shieldborne | For magpiemythos

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For magpiemythos

((continued from here))

After a confusing, worrisome evening spent together, Steve seems to feel he and Loki have hit some kind of new level in their friendship. He's less wry and cagey, a little more overly solicitous and warm; still, in the cold light of day he's a lot more awkward about both physical and emotional intimacy, and if Loki reverts to his usual teasing banter, Steve will fall into the same comfort zone.

He thinks about him often when he's not there, though. Hoping he's found a safer, kinder way to fight his demons. Fearing he hasn't, and feeling helpless to do anything more about that than he already has. At least now, Loki won't have to initiate all their contacts. He'll get occasional texts and calls from Steve, asking if he wants something at a store, if he's seen x or y movie, whether he's all right.

The others are a little bemused about Steve's increasingly less subtle interest in their otherworldly acquaintance. Some of them are openly skeptical, afraid he could be being played, but since no one has anything against Loki, it remains a topic of quiet, civil debate.

It's early in the evening this time when Steve texts Loki. Just a brief note, and he doesn't entirely expect a response: They're trying to convince me to get a tattoo of a bald eagle with a tear running down its face. It's a conspiracy, they're all in on it.

I doubt it would last long with my healing factor even if I did.

How's your evening going?

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Steve shakes his head, visibly troubled by this comment. Sure, he knows Loki has a reputation. It's well-deserved, as far as he can tell, by the Loki belonging to this dimension, but the depression and self-loathing he's seen from this Loki seems too deep to be faked. He also can't see where he'd have anything to gain from it. Not from convincing just Steve, anyway. Maybe if he won all the Avengers over.

And that's clearly not something he's working on. He's friendly enough, but he's not reaching out to them the way he does to Steve.

"I don't..." Steve begins, licks his lips, considering, and then starts over, "I think it's wrong to be so dead-set on not being fooled that you refuse to respond when people ask you for something. Especially if it's something as simple as kindness. I was taking my chances at first, for that reason. Giving you the benefit of the doubt."

"I guess now I'm convinced. You're my friend." Maybe more than that, if he wants to be.

Loki could argue the point that if he were playing a long con, then who better to start with than Steve? Everyone liked him after all, and if Loki were to go long enough without taking advantage of his kindness, then it would start to wear down distrust in others.

And if anyone looked too harshly his way, Steve would likely defend him, so long as he'd not done anything wrong.

But then that was his nature to think of those things. At least he wasn't feeling self-destructive enough to actually bring the idea up, especially when Steve makes the admission he does.

"...D'you kiss all your friends then Steve?" Teasing sure, but there was a gentler sort of tone to it, as if the idea of having a friend pleased him. And it did, for all he was at the same time terrified of what it would mean for Steve in the long run.

Steve doesn't think he's being conned, is the bottom line, even if he doesn't have any solid logic or evidence as to why he's so certain. He may have had this conversation with one or more of the other Avengers, in fact, although clearly they're not worried enough to really hassle him or Loki about what's going on.

It's probably for the best Loki doesn't argue, though, especially if he's now going to tease Steve about kissing him.

And now it's Steve turn to look vulnerable, at least for a fleeting moment, opening his mouth to protest or explain, shutting it again, and then closing his eyes and tucking his forehead against Loki's. His face is flushed.

"Nope," he answers quietly. It's a deceptively simple reply.

He wasn't expecting that. He was expecting some sass back more than likely, maybe some blushing. But the vulnerability he glimpsed there, the honesty of such a simple reply actually brought Loki up short, the teasing comments he'd rather hide behind dying abruptly in the face of what was said, and what didn't need to be said as a result.

"Oh." Loki wasn't sure how to respond. Flippant responses just seemed a poor choice, and in his current state he wasn't sure how much emotional honesty he could put forth to get past that coping mechanism. But even the single word answer didn't sound upset.

He knew he wasn't, even as the implications of what the conversation might mean were starting to really rattle around his brain, a bit of pink creeping across his cheeks.

