Changed

Chapter Five: A Startling Reveal

The next week or so included a whirlwind of changes. With Loki slowly integrating into society ('slowly' meaning he hadn't gone anywhere but the theatre) and with his new found independence (sort of), Michelle decided it was time for him to have his own set of keys to the apartment, just on the off chance that she ended up working later than he did. When she presented him with the keys, he was surprised, confused by the action, and he simply looked at her quizzically as he waited for her to explain.

"For you," she told him. "It's your own key to the apartment. Don't lose it, keep it safe."

"Thank you," Loki said, slipping the keys into his pocket. He was actually quite grateful.

Loki's new presence at the theatre soon became the norm, to the point where it seemed like he'd been there all along. The cast really liked him, and he was polite to them in return. Michelle even assumed that he liked them in return, an implication she found slightly strange, given the fact that he believed he was a god. She wasn't even sure if he liked her, and they lived together. He probably tolerated her, at best. Still, she was glad that he was behaving himself publicly and was happy to report that he hadn't pulled the god act on anyone. She began to relax, especially since Loki didn't make her feel like he had something up his sleeve anymore.

"He's doing pretty good," Dylan said as he took a seat next to Michelle one lunch break. She glanced back at Loki who was talking to some of the actors in a casual manner.

"He is," she agreed, taking a bite of her sandwich.

"Was he happy about his own apartment key?"

Michelle swallowed her mouthful of food before answering. "He was confused about it at first, but he seemed pretty grateful. Now I feel like I need to get him ID's and paperwork, as well… especially a passport. I'm still going home for my vacation at the end of August, and I can't exactly leave him behind…"

"You're taking him to meet your family?" Dylan asked, raising a brow.

"Yes," she answered, frowning. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"Nope," Dylan said quickly, shifting himself in his seat as he made a mental note to mention this to those in on the betting pool. "No, that's great, really awesome."

Michelle gave him a skeptical look before continuing on with what she was saying. "I just don't know how I'm going to get him a passport when he doesn't have any paperwork at all."

"Leave that to me," Dylan said, adjusting the collar of his shirt. "I'll get him paperwork for you."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "How?"

"I have friends," he said with a smile. "How old would you say Loki is, about 27, 28?"

"About, yeah," Michelle answered, still looking at Dylan dubiously. After a beat, she asked, "Are you a spy or something?"

"Yes," Dylan answered, deadpan. "I'm undercover, sent here to watch over you and Loki."

They stared at each other for a few moments before Michelle started to smirk. Then she let out a laugh and turned away.

"Okay, Mr. Spy," she said. "If you can get Loki's papers for me, I will be eternally grateful."

Dylan chuckled. "Done and done; I'll see if I can get those two you next week."

"We're not doing anything illegal, are we?" Michelle suddenly asked.

"Nah; there are lots of people who don't have valid birth certificates that need paperwork," Dylan said.

"Attention everyone!" Greg shouted from the back of the theatre where all the actors and Loki were congregated. "Today is a very special day! Our own Miss Juliana Wood is celebrating a birthday today! Let's give her a hand!"

The entire cast cheered as someone handed Loki a cake with a few lit candles on it. Someone must have explained to him the premise of birthday cakes, because he held it out to Juliana who was laughing and smiling modestly (though they all knew it was just an act). She blew out the candles gracefully while everyone applauded and cheered. With a slender finger, she scooped up a small bit of icing and dabbed a bit on the end of Loki's nose before she seductively licked the rest of it away, gaving him a sultry stare. Loki simply chuckled and wiped the frosting from his nose before handing her the cake. Michelle and Dylan watched from their seats in the theatre and she made a retching noise.

"Ugh, that's disgusting," she said. "Did you see that?"

"I kind of threw up in my mouth a little bit," Dylan admitted.

"She's been making sex eyes at him for days," Michelle turned away from the scene, not wanting to watch anymore.

"Her and a majority of the single female cast," he replied. "And Greg."

"And Greg," she agreed with a laugh.

