One and the Same (Loki Fanfic)

Chapter 9: Impromptu Favors

Chapter 9:

They were enjoying a late meal outside, in one of the open banquet halls. Most of the superheroes were settled at a large wooden table in the shade, but Taylor was basking in the sun at the top of the steps, just a few feet away. Her face was turned into the light while she soaked up the warmth the reflection off the buildings provided. It was nice to be still for a moment, even with the quiet murmur of her friends just off to the side. She was still exhausted and sore from their activities the night before, and the sunlight was making her mind pleasantly hazy.

The food was delicious, but rich for someone like her, who survived mostly off salads and high-protein diets to accommodate the literal thousands of calories she burned per day. Not used to filling up so quickly, she picked at what remained of her meal, listening idly to the Avenger's conversation. Loki sat leisurely across from her, his back against the adjacent column.

He, too, seemed to have lost his appetite, but Taylor suspected for an entirely different reason. Sif had joined them and kept casting sharp looks their way. Taylor suspected the prince was waiting to be seized at any moment to continue his rather redundant punishment. She wondered if Thor could convince Odin to extend his brief reprieve, at least until the perpetrators for the lost villagers were apprehended. Something told her that Asgardian law didn't have a parole for good behavior clause.

"You seem troubled," the subject of her thoughts spoke up suddenly.

She couldn't admit that she was worried about him and the plunge his disposition was taking. As irritating as Loki could be, she preferred his larger than life attitude, god-sized ego, and even the diva sulking tantrums in comparison to the quiet, subdued way he was acting now. It occurred to her that he might just be putting on an act—god of lies and mischief and all that—but for whose benefit she couldn't decipher. It certainly wasn't going to work with Thor across the room, and Loki wasn't one to desire sympathy for sympathy's sake.

"So do you," she countered, sipping from her goblet (an actual goblet, holy smokes) of water.

"With good reason," he pointed out, gesturing subtly towards the female warrior attempting to turn him to ash with nothing more than her intense gaze.

Taylor half-smiled, pretending not to have noticed the woman's glare and stared out at the foreign city, shifting so her legs were crossed, her plate abandoned in front of her. She was just about to speak when a booming, authoritative voice cut her off.

"Once more, you ignore my words and bring creatures that do not belong to our realm."

The appearance of Odin startled Taylor so badly that she jumped and half-scooted behind the column. Loki watched her with no small amount of confusion. She'd courageously throw herself wholeheartedly into battle to protect her precious Midgard, but Odin had scared her all but into hiding with only a few words. The Allfather was imposing, Loki would give the man that, but to cow a woman that so brazenly stood toe to toe with him and others that actively posed a threat to her...he couldn't understand it. What was he missing?

"Father, listen, these are the Avengers. They are the mightiest warriors Earth has to offer and this newest threat is not to be taken lightly," Thor began explaining.

Taylor blinked and slid a sideways look to Loki, keeping her voice low so as not to draw attention to them.

"He asked permission for this, didn't he?"

"He had Odin's blessing to take me to Midgard to determine and stop the threat," Loki replied.

She grimaced, staying frozen to her position while things were so heated. Everyone in the room was quiet, even Tony for once, awkwardly witnessing the heated exchange between father and son.