Steve immediately wants to apologize, play it off, backpedal to some place that would be emotionally safer for the both of them. He's a little overwhelmed now, though, himself. Afraid of this downward spiral Loki's caught in, afraid his own best intentions aren't enough to save him from it, and not so much because he's afraid of Loki's purported destiny as because it hurts to see him in pain.

Steve attaches to people quietly, subtly, but intensely.

'Oh' isn't much of an answer, but under the assumption no news is good news, Steve just gives a little nod. "You feeling well enough to change clothes yet, doll?"

Haha, oops. There's a telling little slip of the tongue. You know Steve's distracted when he lapses into 1940's slang.

Luckily he didn't backpedal. In Loki's current state of mind he certainly wouldn't react to that well, would jump to worst-case scenarios in his own head. For all there was a part of him that pointed out that Steve would be safer, happier away from him, he couldn't bring himself to push him away, especially now.

Still there was a bit of color to his cheeks as he smiled faintly at the little nickname, something in him easing a bit in response to that.

"Yeah. I think I can do it."

Okay, that blush is probably a good sign. Steve smiles down at him, relieved (although there's still a just a little lingering puppy-dog look in his own eyes; he has no idea what he's doing and can only hope it's not a bad thing). "Okay. Good. You got pajamas or sweatpants or anything? I'll get them out for you and help you change."

Which is kind of an intimate offer if you think about it, but since he's already had him naked on how own couch, he doesn't see any reason not to push ahead like it's perfectly okay.

Not like Loki really minded anyways. It would be up to Steve to decide how much nudity was too much on average because Loki wasn't bothered by it at all.

"There's pajama pants in the top drawer." Being nice in not pointing out that he normally didn't get much use out of them, at least for now. And he'd finally let himself be shifted to release Steve so the man could investigate the options while he started peeling out of the damp clothing, starting with his fingerless gloves and shirt. Steve would find... options at least. Most of them of some manner of silly print, like the ones covered in multicolored foxes, or the cat and cupcake pair, or the unicorns.

Variety~!

"Good," he disentangles himself slowly and gets up. His own clothes are damp from being pressed against Loki's, so he takes off his sweatshirt and hangs it over the doorknob, which leaves him in one of his too-snug white t-shirts. He'll worry about his jeans later.

"Do you have a dryer or anything? Or should I hang those up for you?" He's being solicitous, but he's not going to leave the room unless Loki really seems like he's comfortable with it. And in the meantime, he opens the indicated drawer and sifts through, finding the contents highly entertaining. The cats and cupcakes are about to be his first choice, except when he picks them up he finds a familiar shield pattern beneath them.

He can't not laugh. "Wha--Loki! Where did these come from? I didn't know anyone made anything like this..!"

He holds up the pants, deeply flushed and grinning. Steve has actually kept studiously away from any merchandise bearing his logo. He doesn't want royalties, for sure. Every now and again Tony brings something particularly awful to his or the team's attention (he didn't even know what a banana hammock was until a couple months ago), but none of them are trying to make money off their own images. So of course that leaves a door open for other people to do so.

"Hanging'll be just fine. Better than subjecting you to the basement." The one curse of his love of skinny jeans- when they're wet, there's no getting out of them on his own. So for the moment he'll sit and wait patiently, just shaking his head.

When Steve discovered the shield patterned pants? Loki couldn't help but grin in amusement at his reaction.

"Why Steve, where there's a will there's a way! Plenty of fans have popped up with some rather ingenious little cottage industries around you and your friends exploits." It took every fiber of self-control not to tell him about the non-merchandise side of things. He was enjoying the way Steve was blushing, but he didn't want to take things too far and spoil the fun.

"I'm not afraid of your basement," Steve says, smirking a little, but he doesn't object to not having to make the trip, either. He can just hang Loki's clothes over the shower curtain rod once he's out of them.

He holds the pajama pants up to his chest and strokes the material. Kind of nice. A little bit fuzzy, like flannel. "I'm not sure if I should be flattered or alarmed you apparently sought them out," he laughs again, and then makes up his mind and carries them over.

