A week went by and Loki spent nearly every day teaching Jak how to use her magic. Wanda often joined them, but with her powers, she knew exactly when the two of them preferred to train alone and never got in the way. It wasn't like that witch needed much instruction in any case. She used magic like she'd been born to do so, like it was as easy to her as breathing and she could just as soon rewrite the universe as she could make a cup of coffee.
Jak, on the other hand, acted as if she were afraid of her own abilities. A great deal of their time together consisted of Loki convincing her that she had the ability to do a thing before she tried it, failed a few times, and then got the hang of it. He began to wonder if she was failing on purpose just so he would correct her form.
In that week, they went on two more dates, neither of which was interrupted by an assassin. As Jak shared bits and pieces of her history with him, and as he got to know her better, he felt increasingly glad that Thor had dragged him to work at the Compound. Though he supposed it was technically part of his rehabilitation to aid the Avengers, he couldn't help but begin to enjoy his time on Midgard.
Exactly one week after his first date with Jak, he woke to see a note slipped under his bedroom door. He groggily swiped at his eyes, picked up the note, and then fell asleep again before he could read it. Though others were taking turns guarding Jak, he volunteered to do so most often and his lack of sleep schedule was starting to take a toll. When he did sleep, mostly at odd times in the afternoon, he slept hard.
Thor was starting to get worried about him, claiming he'd be no good against the assassin if he was falling asleep.
When Loki woke up an hour later, he was still clutching the paper in his hand, though it had gotten quite crumpled as he slept. He massaged his face and took a long drink of water to wake up before fully examining the paper.
It had his name written in neat handwriting on the front and when he opened it, he found a poem followed by a note:
Sunday is called such for our bright star,
Monday named after her sister the moon.
Tuesday is a god of war,
Wednesday for he whose praises many croon.
Thursday after my friend, your brother,
Friday after the Queen, your mother.
Saturday for the god of the seed,
But I must admit, in my personal greed,
I'd name every hour Lokisday,
If I were to have my way.
Thank you for making every day of this week a delight. Meet me by the riverbank for dinner at 6pm.
There was no signature, but it was not hard to deduce who might have slipped it under his door. He looked at the clock and was alarmed to find that it was already five in the evening. Seeing the time woke him up well and truly and he hurried to get ready. Once he was up with clothes on and teeth brushed, he stepped into the hall and hurried along toward the door closest to the river. Before he got there, he had the displeasure of making eye contact with Steve Rogers in the corridor. He tried to nod politely and keep moving, but the super soldier stepped in his path.
"Listen, Loki, you and I need to talk."
"I disagree, but with that response, technically we have talked to one another," Loki patted him on the shoulder and stepped around, "Good talk."
"Hold on," Captain Rogers fell into step with him. Not good. He would surely create problems if he saw that Loki was headed for a date with Jak.
"Now, I know customs vary between the realms, but I thought it was fairly universal that the act of walking away conveys that someone does not wish to interact. Am I wrong?"
"You have to stop dating Jaklyn," Steve said, stopping in the middle of the hall and crossing his arms. Loki slowed his step and turned back with a condescending smile.
"It would seem you are right. We do need to have a discussion," he stepped closer, hands clasped behind his back. "But I advise you to select your words carefully."
"Break off things with Jaklyn," Steve said, eyes cold steel.
"Why? So you can swoop in and put together the broken pieces of her heart?" Loki sneered, "I think not. Green is my favorite color, but envy doesn't look good on you, Captain."
"Do you really think I'm that petty?" Steve shook his head, "I just think she's had enough of people messing with her head. For two hundred years she's been under the control of her parents. Let her live in peace."
"And what makes you think I am 'messing with her head'? What have I done to her?" Loki stepped close enough that he could look down his nose at the other man.
"Your track record isn't exactly in your favor."
"Nor is Wanda's," Loki countered, "And it would be much easier for her to manipulate Jak, than it would be for me to do so."
"Wanda is an Avenger," Steve didn't blink, didn't flinch. "I trust her."
"And Jak is an adult. She's older than you are. She can make her own decisions. I have done nothing magical to sway her mind. I have only been charming. You might try it sometime."
Loki rolled his eyes and stepped away, heading for the door once more.
"If you hurt her, you'll answer to me," the Captain called.
"And if you hurt her, or your assassin friend does, you'll answer to my knives."
Loki kept walking until he was at the short dock that sat on the bank of the river. At the end of this dock, Jak perched on the bench, watching the sunset, light streaking through her hair. Conjuring a rose the color of her eyes, Loki sat down next to her and offered the bloom.
"Oh!" She took the flower with a smile and sniffed it, "It smells like magic."
"Probably because it's made of magic," Loki chuckled and looked around, "Do you not have an escort?"
There was not an Avenger in sight, which meant she was completely vulnerable to possible attacks from the Winter Soldier. He should not have slept as long as he did and he wouldn't have if he'd known no one else would guard her while he snoozed.
"I told Sam to stop following me," she said, twirling the rose stem and watching the water with a small smile, "It took some convincing, but I finally got him to leave about five minutes ago. So I haven't been alone for long."
"Still, you ought to be more careful-"
"I'm getting stronger with my magic," she countered, flicking her wrist and turning the rose into a purple fireball, "Next time someone attacks me, I'll be ready.."
