Damaged Goods

Chapter 3: Illusions

TW: mentions of abuse, mentions of self-harm

Loki turned the corner, thinking that by now all the Avengers would be going about their day and he could sneak into the kitchen for a bite to eat. He stopped, the girl from yesterday was here, the one who had been blocking him from her mind.

He saw her throw up an illusion, and although he didn't see what she was hiding exactly, he saw where she was hiding it. There was something on or around her neck she didn't want him to see, to know about. How curious. He wondered briefly why she was here, then decided if it didn't affect him why should he care?

~

You decided to introduce yourself, because surely this man, whoever he may be, if he was living with the Avengers, chances were you would be seeing him again. You briefly wondered how you hadn't felt his presence earlier, then chalked it up to being too tired from holding the illusion for so long.

"Hi, I'm y/n," you said, sticking out your hand for a handshake.

"Loki," he replied, ignoring your hand, which you awkwardly retracted when he didn't take it.

"Loki as in 2012 Loki?" you asked.

Loki was surprised. Most people when they met him either pretended that 2012 never happened, or immediately were either scared or disgusted. You, however, just asked to confirm that yes, indeed, this is the Loki you had heard of. He quickly collected himself, replying

"The very same,"

Just as he was about to walk past you, you surprised him again by continuing the conversation.

"Is that a book of Shakespeare's sonnets?" you asked, "Never much liked them myself, I much prefer the plays. If you want real poetry you should check out William Blake, he wrote some good stuff," (My favorite is A Poison Tree by William Blake, you should read it, it's great). Now it was Loki's turn to surprise you by actually answering.

"Actually it's just a collection of poetry, as the cover says, Advanced Poetry: From Shakespearean Sonnets to the Transcendentalists, with an introduction by Elizabeth Rose," he said.

"Hey, I know Liz, she's my friend! She never told me she liked poetry," you exclaimed. As much as you liked this conversation though, you really were about to pass out, so you abruptly ended the conversation you had been so keen to continue with "I'll see you around I guess, I really gotta go now."

You hurried to your room, leaving a puzzled Loki in the hallway, hunger momentarily forgotten. Why had you suddenly run away? Did you finally realize that he was a mass murderer? Or did you simply not like talking to him? He couldn't seem to figure out anything about you. He suddenly remembered his previous mission, and resumed his search for food.

~

Once you got into your room, you dropped the illusion again, and asked Friday to play music. You smiled and thanked her as Paranoid by Black Sabbath began to play. As you unpacked, you shuffle-danced around the room, enjoying being able to finally relax for once without having to worry about anything.

As you started your homework, which had been previously forgotten, Friday changed the songs to ones you knew a lot better, so that they would become a background noise to help you study. Then there was a knock at the door.

"It's open," you said, speaking over the music. The door opened to reveal Tony, who had come to inform you that they were ordering dinner and ask what you wanted, as well as see for himself what you had done with the room and how well you were settling in.

"A girl after my own heart," he said when he heard Enter Sandman by Metallica playing. You smiled, remembering how at breakfast the others had teased him for liking so-called "angry music."