bladesofasgard | Because we put the FUN in dysfunctional!

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Because we put the FUN in dysfunctional!

It had been a glorious battle. Loki remembered that much. He also remembered the bit where he'd gotten wounded, because he'd done the stupid thing and put himself in harm's way, though it apparently made for a dramatic retelling for Thor. And while he was now fully healed up, he was still a bit off his game from the blood loss, and that made for a much easier drunk than it should have been, but that was quite alright.

Because for once, he was the hero. Which meant that he got to reap the benefits, namely maiden after maiden whispering sly invitations in his ear. And it was just really very nice to be the hunted rather than the hunter for once, and to think there was a little something extra behind it all other than who his father happened to be and who his brother was.

Not that he was doing much thinking. Particularly not after Lorelei and Amora installed themselves on either side of him and leaned quite close, and insisted on sharing their drinks with him. Their presence was more intoxicating than the wine, really.

And when they suggested they go elsewhere, he was more than happy to oblige. He couldn't seem to walk a straight line, but that was quite alright since it meant he got to keep an arm around each of the ladies and let them lead. To somewhere with a spacious couch and a crackling fire, which really could have been anywhere, and he didn't mind in the slightest. He'd caught an approving glance from Fandral on his way out, which he normally would have scoffed at, but that was another thing different about the night that he found he rather liked.

Amora pushed him down on the couch and settled herself on his lap, while Lorelei seemed to be doing something interesting to his ear that involved a lot of tongue and he couldn't seem to come up with anything more coherent than the occasional murmur of 'Lovely' to whatever they were saying, which was both dirty and difficult to keep track of.

If this was the reward, he thought, maybe it would be worth a bit of blood and pain to play the hero more often.

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Despite appearances, Sif wasn’t fully immersed in the revelry that ruled the feasting hall this night. Her comrades were deep in their drinks by now and part of her envied them that, but she had no desire to be celebrating tonight. Fandral had tried to lure her out of her ‘difficult mood’ as he’d put it, but she’d finally managed to discourage even him – a feat in itself. ‘No’ wasn’t a word Fandral had to comprehend very often.

It wasn’t that she didn’t have reason – she was as relieved as anyone that they’d all returned safely, but it had been a close brush with needless danger today. Part of her annoyance was directed at Thor, who’d orchestrated the entire thing, but a good part of it was directed to the younger prince, who’d spent most of the evening across the room soaking up the praises and compliments from warriors and maids alike for his selfless heroism and bravery.

Selfless heroism and bravery, her ass. It had been pure luck he’d taken the blow as he had. She’d seen it all – from too far away to be able to do anything else but watch, although those moments had slowed like an eternity for her as she watched the blade swing within a hair’s breadth of separating him in half. It had been too close, far too close, and even remembering it filled her with a cold fear that made sweat trickle down the back of her neck and her stomach clench sickeningly.

Thor thought it a great tale, and she supposed it was. She did not begrudge Loki his attention, only that it had come at nearly too dear a cost.

Of course, her internal struggle wasn’t helped by the fact that it was currently Amora and Lorelei sprawled over his lap and his shoulders, lavishing him with attention, carrying on in the same way over him that he’d so often mocked his brother for. She wasn’t sure what upset her more, that he was proving just as susceptible to their charms as every other male in Asgard had, or that it wasn’t…

She halted that thought before it could fully form, biting down on the inside of her lip until she tasted blood. Cursing herself, she downed the goblet of wine she held and was already waving for a refill when she heard Fandral’s deep chuckle at her left. He turned to exchange a whispered comment with Hogun on his other side, but she’d seen the cause of him masculine amusement. Loki stumbling out of the hall with one sister on each side. Thor’s laughter rang out at her side, making her grit her teeth, seething and fed up with all of them at the moment. Her goblet clinked against the table as she set it down with more force than necessary, pushing back from her seat with a bow to her prince and a mumbled excuse she didn’t bother to wait and see if he accepted.

Perhaps it was cowardly of her, to flee the feast as she was, but she couldn’t bear to sit there among them another moment. All she wanted was some quiet and peace. Reluctant to return to her room and empty bed, she turned instead to the common room that they all shared, assuming it would be empty with everyone at the feast.

