Loki isn't the only one who can teleport people.
He knew that.
What he didn't know was that there existed someone who could match his flare for speech and cunning.
"Hey! There's Mr. Peter Pan! Or should I say, Mr. Romeo?" Duke cried, bringing Loki in with a bear hug. It reminded Loki of Thor's hugs, but not as rib-breaking. He hugged Duke back, realising how much like a brother the florist had been to him. They broke apart and Duke smiled.
"So, coming for more flowers? Or do you need to apologise for something again?" The florist smirked, though this time the question was playful.
Loki giggled in spite of himself, "No, i don't need to apologise. At least, I hope not," he said, avoiding the man's gaze.
"Well, that's great! So what combination of flowers this time? Or do you need to look through the book again?" Duke asked.
"May I look at the book? I'm not sure how to phrase it this time," Loki smiled.
Duke nodded, going into the back of the store for a moment before returning with 'the book'. Loki had asked Duke once how he put together his bouquets. The florist had explained to Loki that his family used the Victorian 'flower language' for decades, and he still used his great-grandmothers flower dictionary to create his bouquets. Loki had used the method once before, but he knew Halldora wouldn't know the meaning.
The book was small and a yellow-brown colour. The spine had strips of ancient tape keeping it together, and there were handwritten notes in the margins in four or five distinct individual handwriting. Loki had been hesitant to touch the book at first, but he remembered what Duke had told him. "Books are meant to touched Loki, meant to be read. That's why we put notes in the book, and that's why it's taped within an inch of its' life. It's like a document of my family history, full of love and knowledge. And every new note, every time this book is read we're keeping it alive and adding to it for the next person to use. I trust you to add more to the books' life, that's why I trust you to use it."
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Loki took the book, flipping through the pages full of notes and arrangements, even tiny love notes from history. He'd never seen something like it before. All his Asgardian books had been his mothers', that was true, but she'd never 'added to them', and neither had he. He'd been taught that the value of the book was to keep it in its' original condition, but Duke's method made much more sense to him now. The book really was like a time-capsule. Every now and them he caught passages that were in Duke's handwriting, which intrigued him further.
His favourite passage pointed to three different flowers. It was one of Duke's very early notes, because it looked like the handwriting of a teenager. Loki read it again and smiled. 'For Lola, to ask her to the dance. I don't know if it will work, but it will be pretty anyway. If she doesn't understand the flowers, at least she'll find it cute.'
"Soooooo, Romeo," Duke interrupted him, getting out some tissue paper.
Loki looked up, still smiling as he frowned. "What are you trying to imply?" he asked, going back slightly to his Asgardian speech pattern.
