The Heart is a Lonely Hunter ThorXReaderXLoki 5

How did I get here? You thought as you sleepily arose from your comfy bed. The last thing you remembered was reading a pretty interesting book when the stress of the day and the warmth of the fire had finally tired you down. You looked to the right of your room where the lit fire in the fireplace was quietly dancing, warming the room from the icy snow outside. I don’t remember walking to my room, or even lighting the fire…?

You pondered to yourself for a moment and in your confusion insight struck. Did Loki…bring me to my room? It was difficult to wrap your head around the idea of Loki actually treating you kindly; you wouldn’t have even considered it to be him if he wasn’t the only other living person in the castle. From your deal with him yesterday it made more sense that you had to take care of him.

“Oh crap!” You exclaimed, jumping out of your bed and running towards the kitchen. You had been in such a relaxing sleep that you had forgotten that you needed to wake up early to prepare Loki’s breakfast.

Once you arrived in the kitchen the clock read 6:50 A.M. “Ok I just need to make something quick and easy” You told yourself.

Looking around the kitchen you found some eggs, cheese, ham, spinach, and some mushrooms and cranked the heat on the oven top. Once the omelet was complete you placed it as elegantly on the plate as you could to prevent Loki from noticing the sloppiness of the meal and walked it to the adjacent dining room. Just like he said he would be, Loki was sitting at his usual spot at the head of the needlessly long dining room table reading a new book.

Loki looked up from his book at the sound of your footsteps and watched you place his plate neatly on the place mat in front of him. He turned from his meal and looked you up and down at your disheveled state. “It looks like you made it just in time.” He said amused.

You quickly brushed down your messy hair and tried to straighten out your wrinkled uniform. “Uh yeah…um I guess I overslept…” You confessed.

Loki rose and eyebrow seemingly surprised at your nonaggressive response. “Yes, well attempt to tidy yourself up next time you present yourself to me.” He said plainly looking back at his food. You let out a quiet frustrated sigh and turned to go to the kitchen and make your own breakfast. “Where do you think you’re going?” Loki called out to you.

You tuned towards him a little confused. “I was going to make my own breakfast…?”

“No you are not.” He replied simply. You had no idea what he wanted you to say or do so you simply stood in front of him and twiddled your thumbs nervously. “Ugh…you already forgot.” Loki groaned as he placed his hand on his cheek lazily.

“I-I’m sorry? What did I forget?” You questioned.

“The second part of your duty is to clean my chambers and this is the only opportunity you have before you are forbidden to come near the second floor.” Loki explained while impatiently tapping his fingers on the wood of the table.

“Can’t I do that after I eat?” You complained, a little irritated that he wanted you to clean his room that very moment.

“You had your chance to eat but you chose to sleep in.” Loki stated now a little angrier. “Like I said before, my room is the only place in the castle that you will be, may I remind you, severely punished if you enter before or after the allotted time I had given to you.” He continued now becoming increasingly more irritated. “If my chambers are not cared for by the time I finish my meal the deal is off and you can starve in your room!”

You were a grown woman and he was scolding you like you were a child! But the reminder of Loki’s threat fueled the fear in your body and you held back the intense desire to argue. “Yes…I’ll do it right now…” You said now defeated and walked towards the grand staircase leaving Loki to finish his breakfast.

After making your way up the staircase and eventually to the end of the hall you found yourself in front of a large wooden door with intricate designs carved into it. Pushing on the door with all your might it finally gave way and revealed the room that Loki protected so adamantly.

It’s just… You began as you looked around the room …an ordinary room…

Of course it was much larger than the room you were staying in but it had all the same look. The bed was green and gold with a black fur throw. The walls were a darker crème color than your room and although he had a bigger window the heavy curtains were drawn allowing only a small stream of light to light the room. You walked over towards the window and drew the heavy dark green curtains. The rapid motion released a huge cloud of dust that seemed to have collected on the curtains.

“Cough! When was the last time he-cough-opened the curtains?” You asked aloud, fanning the dust away from you. More light streamed into the room and you could better see the mess Loki left for you.

