So, I'm back! Huge apologies for the long hiatus, but I've been doing nothing lately except working and trying to get into college. Ugh.

I don't know how long I'll be back for, but with Halloween coming up and all, this chapter just waltzed into my head and wouldn't go away. And I really did miss writing this story!

This subject was actually suggested to me a while back by an anonymous reviewer, so, if you're still reading, this one's for you! :)

I feel like this one got a bit Talking Heads on me, but I still kind of like it, and I hope you will too :) I also didn't spend a whole lot of time on it, so if there's any errors, please try and overlook them.

WARNING: LANGUAGE.

X

It's actually quite nice, sitting here quietly, watching this film with Captain Rogers.

They haven't spoken at all, Loki had just wandered into the room where Steve was watching TV and sat down, because honestly he had nothing better to do. Thor is off somewhere doing Odin knows what, and Loki's been bored all day.

Steve had shot him a curious look from the big squishy leather chair, but hadn't said anything, and Loki had simply curled up on the couch and that was it.

"What do you want me to do, John? You want me to let you run out of here, see how far you can get?"

"Why would you do such a foolish thing?"

There's a curious hot feeling behind Loki's eyes.

I am not crying. Why would I be crying?

"...that it was my job? My job?"

There's a lump in his throat. Loki stares at the screen incredulously. Never has something not real made him cry before. How inconceivable.

"BROTHER!"

Loki jumps a foot off the couch, and he hears Steve swear, which is a rare thing. "Curses! What is it, Thor?"

Thor appears in the doorway, his blond hair carefully combed, a bright smile hitched in place.

"Brother! What are you doing?" He catches sight of Steve, and his grin gets even wider, if that's possible. "Captain Steve! You do not know how it pleases me to see my brother out of his room and enjoying life! I do not know how you accomplished this great feat, but I owe you a great debt."

He strides across the room powerfully and sits beside Loki.

Loki can only gape at him furiously. "What is your reason this time for charging in here like an oaf?"

The movie is going on without him in the background, and Loki hates to admit it, but he does not want to miss it.

"Friend Stark has informed me of a great and festive party," Thor replies, his white teeth glinting. "We must go out and find things to prepare for it! It does sound like great fun!"

"What in Odin's name do you speak of?" Loki rolls his eyes skyward. "What infernal plan has Stark come up with now?"

"Yeah, what are you talking about?" Steve switches off the TV, ending any chance of Loki finding out what will happen in the movie. "What festive party?"

"A great and fun night of partying and dressing in festive clothes!" Thor booms. "Apparently we must all dress as something other than ourselves! I must say, I find this idea rather intriguing. Apparently this party happens every year! It is called..."

Thor pauses, suddenly completely lost, his smile vanishing slowly, and then just as quick he hauls it back into place. "I cannot recall the name at this time! But I am sure it will return to me at a later date. Nevermind that. We must..."

"You mean Halloween?" Steve raises his eyebrows.

Thor leaps from the couch, making them both jump again. "That is it! Friend Steve, you are a god among men. Hollow Ween, that is its name."

"Halloween," Steve says again.

Loki glares at him. "Are you planning on explaining this idiotic sounding party, or are you just going to keep its meaning to yourself?"

He's really feeling rather annoyed, a vast change from his calm, relaxed demeanour a few minutes before. Everything on this planet – mostly the people – are enormously frustrating. And he's missing his movie.

"Halloween, it's when kids dress up in costumes and go out and get candy. The adults don't do that though, we go to parties." Steve shrugs.

"Yes indeed, parties!" Thor chuckles heartily. "'Party' is indeed my favourite word. Come, Loki, we must find ourselves costumes." He reaches down to grasp Loki's arm, and Loki jerks back.

"Do not touch me, Thor. I have no wish to be part of your moronic party. You go and make a fool of yourself, it will be nothing new to you anyway."

Thor booms out a laugh, and hauls him bodily to his feet. "I will not attend this party without you, brother! You do not wish to spoil my fun, do you?"