"Since you do have them, though. You may as well be wearing my logo on your ass as anyone else's."

"You should be, I'm fairly certain some of my neighbors are actual trolls. They certainly leave the laundry room as messy as trolls would anyways." Loki liked this better than the worry of before. Steve laughing and teasing in that easy sort of way that had drawn him to start bothering the man in earnest in the first place.

"Well if you want your shield on my ass, you're going to have to give me a hand getting these off of it first." The downside of his perchance for skinny jeans, given how even when they weren't soaked through they weren't the easiest to squirm in and out of. The things he does for fashion.

"I doubt it. Humans are plenty filthy on their own," Steve tells him cheerfully.

Okay. So they're both feeling better. Maybe there are a couple elephants still lurking in the corners of the room, but they seems to be okay with just lurking for the moment. They can drag them back out later. Steve finds himself craving just a little quiet time. Something soft and kind, for the both of them.

His ears are pink as he comes over to help Loki undress, though. "Are you sure you should wear them that tight? Not that they don't suit you--" Steve is kind of a leg man, regardless of the gender of the legs he's looking at, and he's noticed.

"But they're bound to pinch important parts sooner or later, aren't they?" He starts to help work Loki's shoes and socks off first. They'll definitely need to be out of the way.

Loki of course would be happy to leave those elephants to starve in the corner if he could get away with it.

"They're not too bad..." Said with a faint shrug before he was starting to work them over his hips, pretending that the pink cast to Steve's ears wasn't adorable and amusing. And the concept of the man appreciating the sight of him definitely did wonders for his ego, aside from the fact that the idea just was pleasing in general. "But when they get wet they might as well be cemented on."

His smile turned sly as he tilted his head, tone turning playfully innocent. "It's sweet of you to worry about all of my... important parts though."

Steve helpfully tugs on one leg, then the other, under the assumption that pulling them down without letting them roll or bunch will make it a little easier to get them off. He would be businesslike and try not to stare at his naked legs, except Loki is teasing now. Steve has been known to be chivalrous to the point of annoying, but he feels like he's being invited.

So he looks. He also leans down, once the pants are lowered past knee level, and plants a slow, close-mouthed kiss to the inside of Loki's left knee. "You're still cold," he observes without backing off more than an inch or two, and then straightens finish pulling the jeans off. "Should I get you a towel?"

Steve is absolutely being invited to look; especially as his efforts definitely do make sliding the pants off much easier. The kiss offered earns a slow smile from Loki, unable to help but let fingers graze through his hair in response. And of course he has no problem whatsoever with sitting naked, sorry Steve, you get to blush for the both of them on that count.

"A towel might not be a bad idea..." Better to dry off a bit more before he started pulling on dry clothing after all, and he could only guess that Steve might be a bit more comfortable if he wasn't cold and wet to cuddle up to as well.

Steve gives a little sigh and a slow-blink at the touch to his hair, but now that the clothes are available to be hung up, he feels like that's his primary duty here. He nods, giving Loki a lopsided, content little smile, and slips out of the room.

It doesn't take him long to hang up the clothes, and he checks the door locks and gets a glass of water and a couple towels before coming back. The former he sets on whatever flat surface it seems least likely to fall from, but then he tosses the towels at Loki lightly. "I'm gonna take my jeans off, too, okay?"

Because they're still a little bit wet. He knows saying it that way leaves him wide open for teasing, but at this point pretty much everything does and he's made peace with that.

Loki caught the tossed towels easily enough when Steve returned, turning his attention to drying off properly. Air-drying had taken care of most of the wet, but being able to towel off was nice in general, and meant he could get his hair a little less bedraggled in the process.

And at the clarification from Steve, he just flashed a smile from under the towel, pretending like he wasn't going to admire the view.

"Well you certainly won't hear me complaining..." Good thing Steve knew it was coming because it was a safe haven to avoid rough conversations and by god was Loki going to take advantage of that.

