Hidden Troubles

Chapter 40

AN: there was some trouble posting this chapter for some reason- it published and then it unpublished and then it disappeared?? But here it is!! And I've officially completed part of one of my GCSEs and my cold is slowly getting better!! That, and we get a bit of the old Loki back in this chapter :))

Also my mind is literally BLOWN by the reads on last chapter. I mean I stared at my phone for a good few minutes in shock. You guys...Jesus fricking Christ I love you all ❤️❤️❤️

The Christmas season passed with the founding of some new Avenger traditions; Tony should never be allowed to pick the music and only Steve, Natasha and Bruce were permitted to try cooking anything more than a sandwich. Even with Tony's high class ventilation system, the stench of burnt roast turkey and potatoes took a good while to be removed. And Natasha wasn't entirely convinced that it was fully gone; the kitchen didn't smell as it used to.

And by New Years, the end of the celebratory period was marked by yet another DoomBot invasion, and Natasha and Clint constantly being whisked away on two day missions to annoyingly classified locations.

Loki had started having his breakfast with Steve every morning; as an early riser, he would always find Steve cooking something up after a run, and soon the two fell into a silently agreed routine of eating breakfast with one another. And sometimes, they'd even explore Steve's birthday present to Loki to further their culinary skills. Steve always ensured that Loki was eating enough and that what he was eating would aid in his recovery– a subtle enlargement in Loki's pancake sizes, more syrup on his waffles in comparison to the previous day, slightly more cereal than milk– Bruce's advice on the matter had been of extraordinary help.

It was just over a week into the New Year when Loki found himself wandering into Stark's lab around midday. It was an unintentional action; the tower seemed relatively empty save the scientist and the doctor and Loki found the lab of interest– he'd never actually been inside before.

The lab seemed chaotically organised– papers and tablets and hastily scrawled diagrams and notes scattered with no proper categorisation about the lab– Loki truly wondered how the man managed to live like this. He remembered only ever getting passionate about something like this during his younger years; late nights spent under candlelight in the library, studying new magic and spells and theories of the greatest sorcerers before him. It was almost like he was back in Asgard in a way, sitting upon his bed and surrounded by old, rich-smelling tomes, hardly able to decide which to open first. Only here it was computers and science that was studied. Not that he disapproved in any way. Knowledge was knowledge.

If only Loki could go back to those times. But all those memories of playing with Thor in the gardens, tugging at his mother's dress during the middle of a feast when he was tired, and she would carry him back to his chambers and sing him to sleep, when Odin at least looked at him with something other than disappointment in his eye, when he played harmless pranks on Thor and his friends. But that's all they were. He had no home now. He didn't belong to Asgard, Jotunheim, or any of the nine realms. If only—

"No touching the— Lokster!" Tony walked in carrying three steaming hot cups of coffee. Loki was curious as to where the man was going to put them– there really was no space.

"I'm deeply sorry for intruding your workspace, Stark. I should-" Loki made to move towards the door, head bowed in shameful respect. It was rude to intrude after all.

It was also rude to interrupt, but that seemed to be something Stark cared not for. "Oh don't even worry about it. I need the company– if I don't get a sufficient enough amount of human interaction Peps said she'll put a time restriction on the amount of time I'm allowed in the lab for. Imagine that." Tony pulled an exaggerative face of mock horror.