Packless Monsters

Chapter 48

"Where have you two been?" Thor asked when you finally got back to the tower after the ice cream and after Loki had calmed back down. You weren't surprised that Thor was concerned. He always worried when he couldn't find Loki. You also weren't surprised that Loki was on edge today. He had just spent the afternoon with a whole bunch of stupid werewolves, many of whom were mean to you. All of whom besides your brothers had either helped or not hindered your abuse over the years. It was actually impressive only one of them had died.

"There was business with the werewolves we had to take care of," you answered quickly, trying to sound reassuring.

"Nothing to fret over," Loki added. Thor didn't look like he was up to not-fretting, but he let it go. You were both back in one piece and didn't seem too emotionally compromised. You'd probably be sobbing over old memories of that godforsaken compound later, but for now you were ok.

"What business?" Nat asked, honestly interested. She gestured at the pizzas on the table, offering them to you and Loki. Even after all the ice cream you'd eaten you still devoured your fair share of pizza. There was a reason there was always plenty of food in the table.

"Since I killed the last Alpha, I was responsible for picking the new one," you explained while you ate. "So I had to go to the compound, interview the men, and pick one to be Alpha," you added. "I took Loki as backup, since werewolves can be temperamental and thickheaded, especially the stupid dominate males." The team nodded their agreement that that had been a wise decision.

"How many did he kill?" Tony laughed. He really didn't understand wolves if he was joking over that.

"Only one. I think that's a new record," you teased right back, curling yourself comfortably in Loki's arms. As you heard frequently, you were an incorrigible cuddler.

"He deserved it for insulting you," Loki told you simply and kissed the top of your head. He still didn't really admit it, but he liked having you in his arms, especially after a day like today when he wanted to make sure you were ok after dealing with painful old memories and that hellhole. You could see his mind was working and planning and you wondered how much doting and pampering he was planning based on how much he hated what your childhood had been.

"We insult her all the time and we don't deserve to die," Tony protested. He didn't like people dying. He also didn't get werewolves. He also didn't want to die due to insulting you.

"You tease, they insulted. It's different, and they tried to claim that my relationship with Loki wasn't real because we're not married and that I was the bitch for running away from my abusers," you shrugged. You weren't pressing for a wedding and you weren't complaining about your past. If the wedding was going to happen it would when you were both ready and not a moment sooner. The abuse was in the past. If Tony didn't know the difference already between insulting and teasing there wasn't much you could do to help him...

*

"What's bothering you, little wolf?" Loki asked softly one evening almost two weeks later while you were curled on the couch with him for movie night with the team. You shook your head. You weren't going to talk about it, and definitely weren't going to talk about it in front of the others. He gave you a look, raised an eyebrow. "Something is bothering you," he insisted. You looked pointedly at the others. He inclined his head, accepting that you didn't want to talk in front of the entire team. "Very well, later then."

Tonight's movie was Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Tony, Bruce, and Clint kept trying to pick movies to catch the Asgardians, Cap, sometimes Nat, and sometimes you to popular culture. You'd lived a pretty sheltered life, but at least you'd seen this one. Nobody was surprised that Tony could recite the entire movie, it was his choice and right up his alley. They were surprised when you recited the entire holy hand grenade sequence with him and could sing the entirety of the knights of the round table song.