Loki began to stir as he heard the sound of mumbling and slight moaning, and he had no idea what it could be until he heard a familiar voice call his name. He recognized it as your voice and shot awake quickly discovering that for some reason he was sleeping on top of you, and at this realization, he immediately got up and backed away. The sudden movement and sound, however, woke you up and you instantly sat up accidentally causing your powers to move several nearby objects, basically just a few couch pillows and the bowl of popcorn from last night. You were all bug-eyed for a second, breathing heavy and looking around to see what happened when you got all tired again and flopped back down onto your pillow as you just wanted to go back to sleep.
You weren't sure what time it was and floated your phone over from the TV tray where you plugged it in at about 3 am as it was pretty much dead at that point. You look at the clock on your phone and let out a groan, realizing you had to get up and get ready for school, even though you really didn't want to leave the house, all you wanted was sleep. But seeing as your brain was already awake you wouldn't be able to get back to sleep for a while, and you groaned again as you sat up, rubbing your eyes turning over to look at Loki with a sleepy and slightly grumpy expression. You stare at the God of Mischief for a moment, tilting your head a little to the side as you weren't sure what the expression on his face meant, but all you managed to say was "what?".
Loki isn't responsive and as you fully wake up you start to worry something was wrong, getting a little closer as he sat there frozen, with you soon asking him, "Loki, what's wrong? Are you okay?". You reached out to try and comfort him, but he caught your wrists and you tried to pull away, a little surprised by his actions, finding that you couldn't as Loki was seemingly in shock for some reason. "Loki, please, is something wrong?" you spoke again, although your words sounded a bit more like begging as you were starting to freak out a little, and it clearly showed on your face. Loki eventually snapped out of it, whispering, "I'll never hear the end of this from Thor", and now you were just confused, and you think about it for a moment, before saying, "um, Thor knows you're here". Loki let's go of your hands, looking at you with a very serious expression asking you to explain what you meant by that, how did Thor know he was here?
"Um... well, he called me last night, or I guess it was really early this morning..." you began, recalling the scene; how Loki still had his arms around you at about 1 am when your cell phone started ringing and seeing as you couldn't escape from Loki's grasp you had to use your powers to grab it. You quickly picked up the phone, pretending to sound a little sleepy as it was a school night and you were supposed to be sleeping right now, recognizing the number as the Avengers line. It was Thor who called quickly stating, "apologies for disturbing you at this late hour Miss Andersen, but my brother hasn't returned to the Avenger's tower, you wouldn't happen to know where he is currently?". "Oh it's no trouble, Thor," you began letting out a nervous little laugh before continuing, "yes, he's actually with me... at my house, he fell asleep on my couch a few hours ago, he looked so tired I figured it was best just to let him sleep... but I'll make sure he's back first thing tomorrow morning". Thor offered to come and get him but you declined, perhaps a little too quickly, but you didn't want Thor or anyone to see you like this with Loki, it was way too awkward.
You got up as you continued explaining, first popping in to say good morning to Lily before excusing yourself to go to the washroom but before you did you promised to make breakfast for Loki. You picked your outfit for the day, setting it aside on your bed before heading off down to the kitchen where Loki was waiting and you asked him what he wanted for breakfast, but he didn't care. The God of Mischief was much more concerned about what happened last night as he didn't really remember what transpired, the last thing he remembered was watching that documentary with you, Loki was worried he acted inappropriately towards you. "Oh, well... you didn't do anything wrong... or at least it wasn't your fault... um..." you started, a little embarrassed by what happened as you got out the waffle maker, planning to make a couple of waffles to have with some fruit and tea. You continued as you made breakfast, "you were asleep when it happened so um... you weren't in control of your actions," you were tense and Loki could tell how uncomfortable you were from just talking about it and apologized. "Oh no, it's okay... um, I'm just not used to sleeping with anyone... next to anyone I mean... I really am fine, by the way, really I'm good... I mean... I am a little tired, I didn't get a lot of sleep but I'm not mad or anything... I actually don't really know what I'm feeling right now but it's not bad... I guess I'm just a little overwhelmed because... nothing like that has ever happened to me before," you spoke nervously, and Loki, taking a deep breath asked what exactly happened last night, pretty much ordering you to give him a play-by-play.
