Was it Worth It?: You need a last minute date to meet some old high school friends and Loki is more than happy to help.
Was it Worth It? Part 2: A continuation of the story above.
Broken Glass: Google defines broken as "having given up all hope; despairing."
STEPHEN STRANGE
We Never Were Friends: You get stood up on a date and Stephen being the gentleman that he is refuses to let your night go to waste.
BUCKY BARNES
Sunflower: Even though you have no memory of it, you’ve been told that you used to work with HYDRA. Tony won’t let you read any of the files he has on you, but you’re not taking no for an answer.
Sunflower Part 2: This is a continuation to the story above.
THOR ODINSON
Being an Avenger is Hard: Like really hard. And finding love is even harder.
PETER PARKER
Get it Done: Peter isn't known for his luck when it comes to women. Tony Stark is hoping that he can turn that bad luck around for his benefit.
STEVE ROGERS
Peter's Admission Consultant: One morning the Avenger Tower gets a visitor and Steve is instantly intrigued.
NATASHA ROMANOFF
You're Either a Winner or a Loser: Natasha isn't used to having competition. But don't they say that competition is the best form of motivation?
Warnings: Mention of sexual assault, eating disorders, peer pressuring into drinking, and mean girls. Please let me know if I've forgotten anything!! - It's kinda long, so enjoy and maybe grab a snack
"Hi (y/n)." Millie shrieked in delight as she pulled her old friend into a hug. When Millie pulled away, she held (y/n)'s shoulders in both her hands and intently stared at her. "Wow. You look absolutely stunning. New York has done you well. Maybe I should move here."
No. Absolutely not. If Millie moved here, (y/n) would seriously consider quitting working for the Avengers and moving back home.
"It's nice to see you too." (y/n) forced a smile. She knew that she was going to be forcing smiles all day. She hadn't had to do this in a while, but forcing smiles around Millie wasn't anything new. (y/n) would fall back into her old patterns pretty quickly. "Millie, this is Loki. He is my..." (y/n) turned to introduce Loki. But then she trailed off when she realized she hadn't thought about how she wanted to introduce him.
"I'm her boyfriend. It's a pleasure to meet you Millie. I've heard nothing but good things about you." He came to (y/n)'s rescue. The words easily flowed from his mouth.
Well lying was his specialty.
He sounded so sure of himself that even (y/n) was trying to remember if she had told him anything about Millie prior to yesterday.
(y/n) had a sickening realization that having to pretend to be dating Loki might be easier than she was expecting. She already had slight feelings for him and she had done pretty well with keeping them at bay. I mean how unprofessional would it be for her to date her coworker and client.
(y/n) and Loki both followed Millie towards the elevator. Peeking beneath the pale yellow midi dress she was wearing, (y/n) could see the strap of the swimsuit she was wearing underneath. She was actually looking forward to swimming.
It had been pretty warm these past couple of days and a dip in the pool would feel nice. It would also help her relax a little. She glanced toward the bag that Loki was carrying and hoped that he brought something to swim in as well.
When they got up to Millie's room, (y/n) felt her jaw drop. This was definitely the nicest hotel she had ever been in. This had to be the presidential suite. Even with (y/n)'s parent's salaries, they never stayed in anything this nice. Probably because most of the money went to her tuition.
Millie plucked up a champagne flute and tried to pass it over to (y/n). Her eyes widened at the drink and she took a small step back bumping into Loki. He wrapped an arm around her to steady her and he eyed the drink suspiciously.
Loki recognized it as a mimosa. He knew it was something that the Midgardians liked to have in the morning, usually when they were having brunch.
"Oh thank you, but I'm fine." (y/n) regained her composure and shook her head. "I don’t drink anymore Millie. You know that."
"Even after all this time?" Millie sipped on the drink. She wasn't going to let it go to waste. "I would've thought you got over it by now."
"Well it wasn't something that I could just get over Millie." (y/n) awkwardly scratched the back of her neck. Now that Loki was thinking about it, he had never seen (y/n) drink before. When the team did decide to go out to get dinner and drinks, she never had anything. Loki just assumed it was because she had to drive home.
