Temper
Loki had decided a long time ago that weekends were the best times in a Midgardian week, but now that he and Ash were officially courting, they were especially wonderful. They could lie in bed together until one of them woke the other up with a kiss, they could take the rest of the day easy, either stay indoors and read or play with the rabbits, or go outdoors, get coffee somewhere and take a walk through the park, or even do some of the more touristy things in London – they had taken in some shows at the Globe recently, and Ash was already planning a trip to the Natural History museum – and then in the evenings they would cook together, watch a film and then go to bed.
Days like that always felt so perfect.
In fact, Loki was finding it difficult to remember that he had actually had a life before crash-landing onto Midgard. Some days he still couldn’t work out how he had actually managed to exist before Ash came into his life. She was just so perfect, everything he had been looking for in a woman. Ironically, he noted, that was probably the one thing he and Thor now had in common, they had both fallen head-over-heels-completely-in-love with Midgard women.
On this particular Saturday morning, he had been woken by Ash kissing his cheek lightly before sitting up for a stretch. Loki raised his head and smiled at her. “Good morning, how is my gorgeous girlfriend feeling this fine day?”
Ash laughed, softly, attempting to tidy her bed-mussed hair. “You really think I’m gorgeous?”
“Of course,” Loki replied, sincerely, sitting up a little. “You’re the most beautiful woman in this realm and any other.”
Ash blushed. “That’s very romantic.” She took a deep breath and exhaled, happily. “You know, just when I think I have you all figured out, I keep finding a new side to you. I mean, when we first met, I thought you were, you know, just-”
“Evil?” Loki put in.
“No!” Ash immediately cuddled up to him. “No, not a bit. I thought you were just arrogant, demanding, frightening, basically just your typical spoiled brat prince, but you’re not, you’re much more complex than that.” She smiled. “That’s what I like about you, you’re unpredictable.”
“I would have thought that was a reason not to like someone,” Loki frowned.
“Oh, no, women do like their boyfriends to be unpredictable, that way they know they’re always bound to be surprised once in a while,” Ash replied, sitting up and kissing him, smiling at the startled look on his face. “So...hungry?”
“Absolutely,” Loki smirked, running his eyes up and down the outline of her body through her blue cotton pyjamas.
She swatted his hand away playfully. “I meant for breakfast!”
“Of course you did,” Loki teased, seizing her playfully. Ash yelped and then giggled as he pulled her on top of him and began kissing down her neck, tugging her pyjama top to one side to get at her shoulder. “Surprise,” he added, offering her a mischievous look that made her giggle before she leaned down to kiss him.
By the time they actually rolled out of bed, the morning was almost over, but they still had a late breakfast, since Ash had been dying to introduce Loki to pancakes and had finally got around to buying maple syrup to go with them, and she managed not to get so distracted by Loki’s kissing that she flipped the pancakes onto the ceiling, although it was a close call until she managed to firmly make him give the rabbits their breakfast, and by the time he was done with that, the pancakes were perfect.
Loki shook his head as they ate. “I can’t believe we don’t have these on Asgard. There’s so much we’re missing out on.”
Ash hesitated before asking “What do Frost Giants eat? I mean other Frost Giants,” she added, quickly, blushing, “not ones who were raised on Asgard in a golden castle.”
Loki smiled, wryly. “Raw meat, I think, is their favoured delicacy.”
“Oh.” Ash wrinkled her nose. “In that case, I’m glad you were raised in Asgard.” She hesitated again, in case it was painful for him, before asking “Is it really as beautiful there as you say?”
“No,” Loki replied, and then smiled at her again. “It’s better.” Ash smiled as he went on. “But somehow...I never felt like I really belonged there. I was always on the outskirts of everyone else’s lives, watching my brother play with his friends, knowing they never really trusted me and only put up with me because I was, apparently, related to him. And yet when I found out the truth...about me...I didn’t feel like I belonged in Jotunheim either.” He closed his eyes and shook his head. “I was so ready to die that day, Ash, when I fell from the Bifrost, I thought I might get sucked into the void of nothingness and I didn’t care. But then when I crashed to Earth and I met you...it was like the gods were smiling on me, giving me a second chance.” Ash reached out and squeezed his hand. Loki opened his eyes and smiled, softly. “Sorry if that sounds morbid.”
“No, it sounds terrifying,” Ash replied, calmly. “What sort of man was Odin if he made you feel like that?”
Loki glanced downwards. “I think deep down he could never let go of the fact I was Jotun, and they are forces to be feared.”