You took a deep breath yourself as you handed Loki his tea, explaining, "well once I noticed you had fallen asleep I turned off the projector and went to get you a blanket and pillow, I had put the pillow carefully under your head and covered you with the blanket when you turned over, knocking it off and pulling me into your arms, where you promptly laid back down... I tried to wake you up at first but... after a few minutes of trying I noticed how tired you looked and figured it was best just to let you sleep". As you spoke you recalled the scene in your mind; trying to wake Loki up, trying to push up off of him and gently slapping his face, but all it did was make him turn over and now he was on top. Nothing like this had ever happened to you, only in anime and in the occasional fantasy you had about some of the characters you liked did this ever happen, it was nothing like you imagined. Loki was heavy which was nice but his hold on you was tight, he wasn't crushing you by any means but it was just a little tighter than you would have liked, and his warm breath on your neck and ear made it very hard to relax. "This is fine" you whispered to yourself, although in your mind it was more like you were that cute dog with the hat surrounded by fire as this situation was definitely not fine. You eventually gave in as on closer inspection you noticed how tired Loki really looked, your heart ached thinking about how busy he must have been searching for Jane's attacker with Thor and the other Avengers. You managed to free your arms, placing them around Loki's back, patting and rubbing gently, tracing lines all over as a way to occupy your time and to comfort him. You started humming quietly under your breath but it would seem that Loki heard you, somewhere while in the Dream Realm he was still listening and he cuddled closer, even whispering your name. It made you blush and you wondered if he was dreaming about you, you've dreamed about him after all, nothing crazy, not that any of your dreams were that out there. For the most part, you were stuck in Wonderland with him, having tea with Loki, he was the Mad Hatter and you were Alice or in the Wizard of Oz, you were Dorthy and Loki was somehow the Scarecrow, the Tinman, and the Cowardly Lion while Toto was replaced by a tiny talking version of Lily.
You took a sip of your tea as you thought about it more before getting up to get the waffles from the machine, along with the proper toppings, and some fruit to have with it asking which Loki preferred on his waffles, butter and maple syrup or butter and jam. Loki didn't mind either, whatever you were having was fine as he was still kind of in shock from what he had done last night, but he was even more worried by your lack of reaction, you should have been angry, hate him or something but you weren't and he asked why. You thought about it as you grabbed the maple syrup and the jam as you liked a little of both on your waffles, eventually admitting that you didn't think you could ever hate him. You weren't one to really get mad, not really being in too many situations where you recall being really angry, only annoyed with a person mostly, or a situation from time to time.
Loki thought about what you said, and he tried to recall a time you were really mad but couldn't, you were just a really nice person at heart, but he also realized something else. You were kind of a push-over, you'd go along with pretty much anything to keep others happy, even if you were uncomfortable, at least if the memories you told him were true, which he was certain they were. Loki said you were very odd, not in a bad way but you would go to great lengths for people, but not ask or expect the same in return, in fact, you would hardly ask for anything. "But there's nothing I really need or want", you stated, as you cleared the table, with Loki trying to stop you, saying he was more than capable of clearing his own plate, but you told him no. You explained there was a certain way you liked to load the dishwasher, your mother would never listen and do it wrong so you always did it, you knew it was annoying, you had been told as much in the past.
Before you could load up the dishwasher Loki took the plates from you, using magic to wash them and you couldn't help but think of the cleaning scene from "The Sword In The Stone". You looked sheepish and a little embarrassed while thanking Loki before stating he didn't have to do that, as it was your house and a guest shouldn't be doing the dishes. "I did stay the night, uninvited I might add, the dishes are the least I could do", Loki said in such a way to only add to your shyness, and you turned away pouting a little, muttering under your breath about how he didn't have to do that when you noticed the time. You were running late and quickly zipped upstairs to shower and get ready, tripping on the way but you recovered quickly, popping back up two seconds later calling out "I'm okay", as the thud was quite audible.
You came back downstairs about 15 minutes later, getting dressed as you walked, nearly falling over again as you tried to put on one of your boots but luckily Loki caught you. "Thank you" you smiled tilting your head back to gaze up at Loki, as he caught you from behind, and stared at you for a moment, as he found the way your damp hair looked resting upon your freshly washed face quite attractive, for some reason he couldn't explain. Loki helped you back up and once you turned around you gripped his arm to steady yourself as you put on your other boot, before slipping on your coat and backpack, giving Loki a quick hug and goodbye as you bolted towards the door. Loki popped up in front of you outside your front door and it startled you so bad you slipped but luckily the God of Mischief caught you, again but this time he did so by pulling you into his arms. Loki told you since it was extra chilly and snowing this morning and seeing as he was there anyway, he'd walk you to school for once, which made you smile and you quickly took his hand heading down the stairs and onto the sidewalk.
You soon arrived at school, although you had to stop walking a little ways from the actual building as you couldn't exactly walk in holding the God of Mischief's hand being a civilian and all. You were about half a block away when you stopped, thanking Loki for the escort, giving him a curtsy as you said in your most ladylike voice "thank you, your highness" followed by a small laugh. Loki, going along with it took your hand and kissed your knuckles lightly while whispering "until Friday, my lady", as you stiffened up, your mind went blank and a blush stretched onto your face. Loki watched with amusement as you stared up at him blankly, clearly embarrassed and overwhelmed from what he had just done and he couldn't help but crack up and laugh for a moment, he loved teasing you. You heard the bell and snapped out of it, but still flustered you just hugged him, quickly and rather loudly shouting as you ran away to get to class, "see you Friday... bye, love you bestie". "I... I love you too, Gracie," Loki whispered to himself as he turned away to return to the Avenger's Tower where his big brother would no doubt hound him about staying overnight at your place.
