Loki jumped as Tony set his glass down with a bang on the table, turning his attention back to the group before him. They had been at the party for a couple of hours now. In that time, a few more people had joined their little group, most notably Thor's Midgardian girlfriend - Jane. She was pleasant enough, Loki supposed, and at least she had bothered to greet him with a smile.

Tony seemed to be engaged in some energetic re-telling of a story, one which Loki had to doubt the credibility of because Miss Potts would roll her eyes or shake her head at every other comment he made. The others seemed to be engaged by the tale, all save for Coulson, who was peering around the crowds as if looking for someone. Loki raised an eyebrow but did not speak, still debating exactly how to confront the man whose death he was responsible for.

An Asian woman stopped by Coulson's chair on her way back from the bar, the two of them exchanging hushed words and small nods toward specific people in the crowded hall. The woman left a few seconds later. Coulson turned back to the group, but kept shooting glances after her.

Loki swallowed hard. Were there SHIELD agents hidden around the building, targeting him in case he caused trouble? But try as he might, he couldn't see anything out of place in the crowded room.

Loki glanced up sharply as the music changed, snapped from his eavesdropping by the new, faster tune. Stark also looked up, mid-sentence.

"Oh, Ten O'Clock already?"

The billionaire wasted no time in exchanging the shot glass he held for Pepper's hand.

Loki watched in amusement as Stark got to his feet, dragging the strawberry-blonde after him.

"Come on, Pepper, let's dance."

"What? Tony-! I'm not going to…"

"Come on, Pep!"

"But Tony, I-" the rest of her protest was cut off as he pulled her into a twirl.

Thor, taking his lead from Stark, stood, bowed stiffly to Jane, and offered his hand, which she took happily.

Hawkeye and Black Widow exchanged glances. Hawkeye shrugged, Black Widow smirked, and the two of them left the table as well.

The Captain cleared his throat after a second.

"So Tony mentioned something about having a gallery of weapons from old wars somewhere on the fifth floor…?"

"Oh, yeah, sure. It's pretty cool. Want to go look?" Banner asked, rolling the last sip of brandy around the bottom of his shot glass. The Captain nodded, and the two of them left the table, leaving Loki alone with Coulson.

The demi-god shot a fleeting glance at the SHIELD agent, hoping to find him distracted, but no such luck. The man's sharp eyes and deceptively calm smile were trained on him. After a few seconds of exchanging peripheral glances, Coulson leaned forward across the table to face him head-on.

"I don't think we were ever properly introduced. I'm SHIELD Special Agent Phil Coulson."

"Loki Layfeyson, Prince and rightful ruler of Asgard."

"So I've heard. Did big brother steal your spotlight? Is that why you came after Earth?"

"It's…it was a lot more complicated than that."

"Well," Coulson stood, nodding towards the bar, "we've got all night. Come on."

Loki hesitantly got to his feet and followed the man, still unsure whether to trust him. He was so damn calm, it was almost unnerving.

The demi-god tested his handcuffs nervously as Coulson sidled up the bar, nodding at the man who already sat there and sliding onto a bar stool. He glanced back for Loki, patting the seat next to him when the Asgardian made no move to approach.

Loki inhaled, letting his breath out slowly as stepped up beside Coulson.

"Hi, boys. Pick your poison." The new voice distracted Loki, and he glanced up to find a young Midgardian woman smiling at him over the bar.

"Hello. We'll each have a drink," Coulson returned the smile.

"What would you like?" The blonde behind the bar fluttered her sparkling eyelashes at them over her shoulder as she opened the liquor cabinet.

"Just a beer." Coulson said, pulling out the stool with one hand while he leaned the other on the marble counter.

Loki sat, awkwardly trying to scoot himself closer to the bar without having to stand up again. It was a few seconds before he realized the woman was waiting for him to pick a drink.

"Oh, um…I'll have the blue one…with the parasol…" he muttered, finding the marble surface of the counter to be MOST interesting.

The woman shot him a bemused look, ducking behind the bar to fetch bottles of liquor for the drinks. Coulson was once again scanning the crowds, and Loki looked around with him, trying to find whatever intrigued the agent so, but to no avail.

The blonde set their drinks down with matching clinks, and Coulson wasted no time in grabbing his beer and turning so his back leaned against the bar. Loki repeated the action, taking his own drink and turning to face the center of the room. Tony and Miss Potts were along the edge of the crowd, dancing together in a spinning, pacing way that Loki found altogether strange, but apparently acceptable at Midgardian parties.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Coulson pop the cap on his beer with a thumb and hold it up.

"A toast…" he glanced over at Loki, who mimicked the move and held his own glass up in confusion, "to peace."

Before Coulson could even raise the bottle to his lips, Natasha walked past, casually snagging it from him with a muttered "The doctor said no alcohol, you're still recovering."

Coulson pathetically watched her leave with his drink, then poured a glass of lemonade from a pitcher at the bar with a resigned sigh.

Loki stared into his glass for a moment, watching the ice bump against the sides.

"Recovering…?" Loki asked at length, grabbing onto the topic while he had the chance. He didn't know how much more sitting in silence he could take…

"Well, you kind of stabbed me through the heart the last time we met." Coulson shrugged. "That tends to take quite a bit of recovery."

"Ah…yes…that…" Loki rubbed circles in the condensation of his glass with his thumb. "I suppose nearly dying would-"

"Not nearly. Actually. I died for about forty seconds," Coulson corrected him with a grin that Loki thought was a bit too smug for discussing one's apparent death and resurrection.

"You seem rather…relaxed around me, for someone that I killed…" he started.