At that moment, Loki came up with two paper plates of cake, one in each hand. He handed them off to Dylan and Michelle, saying, "Greg said to give these to our hard working stage managers, so, here you are."

"Thanks," Dylan said, taking his happily, but Michelle politely shook her head and held up a hand.

"No, thanks, I'm fine," she said. "You go ahead."

Loki frowned slightly. He assumed all humans liked sweets. "Are you sure?"

"Mhmm," Michelle said with a smile. "Go on; I don't need it."

"Very well," he answered, returning to the back of the auditorium. Dylan was busy gawking at Michelle as if she had three heads.

"I can't believe you didn't want cake," he said.

She laughed and just shrugged before checking her watch and calling everyone back to rehearsal.

There seemed to be a lot of birthdays over the next few days. There was a double-birthday for two of the actors who shared a day, one for Dylan, even one for Derek. Every single birthday had cake, and every single birthday Michelle would deny cake. Loki found this very strange; almost everyone else in the cast all enjoyed cake very much. There'd be days when some people didn't feel like eating any, or days when someone couldn't eat any due to an allergy, or they didn't like the flavor, but Michelle was consistent. She was always the odd one out, the only person who refused every time. He didn't think humans enjoyed being left out of things such as this. Weren't birthdays supposed to be a time for celebration and fun, an opportunity to share things like cakes? Some of the other cast members told him to stop asking her; apparently she'd always been like this, always denying sweets.

"Some people just don't like it," Claire explained to Loki as she helped him serve out slices of cake for chorus member Darren's birthday. "Michelle's just one of those people; we all thought it was weird at first, too, but after she kept saying no every single time, we all figured she was perfectly fine with being left out. It doesn't bother her in the slightest."

And it really didn't. Michelle would hang around while everyone else was eating, or sometimes she'd be running around backstage, ensuring that props were in order and in the proper place. While she was doing this during one particular lunch hour, Derek came up to her, looking very business like.

"Michelle," he said. "Listen, Stephanie needs to take the night off and Dylan's already covering for John, so you'll need to manage the show tonight."

"I… what?" Michelle asked. "I… no, no, I can't do the late shows – Loki-"

"You can cover for one night," Derek said. "You do a lot, I realize that, and we've done our best to make sure that you never have to do any of the evening shows, but this is desperate. The show starts at eight, so I'll see you back stage, here, at six thirty."

And before she could say another word, he'd walked off. Michelle clapped her hand to her forehead, giving a loud groan. Well, this was a fantastic turn of events.

While she was out back finishing up her work, Loki was in the process of organizing the mess left over from lunch as the actors mulled about and talked, as they always did. Dylan was helping him clean, which he was very grateful for. As he busied himself, Juliana came up to him, leaning against the table. He offered her a small smile, but kept focus on his work.

"So," she said in her low, sultry voice. It was in great contrast to her singing voice; Michelle had told him that she was considered a 'soprano', her voice able to reach impossibly high notes. "You're from London, are you?"

"Yes," Loki lied convincingly, not missing a beat.

"What brought you all the way to New York?" Juliana asked, subtly pushing out her rather exaggerated bust.

"I don't know, a… change of pace?" Loki said, repeating what Michelle had told him when he'd asked why she left Sydney. "Something different.

"Well," Juliana cooed, and he looked up, realizing she was very close to him. "I'm glad you're here. Maybe we can get together and… talk about it sometime."

"Thank you. I'm afraid it's rather boring to talk about, though," he answered before sidestepping around her to drop a few coffee cups in the garbage bin nearby.

Dylan had been watching this whole exchange with a rather disgusted look on his face. He sort of stared at Juliana in disbelief. She'd never been his favorite person, but that whole scenario had just been revolting. The sex eyes she kept making at Loki had been obvious enough, but that had just been… gross. Some movement on the stage caught his attention, and he looked to see Michelle emerging from backstage. She meandered out into the theatre rather dejectedly, and Dylan honed in on it at once. Of course, he assumed her dejection was for a different reason all together.

"Hey," he said as he trotted down the theatre steps towards the stage to meet you. "Everything okay?"

