Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

I smile widely, my tail wagging away in my elated mood.

The sun was beaming down, people seemed to be in an equally good mood and my tasks had been going smoothly.

With a book tucked tightly under my arm, I make my way to the academy library with full intention of researching what Midgardians said about my people.

I was one of the giant wolves from Járnviðr, also known as Ironwood and I wanted to know what kind of mythology Midgard had crafted about my people.

The myths and stories they had created about the Asgardians were extremely colourful and entertaining, though many I'd heard were false as far as I was aware.

A few times now, during my strolls around the academy, I had noticed Loki wandering around with an air of arrogance and I had wanted so often to stop him and ask how many were true and how many were lies created to make him appear like a fool.

Sadly I never had that chance, we didn't really have interactions together as he was usually off with Wasp or Black Widow despite his seeming animosity towards them otherwise.

Within seconds I had reached the library and with an eager burst of energy I went to throw the doors open.

To find that they were stuck firmly shut.

"I have the desk occupied for the next hour, seventeen minutes and four seconds."

My ears perk up at the familiar, faintly snobbish sounding voice inside the library.

"Loki?"

"Yes," he drawled with boredom, the sound of a page turning following soon after.

Standing on my tiptoes I peer in through the window, spotting him at the single reading desk in the moderately decent sized library.

"Stupid rules," I pout. "I really wanted to study Járnviðrian lore."

"And I didn't want to study royal palaces, but we can't all get what we want."

"Not at this academy, too bad I only needed the desk for three minutes."

"Try sitting here for over seven hours," Loki grumbled sourly. "Trust me, wolf girl, if I could swap with you I would."

I only nod slowly, forgetting for a moment that he couldn't see me, my black and brown furred ears twitching a little.

With my back pressed against the wall beside the doubles doors, I slide down until I'm sat and rest the heavy book in my lap.

The only sound came from Loki's occasional huffing and paper turning in his large book.

After a long day of ridiculously long tasks that should rightfully only take an hour, if that, I decided that I'd wait my time out rather than waste it wandering around the academy aimlessly like everyone else seemed to.

"Hey, Loki?" I ask after a minute of silence.

"Hmm?"

"That story about the horse the Midgardians tell, is it true?"

Everything in the library went silent, even the sound of the pages turning, after a moments pause I heard his slightly aggravated sigh that sounded a little mixed with disgust or exhaustion.

"As you know, when God's die they are reborn as the same God, so perhaps in another one of my lives, yes, but not for this one."

"Oh."

"Exactly, now please let me finish this damn studying without ridiculous questions."

Chapter Text

“It’s just one of those classics.”

“The Midgardian classics are morbid, I like them.”

Tony shot Loki a look as the God smirked down at the book splayed open in his hands.

“Of course you do.”

“Naturally, stories about Midgardians being punished for ridiculous and obvious mistakes is entertaining.”

“They’re supposed to be moral stories,” Tony said with a roll of his eyes.

“And the moral on most of them is ‘don’t be an idiot’.”

“Mostly, but each has a different way of telling that moral such as Red Riding Hood.”

“I don’t like that story.”

Both males flicker their eyes towards the Járnviðrian girl sitting beside Loki who had so far remained silent, her canine ears flattened into her hair as she looked sadly at her food.

“You’re a wolf person from Ironwood, you wouldn’t,” Tony replied with a shrug.

“Of course not, they kill the poor wolf,” she rebukes, looking at him with a pout.

“Poor wolf? The wolf is a killer.”

“Merely predator’s instinct, he was very clever to play to a young girl’s naivety and innocence.”

“The wolf ate grandma!”

“Grandma was weak! She clearly didn’t do what was needed to survive.”

Loki couldn’t help but chuckle at the slightly surprised look on Tony’s face, he lifted his glass up to his mouth and turned away to try and hide the fact he was laughing at Tony and not with him.

Not that that was unusual, but the arrogant teen usually presumed that he was being laughed with not at, something that always worked well to Loki’s advantage.

“So you’re seriously taking the wolf’s side?”

“Yes,” she nodded vigorously.

“I agree with her,” Loki chimed. “Grandma was weak and Riding Hood was stupid, hence why they both got eaten.”

“You guys are unbelievable!” Tony cried, throwing his arms up a little. “Asgardians are weird.”

“I’m not even Asgardian,” the wolf replied, giving him a look as if to say it was obvious.

“You’re all the same to me.”

“Welcome to the world of equality,” Loki droned in monotone, rolling his eyes before turning his attention back to the book. “So guys, what do you think of Snow White?”

Chapter Text

He knew that it was wrong.

Something that shouldn’t have happened in the first place, but since when did he ever care about not following his own heart and mind?

It had been a while back when he last focused more on what his father said than what he wanted himself, those bonds were already broken.

Perhaps if he had been more careful, this wouldn’t have happened.

He wouldn’t feel so conflicted after seeing her again.

Like every typical morning, he had been summoned down to the main hall for breakfast and though he was rarely hungry in the mornings and would much rather spend the time reading, he would still attend to keep his mother happy.

As Thor and Odin were enthusiastically talking about something he wasn’t paying attention to, he was sat in silence, fiddling with his cutlery and taking bites of his food every now and then.

After another of Thor’s great over exaggerations, Loki rolls his eyes and finds himself drifting further away from their talk. His gaze rolling over the hall and catching a glimpse of movement just beyond the large doors at the end of the room.

His heart freezes a little when he sees her from across the hall, the servant girl carrying a large, wooden bucket and a mop with a bit of difficulty.

Loki remembered in too great of detail when he’d first seen and approached her, by this point she had been working in Asgard for just over a year.

He recalled how they’d hit it off over books and intellectual conversations he’d found hard to find beyond talking to his mother.

Then, in her third year of working there, their forbidden romance had started.

It had all started with playful flirting, but had escalated so quickly that they soon found themselves lying beside each other in bed, naked and panting after expunging so much distracting energy.

Years of built up tension was finally unleashed and they had never felt better.

The next two and a half years consisted of them meeting whenever they could, sometimes just for innocent late night talks and cuddles, more often than not more intimate acts were thrown in.

For a while it was Heaven, but what goes up would inevitably come down.

Initially Loki had been ecstatic when she had told him she was carrying his child, the way she smiled so widely and her eyes sparkled made his heart sing.

Everything had been perfect to a point, they still planned to keep their relationship hidden for the time being, waiting for the perfect opportunity to reveal the truth.

Until then, they continued their secret meetings and planned the best moves for the child.

They both a knew a lie would have to be concocted as she wasn’t blessed with a small bump that could have been kept hidden, in fact she suffered quite the opposite and ended up ballooning out at an alarming pace.

But she never complained, she always smiled and gushed over the little Loki she was carrying, though to others it was a servant boy that she had been seeing.

The months flew by before their eyes and in what felt like no time at all she was in labour, her water breaking during some light table polishing.

It had been hard for Loki to find a reason for visiting so soon after the birth, especially considering that the rest of the royals didn’t seem to care to the point of visiting just because a servant girl was having a child and to the eyes of everyone else they barely knew each other.

He’d managed to sneak in early in the morning whilst everyone else was asleep, Loki had expected her to be asleep as well but had found her sat up in bed with their bundle cradled to her chest.

“You should be asleep,” he chuckled quietly.

“I know,” she whispered, her tired eyes turning down to their baby. “But I wanted to hold him.”

“Him?” Loki smiled widely.

She nodded with an equally wide and happy grin.

“Can I see him?”

“Of course you can,” she laughed, carefully adjusting the precious cargo in her arms.

He stepped closer to the side of the bed and watched as she pulled away the small hood from the boy’s face.

Loki’s once large smile began to fade, his mouth turning down as his eyes roamed over the small child. He felt his throat tighten as his breath hitched in his chest, a horrible squeezing sensation rattled through his ribcage.

He found his fists clenching on either side of him as water that he would refuse to shed brimmed in his eyes.

“Is this some kind of joke?”

Her eyes found his with a look of alarm before she furrowed her eyebrows, slowly shaking her head.

“I don’t understand what you mean?”

Anger swelled in Loki’s chest, negative emotions hitting him from all sides forced him to look away from the child.

“You think you can mock me, the son of Odin?” He seethed through gritted teeth, though his voice was barely above a whisper.

“I would never mock you.”

“And yet here you lie, with another man’s child whilst having me believe all this time that it was mine?”

The look in his eyes made her recoil and cradle the baby closer to her once more, as if she could physically shield him from the harsh words spewing from his mouth.

“Loki, I have never laid with another,” she hesitantly replied with a tremble in her voice. “This child is yours.”

“The child is blue and marked,” he practically growled, having to step away before he ended up doing something he would deeply regret later. “You tried to play me for a fool, thinking I would raise this abomination as my own heir because two peasant workers couldn’t keep their hands to themselves.”

She whimpered out his name, her eyes staring at him with hurt and betrayal as tears rolled down her cheeks. He refused to look at her, knowing her expression would tear him apart further and only make things worse for both of them.

Instead he turned away, not wishing to hear anymore of her lies.

“You will return to your original duties once you are able to move freely,” he orders with no emotion to his voice. “I wish to see nothing of you unless it is work related.”

Loki winced a little at the memory of the door slamming behind him, he hadn’t even spared her a passing glance over his shoulder as he left, knowing he couldn’t face her crestfallen expression.

That was just over three years ago and it was still one of the darker points of his life.
As ordered, she kept her distance wherever possible and never strayed in the same room as Loki for more than five minutes.

And yet she always seemed to smile so widely, the love for her son evident in her eyes.

He should have known better, they were both young adults when they had hooked up, it was doomed to fail from the beginning.

His eyes focused once again towards his regret who was keeping the door held open, after a pause and her saying something Loki couldn’t hear a small figure toddled into view.

A boy of barely three followed his mother into the room, as she stepped inside she patted the boy’s black wavy hair and let the door shut behind them both.

Chapter Text

Between slightly pursed lips, a long sigh filled the room.

Mentally, she counted to five and tried to calm down.

“Saemneir, sweetie, can you please calm down? Mummy needs to work.”

The young boy stopped his fiddling with some strange artefact she knew she’d never be able to afford to replace and hopped over with a chipper bounce in his step.

“Thank you.”

The relief she felt over her son listening was almost enough to make her cry.

It had just reached past late afternoon and it was slowly getting darker outside. With a five thirty start in the morning, the day had been a long and arduous one.

No one had been available to look after Saemneir, her usual carer being called to a different duty at the last minute, and so she had to make the hasty decision for him to follow after her as she worked.

That wasn’t to say that he misbehaved, he behaved as you’d expect any three year old to, but it was hard work trying to clean to the high standards of the palace and keep an eye on an active and overly curious child, who needed some form of entertainment.

At least a few times he had taken a nap, allowing her to work undisturbed, but they were few and far between and never lasted long.

Once he was up, he’d once again be running around and staring at all the wonderful items that he had never seen before in his short life, he always had a fascination with learning and that warmed her heart, but it was a little inconvenient when she was trying to clean and he wanted to pull things out.

Though the hours had been long, time had still passed quickly as she tried to tidy and entertain Saemneir at the same time and before she knew it, she had reached her final designated room for the day.

However, it was a room she would be happy to never see again.

Per his harsh order, she had spent the past three years avoiding this particular room at any cost.

The memories of inside twisted her heart and froze her blood, the ghosts of the sensations and emotions she felt in there grazed her skin with smooth touches that would forever haunt her.

His voice still echoed in her head, the words of love now mixed with the words of hate and the once loving tone turned more betrayed each time she allowed herself a moment to reminisce.

“Mummy?”

She looks down at the young boy, who stares up at her with his bright blue eyes and a wide smile, a string of his wavy black hair falling into his face.

“What is it, darling?”

“Are we going inside now?” He tilted his head, swinging the hand he was latched onto by holding three fingers.

She looked towards the door in front of them and laughed, “Of course we are.”

“And then are we getting food?”

“Don’t we always when mummy has finished working?”

He nodded vigorously, practically hopping on the spot whilst beginning to rattle off all the things he wanted to eat that evening.

As he rambled, she let out another long sigh and pushed the door open, Loki’s all too familiar scent wafting over her instantly.

A smell that was pleasant and unique only to him.

Saemneir wastes no time in letting go of her hand and running inside, staring in awe at the huge room full of books, magical artefacts and other princely items that he’d never seen before.

She steps in behind him and gets to her old routine, sorting out books but being sure not to lose the page they’re open on, straightening out the bed linens she once would have helped mess up and picking up things strewn across the floor.

Loki wasn’t a particularly untidy man, but everyone had their small messes.

As she was tucking away some clothes she had folded, a high pitched giggle from across the room caught her attention and raised her suspicions.

“Saem, what are you up to?”

She turned around in time to see the boy run up to her, a gap toothed smile on his face and a too big golden helmet atop his head.

“Look what I found!” He cried with the glee only a child could have.

Her eyes widened and a gasped escaped her, dread filling her heart.

“Sweetie, no, you mustn’t touch other people’s things, please put it back.”

“No, I wanna play pretend.”

“You can’t with other people-“

“I’m being Prince Loki and you, mummy, are my servant!”

She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead, mentally counting to ten.

By the time she reopened her eyes, the boy had already run out the door and into the hallway.

“No!” She yelled, running after him with a stumbled first step.

Despite his unstable run and short stature, Saemneir had made it halfway down the long corridor that headed towards the main hall.

The helmet atop his head wobbled and threatened to fall off with every step, at times he’d reach up to hold it on as steady as his small hands would let him.

At one point, the helmet slipped over his eyes and he found himself staggering.

With no warning, he collided with a firm set of legs and dropped onto the floor, still giggling.

“Sorry!” He laughed, though the word was a little garbled as he struggled to get his young mouth to move accordingly around the two ‘r’s.

“It’s a good thing you didn’t impale me with those horns you have there.”

Saemneir once again grinned and quickly jumped back to his feet.

“I’s being Prince Loki!”

“Is that so?”

He pulled the helmet back and stared up at the tall man.

Loki stared down at him in return, his heart rate increasing as he took in the boy’s features up-close for the first time.

The blue eyes that matched his own, the black hair that peeked out from under the helmet that was an identical colour to his own and the pale skin that the dark hair framed.

It was almost look staring into the past.

He was broken from his reverie as the sound of footsteps clattered down the corridor behind the young boy.

“Saemneir!”

Loki lifted his eyes away from the boy and looked up towards the boy’s mother, who was out of breath and seemed nervous.

“What have I told you about touching other people’s things?” She scolded lightly, being sure to avoid making eye contact with Loki, whose eyes kept flickering between her and Saemneir.

“I just wanted to play,” the boy replied, pushing his bottom lip out a little.

“And you can, but you can’t take-“

“It’s alright,” Loki interrupted, clearing his throat a little.

Her eyes finally turned towards him, a cold glare inside of them which made him shift a little on his feet whilst turning his head towards the floor.

He was a proud man and at times found it hard to admit when he was wrong, but this was something he knew he couldn’t ignore until the guilt damped down.

Loki stepped forward and hoisted the boy up, resting him against his hip.

Saemneir’s eyes widened at the sudden height difference, but then rejoiced at being held by one of the Princes of Asgard.

“If you’ll allow me,” Loki began cautiously, hoping not to step over the line. “I would like to keep him company, he can continue playing in my room.”

“And why would I allow such a thing after almost four years?” She replied quietly, finding the sight of a father finally holding his child almost too much to accept after so long.

“Because I believe I made a grave error and I have a lot to make up for.”

Chapter Text

“Saemneir is all tucked in, he asked for a total of three stories in the end.”

She looked up with a smile, laughing a little as Loki had to duck through the short doorway that lead to her small servant room.

It was a small blessing in disguise that servants were still given their own rooms in the palace, as opposed to being forced to share one big living area, the head maid had been even kinder to give her a bigger space so Saemneir wasn’t too cramped in.

“That sounds like him, he’s a total book nerd.”

“It doesn’t help that both his parents are, I suppose.”

Although she nodded in agreement, Loki took note of the sudden shift in the air, what had once been light had suddenly felt heavy and overbearing.

“We need to talk about that, don’t we?” He asked quietly, to which she silently nodded in response.

“I think we’ve put it off for long enough.”

“So we couldn’t just try brushing past it and pretending it never happened?” He joked lightly, averting his gaze from her.

“Life is never that easy, especially not when you’ve missed almost four years of your son’s life.”

He winced a little at how hard that truth hit him, he hadn’t been trying to ignore the fact because avoiding it was too hard, but he’d wanted to try and lessen the blow at least a little.

“I know and I can’t express how deeply sorry I am about that.”

“Right now I feel like expressing it wouldn’t be good enough.”

“Of course not, I’ll spoil him rotten too, spoil both of you beyond your wildest dreams.”

“It’s not that easy, Loki,” she sighed, running a hand through her already dishevelled hair. “It isn’t as if you can just decide to be part of his life and boom, everything would be perfect and apple pie just because you buy him that toy he’s always wanted.”

Loki stared at her silently, finally hearing the things he’d been thinking spoken out loud by someone else hit that much harder.

“I know I sound really harsh right now, but you essentially ditched us and that isn’t a thing I think I can just get over,” she continued with a frown.

“Of course not, I wouldn’t expect you too,” Loki nodded solemnly, “but it’s something I can build up to, isn’t it?”

“Knowing you? You’ll find a way, you’re nothing if persistent.”

Loki chuckled and grinned with a shrug, she couldn’t stop herself from smiling in return before looking down and shaking her head.

“I hate how easily you lift the mood.”

He smirked in triumph, making his way over to sit beside her.

She leant over and rested her head on his shoulder as his arm snaked around her waist, his fingers playing with a loose thread on the side of her dress.

“I made you smile, does this mean I’m forgiven?”

She laughed and closed her eyes, “Not by a long shot.”

Chapter Text

I stride up the steps and take my usual perch on the grand front porch of the most extravagant house on the street.

With my stomach growling in anticipation, I straighten my back, feeling the sun seep pleasantly into my fur and let out my signature mewl.

This had become a regular routine.

At least once a week, I would visit this house and let the kind lady who lived here pet me and feed me.

Her husband however, a white haired man with a milky eye, didn’t like her playing with me. Every time he saw me, he’d let out a sigh and shake his head a little, though he stopped trying to persuade her against spoiling me a while ago.

“She’s here!”

I laugh at the excited bark coming from inside, knowing that at any second I would see Thor’s floppy, golden ears bouncing behind the fuzzy glass pane of the door.

How the active Labrador always had so much energy baffled me, just watching him exhausted me.

As the door opened, a gorgeous aroma of meat washed over me and my stomach growled in response as my mouth watered.

Such luxury was hard to come by on the streets, most succulent food was contaminated by bin juice and other rubbish by the time I got to it, but food was food and I was in no position to be picky.

Warmth swelled in my chest at her sweet, but not overbearing, scent that seemed to mix with the smell of meat from earlier.

She crouched down in front of me, not caring if her white dress got dirty, not that it would on her immaculately clean porch.

As if dirt had the courtesy to avoid this lovely woman’s well kept home.

“I was wondering where she’d gotten to,” she smiled, scratching under my chin.

I close my eyes and lean into her touch, relishing in the attention I would otherwise rarely get.

As her hand travelled down my back, I raised my body to increase the contact.

“I was beginning to think that I wouldn’t see you this week.”

I purr and lie down, looking up at her in the hopes that she’d supply the food sooner rather than later. It was a selfish thought, but I was starving.

The familiar sound of a tin lid coming off made my ear twitch and my stomach growl once again.

The smell of tuna wafted past as she set the tin down, making me salivate.

This was the meal of dreams.

As she leant back to let me eat, I notice a stark blur of black coming up next to her left hip.

The contrast stood out strongly against the white of her dress and the cream coloured rock we sat on.

My gaze shifts over and my eyes meet a blue pair of another cat, sauntering out of the house.

Their sleek, black fur shone magnificently and looked lightly fluffy, most likely soft to the touch too.

Their blue eyes were gorgeous, yet held a cold stare that was dark, alluring and mischievous in one turn.

“So, you’re the one taking their attention away from me.”

Wow, what a voice.

Smooth yet deep and a little husky.

He sat down beside his owner, staring with narrowed eyes as his tail swished behind him.

There was no attempt to hide any of his apparent animosity.

“Hardly, she usually feeds me,” I reply, pulling the can closer with my paw. “Though I’ve never met you before.”

He seemed to scoff and if I were to guess, I’d say he probably rolled his eyes.

“And why should you have? A man of my status wouldn’t be seen conversing with a stray.”

The way he spat out stray stung a little, my heart clenching tightly.

“Besides, I’ve been here two weeks already, it’s not my fault you haven’t been here.”

I chose not to rise to his attitude and focus on the offered meal, I wasn’t going to stoop to his level.

If he wanted to be a stuck up jerk let him get on with it, I have tuna to eat.

Lowering my head, I begin to eagerly lap at the fish oil, instantly relishing in the feeling of it filling the void inside my stomach.

I was definitely going to sleep soundly tonight, at least once I had found somewhere to settle that was comfortable.

Last night I had made do in a bush that had a small opening in it, I had managed to squeeze in through a gap amongst the branches and had curled up warmly, sheltered by the thick leaves around me, for a semi-restful sleep.

As I happily munched on the tuna, I became blissfully unaware of anything but the fishy goodness. The oil was so perfectly succulent and washed over my taste buds like nothing had for weeks.

I was in perfect, succulent Heaven, until a weight pushed down on the top of my head.

“I also don’t recall giving you permission to eat my food.”

I was stuck facedown in the tin, his paw adding more pressure to the top of my head. I could feel a bit of oil slip into my nose uncomfortably and panic of being suffocated in tuna was beginning to make my heart race.

“Loki!”

The weight of his paw suddenly lifted and I raised my head to breathe, watching the kind lady lift the black jerk away from me.

“That is no way to treat a friend.”

I let out a snort and look up at ‘Loki’, who looked less than pleased to be suspended in the air.

“Loki? What kind of name is that?”

He returned my sentiment with a small hiss as he was lowered onto the ladies’ lap.

“It’s my name and a very prolific one at that, you uncultured swine.”

“And how exactly is it ‘prolific’?”

“Loki happens to be a Norse God.”

“A what?”

“A Norse God.”

“What’s one of those?”

“I don’t know,” he huffed with an eye roll. “But it sounds important.”

“It sounds stupid.”

“Really? And what’s your name then?”

I stare at him for a moment, my mind racing to think of even a semblance of a name, yet nothing came to mind.

Though thinking on it, that was no surprise.

My siblings and I had been taken from our mother at barely two weeks old, my new owners never caring if I came or went to the point where I eventually left with no intentions of returning.

They had never named me and no posters were put up of me with a name and number to reach them.

That was two years ago and I feel that my life has improved not being around them.

Sure, it was rougher on the streets, but at least I didn’t feel neglected when someone didn’t give me food or lock the doors at night, forgetting that I was outside and leaving me to the dangers of the night.

“Oh, I see,” he chuckled with a sneer in his voice. “No one cared enough to even name you.”

“I have someone who cares, the same one who cares about you.”

“Sure, but has she named you?”

I continued to stare at him, my heart pounding and my appetite leaving before I even realised how put off I was.

“That’s what I thought.”

Loki nimbly twisted out of his owner’s grasp and jumped to the ground, turning his back on me as he saunters back inside.

“She has me now, so if I were you, I’d keep my distance.”

He doesn’t look back at me and leaves me to my misery, his owner stroking down my back and behind my ears, unaware of the affect her new friend had on me.

Chapter Text

Time passed slowly, what had only been three weeks going by since my last visit to the nice lady and that horrid cat had felt more like two months.

Suffice to say, I missed her dreadfully.

Not just for the food, but also having some different company who was at least gentle at petting was nice.

I also missed Thor’s energy and his excited bounding around, he was a great friend once he’d stopped chasing me around the front garden.

It had taken me far too long to realise that he had only wanted to play, not eat me.

I even missed her husband’s grouchy expression when I defied his commands to never return, I missed them all so dearly, they had become the family I no longer had.

“Whatever, I don’t need them.”

“Keep telling yourself that, maybe you’ll start believing it.”

I rolled my eyes and glared at the over fluffed brown cat, Leo, who was lazily led in the sun beside where I perched.

“We’ll believe you eventually.”

My grey furred friend on my other side yawned, closing her pale green eyes.

“You guys just don’t understand.”

“He can’t be that bad,” Blacky commented, one of her ears twitching a little.

“He is! He’s a complete jackass.”

“You’re just exaggerating because you got off on the wrong foot.”

I turned my glare to Leo and decided to ignore him, a rebuttal not being worth my energy.

“I hope I get a chance to meet him,” Blacky piped up, once again drawing my attention to her.

“Please, like he goes further than his luxury scratching post.”

“I’ll have you know that I venture outside quite often.”

I let out a low growl and rolled my eyes as the unwelcome feline wanders over, looking as stuck up and holier than thou as ever.

From the corner of my eye I notice Blacky eyeing him up, sitting up straighter and curling her tail as her mouth pulls into a small smirk.

“Hey,” she purred.

I suppress the urge to gag at her flirtatious tone, looking away with a grimace.

Loki glanced over her with an unreadable expression, neither interested nor disinterested.

“Hello,” he replied, nothing in his tone helping me to decipher his level of interest.

Though I also doubted that he cared for anyone but himself, I wanted to see if he would act differently to my friends than he did me on our initial meeting.

“What are you doing all the way out here?” I asked with a biting edge in my tone.

“Surprisingly, even I like to wander.”

“Perhaps, but to be seen with us lowly peasants?”

“What prince doesn’t bless his royal subjects with his presence?”

His air of arrogance grew with a smirk, a chuckle and a mischievous twinkle that invaded his sharp blue eyes.

It was frustratingly hypnotic and alluring, the latter feeling one that I tried to tamper down and ignore.

“Besides,” he continued in his suave accent, “I was merely passing by.”

“Then you didn’t have to stop to address us.”

“I don’t mind,” Blacky spoke up once again, earning her own smirk from him.

“Of course I did, you were talking about me.”

“Yes, precisely that, about you not to you.”

“Oh, such hostility,” he chuckled as if this was all just amusing to him.

Leo finally decided to get involved and told us all to hush up, his brown eyes roaming over our new guest as if to study him.

Loki rolled his eyes and scoffed a little, probably at having someone having the audacity to tell him what to do, and sauntered around us.

“Whatever, I’m done with this,” he stopped and seemed to continue smirking whilst side eyeing Blacky. “Perhaps I’ll see you later.”

We all watched him leave with varying expressions.

I was more than happy to see him go, Leo looked as unfazed as ever over the entire event and returned to his dozy lounging and Blacky seemed kind of giddy.

“I think he may have just suggested a date,” she grinned.

“Good luck with that one,” I grimaced, an odd sick feeling building in my chest at the thought.

Chapter Text

I could tell that Thor was bounding around the garden before I had even reached the picket fence.

From down the road I could hear his loud and baritone bark that shook my bones, I had no doubt that he was bounding around the garden more than likely chasing a bird or a hot air balloon.

Turning to the white fence, I squeeze through a gap and see just as I had thought, Thor was running back and forth around the large garden, his golden shaggy fur bouncing around with each movement as he barked at a butterfly that dared to flutter past him.

His tail wagging madly and his tongue lolled out of the side of his mouth.

“Well someone sure is having fun.”

Thor skidded to a halt and looked over, his half turned-down ears twitching as his face broke into the happiest dog-grin I’d ever witnessed.

“Hello stranger,” he boomed, running over.

“Hello to you too,” I smiled, sitting down and glancing around.

“Loki isn’t here,” Thor stated, sitting in front of me,

“I know, he’s on a ‘date’ with a friend of mine.”

“Oh,” Thor tilted his head, a look that even my feline heart found utterly adorable, “how strange.”

“Whatever, as long as it keeps him out of my way to see my favourite family.”

Thor walked beside me as I made my way up to the front door, not realizing just how much I had missed coming up to this beautiful porch.

I really hoped that lovely lady would come out and see me.

“You do know he likes your company, don’t you?”

I looked up at the huge, over-fluffed dog as he sat opposite me, his tail swaying behind him as always.

A scoffed laugh erupts from me and I roll my eyes.

“Yeah, he sure acts like it.”

“He does.”

“Please, Thor, we all know he’s happier away from me, in fact he’s probably off giving my friends a nice family of black and grey kittens.”

“I doubt that, he’s not that type.”

I give Thor a disbelieving look, which he answers to with a softened and loving smile, as if he were talking about a biological relation rather than an adopted cat bred from the Devil himself.

Closing my eyes, I let out a sigh then gave him a gentle smile of my own.

“I get that you see him as family, but I think you’ve got it wrong, someone like me wouldn’t be up to his ever so refined taste.”

“I wouldn’t be so hard on him.”

“Why not? He strolls in here acting like he owns the place, just because he’s of pure blood he thinks he’s better than me and has it easy.”

“He doesn’t really have it easy just because he’s pure bred.”

“Really?” I asked, looking up at Thor with an expression of uncertainty.

“Really,” he sighed sympathetically, “he was taken from his litter early, raised in a cramped home with barely any care.”

My heart squeezed as he spoke, the guilt of my harsh words over the days rising as he went on and I hoped that it didn’t show on my face.

“He acts like it’s nothing, but we know Frigga has changed his life and he’s humbler than you’d realize.”

“Then why does he treat me like I’m nothing? If he understands then why does he look down on me?”

“I don’t think he does, I think if anything he’s trying to impress you.”

I gave Thor a disbelieving look which made him laugh.

“I know, he has an odd way of showing it.”

“To put it lightly,” I laughed with him before sighing, “but now I feel bad.”

“Then speak to him.”

Staring up at Thor’s adorable face made it hard to refuse his reasoning, his eyes pleading me as if this would mean the world to him.

It was hard not to get lost in his eye colour, they were such an unusual shade of blue for a Labrador and they always seemed to hold the biggest amount of kindness and loyalty that I had ever witnessed.

He was a wonderful friend who had never steered me wrong and I know that it was something to be valued and never taken for granted.

“Alright,” I conceded, “I’ll see if I can talk him into not acting like a total jerk.”

“I still just think he’s trying to impress you.”

I rolled my eyes and didn’t dignify his cocky look with an answer, instead I turned my attention to the door as footsteps were heard from behind the block of wood, muffled and almost indistinguishable until the door swung open and the lovely lady stepped out.

She welcomed me with her warm smile and for the moment I forgot all about Loki, instead choosing to bask in the warmth of a family I didn’t have.

Chapter Text

I was still on the porch when Loki returned, his face set in a hardened scowl.

The lovely lady had brought out a chicken carcass from their dinner that evening, I got the left-over meat that she could cut off and Thor got the bones with the smaller ones taken out so there was no threat of his choking.

Though by the way he scarfed it down like it was still going to run away, I was surprised he didn’t choke either way.

Thor had been brought in shortly before Loki arrived, with the light dwindling from the sky she had called him in for safety, what with the random spouts of dog stealing that had tended to happen on and off every so often.

I didn’t lift my head away from my food once I’d noted Loki’s presence, I believe that if I ignore him that he would ignore me and we would both go on our merry way without butting heads.

I continued to believe that until he became hard to ignore, sitting in front of the plate I was eating from and invading my vision that wasn’t taken by chicken with black.

Still I ignored him, figuring that if I didn’t speak to him then he was just going to sit there and try to stare me down, to intimidate me away from the best meal I’d had in three weeks.

That was not going to happen, this chicken was too tender to leave unfinished.

A lingering silence stood between us and my nerves were beginning to get a little jittery.

Thankfully Loki filled the air as he cleared his throat and shifted back a little bit on his haunches.

“Would you mind if I had some?”

There was a pause in my eating and I looked up at him, chewing on the bit of meat that I’d just bitten in to.

In his strangely coloured eyes, that seemed more green than blue this time in the dimming light, there was a look of unspoken amicability and his voice had been soft and unscathing.

I regard him for a few seconds longer then scoot back so I wasn’t looming over the plate as I had been, wordlessly indicating that I was fine to share.

Loki shifted a little so that he could lie down comfortably, his paws tucked under him as he leaned forward and picked a piece of chicken that was sat on the edge of the plate.

This was how we stayed until the chicken was gone, Loki finishing off the remaining pieces after I’d had my fill, we led in comfortable and almost friendly silence.

The food was settling comfortably and there was a warmth that seeped out from the house, the combination making my eyes grow heavy as tiredness took over.

I felt my eyes closing and could feel my body beginning to sway as I fought off sleep.

“Thank you.”

My eyes darted open again and I looked at Loki, trying to blink away the feeling of lead in my eyelids.

“For what?” I asked, feeling a little embarrassed by the sluggish tone in my voice.

“For sharing your food with me.”

“It’s fine,” I yawned, forcing myself up onto my feet, “it came from your family, it only seems fair.”

“Yes, but,” he paused and looked away from me, towards a little corner that was tucked between a large houseplant and a glass pane beside the front door, “I haven’t been the kindest to you.”

“No, we did get off on the wrong foot.”

“We did, your friend made it more than clear that you couldn’t keep my name out of your mouth for less than stellar reasons.”

“Talking like that may be one of the reasons.”

He thankfully laughed with me, easing my tension a little further.

“Yes well, she made it clear that I may have been less than welcoming and I wish to apologize.”

“What a way to spend a date.”

“I may have only wanted it to get some more information on you.”

I quirked my head to one side, deciphering what he had just said.

“You could have just asked me personally,” I replied slowly.

“I know, but where’s the fun in that?”

I rolled my eyes in good nature then shook my head, turning away from him to head down the stairs.

“Where are you going?”

Stopping on the first step, I looked over my shoulder to see that he had sat up a bit and was looking at me with curiosity.

“I’m going to find somewhere warm to sleep tonight.”

“Oh.”

Taking that as a signal that the conversation was over once again, I continued on my way before he called out again.

“You could stay here.”

“Is that so?” I asked, stopping and yet again turning to face him

“Yes,” there was a hesitance in his face, his eyes glancing anywhere but me as his brain ticked, “obviously not inside because of Odin,” I could hear the eye-roll in his statement, “but the gap over there is quite warm.”

He nudged his head towards the space behind the plant that I had been looking at earlier, I had to admit that it was an appealing offer.

It looked comfortable and it was close, so I wouldn’t have to drag my weighed down self across town in the hopes of finding a warm unused nest to curl up in for the night, that was more appealing than the thought of spending half my night in the gradually colding weather hoping to get some rest.

After a moment of contemplation, during which Loki merely stared at me curiously, I eventually nodded and walked back up the stairs.

“Thank you.”

“You’re more than welcome,” he smiled.

It took me by surprise how handsome he was when he actually showed kindness, there was naturally an attraction when he was bit of a jerk, but a bad boy with a kind side somehow made my heart melt.

That had caused issues in the past, but Loki somehow felt different.

I walked to the gap and led down to curl up, almost instantly comfortable and tired.

Loki stretched his paws out in front of him and yawned widely before surprising me as he sauntered over and squeezed himself in with me, his head resting on my side.

I wanted to question what he was doing, why he had suddenly shifted his attitude towards me, but chicken-induced sleep won over and my eyes grew too heavy for me to ignore.

Chapter Text

There it was again.

That little pang of jealousy.

Your eyes narrowed and you huffed a little, turning away from the scene.

Taking a light sip from your drink, you choose to ignore everything going on around you and focus your attentions on a particularly interesting spot on the wall.

Not that this particularly interesting spot helped settle the images in your mind, your brain conjuring images of the two sharing looks of admiration and what you had read as possible lust and attraction.

For a while now you had been harbouring feelings for Loki, despite all the terrible things he had done over the course of the years.

In an odd way, you could kind of see where he was coming from…at least with some points, at other times he spouted nonsense and made plans that anyone could see wouldn’t work.

With those ones, you liked to think he was under the influence of another and knew internally exactly why they wouldn’t work out but had no choice but to execute them.

It was hard to say whether Loki ever had a true chance of redeeming himself, or if he ever really had intentions to, but you couldn’t stop the feelings you had building more each time you see him.

He was endearing in a way.

So watching him getting close to this new, or apparently old but MIA, warrior only made the bout of jealousy and hurt a little bit worse.

Hence why you were sat by yourself, warily drinking your problems away.

You were certain there were looks there.

Though there was a small niggling in the back of your brain, one that was telling you that you were being absolutely ridiculous and reading into small glances.

That rational side you pushed back and stored away under lock and key, telling yourself that it was trying to lead you into a false sense of security.

“What has that wall ever done to you?”

You jolt a little at that smooth voice suddenly speaking up behind you, tearing you from your totally not overreacting thoughts.

“What?” You accidentally snap, setting your cup down and turning in your seat to look at him.

“You seemed to be glaring pretty intensely at that wall over there, I was wondering which of your ancestors it insulted.”

You roll your eyes and turn away from that impish smile, the one you as of now hated to admit that you loved.

“It may as well have been all of them,” you grumble, lifting the drink to your lips once more.

Loki took a seat beside you, resting his forearms on the surface in front of you both whilst letting out a small sigh.

“It can’t be much fun drinking alone, why are you over here and not mingling in with the others?”

“I don’t like mingling, though I’m surprised you noticed.”

Loki started a little at the snide tone to your comment, his brows furrowing as if he was confused.

“I’m sorry?”

“I’m surprised you tore your eyes away from her long enough to notice I was by myself.”

“Her?”

“Yes, you know Valkyrie.”

Silence fell between you both, though it was short lived as the God beside you began to chuckle.

“You think I’m attempting something with Valkyrie?”

“I’ve seen the way you’ve been eyeing each other up,” you laugh, trying to play it off lightly and hide any trace of hurt or jealousy, though it was already a little too late for that.

Loki’s eyebrow raised a little, “Pardon?”

“You two, you’ve shared looks.”

“I’ve barely said two words to the woman.”

“The eyes giveaway a lot.”

“If we’re going to be like that, I could say the same about the both of you.”

“What?” You cry, shifting drastically in your seat to face him better.

The sudden outburst caused others surrounding you to turn around and look at you both sceptically, as if you were up to something and weren’t to be trusted.

You leaned closer to him, trying to shield away from embarrassment.

“I’ve barely shared a room with her.”

“Nor have I for more than five minutes before others have turned up, if anything it’s pretty clear she’s been giving Thor looks, the only ones I’ve been getting are ones of mistrust and a little bit of disdain if I were to guess correctly.”

You shuffle a little in your seat, feeling your cheeks heat up a little as you fold your arms across your chest, as if trying to shield yourself from his nonchalant dismissal of your claims and how ridiculous you felt.

The humility was hitting you hard, but you didn’t want to admit to Loki that perhaps you had been reading something that wasn’t there and made a mountain out of a molehill because of your own emotions.

“Just trust me on this,” he smiled, “I have respect for a woman who can beat my ass as quickly as she did, even if it was bit of a shock, but I certainly have no intentions of getting in the way of ‘that’.”

He nodded his head towards the other side of the room, where Thor and Valkyrie appeared to be having a drinking competition that could put the hardest of drinkers to shame.

It went without saying that they were certainly having a good time as others cheered on their chosen champion, no doubt having bets riding on a certain success.

You sigh a little and turn away again, tapping your fingers on the side of your glass.

“Perhaps you are right.”

“Perhaps,” Loki scoffed with a shake of his head, “I know I’m right.”

You rolled your eyes and gave him a deadpan side look, “Don’t get cocky now.”

“But that’s something everyone loves about me,” he chuckled. “That and my amazing sense of humour, my charm, my dashing-“

“Yeah, yeah,” you laugh, cutting him off with a dismissive wave of your hand. “No one loves you that much.”

Chapter Text

“The man is an idiot!”

You sigh and lower your book a little, peering over the top as Loki paces back and forth in front of the seat you’re lounging in.

“He really isn’t though, when you come down to it.”

Loki pauses briefly to shoot you a glare before continuing his pacing, holding his hands behind his back.

“Yes, he is.”

“He’s about as much of an idiot as you are.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Once again his pacing stops as he sharply turns to face you, his eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched.

You let another drawn out sigh and shake your head.

“Nothing offensive, Loki, I’m just saying that everyone has their stupid moments, neither you nor Thor are exempt from the rule.”

“It just seems that Thor practices it more than I do.”

“And perhaps he does, but that hardly makes him inherently an idiot anymore than when you do something a little stupid.”

“So what you’re saying i-“

“What I’m saying is that yes, Thor can be a little brash and quick to react before thinking, but he isn’t stupid.”

Loki clucked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, looking away from you with a look you couldn’t quite decipher.

“That wasn’t what I was saying,” he muttered.

“Then what were you?”

“I was going to say how often you jump to poor Thor’s defence.”

“I wouldn’t have to if you both didn’t act like you were still ten.”

Loki rolls his eyes and flops onto the seat opposite yours, placing his hands in his lap whilst fiddling with his fingers as he stares at the table, his face one of deep thought.

You glance him over, choosing to stay quiet and let him have his moment of silence to get his thoughts together.

It was always best to let him seep a little so he could decipher whatever he needed, eventually Loki would come back to Asgard and more than likely continue ranting about his brother.

After a couple of minutes, of which you had turned back to the book you were reading, Loki finally looks up and lets out a long sigh whilst leaning back in his seat, running his hands through his hair.

As he relaxes, his blue eyes scan over you and he can’t help but smile a little.

“Tell me, was there ever a time you preferred Thor over me?”

You peer over your book with a quizzical look before laughing, thankful that he seemed to be finding amusement in the subject already.

“Not particularly, there was a brief time where I thought I may like him,” you shrugged a little as you set your book back down in your lap, “but I didn’t understand those emotions then, I was young and then I met you and let’s just say that no one compares.”

His smile widened and it made you happy to see him genuinely pleased about something.

You has always elated in giving Loki the attention he needed from someone other than Frigga when she was alive.

“I guess at times I worry over nothing,” he nodded slowly.

“You can’t help it, Loki,” you smile at him. “You’re a drama queen and besides, I wouldn’t lounge near enough naked, reading in the bedroom of the brother of a man I was interested in.”

Chapter Text

It was early morning on Midgard when Loki arrived in the forest.

The leaves and branches still had dew on from the drop in temperature over night and spider webs shone like morbid decorations worthy of Asgard, beautiful, glistening and intricate.

As he stepped over a fallen branch, Loki flipped through the book he had taken from his library back home, mentally cursing himself for being careless and losing his place just before arriving.

He occasionally stumbled over a branch or found himself stepping awkwardly on a small hole in the ground, causing his ankle to twist and sending a short jolt of pain through his leg.

Every now and then he let out a quiet curse or a hiss along with the hint of pain, his teeth gritting in irritation at the repeat occurrence on the unsteady ground.

It wasn’t that he wasn’t adept to adventure and unknown territory, he was quite often found out with Thor on various escapades, but that didn’t make uneven terrain, repetitive jolts of pain and no sense of direction any easier and on that particular day it seemed to be getting on top of his mood.

“All this for some accursed plant only found on Midgard,” he grumbled to himself.

Somewhere during his stumbling Loki managed to find stable ground along a well trodden path and relished at not twisting his ankle every other step, not that the discomfort lasted any longer than a couple of seconds, but the repetition wore his usually calm resolve down faster.

He blindly followed the path beneath him, hoping that it’d eventually take him into an area that wasn’t just trees hiding more trees so that he could get his bearings and begin to devise an easy way to find the plant he needed and leave.

From somewhere behind him, deep amongst the trees, a loud snap drew his attention, making Loki stop his page flipping and look over his shoulder.

He scanned the surrounding area, his eyes narrowing as he concentrated and waited for another sound.

He didn’t have to wait long, for merely seconds later another branch was loudly snapped and rustling came from the bushes surrounding him, as if whatever was out there was racing between the foliage to make him paranoid, panicked and even more disoriented.

Whatever it was, was toying with him.

Loki felt the familiar buzz from his magic as it flared up, both as a means of comfort and protection as he continued down the path in a hurried pace.

Despite how quickly he moved, the unseen thing managed to keep up without a break in its speed and he soon found himself sprinting down the path with the thing close behind.

At one point he found himself at a fork in the path and took this moment to use his talents in illusion to confuse the thing, sending a clone of himself to the left as he ran right.

His heart gradually stopped racing in panic as he reached an empty circular clearing and could neither see nor hear any trace of whatever had been following him.

Taking this brief moment to catch his breath and to stop his chest from aching, Loki walked over to a large rock that sat before him.

The muscles in his legs ached at the relief of sitting down and Loki leant forward and let his head hang to his chest, taking some deep breaths, his lungs aching from the mixture of adrenaline, panic and having to running for his life.

A low grumble caught his attention and Loki lifted his head, his eyes scanning the area once again as he mentally cursed at barely having a second to breathe.

Slowly he stood up again and his hand slowly starting to burn as his magic returned in preparation, his book had long been discarded on the floor of the forest.

From just to his left came a loud rustling of branches and he deftly spun towards the sound, ready to defend himself.

As Loki trained his eye on the shrubbery, waiting for any sign of a physical being so he could send out a warning shot, something collided harshly into his back and threw him down onto the floor none too elegantly.

A grunt left him as he hit the floor and the thing winded him, he’d barely had a moment to grasp what was happening before a heavy weight leant onto his back and a searing hot pain ripped through his shoulder.

His yell of agony echoed in their surrounding area, if not further, and more followed as the thing tore at his clothes and skin, unrelenting and torturous until his world turned black.

Chapter Text

Loki jolted awake with a soft gasp, his entire being aching as if he’d been hit by a thousand Mjolnirs.

His head was the worst, a terrible dull pounding thumped behind his eyes, making even the smallest bit of natural light that was seeping in through the parted curtains feel like a stabbing pain to his pupils.

As he shifted on the narrow surface he was led on, a pain erupted across his torso and shoulder. With a brief glance down, Loki noted the bandages poking out from underneath the grey blanket that was pulled up to rest just below his collarbone.

Whilst gritting his teeth through the pain, Loki pushed himself to sit up and rested his back against the arm of the settee he had been sleeping on, the blanket that had been covering him pooling into his lap and showing to anyone who entered that he was very much nude and as the material shifted he could feel a cold breeze coasting though the room.

With a small shudder, he pulls the blanket back around his hips and looks around.

The room he was in was quite large, though smaller than anything Loki was accustomed to back in Asgard, he’d say the room was about average size for a servant’s living quarters back at the palace.

Small knickknacks decorated shelves and units surrounding him, any space that wasn’t taken up by a chair or the settee seemed to have a bookshelf in, something which peaked his interest and he mentally reminded himself that he’d need to browse through later.

Although the room he was in was silent, from somewhere over his shoulder Loki could hear faint and soft singing, it wasn’t a song he recognised but he didn’t have to for it to draw his attention.

He had gathered that he wouldn’t be alone here, had he been then he’d have been able to recall at least some memory of getting undressed, bandaging a wound he had no recollection of getting and then covering himself with a blanket after lying on a settee in an unfamiliar house.

Even with any stretch of the imagination, he couldn’t even think of not having any memories of what must have taken a fair amount of time to complete.

Loki took another deep breath and prepared to move again, holding the blanket around his hips as he slowly shifted his legs off the cushions and onto the floor.

Every now and then he’d feel a twinge of pain that caused him to hiss, but he continued until he was swiveled into a position he could stand up from.

“Oh, you’re awake I see.”

Loki started at the voice coming from beside him, he hadn’t heard any traces of movement at any point, though he had been distracted by the pain coursing through him.

“I guess I am,” he replied, the coarse sound of his voice surprising him a little.

“I’m sorry about your state of undress, but it was needed.”

“Speaking of, why am I naked?”

He heard a soft laugh at his question as the one he was speaking to finally stepped into view.

“It was necessary for seeing to your wounds.”

“Wounds?”

“Yes, you were quite scratched up when I found you.”

“Where did you find me? Actually, where am I?”

You smiled and set down a tray you had been carrying, on top there was a glass of water, a bowl of oatmeal with some fruits beside it and a small medical kit.

After it was safely on the table you sat down on a part of the settee Loki was no longer taking up and gave him a soft, nurse by a bedside look.

“You’re currently in England, we’re just outside the forest of Sally in the Woods.”

Loki frowned a little and shook his head, completely unaware of where you were talking about geographically.

You let out a soft sigh which mixed with a laugh towards the end.

“It doesn’t matter, what does matter is that I found you lying near death on a path just beyond the trees of my house and I brought you here to fix you up before you ended up worse for wear.”

“You mentioned that I was ‘scratched up’?”

You nodded slowly, your lips pressed into a grim line.

“Yes, you had lost a lot of blood and were so cold by the time I found you.”

“Do you have any idea what did it?”

You stared at him for a moment then shook your head.

Something about that pause and the look in your eye set off Loki’s alarms, but he said nothing and instead carefully reached for the food set on the tray before him as a means of distraction.

He grunted as the pain erupted across his chest again, but he refused to allow you to help him and eventually managed to lean back in his seat with the bottom of the bowl warming his hands.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” you smiled, standing from your seat, “if you need anything, please just ask.”

“I shall.”

You gave him another smile and stepped past him to leave the room.

“I shall redress your bandages once you’re done eating, I can imagine you’re starving.”

“Unsurprisingly, your assumption would be correct.”

You let out a light laugh and shrugged a little, “What can I say? I’m a mind reader.”

“Like many women then.”

“So we like people to think, enjoy the food.”

Loki looked down at the bowl and fiddled with the end of the spoon, turning the utensil over continuously as if stirring the contents. His blue eyes landed on the smaller containers holding the variety of fruit as he tried to piece together all the information he had learned, not that it was much.

“Oh, yes,” he called after you during a brief silence, the sound causing you to poke your head around the corner with a curious look. “My name is Loki.”

“It’s a pleasure,” you snickered before stepping back into the room beyond the door.

Loki stared towards the door with a slightly perplexed look, he was accustomed to receiving a name in return of his own and didn’t believe they worked differently on Midgard.

He didn’t waste too much time thinking it over as his hunger got the better of him and he began scooping up the offered food with a vigour he had never really felt towards food before.

Chapter Text

The night arrived faster than Loki would have liked.

This was most likely because he had been trying to read a book about Midgardians and their dependence on ‘social media’, but found that his recuperation was
constantly taking the energy out of him and caused him to doze off at various points during the day.

He was silently thankful that he was a naturally quick healer, otherwise his healing time would have probably doubled and he wouldn’t have gotten half as far as he had already.

The deep scratches had already started to seal over and turn into deep looking scars by the time his company had assisted in changing the bandages, though it was now a few hours later and they had begun to itch mercilessly.

Loki attempted to sate the itch by rubbing gently over the top of the bandages, a gentle rubbing that eventually increased in pressure until the strips of cloth were becoming useless in covering anything with how disarrayed they were.

As the itching persisted, Loki finally decided to simply remove the bandages and hoped that letting some air get to the healing wounds would help in some way.

His arm still felt stiff to move, a dull ache ran over his shoulder and he could feel a new tightness to his skin as the deep scratched became scars.

Loki shrugged off the already partially open jacket that he had conjured for cover earlier and slipped the bandages off completely, letting them drop to the floor to land in a forgotten heap.

His jaw tensed at the sight of his chest, harsh angry looking pink and deep scars stood out against his pale skin, he counted six in total, all jagged and vicious in appearance.

He frowned as his fingers ghosted over the edge of one of the larger wounds where thick black hair seemed to be poking through the skin.

“What in the…”

Loki continued to run his fingers over the coarse hair, unsure of how to react to the peculiar development.

Now that he was looking at the scars, the itching only seemed to get worse.

Loki found his temper was beginning to flare the longer the irritation stayed, he grit his teeth and continued to scratch at the bare infliction.

At one point, Loki caught himself just short of an annoyed growl, a low rumble had started to build up and escape his throat, but he quickly noticed and cut himself off short.

“You shouldn’t scratch at it, you’ll only make it worse.”

He flinched a little at the sudden break in his silence, as he jumped one of his nails caught the edge of the smallest wound and ripped a small bit of the skin away.

“Don’t sneak up on people like that,” he huffed in annoyance, inspecting the new additional cut.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t intend to startle you.”

“Well you did,” Loki gave you a sharp look as he snapped.

There was a brief silence as his face softened and he cleared his throat, shifting around on the settee to return to his book.

“I apologise, I didn’t mean to snap like that.”

“It’s alright, I only wanted to tell you that I’m heading to bed.”

“Already?” He asked, looking towards the clock on the shelf of your fireplace, “But it’s barely nine.”

“I know,” you smiled a little. “However, it seems that lugging a man who is significantly taller than me through a forest is rather tiring.”

“I apologise once again, were I conscious I’d have been more help.”

You laughed and shrugged a little in response, “I’m a strong girl, anyway if you need anything feel free to help yourself.”

“Thank you, sleep well.”

“You too, whenever you get some rest.”

Loki gives you a grateful nod and a smile, watching as you shuffled through the room and heads towards your room just down the hall.

His eyes briefly roamed over you as he waited until you were out of sight before he turned back to his wounds and the disturbing amount of hair growing from them.

Standing up from his seat, Loki walked to the bathroom and switched on the light which he had found out was the brightest and clearest one in the small bungalow.

Closing and locking the door behind himself, he stepped up to the mirror and leant against the sink to get a closer look.

Tilting his head, he pinched a few of the hairs between his fingers and gave them an experimental tug, making him flinch and let out a small sound of discomfort.

Not that he had expected any other result.

It had been when his face contorted a little from the pain, his upper lip twitching a little at the twinge, that Loki had noted that his perfectly straight teeth had become pointed and sharp.

As if to confirm the obvious, he moved as close to the mirror as he could get and grinned at his own reflection.

The light glinted off his reshaped teeth, some appeared more jagged than others, but it was undeniable that they had somehow changed without his noticing.

He stumbled back a little in surprise, but couldn’t tear his gaze away from his reflection. As he moved under the light, Loki noted that his usually blue eyes glinted a strange yellow before the colours seemed to mix together and become a strange combination of blue and green.

A strange sense of panic overcame him.

The God was used to shifting forms, he’d done it enough over the years for many different reasons, but never before had it been as out of his control as it seemed to be now.

He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down and once again stepped up to the mirror with the intention of checking himself over further.

As he placed his hands on the sink once again and leant forward a sharp jolt ran through his shoulder and down his spine.

His arm briefly lost all strength and Loki fell forward, his head hung as he waited for the shooting pain to stop.

Eventually it dulled into nothing but a pulsing ache that spread throughout his body.

Slowly lifting his head, he glared through his messy hair at his reflection.

He was determined to fight against whatever was happening to him.

Chapter Text

A loud crash from the bathroom pulled you harshly from your sleep.

You rolled over onto your back, your heart racing and your head fuzzy.

As the adrenaline of being so abruptly awoken raced through you, your hands began to shake and you found it hard to settle and think as your heart beat rapidly.

Eventually your thoughts caught up to reality and you started to wonder what had caused the noise.

Perhaps Loki had fumbled around in the dark and knocked something over whilst looking for the light switch in unfamiliar territory, the thought made you smile and snicker a little bit.

Another loud crash and the sound of splintering wood soon pulled you out of your reverie, the break in the silence causing you to jump and making your heart beat faster than you thought it possibly could.

After a second of hesitation, you sit up in bed, holding the covers tightly in your hands, and lean a little to your right to peer around the open doorframe.

Out in the partial darkness of the hallway looms a large shadow, the light coming from the living room gave the figure an ominous backlight and outlined the silhouette of a large animal perfectly.

Your breath hitched in your throat and you froze on the spot, hoping that it wouldn’t turn your way and see you through the darkness.

Frozen on the spot, you could only watch as the large beast lowered its head to the ground and began snuffling along the surfaces surrounding it as if in search of something.

You watched for a few moments, your mind eventually kicking back into instinct as the creature stepped further into the hallway and turned towards your room.

This was exactly what you were worried would happen after stumbling across him, a concern that only spiked when you had seen just how quickly his wounds were healing.

Loki had reassured you that it was merely because he ‘wasn’t of Midgard’, as he’d put it, and he had an uncanny healing rate.

Now there was no doubt in your mind that he was wrong and your fears were confirmed, he had been attacked by the very thing you had been brought up to control around these woods.

You had hoped that it was a mere coincidence that he had wound up injured in the woods, now you knew otherwise for certain.

It was true that you also had to prove that the beast was Loki, though you suspected that it was more than likely, what with the splintered bathroom door that most definitely hadn’t been locked before you’d gone to bed.

Also the fact that its fur, which the bathroom light helped illuminate through the doorway, was as dark as Loki’s hair had been and its general size were also factors you’d taken in, Loki had been a tall man, it surely made sense that he would make a larger than average wolf too.

The large wolf continued to investigate around the hallway, you hoped that he would be distracted enough to not notice as you finally found the encouragement to move across the bed to the cupboard of supplies you’d need.

Your family had taken to conserving the lives of werewolves over the generations, living in this exact bungalow deep amongst the trees, unseen by others.

It was in the bloodline to make sure the creatures of the area never got out of hand, but also that they were safe and kept their numbers up.

You had taken over the job just over a year ago and in that time you’d never been this close to one of them, you’d never had a reason to be before.

They left you alone and, as long as they behaved, you observed them from a distance and left them alone.

Though now that you were watching the large beast roaming your hall, you started to feel a little guilty about not warning Loki about what could have potentially happened and the results of his attack.

As you shifted to finally get off the bed, the sheets tangled around your ankle and promptly caught you, making you thump in a heap on the floor the other side of the bed.

The crash of you hitting the ground caused the beast to rear his head in your direction, a low growl rumbling from deep in his chest.

You could hear his claws clicking along the wooden floor as he drew nearer, you took long and deep breaths to keep yourself calm whilst untangling your leg from the twisted sheets.

The sheets had just released you and you had managed to crawl towards your wardrobe just as he entered the room, his large head looming in the open doorway as he looked from side to side, sniffing at the air.

You knew your position was extremely vulnerable and the chances of successfully making it to the wardrobe to riffle through for a defensive weapon had slimmed significantly, but it wouldn’t stop you from trying anyway.

With your eyes trained on the large wolf that was making his way further into the room, you started to push yourself backwards along the carpeted floor.

The scraping seemed louder than any noise you had ever registered, but it was nothing compared to the crash that came when your back collided painfully with a small cabinet you’d momentarily forgotten was there.

One of the handles dug into your spine harshly and a lamp came crashing down onto your leg.

You hissed out a curse as the lamp smashed and left a small cut where it had landed just above your kneecap, the skin aching as if you’d just poked a bruise.

Loki snapped his head towards you and began to lumber over, his eyes narrowed and staring darkly in what, to your barely adjusted to the darkness eyes, almost looked like an ill intentioned smirk.

Or as close as it could get on a canine’s features.

Despite the darkness in the room, he still stood out magnificently, like a large and domineering shadow.

You manage to find some footing and attempt to push yourself up, but Loki’s new and large stature was blocking any space above you as he loomed over your head.

“Get back,” you snap with a tone of authority.

You wanted to appear as confident as you possibly could in front of the werewolf, not letting your adrenaline take control and never allowing your voice to waver.

It was an attempt to give off the wave of an alpha to a werewolf.

Though Loki was newly turned and even whilst human, or at least human looking, he had exuded a confident dominance, something that would more than likely only worsen now with an animal instinct.

As you’d predicated, but hoped he wouldn’t do, he stepped forward so he was practically leaning over you in an act of defiance and taunting over his clear dominance in the situation.

“I said, get back,” you commanded again.

You feared that you knew where this was going.

A new wolf without a pack, especially one with illusions of grandeur like Loki, would surely be looking to create their own and your heart skipped a few beats at the thought of barely spending a year out there alone and already losing when your family for years past had succeeded for so much longer.

Instead of moving back, Loki leaned in and sniffed at the side of your neck, his cold and wet nose sending a small shiver through you as it brushed against a slightly sensitive spot.

Turning your head away, you grit your teeth and scanned the area around you.

Between Loki in front of you, the wall behind you and the cabinet that was now to your right, you didn’t have much room to move.

The gap to your left proved the most promising and you had to act quickly with Loki looming over you like he was.

Taking your moment before you lose your bravado, you took a deep breath and quickly pushed away from the wall, using the momentum to duck and roll diagonally to your left.

Once past Loki, you made a stumbling attempt at regaining balance on your feet to run towards the bedroom door.

You’d barely taken three very poorly executed steps before a large paw connected with one of your ankles, making you fall flat onto your stomach with a winded groan.

Loki wasted no time in walking over and standing over you, a predator leering down at his prey.

Clearly a stance he took great enjoyment from.

You momentarily forgot the basic training from when you were younger, despite the years that it had been drilled into your head and rather than rolling over and staring him down, waiting for him to make a move you could judge, you instead kicked away and attempted to pull yourself across the floor on your stomach.

An inner voice was screaming loudly inside your head, telling you that you were completely wrong and that your parents would be disappointed, but panic had taken over common sense and training in your first instance of being in such a close proximity to a dangerous creature alone for the first time.

The only thought that was ringing through even semi-clearly was that you needed to get to the living room, knowing that more weapons that would hurt rather than maim were in there.

In an expected move that your brain had failed to anticipate in the moment, Loki didn’t hesitate in pulling you back.

A sharp pain shot up your leg as his teeth sunk deep into the flesh of your leg, getting enough leverage to pull you underneath him once again.

The scream of pain that erupted from you was so shrill that it ended up hurting your throat, but the sound did nothing to make Loki lessen his grip.

Your mind yelled far too late that you should kick out, try to dislodge him despite the attachment he had on you, but it was already futile by the time it spoke up.
Once he had pulled you as close as he wanted you, he then proceeded to release his mouth from around your leg and lie down so he pinned you in place.

He stared up at you, large, black and fiercely clawed paws rested on your thighs as he held his gaze, his blue eye glinting in a way you had only witnessed during a shared meal together.

It was humour.

He was finding enjoyment from this, or so you guessed.

With intentionally slow movements, he leant his head down and, whilst still staring into your eyes, began to lap up the blood that was seeping from your wounds.

Your blood ran cold as his tongue ran over the open wound, inevitably infecting you with his new affliction.

“You bastard,” you growled through grit teeth.

He merely smirked, his tail battering the floor on either side of him as he took a sickening joy in what he was doing.

Your throat tightened and became sore as you fought down tears, the knowledge of already failing the one thing you had trained for becoming too much to bear.

Loki soon stood up and slowly walked past you, as he briefly loomed over you once again, you could only stare up with glazed over eyes as unshed tears covered your vision.

He leaned down to your level, nuzzling lightly at the side of your face with his muzzle before retreating towards the backdoor with a flourish of his tail.

Just before he left, you swore you heard the words; “Find me when you’re ready.”

Chapter Text

The trek through the forest was long and disorientating.

Your heightened senses picked up things you wouldn’t usually notice, your eyes seeing in a strangely foggy but at the same time clear way and your ears pricking at every sound that occurred around you.

The most distracting thing was the scent that you were following down a deep path, one you had never seen and that had clearly been created over many years and also one, you guessed, that was solely a werewolf thing to use.

The trail that you were following was one of the most intoxicating scents you had ever smelt in your life and it was leading further down the path and getting stronger by the second.

The smell was domineering and masculine, nothing beyond addictive and had you practically salivating whilst being weak at the knees.

Your new large paws snapped twigs loudly as you went past, your new pointed ears twitching at each crunch that sounded as if it was being snapped right beside you as opposed to beneath you.

You’d lost track of how long you had been walking, the overbearing new senses and adjustments to your body took precedence over the time of travelling, but the sun was beginning to rise and light was very slowly beginning to seep over the forest.

Never before had you been this deep in, choosing instead on keeping the peace between you and the werewolves without a territory war when you were still human was vital.

And now you were welcome, now you could learn what happened amongst the trees and with that came a strange sense of freedom.

Somehow you had managed to stumble, clumsily due to the shape of your new form, far enough into the forest to reach a clearing where the scent was the strongest.

The clearing was a large circle with thick, black trees surrounding it completely and making it hard to tell which way was which.

Broken trees and twigs lay around in the thick grass and on the stump of an old tree just ahead of you sat Loki, his legs splayed open as he leant back on his hands, watching you with intense blue eyes that almost seemed to be glowing.

Your own adjusted eyes could see that he was still partially shifted, but mostly human by this point.

His black hair was wild and unbrushed and you could see the tips of his still canine ears poking out from the strands.

Long black claws still jutted out over his fingertips as he drummed them on the edges of the wood and as he smiled, you could see that his teeth were still mostly pointed and long, proud fangs hung down past the others.

Despite his unexpected transformation in your home, which probably led to any clothes he had on being torn apart, Loki was back to wearing his black trousers and long coat, keeping the latter open so his pale chest was still on display.

“So you did come,” he drawled, a smirk on his lips.

“Of course I did.”

“Excellent, then we can discuss the conditions to this relationship.”

“Which relationship would that be?”

“Ours of course,” Loki replied with a slight roll of his eyes, “in which we can start our own pack.”

Your eyes widened as you stepped back a little, though despite the slight shock at his bluntness your stomach fluttered and heart jolted.

A new pack, one you can help create with Loki.

“I’m not sure,” you mumbled, looking anywhere but him.

“Oh, but I am,” he chuckled, a deep rumble coming from his throat. “I’m the alpha and you still have a warm home we can use to raise little ones, it’s practically instinct now anyway.”

Your eyes finally found him again, though you remained silent as you stared.

“Come on,” Loki continued whilst standing from his makeshift seat, behind him you could see a slick, black furred tail swaying from side to side. “You can’t tell me you didn’t feel it, obviously you did otherwise you wouldn’t have sought me out.”

“I found you as it’s my duty to make sure all the wolves here are safe.”

Loki watched you silently, though his widening grin told you all you needed to know.

“Sure, that’s all.”

“You can’t be thinking of a pack already,” you commented in a weaker voice than you’d wanted.

“Perhaps not straight away, but as you were so delightfully informing me over dinner the wolves are dwindling out and need to keep their numbers up,” Loki stopped in front of you and leaned down to your level, making sure you were face to face before continuing, “and you can’t tell me that you didn’t get a little buzzed at the thought just now.”

Part of you wanted to back away and give yourself a bit of space to breathe, but the louder half of you screamed to stay put and relish in the closeness of the man in front of you, to let his dominant scent wash over you.

Thus you found yourself unable to move, instead your eyes slowly fluttered shut as your head felt a little woozy.

“Imagine it, you can be the carrier of the child from not only a new alpha but also a God.”

The tone in his voice made you squirm on the spot a little, the arrogance and confidence mixed into something enticing.

“Our children would be unmatched.”

Having strong children seemed to have become a pleasing thought, the thought of the security of a mate with unbridled power was overriding your senses in a way that would never have happened when you were merely human.

“But why me?” You asked, looking up at him.

As you spoke, you could feel your body shifting as daylight cast further over the forest, your first change had barely lasted a few hours.

“It only seems fair that I pull you into this, I may have been able to shapeshift before but this is entirely new, even to me and it’s always nice to have someone to share new experiences with.”

You could only nod a little, the discomfort of your bones altering and fur receding back into your skin was too much of a distraction to even logically comprehend what he was saying.

“Besides, I love to see irony unfold and what’s more ironic than a protector becoming what they hardly had to protect?”

A groan of pain escaped you as your body jolted a little, your teeth grit together and you dropped your head to your chest, panting a little.

“Tell you what,” Loki piped up again, if you had to guess you would say that he liked the sound of his own voice. “I’ll let you finish shifting and once you feel that’s done, we’ll continue this discussion.”

Chapter Text

The day had started out as basically as any other.

You had woken up early with a craving for some salty meat and Loki got up with you to make sure that you were alright, he knew that things hadn’t been easy for you as of late and his need to protect his mate flared each time he saw you.

His chest also swelled with a strange pride that it was his doing.

It had been almost two years since he had been turned and he subsequently exchanged the favour onto you, who was once the protector of the wolves that you know ruled over.

The transition wasn’t easy and the new hierarchy proved difficult for some of the other wolves to swallow, but you and Loki had made your marks as the new alphas and they were going to accept it.

Considering how long you had been looking after them, it seemed it was easier for them to accept you than it was for them to accept Loki.

This stranger who had just waltzed in from nowhere and made broad exclamation, but he was your mate and that made them reluctantly back down.

It had been just over a year when Loki made good on his promise to continue keeping the wolf bloodline strong within the forest and now, five months later, you were heavily carrying his child, or children.

You had been nervous about visiting the doctor in the nearby town, not just in fear of any bad news they may have about your offspring, but also in fear of what they’d say if the little growing one, or ones, already had evidence of their wolf blood.

Your family had fought for years, centuries even, to keep the Normies tucked safely in their beds without the worry of monsters being real so there was no doubt that any trace of tiny wolf ears or a tail would freak out the resident doctor.

But the rate you were growing had started to concern you and you did want to know just how many children you were expecting to introduce into your pack.

“Don’t worry about the size,” Loki had comforted one night during your fourth month, his hand caressing the tightly stretched skin of your stomach, “that’s probably down to my Jotun genes.”

“Your what genes?”

He chuckled softly and kissed your temple, “In layman’s terms, it means frost giant.”

“Oh,” you pouted, “that would have been nice to know beforehand.”

“I can only apologise for withholding information.”

It was two weeks after that talk that you decided to take the risk, you wanted to know of any potential risks to your unborn and you needed to know once and for all if it was one large child weighing you down or multiple children.

So that morning you went through your usual routine of making breakfast for you both, despite Loki’s insistence that he was perfectly capable of preparing his own food, starting the washing machine and finally washing and brushing your teeth before you ventured out with car keys in hand.

Loki stood in the doorway and watched you leave, his mind telling him to go with you in case anything happened.

Thoughts that he quickly shut down, you were an adult and were more than capable of looking after yourself without your mate clinging to your heels.

He waved you goodbye as you sounded the car horn then took a deep breath and stepped back inside the house, instantly feeling how empty it was.

There were plenty of things he could do to distract himself.

There was a nursery to be decorated, furniture to put together, letters to be written and books to be read, but he didn’t think that he’d be able to focus on any of them from that niggling voice of worry in the back of his head.

“You’re being ridiculous,” he muttered to himself, rolling his eyes, “she can last a few hours alone.”

With a long huff, Loki decided that he would waste him time with the furniture and made his way to the room that was once an office and was now going to serve as a nursery.

Large white boxes lay in the corner, the teddy bears and pastel coloured decorations coaxing him over to finally rip them open and begin putting together the wooden slats inside.

“The bookshelf, I’ll start with that.”

He crouched down and pulled the heavy box over, ripping open the lid Loki then promptly upended the contents over the floor and grabbed the manual that fluttered out and landed on the top of the clutter.

Standing up once again, he casually began to flip through the manual whilst heading to the kitchen with the intentions of making himself some tea before beginning the task of his first batch of Midgardian DIY.

To say this was a vast difference from the life of a Prince would be a great understatement.

And so, a few hours and cups of tea later, Loki found himself sat in front of a near completed bookshelf, feeling proud of himself for managing to get this far without using any of his seiðr.

He had just managed to secure in the second to last shelf when a harsh banging at the door caught his attention, making him jump and almost resulting in his dropping the shelf onto his foot.

It was barely a minute later when more obnoxious banging pounded against the hard wood, the person on the other side clearly being impatient.

“Alright, I’m coming,” Loki rolled his eyes, standing up whilst muttering obscenities under his breath.

What could be that urgent that they’d practically break the door down?

He paused mid-stride towards the door as his heart dropped.

What if there had been a crash? Or a mugging and you’d been killed?

What if you’d taken a tumble down some stairs and were now led in hospital, suffering alone?

This spurred him to move faster to the door, his heart racing in worry.

A few more poundings sounded before he managed to wrench the door open with one hand braced on the doorframe.

Behind the door stood a man who exhumed the scent of an alpha male.

The way he stood tall, puffing his chest out as his brown eyes glowered down at the God would have been a big enough give away if it wasn’t for the overbearing stench of masculinity that seemed to ooze from him in droves.

His dark blond hair was tussled and tangled with leaves and twigs, Loki couldn’t ignore how the man seemed to be fully coated in hair from his chest to his too large hands, the fact that he was fully nude didn’t help with leaving anything to the imagination.

The scent was recognisable as soon as it hit him.

This was the previous alpha of the forest, the one who had attacked him and turned him the night he arrived.

“Can I-”

Loki sputtered as the man lunged forward and clamped one of his large hands around his throat, cutting off his sentence as strong hands attempted to crush his windpipe.

His feet left the ground as he was hoisted up by a strong arm, the man taking a few steps into the home before slamming Loki into the wall that held the door-frame in place, his long and dirty nails digging into his prey’s flesh.

“I’ve got a bone to pick with you,” he snarled.

Chapter Text

Loki felt himself beginning to weaken as his air supply was cut off, the alpha’s grip proving to be more than he could fight off despite his God title and the deep gashes his nails were making on the other man’s arms had no affect on easing the torturous grip.

Although Loki had a decent height to him, the ex-alpha still managed to keep his feet from touching the floor and the added weight of his own body hanging and thrashing only added to the impact, it wasn’t long before black spots and colourful flashes began to play across his vision.

His body went concerningly numb as his senses dulled, though before he gave in completely his mind gave him images of the one thing that was most certain to spur on his determination to live.

With a bit of effort, Loki managed to spark life back into his tingling fingers and a burst of seiðr that was much weaker than his usual efforts decorated his fingers in an array of green.

Loki noticed that the other man’s eyes briefly flickered down his the newly sparked up magic and he felt his grip ever so slightly give.

A grunt of effort gargled from Loki’s throat as he mustered up any strength he could and flicked the sparks of green straight into the ex-alpha’s eyes.

There was a loud cry of pain and Loki was dropped unceremoniously to the floor with a painful thud, the sudden rush of air invading his lungs tickled his throat and caused him to cough and hack uncomfortably.

There was a pause between both men as they tried to recuperate from the attacks.

Loki desperately gasped for air, his hand feeling its way up the wall as he gradually got to his feet on shaky legs, the world spinning a little as dizziness and adrenaline mixed horribly and coursed through his body.

The blinded alpha was stumbling about, trying to furiously rub out the stinging in his eyes that the seiðr blast had created but finding that each rub seemed to make the burn worse.

Curses growled from him and he made vaguely threatening comments towards Loki.

“Just you wait,” he snarled, spittle dripping from his teeth, “I’m going to kill you and that pretty little mate of yours will carry my children.”

Loki’s stomach turned at the mental image that created, his hatred growing deeper.

“Better yet,” he continued with a low chuckle, “maybe I’ll keep you alive, tie you up real good and make you watch as I claim her.”

“One more word, Markus,” Loki gasped out, glaring darkly as his chest heaved, “and I will rip out your throat.”

Markus’ deep chuckle rumbled from the darkest recesses of his chest.

He had finally managed to clear one eye, which was now an angry red and continuously watered, a look that would usually weaken a man’s look but somehow with this tall, burly and scarred wolf only made him look that much harsher.

“You think you can do anything? You’re nothing but a weak, string bean of a wanna-be wolf.”

“If I am,” Loki smirked, trying to stay steady on his feet as he stared daringly at Markus, “then why am I alpha and you’re nothing but a has been?”

The deep snarl of rage from the wolf in front of him briefly caused a bit of pride to swell up in the God, that was until he was promptly charged at with fangs dripping with saliva being aimed at his throat.

Markus lashed out his arms, his nails extending into sharp claws with the intention of driving them into his opponent’s flesh and latching on tightly to the muscles and ligaments underneath to give him a deadlier grip.

His fingers had barely grazed Loki when the God disappeared in a strange mirage of green and gold.

He faltered for a moment as his claws connected with nothing, his teeth bared and ready to take a chunk out of something as he growled in frustration and confusion.

“This is why you aren’t alpha anymore.”

Markus started at the voice that came from behind him and barely had a chance to react when a sharp pain crashed into his back, sending him sprawling forward and head first into the wall he had just had Loki pinned against.

He managed to right himself and twist to look at Loki, who strode up behind him with a cocky smirk that riled him up.

“You must be getting old if your senses are dulling that much.”

“My senses are fine,” he huffed, his one barely good eye staring hatefully at Loki.

“Really? Then why couldn’t you sense that that wasn’t me?”

“This whole place reeks of you and your bitch.”

“Perhaps, but any wolf in their prime could pinpoint exactly where I was.”

Loki stepped forward and slammed a booted foot into Markus’ chest, causing the wolf to gasp out as the harsh connection winded him.

He stared up as Loki crouched down before him and flicked his wrist out to the side, seemingly conjuring a dagger out of nowhere that he promptly moved towards Markus’ throat, the pointed tip barely grazing his Adam’s apple.

