#the fear of missing an assignment and getting a bad grade smiles and captures me and i die

[maladaptive-ninja-returns]

It’s The Avengers (04x08)

Loki x Reader Avengers The Office AU (Slowwwwww Burn)

Season 4 Episode 08: Unfair Practices

Series Summary: Living in the Avengers facility post-apocalypse in a better timeline   Tony Stark has decided to capture every moment by pulling The Office on the Avengers. All of the housemates are pretty used to the idea except for you, who had just come here to finish her degree, and the newest member- Loki.

Warnings: an idiot sonovabich with bad intentions for our girl and a...um...thing we’ve been waiting for?

Word Count: I had no idea that when the gases in your intestines had no way to escape they could make various parts of your body hurt where you never thought gases could reach. Yes I am feeling the acidity in my chest tonight

MASTERLIST in bio, darlings. Tags are open (check bio)

"That's that for the class. You may talk to David and I'll be available on Wednesday for any queries." The camera panned out of the professor's face to take in a smug David leaning on the lectern at the end of the platform.  "Uh, professor, may I talk to you about the Oedipus complex subsection in the chapter?" The camera focused on Tamikah, the ace student in the class sitting in the front row. "I'd rather clarify my doubts from someone who can make me understand the complexity as a researcher rather than a man baby who thinks the complex is the ultimate truth of the world." The entire class chuckled. David gave a chuckle with a tik in his jaw. Javier even caught the professor suppressing a smile before indicating for Tamikah to follow him to his office. "Ugh, women," David whispered, "Everyone please submit your assignments. The grades will be up on Wednesday morning." The camera turned towards the back of the class to find your figure lost in your notebook, your face resting on your palm while the other hand doodled something on the pages as you tried to hide a smile.  "Earth to Y/N," Yusuf whispered, calling you out of whatever trance you were experiencing before pulling out your assignment from beneath your notebook and walking down the lecture hall towards David. A millisecond of fear flashed in your eyes and you looked for the camera.

You: *biting your lip* he looked at my notebook, Javi. God, he must be judging me so much right now! *you look behind the camera* oh! *Open your notebook and show him the doodles* *camera pans in to show the last page having incoherent scribbles with a couple of horns here and there along with a few flowers scattered across* *camera pans out* *silence* *you blink* *you gasp* what do you mean you don't get it. I could not have been more obvious!

You joined Yusuf near the platform, giving him a friendly slap on the back before wrapping your arm around his shoulder. "Should we grab lunch at Erma's? I'm craving their jelly doughnuts," you asked your friend as you both began to head out of the lecture hall.  The camera made it a point to show the transparency of emotions on David's face when you did that. Yusuf was more than happy to be in your company. "Please submit your assignment on your own, Miss Y/N," David calls you out in front of the class, "rather than running your errands through your classmates. It reflects how least interested you are about the work you are putting in receiving a good grade." You ignored him.  Someone in class shouted, "She's not interested in you, man. Move on." Neither you nor the camera felt the need to turn back and see what David was feeling right now.

 The Lounge The camera sat next to Wanda as she lay her head on the cold kitchenette island all the while groaning. Scott came from the elevator, drenched in sweat and glowing from the workout. "Upset stomach? I got some tablets in my room ever since Y/N introduced me to those orgasmic Korean recipes." "No," Wanda whimpered and went back to her groaning. Gulping down a bottle of cucumber water, Scott took a huge gulp of air before looking back at Wanda. "What's wrong? Magic gone bad?" The camera panned in on her face. The groaning stopped, her lips pouted the saddest pout imaginable and tears welled up in her eyes. "No," she finally sobbed. Fear seemed to cloud Scott's eyes as the bottle was carelessly dropped in the sink and Scott bent down, placing his hands gently on her hair to caress it. "Hey! Hey! What happened?" The tears didn't stop. "Nothing happened," came a small cry out of her before her voice cracked and the sobbing got worse.

