Chapter 18: Soul Stone and True Parentage:

In the vast library, only the sound of the smooth gliding of a quill and a pen across the paper could be heard. Loki and Mikan were sitting beside each other in a comfortable silence, the latter seemingly oblivious to the Asgardian's close attention posed on her. As he read through the notebook that contained Mikan's thoughtful work of translation, he couldn't help but be impressed by the neat and organized notes that completed it. Once again, he was struck by the realization that the woman sitting next to him was smarter than she looked.

'And rather forgiving too.' Loki thought to himself. Although Mikan had warily kept avoiding maintaining too long eye contact with him, she almost acted as if nothing was amiss. In fact, he had noticed that Mikan had started to feel more at ease in his presence.

One week had already passed since they had started studying Allice's legacy. Every day, they followed the same routine, which merely consisted of waking up early in the morning, going to the library and working together until late in the night. From time to time, Mikan would take long breaks in which she either meditated or worked out at the training facility. 'To keep fit and relax.' she had explained. Although he suspected that it was mostly due to her incapacity to stay focused for too long.

Every time, Mikan would find Loki already installed and observed that he always retired to his chambers way after she did. When she made a comment about it, he had simply answered. "You seem to forget that my body doesn't have the same need as your kind's."

One day, the young woman came down with red eyes and a flushed face. It didn't take a genius to realize she had been crying all night. Loki had only raised a questioning yet slightly worried eyebrow, however Mikan had preferred to shrug the matter off. Had he known her better, Loki would have guessed the source of his Little One's sorrows was her encounter with her childhood friend, Luca.

"Don't stare at me like that, Loki. I might think that there's something on my face." Mikan teased him with an amused smile.

As if taking her words as an invitation to do exactly the contrary, Loki took take a closer look at her, slightly amused by the small scowl on her face. He looked appreciatively at Mikan's long brown hair which she had tied in a braid that reached down below to her waist and his eyes followed the lines of the simple silk dress she wore. The outfit subtly highlighted the harmonious curves of her body, yet barely revealed any inch of skin. Loki's gaze lingered on the details of Mikan's face. Her hazel eyes were stubbornly staring at him; her lips were slightly pouting and her eyebrows were joined in a frustrated frown. Somehow, Loki couldn't help but find the image endearing.

"When were you going to tell me?" he simply asked her, taking Mikan by surprise.

"Tell you about what, Loki?"

Loki pointed at two different paragraphs of the notebook in his hands.

"Ah, that." Mikan sighed and gently pried the notebook from him. "I would have been foolish to tell you about them when you kidnapped me and it simply didn't cross my mind after we contracted the Oath."

"You admitted to possessing both Alices. I gather that you have at least two fragments of the Soul Gem inside of you."

"Three actually. There was another inside the Gauntlet." Mikan précised matter-of-factly.

"Interesting." Loki said, truly intrigued as he took Mikan's hand and started examining her palm, as if though it contained the answers to his unvoiced questions. She kept herself from gasping when his cool thumb started tracing the lines of her palm. "I would have never thought that a Midgardian body could host an Infinity Gem." he mused. "Have you ever tried to use it?"

"My body isn't hosting them, Loki. They are simply linked to my soul." Mikan corrected him.

When she trailed off, Loki prompted her, "And?"

"Well, when I absorbed the fragment from the Gauntlet, I felt the same sensation than eight years ago, when I finally woke up from my long-induced coma." Mikan admitted with a small frown. "Like I told that day, there was an explosion that killed Kuonji and all his men with him. I am not sure but I now think that the Stone might have acted on my desire to be set free. However, I've never felt its presence since. I must say that I didn't really tried to either."

Loki pretended not to be startled when Mikan suddenly got up from her seat, taking the warmth of her hand away with her in the motion. She hesitated an instant before proposing: "I'm going to brew myself some tea. Wanna join me?"

Loki quickly considered the invite. His decision made; he stood tall and followed the young woman's steps outside the library walls. When he realized that they weren't heading to the charmed dining room but to one of the unoccupied chambers instead, he silently raised a questioning eyebrow. Mikan simply smiled in answer and opened the door for him.