"No," Michelle grumbled. "This sucks…"

"I know," Dylan offered sympathetically. "If it makes you feel any better, he doesn't seem very interested in her, so there's still hope."

"What?" she said, raising a brow in confusion. "Dylan, I was talking about having to manage a show tonight."

He looked at her in surprise for a moment before he quickly composed himself. "Right, of course, just making sure you were paying attention. Anyway, why are you managing a show tonight? You never manage evening shows."

"Stephanie took the night off," Mishelle sighed.

"And I'm covering for John," Dylan finished. "Right… man, that sucks. At least we'll be managing together, though."

"Yeah, but late shows screw up my whole sleeping schedule," she huffed. "I wish I were like you; you can adapt easily."

"Not all of us can be amazing," he agreed, and Michelle swatted him in the arm as she passed to approach the cast, calling for rehearsal to start again.

At the end of rehearsal, just as everyone was packing up their things to leave for dinner before the show that night, Michelle went up to Loki, who was just pulling on his jacket. She was a little nervous about leaving him home alone… she knew she didn't have any reason to be – he was a grown man, he could take care of himself – but this was the first time she wouldn't be home with him at night. Then she mentally slapped herself.

"Good lord, Michelle, get a hold of yourself," she scolded herself. "You're starting to act like your mother."

Loki noticed her approaching and gave her a small wave. "Are you ready to leave?"

"Actually, I'm staying," Michelle said, wringing her hands absently. "I need to finish organizing things here before the show, and I'm managing back stage tonight, so I won't be home until late."

"I see," Loki answered slowly.

"There's plenty of left overs in the fridge," she quickly explained. "And you know how to work the microwave now. You also have your key, so you can get in alright… is that everything?"

"Shall I wait for you to come home, then?" he asked.

Michelle offered him a smile, but shook her head. "No, don't wait up; you can sleep if you're tired."

"Very well," Loki said. "In that case, have a good show; I'll see you in the morning if I'm not awake when you return."

"Yeah," Michelle answered. "Goodnight."

The next few hours dragged. Michelle and Dylan went out to grab some food after they put all the props back in their respective places for that night's show. At six thirty, they returned to the theatre to make sure that there was nothing left in the auditorium during rehearsal that afternoon, and what things they did find that belonged to cast members were returned to dressing rooms just as actors and chorus members began to show up. Michelle went to go check on Juliana, who was busy doing vocal scales to warm up her voice, and ended up having to go get her herbal tea and a few water bottles, which she was very annoyed about. While Dylan checked on the chorus, she left Juliana and went off to see Andrew, who was always a really nice guy. He was already in most of his costume, his hair and make-up finished, just sitting on the couch in his dressing room on his cell phone. He gave Michelle a friendly hug and thanked her for managing an evening show for once; it was common knowledge that it wasn't something she did, but everyone seemed really grateful.

"You're like… the head stage manager for rehearsals," Andrew was saying. "You're here all the time during the day… now you're covering for the night. Thanks a lot."

"Well, I didn't exactly have much of a choice," Michelle said, adjusting her headset and microphone. "But thanks; I need to run, but break a leg, okay?"

"Yeah," Andrew said, giving her another farewell hug. "Have a good show."

She and Dylan were in charge of the half an hour call time. The fifteen minute call time. The ten and five minute call times. There was a bit of confusion as one of the chorus girls had trouble with her costume, and Dylan quickly saved the day by tying part of her skirt back together before she made it on stage just in time for her opening cue. Michelle handed props off to actors, took the ones that weren't being used again, helped actors zip of dressed or slip into a jacked (she had to try and do up a zipper around Juliana's enormous chest; she seriously needed to get smaller implants). She occasionally joked over the mics with Dylan, who was on the other side of the stage. She alerted the stagehands when it was time to change the scene. By intermission, she was starting to get drowsy and she knew she needed a quick energy boost.

"There's some cake left over," Claire suggested as Michelle helped fix the top of her dress. "It's in the chorus dressing room; I can go grab it for you."

