Chapter Text
You woke up the next morning and it wasn’t long before the earlier hours came flooding back.
You groaned up at the ceiling.
You had basically confessed all of your relationship issues to the trickster god.
Why?!
What was even weirder, Loki had seemed to comfort you afterwards rather than fleeing the room.
You sighed, turning over - wanting to ignore your problems for a little bit longer if you could - and reached for your phone to check what had happened whilst you had been asleep.
You’d slept later than you thought, had over fifty emails to get through from your correspondents on the other side of the world, had a new update to install, but had no new messages from any matches.
You couldn’t help feeling slightly disappointed even if you weren’t really in the mood to talk to anybody right now. You clicked on the app anyway, feeling the urge to just flick through a few guys just for the hell of it – it was like winning the lottery after all, if you didn’t try you’d never have any chance of hitting the jackpot.
You flicked through bare chest selfies, dorky scenes with mates and a few that seemed nice, but that you had no attraction to. There were a few you flicked right for, most you flicked left for, and a few you hesitated at before flicking left just because they looked too intimidating.
You had gotten to the stage of flicking left on nearly everyone that popped up, only regretting a few that you mindlessly flicked away without thinking, when you suddenly stopped.
You had almost automatically flicked past him, but now you slowly moved your hand away from the screen to cover your mouth as your jaw dropped.
It was probably just some kid playing a joke – you seemed numerous fake Steves and Thors on the site before.
But Loki. This was a first.
There was only one picture, but it looked genuine, and recent – not the fuzzy crap quality you could steal from news sites and fan blogs.
You studied the same handsome features that had sat ridiculously close to you earlier that morning, trying to work out if there was any way it could possibly be real.
You couldn’t help clicking on the profile, scrolling for the bio.
‘I am looking for someone who doesn’t want a one-night stand or friends with benefits, someone who wishes for person to fight for them and want them around.
I am looking for someone who is scared of guys and relationships and who is worried that I’d break their neck if they piss me off, or worried I’ll hate them forever if they say something stupid.
I am looking for someone who wants to take things slow.’
You blinked stupidly at the screen, feeling something hot in your eyes.
That was everything you had said last night. Precisely. He had been listening, not planning his escape from the room.
This had to be the real him then.
You felt your lips curl up into a smile. A grin. A ridiculous grin.
Could it actually be possible that Loki, the god, liked you?
It seemed absurd. Completely absurd. You offered nothing. Maybe it was a trick of his, or maybe Stark had somehow managed to record your conversation and done this as a prank?
But Stark had been busy at the party all night, and, knowing Tony, would be pretty incapacitated until at least midday so there was no way he could have put it together this quickly, right?
You didn’t know.
This was too illogical to be true.
You looked at the phone again, memorising the picture, studying the words. You could feel a tear run down your cheek, but you ignored it, desperately trying to prove to yourself that this was profile was real, but also that somehow it couldn’t possibly be.
But God, you wanted it to be real because - you couldn’t help it - you had a crush on Loki.
You had known you had for a while, when, despite getting to know him, you still felt nervous and jumpy, and got jealous when he spoke to other women. It was a stupid, hopeless love though, and something you had prayed you’d eventually get over. That’s why, recently, you had been so keen to find a guy - to get rid of that odd feeling you got when you saw the Trickster - you hoped to drown it all out with a different guy.
But, despite the small burst of happiness you got when someone matched or started a conversation with you, nothing compared to the nervous butterflies you got when Loki came too close, sat next to you, teased you, even just spoke to you. You turned to putty under his intimidating green gaze.
You weren’t sure how long you sat in bed just staring at that single profile on your phone, but you knew eventually you’d have to get out of bed and face the day. Whether that was to confront someone for their cruel, painful prank, or to fall further into idiotic love, you weren’t sure.
It was hard to get yourself to move, but you did. You needed to find Loki – if you saw him, you would know.
You hastily threw on some clothes and tackled your bed head, splashing water on your face. You had to know. Now.
You needed to find Loki, but you didn’t want to seek him out - if he knew nothing about this then you didn’t want to bring it to his attention. Only one of you needed to be embarrassed about this if it was a prank from Stark.
If it was a prank from Loki though, you were going to throw your phone at him.
You decided you would head to the living room and wait for Loki there under the pretence of having a long leisurely breakfast - he’d arrive eventually.
However, as you walked into the large communal room, you found you didn’t have to wait as Loki was already there. You could see him stood out on the balcony through the large glass doors on the opposite side of the room.
