandwich and breaking off a piece for the hungry dog that had just eaten breakfast. 

"Oh no, doctors are super expensive in the U.S. I am fine. I'll just go home and put some ice on it." 

"I am sure he will look at your shoulder for free. Wait, he is just around the corner. Follow me." He started walking along the street. You did not know whether to follow him. Sophie had told you people may be dangerous in New York, but he seemed pretty normal. You prided yourself on having a good vibe detector, and he seemed nice, a straightforward guy. You started to walk behind him. Bjorn seemed to have understood he had hurt you and was walking at a better speed. 

The man in the peculiar clothes stopped in front of 177A Bleecker Street and opened the door screaming, "Strange! We have a situation. Come here. We need your medical assistance."

----

Liv's Note (please read)

I hope you enjoyed reading the first chapter. Given the length of the work, I have created a separate taglist for it, so please join it to get notified when a new chapter is posted. I have tagged people who are on my general/marvel/Loki/Strange taglist for this chapter but please join the taglist if you want to be tagged again. Please read the PSA linked at the top of this chapter or here. Sending you all my love! Please reblog the story to support my writing ♥️

----

Taglist:

“Not until you finish your sentence from before.” He groaned dramatically in annoyance, getting up. He was not naked but barely so, wearing some tight boxers. Your eyes moved down his body immediately, leaving you in awe. The alcohol making it just more difficult to shift your eyes away from him.

“Why can you not just enjoy this moment?” He asked, moving closer to you, forcing you to look back at his face. 

“Because I deserve better than how you describe me,” you answered, clenching your jaw, unwilling to pathetically give in to your physical desire. 

“Well, it won’t have much meaning if I tell you those things while drunk,” he rebutted, echoing your words from earlier. 

“Well, then, we should not be doing anything that would not have meaning just because we are drunk,” you argued. Loki had chosen the wrong person to discuss with. 

“I just want to feel you,” he whispered, stepping forward and tracing your arm with his index. His touch light enough to leave you wanting for more. 

“Fine. If you don’t want to finish your sentence, implore me,” you looked Loki straight in the eyes, trying to convince yourself you were not giving in to your desire to sleep by his side. “beg me to sleep with you.” 

He opened his mouth, looking for a rebuttal, but nothing came out. He smiled. “Pet, a god does not beg.” You turned to leave the room, but he grabbed your arm “please”, he whispered, “please stay, I- I beg you.” The neediness in his tone made your heart skip a beat as your lips twitched, forcing you to bite your lip to cover your smile. 

“Can I have a shirt? I also need to take off my make-up.” You spoke to him as if you had never planned to leave at all. 

He smiled, pointing at the bathroom where promptly there was a big shirt, still a little too short for your taste and everything you needed to take off your make-up and brush your teeth. 

Once you went back into the bedroom, he was lying again “come here now,” he pleaded. His eyes ran down your legs, savouring the dark shadow of your body. 

“Am I not a generous god?” You mocked him, taking the space next to him. The shirt he gave you barely covered your ass, but you tried to make it work. The lights were off, so you assumed he couldn’t see much anyway.

Once under the bedsheets, you gave him your back, hoping he would come closer. The tension in the air dissipated as he grabbed your waist, pulling you closer to him. You smiled at the feeling of his hand on your waist, holding tightly onto your shirt. Loki kept the rest of his body at a respectful distance, only moving closer to whisper, “goodnight, princess,” before you fell asleep. 

…

The rustling sound of the sheets moving next to you woke you up. Before you could even open your eyes, the smell reminded you where you were. ‘Oh fuck’, you thought, opening your eyes to assess the damage, hoping Loki was not awake yet. 

You turned slowly. He was lying on his back. He did not seem to be awake, thank god. You tried to get out of bed as quietly as possible and tiptoed towards the bathroom to pick up your dress. “You are leaving already?” He spoke sarcastically, opening his eyes and smiling, stopping you in your tracks.   

You instinctively pulled your shirt down, trying to cover as much of your body as possible. “Good morning Loki.” You replied, standing there awkwardly. 

“Oh, that is a pity. Am I no longer your prince?” He said, sitting up on his bed, showing you his toned abdomen again. 

You stopped holding your shirt and pointed at him accusatorily “you, out of all people, should not be feeling too smug this morning. I may have called you my prince, but you were the one that begged for me all night.” You turned back around and walked to the bathroom, feeling his eyes on your ass. 

You grabbed your dress and were about to put it on when he shouted from the other room. “Go shower. I’ll give you some clean garments to put on.” 

You left the dress in the bathroom, going back into the bedroom. “Where are they?” You asked, not seeing any clothes anywhere. 

“I said go shower, and I’ll give you some clothes to put on, not the other way around.” You rolled your eyes, again, working so hard for just a pathetic Midgardian. It was too much trouble to discuss with him, so you just went into the bathroom and took off your clothes. 

The shower was reinvigorating. Thank god you had stuck to tequila all night because you felt perfectly fine. 

You left the shower smelling like Loki, grabbed his bathrobe, and quickly pat-dried your hair so it would not soak the bedroom. You looked at yourself in the mirror before stepping out of the bathroom with a towel around your body.

He was still lying in bed, looking at you. “Can I have the clothes now?” You asked, rolling your eyes at him.

He clicked his fingers, and a pile of perfectly folded clothes appeared on the bed. On top of what you could assume was a green dress, there was a matching black lingerie set, which left little to the imagination. 

“Amazing, thank you so much. I did not know I was cosplaying as a dominatrix.” You smiled at him petty and grabbed the clothes taking them into the bathroom. After changing, you came out, and his face lit up. “So, what do you think?” You asked him as you put your heels back on. 

“I have great taste in fashion.” He responded, knowing well that you were talking about how you looked. 

“I cannot wait to have you begging again.” You said, opening the door of the room to leave.

“What was that?” He asked, but you did not even give him an answer, grabbing your pochette and walking out. Once outside, it seemed like a few people had already woken up as you could hear music playing and voices in certain rooms. 

You walked quickly into the room you were supposed to sleep in last night and finally checked your phone to see if anyone had texted you. It was 10:20 a.m. Your locked screen showed no messages, but once you opened the phone, you noticed you had 11 unread messages, fuck. 

8 - Sophie Meyer

3 - Mom 

Sophie Meyer

1 a.m.

Babe, I am going upstairs with Thor

Text me if you need anything!

I will be back ASAP

9:00 a.m.

Omg, I am so sorry for leaving you alone. I fell asleep!

Did you make it home safe?

I just called Loki, and he is not picking up. I hope you are okay.

Sam just told me you slept here! I am so glad!

Breakfast will be ready at 10:30!

Will be there soon!

Yayy please tell Loki to come down too!

Sophie replied to you immediately, and you rolled your eyes at her request. No calls from Stephen, not even a message, you realised, which made you a little upset. You sat on the perfectly made bed and reflected over the events of last night.

Seeing Stephen with another woman, then dancing with Loki, drinking with Loki. The way he kept on trying to kiss you and begged you to stay through the night. You know that had been difficult for him. He must have really wanted it. The way he put his arm around your waist and called you princess. 

What a confusing man. His advances yesterday night and drunken behaviour had put him in a better light than before. Still, his behaviour this morning was like nothing he did yesterday mattered. 

To be fully honest with yourself, you would have given in if he had not been so drunk yesterday night. He looked so handsome in his underwear, and the way he held your face made your core tighten. The idea of teasing him again and getting him to act like he did yesterday was appealing. However, there was a thin line between seeing if his interest was still present when he was not a bottle of tequila drunk or pathetically begging a man for his attention. 

You checked your email and social media out of habit. After 10 minutes, you got up and knocked on Loki’s room. “Come in,” he had showered, his wet hair laying slick. He was wearing an entirely black outfit again.

“Sophie called us for breakfast. Also, change the colour of my dress, please.” You asked.

“Why? It is nice. It goes with your necklace.” You had forgotten about the necklace. You searched for the clip to remove it and found nothing. “You cannot take it off, sadly,” he added smugly. 

“I don’t want to look like an extension of you. It gives people the wrong impression. It gives people the impression that we don’t despise each other.” You clarified yourself. 

“Well, you should be thankful to be the extension of a god. It gives value to your fleeting existence. However, I think what gives a worse impression is you sleeping with me,” he chuckled. 

“Yes, that is why nobody needs to know about that or if you are really eager to tell them. I’ll make sure to point out that I pushed you away three times when you tried to kiss me and that only after you begged me to stay did I decide to stay in fear that you would choke on your own vomit in your sleep.” You warned him. 

“I like you more when you are drunk,” he groaned, walking past you and leaving the room.

“Oh, Loki, I KNOW how much you like me when YOU are drunk.” You emphasised and walked by his side towards the elevator. “Now change the colour of my dress” he rolled his eyes, and the dress turned burgundy. Happy with his compliance, you decided that teasing him a little bit could be no harm. “Thank you, my prince,” you giggled cheekily, putting a hand on his shoulder and pressing a kiss on his cheek. 

He was shocked, and you could only enjoy the confusion in his eyes. The elevator arrived, and you headed towards the rooftop. Once up, the elevator doors opened and the chatter and sunlight hit your senses, waking you up properly. 

Everyone was here. How were they all awake? Surprisingly, nobody seemed hungover. You walked through the beautiful rooftop big enough that people had already divided into smaller groups to talk. 

Sophie screamed, running towards you. “My best friend is here!” You saw Thor following her slightly behind. 

“Good morning, love. How was your night?” You asked, hugging her. 

“I have so much to tell you. Oh my god,” She whispered in your arms, “we need to talk when we get home.” 

“Good morning Thor,” you gave him a cheeky smile, and he gave one back, looking at his brother. 

“Where did you get the nice clothes?” Sophie asked you. 

“Loki was kind enough to get them for me,” you smiled at the god of mischief, who was talking to his brother. 

“I see, I see. Interesting.” Your best friend looked at you, analysing the situation, suspicious. 

Thor, Loki, and Sophie started chatting. You walked away from the conversation approaching Bucky and Steve, which seemed to be discussing something serious. 

“Good morning Sargent, Captain,” you spoke up, making your presence known.

“Good morning, doll,” Bucky smiled at you flirtatiously. This man was 100+ years old but still found the energy to flirt with anyone in his proximity. 

“Where is Tony?” You asked as you did not see him anywhere. 

“Oh, he has a little girl. He does not usually stay here,” Cap answered. Sam joined your conversation, saying good morning to you. 

“So where’s Loki? I need to make fun of his state last night,” the falcon looked around the room, making you laugh. Steve looked a little confused as he had left early. “Oh, I am sorry, Steve, you missed out on the show. I guess you were busy,” Sam teased him. 

“What happened?” Cap asked curiously, ignoring the inappropriate comment.

