Chapter 26: Luke Smith
"Wow," Eleanor says through a mouthful of cereal when Loki emerges from the bedroom. "You look nice."
Loki frowns slightly and straightens his already perfectly straight tie.
"And you consume breakfast as if you were an animal rather than a lady," he replies. "Do try to eat with your mouth closed."
"Want some?" she asks, waggling around a box of Special K.
"Is there nothing else?"
"Fruit."
He moves into the kitchen and Eleanor watches, appreciating the immaculate cut of his three-piece suit and what it does to his long, lithe frame. The jacket is missing, but his pants are black, his shirt is white, and the green vest is beautifully embroidered to match the golden swirls on her favorite dress, the one she wears now.
"Eleanor?" he asks, snapping her out of a particularly lusty daydream. "Are your ears not functioning properly?"
He is smirking as he selects an apple, making it clear that he knows she what has her distracted. She blinks at him as he takes a seat on the stool next to hers at the countertop. A wicked looking golden knife appears in his hand and he uses it to cut slices from the apple, eating right off the blade.
"Huh?" she manages.
"I was merely returning your compliment," he says, continuing to smirk. "You look lovely as always, my pet, despite your table manners."
She smiles and accepts a slice of apple, eating right off the blade.
Since the return of his magic, the meticulously neat appearance she saw in the bunker has also been reemerging. It started with his the hair. She cut it two weeks ago and today it is relatively straight, tucked behind his ears.
This is the first time she's seen him so polished and formal, but she's unsure what it means.
Their quiet moment is interrupted by Eleanor's phone. She digs it out of her purse, but immediately puts it back when she sees the name illuminating the screen.
"Who rings you?" demands Loki. "The man out of time?"
Eleanor rolls her eyes at his typical ill spent jealousy.
"My sister."
"Your false sister?"
"Whatever," she says with a shrug and a sigh.
"I was under the impression you renewed your relationship with the liars who call themselves your family," he says, studying his fingernails of his left hand. It is always the left hand. "Why do you not answer her call?"
Eleanor sighs again, feeling guilty. In the three months since her return from Asgard, she has spoken with Laura only twice. The conversations have been incredibly brief and Ellie has yet to mention Loki. She just doesn't know what to say, but Laura's calls are becoming more frequent so she'll have to come up with something soon.
"I don't feel like talking to her," she says, laying a hand on his thigh and bringing her face close to his. "I'd rather kiss you."
He smiles and places a chaste kiss on the corner of her mouth.
"Later," he promises, finishing his apple and vanishing the knife. "We do not want to be late for work."
She frowns at him in confusion as he clears her dishes, hustles her out of her seat and hands her the car keys.
"You always want to be late for work," she reminds him as he leads her out the front door with a hand on the small of her back. "Usually to have sex."
His laughter is light and free, but he does not explain his sudden behavior change. Eleanor is suspicious, but keeps quiet.
As they walk to her jeep a black suit jacket materializes on his shoulders.
"You look really nice," she murmurs again.
He thanks her and off they go.
Jane and Darcy are at the coffee pot in the kitchen area when Loki and Eleanor arrive. Most days, Loki ignores their presence and beelines it for her chair near her desk or the couch or his tree, but today he strides directly into the kitchen, stepping up to Jane.
Eleanor wanders in behind him, watching as Jane's eyes go wide. Darcy draws her Taser.
"Jane Foster," Loki says in greeting. He bows slightly and Ellie bites her cheek to keep from giggling. Jane turns a shocked gaze onto Eleanor who does nothing but grin back.
"Um, hi," Jane manages. "Good morning, Loki."
"May I have a moment of your time to discuss a matter privately?" he asks.
Jane and Darcy are stunned by his princely politeness and Eleanor can't stop smiling.
"I guess?" Jane looks at Ellie again. She gives her boss an encouraging nod and shrug. She never has any idea what Loki is up to. "Let's just step outside for a minute."
With a sweeping gesture, Loki indicates Jane should lead the way. He follows her out to the circular area that once formed the end of the bridge.
"What the fuck?" Darcy asks Ellie.
