The Witch's Familiar

Chapter 14

    "What are we wearing to this... party?" Loki asked on the elevator ride back up to your rooms. He sounded nervous. You took his hand and brushed your thumb over the back of it, reassuring.

"We're wearing our battle costumes," you told him gently. "You don't have to come if you don't want to. It'll be loud and obnoxious and probably full of Tony being drunk and people acting stupid," you added, equally gently. It really wasn't going to be an event that Loki would like. Hell, it wasn't going to be an event that you would like, but you were obligated to go. Tony had made you promise.

"You will be there," Loki replied carefully.

"Because I have to go. It's supposed to be fun. Tony insists it will be. I don't believe him, but I have to show up at least for a little while," you told him, whining. You just wanted to sit on a couch with a purring Lokitty and a book.

"Then I will join you and we will protect each other," Loki's voice was warm, obviously caring about you and your well-being, but you could hear the nerves in his voice. He didn't want to spend the evening with the mortals, with Tony, or his loud drunken friends.

"Lokitty, just stay here. You'll be safer and happier and won't have mortals stepping on your tail. I know how you feel about them not giving you a chance," you insisted. You didn't want to see him suffering through this party.

"Nonsense. It would be dishonorable to let you face this battle alone," he said in such a lofty formal tone that you couldn't help laughing. He seemed pleased that you had relaxed. You kissed his cheek when you were outside of your room. It had become a friendly, caring, gesture over the last few weeks when you couldn't reach the spot between the cat-ears on top of his head.

"Wait for me and we can go down to the ballroom together," you suggested.

"That sounds like an excellent idea," he agreed quickly. He lifted your hand and bowed over it as he kissed your knuckles. You smiled at the old-fashioned gesture and ducked into your room to get ready for the party. You used magic to summon your battle armor. It was a pain to put on normally. Coulson had given you a new set when yours was destroyed in the explosion. It now had gold trim with the green and black. You had a feeling he was trying to ship you and Loki too. But it looked cool and was functional, so you didn't complain. You did your hair and put on makeup since this was a party and made sure your wand was wrapped securely around your wrist pretending to be a bracelet. You didn't want to be without it among all these people, most of whom you wouldn't know.

You carefully settled your witch's hat on your head, securing it in place with magic. You took a glance in the mirror before you left your room. You looked tiny, innocent, and adorable. It was the exact look Coulson had been going for in your costume, a cute little witch who helped out the team and saved the world. There were negative connotations about witches being evil, so he'd designed your costume to look adorable, despite that it was mostly black. You were also careful to keep up a cheerful, polite, kind demeanor at all times. It had gotten you the reputation of being America's sweetheart and the public loved you.

You stepped out into the hall and saw Loki waiting for you in his full battle armor, including his golden horned helmet. You saw the illusions hiding his cat-ears and tail. You only saw the illusions because you were a witch. They were very well done. You also noted that he chose his current armor setup and not the set from New York. Wise choice. "Hope you weren't waiting too long," you greeted him with a smile. He was leaning against the wall with a book in one hand. He vanished the book and looked over at you as he stood.

"Not at all," he replied with a smile.

"Good job on the illusions," you told him by way of complimenting his appearance. He would be uncomfortable if you told him how hot his battle armor was. Instead, you complimented his skills, which he would appreciate more.