Vision: *trying to adjust himself in his seat* Wanda has threatened me not to say anything but I'm worried for her. She had a nightmare yesterday and kept saying 'no!', 'No, you Glupyy bog!'  *shrugs* I don't know which bog is trying to hurt her but *camera pans in onto his serious face* that bog better be ready to...grab these hands. *looks behind the camera* Oh...catch! That bog better be ready to catch these hands! *shows his hands*

The camera swerved to watch Tony enter the Lounge, pausing his conversation on the phone and observing Wanda. "I'll call you back." He turned to Scott and pointed towards Wanda's figure with a tilt of his head. Scott shrugged. "Should I send for some Sokovian delicacies?" Tony asked her softly. "Or should I teach Vision to stop sleeping while standing in corner of your room?" "No, he doesn't do that anymore," Wanda wailed through her sobs, wiping her tears but still not getting up from the kitchen island. "Tony," she gasped a little, forcing the man to bend down and face her, "no matter what happens, all you need to do is give a hug." Tony tilted his head in confusion. Before he could ask her anything, Wanda's hand came for his collar and pushed his face closer to hers.  "Do you hear me Tony?!" she wailed, swollen eyes bearing into the man. "Just a hug." Tony gulped and nodded, bringing his arms around to hug her. "NOT ME, DAMMIT!" Wanda yelled, the lens feeling a little tremble and Tony immediately pulled back, his hands up and away.

University Library The camera sneakily walked across the library, trying to avoid the students and book racks, looking for someone. One corner of the library had a familiar figure hunched on a huge book opened upon a stack of more books. "Yeah, I think I found something," you whispered into your cellphone, "I'll text you pictures right away." Yusuf joined you with three more books. "Oh, by the way-" you thanked Yusuf through your facial expressions- "Friday could have done this faster than me." The camera came closer and was able to hear the voice at the other end. "The comms went down and the ship's system was ridden with malware because SOMEONE thought it would be a great idea to download Minecraft from an unknown pop-up in the ship's system." You furrowed your brows before the realisation hit you. "Thor." "I was bored and had no games on my phone!" Thor yelled back. "Friday's trying to fight the malware and reboot the system but we don't have enough time on our hands right now. These weirdos have started chanting some bizarre ritual and have started shooting at our ship. Text me the pictures and we'll try to figure out how to fight this cult." "Oh, okay. Is Loki there too?" It took you a second of locking eyes with the camera to realise what you had just said. "Uh-he said he was going to go to the city with Peter." All you could hear was incoherent chants in the back while Thor tried to curse the bad guys away. You facepalmed yourself hard and let out a muted curse. Gripping your lower lip in between your teeth for a stretched second, you blurted, "I needed some menstrual cups."

You: I COULD HAVE SAID ANYTHING ELSE!!! *wide-eyed glaring at the camera* ANY. THING. ELSE!!!! *The camera pans in on every word* *you groan and hide in your hands* *The camera pans out to show college kids passing you by with confused looks on their faces* *one of them offers you orange soda*

"Loki's not here," Natasha finally stated. "Oh, cool." You wanted to bury yourself in your arms. "I'll keep sending you whatever I can find. 'Kay bye." "Loki as in the God?" Yusuf whispered, sitting right next to you. You nodded. It took you a good few seconds to realise your friend did not know about your family. "Cool," he exclaimed before you could add anything, "can you thank him from my side the next time you see him? He's been a lot of help in my term project." Your furrowed brows and tilted head looked at him and then at the camera. And then back at him. "Excuse me? He did what?"

 Somewhere in the University Grounds Natasha ended the call with you and switched off the device blaring the chants and Thor's voice. "Y/N is kind to a fault." She walked towards one of the apartment complexes with the camera following her.

Natasha: Loki really is out with Peter today. And Javier is out with Y/N. Today is the perfect chance for me to do some digging and find out about the missing days of their space travel. *looks at the person behind the camera* I know you want to know it as much as I do so I expect you to keep mum about what I'm about to do today. *The camera nods*

Natasha's red hair was now veiled in a golden-coloured wig. Her face was covered behind huge sunglasses and instead of her go-to jeans and shirt, she wore a flower dress.

