Chapter 73: Loki’s Blunder

Chapter 73: Loki’s Blunder

A/N: Poor wittle Loki.

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Slinking out of her hiding place, Loki’s eyes dart left and right and her nostrils flare as she gazes around the dimly lit floor of Stark Tower that she’s called home for the past year and a half. After a moment, she glances up at the ceiling.

“Are they gone, JARVIS?”

There’s a brief pause and then Stark’s Artificial Guardian Spirit responds to her, sounding amused.

“Can you not check yourself, Loki?”

Loki huffs at that. Technically she could. She was more than capable of using her magic to find out if anyone else was nearby. There was just one problem with that... using her magic so cavalierly was how she’d gotten caught by her mother in the first place!

In all fairness to Loki, Frigga was supposed to be on Asgard. So was Sif. They definitely weren’t supposed to suddenly show up on Midgard in Stark’s massive monolith to his own wealth and power without warning! Unfortunately, that was precisely what had happened. There Loki was, just minding her own business, and suddenly she was dealing with the Queen of Asgard, Lady Sif, and Lady Sif’s newborn daughter.

There were only two points of solace in all of that. Number One, Sif hadn’t recognized her as Loki. She’d been maintaining her disguise as ‘Sylvie’ for the entirety of her stay on Midgard. Number Two, the fact that Sif was a mother at all filled Loki with a certain delight. Especially since the other woman, warrior that she was, had always sworn up and down that she would never have a child because it would stop her from fighting for too long.

To see that Sif in a dress, distinctly unsure of herself and not at all certain how to care for her daughter without Frigga and Pepper’s help was... well, it was delicious to say the least.

However, what was NOT delicious was Frigga seeing right through Loki’s disguise as Sylvie. Because she hadn’t known the Queen of Asgard was stopping by for a visit, she’d inadvertently used her magic in Frigga’s vicinity before running into her and Sif. And that meant Frigga knew exactly who Loki was.

After all, it was her mother who had trained Loki in her magic all those centuries ago. Loki had many tutors and mentors over the centuries, but none had been more impactful or spent more time with her than the Queen herself. So of course Frigga had identified her immediately.

The only silver lining was that her mother hadn’t immediately outed her in front of Sif. That would have made things ten times worse, something that the Queen seemed to understand, thankfully. Instead, Frigga had come looking for her hours later, and while Loki wished she could have just stayed hidden and out of sight... in the end, she’d let her mother find her, knowing better than to make Frigga hunt for too long.

Their reunion had been... well, it’d been rough on Loki, to say the least. There’d been a lot of tears, specifically on Frigga’s part. And then there’s been tears on Loki’s part BECAUSE of the tears on Frigga’s part. It wasn’t fair, it wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t fun. But... they’d talked. About a lot of things.

The worst part was how sorry Frigga was. The Queen of Asgard wouldn’t stop apologizing for everything that Loki had been through, as if it was her fault and not Odin’s. As if Loki’s actions weren’t her own. And sure, the Scepter had influenced Loki quite a bit during her bid to conquer Midgard, but everything else... that had been Loki. She’d tried to kill Stark, she’d sent the Destroyer to kill Thor, and she’d attempted to use the Bifrost to blow up Jotunheim, all of her own accord.

Frigga wouldn’t hear of blaming her though. It wasn’t Loki’s fault, the Queen had said. She’d been confused and lost, and it was Frigga’s fault for failing her as a mother. Loki had squawked at that, but Frigga had been confident in her assertion. After all, if Frigga HADN’T failed Loki as a mother, why hadn’t Loki come to her after Odin fell into the Odinsleep? Why hadn’t she asked Frigga for help instead of doing the things she did?

... Needless to say, her mother was very, very good at making Loki feel like a fucking moron, even without raising her voice. Indeed, the Queen of Asgard pretty much never raised her voice towards Thor or Loki when they were growing up. Odin would shout and yell at them for this or that, but Frigga... Frigga would just sit down with them, talk them through things, and more often than not apologize for failing them in some way.

