Shattered

Thankfully, you were able to sleep in today. You awake to a small beam of sunlight that had escaped the prison of your curtains dancing across your bedroom floor. You let a small smile creep up your face, admiring the beautiful and simple display of nature.

Your peace was short lived.

Moments later, you hear a crash come from the kitchen.

"Dammit Goldilocks! " You hear Tony shout. You chuckle silently to yourself. Just another day at the Avengers Tower. You peel yourself out of bed, shivering slightly as you exit the warm enclosure of your bedsheets.

You absentmindedly throw on a vintage Star Wars t-shirt (courtesy of Peter from last Christmas) and a pair of jeans before making your way to the kitchen.

Making your way into the kitchen, you don't see Tony or Thor anywhere, so you assume that whatever had angered the billionaire had been resolved. Or they went down to the training center to work it out physically.

You see Clint scrolling on his phone at the table, scowling as Pietro starts filming a TikTok with him in the background. However, he makes no effort to move out of the frame, and you suspect that he secretly enjoys the bit of attention from the young speedster.

You make your way over to Wanda and Vision, who are chatting quietly at the counter. Wanda smiles sweetly when she sees you enter the room, and motions you over.

"Good morning Y/N! Did you sleep alright?" The witch asks as you as you pour your cup of coffee before sitting down at the counter across from the couple.

"Pretty well, how about you?" You ask politely, returning the gesture. You weren't in the mood to tell the truth about your recurring nightmare, so you settled for a simple white lie instead.

"Good, thanks for asking!" Wanda smiles at you, pulling her toast out of the toaster. Vision frowns at this sight, making you chuckle.

"For the last time Vis, you don't have to get mad about the kitchen machinery. It's definitely not 'involuntary servitude.'"

Vision's frown lessens, but you can tell that he isn't totally convinced. Wanda grins, kissing him lightly on the cheek before moving around him to sit next to you at the counter.

"Nat and I were thinking about going shopping later today, and we wanted to see if you wanted to come along," she asks before taking a bite out of her toast.

"Ugh, I would love to, but I think I'm stuck on babysitting duty," you say, pointing your head to the hallway where Loki's room was.

"Oh come on Y/N!" Wanda pleads. "We haven't hung out without everyone else being there in forever, plus we want to hear all about your date last week!"

"My date sucked. All they did was talk about their ex," you state. "There, now you know about my date, no dreadful shopping necessary."

"I'm sure if you asked Mr. Stark, you could take Loki shopping with you guys," Vision speaks up, and you wrinkle your nose in disdain.

"I'm not sure that taking Rudolph shopping with us is the best idea," you start, but Wanda shushes you.

"Yes Vis, that's a great idea!" She exclaims, leaning over the counter to plant a kiss on his forehead. You roll your eyes, knowing that there's no way to talk her out of it now.

"Fine," you sigh in defeat, earning a squeal of delight from Wanda before she wraps you in a warm hug. You smile softly at the embrace. You never were the one for physical displays of emotion, but you never minded with Wanda.

"AYO, ANTLERS!" You shout down the hallway. Moments later, Loki emerges from the from his room with an obviously annoyed look on his face.

"What do you want?" He asks sharply.

"Damn, guess Reindeer Games isn't much of a morning person," you tease, and Pietro looks up from his phone long enough to snicker in agreement before going back to watching the TikTok that had entranced him.

"I'm not one for tiresome mortals pestering me, especially in the morning," he bites back.

You feign a look of anguish before sticking your tongue out at the trickster. "Oh no!" You shout theatrically. "The almighty Prince of Asgard thinks I'm annoying! Whatever shall I do?" You put a hand to your forehead and fake-faint into Wanda's arms, who catches you with her magic, chuckling at your theatrics.

You reopen your eyes to see Loki rolling his eyes, making his way over to the couch before opening up a book. A small, light feeling flutters in your stomach as you realize that it was one of the books you had given him the previous day, but you shove it to the back of your mind quickly.

"Not so fast, Horns. You're going shopping with me, Wanda, and Nat, so go get dressed."

"And when did I ever agree to such thing?" He asks, not taking his eyes off of the book he had begun to read.

"You agreed when you decided to attack New York five years ago," you bite back, and you notice him stiffen in his seat in the couch just a bit. No one else seems to see this, so you decide not to mention it and continue on instead.

"It'll do you some good to get out of the tower anyways," you add, trying to seem less harsh. "Some fresh air should do you some good."

You make your way back towards your room to change into better clothes, and turn back to him as you pass. "I'll make sure it's not that bad. My social battery runs out pretty quickly anyways, so we shouldn't be out too long before I get tired and make Nat drive us home."

You send a quick smile his way, this time genuine, before walking down the hallway to your room.

"She's stubborn," Wanda tells the trickster. "You're not gonna be able to get out of anything once she sets her mind to it."

Loki only grumbles in response, but closes his book after a moment and stands up to find some clothes in his room to wear.

-----

Forty-five minutes later, you find yourself waiting for Loki in the elevator with Wanda and Nat, but not before grabbing Tony's credit card out of his wallet while he was distracted.

"Where is he?" You groan, getting impatient. "Why does he take so long to get ready? How much time does it take someone to do their hair?" Nat snickers, and Wanda nudges you as Loki emerges from his room and makes his way down the hallway.

You eye his outfit choice, raising an eyebrow but not saying anything. He is dressed in a completely black suit, his jet-black hair slicked back like always.

"Remind me to take you to get some better clothes once we're there," you mumble to him as he enters the elevator and Nat presses the button to take you guys to the ground floor.

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" He asks, looking from Wanda to Nat, who both just chuckle and shake their heads.

"Seriously? You look like a witch," you stifle a laugh as he sends you a half-confused and half-angry look.

