The next morning I wake up with Loki just looking at me from the other pillow. When he sees I am awake, he extends a hand and caresses my cheek. "Good morning."
"I could really get used to waking up like this."
Loki gives me a sly grin. "I bet you could." He pulls me against his chest and I just listen to the sound of his heartbeat, playing with his hand.
I think back to the events of last night. It's not something I would like to repeat any time soon, or ever, for that matter. Fury's last remark about Loki pops up in my thoughts. "Loki? What does S.H.I.E.L.D. know about you that I don't? Both Sharon and Fury said something about it."
The prince sucks in his breath between his teeth. "I don't think now is the time."
"Now is as good a time as any. Or I can always make you tell me," I chuckle, moving my hand in front of his face like I'm putting a spell on him.
He grabs my hand and kisses the tips of my fingers. "I don't want to freak you out."
"Fury already did that last night."
"My point exactly."
"Come on, how bad can it be? Tell me, please."
Loki pulls his arm from under me and sits up, his arms leaning on his knees. "I can show you," he says eventually. I prop myself up on an elbow, curious what he will do or say.
"The Allfather found me on the battlefield. I am Laufey's son. The enemy's son."
His voice is distant and I can feel him pulling up a wall. I am not going to let him do that, so I sit up too and take his hand. "You are from Jotunheim. What's so wrong about that?"
"I am the monster parents told their kids about at night." His voice is barely more than a whisper and he is staring at the hand I am holding. I follow his gaze and gasp involuntary. Slowly his hand turns blue, with thin lines standing up from the skin.
He wants to pull his hand back, but I keep a hold on it, slowly tracing the curved lines with my finger. I look up at his face, there is pain in his eyes, his lips a thin line. I let go of his hand to pull him in for a short kiss. "Show me more."
The half naked Jotun sitting on the bed is quite the sight. His skin is blue, adorned with thin white lines, from his face to his toes. His alien look clashes with the long pyjama pants he is wearing. So normal and yet so strange.
Loki barely looks at me, not wanting to see the rejection he suspects of me. But after everything I learned of Loki, being blue is not so bad. His eyes, the brownish red eyes, are the only thing I find a bit unsettling, but when you look close, you can still see Loki in them. He still has a human shape, the only thing different is the color of his skin.
"So you're a Smurf. Big deal."
The God of Mischief raises his eyebrows at me. "I beg your pardon?"
I chuckle and pull Loki down with me to the pillows. I put my arms around his neck and kiss his nose, his eyelids, his lips. "Still feels the same to me," I whisper and kiss him again. He reacts eager this time and my skin burns where his hands touch me.
When I realise the burning feeling actually is real, like a bad sunburn, I pull away from him. Loki gives me a confused look, but not a second later comprehension flashes in his eyes and he jumps from the bed. In front of my eyes he changes back in the Loki I know.
We just stare at each other. The burning feeling fades away and I feel fine again. But Loki is a different story, he is horrified he hurt me. I get up on my knees on the bed and reach for his hand, pulling him closer. "I am ok. No harm done. Lesson learned, no making out in your Jotun form."
"It's not a joke, Ylva!"
"I know. Now get back in bed. I'm not joking about that either." And I pull Loki back under the covers. I cuddle up against him again, lacing my fingers through his.
"So, how does it work? Another illusion?"
Loki slowly relaxes again, taking a few deep breaths. "Something like that, but this one is more like a second skin. For a very long time I didn't even know I was doing it, it was a subconscious act. But I do need my magic for it."
"So I take it these don't help?" I ask, giving one of the bracelets a tug.
"No. The first time I had them on they restricted all of my magic and I turned to my Jotun form immediately." Loki laughs shortly. "That did scare the hell out of Stark though."
Loki explains how they eventually found the right settings, allowing some magic to remain so he could keep his normal looks. "After I healed your hand, they dialled up the restrictions and I spent a few days in that cell without my magic. I felt like a monkey in one of your zoos, everyone came to watch me."
"That's horrible," I tell my prince, kissing his neck. "I don't care how you look. Although I admit I like it better when you are able to touch me."
Loki turns to his side to kiss me again. He softly bites my lower lip. "I prefer that too."
I guess one of the perks of dating someone a lot older than you, is the experience. The God of Mischief is an excellent dancer, a wonderful kisser and I bet he excels in other areas too.
He kisses me again, his lips following a path from my mouth to my neck and further down, only stopping to get rid of the T-shirt I was wearing. With the sunlight peeking through the curtains, I get to experience what it is to be worshipped by a god.
Ultimately, our growling stomachs drive us out of bed to get breakfast. Showered and dressed in Lady Eir's clothes again, I follow Loki to the kitchen. Thor is there too, wittily wishing us a good afternoon.
On the table is a brown envelope with my name on it, inside it are my watch and my phone.
"Natasha brought them over this morning," Thor explains.
There is also a keycard on the table, with a logo of Stark Industries. My own key to the building. It's great to have my stuff back. I get the feeling Natasha Romanoff played a somewhat double role in all of this, but I'm not going to ask about it now. When I turn on my phone I see I have over a dozen missed calls, starting around 8 pm. Half of them are from a number I don't know.
"That would be me," Loki says, checking over my shoulder. "At first we thought you were just dawdling. But when your uncle had dinner ready, it turned out you were not in your room."
"No, I was at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s by then..."
Over breakfast - or brunch - we discuss what to do with the whole situation. Thor joins us at the table. "Like Stark said, turning this into a legal matter is of no use. S.H.I.E.L.D. is a large and powerful organisation."
I nod. "I thought about that too. I hate what they did, but I guess I don't have much ground to fight them in court because of those Sokovia Accords."
I also think S.H.I.E.L.D. does not have much use of me anymore. The worst thing they could rightfully do, they already did last night. Now they know everything there is to know about me. When I take care not to break the law or something, they have no reason to bring me in again. My powers are not that impressive, I make people feel better or I make them pour their heart out. That is not really dangerous if you ask me. I tell Thor and Loki what I am thinking.
"Making people tell you what you want to know can be very useful," Loki muses, a sparkle of mischief in his eyes. "Just saying!" he adds defensively, when he sees the looks on our faces.
"So, we do nothing?" I ask the Asgardian gods.
"If that's ok with you, yes." Thor answers seriously. "We are working hard to get a new home for the people of Asgard. There is a lot at stake and we will also need S.H.I.E.L.D.'s cooperation in this."
I look to the dark haired god on my right. "Do you agree with this?"
"Hm... if it were just me, I'd burn S.H.I.E.L.D. to the ground. But Thor is right, we have to look at the bigger picture. And that means working with them, even if I hate doing it." He turns the bracelet around his left arm to emphasize his point.
I think about it for a minute. Can I leave this rest for the greater good? For the sake of the people of Asgard? I think about it for a minute and decide.
"I get it. And I'm ok with it, really. My family might need some persuasion, but I'll talk to them about it."
"Thank you for understanding."
"Sure," I tell the king of Asgard. "I'll just make sure to kick agent Wilde in the nuts the next time I see him."
Loki chuckles. "I'll be more than happy to teach you how to kick some S.H.I.E.L.D. ass. If a self defense class made them nervous, they will have a real reason to worry soon."
Author's note:
Smurf Loki! ;-)
One more chapter to go....
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Loki discovers his parentage:
And one of my personal favorites: Loki at 2013 Comic Con.
