Giftless

Chapter 29

You woke to grumblings from your boyfriend. "What the Hel has happened to my hair?!?" you heard him as he stood to go look in the mirror. You laughed as you sat up to watch him from where you had slumped over on the couch to doze.

"You fell asleep in front of your girlfriend while possessing long hair," you replied while you laughed. Your braids had come out quite nice actually. And Loki with braids was definitely hot. Not that you cared much about hotness factor at the moment. Just because you didn't want sex, didn't mean you couldn't appreciate the view.

Loki looked over your work in the mirror. He was half-terrified for his precious hair and half-checking to see how you'd done with the braids. He finally sighed and relaxed. "Nicely done, Lady," he finally replied with a smirk and a bow.

"You don't mind?" you asked nervously. It had been soothing to do, so you hoped you would have the opportunity again. You didn't want him upset over you messing up his precious hair, though.

"Not at all. I was simply surprised," he reassured you. He had a soft, fond smile on his face when he continued. "We often wear our hair braided for events such as feasts and battles. The style you chose was different, but it is definitely not something I mind," he added. You had made very simple braids, but maybe he'd teach you to braid his hair properly at some point. It had also taken you longer than you'd like since you kept having to restart so it would be perfect.

"Good. It was fun," you told him with a grin.

He smiled back at you. "Then I mind even less," he told you warmly before you stood and went to hug him, wrapping your arms around his slim waist.

You didn't bother changing to go to breakfast. It was a Sunday morning. Most of the supers slept in anyway, and they were all family. Plus, you were wearing Loki's clothes, which were too big on you anyway. Loki looked put-upon when you wouldn't let him put his hair back down, but he was laughing. He'd only been teasing. You knew he'd blame you anyway when the others teased him for it. "I must love you," he told you when he let you drag him downstairs with his hair still braided.

"I worked really hard on that," you grumbled at him, giggling. He sighed, but followed along after you anyway.

Even Helene gave him a smirk when she saw him. Loki wouldn't be mean to the housekeeper, though, so she got away with it without being stabbed.

You ate our breakfast in peace, but it wasn't long before the other supers started coming down for theirs. Tony came down too and Loki got up to let Tony join you at your table.

"Hey, Kat, how are you holding up?" he asked gently. He was walking on egg shells around you, unlike Loki.

You gave him a smile, trying to reassure him that you really were ok. He didn't need to know you still felt dirty. Or violated. Or raw. "I'm doing a lot better," you told him, and actually wasn't lying. It was straining to hear all of the buzzing of people's thoughts, but it wasn't as bad since Loki had helped you learn to deal with them, it was just an annoying background noise at the back of your mind. You were doing a lot better, which was saying something about how poorly you had been dong.

He looked you over, looking for the lie, and was finally relieved when he couldn't see one. He then looked you over more closely, scrutinizing something. "What the hell are you wearing?" he asked.

Oh. That's what he was whining about this time.

"Pajamas," you replied dryly. That was obvious.

He glared, but thankfully dropped the issue. He turned to Loki. "Nice look, princess," he said to Loki instead, making fun of Loki for his hair. He and Loki still didn't completely get along. Though they usually weren't completely antagonistic.