Loki Misses the Asgardian Prison System

Chapter 75

Sometimes Loki thinks he's doing okay.

Living in Avengers Tower isn't too bad. It's better than the dungeons, at least. He has more freedom here than he has in years — since the dungeons, since his adventures in the depths of the universe. It's a comforting thought.

And, honestly, sometimes it really feels like home. He may not be welcome in Asgard anymore, but Midgard isn't all that different. He still has people taking the piss out of him for their own enjoyment. He still has people (Clint) ignoring him whenever they can. And he still has some people he likes. He has Thor, of course, and it's always nice to see Steve and Bruce. He even gets to talk to Harley, too, when he gets the urge to see his little friend.

Sometimes, he feels okay.

Then dreams of the horrors he lived not long ago come flooding back and remind him that that's not true at all.

He gives himself a few minutes to regain his composure. Once his heartbeat has reached an almost-normal pace, he gets up and heads to the kitchen. He really needs some coffee. There are a few different mugs to choose from — someone must have done the dishes recently — but he chooses the Captain America one. It's just habit at this point. He'd feel weird drinking from any other mug.

It's pretty late. He'd be surprised if he ran into anyone at this hour. Tony has been known to show up at any time, but he's fairly certain Pepper is here tonight, so the odds that he'll find him out and about are fairly slim.

So he decides to go watch a movie. It feels like a good night to rewatch Night at the Museum. (Actually, every night is a good night to rewatch Night at the Museum, but especially on rough nights like this.) He misses his little cowboy. He makes his way to the man cave...

And he hears voices.

"Pick it!" Clint says quickly. "Pick it, pick it! Pick that one!"

"Stop it!" Natasha screeches. "You're gonna mess me up!"

"Oh no!" Clint says sarcastically. "I would never want to do tha—Boo!"

Cue the very distinctive sound of a slap.

There's a pause, and then Tony starts going, "Ooh!" with an ensemble of laughter in the background. It turns to cheers soon enough, though Clint is going "No!" as the rest of them celebrate.

Curiosity gets the better of him, and Loki decides to check it out. He steps through the doorway and looks around, and he's greeted with the sight of the Avengers all lounging around, with Rhodey and Pepper taking Thor's place while he's off in Asgard. Between them all is a small tower made of little wooden blocks, though it's full of rectangular holes. Loki furrows his brows and looks at Steve for answers. What the hell are they doing?

"Oh, hey!" Pepper waves at him, earning a gentle smack from the cat on her lap who doesn't want her pets to end. "Are you joining the game night?"

"Um... no," Loki says uncertainly. "I was going to watch... Alright, what is that?" He gestures to the tower with his head.

"Jenga," Tony says.

"We would've invited you," Natasha says, "but—"

"We didn't want to," Tony finishes.

"You never come to game nights," Natasha says. "We gave up asking."

"You're welcome to join in, though," Steve tells him.

"Is he, though?" Tony asks.

Pepper smacks his arm. "Play nice."

Snowflake finally gets fed up with the lack of petting and hops out of her lap. She crosses the room to see him and nudges Loki's leg with her head. Loki glances down at her, but he's a bit too preoccupied with questions about this game to stop and pet her.