Stella squared her shoulders and walked into the containment room. She glanced around seeing that there was no one else in the room then set her eyes back to the God behind the glass. He sat on the small bench on the other side of the cell, hunched over, his elbows resting on his knees with his fingers interlaced with each other in front of him. He looked up and a deceptively charming smile lit his features. He stood, crossing the space in only a few strides settling again roughly a foot away from the glass. The two stood, sizing each other up for a moment.
Loki had not had enough time to really look at the woman when she had first entered then left almost an hour ago so he did so now. She was short; the top of her head maybe just reaching to his nose until he noticed her shoes, without them her head would brush his chin. He surveyed her face: rounded, very pale with large blue eyes, warm but not naïve. Her short hair was parted on her left side, tucked behind her ear on the left and free on the right. His gaze lowered to her chest lingering for only a moment on her breasts then moving to her light floral sheer shirt tucked neatly into her grey slacks at her slim waist line. Her clearance badge hooked onto the waist band of her pants read 'Rochelle Estella Hoffstead: Chief Historian. Clearance: level 1'. His eyes traveled, noticing her very noticeable hips then down to her bright pink, patent, round toe pumps. Over all he was pleased with her, she definitely did not disappoint.
In the time it took for him to look her over and find himself approving, Stella was also examining the man that she was to spend the next few hours with. Stella was less organized with how she looked at him. First she noticed his eyes, they were positively striking, gorgeous green, they held a sort of power to them, willing her to do whatever fell from his thin but all together tasty looking lips. He had a pale complexion, his skin looked almost frail as if you could touch it and it would break. Jet black hair combed back reminding her of the greasers from the 50's, the perfect symbol of the classic 'bad boy'. Her eyes darted around his clothing covering his tall, lanky frame, it was foreign but she could instantly tell someone had worked very hard on it, the detail in every groove in the metal and stitch in the leather was perfect. 'Nothing less for a prince of Asgard' she thought to herself.
His lips held the soft smile as he spoke. "I find myself quite elated at your return. We missed the chance for formal introductions the last time we saw each other, however I inferred from your reaction that you already know me."
Stella laughed softly "Yes I do know who you are. I'm Stella Hoffstead, Chief Historian here at SHIELD and I was wondering if I might get an interview with you?" her smile widened a little.
He looked a little puzzled then said "Stella, and yet your badge says Rochelle?"
"Ugh! I hate that name. Do I look like a Rochelle to you?" she said holding her arms open a little more without dropping her book and note pad.
"Hmm, indeed you do not." He said pensively, taking another chance to appraise her.
He looked back up to her face, noticing her hopeful expression and remembered her question.
"I would not be opposed to giving an interview…however you would have to convince me." He added slyly seeing how she would react.
"Convince you? I thought you would jump at the chance to explain to humankind your motives behind attempting to enslave us." She stated a little too standoffishly.
'Reign it in Stella, you don't want to piss him off-' but her thought was cut short by his laughter.
"Indeed. However I am not entirely confident in your interpretation of my intentions. What is that phrase my brother is so fond of? Ah, yes, I am wary of you 'twisting my words'." He explained after laughing.
Seeing that her haughty outburst hadn't killed her she decided to push her luck.
"Look dude, I'm a historian, not a politician. I value unbiased and thorough information. I'm not going to falsify anything just to support my own views. I just want the truth." Stella said.
"And yet you are begging for an interview with the God of lies. That seems highly contradictory." Loki mused out loud. The woman was definitely as entertaining as he had first assumed.
"I just want both sides of the story before I come to any sort of conclusion." Stella defended then added "and I was not begging, I was asking politely."
Loki just smiled smugly before asking "So you interviewed my brother as well. I'm sure he was as articulate as ever."
"Ya' know he's a sweet enough guy but he really needs to learn to shut up every once in a while. I have literally hours of him telling me about different battles that he 'heroically won single handedly' and how he 'triumphed over every foe' and all of this stuff! It's like 'jeez Thor just answer the question already'!" Stella was again cut off by Loki laughing.
'Well I made him laugh twice in the last 5 minutes. That's a good sign I guess.'
"Very well, mortal, I shall give you your interview." He smiled again and sat on the small plastic chair inside the cell.
Stella hid her tiny fist pump of celebration and started setting up for the interview.
