Part 2: Coffee
Tower Universe - Mini-series
A few hours later, Gwen is up and dressed in her usual clothes—jeans, blouse, and boots—and she goes to the common room for coffee. It's not yet 8, so she'll be there when he shows up....if he shows up.
Loki arrives at exactly 7:59, partially because he's spent the last three hours pacing in his room, trying to decide whether he should go (and convincing himself that this was a terrible idea). But when the clock strikes 8, he steps through one of his illusions into the common room looking as regal and composed as ever... though there’s a slight shadow under his eyes from lack of sleep.
His gaze immediately lands on Gwen. He smirks, arms crossed over his chest. "See? I'm very punctual when I want to be."
Most of the team is already there. She didn't tell them she had invited a guest.
She smiles at Loki when he arrives. "You sure are. Glad you came."
Loki tries to play it off cool, leaning his hip up against one of the chairs. The other members of the team are eyeing him with suspicion and unease, which only makes him smirk more. He's used to getting this reaction. In fact, he probably expected it.
"...Of course I did," he replies, his eyes locked with Gwen's even as he glances at the rest of the team from the corner of his eye.
She stands and brushes past him to get him a cup of coffee. Finally, she addresses the team. "I invited Loki. Don't worry, he won't do anything."
There are a variety of reactions to her words. Steve, predictably, looks like a disapproving dad. Tony just laughs, as if it's some kind of joke. Clint's expression is the most hostile, his stance tense like he's preparing for a fight.
Natasha seems mostly neutral. But it's Bruce who speaks up first.
"And why did you invite him here exactly?" he asks carefully, raising an eyebrow.
"I thought... Well, he and I were getting along. I thought it would be nice to have coffee ... invite him..." She's a little flustered. She doesn't have a very good excuse.
Tony chimes in helpfully, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Translation: she thinks he's hot."
There's a beat of silence and then a snicker from Clint. Even Steve can't keep himself from rolling his eyes.
Loki, meanwhile, is trying not to let the surprised pleasure show on his face. He takes the coffee from Gwen with a smirk and takes a long sip, silently enjoying the way the other team members are reacting to this.
Gwen glares at Tony. "We were talking and I invited him over. That's all. Nothing to worry about. We'll sit over there, and he'll be a model of good behavior."
Tony just grins at her glare, clearly not buying it and finding this whole thing hilarious. The other members are silent but clearly suspicious and/or on edge. Steve is staring at Loki like he's ready to jump into action at any moment. Natasha, on the other hand, just seems amused as she sips her coffee.
Loki, for his part, is enjoying every second of the tension. He takes another sip of coffee and sits down on one couch, making a big show of lounging in his seat.
She knew they would have something to say, but she doesn't care...okay, she cares a little because she realizes she put everyone in a terrible position here. Gwen takes a seat next to Loki and sips her coffee.
"Are you planning on causing trouble today?"
Loki just smirks at the question, his eyes dancing with mischief. He takes another sip of his coffee, enjoying how the rest of the team is watching the exchange like they're expecting him to do something nefarious at any moment. Loki leans back, crossing one leg over his other knee and resting the coffee mug on his thigh.
"That all depends on your definition of 'causing trouble,'" he replies, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
She finally relaxes and smiles. "I'm only curious. It would just be a courtesy to tell me so I can adjust my schedule accordingly to deal with any nonsense you come up with."
Loki grins, already enjoying this casual banter with her. He can practically feel the rest of the team bristling at the obvious flirting between them. Not that Loki cares, of course.
"And if I told you I had no intention of causing trouble?" he teases, his gaze never leaving her face as he raises an eyebrow.
"Then I'd say, 'Wow, what a master of control you are." She raises an eyebrow and sips her coffee again.
A spark of excitement flashes across Loki's face, and he nearly spills his coffee at her reply. She's being more playful than he expected, and it's driving him crazy. He can practically feel the rest of the team seething as they watch their little banter.
Loki recovers smoothly though and smirks at her, his tone dropping into something much lower. "...I am a master of many, many things."
"Of course you are." She says it casually, with no further innuendo, like it's all normal, polite conversation.
Loki narrows his eyes at her, knowing exactly what she's doing—flirting with him just enough to rile him up and then acting completely oblivious to it. It's infuriating. "You're lucky I like you," he mutters under his breath before taking another sip of coffee.
