"What's the catch?"
"Must I endure an interrogation every time I treat my partner in crime with the kindness she so truly deserves? Is it so hard to believe that I want to spoil you for no reason other than to indulge myself in your happiness?"
When he is not doing damage-control to keep his elder brother out of the tabloids—a full-time job with a brother as impulsive as Thor—Loki is busy maintaining his well-deserved reputation as the best lawyer in the city, a career working with the city's finest that served his silver tongue well. Of course, his way with words pales in comparison to his blasted puppy-dog pout, a tried-and-true method of getting Darcy to do him a favour to which she at a later point in time would most assuredly regret agreeing. Darcy never learned. She was powerless against Loki's pout. Adorable bastard.
Should Darcy be bothered that her best friend ('best friend' wasn't quite the right word, it seemed too ridiculously high school for someone as classy and all-around awesome as Loki, but it'll have to do) was so good at manipulation?
Oh, but he's so pretty. Plus a bunch of other positive qualities that never seem quite as important when he looked at her like…gah.
"Quit pouting and answer the question! Loki, you're the one who told me that something can't come from nothing. You've even gone as far as showing me the sleight-of-hand behind the pulling-bunnies-out-of-hats trick, just to prove your point. So, why this necklace and what's the damn catch?"
"Oh, do humour me for once. It's a simple necklace! Nothing more than a common charm."
Ada fingers the round glass pendant, only slightly larger than her thumbnail. She had spied the same blue amulet gracing the collarbones of many others when they had wandered the Ukrainian community in New York (Loki had inquired about her family, and she could not pass up the chance to introduce him to the amazingness that is the food of her parents' home country, cooked up right in New York). "This is one of those evil eye protection charm thingies, isn't it? A black circle in a blue circle in a white circle," Darcy says as her thumb traces the pattern across the glassy surface. "Why give me this? You don't believe in this witchcraft voodoo!"
He puts up his hands in a placating gesture. "My reasons are pure, love. I know I've spoken against these…these enchantments—you know I'm all about empiricism and science and what not— but who am I to know for sure? What with the alien invasion last year, I've come to realize there is more to our universe than I could ever hope to understand. Certainty seems like such a silly thing now," Loki smiles sadly.
"Except for you. You, Darcy, my dearest confidante—you are the one certainty I can hold onto." Darcy tries for her best impression of a cucumber, but the attempt falls flat when the flush of her face is definitely more tomato-esque. "And as much as it pains me to admit it, love, I am not an all-knowing, all-powerful god-"
"Thank goodness for that."
"My point is, I can't always be there for you to, ah, come to your rescue…" Loki sheepishly rubs the back of head as he searches for the right words. "I'm hoping this necklace will help protect you when I can't."
Darcy tries not to laugh. Since when did Loki do concern? "Like if the aliens ever decide to invade again?"
He smirks at her teasing. "Exactly."
Her heart would normally warm from the worried expression he wears, but she is still suspicious. "Thanks, Lokes. Though if anything, I need protection from you and your silver tongue. Cue 'tongue' innuendo in 3…2…"
He's giving her a placating stare. That signals that he means business. "Please. Wear it, for me."
"Fine." She drapes the pendant around her neck and fastens the clasp. Throwing her hands up in surrender with an exasperated grunt, she asks, "Happy? I've agreed to whatever debauchery you're up to. And are disguising with supposedly sincere emotions. Are you happy that your evil plan is running smoothly?"
"I assure you that I'd be much happier with my watch back on my wrist."
She rolls her eyes, pulling the gold timepiece out of her sleeve. Loki may also have taught her a few sleight-of-hand tricks after revealing the secret of the bunny-in-a-hat. She's decided that the time is ripe for the student to surpass the master. She needs some new textbooks and that watch would fetch a hefty sum. Next time, Darcy promises herself, she won't get caught.
Darcy then promises herself that she's only joking.
Perhaps Darcy should be worried that her best friend is a bad influence?
Nah.