I've been working on my previous oneshot (well, in fact it's not exactly a oneshot anymore) and I felt like writing something less dark and angsty. So, have some crack!fic! :D
I hope you enjoy reading, because I certainly enjoyed writing it. And a huuuuuge thanks to my Beta-Reader Said the Silence!
Disclaimer: I own neither Jane nor Loki. All rights belong to their respective owners.
Popsicles
"Crap. This is crap. All this mess for a huge pile of crap."
Jane let herself drop down into her comfortable business chair. Her arms hung limp over the armrests on each of it's sides and she pressed her head loosely against the chair's soft back, eyes closed and brow furrowed as in deep thought.
In front of her unmoving posture stood a cheap-looking aluminium desk, completely covered with papers, folders and a few open books. The rest of the room resembled an equal chaos; the small lab had fallen victim to an over-eager, working astrophysicist who thought herself on the brink of discovering a new, sensational phenomenon that might help her solve the puzzle of the so-called 'Einstein-Rosen-Bridge'. Apparently, she had yet to find the time to tidy up the battlefield-like workspace.
And in midst of that very chaos stood a black-haired prince of Asgard, one brow raised in anticipation. He sipped the tea in his hands and glanced over to the small researcher, seemingly amused at her defeated look.
Jane let out a heavy sigh and opened her eyes to gaze upwards to the ceiling.
"I need a break," she announced, turning her chair to face the demigod standing in her lab. Her gaze strode over his figure, satisfied with her success in finally making him wear 'ordinary mortal clothing'. Despite the nonchalance of his dark grey jeans and the green shirt, he somehow managed to keep a noble and gracious aura around him. Admittedly, he looked good in them.
"Loki, let's go and eat some ice cream," she commanded, her eyes locking with his.
"Do as you please. I will stay behind," he answered, no hint of the previous amusement left in his face or voice.
"Oh come on, I need a break and neither of us has set foot outside for almost two weeks!" Jane continued, "Plus, it's nice and sunny and pretty warm and we don't get any of that in here!" she added excitedly.
Loki's eyes darkened as he spoke, "That is indeed an eligible reason to stay in this place, Miss Foster."
"Don't 'Miss Foster' me, it's Jane. And your opinion doesn't matter anyway. I've decided that you will accompany me." The brunette jumped from her seat and smiled happily, making her way over to the Asgardian, manoeuvring quickly around the chaotic files gathered all over the floor and grabbing his free hand.
She was obviously fond of her idea.
Without any further hesitation she walked past Loki and tried forcing him to follow by keeping his hand firmly in her grasp. He didn't move an inch.
Jane turned back around, determined, sparks of glee still visible in her eyes. "This will be a lot easier for the both of us if you'd just give in right away," she explained.
"It's never easy with you." Loki rolled his eyes, slightly annoyed but he placed his half-empty cup down and gestured her that he would follow nonetheless. The two of them walked to the van and drove off to the 'sweetest, neatest and most delicious ice cream- parlour of all time and universe' – as Jane had titled it. 'You will see' she had told him, 'the long way is totally worth it'.
However, sitting next to each other for about 30 minutes was definitely a very long way for... ice cream. And the awkward silence that had crept upon them did start to unnerve Jane increasingly. Her neighbour didn't seem to mind at all, though.
"I'm sure even you will like it. Everybody loves ice cream!" she started anew, trying desperately to initiate a conversation.
"I was never one to bait by simple food. I have feasted in the halls of Odin and I see no purpose to excite myself over a mere dessert." Loki gave her an annoyed look, "And I'm not even hungry."
Jane gave a shrug. "Well, it's all about the company then."
Surprisingly, Loki did not counter that comment, focusing on Jane's profile. Her joyous expression had returned once more.
Another ten minutes later they finally arrived in a small town; probably not any larger than Puente Antiguo, yet seemingly a lot livelier. They parked the van near a public park and headed towards their destination by foot. The demigod viewed his surroundings rather sceptically, as he didn't enjoy the loud, chattering groups of humans hurrying about. He sighed audibly as he caught himself wishing to be back to that silent and peaceful laboratory of Jane's.
There was no time for him to dwell in his self-pity, though; he was violently thrown out of thoughts by said physicist. Jane grabbed his wrist – again, he let it happen – and dragged him off in a faster pace.
"It's right behind that corner! You will now get to taste the ultimate manifestation of-" she never finished the sentence and her broad smile had faded, pure disappointment written all over her face. "It's closed?" her voice held sadness and Loki struggled his gaze away from Jane and in the direction her finger had pointed only moments ago. The building was grey and empty, the windows filled with beige cardboard and a sign was placed on the door that read in clear, hand-written letters the words 'FOR SALE'.
"Does this mean we get to drive back now?" Loki's voice cut the silence.
