Ally MuddyOrbs

The god’s hands balanced on your hips, grinding you deeper against him. Against the insatiable demon that lay in wait, concealed in luxurious fabric and impeccable tailoring. His hips moving against your spine so close that you were sure his buckle would bruise.

All I need, is your love tonight...

He swayed back and forth, guiding you. Fingertips dug into the dip of your hips, thrusting against the curves. More strands of his hair fell against your cheek as he skimmed his skin to yours.

All I need, is your love tonight...

The beat dropped, just as Loki’s parted lips fastened to your neck. His tongue swathed across your skin in messy circles, ravenous. Teeth scraping against moist skin. Licking.

He was drunk. On you. On liquor. On everything.

Your hand raked past his temple, combing through sweat-damp hair which stuck to your fingertips. Pressing him closer to the curve of your neck, you felt the vibrations of his growl through tight shirt cotton. His cologne stung your nostrils, warm cedarwood that had been overrun by the tang of cheap vodka and second-hand smoke. Heat from his skin pulsed against your neck, a thin sheen of sweat coating his own as he worked his lips over yours in a swallowing kiss.

Bodies shifted all around you as one.

It was tight. And hot. Loud.

But when he spoke. There was only you.

“I want you,” he rumbled hot and wet in your ear. Loki dragged your hips to the side, colliding against the thick cock snaking against his thigh. Hard, of course.

All I need, is your love tonight…

An unseen smile tugged your lip as you slid your hand over his delicious cheekbones, spinning to face him. You wrapped your arms around his waist, tugging with a jolt. It shrugged him forwards, catching him off balance, perfectly timed as you leaned in to his ear. “Come on then big boy,” you hissed playfully. There were barely a pause as your fingers intertwined with his, leading him the well-trodden route of your youth to the bathrooms.

God, this place was a fucking dump.

You smouldered back to him as the music thumped, bodies parting like smoke to let you and your god through. Even intoxicated, even dishevelled and sweaty and mute and flushed; Loki Laufeyson was a titan among men. Your stomach fizzed as you watched each set of eyes in the heaving mass track his approach, and his departure.

They devoured him hungrily, from the endless depths of his transfixed stare, to cut of his jawline under the strobes, to the open buttons of his shirt, to the pull of cotton against taut flesh as he followed your lead. Black spindles stuck to his cheekbones, curls winding down his neck and cast over his shoulders. They spread against the white shirt like splattered ink.

They all wanted him.

Every single fucking one of them.

There was no need for pretence in a place like this. Better to be bold. And tonight...who cared. Loki’s free hand wandered to your ass as you emerged from the crowd, grasping needily beneath the hem of your dress as you walked with purpose towards the bathrooms. The approach was littered with loo roll and discarded cups, your heels sticking more with each step.

His arm shot out in front of your face, pushing the door ajar.

Smeared lipstick kisses coated the mirror, the smell of cheap perfume and fake tan. The place was windowless, tiny; a set of four cubicles that had seen far too much lined against the wall. Music from the main room seemed to shake the air.

The hand holding Loki’s was suddenly yanked backwards, pulling you to his chest. And then, he was upon you.

The god’s palms cupped your jawline firmly, pressing your lips to his. His tongue invaded your mouth, uneven pants and murmurs of desire sliding down your throat as he walked you backwards into the end stall. The door flew closed, locking of its own accord.

“You look so fucking...uhm, incandescent? Uh,..g-gods, in that dress I cannot,” Loki slurred between kisses as your fingers grappled with his belt.

He released your face, starting to undo shirt buttons.

“Don’t take your shirt off!” you giggled, as Loki’s eyebrows rose apologetically. “Wha- I’ve never done thish before,” he scoffed, fumbling with a button. A lazy smile flexed the corners of his mouth, eyes sparkling with life.

It was too much.

You launched at him, pressing him against the wall. Fingers tangled in hair, a violent hurricane of tongue and teeth clashing. With a gasp, the flat of your back pressed to the tile as he switched your places.

Loki’s forearm was flush above you. His brows knitted together, piercing you with the trademark smouldering eroticism that made your thighs tremble. “This place is filthy,” Loki growled, lowering his zip with painful slowness, “but darling, we’re filthier,” he winked. It was slower than usual.

He slid you up the wall, making sure that the ascent of his hands caught every curve of your body in that tight dress he loved so much. His fingers worked beneath the fabric, snapping the band of your underwear.

You sank down, the walls of your adrenaline-soaked pussy gaping for him. All of him. The tip of his furiously hard cock squeezed inside, making you wrap your legs tight around his hips. He bottomed out as wide palms held your ass tight, spreading your cheeks. Sometimes with Loki, all there was to do was hang on. So you slid your fingers over his shoulders, dug in, and did just that.

Loki threw his head back, ruined curls falling away as his face scrunched to the ceiling in pained pleasure. “Ah...f-fuck,” he gaped, “Norn-s, urghhsh...feelsh so good,”

There was something primal about this. Something that drilled right down to your core; past your pussy and your feelings and Loki’s pretty words and your fragile little future hopes and dreams.

Something dirty, filthy. Something animal.

Raw.

His stumbling curses of approval rang around the empty bathroom, your soft little moans that he adored spurring him on in the haze. Like a dog, inflamed by the dying cries of a rabbit. His open buckle clanged with every messy thrust, sopping cock squelching deep inside your little cunt.

