After stumbling across her photo album and the obituary contained inside of it, Loki had gone so far as to be a little less cruel to his host. He still insulted her, but every now and again, he would give her a back-handed compliment. She was none the wiser as to why he was being a bit nicer, but she did notice the subtle change in his words and actions. She viewed it as a welcome change, but a part of her wondered if the effort was being overly forced. So, being a rather inquisitive being, she decided to ask him.
Luca wiped the sweat off of her brow, finished with the rigorous task of cleaning to Loki's standards, or trying to get as close to them as she could so he would have less to criticize later, "So you still haven't told me, why have you been being so nice to me? And don't try to bother lying to me! I'm smarter than you give me credit for."
Regretfully, he had to agree with that much, not that he would willingly tell her that. This mortal was not vain, but she was certainly full of herself in his opinion, and she could stand to be knocked down a couple of pegs, "Why do people always presume I'm lying?"
She rolled her small chocolate eyes, pointing at him with her wrist up, exposing a tattoo of a blue rose that was otherwise hidden underneath one of her long-sleeved shirts, "Maybe it has something to do with the fact that they know you're the God of Mischief? Just a thought."
"Lucetta Mannford, you have a rather irritating way of pointing out the obvious. Being in your presence reminds me of my brother," He did miss Thor, even now, even after everything that has happened.
She was unsure of how to take that, though she doubted that it was good thing considering that he never spoke of his family. Then again, she never spoke of her family either. Clasping the silver cross at her neck, the heirloom that was more precious to her than anything else, she opened up to her guest, "I had a brother as well, but... he died. All of my family is dead now, so its just me in this world. It kinda always has been, in a way."
Verging dangerously close to sympathy, though nowhere close to crossing that finely drawn line, he frowned stoically, "I know."
Not even considering that he had found the long-forgotten album, she assumed he knew becuase of his powers, waned as they currently were, "So, that's why you... Thank you, Loki. Not too many people would have let it be. I've had more than enough fake sympathy in my life to last me."
"You're seriously not mad that I went through your personal belongings?" He stared at her in disbelief, knowing how guarded and secretive she could be at times. She could rival him in terms of secrecy, or so some outsiders might think.
Her jaw dropped then locked so fast, he wondered if it had even fallen at all, "You what? I trusted you! How? How could you? !"
"You knew who I was when we met. You should have known that it is in my nature to lie. Or did you somehow think that you were exempt from my powers? Such as they are." He actually had not been trying to snoop, only kill boredom while he was alone. But she had no right to shout at a God!
Why then did he feel a twinge of remorse for his behavior? Was it that in the weeks he had been stuck with Luca, he had grown to become less resentful of her? That maybe he would consider her a friend? Dismissing it as impossible, the former god reminded himself that there was no place for mortals or friends in his plans, let alone a woman of both qualities. Lucetta Mannford was just a being whom had happened to show him a little bit of kindness, and all that she would get in return is that he would spare her life.
"I think you should leave when you're well enough," She sounded far colder than he had ever heard her before, and it was obvious that she would not change her mind about this anytime soon, though it was also apparent that she would not abandon him in his current state, "And I think that it's best if we don't go looking for each other after this... At least for a time."
"You'll still give me leeway? You truly are a confounding creature." He muttered to himself, not particularly in the mood to test her at the moment.
She appeared to have heard him anyways, but in the interest of not turning out a soul in need, she chose to ignore his words. She had truly grown to care for her ward, in more ways than any professional should - good thing she wasn't a professional, huh? Loki could get under her skin at the best of times, but she did thoroughly enjoy his company, not to mention the fact that there was something so tragically heroic about him, she couldn't help to find herself drawn to him. Loki was... Well, she actually couldn't place what to call him, becuase he really wasn't the friend sort, and they really knew nothing about the other, and their feelings weren't exactly what one might call romantic, so it left an odd predicament.
What were they to each other, exactly?
Sadly, Luca would never have the answer to that riddle. The minute Loki was able to walk freely without any troubles, he left. Watching him go, she stood there feeling like an idiot for not apologizing to him for her outburst. Luca had thought that he might have known that her temper had cooled, but something prevented her from telling him that outright in her own words. Something inside of her prevented her from even saying goodbye to him - even after he had put a good ten minutes between the two of them. It just felt wrong to say the words... It felt too final.
One week had passed since then, and Luca had secretly been hoping that Loki would come back to her, either as a visitor or, and this came from a darker side of her heart, that he would require her assistance again and would come crawling back to her able hands. Whatever shape he was in, she just wanted to see him again.
"Chicky, chicky, chicky!" A hoodlum whistled at her as she walked down the street from the corner deli. He had on a hood so that she couldn't clearly make out his face, which would make it harder for her to identify him if the police had to get involved. She sincerely hoped not, but she had been raised to go to the police in the face of danger.
Hurrying up, plastic bag jangling from her wrist, she walked down the street, almost running into an elderly man as she checked her shoulder for signs of the man at the deli, "Sorry, sir - "
She grimaced when she realized that the guy from the deli was standing behind the old man. Whoever they were, they seemed to be close, maybe even members of the same gang. Running into the ally, she realized that she had run right into a dead end, so she screamed, begging anyone for help, "AAAAAHHHH! Someone, HELPPPPPP!"
Ba-na-na-na! (dramatic music, not the fruit!) I just wanted to thank the readers again for reading, and to specifically thank JannaKalderash for being interested enough in this fic to get alerts for it! I might not thank my alerters, but I do care about them too! And yes, I'm leaving this chapter hanging like that! I can be a bit evil at times, and this just so happens to be one of them! Mawhaha! Yeah, I think that's about it. For this chapter anyway.
