Chapter 7

We walked off of the elevator and I waved bye to Happy as the doors closed on him. Thor set his hammer down by the kitchen counter and yawned as he pulled his armor plate off of his chest and dropped it on the floor. Loki rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers, the armor disappearing from it's spot.

"He never cleans up after himself. I don't know how his girlfriend deals with him." Loki mumbled as he walked past me and to the fridge. He opened the door and examined the contents before closing the door and walking down the hall to his room. He closed the door and I awkwardly stood by the counter as Thor crossed his arms and smiled at me.

"Will you be comfortable in that room?" He asked me. 

"Should be, yeah." I smiled a little.

"Do you have clothing to slumber in?" He asked as he eyed the clothes I was wearing. I looked down to my clothes and then shrugged as I looked back up at him.

"I can just sleep in this."

"Nonsense! I will lend you something for the night." Thor laughed as he walked away from me and down the hall to his room. I quickly followed and walked into his messy room as he dug through his drawers. He threw clothing on the floor and shook his head as he continued to look. Loki was right, he never cleans up after himself. The large bedroom was covered in clothes, armor, weapons, and old food containers and bottles.

"Here." Thor said as he walked over with a smile on his face. He handed me a long white mesh gown that was definitely going to be too big on me. I held it by the shoulders and out and away from me as I examined it. It felt heavy for a sleeping gown.

"Um." I said as I looked behind the gown and at a smiling Thor. I didn't want to be rude and tell him I didn't want to wear this because he looked so happy to be helping me.

"That will not fit her, brother." Loki suddenly said as he appeared next to me. I jumped, dropped my arms to my chest to protect myself and clenched my jaw as I glared at the smirking God.

"I have nothing smaller." Thor said, his smile dropping.

"Perhaps you do, Loki! You are much smaller than I am. I am sure you have something for her to wear." Thor smiled again as he looked at his brother. 

"I am not much smaller than you." Loki said, harshly repeating his brother's words.

"Height wise, we are the same. But you lack my muscles!" Thor laughed as he flexed his arms. I chuckled at him and then looked over at Loki, who looked less than impressed.

"What I lack in physical muscles I make up for in brain." Loki harshly but lowly said as he crossed his arms. It was pretty obvious Thor's remarks were getting to Loki but I was enjoying this sibling fight.

"Yes, that is true." Thor nodded as he dropped his arms and shrugged. Loki rolled his eyes and took the gown from me and then tossed it at his brother. Thor caught it but then threw it on the ground to his left, letting it sit with the other clothes.

"Come." Loki said as he turned and walked out of Thor's room. I said goodnight to Thor and thanked him for offering his clothes and then left his room, closing the door behind me. I walked across the hall and threw Loki's open door and into his room. It was much cleaner than Thor's room. Loki's room also looked like he was comfortable here where as Thor's room just looked like a trashed hotel room. I examined the books on the shelves, my eyes scanning the unfamiliar languages on the spines of them.

"Here." Loki said. I looked over and he was holding out a black t-shirt and a pair of grey sweatpants.

"I'm surprised you own clothes like this." I joked as I took them.

"Like what?" He asked, his brow raising as he crossed his arms.

"Human clothes. I was expecting something like what Thor tried to give me." I shrugged as I looked down at the cotton clothes in my hands.

"I may be Asgardian and a Nordic God, but that does not mean I have to be uncomfortable when I sleep." Loki scoffed at me.

"I feel ya." I nodded.

"Well, thanks for this." I smiled as I gestured to the clothes. I turned on my heels and made it to the doorway before Loki appeared in front of me, stopping me in my tracks.

"I just wanted to thank you again for earlier." His voice was soft and genuine as he looked down into my eyes. I smiled up at him and shrugged a little.

"No problem. I still can't believe I stood up to Fury like that." I half laughed. Loki's brows furrowed and he gently shook his head as he crossed his arms.

"I am not talking about what you said to Fury." He replied.

"While I do appreciate that too, I was talking about sneaking me out into the city." He smiled as he leaned on the side of his doorway.

