A Fanfic Music Festival

“A what?” Loki asked, his nose wrinkling with skepticism as you smiled and adjusted your Amy Lee wig. 

“An emo party!” you said, excited, observing yourself in the mirror. “It’s a weird theme party my friend Garrett is hosting.” 

“And what is emo?” Loki asked, his gaze running up and down your body, drinking in the tight black leather corset and bright red micromini/fishnet tights combo that left nearly nothing to the imagination. 

You tipped your head to the side, shaking your head. “Actually, the more I think about this, this is less ‘emo’ and more ‘goth,’ but both of these were trends from when I was in high school, and who remembers what is what anymore?”

“You still haven’t answered me,” Loki said. “I’m beginning to wonder if it’s something you don't want me to know about?”

“Oh no, that’s not it” you answered, shaking your head dismissively. “It’s just a little…secondhand embarrassment. I was just a kid when these were considered cool. Emo was a trend that sort of built itself around mood music, deep lyrics, poetry, darker fashions, and expressing your emotions no matter how depressing they can be. A lot of my friends and I related to that.”

Loki shrugged and looked you up and down. “So this party, you plan to dress like a sexy bank robber and go…feel things?”

You shrugged. “I think you would’ve been into it, honestly.”

“I’ll say I would have at that…”

Loki came up behind you and wrapped his strong arms around your middle. He could only see the tight leather, the naked flesh peeking out from under your shirt and above your corset, the mysterious air that the unnaturally jet-black wig gave to your appearance, the pale makeup and dark green eyeshadow..the chunky, studded jewelry and ankle boots that could double as weapons…

“I would be veryinto it…” he purred, tracing a lithe finger over your collarbone and down your cleavage, gently nudging his fingertip under your corset and seeking out a nipple to toy with, making you press your thighs together. 

“Oh, come on!” you moaned softly. “I’m going to be late. I’m sorry you can’t come, but Garrett wanted this to be college friends only.”

Loki bit his lip and raised an eyebrow, pulling away from you. “Maybe it’s best I didn’t. After all, this is just a silly fashion party or what you call it.”

You slowly pulled away from Loki, his hand desperate to cling to your breast but falling away as you turned to face him. “Silly or not, don’t knock anything you haven’t tried, Loki.”

Loki scoffed. “And tell me, princess, how does one try on this…emo?”

You smiled at his mischievous grin, daring you to accept his challenge and make him a believer. You went over to your closet and reached for a box on the top shelf, full of old CDs you hadn’t listened to since Spotify became a thing. You knew instantly which album you were looking for. After finding it, you quickly walked back over to Loki with snarky confidence, tossing him the CD. 

“The Black Parade?” he asked. 

You nodded as you went back to your mirror to touch up your lipstick one last time. “Bruce has a boombox down in the library. Go ahead, play it while I’m out and let me know what you think.”

Loki shrugged with skepticism. “Very well, darling, but I don’t see how a few songs--”

“--don’t just listen to the tunes. Listen to the words. Listen to the emotions,” you instructed, making a quick grab for your purse and giving yourself one last once-over in the mirror. “Yeah, Garrett, you’re getting an emo/goth hybrid tonight, so don’t be too pissed that I mixed up.”

You gave Loki a kiss that was a little too short for his liking before you brushed past him and went out the door, smiling to yourself as you purposefully added a little extra swagger to your hips on the way out. 

Oh, when you get back, I’m going to spank that leather right off your backside, Loki promised internally, watching your beautiful, shapely ass turn the corner and go out of sight.

Loki did as you’d told him, but he waited a while, closer to the time where you were expecting to return home. He closed the door to the library, found the boom-doohickey Bruce kept in there, took out the Philharmonic Orchestra’s latest version of Madama Butterfly out of the player, and popped in the MCR album you’d lent him. Instead of listening straight-through, he put the CD player on ‘random,’ and Number 5: Welcome to the Black Parade, was set to begin with the touch of a button. 

Loki had always appreciated music, and he knew the best way to absorb a new genre or concept was to be completely closed off to anything else but the melody and lyrics, so he found a comfortable sofa, took a seat, and closed his eyes as the first song began…

When I was a young boy
My father took me into the city
To see a marching band
He said, "Son, when you grow up
Would you be the savior of the broken
The beaten and the damned?"

“Norns…” Loki murmured to himself, the mere mention of a boy and his father evocating some harsh memories in his mind. 

Just a man, I'm not a heroJust a boy, who had to sing this songJust a man, I'm not a heroI don't care…

You had your fun at the party, but you found yourself growing exhausted before midnight (as was usually the case now that you weren’t 21 anymore) and left a little earlier than you’d planned. 

“Maybe I was too harsh on Loki,” you thought to yourself as you re-entered the Avenger complex, making a beeline for Loki’s apartment. “He’s not even of Earth, so perhaps not understanding my enthusiasm for nostalgia is forgivable…”

You could hear your MCR CD playing from the library down the hall. He’s still listening, is he? You smiled. 

Heading into the library, Loki was lying supine on the sofa, staring blankly up at the ceiling, looking completely lost in thought. 

“Loki? Are you okay?”

“You handed me a therapist on record, woman,” Loki murmured quietly. “Every word, every note, is tailor-made to milk every last insecurity from my mind and force me to analyze it in the key of D major. All bitter memories of my so-called-father's treatment and expectation of me has been dug out of their graves and are now keeping me on the edge of an emotional precipice! Blast you, these men could make Odin Allfather weep like a babe!”

You tried to stifle a giggle. “Oh? Um…so…you like the album, then?” 

Loki waited a long time to answer. 

“...yes.”