He would have been more than happy to make sure she got home safely if she wanted to enjoy herself just one time.
Of course nobody on the team questioned it or pressured her to drink. They all just assumed it was because she didn't like the taste of alcohol. But after that brief conversation with Millie, he had a feeling it was something way more than that. He would have to ask her about it later.
Hopefully she felt comfortable enough to discuss something like that with him. It was usually the other way around. People were discussing their past with her.
"Are you really going to be able to play nice?" Loki leaned down and whispered in her ear. They followed behind Millie who was showing them all the nooks and crannies of the suite. It wasn't like they really cared or anything. They weren't going to be staying the night here.
They followed Millie outside to where she had her own personal pool. The two of them eyed Zoey and Summer who were lounging on the other side of the pool. Once they noticed (y/n) and Loki, they started making their way over to the two of them.
"Sure. It'll be easy." (y/n) shrugged.
"I'm not so sure about that. I've seen you around people that you don’t like. You're incapable of faking niceness."
"Prepare to be amazed." She grumbled when she noticed the googly eyes that Summer was making at Loki. Summer has always been like that though. She had her boyfriend that would give her the entire world, yet she always wanted more.
Once they had gotten close to (y/n) and Loki, (y/n) instantly laced her fingers with Loki's. Even if she wasn't really dating him, he was off limits.
"This is (y/n)'s boyfriend, Loki." Millie introduced him to the two other girls. (y/n) looked around wondering where Summer's boyfriend and Zoey's fiancé were. They were probably sleeping in. But if Loki was with them, then the girls couldn’t look at him. Which she would much rather prefer.
"You look really familiar, Loki." Summer mumbled, staring at him intently.
"I thought I was the only one who thought that." Millie nodded. "I didn't want to be rude, so I didn't say anything."
"Wait." Zoey tilted her head to the side and (y/n) could see the wheels turning in her head. Of course she knew who Loki was. "You're a part of the Avengers, right? My fiancé is like totally obsessed with you guys. I promise you if he had the chance to leave me for Sam Wilson, he would do it in a heartbeat."
"Wouldn’t we all?" Loki chuckled. This was the first time he had spoken to the other two girls. They clearly enjoyed the sound of his voice as much as (y/n) did.
"So if he's an Avenger, how did the two of you meet?" Summer raised a judging eyebrow. It was clear to see that she didn't think (y/n) was good enough for Loki.
(y/n) tried to keep her work life fairly private. She didn't post on social media that she worked with the Avengers so these girls had no idea what she even did.
"We met at work." Loki promptly responded.
"Work." Summer's eyebrows shot up even higher if possible.
"Does that mean you're an Avenger?" Zoey asked. "Like with super powers and everything?"
"Oh no, it's nothing like that." (y/n) shook her head. "I'm not important like them."
"Don't say that darling." Loki squeezed her hand. "You're a very important asset to the team."
"Thanks Loki, but I don’t save the universe or anything on a daily basis."
"No, but you take care of the people who do save the universe. And I think that is just as important."
"So what exactly is it that you do (nickname that you hate)." Millie crossed her arms across her chest.
Loki glanced at (y/n), wondering how she felt about the nickname. He didn't like the way it came out of Millie's mouth. It was clearly a nickname that got under (y/n)'s skin and Millie knew it.
"I'm the team's psychiatrist." (y/n) answered by chewing on her lip. She expected the girls to laugh at her, but they all nodded in approvement. They all turned to each other and began chatting about dinner tonight.
"And you're a damn good one." Loki grinned down at her. (y/n) stared up at him. She wasn't sure what came over him, but she felt herself leaning up towards Loki.
Loki's eyes slowly closed and he leaned down for a kiss. The kiss was soft and quick, but it felt real. (y/n) sure hoped it looked real. When they pulled apart, (y/n) sheepishly grinned at him.
"Sorry, it just felt right."
