Chapter 5

We had settled into a routine. I went for my usual walk in the mornings, taking him with me. We always stopped by the crater and he would tell me in little bits and pieces about the void that had dropped him here. He suspected that the Bifrost had done it, after Thor had broken it off. The remaining energy would have lingered in the tear he had created in space. He fell through. However, without the Bifrost's directing panels, he was left wandering space. The wormhole-like teleportation sustained him as if he were still within the Bifrost itself.

But he said he was conscious for all of it. He remembered it being cold and dark. And he had passed a place that didn't exist. It was dead and yet teeming with life. It hissed and grabbed for him and he had felt a presence in his mind. Being able to tap into others' minds had a flaw, he told me. Anyone stronger could use your own power and get past your safeguards to tap into your mind.

His voice was shaky when he talked about that presence. He would clench his hands and look around frantically, as if he expected the source to materialize in the trees. I found that resting a hand on his back usually calmed him down.

We would return home for a few hours so I could get some work done. And for the few days that Liv and the gang were here, I left him at home to spend the rest of the day with them. They tiptoed around the subject of Loki but I didn't see why it was so sensitive.

After my students and any meetings, dinner and a movie usually ended our days and then I would leave him on the couch where he would experiment with his powers to see how far along his healing had come.

He didn't talk much and it was during our walks that I got a glimpse at the man that had thought his only choice was death. It was the way he enjoyed things, I realized, gave me these glimpses. Whenever I managed to make him smile and enjoy himself, it seemed like he took it in and kept it close. He was a man no longer choosing suicide but a prisoner awaiting the chair now. He looked up at the night sky, not with wonder but trepidation, waiting for the skies to bring his fate. The few moments that he enjoyed were moments that he treated with the greatest care, as if these were his last hours and he may as well have some happiness while he could.

Liv and the gang left on Wednesday and Shane, one of my students, had just left. I was cleaning out my fridge while searching for dinner ideas. My headphones were up loud and I was pretty sure my music could be heard in the next room but Loki was a heavy sleeper and he was still in my room.

Unfortunately, this was the day I would get a glimpse of the god of mischief. Two hands clamped down on my shoulders and I jumped up with a muted scream. I turned around but there was no one around. My heart was still hammering and I pulled out one earphone.

"Loki?" No reply. Closing the fridge, I narrowed my eyes and peeked into the bedroom. No one here either. Living room was empty. I went back to the kitchen to find it... Literally empty. My furniture was gone. The food I had thrown out was sitting where I left it but the fridge was gone. "I guess you got your powers back." I muttered. He didn't reply. "Loki, gimme my fridge back!"

The fridge materialized slowly and began humming again. I huffed. "And the table and chairs. And my plates and stuff!" As the table came back into reality, I found Loki sitting on top of it, grinning stupidly.

"Hello, love."

"Jerk." I rolled my eyes. "That was a lame prank."

"You keep that gun on you so I couldn't risk anything truly fun." He sighed. I smiled to myself.

"Gun's in the car. I trust you." He got quiet. Realizing my mistake, I stayed still and waited.

"Do you now?" He drawled, his voice suddenly right in my ear. I jumped back but found him still on the table. He grinned. "A horrible decision, really."

"Yeah well. If you're bored, entertain yourself." A black brow rose as he pointed at me. "Oh I'm the entertainment. Fine, how about we go out."

He walked away. "I was beginning to hate your house." He muttered by way of agreement.

Getting Loki to decide what he wanted was like pulling teeth. I settled on movies and dinner and we were on our way to the city within the hour. But traffic was the worst I'd seen all week and we were at a standstill for at least twenty minutes before I snapped.

Loki was switching through stations on the radio when I dropped my head onto the wheel. I groaned loudly, holding it for as long as I had breath. Opening my eyes, I saw Loki waiting patiently for me to shut up.

"Why is it so busy?" He asked.

