Chapter 10
Steve spent the majority of Movie Night with his eyes glued away from the screen, jumping at the sound of screams and tensing whenever there was silence. At the beginning, he tried to watch the movie honestly, but he’d never been able to watch horror movies.
Why did Loki have to choose a horror movie?
Steve breathed a sigh of relief when the movie came to a close, but at the same time, he couldn’t stand the thought of going to bed.
“Anyone want to watch a Disney movie now?” Steve suggested hopefully as the credits started to roll.
“Sorry,” Clint yawned loudly as he stretched his arms across the couch and got up to leave, “Too tired.”
“Yeah,” Natasha agreed, nudging Bruce awake from where he’d fallen asleep on her shoulder, “We’d better go to bed.”
Loki nodded curtly, and left without a word. Steve wondered how he could both enjoy watching horror movies and be afraid of things like thunder at the same time.
Even Tony hummed his agreement from his spot on the floor, though he seemed reluctant.
“Pep’s gonna kill me if I’m not on time tomorrow morning,” he muttered as Steve readjusted his position to lie across the couch and selected “The Little Mermaid.”
He lingered for a little longer before heading to bed, leaving Steve in the darkened living room alone.
By the time it got to “Poor Unfortunate Souls,” Steve finally started to relax, the movie not quite as prominent in his mind. As soon as he noticed that, though, the sense of fear came back, and Steve considered just going to bed and sleeping with the light on.
He nearly screamed when a black cat appeared on the coffee table, green eyes glowing and fur lit by the light of the tv.
“Jesus,” he hissed at Loki, “Don’t scare me like that!”
The cat gave him a smug look.
They stared at each other for a few moments, the movie background noise to whatever was happening here.
“What do you want?”
Slowly, deliberately, the cat reached a paw towards Steve’s Christmas mug, holding Steve’s gaze the whole time.
“Don’t you da—“
The mug hit the floor with a loud THUD.
“You’re lucky that this thing is indestructible,” Steve said, sitting up to retrieve the mug with a frown and setting it away from Loki, who promptly laid down on the couch next to Steve.
Oh.
Apparently, Steve was in Loki’s spot.
Steve hummed, turning his attention back to the tv.
With Loki sitting beside him, Steve was able to relax a little more, but he would still fidget every once in a while, turning to look behind the couch to make sure there were no serial killers. Staring down the dark hallway. Ultimately, standing up to turn the hallway lights on and closing the pantry door in the kitchen because the pitch black unsettled him.
After observing another ten minutes of this, Loki apparently decided to do something about it.
The black cat stood up, curled his tail, and stepped onto Steve’s lap. He curled up in a loaf position, leaving no room for Steve to protest.
Unsure of whether or not he would get his face clawed off for it, Steve gingerly ran a hand down the top of his head and across his back.
To his surprise, Loki started to purr.
For the rest of the movie, Steve almost subconsciously continued to pet him. The purring was so soothing, the fur so soft, and the warmth so comforting.
His eyelids started to feel heavy after a while, and before he knew it, he’d fallen asleep.
Well that didn’t go as planned.
But, in a good way.
Which was funny, because that didn’t happen very often for Loki.
As the credits screen rolled, Loki jumped off the couch, shifting back into his original form to turn off the tv.
He turned, peering curiously at Steve’s sleeping form.
What now? Should he leave him on the couch?
He probably wouldn’t mind, but human necks were so fragile. It’d be sore the next morning.
He could just wake him up so he could go to bed on his own, but it had taken Steve so long to fall asleep, and he could afford to use some of his magic to get him to bed, right?
Loki sent a wave of magic at Steve to levitate, and with gentle power flowing from his fingers, slowly began to guide him towards his room.
For a moment, he found himself gazing at the man’s face. So relaxed, so trusting. Loki would never get used to it.
Steve’s shoulder thumped against the wall, jolting Loki back to concentration.
Loki cringed inwardly, expecting Steve to wake up and start freaking out about floating above the ground.
He didn’t. Blessedly, Steve appeared to be a deep sleeper, and Loki didn’t have any more trouble getting him to bed.
On the bedside table next to his bed, something caught Loki’s eye. A stone, orange and emitting a soft glow, so soft in fact, that Steve probably hadn’t even noticed it.
The Mind Stone.
What was it doing here? How did Steve find it? Did he even know what it was?
Regardless of the answer, Loki needed to keep it safe. He picked up the stone and sent it into his pocket dimension.
After that, Loki went back to the kitchen, and got out a recipe for apple pie.
He’d get more sleep tomorrow, when the Avengers left for their mid-evening meal.
“Sir,” Jarvis’ voice interrupted Tony’s mid-night workshop tinkering, “I would like to inform you that Loki is currently using unauthorized magic.”
Tony cursed, “Show me the footage.”
Jarvis pulled up the security feed on a holographic image, and Loki appeared on screen.
Tony laughed at what he saw.
The God of Mischief and Lies, using magic to float Captain America to bed.
Now he’s really seen everything.
He didn’t notice Loki slipping an object into his pocket dimension, the movement too quick and the flicker of magic too faint for the feed to register.