They kissed, for a long while.
When they finally broke apart, her eyes were glazed and unfocused, but there was a dreamy smile touching her lips. Hungrily, he gazed down at her, devouring the sight of her in his arms... Where he had so badly wanted her to be, for so long.
She sighed blissfully, and buried her face in the hollow of his throat. "I love you, Loki-kun."
His chest constricted, not unpleasantly, and his grip tightened around her. Reverently, he brushed his lips across her temple and then shifted, settling her further into his embrace. In a voice he barely recognized as his own, he whispered, "I know."
He felt her smile against his neck. "That sounds so conceited, Loki-kun."
He laughed, the sound so joyful it startled even himself. "You love me anyway, don't you?" He grinned into her hair, elation thrumming headily in his veins.
"Mmm." She agreed happily, burrowing into his chest. Suddenly, she stiffened, and started to draw away, before he stopped her. "Mayura?"
Her eyes searched his worriedly. "We... shouldn't be doing this. I mean..."
He tensed, but said teasingly, "What, having second thoughts so soon?"
She paused for a second, then relaxed back into his arms with a contented sigh. "No. No, I'm not. At all, Loki-kun." Her voice rang with such exuberance that he felt the thrill of it in his very blood.
She was his.
And he'd be damned if he gave her up. To anyone. And least of all, to her fiancé.
"You'd better hope not." He leaned his forehead against hers, so that he was looking directly into her eyes, and let a feral smile curl the corners of his lips. "Because you're never escaping me now, you silly girl."
She flushed deeply at the firm assertion, and giggled. "I never knew that Loki-kun was so possessive."
"To be perfectly honest, neither did I," he admitted candidly. "But I suppose I should have guessed. All gods are possessive... especially with things," he arched an eyebrow meaningfully at her, "that we consider our own."
She wrinkled her nose at him, then sobered. "That's the problem. You're a god, Loki-kun. We can't..."
Her resistance was cut short when he kissed her fiercely, deeply.
He lifted his head, and breathed, a little shakily, into her ear, "Yes, we can. We'll find a way to, somehow."
She gazed at him for a bit, and then smiled tenderly. Reaching up to caress his jaw, she said softly, her voice holding an absolute conviction, "Yes, I think so too."
His confidence soared at the complete trust he saw in her eyes, and stooping down, he claimed her mouth in a passionate kiss.
VAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVA
Verdandi sipped her tea.
Her sisters had returned to their home at the foot of Yggdrasil, Urd escorting the still-pale Skuld. She, on the other hand, had decided to stay and make sure that everything went all right between Loki-sama and Mayura-san.
An amused smile on her face, she watched the trickster god's children and shikigami having their tea. (She had been pleasantly surprised by how well Jormungand cooked; one would have expected a certain amount of... ineptitude from the World Serpent in matters of domesticity.)
Or to be more precise, attempting to have their tea. The expectation hovering in the air was almost painfully tangible, and she was pretty sure that they would snap under it. Soon.
She was right.
Fenrir, having gazed unseeingly at his cake for a time, barked suddenly in frustration. "This is so boring!"
Verdandi traced the rim of her cup delicately with one fingertip. "Why, Fenris. You could always go back upstairs and take a look at the mirror. I'm certain you'd find it... entertaining."
He looked, mortified, at her and flushed, as well as a black-furred puppy could. Flopping back onto his hind-end, he released a dog-equivalent of a sigh.
Verdandi smiled secretly behind her cup as silence descended on the room.
Yamino fidgeted uncomfortably. "Verdandi-sama..." He began hesitantly. Breaking off, he took a deep breath. "Do you think that Loki-sama is..." he glanced nervously at the ceiling, "well..."
She stared contemplatively at the red liquid swirling in the white china. "Let's just say that we should probably be glad that the walls are thick."
He slumped. "... You really think so? I'm sure that even Loki-sama wouldn't be so... well... on her wedding day..." He floundered.
Pointedly, Verdandi reminded him, "He's your father, Jormungand."
He thought this over for a while.
