It was dark when I finally got home, my footwear covered in the snow which covered the paths. I kicked off my boots and shook the snow out of my hair, small trails of water slipping down my neck. Great. My jacket was drenched as I hung it on the radiator.
"Is that you, Midgardian?" Loki pointed out of the door at the small blizzard outside. He stood in the doorway, arms folding back over his chest. The TV was still giving out a buzz from being used in the living room.
"Yep," I nodded, voice slightly scratchy as I shut the weather out.
"Impressive." Loki nodded, pushing a lock of hair behind his ear. Then he stopped, his eyes analysing me, almost questioning what had happened before he walked off into the living room.
I went straight past the living room and up the stairs into my brother's bedroom. It still smelled of him - Lynx deodorant and lemons.
The bed squeaked underneath me as I fell back onto it. The tears made small trails down my cheeks as I cried. Hopefully Loki couldn't hear me, not that my tears would make a sound. It was the silent kind of crying that never really featured in movies; the crying that you only reserved out of sheer desperation and sadness when you didn't want anyone to see you. "I'm sorry Karl..." I whispered, my cheeks getting even wetter.
"Are you okay?" Loki even seemed startled by his own voice breaking the silence. So much for not being seen...
I sat up, quickly wiping the tears away. "I'm fine," my voice shook at the words but my tears had stopped.
"You are lying, Midgardian." Loki watched me from the doorway, arms crossed over his broad chest - one of his new tops stretching to cover him, which had arrived this morning.
"Maybe I don't want to tell you what happened." I fell back onto the bed.
Loki snorted. "Midgardian, you are quite obviously upset and need to... How did they say it on The Vampire Diaries I watched today... Vent."
I threw my hands up over my head and sighed, glaring up at the ceiling. "I have no one to vent to," I whispered, closing my eyes. I let the smell of my brother overwhelm me - it was almost as if he was still here, beside me, annoying me.
The bed sank beside me, the smell of leather and something foreign now near me. "I am here, I may want to be somewhere else but I am here for now, Midgardian."
"Go away," I mumbled, rolling away from him onto my side.
"I do what I want I'm afraid," Loki laughed. "Besides you cannot get rid of me that easily, Midgardian."
"How do I get rid of you?" I rolled onto my stomach, resting my chin on my hands. "And stop calling me Midgardian."
Loki looked at me from his position by turning his head, a small smirk on his face. Up close his eyes were even more startling and his features even sharper - almost like an ice statue. "From your house or just this room in general?"
"Don't get smart with me," I sighed. I didn't have the energy to snap right now.
"Well to get rid of me you need to persuade Odin to take me back to Asgard." Loki inspected his nails, placing his other hand underneath his head. "To get me out of this room all you have to do is tell me what is wrong, mortal."
I face planted the bed, sighing again.
"Quite the moody one aren't you," Loki chuckled. "Much ado about nothing it would seem, just a petty-"
I moved quicker than an average human, pinning him to the bed. "Don't assume something you don't know," I hissed.
His eyes looked up at me, almost expectantly. His lips a straight line and his breathing suddenly accelerated.
My heart was racing, as I looked down at my hand on his chest. Snowflakes were suspended in the air around us. The temperature slowly dropped as I glared down at the God.
"Well, are you done admiring my godlike form or are you going to stay on top of me for the entirety of the-"
I put a finger to his lips. "Shut up."
Loki's signature smirk flickered underneath my finger. "A please never hurt anyone." His lips were surprisingly smooth underneath my skin, weird...
"An apology doesn't either," I smirked back.
Loki's touch was cold on my wrist as he pulled my hand away from his mouth. "I am sorry for whatever it is I did that offended you, even if that mere thing is just existing. Do not try to disguise your hatred of me."
I laughed then, the sound escaping my lips before I could do anything about it. I rolled off of him, his grip on my wrist falling away as I lay beside him.
"Who's room is this?" Loki asked, reaching up and touching one of the snowflakes which hung in the air. The snowflakes didn't move, it just glowed a faint blue at his touch along with all with of the others.
"It was my brother's," I whispered.
"Shall I tell you a story, Midgardian?"
I looked to the God lying next to me. His black hair fanned out around his head.
"Honestly, do not look so shocked that I noticed that you are disheartened." Loki narrowed his eyes. "I feel too, whether that news be believable or not."
"You have a funny way of showing it." I shook my head, lying back down.
"Anyway, my story, which is actually a factual account but who am I for corrections." Loki took a deep breath. "I believe you Midgardians begin things with Once upon a time, yes?"
"Yes," I answered.
"Okay..." Loki took a deep breath. "If I had magic I could give you an illusion to go with my tale-"
"Just tell me the story."
"Goodness we're impatient aren't we?" Loki chuckled. "In Asgard patience is the essence my dear."
"We're not five years old so stop treating me like I am,' I snapped. "And definitely don't call me dear again."
