The Sweetest Rose-LokixOC

Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Loki painting (C) DA Artist. 

Loki strolled into the kitchen for his usual midnight dinner and found a surprise when the lights flickered on. Cassandra perched on a stool apparently asleep, her head resting on the stainless-steel counter. With actual clothes on instead of the flimsy hospital gown that barely covered anything. She wore a black t-shirt and a pair of gray sweatpants.

He moved her crutches out of his way and peered down at her face. A trickle of drool oozed from the corner of her mouth forming a small puddle beneath her chin.

Very elegant. Loki thought stifling a sarcastic laugh.

A half-eaten plate of food perched beside Cassandra's head, still faintly warm which meant she had not been asleep for long.

He smoothed the tangle of hair out of her eyes, and she stirred, a string of drool dribbling down her chin. "Loki." Her eyes widened and she hurriedly wiped the spit from her suddenly red face. "What are you doing here? Are you stalking me or something?"

"Alas, even I am not that desperate for entertainment." Loki propped himself against the counter, resting one booted foot atop the other. "You sleep like a child by the way. Drooling? What are you, five?"

Cassandra's skin turned an interesting shade of magenta. "Shut up. I was tired." She turned away slightly, her long hair tumbling over her shoulders. "Not everything is a joke, you know." She peered back at him. "Do you really get a kick out of being an ass all the time?"

Loki spread his hands in an expansive gesture. "It's part of my charm."

"What charm?" She grumbled under her breath.

"Are you still pretending you do not find me attractive?" He brushed a finger across her knuckles whisper light, and she yanked her hand away. "I must say I quite enjoyed when you swooned in my arms. Makes a god feel...desired."

"I didn't swoon!" Cassandra snapped, holding her hand close to her chest. "You were the one rubbing all over me like a cat!"

Loki chuckled at the accusation. He couldn't help himself. Cassandra was too easy to tease, especially knowing of her evident attraction to him. If she weren't human, he might actually be flattered by her interest.

"I'm not in the mood for your bullshit tonight." Cassandra pivoted on the stool to face him, her knee brushing against his thigh. "If all you're going to do is mock me, leave."

Loki's gaze moved deliberately over her legs. The quip ready on his lips died when he noticed the cast conspicuously missing from her foot. "What happened with your ankle?"

After she went off for her X-Ray Loki had grown bored waiting for her and left the exam room. He hadn't bothered to follow up with Cassandra.

At first, Cassandra didn't answer Loki right away, still fuming over his jokes. She curled her fingers around the fork on her discarded plate and dragged the prongs through the congealed macaroni. "Dr. Novik removed the cast. My ankle isn't broken." She rotated her ankle slightly and winced. "But I do have a sprain. Apparently whatever magic healed my burns sped up the process for my ankle too."

"Fascinating." Loki murmured. The Soul Forge on Asgard could accelerate healing and he knew a dozen spells alone to repair injuries. "Where's your staff?"

"SHIELD is running tests on it." She told him grumpily. "I'll have to return the staff to its owner eventually, so I hope they don't destroy it."

Cassandra seemed particularly adamant on that point even though she no longer worked for the auction house. Returning the staff would not be that simple. Not with magic involved.