Nine Lives 7
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A/N: OKAY! Internet temporarily working! I have no idea how long I have before it goes down again, so I'm just gonna throw out this update as quickly as I can. Don't worry, none of my stories are abandoned or anything. It's just been my wireless screwing me over. *shakesfist*
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The next day, the bruises around Tony's eyes shone an even deeper purple than the night before, making him look haggard. Yet he was all smiles when he looked to see Loki perched at his side, giving him a look that, quadruped or no, told Tony clear as day that he was an imbecile. He patted Loki on the head and smirked at the glare the bit of contact earned him.
“'Morning, Loki,” he mumbled. His voice was sandpaper-rough.
It's afternoon, you idiot.
This was confirmed when Pepper came in moments later and all but slammed Tony's lunch onto the end table.
“Oooh, is that filet mignon?” Tony crowed. He poked at the plastic fork next to the steak as though it were the most interesting thing in the world.
Pepper stood at his side, her arms crossed and her back and shoulders bowstring-tense. She leveled a glare at Tony Stark that would have made Sif proud. “Yes, it is,” she answered through her teeth. “Try not to choke on it. Too much.”
When Tony looked up at her, it was with wide eyes and a furrowed brow that made him look like a recalcitrant child. Or a puppy that had just pissed on the rug. “What?” he asked, voice innocent, almost whiny.
Loki settled into a more comfortable position and watched the expressions that flit over the humans' faces. Pepper's glare softened and wavered, darting to the side and down, and Loki silently applauded Tony's use of the sad-puppy look, though none could rival Thor in that area. Another glance at the kicked-puppy stare, and Pepper's shoulders slumped, the tension strung between them visually uncoiling.
“Sorry,” Pepper sighed, rubbing her fingers against her forehead. “I've just been worried. You've taken hits before but not like that. Not in a while.”
“Hey,” Tony murmured, sad-puppy look giving way to a lopsided smile. “Even without the armor, my head's too thick even for the Hulk to smash. You know that.”
Pepper smiled wanly. She looked at Tony for a long moment, as though she wanted to say something, before shaking her head.
Loki glanced back and forth between the two and wondered if there may have been something between them once... or if there was something between them now. He bristled without knowing why. For the first time, Loki felt like an intruder, like an awkward third wheel. For all they knew, he might as well not even be there, and for some reason that galled him.
This wasn't his life, he reminded himself. He didn't belong here anymore than he had belonged on Jotunheim or Asgard.
“By the way,” Pepper continued, “Bruce called earlier to apologize. He says he was just having 'one of those days' and wanted to make sure you were all right.”
“Ah yes,” Tony said wryly. “I remember 'those days' from when he used to stay here. Between him and Thor, I've had to replace so much furniture. This is why we can't have nice things, you know.”
Pepper nodded indulgently, but Loki could see that she was holding back an eye-roll.
With a hollow rattle, Pepper drew out a little orange bottle from her pocket and placed it next to Tony's shrink-wrapped cup of pudding.
“What's this?” Tony grunted.
“It's called medicine. I believe you're familiar with the term.”
Were he in a better mood, Loki would have smiled. As it was, he wanted to claw at the woman's hand for reaching into Tony's personal space. The banter between them, the comfort in each other's presence, just reminded him of all he had lost, all he had perhaps never had.
He wondered what it was like to not be alone.
“They're for the pain,” Pepper clarified. “Take them as needed but no more than two every four hours. And don't touch the steak, yet. It's hot.”
Really? Instructions like that would have made Loki eat the steak right away just out of spite -
“Really, Pepper, now you just make me want to touch the steak.”
Loki blinked at the human. Had they just...? He shook his head, trying to rid himself of the sense of “weird”.
Pepper left, and Loki found himself watching Tony as he ate, studying every bend and twitch of his face. He did not know what he was looking for.
Tony looked back at the cat and tilted his head. “Hi,” he said.
Loki blinked and looked away, suddenly aware that he was staring. Embarrassing.
“Are you hungry, Lo'kitty?”
Is that all you humans want to ask me, and - WHAT did you just call me?
Again Loki found himself gaping at Tony Stark. The human chuckled, sliced off a tiny piece of steak, and held it out to Loki between his thumb and forefinger. Loki eyed the human suspiciously.
“Don't worry; I didn't cook it myself or anything.”
Obviously. You were asleep, fool.
Loki was not sure how he felt about taking food from Tony's hand. Still, it was an improvement from eating what tasted like sawdust out of a bowl. On the floor.
Ugh, the indignity!
Yes... yes, this was much more fitting, now that he thought of it. Humans should be fighting over the privilege to hand-feed him. Slowly, Loki stretched out his neck and took the piece of steak daintily between his teeth. He bit into the tender meat and rolled its juices around his tongue, remembering suddenly and forcefully what it was like to eat like a god - or at least a human - and not like some lowly beast. And he was hungry! As he swallowed, his stomach gurgled plaintively, and Loki found himself staring at the rest of the steak with wide, greedy eyes.
