Chapter 14
When the Avengers left a few days later on a day mission out-of-country, Loki took his cat form again to make up for the lost sleep.
He must’ve really needed sleep, because he didn’t hear anyone entering his room, and before he realized it, a metal hand stroking his fur jolted him awake.
To be fair, sleeping on the floor in Steve’s room, he hadn’t expected the Winter Soldier to simply walk in.
He froze, considering whether to strike or run, but he stopped short when the man spoke.
“Why would Steve get a cat?” The Soldier muttered, as though expecting him to answer, “I thought he was a dog person.”
Loki peered at the Soldier for a moment.
Long, unkempt brown hair, an old t-shirt and jeans.
No mask.
With the lower half of his face left uncovered, he almost looked like a normal human being.
He didn’t appear to have any weapons, but he didn’t exactly need any. The greatest one was already running up and down Loki’s side.
The Soldier leaned forward slightly, and the tags around his neck clinked, gleaming for all the world to see.
Steven G. Rogers.
The Soldier stood up, and started looking around the room.
As soon as The Soldier turned his back, Loki shifted forms and grabbed him by the throat, pinning him against the wall.
Instantly, The Soldier kicked him away.
Clumsily, Loki tried to punch him, and missed.
The Soldier grabbed his arm and twisted it behind him, pushing him to the ground.
“I knew it,” he sneered, pressing his face harder against the carpet.
Loki drew in a sharp breath.
The Soldier scoffed, and the pressure on his hands and back disappeared.
“I’m not gonna kill you,” he said, and stood up.
Loki slowly sat up, gazing warily up at the intruder, “How did you get—?“
“The arm?”
“—The tags,” Loki pointed to them, and stood up, “How did you get them?”
The Soldier picked up the tags, looking at them as though for the first time.
“I don’t know,” he paused, staring at nothing in particular, “I thought I—My name. It isn’t my name.”
“And what is?”
“ . . . Bucky.”
“Barnes?” Loki muttered under his breath, but the Soldier caught it.
He nodded, slowly.
“Yeah.” He looked at Loki, silent for a moment. “But you’re not the man I recognized.”
“Steve?”
But all the Soldier did was stare, his expression blank.
Loki opened his pocket dimension, and took out the shield. He’d started carrying it around with him when Steve wasn’t using it. It came in handy when there were surprise attacks and he could just grab it out of thin air. Steve seemed to like the convenience of it.
“Steve?” He repeated, gesturing to it.
Bucky nodded, “This is his room.”
“Yeah,” Loki said, ignoring the look that Bucky gave him, the look that questioned why he’d chosen to sleep in Steve’s room.
Steve’s room had the best sun this time of the day, okay? (It definitely wasn’t because he felt safer there than anywhere else).
“What are you doing in it?” Loki asked before Bucky could do the same.
“I don’t know . . . who I am. He does,” Bucky answered tentatively, and glanced out the window, “Or did.”
“Oh.”
This was getting messed up. Real quick.
He hadn’t lied, that much Loki could tell. Which only meant one thing.
Hydra brainwashed him.
Steve would be devastated.
Bucky had shown up when no one else was around; it was clear he didn’t want anyone to know he was here.
But the Avengers wouldn’t return for another few hours, so Loki knelt down next to Steve’s bed, and pulled out one of the many boxes kept under it.
Curious, Bucky sat across from him on the floor.
“I might just be able to help you,” he said, plucking a little red wind-up car from the box and handing it to Bucky.
“Who are you?” Bucky asked, “How do you know Steve?”
Who is he to you?
“He’s a friend.”
In the couple of hours they spent together, Loki answered as many questions as he could about both Bucky and Steve. By the time Loki dismissed Bucky from the tower, they’d exchanged numbers and promised to meet up again soon.
Loki decided not to tell Steve about the Winter Soldier just yet, and resolved to resume his nap.
Half an hour later, Natasha burst into the room, surprising Loki out of his sleep.
“I have a favor to ask you,” she announced.
Albeit a little annoyed, Loki shifted to listen to Natasha explain the bet she had made with Stark. Apparently, Tony had bet her that she couldn’t get Loki to paint his nails.