“Now, it seems we have a problem, doesn’t it?” Loki started, earning a distasteful sneer from Markus, “so how about we talk it over cordially like true men, rather than trying to be brutes and monsters?”

“We are monsters and this is how we rightfully claim our spot.”

“Is it? Because I seemed to take the role of alpha over this forest pretty damn easily.”

“Mating with our ex-protector gave you a benefit, you didn’t prove yourself worthy and that’s not our way.”

He growled and tried to surge forward but Loki pressed the tip of his dagger ever so slightly harder into his skin, just enough that the point would pierce but not cause an alarming injury.

“And that makes you think it’s suitable for you to barge into my home, what is soon to be my children’s home, and attack me?”

“You have to prove your worth.”

“It seems that I have to the others, you just can’t handle it because I hurt what little pride you have.”

“You have no right to your position.”

“That is where you are so very wrong,” Loki chuckled, leaning in closer while trying to avoid reacting to the putrid breath of his opponent, “I was born to rule.”

Markus’ eyes watched the blade in Loki’s hand move swiftly through the air, his heart jolted at the thought of this being his final moment, where it all ends and his mate and children would be left to fend for themselves under this monster’s watch.

He didn’t want to, he wanted to watch and stare into his killer’s eyes so his final moment would be forever burned into Loki’s memory, but he found himself still turning his head away and closing his eyes tightly as if that would somehow lessen the blow.

A few breaths passed and nothing came, nothing but the sound of something shunking into hollow wood that made him jump and snap his eyes open.

In front of him, Loki was getting up empty handed, his hard eyes judging the man beneath him as he rubbed at his now bruising throat.

The dagger he once held was now embedded into the floorboard by Markus’ leg and Loki briefly flickered his gaze towards it before returning back to Markus.

“Don’t even think about it,” he demanded, holding a hand out.

Markus stared at it for a brief moment before taking it, allowing Loki to haul him up onto his feet.

Loki observed the man before him with a slight wrinkle of his nose and folded his arms.

“I’m not going to kill you,” he sighed, “as much as I may want to for you attacking me, I know she wouldn’t be happy if I did, it goes against everything she was raised for after all.”

Markus let out a relieved huff and smiled, nodding slowly.

“Thank you.”

“But.”

Markus lifted his head and looked at Loki in expectation.

Loki stepped forward and unfolded his arms, his eyes seemed forlornly trained on his right hand as the skin started to turn a pale, ice blue.

He eventually lifted his gaze once again to Markus.

“I will leave you with this, so that you will always remember who you answer to.”

Loki grabbed hold of Markus’ shoulder and in barely an instant the skin of his bare shoulder began to burn and sizzle painfully.

He yelled and grit his teeth in pain as a burning cold bit into his skin.

It barely lasted a couple of seconds, but by the time Loki pulled away the skin of his shoulder looked charred and sore.

Loki stepped back and clenched his fist as the blue tint began to disappear, his eyes were trained on the wound with a look Markus could only describe as saddened.

“Now leave, I have to tidy up before she returns.”

Markus clutched a hand over his shoulder, ignoring the pain that ignited from the wound, and stepped back, staring at Loki with widened eyes until he finally turned and fled.

Loki watched and waited until he was lost amongst the trees before letting out a long groan and rubbing at his face.

“What a day,” he mumbled, stepping forward to close the door.

Chapter Text

I stare through the darkness of the room towards the ceiling, regaining the little bit of the breath I had lost.

Loki led beside me with his eyes closed, his breathing more even than my own.

“That was definitely...something,” I finally say after gaining control of my lungs.

“In a good way I hope,” he chuckled in reply.

“Certainly, your reputation does not exceed you in the slightest.”

I felt him shift a little and turn my head towards him.

“What reputation would that be?”

With a soft sigh I roll onto my side to face him, shifting further down the bed to lie more comfortably.

“Your reputation as what I can only describe as a ‘playboy’.”

Even through the darkness I could see Loki quirk one of his eyebrows.

“I wasn’t aware of that.”

“That surprises me, there are many stories from many women floating around the palace.”

“Such as?”

I stare at him, my eyes adjusting to a point where I could actually see more than just a vague outline of naked features.

“Mostly sex stories to be honest, from taking kitchen servants on the counters to handmaidens in the library, one tale even recalls you and a visitor from Muspelheim in the palace garden pond.”

He scoffed loudly and rolled his eyes.

“Please, don’t tell me you believe such stories.”

“I’m not sure what I believe.”

“I am deeply wounded that you would believe I’d sully the books in a sanctuary like the library.”

We both share a laugh, the light awkwardness of the conversation topic lifted and silence descends upon us once again.

“Is that why you avoided me for so long?”

The question startles me a little, momentarily catching me off guard and taking a moment longer than usual to register.

“I suppose you could say that, you could say that I’m not particularly fond of people who sleep around and whilst I understand that our life spans are long there is a large difference between experience and merely getting some at any chance to the point of it becoming unappealing.”

Loki said nothing, but I could see him nodding with a soft smile.

“Well it would be a lie to say that I didn’t have a share of experience, but I most certainly cannot live up to the apparent amount of stories there are about me circulating out there.”

“I suppose people will make up such things for their own image, using a well known name to gain traction.”

“I’m not sure what they’d expect to gain from me, Thor I could understand, but not me.”

“I don’t think as many people are against you as you seem to think, Loki,” I smile.

“Perhaps not, but I still don’t like the thought of those who would usually not dare to interact beyond basic social standards using me as some elaborate character for their fantasies.”

“I’m afraid that happens with people such as yourself.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning people are naturally drawn to those who are of higher standard, richer and definitely attractive, especially if it makes themselves more interesting.”

“Or it’s just easier to make up lies about someone you barely interact with, with no real emotional connection you can’t feel bad for making up lies about them whilst staring them in the face.”

“There is that too,” I hum in agreement, “though that would be quite a length to go to with one of the Princes of the kingdom.”

“Some people will resort to anything.”

I let out another small hum and nod, letting my eyes fall closed as I begin to feel drowsy.

“I’m glad you finally came to your senses about me though.”

“I am too, Loki,” I smile.

Chapter Text

Loki pushed the glasses up the bridge of his nose once again, a move that was pointless as the second he lowered his gaze down to the book in his hands they slid down once again.

He swung his stubby legs as he sat on a large bench in the palace garden, minding his own business as other children ran past him, screaming and laughing merrily.

He had wanted to join in, but he found it hard to keep up with their energetic games and decided instead to sit to one side until another game was suggested.

This was what he always did, yet no one seemed to notice.

They were too busy playing happily with Thor, who would always take lead in what games would be played and when he decided he was bored then it was time to play a new game, another one of his choosing and understandably no one would argue.

Loki wouldn’t mind so much, he was used to Thor being bossy, but his brother never picked a game that he could play for long.

He struggled to keep up with the others when playing chase.

Hide and seek had limited spaces for him to hide within the chosen area.

He was too self conscious to go and play in the near by river when they were allowed to stray further for a while.

So instead he would sit on the sidelines and watch them play whilst trying to distract himself with whatever book he was working his way through at the time.

No one ever seemed to notice that he didn’t want to be sat by himself and he never had the courage to say that he wanted to join in, the fear of being pushed aside lingering in the back of his head.

It was easier for him to be wilfully lonely than forcefully isolated.

Loki had accepted the truth a while back.

The other children would rather hang out with Thor, the athletic, luxurious blond and boisterous one compared to the chubby, greasy dark haired and quiet bookworm that Loki was.

More often than not, whilst Thor was off being loud somewhere, he’d be reading away, imagining himself as the tall, brave and lean hero who would save the world and be loved by all.

No one had ever really mocked him about his appearance, at least not openly or to his face, although he deeply suspected that that was mostly due to him being one of the Princes of Asgard.

Though he’d grown accustomed to it and learned to enjoy his silence, he still yearned for companionship at times.

Even with this realisation and resignation in his life he was still startled when that day, that had started out as typically as any other, a young girl sat beside him on his usual bench.

A book was tucked neatly under her arm as her eyes followed the other children running around, a warm smile adorning her face and lighting up her features.

He glanced towards her unsurely, his eyes slowly scanning over her and taking in the details whilst his mind pondered about her reasons for sitting with him.

Loki knew he hadn’t seen her before, maybe she was too uncertain about joining in with the other children’s games and had decided that he was the best bet until she was more comfortable.

He started to debate internally with himself on whether to talk to her or not, spark up a conversation and see if maybe he could lure in a friend before Thor got there first again.

“You must be pretty angry at that book.”

Loki flinched at his contemplation being broken and glanced towards her from the side of his eye.

“Pardon?” He almost whispered.

“You were glaring at your book,” she giggled, “it must be making you angry.”

“Oh,” Loki mumbled, “no, I was thinking.”

She made a long and drawn out noise of understanding and nodded her head, swinging her legs beneath the bench seat much like Loki had been.

“Why are you sat here by yourself?”

“I like being by myself.”

“You don’t want to play with the others?”

“I want to, but I can’t.”

“Oh,” she paused and stared at him for a moment that felt much longer to him than it was, “why not?”

Loki looked at her like she was stupid, as if the answer was blatantly obvious even to her eleven year old mind.

“It’s not like my clothes are padded,” he snapped, sounding harsher than he had intended to.

He couldn’t deny that he had jumped straight into a defensive attitude at being questioned, he had wanted someone to notice that he was lonely and yet he hadn’t wanted them to throw questions at him.

She had only shrugged uncaringly and opened her own book, “I was just asking.”

An awkward silence hung between them, though she didn’t appear to show any notice of it.

Loki hadn’t intended to snap, in truth he didn’t really know why he got so defensive over nothing, it almost felt like an instinctual mechanism now.

No wonder he’d heard someone call him cold, it was only once and it was barely a throwaway comment, but at only eleven years old it had stuck with him.

His brows furrowed as he remembered the softly spoken words, this wasn’t the first time he’d realised that perhaps there were some truth behind them and that it would need to be changed.

‘No better time than the present I suppose,’ he thought to himself.

Loki took a quick side glance towards her, or more towards her book.

“What are you reading?” He asked, his voice breaking a little at the beginning of his sentence.

She looks up from her book and at him with a smile, almost as if he hadn’t just bitten her head off.

“It’s a children’s horror book,” she grinned, “it’s all about this scary, really twisted school full of monsters that normal people have to attend.”

“That just sounds like when the realms have one of their big shared parties.”

Loki was a little surprised, though also very pleased, when she let out a giddy laugh.

“Yeah, I guess it does!”

She looked at the cover of his book, evidently trying to see the title.

Loki tilted it up further for her, “It’s a book on some illusion techniques,” he claimed proudly, “I’m getting quite good at it.”

Her eyes lit up with excitement and she moved closer, leaning over to look at the contents he had been reading over.

“You have to tell me,” she demanded over excitedly.

Loki was a little surprised at her eagerness, but was happy to spend most of that afternoon demonstrating just how much he’d learnt during his lessons.

Chapter Text

Loki stared into the mirror and took a deep breath, his nerves were beginning to get the better of him and he felt mere seconds from uncharacteristically chickening out.

This was the first dance in all his years where he was going to ask someone to go with him and he had never felt his heart beat faster in his chest.

“But what if she says no?”

“You’re a handsome boy, Loki,” Frigga smiles, placing her hands on his shoulders, “she won’t.”

“You have to say that,” he sighs with a roll of his eyes, “you’re my mother.”

“And that means I must lie?”

“Isn’t that part of the parent contract?”

Frigga laughed, her thin fingers kneading at his leather jacket.

“Only in the eyes of a child.”

Loki smiled at his mother’s actions, feeling instantly relieved of any tension in her presence.

“I’m not used to seeing you this unconfident, Loki,” Frigga spoke up again, a soft and motherly smile still in place, “even when others are mocking you, you have never let your guard down until now.”

“I know, but this is different.”

Frigga let out a soft and wistful sigh, stepping around her son so she could look him directly in the face and wasn’t continuing to talk via reflection.

“Loki, I am entirely faithful that she will say yes.”

He looked up at his mother and tried to suppress the frown that still managed to crease his brow, his eyes darting off to the side as he tried to avoid the motherly look he had respected for years.

“But I’m nothing like Thor or Fandral,” he protested weakly.

“No, you’re not and that is what makes you so unique.”

“Unique doesn’t mean being fat, covered in spots and having to wear these,” he pointed to his thick glasses, unable to cover the distaste in his voice.

“Loki,” Frigga started in a tone that was a mix between worry and scolding, “I never want to hear you speak of yourself in such a way again.”

“They say that the truth hurts, Mother.”

“That does not mean that I wish to hear it, nor should you think that way.”

Loki frowned and looked away from his mother, not wishing to make eye contact and seeing that look of sad disappointment in her eyes.

“I can’t help it, not when everyone around me is like an Adonis.”

“Loki…”

The room falls silent as Frigga stared down at her son, who in turn was finding anywhere in the room to look but her.

It pained her to see her son so upset and not knowing how to help him, the knowledge that her brilliant son was so insecure despite the face he put up was something that plagued her mind, though she did her best to hide it.

A rapid knock at the door sounded before it clicked open and Loki’s heart stopped as a head poked around the door, a large smile on the girl’s face.

He had momentarily forgotten that he had asked a maid to call for her, he’s also briefly forgotten his nerves, which now came flaring back up at the sight of the one person who had stood beside him no matter what since befriending him.

Worries of rejection and awkward sympathetic looks as she said no crashed through his stomach and built up the nausea all over again, he wasn’t ready.

“You wanted to see me?” She grinned, walking over to the two.

Loki noticed her eyes flickering over him as she stepped closer, he knew that she was analyzing his new black and green armour, probably thinking of everything that was wrong with it and how ill fitting it was.

“Is that new?” She asked, finally looking into Loki’s eyes.

He could only nod feebly, his mouth going dry.

A wide smile crossed her lips as she nodded in return, “It suits you.”

His inside fluttered a little at the compliment and he returned her smile, though his was more uncontrollable as the comment inflated his confidence once again.

Frigga shared a brief look between the two before giving her son’s shoulder another encouraging squeeze and leaving the room without needing to say a word.

She knew that Loki would eventually manage to ask the question and shifts things around for himself, it was all he would need in that moment to finally take that changing step between the two friends and she was more than eager to hear about their growing relationship after the dance.

Chapter Text

Loki stared at the reflection before him, taking in all the details as he had done many times.

Partly because he couldn’t believe this was him now and partly because it gave him the perfect view of his life.

Where once before he’d avoided the mirror, not wanting to see the awkward, chubby and cringe-inducing nerd he’d once been, now stood a man who had grown into himself and stood tall, proud and lithe.

Thinner than he was as a child, Loki had hit a growth spurt by the time he was fourteen and he soon found himself losing what the adults called ‘puppy fat’, it seemed his mother had been right in saying that it wouldn’t last, especially as he didn’t eat much in the first place.

The same happened with the spots as they gradually and his eyesight had improved, even though he still opted to wear his glasses at times.

Unlike the horror stories he had heard growing up, it seemed that puberty was working wonders for him.

He’d gained control of his hair, which was once an uncontrollable greasy mess, now he brushed it back, away from his angular face.

A movement caught his attention and his eyes glanced ever so slightly to his left, where he could see the reflection of a woman led on his bed, her legs wrapped in his green sheets but everything else exposed to the world.

His hair was something she tended complained about, purely in jest, saying how she preferred to see it wild and messy and not slicked back like it was wet to the touch, though in that moment it was still messy from the night before, just as she liked it.

Loki found himself looking her over through the mirror, taking in every curve and detail like he had a million times before.

A sense of pride and love fluttered inside his stomach upon seeing her, then nerves set in when he thought about what he planned to do.

By this very day the week after next, he hoped to be engaged to her.

The one who had stuck by him despite everything, dealing with the mocking, the glances and the whispers they had received when he was still young and considered an ugly duckling amongst the people within the palace walls.

She had been by his side and encouraged him with his endeavors, managing to err him away from some of his worst plans and helped shape him into who he was at that very moment.

All these years she had been a best friend, after the dance when they were both young teens, she had become his girlfriend and once they were of age his lover and closest confidant.

He fondly remembered when they had left that dance together, the way his mother smiled at the two as he offered to walk her to her guest room and held out his hand to her.

How warm her hand felt in his, although that wasn’t the first time that night that he’d help it there was always a flickering moment of astonishment at how soft and warm her hands were compared to his.

Loki remembered how his stomach fluttered as she smiled at him, as his nerves picked up when they stepped into the corridor that held her room and his moment to finally ask her to be his drew closer.

He never thought that she would so readily say yes, he believed that she would have said that she only agreed to go to the dance with him as long as it was purely platonic.

Now here they were, older, supposedly wiser and more in love than he would ever dare to admit that he was aloud.

A low and tired sigh came from the bed and he turned away from the mirror, smiling as she rubbed her eyes before glancing towards the end of the bed, when she didn’t find Loki lying beside her, she sat up and scanned the room until her gaze finally fell on him.

There was that smile, the one she’d always held just for him ever since they were little and he first showed her the illusions he could cast.

“Am I late for breakfast?”

“No,” he shook his head, walking back over to the bed and sitting on her side, “if anything, we still have forty minutes to spare.”

“Oh and whatever shall we do with that time?”

Despite himself, Loki’s eyes roamed over her bare form and he found himself smirking.

“I can think of a few things.”

She rolled her eyes and reached out, playing with a bit of his still tussled hair.

“Is that all you think about?”

“What?” He chuckled, “I think after last night we need a long shower.”

“I’m sure that’s what you were thinking about.”

“Naturally, do get your mind out of the gutter.”

She laughed and gave his arm a playful shove, then she untangled her legs from the bedsheets and got up with a long stretch.

“I’ll meet you in there.”

Loki watched her saunter teasingly towards the en-suite door, purposefully strutting her stuff to rile him up.

The smirk she threw over her shoulder before walking inside gave her game away and he wasn’t about to disobey her call of; “Don’t make me wait too long!”

“Through all of her encouragement, Mother never warned me that this woman will be the death of me,” he chuckled to himself.

Chapter Text

“Please, Loki.”

“No, I’ve been saying this for half a month now.”

“But the children will love it.”

“It’s ridiculous, it’s not even our own custom.”

“Perhaps not, but the children know of it now and you are the perfect one to do it, they’ll never know it’s you.”

Loki rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest, his expression less than happy.

“Besides, I rarely get to see you shift, this is a wonderful opportunity to put that special gift of yours to use and show everyone else how it’s done in a way only you can.”

He glances at you from the corner of his eye, a faint smirk twitching the side of his lip.

If there was one thing Loki enjoyed, it was having his ego stroked and being able to show everyone else up.

“Only me?”

“I don’t think Thor is suited to the task and the rest of the pesky ones in the tower are hardly suited at pretending to be another as thoroughly as you.”

“And you’re saying all I have to do is show up, give out some presents, eat cookies and leave?”

“Precisely.”

“That sounds too nice for me.”

You laugh and shake your head, nudging him with your shoulder.

“Do it for our boys.”

“I hate it when you pull the ‘our boys’ card,” he huffed.

“I know, that’s why I do it.”

-

Loki sighed and stared into the mirror, shaking his head a little at his reflection.

“The one time she asks me to use my shifting and it’s to be ‘this’,” he grimaced, looking down at the bright red and white outfit he’d conjured.

“Just think of the boys,” he muttered to himself, turning away from the mirror and picking up the brown sack that contained the presents he was to personally hand to each of the children attending the party.

A knock sounded at the door and before Loki even had a chance to answer it opened and Tony peered around the wood.

His eyes instantly lock onto Loki and a worrying smirk adorns his face.

“Say one word and you’re done,” the God growled, swinging the sack over his shoulder.

“Who? Me? Like I’d ever say anything about your makeover, even if it is an improvement.”

Loki glared at him and flipped him off, a Midgardian gesture he never thought he would end up using.

“Hey,” Tony chuckled as his grin grew, “you’re supposed to be festive and jolly and working in terms of your allowance here.”

“I am, but telling you where to shove it isn’t against the rules you placed.”

“It’s not? Damn, maybe I need to add it in.”

Loki rolled his eyes and walked over, pulling the door open further to step out.

“Even think of it and I will ruin this ridiculous party for everyone.”

“That’s not very Santa-like, is it? Think of the children.”
“I care about no one’s children but my own…and maybe Thor’s.”

“Remind me again why we invited you?”

“Because I’m the only one who could make this ‘Santa’ man real.”

Tony nodded slowly before shrugging, “Alright, I’ll give you that.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small collection of bells that made a terrible clattering as he moved his hand.

Tony held out the instrument to Loki, who eyed it sceptically with a hint of annoyance.

“And why do I need this noisy contraption?”

“Simple, you jingle it as you come down the hall as symbol to us parents that ‘Santa is coming’.”

Loki looked at him with a raised eyebrow, to which Tony only sighed.

“Just shake it before you come into the room, okay?”

“I suppose,” he resigned hesitantly, taking the shaker.

Tony gave him a quick nod and turned away before a thought struck him and he turned back, pointing at the fake-Claus.

“Oh and try to be jolly.”

Loki stared at Tony as he retreated back to the large lounge where a group of young children were happily chatting, singing along with the Christmas songs that were playing or eating.

Through the doorway at the end of the long hall, he caught a brief glance of his own sons holding up odd little trinkets and food items and enthusiastically talking to their Uncle.

He couldn’t help but smile at the sight before the door clicked shut and left him to stand alone in the hallway for a few lingering minutes.

Loki looked down at the bells in his hand and took a deep breath, glancing towards the door once again before lifting them up and giving them a small shake.

Chapter Text

It was that initial look of confusion and bewilderment that had endeared you to him immediately, but that dwindled quickly into a form of petty jealousy that even you couldn’t fully comprehend.

His stumbling around after the Grandmaster like a sheep with his shepherd, something that clearly pleased the Grandmaster himself, did nothing but spur the growing distaste towards the new arrival.

The more followers the better, you supposed, the big man himself wasn’t particularly fussy as long as he got the attention and adoration.

It hadn’t taken long before Loki had found favour with the Grandmaster and he’d managed to acquire a new wardrobe, one that, whilst flattering to his figure, didn’t suit him as well as the armour he had arrived in.

It had become a terrible habit for your eyes to drift down whenever he entered the room and if you didn’t know any better, you would believe that the arrogant smirk he held was evidence enough that he knew people were looking.

There was something about that arrogance that you wanted to knock down a little, he clearly thought a lot about himself and that over self confidence, to you, was unacceptable.

He’d barely been here a week and already seemed to be one of the favourites, a fact that stirred up your annoyance further.

You’d never had a need to be within the ‘it crowd’ before, you were usually quite happy to skirt around the sidelines and remain hidden.

In fact, though you would go to the small get together held by the Grandmaster, you never truly cared about the others in attendance or where they stood amongst the warped society of Sakaar.

So why was Loki’s presence here such an irritation?

You glared towards where he was lounging on the large couch, a drink in one hand whilst his arm was thrown over the back of the chair, just barely grazing a woman who was flirting disgustingly obviously with him.

An unpleasant sneer twitches at your lip and you have to force yourself to look away, finishing off your new favourite drink from this planet that was once so foreign to you.

The typical chatter of the routine get together became a distant background noise, there was nothing new to hear so listening in on everyone’s conversations and jokes would merely serve to bore you faster.

These things were always the same.

Or at least had been until Loki arrived.

There was something revitalising about his arrival, the stories he’d tell of a world you never knew and would never know were fascinating and he was actually a genuinely funny guy who didn’t need polite laughs from socialites that merely felt false and awkward.

From where you sat, you could vaguely make out his enchanting voice from amongst the drone as he started another one of his fables, knowing that everyone would be hooked.

The woman who was clearly getting lucky tonight had a hand on his knee, she traced light circles with her fingernails before dragging them up to his thigh.

Loki would have appeared unphased, had it not been for the very subtle shifts in his posture and side glanced towards her as he spoke.

The smirks they were sharing made your stomach flip, though you had noted that she seemed to be more into it than he did.

Although that may have partially been because she was in the usual strange attire the people of Sakaar took a liking to and with her face mostly covered with an odd piece of headgear, there was no way for Loki to truly know what he was getting into until it was perhaps too late.

The image of him getting so closer to satisfaction for it all to be ruined by the most hideous thing he had ever seen caused you to giggle, it was a vindictive thought but it amused you all the same.

Another three drinks passed with you watching the two like a hawk before Loki set his empty glass down and stood up, the accompanying woman standing with him and linking her arm with his.

By this point you were more riled up than you thought you would have been.

Although you were hesitant to admit it, your watching of Loki as he attended these little parties had become bit of a habit.

It was strangely enthralling watching him arrive alone, share stories with company who hung onto his every word until he eventually left alone once again.

Usually you’d take your disliking in your stride, but something tonight had boiled it over and you needed to settle a score with the only one of the favourites who stood out to you.

Downing the last of your final drink that night, you got up and followed after them.

Your eyes trailed over Loki’s figure from behind, a strange and giddy wish of that cape being gone so you could see more of him causing you to stifle a giggle.

Though you managed to catch yourself and mentally scolded the thought of wanting to see something you’d only accidentally caught a glance of once.

How could a guy have such a perfect ass?

You decided that that was probably what annoyed you about him, you hated his perfection and this only fuelled you on more.

They had turned the final corner and were getting closer to his bedroom, soon they would be locked inside and you would have to let your growing anger out on some poor, unsuspecting trash pile.

“Hey, Loki!”

He stopped and looked over his shoulder towards where you stood at the end of the corridor.

His eyes glanced over you as the woman tugged on his arm, signalling that she was getting impatient and wanted to get to the fun part of her night.

Loki merely shrugged, said something to her in retaliation and turned away from you again.

This flared up your irritation and you stomped after the two, catching up to them both halfway down the corridor.

“I’m talking to you.”

“And I’m ignoring you,” he called over his shoulder.

“You’re doing a piss poor job of it.”

“Much like you have been all night, you truly think I hadn’t noticed your staring.”

Your cheeks burn up in embarrassment, which is only made worse by the woman’s laughter.

“I guess they’re wanting to join us, hmm Lokes?”

“Lokes?” You raise your eyebrow and let out a snort of laughter.

Loki only gives a slightly weary sigh, but recovers quickly.

“It seems so, too bad I’m not interested in petulant children.”

And finally you fully saw red.

Before you fully comprehended what was happening, your arm swung out to strike him with a small dagger held tightly in your hand.

Loki’s eyes widened in surprise as he managed to block the attack with his own arm and push away your weapon, by the time you had recovered and gone for another strike he had conjured up his own daggers and smirked menacingly at you.

Challenging you.

His reaction time was unlike anything you had seen outside of the gladiator ring and how he had managed to parry an attack from behind with barely the blink of an eye stunned you.

Loki was staring you down as if daring you to move, which eventually you did.

With surprisingly languid speed, you jerked forward and slashed towards his stomach, the sudden movement causing a wave of dizziness to overcome you and causing you to stumble.

Loki only watched as you struggled to find your footing and decided that rather than watching you suffer like this, he would help put you down sooner rather than later.

No matter how much he would have enjoyed drawing out your humiliating torment at the hands of slight inebriation.

So with a swift and smooth kick to your legs, you wound up on the floor much sooner than you had expected, much to the damage of your pride.

The alcohol had clearly had more affect than you’d anticipated and your reaction time had slowed with your senses clearly dulled, though the pain in your head as you hit the floor wasn’t numbed.

You let out a small winded groan and closed your eyes, knowing that a headache would come on at any point and the morning was going to be a nightmare.

Another grunt escaped you as Loki practically sat on your chest, the point of one of his daggers aimed uncaringly towards your throat as he stared down at you with disappointment.

“I truly thought you would put up more of a challenge.”

“Let me get up and I’ll show you a challenge!”

Loki quirked an eyebrow and smirked in amusement.

“Haven’t you embarrassed yourself enough?”

“No.”

He stared at you in bemusement for what felt like five minutes, then took the dagger away from your throat and stood up once again, dusting himself off.

“At least you’re honest.”

Loki turned towards his company, his eyes roaming over her before he turned his attention back towards you.

“Leave us,” he commended, “I need to see to our new guest.”

“But-“

“I said leave us,” he barked again, leaving no room for further protesting.

There was a loud and indignant huff and you saw her shoes scuffle by you, the bottom of her long skirt just brushing against the side of your head.

Loki waited until she had turned the corner then grabbed onto one of your arms and pulled you up, all but dragging you towards his room.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m settling this ridiculous attitude that you have towards me once and for all.”

He unlocked his room and stepped inside, barely waiting for the door to close before he had you held up against the nearest wall.

The close proximity of him excited you in a way you were vaguely familiar with, but had never acted upon before.

Having him so close almost seemed to sober you up quicker as adrenaline started to pump through your veins, making your heart speed up and the pain in your head seemed to briefly disappear.

Loki chuckled deeply and pressed himself against you, a look passed over his face that seemed to say that he knew something you didn’t.

“Perhaps after tonight you’ll figure out exactly where we stand to one another.”

Chapter Text

Loki watched in distaste as his son ran around the garden, a red cape fastened around his neck as he held up a wooden hammer he’d been given on his birthday.

With a loud battle cry, the boy jumped into the air before haphazardly slamming the hammer down onto the ground, accompanied by his imitation of the sound of thunder crackling from the weapon.

He continued to watch as the boy jumped back up and continued to battle invisible enemies, all the while putting on the best imitation of Thor that he could.

Despite himself, Loki felt his chest lurch a little as he observed his son’s behaviour.

His mind began to conjure up images of his son growing up to be a loud, slightly obnoxious warrior who would charge into battle and think of the consequences later.

Thor had his wits about him and could have a strategic mind when he stopped to think, but he was definitely more the type to jump straight into action.

Something he didn’t want to be passed on to his own kin.

But he also didn’t want to stop his son from enjoying himself with the toy Thor had given him, and so with a resigned sigh he turned back to his book to try and draw his attention away from his concerns.

-

“But what if he grows up looking up to Thor more than me?”

Loki stared at the ceiling with a deep frown, he was settled underneath the bed sheets but his fingers were drumming on his waist agitatedly as his mind raced once again.

“Why on Midgard would you think that?” I ask, adjusting my nightdress before sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Earlier on, he was so pleased to be acting like my brother with that hammer he got him, I’ve never seen him playacting as me before.”

“So he was enjoying himself, he was only playing and nothing more.”

“But what if he wasn’t and there’s more to it?”

I sigh and turn towards him, the bed sheets shifting beneath me.

“Loki,” I sigh, reaching over to place my hand on his, “as he grows up he is going to take influence from everyone around him, today he’s Thor, tomorrow he’s Odin, the day after he may be Fandral-“

“Never.”

I laugh and shake my head, “I sincerely hope not too, but the point is that even throughout these phases there will always be one constant and that is you, his father.”

“I know,” Loki mumbled with an expression of resignation, “truly I do, but I can’t help but worry that he won’t wish to follow in my footsteps, to be the genius in sorcery I know he can be.”

“As any father would worry, but I’m certain that no matter who he wishes to be for a few hours, at the end of the day he will always be looking up to his dad.”

“I suppose I’m worrying irrationally, I just want someone to look up to me and not my brother for once.”

“And he does, but sometimes he’ll want to be someone else for just a little while, considering the fact that he was pretending to be Frigga just the other day, there is nothing to fret over.”

Loki nodded slowly and let out a sigh as I climbed into bed, just as I settled under the covers he turned to face me with a false pout.

“I hate that you don’t let me mope.”

“If I let you mope every time you wanted to, you’d never not be moping.”

“That’s a lie and you know it.”

Chapter Text

I fiddled with the letter in my hand, chewing on my lip a little as I made my way to the palace gardens.

Looking down, I take another glance over the intricate handwriting that I didn’t recognise, though the eloquent wording sounded all too familiar, but I didn’t want to jump to conclusions.

The letter wasn’t long, merely an invite to meet an admirer in the palace gardens to discuss ‘urgent matters’, and I deeply hoped that it was Loki.

Initially I had wholeheartedly believed that it was him and my heart skipped a few beats at the thought, but then I began to doubt my own thoughts because surely if it was Loki he would be more straight forward with a confession.

Sending a secret letter and hiding behind the guise of ‘urgent business’ didn’t seem too Loki-like, but who else would be allowed to arrange to meet someone in palace grounds?

Perhaps it was Thor.

Maybe Thor had asked someone to pen and send a letter to keep his identity well hidden until the big reveal.

As sweet as that thought was, I hoped it wasn’t.

Whilst I loved Thor as a friend and could admit that he was undeniably attractive, I could never commit to him romantically when I felt more than friendship towards his brother.

That wouldn’t be fair on either of us.

With a sigh I step out into the palace gardens and traipse around until I come to the stated area, a beautiful circle of flower bushes and grey stone benches.

The grass was a vibrant and stunning green and the flowers were all bright and amazing to look at.

Each of the benches was taken up by a duo apart from the one directly in front of me.

That’s where Loki sat, reading a book that lay out on his lap.

“Hey! I wasn’t done with that page yet!”

The yell from a small girl catches my attention.

Directly to my left sat two young children, a book shared between them.

The black haired boy was smiling widely whilst trying to ignore her whining as she poked at his sides, I couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

On the next bench were two teenagers, the boy was showing off magic in the form of illusions created by green smoke.

The girl sat there enamoured with the boy’s magic whilst he smirked proudly, creating intricate scenes from novels he had read and plays he had seen.

The scene played out exactly how I remembered it and my smile grew wider.

Two benches from them, jumping past the one Loki was sat on, were an expecting couple.

There was no denying that these were clones of the two of us, Loki looking exactly the same aside from having ever so slightly longer hair.

The woman besides him bore a striking resemblance to myself except she was somehow unfamiliar with an ethereal glow and the happiest smile I had ever seen decorated her face as they each had a hand resting on her considerably large bump.

“He’s kicking,” I overheard, her tone light and excited.

“He’s just saying hello to daddy, that’s all that is,” the Loki clone chuckled.

“Just to daddy?”

“Of course, he’s constantly around you so it’s time for me to get some attention.”

I laugh and look away as the expecting clone of me rolls her eyes good naturedly, my eyes fix onto the next bench where the same couple sat with two children, a boy and a girl, who were running excitedly around their parent’s legs.

A third younger boy was sat on clone-Loki’s lap, his head rested wearily against his dad’s shoulder as his mother read to them from a large picture book.

My heart swells at the sight, seeing something I’d hoped for one day warming my insides.

Finally on the last bench sat an older couple, it was beyond obvious at this point that they would be us in years to come, still sat together in the palace gardens whilst watching over potential grandchildren and always with a book somewhere on us.

The older Loki read in a shaky and husky voice as the older me sat, staring ahead of herself, though I’d hazard a guess that her milky eyes didn’t see much in front of her.

“So what do you think?”

I jump as Loki’s voice suddenly sounds over my left shoulder, his breath ghosting over my ear and catching my hair.

“I’m astounded, the letter truly is from you.”

“It is,” he answered, sounding almost smug.

He placed his hand on my hip and stepped beside me, his eyes casting over the illusions.

“I had someone else write it for me though, I didn’t want you sussing out that it was me straight away.”

“Oh, now that’s sneaky.”

“Well I’m not the God of mischief for nothing.”

“You have a point, I shall reluctantly give you that.”

I look around as clockwise, one by one, the illusions disappeared until we were completely alone in the garden.

“So I repeat, what do you think?”

“This is very elaborate for a mere courting request,” I laugh, looking up at him. “But I did like the look of us all grey and huddled together.”

“That was a particular favourite of mine too,” he chuckled, smiling down at me. “What do you say? Do you wish to try seeing if we could grow old together?”

Chapter Text

Loki rushed through the halls of the palace, his footsteps echoing as the soles of his formal black shoes clicked along the floor.

Others had to step out of the way in his haste, some calling after him whilst others just gave him an odd look and continued on their way with a muttered comment of rudeness.

That wasn’t to say that he hadn’t noticed the impolite comments, but his eagerness stopped him from turning back and challenging them about talking unflatteringly about one of the princes.

Though he guessed that at a quick glance no one would be able to tell that it was him, especially not helped by his hurried pace and the illusion that covered him.

Barely two hours ago he had been in Midgard, once again taking the role of his alter ego to attend some boring award ceremony he didn’t truly care about but had to show his face at, more out of obligation than anything.

He had millions of fans to please and the press wanted to see the kind, intelligent and chirpy personality that he had created many years back as a means of escapism from Asgard and his princely duties.

This personality had grown much bigger than he had anticipated, though he wasn’t surprised nor disappointed at the result of his extracurricular activities.

Loki had found that he had loved acting just as much as the attention and adoration that he received from millions of people, given the choice he’d have probably chosen to live his life as Tom permanently.

He laughed to himself as he thought of how he’d come up with this alternate life and stumbled across the Midgardian name whilst reading up on some important people of their past, though the surname came from a street sign he had passed during a slow traipse through London.

A few altered letters, a minor attitude adjustment and bam, world famous actor Tom Hiddleston was born.

He’d also changed small details about himself, mostly his hair which he’d changed from long, black and straight to short, more of a blond or light brown in colour and curly if not tamed.

Loki made his usual eye colour, which could shift from blue to green at times, a more pure and clear blue that shined with boyish charm.

It wasn’t much, but it was apparently enough to fool even people of Asgard, not that the Midgardians would truly know better.

They didn’t know that Loki actually existed, which made it even more hilarious when ‘Tom’ had been approached to play a fictional depiction of the God, one that became a huge hit with the mass public.

He thoroughly enjoyed getting so any compliments from merely being himself.

He found that he enjoyed the accompanying jokes even more.

It seemed the more he appeared in public to attend events and interviews, the more people would joke about whether Tom played Loki or Loki played Tom.

If only they knew that there truly was no Tom and that it had, of course, been Loki the entire time.

The irony never passed him and gave him a good laugh every time.

One that he shared with his long term lover back in Asgard.

He enjoyed coming home to spout out stories of what had happened in his alternate life, both good and bad.

On many occasions he would save clippings and pages from varying forms of media that he appeared in, just to bring back to show her.

Loki loved knowing that he could go home and have someone there waiting for him, someone who supported him unconditionally through all his crazy schemes and had accepted his choice to leave Asgard every now and then to live as an entirely different person.

She had the utmost faith in him and that meant the world to Loki, considering how everyone treated him as he grew up simply for being the God of Mischief, it was something he had always looked for in a companion of both love and friendship.

Loki had invited her to join in on his little escapade, wanting to share the amazing experience with her, but she would instead laugh good naturedly and softly decline.

“I’m good thank you, but you enjoy yourself and I’ll keep watch from a distance.”

So he continued his little façade alone, though each time he was going to leave he would ask once again if she wished to accompany him and each time she’d smile and shake her head, wishing him all the best on his trip and wanting to hear all his stories when he came back.

This routine continued for a few more years until her answer changed.

--

As he paced about the room, gathering all kinds of bits and bobs to take to Midgard with him, he had asked if she wished to accompany him.

“No thank you, Loki,” she smiled over from her place on their large shared bed, “I think it’s best for both of us if I stay here.”

He quirked an eyebrow and finally stopped, looking over at her, “Both of us? But I’m inviting you along, you wouldn’t be intruding.”

She had laughed and shook her head, moving her hands to rest over her stomach, “No, both of us.”

--

He turned the last corner sharply, almost stumbling over his own feet and he threw himself through the doors and had to stop himself from calling out to her in joy when he’d spotted her in the bed, fast asleep.

Loki was a little disappointed that he’d received the message too late and had missed the birth of his first child, but he had made it before they had left the infirmary and that was what mattered most to him.

As he stepped further into the room, he noticed the small incubator beside the bed she lay in and he made a beeline for it.

His heir was lying in there, fast asleep and getting ready to meet the world.

Loki stared down at the child bundled in the incubator, his heart swelling at the sight of what they had created together.

Nothing could stop the wide smile that practically broke his face in half.

His blue eyes flickered over the tiny body who rested peacefully in the thick blanket the healers had provided.

He wanted to take in every little detail that he could so that every time he recalled this moment it would always be accurate and never altered.

Loki looked over the little one’s features, the shape of their undeveloped nose, the red tint to their skin and the way their fingers were clenched tightly on part of the blanket.

And their hair…

Whilst holding onto the side of the incubator, Loki slowly leant down to get a closer look at the few tufts of hair sprouting from his child’s head.

There was a long moment of pause as his brain took a rare moment to take in what was occurring, his eyes narrowed a little as he slowly pulled away and stood up straight once again.

His eyes shifted around a little as he thought, his eyebrows furrowed as his mouth hung open a little bit before his face scrunched up in confusion as he stared at the newborn.

He definitely had black hair.

She had medium brown hair.

So why on earth did his child have seemingly blond hair?

Chapter Text

I look down at my dress and frown, letting out a long sigh as I brush my hands over the skirt that flared out at my hips.

As I walked further into the hall I can feel eyes looking me over, watching me, judging me.

Of course each girl here wearing the same colours would whisper amongst their own groups, making scathing comments I’d never wish to hear but would probably think myself at some point about any girl wearing an intricate dress of the same shades.

Though this was a mistake and their whispering was unneeded.

I hadn’t asked for these colours.

When I’d seen the dress lying in its wrapping on the bed I had been so excited, eager to unzip it and reveal the beautiful design of mixed gold, greens and blacks.

As I’d picked it up, I found a note attached to the front written in beautiful cursive writing.

‘We believe there may have been a mistake in your ordering and took it upon ourselves to correct this.’

This instantly put me on edge and I became very hesitant to reveal what they had done to my dress, but I didn’t have enough time to fret it over as maids had arrived to help me get ready, so I opened the bag.

The further down I pulled the zip, the more my heart sank and disappointment mixed with irritation took over.

The red from the attachment on my shoulder catches my eyes and I sigh, irked by the wrongful altering of my order.

They had taken it upon themselves to change the torso of the dress to a very vibrant red, this was accompanied by a silver bustier and elastic belt that sit snug around the belt and around my neck was a silver ribbon bowed to the left.

From there the skirt puffed outwards in a mesh of red that slowly turned blue towards the bottom, down the arms and along the dipped neckline was blue lace.

A design that would have looked wonderful in the original colours I had asked for, but considering the strange look of the red and blue melding together as the black and green would have it went unsaid that the look wasn’t as flattering as I’d pictured it would be and I could understand everyone whispering about me.

Though it would serve me right for having the dress delivered last minute as a surprise, next time I’d know to check the item and not entrust it with someone else.

I would certainly be having a few words once this night was over.

With another sigh, I step around a group of girls whilst scanning the area, forever on the look out for the dark haired Prince.

Every now and then I would think I’d spot a quick glance of him, but it typically only turned out to be someone wearing his colours. Someone who I would have had as competition had the tailors not been to brash, though looking at some of them I was glad that I wasn’t pitted against them, I wouldn’t have stood a chance.

Loki and I had been friends for years and tonight was when I had planned on showing him that I was open to the chances of being more had the feelings been mutual, the past week had been full of fretting and nerves but also excitement for the party and now I just wanted to leave.

Plans of early departure were running through my head, I had at least shown my face and that was what mattered, now no one could complain that I hadn’t attended and I could leave before being spotted by-

“Well isn’t this a revelation?”

My blood freezes at the deep and smooth voice behind me, my heart clenching at the cold tone within it.

The turn to face him felt slow and seemed to drag on for minutes, the moment my eyes connected with him was a heartbreaking experience.

His blue eyes were narrowed as they scanned over my dress, but worse than that I could see a hint of sadness within the gorgeous colour.

“I didn’t think you would join the masses,” he sneered in disgust after a few long seconds, his attempt at hiding the small glint of sadness failing.

“I’m not,” I reply, though it came out horribly feeble.

His eyes flickered back down to my dress and his eyebrow slowly quirked up, Loki looked completely unamused.

“Really?”

“Yes,” I glance down at my dress as well and sigh, “this isn’t what I asked the tailors to do.”

“Oh, so they took it upon themselves to change your colours?”

“Exactly.”

“I somehow doubt that.”

“What?”

“That would be completely unprofessional and seems like a weak lie to try and save face.”

“But it’s not!” I protest loudly, a volume that even makes me flinch and realise that it probably wasn’t helping my case.

Loki stared at me in silence, his expression not giving anything away as he folded his arms across his chest. Once again his eyes flickered over me in a way that made me nervous but also strangely excited at having his sole attention on me.

Eventually he turned his head away, glancing over the crowd.

“Come to my room,” he ordered, not looking back at me.

“Excuse me?”

“Tonight,” he started with a sharp tone, “once this is over, you will come to my personal room, away from any prying eyes and I will see to this.”

He doesn’t give me a second to reply, just as I was opening my mouth and barely a squeak of a response had come out Loki was gone, pushing through the crowd in a brisk manner all whilst wearing a polite but not enthusiastic smile whilst greeting certain guests.

“See to what?”

Chapter Text

My knuckles had barely grazed the large wooden door when it was wrenched open and I was forced inside, a tight grip holding firmly onto my wrist.

The door slammed shut behind me and I barely had time to process what was happening when the lock clicked into place, a sound that seemed to echo inside my mind.

“Loki, you’re hurting me,” I pleaded as I attempted to tug my wrist from his steel grip, though it remained unrelenting.

“This is tame compared to what I wished to do to you upon seeing that dress,” he practically snarled, a sound that made you uneasy when coming from him.

“But it wasn’t my intention,” I protested, though it evidently fell upon deaf ears.

“Do you have any idea how humiliated I felt? I was so sure that your affections were for me, I even told Thor how you would turn up in my colours and that I would claim you for myself.”

“And that was what I wanted.”

“But it’s not what happened, is it?”

It was troubling to see him this worked up over a mistake.

Loki was usually calm and thought things through logically, rarely acting purely from emotion and taking his time to truly see each individual aspect of the situation.

Granted it didn’t always work and some decisions still didn’t make sense to someone not within his mind, but to see Loki so riled up was unnerving and was only made worse that it was aimed directly at me.

“Loki, I promise you that I-”

“Strip.”

“Pardon?”

I stared at him in astonishment, my cheeks beginning to burn at the sudden demand and the prospect of having to bare myself to a man I had admired for so long.

Even though this was ultimately how I had wanted the night to end, I had hoped that it would be on more mutual grounds of passion and emotion.

“I want you out of those colours in my presence, take the dress off.”

His intense stare was intimidating, there was something darker than I was used to within those blue eyes.

Something that excited me despite myself and urged me to slowly move my hands to the clasps on my dress, at least one instruction they had gotten right on my order.

“Do hurry up, I have other things I wish to do tonight.”

“I’m surprised that you haven’t just used your magic to take it off of me,” I quipped before I could stop myself.

“If I touched you then it would be the opposite of a punishment, wouldn’t it?” He smirked at me, making my heart jolt in excitement.

He knew what he did to me.

Of course he did, he’s Loki and it was rare that things got past him.

“Now, you’re going to strip for me and kneel beside my bed, you will wait there until I return from this ridiculous party, understood?”

I falter at his words, my hands no longer working at unclasping the last bits that held my dress together in one piece and my eyes meet his, shock undoubtedly written on my face.

“I’m sorry?”

“You heard me,” he smirked, “though I won’t touch you, not yet.”

His eyes roamed over me and his tongue briefly flickered along his bottom lip before he resumed looking at my face, which was beginning to heat up.

“You shall be here for one whole week at my beck and all.”

I could only nod slowly in response, my thoughts racing at a mile a minute.

“Excellent, now move along and I shall return,” he swiftly moved to the door, pausing only briefly to look at me over his shoulder, “don’t worry, nothing shall be done without your consent of course, after all I’m not a monster.”

Loki left the room, his laugh seeming to echo down the hall no matter how far he went.

My cheeks continued to burn with embarrassment, but I was still more excited than I cared to admit.

Finishing the last clasp and unwrapping the waist belt from the dress, I let it fall to the floor and kicked it to one side before making my way over to the side of his bed and kneeling down, one hand resting on the soft bed sheets.

I stared towards the door and bit my lip, eager to see what the week had in store for me.

Chapter Text

That night when Loki returned began a routine.

He came back to his room slightly inebriated, which was no surprise after considering that he had been at a celebration, and when he spotted me still kneeling beside his bed, his mouth twisted into a crude smirk.

“I almost forgot about you.”

I could only roll my eyes, not thinking of a good comeback.

I had known all this time that had I left he would have forgotten about this silly situation, he had a penchant for using wine to get away from having to be mentally there during the social events he couldn’t escape from.

It was obvious from the beginning that he wouldn’t have cared less in the end if I left, but for some reason I wanted to stay and be obedient.

This was a mindset in myself that I had never felt surface before, I wasn’t abrasive in nature but I certainly wasn’t a push over who would accept being walked all over.

So why did I want to stay put for Loki?

What was it about this man that made me so willing to be submissive.

“You did stay put like a good girl,” he chuckled, walking over towards the bed, “I suppose I can reward you.”

I watched him as he flopped onto the edge of the mattress, his long legs dangling over and splayed open widely so one of his knees almost hit my face.

He smirked down at me then began to fiddle with the buckles on his clothes, discarding the outer jacket with ease and kicked off his boots before opening the top of his trousers and moving to push them down his hips.

My heart rate spiked as I watched him, a familiar tingling beginning to rise in my own crotch as he pushed the fabric further down, giving me the perfect view of an outline of what lay beneath the boxers.

“I take it by your staring that you’re enjoying what you’re seeing.”

My eyes quickly snapped up to meet his, his cocky expression only serving to arouse me further.

“You see,” he continued, standing from the bed and discarding the trousers entirely as he stepped out of one of the legs and used his other foot to kick them a few feet away, “I enjoy being nude within my own company and you being here will not deter that habit like it used to.”

I could only nod in response, I wasn’t about to make any objections to seeing what I’d always wanted to see, though granted I had imagined the circumstances to be completely different in seeing him nude for the first time.

He finally rid of the rest of his clothes and stood before me in just his boxers, giving me the perfect view of his lean body from my position on the floor.

Loki turned towards me and tilted his head as he stared down, no doubt enjoying this position of obvious dominance as he loomed over my head.

“Now, you are going to stay here for one week.”

“A week?” I sputtered.

“Yes, that’s how long your visit is, correct?”

I nodded slowly, balling my fists against my thighs.

“And as your punishment for that act of clear emotional treason, you are stay in here as my little pet for lack of a better word.”

“I can’t leave this room at all?”

“Of course you can, but this is where you will sleep and where you still stay unless you have business to attend to.”

“So you’re basically saying I’m yours and only yours for a whole week?”

“In private terms, yes, what can I say? I’m the possessive type.”

He sat back down, toying with the waistband of his boxers as he stared at me with an expression I could only describe as vague contemplation.

“There are some things we’ll need to settle on first, before I start anything.”

“Settle on?” I asked, shifting a little on my aching legs.

“Yes, before we start I must have your consent.”

“Consent?”

“Yes,” he repeated with an exasperated sigh, “I could just do as I wish, but I want to make sure that it is an equal want, I’m not a monster after all.”

“Oh, I see.”

“So, do you want me to touch you in a way that no other man ever has?”

I chewed on my lips as if in thought, just to convince him that it was something I hadn’t already decided on long ago.

Though it was more than likely that he already knew that I was beyond a mere crush, I had intended to wear his colours after all even if he didn’t believe my intention.

“It depends,” I finally replied, looking up at him.

“On what?”

“I’m sure you know of my feelings for you and I’m also sure you are playing ignorant to the mistake from tonight, but I need to know if this is a punishment for emotion or dominance.”

One of his dark eyebrows rose and a soft chuckle escaped him.

“I don’t physically play with things I don’t care for and I’m sure my outburst from earlier is enough to answer your question.”

“Then if this is a mutual sharing of lust and emotion, I consent.”

“Excellent, this week will certainly be fun.”

Loki pulled on the waistband of his boxers and finally freed his half erection from the confines of the fabric.

It was my first time seeing one and I wasn’t sure if it was comparable to others, but to me it looked fairly large and I felt my cheeks beginning to flush at the thoughts of what he intended to do with it.

He swiftly moved the boxers down his legs and kicked them away before leaning back on his hands, looking down at me with a smug look.

“Well? What are you waiting for?”

My eyes flicker from his crotch up to his eyes.

“You want me to…”

“Yes, sort me out and then I’ll give you a reward on top of the one I already owe you for being such a good girl.”

I lick my lips and take in a long breath, then crawl forward and between his open legs.

Bracing myself into a stable position, I pause briefly as I come face to face with something so intimate that it almost intimidated me.

After regaining my composure and some confidence I let my hands run up his legs and over his thighs, my fingers had barely grazed the sensitive skin when he tsked and shook his head.

“Ah, ah,” he scolded lightly, grabbing one of my wrists in his hand, “no touching.”

“What?” I looked up at him, “then how am I-“

“You’re only allowed to use your mouth, you’re not allowed the pleasure of touching me until you’ve earned it,” he let go of my wrist and moved his hand back to where it had been on top of the mattress, “you’re still being punished for the dress after all.”

Our eyes stay locked for a while longer, but I didn’t argue.

Instead I laid my hands on top of my own thighs and leant up to give him an experimental long lick with my tongue, the ensuing groan encouraging me into spurring on.

And that was how our routine started.

He had said that over the upcoming days I could earn a new piece of clothing, of his choice of course, and all I had to do was follow his rules.

I must always be nude unless leaving the room or he offers me clothes.

My hands mustn’t be used as it would make it too easy for me.

And I wasn’t allowed to please myself unless strictly given permission.

It proved to be a long week, but the last day more than made up for it.

Chapter Text

The week passed agonisingly slowly.

True to his word, he let me go about my days undisturbed, clothed and respectable, but as soon as I walked into his room my dresses and underwear were removed and he had more debaucherous acts to enact.

Always on him, never on myself.

Each passing say it seemed as if he was growing in confidence with what he wanted to suggest.

Some days were more intimate than others, sometimes he had me please him and sometimes he merely wanted my nude presence for something or other, sometimes holding a book, sometimes just to look at as I stayed knelt by his bedside.

During the whole week I still hadn’t been pleased myself, but I could feel my own need growing with each passing day.

If I had to hazard a guess, I would have said that he probably put some kind of hex on me, his accursed seiðr playing its role in my torment.

The week had been interesting.

I’d used parts of me that I never knew could be used for pleasuring someone and to say that Loki had no imagination was a complete lie, to say that he was shy would be an even bigger lie that the God himself couldn’t convince anyone of.

It was kind of infuriating how attractive he was, most of the time without even trying, so it was no surprise that he also had a penchant for preferring to be nude within his own company.

To be frank, it made me feel inadequate, but for reasons beyond my knowledge he chose me and seemed pleased with seeing me bare.

By the time the final day rolled around, he hadn’t taken me fully and I was aching to finally leave and release this tension that had just built and built over the days.

“Today,” he announced, climbing out of bed and displaying his full glory for me to admire, “will be a day purely for us to enjoy.”

I had to supress an eyeroll and chose instead to distract their movements by ogling his perfect body, especially taking time to linger over his disturbingly pert behind.

To say I envied his perfection would have been a drastic short giving, to be that comfortable within your own body that you can just strip whenever you want sounded liberating.

My time with Loki had made me more comfortable with being nude, but only really around him.

This was no doubt preferable to Loki, being the possessive type, I would hate to imagine how he would act upon another man seeing me like he does.

“What have you got planned for me?” I asked, tearing my eyes away from him.

He finished shuffling into his tight leather trousers and then looked at me over his shoulder, the mixture of his messy bed hair and the smirk he was giving me sent a pleasant shiver down my spine.

“You’re going to do some reading.”

I quirked my eyebrow and shifted around so that I was sat on my rear, legs crossed and arms folded.

“I do that in my free time anyway,” I protested.

“Not like this you don’t.”

Loki continued to get dressed and left the room for barely thirty minutes, when he returned he carried a large tray with an array of different foods and two goblets on top.

Setting the tray on top of the bed, he knelt beside me on the floor and took an empty plate to pass to me with a smile.

“Eat up, you will need your strength.”

I smiled gratefully and took the plate, shifting back onto my aching knees to lean up and take an assortment of the food he had brought with him.

Loki had gathered a series of fruits, cheese, bread and butter from the kitchen as well as two goblets of freshly made juice. I wasted no time in picking bits and pieces to pile on my plate, my appetite having grown beyond what I usually experienced first thing in the morning.

We ate whilst conversing comfortably despite our situation, we shared laughs and tales of our youth until our stomachs were sated and Loki cleared the things away, leaving the room to return the tray and crockery on top of it to the kitchen while I remained in my position on the floor.

It felt a little longer before he returned the second time and this time he immediately began to move around the room, setting up a wooden podium in the middle of the room without speaking another word to me.

He stepped back from the podium and looked over it, tilting his head during his examination before turning to me and beckoning me with a movement of his index finger.

Complying, I stand from my spot and walk over to him, once I was stood before him, Loki promptly turned me around, pushed me so that I stepped on the platform that made me just a bit taller and positioned me so that I was hunched over the podium with my wrists shackled in place on either side of the top in two wooden stocks.

Loki moved around the wooden object and adjusted it until I was less hunched but still bent over, once he was happy with its position he moved across the room and picked up a heavy book.

Flipping it open to a random page, Loki carefully slot the book between my constrained wrists and then took a step back, pointing at the title of the story he had placed before me.

“Read it, aloud and don’t stop, no matter what I may do.”

I looked up at him through my fringe, which had fallen over my eyes when I lowered my head to look at what he wanted me to read, and gave him a questioning look.

His only response was to tap the page with his finger and repeat his previous command, a hint of mirth in his husky voice.

I nodded and looked down again, having to shift myself a little to get comfortable enough to stay in one position to read.

“There we once upon a time, a king and queen who had twelve children, all of whom were boys.”

Although my eyes were trained on the page in front of me, it was still easy to take note of Loki moving around the podium and stepping up behind me.

My reading stutters just a little as he placed a chilled hand on my shoulder, his cold fingertips making contact with my bare skin and causing goose bumps to rise down my arms.

“‘I-if our thirteenth child is a girl, all her twelve brothers must die, so that the kingdom may be hers alone.’ He ordered twelve coffins be made and put away in an empty room.”

His hand began to slide down my back and over my hip, resting on the curve as I tried to ignore my bodies’ reaction to finally receiving his touch rather than giving my own.

I had to shift my legs and press them together as an all too familiar ache began to build and I felt my chest tingle, the nipples hardening from both the coldness of his touch and my own growing arousal.

“‘My child,’ she answered, ‘I can not tell you.’ But Benjamin left her no pe-eace!”

I let out a small yelp that mingled with the word as his other hand made contact with my rear, not hard but just rough enough to elicit a smacking sound and to create a slight sting.

Instinctively, I tried to stand and move away from him, but the mixture of my bound wrists and his hands holding onto my hips made any movement beyond a slight sway from one side to another near enough impossible.

“She wept bitterly, but her son comforted her and said; ‘Don’t cry, dear Mother; we’ll escape somehow.’.”

He continued to let his hands roam over my body, occasionally returning to giving me a smack on the rear and chuckling each time I made a noise when he did.

By the time I had reached two and a half pages, it seemed as if there were nowhere his hands hadn’t touched.

All but one place and that was where I could feel his fingers gradually moving towards as my body tensed in anticipation, but I tried to continue concentrating on my reading, which was becoming increasingly more difficult.

“O-on the twelfth d-day, when the turn c-came to Benjami-”

My breath caught in my throat as the tips of two fingers brushed along and eventually past where I had desperately wanted him to touch for so many days, my fingers involuntarily clenched and I let out a shuddered breath as he began to delve further and explore me more intimately than any man had before.

I bit my lip and let out a small sound of need, my hips beginning to roll as his fingers teased.

Just as quickly as they had arrived, they disappeared and I was left feeling needier and more unsatisfied than I had all week.

“You stopped reading,” he said as if answering the sound of protest I had made.

“Only for a second.”

In response to my backtalk he promptly gave my rear a harsh smack, one that caused me to jump and let out a loud squeak.

“Don’t get smart with me.”

I let out a small mewl as his hand rubbed where he had just smacked, my head hung briefly as I rubbed my thighs together before turning my attention back to the book.

As I continued to read, I felt his looming body step away from me and lost all contact, I wanted to whine at the loss but suspected that each break in reading would lead to harsher smacks until I wouldn’t be able to sit down.

“Benjamin,” I cleared my throat to try and steady the shake in it, “h-he noticed a flag waving in the air, but alas! It w-was not white, but blood red, the sign which told them they must all die.”

Behind me, I could hear shuffling and the familiar ‘whumph’ sounds that followed clothes hitting the floor, my inner voice was screaming at me to look over my shoulder and confirm my suspicions, by my common sense knew better than to break his demand.

Another paragraph later and his hands returned to my hips, one of his knees moving between my own to nudge my legs open further as his chest pressed against my back.

His voice ghosted past my ear while his hand travelled around my hip until it once again reached my crotch, where he began gentle rubs and prods, all the while grinding his erection against my rear.

“This may hurt a little as I know you’ve never been taken,” he whispered in a voice that was so husky and filled with lust that it made me quiver, “but you must not stop reading.”

Loki nuzzled his nose into my hair and nipped at my earlobe as I gave a shuddering breath, but nodded to confirm that I understood what he was saying.

“‘H-here,’ they said, ‘let us take up our a-abode and you, Benjamin, you shall stay at home and keep hou-”

My reading was broken by a hitched and stuttered breath as he pushed himself in whilst pulling my hips back to meet his initial thrust, my entire body tensing at the invasion.

The stretching and stinging were almost unbearable for a short period, he was significantly bigger than anything I had ever dared to experiment with by myself.

Tears sprung into my eyes ever so slightly and blurred the words on the page and my blinking, which I was doing to try and rid of them, only made it worse.

Loki stilled and held us in this position, his hand rubbed soothing circles on my hip as he rested his head against mine.

“You’re okay,” he whispered reassuringly, “I’ll give you time to adjust, but you must continue.”

I clenched my fists and took a deep breath whilst closing my eyes for the briefest of moments, the sensation of having something linger inside me was foreign and slightly uncomfortable, if not faintly pleasant.

It took a minute for me to open my eyes, during which Loki did as he said and stayed still until I had adjusted, and I could focus on the page again, I had half expected him to give me another smack for not listening to him immediately but was thankful that he hadn’t.

“K-keep house f-for us; we w-will go out and fetch food.’.”

As I continued, Loki’s hands went back to gripping my hips and he drew back, pausing for a brief spell before driving himself back in.

His pace was slow initially and it was easy for me to stay focused on my task, though at times certain words seemed impossible to pronounce due to the distraction and I found myself concentrating more on rolling my hips into his thrusts to meet his rhythm than I did on my task.

Each time he noted that I had paused for longer than was necessary, he gave me another smack in a silent order for me to carry on.

I tried to do as he asked, but it was becoming increasingly difficult as my breathing was becoming more like pants and my words became more moaned than spoken, only getting worse as he picked up his speed and began to move not only faster but that little bit rougher.

One of his hands brushed my hair away from my neck and then went to my chest, pinching, tweaking and kneading at them alternately as his mouth kissed, bit and sucked at the sensitive crook of my neck.

An approval groan of his name escaped me at the contact and I tilted my head to give him better access, the force with which I returned the rocks of my hips getting harder.

We were both lost in a state of lust unlike anything I had ever felt before, self-pleasure was nothing compared to how I felt being physical with another, especially Loki.

The podium began to rock with the threat of tipping over at the force of our movements, the book sliding off to the side and onto the floor, long forgotten.

Loki stopped his attack on my neck and my hearing was soon invaded by his own pants and moans, each one encouraging my own.

“I’m going to make sure you leave full of my child so everyone knows who you belong to.”

His words caused me to tense up and let out a whispered groan of his name, my head hung and my eyes closed.

“Everyone will be sure that it’ll be my colours you wear.”

His once fluid rhythm began to get lost as we both reached our peaks, my own private spasms helping us both finish.

Loki was the first to go, his thrusts slowed down until he simply held himself in place as deep as he could get as he groaned out his release.

I continued to rock my hips but, like him, at a much lighter pace, helping him with his finish.

In turn, Loki’s hand that wasn’t still on my chest reached down between my legs and rubbed circles to give that little extra boost to my own climax.

Once we were both done, there was a moment of pure silence that was only filled with our panting.

I rested my head down on the podium and closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling of Loki looming over me until he pulled away and let out a long breath.

“Think people will make the same mistake?” He asked through stuttered breaths.

“No,” I shook my head with a stupid smile on my face, “but I kind of hope they will.”

Chapter Text

Loki stared towards the ceiling of the large room, lying so still that to look at him you’d think him dead.

A soft groan and stirring to his left made his heart clench with regret, he didn’t dare look across to the other side of the bed.

The same mistake he’d promised himself would never happen again had and now he despised himself more than he thought possible.

Time and time again he would realise that the shame and regret that came with his actions and yet he found himself unable to stop it from happening, it was almost as if each time he would leave his new home to do some work for The Grandmaster he had to reward himself with something that pumped his adrenaline for the briefest of time before it call came crashing down.

But this was getting ridiculous and yet he also found that he couldn’t help himself.

A strong arm shifted across his waist and his stomach twisted at the familiarity of the feeling of her pressed against him, disgust washing over him once again as he thought of the one who was waiting for his return.

The one who was there for him when he needed it, or listened to his stories of whatever ludicrous thing he had been asked to do that day.

He believed he truly loved them as they loved him.

And yet he had found himself venturing out more often and not returning home until late the next morning, full of shame and self reprimanding.

The first time he had sworn was only because of slight inebriation, that was all.

He had missed Asgard and she had been there as a loose connection to Asgard.

When he’d returned to his Sakaarian home he had easily spun some lie about where he’d been the previous night, too easily for even his liking.

She had shrugged and given him an accepting smile before heading about her day, not knowing what had truly happened.

He spent the afternoon feeling sick with what he claimed was too much drinking at a party The Grandmaster had insisted on throwing, though he knew better.

It was a terrible thought, he hated what he was doing and yet at times found himself excited whenever he was called in for a task.

It was almost like living a double life.

One where he could be a simple body home, not having anyone expecting too much of him and watching his every move to make sure he acted as a prince should, but always having someone there with food and open arms to welcome him home.

Another where he was one of The Grandmaster’s top men, working some of the more dangerous jobs and getting to relieve the stress of the job with another who understood just how demanding the job was.

It was the best of both worlds and he was torn between detesting and loving it, he more disliked what he was doing but somehow still found it impossible to stop.

Loki carefully lifted the arm off of him and slowly slid out of bed, gathering his clothes from the floor and putting them back on before heading out.

He guessed that it was better to spend this time of unrest heading home, rather than lying there and thinking things over and feeling worse for what he had done once again.

Chapter Text

It hurt.

It hurt more than you could ever express and was only made worse by the gall he had to think you wouldn’t notice.

So you waited patiently during the night, unable to sleep due to the thoughts that raced through your mind.

It saddened you to realise that he thought that he could play you for a fool, go behind your back and then come home and continue pretending that everything was the same as when he’d left.

Perhaps things were different in Asgard, maybe it was a place where things were more casual and sex was just sex, but you had given yourself to a man who claimed to love you yet regularly turned to another.

There was a time when you would have thought you were merely being paranoid.

Insecurities hung in the air and made you believe that you weren’t good enough for the Prince, a man who was charming, handsome and intelligent.

Such a perfect package couldn’t possibly want to commit to you and now you knew that you were right.

There wasn’t a way that he could deny it, you had seen them both together, locked in a kiss that was too intimate to have been the first.

You took a deep breath and closed your eyes, letting the air out shakily as you tried to calm down the pain in your heart at the image that had ingrained itself into your mind.

It wasn’t a surprise really, Loki didn’t seem the type to settle for long and she seemed like his type.

A fighter, self assured and strong headed, a lot more confidence in herself than you could have offered and it was obvious to see why she would appeal to him.

And that made you dislike her even though you had never formally met his co-workers.

A deep seated hatred had landed in your gut for the woman, but you knew she wasn’t fully to blame and it was Loki who would have to answer to it all.

She could have been the one to make the first move, but he was the one who accepted it and didn’t put a stop to it.

You loved him and it hurt to know that he’d never fully love you back, but you refused to silently turn a blind eye and continue to let him hurt you.

For a while you had thought of simply packing your things up and leaving, you couldn’t go far on Sakaar, but far enough away from him to be happy and put things behind you.

However that was too easy on him, he probably wouldn’t care too much if he was already cheating with another and you didn’t want to chicken out of the chance to tell him how you felt, express your deepest emotions and make him realise just how much he had hurt you.

He wasn’t getting off that lightly.

You weren’t going to yell at him, scream and hiss until your face turned red and you humiliated yourself, you were going to tell him outright exactly what you knew and that the time had come for all to move on.

The fact that tears would be shed was something you had already come to accept, even if you didn’t really want to it was inevitable.

Through the window you could see light slowly creep across the horizon and sleep finally began to take over your worrying mind, you rested your head on your hand and waited for the door to click open.

Chapter Text

The moment his eyes connected with yours he knew that his world was about to finally come crashing down, Loki knew that this would happen eventually as you weren’t stupid, but he’d vainly hoped to avoid this from ever happening.

There was a tiny voice in his brain that was telling him to act as if nothing was wrong and that he was oblivious to the situation that was about to happen, it was saying that he needed to continue lying to keep you.

His more rational side, however, managed to win over that tiny voice of denial and instead he stayed silent as you stared at him, the hurt and betrayal that was clearly displayed unabashed in your eyes made him look away, his gut twisting once again in a way that seemed more painful than the previous bouts of guilt.

“Loki,” you greeted weakly, not wanting to be the first to speak but having to fill the silence.

He didn’t respond, he merely stared at you with an expression that was so lost and hopeless on this usually confident man.

The silence hung thick in the air as you both watched each other with caution.

Despite yourself, you could feel your throat tightening at the sight of him as your emotions swelled and mixed into one huge confused mess.

This man that you had helped, allowed into your home and given everything you could offer to had been betraying you, for how long and with who, if only one person, only he truly knew.

And you hadn’t realised until recently, which made you feel both foolish and angry at feeling as if you were somehow an idiot for something he was doing.

“Why?” You finally whispered, having to fight to keep your voice from cracking.

“So you know,” he finally said, his voice distant but still stronger than your own.

“Unfortunately.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Please don’t,” you sigh, closing your eyes in exasperation.

“I am, it was stupid and I regret that I’ve done this to you, to us, I am so remorseful.”

“I said please don’t, if you were that remorseful then you wouldn’t have continued doing it or have at least been open with me about what was going on.”

“I just…” He trailed off, not being entirely sure where his sentence was going he let the thick silence return.

“No, Loki,” you sigh, looking at him in both sadness and pity, “I can’t hear anymore, you can’t smooth talk your way out of it, there’s only so many times you can use the same excuses.”

“I didn’t mean to hurt you,” he frowned, unable to meet your eyes, “I do love you.”

“I know,” you reply calmly, “but you love her too.”

“That’s just it, I don’t.”

“And that honestly only makes this worse.”

“I know, but I also know that I can’t make it any better, I’ve once again ruined things for myself and as always,” he drifted off for a second, staring towards the wall above your head with hazy eyes as he slowly shook his head, “I can’t explain why I do it.”

“We had something good, Loki,” you said so softly that it was almost a whisper.

“I know,” he repeated, his eyes finally meeting yours again and seeing the pain he was causing you, “but it seems that I can never allow myself to have something worth keeping, it’s like I’m built for self destruction.”

“You’d be the only one who could help with that, despite any attempts on my end.”

“I know that too, but it’s as if I sometimes act with no rhyme or reason, perhaps Thor was right.”

“Right about what?”

“That Sakaar is the perfect place for me as it runs without rule in chaos.”

“Self awareness doesn’t make this okay, Loki.”

He nodded, his tongue moving slowly across his bottom lip as his eyes flickered around the room.

“I’m aware, but I think I’m too deep in to change myself now.”

“And despite strange and conflicting opinions on myself, I still have too much self respect to allow someone to walk over me as you have been.”

“I didn’t mean for it to seem that way, I truly do love you.”

“So you’ve said,” you sigh, running a hand over your tired eyes, “but I can’t let you think that ‘I love you’ and ‘sorry’ is enough to sort this out.”

You both go back to staring at each other in a terrible still quiet, his usually sharp eyes dulled in a way that tore at you.

“Is this an official end?”

You chew on your lip to stop it from quivering as your eyebrows furrowed and your heart clenched tightly at what you knew needed to be done.

“Yes, Loki, we’re done.”

“Then I shall leave and hope that we can at least be cordial once everything has passed over.”

“Perhaps so, we can only wait and see.”

Tears started to blur your vision and everything turned bleary and watery as Loki turned away and made his way back to the front door of your once shared home, his head hung like a defeated man.

Before he was out of sight fully, you called out to him that final burning question.

“Was she worth it?”

“No,” he shook his head whilst pulling the door open and letting the cold morning air into the hall, “not in the slightest.”

Chapter Text

You didn’t need the test, you already knew the answer and yet you decided to try it for your own sake of mind.

It had been quite a task to find someone selling what you needed on this planet, but you’d managed to after a small hunt and forked out the expense just for clarification.

However, the expectation didn’t stop your heart from dropping when the test showed a positive result, tears still welled in your eyes as your blood ran cold through your veins.

Your throat ached as you tried to hold back the tears of both faint joy and deep regret as you lowered the test, the tiny hovel you once called a home suddenly enclosing in around you and making you feel claustrophobic.

Leaving the bathroom only made the situation worse, looking around all you could see and feel were things that reminded you of him, the one who had stuck you in this situation and left without ever knowing the full consequences.

Loki had made sure that this place no longer felt like a home to you and you vowed to yourself that you would find a way off Sakaar before it was too late.

 -----------

“Here you go, honey.”

You pushed on top of the sippy-cup lid one more time to make sure it was secured before setting it down on the white tray of the highchair.

Blue eyes stared up at you, happy to finally have her juice.

It pained you to think, but you had always wished she’d gotten a different eye and hair colour, it would save each squeeze of pain the combination of blue and black conjured in your heart.

She was a beautiful girl, that was something you had never denied since day one.

However she looked so much like Loki, perhaps sharing more features with him than with you, that some days it was too much to think about.

Your mind always instantly scolded you for having any negative thoughts and yet at times you couldn’t help the build up of resentment you’d feel towards her, no matter how fleeting, for reminding you of that man.

It was beginning to get harder to hide now that she was getting older and was undoubtedly becoming more alert to the emotion and social cues of those around her, but sometimes just looking at her caused tears to well up in your weary eyes.

You’d lost track of how often you’d wept over her likeness to him when she was younger, it was getting better now that she was finally becoming a toddler and growing into her own person, but there were times it still hurt.
Since returning to Earth you had contemplated seeking some kind of professional help, for so long you had felt that it wasn’t natural to look at your daughter and sometimes barely be able stomach the sight of her.

Whilst you were still carrying her there would be instances that you’d feel some form of emotional detachment, hours were spent wondering if you were truly capable of giving her the kind of life she deserved and adoption had come to mind a few times.

Each time you’d give yourself a thorough telling off and marched on, despite moments of doubt you were determined to show this child the best life she could have.

It wasn’t fair to punish a child for the actions of the parent.

“Drink up, young lady, we’re going for a walk once you’re done.”

She replied with a word close to, but still not quite; “park!” and managed to dribble a bit of blackcurrant juice down her chin.

With a soft laugh, you ripped off a small piece from the roll of paper towels on the sideboard and walked over to her.

“Yes, we’re going to the park.”

She let you wipe the juice away from her face, her little legs kicking through the air to show her excitement, the plastic legs of the highchair creating an unpleasant screech on the floor tiles as she wiggled.

You threw the used paper towel into the bin before making your way to the hallway to grab her wellies and your own waterproof boots, every now and then you’d lean around the doorway to make sure she was still safe in her seat.

You were certain that she hadn’t become aware of any magical abilities she may have coursing through her, courtesy of her father, but there was always a worry that sprung to mind that one day for a split second when your back was turned she would somehow manage to make herself disappear.

A scoff of a laugh left you at the thought each time and yet you couldn’t stop the mental image from popping up every time.

Sitting on the last few steps of the staircase you made sure your laces were secured comfortably and then stood up, first leaning around the doorframe to check on her before retreating again to grab her own footwear.

Out of habit, you glanced towards the locked front door and let out a small yelp at the clear black outline that you could see on the other side of the frosted glass, one that you were sure hadn’t been there mere seconds ago.

You let out a huff and tilted your head to the ceiling, letting your eyes fall closed as you bid for your heart to slow down from the small and kind of pathetic shock.

