Chapter 10
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Thor smiled as he felt Loki’s arms snake around his waist from behind, his chin coming to rest on Thor’s shoulder.
“I thought you were resting,” Thor tilted his head to touch Loki’s gently.
Until just now, Loki had been sitting in one of the kitchen chairs to recover from a spell of weakness and a sharp pain down the right side of his spine, both of which were probably a result of their activity this morning.
They had walked twice around the house before remaining in the garden for some time to mark out where they’d plant their flower beds and birch tree. Loki had exhausted himself, but hadn’t allowed his mind to wander to Thanos more than twice, which was as much of a victory for them as the longer than usual walk had been.
After almost collapsing on the way back to the front door, he’d been taking time to recover while Thor did most of the preparation of their dinner.
He had been supposed to be resting at least until the pasta and sauce was ready, but apparently Loki had decided he was already recovered enough. Admittedly, Thor had been slow in his cooking, chopping everything with unnecessary care and talking a lot as he worked, wanting to make sure Loki didn’t push himself to get up before he was ready.
Thor still doubted he was entirely recovered enough to be on his feet again. He’d heard Loki’s faltering breaths as he pushed himself to stand back up and cross the short distance to reach Thor.
“I was resting,” Loki murmured as his arms hugged Thor more tightly, “Now I’m helping you cook.”
“Is that what you’re doing?” Thor reached over to take a pinch of salt from the clay pot by the cooker and add it to the pan, “You enveloping me is certainly a great aid.”
“I thought it might be,” Loki said in a quiet and contented voice, “How’s it going?”
Thor turned from the pot of tomato sauce he was stirring to kiss Loki’s cheek, “I think it’s going quite well. Would you like to taste?”
“No. I want to be surprised,” he pressed closer against Thor, one of his hands sliding slowly down his torso, “Pleasantly or otherwise.”
Thor smirked at the velvet voice in which Loki spoke those words and the hand he slipped beneath his t-shirt, “Attempting to seduce me while I cook is not going to improve the outcome of our endeavours.”
“I am doing no such thing, Thor,” he whispered in a voice that was entirely one of seduction.
“Is that why you are gradually snaking your hands lower?”
“Yes.”
Thor chuckled, perfectly happy to indulge Loki’s mood.
He turned off the stove and set the pan towards the back, the sauce finished anyway, and spun to take Loki in his arms, kissing deeply and fervently, but with the same care and gentleness he always maintained around Loki now.
Loki was stronger, but still comparatively weak, and Thor knew well his own strength. He knew how to ensure he did Loki no harm.
Parting just slightly, Thor traced a finger from his chin and down the column his throat, the slow, whispering touch prompting Loki to tilt his head back to expose the length of his neck.
Thor didn’t try to resist the desire he felt to press his lips to the pale skin, to follow the path of his finger with his mouth, to let his teeth lightly graze Loki’s collar bone.
Straightening, he leaned in, his lips a breath from Loki’s, almost touching as he spoke, “We have dinner to finish cooking.”
“Can it not wait?” Loki murmured, his hands on Thor’s biceps, fingers curled against his skin, and his breath already quickened from Thor’s touch.
“You may want the strength to be gained from it,” Thor kissed him softly, “For other activities.”
“I suppose there is some merit to what you say,” Loki tugged him back into another, deep and indulgent kiss that made it very difficult for Thor to want to follow his own words, “And it would be a shame for the sauce to grow cold.”
“Because there is no way to possibly warm it up again,” Thor replied sarcastically as he let his hands slip into Loki’s hair.
Loki pulled back slightly, smirking, “Are you arguing against yourself now?”
“You’re very difficult to resist, Loki.”
“Then don’t,” Loki let his cool fingers brush up from his arms to the back of Thor’s neck, “After all, the only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it.”
“We’re quoting Midgardian literature now, are we?”
“Only if it’s good.”
“That rules out a significant portion,” Thor laughed and pressed their lips together again before tilting his head and kissing Loki’s forehead, forcing himself to push back his desire for later, when Loki had eaten and rested, “Come, let us finish making dinner and relax a little. You walked a lot today.”
“A tremendous amount,” Loki rolled his eyes, “I expect even an infant could do better.”
“Don’t belittle your achievement. Your body is still recovering from a terrible condition, and we both know that any physical progress is impressive and worthy of praise,” Thor said earnestly, “Do you imagine I fail to see how difficult it is or how much pain it causes you? I think you’re recovering with far greater determination and resilience than I would.”
Loki smiled softly, hesitantly, “The last is certainly not true, and, in any case, the pain is not so bad.”
Comparatively, given what Loki had endured before, that no doubt was true, but the pain was still there and Thor could see it.