The apartment manager gave her figure one look before stopping her from getting on the elevator. "Excuse me. Who are you and where do you think you are going?" the manager was a white lady with pixie-cut blonde hair, a wrinkled face with endless worry lines and rimmed glasses. "Oh! Hi! I am Dorothy! Javier's mother! I am letting myself in to clean up my precious baby's dorm. He's a good kid but he takes after his father and never cleans up his mess. I'm pretty sure his place is stanking right now. He didn't bring his clothes for a wash the previous weekend. Don't worry Mama's got the keys to his place and she's gonna leave it squeaky clean for her little angel." Natasha gave her biggest smile and a flawless New Jersey accent to the manager, who clearly was getting uncomfortable with every shoulder touch 'Javier's Mama' was making. "Would you like to come to help me clean the apartment? The more the better, right? Oh, that reminds me, my baby's out of clean undies." The manager was screwing her nose now. "No, thank you. Please, just go." Natasha pressed the elevator button and once against smiled at the flabbergasted manager. She waved her goodbye as the doors closed. "Nice to meet ya!" She announced as the doors clicked close, the New Jersey mom immediately reverting to her resting assassin face. "Not a word about this goes out." She glared at the camera through her sunglasses.

Walking out of the elevator on the fourth floor, she walked down the hallway and stopped in front of a door.  The camera focused on a device she pulled out of her dress pocket and stuck to the doorknob. The device clicked and whirred, blinking twice with a red light before turning green and clicking the door open for the assassin. The apartment had a modest living room cum kitchen with three rooms at the end. Setting the earlier device on the breakfast table, Natasha touched the edge of her sunglasses to switch on the reading mode on them. "Friday, scan the entire apartment for hard disks, flash drives, memory cards and any electronic equipment with a storage." "On it, Miss Romanoff," Friday chimed and began the scan right away.  Natasha grabbed two soda cans from the fridge, offering one to the person behind the camera. "And now we wait."

 Uni Library 4 PM "Huh. I had no idea Loki was a bookworm in that way!" Yusuf chuckled, offering you a sandwich before going back to clicking pictures of any relevant page that Natasha might need. You were still lost in his laptop, scrolling through the pages of research and citations, not able to believe the layers put into the paper. "He's amazing!" Yusuf almost fangirled too hard before going back to the usual whisper. "He even loaned me some limited editions and research papers that are either sitting in restricted sections of world libraries or at some rich asshole's home." The camera swerved from him to you, recording your fingers pausing the scrolling to look up from the screen. 

You: *raise a brow* Excuse me???

"Glad that instead of either of those options, it was in Mr Stark's library. How lucky am I to be able to hold the same books that Mr Stark has preserved so well!" Yusuf adds with starry eyes.

You: *wave of realisation* Oh! *smiles* okay. *walks away from the camera to throw the baseball bat in your hand into the nearest storage closet*

You nodded in approval. "Stark's going to kill him but yeah. He's golden for lending you those books." The camera did not miss the little smile growing on your lips that you tried hard to suppress. "He's a nice guy," Yusuf admitted, leaning back in his seat and smiling. "He often calls me up to ask me how I'm doing and sends me snacks during assignment hours." You let your head rest in your palm as you looked at Yusuf. "Aw! I didn't know that. That's so sweet." Yusuf was grinning now. "But I think he does this less for me and more for someone else." He twirled his finger in your direction. You smacked that twirling finger away. "Yeah, right." Yusuf licked his lips. "I mean-" he pulled his chair closer to the table, letting his arms rest on the surface and leaning his face in your direction- "he always asks about you. How you are doing? Whether you have eaten. If you are sitting alone somewhere, lost in thoughts. If you are enjoying your company. If you are enjoying your company...too much." This time you smacked him away from you, the slap on his back resonating through the silence of the library. Both of you did not move for the next ten seconds, wondering if anyone would come and chuck you out of there.  "We should go back to helping Natasha," you whispered eventually, going back to the books in front of you. "I think I should go back to helping that suppressed scream out of you." "One more word and my elbow will bring out a scream from your stomach."