“It’s probably just the postman,” you told yourself in humorous exasperation.

You turned away from the door to grab the purple wellies from the shoe wrack, on the other side of the thick wood you could hear a muffled mumbling which was shortly followed by a rapid knocking.

You spared a glance over your shoulder as you stood up straight once again, tucking the wellies under your arm.

You take the key from the wooden shelf you’d put up after moving in and unlocked the front door, expecting to see a uniformed man holding a package to you on the other side.

“Loki?”

Your heart froze as his blue eyes connected with yours, his expression was briefly one of shock before it turned into a saddened smile.

A burst of mixed emotions rushed through you, anger, regret, sadness and even longing mixed oddly in your veins and made you feel just a little sick.

“I wasn’t expecting you to be home,” he laughed faintly, his voice a little gravelly.

“I wasn’t expecting you of all people to show up, how do you know where I live?” You snapped unintentionally.

“I have connections,” he replied cautiously.

“Then you can ask your ‘connections’ to mind their own business,” you rolled your eyes a little and looked away, trying to calm down the irritation that was taking over so you could talk in a calmer manner.

“And under normal circumstances I wouldn’t have bothered you, all things considered, but I got certain news and had to see for myself.”

Your mind started reeling at the thought of him knowing about your daughter, you didn’t think that there was anything inherently bad about him knowing but it was easier to keep separated from the bad memories if he wasn’t around.

The duration he hadn’t known had proven to be hard enough and you weren’t sure how things were going to work with him around more often, yet you also couldn’t withhold her from him without feeling cruel and petulant.

A clatter from the kitchen caught your attention and drew you out of your thoughts, looking up you could see Loki looking over your shoulder towards the other room.

“We were about to go on a walk,” you comment feebly, indicating to the shoes still tucked under your arm.

“I see, and do you mind if I join you?”

“I…“ you paused, staring at the ground, “I suppose we can talk about this as we go.”

“It’s better to get it out of the way, right?”

“Yes,” you nodded slowly, taking a deep breath.

“If this is too uncomfortable for you, then I can leave.”

“No, no, I have to adapt to you being around again.”

“So what are you saying? Just to be clear on where I stand.”

You sigh, running a hand through your hair whilst tugging on some of the strands, “I’m saying that I won’t deny you access to your own child, that wouldn’t be fair, but we won’t magically become a thing again at the drop of a hat.”

“But I can work towards us at least being friends?”

“Maybe so.”

Loki nodded slowly, a faint but albeit there smile adorning his lips, “That’s all I can ask for.”

You give him an equally faint smile before stepping aside to allow him in, preparing to take the first step.

Chapter Text

Loki chuckled as he watched his daughter batter some plastic blocks together, cackling like a great villain slaughtering the civilians of an alphabet block village.

He’d been looking forward to spending some time with her all week, ever since he got the call about looking after her on Tuesday evening.

It was now early Friday night and he was going to be her sole carer for apparently three to four hours, depending on what happened that night, though what his ex-lover was talking about he wasn’t entirely sure.

Not until you walked down the stairs, kitted out in a way he hadn’t seen since you had been trying to impress him on dates when you had first started seeing each other, only this time your attire was more suitable for Midgardians than a Sakaarian.

“So,” you smiled, holding your arms out and giving a short twirl on the spot, “what do you think?”

Loki stared at you blankly, there was a few heartbeats of silence before he licked his bottom lip and cleared his throat.

“Is this for some kind of formal event?” He asked, silently hoping it wasn’t what he feared.

Ever since he’d received the call he had worried that it was for ‘that’ particular reason, not that he would have given up the chance to spend some time with his daughter outside of his usual visiting times, but the thought of you leaving to look at another man the way you once did to him hurt more than he would ever care to admit.

“No, Loki,” you sighed, dropping your arms, “I have a date.”

He nodded slowly, feeling that tightening in his throat return.

“I see,” he croaked, trying to hide the crack in his voice, “you look good.”

“Thank you,” you smiled unsurely, suddenly feeling a little guilty despite the fact that you had done nothing wrong.

“Is it someone I know?”

“He’s a co-worker, so I doubt it.”

“And what’s he like? Handsome? Tall? Well to do?”

“Loki,” you frowned as his tone began to get more irritable and snappy.

“Perhaps he’s good in bed? Is that it?”

“Loki.”

“You finally found someone to scratch that itch after months of pushing me away.”

“Says the one who backstabbed me to begin with!”

“Foolishly, something I am trying to make amends for.”

“By insulting the man I decide to move on with? Someone who could make me happy and be good for me and my daughter.”

“She is our daughter!”

You stared at each other with a mixture of emotions through you both, mostly shock at the fact that Loki had raised his voice.

The girl whined as her parents argued, the tension and yelling frightening her young mind which didn’t understand why mummy and daddy were shouting at each other and making so much noise.

Loki’s eyes instantly snapped to her and he hurriedly picked her up, sitting her on his lap and cradling her to his chest to rock her and murmur soft reassurances that things were fine.

“She is,” you conceded, taking a deep breath whilst watching him settle her, “but that doesn’t mean that gives you the right to judge the decisions I make for our benefit.”

“And you think bringing another man into her life is a good idea?” He asked quietly, though the venom was dripping from his tone.

“Is that truly any different to bringing her up with a man known for cheating and lying? The God of Lies no less.”

“I am her father.”

“And that will never change, I am not denying you access to her,” you sighed, running a hand through your hair, “but I will not put my life on hold because you don’t seem to like me being happy if it doesn’t involve you.”

A knock came at the front door, drawing your attention to it and causing you to look over your shoulder.

“That’ll be him,” you hummed out, looking back to Loki as he continued to rock your child, her eyes gradually seeming to grow heavy from the motion. “I’ll be back later.”

You take a few steps out of the room before poking your head back in, looking at him from around the door.

“Don’t you dare try anything magical on him.”

Loki waited until you had finished greeting the mystery date and closed the door before he chuckled, looking down at the girl curled up in his arms with a slight smirk.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Chapter Text

“So, what do you think?”

I look up as Loki steps out of his bedroom and into the small living area I was sitting in, lounging across the green couch they had provided for him with a book in my hands.

My eyes slowly flicker over him, my ear twitching as I reach up to scratch behind it.

“It’s….different.”

Loki glances down at himself before looking back at me, his blue eyes narrowing.

“You hesitated.”

“I did,” I nod slowly.

“Why?”

I slowly look over his outfit one more time and have to suppress a small grimace.

The white puffball hat that sat high atop of his black hair was accompanied with an equally white seemingly fur coat that was lined with gold, underneath was a gold waistcoat and beneath that was a dark lime green shirt accompanied with a tie of a darker green.

This was all topped off with a pair of sunglasses with frames that matched his shirt and lenses that were yet another shade of darker green.

“You look kind of,” I tilt my head, trying to find the right words, “out of place?”

“Out of place?” He scoffed, folding his arms, “I’ll have you know that they provide me with some of the best outfits that Midgard could supply me with.”

“The best?”

“Yes.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

I sigh and set my book down whilst sitting up straight amongst the black cushions, the fur of my tail scuffing against the soft material.

“Do you remember when we were invited to that pool party?”

“Indeed I do.”

“And the swimming costume they gave you?”

“It wasn’t the most flattering thing I’ve worn,” Loki conceded hesitantly.

“No, and what of the feline form they suggested you took?”

“I’m not sure why they wanted that, but I was happy to fill that request.”

“You’re always happy to put on a show, but let’s face it, you were an ugly human sized cat.”

“Now you’re just getting insulting.”

“Not at all, I believe you’re a very handsome man,” I shrug, leaning back further into the cushions. “And how about when they made you become Lady Loki?”

He goes silent and stares at me, his expression unreadable as he slowly folds his arms across his chest.

“What exactly is your point behind all of this?”

“You don’t find it strange how everyone else gets these amazing, bad ass outfits that are very fitting of a hero academy and yours tend to look like the cheap costumes for a young ones play?”

Loki continues to stare, his eyebrow furrowing a little before he tears his eyes from mine.

“Are you suggesting that they’re trying to make a mockery out of me?”

“Perhaps so.”

“Me? A Prince of Asgard.”

“Loki, you do know that that doesn’t hold much weight here, don’t you?”

He rolled his eyes and scoffed a little, his face twisting in unhidden denial.

“Well it certainly should.”

“It should, but doesn’t.”

Loki continues to give me a hard stare before his shoulders slowly slumped forward and his eyes drifted to the ground, his face looking defeated and dejected.

“I truly believed that they cared for my status and provided me with the best because of it,” he paused and stood up straight once again, his head turned towards the glass door that separated his bedroom and the main living area. “They are truly mocking me, aren’t they?”

“I do fear so,” I sigh, nodding slowly.

“But why would they mock me? What have I done?”

“I don’t know,” I shrug a little.

The look of dejection he wore squeezed at my heart, it was unusual to see Loki so disheartened, his usual flair gone and replaced with an expression that didn’t fit him in the slightest.

As his eyes were diverted to the floor, Loki failed to notice my rising and flinched a little as I invaded his sight of the ground and hugged him tightly, rubbing his back.

“Loki, you are by far the best dressed here when you wear what you want to, don’t let others take away your flair.”

I couldn’t see his face, but after a moments pause his arms slowly wrapped around me and he rested his head on top of my shoulder whilst letting out a long sigh.

“Thank you, you’ve always been a great friend.”

Chapter Text

“Do you think I ever would have succeeded?”

“Hm?”

I groan tiredly as Loki’s arm wraps around my waist, pulling me to him so my back was pressed against his chest.

“In truly being King someday, do you think I ever would have succeeded?”

“Of course, Loki.”

“Truly?”

“Yes,” I sigh, gradually waking up, “if they were perhaps executed a little better.”

“Pardon?”

“And by a little I mean altogether.”

“They weren’t that bad,” he huffed , resting his chin on my shoulder.

“No, they could have just been executed better.”

“I think I did well.”

“You would,” I laugh softly, realising that I wasn’t going to be allowed to go back to sleep any time soon. “Your ego is a powerful thing and you’re nothing if not persistent.”

Loki’s deep chuckle tickled my ear a little, causing me to snigger and shift a little.

He pulled away as I rolled onto my back, he rested on his side and stared down at me, his hair messy and tussled in a way that I loved and his eyes holding a soft look that worried me a little.

A gentle smile graced his lips as he looked me over and I reach up a hand to place on his cheek, gently running my thumb over his pale skin.

“Something is bothering you,” I murmur.

There was a brief flicker in his eyes and he let out a sigh, letting them fall shut.

“Maybe a little.”

“Will you share when you’re ready?”

“As I always do, but perhaps right now isn’t the best time.”

“Maybe not, I’d love to get some more sleep,” I joke, smiling up at him.

Loki smiles back, but something about it feels tense and a strange aura begins to fill the room, yet I don’t push it, not wanting him to close off.

“Of course, I’ll let you rest, pardon my waking you.”

He pulled away from my hand and slowly leant down to give me a chaste kiss, as he pulled away I made sure to stare into his eyes so he could see, even in the darkness, my deep concern for him.

“Loki, promise me one thing.”

“You know I’m not good with those,” he laughed faintly, dropping onto his back beside me.

“I know, but this is really important.”

“Alright,” he sighed, rolling over to get comfortable, “what is it?”

“If you go off and do anything stupid again, please,” I pause a little, frowning towards the ceiling as terrible images plagued my head, “don’t die, okay?”

Chapter Text

Loki flicked through his book, relishing in the sound of the pages flipping as he strolled through the otherwise quiet corridor.

It was a rare moment of peace for him.

Between his usual Prince duties, looking after his pregnant wife and helping out with their already overactive four year old, he had found it hard to find any time to himself.

That wasn’t to say that he didn’t enjoy spending time with his family, on the contrary, they meant the world to him, but sometimes he just wanted to catch up on a good book in his own company.

This solitude was cut short as an excited cry came from around the corner, accompanied with the sound of speeding footsteps and as Loki looked up from the pages of his book, he saw his son racing around the corridor, holding a hammer high in the air above his head.

Loki’s fatherly instincts kicked in and he dropped his book, running after his son with an urgent call of his name.

He managed to catch up to Alsveith quickly and gently took hold of his small wrist, Loki’s other hand taking the hammer from him.

Alsveith’s blue eyes shone as he pouted up at his father for interrupting his fun, leading Loki to sigh and kneel on one knee to get to the boy’s eye level.

“What have I told you about running around with dangerous things?” He asked the boy gently.

“But it’s not dangerous, dad!” Alsveith protested.

Loki looked to the hammer in his hand, glancing over the wooden handle and the light grey stone which made up the head.

“It is and I don’t want you playing with it.”

“Why not? Uncle Thor gets to play with a hammer!”

Loki sighed and rubbed his forehead a little, trying not to laugh at the typical child logic.

“Of course he does, because he is bigger and has the authority to.”

“What’s that mean?”

“It means he, um..” Loki frowned a little, being cautious of how he was going to answer lest it encourages Alsveith more. “It means he has a certificate to say that he is allowed to use them.”

“Oh,” Alsveith nodded, rubbing his chin with a little hand in an adorable imitation of something he’d witnessed Loki doing, “so if I got one too, then I could use a hammer?”

Loki chuckled lightly and nodded, “Yes, but only then.”

“Okay!” The boy grinned, pulling away from his dad, “I’m going to get one then!”

Alsveith turned and ran back in the direction he had come from, leaving Loki alone in the corridor once again.

He sighed and stood up, tucking the hammer into the crook of his elbow as he retrieved his book and continued to the library.

Loki felt like he had barely managed to sit down and get through a few chapters before the doors were thrown open and an eager looking Alsveith bounded up to his father, clutching a piece of rectangle card in his tiny hands.

“What have you got there?” Loki asked, setting his book to one side.

Alsveith smiled proudly, holding up a piece of white card with intricate royal blue bordering.

On the card it read:

Sirteficut of afority that Alsveith Lokison can yuse a hamer
Aforitised by
Thor Odinson

Loki stared at the card in bewilderment and gawped even more at the fact that Thor had signed on the line of the certificate his son had gone out of his way to write.

He was impressed that he had barely taken twenty minutes to create it and get it ‘authorised’, there was no denying that the boy had picked up his father’s sneaky ways of getting what he wanted.

Alsveith continued to grin happily as Loki took the certificate from his small hands, looking it over before letting out a dramatic sigh of defeat and holding the card back to the boy.

“Well, I guess I can’t argue with a certificate of authority,” he looked down at Alsveith with a playful look of resignation and summoned a hammer perfectly sized for the boy in a wisp of green, “here you go.”

Loki watched with mirth as his son held up the hammer in triumph and ran out of the room with a war cry.

He didn’t want to be around when Alsveith found out that his new hammer was only made out of Styrofoam.

Chapter Text

The village was in hectic chaos from the early morning, the sun had barely started to rise before people were up and rushing about.

Just the evening prior there had been an announcement in the market square that the Princes would be coming to visit, the usual scheme of showing their faces every now and then to prove that the royal family cared about their people.

There was no doubt that they truly did, but sometimes the visits felt disingenuous and they rubbed you the wrong way at times, yet you still felt the thrill of their visits.

Everyone would always spend their morning rushing around to make sure the village looked more presentable than usual and everyone was lively with chatter about their chances to interact with one of the royals.

You had only seen one visit so far, due to illness you had been rendered bedridden for the last one and the one before that you had managed to meet Prince Thor but that was many years go when you were both but children.

There was an exciting buzz in the air as you watched people pace backwards and forwards from your bedroom window, each caught up in their own task of making their gardens, selling stalls or streets as clean and tidy as possible.

Gents were wearing their best robes and ladies their best dresses, everyone looked well done up and elegant as most Asgardians tended to.

There was always something undeniably pulling about Asgardians, you had never come across one who wasn’t in some way gorgeous and this always made you feel a little self conscious about going out in public.

Almost all women in the village were beautiful in their own way, many with shining and glaringly blonde hair, more with perfect and unblemished skin and most of them were athletic and fit.

Each and every person was somehow amazing and you couldn’t help but compare yourself, despite how often doing just that would upset you.

You weren’t self conscious to a fault, but you were definitely aware of your faults compared to those around you and it would at times get you down.

As you’d thought many times, everyone was beautiful in their own way and you just hadn’t figured your way out yet.

Your hair wasn’t done up in some fancy hairstyle, but it was something you were more than content to have.

Your skin was rarely blemished, a spot here or there like most people suffered from but not anything that was enough to make anyone give a mere second glance even during your worst of outbreaks.

It seemed that the main difference between you and most of the others was your build.

There were many people of varying heights and sizes around your village, but in your mind it almost seemed like everyone around your age was tall and lithe and only the elders were a bit shorter and more rotund, which was closer to where you fell in size.

This hadn’t ever been an issue until the people around you had started courting, your friends and tutoring peers were beginning to take notice of one another and as you watched on it always felt as if no one was paying you any mind.

It wasn’t something that got you down often, you were more than content to be left alone to your own devices and being alone meant you could be a little more selfish with the money you earned from your own baked good stall.

Sometimes, however, your mind would linger to what being that special someone would feel like and you’d long to find your destined one, if he or she were out there at all.

You heard your name being called from downstairs and stepped away from the window, knowing that it was time to start preparing the day’s goods with your mother.

The perfect distraction for your racing mind.

After quickly changing out of your nightclothes and into your usual baking ones, you rushed downstairs with enthusiastic and giddy steps.

As you stepped into the kitchen, tucking your hair safely into a net, you greeted your mother brightly.

“Someone is in a good mood today,” she laughed, holding out your usual apron.

“I know,” you grin widely in response whilst slipping it over your head and tying it behind you, “I guess I just have a good feeling.”

“Then I hope your baking will show as such.”

“Why? Do you think one of the princes will stop by?” You laugh.

“It’s highly unlikely, but you can never be too sure.”

You pouted a little as you stepped up beside her, grabbing a large bag of plain flour from the supply cupboard above your heads whilst she dug out the various baking apparatus you used each day.

“Well that’s just disappointing, I was hoping to woo Prince Thor with my gorgeous smile.”

Your mother let out a huffed laughed and you didn’t fail to notice the roll of her eyes as she set one of your mixing bowls down in front of you.

“He’d be lucky to have you.”

“You’re just saying that,” you playfully gush, tapping the top of her arm.

“I am, because then he’d take you out of my hair once and for all.”

“Mother!” You gasp, placing a hand on your chest, “I am offended.”

“I have no doubt you are,” she drolled back, flickering her own teasing smile at you.

------

You let out a long sigh and rested your head on the palm of your hand as you leant against the counter of your stall, it was already proving to be a long and hot day.

Your enthusiasm from that morning had all but disappeared and you didn’t particularly care if you saw hide nor tail of either of the Princes, you just wanted the overcrowded market place to settle down once again so people wouldn’t barge past your stall and keep knocking your cakes.

You didn’t blame people for being excited, but did they have to be so rude about it?

At least you were making a slightly larger profit than you normally would.

A loud groan rumbled in your stomach as it clenched, begging for some food, you let out a small moan and looked at the cakes laid out in front of you.

You had missed breakfast and dinner earlier during the day, too preoccupied with
making sure everything was set up and ready to go.

Your mother had also warned you to keep your best dress clean and you worried of spilling anything you chose to ate over yourself, so you opted instead to wait until the late evening to have a larger meal to make up for the day.

It had also become a habit of yours to not eat behind the stall, not liking the looks some people would give if they saw you eating your own goods, as if they were judging you and deducing things about you that linked the cake to your waist.

So you had decided it was best to just keep waiting.

That was proving to be a big mistake.

As the day dragged on and there was no sign of the Princes near by, the more tempted you were to just indulge in a snack and risk getting a little messy.

Just one little slice of the plain sponge cake would be fine, it wouldn’t be an overly messy ordeal like your mother worried any cake would be, there was just a bit of cream and jam in the middle with a light dusting of flour on the top, nothing that couldn’t be easily brushed off.

With an affirming nod to yourself, you stood up straight and grabbed one of the knives you had been using to cut slices for people over the course of the day.

As you turned away and began to cut a small piece off for yourself a shadow loomed over the stall, going unnoticed by you as you focused on your task.

It was a quick clearing of a throat that drew your attention and startled you a little, you uttered a quick apology and set the knife back down before turning to face the customer.

“I am terribly sorry,” you started, but immediately you cut yourself off when you noticed Prince Loki staring at you from the other side of the counter.

A look of amusement didn’t go unhidden on his face and you assumed it was for the worst.

“No need to apologise,” he replied smoothly, his eyes moving away from you and over the cakes on display. “You made these yourself?”

“Just this morning with my mother’s help,” you nodded, feeling your heart speed up a little as you watched him.

“Wonderful,” he hummed as he eyed the cake you had been just about to slice, “in that case I’d like to invite you to join me in a slice.”

You looked up at Loki then down at the jam and fresh cream cake you had made that morning, your mouth watering a little as your body yearned for the missed sustenance.

“Are you certain?”

“I do find that sharing the creators work with them builds a bond more.”

You only let out a light laugh and looked at the cake again, your mind ticking away to itself.

Eventually you shook your head and cleared your throat, offering him a polite smile.

“I wish to decline your invitation, thank you, but I believe I have had enough of my share over the years,” you laughed, hoping that a joke would be a needed distraction.

Loki stared down at you, one of his eyebrows raised a little.

“I fear I may be treading on harsh waters here, but what do you mean by that?”

“Well, I was merely joking.”

“A strange joke to make, isn’t it?”

“Not at all, I am certain you have noticed a significant factor to my appearance, sir.”

His eyes flickered over you, his face twisting a little in confusion as he did so.

“I’m afraid I don’t understand,” he eventually replied, lightly shrugging.

You sighed and chewed on the inside of your cheek a little, not wanting to state the obvious out loud but also not wanting to leave Loki hanging in an awkwardness that you had created by a jest.

“I have no doubt that you have noticed that I am,” you paused for a moment, thinking of how to word it in the lightest way possible, “not of the fitter build.”

You cringed inwardly at your choice of wording, but tried to keep a straight face in front of the Prince.

Loki didn’t seem to notice, instead he stared down at you as if you had somehow lost your mind in the few minutes you had spent speaking to him.

“Is that all? How ridiculous.”

“Pardon?” You looked up at him in surprise at his nonchalant response.

“You refuse my invitation to eat with me purely because of something so insignificant?”

“It doesn’t put you off?”

“Put me off of what? It’s just a little extra weight.”

“Most don’t see it that way, it’s quite a meaningful thing to common folk.”

Loki laughed lightly, shaking his head as he glanced off to the side for a brief moment.

“I am a shifter,” he stated with a confident tone whilst looking back at you, “to me shape is such a subjective thing that I suppose I still find it strange that people put so much importance on it.”

“But as you said, it’s subjective.”

“Correct, one that is meaningless to me personally,” he smiled kindly, “people can be beautiful or hideous no matter the size.”

You return his smile, feeling warm and content with the turn the interaction had taken.

Your eyes glance back towards the cake, your stomach grumbling in need as you remembered the gorgeous smell of your house each time you made something.

“I invite you once again,” Loki speaks up, catching your attention, “I won’t push, but I would be honoured if you’d have a slice with me.”

“You’d be honoured?” You laughed at the irony of the statement.

“More than,” he chuckled with you.

“Well, I suppose I simply can’t refuse then,” you grinned, picking up the small pallet you would use to separate the cake slices from each other, ready to serve. “Please enjoy,” you said cheerfully whilst passing a filled plate to him.

He took it with a smile of his own and polite dip of his head, “I am more than certain that I will.”

Chapter Text

He staggered towards the palace, exhausted and aching.

Whilst he enjoyed his adventures with Thor, the Warriors Three and Sif this one proved more physically tiring than he had first anticipated.

His side stung from the small stab he’d received during an unexpected ambush on the group and he was exhausted from their long trek back.

Loki could feel blood seeping through the bandage they had secured around his waist, the wound was taking longer than usual to heal, something he suspected was from a tampering with the blade used to catch him.

Still he had managed to find his way home, though he found himself growing weaker and stumbling more with each step, he had made it home all the same.

As he made his way across the garden, which now felt yards longer than he remembered it, he could see the balcony to his own quarters where there stood upon the balcony, carefully reaching up for the lantern they had hung up together many years ago, was the woman he had called his own for years.

He let out an involuntary laugh of happiness and sped up for a few steps, hoping to catch her eye.

When he was close enough, Loki could see that she was replacing the candle within the lantern with a new one and smiled at the memory of when they had put it up.

It was the symbol of their promise to each other.

That each time he left for an adventure or a battle she would light a candle for him in the lantern, a symbol of his promise to always come back to her as long as she was willing to put up with the escapades he’d be pulled into, she would let him know by the flame of the candle that would be visible when he returned.

If one day he came back and lantern wasn’t lit then he knew that she had grown tired of his leaving and was no longer his to call his own.

He had been on many journeys since and each time he returned a candle burnt within the lantern, the giddiness that sparked up never faded despite the years they had been doing this.

As he neared enough to be heard, he called out to her.

She paused in her actions and looked out into the gardens below, a look of confusion on her face.

To draw further attention, Loki raised a hand in a high spirited wave and called to her again, perhaps even louder this time.

He watched as her eyes slowly scanned the garden but yet somehow never landed on him, each time he thought she had spotted him her eyes would move away once again.

Stepping closer, Loki frowned and lowered his hand from the waving as he noticed the forlorn look in her eyes, the wet lines that streaked her cheeks and the letter clutched in one hand.

His mind started racing as he thought about the lack of reaction she had shown, despite the fact that he would have been stood directly in her line of sight and the light coming from behind him cast no shadow to hide him and she had always been overjoyed to see him upon each return.

As it all clicked into place he could only watch helplessly as she turned back to the lantern and lit the wick of the new candle she’d just placed inside until the light shone brightly above one corner of the balcony, a single blood soaked hand pressing harder against his wound as tears welled in his eyes.

Chapter Text

A month and a half passed as normally as the rest of your life had, nothing as eventful as a royal visit had occurred again and everyone had settled back in to their usual routine as if it had never happened.

Even your excitement about the one on one time you’d had with Prince Loki dwindled quickly, as you focused on your baking once again.

Each passing morning became more and more routine and thusly more mundane, the schedule of early rising, baking, selling and sleeping had somehow become slightly unfulfilling since your encounter with the Prince.

The morning you received the letter proved to be no different.

You rose early to begin an assortment of large cream and jam cakes, a new item that proved to be popular, as well and the ever-popular biscuits, cookies and pastries.

By the time you had packed up the last of the jam tarts, it was unnervingly close to being late for the stall opening and any delay, while not drastic enough to affect business, still made you fret a little.

There was always this sense of panic when it came to being late and there was something in this slight difference to the day that added an extra thrill, something that stirred up the mundane feeling.

That day proved to be a busy one, you returned home near out of stock and plenty wealthier though also very hungry, the bits of batter you’d eaten that morning as you made the treats proved to be a particularly insubstantial contribution to ‘breakfast’.

Upon arriving home, your mother was bounding around in excitement.

At first you assumed that it was because your father had returned home from his job that had taken him away for a short time, that was until you noticed the paper clasped tightly in her hands.

You looked between them curiously, letting the door fall shut behind you.

“What’s going on?” You asked slowly.

“There’s a very important message here for you,” your mother grinned.

“I’m willing to bet that it has something to do with your personal time with a certain Prince,” your father smiled proudly.

“If by ‘personal time’ you mean that I shared a bit of my baking while stood behind the stall.”

“As personal as you can get really,” he shrugged.

“But it could get even more personal now,” your mother giggled, a sound that you weren’t used to hearing from her.

It was evident that she was trying her hardest not to unleash the words that begged to come out, though that did bring up the question as to why she was opening your letter.

“Just give her the letter, you know you can’t keep secrets.”

She let out a sound that implied offence but still handed the letter over.

Although the letter had been opened, the seal wasn’t broken and the emblem imprinted within the wax gave away its royal sender.

The eager and overly excited look your mother gave you burned a hole in your head as you looked over the envelope.

You briefly glanced up to see her practically bouncing on the balls of her feet and couldn’t help but to huff out a laugh, deciding that you’d put her out of her misery.

Turning the envelope over, you plucked the re-stuck wax seal away from the paper and unfolded the letter.

Neat and cursive writing met your eyes and for a brief moment you were taken aback by the beautiful letters that splayed across the page.

You quickly gathered yourself and started to read down the page, your mother continuing to grin eagerly as she waited with impatience.

“So?” She asked when you lowered the letter, “what do you think?”

You were sure that your face gave away your shock.

“Are you okay?” Your father asked gently.

“It’s from the All-Mother,” you stated in pure shock as if they didn’t already know, trying to stop your voice from shaking, “she wants me to make a cake for their upcoming ball.”

“Isn’t it amazing?!” Your mother squealed, jumping in her place before tackling you in a tight embrace, “finally some recognition!”

You couldn’t help but smile along with her and hugged back just as tightly, wanting to bask in her excitement and your father’s pride.

You wouldn’t tell them how that night, as you sat in your room and stared at the blank paper on the desk before you, that you had no idea if you were confident enough to make a towered cake fit for Asgard’s royal family and their guests.

After you had eaten that evening, your mother had told you to focus on your new project and that she would concentrate on the market stall, a lovely break you were more than willing to take for the time being as you weren’t sure how you could focus on anything else with this looming over you.

You had two weeks to design the cake, practice making it and then perfecting it for the day.

The list of ingredients was going to sky rocket, but despite your nerves you knew that this was a wonderful opportunity.

If all went right, you could have a long list of new clients.

So no pressure.

You worked your fingers to the bone for the following fortnight, making your best attempts at towered cakes of varying sized and icing designs, according to your mother these experimental cakes went down a treat at the market stall and many voiced an interest in ordering one like it for a wedding or birthday.

It was truly flattering, but none of that would really sink in until the ball was over and you could relax again.

During this time, a friend was working on a dress for you.

Along with the request for your services, Frigga had offered you to attend the ball as well and although you weren’t used to wearing dresses due to your occupation, you didn’t particularly want to draw too much attention to yourself just yet.

So, a little begrudgingly, you stuck to tradition and let your friend go wild.

You fully trusted him to make something that would make you look wonderful in all the right colours and he had two weeks to make it work.

And how quickly those two weeks went by was terrifying yet amazing, time slipped past as if it was nothing and days sometimes felt like they had only been going for five hours.

It felt as though you had only blinked and there you were, standing within the kitchen of the palace and assisting some cooks with the manoeuvring of the large cake.

You had to admit that you were pleased with the end result.

A four-tiered cake, each layer from top to bottom getting that little bit bigger and changing in colour.

The top being the goldest colour of icing you could make to represent Odin, the layer beneath that being an almost glittering pale blue for Frigga, beneath that a deep red for Thor and the final layer being a dark emerald green for Loki.

Getting the colours to your satisfaction had taken a while, but you had to admit that you were pleased with the end results.

Covering the sides of each layer were runes that represented stories and magic from the history of Asgard and the people they were about.

Odin’s runes were black so that they stood out bold against the gold, Frigga’s were a silver that was accentuated by the pale blue, Thor’s were royal blue that was a vibrant as his personality and Loki’s were the same golden hue as the top of the cake, adding a magical touch.

If truth be told, you loved how the layers for Loki and Frigga turned out, they were your personal favourites.

Now you just had to hope that it tasted as wonderful as it looked.

You had outdone yourself and the swelling of pride in your chest caused you to grin.

You didn’t think that anything would break your grin, not only were you amazed by your own work but you were about to head down to join the nobles of the realms at an actual royal ball.

Even if it had never been an aspiration in your life, you could still admit that it was an unmissable opportunity that many didn’t have extended to them.

Considering all the turns it took to get from the kitchen to the hall, you were surprised that you didn’t get lost despite the vague directions from the servants and guards you passed on your way.

Part of you had hoped that they would let you use the servant’s passage that the cooks would use to move the food to and from the hall, but they had refused and made you go around the long way.

When you had finally made it, you pushed open the doors and stepped into the grandest room you had ever seen in your life.

The walls shone as vibrantly as the sun, a stunning balcony stood outside a set of high glass doors that let in the stunning sunset and the chandeliers above you glittered, long tables of food and drink lined the walls and people of various races and colours decorated the room in their elaborate robes from their own cultures.

The people looked absolutely amazing and it was as you stood there by the doors, staring down a short walkway with tall columns on either side of you, you finally felt your pride and the grin you had been wearing wither away.

Almost everyone you could see looked absolutely stunning and as you hesitated in the dark, you felt a world away from them.

There was a drastic change between leaving your home feeling like a royal amongst the other peasants of the market place and arriving to stand amongst the most beautiful of people.

Now that you had seen everyone else, you understood why your place was at the market stall selling baked goods.

Compared to the others mere feet away, you were a mess.

Your dress, the beautiful dress that had taken hours of your friend’s time and that you once thought hugged and accentuated your figure now seemed to be cut differently, instead accentuating your rolls more than anything.

Your hair looked flat compared to the other attendee’s bouncy updo’s and your minimal amount of make-up made you look like a dressed-up swine.

An all too familiar feeling arose and you felt your chest constrict.

Self-loathing bubbled up horribly inside you and your strongest instincts were telling you to immediately turn around again and leave, let the beautiful people have their fun and don’t sully their party.

It wasn’t often that hatred this vitriolic would arise in you, but some days were worse than others and you found yourself doubting yourself too much to hold it together.

Shaking your head, you watched the people smiling and laughing for a little longer before turning to leave.

For the first time since you had arrived, attending felt like a mistake.

“You’re not leaving already, you’ve only been stood there for two minutes.”

You winced a little at having been caught, especially by Loki.

“Really? It felt significantly longer.”

He only hummed briefly before letting it sit there, you knew that he was waiting for something so you let go of the golden door handle and turned back to face him.

Loki looked as great as he did in the market, stood there in his leathers with colours more vibrant than you remembered and with his black hair framing his face and bringing out the blue in his eyes and his pale skin.

His hands were clasped behind his back as he stared at you silently, his face not giving anything away.

“I have to go, Loki,” you stated.

“No you don’t,” he shrugged, “you wouldn’t be here in the first place if you did.”

“I didn’t say why.”

“You don’t have to, come and join the festivities.”

You stared at him, chewing on your lip and shaking your head again, part of your hair falling into your face.

“I can’t.”

“Can’t or won’t?”

“Both, I can’t and won’t go out there.”

“Why not?”

Your mouth gaped open and you have him a look that pointedly insinuated that it should have been more than obvious why not, a short and scoffed laugh almost coughing out of your throat.

As if to accentuate your point, you indicated to yourself and then held your arms out to your sides.

“This is why.”

He tilted his head, his eyes roaming over you embarrassingly slowly, you almost felt like he was seeing beyond the dress with his intense stare until he shrugged again.

“I don’t follow, the dress is stunning.”

“Please,” you rolled your eyes, “the dress is wonderful, but it would look better on someone else.”

Loki regarded you for a second longer then stepped forward, finally letting his arms fall to his sides.

“I wholly disagree, that is just your insecurity shining through,” he sighed almost dramatically, “and I thought we got past that when we shared cake the last time.”

You frowned and had to look away from him, his proximity feeling too close.

“Insecurity doesn’t just go away after one discussion.”

“I know,” he replied gently, “just as I know that some days are worse than others and no one can convince you away from what your mind has been telling you for months or years.”

Your heart gave a painful tug, but you nodded in agreement.

“And I know compliments don’t work in the long term,” Loki continued, “but believe me when I say that only you could pull off that dress.”

“Really?” You smiled wryly, looking at him again, “only me?”

“Well, maybe someone with the same complexion and colours for certain features, but those are just specifics we don’t need to think about.”

The smile he gave you made you laugh, your stomach fluttering a little at the obscure compliment.

“Let me make a deal with you.”

You groaned and closed your eyes.

“That doesn’t sound good.”

“It may not be, but I think you owe me enough to at least humour me for putting up with your ridiculous insecurities.”

You licked your bottom lip and nodded slowly, he had a point, it was a little unfair that both -times you had met him conversation turned to your self-image issues.

“Alright,” you relented with a determined nod, “what deal?”

“You put up with me and this party for at least an hour and if, after and only after that hour, you feel like leaving then you may leave freely.”

Loki stepped back and held out his hand, giving you a pointed look as his eyes sparkled with that gleam of mischief once again.

As you stared at his hand, taking in the long fingers that were extended towards you, you thought over his offer, the pros and the cons.

Finally you nodded and rested your hand in his, your stomach flipping once again.

If anyone could make this ball that little bit better, it had to be Loki.

He could distract you from any stares and comments you believed that you were going to get.

Loki smiled widely and turned back towards the crowd, manoeuvred you so that rather than clasping your hands together your arm was link around his and resting in the crook of his elbow as he led you down that short walkway into the main hall.

“Excellent decision, now I won’t look like a fool for bragging about my beautiful date all week,” he rolled his eyes as he continued but couldn’t stop himself from mirthfully smirking, “Thor definitely wouldn’t have let me live it down.”

Chapter Text

Your eyes scanned the hall and took in each and every detail of the attendants of the dance, even the ones dancing didn’t get past your analysing as you searched for that one particular person.

A few times you had believed that you had found him, only for it to turn out to be someone else beneath the mask.

Each time your heart lurched a little when you thought you caught sight of him, but it was easy to see that it wasn’t him once your initial excitement had waned.

It was never hard to tell who was who at these masquerades, they were always fun to attend, dressing up in lavish clothes and pretending to be someone else for the night, but the seriousness people would push on them was a little ridiculous.

“It’s turning out to be quite a night, hmm?”

You glance up to the tall man who had stepped up beside you, though his eyes remained focused on the dancers over the balcony. A bubble of elation swelled in your chest at his arrival, though you had been enjoying your little seeking game.

“It is, very fascinating,” you reply, unable to avert your eyes from the magnificence of his outfit for the night, “are you enjoying yourself, Loki?”

He chuckled and finally looked down at you, his blue eyes standing out magnificently behind his black feathered mask.

“Not as much as you’d think, watching these people flounce around as if they don’t know who is who behind the masks gets tiresome.”

“And irksome.”

“That too.”

“Masquerades are an odd thing, people turn so abruptly.”

“It’s quite astounding to behold,” Loki commented with an agreeing nod, “people either feign not recognising one another to get away with more or they’re merely idiots who genuinely can’t tell each other apart because of mere masks and fancier dress than normal.”

You laugh and look at him with a large smile, your own mask not able to hide your amusement.

“There’s a ‘but’ there.”

“Indeed there is.”

“Well then,” you hum merrily, taking a full glass from one of the servants as they wandered past, “do continue.”

“But I don’t think most here are intelligent enough to spend the night pretending to not know each other and the need for gossip is too strong.”

“Your faith in others astounds me.”

“You clearly haven’t heard half of the conversations I have at these things, I don’t even have to use my shifting abilities to confuse others.”

“Shifting abilities?” You gasp after taking a sip from your drink, “but it couldn’t possibly be Loki under that mask, you’re not wearing black and green!”

You both share a laugh and briefly fall into a comfortable quiet, going back to watching other spectators as they danced and chatted.

Your gloved fingers drummed lightly against the rim of the glass as you held it securely on the palm of your hand, the gentle tinkle barely heard over the live music being played.

Loki stood tall beside you, his hands held behind his back as his mind no doubt worked a mile a minute as you suspected it did for most of the day.

As you watched the other attendees conversing amongst themselves a small spark of an idea jolted your brain and a coy smirk played on your lips.

“Don’t you think the prospect is a bit exciting?”

“Hm?” Loki looked down at you, his curiosity lighting up his eyes.

“The thrill of ‘not knowing’ each other,” you continue whilst turning to face him, moving one hand to rest on the banister you had been leaning on, “acting as if you were two strangers meeting up and the night taking a fun turn?”

Loki quirked an eyebrow but smirked all the same, an expression that matched yours from moments ago.

“Are you hinting towards something?”

“Perhaps I am, I certainly wouldn’t be against it if you agreed to the idea.”

“It would undoubtedly liven the night up.”

Your stomach flipped with excitement at his reciprocation, there had been many nights when you’d hoped that this moment would happen and now that it was the excitement, perhaps mixed with the light alcohol in your drinks, was starting to make you a bit queasy.

“Are you serious about doing this?”

“It’s just a bit of fun, I’ll head off into the crowd and I say we should give it around thirty minutes before we find each other as strangers, what do you say?”

“Absolutely!” You cry a little too enthusiastically, though judging by Loki’s laugh it wasn’t off putting.

“Wonderful, thirty minutes and the hunt begins.”

You could only nod and watch as he left, your heart racing at the prospect of what was about to happen.

Loki’s game was about to begin.

Chapter Text

The night had taken an abrupt turn.

Dinner, drinks and a walk through the beautiful and vast gardens had somehow managed to turn into an intimate dance within Loki’s soft bed sheets.

“Look at you, begging beneath me,” Loki smirked as he nipped down my neck to my chest, occasionally stopping to leave a mark like a candid trail of possession.

The deep chuckle accompanying the statement sent a pleasant shiver through me and I let out a groan in response, trying to squeeze my legs together to ease the throbbing ache despite knowing that Loki was already between them and the friction my shifting added was only making it worse.

“I only want to hear my name coming from you.”

“God, yes Loki,” I groan back at the demand, grinding my hips against him in a desperate attempt to finally have him fully.

One of his hands moved up my thigh, the feeling was tantalizingly slow and teasing, until he finally reached where he wanted to be, my own hands were running all over his body as my mind faltered a little on what to do with the man between my legs.

“I’m going to make you unable to think of anyone but me for years to come.”

I bit my lip and groan a little as he begins a gentle circling motion and two of his fingers push at my entrance, the feeling stinging and uncomfortable for a brief moment before easing into a more pleasurable fullness.

“No man will ever compare to me.”

His breath ghosted over my chest as he spoke, causing my nipples to perk and ache a little.

I bit my lip harder and shifted my hips once again, the feeling of his own hard arousal spurring me on further and making my want grow, which he no doubt knew and chose to ignore in favour of his fingers.

The hope that he would finally make the last move and stop this relentless bragging and teasing from going any further was beginning to take precedence over any thought of reaching a climax that night.

“You’re so wet for me,” he murmurs, pumping his fingers slowly, “I bet you taste amazing.”

I only let out a small whimper and moan whilst rocking my hips harder with his movements, trying to keep the arousal going as it began to wane the more he continued to talk.

“I want to watch you squirm as I ra-“

“Okay, Loki,” I laugh, pushing at the top of his head, “I can’t get into the mood when you keep saying things like that.”

He pulls away from my chest and leans up on his elbows, looking up at me with an adorably confused expression that didn’t match the image of his naked body barely hovering over me.

“Was that too much?”

“A little, I can deal with some dirty talk, but don’t overdo it.”

“Not a fan?”

“Not really, I love your voice but dirty talk is not my thing.”

“So you won’t be screaming for me?”

An image of me writhing on the bed and moaning out the most ridiculous sentences popped into my head, like a scene directly taken from an erotic play where dialogue had to fill an otherwise possibly awkward silence for the audience.

I laugh again and tangle my fingers into his hair, “I won’t be screaming out how good you are, how close I am or anything like that, but take my moans as your cue that you’re doing fine.”

“Fine, I was running out of things to say anyway.”

He chuckled again and went back to what he was previously so preoccupied with.

I let out a small breath of pleasure and let my head fall back once again as he continued the slow and teasing pace with his cold hand whilst he kissed his way back up my chest.

“What about pet names?”

“Loki!”

Chapter Text

It was beginning to get a little weird.

You hadn’t failed to notice the way that you caught Odin’s eye when you were serving him, nor the almost sly smile that he would direct towards you every now and then.

The thought made you shudder a little.

You hadn’t been working at the palace for long, but five months had flown by and Odin seemed to get creepier with each passing day.

“He has been acting rather odd these pass months,” Kari, one of the other serving girls, admitted one night when you were all sat around the small wooden table to eat your evening meal.

“Frigga’s death must have hit him hard,” sighed Maigret, the older of the new servants, with a sad look.

At first you had been honoured to be amongst some of the girls he had picked to serve him, not many could say that they had such an honour as being picked by the All-Father himself, now you just wanted to keep your distance unless absolutely necessary.

The other girls didn’t seem to mind picking up or swapping any workload you wished to pass off due to it being too closely involved to Odin, they enjoyed the opportunity to get close to the King of Asgard and butter him up a bit for their own favour.

Something you were all too glad to pass up.

Whilst you were honoured to have been chosen to work for him, you had seen it as a chance to get somewhere in your life, not for the kind of gain it seemed the others were trying to get by swinging their leg over and bending over backwards in their position as simple servants.

Unfortunately, you were all too aware that Odin would pick up on your distance sooner rather than later and your time of working in peace would cease eventually.

So you enjoyed it whilst you could and tried not to make it too obvious that you were avoiding him, this was mostly done by the occasional shift where you worked in the food hall as a server.

It was during one of these shifts that he’d caught your attention.

You had been wandering from person to person, offering a serving of mead with a pleasant smile.

Odin had managed to catch your eye as you stepped away from one of the many feasting warriors and he gestured to his own goblet, making your heart sink as you realised that meant having to get close enough for him to leer at you as he had done in the past.

You suppressed a shudder as you walked to him, your grip on the jug in your hands tightening as you moved.

His eye never left you as you approached the table, a strange smirk adorning his lips.

You had to suppress a harsher shudder as his eye roamed over you with an obvious look of hunger, one you had never wanted to see coming from him.

Though you respected Odin in your own way, there was never anything overtly enchanting about him that made you wish to be more than a server and it was unusual to see him being lecherous towards another woman.

Everyone had commented on how Frigga’s passing tore at him, yet in such a short time it was almost as if he didn’t remember what they once had.

Odin tapped his finger on the edge of his goblet and stared down at you expectantly, you nodded and went about refilling the cup, keeping your eyes focused on the rising level of the mead.

“Are you avoiding me for a reason?”

You start at his voice, taken aback less by the question but more by the sound of it.

Somehow his voice was softer and smoother, even his accent appeared to have changed and didn’t hold the age it previously did.

It sounded nothing like Odin.

This voice was pleasant to hear and somehow made your stomach flip.

“No, sir, I have just been needed elsewhere,” you reply feebly, still unable to meet his eye as whole array of new and conflicting feelings scuttled through you.

“I believe it’s more than that,” he stated in that same new voice, his tone sounding amused.

“I assure you it isn’t.”

His hand moves away from the table and towards you, cold fingers pressed against your chin as he tilted your head up so you are finally looking at him.

“I don’t appreciate you lying to me.”

The way he spoke so quietly so only you two could hear unnerved you a little, but not as much as the strange green glow that seemed to flare around him for a brief second before disappearing once again.

“When you are done with your work for the day, you are to attend to my chambers, alone.”

You could only nod weakly at his demand as you were in no position to argue, your heart jolting as he smiled before shooing you away with a wave of his hand.

As you stepped back from the table, you were sure that for a flickering moment Odin’s one eye became a vastly different shade of blue.

Chapter Text

Standing in front of the Allfather’s bedroom doors had never felt as intimidating as it did in that one moment.

Knowing that he was waiting inside only heightened your nerves and you found yourself stalling, wringing your hands together and giving yourself a pep talk whilst pacing back and forth.

You must have been pacing for a while as from inside the room an impatient voice yelled out; “Are you coming in or not?”

You started a little at the intruding voice and your heart beat sped up uncomfortably, adrenaline started pumping through you and made your body feel like jelly.

Forcing yourself towards the door, you try to steady your hand whilst turning the doorknob which at that moment felt like some kind of symbolic seal of opening the lock to your impending decline at the hands of the Allfather.

As you stepped inside, you moved forward and shuddered with a cold chill when you heard the door click shut behind you, which was followed by the sound of the lock snapping into place by an invisible hand.

Despite this not being the first time you had set foot in this room, you still felt amazingly tense and antsy about being there at that moment.

When you used to tidy the room, Odin wouldn’t be around to watch over you with an unrelenting stare like he was right now and though you didn’t envy whoever took the duty of having to tidy this vast and large room now, you certainly wished that were the circumstance of the visit.

“You certainly took your time out there, was it that hard to decide if I was truly worth visiting or not?”

You stared at him in silence, your hands clasped together in front of your worn beige frock and accompanying white apron.

“Had I not known any better, I’d have thought you were avoiding me.”

Your hands started to knead at the apron as you grew a little more anxious with each passing second, images of various punishments running through your mind even though you knew you hadn’t done anything to warrant one.

“I did sorely miss having you around.”

Odin slowly raised from where he had been perched on the bed and gradually moved closer, your eyes never left him as you watched his deliberately slow movements.

“I kind of resent you taking away such a beautiful sight and for the longest time I did wonder why that was.”

Your throat grew dry as he neared and you found it hard to form any words, not that he was giving you a chance to speak much in the first place.

“And then I realised.”

A strange smirk adorned his lips and before your very eyes the image of Odin dissolved away in a shimmer of green and revealed the youngest prince beneath the magic, as he dropped the illusion fully, Loki rested a hand on the door behind you and leaned down to your level.

“No one wants to be leered at by an old man.”

It was strange staring into the handsome face of the dark prince, seeing how his dark hair framed his pale face and made his blue eyes all the more pronounced. His thing lips were still curved into a mischievous smirk as his eyes roamed over your cowered form, his eyebrow quirked a little.

“My prince, we all thought you were-“

“Dead? I know, that was the point.”

“But how?”

“I’m a trickster by nature, besides is it really that important?”

“I suppose not,” you frowned a little, biting your lip whilst trying to avert your eyes to stop you from your continuous staring.

Loki had always been a point of fascination for you long before you came to work at the castle, he was one of the reasons you had hoped to secure a job at the palace but by the time you had managed to the word had spread around Asgard of Loki’s death.

Cold fingers pressed into your cheek and pushed your head back into the perfect position to stare into his eyes.

“I didn’t say you could look away.”

“Sorry, my prince.”

“Do I still intimidate you?”

“A little,” you whisper, your heart beginning to beat erratically faster.

“I’ll just have to see to that, won’t I? As long as you can keep this little secret then I will be sure that you are rewarded handsomely.”

“Why me?”

“You happened to catch my eye,” he shrugged nonchalantly, “of course I’ve had women willing to bed me in disguise, but can you truly imagine me doing such things in that visage?”

He gave a playful shudder and chuckled whilst wrapping an arm tightly around your waist and pulling you flush against him, his other hand resting comfortably on your hip as he stared down at you with that mischievous twinkle.

You opened your mouth to respond just as he leaned down to your ear.

“There are some limits even I won’t go to.”

The deep tone to his voice and his breath ghosting over your ear caused you to shiver and your body to tingle pleasantly.

“So what do you say? You go back to working in close proximity to me and I will be sure that you never go another night without pleasure of some kind.”

You flustered a little at the proposition, but still felt a sense of comfort knowing that you could work your old jobs without the real Odin looming over you.

Knowing that it was Loki eased your worries and disgust, so with a light smile you nodded and met his intense gaze as your arms snaked up to clasp around his shoulders.

“I’d be stupid to say no."

Chapter Text

He wasn’t sure what was happening around him.

All he knew was that he was naked and hungry and that was more than enough to finally get him moving from where he had woken up moments before.

The plush grass that he was led on top of tickled his skin as he moved, causing him to let out a small involuntary laugh.

This was the first time he heard his voice.

It was a strangely pleasant sound, something about the tone appeased him and made him feel giddy.

With a wide smile, he ungracefully heaved himself up onto his new legs, swaying a little as he adjusted to standing, the grass feeling scratchy and yet still soft beneath his feet.

He looked down as he swayed to assess the body he found himself in, as he tilted his head strands of black hair fell into his face, a beautiful dark contrast in comparison to the paleness of his skin.

Lifting his hands, he looked them over and followed the length of one of his arm with his eyes until they reached his shoulder and attempting to look further became uncomfortable.

Experimentally, he lowered his hands once again and began to feel over the length of his body as a means to get accustomed to the bumps and peculiarities of the body he would now control until his death.

Once his curiosity was sated and he stood steadily at his full height, he slowly looked around him and took in the expanse of his surroundings, to his right and behind him the field seemed never ending, green continued on and became large hills far off in the distance.

To his left, perhaps only twenty feet away, the green ended abruptly at the side of a steep cliff that looked over a vast array of blue, a sea that stood out wonderfully against the lighter colour of the sky.

He didn’t yet have the words to describe the sight before him, but it took his breath away.

Another couple of feet ahead of him stood a single building, the brickwork was white and the wooden frames around the home were black which made the lone building stand out elegantly from amongst the vast greens and blues of its surroundings.

In the front was a small garden that was fenced off with dark wood from the rest of the field, as if marking its territory in case anyone would stumble upon it in the middle of nowhere.

A sudden breeze blew up and chilled his bare skin, causing him to shudder and wrap his arms around himself as a form of protection.

The wind picked up a few strands of his hair and caused it to flick into his face, which was accompanied with a faint sting when the ends caught the skin in a particular point.

As there was nowhere else to go, he took a few lumbering steps towards the home in hopes of finding accommodation, shelter and protection from this new world he knew nothing about.

There were no words to spur him on as he knew none, there were no cohesive thoughts over the dangers of what he was doing as he didn’t understand neither the dangers nor his actions, it was all instinct and need that told him that he had to go there.

Drawing nearer to the building, which felt like it took an age at his unsteady pace, showcased just how beautiful the flowers in the garden were and something was telling him to reach out and touch each and every one of them.

Feel the colourful petals, smell them, taste them.

The latch to the gate seemed to unhinge by itself and allow it to swing open as if in invitation solely for him, so he stepped inside and came to a stop on the grey stone path amidst the flowerbeds and let his eyes roam over the array of colours and shapes.

As if on cue, the black front door to the house opened and a woman in a long dress stepped into the doorframe with a warm and comforting smile.

He flinched as the gate behind him slammed shut and the startle spurred him to move closer to the welcoming stranger.

She watched from her place in the doorframe as the tall man came ever closer, her kind eyes never leaving his curious ones.

It was time for her to start her job once again and so she held out her hand towards the blank slate of a man in front of her, her smile still one of comfort to show that she only wanted to help and meant him no harm.

Like the comfort of a mother.

Almost beyond his own control, he found his hand placed in hers and instantly relished at the warmth and security it offered him.

As her fingers gently clasped around his palm, she uttered the first words he would hear in this new life.

“Hello, Loki.”

Chapter Text

She watched out of the window as Loki explored her garden, his blue eyes gazing in childish amazement at every small thing that he could see or touch and learn from.

Though physically he was an adult, he was still mentally very young and they had a long way to go together, she looked forward to seeing what he’d shape up to be in this new life once he was reborn.

She could remember his previous lives, some more pleasant than others.

His first incarnation had been an interesting one and was the personality that most of his other lives that followed after seemed to fall into, within every life that followed, no matter what other fascinations, hobbies and traits Loki gained, there was always that sparkle of mischief within those intelligent eyes.

A new God of Mischief was born to the Norse myths that year and from then on Loki would forever be reborn as that God and it was after that first death that her new job began.

This was the first life he would ever live, a trial run in her eyes and the perfect opportunity to learn just what she would have to play with in the lives she would help to guide with each passing death.

They were both new to their positions, him to being an unofficial God and her being a guide to that particular God’s pre-life from here on out.

Watching his first incarnation, that which was more of a fire demon and brother to Odin, burn his own life to the ground had been more than tiring and it worried her to no end about just how this could play out in future endeavours.

The way he smoothed his way with various women, seemed almost impassive towards his own wife and the children she bore him whilst following in the footsteps of every Norse God who seemed unable to keep faithful was a frustration that she vowed to sort out during the next guidance.

Seeing him birthing an eight-legged horse had been a truly disturbing moment to behold.

Throughout the years she had also seen many strange things, one that stuck with her was when he used his shifting abilities to become a unicorn.

Many things about that incarnation got to her, such as his strange relationship with the Enchantress and his turning on his previously conniving, lying and scheming ways all because of some ‘Red Skull’ person, but the unicorn thing definitely stuck with her for better or for worst.

If truth were to be told, however, she would have said that the one deemed ‘Kid Loki’ was one of her favourites to watch unfold and she was almost sorry that all good things must come to an end.

Loki’s second incarnation proved to be a complicated matter.

The paths and allegiances he chose never ceased to amaze her, it was almost as if this man was built to be anarchic, scheming and self-destructive whilst living within a brooding temperament that only lead towards his own actions wronging him after lengthy battles with Thor, who in this life was his long suffering adoptive brother.

A role that would seem to stick as a common theme in his other lives.

“It was Ragnarok all over again,” she sighed in exasperation, her fingers rubbing at her aching eyes.

There were lives of his that she endeared to and ones that she wished to forget, but extended periods of solitude meant that her mind would all too often wander and soon the negative encounters would stir up again.

It was undeniable that Loki was a hard God to understand, which only made it worse when he would work against her to make things as difficult as possible.

There wasn’t any possible way to avoid the worst lives he would be born in to, so many had come and gone that even the baddest of eggs would pass through in no time at all, leaving her with scars that he would never remember giving her and leading to her having many grudges that she had to learn to push past in order to do her job.

One of the more awkward incarnations was the one known as ‘Lady Loki’.

It was a surprise when the first female body showed up, much like all the others she woke up nude in the field, no idea where she was or what was going on, not a clue of anything in life until she went out to greet her and teach what needed to be done.

To say that a spark of jealousy hadn’t swelled in her chest would have been a lie, seeing as he was a handsome man it made sense for the opposite gender to be a beautiful woman, but to be that beautiful seemed unfair to her.

Things got more awkward the older Lady Loki got, she gradually became more flirtatious and attempted to manipulate her guide all too often.

Unluckily for Lady Loki she was used to those kinds of games and Loki’s advances did nothing for her, instead she’d turn motherly and turned all events into some form of a learning curve.

“Look!”

Loki’s excited voice pulled her out of her thoughts and drew her attention back outside into the garden where Loki stood in a long green tunic and black bottoms.

He was grinning widely and his blue eyes sparkled with excitement as he held out his hand, which had a delicate butterfly resting on top.

Were he not mentally about five she would have admitted that this manifestation of Loki was remarkably handsome with his black hair complimenting his skin tone and eye colour, he was also tall and well built.

Although at the moment he was caked in mud from playing out in the garden.

She knew that by the time she was done with him, he would prove to be an intelligent young man and her chest ached knowing that in mere months she would have to let him go and live his new life.

A part of her dreaded what surprises this life would have in store for him, but she’d be watching over all the while as he grew up into the handsome man she was helping to shape him to be.

Selfishly she wanted to keep this manifestation all to herself, she didn’t want him to move on and find love, doomed to never remember the one who helped shape who he would be.

“Look!” He called again, elongating the word like the child he thought he was.

She let out a laugh and shook her head, “I saw it, sweetie, it’s very pretty.”

He only smiled and let out a small childish giggle at finally having her attention, a sound that was peculiar but endearing coming from someone who looked to be in his thirties.

“You have five more minutes before it’s time to wash up for food.”

Loki yelled back a cheerful; “Okay!” as she pushed away from the windowsill and walked to the kitchen, pushing away the sadness that had started to overcome her.

Chapter Text

Loki reached his teenaged mind far too quickly for her liking, meaning that soon he would reach the adult mind and would end up leaving her for another lifetime.

It was something that caused her heart to jolt.

Now that he was out of his admittedly endearing phase, he was a great conversationalist and she enjoyed their reading sessions together.

Repeatedly she had to remind herself not to get attached, not only because he was still mentally a teenager despite how he looked, but also because he would end up leaving her like all the others had.

That was her duty and she had to remember her place.

The night was proving to be a peaceful one as they sat in front of the fire on either end of the worn blue couch, a book in each of their hands and a comfortable silence sitting between them.

It was no surprise to her when Loki proved to be an advanced reader for his age, she’d estimated that he must have been at least three years ahead by the time he was mentally eight.

Now he was about sixteen and it was evident that, at times, the hormone spike in his brain was taking its toll, but he was doing wonders at keeping himself under control.

Loki had so far managed to keep his temper under control, even though it was common for people his age to fly off the handle over every little thing and to feel misunderstood over the simplest of situations, those were times that she didn’t miss.

It seemed that he was going to be very mature when he reached this age in his new life, something she looked forward to watching over.

She had high hopes for his rebirth and believed that he would go far, she wished that she could tell him more but knew that giving him any inkling to her knowledge of what happens next could completely ruin the build up they had managed thus far.

Selfishly, she wanted to keep him there to herself and refuse to share him with the others, but to what end she knew not what.

The thought of the impending loneliness drawing ever closer had started to keep her up at night, never before had she felt this unsettled about his leaving and the nearer it drew the more upset she found herself.

Days would slip by and she would barely register any of the hours, her feelings numb.

While he never said anything, Loki had noted her sudden shift in moods as he developed and grew, he’d try to cheer her up and she would smile and tell him she was perfectly fine but despite all her thanks and reassurances, he knew she was lying for his sake.

Even if he may not have known who he was supposed to be, he knew that he was going to be a master at telling what was and wasn’t a lie and despite her protests, Loki knew that there was a high chance of her sadness coming from the knowledge that soon he must leave.

It was during the moments of quiet contentment that he felt most relaxed, like in the moments they sat on either end of her seat and read.

He liked how her own temperament seemed to shift and she looked so peaceful, the way she’d smile as her eyes roamed over the pages or the little twitches her face did as she got engrossed in the varying emotions of whatever she was reading.

Loki wanted to see her smiling again and planned to devise an idea that would make her smile genuine and finally reach her eyes.

For the time being he kept to keeping her company when they weren’t in lessons, helping her bake or in the garden.

His favourite thing was going for long walks as she told him the history of the surrounding area while they walked along the edge of the high cliffs her home sat near the edge of.

He’d noted how she never seemed to mention her past, only the past of their environment and his curiosity grew, yet a deep part of him knew better than to ask.

Loki stole a glance towards the other end of the couch, where she sat with her head rested on her hand as her eyes drooped, the grip she had on the book lessening by the minute and threatening to drop it.

Though she didn’t physically appear much older than him, she was an old soul and didn’t have the energy that Loki did.

He set his own book to one side and got up, causing her to flinch a little and rub her sleep laden eyes before turning her attention to him with a tired smile.

“Sorry, I was dozing off.”

“I noticed,” he replied with his own gentle smile, “I was thinking that I could get us some tea and then we’ll call it a night.”

“That does sound like a wonderful idea,” she hummed.

“Then I shall make us some, try not to fall asleep.”

She rolled her eyes and he chuckled, turning to head into the kitchen.

It was hard to believe there barely a week ago he had been huffing and rolling his eyes like a nine-year-old stropping, all because she had asked him to clear his things away so that she could set out their dinner, which he decided he wasn’t hungry for until thirty minutes after it had been cleared away and he wanted a snack.

“You’re almost a man now, Loki,” she mumbled to herself, resting her head against her hand and closing her eyes again, hiding the build up of tears within them.

Chapter Text

Loki’s teen years jumped by and within a week and a half he was mentally an adult, caught up with his physical age and ready to move on.

The days were dwindling by faster and soon she would be left alone again, she tried to deny the pit in her stomach that was open like a gaping hole but that was proving too difficult.

Her appetite dwindled and her energy drained quicker, at times she found she didn’t want to socialise but Loki would encourage her to in the hopes of raising her spirits.

He’d taken to accompanying her on longer walks where they could converse and share thoughts, she smiled easily with him during these times and it seemed like they elevated her mood.

At least until they returned home, then she would go back to being withdrawn.

To begin with, Loki wasn’t entirely sure if it was a good idea to try and draw her out, just in case she was purposefully distancing herself from him, which was the conclusion he came to.

But even in the small house, which would feel cramped if only a single other person joined them, he felt lonely and sought after her company.

For selfish reasons, Loki would initiate conversation that she evidently didn’t want to indulge in but did out of politeness at his efforts.

He was watching her make their evening meal when an unignorable urge overtook him.

It wasn’t the first time he had felt it, that nagging feeling in the back of his head that made him want to be close to her, to hold her tightly and never let go.

Loki remembered late nights of hormone rushes where he’d been led in bed, his mind creating lewd images that led to him testing the waters of self-pleasure for what he knew to be the first time.

When he finally decided to act on his desire, her back was turned to him as she cut up vegetables for the broth she was making.

It appeared that she didn’t notice as he slowly made his way through the small kitchen, past the tall centre table they would eat at and stood directly behind her.

He found himself hesitating, his mind telling him that it was best if he stepped back before she noticed and if she did before he could act then it was best for him to pretend that he was there for an alternate reason.

Loki’s mind lost the battle as his body seemed to take over and he tentatively placed his hands on her hips, which caused her to let out a small yell of surprise and jump at the sudden contact.

She glanced over her shoulder and down at her left hip before tilting her head to look up at him, offering a smile.

“Can I help you?” She asked, turning her attention back to the celery sticks she was cutting up and dropping into the boiling beef broth to their right.

“No,” Loki hummed in response, letting his hands slide further around her waist, “I just got lonely.”

“Oh, that’s a fair enough point.”

Loki hunched over and rested his chin on her shoulder, watching as she skinned and diced up some other ingredients to add to the mixture that already smelled divine.

She felt her tension ease away as they stood like that, it was strange to her but she felt anew, like she never had before.

For the first time in as long as she could remember, she felt wanted, perhaps even needed in a way that was more than as a student and mentor.

There was something almost domestic about the situation, how comfortable their silence was despite the closeness being new to them both.

It felt somehow right.

The evening passed much in the same atmosphere.

They ate together as always, but the conversation that flowed was more light-hearted and somehow seemed a little flirtatious, almost like a married couple who would tease each other from across the table.

After that they cleaned up all the crockery, cutlery and counters, homemade food was a delicious luxury but the cleaning up part always seemed to take the longest but they made it fly by with more banter and smiles.

They spent the rest of the time reading, as typical, though both found it hard to concentrate on their books that night as they stole glances and shy laughs when one caught the other peeking.

Soon they had wordlessly moved to the middle of the couch and leant against each other, the contact seeming to make it easier to concentrate on their individual stories until the light brushing of fingers against arms, hips and thighs became a distraction in and of itself.

It astounded both of them how quickly it shifted.

How one minutes they were sat shoulder to shoulder, books in hand in front of a warm and crackling fire and the next their books were discarded, long forgotten on the floor as their lips met feverishly and their hands explored each other.

Beyond the stories she had read, she hadn’t indulged in anything that seemed to be considered romance and the thrill of their actions made her heart pound rapidly in her chest.

There was something almost surreal about what was happening.

The foreign feeling of kissing, lips locking desperately until they broke apart and they mocked on to kissing, nipping and sucking on sensitive skin.

Allowing another’s hands to roam over her, to grope and prod at her body experimentally was exciting and taught her sensations she’d never experienced before, the touch of another creating feelings that could never be self-inflicted.

Loki revelled in allowing her to strip him in return, his arousal making him partly impatient but his excitement at the situation at hand giving him that little spike of anticipation that made him wait.

Once they were both free of clothes, every piece removed and dropped carelessly on the floor beside the couch, their eyes roved over each other, taking in every bump, blemish and detail.

Her eyes lingered on his now fully exposed crotch and her adrenaline waned ever so slightly, the fear of it hurting springing to mind and causing her to hesitate.

Loki moved closer and gently placed his fingers under her chin, making her tip her head so that their eyes could meet.

As they stared at each other, a silent agreement passed between them and they closed the remaining gap between them.

That night by the fire was one she would never forget.

A memory for her that would linger and make her smile until a voice spoke up in the back of her head and remind her that Loki would never know of that night.

It was a beautiful and yet painful memory.

Her body tingled pleasantly when she thought of how he had taken her, of the intimacy and pleasure that they had shared together.

But her heart squeezed painfully when she remembered that by the time she had awoken the next morning, he had gone.

Chapter Text

I hadn’t wanted to see him.

All day I had hoped to keep myself distracted enough to not even think of him and for the most part it had succeeded, despite the awful images from last night in the hallway that would plague me from time to time.

These images would stir up a deep seated jealousy that I hated within myself and wanted to keep as hidden as possible from others around me.

Loki had every right to be happy and if he found happiness in the company of women that weren’t me then who was I to throw a fit and act as if I owned him?

I should have known that in the one moment I finally step away for my own company, for just a bit of solitude to mull things over, that he would show up.

“I was wondering when you were going to show up.”

I let out a long sigh to try and remain calm and step around him to my bedroom door, hoping beyond hope that I was hiding my emotions better than I felt I was.

“Please leave me alone, Loki, just for a little while.”

“Is something wrong?”

That frown of concern caused my heart to jolt and tense painfully in my chest, he was a good friend and deserved to know what was really wrong and yet telling him would put us in an awkward situation.

This was my problem and I resolved to having to deal with it myself.

“No, I’m fine, I just wish to be alone.”

Somehow I manage a weak smile that I should have guessed wouldn’t sate his curiosity, but I continued on none the less and opened my bedroom door.

Which he promptly pulled shut whilst stepping closer to me.

“I know there’s more.”

“Of course, I can’t lie to you, but it’s nothing to worry about.”

“You’re my friend, of course I’ll worry.”

As he spoke he managed to manoeuvre us so that his tall frame was stood in the doorframe and acted as a barricade to my room.

“I know and I’ll talk to you eventually, but right now I just wish to read.”

“We could read together.”

“I said I want to be alone,” I grit out, feeling my irritation rise.

“But we all don’t get what we want, do we?” He chuckled, flashing that charming smile he had when he was teasing.

A smile he had undoubtedly used to woo other women.

“Don’t you have other company to be keeping,” I snapped as my emotions got the better of me, something that I instantly regret and wish that I could take back.

“So you finally admit it?” He chuckled.

“Admit what?”

“What has been bothering you, why you’ve been avoiding me all day.”

I stare up at him for a second then groan softly and drop my head to stare at my feet, unable to meet his eyes without thinking of how they had roamed over another mere hours ago and how pathetic I was for getting so worked up and fumbling with my feelings.

“Are you jealous?”

My head snaps up in surprise and I’m shocked to see that he was smirking at me in amusement.

There was something about his smirk that tore at me further and rubbed me the wrong way, there seemed to be this airy playfulness behind it that didn’t gel at all with my current mood.

“Are you enjoying that thought?”

“Perhaps a little.”

“Then you’re a bigger ass than you look and I’m glad my emotional torment amuses you, now let me pass.”

I attempt to step around him and push him out of the way, only to have him manoeuvre us so that my back was against the wall and I was pinned between his arms.

“Loki, let m-“

“Did you not notice that she looked like you?” He interrupted.

“Excuse me?”

“My company, she looked like you.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, I wanted to make sure that you noticed,” Loki let out a huffed laugh and shook his head, “I was kind of hoping you’d confront us.”

“So you’re saying that you did that to get my attention?”

“I did,” he smiled gently, maybe even shyly, “why else would I do that so scandalously in the open? I was hoping that you’d notice the resemblance and maybe realise what I truly wanted, how I wished she was you.”

I stare at him for a moment, my brain working a mile a minute, my heart beating erratically and the mix of new emotions making me feel sick.

The look on his face was so sincere, for once there wasn’t a hint of mischief behind his blue eyes and that was the synching factor of it all.

“Then you’re also admitting to preferring to hurt me than actually talking to me,” I frown, ducking out from beneath his arm.

His face fell and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“What?”

“Because that’s exactly what you did, you went out of your way to make sure that I saw what happened, you picked someone because they reminded you of me and then came here acting cocky and as if my emotions are there to be played with so that you can finally get your precious wanted prize.”

The longer I talked the more I could feel my anger rising like bile in my throat, the sensation was unpleasant and once again tears started to blur my vision.

“I don’t know what’s worse, the fact that you think this is a normal thing to do or the fact that you expect people to accept and feel complimented by your flawed logic,” I continued, feeling my body begin to shake as adrenaline rushed through me.

“But I didn’t think tha-“

“That’s exactly the problem, you didn’t stop to think for one second about the consequences of what you were doing, my feelings came second to your bit of fun.”

“I thought that you’d find this flattering.”

“How is any of this flattering? Had you maybe used a magical clone of me I’d get it and may have even understood your logic, but that was just another woman.”

“But I went out of my way to set this all up thinking that you would notice how much she looked like you.”

“Strangely enough that didn’t cross my mind, instead all I saw was the friend I have developed feelings for pinning another woman to a wall.”

“A woman I didn’t even care for, she was just useful to me because she looked like you.”

“When I was right there!”

I felt as shocked as Loki looked, it was rare for me to raise my voice in anger let alone yell specifically at someone but his flippant nature and repeated defensiveness had gotten the better of me.

For an agonising moment silence lingers between us, we stand there staring at each other whilst mulling over our predicament.

Tears rolled down my cheeks which only furthered my frustration, I hadn’t wanted to cry in front of him after spending most of my day in a slump of hidden jealousy, rejection and anger.

The longer I lingered on everything the more hopeless it felt to continue going in this circle, it was more than clear that as of right now Loki wouldn’t, or perhaps even refused to, understand why what he did was warped and illogical.

It took all my resolve to finally step around him upon realising that no words would get through to him.

Sometimes it seemed that despite his intelligence, his need for messing with people took over in the most convoluted of ways.

Perhaps one day he’d look back and realise that whilst his intensions were completely for the benefit of us both, all he had succeeded in was pushing us further apart.

All these years we’d been close and secretly pining for each other in needless silence had boiled down to this moment.

And I had to be the one to walk away.

“Just a side note, Loki, most women don’t like seeing the man they’re romantically interested in rubbing up against another woman,” I glance him over and feel my face screw up in distaste, something I never imagined I would feel towards Loki, “and I am not playing this game.”

His distraught look made stepping into my room and closing the door that much harder, the clunk of the lock as it slipped into place felt like the symbol of this being over.

Chapter Text

Time passed slowly and painfully after what Loki had done.

It seemed that every time I closed my eyes I would see the two there, in a position I had never wanted to witness Loki in with another and his admission that he had wanted it to be me only made it hurt more.

I knew he was a man of strange logic, but I never imagined that my best friend would hurt me as he had.

There was no way that people around us didn’t notice our lack of communication, how I had distanced myself from him and yet no one seemed to ask why, which was probably for the best.

I didn’t have it in my heart to talk about what had happened, I just wanted to move on, which was proving hard during an extended stay in the one place that reminded me of him.

I wasn’t sure if Loki had spent any time trying to actively talk to me or if he too was avoiding me, but I had barely seen hide nor tail of him since the other night.

Thor stepped up to the plate and proved to be a valuable friend in my time of need.

He never openly said it, but I believed that Loki had told him what had happened, perhaps in the vain hopes that his brother would step up and talk to me about it and get me to consider things.

Instead, he opted to take me places and keep my mind distracted.

When he wasn’t too busy with his duties, Thor took it upon himself to take me off the palace grounds.

Sometimes we would go for long walks in the wilderness beyond the kingdom and other times he would take me to a festival or market day to witness the amazing atmosphere of Asgard’s people.

My personal favourite outing was a festival of lights.

The way that everyone in the village got together and held a spectacular show during the night was breathtaking.

Many stalls were set up, each with strings of different coloured lanterns and offering all kinds of extravagant goods to the visitors from outer realms who travelled to attend the joyous festival.

A parade started almost as soon as the light faded and night took over, the atmosphere exploding with joy and celebration as people joined in the dancing and singing through the streets until we reached the edges of the village that opened up to what could only be described as a gladiator’s arena of a stage.

The dancers leading parade moved towards the back of the built stage as revelers who joined in, including Thor and myself, moved to the seats where we would watch the play they had set up for the festivity.

They had chosen the most intricate designs in theme of the story that they wanted to tell through a play of sorts, using dance and lanterns designed as certain characters to tell the story, the light colours and patterns that they had selected were mesmerizing and the stage was extraordinarily decorated.

The people of the villages truly went all out in their annual traditions.

That year’s theme was the most outlandish stories from Asgard’s history, which repeatedly rose a laugh from the crowd as they tried to shy away from the sadder subjects.

Watching the show filled me with awe, it was a spectacle I was glad to have witnessed and the night was still young.

Once the show was over, Thor pulled me towards the stands which displayed the most mouthwatering foods and drinks available and ran alongside game stands with varying prizes that we tried our hardest to win.

We shared smiled and laughs and the most gorgeous of cakes that a local merchant could offer, all washed down with some of the strongest mead I had tried that almost instantly made my vision double.

The night faded soon after and the next thing I knew, I found myself being painfully awoken by two voices that were gradually beginning to rise in volume.

“What were you thinking?”

