I don't remember my bed being so soft. I stretch myself and all of a sudden it dawns on me. My eyes grow big and I shoot upright.
This. Is. Not. My. Bed.
This is not my bed! Whose bed is this? I look around the room. Cream wallpaper, dark green curtains, green duvet on the four poster bed. I'm in Loki's bed!
And where are my pants?
I still got my top on from last night, but I'm not wearing my jeans anymore. Looking around the room, I spot my bag and jacket on a chair by the window and my shoes neatly placed in front of the chair on the floor.
The room is silent. No sign of Loki anywhere and it looks like I'm the only one who slept in this bed.
My head pounds like there's a drumband marching through my brain, probably from drinking too much last night. I feel nasty and could really use a shower. Brushing my teeth would be nice too, my tongue sticks to the inside of my mouth in a gross way. I don't know if I can find an extra toothbrush in Loki's bathroom, but at least I can shower. I would definitely feel better if I had showered before facing Loki again. I don't remember anything after getting in the car with him, so who knows what embarrassing things I have done.
When I get out of bed I step on my jeans, lying in a messy heap right next to the bed. I decide to take them with me to the bathroom. Maybe my clothes will smell better after a treatment with the steam of the shower. I peek around the corner of the bedroom before entering the sitting room. Still no sign of Loki. There is a blanket on the couch, maybe he slept there? I hurry across the room to get into the bathroom.
The hot shower takes some of my headache away, but I still regret drinking too much last night. Loki's shower gel smells of peppermint, which helps to wake me up. I wash my hair and body and take some time to just enjoy the hot water streaming down my skin.
The bath towel is big and soft and I look around in the drawers in search for a brush or a comb. I find both, so I can make myself presentable. I even find a new toothbrush so I can brush my teeth! I'll get Loki a new one later. I feel better now I'm clean again. Unfortunately my clothes still smell like a night of dancing and drinking. Now what?
A green silk robe hangs on a hook in the bathroom, I decide to put it on for the time being. It's a little big, but it will do. And when I look in the mirror I must admit I kinda like wearing Loki's clothes.
I step out of the bathroom and there is Loki. He is lying on the couch with his feet up, reading a book. He turns his head when he hears me coming out of the door and smiles. "Good morning, my little wolf."
I take a seat on the armrest near his feet, carefully adjusting the robe to make sure I'm decent.
"Good morning. I hope it's ok I used your shower?" I ask. "And your robe..."
Loki smirks. "It suits you." He sits up and gestures to a tray with tea and bagels on the coffee table. "I got us breakfast."
I take a seat next to him on the couch and take the cup of tea he is handing me.
"Did you sleep well?" he asks, getting a bagel from the tray.
"I did, thank you. Although I don't remember getting here," I reply, sipping from my tea. "Loki, why am I here and not at home?" My cheeks redden at the thought of what the reason can be. I think I slept alone, but then again, I woke up without my pants.
"You fell asleep in the car," Loki says in an amused tone.
"I thought so, yes. Sorry about that." I'm almost too embarrassed to look at him.
"It's ok. Actually, I was planning to drop you off at home, but I couldn't find your keys in your bag. And waking up your uncle in the middle of the night is not something I wanted to repeat any time soon! He was not happy the last time I did that," Loki explains.
"Hm... probably a wise decision."
I get up to retrieve my bag from the bedroom, to search for my keys. I turn the whole bag upside down on the couch, but my keys are nowhere to be found. "Shit! I must have lost them last night at the gig. I am sure I had them when I left the house!"
"Like I said, I couldn't find them," Loki points out. "So I took you here and put you in bed. You didn't even wake up!"
"Did you take off my pants?" I ask hesitantly, between two bites of my bagel.
"What? No, of course not!" Loki immediately replies. "You were asleep. I like my women awake and willing." He gives me a sly grin with that last sentence and I punch his arm for that.
"Ha. Ha. Very funny. Then I must have taken them off myself during the night."
