Turning Gears [Loki x OC] //DISCONTINUED\\

Six

When the entourage of Midgardians left the cramped space, Loki finally felt less tense. He still bristled with annoyance, but that's nothing new. It nearly always rippled off him. Being alone with the Lady Aspen, he didn't feel as threatened. She clearly wasn't like the others, all muscle and fight training. He wondered how a lady like her got mixed in with the buffoons his adoptive brother seemed to get his finger wrapped around. 

Another thought creeped into his mind, the new jewelry adorning his wrists. He examined them with no more than a curious mind. The technology was a wonder. It definitely was partially Asgardian, and some Midgardian as well. Whoever created this device knew what they were doing. It did exactly what it was meant for. He was well and truly stuck. 

Loki stood lost in these thoughts until Aspen spoke up. He barely heard her, his thoughts more important. She spoke again, and finally he peered up. She was looking at him with eyebrows raised, awaiting an answer. "Ah, I'm sorry. I did not hear you," he said, politely even. 

Aspen didn't look like she expected him to be nice. She nearly took an actual step back, and Loki smirked in amusement. At least he was stuck with a woman like her, and not one of the other buffoons. "I asked if you were ready for the tour," she replied patiently.

"Oh, yes. Lead the way," he said and motioned for her to lead the way with a hand. She smiled, her green eyes sparkling with the prospect. First, she led him to his room. 

"Here's your room we built for you. I unfortunately couldn't at least give you a lock on your door for privacy, but I made sure Tony didn't pick uncomfortable furniture," she said, stepping aside for Loki to explore the new space that would be his.

It was definitely plainly decorated, but it was not uncomfortable. Windows made up the entire back wall, giving Loki a view at the city. A better one than the last time he saw it. There was a bed, a wardrobe, even a reading chair already endowed with a stack of Asgardian tomes.  This was the best surprise yet. He ran his fingers along a cover, itching to settle in to read it. "I made Thor get you some books that you would enjoy. He said you liked to read, and its very harmless," Aspen piped up, breaking his reverie. 

"Thank you, Lady Aspen. That is so kind," he said, actually smiling from ear to ear. This made warmth blossom through Aspen's torso, feeling a bit proud. 

"Please, just Aspen," she said, then moved to the wardrobe. She opened it with more or less what can be described as a flourish. "I also ensured we got you some Midgardian clothes. There are a couple tunics and trousers from Asgard, but they won't fit in very well among the people here," she explained. 

It was a pain in the ass to get Thor to do everything exactly as she requested. He loved his brother, but he didn't think that it was necessary to bring him things from Asgard. Aspen finally got through him when she touched a sensitive nerve asking about his homesickness because he had nothing of his home. At least he wasn't confined to one single building. 

Loki was astonished at everything, and they were just starting. She had put so much thought and effort into everything, even when she was still furious with him. She well and truly cared about a monster like him. "I feel I am thanking you too much," he said, causing her to laugh and shake her head. Her laugh was loud and she snorted a bit, but Loki found it endearing anyhow. 

"Well, stop thanking me. It was the least I could do. After everything you deserve to be treated a little like you're a living being," she said, opening another door. "Okay, bathroom with all the fixings. Toilet, shower, sink, unbreakable mirror," she said, pointing at each object as she spoke. It would take some learning for Loki to get used to it, but he was grateful. "I made very sure we wouldn't share a bathroom," she added as she closed the door. 

She led him out of his room and casually mentioned her room was next door if he needed her at any time. She showed him a living area, fitted with bookshelves full to the brim of books for Loki. Another reading chair sat near them, then a sofa and a television. It was simple, clearly Aspen didn't put much effort into this as she did his quarters. Perhaps she herself didn't spend much time here on her own. Loki wanted nothing more than to explore the new books on the shelves and escape from his mind just for a little while. Unfortunately, Aspen continued to pull him away. 

"Okay, this is the most important room on our floor. This is my lab," she said, leading them to a completely glass walled room, opening a sliding door. The room was a dirty mess. There were mechanical parts sitting in piles everywhere, a massive worktable sat right in the middle of the room stuffed full of tools and metal pieces. Robots were ticking away against one wall, some of them active and others not. Clearly prototypes. Loki noted a cot and small living area hidden away in the corner curiously. He decided to not bring it up and continued looking around. "This is where we will be working everyday. I am building city protectors in the form of robots that will be placed strategically throughout the city to aid the Avengers in times of trouble," she explained, motioning the prototypes on the wall. "Here are my failures and successes. This one," she patted the one on the far end, "is my best success so far."

Loki walked over and gave the robot a once over. It was simply designed, yet still so intricate. Its face was strikingly lifelike. "It's so... human," he noted, looking over at Aspen. 

"Yeah, I thought the more human they looked the easier it would be to keep them around. Humans are fickle creatures, scared by anything alien. If these look like humans they'll be more trusting," she explained. "They'll have weaponry at some time, right now I'm working on rebuilding the skeleton to be more resilient. But we'll get to that tomorrow. It's not the day for it," she said, holding her arm out to the door to suggest they move on. 

Loki nodded and followed her, stopping in his tracks at the sight of a poster of a beautiful green land. He couldn't help but stare at it. "That's my home," Aspen said, suddenly right behind him. "Scotland."

"Ah. That explains the difference in accent between you and the others," he murmured now, completely entranced. "It's so beautiful," he commented.

"Thank you. It really is. I miss it daily," she said, gently encouraging him to move on before she got too emotional. 

Loki felt a whole new sense of respect for the woman. She was nearly in the same predicament as him. Far from home and no way to get there without causing an uproar. He could see the sadness on her face. It made his heart clench in pain, and anger lick at his gut. 

She led him down several more floor, explaining as they went. Floors 1-6 were floors for the public and offices and off limits, other floors were personal like their own to the other Avengers, and there was one communal floor where a kitchen, large living room, and computer rooms sat. The top floor was Tony's lab and Loki was not to go there under any circumstance, unless he felt like getting maimed by the Iron Man. The basement was a massive training room, the Avengers using it more often than not. 

After all of this, they finally retreated away from the prying eyes of the others to their floor. It would take a very long time for everyone to get used to Loki being there. It would take even longer for everyone to feel like they could trust him. It was going to be hard.

Aspen already was shedding her nervousness. She was still a bit scared of having a mass murderer next to her bedroom every night, but he clearly wasn't who anyone thought he was. He was broody and a little impulsive, but she felt that was just who he is. She had a feeling it would grow on her, and hopefully working together would be easier with time.

"Oh, one last thing," she said abruptly, stopping Loki from continuing his beeline to the bookshelves, "if you need anything just ask JARVIS on any other floor but this one. This one we use my ANA. Just ask them where I am, or anyone else. They can answer any question you have, but they do know when not to answer," she said with a small smile. "I hope this works out for you, Loki," she said with finality.

It seemed their day together was coming to an end, as she made her way into her lab and settled in with her work. Loki couldn't help but watch her as she carefully used her hands to create new life out of it. Her tongue stuck out slightly as she concentrated, and her face wrenched with effort as she shoved two pieces together that didn't fit as well as she might have thought. Her enormously long hair tied back, yet still getting in her way and annoying her. It actually took effort for Loki to look away and make his way to his new books. The emotions roiling in his chest unknown to him. He picked a random Asgardian tome off the shelf and sunk into the chair and read to the noises of Aspen working in the next room. It was... blissful.