"I honestly have no idea," she replies, pouring herself a cup of coffee.
"That can't be good, right?"
"Guess we'll see."
Eleanor leaves the kitchen to get a better view of Loki. She leans against her desk, sipping and watching. Darcy watches just as intently, but she pretends not to.
Jane goes from shocked to suspicious as Loki talks, but when he stops she gives a reluctant nod.
"You know I am going to tell your brother about this," Jane says as they enter the lab again. Eleanor sees Loki clench his jaw, but he manages to remain polite.
"Of course," he replies, following Jane to the bookcase behind her workspace.
"And Fury."
"Please, tell whomever you wish."
"No funny business, Loki. I mean it."
"I assure you, Miss Foster. I simply wish to combat the monotony of my current situation. I have nothing remotely amusing in mind."
Jane hands over a thick textbook.
"This is the text for my intro level class," she continues. "You are welcome to sit in on the class next semester. It has a physics and a calculus pre rec so if this is over your head I can get you books on those."
Loki snorts.
"You wrote this?" he asks.
"Mostly."
"Then it will not be beyond my capability to comprehend," he says, flipping through the pages. "I thank you for your assistance, Miss Foster."
Once more, Jane is baffled, but she manages to stutter out a "you're welcome" as Loki turns to make his way to Ellie's desk.
She touches his wrist and he pauses to show her the title.
"Introduction to Astrophysics," she reads, taking the book from him to thumb through herself. Not one sentence makes much sense to her, but she barely graduated high school so that isn't necessarily a surprise. Shaking her head she hands it back to Loki as he sits next to her. "They should really call you the God of Smartness."
Loki chuckles and opens to the first page.
An hour before quitting time, Loki closes the book in his lap. Eleanor tears her focus away from her computer to watch him stretch in his seat. He shed his jacket after lunch and rolled up his sleeves some time after that.
Ellie admires his pale forearms and strong hands as she raises a questioning eyebrow.
"It is done," he confirms. Although she isn't surprised to see him read thousands of pages on astrophysics in under seven hours, she is damn impressed. "Midgardian scientists lack imagination and finesse, but they are not wholly wrong. Their theories are much more sophisticated than I anticipated."
Eleanor leans over to kiss his cheek, annoying and pleasing him all at once. He gets up, strutting across the lab in a powerful, self-assured way that she hasn't seen from him since the bunker.
Jane squeaks a little in alarm when he drops the heavy book on her desk. The noise has Darcy brandishing her Taser again.
"A shockingly interesting read," Loki declares. "I shall require another on the morrow."
A phone rings before Jane can respond, but she nods dumbly at Loki as she answers it.
"Jane Foster," she says in greeting. Ellie can't hear the person on the other end, but Loki, obviously can. His eyebrows nearly reach his hairline as he turns to look at Ellie.
"What?" Jane snaps, also gaping at Ellie. "No! Don't arrest her. I've met the woman. I am sure she is exactly who she claims to be. Eleanor will be there in ten minutes."
Loki is staring down at the phone, looking grim and Ellie's heart rate picks up as she braces herself for the news.
"It's your sister," Jane says. "She's at the west gate and they are about ready to detain her for refusing to go away."
It takes nearly half an hour of explaining to get Laura out of trouble with both SHIELD and Stark security and another twenty to get her access to the property.
"Those guys are assholes. Why didn't they believe that I'm your sister?" Laura complains as they make their way to the jeep where Loki is waiting. He refused to come inside, claiming that he's "had enough of prisons to last a lifetime, thank you."
It should have given Ellie more time to come up with an explanation for her relationship with the god who unleashed an alien army on New York less than a year ago, but she's still got nothing.
Loki is draped over the hood of her jeep, back resting against the windshield and legs crossed at his ankles. The pose is reminiscent of an ad and Eleanor smiles. He looks strange and elegant, lounging on such a vehicle with his eyes closed and his hands folded on his chest. The suit looks as crisp and clean as it did this morning.
"Whoa," says Laura as they approach. "Is that your car? What's with Mr. Fancy?"
