After their encounter in the library, Loki and Elsa kept avoiding each other at all costs and they weren't even trying to hide it.
Like the other day, Elsa was walking down a hallway and at some point Loki turned from a corner. As soon as he saw her, he rolled his eyes and turned back.
"Mature. Real mature" Elsa said and kept walking her way.
The times when they were forced to stay in the same room, like dinners, etc, Loki would ignore her or give her harsh looks and words. And the fact that their seats on the table were right across from each other didn't help. At least, Elsa wasn't making it so obvious when people were around, unlike him.
The positive side of this, is that her and Thor started spending more time together, getting to know each other. He's really nice, sweet and respectful. However, he doesn't give her the feeling and heart flutter Loki does. But it doesn't really matter anymore, because they are getting married in a month.
Today, Elsa had one more fitting for her wedding dress and, later, had a discussion about the decorations. She spend most of her day with the queen, arranging all those details, which she enjoyed very much.
By the time they were done, it was dinner time so they joined the men in the dining room.
As soon as they walked in, Loki gave Elsa a glare and then took a sip of his wine. But Elsa felt his eyes on her, more than once throughout the dinner.
"How are the preparations going, dear?" the king asks
"Very well" Elsa answers
"Odin, you should see how gorgeous she looks in her dress" the queen adds
"Thank you" Elsa laughs shyly.
"Did the princess talk for herself or just agreed to everything you said, mother?" Loki asks with that stupid smirk across his face, taking everyone's attention
"Loki!" the queen says immediately
"I didn't say anything bad. I just know that she's usually shy" he replies.
"I think I should go back to my room now" Elsa says as she stands up
"But you didn't eat anything, dear" the queen says
"Don't worry mother, she's used to that anyway. Aren't you Elsa?" Loki asks, looking at her harshly.
"Loki!" Thor says this time
"It's alright. I'm a little tired from the day, but if I need anything, I'll ask Kara" she reassures them
"Alright. Have a good night" Thor says
"Good night" she says and they kiss quickly before she exits.
All that conversation felt like Loki was throwing knives at her. But what she didn't see was how he clenched his fist when she kissed his brother. He is angry at her but he is still jealous. So he's using insults to make himself feel better.
Later that same afternoon, Elsa headed to the library before going to sleep. Unfortunately, there was company there.
"Look who decided to get out of her room. The princess" Loki says
"Stop" Elsa says, rolling her eyes
"Oh right. I forgot, you prefer to be called future queen of Asgard, right?" he asks.
"Are you jealous?" she asks, confidently
"Not at all" he answers
"Hm..." she whispers
"What?" he asks
"I thought that as a trickster, you'd be a better liar" she explains.
He chuckles and walks to her. But he gets closer than she expected, making her feel intimidated again.
"Careful shortcake. You shouldn't start a game, you won't be able to finish" he warns her.
He steps back and starts walking away
"The room is all yours" he says and leaves.
Elsa lets out a breath of frustration and moves on. She isn't going to let him upset her again. So she makes her way to a bookshelf, picks out a book and sits down.
She didn't realize how long she's been there until she yawned, which caused her to look up and notice the dark night outside the window.
She was already tired and the warmth of the fire in the fireplace made her really sleepy. She decided to close the book, placing it on her chest, and rest her eyes for a second. However, she didn't think that she'd fall asleep.
_____________________
Early in the morning, Loki headed back to the library in order to avoid bumping on Elsa again. He wouldn't admit it to her but he felt bad for what he said to her last night during dinner. He thought that he probably crossed the line by letting out something that she trusted him with.
And when she kissed his brother, even if it was only for a second, he felt so jealous. He realized that he can't handle seeing her with someone else.
All these thoughts were roaming in his mind all night and all morning. And as soon as he opened the doors of the library, here she was. Laying asleep with a book on her chest, in the same clothes as last night.
He shakes his head, trying to ignore her and moves towards the other side of the room, but he couldn't focus on anything else other than her. It was early in the morning and the fireplace seemed to be out for a while now.
'She's probably cold, but it is not my problem' he thought, in an attempt to convince himself. But it didn't work.
Without raising his eyes from his book and with waving his hand, he forges a warm blanket on her. That moment, he caught the corners of her lips raising, despite her tries to hide her smile.
"I saw that" he says
"I don't know what you're talking about" she whispers in her sleepy voice as she covers herself better with the blanket and gets in a more comfortable position.
"Just go to bed" he suggests
"Sh sh..." she whispers, causing him to chuckle.
Elsa fell asleep again pretty fast and Loki closed his book and looked at her. A smile appeared on his face as he stared at her sleeping face. He actually had to fight the urge to mess with her while she was asleep.
Eventually, he left the room and ordered Kara to get her breakfast, before joining his parents to breakfast.
When Elsa woke up, Loki was gone but she found a tray with breakfast on the table next to her. She sits up, keeping the blanket wrapped around her.
'Even the blanket smells like him' she thought.
She notices a note on the tray and picks it up.
Please, eat normally or else
I'll hide all your favourite books.
And remember that whatever
you do, I'll find out.
L.
She took the tray and sat it next to her on the couch. She opened her book again and ate small bites slowly, while she read. It wasn't much but it was more than she used to.
By the time she finished her book, it was almost time for another session of wedding planning.
'Do I want to go?' she thought.
'What am I even saying? Of course I have to go. I'm getting married. I have to'.
Walking down the hallway, she thought she was alone until she heard his voice again
"Why in such a hurry?" he asks
"To change and then wedding stuff. And yes, I ate. Thank you" she answers
"You are very welcome. But do I need to come with you and make sure it stays that way?" he asks
"No, you don't. I promise" she replies and he nods.
He walks with her to her room
"What should I wear today...?" she says as she opens her closet. Loki follows her inside and chuckles
"How busy are you today?" he asks as he closes the doors
"I'd say pretty busy" she sighs
"I didn't know wedding planning takes so much time" she complains and he chuckles
"So you are ready and sure about it" he asks
"I mean, it's not like I have a choice" she chuckles.
"Maybe you do" Loki says and Elsa stops what she is doing.
"You cannot deny or ignore your feelings for long" he adds as he steps closer
"And how could you possibly know about my feelings?" she asks as she turns to face him
"Call it an educated guess" he says, walking even closer
"I think that you don't know what you're talking about" she says, avoiding to look at him
"Prove it then" he demands as he lifts her chin to make her look at him.
His bright blue eyes stare down at her, giving her butterflies in the stomach. She swallows the knot in her throat and unconsciously licks her lips. That movement causes Loki to lick his own lips and smile.
"I will stop if you'd like me to. You just have to say the words, shortcake" he whispers, only a few inches away from her lips.