"It's totally fine (y/n)." Loki whispered back. Everyone decided that it was now time to head to the pool for a little swim. Loki went and found the partners of the girls while they all swam for a little bit. It was nice to soak up some sun and lounge around.
They talked about their work lives and what was going on in their personal lives. It felt as if they were normal friends. Maybe things were changing for the better.
The feeling was short lived once (y/n) had come back from the bathroom. She dried off and slipped into some jean shorts. She was drying off her hair when she heard a shrill laugh. It was a fake laugh. One that she had heard many times before. (y/n) grabbed a bottle of water before heading towards that laugh.
She found Millie, Summer, Zoey, and Loki sitting at a four person table together. The girls were talking, but it was clear that Loki was a little uncomfortable being surrounded by them. She slowly walked toward them unsure of what she was walking into. The feeling of being laughed at by those girls was nothing new. She was back to being 16 again.
"And you're not going to believe this. One time she-" Millie's voice died down as she (y/n) got closer to them. She had this huge smirk plastered on her face. (y/n) had a feeling that she knew exactly what the three of them were talking about. "Oh hey there (y/n). We were just talking about you."
"Are you okay?" She looked towards Loki who was holding a blueberry muffin in his hand. (y/n) found herself slowly walking towards him.
"We just wanted to get to know Loki. You know, make sure he was good enough for our darling (y/n)." Summer reached over and placed a hand on his bicep which he immediately shrugged off and adjusted his position.
"How exciting." (y/n) coldly replied, her eyes narrowing at Summer and Millie. She knew exactly what the two of them were doing. If they were trying to break up Loki and her, it wasn't going to work since they weren't exactly together. But, he was going to have some embarrassing stories to take back to the team. She didn't think he was one to do that, but it was just her anxious mind going there.
"I'm fine darling. What about you? Do you want to sit down." He titled his head back to look at her. His eyes were practically pleading for her to sit down with him.
"It doesn’t look like there's enough seats." Zoey said, looking around the table. She was right. The table was completely occupied by all of them. Unless Loki got up to give (y/n) his seat, there was nowhere for her to go.
"That's fine." Loki shrugged slightly, adjusting himself so that he could loop his finger through one of the belt loops of her jean shorts. He easily pulled her down so that she was sitting in his lap. He put an arm around her waist to secure her and placed a kiss on the side of her neck. She felt herself melting into his touch. This was too easy.
"Perfect." Summer's jaw tensed, but she forced a smile. A smile that was just as perfect as Millie's. They saw the same orthodontist when they were kids. "Anyway, I was telling Loki about that time in 10th grade when we went on that double date to the skating rink. Do you remember that (nickname you don't like)?"
"No. I don't." She lied through clenched teeth. Loki's grip tightened around her for a moment and then he relaxed. The gesture was almost invisible, but (y/n) knew it was because he could tell she was lying.
Here she was lying while sitting on the god of lies' lap. This was a story to tell her children one day.
Of course she vividly remembers that day. It was a day that was going to haunt her for the rest of her life. There was no reason to bring that story up now. Besides the fact that all they wanted to do was humiliate her in front of Loki. (y/n) was starting to think that was the reason why they even invited her. They must have missed having a good laugh at her expense.
"I can't believe you've forgotten." Millie sat up straighter in her seat and hungrily licked her lips. She turned to Loki to tell the horrid story. "Well first of all she used to look like a potato. Not the cute ones. She looked like a fat potato."
"I don’t understand what that has to do with anything." Loki angrily uttered.
"It's so you can get the visual of the story." Zoey explained.
"We were all so glad when she started working out since she liked to eat everything. You wouldn’t have dated her back then. She looks amazing now, so I assume she's keeping up with that same routine. None of that was really important, but when we were at the rink, she ate two hot dogs, a hamburger, mozzarella sticks, onion rings, two orders of fries, and a milkshake. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary. She always stuffed herself until she couldn’t anymore, but when we started back skating, she started going on and on about how she didn't feel good. The guy she came on the date with tried his hardest to get her to the bathroom, but she didn't make it. She threw up all over him. What was his name (nickname you don’t like)?"
