Anna woke wrapped in Loki's arms, from a dreamless sleep. Anna relaxed against him, ignoring the resurfacing memories of the dream. His skin was so soft, even if a bit cold.
But it was dropping fast, becoming unbearably cold. Anna pushed against him, but the blue creeped across his skin, and burned. Anna had gotten away just in time, before she froze over.
Anna sat back in the bed, rubbing her arms and legs, trying to warm up. Surprisingly, she warmed up quickly. A bit too quickly.
Anna grabbed the crutches that leaned against Loki's nightstand, and went to the bathroom. But the sheets she left froze over from Loki's body temperature.
As if it was the opposite of a really big cigarette burn. Loki's bed was always that way, covered in frost.
Anna entered Loki's bathroom, running her hands under scorching hot water as she always used. Anna looked up at the mirror and moved away, horrified by what she saw.
Her gray hairs were more abundant. As if there were multiple gray streaks in her hair.
The dark circles around her eyes were more pronounced.
She didn't think she would get old so soon. Anna reached forward and touched the mirror, making sure the reflection was real and not a figment of her imagination.
When she did, she shrieked, terrified of herself. Loki came rushing in, scared as shit. Anna couldn't pry her eyes from the mirror.
"What happened to me?" Anna said, horrified. Loki stepped forward, and laid a hand on the side of her face, with a somber look on his face.
"Anna, don't stress yourself with it," he said, holding his hand. "What's that supposed to mean? Am I getting old?" She said, her fear showing in her voice.
Loki examined her figure, making Anna blush deeply. Anna felt as though she was going cry.
Loki finally spoke after a moment of deadly silence, "You're merely 24. You're not old, just tired." "I'm not tired. Look at me! I have gray hairs," Anna said, "And that means I'm getting old" "Relax Anna. I won't let you get old. Especially not so soon," Loki nodded, understanding the fear she felt.
Anna looked back at the mirror, "Does it have an off switch? Or do I stay like this forever?"
"I don't think that's the case," he said, "I can temporarily remove the damage, but you can't stress yourself out like this." "What do I do to not get stressed," Anna said, not wanting to talk about the many obvious signs she's showing. No matter how much Loki denied it, she knew she was getting old.
Anna sighed and stared at her reflection. Loki touched the side of her face, muttering a spell to make her look like she normally did. He then lifted her and walked down the stairs.
Anna wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face into his chest. After all of these weeks of living with him, the good memories and the bad, Anna was ready to accept the solid truth.
She was in love.
But she was afraid Loki didn't feel the same.
There was so much she didn't know.