california 02 // loki's romanoff prelude

eleven // niceties

Loki payed for two rooms in the hotel, using his magic to transform a roll of toilet roll into a wad of thick notes.

He ended up having to carry Natasha, but he didn't mind. He walked right past the trashed bar carrying her, past the cop who was talking to the frightened bartender from before. Loki shifted his features, so when they looked at him, all they saw was Thor's face.

He carried her all the way up two flights of stairs, which was a huge effort, because his legs were trembling and weak from his earlier run, and aching from having chairs being thrown at them. He carried her all the way to her room, and to the double bed. When he lowered her onto the mattress, her arms stayed clenched around him.

'Natasha,' he whispered, 'Natasha, let go.'

It took him a couple of minutes to displace her from his body. When he did, she curled into a soft ball of red hair and black clothes, vulnerable and soft, girlish and dream-faced.

He stared at her until he started to feel creepy, then covered her in the duvet and went to his own room.
He left her a note before he did. He wrote it on a piece of toilet roll:

Natasha,
You got drunk so I brought you here. I'm in the next room.
Loki

He signed his name, and thought about leaving her an x. She had left him one, after all.

He didn't. He was too shy, too cowardly. He put the piece of toilet roll on the bedside table, where she wouldn't able to miss it.

Loki woke up suddenly, bright sunlight hitting him right in the face.

'Morning.'

He jumped violently, scrambling backwards, his legs tangling into the sheets.

'Natasha?'

She was sitting right there, on the corner of his bed. Her hair was tied back, and he could see every inch of the face - pale gold and shining. Her lips were bright pink. Suddenly, Loki felt like blushing.

'How long were you sitting there?' he asked self-consciously. He wanted to smooth out his hair, but she would probably notice.

'A while,' she replied. She took a swig from a water bottle. 'You're very cute when you sleep.'

Loki desperately hoped she didn't remember last night.

'Hey, what happened last night, anyway?' she asked, taking a foil packet out of her pocket.

Phew.

'You can't remember last night?' He wrinkled his nose. 'And you're not the slightest bit hungover?'

'Oh, I am. I have this huge headache. But I've already been down to the pharmacy and I got painkillers. And water. And gum.' She offered him the foil packet.

He winced. 'No thank you. What time is it?'

'Eleven.'

'What?' He was horrorstruck. 'In the morning?'

Natasha shrugged. He watched as she blew a pink bubble of gum from her lips.

Loki got out of bed sharpish. When he had finished washing his face, brushing his teeth and combing down his hair, she was lying on her back on his bed, blowing bubbles.

'Get off,' he told her.

'Why?'

'It's my bed.'

She leaned back into his pillow and made a face. 'It smells.'

Ouch. 'Hey. I'm not the one who spent half the night vomiting into a toilet bowl.'

That made Natasha sit up. She cocked her head at him. 'Is that what happened?'