I grimaced at hearing Loki’s voice to close and curled in on myself, trying to ignore any part that he had within the world.

“I was merely showing her a good time, something she needed because you upset her.”

“By taking her out to get drunk?”

“That wasn’t my intention, that was merely a circumstance of our fun.”

“I bet it is, I bet it was really convenient for you too.”

“Brother, watch what you say,” Thor’s tone was dark and I could only imagine that glower he aimed at Loki.

Knowing Loki, his face was set in a harsh and judgmental scowl, his arms folded across his chest.

“What? You leave with her for a night, you both get intoxicated and you expect me to not believe that anything happened?”

“Nothing happened, we are just friends, I was perfectly sober and made sure that nothing happened.”

“And I should trust what you say?”

“For someone who proudly proclaims to be the God of Lies you’re not very good at telling when someone is telling the truth and you are in no place to question us, not after what you have done, you caused this.”

“You don’t think I know that?”

I slowly opened my eyes, wincing at the bright light that slithered in through the crack in the still drawn curtains.

My sight was bleary, but it wasn’t hard to make out Loki and Thor standing by the too white door, their distinctly coloured armour standing out against the harsh shade.

As subtly as I could, I rubbed at my eyes and looked over again, trying not to make it obvious that I was alert and watching them as best as I could, though my pounding head was proving to make concentrating visually difficult.

“Do you truly, Loki?” Thor asked, his tone almost cold.

“I do, I know I hurt her.”

“You more than hurt her, you betrayed her.”

“I know, Thor,” Loki snapped, his body stiffening as his jaw tensed, “I know that I not only threw away a wonderful friendship but that I also ruined a future for myself.”

“Then why did you do it? If you knew how she felt?”

“I don’t know, okay? I’m an idiot, is that what you want to hear?”

“No, of course I don’t,” Thor sighed, his own voice finally softening, “I just wanted the best for both of you.”

“And it seems that won’t be happening.”

The venom dripping from Loki’s voice caused my chest to tighten.

Being his best friend, I of course knew of his complicated feelings of self-worth and all the issues he would overcompensate for with forcing an exaggerated performance of arrogance.

It hurt to think how much this would be eating him up as well and I almost wanted to say that it was okay, that we could get past this, but the most rational side of me screamed that there was no reason for me to let myself feel bad about my decision.

He would only end up hurting me again if that was the logic he lived by.

“Did you truly come here to ask about last night?” Thor asked after a moment of silence.

“Partially.”

“The other reason?”

“She leaves today, I just wanted to say goodbye,” Loki said softly, his tone dipping.

“I know, but I don’t think it’s a good idea, I will pass on the message but perhaps it’s best you leave before she wakes up.”

Loki nodded slowly, his tongue running along his bottom lip as his face falls and he falters briefly before forcing himself to open the bedroom door.

As he opened the door, Loki's eyes flickered towards the bed and I know that he knows I've heard almost everything as for a flickering moment our eyes connect.

His face is one of nothing but regret and sorrow and I knew that he wanted to say something in protest and to force our interaction, but rather than argue with Thor he lowered his eyes from mine and left, letting the door fall shut behind him.

Chapter Text

I didn’t see Loki after that morning.

By the afternoon I was packed up and went back to my own realm, where I could be away from everything and nurse my broken heart.

For a time, I believed that it wasn’t going to be possible, that it would always hurt and I was doomed to live a life of uncertainty about whether putting my own feelings towards another was a good idea.

I tried not to let it show as I continued relationships with old friends and made new ones, but the nagging question of if they would hurt me further was always there in the back of my mind.

Months went past and gradually, at my own slow pace, I started to open up again with the people closest to me and embraced the feeling of trust that was growing between us.

It was the morning of my birthday that the letter arrived.

A maid was stood at my bedside, a welcoming smile on her face as she wished me a pleasant morning and held a tray in her hands.

I greeted her in kind, pushing myself up and leaning my back against the headboard of my bed just as she set the tray over my legs.

“Breakfast in bed? Someone is spoiling me.”

“Your parents wanted only the best,” she smiled, one that lit up her pretty face and shone in her hazel eyes.

“Wonderful,” I laughed, looking over the flawlessly set out food and drink.

On the right-hand side of the tray stood a letter, propped between the salt and the pepper shakers and beside that was a rectangular green box with a golden ribbon.

“What is this?” I asked, picking up the letter and looking it over, my heartbeat picking up rapidly as I saw the emblem on the back.

Standing out proud and almost black against the green wax was the infinity snake sigil, one that had come to be affiliated with Loki.

“It arrived yesterday, your parents asked that we placed it with your breakfast as a surprise.”

“Of course,” I nodded slowly, staring at it before glancing at her and smiling as warmly as I could, “thank you, you’re welcome to leave.”

She bowed and turned, quickly retreating and leaving me to the silence of my bedroom.

I waited until the door clicked shut then put all my attention on steadying my nerves, which had spiked drastically and started to make my fingers tremble.

It took a moment of steeling myself before I could even dare to unfold the letter and start to read, the familiarity of his handwriting instantly bringing in floods of emotion that I had hoped were past me by that point.

The message was simple and quick.

‘Happy Birthday, may your next year treat you well and I hope that you accept your gift.’

There was no signature, he knew that there didn’t have to be, it was impossible for me to not know who had written this.

Sighing, I look over the letter again with a solemn expression heavy on my face, worsening as my eyes trail from the page to the box resting beside the plate of delicious food that now turned my stomach.

Setting the letter to one side, I pick up the box and untie the golden ribbon, letting it fall over my lap.

Unclasping the front of the box, I lift the lid and am greeted by a long, silver necklace with two gems entwined around one another at the end, one black and one teal.

I let out a shuddering breath that I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.

There was no denying that the necklace was beautiful and held the typical refinery that I would expect of Loki, but the fact it came from him soured it ever so slightly, though that didn’t stop me from running my hands over the smooth, curved gems as the light twinkled off the chain.

Withdrawing my hand and closing the box, I set it to one side and stare at the wall opposite me, my hands now resting in my lap as I let my mind wander.

I knew what he was trying to do, this wasn’t only a birthday present, but a present to extend a branch and try to build bridges between us again.

This was a gift of regret, of hope and reconciliation.

Whether he meant it that way or not, it almost felt like a manipulative move and I hated thinking of him that way but giving his status it was no surprise that that thought arose.

A loud knock on the door tore me from my thoughts more abruptly than I had wanted, but the booming voice from the other side made the interruption more than welcome.

“I hope you are decent and ready to celebrate,” Thor called, faintly muffled by the door.

I laughed and shook my head, “I’m just about to eat, why don’t you come in and wait?”

Thor didn’t have to be asked twice and already started to open the door before I had even finished my sentence.

Seeing his beaming face made me return the smile, his perky mood being contagious, even when my eyes glanced over the green box I’d set to one side.

Thankfully, Thor proved to be a welcome distraction, which was no surprise, it was a talent that he seemed to excel at and there wasn’t a day of visiting that didn’t go by that wasn’t brightened by his presence.

He had decided to treat me to a long horse ride that ended in a picnic under a large tree, the sheet was set out and adorned with delicacies from both of our homes, presents and the most impressive cake that I had seen.

Typical Asgardian extravagance, it was a blessing and a curse.

We spent the afternoon sharing food, drinks and stories, much like we had the last night I had spent in Asgard.

The atmosphere was calm, light and a much needed distraction from all the duties I’d had to start upholding since my return home.

Eventually we had a slow ride back home, our stomach full to bursting and a silence sitting between us.

I used this time to make up my mind on something that had been present all day, there to haunt me until I made a final decision on where to go with it.

“Thor?” I asked gently, catching his attention.

“Yes?”

“Would you mind delivering something to Loki for me?”

His eyes softened and he gave me an understand smile, accompanied with a gentle nod.

“Of course.”

“Thank you.”

Once we got home, we unpacked, stabled the horses, tidied everything away and then wished each other a good night.

After getting ready for bed and making sure my door and windows were secure, I sat at my desk and lit a candle for some added aesthetic atmosphere, then I picked up my quill, dipped it in ink and turned my attention to the paper I had taken from the top drawer.

“I reply with this letter in courtesy of receiving your own, thank you for the well wishes on this day and the exquisite present you enclosed with it.
I am certain that it will go wonderfully with some of the dresses I own.”

I waited for the ink to dry and then folded it up and sealed it securely, ready to give to Thor in the morning before he returned home.

And that was how I continued a cordial correspondence with Loki.

Chapter Text

From that point on, every so often a letter would arrive, detailing life in Asgard and what I was missing, at times Thor would add his own section to it and say once again how he wished for me to visit.

Occasionally the letter would be accompanied with a present, typically just small things that he would spot and say made him think of me and I would be lying if I said that my stomach didn’t flip a little at the cuteness of it.

I would at times send him a present back if I saw something, but those times were rare and according to Thor, Loki was more than happy to merely receive a letter from me.

Months slipped past and I could feel my softness for Loki return and I could no longer deny the part of me that missed our friendship.

After four months of exchanging letters, I took it upon myself to ask Thor for advice upon his next visit.

He joined me in my library, which was nowhere near as big as Loki’s in Asgard, a table sat in the middle of the large and plush seats that faced the burning fire, the sound of crackling filling the room as we sipped on our retrospective drinks.

“So, you wanted to speak to me?”

“Yes,” I nodded slowly, licking any leftover liquid from my lips to give myself a quick pause to think, “it’s about Loki.”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” he chuckled, resting his tankard against the arm of the chair.

“It doesn’t?”

“No, you’ve only just started talking again after what happened, it’s no surprise that old feelings will stir up.”

“Well,” I sighed, shifting so that one of my legs was tucked underneath me, “I wouldn’t say old feelings, it’s more that I just miss being his friend.”

“That doesn’t surprise me.”

“I guess it wouldn’t to anyone, we were friends for years.”

“Since we were all children,” Thor nodded, smiling fondly at what I could only guess were memories that sprung up.

“Exactly.”

“And why did you want to talk to me about it?”

“Because I feel conflicted,” I admitted, running my fingers through my hair and gripping the strands.

I take another moment to brace myself, sipping my drink as my mouth starts to go dry.

“What he did is still thick in my head and I don’t think that’ll ever go away, but he was still a valuable friend to me.”

Thor nodded again, his eyes sympathetic.

“You worry that he’ll hurt you again?”

“I do, but I also think it’s time we met face to face and talked this over properly.”

I chewed on my lip and thought back to the letter I had received a few days earlier.

Loki’s birthday was coming up and as typical, they were planning on holding a party to celebrate and he had invited me to join the celebration.

This partially filled me with guilt as I hadn’t even thought of inviting Loki to mine, within good and fair reason, but had invited Thor.

Though I was certain that Loki understood and would hold no grudges.

“I think that would be a good idea,” Thor commented.

“You do? Why?”

“Because he misses you, what he did is perhaps inexcusable if you wish to continue a romantic relationship with him, but if you only want to be friends then all you can do is extend your branch a bit further and see if you can come to an amicable decision.”

I stared at Thor then laughed softly, my fingers drumming against my goblet.

“And you truly think it would be a good idea?”

“I do, I know Loki,” he rolled his eyes a little as if that fact alone was exasperating, “he isn’t good with his emotions sometimes and he’s too stubborn to admit what he’s done wrong without a bit of pushing.”

“So you believe that we stand a chance?”

“Possibly, I’d never say definitely as nothing is definite but you can at least try for friendship again.”

I stared at Thor for a moment and then nodded in agreement, smiling gratefully at him.

“For an apparent ‘big oaf’ you don’t half spill some words of wisdom.”

Thor chuckled again and shrugged, downing the rest of his drink.

“Don’t tell Loki that this big oaf managed to get this resolved faster than he could alone.”

“Alright, I promise,” I laughed.

Later that night I found myself as I had the night of my own birthday.

Sat at a desk with a blank sheet of paper, a candle and a million thoughts running through my mind.

Plucking the quill from its perch, I dipped it into the ink and let out a long steadying breath before setting the quill to paper, my hand lingering until finally the ink began to flow so that I couldn’t change my mind at the last minute.

‘Loki,
Over these last few months, I have enjoyed our interactions by letter and find myself eagerly awaiting the next reply.
I do believe that we could grow a friendship again, given time, but I cannot say for certain if we shall ever be close as we once were.
I appreciate your efforts and they are not without result, but my mind is set on my decisions and I do not take back how I acted over what you did.
You hurt me deeply and for that I don’t know if I will ever truly forgive you, but perhaps in time we can move past this obstacle and at least be better cordial with one another.
I shall take you up on the offer of attending the party being held for your birthday, but merely as a short staying guest.
I look forward to seeing you and returning the gesture of your gift to me.
All the best.’

I sat up straight and set my quill back down.

Staring at the paper before me, I couldn’t help but to read over the words I’d written over and over, tweaking the sentences to sound softer and more welcoming in my head.

Shaking my head, I folded up the paper and reached across the table to hold the stick of sealing wax over the lit candlewick I had burning on my desk and to snatch up the emblem stamp of my family crest.

There was a sense of finality as I dripped the wax over the closing folds and imprinted the emblem within it, ready to send off the next day.

Chapter Text

It was a devastating sight to behold, one he didn’t wish to witness again but also one he was unfortunately certain that he would.

This wasn’t the first time he’d found you in the middle of an attack or a bought of self harm, but it didn’t affect him any less to see you curled into yourself, trembling and crying whilst struggling to breath.

Loki’s heart broke each time he saw you like this, but he also knew that ultimately it was so hard to control that there was no blame or accusation in his thoughts of what happened.

He left you in your spot on the floor for a brief moment, grabbing a towel from the bathroom before returning to you and crouching in front of your hunched over and shuddering figure.

In pure silence, Loki gently pulled your cradled arm away from your chest and wrapped the towel around your wrist, applying enough pressure to ease any bleeding whilst also trying to cause the least amount of discomfort as he could whilst elevating your arm a little.

As he did this, his eyes flickered around the surrounding area in search of the knife you had used with the intent to make sure it was out of reach, upon not seeing it he kept a mental note to not let it slip his mind before putting all his attention back on you.

He slowly stood back up, keeping his back hunched, and urged you into standing with him. One of his hands remained on the towel whilst his other rested on the opposite shoulder and though his position proved to be a little uncomfortable, Loki never rushed you and let you move at your own pace.

Once you were both up and he could stand at his full height he examined you further to make sure there were no other injuries before leading you over to the bed.

The shortness of your breathing was his main focus now that your wrist was at least covered.

Loki climbed onto the bed and rested his back against the headboard, gently he led you to sit between his legs so that he could wrap one arm around your waist and rest your wrapped arm against his leg.

He pulled you against him and began to try and help you regulate your breathing despite your tears, which only made it harder to control.

You continuously tried to hiccup and pant out apologies to him, but each time he hushed you and repeated that you had to focus on breathing with him.

Deep breath in.

Hold.

Long breath out.

Once you had gotten into the rhythm he began to talk to you in a soothingly calm tone, his chest rumbling underneath your head as he spoke.

He created the scene that would happen once you had gotten your breathing under control, he told you of how he would take you on a slow stroll through the gardens after your arm had been patched up properly.

When he noticed how your breathing seemed to have eased into a steadier and less jittered pattern, Loki began to ask you questions about what you’d like to see during your walk.

He listened patiently as you began to speak in a slightly laboured tone, whilst you were distracted he carefully unfolded the towel to assess the damage to your wrist.

Thankfully it seemed they were mostly superficial and hadn’t gone too deep, the slashes had heavy bleeding but should heal relatively quickly as long as they weren’t tampered with.

Loki recovered your arm and rested his head on top of yours, continuing to ask leading questions in order to keep you distracted and hopefully calm.

Never would he ask you why or push you into explaining yourself, you would tell him in your own time if you ever felt like it.

He knew that you’d both be there for a while, but if it meant helping you when you needed it then he had all the time in the world.

Chapter Text

Saemneir wrung his hands together and let out a long breath, one that he hadn’t even realised that he had been holding.

Today was the day he was to make introductions to his parents for the first time, to say he was nervous would have been an understatement.

He was terrified.

He flinched as a warm hand clasped over his own cold one and gave it a little squeeze, it wasn’t enough to fully calm him but it did help to remind him that he wasn’t doing this alone.

“Relax,” a voice spoke softly beside him, an obvious tone of amusement laced in.

“I’m trying,” Saemneir sighed, running a hand through his dark hair, “I’m just worried about what they’ll say.”

“From what you’ve told me, I can only hazard a guess that they won’t care as long as you are happy.”

Saemneir looked at Kenaz and gave him the best smile he could muster despite the way his heart hammered in his chest, he hoped it portrayed the confidence he wasn’t feeling.

“They’ve always been so supportive, I don’t know why this is getting to me so much,” he sighed, turning Kenaz’s hand around to lace their fingers.

“I don’t know either, they’ll love me,” he grinned with a winning smile, “especially your dad, I mean my name is his old rune isn’t it?”

Saemneir laughed at his boyfriend’s confidence, “You have a point, in theory at least, but that was possibly many lives ago.”

“He’s the one you’re most worried about, aren’t you?”

The sincere look into Kenaz’s silver eyes made his heart skip a beat and butterflies flutter in his stomach, internally he gushed at the way he knew exactly what Saem was thinking or feeling, but out loud he chuckled out a:

“I hate you for being right all the time.”

He only grinned wider and gave a playful little chuckle of his own, “You’re just so readable, but come on, Loki would be the last one I’d worry about.”

Saemneir arched an eyebrow and looked at Kenaz quizzically, “Why?”

“This is the man who, in one life, birthed an eight legged horse.”

“Come on,” he groaned in reply whilst dropping his head back against the cushion of the carriage he was sat in, “can we not talk about one of my dad’s many lives? I think even he wants to forget that.”

“Exactly my point,” Kenaz shrugged, “what’s worse? Your past self being a mother to a spider-horse or your son dating another man?”

Saemneir sighed loudly and closed his eyes, once again squeezing their hands tightly together.

“Stop having points.”

“Only when you stop being a silly half-Jotun.”

He opened his eyes again and tilted his head to look at the male beside him, an uncontrollable smile spreading across his lips as he was met with the loving gaze of the Vanir beside him.

They shared a quick kiss as the carriage gradually slowed down to a stop outside the palace.

Saemneir pulled away and looked out of the window towards the front doors at the top of the tall staircase, even from the bottom he could see the large wooden doors opening and figures moving out to welcome them.

His heart once again jumped into his throat and began to beat rapidly.

Kenaz on the other hand had already opened the door on his side and was in the process of hopping out with an eager spring in his step.

“Come on, Saem,” he called from outside.

Saemneir felt his already cold blood freezing a little more as he could see his mother and father approaching the top of the staircase, obviously staring down at them despite him not being able to see their faces clearly.

Closing his eyes, he let out a shuddered breath and silently said a prayer.

“Please, accept us.”

Chapter Text

A thick silence sat in the hall as the four faced each other.

Saemneir and Kenaz sat on one side, facing his mother and father.

His mother was sat there with a warm smile, taking small sips from her tea every once in a while, as his father sat there, seemingly staring at the two as if he was uncertain on what to say.

He shifted awkwardly in his seat and glanced towards Kenaz, who was eagerly biting into one of the many cakes that had been supplied upon their entry.

A bit of cream caught on the corner of his lips and Saemneir laughed, leaning in to wipe it away with his finger which earned a sheepish smile from Kenaz and a nervous laugh.

“Excuse my manners,” Kenaz spoke, covering his mouth with his hand as he chewed the small bits that had caught in his mouth, “but your cakes are to die for.”

“We do have a splendid baker among our staff,” Saemneir’s mother replied.

“One of the many things your son didn’t tell me, had I known I’d have brought a basket to fill for when we leave.”

They shared a laugh and continued talking between themselves, his mother stating that she could set them up with a hamper of goods for their long journey back to the academy.

As they spoke, Saemneir found himself staring at the cup that sat, still mostly full, in front of him, anything to avoid his father’s eyes as they pierced into him.

Finally, his father broke the silence.

“I didn’t realise the one you had mentioned in your letters home was a-”

“Man?” Saemneir cut him off, not wanting to hear a possible tone of contempt coming from the father he loved so dearly.

“Dökkálfar,” he continued, his tone even.

“Oh.”

Kenaz laughed and patting Saem’s arm comfortingly, shaking his head in good nature.

He had evidently finished talking to his mother just in time to hear their very brief conversation, which hadn’t helped Saemneir decipher how his father was feeling.

“Always jumping ahead of yourself,” he smiled widely before turning his attention to the two opposite them, “yes, I am indeed a rare breed of dark elf and Vanir.”

“That must be interesting for you.”

Saemneir’s eyes flitted to his mother, who was still smiling as warmly as ever at the silver haired man beside him.

“In all honesty, ma’am, it’s no different than I imagine being Asgardian is,” Kenaz shrugged, “I just happen to have an amazing talent for future guessing and fertility.”

“You’d be astounded how many don’t agree with those sentiments,” his father offered, his eyes now trained on Kenaz.

For some reason, this caused Saemneir’s heartrate to spike uncomfortably and he reached for his boyfriend’s hand for comfort.

“There is that,” Kenaz answered with a nod while he offered his hand to Saemneir, obviously spotting his need for comfort from the corner of his eye, “but I’m certain we’ll all get along as long as I don’t accidentally impregnate your boy here.”

Saemneir felt himself tense and tightly squeezed the hand that was held tightly within his, his blue eyes widening as he looked towards the dark elf, astounded that he had thought to go that far.

Kenaz, on the other hand, was smiling confidently at his parents and didn’t seem to notice that uncomfortable tension that has arisen on his side of the table, either that or he chose to ignore it.

To Saemneir’s surprise, his father began to chuckle and his signature glint shone in his eyes as he looked across the table.

“It would be quite the feat if you did,” his father replied, taking a sip from his cup before setting it back down, “so much so that if you managed it, I’d officiate a wedding on the day of the announcement.”

Saemneir’s eyes widened further while Kenaz roared out a laugh and banged his hand on the table.

“That almost sounds like a challenge, sir.”

“I wouldn’t dare, I’m not quite ready to be a grandfather yet and please, call me Loki.”

“Alright then, Loki, challenge accepted.”

As sparkling silver eyes met anxious blue ones, Saemneir finally relaxed and let the tension dissipate from his body.

“How long do you plan on staying?” His mother asked, looking at them curiously.

“We weren’t sure initially, but would two weeks be okay?” He replied.

His father’s eyebrow furrowed as he regarded his son.

“That’s perfectly fine, but why weren’t you sure?”

Saemneir shifted in his seat and licked his bottom lip nervously, now that the situation had been settled and he knew his parent’s thoughts about his sexuality, he felt a little foolish for worrying over something he had kind of known they wouldn’t have cared about all along.

“It’s stupid,” he sighed, rubbing at his neck a little, “but I was worried that you guys would freak out about me dating him.”

“You’re right, that is stupid, why would you think who you’re dating would matter?”

“I’ve heard terrible stories, father, that’s all.”

“You should know us better than to think we would judge you for something beyond control, we just want you to be happy.”

“I know,” he smiled gratefully, though his cheeks flared up a little, “but I couldn’t help it.”

“You do over worry, you get it from your mother.”

Saemneir laughed as his mother shot his father a look at the comment, then she stood and dusted off crumbs from her dress.

“Let’s say we show Kenaz around before I end up murdering Loki,” she smiled.

“I would appreciate not dying, so I’m all up for that.”

Kenaz laughed and looked at Saemneir, his smile as wide as ever as he stood up.

“I am going to love being part of this family.”

Chapter Text

Night was nearing fast, faster than you had anticipated.

Mentally you cursed yourself whilst scanning the darkening forest for any sign of light that could be breaking through from amongst the trees, but you saw nothing beyond dark greens and browns.

You had known that coming towards the forest was foolish, even during the brightest of days, yet something had been calling to you all week from the edge of the trees and you finally gave in as the whispering seemed to get more intense with each day.

There had been stories about this forest and the inhabitants within.

Many would tell of werewolves who lived in the darkness, others told stories about witches who lured children in to either curse or devour them.

Your favourite one had been the story of the Ankou.

A tale about a prince with an affinity for hunting who had been doing just that within the forest, this night he had his eyes set on a white stag when he stumbled upon another being, one shrouded in a dark robe atop a large black horse.

This being challenged the prince, the one who killed the stag first would keep the meat and have control over the loser’s fate.

The arrogant prince accepted the conditions and they set off to catch the white stag, almost instantaneously the prince knew that he was beat as the shrouded figure took the lead in no time at a phenomenal speed.

The shrouded figure killed the animal and decided that the fate of the cruel prince was to take over from him as the figure of Death with the words: “You may have the stag and all the dead of the world.”

You never grew tired of that story despite the many times you had heard it whilst growing up, it was one of those tales that would surely stick with you for years still to come and one you were certain you would regale your children with.

During your musing, you had failed to notice that the trees had started to thin and soon you found yourself stepping into a large clearing.

The sun beat down from the sky and warmed the luscious green grass, flowers bloomed in beautiful colours and bushes held berries that would surely be safe to eat.

There was only one thing that stood out amongst the masses of nature.

Sat amongst the trees in a large clearing was what appeared to be a black carriage of sorts.

You frowned at the peculiarity and stopped walking, staring towards it with hesitation and unease.

There didn’t appear to be any breaks within the tree line that would explain how a carriage, even one as small as this, had managed to settle within that particular spot and there didn’t seem to be anybody around.

Your heart began to beat faster as you remembered details of the fable you had just been thinking about.

The carriage of the Ankou is said to be small and black and acted as a hearse, a thought which froze your blood, but not as much as the knowledge that there could also be two other ghostly figures lurking about aside from the Ankou.

You were screaming internally to go back the way you had come, to try and find the passage you had entered through and never look back, but you knew that you had been walking for hours and backtracking previously had proven to only get you lost further.

There was also a welcoming warmth that came from the lingering sun, although the light was fading this particular spot within the forest felt warmer and more comforting than anything you could remember previously.

Somehow leaving this radiating feeling of ease to step back into a cold forest and get lost further was a worse fate than being near this strange carriage, so you decided to stay and investigate a little further.

From where you stood it was easy to see that the carriage was in good condition so it either wasn’t abandoned or it had been but only for a short while.

As you stepped closer, a gust of wind blew up out of nowhere and chilled you once more before dying down just as quickly.

“So much for that warmth,” you murmured to yourself.

Upon closer inspected of the carriage, you noted that it did have a humble but rickety appearance and there were no spectral beings around to deter stragglers from going near it.

Although inside you were screaming at yourself to get away, you found your body was too exhausted to go any further and decided that just a small rest would do you some good.

Stepping back away from the carriage, though being sure to keep an eye on it as you moved, you moved towards the larger of the rocks and slumped against it.

The tiredness overcame you so suddenly that to say it took you by surprise would be an understatement, you knew that you had been walking for a while but this was ridiculous.

As you rested back against the rock and closed your eyes you barely noticed yourself dozing off, the heaviness of your eyelids winning over the lack of comfort in your current position and the jaggedness of the stone.
An undeterminable amount of time passed before you were roused from your light slumber, the sound of twigs being snapped, leaves rustling and husky talking pulling you from a fretful rest.

As your eyes adjust through the sleep induced blur, you notice a figure shrouded in black leading two horses towards the carriage with a lantern held tightly in one hand.

You think for a moment that you can hear him talking to himself before realising that perhaps he was talking to the animals, either way his grumblings grew louder the closer he got.

At first it seemed as though you had gone unnoticed as he made sure the horses were settled near the carriage then took a seat on the back of it, you would have deduced that he would have been resting for the night if you weren’t so sure that you were staring at an Ankou who you were more than certain didn’t sleep.

“Are you going to sit there and stare or are you planning to move sometime?”

It took a brief moment for your brain to catch up and realise that he was talking to you, but once you had finally noticed you felt your heart beginning to speed up.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to stare,” you replied whilst hastily getting to your feet.

“I should think not, it is incredibly rude after all.”

“And I have already apologised,” you rolled your eyes a little and began approaching him, the closer you got the more you realised that it wasn’t just the dark playing with your mind, you genuinely were seeing someone shrouded in a dark cloak.

Your breath hitched in your throat causing him to finally turn towards you.

“What is it?”

“You’re the Ankou.”

“Ah, so you have heard of me.”

You nodded enthusiastically as he stood from his place and walked towards you, stopping mere feet ahead of you he stared down from beneath his black hood and said nothing further.

In return, you could only stare up at him in complete shock of coming face to face with a being of your childhood, you felt giddy but apprehensive.

“Well then,” he finally spoke, breaking the silence, “I must also apologise.”

“For what?” You stared at him with a vaguely confused frown before realisation slowly began to dawn on you. “Are you telling me that I’m already dead?”

You watched as he reached up and pushed his hood back, a moment of silence falling between you both as you stared in awe at what lay beneath the cover.

After all the depictions of Death that you had heard, you had expected to see a fleshless skull grinning out at you with the perfect white of the bone contrasting against the black of the cloak.

Instead you were greeted by a handsome man with sad blue eyes and long black hair that brought out just how pale his skin was.

“To see my face is to bring your death,” he muttered by way of answer in a sombre and defeated tone.

“When the Ankou comes he does not leave empty handed,” you quoted dully, remembering the story from the many years of hearing it as you grew up, “and there is no one here but myself and you.”

He merely gave a small nod, which sent you into a small panic.

“This can’t be happening.”

“But I’m afraid it is, many don’t realise until it’s too late and then I must carry out my duty.”

“And now you’re here to collect me?” You took note of how your voice raised bit by bit.

“If that is the case, I merely go where I am needed and you are the first I have come across in a long time out here, it seems a shame but almost certain that it must be you.”

You shook your head and looked around desperately, hoping beyond hope that this was somehow a trick, an illusion or joke.

Your chest began to heave as your breathing became rapid as thoughts of never seeing your loved ones again crossed your mind, the anguish they would feel over your passing began to weigh heavily on your heart and tears pricked as your eyes.

Curses began to spill pass your lips and your body was unable to remain still, you paced back and forth in front of him as he watched you in silence which only worsened the situation.

There had been a reason that you had gone into the forest in the first place, something had been calling to you for days and you had finally answered it only to end up unable to return home.

“This is your fault!” You finally decided, glaring towards the Ankou with a steel look to accompany your accusation, “if you hadn’t been calling to me, I wou-“

“Calling to you?” He gave you a confused look then slowly shook his head, “I’m sorry but I didn’t do any such thing, I merely knew that I had to come here to collect someone.”

“You truly didn’t know?”

“It could have been an animal for all I knew.”

“You’re telling me that you didn’t know it was a human until I arrived?”

He nodded his head, still holding that sombre expression.

“You’re lying!”

“And what reason would I have for that? You’re already dead.”

You froze to the spot whilst staring up at him with clenched fists, his tone not meeting the argument you wanted to start with him in your denial-ridden anger.

He remained calm throughout the entire exchange, his face occasionally shifting from sadness to pity back to sadness, but the years of doing this job had taught him that emotions were all but useless in these situations.

The tears pricking in your eyes didn’t faze him, but something about you pulled at him in a way he hadn’t felt for a long time.

He continued letting you have your moment whilst getting lost in his own thoughts of what to do with you, he was supposed to lead you to your next destination and yet he felt almost reluctant to.

It had been so long since he had had company for more than a few seconds and most of the dead didn’t want to linger about, of course he’d had occasions of denial and anger but it was rare that he came across someone who hadn’t realised they had died.

He knew part of the story in certain regions was that the Ankou would be accompanied by two spirits who walked beside him during his duties, this was something he had never put into practice and was perhaps a reason why he felt so lonely.

With a gentle sigh he rested his hand on your shoulder and managed to muster up a faint smile.

“My name is Loki,” he formally introduced, still clinging to his human name, “and I wish to offer you a place as one of the spectres by my side.”

“What?” You asked, feeling your face twist in confusion.

“I wish for you to accompany me, moving you on so soon seems like a bad idea with how worked up you are.”

“I see,” you couldn’t help but smile a little at the offer and let out a small huffed laugh, “I’m not sure I understand why they call you cruel.”

“Cruel?”

The look on his face tore you up inside, it reminded you of a child uncertain of why they were in trouble.

“That’s what the stories say,” you nodded a little, chewing on your lip, “you were a cruel prince who enjoy hunting and killing.”

Loki let out a scoff and rolled his eyes, the first strong emotion he had shown since your meeting making an appearance in distaste.

“Lies, I was merely trying to show my father that I was worthy of his pride, I should have known that that would be in vain.”

You reached up and placed a hand on his that was still resting on your shoulder, giving it a small squeeze to lure him away from his negative thoughts.

“Let’s not delve into that,” you said softly, coaxing him out of his thoughts, “I believe we have other souls to collect.”

You couldn’t really believe that you had said it, mere minutes ago you had been distraught by your death and now you were willing to follow a mythical being to who knows where.

For all you knew you could have been following someone spinning an elaborate tale in order to kidnap people, though you didn’t feel that this was a hoax.

Loki felt too real and seemed too invested for this to be a trick, even of the grandest scheme.

So you went with him, passing through the forest as if nothing were an obstacle, you both talking about your past selves and leaning more about the person you were to work with.

At one point during your conversation, as you glanced ever so slightly to your right, you could have sworn that you saw yourself lying amongst the trees.

Chapter Text

He was startled awake by a terrified yell coming from the other room.

For a moment, Loki had completely forgotten that he had ordered for a new bedroom to be built onto his own, one for his son to stay in whenever he had custody of him for the day.

Although they hadn’t fully sorted things out between them, Loki was more than happy that she had agreed to let him share custody over their son.

To spoil him rotten like the princeling deserved after all the years they had missed together.

He didn’t however miss the lie-ins he could have when not looking after Saemneir.

The boy had a habit of waking up as hours that even the early rising God found unholy, though he always put that down to him having to get up when his mother had to prepare for her palace duties.

Unlike him, she didn’t have the luxury of getting up later on in the day should she wish to and Loki accepted this, but that didn’t mean that having his son waking him up was anymore pleasant.

Though today was different.

The yelling and crying from the other room was more from terror than anything playful, a heart wrenching sound that put him instantly on edge and made him uncharacteristically jump into action without thinking anything through first.

He burst into the joined room, barefoot, messy haired, heart racing and full of an adrenaline rush that made him feel immediately prepared to attack anyone threatening his son.

His eyes roamed the room in search of anything that posed a threat, his eyebrows furrowing when he found nothing but his son sat up in bed.

His son who was staring at his pale blue hands in horror as tears streamed down his cheeks from his faded red eyes.

“Saem?” He asked carefully, stepping further into the room and moving to the bed whilst still keeping an eye out for any intruders.

The boy only hiccupped and sniffled, continuing in his wailing.

“What’s the matter?” He continued gently, sitting down on the edge of the bed as his adrenaline finally started to die down and be replaced by paternal concern.

Young Lokison couldn’t reply, each time he tried it came out as a garbled version of the word ‘blue’ as he held his hands towards his father.

“Is this why?” Loki asked, clasping his son’s hands in his own.

Saemneir nodded, another sniffle adding to the sombre moment.

For a moment, Loki couldn’t help but to wonder why Saemneir had never shifted even a little in the years that he had been alive, though it soon dawned on him that he himself had had never shifted until many ages after his own son and he pushed the questioning thoughts away.

Never once in all of his years of not knowing his true origins had he accidentally revealed his true self, something that seemed like a miracle now that he thought about it.

However, part of him couldn’t help but wonder if it would have been easier to accept his true origins had he known from an early age.

Loki let out a deep sigh and pulled his son onto his lap, sliding his arms underneath the young boy’s so he could cradle Saemneir’s significantly smaller hands in his own large ones.

“Watch,” he mumbled gently into the boy’s ear.

Saemneir watched as a deeper blue hue than his own slowly ran out of his father’s long green sleeves to envelope his hands.

The contrast was astounding to Loki, seeing that Saem’s skin appeared to be closer to a faint blue that covered his natural skin tone as opposed to the blue taking over the original colour completely, but he rationalised that that also explained why his son’s eyes weren’t as deep a red as his own.

Despite the more faded appearance of the colours, the Jotun scar-like markings still appeared on the boy’s body and marked him as an official half-Frost Giant.

“See?” Loki finally spoke again, “you are just like me.”

Saemneir remained silent, his eyes trailing over the markings on his father’s skin.

His small fingers moved to pull Loki’s sleeve up further so he could examine more of the markings, his tears slowing down and his breathing becoming more even, though still broken by the occasional hiccup.

“I know it frightened you, but there is nothing to worry about.”

Loki had always feared his children taking after him, worrying that people would be relentlessly cruel upon learning of their true heritage from his side of the family and perhaps going as far as to shun the child.

“You are still as perfect as the day I learned that you are mine.”

He had also feared his own reaction, unsure of what he would think upon seeing his own flesh and blood looking like something he had been brought up to believe were an enemy never to be trusted.

“Your mother and father love you and will always love you.”

However, seeing his son now somehow made his heart clench in a way that, whilst uncomfortable, didn’t upset him as emotionally as he initially believed it would during his deepest hours of self loathing.

“Others may not understand, but you must know that they don’t have to.”

If anything, it made his love for his son grow further and made him regret even more that he hadn’t been there from the beginning.

“Some may even call you a monster, don’t listen to them.”

He continued to speak words of love and encouragement to Saemneir, happy to see him calming down and becoming more comfortable in his new skin now that his tears had subsided and he’d taken to leaning back against his father’s chest, his eyes slowly beginning to droop once again.

“All that matters is that you become the best Lokison that you can be.”

Loki carefully moved to lie them both down on the bed, the boy’s head tucked carefully under his chin as he felt his own eyes beginning to grow heavy as well and soon both were fast asleep, neither of them hiding their Jotun genes.

Chapter Text

“I can’t believe it, you of all people!”

Loki sighed faintly and closed his eyes, taking another deep breath.

He had seen this coming and was prepared for it, but that never made reality any easier.

“You said you loved me how I am!”

“And I do,” he replied calmly.

“Then why are you doing this to me?”

“Because I worry about you,” he frowned and stepped towards you, placing his hands on the top of your arms and carefully leading you to sit down beside him on the nearest seat.

“There is nothing to worry about, Loki.”

“Yes, there is and you are going to hate me for saying these things to begin with but once you take the next steps you’ll see that it was the right thing.”

You felt tears welling up in your eyes and your throat tightened, you shook your head and took a shaky breath in.

“I’m fine, I don’t need it.”

“You aren’t,” he replied softly, “you were but then you slipped back into it, I don’t know what triggered this again but you were doing so well.”

“Don’t make me do this,” you whispered, shaking your head.

“I’m not, I can’t make you do anything, I just don’t want to see you wasting in front of me again.”

You looked at him through blurry eyes, the look of concern on his face pulling at you harshly and forcing a sob out of you.

You brought your hands up to your face to cover it, Loki noticed how badly they were shaking but he couldn’t tell if it was from the emotions running through you or from malnutrition.

He reached his hand out and began to soothingly stroke your hair, the wiry strands feeling course and brittle beneath his fingers.

His eyes scanned over you and he felt a familiar sorrow building up in him, seeing the bones that had previously been better hidden beginning to protrude again causing him to worry.

Loki had waited a short while before deciding that he needed to say something, he had hoped that it was a phase that you had slipped into again but realised soon on that you were back in your downward spiral.

The lying returned, you’d consistently tell him you’d eaten more than you had and he’d noticed your picking at meals.

Part of him had been tempted to hide the scales in the kitchen, he’d read online about how it was common for them to be used as a way to control food portions, but in the end he’d decided that perhaps that would lead to an explosion of emotion that would only make things worse in the long term.

It was when the over exercising kicked in again that he felt the need to step in before it went too far once again.

He’d supported you once and he was willing to do it all over again.

“I love you and I will be here for every step you need for as long as it takes and given my life span that’s a large promise.”

You couldn’t help but laugh a little as he chuckled ever so quietly, as if he was scared that it would ruin the affect of what he was aiming for.

“You promise you’ll be there?” You finally asked, wiping at your eyes.

“Of course, just like last time.”

You nodded slowly and stared at him, wallowing in the look of love and determination he held just for you.

It wasn’t enough to spur things forward immediately, you still believed that you were fine, if not still pushing for a goal you’d set yourself, but Loki wasn’t the type to intervene unless he had real concerns.

“I’ll think about it,” you mumbled, having to look away.

“That is all I can ask right now.”

Chapter Text

You stared out at the horizon from your spot on the hill, watching as lights flickered on whilst others turned off as others began or ended their day.

Your arms were wrapped around knees that were pulled to your chest, your fingers digging in to the fabric of your

Loki sat beside you, his eyes seemed more transfixed on the grass than the sun beginning to rise in the distance.

“Does it hurt?” You asked, breaking the unbearable silence between you both.

“Does what hurt?”

“When you leave, does it hurt?”

A sombre look flashes through Loki’s eyes, though his mouth stays pressed into a thin line.

It was always something you admired about the man, even if his face gave nothing away his eyes were some of the most expressive you had ever seen.

“No, I don’t feel a thing.”

You nodded slowly, “Good.”

Loki finally looked at you, knowing where this was leading.

The same place it did every time he had to leave you sitting here alone on this hill in your own grief.

Your chest heaved and your eyes stung as the usual tears began to build, you knew what you were doing wasn’t good for you or your mental health and yet you couldn’t help yourself.

Family and friends had begun to grow concerned, believing that you were using a mirage of the man you loved to cope with your grief as opposed to finding a way to push forward and move on.

The build up of emotions eventually became to much, after months of holding in the hate, anger, denial of events and the biggest truth about his visits you finally found yourself blurting it out;

“It hurts me that I can never be with you like we used to be, still being able to see you is a blessing but sometimes I wonder if it just makes things worse.”

Loki frowned and reached his hand out, wanting to run his fingers through your hair as he once had done.

“But I need to see you.”

From the corner of your tear blurred eyes you could see that he was fading once against as the sun rose higher, soon he’d be nothing but a barely there visage before disappearing once again.

“Perhaps you should stop coming here,” he murmured, so quietly that you weren’t sure if he had indeed said anything. “Maybe I should stop visiting you.”

“I can’t do that, don’t you dare do that to me”

“You have to accept it one day.”

“One day, but not today.”

You both sat in silence, watching as the sun continued to rise and thus bring along with it the end of that nights visit.

“It hurts,” you admitted, a small hiccup in your sentence, “it hurts that I never got to say goodbye.”

“I know, I’m sorry.”

“Please don’t, just promise me you’ll come back again.”

“Of course,” he nodded, attempting to smile but failing miserably, “for as long as you need me to.”

The sun begun to shine across the grass by your feet and gradually cast a shadow behind you, Loki looked towards the horizon with a saddened frown and turned his head away as if not seeing the sun would deny its existence and lead to him not having to go.

You stared as he finally faded into nothingness once again, much like every other night he would visit you, for a brief moment there was nothing to hint that he had ever been there aside from a faint green mist.

Sat in his place once again was the gravestone that you had put up for him.

It had taken up most of your month’s wages, but you needed it more than you cared to admit in your steps of grief and no one had managed to talk you out of buying it.

A sob painfully wretched itself from your throat and you once again found yourself leaning against the cold stone, your arms wrapped around the only thing still linking you both together, much like you had many other early mornings.

Much like you would continue to do.

Chapter Text

The music pumped through the room and added to the cheery energy from everyone attending the 24/7 party, the fun that never ends until the Grandmaster has his say so.

Which he hadn’t for a fair time.

You were happily reclined back on one of the large seats, a drink in your hand as you bounced merrily along to the current song that felt like it went on for an eternity.

The colourful sweet liquid swished inside the glass and threatened to spill over the edge with each movement, yet your good mood pushed past any concerns for making a mess.

Truth be told, you weren’t sure why you were in such a good mood but you weren’t about to let anything dampen it just yet, which is something that typically happened on a day where you were bouncy from the point of waking up.

Usually the morning would go swimmingly, but by midday something would come along and sour your mood for the rest of the day.

This time you’d managed to make it to late afternoon without any hassles, so you hoped that this was going to last for just a few hours before you slinked back to your room.

You continued to people watch and admire the outfits of those walking past you, you never tired of the various shapes and sizes of the beings living on Sakaar and found that you could watch them for hours on end.

Whilst admiring the people around you, you soon found yourself making up lyrics to the tune you were currently listening to and got lost in your own world of creativity and being a creeper.

The seat beside you bounced lightly and drew your attention to your right, where Loki had just flopped down whilst letting out a heavy sigh as he tilted his head back and closed his eyes.

“Hey, there’s my pretty boy,” you grinned at him, swirling your drink.

“I’m older than you, stop calling me ‘boy’,” he asked in a worn tone.

You scoffed and rolled your eyes good naturedly, “Only by thirty years.”

“Still older.”

Loki let out another drawn out sigh whilst you sipped on your drink, looking at him from the corner of your eyes.

“Soooo.”

“You have one guess,” he breathed, finally opening his eyes and tilting his head to look at you.

“Oh, The Grandmaster called for you, didn’t he?”

“It seems you didn’t even need one.”

“It’s no surprise considering his little crush on you.”

“He does not have a crush on me,” Loki practically growled, sitting up straight only to hunch forward with his forearms resting on his thighs, his head hung low.

“I would beg to differ.”

“And no one asked for you opinion.”

“Perhaps not,” you shrugged, setting you glass down before resting one leg over the other and leaning back in the seat to rest your arms across the top, “but it’s definitely quite the advantage you have there.”

“I know, that doesn’t mean that his looks don’t make me a little uncomfortable.”

“Which is nothing for the God of Mischief and Lies, surely.”

“Of course it isn’t, doesn’t make it any less tiring when I have to constantly fight off his advances.”

Your eyebrows raised and an involuntary laugh escaped you.

“He’s actually tried something? That sly dog,” you nodded in approval.

“It’s beginning to get tiring,” Loki groaned, rubbing his face.

“Then why don’t you just sleep with him and have it be over and done with?”

Loki lifted his head and practically glared at you, causing you to laugh at his sour expression.

“Come on, you know how many people would pay to be in your position?”

“And I can’t deny that it’s a good one to be in, very beneficial for my cause but I don’t want to push it that far unless completely needed.”

“That’s almost a shame,” you sighed dramatically, “I would have been up for a threesome with you both.”

Loki sat up straight and looked at you with eyebrows raised from surprise, for a moment you’d even taken yourself by surprise with how forward you had been but you decided to roll with it and enjoy the moment.

“What?” You asked whilst pulling the most innocent of faces you could muster, “I have needs too.”
“I never would have guessed.”

“I’m good at hiding things.”

You gave Loki what you hoped was a seductive look before turning away to reach for your glass again, he took this moment to let his eyes roam over you as they had many times before.

“Well,” Loki smirked, moving along the large seat to sit closer to you, “I may not be offering that much, but I would definitely be willing to show you at least half of what you’d be missing.”

Your eyebrow quirked as you took a sip from your glass, his hand moved onto your knee as if that would encourage you to make up your mind.

Like it wasn’t already.

With unequalled eagerness, you downed the rest of the liquid and put your hand over his, biting your lip a little.

“You better hold up to such a promise.”

“I guarantee that I will, we don’t need The Grandmaster to make this a threesome.”

Loki grinned as a green flash emerged beside him and your eyes were drawn to another God of Mischief stood by the seat, this one sported in his usual Asgardian armour as opposed to the black and blue leather he had been given upon arrival.

You definitely preferred the darker cape to his current one with yellow in it.

A light laugh was your only response as you eagerly jumped up and smoothed out your clothes, looking at Loki over your shoulder before nodding your head towards the door that lead to the bedroom route.

He watched as you left, a low chuckle leaving him as he stood up and followed after you, letting his illusion disappear.

“Better not tell her too quickly that my clones aren’t touchable.”

Chapter Text

You stared at the being before you both shock and awe, maybe also with a little bit of confusion.

Okay, more than a little bit of confusion.

“What on earth?”

The lightly tinted green animal in front of you seemed to chuckle at your reaction, his multicoloured tail flicking behind him.

He wasn’t as tall as you figured he would be as a stallion, though you had also guessed that he’d be gorgeously muscled and deep black in colour so there were many things you were wrong about.

“What?”

“What are you…” You found yourself trailing off, your brows and mouth twisted into a bemused grimace.

“I’m a unicorn,” he grinned proudly, “you know horned horse, a symbol of pride and all the rag-”

“Yes, I know what a damn unicorn is, but why are YOU one?”

“Oh, that, well you see I needed to use my purest form of magic an-”

Loki was cut off abruptly as you snorted in laughter, unable to control the outburst that took even you by surprise.

You covered your mouth as you laughed harder, Loki gave you an unamused look but waited for you to finish your outburst none the less.

“Are you quite done?”

“No,” you sighed heavily from your chest, wiping at your eyes.

“And what’s so funny?”

“You and pure are two things that do not go together, Loki.”

“Yet I still managed to take this form, seems that I’m full of surprises.”

Even in this equine form you could see the arrogance radiating off of him, the way he tilted his head as he spoke only accentuating the vibe.

“It just goes to show that you aren’t just a one trick pony,” you smiled, chortling at your own joke.

“I’m not a pony, I’m a unicorn.”

“You’re a pony wearing a golden helmet with a horn on the end, if the helmet has the horn and it’s not connected to you biologically does that still make you a unicorn or a cosplayer?”

“It’s rude to give unicorns an existential crisis.”

“I’m a rude person.”

“Clearly,” he rolled his black eyes, turning away from you. “I guess someone just talked themselves out of a free ride.”

“Aw,” you pouted playfully, even though he couldn’t see it, “come on, I’ll pamper you, take you to the stable, brush you down and feed you some candyfloss.”

“Now you’re being patronising.”

“Maybe a little.”

You stepped beside him and rested your hand on his back, dragging it up his body until you reached his colourful mane and imbedded your fingers into the hair.

As your digits ran through the unsurprisingly luscious locks, you rested your head against his with a warm smile.

“You know I love you.”

“Sometimes I wonder,” he huffed, the sound coming out more of a typical equine snort than a human scoff.

You laughed and began to stroke down his neck, enjoying how soft his hide was as your fingers pressed into the taught muscles hidden beneath.

Loki turned his head towards you, giving you the opportunity to reach up and place your other hand on the side of his muzzle as you leaned in and gave his cheek a quick kiss.

“Come on, let’s go on this adventure of yours.”

“What? I never said that you could come along.”

Moving away to step back a little, you rest your hands on his shoulders and awkwardly hoist yourself onto his back.

It took a few tries and a lot of effort, but you eventually managed to climb on top and shimmy yourself until you were sitting a little more comfortably.

Holding onto his mane gently, you give his sides a little nudge with your heels.

“Ready when you are.”

“I didn’t think you were ready to go bareback yet?”

Loki chuckled whilst you rolled your eyes, giving him a harder nudge in the ribs.

“Just go, horseboy.”

“I told you, I’m a unicorn.”

You ignored him and pointed forward dramatically at absolutely nothing.

“Tally-ho for Asgard!”

Chapter Text

Loki sighed as you dragged him towards yet another shop.

He loved your enthusiasm, it was something that he always found oddly cute, but he hated having to come along on your little shopping trips.

It was a routine he was used to by this point.

Your job wasn’t a great paying one, so in order to treat yourself you would put a bit aside each month and once you’d built up enough, you would go on a small shopping spree to treat yourself.

Truthfully, it was something that Loki admired in you.

Having grown up in royalty, he never really had to worry about being unable to afford certain bills or not being able to buy a mere book due to budgets, so he respected that you would at least find a way to treat yourself.

That didn’t, however, mean that he wanted to tag along every time and yet he somehow found that he was.

Without fail.

He tried not to grumble too much, you were having fun and that’s what should have mattered but he still found that as time passed and bags grew, his patience got a bit thinner every time.

You had just left the game shop with a few titles that you’d been waiting to get since they came out, deciding to wait until the prices went down a little before going for it, and were now pulling him towards a little shop you’d spotted the previous month.

It was a small shop, but full to the brim with all kinds of nerdy artefacts that lured you in from the window display.

There was memorabilia for all kinds of shows, comics and bands, from the moment you stepped in you felt like you were in Heaven, Loki on the other hand felt like he had stepped into his waiting room from Hell.

He knew you’d spend the longest amount of time in this shop, this tiny shop that didn’t even have a chair he could flop himself into while he waited.

And so as you looked around, gasping and awing at the various bits you found that you couldn’t resist, Loki stood in one corner out of the way.

Every now and then he’d spot a bit of memorabilia associated with the Avengers and he couldn’t help rolling his eyes in distaste, being surrounded by such things weren’t exactly his idea of a fun time.

Knowing they were held up as heroes and worshipped by the masses made him feel a little ill, people wanted to buy things with their faces on whilst he had to hide his if he wished to go out in public without people reacting negatively.

Granted it seemed that taking on blond hair, some facial hair and a pair of glasses seemed to work for the better part but that was beside the point.

By the time you were done, the shop assistant had packed the things you’d bought into a box as opposed to giving you a variety of the small bags they carried and Loki feared that he would end up having to juggle that with some of the bags you’d passed off to him throughout the day.

As you walked towards him, you noticed the scowl that adorned his face and felt our chest pang a little bit in guilt.

You knew Loki didn’t like shopping, not even menially for certain house essentials or food and yet you’d worn him down into coming with you yet again.

It wasn’t anything malicious or intended with ill intent, you just wanted to spend more time with him that didn’t involve you being exhausted from a day of work.

Such occurrences were rare and you loved spending time with the God you’d fondly claim to have adopted, so it made you feel a little bad that he never seemed to enjoy these trips as much as you did.

Stepping into the warm air outside, you glanced around the high street and began to formulate a plan.

Just behind you, Loki let out a long sigh.

“Are we done yet?” He asked tiredly, his arms beginning to ache from the weight of the bags hanging from them.

Your eyes continued to scan the street until you found what you wanted.

“Not yet,” you beamed, eagerness springing back into you, “you can go and sit on the benches over there, I’ll be right back.”

You sped off before Loki could react, you plopped your box of goods on a bench outside the coffee shop in full confidence that Loki would be watching it before zooming into a shop just near the corner of the street.

Once he reached the bench, he let out a long and drawn out sigh whilst sitting down and letting the bags rest on the floor.

From the corner of his eye he saw the box and glared at it as if it was somehow the cardboard’s fault that he was stuck in that situation.

He spent a few minutes people watching, all the while thinking about what you were up to but appreciating the fact that you let him sit down.

You eventually traipsed out of the shop around fifteen minutes later, a paper bag clutched to your chest.

Loki looked up as you sat beside him, adjusting the box a little so you had a bit more space.

“And what were you up to?”

You gave him a soft smile and held the bag out to him.

He raised his eyebrow in questioning and took the bag from you, his thin fingers unwrapping the bag and sliding out the present.

As his eyes roamed over the book, he smiled and ran his fingers over the cover.

“The Lost Village?” He asked, looking at you.

“It’s supposed to be a good supernatural mystery,” you answered, shrugging a little.

“I see.”

“I wanted to say thanks for always accompanying me, I know how much you hate it,” you sighed.

“That I do, but you don’t need to make it up to me.”

“I know, but I feel that I should.”

Loki chuckled and leaned forward to give your lips a quick kiss before he sat back up and tucked the book away again.

“My silly Midgardian.”

Chapter Text

“Screen two, row J, seat twenty two.”

I smile at the worker and thank her before taking my ticket back and stepping past her, I tuck my ticket into my purse and promptly throw it into my bag to be forgotten for the next two hours.

Pulling the door open and walking the short distance of the corridor before reaching the seats, I am greeted by a table with plastic cups and two jugs of water set on top.

I did read a small warning about the heat being an issue in the cinema, due to technical issues their aircon was working sporadically and the screens caused excess heat, but I wasn’t expecting them to offer free water.

I take one of the smaller cups and fill it before heading up to my seat.

It wasn’t often that I’d go to a late showing of a film, but this was absurdly a last chance showing in my local cinema despite the film not even being out a week.

As I glance around the screening room, it seems as if I’m alone for this showing of the film even though it had showed six other seats booked when I’d gone online, not I mind, the emptier a screening is the better in my opinion.

I glance up towards my seat, my preferred one in the furthest corner that you can get without paying extra for premiere seating, and see someone at the end of my aisle despite the fact that every other seat was free.

As I step closer, I give him a quick glance and a smile before carefully shuffling past, being sure not to spill any of my drink all over the place whilst also being sure that I wasn’t in threat of hitting him with my bag.

Once safely out of the way and in the corner, I drop my bag into the seat between us and shift off my jacket, dropping that on top of my bag before flopping a bit heavier than I intended into my chosen seat.

I had unceremoniously managed to land so that I sat heavily on my right side with my ankles crossed and I was certain that I had drawn the stranger’s attention, so as I means to distract myself I set my cup of water into the cup holder and began to shuffle around in my bag.

After a moment of adjusting things, I pull out the bottle of orange juice and the box of brownies I had taken from home.

Opening up the box, I set it on top of my bag and put the bottle on the other side of the chair to my left.

I then decide to take full advantage of the almost empty screening and slide my feet out of my flat shoes, lifting them up to rest them on the edge of the balcony in front of me.

“Someone is getting comfortable.”

I start a little at the voice, not expecting to hear anything more than the underwater explosion sound effect that came from the cinema screen as it waited for show time.

“Well, I don’t usually get to be this free in the cinema,” I answer, turning my head to the stranger.

“This late during the week is the best time to go,” he nodded in agreement, “less people about.”

“It’s certainly how I prefer it, I don’t know why I don’t do this more often, it would save the hassle of people kicking the back of my seat like they did during A Cure for Wellness,” I roll my eyes.

The door beneath the balcony my seat was on slammed shut and we both fall silent as another man walks into the room, we both watch as he moves to the middle row dead centre in the theatre and I hear my new acquaintance give a light chuckle.

“Maybe because you meet some real weirdos at this time of night.”

I laugh before giving a light shrug, “Maybe I like weirdos.”

“Then you’re definitely in the right place.”

We share another laugh then fall into silence, just in time for the screen to make its usual greeting announcement in preparation for the adverts.

I take this momentary distraction to get a proper look at him and can safely say that I was happy with what I saw.

Not that it mattered.

This wasn’t a date and I definitely didn’t have the confidence to try and make a thing out of anything, especially not a man as attractive as the one sitting only one seat away.

So I decide that being friendly was the best move I could make, that was easy.

“If you get hungry, feel free,” I offer, holding the box of brownies to him.

His eyes briefly flicker towards the box that I shake to emphasise my offering, giving him a smile.

“Thank you,” he replied, taking one almost instantly.

“I also have a spare bottle of orange juice if you want it.”

“You really don’t need to.”

“Nonsense, it’s no hassle,” I shrug, grabbing a brownie of my own, “I won’t eat a whole box to myself.”

“How kind of you.”

“I was always raised to share.”

“Your parents must be proud of who they raised.”

“I’d like to think so.”

We continue to talk and share brownies through the adverts and most of the other movie trailers, which included our commentary on which upcoming films looked the best, eventually we quiet when the actual film starts and focus on what was dancing across the large screen in front of us.

Though concentrating proved difficult as I found that I too often drifted to thoughts of my new friend one seat away from me.

Chapter Text

“I thought you would like it.”

“Like it? Loki can you really imagine me in that?”

You held up the set of black and green lingerie he had surprised you with, an unimpressed expression giving away exactly how you felt.

“Obviously I can,” he chuckled, “otherwise I wouldn’t have bought it for you.”

“I can’t wear this,” you protested, setting it down onto the bed.

“Sure you can.”

“Loki,” you sighed, running a hand through your hair, “are you trying to humiliate me?”

“No.”

“Then wh-“

He let out a loud and dramatic sigh, getting up from his spot on the bed and snatching up the set before heading to the bathroom.

You watched him with an eyebrow quirked, slowly moving to sit down on the edge of the bed whilst staring towards the bathroom intently.

It was a few minutes later when the lock clicked and the door swung back open, your eyes widened as an exact copy of you stepped out, wearing the well fitting lingerie set and looking more confident than you had ever felt.

“See, I told you that you’d look amazing.”

Your jaw was slack as you stared at your boyfriend, hearing his voice coming from your image was one of the most peculiar things you had seen in your years of knowing him.

He strode over with a peculiar swing to your hips that you had never noticed in your stance before, in the oddest way it was alluring to watch but no less disturbing to see yourself walking to where you were sat on the bed.

Once he reached you, Loki stopped a few feet away and then rested a hand on one jutted out hip.

“As I said, amazing,” he chuckled.

“No, it really isn’t,” you replied, your eyes roaming over the you stood before you.

“Fine, then tell me what you would change.”

You hummed a little and looked over your doppelganger once again, lips pulled together in concentration before you moved forward and began to point out the varying parts of your mirror image that you would change were you magic or rich.

As you pointed things out, Loki shifted the visage in front of you, the shape continuously changing and adjusting like ripples in water.

Once you had gotten to a point of loss with more things to change, you leant back on your hands and looked him over once again, nodding in finality.

“I think we’re done.”

“So what do you think now?” He asked, posing once again with a hand on his hip.

“I think that looks nothing like me.”

“Exactly,” Loki chuckled, tilting his head and making the imitation of your hair fall to one side, “so why would you want to change it?”

“To be happier? More confident in myself, to trust in what you say when you compliment me.”

“Trust what I say?” He quirked an eyebrow then moved towards the mirror that stood in the furthest corner of the room.

As he stood in front of it, he turned from side to side and eyed up this new figure from all different angles before finally turning back towards you.

“This is not you and this is definitely not the you that I love.”

Your heart swelled a little at the way he was talking, an uncontrollable grin splitting your lips widely.

That only last a brief moment, as Loki reached behind himself and unclipped the clasps of the bra, letting it slide down his arms and onto the floor before wiggling his way out of the lacy green underwear.

Kicking them both to one side, he smirked down at you before promptly dropping his illusion and leaving you face to face with his bare crotch.

Despite this not being the first time you’d seen it, you still felt your cheeks burn a little as you let out an almost shy laugh and looked up at him.

“Did wearing girl’s underwear really rile you up that badly?”

“No,” he rasped, leaning down so that his arms were on either side of you and allowing him to loom over you, kissing your neck and jaw up to your ear. “I’m this riled up because I’m desperate to show you just how perfect you are.”

Chapter Text

I loved the ocean.

Well swimming in general, even if it was something I didn’t do often.

Living out in the country, spending most of my time working and the rest of my time being spend either doing needed household things or many other leisurely distractions meant that I hadn’t been in a long time.

In fact, the last time I can even recall being at the beach was in August of 2016 when I was visiting a friend, the heat was beating down on us and as she lived in a beach town we had decided to have dinner on the pier before walking the burning sand of the seafront.

Before that I had been a young teenager, at least fourteen.

Life and money issues just kept getting in the way of any plans for days out, whether it was my own solo one or a family one.

But I had decided to finally give in to my whims and go for a swim in the sea after so many years, I’d booked two weeks off of work and the first four days of week one were going to be spent exploring around a sea town that was a two hour train journey.

It hadn’t taken me long to get to my temporary accommodation and set myself up for my stay, I’d arrived in the late afternoon and decided that after an hour of relaxation in my room I would wander around for a while, get accustomed to the lay out of the town and perhaps get a good batch of seafront fish and chips.

I was positioned much closer to the town than I had thought, after catching my bearing and managing to figure out which bus I needed, it had taken me barely fifteen minutes to get to the town centre to begin my adventure.

The centre wasn’t big and most of the retail shops were getting ready to close whilst the clubs and restaurants were beginning to thrive with their evening revellers.

As I passed through I took note of places to visit before I left, bookshops, game shops and strange memorabilia shops catching my eye at every turn and inviting me to spend all my hard earned money that was supposed to last me a full month in only a day.

This meant that I’d have to plan carefully.

So I decided that on my first official day that I would go to the beach and have my fun, try not to catch too much sunburn and enjoy my swimming, on the second day I would go to the local arcades and waste time winning prizes or going on rides, the third day would consist of some more beach exploring and maybe some drinks and the final day, before I left for home in the afternoon, would be spent going around the various shops.

My stomach growled and brought a stop to my musings, meaning that it was time for me to get some well needed grub.

I managed to follow the basic flow of the crowd and reached a hill where at the bottom I could see the beach.

At the very bottom of the hill was a small building split into two sides, one selling refreshment and the other beach goods such as buckets, spades and body boards. I knew from the many years of coming here when I was younger that on either side of the building was a bathroom.

From the building, two grey paths sloped into two separated beaches that were emptying quickly as the sea air brought in a slightly chilled breeze.

I made my way down the hill and chose to go to my right, the side we always picked, though rather than going down the slope and onto the sand I continued around on the pavement and walked the edge of the wall that acted as the partition of beach life and town life.

It didn’t take long for me to find a small shop selling the food I was after and I soon found myself sitting on the edge of the wall, my legs underneath the protective bar and dangling over so my toes barely touched the sand below.

The nostalgia that flooded back was instantaneous and I’d be lying if I said that it didn’t make me just a little emotional, the thought of having at least one more family trip here beginning to take precedence over anything else.

I found that I ate slower than usual, as if that would salvage the moment as I stared out towards the sea.

There was a strange pull about the vast amount of water that I couldn’t quite put my finger on, but I just felt that I needed to get closer and this peculiar feeling didn’t stop by the time I had finished my food.

Heaving myself up, I scrunched up the paper and found a bin to throw it into before I climbed through the metal bars and eased myself onto the cooling sand, the unstable feeling of sand meeting the soles of my shoes throwing me off temporarily.

I moved forward and quickly adjusted to how heavy my feet felt walking across the grains, drawing ever closer to the sea that lapped at the sand and darkened the shore with each wave.

From somewhere that seemed to be coming from the water and yet also somehow from all around me was this strangely melodic sound, one that drew my attention and refused to let it go, like it was a Boa Constrictor that had finally begun to crush its prey.

I hadn’t realised how far I had stepped into the water until a cold wave washed over my knees and managed to draw me out of my strangely hypnotic state, the instant chill of the temperature change causing me to squeal a little and quickly retreat further back onto dry land.

Once at a safe distance, I turned back towards the sea and found that I couldn’t help but laugh at what had happened.

It reminded me of the time my brother drifted too far out as he lounged in his rubber donut, unable to hear my parents as they frantically called for him to come back until a man had swam out to grab him and bring him back.

Now that his life is no longer in danger it’s a funny memory to look back on, aside from the rescuer essentially reprimanding my parents for what happened as if they weren’t overprotective enough, but that happens when people jump to presumptions.

I briefly glance down at my jean covered legs and let out a sigh, thanking every God I didn’t believe in that I’d brought a spare pair of slip on shoes so that I wouldn’t be sloshing around in my sodden trainers.

The peculiar lull from the water seemed to disappear as soon as the water hit me and for that I was thankful, I’d hate to have ended up like my brother, minus the floating device.

I turn my eyes back towards the sea, just in time to spot something.

Somewhere in the distance, I could see the silhouetted outline of a head and shoulders that seemed completely unphased by the waves that seemed to be getting gradually bigger.

If I didn’t know any better, I would have said that this figure was staring in my direction and the thought sent an unpleasant chill down my spine until I managed to convince myself that it must be a trick of the setting sun against the constantly shifting ripple.

With a concerned frown, I slowly step back before turning away completely and heading back to climb up the wall, wanting to go back to my room.

I was clearly too tired after a stressful day of travel, that’s all it was.

Chapter Text

The morning after I decided that I would switch my plan around and spend the day exploring the arcades and just having a bit of fun.

I hadn’t managed to sleep well the night before, images of the ocean, the figure and blood constantly relaying in my mind and jolting me awake each time I managed to doze off, so I decided that swimming in one of the most dangerous bodies of water wasn’t the best idea in my current state.

The day passed seamlessly as I played games, went on stupid rides and managed to win a good amount of prizes on the coin machines. I’d even managed to buy presents for the family and some rock for my co-workers.

In the evening I’d decided to merely have a night in, I bought some takeaway food on my way home and did nothing but lounge, eat and read until my eyes could no longer handle the tiredness which was no doubt enhanced by the sea air.

This was something that always affected me when I went to the beach, the sea air never failed to make me drowsier than normal.

Shortly after I let myself finally give in to the sleepiness that was dragging me down, I felt the temperature drop around me, my body feeling weightless as cold surrounded me.

Opening my eyes I found myself surrounded by a vast array of blue, green and browns, my hair floating around my face as I moved to look around me.

I’d watched enough clips online and on various shows to know that I was within the depths of the ocean, various creatures swimming around me as they ignored any disturbance I would usually offer.

As my body adjusted to the temperature I could feel a tightness on my chest, one that was all too familiar when my body was met with something cold.

Raising my hands to my chest, I could feel my now hardened nipples pressing against the palm of my hand but nothing to act as a barrier of direct contact between the water and my skin.

As if the facts needed clarifying, my eyes drifted down and confirmed that I was indeed topless.

Even worse than that, my eyes almost instantly bypassed my bare torso to the writhing scaled tail that now blended into the skin of my hips.

At that moment things seemed to be a peculiar mix of emotions, my conscious state being a weird one.

It was alert enough to make it obvious that something was off about the situation, but also hazy enough to make it still seem like a natural situation to be in, as if being braless was the strangest part of the change.

It was a form of dream that I couldn’t recall ever experiencing before.

Seemingly beyond my control, my hands began to roam over my new form to feel the differences that I wasn’t fully conscious of, though a small voice in my brain was finding this self exploration almost sensual.

The skin was smoother, the scales felt wonderful and the hair felt more luscious than I could ever recall it being.

My fingers slid up my chest, over my shoulder and further back on my neck, grazing against two sets of three horizontal slits that seemed to be allowing me to breathe.

“Well, I certainly wasn’t expecting a show.”

I jump and let out a small yelp, twisting unusually seamlessly in this dream form that was beginning to feel more natural by the second.

Behind me was a haze of colours, as if he was being purposefully blurred for the sake of anonymity.

I couldn’t make out any details from him, aside from pale skin and dark hair, everything else that could have been a distinguishing feature seemed blurred from my vision.

“Who are you?” I somehow managed to breathe out without the words catching in my throat.

“That isn’t important,” he states bluntly, swimming closer to me but not getting any clearer visually.

To me, he was almost like a mere silhouette of someone behind frosted glass.

“You seemed to be enjoying yourself,” he continued, a blurred hand reaching out and weaving webbed fingers through my floating hair.

“I’m confused,” I mumbled, feeling a pressure building up in my temples.

“That is no surprise, this is but your imagination after all.”

The chuckle that left him was condescending and yet horribly alluring at the same time, a voice made for teasing.

His hand soon left my hair and began to slide down my shoulder, as he continued down the top of my arm his fingers barely grazed one of my exposed breasts and I let out a short gasp.

He ignored any sound I made and continued until he had reached my hip, I knew that the best thing for me to do would be to pull away from this stranger and yet I was drawn to his touch and wanted him to continue.

I felt his fingers begin to glide around the back of my hip.

As he ran his hand over the back of my tail, it felt exactly the same as if he’d be feeling around my rear as a human and my cheeks began to flare up at not only his touch but the way his eyes roamed over my exposed body as he swam around me, his eyes seeming particularly interested on my chest and the front of my tail.

“My,” he murmured in a deep and hauntingly sultry voice, one of his hands running down my stomach to the front of my tail as his other remained on my rear, “you did turn out to be quite the beauty.”

His webbed fingers pushed against the scales just below and centre to my hip bones, which gave away into something akin to a small slit that instantly felt sensitive and full as his fingers went in.

I let out a small gasp at the intrusive feeling and finally wriggle away from him, looking at him in utter shock.

“What have you done to me?” I accused, feeling a little breathless.

He stared at be briefly then gave me a lopsided smirk and chuckled that sly sound again.

“I haven’t done anything, not just yet.”

I awoke with a start, jolting up in bed, coughing and spluttering with a horrible sensation that felt like my lungs had been filled with water as an all too bright image of that blurred smirk dancing before my eyes and making me feel nauseous.

My phone trilled the usual non-work alarm on the bedside table, the starting lyrics of Maroon 5’s Animals bringing on an irrational sense of dread after the dream I’d just had.

~Maybe you think that you can hide,
I can smell your scent for miles.
Just like ani-~

I hastily grab my phone and shut off the alarm, feeling tempted to smack it harshly and then throw it away from me but ultimately deciding that that probably wasn’t the best decision to make in the world.

Even if it was only a cheap phone off of EBay, it wasn’t worth wasting money I didn’t have on replacing it.

Flopping back onto the bed, I wait for my breathing and heart rate finally relax to a normal pattern, all the while staring at the ceiling with a furrowed brow.

“I need to get this damn swim over and done with, it’s messing with my head.”

Chapter Text

I barely got back to sleep that night and what little sleep I did get was fretful and unsatisfying, but thankfully not deep enough to continue the strange dream I had before.

By the time it hit 7am, I knew that anymore attempts at sleep would prove futile and so I decided to get up and get an early start on my planned trip to the beach.

My mind was trying to conjure up a way in which my visit to the sea will settle the disturbance of my dream, a peculiar thought as I wasn’t usually this hung up on one single dream.

I had a few that I remembered bits and pieces of, but none had ever hit me so hard that it lingered and felt so real that I could still remember the touch from the stranger’s hands over my altered body.

The lingering feeling was distinctly disturbing and I wished that it was one of those sensations that faded merely minutes after waking up, but of course this had to be the one that stuck with me.

“There’s nothing for it,” I mumbled to myself.

Hastily throwing the covers away, I get up and quickly prepare for a day out on the beach.

Dumping the contents out of my bag from the day before onto the bed, I shove in clothes, a towel, some lotion and my purse into the bag and then throw it over my shoulder.

I’d buy food on my way to the beach and didn’t bother to wash my hair, knowing that it was just going to get wet in the sea anyway, though I did quickly throw my shampoo on top of the towel so I’d have something to help soothe the tangles in the outside shower when I was done.

After a quick scan of the room to make sure I had everything, I pulled on a loose set of clothes over my swimsuit and wiggled my feet into my black flat shoes.

Seizing the bag, I threw it over my shoulder and left the room, locking it behind me and then hastily head off to the beach.

By the time I reached the beach there were a few people walking about, more than likely holiday makers who wanted to make the best of their too-short stay before it was time to head home and start the old grind once again.

There were a few dog walkers about or people on their way to work, but for the most part I could hear the calming sound of waves crashing against the shore.

I took off my flats and walked down the chilled slope, stopping just before concrete met sand to stare towards the ocean.

It wasn’t as intimidating as I had expected it to be, the terrible fluttering feeling in my stomach that had occurred on my way down each time I thought of the vast depths of water dampened down as I watched the waves come and go.

“I’m such an idiot,” I laughed to myself, finally stepping onto the sand and finding somewhere that suited me to settle.

I managed to find a secluded area, at least for the time being, that gave me peace away from the few other stragglers on the beach and I set up my towel and bits on the floor.

For about an hour I stayed sat on my towel, alternating between people watching, staring out into the sea or reading the final book in the series I was working through.

I’d read about five chapters before the itch was unignorable and I had to set my book down to concentrate on the sea.

Once again, as with the last time I was on the shore, there seemed to be something calling out and beckoning me to it.

Taking a glance around I notice that no one else seems to notice as they continue with whatever fun making task they were doing before, either none the wiser or willingly ignoring the sounds coming from the depths.

Heeding the call, I stand up and finally make my way to the water’s edge, the sudden lapping of cold liquid sending a shiver down my spine and I wait a moment to adjust before slowly wading in further, taking my time so the rest of my body can get used to the sudden change in temperature.

I dipped about for a bit until I felt more comfortable in the water once again, after such a long break of not swimming it felt foreign to be chest deep in the sea.

For a moment, I forgot out queasy the rocking of the waves made me when I stayed still and I had to move in order to stop my head from spinning and my eyes from feeling disorientated.

Moving seemed to help, so I focused my energy on swimming about and getting adjusted to swimming in an unstable environment.

I wasn’t sure how long I had been swimming, though I hadn’t gotten very far, when I felt a pull that was familiar from the other day, as if something was lulling me deeper and deeper into the ocean.

My rationale told me that it was stupid to follow, but my instinct was telling me that it was the right thing to do.

It seemed almost beyond my control as I found myself swimming further out into the sea, beyond the point where my feet could reach the bottom and further than any self-respecting lifeguard would recommend.

I was quite impressed that I’d managed to make it this far, considering that I wasn’t the strongest swimmer and I have a large aversion to getting water in my eyes.

When I was younger I’d do anything to avoid the chances and yet here I was, swimming further from the shore as if it was nothing and the water stood no chance of splashing into my face.

