Loki suavely put on his Earth clothes: his smart black suit and similarly matching tie and a green scarf wrapped loosely over his shoulders with an elegant cane in hand. He adopted his naturally confident stride along one particular cobbled London path with a soft smile and a mischievous glint in his eyes, as always. Loki noticed some local people sitting outside small cafes, smoking or walking soundly with loved ones. Loki liked to falsely remind himself that he did not care for the humans he had come to meet, but he had become very good at lying, even to himself. The frost bit into the air, Loki swiftly passing through it with no doubt, almost enjoying the cold, as he had the entire winter on Earth. Unfortunately, his pleasure of the weather had not equally matched his enthusiasm for the exciting opportunities which had presented themselves, which was none. Loki had formally visited Earth almost a solid five months ago and nothing to spark his interest had shown itself to him. Using his best skills he searched for more unusual and generally more exciting things to do. All of his attempts had failed to find such a thing. Loki had finally decided, he was tired of looking and was unimaginably bored. As the days of winter were numbered, he decided to visit a quaint bar nearby to where he was currently living. He hadn't yet considered what he was going to achieve by visiting, but he knew if he couldn't find whatever it was, he would return to Asgard the next morning. As he reached the few stone steps, he sniffed coldly and pushed the handle of the bulky grey doors. He was invited in by the sound of soft music and the sweet aroma of alcohol.
Not too far away in Baker Street, Sherlock Holmes was furiously sliding on his famously collared coat and thick scarf.
"Where are you going now?" John had appeared from the kitchen, warmly holding a cup of tea in one hand and a recently read newspaper in the other.
"Out" Sherlock stiffly replied, readily opening the door, the instant clack of the handle making John flinch, startled. Before he could ask anymore, Sherlock had disappeared through the door into the frosty English evening. Sherlock moodily placed his hands in his pockets as he continued to steadily move along the road. A few cabs passed him in a rush but he simply huffed at them, every few minutes or so ruffling his matte of dark curls or stopping to savour the fresh London night-air. When he stopped the third time, he looked around him. Thin fog layered the air and people around him huddled themselves into their padded coats. 'Dull' Sherlock thought to himself, he was so uninterested he couldn't even bring himself to continue looking around. There was nothing to deduce, nothing new to inspect or investigate and no new people to annoy or even simply talk to. He had John, but he was out most of the time, dates and his work. 'Hmm, dates' Sherlock chuckled deeply. 'How silly' after this thought, he lowered his head and stared at a puddle beneath his feet. In the reflection he noticed a light with slow moving shapes. He turned around to see 'the welcome inn' pub behind him, the golden lights shone through the window. A smoking sign plastered onto the window glass and drinks were shown on the bar. This sparked Sherlock's eagerness and he quickly took a few clunking steps to the grey doors. He entered smartly and proudly as he held his phone and coins inside his coat pocket.
Loki had been in the simple yet atmospheric bar for only a few minutes, but a subtle smile came across his pale face. He straightened up his tie, rolling his shoulders back readily. Confidently, he approached the bar, the rhythmic 'clack' of his cane tapping consistently on the tiled floor coming to a stop when he reached the carpet surrounding the counter. After checking the people at the bar surrounding him, he pulled up a stool where the counter was most empty. His cane rested against the wooden exterior of the bar, almost touching his foot which was placed on the higher beam on the bottom of his stool, the other hanging loosely, just grazing the ground. He took a deep sigh and placed his elbows on the surface in front of him, his hands cupped together and his chin resting on them. He couldn't help but close his eyes, the seemingly exotic music pushing him into sleep. A whistle awakened him and his eyes madly fluttered open to see a broad waitress standing in front of him.
"You alright there, hm?" She asked in a low but strangely reassuring voice. Loki stared confused for a few seconds before giving a quick shake of his head to wake him up.
"Yes, I'm perfectly alright, um," he glanced at her black and white name tag, "Laura, thank you." He beamed friendly like, showing his teeth. The waitress chuckled warmly.
"What I meant was do you want anything, you know to drink or eat?" She put her hands on the counter and leaned back so her weight was balanced onto her arms. Loki gazed over the variety of unfamiliar bottles, machines and packets of processed food. The only familiar things he noticed were a bottle of wine and a packet of m-n-m's. His face brightened up at the sight.
