Chapter 18
“Here.” Tony holds a shiny piece of plastic out to Loki. “You’re going into the city to buy some new clothes. I would have ordered you some, but I’m not quite sure what you like.”
They both know that Tony could have bought enough clothes that Loki would statistically have to like some of it. But Loki appreciates the silent acceptance, and the silent trust. Though she’s been out of the cuffs for a while, free reign of the city is not something she expected.
“Peter’s going with you, though,” Tony says. “Don’t want you to get lost.”
“I don’t need a babysitter!” Loki says. She likes Peter, but still.
“You don’t even know how to navigate the city.”
“I could figure it out.” Loki pouts a little.
“Yes, I know you could.” Tony sighs, still holding the card out towards Loki. “But Peter never lets me buy him anything. So I was hoping you could also make sure he treats himself.”
“Fine,” Loki says. And then, though she hates admitting she doesn’t know something, she asks “What even are you handing me?”
“Oh,” Tony laughs a little. “It’s a credit card. You buy things and I get billed for it later.”
A wicked smile crosses Loki’s face. “Sounds great.” She snatches the credit card and starts walking away.
“Wait,” Tony says. “I get that the bruise is to fuck with Thor, and I totally respect that, but could you maybe hide it in public? If the press catches onto you, and I hope they don’t, looking like we beat you up is not going to bode well for us.”
“Fine,” Loki says. “Do I have a spending limit?”
“If you did, could I even expect you to acknowledge it?” Tony asks.
Loki smiles back at him, a little gentler this time. “Probably not.”
“You’re really just going to let her wander around unaccompanied.” Natasha stares at Tony. “In the city she tried to take over.”
Tony shrugs. “Peter’s going with her.”
“Peter is a civilian.” Natasha raises an eyebrow. “Unless, of course, he isn’t.”
Tony sighs. “How long have you known?”
“When he first started hanging around.” Natasha shrugs. “Us spiders have to stick together.”
Tony nods. He has tried his hardest to keep Peter safe and anonymous but of course Natasha found out. “Does anyone else know?”
“I think Clint has some suspicions,” Natasha says. “That boy has no idea how to be stealthy.”
“Would you possibly, maybe want to help him with that?” Tony asks. At Natasha's stare he shakes his head. “It is my responsibility to keep Peter safe. But sometimes I feel like I have no idea what I’m doing.”
Natasha nods slowly. “I’ll think about it.”
“Do pockets just… not exist anymore?” Loki looks sadly at the pile of clothes inside the dressing room.
“In girl clothes, not really,” Peter says from outside the dressing room. “That’s what purses are for, theoretically.”
Loki sighs. “But I need to carry things!”
“Like knives?” Peter laughs.
“Yes!” Loki says. “And other weapons.”
Peter laughs louder, and Loki steps out of the dressing room. She’s wearing a pale green dress that cinches in at her waist and falls down to her ankles. She spins, clearly delighted by the way the skirt swirls around her.
“You look nice,” Peter says. “You should get that.”
Loki stares back into the dressing room mirror, studying herself. She smiles.“I do look nice.”
They leave that store with a frankly upsetting amount of shopping bags. Loki pretended not to notice the way Peter’s eyes widened when he saw the total price. (Loki also definitely didn’t slip every single t-shirt she saw Peter looking at into the pile. Not at all.)
At some point, the two of them start slipping things they think the other would like into their piles. Loki hands Peter a t-shirt with Spider-Man swinging towards the skyline, and Peter hands Loki a necklace with the sun motif from Tangled on it.
“Ready to go home?” Peter asks Loki. Loki starts to argue that the tower isn’t her home, when the sight of red-and-gold flashing across the sky catches her eye.
Peter follows her gaze, eyes widening. “I should go help.”
Loki sighs. She knows Peter is one of Migardian's "superheroes" because he is the least subtle person she has ever met. But just because the Avengers are fighting something doesn’t mean that Peter has to.
Peter is already a few steps away when Loki grabs his arm. “Are you really just going to leave me here?”
Peter blushes. “You could find your way back.”
Loki puts her hands on her hips. “Are you serious? If Stark needed you in on this, wouldn’t he have called you? I really don’t think that this is a good idea.”
Peter sighs and turns back towards Loki. “Fine. You’re right. Let’s just go to the tower.”
Loki nods, picking back up the dozen or so shopping bags. “I’m so glad you agree.”