Autumn Leaves

With eyes closed

'Loki, I'm tired. Can't I sleep, now?'

'Can you wait a few more hours?'

'No.'

'Okay, but that means you'll have to go to bed at a quarter to five for three days.'

'But we don't even know if the spell works like that.'

'And, like with so many other things involving you, that's not a risk I'm prepared to take.'

''Well what do I do to pass the time?'

'We could talk.'

'I don't like talking with you.'

Loki looked hurt for a second, before Savannah hastily shook her head.

'No, not like that, just- it seems that whenever we talk, it ends up with me in tears. And if I start crying now, I don't think I'd be able to stop.'

'Then you can ask me questions, for a change.'

'Honestly, Loki, you're worse than Tony. Does everything have to rotate around you?'

'I didn't mean it like that, only that I-'

Savannah interrupted him, a grin spread across her face.

'I know, Loki, I was only teasing.'

Loki pouted at her (when did he learn how to pout? And why couldn't she pout?) and then disappeared.

'Loki?' she called, an edge of worry creeping into her voice, 'Loki, where are you?'

But Loki was nowhere to be seen.

'Loki, it's not funny any more, come out.'

But, try as hard as she could, her voice still quavered on the last word. She was about to go into panic mode, which she realised she did whenever she was left alone for too long. And then she heard it. A trickle of sweet laughter that could only belong to a natural mischief-maker.

Trying to ignore the swelling sense of relief she felt building in her chest, she left her room, and followed the source of the noise. She found it was easier to hear if she wasn't using all of her senses, (psychological thing, probably) and she knew the Tower well enough. Which is why she was walking around with her eyes closed.

In retrospect, it hadn't been her most ingenius idea. Maybe she knew where things should be, but people move things, and the people themselves move. So she shouldn't've been surprised when she walked into a wall of solid muscle, causing them both to topple over. But, of course, she was.

When she eventually did open her eyes, she found that she was lying directly on top of them, in a rather awkward position. Expecting it to be Thor, or even Loki (the guy was pretty muscly in a sort of lean way), she was even more surprised when it wasn't Muscly Blonde No. 1, but Muscly Blonde No. 2. That is, Steve Rogers.

She was embarrassed, but judging from the shade of red that Steve's entire face (including the tips of his ears) had gone, he was even more so. Momentarily frozen in shock, (she had just landed on top of a genetically enhanced super-soldier, after all) she stayed still for a few more uncomfortable seconds than necessary, before hurriedly scrambling to her feet, breathless, and flushed. She offered a hand to Steve, which he politely declined, before walking off, zombie-like, back to her bedroom, before slamming the door shut, and giggling like a madwoman.

It was funny, after all.

And the look on Steve's face.

She had completely forgotten why she had ventured out of her room in the first place, when she turned to speak to someone not there. So she left her room, once more, and made her way towards Loki's. He was there, as expected, and she wondered why she hadn't gone straight to his room immediately.

Loki was sitting on his bed, glowering darkly at an unseen spot on the wall. He didn't look up when she came in, but instead continued glaring at the patch, until she swore she saw it smoulder. She moved to sit next to him, and he moved a little away from her.

'Hey, what's wrong?' she asked.

'You like him, don't you?'

'Who? Tony? Nah, he's too pretentious, and irresponsible, and he's never even heard of modesty.'

'But Steve has.'

'Of course he does, he was raised in an era where that was the norm.'

'Is that why you like him, because he is so gentleman like?'

'I s'pose so,' she said, 'I think chivalry's cool.'

'I see,' he said, sadly.

'C'mon, let's go to my room. You won't believe what just happened,' she said, tugging the unwilling god up.

'You'd be surprised,' he said, somewhat bitterly.

And as they walked to her room, Savannah couldn't help but notice that every single time they had to go through a door, Loki would hurry on ahead, and then hold every door open for her.