Mr. Fancy opens his eyes and slides off the car, regarding Laura with a wary sort of distaste.
"Who's this?" Laura asks when they come face to face with Eleanor's God of Modeling.
Loki crosses his arms over his chest, waiting expectantly for Ellis's answer.
"Uh…." Loki looks amused but does nothing to help her lie something up. "This is Luke," Ellie says.
Loki's eyebrows twitch, but otherwise he gives no reaction to her changing his name.
"Luke?" Laura repeats.
"Luke Smith," Eleanor continues. "He works with me at the lab. He's sorta my boyfriend."
Fuck, this is horrible. Just the worst.
"Oh, really," Laura says, scrutinizing Loki. He no longer looks amused but he manages to give Laura an almost friendly smile as he reaches out to shake her hand.
"Eleanor does have a habit of keeping me all to herself," he says, all suave and charming. Ellie prays Laura doesn't notice that angry, dangerous glint in his eyes. "But I have heard all about you. It is a pleasure to meet you finally, Laura."
Ellie's big sister looks like she is somewhere between dazzled and suspicious.
"Are you the reason Elle hasn't returned any of my calls in the last couple months?" Laura asks.
Loki's smile gets a little more sinister.
"I would never dream of keeping Eleanor from her loving, devoted family."
Laura picks up on the tone and her eyes narrow.
"Let's get going!" Eleanor says, her voice unnaturally peppy. Both Loki and Laura look at her as if she's lost her mind but she pushes through the awkward, grabbing Laura's bag and heading for the trunk, but Loki takes it from her, stowing it in the vehicle himself.
"So, you're living with this guy? Already?" Laura demands the moment Loki closes himself away in their bedroom, giving the sisters a moment to catch up after dinner.
"Laura," Eleanor says with a sigh. She is exhausted already and her sister has only been here for a few hours.
"It's just weird," Laura continues. "We talk every week for a year and you come to New York for the holidays and you bond with my baby."
"How is little Eli?" Ellie asks, feeling extremely guilty and stupid for the way she's handled her family since returning from Asgard.
"He's wonderful but don't you go changing the subject. Everything is great until you drop off the face of the earth. Again!" Laura is genuinely upset.
"I told you I was fine. Why did you come?"
"I won't let you disappear again," Laura says with a ferocity that surprises her sister.
Ellie is a totally selfish asshole, and as awkward as it feels, she leans over on the couch to hug her big sister. It lasts a beat too long for Eleanor's taste, but it seems to make Laura calm down.
"I'm sorry I didn't think about how being out of touch would make you feel," Ellie says. "I'm a dick, but I wasn't trying to disappear again. It's just been a crazy couple of months and I am not used to having people worry about me. I'll be better. I promise."
"Okay. Great." Laura leans back against the couch, smiling and grabbing her wine glass off the coffee table.
"So you'll go back home now?" Ellie asks, unsure of what she wants the answer to be.
"I'll stay through the weekend," Laura says. "I've got to get home to my boys. But back to this crazy couple months of yours. Is it because of this Luke character?"
Ellie nods.
"Why, Eleanor?" Laura demands, totally exasperated. "Use your words."
"It's just been an adjustment."
"Because he's already living with you?"
"Well, yeah."
"What's the rush?"
"Dude, it's working," Ellie says, groaning slightly. "I'm doing fine. Why are you so concerned?"
"You start dating this guy. You don't tell me about it. You move in with him. You stop calling. How could I not be concerned?" Laura asks.
Ellie sighs again.
"What do you even know about this guy?" Laura continues.
"Plenty," Ellie says. "More than he'd like me to know."
"I don't like him," Laura says.
"Good thing you're not dating him then."
"There are vibes."
"He's been nothing but polite to you, Laura."
"Yeah," she says. "I guess. He is polite but there seems to be something sinister under that. And he looks oddly familiar."
Ellie's stomach drops and it's time to change the subject.
"Laura, I am doing fine. I promise I will be better about calling. Now are you going to show me pictures of my nephew or what?"
It is late and Ellie is tipsy when she enters their bedroom as silently as possible. He is curled up on his side. As she strips she admires the planes of his back. Although the skin appears smooth, Ellie has nearly memorized every scar, only apparent to the touch.
