A/N: After two hours of trying to log in to to finally update this, I've managed to do so! _ Chapter 4 gave me quite a bit of trouble while I was writing it because I wasn't quite sure where it was going to go, but I hope it leads nicely into chapter 5. I hope to have chapter 5 up sometime next week, since I'm not going to have internet access for a few days after today. Keep an eye out for future chapters, and PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! I love seeing positive feedback and constructive criticism. :)
Rated M for later chapters.
Morning came sooner than Loki had expected. When he had gone to bed the following night, he had fallen asleep almost immediately upon resting his head on the pillow. The alley fight had tired him out more than he could have foreseen, but at least he hadn't been lying in bed restless and awake until sunrise.
A thin stream of sunlight streamed into the room from a gap in the curtains and rested across Loki's sleeping face. He stirred and slowly opened his eyes, regretting doing so when he needed to squint against the light, temporarily blinded by it. He groaned softly and turned onto his other side so that he was facing away from the window, blinking a few times and allowing his eyes to adjust to the new lighting. He glanced briefly at the alarm clock on the nightstand and saw that the numbers read 8:04AM. Time was different in Asgard than it was on Earth, so he didn't know what the "AM" meant, but he could puzzle out the rest.
Outside of the bedroom, he could hear movement as Felicity went about her morning business, so Loki decided it would be okay to get out of bed knowing that he wouldn't be waking anyone up by doing so. He got out of bed and raised his arms over his head, stretching languidly to smooth out the stiffness of sleep.
Big mistake.
A sharp gasp of pain left him and he immediately stopped stretching, wincing and laying both arms across his stomach which he knew to be covered in bruises. The soreness of the events from the previous night was so much worse now than it had been when he went to bed, and it felt like he had gotten an even greater beating than he had. Inhaling slowly to overcome the ache, he made his way over to the bedroom door and pulled it open, stepping out into the well-lit living area. He saw Felicity moving about in the open kitchen and he forced a small smile, walking over and taking a seat at the table.
"Good morning," he greeted, voice still tight from the stiff ache running rampant throughout his body.
Felicity jumped slightly with surprise at the sudden voice behind her but soon relaxed when she remembered she wasn't alone in the apartment, looking over her shoulder and smiling at her new roommate.
"Oh, good morning! I was wondering when you'd be getting up." The cheek that the thug had left a shallow cut on with his pocketknife was left bare and showed no signs of being tended to beyond a simple cleaning. The skin around the cut was red and irritated, looking like it had been rubbed by something.
Loki frowned. "That wound looks angry… Shouldn't you have taken care of that already to avoid infection?" He didn't know much about mortal medicine, but he did know that the humans didn't have healing stones to treat their sick and wounded. It was an unfortunate thing, really. Healing stones worked wonders on all kinds of ailments.
Felicity brought two fingers up to lightly touch the cut and she winced. It was starting to hurt again, and the fact that she had been tossing and turning all night and rubbing the cut cheek against the pillow hadn't helped the situation at all.
"Yes, but… all I wanted to do last night was sleep, so all I had time to do was clean it with warm water," she admitted, seeming embarrassed to say so.
"You should probably take care of it now, then, before it gets worse," Loki advised. "Do you have anything here to treat small cuts with?"
"There's a first-aid kit under the sink in the water closet, but I was just about to start breakfast—"
"That can wait." Loki got to his feet and started making his way toward the bathroom, but Felicity stopped him.
"The bathroom and the water closet are two different rooms in the apartment," she stated. "The water closet is the room right next to the one you took a shower in last night."
Loki thanked her and walked into the room next to the bathroom, opening the cabinets under the sink and finding the first-aid kit with relative ease. He carried it back to the kitchen and sat back down at the table, fixing his green gaze upon the flabbergasted young woman standing before him.
"Sit down," he urged. "This shouldn't take long if you instruct me in what to do. I have never needed to treat wounds like this before, so I regret to admit I will need some help in doing so."
"Oh, um… okay." Felicity sat down and turned her chair around so that she was facing the fallen god of mischief, opening the first-aid kit and taking out everything she believed Loki would need. She handed him a cotton ball and a small bottle of clear fluid. "First, put some of that liquid on the cotton ball, then dab the cut with it."
Loki said nothing and simply did as Felicity instructed, dabbing at the cut with the wet cotton ball. When he heard a soft hissing sound slip past the woman's clenched teeth, he paused and frowned at her. "Am I hurting you?"
"It stings, but it's fine. That means it's working," Felicity explained, hands clenched on her knees. "Don't worry if it starts bleeding again, either."
Loki continued following Felicity's instructions on how to care for the cut and went to grab a bandage from the first-aid kit, but Felicity reached over and touched his wrist to stop him. He paused and glanced at her questioningly.
"I don't think it needs a bandage on it. It'll actually heal faster if the air is able to get to it, I think."
"You're sure?"
"Yes. I'll just put a bandage on it at night when I go to bed and it should be fine. Now, I saw them hit you a few times last night, so be honest: do you have any injuries that need taking care of? I saw you cringe when you stood up to get the first-aid kit."
Loki shook his head and went to close the first-aid kit, but Felicity gave his wrist a squeeze to advise him against it. He sighed and looked at her with a frown, seeming embarrassed to admit that he had been hurt.
