Animus (Loki x Reader)

I - Calming Cupcakes

You glance up at the coffee shop zombies and smile. A Christmas song plays softly through the bakery's speakers as the smell of cake and sugar wafts through the air. You carefully slide another mint-flavored cupcake into a box, which was now filled with six mints, five peppermints, and an eggnog cupcake. Your coworker, Mindy, snickers as she walks past you. "Is your boyfriend having another sugar rush?"

You sigh and ring up a dozen cupcakes. "We are not dating. We're just friends."

Mindy gives you a disbelieving look as she re-ties her apron. "Sure."

You give her a glare out of the corner of your eye as you finish paying. After rechecking that you had your keys, wallet and that music was indeed playing on your phone, you pick up the box and give your coworker a small wave. "See you tomorrow."

"Bye Love-Bird."

You roll your eyes, but wave at Derrick as you walk by, who was in the process of extracting some freshly baked cookies from the oven.

The wind reminds you of a stinging slap as step out into the wintery New York air, the concrete jungle making you feel small and insignificant as you rush to pull your beanie down and scarf up, beginning to stride in the direction of the Avengers' tower. The walk from the bakery to the Superhero's place of residence was long, which you didn't mind, but it was days like this when you wish you could just fly to the tower. Well, you could, but you liked to keep a low profile.

Visiting the Avengers' more than once a month was a rare thing for you to do, but your friend Bucky had called you earlier asking if you could bring him something to settle his nerves. He has moments of psychological stress due to having his memory manipulated so much in the past. Whenever this happens, he has sugar rushes that would put hummingbirds to shame. It most certainly wasn't good for him, but you were proud of him for turning to sugar instead of the bottle.

A gust of wind caused you to teeter, making you paranoid of dropping the sugary sweets as you slide across the ice and bump into a few passing pedestrians. To balance yourself, you plant your feet and begin to waddle like a penguin. This noticeably slows your march to your destination, so you move out of the way of the fast-paced New Yorkers. You growl and pull in your shoulders, giving you some relief from the chilly air. You're lucky I like you so much, Barnes.

~~~

By the time you complete your journey, your nose is red and running, and your teeth are chattering loudly. With a near numb hand, you pull out your wallet and carefully extract your I.D. card from its slot, then hold it up to the scanner. Due to how much you're shaking, your card is almost immediately declined. With a huff, you carelessly push the card into your back pocket before pushing your thumb to the doorbell. "Who is it?" an Irish voice asks.

"FRIDAY, let me in," you snap, wanting to get out of the ice-cold air as soon as possible.

"Y/N?"

"Yeah, it's me. Let me in." You shuffle back and forth in an attempt to keep your legs warm.

"How can I be sure it's really you?"

You purse your lips and glare at the security camera before flipping it off. With a sigh, you turn back to the intercom. "I'll visit more if you let me in."

That seemed to do the trick because the doors soon slid open and you hurriedly shuffled inside, immediately praising the warmth of the building. Vision smiles at you as you trudge through the well-furnished lobby, loosening your scarf and pulling off your beanie as you march towards the elevator. "Hey Vision," you say as you pass him.

"Good afternoon Y/N. You've brought desserts for Mr. Barnes, I see."

You chuckle and nod, stepping into the elevator and waiting for Vision to enter before pressing the number twenty-three. "Yeah, he called me today asking if I could bring some. Apparently, he's on his last tin of breath mints and needed something less potent."