I'm too excited to wait or finish my hw before starting this chapter!
They were in his bedchamber, shrouded in darkness. The shadows flickered with the few lit candles scattered across the room, either atop a stack of books or balanced on the floor.
Darcy sat on Loki's bed; uncomfortably attempting to avoid leaning against his pillows- somehow it just seemed too intimate to snuggle in this man's bed.
Loki stood facing a window- it was dark out, so she had no way of looking at his face, no way to observe his expression.
Darcy wasn't sure what she was supposed to do or say-
All she could remember was that Loki had managed to rescue her when she needed it the most, and in his clichéd strong arms she had felt safe as he managed to transport them both to his bedroom. Darcy had nary a moment to look at his eyes again, let alone the rest of his face. She had felt the slight ridges of the Jotunn markings through the fabric of his shirt, but besides that he had seemed the same- tall, lean, dark raven hair.
Still, she hadn't seen his face.
How bad could it be?
The minutes ticked by, and soon Darcy began to lose patience.
"Listen, Loki… man, thank you. Thank you so much, and I'm so sorry I snuck up on you. It wasn't polite, and I feel really embarrassed."
She could see his back muscles bunch with tension, and through clenched teeth he managed to wrench out a bitter, "Embarrassed about what, exactly?"
Darcy muddled on, completely aware of what he thought she had meant.
"Oh, well I don't know- I not only invade your privacy but also I manage to knock over your potions and cauldrons everywhere, while scaring you and ruining my only mode of getting around. Now that I think about it, I'm actually really damn humiliated, and I'm glad only you saw!"
She flipped her hair and tried to look flippant, as though there wasn't a giant frost blue elephant in the room, and waited for Loki to make the first move. She expected caustic, cruel, even cutting words.
She didn't expect a laugh.
It was interesting- a low, full throated laugh that was clearly rusty from disuse, but very pleasing to the ear.
In fact, it made Darcy feel warm and happy on the inside; as though she had done a good deed by making the dour Loki laugh.
"What's so funny?"
He shook his head, never turning to face her, and explained.
She looked so confused and incredulous- he couldn't help but burst into laughter. Loki knew that Darcy was too smart to ever admit that seeing him as a frost giant had frightened her- who knew how much she had seen? And her initial reaction was at first a dazed silence, followed by sweet, inane prattling at her own expense. He knew it was all a show- a pretense of embarrassment intended to cover up Loki's obvious discomfort regarding her discovery of his true form.
It had begun a week ago when his magic was more easily accessible to him. Testing his power had been his all-consuming task for hours after that, performing spell after spell, and conjuring potion and charms out of nothing. It was tiring, and the flu in the kingdom had left Loki too rather weak, although his Jotunn roots granted him some immunity.
Regardless, the grueling work took its toll on him. One evening, he awakened sprawled across his bed, unaware of where he lay or what time it was. Loki had been ready to find a servant to bring him something to eat when he glanced at his own hand.
"So you're stuck in blue mode?"
Darcy cut him off before he reached the crux of his dilemma, in her usual blunt, charming manner.
She knew it wasn't the most apt way to describe the situation but she had no idea how to refer to it, and frankly, Darcy was having trouble conversing with Loki's back.
Long minutes ticked by once again, and Darcy wondered what she could do to get Loki to show her his face because she was dying of curiosity.
After another five minutes of awkwardness stretched by, Darcy could feel herself grow more frustrated by the minute. Loki was clearly lost in some thought, and she had no way to leave his room because her wheel was now a melted puddle of metal and padding in his secret lair- an actual issue she would have to deal with very soon. At the moment however, her focus lay in getting Loki to show his face.
It came to her in a very devious moment of inspiration.
She screamed, "MY LEG!" and began to cry.
In a flash Loki ran to Darcy, frantically asking "Which one!? Where, what happened?"
He sounded so concerned and worried that Darcy felt guilty for an instant before she took in his face.
It took a moment for him to realize her trick, and he could not help but admire the minx for her perseverance. He had been prepared to stand at the window until she had fallen asleep- she would have awakened in her own bed, alone, with a replacement for her wheeled-chair.
Instead, she had fooled him, the god of Mischief and Tricks- was she ever going to stop surprising him?
He realized that she had fallen silent for the past 30 seconds, and caught her looking at him. There was no disgust on her face- no horror, no terror- just an inquisitive wondrous expression, coupled with a childish awe which rendered her nothing short of breath-taking.
She couldn't stop looking. Loki was in his Jotunn form…
And he was beautiful. Although she had never enjoyed the film Avatar, she was getting a very sexy vibe from the cobalt blue skin which was lined with tiny ridges that made his arresting face even more captivating. She wanted nothing more than to touch it, caress his cheek and kiss it. She couldn't imagine being a whole different species- nevertheless adopted- she could almost justify his wanting to destroy humanity and rule all of Earth.
His eyes were a deep shade of red, which could almost be mistaken for amber in the darkness of the room., and although she preferred the pale sea green, Darcy kind of liked his eyes that way. Loki on the other hand seemed petrified with fear- clearly he expected the worst possible reaction from her, and here she was giving him no reaction at all.
He opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it and shut his mouth, but not before Darcy noticed that his teeth seemed slightly sharper than before, like fangs.
A combination wave of pity and lust swept over Darcy, and without knowing why she grabbed Loki by the shirt and yanked him down to sit next to her on the bed, facing her.
