Drift (Loki x Reader)

III. The Essay

You noticed the frantic scrambling of Rogers and Barton from the other end of the room, attempting to make the mess of Stark's living space somewhat habitable for whatever guest was intended to arrive that day. You knew who it was without anyone having to tell you. It was the man with the eyepatch that they went through so much trouble for, though you didn't know why they wanted to impress him so much. 

You weren't stupid, you knew that something was wrong. You hadn't signed the nondisclosure agreement that everyone who was an ordained Avenger had to sign before 'joining the team' as the man with the eyepatch had put it, so you weren't allowed to join in on the fun talks about whatever was wrong with the world that needed fixing. Though it wasn't hard to piece together some of the puzzle through the hushed whispers and who would be gone for long periods of time. 

You hadn't noticed Odinson in the complex for quite some time, so you assumed that the issue pertained somewhat to him. You knew that the strange muscle man was not from the green-blue planet that you inhabited, but belonged to some world far away. You thought it was strange how many civilisations of intelligent life forms all throughout the universe bore the same identical semblance to those that walked on the Earth, though perhaps a flesh sack that walked on two feet and made annoying noises with a hole on its face-flesh was what evolution had deemed best for the majority of life in the universe. Though sometimes they came in all sorts of fantastical colours like blue and green, but those you had only seen in your dreams. 

"(Y/n)."

Your eyes flickered from the computer screen to Rogers's face hovering over the laptop. "We need you to exit the room for a brief minute whilst Fury and the rest of the team discuss a few important matters." 

You studied the gathering in the room for a moment, your eyes hovering over Banner whom refused to meet your gaze even now. The man with the eye patch seemed to be engaged in a serious conversation with Stark, or what he was trying to make a serious conversation. Knowing Stark, he was trying to put a cocky spin on everything as frequently as he deemed fit. 

"I think I'm fine right here. I don't think me writing an essay for college will make anyone too uncomfortable?" You asked, directing your verbal daggers towards Banner, holding his icy grey eyes against your (E/c) coloured gaze. "As Banner put it, I'm delicate, is that the right word? Anything might set me off into a spiralling mess, trigger another migraine that could bring the whole tower down. I guess it runs in the family."

It was the eyepatch man's turn to speak. "On behalf of SHIELD, on behalf of the authority given to me from the government of the United States of America, I request that you leave the room and premises immediately as you do not have warrant to engage in the matters that we wish to discuss."

"I have all the authority in the world," you replied, your monotonic voice putting the entire room on edge. "I sat here first and the couch has my butt imprint to prove it. Plus, it's pretty obvious to piece together your crisis. Given that Odinson isn't in the room, it's safe to assume that he's currently engaged in some matter on his home world that threatens the security of this world."

Banner rocked on his feet whilst the eyepatch man drew his breath in sharply. How tempting it was to use your power, to rip apart their minds just like your migraine often did to yours, to expose their thoughts raw and open. The mind was often man's last sanctuary, the one part that no force or power could dare to infiltrate. For if you could not be safe even in your own mind, if you could not hide your thoughts, than what were you? Surely not independent, surely not free. You had never tried the golden power before, the power that allowed you to rip into the mind of another living creature. At least, you hadn't dared to try it on a human, though you did practise on an unfortunate cockroach that had scurried across your bedroom floor and had scared the living shit out of you. Nevertheless, you learned that the cockroach was currently worried that her fiancee was cheating on her with another man and that he may be pregnant with another child.