“Well, that’s not what I see when I look at you,” Ash insisted. “I mean, yes, when I first met you, you did scare me a bit, but that was even before I knew you were a Frost Giant, and I wasn’t that scared. I could hold my own against you when I wanted to, couldn’t I? I stood up for myself plenty of times.”
“And you are very attractive when you’re fierce,” Loki smiled, causing her to giggle.
“But you’re not a monster, Loki,” she added, firmly. “You’re not, no matter what Odin might think. I see the real you, the one behind all the illusions.” Deftly, she wiped of syrup from the corner of his mouth. Loki smiled, mischievously, and licked her finger, causing her to giggle. “I thought you were raised to eat like a Prince, not a peasant, your Highness.”
“Sometimes I think you bring out the worst in me,” Loki replied, with a grin, “as well as the best. It’s funny how I can always be myself with you.”
With a sympathetic look, Ash reached up to kiss him, a warm tingling rippling through her as Loki cupped her face in one hand and pulled her closer, fingers stroking through her hair in a manner that was both soothing and sensual. She tried to pour as much reassurance and comfort into the kiss as possible, reminding him that she was still here, that she wouldn’t abandon him for anything.
“Careful,” she murmured, “you’ll be in serious danger of seducing me on the kitchen table.”
“Who says I don’t want to do that?” Loki teased.
Ash pushed him away with a giggle. “No, I need to finish these and then get dressed so I can get milk, we’re running low.”
Loki mock-sighed. “Ash, I can just-”
“No!” Ash laughed. “I can’t keep letting you get away with stealing through magic just because you want to keep me here to make love to me!”
He made a face at her. “Spoilsport.”
Ash shook her head. “I should never have taught you that word.” When she glanced up, though, Loki was smiling at her again and she knew that he had been joking.
“Maybe I should go with you,” he offered.
“No, you can stay here and clean up,” Ash insisted, pancakes eaten, as she pushed back her chair. “Oh, and the rabbits will need cleaning out, can you do that while I’m gone? Thanks,” she added before Loki could even speak, but her kissing his cheek before she went to get dressed reminded him why he did things like that, for her.
“Right,” he muttered, determinedly, getting up and going over to the run. It wouldn’t take long with magic, although what would take longer would be actually getting to the litter box because it seemed that whenever he put his hand into the run, the rabbits wanted to play with him, nudging up against his hand and nibbling his sleeve. He did his best to be firm with them, although sometimes he couldn’t help smiling at them. It was now six weeks since Easter and Ash loved them so much, constantly petting them and offering them little treats. They now had a few toys as well, small wooden ones they could nibble on to keep their teeth healthy and a few ball toys with bells in that they enjoyed nosing around or tossing between their paws, and Loki couldn’t help feeling that if he and Ash ever got as far as having children, this was how it would be.
But that was thinking way too far ahead in the future, he hadn’t even told her loved her yet, and they had plenty of time for things like that.
“See you soon,” Ash called, opening her front door. The gods were not smiling on her today, however, as Mr Lewis was preparing his fishing kit ready for a weekend away at the top of the stairs, and as luck would have it, Ash caught her foot in the bag strap and tripped, tumbling down the flight of stairs leading to the landing with a yelp and landing hard on her shoulder.
“Ow!” she moaned, rubbing it as she sat up.
Mr Lewis threw open his flat door and glared down at her. “What the devil do you think you’re playing at, girl? You could have broken something!”
“I’m very aware of that, Mr Lewis,” Ash muttered, gritting her teeth against the pain.
The door of her own flat flew open as Loki hurried towards her and crouched beside her, his expression writ with concern. “Ash, are you alright?”
“I think so,” Ash murmured, moving her hand down to her wrist and trying to move it, although it was painful to do so.
“Learn to look where you’re going in future, Miss Gray,” Mr Lewis snapped, bending to retrieve his bag. “Do you have any idea how valuable half this equipment is?”
“Do you have any idea how valuable her life is?” Loki countered, angrily, glaring at the man as he helped Ash into a sitting position.
Mr Lewis puffed up his moustaches. “Who the devil are you?”
“I’m the man telling you that you’re to treat her with a little more respect,” Loki snapped, rising to his feet. Even without a weapon or armour, he cut an intimidating figure, being at least half a foot taller than Mr Lewis, who was short by comparison. “Or else you’ll have me to answer to, you pathetic mortal!”
“Loki!” Ash whispered, urgently, as Mr Lewis tried to draw himself up to his full height, trying his best not to seem frightened of this stranger who had just materialised and interrupted one of his usual rants at Ash.
“She should learn to look where she’s going in future,” he stated, arrogantly, “then things like this wouldn’t happen!”