She was three steps towards her customary settee when Lorelei’s sensual giggle filled the air and she realized her seat was not as unoccupied as she’d assumed. When Amora’s head popped up a moment later, Sif inwardly cursed, for the other woman had been clearly annoyed by the interruption until she spotted who it was. Then that self-satisfied smirk crossed her lips, the expression that always made Sif want to punch her.

She’d tried once, when they were six. Amora had screamed like she was being murdered and brought half the court down on them. To say Sif’s father had been less than pleased would be a vast understatement and she’d done her best to avoid the other girl since then, but Amora had always taken perverse pleasure in putting herself in Sif’s way ever since. That the other female had pursued studies in magic also made her someone not to be easily trifled with.

Which Sif forcefully reminded herself just now as Amora’s bright eyes glinted with malicious amusement. “Are you lost, dear Sif?’ she purred, one finger twining a blond curl in a tight loop as she draped herself over Loki’s lap. She could not see him, but she knew he was there all the same. Lorelei looked up from his other shoulder, peering over the back of the couch, her full lips twisting into a pout at the interruption, but Sif ignored her.

“No, Amora, I am exactly where I intended to be. Perhaps it is you who are lost?” Her tone was firm; she was not playing Amora’s games. Not tonight. “I’m sure the Prince has much more comfortable lodgings elsewhere that are not quite so public.”

"Sif?" Loki sat up to peer over the back of the couch at her. He had to shoulder Lorelei a bit to get her to move back, but she kept murmuring those fascinating things in his ear, which made it hard for him to concentrate. "Well met, Sif! Come to join the fun?" He gave her a grin that would have been better suited on his brother's face. His hair, unnoticed by him, was in rather wild disarray. "I would wave, but my hand seems otherwise occupied."

"She was just leaving," Amora snapped.

Lorelei smiled against his ear, murmuring, "Perhaps you should take us back to your room, Prince, so we are not interrupted again."

"Yes, I--" Loki frowned. Thinking took more effort than it should have. "No, I think not. I don't let people in my room." He grinned. "There are things that bite, there."

Lorelei let out a flirtatious mock squeal at the mention, then said something about how surely he could protect them so well, he was so strong...

He completely missed the annoyed look that crossed Amora's face.

Amora wasn't the only one looking annoyed. Sif's fingers curled into fists at her side as she debated just leaving him there, since he was so obviously enjoying himself, and had it just been Amora and her taunts, she might have. But the way Lorelei was draped over his shoulder and whispering in his ear changed her mind.

While she didn't know Amora's younger sister very well - beyond knowing she despised her just as much - she hadn't missed that the young redhead had the uncanny luck of always getting exactly what she wanted, whether or not she had the full agreement of the person she was getting it from. While Lorelei didn't have her sister's training in sorcery, her 'luck' was a little too good for Sif to believe if was all coincidence.

Stalking forward, she rounded on the couch to fix the younger of the two with a glare before turning the scowl on Loki instead. "Don't you think you've had enough fun for the time being, Prince?" she asked, her tone stiff and cool.

"Oh, you're such a bore, Sif," Lorelei complained, twining her arms about Loki's throat and leaning in to press her lips just beneath his ear. "We've only just begun and he obviously hasn't. Why don't you go find your room, since the Prince's room is unavailable? You're being horridly rude."

Sif almost snapped out the the Prince's room was rarely unavailable to her but stopped herself at the last moment, realizing that would sound all wrong and the last thing the courts needed was new gossip like that. She could tell she hadn't covered the reaction quickly enough, however, as Amora's gaze narrowed on her speculatively and Sif quickly did her best to wipe any expression from her face.

Too late. "Why Sif, darling, are you jealous?" Amora purred, pressing against Loki's chest as she glanced coyly over her shoulder at Sif, her hands trailing low over the Prince's stomach. "The Prince did invite you to join us if you wished," she pointed out, knowing full well that Sif would never agree to it.

"Get out, Amora," Sif retorted, the words sharp and cold, seething with anger. She wondered if Amora would scream bloody murder again if she ripped her off the couch by her hair?

Loki wasn't completely oblivious to Sif's mood, though he mostly seemed very puzzled by it. And Lorelei was still just whispering, whispering... "Please, dear, a moment." He rested one hand on her shoulder and a bit unsteadily but still firmly pushed her back. Her softer bits pressed against him had been nice, but it had also made it very difficult to think, and Loki considered thinking very important.

