Monsters and Magic

Chapter 71

Loki woke you a few hours later, shaking you awake. You had the feeling he'd been trying for awhile before he could get you to wake. The good thing about Frigga drugging you was that you actually slept for once. The bad thing was that it was hard for you to wake from it, even with external stimuli, such as your boyfriend shaking you awake. "Kitten, time to get up. It's time for dinner," Loki told you as he shook you awake.

"Loki?" you asked groggily as you fought through the fog of the drugs. You tried sitting up and it took effort to remember how to do that. Frigga had damn good sleeping drugs.

"It's me, darling," Loki told you gently. He seemed to be used to dealing with the difficulty you were having waking. "It's time for dinner," he repeated as he tried to get you to stay awake.

"Right... dinner..." you finally managed to sit up and stayed sitting up. You swung your legs out of the bed before you could lie back down. Lying back down sounded really nice though. "Your mom is really good at drugging people," you grumbled as you grabbed the glass of water sitting on his nightstand to clear the disgusting fuzzy mouth feeling from the drugs.

Loki chuckled. "She's used to doing it to warriors that are too stubborn to listen to the words of a healer, even those of the queen herself. If anyone is that stubborn, she feels they deserve to be drugged to sleep," he explained.

"So... your oaf of a brother?" you teased as you climbed out of the bed. If you were standing, you couldn't lie down.

Loki laughed. "Along with his friends and many others,"

"And you would never do anything to get yourself in that situation, noodle," you teased, knowing Thor's propensity to drag Loki ill-fated adventures. Thor was famous for it.

"Only because I have to save the oaf from his own idiocy. You have no idea how many times I've been forced to bail him out of situations he put himself into," Loki groused.

You smirked. "I've heard there are usually bilgesnipe involved," you teased him.

"Or giants. Or dragons. Or any other beast ever imagined in or around Asgard," he whined like a petulant child. You laughed in reply and used a touch of power to fix your hair and clothes to be presentable for dinner. Loki sensed the magic and gave you a disapproving look. "Darling, you shouldn't be using your magic," he scolded out of worry.

"I also shouldn't spend an hour trying to make my hair presentable," you countered quite logically. "You know hair spells use next to no power. Hell, you taught them to me," you reminded him.

"I know, but you still get tired with the smallest of spells," Loki replied, sounding worried.

You nodded to reassure him. "No more magic for awhile, promise,"

He pressed a kiss to your forehead. "Thank you, darling. Now, let's go to dinner so I can give you that dance you asked for," he told you warmly and offered you his arm.

You took his arm automatically, standing tall and already appearing the part of a proper Asgardian lady, even after only a couple of days. Though you still found it strange when everyone stood when Loki (an by extension you) entered the room. With so long of knowing Loki on Earth, it was sometimes hard to remember that he was actually a prince. Times like this were definitely a reminder.

Loki led you straight to the head table and seated you before he took his place beside you. Frigga offered you both a warm smile and a kind greeting. You spotted Bucky eating with the warriors.

Dinner itself was uneventful, though you enjoyed discussing magic with Loki and Frigga throughout the meal. And of course the food was beyond delicious. English didn't have a word strong enough for how good the food was. You weren't sure any other language did either.

As soon as dinner had finished, though, the drinking and dancing began. As soon as the music started, Loki stood gracefully. The entire court was expecting him to as you to dance. Instead, he went over to Bucky and held his hand out palm up in with a slight bow, clearly an invitation to dance. He smirked at the very confused Bucky. You had pulled out your phone, recording the whole drama.

"I have a promise to keep," was the only explanation Loki offered Bucky for his strange behavior. "May I have this dance?" he asked, not rising from his bow, his hand not wavering in its position. He waited for Bucky's reaction patiently while you tried your hardest not to giggle and ruin the video.

Bucky looked up at Loki with a growl, extremely confused. "What are you playing at, Odinson?" he demanded with all the indignation expected of an army man. Especially one raised in the era he had.

Loki smirked. "I told you, I have a promise to keep," he repeated unhelpfully.

Bucky rolled his eyes, keeping up his stiff demeanor. "Surely you can find a girl to dance with, pretty boy," he tried to tease, to make this a joke, to make it more comfortable for the era he was raised in.

"It's just one dance. Are you afraid to be seen dancing with me?"

That got Bucky to accept Loki's hand. "Men don't dance together on Earth," Bucky reminded the god, though he had given up before he truly lost and was forced into it. Loki would force him for whatever this was.

"That is not the case in Asgard. It is perfectly normal for two men to dance together," Loki replied warmly and pulled Bucky to the dance floor.

"Somehow, some way, I am going to regret this," Bucky commented.

The two took their positions and began the dance. Both of them were elegant dancers and them dancing together was exquisite. And by exquisite, you meant 'hot as hell'.