Chapter 4! This is a short chapter, which means I will post chapter 5 very soon :D
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Disclaimer: I still don't own anything!
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Chapter 4 – A Regular Breakfast Item
He woke up, and his mind instantly filled with terror. Where was he? The room was dark, and he couldn't quite wrap his sleep-addled mind around - well - anything.
Had that really happened? Had he honestly showed up at her door just to be manhandled inside?
Yes. Yes, that had happened, and it had not been one of the possible outcomes he had considered.
He hesitantly got up, and did his best to look presentable before carefully opening the door.
Well, there was no immediate attack - that was something.
Then he heard humming again. Did the infernal woman never desist her humming? Apparently not.
He carefully closed the door, and walked quietly toward the kitchen, where he found the source of the humming.
She was cooking, apparently. Cooking, humming, and drumming the kitchen utensils on the counter.
She was generally all too cheerful, considering her current predicament. Yes, he realised it was a predicament for her as well, not that it mattered.
Why are you here? He asked himself. He shouldn't be here. It was not safe. He should be somewhere else - anywhere else - not in the kitchen of a humming human female.
Ridiculous.
He considered merely taking his belongings and leave, but the thought filled him with dread.
He was losing his mind, apparently.
You lost your mind long ago, he thought. When you fell.
That had been the first step toward the state of mind he was currently sporting. He had thought he would die - just let go, and die - that had been what he wanted.
And then, that did not happen. Not at all. Instead, he had kept falling, endlessly, until he hadn't known what was up and what was down - how much time had passed, and if he would ever stop falling.
His mind had begun the descent into madness, then.
And then - he did not know how much time had passed, it could be a millennia, for all he knew - a voice had reached him, offered to save him, if only he would do something in return.
Loki had not hesitated. He still did not hesitate it, because the thought of still falling...he could not bear it.
And that was why he was here, if he was to be honest. He had been alone when he fell - so alone, waiting for death that never came - and then he had been alone - or so it felt - running around causing death and destruction, and then, he had hid for three days - still alone.
And so, here he was. Here, where he was not alone.
Even if she was humming.
Sentiment. He had to stop this nonsense.
He was interrupted by a rather undignified squeak as she noticed him.
"Merlin, you scared me," he breathed, and bent down to pick up the - whatever it was - she had dropped to the floor.
"No, really? I couldn't tell."
She gazed at him for a moment. "Did you wake up on the sarcastic side of the bed today? I will have that bed fixed immediately if that turns out to be a problem."
He had to look at her for a moment. Was she genuinely angry? No, he realised as he saw the flicker of amusement in her eyes.
"Perhaps you should take a closer look at your own bed," he said, raising an eyebrow.
She laughed as she put the - whatever it was - in the sink. "Perhaps. So you like pancakes?"
He wanted to growl at the woman, because she kept asking him questions he did not know the answer to. Did he like 'pancakes'? However would he know?
"Well, I do," she continued without waiting for an answer. "Especially with Nutella. Or sugar and bacon. Or both."
He knew not what Nutella was, but at least bacon and sugar were familiar phrases to him, and he inwardly sighed in relief.
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After a whole lot of shuffling around the kitchen, and even more humming, the woman finally seemed pleased with the result, and gestured at the table. "Hungry?"
He was, in fact, hungry, but not even that could he make himself say. He opted for merely sitting down at the table, gazing curiously at the things unfamiliar to him.
"Here, try this - on that."
He looked at what she gestured at. A glass jar with something chocolaty in it, and then there was - so that was a pancake. All right. Perhaps he could make it through this without looking like a fool.
"Although I understand the skepticism - I would suggest giving it a try."
When he merely raised an eyebrow, she chuckled - the insolence of this human - and turned her focus on the food.
This allowed him to observe, and eventually he did try the 'Nutella' on a pancake.
He was not about to admit that the taste was heavenly - even if it was. Not was he about to admit that he hoped pancakes were a regular breakfast item - even if he did.
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She was certain he would murder her if he knew what she was thinking.
The God of Mischief was adorable. Utterly adorable. It was apparent that half of the things on the kitchen table were unfamiliar to him, and that he was trying to hide it. He was actually rather successful in his effort, but the blank face gave him away.
It was actually possible to read Loki - at times, anyway. His face smoothed over, leaving no expression at all. If only he knew how much of a tell that was. The level of 'emotionless' when he looked at the pancake on his plate was just bloody amusing.
Not that she was going to point that out - ever.
She had watched him from the corner of her eye when he tried the pancake with Nutella.
His eyes had widened - just barely - and then he had chewed, ever so slowly. Apparently, the God of Mischief loved pancakes with Nutella. Well, she would just have to make pancakes a regular breakfast thing, then.
'A regular breakfast thing'. How long would he be staying? She had no idea.
What am I supposed to do? she thought, and inwardly sighed.
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She was washing dishes a while later when her phone rang. Loki was in 'his' room, so she decided to answer when she saw it was Allen - a friend from school.
"Hey! Sec, let me put you on speaker," she poked with a finger, leaving a drop of water on the phone. "There. Sorry, I'm doing dishes. What's up? Oh god, are you all right?"
"I'm fine, Amber, thank you. I stayed indoors. The aliens never reached my house. What about you?"
She shrugged, even if he couldn't see it. "I was in Afghanistan for a while, so I have some training. I brought my - uh - weapons and medical kit, and went into the city."
"Wait, what? That's dangerous!"
"Well, obviously, but I'm fine."
"Jesus, Amber. Well, all right. The university did not suffer from the whole ordeal, so I'm going back on Monday. You?"
"Yes, of course. I'm actually planning on working on that essay today."
"What? The Shakespeare one? You don't think the professor will cut us some slack - considering the bloody ALIEN INVASION and all?"
She laughed. "Probably. But I'm going to finish it just in case."
"Damn, now I have to do that as well."
"No you don't. Honestly though - are you all right?"
"Yes, I promise. If I'm able to even consider working on an essay - I'm fine. Anyway, I just wanted to check up on you - see if you were bloody well ALIVE, and if you are coming back to school."
"Rather surreal, isn't it? But I'm fine, Allen, thank you for calling. I'll see you Monday, yeah?"
"Yeah. Bye, Amber."
"Bye," she said, and poked her elbow on the phone to hang up.
She stopped then, having a moment where everything seemed too dark, too painful, and too frightening.
She sighed as she put her head in her hands for a moment.
"No," she eventually murmured to herself. "Stop wallowing."
And with that, she took a deep breath, and continued on the dishes.