The Blood Pact
“Loki I… is it real?”
The god smiled, truly smiled, in a caring, almost vulnerable way, taking in the shock and disbelief of the sobbing creature before him.
“I was sure you’d run.” He confessed, “I had to do something to save myself. Had she actually pruned me if you had escaped, I would have used the tempad to come back to you. Then, it would have been Renslayer who would have been stuck in 2008 without a tempad. That was my plan.”
Once more, Zozo’s eyes seemed to overflow with tears, and she let out a sob, and then choked on laughter. The way she looked at Loki with such gratitude in her eyes, made the warmth inside his heart grow, and spread to his whole body, like she had just tucked him in with a warm blanket.
“I can’t believe this… I could just… I could kiss you, that’s how happy I am!” She exclaimed, hugging the tempad close to her chest, then practically leaping on Loki and trapping him in what would be a bone crushing embrace. Through all the joy and emotions, he too felt his eyes get moist too, and he let out a laugh as well.
“I’d rather you don’t, but I appreciate the sentiment.” Zozo tightened the hug at his words, and so he continued joking as he stroked her hair lightly. “You’re crying again, and I am forced to assume it’s from the tremendous joy you must be feeling right now. It’s okay, let it all out on me. I don’t mind.”
The rest of that evening was a blur. Loki didn’t know when, but at some point long after Renslayer was gone, they broke the hug, and Zozo went to sleep in the master bedroom, leaving the door unlocked this time. Soon after, sleep claimed him, and he slept relatively peacefully, the warmth in his heart from the events of the day sweetening his usual nightmares.
A distinct smell of melting butter, mixed with a whole myriad of chemicals and oils, woke him up at 4:30am. The stench filled the entire apartment, and for some reason beyond his comprehension, Zozo was sitting on the chair next to his makeshift sofa-bed, eating what seemed to be the root of the smell, her eyes glued to the television screen, ears covered by black headphones.
“Good luck pissing my pants if I’m not wearing any.” she whispered into the microphone of the headphones, stifling a laugh, before adding, “Yea only a bit, but it’s fine, I’m not like freezing- No, listen, listen to me. When I see a person shivering in their sleep, I’m gonna give them my blanket. It’s not gay, it’s human decency.”
The warmth from before had returned, and it took the god completely by surprise. His new, Midgardian friend was indeed sitting on the couch wearing just a very large T-shirt as pajamas, her legs exposed, and judging by the way she rubbed the naked skin, she must have been quite cold, while he, a frost giant, was laying under two blankets. It was as if she was adamant to keep doing as many nice things as she could for him, in the smallest time frame. It did not help his confusing feelings at all.
Very quietly, Loki stood up, and as sneakily as possible put one of the blankets around the girl’s shoulders. She let out a surprised yelp, but quickly calmed down once she heard Loki laugh and turned around to face him.
“Jesus fucking Christ, you scared me!” She excused herself from the call, and took off her headphones, “Did I wake you up? I’m sorry if I did, wasn’t my intention.”
The trickster grinned in response.
“Worry not, what woke me up was not your conversation, but rather that… wretched thing you’re having. But nevertheless, apology accepted.” He winked at her, then headed towards the brown cupboard, from which he could smell the thing he missed most about Asgard at the moment- alcohol. He took a moment to scan through the contents of the cupboard, then selected a large bottle of red wine, and took a large gulp. “This one’s relatively good. Does your grandfather own any wine glasses? We shouldn’t be drinking out of the bottle like animals.”
“Speak for yourself, princey.” Zozo muttered, tightening the blanket around her body as she stood up. Though she looked like a very large toddler playing dress up, there was something oddly regal about her, as she made her way to the kitchen in the dimmed light, and came back with two glasses. A fallen princess, Loki thought, and immediately dismissed it as some artistic interpretation of how nicely the light reflected off her skin, and how the blanket looked a bit like a cape. She’d look good in a cape, he decided.
“Do you want some more popcorn?” Zozo asked him, waving the nearly empty bag responsible for waking him up.
“At four in the morning?” Loki asked, “You feral woman, I am in.”
They drank in silence, sitting on opposite sides of Loki’s sofa-bed, with Charlie sound asleep between them, and watched some movie Zozo recommended, called “Mean Girls”. The popcorn turned out to be much tastier than it smelled, and after a small incident involving the microwave going off, which scared Loki so much that he nearly destroyed it, he even gained the slightest bit of appreciation for Midgardian technology. There was no microwave popcorn on Asgard after all, and this seemed to be the perfect, not too heavy four-in-the-morning snack. It was definitely much better than the ham Loki would typically steal from the kitchens when he was hungry back home.
