Professor

Ch. 13 - Let me in

A/N : Happy easter ♥

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It hit her like a bomb.

His daughter.

For a long minute, Alice wondered if her heart had stopped beating, if she was still alive. She slowly made her way to the couch and let herself fall on it.

''Your daughter...'' she repeated, emotion strangling her voice, ''how... You said you weren't married, that there wasn't anyone.''

It felt like the weight of the world had fallen on her shoulders. Loki hesitantly stepped towards the couch where she was sitting.

''I'm not married. There's no one except you, Alice.'' he said as he knelt in front of her, gently reaching for her hands.

His fingers were cold, slightly trembling against her skin. Alice raised her head and gave him a questioning gaze, looking for answers in his eyes.

All of a sudden, she noticed the sad expression on his face and instinctively stretched out her hand towards his cheek. Her fingers slowly brushed against his pale skin. Loki closed his eyes for a second and he bit down onto his lower lip,

''She's not technically my daughter. She's my sister's daughter. I adopted her.''

Alice frowned,

''But you said you didn't have a...'' Loki cut her off straight, ''She died.''

A shiver ran down her spine, her stomach clenching at once. She felt terribly stupid now.

''I'm sorry...'' she whispered, ''I'm so sorry, I had no idea.''

After a moment, she allowed her fingers to slide between his, and he held her gaze for a second before averting his green emeralds to the floor.

''My family is the definition of clusterfuck.'' he muttered, his voice reflecting his anxiety.

Raising his head, Loki looked squared into her eyes and she saw something in his gaze. A shadow, painful, darker than sadness itself. The desire to hold him tightly raged in the back of her mind. Seeing him over sensitive and so vulnerable was completely new to her.

''I know it's the last thing you wanted to hear.'' he nervously scoffed, ''I haven't done anything right by you since we met.''

''You adopted your niece, how could I not want to hear that ?''

Muscles tensed with apprehension, Loki didn't seem to relax a bit and she licked her lips, ''Life was hard before I met my adoptive parents. I know it can be tough.''

Another silence fell between them. Alice saw him frowning and she smiled, her fingers slowly gliding on his wrist,

''Oh, and it's not a pathetic drama,'' she added, ''I had a happy childhood after that. In a calm area, where I wasn't afraid to run into drug dealers stealing the neighbors television.''

The young girl let out a sigh. She realized it had been a long time since she hadn't thought about her biological mother. Most of the time, she used to do as if she never existed. Not that she didn't love her, but it wouldn't make any sense to look for her now.

Leaning back into the couch, she sighed, ''Emily is lucky to have you.''

Alice closed her eyes for a while. The pillows sank next to her and she felt Lokis arms pulling her against him. Burying his nose into her hair, he started rubbing her back at a slow, gentle pace. The stress that had been following her for days disappeared at once as she snuggled into his warmth. Here, she felt safe.