ACATALEPSY ➺ loki

23 , san francisco

I realised I didn't dislike Loki. At all.

It was quite the opposite, really. He seemed like a pleasant person to be around most of the time when he wasn't purposely trying to act like a fool, which granted, may have been quite often—but I knew who he really was beneath all of that. It was a surprise, but a one I would gladly take. I had to keep reminding myself that this was still early Loki, he had a long way to go, and I was happy to see he was already seeming to slowly be warming up to the team. I doubted even he knew what lengths he was willing to go to in his own series—sure, most of that had been for Sylvie, but at least he could act that way for some people. A pang of pain suddenly rushed through me and I realised... I was feeling bad for him. He'd never get to meet Sylvie in this timeline... because of me. Was that really fair? Was any of this fair?

I sighed, knowing I was only giving myself a headache with all the random unanswerable questions I was trying to ask myself, so instead I finally gave in and pushed the covers off of my face and cringed slightly at the bright morning light that immediately hit my eyes. I slowly opened my eyes, seeing that it was still only six in the morning. Six AM really had no right being this bright, was the first thought that crossed my mind as I got out of my bed and made my way over to the bathroom. It was now very much November—the light fall of snow that I'd woken up to a sure sign of that. It also meant that it was going to be my birthday soon, I thought bitterly as I got into the hot shower, what was it I was turning again? Nineteen? Twenty, maybe? Most likely the first one. I almost laughed—it probably wasn't the best sign that I had already lost track of my birthdays by this point in my life, but oh well.

Another fifteen minutes later and I was stepping out of the bathroom, sleep finally seeming to recede from my mind as I threw my hair into a ponytail and slipped into a sweater and jeans. It was a very cold morning I quickly realised—a shiver running through my body as soon as I left my room and started to make my way to the lift. Tony, Pepper, Wanda and Steve were all sitting huddled around the fireplace when I walked into the kitchen, which was a stark contrast from how they were usually sitting around the table when I arrived—that too only if people were already awake. "You guys are up early." I said lightly with a small smile as I made my way over to the kitchen counter to make myself a cup of tea.

I watched Wanda shrug out of the corner of my eye as I put a kettle on to boil the water. "Well, we could say the same about you Elaina." She said, and I could practically hear the smile in her voice as she spoke. It made me smile as well—hearing Wanda sound genuinely happy. God knows she needed it more than anyone after everything she'd been through. It had been one of the most rewarding slights to see her and Pietro slowly get more and more comfortable around the avengers—and I would even venture far enough to say the twins enjoyed their company by this point.

I clicked my tongue, shaking my head in a joking manner as I grabbed a teabag from one of the cupboards overhead. "Touché. But, seriously, how are so many of you awake right now—the few times I've been up and here in the kitchen before, like, seven, its empty as can be. Forgive me for being a tab bit curious as to what's going on today."

"Well, turns out sudden snow so early in the year wakes a lot of people up when we don't have the heating on." Tony started as I made my way over to sit down on the couch next to Wanda with my steaming hot cup of tea. "And I'm pretty sure the Witch wanted Cap to help train her and Speedo on some more traditional fighting methods as powers can't always be the go to—but brother dear is still asleep, so they're just waiting for Mr. Sleeping Beauty to wake up before that starts." I had to stop myself from laughing at Tony's iconic nicknames for basically everyone—but at the same time a pang of almost sadness hit me at the thought of Wanda and Pietro getting to train, yet here I was—living with the avengers and being a complete useless heap other than getting shot.