Chapter 7
First, thank you all for reading my story! I have had a few new followers and a few new favorites and a new comment! I love it, thanks so much! Knowing I have readers who like it is like lifeblood to my story! Thank you!
I apologize in advance if this chapter is a little too deep or dark or serious or whatever. I hadn't planned on taking it there and I'm not sure if I'm pleased with it or not. I'm much better at writing less-serious content, I think. Haha.
Please leave a review if you love it, hate it, or have suggestions. :)
Deidra heard the knock at her door, but ignored it. She couldn't get the look of rage on his face out of her mind. Would he have hit her if she hadn't of ran off?
"Deidra," she heard Loki's voice call through the door.
By his voice, it seemed as if his rage was gone, but she still didn't answer. He had really scared her. She didn't want to see him.
He was quiet for a minute. "Listen," he said finally. His voice was soft. He stood on the other side of the door, with his palm against the wood. He had no idea what to say to her.
"...I apologize for frightening you," he said awkwardly, though sincere.
He waited for a response, but there was none.
He sighed. "You are the sole person on this planet that has shown me kindness. I..." He paused, then added softly, "You didn't deserve my anger."
He waited a moment longer, but still no answer. He sighed. "If you decide to speak to me, I shall be in my quarters." He turned and walked away back into his room and quietly shut the door.
Deidra sat on her bed and looked quietly at the door. She frowned. He sounded sincere, but was he truly? She lay back on her pillows and let out a deep breath she didn't know she was holding.
On a different note, she never really thought that her companion was a real god as he claimed, but she couldn't deny it anymore. He really was who he said he was.
That was really cool and all, but what did that mean for her? Would she be safe with him? Would the other gods do anything to her? There were so many questions.
She lay there, thinking it over for a long time. She finally looked at her bedroom door. 'I believe him,' she thought, getting to her feet.
Loki lay on his own bed, thinking as well. A soft knock came at his door. He got up quickly and opened the door. She stood in front of him, looking a little awkward. They didn't say anything to each other for a couple of moments.
Suddenly she smiled. "You suck at apologizing," she teased, trying to break the awkward tension.
He was surprised for only a brief moment, but then smiled in return, truly glad to see that she wasn't angry. "Yes, I do," he admitted.
She pursed her lips and cocked her head to the side, looking up at him. "So you really are a god, huh," she said.
His smile faded. "Not anymore," he said somberly.
She didn't want him to slip back into his dark mood. She smiled brighter. "Nah," she said punching him lightly in the shoulder. "Once a god, always a god, right?"
He smiled again. He knew she was just trying to lighten his mood, but surprisingly it was working. He was grateful for that.
He stepped back from the doorway, allowing her to come inside. She did and sat on the edge of his bed. He walked to his dresser and leaned against it.
"So that was your brother," Deidra chatted. "I saw him on TV too. What's his name? I can't remember."
"Thor," Loki replied. "But he's not my brother; not really."
She frowned. "You called him your brother in the kitchen." She said.
"Merely out of habit," he said dismissively.
She looked at him. "Why?" She asked.
He frowned. "Why what?"
"You call him your brother, but he's not your brother. What's up with that?"
He bit the inside of his cheek and crossed his arms subconsciously. "That's a long story," he said.
She looked up at him expectantly. "I have time," she said and patted the bed next to her.
"Why do you care?" He asked with a shrug.
"I'm nosy," she answered immediately, eyes wide and expectant. "Besides," she added. "You kind of owe me, you know. And I'll tell you my story if you tell me yours." She patted the bed again.
Loki rolled his eyes and let out a slightly exaggerated sigh. He walked over and sat next to her. He grimaced inwardly at her intrigued smile.
'Cheeky little thing,' he thought.
Slowly, he told her of being raised as a son of Odin, as a prince, and thinking his whole life that that was who he was. He then told her about discovering his true parentage. It made him very uncomfortable to lay out his past like that.
"Oh," Deidra said when he finished. 'He must have been devastated,' she thought solemnly. She looked at him. "I'm sorry," she said sincerely.
"It's of no matter now," he said with a shrug, pulling together his composure so it wouldn't show that it still hurt him deeply. He knew it probably always would.
