For magpiemythos

[shieldborne]

((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?

Comments

[shieldborne]

That's fine. If they just lie there together making bad innuendo at one another, that'll still be fun. Like a sleepover for grown-ups.

Steve looks down at his shirt, which is sticking to his chest a little now. He has, since his reemergence from the ice, heard of wet t-shirt contests, and isn't quite sure he gets the point. "You forgot 'reckless'" he tells Loki and then peels the shirt off, wringing it out over the sink carefully. "Guess I better hang this up too."

[magpiemythos]

Oh Steve, he's starting to think you're just a good time all around. A good time who is absolutely the reason for wet t-shirt contests whether he realized or not.

"You mean that doesn't go without saying at this point?" Not that it was always a bad thing. He'd worry of course, as strong as Steve was he was still human, but here and now a little recklessness didn't hurt anything. It was part of the quintessential Steve Rogers charm after all, for all Loki was somewhat convinced it would leave him with grey hairs.

Not that he would admit that. That spoke to a level of caring that he had a hard time accepting he felt.

But for the moment that wasn't something he was concerned with, slipping in under his arm to tuck himself at his side with a content-sounding hum.

"Can do it on the way."

[shieldborne]

A lot of people think Steve looks like a good time, it's just few are willing to put in the effort it takes to get past his defenses. Sooner or later someone is going to get the bright idea of asking him to pose for a pin up calendar for charity or something, with or without a wet t-shirt. Actually, it's possible people have already contacted Tony's PR team for the Avengers, and been firmly rebuffed. Or asked to try back later.

Steve smiles at him and lets him slide in close, only to realize bare skin is more sensitive and shiver a little at the touch. He bites his lower lip, nodding sheepishly, and heads back down the hall. He doesn't see any reason to be too meticulous with the t-shirt, so he ends up just draping it over the side of the sink.

[magpiemythos]

Loki is more surprised than anything that he'd somehow gotten past Steve's defenses. Not that he minded it in the least, finding the idea pleasing in equal measure. Not that this was surprising, Steve was ridiculously attractive even without taking into account his personality and playful sass.

He's also well aware of that little shiver lips quirking to a small pleased sort of smile as he deliberately nuzzled in a bit more securely, though clearly that wasn't on purpose it was just that he was so enjoying how close they were.

Which was true too.

[shieldborne]

Steve doesn't say anything as they wander back to the bedroom, just tilting his head to give a light nuzzle to Loki's hair. He's acutely aware he's in nothing but his underwear right about now, and he's not 100% sure where this is going, but at the moment he doesn't feel like he needs to know in advance.

He pulls back the covers for Loki--or he tries to, anyway. There are a lot of layers of covers here, so many that he starts to look amused. "Just a little bit of a hedonist," he teases, and gives him a gentle shove as if to push him onto the bed.

"There's a mattress under here somewhere, right?"

[magpiemythos]

If asked, Loki isn't entirely sure. He wants contact and closeness and affection but beyond that he can't say for sure how far he might push for those things or what shape they might take. As it was he let himself be pitched back onto the bed with a low laugh, settling in under the covers and catching Steve's hand with his to tug him in after. Time to get comfortable!

"Only a little?" Said with a grin and a raised brow. "Honestly Steve it's like you don't know me at all."

He was only teasing though, clear in the playful, easy tone he spoke with.

[shieldborne]

"Oof!" Steve doesn't try to resist the tug after him, but he does make an effort not to roll on him, laughing. Once he's down, he slides a little lower, so he's at about the same level across from him as he would be if they were standing on the ground. Just a couple inches shorter, compared to the godling.

"Uh-huh," he says, and slings an arm across his waist companionably. "I bet you don't even make your bed ever. Are you a bad influence on me, or am I a good influence on you?"

[magpiemythos]

"Why would I? I'm just going to mess it up again the next night."

Steve would wind up with Loki snuggling right in on him once he'd settled, arms slipping around him to keep them close with a small, pleased hum somewhere low in his throat, nuzzling the man's hair in the process. This... this was good. He liked this.

"Maybe... a little of both?" Murmured with a kiss pressed to Steve's forehead, fingers stroking idly against his side.

[shieldborne]

"Because it's just the thing you're supposed to do," Steve grins. "You'd never get away with that in the army."

Oh. Ohh. There's a moment of awkward resettling as Steve adjust to being cuddled this intimately, and then he sort of melts, curling into the embrace and giving a sigh that seems to originate somewhere deeper than his chest. "Both sounds fair," he agrees softly.

