Your Way Out

Epilogue

        2 A.M. on a Saturday night, I sat restlessly in front of the black and gold canvas. It had been five months since the incident with Hanna, or, what had taken over Hanna. The Illerhag as Loki called it. He refused to call that thing by her name. He said it was disrespectful to woman she was and the life that was lost.
Five months and I was just putting the finishing touches on my Persephone painting. An angelic woman with long tresses of golden waves, her lips full and plump as golden juices trickled down her chin. Cupped in one hand, a sliced pomegranate, spilling seeds and juices down her arm. A bright golden halo and beams of light sat behind the goddess as she slipped into decadence, temporarily condemning herself to the Underworld to be with her love.
I swiped the gold tipped brush in quick flicks around her onyx colored eyes, giving her long and beautiful gilded eyelashes. Dropping the brush onto a paint covered palette, I sat back, and sighed. I looked past the canvas and out the window. Avenger's Tower shining like a beacon above the city. The might blue A all aglow. Five months since the incident with Hanna. Three months since I moved out of the dorms, per the request of my therapist. She believed living in the tower was making my nightmares worse, so I found an apartment nearby. Some nights were better than others. Some nights, the tower was like a nice decoration in the distance. Something to look at like a lawn ornament. Other nights, it just felt like a reminder.
A chill danced down my spine as the floor creaked behind me. "Nightmare?" a low drowsy voice yawned as they approached. He looped an arm around and set a penguin mug full of steaming hot tea in my hands. The steam hit my nose. Spearmint and lemon balm with rose hip. The floral and citrus soaked into my lung with a bright tingle, immediately calming me down.
"Yeah. I'm sorry, you didn't have to go through the trouble," I replied. The mug warmed my chilly hands.
Loki leaned over and kissed the top of my head. "The proper response is 'thank you, your majesty. You're so good to me,'" he mocked. He dragged the ottoman from the small loveseat and sat beside me, sipping from his own silly penguin mug. He's taken a liking to Midgardian sleepwear. Parading around the apartment shirtless, a pair of green flannel pajama pants hanging loosely from his hips. Deep diagonal muscles slipped past his waist band.
New pink scars marred his body. Thin slashes scored across his left pectoral and jagged, irregular dots around his shoulder. He wore them like a badge of honor.
"Thank you," I smiled. The tea burnt my tongue but warmed my belly. I winced in pain as it singed my lips.
"Blow on it. Gods," Loki exclaimed, placing his mug on the paint covered table, and cupping my face with his hands. He was back to his Aesir form. Fair pale skin and slender features. His eyes the color of majestic sapphires. Instinctively, I leaned into the cold of his palm, placing my sensitive lip against his icy skin.
"You should get back to bed. You have work in the morning," I stated as I kissed his hand.
"So do you," he replied. "Arguably, yours is more important. Healing the battered minds of broken heroes." He recoiled in his seat and took a long drag of his tea. The new and improved magic-suppressing bracelet glistening against his wrist. "You need a good night's rest if you're going to listen to all of that whining."
"Loki," I grimaced.
"I'm sorry. Trauma," he corrected himself, yet he still rolled his eyes. "Come on, the goddess of spring can wait another night. To bed with you," Loki ordered, plucking my tea from my hands. I sighed complacently, throwing the paint brush into a jar full of murky water. "No pouting. Come, come," he ushered me back into the bedroom. I follow with less and less enthusiasm, dragging my feet past the door.
The room was mine and mine alone. Loki had his own apartment a few blocks away, but he managed to secure a small portion of my closet for his Midgardian clothes.
I crawled into bed. Loki handed me my tea and we sat comfortably besides each other. The room dimly lit by the small lamp on my nightstand. "One of these nights, you're going to have to sleep in your own bed," I smirked at him as I pressed the warm mug to my lips. The second sip was much more soothing. Honey and mint coated my tongue before slipping sweetly down my throat.
Loki frowned. "But your bed is much more comfortable. I think they just moved the cot from my old cell into my apartment. Besides," he passed a glance at me, "I find the view here much more pleasant."
I took a long gulp of tea to mask the blush that crept over my cheeks. It didn't matter. We'd touched so much that my emotions resonated with him. He smiled, knowing his cheesy lines made my heart swoon. Still, I knew my nightmares bled into his dreams. When I awoke in the middle night, coated in sweat and reeking of fear, Loki wasn't far behind. Some nights he'd pretend to go back to sleep, but I knew better. Other nights, like this night, he'd pretend to stir and rise naturally. Put the kettle on while I painted and bring me tea. He'd say that it was no trouble, but I could see the bags under his eyes. Still, Loki would never complain, unless I forgot to say thank you.
I curled into his chest. I cupped the mug and pressed it against my cheek, soaking in the homely warmth. The two sensations, Loki's icy skin and the tea's heat, merged in perfect unison. "Loki," I sighed lazily.
"Hm?" he perked. Long gentle fingers trailed through my hair, lightly tickling the back of my neck in delicate strokes. "Yes, my sleepy bunny?"
"Can you sing me that song?" I asked. My voice sank into a tired trill.
His chest bounced as he chuckled to himself. "Of course," he replied. Taking the mug from my slipping grip and placed it on the nightstand as he began to hum.

"I stormsvarte fjell, jeg vandrer alene

Over isbreen tar jeg meg frem

I eplehagen står møyen den vene

Og synger: "når kommer du hjem?"

I sank into the hollow between his ribs and arm. Slowly, but surely, Loki softly sang me to sleep as he did so many times before. There weren't enough ways to say thank you, even if I scoured all Nine Realms. I didn't want to think of where I'd be if it weren't for Loki. Instead, I savored the moments we had, and all the moments to come.

[The song is Jeg Saler Min Ganger performed by Tom Hiddleston in Loki, episode 3]