Blood and Knifes

8

Just a few weeks passed, and this hell-scape had become slightly more tolerable. Loki seemed to be slowly getting used to them, although it probably didn't help that the more comfortable he was with them, the more comfortable they were with expressing more of themself. It seemed to be an infinite cycle. However, they knew little more of Loki than of when they first met him. They shared books, the master bed, and occasionally each other's shampoo or conditioner. The delights of friendship: strawberry shampoo.

It was absolute chaos to go out with Loki. Well, it wasn't him that was the problem, it was the other men. It was as if Megan was constantly witnessing a silent battle between him and every man he came across; a Cold War made of glares daring each other to make a move. They were all certainly learning not to make a move on Megan, and even though there were always a spare few who dared to grope them, Loki quickly dealt with the matter. Usually violently.

They supposed they'd call Loki a friend, although they were sure Loki didn't consider them the same way. Perhaps they should back off, calm down? Ha. As if they could. With all that was going on, they needed to let out some pent up energy. They flicked their wrist and finished the sketch, slipping the sketchbook into their lanyard.

"Ugh!" Megan whipped their head around, and promptly burst out laughing. Loki had tried to open a fruit cup and it had squirted all over his shirt, causing him to drop it in shock.

"You need some help there?" They joked.

"I don't understand how you can open the blasted thing!" He complained.

"Come on." They patted his chest. "I'll teach you how, and then you can get a new shirt." They grabbed the container of fruit cups, placing them out on the counter. "So, you grab around the bottom, tilt it back, and slowly- oops!" They looked down at the splatter on their front and grinned sheepishly up at Loki. "Okay, so maybe I'm not too good at this." The corner of his moth quirked up, and he couldn't contain it, bursting out a laugh in spite of himself.

"My turn, I suppose," he said, once he finished. He chuckled one last time, and picked up a cup, brought it to eye level, and pulled.

"Wait, don't-" Megan burst out laughing again at Loki's expression as he was promptly sprayed in the face. "Oh my god!" They gasped between laughs, prompting Loki to drop his shock and start laughing as well. Once the hilarity had lessened enough for them to get a breath in, they looked up at Loki. And began laughing again.

"What?" Loki asked, smiling down at them.

"You have-" They giggled. "You have an orange slice in your hair." He raised on eyebrow, and it plopped to the ground. They both burst out laughing again, Megan clinging to the counter, Loki running a hand over his, both laughing their hearts out. Megan grabbed Loki's hand, and pulled him over to the couch. "Sit down," they giggled. "I'll get the knots out of your hair."

Loki waited patiently as they dashed into the bathroom to grab his hairbrush, and he turned his back to them as they sat behind him, running a few fingers through his hair first, then the brush. They hummed absentmindedly as they alternated between the two, coaxing out the knots rather than tearing them out. They twisted a curl around their finger as they ran a hand over his scalp, pausing when Loki shuddered.

"Sorry," they said. "Did that hurt?"

"On the contrary," he sighed. "That felt marvelous." Hesitantly, they began massaging his scalp, running their fingers gently through his hair. As he relaxed, they found them slowly sinking back into the cushion. It wouldn't hurt to just prop themselves up...