(closed) tell me you've never loved me, tell me it was just a lie

[ikols]

who: loki and billy
what: escapades
when: llllate because NERDING OUT HAS NO CURFEW and neither does thievery
where: sanctum sanctorum
warnings: tba

[ With the sleeves of his shirt smoking and hair singed, a burn stripes down one side of Loki's face from temple to jaw as he barges into the Sanctum at ass o'clock, stripping off his coat to stamp on the blackened parts. Shit. The shadowthread will need reworking. That's going to be time-consuming. His hot vest makes a loud clatter when he dumps the too-warm scalemaille in haste, climbing the stairs as he makes his way toward a working bathroom (not the acid one). By the time he passes multiple doors and makes it to his destination, his eye is stinging and Loki drops to his knees by the sink, elbows hooked over the edge.

When he isn't so dazed he stands and peers into the mirror at the mess several would-be Hel Hounds have made of him, their breath particularly nostalgic from a bird's-eye perspective but never so close up. They weren't purebreds, of course, some moon-twisted Silent Hill remake of Thori, more like split-mouthed hyenas than anything ...

He's glad those jaws never took purchase. He would have totally shredded his coat, never mind his arm.

Making more noise than usual as he goes about washing his wound, disorientated, the godling yelps and curses without any volume control because either Sam is around visiting Stephen and will come by to help or Loki is home alone while the sorcerer is off with his squeeze on a horrendously normal date. Blood drips red onto ceramic, a sheen of blue caught in it when the electric lights shine a certain way.

Above all, Loki sincerely hopes there is some ice cream left in the unchained fridge. ]

Comments

[ikols]

[ It is too early, TOO EARLY to fathom what Billy is going on about. What. ]

You want to share the shower?

[ He won't, you know, say no. But, what. ]

[wiccant]

( this is what happens when two very asleep people try to communicate. )

No! No. No way. Never.

( and in case it's still not clear: )

I was going to go back to my room!

[ikols]

You have a room? When did you move in? I invited you and I don't know about this!

[ This sheer betrayal at seven AM, it's staggering. ]

Is that why you were here so late in the library?

[wiccant]

My other room, Loki. The one in communal housing.

( "other room" clearly the first room is the library. )

I don't have one here, but I can still teleport. It has a shared shower.

[ikols]

... Oh. Whatever. [ Deflating now that his energy has been sapped, he shrugs and mooches out of the room, calling over a shoulder, ] Thirty minutes!

[ The courteous and thoughtful Loki doesn't exist until after breakfast, apparently. ]

[wiccant]

( no one should have to exist before morning coffee. loki leaving is so much easier than taking the time to actually. try and open his mouth and use his words, so billy doesn't mind. loki makes his way out, and billy returns to the library, collects a sleeping fox, and goes back to his own room.

takes his time in the shower, because thirty minutes is quite a bit, and he's not going to rush it if he doesn't have to. dries his hair, even, combs his fringe over to it's rightful place. it's messier than usual; he's still half asleep hasn't had any coffee and his level of functionality is still rather low.

but billy's back at the sanctum's front door within the thirty minute time span, fresh clothes on and the feint scent of cheap motel-esque soap clinging onto him. )

[ikols]

[ Loki is late. He spends twenty minutes scrubbing off the smell of the witch he slept with and dozing under warm water before deigning to get dressed, and then he finds something in his desk-of-drawers that gives him pause.

It's the hoodie that Billy gifted him months ago, galaxies in green moving across the surface as he turns it over in his hands. Some festival or other about cherishing loved ones, showing that with presents ...

That's what he wears over his jeans when he leaves the house, hair damply curling in a starry collar. ]

The walk isn't far.

[ Because teleporting is just getting excessive at this point. ]

[wiccant]

( the hoodie gives him pause; not because he doesn't like it, or because the design does closely match his own, but because it gives off a familiar resonance. like he's touched it before, but can't quite remember it. billy keeps his eyes on it for a moment, almost extends a hand out to touch it but--decides it's not really worth it in the end.

not to be weird about it at least. and loki's late, he's already dying for caffeine. )

Which way is it? ( he'll wait for loki's lead, hands shoved down into his own jeans' pockets. )

[ikols]

Nearby.

[ Words aren't Loki's best friends before he fully wakes up, shoving his hands into his hoodie's pocket and heading out with Billy. There's a lot on his mind, even so, and he can't help asking, ]

Why don't you get a room at the Sanctum for when you're away from the apartments? That's what I did.

[wiccant]

I was considering just moving.

( communal rooms are nice, but there's still rent, he hasn't figured out his job situation yet, the shower is shared, and living that close to that many people is a little exhausting. there's only so many dramatic fights he can take.

billy takes a deep breath in, raises a hand, and yawns into it as he follows a step behind loki. ) Did you get taller?

[ikols]

You made me six-foot-one, and only now you're noticing? [ Odd as the topic shift is, he hums. Squints through the morning light as he crosses the road, waving Billy along. ] I'm three inches shorter than the Old Man was. Why?

[wiccant]

I wasn't sitting there thinking "make Loki the prettiest in all the lands" or anything, you know. I was just trying to. . ( get him old enough to have more access to his power. he isn't awake enough for this conversation either, why did he start it. )

You look bigger.