"I dunno, but I gotta pee. Hey, Siri." I said. My charging phone beeped. "What events are there today?"

I heard a long list and then "taste of Charlotte."

"Oh god!" I groaned. "Of course!" Loki looked at me. "There's a butt load of vendors with samples and stuff and everybody walks around and tastes everything." His eyes lit up and I sighed. "Movie's at eight and I already bought the tickets. So you've got an hour."

"Perfect."

Tickets to Taste of Charlotte were a little expensive for my taste but I had yet to see Loki smile so wide so I swallowed my muttering and went with it. Handing him his share, I led him to the nearest stall.

"Oh good, Indian." I handed over three tickets and was given a toothpick with a sample of tandoori chicken and a tiny cup of something green. Loki followed suit, tasting both with a pleased nod before moving on. Smiling, I followed him through the crush of bodies. He stopped and grinned at me.

"There's alcohol!"

Jesus, someone tell me this man can hold his drink. I watched him take two samples of uzzo and tequila. The tequila was the last in that bottle and I grinned when a tiny worm came with it. The man behind the counter cheered.

"Oh you got the worm! You gonna drink it?"

Loki looked at it curiously. "Am I supposed to?"

"Yeah, man!" The guy slapped him on the back and waved his friend over. I smiled and leaned on the counter.

"I dare you."

Wrong thing to say. Loki glared at me and downed the uzzo to fortify himself. He took a deep breath, shook his head, and knocked back the tequila - worm and all. They cheered and slapped him on the back while he grinned at me. "I like this! Another!" He slapped down his tickets again and samples were handed over. Rolling my eyes, I dragged him away with his samples.

"But they had more, Eb. It has a pleasing taste."

"Sure, whatever. I'm not dragging you around drunk."

He scoffed. "No one could get drunk on that. It's baby's drink. But it tastes nice. The lime..." I wasn't sure if he was a lightweight or if liquor was the key to opening him up. "Look music!" He snatched his hand from mine, only to clamp it down on my arm and drag me along to a street corner. In front of a golden industrialist sculpture I never really understood, a man and his son were playing smooth jazz. Loki pointed to the sax. "What is that?"

"Saxophone, keyboard." I pointed to each instrument. "It's called jazz."

"I like it. It's calming. Do you play anything?"

I nodded. "I teach piano during the summer."

He turned to face me. With his head tilted the and the city lights on his face, I was reminded that he was actually really good looking. Like... Really. I remembered that he had called me beautiful, when we met. But that was when he was scaring me so I guess it didn't count. Anyway, that was a thought for when he was gone and I could reflect on the day I saved an alien prince. For now, I swayed to the music and waited for him to speak.

"Will you play for me when we return?" He spoke softly.

I nodded. "On one condition." He quirked a brow. I checked to be sure we had time before wrapping my arms around his neck. "Dance with me." I grinned.

He hesitated but I guess I wasn't overstepping his boundaries. He wrapped his arms around my waist and his lip twitched into an uncertain smile. "People are staring."

"Who cares? It's not everyday I get to dance with a handsome alien."

"I see, you're just showing me off." He chuckled. "Fine, I may as well make it worthwhile." I started to laugh but hesitated as one had slid up to rest between my shoulder blades and the other grabbed one of my hands. He swept me along in a kind of waltz, leading effortlessly, carrying me even though I didn't know the steps.

I couldn't stop smiling. My cheeks were starting to hurt and I knew they were a bright red. And he was right, I caught at least three people with their phones out. Shaking it off, I met his eyes. "Why, Mister Odinson, you're just full of surprises, aren't you?"

"It's the least I can do to be an entertaining guest for you, my dear. Besides, I might finally get that kiss I asked for."

I dropped my head onto his chest and sighed loudly. "You had to go there." He only laughed.