"If you would a bottle of red wine and that packet there, thank you." He pointed to each, the waitress looked slightly confused at his choice, but that look faded quickly. In less time it took to order, Loki had sitting in front of him a medium sized bottle of red wine, a wine glass three quarters full and an unopened packet of m-n-m's. The waitress smiled but promptly left him alone after this. Loki raised the wine glass to his lips, the red alcohol was sweet but strong and it had the same smell as all the other wine's he had tasted on Earth had had. He pushed the m-n-m's to one side, he didn't exactly want to eat them on top of wine, being a novice on Earth he knew that was a bad idea for now as he wasn't used to all of the varying tastes. He gently placed the glass down and looked at himself smartly in the mirror behind the bar. He squinted to see past the glare in it, someone had opened the door. He saw the figure, a tall, dark haired man with heavy layers on and a distinct blue scarf. Loki turned around to get a clearer look at him. Loki's eyes instantly locked on the man, with the door now shut and him walking across the room. He sat down at the bar, in the same fashion as Loki had before except he didn't order anything but simply whipped out his phone. The glare from the screen lit up his face in the darkened pub, illuminating his features. Loki thought he was quite attractive in this light, his look and behaviour sparking an interest. Loki smiled in the corner of his mouth, still fixed on this character. "Why don't I just go over, saying hello wouldn't hurt. It's worth a shot" He said to himself quietly, fumbling the packet of m-n-m's around in his hands. A concerned look draped across his face suddenly and he chuckled in realisation. "Oh goodness Loki, are you nervous?" He smiled to himself, wiping his eye easily. "I'm simply intrigued, that's all. Just looking for a little bit of companionship, is that suspicious to you?" His eyes were wide and he sipped his wine again. "Oh Christ, I'm talking to myself, in a bar, over that man over there." He huffed deeply and straightened his tie, stuffing the m-n-m's into his pocket and holding both the bottle and glass of wine in either hand. With his cane also under his arm, he walked casually but with a natural air of royalty. He approached the other man gradually, breathing a little heavier, but still an aura of calmness still around him. The man seemed oblivious to Loki being so close now, so he naturally went to pull up the stool directly to the right of this man. No one else was sat remotely near them and as he bent down to pull out the stool, his cane loosely fell from under his shoulder, grazing the man's arm. Loki immediately hurried to the floor to retrieve it after carefully putting his wine on the bar sturdily, speaking quickly as he did.
"Oh, oh god, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to..." He made a sympathetically worried face as he went to stand up.
The man, aggravated, looked down at Loki picking up his cane. He felt annoyed until Loki looked up and his face could be seen clearly, Loki's green eyes staring into the blue of that of the man's. The man then gazed at him intently, feeling almost glad he had come out tonight and for Loki to have come over.
"No, it's...fine." He managed a faded and simple smile. Loki promptly stood up fully, smoothing down his suit and offering a hand.
"I'm Loki, could I?" He pointed to the seat next to the man. The man extended his own hand to shake Loki's. As he did so, Loki's hand was cold and it felt strong with his own warm hand.
"Oh, yes of course, go ahead." Loki nodded in thanks and took the seat. He perched on it not unlike how he had before further down the bar.
"I'm Sherlock." and he again found himself smiling, wider though this time. Loki had taken a sip of his wine, he stopped instantly.
"Sherlock? You wouldn't perhaps be," he paused, "Mr. Holmes would you?" he asked timidly, his eyes wide and eager. Sherlock sat up in a more proud fashion.
"Oh, um, yes, it just so happens that I am." Sherlock took his scarf off gently, showing his suit more, and draped it over the very edge of the bar. He did the same with his heavy coat. Loki beamed, turning around on his stool to face Sherlock more.
"Oh wow, I've heard so much about you, you know, in the newspapers and such over the past months. And, frankly, I think you're quite brilliant." Loki smiled shyly and turned back to the bar, taking yet another small sip of wine. Sherlock almost blushed, his head feeling nearly faint. He stuttered briefly as he spoke.
"Why, thank you...that's very, um, flattering." He smiled, looking down at his hands. "You're name rings a bell, may I ask what you do?" Sherlock would've already deduced everything about Loki but he couldn't seem to concentrate, even when he did, he couldn't decifer anything from this man. It was as puzzling as it was interesting to Sherlock.