He looked at Sif again, blinking a few times like he was trying to clear his eyes. It didn't really work. Everything was still spinny and unsteady, but as he peered at her, it was still apparent that her expression was fixed as one of Sif Is Not Happy. He tried to think of what he might have done, but nothing sprang to mind, so he took a random guess. "I was going to give it back. I didn't think you'd notice it gone so soon," he said, carefully enunciating each word. "And... have I ever had enough fun with anything in my life?" He grinned at her.

The effect was ruined by Amora plopping herself across his lap. "Can't this wait?" she whined.

The fact that he was so easily distracted and making no sense whatsoever was probably the only thing that saved him. That and Amora had put herself directly in Sif's line of sight before she could ask what he'd taken this time.

"Yes, this can wait," she retorted sharply, striding forward and catching Amora's shoulder. A tug with Sif's strength behind it was enough to unsettle the other woman from her perch and Sif sidestepped as she toppled backwards off Loki's lap to land in an indignant heap on the floor. Sif relished a moment of vindictive glee at damaging the Enchantress's unbearably smug composure before turning to interrupt Lorelei's gasp of outrage.

"Get out of here, Lorelei. You do not want to be here when the alcohol wears off and he realizes what you're up to. Get your sister and go. There are much safer targets in the feasting hall still," she stated, fixing the girl with a cold stare, taking a wild guess. Her hunches were usually reliable.

Loki was befuddled enough that he was actually caught speechless. He watched Sif peel the two women off of him like it was happening to someone else, trying to figure out what in Asgard was happening. He opened his mouth to tell Sif off because damnit, he was going to get two maidens at once and he couldn't believe she was doing this.

But that was one unbreakable rule for their little group of friends. And while Loki believed rules didn't apply to him, he felt like he shouldn't break this one unless he wanted to be cast out, and he certainly wasn't ready for that yet. He crossed his arms over his chest, and then as soon as Amora was off his lap he crossed his legs as well, because...

Because. Sif was going to have some explaining to do. The look he leveled at her would have been chilling to anyone else had he been sober, and wasn't exactly friendly through eyes made blurry by too much wine.

But still, he said, "It seems that Sif and I have some business to deal with. You ladies will have to forgive me. I will attend to your entertainment once the matter has been resolved."

Amora scrambled up from the floor with Lorelei's help. "I'll make certain everyone hears of this!" she hissed at Sif, even as Lorelei was still trying to make eyes at Loki.

"Get. Out."

At least Lorelei seemed to take the threat of an angry Sif advancing on them seriously, for she all but dragged Amora out the door, their expressions a matched set of annoyance and promised retribution. Sif didn't didn't care. Nor did she care for the look Loki was giving her, for it made her no more sympathetic to his plight than she had been to theirs.

"Have you lost your wits?" she demanded of him, turning on him the moment the door closed behind the pair of them.

Loki did his best impression of cool-headed and regal - which wasn't a bad impression, given how drunk he was - until Lorelei and Amora were out of the room. Then he sketched a complex symbol in the air with a hand that was only a little unsteady, and a shimmer ran along the walls.

He at least had the presence of mind to think about people coming in uninvited. And eavesdropping. And that wasn't going to happen now.

He let his hand drop to the cushions with a thump, then fixed her with an unveiled glare. "And if I had, what business of it is yours?" he demanded in return.

"Of all the..." She didn't answer his question because really, it probably wasn't any of her business, but that was beside the point. "As if nearly getting skewered today wasn't flirting with enough trouble, you thought you'd waste the rest of your luck on an evening with the Sisters? Did you damage your head? If you wanted a sampling of what they'd passed around to everyone else in the court, at least do it sober without Lorelei hissing in your ear. And here I was crediting you with better sense than Fandral all this time!"

"Oh, do you make a habit of interrupting Fandral as well?" Loki asked, his tone becoming bitter. "I must give the poor man my sympathies. Though I suppose he can deal with it a bit better since he spends so much more time than I being the hero of the hour."

And effortlessly, he shifted gears from bitter to utterly poisonous and mocking. "And since when has my getting into trouble been any business of yours either, Sif dear? You seem to like it well enough when it's trouble I invite you to join in. Or is that why you're so angry?"

"Everyone knows Fandral's crazy and enjoys the thrill of sleeping with women who could eat him for breakfast. Hell, any woman really. If I bothered to interrupt one, there'd be three more waiting to take her place. I don't care if you sleep with the entire court, oh Mighty Hero of Asgard," she retorted, her own tone mocking as she threw her hands in the air. "At least don't be a hypocrite about it, after all the nights you've spent mocking the other poor idiots those two harlots have turned their wiles on."

