Coffee and Books 1

Chapter 39

The next morning I wake up with Loki just looking at me from the other pillow. When he sees I am awake, he extends a hand and caresses my cheek. "Good morning."

"I could really get used to waking up like this."

Loki gives me a sly grin. "I bet you could." He pulls me against his chest and I just listen to the sound of his heartbeat, playing with his hand. 

I think back to the events of last night. It's not something I would like to repeat any time soon, or ever, for that matter. Fury's last remark about Loki pops up in my thoughts. "Loki? What does S.H.I.E.L.D. know about you that I don't? Both Sharon and Fury said something about it."

The prince sucks in his breath between his teeth. "I don't think now is the time."

"Now is as good a time as any. Or I can always make you tell me," I chuckle, moving my hand in front of his face like I'm putting a spell on him.

He grabs my hand and kisses the tips of my fingers. "I don't want to freak you out."

"Fury already did that last night."

"My point exactly."

"Come on, how bad can it be? Tell me, please."

Loki pulls his arm from under me and sits up, his arms leaning on his knees. "I can show you," he says eventually. I prop myself up on an elbow, curious what he will do or say.
"The Allfather found me on the battlefield. I am Laufey's son. The enemy's son."

His voice is distant and I can feel him pulling up a wall. I am not going to let him do that, so I sit up too and take his hand. "You are from Jotunheim. What's so wrong about that?"

"I am the monster parents told their kids about at night." His voice is barely more than a whisper and he is staring at the hand I am holding. I follow his gaze and gasp involuntary. Slowly his hand turns blue, with thin lines standing up from the skin. 

He wants to pull his hand back, but I keep a hold on it, slowly tracing the curved lines with my finger. I look up at his face, there is pain in his eyes, his lips a thin line. I let go of his hand to pull him in for a short kiss. "Show me more."

The half naked Jotun sitting on the bed is quite the sight. His skin is blue, adorned with thin white lines, from his face to his toes. His alien look clashes with the long pyjama pants he is wearing. So normal and yet so strange.
Loki barely looks at me, not wanting to see the rejection he suspects of me. But after everything I learned of Loki, being blue is not so bad. His eyes, the brownish red eyes, are the only thing I find a bit unsettling, but when you look close, you can still see Loki in them. He still has a human shape, the only thing different is the color of his skin.

"So you're a Smurf. Big deal."

The God of Mischief raises his eyebrows at me. "I beg your pardon?"

I chuckle and pull Loki down with me to the pillows. I put my arms around his neck and kiss his nose, his eyelids, his lips. "Still feels the same to me," I whisper and kiss him again. He reacts eager this time and my skin burns where his hands touch me.

When I realise the burning feeling actually is real, like a bad sunburn, I pull away from him. Loki gives me a confused look, but not a second later comprehension flashes in his eyes and he jumps from the bed. In front of my eyes he changes back in the Loki I know.

We just stare at each other. The burning feeling fades away and I feel fine again. But Loki is a different story, he is horrified he hurt me. I get up on my knees on the bed and reach for his hand, pulling him closer. "I am ok. No harm done. Lesson learned, no making out in your Jotun form."