"I don’t recall." (y/n) dryly answered. She felt Loki tighten because once again she had lied.
"Well, it was hilarious." Millie had gripped her stomach from laughing so hard. The other two girls at the table immediately joined in.
"It seems I've missed the joke." Loki's voice was calm, but (y/n) could hear the edge in it. His grip tightened around her waist and she could tell he was angry. She tried to soothingly rub his hand. There was no reason for him to be angry over her.
"You're way cuter than him." Summer leaned across the table and stretched out one of Loki's curls and let go so that It returned back to its original position. "I think he might've been a family friend or something. I heard that (y/n)'s mom gave him money for the date because she knew how much she eats. She couldn’t make that poor boy pay for it all. Is that true (y/n)?"
"I don’t know." (y/n)'s voice was barely above a whisper. She was staring at her hands and her face was now burning with humiliation. It had been so long since she felt like this. She was a grown woman, but now she couldn’t even muster up the courage to speak for herself. In the back of her mind, she could hear her mother telling her to think about her education. Just brush Millie's words off and think about school.
"So how long have you two been dating?" Zoey inquired.
"It's been about a little over a year." Loki proudly responded. He had heard the break in (y/n)'s voice. The last thing he wanted was for her to break down in front of these girls. He knew that he wasn't the nicest person in the world, but he would never attack someone like this.
"So you've seen her when she gains all her hibernation weight." Millie giggled, causing all the girls to join in once again. (y/n) could feel herself trying to shrink and make herself as small as possible. She tried to be as unbothered as possible by what they were saying. (y/n) should have known that this was too good to be true. They were all slipping back into their old ways. It was too easy.
"Huh?" Loki was not laughing at all.
"I never figured out how she did it. But when we were younger, she used to gain all this weight during the winter. It was easy to hide it with big sweatshirts and jackets, but when summer rolled around, she lost it so quickly."
"You know, like a bear? That's why we called it her hibernation weight. I don’t know if she does it anymore though. Honestly Loki, I think you're way too hot to be spending your time with someone like (y/n)."
"It's a shame that we've never gotten to meet you before today." Millie pouted. "I come to New York all the time and I always invite (y/n) out, but she says she's busy with work. I think she was trying to hide you from us."
"I'm going to get another mimosa. Does anyone want anything?" Zoey pushed herself up the table and looked around. Of course Summer and Millie said they wanted another one. Loki just sat there trying to wrap his mind around how (y/n) was able to put up with these girls. "Would you like one (y/n)?"
"No." (y/n) shook her head.
"Oh c'mon (nickname you don’t like), it's just one drink. It'll help you loosen up a little bit." Millie giggled.
"I don’t need to loosen up." (y/n) hissed back at the girl. Loki was proud. This was the first time he had heard her speak up.
"No. You're right. The last time you drank, you got a little too lose." Summer jokes, causing the other girls to shriek with laughter. Loki had heard enough. He couldn’t sit here and listen to them talk to (y/n) like this.
(y/n) thought she was done with all the stories after that little comment, but then Millie reached across the table to tap the spot in front of Loki to get his attention once again.
"Okay so there was this one time (y/n)-" She started to say. The other two girls leaned in ready to take another trip down memory lane.
"Actually ladies, it has been a pleasure spending the morning with you." Loki cut Millie off and bounced his knee a little signaling for (y/n) to get up. "But it seems I have to get to work. I just got a text from Captain Rogers, something must have come up."
(y/n) stood up trying to hide the confusion on her face. Loki didn't just get a text from Steve. Anything mission related was sent via email. And all of those emails went to (y/n) as well just to keep her up to date with everything.
Besides, Steve and Loki were nowhere close enough to be casually texting each other throughout the day. Loki was completely free today. Tony made it mandatory that nobody in the tower did anything Avengers related this weekend.
