A/N: I got the idea for this one shot because of an imagine that I cannot find anymore. Basically it was an imagine about the reader dragging a very annoyed Loki to an aquarium, where he ends up mesmerized and in deep conversation with the researchers working there.
Please note that I am not a native speaker. If there are any grammar or spelling issues, please tell me. I want to improve where I can.
@orangefizzff I cannot thank you enough for your kind words. It means the world to me, really. I will tag you in every Loki fic.
‘Come on, Mary Poppins,’ you yelled from the hallway. You slammed your flat hand against a door repeatedly. It was starting to hurt as you had been at it for a while, but you ignored it. ‘You should know by now, I will not stop until you come out the door dressed and ready!’
The door was yanked open, revealing a very annoyed Loki. He was dressed up nicely in a black suit with a green shirt and a golden tie holder. His jaw was clenched and his eyes showed anger that unnerved you. You bit your lip suddenly doubting whether you really were the person that should be forcing him into all this.
Loki passed you without giving you a second glance. He pushed his hands deeply into his pockets as he made his way over to the elevator.
‘Explain to me again, brother, why my presence is needed?’ Loki sneered as he joined the others, pressing the button to close the doors. You quickly slid through the closing doors into the elevator.
Thor glared at his brother for his rude behaviour towards you, before giving you an apologetic look. You shrugged at him. Fidgeting with the hem of your sleeves you turned to face the doors. Your hair was loose, but otherwise you were dressed up formally, as were Tony, Steve, Thor and Loki.
‘There is a fundraiser at the aquarium, Rock of Ages,’ Tony mumbled putting his phone away as the elevator came to a stop.
‘I still don’t see why I must be present in the midst of some fish,’ Loki growled. He bluntly pushed you out of the way as he made his way to the limousine. You rubbed your arm where his large hand had slightly painfully gripped you.
You sighed, feeling a brick drop into your stomach. This was going to be a long night. Fortunately, you sat down opposite of Loki. At least he could not shove you out of the way during the ride. You could only imagine falling straight on your face during the ride.
‘You were always thriving during these sorts of meetings on Asgard, brother,’ Thor said laying a hand on his shoulder. ‘Those skills are what we need now.’
‘That notion makes it even more tedious,’ Loki said. He stretched his legs forward, promptly kicking your feet out of the way. You clenched your jaws.
‘Are you trying to murder me through stress induced cardiac arrest,’ you asked sarcastically through your teeth. Rage was burning in your eyes by now. Loki grinned, letting his tongue slip over his bottom lip. He let his eyes roam over the green dress you wore. You feared that might happen the moment you pulled it on, as it was one of his colours. You did regret it more as you saw the green shirt he was wearing. You matched, which implied things. However, not many colours would do well in a room illuminated by fish tanks, so the options were slim. A nagging voice in the back of your head told you just how many colours would do well, but you chose to ignore it again.
The moment you were inside, you made sure you were as far away from the God of Mischief as you could get. Chatting happily with Steve and some other guests, your night was proving to be better than expected. After an hour or so, Thor laid a hand on your shoulder. He looked troubled by something, which most probably was his brother.
‘Would you care for a dance, Lady Y/N?’ he mumbled. Steve took over your glass of wine with a smile. You made your way over to the small makeshift dancefloor to slowly move on the music of the violinist. You felt tiny in the presence of such a large man. Thor’s hand felt like he could cover the entire with of our back as he laid his hand on your waist.
‘What is wrong?’ you asked moving your lips as little as possible.
‘We lost sight of my brother,’ Thor mumbled. You snapped your eyes down to look around the room. ‘Tony is looking for him now.’
You cursed as softly as you could. Loki roaming free in an aquarium could result in all kinds of mischief that you could not even start to fathom. ‘You said he was good at this sorts of things?’
‘He is usually,’ Thor mumbled. ‘Though I believe he wished to please father. I have been blind to their troubled relationship.’
You smiled up at the worried man. ‘You cannot blame yourself for the actions of your father.’
‘Thank you, Lady Y/N’ Thor mumbled. Thor let it slide, but the guilt in him told him that he had been enjoying his own privilege too much to notice. He had been young, but the problem had been there in front of his eyes all along. He chose to ignore it, not to see it, use all the arguments he could to act like it was nothing. He chose not to stand with his brother and with it, helped him down the path he had eventually taken. You let go of him and stepped back as the music ended. Nodding slowly, you turned around. ‘Are you going to look for him as well?’
You grinned over your shoulder. ‘Looking for Loki? I would if it was not anything but wishful thinking, but you and I both know that Loki will not be found if he does not wish to.’
Thor clenched his jaws at the remark. Many encounters flashed before his eyes, before realisation settled. He clenched his eyes shut. For a Midgardian woman to explain such a thing to him…
You grabbed a glass of wine before you sat down in the window, looking at the fish move around with such ease. It was an amazingly beautiful sight. Such peacefulness was not often found in a city like New York, especially not when surrounded by Avengers.
‘What is that?’ a silk voice came from behind you. You smiled without looking over your shoulder. Only one person had a voice that could give you goose bumps. Too bad it belonged to such an insufferable person.
Loki glanced at you from the corner of his eyes. The dimple in your cheek formed by the smile made him swallow. He had witnessed the dance between you and his brother. The impact your words had had on his brother had blown him away.
‘That,’ you started, ‘is a stingray. I am not sure what kind of stingray, though.’ You watched the creature make its way up the glass. You took a sip of your wine before turning to face him. The sight of him caused you to blink a couple of times. It was a rare sight to see Loki enthralled. His jaws had finally unclenched. Your eyes made their way over to his shoulders, which were much more relaxed now. It made him less threatening. His eyes had turned an even more vibrant green in the blue light. Looking like this, the man was absolutely beautiful.
