"I don't think you're going to be warm enough."
Max looked down at her outfit, fingering the fleecy jumper she'd thrown over a long-sleeved shirt. She definitely hadn't packed for anything more than a mild wintery stay in Asgard: her whole wardrobe had deteriorated since moving to Virginia, and the majority of her "winter" garb consisted of thick fall sweaters and a single jacket. More snow had gathered on the clear window panes over Loki's room, and since they were spending the day outdoors, his concern was justified.
"We could leave some blankets in the… boat… thing," she offered, wanting to say "car" but knowing that it wasn't the right word for their transportation. "Or you could make my sweater a little thicker?"
Seated in one of the wide-set black chairs around his personal hearth, Loki stared at her, one leg crossed over the other, and she caught the way his jaw clenched. After exploring the castle the day before, they'd had dinner with Jane and Thor in the outdoor gardens. Jane had almost altered her entire outfit to look Asgardian, right down to the gold clasps that kept her hair out of her face. When Loki had asked if Max would like him to change some of her clothes in a similar fashion, she'd been a little too quick to shoot down the idea. She wanted to wear her clothes. Her comfortable, worn-in, home-smelling clothes.
She wasn't ready to shirk them yet for a thick dress and an armored breastplate. It was only day two.
"Come here," he said, beckoning her over with a crooked finger. Smiling, Max sauntered toward him, acutely aware of the way his eyes followed the sway of her body with each step. It would have been easy to spend the day in bed: she'd been reluctant to leave its warmth that morning, and Loki hadn't wanted to let her go either. But she couldn't waste her entire holiday lounging naked beside Loki, as much as she wanted to. There was a whole world out there, and today Thor had offered to lead Jane and Max on a tour of the nearby downtown core.
Loki had been less than enthusiastic about the idea, and had seemed even less impressed when Thor hinted he could tag along if he was so inclined. Max had just assumed he would be there. In fact, she assumed Loki would be the one to show her everything. He'd done such a fine job showing her the hidden features of the sprawling royal palace, right down to the private saunas underground, so it only seemed natural to her that he'd want to show her his whole world.
But apparently that wasn't the case. He'd been a little surly ever since she agreed to Thor's guided tour, but she didn't have it in her to humour him. Max was in Asgard. She'd left her home, her life, and her family to spend all the free time she had with Loki, and she wasn't going to coddle him just because Thor planned to do something with her. Max wanted to see it all with Loki by her side, and she had hoped he'd feel the same way. As long as they were together, she was happy doing just about anything with anyone.
Once she was near enough, Loki grabbed her wrists and tugged her toward him. She let out a surprised gasp, her smile growing, and stood between his now parted knees. With his large hands still clasped around her arms, he closed his eyes, and Max inhaled sharply as a warm sensation trickled throughout her arms. It traveled up and across her shoulders, then plummeted straight down to her waist.
"There…" He let her go and leaned back, his eyes darting over every inch of her sweater. "That should keep you warm."
She ran her hand over the fabric, and while it looked like her normal beige jumper, it didn't feel like it anymore. The material was coarse, almost like fur or hair, and it scratched at her skin everywhere the shirt beneath didn't cover.
"Kind of itchy," she said, scratching at her collarbones. She then tugged the grey long-sleeved shirt underneath up as best she could in an attempt to protect her skin. "What did you do?"
"I altered the material," he told her. "It's a blend of ox, elk, and deer fur. Much warmer than what you had before."
Her hands dropped to her side, unsure of how to feel now that she was wearing actual fur. "Oh."
"The combination will keep the wind out," Loki insisted, an eyebrow flickering up as he observed her. "My mother used to stitch pelts together when I was young… They were excellent blankets for the winter months."
She hesitantly touched the fabric again, but kept a keen eye on Loki. He looked down and swallowed hard, noticeably so, then opened his mouth as if to say more before falling silent. Something had happened with his mother. He'd barely mentioned her since Max arrived, and before she was the only person in his family who had warranted a mention in his stories back on Earth. She'd met Odin yesterday, a man Loki had palpable tension with, and yet there had been nothing said of his mom.