Sam laughed loudly. “Well, the god of mischief was all over this beautiful lady and asked her to put him to bed. Can you imagine that? Loki!” Steve chuckled at the idea. 

You tried to move the conversation elsewhere, worrying they would find out you actually ended up sleeping with him. “Well! Where’s the food? I am starving!”

Bucky answered, “Let’s go. I’ll show you! I am super hungry!” Cap interrupted him, “you just finished your plate,” Bucky elbowed him and stepped in front of him, ignoring his comment, “this way.”

You giggled and walked towards a table full of delicious breakfast pastries and pancakes. You grabbed some pancakes and fruit and then sat at a table where Bruce and an agent conversed. Bucky sat next to you and asked how you slept. 

“I slept well. I am glad I am not too hungover. It sucks that you left yesterday. Sam, Tony, Bruce, and I stayed up until late,” you smiled at him. 

“Yes, I heard! I am an old man, you know? I cannot party until four in the morning like I used to,” he gave you a charming look, and you scrunched your nose smiling back. “Next time you need shower products, feel free to knock at my door. I am on the opposite end of the corridor from the guest room. So you don’t need to smell like Loki.” He pointed out impertinently, which made you blush. 

“Now, why would she ever want to smell like old spice when she can smell like a god, Barnes?” You felt Loki put a hand on your shoulder and sit next to you. 

Just like that, you could feel the dick-measuring contest start. Thankfully Bruce interrupted them by asking them a question.

Your mind drifted to yesterday night, to Stephen’s face and how he had looked at you as you hid behind Loki’s back. He seemed genuinely sorry... if he had just talked to you today… sent you a message explaining himself... you were so disappointed by the whole situation. 

After a while, you excused yourself and looked for Sophie. She was talking with Nat, and you guessed they were speaking about Nat’s disappearance with Steve as she seemed a little uncomfortable. You decided you did not know her well enough to join that conversation. 

 It had been a lovely experience to meet them all, but your social battery was running low, and you really wanted to go home. You stood there awkwardly, not knowing whether to interrupt Sophie to tell her you were gonna head home or to just wait a little longer. 

Loki approached you once again. “Jesus Christ, don’t you get tired of being around me all the time? I am starting to think you enjoy my company,” you rolled your eyes, annoyed, as he stood next to you. 

“What if I do?” He whispered, “what’s wrong?” 

“I wanna go home, I am a little tired, and my social battery is running low,” he moved in front of you. 

“Who would have thought? You actually get tired of being around people. I can take you home.” His smile was petulant as always, but his tone was honest. 

“It is okay. It would be a long drive for you just to come back here.” You tried to think about what to do. You finally walked up to Sophie as Loki stayed close behind. “Hey babe, I am gonna go lay down. Text me when you wanna leave, and I’ll be ready.” You thought this was the best solution as she could still chill with her friends and you could get away from all the noise. She nodded and gave you another hug. 

You walked towards the elevator, and Loki followed you. “I know where my bedroom is. You can stay up here.” 

“I am tired of people too.” He replied, entering the elevator with you. Once the elevator started going down, he moved your hair from your neck and got close. Once again, you did not know how to react. “You do smell like me,” he reassured himself and moved away again with a self-approving smile. 

You were so tired, the night had been nice, but all the drinking and dancing had you wanting to lay down in a cold bed, spending the day napping. As the elevator doors opened, you stepped out and walked towards your guest room, not paying attention to the god following you.

He sped up his space and walked in front of you, standing there with a childish smile painted on his face. 

“Loki, I don’t understand what you want. I have no energy for your shifty attitude, one minute, I am the least interesting being in a room that only provides you entertainment with her irrelevance. The next minute you are trying to kiss me, taking body shots from me, and asking me to stay the night. Pick a lane and stay there because your indecisiveness makes me nauseous.” You declared, walking around him. “We are not in kindergarten. You don’t need to spend your days picking on the girl you like. Now excuse me, but I need a nap.” You entered the guest room and closed the door in his face. 

...

The room was so warm, nothing like Loki’s. You needed to turn on the AC, or you would not have been able to sleep; however, you could not figure out how to turn it on…

You tried to lay down and ignore the heat. Somehow the room kept getting warmer and warmer. It got so warm that you started sweating. This was not normal. Loki, he must be doing something. You got up frustrated, almost angry, left your room, and opened Loki’s room, instantly relieved by the cool temperature. 

“I thought you wanted to be alone?” He looked at you, a shit-eating grin on his face. He was lying down, reading a book on his bed. 

“Stop making the room warmer! It is boiling in there.” You shouted his way, growing increasingly frustrated.

“I have no idea what you are talking about. I am just reading, leaving you alone.” He went back to his book, incapable of controlling his grin.

“Why are you doing this?! I am exhausted!” You shouted, tired and frustrated, walking towards his side of the bed. 

He stood up, towering over you. “Be good, and stop shouting at me. We both know you wanna be here. You don’t wanna rest in the other room alone. You want to lay in bed with me as I read, and you sleep. We both know you will sleep much better with me.” 

“Stop projecting your desires on me, Odinson. If you want something, say it.” He looked down at you with disgust, conflicted. 

“Stay.” He spat out

“Why?” You matched his tone.

“It is cold here, and it is enjoyable to be alone without being lonely.” He answered, you were so exhausted, and his room felt so cosy, and it was perfectly chilly. 

“You don’t want me?” You asked, not lowering your guard. 

“You are as good company as anyone else. I told you, you cannot tempt me.” He answered as his eyes softened, and your eye contact lost the contempt it held. 

You stepped back from him, and he stopped breathing, fearing you would leave. You stepped back two times more without breaking eye contact, grabbed the zipper in the back of your dress and pulled it down. The dress fell dramatically, leaving you in your matching set in front of him. The matching set he had chosen as a joke to irk you, now in front of him for real.

You could see the conflict in his eyes, break eye contact and look at your body giving in to the temptation or win. You stepped out of the dress, and his eyes failed him falling on your body. 

“That is what I thought. You are pathetic.” You said, picking up the dress from the floor with a smug smile and going back to the side of the bed close to the door. You took off your heels and put the dress on the ottoman at the feet of the bed, lifted the bed sheets and laid down on your stomach, closing your eyes. 

He stood there stoically. Processing what had just happened. He had found his match, somebody just as hardheaded as him. Slowly, he laid down in the bed, grabbing his book and trying to read again unsuccessfully. His thoughts were too full of you. 

He wanted to touch you, but he knew you would have won if he did. The thin summer sheets delineated your body so perfectly. It was almost poetic how he could see every curve of your back through the sheets. The desire to touch you eating him from the inside. 

…

You were fast asleep soon enough, the partying weighing you down. Sophie came looking for you eventually; however, Loki let her know you were asleep and that he would take you home later. She looked confused at why you were sleeping in his room but did not ask him for further explanation.

Thor and her left for the city, taking Bjorn with them, and Loki laid back in bed to continue reading, careful not to wake you up. He had noticed you were a deep sleeper, so he was not too worried. After a while, he took off his suit trousers and shirt, deciding he needed a nap too. 

Once he laid under the sheets, the coolness of his body attracted you in your sleep. He radiated refreshing energy, and you instinctively moved in his direction. He was surprised by this, not knowing what to do. He did not want to touch you without you being aware of it. 

He shook your shoulder, waking you up slightly “mmh?” You asked him. 

“Move away. You are on my side of the bed.” He looked at you as you opened your eyes; his face was right there. 

“Don’t bother me. Why are you so cold?” You could feel the cool feeling of his body from the mere centimetres that separated you. 

“It is just how I am.” He answered coldly. 

“I like it” you smiled with your eyes closed. “I know you want to cuddle. Let’s.” You kept your smile and felt a pressure resolve in him. 

He slid his arm under your head. You laid your head on his chest and put your arm across it, placing your right leg slightly on top of his. You were lying opposite his heart, yet you could feel it beating faster as your body touched his. 

“I know you like me.” You whispered with your eyes closed. 

“Sssh… I merely tolerate you.” He whispered back, pressing a kiss on your forehead as you both drifted to sleep. 

---

Liv's Note

I love this chapter because I love simp Loki. My favourite part of their relationship will forever be the push and pull. once again, I am very sorry for the wait! This chapter is for the Loki girls and the Loki girls only haha please reblog the chapter if you enjoyed it!

taglist:

The morning of the party finally arrived. You woke up and were instantly spooked by the extra space you felt on the bed. Sophie was not there, and she had not come home yesterday night. Her side of the bed was still done. You instantly grabbed your phone, looking for her between your contacts. 

Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep… "C'MON PICK UP" you screamed as you started to freak out, walking around the bedroom. 

"Mmmh… hello?"' your best friend's super sleepy voice answered from the other side of the line. 

"Sophie Natalia Meyer! Where the fuck are you?" You screamed at her mirroring the way your mom would scold you. 

"Oh babe, everything is fine. I am sorry, I thought I would be home before you woke up. I ended up sleeping over here, it was getting too late, and the team did not think it would be safe for me to head home alone." She said, clearing her voice apologetically. 

"You should have sent me a text. I was about to call the police." You exaggerated not letting her know you woke up 30 seconds ago. 

"What is even gonna happen to me? I work with superheroes." She laughed, and you could not keep your face straight. You heard another voice in the back of the call. A male voice. 

"Sophie Natalia Meyer! Did you sleep with the GOD OF THUNDER?!" You screamed, shocked. 

"Sssh, don't scream… I did not. He just came in to ask me if I would be joining him for breakfast. Don't embarrass me. Also, Loki had the best idea yesterday: we should all go to the party together." She added in her dreamy voice. 

"That makes no sense. We will be getting ready in the city. They will be getting ready in the Avengers compound. The party is in the Avengers compound. It is inefficient. We can just see them there." You gave the most logical answer without pointing out your hatred for Loki. 

"Mmh… that is true, but I think they wanted to grab dinner." She argued back. 

"Sophie, you go to dinner with Thor and then you can pick me up. There is no need to take Loki and me as your chaperons to your dates. If you act half as dumb in front of Tony as you do in front of me when Thor is around, I am sure Tony has figured out what is going on already anyway."

"I will ask Thor what he thinks. I will call you later. Love youu," she said, cutting the call short. 

You finally relaxed, knowing your friend was okay. However, you still felt like something was missing. Stephen had been MIA for three days, and you missed his calls. Also, you were hoping to get railed this weekend. 

You wanted him to text you first and did not want the next message you exchanged to be another drunk text. You laid in bed, upset at how much space this man occupied in your mind. A bath would solve all your neediness, you decided to take advantage of the detachable showerhead Sophie's flat came with. 

...