"Oh. Yeah, no problem. It was a lot of fun." I smiled back at him. Something about his bright green eyes was so memorizing and I felt myself getting lost in them as I stared up at him.

"Loki! Where is my hammer!!" Thor yelled out from his room. Loki exhaled hard and I laughed a little as I looked over to Thor's door. Loki rolled his shoulder along the doorway and turned himself around so he was staring at his brother's door as well. I gave him a small wave as I left his room and walked down the hall and into my own room.

"In the kitchen where you left it." Loki replied. I closed the door and hugged the clothes against me as I inhaled hard and smiled. 

"Oh god, am I getting a crush on Loki??" I asked myself as I looked down to his clothes in my arms.

"Is that a bad thing?" I argued as I raised a brow and walked over to the bed.

"You just met him, Alex. He's just charming is all." I nodded as I dropped his clothes on my bed and undressed.

"Charming and handsome."

"So handsome." I thought as I pictured his beautiful smile in my head. I shook the image of him out of my head and pulled on Loki's clothes. I rolled the waist of his pants a few times to make them fit and then pulled the legs up to my knees, making capris. His shirt was still way too big for me but I liked bigger clothes on me, they made me feel small.

I climbed into bed and covered myself up with the thick blanket as I stared at the ceiling. I felt a smile creep on my face as the events from today replayed in my head. I laughed a little and flipped the switch next to my bed, turning off the lights. I closed my eyes and felt myself sink into the comfortable bed as I began to fall asleep.

*The Next Day*

I opened my eyes and rubbed them as I sat up in bed. This bed was probably the most comfortable thing I've ever slept on in my life. I rolled out of it and stretched my arms over my head as I yawned again. I could hear faint arguing outside of my room and decided to go investigate.

I quietly walked out of my room and down the hall, the marble floor made it really easy to sneak around. I came to the entrance to the living room and my eyes went wide as I stared at the two Gods. Thor was already dressed in his normal attire of Asgardian armor but Loki stood shirtless with black sweatpants hanging on his hips. His hair was pushed back on his head and I felt myself basically drooling over him.

"I do not see why you need to leave." Loki argued but his voice was in a loud whisper, like he was trying not to wake me.

"Jane wants me to have breakfast with her parents, brother. I must go." Thor loudly replied. Loki shushed him and Thor rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms.

"You are leaving me here alone again." Loki sighed as he crossed his arms. It was clear that Loki depended on Thor for company and it hurt him when Thor left.

"You are not alone, you have Lady Alex." Thor laughed as he pointed to me. I was so busy drooling over Loki I didn't even realize he could see me. I tensed up and Loki turned around, his eyes locking on mine. A small smirk played on his lips as his eyes quickly traveled down my body and back up to my eyes. His smirk disappeared almost as soon as it appeared and he furrowed his brows as he looked back at his brother.

"She is busy with Stark." He replied, slight disappointment in his voice.

"Not until noon." I shrugged. Loki looked back at me and then to the clock in the kitchen, reading the time. A hint of a smile played on his lips and that excited me. It seemed like he liked being around me, which was good because I liked being around him.

"I have 3 free hours." I added.

"See! You had fun with her last night, you will have fun with her today!" Thor laughed before walking away and to the elevator. He pressed the call button and waited a few seconds before it opened up. He smiled at the two of us and then the doors closed, leaving Loki and me alone.

"Breakfast?" I smiled.

*4 Days Later*

Loki and I have started to become a little closer. He isn't as bad as I thought he would be. Thor's been staying at Jane's place and that's left Loki and I completely alone. 

I walked into the kitchen and greeted Loki with a smile as he spooned some cereal into his mouth. I made myself a cup of coffee and sat down across from him, sipping the hot drink.

"So, I have the day off, what do you wanna do?" I asked him.

"Nothing." Loki coldly replied.

"Oh! I know what we could do!" I smiled as I leaned back on the stool.

"What?" Loki asked. I figured him asking means he's a little interested.

