Loki stared in awe at his lovely, wonderful, amazing darling and couldn't help the surprise and awe he felt at her skills and abilities. He had expected to have to protect her. She was blind and helpless and so newly made Asgardian. He hadn't expected her to be able to defend herself. Especially not so eloquently. He chuckled as he pulled her close and kissed her cheek. "You continue to surprise me, little one," he said warmly.
She laughed in reply. "You're really surprised? I've lived with Nat for summer and winter breaks for two years. Like she would let me out of her sight without being able to defend myself. I just don't go advertising the ability," she added with a shrug.
Loki couldn't help laughing at that while the morons groaned on the floor. "I should know better than to presume. Of course Lady Natasha taught you some of her skills,"
She smirked in reply. Mischievous little troublemaker was trying to keep him on his toes. "Of course she did," she replied pleasantly. "So who were the morons I beat up?" she asked him, curious now that they were safe. Said morons were still on the ground, groaning and barely conscious, which was impressive and mostly due to the fact that Morgan caught them by surprise. They weren't expecting a blind little Midgardian to not be Midgardian and to be trained in combat and not nearly as helpless as she appeared.
"They are my idiot brother's equally moronic friends, The Warrior's Three: Fandral, Hogunn, and Volstagg," Loki explained. Morgan nodded along. She knew of them from Thor's stories of his idiot friends.
"Morons," she agreed, wrapping her arms around Loki's waist.
"I could not agree more, my darling," he agreed and pressed a kiss to her hair.
"Hopefully Thor won't be too offended that I beat up his friends..." she said softly, concerned. She loved Thor as a brother and didn't want him upset with her.
Loki shrugged. "They deserved it,"
Morgan nodded. "They did," she agreed easily. "I'm sure you would've done it yourself had I not gotten offended that one of them touched me," she grumbled. She didn't like being touched by strangers, especially when she wasn't expecting it. Especially when she couldn't see them, which was all the time since the accident.
"I was ready to. You beat me to it,"
She giggled. "Sorry I ruined your stabby fun," she teased him.
Loki laughed. He loved this little ball of mischief. "It is quite alright, darling. I actually quite enjoyed watching you beat them up,"
"I'm sure they'll be embarrassed to tell Thor they were beaten up by a tiny blind girl," she was amused by the image in her head of the sheepish idiots trying to tell Thor how they were so beaten up.
"I highly doubt they will even consider telling him at all,"
She smirked mischievously. She really was a darling after his own heart. "Like you won't find an opportunity to embarrass them over it," she teased. She knew Loki quite well and knew he would do anything in his power to embarrass his brother's idiot friends.
"Of course I will. I actually look forward to it," Loki agreed and settled Morgan's hand on his arm so he could continue escorting her to the gardens. She trusted him to lead her safely and her blind trust in him warmed his heart.
Of course, the pair drew a lot of looks. The sight of a lady on Loki's arm was a strange one. Loki being stuck in Jotun form was strange, but people were fairly used to it by now. However, there were whispers of how the disabled girl wasn't worth of a prince of Asgard. Loki tried to ignore their looks and glared to stop the whispers. He didn't want Morgan upset because people were unfairly talking about them. He kept his tone light and casual with Morgan as they discussed magic and books as they walked, including some Asgardian children's tales. He wouldn't let her know by his tone how many people he was glaring into submission.
They made it out to the gardens and Loki smiled fondly at the warm smile on Morgan's face when the sun hit her skin and she smelled the fresh air. She didn't get out very often and Loki felt a bit bad for that. It was just so much easier to keep her safe in the tower. The pair wandered through the gardens, and though Morgan couldn't see the beauty of the flowers, she could enjoy their scent and the fresh air.
Loki told her stories from his childhood as they walked. She paused at one. "That's not how mom told it," she accused.
Loki stiffened, forgetting momentarily that Morgan's mom had told him all sorts of stories about her 'nephews'. He raised an eyebrow. Hopefully all wasn't lost. "Oh? Then how did she tell it?" he asked, hoping to save the story, or at least not have it painted in a terrible light.