The kiss makes him shiver a little. "Mmnnn." That's articulate. His fingers curl, brushing against Loki's skin in much the same manner, if somewhat less deliberately. "Well, I'm honored to be an extra pillow..."

[magpiemythos]

"Because I'm totally the sort to do things because I'm supposed to. That makes me wanna do it even less." He was a contrary thing at the best of times. "Good thing I'm not enlisting hm?"

He sighed quietly, pleased at the response his affections were getting, fingers splaying lightly to let his palm settle against warm skin in response as he chuckled, a soft sort of thing. Another kiss to his forehead then one in his hair to follow, a smile on Loki's lips as he did so.

"You're not just some spare pillow, you're my favorite pillow." Might as well keep teasing, right?

[shieldborne]

"I wouldn't recommend it," Steve agrees contentedly. "Enlisting, I mean. Food's terrible, they make you clean everything in the barracks twice a week...plus people try to kill you. Not much fun, overall."

He's capable of being flippant, especially lying in bed next to someone warm and just a bit handsy. In the nicest way possible.

"Your favorite, huh? Is that because I'm the only pillow who'll make you blueberry pancakes?" Ahh, literal pillow talk! Steve gives a muffled chuckle and then nuzzles up under his chin to give him a kiss of his own.

[magpiemythos]

"I don't know, it's not all bad..." He considered the idea, tilting his head playfully. "You do look awful nice in the uniform."

Flippancy was entirely alright. Loki did enjoy Steve's irreverent humor, just one of those things that made him so enjoyable to be around.

"Well, the pancakes are a very nice perk yes," Oh yes he is good with getting kisses. And his hands might just be moving over skin instead of staying in place, along sides, around to slide up Steve's back. "That and you are especially snuggly."

[shieldborne]

Well, tilting his head, playfully or not, is just going to encourage Steve to take advantage of the exposed skin of his throat. He's gentle, moving slow so as not to push his luck, but he also seems uncannily good at finding the pulse point to one side of Loki's neck and kissing softly there.

He makes a soft, low sound, evidently approving of the stroking he's getting. He arches his back a little to encourage it, then cuddles closer. "Snuggly, hm? Guess I'll take that if it gets me this kind of attention."

[magpiemythos]

Not that Loki seemed to mind this attention in the least. In fact, the brush of warm lips against his throat just earned a quiet, pleased sort of hum from him, as he let his head tip a bit more deliberately in invitation.

"Oh it does." Hands continuing to move, letting short black nails scrape gently over skin, until his fingers were moving up through the short hair at the nape of Steve's neck.

[shieldborne]

Steve kisses and mouths gently, unhurried, but when he feels the light scratch of nails his draws his breath in a soft hiss of approval. It's anything but painful, just a prickle of sensation that contrasts to the pleasant soft all around him.

"That...that's really nice," he sighs, going still for a moment to enjoy the stroking through his hair. "God. Don't do anything you're not feeling up for, okay?"

Because Loki has definitely had a rough evening. Steve is up for anything that will make it a bit better (especially this; if he's honest with himself, the thought of cuddling and lovemaking hasn't really left his head since they started shedding clothes); he just doesn't want either of them to overdo it.

[magpiemythos]

The nails definitely aren't meaning to hurt; he doesn't have it in him right then to be rough or sharp, and he can only guess that Steve wouldn't really be interested in that sort of thing at this point anyways.

"Mhmm..." Loki's assent was more a lightly throaty purr than a confirmation as he enjoyed the feel of Steve's mouth on him. Soft and gentle, not something he'd normally go seeking out but it seemed to be working to help further soothe those ragged edges he always seemed to have. "I... want this. You."

Quietly said more than anything, but true all the same. He knew Steve would be worried about him, decided that some clear confirmation would help keep him from getting too worried about the idea of this. Besides, if there was anyone he trusted to be good to him in this moment, with that vulnerability still lurking so close to the surface?

It was Steve, hands down every time.

[shieldborne]

Steve is surprisingly okay with pain when it does crop up. Somewhere deep down he's got a masochistic streak, at least for physical pain. Emotional pain, not so much. He prefers not to dish out as much as he can take, though, and delivering gentleness is much, much easier for him.

"I do too," he murmurs against his skin. "Just take it easy and don't let me go too far, 'kay?"

He's pretty sure he can trust Loki to say stop if he wants him to stop. He strokes up and down his back a little, lazy and affectionate. He's been given a lot of concessions tonight. A lot of leeway, from a surprisingly private and defensive man; that's an expression of tenderness in itself.