As Loki stepped inside, he was taken aback by the radical change Mikan had brought to the room which had now been turned into an open-plan kitchen. A long counter that served both as a worktop and a kitchen table separated the kitchen and the lounge areas. Several storing cabinets filled the room, a double bowl kitchen sink was located under the room's window, next to the door was placed a couch that looked quite comfortable and numerous potted plants were now decorating the chambers. However, out of all the change Mikan had brought to the room, it was the multiple Midgardian gadgets and items that completed the kitchen area that picked his interest: he knew they required electric energy which wasn't served within the Mansion.

"I thought that you wouldn't mind." Mikan stated as she came around the counter. When Loki nodded in approval, her smile grew wider and she motioned him to make himself comfortable. "You know, I like cooking a lot. Since I couldn't find any kitchen in the Mansion, I took the initiative to make one for myself."

Loki took a seat at the other side of the counter and watched her pull two cups and few other tableware out of one of the kitchen cupboards. She then proceeded to pour water into a white device before pressing a small bouton that light up in red.

When Mikan caught Loki staring up into the machine with narrowed eyes, she let out a small chuckle before explaining: "This is a boiler, Loki. As to how it can work even here, I am simply applying the First Law of Thermodynamics."

"Fascinating. Usually magic and technology do not meddle well." he observed.

"Which flavor do you prefer?" Mikan asked him while placing five different tea pouches in front of him. "There's Green tea, Earl Grey, Citrus Mint, English Breakfast Tea, which is the strongest out of them, and cherry blossom flavored tea. This one is my favorite."

"You realize that these are all unknown to me." Loki commented casually, crossing his arms and reposing his elbows against the counter. Mikan felt a little zip of attraction hit her low as the motion highlighted his biceps.

"Well, which one do you feel more inclined to try out? A strong brewage, a fruity one, a full-bodied one, a fresh one, or a sweet one?"

"I will go for the latter option."

Mikan beamed at him. She then sprinkled a few dried, salt-pickled blossoms into both tea cups and covered them in hot water. When the collapsed petals began to unfurl and float, Mikan placed Loki's cup in front of him.

"My grandfather used to make tons of it." she told him as she took a seat in front of him. "Each year until I was nine, late in the spring, we would go and pick some cherry blossoms from the Sakura trees in his garden. He is the one who showed me how to pickle them."

Once she deemed it ready, Mikan took a sip of her brewage and sighed contentedly when the pleasant, well-balanced sweet aroma reached her palate. She had kept herself from revealing to Loki that the flowers in their drinks came from the last pouch she and her grandfather had made together. She smiled when Loki seemed to enjoy his drink too.

Obviously, translating The History of the Nine Realms was going to be harder than Flamel's diary. She had estimated that it was easily going to take her a month or two. Mikan knew that her engagement with Loki was going to last for a very certain long time. And keeping their discussions to the fewest words possible would certainly not make it any more pleasant. Not that she would be able to anyway; she was way too talkative and sociable of a person for her to fully be able to ignore him. She rather preferred it if they could start to better know one another.

Mikan rested her head on her hand and cocked it to the side, so she could take a better look at the handsome god facing her. This movement made her braided hair fell on her shoulder. She was once again struck by the harmony of his traits. At this instant, she was truly willing to forget their differences and just enjoy a decent conversation with him.

His eyes teasing, Loki poked her on the nose with the tips of his fingers, amused to catch her so blatantly staring at him.

"What are you staring at like that?" he mocked with a knowing smirk of his own as he took another sip of the sweet hot drink.

"You, obviously." Mikan chuckled as she absentmindedly rubbed the slightly reddened spot on her nose. "I was thinking that you put me at great disadvantage today."

"Really? Why would you come to think that?"

"Because here you are, encouraging me to open up to you when I still feel like I don't know that much about you."

"My bad. I simply assumed that you had already seen all what you wanted to know in my mind that night." Loki sneered.

Crimson color crept up Mikan's cheeks as the memory of how she had acquired said information came taunting her back.

"You're never gonna let me live it down, aren't you?"

"No."

"Well, I merely saw what was crossing your mind at the moment!" Mikan said sourly, trying not to think about the vivid images that had run through Loki's racing mind back when she had tried to seduce him. From the way Loki's eyes had darkened, Mikan assumed that he was thinking about them too. Shivers ran through her spine and she found herself unable to maintain his gaze for a moment.

"Loki?"

"Hm."