Morgan smirked and Loki knew he was doomed. "She told it that her two troublesome nephews went to play in the woods when they were told not to with little lady Sarah," Morgan shrugged as she hadn't learned who that was yet. Loki recognized it was Lady Sif, though, based on his story. "And the three of them managed to upset... she said a bear, but I'm sure she was hiding what creature it actually was. And lady Sarah was the one who defeated the monster,"
Loki laughed. "Sarah would be Lad Sif," he told her warmly. "And the bear was a bilgesnipe,"
Morgan laughed. "The point, distracting Trickster, was she tells it as Sif saving yours and Thor's asses, not the other way around," she explained, sticking her tongue out at him.
"I'm a storyteller, darling, literally the god of stories. I like to embellish things. I am also the god of lies. It comes with the territory," he added with a shrug.
She laughed. "So it will probably irk you to no end that I have alternate versions of these stories," she teased.
"Most likely. I like to tell stories," he mock whined at her trying to ruin his fun.
She giggled again. "Poor godling, irked to death by an annoying little blind girl," she teased.
He chuckled, loving her even more for being able to keep up with him. "I can live with that,"
She raised an eyebrow. "Based on how you are with dad, being irked to death by an annoying Stark doesn't seem in your repertoire," she reminded him. He tended to throw her dad out the window every time he was annoying. There was a tally list.
"You are the exception to that, darling," he told her warmly. He then grinned at her and asked. "Would you like to see my favorite part of the gardens?" she lit up in excitement and agreed quickly. Loki led her through the gardens quickly, excited to show her. "Not many people know about this spot. It became my hiding spot when I wanted nothing to do with Thor or his friends,"
"So all the time?"
He laughed. "Basically," he agreed. He pulled her through a nearly invisible gap through the walls of flowers and into a hidden alcove.
She paused for a moment when they stopped in the alcove. "This is it?" she asked him gently.
He nodded. "Yes. I know you can't see it but can you feel how peaceful it is? It's an escape from everything," he told her.
She nodded with a soft, fond, smile. She then looked up at him and hesitated for a moment before she asked in a small shy voice. "Would you allow me to borrow your eyes for a moment so I can see it?" It was a rude question and too personal to ask, but she did anyway.
He grinned, pleased that she had asked such a personal thing in order to see the part of the garden that meant so much to him. She asked the awkward question to make him happy, to show him how much she cared. "Of course you can. I thought you'd never ask. Do you remember the spell?" he asked
She nodded and gave him a warm smile. She closed her eyes, calling up her power and the spell Frigga had taught her. Her hand found Loki's bare skin and a moment later she was looking out of his eyes. She could see everything he did. Loki stood still and looked around carefully, making sure to keep his blue skin out of his sight while she was using his eyes. He wasn't ready to tell her his secret, not yet. He didn't want to lose her, now that he had finally found her.
She only stayed in his eyes a moment, long enough to appreciate Loki's little alcove. She also caught a glimpse of herself through his eyes and felt his love for her when she did. She couldn't help wanting to see how bad the scarring on her face was from the accident. It was bad, completely across her eyes, but not as bad as it had been before Frigga did what healing she could.
She vanished from his mine a moment later and blinked her eyes back open. Loki smiled warmly at her and pressed a kiss to her hair. "What did you think, darling?"
"It's beautiful and a perfect hideaway," she told him brightly.
He lit up that she loved it so, and pulled her into his arms. "And a great place to do this," he leaned in a kissed her passionately. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she gladly returned the kiss. They spent quite a long while in his alcove enjoying their activity before she finally broke it to catch her breath, smiling up at him.
He smiled affectionately down at her and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "We should get you back to my chambers. You need to rest before dinner, my darling," he reminded her that she was supposed to be resting, not losing all of her breath from kissing him.
"I'm fine," she protested, but she was drained from using a complex spell while she was healing. In other words, she was lying. Poorly.
His nose scrunched in automatic reaction to the lie. "If you were trying to convince you are alright, you failed miserably, Ana," he reminded her dryly since she couldn't see his nose wrinkle.
"God of lies," she grumbled and stuck her tongue out at him. "Fine," she said with a yawn. "We can go lie down for a little while," she surrendered, laying her head on his arm.
