I steadied myself against the stepladder with one hand and pushed against the trapdoor with the other. Why won't this stupid thing open? I shoved again. Nothing. Damn it.
On the third try, the door suddenly flew open, only to bounce back and whack me soundly on the head. Cursing, I descended the ladder and grabbed the bag of food. No matter what, I always managed to give myself a bruise. I clambered back up through the door and out onto the roof. It was chilly, but a clear evening, perfect, crisp autumn weather, really.
"Keira? Hello?" Loki's head appeared through the door.
"Come out. I have dinner for us, but nothing's started yet in the park."
Loki stepped out gracefully and seated himself next to me with his back against the brick centre ridge of the roof. A small cluster of sparrows flew by, chirping angrily as they chased a crow. He surveyed the town below admiringly. "This is really quite the view."
"Welcome to Bearsden." I waved my hand over the panorama with a dramatic flourish. "There's been a settlement since the Romans were here, hundreds of years before even you were born."
"Even me?" He lifted an eyebrow.
"You were born a few years ahead of me." My tone was dry.
"I suppose you have a point." He peered into the canvas bag. "What's for dinner? It smells divine."
I rummaged through the bag and pulled out foil wrapped parcels. "A lot of places have picnic food for tonight. I got take away from a pub down the street there. Let's see, I have sausages on onion buns, chips, and beans. Oh, and beer too, but the food's been warming it. Ugh."
"Allow me." Loki took a bottle in each hand. When he handed mine back, frost furred the glass.
"That's amazing! Thank you!"
Loki shrugged self-deprecatingly, but he wore a small pleased smile. "It's nothing, really. One of the more helpful benefits of being Jotun."
"You're unique. That's wonderful."
He gazed out over the town. "I suppose. I'm glad you don't expect a normal friend. I've never been that."
"Psh, normal is nothing to aspire to." I stretched out my booted legs and took a drink of the icy beer. "My last boyfriend told me I was being normal once as a compliment. He was a colossal idiot."
Loki wrinkled his nose. "I hope you stabbed him."
"Well, no, but I did tell him I was greatly insulted. Although, I don't have any knives, so it might have been a different story if I had."
"I felt the opposite growing up. Some of my brother's friends considered me the odd one and took every opportunity to remind me." Loki's lips tightened. "Thor still speaks of our adventures fondly but becomes annoyed if I point out they weren't nearly as fun for me."
I bit my lip to stifle my amusement. His arms were crossed and for some reason, his petulant face made me want to giggle.
A pair of crows flew by, now chasing the sparrows and cawing raucously. Loki watched them. "When ravens remember someone who's bothered them, people think it's clever. When I do it, Thor tells me to let things go."
I laughed aloud at his expression. For a moment, I had a glimpse of Loki as a child, lip extended and pouting to his mother.
He glanced at me. "What?"
"I pictured you and Thor as kids, fighting about something insignificant and you complaining..." I trailed off as his frown remained unchanged. "Erm, I mean..."
The furrow in Loki's brow deepened. "Did you just call me a whiny bitch without actually coming out and saying it?"
"Well, no, I just—"
He threw back his head and laughed. "You did! You absolutely did!"
"Well, not exactly."
"No, it was." He shot me a smile, good humour apparently restored. "Thank you. You're the first person besides my brother to be that honest with me in years."
I smiled back.
Loki abruptly changed the subject to our earlier topic. "You really don't have any knives?"
"Well, obviously I do in the kitchen. Otherwise, no. Why?"
"It's a good idea for protection. Small, easy to hide, unexpected." He glanced at me thoughtfully. "Would you like me teach you how to use them? You'll be the most dangerous person to set foot in the town down there by the time I'm done."
I laughed. "No, the most dangerous person is the one who actually listens and thinks about what's going on. Combined with the knife skills, I'm pretty sure that's you."
"I don't know." Loki seemed intent on the bonfire now crackling below, but a tiny smirk played on his lips. "I've always found the quiet bookworms are the ones you have to watch. They notice little details and surprise you when you least expect it."
"Oh, really?"
"Indeed." The smirk grew. "I recently met one, you see, and I don't think anything escapes her. I have to keep both eyes on her at all times. She's clearly trouble."
"Hey now!" I jabbed him in the side with a finger. "Be nice to a writer. If you get too annoying, I'll just write you into a story and kill you off."
