Hawkeye's Sister

Chapter 10

***Loki***

Claire and I hide behind the hedge in the garden, silently following Fandril and Rika. Claire told me that Rika was in love with Fandril, and I told her about Fandril being in love with Rika. We changed the plan for a prank to a Get Rika and Fandril Together plan, with a bit of fun. Claire is carrying a large jar of Stellae, called fireflies on earth, and I carry another jar. We follow them to a circular garden, full of roses of varying color and fragrances. Rika and Fandril chat away, talking about insignificant stuff, skirting around the topic of their feelings.

"Why can't they just admit their feelings for each other?" Claire whispers in my ear, frustrated. I just smile, not saying anything, as I know exactly how Fandril feels. It takes bravery to tell a woman you care for her, as you fear rejection. We find a hole in the hedge, and I peek through. They are about to sit on a bench, and I quickly make it shorter, causing them to sit closer to each other. Rika flushes a little, and I smirk, her tough warrior self is nowhere to be seen, here is only a shy woman. Claire hands me one of the jars, and I shuffle over to another hole while she takes my place.

"Ready?" I whisper, and she nods. We both open the jars and let the fireflies out, guiding them through the holes to Rika and Fandril. They float around, creating a soft romantic atmosphere against the night sky for the two lovebirds. We watch as Rika looks around, and blushes. Fandril moves closer, until their faces are only a few inches apart. I look over at Claire, and she is watching in excitement, waiting for them to kiss. Her eyes shine in happiness, and her skin is a beautiful ivory from the moonlight and fireflies. Then, her nose crinkles, and she covers her eyes. I look back to see that Rika and Fandril finally kissed, and had now moved on to heavily making out.

"That's gross. They're eating each others faces." She whispers, hands over her eyes. I chuckle, and conjure up the handcuffs.

"Ready for Part 2?" I ask, grinning from ear to ear. She nods, and I slip off my coat and boots, and anything else that would make noise. I charm myself invisible, and creep towards the pair. They are holding hands, and I take the opportunity to snap the handcuffs on. I do so silently, and they don't even notice. I creep back to Claire, and I become visible again. Claire has her hands over her mouth, trying not to laugh. I set off a bunch of fireworks, and they jump apart.

"What in Odin's beard?!" Fandril exclaims, then he notices the handcuffs at the same time as Rika.

"What in....LOKI!" She shouts, recognizing the handcuffs. Claire and I stay silent, hands over our mouths to stop our laughter.

"Are you sure this is Loki? This setting is all very romantic, it looks like a girl planned it." Fandril says, gesturing to the fireflies and fireworks. Rika's face dawns in understanding, and she smirks.

"She and Loki planned this, it has to be them." She starts looking around, and I veil Claire and myself in a cloak of darkness. She presses herself into me, trying to make us smaller. I can feel her every curve, and I quickly drive my mind somewhere else. Rika passes over us, and she and Fandril leave the garden. We wait until they are out of hearing range, and then we fall over with laughter.

"Did you see her face when she saw the handcuffs?" Claire gasps, doubled over in laughter.

"Did you see his?" I say, out of breath from laughing. She leans into my side, and I put my arm around her shoulder, tugging her into me. We sit on the bench in a comfortable silence, content to be merely in each others presence. She leans her head on my shoulder, and I look down at her. Her blonde hair flows down her back, slightly mussed from our laughing fit. Her green eyes reflect the fireflies, causing her to have gold flecks. Her skin is an ivory white, with her cheeks red from laughing. I smile as she looks around at the fireflies, and one words pops into my head.

Beautiful

***Claire***

I stare at the fireflies, happiness filling my heart. Loki's arms around me fills me with safety, and I can't help but feel like I belong here. I look up him, and see the strange look from earlier on his face again. His green eyes are warm, little specks of gold contrasting the green. His black hair is loose and falls forward a little, as he had forgotten to jell it today. His skin is a pale white, from the moonlight, with cheeks slightly red from laughing. A piece of hair falls in front of his face, and I brush it away.

"Beautiful." The words falls from his lips, and I start.

"What?" I ask, not sure if I heard correctly. He puts a hand on my cheek, his cool hand contrasts with my burning cheek.

"You, Claire, are beautiful. Never let anyone tell you otherwise." If I wasn't blushing before, then I definitely was now. I smile at the ground, and scuff the ground with my shoe.

"Sometimes that is hard to believe." I say quietly. He kneels down in front of me, and lifts my chin with one hand. I look at him, and my breath catches. His face is only about a foot away, and there is an intensity in his eyes that causes a strange feeling to start in my stomach.

"Anyone who tells you that you are anything less than a goddess, would be lying. I have seen many beautiful women in my life, and yet you outshine them all as the sun outshines the stars. Many women only have an external beauty, with no personality to back it up. You have a kind and fun loving spirit, not to mention a patience and strength that is rare in the entire universe." My eyes are wide, and I have a full on storm in my stomach. Loki's face is only a few inches from my own, and I am captured by the green and gold. He comes closer, until I can feel his breath on my face. Then, he draws back, and places his face in his hands, growling slightly.

"Tell me to stop." His face is frustrated, and he looks as if he is going to lose control.

"Why?" The question leaves my mouth, my voice breathless.

"Because you deserve someone better. You are too wonderful to be with the shamed Prince of Asgard. You need someone perfect, who has no problems. Someone who is looked upon with high esteem. My god, I don't know if I could stand that though. To see someone else holding you, kissing you, loving you. Everytime I look at you I see an angel, and I am a demon, the monster parents tell their children about at night. I want you, immeasurably, but you belong with someone better. So tell me to stop, tell me to go away, because if you don't then I don't know if I can stop myself." He paces in front of me, and then stops inches from me. The look in his eyes causes my knees to go weak, and my brain is whirring at incomprehensible speed. I look at him, and all the pieces in my head just click, and I have my answer.

I am falling in love with Loki Laufeyson.

"Tell me to stop." His face is now only a few inches from mine, and I smile, looking straight into his eyes. I feel a surge of bravery, and I lean forward, my cheek brushing his.

"No." I whisper in his ear, and it is as if something breaks in Loki. He grabs me, pushing me against the hedge, and he kisses me. My heart soars, and I feel as if a million fireworks are going off. Hesitantly I kiss him back, and he responds by pulling me closer to him. I put my hands on his chest, and his hands tighten on my waist. After what seems like hours, the need for oxygen becomes dire, and I gently pull away. I gasp for air, and I look up at Loki in amazement.

"That was amazing!" I say, breathless. He smiles, a full blown grin, and chuckles.

"I have wanted to do that for a long time." He says, his voice husky. I smile, and lean against him. He presses a soft kiss to the top of my head, and I look back up at him. He presses another kiss to my forehead, my nose, my cheeks, my eyelids, and finally my mouth once again. He lifts me up onto the bench, and starts trailing his kisses down, and I gasp.

"We should go to bed. It's late." I say, my brain a flurry of what I should do and what I want to do. Loki groans, and gives me one more kiss.

"Do we have to?" He asks, sounding like a child. I smile and give him a gentle kiss on the forehead.

"The doctors are going to be here tomorrow, and I think it would be best if I were well rested for the examination. As much as I would love to do this the entire night, neither of us are becoming insomniacs any time soon." He picks me up, and we head back to the castle, where we both part to our separate rooms and fall asleep.