He smiled and kissed the top of her head. "Good girl," he purred, making her insides do a fluttery flip-flop at the seductive quality of those purred words. He swept her into his arms and teleported them back to his chambers. He laid her down in his bed and tucked her in. He took a seat in a comfy chair nearby to read.
She was so extremely bad at resting that he didn't even know how she did it, but she slipped out of bed without disturbing him from his book. Before he knew it, she was curled catlike in his lap. "You should be resting, darling," he scolded her, though pressed a kiss to her forehead. He couldn't be upset with her and she wasn't exactly straining herself, curling in his lap.
"Read to me?" she asks adorably, laying her head on his shoulder.
This was definitely a resting activity and Loki loved it. He loved having her curled in his arms and loved that she asked him to do something so simple, but meaningful for her. "I would be happy to," he said warmly. He summoned a different book, one he thought she'd like better that the boring magic text he'd been reading. He began to read the tale to her, his voice soothing and melodic, his accent warm honey as he read to her. She sighed happily and nestled in his arms, contentedly listening to the story he read her. Her eyes closed and her head fell more heavily on his shoulder as she dozed off. He smiled affectionately and kissed the top of her head. He'd expected her to doze off the second she relaxed and he wasn't disappointed.
She woke a couple hours later and smiled up at him, content and happy in his arms. He leaned in to give her a soft kiss. He found this activity much more appealing than reading for some strange reason. It was definitely new for him. Morgan's fingers wound in his hair as she moved to straddle his lap, kissing him deeply. Loki purred into the kiss. Much better activity than reading.
What the hell had happened to him?
The kissing eventually broke so they could both catch their breath. He caressed her cheek. "You are so beautiful,"
She gave him a disbelieving look. "My face is scarred," she reminded him. She was hardly beautiful.
"So? You are beautiful to me," he told her with a purr. She could hear in his words that he wasn't lying.
She gave him a warm smile. "You're too kind,"
"You're the first to ever say that," he had a hint of sorrow in his tone. No one had ever thought the poor thing kind, or worthy of attention, besides his beloved Mama.
"Well everyone else is dumb," she informed him. "Just ask your army of Midgardian fans,"
He raised an eyebrow. "My what now?"
She grinned. "You have an entire army of fans on Midgard," she explained carefully.
"That's impossible. I attacked their planet," Loki protested indignantly.
"It's not impossible at all," she replied gently. "Between the movie, your midgardian actor discussing your backstory and motivations in such a compelling manner, the comics and stories, you've become the patron god of the misfits of Midgard. And have an army of mostly fangirls,"
Loki blinked, trying to comprehend that. "Huh... I certainly never saw that coming,"
She giggled. "I'll show you when we return to Midgard,"
He shrugged, still not believing her. "Alright. Just how big is this army?" he asked curiously.
She laughed. "Huge. When the second Thor movie was about to be announced there was a convention. Tom, the actor, made a surprise appearance and had the entire hall, about the size of the ballroom in the tower, crammed full of people shouting your name. And that was just the people who could show up to that convention. There's thousand or more online,"
Loki blinked in surprise. "Very unexpected..."
She laughed again. "I'll show you the video when we get home," she promised. "So in short you have an army and people who say you're not nice are stupid," she got them back on the original topic.
He raised an eyebrow. "I assume you are part of my army?" he asked teasingly.
She smirked, though he could see a hint of color in her cheeks. "Wouldn't you like to know, silly trickster?"
"I would actually,"
She grinned. "Very well, let me rephrase. Good luck finding out," she stuck her tongue out at him.
He pouted. "Don't be a tease, love," he made sure she could hear the whine in his voice.
"Ah, but see I lose either way. Either you're disappointed I'm not part of your army, or you make fun of me for being a member before I even knew you," she replied. "There's no winning here,"
"I would never make fun of you. I find it sweet that you like me so much to defend me without even knowing me,"
"You would. You'd think me some heartsick little midgardian who just thinks Tom Hiddleston is pretty," she whined right back at him.
"So are you part of the army for me or for the actor that plays me?" he pressed.
