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imagines-loki-laufeyson · 7 years ago

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Aaa! Im in love with this! You did a wonderful job!!!

Shelter From the Weather, Chapter One

Hi, all! This is my first Marvel fic - hope you enjoy! Please comment and let me know what you think :)

Read it here on AO3!

Inspired by this post by @imagines-loki-laufeyson - thanks for the inspiration!

Title from Hard Rain by Lykke Li.

This chapter’s theme song: Dying to Know by Tegan and Sara.

Many thanks to the wonderful @my-first-name-is-agent for her encouragement and advice during the writing of this fic - this one’s for you.

When Loki leaves you high and dry, your friend Steve tries to help mend your broken heart. But as you and Steve grow closer, your friendship threatens to evolve into something more. Will Loki’s jealousy get you back in his arms and his bed—or will you risk losing your best friend in search of the perfect relationship with him?

‘When did I become this person?’

Sitting back on your haunches, you surveyed your handiwork. Never had a rooftop garden been more pristinely cared for—each hedge precisely trimmed, each flower inspected for the telltale decay that signaled it was time to pluck it, each architectural element perfectly placed and scrubbed clean with a vigor you didn’t know you possessed.

“When did I become a person who cares if a hedge has one branch growing out of place?” you repeated, out loud this time.

“You could find a worse outlet for frustration.”

At the sudden break to your reverie, you started, turning to see who had joined you on the roof of the Avengers Tower. Squinting into the sun, you saw Steve smiling, a bottle of water in his outstretched hand. “I thought you could probably use a break,” he continued.

“Thanks,” you replied, taking off your gardening gloves. The cool temperatures of the morning had steadily risen as the hours slipped by unnoticed, and you were considerably warmer and more dehydrated than you had planned on being.

“It looks nice,” offered Steve. Sitting down on a bench under a shaded arbor, he motioned for you to join him. “Seems like a good place to sit and think,” he said. “Or be alone,” he added, a little more gently.

“Hey, like you said, worse outlets and all,” you replied. Looking down at your hands, you gave a small smile, but it didn’t quite reach your eyes.

Steve put his hand on your knee, and you glanced up, finally meeting his eyes. “I understand if you don’t want to talk about it, I just—I wanted to make sure you were OK,” he said.

Giving a bitter laugh, you turned back and looked out over the garden. “I have no one to blame but myself. I mean, I know who he is—what he is—and I know enough about his history. I guess I just got sucked in by all those stupid rom-coms where the woman fixes the hot loser and turns him into a dream boyfriend, or something. Guess I forgot the one where he breaks up with her out of the blue with no explanation,” you answered.

“Hey,” Steve murmured, putting his arm around you gently, “It’s not your job to fix anybody. It’s his job to want to be a better person—a person you deserve.”

Steve’s grip on your shoulder tightened in solidarity, and you were thankful for the touch and the warmth, even in the heat. It grounded you to the physical world around you, the beauty around you—the flowers, the trees, the skyline silhouetted against a searing blue sky. Not to mention Steve. He was your friend, but although you’d never considered him your type, he wasn’t a bad-looking guy.

Suddenly that train of thought had you feeling a little too warm. Since when did you start feeling uncomfortable about Steve Rogers? He was your friend, for God’s sake, and the mom friend at that. ‘Guess this breakup really is getting to me,’ you thought. ‘Hormones all out of whack, or whatever.’

Shrugging off Steve’s arm, you stood up. “Well, I think it’s time for a shower. We still on for movie night?” you asked.

“Absolutely,” he answered with a grin.

Settling into the couch, you picked up the remote and scrolled through your options. Technically, you supposed FRIDAY could help, but it was just faster to do it yourself. It was your turn to pick a movie or TV show this week, so you’d arrived a few minutes early to sort through your options. This had become your and Steve’s weekly tradition: Thursday night, at 9 o’clock, you had your movie nights.

You’d originally conceived of them as a way to help Steve familiarize himself with popular culture, and although he’d long since moved on to binging shows on his own, it remained a staple of the Avengers household. Sometimes others joined you, most often Natasha or Sam, but tonight it was just you and Steve. The residential quarters of the tower had been quiet today, and it seemed most everyone was out for the evening or otherwise occupied. Maybe that was for the best. You weren’t really in the best mood, and the fewer people around, the less you had to fake being alright. Suddenly, though, a voice—smooth and low—broke the stillness.

“Planning another stimulating evening with Captain Rogers, are we?”

Loki. Your heart skipped a beat. The air suddenly seemed oppressive and thick, and about ten degrees too warm. Drawing a deep breath, you turned in your seat to face him. He leaned against the doorframe, all long legs and moody eyes. Despite his disaffected air, you knew better. He was here to pick a fight, and you’d be damned before you gave him the satisfaction of winning.

“Loki, Steve and I have been doing movie nights for ages. You even joined us sometimes—”

At this Loki interrupted to scoff under his breath, feigning an examination of his fingernails.

