afterglows || loki laufeyson [3]

chapter 31

ASGARD : DECEMBER 26, 2015

"when we're in love, we're not in love only, we're in everything for each other too."

belle's pov!

candle-lit hallways greeted us as we made our way to the hall. every kind of anticipation and excitement filled me on the way there. loki kept on saying how i look like i'm about to combust, which i might.

laughter and smiles greeted us as we sat down to feast. the table was filled with every enchanting food and beverage loki had told me, from roasted boar to rum cakes to festive cookies to wassails to cocktails of every color. the wassail burned my insides, and loki failed to hide his laugh at my probably red face. luckily, the chocolate yule log made up for it.

flowing gowns and music greeted us as we stepped onto the ballroom floor. loki and i danced our way through the night. it also seems like sif and thor danced too, and i cheered at her supportively. the night continued on in twirls and missteps and not a care in the world.

tonight, it felt like only he and i were in the room, it felt like that a lot. many will say that this feeling is known as love. love. i suppose that's what we are in now, what we have been in for a while now.

"we are in love."

he seemed surprised when i said that out of the blue. he dipped his head to the side as he answered, "of course we are, but we are not just in love. the idea, the very word of love can often be thrown around for something so small and so little compared to what we have. when we are together, we are feeling everything, we are falling in every way. i feel you and i fall only for you. so you see, when we're in love, we're not in love only, we're in everything for each other too."

i was stunned when he said that, seeing things from another point of view.

i mumbled sheepishly when i couldn't find an answer, "i wish i could say something as cool as that."

he had just pressed a kiss to my forehead warmly, "i think you say cooler things than that most of the time anyways."

books and the smell of him greeted us when we both got inside his room.

"i want to shower.", i told him, after we laid on the cold floor for too long, looking at the ceiling, looking at each other.

"may i join?", he asked me and i just smiled.

"maybe, maybe not."

"i suppose i'll go set you up a nice bath then." he said getting up, continuing to remark playfully, "besides, it's you who'll be missing out on so much more if i'm not there, but that's alright, i respect that."

"screw off.", i said with a laugh.

"but you disagreed.", his voice said sadly, from inside the bathroom.

my response was a laugh.

"it should be ready soon.", he announced when he came back, not finding me on the floor anymore.

i was on the other side of his room, a letter in my hand. it was the first ever letter i gave to him on the day we both parted after those two weeks of knowing each other.

the two weeks that started it all, the two weeks of caring for a cat, the two weeks i fell in love for the first time, the two weeks that felt like long, pleasant dreams. those two weeks felt like they were part of a different lifetime, a lifetime that brings me nostalgia.

"you kept it.", i whispered finally, looking at him.

loki nodded, "how can i not? i read it everyday for those three years we were separated."

"you did?", i exclaimed in surprise, "i hope i didn't misspell anything."

"you didn't.", he said laughing.

i smiled, looking at the letter one more time, remembering then that i had refrained from adding three more words.

three words that i was afraid to say, three words that always bring me many questions. we've gone a long way since then, because now, i say those three words to him every day, filled with certainty and bridled with meaning.

"lokes?"

"hm?"

"i love you. je vous aime.", i said twice, confidently and wholeheartedly.

his eyes softened, replying in the same way i did, "i love you too. jeg elsker deg også."

i grinned, placing the letter back to where i found it. despite the cringe-worthy content, i was right about one thing from that letter though. loki and i did have many more chapters that we wrote in our story since then, and i enjoyed every one of them. i know it feels a little different now, but i also know that this isn't truly the end! no, i think our story will live on for quite some time. and i sure do hope that some time will be a very long time.

i already stepped into the bathroom and started closing the door, before deciding something and poking my head back out.

loki cocked his head to the side in confusion, "is there something else that you need, love?"

"yes.", i said with a grin, because i knew, i just knew he'd be grinning soon too, "i fear i do need something else."

"oh?"

"i'm missing something rather handsome in here."

"is that so?", he asked, a glorious grin starting to grow on his face, just as i had predicted.

"viens, rejoins-moi, mon amour.", i said and that was all he needed to hear.

turns out, baths are much better when you have company.

author's note:

so loki got what he wanted :))

oh my gosh this is the last chapter- i took so long editing it and adding stuff in bcs i wanted to stall me actually posting it. i'm getting emotional pls and we haven't even reached the epilogue. OR EVEN THE THANKS YET T-T