“Why..does t-this feel so..good,” he slurred into your open mouth, half-lidded eyes boring into yours. “Because-we- shouldn’t-be-doing- it,” you replied though winded breaths.

“Ohhhh...thas it,” Loki chuckled, before another groan ripped from the back of his throat. You ran a hand through his hair, gathering a clutch in your fist. “Yeah, that’s it...fuck me baby;” you moaned; bucking against him, “fuck me like... an a-animal, all I need...yes...yes...f-fuck me, King-”

Loki’s grip tightened on your thighs, bruising tips sinking into hot flesh. You tugged his hair, a wet snarl erupting from his lips. His breaths were ragged, eyes flashing dangerously. There was no blue in them. No green, either. Just wide, lust-soaked darkness.

Beads of sweat had gathered at his hairline, his hot breath misting against your cheek as he took his pleasure. And yours.

“You’re mine, aren’t you-” he murmured, punctuating the rhetorical question with a wicked smile. You gasped, feeling stars begin to blossom in your centre. “Mmmm,” you managed, tightening your grip of his hair. “And you’re mine,” you hissed.

Loki’s lazy smirk of approval almost sent you over the edge. You were surprised you even heard the gaggle of women stumble through the bathroom door over the blood thundering in your ears.

Immediately, Loki’s palm pressed against your mouth. He winked again, even slower than before. You clenched around his cock in response, a soft ooo wisping from his lips as his eyes narrowed. He stepped in closer, torso pressed tight against your own. You heard the stick of his shoes against the grimy floor, the smacking of toilet cubicles and locks and laughter making you dizzy.

And then, slowly, he began to thrust.

It was shallow. Tight. Devastating. His public hair scratched against yours as he took you deep with shallow rolls of his hips. Sharp, jagged inhales and exhales through your nostrils were all Loki would allow as he fucked you deeper against the wall. His fingertips sank into the curves of your thighs. Hair fell around his face, sticking to his forehead in tangled threads.

He was panting.

So soft and low and wet.

“Uhh-h-h,” he gasped, catching in his throat as his lashes fluttered closed.

The fingers of the hand holding your body to his pulsed against your skin, spasming with the pleasure building inside him. Over the girlish chaos now filling the bathroom, you hear the increasing speed of Loki’s balls slapping against your wetness, the slurp of your arousal welling against his cock with every buck of his hips as he got faster. Greedier. His eyes rolled back, mouth hanging open. He began to moan softly to the ceiling.

“Wo-ki…” you chided, muffled by his hand. He focused back on you, pupils blown wide. In a flash, the world changed again as he gracefully moved you from the wall with the force of a gust, spinning your body. Your hands flew out, gripping the cistern as the toilet lid slammed shut. A gasp rattled the air. You didn’t know if it was you or him as he sheathed himself to the hilt.

Fingers gripped the porcelain, rattling suspiciously with each mind-bending fuck that sent shock-waves to your depths. The orgasm bubbling inside you reared with renewed intensity as you realised Loki’s fingers had slid from the back of your neck to rest over your lips again. He curled against your back, shirt buttons cool against the flushed heat of your shoulders.

“Quiet, my temptress of the night…” he growled with a silent chuckle, powering his thighs up into another squelching thrust. Brushing your hair aside, his tongue slathered against the back of your neck. Saliva pooled, his drooling panting animalism taking over as modesty was forgotten. His dishevelled, quiet groans of desperation.

Seizing the opportunity, you captured one of his fingers between your lips. Loki shuddered against your ass. He let the finger slide on your tongue, the thick digit following the path his cock always took to the back of your throat.

“F-ffuck,” he slurred, the utterance no more than a whisper.

Another finger joined it.

And then, you began to suck.

Saliva welled at the creases of your mouth as he brought you closer to the edge, his free hand grasping in lazy handfuls of flesh. Your ass, your thighs. Yanking at the dangling sides of your dress and the pathetic last vestiges of your underwear. He was needy. Groaning in huffing exhales and shallow breaths as the ridges of his fingertips traced the point of your tongue.

“Gonna-ing to- cum,” he moaned wetly against your back.

You heard the scuffle of his dress shoes on the floor as he tried to get his bearings, the appendages dripping inside the heat of your mouth and the tight of your cunt too much for him to bear. You felt his glistening forehead rest against the slippery nape of your neck, damp hair mingling in sluttish waves with your own.

His mouth was open, saliva strands sizzling against the skillet of your skin as he tumbled over the edge with a broken cry of ecstasy. Your arms collapsed against the cistern, the weight of the god bottoming out inside you all you ever needed to feel whole.

“Nornsh…” he grunted quietly. There was a bang on the door, followed by a raucous round of laughter.

“You okay love?” an inebriated voice announced, “need anything?”

More laughter.

Loki shook his head against your back, nuzzling the skin with a shaking sigh. “I’m fine,” you said; far more composed than you felt. “Thank you.”

The gaggle of clicking of heels and sudden blast of music signalled their departure.

Loki drew up to his full height, sliding his cock out with an obscene slurp. Cum immediately began to drip in thick rivulets down your inner thighs. Usually you would clean it up. But not tonight.

You spun to face him, stepping out of your ruined underwear and pulling the dress down your hips with a mischievous smile. The underwear disappeared from the floor in a flash of green.