She catches his comment and smiles but won't respond to it though. She'll just take it as a silent win. Gwen has been having fun with Loki. His harmless pranks are actually hilarious, and texting last night was way more fun than it should have been. She just isn't sure what she wants from this connection. He's definitely attractive and makes her laugh. They get along well, but at the same time, does she want to get involved with Loki?
"Next weekend, there is a new exhibit at the botanical garden about poisonous fungi, and I was thinking about going. Would you want to join me?"
It's not a date, she says to herself. She is simply inviting a friend along to something that interests her. It's nothing.
Loki takes another sip of his coffee, eyeing her with curiosity. Her casual invitation is intriguing. He doesn't think she was asking him on a proper 'date' but...he still can't deny that the prospect of going to some kind of garden with her is more exciting than he'd care to admit. He pretends to think it over, even though he already knows he's going to say yes.
"I suppose I could deign to accompany you to this... exhibition of poisonous fungi."
"If it's too boring, we'll skip it and have lunch instead."
Casual. Easy. Friendly. She is looking forward to it, though. No one is interested in poisonous fungi except her, so she is surprised he said yes.
Loki has to resist the urge to roll his eyes. Of course, she assumed he would find it boring and that they would have to do something else. But secretly? He doesn't think he'd mind looking at poisonous plants with her.
He scoffs in response, lifting the coffee mug to his lips again and taking another sip. After a long moment of feigning disinterest, he finally answers. "We'll see which lasts longer: our patience looking at your poisonous plants, or my patience putting up with you."
Gwen smiles instantly at ease. When Loki makes his typical comments and barbs, she knows everything is okay. "I'm sure you'll give up and leave after my third bad joke."
Loki snorts into his coffee. Like hell he'll leave after some bad jokes. He would endure an hour of awful jokes just to see her laugh. But there's no way he's going to admit that, so he responds the only way he knows how:
"You're underestimating my tolerance for your terrible sense of humor."
"Seeing as how you are still talking to me, it must be a pretty high tolerance." She leans forward a little. "I will ask one thing though; please don't mess with anything at the gardens."
Loki tilts his head at her request, and he can't help but smirk as he leans forward as well, the distance between them shortening with every movement. A part of him almost wants to say, "What if I do?" just to see her reaction. But another part (the part that doesn't want her to be pissed at him) makes him say something much different.
"No touching the poisonous plants. Got it."
"Thank you."
Call her naïve or optimistic, but she actually believes and trusts him. She’ll take the risk that one day she'll get burned by him, but for now, she'll always give him the benefit of the doubt with a solid side of good-natured teasing.
Gwen looks up because she notices the others are silent.
Loki glances up from his coffee mug and notices that the rest of the team is still there watching him and Gwen, looking like they're ready to intervene at any moment if he so much as moves an inch off the couch. The whole thing is incredibly entertaining. He can't wait to see how much he can make them squirm.
Loki smirks at them, making a point of moving his leg closer to hers. "Problem?"
Gwen shakes her head in amusement. They need to relax.
She speaks up innocently, looking between the team and Loki with a smile. "I certainly don't have a problem. No, sir."
Loki’s entire body jolts at her words, his grip on his mug tightening as he fights the urge to react. He swears she did that on purpose just to mess with him in front of the others.
"That's enough, Agent Barkridge," he mutters, eyes narrowing slightly, but there’s no real bite to his tone. "I don't need your teammates thinking I've corrupted you."
Tony nearly chokes on his coffee.
"Oh, please. If they are surprised by anything I do or think that you are influencing me, then I guess they don't know me very well," Gwen replies with a scoff.
The others are all watching in complete silence, as if they're on the edge of their seats, waiting for him to snap. He has to actively resist the urge to pull her onto his lap and kiss her out of spite just to watch the others' jaws drop.
"They probably think you're just too damn innocent for someone like me."
"Then they don't know you very well either."
A smirk slowly pulls at Loki's lips at her response. She's actually defending him in front of the others. It shouldn’t please him as much as it does, but he can't help the warm feeling that blossoms in his chest at her words. It also helps that the others are looking at him like he's lost his mind.
"And you do?" he shoots back, raising an eyebrow.
