The Scientist (Loki x OC)

Pt. 6: First Day Apart

As if the events of the weekend weren't odd enough, Luna was happy to get back to work on Monday. Leaving Loki in her apartment all on his own sent shivers of unease up and down her spine but the plethora of books in her possession seemed to keep him occupied.

The drive to the compound seemed like a blur through all the thoughts running through her mind. With a new person in the house, there was a lot more to do and worry about. As if there wasn't enough food in her home to begin with, supplies were now dangerously low, so a stop at the grocery store was imminent. Not only that, Loki would need his own toiletries and such things. Luna liked her things to be hers alone so she assumed that he must feel the same.

After somehow using enough of her brains cells to park, Luna stepped out of her car and made the short trek into her workplace. She kept her head down a bit, avoiding the eyes of people that she saw every day but failed to recognize. Whether they were assistants or assistants of assistants, it didn't matter. They were all there to do their jobs and go home.

"Good morning, FRIDAY," Luna spoke as she put her bag in its designated cabinet and washed her hands.

"Hello, Dr. Fields. How was your weekend?"

"Uh, eventful. Any reminders for today?" As they conversed, she pulled on her lab coat and a pair of rubber gloves to begin doing the weekly inventory.

"You are currently scheduled for your bimonthly lab meeting with Mr. Stark at 11am."

"So he's available for that this time? Great, thank you." As she replaced the last autoclave bag, a sudden thought struck her. "Hey FRIDAY, any messages?"

"No, miss. Would you like playback of the ones you have saved?" Luna's shoulders fell slightly.

"No thanks. Just set my playlist to random." With that, FRIDAY fell silent so she could replace her voice with music. The smooth synth notes of "Tokyo" and Matthew Murphy's singing lifted Luna's spirits just enough for her to continue working. She grooved to the happy tune around the lab with discretion, reorganizing pipette tip boxes and checking the contents of the walk-in fridge. Nothing missing and everything accounted for, as usual.

Stepping over to the digital table, she replaced her rubber gloves with the designated virtual pair. Once they were situated, she turned the table on with a wave of her hand and pulled up the 3D simulation.

"Alright, where are we today?" She mumbled to herself as she opened her most recent work file. Despite all her training and education as a biologist, it never failed to amaze her how lengthy the human genome was. She wished Steve was still around just so she could scold him again on having such a complex one. He would have laughed and smiled that gorgeous smile of his. She missed him, but for now, she would have to continue settling for his DNA. Most of her career at the compound was spent analyzing it, yet she had barely scratched the surface of all the secrets it held. Well, one day at a time.

Selecting the segment she had been working on the previous Friday, she turned it around in its 3D view and went over the processes she had put it through so far. Nothing noteworthy had come of it, but she knew very well that there were no absolutes when dealing with biological processes.

Just as Luna was in the middle of matching up amino acid sequences, FRIDAY's voice cut through her music.

"Miss, Mr. Stark is ready for you now." Was it 11 already? Evidently, it was. Time flies when you're doing science.

"Thank you. Tell him I'll be up shortly," Luna said as she saved her file and shut the table off. Shedding her lab coat, she hung it up and took the back staircase. Unlike usual, it was a little unnerving to see Tony after their quarrel on Friday, but hopefully, they could reach a settlement through their work.