It was late at night, the castle was silent, everyone was asleep but the guards making their rounds. A light knock sounded at my chamber doors; he was right on time. I opened my doors quickly, letting him in and closed them as quickly as I'd opened them. With the sound of my door clicking shut Loki was back in his normal Asgardian form.
"My queen," he greeted in a whisper. His hand cupped my face, tilting it up, and placed a kiss on my lips.
"Loki," I whispered when his lips left mine, my eyes still shut savoring the kiss.
I lean my head on his shoulder, taking in his embrace, not knowing how long it'd be until he would be able to hold me like this again. His hand ran through my hair, as he too was taking in this moment.
He moved hair away from my neck, his fingertips lightly brushing across the right side of my neck and shoulder, his lips ghosted across the exposed skin. His lips brushed the shell of my ear, "What do you wish to do tonight?" His soft voice sent shivers down my body as he whispered in my ear.
"Just hold me." We stood in the middle of my chambers, swaying to a silent melody in each other's embrace.
After swaying for a while to the sound our heartbeats and the crackle from my fireplace, we had made our way to my bed. We laid on top of my bed sheets, my head lay on his chest, one arm laying across his chest, and one of his arms held me to his chest.
"I am fine with how everything is right now, but I do want a live with you that's not behind closed doors." I broke the silence, my glaze fixated on the flames the fireplace produced.
"I know, I do too." His chest rumbled as he spoke the words and his arm tightened around me. "I will make sure we get that one day."
"Okay." I whispered and continued to stare into the flames, my mind completely empty but find all at the same time. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
My head lifted from his chest I let out yawn, my eyes watering as sleep called for me, Loki let out a soft chuckle as my head laid back down on its original spot on his chest,
"Go to sleep love, I'll be here until you do."
"I don't want you to leave."
"I don't want to either." The arm that wasn't around me but was propping his head up came down to his side to entangle his fingers into my hair, blocking my view of the fireplace as he did it.
"Goodnight Loki." I whispered as sleep started to take over my body. I heard him whisper a 'goodnight my love' before sleep pulled me into its endless depths.
***
I woke up with a start, the memory of mine and Loki's temporary peace lingering - I had fallen asleep in the underground greenhouse the Grandmaster had set up for me. It's been a week since I arrived at Sakaar and I've been worked to the point where I could feel my magic dim with each passing day, bringing myself closer to a burnout - the weight of the universe felt like it was at my shoulders because of it. Dark circles surround my red and puffy eyes from the constant use of magic and lack of rest. Loki and I have been sneaking around, meeting each other in private when possible, it was almost like the last for four years we spent sneaking around on Asgard, but now we are being sucked dry and weaken by the Grandmaster. Even though Loki hasn't said anything, I feel his heart break every time he sees my exhausted state.
The Grandmaster has had me grow him crops underground in his castle, keeping it a secret from the majority of Sakaar's population that there is no longer just mushrooms for food, but instead he's been keeping it all to himself and as he calls it, "generously sharing it with his favorites" during his parties. Every morning I go down to the basement, tending to the poor plants, it breaks my heart everyday as I can hear their cries from real sunlight and good soil, not the light that I conjure. I was sick with guilt as I left the basement, feeling empty of my magic and leaving those poor plants like that.