"Oh, I'm sorry, my deepest gratitude, Lady Sif," Loki hissed. "So glad you're here to save me from a little hypocrisy." He stood, a bit unsteady on his feet, but that only seemed to give him more fluid grace as he stalked toward her. "Since you certainly haven't been saving me from anything else recently! My sweet an honest reputation is at least intact, thanks to your heroic efforts!"

Edited 2011-12-08 03:36 (UTC)

She paled, going cold at his accusation, and for a moment the scene from earlier flashed before her eyes before she blinked at it was gone, leaving only his angry face as he advanced on her. That he would accuse her of that... She tried to tell herself that it was his temper talking, and the alcohol, but hadn't she accused herself of the same? If only she'd been a little closer, a little faster...

Loki always knew how best to aim his blows and this was no exception. Sif's expression went icily blank as her fists clenched at her side. "You're an ass," she stated, her words clipped and sharp as daggers. "And you're drunk. My apologies, Prince, for ruining your pleasant evening with my misguided concerns. I'll leave you to retrieve your company before they find another bed to tumble into."

She spun on her heel with a scathing look and stalked away from him. Perhaps she should have stayed at the feast and gotten drunk after all. It would have served her far better than this end to the evening.

"Oh, is that the best you can do?" He said. He stayed where he was, grinning nastily. She wouldn't be able to get out of the door, after all, and he wasn't nearly done with this argument. "Did you expect gratitude, for I so enjoy spending my evenings alone? How good of you to rescue me from that sad waste of time as well." He laughed, the sound quite humorless. "If I had my choice of companions I'd be much happier but an ass like me can't really afford to be picky, can he."

Edited 2011-12-08 04:01 (UTC)

"Oh, are you going to blame me for your foul temper now as well?" she shot back angrily, still striding towards the door, too furious to look at him. "That one I'm afraid I cannot take credit for, as you do that quite exceptionally on your own. Although I suspect that even if you had the entire court fawning at your feet, Loki Odinson, you still wouldn't be happy!"

Her hand tugged angrily on the handle of the door but it did not budge. She tried again and her palm tingled with the tell-tale signs of magic resisting her strength. She slammed her fist against the door, her back still to him. "Dammit, Loki, release me."

"Well, when I had a moment to escape that foul temper, you certainly have devoted your energies to seeing I return to that state." He said the words with poisonous sweetness. But oddly, he was enjoying this more than the bit of time he'd spent with Amora and Lorelei. He laughed. "Lucky for you, I'm sure we will never find out since I am nothing but my brother's shadow."

He stalked around to the other side of the couch, putting the piece of furniture between him and Sif. He leaned his arms on the back of it. "You chased away my company for the evening. How good of you to volunteer to be my new entertainment."

She made a sound of annoyance in the back of her throat and spun around to glare at him. "Oh, don't start that again. If you're in your brother's shadow, its because you prefer to lurk there. I am not taking part in your ridiculous competition with Thor over whatever it is this week. Surely that is not why you were going to sleep with them?" she accused him, sounding incredulous.

Her disbelief only grew with his next statement and she sputtered for a moment as he smirked at her, her brain taking a moment to make sure she'd heard him right. Then hot fury swept through her again as she glared daggers at him. "I am no one's entertainment, Loki, least of all yours."

Loki's mouth twisted into a bitter sneer. "Maybe because I could," he said. Wasn't that often why he did things? And really, it didn't matter in the slightest who he chose to while away that sort of time with, since it certainly wasn't going to be the person he most wanted to spend it with. "Because they were there? Are you really going to claim that makes a difference in your quest to see to my abject misery?"

He bared his teeth at her. "Well, you certainly have kept me entertained since we were children."

"If I were truly questing for your abject misery, I would have let them have you, as they were so keen on doing," Sif retorted, crossing her arms across her chest in a defiant manner, her expression still etched with anger. "It would have served you right. I'm sure Amora and Lorelei would have swooned impressively at your prowess in bed, once you rescued them from things that bite," she snapped.

His words actually reminded her he was drunk and not reasoning quite as well as he normally did. That or she'd jumped to conclusions. Neither was a very pleasant thought and reminded her once again that it was foolish to think he'd ever consider her entertainment the likes of Amora and her sister, despite his occasionally flowery flattery.