The next few days were mostly quiet, with little of note. But after the festival, Loki had opened up some more and was glad to tell me about his travels and mishaps while he was growing up. He told me he had visited a Earth a number of times before, as a child mostly and a little as a teenager. He had fallen in love before, with a human once. But she was married and with child by the time he returned to her. He had fought his fair share of battles and even met some notable people.

"Henry the Eighth was a brute." He grumbled, listing off historical figures he had known. We were sprawled out in the grass, looking up at the stars and lazily working our way through an old bottle of wine. "Believe it or not, Genghis Khan was very funny. Oh and Shakespeare! I only met him briefly but he could throw a party! Really, it was the best bacchanal I'd ever been to on Midgard. Three days and I had never seen a human drink like he could. Now if you wish for a real party, you must go to the southern regions of Asgard. They don't know how to stop!" He laughed.

And he showed me his powers too, when he was in the mood of course. He created clones to help me clean the house and in return, I played the piano for him. We read to each other on some nights and others we went for walks so he could teach me about the stars. For a man who looked so young, he had seen more than I ever hoped. I could live a million adventures through him and I planned to take full advantage while I could.

But Sunday finally came and our week was up. I woke up to an empty house. There was no note and he wasn't close by to hear me when I called.

We always drove down the trail in the mornings and walked some of it to my favorite spot and the crater. It only made sense to start there. I drove straight to the crater, assuming that if anywhere on the trail, he would be there.

I slid down the slope, finding him sitting in the center of the crater, his chin tilted up towards the sky. "Loki?" I came to a stop beside him.

He swallowed and lowered his head. "It has been seven days." He said quietly. "I promised to leave you when I was healed and I would rather leave knowing you like me than let you come to hate me like the rest."

Oh. So he was waiting? Lowering myself slowly, I crossed my legs and leaned on his arm. "I don't think I could hate you. And I don't think your family does either."

He huffed. "You don't know Odin."

"I don't think you do either. He wasn't... He's not a good father. He should have told you from the start, he should have tried to change the Asgardian view of Frost Giants. If he was trying to prove you're not inherently monsters, then telling you who you were and still raising you lovingly would have done that. He was wrong. But Loki, so were you."

"I know. I did what I thought was right and I suppose that was not enough."

"In war, what you did was understandable. In theory. But in reality, it was wrong."

"But Odin will not face his mistakes!" He clenched his hand. "Odin will reign supreme and the people will love him! My br- Thor remains the golden child, loved and revered by all. Even my mother has surely forgotten me. What is left but for me to face my fate? I cannot rot here, a fallen prince with nothing."

I looked around. "Loki, you're sitting in a crater on Earth. Nothing is better than what Odin will do to you! Their transport is broken, you said so yourself. They're not coming. You have a chance to start over. To make it right!" I turned his face to look at me. "Screw Odin's consequences, you can have a life here!"

He blinked quickly, staring at me. I didn't look away, letting him search my eyes for lies. I stood and took his hand. "Come on. You can stay with me."

He tilted his head, standing with me. "I cannot live on that couch of yours forever."

I smiled. "We'll figure something out. Come on. Time I teach you how to move on."

Loki resigned himself to the couch a little easier than I expected. I wasn't sure how but I was determined to make this work. He needed someone to keep him from spiraling down that self-deprecating hole again.

A week went by before Loki came into a little money - illegally, I assumed - and began taking me out to dinner. I suspected he was trying to thank me without thanking me but decided to just enjoy my free meals and nice nights and pretend I didn't know he'd stolen the money.

He went back and bought that suit we'd seen when I bought his clothes and I had to admit, it looked really nice on him. We hid his armor in my crawl-space and decided that, for now, it was the best we could do to start him on a normal life. Finding him a job would be next. And some friends.

Four blissfully domestic weeks went by with my new roommate before I began to notice he had taken something of a romantic interest in me. We were trying to decide whose turn it was to clean the bathroom when my phone rang. I glared at him, making sure he knew this wasn't over before answering.

"Hello?"

"Ms. Gray?" Said a small voice.

