In The Shadows | Loki

NOT GOOD ENOUGH

"I hate everything about this."
        "You're doing great." Steve offers, and I shoot him a glare. "What?"
        "You were literally given perfect muscles." I argue with a small grunt, doing another pull up. "The rest of the normal human race hates pull ups." 
        "You're the one who wanted to see if you could beat me." He chuckles in response. We both hear a loud grunt and bang, and I let go of the bar, dropping to the ground. I glance over to see Loki slowly getting back to his feet, both him and Nat smirking at each other. My chest tightens a little, and I quickly look back at Steve. 
        "I think I'm going to go clean up. I wanted to check in with Fury this afternoon." I say with a forced smile. "Besides, I'm pretty sure you could've done another fifty pull ups." He rolls his eyes, smiling. 
        "I'll see you tonight at the party, right?" He asks, and I nod. "Don't get Fury too riled up, alright?" I nod, and he turns to go to a different machine.
        "Steve." He turns, and I grab his hand, tugging him down as I go up on my tip toes to press my lips softly to his. He responds quickly, moving his lips softly against mine. 
        Pain suddenly erupts in my stomach, and jerk back. I quickly whirl to look at Nat and Loki.
        "Sorry!" Nat calls, barely even glancing at us. Loki has a hand resting on his stomach, pain filling his face. He glares at Nat, who mutters something. I sigh and turn back to Steve.
        "I'll see you later." I say quickly, moving to grab my towel and water bottle before heading towards the door.

Loki~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

        I'm slammed down onto the mat again, and I grunt, slowly getting back to my feet. "If you don't pay attention, I'm going to keep doing that. I have no problem with it, but you might." Romanoff quips, her fighting stance still strong. I scowl, quickly lunging towards her left side. She blocks the blow, using my momentum to give herself an advantage as she tries to trip me.
        "I'm not distracted, Spider." I hiss as she tries to ram the heel of foot into my thigh. 
        "Could've fooled me." I block her next shot, absorbing the blow of her punch in the palm of my hand. It's only when I move to yank her forward when I feel the soft, invisible pressure on my lips. My head snaps to the side to see Ophelia kissing the Captain, and Romanoff follows my gaze. Before I can think, Romanoff slips out of my grip and rams her knee into my stomach. I grunt at the sudden pain, doubling over. I hear a loud gasp from across the gym, and Romanoff takes a step away from me.
        "Sorry!" She shouts at Ophelia before turning back to me. I glare at her, and the corners of her lips twitch into a small smile.
        "You're welcome." She says smugly. Ophelia walks  past her and out the door, and the Captain moves to a machine. "Could you feel that? Them...." She doesn't need to continue.
        "It doesn't matter." I reply slowly, straightening. "She can do what she wants."
        "You don't want her too though." Romanoff points out. My eyes narrow.
        "Why do you care?" I ask. "You don't care what happens to me. You hate me." She shrugs, thinking for a moment as she grabs the water bottle sitting just off the mat. 
        "I don't think Steve and Ophelia are right for each other is all." She replies after a moment. "I've known Ophelia for years, and she wouldn't be happy with him. He's too perfect for her. He's a golden boy, and she's someone who needs a little excitement in her life." Nat glances over, making sure that the machine that Steve is on is too loud for him to hear her. "Steve needs someone who..." She trails off. "He's too protective. Overprotective. He'll smother her." She tosses me my towel. "Go clean up. You're going to the party tonight too." I raise an eyebrow.
        "I am?" I ask, and she nods.
        "Clint gets too distracted. I need someone intelligent to talk too." She replies. "My default is usually Bruce, but he's driving back from a conference and won't be back until the last two hours, and even that's a maybe." I give her a long look, but nod once. Thor would more likely than not drag me there anyway. "Good. I'll see you then." She turns and walks towards the Captain, and I sigh before heading towards my room.