"Conjure up some real furniture and let's turn this place into a home and not a museum." I replied. Loki set his spoon down in his bowl and looked over his shoulder to the empty living room.

"What's wrong with the décor we have now?" He asked as he looked back at me.

"Bland, old, boring. It feels like I shouldn't even go into the living room without paying admission." I shrugged.

"What would you change about it?" He asked as he resumed eating.

"Wood flooring, a couch, T.V, game consoles, coffee table." I replied, naming off a few things as I looked around the room. Loki snapped his fingers and the flooring suddenly changed from white marble to dark oak wood and a green couch appeared in the middle of the room. He snapped his fingers again and a large T.V box appeared next to the couch, 2 gaming consoles appeared on the couch and a large coffee table appeared next to the wall.

"Awesome!" I laughed as I set my coffee down and got up.

"Now help me move it all." I smiled as I looked over at the God. He rolled his eyes but stood up and followed me into the living room. Loki moved the T.V box away from the couch while I moved the coffee table away from the wall. I set the game consoles on the table and walked over to the couch. Loki grabbed one side while I grabbed the other and we shimmed it around the living room, looking for the perfect spot. 

"Here." I smiled as I let my side go. Loki let his go too and I turned around and let myself fall back and over the arm of the couch, landing on my back and smiling up at Loki. He smiled at me and snapped his fingers, setting everything else up using his magic.

"Nice, nice, nice." I smiled.

"Oh! How about some music!" I said as I sat up and crossed my legs in a criss cross position. Loki conjured up a large radio and a stand for it to sit on, putting it on the opposite side of the wall from the T.V. I walked over and twisted the large nobs, searching through the stations.

"Ooooo!" I laughed as I stopped and turned the song that was playing up.

"What is this?" Loki asked as he joined me by the radio.

"Come and Get Your Love by Redbone." I replied as I turned around and smiled at him.

"Dance with me!" I laughed as I grabbed his hand and pulled him towards a more empty spot in the living room.

"No thanks." Loki said as he shook his head and pulled away from me. I raised a brow and accepted the challenge to get him to dance with me.

"Hail, what's the matter with your mind and your sign." I began singing along as I danced around Loki.

"Stop it." Loki politely ordered.

"Hail, nothin' the matter with your head." I giggled as I took his hand again and pulled him along with me, spinning in a big circle.

"Baby find it, come on and find it. Hail, with it, baby, 'cause you're fine and you're mine, and you look so divine!" I loudly sang as I spun in the opposite direction, dragging Loki with me. I put his hand up and had him spin me in place and I could tell he was hiding his smile.

"Come and get your looove. Come and get your looove. Come and get your looove. Come and get your looove!!" I laughed as I stopped and clapped my hands. I moved away from Loki and continued dancing in the most goofy and ridiculous way I could, mostly because I don't know how to dance but also because I wanted to get him to relax and I knew he enjoyed when I was made a fool.

"You're truly insane!" Loki shouted over the music.

"Join me in the insanity!" I shouted back, flashing him a large smile.

"I'd rather not." He shrugged.

"Awe, come on! No one's here to see it. Just you and me!" I pleaded as I danced back over to him.

"I said-a find it, find it, go on and love it if you like it, yeah. Hail, it's your business if you want some, take some. Get it together, baby!" I sang at the top of my lungs as I took his hands in mine. I pulled him around and danced madly with him until he finally cracked a smile. I let out a loud laugh and he shook his head as he spun me in place and then danced away from me. My heart leaped in my chest as he danced just as goofy and crazy as I did, his body moving to the lyrics like mine was.

"Come and get your looove, come and get your love, come and get your love, now!! Come and get your love, come and get your love, come and get your love, now!!" I sang out as Loki danced back towards me, his smile growing with each step he takes.

"Come and get your love, come and get your love, come and get your love, now." Loki sang as he took my hand and spun me towards him. I was surprised that Loki was singing, not so surprised that he knew the lyrics because they kinda just repeat.

Loki spun me away from him but kept his hand tightly around mine as we stretched apart. We shared a warm smile and he quickly spun me back towards him, my back landing against his chest. He spun me again and I let go as I danced around him, my whole body moving with the music.