(y/n) had been able to erase a lot of the awful memoires, but being here with them today brought back a lot of bad thoughts. She managed to push them to the back of her mind, but now that Loki knew, it was going to be hard to forget. He was going to be a constant reminder walking around.
"Sorry girls, but we can't ignore work. This was fun. We should totally do it again."
"Seriously? You're ditching the day I had planned for us before it even started? I already paid for your tickets and dinner." Millie huffed and Summer nodded along with her. They shared the same scowl. The two of them were clearly offended that they no longer had anyone to pick one (y/n) could tell that they were even more offended that Loki was leaving with her.
"That is no problem." Loki waved his hand as if it was no big deal. "I can give you the money that you spent on (y/n) and I will even pay for everyone else. Just let me know how much."
"You don’t have to do that." Millie opened her mouth and closed it like a fish out of water. That was the last thing she was expecting to happen. "I just thought we were having so much fun."
"I apologize Molly," he sent her a side eye and (y/n) knew what was coming. He had been quiet for far too long. She almost opened her mouth to correct Loki since he had called Millie the wrong name. But after seeing the twinkle in his eye, she knew that he meant to call her the wrong name. (y/n) did her best to keep from giggling. "But if I sit around any longer listening to you three belittle my girlfriend, I'm going to end up melting one of you from the inside out. And I can promise you that none of us want that."
"It's Millie. And we were just joking." Millie protested. "(y/n) knows that we didn't mean any harm by any of it."
"Look Maggie, neither (y/n) nor I was laughing at anything that you said." Loki spat, grabbing her arm and gently tugged her through the suite. (y/n) sniffled a little and he quickly began escorting her towards the elevator. He waved his hand a little and their bags magically appeared in his hands. (y/n) would never get used to that. "Don't cry (y/n). Don’t you dare let them see you crying."
She had to bite down on her lip to keep from having an absolute meltdown. Loki was right. The last thing she wanted was for them to see that they got to her. Loki thought about catching a cab, but he had a feeling that (y/n) just wanted to get back to the tower. So, he waved his hand once again and they were standing in his bedroom.
"So you didn't like hearing about my high school days?" (y/n) darkly chuckled, wiping away the tears. Loki wanted to comfort her, but he wasn't sure how. He was not used to being on this side of the conversation. People were usually belittling him, but he never had anyone to comfort him. So, he was going to do exactly that for (y/n).
"Please excuse my language, but what the fuck was that (y/n)? No, I didn't like hearing them talk about you like that." He grumbled and began pacing his room. Loki was not one to cuss normally in his day to day vocabulary. He thought that cussing made people seem less intelligent. But, he wanted to do way more than melt them from the inside out. He wanted each of them to suffer. Tonight he would plague them with nightmares so bad they wouldn’t be able to sleep for weeks. "I can't believe you let them talk about you like that. You sat there and you took it."
"It's okay Loki. I dealt with it all those years ago, I can deal with it now. It started in 6th grade when she poked my stomach and said it reminded her of a marshmallow. She has years of embarrassing stories about me. You didn't even hear the best ones, Loki."
"What are your plans for the rest of the evening?" Loki had stopped pacing back and forth across his room. (y/n) looked over at him and was shocked. That's not what he was expecting.
"I just want to take a shower and forget about this day." (y/n) admitted her shoulders sagging. This day had taken a lot out of her.
"So your night is free?"
"I mean, I guess." (y/n) shrugged. She had no idea what Loki had in mind, but she was interested. Maybe they could watch a movie together and eat some ice cream.
"Good. (y/n) will you please let me take you out to dinner? I saw that dress that you picked and I would hate for it to go to waste."
"Sure." (y/n) shrugged thinking it would be a nice way to take her mind off things for a little bit. "Would it be like a date?"
"It would be exactly like a date."
(y/n) felt herself grinning as she nodded. Hopefully she could at least nap for a little while. Loki told her that he had reservations at one of his favorite restaurants at 6:45 that night. (y/n) flopped in her bed and got under the covers. All she wanted to do was forget about the events of earlier today. She thought that Loki was going to find her younger years absolutely hilarious, but he was visibly angry about everything that he had seen.
