To Withstand the Force of Storms (A Loki Laufeyson Fanfic)

Chapter 9: Stay Happy There

"Success is not built on success. It's built on failure. It's built on frustration. Sometimes it's built on catastrophe." -Summer Redstone

*

"Guess what we're doing tonight?" Loki sings as he enters the bedroom later the next night.

Annaka closes her book and narrows her eyes. "What?"

"Well, first off, do you have any plans?"

"I was actually gonna hang out with the twins for a little--"

"Cancel that," Loki says. "It's date night."

Annaka looks surprised. "Really? Since when?"

"Since I said so," Loki says slowly. "Just, c'mon, I have the whole night planned out."

Annaka sighs but lets Loki take her hand and lead her outside anyways. He won't let her ask where they're going, even though she has a pretty good idea of where they were headed.

"Remember this place?" Loki asks as he stops them outside the brick wall of vines and pressing the hidden lever.

"How could I forget?" Annaka muses. The door slides open, and Annaka bounds down the slippery stairs unafraid this time, knowing what awaits at the bottom. The garden remains unchanged, every flower and lily pad still in place as if it was frozen in time when empty.

"I have a big surprise for you later," Loki reveals.

"Do you?"

Loki nods and takes a seat on the soft grass near the pond next to his wife, leaning on his hands behind him.

"What kind of surprise?" She leans her head on his chest, listening to the shallow beating of his heart. It's so quiet, she can hear the blood in his veins and the expanding of his lungs, the whistle of the air and the slosh of the fish underwater.

Loki never answers her.

***

"Why are we in Jotunheim again?"

Loki stays silent, gripping her hand instead and leading her towards a small snowy village.

"Seriously," Annaka says, stopping in front of Loki. "Tell me why."

"Then it wouldn't be a surprise," he argues.

Annaka leans into him. "Please." Her eyes are locked on his. He can smell her sweet scent in the wind, cherry and Sunday mornings mixed with the piercing scent of ice and roses. "Please." Her lips are on his and he almost loses his footing for a moment.

"Nice try." Loki smirks. "Just follow me. I know you can be patient."

Annaka trails after him cooperatively, satisfied that she'd at least managed to faze him. They enter the tiny town. It's cute: little shops line one street while residential living is opposite it. There's no road, just snow trails with dozens of overlapping footprints. A fountain of ice stands in the middle of a roundabout.

"What's this place called?" Annaka asks Loki.

"The town of Hailenstone," he responds. "We're going to see somebody."

Annaka follows him into an untitled store filled with weapons of all sorts: swords, axes, hammers, spears, daggers. She follows Loki to the front desk which displays smaller knick knacks: mirrors, cutlery, snow globes, and even jewelry.

A shuffling noise comes from the back of the shop, and a man appears wearing a dirty apron and brandishing half a sword. His greying hair is long enough to be pulled back into a hair tie, and his eyes shine gold, not unlike Annaka's. A smile spreads across his face when he sees the dyad.