You examined the room carefully but couldn’t find anything that needed rigorous cleaning. “Well at least that makes my job easier…” Except from his disheveled bed sheets and occasional clothing dropped on the floor, the room was pretty tidy. You explored the room while picking up the stray clothing and found it to be a pretty average room. Sure there was a lot of books piled on the counter tops but he was an avid reader so it made sense.

What in the world is he trying to hide? You pondered as you plopped the clothes into a laundry basket. After you made the bed you picked up the laundry basket turned to leave the room but something glimmering caught your eye. You jerked your head towards the source of the glimmer and noticed a beautiful oval mirror that was hanging in the corner of the room. As you approached it you saw the intricate detail of the frame made of a black stone that mimicked vines and blooming roses. Once you finished admiring the frame, you noticed your reflection and how disheveled you looked. Your (H/L) (H/C) hair was frizzed and strewn in every direction imaginable and your (E/C) eyes were encompassed with smudged mascara and eye liner that made you look like death. Wow now I see why Loki made fun of me… You thought as you fixed yourself as best you could.

“What are you doing?”

Startled you quickly turned to see Loki at the door way sneering at you with suspicious eyes. “Oh I was just cleaning myself up, there are no other mirrors in the castle so…” You trailed off a little nervous under his heavy gaze.

“Well you are done with my chambers so leave.” Loki stated somewhat aggressively, pointing towards the hallway. With the basket in hand you scuttled out of the doorway afraid Loki was going to make good on his threat. The moment you stepped out of the room you felt the rush of air push against you from the door slamming behind you.

Rude…You thought. You walked down to the laundry room (which you found completely by chance) and began to clean his clothes. You were a bit disgusted with the fact that you had to touch his dirty clothes but you found that they didn’t smell or look bad at all.

I suppose he thinks he’s above wearing the same clothes twice in a row. You snickered to yourself as you placed all of the clothes in the warm soapy water. The warmth of the water feels so good…I think I’ll take a bath. I certainly need one! After washing and hanging the clothes you made your way to your room to begin your much needed bath.

Now undressed you entered the tub slowly, taking in the good feeling of the hot water. The warm water that filled the tub felt wonderful on your cold skin and made you feel like your troubles were far away. However as you soaked in the tub your thoughts seemed to drift over to Loki. He's so strange… You thought. I wonder what’s in that room that he doesn’t want me to see? It looked like a completely normal room… You sunk yourself lower in the warm water thinking more on the matter. Of course this entire world has surprises left and right, I’m sure he’s hidden it with some kind of spell.

Grumble-Grumble. You looked inquisitively at the noise coming from your stomach and remembered that you haven’t eaten anything all day. And here I am just getting comfortable… You grumbled to yourself. After getting dressed you headed to the kitchen to prepare some food for yourself.

Looking through the cabinets for fixings to make yourself a simple sandwich, you noticed you were beginning to run low on the vegetables. Well where in the heck am I supposed to get more? You looked towards the clock and were surprised to find that it was almost 11:30. Time flies when you’re a maid! You laughed at yourself. I guess I can tell Loki during lunch that we’re low on food.

You slowly ate your own sandwich and then prepared him an equally simple sandwich with white bread, sliced meat, a bit of cheese and some olive oil and butter to moisten the bread a bit. Once 12 o’clock hit you brought his plate over to the dining hall. Again, Loki was sitting casually in his usual spot at the dining table, waiting for his meal to be served to him.

You placed the plate gently in front of him. “Here you are, I’m sorry but were out of vegetables…” You said almost too kindly.

Loki looked down at his food and then up at you with a confused expression. “Then why didn’t you go get more?” He asked, irritated with you.

Is he f-ing joking?? You thought angrily. Why is he treating me like an idiot? “Uh..” You began trying to contain your anger. “Where am I supposed to get them?”

“…Outside of course?” Loki stated with a raised eyebrow. “You do realize where vegetables come from don’t you Dove?” He said with a playful smirk.

Oh he’s definitely messing with me now. You thought as you placed your fingers on the bridge of your nose in frustration. “Yes Loki I know that vegetables are grown outside but that’s only in reasonable weather conditions!” You argued pointing to the unrelenting blizzard outside the window.