As she'd drifted to sleep last night, she'd began to slowly piece together the bits and bobs of his stories. His mother was a key figure in his life, but now it was like she didn't exist. It was obvious something had happened, but she wouldn't pry. Some wounds were best left untouched until they healed, and she could wait until he told her what had happened.
After all, she owed him a similar story sometime soon too. It was all about finding the right moment, and now, as they got ready for a day in the city, probably wasn't the right time.
"I'll get used to it, I bet," she said after a moment's pause, smiling again when he looked up. After all, it was probably just the stitching that was itching her, and she had a scarf she could stuff between that and her skin. Solutions. There were always answers to the littlest problems. "Thank you."
He nodded, then pointed down to her boots. "Will those be suitable for the wet?"
"Those are fine," she snapped, stepping back and lifting her leg to show off half of the pair. "They're air-tight and super comfortable."
And a little ugly, but Max hadn't been picky at the time of purchase. They doubled as her rain boots in the cooler season back home, and had served her well thus far.
"Are you sure you don't want me to tinker with them?"
"You've tinkered enough, magic man," she teased, taking his hand in both of hers. "Let's go."
There were no clocks in Loki's room, which made her adjustment to Asgard's time a little more difficult. She was tired in the later afternoons and wide awake at the darkest hour of the evening, but he assured her body would adapt soon. With all the grey cloud cover, it was even harder to gauge the time of day, but Loki had already told her Thor and Jane would be waiting for them in the hall below—and she didn't want to make anyone wait just because she'd done an inadequate packing job.
No amount of tugging could get Loki off the couch if he didn't want to move. Luckily, he still liked to humour her in the way he always had, and it only took her a few pointed pulls to get him standing.
"Smile," she ordered as she released his hand and used her fingers to push his lips upward. "I'm really excited about today. Don't be a grump."
"I'm hardly that," he muttered as he gathered her hands and brought them to his chest. Max held his gaze, her stare even and skeptical, and he exhaled softly with a slight roll of his eyes. "All right, all right. I'm sorry. I don't venture into the city often… My reputation is still shaky, given my past behaviour."
"Well, no time like the present to prove everyone wrong, right?" She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, and he finally broke out in an amused grin. "Come on… I want to get the day started."
The day had started, of course. She'd awoken to Loki's hands roaming her body, and she was surprised the whole palace hadn't heard them in the events that followed. Then they had breakfast around his hearth again, a small fire crackling as she'd put her feet up on the stones to warm her toes. The day had certainly begun, but Max was ready for something outside the four walls of Loki's bedroom.
Loki slung an arm around her shoulders as they made their way toward the door, then chuckled when she scolded him for messing up her hair when he planted a firm kiss on the side of her head. She'd only recently learned how to make a successful braid, and she'd spent some time that morning weaving a braid-crown around her head to keep her messy hair under wraps. Unfortunately, Loki had nothing in his room even remotely close to a mirror, which meant she'd done the whole thing blind. At this point, she could only assume it looked wretched, but she didn't need him making it worse.
Whatever. At least her hair was up and off her face.
"It looks fine," he insisted, twirling some of the loose clumps of hair around his finger. "Women braid flowers in their hair like that for some of our festivals."
"Maybe my unromantic boyfriend should get me some flowers then," she said as they cleared the doorway, and she wriggled out of his grasp with a giggle when he pursed his lips at her. Her laughter then echoed down the stairwell when he gave chase, playful and lighthearted and innocent until they approached the final few steps. The voices in the hall, as loud and chaotic as they were yesterday, sobered them both, and their game ended before anyone could see them.
Max was surprised to find the royal palace so busy, so full of people who weren't royals by any stretch. She still couldn't tell the varying levels of social standing apart, but as she scanned the clusters of Asgardians, she thought it was safe to assume the more ostentatious the clothing, the wealthier the person. Loki spoiled that theory somewhat: he was classified still as a prince, and yet he wore mute, dark colours, his outfit almost as plain as hers. So far, she'd seen him in the same slacks and shirt, the only difference being the colours: greys, black, dark greens.
