Prince of earth

Chapter 15

Loki never thought he'd enjoy spending one-on-one time with Fitz, but he ended up being proven wrong. Fitz had dislike for Loki from the moment they met, so when he invited Loki out and handed him a drink that He'd never tasted before, Loki felt a bit suspicious. Fitz was quick to prove that he hadn't poisoned Loki's drink and wasn't trying to hurt him, and then after that Loki ended up rather enjoying himself.

It had been a long time since anyone had shown any excitement toward Loki and his talents, and Loki couldn't even remember the last time he sat down and had a fun conversation about something he enjoyed without a looming threat of danger or violence. But today he got both; Fitz was eager to learn about Loki's abilities and Loki knew that they could sit there for as long as they wanted and there would be no one to stop them. There were no guards to bring Him back to his room, there was no Katarina to tell Him he needed to go rest, and since he wasn't on the run anymore, there was no need to keep moving or stay hidden. For a few minutes while Loki went on about the differences between illusion projection and duplication casting he almost forgot that he was essentially living in exile.

Loki and Fitz had left the cafe after a while when they realized they wouldn't be finished any time soon, and they burned up several hours of the morning sitting in a park discussing magic before Fitz got an alert on his phone.

"It looks like they need me back at base" Fitz said, looking at his phone.

"What for?" Loki asked, wondering if there was news on the potential invasion and they were just leaving him out of it.

"Just a routine drop off Coulson wants Simmons and I to take a look at" Fitz said as he got up from the park bench.

"See you back at base in a few days. Though I may text you with more questions before you come back" Loki looked at him blankly and shrugged.

"Text?" He hadn't been caught up on the technological vernacular yet. Fitz didn't say anything, he just continued to look at his phone and tapped the screen seemingly haphazardly, then Loki's phone vibrated in his pocket. He checked the alert and there was a message from Fitz that simply read 'this is a text'.

Loki rolled his eyes and put his phone away, realizing he should've bene able to guess what a text was.

"You could've just told me-" Loki looked back up from his phone but Fitz was already gone and getting into a taxi, clearly not feeling the need to wait around for Loki to read his message. Loki just shook his head and went on his way back home, opting to walk instead of getting a ride.

=*****=

Desmond stayed true to his word; Loki wasn't bothered by SHIELD for a few days. Other than the occasional text he'd get from Fitz asking random questions about how magic worked, Loki was left alone to unpack the things Natasha had left for him and finish filling his apartment with the mundane things of every day life like food, tools, or furniture.

Loki enjoyed his solitude. He wasn't sure he'd ever be thrilled to live in such a small space on a planet he didn't like, but he was starting to adapt to life in an apartment in New York. But all good things must come to an end, and Loki's time alone came to an end when he heard a knock at his door.

"What?" He called irritably, not taking his focus off his project.

Rather than calling back, Desmond just entered the apartment.

"You should keep your door locked" Desmond advised, closing the door behind him. "What are you doing?" His voice carried a slight chuckle when he saw Loki on his knees on the floor in the middle of the living room reading some kind of manual, a partially built shelf next to him and various parts strewn about the space.