Loki Imagines

Read Your Heart, Guess Your Mind

If you squint ever so slightly, peer out from the reach of your favorite chair just enough to see into the surrounding hallway, you can almost make out the silhouette of Tony Stark pacing back and forth outside his office door.

As resident empath of the Avengers team, you're in charge of reconnaissance, general battle backup, and checking in on everyone to make sure they're still intact. You've also gone ahead and assumed that to mean that you can use your abilities to read the hearts of your teammates. Hey, it's what they hired you to do, right? It's not like you're scanning their minds, now that would be invasive. All you're doing is sensing how they're feeling. Anyone could do that with a bit of good knowledge on body language.

You shift slightly, and there– you can just make out a cloud of colors circling Tony's figure. That's how emotions have always appeared to you ever since you were a kid. When people are having a perfectly normal day and not too much has happened, you'll only be able to pick up on a tendril or two of colored smoke around their frame, a few hints at happy or sad but nothing too special.

Conversely, when something crazy is going on, it's like they're walking out of a bank of mist, Mr. Darcy at the end of Pride and Prejudice (2005)-style. For instance, at this very moment you can't even tell what shade of shirt Tony is wearing through the dense emotion rattling around him.

This is obviously a sign that something is going on. Usually, Tony's pretty laid back, or at least he pretends to be. Cool blue is his trademark. Sometimes, closer to missions or just after them, you'll see bright lime or sickly yellow lancing through them, panic and stress from too much pressure on his shoulders. You can sense his anxiety attacks before they start. Tony has no idea how many times you've used your gifts to divert those things, and if you have it your way, he'll never figure it out.

Tony's not panicking right now, though, or not in the way that you're used to. Instead of purple or blue, all you can see around him is red, blazing red. Tony's not usually a red kind of guy. Red means anger, outrage, and by the looks of him now, something has happened to cook up a regular bonfire of irritation.

As you watch, though, more colors join the fray. You can spot uneasy yellows and greens, an undercurrent of fear. What could possibly be going on to make Tony so unhappy? The situation is complicated, to be sure, but that's nothing new around the Avengers. Take it from a S.H.I.E.L.D.- registered empath: no one ever feels just one thing at one time. There's always a dozen different emotions swirling in between your heart and head. And right now, Tony's got quite a few to chew on.

Unable to contain your curiosity, you get up from your seat and pad over to him. Tony almost flinches when he turns and sees you, but he rubs a tired hand over one eye and greets you like normal.

You arch a brow at this attempt at pretending everything is fine. After all this time, Tony should know that you're not one to get fooled by a pretty lie like that. "What's going on? You're totally freaking out."

"So glad to see you, Y/N," Tony complains, "I look great? Thanks for telling me. You're always so quick with the compliments."

You give him a look. "I know how you're feeling. What's up with you?"

"It's not me you should be questioning," he sighs, "it's the newcomer to our team."

You frown. "I didn't think we were getting someone new."

"We weren't supposed to, but Fury added another guy last minute. Apparently it was either that or have him rot down in a cell for all eternity, and we don't want to risk pissing off his brother," Tony clarifies.

"Who's his brother?" You ask, curious.

"Thor," Tony says, and then you understand at last.

"Loki is joining the team?" You can't believe it. Loki attacked New York all of six months ago. Sure, Fury has always been one to maximize opportunity, but you can't believe he'd let Loki into the ranks of the Avengers so quickly.