Not that she wanted him to, she firmly reminded herself. She didn't want complications in her life and certainly not in her bed. And Loki complicated everything.

"You are lucky you are so drunk and did not mean that the way it sounded," she snapped at him, somehow growing even more irritated with him. "I am in no mood to entertain you, Loki. You're drunk and you were wounded today. Go to bed and sleep it off. And release the blasted door."

"Well, now the world will never know," Loki drawled. "And what does the lady want? My frustration? Anger? Bitterness? Mockery? I have quite a bit of that."

For a moment, a look of confusion crossed his face as he silently repeated what she had said. "The way it sounded... oh! I see. What a poor choice of words on my part." He grinned at her. "And what if I had meant it that way? Though rumor has it you're more of a monk than I, you poor thing. How sad for all of the men and some of the women."

He ignored the rest of what she said. He was in a foul mood and had no intention of going meekly to his empty bed. At least if he was arguing with Sif, he wasn't alone. And he'd rather be arguing with her than spending any more pleasant time with most other people he knew, he was willing to admit that.

Frustration and anger churned in her at his cutting comments. Although he was clearly not going to be accommodating in letting her out, so she'd have to do things a different way. With him propped on the same sofa he'd been sprawled on with Amora and Lorelei a shore while before, an idea took root in her mind and for a moment she froze, wondering if she dared.

And then he mentioned rumors and her jaw clenched, because she knew who was behind those rumors and why and she wished she had dragged Amora from the room by her hair.

Giving up on the door, she retreated back down the steps once more, moving towards him with a determined gleam in her eyes now. Her shoulders squared and the tension melted away, although her eyes were dark and dangerous and her chin lifted with an arrogant tilt.

If he wanted entertainment, she was going to give him his fill of it.

"And well I know it, as you spill them forth quite frequently, whether you're drunk or sober. I've had my fill. And what's this, Loki? It's not like you to listen to idle gossip. You should know better than any, what the courts are allowed to believe is often very far from the truth." There was a purr to her voice as she advanced on him, the edge to her tone softening to silk as she fixed him with a dark stare.

That certainly wasn't the reaction he'd expected. Loki frowned, peering at her curiously. "What other kind of gossip would I listen to? It passes the time." But for someone as inebriated as he, the look he directed at her was surprisingly sharp. "Keeping secrets, Sif? And here, I thought we were friends."

But it was her voice that really got to him. He hadn't heard her sound like that before, and it did very odd things to his insides, things he'd always done his best to ignore. He grabbed the back of the couch with one hand to steady himself, licking his suddenly dry lips.

And then, strangely, he took a step back. Because this wasn't the way the game was supposed to go. She was supposed to shout at him so he could shout at her, and eventually he'd finally get bored enough to let her leave.

"Is that what we are, Loki?" she murmured softly, gliding towards him, a sensual sway in her hips as she lowered dark lashes over darker eyes and peered at him with a faint tilt of her head. He took a step back, but she didn't slow, invading his personal space as her fingers walked their way up his chest in a teasing touch.

"Everyone has secrets, Loki. Even me. But I suppose I do owe you some entertainment, since I've deprived you of your evening's company." It took all her willpower to keep her temper out of her voice, and some other emotion that had started protesting the moment she'd started towards him and he'd taken on the appearance of prey caught in the hunter's sight.

"Is that what you want of me, Loki? Entertainment?" she asked, her hand slipping from behind her back to wrap around him as she pressed against his front, distracting him as her hand slid up his spine, fingers playing in the dark hair at the nape of his neck.

He managed one more step back and then she had him. Though he still gripped the back of the couch as if it was some kind of lifeline, his knuckles going white. "I thought we were," he said, his voice strained. Not from emotion, but from what that tone of voice, coming from her was doing to him.

What was this? What was she doing?

And some part of him said yes and it was quite hard to ignore that, but he knew that he had to be missing something, if only he could just think clearly, though that was impossible with wine practically bleeding from his pores.

In his confusion, truth tried to slip from his lips, something he'd promised himself a long time ago he wouldn't allow to escape. "No..." His other hand, the one not trying to put holes in the couch found her cheek, like he was trying to reassure himself that her face was real.

He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, trying to get himself back into some semblance of control, since he had a feeling bickering would do far less damage to their friendship than if he said more than that. He managed to reshape his lips into something like his normal sly, lazy smile. "But far be it from me to stand in your way. Though I thought you had better taste than that." And that sentence, at least, he was able to put a real bit of venom into.