"Maybe after you finally stopped snoring."
"Sounds like you're regretting coming for me last night," I smirk at him.
"No regrets there, my little wolf. I was happy to save you from that caveman. You should choose your company more wisely in the future."
I pull my feet up on the couch and curl up, tucking my bare feet in between the cushions. "Yeah, well... he was drunk." When I see Loki raise his eyebrow, I add: "And so was I. Sorry about that."
He shrugs. "Nothing wrong with drinking, as long as you can take care of yourself."
"Yeah, yeah. I know. The hangover is not pretty," I groan. "But I'm glad you showed up."
"Took you long enough," I add under my breath.
Loki pulls my feet up on his lap, his cool fingers tracing invisible lines on my feet and lower legs. It gives me goosebumps and I'm painfully aware of the fact that I'm only wearing my underwear and a loose robe.
"I had a plane to catch that night," he says slowly. When he sees the question mark above my head he tells me how he and Thor went to Norway the evening after I had seen him at the apartment complex. "The attack after the gala scared some people off. So we went there in person to show our good intentions."
"Oh, okay... Astera did mention something like that, yes. Not that you were going there, but she told me about the fallout of the attack."
"Yes, we still have a long way to go, but we made some good progress this week."
"So... you just got back?"
Loki nods. "Yesterday afternoon."
"How did you know I was in Brooklyn?"
"Is this an interrogation?" Loki says, giving my foot a squeeze. "I know how to use a phone. I didn't have your number, you failed to put that in my contacts when you had your hands on my phone. But I had your uncle's number. He was kind enough to tell me about the concert."
"Yeah, sorry about taking your phone..." I admit shyly.
"I discovered your little playlist a few days after I left you at the hospital. I was supposed to stay away from you and yet you still managed to show up in my life somehow! It was a nice surprise though. When did you get a hold of my phone?"
"At the day of the gala. I found it in the turning chair by the window. I should not have touched it, but Karma already bit me in the ass for doing that."
Loki laughs at me. "So I didn't really scare you that afternoon, you just had a guilty conscience!" I make a face at him, which just makes him laugh even more.
"What did you think of the playlist I made?" I ask, changing the subject.
"I seem to have a preference for dead musicians," Loki answers. "That Prince is dead and Bob Marley too..."
"Yeah, lots of good musicians are dead," I chuckle. "And I didn't even put Michael Jackson, David Bowie or Nirvana on the list."
"Well, it was a nice distraction during the past weeks." He puts my feet back on the couch and gets up. "Wait here. I'll be right back."
When he gets back, he is carrying the bag I brought with me at the day of the gala and some clothes in his other hand. He tosses me the clothes: black leggings and a long tanktop with the well known sporty swirl on it.
"Put those on. They're Lady Eir's, but they should fit you. You also left this bag in her room, she said."
"Yeah, I totally forgot about that. Thanks," I tell him. "Why do I have to put on gym clothes?"
"I'm gonna teach you how to fend off cavemen!"
I return to the bathroom to put on the clothes. It's funny to think about Lady Eir wearing these, I'm only used to seeing her in long dresses, Asgardian style. But I guess she also wears regular clothes when she goes to work at the hospital, so why shouldn't she own gym clothes?
When I am dressed, Loki has changed too. He's wearing dark grey sweatpants and a black T-shirt. I giggle when I see him like that, but he just pushes me gently out of the door, to the hall.
I stop in front of the elevator, when Loki opens a door next to it. "We're using the stairs. Three floors up. That's your warming up!"
I groan, but do as he says, jogging up the stairs. Breaking a sweat is a good way to get rid of my hangover. And I haven't been to the gym since the car crash.
When we get to the 30th floor, Loki turns around. "And now five floors down. There's the gym."
I try to punch his arm, but he's already going down the stairs. "Are you punishing me for last night?" I call after him, jogging down the stairs again.
He just smirks. "I'll tell you if you can catch me!"