The Myriad Misadventures of a Midgardian Queen-In-Training || Loki x Reader

Chapter 51

The first few steps into the garden are enough to take your breath away. It's a miracle of greenery, flowers you recognize and even more you don't, trees and bushes dripping with fruit. The scents, the colors—every new stimulus you take in makes you realize that you don't walk through it nearly often enough

As your hand finds its way to Loki's, though, you realize that maybe you would have appreciated the garden more if you'd been in the right company.

"So, when is this 'starfall' supposed to start?" you ask, making air quotes with your free hand.

The laugh that follows is more nervous than you would have predicted. "I expect it should begin in five minutes or so." You notice him bite his lip, as though second-guessing himself. You choose to ignore it. Truth be told, his fidgeting and stammering is a pretty good reflection of your current mental/emotional state.

Even more so when you reach a bench, set slightly back from the path beneath a pretty arch of lavender. The flowers climb to the sky, wound thick enough to send their scent wafting over the spot, but positioned so as to not obstruct your view of the clear night sky.

Let's be clear: you may be messy. You may even be a bit naïve, at times. But you aren't an idiot. A walk at night? A lavender-scented paradise beneath a skyful of shooting stars? All that would be enough to clue you in that this might be something slightly more than a platonic conversation, even if his hand weren't still in yours.

You sneak a glance back at him, his face tilted up and away from you as he keeps watch for the meteor shower. For the record, his hand is still in yours. Neither of you has made any move to change that, even after sitting down, and maybe this is the time to make a move? Or say something? Or—

"Look, there!"

And then his hand does leave yours, unfortunately. But only to point off in the distance, high above your head. You oblige, craning your head at just the right angle, and then— "I see it!"

The next few follow soon after, and within a few minutes the sky is absolutely pouring with them. They drop down like diamonds, fading in and out of the black expanse behind them.

"Wow." You grab his arm, pointing yourself. "Oh, did you catch that one?" You lean back in your seat, feeling somehow nostalgic. "I never knew the sky could look like this."

He chuckles, and if you were living in a rom-com you know this is the moment where he would direct his gaze at you. "It's never been more beautiful."

(To be clear, he might very well have directed his gaze at you. You're too afraid of being disappointed to find out, and instead make an even bigger show out of stargazing).

"Yeah. Too much light pollution where I'm from." You sigh. "It's silly, but when I was a little girl, I used to wish I could catch a star and wear it in my hair. Like something out of a Disney movie?"

"Who says you can't?" Out of the corner of your eye, you see his arm dart forward, as though plucking something from the air before him. You turn to him, about to give him a sarcastic look, but then he extends his hand to you and unfurls his fist to reveal a small, slim, vaguely rectangular stone. Its surface is bumpy and pitted, and it somehow seems to be glowing red; he winces at the apparent heat. "On second thought, perhaps that particular idea was best left in theory..."

"Oh, my—is that a meteorite?"

He holds it between his forefinger and thumb, shaking vigorously as though to cool it off. "Yes. Ow. Here, you can—er—"

And that's when you realize. "You did this, didn't you?"

"Hm?" He glances at you quizzically. Or, rather, faux-quizzically; there's a sense of panicked embarrassment beneath that undermines his attempt at a smooth demeanor. "Oh, the meteor? Just, er, some ordinary magic—"

"Meteors , plural. The whole thing." You wave your hand at the sky. The bright lights are slightly farther in between, but dazzling all the same. "Starfall. You know."

He sighs, shifting the now-smoking piece of rock from palm to palm. "I must say, you're quite smart, despite your appearance."

You roll your eyes. "And you're very good at unintentionally insulting me, you know that?"

"Who said it was unintentional?" You look at him, shocked, before realizing he's joking. He lets out a laugh - a real, open-mouthed laugh, the kind that fully highlights his long dimples and the hard, smooth planes of his face, his tongue pressed against his teeth. "Alright, then, how about this: I find you to be exquisitely beautiful."

You reach up to untuck your hair from behind your ear, hoping to hide your flushed cheeks. "Most people I know would beg to differ."

"Those people must not know you very well. Or else you've misjudged their opinions." You try to laugh it off, looking at your lap, and he persists. "For what it's worth, I think there is something utterly charming about your - "

"Quirks? Flaws?"

"Vulnerability."

You weren't expecting that. "What?"

"Hm. Here I'd thought you were unafraid to expose yourself, but it seems you are simply unaware."

"I don't - I'm not - " You bite your lip, unsure of how to respond. "Should I be flattered or insulted?"

The corner of his mouth quirks up. "What do you think?" he says softly, reaching down to brush a stray tendril of hair out of your eyes. There's a slight weight when we pulls away, and you realize—he slid the fragment of rock (which, based on the ease of the motion, must have been magically fashioned to have a smooth slit running down the center) into your updo.

You can feel your pulse speed up - can he tell, you wonder? At the very least, he must notice the way your breath hitches as he runs a thumb across your palm. You don't even remember him taking your hand back in his, but there it is.

You lean in first.

It surprises him, you think. It surprises you, too, because you hadn't planned on kissing him tonight, maybe on kissing him ever, but you do now and it's awkward and soft and tender and terrible and perfect.

And before you have a chance to apologize, he cups your face in his hands and kisses you back.