Infatuated with a God

Chapter Sixteen

With Christmas coming up, I had made note to try to make sure everyone's presents were in order at least a week before. Some of the members, like Thor, was easy to buy for. Others not so much. I bought a leather bound notebook for Wanda as I knew the journal she had been keeping was slowly filling up. I doubted anyone other than Vision knew this, and I had made sure to inform him of the gift I was purchasing so there was no crossover. I bought Thor a selection of different flavoured Pop Tarts, but really obscure flavours that you could only find in a mass retailer. I bought Steve some records from the 30s and 40s I found in a charity shop after peeping into his room one day and noticing the record player in his mostly barren room. I gave up shopping for the literal billionaire who could buy himself an island on a whim. Writing out an IOU card that explained I provide him assistance in his lab should he wish to create any other devices for magic, or just wished to continue his understanding of Hydra's machine. For banner I had experimented with making different calming teas for him to try but had to throw them out and remake then after I caught Tony studying them. He insisted he didn't do anything, but I wasn't going to risk some hot chilli extract being placed in his tea. I picked up a red scarf for Natasha that just made me think of her, going for a simpler present knowing people often planned very elaborate gifts in trying to understand what she wanted. I settled on a small arrow keychain for Barton. It was quite simplistic and honestly I had no clue what else to get him. The worst one was Sam. We weren't awfully close, so I just grabbed him some chocolate. In the evenings I spent my time with Thor planning out Loki's gift.

The plan happened very naturally after Thor informed me that his room adjoined another identical apartment following my questioning of the door on the opposite side to his bedroom. He explained to me that it had been intended for Jane but instead remained empty. Curious, I opened the room finding no furniture in any of the two rooms, the only thing furnished was the bathroom which was identical to every apartments. I smiled as I came up with a plan.

"Thor... maybe we could convince the other's to allow Loki out of his cell. I mean, he has been on really good behaviour and when Tony gives him the cuff there really is no concern about him just moving rooms." Thor smiled brightly at the prospect of allowing his brother some more freedom. We got to work immediately, convincing the Steve and Natasha first. They were easier to sell, developing an extremely small trust in him following the two months of no incidents whilst my training improved. It was harder to convince Tony, but I eventually appealed to his ego, insuring him that the bracelet was strong enough that it wasn't a problem. Whilst he took a problem with my developing trust in Loki, he eventually relented. As soon as we had permission I worked with Thor to design the room. He showed me images of his room in Asgard, and I worked to sketch the designs and send them off to Tony's contacts. It was finally completed the day of the Christmas party and we planned to show Loki in training the day after, on Christmas Eve.

It was a beautiful room, not too dissimilar to mine but green accents replaced the gold. Everything had a dark tinge to it, but it suited Loki immensely. The bedroom was pretty standard, but it was the longue I was happiest with. Two beautiful black leather sofas sat opposite each other, a delicate black wooden table in between them. Adjacent to the sitting area was a gorgeous black gothic fireplace with golden lines scratched into the sides, mirroring the patterns on the guard of his dagger. Either side of the fireplace stood two large black bookcases, which I began to fill up with various books I had bought him over the past few months and several I stole from the library no one else every used. One entire bookshelf was full of fiction, and I made sure to split the novels from the plays and the poetry. On the right I placed the collection of non-fiction I believed he would be interested in. As much as he viewed our culture as more primitive to Asgard I knew from some of the questions he asked that he was interest in it. I only filled half of this bookcase with various historical and political works. The final two books I had wrapped in my gold wrapping paper completed with an emerald bow and led them on the table. This was my favourite room in the apartment, and I was immensely proud to see my design in person. I realised why Tony enjoyed designing all of our rooms now. Thor himself favoured the bathroom. I was rather impressed with how the designers had accomplished Thor's idea for Loki's room. Instead of a usual shower stood a bath designed to look like a natural spring. It was filled by a waterfall wall feature that was completely gorgeous. He had explained how long it took him to get used to showering, missing the relaxation of the royal baths he had access to as a child.