Oh, but it hurt to say those words, far more than it really should have.

Edited 2011-12-08 05:42 (UTC)

She gave him a slow, sensual smile, one that felt at odds on her lips but somehow came easily when it was him on the receiving end of it. She leaned in, pressed against his front as her lips brushed against his ear, the lightest caress of skin on skin as her breath tickled against dark hair.

"You know nothing of my tastes, Loki Odinson."

She gave no warning, her movement swift before he could react or dodge, the hilt of her dagger connecting with the back of his skull. If her aim was right - and it usually was - he'd wake with nothing more than a migraine, something he would have had from the amount of wine he'd consumed anyway. In the meantime, his spells always fizzled with his consciousness, which had been her intent all along.

Of course Sif had left before he'd even woken the next morning. Of course she'd gone with the Valkyrie, where he couldn't follow since he wasn't quite sure of his shapeshifting abilities to that level yet. And of course she stayed away far longer than anyone thought.

Of course.

But Loki was patient. Very patient. And he was rewarded.

And of course she avoided him studiously upon her return. But he knew every nook and cranny in the palace and its grounds. She couldn't avoid him forever. He took it as a challenge.

He waited until she was in the practice rooms. She no doubt thought she was safe there, since it wasn't exactly his favorite place in the palace. Though she knew little of what talents he'd been honing in secret anyway. And he carefully gave each and every person in the area a subtle reason to be elsewhere. Until it was just her.

Only then did he drop the invisibility that cloaked him. He leaned lazily in the doorway and simply waited. He'd been waiting for weeks. A few more minutes was nothing.

Sif was so immersed in her training that she didn't immediately notice anything different in the room. Her glaive whistled softly in the air as she moved through the steps with the grace of a dancer, her weapon an extension of her body. Her weeks with the Valkyrie had been good for many things and she felt centered, more confident, her movements fluid as she melted from one stance to the next.

It wasn't until she was finished that she noticed how quiet the room had become. For early morning that was strange, and she glanced around with a curious look before she went carefully still, spotting him across the room. How she'd arranged to catch her here alone she didn't know, but she wasn't entirely surprised. She knew better than to underestimate Loki.

Her gaze searched his face quickly, trying to judge his mood, before she clenched her fist over her heart and bowed before him, her posture perfectly polite and respectful. Her pulse thudded far too loudly in her ears.

"Prince."

Loki didn't straighten from his indolent posture. He regarded her curiously as she bowed. "Lady Sif," he said, sounding amused. "So formal." He made no move to leave the doorway, since he knew it was foolish to give her a clear avenue to escape now.

Not that it had stopped her before, but she wouldn't get the drop on him again. Not like that.

"You've been back for a while, now." He brushed his hands together slowly, shaking off imaginary dust, inspecting his fingers as if he hadn't a care in the world. "I've been meaning to bid you welcome back for quite some time now, but we just keep seeming to miss each other. I wonder why that is."

She winced, hoping he hadn't noticed that, but she knew even as she thought it that it was a foolish wish. Loki noticed everything. Well. Almost everything. She stifled a sigh and straightened once more, staring fixedly at his chest, unable to meet his gaze just yet.

"I'm sure I don't know, my prince, but I'm sure you've been very busy," she stated simply. "But I apologize. I should have sought you out earlier. I... I owe you an apology, Loki." Her chest felt tight and her expression felt strained even to her as she maintained her polite tone. Her actions before they'd parted had been unforgivable, but she had to apologize all the same.

He let one eyebrow move up gracefully, even if she wasn't watching his face. "Do you? I suppose so, for making me come here to find you," he drawled. He pulled a small scrap of paper from the inside pocket of his coat. "Though apparently I owe you an apology as well, so I suppose they cancel each other out."

Now her gaze flitted up to his face, confusion flickering in her dark eyes. "You have nothing to apologize for," she countered, looking uncertain as to why he might think he did. She sheathed her glaive, the feel of it settling between her shoulder blades once more, a comforting weight as she turned away, reaching for a towel.

That had at least gotten her to shift gears a little. Loki didn't mind playing the Prince and Loyal Subject game, but it got boring very quickly. Particularly with Sif, who was plainly using it as some sort of shield. "I've been a bit curious about it myself, if I'm to be honest." He unfolded the paper and let it hang between his fingers so she could look at it if she wished. "This was on my desk the morning you left, on the bottom of a sheet of notes. And I do believe that's my hand, though I don't recall writing it."