Like yesterday, dozens of eyes flickered in her direction once they stepped off the staircase. They all must have deduced who she was at this point, because there were no other doors along the stairs aside from Loki's room at the top. Obviously she was staying with him. Obviously she was the object of his affections. It shouldn't surprise her, given the way people on Earth obsessed over royal families, that she was the center of attention, but that still didn't make her any more comfortable.
Luckily, she didn't need to linger in the spotlight for long. Loki spotted Thor and Jane across the great hall, standing near the entrance where she'd first arrived, and they made a beeline for the couple. With her hand clasped in his, Max could feel some of Loki's tension. It traveled down his arm and into her fingertips, all dark and tingly and thick. She shot him a small smile, one he returned, and she noticed his shoulders slump forward a little.
"Hey strangers," she said as she approached the duo, her smile growing for their benefits. "Fancy meeting you here."
"I've never been to the city before." Jane's excitement outweighed Loki's tension tenfold, and Max's stomach gave a giddy little twist in response. "I've only ever explored the palace."
It was then that Max noticed Thor had a small sac in his hand, and when he caught her studying it, he held it up with a smirk. "Jane wishes to make meticulous notes while we see the sights."
"It's a once in a lifetime opportunity," she snapped, a defensiveness flashing across her face. "I can carry everything—"
"I'm only teasing, Jane."
"Is everything prepared?" Loki's voice cut through the playfulness like a dull knife, and she stroked her thumb over the top of his hand. He glanced down at her briefly, then pulled his hand away and set it on her lower back, shifting her closer to him. "I want to make the most of the daytime markets."
The two brothers held one another's gazes for a moment, but Thor was the first to break away with a slight nod toward the mammoth doorway. "Everything is arranged. We can leave as soon as you're ready."
"We're ready," Max said quickly, cutting off Loki's remark and marching toward the door. Jane fell by her side and asked her opinion on what she'd seen so far. How could she summarize any of this in a few words? How could she take all the experiences she'd had in such a short time and give a coherent answer? So, she shrugged, her mouth opening and closing a few times, before saying, "Incredible."
Jane shot her a knowing look. "Isn't it?"
A familiar floating boat awaited them in the palace courtyard, and Max noted the few guards standing watch of it as people in plainer garments went about their business around them. She shot a brief look to Thor and Jane, noting that they looked like they belonged in the palace. While Loki blended into the background, Thor wore his armored attire well, his thick red cape draping to the floor and wrapping around him. Snowflakes collected on the bright fabric as soon as they stepped outside, and Max could see the faintest cloud of her breath fogging in front of her.
Jane had embraced Asgardian fashion wholeheartedly today, and nothing about her look was Earth-bound. She wore a brown dress, the colour clashing with Thor's cloak, with a warm looking white trench coat that practically swallowed her whole. A gold clasp shaped like a feather sat on either side of her head to keep her hair back, and she was completely make-up-less. The woman could easily slide in with any group in the entrance hall and look like she belonged, whereas Max stuck out like a sore thumb.
She brushed the snow off her jeans, then slipped her hands into a dainty pair of gloves she'd purchased just before leaving home. Despite the fact that it was snowing, it wasn't painfully cold outside. In fact, Max found she was quite comfortable in her outfit, though she was pleased Loki had altered her top. None of the gusts of cool air penetrated her jumper, though her jean-clad legs were starting to feel it a little.
"Are you warm enough?" Loki asked as Thor helped Jane into the boat. She spied a stack of blankets near the seats, and gave him a curt nod. "Are you sure?"
"Yes," she stressed, shooting him a look that lacked annoyance but expressed her point. "I'm fine."
"I just want to make sure you're comfortable."
"I could say the same of you," she said, tugging on the thin shirt he wore. "Aren't you going to be cold?"
She noticed his jaw clench again, catching the way it flared for a moment, as he bit down on his back teeth. It was a new tick, one she hadn't noticed before, but one she was determined to ignore. His tongue swept across his lips before he spoke.
"I'm adjusted to the cold," he told her, his voice low. "Always have been."
"Except when you were a human," she countered with a grin, hoping to draw one out of him. She was marginally successful, and she poked at his side. "Well, just let me know if you get cold… I can think of a few ways to warm you up."
