not terrible | darcy/loki, soulmates
He sniffed, looking around the labs with an expression of disdain as Thor bounded forward, drooling and lapping at his mortal’s heels like some loyal, lovesick dog. Honestly, he didn’t understand the appeal of the female – waif-like and skinny as she was. She was fine of face, he supposed – her features were delicate, not unlike an Asgardian maiden’s – but the rest was a bit… well, underwhelming. She wore ill-fitting garments, her hair in constant disarray, and it was a wonder to him why Thor spoke of her like she was the goddess of beauty.
He chuckled to himself. Freya would be furious at the very idea of anyone taking her title.
His eyes wandered part them, and he caught the eyes of an old man, balding and pale-eyed, and the man flinched back so hard that Loki blinked in surprise. Then, the face registered, and he bared his teeth into a semblance of a smile, taking pleasure in the fact that the man shuddered in fear.
“Hello, Erik Selvig,” Loki said smoothly, and the color fled from the old man’s cheeks, faster than a flash of lightning. “A pleasure to see you so…” Loki dragged his eyes down the mortal’s form in disdain, his lip curling into a sneer at his bared undergarments and quaking knees. Did the man have no pride? “… well.”
Selvig whimpered, and Loki hoped that the man wouldn’t wet himself.
“Oi, crazy-eyes! Get away from him!” He ignored the taunt, but when a writing instrument flew past his nose, nearly stabbing him in the eye, he whirled to glare at the one who dared to ruin his fun.
Ah. He eyed the short, brunette mortal girl, who had some pitiful-looking device pointed at him. He cocked his head to the side, considering her. Full-figured and lush curves, pouting lips and hooded blue eyes, the line of her neck slim and long and pale… this one was… not terrible.
“Eyes up here, you dickwad,” she scowled, and he had to bite down his smile of amusement at the fierce expression on her face. “Thor’s brother or not, don’t think I won’t tase your ass to kingdom come!”
He snarled, taking a looming step forward, and a dark part of him grinned at the flash of fear that sprung into her eyes, before she defiantly forced it away. He hissed out, “Take care how you speak, little – ”
“Loki!” Thor said sharply, the admonition clear, and Loki sighed, stepping back with his hands raised in a gesture of ceasefire. Sure enough, Selvig heaved, gasping for breath, and Loki absently realized that he’d let a trickle of his aura leak out, enough that Thor was sending him a heavy glare of disapproval.
Interestingly enough, the other mortal looked unaffected – the only evidence was perhaps her red cheeks, flushed with anger. Loki smirked, licking his lips as he imagined what she’d look like with that blush spread across the pale skin of her naked body, and to his satisfaction she turned redder, looking away hastily. “Oh, don’t worry, brother,” he drawled mockingly, even when Thor’s eyes flashed in warning. “I’m simply envious of your happiness.”
He caught the dark-haired girl’s gaze, holding it as he let his lips curl into a slow, slow smile, his implication completely clear as he said, “ … perhaps I should find a mortal to take care of too, hm?”
“You dare—!” Thor growled at him, and his mortal infatuation cried out in indignation, but the mortal in question just stiffened, bristling as he continued to smirk at her. He stepped forward, casually waving a hand to keep Thor and his mortal from interfering, and stopped just inches from her, peering down into those defiant blue eyes with interest.
“I’m going to give you five seconds to get out of my face,” she said coldly, and Loki actually laughed at the girl’s audacity. “Five. Four. Three.”
“And if I don’t?” he mocked, stepping forward to let their chests brush, and she gritted her teeth.
“Two. One – ”
He snorted. “Please, you – ” He blinked, his cheek burning, as his head snapped to the side with the force of her strike, and he stumbled back as she pushed past him hotly, startled by the girl’s quick temper. Only… the burning wasn’t going way – and it wasn’t just the pain, it was warmth and want and comfort and –
“Loki?” Thor’s voice was hushed now, shocked and reverent, and both Selvig and Thor’s mortal were looking at him with wide, bulging eyes. “Your… your face –”
Loki looked down, catching his reflection on one of the metal machines next to him, and his breath caught.
“A soulmark?” he breathed, his heart stumbling, and he looked up to see the brunette mortal, her eyes wide in horror as she looked between his face and her palm. He could see the twisting runes, dark blue and burnished bronze against her pale skin, curling around her fingers and framing her red-painted nails, and he knew the same pattern was stretched across his cheek.
The girl looked like was going to faint, pale and a little sick-looking as she swayed on her feet, and choked out, “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.”
And with that, her eyes rolled up into the back of her head, her legs buckling under her as she collapsed to the floor.
There was a beat of silence, then: “You were supposed to catch her!”
He sent Thor’s mortal a glare. “How was I supposed to know she’d faint?” he snapped back, and swiftly bent down to pull his soulmate – his soulmate! – into his chest, smoothing back her hair as he cradled her in his arms.
He waved a hand, releasing the spell from before, and both Thor and the mortal rushed over. It took only a few smelling salts to revive her, and all the while Loki was quite enjoying the weight of the girl in his arms, but the girl just had to ruin the moment as she began to wake.
“I just had a really bad dream about being Loki’s soulmate,” she muttered, reaching up to rub at her eyes, but she froze as she stared at the blue-bronze markings on her hand.
“Not a dream, darling,” Loki said cheerfully, and the girl looked up at him with such a comical expression of horror that he started to laugh.
Perhaps there are some redeeming qualities about this realm, he thought to himself, as his soulmate screeched and leapt out of his arms as if chased by the hounds of Hel. Midgard isn’t so bad, after all.