Second part of my Loki series, oops (Works as a stand-alone)
They say you'll never forget the first time you meet the one.
For Loki, it was no different.
Love at first sight? Perhaps. Perhaps not.
Perhaps a mind muddled with love will never accurately remember its journey to infatuation.
Maybe he fell in love with her slowly. Maybe it was over squabbles and word games and a shared love of 80s game shows. Maybe it was over midnight walks to the beach, or a stolen tearful embrace.
Maybe it was game over for him the second he looked into her eyes.
A beautiful June day had brought your paths together.
The sun beat down on his face as he drew his left knee up onto his seat and into his chest. He wasn't peachy keen on the heat, his pale complexion meant he often burnt, his hair frizzed and bugs incessantly bothered him.
He swatted out at a fly, raising his beer to his lips to take a swig. He had never really been a fan of parties, and his mother's sixtieth birthday garden part had proved no different. He'd made aimless small talk with his grandmother, his cousin, his cousin's husband's daughter and a girl he'd known from primary school, before retreating to a white chair beside the pool, away from meaningless conversation and intrusive questions.
"Are you ok?" A woman's voice asked him. His head snapped round, ready to hurl a pithy comment at his visitor.
The girl stood in front of him looked soft and sweet and something inside him convinced him to shut his damn mouth, for once in his life.
"I brought you a beer." She held a small bottle out to him. "You looked like you needed it."
"Thanks." He replied, uncapping the drink and taking a swig, eyeing you suspiciously.
Bewitching. Beguiling. Beautiful.
The sun illuminated your figure, giving you an ethereal glow. Loki squinted up at the woman, gesturing for you to sit beside him. Biting your lip, you accepted his initiation, curling into the seat next to him. You tilted your head to look at him, something inquisitive in your eyes. He admired the way the sun caught one half of your face, the gentle breeze ruffling your hair as you chatted. It looked soft, and he yearned to reach out and touch it.
You looked curiously at the man sat next to you, your eyes running the length of his frame, from the dark hair gathered into a ponytail to the long white legs dangling by the edge of the pool. He was handsome, you would give him that, with striking, aristocratic features and mesmerisingly green eyes. Something glittered behind them, you noticed. Something that looked a lot like mischief, and something that made you feel as if he was staring straight into your soul.
It was highly unnerving.
Had Loki known the tumultuous journey he and this unnamed woman would soon embark on, he surely would've walked away and never looked back.
But he didn't, and he got the very strong sense that she was somehow meant to be in life. Even just chatting with you, he felt himself relaxing with you, even beginning to enjoy himself, in a way he hadn't for a long time. Maybe, just maybe, his luck was looking up.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a familiar head of blonde hair approaching.
Nonono, Loki thought to himself. He couldn't allow his brother to swoop in and take you. His brother had everything, and he wanted to keep you all to himself.
His older brother was definitely making his way towards the two of you.
"Hey, um, this is my brother." He managed to get the words out through gritted teeth. "Th-"
"Hey." You grinned up cheekily at the blonde towering over you.
Not again.
This could be salvaged, Loki reasoned. You'd seemed genuinely interested in him. You would see past his brother's looks and charm, he would win you over.
"I see you've already met." The way Thor was looking at you made Loki shift uncomfortably in his seat. "Y/N, this is Loki. Loki, this is Y/N."
His heart froze in his chest.
"Y/N." He choked out. "Your girlfriend."
The kiss that his brother pressed to your lips told him everything he needed to know.
Ever since he could remember, Thor had always gotten everything he ever wanted. Thor had always got everything Loki ever wanted, too.
As boys, he'd gotten the better Christmas presents. As teenagers, he'd gotten all the sports trophies, all the girls.
At their father's side in his final moments, he'd had their dad's undying pride.
He leant casually against the brick wall of the house's conjoined garage, watching. He liked to watch, liked to observe, and he found he learned all sorts of things about people by simply keeping quiet and observing them.
But for some reason, he couldn't keep his gaze off you. He watched as you chatted with their mother, your skin kissed gently by the summer sun, a light dusting of freckles across your nose that had not been there earlier that afternoon. An arm was wrapped around your waist, neatly tucked into his brother's side.
You had left him bewitched, bothered, bewildered.
"Hey, you." Your soft voice rang in his ears. He looked up, surprised. When had you snuck away from his brother's tight grasp?
"Not many people can sneak up on me like that." He glanced up at you.
"What can I say, it's a gift." You replied. "I saw you over here on your own, so I thought I'd come and bother you."
He chuckles, a deep sound, resonating in his chest.
You were looking for him.
"Maybe I preferred it that way." He smiled at you. "So, you're dating my brother?"
He hoped you didn't notice how his voice cracked.
"Apparently so." You rested your elbow on the wall next to him, staring at him inquisitively. Why did you look at him like that? It felt almost as if you were stripping back the layers of his soul, searching for something, only you weren't quite sure what that thing would turn out to be.
