The Balance Between

Date Night

After the events at the nightclub, Loki pulled away from the rest of the team. She was still shaken up as it had stirred up memories she'd rather forget. The only people she really interacted with were Tony and Peter (of course), Steve (because he knew how she felt), and Thor. Out of respect, everyone else didn't pester her with questions and simply let her be on the rare occasion she came down to the communal living floor. But for the most part, Loki stayed on her floor (or rather the floor she shared with Tony) and read. She was half way through with her second book when Tony lightly knocked on the door before swinging it open.

He stood in the doorway, giving her the option to open up a conversation. For a few seconds, he watched as her eyes flitted down the page before darting up and over then doing the same thing. She flipped the page, stuck her bookmark in, and closed the book before looking up at him. Had this been the first time Tony was interacting with her, he wouldn't have noticed the slight arch in her eyebrow. She does it all the time when she doesn't want to show too much emotion. To the untrained eye, it's nonexistent. But to the people who matter most, they know to look for it.

This time, Tony took it as his cue to approach her. She brought her knees closer to her chest and rested her head on top of them as Tony walked over and sat beside her. He carefully wrapped his arm around her and pulled him into his side. She lifted her head from her knees and placed it on his chest, nuzzling in. They both took in a deep breath and sighed it out.

True to her word (to herself), Loki had told Tony about what had happened at the nightclub when they got home. Tony immediately called a suit and went to go fly back to beat the crap out of him but Loki talked him out of it, telling him Thor took care of it for the most part. But Tony wasn't stupid nor was he oblivious. Not the most observant, sure. But definitely not oblivious. He could see the pained expression she was trying to hide and could hear the panic still embedded in her voice. She was trying to her hard to appear to not have been affected which was ultimately her downfall. Tony brought her into his arms and promised her everything would be alright. After a long pause, she had told Tony the same story she had told Steve; which definitely did not help Tony's mood at all. But he pulled it together for her. She was the one who needed to break down, not him; and he understood that.

Loki scooted closer to him on the bed. He turned and kissed the top of her head, causing her to smile faintly. "You wanna leave the tower today?" he whispered. She lifted her head so she could look at him, her chin resting on his shoulder. He offered her a warm smile. "We'd be away from the team--"

"In public," she whispered. Tony's smile fell a bit. Loki hadn't been using her voice as much as she normally would the past few days so instead of the smooth tone it normally came out as, her voice was raspy. She sounded like she just woke up from a nap if Tony was being honest with himself.

He nodded. "In public," he agreed. She looked away, her smile no longer there. He sighed before pressing his head to hers. "In public with me right by your side," he added. She glanced to him. "Right by your side the entire time," he promised. "Where I can be displaying my love and affection for you wherever we go." She raised an eyebrow (for real this time). "Someone's bound to notice and report it." She started to smile. "Marking you up as the love of my life."

"People will think you're cheating on me."

He shook his head. "Doesn't matter." She lifted her head to fully look at him. "They'd see it as cheating. We'd see it as staying loyal." He pressed his forehead against hers. "I don't care what the world thinks as long as it makes you happy." She looked to her hands, a faint smile on her lips. He kissed her softly. "I hate seeing you like this." She slowly looked up. Tony brushed some of her hair out of her face but left his hand against her cheek. "It's been breaking my heart watching you spend the day closed off from everyone and up here all the time. I miss hearing you laugh." She looked down, her bottom lip starting to tremble. Tony quickly kissed her. "But I know you need time to heal. I'm just trying to help." She looked back up, green eyes meeting brown. "I love you, Loki."