Steve/Loki: If the Asgardians had gotten to settle on Earth without Thanos attacking them, what do you think Steve's reaction to Loki being around would be? And how would a potential romance between them grow?
lordy I’m actually writing a fic that is this exact premise that is currently known as the “90 pages and no kissing” fic. Loki is still referring to Steve as “Rogers.” They’ve just gone on the run together though so that’s a step in the right direction!
basically the situation there is that Steve-as-fugitive shows up in disguise to help the Asgardians settle in, and no one knows that Loki is around because for obvious reasons that would be bad, since it’s complicated enough already for Thor trying to deal with the Sokovia Accords and what they mean for Asgard (nothing particularly good). Steve learns that Loki is there by accident, and it is a weird experience for him.
because of the situation, he can’t really do anything about it without putting both himself and Thor at risk, so he’s stuck observing Loki, who is very different from what Steve remembers in a lot of really significant ways, and Steve is just...trying to figure him out, and meanwhile Loki, who is spectacularly lonely on account of being in hiding from almost everyone and basically just talking to Thor, Val, and sometimes Heimdall and Bruce, starts talking to Steve mostly because he thinks it’s funny. (also maybe because he’s interesting to talk to, and a new person, and along with lonely Loki is also bored as hell.)
there’s a lot of them dancing around each other, Steve trying to figure out Loki’s deal, Loki poking at Steve and trying to figure out his ulterior motives while also just kind of wanting someone to talk to - and then things go tits up and they end up leaving Asgardia together to go on the run.
and yeah, anyway, that’s the point I just got to, Loki is still referring to Steve exclusively by his last name and refusing to admit to feeling any kind of attachment to him, and Steve is still trying to figure out what the hell Loki’s deal is but by now has realized that things are complicated, that Loki is complicated, and he would like to know more. (also that Loki is...weirdly good company, when he’s not trying not to be.)
the whole thing is really long and (predictably) very out of hand (surprise, surprise) and answering this ask is reminding me how excited I am about the damn thing and making me want to go back and pick it up as a focus fic again more deliberately, so in thanks for that here have an excerpt
Rogers’ frown deepened. “So what happens if people do find out you’re here?” he asked. “Do you have a plan for that?”
“Are you asking out of concern I’d start a bloodbath?” Loki asked mildly. Rogers twitched, but didn’t disagree. “No,” he said after a long beat to let him be nervous. “I would not. I considered it,” he added, “but ultimately it would be...unproductive.”
Rogers’ expression of consternation was profoundly rewarding. “Unproductive,” he said. Loki smiled thinly at him. “Is that really the only reason you wouldn’t start killing people?”
It wasn’t. Not entirely. There had been other factors in that decision, but he wasn’t going to discuss those with Rogers. “What do you think?”
Rogers shook his head in lieu of answering. “So what is your plan, then? I assume you have some kind of contingency.”
“You assume correctly,” Loki said.
“But you aren’t going to share,” Rogers said. The corner of his mouth tipped upward, creating a crooked smile. “Because I might tell someone.”
“Don’t take it personally,” Loki said. “I haven’t told Thor, either.”
That surprised him. “Why not?”
Because I don’t want him to fret about the possibility more than he already does. Because I don’t want him to know too much if it’s a choice between handing me over and the fate of Asgard. Because I don’t want him to argue with me about something that may never happen.
“Habitual paranoia,” Loki said. Rogers looked like he couldn’t decide whether to be amused or not.
“Sounds tiring,” he said.
“One gets used to it.”
