Fix You (Loki Romance)

Chapter 28

Since Loki kept Kenna with him, I was able to take the girls into the city for a little bit. We shopped and ate and they tried to just keep my mind off of everything that had gone wrong lately. But eventually, I had to call it a day. Kenna would be getting hungry. She was sleepy after I nursed her so I tucked her in, hoping I would get a few hours to sleep.

She woke periodically for the rest of the day but never for very long. It was late in the night when she seemed to get her energy back. She started wriggling in her crib and moments later, I was fully awake to the sound of crying. Rolling out of bed with a groan, I picked her up and tucked her against my shoulder. Immediately she stopped.

"Oh I see." I smiled. "Now you wanna snuggle with Mommy. Alright." Exhausted though I was, I was up now and couldn't go back to sleep. So I nudged a heavy tome off the desk and hefted it to my bed. Laying Kenna down gently, I flipped the book open. "I could read you a bedtime story but I guess you wanna stay up, huh?" She gurgled and waved her fist at me.

Grinning, I bent to lay a loud smooch on her belly. "Alrighty." I lit two candles and turned to the last chapter I had read. Taking a deep breath, I cleared away my worries and tensions. Opening my palm slowly, I drew my energy into my palm. There was a crackle and a spark and then, just a centimeter above my palm lit a small fire. It wasn't a real fire; it wouldn't burn. Closing may hand into a fist, I let it out.

"Your Papa taught me this. He'll teach you one day." There was a pitcher of water on the desk across the room. I drew the water closer to me. "This is all I can-" I stopped as there was a knock on the door. "Yeah?"

The door opened slowly to reveal an immediately familiar sight. Loki held the hem of his shirt in his hands and wrung it nervously. He stepped in, closing the door softly behind him.

"I couldn't sleep." He said. "She's usually awake about now."

I nodded. Patting the edge of the bed, I waited for him to limp closer.

"You should be using your cane." I admonished. He waved it away, collapsing onto the mattress. Rolling closer to Kenna, he kissed her cheek.

"Hello, little one."

She reached for him with loud, delighted cries, her tiny hands grasping for him. He sat up and lifted her into his arms. I returned the water to the pitcher and watched as he let his illusion fall to reveal his natural blue. Kenna immediately did the same.

"She's too smart for her own good, I think." I smiled. He nodded.

"I wonder how she knows to do that. It is not natural so it should not be an instinct."

"She only does it with you." I shrugged. "Maybe it's just a reaction to being near another Jotun." He hummed but didn't say anything.

"Do you want to show Mommy what you learned? Hm?" Lifting his head, he drew the water back out of the pitcher. I watched his hand, trying to learn from the gentle sway of his arm and the graceful bend of his wrist, the way his fingers stretched and curled in the air. The water compressed into small balls of moisture and as he brought one towards Kenna's hands, she reached out to grab it.

It fell to the bedding, frozen solid.

"She can do that already?" I whispered. I picked it up but it started to melt in my hand. Loki drew the water back into the air and returned it to the pitcher.

"It's an instinctual response, really. Something to be expected. But at least it tells me she is healthy."

"Is she still in your head?"

He shook his head. "It's less of an intrusion now. It feels as though she's shouting to the world and I simply know how to hear her. She's no longer in my head, so to speak. But I have to be careful."