Getting under the covers, she slides over to push her nose into the back of his neck. At first contact Loki jerks so violently he nearly falls out of bed.
It's been a while since he had such a violent reaction to a surprise and seeing it now sobers Ellie.
Gasping for breath, he sits up, wild eyes darting all over the room as he tries to figure out what is real.
"Loki," she says without reaching out to touch him again. He doesn't do so well with the touch when he is this confused.
"Eleanor!" Her name is a panicked, strangled whisper and Ellie sits up, getting in front of him, forcing him to look at her but still not touching him. His eyes lock with hers and he calms slightly. "Eleanor." This time he breathes her name out with a sigh of relief.
His head falls forward, resting on her shoulder, and she strokes his hair. Although it was slicked back today, there is a slight curl under his ears now, a result of his shower. It's a long way from the long curly mess she became so familiar with in the last months.
"Lie down," she murmurs. He lets her rest on her back, his cheeks pressed against her chest. His heart rate calms and Eleanor's eyes drift closed.
"Liar," Loki says.
"Humm?"
"I referred to you as a liar," he repeats.
Eleanor snorts.
"Okay, my dear God of Lies. Go to sleep."
"You deny the lies you told your false sister?"
"Of course I lied to Laura. Your presence on this planet is a huge secret," she replies.
"The people of Midgard would want revenge," he murmurs. "If they knew me to be here."
"Uh, try justice."
"But we walk in town for all manner of eyes to see."
"People would have to know it's you. SHIELD did a pretty decent job with the cover up and other than a few grainy photos of you in the horns, the public has no idea who led the aliens," Eleanor explains.
"Then why give me a false name?" Loki says, obviously annoyed.
"I only changed two letters."
"Why did you deem this necessary?"
The bitterness and anger in his tone has Eleanor sitting up. Loki does the same, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I just told you," she replies, struggling to understand what has him so mad. "It's a secret. You are a secret."
He continues to scowl at her.
"I am your secret. It is your great shame in being linked to a monster that compelled you to lie," he says.
Eleanor is a little stunned to realize that he's hurt, that she's hurt him, and although she'd like nothing more than to comfort him, his accusation isn't totally false.
"You're not a monster," she says. "But Laura wouldn't understand. I barely understand. It's a struggle for me to reconcile how I feel about you and all the horror you caused, all the people you killed and all the lives you ruined. I'm not ashamed of you and you are not a secret. Most of the people I care about know all about our relationship, but Laura will just worry and tell me what to do and I don't want that either."
Loki sits up and snags her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. With great reluctance, she looks at him and tried not to wilt under his gaze.
"My actions cause you shame," he finally murmurs. "Not what I am."
She lets go of the breath she didn't know she was holding.
"That's right," she says, smiling as he lets his hand drop. He frowns. "You're getting it."
"I suppose," he mutters.
She leans over to kiss his cheek but Loki's hand tightens in the hair at the back of her head, keeping her close.
"And just what do you feel for me, my sweet songbird?" His breath is warm against her ear and the low tone makes her shiver.
"I…." She has no idea where to begin. The simple question has an exceedingly complicated answer. "I like you," she decides. His hand tightens in her hair, the pull verging on pain. "But I don't know if I like that I like you. Still, I really, really like you."
A dark chuckle answers her brutal honesty. Her eyes flicker shut and when his teeth close on her ear lobe a whimper is drawn from her throat.
"I do not like her," he murmurs.
"You don't like anyone."
"She upsets you."
"Loki, really the concern is sweet, but I'm fine. I'm sorry that her being here is upsetting you."
He sighs heavily and Ellie relaxes, hoping that he'll let it go and let her sleep, but then he's on top of her, pinning her to the mattress this his hips. She gasps and in their dark room his eyes appear nearly black. The subtle, gentle thrusting of those hips drives coherence from her mind. She reaches out for him, wanting and needing more of him, but Loki manacles her wrists, holding them above her head.
"Loki." It is mostly a plea, but partially a demand.