Loki only chuckled and shook his head like you said the most ridiculous thing in the world. “Dove you really are good for a laugh.” He said with an amused smile.

Ba-dum. You felt a rush of blood reach your cheeks and the speed of your heartbeat increase. That was the first time you had ever seen Loki smile so genuinely and your reaction to it startled you a bit. “Oh uh…thank you?” You stammered out, caught off guard by your body’s weird reaction to his smile.

“Come.” Was all Loki said as he rose from his seat and gestured for you to follow him with a single slender finger. You followed behind him still getting over your body’s strange behavior and truly curious of what he wanted to show you. After walking through a few hallways to what seemed like the back of the castle he opened a lonely door on the end of the hallway.

What you saw completely baffled you.

There was a large patch of land that was completely shielded by the snow and the storm by an invisible force field. The land was full of orderly rows of a variety of different fruits, vegetables, and spices that the sun shined brightly over, unaffected by the blizzard.

It’s like spring here! You thought happily as you walked deeper into the garden. The warmth of the sun was so nice on your skin you felt like you could spend the rest of your days bathing in the warm rays.

“This patch of land is enchanted with a specialized protection spell that not only prevents intruders but also the cold snow from entering.” Loki explained also walking into the garden. “Any kind of vegetation you need can be found here.”

“If you get your vegetables here then where do you get the other foods?” You asked incredibly curious.

Loki looked surprised by your sudden inquisitive nature. “I trade goods with the local frost giants for other foods like cheese, bread, and…”  

Suddenly a monstrous looking rat creature jumped out of the vegetation to make its presence clear to the both of you. It was a horrible looking thing, with sharp rat like teeth and exposed grey skin akin to a vulture head and thin patches of white fur that only covered its neck.

“AH!” you screamed as the creature bolted towards you hissing and snarling at you. The horrible site left you petrified as the rat monster swiftly advanced to you gaping its disgusting yellowish teeth to sink into your soft flesh.

Crack!

Before you knew what was happening you heard the loud sound of a whip explode just inches in front of you and the creature was launched back into the bushes. You looked over to Loki who was in a defensive stance and looked as if he was holding an invisible whip.

“Accursed vermin…” Said Loki under his breath. He then faced you and looked you up and down. “Are you alright?” He asked calmly.

“Y-yes…Thank you…” You stammered still visibly shaking from your encounter.

Loki noticed your trembling body and let out an annoyed sigh. He then walked over to you and took your arm to lead you back inside. “Come inside now.” He ordered. You were still a little too shaken to care that he was pushing you around again and you followed him without resistance.

Without warning the same creature jumped out of the bushes in front of both you and Loki and was blocking the entrance back inside. Loki was even startled this time around and you hid behind him trying to be close to him but far away from the rat monster as possible. It was bleeding and from the intense hissing you could tell it was really pissed off. Not breaking eye contact with the creature, Loki slightly turned his head towards you.

“Stay behind me and do not make any sudden moves.” He whispered. You nodded and hid yourself behind his large back. As Loki began to summon an attack spell a second creature lunged out of the bushes straight towards you. The attack was so sudden you didn’t have time to react, you could only watch helplessly as the snarling teeth of a second rat monster was flying towards you. Loki swiftly pushed you out of the way with such a force you fell to the ground. You rapidly turned your head just in time to see him kill both creatures as instantaneously as the frost beast.

You were relieved the creatures were dead but you noticed that Loki was standing weakly and breathing heavily. You got up and rushed over to Loki putting a hand on his back and his shoulder. “Are you ok?”

Loki shrugged off your hands and turned towards you. “I don’t need your pity!” He spat breathlessly.

“I’m not pitying you I’m just…” You trailed off as you noticed the right side of Loki’s chest and been cut deeply. The blood was beginning to spill down the ragged remains of his green tunic. “…You’re hurt!” You blurted out as you pointed to his wound.

Loki looked down at himself, surprised at his own injury. “… So I am…” He trailed off.

“What are you waiting for? Heal yourself before it gets infected!” You told him strongly, gesturing for him to hurry up.

