Loki Misses the Asgardian Prison System

Chapter 104

"You know," Clint says, "I still don't get why you made us watch Die Hard in the middle of May, but I gotta admit, it's a damn good movie."

"And that's why!" Tony says. "Just because it's a Christmas movie doesn't mean it's only a Christmas movie. A good movie is always a good movie."

"Has anybody not seen this before?" Natasha asks, glancing around the room.

"I had not," Thor announces.

"Yeah, no, I think we kinda guessed that, but thank you," Tony says.

"How'd you like it?" Natasha asks.

Thor has to crane his neck to look up at her from the floor. "I thought it was wonderful," he says. "So much action; so much suspense. Truly an incredible movie."

"How 'bout you, Loki?" Natasha asks.

Loki, whose head had been resting against the arm of the couch for at least the last 45 minutes as his eyelids slowly began to close, reluctantly opens his eyes and picks his head up at the sound of his name. "It was great," he deadpans.

"Yeah, I could tell by your snoring," Tony says sarcastically.

Loki just rolls his eyes.

"So, what now?" Bruce asks. "It feels a little early for bed."

"I could sleep," Steve remarks.

"Nobody cares," Tony says dismissively. "We're playing Mario Kart."

"Why are we always playing Mario games?" Bruce asks.

"Because..." Tony pauses, furrowing his brows as he thinks. "That's a really good question. I will get back to you on that in three to five business days."

"Play the other one," Loki says.

"What? No," Tony says. "We're playing Mario Kart."

"The other one is more fun to watch," Loki protests.

"No, it's not," Tony says. "Mario Kart is way more fun to watch. And you're not even playing, so you don't get a vote."

Loki rolls his eyes. "If I did play, would I have a vote?"

"Nope." Tony flashes him a smile.

Thor slides over on the floor until he's shoulder-to-shoulder with his brother. "You should play," he says.

"I never play during these game nights," Loki reminds him.

"Exactly," Thor says. "So you should play this time."

"I hate Mario Kart," Loki says. "We played it once and I could not stay on the track if my life depended on it."

"You'll only get better with practice," Thor says.

"Why would I ever want to practice something as ridiculous as this?" Loki asks. "I'll watch your game, but I think it's stupid and I don't like it."

Tony snorts. "Somebody's in a pissy mood today."

"He just missed us that much while we were gone," Natasha jokes.

"Oh, don't worry, buddy." Tony reaches over the arm of the couch to pat him on the head. "We found what we needed. We're not gonna leave you again for a very long time."

Loki reaches up and grabs him, a death-grip on his hand that makes the man wince. "Or maybe I am in a 'pissy mood' because you continue to taunt me with this mission, but you refuse to tell me what it was."