Loki can't help but laugh. "Indeed, Thor, that is all I ever wish to do!"

"You do love to jest. Come, Stark has offered to drive us all to get our costumes." Thor pulls him from the room.

X

Twenty minutes later, he's trapped in a large, very bright building, filled with a vast assortment of terrifying looking things and Agent Barton, Agent Romanoff, Tony Stark, Bruce, Steve, and of course Thor, who can't stop beaming around at everyone.

Ferocious looking masks hang from the walls, great hanks of multi-coloured hair are stuffed in bags, and stupid looking costumes are all over the floor and walls.

"What is this costume?" Thor picks up a blue one with fake muscles, a large 'S' on the chest. "What does the letter stand for?"

"Nobody's wearing that." Clint drops the costume casually to the floor. "I think I might go as Legolas this year."

"Yeah, not like you go as that every year, or anything," Natasha mutters, and Clint frowns at her.

"Do you know how much that blond wig cost me? I'll wear it as often as I damn well want to."

Natasha shrugs. "Well I'm not going as Arwen this year, so you can forget it."

"Let's leave these two lovebirds alone. Baby Bro, Sunshine Man, let's go find you costumes." Tony's arm clamps around Loki's shoulders, pulling him along, and Thor follows readily.

"This place is outstanding, friend Stark! What will you wear?"

"Oh, I'll probably be a pimp or something." Tony waves his hand. "I look good in anything, anyway. The challenge is going to be you, Catman. Cause I'm getting a feeling..." - he pauses at a wall of spangly outfits, then moves on – "...you're not going to wear just anything."

"A truer word was never spoken," Thor booms in long-suffering tones. "My brother is impossible to please."

Loki, silent up until now, has had enough. "Oh, do curb your whining, Thor! I am hard to please? What about you, dear brother? 'Ooooh, this cloak is not the right shade of red. My wine doesn't taste right. My pillow is too soft.' Speak for yourself!" He shoves Tony's arm off his shoulders and glares at them both.

"I will not wear some ridiculous costume. If I am forced to attend your pointless party, I will wear my own perfectly acceptable clothes. After all," he says silkily, "Everyone will think I am dressing up anyway, am I mistaken?"

Tony stares back at him for a long time, his dark eyes unreadable, and then - "Ummm okay smart ass. Not if it's a party with just us. We'll know you're not dressed up. Now what?"

"A party with just us?" Loki sneers. "How pathetic."

Thor's face falls. "It will just be us? What of the city-wide party you boasted of, friend Stark? It is no longer occurring?"

"Oh it will, don't worry Hammer Time. I just figured your little bundle of joy here wouldn't want to attend, so... we decided to organize a little shindig for just the Mickey Mouse Club."

Tony grins, and chucks Loki under the chin. "Sorry. Your great comeback just flopped. What else you got?"

Loki grabs Tony's hand furiously. "Never touch me in that manner again, you fathomless fool! I do not need magic to kill you!"

"Okay. Thanks. Can I have my hand back now, or are you starting to like it?" Tony wheels around and heads down an aisle.

Thor eyes his seething brother silently. "Come, Loki, can you not at least try to enjoy yourself? This party sounds as if it will be highly enjoyable. I, for one, intend to party as if it were my own personal birthday."

"Oh, how fantastic." Loki shoves him aside, glaring. "So I can look forward to being embarrassed by you all night, like at your twenty-fifth? I shudder at the very memory."

Thor looks uncomfortable. "That was two long years ago, Loki. Must you continually remind me?"

Before Loki can reply, Bruce appears, looking uneasy. "Hey, guys. Where's Tony? I think it's time I get out of this place. It's a bit stuffy."

"Friend Stark is down there," Thor points. "I have not found a costume yet, friend Bruce! Will you assist me?" He smiles hopefully.

"Uhh, no. Maybe you can get Clint to help you, I'm gonna go get some air." Bruce hurries down the aisle looking slightly green.