There was no denying that the further I went, the stronger the call got and the harder it was to ignore.

I venture out like it was nothing.

Not looking back to see how far the shore was.

Not paying attention to the yells from the sand that seemed to slowly be getting drowned out by this sound, which began to sound like a hauntingly melodious voice beckoning me.

I was beyond the point of no return and I didn’t want to be.

Not even when the horrid salt water entered my mouth and throat, causing me to splutter.

Not even when my arms and legs grew weaker as the waves got stronger.

Not even when I was dragged underwater and my body had no energy to fight or to stay awake and allowed my vision to be overtaken by darkness.

Chapter Text

I found myself harshly sputtering awake.

My throat sore and tickling at the back, my eyes stinging from the sea water I’d sunk into and my body shivering from the cold as the air mixed harshly with the liquid that coated my body and over the time I’d spent uncovered out of the sea, my temperature had dropped drastically.

Not that I knew how long I had been out for, nor where I was.

Looking around in a panic whilst trying to get my breathing to even out, my eyes, as aching as they were, were darting about and taking in my surroundings.

I’d managed to get into a cave of sorts, the jagged rocks above my head looked weak and ready to crumble away and impale me at any moment.

The surface I was led on was uncomfortable and had many bumps and edges to it that poked and prodded, but I couldn’t move until my lungs settled into a more comfortable rhythm.

The area was surprisingly large with only one section of the wall broken away to allow access to the sea, which was coming through and lapping at the rocks below me, making them dangerously slick.

I somehow found a way to stand up without slipping on the rocks, stumbling back helped to gain my footing and stabilized me enough to turn on the spot to take in the size of the cove.

It wasn’t huge, but the walls went pretty far back and there was a significant amount space for someone to hide comfortably behind some of the larger rocks if they wanted to risk shredding my knees to get there.

I turned in a slow circle to try and see if there was any way out that didn’t involve jumping into the pool of water and swimming into the deepest depths once again, even though it didn’t look far to the shore from where I stood, the thought of risking being lured into near death once again wasn’t appealing.

“What the hell?” I muttered, my throat still feeling scratchy and my voice coming out in a rasp.

From the corner of my eye I spotted something near the entrance of the cave, tucked away between a rock and the wall.

As I moved closer, I could see a man led on the rocks with his head rested atop crossed arms and his eyes closed, more than likely sleeping.

My eyes trailed over the half his face that I could see, his features were sharp and angular but still very handsome and softened by his relaxed state, then his hair, the wet black strands were stuck to his face and tangled from the sea water, finally my gaze slowly moved down his body, taking in his muscular back until pale skin met with a long tail that trailed into the water he was led beside.

From where I was stood I couldn’t tell the colour of his scaled tail, in one moment it was black and then he’d move it and the change of light made them turn a strange green that also seemed to emit the faintest bit of gold.

“How peculiar,” I frowned, clearing my throat a little in hopes of shifting some of the tickle that still remained.

“What is?”

My eyes flitted back to him in time to see him lift his head, his eyes blinking tiredly before he pushed himself onto his elbows and rubbed them with webbed hands.

“Seeing a supposedly mythical being,” I replied warily, not wanting to step into offensive territory.

“Is that really all that strange?”

“A little, yes.”

I watched as he manoeuvred himself with surprising grace so that he was sat down at the edge of the rock, his long tail dipping further into the water and seeming to go so deep in that my eyes couldn’t quite tell where it ended.

“But you knew I was real.”

“How?”

“You heard the call, didn’t you?” He smirked, his eyes roaming over me.

“I heard something.”

“That something was me.”

“Well, that’s great,” I nodded, “but can you maybe not do it again and leave me the hell alone?”

“Unless you have meat and alcohol on you, then I doubt you’ll have much to offer me in exchange for such a favour,” he chuckled before grinning to show his sharp teeth.

“So you’re the classic type of mermaid then.”

He scoffed and rolled his eyes, “Do I look like a mer‘maid’ right now.”

I stared at him then pursed my lips and nodded a little in admittance.

“My mistake,” I sighed, glancing around before looking back at him, “wait, right now?”

“Yes,” he smirked, leaning back on his webbed hands, “you could say I’m a kind of sorcerer, shapeshifting is one of my many fortes.”

“Okay, calm down there, Ursula.”

“It’s Loki.”

“Alright then, Loki,” I huffed, putting my hands on my hips, “I need to have a discussion with you.”

The look in his eyes gave away that he knew exactly what I was talking about, a cocky chuckle rumbled from his chest as his dark eyes roved over me.

“Whatever about?”

“You know full well what about, stay out of my damn dreams.”

“Oh, you didn’t like it?”

“Did I like being molested by a random sea man after losing my legs? No!”

I wanted to smack the smug look off of his face, the one of pure bliss and elation at me getting riled up.

“Too bad, I had fun and my fun is my main concern.”

“I should have seen that coming,” I sighed, “can I at least ask that you don’t drag me into water again? I have an aversion to getting water in my eyes.”

“I’ll think about it.”

I rolled my eyes and moved around the rocks to the other side, peering out of the cave entrance to try and decipher just how far away I was from the shore.

It wasn’t hard to figure out that it was too far, I wasn’t a bad swimmer but I also wasn’t a strong one and the distance was too great.

My loud groan echoed around the space and I had to refrain from simply dropping to the floor in exasperation.

Had no one noticed that someone had simply disappeared into the sea?

Probably not, most people are focused more on themselves than those around them, though I suspected that someone probably already took a liking to my unattended things.

“That was a bit dramatic,” Loki stated as he swam across the small expanse of water between us, having slipped back in without my noticing.

“Of course, how am I meant to get back?”

He smirked and rested his arms against the surface, his chin resting on top of them as he stared up at me.

“Well, I could help with that.”

I looked at him with a look of disbelief before laughing.

“Not being funny, but I don’t feel comfortable with you swimming me all the way back there without attempting to drown me.”

“I never said that I would swim you back myself.”

“Then what did you mean?”

He let out a low chuckle and pulled himself up further on the surface.

“Let me show you.”

Loki reached up and hooked his fingers around my wrists, with one tug of his alarmingly strong arm I toppled and was promptly thrown into the cold water.

Chapter Text

The feeling that swept over me was too familiar.

How I felt weightless as the water engulfed me and pulled me deeper.

The feeling of my legs still being there, but somehow also not, at least not in a way that was familiar and comfortable to me.

There were cold hands resting on my hips and a broad chest was pressed against my own as a lingering kiss tingled my lips and filled the darkness behind my closed eyes with a green glow.

My lungs didn’t burn from needing air and my eyes, which typically felt uncomfortable when I got a drop of water in them, didn’t seem to feel any different than if I were on dry land.

But I still feared to open them.

The green glow died down and I was left in darkness again, the contract being withdrawn and the hands leaving my hips as a chuckle entered the space around us.

“Are you going to just float there? Or do you plan on doing something?”

“I’m afraid to open my eyes.”

“Why?”

“I don’t want my dream from the other night to come true.”

“You don’t?”

“To turn my entire life upside down to live in an ocean that’s gradually filling with more plastic and pollution? Not particularly.”

My eyes finally opened when I felt thin fingers press under my chin and tilt my head up, my eyes meeting his seemingly glowing blue ones.

“But you wished to return to the surface, you weren’t strong enough to swim alone with those legs and I certainly wasn’t carrying you,” he smirked, his eyes staring intensely into mine, “this is the one way.”

“How?” I snapped, pulling away from him as best as I could, my movements awkward due to the tail he had once again added to my anatomy, “I can’t go on land like this.”

“No,” he laughed, a deep and taunting sound, “it seems you can’t.”

I glared at him and clenched my fists, though he didn’t pay the slightest bit of attention to my foul mood and instead let his eyes trail down from my face.

A low growl, a sound that I’d never made before in my life, escaped my throat as I moved my arms across my disturbingly bare chest, Loki only grinned like a predator as swam closer to me, his webbed digits catching strands of my waving hair and running through it.

“But I’ll strike a deal with you,” he murmured, his voice husked in a way that shouldn’t have caused the reaction in me that it did.

“Why would I do that?”

“Because if you don’t, you’ll be stuck down here, no friends, no family, only ongoing pollution that’ll just make you hungrier and sicker as time went on.”

I shook my head and closed my eyes, having to turn my head away from him.

It was undeniable that he had a point of me not wanting to be stuck down here.

All over the internet were discussions and news of the ongoing issue with plastic in our seas, the effect it was having and the animals that were suffering.

At home I tried my best to do what I could, recycling whatever could be recycled, cutting back on the use of straws as much as I could and making sure to dissect the ones I did use before recycling those too and overstuffing my bag whenever I forgot to bring a shopping or tote bag out with me.

But there was only so much one person could do against the millions of others in the world.

In the water, Loki looked completely different to how he did out of it.

His skin looked paler in the way that someone’s who is sick would, his hair looked patchy and thin and he was scarily skinny, his ribs poked out through and his cheeks and eyes were sunken.

The glamour he’d been using in the cave must have worn off or the water revealed his true self, either way it was a terrible sight to behold.

Now that I paid closer attention to him, I couldn’t stop myself from frowning.

Truthfully, he looked awful and I felt guilt building up in my chest.

“What deal do you have in mind?” I asked, my throat tight.

“I’m glad you see it my way,” he smirked, a look that made my guilt lessen just a touch, “I shall swim with you back to shore and you can go back to your life on land, if you allow me to come with you.”

“Excuse me?”

“What? You think I want to stay here too? Watch as my home dies while you humans slowly kill of everything?”

There was a dangerous lilt to his voice, a dark and venomous snarl of hated.

One that I ultimately couldn’t blame him for.

I sighed and nodded in agreement, rubbing at the top of my arm.

“You have a point.”

“I know I do,” he snapped, his eyes narrowing to slits, “and I want to get out of here before I starve to death.”

“And why do you need me for this?”

“Because I can’t just walk out on land and have everything fall into place for me, my magic isn’t what it once was.”

“I see, you want to use my place as shelter.”

“Yes, until I get myself on my feet,” he paused them laughed, shaking his head, “no pun intended.”

“Of course not,” I laughed politely, “and that’s the only catch? It seems like a fair deal, honestly.”

“Doesn’t it just? So, what do you say?”

Loki extended his hand towards me, his head slightly tilted and his eyes staring into mine.

I regarded his hand as I thought over his proposal, his points were valid and I couldn’t argue with him, he’d played to my guilty conscience and it had worked in his favour, that and he was the only one I knew of that could fix my fin situation.

Slowly, I reached for his hand and took it, wrapping my fingers around it as I met his gaze once again.

“I accept.”

“Wonderful,” he grinned, tugging on my arm and pulling me closer, sealing the deal with another kiss that wasn’t as magical as the last one.

There was no green glow coming from him, just a thin arm wrapped around my waist as his other hand held tightly onto my wrist.

When he pulled away, he licked his lips and glanced me over again.

“Let’s go back to shore, shall we?”

“Please, it’s disturbing to A: be naked in front of a practical stranger and B: not have any legs.”

“And that is a fear of the past,” he nodded, turning to swim away.

I went to follow him but stopped when he paused and looked over his shoulder at me.

“Oh, one more little catch, you shall turn back into this beautiful form should you touch water.”

My eyed widened a little, though if I were completely honest, I wasn’t entirely surprised that something like this would happen.

“You only mean salt water, right?”

Loki didn’t respond, instead he gave me a smile that I couldn’t tell if it was one of playfulness or pure delight at my situation, then he turned and continued on his way, leaving me to not only many question but also figuring out how to use my tail to trail after him.

Chapter Text

The sight was truly a horrid one to behold.

People tried to flee in terror, screams mingled with commands from those trying to help in vain.

The ship was big, but it wasn’t big enough for anyone to truly escape from their invaders.

Men fought to protect their women, women fought alongside the men to try and protect their children.

All seeing that nothing was making any headway in their efforts but surrendering peacefully wasn’t an option.

If they were going to perish, then they all refused to go down without a fight.

Where will you be when the sky comes down?

What would you do if the strength was found?

Stay right beside me when the ground starts shaking,

The only sound you’ll hears the breath we’re taking.

“You need to hide,” Loki told her, his voice urgent in his desperate attempt to protect her.

“What about you two?”

“It’s our job to protect our people,” Thor spoke up.

“As valiant as ever,” she laughed faintly and though it was half hearted, it still felt wrong.

The two brothers gave huffed laughs before making to exit, Thor leading the way.

Before Loki got too far, she grabbed his wrist and pulled him back so he would turn to look at her.

Once he had, she leaned up and gave him a kiss like no other, one of desperation, agony and pure love.

“Please, come back to me.”

“If there is one thing I can promise you,” he smiled wryly, “we’ll see the light again.”

This is the calm before the coming storm,

This is the red sky morning,

Without warning now.

They both fought as valiantly as they could, but nothing was ever enough.

All around them, their people fell.

Despairingly still and lifeless.

Still they were forced to continue pushing forward, their fighting being the only way to alleviate the guilt that was caused by their deaths despite them knowing that they were doing everything in their power to save their people, like they had been attempting to do when leading them off of Asgard and away from Ragnarok.

All felt hopeless and lost, their best attempts failed.

Things soon turned for the worse when Thanos had managed to subdue Thor, taking a tight hold on him and twisting Loki’s arm into submission.

Loki tried to put up a front, a few in fact, but none worked and Thanos saw through them all.

There was nothing he could do but to give up the stone.

This is the fight that we’ve been waiting for,

And there’s no sense in running,

The hammer’s coming down.

She stayed hidden as best as she could.

The sounds of screams, agonised moans and weapons clashing soon died out and fell into a terrible silence.

An almost deafening one.

From somewhere deep in the ship she could hear voices, some demanding, some sneering and some pleading.

She swore she could hear Loki’s and that spurred her on to try and find a way back to the brothers.

Once it’s started there’s no turning back,

But I’ll be with you when you sun turns black.

Shuffling her way out of the rubble that had fallen around her, she slowly rose to her feet and began to follow the voices through the destruction that lay all around her, no matter where she moved.

She wasn’t sure what she expected to do should she encounter anyone.

There were no weapons that seemed to phase the intruders in the slightest and something felt inherently wrong about taking one from a dead person’s hand, despite them not needing it anymore.

Against her better judgement, she continued on from the deepest recesses of the ship without a weapon.

‘Cause finding faith will always be the hardest,

While you’re standing in the heart of darkness.

If there is one thing I can promise you,

We’ll see the light again.

Thor could only watch in utter despair as Thanos’ grip tightened, the sounds of Loki’s sputtering gasps and the way he thrashed in desperation tore at him in ways that were hard to describe.

He’d seen Loki die before and each time pulled at him, but somehow this felt too hauntingly real, too slow and cruel.

Not what Loki deserved.

Especially when Thanos unceremoniously dropped Loki’s body in front of him, as if he wished to mock the sorrow he felt and rub the salt into the wound.

This is the calm before the coming storm,

This is the red sky morning,

Without warning now.

It was over just as quickly as it had begun.

Thanos had taken the stone and left with his vile minions following behind him.

He’d destroyed the surviving people of Asgard, the ones they had fought so hard to save.

He had taken the last of Thor’s family and his best friend barely second apart.

Anger burned inside his chest.

Despite the fights he had wagered over the years, this was the one that truly spurred him on the most as utter contempt for the man swelled in his heart and made his chest fill with absolutely rage.

This is the fight that we’ve been waiting for,

And there’s no sense in running,

The hammer’s coming down.

He was all but astounded when she emerged from somewhere deep within the ship, her entire body covered in dust and appeared to be blood.

From what he could tell it wasn’t hers, at least he hoped it wasn’t.

He needed some light amongst the impenetrable darkness.

Seeing her one was only the only saving graces to come from this, along with Heimdall managing to get the Hulk out safely before his untimely death.

She physically jumped when he called her name, she somehow hadn’t managed to see him amongst all the chaos and that perhaps would have been for the best.

Holding on,

We’ll make it ‘til the dawn,

It’ll be here before long.

The second she looked over and her eyes connected with Thor’s, a faint smile of relief graced her lips.

However, it was short lived as her eyes slowly drifted down to the body in front of him and her face instantly fell into one he was sure never to forget amongst the horrors of what had happened.

She’d barely managed to stumble a few paces forward before her legs gave out and she fell to her knees, an almost inhuman scream of emotional agony tearing from her throat.

Her will to push on forced her to crawl towards them, tears blurring her vision.

There was nothing he could do to stop her as she pulled Loki’s limp body into her lap.

Even if there was, Thor wasn’t entirely sure he’d have it in him to go through with it.

Holding on,

If we can find the light, we can make our way back home.

She cradled his body in her arms, the feeling of his neck was unnatural and should have cemented the horrid truth that she refused to accept.

“No, this can’t be happening,” she whimpered, tears slowly streaming down her face.

Her hand patted against his discoloured cheek, her attempted at waking him failing and soon they became more frantic and urgent until she all but gave up and returned to hugging him tightly to her chest.

“Hold on, we’ll make it until the dawn,” she wailed, rocking him back and forth as she stared towards the wide window to her side, “it’ll be here before long.”

A strong arm grabbed onto her shoulder as Thor moved to stand beside her, sorrow and conflict contorting his face.

Hold on,

If we can find the light, we can make our way back home.

“We have to leave,” he told her, his voice barely there despite how strong he was trying to stay.

“But Loki,” she sobbed, her words mumbled and constricted by the tightness in her throat.

“I know, but he’s gone,” Thor has to pause briefly as his emotions almost got the better of him and caused his talking to fail, “and we have to go befo-“

As Thor suspected, Thanos showed no mercy even though everyone aside from those two were dead.

Thor hadn’t even managed to finish his sentence before the ship was all but obliterated, tearing the two away from each other as debris and bodies scattered across the vast mass of space.

Holding on,

If we can find the light, we’ll find the light, come on.

Chapter Text

“You’re kidding me.”

“Nope, I told you I was taking you somewhere awesome.”

I stared at Julie with wide eyes and a slacked jaw in completely disbelief.

It was Saturday night, I had just finished a long shift and had been eager to see what her ‘surprise’ was.

The past week had been spent with her getting excited and ridiculously giddy at the thought of whatever she had up her sleeve, it was beginning to make me a little irritable if truth be told.

I liked surprises, but I also liked being organised and prepared financially if things involved going out so even just a small hint of how much money I’d have needed would have been nice, instead I got absolutely nothing.

The week of secrecy had been exciting aside from that fact and I had looked forward to seeing what she was up to, but I’d never expected to find myself stood outside of ‘this’ club.

It was a large white building with inviting double doors, all visible glass was blacked out and a red sign that flashed above the entrance with the establishments name.

The Euphoric Rush.

Sure, the name was cheesy and had become a running joke amongst the locals, but it was an apt name nonetheless.

“You brought me to a damn vampire club?”

“Yes,” she grinned, looking at me before rolling her eyes, “don’t give me that look, you like vampires.”

“I like the mythology of vampires, not the risk of getting eaten by one.”

“Okay, first they don’t eat you, they drain you-“

“Same difference.”

“Second, it’s against legislation for them to.”

“Just because it’s against legislation doesn’t mean they’ll listen, it only takes one rebel for a monster to be unleashed.”

It was Julie’s turn to stare at me, her lips pulled into a tight line as she shook her head with her hands on her hips.

“Now you’re just being racist.”

I sputter a little in my rushed attempt to protest her accusation, a loud huff exhaling from my nose.
“I am not racist, I just worry.”

“You kind of are.”

“No I’m not, at least not intentionally, I also worry about wraiths and werewolves and demons just as much as they worry about hunters.”

“Either way, Tony invited me and is inside waiting,” she shrugged and stepped closer to the black painted double doors, “so you can either come with me or stay out here, your choice.”

I let out an exasperated sigh and stare at the sign, chewing the inside of my bottom lip in thought.

It was rumoured that a vampire’s bite is meant to be an amazing experience for both the biter and the bitee, it’s said that it’s a rush comparable to that of a drug and it wasn’t uncommon for vampire and humans to mingle within the confines of the club to get the rush.

This was also a way to stop vampires from attacking and killing humans.

Just as werewolves had special deals with butcher shops and nagas did with exterminators.

The world was shifting to help everyone get accustomed to the new order, where every being mingled and there would be no shame in what you were.

No more hiding, no more hunting and certainly no more segregation as long as we all proved that we could live together.

We referred to them as the Beings and they referred to us as the Norms.

I’d never seen one of the Beings up close and I would be lying to say that I wasn’t eager to despite my reservations and worries, it was a mindset I’d have to get past after all if we were to live in this twisted world of peace.

“Fine,” I sighed, closing my eyes a little as I took another deep breath, “but if anything funny happens then I’m out of here.”

“It’s a done deal,” she grinned, practically skipping inside.

Chapter Text

The first word that sprang to my head when I saw the inside of The Euphoric Rush was cliché.

Everything was red velvet, black silk and black leather with dim lights and music that may have been sensual to some but to me was just an irritant.

The dim lights and the red tint that seemed to be everywhere was playing havoc with my eyes and I’d only been in there for barely two minutes, everywhere you looked was either red or black and all other colours were drowned in in a way that caused a sensory overload.

The room we had entered after the short reception area was massive.

An expanse of tables lay all around with booths tucked into the sides on higher platforms that were accessible by a few short stairs, to our right was a dance floor that was broken into two halves by a bar that rested in the middle.

Behind the bar tenders were fixing up a concoction of drinks, though I suspected they were mostly for the human patrons.

Towards the back of the room, just diagonally right behind the bar was a flight of stairs that led up to a separate balcony, this hosted two bathrooms and a few doors that led to places I didn’t want to presume or imagine.

We stepped up onto the platform and as we walked through the aisles, me trailing behind Julie who obviously knew where she was going, I noticed an amass of people in the booths.

Around each table were an array of beautiful people, men and women alike, most scantily dressed and flirting or already at the point of feeling each other up, some were licking blood that dripped from their protruding fangs and ran down their chin.

To say that I felt a little inferior in their presence would have been an understatement, the myth that vampires were stunning wasn’t such a myth after all.

Boy, did I hate them for it.

I must have been staring for too long as one of the girls, one wearing what looked like black leather spandex that may as well have not been there at all, gave me a dirty look and glanced me over just the one, clearly in disapproval.

I gave what I hoped looked like an apologetic look back then turned my attention back to Julie, who had stopped in front of one of the booths and seemed to be talking animatedly to the people sitting around it.

There was a wide smile and a glint in her eye as she turned and looked at me, gesturing for me to come closer as she looked back at the men and introduced me.

Stepping up beside her, I glanced over the group that she had been talking to and noted that, like everyone else we seemed to have passed, they were infuriatingly attractive, though I already knew Tony was from all his media coverage.

It was a well-known fact that he was one of few media popular vampires, though his story was a sad one of him being turned rather than born.

Seeing him in front of me in the flesh was completely bizarre, especially as he was willing to even take the time of day to speak to two nobodies.

Although I guess that wasn’t wholly a surprise, Julie had the attractiveness and confidence to get into these situations that I lacked in myself, it made sense that she would find a way to get to the man she admired for years.

Beside Tony, who was wearing more casual clothes than I am accustomed to seeing him wear on the television, was another large and I presumed light haired man, though his hair was tinted red much like everything else.

This man was broad and bubbly, his smile so contagious that it had my own lips twitching before I’d even said a word to him.

I later learned that this man’s name was Thor and he wasn’t a vampire, unlike his brother who was sat beside him, looking as bored as could be.

Loki was the one who caught my attention the most.

He was devastatingly beautiful and ran circles around everyone else in the room, no one else was competition for him and I found myself almost instantly taken with him.

I especially loved the way his long and dark hair was purposefully tussled and brushed further over one side that the other, he reminded me of a vampire from a film I didn’t enjoy fully but bought the DVD of because the character lured me in so much.

“You’re staring.”

I was jolted from my thoughts at his voice, which somehow seemed crisp and clear above the music that was booming loudly all around us.

“Hm?” I asked, unable to get anything further out.

“I said,” he repeated slowly, his eyes flickering to meet mine, “that you’re staring.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” he shrugged, picking up his glass and sipping from it, “I’m used to it by now.”

He licked a bit of the drink from his sharp teeth and looked up at me, his eyes glancing me over and causing me to shiver until he looked away and shifted along in his seat, indicating for me to sit down.

I smiled faintly and thanked him, carefully sliding into the booth next to him as Julie sat opposite me, almost immediately jumping into flirting with Tony like there was no tomorrow.

“You seem uncomfortable.”

I looked at Loki and gave a small half-shrug, having to look away as his eyes appeared to bore into my very soul.

“I don’t really do crowds or clubs,” I explained.

“I see, not a clubbing person.”

“I’m more not a people person.”

“Likewise, I’m only here because my idiot brother says it’s the perfect chance for me to interact like a ‘normal person’ would,” he smirked and his shoulders shook with a chuckle, “like I’m anything normal.”

“You seem pretty normal to me.”

He regarded me with a look that was both curious and amused.

“Impressions can be deceiving, especially when they come from the likes of me.”

“You mean vampires?”

“I mean Gods of Mischief.”

I fell into a stunned silence at that, not entirely sure how to respond.

Truth be told, I had no idea how to take what he was saying, I had thought that Thor and Loki were just nicknames for the brothers and that was all, not that they would actually play into the names and titles that came with them.

My eyes flickered to Julie, but she was still too into Tony to notice anything else around her.

There was something that I found slightly uncomfortable about how comfortably she fit into the club, how unphased she was that one small snap could send more than half of the people around us into a frenzy of bloodlust.

An air of awkwardness suddenly engulfed me and I was uncertain of just how long I could stay here, sitting next to this strange man who shared the name with a God.

“I’m going to go and get a drink,” I commented to no one, simply wanting to lift my own unease.

“I’ll join you,” Loki responded, offering me a strangely twisted smile, “I just ran out.”

I pursed my lips and licked them but gave a nod and slid out of the booth, stepping to one side to allow him space to crawl out behind me.

I wanted to go on ahead of him, but felt that it would have been rude when he wished to accompany me and more than likely be cordial and friendly as I was company to his company.

Loki stood to his full height, which was much taller than my own, and smiled down at me, nodding his head towards the bar.

“Shall we?”

My eyes flickered towards the bar before looking back up at him.

“Of course, let’s.”

My smile felt a little put on, but it seemed to sate him as he headed off with me trailing behind him.

I glanced over my shoulder towards our table, hoping to catch Julie’s attention before she and the others were shielded from my view by the patrons on the dancefloor that we had to pass through.

Chapter Text

I wasn’t sure how I’d ended up there, but somehow I had ended up back at Loki’s place with my back slammed against the wall as his lips attacked mine and his cold hands searched and prodded at my body.

Everything happened so quickly and one thing led to another at such a speed that by morning, when I’d woken up, it all seemed like the blur of a fading dream.

The only things cementing the reality of the situation were the unfamiliar room and then numbness of my body.

There wasn’t a joint or muscle on me that didn’t feel stiff or numb with each movement, when I’d lifted my head briefly off the pillow my vision swam and my head pounded uncomfortably.

An arm was slung over me and rest in the dip of my waist, the grip lax enough for me to be able to gradually shuffle out from underneath it, though it took a lot of effort to move at all.

I threw my legs over the side of the bed and sat up despite my head’s protests, a guttural groan escaping me as I did.

Feeling was slowly beginning to return and the more aftermath of sensations I felt, the more I wished that I could go back to being numb.

I already knew of the headache, that much was unignorable, but other aches and pains began to surface.

My hips felt bruised, my neck was burning red hot and there was a horribly suspicious wet and sticky feeling between my thighs that accompanied the soreness that pulsed through my centre.

It was a strange feeling, typically I would find a way to clean after a bought of sexual activity and I never went unprotected on the rare occasions it did happen, which truth be told had only been about twice in my life.

My hands didn’t know where to go first, between my thighs to confirm my worst thought or to my neck to confirm my biggest suspicion.

In the end, my fingers ended up sliding along my neck, causing me to hiss as the already sensitive flesh stung at the light graze of my fingertip against two deep puncture wounds.

“Fuck,” I whispered, pulling my hand away and inspecting the dried blood.

“That we definitely did.”

Loki’s sleep laden voice causes me to jump and twist to face him, my entire body screaming in protest at the sharp movement.

He’s pushed himself up on his elbows, his dark hair messier than the previous night which I hadn’t thought would be possible, a spatter of blood decorates his pale mouth and reddens his lips.

The pillow he had been resting on had small red stains atop of it and my curiosity started growing.

I didn’t need the cover to slip any lower down his hips than it already had to confirm that we were both still fully nude, but my eyes still travelled over his body on their own accord.

“I feel like shit,” I muttered, rubbing at my eyes with the hand that wasn’t tipped with blood.

“Aw, what I that bad?” He tilted his head with a pout, his hair falling over his eyes.

The affect of this look and the gloomy lighting in the room made my arousal spike a little, which in turn made me curse my soft spot for guys with long and messy hair.

Especially men as devastatingly handsome as the vampire before me.

“I don’t know,” I answered truthfully, “I barely remember it.”

“Harsh, but no surprise,” he shrugged, falling back down and resting his head on top of his hands, “you were pretty high.”

“High?” I practically yelled, “I don’t take drugs.”

“You don’t have to,” his gleaming eyes flickered towards me and he smirked, “don’t you know that being bitten by a vampire is one of the ultimate highs?”

“I’d heard rumours,” I answered quietly, feeling foolish at not having thought of it.

“It’s why the place is called The Euphoric Rush, it’s just that for both biter and bitee.”

“Is that even a word?”

“No,” Loki chuckled, “I should trademark it.”

“Because I’m sure people are scrambling to steal that genius title.”

“They should be.”

My heart fluttered involuntarily as he smiled at me, running a thumb across his bottom lip to rub off the dried blood.

As if in reaction to seeing my blood on his skin being so callously wiped away, the wound on my neck throbbed and I grit my teeth, trying to hold back a wince.

“I should get going,” I mumbled, standing up from the edge of the bed.

“Already? It’s barely midday.”

“That’s late for us human, Loki and I have shit I’ve got to get done before work tomorrow.”

I grabbed my clothes from the floor and pulled them on, trying to ignore the horrible feeling between my legs when the cotton of my underwear squished it together, I was going to have a very thorough shower later.

“You really have to go?”

Without turning around, I picked up my bra and shuffled into it before yanking on the rest of my clothes so harshly I was surprised that none of them tore.

“I do.”

“Shame.”

A cold hand caused me to jump as it ran over my now jean clad ass and then under the bottom of my shirt to rest on the curve of my hip, I hadn’t heard him pull himself across the bed.

“I’d love to have another round before you left.”

I smiled and looked down at him, resting my hand on top of his.

“You’ll have to forgive me if I forego that, even if I’m breaking some one-night stand etiquette I’m not aware of.”

“Whoever said I wanted this to be a one-night stand?”

“I guess I presumed.”

“Presumption will lead you to a lot of trouble,” he smirked, giving my ass a smack before shifting back into the bed and closing his eyes.

“I suppose, look I gotta go, but if you’re serious about this not being a one time thing then I’ll leave you my number and you can call me sometime.”

“I promise that I will.”

I laugh, but let that be the end of the conversation.

After bidding him a good sleep, I left the room and awkwardly navigated my way through the unfamiliar flat.

To say that it was significantly bigger than my own would have been the understatement of the century.

I managed to find my way to the front door, where my black leather handbag and shoes were sat waiting and was pleased to find that the door was unlocked, saving me any embarrassment of having to get him out of bed and sheepishly ask him for the keys.

Taking out the notebook and pen I always carried, I jotted down my number, ripped out the page and set it on the second shelf of the bookcase beside me.

Sparing a glance over my shoulder towards his room, I gave a small smile and rubbed at the still sore wound on my neck before leaving into the late October sunshine.

Chapter Text

Since that first night with Loki, I hadn’t been able to think of anything other than how I wanted that high that he gave me again.

Though I only wanted it from him.

It was a strange thought, thinking that I had somehow become addicted to one specific vampire after a single night together, but those seemed to be the facts and I couldn’t argue with them.

I wasn’t the only one who obtained a new obsession that night.

Julie and Tony had become practically inseparable after our first night at the club, it was starting to get a bit unbearable with the way she rambled on and on about him but I was still happy that she was at least happy.

I, on the other hand, was finding it hard to distract myself from this terrible itching need to be bitten again.

To have Loki pressed against me, bare skin on bare skin, as his sharpened canines punctured my flesh and filled us both with a high better than one any drug could offer.

Throughout the first week I though, or more hoped, that he would seek me out of his own accord.

At night I would sit up awake and wish to hear a knock on the door and a playful chuckle from the other side, but by the third week when I heard nothing, my hope dwindled away and I pushed my needs to one side so that I could focus on everyday life once again.

Like it had been before that night.

I’d sent him a few texts to ask if he wanted to meet up, not for a hook up just for a casual outing, but all my messages went unanswered and I had to try my best to push aside the sting that came with a clear rejection.

Though I spent a lot of my time convincing myself that it was a mere mistake, there had to be a reason that he wasn’t replying.

Somehow, I’d managed to push down the nagging voice in the back of my head that kept telling me to return to the club in an attempt to find him and find out what was going on.

Something logical but also too much like a stalker for my liking.

I pushed this urge down for a month and a half before having to give in, even if it was just to see him.

There was no hiding the fact that this line of thinking was wrong, but I couldn’t help myself.

The weekend of my first of two weeks off from work, I got dressed up in my best vampire inspired outfit and headed out on the twenty-minute walk from my place to The Euphoric Rush.

As I made my way down the little side road that led to the club, my nerves struck and I started to feel foolish in coming to a place I would normally avoid.

Not just because of the vampires and the possible danger, but purely because I disliked clubs in general.

The thumping music made my head pound and the thought of what I was doing made my stomach lurch, thoughts of turning back sparked up but by the time they had become loud enough to be heard over the music I had already paid and was making my way through the red velvet rooms towards the seating area.

I weaved my way past the too busy bar and the gyrating bodies on the dancefloor, trying to score a hit, a lay or both and step into the raised booth area again.

From my position I could see just about each booth well enough to tell if I recognized anyone, so I scanned over the top of people’s heads in search of someone that stood out as familiar, even if it wasn’t Loki.

In one of the booths to my far left I could make out Thor, sitting tall above the edge of the booth with his a few locks of his long blond hair braided much like it had been the first night I’d met him.

An uncontrollable smile splits my face and I start wading through the revelers on the higher level to get to his booth.

Even if Loki wasn’t with him, I could at least ask how he’d been doing and maybe finally find out why he hadn’t been answering any of my messages.

I was fully aware by this point that it had become an unhealthy obsession, but I’d never been with anyone in that way and we had said that we would keep in contact if it wasn’t just going to be a one time thing, the least he could have done was reply to me saying that he’d changed his mind.

Stumbling past a vampire who had clearly had some fresh blood judging by the way her eyes were blown wide, I braced myself on the wooden edge of the booth that Thor was sat in and stepped around to stand beside the table.

Thor sat in the middle of the booth, much like he had been that first night, only this time there was a woman with strange markings stenciled around her eyes sat to his left who seemed to want to be anywhere but there and Tony wasn’t in sight.

Beside her was a red-haired woman who was clinging onto the newcomer, one of her hands hidden under the table more than likely attempting to rise some kind of reaction to her conquest for that night, who definitely seemed more infatuated with the bottle in her hand.

To Thor’s right sat Loki, who hadn’t noticed me until Thor turned his attention to me and smiled widely, greeting me with a call of my name.

“Fancy seeing you here, it’s been a while,” he yelled over the music before gesturing to the free seats, “come and join us!”

At the sound of Thor’s greeting, Loki finally looked up from the brunette who was splayed across his lap, his eyes widened in surprise and his mouth falling open in what I would deem as shock as my name also passed his lips.

I shook my head and glanced over the female straddling his lap, one of her hands delving into the unbuttoned shirt he was wearing.

“You know,” I called over the too loud, thumping tunes blaring from the speakers, “if you didn’t mean what you said in your room, you could have told me.”

“No,” Loki protested, pushing the other woman away kind of harshly, “this isn’t what you think.”

“Isn’t it? Because it certainly looks like you may have played me,” I frowned and stepped back from the table.

“It’s not, let me explain.”

“Just forget it, Loki, I was stupid for coming here.”

From the corner of my eye I saw Loki force his way out of the booth, but my mind was already set by that point and I headed for the exit, my eyes fastened to the floor as I tried to control my breathing and fight back the tears that were starting to sting my eyes.

This was what I deserved for looking too deeply into a practical stranger’s words and reading too much from the situation, getting too attached.

I had set myself up for this disappointment, but that didn’t stop it from hurting.

Though whether it was from actual pain or embarrassment I wasn’t sure.

The slow walk home was sure to help me clear my mind, if I could just stop hearing his voice calling after me.

Chapter Text

I had made it to the center of the dark and empty town before I had to stop, Loki’s incessant yells of my name driving me up the wall and I knew that he wouldn’t give up, he was the embodiment of persistent.

“What do you want?” I snapped turning around to face him.

“I want you to listen for just one minute,” he frowned, stepping up towards me.

“Why? It’s cold and I want to go home,” I argued feebly.

Lok sighed and shuffled his long coat off, setting it around my shoulders whilst giving me a pointed look.

“There, now you’ll be warm and we can talk as we walk you home.”

I looked up at him and sighed, closing my eyes in exasperation.

“There’s no way out of this, is there?”

“No, not if you want an explanation for that,” he smiled wryly, “or you can leave alone and continue being mad.”

“The latter is tempting.”

“And I won’t let it happen.”

“So there is no way out of it.”

“In short, no,” he chuckled.

I rolled my eyes and turned back towards the direction I needed to go for home, Loki now stepping up beside me and wrapping an arm around my shoulders, which I shrugged off.

Adjusting the jacket better around myself, I slid my hands into the pockets to warm my too cold fingers and continued walking, my eyes on the ground as typical for when I was walking somewhere.

“Is she a new play thing for you?” I finally asked as it was evident that Loki wasn’t planning on starting the conversation.

“Not as such, more a meal than anything.”

“Ah, of course,” I nodded, blindly feeling the objects within his pockets to try and see if I could decipher what they were as a means of distracting myself from the hurt.

“I sense that you don’t believe me,” he stated calmly.

“I’m not sure what I believe,” I frowned, shivering as a cold breeze picked up around us.

“Will you believe me when I say that I’m sorry and I didn’t mean to hurt you?”

“No, only because I suppose it’s my own fault for putting too much emotion into one night.”

“I never intended for it to be one night.”

“It sure doesn’t seem that way.”

I looked up at him, surprised to be met with blue eyes that seemed sorrowful.

“That wasn’t my intention at all, I wanted to keep my distance for your sake.”

“My sake? You could have simply answered a text for my sake.”

“I know,” he sighed, shaking his head, “I was stupid and I apologise.”

“Are you going to tell me why?”

“I shall, but first I wish to get inside where we are less exposed so I don’t have to hold back.”

I winced at his words and my mind instantly jumped to presumptions of the worst scenario, making my heart jolt uncomfortably.

The walk back was going to be one of the longest twenty minutes of my life.

Not only was I cold but I was getting hungry, having forgone dinner before beginning my search for Loki.

Said vampire remained silent throughout our entire walk back, even his boots on the floor barely seemed to make a sound and that in itself was unnerving, I knew that vampires were practically built for stealth but surely they made some casual noises.

Other night revelers walked past us on their way to their own parties or from clubs with a night’s conquest on their arm.

A pack of werewolves howled with laughter as we walked past, the butch alphas with at least two ladies each on their arms as they led them to their den, a thought that I couldn’t deny excited me a little.

“I wouldn’t, they’re savages when it comes to carnal functions,” Loki commented casually, as if he was been conversing pleasantly this whole time.

“Considering their nature, it’s not a surprise, I guess,” I mumbled, my mind still conjuring images of a beautiful, black furred, half-shifted wolf dominating me into my mattress.

I tried to suppress the spike of arousal that peaked between my legs, wanting to keep my attention on the current situation and not distract myself with the lusts and needs that Loki had introduced me to.

Somehow, we made it to my place without incident, though I was dying to get some food in me.

As soon we stepped in, I grabbed a fast food brochure from its place tucked in between the house phone and the wall and began browsing through whilst making my way to the living room, Loki trailing behind me.

We didn’t speak until after I’d go online and placed my order in, with no more distractions I had no choice but to batten down and listen to him.

Loki perched on a chair that matched the couch I was sitting on, his hands resting on top of his lap with the fingers laced as he regarded me wearily.

“Are you done now?” He asked, giving me a look of exasperation.

“I am, do go begin.”

“Right, the only reason I didn’t message back was because...” he paused and rubbed at his face, letting out a long sigh, “this is going to sound so stupid now that I’m saying it out loud.”

“It better be stupid.”

“It is,” he shook his head, “I didn’t respond and wanted to find other ‘bitees’ because I was worried that I would get addicted to you.”

“Pardon?” I raised my eyebrow.

“That first night we slept together, you blood was unlike any I had ever had and it was amazing,” he frowned as if uncertain on himself, his fingers tensing, “something sparked in me and I knew that I would end up wanting more.”

I couldn’t stop the huffed laugh that left me as I gave him an incredulous look.

“Really? My blood was addictive?”

“To me it was, something ignited within me that I’ve never experienced with other blood and it felt amazing, it was the best high I’ve ever had.”

“So in the end all of this was about blood?”

“I’d say it was more about conserving your life, I feared that I would drain you just for the high and that’s why I settled for lesser blood.”

“That’s terribly romantic in its own way,” I sighed again and felt my throat tighten at the next thought that struck me, I didn’t want to ask but knew that I had to for my own state of mind. “Did you sleep with any of the others you fed from?”

“No, though I may have craved it, for some reason it didn’t feel right and the thought repulsed me as much as drinking from them did.”

I ran a hand through my hair and nodded, letting out another long breath.

What he was saying made sense and I had no reason to disbelieve anything he had just said, even if it didn’t make me fully forgive him for giving me the cold shoulder.

Though it was a sweet gesture and he was purely looking out for me, was it worth the concern and hurt I had experienced?

He seemed to be nothing but sincere with his claim, the expression on his face seeming to be earnest in wanting forgiveness.

I stared at him, chewing on my bottom lip as I thought things over, the tension building between us until a knock on the door broke the intense stares we were holding.

By the time I’d dished out the serving I wanted and walked back to the living room to sit down, I had pretty much decided on how to take this reveal of information.

Loki had been more than patient, waiting for me to return without a word, though his brows were creased in worry and his expression looked unsettled.

“Please say something.”

I looked up from my plate, my fork still stabbing at the noodles I had ordered.

“I forgive you,” I started, smiling at the way that Loki let out a breath of relief, “but I don’t want this to happen again, I said that I didn’t want us to be a one time thing and I meant it.”

“Meant? Or still mean?”

“Fine, I still mean it.”

He smiled and nodded, exposing his fangs which sent a thrilled shiver down my spine and caused me to look back at my food.

“Then I’ll take note of my foolishness and make it up to you with the best of my abilities.”

I bit my lip again, squirming in my seat before glancing at him from the corner of my eye.

“Promise?”

“Oh, I more than promise.”

Chapter Text

The morning light shining through the barely drawn curtains were what made Loki gradually stir awake, the sun’s beams hitting him in the face and instantly heating up his skin that was usually cool to the touch.

He let out a small groan and lifted his arm up to cover his eyes, though he knew that he’d eventually have to get up and close the curtains properly, Loki felt too pleasantly physically drained to be bothered to get up and move across the room.

There was a soft snore from beside him that drew his attention to the other side of the bed, a warm and content smile softening his features as he took in the bare figure lying at his side.

Her back was turned to him, giving him the perfect view of the curve of her hip and the rear he had used just a few hours ago to help in their movements on top of the mattress.

The memories of what had happened mere hours ago were deliciously vivid.

How they had practically torn each other’s clothes off, desperate in their lust to get as close to each other as possible.

How they had fallen onto the bed and she’d wasted no time in opening up to him, looking up so desperately that he would have felt cruel to tease her like he wanted to.

The way she grabbed his wrist and the sultry tone in her voice as she said; “Not tonight,” when he reached for the protection they usually used.

How her body writhed beneath him and then on top of him as they rode each other for hours, their stamina and libidos managing to keep up at a pace that was unseemly even for Gods.

They both knew why.

He had prepared a special brew from an old book in his library for this exact occasion.

They had agreed that there was no better night than that one to give it a try and it hasn’t disappointed in the slightest, Loki wasn’t a man of poor performance but last night was unlike anything he had experienced before.

The thoughts of the night caused his excitement to spark up again and it wasn’t long before he found himself erect, his body yearning to be pressed against the one lying beside him.

“I guess the brew hasn’t worn off entirely,” he chuckled quietly to himself.

Rather than waking her, which he decided would be rude after he’d been the one who tired her out to badly, he instead sat up and glanced around the room to decide his next course of action.

On the floor he could see the dress she’d worn during the reception, not an intricate design but still gorgeous in colour and fit for a princess.

This was, of course, accompanied by discarded underwear, tights and shoes, all of which lay mixed with the many layers of his own armour.

His eyes eventually drifted over to the furthest corner of the room where a table sat beside the window, covered in books and papers that he’d accumulated over time.

Pulled out from the messy desk was a chair and draped over the chair was an elaborately decorated dress of black, green and gold.

The dress she had been so eager to hide from him before the big day, the one he’d been desperate to see because of how secretive she was about it.

Though he was glad he had waited, seeing her arrive at the end of the aisle in her dress for the first time was a moment he’ll treasure for the rest of his life.

The way his heart jolted and his breath was taken away purely from the sight of her and the beautiful smile that was intended solely for him, there was nothing like it.

It took him back to when they had first met.

It had been during one of Asgard’s many celebrations, though he couldn’t remember what it was.
They usually had so many for no reason that Loki eventually lost track, it seemed second nature to them to throw a feast and then think of a reason for it.

Loki was around seven hundred and was maturing into a fine young adult.

His puberty embarrassments were almost all but a thing of the past, his features chiselled out and he gained a much leaner figure with a tall stature to boot.

Ladies had started taking full notice of him and the attention elated him, it was something he had missed during the awkward years of acne riddled skin and greasy hair that seemed almost impossible to keep dry despite his efforts.

Asgardians were always seen as beautiful, what people didn’t see was the ugly years of teenage life.
That was an unspoken secret amongst their people.

He’d stepped outside as the night drew on, wanting to get away from the smell of alcohol and the constant barrage of gossip that slipped from slurred lips.

Loki walked through the maze of bushes and flowers with ease, knowing exactly where he wanted to be after the many years of traversing the winding paths.

The further into the garden he went, the quieter everything became and more content he began to feel.

It wasn’t that he hated social events, he simply preferred to make his presence known and leave early as to avoid any unpleasantries that would usually occur during the night, he enjoyed attending the events as long as he only had to be there a short while.

He let out a long and content sigh as the fountain came into view, the sound of rushing water instantly taking over the previous silence and making the atmosphere somehow more relaxing.

Torches were lit by magic as he approached, the path lighting up before encircling the fountains and surrounding stone benches, something his mother had been sure to install for such a beautiful night.

Sitting down on the rough edge of the fountain, Loki stared into the water for a brief spell, admiring the change to his appearance that was so drastically different from merely a year or two ago.

It may have seemed conceited, but he certainly felt like the ugly duckling who finally bloomed into a beautiful swan and he was going to make the best of it, lest things turned for the worse as he got older.

After deciding that he’d had enough of feeling needlessly smug about himself, he conjured himself a book and got comfortable on the edge of the stone fountain base.

He’d forever be thankful that his mother had taught him various bits of seiðr, she always gushed about his natural gifts with it and how he’d grow into a powerful sorcerer of sorts when he was older.

Loki would never tell her that he used it for such mundane things as summoning books, Frigga would no doubt see it as a waste.

He’d barely opened his book and read half a page before movement caught his attention.

Looking up, his eyes peered over the book and down the path directly ahead of him, where a young woman around his age appeared to be making her way through the garden, admiring the plants as she went with a wistful smile.

It didn’t take him long to recognise her, despite how much she’d grown up since they had last met.
He was about fifty when he saw her for the first time, when he was still young, cute and doe eyed.

She had accompanied her family on a business trip to Asgard, her parents were to talk to his whilst she and her sisters occupied themselves however they wished to without getting into too much trouble.

More often than not he would find her outside, sitting beneath a tree with a large picture book in her hands that she was attempting to read.

Loki had never gone up to speak to her, too busy with his own early year studies, though he did notice how her sisters barely seemed to pay her any mind.

As if she was but a mere ghost to them.

She had been a cute child, but now, as he watched her turn towards him and saw her face twist into one of recognition, she was a beautiful woman that caused his breath to hitch in a way it never had before.

The dress she wore accentuated her figure in the most spectacular way, the colour pattern was unique to a style that only she would pick to make her stand out from everyone else, not that she needed the help in his opinion.

Part of him could hardly believe that it was the same girl, but he could still see her child features set within a mature face.

“Loki?” She laughed, walking over in quick strides, “what are you doing out here?”

“Just reading, I needed to get away for a while,” he shrugged lightly.

“Me too, watching my sisters trying to court other men and ladies was getting a little grating,” she smiled, “mind if I join you?”

Loki glanced down at the space either side of him before nodding wordlessly.

She smiled and set herself beside him, wasting no time in leaning over to see if she could get a glance at the book in his hands.

“I don’t believe I’d read that one.”

“It’s a history book,” he informed her, “about seiðr from the various realms and how use of it changes depending on traditions.”

“That does sound interesting.”

“You could borrow it sometime if you’d like to.”

She looked up at him and he saw how the magic torches made her eyes glimmer, almost reminiscent of the shine eyes taken when someone had been crying but her smile was too easy for that to be true, unless she was hiding something.

“I would like that, thank you.”

They soon fell into a pleasant conversation of many topics that lasted for a few hours.

At one point, Loki had nipped inside to grab a bottle of wine and some glasses for them to share, he’d commented how mead wouldn’t suit the situation as much as wine would but she knew it was more because he had a penchant for it.

Soon they were on their way to inebriation and topics turned from intellectual and casual to open and more revealing, by this point they slowed down and let the cool breeze wash over them to try and sober up a little.

They continued to talk as they waited for their minds to clear and Loki found himself excited in a way unfamiliar to him, there was something about this girl that brought on an array of emotions that were stronger than any he had experienced before.

He’d never believed in love at first sight, then again even now he was questioning whether it was actual love or purely wine inspire lust, but he felt pleasantly drawn to her.

He couldn’t remember how it happened or who had initiated it, but he remembered that they had shared a kiss that started off innocently and soon became more a drive of force and passion.

That night, on the edge of an uncomfortable stone fountain, they both sloppily lost their innocence to each other.

“I hope you’re not thinking of trying it on.”

He felt the bed dip and arms wrapped themselves around his shoulders from behind, a head rested beside his and messy hair draping over her face as he caught a smile from the corner of his eye.

The heat of her chest pressed into the cool skin of his back and he felt how her nipples hardened at the cold touch.

“I don’t think my hips would do the skirt justice.”

“Perhaps not,” she laughed, “but your ass could certainly work the magic your hips don’t.”

“The thought still doesn’t interest me, I’d much rather stay naked.”

“So would I,” she smiled, her warm hands slowly moving down his arms to his chest, his stomach and then lower so her fingers could wrap delicately around his erection.

“Still feeling a little frisky I see?” He chuckled, looking down at her hand just in time to catch the gleam of light that bounced off her new wedding ring.

“Mhmm, that brew really did a number on me.”

He knew she was purposefully trying to be seductive by the way she had rasped that into his ear, giving him a squeeze and a light stroke that made him gasp out a shuddered breath.

“And it seems it did on you too,” she continued, gently nipping and kissing down his jawline, “it’s still early, how about we have another bit of fun before having breakfast?”

Loki smirked a little and reached down to wrap his hand around hers, leading her into a pumping motion that he desperately needed.

“It sounds like the perfect start to a honeymoon, my beautiful wife.”

Chapter Text

A plume of smoke wafted out of the room as you pushed the door open, causing you to briefly sputter and wave your hand in front of your face in hopes of getting some clear air.

From somewhere in the green mist you could hear a small voice muttering curses that sounded far too old for them, a strange and yet somehow adorable mix as some of the words came out a little incorrectly.

“Loki? Are you okay?” You called through the smoke, relieved that it seemed to be easing up and breathing was gradually becoming easier.

“No!” Came the squeaked reply, an all too adorable one.

From amongst the smoke you could see a small silhouette slowly stomping forward, struggling beneath a pile of too big fabric and stumbling in oversized shoes that clomped as he moved.

Your heart swelled and you couldn’t help the squealed; “Aww,” that escaped you as he stepped into view.

Staring up at you, surrounded by much too big armour, was an adorable Loki who looked to be about five years old, his cheeks puffed out in a pout as his wide blue eyes stared up at you from among his messed up and considerably shorter black hair.

“This isn’t cute!” He squeaked in protest, stomping his foot.

This only resulted in your grinning widely and letting out another noise of appreciation at adorableness.

“It really is, look at you,” you laughed, stepping closer so you could crouch down in front of him, “what happened?”

“I must have cast the wrong thing, gotten the incantations mixed up or something.”

“And this is the result? What were you trying to do?”

“Nothing important,” he huffed, folding his little arms.

“Of course not,” you sighed dramatically and stood back up, “can you reverse it?”

“It’s best to wait and see if it’ll revert itself, I don’t want to make a bigger mess of myself.”

“Uh-huh, how long will that take?”

“A day, maybe two?”

“Alright, looks like I’ll be taking care of you until then.”

You looked him over and gave another little giddy giggle, then turned away and headed out of the room whilst making a mental list of what he could possibly need.

“I don’t need taking care of!” He yelled after you, stumbling forward awkwardly in his shoes.

You stopped and turned to face him, your face softening at the sight of his struggle.

Without hesitation, you walked over and plucked him out of the too large clothes whilst making sure to at least keep his usual undershirt to ensure that he was covered to at least some degree.

One of his boots clattered to the floor, in the way of the doorway, so you nudged the clothes and shoes further into the room and closed the door.

“I don’t need carrying either.”

“Okay, I guess I’ll just put you down so you can run on those little legs to keep up.”

He glared up at you, a sight that made you scoff out a laugh as it was the cutest equivalent of his usual glower that you had ever seen.

“We’ll have to get you some clothes.”

“No need,” Loki shook his head and held up a hand, “I’ll just conjure myself some.”

From his small fingers a green flare seemed to spark just the smallest bit before dying out once again.

He let out a huff and tried again with the same result.

“My magic seems to be playing up.”

“I can see that, well it looks like we’ll be getting you some lovely clothes, maybe we can find you some nice frilly dresses.”

“As long as I’m dressed in something, I wouldn’t care if you dressed me up like Cinderella.”

“Who?”

“Some Midgardian fairytale,” he shrugged, waving his hand dismissively.

You almost cooed at how his tiny voice sounded saying ‘Midgardian’, you knew that you were going to die from cute overload before the day was out.

You took in Loki’s current cover and chewed on your lip in thought.

There was no way that you could take him out in just an oversized shirt, it would be perfectly fine for wandering around the palace, but it was less than stellar attire for the marketplace.

“I wonder if Frigga has any of their baby clothes still,” you mumbled to yourself.

“No!” Loki cried, sounding like a child having a tantrum, “Mother can’t know about this.”

“Well you can’t very well go out of the kingdom looking like that.”

“I can’t leave the confines of the palace walls, people will laugh at me.”

“What? Why?”

“Come on, me, a great sorcerer turning himself into an infant by mistake? I’ll be a laughing stock.”

“Then we’ll do what you do best and lie.”

Loki looked up at you and smirked, his signature look making him look like an adorable child with an evil side hidden deep within.

“I didn’t know you had a penchant for lying.”

“I do when I have to.”

“Wonderful,” he grinned, “so what’s the plan?”

“Isn’t it obvious? You’re going to be my son.”

His smirk instantly fell into a look of pure gobsmack.

“What? But then everyone will presume I’m a father.”

“Then shift and be someone else, be my daughter if you’re that fussed.”

Loki only rolled his eyes and let out a small grumble, obviously thinking that you wouldn’t pick up on the nasty word he had just called you.

A smirk of your own twisted your lips as you looked down at him.

“Now really, is that any way to speak to your parent?”

Chapter Text

The market was bustling and the atmosphere was amazing, the people seemed to be in a good mood and the air was lively with perky chattering.

This was all in contrast to how Loki was pouting as you carried him between stalls, he was clearly not enjoying being stuck in his infant body once again.

You had decided to avoid presenting Loki to Frigga in his condition and you instead turned to Thor, who had instantly taken joy in laughing long and hard at his brother.

It had taken you about fifteen minutes to convince him to help you find clothes that would fit so you could finally leave for the market, but in the end Thor came through in finding out old clothes from a chest he knew his mother kept.

Once Loki was all dressed up and ready to go, you left the palace grounds with Loki being as disgruntled as ever and getting worse by the minute.

“Come on, Loki, it isn’t that bad,” you whispered, having to lean down so that no one around you heard how you were addressing him, even though you doubted anyone was paying you any mind anyway.

That’s the thing with the general public, you may think that they’re paying attention to you and every mistake you make, when they’re usually too busy going about their day to even realise anything had occurred.

“It’s not exactly that great, either,” he huffed, pulling another adorable look.

“But you like being doted on.”

“Yes, as an adult where I get to have wine and other grown up goods, what can I even get now?”

You were about to answer until you noticed that you’d almost walked past the stall you needed to visit, letting out a small meep of surprise, you quickly stopped and took a step back.

Loki looked over the clothes in the stall and wrinkles his nose a little, none of the designs being particularly to his taste.

“Hello, dear.”

His eyes flicked to the stall keeper, an older woman with long, shimmering white hair and a kind smile.

Deciding that he didn’t wish to speak, he played into his new image and shied away against your neck, letting out a small whine that startled you.

You let out a small gasp and looked down at him to make sure he was alright, before looking at the stall keeper and giving her a soft smile.

“Sorry, I guess he got a little shy,” you laughed lightly, still surprised by how he had suddenly shifted from pouting about his situation to acting the part.

“It’s not a problem, many little ones do,” she replied in a kind tone, her eyes glinting with happiness that you presumed was memories of her own children when they were the same age.

“I suppose they do, though I’m surprised he does, he’s all about getting attention.”

You looked down at Loki as he glared up at you, his significantly smaller hand squeezing a clump of your robe between his fingers.

“He is a cute one, what’s his name?”

“Alsveith,” you smiled, giving Loki a little bounce against your hip.

“What a lovely name for a cute boy.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” her eyes seemed to linger on Loki for a while, her lips pursed as if she were in thought.

You decided to ignore her look and continued looking over the clothes that would fit Loki for the time being, not wanting to draw attention to yourself by questioning her peculiar look.

There were a few things that stood out to you, some lovely outfits in his trademark colours but also some nice blue and grey that you thought would be suitable for the time being, he wasn’t likely to be stuck for ages so going overboard was pointless.

Even if you were kind of enjoying yourself.

Loki gave you no input and rendered himself a useless added weight to your arm that was growing more tired and sore the longer you held him, of course he could walk by himself, but you didn’t feel safe setting him down in a large crowd.

It wasn’t that you didn’t trust him, it was the people around him that you were wary of.

You picked out enough outfits to last him a week and though you suspected that he wouldn’t need that many in the first place, it was better to be safe than sorry.

Loki still hadn’t put in any opinion, so you tried to make yourself feel better by assuring yourself that he trusted your decisions, even if that was probably less than true and he simply didn’t care.

He was less than pleased when you had to jostle him about a little in order to find your money pouch, the juggling rattling his brain a little and making him groan uncomfortably.

“Sorry,” you grumbled, awkwardly holding him between the crook of your elbow and your hip as you fumbled with the tightened strings.

“You could have asked me to help,” he commented from his position of now staring over your shoulder with his cheek smushed into the fabric of your clothes.

“I know now, sorry,” you sighed, passing the clothes to the stall keeper to free up your hands a little faster.

She didn’t waste time in calculating your expenses, wrapping the clothes in a protective paper parcel and passing them back, all the while keeping the same warm and welcoming smile.

As she went about her job, you adjusted Loki into a more comfortable position and passed him the parcel to hold whilst you took your change from her.

Her eyes once again seemed to linger on Loki as you dropped the coins back into the pouch and fastened it, the same thoughtful look crossing her face.

You quirked your eyebrow a little and cleared your throat to gain her attention, half turning away as if to walk off while also shielding him from sight.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, dear,” she smiled, her eyes flickering up to you, “though there is one thing I must say before you leave.”

“Oh? What is it?”

“I just find it remarkable how much that young boy looks like one of our kingdom’s princes.”

You heart skipped a few beats as you looked down at him then back at the kind older woman, a laugh too high of a pitch escaping beyond your control.

Although it had been your idea to run with the lie, you had secretly hoped that no one would actually comment on it and yet here you were at your first stall, already busted.

“I suppose he does,” you rushed out with an obviously fake smile, “but it can’t be possible, we all know Prince Loki has no children.”

“Not if you ignore rumours,” she hummed with a nod.

“Indeed, but those rumours have proven false in all my years of knowing them.”

“I suppose they have been, at least to this lifetime.”

“Very much so.”

“It’s just that the similarities are remarkable.”

“They truly are,” you nodded quickly, eager to get away, “thank you once again and I’m sure my boy will be happy to hear the lovely compliment when he’s old enough to understand.”

“Most definitely, the prince is a handsome man.”

“He is and his children will be just as beautiful I’m sure, but for now we will nev-”

“Papa Loki!”

Your blood froze and your eyes widened at the small voice that interrupted the conversation, your eyes slowly drifting down to the toddler who was grinning as wide as they possibly could from excitement.

“No, sweetie, Loki is-”

“No Papa?” He pouted, looking up at you with shimmering eyes, “wanna see him.”

The older woman was now looking between you both with a look of complete scepticism and disbelief, as if she was now deducing that your entire conversation had been a lie.

You cleared your throat awkwardly and squeaked out another high pitched; “Thank you,” before rushing off.

Once you felt you were far enough to be out of sight, you ducked into an alley that seemed the most secluded and looked down at him with a look that had the potential to shoot daggers.

“What was that?” You asked through gritted teeth.

“I was bored and wanted to add to the conversation,” Loki smirked, shrugging as if it were nothing.

“Yeah, by making yourself your own dad.”

“As was our plan, which you didn’t stick to, had I known you were a terrible liar I would have just stayed at home.”

“I wish I’d left you at home.”

“But you didn’t and now we’re here and I’m hungry, get me some food.”

You sputtered the words you were trying to say before huffing and rolling your eyes.

“With how much of a brat you’re being, I should just leave you right here.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Wouldn’t I?”

Loki slowly tilted his head, not breaking eye contact as he dropped the package containing his new clothes, clenched his small fists and took a deep breath.

“Don’t you dare.”

He waited until his eyes began to water from unblinking before letting out the fiercest tantrum wail you had heard a child emit.

You winced and grit your teeth, holding him away from you as if that would somehow help your situation.

Outside the alley you could see people looking in your direction as they walked past, some even giving a dirty look as if you were a single mother who couldn’t control their child.

This would of course be one of those moments where people didn’t mind their own business, you’d been on the other side of this exact predicament and even at times you had thought how annoying another child’s scream was.

Loki wasn’t giving up though, he didn’t care about the looks you were both getting from the subjects of the kingdom that he one day hoped to rule over, instead he seemed to be enjoying himself far too much in making you suffer.

“Okay!” You relented, “I’ll get you something to eat.”

Instantly the noise stopped and he let out a long breath before smiling at you.

“Good, I want some cake.”

You muttered profanities under your breath as you carefully bent over and picked the clothes back up, all the while feeling that smug smile that looked too adorable to ignore burn into the side of your skull.

“Please be over soon,” you prayed to no-one, hoping someone would listen.

Chapter Text

Much to your relief, once Loki got some food and his appetite was sated, he settled down and let you continue with your market shopping with little hassle.

Sure, he whined here or there purely to make a scene, but he surprisingly behaved for the most part.

Thankfully the travel back home was easier.

Although Loki was adult minded, it seemed his body was still controlled by the limitations of a child’s and by the time you had finished wandering around the market, he was resting against your hips with his head on your shoulder as he slept, oblivious to the world around him.

The people you shopped from cooed quietly over him, saying how adorable your son was and more often than not commented on how much he looked like a certain Prince.

Each time you smiled politely and agreed, digging yourself into a deeper and deeper hole with each passing agreement, but you knew after the first merchant that there was no way out of this story.

Word was bound to pass around the kingdom that Prince Loki, a supposed bachelor in the eyes of many, had an illegitimate, but completely adorable, child to a woman known as a palace worker.

Loki was still asleep after you’d awkwardly clambered into the carriage.

You somehow managed to shift him around to rest in your lap with his head rested on your chest, your arms securing him against you as the carriage jolted forward to head back to home.

As you looked down at him, you couldn’t stop the faintest bubble of broodiness from rising and the way your heart jolted at the sight of a supposed young child sleeping in your lap was unignorable.

In that moment, you wanted this to be how it was, to be making a journey home to your husband, Loki, with the child you had conceived together in your arms after tiring themselves out with the excitement of the day.

This wasn’t the first time feelings like this had flared up, but in the past it had been fleeting and never lingered as long as the thoughts did then.

For the first time, you had thoughts of actually putting forward a suggestion of a family with Loki, which in itself unnerved you as you both had never considered something this serious.

Your relationship with Loki had always been light and a bit of fun, nothing that either of you would consider entirely serious, just something of a light romance with amazing sex.

These thoughts changed that feeling entirely, what you thought was merely a mutual attraction shifted into something much stronger in a matter of minutes.

You were afraid to admit it, but you had grown to love him and now the fear of it not being mutual pricked in the back of your mind.

Having a discussion about children could possibly scare him off or he may not think of you as deeply as you thought of him and that worried you.

Niggling thoughts and concerns rang through your mind the entire journey back, all the while Loki slept on none the wiser.

Thor was waiting to meet you both at the entrance, his face breaking into a kind smile as he watched you stumble out of the carriage with Loki in your arms.

“This has to be one of the cutest things I’ve seen,” he chuckled.

You rolled your eyes but couldn’t help returning his contagious smile.

“He’s been asleep for a while now, it’s been peaceful.”

“How has he been?”

“Like a five year old Loki,” you laughed.

“He always was a little rascal.”

Thor walked to you and held his arms out, indicating to Loki.

There was a minor bit of hesitance, but you gently passed him over and let Thor carry him inside as you brought in the bags you’d put your shopping in to.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen him like this,” Thor smiled, looking almost fatherly, “it brings back memories of our childhood.”

“I’m more than certain it would.”

“Though I doubt your memories are as fond as my own.”

You both froze at the softly spoken voice with a hint of mirth laced into each syllable.

“Mother,” Thor exhaled, looking over his shoulder.

“Lady Frigga,” you bowed, glancing at Loki who had started to stir a little in his brother’s arms.

“How long have you known?” Thor asked lamely, knowing that there wasn’t any possible way she hadn’t known since the beginning.

“Long enough,” Frigga replied, her usual kind smile in place.

As elegantly as ever, she moved closer and looked down at Loki just as he rubbed at his eyes before letting them flutter open.

Once his eyes focused and he met his mother’s gaze, he flinched then hurriedly looked away with red cheeks.

“Mother,” he greeted quietly.

“Loki,” she replied with a light laugh, “don’t you just look precious.”

“I didn’t want you seeing me like this.”

“As if I never have before.”

“Not for many years,” he looked up at Thor who took the wordless cue and set him down.

“Magic went awry, nothing to be ashamed of, I am truly glad I got to see this sight once again.”

“Mother,” he whined, hanging his head so that his long hair covered his face, hiding his embarrassment.

Frigga merely laughed and stooped to pick up her son, resting him against her hip as she had done many years ago.

“Come along, I know a way to reverse this.”

“Really?”

“Of course, it’s a simple bit of magic.”

“And you couldn’t have come to save the day sooner?” He asked, rolling his eyes lightly.

“No, I wanted to see how this would work out, now, let us get you fixed.”

“Oh,” you pouted, “and I bought some great things for him to use until it wore off.”

You held up the bags in your hands to exaggerate your point.

Frigga looked over, a twinkle in her eye and a hidden meaning in the smile she aimed at you before turning away and heading back the way she had arrived from.

“I’d keep ahold of them if I were you, who knows how soon you may need them.”

Chapter Text

Loki pushed the door open and poked his head inside, glancing around the room to make sure the coast was clear so he could step in safely.

The bag that rested in the crook of his left arm rustled as he moved to close the door, the contents inside jostling a little.

“Are you home?” He called out experimentally.

From the living room he heard a low groan and huffed out a laugh.

“I take that as a yes.”

He walked towards the room and glanced inside the bag, worrying that his supply would be insufficient.

Loki found you exactly where he’d left you, curled up in the corner of the settee with your arms wrapped around yourself as you stared at the TV that was playing some Midgardian film he had only heard of because of your infatuation with an actor who starred in it.

“I come with peace offerings,” he smiled, holding up the bag.

“What?” You asked, pausing the film.

“Peace offerings,” Loki repeated, opening the bag and looking inside, “I’ve got sweets, drinks, cake and some other bits and pieces that I know you like.”

You smiled and shifted a little to sit up, wincing as another horrible cramp ran through your waist and tightened the muscles in a painful spasm.

“That’s really lovely of you,” Loki grinned at the compliment as you continued, “but why are they ‘peace offerings’?”

“Oh, that,” he sighed and sat down beside your legs, “I was worried that I’d upset you earlier, you did snap quite badly.”

You frowned a little and sighed, curling up again.

“I know, I’m sorry, that wasn’t your fault.”

“Then what was it?”

“It’s because my hormones are haywire, it’s that time, you know.”

Loki raised his eyebrow and shook his head.

“Know what?”

“The Devil’s Waterfall?”

At Loki’s confused look you gave another sigh.

“The Red Niagara?”

“I’m not following.”

“I’m on my period, Loki.”

His eyes widened a little as his face lit up in recognition.

“Oh, right, now I understand.”

“Are you sure?”

“In a way, it’s not something I personally have experienced,” he shrugged, standing up and beginning to empty the contents of the bag onto the table in front of you, “even during my time as a woman.”

You nodded slowly, watching as the pile of your favourites treats continued to grow as he pulled out packet and bottle after packet and bottle from the apparently bottomless bag.

“You never had a period?”

“No,” he paused for a moment and looked at you over his shoulder, his head cocked to one side, “I’m not sure God’s have periods, instead we seem to be blessed with heightened fertility rates.”

“And libidos with questionable fidelity morals if you listen to the mythology.”

“Which we don’t,” he murmured in a monotone, his face instantly going dark.

You let out a hard laugh then groaned, wrapping your arms tighter around your stomach once again and curling even further into yourself as your cramping gut tugged harshly.

Though this position didn’t do much favour for your back, which had a continuous dull ache that refused to shift no matter what position you could manage to contort yourself into.

“Don’t make me laugh,” you whined.

“To be fair, you made yourself laugh, but I shall be kind and agree to try and hold my natural gift of comedy until you feel better.”

“Much appreciated.”

Loki crumbled up the bag as he finished and looked down at you, his face soft with some form of sympathy.

“I understand that you’re in a lot of pain, however, so how about I grab you some painkillers, some heating pads and a blanket?”

“Aw, you’d do that?”

“Of course, and if you’re extra good I’ll even make us some soup.”

“Now you’re just spoiling me.”

“I try.”

He chuckled and then left for the kitchen, his mind mapping out which tasks to prepare first so that things would be done quickly and efficiently as to not keep you waiting too long for your much needed relief.

Things had just about come into a settled order and he was grabbing cans and bread from the cupboard when he heard a sneeze from the other room, followed by a grossed-out moan of; “Ew.”

‘I guess I’ll add ‘clean underwear’ to the list as well.’

Chapter Text

It had been a few months now since he had started his work in the Asgardian stables and Loki found himself as enamoured as he had the first day.

There didn’t seem to be anything outstanding about him, he was your average Asgardian in looks, nothing compared to the men and ladies of nobility that he’d meet regularly.

Yet there was still something about him.

It kind of annoyed Loki, somewhere deep in his roots, that he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what drew his attention.

Was it his friendly attitude and bright smile?

Was it that he never seemed to turn down a chance to help, while also still having enough attitude to tell people where to stick it if need be?

Could it possibly have been that slight twang in his accent that was somehow rather endearing?

He didn’t know, all he knew was that he was enamoured with the new stable boy.

This man had arrived one day from seemingly nowhere and took over Loki’s thoughts mere days after capturing his attention, something that the God tried to ignore and deny for the first few weeks.

Having failed miserably at that, he turned to learning what he could about the boy.

He now knew that he came from a small, not too well off but not poor family with a sizeable farm of their own just outside of Asgard’s territory and that he had come to Asgard to work as the stable boy upon Frigga’s request.

They traded within the market square every Wednesday and Thursday before disappearing again, it was during one of their trading sessions that Frigga had talked to the boy and had taken a liking to him and his work ethic.

Now he was here, haunting Loki at every turn.

Loki tried to make it less than obvious that he was watching him for the excitement it gave him, the way his heart would speed up and his stomach would flutter.

As cool and collected as Loki was, even he experienced the excited sensations of a crush.

He parched on a low wall that sat just outside the stables and he’d read, unless no one was looking, then he would watch as the boy worked.

Heaving bales of hay around and whistling merrily as he mucked out the mess, never letting the disgusting job ruin his mood.

Loki had noticed that he seemed most at peace when he was brushing the horses, making sure that they looked ready and suited for royalty at the drop if a pin.

It appeared that today was one of those days.

“Morning, Sleipnir, my old boy.”

He patted the strange horse’s muscular back and earned a whinny in response, the boy stumbling a little as he was nudged by the horse’s large nose.

“Alright, calm down,” he laughed, pulling the brush out of the back pocket of his low hanging trousers, “I’m happy to see you too.”

Loki watched as the stable boy’s calloused hand ran over the hair down Sleipnir’s neck before he ran the bristles of the brush through the locks, the horse seeming unphased by the gentle caressing as he ate the hay set in front of him.

Sleipnir was undoubtedly his favourite, that much Loki could tell, but he also knew that he favoured Loki’s own black stallion amongst the others as well.

His love for all the horses was evident, but, like children, no matter how often people say they don’t have a favourite there is always one that stands out above the rest.

“You know, you stare an awful lot.”

Loki looked over and was a little stunned at finally making eye contact with the man he’d been watching for so long.

“Pardon?”

“You spend a lot of time sat there, watching me,” he smiled, turning his attention back to the eight-legged horse, “you know, if you’re that interested in horses you could just come a bit closer.”

“It’s not the horses I’m interested in,” Loki mumbled, standing from his spot and slowly walking over.

“No need to be shy, they don’t bite much, ain’t that right, Sleip?”

Loki eyed the beast in distaste, the way his face contorted giving away his thoughts.

“Come on now, Prince, you can’t still dislike our boy because of some rumour.”

“I can and shall.”

He laughed at Loki’s petulant tone which in turn caused Loki to smile as well, enjoying the moment between them.

Standing closer now he had a chance to admire him in a way he hadn’t before, now that he was stood still directly in front of him, Loki could admire the physique the was welded by the hard labour over the years.

The back muscles that were defined by the fabric of the shirt that was stuck to his body by sweat, the way his low hanging work trousers still somehow managed to accentuate his rear and lean legs.

“So, what can I do for you?”

His eyes flickered back up to the ones that were trained on him, sparkling with mirth as he smiled warmly at the Prince.

“Nothing, I’m just watching.”

“You do that a lot, do you have a fascination with horses?”

“Not particularly.”

“Really?” He asked, his eyebrow raising, “you sure do spend a lot of time here for someone who don’t care for horses.”

“I have my reasons, what about yourself? Do you enjoy your job here?”

“I like it, sir, keeps me out of trouble.”

“Bit of a troublemaker, are we?”

“You could say I got up to some tricks in my youth.”

That cheeky smile made Loki’s heart jolt pleasantly and he found himself chuckling.

“I can say I have a reputation of my own.”

“Oh, I know sir, I’ve heard a lot about you over the years, not all good but most certainly entertaining.”

Loki nodded, completely unphased with the knowledge that he’d probably heard the worst of the worst about him, that seemed to be a reoccurring theme amongst Asgard and its residents.

Anything to shun the younger prince and make him seem just a little worse than he was, that wasn’t to say that he was the best person around, but he most certainly wasn’t the worst.

