So I had this fic in my head for a little bit, and I KNOW that the whole Loki falling for a mortal from Midgard is such a cliché storyline, but I kind of wanted to try my hand at it and see if I can't give it a little something that makes it special! Anyway besides that I have become enamored with the character of Loki because I've been told I have a bad boy complex, and come on everyone loves a good villain! Anyway his story intrigued me even though I was never really interested in the Thor comics, and so I wanted to write this.
'Soundtrack' for this chapter:
Live to Rise by Soundgarden
Hero by Skillet
Criminal by Juliet Lloyd (Britney Spears cover)
Virgin State of Mind by K's Choice
Disclaimer: I own NOTHING except my OCs please don't sue me Marvel I love you.
Chapter 1
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
A dark head of hair moved about as a hysterical pale skinned female struggled against two warriors dressed in shining armor. Tears of fury ran down her face as she kicked the fabric of her dress flying about in her struggle. She growled as the two warriors stopped for a second letting her shout out at the audience before her.
"You will rue the day you wrongly punished me All-Father! You and your son, Thor, will feel my wrath! Asgard has not heard the last of Nyx Gunvordotter! As for you, young enchantress, I curse you. You will never claim the prize you so desperately seek, and you will forever yearn for what you may never have."
Hazel eyes snapped open, and a pale skinned hand reached up to run down her face tiredly. It was her hand, and she was waking from another strange dream. A series of dreams with recurring figures she barely knew or remembered. She let out a yawn and stretched her back emitting a slight popping sound before she sat up with a sigh. She threw the blankets back and shivered as her bare feet touched the floor. She got up looking outside her window at the damp ground and the slight rainfall that was tapping at the glass. It was starting to get cold, and she cursed her landlord for not putting up the heat more. It wasn't fair to the tenants just because he had a layer of blubber to keep him warm that every other tenant had to suffer.
She went about her morning routine putting on her uniform, and pulling her raven hair into a high ponytail. She looked in the bathroom mirror at her tired eyes blowing a loose piece of hair from her face before applying a thin layer of eyeliner. She walked out into her living room pulling her coat from a nearby hook and slipping it on as well as her small black tote. She grabbed her keys from the dish on her coffee table rubbing her tired eyes careful of her make-up before walking out and locking the door behind her. She waved half-heartedly at her elderly neighbor before making her way down the three flights of stairs, and out into the chilly Manhattan air. She pulled her coat tighter around herself as the wind blew into her reaching down to her bones with its chill. Little droplets of rain fell onto her face her shoes making a crackling sound against the rubble that littered the sidewalk.
When she reached worked she let out a sniffle relieved at the warmth that surrounded her once she made her way into the little restaurant. She took off her coat and made her way to the back where her friend greeted her warmly.
"Hey Nanette, what do you have planned for your slots today?" Nanette smiled at the girl, and hung up her things before answering her friend.
"I put in my list last night before I left. You'll have to be surprised like everyone else." Her head snapped in the direction of a new voice in the back of the restaurant calling for her.
"Shaw! You're on with Nancy as backup; get to it kid."
She reached for the microphone and started to sway as the music started to play in the background the lights dimmed and only one large spotlight was on her. The patrons stopped eating to watch her waiting to see how she would fair in the matters of voice.
"There's a chair in my head, on which I used to sit,
Took a pencil and I wrote, the following on it.
Now there's a key where my wonderful mouth used to be,
Dig it up, throw it at me. Dig it up, throw it at me." She looked out at the diners her heart beating fast as their eyes watched her intently. When she finished singing she smiled as they applauded and gave a small bow pulling the microphone close for another second. "Thank you so much ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for choosing Buster's Big Break Diner, and we hope you enjoy the entertainment."
She waved to her late night co-workers before she walked out the door to make her way home. It stopped raining, and she pat her apron pocket happily where her tips where safely nestled. She let out a breath and pulled the hair band from its place letting her raven hair fall onto her shoulders and stray in the slight breeze. The street lights lit her way home and the rush of the traffic beside her provided a soundtrack to her walk. The air was still chilly and every passer-by ignored her as she walked along her cheeks tinted pink by the chill in the air. She turned a corner a short ways from her house where the street was nearly empty, and let out a gasp at a figure laying crumpled on the concrete. She ran up to the figure dropping her things and kneeling next to the male figure that let out a pained groan. Brilliant emerald eyes met her hazel ones, and she felt her words get stuck in her throat for a second before she could finally feel her tongue being to work again.
"Sir, are you alright? Do you need an ambulance?"
