“Does it ever stop raining on Midgard?”
There was a distinct huff that came from Loki’s lips as he asked the question, one hand tight around a large black umbrella. You were huddled next to him, your coat pulled tightly around your body as you attempted to escape the rain. You looked up at Loki and noted the hard lock of his jaw as he helped you maneuver around damp bodies and sloshing puddles.
“Oh, come on. It can’t be that bad,” you said.
“It rains three days a year on Asgard. Three days. That’s it,” Loki growled, hugging you tighter to his body when a clumsy man using a newspaper as an umbrella rushed by you. “This is just absurd. It came out of nowhere!”
“Actually it did come out of somewhere. It was predicted to rain between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. today,” you said with a shrug as you hopped over a puddle of what could have been a smelly cocktail of rain, garbage, and New York City sludge.
“And what time is it now?” Loki asked with a raised eyebrow. You looked up at him and admired the wet curl of the ends of his hair. You knew that there would be rain today, hence why you wore your rain boats and a windbreaker. Loki, on the other hand, refused to believe the weather forecast and left the tower in slacks and a green polo. Luckily for you - and mostly for him - he was able to magic up a jacket for himself and a rather large umbrella to help with this current predicament. But really, it wasn’t a predicament to you, only to him.
“It’s 3 o’clock, Loki,” you said with a smug grin. Loki rolled his eyes, muttering about the infernal weather of this blasted planet when you froze in place. You had heard something - a cooing, gentle and weak that immediately made your heart stop. Loki stumbled a bit, not expecting you to stop, and he stared down at you. Your eyes flickered around and you met the gaze of several confused New Yorkers. When all you heard was the honking of car horns and ringing of bicycle bells, you almost shook your head and walked away. But then you heard it, a chirping mewl that had you running into the alley next to you.
“Wait! What are you doing?” Loki shouted after you, his footsteps slapping the pavement behind you. You pulled the hood of your coat up as you walked through the alley, listening intently. There was a shuffle and the mewl sounded again from behind a pile of trash. You grimaced as you began stepping over the broken blue bags. Loki stopped behind you, his umbrella dangling at his side. The rain drenched him but he didn’t care anymore. “Darling? Get out of there!”
“Hold on!” you called over your shoulder but an arm was wrapped around your waist, tugging you out of the trash.
“You’re insane,” Loki grumbled as he hoisted you over a bag.
“Wait! I need to - Loki, stop!” You thrashed against him. Your outburst shocked him and he dropped you. You ran back into the trash, a bit quicker this time so Loki wouldn’t grab you again. When you reached the other side of the pile, you spotted the source of the noise.
“My love, could you please -”
“Shh!” You lifted your hand up towards Loki to silence him, not even bothering to look his way. You crouched down to your knees nearly silently. On the wet pavement sat a tiny kitten, seemingly about a month old or so. It’s body was thin and trembling, little ribs poking from its soft tummy. Though its fur was wet and matted, you could tell that it was a bright, fuzzy orange. The kitten’s nervous, gold eyes watched you as you held out your hand towards it. “Hi, baby. It’s okay. You don’t need to be afraid of me.”
The kitten was either trusting, a fool, or extremely hungry because it hopped on over to you and sniffed your fingers. You stayed still, examining the kitten taking in your scent. It looked up at you with a tilt of its head, mewed, then hopped into your palm. You brought your hand to your chest to get a closer look at the kitten and noticed it was a boy. The kitten was already purring and trying to get comfortable in your grip. Despite the rain pouring down over you, your body was probably much warmer than the pavement. You stood slowly as you placed your other hand over the kitten to try and shield him from the rain.
You stepped back over the trash, much calmer this time around, as you walked back up to Loki. His eyes were gazing at you with a cold, hard expression.
“Welcome back,” he muttered. “Care to tell me why you decided to play in garbage in the middle of a downpour?”
“I’m sorry. I heard something crying and, well, look.” You held out your hands to show Loki the wet kitten in your palm. The tough, intimidating, and elegant God of Mischief proceeded to yelp and jump back, holding the umbrella out like a shield in front of him. You and the cat both cocked your heads to the side as Loki slowly lowered the umbrella, his eyes never leaving the kitten.