“I would so much love to do so, but I spent the majority of my energy defending my helpless help.” Loki said bitterly while glaring down at you. “The healing spell I need requires more energy than I can give at the moment.”

You paused for a moment and considered what he said. “Well then… let me heal you.” You offered.

It’s the least I can do since he saved me… again…

Loki scoffed at your offer and began to walk, a little slower than usual, towards the entrance of the castle. “I don’t need your primitive Midgardian healing.”

“But it will get infected and then you’ll be in a worse state than this.” You argued. Loki turned slightly towards you listening to your plea. “You and I both know that if you get sick you may never regain the energy you need to heal yourself and at that point I might not be able to help you anymore.”

Loki turned his body further towards you to better face you. “Why do you wish to help me so badly?”

“Because if you die I die.” You said simply. If Loki were to perish you could never escape the merciless environment outside on your own and no one would be able to come and get you thanks to the spell he cast over the castle; you would most likely starve to death in your prison.

Loki smiled and nodded knowing what you meant and seemed almost proud of it. “Fair enough.” He then continued towards the castle. “Come heal me in the dining room so I may finish my meal.”

After making you way through the hallways and quickly stopping by a storage closet that luckily had a first aid kit, you both sat in front of one another at the dining table. You carefully opened the first aid kit and took out the tools you needed, it looked like the cut would need a couple of stitches which you had learned to administer during your training at S.H.I.E.L.D. You soaked a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol and went to put it on the wound but Loki’s torn tunic was in the way.

“Uh um… could you… take off your shirt?” You said awkwardly. “It’s kind of in the way…”

“Wanting a better look at me? How bold of you Dove.” Loki smirked mischievously.

He chuckled as you glared at him with embarrassed pink cheeks. With subtle difficulty, Loki removed his torn top and tossed it to the floor.

You could feel the heat of your reddening cheeks as you saw Loki’s bare chest for the first time. His pale skin rippled with toned shoulders and abs. As your eyes wandered down his chiseled abdomen you noticed a faint trail of dark hair that disappeared under his pants. Realizing you were now looking down at his crotch you quickly looked up to his injury on his chest and began to apply the soaked cotton ball to the area. Loki didn’t flinch at what you would think would cause him pain but you did hear him take in a sharp breath.

“Sorry the stinging means it’s working.” You reassured him although you weren’t sure why you felt you had to.

“Typical of moronic healing.” Loki stated plainly.

You looked up at him to give him another angry glare but you faltered when you were met with beautiful blueish green eyes that glowed next to his light skin and was framed by long, ebony black hair that cascaded down his face and muscular shoulders.

Loki raised a confused eyebrow at you. “Get on with it will you?”
 
“Oh uh right.” You said snapping out of your trance.

What the heck is wrong with me? You thought.

Now that the wound was cleaned you prepared the thread and needle to stitch it up. You moved in a little closer to Loki since the cut was at a difficult angle and placed your other hand on the other side of his chest to steady him. The touch of his skin was soft and warm, and you could feel his calm heart beat against your hand.

You took a breath in and began to slowly stitch Loki’s wound. Concentrating on the cut and your needle you made sure each stitch was perfect to prevent further scarring. Wait…Why do I care if it scars? You mulled. You glanced up, looking over his flawless skin and up towards his neck and face. Loki was paying no attention to you as he was busy eating the sandwich you had prepared him. It was only when he swallowed a bite did you notice his large Adam’s apple and deep collar bones moving in sync with the muscles in his neck.

Something about that made your chest tighten and you shook your head slightly at the feeling. Ok he’s hot! Geez get over it (F/N)! You scolded yourself. Don’t forget he’s the reason you’re stuck here…

You soon finished the stitching and added a little bit of ointment and wrapped cloth around his side and opposing shoulder to properly cover the wound.

“There you go! That should hold you for a while.” You stated proudly.

Loki looked over your work and hummed in approval. “Very good now leave, I wish to be alone.” Shooed Loki.

“What no thank you?” You huffed with your arms crossed.

