The group got more comfortable with Loki's presence over the next month. He still spent most of his time with you and Thor, but the others were warming up. You spotted Nat feeding him fish and cooing at him in Russian like he was a real cat.
Clint actually carried him into the living room one day. Both of them were covered in dirt, dust, and grime. "What have you two been up to?" you asked as you took the indignant cat from Clint before he dropped Loki and black pawprints ended up all over the tower.
"Someone decided he needed to help me clean out the air vents," Clint grumbled, gesturing toward the ceiling, but scratched behind Loki's ears. He had appreciated the company.
"Were you battling colonies of dust bunnies up there? Such a brave kitty to battle such horrible foes," you teased Loki, but gripped him more tightly so he couldn't squirm out of your arms. "But you are filthy and need a bath," you told him firmly. He yowled indignantly and squirmed, but you were used to cats and held him firmly.
You took him up to your room and placed him in the timeout ball while you got the water the right temperature for a bath. He immediately sank his teeth into your arm when you pulled him out of the timeout ball. You sighed heavily, pried his jaws off of you and firmly, but carefully placed him in the water. The sounds he made were like you were torturing him. "Hush, you. You're a god, not a brat. You don't want to smell like Thor," you reminded him, wrinkling your nose. He mewed softly, pathetically, but submitted, finally. He even started purring after you had summoned your cat-wash potion to rub in his fur. Yours worked better than anything you found in a pet store and smelled nicer too.
Finally clean, you summoned a fluffy towel. "Come here," you told your Lokitty, who was currently looking more like a drowned gremlin than his usual handsome soft black cat. You pulled him from the tub and rubbed him dry with your magically heated towel. He was a happy purring cat in moments and you smiled at your adorable charge. Clean and dry you set him on your bed. "I need a shower too now," you grumbled, looking at your dirty wet clothes. "No peeking," you told him. He mrowed indignant at the suggestion and curled in a sunspot on your bed to take a nap.
*
There was an explosion in the tower, which wasn't too uncommon. However what happened next was. "LOKI!" Tony's voice roared as a black cat nyoomed into the room and hid behind your legs.
"What'd you do?" you asked him dryly as you picked him up and cuddled him to your chest, willing to protect him as long as he hadn't been too stupid.
"Where's that cat?" Tony growled as he charged into the room. He saw the cat in your arms. "Hand it over!" Tony ordered you. You cuddled Loki more securely, petting him to reassure him.
"What'd he do, Stark?" you asked.
"He blew up my lab!"
"That doesn't sound like you," you told the cat. He was up for mischief and pranks and generally annoying people and being an asshole cat, but after the incident with your room he hadn't been destructive or actively malicious again. "I must like you because I hate this spell," you informed the cat as you drew your wand, with a little focus and you had cat ears and a tail. "Now, what did you do?" you asked him in cat. He just looked at you shocked and hesitated now that he knew you could actually understand him. "Lokitty, what did you do? I can't help you get out of trouble unless I know,"
"His calculation was wrong and caused the explosion. I tried to tell him," Loki finally answered.
You cleared your throat and looked at Tony, switching back to English when you spoke again. "He tried to warn you that your calculation was wrong. He tried to stop the explosion," you told Tony. Thor and Cap had appeared to moderate the debate. You saw Clint's head descend from one of the nearby ceiling tiles. He would speak up to defend Loki. They had spent a lot of time together in the ceiling recently and had actually become friends. The others seemed to always appear when they were needed.
"He's lying! He's the god of lies," Tony protested. Loki huffed indignantly, his tail puffing up angrily at the accusation.
"Hush, you," you told Loki in cat, petting his soft black fur to calm him while you held him securely and safely. "I've got this," you turned back to Tony. "He's not lying. Your calculation was wrong. Jarvis?"
"The calculation was wrong, sir. I tried to tell you," Jarvis' voice came. You smirked and Loki stuck his tongue out at Tony. Tony grumbled and snarled and finally gave up on blaming Loki for his mistake. Loki leaned up and licked your cheek, nuzzling against your cheek.
