Over the past few weeks, Sigyn and Loki had been arguing. Or, rather, she had been making a suggestion, Loki had been taking offense and ignoring her, which then spurred her to make a bigger statement, which usually resulted in him either leaving the room and locking himself in the bedroom, or, if he was feeling particularly mischievous, he'd lock both of them in the bedroom. Either way, the issue was not getting resolved, and it was starting to wear on her. The worst part of it was that she wasn't even mad at him for not listening to her so much as she felt like laughing and crying every time he happened to knock into the coffee table or a wall by walking too close and then insisting it had not been his fault.
It had been going on for nearly a month now, and every time she attempted to bring up the dreaded "eye" issue, it always seemed to end up going the same way…
Sigyn got home from work late that day, having to do overtime because a no-show coworker decided to call-in sick, only to inform her in private over the phone that she had a cute date and didn't want to risk blowing her chances. She didn't even try convincing the girl to come in. She wouldn't have bothered anyway… So eight and a half hours and too many complaints later, she was ready to crash, and not even bother with the daily chore of bringing up the issue with Loki. So she was immensely surprised when she shuffled through the apartment doorway into the living room, and nearly slammed into the man as he stood just feet inside the entrance.
"Jeez!" she exclaimed, reeling back, only to have him catch her by the arm to steady her. "Wow, hi… I didn't know you'd be standing…What's wrong?"
Loki was frowning, his brows furrowed down in his trademark angsty expression, but his eyes told a different story. There was thinly veiled concern there, and Sig noticed he seemed to be squinting.
"What?" she prompted him, frowning as well, gently laying a hand on his arm.
He shifted uncomfortably, glancing to the left and right, seemingly unable to meet her gaze directly, and cleared his throat, rolling his shoulders in a lame shrug. She cocked an eyebrow.
"Oh, please," she muttered, which earned her a sharp look from him, "Loki, what's going on? You're on pins and needles."
His frown deepened to a scowl, and his eyebrows slanted even more, casting shadows over his emerald eyes.
"I can't read," he informed her curtly.
She paused, slowly processing…
"Come again?" she asked, bewildered.
"You heard me," he muttered, sounding a combination of irritated and ashamed.
"…As in you don't know the words or…?"
"I can't see them," he snapped, and she recoiled slightly at the harshness of his tone. Seeing her alarm, he took a breath to calm down and repeated in a gentler tone, "I can't see the words clearly… They're…distorted…"
She stared at him, comprehension dawning.
"Oh, baby," she murmured, unable to help the pity in her tone.
"What?" he sniped, clearly offended by her babying tone.
"Sorry," she apologizes hurriedly, "It's just…remember that conversation we keep having about how I think you need glasses?"
His face immediately closed off, and Sig knew this was the last thing he wanted to hear.
"No," he said firmly, beginning to turn away, but she caught his arm before he could get far and dragged him to a halt.
"Loki, just hear me out on this, alright?" she pleaded, linking fingers with him, one hand to his chest as he turned halfway back towards her.
He was clearly conflicted. His expression told her that he no more wanted to hear that he might have a flaw than he'd like to stick his fingers in an electrical socket, but the concern in her voice struck a chord with him and he heaved a deep sigh before turning slowly back around to face her. He raised an eyebrow and gave a small half smile.
"What?" he asked wearily.
"It's not what you're thinking," she told him slowly, "Glasses aren't a bad thing."
"How do I know that?" he demanded, sounding uncertain.
"Are clothes dangerous?" she asked, grinning.
His eyebrows shot up to his hairline. "They can be," he said thoughtfully, giving her a slow once over, his eyes fairly burning.
"Focus, your highness," she said with a small laugh, thumping him on the chest. "Look, clothes aren't dangerous. They're necessary. Sometimes glasses are necessary. For you, it sounds like you're far-sighted, which means you can see far off, just not up close, like when you're reading…" Or stumbling into walls or the coffee table… "And you wouldn't even have to wear them all the time, just during the day when you're moving around."
He still looked uncertain, but he wasn't as tense as he had been before, and it seemed like she was making headway.
