Loki and the Witchling

Chapter 3

Hell with Nat was...hell. She was the best one to train you how to fight in the entire tower, but she was also a hardass and training was tough. She finally called it quits after a few hours of hell. If it weren't so important to your future ability to go on missions with the team, you probably would have protested that she was pushing too hard. She must've caught your look. "Bad guys always go for the healer first," she reminded you.

"I know, Agent Romanov," you grumbled as you fought to move. She'd kicked your ass repeatedly today and you were already stiff and sore. You had to get to your shower soon or you wouldn't be able to move.

"You're allowed to use my name, not my title," she reminded you. Again. It was hard to relax around them. You'd spent your whole life hiding your powers in fear and tiptoeing around foster parents so you didn't get kicked out.

"Y/N, you don't have to be afraid. I know you had it rough with the foster system, but you're part of the team. We're not ditching you. You're allowed to relax. This is your home for as long as you want it to be." Cap's voice said from the doorway. Cap was totally team mom and seemed to always show up when people needed a pep talk. You gave him a smile.

"Thanks, Cap," you managed, not quite sure about the emotions you were feeling. It was hard to get over years of hiding and tiptoeing and fear so quickly, but you promised you would try. "Thanks for the lesson, Age-Natasha," she gave you a real smile at that and you could finally escape back up to your room and more importantly, your shower.

One scalding hot shower later, you felt almost human again.

You didn't feel like being anti-social today and took the homework you still had to do down to the livingroom as well as the tablet you'd actually asked Tony for, since you actually needed the internet for school and couldn't just ask Jarvis everything. You figured it was cheaper and easier than getting a full computer. You hadn't expected a super fancy Stark tech gadget. You also didn't complain, though your classmates gave you jealous looks when they saw your tech. You didn't go advertising that you lived in the Avengers' tower, but those kind of things always got out, somehow, especially after the Avengers had been tracking you down for healing for two years already.

You weren't surprised to see that Loki was still on the couch reading when you got back to the livingroom. "Hi, Loki," you greeted him kindly as you took your usual spot on the couch, setting out your homework.

"Lady Y/N," he replied formally, looking up from his book. He was halfway through the second book already. He could devour books.

"How's the hunt for the monster in the castle?" you asked, nodded to the book.

"The new teacher is a moron," he replied with a chuckle. You spent a long time ignoring your homework while discussing the characters and the story with Loki, which was way more enjoyable than calculus.

"Kid, we're ordering Chinese. What do you want?" Tony asked from the kitchen awhile later. You looked up, surprised. You'd lost track of time while talking with Loki. You called out your order to him, which was promptly placed through Jarvis. It wasn't long before the carryout was on the island in the kitchen and everyone was digging through the bag for their orders. "Hey, is that my shirt?" Tony commented, seeing the shirt you had stolen from the laundry. You shrugged.

"I don't know. It ended up in my laundry," you lied innocently.

"Did it appear with a Black Sabbath shirt by chance?" he asked. You shrugged again before grabbing your order, and the unclaimed container, which you assumed was Loki's and darting from the room before Tony could press the issue. "And why do you only wear the same five outfits?" Tony grumbled. You pretended not to hear him and made your way back to Loki and the couch. He had returned to his book when you had left him and didn't seem keen to go fight the others for dinner.