𝙥𝙖𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙦𝙪𝙖 ➪ 𝗆𝖺𝗋𝖺𝗎𝖽𝖾𝗋𝗌

𝐶𝐻𝐴𝑃𝑇𝐸𝑅 𝐹𝐼𝐹𝑇𝑌

 ➪ VALENCIA ➪

"THERE YOU ARE."

Remus let out a sigh of relief as he came to a stop in front of Loki. She clutched the small plate of a few cookies and other snacks tightly in her hand, the other one bunching up the side of her shirt. She looked to be lost somewhere else. Remus noticed this and frowned at her. He took the food from her hand, causing her to jump and blink back into reality. Her green eyes connected with his hazel ones, and a clueless look found its way onto her face. Remus set the plate down on a surface nearby, his free hand coming back to cover the one clutching her shirt.

"You okay?" He queried, keeping his voice low. He ran his thumb over the back of Loki's hand, trying to keep her focus on him. He could feel her hand quivering in his. "Loki?"

"Yeah," she nodded weakly, her voice coming out quieter than usual. She cleared her throat and nodded again. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Remus squeezed her hand. "Are you sure?" He could tell she wasn't. Her eyes kept drifting to the party-goers around the pair of them.

Loki's eyes flicked back to his, and she shook her head. He smiled softly at her.

"Do you want to step out for a bit?" Remus received a nod in response.

Her fingers fell from her shirt, and she hastily grabbed Remus's hand, her grip tight. He led her through the mass of people, which only seemed to grow over the past two hours, preparing to take her out of the room. His plan was stopped, however, when he noticed two older students snogging right in front of the portrait. He scrunched his nose in disgust before turning to Loki.

"Is it alright if I bring you up to the boys' dormitory?" Remus asked, silently praying Loki didn't get the wrong idea.

"Yeah," Loki nodded, her eyes also locked on the snogging couple.

Remus led her in the opposite direction. As he did, Loki looked out of the sea of partygoers. She noticed Nicolas and Max, Marlene, Lucy and James in the corner, playing a game of exploding snap with a small crowd around them. Peter was standing by one of the small groups of food, taking his pick. Lydia was chatting to Lily and one of her friends, the three of them giggling amongst themselves as they looked around. Loki furrowed her eyebrows when she couldn't see Sirius, only to spot him moments later, grinning as he spoke with two girls Loki didn't recognise. She frowned at him, averting her gaze back to Remus. She felt a pang of jealousy in her chest.

Remus checked the boys' dormitory, letting out a sigh of relief when he saw no one in there. No doubt, James had devised some way to protect their dormitory from any unwanted visitors. Remus led the girl in, closing the door behind them.

"What's the matter?" Remus inquired, spinning back to her and taking both her hands.

Loki stepped toward him and rested her head against his torso, letting out a deep sigh. Remus could tell immediately how drained the girl was. She let go of his hands and wrapped her arms around his waist. Remus could feel the quick thumping of her heart, as well as the shaking of her whole body.

"There's a reason I don't like my birthday, you know," Loki's muffled voice spoke after a few moments. "It's not because it's Valentine's Day or whatever." She paused. Remus heard a sniffle come from her. "Shit. I'm going to cry."

Remus, who had never heard the girl curse before, frowned deeply. "Let's sit down on my bed. Then you can tell me if you want." Loki pulled away slightly as he led her to his bed, allowing her to sit down first. "There." He smiled gently at her as he sat down beside her, taking her hand as she rested her head against his shoulder.

"Thank you, Remus," Loki sniffed. "I'm not used to today being such a happy day, I suppose. I'm used to sitting in my room, alone, and crying, I suppose."

"Can I ask why?" Remus asked quietly.

Loki stayed quiet for a moment. She knew she could trust Remus, but it wasn't something she really ever told anyone before. Her fingers traced the back of Remus's hand as she felt herself tearing up.

"It's the day my mum died." Remus stilled. He glanced down at her, watching a few silent tears slip down her face. "And it was all my fault."

Remus's frown deepened. His moved slightly away, using his left hand to cup the right side of her face, making Loki look up at him. He swiped his thumb under her eye, wiping away her tears.

"Hey. It's not your fault," Remus spoke without thinking. Loki blinked, then averted her gaze as her eyebrows knitted together.

"You don't know that." Loki retorted, her voice meek as the lump in her throat grew.

"Loki-"

"If I wasn't born, it wouldn't have happened!" Loki cried, staring in defeat into Remus's eyes. His hand fell, his lips parted, and he could only stare, shocked and filled with sorrow. "My mum's dead, Remus, and I killed her. She died in that car because of me. If I hadn't rushed her, she would still be alive. Merlin, Thor was right. I really can't do anything right." She hiccuped, lowering her head.

"You didn't," Remus grabbed the girl's face in both hands. "You couldn't. Loki, it was an accident. You didn't do anything to cause it. You need to stop thinking it was your doing, Love. Trust me, it wasn't."

"But-"

"Loki," Remus spoke softer now, and he pulled her into his chest. "I'm sure your mum is up there right now saying exactly the same thing I am. She doesn't hate you. She doesn't blame you. She still loves you."

Loki nodded, clutching the boy's shirt as a few more tears slipped down her face.

"Remus," Loki's voice came out muffled against his shirt.

"Yeah?" He spoke, gently stroking her head.

"I know sometimes you think badly of yourself," she spoke, moving so he could hear her cracked voice better. "And I know you doubt yourself and put yourself down a lot."

"And?" He could hear it coming.

"And I just wanted to make sure you know I love you."

Remus didn't know how to respond. He half-smiled, his own tears coming to the surface. "I-I love you, too."

➪

"LOKI! WAKE UP!"

Loki was violently shaken to consciousness the next morning. She groaned, burying her face deeper into the warmth beside her.

"Loki now's not the time to be cuddling up with your boyfriend!" She frowned, slowly pushing herself up as she became more aware of her surroundings. "Come on, wake up!"

Loki blinked. Her eyes moved from the bedsheets she was under, to the sleeping body beside her. Her eyes widened when she noticed it was Remus, and that his hand was wrapped around her body as the other rested underneath his head. He shifted slightly before quickly settling.

"Loki!" Her green eyes snapped to Nicolas, who looked frantic and frightened.

"What is it?"

"I think I fucked up." Loki stilled at the cuss, never hearing it fall from Nicolas's lips before. "I think I fucked up real bad."

➪ AUTHOR'S NOTE ➪

it's legit taken me a week to do all three chapters. holy smokes. and it's almost laughable because they're all for exactly the same day. there was so much, holy moly.

i hope you enjoyed them, though. i feel like y'all have some questions, idk what about, but i feel like there might be one or two and i feel like y'all might have to wait to get an answer. lucky that I've finished school for the year and now i  have another five/six weeks of (mostly) freedom.

until next time, bye! :)