“I must say, I would love to take that stallion of yours for a ride.”

Loki had to stop himself from laughing at the small image that came to his head at the comment, instead he cleared his throat and tried to also clear his mind of the thoughts that sprung up.

Instead he tried to keep the conversation on track with; “So you know how to ride?”

There was a brief pause as a smirk snaked across his lips and a chuckle rumbled from his throat.

“I can ride a few things.”

Loki stared at him, taken aback by the smooth response that he hadn’t expected to come from such a chirpy guy who gave off this, now evidently, false wave of innocence that excited him in a way he hadn’t felt for a while.

“I don’t believe that,” he finally said, folding his arms with a smirk of his own, “you may just have to prove it.”

“I’d be more than happy to show you my skills.”

An eyebrow quirked suggestively and Loki was beginning to feel himself get riled up at the turn this conversation had taken.

He’d never expected any of his lusts to be reciprocated, but he was more than willing to push this as far as it would mutually go.

“Wonderful, tonight, my room,” he demanded, his eyes roaming over the stable boy again.

“As you wish, my Prince.”

Chapter Text

It had been a long day and Loki looked forward to finally flopping into bed with a good book and his husband curled into his side as he read to him, perhaps playing with the other man’s hair as he half-dozed with his head resting on his lap.

Loki knew that the day had tired his lover out more physically while he was more socially exhausted from an event they had attended and now, they were both ready to ignore the world and live in their own bubble of comfort as they had every night for the past three years.

He looked across the bed to where his husband was stripping down to his underwear, stretching out any aches that were beginning to build in his tense muscles before he turned to climb beneath the sheets.

For a brief moment, their eyes met and Loki caught a glimpse of that cocky smirk he’d fallen for five years ago upon his visit to the stables.

Loki climbed in beside him and settled into place after grabbing the book they had been reading together from the bed stand, he worked on opening the book to the page they had stopped on as his stable boy got into position, his head resting closer to Loki’s side than his chest with one arm resting over the God’s hips.

“Are you ready?” Loki asked, already playing with a tuft of his husband’s hair.

“As ever,” he nodded, stifling a yawn as if the two words had exhausted him.

Loki chuckled lightly then settled into his usual reading chance, letting his voice carry softly, almost intimately quiet as if the words were for his husband and his husband alone.

This story was theirs, for no one else.

As usual, they stayed like this for a while, cuddling and reaching while sharing light touches, until Loki’s throat began to ache and he had to pause for a drink of water.

He plucked up the glass from the table the book had been sat on and took a few sips, his eyes drifting from the page number they had stopped on to his husband.

His brows furrowed as he noticed the faraway look within those eyes that usually twinkled with a hint of mischief, much like his own, and the blank expression on his face caused alarm bells of worry to sound in the back of Loki’s mind.

Setting the glass back down, he tucked the bookmark into the pages of the book and set it to one side so that he could focus his attention fully on his husband, his cold fingers running through his hair and rubbing at his scalp.

“Penny for your thoughts, my little stallion.”

Loki felt his husband flinch, as is startled out of a reverie, before he blinked rapidly then tilted his head to look up at the dark-haired man, who offered him a comforting smile.

“Oh, he answered, shaking his head, “it’s nothing.”

“It’s clearly something if it has drawn your attention away from me,” Loki smirked.

“Point taken,” he laughed, then let out a long sigh as he started to draw circles on Loki’s thigh. “It’s about earlier.”

“Earlier? Earlier as in the event or earlier this morning? Did I do som-”

“No, Loki,” he smiled, rolling his eyes, “you were great, as always, I meant earlier at the event.”

“Oh, then do continue.”

“It was when I was helping those children with the horse riding,” he sighed softly, face falling into a sombre expression, “seeing all those happy families together, loving each other and knowing that I helped put a smile on that child’s face.”

Loki’s eyebrow twitched upward briefly, but he stayed silent.

“It just got me thinking, that’s all, nothing to worry about.”

There’s a brief moment of silence before Loki finally speaks.

“You wish to have a child?”

His husband nodded slowly, letting out a small hum.

“I think it’d be nice to have a family of our own.”

Loki’s eyes widened a little, his fingers stopping their hair-fiddling as he looked down to meet his husband’s eyes.

“Seriously?”

“Yes, I’ve kind of thought about it before but today I’ve been feeling kind of…I don’t know…broody, I suppose.”

Loki nodded slowly, lifting his hand as the other man pulled away and sat up while turning to face him better.

There was a look in his eyes that Loki had never seen before, something soft and desiring, the look of a person ready to progress in their life.

The silence comes down once again as Loki takes a moment to think things over.

Was he really ready to bring a child into this?

He loved his husband, that went without saying, but this was a huge step and parenthood was not something that should be considered lightly. It wasn’t anything that he had really thought about before and it had taken him by surprise to hear it come up.

Now that he did think about it, he couldn’t say that he was against the idea, despite the lingering unease that settled in his chest at the thought of raising a living thing that would be so dependent on him.

Regarding his husband once again, he found himself not as opposed to the idea as he initially would have thought.

In fact, he found the idea rather comforting and found himself smiling as he finally nodded his agreement.

“It’s something we shall discuss a little more and settle on,” he said, “but I can’t deny that the idea is kind of appealing.”

The smile that rose on his lover’s face warmed his heart and he eagerly reciprocated the kiss that he initiated before they went back to their previous cuddling position, though Loki didn’t pick the book back up just yet.

“How shall we go about it anyway?”

“Hm?”

Loki looked down at the other man, who had tilted his head to look up at him, “The child, shall we have a biological child?”

“Um,” he frowned in thought then slowly shook his head, “while I appreciate the sentiment, I wouldn’t feel wholly comfortable with seeing you like that.”

“Okay,” Loki nodded, “surrogacy then?”

The stable boy let out a long sigh and started playing with Loki’s fingers as he puffed his cheeks out.

“Honestly? I think, if we do settle on this happening, that we should go down the adoption route.”

“Adoption?”

“Yes, why not give a less fortunate child a chance?”

Loki smiled and moved some of the man’s hair away from his face, both of them exchanging a look of pure adoration.

“You are too kind-hearted for me,” he chuckled, earning a proud smile in return.

“I know,” he laughed in return then lifted Loki’s hand and kissed his palm, pressing the appendage to his face to try and hide the mischievous grin that was growing. “Besides, shouldn’t this be easier for you? Afterall, if the rumours are tr-”

“I swear, if you bring up that ridiculous story of Sleipnir being my son one more time, I’m divorcing you.”

The laugh that sounded like music to his ears filled the air once again and Loki had to fight to keep himself from smiling.

“You have one past life that screws around and suddenly it’s every life after that faces the torment,” he grumbled, picking the book up.

“You’ll have to travel back in time and have a word with yourself.”

“Don’t tempt me, that man ruined my life.”

“All the more reason for us to make it better,” he smiled, snuggling up to the God once again as Loki resumed his reading.

Chapter Text

He knew that look.

As you walked in and greeted him with a warm smile and a chirpy; “Hey,” he saw the look of absolutely exhaustion that you tried to hide.

It had been a long day at work, again.

He was beginning to get concerned now.

Only a few months ago things hadn’t been this bad, sure there were days where everything that could go wrong did go wrong, but it had never been this consistent before.

Loki waited as you went through the usual ‘home from work’ routine, which consisted of a minute or two of sitting down and doing nothing on the edge of your bed, then the removal of shoes and other extra clothes before you changed onto something you found more comfortable on that day until you joined him in the living room, where you promptly flopped onto the couch beside him.

“Long day?”

“A little, I guess.”

You didn’t fail to notice the pointed look he gave you and let out a long sigh, dropping down so that you could lean comfortably against him.

“Fine, it was a little more than long.”

“I can tell.”

“It’s just, customers, you know?”

“Not exactly, but I’m willing to listen.”

“They just don’t seem to understand how irksome they can be and it’s always on days where everything goes wrong that they have to come up with the most long winded and ridiculous requests.”

Loki nodded and moved his arm to put it around your shoulders, gently rubbing your hip in silence, which you took as a cue to continue.

“Not to mention that we had a delivery back up, so we have so much stock to get through and that’s not even bringing in the customer orders that needed to be sorted and delivered, the phone wouldn’t stop ringing and everything arrived all at the same time when I had a seemingly unending queue.”

“Sounds stressful.”

“That’s just it, it’s not,” you frowned, staring towards the wall ahead of you, “it’s not anything I shouldn’t be used to by now, apart from being a bit more short staffed than normal, but lately I’ve just felt so drained.”

“I have noticed that you’ve seemed a little more tired than usual as of late.”

“And I feel it too, like on Saturday, I went to bed earlier than normal and got plenty of sleep but I still felt like I could fall asleep stood up.”

“I also remember you having a long nap that evening when you got home.”

“Exactly, and I barely worked five hours today and by the time I was three hours in I was exhausted.”

You shifted a little and bit your lip, unsure of whether to openly speak about the next part, but of course Loki caught on and gave your thigh a reassuring squeeze.

“Is there something else you need to say?”

He looked down at you and as you looked up and met his gaze, the look in his eyes was enough to spur you on.

You took a deep breath and closed your eyes, resting your head against his bicep once again.

“I felt like I was close to my limit earlier.”

“What do you mean?”

“Like, I felt as if I was going to snap, at one point I even had to stop sorting the customer orders out because I just felt like I was going to cry, for no reason what so ever.”

Loki is silent for a moment, the rubbing now moving from your thigh to your hip as he let out a small hum.

“I believe the reason is obvious, don’t you think?”

“I suppose.”

“There’s no suppose about it, it’s either your hormones are spiking,” he chuckled lowly, “or it’s stress.”

“But I have no reason to be, it’s all the same.”

“From what you’ve told me, it’s not, and now it’s compromising your mental health by the sounds of it.”

You sat up and looked at him, shifting to sit a little more comfortably.

“What are you saying? I love my job.”

“Perhaps you do, but you can’t say that you haven’t noticed your resistance towards it,” he gave you an almost sympathetic look, “even I can tell that you aren’t as enthusiastic as you used to be.”

“Sometimes I do think it’d be easier just to call in sick.”

“Even one day might be for the best.”

“Maybe, but I can’t let the others down, there’s only four of us,” you sighed, running a over your scalp, “I just feel so mentally exhausted.”

“And now it’s affecting you physically, sometimes you have to think of yourself, what’s more important, your job or your health?”

“My job helps me pay the bills,” you laughed faintly, not able to fully commit to the joke.

“And that should mean that you compromise yourself for it?”

You frowned, staring at him before slowly shaking your head.

“No.”

“Exactly,” Loki gave your knee a few pats of his hand before standing up, “you spend the next two days relaxing and destressing, I shall make us some tea.”

You nodded and slowly led down, curling up into one corner of the couch.

“Can I have some cake too?”

“Of course,” he smiled, shaking his head a little.

Chapter Text

Loki looked around with a frown of discomfort.

He’d never ventured this far before alone and was beginning to feel unsettled, but he was hopelessly lost and with night falling fast he knew that he had to find shelter in case the unfamiliar weather conditions shifted drastically.

The weather where he was from stayed near enough consistent, it wasn’t like Jotunheim was often afflicted with burning sun or heavy rain, it was always icy and cold and that was how the young Frost Giant liked it.

Here was completely different.

The sky that he could see through the browning leaves on the trees was overcast and dark grey, heavy with rain and a disturbing silence that was broken occasionally by distant rumbles of thunder.

It was unlike Loki to be so nervous, but having never travelled too far beyond his own realm he had never experienced an environment such as this one and didn’t know what to expect.

Of course, he had read about the many different realms out there in his many books, however, travelling to one was completely different.

He wasn’t sure what kind of creatures to expect, so far in his time of walking he’d come across mostly small animals that seemed unimposing, if anything he was the more intimidating one amongst all his encounters, but there was always that chance of coming across something much more threatening.

It wasn’t as if he could blend into his surrounding either.

If his height didn’t make it difficult for him to hide within his surroundings, then his blue skin with its intricate natural engravements and red eyes surely did.

Another low growl from the sky made him look up, just in time for a slew of raindrops that managed to slip between the branches to hit him in the face.

He let out a loaded sigh and tucked himself further into the furred coat he took from home, trying his best to over his otherwise exposed torso.

The flickering fire from the lantern he was carrying seemed dangerously close to burning out and he was already losing light fast, just like his hope.

Loki continued to trudge through the forest, the floor beneath his booted feet getting damper as the rain hit the mud and as it began to loosen up, he found that occasionally his foot would slip out from beneath him and almost send him sprawling over.

This made him step a little more carefully, but unfortunately slowed him down that little bit more.

He’d lost track of how many times his feet had slid out from underneath him when he finally stumbled upon somewhere that looked at least temporarily habitable.

Barely thirty feet in front of him stood a tall and beautiful, but sadly severely abandoned and unkept manor.

There were many components and floors to the manor that stood in front of him, it reminded him of a monarch’s home in the stories he’d been told as a child.

To each side of the main building was another separate tower with two more behind those and it was all topped off with dangerous spikes, everything about the place screamed that it should be left alone.

The bricks and wood of the grand building looked like they were losing their colour, at least from what he could see from amongst the green vines that wound themselves all over both the bricks and the garden, but even the plant life seemed to be a duller green and looked more lifeless than anything botanical thing should be.

Spreading out for what could have been miles before the manor was a garden, also untrimmed and overgrowing with plants that looked wilted but triumphant in their take over of the home.

On the other side of the gates he could see a grey stone path that was cracked and overtaken by weeds, clearly no one had walked down it for years.

Truth be told, with how grand it was, he was amazed that he hadn’t noticed it from miles away, at least until he got closer and noticed that there was a glamour of magic around the rusted iron gates

“Strange,” he murmured to himself, running his hand along the barrier only visible to him and feeling the vibrations of the magic against his fingertips, “but easy to break.”

He chuckled to himself and began to focus his seiðr on breaking the magic, not for one moment stopping to think if this was really a good idea nor contemplate why such a barrier would be put up in the first place.

Was it to keep something out or to trap something in?

All Loki cared about was shelter and food in his moment of desperation, not that he expected any edible food to be in such a run-down manor but there were still a few bits in the pack he had resting against his hip.

It took no time for the magic to dissolve, much to Loki’s surprise and gratefulness, and he hastily pushed the gates open.

Stepping into the garden, he ignored the horrid squeak that came from the gate’s hinges and made his way down the path, stamping on, swiping and kicking the plants until he reached the dark wood of the front door that was as tall as he was.

He’d been so focused on getting through the mass of plants that he failed to notice the shadowed figure that loomed in one of the upper windows, staring down at the Jotun with a displeased sneer.

Chapter Text

Loki stepped into the too empty foyer, his boots leaving prints in the thick dust that layered the floor.

Immediately in front of him was a grand staircase the split off into the right and the left, either side of the staircase led to various doors, two at each end of the hall and either side of the walls beside him encasing two other doors.

There were broken bits of marble and vases scattered across the floor, all discoloured with age or dust, much like the expansive rug that once must have decorated the hall.

Above him was a tall ceiling, high even by his standards, with glass panels that would offer a magnificent view to the stars on a clear night.

Above the door and leading up the stairs were three chandeliers, their once sparkling glass now coated and offered no light.

The air was musty and damp, not a wholly unpleasant smell, but not one he would wish to reside in outside of necessity.

“Hello?” He called out experimentally, not expecting anyone to reply.

If the foyer alone was anything to go by then he doubted anyone had resided here for centuries.

As he stepped further in, the door behind him slammed shut and surged up some of the dust from the ground, which invaded his throat and caused him to cough.

Loki waved a blue hand in front of his face, though he could barely see it in the ever enclosing darkness, hoping to clear the air and give him a chance to breathe.

By the state of the dilapidated walls, he didn't expect to find anything of much use here, let alone food that wasn't already mouldy and rotten.

Had it not been so horrid outside and getting later by the second, he would have left to continue his blind stumbling in hopes of finding an end to the forest.

But his need for shelter and the little bit of niggling curiosity got the better of him, thus he ended up stepping to the left and trying the first door nearest to him.

He wasn’t particularly surprised to find that many were either locked or too broken to open far enough for his large stature to squeeze through, he was tall and thin, but not that thin.

Loki decided that he was too tired to mess around with the doors if they were going to be this finnicky and would instead head upstairs, this seemed like the best bet as the stairs were one of the clearer spaces within the manor thus far.

It was no surprise to him that the wood beneath the worn carpet creaked as he put his weight on them, the sound almost threatening to crack beneath his feet at any second.

With slow movements of caution, Loki made his way up the stairs without hazard, the dust on the carpet kicking up and tickling his nose and throat uncomfortably.

Overhead, the clouds had finally opened and the sound of rain hit the roof over him harshly, though he was pleased to see that there didn’t appear to be a leak in the roof like he had suspected there would be.

In fact, Loki had expected there to be more holes than roof altogether.

Although there was still dust covering the faded green scuffed and patchy carpet, it didn’t kick up as much as it had on the ground floor, leading Loki to believe that someone had been there recently.

Perhaps also someone seeking shelter.

On the walls, hanging in dark frames high above the landing and leading up the stairs that split off on either side, was a series of portraits that looked worn and torn apart in places in a way that appeared to have been intentional.

Loki’s curiosity was telling him to try and press the pieces back together, to see if he could at least recreate the image and decipher what it was, but his exhaustion overcame that need and he continued up the stairs, taking the path which led to his right.

“You shouldn’t be here.”

He froze mid-step at the voice that invaded the silence, the sentence was growled and unwelcoming.

He hadn’t realized that anyone was there, hadn’t picked up on anyone else’s presence upon entering the building.

Scanning across the landing before him, Loki could just barely make out a silhouette within the deepest of shadows that almost seemed unnaturally cast.

“Pardon my intrusion, I just needed somewhere to stay for the night in this weather.”

“That isn’t here.”

“But this was the only place around for miles-”

“That is not my concern, leave.”

“I’m sorry for being to abrupt, but I can’t leave in this weather, I am a far way from home and have nowhere else, one night is all I ask.”

The unseen resident stayed silent, he presumed that they were giving him a look over, more than likely with an expression of distaste which was the typical reaction others had to Jotuns.

The beats of silence passed achingly slow before being broken by a drawn out, and obviously aggravated, sigh.

“One night, that is all,” it conceded.

“Thank you,” Loki bowed deeply, feeling out of place with doing such a motion to some unseen being, but feeling obliged to out of respect.

He wasn’t sure if they had even seen his sign of respect, no further words were shared and he continued up the stairs into a returning quiet that would have been deafening if not for the battering wind and rain attacking the roof.

Chapter Text

The night passed quickly with no disturbances, the wind and rain battered throughout the hours but the noise didn’t wake Loki.

He guessed that the long journey had exhausted him more than he has realized, his eyes had closed almost as soon as he had led down.

After being shown to his temporary room by the figure who managed to stay out of sight, he had seen hide nor tail of them.

It was his rumbling stomach that caused him to stir awake, the for food overcoming his need for more sleep.

As the giant shifted in his borrowed bed, a waft of cooked food invaded his senses and overrode them.

Once his brain had finally kicked into gear, Loki noticed that the smell was coming from above him and he promptly turned over and lifted his gaze to find the source.

Despite the morning light, which was struggling to pierce through the thick curtains, the room was as dark as it had been during the night.

His eyes adjusted to the dark enough to be able to make out a silhouette looming over him.

“I brought you some food,” they said, their voice still a growl but calmer than a few hours previous.

“Thank you,” he replied, his own voice husky from sleep.

“I don’t know how good it will be, I haven’t cooked for another in a while, or ever really.”

“Anything would be appreciated right now.”

Loki sat up, resting his back against the headboard that was still coated in years of built up dust and letting the blanket he’d been using to pool below his abdomen and around his hips, showing off his bare chest and the markings upon it.

Though he believed that it was too dark to see anything in detail, Loki felt as if he were being stared at and suspected that their eyes were lingering on him, most likely adjusted to the dark.

At least more adjusted than his sleep laden ones were, although it would make sense for their eyes to be fully adjusted if they truly spent all their time in this condition.

Loki rubbed the sleep from his eyes and shifted his sitting position so that he could eat comfortably.

They stepped forward and leaned down to rest the tray delicately atop his legs.

He watched the silhouette get closer until he could make out their outline a little clearer.

He wasn’t sure if perhaps it was a trick of the light, but Loki swore that he could see the outline of what appeared to be a muzzle pushing out the lower half of their face, though he couldn’t be entirely sure that it wasn’t just a trick of the dim lights.

Almost beyond his control, his hand reached up to brush against what he believed he saw, just to confirm that it was real.

Gently, his fingers connected with something warm and something coated in fur that was soft to the touch.

They let out a startled gasp and pulled away, a growl soon following.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m sorry,” he replied, slightly bewildered, “I thought the light was playing a trick on me.”

“That doesn’t mean you can just do as you wish.”

“I know, I acted out of turn and I apologise.”

They didn’t respond, they merely let out a low growl and stormed towards the door, wrenching it open so hard that Loki was surprised it hadn’t come off the hinges before they hastily retreated and let it slam behind them.

He let out a long sigh and rubbed the back of his aching neck, a small bubble of guilt building in his stomach, which also rumbled again to signify that he could make up for it later but right now he needed to eat.

Creating a light source from the magic he’d been learning since he was younger, he created one bright enough that he could comfortably see his food and started to eat.

His mind reeling the entire time.

Chapter Text

Loki finished his food quickly and set his used crockery to one side, enjoying the lasting aftertaste of his first proper meal in a long time since he’d gotten lost.

He’d had smalls snacks and eatable plants he’d stumbled across, but they didn’t compare to a homemade, warm meal.

As the food went down, he took the downtime to stretch and rub his aching muscles in preparation for the continued journey.

Where he was going, he wasn’t quite sure, but Loki believed that sooner or later he would stumble across something that would help him find his way home, if not then he would certainly die on the trek trying.

He wasn’t sure how long he had spent sat in the silence, but Loki estimated it to have been around twenty minutes before his eyes had adjusted better to the dark and he felt ready to get up and leave.

Standing up, he stretched his long limbs and worked out the cricks, enjoying the feeling of the strange satisfying ache that accompanied the action, before he picked up the crockery that was far too small in comparison to his large hands.

Then again, most things were small to the frost giant.

With cautious steps, he started his adventurous trek downstairs, searching the house and its layout as he went in the hopes that the kitchen would be obviously placed and jump out at him, though it seemed unlikely with how vast this place was.

Though his steps needn’t have been as cautious as he originally intended, as the floor was littered with so much debris and dirt that he found himself tripping over something every few steps.

By some miracle, Loki managed to find his way to the kitchen with only a few of his toes stubbed and throbbing, even if that in itself proved to be a fruitless effort as only sputters of water came through the creaking taps.

He shrugged and washed up his used items, after setting it to one side he turned to face the rest of the kitchen and frowned.

Even through the darkness he could see the piles of bits and pieces that were laying around, the kitchen was evidently used often but it seemed as if a path had been created in the most areas and everything else went ignored.

Looking around the room, he found the shuttered windows and found a way through the rubble and grime to reach them, thankfully his tall stature meant that he mostly just needed to lean over to reach the wooden covers and pry them open, letting natural light into the room for the first time in who knows how long.

With the new light over the room it was easier for Loki to see the damage and though it wasn’t as bad as he had believed it would be, it still needed a considerable amount of TLC before it became a home again.

If anything, he would have thought it the home of a squatter who happened upon a beautiful, abandoned building.

He surveyed the damage and deciphered the worse areas, his worry growing about how bad the rest of the manor must be if this was what the regularly used kitchen looked like.

The oven, sink, fridge and thin path that had been dug out from amongst the rubble was the cleanest part of the room, everything else was covered with broken bits of plaster and dust and other areas had evidence of damp, some areas had been overgrown with plants that somehow managed to thrive solely from the moisture.

“This place could use a definite touch up.”

Glancing at the ceiling, he noticed that one of the wooden beams across the ceiling had fallen and other pieces of the roof were precariously close to falling, how it hadn’t caved in further already was a mystery.

Looking at the debris, he found it surprisingly easy to find the fallen beam that was partially sticking out from among the rest of the pile.

Taking the few strides over, all the while watching that he didn’t stand on anything sharp, Loki managed to dislodge the beam and hoisted it up, giving it a look over and a contemplative hum.

With some magic, that he had learned much to his father’s chagrin, and some time, he believed that he could fix up the kitchen.

It was the least he could do to say thank you for their begrudging hospitality.

Moving back across the room, he looked up towards the ceiling and deciphered just how much work it would take.

Before he knew it, day turned back to night and the light dwindled upon his good deed, which had started life as a gesture of thanks and had turned into a multiple room restoration mission.

Loki had worked his way from the kitchen, which now sparkled in comparison to its previous state, to the foyer and landing, which he estimated would have taken the longest time for anyone else to have cleared, but his larger than life stature and magic made it all easier for him.

He was working on mending one of the holes in the roof that lingered over the staircase, which he could now see was a teal colour thanks to opening the doors and removing some boards from the windows, when a gasp to his left caught his attention.

Stood at the top of the stairs, with light shining upon them for the first time, was the host of the manor, whose face was contorted in pure shock and horror.

For the first time since he arrived, Loki finally got a look at the details of his host.

They were a peculiar mix of human and beast.

Their stature was tall and stocky, granted not as tall as the frost giant himself, but tall enough to loom over any average person they would stumble across, enough to intimidate most who crossed their path.

Underneath their tattered clothes poked out varying bits of skin or course fur, their feet reminded him of a beast’s, mangled claws at the toes and padded soles that rose into canine-like legs.

There was evidence of a tail, though from his stance he couldn’t see it well enough to say whether that was true or if it was just a trick of the light and large, pointed ears that matched the colour of the fur sprouted out from amongst the hair atop their head.

Most peculiar to him was their face, which was mostly that of a wolf-like being except for the left eye which was definitely still human, the affect gave the image of a creature stitched together from pieces of human and beast into the monstrosity before him.

Never to be accepted by either kind, always an outcast.

Loki hadn’t realised that he had been staring as long as he had, his mouth most likely as agape as theirs, which, now that he paid attention to it, exposed yellowed fangs that looked as if they could tear anything apart.

A strangled breath broke the air and jolted Loki back to the present, his eyes flickered up to meet their tear-filled ones that he now noted were two separate colours.

He wanted to say something, anything, but the moment he fumbled out any sound and moved to go up the stairs, they had stumbled back into the corridor and raced back to where they had originally been hidden.

A roar of anguish echoing down the hall behind them.

Chapter Text

Loki searched high and low through the manor to find his host, fretting the entire time about what he would say to try and defuse the situation.

His only intention had been to help, he didn’t even think about what opening the curtains and shutters would reveal beyond the dilapidated rooms within.

He was pleased when he finally found them tucked away in a well-lit library, sat on a comfortable and well taken care of couch with a blanket secured around their shoulders as they stared at a book. A fire crackling away and adding comforting warmth to the room.

Glancing around the room, it was easy for him to tell that this place must have been their pride and joy as there barely seemed to be a speck of dust on any of the shelves.

Staring towards them, he moved forward hesitantly, unsure of what to say.

“You are welcome to leave if you’ve come to mock me,” their voice growled, accompanied with the sound of a page turning.

Loki continued on, moving around to the front of the seat and slowly lowering himself onto it, though his tall stature meant that his legs were bent uncomfortably and he instead moved to sit on the floor where he could stretch out in a better position.

“I don’t know why you’d think that I’d be here to mock you,” he finally said after finding his voice.

“Why wouldn’t you? Look at me…I’m a mess.”

“You look no more unusual than others I have come across.”

They tsked and rolled their eyes, looking away with an expression that was of pure disbelief.

“I doubt it, this is my curse.”

“For what?”

They looked at him, their eyebrows furrowed sadly.

“I was merely in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong company.”

“How long ago were you cursed?”

They shook their head, tears pricking at the corners of their eyes.

Loki frowned and reached out to rest a blue hand sympathetically on their knee, giving it a gentle squeeze of reassurance.

“I barely remember,” they sniffled, looking at him, “all I know is that I want it to be broken.”

“Is there a way to?”

“I don’t know, I don’t have a lot of knowledge about magic.”

“But I do, maybe I can find a way to break it for you.”

They stared at him through teary eyes, their expression somehow conveying gratitude, fear and uncertainty.

“You think you could?”

“I could only try.”

“I’d feel terrible though, you have done so much for me already, what with fixing up the manor.”

“That was purely to say thank you for letting me stay and it upset you.”

“That didn’t, the fear of you seeing me did.”

“Either way, if you let me stay a while longer, gather my bearings so that I can set off again, then I’ll repay you for finding a way to break your curse.”

For the first time since Loki had met them, they appeared happy and grateful to have him around, nodding and agreeing immediately to his terms of staying.

He’d never admit it out loud, but seeing the hope spark up in their eyes made his pride swell more than he believed that it should have and a new determination set in.

By that evening a new room had been set up for him, this time with more furniture and a sufficiently sized bed that was both comfortable and large enough for the frost giant.

He took the three days after the agreement to finish up what he had started, mending the worst areas of the manor, this time with the help of his host.

At first they had been hesitant in getting close enough to help, despite his words of comfort and reassurance, but the more time they spent together and the more comfortable they became, even if they were mostly working in silence, the better they worked.

Together, they gradually tidied and fixed what needed to be done in the worst areas.

From that point on, the weeks dripped by slower and slower while Loki threw himself into finding out what he could about the curse.

What kind of curse it was, what kind of magic it used and from that point how it could be reversed.

During his stay he learned of how food was obtained, where the nearest village was and how to navigate through the forest without getting lost as he previously had.

Life around the manor proved to be easier than he had anticipated.

Loki learned more about the owner of the manor as well.

That they were once a considerably rich person, who lost it all and fell desperate enough to seek out the wrong company, this was how they came to join a group of petty thieves who led them to the witch who cursed them.

This was long ago and they had lived in this manor since, taking solace in the isolation that came with it and refusing to see others unless having to retrieve food from the village, a task that Loki had taken to running for them.

Granted, the people weren’t too keen on a frost giant being a patron, but they felt it best to give him what he was after rather than withholding it.

As weeks turned to a month, which in turn became several, Loki found himself enjoying his stay too much to leave and dreaded the thought of having to find his way back home once he did.

Part of him even wondered if anyone missed him back in Jotunheim or if they had completely forgotten that he even existed.

His progression with breaking the curse was slow, a lot slower than he had initially expected it to be, but he found that it didn’t bother him as much as it would have in the past.

By the third month of living together, his relationship with his cursed host grew and they bonded over many things, especially in the library and they were vastly enjoying each other’s company more by the day.

Their conversations were more comfortable and they were both more open with each other, close enough that Loki would consider them friends.

“How is it going?”

Loki looked up from the old book that he was researching from and turned to look over his shoulder, giving them a comforting smile as they came closer.

“Well, actually,” he smiled back, turning back towards the book as they stepped to the side of the desk, “I feel that I’m getting closer.”

“Really?”

“Yes, I’m being completely serious.”

“That’s amazing, though also very terrifying.”

“Why do you say that?”

They frowned and rested against the desk, half sitting on it as they rested their hands in their lap, staring at their fumbling fingers.

“I don’t remember what I used to look like, what if I hate what I see then? What if I can’t stand looking in the mirror?”

Loki chuckled lightly and shook his head.

“I believe that you’re overthinking it, it’ll take a while to get used to but I’m sure that you are a fine-looking person.”

“You aren’t just saying that?”

“Why would I?” He laughed, louder this time, while grabbing their hands in his own significantly larger and colder ones, “you are my friend and that is what matters.”

They looked at him and brightened up at the sincerity behind his words, giving his hands a gentle squeeze.

“I don’t deserve a friend like you, Loki.”

Loki stared at them, shaking his head as he let go of one of their hands and reached up to smooth the hair around their canine-like ears.

“You do, I think this is something we both needed.”

Chapter Text

You had known Loki for many years.

First meeting him had involved running away to his growing library to escape the adults and their boring party, you were eight and he was ten.

From that point on you were inseparable.

In no time, you had become Loki’s one, and seemingly only, best friend.

Frigga was over the moon to learn that Loki had a friend of his own, not just a secondary friend through Thor.

She’d jump at any chance for you to visit.

And you were more than happy to receive the invitation to stay over, be it for a week or a few days.

You were together through thick and thin.

When your pet passed, Loki was there to comfort you and listen to your endless memory spouting without complaint.

When Loki was struggling with his studies, you offered to help him despite not knowing a thing about seiðr.

Years went by like this, your relationship continuously growing and you both getting closer until you hit the awkward years of puberty.

Loki was hit first, the memory of the time his voice kept cracking during a lengthy spell recital was always one that you would bring up to tease him.

He was blessed by never suffering from severe acne, but his main affliction seemed to be growth spurts.

Every time you saw him, he seemed to have grown ten more feet since the last time.

When you were fourteen and he was sixteen, you noticed your own interest in him shifting after you had started your own transformation from child to teen, with your hormones playing havoc on you.

Something about him was different, but you couldn’t quite place what.

He seemed more elegant, more knowledgeable and more handsome, you found it hard not to stare at times.

As your little crush grew worse, you found yourself taking more interest in the idea of being something more, your mind wandering onto images of little dates and romantic scenarios if you didn’t find a way to keep yourself distracted.

However, it seemed that he too was coming into a peaked interest of others.

Every so often you’d notice his gaze lingering on a woman’s chest or a man’s crotch and each time you noticed a pang jolted through your chest.

Each time the same thought came up; “Why not me?”

You tried not to let it get in the way of your friendship, even during the few months he dated a girl you personally didn’t approve of, and you put on a brave face of support.

Over the years you had gone through so much together, including the idea of getting terrible matching rune tattoos that you thankfully grew out of, because of this there was no way in Helheim that you were letting go of something so valuable to you, even if it hurt.

Unfortunately for his girlfriend of the time, his interest seemed to wane quickly and nothing ever came from her time with Loki, most likely due to the fact that even while dating he was more prone to keeping to himself.

This led to them breaking up and you silently celebrating.

Loki did seem mostly content in being alone and without a significant other, something you were thankful for but also a little fretful that somehow he knew of your disdain towards the last girl and his lack of coupling was your doing.

When Thor turned seventeen, he finally presented as alpha and you were each taken to one side to learn of the dynamics and what would happen in the future and it was then that you wondered if perhaps Loki would be your future mate.

It went without saying that Odin was over the moon and a party was thrown on Thor’s behalf.

Though no party was ever thrown for Loki.

Very few people knew it, but a year and three months prior to Thor, Loki had presented.

As omega.

Frigga, being the wonderful woman that she was, set about helping Loki adapt to the knowledge in any way that she could.

Teaching him about how the basic relationships worked, what his ideal role would be within this arrangement and helping him settle into the idea of finding an alpha female, as rare as they were in Asgard, who would be happy to carry an omega’s child.

Odin, on the other hand, was far from happy about the fact and he set out to protect his image against the whispers that would spread.

He did his best to hide Loki’s representation, to act as though he didn’t know and that he knew his younger son would present as an alpha.

He was an Odinson after all.

This went on for months and as you watched Loki play up to the part, you couldn’t help but to feel disgust at the All-Father’s actions.

However, like with many secrets it wasn’t long before word got out and people began to whisper about the family, some not even attempting to hide the fact that they were as Odin’s actions proved to make things more scandalous than they should have been.

Comments flew about, talking of how an Odinson had presented omega, how shameful it must be for the All-Father but at least he had one Alpha child.

The unfortunate thing is that they were right.

Odin’s shame at having an omega presenting son only proved to worsen their already straining relationship.

It wasn’t that he didn’t love Loki, but having a son that presented out of the norm for his family name was unacceptable and the thoughts of the people worried him.

Loki did his best to hide his basic instincts, to act like the alpha he knew Odin wanted and to anyone who didn’t know, maybe they’d be fooled.

It was something he slipped into naturally by emulating Thor and exaggerating some of his already alpha-like traits.

That didn’t stop people around him from treating him differently.

Loki tried to hide it from you, knowing that you were busy with your own studies and duties, as well as the fact that you were an alpha and wouldn’t take kindly to how people would treat him.

One group set out to berate him at every chance they got, mostly verbally, however the one time you witnessed it first-hand, it had turned a lot more physical.

You’d only just arrived at the kingdom and were wandering around the grounds to try and find Loki, but when you had managed to find him, he was led on his back on the ground, a much larger man looming over him with a hand around his throat.

Both of their clothes were crumpled and a bruise was beginning to show up on Loki’s cheek, though he paid no mind to it as he grappled with the other man, his teeth gritted tightly as his hands pushed against his shoulder.

An instinct to protect him flared up like it never had before.

It wasn’t that their teasing was anything bad but knowing Loki it would affect him more than he’d admit and you wanted to avoid that particular situation.

Confronting them had been a mistake.

You hadn’t intended to, but what you did stepped on Loki’s toes and hurt his pride, instantly wounding him in a way deeper than physical.

But you only wanted to protect him.

Pushing yourself in the middle of the fight was a less than stellar idea, but you just wanted to help Loki.

You didn’t want to see the one you wanted to call your omega getting hurt and that, along with basic nature, made you lash out more violently than he had ever seen you act before.

He knew you as someone who could remain calm in the worst of situations, someone who took things in their stride and rarely let anything affect them.

Seeing you attacking someone much larger was, while amusing, a sight to behold.

You punched, kicking, clawed and at times he swore even growled at his attacker.

The fight didn’t exactly end with you as the victor, but you weren’t nearly as wounded as he was emotionally.

“What were you playing at?” He snapped as you were sat in the medical wing.

You looked at him, wincing as a healer rubbed something into an angry, red graze you’d managed to sustain just above your eyebrow.

“What?”

“Don’t act dumb,” he rolled his eyes with a scoff.

You sighed and shrugged a little, frowning in thought only to wince again as she moved onto your swollen cheek, Loki’s own turning a shade of blue from the harsh punch he’d received.

“I don’t know, I just felt the need to jump in.”

“I can handle myself, I don’t need you to fight my battles.”

You’d never seen Loki look so upset before, not aimed towards yourself anyway, and to say it hurt would have been an understatement.

The look of disdain in his eyes caused your throat to tighten, this only worsened when he shook his head and turned away from you.

“I know I’m am omega, but I don’t need an alpha fighting for me, especially not you.”

“I’m sorry,” you frowned, wanting to move to his bed which was sat opposite your own, “I just wanted to protect yo-”

“Well next time don’t!”

You flinched and stared at Loki with wide eyes, his own narrowed and his chest heaving with pants as he glared at you.

“Just don’t, I can handle myself.”

His eyes seemed to glance over you, a sadness seeping into them before he got up from his bed and walked out of the room, never turning to look back at you.

All of your might was telling you to get up, run after him and make it up to him, yet you knew that it was best to let him cool down a little and the nurse wouldn’t let you leave anyway.

With a long sigh, you closed your eyes and let her do her work, guilt building in your chest at making your best friend feel like the puny omega he didn’t deserve to be treated like.

Chapter Text

The few hours alone were agonising, but you wanted to give Loki time to calm down a little before you attempted to approach and apologise to him.

You spent this time mostly sat in the main hall, finding anything you could do to whittle time away, whether it be talking to the people coming and going from the hall or something more recreational or creative.

None of it helped distract you or stop your mind from drifting towards thoughts of what happened earlier that day, but it was an attempt nonetheless.

It was just turning dark when you finally decided to bite the proverbial blade and make your way to his room to apologise, even if one part of you was loudly screaming with how it would break your pride to do so.

Truthfully, you didn’t feel that you had done anything wrong, but it had upset Loki so that was enough to make you push past the scream of your alpha instincts.

As you stepped up to his large bedroom door, you could practically smell the sorrow seeping from him through the wood and your heart panged to know that you had wounded his ego.

Taking a deep breath, you rapped your knuckles against the door which provided a daunting low thud that seemed to echo in the otherwise silent corridor.

“Loki?” You called out, the sound coming out a little weaker than you had intended.

As expected, you heard no sound from the other side, hinting that he was seriously moping.

“Loki, can I come in so we can talk?”

When there was still nothing but silence you let out a long and aggravated sigh, feeling a tick in your jaw.

“Alright, I am coming in, like it or not.”

You weren’t sure if you were surprised or not by the fact that the door handle turned with no resistance.

Part of you wondered if Loki merely hadn’t locked it while the other wondered if maybe he had hoped that you would come along and he had left it open purposefully, whichever it turned out to be, you were thankful either way.

Stepping inside you made sure to close the door behind yourself, ensuring that the conversation you were going to have stayed as private as possible to save from wounding his already fragile pride that little bit further.

Loki was where you suspected him to be, sat in the furthest corner of his room near the glass doors that led out to his balcony with a book in his lap, though judging by his blank stare he didn’t appear to actually be reading.

He didn’t look up as you neared, but you knew that you had his full attention.

Sitting down beside him, you made sure that you were partially turned towards him so you could, in all essence, stare him down.

“That was very rude,” you said calmly, your hands resting in your lap.

“I know,” he mumbled back, seeming as if he was trying not to cower like a child being scolded which you guessed was part of his omega instinct, “I apologise.”

You both continued to stare unblinkingly, you at him and him at his book, the silence building before you let out a long sigh and rubbed the back of your neck.

“Please don’t be like that, I should be the one saying sorry.”

This caught his attention and he finally lifted his head to look at you, his expression one that shattered your heart.

“No you don’t, I was the o-”

“Loki, please,” you sighed, shaking your head, “I shouldn’t have stepped on your toes earlier, you could more than likely handle yourself, I just got so mad seeing them ganging up on you.”

Even as you were talking about it, the memory of their jeers, taunts and hits began to boil your blood again.

“I can safely say that I noticed, I’ve never seen you that riled up before.”

“I haven’t felt that riled up,” you frowned and hung your head a little, your eyes now focusing on your hands as your fingers twiddled together in your lap. “I just couldn’t bear the thought of them hurting you.”

It was Loki’s turn to sigh as he closed his book and set it to one side, you didn’t see but you felt him shift closer to you and one of his strong arms wrapped around your shoulders, pulling you down so that your head rested against his chest.

There was something unfamiliar about him in that moment, but one that seemed to instantly bring you into a sense of calm that you never wanted to leave.

You slowly let your eyes fall closed as you let yourself be engulfed by the unusual warmth coming from him, one of your hands clasping onto his thigh.

“Can I make it up to you somehow?”

“There’s no need,” he answered quietly, “you were only acting on instinct, I’m sorry for snapping at you.”

“Please don’t, I get why you did, I overstepped my mark, even as an alpha.”

“There is that, why did you need to step in? You’re usually so calm about everything.”

“I know and normally I’d be able to ignore it but…”

You pouted a little as you trailed off, almost not wanting to finish your sentence.

“But what?” Loki pushed, adjusting you both a little so that you were pulled a little further into his lap.

“But,” you bit your lip a little, nibbling on it before groaning, “but it was you and I didn’t like it.”

“I thought as much,” he chuckled.

You whined and buried your face into the leather of his robe, the noise being muffled by the fabric.

“Then why did you make me say it?”

“Think of it this way, I, an omega, have you, an alpha, at my very whim right now,” you could practically hear the smirk in his voice, “usually the positions are switched and I am simply relishing that an alpha came to me.”

“I hate you,” you muffled before lifting your eyes up to look up at him.

“Genuinely, or hate that you clearly want an omega to dominate you?”

You flushed red and went back to hiding your face, your fingers grasping tightly at his clothes.

“Come now, don’t hide from me,” he smiled, stroking your hair, “I say that it’s perhaps time we had this conversation.”

“What conversation?”

“The one that leads to us finally claiming each other.”

Your breath hitched a little and you almost sputtered on air at his words, to be sure that he was being honest and wasn’t playing around with you, you pulled away from him and stared long and hard into his face.

Seeing no hint of a lie, in fact he had a rare smile of sincerity, you grinned and hugged him tightly, resting your head against his chest once again.

“I would be more than happy to have that talk with you.”

“Good, after the years of build-up I was hoping you’d say that.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, I was hoping there’d come a day where I’d see an alpha begging for an omega kn-”

You rolled your eyes and gave his arm a half-hearted whack with the back of your hand.

“Shut up, Loki.”

Chapter Text

The case had become beyond exasperating and getting through to the Winchesters was proving to be difficult.

Every time you thought you had a lead, the well would run dry and it would lead to nowhere in the end after hours of following clues.

You’d gone back to your motel room one night and stared, long and hard, at the evidence and clues that’d you’d built up, wracking your brains to try and figure out what was going on.

One victim appeared to be kicked and trampled to death, as if by multiple horses.

One had a large piercing hole where their stomach and intestines should have been.

The most recent one had been inadvertently turned into two face, one side of their head was mangled and rotted partially away to show the bone underneath while the other remained intact but twisted in pain, even in death.

It was as you were staring at these pictures that the wildest of ideas came to light, truth be told you felt kind of foolish even thinking of it, but it was your only hope.

You had initially tried to get hold of Sam, wanting to borrow either an old lore book or his brains to find what you needed.

When he was a no go, and you made a mental reminder to give him a stern talking to about being too busy to talk to you, you turned to Bobby Singer, hunter and researcher extraordinaire.

A long phone call and a couple of texts later, you had what you needed.

After a few hours’ sleep, which was a rare occurrence for any hunter, you were stood over a bowl of varying ingredients with a box of freshly made jam tarts to the side, thank God that the bakers opened early, and a box of matches in your hand.

“If every other God is real,” you mumbled to yourself, lighting a match, “then I pray to anyone listening that this one is.”

Taking a deep breath, you threw the match into the bowl and stepped away from the table before a plume of green, black and gold smoke that erupted from the ingredients could catch you in the face.

Surprisingly, the strange concoction burned with a pleasant smell that reminded you of plant life during Autumn, where the leaves, branches and undisturbed cobwebs were covered in dew.

It was an odd, but pleasant moment.

There was a pause in time that seemed to go on forever and you began to wonder if maybe you’d done something wrong.

Even the most hateful of demons who despised your guts didn’t give you this long a wait.

Just as you were going to give up and officially close of the summoning ritual, a shimmer of green at the other end of the table caught your eye.

You looked up just in time, as right before you a man of clearly regal stature seemed to materialise like an illusion.

“Loki?” You asked as he glanced around the motel room and seemed to sigh in disappointment.

“That would be me,” he drawled out.

To say that you were taken aback would have been an understatement.

After reading up about the Norse myths, and taking a deep fascination with them by the end of your research, you thought that you’d be greeted by a man with wild, red hair and an unattractive face with a look of nothing but mischief.

Instead, stood before you was a man of a tall and lean stature who was wearing the most intricate form of green and black leather that you had seen, yet it didn’t look out of place on him.

His skin was pale and his facial features were angular in a way only a God could have crafted for them, his dark hair brought out his sharp features further and made his eyes stand out.

The look of cunning and mischief was written all over his face and his eyes looked dangerous but intelligent.

Needless to say, the God in front of you was beyond what you had thought and there was a subtle hint of instant attraction that thumped in your chest.

If he were just another mere hunter, you’d have jumped at the chance to add him to your ‘personal encounter’ list.

“You…are not what I expected.”

He rose one of his eyebrows and regarded you with a bemused expression.

“What is that supposed to mean? You summoned me, didn’t you?”

“Well yeah, but I was expecting, you know, a red head with a crooked nose or something like that.”

“Charming, nice to know that I’ve left a reputation on Midgard.”

“Yes, but that’s not why I brought you here.”

“I’m hoping you’d have a reason, otherwise you’re wasting my time.”

You nodded slowly, lifting up the box of goodies you’d bought.

“I did bring treats.”

Loki looked at the box and tilted his head a little, regarding the still slightly warm pastry.

“Jam tarts?”

“I read that they’re your favourite.”

“Perhaps in the past, but not so much now,” he chuckled as the plucked one of the apple tarts out of the box, “but I appreciate the gesture.”

“Thanks,” you nodded, setting the box down and taking one for yourself, either strawberry or blackcurrant judging by the colour inside.

“Now, what did you need?”

“I want to discuss a case with you.”

“A case?”

He looked at you quizzically before taking a bite from his food, not taking his piercing eyes off of you, which caused you to fiddle a little.

“Yes, you see I’m a hunter.”

“A primitive being?”

“I…suppose?” You frowned in confusion then shook your head, “anyway, I hunt monsters and I think I have a case that involves you.”

“Me?”

“More specifically your children.”

Loki seemed to flinch as if taken aback and held up a hand to stop you, giving him time to finish the food in his mouth so that he could speak without interruption.

“’My’ children?”

“Yes, I believe my case is somehow revolved around Sleipnir, Hela and the giant snake whose name I know but can’t pronounce.”

“Jörmungandr.”

“Yeah, that one.”

“Just those three?”

“So far, yes.”

“Alright, that seems easy enough to figure out, but a few things first,” he pulled out a chair and sat down, the mood in the room suddenly turning business like as you followed suit, “I am not their father, one long gone incarnation of me is, but it’s not me.”

“The whole ‘If a God dies, they are reborn as the same God’ thing?”

“Precisely, but I still know them well enough as if they were my own.”

“Alright and second?”

“Second,” he smirked, setting down the pastry to lean against the wood of the table with his arms crossed, “I don’t work for free, you’ll have to sweeten the deal.”

Chapter Text

Loki proved to be an amazing helper on your case, even if you hadn’t exactly found a way to ‘sweeten the deal’, as he had put it.

Instead you owed him a favour and you knew that that was going to cause nothing but trouble in the future, but for the present you had a case to focus on lest more people die on your watch.

After ordering some food in for yourself, the jam tarts grew a little boring after a while, you both sat around the table and devised a plan on how to deal with his past self’s renegade children.

Sleipnir would probably be the easiest, at least according to Loki, as he was merely a beast acting on instinct in unfamiliar surroundings.

Hela would be easy enough, she mostly sought-after validation after spending so much time feeling as if she weren’t loved.

“And the snake?” You asked, biting into your food.

“I have someone I can call in for that,” he chuckled, “you could say they are old enemies.”

“Let me guess, Thor?”

“Yes, my brother.”

“Brother?”

Loki regarded you with a look of pure confusion for a minute before realisation flashed in his eyes and he let out a huffed laugh, nodding.

“Yes, in this lifetime Thor is my brother, adoptive brother.”

“I see and you think he’ll help us fight Jorg?”

“I’m more than certain he will, what with his hero complex.”

“Sounds a lot like Dean,” you laughed.

“Who would that be?”

“An old hunting friend, he travels around with his brother Sam,” you smiled fondly, staring at your food.

Loki took in your expression and the way you seemed to be off in your own pleasant world whilst stabbing your food with the fork.

“You have history with one of them, hm?” He asked curiously.

“We go back a long way, shared a few hunts.”

“You know I’m not taking about that kind of history.”

The smirk Loki was aiming at you caused you to blush and shake your head profusely.

“I never said that.”

“Sometimes you don’t have to speak for someone to know.”

You gave a nod of agreement and then pretended to be deeply focused on your food.

It was kind of annoying how right Loki was about the fact that you had indeed gotten rather close with one of the Winchester brothers, especially as you had always thought you were rather good at keeping a straight face about such subjects.

Then again, he is the God of mischief and lies, he’d probably know if you were fibbing if you’d denied it.

“So I guess our first move is getting our acquaintances together,” you commented, trying to divert the subject.

“That may be ideal.”

“Great, you get hold of Thor and I will see if I can get hold of Sam or Dean.”

“You think they’ll be any help?”

“They’re the Winchesters,” you smiled, “of course they will.”

Loki eyed you skeptically before shrugging and leaning back in his seat.

“Alright, then you call them and I shall focus on summoning my brother, wherever he may be.”

“You don’t know?”

“He likes to wander and get into fights, he can be hard to keep tabs on him at times.”

You nodded, picking up your phone from the table top and flicking through.

“He sounds like a charming guy,” you laughed.

“A charm everyone else seems to fall for anyway.”

Loki gave you a wry smile then continued his meal.

After you’d both sated your appetites, you set out trying to contact the ones you believed to be best for the job.

Truth be told, you were kind of excited to meet Thor, not that you would tell Loki that as he seemed less than enthused to get him involved.

It was clear from the way he talked about him that he loved his brother, but there was some deep-seated background there that you wondered if you’d ever hear about.

You regrouped after finally managing to get hold of the Winchesters, needless to say that you were relieved to find out that they were at least still alive and as well as a hunter can be during a hunt.

They said that they’d tell you the whole story once they reached your room in a few hours and you were just as eager to share your own, if there was one thing you loved more than hanging out with a Norse God it was hanging out with the brother’s, sharing stories over drinks and food.

Loki strutted in thirty minutes after you had sat down with a tall, muscular and grinning blond guy waltzing in behind him.

Your eyebrow slowly rose as you regarded him, a mental wolf-whistle echoing through your mind.

Why did it seem like every man you encountered that was involved in the hunting world was insanely attractive?

“I take it this is…”

“Thor, yes,” Loki nodded, his face looking a little grave.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” you smiled, standing up and holding your hand out to him.

“The pleasure is all mine,” he beamed, taking your hand and giving it an eager shake.

“Well that’s half of our team ready, how about we sit down and get acquainted until the others show up?”

Chapter Text

“So this is Loki, huh?”

Dean observed the God before him as he stood with his arms crossed, his voice sounding as gruff as ever and completely unimpressed.

“Different from what I imagined.”

“And what did you imagine?” Loki asked, his voice dripping with warning.

“I can’t say,” Dean shrugged in response, “but not some scrawny guy with greasy hair.”

“Watch what you say Midgardian,” Loki all but snarled in response, his chair tipping over as he stood up, “you are still in the presence of a God.”

“Yeah, well I’ve been in the presence of ‘the’ God, so how abo-”

“Dean.”

The older Winchester’s eyes flickered to his younger brother, who gave him a look of warning that made him roll his eyes and huff a little, his stance getting more defensive if that were possible.

Meanwhile, Thor had stepped beside Loki and placed a hand on his shoulder, silently telling him to stand down, which the younger God did with reluctance and a look of pure disdain aimed at Dean.

“Let’s not fight each other,” Thor spoke, looking around the room, “we have a mutual enemy to focus our attention on.”

“He’s right,” Sam nodded, “we can’t waste our energy fighting amongst ourselves.”

“Agreed,” you spoke up, leaning back in your seat, “no matter how entertaining it would be to see a fight between those two, we have bigger fish to fry.”

“Exactly, now we just have to figure out how big and where to fry them.”

Everyone else in the room slowly turned their heads to look at Thor, who was smiling almost obliviously at his lack of understanding at the phrase.

You knew Thor wasn’t dumb, nor an overbearingly large brute like the mythology would have you believe, it was just small moments of misunderstanding or twisted sayings that led to rather endearing moments that he didn’t catch on to.

“Yeah,” Dean drawled out after a moment of silence, “what the big guy said.”

“Alright,” you sighed, rubbing your forehead, “what’s the plan?”

“Right, the plan is that Thor and Sam will go after the snake, I will try and find the horse and you,” he indicated to yourself and Loki, “will find the girl.”

“Makes sense, I guess,” you nodded, “with Thor being the one to take Jorg down in Ragnarok.”

“I was?” He asked, looking down at you.

“According to the books I’ve read, yes, but like a past self you I’m presuming.”

“Not everyone cares about learning about who they once were,” Loki mumbled, sounding almost disappointed.

“Does that sound good to everyone?” Dean interrupted.

“Sure does,” you smiled as Thor and Sam each gave a nod of approval.

Loki just shrugged and stood from his seat, “It sounds easy enough to me.”

“If anyone should excel at this, it’d be you,” Sam laughed faintly, “being an incarnation of their dad.”

“You would guess, wouldn’t you?”

“We better stop talking, we’re losing time,” you sighed, not wanting to break the moment but knowing that during a case time is of the essence.

“Right,” Dean nodded, “make sure to keep each other posted, okay?”

“Got it,” Sam agreed, looking at Thor and nudging his head towards the door before making his exit.

“What does posted mean?” Thor asked as he left.

Dean shook his head, “Sammy will have fun,” he chuckled, then his gaze shifted to Loki, “you better not try anything funny.”

He didn’t wait for an answer from the God and left, leaving Loki to look bemused and a little offended.

“What kind of animal does he think I am?”

You laughed and patted his back, shaking your head, “Let’s focus on finding Hela, not Dean’s protective issues.”

Chapter Text

You were surprised by how quickly you all managed to scout your intended targets, though part of you wondered if Dean had cheated and called on Castiel to help him, but within an hour you were all calling each other with updates.

Unsurprisingly, the carnage left in the wake of three Gods was rather easy to follow.

Sam and Thor had located Jorg after witnesses claimed to see a giant snake-like creature slithering between manholes, it was lucky that he didn’t seem to be as big as Thor remembered him to be.

You recalled hearing about cases where Gods who were no longer believed in lost power, maybe this was the case with him, only rather than power he lost size.

It was only a minute after you had gotten off of the phone with Sam, who was going to climb into the sewer with Thor to hunt down the snake, that Dean called with an update on Sleipnir, who appeared to have been left to his own devices.

Dean said that aside from the eight legs, he seemed pretty unthreatening and docile enough that it could be possible to simply lead him back to a meeting point, perhaps it was possible that the trampling had been an accident or he was provoked and lashed out like any animal would on instinct.

All he had to do was get the freaking out equine to calm down so that he could lead him somewhere that meant safety for the civilians in the surrounding area.

“There’s no reason to believe he wouldn’t,” Loki commented with a shrug, “he is still but a horse after all.”

As for you and Loki, you had managed to track Hela down to the town hall, where a play had been scheduled to run for the next few nights.

“You really think she’d crash a play?” You asked, looking out of the car window as you pulled up.”

“If she has the same dramatic flair as her father then yes, I don’t doubt it.”

“Then I guess we’re heading inside.”

With a weighted sigh you got out of the car, but not before Loki noticed the shift in your features that went from light and playful to hardened and worn, which he guessed was from years of having to hunt, kill and having your life be put on the line.

You stepped to the back and opened the door to the rear seat, leaning in you dragged out a bag and began to rifle through it as Loki climbed out of the car and made his way around to your side, his eyes watching you curiously.

As you pulled out a variety of weapons, you glanced over your shoulder at Loki and nudged towards the bag.

“You want something?”

“No,” he smirked, sparking up a green mist around his fingers, “I am my own weapon.”

“Show-off,” you mumbled, zipping up your bag and throwing it back into its spot before closing the door, “so you’re magic?”

“Yes, it’s called seiðr where I’m from.”

You stared at him for a moment then shook your head, “Can you guys have normal names for something for once?”

Loki gave a knowing chuckle and followed behind you as you walked up to the large doors of the town hall, looking at Loki with a moment of uncertainty, you waited for him to give you the go ahead to reach your hand out and twist the old iron handle.

The door, however, didn’t budge.

“Shit,” you hissed, stepping back, “it’s locked.”

“Either it’s locked for the performance or she locked it to stop people leaving.”

“Which do you think is most likely?”

A piercing scream came from inside, followed by sounds of mixed yelling and pounding footsteps that stopped just as abruptly as they began.

“I say it’s likely she’s in there,” Loki nodded, stepping up to the door and placing his hand over the lock.

“Great, think you can get in?”

“No,” he rolled his eyes, his tone laced with sarcasm, “I just enjoy caressing doors.”

You glared at his back and folded your arms, looking away like a pouting child.

Loki paid you no further attention as he focused his magic on the old lock, feeling the seiðr seep from him as he picked at the metal contraption.

After what felt like a minute of you stood there, watching him embrace a door from your point of view, he took another step back just as both doors swung open.

“Et voila,” he smirked, indicating towards the doors with a flourished bow.

“As I said, show-off,” you laughed, walking past him and heading inside.

The town hall was a large and evidently historic area, the short entranceway reminding you of a church with tall walls and wooden beams until the cream walls met with another set of doors that thankfully weren’t locked.

Entering into the main hall, you could see a grand staircase to your right whereas directly in front of you and to your left there were many doorways and corridors leading to various rooms.

Looking around slowly, you estimated that there were about seven turns that you both would investigate before heading upstairs, which was most likely where that play was being held.

You each took your time searching down each separate corridor and through each door, finding mostly empty offices, bathrooms and what you’d guess would be exhibition rooms.

Meeting in the middle of the room once again, you gave each other a look that said that the inevitable was to come and turned to the stairs.

Taking out your phone, you quickly shot a text to the Winchesters to let them know where you were and what you thought was about to go down, then you slipped it back into your pocket and readied your gun as you took the first step up.

When you reached the first landing, you both went up the steps that split onto either side, you took the left side and Loki took the right just in case any sudden attacks would occur out of nowhere.

You both reached the set of doors in front of you and could hear the whimpers of the people inside as well as a booming female voice.

“Look at you all, trembling before me, as you should be.”

You glanced at Loki and raised your eyebrow in questioning, he merely shrugged as a response and remained silent.

“For years you all stopped believing in us, stripping us of what is rightfully ours and now you all dare to beg for your life as you cower before your rightful rulers.”

“Wow,” you whispered, shaking your head a little, “your past self’s daughter sounds like a total bitch.”

“I don’t know, I kind of like her style.”

You shook your head and let out an exaggerated sigh as she continued her speech inside.

“Perhaps if you pray enough to me, I’ll gift you all once I’ve reached the power I deserve to have,” you could practically hear the gloating smirk in her voice.

It was strange, you always imagined Hela as a soft-spoken girl who, according to mythology, mostly just wanted to be accepted and loved by her father who only visited her when he needed something and yet hearing her now, it seemed that she had been pushed to the brink and that was just kind of sad.

Part of you didn’t want to have to deal with her, but you knew it was for the best.

And so, after taking a deep breath, you tightened your grip on your gun and kicked open the door.

Chapter Text

Barging into the room probably hadn’t been your smartest idea.

You had managed to get a few snarky lines out after startling her, aimed your gun and get thrown across the room all in a space of barely a minute and a half.

Loki had somehow managed to coax a few people to safety, but hadn’t gotten far when Hela caught him and they ended up sharing a long round of blows so incredulously strong that you were thankful that you weren’t fist fighting with her.

He had been doing well, magic was flying about and for a brief moment it seemed like he was getting somewhere, but it wasn’t much longer before he grew weary and he too was thrown with undue force and collided with a wall that promptly crumbled under his impact.

You hadn’t noticed at first that you hadn’t just been flung across the room as was typical of a demon, it took a minute for you to realise that you had in fact almost been impaled within an inch of your life by some strange black dagger-like thing, that now hung you against the wall by your clothes.

This made you worry all the more about Loki, there was every chance that he had actually been hit and you wouldn’t know until he got up.

It seemed he was down for a while after the impact, probably having hit his head pretty hard.

You started to squirm about as Hela turned her attention to the people attempting to sneak out behind the ones Loki had helped, her one eye narrowed as the other stared wildly without a socket to close over it.

She was a sight to behold up close, a true beauty even with her half-monstrous looks.

The squirming took longer than you wanted but it all felt worth it when you felt the spike begin to wiggle as you moved, a smile spreading on your face as you continued with rougher movements and prepared to soften your landing once it had come loose completely.

From the corner of your eyes you could see Loki stirring, a small groan of discomfort barely being audible over the whimpers and cries of the victims in the room.

Loki had just managed to push himself up onto his knees and started to climb onto his feet, you felt the spikes finally give and you promptly dropped to the floor, landing awkwardly on your right ankle which caused you to hiss in pain.

But you knew that you had to ignore it and power through, this was hardly the worse pain that to had felt in your years of hunting, that being said any amount of pain was still a minor inconvenience when fighting.

Using the chance while Hela was distracted you moved around the room, staying as close to the wall as you could.

You weren’t exactly sure on what you planned to do, but so far your idea was to circle around her and try to get a headshot before she could mutter another arrogant command about being prayed to.

Loki watched as you moved and took it upon himself to act as bait, despite the fact that his head was spinning.

He flicked out his wrist and conjured up a small, silver dagger that he threw towards her with an elegance that only a well-versed God could have.

The blade of the dagger grazed over her flesh-covered shoulder and she immediately snapped her attention to Loki with a venomous sneer.

“Wow,” she drawled out, moving a hand up to the wound and letting the blood coat her fingers, “did you really just try to kill the Goddess of Death?”

Hela’s eyes narrowed as she stepped down from the stage, leaving behind the body of the actor whose throat she had slit to gain the audience’s undivided attention.

She waded her way through the crowd, who were more than eager to move out of her way and towards the still open door.

“No,” Loki shrugged, taking a few steps back to keep his distance from her, “I’m not the hunter here.”

He glanced over her shoulder, causing her to start and also turn around just in time for you to fire a shot.

The bullet flew across the room and threw her head back as it collided with the uncovered eye, the ball exploding into a puss of gruesomeness and fragments of her skull coating Loki’s face.

There was an awkward pause as she stood there, swaying a little until she came to a still, her hand slowly raising to feel the hole you had just created, your stomach flipped as her ring finger sunk deep inside it.

Hela’s hand slowly lowered again and her one remaining eye, thankfully the lidded one, glowered at you as her lips peeled back into a snarl.

“You shall pay for that, Midgardian.”

You hadn’t managed to twitch your finger against the trigger for a second round when she lunged for you, a look of pure hatred twisting her face into something more monstrous than human.

As you prepared for impact, you instinctively shrunk into yourself and readied to dive to the side, however Loki appeared before you with his hands held up defensively, a dagger in each.

“Stop!” He yelled at her in a commanding voice, one that admittedly sent small shivers through you. “You need to stop this.”

Much to his surprise, she did seem to momentarily freeze and her face softened with what could have been interpreted as a hint of regret.

“These people are not yours to command, you need to understand that.”

“But they were once, why should they have all the power over us?”

The way she was talking reminded you of a child talking to a parent, lost in why they were throwing a tantrum but knowing that it would get them attention.

“Because that is how life goes, society moves on and religions shift drastically.”

As they were talking back and forth, you noticed a movement in the back of the room that looked all too familiar.

You tried not to make it too obvious that you were shifting your attention to the black figure that was moving along the wall, you weren’t sure whether you were surprised or not to find that it was Loki who was moving towards the door and indicating to someone just outside as wordlessly as he could.

When you drew your attention back to Hela and the Loki in front of you, it appeared that the conversation had turned south and she was beginning to get impatient.

“You don’t understand,” she practically growled, “you’re just some imposter of my father who never cared either, so step aside.”

Hela threw out her arm towards Loki and your heart stopped as you saw the tip of something sharp slice through the air, directly towards his stomach.

But no contact was made.

Instead the Loki before you disappeared in a shimmer of magic and she briefly found herself staring at you, with nothing to protect you from her good eye.

It barely took a second for her to lurch forward and wrap a hand tightly around your throat, lifting you off of the floor with effortless ease and choking you as she stepped forward to slam you into the nearest wall.

Your head screamed with pain and your vision was momentarily blurry from the blow, your eyes taking a moment to adjust as she leaned in and sneered in your face.

“You shall be the first Midgardian I make a point out of, how dare you try to kill the Goddess of Death.”

“F-first?” You managed to croak out, your hand scraping at the boned arm that was holding you up, “what…a-about the actor?”

“Oh,” she smirked, tightening her grip, “that was just to gain attention.”

“Hela!”

Loki’s voice seemed to echo around the room as an eerie silence fell over everyone.

The Goddess before you lifted her head and rolled her good eye as she turned away from you, though her grip on your throat didn’t lessen.

“Stop while yo-”

A green and gold flare smacked her dead centre of the chest and caused her to stumble back a little, her hand reflexively twitching open and allowing you to drop to the floor.

You grasped hold of your throat and wheezed past the pain as more magic flew forward and collided with her.

She looked around wildly and began taking aim, throwing multiple spikes at what you feared were civilians as an act of cold revenge.

What you found when you looked up, however, was that there appeared to be a long line of Loki’s, each looking smug and content with themselves as they stepped forward.

Her throwing took them out two by two, the illusions disappearing but being replaced by more in quick succession.

This continued for a while longer and you were beginning to think that this would be how it went on for the rest of time, that was until with no due warning all the clones suddenly disappeared and from where they had once been Thor came racing forward, a sword long fang in his hand, which he promptly thrust forward into the Goddesses’ chest.

She let out a horrible gargled gasp as she looked down at the fang protruding from her, until her legs gave out and she buckled to the ground.

Sam was by your side and helping you up in seconds, checking over your neck and wincing at the look of the bruises that were already starting to show.

Dean walked over, Loki by his side, and stopped a foot away from Hela, staring down at her.

“Is she down for good?” He asked.

“No,” Loki shook his head, “this will only be temporary, but temporary enough for us to get her back to where she should be.”

“Great,” Sam nodded, looking relieved, “but maybe you can lock her up a bit tighter?”

“We shall speak to Father and see what he can do,” Thor spoke, his face set with determination despite his smile.

“And that others?” You asked, your throat feeling like it was getting scraped by sandpaper.

“Outside,” Dean replied, “safe, sound and ready to go back.”

“But we must leave,” Thor stated matter of factly, “time is of the essence and it’s one we don’t have much of.”

“Of course,” Sam smiled, “thanks for the help, we clearly needed it.”

“No, thank you for tracking them and getting us involved,” Thor grinned as he picked up the unconscious Goddess and threw her over his shoulder.

Loki looked at you and gave you a genuine smile of his own and a polite tip of his head.

“You did great, I hope we cross paths again and I can pay you back for those jam tarts.”

You returned his smile and waved your hand, mustering out a laugh that turned more into a cough.

“I’ll put you down for a bit I.O.U.”

“Please do,” he laughed.

Glancing at Thor, he receive an agreeing nod and they both turned and left with a calling farewell over their shoulders, leaving you and the Winchesters to deal with the people who were still cowering, whimpering and trying to process what they had just witnessed.

Chapter Text

He wasn’t sure how it started, but when he woke up Loki found himself falling.

Not that he could see where he was, but he knew that he was falling from the sensation of wind rushing past him and the way his stomach was dropping.

He’d heard the saying that sorrow was like falling into a deep abyss, but this was taking it to ridiculous levels.

Ever since their death, he hadn’t been the same.

The people around him took notice but weren’t sure on what to do to help, they offered hands of comfort and help, yet they were never enough to drag him back into the darkness he was burying himself in.

It was a comfort for him to know that should he need to, he could retreat from the world when he became to much and yet as of late, Loki had found that he had been doing it again and again for longer periods of time.

He never expected to literally be dragged down into the abyss of his own sorrow.

As he fell eternally, he tried to think of a way to escape but nothing came.

Magic didn’t seem to work, it refused to flare up at all within the confines of wherever he was being held and there seemed to be no end to his fall.

No light at the end.

Maybe it was best that he was here, falling deeper and deeper into the void that matched how he felt each passing day.

Drifting deeper and deeper into his own reclusive mind, shutting everyone out and swamping himself in memories of them and their time together.

He’d hoped they’d grow old together over the millennia, maybe prepare a few children of their own for the world ahead of them and watch as they grew up as they themselves got old and grey.

But that had been stripped away from him.

His memories of them were now warped, their face was beginning to blur and become something he didn’t seem to recognise and this frightened him, to think that one day he would completely forget what they looked like or who they were.

If they were even who he remembered them as was hard enough to keep up with, perhaps they hadn’t even been the one he kept referring to.

Perhaps this was for the best.

The best for himself and the best for those around him.

To just lose him into the abyss of emptiness that he’d subjected himself to.

Loki knew that Thor didn’t deserve to be treated how he’d been treating him in his sorrow, silently he made a vow to apologise and make amends to his brother should he ever return.

Time passed, but Loki didn’t feel it.

Instead every sense he could register began to numb and his eyes drifted shut, if they weren’t already closed, though he swore that he could feel them growing heavy.

They’d never adjusted to the darkness, he supposed that there was nothing around for them to adjust to in order to see.

No source of light that penetrated the unending void.

Until there was.

Loki wasn’t sure when he’d twisted around or it could have been that he was no longer falling and was now instead rising back from where he originally fell, but within the sight of his half-closed eyes was a small dot of light that appeared to be gradually getting closer.

A sense of relief washed over him as he let the light engulf him.

Even behind his closed eyelids, he could feel the bright light burning and warming his skin, Loki knew that opening them now would cause nothing but discomfort.

He wasn’t sure if he was still falling, but he was perfectly content to never wake again.

As he accepted his fate with open arms, he felt a warm pair wrap around his shoulders in a welcoming embrace as a soft voice laughed in his ear.

“You silly God, you weren’t supposed to be here for years to come.”

Chapter Text

You loved Loki.

You always had and you always would.

When you were younger, it wasn’t uncommon to find you both napping against each other with a book in your little laps.

The adults around you knew that you would grow up and be closer than anyone had been before.

You’d notice the little glances and whispers they would give you, the smiles they had as if they knew something that you both didn’t and wouldn’t divulge the secret.

It seemed to only get worse as you got older.

By the time you hit your teens, everyone seemed certain that there was some kind of special relationship going on between you and the younger prince.

You both did your best to ignore the glances and rumours, instead choosing to focus on your studies and learning the crafts you both excelled in individually.

Loki with his seiðr and you in weaponry and combat.

The perfect deadly duo when you worked together in training, not that that was Loki’s favourite thing to do.

He preferred to be studious over combative, whereas there was a thrill to the fight that you simply couldn’t get enough of.

The constant work on your teamwork was an added bonding experience that the adults cooed over, complimenting on how well you both fit together.

Like two peas in a pod.

Even when you were relaxing, they couldn’t stop admiring their favourite pairing.

As you were both sat down just staring up at the sky as the sun dwindled and night took over, decorating the expansive and colour-changing surrounding in stars, hands barely touching as you leaned back on them in a similar comfortable position, their hearts melted and they wished for more.

It was too bad that they didn’t understand that it was purely platonic.

You both loved each other the way only two best friends could.

Nothing romantic.

Something that no one else seemed to fully comprehend.

And you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You knew first-hand that they wouldn’t listen to any protests that you two would put forward, they were all far too lost in their dream world to realise that it was nothing more than friendship.

It was kind of sad in a way.

Why did it have to automatically be romance?

The love of two friends is just as, if not perhaps more, important as a coupling.

You had both grown accustomed to it and decided to ignore it all, going about your days like they were any other, messing about, training and having light conversations before rest.

If only they had heard the one you were having.

“So there’s someone in the works, huh?”

“There is,” he nodded with a smile, “I hope you’ll get along with him.”

“Oh,” your eyes widened as your eyebrows rose, “it’s a ‘he’, hm?”

“It is.”

You gave a small nod and placed your hand on top of his, giving him a warm smile as you squeezed his hand.

“As long as he makes you happy and passes the best friend test, of course.”

“Of course,” he chuckled, shaking his head.

“And what about you? Is there anyone you have your eye on?”

“No,” you shrugged, staring out at the beautiful sky above you, “but you’ll be the first to know should a lovely lad or lady come along, but I’m not exactly in a rush about it.”

“You’ll find someone.”

“Naturally,” you scoffed with playful indignance, “like anyone doesn’t want to date ‘this’?”

Loki rolled his eyes and nudged you in the ribs with his elbow, causing you to laugh.

“We’ll have to go on double dates when you do.”

“You bet,” you grinned, tilting your head to look at him, “just so I can embarrass you in front of him with amazing tales from our childhood.”

“Try it, I have plenty of ammo myself.”

“Pfft, like I ever did anything embarrassing.”

“Oh really? What about that time when we were at that ball and yo-”

“Never happened,” you shook your head, unable to hide the face breaking smile.

There was a comfortable silence that sat between you as you continued to stare at the stars, trying to make out shapes and constellations.

“Thank you.”

You turned to look at Loki with a curious look, tilting your head a little.

“For what?”

“Just for accepting me for who I am.”

You smiled and leaned over, resting your head on his shoulder.

“Of course, Loki, that’s what best friends are for.”

Chapter Text

A loud sigh seemed to echo inside the dark and empty feeling flat, making the exhale seem more dramatic than it truly was.

The light invading my eyes as I flicked the switch momentarily blinded me and I could almost feel the headache that was begging to flare up in my temples, the shift of temperatures and lighting in Midgard always threw me off.

Letting the door close behind me, I stepped through my hallway whilst flipping through the letters I’d received that day.

Mostly bills and junk, but one envelope had intricate cursive writing on it that made me smile and eager to read once I had settled down a little, perhaps it would even calm my stress from that day.

It had been a long day teaching the at academy and I looked forward to the long weekend ahead of me, away from all those wretched wanna-be heroes.

I don’t even know why I’d taken this job.