Clearly coming to a conclusion, he sighed, and shook his head.
Verdandi, Weaver of the Present, smiled, in a distinctly evil sort of way.
VAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVA
Loki's mouth was persuasive and demanding, but gentle, and Mayura gave herself up to him with an infinite delight.
She had never felt so... so alive. So effortlessly and deliriously happy; so natural, and glorious in her own right. It had never been like this, not with Keiichi-kun...
The last ounce of logic left to her in the face of Loki's assault snagged on that. Keiichi-kun. Her lips parted under his to ask him about it, but taking it as an invitation, his tongue slid into her mouth, sending her remaining wits scattering in chaotic retreat.
As he took her mouth, possessed it with such exquisite finesse, she found herself involuntarily winding her arms around his neck, her hands fisting in his soft auburn hair. Loki groaned sharply against her lips.
Trailing his lips hotly against her skin to the place just below her left ear, he murmured hoarsely into her ear, "As much as I'd like to take this further..."
He pulled away, kissing her palms as he disengaged them from around his neck, smiling with a supremely satisfied air when she whimpered protestingly in her throat.
Mayura blushed a vivid pink when her senses had cleared enough to process what she was doing. "Loki-kun?"
"First, we have to deal with Mayura-papa, do we not?" His expression darkened as he added, "And Keiichi, as well."
Somehow, hearing Loki put it into words etched the whole surreal situation into harsh lines of reality, and her eyes widened with dismay.
He watched her, his emerald eyes searching. Gently, almost tentatively, he asked, "What do you want to do about this? About us?" His hand stroked her back, the touch soothing. "I'll respect your decision."
Mayura looked up at him, and her half-formed doubts melted. "I want to be with Loki-kun."
He smiled, with not a little relief, and laid a chaste kiss on her forehead. "Good."
"But..."
He cocked his head at her. "But?"
She shook her head mutely. Glancing up at him, she saw him frown, and hastened to explain. "Keiichi-kun will be so angry... And Papa..."
She giggled at the momentary irritation that glinted in his eyes. She sighed, and rested her head against his chest again, listening to his steady heartbeat under her ear. "Loki-kun gets jealous so easily."
"I guess I do." He laughed unrepentantly, and slipped his arms loosely around her. "I could get used to this," he mused.
She snuggled blissfully, reveling in the sheer joy of being in his arms; of being his. "Me too."
He laughed again, the rumbling of it vibrating in her own body. "You aren't getting off that easily, Mayura."
"Mou..."
Releasing her, he pinched her nose lightly. "I meant that, you little goose. We're going to have to face your father and... ex-fiancé sooner or later."
She made a face at him, then replied just as seriously. "I know, Loki-kun. But I want to be with you, anyway." She smiled at the glimmer of emotion in his face. "I love you, Loki-kun." And she thought proudly that the words, now that she finally dared to speak them out loud, had such a wonderful ring to them.
He kissed her again, the contact short and sweet, then prodded her forehead reprovingly. "And you can just stop encouraging me, Mayura. I don't think that returning you in... a different state of virtue would go over very well with your father; and we have quite enough on our plates as it is, don't you think?" He grinned impishly at her.
She felt her cheeks heating, but lifted her chin defiantly. "I'm not a child, Loki-kun. I can take care of myself!"
He pulled back and inspected her thoroughly, a smile of appreciation stealing over his face. "So I see."
There was just enough velvet in his voice to make her intensely conscious of the low cut of her gown, and she blushed deeply under his penetrating gaze. "Lo... Loki-kun is a pervert..."
His laughter, warm and amused, filled the room.
VAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVA
Urd returned to find an unusually solemn bunch around the table.
Of which - oddly enough - the only exception was Verdandi, who was enthusiastically praising Jormungand's culinary prowess to the high heavens.
Very suspicious.
"Why are all of you still down here?"
She really hadn't been expecting the identical looks of marked consternation that both Fenris and Jormungand threw her way at that simple question.
After considering their faces for a while, she sighed resignedly and turned to her younger sister.