“You...why are you holding that? Was it not in the garbage?” Loki asked. You rolled your eyes and lifted the kitten to your face. He nuzzled your cheek and began playing with your wet hair. You giggled but Loki stayed frozen, not even your laugh could thaw him.
“He wasn’t in the garbage. He was just sitting by it.” You pulled the kitten away and watched him roll onto his back. He stretched a bit and his ribs poked out even more.
“He was there for a reason. Put him back, darling. It’s time to go home,” Loki mumbled.
You frowned as the kitten mewled again. “Loki, he’s starving.” An idea popped into your head and you looked back up at Loki with a bright grin. “Let’s keep him!”
“Keep him? You want to keep the thing you found rolling around in the trash?” Loki asked incredulously.
“Why are you so against this?” you asked, tugging the famished kitten to your chest. Loki was never the warmest person but you were his greatest exception. He always showed you acute tenderness and love. He would fall to his knees and proclaim his love to you in an instant if that’s what you so desired. But here and now, he was acting colder than you had ever seen him. Your heart ached a little and Loki must have sensed your confusion. He sighed and stepped a bit closer, umbrella now above his head again.
“I’m not against caring for a hungry animal, my dear. It’s just...I’ve never had a good relationship with pets or animals or really any creature. I make them uncomfortable,” Loki admitted sheepishly, an innocence in his eyes that told you he was telling the truth.
“Oh, but he’s just a kitten. I’m sure he’d love you,” you said with a weak smile. Loki lifted an eyebrow and placed his hand in front of the kitten. The cat sniffed Loki experimentally and then proceeded to bite his finger with tiny fangs and an accompanying hiss. Loki tugged his hand back and gave you an I-told-you-so look. You sighed. “Alright, I see what you mean.”
You looked at the kitten with tears in your eyes. Loki had always told you how soft your heart was for others and as you stared at the kitten, you knew he was right. You couldn’t imagine tossing the little cat back into the trash and leaving him there, cold and hungry. Loki watched your heart break right in front of his eyes and his resistance crumbled. He groaned and ran the bitten hand down his face before turning away from you.
“Don’t,” he said as you crouched down by the trash. “Let’s go. Bring him.”
“Really?” you asked.
“Yes, but just to feed him. Then we’re going to bring him to a shelter where he can be properly cared for,” Loki said.
You beamed and ran up to Loki, hugging him with your free arm. “Thank you, Loki! Thank you so much!” You reached up and pressed a lingering kiss to his lips, ignoring how he dropped his umbrella in favor of wrapping his arms around you to pull you closer.
The kitten hissed again and you could only giggle as Loki groaned in frustration, wondering what he had gotten himself into.
*
What was supposed to be a day or two of feeding the kitten turned into two weeks. Every time Loki tried to tell you it was time to take the kitten to a shelter, you would turn to him with wide, watery eyes and beg him with “one more day, please.” Naturally, Loki could never say no to you.
You were so happy with the little kitten. You had even shredded part of an old shirt off to use as a ribbon toy for the kitten. You would spend hours playing with the little fur-ball, your smile bright and your laughter bubbly.
Loki couldn’t deny that the sight made him soft. He loved seeing you so happy but the kitten was beginning to drive him crazy. He couldn’t go near you without the kitten hissing or trying to swipe him. And at night, when he tried to take you to bed and shower you with love and pleasure, the kitten would somehow wiggle its way between the sheets, plop onto your chest, and swipe at Loki until he had to roll off of you and go to sleep instead.
He would have tried to accept the little rascal but the little rascal was doing everything in its power to not accept him. And for that reason, Loki believed the kitten could not stay much longer.
The thought of tearing you away from the kitten hurt Loki but it was for the better. You couldn’t keep the pet forever and it had already gone on long enough. So, with a firm look in his eyes and a stance that would not accept rejection again, he approached you.
“It’s time,” he said from behind you. You were sitting on the ground with the kitten laying in your lap, its belly facing upwards as you tickled him.
“Ah, maybe tomorrow. Simba and I are -”
“Simba? You named him?” Loki asked. You paused and looked over your shoulder with a weak nod. Loki sighed and walked up to you, taking a seat at your side. “Darling, we were supposed to bring him to the shelter two weeks ago.”