Loki winked, patting his heart twice with a shocking lack of characteristic rhythm. “A memento,” he explained with a flourish of his hand. A beautifully dreamy grin had begun to spread across his face.

“Home, my queen?” he postured, beginning to re-tuck his shirt and doing an incredibly bad job of it. You zipped up his fly, pausing to inhale against his collar. Faint traces of cologne wafted in tendrils up your nostrils, masked by the heavy smell of sex and the night’s vices.

“One more dance,” you purred, intertwining your fingers with his. You guided Loki’s hand to the mess coating your inner thighs, dragging a digit lightly through your plump folds, soaking with him. And you.

Loki smiled. “Filthy,” he growled, before he bringing the fingers to his lips with a gentle suck.

“Hah! Why the hell should I be? I just…don’t like her. That’s it,” she dismissed his accusation with a wave of her hand. “She’s vile!”

“She’s attractive,” he defended.

“What the-? I can’t believe you’re on her side!”

“I am simply stating the facts,” he shrugged nonchalantly.

“Fine! Just...float in her thoughts. I won’t disturb you!”

She was quick to turn her back and stomp away. But Loki was quicker. He got off his seat and caught her wrist just as she was about to grab the door handle.

“Wait,” he whispered.

Whether it was Loki’s magic touch or his Silvertongue or his ability to control thoughts, she could never figure it out. But she was always surprised by the way he could pull the strings of her heart, how he always managed to get his way. Of course, he was one of her closest friends, her confidante, the person with whom she fought but also shared her best moments. But there was something about him that was…magnetic.

She found it mildly frustrating how, without even a single word of protest, her entire being immediately agreed to stay back. Loki gently ushered her to the window bench, the sun now finding a new figure, somewhere else in the room, to paint its hues on.

“Tell me. I promise not to utter a single word about your gorgeously desirable cousin. Not until you have told me everything,” his teasing tongue erupted a small fire within her, and he enjoyed it immensely.

She sighed, “Well, where do I even begin!”

Loki was waiting patiently through the long pause that she rested upon. But when it looked like she was lost in her thoughts even after a minute, he cleared his throat.

“Ah!” Slightly startled, she looked at him apologetically. “I’m sorry. I just…”

“What happened?” Loki placed a comforting hand over hers. “I shall do my best to fix it.”

“I know! And that is why I came to you. But now I think it was a bad idea. It was a bad idea from the beginning!”

“Would you please tell me?” He insisted.

“Well,” she sighed again, “Laura is hosting a Christmas party at her place this year. And she has invited me. Obviously!!” She rolled her eyes at the last word.

“So?”

“So,” (Y/N) gave an exasperated laugh, “I can’t go without a date!! I know it sounds clichéd, like some stupid plot from some stupid Christmas movie, but it’s freaking real!!”

“Darling, you will go ultrasonic in a few minutes!” Loki grimaced. “Please calm down!”

“I’m sorry! I’m just furious!! She’s always been bragging about her stupid boyfriend who’s always wrapped around her finger like a band-aid, and constantly mocking me for being single. I mean, it’s my choice that I’m single! It’s not like I’m averted to the idea of having someone in my life, it’s just that I won’t just say ‘yes’ to anybody who comes my way! And I know very well that she has invited me to vex me in front of the entire family!”

“Then do not go,” Loki suggested calmly.

“If I do not go, she’ll spread stories about how I chickened out because I’ll turn up alone, without somebody around my arm. Again!”

“Hmm,” the raven-haired prince pressed a long finger to his lips. “How do you want me to help? Should I change her mind? If you know what I mean.”

His mischievous smirk succeeded in breaking a small smile on her otherwise angry countenance.

“I wish, but no!” (Y/N) shook her head. “I… Well, I already told her that I’d be going. And…”

“And?”

She bit her lip. “And I said that I’d be bringing a plus one.”

“And you wish me to be that plus one,” Loki summed up.

She gave a meek nod of her head.

“No.” The god got up and strode across the room, leaving her with an open mouth and wide eyes.

“No?” She jumped up on her feet. “What do you mean ‘no’?”

The moment Loki shot her a glare, he tone changed into a humble one. “Please don’t say ‘no’!”

“I have already said it.”

“Then please change it! Loki, I really need your help!”

“There are so many attractive men in this compound; get one of them!”

“Look, it’s not like I haven’t tried. No one’s available!”

He eyed her doubtfully.

“I’d asked Steve but he said that he won’t be able to constantly lie to my family,” she reasoned. “I don’t know if Bucky would be comfortable under all that pressure. I don’t trust Thor with his big mouth. No offence!”

“None taken,” an amused smile toyed on his lips.

“And then there’s Sam…” A thought crossed her mind. With furrowed brows she continued, “Wait, I didn’t ask Sam.”

“There you go,” Loki gestured towards her with a snap of his fingers, “your problem has been solved.”

After assessing a few things in her mind, she spread her arms, “Nope, not Sam.”

“Why not?”

“Because he would be going out with someone else! He had said this long back. I knew there was something, some reason for which I didn’t ask him but just couldn’t put my finger on it!”

The trickster pinched the bridge of his nose. “And why would I do it? What would I get in return?”

(Y/N) looked at him disbelievingly. “I thought I was your friend!! The closest one, in fact! You won’t help a friend in need?”