"Well," Coulson shrugged, "you stabbed me, I shot you through a wall with a Reverse-Destroyer Neuron Energy Blaster… we both lived, so I consider us even. I always prefer having allies to enemies. Speaking of which…" Coulson raised his hand in the air, flagging down a young brunette out on the dance floor. The girl glanced to either side of her in confusion before pointing at herself incredulously, and Coulson nodded, waving her over.

"Loki, this is Skye. Our newest SHIELD Agent. Skye? This is the guy responsible for New York."

The girl looked him over, wide-eyed.

"He's wearing a Hawaiian shirt."

Loki glanced down at his flowered shirt woefully. Never again was he going to trust Thor's fashion advice…leather and metal was the only way to go.

"Have you seen Agents Ward or FitzSimmons?" Coulson asked her, and the girl pointed vaguely at the crowd behind her, eyes never leaving Loki.

"Yeah, they were all dancing a minute ago. Fitz is actually really good with the Tango. Who knew? Well, I mean, Simmons knew, but you get what I mean. Are you sure that Mister Moody here is fine to be wandering around in nothing but a pair of handcuffs? I mean, if this is the guy who nearly flattened New York…"

Coulson shrugged, casting a quick glance at Loki.

"I wouldn't worry about him, I think he's learned his lesson. After all, Hulk always beats Army."

Loki shuddered, trying to keep a disgusted look off his face, but was not entirely successful as evidenced by the girl's smirk.

"Well, Ward promised me a dance, and I'm not about to pass up the opportunity to see him tripping over his own feet. Catch you later, Coulson."

"Stay out of trouble, Skye," Coulson warned. Then, quickly cutting off her protest: "I mean it, no hacking into Tony's mainframe, or messing with Jarvis."

She waved a hand noncommittally as she left, and Coulson turned back to Loki with a sigh.

"They're a great bunch of kids, but they're a handful."

"Oh, I know the feeling," Loki muttered, his own myriad of children coming to mind.

The two sat in silence for a while, listening to the music and watching the crowds, before Loki remembered something that Coulson has said.

"What is this 'super nandy' you mentioned earlier?" he asked, setting his untouched drink on the counter but keeping the parasol and twirling it between two fingers absent-mindedly.

"Oh, Supernanny?" Coulson chuckled, "When Fury told me that I was to be the official 'babysitter' for the Avengers, I figured I needed help from the best. And the tips are really quite useful. I mean, how to keep tantrums under control? Keep breakable objects out of reach. Provide opportunities to let off steam. Distractions and diversions. Try to say 'later' instead of 'no' so they feel more like you're agreeing with them. It works on Stark every time. Though usually I have to add alcohol… My current team isn't too bad with tantrums either. Fitz and Simmons usually stay in the lab and mind their own business, and Ward is practically a robot. Skye's the new player on the team, so it throws off the balance a bit, but we work it out. I have Agent May to help me with them, so it's a lot easier than the Avengers. Overall, they aren't too difficult to handle."

He paused, taking a chug of his drink, then added after a moment's thought, "Except for Banner, but he's a special needs case."

Loki nodded in understanding, turning his attention to his handcuffs.

They were nothing special, just a plain, ordinary pair of cuffs. Thor hadn't even been trying when he had fitted his younger brother with them. The girl – Skye – had a point. Did Thor really think that a simple pair of handcuffs could hold him?

However, as he tested the cuffs, he realized that escaping was probably not the best idea. After all, if he could show that he could be trusted, then he would get to wander free more often. Alternatively, if he escaped, he might become swiftly and painfully re-acquainted with both the green monster and Stark's new floor, and that was something that he did not plan on repeating any time soon.

Coulson took another sip of his lemonade, looking more relaxed now, and Loki glanced around for his drink. The blue liquid had the bite of alcohol, however if was drowned with blueberry-jam taste. Definitely unusual, but not too bad.

"Hey, Agent! Reindeer Games! Heads up!"

Loki choked and spluttered as Tony all but popped up between them, Thor on his heels. Coulson was a bit more collected, but had a hand at his side-holster out of habit.

Tony, seeming not to notice, threw an arm about both of their shoulders and dragged them to their feet.

"Food time. Five minutes, ballroom. No lagging behind."

"Come, brother. You need to put meat on your bones!" Thor chimed in, tossing his arm around Loki's shoulders from the other side and making it all but impossible for him to walk.

"Thor, please, I'm perfectly capable of-"

"Stark, do I have to remind you of my Taser threat?"

"The two of you are over here brooding in a corner when I've gone to the trouble of hosting such a nice party-"

"Mother said that I was to make sure you ate proper meals in her absence, Loki, I'm only-"

"Taser. Stark. You were to behave or I was going to leave you prone and twitching where you stood."

"Thor, you're embarrassing me, get off-…!"

"Ooh, someone's moody. Has Mister Tall Dark and Angsty started rubbing off on you? Or are you just pouting because Natasha stole your drink?"

"Like you wouldn't be doing the same…"

"BOYS. Please."

They all hushed as Pepper fell in alongside them, prying Tony off of Coulson and Loki, and shooing them all towards the ballroom. "Save the arguing for later, it's time to eat. Tony, remember what I said about hosting parties…"

"Oh come on, Pep, I didn't even do anything wrong…this time…that I can think of. Did I actually do anything? Or do you just enjoy seeing me sweat it out?"

Loki watched the Iron Couple and Coulson head for one of the banquet tables, and gave Thor a solid shove, but the large blond man didn't so much as twitch, and Loki huffed a sigh.

"Fine, brother. We'll go find food. I hope they have shawarma…"

Yes, I am still alive. Sort of. Not really. But hey, here's an update! I will be going to see Thor 2 this weekend, so you might catch me on a Loki kick for a bit, but no guarantees. After all, I have about 18 other ignored fanfics that I should really be updating right now... Anyway, please leave a review, and thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! Until next time,

~Kage