In Exile

Chapter Twenty Three

"And that's what happened," Loki sighed, his fingers drumming irritably on the arm of the chair.

After the little rift in the park, he hadn't been entirely sure where to go.

Home didn't seem like a good idea, as the tension when you were both in the same room would undoubtedly lead to screaming and things being broken, but he also wasn't in the mood to hang around anywhere local.

Bars didn't exactly appeal to him, he may have been human, but he wasn't lowering himself to drinking in a bar because of a minor disagreement.

So, he found himself on Rachel's doorstep.

"Oh, honey," Rachel sighed, frowning in understanding, "I'm sure it'll blow over."

"Maybe, who truly knows? They're so complicated."

Rachel took a sip of her coffee, tucking her feet further under the black fluffy blanket she had draped over her legs.

For a moment, she regarded Loki and silently lowered her cup to rest on her leg, her painted fingernails drumming against the side of the ceramic and making it tinkle lightly.

"I think I know what it is."

Loki looked at her, eyebrow quirked curiously, wordlessly prompting her to continue.

"Your lovely little roommate wants you all to themselves."

"I doubt that," Loki rolled his eyes, "if anything, I was always a little unwelcome."

"In the beginning maybe, but things do change and you've been here how long?"

He frowned in thought then shrugged.

"Two months? I think."

"Really?"

"Yes, I spent a month in Stark's tower and another month, give or take a week or so, where I currently am."

"Longer than I thought."

"Longer than I wanted."

Rachel laughed, throwing her head back a little and smiling widely.

He had to admit that she had a very pretty smile, it contrasted well with her typically dark attire and attitude.

"Either way, my point is more valid now."

"Your point being?"

"Someone has a little crush on their roomie."

"Excuse me? No I don't."

"Not you," she rolled her eyes.

Loki regarded her for a moment then shook his head.

"No, I highly doubt that."

"I don't, I noticed how she looked at you, there's a bit of love in the air and you dashed those dreams."

"I did no such thing, she overreacted."

"Maybe," Rachel shrugged, "or maybe you're being purposefully oblivious in hopes of not hurting her when you leave?"

"I doubt that too."

"You say that a lot when you're being defensive."

"I don't."

"You do and now you're sitting there in my chair, pouting like a child and disrupting my Netflix binge because you're both too childish to stop dancing around the fact."

Loki glared at her and muttered a few curses at her in a language she couldn't understand, to which she only grinned and blew a kiss at him.

"I love you too," Rachel shifted back in her seat, squirming to get comfortable, "now if you'll love me and leave me, I'd like to get on with this mess of a show."

"You're just going to leave me hanging like that?"

"Pretty much," she shrugged, "you need to man up and talk to her, how are you able to be so smart and yet so stupid?"

"I'm not stupid."

"Obviously you are when it comes to the ladies."

Loki had to suppress another eye roll as she shimmied in her seat, making her chest move inside her tanktop that was decorated with a band logo that he didn't recognize, something to do with bullets and Valentines.

"Must you do that?"

"Yes, it's very freeing."

He wrinkled his nose and got up from his seat, picking up his coat that he had draped over the arm of the chair before he carelessly flopped into it.

"I'm not going to sit here and watch you bounce yourself about."

"No, because you're going to go and talk this over, you know me suggesting you moving in was only so you could be closer to work, it's handy only being five minutes away."

Loki pulled on his coat and hastily did up the buttons.

"I suppose, I need to get back before it gets too late."

"You could just Uber it."

"Pardon?"

He turned to look over his shoulder with a bemused look, once again making Rachel laugh as she held up her phone.

"Uber, come on, you know," she grinned at him before sighing dramatically, "you sound like such an old man sometimes."

With an ease and speed that he had seen her work with multiple times, and continued to amaze him, she flitted her fingers over the screen before setting it down and looking back at him.

"Sit down, you'll have a few minutes to wait before they arrive."

"Who?" He asked, slowly sitting back down.

"The chariot to take you to your princess, duh."