"There's something that I've been longing to ask you for a while. I just couldn't find a – let's say tactful – way to approach you about it." Mikan admitted, still staring at her nearly emptied cup of tea.

"Well, ask away." Loki encouraged her, whose curiosity had been piqued.

"Is it true that you gave birth to a horse once?"

'Vengeance is so sweet.' Mikan thought smugly as she watched Loki choke on his own tea. She cackled loudly at the scandalized look on his face.

"When did Loki start learning magic?"

"He was of a very young age when I began teaching him." Frigga smiled in a composed voice. "Loki is three hundred years Thor's cadet. While my oldest son showed early gifts for the art of war, Loki always favored wit to direct confrontation. He knew that words could be sharper than weapons and persuasion more fruitful than terror and battles. I knew teaching him Magic would help him develop his talents for it is an art of finding the words that will resonate in synchrony with a person or an object in the purpose of triggering the aimed effect on it. Magic is a game of wits and observation and my son excels at it. In fact, Loki is so talented he developed his own spells, improved our practice of it and learned how to escape Heimdall's all-sight."

Hotaru and Jane silently nodded to Frigga, each one taking careful notice of the Queen Mother's words.

"Doesn't practicing magic leave some kind of personal trace? If Thor was able to perceive Asgardian magic flow in Mikan, would you be able, for instance, to identify it's 'owner'?" Jane asked her, curious, remembering a discussion between Harry, Luna and herself on their Ministry of Magic and the Trace.

Frigga smirked, posing an amused gaze upon the two women facing her. "Actually, yes I do. Lady Imai, I caught a glimpse of the same magical flow in you and your friend as soon as we met in Heimdall's Observatory. It's Allice's. A powerful Sorcerer who taught me the art of harnessing Magic. It seems he gifted you, Midgardians, of some of his creations. I must say, even though Loki has never met him, that I am certain he perceived it too. This must be the reason why he took an interest in the young Lady he kidnapped." Frigga's brown eyes darkened. "Would you please tell me more about your little friend?"

Hotaru's face paled slightly.

"It has been twelve years since I last saw Mikan. But the girl I knew was kind, brave and extremely generous. Very naïve too. She was drawn to her peers' darkness but she had a particular gift in showing them the way back to the light." Hotaru paused, hating herself for getting emotional at the sweet and sad memories of her childhood she shared with Mikan. "From what I saw in Luna's and Harry's memories, it looks like she hasn't changed that much. Otherwise, I believe that Loki has found a good ally in Mikan but not an easy target to his lures. Mikan might be naïve but she has a will of iron and would never put others' lives in danger for selfish reasons."

"I see." Frigga whispered, her heart aching. 'My son is a lost soul; he doesn't know who he is anymore. If Jane was able to change Thor for the best, maybe… Maybe, if this little mortal is right, this woman might help him find his way back to us again.'

Frigga sighed and quickly recomposed herself, forbidding any tear to be shed. She was surprised by Jane's gentle hand placed on hers. Frigga squeezed it, thankful for her support.

"Let's get back to work."

Mikan's laughter had followed him all the way back to the library. He had to watch her laugh at his own expense until she was nearly crying.

'Damn you, Thor!' he thought sourly.

"Oh god!" Mikan gasped for air as she held her stomach. "Your brother has a truly wicked sense of humor, doesn't he?"

"Thor is an oaf and a buffoon! I would never have thought that the tale would have reached Midgard. Don't ever mention this again." Loki snapped.

Mikan paused, slightly surprised that Loki hadn't bothered to correct her. She then threw him a wicked grin and a pointed 'you-brought-it-on-yourself-look' as she extended a hand toward him.

"Fine by me. But only if you promise that you'll stop teasing me about that night."

Loki simply nodded in agreement and refused to shake her hand.

"That's just rude." Mikan pouted as her hand fell back to her side.

They sat back on their respective places on the bench and started working on the translation.

Two hours passed quietly and Mikan was about to call it a night when the beginning of a paragraph caught her attention. As she read through it, chills ran down her spine. 'Oh no.' Mikan thought as she threw a worried glance at Loki. 'This is going to be bad.'