Loki shot out a hand and pinned the man to the wall by his throat. Ash felt her jaw drop as she struggled to her feet, watching Mr Lewis’s own feet paddling in the air since Loki had him pinned up higher than anyone could have anticipated.
“You should learn not to leave things where she can trip over them!” Loki hissed.
“Loki, don’t!” Ash grabbed his sleeve. “Please. Just let it go.”
If she hadn’t been looking at him so appealing at that minute, Loki might not have listened to her. As it was, he exhaled and dropped the very startled Mr Lewis back onto his feet. Ash groped for his hand, bringing him back to what was important, her wellbeing. Pulling himself together, Loki put an arm around her waist and helped her back into the flat, shooting Mr Lewis a murderous look in the process. The second they were back inside, Ash stumbled over to the sofa and tugged off her coat. It didn’t feel like anything was broken but it still hurt like hell, and she had banged her knee and her hip too, so practically the whole right side of her body was hurting.
“Are you sure you’re alright?” Loki asked, gently, sitting beside her.
“No, I’m in absolute agony, but I don’t think I need to go to hospital,” Ash answered, shaking her head. “Loki, please, you can’t react like that here. I know you were just standing up for me,” she added, quickly, as Loki opened his mouth to object, “and I appreciate that, but Mr Lewis could have you done for unlawful assault or something, you could get a reputation for being violent when you’re not.”
Loki scowled. “He’s an idiot who cared more about his belongings than your wellbeing, he deserved it.”
“I know he did, but...” Ash rubbed her shoulder and looked at him, “you just can’t do that to someone, even if they do deserve it. I mean, it’s nothing new, him shouting at me like that, but there are better ways of dealing with it than making threats.”
“Ash, I didn’t threaten him-”
“I know, but he could say that you did, and then you might not be allowed to stay here with me.”
Loki snorted. “Like that would stop me.”
“Please, Loki,” Ash begged. “You’re very good at losing your temper easily, please, for me, can you try?”
“Ash, on Asgard, it’s a perfectly natural way of defending someone you care about if they’ve been hurt or dishonoured,” Loki replied.
“But you’re on Earth now,” Ash insisted. “And here we believe in-argh!”
Loki immediately moved closer to her as she winced. “What is it?”
“I don’t know what I’ve done,” Ash groaned, “but this pain just isn’t going away.”
Loki thought for a minute. “I can probably help.” He quickly moved to lean behind her and began to rub at her shoulder. Immediately, Ash felt a tingling sensation quickly replaced by warmth and she closed her eyes at his touch. “Is that helping?”
“Mm, yes...” Ash murmured.
“Go on, you believe in what?”
“What? Oh, yeah, we believe in the concept of live and let live.”
Loki frowned. “What does that mean?”
“You know, when someone does something to annoy you, instead of reacting with violence, you just ignore it and walk away, you get on with your life,” Ash replied, twisting a little to let him access her shoulder better.
“Ash, I couldn’t just walk away from that,” Loki insisted. “The man hurt you.”
“Yeah, but not on purpose,” Ash pointed out.
“That’s not the point-”
“Loki.” Ash turned to him, temporarily shifting his hand from her shoulder. She took a deep breath, ashamed to even admit what she had felt a few minutes ago. “You can be a bit scary when you’re like that.” She glanced at her feet. “You scared me. I didn’t know what was about to happen.”
“Ash...” Loki immediately wrapped her in a hug, pulling her back flush against his front. “Gods, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“No, I know you didn’t,” Ash replied, snuggling her cheek into his shoulder. “It’s just...they say that sometimes people don’t know their own strength, I think you don’t know your own temper...if that makes sense.”
Loki nodded and exhaled into her hair. “Well, perhaps you’re right, perhaps I was a bit extreme. How’s your shoulder now?”
“Actually, everything feels a lot better,” Ash confessed. “Was that a healing spell you were using?”
Loki smiled. “The most complicated magic there is.” He kissed her before shifting out from behind her. “You stay here and recover, I’ll get the milk.”
Ash smiled sweetly at him as he kissed her...and then the second he had gone she realised that she had forgotten to give him the money to even buy the milk. Shaking her head, she leaned back in her seat, wondering if he could be persuaded to use that healing magic on her again tonight.
Loki was making his way back up the stairs with a carton of milk in one hand when Mr Lewis stepped out of his flat again, and turned white on seeing him. Loki, however, remained calm and offered the man an apologetic smile.
“Sorry for the way I reacted just now, I acted completely out of turn. Have a good day.”
Yes, Loki decided, stepping into the flat and leaving a very bewildered Mr Lewis staring after him in fear, revenge was definitely sweeter like this.