That managed to get a smile back on his face. He pressed his palm to her cheek, the gesture intimate and affectionate enough to bring some colour to her skin, and then nodded to the boat. "Shall we?"
"We shall."
After Loki lifted her into the boat, she took a seat on the narrow bench beside Jane, then went for a blanket. Wrapping it over both of their legs, she shot the woman an excited smile, then gave a small squeal when the boat shot forward. Much to her surprise, Loki clambered around behind them and took control of the steering, and Thor sat next to the pile of blankets on the floor. Legs outstretched, the blond Asgardian seemed perfectly relaxed. She glanced over her shoulder, taking in Loki's stance, and decided this was the most confident he'd looked around others since she arrived.
So, apparently he liked to drive—that was also new. Jaw clenching and driving, huh? Max shuffled closer to Jane, enjoying their shared body heat as the wind chilled with the increased speed. She could take a bit of jaw clenching here and there, and now that she knew Loki enjoyed the drive, she'd ask him to take her out—alone, as that would probably make him happiest.
Her lips pursed at the thought.
"What have you been up to since we got here?"
The question prompted a lengthy monologue from Jane, during which she told Max about all the observations she'd made, all the data she'd collected. She was measuring the atmosphere, conducting observational studies on the people, and sketching all the architecture. As trees and buildings raced by, a blur of gold and green and brown, Max told her it sounded like she'd been keeping busy. Very busy. Productively busy. When Jane posed the same question to her, perhaps out of courtesy, Max opened her mouth with a smile, but no words came out.
She cleared her throat and gave a slight shake of her head. "We've… been keeping busy too."
Jane's eyebrows shot up, and aside from her uncomfortable grin, she offered no comment. Max turned her attention away, taking in the cityscape as their little hover boat whizzed along. Given the fact that she'd spent the last two days in a medieval-esque castle, she was pleasantly surprised at how modern the city looked. Once more, it was a splash of a futuristic modernity meshed with a rustic past. The buildings reminded her of Manhattan's skyscrapers, and yet there were still street stands of meats and cloth and other sellable goods.
"The merchants here would give their right arm to be selling in the castle," Thor explained as Loki brought the boat to a slow, gentle stop. It seemed they'd come to the end of their ride, and Max was eager to get her feet on the golden streets. "The castle is where serious trade is done, while this is more of a general market."
"So the rich do their buying in the castle?" Jane deduced. Max gathered up the blanket and folded it as Thor told her she was correct, then set it back on the pile. Thor was the first off, and he helped Jane and Max clamber off the hovering vehicle. Once they were clear, the boat stopped rumbling, and Max watched it settle on the ground. As Loki came to her side, Thor paid a few nearby merchants to keep an eye on their transportation while they were in the city.
"No parking lots anywhere, huh?" Loki looked down at her as she posed the question, then wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"Not in the sense you're familiar with, no."
With their vehicle secured, the four set off by foot into the marketplace, which was even more chaotic than the palace trading spots. Most scrambled out of the way for Thor, and it was obvious that people had great reverence for their royalty.
Every sense was on overload. Fabrics looked more colourful than anything she'd ever seen. Her mouth watered at the scents of grilled meats. A perfume stand was especially popular with a pack of young girls, their cries of delight making Thor smile as they tested each bottle. If only the market was covered: it would have reminded her of the mall around Christmas time. Organized chaos at its finest. Loud. Intrusive. She could understand why Loki may not frequent the place often—it was hardly his scene.
Jane stopped frequently to take pictures and record information in her notebook, and Max half-wished she'd remembered to bring her camera. She'd never been very good at recording vacation memories, and found stopping to capture a moment took her out of the moment. Instead, she curved an arm around Loki's waist and asked the occasional question, which he seemed happy to answer.
He also seemed keen on buying her something. He took her to jewelers and tailors, prompting her opinion on various goods, none of them anything she'd actually wear. Clothes and jewels didn't interest her, especially when she was dating a guy who could alter her clothes on a whim. She was, however, distracted by a wooden stand that Loki said sold children's toys.