While browsing over the History of the Nine Realms, I realized that no one other than myself had ever attempted to master the different kinds of Magic practiced all across the different Realms. Although I am restricted by my own nature, I suspect that someone with mixed blood could one day surpass my own capacities. Aesirs and Jotuns being the most physically responsive to the magical flow, I convinced Snotra to try and conceive a child with Laufey. She believed the result of their union could bring an end to the war, providing evidence that our two kinds could get along. Although I helped them keep their affair secret, Heimdall grew suspicious after noticing Snotra's several prolonged absences and travels to Jotunheim. He reported her to Odin who killed her for treason. But it didn't matter because she had already given birth to our Prince Loki whose true parentage was only known by me.

To my surprise, Odin didn't slaughter the baby when he found him in an abounded temple. Instead, he decided to take him in. He saw in this child a bargaining chip for future political negotiations, but Loki can be much more than that. His real nature will grant him the potential to master the two kinds of Magic to a very extended level and will allow him to use both the Casket of Ancient Winters and the Twilight Sword.

She didn't try to read any further as the rest defined the physical and magical differences between the two races and evaluated how this could benefit and disadvantage Loki.

'Is this what Loki was all ever supposed to be? A bargaining chip and an experiment?!' Mikan thought, disgusted. She closed her eyes. 'Now, how am I supposed to tell him this?'

Her pen hovered over the blank page of her notebook as she hesitated. This wasn't something that she could keep secret from him. Mikan inhaled deeply and resolved herself to write the translation down. Slowly, so slowly it was almost painful she allowed the pen to make contact with the paper. When she was finished, she handed the notebook over to him.

"It speaks of your true parentage." Mikan explained in a small voice. She felt that she should add something but she couldn't think of anything else to say so she kept quiet.

Mikan winced internally when Loki's narrowed eyes began scanning the page. As each one of the fateful words painfully sank in, they revived the too familiar feelings of raw anger in his chest. 'Is this what I am? An hybrid?' Somehow, it sounded even worse. How could he belong to the two worlds and yet be rejected by both? One had immediately deemed him a runt unworthy of the life it had just been granted. The other had taken him in but had casted him aside, subjected him to constant belittling and hardly recognized him as one of their own. 'Your birthright was to die, but you couldn't even do that right.' Those words had hurt him more than he had wanted to allow them to. They had left him shell-shocked, petrified and had shattered all what was left of his pride and composure. Even more so that Odin had addressed him as Laufeyson, revealing his real nature to all of Asgard since his trial had been made a public affair. He could have simply executed him, as he had initially sentenced him to, and spared him the painful humiliation. But no. Odin was a cruel man: he knew this was the greatest punishment he could receive. And Thor, his golden son, the oh so clearly preferred one, the grand savior of the Nines, hadn't allowed him to be granted such luxury. Instead he had begged, implored and wailed for his life to be spared, even more than Frigga, who had simply stood next to her husband as silent tears rolled down her cheeks.

Loki gridded his teeth together and curled his hands into tight fists. Only then was he reminded of Mikan's presence as her hand gently covered his. 'How humiliating, she sensed it all.' His anger, his pain, his self-loathing, his feeling of betrayal, his loneliness. All of it.

When he turned to face her, he was met by eyes filled with worry.

"Let go of my hand, Mikan. The last thing I need is to be pitied by you." he snapped as he rose up heatedly from the bench and glared at her dangerously.

"I am not pitying you, Loki." Mikan stated as she linked her arm with his forearm, refusing to let him go.

Before giving him any chance to retort back, Mikan closed her eyes and set her powers free. Loki stilled when he understood what she had done. When the world as he usually perceived it was replaced by Mikan's own perspective of it, his vision turned into a colorful, messy blur of waves. He had to blink several times to be able to perceive Mikan's features once again. Around her flew a bright orange aura and he was suddenly hit by emotions that were hardly his own. Among them he recognized concern, compassion, empathy and a tenderness he had never thought someone could feel toward him.

"See, there is no pity among all those." Mikan smiled gently, linking her arms around his torso in a comforting embrace. She sensed all his muscles twitch as he registered the contact.

The realization of her touch had been jilting and although he wanted to find it in himself to be angered by it, he found himself longing for more.

"You mortals are repulsively affectionate." Loki sighed defeatedly, neither reciprocating her embrace nor pushing her away.

"I know." Mikan whispered as she rested her cheek against his chest and hugged him closer. "But that's what makes the pains that we come across in life easier to bear with."

A.N: Thank you for reading this chapter! Constructive criticism is always welcome, please leave a review!