Growing love and the seventh stone | Loki fanfiction

Chapter 12 - Tiny

We arrive back at the hotel and ride the elevator up to the correct floor. We are both in a better mood than usual and as soon as he closes the door of our room behind us, Loki pokes his nose into the magic book.
I peek over his shoulder.
"This is exactly what we need!", Loki says excitedly. "Spells that are a little different from the ones I know but still with the same pattern. Excellent."
I look over the runes on the pages. In the moment I realise I can't read them, they shimmer and change into letters.
Table of contents, it says. Before I can skim over it, Loki flips to a page in the middle.
"That one", he says. "It looks like this book could provide me a sliver of all my powers, but this one is the most important one. At least for what we are planning."
"Shape-shifting", I read out loud. "You mean that you can turn into one of the Avengers to get the infinity stone of emphasis?"
Loki nods, lost in thoughts.
Silence fills the room as we read over the instructions. It is little text with pictures of hand movements on the yellowed paper.
"But didn't you say you couldn't learn magic at the moment?", I ask carefully.
Loki glares at me. "Don't say that again. I have to try. Besides, who is the powerful immortal sorcerer of the two of us?"
I chuckle and roll my eyes. "You."
Loki smirks at the won argument and I desist from talking at the current state of his immortality.
He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, the book still in his hand. I watch him in tension and take a step back.
He mumbles and performs the hand movements in surprising accuracy. After thirty seconds, he opens his eyes. Nothing has changed.
Loki knits his brows. "What have I done wrong?", he hisses and opens the book again.
"I ... I don't know", I say shyly.
He grumbles and tries again, and I notice that the hand which doesn't perform the movements is balled into a fist now. After thirty more seconds, Loki's lips are pressed together in anger.
"Why - doesn't - it - work?", he says through gritted teeth.
"Hey, don't blame yourself. Maybe ... maybe it takes more attempts. An infinity stone is pretty strong, right?" I try to smile encourangingly.
He throws a glance at me which I can't quite read. His eyes seem darker, as if he was in anger, or pain, or ... despair. Maybe scared?
But then he laughs and shrugs. "I am just trying it later. Your turn now."
I look at him, worried. "Are you sure?"
"Yes", he says and smiles. After a moment, the sparkle in his eyes returns. "Or are you too scared to try? I mean, of course, performing magic next to a god like me can be intimidating, but ..."
"Ey", I laugh and snatch the book out of his hands. "Stop that."
He smirks and suddenly my stomach feels like it is being turned upside down, but ... in a good way. Like a bucket of butterflies has just been emptied into it.
"Fine, I want to see." Loki crosses his arms and looks at me in teasing anticipation.
"Fine", I respond, but I have the feeling my cheeks are getting red. Not now, I scold myself. You should be performing magic! "Okay", I mumble. I look at the pictures on the book page. Then I do the hand movements.
"You have to think about something you want to turn into", Loki remarks, still smirking.
"I am doing that!", I snap. "Stop laughing like that." I stare at him and perform the hand movements again. After a moment, I notice something off ... but not on me. I squint my eyes. Loki looks a few centimeters smaller than usual.
"Are you ... did you shrink?", I ask.
Loki furrows his brows and looks down his body. "I don't think -" But halfway through the sentence he becomes smaller again. "Oh. Oh, yes I am! Stop making these movements!"
I notice that I am still doing them and stop immediatly. "You mean, I did this?!"
"Yes!", Loki screeches, still shrinking. "Stop!"
"I did stop!", I call back, slightly panicking. "How can I stop that?"
His head is now just as high as my hip. "Look at the book again!", he screams. "Oh my gods, stop it!"
"Stop panicking!", I answer while panicking and re-reading the page. I look at the hand movement for turning back into original shape. I perform it, it doesn't work.
"By Odin's beard, I am shrinking! Turn me back!"
"I can't!", I say desperately. I close my eyes and concentrate fully on what I am about to do. Then I do the movement and open my eyes again. I look down and see a Loki the size of my hand standing angrily on the ground.
"Couldn't you stop that earlier?", he asks, his little arms akimbo.
I blink and crouch down in front of him. "Yeah, yeah, of course ... you are tiny", I say unnecessarily. "And I just did magic the first time!"
"Stop being so happy. Turn me back."
I pause for a moment, then I reach to pick him up.
"Don't you dare-"
But it is too late, my hand closes around him and I examine him.
He is shaking his tiny fist at me. "I swear, if you don't put me down right now-"
I smirk. "I don't think I will- ouch!" I drop him and pull his little dagger out of my thumb. "You stabbed me!"
"You stabbed me!", he mimicks me in a high pitched voice. "You sound like Thor."
"I don't!", I say and rub my thumb. "Get here now, we have to figure out how to get you normal sized again."
He attempts to run away, but I catch him before he can get too far. Careful that I take care of his arms to not get stabbed again, I carry him to the bed and sit down. I open the book and place him next to me.
"This is humiliating", he states and crosses his arms.
I look at him and chuckle. "This is hilarious."
He glares at me. "Just wait until I am big again."
"Oh yeah, what are you going to do to me then?", I tease.
He raises an eyebrow, smirking. "What do you want me to do? Come on, are you having these thoughts again?"
"I - you little bastard." My face reddens and I poke my nose into the book in embarassment.
He snickers and reads over the page with me.
Ten minutes pass until we have found the right spell. I try a few times, and at the fifth attempt Loki grows into his normal size again. It happens so fast that he tips over and falls onto me.
"Ouch", I groan while being pressed into the mattress by his weight.
A feeling you could get used to, a voice in my head says.
Shut up, I think back.
Loki grins at me, not getting up. "Now, what did you want me to do after getting bigger?" He pauses. "Your face looks lovely when you blush, dear."
The butterflies in my stomach fly up while he smirks mischievously.
"Is your hand on my butt?", I ask him.
He freezes and looks down at his hand. It is at my butt indeed. Loki immediatly lets go of it and gets up.
"You look lovely when you blush, too. But it is less of a red and more like a light pink." I cross my legs and snicker.
"Shut up", he grumbles amused.
"Shut up? That is the answer of the  always so witty god of mischief?"
Loki turns around, an evil sparkle in his eyes. "Careful, dear."
I open my mouth but decide not to be too bold. So I get up and say: "I am going grocery shopping now. We need stuff to eat and to wear."
"I don't."
"You do. You are mortal now, you need to eat and change your clothes from time to time."
He rolls his eyes. I get my things and turn around to say I will be right back, and I catch him looking at the magic book with this dark expression in his eyes again.
"See you in half an hour", I say, eyeing him.
"See you", he answers.
I hesitate, then I go out the door.