Strangefrost Oneshots

party twenty-nine ~ petals in his hair

"I have to go, my love."

"For how long?"

"I don't know."

Stephen took in a shaky breath. He held fast onto Loki's jacket. Loki had his fingers loosely twined behind Stephen's back, a small, sad smile on his face. Stephen pressed his forehead to the middle of Loki's chest to hide his tears.

"You really have to go?" He sniffed, looking up after a few sodden moments.

"Mother insisted," Loki whispered, unhooking his fingers to brush one across Stephen's cheek down which a tear had fallen.

"How long could you be gone for?"

"Months. Years. Decades," he added with a lump in his throat. He blinked away the wetness in his eyes. "But I'll visit you as often as I can."

"How will I know if you're coming back?"

Loki smiled and softly rubbed Stephen's bottom lip with his thumb. "You will see. With your infinite knowledge and insight, you will see."

Stephen sighed. Shaking his head, Loki pulled him in and kissed him hard. And for a few moments, their imminent parting disappeared from their minds. All that existed was them, their lips, their hands and their love.

Stephen broke away with a sob. Loki hugged him close and squeezed his eyes shut. He thought they'd have forever, but it looked like a few years was all he was going to get.

"My love," he said, his voice morosely passionate and full of desperate longing. "My dearest love."

Stephen sucked in a breath and managed to give him a smile.

"I'll wait for you," he told Loki, sniffing his tears away and straightening his spine. "One day you'll be back, and I'll be here - waiting for you."

Loki gazed at him, his adoring eyes roaming Stephen's face for what he knew could be the last time.

"I love you."

"And I love you."

Removing one of his hands from Stephen, Loki pulled a flower from his pocket dimension. It was beautiful: striking blue-purple petals clustered around their tall green stem.

"A forget-me-not," Stephen whispered, smiling. A tear rolled down his cheek.

Loki placed the flower delicately into Stephen's shaking hands. He kissed his head for a long moment.

"Forget me not, my darling."

And he was gone in a sparkle of light.