" I just want to know your name. " | It would be a foreign language resting between their jaws. Waiting to be said, yet no matter how many times they've met through the peculiarity of their dreams - their names would always be a question, waiting to...
" I waited," She sniffed,"For years, for what felt like-"
"Eons? " He finished, slowly edging towards her, afraid that one wrong move might cause her to run away, or worse, disappear," I waited for decades. Weeks on Midgard is a hundred years in Asgard."
She hugged herself with one arm, shrinking herself to seem as small as possible under the downpour.
"Are we cursed?" She winced, the soaked fabric of her shirt clinging to her skin.
" Maybe we are," Loki replied, inching closer to her, this time she didn't move. She stood still and Loki could hear the own hammering of his heartbeat drowning his ears as he pulled her close, the heat of his body encompassing her as they stood under the storm.
" But if this is what being cursed is like," He whispered, bringing his lips closer to the shell of her ear as he tentatively wrapped an arm around her.
" I would take if, it means I can see you again."
With that, Makoto looped both her arms around his shoulder blades, pulling him close as she embraced him, pressing her cheeks against the crook of his neck.
" I'm sorry, Gomenasai. Loki," She sobbed, tightening her grip, afraid that if she didn't he might slip away, "Makoto. That's my name."
" It'll be alright, Makoto," He murmured against her temples. The familiarity of her name against his lips tasted like liquid wine. He ached to repeat it over and over again, like a mantra, a prayer.
Like something he never wants to forget.
Never had he been this intimate with her, yet maybe it was because of the chill of the rain, or the strong winds rolling across the bamboo trees that were causing them to crave one another's touch.
Or maybe it was something else.
Maybe it was because he did love her, so, so much that it turns to fear. Every night he is afraid to go to sleep in fear of being reminded that she is no longer going to visit him, that she's gone.
He is afraid to gaze up the sakura trees of Alfheim in fear that he will be reminded of the nameless girl haunting his dreams.
He is afraid of laying alone in the castle plains in fear of hearing the distant ringing of her laughs, knowing that they are too far for him to reach.
Maybe it was because he loved her.
At that moment he finally understood what his mother said, about the essence of loving someone.
Is this what it's like?
To love and to actually be loved?
To feel the warmth of her skin and thrumming of her heartbeat.
To trace his thumb against her cheeks to wipe the trail of tears.
To look down at her as if he was looking at the stars of Valhalla themselves, even if her hair was drenched and eyes were sore.
That caused him to pull away, untangling himself away from her.
Because he was afraid.
The harder you hold onto the sand, the faster it slips through your fingers.
" I have to go," He lied. He wanted to stay, to stay here with her in this awful weather for an eternity.
Panic flashed itself against her eyes, "Wait! Please, please don't go. I've just lost you, I can't lose you again!"
She tightened her grip, " Please."
Something wet cascaded down his cheeks, and for the first time in centuries, he broke his facade. The walls came crashing down and he was no longer the god of Mischief and Lies, he was just a man who didn't want to say goodbye but had to go.
" Goodbye Makoto, it was a pleasure to meet you. I don't know when we will meet again," He finished solemnly, his throat suddenly dry.
" We will !" She stepped back, clasping his hands in hers. His fingers were elongated and warm, they burn so warmly against her own bony ones as they shiver against the unforgiving chill, " I know we will."
" I'll wait for you," She proclaimed, "Even if it takes a hundred years. I'll wait, I have the strength."
He couldn't help but smile sadly at her determination.
" Do you now ?" He chuckled, but it was weak, laced with fatigue.
" I do," She breathed out a laugh, her tears forming constellations against her lashes, " I'll look for you. I'll find you, I promise. You promise to wait for me ?"
He clamped his mouth shut, wanting to tell her that she shouldn't look for him.
" I'm not who you think I am," He warned, " You might not like me so much afterward."
" No, I don't think that's true," She squeezed his hands, " I know who you really are, Loki."
His name on her lips sent a shiver down his spine.
" Promise me Loki, you'll wait for me."
He knew he shouldn't say yes, he knew he shouldn't make promises he cannot keep.
" I will."
She grinned at him, and something took a hold of his heart in a vice grip, causing him to let go of her hands.
That morning, when the sun had barely begun to wake, he lay there, stunned and exhausted. He could hear the warriors three pacing outside, still trying to talk him about Thor's banishment.
His thoughts lingered on the promise, no, on the lie, he had told her.
Every fiber of his being shaking with guilt.
He should've listened to his father.
He shouldn't have lied.
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Finally have the strength to update this due to popular demands. I hope this chapter makes sense, and this will be the end of Episode two ! We're getting closer to them actually meeting.
I hope you guys like this chapter, comments and feedback are always welcomed! It takes me a lot of time to write this so a vote is appreciated !