"Sorry to interrupt!" Thor suddenly shouted over the music. I jumped and Loki snapped his fingers, turning off the radio as quick as he could. I grabbed my chest, feeling my heart beating rapidly, and looked over at the elevator where Thor was standing and smiling at us.

"I just came by to see how Loki was doing this morning, but it seems he is doing quite well." Thor happily chuckled as he crossed his arms. Loki ran his fingers through his hair and cleared his throat as he awkwardly walked away from us and down the hall to his room. I smiled at Thor, completely embarrassed that he saw me dancing like that, but happy that I managed to see that side of Loki. I excused myself and quickly went to my room, shutting the door behind me and laughing to myself as I closed my eyes.

*2 weeks later*

Thor and Loki were sent on a mission off world a few days ago and I can honestly say I missed them. Loki told me S.H.I.E.L.D had implanted a device in the base of the back of his neck that they use when they think he needs to be controlled. That's what stopped his magic and locked him up at the lake. He said they rarely use it but when they do it's horrible. Tony said he brings it up to Fury every chance he gets, but Fury refuses to remove it. He told me he'll bother him more about it next time they see one another.

Tony keeps making excuses for me to stay the night at his place every chance he gets. I've stayed over 10 days out of the 14 I've been working for him. Which means I see a lot of the God brothers. They legally have to hang out at Tony's place until their needed for another mission. Well, only Loki really, Thor just stays for his brother. Loki has focused his full attention on pranking me, which I really enjoy. I love a good laugh and his pranks are harmless.

I've only seen Peter a few times since the night we met. Tony said Peter's girlfriend has been setting new rules for him since she found out he was lying. I agree with her mindset. She wants Peter to earn back her trust, understandable. I also didn't tell Peter about what happened that night because I knew he would freak about about Loki and I hanging out right after he specifically told me to stay away from him. But no one else mentioned it either, which I found interesting. I assume Peter is pretty vocal about his dislike for Loki and that's why everyone's been hush about it.

I still haven't made any friends here but it's only been a few weeks and honestly, I haven't really been trying. I spend all of my free time at Tony's with Loki. He shows off some magic, I satisfy his ego by being genuinely impressed, we watch a few movies, look out over the city, he pranks me a few times and we call it a day. Most fun I've had in years honestly.

My anxiety had been weening and my confidence has sky rocketed after that night. I knew that if I had the guts to stand up to Fury like that, I could do anything. And Tony constantly telling me I was a "badass" for doing that helps a lot.

I was walking back towards the building after having lunch with Pepper on the other side of town. She told me Tony called me T.J last night when they were talking about the charity ball. She said it was short for Tony Junior. I laughed but she warned me that that was going to be my nickname until something better popped up. I was dreading that one. I walked into the office and greeted Happy, who was talking to the security guard at the desk. He excused himself and ran after me as I walked to the elevator.

"Alex, Tony said he needs you in the lab down stairs." He informed me. I checked my phone for and realized I had two missed messages from Tony. I put my phone on silent when Pepper and I were at lunch and just forgot to turn it back up.

"You're one of the 3 people Tony actually texts and you ignore him??" Happy joked as he crossed his arms.

"I was busy with Pepper." I shrugged. Happy smiled at me and then turned and walked back over to the desk, continuing his conversation with the security guard. The elevator doors opened and I pressed the button for the private lab Tony has at the very bottom of the building. He likes to use that one for special things that he can bring teams in on.

I walked out of the elevator and down the small hall to the large glass doors. I could see a bunch of scientists and large equipment behind the doors. The science nerd in me was getting excited. I stopped at the door and stared at the keypad, trying to remember the passcode. I furrowed my brows and input the code, hoping it was the right one. The button small light turned green and the door buzzed as it opened up. I walked inside and Tony and Peter both turned to me as I closed the door.

"T.J!"

"Hey Alex." They said in unison. Peter looked at Tony and raised a curious brow as Tony smiled and waved me over to the large machine they were working on.