“Yeah, I know but he’s just so cute. I can’t let him go,” you said softly, trailing your index finger down the sleeping cat’s much plumper tummy. You looked up at Loki and bit your lip nervously. “Please, Loki? Can’t we keep him?”
“My love, I wish we could but it is not advisable,” Loki murmured. “I told you, animals are uncomfortable around me. Think about it, has he shown me one kind nuzzle or lick in two weeks? He’s constantly trying to scratch me and get between us. He’s trying to protect you from me. He thinks I’m going to hurt you.”
“No, that can’t be…” you trailed off, looking back down at the kitten. Now that you thought about it, Loki was right. You had not had a single moment alone with Loki without the cat intervening. Loki placed a hand on your back and began running his fingers up and down your spine.
“I would be fine with the hissing and the biting if he was just a brat but he isn’t. He isn’t comfortable here because I’m here,” Loki said. “Why don’t we bring him to a shelter where he can find a loving family that he will be comfortable around?”
“But...I just...he’s my little boy,” you sniffled. “My little Simba.”
“He will not forget the kindness that you showed him. You saved his life and he will always remember that,” Loki said softly.
“Okay,” you sighed, wiping the tears from your eyes. You didn’t meet Loki’s eyes, nor did you look down at the kitten in your lap. “Okay, let’s go.”
*
The tears did not leave your eyes for the rest of the day. You cried as you carried Simba to the shelter. You cried as you kissed his fuzzy head and said goodbye. You even cried as you handed the shelter employee the torn up shirt ribbon.
The walk home was not much better. Loki held you, soothed you softly, as you made your way through the streets of New York with tears in your eyes. He promised things would be okay and that Simba would be fine. Loki’s lips kissed your tears away when you got back to the tower and his hands massaged the ache in your bones. You were exhausted and you just wanted to sleep.
You curled into bed and missed the feeling of Simba’s fluffy orange fur tickling your nose. That was his favorite thing, cuddling under your chin. Your pillow was still dented from where Simba would rest his rump for the night. You cried quietly, not wanting Loki to see your pain. Your pillow caught your tears until you could not cry anymore, and thus fell asleep.
But Loki did notice. He noticed the way your shoulders slumped for the next week and how you hung your head. He could see that you were trying not to let anyone see that you were hurting. You were tough like that, but your soft heart allowed him to see all of your emotions. He tried to make you happy but the absence of the cat had torn a larger hole in your heart than he had anticipated.
The breaking point came when you agreed to spend the day outside on one of the balcony terraces with Loki. You smiled, perhaps for the first time in a week, as you took Loki’s hand. He led you out of your room and towards the elevator but in order to do that, you had to pass through one of the common rooms.
There was some sort of poppy, hypnotic tune coming from the living room as you and Loki passed it. Loki was so focused on the way your hand was so delicately folded into his elbow that he did not notice the smile fading from your face and the tears welling in your eyes as you stopped dead in your tracks. When you stopped moving, Loki raked his eyes up from your hand to your face to the screen you were staring at.
“Oh, I just can’t wait to be king!” the little cartoon animal on the television bolted out in song. You grabbed Loki’s arm harder, nails nearly digging into his skin, before you pulled away and ran back to your room. The door slammed shut and Loki stood there dumbly, confused and slightly hurt. Steve, who Loki just now noticed was the one watching the television, looked over his shoulder and shrugged.
“She must really hate Simba, huh?” he asked, a playful and unknowing smile on his face.
“I beg your pardon?”
“You know, Simba,” Steve said, gesturing to the television. “From ‘The Lion King’”.
Loki sighed and ran a hand down his face. The decision he made was quick and he did not even calculate himself into it. You were suffering and you would not let anyone see it. He could no longer see you so distraught. With a determined expression on his face, Loki walked towards the elevator. But instead of pressing the button that would take him to the terrace, Loki hit the button that would take him to the ground floor.
After exiting the tower, Loki pounded his way down the pavement. It didn’t take long to get to the shelter and once Loki arrived, he burst through the door and slammed his hand down on the counter, startling the woman who had taken Simba from you a week ago.
“I brought a cat here last week. Orange, fuzzy, a bit useless. Do you still have him?” Loki asked, taking a breath to steady himself. The woman, wide eyed and blushing, nodded as she stood from the stool.