Eventually, she did manage to sleep for a little over two hours. (y/n) yelled at FRIDAY to turn off the alarm as she walked into her bathroom to take a shower. She was happy that she would be able to put this dress to use. She bought it specifically for Millie's dinner and play.
It was an emerald green mini dress that she had spent far too much money on. Not that money really was an issue for her, but it wasn't a good idea to spend money on something she probably wasn't going to wear again. The salary that Tony Stark provided for her allowed her to live exactly the way that she always wanted to.
After a long and much needed shower, (y/n) spent about an hour getting ready. It was nice to take her time and not rush to do anything. As she was getting ready, she heard some of the other Avengers arriving back to the tower after their day off. She started feeling a little nervous. What would the other Avengers say when they saw her leaving with Loki? Was she even allowed to go on a date with him? He probably just felt bad and wanted to do something nice for her.
At about 6:15 or so, (y/n) headed out of her room to look for Loki. He was patiently waiting in the library with a book in hand. Of course he was. He always had a book in hand. When he noticed (y/n), his eyes instantly lit up. He always knew she was beautiful, but seeing her like this made him swoon. It didn't help that she was wearing his color.
(y/n) wanted to say something to Loki, but her voice got caught in her throat when he stood up. He was wearing this black suit that fit him absolutely perfectly. The two of them just stared at each other in shock. It was as if they were seeing each other for the first time.
"You look absolutely stunning (y/n)." Loki was the first one to break the silence. (y/n) was pretty happy to see that the other Avengers had retreated to her room. They didn't have to witness her gawking at her client.
"Thank you Loki." She beamed at him. "You look handsome."
"Thank you darling. Are you ready to go?"
(y/n) nodded and followed him out to the front of the tower. They rode in a cab not speaking much to each other. (y/n) was far too nervous to say anything and Loki was just enjoying her presence. Neither of them felt any reason to press for a conversation. They had always been comfortable just sitting in each other's presence.
When they pulled up the restaurant, (y/n)'s jaw dropped. This was one of the hardest places to get a reservation in New York. She heard this place had some of the best food in New York and she had been dying to try it.
"Loki." She let out a little gasp as the climbed out of the cab. "How did you manage to even get reservations here? I've been trying to for the past year."
"In all honesty, I've had this reservation for a couple of months now. I heard you mention this place to Wanda. I know a couple of people so I was able to get on the list."
"You know a couple of people or you used a little magic?" (y/n) giggled gently nudging him on the shoulder as they walked inside.
"I did use a little bit of magic, but it was for you." Loki admitted. "You seemed really excited about this place and I just wanted to do something nice for you."
"What if today ended up going completely different than it had? If we ended up at dinner and a play. What would you have done with the reservations?" (y/n) questioned looking up at him.
"I would have called to see if I could get them moved. If not, I would have given them to Wanda and Vision."
"So you've been planning on asking me out for a while?"
"Longer than I care to admit." Loki honestly responded. He was usually so slick with his answers, but he didn't feel like he needed to be that way with (y/n). He didn't need to protect himself with sarcasm.
After the two of them had ordered dinner, Loki felt his thoughts coming back to something that happened earlier. He kept himself engaged in his conversation with (y/n) as he tried to think about the best way to bring this up. He decided that the best way would be to be straight up with her. There was no reason to be deceptive. She wouldn’t appreciate that.
"I have a question darling." Loki peered at (y/n) through his long dark eyelashes. "Of course if you are not comfortable with answering, that is completely fine."
"I think we're way past being comfortable with each other. Well at least me." (y/n) giggled.
"I never thought about it until today, but you said that you didn't drink. I always thought that it was the taste of alcohol that you may not have liked, but it seemed like there was more to the story."
"I don’t mind telling you Loki, but can you promise not to think of me any differently?"
“Of course (y/n).” He reached across the table and took her hands in his. He was positive that there was nothing she could say that would make him think any differently about her.