"Don't call me T.J." I laughed as I stood next to them.

"Ya know, I gave it a long thought, T.J, and kid just wasn't a good nickname for you. And after that little stunt a few weeks ago, I figured Tony Junior would be the best nickname a girl like you could have." Tony said as he fluttered his eyes at me and then looked at his machine.

"What little stunt?" Peter asked as he looked between Tony and I.

"Nothing. I-"

"She totally gave it to Nick Fury. Like, full on gave it to him." Tony laughed as he looked at me. I clenched my jaw and my eyes went slight wide as I glared over at him. He realized his mistake and tightly shut his lips. He pretended to look around for a tool and then walked away.

"About what?" Peter laughed as he leaned on the cylinder machine.

"Just, how he treats some people unfairly and all. Nothing big." I shrugged as I walked around the machine and admired it. It was large enough to fit a person inside, but only one person. I could see the inside of it through a glass piece on the door but had no idea what it was used for.

"People as in Loki?" He asked as he stood up and followed me around the machine.

"I mean, he was one of the people I mentioned." I admitted, stopping and looking up at the man.

"Alex, I told you to stay away from him. He's bad news, okay?" Peter whispered, taking another step closer to me.

"Yeah, no, I get that you think that...but I'm allowed to form my own opinion on him." I argued as I crossed my arms. Peter sighed and nodded in agreement as he took a step back.

"I know. I'm sorry. It's just, I lost some important people that day and it's hard not to blame him. I know it wasn't him, but.... it was." He sighed as he leaned back on the machine.

"When I see him I see them, ya know?" He asked me.

"I get that. And I'm so sorry you had to go through something like that. But I think Loki really feels horrible for what he did that day. Truly." I said as I leaned next to him and shrugged a bit. A silence fell between us and I wanted to change the dark subject we were on, so I stood up and looked at the machine.

"What is this?" I asked him. His eyes lit up and he stood up too as he walked around to the other side. He pressed a button and the cylinder opened up, revealing the sleek inside.

"This is mine and Tony's latest invention for his suit. Basically we wanna make the Iron Man suit be able to withstand any element or combination of elements that comes it's way. So this machine will simulate every element and element mix known to man, and Asgardian kind." He seemed so excited to finally talk about this with me. It was pretty amazing that they could even make such a device.

"So, like fire, ice, wind, acids, stuff like that?" I asked as I ran my finger over the metal bed inside.

"Right. Along with other elements like metals, golds, earth. Basically anything and everything that exists is made up of some type of element. Sooooo, all of those combinations go into here." Peter explained as he patted the machine.

"And when you put the suit inside, it tests it against the elements and gives you a reading on the screen on how to prevent damage?" I asked as I walked over and touched the large rectangle screen below the glass window.

"Bingo." Peter nodded.

"That's incredible!"

"Hey, T.J!" Tony yelled out from the other side of the lab. I rolled my eyes and walked over as I shook my head.

"Not my name." I argued as I crossed my arms and stopped in front of him.

"Ya know, I'm starting to think I should have disciplined you for sneaking out with Loki. His confidence seemed to rub off on you already." Tony nodded at me. He wasn't wrong. I did feel more confident and...more like who I wanted to be.

"Annnyway. Why did you need me here?" I asked as I watched him mess with some device in his hands. He was screwing the back of it shut.

"I need someone to get into the machine so we can test it." He casually said as he looked at me and smiled. I knew that smile. That was a Loki smile.

"And you want it to be me??" I half laughed.

"Well, yeah? I'm not getting in that thing." He scoffed as he looked at me with a brow raised.

"The element part won't be turned on. This is just a test to see if it can detect you in there." Peter said as he walked up behind me.

"Why can't you just put the suit inside? I mean, isn't that what this is supposed to be made for anyway? Not human flesh." I said as I lifted my hand and waved my fingers around in front of the two men.

"Yeeaahh. But those government puppets over there-" Tony pointed to a group of government official looking men standing off to the side and staring at us.

"-want to make sure it can't be used on humans."