Loki looked at you with an annoyed expression. “Uggg… thank you for your care.” He said with a groan.

Accepting that that was the best response you were going to get, you nodded your head in response and left the dining hall.

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Why did I thank her? It was her fault in the first place! Loki thought, a bit irked with himself by yielding to your request. He continued to eat his food while staring at the door you had just exited. Loki chewed and savored the meal taking in all the flavors. At least she’s good for something. Loki knew his days of eating gourmet foods were over when he was discovered and accepted that he may never have the comfort of having well prepared food again since he didn’t know a thing about cooking.

But now he not only had a powerful bargaining chip in getting his scepter and the Tesseract back, but also had a handy maid that cooked and cleaned for him and did so skillfully. She even took care of my wound with surprising skill… He thought as he looked down on his bandaged chest.

Finished with his meal, Loki took his book and headed to his room. The best part of it all was that while you were cooking and cleaning Loki had more time to himself which meant more time to plan his next moves in his plot to take over the nine realms. Once in his room and changed into a new tunic, plopped down in his made bed, and opened his book with the intent to finish it.

However his mind was on other things…

Loki glanced over the words of his book but wasn’t able to retain any of them. All he could think about was the incident in the garden and fear he saw on your face as the snow rat attacked you. Without thinking he used whatever power he had to stop the creature from hurting you. When two of them attacked he instinctively placed himself in front of you and pushed you out of harm’s way.

I have never done that for anyone. Loki pondered. Of course he had done it for Jane during his and Thor’s battle with the dark elves but that was more for show than genuine concern for her safety. Why now? Why her?  

Loki’s mind then wandered to different aspects of the incident, like the way he felt you leaning against his back for protection and how gentle and warm your hands were on his naked chest. He even went as far to think back to when he had saved you from the frost beast and how you nuzzled your head in the crook of his neck as he carried you back to the castle. If he was honest with himself he could say he enjoyed those caring gestures, being cared for was not something he was used to.  

Damn libido! Loki mulled angrily. He hadn’t bedded a women in months and his body was certainly reminding him of it. I would never lower my dignity by satisfying myself with a pathetic mortal. Loki thought with determination. He quickly walked out of his room and towards the library; he had to get away from his bed, it was filling his thoughts with lewd images.

Once Loki entered the library he saw the last person he ever wanted to see.
You were sitting in the one comfy chair in the library, wrapped up in a warm blanket next to the fire, reading the same book from the previous night. Adamant to not let you sully the only remaining place in the castle that gave him peace, Loki stomped over next to you and demanded you move from his chair. “Right this very moment.” He finished.

“Not this time, I got here fair and square!” You said while gripping the arm rests.

Loki didn’t understand what shapes had to do with her leaving his seat but he was in no mood to argue. Just like the night before he waved his hands and the chair disappeared from under you and reappeared on the opposite side of the fire place.

“Ow!” You yelped as you rubbed the spot on your butt that hit the ground. Loki ignored you and sat down to read his book. “You know you don’t have to be so rude about it.” You told him as you laid down the blanket on the floor for some cushioning.  

“I am the master of this castle, my word is law.” Loki said without looking up from his book. “The sooner you learn that the easier it will be for you.”

You let out a small defiant grunt before you laid down and wrapped yourself around in the blanket and continued reading your book. Loki glanced down at you from his book and saw that you were back to happily reading your book. For some reason it infuriated him that you were just as happy laying on the hard ground as you were sitting in the comfortable chair; he wanted you to feel as irritated as he felt.

As you flipped a page on your book he noticed a dark marking on your wrist that looked too perfectly shaped to be dirt. Loki wondered if you had actually gotten hurt in the attack. And if so why was she hiding it? He questioned.

Loki’s curiosity got the better of him. “What is that under your sleeve?”

You looked up confused at him at first and looked down at your wrist. Realizing the marking was showing you hastily pulled your sleeve to cover it. “Don’t worry about it.” You said bluntly.

Now officially fed up with your defiance, Loki slammed down his book, knelt down on his knees in front of you.

“What are you…?” You said now startled

He grabbed your wrist to yank the fabric of your sleeve down.

