A Stranger of Green and Gold (Loki x reader)

Chapter 8 - Welcome back?

Word Count: 1,292

A/N: Sorry for the month hiatus, I don't really have an excuse other than I was kinda preoccupied with camp and school prep, August is always super busy for me. Big apologies again, and here's the chapter!
-----------------------------------------------------

"I just hope she didn't freak out too much,-" A muffled voice tickled your ears as you woke up, sounding louder in your right ear. "You know how bad she can get," The second sentence fragment allowed you to pinpoint two bits of info. One, that this was Tony speaking through a wall of some kind, why it was muffled, and that your left ear wasn't able to hear much because it was pressed against your pillow. Tony was probably coming to wake you up for early training, since they were gone yesterday. Something about that explanation felt wrong. The sunlight wasn't in your eyes the same way it was in your room. Whatever you were sleeping on wasn't flat like your mattress. There was something wrapped around your waist that you couldn't exactly place, and your pillow..

Was not a pillow at all. It wasn't soft enough, and the fabric felt almost like- like a shirt?

Dong! The private elevator was here. It was farther from the living room than the public one that you preferred to use. "She was probably asleep before our absence would be irregular. We'll just act like we got here late at night, it'll be fine, Tony," That was Nat. She sounded tired, if such a thing was even possible.

"I still don't think we should have left her alone with Loki." Clint growled. "I wouldn't trust him around anything, much less y/n," He huffed. The voices were getting louder, but you didn't feel like getting up. Let them discover me on the couch, it's no big deal.

"You all underestimate my brother," Thor boomed, his voice getting louder. Where was Loki, anyway? "He truly has changed, Lady y/n will be fine," The last thing you remembered from last night was explaining Jurassic Park to him, and then falling asleep. So where did he go?

"Yeah changed or not, I still don't like him," Clint again. It sounded almost like he was right in front of you.

"Don't tell them about this, I don't think they would like it," Loki whispered in your ear and pushed you up to the other side of the couch, from what you now realized was not a pillow and was in fact, him. You gave him a confused look as he turned away, his usually very pale face dusted with a pink blush.

"People like him don't really change. Bet you 5 bucks he pulled something and y/n had to shock-" Clint's voice cut off as you saw him enter the room, he looked like he had seen a ghost. "Him."

"Morning Clint," You rubbed your eyes and waved at him. "Where were you guys-" You yawned. "Last night?"

"So much for being sneaky," You heard Wanda whisper from behind Tony, who, as you could now see, was standing next to Clint.

"Hey there kiddo! You look like you just woke up-" Tony passed off his uncomfortable tone with a laugh. You saw through it. What was wrong? Did it have something to do with why they were gone last night?

"I did," You raised your eyebrows at him, watching his eyes dart to the other side of the couch where Loki was, along with Clint's.

"Why is- Why is he-" Clint sounded just about ready to snap something in half.

"Brother!" Thor shoved past Tony and ran over to Loki, giving him a classically goofy hug. "You're wearing normal clothes and did not try to take over Midguard again! I am proud!" Both Tony and you stifled a laugh at the same time.

"Get. Off. Me," Loki growled. "Now." The blush you had earlier seen on his face was gone, he looked ready to stab Thor. Although, to be fair, he looked like that a lot.

"I do not know why I thought that wouldn't happen," Thor chuckled and sat in-between you and Loki.

"So," Tony sighed and sat down in a chair across from you as the rest of the team placed themselves around the room. "Last night," He took a deep breath and looked over at Thor.
"As you both know, Thor and Loki coming to Earth was not at all planned in the slightest. Now, Thor coming over isn't at all a big deal, he's known as a hero, or whatever. Loki, on the other hand-"

"Is known for being the mass murderer behind New York." Steve finished Tony's sentence for him. Loki flinched at the mention of mass murderer, his face practically dripping with the look of guilt.

"Thanks for interrupting me, Capcicle," Tony gave a dirty look at Steve and continued. "Anyway, the general public has no idea that Loki's back, only that Thor is. They're also mostly aware of the plans for New Asgard in Norway." You had no idea that was happening. "But there are certain.. parties that found out anyway. They want Loki to leave. Immediately." The whole room's mood shifted, Loki and you in particular. "I'm sorry we took so long to get back, kiddo." Tony looked up at you and smiled. It was pretty difficult to stay mad at him.

"So then what are we going to do?" You looked up at everyone. Surely they had a plan for this. Loki deserved to stay on Earth just as much as Thor did. "Loki's staying, right?" No response. "Right?" You glared around the room.

"No," Loki broke the silence. "I'm not." Surprisingly, his voice didn't sound disappointed, it was like he expected this. And did he use I'm instead of I am? Guess spending time with you was doing its toll. "Am I, Anthony?" He looked up at Tony and sighed.

"You know I go by Tony, Reindeer Games. But yes, Loki has to leave." What?! How was that fair? None of what he did what his fault, and he was trying to change, he was changing!

"No!" You bolted up out of your spot, stopped from reaching Tony's chair by a hand roughly grasping your wrist. It was strangely chilly. Loki. You turned around to face him, a mixed look of confusion and what the hell, dude? on your face. "L-Loki what-"

"Do not. I will be leaving, and that is something I do not wish to fight. I would most likely cause trouble for you here anyway." Loki stood up and let go of your wrist, which you were now rubbing. He had grabbed it tightly, maybe tight enough to cause a bruise, you weren't sure. "I can use one of the ships to get off the planet, someone else can fly it back." You dropped your hand and took a step back, feeling almost betrayed. You almost thought you meant something to him, that maybe he cared about you. Clearly he was just using you as someone to dump his feelings on. No, he didn't just dump feelings onto people. For all the rest of the team knew, he had no emotions. None like what he displayed last night.

"Snazzy way to leave, Reindeer Games," Tony raised his eyebrows and pointed at the orange circle below Loki's feet. A bright and brilliant orange with darker streaks and lighter sparks mixed in, the circle looked almost like a ring of fire. It was pretty cool.

"This isn't me." Loki stared down at the circle and walked a bit to the left, the circle following. "Wha-" The circle closed up right after Loki fell in, leaving behind a thin slip of paper.

      --------------------------------------------

Ha! Cliffhanger! Next Chapter will be up on Friday, no more monthly hiatuses for this lazy croissant! Anyway, just in case anyone might have been wondering, Doctor Strange is not the villain for this book, don't worry. Have a beautiful twinkly day, my beautiful croissant children!