Even as his lips press into her neck, he keeps far too much space between their bodies. It is maddening and sometimes she hates how good he is at torturing her this way. She tries to wiggle closer to the hardness she can barely feel between her legs, but again, he's having none of that.
Her clothes disappear, giving his lips access to more exposed flesh.
"Open your eyes, Eleanor," he commands from near her nipple.
She does.
"This woman would have you leave me," he says, letting the full weight of his body rest on hers. The change in him is abrupt and when he lets go of her hands she wraps her arms around his neck.
"No one will make me leave you." Except Odin if you don't behave yourself.
Loki stares at her in that way that makes it seem like he's just now seeing her for the first time. The way he looks at her steals her breath, but then his gaze hardens and he sinks his teeth into her lower lip. It makes her let out a groan, the noise far too loud given who is sleeping just on the other side of the door.
He kisses away the sting of his bite and moves against her in the way she craved moments earlier.
She closes her eyes and arches toward him as his fingers find their way between her legs. She moans and pants and forgets all about her sleeping sister.
Loki is inside her and nothing else matters.
"She understands nothing," he hisses in her ear, his pace furious. "But she will come to know what we do. You are mine, Eleanor."
Somewhere in the back of her head she recalls a conversation, her one true bit of defiance in the bunker. She told him that she could never belong to him without Loki being hers too.
"Mine!" he snaps, slamming into her once more before stilling completely.
Things are so very different now.
Ellie manages a nod and a strangled sound that really could be any word. Loki actually smiles in return before finally, blessedly, moving again.
For a few moments Ellie remembers to keep it down for Laura's sake but eventually she fails.
Utterly and completely.
"Does seeing Laura with me make you think of Thor?" she whispers sometime later. The steady rise and fall of Loki's chest is disturbed by the shudder that runs through him.
"You lie naked against me and it is Thor in your thoughts?" he says, growling.
"Loki," she murmurs, leaning over to place a kiss between his shoulder blades. "You know I'm not. Not like that, but seeing Laura has to make you think of Thor."
"I see no similarities between your false sister and my false brother."
"You're being obtuse."
"I'm surprised such a word is in your vocabulary."
Ellie flips him off beneath her pillow before taking three calming breaths and trying again.
"I'm glad to see her, even if it still hurts sometimes. Part of you is glad when Thor shows up."
He actually growls, but she knows she's right.
"Eleanor, there is nothing even remotely similar about our familial situations. I indulged these ungraceful comparisons, but enough now," he says, so weary. "How dare you compare yourself to a god."
"Um, maybe because our familial situations are so similar it's creepy."
"Sleep now, Eleanor," he says, reaching out for her in the dark. "Sleep."
She can't but he does and that's the next best thing.
"Are you getting up?" she asks, teething sinking into his earlobe. He lets out a sleepy growl and tries to get away from her by burrowing deeper into his pillow.
"Is your false sister here still?" he mumbles.
"Yup."
"In that case I am not getting up."
"Do you want me to bring you breakfast in bed."
"Of course not. That's repulsive. Why would anyone consume food in the place they sleep?"
"Can you kiss me?"
Loki turns his head to expose his mouth. Lips part to accommodate hers, but she scampers away before things get too terribly heated. This just gets her more grumbling from the God of Sleepiness.
Laura sits on a stool at the counter, sipping coffee and reading Ellie's paper.
"I would ask how you slept," Laura says without looking up, "except I heard exactly how much sleeping you didn't do."
Ellie drops a kiss on Laura's temple and moves to the fridge, pulling out eggs.
"I am too old to be sleeping on a couch," Laura continues as Ellie fixes breakfast. "But I guess that's what I get for surprising you and trying to break into some sort of freaky military compound. It's a lot of security for a place that claims to be studying sustainable energy. What the hell do you do there, Eleanor?"
"I'm a gofer."
Laura sighs and goes back to the paper. For once her sister stays silent through breakfast.
"I'll do the dishes," Laura says, standing and taking Ellie's plate. "You sit."
Ellie steals the paper.
"So I was thinking we could go somewhere for the day," Laura says at the sink. "Just you and me. Let's just drive through the desert of something."