“S-stop!” You cried.

Ignoring your pleas he began to pull your sleeve down to reveal the marking on your wrist. Right as the image appeared Loki felt the hot sting of your hand to his cheek. The force of your slap jerked his head straight to his shoulder and the red of the swelling was already becoming apparent on his cheek. Loki turned his head back at you, shocked and now obviously pissed.

“I don’t care what you do to me, I refuse to give this part of me up to you!” You yelled at him.

In his rage Loki grabbed your upper arm and roughly pulled you up off the floor. How dare she strike me! Loki thought now completely enraged. You struggled against his grip but Loki forced you to look at him.

What he saw calmed his fury almost instantly.

Your (E/C) eyes were glistening with overflowing pools of tears that trickled down your angry face. Loki had treated you like trash since the first moment you both met at Stark Tower. He had hit you, threatened you, kidnapped you, and tried to kill you; but throughout all those hardships he had never seen you cry.

Yet again Loki was at a loss for words. He was angry with you for striking him since he was only trying to see if you were hurt, but the way you reacted to such a simply gesture made him consider the situation more carefully.  

How in all the nine realms could a marking be so meaningful to her? Thought Loki. Whatever the reason is, she is willing to lose all of her privileges to hide it from me.

Loki released your arm and you angrily stepped back from him. “What? Aren’t you going to banish me to my room?” You said defiantly, tears still pouring from your eyes.

“No.” Was all he said as he turned and sat back down in the cushioned chair.
You gave Loki a surprised look. “W-why not? I broke our deal! … are…are you trying to trick me?”

Loki just looked at you, thinking over his next words. “No I am not attempting to fool you.” He opened his book and began reading it like nothing happened. “You took care of my injury, I’ll spare you the consequences of striking me. Consider us even.”

You stared down at Loki with a look of bewilderment. “Th-thank you…” You said under your breath.
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He’s letting me off the hook? You thought in disbelief.

Showing mercy to anyone didn’t seem like something Loki would normally do, especially towards you. You had just finished the book you were reading and was going to get another one but you felt uncomfortable staying in the same room and Loki was. As a matter of fact you were feeling more and more uncomfortable the longer you stayed in the same room with him so you quickly left not really knowing where else to go.

Why did he show me mercy? You pondered as you closed the library door behind you.
Of course you were more than grateful that Loki decided to forgive your transgression but the thought of why plagued your mind. Loki thought of it as repaying a debt to you, one that you didn’t even know he owed you. He didn’t have to save me…

You shook your head in an attempt to rid yourself of those thoughts. Who cares? He didn’t have to save me! Loki made a choice and I benefited from it. The end. You told yourself as you wandered down the hallways of the castle. And I got to slap him too! You smiled.

You soon discovered a new looking door you hadn’t seen before. It wasn’t carved in intricate shapes like the library door, or made of mahogany like most of the doors in the whole castle were. It was a simple door made of light brown thick planks. The planks were held together roughly by a metal rod that had nails that were crudely hammered into the old wood.

Why does this door look so sketchy? You questioned as you turned the flimsy metal door handle. You peered into the room cautiously, a little afraid there was something potentially dangerous was inside.

What you saw however relived you.

So this is the training room Loki was talking about! You thought excitedly.

The training room was very spacious and simple and had various types of training equipment like practice swords, practice staffs, dummies, and weights; perfect for practicing any kind of fighting style your heart desired. All of the equipment was placed neatly in their own spot along the walls of the room to make more space on the floor for moving around.

I think this is the perfect opportunity to fight the stress away. You thought rubbing your hands together eagerly.
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Thor walked down the golden halls of Asgard’s palace with angry steps. It had been a whole day since Loki had kidnapped you and Thor was no closer to breaking the protection spell around his winter castle than he was when he had first called the council. The meeting certainly did not go as he wanted, Thor rubbed his forehead with frustration remembering the long meeting.

We are sorry your majesty but Loki’s terms are simply unreasonable and unrealistic. Stated one of the council members. We simply cannot allow this trade, even for the worthy Queen. Of course it was ludicrous to allow the trade of the universe’s most powerful relic, the Tesseract, and Loki’s own power source for a single life. The council knew it, he knew it, and Thor had a strong feeling that you knew it as well.