Thor takes a deep breath, hitching on a brave smile. "Loki, I will now find a costume. You can either help me look, or you can just sit here and wait. It is your choice."

Loki crosses his arms. He can feel himself pouting. He doesn't want to help Thor look for some moronic costume, but to sit here and sulk would be petulant and child-like.

"I will sit here." Loki sits down on a tiny bench by the costume boots, arms still crossed. "Go and be a fool, it is your natural state, anyway."

Thor sighs loudly, and a wig falls from the wall a few feet away. "Fine. Be that way, brother."

"I will, thank you." Loki glares at the floor.

X

A half an hour later, his brother returns, booming with laughter and followed by the other Avengers and one very flustered looking shop assistant who can't stop giggling.

Pathetic humans.

Loki arranges his face into a grumpy look quickly to hide the fact he's actually rather relieved that they're back. Sitting on this chair for forever has been near torture.

"Brother!" Thor grabs him in a hearty hug, as though they have not seen each other in long months.

"Do stop, Thor! I cannot breathe!" Loki squeaks, shoving his brother off. "Can you not stop your foolishness for one single moment?"

Thor ignores him, brandishing a shiny bag. "I have found my costume, with the help of Agent Barton! Look, brother!"

Loki, interested in spite of himself, looks. "What is it?"

"It's a caveman outfit," Clint replies, a wide grin plastered on his face. "I think it's perfect."

"I know not what a caveman is, but I do like the costume!" Thor flashes a bright smile at the leopard-patterned outfit. "It even comes with a club, Loki! It is perfect."

"Everybody ready to buy?" Tony calls.

Loki hunches down a little, hoping Tony will simply forget he doesn't have a costume yet. But Tony's eyes land right on him, and he doesn't say a word, he just heads up to the front of the store, followed by the others. Thor loops an arm around Loki's shoulders and hauls him forward.

Loki is in a state of shock. Tony, for once, has left him alone. Not made him be involved in something foolhardy and ridiculous. He's almost scared. Thor seems unconcerned, however.

"I look foward to this party more and more, brother! We have nothing so enjoyable in Asgard, do we? Any time we dress up as something other than ourselves we dress as grand animals, or the gods of old! Nothing so fun as this! In fact..."

Thor rambles on, but Loki is barely listening. He allows himself a tiny smirk – maybe, just maybe, these imbeciles have finally understood that he has absolutely no desire to be invovled in their idiocy. It's almost too much to fathom.

X

In the lead up to the party, Loki is more and more grateful that he will have nothing to do with this appallingly stupid idea. Thor annoys him daily by putting on his costume and wearing it around the tower, chuckling heartily over how light the club is and how much the leopard print animal skin suits him.

"It's a good look," Natasha says as she walks out of the kitchen. She shoots a Come on, you can be a little nice look at Loki, who glares at her with the deepest loathing.

"My brother looks like a fool, which is nothing new. He has spent his entire life looking this way. And no, I do not think it is a good look." Loki slouches on the couch miserably. Even after all this time, he still wishes he knew how that movie with the mouse ended.

"Two days to our little soiree," Tony says loudly, sauntering into the room holding a soldering iron. "Perk up, Old Misery. You look like you just found out you didn't conquer New York City after all."

Clint, who always seems to be around to snicker annoyingly, snickers annoyingly from the hallway.

X

"Tonight, dear brother!" Thor is already in costume, holding his stupid plastic club over his shoulders. "The party is tonight! I cannot wait. It is actually a good thing friend Stark scheduled this party instead of the big one, for I am expected back in Asgard in the morning. But tonight, Loki, I will enjoy this party to the very limit of my capabilities!"

Loki makes a face. "Remind me not to attend." Although really, he is actually happy the party is finally here, so he can stop hearing Thor rant on and on about it.

Thor roars with laughter, crushing him into a hug even as he starts to protest. "Brother, you do amuse me! Come, let us go see the others' costumes!"

