The Scientist (Loki x OC)

Pt. 60: Come A Little Bit Closer

A/N: Since Marvel's too cowardly to finish Loki's redemption arc, I did it for them (in about 250k words). Ok wow, this is a long time coming. I know it's been a while since an update, but I recently started an online summer class and it's a lot of work so there were literal days where I didn't write. ANYWHO let's get it started! And also high time we had some music too XP

----------

Elbow on one knee, Tony sat on an unfamiliar couch, in an unfamiliar foyer, conversing with three men – two of which he didn't know, and one he thought he'd never see again. The words spoken to him played over in his head, and dread and regret ebbed at his stomach. He couldn't deny the truth: he'd heard it all before.

"Tell me his name again."

"Thanos," Bruce Banner stated, appearing more worried by the second. "He's a plague, Tony. He invades planets. He takes what he wants. He wipes out half the population. He sent Loki!" The pause weighed heavily in the air. It wasn't news. "The attack on New York. That's him!"

"He was right," Tony murmured.

"Wh-who was right?"

He looked down and bit the inside of his cheek. "Loki. He's here."

Strange was taken aback. "You know about him?"

"Uh, yeah. It's complicated," Tony waved a hand, "but that doesn't matter right now. How do you know about him?"

"I put the binding spell on him. You're welcome."

Bruce stepped between the two. "Seriously? Loki's here here? Right now?"

"Not in this building," Strange grumbled, "but I know where."

Bruce's eyebrows shot up. "Well, that's great! Let's go get him!"

--------------------

Loki finished his hundredth push-up as he mulled over his plan for an equally-repeated time; the plan to alert Luna to his affections and, hopefully, get her to appropriately reciprocate hers. He got to his feet and took a step towards his rose to touch the soil. Some stuck to his finger, indicating it was still damp.

He straightened back and looked over at Luna. She sat at the counter, reading a science article and sipping some water. The television was off, and music played softly. Everything was perfect. Everything was ready.

Loki took a seat on the couch, opened up his phone, and lined up his chosen songs in the queue. He fixed one more to play, then the first song to get Luna in the mood for dancing, and then another to help him communicate. He knew it would work. It had to. She knew the songs and what they meant.

The last song faded out, and the notes of the next one floated in to introduce itself. Petite plucks of a guitar. Loki returns his gaze to Luna, and he notices her perk up at the song. A slight smile appears on his face. As he hoped, she liked what she was hearing.

"In a little café just the other side of the border,"

Luna angled her head to put Loki in her eyesight. She was no longer paying attention to the paper but kept up the guise that she was.

"She was just sitting there, giving me looks that made my mouth water."

She saw Loki stand, gaze still transfixed on her, and she locked eyes with him.

"So, I started walking her way."

He sauntered to her, trying to look as calm and collected as possible.

"She belonged to bad man José."

Loki came to a stop in front of Luna. She looked him up and down, her expression displaying a mix of amusement and flirtatiousness. This was good. She was getting in the mood.