Amelie Stark – Shopping Trip
Amelie Stark – Shopping Trip
I stayed in the kitchen until I finished my coffee, thankful for the slight kick in my energy levels before returning to my room. Eying my bath, I quickly settled on a shower; fairly certain I’d fall asleep if I weren’t upright. I stripped off and stepped into the shower, letting the heated water wash away the last traces of sleep, enveloping me in its familiar warmth. I closed my eyes and stayed in the shower until the mirror was completely steamed over.
After quickly changing into a pair of worn, faded sweatpants, I plopped down in my desk chair and surveyed the stacks of unfinished projects. I picked up the encyclopedia I had started on, its cover holding down a stack of books about ancient forests. Old yellowing glue clung to the spine of the book where I had begun removing it and I wondered why I had decided to start this project before finishing the others. Running my fingers along the cracks between the pages, I picked up a scalpel and resumed scraping at the old glue.
Bookbinding was something I’d learnt during one of my summers here. Tony had been particularly busy that year, after several attacks on the city had left it in shambles. I sighed at the memory, I’d felt completely useless as the Avengers had rallied together. All I could do was keep myself busy. That was the year I’d asked Tony for training so that I could be helpful in the control room. He hadn’t liked the idea at first, keen to keep me out of any possible danger, but Steve had convinced him that it was the safest place for me, given that I was already in the tower anyway. I’d taken to my new role well. Though no Tony Stark, I was bright and quick to learn. I’d relished the opportunity to get more involved.
I looked at the now clean spine of the book. It was ready for me to start applying a new cover, but I didn’t have any spare materials. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I scrolled to Peter’s number and dialled. It rang twice before he answered.
“Hey Am, what’s up?”
“You free? I need to head out to get some materials and I don’t feel like going alone.”
“I’m with MJ but we’re free. You okay if it’s both of us?”
“Even better.”
I wove through racks of pastel-coloured leather, sipping from the straw of my iced drink as I searched. Peter and MJ picked out random fabrics and held them up, laughing and comparing the ugliest ones to each other, some dyed in a confectionery colour wheel and others with details like shearling fur-trim or blinding starburst patterning. They were dressed alike in dark blue jeans and plain white shirts. I smiled, pleased they’d come along.
Materials chosen, we headed back, stopping for MJ to buy a pretzel that was as thick as my arm. “I seriously have no idea how you eat the salted ones” I eyed her purchase. It smelt amazing, but I always got the plain ones. “The salt literally absorbed all the moisture in my entire body when I tried one.”
MJ shrugged as she took a big bite from the pretzel, steam rising up into the sky. “I like it.”
“You like everything.” Peter laughed.
We walked along the busy streets, chatting as we went. “So is Loki as scary as we expected?” MJ said around a mouthful of dough.
“I don’t think he’s scary at all.” Peter took a pinch of the pretzel from MJ's hands, popping it into his mouth.
“Is that why you bumped into him before the party, as a test?” I nudged Peter in the shoulder and he grinned.
“I thought it’d be a good measure of what’s he’s like!”
MJ rolled her eyes. “Bumped into him? As in literally walked into him?”
“He dropped loads of empty boxes too, it was quite the performance.” I grinned as MJ shook her head slightly.
“Well he wasn’t scary. He even helped me pick all the boxes back up.” Peter frowned slightly. “If anything, he seems kinda sad.”
MJ snorted and licked the salt from her fingertips. “Probably guilt,” she said, her tone direct. I frowned, feeling a pang of empathy for Loki and the burden of his past. She was right, Loki did seem to be holding onto something. It made sense that he’d feel guilty about what he’d done, even if some of it was under the control of the mind stone.
“He seems nice enough now." Peter's brow furrowed in thought. "It's gotta be tough to move somewhere new and feel like nobody wants you there.”
I smiled. “You’re right, we should make him feel more at home. He told me he wasn’t able to bring any of his things with him from Asgard, we should buy him something to make up for that.”