"Oh, me. Well, I'm...pretty well known by some I presume. I'm not really from around here." Loki gave a sarcastic looking smile, pleased with his little joke but it was a shame Sherlock didn't understand it. Sherlock casually leaned against the bar.
"Oh...right. But you're still English then hm?" Sherlock couldn't understand why he couldnt deduce anything from Loki, how could he have not known he wasn't local? But he had to be English, his accent was perfect.
"English...well, not really. I know it sounds it, but, no, not really." and Loki smiled again, hoping Sherlock wouldn't press on with this topic. Sherlock sighed loudly. He was confused and lost in himself. How could he not look at this man and know him exactly, how could he not know where he was from. How could he not see straight past this man's deep eyes and perfect face to see what he was hiding. But Sherlock could see past him, but he couldn't see what he usually did. He couldn't see his past or feelings or his anything just by observing. Instead he saw just a man, just a perplexingly attractive man with a charming smile. And what was more, Sherlock didn't mind that he couldn't see everything about this man, he was perfectly content with finding out the usual way. Then Sherlock smiled, a genuine smile, the creases around the corners of his eyes and mouth becoming visible. Loki ran his tongue quickly across his dry upper lip.
"Hey, I see you don't have a drink, let me get you something?" Loki leaned forward as he asked. Sherlock looked down at Loki's wine.
"Hmm, well, I'm not much of an alcohol drinker really..." he eyed Loki's expressions. Loki simply chuckled. Sherlock smiled faintly, finding Loki's laugh even more charming and significantly more attractive.
"Cup of tea then?" Loki smirked, still friendly like though. Sherlock leaned back against the wall.
"If you wouldn't mind." And they both smiled in the silence for a few seconds. After these few seconds, certainly without eye contact, Sherlock again pulled out his phone and stared down at the glowing blue screen. Loki kept his eyes locked on Sherlock as he did so. He didn't break contact until he could see the waitress in the corner of his eye.
"Uhm, excuse me, could we possibly get some tea for my friend here, thank you." The waitress returned Loki's toothy smile as she nodded politely going to gather the order. When Loki swivelled back to Sherlock, he was no longer staring motionlessly at his phone but now he looked at Loki, almost longingly. Loki exhaled quickly and uncomfortably reached into his jacket pocket, retrieving the packet of m-n-m's.
"Would you like one?" he asked softly, handing Sherlock the now open packet. Sherlock crinkled his nose.
"Um, no, I'm not too fond of them." But yet he smiled, worried Loki would be disappointed. Loki sniffed, but he wasn't disappointed, he simply laughed a charming laugh.
"Well, if you really don't like them, I know a game we could play." He breathed out and made it come across as a laugh. "It's rather enjoyable, I think you'll like it." He smiled widely at Sherlock, sitting with one hand on his knee and leaning in slightly. Sherlock smiled in the corner of his mouth.
"How do we play then?" He asked slowly, his eyes closed for half of his speech as if he was blinking in slow motion.
"Okay," Loki turned to the bar and tucked himself in tightly, his elbows on the counter. Sherlock turned in the same way, his arms a little more relaxed. "To play each player would take out two m-n-m's from the packet and," he chuckled softly, "if they're two of a different colour, it represents a straight couple and similarly, if they're two of the same colour they represent a gay couple." He finished speaking and leant back, smiling widely. He motioned to the open packet. Sherlock leant forward, his arm crossing over Loki's, and he gently picked out two m-n-m's. Blue and Green. Loki tutted.
"Ah, straight. Boring." He wrinkled his nose sweetly and turned to the bar and took a sip of wine.
"Prefer the uh, gay couple then." And Sherlock smiled unsurely with this. Loki continued savouring his wine, still looking straight ahead.
"I have my moments." He pursed his lips together subtly and, looking at Sherlock through the corner of his eye, winked. Sherlock's eyes became wide and he blushed unwillingly. He turned away and put his own hand on his cheek. He took a deep breath and turned back to Loki. Promptly, the waitress appeared with a white teapot, two cups and minute jug of milk. She smiled as she placed the tray on the counter between Sherlock and Loki.
"Um excuse me, why are there two cups, we didnt ask for them." Loki asked politely. The waitress coughed.
