All The Little Pieces

In The Morning

A bird was singing brightly somewhere right outside the window. Elizabeth turned her head, trying to shut out the exuberant sound and sink back into sleep. Instead, she realized her arm was weighted down with something heavy and her legs were caught in the bed.

She started to groggily wiggle free when the memory of last night came flooding back. She moved her head and peered next to her in the dim light, half expecting to have dreamt the night before. Loki's arm was draped over her shoulder and their bare legs were tangled together.

Elizabeth turned carefully and slipped her body free, then climbed silently out of bed. She crossed the room to visit the bathroom and get a cup of water, then tiptoed back to bed. Slowly, she slid back under the sheets and studied Loki's sleeping face against the pillow. He was so peaceful with his dark hair falling over his forehead and features relaxed.

As though he could sense her watching him, Loki opened his eyes slowly and blinked. A wide smile spread lazily across his face. "Good morning, beautiful," he said sleepily. "Come here."

Elizabeth obeyed, and he threw an arm across her bare waist. "How'd you sleep?" she asked.

"Wonderfully. I normally have horrible dreams, but the last three nights have been completely dreamless." He winked. "Apparently, the secret is me holding you. We'll have to try it again tonight."

She giggled and kissed his cheek. "Sounds like a plan."

He buried his head in the crook of her neck and trailed kisses down to her chest.

Elizabeth tried unsuccessfully to stifle a moan. "My God, Loki, I need to get up and take a bath. If you don't stop..." His lips reached a breast and covered it with light kisses. "Ohhhh, no, never mind, don't." He lifted his head with a grin.

She sat up. "No! Why did you stop?"

Loki looked at her in mock seriousness. "It sounds like your bath is extremely important." His eyes twinkled and the grin reappeared. "I may be more than the god of mischief to you, but it's still very much one of my titles."

Elizabeth shook her head. "Fine, let's see if you're ticklish." She attacked his side.

Loki spun away, laughing and flailing both arms. "Stop, help, aghhh!"

She flopped down across the mattress on her belly, laughing. Tentatively, he scooted back toward her. "I won't tickle you again, don't worry," she promised. Elizabeth ran a hand over his well defined chest and circled his belly button, then trailed her fingers down. It was Loki's turn to groan as she stopped.

"I'm going to get up and take that bath now," she said, eyes wide and innocent.

He fell back on the pillows and stretched. "Mmm, I think I'll come join you, then."

They both jumped at a booming knock on the rarely used upper bedchamber door.

"Who is it?" called Elizabeth, scrambling into a sitting position and frantically pulling up an armful of blankets to cover herself to the chin.

"It's Thor! It's an emergency!"

"Okay, then-"

The door burst open and Thor blinked in the dim light seeping through the curtains. He noticed Elizabeth sitting in bed under a mountain of blankets.

"Elizabeth...my deepest apologies for bothering you while you're still in bed, but I can't find Loki anywhere. He left dinner shortly after you did, but then the servants said he never went to his rooms, nor did anyone see him leave the palace. I don't know where he's gone. He was quite upset last night, and he may have done something incredibly stupid, and--"

Elizabeth felt Loki sit up behind her, his tousled hair and bare chest visible over her pile of covers.

"Ah. Hello, brother."

Her entire body flushed crimson under the blankets.

"Loki! Damn it...I didn't know...I, you...you've been there the whole time?" Thor's shocked face was crimson.

"Obviously, brother. In fact, I've been here since last night. I'm extremely well, but my deepest thanks for your concern. It's quite touching, really."

"I-I'm sorry, Lady Elizabeth. I beg your humble pardon. Loki, I need to speak with you, and it is of some importance..." Thor trailed off, staring intently at the ceiling.

Loki gazed at Thor coolly. "Of course. However, can it wait a while? At the moment, I'm going to need to find my trousers, unless it's really that pressing?"

"Odin's beard! No, stay where you are! It can wait!"

"In that case, brother, I'm going to take a bath, find clean clothes, and eat breakfast with Elizabeth. I'm sure you agree it would be ungentlemanly to rush away after--"

"Loki!" Thor's face was a brilliant shade of scarlet. "Stop talking!"

"I'll be along in a few hours, then." Loki smiled at Thor.

Thor glared at Loki. "Fine. I'll be in Father's study." He slammed the door after him.

Elizabeth and Loki stared at each other for a moment. "You are such an awful brother!"

They both collapsed back onto the pillows with laughter.

"It was too perfect to pass up surprising him. His face is always priceless." He yawned and glanced over at her. "Well, you have turned a lovely shade of pink all over, I see."

Elizabeth felt herself flush even more. "I...I wasn't expecting him to burst in, and then-" She dissolved into giggles. "You popping up like that was even more unexpected."

Loki laughed with her, then reached out and brushed hair back from her face. "Your laugh and smile are wonderful."

They looked at each other for a long moment, then Loki threw back the blankets. "I'm going to lock the door so we have no more surprise visits."

"Probably a good idea. I thought it was locked." Elizabeth stretched. "We don't need Maren to walk in, or Thor come back."

Loki waved a hand dismissively. "Thor can wait. Whatever he needs cannot be that terribly urgent. I'm definitely going to join you in the bath, and we can take our time. He won't come back."