What's a God to a Barista? (Loki x Reader)

Thirteen - not so bad after all

Admittedly, you had no idea how to respond to that. "What are you talking about?" Was it another trick? As far as you knew, Loki wouldn't just confess something that heavy to you on the spot.

Would he?

"It's exactly what it sounds like," his tone was unaffected. "Mind control. With the same scepter I had used against New York. Against them."

"How does that even work?" Surprisingly, you were the one having a crisis. "Actually, don't answer that."

Loki chuckled. "There's a lot you don't know. Hell, there's a lot the avengers themselves don't know."

You continued staring at him, your mouth slightly agape.

"You don't seem to be handling the news very well," he chimed, a lock of raven hair falling across his face as he tilted his head to the side.

"Yeah, no Shazam, Sherlock," you said, although your were entirely sure he wouldn't get the reference. "I mean, when did you stop being mind controlled?"

"Not fast enough," he said, a dramatic undertone seeping into his voice. "Right in the middle of New York."

"Woah. Are you, like, ok?" You asked.

"What do you mean?" He asked, sounding almost on the verge of being resentful.

"It's only been, what, a few weeks?" You started, "I was wondering if you would have been able to recover by then."

"I thought I told you," he laughed, "I heal quicker than most."

"I remember," you chimed, "But I mean mentally. Between being literally possessed and getting beaten up by the avengers, it had to have taken a toll, right?"

Loki's eyes trailed off, falling to seemingly nothing in front of him. "I suppose it did."

Man, he is wildly British, you thought, waiting for him to continue.

"I think I had enough recovery time on Asgard," Loki contemplated, "I won't bore you with the details."

"By all means," you insisted, "You seem like you need a good rant."

His eyes flashed back to you, his eyebrows furrowing. "Are you sure? It's quite a bit to handle," he warned. You nodded furiously, urging him to continue. He sighed, looking away again. "Alright. Where do I begin?"

He gripped the edges of the swing tighter, taking a soft breath before continuing. "When Thor first came to Midgard, we got into... a fight, to put it less intensely. After a while, he overpowered me, like always, and I... let go."

"Let go?" You echoed in confusion.

"I was dangling off the edge of the Bifrost, and eventually, I just sort of gave up," he motioned in a slash to the ground. "Let myself disappear into the void. I didn't exactly expect to survive. Depressing, I know."

You were suddenly overcome with the urge to throw up. Or cry. Or wrap your arms as tightly as you could around the trickster god. Or all three? Not in that order, of course. It might actually be nice to hug him, you thought, he probably smells good. And he looks like a good hugger. You jolted your head up, obviously alarming Loki. Woah, where did that thought come from?

He gave you a strange look, and waved him on, trying your best to hide the sudden panic. He followed along. "Anyway, I drifted there for a while, and before long, somebody found me. They promised me power, they gave me an army. All I had to lose was my control."

You cocked an eyebrow at him, and he shrugged. "I know about as much as you!" He defended. "All I truly know was that I didn't have the means to fight them. And after a bit of... it doesn't matter, really, because that's where the mind manipulation came in, and I think you know the rest."

You could hear the cracks in his voice, and it made you wince. You knew you were probably being too empathetic, and that he was still a villain at best, but damn it if you were going to let him be like this. "Just spit out the gory details," you hopped up from the swing, bringing yourself to stand in front of him. "I'm listening, I promise."

His sea-green eyes glimmered with what appeared to be the beginning of tears. "No, you are not. Really, there's nothing more to tell." He denied.

You sighed. "For the god of lies, you are an impressively bad liar."

He groaned tilting his head back. "Fine. Fine." He mustered a breath, before saying in a louder tone. "Heat torture, starvation, mind games. Is that what you want?"

You turned away as soon as you felt the tears stream down. You hated being as empathetic as you were. "Yeah, that's... that's enough." You swallowed.

Loki paused behind you, and you could hear him let out an exasperated breath. That was all it took for you to whip around and kneel to his level, practically falling forward onto the swing as you wrapped your arms around him.

He let in a sharp breath, like you had run up and stabbed him instead, but after a second he returned the favor - a lot less tightly than you had, though.

"This is awkward for the both of us, isn't it?" You choked out through a few laughs.

"Why are you doing this in the first place?" He muttered into your shoulder.

"People need a good hug sometimes," you simply replied. "You're not so bad after all, trickster."