Thursday came and went, it was over so quickly but somehow not quickly enough as Mary Jane saw you with Loki, she couldn't tell it was him but she wasn't the only one who saw you together. It spread like wildfire, that you were dating an older guy, there were several variants to the rumours as well, some claiming he was a college student, others saying he was a university professor, and worst of all some swearing that your "boyfriend" was a member of the mafia. People wouldn't leave you alone all day and it was stressing you out, so much so you had to hide as the rising anxiety started unintentionally activating your powers. It was even worse on Friday as you tried to escape from everyone asking questions about your "boyfriend" as if they didn't have other things to worry about. You ended up ditching last period, grabbing everything you needed before the break and sneaking out of the building, hoping no one would see you as you didn't want to get in trouble.
It was terribly stressful, trying to sneak out of the school, you had never done it before and you were so worried you thought you might start hyperventilating, all this attention was killing you. You went over to the usual spot where you met Loki, finding that he was already there, thankfully, and without a word you jumped him, quickly wrapping your arms around him. Loki was a little surprised to see you as your school didn't let out for another 30 minutes or so, but even worse than that, you were shaking, and he wondered what happened to make you freak out like this. Loki didn't waste any time teleporting you back to your house, sitting down with you on your couch as you continued to just hold him, still shaking, not able to explain quite yet.
"Gracie, what happened?" Loki tried to ask as calmly as possible, but he was very worried, hoping that it was simply a bad day, not that he wanted you to have a bad day but he rather it be that than something serious. You started apologizing, saying "I'm sorry" over and over again, but Loki shushed you, telling you "everything will be okay" before asking again what happened while doing his best to not let on how worried he really was. You tried to talk but only stuttered on your words, you were still too overwhelmed to speak coherently, muttering about this and that, before Loki pulled you in close and told you to stop, "breathe Gracie, it's alright, it's okay, everything will be fine". It took a few minutes for you to calm down but eventually, you were able to tell him, admitting to Loki that several students saw them walking together, and rumours began circulating quite fast, with everyone you knew and a lot that you didn't know asking about it. "It was bad yesterday but even worse today, it got so bad my powers started bubbling up, and I broke a few things, no one seemed to suspect it was me but it was still so stressful, I had to escape, I didn't know what else to do, I'm sorry, I'm sorry if I worried you", you confessed, but still unable to make eye contact.
After you calmed down you got incredibly sad, and Loki noticed and asked you to explain why you looked so melancholy, but you didn't really know what to say at first, thinking about it for a few moments. "I can't remember everything, everyone said exactly but many of them seemed bitter or really impressed that someone like "me" had a boyfriend, I don't know what they meant by that, I'm not ugly and I'm nice, right? So I don't know why they were so surprised about it," you said but you knew what they meant. You were lying to yourself, you knew the reason they were so surprised, they didn't think someone with Autism would be capable of getting a boyfriend, especially one who was clearly "out of your league" and it was bad enough with all the other usual comments; people saying you didn't look Autistic and because you didn't look a certain way you were faking it for attention. It was rare for anyone to say any of the more hurtful things, but still little comments here and there got to you sometimes and you would cry for a while, with the only one around to comfort you being Lily.
Loki understood what the other students were implying and he was also pretty sure you knew it too, you weren't stupid, he could tell by the look in your eyes that you knew, but you were in denial about it. At that moment he really wanted to go to your school and let loose on those brats, how dare they treat you this way, yes you were a little different but you were amazing, and being different from the others didn't mean you were worth less or should be treated like a freak or like you were a dumb child. Before Loki could offer to make them pay you spoke up, "I'm good now, I have you, and I have Lily, those guys aren't important, I shouldn't let what they say get to me, but it's hard sometimes I'll admit... thank you Loki, for being here, I feel better now". You took a deep breath and smiled at him, you went from night to day in an instant, but Loki was used to that by now, your mood could change pretty quick sometimes, although, for the most part, you were in a sort of calm happy/pleasant chill mode. He didn't know how you could let go of things like this, he would have made them pay in a heartbeat, but you would feel your feelings and move on because to you, it didn't matter.
It was part of the reason Loki liked you so much, you always looked on the bright side of things, while still being realistic, even if the odds weren't in your favour, you would still do your best to try. It was almost impressive, you could come to the worst possible conclusion and with just a little bit of encouragement, you would still try, not letting fear get the better of you, well, most of the time anyway. Loki told you it would most likely blow over, the rumours would die down over the break and no one would remember, they'd be too busy with some new gossip.