You paused in the doorway, swallowing nervously, suddenly doubting your plan. Did you really want to know that it had all been a trick? That was the only explanation after all, couldn’t you just live in your happy bubble for a bit longer?
No. You knew now that you were kidding yourself – you’d spend the whole day thinking about whether is was a trick or not.
But, you couldn’t just go out and confront him about it either - you weren’t that brave - you needed an excuse to talk, and then, hopefully, you could get all your answers just his behaviour alone. But, maybe you wouldn’t - what then?
“You alright, [Y/N]?” Natasha called from the kitchen, making you jump and snap your head away from Loki and to where the spy was making some breakfast. “Want some coffee?” She asked, raising the coffee pot.
“Wh- oh – yeah, sure.” You stumbled over your words as you were brought back to Earth, “I – uh – just gotta go talk to Loki for a sec, I think he’s – uh – been lying about some data again.”
Before she could say anything else, you made your way across the room to the balcony.
No turning back now.
You pulled one of the clear doors open and slipped out.
Immediately you were hit with the cold, blustery air that came from being this high above the city. You hugged your arms tightly around your chest as your hair whipped across your face, looking to your left where Loki was stood, hands clasped behind his back as he looked out over cityscape below. His own long black hair billowed to the side like yours, but he showed no sign of feeling the bitter cold like you did - even though you doubted his asgardian armour could be providing that much protection from it.
You approached silently behind him and - though you knew he must have noticed you the minute you opened the door - he didn’t turn, keeping his vigil over the city.
You had wanted to play it cool, look for hints in his behaviour, but your excuse for talking to him was quickly leaving your mind. All you could do was look up at his profile beseechingly, no words available.
“Banner told me how to make it.” He answered your silent question, turning his green eyes on you finally.
You felt the air leave your lips, releasing a breath you hadn’t realised you had been holding. You had to look away from his face then, dropping your gaze to his armoured chest that was level with you instead. “It is a mean trick.” You managed out, cursing yourself when your voice broke.
“It would be,” He agreed quietly above you, “if it was one.” You suddenly felt his cold touch on your cheek, brushing the silent tears you had barely noticed were escaping your eyes. You bit your lip to stop yourself making a noise, the simple gesture making you heart sting painfully.
“Y- you got it wrong anyway,” You pointed out weakly, trying to ignore his touch and glad you pass your shivers off on the freezing wind. “I-I told you I wasn’t worried about saying something stupid to you.”
“I did wonder,” Loki smirked down at you, now moving his hand to gently cup your face, gently tilting your head up. “why is that?” His hold was soft enough that you could easily pull away from him if you wanted to, but, despite the urge to look away, you nervously met his eyes again, seeing the genuine interest for your answer.
“I – I guess I – I just thought you were too far out of my league,” You said, glancing away again, not daring to move your head in case he released you, “to – to have any hope of – uh - attracting you in the first place – so there was nothing to – uh – blow.” You stammered out, the whole moment ridiculously overwhelming. You honestly couldn’t believe anything that was happening right now, and you wouldn’t be surprised if you were still asleep.
You glanced back up at Loki as his hold on your cheek tightened ever so slightly, his eyes having hardened at your words. “You underestimate yourself.” He told you sternly, his thumb now stroking your cheek gently.
You didn’t say anything, dropping your chin slightly, his gaze too intense for you keep eye contact with him for long, and instead you focused on his chest armour again. Despite your movement, Loki didn’t release you, his hand remaining on your cheek and continuing the gentle rhythm of strokes on your skin.
You could have stayed like that for eternity, his touch so soothing, but the thought of what happened next continued to niggle at your mind until you couldn’t stand it any longer. “I - I don’t know what I’m doing.” You confessed with a wobbly voice.
You felt his hand drop from your cheek and your heart plummeted at the empty feeling it left behind. You feared that somehow your words had shattered the fragile illusion of his love and you dropped your gaze to the floor, fighting back the sudden surge of tears.
Suddenly a pale hand appeared in your line of sight, offering to be taken.
You warily glanced up at the trickster, feeling the tears in your eyes threatening to spill over again. “Take it slow?” Loki asked, his face looking surprisingly vulnerable.
You hesitated, glancing back down at the gesture with a teary smirk before you placed your cold hand in his. His fingers curled around you, holding you in place as he leaned down to your ear.
“The first thing we’re doing is deleting that app.” He growled, and you let out a quiet wobbly laugh.
Natasha watched from the kitchen window with a smirk.