Untangling a Demigod | Loki Laufeyson One Shot
“Imagine being Loki’s only friend in the Avengers Tower and getting caught braiding his hair.”
requested by: anon
You were hungry. You had tried persuading your stomach that it was two o’clock in the morning, hardly the time for a nacho craving. But your stomach had stubbornly refused to listen, so you climbed out of bed and headed for the kitchen. As you rummaged through the fridge, trying to find the salsa, you thought you heard a voice coming from the connected room. Nachos suddenly forgotten, you closed the fridge and went to investigate.
Cautiously, you poked your head into the adjacent room. This room had a rather large dining tables at one end, and a huge television set surrounded by comfy couches and armchairs at the other. Seated on one of these couches, with his back to you, was none other than the God of Mischief himself.
You and Loki had unexpectedly bonded since taking up residence in Avenger Tower. The demigod was fairly antisocial, but always seemed to open up a bit for you. That didn’t mean, however, that you weren’t still a little intimidated by him. So, you approached quietly, trying to figure out what he was doing without alerting him to your presence. Your stealth failed, though, as you were so focused on Loki that you failed to notice one of the dining chairs wasn’t pushed in, and you tripped over it.
Loki swore and leapt to his feet, spinning to see the source of the commotion, then chuckled at the sight of you trying to extricate yourself from the chair. He waited, politely amused, for you to straighten up before he asked, one eyebrow raised, “What exactly were you trying to do?”
You scratched at the back of your neck, trying to hide your nervousness, but getting the strange, sinking feeling that the Asgardian could see right through you.
“I was just… getting a snack. What about you?”
“Getting a snack involved attacking the furniture, did it?”
“Well… no,” you admitted, fidgeting with the hem of your shirt now.
“It’s not a good idea to sneak up on me, you know,” Loki informed you, not coldly, but matter-of-factly, before turning and sitting on the couch again.
You took this as an invitation, and came and sat at one end of the couch, far enough away to give Loki his space, but close enough that you could see what he had been doing. On the coffee table was a mirror, propped up against a tissue box, and a rather large pair of scissors. On the floor at Loki’s feet was a thin lock of black hair, which he reached for now.
“Were you–” you began, but he cut you off.
“I was trying to cut my hair,” Loki spat. “It’s getting most unruly, and I’m beginning to tire of it.”
“I see,” you said gently. You couldn’t help but wonder if he wasn’t also trying to match his brother’s new style, even if just subconsciously. You decided not to press the issue. Loki was kind to you, yes, even friendly, but you weren’t sure how far his patience would extend. You thought for a moment, a rather uneasy silence hanging over the pair of you. “Would you like some help?” you asked finally, edging a bit closer to the demigod.
Loki looked up from the lock of hair in his hands, a look of genuine surprise on his face.
“Yes,” he said, after some consideration. “Yes, I suppose that would be all right.” he picked up the scissors and began to hand them to you. But then he hesitated, biting his lip.
“Yes?” you prompted. It was clear he was battling with himself. Summoning up your courage, you scooted even closer, and reached out to take both of Loki’s hands in your own. You gently pulled the scissors from his hand and set them aside. “Perhaps,” you suggested, “you should sleep on it before you go cutting your hair off.”
“Perhaps,” he agreed, not taking his hands away. The silence that fell now was much more comfortable. Loki’s eyes searched yours for a while, and then he gently squeezed your hands before murmuring, “Thank you.”
“Of course,” you said. “That’s what friends are for, isn’t it?”
Loki nodded thoughtfully, his eyes growing somewhat distant.
“Now how about I help you find another way to tame your hair?” you said, injecting a little more cheer into the mood of the room. You gently directed Loki to sit on the floor in front of you, giving you access to his hair. “How do you feel about braids?”
“I’m not sure,” Loki admitted.
You began running your fingers through the demigod’s long black hair, gently working the tangles out. Loki closed his eyes and sighed, apparently rather enjoying your touch. Once the tangles were gone, you set to work on a neat French braid that would keep Loki’s hair from his face.
Lost again in concentration, you both jumped as someone spoke behind you.
“I can’t believe you guys are having a slumber party without me,” Tony Stark quipped, swirling a drink with one hand and using a dish towel to wipe grease from his face with the other. “I don’t have enough hair for braids, obviously, but we could do pedicures, if you’re game.”
You finished wrapping your hair tie around the end of Loki’s braid and stood up.
“Actually, I was just about to head back to bed,” you said, making your exit and leaving Loki staring after you with a puzzled expression on his face.
Tony didn’t stop teasing you about it for months.
written by: brooke