"If you insist," Loki sighed. "Once upon a time there was two brothers - both brothers destined for greatness but one was always in the shadow of the other. This brother knew he would never be King yet his brother was destined to rule - an idiotic oaf. He would have ruined the country so his brother took it into his own hands and got him banished to Midgard. All was going to plan, until the brother found out about his true heritage: he was not of Asgard but of Jotunheim, he was a frost giant whom was abandoned at birth, his destiny to die. The brother destined to rule was brought back to Asgard a new man thanks to love and proved himself a mighty ruler. The other brother cast to the side as if he were nothing. The two brothers fought, the destruction of Jotunheim imminent. And then the brother who had lived in shadow the entirety of his life hung in the balance - continue to live in a shadow or be free and rule, and so he let go and fell."
"What happened to him?" I looked up at Loki who's eyes were glued to the ceiling.
"The brother landed on Midgard and he tried to rule a race which did not need ruling. He was as foolish as his brother had been so long ago," Loki sighed. "He caused many innocent deaths and was smashed by an unruly monster, but..." Loki looked down at me. "He deserved it. He was wrong then. He was taken back to Asgard and imprisoned only to cause more damage: the brother got his mother killed, faked his death and was then imprisoned again for mutiny." Loki smirked, reaching down and lifting my hand to place it against his, hovering in the air. "And then he was cast out to spend the remainder of his days in a wretched place they call Earth and forced to seek refuge in the most unlikely place: a Midgardian's house."
I watched our hands for a minute before I rested my head on his shoulder. Maybe it was my weakness for feeling comfort or because I genuinely felt sorry for the guy. Big softy alert I know. "He's you, isn't he?"
Loki weaved his fingers through mine. "I could not say, Midgardian, I can only tell you I wish that it was just a mere fable."
His hand was as pale as mine, perfectly fitting against my palm. "Why are you holding my hand?"
Loki's breath skimmed across my face. "I am comparing the difference between us."
"Is there any?"
"Hmmm..." Loki glanced away from me, taking his hand away from mine. "Yes."
"What are you talking about?" I asked, looking at his face.
Loki looked down at me, a small smile on his face. "You are not a monster who craves a throne, who where ever he goes causes death and destruction."
"Neither are you," I answered.
"You have not seen the darkest side of me, Midgardian," Loki whispered. "You have not seen the madness which plagues me, which threatens to overwhelm."
"You just need to control it," I yawned.
Loki sighed. "If only it were that easy little Midgardian, if only it were that easy..."
My back pocket vibrated, a loud siren noise ringing through the room. My phone! I opened my eyes to a black clad chest. We were so close... I scrambled to my feet, pulling the device from my pocket and hitting answer.
"Hey Freya, I'll be over in ten minutes, it's our coffee morning today, remember?"
I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. Shit. "Yes, of course I remembered, see you in ten." I hung up on Phil, looking to my side.
Loki was sat up, looking up at me. "What's-" he yawned, eyes watering slightly "- wrong?"
"Phil's coming over. Here. Now." I ran my hands through my hair and straightened my clothes. "This is so not good."
Loki stretched as he stood, towering above me. "What are we going to do?"
"You aren't doing anything." I pointed at his chest. "You're staying here and you're not going to move or go near the stairs."
Loki stood and crossed his arms. "Just contact him and say it is an inconvenient time to turn up, it is that simple Midgardian."
"He's already on his way," I snapped.
"Tell him you have a man in the house," Loki shrugged.
"He'll want to meet them and what am I going to do when I tell him he doesn't exist?"
Loki shot me a look of disapproval. "I do exist, earthling."
"Phil would kill me if he found out I'd slept with you." I shook my head.
"You would not want me to bed you?" Loki raised an elegant black eyebrow.
"Bed-" I stopped abruptly realising what he meant. My cheeks instantly flamed.
"You wear embarrassment well, Midgardian," Loki smirked, standing taller.
"Shut up," I snapped.
Loki glanced towards the bathroom. "What happens if I have to urinate?"
I glared at him. "Just go, but quietly."
Loki rolled his sapphire eyes.
"Be good," I told him before heading for the stairs.
"Says the one who caused a blizzard yesterday," Loki muttered.
I turned around at the door frame and flicked my wrist. Ice blocked the doorway, a thick but transparent sheet.
"You have imprisoned me, Midgardian." Loki stepped up to the division, touching it. His eyes were still a ferocious blue behind it yet they glinted with humour. "Whatever for? I have given no inkling of misbehaving."
"Best be good then and I might contemplate letting you out." I turned on my heel.
"Frey- Midgardian, I am hungry."
I continued walking, down the stairs and into the kitchen. I grabbed the bag of hot cross buns and headed back up the stairs. A small square appeared in the ice. "I would hate for you to starve."
Loki smirked, taking the bag. "For someone with so much power you are wasting it."
I crossed my arms. "And what do you recommend I use it on?"
Loki smirked, putting the hot cross buns on the side. "You could rule the world, sit a top a throne and have all kneel at your feet. You could defeat the Avengers-"
I waved my hand and the ice square sealed. Loki was still talking but I couldn't hear him. He seemed to notice after a minute. His pale hand reached up to the glass and tapped it twice.