“—And you even liked it,” you all but spat out. Loki’s head snapped back up, eyes boring into yours. “And before you cut me off with some snide comment again,” you continued, “For what it’s worth, I happen to enjoy the company of a man who’s actually interested in engaging with a new culture, and not just pissing and moaning about how subpar it is to what he’s used to. It’s…” you trailed off, pretending to search for the right word, just for emphasis. Meeting his eyes once again, you let the feigned recognition break across your face: “…Stimulating.”

You let that comment hang. Loki may have known your weaknesses, but damn if you didn’t know his too; you figured his inferiority complex was a raw enough nerve to get him to leave you alone, and maybe even do some damage, while you were at it. Loki held his gaze, eyes burning like sapphires, long past the point where his eye contact had ceased to be comfortable, before whirling around and stalking off.

By the time Steve arrived a few minutes later with a couple bottles of beer, you were closing to breaking, the dammed-up emotions threatening to burst through to the surface. Seeing your tightly-drawn face, he set the bottles down and turned to you. “Are you alright?” he asked quietly.

“Loki,” you muttered through gritted teeth.

“He’s around tonight? I thought he’d be off…somewhere,” Steve trailed off, embarrassed.

“Off with whoever he’s decided to make tonight’s lucky one-night wonder?” you supplied, bitterness hardening the edges of your words.

Steve put his arm around you and rubbed your shoulder. “Hey, you don’t know that,” he said gently.

“Well, what I am I supposed to assume, with him going out every night, coming back late, or not at all?” Turning your face to rest on Steve’s shoulder, you groaned. “Sorry. I know what you’re gonna say: it’s not helpful to think like that. And you’re right, of course.”

“Doesn’t make it any easier,” he replied with a gentle tousle of your hair. “What happened, if you don’t mind my asking?”

You sat up a bit to face Steve. Scooting in your seat to be able to look at him, you answered, “He tried to pick a fight about movie night, of all things, like it’s any of his damn business what I do with my evenings or who I spend them with.”

Steve shrugged. “Well, you guys just broke up; even if he ended things, he’s probably not too happy to see you spending time with another guy,” he offered.

You gaped at him. “But Steve, we’re friends! We’ve been friends for ages—since before he and I even met! We’ve been doing movie nights for—well, it seems like forever; how could he possibly jealous about that?”

“Well…” Steve paused, trying to think of the right thing to say.

You sighed in frustration, trying to get your mind off the upsetting encounter. “Let him think whatever the fuck he wants,” you said. “I just want him to go have his snit fit somewhere else.”

“I didn’t say it made sense,” Steve said, shrugging again. “I may not be the most experienced with relationships, but I know how I’d feel if I saw my girl hanging around somebody else. Heck, I used to get sad when I saw my dates go ask Bucky for a dance—and I was the one who’d just told them I didn’t feel like dancing!” Seeing your furrowed eyebrows, he continued, “Like I said, it doesn’t have to make sense. I was too shy to dance, and I figured those gals would prefer Buck to me anyways, so I rejected them before they could reject me.”

“What are you, a marriage counselor?” you asked, but your tone was gentle and your laugh was real, if quiet. “That does make sense, though.” You paused, considering. Turning to Steve, you asked in a small voice, “Do you think that’s why he ended things?”

Steve’s gaze softened. “Maybe,” replied. “It would fit his personality, fear of rejection and all that. Although I doubt he’s the kind of guy to just let that sort of thing go, like I did back then.”

You settled into the couch, both of you sitting in comfortable silence. Suddenly, a thought struck you. “You know what we should do?” you asked, turning to Steve suddenly.

Guessing at what you were about to suggest, Steve gave you his best disappointed mom look. “Waving our friendship in Loki’s face to make him jealous is not a mature solution,” he said sternly.

“Fuck maturity,” you replied, “And fuck him. He needs a taste of his own medicine. And you know what?” you continued. “I think you agree—you’re just too much of a good guy to say so.” Steve pursed his lips and looked off to the side with a frown, which confirmed your suspicions. “Well, lucky for you, I’m asshole enough for both of us,” you said with a mischievous smile. “Besides, think of it this way—maybe you’re right, and he broke up with me to avoid me breaking up with him. If he gets jealous enough, he might let down his guard enough for us to actually talk about it. You know that conversation is never gonna happen unless he’s pissed enough to get vulnerable, he has way too many walls put up.”

Steve sat for a moment, turning the idea over in his mind. “Well, espionage was never my forte,” he replied, with a degree of resignation. Turning to look at you once more, he continued, a little more gently, “But you deserve to know why he ended things, at least. And besides,” he added, a twinkle in his eye, “I guess if it means we get to spend more time together, it’s not such a bad idea, right?”

“Exactly,” you answered with a smile.

#loki #loki laufeyson #steve rogers #marvel #marvel fic #loki x reader #steve x reader #reader-insert #lokis always an asshole

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