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It's late. Kevin has no doubt already whined for his walk and dinner and has fallen asleep somewhere. Eventually, Kai can be heard coming in with someone else, to whom he says, "We may have to be quiet if he's sleeping. I don't want to wake him up." At least it sounds like Kai, but the silhouette in the doorway is bulky and misshapen.
The rasp of James's voice is familiar - it comes through even in that whisper. "Fair enough," he murmurs. His own shape looks odd, too. What are they carrying?
Loki was in bed, indeed, but he gets up and leans in the dark doorway of their room, watching through the kitchen to the dark living room. Kevin did get his walk…and his food. he lurks like an eel in a hole, waiting for the pray to move so far into his territory that they cannot escape.
"Watch out for Kevin," Kai says quietly. That dog lives to get under foot. And to run out the door sometimes because there are interesting smells out there. When Kai click on a lamp, he nearly staggers back into Bucky to see Loki in the bedroom doorway. "Oh! Oh, hey there, handsome."
IF they were up to misbehavior, it doesn't show. Bucky grins shyly at Loki. "Sorry if we woke you," he says, quietly. He's carrying an enormous stuffed bear, which he sets down on the couch. Maybe he'll keep that one to sleep by….though he has already promised it to Kai.
Loki wets his lips. His robe is barely hanging on to him, so there is a lot of pale, muscled skin visible, and a glint in his green eyes. His arms begin folded, and unfold slowly as he rights himself. "I am certain that you are." He purringly replies. "Kai…do you need a shower?"
Kai squints at Loki. "…do I?" he asks. Like there might be a right answer? But he has no idea what it is. He has a stuffed bear and a stuffed frog, both not small, and he goes over to Loki, blissfully unaware of what this might look like. "Here," he says, offering him the frog. "Bucky won these at Coney Island. I thought you might like it because it's green." And very cute, to be fair.
Loki's up to something, clearly. But that's his job, anyhow. "I can, uh, step out and go for a walk," Buck offers, gently. It's hard to have privacy when you've got an assassin sleeping on your couch. "Or just up to the roof." He really does try to help on that front, though.
"I do not think that's necessary." Loki grins faintly as he takes the frog from Kai. "If Bucky won them…does he not want them? Or are you saying that he won them…to /for you/?" He smiles, but there's every sense that its just as dangerous as it is happy.
Kai toes the ground and says, "Well, he was telling people I'm his little brother…" He hugs his remaining teddy bear, coveting the plush toy. "Because he's a sniper, and they're shooting games," he explains. Hey, man, it's about practicality, right? He just smiles at Loki, like if he pretends there's no danger, it'll all be cool.
Buck, guileless, has decided things must be A OK. "Well, Kai likes them," he says, turning that little smile on Kai. "It amuses him, and the games were fun. I haven't played 'em since I was a kid." He scratches the back of his neck with metal fingers, having removed that glove. "And it's not like there's a lot I can *do* for Kai, really. I owe him so much….and housekeeping and being the comic relief don't go very far to make up for it."
Loki runs his hand over Kai's shoulder, then leans in to kiss him, and when he does, he smells him also, just seeing how cozy he was with the other man. "As long as you are not getting any ideas to…make it up to him in other ways, romantic ways….as long as you are not trying to woo my precious elf away from me…then..its fine."
They were on the Cyclone together twice, pretty cozy on the subway. There's a mingling of smells, but no scent of sex, so there's that. Kai's all too eager to kiss Loki, even with an audience. He's smitten, utterly, even if he holds his teddy bear a little tighter. It's his! It is… precious to him. At Loki's words, he glances over at Bucky with a dimpled grin, like how funny is that?
In an effort at politeness, Buck's let his gaze slide away, admiring some fraction of the mural as if he hadn't spent hours gazing at it on sleepless nights. But that comment has him snapping back around to stare at Loki, clearly astounded. Color rushes into his face. "…..wh-what?" he asks, blankly.
"Me?" It's very nearly a squeak. "No." He lifts a metal finger, "First of all, Loki, Kai's completely in love with you - he pretty much thinks you hung the moon. He'd never cheat on you." A second finger lifts, V for Victory, "And second, even if he were the kind to step out on you, I don't like guys like that. Never have." A third, "And even if both of those things weren't true, I'm not enough of an ass to try and fuck you over that way. You've been good to me, and I'm hardly ungrateful. Nor do I need one of the most cunning beings I know of as an enemy. If I wanted to commit suicide, there are cleaner methods than pissing you off."
Kai slips an arm around Loki and tells him, "I love Bucky, like a brother in arms. Hell, like a brother. You know I'd never step out on you, baby. You're the grooviest cat I've ever known. Why, I bet Bucky would put fist to anyone who even looked at me that way or stepped out of line."