I hadn’t ever intended to be a hero or associated with heroes in the slightest, I had just wanted to get away from it all.

Away from Asgard, away from Járnviðr and my rightful position on the throne, away from Loki and his bride to be.

That was years ago.

I’d managed to settle down on Midgard with a stable job that earned me enough money to get by monthly, I used my time outside of these long work hours to teach myself their customs and get to know their inner workings.

After many trials and tribulations, and even more embarrassing missteps, I found that I could happily call myself a Midgardian and no one would know any the wiser and I’d even taken to trying to hide my other wolf features, I avoided shifting to my much larger canine form.

It was a comfort, an identity away from who I once was.

Everything was going without a hitch until I received a letter from one Director Fury, who somehow knew of my abilities to shift between human and wolf form, asking if I would kindly be a teacher to upcoming heroes with similar abilities.

Then I remembered why I took the job, the pay was phenomenal.

I’d only been working there for a few months and I was already on my way to buying myself a better home, one that I owned and didn’t rent.

For a brief moment, as I wandered through my flat to turn the lights on and set myself up for an evening of business before relaxing, I thought of the letter and my mind drifted back to home and what I had lost by my own actions.

How I had lost my best friend all because I couldn’t handle someone else making him happy.

How we had once been the close friends who drifted when that other noble woman visited the kingdom.

She was perfect, perfect hair, perfect laugh, perfect stature and perfect teeth.

Essentially everything I wasn’t and I am not shy about admitting that I hated her, by the norns I despised that woman with a venom so toxic she’d be withered within minutes.

Was there anything worse than the perfect being?

Yes.

A perfect being taking away what I had hoped would be mine.

A selfish thought, but one that was no less honest, I wasn’t ashamed to admit my biggest sin was envy and I was extremely prone to it.

So I purposefully stepped back from the already dwindling time I spent with Loki, mostly for my own sake of not having to see them and also to focus on my own reasons for visiting Asgard in the first place, to learn how to best create a treaty once I took over the throne of Járnviðr.

I left for good when he announced his engagement during one of their many feasts and truthfully, I didn’t regret my decision, it just annoyed me that for years he continued to plague my mind.

What if’s echoing continuously, like ghosts haunting my flat with no sense of personal space.

I hadn’t managed to find anyone to distract me in that time, I wasn’t even sure how to approach the subject.

I was a terrible flirt and couldn’t tell when someone was flirting.

It was truly hopeless, even for me to behold.

So I spent my days single, but content and focusing on progressing through the ranks at work until I went to the academy.

Things went smoothly for months, no hiccups, the students were surprisingly adept with their powers if not typical idiotic teenagers, as expected.

And there I was, still alone and looking forward to a peaceful weekend within my own company and maybe some Midgardian films so whittle time away.

But first I had to write up the lesson plan for the upcoming week, something I despised doing.

I dropped the letter onto the side of the table, Frigga’s on top as a reminder of what I was working towards, and opened up the computer Fury had gifted me upon my starting at the school.

Cracking my fingers and cranking on some music, I started my work as swiftly as I could muster, it was better to get it over and done with so that I had the rest of my weekend to look forward to.

The time seemed to drag by and before I knew it, two hours had passed and I was so close to finishing the lesson plan that I could taste it, but my eyes were growing tired of staring at the screen and my mind was beginning to grow weary.

It was time for a break, I would continue this later on, I only had a day and a half left to plan and with a fresh mind that would take no time at all.

Getting up from my seat, I stretched my arms over my head with a loud groan as the muscles ached pleasantly.

Lowering my arms with a long sigh, I turned and walked to the kitchen with the intent to grab some of the chocolate fudge cake that I had kept in the fridge, it had quickly become one of my favourite treats to have in this realm, with some added cream it was heavenly.

From that point forward, time seemed to evade me.

I switched from watching films, reading and listening to music, anything to keep me distracted.

And so it reached one in the morning before I remembered that I had an unopened letter from Frigga.

With a tired yawn, I reached over and slid the pile out from beneath the plate I had placed on top of them, somehow magically keeping everything else from toppling for once while simultaneously disturbing a large, black moth from its resting spot.

I rolled onto my back and carefully broke the intricately designed wax seal, smiling as I unfolded the paper and set eyes on her beautiful handwriting, my knuckles being tickled as the moth landed on top of my hand.

“Hello,
I am terribly sorry that it has taken me a while to respond to your letter, while it has been quite calm back here in Asgard, there has still be some rather hectic moments…”

I shook my head and smiled at her apologising, she was always such a sweet woman.

Reading down the letter, I smiled and frowned at the highs and lows that she mentioned, but mostly felt elated that things appeared to be going well.

However it was the last paragraph that caused my heart to jolt violently.

“My last bit of news is something I am quite proud of.
Loki received a special letter of request from one Nick Fury, enquiring as to whether he would wish to be a tutor in an ‘Avengers Academy’, he took his time to think it over but agreed in the end.
I think it goes without saying that we are so proud of him, putting his time to good use rather than wandering aimlessly around the palace, he hasn’t quite been the same since the end of his engagement.”

“Shit,” I whispered, “of course, brilliant.”

I rolled my eyes and got up, after folding the letter away I set the letter on top of it and unplug the cable from the wall before making my way to my bedroom.

Of all the outcomes that could have happened, he had to end up invading where I was.

Setting my laptop down, I took the letter off the keyboard and set it atop the others in my pile that rested on the cabinet.

Stripping down, I flopped on top of my bed and let out a long sigh.

It had been a long day and I was too tired to worry about Loki and his new teaching position.

Letting my eyes slide close, I barely had time to curse his name once more before I was drifting off to sleep.

Chapter Text

I shifted back into my full form, stretching out after feeling so small and compacted.

I deeply wanted to look around and investigate her living quarters further, but I wasn’t sure how much time I had, so instead I followed the only light left in the house and made my way to her personal bedroom.

Stepping in, I found her already sleeping on top of the bed with her computer still on and her clothes dropped unceremoniously on the floor.

Lifting up the throw that she kept on her bed, I draped it over her sleeping form before taking a step back to admire her resting features.

It had been so long since I had last seen her and it seemed as though she had barely aged a day, somehow the childish face I once knew managed to mature without showing any signs of age despite the years we had been separated.

Or more correctly, since she had left.

There was no possible way that I could deny the reasons why she left, Mother had made it abundantly clear when I’d stumbled upon her in her room mere hours after my announcement.

Mother looked sad, not disappointed, just sad.

I knew she liked her, Father not so much, with her being the daughter of Skoll, a great enemy of his, it made sense that he would wish for me to take another’s hand in marriage rather than that of a Jarnviorian.

Unfortunately for him, I had long lost my strange teenage love of the woman he had invited over and soon grew bored of her.

Initially I had been blinded by her beauty, this ethereal radiance that coated her in abundance and made everything she did seem somehow magical, but that had faded mere months after I had made the engagement official within the palace.

It was almost like I was going through what the Midgardians called a mid-life crisis, despite barely being a young adult by our years.

Why pick this girl I once knew as a crazy haired, adventurous and usually scruffy pup, when this other exotic being seemed more appealing to everyone.

Would probably fit better on my arm and get more admirable stares.

I knew now how wrong that was, that appearances in Asgard are as fickle as the relationships they hold with other realms.

Although I wholly believe the decision to run away from it all was a drastic one, I somehow couldn’t blame her.

Teenage decisions are typically illogical and her with being born of Ironwood, the realm of giantesses giving birth to wolves according to the lore I’d read, it was natural that she would become somewhat territorial over those she claimed as hers.

Such as myself, it would appear.

I didn’t hold any ill will towards her, truth be told I would probably be the same were she to have wed another male from her realm.

Though their realm is much stricter in their traditions, a wedding to them is like a lifelong claim of a mate, a bond that can never be separated and sex was something held with high value, something you only did if you truly believed that you would be together for life.

It came as no surprise to me when Mother told me why she left, I’d always had a sneaking suspicion that she garnered more than platonic emotions for me as we were growing, but while she was snarky and feisty in attitude she most certainly wasn’t as brazen when it came to confronting those emotions that could change things in a snap.

She’d avoid arguments and would always try to play the level ground, even when she was angry, I supposed that admitting a crush would be just as unsettling and nerve-wracking to her as an adrenaline spike from finally getting caught up in high anger.

To know that she had simply left made sense and while is tore at me, I understood in the long run that it was better for us.

Now I needed to tell her that my feelings had been superficial and had worn within months, that I’d moved too quickly and made many mistakes that lost me the things that should have truly mattered.

Looking around her room, I noted the book that sat atop a pile of letters which were stacked on a dark wood cabinet.

I carefully walked to the cabinet, glancing over my shoulder to make sure that the ruffling of my clothes hadn’t woken her, and picked up the book that she was reading to inspect the spine.

It was a hardback of just barely three hundred pages, she’d taken the slipcover off and underneath the title was emblazoned onto the cardboard with silver writing.

‘Saint Odd’.

The eighth book in a series we had both fallen in love with, one that we had agreed to finish together.

Though it had been three years ago since this final book came out, I supposed that I couldn’t expect her to wait an eternity for me when she was the one who discovered this Midgardian author who had taken her instantly with his words.

Setting the book back down, I looked at the top letter that it had been resting on initially and noted Mother’s handwriting.

I’d known that she’d kept in contact with her and I had no doubt that she now knew of me calling off the engagement, it didn’t lead to her coming back nor would she know exactly what happened, but at least she knew I was unwed.

Behind me, she squirmed and let out a soft huff through her nose and for a moment I thought that perhaps I would be caught, but thankfully she was merely shifting on the bed and curling up further underneath the throw.

Turning my attention back to the letters, I pick up the one that she had put aside last, the one that had caused her to curse and give up for the day.

Flipping it open, I read over Mother’s words and smile, shaking my head a little at how lovable she came across, even in her writing.

My smile soon turns into a quiet laugh as I read the last paragraph, no doubt the one that had caused such a reaction from her.

Looking at her over my shoulder, I fold up the letter and set it down before crouching in front of her laptop and reading over the lesson plan she’d written.

No surprise they brought her in as a shifter, even if she only had the two varying forms and anything in between as a choice.

Shifting so that I was sat with crossed legs, I pulled the laptop down and rested it on my lap.

Looking over my shoulder one more time, I start typing and finish off her lesson plan, being sure to include myself as a spare tutor if need be, as a way to help pull us back together.

During my time at the Academy, I planned on getting closer with her again, to explain what had happened and to somehow convince her that she was worth all the nobles in the world to me.

I wouldn’t let one foolish mistake be the end of something I treasured, even after all these years.

Chapter Text

You couldn’t believe your luck when you had managed to win the affections of a God.

It was a dream come true and more than surprising that he actually reciprocated your feelings towards him, but you weren’t going to argue the fact, you just wanted to enjoy your time with the scheming God of Mischief that you now called a boyfriend.

If truth be told, you were still in awe at how you had managed to snag a man like Loki.

For weeks after his arrival at Stark Tower, you had been building up the courage just to say hello to him without stuttering over your words or getting flustered, no doubt he’d take it as a huge ego boost at your faltering in the presence of a God.

After a few practice runs, you soon found yourself flowing into easy conversation with Loki and you began to share information about yourselves, which gradually grew into a friendship.

Now you just needed that extra little push for more.

It took two more months before the boundaries were crossed, only much to your surprise it was Loki who took the initiative and asked you to ‘court’.

There was no hesitation in you saying yes, your heart pounding uncomfortably fast and a face-breaking grin threatening to split your face in half permanently.

From that moment on you spent all the time you could together, he took you out on little dates to places you would never have seen originally and you would happily lounge with him as you both read separate books or you played a game, though you would usually end up using him as a footrest and he would find himself, perhaps subconsciously, rubbing your shin as he read.

To say you were inseparable would have been an understatement, it eventually got a point where others couldn’t pictures one without the other.

Things were going wonderfully, at least to begin with.

It was when the relationship had just reached six and a half months that things started to take a turn.

Loki had started to become distant and snappy, more secretive than you can remember him being even before you dated, like you were a mere stranger who was trying to get in on his business as opposed to a significant other.

It was getting impossible to deny how conflicted you were over it all.

Things had been going well, sure there were short spats here or there but nothing beyond the ordinary for a couple of a few months and nothing indicated to any problems between you both.

You spent more time that you would ever dare to admit trying to figure out what was happening so that you could fix it, nights were spent awake, staring at the ceiling as you tried to deduce if it was perhaps something you had unwittingly done.

No answers ever turned up, no signs flashed to indicate that that was the beginning, the problem that could be fixed and so you could only watch as Loki pushed himself further and further into isolation.

Eventually it became too much and you turned to Tony, a friend of yours who was so close that you would consider him more akin to a brother.

“I warned you didn’t I?” He sighed, his tone full of sympathy as he crossed his arms, “the guy is bad news.”

“But he’s so lovely, he’s been nothing but nice to me,” you frowned.

“Yeah, because he wants something from you.”

You shifted a little as your gut twisted and your blood chilled.

It wasn’t something you wanted to admit, but there was every chance that what Tony was saying was right and now Loki was growing bored of his little game.

“But I don’t have anything of value to him.”

“That you know of, who knows what that twisted goat-wannabe wants from anyone.”

You huffed out a barely there laugh at Tony’s insult, rolling your eyes a little to look away from him.

It hurt to think that it was possible, but with Loki you weren’t blind or dumb and knew that it was entirely possible.

Although you couldn’t imagine why he’d want to use you, it was true that you had nothing valuable to offer.

At least not that you were aware of.

Unbeknownst to you it had been building up to this for months and now was the time that he decided to finally drop the charade.

You had gained him what he had wanted.

Getting close to you had given Loki the opportunity to privately invade Stark’s home, get any and all details he could about the Avengers and come up with a plan on how to take them down more efficiently than he had previous envisioned without the inside knowledge.

And all it had taken was a few months of acting like the perfect doting boyfriend to an average Midgardian.

He couldn’t fully believe that it had worked, he was certain that it was obvious that his affections were less than honest, but it seemed he was a better manipulator than even he had given himself credit for.

Loki waited a few more days before finally pulling the plug and ending it all, two days after your talk with Tony.

Harsh words were exchanged, mostly from his side, and hearts were broken, definitely mostly on your side, and you had to watch him walk away with blurred vision, the admission of his lies and deceit ringing in a painful echo around your mind.

Tony was there for you in an instant.

It felt as if you had barely hung up when he was breaking your door down in his eagerness to get to you, his eyes burning with rage and a promise to beat the God’s ass on his lips for tearing his best friend apart.

You knew that, for the most part, it was mostly just in the moment talk but you were glad to know that someone truly cared and had your back, the one person you should have listened to all along.

Tony worked his hardest to pick up the pieces that Loki had shattered.

Despite his busy schedule, he still made time to check in on you and make sure that you were getting back on your feet rather than moping about some ass who, in his opinion, didn’t deserve someone like you.

Tony worked to keep you as distracted as possible and although it took a few weeks, even if you still weren’t perfectly put together yet, you found that you were feeling better about yourself.

The confidence shut down at Loki’s words was beginning to lift, work was getting easier again without all the crippling self-questioning and you found more energy to leave the house and engage with other people.

You hadn’t heard or seen a thing of Loki, it was as if he had completely disappeared from the face of the earth and despite the part of you that wanted to see him still, you figured that it was probably for the best that he had just gone.

Life went on as best as it could and things were taking a turn for the better.

Tony felt bad for keeping you in the dark, but he knew it was the best for you.

In order to keep you protected from anything even associated with Loki, Tony failed to mention that he knew where the God was and in fact had regular contact with him.

Not that he opted to use this privilege often, but he enjoyed going to Loki’s cell and gloating at him.

Today was a day that he had picked to go and visit him.

Loki lifted his head as he heard the door open and then rolled his eyes when he saw Tony step into the room, a typical swagger of arrogance in his step.

“Back to continue torturing me about my failed plan?”

“No, though I should, I still have so much more to say.”

“Of course you do, you always do have something to say even if others don’t particularly want to hear it.”

“Everyone wants to hear my opinions, they just don’t know it yet.”

Loki rolled his eyes again and looked away, stretching his long legs out and crossing them at the ankles.

“Are you here for a reason?”

“I thought you might want an update on things.”

“No, I don’t particularly care for what your precious S.H.I.E.L.D has planned for me.”

“I wasn’t talking about Fury, I’m talking about an update on her.”

Loki’s heart jolted uncomfortably and he had to stop himself from swallowing the lump that seemed to have formed in his throat, he didn’t want his resolve to be broken in front of Tony.

He had been trying to deny it to himself, but there was only so long he could go before Loki had to admit that he missed you.

For the longest time he was focused on his task.

Befriending you had been the beginning of it, the perfect means to get into Stark Tower and take notes of the people he sought to take down. Using Tony’s best friend as a pawn to get him closer to his enemies was perfect, they didn’t exactly approve of their relationship but seeing you happy had made everyone else take a step back and observe cautiously from a distance.

He hadn’t expected to actually care in the end.

This distraction had cost him his plan and the minor falter in his step had caused him to be caught and imprisoned.

“Why would I want to hear anything about that?” He finally asked after a pregnant pause in the conversation.

“Because I’m not stupid, despite what you might think.”

“I think many things about you, Stark, none of them all too pleasant.”

“It’s mutual, that’s why I enjoy coming in here and rubbing it in just a little, one of my favourite pastimes actually.”

“Unfortunately for me, it’s not like I have a way to dispose of you from in here.”

“Not at all and that’s why I love it,” Tony grinned, that smug look that always displeased Loki.

“Can you maybe pass it up? Just this once, I’m not in the mood to be your entertainment today.”

“Well, since you asked so nicely, maybe this once, but are you sure you don’t want to know?”

Tony watched as Loki looked away and pressed his lips tightly together as another silence passes between them.

“Alright,” Tony nodded, stepping back with a shrug, “I offered.”

Loki watched as he left the room without a farewell or even a dismissive wave over his shoulder.

The door slammed shut and the lock clicked back into place, the security measures rebooting after the disturbance and Loki was once again left to his own devices.

His chastising thoughts of his mistakes beginning to stir up as soon as he was left in silence.

Chapter Text

Tony looked at you and sighed, his gut twisting uncomfortably at your expression.

It had been eating away at him to see you despair over Loki and believing all the things he had said before disappearing, it ate at him even more that he knew what happened and wasn’t telling you.

At first it had been easy for him to pretend and deny all knowledge of anything, but soon mocking Loki had lost its fun and guilt settled heavily into his stomach.

Loki had been locked away for almost seven weeks and Tony had spent a week of that time goading the God while trying to help you get over him and another two and a half weeks considering what to do, his mind racing in contemplation about whether he should reveal all and settle his friend’s mind or simply help you to move on.

It was halfway through the ninth week that he made his decision.

No matter how much the thoughts of the fallout and possible arguments plagued him, Tony decided that he was going to tell you, no, show you, where Loki was.

Even if you got mad at him for not telling you sooner, he knew that it would put your mind at ease once and for all.

It was worth it, despite the fact that he didn’t believe Loki deserved it.

You had been working on yourself in a continuous attempt to get past your ordeal with Loki.

The progress was slow, but you didn’t expect it to be an immediate bounce back and thanked all your friends for the support and understanding.

It would have been a lie to say that you didn’t think about Loki regularly, mull over what went wrong and what you could have done differently, but for the most part you distracted yourself as much as you possibly could.

Anything of his that you had at home, you packed away into a box and set it aside, somewhere out of the way.

In the beginning, you had constantly gone back and forth between fighting the temptation to seek comfort in his belongings and giving in to the temptation to seek comfort in his things.

That was over now, though you were constantly aware of the fact that you had a box of memories stashed in your home, you managed to keep yourself away from it and soon it started to gather dust.

A personal record had been set by the three-week mark of you not thinking of your disappearing ex, only for Tony to come along and break that streak.

“I need you to listen and not get mad until after I’ve told you what I need to, alright?”

You looked up from your food at Tony, your eyes glancing him over as your mind took in what he said.

“Alright,” you drawled out, “what is it?”

Tony stalled for a moment, suddenly finding his burger more fascinating than you as he steeled himself for the big reveal.

You were about to tell him to get on with it, but he got there before you could open your mouth to speak.

“I know where Loki is,” he said, looking back at you, “I’ve known this entire time.”

The hand you were lifting towards your mouth jilted, the fingers gripping your food tightening a little.

“What?”

“I know, it’s a dick move but I didn’t want him to upset you again.”

“Maybe not, but you could have at least told me you knew where he was.”

“Why? So you could badger me about letting you see him?”

The look Tony gave you made you shy away a little, there was no way you could deny that he had a point, so instead you stayed silent and pretended to ignore his point.

You both continued that meal in relative silence, conversation only sparking now and then but nothing that you could concentrate on for too long.

From that point on, Tony regretting telling you.

He could see that it was stirring up old feelings, even Steve mentioned that you had reverted back, just a little and ate away at Tony’s conscience with his observant facts.

Eventually, after a few days of mulling over it, he decided that he would extend you a branch and take you to see Loki if you wished to.

In his typical fashion when you came to conserving your feelings, Tony was patient with you and let you think it over for a while, though he couldn’t say that he was surprised when you agreed to see Loki, just for some closure.

On the day, you were so much in a daze over the opportunity to see him again that you barely registered the heavily secured guide through to the cell area where Loki was being held, you also didn’t notice the occasional glances that Tony would throw at you.

Somewhere in the background, you vaguely registered Tony giving you a basic run-through of how your visit would go. The do’s and don’ts that you didn’t pay attention to, despite his best efforts to garner your attention, you were too far gone.

In fact, you didn’t come to until you were stood in front of the cell and Loki let out a low murmur of your name, pulling you back to reality so that you were no longer staring through him.

“What are you doing here?” Loki drawled, a tone that surprised you with how gentle it was, not a snap like you’d expected.

“I could ask you the same thing,” you retaliated, unable to stop yourself from frowning.

“I’m here because I was foolish and let my own ego get in the way of what I had.”

“That was more poetic than what I was expecting.”

“I’ve had plenty of time to dwell on it.”

“There is that.”

Loki looked at you, his eyes softer than you remembered from the last time you saw them, this time they held what you were once accustomed to seeing.

Affection that was solely there for you.

He looked well put together, clean and well fed, but his eyes also looked tired, as if his dwelling took precedence over sleeping.

“As for why I’m here, I’m here to get closure,” you said.

“Of course you do,” he nodded, a wry smile crossing his lips, “it’s the least that you deserve.”

“That goes without saying.”

“It does,” Loki turned his head to look towards the camera that was aimed in his cell, the camera that every cell had to make sure the prisoners behaved, the camera Loki knew Tony was watching him through, “Though I’d rather do it without an audience.”

“Beggars can’t be choosers.”

“I suppose not.”

Loki looked back at you then sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose then massaging his most likely tired eyes.

“Was it real to you?” You asked.

“What?”

“Us, what we were, did it even mean anything to you?”

He let out a weary breath that mixed with your name, his face twitching in what you hoped to be regret.

“We were.”

“Then why did you say otherwise? I spent so long thinking you used me.”

“I know, that was the point, I didn’t want you to see me fall like I have.”

“But you still went through with it.”

“You should know me by now,” he let out a huffed, bitter laugh, “my pride gets in the way of everything, I had to see it through.”

“And the things you said?”

“I was attempting to push you aside, so that you could move on with someone perhaps more deserving.”

“That wasn’t fair, that wasn’t your decision to make, Loki.”

“I know,” he snapped, his teeth gritting momentarily until he took a deep breath, “I know and I’m sorry.”

“As you should be, how much longer are you going to be in here?”

He shrugged, glancing at the camera again.

“That is up to them, why?”

“Because,” you chewed on your lip, not fully believing what you were going to say, “when you’re out, I want to meet up and talk with you.”

“Wait, are you saying that you plan on waiting for me?”

“Not quite,” you shrugged a little, “I won’t make that kind of promise, but regardless I want to meet up so we can talk more personally about what happened.”

“You want me to seek you out?”

“You can ask Tony where I’ll be, I can’t say you’ll know as who knows when you’ll be getting out or where I’ll be when you do.”

Loki nodded slowly, the smile returning ever so slightly.

“So you’re not saying that you’ll wait for me.”

“Basically, but if we meet up and things work out for us again then we’ll take it from there.”

A low buzz filled the room and the door you had come through slid open, three guards stepping in and making their way over to you before moving aside, letting Tony step past.

“Visiting hour is over, sorry.”

“It’s okay,” you smiled gently, glancing at Loki, “I think we’re done here.”

Loki smirked at Tony and gave him a cocky wave, earning a look of distaste in return.

“It was good seeing you again Loki, I feel a little better.”

“As do I, good luck with life and see you when I get out.”

“If you get out,” Tony said, as blunt as ever.

“When,” Loki repeated, his smirk growing.

You laughed and shook your head, looking between the two and feeling a bubble of familiarity brewing in your stomach.

This was what you missed.

“I hope to see you soon, Loki,” you smiled genuinely for the first time in what felt like years.

The guards covered your view of the God as they moved to herd you out, but you didn’t fail to notice that last look of hopefulness that lingered.

Chapter Text

It was the bruises that first caught Loki’s attention.

Typically, it was far from his nature to notice things about the maids, at least things beyond what typically driven sexual attention is drawn to in certain physical areas, but the bruises running up her arm caught his eye and intrigued him into action.

Usually servants would go ignored, but he somehow felt compelled to talk to her and know the story of what happened to give her those marks.

She usually kept to herself, keeping her head down as she stayed out of the way the best she could while still trying to work.

There were people who knew her casually and would have brief conversations, but she was more than content with a polite smile of greeting and otherwise silence.

This was how she had learned to cope before her father had sold her to the royal family.

“She ain’t worth much,” he grumbled, shoving her forward with a harsh press against her shoulder blade, “but she can cook right good for ya.”

Throughout the entire conversation with the black-market salesman, she kept silent.

It wasn’t a surprise that he was finally getting rid of her, it seemed that he had always had a distaste for his own daughter which only worsened when her mother couldn’t take it anymore and left one night, never looking back and not bothering to take her suffering child.

He wasn’t a typical drunkard, though he did enjoy a drink every now and then, it seemed that his vice was a ferocious temper that would flare up over nothing and she would more often than not be on the receiving end of a lash-out.

To begin with it was verbal, harsh insults that gradually got worse, cutting deeper and deeper until they started to affect any confidence she had in herself, all her self-image and self-worth drained with the passing years.

As his temper grew, his impulses got worse and soon verbal turned to physical.

Bruises built up, occasionally bones were broken and all over the smallest of things.

It wasn’t long before her once vibrant self turned into nothing but a wilted flower who was too afraid to speak lest she put a foot out of line, the people within the community around her gave pitying looks, but did nothing to help.

After her mother had left, he would go out at night to prowl the local taverns in hopes of finding someone to share a bed with, using any money earned by either his low paying carpentry job or her seamstress work to gamble or pay for company if he were unsuccessful in scoping out a lady.

It was precisely due to money that he ended up dragging her to the shadiest part known to the Asgardians who lived around the market, the one area only select few people went and others knew wholeheartedly to avoid.

Her father was a less than stellar man, but she never thought that he would stoop so low as to offer her as payment.

It seemed as though she was the only way for him to repay the debts he had built up with the stranger he was meeting in the alley, a tall and stocky man with a voice that reminded her of a monster’s growl.

She wasn’t sure who this man was, beyond being a guard, or what his connection to her father was aside from the built up debt, but somehow he managed to pull some strings and get her a job in the palace in order to pay off her father’s debts.

Any money she earned went directly to him, the only time she got to hold it was the short time between being given her salary and giving it to him.

Despite being away from the torment she had suffered all her life, she missed home, the reprieve from the constant fear of her father’s actions were small compared to how much she missed being in her own bed.

The biggest part she missed was working for the public, looking at the expressions on people’s faces when they admired her work on the clothes she tailored, she loved the people that she worked for and now they were gone.

The royal family treated their workers well, it was a strange shift for her to not be under a constant stare of disapproval, but she still found herself questioning every little thing that she did.

It was during one of these moments that Loki first noticed her.

She had been given the duty that day of tidying the dark prince’s room.

This would be the first time she had been given such a task and the first time she would be left along in a royal’s quarters without supervision, facts that left her nervous, especially as it was Loki’s.

Although she hadn’t witnessed anything personally, she had heard rumours about his misbehaviours and misconducts and each time she heard something her nerves got worse, to the point where she never wanted to meet him privately.

That wasn’t in her line of luck though.

She had been sorting through items on the cluttered desk in the furthest corner of Loki’s room, it seemed that he was busy studying all kinds of materials to master a new spell that she would never understand on the brief glance she got.

As she went about sorting out the bits and pieces, mostly capping off bottles that were left lying open atop the table, her hand caught one of the heavy books that lay open and caused it to tumble to the floor in a heap.

A gasp left her as she tried to catch it, spilling the bottle she had been holding in her haste to move.

With a stroke of luck, whatever was in the bottle managed to miss the pages of the book by a hair, but it still stained the floor beside it.

She let out whispered curses and dropped to the floor, pulling out a cloth from the pouch in her dirty apron in hopes that she could mop up what had coated the floor.

“Oh shoot, please don’t stain,” she mumbled in a voice so quiet a mouse would barely hear it.

In a brief moment of reflex rather than thought, she heaved the bottom of her maid’s dress over her knees and rolled up her sleeves in assurance that they wouldn’t also get covered in the unfamiliar substance.

Exposing her scars and fading bruises for anyone who happened to walk by.

As her luck would have it, it wasn’t just anyone that walked by as she was on her knees, not a head maid or a guard, but the owner of the room returned earlier than anticipated.

“And what exactly do we have here?”

She started at the voice that seemingly came out of nowhere and half-turned to look towards the door, where Loki stood with a raised eyebrow and crossed arms.

“My prince,” she stammered out, fumbling with the book and bottle as she stood, “I’m sorry, I was clumsy and I dropped your things but I promise they aren’t damaged.”

As if to reassure herself, she looked over the items in her hands frantically, feeling her heart beginning to race uncomfortably.

Loki stepped towards her, his eyes trained on her arm though she believed he was simply staring at her in disapproval.

“If they are then I can replace them an-”

“Do you ramble a lot?”

“Pardon, my prince?”

“I asked if you rambled a lot, like you are now.”

She frowned and hung her head, turning to set the items back on the table to hide her burning cheeks.

“No, sir, in fact I spend most of my time silent.”

He stared for a moment before giving a brief nod.

“If that is how you wish to be, I suppose.”

As she arranged the items on the table, Loki first noticed the wounds decorating her skin.

His eyebrows furrowed and he stepped forward, placing a hand on her shoulder so that she would cease her movements and made it easier for him to turn her towards him and take a delicate hold on her wrist.

“What are these?”

“Nothing,” she answered quickly, “just some bumps, sir.”

Loki’s eyes flickered up to her and she could tell from his expression that he didn’t believe a word she was saying.

“Did the other nurses do this?”

“Not at all, sir, please,” she frowned, pulling her wrist away and rolling her sleeves down. “I must get on with my work.”

There was a moments pause between the two as Loki observed her, she turned her head away to try and avoid eye contact as much as possible.

“Of course,” he finally said with a brief nod, “that you must.”

She said nothing further, she merely gave him a quick curtsy and hurriedly left the room.

As she left, she could feel Loki’s eyes burning into the back of her skull.

Chapter Text

Loki didn’t get many opportunities to talk to the mysterious serving girl after the initial interaction, though whether it was purely because of her duties keeping them separated or her choosing to avoid him he didn’t know.

They would pass each other from time to time, but never long enough for him to have the chance to strike up a conversation.

The strange infatuation with her was something of a thrill and an annoyance to him.

Sure, he had fallen for people in the past and had been hurt or done the hurting, but nothing was ever as strong as this need he felt for her.

It completely bewildered and frustrated him, but it was something he was beginning to strive to see to, he wanted to make her happy and he already knew how.

Although they rarely saw each other beyond the occasional passes by, he still noticed the bruises and grazes, which typically sprung up when she had been away for a while.

Loki had taken it upon himself to keep track of her whereabouts, even if he made no attempt to reach out to her in fear of frightening or intimidating her.

It seemed that it was routine for her to return home, back to her father, once every three weeks and each time she returned, she did so sporting a new injury that made Loki’s blood boil.

He took his time to confirm his suspicions before even thinking of making a move, knowing that acting too suddenly and too rashly could potentially push her away.

Instead he took his time to gather the evidence he sought after, being sure to document each and every incident he witnessed before even thinking of coming forward.

Anything to bide time and come up with a plan.

His final move was to spy on her during one of her visits.

Using his ability of shifting, he changed his form to anything that would give him a vantage point to their home and he watched in utter disgust at her father’s actions, a man she was supposed to love and trust.

That was all that he needed and he left on the third night already formulating a plan, but before he went through with it, he wished to speak to her first and let the choice be made by the one suffering.

Unfortunately, due to both of their schedules conflicting, it was another two months before they had a lasting encounter again and even that was all purely by chance.

Loki entered the infirmary with a weary sigh, still feeling sick to his stomach and exhausted from the many hours kept up by his unsettled body.

It wasn’t often that he got ill, but when he did, it hit him hard.

He planned on taking up residence on the infirmary for a while, at least until the medicine he needed to take kicked in well enough for him to travel beyond his room in fear of disastrous results.

What Loki hadn’t expected was to see another laid in the infirmary, one foot set in plaster and elevated over the bed.

It seemed that she hadn’t noticed him come into the room, too focused on the book clasped in her hands to pay any mind to the world around her.

Keeping his eyes set on her, he sat down on a bed two away from hers and wondered what to say to gain her attention.

Did he want to ask why he felt she was avoiding him?

Did he want to ask about her foot?

Though he hadn’t witnessed it first hand, he wholly suspected that he already knew the reason why her foot was in plaster, a thought that made his blood boil and his stomach turn, which didn’t mix well with the already sickly feeling it was giving him.

It wasn’t a subject he felt he could breach easily, but it was definitely one that he would inevitably have to if he wished to put an end to things.

He wasn’t sure how long he had been staring when she lowered her book and looked towards him, her eyes widening in alarm as she attempted to push herself to sit up in her bed.

“No, don’t,” Loki said, holding his hand up to stop her, “you need to rest.”

“My Prince,” she murmured feebly, looking uncertain, “are you alright?”

“I am, just feeling a little under the weather, it seems that you have more to worry about.”

Her eyes instantly looked to her ankle and she shifted uncomfortably in her bed.

“Just a minor accident.”

“Really?” He asked, his eyebrow quirking up a little.

She squirmed and looked away, feeling uneasy about the look he was giving her.

They both knew she was lying and she knew that he knew she was lying.

Loki stared at her a while then let out a long and worn sigh, letting his eyes fall closed.

“I do wish you’d be more honest with me.”

The way she averted her eyes and scowled down at her cast, the forlorn mist that glazed over her eyes, made his heart clench a little for reasons he didn’t fully understand and didn’t think he would after months of pining for someone he barely interacted with.

“I’m not sure what you mean,” she murmured, not daring to look up.

“Of course you do,” Loki snapped, although unintentionally.

Guilt bubbled in his chest at the way she flinched and cowered into herself, her fingers crumpling the paper in her book.

With another sigh, he stood and made his way over to her bedside.

Perching on the edge of her bed, he placed a gentle and inviting hand on the top of her arm, drawing her attention back to him, albeit hesitantly.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap,” he said, “but you must understand that it is wholly suspicious that you leave to visit your father and come home injured, each and every time.”

Tears welled in her eyes and the sheer look of upset and hopelessness felt horrifically familiar to Loki, which pushed his drive to help her further.

He moved his touch down her arm to clasp her own hand in his, giving it a light squeeze.

“I know what’s been happening and I wish to help you, but I want your permission to do so.”

“Help how?”

“The details don’t matter,” he shook his head, giving her a wry smile, “all you need to know is that what he’s putting you through will stop and I can promise you just that.”

Her expression became something that he could only describe as doe-eyed hopefulness, even if she didn’t say the words explicitly.

The way she looked at him, how her tear brimmed eyes widened at the mention of his unknown plan, it all filled him with confidence that maybe he could make a difference.

They shared of moment of silent staring, eye remaining connected until she nodded and looked away, her mouth twitching at the sides to hide the smile that wanted to rise.

“Alright,” she finally agreed verbally, “I give you permission to do as you wish, but I don’t want to know any details until I say.”

Loki’s lips instantly curved into a smirk and he couldn’t help the low chuckle that growled in his throat, in that moment he was thankful that she wasn’t looking at him.

“You have my word.”

Chapter Text

“Thank you for coming.”

Loki watched the man move towards the table, relishing in his hesitance and trying to keep his pleasure hidden.

“Thank you for inviting me, my prince.”

“Please,” he chuckled, waving a dismissive hand, “call me Loki.”

“You sure that’s okay?”

“I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t, now take a seat.”

The man could tell that it wasn’t a request, more of a demand from the God and so pulled out a chair and sat opposite him, trying his hardest to seem brave despite the fear that even a second of eye contact sent through him.

Loki didn’t bother asking his name, he didn’t feel that it was deserved for this monster to be acknowledged on such a personal level with a being of his status.

So, he let the silence linger as his fingers drummed on the arm of his comfortable chair, waiting.

“What is this about?” He finally asked, his gruff voice coming out more broken than he’d have liked.

“Simple,” Loki shrugged, leaning back in his seat, “it’s about your daughter.”

The man’s eyes finally connected with Loki’s, it was then that he noticed that she shared his eye colour and he wondered if seeing them in the mirror brought back memories she wished to be rid of.

He also saw how his defenses went up instantly.

“What ‘bout her?”

“Nothing negative, I can assure you,” Loki smiled at him, “in fact I’d say she was one of the best workers we’ve had.”

“As she should be, I raised her right good.”

Loki stared at him and nodded slowly, trying to stop his face from contorting to express the bemusement he felt.

“Right, I’m sure you did.”

The two men stared at each other for a while, the man too nervous to break the ice and Loki enjoying watching him stew in nervousness.

“Would you like a drink?”

The man flinched at his voice breaking the silence and took a long breath to compose himself, nodding slowly.

“Would be appreciated.”

Loki dipped his head and summoned in a serving girl, who wheeled in a trolley with two cups of tea and a variety of cakes on top.

“I hope tea is okay, I feel it’s best for meetings,” Loki smiled, his eyes following the serving girl’s movements as she set things down.

The man shrugged, his eyes roaming over the woman, who looked at him with a grimace and quickly turned the trolley around to leave, though not without shooting Loki an expected and pointed look as he laughed.

Loki waved his hand and smiled at her, “We shall discuss this later.”

She rolled her eyes and walked out, practically stomping on the way.

“Wenches, they simply have no grace,” he said, just loud enough for the girl to still catch it and grinning at the grumble that came from behind the door.

The man watched her move then turned away once the door closed, his eyebrow quirking a little as his lips pulled into a crooked smirk, though he failed to notice the green flash that came from behind the closed door just as it clicked shut.

“What did you want to say about my daughter?”

“Nothing particular, I just wished to know more about her, her family, her hobbies, her likes and dislikes.”

“You’re asking me about that?”

“Yes, my intentions are to remain hidden from her for now and you being her father made the most sense to be the next person to go to.”

“Right,” he huffed, taking a sip of his drink, “well I ain’t got nothing to give you really, girl is a mystery to me and she keeps to herself.”

“Nothing at all?”

“No, got no other family to speak of either.”

“Not her mother?”

“Never around,” he shrugged, “at first it was ‘cus of work and then it was ‘cus she left.”

“I see,” Loki took a sip of his tea, instantly believing that he knew why she left. “Did you ever do anything promiscuous with her?”

“Her? Of course I did, it’s how I ma-”

“No, you moron,” he rolled his eyes, “your daughter.”

The look he received at the suggestion was venomous.

“Of course not! I ain’t done nothing of the sort! She ain’t worth that much trouble.”

“I believe you, trust me, I’d be the person to know otherwise, so do relax.”

His eyes flickered pointedly to the man’s clenched fists on the table, waiting for him to loosen his tension before continuing.

“So nothing lewd, good, though I have to disagree about her worth despite the fact you only deem her worthy of your fist.”

The man looked at him sharply and Loki could tell he wanted nothing more than a fight, but instead he chose to distract himself with another sip of his drink.

“Or is it your foot you prefer? Or maybe a good flight of stairs is your favourite.”

The tea cup clattered loudly as it collided with the ceramic plate it sat atop, a fist banging on the table as the man opposite him glared daggers at him.

“I don’t have to listen to this,” he bellowed, standing from his seat so harshly that the chair squealed across the floor, “you may be royal, but you don’t get to say shit about how I raise my child.”

He made to move around the table, but instead found himself doubling over with a groan as pain cramped through his stomach.

“I would suggest you take a seat, standing will only make you more uncomfortable.”

He felt a didn’t have a choice in the matter as pain wracked through his body, he stumbled back and fell onto the chair as all his joints and muscles began to feel like they were on fire.

“You’d be amazed at how heavily people will trust in a simple cup of tea.”

“What d’ya do to me, you bastard?”

“Simple, a little bit of poison goes a long way, especially when you’ve already ruined your system with unending bouts of alcohol.”

“Poison?” The man growled, wanting to get up and hit the prince but finding the pain in his stomach too debilitating.

“Yes, fast acting poison in fact, all helped along with a little magic.”

“I’ll kill you!”

“Not if I kill you first and which one of us seems to be winning?”

“I knew I shouldn’t have trust you.”

Loki laughed, a malicious grin growing as the man opposite him writhed, spittle dribbling from his mouth and sweat starting to coat his forehead.

“You wouldn’t be the first to say that, it seems to be a common sentiment.”

“You bastard.”

“Now there’s no need for that attitude,” he shook his head while reaching into his pocket, pulling out a small vial and shaking it, “not when I’m the one with the cure.”

The man eyed the small vial, his teeth gritting as more saliva ran down his chin.

“It won’t kill you for a while, I wanted it drawn out so that you could understand the anguish you’ve put your daughter through for so long.”

A choke sounded from across the table and the monster across from Loki gave a horrible lurch, his back arching from the chair.

“Years of pain caused by a man she was supposed to trust, who was supposed to love and protect her.”

Loki stood from his own seat and moved around the table in slow, calculated strides.

“And yet here he is, writhing before me in the face of pain equal to what you’ve given her over the years.”

He perched on the corner of the table, staring down at the man who glared at him.

“But I know men like you,” Loki continued, “you’d do anything to save your own ass and though I don’t think you deserve it, I’m giving you a chance.”

He held up the vial once again, teasingly close yet still high enough that the other couldn’t grab it from his position.

“You see, when I attempt to court your daughter and eventually succeed, we will need a replacement,” Loki said simply, “and that is where you come in.”

“Me?” The man snarled, his eyes narrowing dangerously, “I ain’t no damn worker girl!”

“No,” Loki conceded with a tilted nod of his head, “not yet, at least, but you can take this cure and live or you can die right here, slowly and painfully while I give your daughter the life she deserves.”

The man’s eyes flickered between Loki and the vial, tears starting to brim them from both pain and the finality of his predicament.

Loki stared down at him, silently waiting for a final response.

“I don’t want to die,” he finally croaked out, tears rolling down his cheeks as he closed his eyes.

“I thought at much.”

A few sobs bubbled up as more shots of fire-like pain coursed through him, causing his entire body to tense up in his seat and let out a loud yell that mixed with his crying.

“You will enjoy your new life,” Loki chuckled, standing from his seat and opening the lid to the vial, “after all, with all the time you’ll be spending in the palace, you’ll get to watch your girl grow up and become the person you never could be.”

Chapter Text

Things changed around the palace and it made her head spin.

Loki had decided to take it upon himself to visit her more often, getting more and more charming with each encounter.

At first it was a little awkward, she wasn’t entirely sure how to act around royalty and found herself fumbling over words and struggling to get sentences out, but over the weeks and multiple visits she found herself easing more and more into being in his company.

Every so often he would drop into her room and offer her a treat, something sweet as a ‘get well soon’ gesture.

He would sit around and talk with her when off duty, sometimes they would read together or one would read to the other before having discussions about the book in question.

Loki loved every minute that he got to treat her like she deserved.

To see her smile as the bruises and scrapes healed was unlike anything he had ever felt.

Once her leg had healed, he relished in showing her around areas of the palace she wouldn’t have typically seen, his particular favourite moments were when they would slowly walk deeper and deeper into his mother’s ever-expansive garden.

He loved the way that she reveled at the various flowers that were blooming, some glittering, some glowing and some with colours so unique that they were simply breathtaking to behold.

“They’re beautiful,” she gasped at one particular, teal coloured flower.

“From Vanaheim,” Loki said with a fond smile, “gifted to my mother with particular instructions, you can pluck these flowers and they won’t wilt for months.”

“That’s astounding.”

It was always a pleasure to wander with her and tell her facts or stories about where the plants came from and stories behind them, each one had a meaning to Frigga and she had regaled Loki with the tales of them as they walked together, much as he did.

Overtime, Loki started to surprise her with gifts.

It started with small things, little trinkets or ornaments he found in the market that he thought she would like and gradually they grew into larger, more significant presents, such as jewelry, new clothes and her own planting pots with seeds for flowers as magical as his mother’s.

At first she wanted to deny them, saying that it would be unseemly for a prince to be gifting a peasant, but Loki would always find a way to make sure she received them anyway, whether it be by sheer persistence or planting them in her room when she slept.

The man was determined, there was no doubting that.

It took him two months after her leg had healed before he felt ready to make the final move.

After a lengthy discussion with Frigga, he decided that it was best to set the plan into motion and face the consequences of any rejection he could possibly experience, even if by this point, he felt more than confident that she would say yes.

Although he already felt like what they had been doing was courting, he wasn’t entirely sure where he stood in her mind.

Despite his act of confidence, Loki found himself succumbing to his hidden insecurities and found that he didn’t have the gall to ask her face to face.

To try and save face, he made a flourished gesture of sending her a letter, asking her to dinner at a specific time on a specific date and would claim that it had meant to be a grand romantic plan.

He wasn’t sure what was more nerve-wracking to him, sending the letter or waiting on the evening to see if she would turn up.

He’d asked for the room to be set up in a specific way, helping the maids decorate the hall he’d chosen in his colours and picking only the best foods that he knew she would enjoy.

Loki had decided that this would also be the perfect opportunity for the new serving girl to learn her place, the thought of the retribution that would occur making him smirk and all the while his date would never know.

As the time ticked closer, he sat at the head of the table and stared towards the door, his leg bouncing as his nerves began to sky rocket and his doubts convinced him that she wasn’t going to come.

His heart raced uncomfortably and he felt his palms starting to get clammy, it was all very unusual to him.

Two minutes before the hour, the door clicked open and she stepped inside, wearing the dress he had gifted to her for this specific occasion and he had to admit that she wore it better than he ever would have thought.

She gave him a shy smile and moved towards the table hesitantly, almost as if she was unsure of herself.

Loki stood up and moved around the table, pulling a chair out for her, he invited her to sit down with a warm smile.

“You look stunning.”

“Thank you,” she smiled, tucking in her skirts so that she could sit down, “you look rather handsome yourself.”

“I do try to look my best.”

He helped her tuck her chair closer to the table and then moved back to his own seat.

“I am grateful that you decided to come.”

“I would be foolish not to, I almost died when I read the letter.”

“That would have been useful to no one.”

She laughed and gave a nod, continuing to smile radiantly at him.

Loki smiled back and snapped his fingers, calling for the new serving girl, who entered the room with a look of utter disdain.

They carried themselves with no grace and he was surprised that the drink he had ordered hadn’t spilled from the jug by the way they stomped into the room.

He was going to have to have a word about that later.

Loki watched carefully as the girl served their drinks, his eyes narrowed the entire time as if he was waiting for them to mess up.

Once glasses were filled and the serving girl was dismissed, Loki raised his glass and held it towards the middle of the table, prompting her to do the same.

“Here is to a wonderful evening and the beginning of our future.”

Chapter Text

He knew immediately.

From the harsh shutting of the door that wasn’t quite a slam, to the loud exhale of exasperation that sounded from the hallway, Loki knew that it had been another bad day for you.

Loki was aware of the issues you were having and the less than stellar mood it was putting you in, so he wasn’t surprised when he watched your deflated figure shuffle into view and promptly flop onto the couch with all the grace of a hippo doing ballet.

You had just propped yourself up against the side of the couch when the light that spilled in from the other room was darkened, you looked over to find Loki’s tall figure taking up the space in the doorway and blocking out most of the light.

“Bad day?” He asked, leaning against the doorframe and folding his arms.

“Isn’t it always?” You replied with a roll of your eyes.

“Want to tell me about it?”

“There’s not much to tell, same shit, different day.”

You watched as Loki walked over and tapped your leg, indicating for you to move so that he could sit down.

In a few swift motions you had managed to shift around, pulling your legs up beneath you so that he could perch on the other end and regard you with sympathetic eyes.

“There’s always one who has to ruin it all for the others,” he commented.

“It just happens to always be the same girl for me.”

“Is that so? Is she becoming a bit of a hassle?”

You nodded and adjusted your position, all but ready to explode into a rant.

“So get this, I was overloaded with tasks the other day, every other thing was piled on top for me to do.”

“Genuinely given just to you specifically, or added on top because she refused to help?”

The look you gave him answered his question and he gave an understanding nod, indicating with a movement of his hand for you to continue.

“Things were getting a bit much and all I asked was for her to file this one lot of important paperwork that I had authorised, it’s not hard, we have designated areas for specific things that are clearly marked and she was all smiles and cheers, you know,” you put on a bright smile and tilted your head from side to side, continuing in a falsetto voice, “‘It’s fine, I can totally do that, you just focus on what you have to do and I’ll sort this out’.”

You rolled your eyes and grimaced at your own impression, feeling that it didn’t do justice to just how false you knew her to be.

“Alright and then what happened?”

“She ‘lost it’ somehow, between walking from one end of the room to the other, she lost it.”

Loki looked down at you with a blank expression until his eyebrows knitted together, the cogs of his mind clearly turning as he tried to process the information.

“I’m not following.”

“Welcome to my world, but of course it was all my fault because I was the one dealing with it and did she come forward to say she was involved? No! Of course not!”

Loki leaned away as you threw your arms up in an exaggerated manner, coming close to hitting him in the face with your wrist.

“That’s just the tip of the iceberg, it’s like every other thing she does is a move to try and get me into trouble, like she wants me fired but no one sees that she’s putting on a nice act.”

“She does sound like bit of an irritant, I may be the God of Lies and Mischief, but even I have more dignity than to sink that low.”

You couldn’t control the wry smile that sprung up, but you didn’t want to distract yourself from the subject too much.

“And we haven’t even gotten into the volume on that woman, I’ve never known anything like it.”

“Loud people are the worst,” he agreed with another nod of his head.

“Loud and rude is the worst combination,” you let out a loaded sigh and rested against him, your head setting on his shoulder, “I don’t know what it is, if she has something against me personally or is just a total dick in general.”

Loki looked down at you and moved his arm so that it was resting over your shoulders.

He didn’t like you see you upset and it was proving to become a regular occurrence, too regular for him to continue to ignore.

His hand rubbed the top of your arm as he stared ahead of himself in thought, a comfortable silence settling between you both as you simply basked in his presence and let your eyes slide shut, feeling a little better now that you had at least shared your issue with someone.

“I could kill them.”

You pursed your lips to one side and let out a small hum of thought before shaking your head.

“No, don’t kill them.”

“Too far?”

“No, just far too easy.”

“Then I shall make them suffer for you.”

“You could maybe maim them a little.”

“Egregious bodily harm is not something you should wish upon people,” he said with a straight face that he found difficult to hold on to, “no matter how annoying they are.”

You pouted your lips and looked up at him.

“Aren’t you the one who offered it first? And stabbed Thor?”

“I don’t see what that has to do with anything.”

A huffed laugh escapes your throat and you shake your head, giving a chaste kiss to his cheek.

“You really are something else.”

“I know,” he smirked, dipping his head to return a peck to your lips, “I have an idea.”

“Oh, I do love it when you have ideas.”

“As do I,” Loki chuckled, that deep rumble that you loved so much. “How about rather than disposing of her, we make her into your own personal pet?”

You wrinkled your nose, looking up at him with a look of uncertainty.

“I don’t know, Loki.”

“You don’t want a pet? With my magic I can make her anything you want, a dog? A cat? How about a rabbit? They are very silent creatures.”

You laughed and pushed away from him, not wanting to give in to the amusement just yet but finding it hard to push it aside and continue to be mad.

Instead you chose to get up, stumbling a little as you adjusted yourself, and headed towards the kitchen.

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that and make myself some food,” you called back, opening the fridge, “you want some?”

“No, thank you,” he also got up and dusted off some imaginary dirt from his suit, “I was actually just about to head out.”

“Okay, will you be long?”

“Not at all,” he smirked, his eyes roaming over your turned back, “but before I leave, what was her name again?”

Chapter Text

‘And I am live at the red carpet of what is expected to be the next big blockbuster of this year-”

I walk into the room and look at the TV, taking a bite out of the slice of toast that I had only just freshly prepared and it would appear that I’d finished just in time for the red carpet walk on the entertainment channels.

Putting my foot on the settee, I sit down and tuck my legs underneath me and place my plate on the arm of the chair, my body twisted so that I could face the television without discomfort.

‘We are waiting for the latest big name to come into Hollywood to arrive, the upcomer who seemed to come out of nowhere and steal everyone’s hearts, Loki Laufeyson.’

I smile at the mention of his name and give a little whoop, the noise alerting the dogs and causing them to lift their heads and stare in my direction disapprovingly, as if it were a nerve to dare interrupt their twelve hours of rest.

With a roll of my eyes, I wave my hand at them and stick my tongue out before taking another bite of my toast, watching the show as celebrities I barely knew of arrived and entered the building after interacting with the media and fans alike.

It was always nice to see them interacting with people, but my interest wasn’t in them, I was eagerly waiting for Loki to arrive.

Pulling my laptop towards me from across the settee, I lift it up and set it on my lap so that I could flitter through websites until my object of fascination turned up.

While stealing occasional glances at the TV to check guest progress, I log onto some accounts and check out any updates that were going on.

As I expected, my check resulted mostly in a few comments on the latest books, fan tags of photos and ravings on the premiere trending tab about the latest up and coming couple and how they’ll ‘Totally make it official tonight!’.

It hadn’t been long since I’d first heard about the rumours, in fact it was a co-worker who first brought it up during one of my many meetings within that building.

“Hey, did you hear that Loki is apparently dating his co-star?” She’d asked, staring at her computer screen.

“Is that so?” I replied with a soft laugh, unable to hide the smile that crept up.

“Yeah, lucky girl.”

“Oh, very lucky.”

I noticed how the rumours continued to spread and in fact still do to this day.

‘Breaking news; Upcoming star Loki Laufeyson is seen out at dinner with co-star.’

‘Is Loki dating ex-model turned actress and co-star, Julie?’

These were the only headlines around these days and it was beginning to get a bit tiring, though some of it was self-inflicted.

It’s not like I had to go onto the shipping sites or look at the comments on his social media pages, but everything deeply fascinated me.

Fans knew that he was notoriously private for someone who enjoyed showing off, but as soon as he started uploading pictures I noticed immediately how they all seemed to turn super sleuth.

Many had their suspicions and the vocal majority were more than happy to project their thoughts across his pages, some even made dedicated blog posts about their theories and whether they believed the media reports to be true or false.

Some hit the nail on the head.

It was astounding the day I got the first comment on one of my silly little photos that wasn’t about book promotion.

I had just posted a picture of my dog stood by a rain splattered window with the caption; “Taking the dog out, hope it stays dry for a bit longer!” and thought nothing further of it, tucking my phone into my pocket and slipping my headphones in, I left on my journey and ignored the online world.

By the time I had returned and finally checked any notifications, I noticed that one particular comment had a chain that went on for about twenty to thirty comments.

The first comment read; “Is it me, or does that dog look like one of the ones from Loki’s new pic?”

A few comments followed along the lines of; “I just went to check out his latest pic and you’re right! It’s the same dog!”

There were comments that pointed out other similarities; “Isn’t the table the same one from her ‘Horror night’ picture?”

I knew which picture they were talking about for that one, but I wanted to see the details they were pointing out and look at Loki’s latest photo.

Loading up his page I saw the first photo they mentioned.

It had been taken about two days before my own and showed the aforementioned table with a book and a plate of food sat atop it, at the other end were two dogs with their heads resting on top of it as they gave him their begging eyes.

And they were right, one was my undeniably my own.

He hadn’t told me that he’d set up clues, that sneaky devil.

After that I had talked to him about perhaps playing a little game, putting out small hints towards our coupling that most people would glance over but others would pick up on.

It became our thing and there was no denying that it was fun to see them piece it all together while the media led others who weren’t as into following us into believing he was dating his own co-star.

Anything to get their pages clicks.

But that would all stop tonight.

I’d barely had to wait forty minutes before Julie arrives on the red carpet, ten minutes before Loki would as they had planned, and stepped out of the car with her date for the night.

Tony looking as dapper as ever and happy to be in the flashing lights of the paparazzi.

Even though they’d only just stepped out of the car, they both look so into each other and clingy that any rumours would be averted and die out after tonight.

For the most part at least, no one will ever fully believe something just because it’s in front of their own eyes.

Hollywood does have its own agenda after all, that’s the joy of narrative spinning.

I watch for a while longer, smiling when Loki shows up and wows everyone with his dramatic flourish, the one that always came naturally to him and instantly drew attention.

That drama-queen attention whore.

I smile and refresh the page to look at the comments.

Many are of disappointment, more are comments on outfits and how much fun it looks or how eager they are to see the film.

Time seems to slow from there and I find that I’m bored of watching after fifteen more minutes of the special, so I shut off the television and head to my room with the intention of curling up and continuing the series I had started.

As soon as I move, the dogs jump up and run after me, almost tripping me as I head up the stairs.

It’s a few hours later, when I was already curled up on bed with my laptop at one end and a book in my hand, that my phone went off loudly right beside my pillow.

As always, the abrupt start of the ringtone invading the silence caused me to jump and my adrenaline started pumping, so I had to calm myself down whilst slowly setting my book to one side before I could answer.

Picking up the device I glance at the name coming up on the screen and smile, pressing the large green ‘answer’ button that was flashing at me.

“Hello there, Mr. Movie Star.”

“Good evening to you, Mrs. Author.”

I smile and roll onto my back, staring at the ceiling.

“So how was it?”

“Wonderful, the crowd seemed to love it.”

“That is excellent, I shall be keeping an eye on the review pages.”

“Please don’t, you know you’ll take any critiques towards me personally.”

I gasp playfully and rest a hand against my chest even though he can’t see me, “I would do no such thing, now you and Julie go and hang out and tell her I said hi.”

“As always,” he hums in agreement, “think tonight will stop the rumours? Her coming with a date?”

“I doubt it will fully, they’ll scream ‘PR movement!’ but we know the truth and apparently some clever little fans have for a while too.”

There’s a moment of silence between us and I close my eyes and bask in how comfortable we are to be able to not say a word and still stay on the line together.

“I do hope that one day you will come with me,” he finally says, his voice softer than I’m used to hearing.

“I know,” I hum into the phone, “but you know what I’m like with crowds.”

“I am fully aware, we do need to sort out your self-confidence.”

“I’m fine in front of my own crowd, but your fans are crazy.”

We both laugh and I can hear someone call for him in the background, making me give a loaded but obviously for dramatic effect sigh.

“Let me guess, they’re pulling you away?”

“I’m afraid so, it’s time to head to the after party.”

“Wonderful, well do have fun and don’t come home too drunk.”

“I will try my best.”

I can hear the smile in his voice and laugh softly, smiling towards the photo that I had stopped on and glancing over the comments people had left.

“Good, I’ll see you later, love you.”

“Love you too."

We both hang up and I set the phone to one side, chewing on my lip as I stew over a plan that had just sprung to mind.

With a mind set with determination, I grab my phone and load the camera.

Holding out my left hand, I take a photo of the green stone set in a black band and then quickly upload it onto various sites for fans to see and to end our little teasing game.

All with the same caption and all tagging him in the photo;

“It’s going to be a crazy ride from here.”

Chapter Text

Shapeless.

That is how you had often described yourself when looking in the mirror.

It’s how you described yourself as you stared into the mirror in front of you, trying on the outfit you had bought for Tony’s party.

In the shop it had seemed perfect, to perfectly sculpt around your body like a second skin, but now that you were trying it on again, barely two weeks later, you felt nothing but shapeless.

No hips pushed out the waist to accentuate a waist and a bust was hardly making the top pop with that extra bit of ‘oomph’, you didn’t even want to think about what was happening at the back.

You stared in dejection and just felt shapeless, flat and now more than insecure when you thought of the others who would be at the party, rocking their outfits.

A rapping at your door drew your attention away from your frowning reflection and you looked over your shoulder, calling out a soft; “Come in.”

And in stepped the one man who should make you feel better, but right now only made you feel that little bit worse.

It had been about a year and a half since Loki had come to live at the tower, much to his annoyance, and out of those eighteen months you had been dating for seven.

Everything had started as amicable greetings in passing, a ‘hello’ here and a wave there as you passed in the corridors on your way to your own business.

Gradually this turned into more casual conversation, which in turn also turned to spending hours talking and hanging out, mostly you showing him the ropes of how to actually fit in amongst the ‘Midgardians’ without acting like a total freak.

Though he still didn’t quite grasp everything, it was interesting to see him attempting to fit in as much as his begrudging self would allow.

Loki looked as elegant as ever, with his lean body that held hidden muscles in the most perfect of ways and his ass which you were ever so slightly envious of.

“Are you ready?” He asked in a tone of pure disinterest.

You opened your mouth to answer but your words faltered, instead you let out a stuttered huff of air and closed it again, licking your bottom lip while shaking your head.

“Why not?” Loki asked, his eyes roaming over you, “you look ready to me.”

“I can’t go in this, I need to find something else to wear.”

“Why?” His eyebrow rose in query, “I thought you were excited about your new attire?”

“I was and now I’m not,” you snipped, turning from him and heading to the wardrobe that was built into the wall.

Loki regarded you for a while, trying to decipher your sudden change in attitude towards the clothes you had bought specifically to show off.

He remembered how you’d come home and had been eager to show him what you had bought, Loki had even smiled and let you give him a modelling session so he could see you in the clothes he was looking forward to tearing off after you both inevitably ditched the party early.

You looked over your shoulder to see him standing and staring, unmoving as you went to undress.

Suddenly, you found yourself not wanting him to see you undressed.

“Can you leave please?” You asked softly.

“Pardon?”

“I asked if you can leave.”

“Why?”

“I don’t want you to see me right now.”

Loki regarded you for a while longer then sighed and closed his eyes, his face the very definition of ‘done’.

“What is it with you Midgardians and finding problems in yourselves?”

“Are your kind any better?”

“My kind worry about real things, things that make us quite literally marked as monsters within society, nothing as trivial as what your media sets up to be deemed as acceptable.”

You fell into silence as a staring contest seemed to emerge between you both.

In truth, you kind of knew that you were being a little ridiculous, but there were moments like this where you wondered why he was sticking with you.

You’d asked him before and he had said how he enjoyed your company, the conversations where you spent hours talking and laughing about nothing.

“But, wouldn’t you prefer to have,” you shrugged whilst letting out a huff as your hands slapped back against your sides, “something to hold on to or something?”

“No, I’d prefer you stopped listening to what other people say and take peace within yourself.”

“That’s easier said than done.”

“I suppose it is when your media is saying one girl is too curvy and the other is too flat, people are different shapes, why must you all trivialise such nonsense?”

“So you’re certain you don’t want a girl with hips or boobs?”

“If I wanted one, I would have gotten one,” Loki looked at you pointedly, “physical attributes aren’t everything, you know.”

“I know, but-”

“But nothing,” he interrupted confidently.

He strode across the room, closing the gap in barely a few steps.

Once he was stood in front of you, he stared down at you and you up at him.

A lingering moment where his face was unreadable and you were a little anxious about what exactly was going on through his mind, knowing Loki it could have been anything.

You know what you hoped was going to happen.

You gave a small start when he wordlessly straightened out your clothes and then effortlessly maneuvered you into his arms, carrying you like a bride towards the door.

“Loki? What are you doing?” You asked, a laugh breaking your sentence.

“I’m taking you to the party, I’m tired of waiting and quite frankly don’t wish to miss Thor’s telling of the time he had to dress up as a bride for one of my many schemes.”

You rolled your eyes but smiled all the same and rested your head against his shoulder, getting comfortable as it seemed that he wasn’t going to let you down anytime soon.

“I thought you said our Norse myths were false?”

“Now, darling,” he chuckled, a glint in his eye as he looked down at you, “I said some were false.”

Chapter Text

It was sinful, deliciously sinful to know that at any corner you could be caught and your whole world would collapse.

Naturally, it was a painful thought as well, but the excitement of the game vastly outweighed the sense to stop what you were doing.

Sometimes it was a simple roll within the bed, nothing too risky but still amazingly tantalising and other times you were both so caught up in a heated moment that you couldn’t control yourselves and you would let him force you against the nearest wall and take you.

Your legs hitched up around his waist as you kissed feverishly, moans and pants mingling as he buried himself deep inside you over and over again.

These moments were broken up by the mundane activities of life.

Loki tended to be the busier one, having to sit in during meetings and attend classes or training sessions, all the while trying to give attention to his newly betrothed, Aileya.

Aileya had come from a lesser known royal family from a far-off realm you didn’t care to know for, she was to wed Loki in an attempt to keep peace between the two realms, who seemed dangerously close to coming to a head and starting a new war.

She was a nice enough woman, appealingly tall with the perfect proportions for her body size so nothing appeared out of alignment. Long hair that flowed and glistened along with her white teeth that shone in a caring smile that would devastate the hearts of many men.

Many men, but not Loki and something about that filled you a devilish glee.

You knew that you should have felt some kind of empathy for the girl, perhaps even disgust and regret at what you were doing to her without her knowing, but it was so addictive that you couldn’t help yourselves.

You had known Loki for longer and he had been more interested in earning your appraisal than finding another wife.

Over the years as you grew up together, he would find any reasons to get close to you and made sure that you were happy.

There was only two years in age difference, which meant he didn’t have to wait long.

Loki watched as you grew into stunning adulthood and on the night of your birthday took you for the first time in unabashed lust, which you returned as your heart fluttered knowing that the feelings you had developed over the years were mutual.

If truth be told, when Odin first announced the marriage at a large feast of cheering warriors and nobles, you weren’t especially surprised.

For a while, you had suspected that he thought something was going on between you and Loki and there was no doubt between either of you that Odin thought that marrying Loki off would stop what you two were doing.

If anything, it only made you both worse.

On a few occasions you had come so close to being caught that you thought your heart was going to give out, dying as Loki was deep inside you would have been a wonderful way to go.

In truth, you were almost sorry that Aileya wouldn’t get to experience the pleasures that Loki could offer but there was a niggling sense of satisfaction knowing that he had promised himself to you and you alone.

Just as he had promised to find a way to call off the impending wedding, although you both knew that Odin would be less than eager to listen to anything you two would protest.

This was why, unbeknownst to Loki, you had started coming up with your own plan on how to break it up.

The motions were already set, you just needed to wait for the opportune moment.

And the perfect time came two weeks later.

It was with a fiendish glee that you stepped into the feasting hall and strode the long path between the tables, barely able to hold back a wicked smile.

Odin’s eyes flared as he spotted you and Frigga’s brow furrowed as her face flickered with a look of concern, for the briefest of seconds her eyes glanced towards Loki who was sat between Thor and Aileya.

As you looked towards the table and met eyes with Aileya, you felt a pang of what could have been sadness for what you were about to do to her, she hadn’t deserved to be dragged into such a sordid assortment of lies and petty actions.

But it had to be done.

Stepping up so that you were stood level with the King’s table and were positioned high above the others in attendance, you gave Loki a smile and a nod in greeting before slowly turning to address the others.

“I am sorry to interrupt your typical festivities,” you began, gaining almost everyone’s attention, “but there is something I must say.”

“What is the meaning of this?” Odin practically snarled behind you, you could feel the cold stare of his one eye boring into the back of your skull.

The look you had been getting accustomed to since his suspicions began, the look of sheer disappointment.

“I’m afraid that I have come here, drawing your attention away from your food to make an announcement as to why Loki cannot marry Aileya, though beautiful as she is.”

“Why is this?” You heard Frigga ask softly from behind you, though you knew that she was already aware.

“This is because he has already sworn himself to me, both emotionally and physically.”

Murmurs and chatter stirred up amongst the crowd and you gave them a moment to let the words and their connotations sink in, your hands coming to a rest with linked fingers in front of your waist.

“And it is with the utmost glee that I must share that my brother, Loki, and I are expecting a child.”

Chapter Text

Tall, dark, handsome and mysterious.

Those were the words most commonly used to describe him.

They fit perfectly, if everyone was honest, even those who didn’t like him had to admit that they were the perfect descriptive words for him and he knew it himself.

With his messy dark hair, which no one could figure out if it was natural or dyed, his usually scruffy and yet somehow still stylish clothes and the tattoo sleeve that ran up his arm it was no surprise that one look from his cat like gaze made the girls swoon.

There were plenty of rumours running around about him, as was typical for boys with his reputation.

The smallest were claims of him skipping class to smoke and drink or how many women he had bedded, along with how he was ‘known’ to steal.

The biggest were vastly exaggerated, like how he had apparently killed a guy.

He knew of his reputation and did nothing to stop people believing what they wanted, as long as he knew the truth then that was all that mattered in his eyes.

It wasn’t his fault that people thought his taste in fashion made him a ‘bad boy’, he just liked having his hair partially covering his face and wearing scruffy jeans, boots and whatever top he decided to wear underneath his favourite jacket.

Girls happened to fall for this false sense of charm that it gave.

So did Loki.

The quiet and seemingly shy boy who liked to sit in the back of the classroom, away from prying eyes who would take any opportunity to rip into him for something random that they pulled out of their ass.

Loki wasn’t known for having many friends or being sporty, in fact he was barely known at all.

He was a shadow to his classmates and the people he ate lunch with were hardly what he’d consider friends, they were more misfits forced together by the hierarchy of school who shared next to no interests.

It took Loki a while to accept that he wasn’t as ‘normal’ as his woman loving adopted brother, whose blond hair, bright smile and outgoing personality made him a hit with everyone.

Typical case of girls wanted to be with him, guys wanted to be him.

Not that Thor was a terrible person, he was annoyingly charming and friendly which made him impossible to hate, but also meant that Loki was stuck in a social shadow that he could never dig himself out of.

He’d been invited multiple times to go out at the weekend with Thor and his friends under the guise that they wanted to spend time with him, but he knew better, Loki wasn’t stupid and knew they were doing it out of pity.

As they spent time together, Loki tried to mimic Thor’s behavioral patterns.

To emulate his brother would make him normal, he would pick a lovely woman his mother would be proud of to bring home and rain love upon.

He was normal.

Until he wasn’t.

Trying to keep up with Thor was tiring and after a while Loki gave up, though he did learn in this time that he was pretty good at lying and deceiving, so at least something came from it.

Loki was fifteen when he realized that he didn’t have a particular preference for who he dated, it took him a while to accept the fact but when he did, he embraced it.

Just in time for ‘him’ to start at the school.

Another quiet student who preferred to keep to themselves, only this one gave off a brooding aura that was telling people to leave him alone and yet somehow managed to draw everyone in instead.

He chose not to speak to many people and was most commonly found to be sat outside alone, underneath one particular tree during breaks.

Loki wasn’t sure what it was, but something about the new kid fascinated him.

Although many people wanted to befriend him, he pushed them away willingly and kept to himself without seeming abrasive or unfriendly, keeping people at arm’s length while not becoming a social outcast in the eyes of the scathing students.

It was interesting to watch.

Then Loki realized small details about him.

How he had a habit of running a hand through his hair, gripping at the strands before letting them fall into another tussled mess around his face.

How his eyes would spark as he read something that clearly piqued his interest.

How his lips would curve upwards just a bit when an idea for his writing jumped up.

Small subtleties that built into one human and one crush.

A crush that was way out of Loki’s league.

There was something about his entire demeanor that caught him off guard, something that everyone simply brushed off under the flag of ‘mysterious bad boy’ but Loki saw as a loner who perhaps was scared to get close to someone.

He never thought he’d have a chance to speak to him, especially not with the amount of people who already wanted to and kept getting pushed away.

It was during a class assignment that he didn’t have much of a choice but to speak to him.

A year and a half after Loki had accepted his crush and convinced himself that he was content with admiring him from afar was when they were put together for a history paper.

His heart lurched uncomfortably in his chest when their names were called out.

Loki’s eyes flickered across the room and for the first time they made eye contact, his crush finally acknowledged him with a smile and a nod of the head before his attention turned back to the teacher.

He couldn’t believe his luck, it was almost too good to be true and what had started as initial giddiness soon turn to worry about what could possibly go wrong.

His fretting took him through to the end of the lesson, by which point he had barely acknowledged what the teacher was saying, until when the bell rang and everyone packed up to go home for the weekend.

Loki was shoving his things into his bag when a shadow loomed over him, causing him to look up and come face to face with his new project partner.

“Hey,” he greeted coolly, making Loki’s stomach flip again, “seems we’re partners, huh?”

“It would appear so,” Loki nodded in response, his eyes glancing briefly over him.

He had never been this close for a lingering moment before, nothing beyond brief seconds of standing in the hall.

From the rumours he had expected him to smell slightly unpleasant, perhaps with a lingering scent of cigarette smoke or maybe even a bit of a musty damp smell, instead he gave off a pleasant smell of barely there cologne and clean clothes that almost didn’t feel as if they matched his image.

For once he got a good look at the intricate vines and words going up into his checkered, rolled up sleeve and he noted how the words appeared to be quotes from Poe, which made sense as they looked as though they were emerging from the skull of a raven tattooed on his wrist.

“Great, looks like it’ll be fun.”

Loki let out a loaded sigh and zipped up his bag, standing from his seat as he slung the strap over his shoulder.

A building dread filled the pit of his stomach as he thought back to the previous partners he’d had during projects, thankfully not many but enough to leave an impact.

Why would this time be any different?

“Look,” Loki managed to start without losing his voice or confidence, “I know how this typically works, so why don’t you just tell me what topic you want to pick and I’ll write it all out but still put your name on it.”

There was an awkward pause as they stared at each other, one with a look of total bemusement and the other trying to stop his hands from shaking as adrenaline from not only talking to his crush but finally voicing his opinion on things pumped through his veins.

“Right,” he finally said, looking at Loki with a frown that made his heart lurch a little, “you know, dude, I do like to learn and we’re partners, this is our project so I’m going to help you with it.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah,” he shrugged uncaringly, “can’t expect you to do all the work.”

“Why not? Everyone else did.”

“Everyone else can go blow one, look I got work this evening but I’m free tomorrow, how about we meet up in town and figure things out?”

Loki smiled and nodded, his hands twisting at the straps of his backpack.

“Sure, that sounds great.”

“Awesome.”

Loki stared at the smile that was returned to him, basking in the way it made his eyes light up.

“Come on, we can exchange numbers as we walk to my bike, you can text me to let me know when you’re free as I’m down for whenever.”

The fact that this was actually happening seemed to finally catch up to Loki, by this time his dream guy had made it to the open classroom door and was looking at him with a quirked eyebrow.

“You coming?”

“You bet,” Loki grinned, eagerly stepping out from behind the desk and catching up to him.

They exchanged smiles and headed outside together, Loki’s heart beating ten times faster than should have been humanly possible the entire time.

But what did he care?

He had finally been noticed.

Chapter Text

“Well, make yourself at home.”

It was their second meet up for their assignment, of which they decided to focus on Greek mythology for, the first had been at Loki’s lavish and immaculate home and the second at his crushes considerably smaller and squat place.

He’d been nervous when inviting the boy with the reputation over for the first time, knowing that his father was likely to take a disliking to him.

Though, in all fairness, Odin took a disliking to most people but this particular style of attitude and reputation would grind his gears in a particular fashion and heaven forbid he found out that Loki had a bit of a soft spot for this rebel.

At least here he could relax a little, despite the fact that they were the only ones in the house.

Loki looked around the small bedroom, a little taken aback by how tidy it was for a guy of his reputation.

He had been expecting clutter, things being strewn around and thrown carelessly into places as opposed to the neatly sorted space that met him, the only out of place thing being a small pile of clothes that had been dropped on the floor by the bed.