“He’s back here.”
She led Loki to the back room, maneuvering around different shaped pens and cages that housed dogs, birds, cats, and even one strangely sized turtle. When she stopped at a little cage perched on a shelf, Loki almost sneered. The housing containment was far too small for the cat, even if he was a tiny fella. Loki squinted, trying to confirm that it was indeed Simba, only to have the cat flash its little fangs at Loki and paw at the lock.
Loki grimaced. “Yes, that’s him.”
The woman slipped Simba from the cage and handed him to Loki, along with the shredded shirt ribbon that was pushed to the corner of the cage. Loki looked at Simba and Simba looked at Loki. With one finger raised at the kitten, Loki gave him a pointed look.
“You’re going to have to get used to me if you want to see her again. I’m not going to hurt her and I will not hurt you. I admire your bravery standing up to me but it isn’t necessary. Be nice to me and you’ll have a full belly and a warm bed every night, deal?” Loki said with two raised brows. The kitten yawned and looked away from Loki, but considering he didn’t hiss, Loki considered it a win.
The woman watching the exchange said nothing as Loki walked out of the shelter, nor did she question when a heavy stack of paper bills appeared in her pocket.
*
You were curled up under your blankets, staring outside when the door to your room slid open. You didn’t bother rolling over. Based on the quiet and light footsteps, it was Loki entering the room. The bed dipped behind you and one of his hands ran along your back. He cleared his throat and suddenly there was a weight on your hip. The sound of a bell rang and you looked down and saw Simba sitting on your hip with a green collar on.
“Simba?” you gasped, not believing your eyes. You blinked a few times and when the kitten mewled back at you, you squealed and sat up, scooping him into your arms and hugging him to your chest. You looked over at Loki who sat there with a fond smile on his face. “Loki? How did you -”
“I went down to the shelter and he was still there. I couldn’t leave him behind,” Loki said, his soft eyes examining your face with so much love and adoration that you blushed and had to look away from his intensity.
“I thought you said we weren’t allowed to keep him,” you mumbled, stroking your finger along the green collar around Simba’s neck. The kitten preened proudly and shook his head, shaking the little gold bell that dangled from the emerald cloth.
“I thought about it and darling, I couldn’t see you that sad. You were heartbroken without the little guy. I hated seeing you so upset. So, I sucked it up and had a long talk with Simba about how we would handle one another and apparently he’ll be getting five treats a day if he tries to tolerate me,” Loki grumbled the last part. “Little bastard.”
You sat there quietly, tears in your eyes but these were happy ones, blessed ones. You placed Simba down on the bed beside you and climbed into Loki’s lap. You wrapped your arms around Loki’s neck and kissed him. His hands found your hips as his lips glided along yours slowly, intimately. You sighed against his mouth and when you pulled away, you ran your thumbs along his cheekbones.
“Thank you, Loki,” you whispered. “I know he gave you a tough time but I’m really thankful you’re giving Simba a second chance.” You looked down at the kitten with a scolding look. “And you, little mister, no more interruptions. You have to play nice with Loki. He’s a good guy.”
The kitten flopped onto his belly and let out a bored snore.
“I think that’s his way of agreeing,” Loki snickered. He cupped your cheek and kissed you again, chastely and briefly. “I love you, my darling. I’d do anything to see you smile. I’d move mountains to make you happy.”
“I love you too, Loki,” you said softly. You leaned in to kiss Loki but paused when you felt a little set of claws digging into your sweater. You looked down and saw Simba scaling up your arm. He hopped up onto your shoulder then crossed over to Loki’s shoulder. The cat stared at Loki, tilted its head, and gave Loki a tiny, almost missable lick. You giggled, “see, he likes you.”
“He doesn’t like me. He just reminded me that I told him if he didn’t interrupt us kissing, he would get a treat,” Loki muttered. “He said I owe him two now.”
You laughed but watched as Simba nuzzled against Loki. Loki smiled softly and ran an experimental hand down the kitten’s back. He stiffened but arched his back into Loki’s touch, purring ever so slightly.
And as Simba chomped down on Loki’s finger again after another two minutes of not receiving his treats, you only giggled and wondered how you got so lucky to have two beautiful boys in your life.