Stella sat in her chair opposite Loki with only the 2 inch glass between them. The book at her feet held up her voice recorder and the extra pencils and pens. Loki observed her intently, watching the way she moved and settled herself in her chair. He was almost captivated by the fact that she was not afraid of him. Everywhere he went he was met with fear and distrust and yet this mortal woman, upon recognizing him, seemed ecstatic. He noticed the book at her feet; he was satisfied to see that the people of this earth still wrote books about him, although he was displeased with the idea that they thought him evil. Surely a prank here or there did not classify one as evil. He couldn't help but feel an attachment to the woman, her open and artless character combined with her profession as a scholar endeared her to him in a way and he wasn't going to even try and say that she wasn't attractive. He found her very alluring and he wouldn't mind having her keep him company at all. He quickly pushed the thought aside, now that she was ready to begin and saved it for later consideration.
Stella was keenly aware of his eyes on her as she set up but she forced it to the back of her mind.
'He's just trying to intimidate you, don't let him!' her mind yelled at her 'I AM WOMAN, HEAR ME ROAR!'
She stifled a snort then picked up her recorder. Pressing the red circle she said "Interview with Loki, Prince of Asgard, Norse God of Mischief and Lies. Date: May 4, 2012." She paused for a moment letting a smile creep onto her lips then added "let's hope he's feeling generous today and spares us most of the lies." Then set the recorder back down on the book to keep recording the interview.
"You did not include 'Evil'." Loki's soft voice rang out. When Stella looked at him in confusion he clarified. "In your list of my titles, you did not dub me the God of Evil. Why?"
"Because I don't think you're evil, at least not yet. I'll have to research it before I'm comfortable taking a position on that or anything." She answered. Seeing that he was content with this answer she continued.
"So here's the deal: this is a no pressure interview, if you don't want to answer a question for whatever reason just say so and we'll skip it, it's no problem. However seeing as lying is like, your thing, I'm gonna have to ask you to skip questions you feel compelled to lie about too if that's alright with you. I'm trying to portray you as truthfully as possible so not lying would really help me out. Can you do that for me?"
"I will refrain from lying, for you darling." He added the endearment to see her reaction and she didn't disappoint yet again.
Stella felt a blush rise in her cheeks. 'Did he really just say that?' looking up she saw the arrogant smirk on his face and she wasn't about to let him get away with it.
"Thank you, honey." Her tone sticky sweet as she practically purred the pet name.
Her heart jumped as his eyes flashed with playful amusement.
"Okay then, let's get started. First things first: what should I call you? Other than honey of course."
"You may call me whatever you like." He had to physically bite his tongue to keep the rest of the phrase about him preferring her too drowned in ecstasy to call him anything from slipping out. He enjoyed toying with the little mortal far too much to make that particular insinuation just yet, favoring the option of drawing out the game.
"Right, so it's cool if I just call you Loki?" Stella asked wanting to make sure that he was okay with being on a first name basis with her.
'If I really had my wish you would be screaming it.' his mind quipped.
"If you wish." He answered.
She nodded and moved on. Asking him about Asgard, his parents and what it was like for him growing up with Thor and other Asgardians. Stella found herself lulled by his soft lilting tones even if they did hold a certain bitterness to them. He gestured lazily with his hand that was not draped casually over the back of his chair; he was slouched comfortably over as if he was perfectly at ease in the containment cell. Stella watched him closely and felt her hand begin to itch, it was a familiar feeling, she wanted to draw him, she felt obligated to draw him. She was fairly good at portraits, good enough that she had been accepted into several advanced drawing classes and a graduate program before deciding that she liked history better.
She leaned down and switched her pen for a pencil then flipped her page with her notes over the legal pad, studied him for a moment then began to draw. He was in a perfect three quarter turn looking to her left; she started with his delicate but decidedly masculine jaw line, then to his thin lips catching the movement of speech. His features slowly came into stark relief on paper as she sketched and refined the lines; however she had left his eyes for last because she knew they were going to be the hardest part. He had perfect control over his face and yet so little over his eyes, there was such a depth of emotion in them, she had to get them right.
Suddenly she was very aware of the silence. He had stopped talking. Stella looked up and met his green irises, watching her intently. He didn't look angry; he looked amused by the fact that she hadn't noticed that he had stopped speaking. He had held his posture so as not to alert her to the fact the he knew she was drawing him. Truth be told it was exceedingly gratifying knowing that she was taking his likeness.
