Loki Misses the Asgardian Prison System

Chapter 95

Who needs a tennis court to play real-world tennis?

That's Natasha's logic as she pulls out two tennis rackets, bouncing a little green ball against the floor of this seemingly never-before-used room. She tosses one racket to Loki, and as he catches it, she grabs the ball in her free hand. Loki cocks a brow, waiting for her to explain, because honestly, he has absolutely no idea what's going on.

"It's a team effort this time," Natasha says, much to Loki's chagrin. "Just gotta keep the ball going. Got it?"

"You have literally explained nothing," Loki tells her. "No, I do not 'got it.'"

"You'll figure it out," Natasha says dismissively, because apparently that's easier than just telling him what they're doing. She glances back at Steve and Thor behind them. "And you guys might wanna step back and stay out of the way."

Steve stands in the corner by the door, making himself as small as possible and clearly taking those instructions very seriously. Thor, meanwhile, just stands against the wall, still holding the presumably warm ice pack to his lip like it's actually doing something.

Natasha throws the ball against the floor, and when it bounces back up, she hits it straight ahead. It bounces off the floor once before hitting the wall, shooting back at them. Instinctively, Loki reaches his racket out and smacks the ball back toward the wall.

"See?" Natasha says with a grin. She hits the ball again, then looks back at him. "Told you you'd get it."

"This is it?" Loki asks. He hits the ball back. "This is your entire game?"

Natasha takes a few steps to the side to hit the ball this time, and hitting it from that angle sends it toward Loki at an even stranger one. He dives to the other side, his tennis racket extended, but just barely misses the ball. Natasha runs up behind him to grab it, and it bounces between his legs and back to the wall.

"If that had been a little bit higher," Thor says teasingly.

Loki grabs the ball with his racket, bounces it straight up, and hits it right at Thor's face. Unfortunately (or, though Loki won't admit it to himself, fortunately), Thor shoots his arm up, blocking his face before the ball can hit him. It bounces off his arm, though it loses most of its momentum, coming to a near-halt. Natasha hits it with her racket a few times, and it bounces a little higher each time until it's back to a decent height and she's able to hit it back toward the wall.

The longer they play, the less organized it is, and the more fun it becomes. They both run after the ball, and though there are times when the same person will hit it three or four times in a row, it never feels like hogging the ball. Natasha wasn't lying when she said it was a team effort. They really do feel like a team right now – something he'd never thought he'd say about an Avenger, and an experience he almost wishes he wasn't having for that reason alone. A lot can change in two years, apparently.

Finally, Natasha lowers her racket to her side, running her hand through her sweat-soaked hair. "Okay, that's enough of that."

Loki grabs the ball as it bounces back, and he tries not to let the impressed look on her face get to his head. Nothing he did in Asgard was ever considered impressive to his peers. Sometimes he forgets that humans have lower standards than Asgardians do. It's one of the few nice things about this planet.

To Thor and Steve, she says, "If someone else wants to play, I just need a minute to catch my breath."

The two share a look, and Thor shrugs, dropping his ice pack on the floor. "I will."

Natasha raises a brow. "Are you good to play?"

Thor waves that off. "I'll be fine."

No shit, Loki wants to say. His lip is red, swollen, and bloody, but compared to the wounds he's gotten in battle and just laughed off, that's nothing. He was clearly just playing it up for sympathy – or maybe just to "win" that round he was about to lose, but he'd never admit it, no matter how obvious it is.