"I can't."
"You can! It's the weekend. I know you work a lot so I made sure to ambush you on the weekend," Laura says, getting pissed now.
"I don't have to work," Ellie replies, searching her mind for a good excuse. If only Loki decided to get up. He lives for this sort of on the spot lie creation. "But we can just hang out around here. Or go to town. Luke and I were talking about going to town this weekend."
"We can go to town," Laura agrees. She finishes the dishes and turns to face Ellie. That look of determination is a sure sign that Laura isn't just going to let this go. "Just you and me. Laura and Ellie can go to town."
"I think Luke needs to pick up something at the bookstore."
"Like a book?"
"Maybe."
Laura lets out a frustrated sigh. "Do you not want to be alone with me? Is that it, Eleanor? Are you worried I'm going to drop some other giant bomb that will totally have you on your ass again? Because we're fresh out of secrets in this family."
"We're alone now," Ellie says, still trying to salvage the situation.
"He can hear us," Laura whispers. "I know it. This ain't alone."
"Why so desperate to get me away from Loki?"
"Loki?"
Eleanor blinks at her sister.
"Aw, shit."
Laura gives Eleanor the death glare before digging around for a piece of paper and a pen. The big sister then progresses to write a freaking novel as Ellie stands by and waits, totally confused.
"Do you think I am a complete moron?" reads Laura's note. "I know who that is! The photos and video from Germany may not be the best, but I know who he is! I knew he was connected to that shit in New York! He's the being that captured you! And he's done it again but he can't take my baby sister. Oh hell no! Quick, let's make a run for it."
Ellie reads the note twice, trying to give herself time to come up with a response.
She's got nothing.
People generally don't recognize Loki. Germany is a long way from Nowhereville, New Mexico and there is still so much confusion regarding exactly what happened in New York. No one expects the megalomaniac that demanded Germans kneel and was maybe involved with an alien invasion to be here among them and dressed like such a rumpled, tired human at that.
Stupid, observant Laura.
"Okay," Ellie says, taking a deep breath. Her big sister looks like she's a second from sprinting out the door. "It's not like that. Not at all."
"Did he make you his freaky sex slave? Because it totally sounded like he made you his freaky sex slave."
Ellie rolls her eyes.
"Let's go. Right now. Get your booty in that jeep. We'll hit the road and I'll drive until I have you home safe," Laura says, tugging on Ellie's wrist.
"Laura, listen. I am home safe. I live here with Loki and I'm safe."
"He tried to turn us all into aliens!" she shrieks. Ellie lets out a sharp laugh but there is no humor in the sound.
"Is that the going rumor?"
"I treated his victims. You sang to the children. How can you possibly think you're safe?"
Ellie winces. "I really can't explain it. SHIELD would kill me for releasing that sort of information, but I'm fine, Laura. I promise."
"Oh, God. You've been brainwashed. There were rumors about that too. He got to you. Did he get to everyone here? Is he running this whole operation? Planning his next attempt to take over the planet?" Laura is getting steadily more hysterical. Ellie is at a loss.
This exact scenario is the reason Ellie lied about Loki in the first place.
"You think so highly of me," Loki says, appearing behind Eleanor. Laura lets out a strangled little scream, but otherwise holds her ground. It's impressive. "If only your theories were truth, I would be in a much better mood."
Ellie rolls her eyes. When Loki leans down to kiss her with far too much heat for this early in the morning, Ellie knows the kiss is for Laura's benefit, not theirs.
"Stop that," Ellie reprimands, pushing him away.
"I thought you enjoyed it," Loki replies, smirking.
Ellie rolls her eyes again.
"Okay, fuck this." Laura marches across the kitchen and grabs Ellie by the elbow, attempting to pull her away from Loki and out the front door. "I'm taking you home. You need your head examined. This is insane."
"Unhand her!" demands a furious Loki.
"Laura, let me go."
"No. You're out of your mind."
Loki gets between them and the front door, blocking Laura's path. He is extremely angry and terrifyingly dangerous, but Laura won't back down and she won't let go of Ellie's arm.