His eyes glanced over the posters on the wall and the scarcely filled shelves that held books and ornaments of varying kinds.

For a moment, his eyes lingered on a figure that stood on the end of a light wooden shelf nearest to the bedroom window.

“Wow,” he smiled widely, moving closer, “you have a Malthael figure?”

“Yeah,” he replied with a slight shrug and the first genuine smile Loki had ever seen on him, “gotta represent my boy, haven’t I?”

“You actually play Diablo?”

“Oh no, I’m total fake gamer girl,” he chuckled, “what can I say? I like my fantasy.”

Loki smiled at him then went back to scanning his room, taking in each item.

“You’ve got some cool things here.”

“Took me a while to save up for each one too, but worth every penny.”

He shrugged off his faux-leather jacket and flung it onto his bed carelessly then he turned to Loki and gave him a smile that made his stomach flutter.

“Well, make yourself at home.”

Loki nodded and hesitantly pulled out the chair which was pushed up against the desk, setting his bag on the floor he sat down as he looked over the minimal contents on top of the table.

Just some papers, some books and an old looking laptop that he would be surprised to see booting up.

“So,” the other man spoke as he sat down on his bed, “you do your side of the studying?”

“Of course, I got all my research and paperwork lined up.”

“Great, so we’re still in agreement to work on something about Hades?”

“You seemed really excited about that, so I’m fine with it.”

He laughed and nodded, giving a small shrug.

“Only if you’re cool with it.”

“I’m fine with it,” Loki smiled, “it’s nice to have someone giving me their opinion for a change.”

“Okay, let me grab us some snacks and then we’ll get started.”

Loki nodded and watched him get up and walk out of the room, particularly admiring the way his black jeans hugged his ass and seemingly thick thighs.

He wondered if the sleeve going up his arm was his only tattoo but didn’t feel that they were close enough to ask him something that could be deemed as personal.

Clearing his throat, he pushed his glasses up his nose and grabbed onto his bag, choosing to distract himself by leafing through the contents to find his print-offs.

Once snacks and drinks were brought in, they both settled down and started working on their presentation, deciding to make it a small performance piece to add a bit of flair to the class.

“I’ll even be Persephone if you want,” he’d chuckled, making Loki laugh with him.

“I don’t think Persephone had a tattoo with a stag skull in the middle of it.”

“Hey, unless you knew her personally you can’t say that.”

Loki was amazed at what a duo they made, rather than butting heads once they had gotten into the details of things like he had expected.

For someone with such a reputation, this guy was actually quite clever and friendlier than a supposed criminal would stereotypically be.

Instead, he found himself having a lot of fun and time shot by, before they knew it it had reached nine and their eyes were beginning to get tired as their brains were slowly draining of energy. Though, to their credit, they had gotten nearly everything completed in only two sessions of work.

Loki looked up as he heard a yawn and watched as he stretched his toned arms over his head.

“Excuse me,” he said, giving Loki a weary smile, “that was kind of rude.”

“No, it’s okay, I guess it’s time we packed up and I went home.”

“You sure? It’s pretty dark, I can give you a ride.”

“No, that’s fine, thank you.”

“You can call your parents and stay here.”

Loki’s heart jolted a little and his blood ran cold, he couldn’t entirely say if his face portrayed his surprise or not.

“Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to impose.”

The bulkier man shrugged and got up.

“I wouldn’t have offered if you were imposing, but don’t think I’ll force you to stay,” he looked at Loki with a kind smile, “but I will insist that I drive you home, it’s pretty dark.”

“I…I think I’d rather stay than get on that death trap.”

They stared at each other for a moment and Loki started to wonder if he had maybe offended him, it was well known that he was protective of his bike and it wasn’t that it wasn’t a wonderful looking thing, they just made Loki a little nervous.

Finally, he let out a laugh and shrugged, heading to the bedroom door.

“Fair enough, I’ll grab the phone for you.”

Loki smiled at him as he left then looked around the room, taking a deep breath to calm the sudden nerves that had hit him.

It would be fine, he’d had sleepovers when he was younger.

He just hoped that it would be his mother who picked up.

Chapter Text

A strange jolt and an odd sensation of pain snapped him away, an involuntary grunt leaving him as his entire body shuddered and convulsed.

His eyes darted around in panic, only to find that his entire vision was shrouded in an off-white colour.

His breathing came out in panicked gasps and it became difficult to take a sufficient amount of air in, he felt as if the panic was taking over and making it hard to control himself in a way he’d never experienced before.

He felt numb and heavy, when he attempted to move his entire being felt slow and rigid.

As he moved he let out an involuntary groan as a strange tugging sensation pulled down his neck and shoulder when he finally managed to get his arm moving, so much effort had already been expended simply because he wanted to remove the sheet from over his face.

Despite his best efforts, he’d barely moved an inch before the sheet was torn away, leaving him startled but blinded once again by a bright light that shone down into his eyes.

“Oh, thank all the Gods, it worked.”

It took a while for the burning to subside, but as his eyes adjusted to the light he could see the outline of a blurry figure that loomed over him.

He wanted to speak but his tongue felt like lead and his mouth was too dry, even moving his jaw was proving amazingly difficult.

“I know,” the chipper voice continued, “don’t try to speak just yet.”

Loki could only groan a little, his stiff jaw not offering any relief, no matter how much he tried to speak.

“Now, you must be freaked out a little and that’s understandable and may be a good thing.”

His vision adjusted and unblurred just in time for him to catch a brief look of manic concern, which worried Loki as it was a terrible mixture of sheepishness, excitement and the false apologies of a mad person.

She stood before him in a dirty lab coat, simple and casual clothes underneath that didn’t give off the vibe of anyone authorative or officially licensed to be wearing such garb, though her immensely wild hair gave her the appearance of a typical mad scientist.

He must have pulled a face that he was too numb to feel, as she suddenly started and her face once again broke into a head splitting grin.

“I see you can comprehend speech and your surroundings well, wonderful! This is going so much better than last time.”

“Last time?” He finally managed to rasp out, his jaw barely moving but his words still coming out clear enough to hear.

“Of course, what is a perfect experiment without a few test runs?”

“What exactly have you done to me?”

She smiled and gave a shrug of what he took to be uncaring.

“I just made some improvements.”

“Improvements meaning what?”

“Meaning borrowing some pieces to fix you up, damn near Death’s door you were.”

Loki stared up at her in completely shocked disgust, though he wasn’t sure if his face gave away what he was feeling.

“Do you want to see?” She asked, her head tilting a little.

He froze for a moment, wondering if he truly wanted to see what kind of warped being she had made of him, though now the numbness made sense.

“No, I don’t want to see anything right now,” he concluded, suddenly feeling sick.

“Suit yourself, though it’s probably for the best, everything looks all red, angry and kind of gross if not completely awesome,” her eyes looked over him and a proud smile replaced her manic one, “I’ve done a wonderful job.”

“You’re insane!”

“I’m a genius!”

Loki groaned again and rolled his eyes in exasperation, thankful that at least one part of him moved without much effort, the need to get away from this crazy woman was getting stronger by the second.

If only he could move.

He used the moment of silence to try and regain movement in his limbs, beginning with his hands.

In a small stroke of luck, he could feel his joints and muscles gradually loosening, although the return of feeling and movement flared up a pain that made it feel as if every part of him was on fire.

The pain flared up worse when he first attempted to fully flex his fingers, just getting them to bend was proving to be difficult and almost far too painful for him to bear for longer than a few seconds.

It was strange to him to not have his body fully following what his brain was commanding, he’d been numbed in the past to deal with injuries but never anything to this extent.

While he was still numbed seemed to have made his lagging movements easier to cope with despite the effort it took to get his fingertips to lift barely half an inch off the table, but now that the numbing was almost completely worn off and he had barely twitched a muscle the pain and effort brought on a terrible exhaustion.

Loki all but gave up as the tiredness consumed him and he felt his energy slowly draining.

Resting his hand, which he had managed to lift just a small bit, back onto the metal table he was led on, Loki let his eyes fall closed again as all energy finally left him.

Chapter Text

The doors to the healer’s infirmary clattered open and closed, the sound of boots scuffing on the floor invaded the once quiet sanctuary and you didn’t even have to look up to know who it was.

This was a typical routine by this point and one that you’d come to look forward to, though you would try and act otherwise.

You let out a long sigh and lowered the glasses you were wearing down the bridge of your nose to peer over the rims, attempting to block out the new technology that danced across the lenses, something that was supposed to make your job that much easier.

“What is it this time, Prince Loki?”

He gives you his usual coy smirk and gestured down to his leg.

Your eyes trailed to where he was pointing and you could see a slash within the leather covering his knee, blood seeping out of a wound that didn’t look as superficial as the ones you had grown accustomed to tending to.

For once it took you by surprise and your eyes widened as you stood from your seat, ripping off the monitoring glasses to set them to one side so that an ensuing headache wouldn’t distract you from actually fixing up your patient.

“It seems I’ve had an accident during my training,” he said with a look that told you it had been a genuine accident for once and one that he was less than pleased about.

“It would appear so,” you replied coolly and indicated to the bed at your side, “well take them off and I’ll have a look.”

Loki limped towards you, his face twitching every now and then in a wince as he applied pressure to his wounded leg.

You were used to seeing Loki in the infirmary, it seemed like every other training session something would happen or on days when he wasn’t training he was very accident prone, at least that’s what he wanted you to believe.

It had been a genuine accident that sent him to the infirmary where you’d first met, many years ago when you were still a mere healer in training and he was just hitting the last part of his puberty.

The oh so cruel Asgardian puberty.

You yourself had only just been out of it for two years and the previous ones were days and weeks you were more than happy, elated in complete honesty, to never have to relive.

That day was when you had first met the Prince face to face.

Naturally, living within the palace meant that you’d seen him from a distance, but that did no justice to when his entire presence was barely a foot away as you were examining him for any wounds.

Loki was definitely growing into a fine young man.

Tall, lean but still a little muscled, dark haired and handsome.

It seems that puberty had worked wonders for him, your breath was almost instantly taken away when you got the first up-close look of him, but unfortunately many other girls had picked up on that face as well.

A handsome face and a high title in society will get you anything it seemed.

Though sometimes you wondered if they were merely using Loki as Thor was harder to obtain logistically, being the first-born son and immediate heir to the throne, but it didn’t seem as though Loki cared.

He was just basking in the positive attention and hormonal rushes that lead to ridiculous decisions in order to impress and leave an impression, decisions that led him directly into your hands.

“And how did you say this happened again?”

Although his back was facing you, it was easy to tell that he suddenly came over with a severe case of embarrassment by the way he shuffled on top of the table.

“I was with Thor and some friends outside the palace gates, we were messing around and then one of them thought that it would be a good idea for us to climb a tree that was growing some apples.”

He paused for a moment as your fingers moved to the harsh red scratches that decorated his side, just beneath his ribs on the left side.

“And you were all randomly shirtless?” You asked.

“Of course it wasn’t random, we had been playing at a nearby lake and some girls came along.”

“Naturally,” you sighed, pulling away to grab the gauze you had set to one side, “continue.”

“Well one of the branches I was reaching for happened to be a little too high and the one I was using as leverage snapped, I unfortunately fell onto the gravel.”

By the time he had finished telling his story, you’d cleaned and covered his wound then gave him the all clear, though you did warn him against climbing trees that were too tall for even his grand stature.

When he stood from the bed and turned to thank you, it was like he was seeing you for the first time even though you had only just formally introduced yourselves, something behind his eyes flickered for the briefest of seconds.

From that point on, you found that he would come to the infirmary every couple of weeks, sporting mostly insufficient and superficial wounds that didn’t need medical attention in the slightest.

A twisted ankle that he insisted needed to the strapped up by a professional, to ensure that it stayed tight and secured his foot well enough to ebb away the pain of walking.

A small scrape on his arm that was already mostly healed by the time he got to the infirmary.

A headache that a good bit of rest could fix.

Sometimes he did drop by with a genuine issue, cuts and gashes from training or broken bones from having to go to other realms and fight the cause of Asgard.

No matter what, Loki came to you without fail and you grew to love his company over the years.

At first it had been a nuisance, but now you looked forward to his ridiculous stories that led to his injuries and the banter you both shared.

There was no denying that you had grown to love him and that was why you allowed him to effectively waste your time.

“In all the years I’ve known you, Loki, you’ve never ceased to amaze me with the accidents you get in,” you commented after he finished his story of today’s accident.

He was sat on your examination table, his leather long discarded so that he was sat in only his boxers and a long-sleeved green tunic.

The wound was deep but a clean slice, nothing jagged or dangerous about it, one that would prove easy enough to close once it was cleaned, it was a simple case of the amount of blood coming from the wound making it look worse than it really was.

A genuine slip of a dagger from his masterful hands and an unfortunate attempt to catch it, in fairness it was lucky that he only managed to slash his leg.

You looked up at him with a knowing smile, he didn’t have to read far to know that you knew many of his injuries were hardly worth bothering a healer for and yet, despite the amount of years he had been coming to see you over trivial things, you still humoured him and never turned him away.

“What can I say? I’m very clumsy,” he smiled.

“Is that so?” You asked, an eyebrow raising as you continued to clean the smooth edges of his cut, “because from what I’ve seen, you are actually quite a fluid and dexterous manner.”

“I have problems concentrating when I’m thinking of beautiful people.”

“Then stop thinking about them and maybe you wouldn’t have to see me so often.”

“But if I stop thinking about you then I’d never think of ingenious ways to acquire injuries and bother you.”

“Maybe if you asked me out properly, you wouldn’t need to lie to see me,” you laughed.

He chuckled in return and his eyes lit up with the mischief he was known for, “But lying is in my nature and you have to admit, it’s a lot more fun.”

“I do enjoy hearing your tall tales of everlasting pain and suffering.”

You flashed him a smile before setting aside the blood-soaked cloth you had been using, his eyes never leaving you as you grabbed the small bit of equipment that would hold the gash together with an artificial layer of skin.

“But,” you continued over the hum of the tiny, pen sized machine, “no one said that you’d have to stop telling me exciting, if not false, stories just because we’d be courting.”

Loki huffed out another laugh and tilted his head to watch you.

“You’d really want to suffer with the walking calamity that I am?”

“I have done for years already, Loki,” you smirked up at him, switching off the device and grabbing a gauze to cover his cut for an extra layer of protection before adding the bandage, “at least this way I’ll be getting something in return.”

Chapter Text

If Loki was anything beyond the God of Mischief and Lies, it was an amazing lover.

The heated kisses that could be both possessive and loving, the way he knew all the right buttons to push to make sure you both finished together when he was feeling generous.

You could count on one hand the amount of times you had been left unsatisfied and this wasn’t due to his lack of performance, it was purely because your body refused to accept the pleasure.

But despite how amazing he was, sometimes you needed, nay craved, for something different and you were lucky enough to have a selection of men at your disposal.

Each one different in personality and bed performance, giving you the variety you needed.

When you wanted something a little slower you would turn to Thomas.

He was attentive to your every move, wanting to please you and always checking to make sure that you were happy with what he was doing as if he was uncertain of himself during intimate situations.

He was the exact opposite to Robert, who was more into making sure the sessions were quick, even if it meant you weren’t fully satisfied at the end of it.

Robert was a selfish man underneath this dapper-looking façade that gave the impression of a kind person who wouldn’t say boo to a goose, but when that image slipped away it got strangely exciting, you had no idea if that night you would be left satisfied or high and dry.

Unlike Adam, who, despite being rough and almost animalistic, made sure that you were almost numb with pleasure at the end of the night.

It gave him a silent sense of pride to know that it was him that made your joints and muscles stiff and your most private areas sore, but somehow still pleasantly sensitive.

As well as making sure you ended on a high note to feed his pride, he was also possessive and enjoyed leaving you with marks, typically harsh bite marks that decorated the crook of your neck so that people knew that you were spoken for.

This was in direct contrast to James, who was more the domestic type.

You know when you walked into a room and saw those gentle blue eyes that you were in for a night of pure doting, a gentle and slow period of lovemaking, rather than hard fucking.

He made you feel like a well loved and truly appreciated spouse, his compliments never getting boring to hear in his delectable voice as he paid attention to your most sensitive spots.

Of course he knew how and when to take control, being a Captain and all, but he preferred to make sure that your needs were seen to more than his.

This was different from another James you knew, also a Captain.

But rather than the gentle lover Captain Nicholls was, Captain Conrad bedded you more like a stranger than a familiar face.

When Conrad was around the sessions were typically quick, hard and intense before they were over and he would leave you where he’d taken you, basking in the aftermath of the quick round while he attended to some unknown job that you never found out about.

It was exciting to have such an array of lovers to pick from.

It was even more exciting when you didn’t know who you were going to get.

Much like tonight.

You had had a long day and wanted nothing more than to lie down, curl up and sleep, but it seemed that Loki had other ideas.

As the door swung open, you were met with a familiar face looking over his shoulder.

One who smiled at you as he turned around and let you admire him in all his glory.

“My favourite tonight, is it?” You asked with a smile, walking over to meet him beside the bed.

“Aren’t we all your favourite?” He replied with a purposeful change in the inflections in his voice as his hands clasped onto your hips.

Chapter Text

Loki was getting ready for his first date since he’d been living on Midgard.

Not that she knew it was supposed to be a date, but he knew there was mutual attraction between the two and he planned on making the most of that knowledge.

It was the last week of October and he wasn’t sure what customs to abode by, he’d looked up various plans but all seemed either too unimpressionable or too elaborate for even his flourished style.

Eventually, he bit the bullet and called in his brother, who had significantly more knowledge about Midgardians and their courting customs than he did.

Thor was more than eager to help Loki, excited that his brother was finally attempting to get close to a Midgardian, who he had often expressed high distaste for.

“Brother! It is almost time for Halloween, use that to your advantage.”

Loki’s eyebrow raised a lithe eyebrow and stared at Thor with a blank expression.

“And what, do tell me, is Halloween?”

“It’s a day of wonderful scares, delicious food and giving our sweets to little ones dressed as monsters,” Thor grinned excitedly, his typical boisterousness shining through, “it is a very joyous time.”

“I see, and how can I use this Halloween to my advantage?”

“There are many ways, allow me to show you.”

For the next hour and a half, Thor showed Loki all the events that were around for him to start his ‘non-date’ with and how to end it.

Website upon website gave him example after example of what he could do, where he could go and some even gave him the best times to do them.

They compiled a list that Loki sat through and decided on by himself, sat in the dim light of his living room with a glass of wine on the table and a pen in his hand, which he used to cross out ideas he didn’t want to go with or write notes and ideas next to ones that stood out.

In the end he decided to keep it simple with a horror movie marathon, mostly due to time restraints on her part, though she had the day after free and he planned on taking her out if things went his way.

Apparently it was a typical and cliché thing to do, but typical and cliché didn’t mean it wasn’t fun.

“That’s a great idea,” Thor beamed.

“Yes, though I don’t want to be too forward in case my assumptions are wrong.”

“Then I shall join you,” Thor suggested with a shrug, “I’ll be the one there to act as a buffer, a decoy until she gets so frightened that she seeks refuge in your arms and we have to turn the movie off.”

Loki stared at his brother before nodding slowly, a coy smile slipping into place.

“Wonderful idea.”

And so Thor and Loki worked on setting things up for the day.

They shopped for food and drinks to share among the three of them, telling her that she was more than welcome to bring her own snacks as well.

Loki made sure to tidy his already immaculate flat, just to be on the safe side.

He even changed the sheets of his bed the morning of, just to be sure that things would be fresh and crisp for her to sleep in for the first of what he hoped to be many times.

The rest of the day dragged on slowly, his anticipation ramping everything but time up to the highest.

He’d had things to do to whittle the time away, but it turned out his odd jobs barely took him a few hours and then he found himself back at home, waiting for the right time to start preparing food.

He attempted to read but found that too often his mind would drift into imaginary scenarios of how he hoped tonight would end, there were countless ways he could make his first move and his imagination played out each one in detail.

Loki’s favourite was when she was cuddled into him in fear of the fictional creatures haunting the screen, her face hidden in his chest as she shuddered and he wrapped his arms protectively around her.

The perfect way for a date to go, it’s why many articles they found online said that horror movies were the perfect first date material.

It was a given that the girl would jump, scream and cling onto her date in an attempt to feel safe and this was something Loki was more than ready to use to his advantage.

An hour before she arrived he started to put food into bowls and covered the tops with clingfilm, he took drinks from the fridge and moved things from the kitchen to the coffee table sat in front of his couch.

There was more than enough there to last them all the night and then some, Thor going overboard with some of his choices and going for the largest options they had as if they were attempting to feed an army.

Thor arrived before she did, letting himself in with a cheery call of greeting as he shed his jacket and hung it up on the coat stand that he always teased Loki for buying.

“You ready for some scares, Loki?”

“Naturally, looking at our selection there hardly seems to be a creature on there that compares to the true horrors we have faced.”

Thor rolled his eyes a little and dropped his overnight bag onto the floor beside the coat stand.

“Don’t ruin the festive spirit,” he sighed before chuckling at his own pun.

“I’m not ruining anything,” Loki huffed, folding his arms.

“Just let it all out before she arrives.”

Loki glared at his brother but said nothing further, deciding that it wasn’t worth the effort.

In his mind, he won by default.

Thor had gotten comfortable in his favourite chair, the one that he always dominated when he visited Loki, and smiled over at his brother, giving him an encouraging thumbs up as a knock sounded at the door.

“Here we go, good luck.”

Loki nodded and smiled gratefully before walking to the door and pulling it open, his words falling from his mouth as he regarded her for a moment.

“What is that?”

She looked up at him with a look that told him it was obvious, her painted face not hiding the expression of confusion and bemusement.

“It’s called a Halloween costume, genius,” she laughed, brushing past him, “I always dress up for Halloween, even at work.”

“I see,” he closed the door behind her, looking over her costume, “it suits you.”

“Thank you,” she smiled, setting her bag down beside Thor’s, “though I am disappointed that you didn’t dress up.”

“I’m not usually one to celebrate Halloween, I’m afraid.”

“You’re missing out.”

“Maybe next year.”

He trailed behind her as she walked past his kitchen and to the living room, picking up her bag as he passed it.

“I hope you don’t mind staying in my room.”

“Oh, I don’t want to take the bed to myself.”

“You wouldn’t be,” Thor called out, “I’ll stay on the couch and you two can share.”

Loki sighed and resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose in exasperation.

“I see,” she nodded, “that’s fine by me.”

Loki smiled and walked into his room, scanning it to make sure that everything as in order.

From the living room he heard the familiar squeak of the chair, meaning that Thor had just stood up from it.

“I must say, you look absolutely terrifying,” he laughed.

“Why thank you,” she replied chirpily, “I try my best.”

Loki returned to the room in time to see Thor crushing her in a bear hug, the poor girl letting out a grunted laugh as she hugged back.

“Shall we get started then?” He offered as they broke apart.

“Oh, yes,” she grinned eagerly, “let’s see what you have in store for us.”

They spent a short amount of time deciding what to watch first, then once the DVD was in Thor flipped off the lights, they all settled into their seats with a bowl of their chosen goods and a glass of their chosen poison.

As the film progressed, Loki noticed how she would shift in her seat quite often as if she couldn’t get comfortable, but there were no other stirrings.

The first two movies passed uneventfully and they took a short break before putting in the third.

After restocking their bowls, they all sat back down ready to continue watching.

This time when she sat down, rather than taking up the other end of the couch, Loki was pleased to see that she had taken the middle cushion but was positioned ever so slightly closer to him.

He took this as a sign that she wanted to seek comfort and the encouraging nod from Thor was more than he needed, as her eyes stayed trained on the television, his arm snaked across the back of the couch and eventually around her shoulders.

She hesitated and glanced at him, then allowed herself to sink in and rest again his side with a content smile.

The movie continued to play uneventfully and Loki noticed that aside from the occasional jump, which was barely noticeable aside from a light gasp every now and then or her eyes widening, she didn’t seem to be affected by anything that played out onscreen.

There was no squealing.

No jumping to the extent where the bowl contents flew over them.

No hiding and using him as a shield.

Truth be told it was the opposite, her eyes were glued to the screen, especially when a death was occurring, and at times she even laughed and made jokes.

Loki couldn’t deny that he was enjoying himself and even with her reactions being the opposite of what he had anticipated, he still found his plan of action working.

By the end of the fourth movie, despite things not playing out how he had initially planned, they were both cuddled up comfortably as the credits rolled until she sat up and stretched.

“I need to get this make-up off,” she commented, standing up and groaning as some of her joints popped, “then we’ll move on to the next one.”

She smiled at the two brothers, who exchanged a knowing look that made her tilt her head curiously.

“What’s going on?”

“Things aren’t going as Loki planned,” Thor chuckled, getting up and switching the light on to take the DVD out.

“What do you mean?”

“We thought these movies were meant to scare you so that you’d end up seeking shelter in Loki’s manly protection?”

She laughed and shook her head, “These films are about the thrill of fear, I’m not some girl who screams and hides just because there’s a ghost or some blood on the screen.”

“That’s kind of what I was relying on,” Loki finally commented, giving her a wry smile.

“Too bad for you it doesn’t work that way.”

“I can tell, you definitely didn’t react how I wanted.”

“I can tell, but I’ve been into horror for a while, it’s why I love dressing up on Halloween.”

“I should have guessed,” Loki laughed, shaking his head.

“Oh yeah, I love horror because I like the aspect of the genre, the creatures, the imaginative deaths,” she smiled, “not every woman seeks protection from these things, in fact some men do, actually I have a friend who was too chicken-shit to watch Silent Hill and he kept hiding behind me.”

“Okay,” he sighed, holding up his hands, “you got me, but I must ask what is Silent Hill?”

“Oh, it’s a film adapted from a game series, a lot of people hate it, but I really like it,” she grinned then jumped up and clapped her hands like an idea had sprung up, “actually, I brought it with me and since it’s my turn to choose let me get changed and then grab that and Trick ‘r Treat.”

She climbed over Thor’s extended legs, who had sat back down after putting the DVD on top of the coffee table, and practically skipped down the hall to Loki’s room.

Once she was out of sight, the brothers exchanged a look of disbelief.

“I thought she was supposed to get frightened and be seeking refuge in my arms?” Loki practically sneered, quoting his brother from a few days prior.

“This was not how the internet said it would be,” Thor commented helplessly, his blue eyes giving away that he felt as betrayed by this information as he sounded. “Of course you end up going for a horror nut.”

Chapter Text

You stared at the expansive list of projects that you were supposed to choose from for your final big paper, the hand that wasn’t holding the sheet up you were looking over was rubbing at your scalp as you thought.

Everything on the sheet was only a recommendation of what you could do, but your mind was admittedly running blank on any independent ideas and you hoped that something would jump out and inspire your creative process.

But nothing was working so far.

Instead you found yourself distracted by the thought of this being your final paper, not just of the year but of your entire school life.

This was it, once you graduated from this course it was off into the world of adults you went.

No more class rooms or lessons schedules.

No more early rises after long nights of emergency project touch ups, or at least not as regularly as they happened now depending on what job you managed to secure.

More bills to add to the already daunting student loans.

The fun world of adulting and all you needed to do was come up with a great programme idea to execute as flawlessly as possible.

No pressure there.

A few ideas had sparked up, but you worried that they were maybe too unoriginal and basic.

The idea of making a game had appealed the most, but you weren’t entirely sure what you’d come up with in the timeframe that you had.

There were also management schemes that were do-able, but for what kind of service you weren’t sure and somehow both options seemed too common and yet also your best bet.

You groaned and dropped the paper onto the desk, which was quickly followed by your head as you let that fall onto the varnished wooden top.

“Why did I take engineering? I should have taken history instead.”

“Would that be because of genuine interest or because of the devastatingly handsome professor?”

You smiled at the familiar, velvet voice that invaded the quiet library and made your stomach flutter.

“Maybe a bit of both.”

Two hands settled on your shoulders and helped to pull you back up into a sitting position, despite the amount of times you had encountered them it still always surprised you just how chilled to the touch they were.

It was like he had no body heat whatsoever.

“You look stressed,” he commented as you tilted your head up to look at him.

“Doesn’t a student always look stressed? Unlike you, looking perfect all the time.”

It was true, somehow he managed to look like he had never encountered a bad day in his life.

Like in that exact moment, he was the epitome of perfection and you hated him for it.

The way his pinstriped suit was tailored to fit his lean and lithe body, which itself was muscular but not ridiculously so and proportioned to perfection, and the way he added glasses to the look was a final touch that added so much class but also made it just a touch more entrancing.

Not to mention his basic features looked like they were carved in marble from an artist who took nothing but perfection as a result and his hair, the darkness of the strands and the way he slicked his back suited him annoyingly where.

Whereas anyone else would look a little ridiculous, he looked great and it seemed to get a little better when a single lock got loose from the rest and fell into his face.

And his voice, it was so smooth and yet somehow not and the hinted accent that stood out would make you melt when he spoke your name.

Damn him.

“Maybe I can help with that?”

“Oh no, it’s okay Professor Laufeyson,” you smiled politely, earning a bemused look from him.

“Why are you being so formal?”

“Well because we’re in the library,” you took a cursory glance around to see if there was anyone in the direct vicinity, “sorry Loki.”

“Trust me when I say that no one is close enough to hear a thing.”

He smirked at you, that same smirk with the spark in his eyes that made you shudder in anticipation.

It was hard to think that you would leave this relationship soon.

The elicit relationship between a professor and a student, the kind they typically told in dramatic films or a novel, whether it be trashy or a psychological thriller.

You at times still couldn’t believe that you got caught up in such a relationship, how it even started was bit of a blur through the adrenaline of what you were doing and the memories of office hook ups that left you buzzing.

At night when you’d lie in bed and think about it, one of two things would occur.

You would either get excited at the prospect of the next encounter, would it be a lingering look or something more physical and dangerous?

Or you would end up wondering how two people from completely different divisions ended up like this.

Had you been a student in his class it would make more sense, that’s how it normally worked.

A student would watch a professor as they taught the class, they’d share lingering looks over time and eventually a blowjob would happen in their office, given or receiving depending on the situation, and then things would escalate from there into the most delicious of drama.

But you were an engineering student, for software specifically, and Loki was a history teacher who specialised in the Nordic tales.

Naturally he had vastly more to his plate and you enjoyed lazy mornings where you’d be curled up in his bed, lying naked together as he’d tell you stories from Ancient Egypt, Rome or Feudal Japan.

These memories would usually make you smile, but as you thought about the nature of what you were deciding, you found yourself frowning which in turn sparked Loki’s concern.

“What’s with the face of thunder?” He asked, pulling out a chair at the head of the table to your right and sitting down.

“What are we going to be?” You replied with your own question, looking at him in dread of the answer.

Loki’s brows furrowed and he shook his head slowly, “I’m not entirely sure I know what you mean.”

“When this is over, I’m so close to graduating and then I won’t be here.”

“And that means we must end ‘us’?”

“Isn’t that what typically happens? The affair is fun until it’s no longer a danger, a thrill that causes adrenaline to spike.”

He frowned and reached over, placing a hand on top of your and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

“I was not aware that that is how this works.”

“Usually it does, the student leaves, the teacher teaches and finds another student to get the excitement from.”

Loki sat up straighter in his seat and stared at you silently, his face one of pure alarm.

“You think I intend on ending us and bedding another student?”

“That’s what typically happens.”

“I’m ashamed you would think such a thing of me,” he chuckled, squeezing your hand again, “but I promise you, this is not something I have indulged in purely for the thrill.”

“It isn’t?”

“No, life isn’t like those silly stories and student or not, you’re still you and we can only give us a try outside of what we know,” he shrugged, “I may be named Loki, but that doesn’t make me the God of Mischief, I know where my loyalty lies.”

You couldn’t help but smile as your cheeks flushed a little in embarrassment over your assumptions, he returned the smile and made your heart melt even further.

And then an idea sparked in your head.

You gasped and stumbled up out of your seat, grabbing the sheet of paper hastily as Loki flinched back and looked up at you.

“I’m sorry, Loki, but I think I know what my final project is going to be,” you grinned at him then lunged in and gave him a deep and thankful kiss.

He didn’t have time to return it before you were pulling away and grabbing your bag, practically throwing it over your shoulder before racing out.

“I’ll see you at the weekend, don’t forget our date,” you called back as Loki watched you retreat.

He slowly shook his head and laughed, a look of pure adoration in his eyes.

“Like I ever could.”

Chapter Text

The park was better than anything you could have imagined.

For years you had wanted to visit the ever-happy world of Disney World and despite his reluctance, which he had to anything Midgardian it seemed, Loki was true to his word of taking you one day.

As you stood there, gaping like a child at the famous castle you’d seen so many times in various different mediums, your mind seemed to fritz and you didn’t quite know where to begin your magical, weekend adventure.

Already you could tell that a weekend wasn’t enough, but it seemed that three days, Friday to Sunday, was all that Loki was willing to put up with for a first trip.

But you could tell that despite himself, your wonder at finally being in the one place you’d dreamed of, what with growing up with Disney movies, was rubbing off on him as he tried to keep a straight face and not break into a smile.

“What do we do first?” You asked, spinning to face him with a wide smile.

“How about we wander about and see what catches our eye first?”

You nodded slowly, moving over to him so that you could take his hand.

“That’ll be hard though, because everything is catching my eye.”

Loki looked around and let out a small hum.

“Understandably so, it’s a very large and vibrant place, you can’t look in any direction without something jumping out at you,” he looked down at you with a chuckle, “even the car park looks exciting.”

“Exactly! It’s so hard to choose.”

“How about we start to our left and work our way around?” He suggested, looking over the map he’d acquired, “towards Fantasyland?”

“That could work, saves us picking and choosing.”

“Yes, that we can do during our final few hours before we have to go home, I know I for one would like to see this Haunted Mansion everyone is talking about, that and the Tower of Terror.”

“I like that idea, though I do hope we get to see Alice before we leave too.”

“I’ll make sure that we do, I may have some things pre-planned as well,” he chuckled to himself.

You let out a strange noise of excitement and thus Loki found himself being pulled around by an overexcited partner, who oo’d and ah’d at almost everything.

Not that he was surprised, everything about the place was an over the top spectacle of amazement and yet, for him at least, it all fell flat in comparison to his home in Asgard, which was equally as large and, in his eyes,, all the more beautiful.

But he didn’t comment and let you have your fun, pointing out the various characters who wandered about, taking photos and getting pulled on rides he otherwise would have ignored.

He was just glad that you were having fun.

Over his time of knowing you, Loki had started to learn a little bit more about the various Disney franchises and even enjoyed a few of the movies you had shown him, the music was catchy and the characters were colourful, he could understand where the enjoyment came from.

Personally, he preferred the older animated movies compared to the more up to date ones, but he could still appreciate the work behind it all and seeing it all come to life in one large extravaganza was an experience even he couldn’t deny was nothing beyond magical.

You bounded from place to place, pointing out the characters he didn’t quite recognise and giving him the rundown of the places you were visiting if he wasn’t aware of their stories, all the while taking pictures to remember this amazing occasion.

You’d gone through the Haunted Mansion and ended up lost in thought about how amazing Loki would probably look if he were to dress for the setting, you’d taken in the view of Rapunzel’s Tower and felt the rise of romance as you laced your fingers with Loki’s and admired the lanterns that were strewn so carefully around.

Loki hadn’t been impressed with It’s A Small World, but you hadn’t let him avoid it as you intended to get him to experience each and every ride that you could muster, despite the expected long queues.

By the time you had gone on a few more rides and met Peter Pan, you were all but ready to eat, but Loki marched on with an air of intent as he distracted you with Ariel’s Grotto and the surrounding attractions.

After you’d left the village market, your eye caught sight of the Beauty and the Beast area, which made your heart leap into your throat.

“Oh, I’d love to go over there,” you pointed.

Loki lifted his head and looked in the direction you were pointing before checking his watch, which you had gifted him for Christmas the previous year, purely because it amused you to see a God wearing something so ungodlike.

“Alright, we shall start with the gift shop and move around to the woman’s house.”

“Belle.”

“Pardon?”

You laughed and smiled up at him, “Her name is Belle.”

“Ah, yes, that one, from the story that reminds you of us, correct?”

“That’d be it,” you nodded, “can we get some food too?”

“Soon.”

Loki led you towards the French styled village, which was just as breath-taking as all the other intricately recreated scenes you had stepped in to throughout the past few hours.

Though the sights were amazing, you had found yourself catching how some of the people eyed up Loki as you wandered around, apparently finding him more interesting than what was around them, not that he noticed as he seemed to be staring curiously across at the Dumbo attraction at the time.

“I think some of the princesses like you,” you laughed after a quick glance around, though you couldn’t decipher if the people looking were attracted to him or recognised him.

You sincerely hoped it wasn’t the latter.

“Is that so?” He replied, looking down at you as you linked an arm with his.

“Oh yeah, I think Ariel was willing to ditch Eric and invite you to her little grotto.”

“The pretty little red head?”

“That would be her.”

“Huh, and where was she again?”

You shot him a warning look, though you failed to stop your smile from spreading as the look faltered at his own amused expression.

“Relax, if I wanted a princess I could have gotten with a real one by now, with much fancier dresses.”

“That completely puts me at ease, I guess I’ll make sure that we avoid any other princess, I can’t risk you running off with one of them.”

Loki down looked at you, a warm and loving smile on his face.

“You know, if you were a princess, you would be my favourite.”

You both stared at each other, a silent beat passing between you before you both burst out laughing.

“That was corny.”

“I know, but I thought that it fit the moment.”

You shook your head and smiled widely at him, glad that he wasn’t ruining the day with a bad attitude that he sometimes had when being compacted into places with too many people.

The fact that he was enjoying himself meant the world to you.

He’d been so organised to make sure you got the best experience you could out of your first day there.

Loki had made sure to warn you of certain times so that you were aware of his intention to catch as many of the parades as you could and you knew that he had something else up his sleeve, the way he scanned the areas you went to and kept checking the time being a dead giveaway.

He was sure to never rush you, knowing that you’d want to take as many photos and interact with as many characters as you could, but he was always acutely aware of the time and the areas he needed to be in general.

You hadn’t known that Loki had planned this far in advanced just for you and that made your heart swell, even if he refused to tell you his plans.

“Are we going to see the fireworks?” You asked.

“I certainly plan on it, what is a trip to a place like this without attending one of the main attractions?”

You couldn’t contain the little noise of excitement you made and found yourself squeezing his arm in your giddiness, which only made him laugh.

“Should we get a souvenir for Thor?”

“I suppose we could,” he said, shrugging nonchalantly.

“And then we can go over and get some food?” You suggested hopefully, indicating towards the tavern that you could see opposite the shop you were aiming for.

“Mhm.”

Loki stepped into the shop and followed you around as you shopped, picking out bits and pieces that caught your eye that you wanted to buy, despite Loki’s astonishment at how expensive they were.

Once you left, you’d taken time to adventure around the village, taking more pictures and finally visiting Belle’s cottage.

You could tell throughout the entire tour of Maurice’s gadgets that Loki was getting antsy about something, which was unusual for his usually calm and composed composition.

Every now and then, you’d see that his hand was imbedded into his left pocket and you noted the flickering glances he would give you each time, but tried to ignore it and get lost in the world around you.

Loki finally caved when you’d reached the Beast’s library.

With his best efforts, he took your hands and pulled you into the best area that he could find that wasn’t too full of people.

You stared up at him, ready to ask if he was feeling okay as he looked paler than usual, until he took a deep breath, withdrew his hand from his pocket and got down on one knee.

Time turned into a strange mixture of too slow and somehow too quick as he looked up at you hopefully, for the briefest of seconds you thought that you had missed the question and found yourself instantly gasping out a; “Yes.”

Loki’s eyes widened and he stumbled back to his feet, his fingers fumbling a little with the ring to take it out of the box and slide it on to your finger before you threw your arms around him, holding him tightly.

You stayed like that for a while, exact minutes you didn’t know until he prised you away and kissed you in a way he never had before.

This was full of love, longing and possessiveness, but something else made the kiss feel so different.

When you finally pulled away, he used his thumb to wipe away a tear you didn’t know had escaped and smiled at you proudly.

“We’re getting married,” you blabbed out through a small hiccup, though you felt a little dumb for it after.

“That we are,” he agreed with a laugh.

“We’re actually getting married, this is insane, where do we even begin?”

Your mind jumped to the various plans you’d have to make, guests, a bridal party and the works, only to be interrupted by Loki drawing your attention to him once again.

“We will figure that out later, but for now I believe that someone is waiting for us to be their guest.”

Chapter Text

The party was booming.

A total hit, though that was no surprise for a party thrown by the Tony Stark.

Music pumped, drinks flowed and smiles were all around for this impromptu shindig.

You weren’t entirely sure what he was throwing it for, all you knew was that you were enjoying yourself despite your nagging questions about why there was a hypnotist in attendance.

“To liven it up a little more,” Tony had shrugged, as if it was the most obvious answer to a dumb question.

You went with it, deciding it best not to question him further despite your curious mind conjuring up many questions.

Loki, however, was full of even more questions.

All night he had been sat there, nursing a few drinks and watching the strange man with fascination, his eyes narrowed as he watched him work.

“What’s up?” You asked, taking a set beside the God.

“I don’t understand that man’s magic,” Loki replied, not tearing his eyes away from the hypnotist.

“What’s there to understand? He just puts people into a trance and rewires them with the power of suggestion,” you laughed, sipping on your fruity drink.

“Like mind control?”

“Something like that, I think it’s interesting,” you smiled, “especially how some people are impervious to it and others are susceptible.”

“I’d naturally be impervious, being a God.”

You glanced at him, your eyebrow quirking a little as your curiosity spiked once again.

“Oh? Just because you’re a God?”

“Yes,” he said, like it was the most obvious answer that you should have known, “I have a very powerful mind.”

“Of course,” you nodded with a snicker, “that’s why there’s still an on-going debate online about whether you were under control when you attacked.”

Loki winced a little, his face scrunching up at the discomfort.

“You had to bring that up? I’m trying to avoid that particular subject when on Midgard,” he paused for a moment as if considering something before nodding, “but I wasn’t aware that that was a thing, thank you for letting me know.”

“Don’t mention it, but that doesn’t prove that you’re impervious to hypnotism.”

“Of course I am, that’s deduced by basic logic.”

“Is that so?”

“Naturally.”

You both sat in silence for a bit longer, sipping on your drinks and watching the hired entertainer set up a set, including a line of chairs, before the music was broken by an announcement broadcast by J.A.R.V.I.S that a scheduled show was about to begin

As you watched the crowd begin to make their way to form a semi-circle around the hypnotist, some dragging chairs with them to give their feet a well needed respite from all their dancing or heel walking, an idea popped into your head.

“I don’t like that look,” Loki commented casually about that grin that adorned your face, “unless it’s coming from me of course.”

“It’s nothing to be concerned about,” you shrugged, looking up at him, “if you’re not afraid to put your money where your mouth is.”

“Pardon?”

“Consider it a dare, I’m daring you to be a volunteer for this guy’s show, prove that you can’t be hypnotized to me and I will give you some form of a reward.”

“What kind of reward?”

“We shall discuss further details if, and only if, you win.”

“And if I lose?”

“I will have a week of you at my every beck and call.”

“Alright, you have a deal.”

You both walked over to join the crowd, drunkenly excited murmurs were sounding all around as people eagerly awaited the spectacle that was about to happen.

The music in the background was turned down, so that those who didn’t wish to watch still had something to listen to if they weren’t imbedded in a seemingly deep conversation that could or could not have been enhanced by a slightly inebriated state.

Once the crowd was gathered and hushed, as best as they could be, the hypnotist started his show with the typical flair of a man ready to wow a crowd.

‘Almost like Loki,’ you thought with a snorted laugh.

As suspected, not long into the show, he called for some volunteers.

Most people seemed hesitant to step forward, others were volunteered by friends who were overzealous with the contribution.

Tony had laughed and stepped forward himself, you suspected that he was a bit tipsy if he was willing to put his ego on the chopping block in front of everyone he usually wanted to look cool for.

Steve, Bucky and Natasha were also pulled up, though the redhead looked less than happy at Clint effectively volunteering her and shoving her towards the crowd.

Someone was definitely being hospitalized by the end of the night, even the power of her death glare was threatening the outcome, though it almost seemed as though she was trying not to let her mouth twitch into a smile as well.

Truthfully, you weren’t entirely sure, she had always been a difficult one for you to decipher.

Everyone took their seats, leaving only one empty one left to be taken.

You grinned and gave Loki a nudge with your elbow, to which he only rolled his eyes and silently moved forward to take his place with the other volunteers.

The excitement of the crowd sparked at seeing their heroes, and once upon a time foe, being the ones to fall victim to this master’s mind games, everyone eagerly anticipated what he would dare make some of the bravest and potentially dangerous people do.

The guy had guts for going ahead with the set of volunteers he’d been assigned.

Hilarity ensued enough over the course of the next hour, with Tony forgetting how to form sentences in the correct order, which led to some adorable confused expressions as he clearly knew it was wrong but couldn’t figure out how and Natasha being handed a bottle of neon pink nail varnish that she would use on one of the men beside her every time she heard the word; “Okay.”

“Now, I’m going to put you all to sleep again, okay?”

Prompt Natasha looking from side to side before standing and moving to Steve, grabbing his right hand and holding it in place as she painted his right ring finger until she was satisfied that it was nicely coated and returned to her seat.

He made sure to do this four or five times before officially putting her back into her sleep and taking the bottle from her.

Steve and Bucky ended up holding hands, much to their frustration and bemusement as their linked fingers refused to defuse from one another despite their best tugging efforts.

So, after much expended effort, they had to sit there with their linked hands hanging between their chairs, useless, forever stuck and randomly painted with neon pink nail varnish.

You had noted that Loki was still sat untouched in his chair with a smug smirk, though the hypnotist had managed to put him into a hypnotic sleep, he hadn’t yet ventured into warping the God’s mind.

Part of you wondered if maybe this was because he was too afraid to touch him, fearful of any repercussions from this evil but not so evil God.

He must have steeled himself up enough to finally get the courage to hypnotize him, as he quickly crossed the seats and rested a hand on Loki’s shoulder.

Loki flinched a little and grimace, looking as if he would pull away until the entertainer snapped his fingers and Loki instantly dropped into his tranced sleep, spurring the man to lean down and whisper in his ear.

This excited you, a secret trick that even the crowd wouldn’t know about.

He stepped away and snapped his fingers, in an instant, Loki was awake and blinking rapidly as if to clear his mind of something.

“Alright, now that you’re with us,” the man smiled coyly, “how about a small interview?”

Loki glanced around the room and nodded, the expression on his face almost made it seem like he panicked a little bit or suspected that this was a ruse to get some unknown bit of information out of him that could lead to mass world destruction.

“Great,” the entertainer clapped his hands, “so tell me are you having a good time here tonight?”

“A little, though I’m not fond of the crowd,” Loki answered without hesitance.

“Good, good,” he nodded, “and are you drinking any alcohol tonight?”

“Of course not.”

You frowned a little and glanced towards the near empty glass that he’d left on the side, certain that he had been having some kind of alcoholic beverage.

Your attention was snapped back as a series of barks came from the make-shift stage and everyone laughed, some looking bewildered and others looking absolutely astounded that a man who built himself on arrogance and pride had really just let out an animal noise.

Loki himself looked as if he wasn’t sure what to make of the situation.

“I hope the drinks are good at least.”

“Not the best I’ve had, but they’ll do.”

“Right, and the food?”

“Best I’ve ever eaten,” Loki shrugged before breaking out into a series of bovine grunts.

The pattern was easy to pick up on, one question would be answered truthfully and the next with a lie, this in turn made him involuntarily impersonate an animal.

Some you could recognize and others you couldn’t, the latter tended to be the ones that Thor would laugh hardest at.

You were admittedly impressed by the quality of his impersonations, but from where you stood you could see the look of pure seething hatred that would kill the hypnotist where he stood had it that ability.

It seemed Loki had enough of a clear mind to know what was happening and yet, not the power in his godly body to break whatever control this man had over him.

The night was going to end in bloodshed and something about that thought made feelings stir.

After a few more questions, he put Loki back into a trance and continued the show, finally breaking the bond between Steve and Bucky before pouncing upon them again, leading poor Steve on the most terrifying rollercoaster he could ever encounter without even having to leave his seat.

Once the show was over, everyone went back to what they were doing and the music turned up again, the atmosphere in the room was full of buzz and excitement and the hypnotist talked to a few people before rushing out hurriedly as if his ass was on fire.

Loki found you in the corner of the room, sitting in a plush seat and staring out at the lights of the city from your vantage point.

He cleared his throat and sat down opposite you, not looking amused but not quite upset either.

“So, it would appear that I was wrong,” he conceded, his lips twisting a little in bitterness.

“It would definitely seem so,” you nodded, smiling at him, “but I was impressed none the less.”

“I’m glad you found entertainment in my misery.”

You laughed at his pouting child expression and got up, walking over to him to casually rest yourself in his lap as he watched you with utter confusion.

“What are you doing?”

“Well, I won and therefore you are my slave for the next week.”

“I don’t remember you saying anything about me being a ‘slave’, do you always sit on them?”

“I’ve never had one before to find out,” you hummed, sipping on your drink before nodding, “it seems I do, is there a problem with that?”

Loki’s eyes briefly flickered over you, so fast that it could have been a blink and you’ll miss it situation.

“I’m not seeing one so far.”

“Good,” you grinned, setting your glass down on the table between the chairs and wrapping your arms around his neck. “Are you looking forward to being my slave?”

Loki eyed you again, his face blank as his gaze travelled from your face to your lap and back again.

“Not in the slightest,” he smirked and paused for a brief second, before growling.

Chapter Text

It had proven to be a strange but also joyous day for Loki.

Not to receive stares and whispers of contempt from those he walked past, or to be ignored completely as if he didn’t exist at all.

To have people come up to him to talk with vigor and praise, wide smiles on their faces and looks of admiration in their eyes.

He loved the attention he was receiving.

He would have loved it more, if he didn’t have to use Thor’s guise to get it.

But he was taking what he could get while he could.

With Thor being away longer than he had anticipated, Loki wanted to use just one day of his brother’s extended journey to feel what Thor would feel on an almost daily basis.

What it was like to be unquestionably loved by those surrounding you.

Loki enjoyed time sparring on the training grounds, showing off that he too had the skills in fighting to match his brother, though he didn’t have Thor’s brute strength and he had to get accustomed to not using his go to seiðr.

When anyone commented on how Thor’s skills were there, but his usual muscle power was not, Loki would mimic his brother’s signature cheeky grin and merely laugh out; “Of course not, I have to go easy on you sometimes.”

And although he knew that they weren’t congratulating him as himself on his skills, he still felt a swelling of pride at their words.

After the evening feast, he’d shared mead, jokes and stories with ‘friends’ and had had a conversation with Odin that didn’t end in scorn or looks of disappointment, he could roam the halls without whispers of loathing and instead received ones of love.

His name came up a few times during the group conversations and although internally he winced, Loki had to push any feelings aside and laugh along, though he made mental notes of who had said what so that he could see to them at a later date.

Though, it surprised him when Fandral had looked at him curiously and asked;

“You’re laughing along with us today? Don’t you usually defend your nuisance of a brother?”

He would never admit it openly, but hearing that Thor would defend his name made Loki’s stomach flutter just a little.

The day had been wonderful and for a few brief moments throughout the course of the day, Loki could almost pretend that it was him getting the admiration and not Thor.

By the time night rolled around, he was mentally exhausted from the day’s socializing events and was more than happy to head to bed.

Had he wanted to take further advantage of the situation, he would have taken one of the many women that threw themselves at him to bed that night to tire himself out physically, but Loki couldn’t bring himself to do that.

That, he felt, would have been a step too far.

He was mere minutes from being able to drop the façade and the relief was spilling from every pore, the day had been fun, but he was ready to be himself again, to sit down with a good book and relax.

Loki had been prepared to drop his disguise as he turned the final corner for the corridor that led to his room, but a minor collision stopped him in his tracks.

The person stumbled back with a small yelp of surprise and Loki quickly grabbed onto their arms to steady them and stop them from falling.

“I’m sorry, my prince.”

Loki looked down at them and smiled.

He knew this servant well, they had been serving his family when they were both still considerably younger, barely even children.

Though in those days, they would more run around after their mother as she worked and got given small tasks to complete, most likely in order to keep them out of the way.

“Do not fret, I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

They nodded and bowed a little, letting out another apology and moving to step around him.

It was unusual, they were typically very friendly and loved to stop and chat about all sorts of topics, from the books he was currently reading to gossip within the palace.

Today though, he noticed that their eyes didn’t hold their usual sparkle and though they were smiling, it wasn’t as bright as it typically was.

“Was there something you needed?” He asked, glancing down the corridor from which they had come from on the off chance that he would notice something.

“No,” they replied, shaking their head and holding something to their chest, something that looked vaguely book shaped in a cloth binding. “I was just looking for Prince Loki.”

“Any particular reason why?”

“Not really, I just wanted to speak to him.”

“Perhaps I can deliver a message?”

They shook their head and stepped around him with a bow of respect.

“No, sir, thank you, I really wanted to speak to him personally.”

Loki nodded slowly then smiled, “Of course, I won’t hold you back.”

They gave another bow before hurrying off, clutching the suspected book so tightly that their knuckles had turned white.

He watched after them and then continued to his room, finally letting his magic drop so that he could become himself again.

As he closed his bedroom door, he smiled widely.

It felt good to know that someone who wasn’t his mother wanted to speak to him, not out of obligation, but out of genuine friendship.

Chapter Text

Trips to the park could always be a funny time for me.

Sometimes they were calm and peaceful, leaving me feeling at peace with myself, other times they were stressful, especially when the older kids were out to play and the screaming and yelling took over the initial quiet, those times I would usually leave early.

Then there were times like that particular day.

It had started as normally as any other, I got up, washed, ate and headed off for a morning of work, covering a shift for someone who needed a half day to visit a healer.

After that brief shift I had another bite to eat before meeting with my boyfriend in the local park.

I still couldn’t quiet believe that I had won the heart of a Prince, yet here we were a year and a half later, still going strong and perhaps more in love than we had been during the honeymoon phase.

Loki still seemed to want to spend as much time with me as we could, to treat me like I was an equal and not beneath him like my true status was.

We were happy and that’s all we cared for.

Until that day.

It was late afternoon when we met in the park, I had arrived first and sat on our usual bench under the low hanging branches of a tree we had designated as our own.

A little breeze picked up in the Asgardian air and caused me to shiver a little, though my tolerance to chills had started to subside over my time with Loki, who had always been cool to the touch.

Shifting on the bench, I wrapped my arms around me and held my coat tighter to try and retain some of the heat that was gradually dwindling.

To my right, children screamed with laughter as they played on the various park apparatus, their parents standing about in their own conversations as their children played merrily, with hardly a care in the world.

Children of various ages played together, tagging, shoving and swinging, all smiling widely as they climbed over intricately created climbing frames.

As I watched, my mind started to drift off into its own world.

I imagined a young boy, with wide eyes that were primarily blue but with hints of green in the fading sunlight and wild black hair joining in their fun, his knees dirty from tripping over into the mud and a gap in his teeth as he grinned with excitement, the poking of a newly growing adult tooth starting to come through the gum to replace the missing one.

As he climbed onto the frame behind some of the other children, he held on tightly with one hand and twisted to look at me, waving eagerly.

I smiled and wanted to wave back, but managed to pull myself out of it before making myself look foolish by waving at thin air.

While sparing a quick glance around myself, I think over what I had just imagined.

I was still deep in thought when a strong arm snaked around my waist and pulled me against a leather clad body, a kiss being pressed to my temple as he hummed a soft greeting to me.

“You look deep in thought,” he commented, pulling away a little and looking at me with concerned eyes. “Are you alright?”

“Yes,” I nodded, “I was just thinking.”

“About anything in particular?”

“Very,” I laughed faintly, “but it’s probably something best kept to myself.”

“Is there a reason for that?”

“I don’t wish to scare you off.”

I smiled and looked at him, my heart fluttering as it always did when we had moments like this together.

“I highly doubt that you can scare me off,” Loki chuckled, pressing a quick kiss to my lips.

“You never know,” I said with a sigh, taking hold of the hand that was resting on my hip, “it’s a big thing.”

“You won’t know until you share, we may have similar thoughts.”

I hummed softly in agreement and looked back towards the children who had stopped playing, for the most part, and were being rounded up by their parents to go home now that the light was almost completely gone.

Absentmindedly, I found my free hand rubbing my stomach and I drifted off once again, imagining my stomach round and taut with child, our child.

There was a strange want in me to experience this life changing event, to watch our child grow, to feel them move and to love them unconditionally.

I was pulled from my musings once again when Loki’s free hand took hold of the one I had been rubbing my stomach with, causing my to look up at him.

He returned my gaze with a soft expression.

“Are you thinking what I think you’re thinking?”

“More than likely.”

“How long have you felt like this?”

“Not long, it’s something I’ve thought of before but it’s never been as strong as it is today.”

“And it’s not…” he trailed off and pulled a face that read pure awkwardness, causing me to laugh.

“No, it’s not ‘that’ kind of hormone shift,” I shook my head with a large smile, “I just, I don’t know, I want something we don’t have, something that is both of us.”

“That’s a very creepy way of putting it.”

“I have my moments I suppose, but it doesn’t take away from the fact.”

I closed my eyes and rested my head on his shoulder, Loki rubbed my hip and lay his head atop mine as we sat in silence for a couple of beats.

“Are you sure about this?” He asked finally, his tone unreadable.

“I am, Loki, I want a baby.”

Chapter Text

I felt tears spring to my eyes as I looked at the test, my heart squeezing tightly in my chest.

Negative.

Again.

With a yell of frustration I threw the test across the room, watching it slam against the wall then clatter to the floor.

Hanging my head, I bury my face into my hands and sob as if my life depended on it, any hope I had diminishing in a flickering second.

The door clicked open behind me and boots scuffed along the tiled floor, I didn’t need to raise my head to know that it was Loki and I didn’t particularly wish to look at him right now.

Wordlessly, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his chest, one hand going into my hair as the other rested on my lower back.

“I’m sorry, we’ll get there.”

“It’s been almost a year, Loki,” I hiccupped, grabbing onto the lapels of his armour, “seven months of nothing.”

“We’ll manage.”

“But what if we don’t? What if I’m broken somehow?” I pulled away and looked up at him, my eyes aching from the tears.

Loki cupped my face in his cold hands, unintentionally smushing my cheeks lightly and making my lips purse a little, leading me to feel a little ridiculous despite the seriousness of the situation.

“Don’t, who knows why we haven’t been successful? That doesn’t matter right now, we’ll keep trying and if we don’t succeed by the time we reach twelve months then we shall look at alternate options.”

I looked up at him and sniffed, feeling ugly and useless but also immensely loved, even if his words of comfort weren’t working completely.

“Okay, we’ll continue trying.”

Which is exactly what we did.

Over the months we tried all the methods we could.

We’d taken to going more in depth than merely ‘trying’, we read books and researched the best methods, times and positions that were said to increase the chance of pregnancy exponentially.

I went from having fun with what we were doing to stressing over my diet and keeping my hips raised after we’d had sex, our attempts to conceive soon started to feel more like a chore that was taking over our lives than a couple enjoying themselves.

It was hard.

We tried to not let the stress get the best of us and cause arguments, there were times that we got snippy with each other but that was to be expected as with any couple.

That was only natural.

By the twelfth month we were tired, stressed and at the end of our tether with the constant disappointments.

Remaining strong was difficult, as was not throwing the blame at one another.

Over the months we both worried that we were the reason it wasn’t working.

Could it be that he was sterile?

Was I fertile?

Could his Jotun genes not mix with my Asgardian ones?

So many questions with no answers, all we knew for a fact was that we weren’t succeeding.

We started to look into other options and rule out what could and couldn’t work.

Magic – While having a high chance of helping, ran too much of a risk for things to go wrong or the magic was too potent.

Surrogate – Made me hesitant for reasons I couldn’t entirely decipher.

Artificial Insemination – The percentage was too low for us to wish to risk our hopes again.

And that was how we came to this;

“I think it’s time we put little man to bed, don’t you?”

I smiled at the young boy who was curled against my side, his head resting on my shoulder while his large, grey eyes gazed at the decorations on the corridor walls.

Three months after our year was up, we had a long conversation and settled on adoption.

The process had led to more long and arduous months, even given Loki’s status and choosing a child had been difficult in itself, but we finally settled on a four-year-old Vanir boy who had melted my heart the first time he smiled at me.

The poor boy seemed absolutely terrified as we led him to his new home, though it was no surprise as I’m sure being brought to a place as large and prolific as the palace was more than daunting, especially for someone so young.

He was resilient though and settled in faster than I could have hoped.

By the second week he had Loki chasing him down the halls, his melodic squeal of laughter echoing as he was capture and spun in the air before being hugged tightly.

Loki had taken to him instantly and the love he resonated made my heart soar.

“I couldn’t have asked for anything better,” I murmured one night, staring down at our blessing as I played with his light curls.

Loki smiled and wrapped an arm around my waist, adjusting the blanket he had placed over the small boy for warmth after he’d fallen asleep during nap time.

“It took a lot of heartbreak, but we’re here,” he looked at me with a look of absolute adoration, “and we’re a family.”

I nodded and leaned in to kiss him, trying to ignore the emotional swelling in my chest and burning of unshed tears in my eyes.

A knock at the door cut our kiss short, Loki pulled away with a sigh on annoyance and a roll of his eyes.

“Enter,” he called, trying not to disturb the sleeping boy.

The door slowly opened and in stepped one of the messenger girls, her chest heaving as she rushed towards the bed and fumbled with the letter in her hands.

“An urgent message from the healers,” she panted, holding the letter out to Loki.

He took it with a small thank you and then waved her off.

The door clicked shut behind her and Loki turned the letter over, letting out a small hum before passing it to me.

“This is for you.”

I raised an eyebrow and took it from him, turning it over in my hands and fiddling with the edges a little.

“Aren’t you going to open it?”

I looked at Loki, who had his head tilted curiously.

Slowly, I shook my head and set the letter to one side.

“Not just yet,” I said with a smile, my fingers going back to playing with soft curls, “I doubt it’s that urgent.”

Chapter Text

My head was spinning on my walk back from the healers, the world around me doing rotations that warped everything and turned my stomach violently.

Bracing myself against the doorframe of our bedroom, I squeezed my eyes shut tightly and took a few deep breaths to try and settle my light-headedness.

Once I felt a bit more stable, I reopened them and looked towards the bed, where Loki was sat with our son resting in his lap, a book resting on the boy’s as they read together.

Seeing the two of them together made my heart swell and slightly eased my feeling of lostness.

Loki had proved to be an amazing father.

He would always go above and beyond for Valian, making sure his needs were always seen to and that he had near enough everything he wanted.

He’d already started giving Valian one on one lessons in reading and writing as well as small bits of child friendly magic, making sure to keep each lessons as fun and non-tedious as possible.

Valian seemed just as taken with Loki, hanging onto him at every chance he had.

I hadn’t expected the two to fall for each other how they had, but I simply adored the fact that they were each other’s world and that I got to be part of it.

Slowly stepping into the room, I gently closed the door behind me and walked over to the bed, perching on the edge of it.

Valian looked up, his eyes as bright as his smile.

“Mummy!” He yelled excitedly, crawling away from Loki’s lap to wrap his small arms around my neck in a tight hug.

“Hello, sweetie,” I smiled, pulling him onto my lap and kissing the top of his head, “miss me?”

“Yeah-huh,” he nodded enthusiastically, “but daddy read me all the stories!”

I couldn’t help but laugh at his cute mispronunciations of certain words, the way ‘stories’ came out sounding like ‘stor-yees’ filled my chest with a giddiness of adorable overload.

“Did he?” I gasped, looking at Loki, “all the stories?”

“Apparently,” Loki said with a smile, “though I thought I had only read four.”

“Well, four is certainly a lot.”

“All of them,” Valian whispered dramatically, his eyes wide.

I laughed again and looked to Loki, tsking and shaking my head.

“Look, you traumatized the poor boy.”

“Me? He’s the one who kept running off to get another book after we’d finished one.”

“Is that true?” I asked, looking down at Valian who puffed his cheeks out defiantly.

“No.”

“I think someone is lying to mummy.”

“No.”

“What does daddy say?”

Loki chuckled and moved closer, wrapping his arms around the both of us.

“Daddy says that we should make mummy suffer too.”

“Oh sure, gang up on me,” I huffed, leaning my back against his chest.

“Of course,” he grinned as his hand stroked my side, “what did the healers say?”

I let out a soft sigh and rested my head against his shoulder, looking down as Valian eagerly pulled the book across the bed to rest in his lap once again so that he could flip through the pages and gaze at the pictures.

As he flipped from page to page, I pictured another smaller child sitting between Valian’s lap and the book.

A baby with tufts of black hair and curious blue eyes, giggling at the beautiful illustrations.

In the corner I could imagine a large cot made of painted black wood decorated with golden symbols, the little mattress inside covered with a green blanket and lined with a few plush toys.

My eyes slowly scanned the room and various imaginings popped up.

Me helping this little being to get dressed in the smallest clothes imaginable.

Both children sitting together at a little table, scribbling on sheets of paper while babbling away to one another.

A small, child worthy library and reading corner in the furthest corner of the room.

“Darling?”

I found my hand slowly rubbing circles over my stomach.

“We’re having a baby, Loki,” I smiled widely, turning my head to look up at him while taking hold of his hand, “after so long, we’re expanding our family.”

Chapter Text

Loki couldn’t believe that this day had come, considering how all this started he truly never believed that he would have gotten this far.

Not after some of the grave mistakes he’d made in the beginning.

Not that he could have known, it wasn’t anything he had ever witnessed on Asgard.

It was a strange day for him, but one that he wasn’t likely to forget for a long time, at least not if he could help it, no matter how much of an ass he had made out of himself.

If it hadn’t been for that day, you both wouldn’t have been where you were.

When he first saw you, talking with a group of associates Thor had, Loki couldn’t quite understand why you were moving your hands the way you were or why when you’d talk, your voice would sound so unusual in comparison to those around you.

For reasons unbeknownst to even him, it made him wary of you and so he watched you closely throughout the rest of the day as you interacted with others.

He’d noticed how sometimes when people were talking, you would stare intently.

It was about late evening when you finally got around to speaking with him and it had caught him off guard when he saw you staring at his face, seemingly almost unblinking as he spoke.

Eye contact was one thing, but this was beyond ridiculous and it put him on edge.

Not to mention that he would at times have to repeat himself, as if you weren’t listening despite your clear watching as he spoke.

When his tether finally broke, his patience thinner that day than it typically would be, he ended up saying some more than harsh words and sending you on your way, the look of hurt and confusion that you had left with remained imbedded in his mind’s eye as a haunting memory.

But he didn’t understand and it somehow bothered him that no one else seemed bothered by what was happening.

There was no reaction to the flailing of hands, the staring.

Everyone acted like it was the most normal thing in the world, like it was all a big joke that only he wasn’t in on and once he had told you how disrespectful he felt you were being, he had somehow become the disdained one of the surrounding group who had already been less than welcoming to him.

Nothing he wasn’t used to, but this time he felt it was unwarranted and couldn’t understand what he had done wrong, he knew he had upset you by telling you to leave him be, but that wasn’t unlike him and most just left him to it with a snide remark here or there.

So why did he now feel even more unwelcome in a realm he already wasn’t welcomed in to begin with?

Pride stopped him from asking what was going on, he didn’t want to seem like an idiot in front of the others by being the only one who didn’t know what was going on.

The entire situation infuriated him and only made his suspicion of being mocked run deeper, the more he thought about it the more he felt that there was something special about this situation that he couldn’t fully comprehend and that no one was explaining to him.

So instead of trying to fix the issue, he decided that he would would try to avoid contact with you completely.

Not that it worked, barely a day had passed and he found it hard to keep away as curiosity enraptured him with you.

The more Loki watched, the curiouser he got and the more he strove to find out what he could.

It wasn’t how he imagined that he would spend his time on Midgard, he’d only been dragged there by Thor to be on standby on the off chance his magic would be needed and instead he found himself using their primitive technology to research things he wasn’t sure he was even looking up correctly.

He stayed holed up in his borrowed room for two days, avoiding everyone unless it involved food or other needs.

When he did venture out and you would make eye contact, you would hastily look away with a frown that tugged at him.

Loki tried not to dwell on it, but it became progressively more difficult the more he found out.

The information he was finding was deeply fascinating and he strove to learn more, each little bit of information making him a little more guilty about how he had acted but also left him wanting to learn more.

By the fourth day, he felt that he knew enough to give you the apology you deserved.

Loki waited until he was sure that everyone else had left, he didn’t want the others either watching him make an ass out of himself or judging him as he tried to make amends.

When he left his temporary room, it was eerily quiet to the point of almost being unnerving.

Padding his way barefoot through the tower, he soon found you standing in the kitchen, your back turned to him as you appeared to be preparing some food for yourself.

Somehow, you managed to notice his approach and glanced over, your eyes flickering over him before you hastily turned away, though not fully before he managed to catch your attention.

‘Wait.’

Your eyebrow quirked a little as he signed to you, the fruit you had been preparing laying forgotten as you turned towards him and put a hand on your hip, impressed but also impatiently hungry.

‘I wanted to apologize, how I acted the other day was out of line and I’m sorry, I didn’t quite understand what deaf was.’

There was a pause as he watched you, attempting to gauge your reaction.

You stared back, feeling the cogs in your head twist and turn as it took everything in, until finally you smile and stood up straight to put down the knife you had in one hand.

‘Thank you, but next time just ask.’

Loki chuckled and nodded, his lips twitching wryly at the corners as he fought down the bashful feeling rising in his chest.

‘I would like you to teach me more.’

You smiled widely and gave an eager nod and thus, a beautiful friendship was formed.

Loki would go backwards and forwards between Asgard and Midgard, each time he visited you he would learn a little bit more about both deafness, the different levels to it and the varying causes.

It was all interesting for him to learn, as was the complexity of the sign language you were teaching him.

Likewise, Loki taught you about the customs and history of Asgard, which proved to be long winded and more complicated than the Norse mythology had ever led on.

He told you what was and wasn’t real about the stories of their people created by Midgardians, which ones were vastly exaggerated and taught you the hierarchy of the realms and the roles within them.

Before you knew it, months flew by and emotions started running higher than either of you had ever thought they would have, stronger than either of you had intended.

You’d soon find yourselves sitting closer to one another, longing for the glances and the accidental contact.

The others teased you, saying that it was like something from a rom-com and you more than happily accepted that, but only because it was Loki.

Half a year later and you were officially dating.

He had taken you out for the evening, it started off with a lovely dinner and ended up in a wide expanse with a beautiful view and from then on, you were both inseparably in love.

Sure, there were heated discussions, arguments and fall-outs, but they never lasted long and the make up was always a thrill, to know that you were both being silly and that nothing drastic would happen was comforting.

It took another four months before you tested living together, Loki deciding to spend more time on Midgard now that he had a reason to be there and by the end of the second year, he had asked you to marry him.

The memories of your relationship flooded his mind as the music started and he turned his attention to the end of the aisle.

His heart swelled as he watched you make your way to him, your own smile wide and bright as your eyes sparkled with unshed tears of joy.

It was no surprise to him that you looked beautiful, but the sight of you in the wedding outfit that you had hidden from him took his breath away.

Loki took your hands in his as you stepped up beside him, he gave a gentle squeeze to your fingers before letting go and while beaming down at you, his hands moved deftly to say;

‘I love you.’

Chapter Text

The continuous looks from across the bar could be described as nothing less than smouldering, somehow the dangerous look in his eyes making him appear all the more attractive.

Devastatingly attractive.

There was something in his eyes that caused excited adrenaline to start pumping and your heart started to beat ten times the pace it should, if I hadn’t experienced something like this once before then I would have sworn that I was merely having some kind of attack.

I hastily averted my eyes and focused heavily on my fruity, barely alcoholic drink.

This was exactly why I didn’t enjoy going out, but it was a friend’s birthday and I didn’t want to be that one let down of the group.

It was typical that on a night I wasn’t prepared for it, I would catch someone’s eye.

All those years of hoping, wishing to any God that would listen that I’d finally find someone to date, nothing came along and then typically when I wasn’t looking for anything someone jumped out.

I dared to glance his way once away and cringed inwardly to see him still watching, a charming smile in place and melting my heart.

I returned his smile with my own polite one and looked away again, searching the room for my friends.

Of course, they were still on the dancefloor, grinding and dry humping against their hopeful conquest for the night.

Boy, did I wish that were more of a dancer in that moment.

Even more so when I saw that mystery man from across the bar had gotten up and was making his way over.

Biting my lip, I purposefully make an exaggerated effort at searching through my bag, hoping to indicate to the devishly handsome man that I didn’t particularly want to be bothered.

He didn’t take it and sat beside me.

As I glanced at him, I saw his eyes slowly roam over me as if he could see through my clothes, a cocky and too confident smirk taking over that charming smile but not altering his attractiveness.

“Why are you sitting here alone? You should be out there showing up the others.”

He had to raise his voice to be heard over the music, but that didn’t stop me from being able to hear just how smooth and delectable it was, like a soothing melody over the pounding.

“Oh,” I laughed softly, trying to fight down a blush, “I’m really not much of a dancer.”

“No?” He chuckled, tilting his head, “from what I’ve seen, you’ve got some natural movement in those hips of yours.”

My cheeks flared up more, burning red hot to the point where I could only muster out a too high laugh.

“I guess?”

I smiled at him and pulled out my phone, flicking the button on the side to illuminate the screen.

It showed both that it was considerably later than I had wanted to be out and that I had one missed message.

“Tell you what,” he started, placing a hand on my thigh, “how about I buy you another drink and we see if the night leads us to finding out?”

I opened the message and read down it, smiling widely before setting the phone down on top of the bar and slinging my bag over my shoulder.

“I’ll tell you what,” I replied, setting my hand down on top of his, making sure that he could see my wedding ring, “how about we don’t and you find someone who is worth your time?”

He spared a glance down at our hands and I watched as his handsome face fell, mostly a look of disappointment than anything I had feared, such as anger.

“Damn, it’s always the good ones,” he laughed, “sorry to bother you.”

“Not at all, sorry if I gave you the wrong impression” I smiled, standing up from my seat, “I wish you the best of luck in your search.”

Picking up my phone, I headed out the doors and dialled a number I had all too often, deciding that it was time for me to leave and that I could message the others with a farewell note once I got home.

The phone had barely rung three times before it was picked up.

“You’re called later than I expected, you also took your time to reply.”

“I know,” I laughed, happy to hear his voice, “I’m sorry, I got caught up in the fun and lost track of time.”

“It’s a good thing it’s not a work night for you.”

“That it is,” I hummed.

“Are you alright? You sound distracted.”

“Me? Oh yes, I’m fine,” I chewed on my lip then sighed, “I have to be honest with you, I did just meet the most handsome man in the bar and boy was he interested in spending the night with me.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

“Is he with you now?”

“Of course not! I’d never do that to you, you’ve got trust in me, how would I live with myself if I cheated?”

“You have a point and I do know you love me, it’s why I’m not jealous, I trust you not to play those games.”

“Then why did you ask?”

“Because you felt that you had to mention it and I wanted to be sure this wasn’t going to impede on our night together, you thinking of this other man.”

He chuckled and sent pleasant shivers through my spine, warming up my blood against the bitter wind in the street.

“Never, our bed is for us only.”

“I know that you’d never have an affair.”

“Exactly, although I can’t deny that he was attractive there’s no way I could risk losing you, Loki, that’d be dumb.”

Chapter Text

I remember spending many afternoons in Asgard’s gardens, running around and playing with Loki, both of us not having a care in the world.

Even then I noticed that she was always different.

Never in a bad way, just a way that always befuddled my young mind, things that I was too young to understand or comprehend.

We were only young, barely six or seven, but I remember us being allowed out into the fields and bunching up the skirts to our dresses so we could crouch down with better ease and pick at the flowers, eager to carry a bunch back to our mothers.

Our hair was tied up to be kept out of our faces, mine in two pigtails held in place with blue ribbons and hers in a high ponytail with a green ribbon.

I remember that I’d always wanted to be like her, she was always so pretty and everyone always said so.

I wanted her complexion, her hair, her peculiar eyes that were primarily blue but could shift to green in certain lights.