"You're probably right, I'm sure it will die down soon, by the time Winter Break ends all anyone will be talking about is the Spring Musical", you said with a smile with Loki asking if you got a part. You told him you were just an understudy, the understudy for the female lead actually, which was fine, explaining you'd still be in one show at least, all the understudies would be as a parent complained last year because their kid was not in the actual show. It was exciting because you would get to learn pretty much all of the dances and songs, you had to admit, you liked most of the songs chosen, and couldn't wait to practice. You quickly pulled out the script for Loki to look at with you, showing him you already highlighted all of your lines, explaining you also had a digital copy as well, which also had all your lines highlighted. You were planning on spending most of your break memorizing your lines so you would be all prepared for when rehearsals started up in January, not that it would be too hard, as you had two weeks.
Loki could see how excited you were for this and offered to help you with it, which made you very happy, even suggesting another sleepover, with the God of Mischief promptly shooting it down, making up the excuse that he had to attend an Avenger's meeting first thing tomorrow and he couldn't be late. In all honesty, though, Loki didn't think he could handle a night alone with you, well another night with you as he would no doubt be awake this time, he knew he'd never do anything without your consent but still, the temptation was too much. "Okay, maybe another night... like your birthday perhaps, we can play games or watch movies all night long, whatever you want to do as it's your birthday" you suggest while getting up to put your stuff away. "Anything?" the God of Mischief thought to himself, before a blush stretched onto his face, quickly turning away even though you weren't in the room as you were changing.
You came back out of your bedroom wearing your monster boots and Loki hoodie, you also had on a pair of black shorts and a white tank top but you couldn't see it as your sweater covered them up. A crimson complexion soon returned to the God's face as you looked so good, as it appeared the only thing you were wearing was the hoodie, and Loki found himself turning away again. You popped in to check on Lily, giving her a tender little hug before asking Loki what he wanted to do, with the God of Mischief unsure of what so you suggested having lunch while he thought about it and he quickly agreed.
So together you headed down to the kitchen to make something but Loki said he wanted to make food this time as you always cooked for them but you shot that down fast. "No it's my house, my kitchen, your the guest, so..." you began but Loki cut you off, finishing your statement for you as he knew what you were going to say, "so as a guest it's not your job to cook, really darling, I'm pretty sure I'm around more than your own mother, let me cook for you this time". You let out a short breathy laugh, "you're not wrong, I rarely see my mom these days, she's always working, but it's better that way I think," you say, with Loki asking what you meant by that. "Well... if she was here all the time, we wouldn't be able to hang out as much, besides, I like you more than her, as messed up as that sounds," you answer bluntly, while Loki tries to recall what you've said about your mother. She was strict, controlling, and secretive, a mutant hater and a workaholic, she left you on your own to deal with everything life threw at you, and Loki wondered if you disappeared or moved out suddenly, how long would it take for her to notice you were gone?
Loki kept on insisting and you kept telling him no, while trying not to laugh, he was being ridiculous, only agreeing to let him make the tea if he wanted but that wasn't enough for him. "You're going to sit there and let me make lunch for you", Loki declared, before playfully threatening to use magic to keep you in the chair if you didn't listen, but you still argued so he did. Loki thought it was hilarious, the sounds and expressions you made as he picked you up and sat you down in the chair, summoning chains to keep you there, while he cooked something for lunch. You were blushing the entire time, letting out a squeak as he picked you up and placed you down in the chair, with you whining his name and demanding for him to unchain you at once, in a tone that was probably meant to be serious but to Loki, it didn't sound serious at all, only cute. You eventually gave up as you rationalized the situation, I guess it wouldn't be the end of the world if Loki made lunch for you, Ms.Seki made lunch for you sometimes on special occasions after all. But you were still upset that he chained you up, you laid your head against the table, letting out a long and loud groan, making sure that Loki could hear your frustrations, but the God of Mischief only laughed a little under his breath at how adorable you were being.
"Loki..." you whined, turning your head to look over at him, "why bestie?" you questioned, with a pout on your face, as you continued to try and break free from the chains. You eventually looked at the lock on the chain, it was simple, you wondered if you could open it with your powers, but before you could try anything the chain disappeared. You look back over at Loki as he set a plate down in front of you and you told him people don't chain up their best friends without permission, unless they turn into a zombie and you're keeping them safe until you can find a cure. "Zombies? Really Gracie, like that would ever happen", Loki said rolling his eyes, and you giggle, "don't worry if they can't find a cure I'll let you scratch me so we can still be besties, together forever". Loki thought that was weird but sweet, and he awkwardly said he'd do the same for you as the God of Mischief handed you your tea, with you thanking him for the tea and the lunch, before getting all serious telling him he's not allowed to do that again. The God of Mischief promised never to chain you up again, "without permission" or unless you turn into a zombie.