Starting Over - Loki (COMPLETE)

32) Deep talks

After Loki had rested, he went to find Steve again. He found the supersoldier, unsurprisingly, in the gym.

"Training for the apocalypse?" Loki asked mildly from the doorway.

Steve turned from where he'd been furiously pummelling a punching bag.

"I didn't expect you to be up and about so soon," Steve commented.

Loki shrugged.

"I'm used to seizures by now. It's the headaches I don't enjoy."

Steve, yet again remembering his past, pitiable state, empathised with Alden.

"I wanted to be alone," Steve said, returning to the original question. "That damn Tesseract!"

With each word, he punched the bag and, with the final word, it was sent flying. Steve stared at it, downcast. Loki stayed silent, sensing that Steve had more to say.

"All I did was in order to save lives and then S.H.I.E.L.D digs the Tesseract up again, something that could kill thousands, if not millions of lives! We're meant to be able to trust them but I'm not so sure anymore."

"You know S.H.I.E.L.D was run by Howard Stark and Peggy Carter don't you?" Loki questioned quietly, unsure of the reaction he would get.

Steve stiffened.

"So, yet again, I should adhere to the wishes of those I left behind and be respectful of an organisation they built which has presumably gone to the dogs since?"

Loki hadn't expected there to be so much bitterness in the supersoldier.

"I'm not telling you what you should do," Loki replied, "Only informing you of the facts. S.H.I.E.L.D has the Tesseract. As part of the organisation you can try to make sure they use it for good."

"And how do they do that?" Steve asked sarcastically.

"They don't," answered Loki simply. "The Tesseract is not to be used by mortal men."

"So you keep saying."

"I only talk of things I understand," Loki pointed out. "And I understand that you are keeping your anger pent up when you should be letting it out."

"You think I'm not letting it out?" Steve asked, gesturing to the broken punching bag on the floor.

Loki was unperturbed. Thor's childish tantrums were far worse than this.

"Okay, let's rewind," he said. "In an ideal world, what would you want to do?"

"Get a job, buy an apartment, move on."

"Step one: you've already got a job. S.H.I.E.L.D are paying for your living expenses so you could realistically buy an apartment at some point. I have to warn you, though, inflation has been on the rise since the 1940s."

Loki didn't know why he'd decided to go for the tough love approach. Did Steve need realism or friendship?

"I want a proper job," Steve shrugged. "Where my job isn't my body or what it can do."

"Tony would die of laughter if he knew you wanted to get a job," Loki pointed out. "I'd let him buy you an apartment or, better still, put you up at the tower."