"Release her. At once," he says.
"Bite me, Psycho," replies Laura. "I won't let you hurt my baby sister."
"Technically, I'm your big sister," puts in Ellie. She is ignored.
"It is not I who hauls her around against her will," say Loki, actually being surprisingly reasonable.
"He does have a point, Laura," says Ellie. "You've never been particularly good at listening to me."
"We're going home. Right now. Get out of the way!" Laura is screaming in Loki's face. Her fingers tighten on Ellie's arm and Eleanor winces, trying to pull away.
Loki lets out an enraged roar, his hands turn blue, and then his whole body goes completely still as he attempts to lunge at Laura.
"Why are his hands blue?" screams Laura.
"Oh, shit," says Eleanor, eyes wide.
For a long moment, no one moves. Loki because he can't. Eleanor and Laura because they are shocked.
Her command holds, but eventually Laura lets go of Ellie and Loki stops trying to attack. The brilliant blue color recedes from his skin and he turns on his heel, slamming out the front door, on his way up the ridge to his rock of choice, no doubt.
"He's gone!" Laura says. "Let's go. Quick, before he comes back."
"Laura! Fucking, stop! I'm not going anywhere. I'm not brainwashed and Loki can't hurt me. You saw what just happened. He can't hurt anyone," Ellie says. In this moment she is much more concerned about Loki's mental state than Laura, but she knows better than to follow him now. He needs time.
"What do you mean he can't?"
"He just can't. I know it sounds crazy, but he's under a spell that prevents him from hurting anyone," Ellie says, sighing heavily. She drops down to the couch, already exhausted and it's not even ten AM.
"Spell?"
"Why is that so hard believe after what the world saw happen in New York?"
"I'm still working on believing that 'what happened in New York' part."
Laura joins Ellie on the couch. She stares at the ground as if shell shocked.
"Why is he here?"
"He lives here."
"Eleanor, really. I'm terrified for you here. The least you can so it explain."
"Explaining is tricky. We're connected, Laura. We have similar stories and now he's trying to heal and I've been put in charge of his rehabilitation," Ellie says. When the truth is spoken out loud to someone who lives outside the world of SHIELD, it sounds so stupid.
"Well, good luck there," Laura mutters. "He kidnapped you."
"Yes, last year."
"Rapped you?"
"No."
"Tried to brainwash you?"
"Yes."
"Failed to brainwash you?"
"Yes."
"And now you are connected to him and he supposedly can't hurt anyone and you are supposed to be rehabilitating him?" Laura asks, still not believing.
"Pretty much."
"How are you doing that exactly? Sex?"
Ellie smirks. "That perk is for me."
Laura groans and buries her face in her hands. "What are you doing, Eleanor?"
Ellie can do nothing but shrug.
"And his hands turn blue?"
"That's actually new."
Loki spends the whole day up on his rocks. Ellie spends the whole day with Laura, catching up and avoiding the subject of the troubled god at all costs. After dinner, Laura puts on a movie and Ellie slips out of the house, making the climb to Loki and his rock.
She is unsurprised to find him looking at the sky. This moment is so similar to other moments.
"I apologize," he says when she sits next to him. This was just about the last thing Ellie expected to hear.
"For trying to attack Laura?"
"No. The woman is insufferable, nor has she learned at all from the past. She's told you what to do your whole life and it failed then, but she continues to think she knows what's best now. It's a disgusting trait," he says, getting angry again.
"Well, can't really argue with you there." She leans over to kiss his shoulder and Loki shies away. "Why are you sorry, Loki?"
He says nothing, but stares down at his hands.
"Loki, it's okay."
"You know nothing of it!" he hisses.
Ellie tries to take his hand, but Loki jerks away.
"Are you mad? I could freeze your flesh from the bone with a single touch!"
"You're not going to do that, dude."
"It was unintentional earlier and it could very well happen again. I will not put you in danger, Eleanor, even if that means I am no longer able to touch you," he says, sounding miserable.
This time when Ellie take his hand, he only struggles for a moment.
"What happened earlier?"
