Fix You (Loki Romance)

Chapter 17

I woke up still wrapped in Loki's arms. His arm tightened as I opened my eyes and I looked up to find him watching me with a small smile. "Good morning." I whispered, stretching.

He laid a slow, sleepy kiss in the curve of my neck. "Morning, wife." He replied. I took his hand from around my waist and looked at the heavy gold ring, feeling a surge of pride for being the one to put it on him. "Sleep well?" He asked. His voice was muffled as he slid under the sheets.

"Mhm." I peeked at him, wondering where he was going. "And you?"

"Mmm..." He shrugged, glancing up at me. He'd had nightmares through the night. Little moments where his dreamless sleep was yanked from him by whispers in his mind that sounded like a voice at his ear. A hand that gripped him in the dark, revealed in the light of the dying fire to be the duvet tangling around him. I had held him through every gasp and every second of tears that he hid in the pillows. The dreams had subsided halfway through the night and he had slept silently, without even moving. But his eyes were clear and relieved now and filled with a hint of mischief.

"What are you doing?" I frowned at him.

He shot me a teasing grin before sliding lower. "Good morning, little one." He kissed my belly and then looked up at me again. "I was wondering, how would you feel about a walk around the area?" I wrinkled my nose.

"First, I'm comfy. Second, I'm hungry. And third, it's a grassland. What's there to see?"

He chuckled. "Well, I didn't mean now. After breakfast. And it's much more than a grassland, believe me. You'd like it, I promise."

I thought about it and then nodded. "What else are we going to do? We're here for a week after all."

He slid back up to sit against the headboard. "Anything at all, my love. I don't want you to ride too much. But there are a number of places to see around here within walking distance. And I have a surprise for you but that's for later."

I pouted. "But I want it now!"

He chuckled and moved to stand. He stretched slowly, groaning as I heard a series of pops in his back. "You can see it in two nights, I promise."

I groaned in frustration and flopped back onto the bed. "Why two nights?"

"Because I need the moon to be full." He laughed as I groaned again. He flicked his wrist and the dying fire roared back to life. I waved him back over. "What?" He leaned over me, his hands pressing heavily into the mattress.

I sat up to kiss him again. "Is he gone?"

His gaze stayed on me but it was far away, inspecting the inner workings of his mind. He nodded finally and focused on me again. "He was never quite here. It's like... When lightning strikes. And that space between it and the thunder, you wait anxiously for it to be filled. But when it doesn't, you wonder if you missed it. If the thunder came too softly to be noticed or whether it came at all." I nodded. "He's made the space. I felt him connect again. But he wasn't there and it's hard to tell sometimes if he came at all. Or if perhaps I'm too comfortable with him in my thoughts that I can't tell."

"What do you think?" I ran one hand through his messy hair and laid the other on his chest, counting the thumps below the skin.

"I don't think he came." He sighed. He lowered his head and closed his eyes, pressing closer to my hand. "I think he's taunting me." One hand slipped up to take mine and he ducked his head to kiss me, this time slower, deeper. I sighed into the kiss and smiled when he leaned away. "I'm not giving you a very good honeymoon, am I?"

I shrugged. "The wedding night sucked but I'll keep that a secret."

He smiled. "Thank you. I've a reputation to uphold after all." I rolled my eyes and pushed him away. He opened the door and glanced back towards me. "What do you want for breakfast?" He asked.

"Bacon."

"And?"

"No that's it."

He chuckled and left the room. I burrowed into the sheets and closed my eyes, napping while he cooked. I mentally patted myself on the back for teaching him to cook back on earth. He could always use magic but it wasn't the same. The smell of eggs and bacon filled the cabin and I opened my eyes to hear the door open. Loki nudged me and I sat up. He set a tray down on my lap and kissed my cheek.

"I have to go feed Sleipnir and Holt. I'll be right back." I nodded and looked down at the tray. It was heaped with eggs and, thankfully, loads of bacon! He came back a few minutes later and smiled when he saw me nibbling on a strip. He sat beside me and took a bite of the eggs. We talked quietly while we ate. I'd just taken a bite of the last strip of bacon when he protested. "Hey!"

I turned to him and smiled. I slipped the strip between my teeth and made a face. Grinning, he bent forward and took a bite. I pulled my bacon back and gave him a mock glare. He laughed and chewed happily. We finished and he set the tray on the table by the bed. We laid back and relaxed quietly, too lazy to move just yet. Well, I was lazy. He was still catching up on sleep.