Chapter 5

"Show me what you can do," she said suddenly turning on him.

"What?" Loki stared at her.

"Show me your magic," she walked towards the living room and made the furniture disappear.

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours," he answered playfully as he rolled up his sleeves.

"Okay," she said and her casual jean outfit changed to a black crisscross gym ensemble, "If you fight me."

"I don't want to fight you," he countered.

"Scared you'll lose?" she teased. He laughed nervously and flipped his hair out of his face.

She reached out and Mjolnir flew into her hand with a crack.

"Well if you use that, I will lose."

She grinned and dropped the hammer, it disappeared before reaching the floor.

"What would you like to use?" she asked.

"I don't want to fight you, I want to see your powers," he tried but enjoyed her excitement.

"Ah, I won't hurt you," she teleported right in front of him and touched his face before quickly teleporting away again with a giggle.

"I might hurt you," he said and she laughed.

"Try me," she urged with a cocky smile.

Loki turned his head and stretched his muscles as his own style of workout attire washed over him. His daggers reappeared with a flair and he stepped forward. Idunn shrieked and teleported away with a panicky laugh.

"You want to fight or not?" he asked, stepping back again.

"I do. Sorry. I was just…" she shook her head as he turned to face her again.

"You are afraid of me," he mused.

"I might be," she whispered and closed her eyes to slow her breathing. Loki walked closer and started circling her, delighted.

A dagger appeared in her hand and she aimed it at him, but he grabbed her wrist in time and the fight began. Excitement coursed through Loki as they matched movements and blows, only barely missing hits at times. They took turns having an upper hand and Loki tried harder to win, realizing that she's a lot stronger than he had assumed.

They added magic to the fight, from teleportation and duplication to magic flares. Idunn levitated to tower over him and Loki threw a particularly strong blast at her, knocking her backward. She flipped over and landed flawlessly on the floor in a three-point stance and flipped her hair out of her face, grinning.

Loki took a second to stare at her, she looked so magnificent it nearly blew his mind.

She conjured a sword from the wall and they clashed metal to metal as he made his daggers appear right on time. Then it turned into a swordfight.

Clang upon clank as the sword and daggers collided almost rhythmically.

Idunn was good, but Loki couldn't spend a second wondering where she could have learned to fight like this as she was also very fast and hard to keep up with. He got a big advantage as he cornered her against the wall and she giggled nervously again. She made his daggers disappear and he groaned disapprovingly.

"I thought no more magic," Loki stated.

"We didn't agree to anything," she countered.

"It was unspoken," he groaned.

"Fine," she pushed him and he glided several feet away.

The battle continued with weapons from the room as they got more and more worn out. He got the sword out of her hand and she jumped at him, wrestling him to the ground. He grabbed her and managed to pin her on her back. Both catching their breath.

Idunn yawned.

"Are you seriously yawning right now?" Loki was surprised.

"I'm not tired," she said and Loki laughed.

"You sure about that?" he probed, grabbing her reaching hands and gathered her wrists together above her head.

She frowned, "you've been asleep all day, I assume you're not tired?" she tested.

"Can't say that I am," Loki said, exhilarated.

"I can always make you sleep," she yawned again.

"You can't do anything right now," he teased as she squirmed underneath him. He held her wrists in one hand and used his other to finally give in and gently stroke her face. They were both panting and intimately close as she watched him.

He ran his thumb over her lips and she closed her eyes, taking a deep calming breath. She was so mesmerizing and he felt drawn closer. He leaned in and kissed her. He felt a spark tingle on his lips but nothing potent, it still shook him enough to move away and drop his grip on her wrists.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, still spellbound.

She opened her eyes and slipped her now free hand around his neck and held him closer for another kiss.

"What are you doing to me?" she whispered, barely moving away from him.

"Me?" he asked, "I thought that was you?"

"I'm not doing anything," she murmured, sounding just as mesmerized as he felt.

They considered each other for a few seconds, trying to figure out what it meant. Loki felt the deep amorous feeling start slipping away, and with a whimper, he kissed her once more.