 Avenger's Facility The camera focused on the duffel bag Natasha carried through the front doors of the building, heading straight for the security room. She emptied the contents of the bag on the centre table, letting the platform light up and scan all the storage drives and memory cards. "Pull up the contents on all of them, Friday." Friday put up the hologram screen to run all the devices simultaneously. Half of them had test runs of the documentary. Some had shots of the university campus and some had recordings of campus events. "Find me the one with Loki and Y/N's time in space. The missing timeline." Three seconds was all it took to filter out the rest and bring forward the footage with a blank screen. The camera stood opposite Natasha, recording a haze for where the screen was, looking right through at it at the curious assassin. The silence was deafening as both of them waited. There was static for a few seconds before the sound of heavy breathing echoed through the security room.  "Do not make me repeat myself," Loki's voice was more of a growl, followed by someone gurgling- as if fighting for their breaths. "Where. Is. She." The frame that was panned in on Natasha's face gradually noticed something. Her furrowed brows were slowly going back to their resting phase. Her usually pursed lips moved apart in a calculated surprise. But there was more. Her figure- earlier leaning on the table wanting to read every little movement on the camera footage- was standing straight and taking a step away from the table. Curdled laughter resonated through the screen, sending Natasha's eyes wide. "She's dead, your highness." The mockery in words was made worse by the maniacal laughter that followed. A boom shook the recording running on the screen, making Natasha jump where she stood. This time, there was horror in the assassin's eyes.

 University Campus: 0730 Hours "Sorry, Yusuf. Had I known everyone was out at some event now, I wouldn't have dragged you into this." You groaned and bent down with your hands folded in front of him. Yusuf cackled. "Are you kidding me? It was fun! I don't have a sister so I finally know what it's like to tease one about their crush. This is the best day on campus I've had." The boy glowed with happiness, forcing you to mirror his smile. "Thanks, bro," you chimed. "For teasing you?" "For not asking about the Avengers? For being chill about all of this." He smiled. "Aw, come on. I fangirled about them in front of Loki so I'm good now." Both of you giggled to your heart's content till it was time for you to leave. Assuring Yusuf you can go to the parking lot on your own, you bid goodbye and walked under the street lights towards the parking lot with Javi and his camera. "He's a nice guy, isn't he?" you hummed with a smile, skipping on the pavement. "Pretty nice," a familiar but unwelcoming voice came from the shrubs that decorated the pavement by the college building. The camera quickly turned in that direction, moving ahead of you. "David," your tired voice came from somewhere out of the frame. David looked at the camera and then behind it. "You should get out of here, kid. The adults are gonna have some grownup talk." The camera did not budge where it stood until your voice called for him. "It's okay, Javi. It won't take long."

Javier's camera did not miss the smug smirk David had on his face when you said it wouldn't take long. Standing in the parking lot about a few meters away from you and David, the camera was constantly focused on you while someone's phone keypad was clicking quite fast in the back as if texting someone in a hurry. "What do you want, David?" It was more of a tired plea than a question. "What do I want? What do you want, Y/N?" Your crinkled brows displayed wrinkles of befuddled emotions. "Submitting your assignments seconds before the deadline. Making the excuses of being out of town just so you can do the extra ones to submit them to me. Being overtly sassy during my lectures even when we both know you aren't. Wearing boots even though you prefer flats. Then coming into my lecture yesterday with your hair flowing in the wind and that blue sundress till your knees. I think I know where this is going, sweet cheeks." You had to take in a good gulp of breath to shake your whole body in bafflement at him. "What the f*** are you even talking about, David?" "Oh, I know a flirt wave when I see one, baby." With the amount of offence your brain had taken, you were barely able to form coherent sentences now. "I did not dress for you, you moron! I dressed for- why am I even explaining myself to you?!" "Deny it all you want, Y/N. You can't run away from the fact that you are falling for me all over again." Your offended features went back to their neutral self. Your lips shutting up and your eyes giving him an extremely offensive side, you walked away from him and towards Javi. But David was quick to grab your arm and pull you back to him. Even before you could let this sink in, his hands were already roaming on the small of your back. "It's okay, babygirl. No need to deny the inevitable," David purred. "You can have me back. You don't have to be so needy about it." "Oh, F*** OFF, DAVID!!" your patience was reaching its threshold. "Even the tick on the bug under my boot would not reconcile with a trash like you." You broke away from his hold. The camera panned in on the fallen face of David as he let your words sink in. "Not everything revolves around you. Something I should've known is not easy for you to understand," you declared while looking right into his eyes. David's eyes seemed darker than usual now. The street lamps cast an eerie shadow over his face when he stood there frozen for as long as a cricket chirp before grabbing you by the neck. You never had the time to react with the basic defence skills Natasha had taught you. Javier's camera almost made a dash for it before coming to an unexpected halt. David pushed you into the nearest side of a car in the lot, forcing a whimper out of you. "You think I'm a joke?" His grip got stronger, making you gnaw at his hands. "You f****g slut!" the camera caught David bringing your face closer to his, waiting to growl. "You whiny bi-" "The last person who tried to hurt her ended up with a broken neck." The camera zoomed in on the shadows behind David, trying to find the source of the voice when it caught a pair of glowing golden eyes with a green hue. The God stepped into the light, pausing all movement within seven feet of his radius. Loki never had to spell it out. The mercilessly brutal gaze seared a nauseating feeling into David, compelling him to push you away from him. You felt your ankle twist, not able to bring back the balance in your leg if not for Loki breaking your fall. The God placed his hand on your back and let his eyes survey your neck for any injuries.