"I can think of nothing I look foward to more," Loki intones dryly, hauling the neck of his jacket back into place. Still, he follows his brother into the elevator – the party is taking place on the top-most floor of Stark Tower.

"I wait with baited breath to see the party room," Thor grins. "Stark has been so very secretive about its appearance!" He's almost bouncing with excitement, which makes the elevator feel ten times more unsafe.

But it finally stops, and as they step out, they both give a shout of horror. A human skeleton swings down directly into Loki's face, accompanied by a shrill cackling and glowing red eyes, and he leaps back into the wall in terror.

"Be gone, evil demon!" Thor shouts, and with a roar of rage he rips the skeleton from above them, throwing it across the room into the back of Steve's unsuspecting head.

"What the hell was that all about? Do you know how much this damn thing cost me?" Tony gapes in horror at the crumpled up skeleton, whose head seems to have disappeared somewhere along the way.

Thor gathers his trembling brother from the floor, blue eyes narrowed furiously. "It attacked us, friend Stark! Why would you pay for its services unless you knew it was safe?"

"Um, forget it." Tony looks sadly down at the remains as the two brothers exit the elevator once again.

Loki doesn't even care that he is clamped tightly against Thor's side. The whole room is dimly lit, and there is horrifying wailing coming from all around. "Someone is being tortured," Loki whimpers, grasping the front of Thor's costume desperately. "I do not wish to be here any longer!"

Thor's blue eyes are narrowed, and he looks gravely concerned. "Friend Stark, you did not tell me people were going to be hurt at this party. I was not aware that your annual celebration involved this kind of thing. My brother and I will take our leave now." He heads for the elevator, his grip tightening on Loki's arm.

"Hey, hey, what are you talking about?" Tony, who is not dressed as a pimp after all but as an elaborate pirate, hurries over. "Hold your damn horses, there's nobody being tortured. It's just a freaking tape."

"What is this 'tape' you speak of?" Thor asks suspiciously.

Loki peers timidly from around Thor's neck as Tony crosses to a large black box and presses a button – the wailing stops.

"It's just a recording," Tony says, rolling his eyes. "You guys are too damn jumpy, I swear. There's nothing to be scared of, Eyes. Calm yourself."

"You mean it was fake?" Loki spits, pulling away from Thor a little. "Do you see someone being tortured as entertainment, you hideous man?" He's all trembly, and it's all Tony's fault.

"Actually, when it was recorded for entertainment purposes, yes I do see it as entertainment, Officer. Jeez." Tony walks away, and Loki follows his retreat with furious eyes.

Steve, who is dressed as a football player, gets up from the couch. "Hey, Tony, don't forget about that thing. Remember?"

Clint, nearly unrecognizable in green tights and a long blond wig, guffaws loudly. "Yessssss!"

Thor and Loki look back and forth between the two of them silently. "What thing?" Thor asks, eyes still narrowed.

Bruce, dressed unimaginatively as a doctor – in fact, he looks as though he came straight from his lab – edges toward the door. "Ohhh. Yeah. That thing. Maybe I don't want to be around for that."

Tony's face splits into a huge grin. "I almost did forget about it! Thanks, Cap. Hey, Baby Bro, come with me for a minute."

"No," Loki replies promptly. Something vindictive is about to go down, and I will not be involved in any way.

X

"Just wear them, dude. You're driving me nuts. Just put the freaking things on. You look like we're asking you to wear a frilly pink dress, or something. You're really killing me. Just put them on!" Tony's eyes are getting bigger and bigger and just a teeny bit angry.

"I refuse." Loki stands firm, arms crossed, unmoving. I will not be made a fool of again.

"Okay," Tony says, a teeny smirk appearing on his face. "Wear them, or I'll turn back on that tape again. And play it allllll night long."

Loki glances at Thor, who shrugs helplessly, even though he's smirking just a little bit.

And so it happens that Loki attends the party wearing black cat ears, and that's that.

X

So... good? Bad? Ugly?

Do tell, please! :)