I created a small hole. "What?"
"I was joking," he chuckled. "I smirk when I am joking, Midgardian."
"I would never have guessed." I faked a smile before walking down the stairs.
Zeus sat at the bottom of them, his judgy little green eyes staring up at me.
"What?" I shrugged. "I can't say I haven't wanted to do that since I first saw him."
Zeus tilted his head at me before using his stubby little legs to conquer the stairs. Wow, judgement from a cat, Loki must have brainwashed him.
The door sounded behind me. Phil.
I took a deep breath before opening the door.
Phil smiled up at me as he stepped into the house, two coffees in his hands. "Hey." How on earth had he knocked the door?
"Hello," I nodded, shutting the door.
Phil smiled at me again before collapsing onto the sofa. "Freya, how's it going?"
"I'm fine." I nodded, sitting opposite him and taking one of the coffees. The warmth spread through my hands, getting rid of the chill that had taken over me from earlier. I don't know what had caused it, but it was something to do with Loki.
"We haven't found him." Phil took a sip of his drink, eyes watching me.
I mimicked him before answering "He'll only come out when he wants to be found."
"I see you gave us a little snow yesterday." Phil looked out of the window, laughing.
I nodded.
"Johnson told me and he apologises for what he said." Phil reached forward and squeezed my knee. "I put him on desk duty for the rest of the month."
I laughed, letting a smirk spread across my face. "I bet he loved that."
"He agreed he deserved it," Phil shrugged.
"Ugh, I'm so sick of the word freak," I mumbled.
"Your parents never told you how you got your powers did they?" Phil moved his hand away from me and sat straighter.
I frowned, setting the coffee down. "No."
"You were near a generator when you were little, in the S.H.I.E.L.D base, and it exploded." Phil grimaced. "We thought you'd died but you just lay in the snow... I suppose absorbing the energy, the cold from it. Your skin turned blue and your eyes, even your hair."
I leant closer to Phil. "Why was I near a generator?"
Phil smiled then. "You were trying to save a rat that had escaped from the lab."
"Did it survive?" I asked.
Phil nodded. "Of course."
I nodded, looking down at my hands as the information sank in. "Wow."
Phil cleared his throat. "I know you try to save things that are already too far gone, please don't try and save Loki, he's crazy and dangerous."
"I would never try to save him." The lie was too easy as I said it.
Phil nodded. "You'd tell me if you'd seen him, wouldn't you?"
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.
"You can't save him Freya, he doesn't deserve a second chance." Phil watched me, searching for a lie. "He's nothing like you."
"What's the difference between him and the rat, they were both lost and misunderstood-"
"Freya." Phil stood up and came and sat next to me. "Loki killed me and then laughed, he didn't regret it at all. He's a monster and you can never undo something like that."
Footsteps. I couldn't exactly blame Dobby... And they were too heavy to be Zeus.
Phil glanced upwards. "Who else is here?"
"No one, it's probably Zeus." I tucked a lock of hair behind my ear.
Phil nodded. "You'd tell me if you ever found someone, a man, or a woman. If you're homosexual I don't care, you're my niece and I love you."
"Phil I'm not gay," I smiled. "I just... Haven't found the right guy yet."
"What is your type anyway?" Phil raised an eyebrow, smirking.
I rolled my eyes. "Not you too."
"It's been two years since you've been in a relationship, I'm worried about you." Phil sipped some coffee. "Besides Jack from training is not a suitable bed partner."
I refrained from dropping my coffee - god I sounded like Loki. "How did you find out?"
Phil shrugged. "I have my ways."
"May..." I mumbled. She was another S.H.I.E.L.D agent that Phil should definitely date...
"So you gonna answer my question or avoid it?" Phil leant back on the sofa, waiting.
"I don't know," I shrugged.
"Hair colour?"
"Black."
"Eye colour?" The inquisition had begun...
"Blue."
"Personality?"
"Sassy."
Phil laughed before continuing "Style?"
"Leather."
Phil frowned. "You're describing a Hell's Angel right now."
"Ahhh, but I don't like motorbikes," I laughed.
"Have you ever considered internet dating?" Phil asked. "Because I give up, I don't know anyone that has blue eyes, black hair, is sassy and wears leather apart from Loki and he is the biggest no no."
I smirked. "You sure?"
"No way in Hell would I walk you up the aisle to that psychopath." Phil's tone held no sarcasm, it was blunt and honest.
"I'll take it as a maybes then," I nodded, looking to the clock. It was one in the afternoon, damn I'd slept half of the day away. "It's late afternoon and Johnson said he'd take me on a date tonight so I need to get ready."
"My faith has been restored." Phil stood up, a smirk on his face. "Be safe, Freya."
I hugged him. "Always am."
"Be safer now that Loki's here, you're all I have left and I can't lose you." Phil held my shoulders, smiling weakly.
"I know, same to you," I whispered.
The door shut softly behind Phil as he left. The stairs creaked before breath was on my neck. "Are you still sure you want me here, Midgardian?"