Deep within, Loki knew that he would help her as soon as she had uttered one word. But it was the social gathering that he wanted to avoid. He had endured enough scepticism on this planet; he did not wish to attract more.

But (Y/N) was persuasive.

So, it was with utter displeasure that Loki ultimately found himself standing in front of Laura’s door on the eve of Christmas.

Beside him, (Y/N) was fidgeting with her hair and her coat. Despite the chilly air, a paleness veiled her face, and her usual cheerful persona was replaced by a quiet one.

“Are you alright?” Loki gently touched her shoulder.

“Yes. Yes, I’m alright. I just...” She shook her head. “I hate people poking their heads into my private life. And now I’ve dragged you with me! I’m sorry!”

“You do not need to do this if you do not want to.” His tone was so kind that it almost made her cry.

“It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s…” She trailed off.

Once again, Loki waited for her patiently, searching her eyes for all the unsaid things. He could relate to her. He knew how it felt when one had to smile their way through people who did not like them, when one had to constantly fear the sharp daggers of words stabbing them any time. And he felt bad for her.

“Let us do it!” He took his hand in his and squeezed it.

The sudden touch and the sudden command from Loki surprised her. “What? No, no, it’s alright. We can head back. Let’s head back. We don’t need to-”

“We need to!” Loki cut her off. “Let us show them who you are: a fearless, confident, beautiful woman who does not need anyone else to validate her life for her.”

She stared at him with awe.

“Who is this man?!”

Loki had always been supportive but this was on a totally different level! And all the adjectives that he laid down for her - they were enough to make her want to wrap her arms around him.

Before she had the time to react or to have second thoughts about her second thoughts, Loki rang the doorbell. A few seconds later, a woman, clad in a short red dress that hugged all her curves deliciously, opened the door. (Y/N) noticed the way Loki took in her appearance.

“Oh my God, (Y/N)!” The said woman threw her arms around the guest who, in turn, rolled her eyes.

“Hey, Laura!” (Y/N) patted her back.

“And you must be her plus one,” the way Laura eyed Loki made (Y/N) want to gauge her cousin’s eyes out.

“I am Loki,” he took the hostess’s hand and lightly touched his lips to it. “You look gorgeous!”

“You are not so shabby yourself,” Laura grinned like a Cheshire cat, “and what a gentleman!”

Their actions made (Y/N) slightly sick. She hated her cousin. And now Loki - the person she was the closest with - was shamelessly flirting with her. 

“It’s kind of chilly out here,” (Y/N) interrupted. “Mind if we go inside?”

Laura wrapped an arm around Loki’s and tugged him inside.

“Where’s your fiance?” (Y/N) asked her cousin with a hope to divert her attention from her friend.

“He had to go abroad for a meeting. You know how busy these high profile businessmen can get!”

With a fake smile, (Y/N) nodded and asked for a glass of water hoping, once again, that her cousin would let go of Loki.

As she walked away, Loki leaned slightly towards his companion and whispered in her ear, “Are you sure a glass of water will work or should we call the firemen?”

“You don’t get to talk!” She almost shouted but Loki shushed her. “You don’t get to talk,” she whispered this time. “How dare you flirt with her!! And you have the audacity to joke about it! Outrageous!”

“What can I say,” the god gave his famous smirk, “I’m just trying to blend in.”

“Blend in shit!!”

When (Y/N) saw Laura walking back with a glass in hand, she quickly grabbed Loki’s arm, surprising the god in the process.

“Ooh! I didn’t know you were so possessive about me!” He whispered.

One glare from her was enough to silence his mouth but the mirth remained in his eyes.

"Just play along, will you?" She gritted through her teeth. “From afar.”

Loki and (Y/N) walked amidst her relatives, arm in arm, presenting themselves as the happy couple that everyone was delighted to see! No questions, no arguments, no pitiful looks, no sarcastic comments - (Y/N) was finally beginning to feel the triumph in her seemingly “stupid” decision.

But fate seemed to have other plans for her.

Loki suddenly stopped in his tracks, a bewilderment shielding his beautiful face.

“What in the Nine…” Loki's voice trailed off as he gaped at one particular decoration. He tapped (Y/N)'s shoulder. "What is that bunch of twigs doing here?"

"Which one?" Her eyes searched the place until it followed the trail that Loki’s long finger pointed at.

“Ah that! That is a … mistletoe." Much to her annoyance, a faint blush crept up her cheeks as she uttered the name.

While she was praying that Loki doesn’t notice her embarrassing state, the latter was busy spiralling down his own thoughts.

“I know what it is!” He “whispered” loud enough for people within at least six feet to hear him. “I demand to know what it is doing here!”

The blatant lack of his usual calm demeanour alarmed her. He was not the kind to act inappropriately in front of people, especially strangers, and especially the ones who were related to her.

“Did it trigger some old memories?... Maybe he had some bad experience with a former…girlfriend?”

The word “girlfriend” tasted like vinegar, even in her thoughts. But being wise enough, she was able to swallow it down quickly.

“It is a tradition, Loki,” she explained. “Loki, are you alright? Is something wrong? We can head back if you are feeling unwell.”

It was the concern in her voice that pulled him back from his rumination. A swift lick of his dry lips, a subtle clearing of his throat, followed by a deep breath, and the lines on his forehead were gone just as quickly as they had appeared.