She stared at his eyes for a moment, imagining how she would translate them on to the paper then ducked her head down and finished her portrait. She smiled and leaned back and compared her drawing to the original who was now grinning.
"Well, how did it turn out?" He asked cockily.
"Pretty damn good, if I do say so myself." Stella smiled widely then turned the tablet around so he could see.
Loki had to admit it was an excellent likeness. The movement in the piece was impeccable. That's it, it's decided, Stella would not only be the official historian of his future empire, she would also draw his ceremonial portrait.
'And occasionally warm my bed when I have need of her.' his thoughts added darkly.
"You have quite the talented hand." He conceded, quickly quieting his other thoughts about her hands.
"Thank you! I probably could have been an artist if I really wanted but I can't just draw anything, it has to be something really gorgeous to have it turn out this good." She said before even realizing what she had admitted. He brain short circuited, not sure what to say next. Luckily her phone started to ring breaking her out of her confusion.
"It's rainin' men, Hallelujah, its rainin' men, Amen! I'm gonna go out, I'm gonna let myself get absolutely soakin' wet!" her phone sang loudly and she cackled while listening to the familiar song.
She answered looking back to Loki "Hi Jane! Is my ring tone finally right? Are the men-folk falling from the sky yet?" she couldn't keep the grin off her face as Loki realized the comedy of the situation as well.
"Yes Jane, he's fine….no, I'm with his brother….no! Not like that, Darcy!...I'm sure-….yes….yes!...okay, bye MOM!" Stella hung up.
The silence stretched between them, Loki just looking at her quite enjoying her blush and discomfort. Stella broke the silence.
"So I think you answered all of my questions except the last one."
A lone eyebrow rose slightly then he nodded, indicating she should continue.
"Are you married? And do you have any children?" she asked averting her eyes.
Both dark brows shot up then a half-smile rested on his face.
"Are you asking for your own benefit?" it was obvious what he was implying.
"No!" she shouted quickly then regained herself and stated "I mean, no. There are just a lot of different stories about stuff like that and I thought I would just ask once and for all." Stella said a little defensively.
"Pity." He remarked then answered. "No, I am not married nor do I have any intention of being so in the near future. I also have no children. How did you come across such falsities?"
"Oh the internet is full of crap like that." Seeing his unasked question she asked "So you don't know about all the stuff…" she trailed off realizing he had no idea just how bad some of the things she had seen while researching him were.
Loki was a little confused; she had trailed off then started snickering to herself until it was full on laughing.
Once her laughter died down she fixed him with her amused glance then said "Oh, I pity the fool who gets near you when you discover Thorki fan fiction!" then she cackled again.
Loki thought for a moment, deciphering her words and the strange mix of his and his brother's names. He came to the conclusion that it must mean that people of this earth wrote fictional stories about himself and his brother. What sort of stories he didn't really want to know.
Stella watched him piece together and riddle through what she had said, seeing a particularly disgusted expression settle on his face she figured he had figured it out.
"Haha! And whatever you thought up is probably right and I'm sure it only gets worse from there. Some of the things I read were positively sinful." Stella put extra emphasis on the last word to make sure he got her meaning and was incredibly entertained by the way his face paled and he looked as if he might be sick. Then a thought struck him.
"So you read them?" he was back on the offensive. Her surprised face gave him his answer.
"I might have read a few out of curiosity." She wasn't going to let him have all the fun. She started to gather up her things keeping the recorder on.
"Just out of curiosity? Or did you wish to expand your fantasy life?" he was truly curious.
"Please! I need Thor in my fantasies as much as you do!" Stella had decided she liked flirting with the mischievous god but her time was almost up.
"And what of myself in your fantasies, hmm?" she was right where he wanted her.
Stella stood and threw on a coy smile saying "Well we'll just have to wait and find out won't we?"
Loki stood as well a matching smirk on his face. Then he stepped through the glass as if it wasn't there. Taking her hand and pressing a cool kiss to her knuckles.
Keeping eye contact the entire time he said "Until next time then?"
Seeing he had struck her speechless he stepped back behind the glass and grinned like a Cheshire cat.
Stella was stunned, she hadn't expected that at all so she just turned and knocked on the window of the door out and waited for agent Coulson to open it. She looked back over her shoulder to Loki who grinned again, lifted his fist and knocked on the glass, the sound echoing through the rest of the room.