You entered the warm water and played some classical music. As you relaxed, your thoughts went to your date night with Stephen, to his hands on your back, and the way he held you when he kissed you. 

You imagined how the night could have ended differently if he had invited you to his place. You could just imagine how ravishing the sex would be with him, how satisfied and comfortable he would make you feel. As your thoughts started to take shape, Handel's Sarabande in D Minor began to play.

Your thoughts moved in a different direction, to the way Loki annoyed you. How he towered over you or followed you around every room with his eyes. How he pressed your buttons, making you so frustrated, such frustration could be so well released in sex, you guessed. 

You disgusted yourself at the idea. You went back to thinking of Stephen, of how he looks in his button-ups, and of how he would not even ask and go down on you until you were moaning his name. How he would have only cared about your enjoyment and how the aftercare would have been fantastic. 

Your thoughts blurred as you could only moan as your climax hit you harshly. This feeling was more than necessary after so many tense days. You enjoyed the warmth of the water and the endorphin in your brain. Just as you were coming down from the blissful feeling of your orgasm, your phone vibrated, stopping the music harshly. 

Stephen Strange - Incoming Call

"Hello?" Your voice sounded flustered, almost a little out of breath. 

"Hello darling, what are you up to?" He asked. You could hear he was walking somewhere. 

"Not much, just chilling. What's up?" Your mind was still a little blurry as you tried to regulate your tone. 

"I don't know, I felt that you were thinking about me, and I noticed I had not talked to you in a while as I have been stressed out dealing with this huge issue, so I decided to call you." He chuckled cheekily, almost as if he knew what you were doing. 

"You felt that I was thinking of you?" You asked sceptically. 

"Yes, and you sound flustered by the idea, so I guess you were." You turned red at the impossible idea that he could somehow know what you were doing. "Anyway, do you have everything ready for tonight?" He asked.

"I do. I bought a lovely dress, wish you could see it." You flirted with him, still a little shameless as the dopamine ran through your veins. 

"I wish so too. Should we meet up after our parties? I am happy to pick you up." He was asking you to see him in the middle of the night after a party. You were getting laid, and he was being straightforward about it. 

"Sure, we can do that. I don't know the party's address yet, but I will send it to you as soon as I have it." You answered, still in your bath naked. 

"Send me a nice picture in your dress once you are ready. I wanna see what I will be taking off tonight." You felt your cheeks burn immediately at his words, gasping dramatically in shock.

"Stephen! Who even thought about that?! I have to go now. Talk to you later." You joked, trying to act more naive than you actually were. 

"Don't forget my picture. Till later." He said, hanging up on you. 

You giggled and blushed like a teenage girl. This man seemed a little too dreamy; there must be something he was hiding, and you could feel it.

As you were trying to relax again, another phone call appeared on your phone. 

Sophie Meyer - Incoming Call

"Hello pet", a male voice said from your friend's phone. 

"Jesus Christ, hi", you rolled your eyes, coming off your good mood. 

"Not Jesus Christ, even better. Sophie asked me to inform you that she and Thor will be heading to dinner by themselves and then going to the party. However, she does not want you to head there alone because, well, you have no idea how to get to the Avenger's compound. So I will pick you up." He spoke smoothly, almost as this was expected. You could hear the annoying smirk on his face.

"You know what? I won't even fight it. It seems like you will be a constant in my days in New York, so I won't give you the pleasure of my displeasure any longer. When will you pick me up?" You replied hopeless, giving up on your disgust for this man as it gave him so much pleasure. 

"Well, that is surprising. I will be there at 9. Wait for me downstairs." He sounded disappointed by your answer, eager to continue teasing you.

"Will do," you answered, "can you ask my friend if she is coming home at any point or we are meeting at the hair salon?"

"I am not a messenger. Call her later." He said, hanging up on you. What an asshole, so fucking rude for no good reason.

You laid in the water for a little longer. Once you got out of the bath you stayed in your rob and walked around the room, thinking of what to do before the hairdresser appointment at 5 p.m. You spent the next hour trying to figure out what you would ask the makeup artist to do to your eyes. Once you found the look, you looked at the clock; it was already 12. 

You put on some party music to get you in the mood for tonight and ordered sushi for lunch, making this your only meal of the day to ensure tipsiness and not be bloated. You ate on the ground using the couch as a backrest while you watched a re-run of criminal minds. 

Once you were done eating, you threw away the take-out and finally put on some clothes, choosing a white t-shirt and some black cuffed jeans, then laid on the couch and closed your eyes. The vibration of your phone on your stomach woke you up "hey! I am here. Where are you?" 

"What? Where are you?" You asked Sophie.

"At the salon! Loki told you that we would meet up here." Fuck this guy.

"No, he did not. I'll be there in 10 minutes," you grabbed your purse and ran downstairs after locking the door of the flat. Fortunately, the salon was right around the corner.

…

You got there and found Sophie outside, looking impatient. "Finally!" She shouted before embracing you in a hug. "Do you know what you wanna get done?" 

"Yes, the goal for tonight is to look like a goddess." Sophie went first as she needed to leave before 7:30 to return home and put the dress on before Thor arrived. You sat by her side as she got her hair washed. 

"Also, feel free to take Thor back to the flat. I am not gonna be coming home tonight." You winked at her.

"Oh my! How comes?" She asked, curious. 

"Well, Stephen says he wants to meet after our parties, and I guess I am sleeping over at his place," you answered, squealing excitedly. 

"He cannot come into the headquarters if he is not invited." She warned you.

"That's fine. I'll just get a cab back to the city and meet him somewhere around here." You responded, excited to get laid. 

"Oh well, that is great news, but please be careful! Use a condom!" She whispered, sounding like your scandalized mother. 

"I have an IUD, Sophie." You rolled your eyes at her, blushing slightly.

"Yes, but you don't know if he is sleeping around!" She poked your arm. 

"He does not seem like the type." You shook your head, removing the thought of Stephen with another person from your mind. 

"I don't care. Use one anyway. Are you excited to meet the Avengers?" She giggled. 

"Of course! I really hope they like me!" 

"I am sure they will! I don't know a single person that doesn't like you, honey." She answered, and you could only laugh at that final comment. Thinking about the fact that most people in London didn't really like you. 

You spent the rest of her time at the salon fantasizing about the night, talking about her time with Thor today and how excited she was for dinner. She asked you whether your opinion of Loki had changed, and you ignored the question in fear of hurting her feelings. 

At around 7:35, she left to get ready. You hugged her and told her how beautiful she looked. "See you tonight, Love, you look beautiful! He is lucky to have you as his date."  

It was around 8:20 when you were finally done. The hairdresser had done a meticulous job pushing all the hair back and creating a delicate yet goddess-like ponytail to match your warrior outfit. Your eyeshadow was dark and bold. You looked amazing, if you may say. The makeup artist and hairdresser spent 15 more minutes taking pictures of you, and finally, you headed home. You walked home quickly, knowing well Loki would be here soon. 

Not even the time to get there and start to take off your clothes when the intercom rang. 

"I thought you were supposed to be down at 9." He said, annoyed through the screen. 

"I am sorry, I am not ready. Come upstairs. The door is open. I am changing." You unlocked the door and went back into the bedroom to finish taking off your clothes. 

"Hello, I am here." He shouted, looking for you 

"Give me a second. I am changing. I will be out in a second." You got naked looking for the underwear you wanted to be seen with tonight. The dress required you to be braless and wear tiny panties, so you just went for a skin colour tiny lacy thong.

You struggled for a couple of minutes to close the dress by yourself. "Do you need any help?" The god sitting on your couch asked. 

"No, I am okay." Finally, managing to close it all the way up. You fixed your boobs and made sure your underwear was not visible in the deep slit of your dress. Then came out of the room to find him lying on your couch playing with his own magic. 

"Hello", you smiled at him politely as he stood up. His suit went from a simple black to a dark green hue matching your dress's greenish colour. 

"I cannot believe you are smiling at me." He came closer, and as he did, his cologne attacked your senses. However, this time you smelled the different hues of sweetness and wood it contained. 

"Why are we going so early? Thor and Sophie will still be at their dinner if we go now." You asked him, wondering whether parties in New York simply started earlier than the ones in London.

"Well, you want to meet the team, right? So it is better to do that before everybody else gets there. We can also stay here for a little longer and fight. You look like you are ready for battle." He joked, pointing at your dress. 

"Well, I think we look good, especially once I put my heels on. We will look like the main characters when entering the party." You were done letting him know how displeased his comments made you. You spent years living with a disagreeable man. You could fake politeness for a night. "Now, let me put my perfume on, and we can leave." 

You sprayed some Delina La Rosée and put on some earrings. Once you walked out of the bathroom, he got closer to you. Weirdly close and grabbed your chin with his thumb. "What are you doing?" You asked, confused; without moving, he bent slightly and smelled you. He inhaled and exhaled on your neck, sending goosebumps down your neck. 

"That is lovely. However, you need a necklace." Just as the words left his mouth, you felt a metallic chain surround your neck, and as you looked down, you saw a beautiful delicate tennis choker made of emeralds. 

"Now you look like my date, or at least as close as a Midgardian could get to it," he smiled at you, his eyes softer than usual. You felt your cheeks burn as he looked down at you, a small step separating your bodies.

"Want to have a drink before we go? For the nerves," you asked, breaking the eye contact and moving away, lowering your gaze to hide your flustered expression.

"I am driving you there, so only one." Being alone in this apartment at night with him felt different. There was a new type of tension. Something you could not put your finger on quite yet. You just knew you had to leave as soon as possible.

You got out a bottle of coconut tequila from the fridge. You liked your tequila cold. "I bought this bottle for the first time on vacation in Cancun. I have been ordering them since that trip because there is nothing more delicious." You served two full double shots in some espresso cups, finding nothing better.

"To tolerating each other", he lifted his glass.

"To being perfectly tolerable." You smiled at each other and downed the shot. 

"Wow, that is delicious. We should take it with us." He said, surprised by the flavour.

"No, no-no. That's only for special occasions, and I only have one bottle of it here," you responded, putting the bottle back in the fridge. "Let's go now, prince of Asgard," You mocked him, opening the door and grabbing your pochette. 

The two of you walked downstairs quickly. Loki held the apartment complex door open for you, and then you saw it parked outside the beautiful Jaguar F-Type Coupe. 

"Is that yours?" You asked. He answered by unlocking the car, walking towards the passenger seat and opening it for you. You entered carefully, trying not to crunch your dress too much and not show your underwear to the world, given the high slit. 

He got in the car, and as he entered, he looked at your lap. "Don't you think that slit is too risky?" He asked, and you looked down, noticing it had ridden up quite a bit given the position of the seat. 

"Thought I could not tempt you." You joked, trying to cover your embarrassment as you pulled your dress down. 

