Loki and I

Hangin' With Loki - (S1 E36)

The doors hiss themselves closed behind me as I walk shakily into his cell, desperately trying to hold myself together.

Loki beckons for me to sit next to him in the centre. My bottom lip wobbles as I sit down beside him.

"Now, eheh," he does a nervous chuckle.

My frown goes even bigger, feeling like a stretchy rubber band. More hot tears spill from my eyes, I attempt to stop it by closing them. It doesn't work. I heave out short, sharp cries.
"Sorry," I whimper, but now that I've started, I can't stop. I rub an eye, refusing to make contact with his.

"Oh, Rose," Loki sighs, closing his eyes slowly. He wraps a wing around me, pulling me closer in to a hug, "Oh, Rose, Rose, Rosie, Rose..." I cry into his shoulder for a minute, "We don't have to talk about it," he rests his chin on my head, "After all, I am the person you'd least want to open up to."

I sniffle, staring up at him, "Not true," I mumble quietly.

He lifts a corner of his mouth into a lopsided, knowing smile. After a moment of silence, except for the small, embarrassing sobs of me, Loki speaks up, "Tell you what," he grins, pulling away from the embrace. He trots to one of the books in his cell, nudging it towards me with his muzzle. Loki sits down next to me, "Let's read, shall we?"

I sniffle again, "But- you know I'm stupid, I can't read-"

"That does not make you stupid," he says defensively, "Intelligence can't be measured by one mere thing."
He opens the thick, laminated cover, flipping through a few pages with not that much writing on it and gesturing it towards me. He looks at me expectantly.

"I can't read," I repeat like it's the most obvious answer ever.

He leans forward, "That changes today, love," he grins.
"Now, what does this word day?" He points to the first three words in bold text on the page.

"Wait, aren't you going to teach me, first?" I ask, sniffling and trying to show some interest.

"I believe in learning on the job," he gives me a small wink, "Read. Text. Now."

I wipe my wet eyes, "Urgh, fine!" I growl jokingly, managing to stop my crying. I squint at the writing, "Um..."

"Take your time," Loki adds.

"I-I can't," I reply shamefully, "It's a big word, okay?" I know I sound stupid.

"I'll give you a hint, the first letter is 'G'."

"Guacamole!" I exclaim.

"PFFFFFTHEHEHE-" he bursts out in laughter, quickly pulling himself together, sitting up straight, "Sorry, sorry," he mutters, "No, no, that's not it, eheh... it's a bit like a compound word."

I blink, all traces of crying fading away. "A what now?"

"A compound word," Loki repeats, "It's two words combined together to make one word."

"Ohhhh," I say, "You mean like cream cheese and chilli sauce?"

He raises an eyebrow, "Um... I don't know what you're talking about, but I will just say yes."

"Okay, so what does it say?" I ask, wiping away the last of my tears, my eyes suddenly feeling dry.

"It says 'Goodnight'," he replies.

"But it's not my bedtime yet," I say, confused.

"Eheh, no, the word is 'goodnight'," he explains.

"Oh," I drag the word out, "Thank you."

"Not a problem. Well, a little bit of a problem, but not really," Loki rants, "So, what does the next word say?"