Mischief and Magic

Chapter 13

Things changed for the worse when the pair made it back to the tower. Tony was not happy that Loki left the tower. He was even less happy that Morgan had gone with him. Morgan let him tirade for a while to get it off of his chest, but finally had to interrupt when he was talking about how dangerous of a villain Loki had been. "Dad, you want me to take a bodyguard when I go out. Loki is a trained Asgardian warrior and at least as capable as Thor at bodyguarding. He's also less likely than Thor to throw innocent mascot-costume-wearing teenagers through store walls thinking they're real monsters. You also want Loki to have a babysitter when he goes out, even though he hardly needs it. It was a win-win. Plus ice cream!" She held up her container of ice cream.

Loki nodded along to her explanation. He was surprised that Morgan was standing up to him, and even more surprised that she was actually being listened to by her overbearing father. "My job on Midgard is to aid the Avengers. If watching over Lady Morgan while she goes on an outing contributes to that, all the better." Morgan was one of the few people Loki could stand and he enjoyed her company.

Tony hugged his daughter and kissed her hair. He relished holding her close grateful for every moment with her, just so relieved that she was alive. "I just want you safe, kid," he told her quietly. It was always his reasoning for being overprotective.

"I know, dad," she replied just as quietly. "And I'm perfectly safe with Loki. He's a gentleman and a capable warrior. He's not going to let anything happen." Morgan didn't expect her dad to agree, not with his history with Loki, but she would keep repeating it until he accepted it.

"She is perfectly safe in my care, Stark." Loki gave Stark a firm look, reminding Tony that even when he'd been injured, mind-controlled, and worse, he'd still tried to help Morgan and had tried to save her life.

Morgan kissed her dad's cheek and dragged Loki up to her apartment so they could enjoy their ice cream in peace. She had an entire floor of the tower to herself and they could lounge in her living room in front of her giant tv with their ice cream in peace. Loki allowed himself to be dragged and looked around her apartment with polite interest. Her living room was plushly decorated with comfortable seating and bookshelves and tech everywhere. She had a study that was crammed with even more books as well as her schoolwork. She even had a guest bedroom.

But it was her bedroom that was the most interesting. Loki wouldn't snoop without real permission, but he could look into the room. It was just as richly decorated as the rest of her apartment, not gaudy, but good quality. Her bedroom, though was more personal, a space that was truly hers and gave Loki a lot of insight into her. The decorations were different: paper lanterns, origami cranes, and pictures of a Japanese temple.

Loki couldn't find out more, though, because Morgan called him from his exploring back to the living room. She was curled in what seemed to be her favorite spot on her favorite couch with her bowl of ice cream. His was waiting for him on the coffee table already in a dish with a spoon. Loki took a seat on the couch and carefully picked up the bowl. He paled as the cold started turning his fingers blue, and the blue crept up his hands. His illusions weren't going to hold against the cold. He knew it, but it was still difficult for him to accept, and he didn't know if Morgan would be able to handle seeing the monster he truly was.

When Loki took a bite of the ice cream, his illusions shattered, just as he expected. He gave Morgan a nervous glance, but she didn't seem troubled at all by his appearance. Only then was he able to relax and purr loudly at his sweet treat.

Morgan smiled over at him. Her smile was contagious. She was like a tiny sunshine. "Like it?" she asked as she took in his jotun form. He was still Loki, just... blue. His eyes were crimson and his marks were beautiful. And he had horns and a tail. She thought he looked amazing.