"I am not tempted, but I am not sure the effect it may have on the rest of the party." He chuckled, turning on the car and moving his eyes to the street.

The ride to the Avenger's headquarters was long. It took almost 45 minutes to get there, even if Loki was going way above the speed limit. He played classical music and looked very god-like, driving focused. You tried to keep your eyes on the street, not lingering on his chiselled jaw or how his knuckles whitened as he accelerated. 

You finally left the city and saw the lights in the middle of nowhere. Your stomach sunk a little bit at the idea of being around so many people you don't know. What if you were overdressed, or your dress was too scandalous, as Loki insinuated? 

Nothing you could do about it at this point. You could not ask him to take you back. That would be beyond embarrassing. He parked close to an Audi and turned off the car and with it the music. 

"Are you ready? You look pale." He looked at you and you looked away.

"Yes, I am fine. Just give me a minute. I get nervous before I meet new people." He did not take his eyes off you, moving to your hair, your new necklace and then the dress.

"You'll do great, as I said. Mortals seem to be fond of your charms. There will be, I believe, only two gods in there. One is sitting next to you, and the other is probably kissing your best friend and obviously likes you." He answered very politely, reassuring you. This was the last thing you expected from him, but it was thankfully welcomed 

"Let's go!" You smiled at him, opening the door of the car. He went around and lent you his hand so you could step out comfortably. 

Loki held your hand and put it on his arm so you could hold on to it. "It would make your friend happy to see us entering together." He gave as an excuse for this gesture. Your fingers wrapped around the soft material of his suit, feeling the firm muscle under it.

"My friend is still at dinner with your brother." You argued, removing your hand from his arm and walking in front of him until you reached the entrance.

The doors opened smoothly, letting the music transpire into the outside. This was a real party. The two of you walked up a staircase, following the nose. You felt your heart pounding in your chest as excitment and worry mixed in your stomach. Loki noticed, reaching for your hand and holding it tight, caressing the back of it with his thumb. 

You entered the party and exhaled, controlling your nerves. You let go of Loki's hand, and the show was on just like that. You walked with the confidence of the host of the party while by your side Loki tried to make himself as big as you without taking the attention from you. There were already quite a few people, you would dare to say most. You saw two familiar faces in the distance and looked at your watch. It was already 10:15. dinner must not have been too long.

Your best friend ran towards you. She looked stunning, as she always did. "My loveeee," she hugged you super tight, "You look sooo beautiful! I cannot deal! Doesn't she look so beautiful, Thor? Loki?" The already tipsy girl looked at the two gods.

Thor nodded without hesitation and smiled at you. Loki spoke up, "perfectly tolerable." He did not smile this time but somehow, his words held a different tone than the first time he said them to you. He looked at Sophie and spoke again, "Sophie, you look fantastic. It seems like my brother has already given you some Asgardian alcohol." He pointed out her rosy cheeks. 

Sophie ignored him, grabbing your arm "come with me, you have to meet everyone! Guys! This is her!" She said, approaching a group of people you had only seen on posters or on TV before. 

"Tony, Nat, Clint, Steve, Bucky, Bruce, Vision, Wanda, please meet my beautiful best friend who I have been talking about for weeks now." Everyone started saying hi to you individually. You went around shaking the hand of some of them and hugging the rest depending on how they approached you.

The winter soldier seemed like what he saw because as soon as everyone resumed their conversation, he walked towards you to talk. 

"Hello, would you care for a drink?" He asked smoothly. He was a beautiful man. He had dark hair and a flirty smile, but he was not really your type, too muscly. 

Before you could answer, you felt a hand slide around your waist. "Here you go, just what you wanted, a margarita." You looked to your side, confused, finding Loki standing there with two drinks in his hand. He handed you one. 

"James." He spoke up.

"Loki." They exchanged a look, and then Loki started to talk to him about a mission or something, completely cutting you out of the conversation. 

You interrupted them to leave. "Well, it was a pleasure to meet you, Sargent Barnes." You smiled at him and ignored Loki, who acted as if you weren't even there.

He tried to talk to you, but Loki started blabbering again. He could barely get a sentence out, "it was all my pleasure." You shook your head and walked away, looking for your best friend, sipping on your drink.

You found her in a corner talking to Nat and Wanda. "Hope you don't mind if I join," you smiled at them kindly.

"Oh, of course not. Sophie was just telling us how her date went," Wanda responded politely. 

"So yeah, we went for dinner and then some fans saw him and started taking pictures with him, which was cute, and he seemed happy. We headed back right away, we called an uber, and he kissed me just before we entered. It was so nice." She squealed excitedly, looking at you for reassurance. You nodded and smiled, glad to see your best friend happy.

Wanda and Natasha seemed happy for her too, which gave you some confidence in Thor's character. The conversation continued, and you zoned out a little bit. In front of you, you had Tony Stark and his wife saying hi to some of the guests. 

Wanda turned to you and asked, insinuating, "so, you and Loki?" You looked at her quickly, shocked by her question.

"There is absolutely nothing there. We can barely be in the same room. We are trying to be civil for the sake of Thor and Sophie. He was my ride because there was no other way for me to get here otherwise. My interests lie elsewhere," you laughed and went back to watching Tony. He said hi to a couple more guests, and then you saw him, and your heart dropped to your stomach.

Wanda answered your comment with something, but you did not hear it as the panic in your ears grew louder. There he was as beautiful as any other time you had seen him, in a black tuxedo with his arm sitting in the lower back of his date. His hair was styled so perfectly, and his smile was just as bright as always. 

He lowered himself to whisper something in her ear as she finished shaking hands with Tony and Pepper. He chuckled next to her ear, making her move closer and put her hand around him. The world seemed to be moving in slow motion. Sophie shook your arm and looked at you, worried. "Babe, are you okay?"

"Yes, I am fine. I am so sorry. I just have not been around this many people in a long time. I need some air." You walked away before they could say anything. You walked past Thor and Loki, who were drinking with Bruce Banner on a couch. Loki saw your face and stood up quickly, walking behind you.

You needed a window, a balcony, air. You were not mad Stephen was treating another woman the way he treated you. You two were nothing. You were simply disgusted at the thought that he would spend the night whispering and touching somebody else before picking you up to fuck you. He really was going to touch you right after touching her, which disgusted you.

You finally found a balcony and stood there, controlling your breathing. You were not gonna be upset about it. You said it yourself, all men are the same. This is why you should never fully open up to them. Always keep things to yourself, your feelings, your dreams, your goals. Don't show them anything they could break. 

Your skin felt dirty, the thought that he jumped from one date to the other. The idea that maybe he had to leave early the night of your first date because he had promised to meet her, the same way he had promised to meet you tonight. You breathed in one more time. This was not the moment to be pathetic over a man you had seen three times in your life. 

You felt a hand on your shoulder that made you jump. "Are you okay?" His voice was soft, almost velvety. He sounded worried. 

You lifted your head, breath in and out once again, and turned around, acting as if nothing had happened. You smiled at him imprudently, deciding that the best way to hide how upset you were was to flirt with the man you disliked the most. "I am excellent, Loki. You know you may think I look just tolerable, but I think you look like a god tonight," you adjusted his bowtie without breaking eye contact with him. He was confused, pleasantly confused? You were not sure. "So, my prince, why won't you let Sargent Barnes talk to me." A spark lit in his eyes as he heard your words. He was not sure what had happened, but he was into it. 

...

You walked back to the party with him and found Thor and Sophie, that seemed to be looking for the two of you. Sophie grabbed you as soon as she saw you "babe, what is wrong?" she seemed deadly worried. You must have been very pale. 

"Nothing is wrong, love. I actually saw somebody I know at the party, and I thought I would introduce you. Please follow me." You spotted him in a corner with his date and Wong. He looked just as flirty as he did when he talked to you. Your walk filled you up with adrenaline, you could hear Thor and Sophie asking Loki what was wrong, but he simply shrugged his shoulders. 

Wong was the first to see you as Stephen, and his date gave you their back. His smile faded quickly from his face. He did not have time to warn his friend that you tapped him on the shoulder. 

"Doctor! How are you?" He turned around quickly and as soon as his eyes met yours his hand dropped from the back of his date. He was staring, left short of words. "Wong! Nice to see you too!" You introduced yourself to the beautiful lady and then introduced Thor, Loki, and Sophie. 

Thor and Loki seemed to have already had an encounter with Strange, and Loki was not particularly happy about it. Strange did not take his eyes off you as he politely greeted everyone in complete panic. Sophie looked at you, connecting the dots and mouthing 'oh no' to you. You simply smiled back. 

"Well, I don't think we should monopolize your night. It was a pleasure to see you all." Strange tried to grab your attention to talk to you, but as soon as he touched your arm, you shook him off and turned to your friends. You smiled, looking at the three confused people that had followed you here "now, who wants to drink?" You shouted, grinning.

"Finally, what I wanted to hear!" Thor matched your energy as you walked together towards the bar. Sophie looked slightly concerned, exchanging a word with Loki as you and Thor bullied the bartender into getting you the bottle of Patron he had stashed under the bar. 

"C'mon! You won't say no to the god of thunder!" You told the guy who reluctantly handed you the bottle. You looked at Thor and explained to him, "you are about to try my second favourite drink. This shit makes you feel amazing, it is coffee-infused tequila, and I promise you, it was made for the gods." He smiled and nodded. This man was the godly version of his dog, entirely and thoroughly excited to do whatever you offered him. 

You started taking a shot each, then filled it up again plus two more, one for Sophie and one for Loki. "Brother! You need to try this drink! Lady Sophie, how comes you had never made me try this delicious elixir?!" He complained as you handed them each their shot. "Shots shots shots shots," you howled as everyone downed their drink. 

The party was in full rave at this point. People were dancing and playing pool. Half or more of the people were drunk. The music was so loud that nobody would be disturbed by your stupidity. You took another shot with Thor, and then a hand grabbed yours and pulled you to the side. 

"Are you actually okay, babe? What an asshole. I will get him kicked out right now. I don't care that he is the most powerful sorcerer ever. I will kick him out myself if I have to." Your best friend screamed in your ear. 

"Everything is fine! I don't care what he is. I don't care about him. He is allowed to do whatever he wants. Let's just enjoy our night." You smiled at her, kissing her on the cheek. "Now go enjoy your golden retriever date and forget about me!" You pushed her slightly towards Thor, who was distributing Patron shots to whoever came close to him. She seemed so happy around him, and that was all that mattered. 

You started to walk away, making sure to not run into Strange. Suddenly the tall, dark god was standing in your way, "Sophie told me everything," he said. Of course, she did. How could she not tell Loki how pathetic you were, how you almost slept with a guy who took another girl out the same night, amazing. 