"Oh, I assumed you two wanted two cups, being on a date and all." She smiled again, looking confused.
"Uh, no, Miss, we're not on a date, just...good friends." Loki replied, shaking his head and laughing slightly. The waitress chuckled and started walking away.
"Oh god, my mistake, sorry." She laughed heartily. As she disappeared round the corner of the bar, she called out, "Shame too, you two make an adorable couple." When she had fully gone, Sherlock and Loki both looked a eachother shyly and both immediately burst out in a fit of laughter. Loki sighed.
"Well, better drink your tea then. Before it gets cold." As Loki spoke, he poured out a cup of tea from the pot and added milk. He softly slid it across the bar and grazed Sherlock's warm hand as he did so. Sherlock didn't flinch away from Loki's inviting company and took the cup. He leant back and held it close to his cold, bowed lips. He took a careful sip of the drink, Loki had put in just the right amount of milk. The two were silent for a few seconds, it wasn't uncomfortable though. They looked at eachother intently and then away for the right amount of time. The silence was broken with a 'dinging' sound, alerting Sherlock that his phone was ringing. He placed the cup down on a coaster and angrily took out his phone. It read:
"Calling - Mycroft Holmes"
He instantly pressed the end call button and returned his phone into his snug pocket.
"Who was that then? No one important?" Loki naturally looked at Sherlock.
"Oh no. Very important." Sherlock replied, looking up at the ceiling uninterested.
"Well then I'm flattered. You must be enjoying my company that much to miss such an important phone call." Loki smiled and looked up at Sherlock, his eyebrows raised. Sherlock smiled back still gazing up.
"That was my brother, Mycroft. He's...very high up in the government. And, for the record," Sherlock looked down and put his hand gently on top of Loki's, "I am really...really enjoying it here with you." Their eyes locked for a second and they started to lean in to eachother, but Sherlock pulled away before anything could happen and sat up against the wall. Loki stirred in his seat and coughed.
"Not too fond of your brother then?" He leant his elbow against the bar and put his face in his hand.
"No. No, not really. I suppose I think of him as a sort of an...arch enemy." Sherlock smiled to himself. Loki laughed.
"I know the feeling, my brother sounds very similar. He's high up and of great importance to, um, well royalty I guess. Oh, I loathe him." Loki circled the rim of his wine glass with his index finger.
"Tell me more...about where you come from." Sherlock shuffled his seat closer to Loki's and listened inently.
"Um, well, where to begin?" He straigtened his jacket and leant in towards Sherlock. "I live, well, not too far from here, but I come from somewhere beautiful, magical even. But it's so far away..." And they talked, they talked together about their homes and families and hobbies and everything. Both of them listening to eachtoher carefully and laughing at jokes and getting closer.
Sherlock rocked back his head as he let out a deep laugh. Loki laughed too, finishing off his glass of wine. Both tea cup and bottle of wine were finished and empty, the light of the evening lamps and moon shone through the windows of the almost empty bar. Sherlock sighed and smiled contently, gazing at Loki doing the same. He took a glance at the clock and he rubbed at his eyes gently.
"Wow, it's really late." He turned back to Loki who made a sympathetically worried smile. Sherlock opened his mouth to say something but then turned to fetch his scarf.
"Are you, are you leaving?" Loki asked sadly, looking up at Sherlock with almost glassy eyes from the pub lights. Sherlock continued to put on his scarf and coat.
"I suppose I should be." He stood up and looked back and forth between Loki and the door. Loki looked down with a disappointed feeling draped over his face. Sherlock felt uncomfortable seeing him like this.
"Look, if you're interested, and you know, if you want to...would you like to, ehem, come back to, uh, my flat? Maybe?" Sherlock coughed out awkwardly, pulling on his gloves. Loki smiled and his face glowed with feeling.
"Yes, um, yes that'd be...really nice." He too stood up and almost elegantly curtained his coat over his shoulder, picking up his cane.
"Shall we?" asked Sherlock charmingly, motioning his hand towards the door. Loki cleared his throat and smiled at Sherlock.
"Thank you." He said quietly and they both strode out of the hefty doors and into the chilly evening. The glow of the streetlamps over powered that of the natural stars and moon, demeaning the charm of the old London road. Sherlock shivered a little, closing his coat over with his arms.
