The adventures of the captain and the god (CapsLok AU)

I feel like a monster

It all started about a year and a half ago, when the Allfather decided on Loki's punishment. It was determined he would redeem himself by fighting with the Avengers. Queen Frigga being the main reason he wasn't left to rot in a cell for the rest of his life. She was the one who convinced the court it was obvious Loki was tortured, and therefore not completely responsible for his actions. But because all Æsir are complete asses (pun totally intended), they decided that Loki was weak for being broken so easily. ("Must be his Frostgiant nature, they are the scum of the nine realms after all.")

So long story short, a month after the invasion Thor appeared in the newly named Avengers Tower with a rather reluctant Loki being towed along. After the first dodged arrows and throwing knives coming from a certain pair of assassins, everything went surprisingly smooth. Mostly because every one of the Avengers knew from experience just how torture could break a person. Not all of them received the news of more than a year of torture very well. Tony's cursing would put a sailor to shame. Steve and even the normally unreadable Coulson (who was very much alive, thank you very much) went pale as sheets. Bruce ran away, the Hulk banging against the walls of his containment room. Natasha just walked away, and Clint... he punched a hole in the nearest wall, mumbled something about not being able to hate a victim of so much torture, and left.

A few days later, when everything was cooled down a bit, Loki came out of his rooms for the first time. Although he may or may not have been dragged out by Thor... whatever.

After a rather awkward breakfast everybody got huddled together on the couch, dragging Loki with them after assuring him he was welcome. They spent the entire day watching movies, taking their time explaining every missed reference to Loki, Thor and Steve. They fell into a temporary rhythm. Breakfasts that got gradually less awkward, a big pile of Avenger limbs on the couch, and food delivered at the door. This went on for a couple of days, in which they all learned to accept Loki in the team. It was a period they would always refer to as their 'bonding days'. It was the first step towards the well oiled machine they would eventually become.

To everybody's surprise, Loki got along best with Steve. It turned out they had a lot of things in common. They were often found visiting different museums together, discussing different art styles and comparing drawings they made. If they chose to stay inside they would still mostly be found together. Besides drawing on the roof, they loved to sit in the tower library. Of course Tony kept bugging them to just use the tablets. Because he made them himself, and that meant they were perfect thank you very much. So why would you go through the trouble of holding a book when you could just swipe across a screen and have hundreds of story's at your disposal.

He was happily ignored.

Loki sparred with Natasha, talked about science with Tony and Bruce, bickered with Thor and drove Coulson crazy by helping Clint with most (read: all) of his pranks.

He felt more at home than he ever had at Asgard. It was true he missed Frigga on occasion, but she was not ashamed to just drop by at the tower. ("Why do these Asgardians keep popping up, it's mytower." "Shut up Tony, you love Frigga's apricot pie.")

Nothing made him happier than the time spent with the Captain though. His perfect sense of right and wrong kept Loki grounded. And it came to no one's surprise when their friendship gradually developed into something more.

They were never really able to pinpoint the moment they felt more than just friendly love. But it was well known that a year after Loki arrived at Avengers Tower they were officially in a relationship. Their museum trips had turned into museum date's, and more often than not their books were put aside for -what Loki referred to as- 'more entertaining ways to kill time'. Clint just called it gross. Apparently national icons were forbidden to make out. The mental images were "Wrong... just... wrong man." which of course led to Loki starting a make out session during movie night. Leading to a screaming Clint and a very embarrassed Steve.