The Ides of July // Loki - Book 1 ✓

Chapter 15: Bigger Problems

LOKI SETTLES HIMSELF into a sofa in what is now Avengers Tower, watching the inhabitants of the room carefully. The brunette Stark called Anna has positioned herself on a neighboring armchair, her hands folded carefully in her lap. A small movement catches the corner of his eye, and he notices her twisting her fingers nervously. He lifts an eyebrow - unbeknownst to her - mentally cataloguing the behavior of the young woman along with that of everyone else in the room. Anything and everything might be of use to him, so he lets nothing slip his notice.

After the food arrives, the team begins to feast. Thor is boisterous as always, laughing and joking with the mild-mannered Dr. Banner who Loki remembers less-than-fondly as the green monster who beat him into a pulp in this very room. Tony Stark is far quieter than usual, his trademark snark reduced as he speaks in hushed tones with the strawberry blonde woman. Loki can't be bothered to remember her name, but he has noticed her worrisome glances between Tony and the brunette sitting quietly to his right side.

The woman next to him is an outsider, it's obvious to him even without her ridiculous nervous hand-wringing habit. Clearly she's overwhelmed by those in the room or she is hiding something. His pride points to the former - rightfully so. As she is but a mere mortal, he could hardly blame her.

She glances his way, blue eyes darting quickly over his appearance, and makes a move to speak.

"Spare the trivialities," Loki drawls, rolling his gaze lazily away from her. "We're not allies, nor shall we be such."

Her face turns bright red, and her right hand clutches the carton of Indian food balanced carefully in her lap.

"I was going to offer you some naan," she says softly, glancing down at the piece of bread in her left hand. "I thought it might be easier to eat with, well..."

Her voice trails, and Loki glances down at the shackles restraining his wrists from movements. No, he certainly couldn't eat in the presence of these people with such a predicament. He refused to humiliate himself further by attempting such an act. A grimace crosses his face, resentful of the fact that she thought he could circumvent such indignity with something so simple as a piece of bread.

"No," he replies succinctly, not bothering to face her.

She sucks in a breath, "I guess you really are an asshole."

"Pray don't delude yourself, mortal wench," Loki hisses, turning to glare at her, his green eyes flashing. "I did not request your presence nor your pity. Whilst these shackles may prevent me from snapping your neck at the moment, don't think I won't revel in waiting to kill you at my leisure."

Her food clatters to the floor as she stands suddenly, causing the rest of the room's occupants to face them with varying degrees of surprise. Thor narrows his eyes at Loki, who feigns innocence, as the girl sputters apologies at the mess on the floor. Pepper crosses the room instantly, armed with paper towels and a plastic bag, helping her to clean the Indian food splattered on the ground.

"You okay?" Tony asks, watching the trio closely.

"Fine," Anna replies quickly, her voice tight in her chest. "An accident."

Tony resumes his seat, and Anna insists Pepper leave her to clean up the mess. She obliges reluctantly, leaving Loki to watch with amusement as she cleans the floor near his feet. He notices a glob of food on the toe of his boot and clears his throat, causing the girl to glance up at him with alarm. Raising his shackles, he nods at the mess on his boot, pleased with the prospect of such a pathetic human wiping his boot clean.

The woman glances down for a moment, her hand hovering over the leather, then turns her chin up to him. Blue eyes meet his own, two icy spheres shooting daggers at him. Without blinking, she stands to her feet and flips the bag containing the remnants of her dinner and paper towels, allowing its contents to empty on Loki's lap.

"BITCH," he roars instantly, flying to his feet and slamming her against the wall.

She gasps for breath as his shackled hands move to encircle her neck, and her hands fly up instantly to jab her thumbs into his eyes. Releasing her instantly to recover, she falls forward only to be grabbed by the hair and yanked toward him. A yelp escapes her lips before capitalizing on the proximity of her hunched position and instinctively driving an elbow into his private region.

Loki drops her a second time, only to be tackled to the ground by Thor. Struggling against him, he fights to reach her as she is pulled to safety behind Tony Stark.

"Brother, stop this," Thor growls at him, pressing his shoulders firmly into the ground.

Anna is coughing behind Tony, attempting to regain her breath, as Loki - red in the face as he struggles against Thor - spouts a string of Asgardian profanities at them.

"We get it, princess, your outfit is dirty," Tony quips at Loki before turning his attention to Anna. "You just pissed off a very powerful Wilson Leather shopper, my dear. You okay?"

She nods, carefully massaging her throat. Pepper and Bruce Banner watch from the other side of the room, and Tony points Anna over toward them. Circumventing Loki and Thor slowly, she joins them without taking her eyes off the man in green on the floor.

"Now," he turns to Loki and Thor. "Do you need some shoe polish to clean yourself up? Because we have bigger problems, and I don't really have the patience or the blood pressure to deal with this right now."

Now playing: "Creep" by deadmau5

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Author's Note

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