"Something about me creating an army of powerful beings and trying to overrule the government of something. I dunno." Tony shrugged and put the remote down as he walked away.

"Ummm. Is it even safe??" I asked Peter as I glanced over at the machine, watching Tony do some last minute adjustments on it.

"Totally." He reassured me.

"Either you or me." Peter added. I thought about the dangers of doing this but shrugged them off because I knew Tony would never let anything happen to me.

At least, I hoped he would never let anything happen to me.

"Fiiine." I smiled as I set my purse down on the floor. We walked back over to the machine and Tony smiled as he bowed down to me, making me laugh. With Peter's help, I climbed inside and laid where Tony's suit was to be placed. The lid closed and I suddenly realized how claustrophobic I was. My breathing began to quicken but I closed my eyes and tried to control it.

"Alright. Gonna turn it on and see if it detects you." Peter's voice was muffled but I opened my eyes to see his smiling face, a face I trusted. I nodded and closed my eyes again. I could barely move because of how small the area inside was.

"Be fast please. I don't like this" I forced a laugh but I really wanted to scream at him to let me out. Peter patted the glass and walked away from the machine. I could hear muffled voices in the background but it was hard to make out what they were saying. I forced my hands together on my stomach and picked at my nails as I tried to calm myself down. The glass was fogging up because of my heavy breathing and I was getting really hot.

"Tony??" I called out after a few minutes.

"We're gonna turn it on now, T.J!" He yelled back. I swallowed hard and closed my eyes as the machine around me began to make a deep, loud buzzing sound. My heart began to pound in my chest and, what seemed like a million, little lasers shot out from every angle of the inside of the machine and fixated on me.

"What the fuck." I let out a harsh whisper as I frantically looked around. I tried to relax, telling myself that's how the machine detects things in here.

"Okay..." Tony's voice was distant but I could still hear him. It sounded like he was explaining why the machine wouldn't activate the elements while I was inside.

"But Mr. Stark..." One of the men began to argue with him but I couldn't hear what he was saying.

"T-Tony??" I called out. I was beginning to feel sick.

*Third Person POV*

Tony stared down at the remote in his hand and rolled his eyes as the government men argued about his machine.

"Look, boys, I'm sure daddy promised you lots of candy if you were able to shut my project down, but there's no reason to." He said as he looked over at the men and shrugged.

"It's dangerous, Stark." One of them harshly replied.

"Lots of things in the world are dangerous, Tom, it's all a matter of who has the dangerous thing." Tony argued as he smirked at the man.

"I don't know." The man sighed as he crossed his arms and looked back at the machine.

"It detects living DNA inside of it. It won't turn on. Not even when I activate all the elements at once." Tony said as he carelessly ran his hand down the remote, activating everything on the machine.

"See?" Tony asked, a hint of cockiness in his voice as he smirked at the men. The remote in his hand suddenly began rapidly beeping and Tony snapped his direction to the little device. Peter looked at Tony and then began walking towards the machine.

"Turn it off." He ordered his boss. Tony tried to shut it down but the remote just continued beeping.

"I-it won't shut off." Tony half laughed, trying not to worry the men who were sent to evaluate his project.

"Turn it off!!" Peter shouted again as he ran towards the machine.

*Alex's POV*

The lasers suddenly began to heat up and slightly burning my skin. I quickly moved my hands around my body, patting where the lasers had hurt. My breathing quickened and I screamed for Tony to help me get out.

"Turn it off!!" I heard Peter yell out. My heart sank into my stomach as a whirling sound filled the machine. I tried to push my hands up to the lid, hoping to force it open, but there wasn't enough room to move.

"TONY!!" I screamed once more.

"Get her out!" Tony shouted out. I heard footsteps running towards me but it was too late.

The light was so bright I thought I went blind. I squeezed my eyes shut as intense pain engulfed my body within seconds. I screamed but I'm sure they were muffled by the explosions happening inside. Something went wrong. Very wrong. The machine began to violently shake as I began to black out. The last thing I remember was accepting the fact that I was going to die.

*****