Marvel At What Could've Happened

Chapter 11

Loki climbed out of bed again at about eight. He ignored the pain in his side, amplified from being up and around so much the past day or so. In the little bathroom he washed his face and ran his fingers through his disheveled hair, making an attempt to tame it and partly succeeding. He made his way down to the kitchen and found it occupied already. Steve was frying something at the stove, and Clint was at the table with a cup of coffee and a newspaper.  Loki hadn't seen him since the battle, and noticed that Clint's right ankle and lower leg was wrapped.

"Morning, sleeping beauty," Clint said sardonically, glancing over his paper. Loki glared at him.

"Do not ever call me that," he scowled.

"My bad. You're not asleep anymore, that was misleading," Clint replied. Loki chose to ignore this and shuffled to the coffee maker. He grabbed a mug and filled it almost to the brim. He took a sip without adding anything, and went to sit down across from Clint.

"Isn't that bitter?" Steve asked. He had glanced over from his cooking.

"Tastes fine," Loki said sourly.

"Maybe if you drank better coffee your attitude would improve," Clint remarked. Loki rolled his eyes.

"Not everything you say has to be an insult, Clint," Steve said, only half joking. "We don't pay by the one-liner."

"If you did, Cap, I'd be rich already," he replied.

"You and Tony both," said Steve.

"What abut Barton and I?"

"If S.H.I.E.L.D. paid by the joke, you and I wouldn't be too bad off," Clint replied as Tony walked towards them.

"I'm not going to argue with that," Tony said, shrugging. He already had a mug in his hand, and he sat down next to Clint and set the coffee on the table. Loki glanced at it; it was a black mug with thick white letters, which only said 'Fuck mornings'.

"Like it?" Tony asked, glancing at Loki. "It's my favorite."

"I'm not surprised," Loki said disdainfully. "I prefer to phrase things more eloquently than that."

"At least it's to the point," Steve said, setting a plate of bacon in front of everyone. "But I'm on Loki's side here." He grinned at Tony. "Suits you, though."

"I'm going to consider that a compliment," Tony replied. He grabbed a piece of bacon and bit off the end. "This is good, Cap."

"I've got eggs coming too. Eat up, you guys," Steve replied.

"Cap's making us a real American breakfast," Clint grinned, also taking some food. Loki didn't feel like eating, but he took a slice also and started nibbling on the end. It did taste good; he just wasn't hungry.

"Take as much as you want, kid," Tony said. "Get some meat on your bones." Loki shot him a glare.

"I'm fine," he said resentfully. "I'm not that hungry."

"You will be once you start eating," Steve said, returning with a pan full of eggs. "Tony's right."

"How many times do I have to say I'm fine?" Loki snapped. He took his mug and stood up quickly. Striding towards the door as fast as possible, he ignored the spinning of the room and the funny feeling in his head. He ended up going to the same place he had early that morning. Loki went to the end of the couches closest to the windows and sat with his legs crossed under him. Outside was sunny and green, and he wished he could hear the sounds; the birds, wind, leaves rustling.

About ten minutes later he heard footsteps behind him. Loki turned to look, and huffed when he saw Tony coming towards him. Tony was the last person he wanted to see at almost any given moment. Next thing he knew, a plate of food was held in front of him. It was stacked high with bacon, eggs, and a couple pieces of toast.

"Cap and Barton and I decided someone needed to make you eat before you got sick from refusing," Tony said.

"I really don't want it."

"Loki, from what we can tell you've hardly had anything in days. Seriously, help us out. You're hungrier than you think."

"Why should I?"

"Because we want you too. Guess what, this is what liking you looks like. If we didn't care, we'd let you starve. Do it for us, because we care about you, whether you like it or not. And let me guess, that's all you want, right? So don't pass this up." Loki was quiet, but reluctantly took the plate. He picked up a slice of toast and took a bite.

"I'm sorry about this morning," Tony continued. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"You didn't," Loki replied, taking other bite without thinking. "I was just . . .embarrassed."

"You don't get to be embarrassed because I was very clear that I wasn't judging you. But I definitely saw more than you wanted me too, so I'll try to leave you alone next time."

"What makes you think that?" Loki asked, his mouth full of scrambled egg.

"I told you. I know what nightmares look like; don't pretend like you're clueless. I get them too, I promise. We've all dealt with shit in our lives and that stuff leaves marks. It never goes away. Believe me, I know. Take whatever time you need to work through whatever this is, but seriously, kid, I understand more than you know and between the lot of us, we can probably relate to most of your shit. And we made it to the other side, so you can too."

"Touching speech, Stark," Loki said, slightly sarcastic. "But I don't want your help."

"I don't care if you want it," Tony said. "There may come a time when we're all you have and you're going to have to decide for yourself if you'll take the help. You've made a good start already." He glanced down at the mostly empty plate. Loki looked down too.

"So you're not hungry, huh?" Tony smirked.

"I- You- you may have been right," Loki admitted.

"You'll probably feel a lot better. But don't mess it up, eat a real lunch and dinner too. Steve told us how light you were when he carried you in, and someone who's like six-two should not be that skinny."

Loki didn't reply. He finished the last bite of bacon and scooped up the remaining eggs.

"I've got that." Tony took the empty plate. "Thanks, kid. Go get some rest, if you can."

"Th- Thank you, Stark," Loki said quietly.

"You're welcome. Listen, this has been awkward and sentimental and I appreciate you listening and doing something for me. I'll see you later."

Loki watched him leave and then slowly got up and limped back to his bedroom. He flopped down on the bed on his back, winced, and shifted until he was comfortable. He stared at the ceiling but didn't process that it was there. All he could think was that he could not figure out Tony Stark.

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