Five's a Crowd | Stucky / Marvel Polyamorous LGBT Romance

Chapter 15: Loki | Steve

Loki

Loki could have spent the rest of the night in the giant, plush bed of the hotel. He saw on the TV screen that they had a pool, a spa, a rooftop bar, and a gym, but he wasn't really interested in any of that. What he really wanted was just to think. Well, that and food. 

He called down to the front desk to tentatively ask about room service. The lady greeted him with such enthusiasm Loki almost dropped the phone. She started out by asking him for his preferred pronouns, so they could add it to his file and Loki swooned a little inside. He told her he/him would be fine and he heard the light noise of keyboard keys clacking in the background. He then inquired about room service and was told that there was already a card on the account to cover "all expenses" at the hotel restaurant, bar, and shop.

He quickly hung up, his cheeks flushing red at the lavish treatment, but he set an alarm on his phone for 8pm to make sure he ordered and ate dinner.

He decided to take a bath in the bathroom's gigantic whirlpool tub. The swirling water and scented soaps lulled him into a semi-conscious state, only disturbed by his food alarm. There was an actual phone in the bathtub, so he called down and ordered "the creamiest, most delicious pasta you have and maybe also some wine, white preferably, but really whatever you recommend."

He probably should have thought his order through better. Of course they would probably pick the most expensive everything, but for once Loki just couldn't make himself care. He slowly toweled off and his food arrived right as he was putting on one of the plush robes from the closet.

He settled into bed and ate and drank himself into a stupor without giving much thought to anything except how lucky he was to have met the quad. He fell asleep with happy, warm thoughts of the quad filling his head, and he hoped they were having a decent night.

The next morning he woke in a panic at 10:30 when the front desk called up to ask if he was ready to check out or if he would like to extend his stay. He squawked out something about checking in with his partner and slammed down the phone. He didn't have time to wonder if that had been a freudian slip, before rapidly dialing Charlie's number on his cell.

Charlie picked up on the first ring with a gentle voice that only slightly masked the anxiety lurking right under the surface. "Loki? Is everything all right?"

Loki was suddenly embarrassed and considered hanging up again, but he figured one rude hangup was enough for one morning. "Yes, completely, really I'm just an idiot and...I really should have set an alarm or something, but I forgot that hotel stays are really only one night and part of the morning, because it's almost check out time, I think? And I only just woke up, and I really didn't get a lot of thinking done...oh god, I'm so sorry...is there any way you could extend the stay? I'm happy to pay you back for it, this is totally my fault-"

"Loki, darling. It's okay. Take a deep breath. I will call the hotel right now and extend your stay. Would you like me to come and get you tomorrow, maybe around noon?" Charlie's deep voice smoothed over Loki's frayed nerves like a salve and he slumped against the bed.

Loki breathed a huge sigh of relief and something in his chest fluttered at the word darling. It was quite different from the way Nicky said it. More affectionate, rather than teasing. "Yes...yes thank you so much Charlie. And the hotel is absolutely wonderful. Way too much of course, but I'm sure you knew that when you booked it."

There were sparkles of laughter in Charlie's voice when he replied, all of the earlier tension seeming to have evaporated like mist off a lake. "I did indeed. I actually think if I book two nights in a row, like I'm about to, you get a free spa treatment. Just throwing that out there."