Stress Reduction ( Loki x reader)

Chapter twenty-two: I'm afraid of letting my walls down

"You are such a liar!" You laughed as Loki unlocked the door with a snap of his fingers.

"You can't call me a liar because my solution was better than yours." He mocked as he slid into the passenger seat of the Mercedes. "Besides, I'm a sorcerer, remember? I have much more interesting abilities than a plain vampire like you."

The hits of his insults huffed off your skin like drops of rain and when you looked at him he was half smirking at you, his shimmering face addicting. You rolled your eyes.

"If you're so keen on showing your superiority, be a good sorcerer and turn the engine on." He winked at you and the car roared to life.

"Whatever." You murmured as you stepped on the gas. On the right, he chuckled.

The busy New York scene, the ever moving atmosphere, lay proud in front of you as the attention grabbing car rolled on the asphalt through crossings and turns.

"So stealing cars, huh?" Loki asked after a while, breaking the silence.

A grin broke out on your face. "Wouldn't have been my first time."

"That was quite obvious." His cool words awakened something in you. The way he kept calm, yet still managed to playfully get on your nerves unsettled you.

"What is that supposed to mean?" The question came out more like an accusation, the way your jaw set.

"I was merely just trying to point out how impressive your thought process was when we were picking the car out." He defended. "Someone stealing for the first time wouldn't have been able to manage like that."

Your grip on the steering wheel softened and your voice returned to your normal, silky manner. "Nice save."

"If I wanted to insult you, you would already be crying somewhere. Trust me." Remark and cockiness flowed from him today. He was in a good mood so you decided to push it.

Turning to face him, you let your eyebrows run high on your forehead. "Trust you?"

"Yes." He smiled immediately. A threatening smile. "Trust me."

A not at all convinced smirk danced its way onto your lips that he shortly returned, letting the threat melt from his face, his cold blue eyes detouring to your lips.

"Speaking of trust," His attention came cold on your face, a kind of hidden fear reflecting back to you. "can I trust you to answer my question truthfully?"

It was always a guessing game with him. The absolute careful way he braids his words together makes it near impossible for anyone to know for sure when he was lying.

A second of composed panic passed in him, and then he nodded carefully, already examining your face.

"Why did you pull that little stunt? The one after your prank." Before he could protest- he wanted to, it was obvious -you continued, feeling out the edges of his tolerance. "As friends, I believe I can expect honesty."

"Are we friends?" His bitter expression threw you back a few steps mentally.

You pushed the gas pedal in sorrow rather than anger, swerving around cars and people with unbroken concentration. "Aren't we?"

He breathed a laugh. "if you'd like to pretend, we can be..."

"So you don't want to be my friend, it sounds like." A small grin snaked its way onto your face.

"Maybe I don't." He said after a while, his breath barely above a hum.

You weren't sure whether to react or not, honestly, you weren't even sure if he was joking or not, let alone how you felt about his words. Was he manipulating you through precisely knit words again or was he just telling his truth. Suddenly, the steering wheel felt too rough under your fingertips and you became too aware of the rising and falling of your chest, almost as if a stone had been put there.