"I don't know what you are talking about," you responded dismissive, continuing to walk. 

"I am glad I can finally put a face to the man that had you kick me out of your house. It is a little tragic, however, the circumstance. I guess even Midgardians can barely tolerate you." You stopped to look at him. He was grinning, but it wasn't honest. He didn't mean it.

"Are you trying to make things worse? Because you are. Now please go enjoy your night, and I will enjoy mine. Have you seen Sargent Barnes by any chance?" You joked, hoping to push his buttons and annoy him. 

"You should try to make him jealous. See what he missed out on." He smiled at you cheekily. "I mean, he should already know he is no longer in your favour. You are wearing a god's necklace now, pet." You wondered how Loki managed to make absolutely everything about himself. 

"Yes, exactly. I can maybe kill two birds with one stone dancing with Sargent Barnes, getting two annoying men jealous and getting them to finally leave me alone." You joked, chuckling. His dumb comments were actually improving your mood. Maybe all the back and forth with Loki was not as bad as you thought. 

"There you go. I already made you smile. Am I not a merciful God?" You rolled your eyes and smiled again. You heard your name being cast by a familiar voice and turned around. Before Stephen could step in front of you, Loki stood in between. 

"Hello, Strange." He said coldly, "how can I help you?"

"Loki, I know it is difficult to believe this, but this has for once nothing to do with you." He insulted and tried to get past him "now, either you let me talk to her or I will have you falling for the rest of eternity," Strange hinted to the last encounter between the two. 

You stood behind Loki, not wanting to talk to the Doctor, but as the tension grew, you gave him, putting your hands on Loki's back, trying to let him know it was okay. You did not want any of the two to get hurt, and although you did not understand the reference, it did not sound friendly.

"Strange, I don't want to talk to you. Not tonight. Please respect that. Go back to your date; she seems lovely, and you are wasting your time chasing somebody who does not want to acknowledge you. You can explain yourself another day. Now, enjoy your night, Doctor." You spoke up, looking at him in the eyes, spitting the words out, emphasizing your disgust as you pronounced his title. 

Then you walked away, and Loki followed you. Jesus, for somebody who was supposedly not interested, he really liked to follow you around. You decided to make the most out of it as he would not leave you alone, "do you want to have fun now?" You asked, smiling at him and grabbing his hand.

He grabbed you and started dancing with you, initially very innocently, just trying to get your minds off things. Then you went for another round of shots of tequila. Everyone was wasted at this point. You had seen Natasha and Steve sneak out. You would ask Sophie about it tomorrow, talking about Sophie, she was gone too. It seemed like most of the people you met were either busy holding conversations or had gone to more private places. 

"Body shot?" you asked Loki, encouraged by the burning feeling of the previous shot of tequila. 

"Only if I get to take it." He smirked. 

"Sure." He grabbed a slice of lime and put it between your lips, then unexpectedly moved his lips towards your neck, licking a line straight down your collarbone. You looked at him, confused. 

"I gotta make it sticky somehow, or the salt won't stay," he responded innocently, smiling at you. This drunk version of himself looked so much younger and prettier, so relaxed and charming. 

He dropped some salt on your collarbone and then grabbed the shot. "Ready?" He asked you as you nodded, holding the lime between your lips. 

His lips moved towards your neck again, and his tongue licked all the salt off your collarbone. He stayed there a little longer than he should, sucking on it so slightly, sending a warm feeling through your body. He shot the tequila-like nothing and then took the slice of lemon from your mouth, making your lips touch just so slightly. 

"How was that?" He asked. 

"You are pretty good at it. I am sure you have done it one thousand times." You smiled at him tipsy, and he put his arm around you. He was undeniably drunk, and you were too, so it did not really matter. 

You caught Stephen looking at you from a distance once or twice; however, he left early. You danced with some people and Loki, who continued to down tequila shots like it was nothing. You ended up going into another room and playing beer pong against Bucky and Sam, to who Bucky introduced you. 

They won as Loki sucked entirely at it, and you forbid him from using magic to win. He seemed very disappointed but could not stop laughing, laying his head on your shoulder, wrapping his arm around your waist and asking "what time is it?"

The party had quieted down quite a bit by this point. Between all the drama, you had forgotten to network at all. You looked at your watch and answered him, "It is 2 in the morning, Loki." His head moved from your shoulder to your neck, and he whispered in your ear, "can we go to bed? I am bleary, and that is why we lost."

Sam looked at Bucky and said, "seems like we won, but Loki is taking the price home." Bucky laughed, and you shook your head. 

"I will take him to his room, and then I'll be back." You reassured them. "Could you show me a general direction to where his room is?" you joked as Bucky came to your rescue, moving the giant man from you. 

"How much did you give him to drink?" Sam asked you, laughing. 

"Hey, it is not my fault. Loki is more than 1000 years old. He should know how much he can drink or not." You responded as Bucky walked him towards an elevator. He kept calling for you, so you guessed you would have to go with him. "See you in a minute, Sam."

"Sure, sure," he said, heading towards the sofa where Tony and Bruce were discussing loudly. 

Once in front of the elevator, Bucky guided you, "third floor, last door on the left is his bedroom". He smiled at you politely, and you entered the elevator with Loki, mouthing a thank you to the super-soldier. 

On the way up, Loki got closer to you again "are you going to lay with me?" He asked drunkenly, barely holding himself up.

"I am gonna come back to check on you before I leave, pinky promise," you said as he grabbed your face between his big hands and lowered his head. "Loki, don't do anything you will regret in the morning. We are drunk," he backed away just slightly, taking in your words. 

You exited the elevator with him, and he walked towards his room, opened the door, and you turned on the light. You got to see an inside into Loki's mind for the first time. The room was covered in books; however, it still looked immaculate in its own way. 

Loki started taking off his bowtie, his blazer, and then unbuttoning his shirt. "Do you really need to do that? Can you not like change your clothes into a pyjama?" You asked, giggling entertained by the drunk god. 

"I could, but I sleep naked, so this buys me a little more time with you. Can you help me?" He responded innocently, pointing at the buttons of his shirt. You rolled your eyes and helped him until the shirt was fully opened, and his toned chest was staring right at you. God, you were so horny and sleepy. 

"Why are you flirting with me?" You asked him before he took off any more clothes. 

"Because you are… well…" you were waiting for him to say anything but his stupid little words that he had used to describe you repeatedly. He instead moved closer to you, grabbing your hands and putting them on his chest, then putting both of his hands around your face. 

"Don't kiss me if you are not going to finish your sentence." He went in for the kiss anyway, and you pushed him away, you did not move him at all, but he was kind enough to let you go. "That's what I thought, goodnight Loki," You responded, annoyed, leaving the room. 

He did not follow you. Why would he? Instead, you went downstairs. Everyone was surprised to see you, thinking you would stay with the drunk god. You sat down with Sam, Tony, and Banner. Bucky had gone to sleep. Tony thanked you for coming and asked about your plans in New York. He let you know how impressed he was with your experience working in international treaties. You guessed Sophie had stolen a copy of your CV from somewhere. 

You continued to talk about the new developments of defence mechanisms and how they fit within the current Public International Law. You agreed with him that there was a need for change and that change needed to be controlled and supervised. Bruce asked you about London and whether you liked it more than New York. 

Sam wanted to know what was going on between you and Loki. You simply answered, "I would love to know, too, given that he still likes the refer to me as tolerable but not enough to be of any temptation." You joked, making the three men laugh. 

"Well, he looked pretty tempted if you ask me." Sam joked around. You looked at your watch. Time went by fast when you were drunk and having fun. 

"I should take a cab home. It is almost 4 a.m.," you said, trying to get up even though your feet were killing you.

"Nonsense, we have an extra room on the third floor, right in front of Loki's room, so I think you should know where it is." Tony joked, picking up on Sam's banter. 

"Oh, I don't want to impose. I will just go home." You answered politely. 

"Please just stay, do it for me so I can see Loki being absolutely embarrassed at breakfast tomorrow after pathetically trying to get with you and getting curved," Sam answered. You laughed and agreed. 

You thanked them again for their hospitality and headed upstairs. You had told Loki you would check on him before you left, but if he did sleep naked, it was not a good idea. You knocked at his door anyway, hoping he would be asleep already. He did not answer at first, and just as you were walking away, you heard the grumpy noises. 

"Come in. I promise I am not naked." He answered. You smiled at his comment and entered the room.

"Hello dear, yes, I completely understand. I was on the phone with my law firm this morning, and it seems like they have decided to defend Darth Vader. He was arrested after allegedly committing battery against the Easter Bunny." You laughed at your joke, getting up and hugging her. She punched you on the arm, already frustrated with her day and your lack of empathy.

"It is not funny, babe! You know what, I was speaking with Thor before he left, and we thought it might be a good idea for you to meet Loki. You guys are very similar, and it may give him a better reason to adapt to the city." She responded, annoyed at you for still not believing her. 

"Well, thank you for comparing me to a literal terrorist mass murderer Sophie. Of course, I am sure we are two cookies from the same cookie cutter." You responded sarcastically, noticing the saying did not translate quite as well as you hoped. 

"He was being controlled by Thanos but whatever. Anyway, I thought this would be the perfect way to prove to you that I work for the Avengers and give you a friend so that you will know somebody else at the party on Saturday. He is also very handsome, tall, dark-haired and well… is a god, so has a god-complex." She smiled at you and continued, "so you are meeting him tomorrow. He is coming to pick up Bjorn." 

"Bjorn was supposed to stay with us for five days. That will be barely four." You complained, sitting on the ground to pet the sweet dog. 

"Well, that is the new plan. You can see Bjorn again when you visit your new friend Loki or when you finally get to meet the rest of the team." she answered, and you interrupted her again, "I don't have time tomorrow. I have a date with Stephen. We are having dinner together."

She rolled her eyes at you. "I know, and that is why you are having lunch with Loki. He is coming over at 12:30, and you are cooking or ordering something here because we are still working on his public image, re-adjusting people's reaction when seeing him out and about." 

"So you are telling me I cannot even go to a nice restaurant and get free lunch because I am eating with a terrorist. This is all ridiculous. This must be some elaborate prank you are planning, Sophie, with this whole Avengers thing. I am going to sleep now. Goodnight." You concluded the conversation, going into the bathroom to brush your teeth and get ready for bed. You were not actually mad at her, just confused at what she was trying to accomplish with this prolonged lie. She had never done this before; lying to each other was really not a thing. That is also why you could not believe she worked for the Avengers. She would have told you earlier; she wouldn't have kept it from you. 

…

You woke up at around 8 a.m. Sophie seemed to be having a more laid-back morning today as she was still at home.

