Astronomical Love

Photon, Saccharine

Loki and Tess sit together in the cylindrical glass cell on the helicarrier, waiting for something to happen. Other than Fury threatening to kill them if they misbehave, they haven't seen anyone since they were locked in the cell. It has been three hours. Three hours that could have been used productively if it weren't for all the distrust. Granted, S.H.I.E.L.D. can't be blamed for all the paranoia and caution. Loki did kind of show up out of nowhere and attack them after announcing his "intention" to conquer before mind controlling a handful of people and "stealing" the Tesseract. But still, this all has gotten irritating for the two of them.

"How do you create a body for yourself like this?" Loki asks Tess. Because S.H.I.E.L.D. has microphones in the cell, the two have to speak telepathically. Given that the majority of the time they've spoken together it's been telepathic, neither of them mind that much.

"I can control matter. I'm able to take random atoms and molecules nearby and convert some energy into matter, enough to give myself a body like yours. And when I'm done with this body, I can dismantle it."

"Does it hurt you when you dismantle your body?"

Tess mentally shrugs. "A little. Since this is just a projection of myself, I can't feel most of the pain this body feels. I only really hurt when it's my gemstone that is damaged."

"May I ask why you choose to look the way you do?"

"I think it looks pretty," Tess admits. "I use lots of blues because my true form is blue. I use pale tones because it reminds me of stars. I use blacks because I think it works well with blue. And I have violet eyes because I like the look of ultraviolet rays. You can't see those though, and violet is the closest wavelength to ultraviolet."

"You have good taste," Loki says, making Tess smile. He brushes through its hair with his fingers one last time. "Lean your head back." Once Tess does so, Loki starts braiding down the side of its head. They had nothing else to do, and Tess had said she liked the look of the braid one of the agents that took them to the cell wore.

"As do you, my star."

Now it's Loki's turn to smile. "Every time I compliment you, you give me that same compliment. How sweet?"

"You are particularly talented when it comes to making someone smile."

"I doubt many would agree with you," Loki says as he ties off Tess's left braid and begins to braid on the other side of its head.

Tess rolls its eyes. "Don't let Asgard weigh you down. Their opinions don't define you."

"I-thank you." Loki doesn't say anything for a moment, focusing on Tess's braid. "I truly am grateful for the compliments. I didn't receive many before. It's nice to hear someone saying something good about me."

"Complimenting you is like second nature, my star. I could go on and on, all through the eternities. I can't smile as a gemstone for obvious reasons, but if anyone could change that, it would be you. I would unravel galaxy clusters or collide galaxies for you, my star. Humans have a few phrases about a 'bright center of the universe.' You are my bright center of the universe, my star. The very existence of photons is a blessing, because without them, there would be nothing to light you up. I can continue, if you'd like."

Loki can't help but smile, maybe blush a little (but he would deny it). "So very saccharine."

"All because of you."