Loki's eyebrows shot upward. "Oh, you think so? First, you have to start the story, otherwise that's a very empty threat."
He settled back against the brick. "What's the plot of your story?" When I hesitated, he glanced at me. "What is it?"
"I, uh..."
Loki scooted closer. "Keira, if you're not comfortable telling me, you don't have to. I don't ever want to force you to do something you don't want to."
"That's not really it but thank you. I have this whole complex world built in my head any time I write a story." I hugged my knees to my chest. "One part of me wants to share the world I've created with other people, but the other part of me is terrified they won't understand or care. I don't really know where to start."
Loki was nodding. "That's perfectly natural. You've created it yourself, so it's personal. It's truly part of you. It's always difficult to talk about things like that."
Relief at his understanding flooded through me, an almost euphoric tingle. "Yes. That's it exactly."
"Don't worry, you don't need to tell me, but I'll be happy to listen if you decide to."
"Fair enough." We sat in silence, watching the leaping flames in the park below us. "Do you know the story behind bonfire night?"
"Guy Fawkes wanted to assassinate the king, filled a cellar with gunpowder, and got himself discovered." He smiled. "How'd I do?"
"Not bad for an Asgardian." I rested my head against the brick behind me as the first firework lit up the night air. "Supposedly, the cellar was his second attempt. The first one was a tunnel he and his friends dug, but no one ever found it."
"They were looking in the wrong place."
I chuckled. "Probably. There never were any clear directions—" I turned my head slowly to look at Loki. He sat, face upturned, watching the fireworks burst above us. The green and blue glow flickered across his face. "You're very sure of that."
Loki shrugged. "It's a universal truth that you won't find something if you look in the wrong place. Why, what did you think I was saying?"
"Nothing." Had I misunderstood? I must have read into his tone.
The cool air carried the smoky smells of fireworks and burning wood. I breathed deeply, pulling the essence of autumn into my lungs. Below us, the effigy sagged forward into the flames, sending a shower of sparks heavenward as it finally collapsed.
Loki sighed. "There he goes. Ended up being remember for hundreds of years for failing, rather than being the mysterious facilitator of a successful plot." He shook his head. "All because he couldn't wait for dinner."
"Huh?"
Loki leaned forward, elbows on his knees and hands clasped in front. "Someone tipped off Parliament, and by late afternoon, soldiers were searching all the cellars in the area. The cellar in question was already full of gunpowder and set with the fuse, so there was no way to empty it. Fawkes was napping, and one of the others woke him and told him to get into the cellar right away. He had matches and a watch and was supposed to stay there until morning. He agreed but grumbled mightily about not having time to get something to eat."
I stared, completely rapt by the story.
"He was supposed to wait until morning, light the fuse, and leave. The fuse was designed to smolder slowly, giving him time to get across the river and have everyone seated in Parliament before it blew up the gunpowder. The door had been disguised to look like part of the wall and soldiers actually passed right by several times."
Loki watched the copper sparks of the latest firework dwindle before he continued. "The soldiers finished searching around midnight and were just ready to head back to the palace with an update that nothing was amiss, when Fawkes emerged from the cellar, hoping to find a bite and go back to his post. He walked smack into the group of soldiers." He looked at me and shrugged. "And you know the rest."
I watched him steadily. "You were there."
Loki didn't seem surprised by my statement nor try to deny it. "I've been to Midgard many, many times."
We lapsed into silence again. My brain whirled. Too many thoughts and questions to quantify tumbled through my mind. I gave a little jump when I realized Loki had said my name.
"I'm sorry, what did you say?"
"I asked if you're still comfortable sitting here with me." When I did not immediately reply, he continued. "Sometimes I say too much and scare people away. I don't want to scare you or make you think you can't be comfortable around me."
"I'm fine."
"You're sure?" His voice sounded unsure and a little sad.
I watched him for a moment. "I don't have the whole plot of my story worked out, but what if statues weren't the inanimate stone we think they are? What if the fountain with the woman pouring water was actually listening to every word spoken on the benches around her? What if the gargoyles on the church eaves carefully watched everyone going in and out? What are they trying to learn secretly?"
A slow smile spread across Loki's face. "I like it. Why did you decide to tell me?"
"Sometimes you just connect with somebody, and you're as comfortable as if you've known them your whole life, and you don't have to be afraid or pretend, because you know they'll understand."
He nodded silently. I settled back and together we watched the fireworks burst over the town in the cool November night.