“No. I am absolutely fine.” His hands ran over his jacket in an attempt to smoothen out the non-existent wrinkles. “Shall we?”

Unwilling to poke any buried feelings, she decided to let the matter go, and happily looped her arm into the one that Loki had so politely extended towards her.

—

Sitting in a far corner of the living room, with her third drink in hand, she observed the room. Or maybe it wouldn’t be very wrong to say that she observed one particular person and the interactions of the rest of the family with him.

The fact that everyone believed her lie about their relationship made her feel relieved.

The fact that Loki was able to smoothly blend in with the family made her happy.

The fact that he was unashamedly flirting with the very cousin who never missed an opportunity to make her feel like shit made her miserable.

But even amidst the pile of various emotions, she did not miss how Loki’s eyes failed to shine as they usually did, how those smiles never reached his eyes. And it had all begun ever since he had laid eyes on that damned mistletoe.

Chugging her drink down, along with her despondent thoughts, she pushed herself off the chair and strutted towards him.

“He’s my friend. To hell with the world!”

Her throat was still burning from the alcohol when she reached him. When Loki looked up at her, he had a flirty smile stuck on him. But something about her expressions evaporated that mask away. He got up from the loveseat he was sharing with Laura, much to the annoyance of the latter.

“Are you alright?” Just a second ago, he had been using his coquettish voice, and now it was gone in an instant; his words were dripping with concern.

“Are you alright?” She asked him back. “You look like you’re in desperate need of a rescue!”

“Where is this coming from?”

She couldn’t believe her own words! Three drinks shouldn’t have been enough to make her tipsy but they had surely tore her inhibitions down. All this time she had swallowed her jealousy down, and allowed him to do whatever he pleased. But the boldness that voiced itself now came as a surprise even to her slightly foggy mind.

His mouth slightly parted in wonder. Loki looked between his “date” for the night and the cousin who was clearly furious. Clearing his throat, he smiled, “I would love to take a walk, if you are willing to accompany me.”

He was further surprised when (Y/N) extended an arm towards him, just like he had done a couple of hours ago. Taking it rather happily, he whispered to her cousin, “I shall be right back.”

“No, he won’t!” (Y/N) shouted over her shoulder, making the trickster chuckle.

Once outside, the chilly night air seemed to clear her senses a bit while also pulling her out of the suffocation she felt inside those walls.

“So,” Loki began in a soft voice, “are you alright? You seem a little…tipsy.”

“Yes, I am, your majesty, a little tipsy!” She replied with an air of royalty, making Loki laugh. “And I like it!”

“Is there any place where we can sit?” Loki looked around the snow-covered lawn.

“The bitch has a swing somewhere in here,” his companion slurred. “Ah, there it is!”

What she had called a swing turned out to be a porch swing. Loki had noticed her lips quivering in the cold. So, once they settled down on the seat, he wrapped a careful arm around her and pulled himself closer to her. Drunk on both alcohol and the closeness of Loki in the winter night, she did not care as her head rolled comfortably on her teammate’s shoulder.

For a few heartbeats, neither spoke. The chills of Winter - accentuated by the snowflakes flying past them - and a hypnotic silence enveloped them in one of the most calming moments of their entire lives. And Loki had already lived a rather long life, compared to (Y/N).

(Y/N) was the first to pop the bubble. “When we stepped inside, you…well, the mistletoe bothered you.”

She paused to gauge Loki’s reaction. When she found almost none, she continued. “Why was that? I mean, you need not tell me if you don’t want to. You know I won’t force you, right?”

She trod on the topic gingerly, afraid that any rash word might crack the proverbial glass beneath their feet.

With a sigh, Loki stared at the veil of white covering the ground. “It is a long, morbid story.”

“And I’m in no hurry,” she added softly, “but only if you’re okay with sharing it.”

“I…” Loki began but soon became unsure as to which words to use. There was no easy way to say it aloud. It was something that he would rather keep buried in him with the hope of eventually forgetting than sharing with someone who might understand.

“I had a brother,” he resumed after a pause. “A brother other than Thor.”

“What happened to him?”

“Apparently, … I killed him.”

(Y/N) sat up with a jolt. For a moment, Loki could not help but believe that she was disgusted by him, just like people always have been most of his life.

“You did not, did you?” Her question stunned him. No one had ever asked him this. “You said ‘apparently’. People presumed that it was you. Wasn’t it?”

A taunting laugh mingled with the cold air to form a wisp. “Why? I am the worst, am I not? Always plotting against everyone and wishing nothing but everybody’s ruin!”

There it was. The hurt was spilling through his words. She regretted having asked him about the mistletoe in the first place. Well, never in her entire life would she have thought that the story would take such a turn.

(Y/N) fumbled with her words for a while before resuming her composure. “Loki, I know you. Probably better than anyone else does. Which is why I know that you won’t kill your brother. Not unless it was necessary.”

“Necessary?”

“You know, like he went all crazy and started killing people or something.”

Her words made him laugh, even though it sounded rather sad.

“No,” he replied, “he was not crazy. Well, he was, if you ask me…but not a cold-blooded murderer.”

There was a stillness in the air as Loki ruminated on the past, interrupted occasionally by the scraping of the swing on the metal bar.