“In fact, I would like a glass of whisky,” Thor grinned, forcing himself not to think of the pain Loki had suffered, “To celebrate and to toast the first steps towards our garden.”
“Then you can pour us some,” Loki brushed his hands over Thor’s jaw and lightly kissed him again, “If you feel so inclined.”
Thor did feel so inclined.
He felt happy with how Loki was recovering and the prospect of their garden, with Loki’s ability to cope for longer than usual outside, and how much of an improvement he thought this pasta sauce was over the last time they’d cooked it.
Thor felt happy and he wanted to toast with a pleasing drink, and relish the happiness he was sharing with Loki.
He pulled the bottle of Tony’s whisky that they were currently working their way through from the cupboard along with two plain gold cups. Until Loki had conjured those cups from one of his caches, Thor had started to forget just how much more intense the flavours were when you ate or drank from something made of gold.
Pouring a generous serving into each cup, he handed one to Loki and then easily lifted him up to sit on the table so he didn’t need to stand for too long.
“To our garden,” Thor held up his cup.
Loki smiled and shook his head as he touched his drink to Thor’s, “To our life.”
Thor beamed back at him as he took a long sip, “To our life.”
-
“Did you know that some humans consider tomatoes an aphrodisiac?” Thor asked as he took a bite of their very good tomato sauce pasta dish, greatly improved over the last time they’d cooked it, and by the mozzarella Loki had torn up to melt on top.
Loki arched an eyebrow, “Thor, you’re a fertility god and I’m the patron god of multiple sexual acts. I’m not sure you and I require aphrodisiacs.”
Thor smirked and ate another forkful, “I’m not sure human ones would work on us anyway.”
He pointedly licked some of the sauce from his fork, “Perhaps we ought to experiment. When you are fully recovered.”
“We are eating tomatoes now.”
“Did you fail to hear the second part of that sentence?”
“I’m afraid I must have,” Loki smiled playfully, “Terribly sorry. I was merely aroused to distraction by these tomatoes.”
Thor laughed loudly, prompting Loki to laugh too, lowering his head, causing his smile to become hidden behind his hair.
Still grinning, Thor reached out and brushed it out of the way because he loved that smile too much to deprive himself of seeing it. And he kissed the corner of Loki’s lips because he could and he wanted to, and it only made Loki’s smile grow.
“Is this the effect of the tomatoes showing itself?” Loki asked, turning on the couch and tucking one leg up onto it.
“It’s the effect of my being incredibly happy today,” Thor replied, “And our delicious tomato sauce is, of course, a part of that.”
He ate another forkful, “A big part. It is very good.”
“It is,” Loki agreed, still smiling, “What else has you so happy today?”
“You do,” Thor replied easily, “I don’t know. Perhaps it is our garden or the walk this morning or the weather-“
“You’re responsible for this weather, Thor.”
“-in any case, whatever the reason, today, for some reason, I am overwhelmed with the sense that you are here and, for the first time since you came here I don’t feel a hint of fear that I’m imagining all of this. I just know, without doubt, that you are here and you won’t leave, and all will be well.”
Loki watched him as he spoke, a soft smile lingering on his lips and his head slightly tilted.
“I’m glad,” he said earnestly, gently, “Because I am here and I’m not going anywhere. You may well be stuck with me for eternity, Thor.”
Thor leaned in to kiss him again, setting their almost finished meal aside, “I can live with that.”
Loki grinned and slipped a hand behind the back of his neck to pull him closer, into a deep, beautifully indulgent kiss. His fingers were already in Thor’s hair, gliding over his scalp in a way that made Thor moan into their kiss.
“I believe we have unfinished business,” Loki murmured, kissing along Thor’s jaw to the base of his ear.
“Hm? Do we?” Thor shut his eyes to focus on the sensation of Loki’s mouth against his skin and his fingers in his hair, and his body moving beneath him, “There is nothing in our calendar.”
Loki pulled back, arching an eyebrow, “We have no calendar.”
“So much the better,” Thor grinned and kissed him again, this time lifting him into his arms as he stood back up to carry him to their bedroom, “I hate to plan my time.”
“I am well aware,” Loki laughed softly as Thor lay him gently on the bed, immediately tugging him down for another kiss.
***
Thor wasted no time in divesting them both of their clothes, already feeling too hot and the layers of fabric between their bodies too much. It kept them too far from each other.
Loki had always known how to get every kind of reaction from Thor he wanted, and right now, his hands and his mouth and the sounds he let pass his lips were bringing Thor rapidly to a state of intense arousal.
