' She breathed in deeply, picking up on a faint and fresh scent of mint on him. "Even if it's only me, is that enough for you?" Loki purred with a knowing smile, still hugging her tightly, "am I enough for you?"
Pulling her head away from his chest...
"Fury," Tony greeted, "didn't take you as much of a partier."
"I'm not here for the celebration," Nick assured him with a deadpan look. "I'm here to check in on Estrial's work with our prisoner." Estrial felt herself grow nervous as his piercing gaze rested on her once again. "Let's take a step outside," he offered casually, "and talk."
Loki gave Fury a suspicious look as he stood with Estrial. The others watched just as anxiously as the two non-mortals followed Nick out to a balcony.
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Once outside, Estrial was immediately hit by the chill of the winter night. "Seems your adjusting well to our world," Nick noted to Estrial.
"I am," the star replied with a shy smile, "slowly."
"I've had no reports of anything...unusual..going on here," the one-eyed man went on, pacing slowly on the wide open balcony. "Stark's been keeping me updated, but I figured I'd better come to see for myself."
Loki played a false grin as he replied passive-aggressively, "well, as you can see, then; all is well."
"Is that so?" Nick asked accusatively. There was a long, tense silence as the two men stared each other down. Then, Fury went on, "then how come your cuffs have been removed twice now?" Estrial frowned as her anxiety grew. "I needed to talk to Estrial, not you," Nick told the demigod harshly, "so go back inside and enjoy your little get-together while you can."
At this, Loki felt his heart drop. He tried to cover his nervousness of losing Estrial with anger. "You think you can control me?" Loki hissed, "I'll go where I please."
"Oh really?" Fury challenged, raising his voice a bit. He casually flipped out his cell phone, taking a menacing step closer to Loki. "One phone call," he threatened, "one phone call, and you're back in a cell. But this time, no human interaction whatsoever; especially not with that star."
Loki glared at the man for only a moment before his mask withered. Estrial could see his fear overgrow his anger, and it made her frown again. "Y-you can't take her away from me," he almost yelled.
Fury did not falter. He held his phone up, not tearing his gaze from the demigod. "Yes, I can."
Seeing Loki in such an emotional fluster, Estrial decided to step in. "Loki," she muttered. His eyes landed on her with a look of need; it was as if he were looking at her, expecting never to see her again after this night. "It is okay," she assured, walking over to him. She took his hand and squeezed it gently. "I will answer for what I have done."
"Estrial," he breathed, eyebrows drawn down with concern. But she smiled up at him. After a moment of hesitation, Loki reluctantly went back inside.
"...How did you know?" Estrial wondered timidly.
"There're sensors in the cuffs; let's me know what's going on with them," Fury told her.
Nick watched the star as she watched Loki leave, eye squinted in curiosity. "You defied your orders," he told her, earning her attention back. "Remember what I told you would happen? If you broke this trust?"
She didn't need to be reminded. "..Yes," she murmured, looking down in shame.
With a heavy sigh, Fury put a hand on her shoulder and lead her to the railing of the tall balcony. There, he leaned his elbows on the sturdy structure. "That was before I saw what just happened tonight," Nick went on in a calmer voice, staring out at the city.
Estrial felt hope spark in her core. "I don't need to know why, or how, you got through to him," Fury went on, "but you did." He looked down at her with a stern gaze. "You took those cuffs off of him. Twice.....but he let you put them back on," he explained, "he knows that you're above him. And he's respecting that."
"Please do not take him away," Estrial suddenly blurted out.
This earned her an eyebrow raise from the cold man. "No one's getting taken away," he assured, "but I needed see how he would react to that possibility. Never thought I'd see Loki break down like that." He turned to face his entire body toward the star. "You've proven to be more than qualified for not only overseeing him, but getting him to change for the better."
"You are..letting him stay?" Estrial asked hopefully, a small smile pulling at her lips.
Nick gave her a warning look. "That doesn't mean you're off the hook," he reminded her, "you've still broken that little bit of trust I had in you. If those cuffs come off again, and it causes problems, expect to be hearing from me again. Very soon."
"O-of course," Estrial shivered under his gaze. On that final note, Fury left. He sulked back inside, and then disappeared into the crowds of party guests.
Loki, who'd been waiting just inside, rushed back onto the balcony through the large glass door. "What's going on?" He pleaded, desperate to know what happened.
As he made his way over to the star, she met him with a sudden hug. Loki gladly returned it, not caring what anyone who saw through the spotless windows would say. "Big warning," Estrial mumbled into his chest.
Loki could just barely understand what she'd said. He let out a light laugh, hugging her a bit tighter. Looking over her head at the city of lights, he felt his eyes sting; he had thought he would lose her for good. Closing his eyes, he forced his tears back. But he found that harder to do as he poured his emotions out to her. "I thought that was it," he breathed shakily, "I thought I'd never be allowed near you again."
"It is okay," Estrial cooed gently, pulled away just enough to meet his gaze, "I was scared, too."