“I used to drink. I used to drink a lot. When I left home to go to university, I went completely off the rails. I almost got kicked out of school. I never missed a party. So uh, one night I went to a party with Millie and Summer.” (y/n) squeezed her eyes shut as the memories of that night came rushing back. She had kept these memories down for so long. “I was really drunk. I don’t even remember most of that night. But long story short, I ended up sexually assaulted. Some girl walked in on it and managed to get me in an Uber and helped me back home. She left her number and the next morning I called her. She told me everything that happened. I asked about Millie and Summer about what happened, but they just shrugged the whole incident off. Apparently they told the girl that I was fine, but she just had a bad feeling about it. I can't believe I even agreed to spend the day with them. I mean what was I thinking? I'm so stupid. I should have realized they just wanted to have a laugh at me.”
"Darling, please don't ever call yourself stupid again. You are far from it. And why would I treat you any differently after you told me that? Nothing that happened was your fault. Just when I think that Midgardians are advancing, I hear things like this. If I knew who he was, I would kill him."
"I don’t even remember him Loki." (y/n) told him. "I'm actually kinda thankful about that. I remember bits and pieces. I woke up the next morning and..."
"You don’t have to talk about it anymore. I'm sorry that I brought it up."
"No, I wanted to thank you. I haven't been able to talk out loud about what happened to me. The last people I told that story to tried to convince me that it didn’t even happen. I can't believe I put up with them for as long as I did." (y/n) angrily let out a sigh.
"You deserved so much better (y/n)." He would do anything in his power to help her see how worthy she was. After dinner, Loki suggested stopping by a place to get gelato. (y/n) happily agreed and pulled him along. As they ate, (y/n) looked up at the stars and started pointing out constellations to him, but he wasn't really listening. He was thinking about how someone could treat this very special girl so terrible. She deserved the whole world.
"Are you even listening to me Loki?" (y/n) pouted bringing him back to his senses.
"Sorry love, I just got distracted."
"With?" (y/n) raised an eyebrow.
"You." He shyly whispered and before he could even stop himself, he leaned forward and pressed his lips onto hers. Loki saw the opportunity and he took it. It surprised (y/n) and she almost slipped off the bench that the two of them were sharing, but Loki wrapped an arm around her waist to keep her steady. He was a little worried that she wasn't going to kiss him back, but she happily returned the kiss. Her hands found their way into Loki's hair and she gently played with it. When the two of them finally pulled away, they were breathless. (y/n) was the first one to speak.
"You know how you asked me if it was worth it yesterday? You know, being friends with Mille and them?"
"I do." He slowly nodded. "Why do you ask darling?"
"I didn’t have an answer for you then, but I do now. If I hadn't put up with them, I don’t think I would have lasted much longer at that school. That school helped me get into Johns Hopkins which lead me to working for your guys. I wouldn’t have met such an amazing group of people. I wouldn’t have gotten to meet you Loki. So to answer your question, yes. It was worth it."
Hello there! I typically write for fem/female pronouns (because that's what I am), but my work is open to all readers. If any of the links don't work, let me know and I will try to get them fixed as soon as possible.
If you have any request or recommendations, please don’t be afraid to reach out. I do not own or take ownership of any of the character I write for. Everything is purely fictional and for enjoyment purposes. Please feel free to like, comment, and repost! Thank you in advance for that.
Warnings: Not many, probably mostly swearing. This is just a bit of fluff.
Rating: PG-13 mostly for language
WC: 1000-ish.
Summary: Layla finds herself stranded at a Stark gala, with her terrible ex circling like a shark. Enter an unlikely savior in the form of one smoking hot Winter Soldier.
Most people would be absolutely elated to be a guest at a Tony Stark party. All the glitz and glamour, celebrities at every turn and, in Layla’s case, not a single place to hide, dammit.