And Loki was perfectly aware of the effect he had, grinning as Thor moaned achingly, desperately needing more. The friction between their skin was exquisite, and the warmth of Loki’s mouth intoxicating, but it wasn’t enough. Thor needed to be as close as possible to Loki and then closer still.
“Does your back still hurt?” Thor asked breathlessly, shutting his eyes and gasping with frustration and desire as Loki’s hands grew still.
“What?”
“Your back? It hurt you earlier and I want to know what position will be least painful for you now,” Thor explained quickly, his voice hoarse with his lust.
“Must you always be so considerate, Thor?”
“When it concerns you, yes.”
Loki smiled softly at that, but then sighed dramatically, “On my front. Grab a couple of pillows to put under my hips.”
Thor immediately did as he asked, pulling two pillows from the end of the bed and slipping them under Loki’s hips as he turned over.
“Are you comfortable?” Thor asked, his hands smoothing down Loki’s sides.
“I’ll be more comfortable when you’re inside me,” Loki replied impatiently.
Thor laughed, kissing the back of his neck and pressing his body against Loki’s, his erection pressed against his ass, “Would you like me to prepare you, or will you use your magic?”
“Magic,” Loki whispered, and Thor felt the thrum of it tickle his skin, “I want you fully in me now.”
“As you wish,” Thor murmured, taking one of Loki’s hands in his, their fingers linked, and kissing his shoulder before he knelt up to press himself into Loki.
He didn’t find the perfect angle at first, but Loki adjusted and his second slow, careful, thrust pushed deep inside, drawing a moan of delight from Loki’s lips, his fingers clenching against the duvet.
Thor squeezed his hand gently as he began to move, moans escaping his own lips at the perfect pleasure every moment brought.
Driving faster, but always making sure he was gentle, Thor quickly found himself close to climax. He let himself press his whole body closer, his lips against Loki’s jaw as he turned his head, his breaths rapid and matched by Loki’s.
“Thor,” Loki gasped, but his words broke off with a choking cry of pleasure as Thor thrust in again, “Touch me.”
He struggled to push himself up on his arms, so Thor looped one arm around his torso to support him, bringing the other to take his erection in hand, immediately resuming his thrusts to meet the pace of his hand.
Loki came with just a few strokes, and his moans of pleasure, and the way his body shook and tensed in the aftermath of his orgasm, brought Thor to his climax only moments later, crying out loudly with a crack of lightning outside echoing his voice.
“Did you just create a damn thunderstorm?” Loki panted, collapsing onto his stomach, his hair curled and sticking to his sweaty skin.
Thor glanced out the window. It was sunny, but there was rain, and he was sure he had heard thunder and seen the flash of lightning bright even with the sun.
“It seems so,” Thor laughed, and Loki laughed with him, breathless and spent but happy.
Incredibly, perfectly, happy.
Thor pulled carefully out of Loki, and before he could even suggest he get a cloth to clean them, Loki had waved a hand and used his magic to do so, cleaning their skin and the sheets and pillows.
***
“Don’t want you to leave the bed,” Loki murmured in explanation, draping himself over Thor’s body and looping a leg in between Thor’s, “Don’t want you to leave me.”
“I will never leave you, Loki,” Thor kissed his hair gently, “You know I could never cope being without you. I never have been able to.”
“Likewise,” Loki touched his fingers over his name on Thor’s arm, “I lost my mind without you.”
Thor took his hand gently and let it guide Loki’s fingers over his skin.
They lay in silent contentment for some time, before Thor spoke without thinking. He had a habit of such things, or he used to. He was better at thinking now, but it had been pain and hardship that taught him to think.
Maybe, in his happiness, he forgot to think.
“Loki, there is something I wish to ask you,” Thor spoke softly as he let his fingers trace up and down Loki’s arm.
The pale, sweat damped skin beneath Thor’s hand was unbroken.
There had been a horrible burn there before. Bad enough to have broken through several layers of skin, to have damaged soft tissue beneath.
But now there was merely a slightly raised and reddened area that, in perhaps just a few more weeks, would be gone entirely, leaving a scar only on the unseen jotun form hidden behind Loki’s glamour.
Loki tilted his head to smirk at Thor, “Is it so dire a question that you feel the need to preface it with an introduction?”
Thor laughed lightly, kissing Loki’s hair and indulging in a moment more of that perfect bliss before he asked what he wanted to.
What it may be too soon to ask. But he had brought it up now.
He could always ask something else, but that would be dishonest and he didn’t want to be dishonest with Loki. They’d both endured enough dishonesty from Odin.
“It is not dire at all. At least, I hope you will not think it dire.”
Frowning lightly, Loki pushed himself upright, moving to sit back against the headboard, prompting Thor to do the same, but not before he’d grabbed a pillow and propped it upright to make sure Loki wasn’t sitting against the hard wood.
