Archive of Our Own

The Avengers froze, mouths gaping as Loki walked into the room. Usually one for dramatic entrances, this time he slunk around the corner in the vain hope it'd make him less conspicuous.

It didn’t.

Bruce, the first one to notice him, cleared his throat awkwardly.

“Oh great,” Loki thought, reflexively moving into a defensive stance and reaching for weapons that weren’t there. His rapid movement did nothing to make the situation less tense.

Steve rose to his feet, slowly. The way you'd approach if you were in the presence of a venomous snake, or maybe a bear. He opened his mouth, promptly closed it and politely looked away - holding his tongue or just not entirely sure what to say.

Clint was perched on a chair in the corner, fidgeting uncomfortably and clearly indicating he would rather be anywhere than here, at this precise moment.

Natasha just stared from across the room, eyes narrowing.

“It looks. . . nice, brother,” Thor finally offered.

Loki had to admit, he'd been curious to test the Midgardian invention himself ever since he'd seen Natasha using it. And it had seemed simple enough at the time - at least in theory. Two heated plates designed to break down the positive hydrogen bonds in the hair's keratin so it lay flat. In practice however. . .

In practice he was left staring in horror at the crinkled ends of the dark clump of hair in his hand as a faint burning smell wafted upwards.

“Wh -”

Then came the dawning realisation as he looked up, tongs clattering to the ground.

The breath froze in his lungs and the bathroom started to spin as he reached a hand out to the basin to steady himself. He needed to destroy all the evidence. Immediately. He'd shave his entire head before he let them have the smug satisfaction of learning of his mistake.

And they would notice. It wasn't just a few strands he’d carelessly singled. He’d decided to start at the top with a section of curls usually slicked back behind his head. Now they lay frizzled just below his eyes.

Humiliation and anger rose inside him, eyes burning at the thought of his brother's stupid, gloating face. He'd never hear the end of it.

It would be simple enough to conceal it with a basic glamour. It would be, that is, if it weren’t for the preventive measures established when he'd taken up residence here with the rest of the Avengers, preventing exactly that. Oh sure, they'd been put in place to stop him from from doing much more nefarious things, but that hardly mattered now.

All that mattered was finding a way to deal with this. . . this mess before someone found him in this state. His eyes darted around the room. He had to resist the urge to smash the offensive iron. Or the mirror. Or the basin.

That's when he saw the scissors.

Tony’s snicker broke the silence. “I’m sorry, I was holding myself back for a moment there but are we seriously just going to sit here and say nothing? You're all seeing this, right?” He gestured to where Loki stood in the doorway.

Clint, alarmed, shot him a desperate warning glare; a silent plea for restaint.

Tony opened his mouth to say something more but whatever it was dissolved into a fit of laughter before he could get another word out.

And that was probably for the best, if Loki’s poisonous look was anything to go by. The new bangs he were sporting made him no less capable of stabbing him. Without his usual weapons he'd just have to be a bit more creative.

Natasha was intentionally pacing back and forth now, never once taking her eyes off him. Loki couldn't shake the suspicion that, somehow, she knew.

“I mean it Loki, it rather suits you,” Thor remarked, stepping towards him seemingly unfazed, the corners of his mouth turning up into a smile.

Loki would have taken it for yet another jab if it wasn't for Thor's beaming eyes giving away his absolute sincerity. He may as well have punched Loki in the gut. Foolish, dim-witted imbecile.

Loki was still frozen on the spot, eyes now wide. He had expected their mocking laughter but not this. Fingers twitching, he bit his tongue so hard he begun to taste blood. To his dismay, it didn’t stop the tears from welling up again, threatening to expose him further. Thor's unexpected approval managed to disarm him every time.

After what felt like an eternity for all involved, except perhaps Thor, he finally turned on his heel and walked briskly back out.