Tony chuckled and handed him another piece. Loki chomped at it more eagerly and inched closer until he was practically on top of the human. He did not realize he was purring until he felt its vibrating hum in his chest.
Tony pet Loki with one hand and ate with the other, pausing every few bites to hand a tiny slice over to the cat.
“Please tell me you are not feeding that cat filet mignon.”
Loki looked up at Pepper in the doorway and had to bite back a growl. Tony was smiling sheepishly. Pepper shook her head in exasperation, but there was a glint of humor in her eyes.
“Aw, come on, Pepper!” Tony wheedled. “See how happy it makes him?” He pulled Loki to him in a loose, one-armed hug. Loki's ears flattened against his head, and he would clawed his way free or at least stopped purring if his stomach weren't so wonderfully full with steak. “Right, Lo'kitty?”
Call me that again, and I will claw out your eyeballs.
Pepper sighed heavily. “You realize that he's not going to eat his regular food now, right?”
“Oh, c'mon!” Tony scoffed. “It's just a few bites! Let him live a little.”
“And if that's all he'll eat?”
“Well, then he has good taste.” Tony handed Loki one last slice and smiled up at Pepper. “Hey. He's my cat, remember?”
Loki did not know why that simple pronoun made his stomach twist in strange ways. He looked up at Tony, at the humor and affection glinting in his dark eyes, and felt his stomach twist even further. He wanted nothing more than to flee from that stare, suddenly, but he... couldn't.
Tony's hand on his neck sent warm tingles down Loki's spine.
“By the way, while we're on the subject,” Pepper continued, shifting her stance to one more comfortable, “you're going to need to get him fixed.”
Fixed? Was something of him broken? He glanced down, but his foreleg was healing well enough.
“Pepper!” Tony gasped in mock outrage. “Not in front of him!” Tony's hands covered Loki's ears, and the Trickster stiffened. What was going on? He unsheathed his claws, but Tony withdrew his hands the next moment.
“Maybe we can get a two-for-one special,” Pepper sighed. “You could benefit from a little 'snip' yourself.” She gestured accordingly with her fingers and smirked as Tony cringed, drawing into a ball.
Snip? Loki had a bad feeling about this.
“Do not joke about such things, Pepper! But yeah, find a vet and schedule an appointment. We should get him checked out while we're at it. Still no one looking for a cat of his description?”
“No.”
“Good!” Tony's answering smile surprised Loki. The human looked down at him, and his thumb moved in tiny circles along his scalp. Loki arched into the touch before he could think better of it.
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A/N: OKAY! Internet temporarily working! I have no idea how long I have before it goes down again, so I'm just gonna throw out this update as quickly as I can. Don't worry, none of my stories are abandoned or anything. It's just been my wireless screwing me over. *shakesfist*
Attached
The next day, the bruises around Tony's eyes shone an even deeper purple than the night before, making him look haggard. Yet he was all smiles when he looked to see Loki perched at his side, giving him a look that, quadruped or no, told Tony clear as day that he was an imbecile. He patted Loki on the head and smirked at the glare the bit of contact earned him.
“'Morning, Loki,” he mumbled. His voice was sandpaper-rough.
It's afternoon, you idiot.
This was confirmed when Pepper came in moments later and all but slammed Tony's lunch onto the end table.
“Oooh, is that filet mignon?” Tony crowed. He poked at the plastic fork next to the steak as though it were the most interesting thing in the world.
Pepper stood at his side, her arms crossed and her back and shoulders bowstring-tense. She leveled a glare at Tony Stark that would have made Sif proud. “Yes, it is,” she answered through her teeth. “Try not to choke on it. Too much.”
When Tony looked up at her, it was with wide eyes and a furrowed brow that made him look like a recalcitrant child. Or a puppy that had just pissed on the rug. “What?” he asked, voice innocent, almost whiny.
Loki settled into a more comfortable position and watched the expressions that flit over the humans' faces. Pepper's glare softened and wavered, darting to the side and down, and Loki silently applauded Tony's use of the sad-puppy look, though none could rival Thor in that area. Another glance at the kicked-puppy stare, and Pepper's shoulders slumped, the tension strung between them visually uncoiling.
“Sorry,” Pepper sighed, rubbing her fingers against her forehead. “I've just been worried. You've taken hits before but not like that. Not in a while.”
“Hey,” Tony murmured, sad-puppy look giving way to a lopsided smile. “Even without the armor, my head's too thick even for the Hulk to smash. You know that.”
Pepper smiled wanly. She looked at Tony for a long moment, as though she wanted to say something, before shaking her head.
Loki glanced back and forth between the two and wondered if there may have been something between them once... or if there was something between them now. He bristled without knowing why. For the first time, Loki felt like an intruder, like an awkward third wheel. For all they knew, he might as well not even be there, and for some reason that galled him.
This wasn't his life, he reminded himself. He didn't belong here anymore than he had belonged on Jotunheim or Asgard.
“By the way,” Pepper continued, “Bruce called earlier to apologize. He says he was just having 'one of those days' and wanted to make sure you were all right.”