"Yes, I got a few cuts and bruises, but I'll be fine. I've dealt with worse." After all, he had gotten his ass handed to him by the Avengers' pet rage monster in New York. At that time, though, he had still been a god and had been able to handle it. If the Hulk ever came after him when he was in this pathetic, mortal state, he wouldn't stand a chance.
"Show me."
"Pardon?"
"Show me how bad it is."
Rolling his eyes, Loki grabbed the hem of the T-shirt he was wearing and pulled it up just enough to show the bruises and the small cuts decorating his torso, and when Felicity leaned in to judge the severity of the injuries, he could have sworn he saw a light blush on her cheeks. He grinned a bit at the sight, but he said nothing about it.
"Jesus," Felicity murmured at the sight of those bruises, resting a hand on one and gently pressing with her fingertips. Even the slightest pressure made Loki inhale sharply with discomfort, so she moved her hand away. "Well, there isn't much I can do for the bruises, and those cuts are small enough to heal on their own… but I can at least give you some medicine for the pain. Wait here."
Loki watched Felicity get up and disappear into her bedroom, lowering his shirt now that she had assessed the damage that had been done. She came back a few minutes later and set a small, white pill down on the table before pouring him a glass of water and handing it to him. "Swallow that with some water. The one pill should be enough to dull the pain but if it's not enough, let me know. The directions said you can take up to two pills every six hours."
He was a bit skeptical about the idea of putting an unknown substance in his body, but at the same time, he knew he didn't want to be cringing in pain all day while Felicity was showing him around London. Giving in, he sighed and picked up the small, white pill, popping it into his mouth and swallowing it down with some water. At least the pill was tasteless.
"Well, now that that's taken care of," Felicity began, leaning against the counter and crossing her arms with a smile, "what do you want for breakfast?"
"I'll have whatever you have," he replied. "I don't know the names of the food here, so I'll try anything."
"Strawberry pancakes with maple syrup, coming right up!"
Loki didn't know what pancakes were, exactly, but what he did know was that he enjoyed them immensely. They were delicious! Felicity had even made some hot chocolate for him to go with his breakfast. When he was finished, he downed the last dregs of the warm beverage and leaned back in his chair, smiling.
"I have to admit, those were delicious," he stated with a light chuckle.
Felicity giggled and swallowed a mouthful of pancake, almost finished with her own.
"I'm glad you liked them. Pancakes are my favorite breakfast food, and they're fun to make, so I cook them a lot. I'm sure they're nothing compared to whatever food you have in Asgard, though."
Loki shrugged. "Asgardian food is delicious, yes… but we don't have anything like this there. If Volstagg ever spent time eating Midgardian food, I'm sure The Warriors Three would be short one warrior from that point on."
"Who's Volstagg? And what do you mean, 'Midgardian'?"
"Oh, my apologies. Volstagg is one of Thor's good friends, and he always has a large appetite for delicacies and the like. I once considered him a friend of mine, too, but… no longer. As for your second question, Midgard is another name us Asgardians use to refer to Earth," Loki explained.
"I see. Well, if this Volstagg has as great an appetite as you say and you think he would enjoy my cooking as much as anything Asgard has to offer, I suppose I should be flattered!" Felicity laughed, and Loki found himself smiling along with her. Her smile was contagious.
"You should be." Honestly, the thought of The Warriors Three and the delicacies he used to enjoy on Asgard made him feel a bit nostalgic. Gone were the days when he would play with Thor in the sprawling gardens of Asgard as a child, playing pranks and getting into all sorts of trouble; gone were the days when he would make real progress in his magical studies and his mother would reward him with candy or other treats. He even recalled having a small infatuation with Lady Sif when they were children, yet he always knew he had no chance with her. He truly had been living in Thor's shadow for his entire life, yet his eyes hadn't been fully opened to that until over a year ago when he realized just how different the two of them really were.
"Loki, are you okay?"
He was snapped out of reverie when he heard Felicity trying to get his attention and he shook his head, smiling a bit and nodding his head. "I'm fine."
"Okay… Well, since we're done with breakfast, I'm going to go get changed. When I come out, we can leave and I'll give you a little tour of London. Sound good?"
"Yes; I'm looking forward to it." The surprising part was that he wasn't lying.
Loki spent the entire day with Felicity, sitting in the passenger seat of her car and looking at the city outside the window whenever they were headed to their next destination. He definitely preferred London to New York, and for a variety of reasons. Around one o'clock in the afternoon, they stopped at one of the many sidewalk cafés in the city and Loki followed Felicity inside, his hands casually in his pockets. It was a quaint little café, full of small tables and a very inviting atmosphere. The majority of the café-goers appeared to be couples, and that fact made him a bit uncomfortable. He waited until they were seated at an empty table by one of the café windows before saying anything about it.
"I couldn't help but notice that there seem to be a lot of couples here…"
"Huh? Oh, that. Well… you're right, in a manner of speaking. Couples do come here all the time on dates and stuff, but that's not the only crowd it attracts. Families come in, too. I used to come here with my ex-boyfriend all the time when we were together, but now I just come here because the employees know how to make an excellent cup of tea. I thought you might like to try the pastries they have here, too," Felicity explained, blushing a bit and smiling apologetically for making Loki feel uncomfortable.
"Hi, Felicity!" said a perky, feminine voice from nearby, interrupting the pair as they looked through their menus.
Felicity blanched.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed it, and I hope to see you all next chapter! ^_^