Silver and Scales

A/N: As much as I love writing smut scenes, I love these tender moments.

Chapter Twenty-Four: Not Another Word

It stayed silent in the room as Loki and Vyperia lay in bed side-by-side, cradled in each other's arms. While not a sound was made in the stillness, their thoughts were one in the same. It was a connected link between them, a gift that Loki had permitted for her to peer into his mind. Vyperia rested her head on his chest, listening to the soft breaths that sighed from his lips; his hand affectionately stroked the length of her naked shoulder to her forearm. Such broad strokes merely stoked the burning sensations in the pit of her stomach; but they were municipal finger brushes—light, tender, and non-compliant to a burning lust.

While the quiet was heavy in the air, words rushed beneath the silence…in their heads.

Hear me softly among the branches of your mind, Loki's words echoed through her cerebral chambers. It was a beautiful sound. Ever have you heard me speak into your ears late at night and me not be present; that was me. Have you recalled those lonely nights in your bedroom where we could not meet?

Vyperia smiled.

I remember, she answered his thoughtful waves.

In his ears, Loki heard her voice—it was a gentle roll of a feminine, low caress. He had savored her words from her mouth many a time. As he listened to her telepathic drawl, he found her psychic connection to be increasingly alluring, perhaps better than any burning kiss from her wanton lips.

I remember a night, she continued gently, when I lay alone in my bed, and heard your voice lull me to sleep with soothing whispers. Was that you, too, who put lucid dreams in my head to calm my tempered urges?

It was I who put those racing images in your mind from the beginning, answered Loki honestly, slyly. How could I possible resist the temptation of doing so?

You could not, remarked Vyperia with a smile on her face.

I have always heard you after the sun fell, Loki reminisced. When the moon rose over Asgard and the clouds were non-existent, your thoughts raced from philosophical inquiries to imaginative theories. So curious and adventurous you are, and you crave new knowledge.

Loki's hand from her arm passed its pacing threshold to cradle sweetly the line of her prominent chin. Vyperia didn't fight his fingers; she looked up at him with a sweet smile on her face. He met her eyes.

"Your inquisition," said Loki dotingly, "has always fascinated me."

"Fascination for a goddess? I have something stronger for you," Vyperia retorted fondly.

"I know."

"Do you?" asked Vyperia playfully.

"I do," Loki answered.

Vyperia gazed at him as if a cold heart had been melted by a healing stone. Her eyes brightened as he looked at her with tendered affection. She bit her bottom lip.

"You would lie down your life on the line if it meant eternal happiness for me," said Loki, breaking the momentary silence. "Wouldn't you, Darling?"

"My life, my soul, and every drop of my blood. You told me never to do so," replied Vyperia.

"But you would do it anyway," Loki summarized without malice or contempt.

"Of course, I would." Vyperia remarked faithfully. "Should I be named queen if I was frightened to guard my king? I should be called a traitor if I denied you. You are my life. Is that so hard to understand?"

"You mean a great deal to me even if sometimes I do not show it." Loki told her gently.

"You speak as if you will lament my future passing." Vyperia placed her hand over his which fondled her jaw line. Her fingers held Loki's hand and guided it to her naked left breast. His eyes left her gaze to follow a meaningful gesture.

"I have always told you," said Vyperia, "never to doubt my loyalty."

"I've learned in the last week that it is foolish to think anything less." Loki replied. "What would turn your face from me? What would have your loyalties tarnish and turn your back to me?"

"Are these insecurities?" asked Vyperia curiously. "Darling, look at me."

Loki met her eyes slowly.

"Nothing…" she said with a voice just above a whisper. "Nothing…would ever make me turn against you. Why," she asked with a candid purr, "why can't you trust me with that? Have I done something to make you doubt me? Have I wounded your belief in me? What have do I have to do to trust me unconditionally?"

Vyperia's eyes searched his somber gaze.

"Have you begun to mistrust me after I confessed that you are a Jotun?" asked Vyperia softly. Her stomach panged with guilt, realizing it. "Has that admittance shattered the foundation that our love was founded upon years ago?"

He sighed.

"I want to trust you," said Loki quietly. "I love you, and never doubt that I do. Things can never be as they were…"

"That's not true," said Vyperia compassionately. "I never meant to hurt you…"

"No one really does," said Loki, meeting her eyes. "Time cannot undo what has been done."

"Shall I try to erase what has happened? Should I learn from you how to stand the test of time?" Vyperia stated calmly, though her words were flaked with sadness and passive sarcasm. "What should I do in order to gain that trust? Should I wander into Jotunheim and beg for them to take you back as their equal when they, too, had abandoned you as a baby?"

At the last, Loki looked at her with unmistakable irritation.

His hands left her body. Loki sat up in bed. His affectionate touch was withdrawn from Vyperia. She drew the blankets around her naked flesh, huddling in the warmth of the sheets that Loki had sequestered from her.

"I didn't mean what I said," muttered Vyperia apologetically, as she saw the agitation on Loki's face. "I'm sorry."

He leaned his head against the headboard in contemplation. Her tender apology didn't ease the situation. Vyperia bit her lip, mentally kicking herself in the face as she recalled her insult to his child-like need for acceptance and approval.

"I didn't mean it," she reiterated. "Loki…"

"Say nothing more…"

"Darling—"

Loki raised a finger to her without making any motion to look at her.

"Not another word."

Vyperia bit her lip, guilt-ridden.

Her stomach turned uncomfortably, hating herself for what she had said. Loki wordlessly slid out of bed. Vyperia lowered her gaze from him to stare at her hands that tangled in the sheets. He made quiet movements beside her as he dressed into his casual robes. Vyperia closed her eyes. Loki strode around the bed to head for the door. He said nothing as he took the golden handle and slammed it shut behind him.