~*The Mystical Cube of Rubik*~
The Cosmic Cube isn't the only thing to stress Jane Foster beyond belief, and the God of Mischief isn't helping at all. Loki/Jane Fluff
Midgard (or more commonly known as Earth) was nowhere near as mystical and mysterious as Asgard, Land of the Gods.
But they had their fair share of secrets. Such as the vanishings within the Bermuda Triangle, or the existence Ark of the Covenant, or even why some people thought red and brown matched.
However, none, and I repeat none, could have been more mind-boggling and positively frustrating then the Legendary Rubik's Cube, as poor Jane quickly founded out.
Darcy had given her the blasted thing as a birthday present some years ago. Jane played with it for a few seconds and was quick to shelve it, forgetting about it completely for years to come. In the months that followed her after the defeat of Loki, she had stumbled upon the forgotten cube one sunny Saturday morning during spring cleaning.
A week had passed, and the cube looked as much a jumbled mess as always. Frustration etched into her temple. Oh, when I find you Darcy… she seethed; well-aware Darcy probably didn't even remember giving her the gift in the first place. Sitting on the steps of her front porch, biting her lip so hard she almost drew blood, she twisted and turned the colorful square until she thought it would break. Blasted thing!
A loud clap of thunder signified the arrival of Thor.
"Jane?" She looked up at the sound of Thor's resonating voice. He stood on her green lawn, looking as if just returned from Asgard judging from his shining armor attire. Jane forced out a smile, all the while aware of the cube staring and laughing at her.
"Hey, Thor," she started. Scooting over, she patted the floorboard next to her, inviting him to sit. "Come on, you look like you could use a break." Not seeking to argue, the prince slumped next to her, the floorboards creaking underneath his weight. She grimaced and, unable to resist, she turned back to the cube, tongue sticking out in concentration.
"You seem…particularly troubled, my dear lady," Thor said after a few seconds of silence, filled only with the cube's clicking. His eyes locked on the colorful square, analyzing it. "What bothers you?"
"Oh, it's nothing, really," Jane sighed. She twisted it again. "It's just this silly puzzle." Looking unconvinced, Thor scooted closer with interest glinting in his eyes. He was close enough to breathe down her neck. Rolling her eyes, Jane laughed lightly and limply held out the puzzle for him, happy enough to be rid of it, if only for a few minutes.
"I assume all the colors must match on all sides?" asked Thor, turning the cube over in his palm as if wondering where to begin. Jane nodded and watched him glumly as he tried to make all the sides match up. She could see the expressions panned on his face, from interested, to confused, and finally to supreme frustration. "Why not just ripe off the individual blocks and rebuild it?" he asked.
Not wishing to see the accursed cube to yet be destroyed, she held her hand out for it. "Because that would be cheating," she explained. She turned the cube over in her palm.
"Why, it's just a silly puzzle, what does it matter?" he grumbled. Clearly he was imagining the same fantasies she possessed of igniting the cube into a glorious fire. But alas, they had no wood. Jane grinned cheekily.
"How should I put it…? Well, on Earth, you're considered a genius if you could crack the secret to the Rubik Cube. It's just not fair to take it to pieces," she explained.
"Ah, so only one of intellectual prowess and might, could ever dream of solving one Cube of Rubik," Thor translated, making it sound as if though only the greatest of kings could solve it. As it was, Jane only knew one person who could solve it. The guy who made it. She nodded morosely, and almost unconsciously went back to work on the cube.
With a final amused smile, and an evil glance at the cube, Thor patted her affectionately on the shoulder (almost dislocating it) and parted with words of farewell, "I'll return in an hour's time." Jane wagged her head, up and down, submerged in the cube's power once again. She was practically waving him away, silently asking him to leave her be. Thor laughed and walked away, but not before she heard him say the words, "Perhaps you should give Loki a try?"
Of course when she looked up he was gone.
Biting her lip Jane stood and walked into her house, not so distracted of the cube as she had been five seconds ago. Loki? Really, Thor?
It wasn't as if she had a problem with the suggestion; actually she enjoyed the thought of Loki struggling with the cube for hours on end, and then setting it aflame with that blue fire of his due to sheer frustration. It would have been a plan to make her current dreams come true.
Loki had been nothing less than a nuisance when he fell away from Asgard and appeared on Earth, stopping at nothing to cause more mischief and effectively ruin everything when it came to the Cosmic Cube and S.H.E.I.L.D operations. Although it caused her to pull her hair out by its roots and curse his name in every language she knew, nowadays she hadn't minded his trouble making, seeing as how it hadn't caused much damage in the long run.
It had been relief when Thor had finally got his hands on and subdued him, and it was only due to the fact that he hadn't caused any grief since then, that Jane even considered forgiving him. Actually, she had grown a tad bit fond of him, easily being able to understand the loneliness of being one of the more forgotten children in her family of five. It was hard, though, considering it was a rare event she ever even saw him. Loki kept deeply into the shadows, always wearing the same expression of caution and vigilance.
Despite that, Jane felt as if some of that fondness was slightly recuperated. After all, she was the only one to never get his icy glares, to be given the cold shoulder, and to once or twice actually see him smile.
