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

Entry tags:

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

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. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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?

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.

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 ...

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?

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?

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.

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.

( 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.

[ 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.

( 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.

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.

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?

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. ]

( 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?

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. ]

Do you want to? After breakfast.

( not yet, because he's not a fully functioning person yet, and the food's warm, and billy's not passing it up. the plate gets set down in front of him and he's giving another thank you to the server, quickly digging a fork into the eggs to shove them into his mouth.

it's the coffee that's the most important, but the food's nice, too. and he'd already promised loki a dance earlier, hadn't he? they're already here, he may as well make good on his word. )

[ Well, that's one way to make Loki choke on a sausage. ]

Dance after breakfast?

[ A surprised smile pulls up the solemn cast of his expression, looking at Billy halfway caught between fondness and wariness. ]

What, you want to mosh with just the two of us or go all Nobody Puts Baby In The Corner?

( the choking was not an expected reaction but gets a grin out of billy regardless, fork slicing into chunks of pancake to gets bits and pieces better sized for eating. )

I owe you a dance, don't I? There's no time like the present.

( he picks up the syrup, puts a fairly large amount all over his pancakes as he keeps speaking. )

Unless you'd rather wait until later tonight for the spiked punch.

[ Sitting there in a galaxy-themed hoodie, being offered a dance soon in an otherwise empty club, he wonders not for the first time whether Billy is aware of his low-key flirting. It isn't a product of a flourishing friendship, certainly, he pointed out they aren't at that level yet. Loki recalls this feeling from months before but now he's much more aware of it: substituting for Teddy's company.

He isn't so good as to point it out and decline the offer, though. Greedy and selfish when it comes to Billy's time and attention. ]

Sounds fair. What do you want to dance to?

( it's not as if loki is the only person he knows here, but he's the only person here he spent actual months hanging around. there was the civil war, spending time in their prison, spending time with the avengers, sure--but there's something much more intimidating about spending time like this with captain america versus loki. and he's probably busy. and loki's easier to handle, in a way. )

Your club, your owed dance, your choice.

( rip this pancake. . it never stood a chance. )

Hmm ...

[ Once the food and drink is out of the way, Loki agrees to take Billy downstairs. The circular metal stairs lead into a dark abyss and although the godling can see just fine he snags Billy's sleeve to guide him into the middle of one hall. His voice echoes in the absence of music and crowds. ]

Wait here, I'll turn on the lights.

( being able to see in the dark is, sadly, not an ability included in his skillset, so billy does appreciate the lead. he follows after easy enough, stops when loki does and turns his head towards the sound of his voice. )

No nightlights?

[ Trotting up the sound-stage, the glow of a laptop screen dimly illuminates Loki as he surfs through lighting options. ]

I wouldn't say that ...

[ The club turns dark blue and a shimmer of fiber-optic lights come to life across the ceiling in a play of stars, winking down at Billy. ]

( not exactly nightlights, but nice all the same. billy tilts his head back with a quiet hum, looks up to the display of stars against the ceiling and folds his hands behind himself. matches loki's hoodie, almost. except without the green. )

Nice.

[ ... And then Reach For The Stars! by S Club Seven blasts out of the speakers, because he's classy like that. And has it on the laptop, so. ]

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