"Hey, Lily! What's up?"

"Mama is in the hospital and I don't like it here. But Daddy wants to take me to Grandpa's and I don't wanna go! I wanna come to your house."

I found my keys and shoes. "Put Daddy on the phone, okay?" There was some shuffling and talking and then Michael came on the line."

"Mike?"

"Hey, Eb. I'm really sorry. I didn't even know she had my phone."

"Oh, it's fine. How is Sandra?"

"She's alright. I just want to stay with her tonight. She'll be coming home tomorrow. I'm taking Lily to her grandfather's."

"That's good. Well, see, she said she really doesn't want to go. She asked if I could let her stay here. And really, if that's alright with you I wouldn't mind at all. The thing is, I have a friend who's moving in with me. It's a guy, so that's the only problem. I mean, he's cool, I trust him. But I just wanted to check with you. I could pick her up and drop her off at school tomorrow." There was silence for a bit and then a heavy sigh.

"Are you sure?" He sounded exhausted and stressed. I figured Lily would be better off away from all that. She was afraid of hospitals as it was. "She just doesn't want to go because her grandfather is getting crotchety and he's strict. You know how it is."

I smiled. "Yeah, I know. Really I'd be glad to take her."

"Alright. She'll need her clothes and bag. I'll drop her off in say, two hours?"

"Sure."

"Thank you so much. I'll make it up to you." His voice lightened a little and I could practically feel the relief coming through the phone.

"No, no. You just take care of Sandra."

We hung up and I slumped against the wall, sighing. The TV was muted and Loki was watching me. I managed a half smile to say everything was fine. "Lily, one of the kids I tutor, needs a place to stay for the night. Her dad is gonna drop her off." I rubbed the sudden exhaustion off my face and stood straighter. "She can sleep with me, I guess."

"Do you not wish me to leave?" He sat back and folded his arms, with a cold 'of course this would happen to me' expression on his face. I shook my head and went to him, smoothing down a stray lock of hair. It kept poking up and it bothered me.

"No, you can stay. Where would you go anyway? It'll be fine. It's just for the night."

He raised one brow. "Your bed is quite big enough for the two of us." He murmured.

I cut my eyes up at him. "So when they say you have a silver tongue, they just mean you're a flirt right?" He grinned suggestively and I rolled my eyes. "She's sleeping with me, you stay here."

"Is this the child that thought I was your boyfriend?" I was in the kitchen looking for dinner so I just hummed in the affirmative. I had water boiling by the time he spoke again. "I like how she thinks."

"How who thinks?" I called. "'Bout what?"

"Me," he was behind me suddenly, "being your boyfriend. I think it would be nice, don't you?"

I whirled around, dry spaghetti in one hand and fork in the other. "Huh?" He smiled slowly.

"You heard me."

Crap, he had caught me staring, hadn't he? I couldn't help it. He just had these eyes, I got lost in them sometimes. Really, what wasn't to like? Oh I was supposed to say something. "Sorry, wait, why are you asking me out? It's been like a month, I barely know you."

He shrugged. Taking the spaghetti and fork, he dumped the noodles in the water and turned the fire up. "I like you, you like me. We find each other attractive."

I snorted. "I never said that."

"Your eyes dilate every time I come close to you." He said it as if he was talking about the weather report! "And I consider you a friend. I was under the assumption that Midgardian courting was about getting to know each other."

"Well... Yeah. But..." I couldn't sputter out a proper response.

"Do you object to me or how long you've known me?" He turned those knowing emerald eyes towards me and quirked a thin brow. I couldn't help but frown. Laughing, he turned to plant a kiss on the top of my head and then went back to the couch. "Think on it. I'm a patient man."

"You're so not!" I called back. I stirred the pasta absently, thinking about him. Did I object at all? Yeah, actually a little. I didn't know him well enough. But I would like to. I might as well since he'd be living here. But I wasn't about to jump at the opportunity. He could wait.