Muffins - Loki & Ylva alternate universe stories

Love with a bite XV

Author's note: Last chapter of this AU story. Top art by 'kellydoo', via Pinterest.

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Thor is right: killing Laufey merely because he wanted to sink his fangs in a human girl is not enough reason. For Loki it is, because of who that human girl is, yet that argument will be swept off the table in mere moments. It is well known that Loki and Laufey loathe each other and even though the Russian vampire doesn't really have friends among the other royal clans, he is old and powerful enough to have scared some of them into loyalty. Now Loki has killed him in a fit of rage - no matter how justified - he will have to pay, not even Thor's status can prevent that. Not that Loki wants to hide behind his brother, though he's not ready to see his life end either. Even if Loki can keep his head, the repercussions for his clan will be dire. And that's just from the leaders of the vampire community, the inevitable revenge by Laufey's clan is a whole other story.

Ylva's friend are easier. After Fandral and Hogun have retrieved them from the dancefloor and brought them into the office, where Ylva had curled up on the couch that was pushed to one of the walls - putting her feet up like the cat she is -, they were easily persuaded by Thor's story. Ylva told them she was attacked when she came out of the restrooms, to be saved by Loki before anything really bad could happen. This was all true, meaning she didn't have to actually lie. Thor did that, using his authority and suave smile to convince them everything was taken care of. Luckily the three were not sober enough to wonder how everything could have been wrapped up in the space of barely an hour; police investigations tended to take more time than that. The story was Loki's idea, yet he left it to Thor to play it out; this way it was less likely that it came back to bite him in the ass.
Her friends had assumed Ylva was with Loki, when she didn't came back. It made them pour out a hundred excuses to Ylva, for not being there when she needed them.

Loki went home with her; this was not questioned by anyone, least of all by him or Ylva. It seemed like a natural thing to do, even when his mind is occupied with the implications of tonight. Ylva doesn't say anything about his brooding, she just disappears in the shower for a bit, before returning in an old T-shirt and shorts. Her T-shirt shows a washed out picture of a blond warrior, barely dressed and carrying a large sword. He reminds Loki of a gladiator, or maybe even Thor. 'He-man' it reads in large letters underneath the figure. Loki pegs him as an eighties cartoon character.

Ylva pads around the room, totally at ease around him even though her shorts give him a nice view of her toned legs. They've barely known each other for two weeks, but it seems longer; events like tonight tend to have that effect.

Sitting against the headboard of Ylva's bed, Loki watches her as she makes herself ready for bed. She grimaces from pain every now and then, anger burning like a hot coal in Loki's stomach every time he sees it. Luckily that rabid dog didn't do any real damage on her; other than a light sprain, a cut and heavy bruising Ylva is fine. She's even more fine than he would have expected; it's a miracle how laidback about it all she is. She cried a little earlier in the evening and when they informed her friends her voice cracked multiple times and her eyes glistened with tears, but she hasn't broken down. Yet.

When he has tucked her in bed, she finally confronts him with his broody staring. She is right, he has been staring and he is brooding. His mind is going around in circles, trying to come up with a solution that will keep Ylva out of trouble as well as himself. Loki is conflicted. If he had kept more distance between him and the girl, this would never have happened; or at least he would have had a better hold on himself when he saw her in Laufey's claws. Now he has put himself and his clan in danger over a human girl. A human girl that is very special to him, a girl that has found a way to his heart in an alarmingly short time. Put in the same situation again, he probably would have killed Laufey all over again. He already didn't need much incentive to kill Laufey, although he certainly could have been smarter about it. Now he needs to be smart about finding a way to clean up this mess. He would prefer to keep Ylva out of it as much as possible, but he keeps returning to the same point: the girl is the only explanation for him killing Laufey tonight. The other two vampires are collateral damage; it is Laufey's sudden death that he will be held accountable for, together with his clan.