"James," Loki said from behind Thor, and Jim frowned at the way his partner so easily ignored the way Thor lit up like a fucking puppy. There was an expression on Loki's face he'd never seen before; something about it that just screamed 'get the fuck away from me' despite the smile curving his lips.

"Hey Loki," Jim said, grinned and waved, "I was just talking to your brother--"

"We are not brothers." The venom dripping from his tongue was practically palpable and Jim couldn't help but wince at the way that bright smile dropped off Thor's face.

"Loki," and that low voice suddenly seemed so much more dangerous, not a cheerful bellow at all, "Don't you dare--"

Loki, for his part, talked over Thor as if he could not hear or see him at all. "There is training to had," he said, with that same flat smile that made Jim want to shake him until it slipped. No wonder he was so careful whenever they were linked up.

Looking uncertainly between Thor and Loki, Jim shrugged, "Uh, right," he said as he walked across the hallway. "Are you sure--"

"And I'm sure Mr. Spock had said something about a chess game he expected you to be present for," Loki went on. Jim was getting really tired of no-one but Loki getting able to finish a sentence. And he knew something was really wrong, clearly, as Loki never chose to speak about Spock without what he considered a damn good reason, which a nonexistent chess game was not.

"Loki," Thor tried again, stepping closer; Loki slid backwards casually.

"Right!" Jim said, clapping his hands to diffuse what tension he could. "Training! I'll see you around, Thor, yeah?" And he slung an arm around Loki's shoulders, herding him down the hallway. "We don't have a training session scheduled," he said lightly, once they were a decent distance away, "And Spock doesn't tell you about our games."

Loki didn't reply.