“Unless you’re about to banish me from New Asgard or leave here yourself, or tell me that this is all a dream and I’m about to wake up there with him, there is little you could ask that I’d consider dire,” he said, still frowning in concern.
“I assure you that it is none of those things,” Thor took his hand, idly brushing his thumb along Loki’s knuckles, “I never wish to be parted from you, and he is dead.”
He hesitated, and Loki squeezed his hand lightly, “Thor, whatever it is, ask. We have been through far too much together for you to feel hesitant about speaking to me.”
“I know. And yet, I am not as skilled with words as you, Loki.”
“Don’t belittle your talent, Thor.”
Thor smirked, “I’d argue it more a skill honed through hour upon hour of debate with you, rather than a talent.”
That made Loki smile, and Thor continued after allowing himself a moment to order his thoughts, “You know I want nothing more than for us to be always together. I love you, more than I know how to express, and I need you with me. At my side. I cannot exist without you. I have had to try to do so too many times and I cannot again. I need you, Loki. Regardless of your answer to what I next ask, that will never change. Please understand that.”
Loki remained silent, waiting.
“Loki, tell me you understand. Tell me you understand that there is nothing that will change how I feel about you.”
“You’re not asking if I understand. You’re asking if I believe.”
“And do you?”
“Yes,” Loki replied softly, “It would be hard not to when I feel the same.”
Thor smiled slightly, nervously, and continued. There was no point delaying his question any longer.
“Will you wed me? Be at my side as my queen, or prince or king…whatever title you choose. I do not mind about that. I just want you to marry me, Loki. I know that we were raised to see marriage as a political transaction, but on Earth it is not always seen as such. It’s a gesture of love, with affection expected, rather than something that only sometimes happens if those involved are fortunate,” he realised he was rambling but he wasn’t sure how to express all he wanted to, “No one else understands me, nor challenges me, as you do. And no one else do I love so much, or ever could. So even if you do not wish it, I wouldn’t wed another, no matter the expectations of marriage put on me as king.”
“Thor…” Loki said in a low voice that betrayed nothing of what he felt, “Before I give you my answer, three questions.”
“Of course.”
“First, is this proposal driven by relief at some part of your grief being abated, or by a sense of guilt over what happened to me?”
“It is not unrelated to my relief at no longer having to grieve you, but that is not why I ask. I ask because I love you more than anyone or anything in Yggdrasil or beyond,” Thor replied earnestly, “But I perhaps might never have been spurred to ask had I not suffered life without you.”
Loki accepted the response without any clear emotion, hiding how he felt until he had all the answers he sought.
“Second question. What of children?”
“I would like children, but not as much as I wish simply to be with you,” Thor replied immediately, having no need to consider his reply for even a second, “If you wish to have children with me then I will be glad of it. But if not, then we will choose an heir.”
At that, Loki looked away, towards the window, “You don’t fear any children I bear you would be monsters?”
“Not at all. Monster is a subjective term,” Thor replied, “All I care about is that our children should be safe and loved, and they most certainly would be.”
Loki inclined his head.
“What was the third question?”
“Are you certain this is what you want? You could have any unmarried woman in New Asgard. Probably in Midgard, should you wish it. And I expect a great many would divorce their spouses if it meant they could wed you. You could choose anyone, Thor,” Loki said, pausing briefly to nervously watch their joined hands, “Are you sure that I’m the one you wish to marry and bind yourself to in that way? In a manner all would know of? Even though my mind is…it’s not right. May not be for some time. Perhaps not ever.”
Thor knelt up before Loki, reaching out to clasp the side of his neck, his fingers slipping beneath his curling raven hair.
“Loki, I am certain that I wish to marry you and no other. The only thing I am more certain of is that I want to be with you and I care not in what manner that is.”
A smile whispered at the corner of Loki’s lips, “I accept your answers.”
“I’m glad,” Thor replied, a smile of his own already forming as he saw Loki’s decision in his eyes, “And what then is your answer?”
“Why did you not ask me this sooner?”
“That’s a fourth question.”
“How observant you are.”
Thor smirked then grew serious again, “I didn’t want to ask too soon. I was concerned that perhaps you would need more time before-“
“I mean, why did you not ask me this sooner today?” Loki cut him off gently, “I’m exhausted from walking and gardening and our other activities, so doubt I have the strength to appropriately celebrate a betrothal.”
“Is that your extremely long winded and excessively verbose way of saying yes?”
“It might be.”
“So you will marry me?”
“Of course I will, you great oaf,” Loki failed to hold back his grin as he spoke, “Now give us a kiss.”
Thor was more than happy to oblige.
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