Muffins - Loki & Ylva alternate universe stories

Muffins VIII

When Loki is standing in the alley behind the coffee shop, he finds himself in doubt for a moment. Every time he visited Ylva in his feline form, he would teleport himself to the rooftop; sometimes straight from the alley, sometimes only to avoid the last part with the ladder. It all depended on wether there were possible witnesses or not. He always made sure Ylva couldn't see the flash of green light that accompanies his use of teleportation.
But tonight, she's expecting him. Tonight she knows the prince of Asgard will be here. He might as well just knock on the door.

Through the blinds he can see some movement in the kitchen and a moment later the door opens. "Hi!" Ylva looks him up and down multiple times, a kind of nervous smile on her face. She doesn't make a move to let him in.

Loki looks himself over to discover why she is looking at him strangely. He's wearing one of his usual black bespoke suits, like he usually does on Midgard; she has seen it often enough. "What is it?"

Ylva giggles behind her hand. "Sorry. I don't know. I guess I was checking for a tail."

Loki rolls his eyes, though he can't hide a smile. "You are impossible, woman."

"I know, sorry." Ylva opens the door wider and steps aside to let him in. "Come on in, I've just made a fresh pot of tea." She walks ahead of him to the kitchen and grabs two cups from a shelf. "If you can take the teapot, we can go to the roof."

Loki follows her up the stairs to the next floor, where she opens a door to reveal a narrow and steep staircase that leads to the roof. Ylva has already been up there tonight, by the looks of it. Her book - another one from Terry Pratchett - is upside down on the bench and he hears music playing. The source is a small, bright blue portable speaker next to her book.

"That one is new," Loki says, putting the teapot down on a wooden crate that doubles as a sidetable.

"What? The speaker?" Ylva picks up her book and the speaker and places both on the ground underneath the bench. "It's a present from my aunt and uncle, it was my birthday yesterday."

"Really? I didn't know." Loki is slightly miffed he missed that bit of information. "Many happy returns! I guess I should have brought you a present."

"Like what?" Ylva chuckles. "A dead mouse?"

"Didn't I tell you to stop with the cat jokes?!" Loki folds his arms across his chest, giving the girl a stern look.

"Yeah, okay," Ylva gives him a dissarming smile and sits down on the bench. "It's just a little hard to believe you can turn into a cat."

Loki shrugs. "You figured it out by yourself, didn't you?"

"Only because I read too many fantasy books!" Ylva exclaims, throwing her hands up. "The last thing I expected was it to be true!" Her eyes suddenly grow big. "Can you turn into other things too?"

"It's called shapeshifting," Loki corrects her friendly. "And the answer is yes."

"Wait..." Ylva eyes him suspiciously. "Have I met you in any other shapes than the cat?"

Loki shifts to his female form on the spot, his black suit changing to a black dress. The girl clasps her hands in front of her mouth, mumbling something that sounds like 'I knew it'. He shifts back and saunters over to the edge of the roof, looking down. She probably needs a moment to adjust, he can give her that. Loki would gladly pick up where they left off, but that is hard now the circumstances - or players - have changed. He can't expect Ylva to be as open to him now as when he was a cat, physical or otherwise.

For a short while there is no other sound than the music from the small speaker and the sounds of the city below them. There's a 70's rocksong playing, a male voice sings about his baby being some kind of wonderful. The chorus is catchy and Loki softly sings along. He glances over his shoulder to Ylva, who is watching him from the red bench a couple of yards away, her knees pulled up to her chest. She is some kind of wonderful indeed, he wouldn't show this much patience with her otherwise. Something tells him she's worth it, that this beautiful mortal woman is worthy of his time and attention. He turns back to face Ylva, yet he will let her decide if he can come closer. He will let her set the pace.