The elevator doors open, and you guys make your way to the car. You groan in dismay when you reach the car and see Clint and Pietro already waiting in the car, obviously having overhead your plans earlier in the kitchen.

"Get in losers, we're going shopping!"

-----

You guys arrive at the mall, and all decide to split up. Pietro makes his way to the food court, insisting on wanting to try everything there. Laura's birthday was coming up, so Clint makes his way to look for a birthday gift for her. Wanda and Nat venture off to one of the many clothing stores, Wanda saying she wanted a new dress for one of Stark's upcoming parties and Nat murmuring something about getting a new pair of high heels after breaking her favorite pair a few weeks prior during an Avengers game night that got out of hand.

Which left you and Loki. Fantastic.

After a lot of arguing, you were finally able to drag him into one of the department stores to find some new clothes for him.

"Why would anyone wear this? It's hideous," Loki remarks as he eyes one of the mannequins you guys walk by.

"That's the style," you say back absentmindedly, scanning the rows of clothing for something you think might suit him.

"Well it's awful. You Midgardians need to learn a thing or two about fashion," he murmurs back, and you hold back a laugh. Just then, your eyes spot a green and gold dress shirt from across the store. You grab his wrist and drag him over, not listening when he starts complaining about your tight grip.

"Look!" You show him, proud of your discovery. "It's perfect. Sooner or later you're going to need something to wear to a Stark party, and this is totally your style."

You turn to see him gazing at the shirt with an unreadable expression on his face. "I suppose it isn't too terrible," he finally admits, and you immediately grab it off the hook for him to try on.

-----

After getting Loki to try on a few more items, most casual day-to-day items, you paid for the clothing (courtesy of Stark, even if he was unaware) and left the store. You can tell that Loki is on edge from being around other people in an unfamiliar area, so you decide to take him somewhere you think he might feel a little more relaxed.

You enter a small bookstore, hidden away from the rest of the large and busy shops. The elderly woman sitting at the desk looks up, and gives you a big smile when she sees you enter.

"Y/N! It's wonderful to see you again," she greets, standing up from behind the desk to give you a hug.

"You too, Diane! How have things been around here?" You ask after she lets go of your hug.

"Well, business has been slowing down a bit. I suspect it's from your generation and always using your phones for everything," she laughs, the small creases around her eyes resulting from years of laughter deepening as she says this.

"You'll always have me as a customer, I can promise you that," you laugh back as her gaze shifts from you to Loki.

"And who is this young man?" She asks, moving to the side to get a better look at him.

Loki brustles slightly, obviously not expecting the attention. He opens his mouth to speak, but you cut in before he can get any words out.

"This is.... uh..... Lucas," you tell her, not wanting to use his real name for fear of her recognizing him. He did try to take over the city five years ago, after all. "He's been... staying with me and a few friends recently, and I wanted to take him to get some new clothes," you gesture to the bags in his hands that you had made him carry.

"Ah, and I assume he enjoys reading just as much as you?" Diane asks, luckily not recognizing him.

"Yes ma'am," Loki speaks up, surprisingly polite. "Y/N has been introducing me to a bunch of new titles recently. I have been enjoying reading many of her suggestions."

Diane smiles at him sweetly. "Well, don't let me stop you. Have a look around!"

You give Loki a small nod, signaling that he could browse the shelves while you stayed and caught up with the elderly woman.

Once he was out of earshot, Diane gestures for you to sit down at a nearby table before sitting down herself. "So, how long have the two of you been dating?" She asks, lowering her voice so that Loki, or 'Lucas', couldn't hear. A faint pink blush tints your cheeks, and you quickly try to hide it.

You were taken aback by her question, not sure of how she mistakenly thought that the two of you were together. "Lo- " You quickly catch yourself. "Lucas? He and I aren't together. I can barely stand him, but he's my friend's brother, so I kinda have to be nice to him."

"Oh darling, I can see the way he looks at you, with such admiration and respect. He likes you!" She practically giggles.

"I'm not sure I would call it that," you shrug it off, still trying to hide your face from Loki, who was now looking at the two of you with a raised eyebrow.

Don't ask, you say to him using your powers, figuring he would hear you. He smiles, a bit mischievously, but goes back to examining the bookshelves.

Diane chuckles, turning to look at him before back at you. "I've been around for a long time, Y/N, and I'm certain I've never seen anyone look at someone else the way he looks at you."

You feel the heat rising to your cheeks again, and silently curse yourself for displaying your emotions so obviously.

"We just got in some new books, so if you want to take a look I can show you to them," she says, and you silently let out a sigh of relief and nod, grateful for the topic change.

She leads you to the back of the store before returning to her desk by the front. You busy yourself by skimming over the titles of the books on the shelves, not noticing as Loki creeps up behind you.

"What was the woman talking about with you?" He asks suddenly, making you jump.

"Holy shit! You scared the fucking shit out of me!" You hiss back, punching his shoulder.

"My apologies, Y/N," he smiles, obviously not actually sorry. "I'm not sure Captain Rodgers would approve of that language, though."

"You're a dickhead," you spit back, before pulling out to check your phone.

4 Missed Calls. 3 New Messages.

Wanda <3: Y/N? Where are you?

Fitness-Gram Pacer Test: ayo where are you? wanda's losing her shit.

Nat: Hey, we're waiting by the food court for you guys. Take your time though ;)

"Crap," you murmur, looking back to Loki. "Everyone's wondering where we are."

You quickly say goodbye to Diane on your way out, her sending a not-so-subtle wink your way as you pass by with Loki. You shake your head and laugh, but a blush creeps up to your cheeks all the same.

Loki shoots you a confused glance, but you just laugh it off and tell him not to worry about it.