"That'd be incredible, thank you," Michelle said gratefully, and Claire dashed off to get her a piece as she stepped in together Angela with the buttons on the back of her next costume.

The fifteen minute intermission was over, and they were on to the next act of the show. As soon as the actors were out on stage, Michelle took a second to sit down, feeling tired and worn. Dylan, with his headset on, microphone pushed away from his face, handed her the piece of cake Claire had fetched for her earlier.

"This should boost your energy a bit," he said.

Michelle took the cake gratefully with a smile. "Thanks. I'm not used to being up this late, it's messing with me…"

"We're almost done," Dylan patted her shoulder. "About an hour left, and then we have to put the props from the last scene away, and we're good."

"Thank god," she answered with a sigh, slipping a forkful of cake into her mouth.

Two hours later, almost 1:30 am, Michelle finally dragged herself into her apartment. The lights were off when she arrived, and Loki's bedroom door was closed; she assumed he must have been sleeping.

Sleep. Man, that sounded nice.

She kicked off her shoes, not even bothering to straighten them out, and she sluggishly tromped off to her bedroom, yawning widely. Dropping her purse at the end of her bed, she stripped out of her clothes to pull on her pajamas before falling onto her mattress, falling to sleep instantly.

What felt like moments later, Michelle woke with a start in a state of confusion and panic. She heard loud noises outside, and she realized through the haze that it was thunder. But that wasn't what was wrong; she was breathing heavily, her heart pounding in her chest, and her stomach was killing her. She groaned, curling up into a ball on her mattress before she realized what was wrong. Her eyes snapped open.

"Shit," she murmured to herself, pushing herself into a sitting position. Her head spun, her vision blurred, but she pushed through the haze again as she rummaged through her bedside table for something. She swallowed hard over a dry throat. She was so thirsty.

Pushing herself to her feet, Michelle stumbled to her door and wrenched it open, leaning against the wall as she tried to make her way to the kitchen. She needed water… She wrenched open one of the cupboard doors, trying to get a glass, but it slipped from her fingers and shattered on the floor. She cursed again, stepping back to try and avoid the glass and ended up sinking onto the floor, leaning against the cupboards. Her hands were shaking violently, her head spinning, and she felt like she was going to be sick.

Loki was startled out of sleep by a loud clap of thunder. The lightning through the window momentarily lit his entire bedroom while the rain pounded against the glass. He sighed when he realized that it was only the thunder and lay back down against his pillows, though he threw a dirty look to the storm outside. No doubt it was Thor causing all of that ruckus…

"Yes, yes, we know how powerful you are," he muttered darkly, ready to go back to sleep. He closed his eyes, comfortable under the covers when the sound of a glass shattering in the kitchen caused him to frown and sit up slowly. When he heard a few bangs, followed by a few curse words from Michelle, he decided to get up and see what was going on.

He rounded the corner of the kitchen, feeling his way blindly through the dark, and just before he was about to flick the light on, the lighting illuminated the room. In that split second, he saw Michelle sitting on the kitchen floor, looking sweaty and exhausted, and in her shaking hand was what looked like a pen. He flipped on the light, thankful that the electricity still worked and hurried to her side.

"Michelle," he said in alarm, touching her shoulder. "Michelle, are you alright?"

"Help me," Michelle said, her voice thick and lethargic. She pressed the pen into his hand, and upon closer inspection, he saw that it had a small needle poking out of the top.

"What do you need me to do?" Loki asked.

"Stab me in the stomach," she answered, lifting up her t-shirt slightly to reveal the pale skin underneath. Loki looked at her in shock.

"Why would you-?"

"Just do it!" Michelle yelled, and Loki did what he was asked, plunging the needle into her skin. She hissed in pain before gritting out, "Press the button on the top."

He did, the button making a soft clicking noise. Michelle simply sat there, her eyes closed as she took deep breaths, resting her head back against the cupboards. She gently pushed at his hand with the needle and he pulled it away from her, very confused and concerned about what just happened. Loki put the needle on the floor next to him as he watched her, unsure of what to do. He gently touched her shoulder again.

"Michelle?"

