Thor is not entirely sure why rebranding Stark Tower into Avengers Tower warrants a party, but Tony wanted to throw one, so who was he to complain? He's a little disappointed that they don't get costumes this time, but he's been promised alcohol — and he brought some from Asgard for the occasion, too. He has a feeling he'll enjoy himself immensely.
It has been surprisingly easy to convince Loki to agree to this. Before Tony had even spoken to him, Steve had told him to say 'no' to whatever Tony asked him next, but Loki had no problem with it. He's been spending less time in his room lately, but he seemed perfectly content to sit in bed with a cat by his side and Bruce's Christmas books in hand for the night.
Thor's really enjoyed this party so far. It's been less chaotic than the Halloween one — a little smaller, too, he's noticed — but still roughly the same. He spends most of the night talking to the other Avengers, but he is somewhat frequently approached by young women when he's alone.
Usually, he doesn't know them.
This one, he does.
She approaches him without a word, and he hardly notices her until they're shoulder to shoulder. Even then, she seems to pay him no mind, her gaze scanning the throng of people ahead of them.
Thor looks her way and raises an eyebrow. "I hadn't expected to see you here."
"No, I imagine you didn't," she says simply. She brushes her long, black hair out of her face and looks up at him, though in her heeled shoes, they're nearly the same height. "A pleasant surprise, I'd hope."
"Well, certainly a surprise," Thor says.
She huffs a quiet laugh at that.
"Now, I must ask," Thor says. "Do I have a sister tonight, or are you merely hiding from the Avengers?"
Loki gives him a small smile. "A bit of both, really."
Thor shakes his head to himself, amused. "This is a game I've not seen you play for a very long time."
"Perhaps that would be because you continue to call it a game," Loki says. "You can hardly call it my fault that you Asgardians are so close-minded."
Thor rolls his eyes. "Am I to assume you do not want the other Avengers to know who you are?"
"If I could ask that of you, yes," Loki says. "I am here to enjoy the party, which would be very difficult with Stark breathing down my neck."
"Alright, but when this inevitably goes wrong, I will accept no responsibility for it," Thor tells her.
"Then it's a good thing I do not expect it to go wrong," she says with a smile. "Now, what does one do at a Midgardian party? It seems rather boring so far."
"My understanding is that it involves much talking," Thor says. "There is also alcohol at the bar, servers with snacks everywhere one could look, and in the living room, there is a fair amount of very poor dancing." That's about all he can think of. He's not sharing his Asgardian alcohol with her so there's no reason to mention that, and he thinks he covered everything else.
Loki grins. "Poor dancing, you say?"
Thor gives him a really? look. "Loki, you cannot dance in that dress."
Loki scoffs. "What's wrong with my dress?"
Thor eyes her outfit with an eyebrow raised. "The fact that it's barely a dress, for one." If she was looking for male attention, she's certainly going to get it.
"I have not taken this form for a very long time," Loki says defensively. She runs her hands down the green satin on her sides. "Excuse me if I wanted to show it off. It's not as though that's uncommon on Midgard."
Thor rolls his eyes. "After going through the trouble to grow your hair out, the least you could do is use it to cover your cleavage while you speak to me."
Loki lolls her head back, exasperated, but she listens anyway. She reaches behind her head, and, in a subtle show of magic, the clip that has held her hair back disappears. Her raven locks tumble down her shoulders, and she carefully adjusts them to cover her chest. "Better?"
"Much," Thor says.
"Now where is this dancing taking place?" Loki asks. "I do enjoy watching comically bad dancing."
Thor shakes his head to himself, but he supposes there's no reason he'd rather be here than near the dance floor, so he leads the way. The party is more crowded near the dance floor, and much louder, too. He opts to stay near the wall, away from the rustling of Tony's acquaintances. Loki leans against the wall by his side and crosses her arms, which does nothing but increase the cleavage she's showing. He can't imagine the reaction that would get in Asgard, but it seems to be rather normal here so he doesn't mention it again.
"You were right," Loki says, an amused smile on her face. "This is bad dancing."
Thor snorts. "Is it everything you'd hoped it would be, sister?"
"Oh, absolutely."
Thor looks around the room, and he must admit, now that he's really looking, the bad dancing is kind of fun to watch. Midgardians have the weirdest dances. This kind of thing would make a good comedy in Asgard.
"I am beginning to realize I overestimated how enjoyable Stark's parties would be," Loki remarks.
Thor shrugs. "The humans seem to enjoy them." And he's rather fond of them as well. It's not as fun as an Asgardian party, but he'd choose this over a quiet day on Midgard.
"Yet another reason our kind remains superior," Loki says.
