Heaven Sent (Loki/Asgard Fanfiction - Aislinn's Story)

Chapter Seven

They lay entwined for a long while, with Steve moving only when he had to, but then coming back to gather her in his arms just as quickly.

For Aislinn, she would have been perfectly content to lay there with him until eternity drew to a close. The only thing marring the moment was that she wished she could tell him the truth about herself. But how did one do that? How did one confess to being a demigod and the daughter of a man most people considered only Norse legend? Steve would think she was mad.

"Where are you?" he murmured, his thumb grazing along her upper arm as they lay together underneath the sheet. She couldn't remember the last time she was so cozy, so comfortable, than she was lying there, curved against his warm body, her head resting on his chest, her hand on his stomach.

"I'm right here," she whispered, tracing a small circle around his navel. Below it, that soft dark hair narrowed into a thin trail that led beneath the sheet.

The sheet rustled softly as she rose onto her elbow. Moonlight spilled in through the sliding glass door leading to the upper deck, glinting off his hair, making his eyes glitter. He looked almost mystical lying there--mystical and perfect. "Where did you think I was?"

"You were so quiet, I thought you might have fallen asleep." He smiled sleepily up at her. "And I would have let you sleep, if you had."

He reached up to brush her hair away from her face, his fingers lingering over her left ear. "Did you spend time in Norway?"

"What?"

"Is that where you learned Norwegian?"

She nodded. "I spent some time there when I was younger." It was an old family joke, that they hailed from Tonsberg, Norway. But of course, she'd already told him she wasn't Norwegian. Damn it. She hated lying. It just complicated things so much worse.

Before he could pursue why she was in Norway, she said, "What about you? Have you traveled much?"

"A fair amount. I've been all over the US, parts of the Caribbean, Europe. Not too much in recent years, though." His fingertips swept along her cheekbone, which set off a flurry of tingles through her. Such an innocent touch and yet...

"Too busy with school?"

"School. Coaching. I run camps in the summer. I try to give back as much as I can. It's amazing what a little encouragement and a little time can mean to some kids."

She couldn't help her smile. He truly was nice men. So how on earth was he friends with someone like Jake? They couldn't be more opposite, from what she saw. "Younger kids or all high school age?"

"A little of both. I help run a football camp for kids looking to begin with Pop Warner from the end of June to the middle of July, then I run one for high school level kids from mid-July to August, when practice begins. Then when school starts, I coach the varsity football team and once December rolls around, I coach wrestling. I'm working on getting a strong wrestling program together, since that's probably my passion."

"Wrestling?" She wrinkled her nose. "Like that stuff on television?"

He rolled his eyes and groaned, but smiled as he said, "Not at all. That's all carefully choreographed--more dance than wrestling. No, I coach traditional wrestling. No flying elbows. No piledrivers. Just two guys grappling with each other."

"Is it a difficult sport?"

"It's cerebral. It requires finesse and skill, not necessarily brute strength."

She smiled. "I bet the kids love you."

"They respect me and it's a two-way street. I'm teaching them self-reliance, and grace under pressure, and how to suck it up and keep going even when you just want to give up and feel sorry for yourself."