Just as she’d done during her short trip to Midgard. Loki... Loki still wasn’t sure how to feel about all of it. On the one hand, seeing her mother again had actually felt good. Part of her even felt lighter for having talked things out with Frigga. On the other hand, she felt like shit. That was why, after that hours-long talk they’d had together, Loki hadn’t shown her face again for the entirety of Frigga and Sif’s stay. She didn’t want to get drawn into... any of that, if she was being honest.

Even when she’d felt the Bifrost activate again a couple days ago, Loki had stayed in hiding, refusing to come out of her room or use her magic. The food delivery options she had as well as the Midgardian entertainment had carried her through her self-imposed imprisonment. But at the end of the day, there was only so much time she could spend in one place before she began to feel antsy.

“Just answer me, JARVIS. Are they gone?”

“... Yes. Queen Frigga, Lady Sif, and the baby have returned to Asgard. Sir has returned from Asgard as well. Of course, their departure was days ago. As you well know.”

“I feel I should warn you that this won’t go according to plan, Loki.”

JARVIS’ bland, dry tone fills the hallway, causing Loki to furrow her brow and glance up at the ceiling.

“Oh? And why is that?”

“I cannot discuss all of Sir’s secrets with you, but suffice to say, he has grown since you saw him last. He also now knows that I am magical. While I still have no intention of breaking our pact and revealing your spying, you should be aware that he will almost certainly see through your illusions and catch you.”

... Huh. Stark must have learned something on Asgard, maybe from Odin himself. Quite impressive, he must have really caught the All-Father’s attention if Odin had been willing to part with some of his knowledge. Still... Loki finds herself scoffing at the idea that Stark would be able to see through her magic. Especially since she can now augment it with Midgardian Magic.

“Frigga only caught me because I was unaware of her presence, JARVIS. I’m quite confident in my ability to hide myself from your Master and Mistress’ senses, regardless of what bits of knowledge Stark managed to pry from the All-Father’s withered, decrepit hands.”

There’s silence for a long moment at that before JARVIS finally replies.

“... Very well. Do not say I didn’t warn you.”

Smiling, Loki just rolls her eyes and continues on her way. As terrifying as he could be at times, there were also moments where Stark’s Artificial Spirit was almost... adorable in his concern.

Finally arriving at her ultimate destination, Loki has already layered plenty of spells on top of her form, making sure that every bit of her presence is hidden from view as she slips into Tony and Pepper’s bedroom. The two Midgardians are on the bed of course, with Stark thrusting away into his wife like a man possessed.

Loki isn’t sure why she’s watched them go at it so many times. It’s become... a thing for her, she supposes. Biting her lower lip, she suspects it has something to do with just how good they both look doing it. As well, the fact that they go at it so hard and fast but can still maintain a conversation is quite impressive. Even as Pepper Stark is being railed like nothing else, she’s speaking clearly and calmly.

“I know you’re worried about increasing the time table for HYDRA, Tony. But it’ll be fine. You have it all planned out. I know with you at the helm, it’ll all work out perfectly.”

Tony chuckles.

“I appreciate the vote of confidence, Pep. Honestly, I’m not too worried about HYDRA or Project Insight. Pierce, Mallick, all of them... they’re playing right into our hands. I’m more worried about this new thing with He-!”

Tony suddenly stops himself mid-word, twitching and looking to the side... right at Loki’s hiding spot.

There’s no way, right? Except, then Stark’s eyes suddenly turn pitch red as he lets out an unhappy growl.

“Well now, what’s this?”

Suddenly, Loki can feel her obfuscating spells being shredded away like they’re nothing. For a moment, she thinks JARVIS is betraying her after all... but then she realizes it’s Stark himself who’s doing it.

Now Pepper is also looking at her, with Loki’s position in the room completely exposed. Though to her surprise, neither of the Starks actually look all that upset with her or her presence. Instead, they just look... hungry.

Eep.

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A/N: Oopsie daisy. JARVIS did try to warn her...