Fanfiction Test? (Genderfluid Loki & The Avengers)

Ch1

Tony stood up from where he was working in the lab, and wiped his sweaty brow. It was three am, and he'd been up for hours tinkering away in the lab. Bruce had been working with him, but was now snoring softly in a chair- he'd fallen asleep a while ago. Tony had laid a lab coat over him like a blanket.

Because of Bruce's sleeping, Tony hadn't been using the lab's main lights, instead only a small lamp and his reactor core. Still, that was probably enough work for the night. Or morning, he supposed.

Tony left the laboratory without putting anything away, and headed for the Tower's kitchen. Idly wiping his cybernetic hand with a cloth, he recalled how he'd lost his arm when he snapped during their second battle against Thanos. Usually this memory would have shaken him, perhaps even caused an anxiety attack, but not this time. He was tired, his mind spacey and only working vaguely. Not enough to form any fear, or even remember the event very well.

As he rounded the corner and into the kitchen he stopped abruptly in his tracks, startled. Someone was sitting at one of the island's barstools. Tony didn't usually see anyone else up at this hour, except perhaps Natasha, but she never hung out in the kitchen.

Turning the kitchen's under-cabinet lights on with a touchpad built into his arm, he let his eyes adjust so he could see who the stranger was.

Loki. Except, he looked... different? He looked like he normally did except... feminine. Tony couldn't pinpoint any exact differences, they were all so subtle, yet Loki looked feminine. Exactly the same but also obviously different.

Well, no noticeable exact differences except... Tony quickly looked away from Loki's chest. He hadn't noticed it at first, because he'd only looked at Loki's face and general outline. From where Tony was standing and the angle Loki was sitting at, you couldn't see it in the silhouette. But now that Tony saw it, it was quite obvious. Was he hallucinating? Was his sleep deprivation really that bad? What the fuck was happening???

The whole time Loki just stared at Tony, as if he was interrupting something. They just sort of stared at each other for a few moments.

"Is that... vodka?" Tony asked awkwardly, trying to avoid his main questions. He gestured to a glass of clear liquid Loki had on the island next to him (or maybe her??? Tony was very confused.)

Loki said nothing, just kept staring as if they were waiting for Tony to leave. After a moment Tony gave up on getting an answer, and instead went to get himself a cup of coffee from the counter. Not exactly the brightest decision, as he desperately needed sleep, but he wasn't exactly thinking straight. It's funny how so much lack of sleep makes you lose even more.

Tony could feel Loki staring at him the entire time coffee poured into his mug, and the entire time he went to sit down at the far right island barstool, the one furthest them. However once he sat down, Tony could feel Loki look away. They were still watching him, though. It was just more discrete.

The two sat in silence for what seemed an eternity, but was in reality probably only three minutes. Tony tried to piece together what was happening, but his groggy mind hadn't had enough caffeine to come to any conclusion. In addition to Loki's... um.... feminine form.... it was also weird sitting in the same room, seeing as how their last encounter with each other included Loki attempting to take over Earth.

The Asgardians had been staying on Earth for a while, so seeing Thor, Loki, or even Brünnhilde around the tower wasn't uncommon, but it was still strange sitting by Loki. They had thrown Tony out of a window and tried doing something with their magical staff to him. So strange... the Loki from then was so different from the Loki as of late, as far as personality went. But that didn't explain whatever was happening right now. So Tony just sat there for the three minutes, sipping his coffee, and trying to grasp the situation.

Eventually Tony couldn't stand the awkward silence, and Loki's feminine form was still freaking him out. What... what was happening with that??? He was still so confused. Was he dreaming? Or was Loki trying to get into his head somehow? If so, what was the reason, and why would it involve... whatever this was?

"Are you... why..." He couldn't find the words. "You look... different?"

Loki looked up at him slowly, then back to where they'd been staring into space.

"Yes." They said in an obviously female voice, which put Tony into a further state of confusion. He expected Loki to elaborate, but that's all they gave him.

"Well, uh... cool. Coolcoolcool." Tony said, trying to keep a calm voice. "I'm, uh.... I'm gonna head to bed, now."

Loki still said nothing.

"....ya. Goodnight? I guess?" Tony said, and quickly hurried to his room, despite not being tired at all. Maybe if he went to sleep and woke up, he'd realize it was all a dream.

-o0o-

Loki watched the confused Tony leave the kitchen, and then turned back to her drink, swirling it around in the crystal glass. Despite what Tony had guessed, it was just water, not vodka.

Loki was genderfluid, and was currently a woman. Her shape shifting abilities made it so that she could change her sex to be something more accommodating- gender dysphoria was never pleasant.

Her genderfluidity was never a big deal on Asgard. Nor her sexuality or romantic orientation. They were all perfectly normal and quite common. Asgard didn't even have a term for "LGBTQ+", because it was just normal. The only reason Midgard had one and made such a big deal out of it was because of historical and present oppressions. It was sort of odd to be on Midgard and have it's society tell her she was even more different (she always felt different enough), but in a way it didn't really reach her, because she had not grown up with it. To her it all seemed sort of stupid. Yes, it was also horrifying, hearing some of the things Midgardians viewed and treated the "LGBTQ+" community, but she sort of felt detached from it.

The only reason any of this was on Loki's mind was because of Tony's face. He'd been thoroughly confused and a bit freaked out, but obviously was trying to not be rude. Part of his reaction may have been that he didn't know she could shapeshift. That, and being extremely tired.

But that's not what she'd come out here to think about. Loki was out here to try distracting herself.

Loki actually rarely slept. Whether it was insomnia or trying to avoid nightmares, she often stayed up. Often, Loki just stayed in her quarters or wandered about stealthily (sometimes even under an invisibility spell) when she was awake in the dark hours of the night.

However, she hadn't really felt like doing that this time. Usually, when she heard even the faintest beginnings of Tony's footsteps down the hallway, Loki would have ducked away silently. But for some reason she stayed put.

But perhaps she should return to her room... it was quite late (or rather, quite early), and being out in the open made her nervous. She silently got up, washed her cup, removed any of her fingerprints or such with a quick spell, and put it away in one of the tall, modern cupboards. With a last sweep of the room, she disposed of any traces she had been there- fingerprints, stray hairs, loose threads fallen from her clothing. Really, it was a bad habit using spells so often (she did this almost any time she left a room), but she had developed it from paranoia, and that wasn't going away any time soon.

And with that, she set off towards her quarters in the tower, although didn't get any sleep.