When Loki hit the ground her felt the world around him spinning, or was it he who was spinning? He only remembered his fall from the shattered Bifrost, and then the pain he was now experiencing. He faded in and out only vaguely noticing the mortal who came to his aid. He felt something fill him, contempt perhaps, at the very idea of Loki Odinson-or Laufeyson- prince of Asgard needing assistance from a mere mortal. He would not be like his brute of a brother, Thor, and be lowered to needing the help of an insignificant Midgardian. He caught the hazel gaze of the woman who had happened upon him, and barely heard her concerned words. The mortals were so naive giving aid to any who may need it without even the slightest knowledge of the other.
He mulled over her words which seemed muffled to his ears, and shook his head weakly. He wouldn't be subjected to the primitive healers of this vile realm, and be poked and prodded like a common pin cushion. He let out another groan as a wave of pain hit him extending to every nerve in his body.
"No hospitals. I have no need for medical attention." She frowned and gave the god of mischief a look before she got up, and extended a hand to him. He sat up slowly slapping her hand away, and used a nearby car to get on his feet. He grit his teeth and let out something akin to a whimper as he clutched at his side.
She watched him and rolled her eyes bending down to pick up her things before turning to walk away with a frown.
"Try to help people in this city, and they turn out to be jerks. Last time I pull a Good Samaritan. I mean the guy can't even accept help getting up." She took a few steps before she turned around and saw the man struggling to walk. She sighed dramatically and rolled her eyes again before walking back to help him. She didn't know what she was going to do since the guy didn't want medical attention. She pulled his arm over her shoulders steadying him, and looked to him with stern eyes. "Do you have a place you can go? I'll call you a cab if you need it."
He shook his head at her his eyes looked angry, and she didn't care to wonder why. She shook her head at his answer, and turned toward the street whistling at an oncoming cab. She had decided she would take the rude stranger to her apartment until he was coherent enough to tell her where he lived. The cab stopped and the driver got out giving her an odd look before opening the door for her. "Can you help me get him in? He kinda had a little too much to drink." The cabby nodded and helped her get the dark haired stranger into the vehicle before she got in herself. The cab driver turned to her and asked for her destination in a slight Texas drawl.
"Where you and your friend headed ma'am?" She told him her address and he frowned at her annoyance clear on his face. "That's only a couple blocks away." Nanette made a face at the driver already irritated with the man sitting next to her.
"So you expect me to carry him because it's a short cab ride? Do I look like a body builder to you? Just do it and I'll give you an extra big tip." The scruffy cabby turned around with an eye roll, and started driving until he reached the apartment building. She pulled the money out of her pocket and shoved it into the man's calloused hands before getting out and helping out the injured man.
She walked into the building and groaned as she looked at the stairs. How had a normal day turned into this, and why her? She walked toward the intercoms just inside the doorway pressing on one. She was starting to have trouble keeping the stranger on her shoulder steady when a sleepy voice came onto the intercom.
"Hello?" She sighed in relief before answering.
"Hey Hollis, it's Nanette. One of my friends had a little too much to drink, and I need help getting him up the stairs. Do you think you could come down if it isn't too much trouble?" He accepted without question and was soon enough down the stairs and helping her carry the stranger up to her apartment.
Nanette looked at the stranger who lay gripping his sides in pain wondering what she was going to do with him, and how she would help. She walked to her kitchen which sat beside the living room only separated by a small counter which ran around it. She poured a glass of water and opened her cabinets pulling out some painkillers and putting two in her hand. She walked back shuffling her feet across the beige carpets until she reached him. She set the water and pills down on her coffee table before helping him sit up and putting the little white pills in his hand.
"What, pray tell, are these?" She rose an eyebrow to him, and handed him the water before pointing to the pills in his hand.
"Take them; they should help with the pain. Although, you should probably take them with food; how long has it been since you've eaten?"
He looked to her then the medication in his hand, and gave her a look before pushing the water away gently.
"I know not when I last had a meal." This mortal was beginning to grate on his nerves with her defiant attitude, and annoyed tone. How dare she speak in such a way to a prince of Asgard? Former prince or not he was still above her insignificant realm. She was nothing but an insect in his world, and she dared to take such a tone with him? He could crush her with a wave of his hand should he be at full power; not that she knew any of this or anything about him.
