Eviternity | Loki

moonlight

_____

❝  She found

the colours to paint him,

where the world 

had left him gray ❞

~Atticus

_____

It was late in the afternoon when she'd fallen into her usual fitful sleep. The day had been stressful and exhausting, so she wasn't at all surprised when she found herself unable to wake herself up.

It started with memories of her own, the ones that these walls knew all too well. Then it changed. She was seeing the dreams of the boys and girls around, mingling with all of the pain and hatred they'd endured. It was enough to make her break out into a cold sweat, as she started peeling the wallpaper from the walls in her stressed sleep. 

Then suddenly it was the Triskelion, the S.T.R.I.K.E. team, Hydra. And then it was all up in flames, building sections crumbled, Helicarriers fell from the sky. It was horrible, but it stopped in an instant. She felt a cool hand on her forehead, and then it was pushing her hair out of her face delicately. Calming her breathing, she opened her eyes to see Loki by her bedside once again.

"Hank found your clothes. There just inside the wardrobe if you want to put something comfier on. I think we should get you something to eat." She nodded, padding over to the wardrobe and freezing Loki momentarily in time. She pulled out a floor length robe and a comfy romper and changed, tying the silky white material securely around her waist.

Unfreezing Loki, she moved toward the door as she tied her hair in a low pony. He was remarkably calm for someone who'd just been frozen, and she admired him for it. She was beginning to grow very fond of his cool, complicated facade that she so desperately dreamed of cracking. 

They made their way toward the kitchen quietly and rummaged in the cupboards for a few moments before stumbling upon a box of Pop Tarts, a couple apples, and two bottles of beer. Asta looked expectantly at Loki and he shrugged.

"Seems like a good enough meal to me." He whispered and she nodded.

"The garden? It's a full moon." He mirrored her nod and they crept toward the back doors, slipping out into the cool spring night.

They ate in silence, leaning against the rail of the terrace, taking in the view of the illuminated gardens. She took the time to steal glances at the man standing beside her, drinking him in. He wore a dark green tunic that hugged his toned torso and slim fitting pants. His recent awakening left his hair tousled, and she appreciated that he didn't feel the need to look especially put together around her. Or even use his illusions. Silently she wondered how he could possibly manage to look so flawless all the time, but she guessed it had something to do with being a god.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. is falling. It won't exist soon, I can feel it. I saw it."

When they'd finished she set the things by the door and cracked open her beer, linking her right arm in Loki's left.

"Lets wander, shall we?" She smiled up at him.

"If I'm being honest, I never thought Midgard could be this lovely." She laughed at him gesturing to their surroundings, spinning out of his arms.

"This, my dear, is only the tip of the ice berg." Her eyes glittered as she looked at him, her silk robe fluttering around her bare feet in the cool breeze. "I just live for this. The beauty, the culture, the aesthetic, the aura, the nature, the history." She came back to his side and looped her arm back through his.

"I just wouldn't have expected such beauty from the looks of New York." A smirk graced her lips.

"We're still in New York, actually. Just not the City." He shot her a look, his eyes wide.

"Midgardian geography is confusing. And rather boring if I'm to tell the truth."

"Agreed." 

They walked in silence for a while until they heard voices ahead of them, and they continued along quietly. 

"Students out in the middle of the night? I should turn you in," Asta laughed as they approached the young couple sitting on the garden swing. Their eyes widened a bit in shock.

"I-we were just-" the girl fumbled over her words and Asta waved her hand. 

"I'm not going to turn you in, I would've done the same if I'd ever attended." She paused for a moment and raised the bottle to her lips. "Actually, I did. But I was older than you, and it was Charles. There aren't any rules with Charles."

The students gaped when she mentioned the professor, and she untangled her arm from Loki's. She shook the girls gloved hand and then the boys.

"My name is Asta. I think most people around here still call me Sigmund?" 

"I-I'm Rogue," the girl stammered, twisting her fingers with the boys.

"And I'm Bobby, It's really really nice to meet you." She smiled at the two.

"It's nice to meet you two. Now, I won't turn you in, but I am going to send you back inside, lovebirds. Off you go, sweet dreams." The teens practically leapt off the bench as she waved them off, making their way back indoors. 

She sighed heavily and sat down on the bench, patting the seat beside her. Loki moved into it, draping his arm across her shoulders. She nuzzled in closer, instincts controlling her sleep deprived brain. 

"S.H.I.E.L.D. is stupid. They said a dream wasn't enough to act on. I don't know why I'm so stressed about this it's their own damn fault." He hummed and said nothing for a time, silence ensuing.

"This healing factor affects your age, doesn't it." It wasn't a question, and he chewed his lip for a moment. "How long are you going to live?"

She shook her head, finishing off her beer. "I don't know. Three hundred? Five hundred? Three thousand?" She shrugged her shoulders, setting the bottle on the cobblestones and tucking her feet up onto the bench. "Hank might not even be able to tell. Logan's at least a hundred, but he's constantly fighting metal poisoning. In some ways I hope it isn't too long. I can't imagine outliving everyone here. It would get terribly lonely."

Loki turned toward her, encircling her protectively his arms. She wound her arms around his torso, the fabric of his tunic soft under the palms of her hands.

"Well, if all else is lost, I still have a few thousand years on my clock, darling."