"Verdandi, what did you tell them?"
She received a doe-eyed expression of absolute innocence. "Why, nothing, Urd onee-sama."
VAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVA
Loki braced himself.
Beside him, Mayura tensed as well, as the steps to the Shinto temple came into sight.
How in Frigg's name, he wondered gloomily, do you go about explaining to a girl's father that you intend to conduct a relationship with his daughter... On her wedding day?
In Asgard, he had never had to consider the consequences of his actions, and the idea of doing so now was definitely not sitting well with him. Yet... glancing down at Mayura, he knew it was worth it. For the chance of a future with her.
All too soon, they were at the foot of the stairs, and as he helped Mayura - still in the accursed wedding gown she had worn for Keiichi - out of the cab, he heard a collective ejaculation from behind them. "Mayura!"
She glanced up at him, her eyes anxious; and the idea that she instinctively turned to him for support rather pleased him. Squeezing her hand reassuringly, they turned to face her father and fiancé's family.
"Mayura!" Her father advanced on her, his face a mask of concerned fury. "Where were you! And who is this... man?"
At the same time, Keiichi came forward. "Mayura?" His voice was even, but there was an undercurrent of hurt in it. "Why did you...?"
Mayura bit her lip and let her eyes fall to the ground. "Keiichi-kun... I..."
Keiichi glanced at Loki, his eyes narrowing slightly. "You would be?"
Loki grandly disregarded the question. "Niiyama, I am sorry to say that Mayura will not be marrying you." And for the life of him, he could not stop the slightest shade of triumph from creeping into his voice.
Behind him, Niiyama-inspector spluttered in disbelief, while Keiichi's gaze darted quickly from him, to Mayura, then back to him. "And why?" Those two words carried an erupting animosity, the full force of which was directed at him.
Mayura blurted out impulsively, "Keiichi-kun, I'm... I'm sorry!"
He spared her a fleeting look, then returned to his scrutiny of the god. "You haven't answered either of my questions."
Loki groaned inwardly, but consigned himself to his fate. "My name is Loki Laufeyjarson."
The man's eyes widened in shock as he quite obviously made the connection. "Loki?"
He held Keiichi's stare squarely, and nodded.
"But you were just a kid!"
"Perceptive of you."
Keiichi's mother made to speak, but was stopped by her son. In a cold, collected voice, he inquired, "And what exactly made you undergo ten years of aging overnight?"
I seem to be disclosing my secrets to a great deal of people lately, don't I? "That is a matter which is better discussed in private."
Meanwhile, Misao had stomped over and grabbed hold of Mayura's arm. "Mayura, get away from that... that..." At a loss for words, the priest jerked her arm so hard that it brought tears of pain to her eyes. "Papa, wait!"
The man was quite certainly beside himself with rage, for he slapped her, the sound pronounced in the heavy twilight. "How dare you, Mayura? After all that Keiichi-san has done for you?"
Mayura made no reply, her face averted from him.
Loki's emerald eyes blazed at the blow. "Daidouji-san, no matter the circumstances, no father should hit his daughter in public." He drew her to his side protectively, steel in his gaze.
Her father turned the full heat of his ire to Loki... and paled. "What the..."
"... I see you haven't lost your spiritual ability." Hastily, he recalled the shadows that had begun to stir around him, unbidden, at his anger.
The middle-aged Shinto priest stared at him, his mouth agape. "But... that is... you're..."
Keiichi interrupted impatiently, "If you don't mind, I would like to hear the entire story now, Laufeyjarson-san." Turning on his heels, he marched stiffly into the temple, which had been decorated for the wedding that was supposed to have taken place earlier that day. Now, the streamers hanging from the walls swayed almost dolefully in the breeze, their bright colors a depressing contrast to the taut atmosphere.
His parents, flabbergasted and plainly not having understood a single word of the exchange, hesitated for a moment before following.
Misao stalled, casting a last terrified look at Loki, then hurried after them.
