Son of Mischief (Loki/Asgard Fanfiction - Selig's Story)

Chapter Nine

Club K was usually quiet on Sundays, but once the summer rolled around and the college kids came home from school, things picked up. It was a women-only gym and a good portion of the clientele were women over forty, but Celia didn't mind. They were women with disposable income and they loved the notion of having a personal trainer. And, unlike at a coed gym, she didn't have to worry about being hit on half as much as she did when Danny booked her clients at his other gym-Kickin' Ass. There she spent almost as much time brushing off overeager muscleheads as she did actually training them.

Mrs. Adler was a regular and Celia knew her because she worked with her on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays as well. She was forty-five, according to her file, and on her third marriage. She drove a silver Mercedes and the diamond in her wedding ring probably cost more than Celia made in a year. She was talker and loved to gossip and she seemed to know everything about everyone else at the gym.

"How are you today, Mrs. A?" Celia asked as she approached the treadmill where Mrs. Adler was dutifully warming up.

"I'm wonderful, Lia. How're you?" Her eyes narrowed. "You look a little tired. Did you have a date last night?"

Celia laughed. "No, but an old friend showed up unexpectedly and we were up late at the boards. How're those knees feeling?"

"Creaky, but they're loosening up. I'm like the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz. I just wish I could use an oil can. It would save me a lot of time."

"Well, walk for another five minutes and then we'll work on your arms today, give those knees a rest until Monday, okay?"

"So, tell me about this old friend. Boy or girl?"

She smiled. "Boy. We grew up together up in Hunterdon County. He moved away when he was about six, but came back to visit pretty regularly."

"He sounds special to you, Lia. First love?"

"Kind of. He just didn't know it."

Mrs. Adler sighed, lifting her towel from the treadmill bar to dab at her face. "Does he know it now? You never get over your first love, you know."

"He does." Celia lifted her water bottle to take a sip. Then, lowering it, she said, "At least, I think he does. He knows he's special to me."

"Good. That's the first step, So many people are afraid to take that step. But you look happy. I like seeing you happy."

"I don't always look happy?"

Mrs. Adler shook her head as the treadmill slowed. "No. Lately, you've looked anything but happy." She took her towel and her bottle of water and stepped down. "But now, you almost glow. Whoever he is, he must be a special young man."

"You have no idea, Mrs. A. No idea." Celia chuckled as she gestured over to the free weights area. "Let's start with some arm circles, get your shoulders loose so you don't end up overdoing it, okay?"

***

The townhouse was so quiet when Selig shut down the vacuum and put it away. He never realized how much life Celia brought to a room until now. He felt her absence in a way he didn't expect and as he sank onto the sofa, he sighed and leaned his head back.

Tony was fortunate Selig was only a regular man. He had no idea just how fortunate he was. If Selig had his magic, he would have made Tony pay for his insults, for his ever so grave insults. He was lucky Selig didn't smear him from one end of the parking lot to the other.

But he'd spent enough time on Midgard to know he couldn't dispense justice on his own. Asgard was one thing, Midgard was completely different. And so he'd managed to rein in his temper, to keep in check long enough to stuff Tony in his car and impress upon him just how much he meant that Tony should never show his face anywhere near Celia.