"Of course it is," she said. "That's a big deal to suddenly discover you were adopted, and to not even have been born on the same planet. It's a huge deal no matter who you are."
He looked at her in surprise. "So you understand?" He asked.
"Of course I understand!" She said. "That's a huge secret to keep from you. You should have been told a long time ago. That wasn't right of your family to do that. I'd be angry too."
He gave a smile of relief. No one had ever empathized with him about that before. She gave no excuses for his family's secret and even said he had a right to be angry.
"But..." She added. "They are still your family, even though it's not by blood."
He frowned, knowing she was right, but too stubborn to admit it.
"Don't scowl at me like that," she said rolling her eyes. "They raised you and took care of you. They may have made a shitty decision to hide the truth from you, but they loved you didn't they?"
"They always favored my brother," he said, not answering the question.
"And that's crappy. But they loved you, right?"
He gave an annoyed growl. She raised her eyebrows at him expectantly. "Fine, yes," he snipped.
She smirked at him, but didn't say anything. They sat there in silence for a moment.
"You said you would tell me your story," he said suddenly. "So come on let's hear it."
She shrugged. "Not much to tell," she said. "I don't know who my dad is. My mom did a lot of bad things so I was taken away from her."
He frowned and furrowed his brow. "Midgardian authorities take children away from questionable parents?"
She looked at him. "You keep saying Midgard, what's up with that?"
"Earth," he corrected dismissively.
"Ah," she said. "Well yes. It's not always a bad thing that they do. I'm glad they took me away now. But I never had a family who really loved me. I had some good foster parents, but it's not the same as having a family. I bounced from house to house until I was 18. I got a scholarship and went to college. And here I am. I'm doing pretty well I think, all things considered."
He didn't respond. It was a very strange concept to him, but he decided to drop the issue. "I grow weary of this conversation," he said instead. It made him uncomfortable to talk so intimately like this.
"Oh good, me too," Deidra said brightly. "You want to watch a movie? Let's watch a movie!" she said and hopped up. She turned and smiled at him before leaving the room.
He watched her go and allowed himself a small, sincere smile. He got up and followed her.
"Do you like popcorn?" she called from the kitchen.
"I don't think I have ever had popcorn," Loki responded walking in behind her.
She stopped what she was doing and turned around to stare at him. "You've never had popcorn?" she asked in a disbelieving voice. "Never?"
"Not that I recall," he said.
"Yeah, you're so trying popcorn," she said pulling out a bag from the cupboard. She popped it in the microwave. "What kind of movies do you like?" she asked, then realized. "Oh...Do you even have movies where you come from?" she asked.
"No," he said pointedly, leaning against the counter.
"You'll love them," she said brightly. "Everyone does."
'She's so excited,' he thought in amusement. He wasn't too interested in these so-called movies, but he didn't have anything better to do than to oblige her.
Deidra chatted away about all the types of movies there were and all her favorites. She chatted until the microwave beeped at her. She pulled out the hot popcorn and opened the bag.
She handed it to him. "Here," she said. "Try it while I pick out something to watch."
She walked by him and started digging through the DVDs on a shelf. Loki looked at the hot bag in his hands and picked up a fluffy white piece. He placed it in his mouth. He liked it. A lot. He popped in another piece. And another. And another.
"Got it!" she called cheerfully. "Come on!"
He went and sat on the far end of the couch. She was at the other end. He munched the popcorn intently, wondering how he would like this 'movie' thing.
Deidra looked over at him. "Popcorn, please."
He looked at her, leaning away a little. "This is my bag," he said with a little huff as if she had lost her mind.
"I bought it!" she said with a little laugh. "Hand it over. I meant for us to share it."
He laughed out loud. "I don't share," he said.
"Dude if I have to get up off this couch I will," she said in a mock threat.
"Oh I'm petrified," he said, a smirk playing on his face. He felt much better now, knowing he wasn't totally misunderstood and scorned by everyone.
She slapped down the throw pillow she had been holding in her lap and started to stand up.
"Oh there. There." he said flicking popcorn kernels at her. "There. Popcorn. There. There." he shot her a smug look and popped several pieces on his mouth. "There, I shared," he said.
He barely had time to duck when she threw the pillow at his head.