“Baldur was a good man,” Loki resumed. His eyes were lost somewhere in the distance. “He was the god of war. People loved him. … When he was born - and I have heard this, of course - mother was warned that he would die in a way that nobody would anticipate. So, she asked everything - living and non-living - in fact, pleaded with them not to harm her beloved son. They all agreed. All except the mistletoe. Mother assumed that it was so harmless that she need not persuade it for an oath.”

(Y/N) was listening to him with wide eyes and parted lips.

“So, a feast was arranged where Baldur was showing off his immortality. Everyone was throwing things of different kinds at him - sticks and swords - and everything simply bounced off him.”

Loki’s lips opened but words refused to come out of him.

“I-I… I had to do something different, of course. The god of mischief!” There was a bitterness in the way he described himself. “So, I brought in a branch of mistletoe. A twig, if you may call it. Hodr wanted to throw something at Baldur. He was blind, this fellow. So, I offered him my mistletoe. It was so fragile; what harm could it cause! I directed Hodr so that he would aim at Baldur’s arm. But it hit him in his chest. … And it…it went right through him. He-he died. Right there. Just…”

His voice had started breaking. (Y/N) wanted nothing but to hold him in her arms and soothe all his pain away. But she held herself for she knew that Loki was not very fond of hugs.

“Everyone simply assumed that I was jealous of him because of all the attention that he was getting! They accused me, imprisoned me, made me suffer a punishment that was worse than Hel!”

That was it. (Y/N) could not resist further. So, she took his hands and cocooned them in hers.

“Believe me, (Y/N), it was only a prank. Nothing more! I never wanted to kill him. Never!”

“I know, Loki, I know. I believe you.” Her arms wrapped around him as she brought his head to rest on her shoulder.

The god wept on her shoulder. All the unshed pain that he had been carrying with him for all those years finally found their way out. His arms looped around her of their own accord as she ran a soothing hand over his back and whispered comforting words in his ears.

It took him a few minutes to calm down. Or maybe more. When he did, he realised how close he was to her…how his arms held her snug to his chest…how his lips were pressed to her scarf…how his lungs yearned for her smell with each breath…and how this scent soothed his entire being.

His initial thought was to jump away, for he believed that it must have been embarrassing for her. It had to be awkward, hadn’t it? But then, a moment later, he allowed himself to realise how good it actually felt. And she was in no hurry to let go of him either. Oddly though, it felt right. A warmth spread through him, melting the chills of the night air and of the past that he had been burdening himself with.

So, they remained in each other’s arms for a while more until their seats on the swing started becoming uncomfortable. With hesitant hearts and shy eyes, they slowly untangled themselves.

(Y/N) reached out to wipe his eyes. Loki looked so vulnerable that she wanted to take care of him despite what anybody including the trickster himself might think. But her fear whispered that she might scare him away. So, she ended up cradling his face with one hand.

Loki himself was caught in a strange trance. It was like no magic that he had ever encountered before. The greatest sorcerer in the Nine Realms was unable to take his eyes off the mortal before her.

Whether it was the grief or the weather or simply his long-suppressed feelings for her or all of these, he was not sure of. All he felt was that her touch warmed him to the deepest corner of his being. All he was aware of was that they were both leaning towards the other. All he knew was that this moment was inevitable, this kiss was inevitable. That they must act on it before the moment was gone.

But they took too long.

The light creak of the front door of the house, and the sharp call of a woman’s voice startled them. When they had been missing from the party for quite some time, the hostess herself came out looking for them. Of course, she had assumed that (Y/N) had ditched the party, not that she minded. Her only concern for the night was the charming date that her cousin had brought along.

Imagine her satisfaction when she understood what she had interrupted upon! While (Y/N) jumped off the swing, Loki took a second to dry his face and present a smiling facade before the woman.

“I thought you guys had left!” Laura exclaimed with a faux worry.

“No,” (Y/N) replied, “we were enjoying some nice time. But that’s in the past now., thanks to you,” she murmured the last few words.

“Let’s go inside,” the hostess suggested, “you will freeze out here!”

“We were actually thinking of leaving,” (Y/N) replied. She knew better than to push Loki back into that crowd after such a vulnerable moment.

“What? No! You must stay!” The other woman insisted. “And I need to know more about this handsome stranger you have brought!”

Her sly smile made (Y/N) want to kick her in the crotch. She opened her mouth to protest. But Loki cut her off. He agreed to go inside, to put up that mask again. And before (Y/N) could say anything more, Loki had wrapped a comfortable arm around her waist and was already tugging her inside.

This time Loki did not allow himself to be hijacked by Laura. He kept himself busy with the other guests while secretly enjoying the indignation that he caused her. Amidst all the smart words and fake smiles, his eyes kept floating towards his teammate - the teammate with whom he had just shared one of the biggest sorrows and shames of his life, the teammate with whom he had just shared a special moment. And who knew what more that moment could have morphed into had it not been trampled upon.

(Y/N) was constantly being swept away by one relative or another. But her mind was still seated on that porch swing, basking in Loki’s warmth, burning in the touch of his breath on her lips, anticipating something that was probably never possible. And maybe that’s why God sent her cousin outside at that precise moment. Because that kiss was never possible.

An unhappiness veiled her countenance, making many people ask if she was feeling unwell. Taking advantage of their concern, she excused herself, and isolated herself in a far corner of the large living room.

This did not escape Loki’s notice. His eyes trailed her movements, her expressions and her gradual change of demeanour. All after the incident outside.

