In Which Loki Doesn't Deal (3/5?)
He shouldn’t have laughed.
It was so funny though, almost like one of the bawdy comedies he had seen on his pad of I. He flipped her skirts and leered, and got slapped in return. His face had been the perfect example of shock.
But the giggles that had escaped his lips had gotten his attention. And no matter how fast he ran, Galinn was far faster and more used to drinking.
Being slammed against the wall had knocked the breath out of him. All he had been able to do as he was dragged into a small storage room was wheeze. The blows that had come next had kept him wheezing and further muddled his head.
Dark spots clouded Loki’s vision by the time Galinn stopped. The hand that had held him in place was still hot and immovable upon his chest.
A finger traced the line of his neck. Loki snorted blood out of his nose and tried not to throw up from the pain wracking his body. The finger continued along down his body before stopping at his hips. The man’s entire hand wrapped around one side and turned him over.
Loki was not a happy boy two weeks later. The swelling had gone down enough for him to go out in public, but for some reason the Warriors Three had decided to take their duties seriously and follow him around. In fact, he believed that Fandral was currently standing rather uncomfortably in the book stacks behind him. Loki idly wondered if he had ever been here before.
Well, most likely they weren’t trying to protect him; they were probably just suspicious. After all, he hadn’t been spending enough time with Thor.
Lately, every time Loki went near his older brother, waves of nausea would grip him. His vision would cloud and he’d become convinced that Thor would know if he went near him. He would know and he would hate him.
Of course, Loki seemed to be nauseous all the time nowadays. The strangest things made him vomit, ranging from the smell of fried vegetables to the sun being too bright.
So now he spent all of his time in the library of Asgardia, rather than merely most of it as was his previous habit. There he could lose his watchers in the stacks and aisles and read in peace, or as much peace as he could get with his body still aching.
He shifted uncomfortably and winced at the twinges of pain that radiated up his back from his tailbone. Just when his ass had stopped hurting whenever he sat down, his lower back had started with its constant dull ache.
In fact, the book he was currently reading was on common and not-so-common Asgardian ailments. So far, his symptoms had been annoyingly vague. Nausea and pain could point towards the flu, but he had no fever.
(He was very carefully keeping away from the diagnosis that he knew matched all of his symptoms because that would mean he’d have to face it and he was not ready for that it had happened but he did not always admit it to himself and today was a bad day)
He was really quite hungry; he wondered if he would be able to avoid Volstagg in the kitchens if he fetched lunch right now.
He handed the tome he had been reading to Fandral as he passed by, taking pleasure in the sputtering behind him.
The kitchens were thankfully deserted; breakfast was over and the preparations for lunch had not yet started. He filched a plate and began to help himself to the vast pantry. Cheese seemed to be his craving of the day.
At least it was not hair like the last time. That had been strange and awkward to get. Leah had ended up getting a little trim.
After piling on several different cheeses and one of Idunn’s apples, he slipped out of the kitchen and started to head towards his room. The halls were quiet; the heat of the Oklahoma summer made most of Asgardia’s warrior’s sleepy, accustomed as they were to cooler weather. Behind him, Loki could hear Volstagg’s pitiful attempts to secretly follow him. His huffing and puffing from the heat and the exertion echoed from the high vaulted ceiling.
Loki pressed the apple to his lips and inhaled its sickly sweet scent. He felt an odd sort of anger rising up from his very toes. It seemed to fill him until he thought he could feel it squirming out from his mouth and eyes like worms. He wanted to spew it across Asgardia and set it on fire, just to watch the city burn while people screamed.
This must be what my elder self felt like.
He wanted the world to feel as bad as he did. Someone, somewhere, should feel just as sick and disgusting as he did.
Volstagg was still following him. Loki slipped down a hallway and turned around to wait.
Despite the man’s size, he didn’t have to wait long. Volstagg was in the middle of a puff when he turned the corner and nearly knocked Loki over. Loki felt his rage flare from a match to a bonfire as he stumbled back.
“Volstagg!” he said, his voice filled with false cheer, “Are you so hungry that you must knock me down and steal my food to sate yourself?”
Volstagg sputtered denials. Loki knew his eyes were too wide and glassy, his voice too false to fool anyone, yet he persisted.
“Oh, no need to be ashamed,” he said, “Asgardia’s brave warriors need to keep their strength up. Otherwise, they might not be able to rescue some fair maiden in need! I am glad to give up my food to such a valiant hero! Here you are!”
He shoved the plate of cheese into Volstagg’s stomach. It fell to the floor and shattered.
“Hmmm,” Loki heard himself muse, “you’re looking a little peaky around the eyes; you’d better have one of Idunn’s apples as well!”
He wanted the apple to break Volstagg’s nose. But it didn’t; it didn’t even make a satisfactory smack when it bounced off his face and hit the ground.
Loki bowed deeply.
“I shan’t keep you from enjoying your meal, good sir. I wish a good day and a valiant life to you!” With that, he strode away.
Later that night, regret filled him until he felt like he was drowning. Volstagg hadn’t done anything to him. In fact, he was roughly 75 percent sure that if he had been there, he would have stopped what was happening, even knowing the role Loki played in Thor’s death. But the other twenty-five percent hissed in his ears, keeping him from seeking the only other person in Asgardia aside from Thor who seemed to care about him and apologizing.
