Silvertongue & Golden Wordsmith (Loki Fanfiction)

Chapter 16 Loki's Weakness

"Silvertongue! I'm home!" Halldora called, smiling even though her hair was dripping down her back. It was raining steadily outside, and she'd gotten so excited she'd danced for fifteen minutes in it. She'd left Loki in the apartment because she'd gone shopping with some of her friends and she didn't want him to see what she'd bought. Not that he'd have a clue what she was planning, but she didn't even want him to guess. 

He'd been reading when she left, but he'd abandoned his book and was watching television. It was a show Halldora had introduced him to a few days ago, and he hadn't seemed to particularly enjoy it until now. Maybe he'd been faking disinterest so that she didn't have leverage on him. He turned to her, and seeing her soaking wet made him frown. 

"Why are you wet? Did you have a shower in your clothes?" He asked. Some days he seemed like he was enjoying his time on Midgard with her. Other days, like today, he acted more like he did when they'd first met. Like he was trapped. 

"No Silvertongue, I met your brother and we waltzed on the top of a building," she replied quickly. She noticed him look sharply towards her at the mention of his brother. 

"Did he stand on your toes? Did he throw you off the building?" He asked. He sounded like he was torn between concerned and jealous. 

"No, but he is better dancer than you are," she replied, slightly annoyed that he wasn't in one of his better moods. 

"Well maybe he should come to the Halloween party and dance with you. I'll just find someone else," he replied. He shrunk into his spot on the couch, when suddenly there was a loud crack of thunder. He started shaking uncontrollably, but Halldora didn't notice. He stood up, grumbling to himself as he quickly moved into the bedroom. 

Halldora noticed he was tense as he left, but she didn't think much of it. She quickly took off her wet shoes and went to warm herself up in the shower. She hid the shopping bag first, in a cupboard she knew Loki wouldn't go into. They'd established when he first moved in that they would have a small cupboard each to put items they didn't want each other to see. They weren't allowed to question anything in there either. Mostly she kept her girls things in her cupboard, but she really didn't want him to see what she'd bought, so her shopping went in there too. 

As she let the water wash over her she thought about their spat. Loki obviously didn't know she was joking, but he didn't seem to be very upset with his own responses either. Well, apart from when he stormed into the bedroom. She wondered what had gotten into him, whether he was getting bored of her. 

Loki was pacing, shaking his hands as he tried to block out everything. His hair was shiny from rubbing his hands through it, and he felt like his head was trying to implode in on him. He couldn't think about anything, because Halldora's frown was invading him mind. Every distraction he could think of warped into her disappointing gaze. 

"Silvertongue, for the God of Mischief sometimes you really can't take a joke," Halldora said as she came out of the bathroom. She frowned, because Loki was still, supposedly, fuming in the bedroom from their backfired exchange. "Hey, I'm sorry okay," she softened when she didn't get a response from him, "I was just kidding." 

There was still no response from him, so she walked cautiously to the bedroom. She peeked around the door-frame nervously, and what she saw made her soften completely. Loki was curled up, his knees to his chest on the bed. His head was down, and this time Halldora could see him shaking furiously. 

There was another roll of thunder and Loki jumped, curling himself tighter. If Halldora didn't know him better, she would have guessed he was crying. But he was still a Prince, and a God, and there was no way he'd get caught crying over a little storm. Halldora crept carefully towards him, sitting on the corner of the bed. He felt pressure on the mattress and he looked up slowly. 

"What?" he asked, his voice almost a whisper. He could see her almost smiling, which made him feel worse. 

"I just," Halldora started, feeling herself start to smile. She stopped herself, but the corner of her mouth still tilted up in a caring way. "You do look adorable when you're vulnerable," she admitted, watching him grip his legs tighter to his chest. 

"I-," he stammered, but he kept shaking so hard he couldn't talk. 

"You don't like storms, because of Thor," she replied for him. She didn't need to ask, but she knew he wanted to talk about it. He nodded. "Are you worried it's because he's looking for you?" she asked. 

He nodded again. 

"And you don't want to be found?" she asked. 

He seemed to be calmer now, so he opened his mouth to speak. "I'm worried he'll take me away," he replied. 

"Silvertongue, it's okay," Halldora said holding her arms out for him. He didn't move, still shaking as the storm started to get to him again. 

"What if-," he said, an uneasy fear in his eyes, "What if I hurt you though?" he asked. 

"Why would you hurt me?" she asked. 

"Well, last time I was on Midgard," he said slowly, still in his shaking ball, "and it was raining, I hurt a lot of people. It's raining again, and I don't want to hurt you." 

"Oh Silvertongue," Halldora said, quickly wrapping her arms around him. At her touch his shaking became less violent, and he eventually breathed slow enough he could rest his head in the crook of her neck without pressing too hard into her. She almost rolled her eyes when she felt him jump as another lightning bolt flashed in the window. 

"You're really scared of him, aren't you?" she whispered, not really expecting an answer. 

"He could crush me with one hand, and he knows it," he muttered into her neck, nuzzling closer with his eyes closed. Halldora moved one hand up to stroke his hair. He calmed down again, and he started to relax his arms that were around his legs. He slowly wrapped his arms around her gently, and she cuddled him closer. 

"It's okay, I won't let him hurt you," Halldora said. His grip on her tightened, and he hummed softly. 

"Not that it'd stop him but, you promise?" he asked, sounding like he was smirking into her neck. 

"I promise," Halldora smiled. Loki hummed again, only jumping a little when the thunder rolled on.