Loki wanted to remind her that the Winter Soldier was one of the most highly skilled assassins on the planet and that she was still reluctant about hurting anyone with her abilities. But, he didn't want to argue after she'd written him a poem and asked to meet up in a romantic location. So, he let the matter drop for the time being.
"Was there a particular reason you summoned me to this dock with your poem?" He asked, twiddling his thumbs and tapping his feet as if he were an easily excited child.
"Sorry about the poem," she snorted, "I never had much skill for verse to my mother's annoyance."
"It was ridiculous and lovely," Loki assured, "I think I shall have it framed."
"Shut up," she elbowed him with a laugh.
"You still haven't answered my question. Or are we just here to enjoy the sunset?" He took in the brightly colored sky. He wouldn't mind if she'd just called him there for the sunset and some company.
"Dinner," she said, gesturing to a basket at her feet, "And… well, I wanted to thank you in person as well."
"For what?"
"For this whole week. I know we had a rough start, you and I-"
"A bit of an understatement, but go on."
"Well, I just wanted to say that I'm glad you convinced me not to take the factory job," she turned and looked him in the eye, "I like you."
Loki beamed at her as fireworks went off in his head. Such small words, but he felt them sink into his heart immediately. That constant, bitter, nagging voice in his mind scolded him for the sentiment, but he pushed it away and instead took her hand in his and squeezed.
"I find that I'm quite fond of you as well," he replied, inching closer on the bench, "And I am also glad you didn't take the factory job. It would have been such a chore to go out and find you and try to speak to you over the loud sounds of machinery."
"Would you really have come to find me if I left?" She asked, skeptical.
"I do not easily let go of that which I take an interest in," he told her with a wicked smile, "And you are of great interest to me."
"What about… well, what if you learn all my secrets and then there is nothing interesting about me anymore?" She clasped her hands together and lifted her chin, looking out over the water and keeping her face turned away. He still saw the worry in her eyes.
"While your many secrets are what drew me to you in the first place," he leaned closer and wrapped his arm around her waist, lowering his mouth to her ear, "There are many, many other parts of you that capture my attention as well."
"You'll forgive me if I have a difficult time believing that someone literally regarded as a god finds one simple woman appealing in the least," she raised a brow.
"Hmm, there's nothing simple about you, my dear little janitor," he chuckled, "And despite spending an idyllic week together, we still barely know each other. If I were you, I would not twist my mind with possibilities of what may be when we hardly know what is."
She smiled then and shook her head with a laugh, finally looking back at him.
"You must think I'm completely crazy," she said, "You're right. It's only been a week."
"Not crazy," he smiled back, "Cautious. And who can blame you? I do have a bit of a reputation. But if it puts your mind at ease, I think the past week has gone incredibly well, don't you?"
"It's been fantastic," she inched closer to him, "And I think this week will be better still."
He lowered his face a fraction of an inch, giving her plenty of time to back away if she wanted. When she stayed put, excitement in her eyes, he moved closer again, until their lips were nearly touching.
"Let's start this week off strong, shall we?" He whispered, shutting his eyes as he closed the space between them.
"Brother! Have you seen your lady janitor? Oh! A thousand pardons, I did not realize I was… err… sorry about the interruption!" Thor bellowed.
Loki would have been content to ignore his big brother, but Jaklyn pulled away so quickly that she nearly fell in the river and probably would have if he hadn't been holding her hand to steady her.
"H-hi Thor," she smiled at him, her cheeks nearly the same brilliant shade of pink as her hair.
"Hello, Ms. Baker! I am so, so sorry, I will find you later. Eh, please continue," Thor's face was also quite pink as he backed away slowly.
"No, no, it's fine," Jak squeezed Loki's hand and then stood up, tucking her hands into her pants pockets and attempted to look nonchalant. Loki scowled and turned to face his brother fully. He crossed his arms.
"Yes, you've already made yourself quite a nuisance, might as well say what you came to say!"
He was going to murder the Crown Prince of Asgard.
"Well, um, again, I apologize for intruding, but there is a large package in the lobby with Ms. Baker's name on it and Tony sent me to fetch you to open it," Thor attempted a laugh but it came out as an embarrassed squeak.
"Hmm, I didn't order anything," Jak frowned, "And I don't know enough people for someone to send me something."
"Tony and Vision scanned it to ensure there are no explosives or poisonous gas inside," Thor said, "He is already attempting to find out who sent it."
"Well, I'd better go see what that's about," Jak looked forlornly at the picnic basket.
"Once we open the package we'll come back for our dinner," Loki assured her, "You go on, I have a question I want to ask Thor."
She nodded and left the two of them. Once she was out of sight, Loki beckoned Thor closer.
"I am truly sorry, brother, I did not mean to intrude on your romantic moment!"
"I know you're sorry," Loki patted him on the shoulder.
"Congratulations all the same! It seems you have thoroughly wooed her!"
"Hmm, yes, and I could do a much better job of it without you around," Loki smiled and then shoved Thor into the river. As the big blond came up sputtering, Loki made a rude gesture in his direction and then hurried after Jak.
A note from the author: Sorry to subject you to my stupid poem lol. I had fun writing it though.
Two posts in as many days! Don't expect this to be a regular occurrence, but I'm on a creative streak at the moment, so hopefully I'll post again soon. Until then, thank you for the reviews, follows and favorites! :D