As his focus shifted from the guests to her entirely, a string of words drifted into his ears - incomprehensible at first but then they gradually started taking proper shapes. And then he realised it. They did not reach his ears, they floated into his mind! And the voice was a very familiar one. (Y/N)’s!

“She must have zoned out.”

He had promised never to dive into her mind unless she asked him to. But this was different. Her thoughts came to him; he had nothing to do with it, and so, he wasn’t breaking any promise!

Loki listened to her intently. He listened to her confusions, her sorrows, her lack of faith in herself, her acceptance of defeat, her curses as she reproached herself for not being able to confess her immense love for him…

“Wait, what?”

Loki was dumbfounded. There was no way he could have heard wrong but how could that be true anyway? Or could it be? He couldn’t believe his own mind for the first time!

There was perhaps a way to know.

Excusing himself, he approached (Y/N) with a mischief in mind.

“Should we head home?” He placed a soothing hand on her shoulder.

(Y/N) was startled. But the sight of the man rolled a wave of happiness within her.

“No, I’m fine,” she smiled. “I just…I needed a break from all the talking!”

Loki nodded. Lost in her thoughts, she did not notice the trickster subtly - and gracefully - stir the wind with his slender fingers.

“That is one odd place to hang those twigs!” He suddenly remarked with amusement coating his words.

(Y/N) followed the direction of his eyes to find a mistletoe hanging above their heads. Immediately, a panic arose in her. She did not want Loki to go through all that pain again.

“Shit! I…I didn’t see it hanging there. I… Let’s sit somewhere else. You don’t need to see this.”

“Hey,” he held her arm as she sprang to her feet, and gently pushed her back on the chair. “It is alright. Believe me. It is…I am actually feeling better after letting everything out before you… Thank you!”

The gratefulness and adoration in his eyes were obvious. It touched her very soul. Cradling his hand in hers, she whispered, ”You deserve nothing but love. All of it!”

“Which reminds me…” Loki spoke, “are you not supposed to kiss when underneath this treacherous bunch of wild leaves?”

(Y/N)’s face first turned pale and then crimson. There was no way Loki could have known that! Or maybe she had left him in unknown waters for too long.

Prior to the party, the Asgardian obviously knew nothing about any modern traditions regarding the mistletoe. But his companion was right; he had spent enough hours with Laura and other giggling ladies to know a mistletoe’s purpose on Midgard.

Before (Y/N) could protest, someone answered Loki’s question, “Of course, you should kiss! (Y/N), what are you waiting for?” That was her childhood friend.

He was loud enough to draw the attention of others, many of whom were now urging them to seal the deal. At the other end of the room, Laura was fuming, mentally cursing the decorator who had put the mistletoe up there.

“This is not a movie, guys!” (Y/N) stood up straight and shouted. “C’mon! Stop behaving like kids!”

“Are you two even for real?” One of the hostess’s friends shouted back. “How can you not kiss a boyfriend who’s this hot!”

“We do not like PDA, that is all it is,” (Y/N) reasoned.

Loki gently took her fingers in his. It was his tender touch that grounded her anxious emotions. “I would not mind it if it is what it takes to convince your folks,” he rasped in a voice so low that one she could hear him.

How could she say no to those green orbs staring right into her soul! But…it would be wrong to coax him into something which he did not want.

If only she knew!

She never realised when Loki had leaned in until she found it hard to focus on anywhere but his lips. “It’s okay,” she whispered to him. “You don’t need to do this. You could always refus-”

The god did not allow her to finish that line. He had already pressed his lips to hers. A round of cheers and applause rang through the room. But everything was muffled against their ears. The sounds felt like floating from afar. Loki kissed her gently, sweetly, taking his time to show her what he really felt for her. Trying to understand what she felt for him in return.

Although she was stunned initially, Loki’s warmth seeping in through her made her relax. She started mimicking his actions. She allowed her feelings to flow through them. Loki’s arm around her waist and his hand behind her head anchored her to the ground, refraining her body from collapsing under the overwhelming love that Loki was bestowing on her.

But they had to breathe. And it was in their moment of separation that reality sweeped down upon her.

Loki was glowing! But she did not notice that. She was too busy drowning in her insecurities to understand the emotions working behind Loki’s recent actions. She was scared that their relationship would never be the same again, and not in a positive way. She was afraid that they would forever be fumbling around one another because they had crossed the boundaries of friendship, regardless of the fact that she wanted exactly that.

Her eyes apologised to him but he was ecstatic. He could not see past the love that she reciprocated on his lips. But when he finally saw the frown shadowing her features, he placed a caring hand over her cheek.

“What is it, love?”

“I’m so sorry, Loki! I-I know this is awkward for you! I…I’m so sorry! I don’t want to lose you. I-I mean, you-your friendship. This…Loki, promise me you won’t be angry!”

The god stared at her dumbfounded. When he finally did manage to form a coherent sentence again, he commanded her but softly, “Come with me.”

Unwilling to make a scene out of the confusion, he managed to smoothly pull her aside, away from prying eyes and curious ears, without raising any suspicion.

Once they reached a safe corner, he simply gasped, “Since when did you become so dumb?”

Too embarrassed to reveal her watery eyes but too curious to know the meaning behind his accusation, she took only a fleeting glance at him. Focusing hard on the buttons of his shirt, she asked timidly, “What do you mean?”

