Loki tried to convince Rona to stay, but only succeeded in extracting a promise that she would return as soon as possible the next day. He missed her the moment she walked out the door. What had happened to him? He'd become so soft, so...dependent. He thought that the longer he went without seeing her, the easier it would be. But it was exactly the opposite. Every minute he spent with her made him want a hundred more.
Fortunately, Rona did return the next evening, two boxes in her arms and a fragrant smell swirling around her.
"Dinner has arrived." A cold wind followed her into the empty club. It was Sunday, the one day of the week when they were closed, and Loki and Rona had the whole place to themselves. She placed the boxes she carried on the bar, and then began to remove her coat and scarf.
Loki came forward to kiss her, a slow, lingering kiss that he was reluctant to pull away from. When he did, it was with a smile and a sigh.
"And what local delicacies have you brought tonight?"
She flipped open the large flat box, releasing a delicious smell. "New York pizza." She tapped the smaller pink box. "And New York cheesecake for dessert." She moved around behind the bar, grabbing two glasses and filling them with beer from the tap. "I can't believe you've been here for months and you've never had either one. If you hadn't met me, you would have missed out on so much."
She spoke with a teasing tone, but the truthfulness of her words halted him. There was more than just her ceaseless mission to show him the wonders of her world that he would have missed if they'd never met. She challenged him, tantalized him, inspired him. The spark of emotion that had lodged itself in his chest from the first time he spoke to her flamed brighter every day, and he feared it would soon consume him entirely. Feared...and desired it.
"Unquestionably."
The single word came out with a rasp, and he accepted a glass of beer to dampen his parched tongue. Rona watched him with a puzzled, curious expression. He turned away from her, carrying the pizza box to a table at the edge of the empty dance floor, hoping this time his thoughts weren't so transparent to her as they always seemed to be. In a moment she'd joined him, not hesitating to take the first slice of pizza and lift it to her mouth. He watched the cheese hanging in thin strands from the crust as she took a bite. Her tongue flicked out to lick the sauce off the corner of her lips.
"Are you going to eat, or are you just going to watch me?"
He smiled, and lifted a slice out of the box, taking an experimental bite. It was gooey and slightly spicy. He took another bite, Rona watching expectantly.
"It's very good."
She smiled. "We take our pizza very seriously."
She resumed eating, and for a time Loki could only watch her, his thoughts in chaos. He wanted to tell her everything about his realm, about himself, and at the same time he wanted to know every secret she held inside her. He wanted to drink her in until he drowned.
"What's wrong?"
Loki blinked, shaking his head to clear his mind. "I just..." He grasped at a thought, a question to divert her focus from him. He could not tell her what actually consumed his mind. How much of her he craved.
"Why haven't you seen your father in so long?"
She sat back, her fingers straying to the shard around her neck, just as he'd expected. "My parents split when I was small. Mom and I moved here, my dad stayed behind." She shrugged. "I guess he just never cared to visit."
"Not even when your mother died?"
She shook her head. "I barely remember him now. Or hardly anything about life before we moved."
Loki reached for another slice of pizza. "And where did you move from?"
"Salerno, Italy. My mother's family has a rather large olive grove, and at the time she met my father she was living there with her grandparents." She smiled wistfully. "She always said he came through her life like a whirlwind."
Their eyes met and Loki felt an electrifying shiver run through him. He knew exactly what her mother meant. "What do you remember? About your father."
She thought for a moment, her gaze growing distant. "He had traveled a lot. He loved history and literature." She smiled. "The last time I saw him I was five. We went for a walk through the olive groves. And he told me that sometimes loving someone means letting them go. That someday I'd understand."
Her eyes dropped to the table, to her hands busily occupied with tearing a napkin into shreds. "So far, I haven't."
Loki leaned toward her across the table, one finger tilting her chin up. "Then maybe he was wrong."
She blinked at him doubtfully. "Which part do you disagree with?"
His thumb traced the side of her jaw. "Well, I have learned not to underestimate such an unbelievably surprising woman as you. So I do not question your ability to understand." He leaned even closer, his fingers sliding to grasp the back of her neck. "But if I...loved someone," he paused, heart beating so hard he could barely breathe. "I cannot imagine ever letting them go."
Her eyes searched his face and he wondered what she saw there, if it would be enough to make her close the miniscule distance between them and kiss him. When she pulled away his heart fell. Somehow, he felt he'd disappointed her.
"I think it's time for dessert."
She rose to get the box of cheesecake off the bar and Loki started to follow, striving to inject a lightness in his voice that he didn't feel. "Should I get some plates?"
She set the box down in the middle of the table, shaking her head. "You don't need plates to have cheesecake." She rattled the silverware in her hand. "All you need are forks."
He took the fork that she held out toward him, but made no move to use it. Rona sat back in her seat, head slightly tilted, and he realized that this time it was his turn to take the first bite. He eyed the cheesecake, its smooth, cream-colored top marred by cracks. It certainly didn't look like anything special. But, he thought, glancing up at Rona, appearances could obviously be deceiving. He reached forward, the fork sliding easily through the edge of the cake, and lifted up a small bite. Rona watched as he placed it in his mouth, his eyes widening as the sweetness hit his tongue.
"Well?"
"It is...delectable." He took another bite, larger this time.
Rona chuckled. "I had you pegged for a sweet tooth."
"Here, you have to have some." He dipped his fork in again, bringing up the largest bite so far and holding it up in front of her. She hesitated and then leaned forward, lips closing around the fork. The bite was a little too large, bits of the crust clung to the edges of her mouth, and she wiped them away with a napkin.
"Mmm, very good."
He attacked the cheesecake again, shaking his head. "You mortals are masters of understatement."
"Possibly." She watched him eat for a moment. "I will be very shocked though if you manage to eat that entire cheesecake without making yourself sick."
He stopped, looking up at her with a skeptical expression. "You're forgetting that I am stronger than everyone you know."
She leaned forward, folding her arms on top of the table. "I think we have different definitions of strength. And I have yet to see your true power demonstrated."
He sat back, frowning at her, the cheesecake forgotten for the moment. "Are you suggesting some sort of test?"
"You're always so quick to try and prove yourself, aren't you?" She smiled, propping her chin up on one hand. "The real test comes when you don't expect it. When you have to make tough decisions, decisions that affect people you care about. Or people you don't even know. That's when you'll show who you truly are."
He was silent, staring at her, astonished once again by her calm self-assurance. Her uncompromising view of the world. Whatever tests she faced, he was sure she would pass them brilliantly. He was less convinced about himself.
"And perhaps who I truly am will turn out to be someone you do not care to know."
"Maybe you don't have enough faith in yourself." She bit her lip, head tilted in speculation. "So I suppose that will have to be my job."
His mouth opened in surprise, but she'd already turned away, rising to collect her things. He watched her slip into her coat, wondering why he could never seem to make her stay.
"It's getting late, you know how Lex worries."
"Perhaps she doesn't realize how capable you are."
Rona paused in the process of wrapping her scarf around her neck. She glanced at him. "Still, it might be best if you see me out. Make sure no one's lurking outside the door to snatch me."
He smiled and crossed the room, his voice lowered as he bent over her. "It would be the last thing they ever did."