Thor rolls his eyes. "All this time living among them and you still insist they're inferior."
"All this time among them has only made me more sure of it," Loki says.
Before Thor has the chance to respond to that, Steve catches his eye from across the room, looking up from his conversation with Natasha and Clint. Thor gives the man a small smile, but Steve gives him a puzzled look. Thor cocks his head to the side. Well, now he's confused about whatever Steve's confused about.
Steve quietly excuses himself from his conversation and makes his way over to the gods. The other two don't pay him much mind, resuming their conversation without him.
"If you'd like to avoid the Captain, I suggest you leave now," Thor tells his sister.
"If I left now, he'd ask you questions instead of me," Loki says, "and I do not trust you to answer them."
Thor scoffs. "Why not?"
"Because I am a much better liar than you," Loki says simply.
Thor doesn't feel compelled to respond to that. She's right, but it feels like a weird thing to brag about.
When Steve reaches them, he comes with a polite smile. "Hey, Thor. Making friends?"
Thor eyes Loki with a frown. "Meeting with old ones."
Loki shoots him a glare, and Thor fights the urge to roll his eyes. What, that's too much information to give him?
"Huh." Steve holds a hand out. "I'm Steve," he tells her. "Steve Rogers."
"It's nice to meet you, Steve Rogers," Loki says, shaking his hand.
"And your name?" Steve asks.
The corners of her lips curl upwards in a sultry smile. "Wouldn't you like to know?"
Steve chuckles, his face turning a faint shade of red. Changing the subject from Loki's shameless flirting, he asks, "How do you know Thor?"
"We have history," Loki says, and Thor does his best to ignore her suggestive tone. If Loki wants to flirt with people, that's fine, but why does she have to drag her brother into it? This isn't mischief; it's just weird.
Steve raises his brows. "History in Asgard?"
"Mostly, yes," Loki says. "But occasionally among other realms."
"I thought Asgardians weren't allowed here," Steve says. He looks at Thor questioningly. "Didn't your father...?"
Thor just shrugs. He'll be interested to see how Loki plays that off. If he's as good a liar as he says, it shouldn't be too difficult.
"I hadn't heard about that," Loki says slowly, glancing at her brother. Thor gives a subtle nod. He's not sure he was supposed to tell Loki that, but it's a bit late now. Loki turns her attention back to Steve. "Fortunately, I'm not Asgardian, so I do not have to adhere to his rules."
"Oh, you're not...?"
Loki shakes her head. "But as a princess..." She curtsies, a smile on her face. "I've met with most of the royals within the Nine Realms. We've become..." She giggles. "Very close."
Thor looks his head back, exasperated. He almost wants to just tell Steve who this is so they can move on because this is ridiculous. Even by Loki's standards, this is ridiculous.
"Oh, really?" Steve says, more a show of interest than anything.
"Mm." Loki combs through her hair with her fingers, loosely holding the top half up. When she takes her hands away, her hair stays up, and Thor has to assume she slipped her hair clip back in. She's very smooth.
Thor fights back a groan. "Can I speak to you for a minute?" He doesn't wait for an answer, just grabbing her arm and pulling her away.
"Buh-bye." Loki waggles her fingers in Steve's direction, a flirty smile on her face that disappears the moment she turns away from him. She shoots her brother a glare. "What?"
"What are you doing?" Thor hisses.
"Having a bit of fun," Loki says. "Is that a problem? Am I not allowed to have fun?"
"Not when your 'fun' involves manipulating our friends."
Loki scoffs. "Manipulating? I am not manipulating anybody!"
"Yes, you are!" Thor insists. How can she not see that?
"Not every form of lying and misleading is manipulation, Thor," Loki says. "This is just some harmless fun. It's not often I get to interact with others without my legacy trailing behind me."
"But it's not harmless," Thor says. "You cannot toy with people's emotions—"
"I'm not!" Loki says. "A few lighthearted remarks is not toying with anything! He is not lovesick; he's flustered, and, I would hope, somewhat amused."
The two gods look over at him. He's no longer where they'd left him, instead having rejoined Natasha and Clint across the room, but he happens to spare them a glance as they're doing the same to him. Loki gives him a flirtatious wave and a wink. Steve smiles sheepishly and returns it with a small wave of his own.
That, of course, does nothing but draw Clint and Natasha's attention to him. Loki bites her lip seductively, a smirk on her face, which does nothing but confuse Clint, but Natasha seems interested. She looks between Steve and Loki, a knowing smile on her face.
Thor throws his head back, exasperated. "Loki!"
Loki pats Thor on the shoulder a couple times. "This has been a wonderful conversation, brother. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some Avengers to speak with."