Of course, those events she could count on one hand. The guys at S.H.E.I.L.D. thought she was crazy when ever she defended the god of mischief from their taunts. Whatever, she could always use a chance to stab at Tony's ego anyway; Loki didn't have anything to do with that.
Having walked into her own little den, Jane sat on the couch and continued to absentmindedly twist and turn the cube. Not even that blasted Cosmic Cube gave me this much stress! Argh! So distracted, she hadn't noticed when she acquired a little visitor.
"What are you doing?" The small voice shocked her so greatly that the cube went flying out of her hands as she jumped in her seat. Her eyes scanned the room before landing on the deceptively small, regal form of Loki. Jane heaved a breath of relief.
"How many times have I told you…" she snapped, breathing heavily. "To stop doing that!" She placed a hand over her wildly thumping heart. Five months she's had to deal with Loki's creeping around and appearing out of nowhere, and everywhere. A few more incidents like that and she just might very well have that heart attack. The air around her grew slightly colder and she knew Loki had taken a seat next to her.
"My apologies," he said. He sounded genuine enough. Jane raised her head and looked him in the eye. She noticed the Rubik's Cube in his hand. "You looked bothered. I was wondering if you needed help."
"It's nothing," she sighed. That blasted cube has had her so stressed out lately; she's even gone off on Loki! Though he slightly deserved it. She'd have to remember to stay as far away as possible from the Hulk; bad things would happen. "Just a …stupid puzzle…" she continued, gesturing at the cube. Loki furrowed his brow and gazed down at the toy.
Just like Thor he turned it over on his palm to look for a starting point, and then began to twist and turn it. She closely watched his facial expressions, head filled with wonderful thoughts of that blue fire riding her of her burden. A few seconds and Loki suddenly looked confused. "Wait…"he mumbled. He continued to twist it around. Twist and turn, twist and turn. Click, click, click.
Jane sighed and stood, desperately desiring a cup of coffee. "Want any coffee?" she asked politely. Loki shook his head, his eyes not leaving the cube. She left Loki to his own devices, feeling slightly guilty for burdening him with the stupid toy, and went to the kitchen. Some coffee beans, and one teaspoon of cream and sugar later, she took a light sip and walked back into the den.
The sight that met her was Loki sitting there on the couch, a solved Rubik Cube in his hand, and wearing a smug expression.
She dropped the coffee in shock.
"How did you—?" she stuttered. Jane nearly flew back to the couch. "Wha—gimme that!" she said, rudely snatching it out of his hand. Spending nearly five minutes mixing it back up, glaring darkly at the puzzle, she held it back out to him. He suavely took it back, smugness radiating from his person.
It still looked as much a jumbled mess as always, and enough time had passed to where she wondered if it had really been solved. Maybe it was all just a pleasant dream, she thought.
Suddenly, Loki looked up towards the door, as if someone was walking in. Jane wondered if Thor had returned earlier than expected and she looked up as well.
No one was there.
Twisting her head back around, she saw Loki wearing a smirk that could have killed her, and the solved Rubik cube in the sole of his palm. Jane felt her face flush a dangerous color as she re-snatched the puzzle. "How do—how're you doing that?" she asked. Loki grinned, very much enjoying the tiny torture he was inflicting upon her.
"Magic," he said mystically. Jane gritted her teeth and almost threw the reshuffled cube into his hands. This time…I'm not gonna look away!
Twist and turn. Twist and turn. Click, click, click. Twist, click, turn, click. Jane was pretty sure that sound might very well haunt her dream tonight, but if she could just see the mystery unfold maybe she could find a tiny shred of peace. So she could die in peace.
Then something happened. Jane heard the front door open and due to compulsion and habit Jane looked away to see who it was. Immediately she realized her mistake and she snapped her head back towards Loki.
The cube had been solved. Loki stared at her, still smirking, and holding it out, as if asking her to mix it up again.
Her ears almost blew steam.
What Jane did next was something she regretted. Hours later, the next day, she shouted and begged for Loki to appear before her until her throat was sore, and kissed him on the cheek, and asked for his forgiveness, all the while carrying a deep sense of shame.
She had taken the cube, and in an act of sheer frustration, chucked the blasted thing at his head.
"Keep the stupid thing!" she shouted and stormed away to her room, pushing her way past Thor (who had been the one to open the front door) and slammed the door behind her.
Loki looked shocked. Thor looked baffled, and when he noticed the solved cube, he looked curious. Picking it up, he sat down on the couch (lifting Loki a few feet into the air) and held out the cube to him. "Can you solve actually this, Brother?" he asked, interest roused again.
Loki stared at the puzzle for a few seconds, rolled his eyes and sighed. He took the cube, frowning as he concentrated on it. This isn't fun anymore, he thought.
~*O*~
I've been in complete rapture of Loki the last few days, particularly the sad little page of Loki/Jane fanfictions. After a few hours of deliberation I decided that the page needed a little bit of humor to brighten it up! Based upon my own events involving the Cube of Rubik's (as Thor kindly placed it). Would Jane kill me if I told her I could solve it? Lol, wouldn't blame her.
A piece of advice, Loki. Never tell someone you can solve a Rubik, because those people will pester you over and over again until you want to throw them over the side of a cliff. I RECEIVE NO PEACE FROM THAT CUBE! Grrr!
Feedback is much appreciated, my loves.
~DM-sama