Bruises
“Don’t you think you’ve gone too far, brother?”
Loki lifted his head, eyes narrowing as Thor not-so-discreetly gestured towards the two chatting in the other room. Natasha sat on the couch, an arm dangling over the back of it as she spoke with Desmond, who stood behind the couch, hands in the pockets of his oversized hoodie. They both seemed perfectly happy, Desmond openly laughing; a so-far rare event. He couldn’t spot any signs of distress in his partner - another rare event. Suffice it to say, Loki was confused. What exactly had he done?
As if he could hear the question in Loki’s mind, Thor sighed and gestured again towards where Desmond stood by the couch, frowning as he spoke, “Must you…. do that …to him?” Loki looked again between Thor and Desmond. He still didn’t get it. It was starting to get irritating.
“His neck, for Norns’ sake, brother,” Thor scolded, “Midgardians are much more frail than we are, I thought you of all people would remember that.”
As if on cue, Desmond lifted his head, beaming as he took a hand out of his pocket to wave at Loki. For a moment Loki didn’t understand what the hell Thor was talking about. Desmond was glowing . Loki rarely saw him look so relaxed. He returned Desmond’s silent greeting with a nod of his head and a soft smile.
And then he saw it. Desmond’s neck was bruised on both sides, slightly-reddened stripes outlined in a hazy yellow-green. It was obvious how Loki had given him those bruises. He looked back at Tho who was wearing a look of genuine concern, which in any other situation might have been nice to see.
Instead, Loki huffed out a laugh, running his hand down his face.
“ That, ” he said, “he asked for it.”
Had Loki taken his hand away from his face just then, he would have seen just how close he came to death - Thor was furious.
“I have forgiven you for many things, Loki, but this- ”
“ Thor ,” Loki warned, cutting his brother off, “Think carefully before you speak-”
Thor cut Loki off in return, lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper, “Tell me you haven’t harmed him.”
"What - I -" Loki started automatically, stuttering a moment before he let out a breathy chuckle as he muttered to himself, “ I can't believe I'm telling you this. Norns…
“ Desmond specifically asked requested it,” he took a breath before he spoke again, the words tumbling out in an embarrassed rush, “As in he asked for me to bruise his neck choking him while we were - while I,” a breathy laugh, “I thought he must have been delirious - in fact I expected him to be - but he looked me in the eye and asked - no, he demanded - that I choke him until bruises bloomed all over that beautiful neck of his- "
At some point, Thor had actively stopped listening. No real harm had come to one of his favorite Midgardians, and if he tuned out quickly enough, his privacy would remain intact as well.
“I see, I misunderstood; apologies,” Thor cut his brother off once more as he turned and walked out of the room, leaving Loki standing alone, cheeks darkening with a faint dusting of blue as he replayed parts of the previous night in his mind.
“What was that about?” Desmond murmured as he wrapped his arms around Loki’s middle, leaning to rest his head on his shoulder.
Loki managed to contain his startled jump - somehow Desmond had snuck up on him. How lost in his head was he? He breathed out a sigh, wrapping an arm around Desmond to pull him close, burying his nose in his hair as he inhaled. They stood like that a moment, quiet and swaying slightly, before Loki spoke, muttering into Desmond’s hair.
“I,” he started, a dumbfounded chuckle making him pause, “I may have told my brother about your… demand …from last night.”
He felt Desmond tense up, barely moving his head out of the way as Desmond lifted his own in shock.
“You didn’t.”
“I did.”
Desmond opened his mouth to complain, but Loki silenced him with a single finger pressed against his lips. Leaning in, he spoke.
“To be fair, your neck is covered in bruises - as per your request- ” Loki near-purred that last bit, grinning as he felt a shiver run down his human’s spine, “Someone was bound to get curious eventually.”
A light pink tinted Desmond’s cheeks as he stared at the face of his grinning god, lips parting a moment before letting out a breathy laugh, “I guess you’re right - we’re lucky we made it this far before anyone asked.”
Loki hummed in response, a fresh grin splitting his face, “I suppose we’ve been doubly lucky - it could have been Rogers who finally asked.”
That made Desmond laugh harder, his pained “god, could you imagine” nearly lost between gasps of air and giggles. Loki wrapped his arms around Desmond, speaking into his hair once more
“Perhaps it’s a good thing these,” he lightly ran his fingers over a sensitive spot among the bruising, relishing in the way Desmond shivered, “will be gone in another hour or so.”
“Or maybe it’s a shame,” Desmond murmured, speaking so softly Loki nearly didn’t hear him.
Loki hummed, grinning as he pulled Desmond in for a kiss that threatened to overwhelm his human, scooping him up into his arms, using his magic to move them. When Desmond opened his eyes he was greeted with the sight of Loki’s bedroom.
“Well,” he shuddered as Loki stood behind him, breathy voice in his ear, “ perhaps we should make sure that doesn’t happen.”