"Look, let's just go to the optometrist," Sig encouraged him, heading back towards the door, pulling him with her, "We'll have him take a look at your eyes and see what he thinks."
"What is an optometrist?" he asked, even as he followed her out of the door.
The rest of the car ride to the Eye Care Office consisted of Sig explaining at least three different times to Loki just what an optometrist was, what their purpose in life was, and how 'no, they are not going to stick needles in your eyes'. As they pulled into the parking lot, Loki still wasn't looking at all convinced that this was in any way, shape, or form a good idea, but at least he hadn't bolted from the car or vanished.
"So, promise me something?" Sigyn asked as they walked hand-in-hand towards the front entrance.
"What?" he asked in a grumble, even as a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth and he glanced down at her.
"This isn't a clone of you is it?"
His smile became a smirk and he rolled his eyes. "No, it isn't," he assured her, amused.
"Good, because if it were, I might have to kick you out of bed tonight," she told him, shooting him a grin.
"Hmm," he murmured, contemplating her hungrily. "You wouldn't dare…"
"Behave and we'll see what I would or wouldn't dare," she bargained with him as they approached the front desk where the receptionist looked up expectantly. Sig smile as she explained, "I'm looking for Dr. Payne."
Behind her, Loki shot her a wary look.
Half an hour later, Sigyn was out in the reception area, flipping through the same magazine for about the fifteenth time, and feeling comforted, at least, that she hadn't heard any screaming, cursing, or swearing in the name of Asgard or Valhalla. Always good signs… Still, she was also a little concerned. She didn't remember eye appointments taking so long…then again, it wouldn't surprise her if Loki was being difficult about something or playing 20 Million Questions with the optometrist.
It would be just like him…
The sound of a door opening in the hallway just off from the waiting area got her attention, and two pairs of footsteps had her straightening up even more. She set the magazine aside as she saw Dr. Payne striding confidently down the hall, a triumphant smile on his face.
"Well, you were right," he told her as he came out into the waiting room, his wrinkled face breaking into a smile, "He iss definitely far sighted, but we've got the issue figured out."
"You didn't give him contacts, did you?" she asked uneasily.
"Oh, no," the doctor laughed, waving a hand. "No, ma'am. After the dilation drops, I'd be lucky to get anything else into his eye. No. Besides, I think he pulls off the glasses look quite well. Very scholarly."
Sigyn noticed Loki coming up behind the doctor, his head slightly averted so she couldn't see his face. Dr. Payne noticed him coming and stepped aside, stretching out a hand to clap him on the shoulder.
"Oh, come now, look up, would you? I spent a good amount of time finding the right ones," he laughs, pushing Loki in Sigyn's direction.
"I look ridiculous," Loki muttered under his breath as she reached out to take his hand.
"Oh, come on, you cannot look that bad unless he put you in clown glasses," she told him, rolling her eyes. "Let me ..." She urged his chin upward, peering into his face to see... "Holy..."
Sharp green eyes behind black rimmed lenses peered down at her, the expression in them somewhere between warning and embarrassment, as though daring her to make fun of him. But making fun of him was the last thing on her mind...
"Wow," she muttered, feeling distinctly star struck. "I should've gotten you in glasses sooner...Holy mess..."
He raised an eyebrow, which only enhanced his look as he eyed her from behind rectangular shaped, wire lenses. He took in her dumbstruck expression for a moment, before a slow, sensual smirk made its way across his lips.
"You know," he told her silkily, tangling his fingers with hers and stepping right into her personal space, "I think I like these glasses…"
"Really," she said faintly, "And why is that?"
"Because it lets me see exactly what you look like when you're looking at me," he purred, lifting her knuckles to his lips. She felt her face turn red, and his smirk deepened. "I didn't know you could turn that red..."
She glared at him. "You know what?" she asked him.
"What?" he asked, laughter in his voice as his eyes glowed vibrantly green at her.
"I hate your glasses."
Laughing, he dipped his head to kiss her thoroughly, wiping all thoughts of secretly dropping his glasses down the garbage disposal out of her mind.