Now alone in the courtyard, Loki let go of the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. Turning to Mayura, he touched her cheek gently, bringing her to face him. "Does it hurt?"
A single, wet tear spilled over his fingers. "I... Papa..."
He gazed down at her, not knowing how to apologize. Instead, he smoothed his palm over the stinging flesh, and brushed away her tears with his thumb. "It's too late to turn back, Mayura."
She nodded against his hand, then drew a shuddering breath. Looking up at him, she smiled quiveringly. "I don't regret this, Loki-kun."
He smiled back at her, his gut twisting with a biting mixture of guilt and jubilation. "Let's go."
Together, they crossed the shrine's grounds, into her home.
VAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVA
"A... god."
"Yes."
Keiichi looked incredulous, his fingers thudding restlessly against the wood. "And what kind of proof do you have?"
Loki met his eyes composedly from across the table. "What kind of proof would satisfy you?"
Their eyes locked in silent combat for an instant, two resolute wills clashing in an invisible battle of nuances. Next to him, Mayura's fingers tightened reflexively around his own.
Finally, Keiichi stepped back. "A suitably showy display of your powers, I suppose."
He gave her fiancé a dangerously brittle smile. "While my first response would be to ask what constitutes showy in your book, I shall hold off on that. Instead..."
Loki shrugged nonchalantly, and several balls of fire snapped into being, each hovering randomly around the room.
Mayura gazed with undisguised fascination at this first material manifestation of his powers; and much to his own astonishment, Loki discovered that he had been observing Mayura to see what her reaction to his capabilities would be. And that her obvious delight was decidedly uplifting.
Keiichi looked taken aback with this new evidence, before his eyes narrowed. "A god of fire?"
... He must have gotten desensitized from being around Mayura. "Yes."
Misao broke in. "What the hell? I don't know any fire god by the name of Loki!"
"That would be because I'm not a Japanese god, Daidouji-san." Loki clarified tactfully.
The priest blinked confusedly. "Then, what are you?"
"Have you ever heard of the Norse pantheon?"
Keiichi smiled wryly, although the smile did not reach his eyes at all. "I see. So that's why Mayura has always been especially interested in Norse mythology."
Loki lifted an eyebrow at Mayura, who was flushing guiltily. "She was, was she?"
"Yes, although she steadfastly refused to talk to me about it. But we digress. The question is - and answer me honestly this time, Laufeyjarson-san - where did you meet Mayura? And what do you aim to accomplish by stopping our marriage so suddenly?" A seething anger simmered in Keiichi's eyes, belying the calmness of his words.
"Umm..."
They all turned to look at Mayura, who was fiddling nervously with her cup of tea. "I..." She broke off, then tried again. "Six years ago, I met Loki-kun at the Enjaku Tanteisha." At this, Keiichi's father started, and leveled a finger at Loki.
"You're that kid detective who was always hanging around crime scenes, aren't you?"
The trickster god smiled charmingly at him. "Yes, I am. Mayura?" He prompted her encouragingly.
She smiled gratefully at him. "He had come down from Asgard - that's something like heaven - and he helped me with a case... And I sort of forced him to take me as his assistant."
Loki felt a twinge of nostalgic amusement, but kept his face straight.
"Anyway, uhh... a lot of things happened, and he had to go back to Asgard a few months later. And we didn't get in touch again till last month... and... umm..."
Exasperation and curiosity warred in Keiichi's face. The latter won out.
"What?"
"That's the barest bones of the matter, but yes, that's basically how I came to know Mayura." Loki saved her from another flustered explanation. "Due to some problems of my own, I was obliged to set up a detective agency, specializing in the occult, in your world. Which Mayura found quite by accident; and the rest is as you have heard."
Keiichi considered this painfully confusing explanation for a while, his eyebrows drawn forbiddingly together. Finally, he set his palms on the table, leaning forward aggressively. "And the most important question. What do you intend to do with Mayura?"
Loki looked down at Mayura's apprehensive face, and smiled.
"I intend to make her my wife."