She shrugs. "I'm pretty good at reading people. I'm almost a master of it." She bats her eyelashes lightly and innocently.
Loki's grip on his mug tightens, and he exhales through his nose in frustration. She's doing this on purpose, flirting with him right in front of her team just to see how far she can push him before he snaps.
"Keep pushing me like that, and I'll show you exactly what kind of master I am," he growls under his breath so only she can hear it.
She shoots him a wide-eyed, amused look. She can't believe he just said that, even if the others didn't hear. "Dangerous."
Loki’s smirk turns sharp, his eyes dark with mischief. He leans forward just slightly, voice dropping to a whisper that only she can hear. "You have no idea."
Tony loudly drops his coffee mug onto the table in an obvious attempt to break up whatever the hell is happening between them.
The loud sound does the trick, and Gwen adjusts her focus. "Well...I...uh...should probably get to work soon."
For a moment, Loki almost protests, feeling annoyed that the moment was interrupted. He wants nothing more than to stay here and banter with her and watch the rest of the team squirm at their flirting. But he knows he can't linger here for much longer and not seem like some crazed lunatic obsessed with their teammate. He sighs and stands up, draining the rest of his coffee before setting his mug down.
"...I suppose I have some... mischief to tend to," he mutters sarcastically.
"Thanks for coming over for coffee. I hope it wasn't too uncomfortable." She glances at the others.
Loki follows her glance, raising an eyebrow at the others, who still look stiff and uncomfortable. He has to resist the urge to roll his eyes. If anything, this little experiment was incredibly entertaining—at least for him.
"It was far more tolerable than I expected," he says smoothly, giving her one last smirk before stepping back into one of his illusions and vanishing with a flicker of green light.
Tony loudly mutters, "What the hell just happened?"
Once Loki is gone, the others finally relax. Steve is the first to turn to Gwen, looking exasperated. "What were you thinking, inviting him over?" he says, crossing his arms. "He's bad news."
Clint is just snickering, still reeling from the whole thing.
"He didn't do anything wrong while he was here, and he's been perfectly pleasant with me. It's not like he is always on a rampage of trouble. He's pretty normal...as normal as a god of mischief can be. Give him some credit."
Tony gives her a skeptical look as he leans back in his chair, shaking his head with amusement.
"Gwen, I’m gonna be honest—if I flirted with Loki that hard in front of you guys, you’d have already called for an intervention."
Clint nods vigorously in agreement.
She cocks her head in mock confusion. "Do you want to flirt with Loki like that?"
Tony immediately backtracks, putting his hands up in surrender. "No, no I was just making a point. Not that there’s anything wrong with flirting with Loki—wait, shit. I mean—" He stops talking abruptly when Clint laughs so hard he nearly falls out of his chair.
Steve pinches the bridge of his nose in exasperation.
"I won't tell him you said that." She smiles. "Well, that was a good morning coffee. I'll see you guys later."
Tony groans dramatically. "Don’t you dare tell him I said that. He would never let me live it down."
Natasha, who has been completely silent this entire time, finally speaks up with a smirk, "We should have seen this coming when she texted him all night instead of sleeping."
Clint gasps in betrayal. "You knew?!"
Gwen, on her way out, stops and turns back. "How did you know I was texting him?"
Natasha just smirks, propping her chin up in one hand as she leans against the kitchen island. "I know everything."
Clint dramatically throws his hands up. "That's it. I'm moving out."
Tony sighs heavily and pours himself another cup of coffee.
Gwen leaves the room, shaking her head. "Of course you do."
Once she's gone, Steve turns to address Natasha. "But seriously, you knew she was texting Loki?" he asks, still sounding somewhat disbelieving.
Natasha takes a long sip from her coffee cup before setting it down on the kitchen island. She doesn't look fazed by the question. "Yep. She texted him until 3:30 this morning."
Clint gasps, his eyes widening in shock.
"Until 3:30?!" he sputters, looking like he's just discovered some kind of insane conspiracy theory. "What the hell were they even talking about until 3:30?!"
Steve rubs a hand over his face, looking like a tired parent.
Natasha just smirks into her coffee, completely ignoring Clint’s dramatics. "Flirting, mostly."
Tony makes a loud choking noise. "I knew it!"