The camera slowly closed the distance between you and Javi, focusing on Loki's eyes. The sombre concern saw something on you that brought back that nauseating rage in his eyes. "I should have been more clear for this slow excuse of a human disgrace-" Loki's whisper tried to suppress his lungs as he turned towards David- "broken neck would be too easy a death for him." The camera was a bit too focused on the colours fading from David's skin to notice why he was suddenly backing away from you and your company. Loki's back was towards the camera. No way to record what he looked like. Only that he took two steps towards the man to send the latter running for his life while you grabbed the God by the waist. "Let him be. Loki, stop," you commanded. But within seconds you were begging him when he tried to undo your hold as gently as possible. "Please, let him go." "He hurt you, Y/N," Loki was not even looking at you. "I don't care. Just please don't do anything," you kept wrapping your arms around him and blocking his way. "It's alright," he calmly responded, still trying to walk in his direction, "he won't be able to do anything by sunrise." The camera caught a wave of fear in your eyes. Without another thought, you locked your arms around him as tightly as possible and shouted, "Wanda! Take us home!" With a wave of red plasmic energy, you disappeared before the camera. So did Loki.  Another wave hit the camera and everything turned black.

 The Lounge Scott whistled the theme of La Cucaracha in the kitchenette as he fetched himself an ice cream tub. "You want one, buddy?" he asked the person behind the camera sitting at the dining table at the other end of the lounge. Fetching another bowl, he walked towards the camera when a wave of red plasmic waves filled the lounge area. Scott found himself jumping behind the sofa. So did the camera. But unlike Scott, the camera peeped from behind the sofa to see you and Loki standing in the middle of the lounge while Javi presented himself out of thin air in the kitchenette, bumping into cabinets before finding a steady ground for his shaky legs. "What? Why did you do that Y/N?" Loki was ticked. The peripheral of the camera caught Scott raising his head to look at you two with peak curiosity. "So, I'd rather let you run behind him and beat him to death?" you responded on the same wavelength as the God. "He deserves it for being such a bloody scum." Loki was on the verge of grinding his teeth now. "I don't care what he deserves, Loki. Okay? This isn't space! You cannot just go about getting your way here! People are watching you!" Your assertion came out more loudly than you expected. "People can watch me punch the Midgardian soil out of him! Why should I care who's watching me!!" Loki was enraged now. Scott scooted back into the shade of the sofa at the first emphatic syllable in Loki's voice. "BECAUSE I CARE!!" you announced at the limit of your lungs. "I care too much about you to let some awful people brand you something you are not! Okay? I care about you too f*****g much to see you get so riled up by a pathetic loser. I-" The camera zoomed in on your expression. The weight of your own words dawned upon you abruptly while Loki stood there in a confused void. The camera made sure to catch Scott's jaw hitting the floor at your confession while you tried to gather your emotions. You did not speak. It looked like you didn't want to. "What?" Loki's voice went soft. And that did it for you. "I like you, Loki," your voice confessed delicately; your fingers pressing the life out of each other, "I like like you. Too much."