st_ratagem

Following Thor without being hugely obvious was already getting tricky, even after only a day. It wasn’t surprising, really; Thor was more observant and aware of Loki’s tricks than he’d once been, and the Inn was still a confined space. That really only meant that instead of being sneaky, Loki was trying artful.

For whatever reason, Stark was confined to Thor’s room. Some kind of breakdown, who cared? It was an opening. If Stark was confined, they couldn’t have lunch in the cafe as they occasionally did, so bringing lunch was an excuse to lurk around Thor’s area. It was also a way to be a little bit of a jerk in the guise of being a medical type. Stark was an iffy eater at the best of times. And yes, Loki himself wasn’t interested in food, much, but he maintained weight and muscle mass without difficulty, which was more than Stark could say.

But the fact that he had multiple good reasons was why he turned up at Thor’s door and knocked by kicking it because his hands were carrying lunch.

Usually the increasingly-regular lunches with Stark started with at least a pretense of Stark coming into the clinic for a reason. It was actually funny that now, when both of them had injuries that might benefit from being looked at and checked, it was almost like they'd silently agreed to meet in the café area instead. Or at least, Stark hadn't turned up in his usual timeframe. It seemed entirely possible that Thor had communicated their break, and Stark had entirely reasonably decided that there was no further need to play nice.

Whatever the reason, Loki had gotten used to taking a break in the middle of the day, whether or not he actually spent that time eating. The café was as good a place as any.