tell me what you really want

Stubby knives

It wasn't, in fact, over soon.

It went on for several hours.

It was an incredibly boring meeting. In the beginning, Bruce has to keep himself from falling asleep several times.

At some point, a drink appears next to him. He doesn't drink it until Loki, without breaking eye contact while talking to an older councilman, does a magic hand movement over it, then nudges it toward Bruce.

It's a sort of tangy fruit like an orange, but not quite. It sends a burst of energy through him, like that time Tony slipped several extra shots of espresso in his coffee, causing the Hulk to come out destroy the kitchen, living space, and half the training room before he was subdued. But this didn't increase his heartbeat, just gave him some energy.

Maybe a little too much. Now, instead of falling asleep, he was nervously bouncing his leg and twiddling his thumbs.

By the time it finished, he nearly collapsed in relief. Now he understands why Tony hates his company board meetings.

"You seem tired."

Bruce looks toward Loki, who seems mildly amused, "How are you still sane?"

"I'm not sure I am."

"Do you ever do anything fun?"

"I don't have much time. Usually after these meetings I have paperwork and--"

"Your Majesty?" A young servant girl interrupts, fidgeting nervously with the hem of her dress, "Lady Eir sent me to ask if you will be taking anything extra to the city today."

"City?" Loki blinks, "It's Tuesday?"

The girl nods curtly.

Loki lights up, "Well then, tell Eir that the usual is fine and that I'll be down there soon."

The girl nods again, more exuberantly this time, and walks away. Loki looks back toward Bruce.

"Actually, Dr. Banner, I do participate in some activities. Care to join me?"

"Sure. And Bruce is fine."

~~~

Clint aggressively sharpens his pocketknife, gritting his teeth as he tries to ignore everything coming out of Natasha's mouth.

"You realize that you're gonna sharpen that down to a nub, right?"

Clint scowls in her direction and covers it up, sticking the knife and the sharpener back into his pocket, "Will you just leave me be?"

"I will once I know that you're okay."

"I am okay!"

"You tinker with your trick arrows when you're anxious and you sharpen your knives when you're conflicted."

Clint internally curses his nervous tics, "Well it doesn't matter! I'm fine."

Natasha raises an eyebrow.

"Okay, fine. I just don't know how to feel about all of this. It's just... a mess. Thor is acting weird, Loki is impossible to read, and Bruce hasn't been seen since breakfast. I feel like I'm missing something and I hate it."

"Me too," Nat admits, "The pieces just don't fit. I've never seen Thor like this before. What he said was..."

"Mean. Cruel. Nothing like I've ever heard him say before."

"But we have. When we fight, he's harsh and bloodthirsty. The way he talks about Loki makes him seem less like a brother and more like an enemy since the beginning. We don't really know him, Clint. We don't know what Thor and Loki's relationship is like at all."