"Can you get me some water, please?" She asked, her voice croaky.

"Yes, of course," he said quickly, getting to his feet and all but running for the cupboard where she kept the drinking glasses. Minding the broken glass in front of the fridge, he filled a tall glass with water from the water jug before returning to her side. She took it gratefully and began to guzzle it down in one gulp, finishing its contents in a matter of seconds. She set the cup on the floor with a great sigh and simply sat quietly for a while, focusing on her breathing, bringing a hand up to her neck to check her own pulse. Loki was still kneeling at her side, watching her closely. With her eyes closed, Michelle patted the empty space on the floor next to her.

"Sit down and stay a while," she said sleepily. "I'm going to need your help again in a few minutes."

He slowly and quietly scooted next to her, leaning his back against the cool cupboards. He sat with her in silence, lacing his fingers together as he waited for her to say something, but he kept glancing over at her as she simply sat there. Eventually she moved slightly, but winced, putting a hand on the side he'd stabbed with the needle.

"Ouch," she muttered.

He touched her arm. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered, moving rather lethargically. "You stabbed me pretty hard, though… but thanks for the help."

Loki clenched his jaw slightly, irritated that she hadn't told him what happened yet. "What was that?"

Michelle sighed, turning her head to look at him. "I have Type 1 diabetes. It's a disease where my body can't process the glucose in my blood on its own, so I need to inject medicine that helps it do that. I was really tired when I got home, so I forgot to check my blood sugars, which is why I had this attack… dammit, why did I do that? I never do that."

"A disease?" Loki asked softly. "Is it curable?"

"No," Michelle said, stretching her neck slightly. "I've had it since I was sixteen. This is the first time I forgot to check my sugar levels since living on my own, though…" She gave a hollow laugh. "It's a good thing you were here to help; if you weren't, then… well, it wouldn't have been good."

She glanced over to the microwave on the opposite counter from where she and Loki sat. It was 3 am. Michelle wasn't sure how long she'd been sitting there for, but she started to push herself to her feet, moving slowly and carefully. She grabbed the discarded needle as she went. Loki was up in a flash, ready to support her.

"Are you sure you should be moving?" he fretted.

"Don't worry, I'm not broken," she said with a small laugh, though she stumbled slightly, her head still spinning slightly. "But I am dizzy… do you mind helping me to my room?"

He supported her with an arm around her waist as they made their way to her bedroom. Once she was near her bed, she sat down pulling a series of items from her bedside table. Loki stood by her, watching as she jabbed herself in the forearm with another small needle and then using a tiny machine to soak up some of the blood. It beeped, and the small screen on the contraption read off a series of numbers that Michelle obviously understood, because she began to put everything away before placing a bandage over the small prick. She worked quickly and methodically, which unnerved Loki; she was obviously very used to doing this.

"All better," she said to him with a smile. He didn't look convinced. Michelle chuckled and gently nudged him in the side with her elbow. "Loki, I'm fine; you made sure of that. Thank you for your help."

"What would have happened if I hadn't found you?" he suddenly demanded.

Michelle's smile slowly faded and she looked down at her lap, chewing on her lip. She took a deep breath before saying, "I probably would have died, eventually."

"You're very calm for someone who almost lost their life," Loki observed frostily.

"Look, Loki, if I spent every minute worrying about how close I come to losing my life everyday, I wouldn't be living," She said. "I probably would have managed to stick myself with the needle, it just would have been harder to keep my hand steady."

He sighed, looking a little doubtful, but he knew when to drop it. "You're sure you alright?"

"I'm sure,"

"Good," Loki replied, turning to the door. "In that case, I'm going back to bed."

She chuckled as she crawled under the covers. "Goodnight."

Before he left her room, he paused for a moment at the door and looked back at her, obviously wanting to say something. She was still sitting up and looking at him curiously, waiting for him to speak. He wanted to tell her to not keep any more secrets from him; if she was ill or in danger, he wanted her to tell him so that he could help. He wanted to be able to assist her. He wondered why he suddenly felt the need to look out for her now… Then he decided it was simply because he owed her. Nothing more; she was the person taking care of him, and if he expected to return to Asgard at all, he would need her assistance. That was all. He observed her for a moment before shaking his head.

