Sorry for the delay! Chapter 12 up!
Chapter XII
Mayura placed her hand on Heimdall's shoulder and smiled... and even he was shocked in his gloominess to see her lean forward and give him a soft peck on his cheek.
The guardian god mustered an evanescent smile-smirk at the expression on Loki's face.
Oblivious to all that, Mayura stood up and announced, "I'm going back home. Later, Loki-kun, Yamino-san, Fenrir... Higashiyama-kun."
The pink-haired girl waved and went out. Loki followed suit.
"Wait, Mayura!"
She stopped, and looked at him with curiosity. "Yes, Loki-kun?"
"I'll walk you home."
...
Heimdall sighed. "I'll never understand that Loki...," he said, without conviction. He looked exhausted.
"Well, Mayura-san means a lot to him, Heimdall-san. And with that monster on the loose..."
"Daddy...!" Fenrir seemed to pick up that last part of Yamino's meek explanation and, standing up in alert, ran out through the front door in order to catch up with the trickster god.
Yamino sighed. "You too, nii-san? Well, it's for the better..."
Heimdall nodded distantly.
"Heimdall-san," Yamino addressed him, "Would you rather have dinner with us when Loki-sama returns, or have me prepare you a room?"
The god of schemes looked dumfounded at Loki's son for a while. They were offering him to stay? After all the assassination attempts he'd pulled on Loki? But, they were right- he couldn't possibly return to the mansion, probably Freyr was still... he shivered at the thought, and the feeling of disraught returned.
He sighed. "I think I'll go to sleep if you don't mind, Jormungard."
...
"Why did you kiss Higashiyama-kun, Mayura?" Loki mouthed, doing nothing to hide his displeasure. Fenrir was walking next to him, watching his father with his large eyes.
"Well..." Mayura bit her tounge, "He said that people in his country do that a lot, so I thought it'd make him feel better..."
Loki sweatdropped. "Mayura really IS simple-minded."
"Loki-kun... what happened?"
He knew it was for the best if he told her. He was already keeping too many secrets from her.
Loki's eyes met hers, and she was taken aback to see there was some sort of... flame in them she'd never seen before. "Freyr is dead, Mayura."
She looked shaken. "M-Mr. Thief?"
Loki nodded, and adverted his eyes. A couple of tears rolled down her cheeks. He didn't like to see women crying.
"Mayura..."
Fenrir lowered his ears and let out a heartfelt howl. Then, with sad eyes he evaluated the situation: Mayura crying quietly, her gaze out of guilty eyes lost in the floor; and Loki, looking aside, probably racketing his brain trying to find something that could comfort her, if slightly. So the great wolf decided to try to be helpful, and since he couldn't do so himself, he said,
"Daddy, hug her."
Loki looked at Fenrir and smiled a silent, rarely honest smile the pup liked a lot.
Fenrir looked with large eyes at Mayura and saw her trying to smile at him despite her sadness. Then Loki took a couple of steps towards her, and his small arms circled her hips, since he couldn't reach any higher, and he hugged her gently. Mayura fell on her knees and hugged him back, crying softly against his shoulder. Loki's eyes thanked Fenrir, as he brushed his hand over Mayura's odd pink hair.
"Loki-kun," she whispered slowly, "Those things... should never hapen."
Loki didn't have words for that. But, in a very felt way... he agreed with her.
"Fenrir... stay with Mayura. I have a bad feeling," Loki instructed quietly, after he'd seen the girl come safely home. He patted his son gently, and headed back home himself.
"I'm home"
Loki opened the door, and walking to the living room, he let himself fall gracelessly on one of the couches.
"Loki-sama...!" Yamino said, rushing to his father's side. The Midgard Serpent couldn't help realizing his eyes had an unreadable expression, and that he looked tired.
"Nii-san stayed with Mayura-san, right Loki-sama?" Yamino asked, already knowing the answer. He went out of the room, and came back shortly after with a cup of tea. "Here, Loki-sama. It must be cold outside."
"Thank you, Yamino-kun," Loki finally said. Silence flooded the room while the tricker god sipped his tea, and Jormungand stood diligently behind him. When he was done, he closed his eyes, and sighing, he asked:
"Where's Heimdall?"
Yamino looked aside. "He's upstairs- I offered him the guest room."
Loki nodded, and suddenly the look in his eyes changed. This new look in was far from unreadable. It was very readable, and Yamino didn't like it.
"Yamino-kun... I can't help but wonder how a god can be killed."
A/N: What's going to happen now? Loki and Heimdall working together, a terrible monster on the loose, and helpless Mayura caught in the middle of it...