"You're welcome," you told him in cat. He blinked and looked at you shocked, still not over the fact that you could actually talk to him like this. You giggled in reply. "I can speak cat," you reminded him, gesturing to the cat ears on top of your head. "But not all the time," you were starting to get the warning pain behind your eyes that meant you needed to end this spell soon. "Anything else you wanted to say before I have to end this spell?" he looked away embarrassed instead of answering. "That's ok, you don't have to say anything, Lokitty," you smiled, scratched behind his ears, and shook your head to vanish your own cat-ears, ending the spell.
*
"Fine, you can stay, but if you start climbing on my face or do anything else stupid and catlike to wake me in the middle of the night, you are never getting another invitation," you told Loki one night a couple months after he'd been here when he had crept after you up to your room. He had followed you up when you retired for the evening. He was trying to be quiet, but was wearing a bell, which annoyed him to no end, since he couldn't sneak.
You set your extra pillow flat next to yours. "That one's yours," you told him, pointing to the pillow. When you came back from brushing your teeth and otherwise getting ready for bed, he was curled up on the pillow sleepily purring. You smiled and climbed into bed. You kissed the top of his head between his ears. "Night, Lokitty," you told him with a soft smile and curled up to sleep. A minute later, he was in your arms under the blankets. Typical cat. At least he didn't do anything stupid to wake you in the middle of the night.
*
"Mrow?" Loki asked from your bed one Friday night. You were in a knee length dress, leaning over to apply makeup using your dresser's mirror. "Mrow?" his tone was concerned, confused. You never dressed up, or put on makeup. Hell, most of the time you didn't do anything with your hair beside tie it away from your face.
"I told you I can't play with you tonight," you reminded him as you worked. He pouted. You sighed, hoping your room wouldn't be destroyed again. "I have a date," you explained. He hissed. You laughed as you looked over at him. "It's a blind date too," you agreed, misunderstanding his hiss. "Pepper set it up. She thinks I need to get out more, so she strong-armed me into agreeing to this," you rolled your eyes. He still seemed upset. "I'm never here as it is, huh, Lokitty?" you asked, scratching him behind the ears before you got back to your hair and makeup.
He was still puffed up and angry when you were dressed and ready. "What's wrong?" you asked him. "I'll be home in a couple of hours. I left you tea and books downstairs. Thor will be here tonight. He already said he'd keep you company," Loki hissed and puffed up even more if that were possible. "Lokitty, I don't know why you're upset and I can't do the spell to talk to you right now," you scooped him up in your arms, picked up your heels and purse in your free hand and headed downstairs.
You set the grumpy Lokitty on his pillow in the livingroom. "You look lovely tonight, Lady Y/N," Thor greeted you, standing when you entered the room. You smiled at his old fashioned courtesy. It was one of the things you missed. It was becoming less and less common over the years. Thor took your hand and raised it to his lips, placing a soft kiss on your knuckles.
"Thank you," you replied with a smile while Loki hissed. You steadied yourself using Thor's arm while you slipped your heels on.
"Brother, why are you so angry tonight?" Thor asked when Loki wouldn't stop being a fluffy ball of anger. Loki mrowed back. Thor chuckled. "Of course Lady Y/N has a date. She is lovely, a powerful witch, and a wonderful person. What man wouldn't be interested in her?"
"Those who aren't open to dating a woman who is old enough to be their great-great-grandmother," you grumbled, wondering if Pepper had actually told this man how old you were. "So most of the ones on Midgard," you inclined your head when Thor noted that you used their word for Earth.
"They are all unworthy of your company," Thor told you with his usual open honesty.
You leaned up to kiss his cheek. "Thanks, Thor. Jane's a lucky woman," you told him kindly, reassuring him that you weren't interested in stealing him away from Jane. You looked at Loki. "Is that what this is about? You're mad I'm going on a date?"
He didn't answer. Just looked away and stopped hissing.
"Miss Y/N, there is a gentleman in the lobby asking for you," Jarvis announced.
"Thanks, Jarvis. Can you please tell him I'll be down in a minute?" you asked.
"Yes, Miss,"
You turned back to Loki. "You know the solution then, don't you?" you asked the cat. He inclined his head as if to say 'go on'. "Pluck up the courage and ask me before somebody else does." He just looked at you shocked. That wasn't what he was expecting you to say.
You kissed the top of his head between his ears while he was shocked. You kissed Thor's cheek again, promised to check in when you got home safely (silly overprotective brother type), and left for your date.