"Good morning, grumpy." She greeted you as soon as you entered the room, grabbing a cup of freshly brewed coffee from the kitchen. "I have cleaned the living room and the kitchen so you guys can have fun today. Remember Loki is coming at 12:30! Open the door for him, or he will probably just teleport inside and be annoyed. If you think you are bad when annoyed, you don't want to see him." 

"So let's say Loki, the god of mischief, actually shows up. You are pretty much making me babysit him." You spat out the words annoyed. 

"Nope, it is like a play date between two difficult toddlers. Hoping they will balance each other out." She answered nonchalantly. 

"Since when am I difficult? I am so confused. You are projecting all of this man's problems on me. I am very charismatic and charming. People like me, Sophie. I also don't kill people." You said, petting Bjorn in the head that had approached you to say good morning.

"Okay then, it is a playdate between a nice toddler and a not-so-nice toddler, hoping the nice toddler will be a good influence." She rolled her eyes at you and continued, "Anyway, I have to get going—a lot to do today. I have a party to organise too now. Have a lovely day, love." 

"Please make sure they have Patron XO Cafe at the party, or I am not coming. Have a lovely day! I am gonna miss you!" You said a little nervous about your upcoming - apparently - very eventful day. 

Time to figure out a game plan if Loki was going to show up at 12:30 —and that was a big IF. Then you needed him out of the house by five max to start getting ready. Stephen said your reservation was at eight, so he would most likely pick you up at 7:30. At best, you needed to avoid the two men meeting because 1. You didn't want Stephen seeing you hanging out with mass murderers, and 2. You didn't want him thinking you were jumping from one date to the other. 

You needed to shower, have breakfast, paint your nails, walk Bjorn, pack Bjorn's things, and do your makeup. Super easy, sure. 

As you came out of the shower, you typed a message for Stephen. 

Good morning! Here is my address 

- shared location -

Let me know what type of place we will go to so I know how to dress appropriately.

Excited to see you tonight xx 

You put on a pair of black jeans and a white blouse and started making yourself some food. 

"Did Sophie feed you, little Bjorn?" You looked at him as he begged you for more food. 

"Oh well, an extra portion won't hurt." You said, petting him and serving him some more. 

After you were both done eating, you took his leash and left the building for a walk. The breeze was perfect, and the sun illuminated the streets beautifully. As you were walking back to the apartment, your phone rang.

Incoming Call - Stephen 

Sure he liked to talk on the phone a lot more than texting. 

"Hello?" You answered 

"Good morning! For tonight just wear whatever you feel comfortable in. If it helps, you are making me look for my old button-downs and some suit pants." His voice put a smile on your face. 

"Oh, so no fancy-monk-like clothes today? Sad, I thought they were nice." You joked, although you actually thought he looked very nice in the attractive clothes he was wearing the other day.

"I think I am going for something better than nice." He answered flirtatiously, "also, I am sorry for calling you. I am just not a great texter. Hope that is okay." Stephen told you, leaving out the reason why he struggled typing. 

"It's alright. I like phone calls more than texts anyway." You lied, kind of; you enjoyed hearing his voice. "I guess it is also a generational thing. It makes sense you prefer phone calls." You insinuated your age difference jokingly.

"Oh wow, are you calling me old?" He asked, chuckling at your confidence. 

"I would never do such a thing, Doctor." You bit your lip and shook your head. It was embarrassingly obvious the effect he had on you.

"Oh well, I will see you tonight. I will pick you up around 7:30" He chuckled again, smiling at himself.

"Till later, Doctor." You hung up the phone, and with a new spring in your step, you walked home excited about your date. 

…

Once home, you looked at the clock, 10 a.m. You started cleaning the flat a little better, making sure it looked decent. You were not sure what you would eat, but the fridge was grimly empty, so you would have to go to the supermarket with the murderer anyway. Sophie's words echoed in your head, "discretion". You guessed you would just order something for delivery. 

You felt a little nervous, maybe it was meeting somebody new, or perhaps it was that you could still not believe Sophie worked with the Avengers. No matter what, the fact that your friend felt comfortable inviting a criminal to hang out alone with you bothered you. He could kill you, and you could not even defend yourself. 

You sat on the couch grabbing your copy of Pride and Prejudice, looking for some inspiration for your date tonight. Elizabeth Bennet's wittiness was almost contagious, and Stephen was just as stoic as Mr Darcy, although a lot nicer since the start. 

You were unsure where the time went, but you looked back at the clock. Already 11:40. You did your makeup for the day, painted your nails red, then wondered if your outfit was appropriate, you decided to keep the black jeans on but change into a black top. You put socks on and then went to the kitchen to drink water. 

You were about to sit down when the intercom rang. You lifted the phone to your ear and looked at the camera, speechless. That was the god of mischief himself, looking back at you. 

"Hello? Can you let me in?" He spoke up, confused. You clicked the key button that opened the main door and then ran full speed to the bathroom to check you actually looked decent. Although a murderer, the fact that he was about to enter your house meant that Sophie actually did work with the Avengers and that you were gonna meet them eventually. Better not fuck this up. 

You heard a firm knock at the door and walked towards it; however, Bjorn was already going crazy scratching at it, smelling the familiar smell of the god of mischief. 

You opened the door and were met with a slim tall man with his hair slicked back wearing an entirely black suit and a button-down. He looked at you for a split second before being jumped on by Bjorn. The smell of his cologne was pungent and intoxicating. 

"You little monster. Thor needs to train you better." He spoke, petting him and greeting him. He looked up at you again and added with a smug smile, "Hello, you must be Sophie's friend. I am Loki of Asgard."

"Uhm… yeah, hello… come in," you answered, letting him walk in while he grabbed Bjorn's collar so he could go in with him. He sat on the couch, and Bjorn stayed by his legs. His presence filled you with a foreign bitterness, you see monsters on tv, but you never imagine meeting them. 

You were staring, making the situation so much more awkward than necessary. "Do you want something to drink?" You finally snapped out of it, trying to be a polite host. There was a subtle but present coldness in your tone. He expected the prejudice but you were truly terrible at regulating your expression as your features gave away your slight disgust. 

"Yes, please, what do you have?" You opened the wine fridge. The choice was between a bottle of Chardonnay and a bottle of Pinot Noir that you had brought from England.

"Red or white wine? Water?" He got up and stood behind you, uncomfortably close for somebody you had exchanged one sentence with. Although you could not fully see him, you could feel the size of his body dwarfing your presence, forcing you to hold your breath for a second, hyperaware of his proximity. 

"I'll take the Pinot Noir. We should let it aerate," he responded, whispering it close to your ear. You grabbed the bottle of wine and closed the fridge door after he stepped away. Sophie had a lot of explaining to do, especially if she told a literal terrorist that he was free to flirt with you.

You opened the bottle, poured it into the decanter, and then stood there looking at the counter, thinking about how you could open up a conversation with somebody who disgusted you. Somebody that had killed so many yet stood here, free. 

"So you have been taking care of my brother's dog, thank you for that. I am sure he will be happy to thank you himself on Saturday. Are you excited to meet the Avengers? It must be exhilarating for a common Midgardian. You must question your inconsequential existence when meeting beings so much greater than you, like myself." He spoke the offensive words in such a charming tone that its cacophony made it even more insulting. 

"Yes, I am excited to meet the team that stopped you from killing even more people." You answered in the same charming tone, ignoring the demeaning comment, grabbing two wine glasses and coasters, and bringing the decanter to the coffee table. 

You served a glass and gave it to him. Then filled yourself one too and sat on the opposite end of the couch, positioning your body away from his. 

He ignored your comment and said, "well, your friend has a lovely flat. I don't understand why she spends so much time doing whatever Stark wants her to do. She is like his little puppy." 

"Most people need to work to afford a 'lovely flat'. Not everyone is born a god within a royal family. You must be confused, but life for most people comes with prices and consequences." This man had come to your house to insult you and your friend. "If I may ask, why are you here? You obviously believe yourself above 'common Midgardians'. Why did you join the Avengers? Tired of being an angsty terrorist?" You spat out the words, looking at him. 

"Well, yes, I believe I am above mere ephemeral mortal lives as a god. For the same reason, however, I shall try to protect them. I am looking for my glorious purpose, which may be saving lives like yours." He answered, uninterested in your jabs. "If you mean why I am here today. I am here because my brother has a soft spot for your friend, and they believe we may get along, which has clearly been a grotesque misalignment." 

"Well, if that is your position, I don't believe it has been my fault. I was not the one to insult you first." You answered. 

"I could feel it in your predisposition when you first saw me. You were never interested in giving me a chance but don't worry. It is a common misconception. You will regret it eventually." He smirked at you, taking a sip from his glass, letting the red liquid coat his lips. It made such a stark difference with his pale skin. Although he looked human, a certain perfection in his skin made your chest tight. He seemed too perfect, his features so clear, the image of how a man wishes to look, unachievable. It made you slightly uneasy how the darkness of his hair contrasted with the fairness of his skin, all extremes. His features seemed to know no compromise or middle ground. You assumed a trait that translated into his character. His eyes moved back to your face as he noticed you staring once again.

You broke the silence, answering his comment that, although true, was highly unwarranted. "How perceptive, I highly doubt that. Anyway, what would you like to eat? You are here to eat lunch, right?" You asked him as you walked back toward the kitchen counter. He followed you with his eyes, analysing every movement of your body. 

"What should I call you? I have been told you are not a fan of your name." The question seemed innocent enough, but it still ticked you off. How much had Sophie told this asshole about you? 

"You can call me Midgardian, given my lack of uniqueness and importance." You smiled at him "now I will only ask once again. What would you like to eat?" 

He smiled cheekily. You could not believe him. "We can cook something. You lived for a while in Italy, right? Show me your cooking skills," he spoke, getting up and sipping the last of his wine. 

…

You walked to the small store next to your building with Loki. He was ridiculously tall, easily keeping up with your quick pace. His black suit made him look even more monumental and stoic, forcing you to stand even straighter to avoid feeling intimidated.

 You started hatting with the store owner as you were choosing the ingredients. You picked up just enough things to make some Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca and another bottle of red wine. Loki offered to pay, but you refused. He, however, placed a hand on your shoulder and moved you out of the way, paying anyway.

"I can pay, you know? I also have a 'pathetic' job like Sophie. I don't need you to pay with your probably counterfeit money." You declared, walking away with your tote bag back towards the apartment. 

"You would be surprised how easy it is to accumulate money on earth when you have been alive for more than a thousand years." He smiled at you, "you are cooking, so I ought to contribute somehow."

…

The two of you got back to the flat and started cooking. Loki sat on the couch with Bjorn petting him lovingly. You were surprised he liked the dog. You would not expect him to show affection to anyone, especially not to such a needy sweet animal as the big golden retriever. Later, you would find out it was Loki himself to have gifted Bjorn to Thor. 