Hours passed, more wine bottles were drunk, and by the time Mean Girls had finished, both the god and the girl were positively tipsy. Tipsy enough that both of them had laid down, resting their heads on the arm rests of the sofa, their legs intertwined.
“You know…” Zozo started, kicking Loki’s thigh lightly, “You talk in your sleep.”
“I do?” Loki asked.
“Yea.” Zozo beamed, “It’s adorable.”
“And what did I talk about? Was it, perhaps, conquering the world?”
“Nah,” the girl waved her hand dismissively, “You were calling out for your mom. And for Thor. And Mobius, surprisingly.”
Loki groaned with embarrassment, the meaning of her words making him wish to sew his mouth shut. And then he remembered something.
“You’ve got connections to Mobius, don’t you?” He asked. Zozo nodded.
“He was sent to retrieve the tempad I stole, and then let me keep it. I was actually on my way to talk to him when we met, but obviously he had other, more important things going on than helping me out. Fuckin’ bureaucrats, man. Shame, really, otherwise Renslayer wouldn’t have tracked us. Who’s Mobius to you?”
Loki snorted slightly, then covered his face with his arm.
“Mobius… Mobius is my best friend. The only person who ever believed in me, apart from Frigga.”
“Not anymore.” Zozo chuckled, which caused Loki to still. Seeing that reaction, she immediately corrected herself. “Because you also have me!”
“No, child.” Loki mumbled, his voice sullen all of a sudden, and took another sip of his wine, “I only have you. Mobius doesn’t remember who I am. Sylvie betrayed me. I have no place on any timeline… You're the only person stupid enough to let me stay.”
Zozo’s eyes saddened for a bit, her legs moving closer to Loki’s, as if trying to give him some comfort.
“Hey-”
“Don’t.” Loki stopped her. “Don’t attempt to comfort me, please. I’ve stooped low enough already, I need not your sweet, misplaced words.”
“No, I wasn’t gonna comfort you, I was going to ask you a question that’s been bugging me.” Zozo explained, her hands up in a defensive gesture, “Are you still thinking of taking over Midgard?”
No. In all honesty, taking over Midgard was the last thing Loki would think of doing now, after everything he’s been through. He would gain nothing from it, not his father’s approval, not loving friends, not anything. Well, maybe microwave popcorn every day, but what joy could that bring if he was to eat it alone? Perhaps if Zozo came with him, and he could watch those idiotic movies about teenagers making terrible decisions with her every so often, it would make everything else worth it. But he needn’t be king for that. Oh, but how lovely it would be, if the both of them went to Asgard and they could combine both of their worlds together? He was positive that watching television with microwave popcorn would be much more comfortable in his chambers on Asgard than it was in Zozo’s grandfather’s apartment.
“Not unless I’d have a loyal advisor to keep me company.” He declared, staring in the girl’s eyes playfully, “What do you say, Zofia of Midgard? You’ve already proven yourself to me. Would you like to be a villain’s right hand in taking over your world?”
Zozo grinned at him widely, eyes sparking with mischief and happiness.
“I’d say hell yea, I fucking hate this shithole planet and what humans did to it.” She also took a sip of wine, “And besides, villains just so happen to be my type. Especially blue ones. Very hot.”
How in the name of the Norns did Zozo know about Loki’s Jotun form was a mystery to him, but she didn’t seem disgusted. Or threatened. She said it so nonchalantly, as if him being a Jotun didn’t change anything and didn’t make him a monster. Was this another great show of loyalty? Norns, at this rate Loki will be forgetting all about the lesson he’s learned about putting all of his faith in people he had just met, in no time. Pathetic.
“Hot might be a misplaced word.” Loki chuckled, trying to not freak out or show her his inner conflict. “I reckon they’re rather cold. The villains, I mean.” Seeing the girl’s slightly confused expression, he started to feel a bit uneasy, but the alcohol in his system quickly made the bad feeling subside, and he stood up. Then, he spread out his arms, and let the magic turn him into the form he was given at birth. His true, Jotun form.
Zozo stared at him with eyes so wide, Loki was scared they’d pop out of their sockets. Perhaps he’d misplaced his hopes, and the alcohol made him act stupid again? Still, they were not full of fear, but fascination. Maybe this wasn’t the worst idea after all.
“Ey, did I drink too much, or did you just turn blue?” Zozo finally said, not daring to blink, almost in fear that once she does, Loki would turn back to normal. The god shifted slightly.
“I’m afraid your eyes aren’t deceiving you.” He chuckled. “I have, in fact, turned blue. It is my birth form.”
“Frost giant.” The girl whispered, “Can I… is it alright if I touch you?”
Though at first the idea seemed uncomfortable, Loki made his way back to the sofa bed. He didn’t really know what would happen if he let a mortal touch him, since the only time he’s seen frost giants touching other species was during battle, but the perspective that he is not, in fact, as dangerous as Asgardian propaganda has led him to believe, was nice. As was the girl’s touch, when she gently traced the markings on his face, and then slid her hands further down onto his neck and arms.
“You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen.” Zozo whispered, true wonder on her face. Her touch was so relaxing that Loki couldn’t help but close his eyes, enjoying every moment and wishing it to be longer. Soon, he found himself sitting on the floor, with Zozo’s hands massaging his scalp and playing with his hair. If this is the treatment he would get every time he’d turn into his Jotun form, he would wear it all the time.
“You know,” Zozo started, “When I was talking about hot blue villains, I actually meant Megamind.”
That threw him off for a moment.
“Mega… who?”
“It’s a fictional character from this movie I love.” She explained. “I kinda have a huge crush on him. Like, the character. Who doesn’t actually exist. It’s embarrassing but hey, he’s cute and goth and funny.”
“I am sure if he was real, he would love you.” Loki assured. “Now don’t you dare stop, this is the most pleasure I’ve felt since long before I came to New York.” He groaned, when the girl scratched a spot on his scalp just right. “Norns, how I wish this moment could last forever…”
“We should do a blood pact then.” Zozo suggested, rubbing the circles on his scalp in a much slower rhythm, “Promise each other eternal friendship. Then we can do this every day.”
What a lovely idea, Loki thought, inclined to agree under the hypnotic spell of tender touch, which was quickly ruined with the sting of realization that once he sobers up, he wouldn’t quite be pleased with a pledge of eternal friendship to anyone. Especially someone he just met. Especially a Midgardian teen.
“I don’t do blood pacts.” Loki murmured, still basking in the feel of her fingers caressing his head.
“Oh come on, it’ll be fun.” The girl pushed on, slowly retracting her hands from Loki’s face to get a drink, causing him to groan with disappointment.
“Take no offense to this my friend, but I don’t want Midgardian blood in my system.” He admitted, watching her gulp down the wine. “What if you give me an infection?”
“Oh don’t be a pussy, if anything your alien ass will give me an infection.” She looked at him through the glass, grinning wildly, “We can always sanitize our hands afterwards anyways.”
“No.”
“Coward.”
For a while, they stared at each other through Zozo’s empty wine glass, smiling at the twisted reflections of their faces, and obscured facial features. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Loki sighed and summoned a gold dagger.
“Fine. Let’s do the blood pact, I can’t imagine not commemorating everything we’ve been through with blood, and it seems like ours is the only one available.”
“Yay!” The girl squealed in delight, putting the glass on the table to wave her hands around excitedly. After a moment, she stuck out her left hand and gestured her head towards the dagger. “Hurt me.”
Loki hesitated at that statement, but obliged, by gently grabbing her outstretched hand and sliding the sharp end of the dagger all the way from the base of her pinky to the tip of her wrist. Though the only tell-tale sign of any pain Zozo could have felt was a scrunched up nose, the dagger cut through her skin like it was butter, and as her blood dripped onto the blanket, Loki wondered if perhaps he made the cut too deep.
“Alright, your turn.” Zozo said, taking the dagger in her right, uninjured hand. “Which hand is your dominant one?”
“I’m ambidextrous.” Loki responded, giving her his right hand. “Try not to make the cut too deep. Just slide the tip through the skin gently, like you’re caressing a lover.”
“Poetic.”
“Indeed. They call me Silvertongue for a reason. Now focus on my hand, not my words.”
As best as she could, the girl made a pretty decent cut on the god’s skin, using her injured hand for reference. The red blood coming from the wound made quite a stunning contrast on his blue skin, and for a moment, they both stared at it, mesmerized. Then, Zozo cleared her throat, and pushed her bloody hand against his, letting their blood mix together.
“I, Zofia of Midgard, the dog lady, pledge to you my eternal friendship and promise to always have your back, no matter what.” She recited dramatically, with a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. Loki responded with a slight chuckle, but played along as he recited his part equally dramatically.
“As do I, Loki Laufeyson, the god of mischief, pledge to you my eternal friendship, and promise to always have your back, no matter what.”
“Forever?” Zozo whispered, intertwining her fingers with his.
“Forever.” Loki whispered back, squeezing the girl’s bloody hand in reassurance.