It is a tight fit in the elevator. Between Thor's shoulders and the confined space. Loki is right behind Astoria who texts away on her phone, Klaus is all excited because he saw her on the news being all badass. She smiles to herself as she types out a reply. Loki shifts slightly. He's warm against her back. But it's not a heat warm. It's just a presence warmth. He doesn't radiate heat. There is actually something a little colder coming off of him. It's hard to ignore him. But she does. Until he draws his fingers up her spine before they come to rest on the back of her neck. He traces the lines of her birthmark. It's so perfectly formed. A star.
"We have to check in with Fury" Natasha looks up from her phone. "We'll get out on the next floor and meet up with them later" Clint hums a little in acknowledgement. The elevator doors open and the two agents leave. Loki moves his hand from Astoria's neck and touches her hand at her side, she tilts her head, acknowledging the action before she brushes her fingers back against his. He smirks. The doors close again. Tony lets out a breath.
"Well, then there were four" Tony comments as he sits on the tesseract case. He then wrinkles his nose. "Are you two flirting back there?" He asks, Astoria rolls her eyes.
"Don't make me slap you with my sword" She warns him, Tony just smirks back as he looks over his shoulder at her.
...........
Tony leads the way across the lobby of the tower with the tesseract case, followed by Loki and Astoria, and then from the rear, Thor who watches his brother, the way Loki is interacting with Astoria. This is the old Loki. The sly flirter Loki. The charmer. The silver-tongued lover. But it's never been like this. He's never looked at anyone the way he is looking at Astoria. She's really left an impression on him. Alexander Pierce intercepts them with a team of Shield agents.
"Mind if I ask where you're going?" Pierce asks.
"We were thinking lunch, then Asgard. And you are?" Thor counters.
"Alexander Pierce" Tony answers instead. "He's the guy behind the guys behind Fury, so don't mess"
"He's also behind a lot of other stuff too" Astoria comments as she folds her arms over her chest.
"My friends call me Mr Secretary" Pierce adds and looks at Thor. "I have to ask you to turn the prisoner over to me" Thor glances at Loki who raises an eyebrow.
"He is not a prisoner..." Thor looks at Pierce. "And Loki will answer to Odin, himself"
"No, he'll answer to us. Odin can have what's left" Pierce warns and then motions for his men. Astoria's eyes glow as she steps forward, putting Loki behind her.
"Try it" She warns. "And I'll send you back to Lerna where you belong, Oktopus" She threatens, her armour rolling down her arm. "Now step aside, before I make you"
"You and what army?" Pierce asks her.
"This one" She states and all of a sudden, his own Shield agents have turned on him, guns pointed at him. Astoria smirks. "Don't ever think you can one-up a telepath...." She points out and then moves closer to him. "They know your secrets' secrets..." She gives him a look and then pokes his nose. "Bye-bye" She steps back and looks at Loki who smirks, impressed. "I'm starving. Let's hurry before I eat one of you" She teases and then walks away. "I live with a cannibal, so I know how to do it" Tony smirks and follows her, offering a shrug at Pierce. Loki and Thor are right behind them.
"My men, Miss Hargreeves" Pierce shouts, she waves her hand over her shoulder and his men relax, looking at one another confused. Loki and Thor share a look as they head outside. Loki shrugs and hurries to catch up with Astoria, she nudges him slightly when he reaches her side, he nudges her back.
"Thank you" He whispers to her, she hums and touches his arm before releasing him. The two of them share a look.
"Okay, love birds, let's go" Tony teases, Astoria lets out a breath and turns, punching Tony on the nose. "My nose" Tony groans, bending over to grip his nose. Astoria chuckles and walks away. Loki raises an eyebrow at Tony when he leans up. "You gonna punch me too?" He asks, Loki shakes his head.
"No, seems she hit you pretty good" Loki comments and then turns, walking away with Thor and Astoria.
.........
Shawarma turns out to be Lebanese food, that smells amazing, but Loki is not sure what to make of the taste. It's not bad food. It's just different from Asgardian food. They've been joined by the others. Steve, Bruce, Clint, and Natasha, along with Tony, Loki, Thor, and Astoria are all gathered around one big table covered in various different dishes. Thor is very much enjoying himself. Astoria looks at Loki who pokes at his food. He thinks it's just too strong a taste when he's eaten nothing but gruel for the last year.
"You don't like it?" Astoria asks, Loki looks at her.
"It is fine" He answers. "Very distinct" She raises an unconvinced eyebrow as she sets a piece of chicken between her teeth to eat. She chuckles a little. "What?" He asks her.
"It's no...roasted boar" She comments with a smirk. "Or...whatever it is you eat"
"Depends on whatever was hunted," Loki tells her with a shrug. "Board, deer, elk. But we like fish dishes too"
"Smoked, dried, or salted?" She teases, he gives her a look. "Typical Viking diet" She explains as she leans back in her seat. "Did you enjoy it?"
"Yes," Loki answers. "When prepared right" She hums a little. "Do you have a favourite?" He asks her. "A Midgardian dish?"
"Oooo" She taps her chin, thinking about that answer. She does love food. And she does have a lot of favourites. But there is one dish she would go to time and time again, without fail. "Cinnamon apple pie..." She answers. "Love me some pie" She reaches for her drink to take a sip. Loki hums a little, watching her.
"Hargreeves" Clint states to get her attention from across the table, she looks at him. "Stark and I were trying to work out why were you on Shield's radar" She sets her drink down and then leans back in her seat.
"Yeah, there was no you file" Tony agrees. "What did you do?"
"You mean other than being a teenaged superhero?" Natasha asks. "And a celebrity since basically birth?"
"That was like ten years ago" Tony argues. "And they all disappeared...You know after that whole..." Tony stops and then looks at Astoria.
"Whole one of us died thing?" Astoria asks. Tony hums a little. Astoria taps her nails on her glass in annoyance.
"Soooo....how did you get back into the picture?" Tony pushes.
"I killed 18 men" She answers plainly, just pointing it out. She has nothing to hide. She doesn't care. Steve chokes on his drink. "One by one. With my sword. With my magic. With my bare hands," She shrugs a little and picks up a fry to chew on it.
"Because?" Steve asks her, she shrugs and hums.
"I can't remember" She answers. "I got hit in the head during the fight....forgot why I got into it...and I was the only one that came out of it so no one else could tell me....just blank" She goes back to her food.
"And it doesn't bother you?" Bruce asks her. "Why you just killed 18 men?"
"Nah, why should it?" She offers and pokes at her food. "They're dead, nothing I can do about that now" Loki raises an eyebrow at her. Not really an attitude he was expecting from a Midgardian. Or from her. She's clearly spunky, but unbothered by death.
YOU ARE READING
(1) Alis Propriis Volat (Loki)
Fanfiction- I am bringing this back after the replacement kind of fizzled out. (Book One - Ljubičica Čarobnica) Being a Hargreeves is difficult. All that trauma and unresolved childhood issues tear them apart from the inside. But now, Astoria has a second ch...