He served you both another glass of wine and brought it to you. "Can I play some music?" He asked politely. 

"Go ahead. The Flat has a sound system so just connect to it." You answered as you prepared the sauce. He grabbed his phone and connected it to the speakers. 

Handel's Sarabande in D Minor suddenly started playing, forcing you to look up to the god. He was already looking at you with a cheeky smile planted on his lips. "Is this okay?" 

"Yes, it is fine." You answered, confused on whether this may just be a further coincidence or something else Sophie had spoken to him about. You started to think about all your evenings spent listening to this song while preparing for exams. 

You were brought back to reality by the intense burning feeling on your finger. You looked down and saw you had cut it. Moving your hand up to your face, you inspected the damage. It burnt, and the blood was dripping down your hand. 

You moved quickly towards the bathroom, grabbing a small hand towel to apply pressure. Loki seemed to sense there was something wrong. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, no problem. I just cut myself. No big deal." You responded, putting pressure on your finger with the towel. He grabbed your hand without hesitation and removed the towel. Holding your finger in front of him, he whispered a word or two, and once you looked at it again, your cut was gone. 

"That is much better." He said, pressing a soft kiss on the healed spot. For a second, just for a second, you saw some humanity in him. He let go of your hand and looked down at you "how frail and meagre can humans be at times." The background sound of Rhapsody of a Theme by Paganini made his words so much more poetic yet hurtful. 

You stepped away from him and went back to cooking. He stood there "you know a thank you would not hurt."

"Thank you."

…

The food was ready soon after. You served the plates, and Loki poured you another glass of wine, your third glass. You sat at the table across from Loki, and he lowered the music to mere background noise. 

"I did not mean to insult you. I am just amazed at how delicate humans can be. Maybe that is why we should protect them." He said, breaking the silence.

"Let me know what you think of the food." You ignored his previous comment, unwilling to see his words any other way than offensive. He tried the pasta, and a small moan escaped his lips. You could not help but smile. 

"This is superb! I am glad I asked you to cook, and we did not get takeout," he complimented you as you looked at your watch. It was already 3:30. Between the shopping, the cooking, and the small talk, time had gone very quickly.

"So you were saying earlier, your brother has a weakness for Sophie." You smirked as you thought about the possibility of your friend getting with the god of thunder. 

"Well, as much as he has a weakness for all humans. He finds the fragility and simplicity amusing, entertaining, almost inviting. But yeah, actually, he does have a particular inclination for Sophie." You thought how redundant his answer was, unnecessarily wordy. He seemed to have a flair for the dramatic and a necessity to overcomplicate things.

"Would you say he fancies her?" You pushed the question. 

"She is a beautiful girl. I don't see why not." He looked at you analysing your reaction. 

"I did not think you could see beauty." You giggled as the wine started to hit your system, letting even the slightest shade of decorum abandon you. "Have you fancied anyone on earth?" You asked, trying to open a friendly conversation finally. 

"Not particularly. You are perfectly tolerable but not enough to tempt me if that is what you are referring to." Your mouth opened in disbelief. That was not your intention or what you were trying to say. "So you are a lawyer? You are pretty judgmental for a lawyer. I suppose you like to play the devil's advocate, but you don't enjoy having lunch with him." His nonchalant tone made it difficult for you to focus on the words, lost in the poetic tonality of his sentences. He enjoyed the game, the teasing and judging, but you would not give in.

"You sound so proud of your actions. I am glad to know your redemption is just a facade," you responded. 

"I embrace my past, and I accept it. There is not such a thing as good or bad. We are all shades of grey in-between. The dangerous people are people like you, pet, that believe to be so good and pure. You are no better than me. I just don't excuse my actions." He looked at you seriously, and you had to look away, feeling the bitter truth of his words feel your mouth.

You did not speak again, finishing your food. As soon as he had also finished, you picked up the plates and put them in the dishwasher. He asked if he could help, but you did not give him the pleasure of an answer. Gnossienne No. 1 played in the background as you could see his eyes following you around the room. For somebody simply tolerable, you did make him turn his head a lot.

…

The wine had you feeling so warm with anger. How disrespectful could a man be? Insinuating that you are seeking his compliments or his partiality. You would rather choke than ever be partial to him, a murderer, a narcissist, and an asshole. 

He opened the wine fridge and grabbed the second bottle of wine. "Another glass?" He asked, looking for the corkscrew. 

"I am done drinking, thank you." You answered coldly, continuing to clean the kitchen. 

"Do you have plans later tonight or what?" He said, grabbing the corkscrew after putting his hand on your waist and moving you just so slightly to the right to gain access to it. The feeling of his hand on your body came unexpectedly, forcing you to hold your breath once again, scared that his touch could somewhat break you. His hand was big but delicate as he touched, lingering just a second too long against your shirt. 

You turned around, annoyed by his behaviour "I do indeed, I have a date, so if you don't mind, I would appreciate it if you would leave soon so I can get ready."

"I can help you choose an outfit", he joked as he served himself another glass of wine. 

"There is no opinion I would care less about than yours. I know what I am gonna wear already, and if I don't start getting ready soon, I will be late for company that I actually enjoy." You lied as you had no idea what to wear yet. 

"Well, then go on and put on the dress? I am guessing you are going to wear a dress at least. I wanna see how you dress for a man you are partial to." Was he drunk? What was he doing?

"I think you should leave." 

"I think you want to show me, but you are scared I won't fall to my knees like every other mortal man and then you'll be upset again."

"Again?" You asked, almost screaming

"Yes, like when I called you perfectly tolerable. You cannot stand the idea that somebody may not fall for your wittiness and looks. The way you believe people will just fall for your charming little smile is pathetic." He answered as he moved closer to you. "So go on, if you don't care about my opinion, go put on whatever dress you will use and be okay with me looking unfazed."

You were unsure whether it was the wine or his shitty personality, but you wanted to prove him wrong. You wanted to cause a reaction from him. You knew this was just a game for him to see you getting all hot and bothered trying to please him. 

You were not gonna give in and let him see how bothered his comments made you. "I don't care about your opinion Odinson. You seem to be the one that needs to prove to himself that a Midgardian cannot resist his charms. I don't wanna play your games, now leave." 

He drank the wine from his glass in one big gulp and then grabbed your hip with his free hand, moving his face towards your ear. "Whatever you prefer, pet, I know tonight you may be sitting in front of your date, but all you will be thinking about is whether I would have liked your dress or not. Enjoy your night out. I'll see you on Saturday."

You moved away from him and grabbed Bjorn's bag and his leash. You gave him a couple of kisses and pets. "I am gonna miss you, big boy. I am sorry I am letting you go with this ass. I will visit you soon." You handed the leash to Loki, who smiled at you. 

You walked away as soon as he opened the door to leave. You had more important things to worry about than this condescending asshole. He was not deserving of even a goodbye. 

You heard the door close and the music disconnect. You had not noticed it had been playing in the background this whole time. 

You looked down at your watch, 5 p.m. Right on time. 

liv's note

so so sorry for the delay in posting this, uni and exams have been driving me crazy but I do hope to be posting the chapters more often now. Thank you so much for all the support, I hope you enjoyed the cheeky little introduction of Mr Laufeyson himself. I look forward to reading what you think. Sending you all all my love!

taglist

You got up, put your dress back on, headed to the bathroom, fixed your hair and grabbed your gown. Loki's absence made the room feel foreign, almost as if you weren't allowed to be in there without him. It was finally time for you to go home. You looked for your phone and found it charging on the nightstand. Loki must have done that for you.

You checked it, no new messages except the messages from your mother that you did not feel like opening.

You laid the gown on the ottoman and opened the blinds of the bedroom, letting some sun in. As you did so, the bedroom door opened again, "she finally woke up." The familiar voice spoke up, allowing a mix of relief and nervousness to fill you, "how did you sleep, pet?"

"I slept alright. Thank you for letting me rest. I needed it. Did Sophie come looking for me?" You asked without turning around, trying to settle your mixed emotions.

"She did. I told her I would take you home when you woke up." He answered, walking towards you, each step making your heart beat faster.

"Okay, do you think you could take me home?" You continued looking out the window, feeling his presence a mere step behind you.

"You are leaving me already?" He said, moving ominously close to you, exhaling through his nose as he noticed you stiffen up.

"I wanna spend some time with my friend. Sundays are pretty much the only time she has off." You answered, turning around, breaking the tension with a cold expression.

"She is in the city with Thor." He answered, scrutinizing your face, trying to understand how you truly felt. He tilted his head slightly, his eyes moving across your features, waiting for you to answer.

"Amazing, it happens every time. She gets a guy, and then she is gone." You rolled your eyes, breaking the eye contact and stepping away, putting real distance between your bodies and giving him your back.

"I think you are being rather harsh. You were asleep with a 'guy'. Not much she could do." He defended your friend, giving you a disapproving glare.

"Maybe yeah, but still. You'll see, I will end up spending my Sundays alone from now on." You sighed, "but yeah, please take me home anyway."

"Well, as your friend is not home yet, would you like to go with me somewhere?" He asked. You bit your lip at his words, ignoring the slight excitement that filled your stomach before convincing yourself that you were just happy you didn't have to be alone.

"Where would you like to go?" You turned to him, a blank expression on your face.

"Do you know how to drive?" He smiled cheekily.

…

As you walked towards the exit of the building, you ran into some of the Avengers and thanked them for their hospitality.

Once outside, you ran towards Loki's car excitedly as he walked behind you, carrying your dress. He opened the car, and you sat on the driver's seat while he put the dress in the back. He entered the passenger's seat and smiled at you.

"I am excited!" You squealed, smiling brightly. He looked at you, giving you a half-smile and shaking his head. Regardless of whether you had to spend time with Loki or not, you were about to do something you had almost dreamt of doing, which excused his presence.

"So, I know it must be confusing for you to drive on the opposite side of the road, but I need you to drive to the motor club, so I know you won't kill us both once you are racing. So follow my instructions." He told you the directions, and you started driving immediately. You had not driven such a powerful car in very long, or any car at all for that matter.

After around 20 minutes of driving, you arrived at the motor club and saw the racing porches parked outside. You squealed again in excitement, hitting Loki in the leg. "Oh my god! Am I gonna drive that?"

He chuckled once again and nodded. You parked, and both of you got out, meeting the concierge who showed you the changing rooms, where you guessed Loki had provided the racing gear you needed.

Once you stepped out of the changing room, Loki was standing in his matching racing gear, smiling at you. "Ready to go?" You nodded back.

The next thing you knew, the concierge was guiding you to your car. You would typically have an instructor, but Loki decided he could teach you. The car was beautiful. It looked like nothing you had been inside before. You put on your helmet, and Loki helped you get in.