She probably could have guessed that, given the way a group of poorly dressed children hovered around the goods. The merchant, a burly man smoking a ridiculously long pipe, straightened up from behind his stand as soon as he spotted Loki approaching. Max cringed as he shooed the kids away, swatting at them and giving the slowest a solid kick.
"My lord," he said once they were near, bowing down. Some of the herbs from his pipe trickled out onto the ground, falling like fresh snow. "How may I be of service?"
He wasn't the first proprietor to trip over himself for Loki or Thor's attention. Her eyes darted around for their companions, and she couldn't hide her smile when she spotted Thor feeding Jane something steaming from a nearby food cart. Given the expression on her face, she wasn't overly impressed with the taste.
"You'll need to turn your attention to the lady," Loki remarked, his hand on her lower back as she surveyed the goods. None of the toys looked like typical children's toys, but all the other kids had seemed pretty interested in them.
"I thought I could get something for Nolie…" She nibbled her lower lip, feeling the eyes of the merchant on her—intensely so. "My niece is four. Do you have something for… someone her age?"
He stared at her for a moment, as if trying to process her question, then looked to Loki.
"Something for a young girl," Loki snapped, and his tone seemed to shock the man back to reality. He flinched, his lengthy beard twitching, and then offered the pair a smile.
"Of course. We have a range of products for the little ones."
He beckoned them forward, then stooped down quickly to pick up the fallen merchandise that the kids had left scattered in their hasty retreat. Max spied those same kids watching from a safe distance, clustered beneath the safety of another vendor's awning. Blinking quickly, she turned back to the matter at hand. There were various toys that seemed enchanted in some way or another, but Max didn't want to frighten Nolie with a hovering ball that changed shape or a lifelike reindeer miniature that charged her hands.
Instead, she went for the dolls. Nolie wasn't obsessed with dolls in the way that some girls were, but she had a few treasured ones that she kept in pristine condition. Maybe one day it would be a collectible. Max rooted through them all as Loki stood watch nearby, his hands clasped behind his back. The smoke from the vendor's pipe had started to make her eyes water.
In the end, Max decided on a doll who looked like Nolie. Dark brown hair was so difficult to find on the more popular dolls, and she settled on a beautiful hand-stitched doll made of the softest fabric she'd ever felt. It wore a forest green dress and little black shoes, and its lips were twisted up in a perpetual grin that, surprisingly, wasn't creepy in the slightest.
"I think she'll like this one," Max said as she turned back to show off the prize to Loki. "Do you… Do you mind…? I have money, but obviously it's not the currency—"
"Of course." He said the words in such a matter-of-fact way, like her question was foolish and unnecessary. His attention then drifted back to the merchant, who was suddenly hovering very close to her. "How much for the doll?"
"For you, my prince, I will give a very special price." Max looked away from the yellow, stained teeth as the man smiled, and then stepped out from the space between them when Loki scoffed.
"And does a very special price mean I'll be paying double because I am a prince?" The corner of Loki's lips twitched upward when she looked to him, and Max hide her smile as the merchant stammered. This was all a game to him, one, perhaps, he'd wanted to play ever since they arrived. She hadn't even considered that there would be a barter system in place.
As the duo argued over the price, their voices nothing more than background noise, Max tucked the doll under her arm and pulled her gloves back on. She'd removed them to get a feel for the toys, knowing Nolie was still at the stage where she wanted to touch everything.
At least she was well beyond putting things in her mouth…
Smirking, she straightened up and flicked some fallen hair from her face. Snow had gathered on Loki's shoulders. It speckled his hair. Her toes were starting to get numb just standing in it, and yet he gave no indication that he even felt the briskness of the day.
Her gaze wandered to Thor and Jane, still tasting foods by that nearby cart, then she let it drift back to the kids. Huddled beneath the awning, they watched the scene in front of the toy stand play out in silence. Dirty faces. Mussed hair. Even in the midst of gold skyscrapers and glittering roads, there was still poverty.
"Wait," she said, turning back and touching Loki's arm. "Can I get a few more things?"