"I've admitted to neither," she reminded him with a smirk. Though the addition of his horns on her Avengers tattoo would indicate otherwise...
He hummed. "Sure," he said, clearly disbelieving her.
She grinned teasingly. "Maybe if you're lucky, you'll get to see my other tattoo, which will tell you whose army I'm a part of," she teased in a whisper in his ear.
He chuckled breathily, her warm breath on his ear sending a shiver down his spine. "And where is this mysterious tattoo?" he purred.
"Somewhere my father will never see it,"
*
They eventually had to go to dinner and spent the entire time speaking with Frigga about training Morgan on magic while they were in Asgard. Odin announced her as a noble of Asgard, so she had standing in the court and could relax some around them. he kisses her cheek and offers her a bright smile. She and Loki danced the night away after dinner. Loki kissed her in the middle of the dance floor, in front of the entire court, before they returned to his chambers for bed.
"So where am I spending the night now that I'm healed?" she asked as they headed back, doubting he'll want to have her sharing his bed or his room now.
"With me if you'd like. Or I'm sure I can have a room prepared for you if you'd prefer," he offered quickly. He would do whatever she felt comfortable with.
"I wouldn't want to presume to share your bed," she said softly, tentatively, hesitantly because of nerves. "B-but I'd prefer to be near you," she didn't like advertising weakness. She didn't want to sleep alone in this place since she was blind. She didn't know the place or people well enough to feel comfortable alone. Being alone in the Avenger's tower was one thing, it was her home and she had lived there before she went blind. She had Jarvis to help with anything she couldn't do on her own. Here? She was reliant on Loki and didn't like the prospect of being separated from him.
He had a warm smile when he replied. "I prefer to be with you as well, Ana," he reassured her quickly.
She relaxed and smirked up at him. "You just want to see my tattoo," she teased.
He laughed. "That might just be an added bonus,"
She giggled. "Come along, then, silly trickster," she teased and they made it the rest of the way back to his rooms. Morgan used magic to change into long pajama pants and a tank top after they arrived, choosing comfy Midgardian pajamas. He used magic to change into his own pajamas and climbed into bed with her. She smiled over at him before she pulled the blankets up. "So how much do you want to see that tattoo?"
He chuckled. "Very much so,"
She smirked at him. "Alright, but one negative comment and I'm kicking you from your own bed to sleep on the couch," she warned firmly.
"Yes ma'am," he teased in reply and she giggled. She turned to face him and lifted her tank top, holding it just below her breasts so he could see her stomach and ribs. On her ribs on her left side, above her heart is a tattoo of his sigil
He smirked. "So you are a members of my army," he tried not to let the teasing tone enter his voice so he wouldn't get banished to the couch.
She nodded and lowered her shirt again, blushing bright red. "Since long before I met you or knew you were real," she admitted softly.
"Why?" he asked, beyond curious. How could she have possible cared about him before she'd even met him? It didn't make any sense.
She sighed and turned even more red, but started to explain. "I got it because I've loved you since I was a child," she fidgeted, realizing that didn't come out quite right. "Mom used to tell me tales of Asgard, children's tales from here, and Norse mythology as if they were real my entire life. I heard tales of things you and Thor did. Those myths that made it into the story books and histories she told as myths with your real names, those that didn't she told as her nephews. I didn't know you were real, but you still resonated with me.
As I said, you've become the patron saint of misfits, and I felt that and understood it even as a child, well before your army. I was the too intelligent girl with no friends absorbed in her studies, believe me, you resonated with me quite strongly for that alone, and though it wasn't the same, I understood living in the golden child's shadow. The schools on Midgard only care about the best athletes, not the best academics, so even with all of my accomplishments, they still cared more for the oafs like Thor. And then when it became known I was a Stark? Everyone just wanted to compare me to dad. Our experiences weren't the same, but they were similar enough that I resounded with the idea that at least someoneunderstood, even if you weren't real. I got this after I found out you were real, after Loki's army became a thing, after New York. If you could come through all of that, through all of the pain, the torture, and still make it through, then I can get through anything that comes my way..."
She paused her long-winded explanation and turned even more red. "I'm going to curl up and die of embarrassment now..." she commented, barely audibly.