“Ah yes,” Tony said wryly. “I remember 'those days' from when he used to stay here. Between him and Thor, I've had to replace so much furniture. This is why we can't have nice things, you know.”
Pepper nodded indulgently, but Loki could see that she was holding back an eye-roll.
With a hollow rattle, Pepper drew out a little orange bottle from her pocket and placed it next to Tony's shrink-wrapped cup of pudding.
“What's this?” Tony grunted.
“It's called medicine. I believe you're familiar with the term.”
Were he in a better mood, Loki would have smiled. As it was, he wanted to claw at the woman's hand for reaching into Tony's personal space. The banter between them, the comfort in each other's presence, just reminded him of all he had lost, all he had perhaps never had.
He wondered what it was like to not be alone.
“They're for the pain,” Pepper clarified. “Take them as needed but no more than two every four hours. And don't touch the steak, yet. It's hot.”
Really? Instructions like that would have made Loki eat the steak right away just out of spite -
“Really, Pepper, now you just make me want to touch the steak.”
Loki blinked at the human. Had they just...? He shook his head, trying to rid himself of the sense of “weird”.
Pepper left, and Loki found himself watching Tony as he ate, studying every bend and twitch of his face. He did not know what he was looking for.
Tony looked back at the cat and tilted his head. “Hi,” he said.
Loki blinked and looked away, suddenly aware that he was staring. Embarrassing.
“Are you hungry, Lo'kitty?”
Is that all you humans want to ask me, and - WHAT did you just call me?
Again Loki found himself gaping at Tony Stark. The human chuckled, sliced off a tiny piece of steak, and held it out to Loki between his thumb and forefinger. Loki eyed the human suspiciously.
“Don't worry; I didn't cook it myself or anything.”
Obviously. You were asleep, fool.
Loki was not sure how he felt about taking food from Tony's hand. Still, it was an improvement from eating what tasted like sawdust out of a bowl. On the floor.
Ugh, the indignity!
Yes... yes, this was much more fitting, now that he thought of it. Humans should be fighting over the privilege to hand-feed him. Slowly, Loki stretched out his neck and took the piece of steak daintily between his teeth. He bit into the tender meat and rolled its juices around his tongue, remembering suddenly and forcefully what it was like to eat like a god - or at least a human - and not like some lowly beast. And he was hungry! As he swallowed, his stomach gurgled plaintively, and Loki found himself staring at the rest of the steak with wide, greedy eyes.
Tony chuckled and handed him another piece. Loki chomped at it more eagerly and inched closer until he was practically on top of the human. He did not realize he was purring until he felt its vibrating hum in his chest.
Tony pet Loki with one hand and ate with the other, pausing every few bites to hand a tiny slice over to the cat.
“Please tell me you are not feeding that cat filet mignon.”
Loki looked up at Pepper in the doorway and had to bite back a growl. Tony was smiling sheepishly. Pepper shook her head in exasperation, but there was a glint of humor in her eyes.
“Aw, come on, Pepper!” Tony wheedled. “See how happy it makes him?” He pulled Loki to him in a loose, one-armed hug. Loki's ears flattened against his head, and he would clawed his way free or at least stopped purring if his stomach weren't so wonderfully full with steak. “Right, Lo'kitty?”
Call me that again, and I will claw out your eyeballs.
Pepper sighed heavily. “You realize that he's not going to eat his regular food now, right?”
“Oh, c'mon!” Tony scoffed. “It's just a few bites! Let him live a little.”
“And if that's all he'll eat?”
“Well, then he has good taste.” Tony handed Loki one last slice and smiled up at Pepper. “Hey. He's my cat, remember?”
Loki did not know why that simple pronoun made his stomach twist in strange ways. He looked up at Tony, at the humor and affection glinting in his dark eyes, and felt his stomach twist even further. He wanted nothing more than to flee from that stare, suddenly, but he... couldn't.
Tony's hand on his neck sent warm tingles down Loki's spine.
“By the way, while we're on the subject,” Pepper continued, shifting her stance to one more comfortable, “you're going to need to get him fixed.”
Fixed? Was something of him broken? He glanced down, but his foreleg was healing well enough.
“Pepper!” Tony gasped in mock outrage. “Not in front of him!” Tony's hands covered Loki's ears, and the Trickster stiffened. What was going on? He unsheathed his claws, but Tony withdrew his hands the next moment.
“Maybe we can get a two-for-one special,” Pepper sighed. “You could benefit from a little 'snip' yourself.” She gestured accordingly with her fingers and smirked as Tony cringed, drawing into a ball.
Snip? Loki had a bad feeling about this.
“Do not joke about such things, Pepper! But yeah, find a vet and schedule an appointment. We should get him checked out while we're at it. Still no one looking for a cat of his description?”
“No.”
“Good!” Tony's answering smile surprised Loki. The human looked down at him, and his thumb moved in tiny circles along his scalp. Loki arched into the touch before he could think better of it.
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