Of all the gifts Loki thought he'd bestow upon his lady love during her initial days in Asgard, dolls and other children's toys certainly hadn't ever crossed his mind. Arms crossed, he watched her pick toy after toy, awkwardly stuffing each trinket under her arms until she had nothing left to hold her stockpile with anymore. She looked to him with a small smile, a tentative one, and he knew he couldn't refuse her anything. He would have much rather spent his money on something for her, but buying a gift for her niece would do.
After all, the little girl was Max's family, and very well might be his family one day. He could dote on her, just this once.
The merchant, a man whose eyes had a steely glint to them, was obviously thrilled at the windfall. The downtown shops varied in their successes. Those who were fortunate enough to buy a store of some kind, one that was indoors and clean and well-stocked, were occasionally on par with the sellers who hawked their goods to the nobility at the palace. The street vendors, including the pipe-smoking man before him, were generally less fortunate. Those on the street bartered with the people who couldn't afford the merchandise in the stores—and that meant they weren't pocketing anywhere close to what their fellow retailers did.
But Loki wasn't one of the ruffians this man was probably used to bullying into buying his goods. He might have had a whole vault lined with gold and silver and copper, but he wasn't about to throw it away. Not yet. His buying reputation was unknown amongst the common folk, and he wanted to keep it that way.
Then, when he showered them with wealth, his repute would soar. Odin only treated the peasants, like the shivering children waiting for Max and Loki to leave, occasionally. From what Loki understood, the old king lacked Frigga's charitable touch when it came to those beyond the palace walls. Oh, he was a sweet, decrepit figure when an impoverished farmer managed to obtain an audience with him, but he only gave extras to individuals, not the masses.
Loki would take a different approach, should he ever grace the throne again.
He counted his coins slowly, deliberating, placing each one in the merchant's hand with a hard look in his eye. In the end, the price was fair for the goods, but he knew he'd pay whatever was necessary to keep Max smiling.
"A pleasure doing business with you, my lord, my lady." Max's head snapped back to them as the merchant bowed, her cheeks a little pink. Perhaps she was unaccustomed to the title, which made Loki grin. In time, she'd grow used to the lesser of society addressing her as such, especially if she stayed with him. He gave the merchant a curt nod, a silent dismissal, and returned to her side.
"Let me carry some of this," he insisted. Their vehicle wasn't far from where they stood: the quartet had walked in a huge loop for most of the afternoon, enjoying the inner-city markets as much as they could amidst the madness. At this point, they were almost back to where they started, and he had to commend Max—and Jane, begrudgingly—for not complaining once. Both women kept up with Thor and Loki in the chaos that the daytime markets usually brought, and had been on their feet for a few hours now.
Thor had the good sense to feed his irritable little woman. Loki caught them out of the corner of his eye, trying samples from a food vendor who specialized in fresh and cooked seafood. He recalled once, a very long time ago, pinching a small piece of fish. He was caught by his mother, who had forced him to pay for the product and apologize in front of everyone. Thor, meanwhile, stole a huge fish while everyone's attention was on Loki, and the boys cooked it in their bedroom hearth when no one was looking.
He almost smiled at the memory, now hazy and distant in his mind.
"Here, take this one," she said, somehow managing to get the initial doll she selected into his hands. He almost asked to take the rest, noting the way her human arms trembled under the weight of the load, but before he could get a word in edgewise, she was gone. Turning on her heel, Max strode toward the children who had crowded the cart as they arrived. Little street urchins with dirty clothes and greasy hair. He wouldn't have cast them a second glance had she not drawn his attention to them.
"What is she doing?" Thor's voice rumbled in his ear, and he flinched, so focused on Max that he hadn't noticed the two come to his side.
"I suspect…" Loki said slowly, making quick guesswork of her intentions as she called out to the children. Some scattered as she approached, but a few bolder ones crawled out from under the woolly awning over the candle cart, their expressions nervous. "I suspect I did not purchase all those toys for her niece."
His fingers smoothed over the soft doll in his hands. Such a simple gift. Max had made him purchase far more extravagant items for those Asgardian little ones than she had for her own family.