"Sleep well," Loki finally said before gently closing the door behind him. Michelle sat and stared at the white wood for a while before covering her face in her hands and plopping back against the pillows. What the actual hell was that? She was appalled with herself for pulling such a stupid move. How the hell did she manage to forget checking her sugar levels? She shouldn't have had that cake… She'd played it off the danger of it a little bit, mostly for Loki's sake, but the truth was(,) she'd been terrified. She couldn't see, she couldn't think, her body wouldn't work for her, and she didn't think she would have been able to administer her insulin at all. The minute she saw him there in the kitchen… she'd never felt so much relief before. She'd probably never tell him so, but she owed Loki her life.

He'd saved her. For the second time since she'd met him, he had saved her life, even if the first time had been an accident. Still… she felt like she owed him more and more every day. All she could do was thank whatever higher power was up there, if there was one, that Loki had been with consequences could have been fatal…

"Don't dwell on it," she murmured to herself as she tried to force herself to sleep.

The next morning, Loki was the first one awake. Nearly three months of living with Michelle had taught him how to do a variety of things; cooking breakfast was one of them. After sweeping up the shattered glass from the night before, he busied himself with scrambling eggs in a frying pan by the time Michelle flung herself out of her room, looking haggard. Her hair was a mess, her pajamas rumbled and twisted on her body as she began to panic, worried she'd slept in.

"Dammit, I still need to-" she muttered to herself before she saw Loki standing at the stove. He was basically fully dressed in a white button-up shirt with the arms rolled up to his elbows, tucked into a pair of dark jeans. A dishtowel hung over his shoulder as he turned to her, offering a smile.

"Good morning," he said, turning back to his eggs. "I was up early, so I thought I'd cook."

"Oh… I…." Michelle stammered. "Thanks."

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine," she replied. She quickly fixed her hair then, taming the wild curls that were going all over the place. Finally she said, "Um… I'll be right out; just let me get dressed."

She disappeared back into her room, and Loki served out the eggs and toast on plates, placing them on the table before he went to clean up some of his mess. As he tidied up, Michelle emerged from her room, looking human again. She was dressed in a casual shirt and jeans with a loose, flowing scarf looped around her neck and her dark curls tied back in a ponytail. What was different, however, was the kit she had in her hand, the same one she'd pulled out the night before after he'd found her in the kitchen. She went through the process of setting up her needle, another pen-like device that looked like the one from the night before. Once it was set, she jabbed the needle into a patch of skin on her abdomen that she pinched between her thumb and forefinger, the opposite side from where Loki had stuck her the night before. She went through the motions quickly and seamlessly, and he watched in silence. Once she'd put everything back in it's place, she sat down at the table to enjoy her breakfast.

"Mm, this looks great," she said cheerfully as she picked up her fork. "Thanks."

"Not at all," Loki answered, and he returned to tidying his mess.

To anyone else, what just happened probably didn't look like much. But the scene that just transpired was a silent conversation between the two of them. It was an unspoken agreement. He had more or less saved her life. Michelle would never tell him just how close it had been, but he'd still been there when she needed him, and that was all she needed to know that he'd look out for her. In return, Loki knew something about her now, something she generally didn't tell people; it wasn't really their business to know, and though he wasn't aware that it was generally kept a secret, he knew it was something that she saw as a weakness. She was showing him her vulnerability.

In a matter of seconds, their bond had just strengthened tenfold. Where there had once been a forced truce between them, there was now friendship. Loki was surprised to find that he was happy with this turn of events.

Author's Note: Turning point one. Woo!

I decided a long time ago that Michelle was going to have diabetes. I needed a reason for Loki to help her out, to find out something about her that would establish trust between them. I thought it was a good choice because it's not a rare or completely fatal disease and lots of people live very normal lives with some form of diabetes every day, but it could still be dangerous if not looked after properly. I did lots of research about the disease, but if I've made any errors, I apologize; I am but human.