Stars Have Fallen - A Loki Love Story (Marvel/Avengers)

19

"I'm sorry," Loki interrupted abruptly, his voice raised slightly with annoyance with Tony. "Did you have a reason for dropping by?" He hissed, "or are you just trying to be a nuisance?"

"Uh, little bit of both," Tony responded smoothly. "Glowstick," he began, turning his eyes back to Estrial, "wanna come out and join the party?"

Estrial opened her mouth to speak, but Loki beat her to it. "We'd rather not," he insisted, narrowing his eyes at Tony. Estrial immediately nodded, knowing it was probably better that she wasn't in such a crazy atmosphere. Tony rolled his eyes dramatically, then left.

Loki sighed in relief that Stark was gone. But when his eyes finally landed back on the star, he found her in a state of discomfort. He frowned, turning his body to face hers. "What's wrong, darling?" His voice came out low and sweet.

"He is right," Estrial muttered. Her face was one of complete awe, fear, and confusion. It broke his heart to see her this way, and he wished he knew what she was talking about so that he could help. "I do have feelings," she whispered on, "I realize...I feel things...."

Loki smiled down at her. "Well, of course you do," he spoke soothingly, "I could've told you that." When the star didn't respond, he found his smile fading once again. "Did you really not know?"

"I knew, I think," Estrial told him, "but I did not comprehend." These things she felt were intense and scary. Yet, as with everything else new, she was willing to study them and let them grow, but not all at once. Slowly. "What do I do with it?" She wondered, "emotion."

Eyebrows drawn in, Loki turned his head to the side. He then sighed, "I suppose there's nothing you can do, really...I know that scares you, but it doesn't have to." As the words left his mouth, Loki found that he was unsure who he meant them for; Estrial, or himself. Or both.

Loki felt something on his wrist. Looking down, he saw Estrial's hands working to remove one if his golden cuffs. He quickly pulled his hand away from her. Estrial looked up at him to find a glint of fear in his eyes; not fear for himself, but for her. "What do you think you're doing?" He demanded. "If you take these off of me, they'll throw both of us into prison," he explained, "and you can be damn certain we'll never see each other again."

"That is what you fear," Estrial observed, looking into his emotions. Loki shut his mouth when he realized that he had, once again, spoken his emotions impulsively. "No one will know," Estrial whispered, a small crooked grin on her lips.

Loki was shocked by the mischievous grin she wore; he wondered if she'd learned such behavior from him. And for a split second, they seemed to switch personalities. For once, Estrial was causing possible trouble, while Loki was hesitant. He watched nervously as she removed one cuff, then the next. She set them delicately on a small glass table infront of the couch. "I want to see your magic," she muttered, reverting back to her usual shyness.

Loki chuckled, unable to deny her wish. With the flick of his wrist, the bedroom door closed quietly and locked. "Don't want anyone coming in to catch what you've done," he explained. Situating himself more comfortably on the couch, he thought for a while. Then, a wide grin spread across his lips. He sat up abruptly and called to Estrial, "come with me, Essy. Lie down on the floor."

Estrial stood with him, letting him lead her to an open space on the large floor of the room. Together, they laid down on their backs. Then, the lights went out. Estrial whimpered a bit, not liking the darkness that surrounded her. Being in her human-state, it was pitch black. Her only comfort was knowing that she was not alone. Quickly, she latched onto Loki's arm.

The demigod laughed and teased, "how ironic this is; a star, afraid of the dark."

"Constant night is never dark where I am from," Estrial reminded him.

"Where you're from," Loki repeated in a low voice, "like this?"

Suddenly the ceiling exploded with light. Dots of glowing silver surrounded them, twinkling and pulsing with energy. Estrial gasped in surprise, but smiled. "Is this..?"

"The night sky above Asgard," Loki finished for her. He let his head fall to the side so that he could see the star at his side. Her face was alive with joy, a smile cut deep along her lips. For a moment, he just looked at her. Then, as an urge to be even sweeter over came him, he wiggled his arm out of her grasp.

Estrial turned her head and frowned, looking a bit hurt. But this soon turned to shock and happiness as she felt his hand close around hers. "...I thought that makes you uncomfortable?" She wondered shyly.

Loki's eyes shone beautifully in the light of the fake starry sky. "Perhaps I've had a change of heart," he told her quietly.

Squeezing his cold hand gently, Estrial whispered as she peered into his emotions, "it scares you.." She then smiled crookedly, repeated what he'd told her, "it does not have to." And it was true. He'd been scared not only of what others would think, but of his own growing feelings. But he cared less and less each passing day. Holding Estrial's hand was euphoric, and he no longer wanted to deprive himself of that.

Loki chuckled. "Oh, Essy," he sighed heavily, turning to look back up at the ceiling, "if only you knew how terrifying this feeling is."

Reading into Loki's emotions, Estrial was surprised; she could not decipher what he was feeling. A few familiar emotions stood out. Happiness, relaxation, contentment, and a few others. But mixed all together, they created something new that she had never seen before. However, she could tell that it was a grand feeling. Grand, yet, just as Loki had expressed, terrifying.