Beyond The Stars (UNDER REVISION)

New Family

A beep awakes me from my sleep. My eyes flutter open. I feel a warmth in my hand. I look up to see Loki sleeping with his arm off the bed. I follow his pale arm to find my hand I his. I blush instantly. Not wanting to let go, I lay my head back down. I run my thumb in a soft circle on his hand. Wait... Do I... Like Loki?" Before I can think too much, I'm reminded of why I woke up when another beep echoes from my phone. I reluctantly let go of his hand and check my messages. Wait... What? I reread the message from my childhood friend. I let out a happy squeal. Loki jumps up from sleep and looks at me scared. "What is wrong? Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

I let out a laugh and kick my legs in joy. "My friend is pregnant! Look!" I shove my phone in his face. "I haven't seen her since before I left for Asgard. Her baby shower is soon!" He squints at the bright light. I pull the phone back and reply to her message. "Of course I'm going, Tiffany!" I giggle again. Loki turns in bed and tries to go back to sleep. My phone rings and I answer it. "Tiffany!" I squeal again.

"DRI!!" She yells back. "Where the hell have you been?"

"Home, for the past 3 months. And vacation the two before."

"Did you finish your dissertation? I didn't see you turn it in with the others." Tiffany is my professors assistant.

"Payne gave me an extension due to my vacation. I emailed it to him right after Halloween."

"You have to tell me about this vacation. Where did you go?"

"Uh, London."

"Ooh, fun! Did you meet someone?"

I look at Loki. "We just have to get together and talk in person. What are your plans for tonight?"

"Eat, sleep."

"Good, we can eat together. Lorenzo's? Say 7? Double date?"

"I knew you met someone! You whore!" She laughs. "Sounds great. See you, and your mysterious person, then. LOVE YOU!"

"Love you!" We both hang up. "Psst. Loki?"

"What?" He asks, his face shoved into the pillow.

"We have somewhere to be tonight. It's fancy. You can wear your suit." He mumbles into the pillow. I laugh softly, laying down and snuggling into the blanket. Once it's silent again, I begin to miss Loki's hand in mine.

I'm awoken by someone yelling my name. "Dri! Get down here!" I don't even have time to fully wake up. I jump.out of bed and run down the stairs, stumbling. I see my mom's worried face, holding a balled up blanket. "I found them outside. I remember you told me only to take them if it was obvious the mom was gone for good. It was messy and they're so skinny. I almost didn't hear them crying."

I hear a small meow come from the blanket. I let out a soft, sad sigh. Walking up, I see mom holding two small kittens. I hear another meow and I see Loki holding two more. "No, no. Do not do that." On the kittens tries to walk out of his grasp.

"I don't know what to do. Animals were always your thing." Mom hands me the kittens.

I look at the small, furry beings. "Well, they're at least 8 days old because their eyes are open. We need kitten formula, bottles, and the safest kitten bathing solution. Can you run to the pet store?" I turn to mom. She nods and leaves. "Can you hold them for a second?" I pass the kittens to Loki. I rush upstairs and grab my heating pad, small box, and a towel. I run back downstairs. I begin setting up the small space. I fold the towel over to make sure it won't be too hot for the kittens. I wave Loki over and he begins handing me the kittens one by one. As he does, I check them for injuries.