Misao exploded. "You're insane! You seriously think that I'll marry my daughter off to some impostor who waltzes in and tells us that he's a god?" He rose, his face reddening rapidly. "Get out!"
Keiichi's parents stood as well, evidently having made a decision. In a coldly insulted tone, his mother asserted furiously, "Daidouji-san, we assure you that we're very much relieved to have known of your daughter's libertine attitudes before the marriage! Keiichi, we're leaving!"
Keiichi ignored the commotion about them. "Mayura?"
Unwillingly, she looked at him, and Loki's hand snaked out to capture hers.
A world of pain in his voice, he asked her, "Are you really fine with that?"
She hesitated, and Loki's heart climbed into his mouth. Then, she nodded, and he breathed again.
Keiichi's eyes grew shuttered. "I see." He got to his feet, and addressed her flatly, "Good bye, Daidouji." The boards creaked slightly as he turned.
"Keiichi-kun, I'm sor..."
He spat, "That's not what I want to hear!" Mayura halted, and he breathed hard for a second, his back to them. Eventually, "... I think it will be better if we don't see each other for some time, Mayura." He slid the door shut behind him.
Once their voices had faded into the distance - Misao had gone off with them to try to convince them to stay - Mayura sagged weakly against Loki. And as he rubbed her back in small, circular motions, he marveled at how tiny she seemed just then.
"I did a terrible thing to Keiichi-kun, didn't I?" Her voice was awash with unshed tears.
He gathered her close into the warm circle of his arms, and buried his face in her fragrant hair. "Mmm." He offered no excuse, nor any untruth, but simply gave her the support he knew she needed at that moment.
Her eyes drifted shut, and she leaned into his strength.
The door slammed open.
"Papa..."
"You!" The priest was enraged as he stalked over to Loki to haul him up to his feet with surprising might. "Get out! This instant!"
"Mayura-papa..."
He rounded on Mayura. "And you go back to your room, you hear me! You're a disgrace!"
She crumpled before the harsh words like a rag doll, but clung stubbornly to Loki. "I won't!"
Her father's nostrils flared in his rage, and he raised a hand. "Do you know what you're doing?"
Loki stepped firmly in front of her, and Misao's arm trembled for a fraction of a second as he struggled to master his fury, before lowering his hand. Regarding the man icily, he carefully detached Mayura's nerveless fingers from his arm.
Mayura looked, dismayed, at him. "Loki-kun...?"
The uncertainty so plain in her eyes cut him deeply, and heedless of her father's presence, he kissed her gently. "It'll be fine, Mayura."
She stared at him, before nodding her head slowly. He smiled down at her.
"Mayura-papa. I will relinquish her to you for the time being, till you have calmed down... But."
"But?" The priest seemed to be fighting down a sense of intimidation.
"I will not see her come to any harm. If I hear of a single act of abuse against her..." He let his sentence trail off.
The implied threat caught her father's attention, and he glared resentfully at Loki. "If you think that I'm such a pathetic father as to hurt Mayura intentionally, you've got another thing coming."
Loki smiled. "I thought not. Very well then; I shall entrust her to your care." And with one last, comforting press of his lips to her forehead, he left, striding into the falling night.
VAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVA
Authoress: Didn't proof this much; been too busy packing my room. But I wanted to keep to my 2-week schedule thingy, so, here it is. :)
Since ff net no longer allows review replies, I'll just say thank you to everyone who did review! I love you people! -am a hopeless review junkie-
Also, as someone has asked me this before, Loki left to get the formalities and pesky details of their wedding (like inviting the entire pantheon, perhaps?) out of the way... And also, because he wanted to give Misao a chance to cool down, and reconcile with his daughter. And I thought a slap was fairly reasonable, although it might seem a little harsh. I mean, how often does your daughter get happily engaged, only to disappear on her wedding day and reappear hours later with an unknown man? AND with all the rampant speculation that must have gone on between the handmaidens?
Did everyone get the bit about Verdandi deliberately misleading everyone into thinking that Loki was... uhh... seducing Mayura, at that moment? -looks anxious-