"It would seem my true form appeared instinctually," he explains. "You were in danger and this was a means to offer you protection, I suppose."
"Your hands turned blue."
"Yes."
"Does all of you turn blue?"
He doesn't respond, but Loki lets her thread her fingers through his.
"Were you going to freeze her?" Ellie whispers when the silence becomes too much.
"Indeed."
"So much for all this rehabilitation you're supposed to be doing."
Loki closes his eyes and looks so distraught it makes Ellie shudder. He slouches down, laying his head on Ellie's shoulder, pushing his nose into her neck and breathing in deep.
"You can show me," she whispers as she strokes his hair. "If you want to show me."
"Is the songbird curious?"
"Always," she murmurs. "But you don't have to if you don't want to. Have you ever showed anyone before?"
There is silence again. Ellie fights a yawn. Chatting with Laura and worrying about Loki proves to be an exhausting combination.
"Not with intent."
"You could not have intent now."
"In the future I would rather you not cringe whenever in my company," he mutters. "Why would you even request such a thing?"
"Because it's part of you," she replies. There isn't enough moonlight to really see his face. "And I am interested in every part of you."
"I would like to retire now. This day has been thoroughly exhausting."
"You sat on this rock for twelve hours."
"I do not like your sister."
"I am aware."
She lets him lead her down to the cottage, sneaking through the kitchen and pass a sleeping Laura to their bedroom.
The sister leaves two days later, but only because Ellie agrees to partake in weekly phone calls.
Three weeks later, Loki turns blue.
Ellie is wandering through her garden, trying to plan dinner as she snacks on a spoonful of peanut butter. Suddenly he's there next to her, tall and slender and so blue he out-does the sky. The spoon falls from her hand. Little pieces of dirt get stuck in the peanut butter and all Ellie can do for a moment is stare.
He is watching her expression intently and Eleanor gets the feeling that this is a test.
As she takes in his red eyes and thin lines etched into his brilliant blue flesh, Ellie makes sure to really look at every detail. Even in this form he is so perfectly beautiful, freaky as fuck, but totally beautiful. She's seen impossible things in the last few years, but his blueness is still somewhat shocking.
Despite the color and the eyes and the intricate patterns the ridges form, he's still very obviously Loki. His cheekbones can still cut glass. Nose and lips are the same in shape, but really the similarities are most obvious in his expression. Loki is right here, his frame tensed in familiar anticipation and his head cocked slightly to the side as he studies her with a mixture of trepidation and hope.
This is a test, but Eleanor doesn't know what to say or do to pass it.
"When you said blue," she murmurs, "you really meant blue."
Damn, she's a fucking idiot. She'll never pass said test with such inane rambling. She closes her mouth, having no idea what to say.
"Do I not frighten you?" His tone is angry and disbelieving.
She shakes her head.
"Eleanor," he murmurs, requesting her words.
"It doesn't matter," she says, her eyes tracing the patterns on his forehead. "You're either one kind of freaky alien of another kind of freaky alien."
He stays silent, choosing not to comment that she too, is practically a freaky alien.
"Can I touch you?"
"Absolutely not!" he says, horrified by the suggestion. "Do you not recall my ability to freeze the flesh from your bone?"
Ellie sighs.
"Eleanor." He wants more words.
"Blue is my second favorite color. The eyes though." Teeth sinking into her own lower lip, Eleanor trails off. "They're…"
"Freaky?" he supplies dryly.
She cracks a smile. "Yeah, kinda. Nothing I couldn't get used too."
Ellie watches in awe as the brilliant color fades into his typical pale skin tone. "I assure you, it is nothing you will be getting used to," he replies, smoothing down his hair.
"But I could, if you were more comfortable blue."
"I am decidedly less comfortable blue."
"I'm just saying, if you ever have the hankering to turn blue, feel free," she replies. Now he lets her hold his hand, although he does seem a little surprised that she chooses to do so. "You know, even as a Frost Giant, you're still Loki."
He frowns at her. "I am still Loki."
"Yes."
"And this pleases you?"
"Always."
"What is your first favorite color?"
She smiles. "Green."