She wasn’t there as an actual guest, really a plus one for her parents, who actually were the guests of Mr. Stark as newly minted business partners. They just merged the R&D department of their alternative energy company to Stark Industries, where she was due to start work in the following weeks. By all rights, Layla should be over the moon with the trajectory of her life.
‘Should’ being the operative word. No, the rain on her parade came in the form of Charleton Zednik, son and heir apparent of a separate business partner of both her parents and Mr. Stark. He also happened to be her absolutely abysmal ex.
As tight as her cocktail dress was, somehow Charleton managed to cling even more tenaciously.
Maybe it wasn’t the most charitable thought, but she’d rather have a raging case of herpes than carry on one more day with his bland ass. He was so rigid, she wasn’t convinced he wouldn’t shatter if he hit the ground for any reason, and what he lacked in imagination, he more than made up for in possessive personality. Since she’d broken up with him over two weeks ago, he’d been blowing up her phone, her socials, and had even had her parents lobbying on his behalf.
On paper, they were the perfect couple, two scions of an up-and-coming green energy revolution, and if arranged marriage was still a thing, Layla knew she would have been out the door the moment Charleton first looked in her direction. Her parents meant well, she knew, but damn if they weren’t still unreasonably old school about some things.
It was late in the evening and she found herself alone, at the bar, relishing her reprieve as Charleton had to step away and take a work call. Hopefully he’d be gone long enough for her Uber to arrive so she could make a break for it. She ordered a double lemon drop while she waited.
“You look how I feel,” a gruff male voice beside her remarked as her martini glass appeared in front of her. “Are you okay?”
Layla was mid-sip as she turned to reply to the kind inquiry and promptly choked on her drink. In front of her was Bucky Goddamn Barnes. The Winter-Fucking-Soldier, all six feet four inches of him, in an impeccably tailored tux, with his luscious dark hair artfully tied back and sea-glass blue eyes soft with concern.
Flailing for a napkin, she nodded her thanks as he pressed several into her hand. “Um, yeah. Thanks,” she choked out as she blotted her face and attempted to quell her mess. “Sorry. Really. I’m fine.”
“All evidence to the contrary aside.” His smirk should be registered as a lethal weapon.
Layla ducked her head, snickering even as her cheeks filled with mortified heat. “Right.” She sipped her drink again, regaining her composure enough to look the man in the face when a movement over his shoulder caught her eye.
Whatever her face did in that moment must have been dramatic, because Bucky immediately moved closer to her and glanced quickly over his shoulder. Taking a hold of her elbow, he shifted to put himself between the approaching man and her. “Do you need to leave?”
Charleton’s eyes met hers across the room and the scowl on his face grew in intensity as he sped up his approach. Layla looked up at Bucky, who appeared poised to deal with whatever answer she gave him. “Yes please.”
He nodded once and threw a twenty on the bar. “Let’s go.” Gently, he ferried her through the room, the path in front of him opening up as if by magic. If that magic could be attributed to a scowling former assassin with a beautiful woman on his arm.
In no time at all, you were both in the elevator watching the city lights fade on the ride to one of the upper floors. For all that he’d been in her space to get her there, the moment the doors closed, he stepped away and maintained a respectful distance.
“Why are we going upstairs? Why not just hustle me out of the building?”
“He saw us together, right?”
“Right…?
“Then chances are good he’s expecting us to make a break for it and leave, so he’ll likely head down to the lobby and to wait and make a scene there.”
That did sound like him. She was suddenly tired. So, so tired. “So then where are we going?”
“My place,” he replied as the elevator dinged to a halt. He held an arm out and allowed her to precede him onto the penthouse floor. “At least until he cools his jets and leaves.”
“I don’t see that happening anytime soon,” she muttered, feeling both vexed at her ex and slightly exhilarated at the idea of being alone with Bucky. This was not how she saw her night going in the slightest, and suddenly wondered if she remembered to put on matching underwear.
The giant gave her a million-watt grin as he tugged off his bowtie and tossed it onto the dining room table as he led her through the large, open concept room to the kitchen island. “Then you’re welcome to stay as long as you like.”