She got up making a face as she turned to head to her kitchen again. Who talked the way he did, and what was up with him having no home when he had such fancy clothes on? Not many people wore suits in her neighborhood, and if they did they were passing through in a stretch limo. She stopped her thought process to take some things out of her fridge for him to eat. She popped a plate in the microwave and stood leaning against her counter looking to him intently, and only now noticing that he was a sight to see. His skin was pale and nearly flawless save for a few cuts and bruises, and his hair was a beautiful contrast to his eyes. Ink black locks he slicked back perfectly just reaching the back of his neck with not a hair out of place despite his injured state, and he was tall enough to barely fit on her couch which she could stretch out fully on and still have a fourth empty. She blushed realizing she had been staring when her microwave beeped, and she saw his questioning eyes staring her down.
She handed him the plate of spaghetti, and a fork sitting on the edge of the sofa next to him. He seemed to sniff at the plate of food like he had no idea what it was, and he pushed it around almost like he thought she would poison him. He took a noodle into his mouth, and only then did he seem content enough to eat it leaving the plate bare save for some stains of sauce. She took the plate and fork and watched as he took the pain killers and lay back on the couch with a pained intake of breath.
"Those pills should take effect soon, and hopefully you have no major damage. So, you wanna tell me your name maybe seeing as how I helped you out of the goodness of my heart?" He glared at her when she finished her sentence and it was the slightest bit intimidating, but she didn't let it show on the surface. She wondered what the deal was with this guy, and his moodiness. It was almost like he was arrogant enough to believe he was better than her.
He ran names through his brain trying to come up with one that was convincing, but told this mortal nothing of his true nature. He mulled over the names of the group of mortals Thor had become so fond of and remembered the name of the male. Eric Selvig was his name, and he supposed that such a name would suffice for his brief time with this irksome mortal woman. Yet, should he sully himself with the use of such a name? No, he would need a different name, and something that wouldn't remind him of his brother.
"Derick Seville. You have yet to tell me your name; is it not customary to introduce yourself before asking the name of another?" She made a face that made Loki feel another pang of irritation. She was so expressive with her face, and he didn't fancy the distaste she showed so openly.
"I guess, but I'm only proper with people who deserve it. You've been kind of rude." She sighed and pulled her raven locks to one side her hazel orbs meeting his green ones which were evenly matched in vexation. "My name's Nanette Shaw. Do you have any idea how long you'd be staying?" He looked around at her meager apartment, and frowned looking back to her.
"I can assure you my stay will be short." She glared to him, and it made the side of Loki's mouth curve into a slight smirk. Despite how vexing she already was he couldn't help but think of the entertainment value she possessed. He looked down at her clothes eyeing her ridiculous uniform with a raised eyebrow.
Nanette blushed as she looked down realizing she was still in her work clothes and sped to her room calling back to him.
"I'm going to get ready for bed call if you need anything." She closed her door and stripped pulling out a pair of shorts and a big t-shirt to sleep in. As she was getting dressed she stopped to think about how she would sleep knowing a strange man was sleeping in her living room. Would he murder her in her sleep, and she just be another headline in the papers? She could see it now the black ink across the page reading 'Young Aspiring Actress Found Dead in Apartment.' She slipped on her shorts and looked to the door for a while before she finally opened it, and walked back into the living room to find Derick asleep on the couch.
She couldn't deny he looked peaceful there on the couch, but wondered if he was uncomfortable lying there in his jacket. She was embarrassed at the chill of her apartment, and went to grab him a blanket. She crouched next to the sleeping man, and went to remove his jacket. Before she even touched him his hand snapped up catching hers making her look up at his fiery green eyes that were more than annoyed with her.
"What, do you think you're doing?" She wrenched her hand from his noting the chill to his skin, and glared.
"I was trying to make you more comfortable, but whatever sleep in that stupid coat for all I care! Here's a blanket." She dropped the blanket on his legs and stormed off to her room mumbling about him being a jerk to someone who was helping him.
It took everything in him to not lash out at this impudent mortal, and she should count herself lucky that he was weakened at the moment. He wondered what Thor saw in these mortals that made him weaken for them so. He saw nothing but primitive animals, and nonsensical violence when it came to the inhabitants of Midgard. They seemed to forever be at war over meaningless things. This puny woman was no different than any of the other Midgardians that plagued this realm with their stupidity. He sat up taking off his coat and laying it on the armrest as a makeshift pillow, and pulling the thin blanket around himself. This women would irritate him to no end should he stay here, and that meant he had to find a way to regain full power.
Nanette rubbed her burning tired eyes, and wrapped the covers around herself looking at the door. She hadn't slept a wink, and even tip-toed out throughout the night to check on her 'guest' to see he was the only one getting a sound sleep throughout the night. She got up and went to her bathroom and looked herself over letting out a quiet groan.
