Trust
Pale blue eyes snapped open wide before narrowing in suspicion.
“Don’t mess with me,” Desmond spoke quietly, less command, more plea. There was no other way he’d be faced with this. That anyone at all, nevermind a god , would choose to be with him ? He couldn’t fathom it.
Not that he didn’t want it to be true - he did . He wanted it to be true so badly that it terrified him. Desmond tensed up, scowling and pressing himself back into a corner, much like the feral creature he’d been raised to be.He kept his mouth clamped shut, tasting the venom of his own fear-turned-anger, burning at the back of his throat. The man - god - in front of him simply stood, arms outstretched slightly, palms up. Beckoning him to collapse into him. To trust him.
And he did. Wholeheartedly. Until this .
It didn’t make sense and that scared him, but not as badly as how desperately he wanted to believe that Loki had feelings beyond friendship for him. Desmond pressed himself tighter against the wall, locking eyes with Loki and refusing to look away. Like a once beloved family pet left to fend for itself on the street. He was scared, and that made him angry. He was prone to lashing out like a stray, all teeth and cries and the clawing need to run.To protect himself at any cost.
It hurt to see it - that fear - so clearly there in his eyes. In the way tears had begun to build as Desmond started shaking lightly. Loki stood his ground.
“I know I’m a bit of a - what did you call me? A prankster ,” he spoke with a grin that quickly softened into a small smile, “But this? Desmond, I can promise you I would never lie to you about this.”
As Loki spoke, his voice dropped in volume, nearing a whisper as he opened his arms further.
“Come here,” less command, more plea.
Desmond had no choice but to run to him, wrapping his arms around Loki’s shoulders and squeezing with so much force that he trembled.There was a breath of silence, before Loki wrapped his arms around Desmond’s waist, pulling him in impossibly close. He squeezed tighter as Desmond’s shoulders shook, tears creating a damp spot on his own shoulder.
No one was going to harm this human - his human - again.