Guardian

Chapter 33

(Liv's POV):
I was comfortable, so comfortable that I found it difficult to bring myself to open my eyes or even move the slightest muscle. But the intoxicating aroma of freshly baked goods reached my nose and my stomach grumbled as a reminder that I hadn't eaten since dinner the night before.

With the encouragement from my stomach, I managed to pry my eyes open to find myself snuggled in bed, warm beneath the heavy blankets. Despite knowing he had to be the person baking, I rolled over in hopes of finding Loki next to me, but his side of the bed had turned cold. I sighed, trying to will my body to get up, but nothing wanted to move.

The door to the bedroom opened and I found Loki sneaking in with a tray of food in his hands. Upon noticing that I was awake, a smile spread across his lips and he spoke, "good morning, Liv. I trust that you slept well?"

"What did you do to me?" I groaned, struggling to get up into a seated position.

He placed the tray of food on my lap and explained, "it was just a bit of magic to keep you in a dreamless sleep. I certainly would not have wanted to trap you in those nightmares."

I looked down at the tray he had brought, discovering an array of food. There were some cut strawberries mixed with blueberries, toast with jam, and yogurt mixed with granola, chia seeds, and sliced strawberries. But the main dish was the chocolate chip scones whose heavenly aroma made it impossible to resist them. They were still warm, melting perfectly in my mouth.

"You have gotten so good at cooking," I praised Loki, closing my eyes as I savored the flavor.

"Well, I did have a fabulous teacher," he replied as he sat down next to me, stealing a strawberry from my tray and popping it into his mouth.

"Ah, yes, you must have learned a lot from my wise teachings such as how to google a recipe and then copy it word for word," I laughed, taking another bite out of the delicious scone.

"Do not sell yourself short, my dear, you have taught me much more than how to find a recipe online. And now I shall spoil you with the results of your teachings, so you may want to kick me out of your apartment before I make you an all you can eat buffet for lunch."

I wrapped my arm around Loki, kissing him lightly on the lips, "I would never dream of kicking you out. Besides, you clearly do not know how much I can eat."

"Well, however much that is, I'm sure that it cannot compare to my oaf of a brother." A smile spread across my lips at his comment and he shot me a confused look, "what is it?"

"You called Thor your brother. And even if you were insulting him, it is nice to hear that."

"My apologies, I have spent over a thousand years referring to him as such, it is difficult to break the habit. But you know as well as I that he was never actually my brother."

"Actually, I don't. I don't believe that you have to be biologically related to someone to have them be family. Just because you were adopted, does not mean that he is not your brother. And if I were to wager a guess, Thor still thinks of you as his. He misses you, you know, despite believing that you are determined to always make the wrong choice. If you were to tell him what actually happened-"

"No," Loki snapped, refusing to let me even finish the sentence.

"But Lokes, perhaps it will make him see you as the person that I know you as. I do not want you ever to have to return to a cell, Lokes," I tried to encourage him, caressing his cheek.

But his gaze remained hardened as he stood from the bed. "I said no, Olivia. No one can know about him."

"My name is Liv."

Loki turned back to face me, seeming confused that that was how I wished to respond. "Sorry?"

"I call myself Olivia because I can go by my real name without being suspicious, the one that I was given at birth, I mean. Liv's not a very popular name, but Olivia still is."

"Very well," he gave a curt nod. "But it does not change my position on this matter."

"Lokes," I called out as he turned to leave again. "You didn't have to get so defensive, you can tell people whatever you desire about your past and I will remain by your side. Please just come back and sit with me."

"Your animals need feeding, I am sure that you know how annoying they can get when they have yet to be fed."

With that Loki disappeared out into the apartment and I sighed, leaning against the headboard. We were having such a wonderful morning, yet I had managed to spoil. Why couldn't I have just respected his desire to keep his past hidden from others? I still did not understand why he would not at least try to convince those in charge of his punishment that he was not entirely to blame for the attack, yet I should not have pushed him and I knew that.

Loki left without saying goodbye, but I knew better than to follow him to his apartment. He needed some time to cool off and be alone. Still, it only made me feel more guilty, being cooped up in my apartment alone. So I decided to leave my apartment, wandering the streets with no real destination in mind.

That was the great thing about the city, no one cared if you just wandered aimlessly and you could pop into a variety of stores to get a reprieve from the chilling March wind. It was always incredible to think that the first day of spring was approaching later in the month when it was so cold outside and there was always a looming chance of snow. But in the city, you could simply act as though you were a tourist, checking out all of the shops and never actually buying anything in order to thaw freezing hands.

I ended up walking up Broadway, although effectively avoiding Times Square altogether. It may seem like a fun place to visit when you were in New York for the first time, but it was one of my least favorite places in the city, clogged with tourists and people trying to scam them.

As I passed the Majestic Theatre, I realized how close I was to my favorite cookie place in the city and wondered if food was a way to make amends with Loki. I figured it would work better on his brother than him, but it was certainly worth a shot. I ducked inside the small shop, thankful that I had managed to get in before all of the matinee shows were released so I did not have to wait in a ridiculously long line.

I ordered half a dozen cookies for Loki, very selective in choosing flavors that I thought he might like. I had learned that he had a huge sweet tooth, so any flavor that was especially sweet were added to the box as well as a few classic flavors that it would be impossible for him not to love. Part of me was also rating the cookies on how much I liked them in hopes that he would forgive me and then claim that he could not eat them all by himself, offering a few to me as well.

After successfully choosing six cookies for him to enjoy, and also purchasing one for myself just in case he was unwilling to share, I began my trek to Loki's apartment, which happened to be a little closer to the heart of the city than mine was. Once there, I set the cookies down outside his apartment door with a rushed apology note, knocked on his door, then sprinted to the staircase so that he would not catch me.

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(A/N): Things were going too smoothly, so why not throw in a little fight? Don't worry, this is only a minor bump on the road compared to what's coming! I hope you enjoy!