It was so funny though, almost like one of the bawdy comedies he had seen on his pad of I. He flipped her skirts and leered, and got slapped in return. His face had been the perfect example of shock.
But the giggles that had escaped his lips had gotten his attention. And no matter how fast he ran, Galinn was far faster and more used to drinking.
Being slammed against the wall had knocked the breath out of him. All he had been able to do as he was dragged into a small storage room was wheeze. The blows that had come next had kept him wheezing and further muddled his head.
Dark spots clouded Loki’s vision by the time Galinn stopped. The hand that had held him in place was still hot and immovable upon his chest.
A finger traced the line of his neck. Loki snorted blood out of his nose and tried not to throw up from the pain wracking his body. The finger continued along down his body before stopping at his hips. The man’s entire hand wrapped around one side and turned him over.
Loki was not a happy boy two weeks later. The swelling had gone down enough for him to go out in public, but for some reason the Warriors Three had decided to take their duties seriously and follow him around. In fact, he believed that Fandral was currently standing rather uncomfortably in the book stacks behind him. Loki idly wondered if he had ever been here before.
Well, most likely they weren’t trying to protect him; they were probably just suspicious. After all, he hadn’t been spending enough time with Thor.
Lately, every time Loki went near his older brother, waves of nausea would grip him. His vision would cloud and he’d become convinced that Thor would know if he went near him. He would know and he would hate him.
Of course, Loki seemed to be nauseous all the time nowadays. The strangest things made him vomit, ranging from the smell of fried vegetables to the sun being too bright.
So now he spent all of his time in the library of Asgardia, rather than merely most of it as was his previous habit. There he could lose his watchers in the stacks and aisles and read in peace, or as much peace as he could get with his body still aching.
He shifted uncomfortably and winced at the twinges of pain that radiated up his back from his tailbone. Just when his ass had stopped hurting whenever he sat down, his lower back had started with its constant dull ache.
In fact, the book he was currently reading was on common and not-so-common Asgardian ailments. So far, his symptoms had been annoyingly vague. Nausea and pain could point towards the flu, but he had no fever.
(He was very carefully keeping away from the diagnosis that he knew matched all of his symptoms because that would mean he’d have to face it and he was not ready for that it had happened but he did not always admit it to himself and today was a bad day)
He was really quite hungry; he wondered if he would be able to avoid Volstagg in the kitchens if he fetched lunch right now.
He handed the tome he had been reading to Fandral as he passed by, taking pleasure in the sputtering behind him.
The kitchens were thankfully deserted; breakfast was over and the preparations for lunch had not yet started. He filched a plate and began to help himself to the vast pantry. Cheese seemed to be his craving of the day.
At least it was not hair like the last time. That had been strange and awkward to get. Leah had ended up getting a little trim.
After piling on several different cheeses and one of Idunn’s apples, he slipped out of the kitchen and started to head towards his room. The halls were quiet; the heat of the Oklahoma summer made most of Asgardia’s warrior’s sleepy, accustomed as they were to cooler weather. Behind him, Loki could hear Volstagg’s pitiful attempts to secretly follow him. His huffing and puffing from the heat and the exertion echoed from the high vaulted ceiling.
Loki pressed the apple to his lips and inhaled its sickly sweet scent. He felt an odd sort of anger rising up from his very toes. It seemed to fill him until he thought he could feel it squirming out from his mouth and eyes like worms. He wanted to spew it across Asgardia and set it on fire, just to watch the city burn while people screamed.
This must be what my elder self felt like.
He wanted the world to feel as bad as he did. Someone, somewhere, should feel just as sick and disgusting as he did.
Volstagg was still following him. Loki slipped down a hallway and turned around to wait.
Despite the man’s size, he didn’t have to wait long. Volstagg was in the middle of a puff when he turned the corner and nearly knocked Loki over. Loki felt his rage flare from a match to a bonfire as he stumbled back.
“Volstagg!” he said, his voice filled with false cheer, “Are you so hungry that you must knock me down and steal my food to sate yourself?”
Volstagg sputtered denials. Loki knew his eyes were too wide and glassy, his voice too false to fool anyone, yet he persisted.
“Oh, no need to be ashamed,” he said, “Asgardia’s brave warriors need to keep their strength up. Otherwise, they might not be able to rescue some fair maiden in need! I am glad to give up my food to such a valiant hero! Here you are!”
He shoved the plate of cheese into Volstagg’s stomach. It fell to the floor and shattered.
“Hmmm,” Loki heard himself muse, “you’re looking a little peaky around the eyes; you’d better have one of Idunn’s apples as well!”
He wanted the apple to break Volstagg’s nose. But it didn’t; it didn’t even make a satisfactory smack when it bounced off his face and hit the ground.
Loki bowed deeply.
“I shan’t keep you from enjoying your meal, good sir. I wish a good day and a valiant life to you!” With that, he strode away.
Later that night, regret filled him until he felt like he was drowning. Volstagg hadn’t done anything to him. In fact, he was roughly 75 percent sure that if he had been there, he would have stopped what was happening, even knowing the role Loki played in Thor’s death. But the other twenty-five percent hissed in his ears, keeping him from seeking the only other person in Asgardia aside from Thor who seemed to care about him and apologizing.