Loki makes a hushing sound and brushes his hand over Kai's face. "Shhhh, baby…I'm just trying to stretch." He's like a cat…pouncing on a toy around the house. Its pointless. He knows it. But he still gets to use his claws. Then he points at Bucky and says, with serious, threatening tone, "If I ever find out that you have lied…." Stare. Stare.
"What's come over you, Loki?" His brow's knotted in confusion. "This is me….and whatever trouble you've had or will have with me, it won't ever be that." That the Russians did their best to destroy that aspect of his life in its entirety and pretty much succeeded on the last pass…that he won't bring up. Some subjects are too tender to touch, even obliquely.
Kai sets his bear aside so he can wrap both arms around Loki. "You're such a jealous thing," he murmurs, and he nuzzles Loki's neck, then nibbles at his ear. When in doubt, distract. "Maybe next time he'll take you and win you a bunch of prizes. We adore you." Nibble.
Loki grins faintly, "Ohhhh, you do not let me have any fun." He wets his lips and looks at Kai, first, then Bucky, "I am myself. I just…sometimes I believe I am growing soft." His hand runs down Kai's back, "What do you think? Perhaps I should encourage you to flirt with someone and then I can rough them up."
Bucky is still uneasy, that's clear. The overall flush has faded into pinkness on his cheeks, and he's back to looking at the wall….before he decides that the better part of valor involves going to the kitchen and pouring himself some juice. "You guys wanna glass?" he asks. Changing the subject, oh, yes.
Kai tells Bucky, "Trickster god." Then he tells Loki, "Soft isn't a word I associate with you." Is he really not a pleasure elf? He doesn't look triple-jointed. To Bucky, he says, "I'd love some, thank you." He stops molesting Loki and draws him toward the couch, snagging his bear on the way. "We rode the Cyclone. It was so much fun. I almost threw up."
"You should take me. I could be up to the challenge of this…so-called Cyclone." Loki lids his eyes and as Bucky makes drinks, he says, "Sure." Loki picks up his frog. "So..how angry were they when you defeated their games with, I am assuming, ease?"
"Sure," says Buck, as he pours out juice for both of them. "It's always fun to go." At the question of games, he shrugs. "Surprised, mostly. They're rigged to be hard to defeat. But I'm good at shooting and throwing, so…."
"So I almost got a shot glass with a mermaid on it," Kai says. "But he said we had to go home." He nudges Loki to a seat so he can settle down beside him and curl up. He takes a glass of his juice and rests his head on Loki's shoulder. "You should eat a funnel cake, too," he says, "and a Nathan's hotdog, and cotton candy. Coney Island is magic."
"I cannot believe that it can contest with the festivals of Asgard, but…I will give it a try." Asgard doesn't have roller coasters…because of the real dragons thing. If you want a thrill…there are ways. "He deprived you of a cup because you had to go? How disappointing." He does settle down, but he has not let go of the stuffed frog. "I am pleased you thought of me, Kai. It is a nice…trophy." A glance up to Bucky again, "If you lack the funds, I can pay for another trip to this legendary island."
He glances back over his shoulder at Loki, uncertain. "Sure," he agrees. "And no, I'm sure it doesn't measure up to what Asgard has. But….Steve and I loved it as a kid. And I wanted to revisit it, so Kai humored me. We left 'cause we had our hands full of those guys," A nod at the toys.
"I could've stuffed another one somewhere," Kai says. He grins as he watches Loki with the frog. "It's delightfully Midgardian," he says. "That's what's magical about it. It's such a creation of humanity, and the elf in me can appreciate the idea of creating a place just because it's fun." He tweaks the frog's ear. "We'll go back for the glass. It was getting late anyway. I'm sure they'll still have them.."
Loki winds an arm around Kai as the man snuggles in against him. "Overburdened with treasure. Yes…I suppose…it would be difficult to continue gathering more loot. I can say this honestly, I doubt we need /more/ of these…squishy fake pelts though. We must save room for real ones."
Bucky hands off the glasses of juice, carefully. "They're really more for kids," he acknowledges. "But….well, hey, the kidn of hunting I used to do, you couldn't bring home trophies…." Did he just make a joke about being an assassin?
"They're not for kids," Kai says. "Not just for kids. Besides, when I was a kid I only had one toy. These are great." He tells Loki, "I see men winning them for girls all the time." He eyes Bucky. "These make better trophies," he says. Then he dances the bear on Loki's leg and says in a high-pitched tone, "Win more of us, Loki! We're adorable!"
Loki reaches out and pushes at the bear squeaking at him. "No…absolutely not. You are too…ugh…you made me talk to a creature." He waves his hand and then the bear blinks and tilts its head super creepy. Illusion. "Could you not bring home a tooth from every kill? Do you have any rings…necklaces? No looting?"