He got in the passenger seat, and then you started driving towards the track, immediately scared by how responsive the pedals were. Maybe that was his plan all along to make you crash the car and kill you. Once you got to the starting line, you punched him in the arm.

"What was that for?" He asked, alarmed.

"I had to check that you were actually here and not a hologram. I am not about to die alone in this car." You laughed, feeling a childish euphoria you hadn't felt in a while.

It took you a bit to overcome the fear of going fast, but after a couple of rounds around the track, you felt comfortable accelerating. You felt full of adrenaline, and although you could not see him, Loki could not take his eyes off you.

You spent the next hour growing more and more confident until you finally stopped. You parked the car and got out of it clumsily, taking off your helmet while giving your back to Loki, who also got out. Before turning around, you tried to fix your hair as much as possible.

"Did you enjoy that?" He asked you.

"Yes! Oh my god, that was so fun! So much adrenaline." You smiled at him, giggling.

"Yes, I know, you flimsy humans really get the most happiness through near-death experiences." He spoke out factually.

"Thank you for bringing me here. It was fun." You thanked him as you walked back to the changing rooms. The concierge asked Loki if you two would stay for lunch, but you shook your head and let him know that you should head back home.

You took a brisk shower to remove all the sweat from the gear and put back the clothes Loki had given you this morning. You left the changing room and saw Loki waiting for you by your car. "Shall I take you home?" He asked politely once you walked to him.

"Yes, please." The drive home was tense, not because of the usual negative tension between the two of you but because there were a lot of unspoken new feelings in the air. You felt conflicted, as you had just experienced a different side to this man than the one you had dealt with previously.

After a couple of minutes of awkward silence, he played some classical music which continued for the entire ride. You got to your apartment building, and he parked in the front "thank you for taking me home… and for everything else." You said, looking at him. Hesitation covered his face again, and you felt unsure how to proceed. "Goodbye, Loki," you whispered, pressing a kiss on his cheek and getting out of the car.

He did not answer. You closed the car's door, grabbed your dress from the back, and started walking towards your building. Once inside, you went upstairs to find the flat empty. You turned on the TV and started watching a re-run of a random show you did not know.

…

Not even 20 minutes later, your intercom rang. You looked at the camera. There he was, standing, looking deadly handsome. You felt your heart drop as you picked up the phone. "If you are not gonna answer my calls or messages, can you at least talk to me in person?" He asked his tone a mix of bitterness and regret.

"Come upstairs." You buzzed him in, feeling slightly nauseous. You did not feel like having this conversation, especially after spending the morning with Loki and sleeping in his bed.

You looked at yourself in the mirror before he knocked on the door.

"Hi."

"May I come in?" He asked politely. You stepped to the side so he could enter the flat. The tension in the room grew thick as he stepped forward, smelling Loki's cologne on your body and going instantly rigid.

"What do you want?" You broke the silence as you closed the door, hoping this interaction would end as soon as possible.

"I wanted to see you, I have been calling you and texting you, and you just don't pick up." He answered politely, however, with a hint of frustration in his voice. He didn't look at you, trying his best to hold himself together as one thought overwhelmed his mind.

"I have not received a single call or message from you. I guess you texted the wrong girl." You said, wrinkling your nose, sarcastic as you both walked towards the living room, halting in the middle of the room.

"Well, I have called and texted you. Maybe you were too busy with your little terrorist boyfriend," he answered, losing any charm or politeness he held before, unable to contain himself as his eyes finally met yours. He scrutinised every part of your face, looking for confirmation in your expression of his accusation.

"Oh wow, I thought you had come here to apologize, but I guess I was wrong" you rolled your eyes, moving away from him, feeling invaded by his disgusted stare.

"I have nothing to apologise for. I only owe you an explanation." He answered condescendingly, his chin rising slightly in disdain.

"I am not interested in your explanations. I don't care whether you are actually a doctor or whether the beautiful woman you were hanging out with yesterday is your partner. I don't care." You turned back to him with animosity.

"Why are you so upset? You spent the night flirting with a murderer." He spat out, forcing you to close his eyes, feeling an involuntary protective instinct towards Loki.

"You don't know him." you hissed, not even realising the words had left your lips until his expression grew even harsher.

"That's the thing I do. I know Loki better than you, for sure. You have no idea of anything, the world is so big, and you are stuck in your tiny problems. You don't even see what goes on around you." His words hit you like a punch to the stomach. The constant reminder by both men of your irrelevance and futility was growing repetitive and nauseating. They both made you so tired.

"I don't care about him, just as I don't care about you. I cannot believe you took the time to come here to insult me." You replied as your voice cracked, needy to put a clear distance between you and them.

"I did not. I came here to talk to you because I care about your perception of me." You exhaled and chuckled bitterly at his words before closing your eyes. Wow… he did not care about you, just how you perceived him, you thought.

"So tell me, enlighten me on the huge misjudgment of your character I have committed, Doctor." You responded sarcastically, looking back at him, this time your chin tilted up as you looked at him pedantically.

"I am a doctor, a surgeon. However, I no longer practice. My hands were broken beyond repair when I was in a car accident. I cannot keep them still enough to operate. That is also why I don't text." He ran his hand through his hair. "I am the sorcerer supreme now. I protect the universe and our reality from things like Loki, which threaten it continuously." He looked down before making eye contact with you, hoping his declaration would ease the tension. "That is who I am."

"Great, I am glad to know you are a wizard. It will make it even easier for you to disappear." You turned around and stepped towards the door, feeling bitterness fill your throat.

"What is wrong with you? Can you explain me?" He raised his voice, frustrated, stepping in your direction.

"You took her to a party, flirted with her, touched her, then you were going to drop her off and come fuck me." You turned back to him, "You were going to spend the night flirting … if not more… with a woman to drop her and pick up another one. How can you not see how disgusting that is." you spat the words out, insulted by his blindness.

"I was not flirting with her. She is a friend, I did not have anyone to take, and I owed her a favour after she saved my life. There was no further intention," He spoke up cocky, seemingly offended by your allegation.

"Well, don't we love whispering seductively and holding our friends!" You joked bitterly, dropping your hands dramatically.

"Well, you were the one putting up a show with your friend Loki. It did not take you long to find somebody to pay me back with." He sounded just as disgusted, matching your tone.

"That is the big difference, Strange. Loki is not my friend. I am not lying to you about my relationship with him. I despise Loki. He is arrogant and rude; however, he does not lie to me, which is more than I can expect from you." You tried to calm down, lowering your tone and challenging his gaze.

He ran his hand through his hair again "listen, I am sorry. It was stupid to be flirting with Christine when I was going to see you that night. I just had a few difficult days, and she has always been there for me. It was not intentional, but I am sorry anyway." He broke the eye contact before the apology left his lips, unwilling to bend.

"Just as I guessed, she is not just a friend." You laughed at his face. "I have no problem with you seeing other people. Just have the decency to leave a 12-hour break between them, so the women you are sleeping with don't have to feel like objects."

"I wasn't going to sleep with her", he answered, rolling his eyes at you casually. "Listen, I am sorry you don't understand the pressure I am under all the time. I don't have time for these childish fights. There is nothing between Christine and me."

That was the straw that broke the camel's back. You swallowed before biting down your jaw. "leave. I don't even know why you came here. Just leave."

He looked shocked, "Okay, wait. I am sorry, you are right…" he started talking and reached for your arm as you stepped towards the door again.

"I don't care. Go now. You have offended me enough. I don't deserve to be spoken to this way." You responded, moving away from his touch and pointing at the exit, eyes cold.

"I am sorry, you are right." He tried to come closer to you, but you simply raised your hand, keeping the distance between you. "Listen to me. I am sorry. I don't know what is wrong with me, I just entered the room, and you smell like him, and it reminded me of seeing you with him yesterday. It made my blood boil. Please just understand I did not mean any harm, but it won't happen again." He continued, "what I did was not right, and there is no valid excuse for it. I am honestly sorry."

He stood there before you, and his pleading face melted the anger in your chest. He saw your eyes soften and took the chance to get closer to you again. "I hated to see him touching you, every minute of it. You were driving me crazy, looking so beautiful in your dress. I just needed to be with you." He said, placing his hands on your shoulders delicately. You felt so overwhelmed, unsure whether to believe him. He looked sincere in his apology, and you understood where his current frustration came from. You felt an overwhelming need to just be okay, to stop the fighting and discussing.

"Okay…" you had never been good a keeping a grudge, "but please, no more lying. Not about calling me, about what you do, about anything," you answered, looking at the ground.

"I did not lie about calling you. I can show you on my phone," he responded, mildly annoyed that you did not believe him.

"It cannot be. Nobody else had access to my phone… except…." you started thinking, the way you had woken up and your phone still had battery and how there were no notifications on the lock screen and then the way Loki put it to charge again when you napped…

"Except?" He asked, slightly annoyed.

"Oh my god, fucking Loki", you rolled your eyes.

He looked at you with contempt "you spent the night with him." He was not asking. He knew, moving slightly away from you.

"Yes, is that a problem?" You answered confidently, eyes locked to his as you challenged him.

"You are allowed to do whatever you want. Whether I approve or not is not of any relevance. So if you want to have sex with terrorists, that is your prerogative," he responded.

"We did not have sex, or even kiss for that matter but thank you for the information", you insinuated, chuckling slightly.

He opened his mouth to say something but just gave up and grabbed your arms, pulling you in for a hug. He laid his head on yours and spoke up, "you looked very beautiful yesterday. I loved the dress."

"You looked pretty good yourself," you said, inhaling his scent in his chest. "Do I really smell that much like him? You are like the third person to bring it up."

"Yeah, you do. I guess he has a very peculiar smell." He responded, hugging you a little tighter. You thought Stephen smelled very good, while Loki's smell was very complex and not quite fitting on most occasions for its sheer strength. Stephen smelled refined, expensive, classical, almost like expensive wine. Loki's smell made everyone aware of it, while Stephen's was subtle and good-natured in every room, standing out only when necessary.

"You really can drink a lot. I was surprised." He added, finally letting you go, and you chuckled, knowing how much of a drinking machine you were.

"Have you had lunch yet?" You asked, and he looked at his phone, ignoring the watch on his wrist.

"It is 4:30. Of course, I've had lunch." He smiled, "should we go get you some food?"

"Yes, please, and if you have time, I would love to lie in some park before it gets dark," you smiled at him, and the look he gave you made you forget about everything that had happened in the past 24 hours.

-----

Liv's Note

I am so sorry for taking forever as always like omg 2020 liv writing just triggers me, it is so mechanical and like aaaah the lack of emotional description. I tried to add a bit to the chapter but couldn't do too much bc it is soooo difficult. Hope you enjoyed it anyway!

Taglist: