The Devil In The Details
The hours between when Natasha had called and the time they needed to leave seemed to vanish as Loki and Sylvie basked in one another on the bed. She had been merciless with her exquisite yet agonizing torture, but ultimately rewarded Loki for indulging in her little game.
As seven o’clock approached Sylvie sighed and reminded Loki it was almost time to leave. He grumbled and obeyed sullenly when she asked him to dress them, wishing they were taking the last of their clothing off rather than putting more on.
Once Sylvie felt they looked adequately presentable, she took Loki’s hand and gave him a peck on the lips before pulling him out the door.
- — - • - — - • - — - • - — - • - — -
Matt rode quietly on the BART train with Natasha as they headed to dinner. The loud hum of the rails reminded him of New York and despite their sheer volume to his ears, he found it oddly soothing.
Natasha had mentioned that her friend, Sylvie, was bringing her boyfriend, Loki, but had been curiously scant on the details. He sensed there was something she wasn’t telling him, but he wasn’t entirely certain on the ‘why’.
He first suspected the reason was that Natasha didn’t much care for the man, but she had also reflected warmly on how happy he made Sylvie. It was a puzzle which Matt was resigned to work out for himself at dinner.
They arrived early to get a table and Natasha fidgeted uncharacteristically with her necklace until someone entered the restaurant and she smiled. Natasha stood up to greet them and Matt politely followed suit, buttoning his jacket neatly and pretending to fumble for his cane.
“Are we late? We took a cab but I’m afraid this one dragged his feet a bit leaving,” a playful English sounding voice said.
“Not at all—we came early to get a table,” Natasha reassured her friend. She already sounded a bit more relaxed now that they had arrived, but Matt could tell something was still bothering her.
“Sylvie, Loki—this is Matt,” Natasha said politely, taking his arm and leading him over to the couple.
“Lovely to meet you, I’m Sylvie” she said with a smirk as she took his outstretched hand.
Her handshake was firm and confident, unlike many people who shied from gripping his hand too tightly for fear he might break.
“Matt Murdock. You as well, Sylvie, Natasha has spoken very highly of you, and I’m sure you know she doesn’t do that lightly,” he grinned.
When she released his hand the man beside her tentatively took his hand, but once he’d taken it, his grip mirrored the woman’s in confidence.
“Good to meet you Mr Murdock, my name is Loki,” the man said coolly, his tone masking a certain uneasiness Matt could still detect beneath it.
“Nice to meet you Loki, that’s a very interesting name—judging by the accent you must be from abroad,” Matt said with an easy affable smile.
“Uh-er yes, indeed,” Loki said with a polite smile which bordered on a grimace.
“Well, I don’t know about the two of you but I’m starved—Natasha?”
Natasha smiled pleasantly and led him back to their side of the table and the group sat down to look at the menu. When the waiter arrived Natasha helped Matt order, thankful that he wasn’t a picky eater. The other couple made their selections and the waiter took the menus and left the group alone.
Natasha chatted casually with Sylvie while Loki pretended to study the ice as it melted in his glass.
There was something different about the two which set Matt on edge. Their very smell was different to any human he had ever met and their heartbeats threw him.
“So tell me Loki, where do you come from?” Matt feigned innocent curiosity.
“I come from a place called Asgard,” Loki said simply, “it’s quite a different world from here—” he hesitated briefly.
“No kidding,” Matt said, his tone a little cooler than before, “and you can cut the act, by the way—” his voice was quieter now, yet somehow more menacing.
The two women quickly gave up their conversation as Natasha glanced uncertainly at Matt. Tension started rising in her shoulders at the shift in his demeanor.
Loki stared at him for a moment, then sighed with a shrug, “Very well—Asgard, my home, is a planet beyond the stars—another of the nine realms, interconnected to this by the world tree, Yggdrasil…”
An inquisitive smirk played at Loki’s lips as he regarded the blind man, “Do you think me mad?”
Matt continued to stare ahead behind his glasses, expression unchanged by Loki’s words.
“Well, you’d have to be, cause listening to you—I know you’re not lying… though I’m inclined to be a bit more open-minded after everything we saw in New York—so to speak.”
Loki paled at that, heart stuttering for a second until Sylvie took his hand under the table.
“You were in New York?” Loki asked a little nervously.
“Hell’s Kitchen, born and raised.”
“I’m afraid I don’t—”
“West Manhattan,” Natasha added cautiously.
Loki’s mind raced thinking of the destruction he had caused to Manhattan.
“While it is undoubtedly an uncommon name, Natasha did neglect to mention you were that Loki,” he said coldly.
“Matt—”
“I’m sorry Natasha but I think I’d like to hear it from him.”
Loki felt a pit of uneasiness in his stomach. He hadn’t realized Natasha’s new partner was from New York and it was clear that his invasion was still a sensitive subject for the man.
“Mr Murdock… I understand your skepticism. To you I must seem a villain—And I know there is little I can say to convince you of my sincerity…”
“Try me.”
Loki studied the steely conviction of the man across the table from him. Despite remaining completely still and nearly impassive, there was an intensity which lurked beneath the red tinted lenses.
But there was also an intently focused quality which felt receptive to hearing his explanation. It was unexpected but welcome, so Loki took a deep breath and sighed before continuing.
“I have been… on a journey, of personal growth—a moral reckoning if you will. And while they may seem hollow words, I assure you that I have been confronted with the gravity of pain I have wrought… as recompense to this world, I sought to aid The Avengers last year in reversing the work of Thanos, The Mad Titan.”
He looked at Matt earnestly, knowing he couldn’t see him but hoping to convey his sincerity in the tone of his voice.
“I cannot undo what I have done, I can only do better in the time that I have.”
Matt listened carefully, still looking for all the world like a stone statue.
“You’d make quite a lawyer, Mr Odinson—” Matt finally said with the barest hint of a smirk.
Loki huffed a short laugh of relief, “It’s Laufeyson, actually…”
“—But that doesn’t mean you’re a good person… your struggle to be better—that is something I can respect.” Matt smiled faintly, his voice a little softer then. “The pain drives us towards salvation… and there’s no man more pained than one who seeks redemption.”
Loki quirked his head absently as he regarded the blind man, “You are a most unusual man, Mr Murdock…”
Matt chuckled, “Besides, what kind of catholic would I be to refuse a repentant man?”
Natasha exhaled heavily with a smile, “hear, hear,” and raised her glass in relief.
Sylvie squeezed Loki’s hand and gave him a reassuring smile. It had been tempting to jump in but she knew it was important for Loki to make amends his own way and she was proud of him for how far he’d come.
The rest of the dinner progressed relatively smoothly. They all pointedly shied from bringing up the attack on Manhattan again, and Matt made an effort to engage with the couple.
It was a relief to Natasha that Matt now knew, and breathed easier knowing he was receptive to Loki’s redemption. It had been a gamble—whether the ‘reasonable attorney’ Matt Murdock or the hot tempered ‘Devil of Hell’s Kitchen’ would win out, but it seemed that the forgiving catholic in him held sway in this instance—at least for now.
When they all finished their meal both men attempted to pay. Matt eventually acquiesced to the argument that Loki was in fact a prince and had no need for mortal money. Having spent the meal learning of the lawyer’s staunch convictions in law and order, Loki carefully neglected to mention the origins of his funds, feeling he might disapprove.
Sylvie smirked furtively at Loki when he gave the waiter a gold card he’d conjured earlier. She rubbed her thumb suggestively over the back of his palm and Loki brought her hand up to kiss the back briefly. He glanced at her adoringly and Sylvie fought a blush which threatened to creep onto her cheeks.
In spite of every level of physical intimacy they’d reached, it was always those longing looks he gave her that made her heart flutter most.
Natasha murmured so quietly under her breath no one would hear it except Matt, and took his hand in her own.
“I’m sorry… I didn’t have the words—but thank you, for giving them a chance.”
Matt turned his head slightly toward her and smirked softly, “Natasha, anything for you.”