[ikols]

You look smaller.

[ Neener neener. This conversation does spark up a few questions that have long lain dormant, however.]

Why don't I have armpit hair, by the way? Or, like, any hair except for you-know-where? Not that I'm complaining, but are those preferences of yours that somehow got woven into your spell of Make-This-Guy-Look-Better? [ Sucking in a breath, he sighs as they stroll up the sidewalk with a wistful air. ] Sometimes all I do is gaze into the sunset and imagine what it must be like to need to wax ...

[wiccant]

It wasn't a spell to make you look better! And it's not like I did any of that intentionally. I don't even know if I influenced your form at all? I mean I was just trying to age you up, not. . change anything.

( which brings back that old fear of did he change something? not just his shape, but his mind? is that something he's even capable of doing? that'd explain a decent amount of this overly clingy behavior he's getting from loki.

then, quietly: ) Do you think I might have changed something?

[ikols]

Aside from my smooth calves? No.

[ The look he bends on Billy is longer, reading the worry that seeps through every pore of the boy. ]

Why do you ask?

[wiccant]

No reason.

( don't look at him like that. billy quickens his pace a little, moves to shove his shoulder right into loki. )

Maybe the hair thing is a preference, but it wasn't intentional.

[ikols]

I don't mind, it's convenient when I wear scalemaille.

[ When he won't open up to him, Loki loops an arm through the crook of Billy's elbow and keeps step with him instead. He is definitely taller, that's put to rest when he has to shorten his strides. ]

You're a shitty liar, for the record.

[wiccant]

( taller goes without question. billy's already gotten used to going from loki being a decent amount smaller than him to larger than him. he just seems kind of. even larger. though it's not as if billy had spent much time with older loki before he had ended up here. he gives his arm over willingly, moves his hand out of his pocket in response. )

Wax is painful. You're not missing out on anything. The extra time it takes to shave gets annoying, too.

[ikols]

[ Look who is still avoiding the issue! Luckily Trixie is up ahead, the neon green light off and the club far quieter in the morning, with only a businessman exiting to go to work after his breakfast. Loki catches the door and holds it open for Billy. ]

I've never shaved, not once. I remember he used to be very hairy, the Old Man, so I'm grateful for the distinguishing difference more than anything.

[wiccant]

( if loki can avoid talking about his problems so can billy. there's a quiet murmured "thank you" when he holds the door open; billy slides his arm out from loki's so he can enter the facility, and stops just a few steps inside the doorway to examine the layout he'd already seen in pictures. )

Maybe it wasn't even me. Maybe it was all you.

[ikols]

Maybe it was my wishes succumbing to the fresh ideas you incorporated, who knows. Either way, I save a bomb on razors. You craving Eggos? I am.

[ In the pub the lighting is softer than outside in the harshness of day, last night's debris and party-goers long gone and the morning shifters in already to take Loki's order at the bar. He asks for more food than any one person should be allowed and hands Billy a menu. ]

Anything you want.

[wiccant]

Pancakes today.

( which is what he orders: a nice stack of pancakes, eggs to go with it, no sidemeats but hashbrowns and toast. and coffee. all the coffee. billy sits himself down beside loki, raises an arm to rest his elbow against the table and face against his palm. makes for an easy place to close his eyes and get in a small nap until the coffee comes, at least. )

So, a nightclub slash breakfast bar?

[ikols]

Mmm, you'd be surprised how easy it is to avoid vomit on the premises if there's toast and waffles to soak up alcohol in a stomach. It keeps cleaning bills down.

[ The basement and upstairs VIP lounge are all but dead in the day and it's only the pub that brings in money during daylight hours, but Loki doesn't care about that. He has an ore mine on the other side of the moon, riches are riches.

With little else to do as they wait, he slips out his phone and gets his own back with a photo of Billy at the table. Hah. ]

I didn't have anywhere to go when I first arrived and the apartment with the Avengers was ... not an option. The Sanctum and Stephen weren't around. So, I bought this place and did it up.

[ Somewhere to exist in peace. ]

[wiccant]

( coffee arrives, which marks the absolutely most important moment of this adventure. fingers wrap around the mug, taking a few moments to cool it down before he's raising it up to his lips and. downing a good half the mug. no one wants to exist before coffee. especially not billy kaplan.

and he may have been half asleep leaning against a table, but his picture is still better: nothing tops loki barely standing, hair everywhere, and eyes barely open. )

It's nice. The pub area is, anyway. I'm glad you found somewhere for you. Twenty four hour breakfast does sound like your ideal kind of place. ( breakfast and loki go together better than anything else. ) Why the club if you've got the diner?

[ikols]

I like to dance.

[ Even if he only had one offer and that was after ekeing it out of Jason. Even if Loki only turns up at his club to meet people. Even if he doesn't have the time to be downstairs letting his hair down because he's always somewhere else, but likes having the option anyway.

He sips a latte, greeting a plate of eggs, bacon, waffles, sausages and beans like it could be a ticket back to Asgard when it arrives. Hunger growls in his stomach, an empty pit after the stress of last night's excursions in the jungle. ]