"Cold?" Asked Loki enquiringly, patiently awaiting the answer while rubbing his own hands together.
"Yes, very actually." Sherlcok replied hastily, turning to Loki with a quick smile. Loki took a few steps towards Sherlock, he took a deep breath.
"Maybe this'll warm you up." Loki said quietly. He took a final soft step closer to Sherlock and placed one hand on his cheek. Sherlock stared into Loki's face with anticipation and swallowed nervously. Loki leant in, he could feel Sherlock's warm breath on his nose. As their eyes closed together, their lips met lightly. Loki's hand calmly slid down to Sherlock's arm and they embraced eachother under the darkened evening sky and surrounding bleak mist. Sherlock's hand stroked through the back of Loki's hair smoothly and the other on Loki's neck. Loki started to pull away ever so gently, their lips seperating but their hands clasping tightly together. Loki took a deep breath and stepped back, the two of them still holding both of eachothers hands.
"I, I don't know what to say...that was..." Sherlock managed to stutter out. He felt quite flustered.
"Great." Loki finished for him, looking him in the eyes and smiling. Sherlock pulled Loki in and brought their hands up so their chests were touching.
"I think we better get home then." He smiled and Loki smiled back, pecking Sherlock on the cheek with cold lips.
The door to 221B swung open, the two men pacing through it attempting to be quiet, but making no progress. Loki grasped onto Sherlock's hand tightly, closing the door in one motionless swing. A particularly loud slam was the result. Loki ignored it and simply pulled Sherlock in for a kiss. Their lips met once more and they relaxed into eachother's arms. Upon hearing the slamming noise, John, whom had been interrupted from watching a "crappy" (as he would put it) tv show in the living room, got up angrily expecting to see a bored and sulking Sherlock hanging up his stupid blue scarf and rolling out the insults. But to his sudden surprise, John was met with the sight of Sherlock wrapped in the arms of a smartly dressed man, and kissing him deeply. John stood speechless for a long time, unknowing of what to do. The two flirtatious men parted lips and sweetly rested eachothers foreheads and noses against one another's. John slowly backed away down that hall to the kitchen.
He leant over the counter and oddly smiled. He was happy for Sherlock. Well, Sherlock had looked happy. Really happy, more than happy. John's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps trudging up the stairs, obviously Sherlock and his gentleman friend. John chuckled silently.
'Why would they be going upstairs?' He thought to himself. 'The only reason would be...oh god.' John's eyes widened with a slight terror. He froze for a while, contemplating what to do, before hearing a series of moans and bumps of furniture from the bedroom above. With that he instantly rushed to the door, grabbed his coat and slipped outside. Of course, he was happy for Sherlock, he just didn't want to be in the same flat only to hear Sherlock and his "friend" doing...things. No, he was going somewhere else, giving Sherlock and Loki the rest of the night to themselves in peace.
Sherlock awakened with a yawn and a stretch. He pulled back the covers and clumsily crept over to the curtains, as to not wake his still sleeping boyfriend. 'Boyfriend...' Sherlock thought. 'Is that what we are now...boyfriends?' He smiled and peeled back the curtains, letting the dim 7'o'clock sunlight in, inch by inch. He breathed in, letting the cool morning air sink in. He grabbed his dressing gown, cautiously opened the bedroom door and slid downstairs to make some breakfast. Just as the door clacked shut, Loki's eyes fluttered open and he saw the empty bed and open curtains. He took a deep breath. He could still smell Sherlock disctinctive smell on the pillow next to him. He rolled over and wiped away the sleep from his eyes. The aroma of toast wafted up the stairs and into the bedroom, beckoning Loki to sit up. He did so and ran a hand through his hair as a temporary comb. A few seconds later, Sherlock appeared at the door with a tray containing a small cup of tea in a white and green mug and a plate of two slices of toast and jam.
"Thought I'd bring it up to you." Sherlock said quietly. He placed the tray next to the beaming Loki and he himself sat down on the edge of the bed. He leant in, grazing Loki's neck softly with his hand, and planted a gentle kiss on Loki's lips. Swiftly after, he left with a smile to leave Loki to eat and to probably make his own breakfast. Loki smiled and bit into his toast. He decided, he wasn't going to return to Asgard anytime soon. He was going to stay here because he had finally found something worth staying for. Well, someone.