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

21

• December 20, 2012 •

Loki woke to the morning sun shining in through the opened curtains of the bedroom windows. Mind still fuzzy with sleep, he tried to recall the night before. He'd fallen asleep sitting up in Estrial's bed. Looking down to his side, he found her still clinging to him, not having moved an inch. Loki smiled at her transparency in the light. It was something that she didn't seem to like about herself for some reason, but he loved it, because it was her.

Carefully removing his arm from her small clutches, Loki tapped her cheek. At first, there was nothing. This time he tapped on her forehead. With a sudden deep breath, Estrial woke calmly. It wasn't until she started breathing again that Loki realized, she had not been breathing in her sleep. He wondered why she breathed at all if it wasn't necessary for her. Perhaps to look as human as possible?

"Good morning, Essy," Loki purred softly.

Estrial looked up at him by her side, eyes still heavy with sleep. Upon seeing his face peering down at her, she smiled. As Loki stood, Estrial stretched in her bed, effectively kicking her covers off. "Good morning," Estrial squeaked in a sleepy voice, something Loki had not had the pleasure of hearing until just then.

With a small laugh, Loki teased proudly, "I told you sleeping would be fine." Estrial smiled shyly, still laying down in a completely relaxed state. Her glow was even still subtle with how calm she was. "How are you feeling?" Loki asked knowingly.

"Good," Estrial muttered her reply. It was true; she hadn't felt this well rested since she first left the galaxies of Asgard.

Loki wanted to keep asking her questions. He wanted so badly to continue hearing Estrial's gentle, high pitched, sleepy voice. But the cracked bedroom door erupted with polite knocking. Estrial sat up in her bed, pressing the button on her left arm that made her form solid. Then she and Loki both looked toward the doorway to see Thor peeking in. "Ah, Brother," Loki greeted, biting back his annoyance at the ruined morning moment he was having with Estrial.

"Just coming to make sure you're both alright," Thor responded innocently, smiling wide.

"And why wouldn't we be?" Loki wondered with a dramatic sigh. Thor shrugged, walking into the bedroom. Loki walked back to his portion of the bedroom and grabbed a pair of clothes. As he left for the bathroom attatched to their room, he called back in an uncaring voice, "I'm going to shower." Then he was gone.

Estrial turned her attention to Thor. She could feel a heavy sadness seeping from his soul, but accompanied by a whole, joyous feeling. She didn't need to ask to know why this was; Jane's visit to the Avengers tower had come to an end the night before. And Estrial could only imagine that was why the God of Thunder was suddenly spending more time with her again.

It was no secret that Thor had a brotherly instinct to take care of Estrial. But while Jane was visiting, he tended to spend more time with his love, of course. "When will she come back?" Estrial asked quietly, having grown fond of Jane's company.

Thor smiled crookedly at the star. "Not soon enough," he replied with a small chuckle.

In the silence that followed Thor's statement, Estrial could see his longing grow. She cocked her head to the side. "Talk to me," she urged gently, then specified, "about Jane."

The demigod chuckled lightly. "I shouldn't bore you so," he insisted with a small head shake.

Estrial only smiled in return. She stood and walked over to the couch in her room that was against the windows, gesturing timidly for Thor to sit beside her. "Stars are the best at listening," she remarked with a tiny, cheeky grin, "and I am never bored."

To this, Thor could not say no. He smiled a bit dreamily, staring off into space. "From my first meeting with her, I have been in love," he began, "she is beautiful, inside and out."

Estrial smiled at this. It was poetic to hear this man speak of the one he loved. And it was quite the opposite of boring. As Thor went on about Jane, Estrial watched his emtions change. The sadness grew happy, and the longing morphed into peace. It wasn't long before something struck Estrial with surprise. The emotion that began to take the demigod over as he talked on was one she'd seen once before.

Happiness, relaxation, contentment, all mixed together, creating something new. Something that she couldn't label the first time she saw it just the night before in Loki. But Estrial knew one thing for certain; Thor loved Jane. So as he talked about her, it would only be natural for him to feel that love. The pieces of the puzzle started to fall into place in the star's mind. She felt her face grow hot with embarrassment. Did Loki love her, the way Thor loved Jane?

Before Estrial had a chance to ask Thor more about this feeling, the bathroom door swung opened. Loki walked back into the room, haulting all conversation with his sudden presence. He seemed shocked to find Estrial on the two-seated couch with Thor. The shock quickly turned to jealous rage; that was his spot to sit with her, not Thor's. "Oh, you're still here," he stated sarcastically to his brother through a slightly tensed jaw.

Estrial, for once, did not seem phased by Loki's strong current emotions. Instead, she searched deep into him to find that feeling he'd had the night before. She found it, glowing lightly underneath his jealousy and irritation. And it outshine his negative feelings when his eyes landed on hers. It only took seconds for this unknown feeling to take him over completely, and Estrial's face grew even more red than before.