A Twist Of Marvel || Infinity War

23. Blush

To clarify: this chapter is written through Loki's eyes.

The Andvari, as it had been named, was a cramped vessel. The rooms provided for its passengers were not suited to the grand tastes of the younger prince. The fact that Thor had taken the largest room was also a source of annoyance, though Loki suspected Thor only wished to be a divider between his brother and the prophet. The thought nearly made him roll his eyes, he had no such intentions toward the woman. She was, however, currently the most interesting thing on board the landed spacecraft. The trio had landed on the fiery planet Muspelheim after a few jumps through the galaxy, where Naomi had reported Surtur to be. Thor had embarked to slay the demon alone, reassured by Naomi that he had easily survived the fight in her visions.

The more Loki observed her, the more questions he thought to ask. Several times during their flight, she had taken out a Midgardian phone, only to fiddle for a few seconds and put it away. Loki knew that many Midgardians thought their phones precious to them, however Naomi clutched hers as though it was a lifeline. It was one of the several oddities about her that set her apart from the other humans he had met, though truthfully Loki had never attempted to 'get to know' a Midgardian. Thus far, the prophet woman had proved to be an exception in his mind. It was for these reasons that Loki had opted to remain in the ship's common room after his brother departed.

The room was circular, and the largest space the Andvari had to offer. Lining its walls were the base necessities for cooking, food storage, and even weapon upkeep. In the center was a large table in the round, with three cushy seats for three passengers. Presently, Loki was perched on a counter, fingering a page of his book while his mind wandered elsewhere. Naomi was seated at the table, her profile facing him as she once more fiddled with her phone, seemingly frustrated. Giving up with the rectangle, she laid it on the table and leaned back, blowing a strand of hair from her face and stealing a glance at Loki. Her eyes met his and ripped away immediately, prompting an amused smirk from the God. She proved to be interesting even when only sitting, Loki mused internally. The ancient text in his hands, knowledge of magic he probably wasn't allowed to have, was all but forgotten.

"Say, uh," Naomi started, her eyes darting to his once more, "I said I would tell you what we're here for, huh?" For such anxious eyes, her voice was surprisingly even, though with a hint of resign. In spite of himself, Loki leaned forward at her question, dangerously close to falling.

"I believe such a promise was made." Loki answered, gracefully sliding off the counter and moving to sit beside her. He expected the proximity to send another blush onto her cheeks, the liked of which hadn't gone unappreciated by Loki. However her air was more comfortable now, and as much as that pleased him, Loki found himself disappointed to see her rosy cheeks go.

"Well, I think a summary should suffice for now," She said, "but I do have a question for you after." The 'question' was clearly one of importance, judging by the way her eyes clouded over as she spoke. Yet another curious aspect of Naomi Swanson that Loki needed to explore.

"As you wish." Loki nodded, leaning into his seat and crossing his legs as he gave her his attention. Strangely, she appeared to have a slight reaction to his response, a slight smile as though she knew a secret about his words. Intrigued, he made a note to inquire about it later.

"So i'm not exactly a prophet, I think I already said that. But I do know the future-or what the future would've been if I hadn't come here." As she spoke, her gaze alternated between his eyes and her lap, annoying Loki. He wished she would simply look at him, and certainly not stare into the floor as though she were embarrassed. However he made no verbal protest, and Naomi continued uninterrupted. "I'm from another dimension where this dimension," She gestured around them. "Exists in movie screens."

Loki nodded, uncrossing his legs to lean his elbows on as he leaned forward. He was somewhat familiar with the concept of movies, enough so to understand her point. "So basically any major battles in this world are movies, so I've witnessed the fights in great detail. The movies are all grouped together under the company Marvel, and Marvel follows the Avengers, among other heroes."She paused there, waiting for Loki to confirm his understanding.

"And these other heroes include?" He prompted, propping his head on his hand. As he observed, Naomi grew a touch chaste, though unfortunately no blush appeared.

"Well, you've been on the screen a lot, i'll say that. Theres also-" Naomi was cut off as Loki interjected, no longer interested in other obscure superheroes.

"Myself on the screen? Do tell." His tone was nearly teasing, though Loki was genuinely curious as to what she had seen of him. In the back of his mind, he remembered what Thor had told him of Naomi's opinion of the God of Mischief. Her smile now bashful, Naomi averted her gaze to the side of the room, chewing her bottom lip. Loki himself kept his eyes trained on her, continuously amused by the woman.

"Well there was the first, ah, conflict I saw when Thor was banished to Earth for a period." Unknown to Naomi, Loki's eyes immediately hardened as he leaned backward. It was becoming clearer what she had seen of him, and she obviously wasn't finished. "The second was when the whole convergence thing happened and the dark elves and such." Naomi waved her hand idly as she spoke, her tone very casual as though there was nothing wrong with what she had seen. However Loki had a differing opinion, as he knew exactly what had happened each of those times.

It was now entirely possible that the woman in front of him had paid witness to the lowest moments of his life, which troubled him greatly for some reason. The news was enough to shake Loki thoroughly, as he thought back on just what she could have seen. Asking her seemed too great a risk, as though he was anxious to maintain her good opinion. Hers was one of the only positive opinions that existed about him, and though Loki would never admit it, it mattered greatly to him.

"Oh, I almost forgot the first avengers," Naomi muttered under her breath. "Right, I also saw when you, ah, came to New York." Her delicate wording of the event was almost misleading, though Loki knew there was only one battle she could be speaking of. He tore his eyes from her as her gaze returned to him, only to see the effect her words had brought. Loki had disengaged from the conversation, slowly spiraling into his own mind.

"Im sorry," she blurted, desperate to fix his mood. "If I had known that- that all of this was real I wouldn't have intruded." Her words were genuine but she had misinterpreted what Loki was upset about. It was less of the fact that she had watched private moments of his life, but the shame of her knowing. It was a burning sensation inside him, one that he had experienced too much for his liking. Coupled with the confusion of why he was so ashamed this woman should know his low moments, and most importantly how she still had a good opinion of him. It was only the last question that he voiced.

"Then why is your opinion of me so kind?" Loki spat in defense, their eyes locking. Her stare was saddened and misty, the sight of it stirring a strange sense in the back of Loki's mind. However, he paid no attention to his inner thoughts as his emotion burned him up. "If you have seen so much, how can you see such good in me?"

Naomi didn't ask him how he knew what she thought of him, and didn't seem to care. Her eyes were wide and vulnerable as she answered him swiftly, with an underlying passion he hadn't expected.

"Because i've seen so much of you."

For a frost giant whose body naturally ran cold, heat in his cheeks was strikingly new for Loki.