"How sweet of her," Thor offered. His brother smiled as he watched Max, and before he could stop him, the big oaf wandered over to the crowd. Standing alone with and entertaining Jane was on the very bottom of his list of priorities, and he stalked after Thor soundlessly, ignoring her as best he could. Short, swift footfalls could be heard behind him, and he assumed she understood his opinion of her by now.
Max had followed the children into a wide-set alley between buildings, one less crowded than the main thoroughfare, and he couldn't help but smile when he saw her distribute the toys. Many of the children came trickling back when they undoubtedly realized the strange woman wasn't there to punish them, and they surged toward her with greedy hands outstretched. When all the toys were handed out, he watched Max crouch beside a group, pointing at the hovering ball and speaking to them. Too far to hear the conversation, he assumed she was asking how it worked.
Then, suddenly, the ball broke apart into a dozen little balls, and Max yelped in surprise. Thor joined in with the children's laughter, and she placed a hand on her chest, smiling. His eyes wandered upward for a moment, and he found they had a small audience in the towering apartments. A few curious heads poked out of the windows, and most stayed when Thor joined in on the games. He'd always been so soft and approachable with children: his reputation was well-known amongst the common folk.
Thor, the beloved prince. Loki, the unknown.
Leaving Jane alone once more, Loki made his way to Max's side, then crouched beside her. A few of the children glanced his way warily, but he assumed many were too young to know Asgard's disgraced prince by appearance alone.
"These are amazing," she laughed, her eyes wide with delight as one of the little girls used the chalk she'd purchased to make artistic renderings in mid-air.
"This was very kind of you." He murmured the words so as to not draw attention to them, and she squeezed his arm.
"Well, they owe it all to you," she remarked. "You bought everything."
Down the alley, amidst steam grates and garbage bins, Thor had started a keep-away game with some of the older boys. Jane stood nearby, watching with her hands inside her cloak, looking a little tired. He glanced back at Max, noting that she had slight bags under her eyes. He ought to take her home soon, get her in a bath—get them both in a bath, perhaps with a glass of wine.
A metallic ball rolled to his feet, and the boy chasing after it came to an abrupt halt. Without missing a beat, Loki picked it up and tossed it back to the little lad, returning the boy's easy smile with one of his own. He could have improved upon each and every toy here. A bit of magic would have gone a long way, but many Asgardians were as wary of sorcery as they were of him. They appreciated magic, yes, but that didn't mean it didn't frighten them.
The games lasted longer than he expected, and he ended up sitting on a stoop with the doll resting securely on his lap. Max, meanwhile, had been distracted by the mid-air chalk art, and was playing a game of X's and O's—teaching the game, more like—with a cluster of little girls. The door upon which he leaned opened suddenly, and he had to catch himself from falling backward.
"Oh, my lord!" The voice came from a horrified young woman, a little boy clutching at her skirts. "I'm so sorry, I didn't… I didn't know you were sitting there—"
"No harm done," he said simply, standing and moving to the side. "Tis I blocking your door, after all."
She was petite and nubile, a typical young mother whose boy was better dressed than she. Who might the father be? A noble who clothed his boy better than his mistress? It wasn't unheard of, especially for this area of the city.
"Go play, Ragnar," the woman muttered, shooing the boy outside. He shuffled by Loki shyly, but his hesitation was gone once he found his way to Thor's game. Loki looked up briefly, noting that their audience above had grown. "Can I get you anything, my prince?"
Ah, so she did recognize him. He shook his head. "No, thank you."
She lingered in her doorway, shivering in the chill, and gave a small cough before asking, "Are the children bothering you? They make an awful racket when they're riled up."
"I'm afraid my brother and my sweet lady," he pointed to Max, who was drawing a big X in one of the floating squares, "are the ones riling them up. Have we bothered you?"
Her eyes widened, aghast, and she quickly shook her head. "No, no, never—"
"We'll be on our way soon," he told her, fishing his coin sac from his pocket. He then grabbed a handful of gold and gestured for her to hold out her hand. "When we go, see that all the children here are given a hot meal."
"Y-Yes, my prince, of course."
Loki, the generous prince.
He bid her a farewell nod, then made his way through the sea of children to find Thor. It was easy enough to distract the man from his game, and when Loki told him it was time to get the women somewhere warm, it was like he remembered he wasn't alone out here.