Loki huffed. He could not understand how someone as smart as her could turn out to be so witless when it came to matters of the heart.

“Do you not understand?” he asked her, slightly annoyed.

“Okay, I have a confession to make. I wanted to kiss you. Did you not feel it? Did you not realise that… Norns! There was no mistletoe up there initially!” Observing her blank countenance, he continued, “It was me- I…” He threw his arms up in the air. “(Y/N)! I put the mistletoe there above us! For us!...For you, you fool!!”

Slowly the gears in her mind started ticking into place. Loki could almost hear them as he watched her expressions morph from confusion to realisation to astonishment to ecstasy.

He smiled. In a voice as soft and gentle as freshly fallen snow, he asked her, “Do you understand now?”

Still in a state of shock, the poor girl stumbled through her words, “Me? But…why? You- Since when?”

A few minutes earlier, when she had voiced her disappointment and uncertainty about the incident with the mistletoe, Loki’s confident demeanour had slipped off a bit. Although he was sure of what he had heard in her thoughts, her weary state had made him wonder if those thoughts were but only smoke trails of a passing moment.

But now, with regained confidence, he stepped forward and took her hands in his, cocooning them in his large ones.

A soft chuckle left his parted lips. “‘Why’ - I do not have the answer to that, believe me. ‘Since when’ - well, I do not really know but I think it might have been somewhere between our annoyingly long talks, our late night affairs of tea, our banters, our reading sessions…maybe somewhere amidst the laughs and the pains that we shared…mingled with the love and care that you have always showered on me, unconditionally… I do not know, (Y/N)... All I know is that…I…” He took a deep breath, “I love you. Yes. And that is why I put the mistletoe up there. I did not know how else to convey my feelings to you. I had thought that you would understand when… I knew I would fumble with words but… Please tell me you are not upset about this entire situation!”

The confession hit her like a freight train. It took her some time to gather herself back together. All this while she had been watching Loki with eyes that radiated nothing but pure adoration. With a small smile on her mouth, she absorbed every single syllable, every single emotion that Loki pronounced.

“Mr. Silvertoungue fumbling?” She let out a breathy laugh which caused a tint of pink to bloom on the trickster’s ears and cheeks.

“No,” she continued, “I’m not upset… You did the right thing…putting that mistletoe up there. I’m absolutely confident that I could have never gathered the courage to tell you how I feel.”

A small chuckle of relief left Loki.

“But that was a lot of talk for a confession. Do you realise that?” She asked with a teasing smile.

The God of Mischief laughed and scratched the side of his nose. “I have been told more than once, yes.”

“But I loved it all,” she took a step closer to him.

“I am glad tha-” Before he could finish his line, (Y/N) had placed her hand over his mouth, taking him by surprise.

“Shh! Do you think,” she removed her hand and resumed with a sigh, “you can conjure that little piece of mischief back…above us? Now?”

A wicked grin spread on Loki’s lips. “Any time! As many times as you want, darling.”

With a small gesture of his slender fingers, a mistletoe appeared above them once again. This time (Y/N) wasted no time in pulling Loki down by the collar of his shirt and placing a promising kiss on his eager lips.

They felt the same fire as the previous time but better. This time neither was in a rush to douse the flames but ready to surrender to them, to become one with the raging fire and burn bright until there was nothing left but the glowing love and passion that they felt for each other.

But even in the middle of a searing moment like this, (Y/N)’s mind couldn’t help but wander off to other thoughts. Barely separating herself from Loki, she tried to ask him but the Asgardian wasn’t willing to let her go, “Wait, how were you…mmh…so confident about…mmh…wait! About how I felt for you?”

“Later”, was the only response that Loki was able to manage as he pulled her closer and chased her kiss-swollen lips with his hungry ones.

She tried hard to pry herself or at least her mouth away from the impatient man but kept failing until she squeezed his jaw firmly in her grip. It wasn’t like the god could be stopped by this little human but he respected her wish and sort of enjoyed it when she bossed around.

“How?” She raised a brow while demanding her answer.

“I hurd yur thughts,” Loki managed to utter through squeezed cheeks and puckered lips.

“You heard my thoughts? You read my mind?!” She released his face only to hit his arm. “How dare you?”

“Love, I did not mean to! But you were sitting there all by yourself, looking so sad, and I was completely focused on you, trying to understand what was hurting you, and they just floated towards me - your thoughts! They were so loud that I did not even have to try! Forgive me for breaching your privacy. But believe me, darling, I never meant to!”

Here was Loki trying to convince her of his unadulterated intentions, but she had lost him the moment he called her ‘love’. Everything else was a blur, a beautiful but muted music floating through the air from a distance, spreading like mist, on a quiet winter night.

“That’s alright,” she smiled giddily. “I’m glad you read my mind.”

But Loki needed further assurance. “You are not angry?”

“Nope! Not at all.”

Upon hearing her confirmation, he let out a long breath.

“Now,” she toyed with the sleeve of his shirt, “where were we?”

A small laugh, mingled with both relief and joy, escaped the trickster. “In the middle of the first of a zillion kisses, I believe?”

“Hmm,” with the most ecstatic grin possible, she balanced herself on Loki’s strong frame and stood on her tiptoes to finish what a mischievous mistletoe had started.

***

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