𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐰 ❅ 𝐥𝐨𝐤𝐢 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐧 - 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞

"'𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬,' 𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭, '𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠.'"

❅

"Well, I saw her in the ballroom, and I said, 'you're making everything look so beautiful; we should have a dance tonight.' I never imagined that she'd actually say yes," Loki gushes, looking through his large wardrobe of mostly unused clothing as Thor and Clint listen in amusement. "What was I thinking?!"

"No, Brother, it's perfect!" Thor consoles. "The rose has only four petals left, which means tonight you can tell her how you feel!"

"I don't give a damn about the rose," Loki scoffs, throwing another shirt that he deemed unworthy across the room. "And I feel like a fool. She will never love me."

"Don't be discouraged," Thor reaffirms. "She is the one!"

"I really wish that you would stop saying that," Loki huffs. "There is no 'one.'"

"You care for her, don't you?" Thor asks.

"Yes. No. Ugh- I don't know!" Loki sighs.

"That's a yes," Clint says.

"Woo her with beautiful music and romantic candlelight!" Thor says, giddy with childlike excitement for his brother. "Don't worry, Brother. You'll be fine!"

"Just stop being so nervous, and tell her how you feel," Clint adds.

"When did you become an expert in romance?" Loki scoffs at Clint.

"I have a wife and kids, dipshit."

"Oh, yeah."

❅

"Oh, beautiful!" Natasha exclaims as she, Mrs. Potts, and Wanda all gaze at Belle.

Dressed in the most beautiful emerald green dress that she had ever seen, Belle, for the first time, actually feels like a true princess worthy of the castle that she is living in. The floor-length dress is paired perfectly with a small, ornate pendant with a small, teardrop-shaped emerald encased in a thin layer of gold hanging from the chain (readers of "Shattered", my other Loki fic, know what I'm talking about ;)).

"It's still missing something," Wanda says, observing Belle head to toe before letting out a small gasp. "I've got it!"

"The finishing touch," Mrs. Potts agrees as small flake of gold shimmer down from the ceiling, forming intricate, leaf-like designs on the bottom of Belle's gown.

"Wow," Belle gasps, examining herself in the mirror.

"Now go, go, before you're late!" Natasha squeals excitedly, pushing Belle towards the door with her feather-duster wings/hands.

"Thank you all," Belle says with a smile, her fingers wrapping around the doorknob as she attempts to calm the butterflies in her stomach.

Was this a good idea? Belle asks herself as she slowly descends down the stairs, having to put conscious effort into not tripping on the long trail of her dress.

Before Belle has a chance to answer her own question, however, she comes to the bottom of the staircase, and looks up to see Loki fidgeting nervously a few feet away from her.

Belle's eyes widen as she looks at Loki, his hair swept back in neat waves forming a onyx sea extending just beyond his neck. Loki's ruby-red eyes shimmer brightly in contrast to the dark, forest green of the polished armor that he was wearing, and his pale blue skin illuminates his sharp jawline and chiseled nose.