"I need to call in sick. I mean I can't take a shower, or be off guard while this guy is here. This is the stupidest thing I've ever done. Look I'm already talking to myself." She fixed up her hair, and put her sleeve back on her shoulder before she walked out to see Derick standing and staring out her window. She cleared her throat and he only looked back at her for a second before turning back to the window. "How are you feeling this morning?"
"The pain is dulled. I can endure what pain your useless medicine has left me with." She frowned and narrowed her eyes at his back her toes absentl-mindedly curling in the plush ringlets of the carpet. She walked to the phone, and picked it up dialing the number for her job. She knew she looked like utter crap, and the dark circles under her eyes probably looked like a never ending abyss. She listened as the phone rang and the familiar voice of her boss picked up.
"Buster's Big Break Diner home of the angelic singing waitresses, this is Luca speaking how may I help you this morning?" She snorted, and answered him taking a second to look back at Derick who was now staring at her.
"Hey Luca, it's Nanette. I can't come in today, I feel like crap. I'll take a picture and send it to you if you need me too."
He laughed and she knew he was probably disappointed that she couldn't come in.
"Nah, it isn't necessary you sound like crap too. I was starting to wonder if you were a robot. You only take sick days…never. Feel better kid, I can't have my best singer losing her voice now can I?" She smirked at her end, and just shook her head clearing her throat before saying good-bye and hanging up. She looked back at her dark haired house guest who seemed to have some kind of mischief in his eyes. It was almost like he had something planned for her. She walked to her kitchen to make breakfast not looking away from him. She felt a sudden pain and was suddenly on the floor. She blushed a deep red as she realized she had kicked the corner of her coffee table and tripped because of it right in front of Derick who was smirking at her from his place at the windows.
Loki had awoken a few hours ago just as the sun had begun its journey into the sky. He commenced the task of finding a way back to his full health, and his pain had dulled slightly. He didn't dare thank the mortal medicine the tiny shrew had forced down his throat. He also didn't dare accept that at his current strength he was only little more than a mortal. He was looking out the foggy windows of the woman's meager living space as the Midgardians shuffled around on the streets like insects in the dirt. He could hear her exit her room not bothering to acknowledge her existence at the moment. When she finally came out she spoke to him already being to inquisitive for his liking. He answered her with disinterest, and kept his gaze on the race of lesser beings his brother had become so fond of. It was disgusting to him that Thor would lower himself with a liking of a race that did nothing but squabble and kill each other with no regard for life.
He vaguely heard her conversation in the background with someone that wasn't there. He turned to look at her with curiosity wondering what her insane rambling was about only to see she was holding a device to her ear. She saw him look to her, and was sure she could see his look of confusion before she turned back to her one-sided conversation. When she replaced the device to its place she looked to him with suspicion, and his eyes flickered with delight as an idea popped into his head. He would test his power on her, and get some delight from his vile predicament. With a wag of his finger the table moved slightly to the right. Her eyes on him the whole time she hadn't seen the table move and went tumbling to the floor. He smirked in delight holding in his laughter skillfully as she stared up at him with a red tint to her cheeks.
She popped up off the floor with and mortified groan before pushing her hair back and shuffled to the kitchen with a grumble. She could tell he still had that smug smirk on his face like he was getting back at her for something. She put a pan on the stove, and took out some eggs and bacon from her nearly barren fridge with a sigh. She would need to go shopping soon, and with a waste on the taxi last night she was minus nearly half her grocery money. She blew a piece of hair away from her face in frustration, and began her cooking for the two of them. She peeked back at Derick who was just lounging on the couch, and she made a face.
"You can turn on the TV if you want. Breakfast will be ready soon."
He looked at her confused as if he had no inkling about what she was talking about. She rolled her eyes, and stepped away from her cooking to snatch up the remote and turn the TV on. She was going to hate that cute 'what does that mean' face of his. Her eyes scanned the screen for a little bit watching the footage of New Mexico. She felt a frown hit her at the devastation, and destruction wondering what could have done so much damage. She shuffled back to the kitchen taking in a sharp breath as a speck of hot oil popped onto her arm from the pan of bacon. She rubbed at it soothing the pain away before pulling out two plates from her cabinet that looked a lot like the apocalypse had emptied it of everything leaving only a few plates. She put the steaming breakfast onto the plates and walked over setting the food in front of Derick and her own plate on the table and sitting next to him to eat.