"Yeah, I think..." How could three mumbled whispers show off this much sorrow? Over a mere frozen dessert?
A short glance down to Jane made him immediately regret his question. His insides clenched tight at the sight of Jane's saddened expression, she seemed so incredibly hurt by something so trivial, it was almost ridiculous. Or it would probably be if it was any other human being. Jane's dropped shoulders, her foot kicking helplessly dirt and small stones on the pavement instead made the god of mischief feel an itching pain in his chest.
"Is there any other establishment like this one around?" he asked cautiously.
Jane looked up to him. "I don't know. I haven't been here in ages." she murmured. That, at least, would explain the lack of knowledge in the case of the run down café.
This time it was Loki's turn to take the initiative; he started walking down the road. "Hey! What are you doing?" Jane called after him and caught up to the Asgardian prince with a quick spurt.
Loki didn't even stop as he spoke "I had in mind that you were looking for well-praised ice cream. We have not yet come across such."
Jane was indeed a person to be easily angered, but she was even faster to be amazed. She started grinning again and together they wandered randomly through the streets.
"Oh heck, screw this! Today is very obviously not my day!" Jane let herself exasperated drop – for the second time that day. The cool stone bench underneath the shadowy tree tops in the park did wonders for her hurting feet. She and Loki had searched all over town for another ice café, success. Instead of a delicious and relaxing chocolate ice cream, she now suffered from blisters between her toes. In her mind she cursed herself for not leaving the lab the past weeks and causing her body to get used to that laziness of hers.
Loki sat down to her right, careful to keep an accurate space between them. His gaze was somewhat far off, focusing something invisible behind the park's thick bushes and blooming flowers. Actually, it was quite a lovely spot to sit with a handsome demigod at her side, Jane noted. As soon as the thought had passed her brain, her cheeks turned a deep red and she began instantly fiddling with the decorative ribbon attached to her pants; distracting her enough to stay oblivious to the intense stare of her neighbour.
Finally, after a few minutes of examining every possible way to knot the small string of cotton, she lifted her head only to find the Asgardian prince gone. Confused and a little panicking she got up and tried to spot him somewhere. Maybe he had just gotten bored of her presence and was enjoying a walk around the park all by himself. But still, Jane was responsible for him, so she prayed she hadn't lost sight of the headstrong trickster. Even if she didn't expect him to disappear from town, it was better to not underestimate his mischievous acting. The astrophysicist followed the path ahead of her and prayed that her luck wouldn't deny her a third time in one day.
The park was really wonderful. It's chilling, fresh air was helpful to her long-built distress. She relished in the feeling of nature around her and her brain savoured the healthy level of oxygen. Surely, the days locked up in the lab, with her head dug deep in work was a lot more exhausting than she had thought it to be, She didn't take long to forget about the reason she has hurrying along the way and slowed her speed down till she was relaxingly trotting and exploring the colourful world of numerous plants. Jane found an almost hidden clearing, surrounded by a bunch of high-grown bushes, the floor covered in daisies. She placed herself comfortably on the soft meadow and closed her eyes, taking deep breaths and being absolutely satisfied with the moment.
Loki stepped through a wall of green leafs. Jane wasn't sitting on the bench he had left her on as he returned. In fact, he had expected that. Striving through the park searching for her was annoying, though. When he had found her eventually, he kept to himself and let her lead the way unwittingly. The tiny brunette almost gleamed with joy, jumping slightly with every step she took. His vanishing didn't seem to bother her at all, he noted grudgingly. In the blink of an eye, the awe-struck physicist was gone, but Loki had no problem finding where she went. He chose to keep up with her quick changing mood and stepped through the bushes. Jane already sat in the meadow, in the middle of the clearing, as the god of mischief stepped to stand right in front of her.
"Do you still want some ice cream?" The voice was barely a whisper, but Jane flinched and almost screamed in surprise. Oh right, Loki, she thought. She had seriously forgotten about him.
Jane opened her eyes, waited several seconds for them to adjust to the flashing sun light and settled them on the hand holding out a popsicle to her.
"How did you get these?" she asked curiously, noting the second one in his other hand.
"Don't ask. It is of no importance." He smirked at the woman and lowered himself onto the floor opposite to her. "If you say so." she grinned and took the wooden stick from the demigod. "Thank you." she said and bit into the sweet ice. The supposed response of 'You're welcome' was overshadowed by an irking noise as Jane spat half of the popsicle into the innocent daisies.
"Ew! This is without doubt the worst ice cream I've ever had!" she declared and wiped her mouth clean with her forearm.
Loki's smirk grew in width and his voice held a low chuckle. "Well, it's all about the company then."
The smile he was presented with was truly the most astonishing beautiful thing he ever witnessed and he felt a nice warmth well up inside him.
"Yes, it really is."