Say my name! - Loki & Tom Hiddleston fanfiction

Part 4

The man

Right after Marcy leaves the room, the door opens again, Tom only sees the newcomer's silhouette against the light from outside; a woman, presumably, walking towards one of the stagehands. His eyes had been used to the dark, though opening and closing that door a couple of times in a short time span gave his pupils hardly any time to adjust, leaving him a bit blind in the seemingly pitch black room.

Several things happen at once around him; a stage assistant comes to collect both Kevin and Chris to get them ready to start the panel and the other people that were in the room before all leave one after the other, making Tom close his eyes against the change of light every time the door opens and closes.

It even makes him a bit disoriented, something he chalks up to his slight nerves. Oh, he knows his lines, that is not the problem. No, a lot of it will come down to playing the audience and their reaction. This is not like performing a Shakespeare play in front of an attentive, polite audience; this is a hall filled with people that would take the average age at a theater down drastically, were they ever to visit one of his plays.

Besides, they are here to interact, meaning he will have to interact, to improvise. He enjoys the interaction with his fans, after all, without them he wouldn't be here at all; yet he has never done it before as Loki. He has to stay in character while interacting with a horde of fans. Or fangirls, to be more precise. Really, it is all flattering and lovely, though it also is a bit disconcerting at times. A mere five years back he never would have guessed the amount of influence he has on people simply by appearing on a movie screen and doing some interviews. It is scary, terrifying actually. In a good way, but still...

When the door opens yet again - making the actor wish he had Marcy to post by the door to keep people out -, a fiery mop of red hair is the first thing he notices. With the light coming in from behind the person, all he sees is the outline, though what an outline it is! If he didn't know any better, he would've said the person's head is ablaze. The hair seems to move too, making the illusion of actual flames even stronger.

The man, because it is a male, walks with purpose, coming straight for the actor. Tom has the good sense to feel a spark of unease, or maybe even fear.

The god

The false idol is alone like the god had willed it to be. The man squints his eyes in the dark, his pupils straining against the light that floods in from the open doorway. He goes blind for a short second when the door closes and the room is again immersed in darkness. The god uses that short second to close the distance between him and his imitation, enjoying the startled jump he gets from doing that.

He lets his presence do the talking, staring intently in the other's eyes until the man flushes and steps back.

"Who are you?" is the obvious question.

"I think you know," the god answers ominously. Not that he has any malintentions towards the man at the moment, though he has always thought it good practice to scare your subjects a bit.

The silence that follows is filled with a rather obvious gulp from the mortal, heard clearly over the sounds from the large room that is behind this smaller, dark room. This is backstage, the god knows, and on the other side is the main room of hall H. He feels out to the room, discovering hundreds of gullible souls; hundreds of impressionable minds. The god would walk out on the stage right there and then, if the words of the man in front of him had not pulled him back to his current position.

"You're Loki."

The god doesn't deem him with a confirming answer. Instead, he just shows him a wide smirk, knowing full well the disconcerting effect of his scar-riddled lips and squinted, sharp eyes. Though the god can be handsome if he wants to, there is something about looking like he does that has the desired effect on people.

"Oh my god."

He barks out a laugh, startling the man again. "That sounds about right!"