"Ah, yes, of course, yes," he babbled, looking to Jane to confirm that she was, in fact, cold. "Thank you for reminding me."
Max seemed reluctant to end the games early, but the children were even more unwilling to let them leave. The games had gone on long enough, however, and Loki's gentle coaxing hurried her along. They soon found themselves strolling back to their hovercraft through the crowds of people. Max held her niece's gift to her chest, a prominent grin on her face. Her expression faltered briefly, however, as they neared their boat.
"Do you think people can tell I'm human?"
He held her close to him, enjoying the feel of her beneath his arm and pressed to his side. "Perhaps."
"Oh." Her expression faltered further, and he pressed a kiss to her cheek in an effort to cheer her up.
"Not many Asgardians walk the markets in jeans, my sweet," he told her, and the realization seemed to relax her somewhat. The common folk weren't especially observant in his experience, and probably assumed Max was a human just as much as they assumed Loki was a frost giant. Well, perhaps she was more obvious, given her unwillingness to part with her Midgardian fashion. She didn't blend as well as he did—she was bound to get some curious looks.
Human. His little human with skin that was starting to crinkle around her eyes. Every hour she was closer to a mortal death. He clenched his jaw and held her tighter, and she brought her head to rest against his shoulder. He could pretend that her mortality didn't bother him—he must if he wished to continue this relationship, this love affair. He couldn't fault her for her humanity, no more than she could fault him for his true self, but he wished, in his heart of hearts, that she belonged to a different kind. Any kind. The galaxy was wide-reaching and fruitful in the kinds of creatures it produced, many of whom lived long lives that could rival an Asgardian.
Why was she born human?
Loki was left to ponder that and more horrible thoughts when Thor stole his lady away, distracting her with a candy shop they frequented regularly as boys. It was wall-to-wall sweetness inside, and it didn't surprise Loki in the slightest that Max was immediately taken with the place.
And so he sat, with an exhausted Jane by his side, munching away on a molasses cube and contemplating the impending death of the woman he loved most, his mind steadily taken by darkness.
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
HELLO ALL! First and foremost, thank you to everyone who wished me well on my surgery. Things went super swell, and my surgeon found no endometriosis (aka no lifelong disease for me!) and took out the cysts that were leaving me bedridden for a lot of this year. Recovery was a bitch, since it's my lower abdomen that has all the incisions on it, and my man described me as a struggling baby deer on ice anytime I tried to walk by myself during the first week. My pain meds also gave me dizzy spells, so I was offline longer than I anticipated.
Anyway. I'm back now, things are good, yeay. In one of my reviews, a reviewer asked if I could go into details about my freelance work. I won't take up heaps of space on it, but I can give a few details. I write on a freelance site called elance, where you bid on client jobs with tokens. You give the price the client would pay if you worked the gig, then they select your bid if you got the job. Editing positions are the most competitive, and I've moved on to strictly ghostwriting fiction to cut some of my competitors out. Freelance work is pretty competitive anyway, and lots of people lowball their bids in order to get the job, which makes it harder for people who have average prices that represent their experience. But yeah, if you have more questions, message me here or on tumblr! I'm happy to answer anything.
Happy holidays to everyone celebrating this time of year! I always try to post an update on Christmas Eve or Day as a gift to you guys. This is my first year not going home for the holidays… apparently I'm an adult now. But the man and I are decorating gingerbread cookies (some idiot, aka me, thought there would still be houses left on December 23rd, but I was woefully mistaken) and watching A Christmas Story tonight, so I don't feel like an adult.
Much like Max and Loki. They are grown-ass folk who don't act their age, and it makes me really happy. I had a lot of fun writing the cuteness in this chapter, and once again examining the relationships between Thor and Jane vs. Max and Loki. I'm enjoying detailing that progress, and I hope you like reading about it.
K. Super long author's note is long. I'M OFF! Hope everyone has a magical day (Christmas Eve is always my fav, after Halloween), and you enjoy your time off work or school or both! Keeping up with my schedule, there will be no update next week, so… OMG SEE YOU IN 2015.