"What are you doing?" The shakiness in his voice was heartrending, and Darcy only replied by gently stroking a finger along the lines of his facial ridges. Loki stiffened at her touch, but slowly calmed down. Darcy had no idea what she was trying to accomplish- all she knew was that she wanted to reassure Loki that he wasn't a monster, despite everything.
She had never touched him before. Yes, they had made physical contact, but only in the most perfunctory manner, and she had never initiated it.
Her fingers were warm and smooth against his marred and disfigured face- it was a welcome experience against his always frosty internal temperature.
The fingers spread and she laid her entire palm against his left cheek, and he leaned into it slowly, unsure if he was even moving.
Darcy's face was usually a myriad of expressions and emotion but at that moment, she seemed serene; for once, Loki was at peace.
It was bizarre, this kind of contact. What was more intimate than laying one's hand against their love's face and just staying there, feeling every curve and contour of their visage?
Darcy knew that this was number one on her list of asinine moves to make but she couldn't resist- and then when he nuzzled his face into her palm she knew she was lost.
Inadvertently, she emitted a sigh, and Loki hummed in response- she felt like her heart was free falling with happiness and then-
Falling.
As in Loki pushed her. As in she fell once in New York.
The realization shocked her, and like a cruelly icy shower, Darcy knew she was done for.
How could she fall in love with the man who had tried to kill just because it was fun?
And then the image of his drawings of her returned, and the horror changed into confusion.
Loki had clearly noticed the stiffening of her hand and had retreated back to his corner like a giant black bat.
Unsure of where to start, Darcy simply began to blurt out her thoughts.
"Loki… why did you draw me?"
"Pardon me?"
The undisguised surprise in Loki's voice highlighted the significance of the artwork, whatever it may be.
"I mean the picture of me running- what does it mean?"
Loki turned to face her again, and this time his face was unreadable. There was no expression, just a carefully modulated look of mild interest.
"It's just a study of motion. Nothing more."
The amount of bullshit in that statement made Darcy see red-
"What the fuck do you think you're doing lying to me about this? I am the last person you should lie to about this considering I AM THE UNWILLING SUBJECT of that particular piece! Tell me the truth Loki!"
His BBC face melted into annoyed defiance; "Oh yes, and you'll do what to me? You melted your own chair, darling."
Loki's use of the word darling softened her resolve a little but not enough to deter her.
"I mean it! Why me? Running, of all activities?!"
He returned to perch on the bed next to her, and hung his head.
"I am looking for a way to return to you that which I unjustly stole."
Darcy felt like she was in an air vacuum and everything was still- no voices, no feelings, just the sound of her heart thumping against her ribcage.
"Stole… what did you steal Loki?" She knew her voice was shaking and the answer to her question was obvious but she had to know.
"What else? Must I state my crime once again? I stole your mobility in freedom in my madness and I seek to repent, and make amends."
Darcy's vision began to swim with tears and blackness and the madness of it all- what was he saying?
How? She lowered her head and attempted to process the sheer significance of what he had just told her.
Loki contritely sat beside her still, afraid to move or even speak.
What was there to say?
Minutes passed and again the silence in the room seemed to swallow both unwilling prisoners whole.
Does he really mean it? How can he just… is he really going to fix me?
Darcy lifted her head after almost 10 minutes of quiet, intense thinking about nothing- she was in shock.
The look on Loki's face was astounding- complete, utter stillness- the still aristocratic nose, albeit in blue, tilted slightly up in the air as though he was his normal, haughty self. Only his eyes told the truth- darting back and forth, revealing the panic within.
The minutes ticked by, and once again neither knew what to do or say.
It was Loki this time that broke the silence.
"I know of a spell… it's clean magic, I knew that would matter to you, and it only requires my utter repentance, of which you clearly are aware of, as well as certain herbs and objects of magical properties. It takes weeks to brew, and you actually knocked over an experimental batch, which is just as well, as it was slightly on the bitingly acidic side, and now I'll start over and you'll probably be very impatient with me"- his voice had grown frenzied, and Darcy could literally hear the pleading in his voice- "Forgive me, please, forgive me"- and she felt what was left of her earlier anger melt into acceptance.
Lifting her head, she wiped her eyes and shook her head.
"Loki, please stop talking and listen. I can't tell you how grateful I am to you for this- only that I've already forgiven you, and I don't need you to go to all this trouble just so I can walk around and make a mess of my life. "
"No! Darcy, no, I need to do this! I have to try and make things better- I was so awful on Midgard and I couldn't do anything to make amends there, the least I can do is give you back what I took! I want to do this! I owe you so much and you think I'm doing you a favor? This isn't an act of kindness, it's… it's an act of contrition. I have to do this."
Loki now knelt before Darcy, earnestly clutching her hand and gazing into her eyes.
"I can't wrap my head around it, but I guess, I accept your weird walking spell?! Thank you?!" Darcy was overwhelmed- she felt dizzy from the desire to kiss Loki, but also knew that she had to practice some self control, if only for her own sake.
Loki smiled for the first time that evening, properly, and was about to speak when someone knocked on the door.
It was a very nervous servant bearing a scroll- as the messenger ran away Loki read aloud-
"Thor and Lady Jane are extending their travels to go to Midgard, and cordially invite Prince Loki of Asgard and Lady Darcy to join them."
Darcy groaned- how the fuck was she supposed to go back down to Earth from her literal heaven?