Loki made a face at the plate that was placed in front of him. Did she really think this was enough to quell his hunger? Not only that but this mortal food hardly looked edible, and he wondered what type of peasant food she was feeding him? He watched as the tiny mortal ate watching the moving pictures before them with interest, and picked up his own plate picking at the fluffy yellow and white slop that was on it before putting a small bit in his mouth. It didn't taste as bad as he had thought, and wondered if all food on Midgard looked disgusting but tasted decent. He ate what he assumed was a type of meat, and cleared his plate before putting it on the small table in front of him. He knew she was looking at him, and he turned to see the confusion in her eyes at how he had finished eating before her.
"I require more sustenance than this."
Her eyes went wide at him and she sighed putting the last piece of food in her mouth and taking his plate to the small kitchen in the corner. She came back almost in defeat, and Loki couldn't say he didn't enjoy the sight.
"We can go out to eat somewhere, let me get dressed first." She walked off grumbling unintelligibly to the back of the puny living space. The entirety of it was smaller than his chambers on Asgard, and it was plain save for a few pictures adorning the walls. He walked to one and looked upon it the words 'The Deep Blue Sea' printed near the bottom along with other tiny words Loki was too uninterested to read. It depicted a man holding a woman from behind near a window which bathed them in light, and he made a face at the false intimacy of the pair.
Nanette fixed her midnight blue vest pulling at the bottom to straighten it as she walked out of her room and pulled on her jacket watching with interest as her new guest stared intently at one of her many movie posters. She walked up stopping behind him and looking the poster over with him. The movie had gotten such bad reviews, but she loved the actors. They were so talented especially the male lead who played Freddie Paige. He was so skilled at the trade she so desperately wanted to be part of. She cleared her throat, and he seemed surprised to find her behind him, and then the irritation slipped into his green eyes again. He was acting like one of those stereotypical good looking guys that treated everyone like trash because of how they looked.
"Well, I'm ready let's get going." She grabbed her keys and purse fishing her tip money from her apron, and opening the door for him to walk out of. It was too quiet the whole way, and she wondered if this was a good idea, and if she should have just left him there on the sidewalk. Guilt immediately crawled its way up into her stomach at the thought. This guy may have been a major jerk, but he was still a person who deserved help when he needed it. She let out a sigh as they walked down the damp streets in silence finally getting to a small diner that was almost empty. They sat in a booth neither one saying a word just yet until a waitress came to ask what they wanted to drink.
"Uh, lemonade for me."
She looked to Derick who was looking over the menu like it was in a dead language. Nanette sighed and shook her head wondering just what was up with this guy. The waitress giggled and pointed out some drinks to him and the two of them settled on a Coke. She batted her eyelashes to him, and Nanette just eyed the girl intensely as she walked off to get their drinks. She wondered if this would go on the whole time they were here, and couldn't express how much it irritated her to think it would. She pulled out a napkin from the dispenser on the table and a pen from her purse scribbling something down on the paper setting the two things to the side of the table for now. A smirk formed on her face at the thought of the napkin's purpose, and stopped when she saw Derick looking at her from across the table.
Loki sighed finally content relishing the full feeling in his stomach, and the cold glares the woman was giving the serving wench as she giggled flirtatiously to him. Her annoyance was surprising but so very entertaining, and enough to make him play along just to see the vexation in her hazel eyes. The young brown-haired woman finally came back and handed his mortal helper some crumpled paper, and she smiled falsely to the overly chipper girl leaving them with a wink to him. Nanette-as he remembered her name was-got up her annoyance evident in her posture, and he followed taking a glance down at the napkin she had slammed down on the very edge of the table. He rose an eyebrow at the words that were scrawled across the white surface. 'Thanks for the food bimbo. I'm sure the eye candy was tip enough. Have a nice day.' He looked back to see the young girl snatching up the napkin with a dramatic gasp and a growl.
He smirked slightly guessing that the words were some sort of jest towards the other mortal woman. This Nanette was giving even more reasons for him to find her entertaining, and he wondered what else she had in store for him to enjoy while he regained his strength. He cleared his throat her fiery hazel eyes turned to him a frown on her lips.
"I just realized I have yet to thank my…savior." The storm in her eyes seemed to fade, and she bit her lip at his false thanks that left a horrible taste on his tongue.
"No problem, I just couldn't leave you there. It's good you weren't more seriously injured." She looked him up and down then back to the sidewalk they were walking on. "You could probably use a shower. I have some clothes that might fit you back at my place if you want." Loki narrowed his eyes at her not liking the way that had come out, and wondered if the entertainment value was worth her irritating mouth.
Well, there's the first chapter! I hope you like it, and if any of you get the joke-ish thing I put in there about the movie poster I will love you and give you interweb cookies. Anyway review and stuff let me know how you like it, and if you think Loki is written fine. I have so many plans for this fic so hopefully you guys like it!