Unfortunately for Loki, perhaps, Steve hasn't been quite soaked to the skin. The t-shirt he has on, and his boxers, are still perfectly dry. He gives him a look anyway, but he strips off his jeans without a fuss and wanders off to hang them up in the bathroom, which probably gives Loki a pretty decent view of his retreating backside as well as his legs.

"You know," he says when he comes back in. "It's still a little weird some days, to look in a mirror and not see short, scrawny me. You'd think I'd have gotten used to it by now."

Boo. Oh well, he'll still admire what he can see of him when he heads out of the room again. Because goodness but Steve is nice to look at, especially with his perchance for tight t-shirts.

"It makes sense." Once Loki felt he'd gotten dry enough, the towels were tossed aside carelessly, focus going for the moment to kicking the damper blankets aside. One bonus of so many blankets meant that even without those there were plenty for them to settle into, happily enough. "Just because the outer wrapping changed doesn't mean you did. You're still the same you under all that muscle. Steve Rogers of Brooklyn, scrappy, too damn stubborn to admit defeat, and alarmingly lionhearted for such a scrawny thing."

A small shrug. "Same with me really. No matter what form I take, at my core I'm still the same as I always was. I just have the advantage of being able to change what I see in the mirror more easily."

Edited 2017-06-27 01:09 (UTC)

Well, if asked nicely he might lose another layer of clothing. Or at least the shirt. He's anticipating further cuddles, though, and that kind of physical closeness could get a little awkward when combined with total nudity. There's no diverting some physical reactions.

Meanwhile, though, Loki just hit a nerve, in an awfully good way. Steve's expression softens noticeably. "Y'know," he says softly, "I'm not sure sometimes. But thank you. You didn't even know me back then, but thank you."

He clambers up onto the bed beside him again and kisses his temple.

Dry and much comfier for the fact, it was simple enough to slip into pajama pants and tie them to stay before shifting himself up to settle properly. Steve following after was met with arms slipping around him as Loki shifted in closer, lips quirking to a soft sort of smile at the feel of that kiss.

"It's just the truth." Rare as it might be out of him at times. But he did find it easier to be honest with Steve more often than he did anyone else. It was definitely a nice change, and one Loki wouldn't pick at too hard out of fear of somehow spoiling it. "Though you're quite welcome."

Steve has a sudden urge to ask if Loki would still want this with him if he were the small, frail man he used to be, and not the living sculpture the serum's made him into. It's a moot question, though. Chances are he won't look like that ever again, and Loki just said he thinks he's the same inside. Maybe he just...misses himself.

But that's not the problem at hand, and he's quick to pull the other man in close and gather blankets around them. "Sometimes you're sweet," he tells him quietly.

If this was some one-night fling, the answer might not be so nice. But then those tended to be more about looks than anything on both sides of things, and this? Definitely wasn't that. Loki wasn't sure just yet what this was, but he knew that while the tall strong element of things was nice, that wasn't what made this so good. Tall and strong, or scawny and frail, Steve was still... Steve in that way that just delighted the trickster.

He's more than willing to cuddle into Steve's grasp with a quiet, pleased sort of hum, resting his head against his chest as the other man was bundling them securely into the blankets.

"Yeah? Good... falling for all of my clever schemes." Gentle teasing more than anything, almost a habit at this point to poke fun at Steve for falling into his traps and tricks, for all there was none of either, aside from small harmless games that either had the man laughing along with Loki, or at the worst, blushing and flustered.

"Mhm. You're clever scheme to get me into your bed seems to be working," he says, sliding down until he's almost completely reclined, with Loki leaning on him.

He says nothing more for a little while, then, adjusting to the warmth and intimacy, and stroking Loki's hair. It's so nice, so sweet, and he could just...let things go for now. Just enjoy this, and make it easier on them both.

But he can't do that, really, because they both know this has to stop. So after some time to organize his thoughts and gather his energy, Steve says, "I want to know who it was this time. He got way under your skin. I don't like that."

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