The Scientist (Loki x OC)

Pt. 17: It Makes Me Wonder

Traffic had been more hectic for Luna than usual, being cut off at least five times by drivers who forgot where their turn signals were and had to take two detours, but she was home safe now. She granted herself a short breather and leaned against the locked door with her eyes closed.

Blinking a few times, she stood back straight and did her customary dress-down by the entrance. Loki, now accustomed to and expecting Luna's arrivals, paid her no mind as he busied himself with the pictures on her wall. He let her pad off to her room to change and freshen up before verbalizing the thoughts circling around in his mind.

"Tell me, is your mother royalty?" He asked, gesturing to the single picture on the wall. Luna didn't need to see what he was pointing at to give him a definitive answer.

"Oh, no, she isn't, but she sure looks like it in that saree." She approached him, admiring the image as well.

His interest peaked, Loki moved his gaze to her. "Saree?" Luna nodded.

"Yeah, that's what that's called. The one she's wearing is particularity exquisite." Loki looked back at the photo.

"It is indeed fantastic," he said softly. Luna's mother beheld the same grandeur of someone he would easily assume to be a Midgardian queen and someone Frigga would very much enjoy the company of.

"Yup. Though she only wore it twice, my dad loved to spoil her regardless."

"Have you one like it?" He wondered aloud.

"Oh, no, I would never wear something like that." She walked away from him and turned the stereo on, allowing the music inside to quietly begin playing. "I do have one, and I like it a lot, but it's nowhere near as nice as that one." She kept putting distance between them until she stood at the entrance to the kitchen. Once there, she did her daily search through her fridge in hopes of coming up with something to make for supper. Intent on continuing their small talk, Loki followed her and leaned his shoulder on the doorframe.

"How come you play music all the time?" Luna looked over her shoulder, a tad surprised to see him standing there.

"It fills the quiet," she muttered loud enough for him to hear. Taking a couple shrink-wrapped trays of vegetables from their shelf and she held them up, presented her idea. "Ok, so, for dinner, I'm thinking some roasted vegetables and rice, all done up with the appropriate spices. What do you think?" Loki flashed a smile.

"Sounds splendid." He couldn't care less what she made. He knew he would like whatever it turned out to be.

She gave him her own charming grin. "Awesome."

Having nothing else to say, Luna went ahead and got started on selecting all the herbs and spices she desired to use and setting up a tray to roast the vegetables in. Loki stayed where he was, keeping quiet in regards to his present company. In the past, he had never thought of observing food preparation as a form of entertainment, yet here he was, looking once more at his evening meal being made before his eyes.

Luna grabbed a pot and parceled out enough rice for two people. After putting the bag back into its place, she took to washing it. With how often she made fresh rice for herself, and now for Loki, she thought about getting a rice cooker, but ever since she was old enough to eat it, there had never been a need for one. She made rice the way she always did, rinsing it in a pot one, two, three times and putting it on a free burner to boil. On a new cutting board, she did a rough-chop of mushrooms, bell peppers, onions, and Brussel sprouts. From there, handfuls were placed in a large bowl and mixed together with spices, herbs, and olive oil.

With the stove and oven on and a timer set, Luna got to cleaning the counter space, Loki still ever the watchful eye. A perceptive person herself, she knew very well how he liked to observe his surroundings. In this specific case, the most exciting thing at the moment was her. It was perturbing at times, but his intentions remained innocent enough, so she let him watch as long as he stayed where he was.