Loki's Goddess

Chapter 8

After they finish getting you all dolled up; you stand in front of the mirror with Wanda and Nat standing behind you admiring their work.

"You look amazing Serenity," Wanda says softly as she hugs you.

Nat smiles and grabs your hand "are you okay? You seem distracted. I know you don't like the attention being focused on you, but you have come so far, and we just want to celebrate that."

You smile back at her, hiding the fear behind your eyes.

"I'm fine, really. This just isn't usually me," you say pointing at the jewelry and cocktail dress.

Wanda smiles "well maybe it should be. You look hot. Come on, everyone is waiting for us."

Nat takes your arm "just breathe. It will be fun, I promise."

You take a deep breath and nod walking out of the room with them.

Coming down the stairs you can hear the noise of laughter and glasses. You take each step slowly feeling as though you might shatter from nerves and not use to wearing 6-inch heels.

You make it to the bottom of the steps to see Tony waiting for you.

You smile at him and kiss his cheek. "Hey dad."

He smiles back, "hello nugget. You look beautiful but I'm not sure I like daddy's little girl being this tall."

You laugh as you are eye level with him. He takes your arm and escorts you in.

"Attention everyone," he proclaims. "We are here tonight to celebrate Serenity's birthday and her accomplishments. Not only did this little nugget defeat Nat, Bucky and Loki in combat but she even beat Steve Rodgers in the 3-mile run."

You laugh and bury your face in your hand with embarrassment. Looking back up at everyone laughing at Steve.

"In my defense she got a head start," Steve argues.

"Regardless of all of this. She has grown so much as a person and an avenger. I cannot believe that my nugget is turning 28 next week. So, everyone raise a glass in toast to Serenity. Happy birthday sweetheart." He kisses you on the cheek as everyone tells you happy birthday.

You start to make your way through the crowd. Greeting everyone and thanking them for coming. You finally make it to the bar.

"Can I get a martini please?" You sit down on a stool watching the crowd of people behind you having the time of their lives. You don't even realize who's sitting next to you.

"Not a fan of being the center of attention huh?"

You turn to see Loki gazing at you from 2 seats down. You smile slightly at him.

"How could you tell?"

He laughs and moves to the seat next to you. "Darling you couldn't run from that toast any faster."

You smile looking down at your drink before taking a sip. You turn to look at him directly.

"Well, I didn't see you in the crowd for the toast, so I take it you aren't a fan either." You take another sip of your drink.

"I could see you perfectly from here so why move and ruin the view," he smiles and tucks a hair behind your ear.

Your smile fades as you scan the room to see if any witnessed it. "Not here," you say seriously. You grab another drink and head toward the balcony. Loki immediately jumps up and chases after you.

"What's that about," he asks with a puzzled look.

You snap back at him. "Are you insane? You kissed me Loki and you're being all touchy with everyone around us. If anyone found out about that it would be the end of you. My dad would have you transported back to Asgard before you could say no."

He laughs sarcastically "I'm not concerned about stark."

You quickly interrupt, "well you should be Loki. I'm all he has. He almost lost me once thanks to you. You really think he'll let that happen again?"

He has a serious look on his face. "Well, if I recall correctly, you kissed me back love. I didn't hear you complaining about it."

You start to frown and tear up looking at the ground. "It. It's not that Loki."

He lifts you by the chin and looks sincerely into your eyes. "Well then what is it?"

You exhale. "My feelings for you terrify me Loki. You almost killed me years ago. I shouldn't have this longing feeling for someone like that. But I do. Every day that we train together those feelings build more and more. I don't want anything to happen to you. That kiss was everything I had imagined and more. But I'm petrified Loki." Tears start to stream down your face.

He cuffs his hands around your face, wiping the tears from your face.

"Come now love. Don't ruin that beautiful makeup. We can figure this out and make it work. We will just have to be sneaky about it for a while. At least until everyone can warm up to the idea of it. Besides, late night sleepovers sound like an incredible idea to me. I bet you're sexy when you're trying to hide a secret," he laughs pulling you closer.

You can feel yourself giving into his embrace as he kisses your forehead.

"Don't worry darling," he whispers in your ear, "we will find a way. Now show me those eyes."

You look up at him and smile through the tears. He wipes your face as you nod at him.

You compose yourself and head back inside before you are missed. As you're walking away you hear Loki in your mind "I can't wait to rip that dress off of you."

You glance over your shoulder and flip him off smiling.

Back inside you sit down on the couch beside Sam. He smiles and slaps you on the knee.

"It seems like yesterday we were celebrating your 21st birthday. Here we are 7 years later and you're still annoying."

You look over at him and laugh. "Love you too Sam."

You hear a familiar voice from behind you "May I steal the guest of honor for a moment."

You look behind you to see Bruce. "Oh my god Bruce! I can't believe you came." You get up and run over to hug him.

"I wouldn't miss this for the world, beautiful. Tony's been keeping up to date on everything with your powers. Now that I'm back I would love to get you in the lab to see what we can figure out for you."

You laugh at Bruce who is always concerned about the science of it all. "Of course, Bruce."

You glance over at the balcony and see Loki still standing there, watching your every move with a smirk on his face. You try to ignore it and go back to socializing. You walk back to the bar for another drink and see Nat is now the bartender.

"What happened to the other guy?"

She smiles at you "he wasn't making them strong enough. What would you like birthday girl?"

"I'll have another martini. You guys do realize that my birthday isn't until next week, right?"

"Of course, we do. But you know how your dad gets. Always wanting the element of surprise."

You roll your eyes as you take a sip from your drink. "Okay yeah that last one wasn't nearly this strong," you say with a small cough.

Steve comes up to the bar and sits beside you.

"Well, well, if it isn't Mr. "she got a head start."

Steve laughs and pushes your arm. "Yeah, I hear you. How are you feeling? I know this isn't really your scene."

You sigh with a smile, "better now with Nat's freakishly strong cocktails."

Nat laughs "what can I say I'm the best at it. What about you Captain, what are you drinking."

"Just whiskey please," he replies.

You smile and shake your head. Same old Steve Rodgers.