The handwriting on the note was shaky, but undeniably Loki's, though it was no doubt difficult to imagine him writing so sloppily, or at such an odd slant. The note read, simply: Apologize to Sif

As if it was something on a list of things to do.

The eyebrow cranked a little higher, his expression nothing but mild and curious. "I thought perhaps you could enlighten me, since I recall very little of that evening. An inadvisable combination of a recent wound and wine, I suppose. Did I so something foolish, dearest?"

Really, he considered it better than an apology. It was an offer, a gift to both of them, to pretend that nothing at all had occurred. The only sticking point, of course, was Sif herself. He could only hope that she'd take it for what it was, and play along. He'd hate to think he'd lost a friend so easily.

None of those thoughts, of course, showed in his expression. He'd added a new level of his schooling of self-control in her absence, since that had been his damnable failing. It would not be repeated.

Her eyes were drawn briefly to the note, widening slightly at the words there and the following explanation of the night. Her eyes darted to his face, trying to decide if he was lying, but his expression was as unreadable as ever.

She turned away for a brief moment, using the towel before dropping it in a nearby basket, giving herself time to compose herself, and to digest what this meant, one way or another. Because things were never simple with Loki. But he was still waiting so she turned back around and met his gaze once more, trying to ignore the guilt that had been eating her since that night.

"No, Loki," she answered, her voice quiet, head giving a single shake to the negative. "No more than anyone else. Trust me when I say it is I who owe you an apology, which I hope you'll accept. Words were spoken and actions... I overstepped myself and I'm sorry. The fault lies with me."

So much for that. Of course she would be difficult. She always was. He shrugged the shoulder not leaning against the door frame carelessly, then folded the note up and tucked it away. "So serious," he commented, amused. "Did someone die? No, I think I would have noticed a funeral happening later on."

Loki shook his head, amused smile quirking his lips. He'd give her one last chance and hope she took it. The entire incident was better left buried. His tone was mild, giving nothing away. "I can't properly accept an apology if I know not what it is for, and I can't really make a proper apology of my own if I know not why. No one has died, father still sits securely upon his throne, and nothing seems to have been broken from what I've observed. So it can't have been anything all that bad. This seems to be getting a bit silly, Sif." He shook his head.

He really hoped he didn't have to spell it out for her more than that. He turned as if to go, saying, "I do hope you'll be easier to find from now on."

"Loki."

Sif stopped him before he could leave, although she didn't immediately know what to say afterwards. She opened her mouth, then closed it again, because as much as she wanted to apologize for everything - interrupting him, ruining his night, saying all those awful things, and then... That grated on her the most. But if he truly didn't remember - which she wasn't totally convinced of - then she didn't want to hurt him again by bringing it back up.

Instead, she strode across the room, not hesitating when she reached him. In an impulsive movement she hoped she wouldn't get glared at for, she threw her arms around him in a quick hug. It wasn't completely unfamiliar for her to do so, although this time was rather out of the blue, but she lingered a moment, biting down the apologies, the words she wanted to say that went beyond the 'I'm sorry' into territory she wasn't quite brave enough to venture into yet.

Instead she settled for a whispered, "I missed you, Loki," before she pulled back, cast him one last searching glance, and then did her best to slip past him and out of the room, as there was no locked doors trapping her in here just yet and she had no idea what she'd say to him if he tried.

When she said his name, he did stop and turn back toward her, eyebrow up again. As she strode toward him, he was forced to wonder if he was about to be on the receiving end of a punch that he did richly deserve, though to keep up his innocent act he would have to protest. But then she hugged him, and that was alright, if entirely unexpected. He went stiff with surprise for a moment - the older he got the fewer people were really interested in touching him in a friendly way, with the exception of Thor, and he'd assumed Sif would be joining those ranks - but then he relaxed, and wrapped his arms around her, and it felt good and right and he let himself hope that things really would go back to normal.

Though now, he was too cautious to simply assume that any longer.

"And I, you," he said quietly. He made himself let her go, made himself stand still and allow her to simply walk away. To do anything else would undo all of the work that had just been done. He simply leaned in the doorway again and watched her go, keeping his expression well-controlled.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Because we put the FUN in dysfunctional!

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