I swear by my title as Odinson I will not abandon you (F/N)… Thor promised himself as he continued to make his way to the library. As complying with Loki’s demands was out of the question, Thor began enlisting the help of skilled sorcerers throughout Asgard to help find a way to break the protection spell. The library in the palace was the largest collection of knowledge that Asgard possessed and naturally all the spell casters flocked there to find an answer.  

“Have you made any progress?” Thor asked the head of the team of sorcerers he had commissioned. The older man gave him an un-confident look.

“I apologize my lord but we have only scratched the surface of the spell, at this rate we will not be able to break it in time for the trade.” He stated sadly.

That was not the news that Thor wanted to hear but he had to keep trying. “Keep trying and work as quickly as you can.” Thor said sternly. “Your Queen’s life depends on it.”

The old man bowed slightly. “We will my lord, around the clock.”

Thor watched the man scurry back to his place among the stacks of books that were piled around the room, back to his seat among his fellow sorcerers. He watched as each of them read each page and wrote meticulous notes in their large notebooks. They were definitely trying their absolute best to outwit the God of Mischief.

But their best is not good enough… Thought Thor. He needed to think of something else quickly or risk losing you forever.
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She better not be late… Thought Loki impatiently awaiting his dinner in the dining hall. The afternoon seem to fly by as Loki enjoyed his time in the library, without your presence. Loki looked down at the novel he had finished somewhat surprised it took him so long to finish it. I normally finish one in an afternoon, this took me a whole day! He let out a frustrated sigh. That woman has a bad habit of distracting me…

Loki’s thoughts remained on that statement: “distracting me”. Of course your presence irritated him, he never liked sharing anything with anyone so sharing his prized library with a lowly mortal tested his patience. But it wasn’t like you were yelling and screaming at all times while you were there, except for the episodes with fighting over the chair, you were always quietly reading your book and minding your own business.
So why does she distract me so? Loki mulled.

Loki was snapped out of his thoughts when you swiftly entered the room with what looked like a bowl of piping hot soup. As good as the food smelled, he was more intrigued with how heavy your breath was and how you’re forehead has small beads of sweat slowly trickling down to your cheeks.

“Panicking to get me my food Dove?” Teased Loki.

You looked back at him a little confused. “Uh no… I had plenty of time.” You stated plainly.

“Are you ill?” He asked, sounding more concerned than he meant to.

“I’m totally fine.” You said with a slight smile. “Why do you ask?”

“You look as though you have a fever.” Loki explained pointing to your reddened face.

“Oh!” Realizing what he meant you responded with a chuckle. “I found the training room you were taking about and I just finished my workout.”

“Training? So you can fight.”

“Well sort of...”

Loki eyed you with intrigue, he knew mortals loved to fight and some were somewhat skilled at it. Yet you didn’t seem like the type that fights your way out of a situation, especially since you were so incapable of defending yourself from any of the creatures you had encountered in Jotunheim. But this one uses her words more often than her fists… He thought. Loki was naturally curious of your skill level.  

“Can you wield a sword?” Loki finally asked.

“Not a two handed sword but I can manage a smaller one handed.” You explained.

“What about a spear or an axe?”

“I can use an axe but I’m not very good with a spear…”

“Hand on hand combat?”

“I’ve had training but I need practice.”

Loki unintentionally smiled. Perhaps she is not as pathetic as I thought…

“Tomorrow after breakfast meet me in the training room.” Ordered Loki.

“What? Why?” You rebuffed.

“I want to see what you are capable of.” He stated nonchalantly.

“I-I don’t think…”

“This will most likely be the only opportunity you have to hit me again without any consequences.” Enticed Loki.

Loki could see you hold back the smile on your face. “Ok if you say so…” You replied.

“Very good now off with you.” Loki shooed.

He watched you as you turned to leave for the kitchen, with a hint of confusion in your (E/C) eyes. Loki smirked to himself enjoying his dinner as his thought filled with nothing but you and the next morning to come.