[magpiemythos]

Pain has it's place. And it can be used to lovely effect as a counterpoint to pleasure, especially when for a change one doesn't have to worry as much about the durability of their partner. They can just cut loose, sink into sensation and just be in that moment. But here and now wasn't about that. It was languid, gentle and sweet in a way that Loki couldn't rightly say he indulged in often, if ever.

"Can do." Agreed in a casual sort of tone, but it was true. If only because he knew how important it was to Steve that he do so. But he didn't think he'd be needing to call a stop, not this time. Unable to help but shift against him, almost as if he was uncertain if he wanted to stay nestled in close, or lean into the hands running over his back more.

Either one sounded good.

[shieldborne]

Some nights lend themselves more to one mood or another. They've been playful tonight, and tender, and Steve is ready to let go and be as affectionate as his instincts tell him to be. His caresses are lingering, lavish, and after a moment he rolls over a little so that he's lying halfway on top of Loki.

"I kinda like the excessive pillows and blankets," he tells him, leaning in to nibble the shell of his ear. "It feels sort of Arabian Nights or something. Opulent and cushy and warm."

Which is not the kind of thing Steve goes for, normally. He's all about the tidy double bed with hospital corners tucked into the sheets. Maybe the contrast to the norm does something for him.

[magpiemythos]

Loki has no patience for sharper dealings tonight. He's tapped emotionally, and would like nothing more but to sink into the affection that Steve was lavishing upon him. It's not his usual preference, but with his mood as it was, Steve's sweet behavior was just what he needed.

"Do you?" Murmured around a soft sigh for the attention to his ear, hands sliding down his back again when Steve moved over him, nails trailing lightly down his spine. "Might not be able to bounce a quarter off it, but when winter rolls around all these blankets are amazing."

He knows Steve's more about the neat and in it's place aesthetic, whereas Loki is in for casual chaos. Nothing too undone or messy, but more in the realm of... cheerfully hectic. Between that, and him being a hedonistic thing at best, it was little surprise his idea of the norm was a king sized bed with ungodly amounts of blankets and pillows.

[shieldborne]

Loki has discovered a sensitive spot. Steve breathes in another hiss of delight and his back arches as the nails move down his spine. On some level, his body remembers where the weak points used to be. The heart--the chest--and the spine that was once crooked and aching all the time. Now those places are sensitive, and the right touch sends heat sparking all the way down to his toes.

"Geez...mnnh. That's...that felt pretty great," he murmurs vaguely against Loki's neck, sliding down a little to get at his collarbones and the upper part of his shoulder.

"Sounds like heaven," he adds. "How about next time it snows I come over with cocoa and donuts and we'll do this again? The nice parts, at least."

[magpiemythos]

"Yeah?" Loki couldn't help the lazy grin scrawling over his features, maybe not as sharp as usual, something a bit more relaxed. Hands moving still, touch lightly running along Steve's waist, fingers playing over the tops of his hips. "Guess I'll have to find all those nice little spots, hm?"

Steve wasn't doing too bad himself, if the soft noise of approval was any hint, the way Loki squirmed lightly under him.

"Sounds amazing. You can always come and help me set up my Christmas tree too. Make an evening of it." It was a silly thing to be sure, but Loki did like all the wintertime holidays and certainly didn't mind indulging in getting himself a tree to decorate.

[shieldborne]

"By all means," Steve says, sliding down and tangling their legs together. "Please, keep looking."

Hell, he may find some spots Steve didn't even know he had.

He kisses along his collarbone and gives him a gentle scrape of teeth there, not quite a bite so much as an open-mouthed kiss with a twist. Then he gives a happy little chuckle. "Christmas tree. I would love that."

They have one at the tower, too, but it's very posh by Steve's standards, funded largely by Tony. Which is nice, but there's a lot to be said for little and handmade and intimate, too.

[magpiemythos]

"You're not doing too bad yourself." It took trust, to let someone near him, to bare his throat to anyone even if it was just for kisses. But with Steve he was discovering that trust came easily, that he didn't mind letting him in as much as others. And if he thought on why that was, he'd likely panic because of the emotion it suggested, but for now he was swept up in the moment and content to stay that way, hooking an ankle around Steve's when he tangled them in a bit more securely.

"Mhm. We can go pick one out and everything, the whole nine yards."

[shieldborne]

Steve may not realize quite how much trust he's getting at the moment. Throat kisses are one of his favorites, and sharing them is instinctive. He seems to be settling into what he's doing now, satisfied he's not going to be told off any time soon. He's intent on peppering soft kisses all across Loki's skin, leaving no spot untouched as he works his way down to his chest.

"You mean that?" He sounds eager, excited by the idea although it's a long time between now and Christmas. "That would be amazing. I'll bake you mediocre Christmas cookies."