‘I saw some fish turn two times its size just now,’ Loki mumbled pulling his hands from his pockets. He stepped next to you to stand closer to the glass.
‘Puffer fish,’ you mumbled, rendered speechless by the sight of him. ‘Very poisonous.’
Loki nodded with a frown. He laid his hand on the glass, watching numerous amounts of fish move as one only to disperse as a large fish swam past them. He smiled ever so little at the sight, before removing his hand from the glass and glancing over at you. You had softened your expression to him, which startled him at first. The entire setting and the training he had had on Asgard made sure that he did not show any of the unwelcome emotion. He noticed you stopped biting your lip, your usual nervous behaviour was all gone. He had himself to blame for your previous reactions to him, though, and he knew it well. He had taunted you, made you his target for everything, pushed you over. It was a cowardice excuse to touch you if he was honest with himself. He would rather take a trip to Helheim than admit that.
When he had first arrived, the politeness and kindness had thrown him off. To be honest he did not know how to act around people like you. He was not used to people giving him an honest chance and as he was sure he would destroy that part of you. He would make sure that the image the Avengers had of you, would be the way you looked at him very soon. Yet, it seemed like it did not work. You were nervous around him as you readied yourself for the next unpleasant experience, but the hatred Loki had been waiting for never appeared.
‘Care to dance,’ Loki said holding his hand out for you. You smiled at him, taking the hand so he could help you up.
‘Later,’ you said grabbing his hand. ‘I wish for you to meet some people.’
‘Lovely,’ Loki growled softly.
Loki’s jaws clenched, annoyance rising again. He had met enough people here to know that they all were pretending to be things they most certainly were not. He was yet to run into someone to have a proper conversation with. Thor had been right about one thing, he had been in his element here. He did not enjoy people that tried to manipulate him with every move they made, but he knew how to play those games well.
However, he noticed his own body had betrayed him the moment you laid your hand on his elbow. He had not fully grasped it, but he was already well on his way to meet these people.
Introductions were short and Loki could not be bothered by listening to the names. It was when you squeezed his arm that he came to pay attention. You had asked a question about how the puffer fish grow.
You smiled as Loki was suddenly indulged in conversation with the professors. You had known Loki to be a frequent reader and very intelligent, but to see him speak so easily with the professors blew you away. He seemed to speak with the men and women in a language you did not understand. Sure, you were quite versed on most subjects. As you were hired to deal with Public Relations to take the load off of Pepper, you had to know something about everything.
Loki had not realized you had silently excused yourself, making your way back to the glass behind which another world lived. This time you leaned your aching back happily against the cold glass. You had been standing for too long and those heels were making you pay. Steve soon joined you, looking exhausted.
‘I informed Tony and Thor you found him,’ he mumbled. ‘Nice move there, kid.’
You grinned over the edge of the glass before taking a sip of wine, looking at Loki grin with the professors as some researchers joined the conversation. ‘Thank you, gramps. I am just glad he is in a better mood now.’
Steve raised an eyebrow at you, smirking a little. You knew what he was implying, but you refrained from making a comment on it. Better not indulge the man.
‘Are you, now?’ Tony chimed in, wiggling his eyebrows. You sighed and rolled your eyes, before biting your lip softly. Of course Tony would take the opportunity. Steve started laughing, before shaking his head slowly. The glass of wine in your hand was quickly empty.
You stretched your muscles before looking at yourself in the mirror. It was good to be home again. The night had been long, but the network had broadened once again, though you doubted anything useful would come from it. You made your way from your bathroom over to your living area and dropped on the couch. You were just about to take off your shoes, when a knock came at the door. You sighed deeply, putting your foot back on the floor and straightening your back.
‘It’s open!’ you yelled too tired to stand up and open the door.
The door creaked open, revealing the blinding light of the hallway. You had only lit a small light next to the couch. The soft lighting helped you relax. Loki stepped in and closed the door behind him.
‘I must apologize, Lady Y/N,’ he said making his way over to you.
You frowned with a little smile. ‘What for?’ Again, that voice reduced yours, add that graceful walk into the mix and you were reduced to the vocabulary of a toddler.
‘I asked you to dance, yet I was drawn into the conversations that I lost my sense of time,’ Loki said. ‘There are apparently creatures on this world that do not stop moving when sleeping.’
You laughed softly by just how taken he was by the aquarium. ‘Next time, we should go to a tropical garden with butterflies and terrariums,’ you said to him.
A playful smirk was flashed at you. ‘My, my,’ Loki said. ‘Are you asking me out on a date?’
You blushed deeply and bit you lip again. You stood up from your seat on the couch to give yourself some posture to hide the awkwardness. Loki bent down to grab your hands, placing one on his shoulder and holding one. He waved his hand before laying it on your waist. You looked around as music started playing, but the source could not be found.The beautiful sounds of a piano made you smile softly.
‘How about this Friday,’ Loki whispered in your ear as you started dancing. He was a lot closer than Thor had been, your chests almost touching. Feeling brave, you let your hand travel from his shoulder, under his arm to his back. Loki grinned as he closed the slim distance between you. ‘I’ll take you to dinner after.’
You smiled and turned a deep red. ‘I would like that.’ You laid your head on his shoulder, inhaling his scent greedily. ‘Or you could take me back to the aquarium and teach me what you have learnt.’
You could feel Loki smirk wider. ‘That,’ he mumbled,‘I shall accept as a second date.’
