Darcy had stayed and talked with Loki for about an hour before she got frustrated with him and left. He frowned as he watched her go, disappointed that she hadn't stayed longer. He entertained the idea that perhaps his way of speaking with her had driven the girl off, but quickly dismissed that thought. The two of them had spent hours talking before when he visited her on Midgard. There was no reason for her to be frustrated with his conversational skills now. Perhaps it was his refusal to eat or speak more than a few words to her. Either way it didn't matter, she was gone.
Loki spent the remainder of the day reminiscing his conversation with Darcy, clinging to every remembered word she spoke, her expressions, her posture. He did not know how long the young woman would be on Asgard nor if she would even visit again, but he supposed hoping would not be a worthless endeavor. Of course, the Allfather could think up many a cruel torment for Loki and would not put it past the man to punish him in such a way. He picked up the apple Darcy had left behind, twirling it by the stem between his fingers. Though his body was wasting away and demanding nourishment, he would not eat the apple. It was something Darcy had left behind, and so one of the few things he had that she had given him. He would be more saddened to see the apple gone. Loki fell asleep staring up at the ceiling of his cell, the apple resting on his chest.
"Rise and shine grumpy McEvil Pants!" Darcy's voice jarred Loki out of a rather comatose-like sleep. For a moment he couldn't be sure he wasn't dreaming. Darcy was standing there, just outside his cell, with a tray so full of food that it looked nearly too heavy for the girl to carry on her own.
"Thor made me bring this down, and I swear, if that guard takes any longer letting me in your cell I will drop this whole thing…on his head," she grumbled, glaring over at the guard who did appear to be dragging his feet somewhat.
"Yes, I do suppose Thor would be rather cross if you were made to drop that tray. I wonder what he would do to the guard who let it happen." Loki smirked as the soldier appeared to quicken his pace, letting the cell wall down just long enough for Darcy to cross the threshold before bringing the cage wall back up. Loki watched from his bed as the young woman stumbled across the space to the nearest table, setting the tray down with a heavy thumping sound.
"Ok Loki, you're going to have to tell me what half this stuff is. I am not in any way familiar with Asgardian food. Thor had to keep explaining to me what things were yesterday at dinner. It was the most awkward moment ever." Assured by the girl's ramblings that he was not, in fact, dreaming, Loki stood and very carefully made his over to where the brunette was standing. Darcy did not seem to be as fearful of him as before, when she found out who he really was. He still moved carefully, taking a seat slowly, attempting not to spook her all the same. She rolled her eyes at his careful movements, falling into the chair opposite his and plucking a fruit from the tray.
"So what's this?" she asked, tossing the thing between her hands and waiting for an answer.
"I suppose it is similar to a Midgardian pear," he answered after a moment. She nodded, taking a bite.
"Yup, tastes like a pear…so are you going to eat or just watch me making chipmunk faces at you all day?" she demanded, quirking an eyebrow up questioningly. Loki tentatively reached out and picked up a pastry, taking a small, careful bite.
"What is 'chipmunk face'?" he asked after a moment. Darcy gave a small smile before taking a large bite of her food and exaggeratingly puffing out her cheeks. She pointed at her face as if that were explanation enough. When he continued to stare blankly at her, she rolled her eyes, swallowing the food before answering.
"A chipmunk is a little creature on Earth that gathers as much food in its mouth as it can. Some of the food gets eaten, but some of it the little rodent stores for the winter when it won't be able to find food as easily," Darcy explained, picking up a baked good from the tray. Loki reached out and plucked the bread from her hands, giving her a sweet cake instead. The woman gave him another questioning look.
"I don't think you would like this, much too tart. That is a sweet cake," he explained, beginning to eat the tart himself. He only ate about half of it, his stomach roiling in protest at so much food after going so long without. They sat in silence for a few moments, Loki staring at Darcy as the girl continued to pick at the food, wondering why she was here again and if this still part of some cruel punishment. When she finally realized he was watching her, she sat back, giving him a questioning look.
"What are you doing here Darcy?" he finally asked.
"Thor and Odin are worried about you. Not eating and not speaking Loki? Really?" she questioned him, leaning forward. He shrugged, but gave no reply. She sighed and stood up.
"I hope you know I'm missing classes to be here and see you right? You better at least appreciate that. I don't think I'll be here tomorrow, but I'm probably going to be visiting regularly on days I don't have classes. You should get a haircut before I visit next time, make yourself look less like a Shakespearian villain," she said, stepping out of the cell as the guard lowered the cage wall. He did not say anything as she departed, simply watched her go again. He stood and walked to his bed, picking up the apple from his wrinkled sheets, he took a bite.
A/N: so my fellow readers, apparently my writing muse is back! two chapters in the same month! Anyway, for those who don't understand the ending and why Loki is eating the apple, here's an explanation: Before he was holding onto the apple because he didn't know when he would see Darcy again. At the end, he's eating the apple because he knows he's going to see her again and has no need to cling to it as something she gave him. Don't feel bad if you didn't get it, my proof reader Yoshinator didn't get it either :)