[IC] Appointments Post

[selfhelp]

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[Action, January 1st]

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Comments

[Action, August 19] that's too much manpain I can't take it

[selfhelp]

[Truth be told, Billy hadn't been sure that a magic lesson was even going to happen this week, after everything that's happened recently. But usually when Loki has to cancel, he gets a message about it, and since one hadn't been sent... well, Billy's hoping for the best. He's still not sure what to expect, good or bad, but he's bracing himself for some sort of aftermath, anyway. Everyone's been feeling it, and to pretend like nothing's wrong would be kind of ridiculous.

He knocks first, to let Loki know that he's here, but assuming it isn't locked he'll go ahead and let himself in rather than waiting. He's been over here enough times that he figures his arrival isn't a surprise.]

Hey, it's Billy.

[endgames]

...wow. Are you embarrassed?

[Much better topic to stick to, given recent events. You know how Dad is...]

[selfhelp]

O-of course I'm embarrassed! Wouldn't you be!?

[He's actually kind of horrified to be caught by Shikamaru, of all people...]

[selfhelp]

[He's not sure whether to be relieved or on guard for this, so he'll just go ahead and be a bit of both. For now, anyway.]

...You're not going to tell anyone about this, are you?

[endgames]

I'd probably be doing that if I wasn't working at the factory.

[He tries to say that in a casual way. Like he doesn't care about that whole 'beneath the whole Stark family line' bit, but that's always been a sore point for him, so the verdict's out if it works or not.

Just in case it doesn't:]

And it's not like he has room to talk. He owns a line of banana stands of all things.

[Action, August 19] apparently you get some more anyway!

[complicatedliar]

[He knew Billy was coming. He...just didn't feel like getting up. But Loki realizes that level of laziness isn't the norm for him. So when Billy lets himself in, he does rise to his feet, and he smiles, and it's back to being All Right.

Funny how, in Luceti Valley, being All Right was a thing that almost killed him. Well, he's not a mortal in reality, and he's far stronger than that. He just does his best to forget that when Tony finally had managed to badger him into admitting he wasn't all right, it had felt...good, in a way. Or not so much good as a profound relief. But that kind of pathetic breakdown was not useful in any sense at the moment, and he has far too much pride.]

Good evening, Billy. I'd wondered if we'd be doing this tonight.

I've made coffee if you'd like some.

[Loki doesn't look bad so much as just...off. It takes more than a week of not eating properly or sleeping for someone as durable as him to really show it. But the signs of fatigue are there for the careful observer, the lack of feeling behind his expressions, and the strain showing in the set of his shoulders.]

[selfhelp]

[Pfft. Okay, he does have a point there, kind of.]

Well... yeah, but at least he's getting paid for those.

[curiositykills]

Didn't look like it from back there. [He gestures to where he'd been standing before.] So I think you've gotta be doing a decent job.

[Action, August 19] what am I gonna do with you

[selfhelp]

[If living with - and dating - Teddy has taught Billy anything, it's to notice the small things, the slight differences in posture, expression, tone, and if not decipher them then at least recognize that they're off a bit. He's not an expert on Loki-isms the way he is with Teddy, and with shapeshifters, it's different, but he's been around enough to notice something.

Kicking off his shoes, he heads in, lips pursed as he tries to sort out how to approach this.]

Coffee sounds great, thanks. Hey, uh... how are you doing? After... everything. I wasn't sure if we'd have a lesson or not...

Re: [Action, August 19] watch it young man I will cry a single tear at you.

[complicatedliar]

I'll get you some. [He heads for the kitchen.

Hah. That question. He is anything but all right. But admitting that to anyone is difficult, and he's mentally retreated to a defensive posture. Maybe he should tell Billy, but what would be the point? Nothing will change. Well, other than sounding really pathetic. And mentioning his own distress might lead to talking about Rogue's, and then she'd never forgive him.

It doesn't occur to Loki that Billy probably already knows.]

I'm all right. [He smiles crookedly. The expression is habitual and wooden.] If I let little things like this bother me, I've never get anywhere, yes? [Because this sort of mental mess does happen all the time. So why is he so bothered?]

[endgames]

If I were peddling, I'd take a ridiculous magician's outfit over the get-up he has those guys in.

[magicalesbian]

Who would I even tell? "Hey Mr. Stark, I think Lil' Willy's gearing up to be the next Houdini, better nip that in the bud while you can"?

[The nickname got worse.]

[selfhelp]

Always nice to be receiving positive feedback.

[He offers a quirky grin.]

You're too nice, though. What if I'd really been wrong?

[selfhelp]

[WOW IT SURE DID. And there goes any sympathy he was building up.]

Don't call me that!

[selfhelp]

True enough. So you won't tell him I'm doing this?

[curiositykills]

Good question. [He shrugs.] I hear it's not very nice to point and laugh.

[He teases, of course! He could never do something like that.]

[Action, August 19] oh wow that's gross

[selfhelp]

[Billy follows him in, watching him more closely now that the question has been asked, leaning on the doorway. Yeah, because that's convincing.]

I know it's kind of redundant to call you a liar, but I really hoped we were past all that.

[God, he's so done with adults and their bullshit emotional constipation. At least there's still some hope for Teddy and Tony's improving, but he feels like he's surrounded by lost causes.]

[complicatedliar]

[Loki sets one of the cups down a bit harder than necessary.

He knows better than to deny such a transparent lie if Billy isn't willing to let it slide.]

Fine. I'm utterly wretched. And I don't wish to speak of it.

[selfhelp]

Maybe if I was a clown or something.

[Thank god that was not his calling. This guy is pretty familiar with a stranger on the street, though. How odd.]

[selfhelp]

I can't imgine anybody wanting to talk about it. But that's usually when you need to the most.

[Food for thought. He's not afraid to push for this anymore, though he might take it slower than he had last time; this is Loki's house, after all. Though it does mean that it might be harder to run.]

[complicatedliar]

[Hah. That strikes hard, whether Billy knows it or not. Because he used that line of argument on Rogue. Loki has never been bothered by being a hypocrite--rules don't apply to him, right--but still. But still.]

It also isn't my business alone to discuss. [Which he feels is a valid point. He can't imagine Rogue would like him to go running about and telling people of her problems, and he can't really speak of what plagues him without touching on that, can he.

He finishes with the coffee and offers one of the cups to Billy.]

It's just all gone a bit shit. [No wait, he doesn't talk like that. Human him talked like that. Ugh.] And I know I'm not the only one in that situation, so what does it matter.

[selfhelp]

It matters. It always matters.

[Of that, he'll never be convinced otherwise. He accepts the mug, glancing down at the steaming contents.]

Back home, on the internet, there's this stupid saying- First World Problems. Where people in America gripe about stuff like spilling coffee on their new jeans when there's kids starving in Africa. I always hated it, though... you can still worry about the issues other people have to face while dealing with your own, no matter how big or small those issues are. It's basic human decency.

[complicatedliar]

[Not really applicable to Loki, since he truly does not care about the problems of most other people. It was more an attempt at diversion anyway. Oh well.

He shrugs.]

I think this one was far worse than the amnesia shift. At least something good ultimately came if that.

[He got Rogue after that, eventually. And now he feels like he's losing her in the worst possible way.]

[endgames]

Can't see why I should. Though you never did say why you're doing this.

[selfhelp]

[Huh. It isn't much, but honestly, he'll take what he can get with this sort of thing.]

What happened?