Loki stared at the reflection before him, taking in all the details as he had done many times.
Partly because he couldn't believe this was him now and partly because it gave him the perfect view of his life.
Where once before he'd avoided the mirror, not wanting to see the awkward, chubby and cringe-inducing nerd he'd once been, now stood a man who had grown into himself and stood tall, proud and lithe.
Thinner than he was as a child, Loki had hit a growth spurt by the time he was fourteen and he soon found himself losing what the adults called 'puppy fat', it seemed his mother had been right in saying that it wouldn't last, especially as he didn't eat much in the first place.
The same happened with the spots as they gradually and his eyesight had improved, even though he still opted to wear his glasses at times.
Unlike the horror stories he had heard growing up, it seemed that puberty was working wonders for him.
He'd gained control of his hair, which was once an uncontrollable greasy mess, now he brushed it back, away from his angular face.
A movement caught his attention and his eyes glanced ever so slightly to his left, where he could see the reflection of a woman led on his bed, her legs wrapped in his green sheets but everything else exposed to the world.
His hair was something she tended complained about, purely in jest, saying how she preferred to see it wild and messy and not slicked back like it was wet to the touch, though in that moment it was still messy from the night before, just as she liked it.
Loki found himself looking her over through the mirror, taking in every curve and detail like he had a million times before.
A sense of pride and love fluttered inside his stomach upon seeing her, then nerves set in when he thought about what he planned to do.
By this very day the week after next, he hoped to be engaged to her.
The one who had stuck by him despite everything, dealing with the mocking, the glances and the whispers they had received when he was still young and considered an ugly duckling amongst the people within the palace walls.
She had been by his side and encouraged him with his endeavors, managing to err him away from some of his worst plans and helped shape him into who he was at that very moment.
All these years she had been a best friend, after the dance when they were both young teens, she had become his girlfriend and once they were of age his lover and closest confidant.
He fondly remembered when they had left that dance together, the way his mother smiled at the two as he offered to walk her to her guest room and held out his hand to her.
How warm her hand felt in his, although that wasn't the first time that night that he'd help it there was always a flickering moment of astonishment at how soft and warm her hands were compared to his.
Loki remembered how his stomach fluttered as she smiled at him, as his nerves picked up when they stepped into the corridor that held her room and his moment to finally ask her to be his drew closer.
He never thought that she would so readily say yes, he believed that she would have said that she only agreed to go to the dance with him as long as it was purely platonic.
Now here they were, older, supposedly wiser and more in love than he would ever dare to admit that he was aloud.
A low and tired sigh came from the bed and he turned away from the mirror, smiling as she rubbed her eyes before glancing towards the end of the bed, when she didn't find Loki lying beside her, she sat up and scanned the room until her gaze finally fell on him.
There was that smile, the one she'd always held just for him ever since they were little and he first showed her the illusions he could cast.
"Am I late for breakfast?"
"No," he shook his head, walking back over to the bed and sitting on her side, "if anything, we still have forty minutes to spare."
"Oh and whatever shall we do with that time?"
Despite himself, Loki's eyes roamed over her bare form and he found himself smirking.
"I can think of a few things."
She rolled her eyes and reached out, playing with a bit of his still tussled hair.
"Is that all you think about?"
"What?" He chuckled, "I think after last night we need a long shower."
"I'm sure that's what you were thinking about."
"Naturally, do get your mind out of the gutter."
She laughed and gave his arm a playful shove, then she untangled her legs from the bedsheets and got up with a long stretch.
"I'll meet you in there."
Loki watched her saunter teasingly towards the en-suite door, purposefully strutting her stuff to rile him up.
The smirk she threw over her shoulder before walking inside gave her game away and he wasn't about to disobey her call of; "Don't make me wait too long!"
"Through all of her encouragement, Mother never warned me that this woman will be the death of me," he chuckled to himself.