Had he ever met Loki?
“He said you would think it’s too girly,” Natasha explained.
Wasn’t Tony also the one that effectively made The Raven a gender-fluid icon?
Since when did Loki care about what people thought of him?
Admittedly, Loki hadn’t really come out to the team yet, but still!
So that was how Loki ended up sitting on the living room couch, legs crossed and blowing strands of his too-long hair out of his face, while Natasha painted his nails a bright hot pink.
“Wanna know the secret ingredient?” Natasha said, painting what seemed like the tenth layer of nail polish.
Loki shrugged, but Clint, who had been sitting next to Natasha on the couch, grinned.
Natasha fought a grin, “Rattlesnake venom. Perfectly harmless.”
Um, no? Pretty sure it’s not.
Again, no? Loki read the label; rattlesnake venom wasn’t listed among the ingredients. Unless Natasha added it herself.
Well, she could’ve. He wouldn’t put it past her.
“ . . . When it’s dry,” She leaned toward Clint, slowly dragging her hand along across his cheek, but not actually touching him.
Clint laughed, and swatted her hand away.
Loki had never been so confused. He glanced from Natasha’s face to Clint’s, and back again, searching for some sort of explanation.
Clint ignored him, as usual, but Natasha seemed to understand he needed an explanation.
“What? You’ve never seen the movie?”
“What movie?”
“I guess we know which movie we’re watching next week,” Natasha said, turning back to Clint.
“Oh!” Clint gasped, as if suddenly remembering something, “I’ve got a few new jokes to try out.”
Natasha groaned, her head falling back against the couch.
“Come on,” Clint exaggerated, “You love my jokes.”
“They’re dad jokes,” Natasha accused.
“Of course they are,” Clint said, sounding exasperated, “I’m a dad.” He gestured towards himself, “Duh. I have to collect them all.”
Natasha just rolled her eyes.
Clint took that as his signal to begin.
“Okay,” he said, holding both his hands up and sitting up straighter, “The Past, Present, and Future walk into a bar.”
He gives Natasha a grin, and says, “It was tense.”
His only reward was the smirk that Natasha gave him.
“Alright, here’s another one,” Clint said, holding his hands up again, “My boss told me to attach two pieces of wood.”
Why would Fury want him to—?
“I totally nailed it!” Clint cut off the thought.
A soft, breathy sound escaped through Natasha’s nose as she suppressed a laugh.
“Alright, Tasha,” Clint said, again, “Tell me, can February March?”
“ . . . no?”
“Perhaps not,” Clint shrugged, “but April May!”
Natasha laughed, and Loki smiled, the energy starting to become infectious.
“Want to hear another one?” Clint asked, excited, “I’ve got one about paper.”
Silence.
“Not really,” Natasha said, a teasing smile lingering behind it.
“That’s fine,” Clint grinned mischievously, “It’s tearable anyway.”
Natasha frowned stoically at that one.
Loki laughed, a quiet ehehehe, but it was enough for Clint to burst out laughing.
“You like that?” he asked, overjoyed, all bitterness towards Loki forgotten, “There’s more where that came from!”
Loki received a text later that first night from Bucky, asking when they should meet again. Loki told him to meet him outside the bake shop for a walk.
But there was still the possibility that people might see him.
Bucky had seen him.
“Look for Skylor Walker,” Loki sent after staring at the text for a while, “She’s my civilian cover.”
Bucky sent back a thumbs up emoji.
Hmm.
The next morning, Loki didn’t really feel like being the Raven, but he couldn’t exactly be Loki in public, either, so he cast the transformation spell and left for the bake shop, feeling a little more self-conscious than he’d expected.
He’d only just met Bucky; why was he so worried about what he would say?
Bucky had already been waiting when he got there, sitting on a park bench outside. He stood up when he saw Loki.
“Skylor?” He said, uncertain.
Loki nodded, and gestured for him to follow.
“Where are we going?” Bucky asked after walking beside him for a few minutes.
“A dance studio,” Loki answered, “I believe Steve once said you loved to dance.”