Loki Misses the Asgardian Prison System

Chapter 26

Loki has turned his room into a near-exact replica of his chambers in Asgard. None of it is real, of course. He doesn't have that kind of power. But it looks real, and when he doesn't think too hard about it, it almost feels real, too. That's good enough for him.

He sits on the floor, looking around with a smile. He can't go anywhere without the risk of running into an invisible wall — this room is much smaller than his on Asgard and he can't quite tell where it ends and the illusion begins — but he doesn't have to. Just the familiarity of his own surroundings brings him more joy than he can state.

The illusion of a small black cat appears off in the corner. He used to love cats. He's not sure why. They're just so elegant; so sophisticated. He snuck a cat from Midgard into the palace once. Thor found it within days and naturally he had to tell all of his friends, but it took weeks for the Allfather to hear of it. Obviously, Odin made him take it back, but it was nice while it lasted.

This cat off in the distance reminds him of it. Tom, he'd named it; like a tomcat. He's not actually sure if was a tomcat — he never knew the cat's gender, but, to be fair, there were times when he didn't even know his own; it just gave him and Tom something in common — but he'd liked the name. It felt fitting.

This cat — he hesitates to call this one Tom; Tom was a rather special cat to him — jumps up to his bookshelf, its claws catching in the spine, and the book topples down on top of it. Loki chuckles softly. He made the cat do it, of course — his illusions don't have minds of their own — but it's something Tom did a couple of times, until Loki learned to leave a book on the floor. He always loved to watch it. The cat curls up on top of the book with a content sigh.

Loki smiles. This is nice. It's not enough to make him forget about the reality of the situation he's in, but it's enough to distract himself from it. A few years ago, sitting in his room for this long with nothing to do would have driven him mad, but it's a welcome relief now.

"What's all this?"

Immediately, the illusion vanishes, the plain white walls of Loki's real room returning one more. He looks over at the door, and Steve is peeking through the hole of the doorknob that Thor ripped off. For some reason, Loki finds himself feeling a little flustered, but he tries to push that aside.

"You usually knock," Loki says, and he pushes himself to his feet with a quiet groan. He's been sitting for way too long. His knees do not appreciate it.

"I know, I'm sorry," Steve says. He stands up straight, no longer looking through the hole. "I just saw the different colors. I was curious."

Loki raises an eyebrow. That's the first apology he's been given in a very long time. It was just in passing and he knows Steve doesn't mean anything by it, but it takes him by surprise anyway.

Loki opens the door, and usually Steve walks away immediately so Loki can follow him. This time, he doesn't. He pokes his head in Loki's room, and Loki takes a step back instinctively, getting out of his way. What's he doing?

"But what was it?" Steve asks, looking around as if he's going to find any remnants of the illusion.

"Boredom," Loki says. "It doesn't matter. Forget about it."

"Can I see it again?" Steve asks.

"No," Loki says immediately. It's weird enough to know that Steve saw it at all, even just through the little makeshift peephole in the door. He's not showing him the whole illusion.

Fortunately, Steve accepts that pretty quickly, and he doesn't ask to see it again. He steps back to let Loki out, and they head down the hall. Loki feels a little more uncomfortable than he cares to admit, just waiting for Steve to keep pestering about it, but the longer they go without him bringing it up, the more comfortable he gets. He supposes he shouldn't be surprised. The last time someone didn't respect the boundaries that he was very clear he'd set, they nearly got a knife through the chest. Steve doubtlessly doesn't want to become the next victim.