Muffins - Loki & Ylva alternate universe stories

The handler III

I've changed into my pajamas again, though sleep seems very far away. After a half hour of staring at my ceiling, not even bothering to get under the covers, I give up; I'm not going to sleep this night anymore. I hear some quiet sounds in the living room every now and then, so I'm guessing Loki is not asleep either.

And indeed, he isn't. He looks up when I open the door, his face lit up by a streak of light coming from the kitchen. He has made himself tea and just like yesterday he has his socked feet up on the coffee table. His leather coat and chestpiece are hanging over a chair, leaving him in pants and some sort of undershirt. "I'm sorry, did I wake you?" he asks worriedly.

I wave it off and flop down beside him on the couch. "Nah. Couldn't sleep anyway. You?"

He shakes his head. "Do you want some tea too?"

"No thanks, I'm good." Loki has pushed the coffee table a little back to accommodate his long legs, so now I can't reach it comfortably to put my feet up. Instead, I pull them up on the couch, slouching down so my head is against the backrest. Loki has done the same and we quietly stare into the semi-dark.

"So... I'm guessing your powers entail more than just paralyzing people?" Loki asks after a while.

"You can feel it?" I ask curiously. The real Loki never let on I have any effect on him. I only assume I have because he lets me stick around longer than any of his other handlers.

"Yeah, I think so. It's relaxing."

"Yep, that's me," I chuckle lightly. "The human chill pill." I turn my head to look at him. "I can shield off, if you want. I usually do around people, it can get too much after a while."

Loki looks at me from the corner of his eyes. "Too much?"

"Let's just say not much work would get done if I'm in the office at full blast," I smirk.

Loki smiles. "I see. But you're not at work now, right?"

"Well..." I think out loud. "You're here. I'm your handler. That makes it kind of like work. But I never shield off around you anyway."

"No?" Loki turns his head to me now, clearly interested.

"Nah. You never really showed signs of it affecting you. This is the first time you ever said anything about it."

"Really? I wonder why that is." Loki rubs his chin in thought.

"Beats me," I shrug against the couch. "The mind of the God of Mischief works in mysterious ways."

"Maybe I secretly enjoy it," he answers thoughtfully. "It feels nice."

I laugh softly. "You're welcome, I guess."

Loki suddenly puts his hand on my arm. "No, really, Ylva, thank you. Thank you for letting me stay and..." He suddenly looks a little shy, which is a really weird look on the God of Lies. "Well, I feel less anxious with you around, so that helps too."

It's odd to hear him call me by my name, not to mention to have him thank me like this. Oh, he is often polite and courteous to me - he is a prince, after all -, though never this personal.

"It's okay, Loki. I'm happy to help."

We fall back to silence after that, each immersed in our own thoughts. Although, I'm not thinking that much to be honest. What is there to think about at 5 in the morning? It's all confusing anyway. Loki is the one to break our silence, only to pull the blanket over my legs. "Here, you'll get cold."

"Thanks." I pull the blanket up to my chin and lean my head back again. I can just as well stare at the ceiling here and wait for the day to start.