When something touches down on earth that draws attention because its existence alone threatens society's structure, many names are thrown around and solutions are drawn up. Fear is the greatest weapon in the world. When someone is afraid, they act on their survival instincts. But they're scared. That's the point. It not only makes them act instinctual, but it can show you someone's true colors. The problem with this, besides the obvious, is that ignorance is fueled by this weapon and that means people's assumptions and prejudices come out full force. Rational thinking can be thrown out the window entirely. It's a daunting time when fear and ignorance are at the wheel and hopefully, if gone about carefully, nobody will crash.
They knew. Everyone knew it was impossible to contain you at this point. Even if they hadn't been told about what happened in Ohio when you snuck out – Natasha told them nothing and Tony said as little as he could get away with – they still knew enough. They also weren't stupid enough to try to lock you up or put restraints on you at this point either, even if it was just for the purpose that you would stay and talk to them. There was no point.
Tony was right, there wasn't a bomb inside you that he could diffuse, but that's just because you were the bomb yourself. People treated you as such too. Besides Natasha, Yelena, Tony, and Bruce. They treated you the same, surprisingly. And it was nice to be able to call the younger assassin to talk about what happened – she held no judgment, if anything she was impressed, and she would make sound effects lowly as you told her what happened which had you laughing.
But as news spread, so did the fear and ignorance, bringing on narratives about the murderer and thief turned nuclear. The news outlets were having a field day, despite not having one single photo of your face, and it brought in some visitors to the tower.
"Loki," The raven-haired man offered his hand, a mischievous smile curling at his lips as you took it, "Lovely to meet you."
"Thought you were dead." Natasha deadpanned, unamused, next to you.
His gaze flicked to hers, still holding your hand, "Likewise."
She rolled her eyes, glaring back at him with a mixture of irritability and suspicion, but he ignored it to kiss the back of your hand, looking into your eyes as he did, and then releasing it gently to smile at you.
"Nice to meet you too," You offered, "God of mischief, right?"
"That is correct," His voice was low, "It's an honor to be heard of from someone of your..." He trailed off, giving you a slow once over, but it didn't feel sexual, more just appraising the being that held all the power he's heard about, "Reputation."
"Well," You shrugged, "Maybe what you've heard isn't what it seems."
"True," He agreed easily, a sly smirk enrapturing his features, his eyes glued to yours, "Haven't heard of the beauty you hold."
Natasha grunted softly, clearly becoming more irritated with every word that came from this man before she looked to you, "We should get going."
It had only been a month since that morning in Ohio and Natasha has been by your side through it all, every step of the way, and it's been...interesting. To say the least.
When you got back, she brought you straight to Bruce, someone she knew you could both trust, and her and Tony stayed at your side through all the poking, prodding, and test results.
The rest of them – Avengers, SHIELD, hell, the world, stood by and watched as the news slowly poured in about a new source of power. But this was clearly different. This girl, Y/n Keller, was no god or super soldier or assassin or anything they've dealt with. This wasn't something suddenly terrorizing their city or an army of robots or a Hydra invasion like the world has witnessed before. But this wasn't even the biggest, most daunting thing they've faced in the past – they soon put together that you could've killed Thanos himself in seconds if you hadn't been incapacitated when that all happened. A missed opportunity. Truly.
The thing is, they rightfully weren't sure if you were a hero that was going to flip the world on its axis in the best way – similar to putting a shield around the planet like Iron Man spoke about – or if you were something more sinister than Thanos, the thing they just barely survived.
Hero or villain was the ultimate question on everyone's minds the moment you popped up.
Savior or threat.
But you weren't interested in their opinions or advice or guidance – especially when a certain director offered it after chewing you a new one during that meeting where you were hooked up to a lie detector test. You passed with flying colors, by the way. Fuck him though.
But whenever you'd get in your head about any of it, Natasha was right there to remind you of who you really are. You didn't get the life most people did growing up – you didn't get to be a kid, go to school and uni, fall in love, suffer heartbreak, make choices, have fun, make friends, and experience anything life had to offer. So, she's been trying to show you everything you missed in those years, as best as she can.
This includes going out – SHIELD and super soldiers can't stop you from leaving the tower anymore – to clubs, bars, movies, the beach, hikes, you name it, she's been filling your days with activities that a lot of people rightfully take for granted in their lives. It's been pretty hilarious to see her trying to make some of it as cliché as possible too.
You both have stolen some kisses, not labeling or discussing any of it, but it's clear between you both and everyone around that neither of you are anywhere near single. Yelena called you both 'nauseatingly codependent lesbians' and Natasha would just scold her or call her a name as well while you smiled at them both. Steve hates the relationship you two have with each other, labelled or not, and Bruce and Tony find it suiting. They just knew it was coming, so they weren't surprised, but naturally supportive.
The agents in the tower, along with the director and fresh faces on the counsel, are all uneasy with the pairing. It's not that they care about Natasha dating or making a close friendship with someone, it's who that someone is that makes them uncomfortable. They don't like that the most dangerous being in probably the universe has the world's most dangerous assassin wrapped around her finger and vice versa.
They were rightfully concerned.
But if they had just witnessed the two of you laughing together and, like tonight, hanging out in your room to watch horror movies under a makeshift fort with too many pillows and snacks, they might not see you as a massive, potential threat. Because nights like these where you were both having fun laughing at the stupid moves the soon-to-be victims made or the cheesy one-liners were some of the best times of your life. All you wanted was to laugh and spend time with the redhead, slowly letting your guys' relationship become something more over time, and admittedly falling head over heels in love with her.
It was hard not to, and you had a feeling, by the way she looked at you, smiled brightly whenever you laughed, and always found ways to touch you, that maybe you weren't the only one feeling this way.
