“How did it go?” I tentatively ask Serendipity as she comes out of the conference room. They’ve been in there almost two hours, and I spent every second waiting outside the door for her. I wanted to come in with her, to be there for her, but Director pirate said it was confidential. Confidential. I’m confidential. The poptarts inside the matzah box are confidential.
She shrugs, not meeting my eyes. Worry breaks out, and I glance up and down her, seeing her hands shake as she wraps them tightly around her torso. I wrap her into a hug, scanning the halls for other people. Once I’m certain that there’s no one around to see us I gently press her head onto my chest, encouraging her to let me comfort her. Since that first day that we got her back, Serendipity has put forth a lot of effort to ensure no one sees how upset she is. That no one sees that she is terrified. That no one sees the nightmares that come for her.
Except for me. I see it. And I’m trying my hardest to help her.
She lays her head on my chest, relenting, and wrapping her arms around my neck; squeezing her eyes shut. It’s enough of a response for me. She’s come so far since we got back. I got her to leave her room for a meeting today- instead of just holding them unorthodoxly on her kitchen floor. I even got her to sing earlier! She nearly broke down when the pirate asked me to wait outside. She gave me a heartbreaking look, begging me to do something. I said that I’d wait outside, and that was enough.
“Where do you want to go?” I whisper to her. I glance at the clock above the stairs. It’s almost 6pm. “We could go get food?” I suggest. She nods, reluctantly letting go of me. As she opens her eyes, deeply inhaling, I notice that she looks significantly better than she did a few minutes ago.
“Are you good now?”
“Yeah.” She says, thinking. “Yeah, I’m good. Let’s go get dinner.” She agrees, sliding a hand down my arm and taking mine. We walk through the halls and down a set of stairs, taking a long leisurely walk to the mess hall. After walking in a comfortable silence for a while, enjoying the fit of her hand in mine, I make up my mind on asking her an important question.
“Little witch?” I ask her, my heart already beating harder. Calm down you oaf, you haven’t even said anything yet!
“Hmm?” She responds, turning to look at me.
“I was wondering…” I begin, trying to find the words. As I desperately try to get myself together, a smile splits across her face, and I can already feel the mockery building.
“Are you nervous?” She asks me, dropping my hand and stopping in the middle of the hall.
“No, I-I’m-“
“Your silver tongue is tied up? Pigs might as well be flying!” She declares loudly, laughing at my being flustered. I blush, and grab her arm.
“I’m trying to talk to you, can you shut up for one moment, minx?” I ask her, joking.
“Alright alright, ask away,” The witch says, throwing up her hands in mock frustration.
“So…” I start. “We’ve been spending a lot of time together.” Her face shifts to real seriousness, but she doesn’t interrupt, so I continue. “And we’ve kissed a few times, as you are well aware; which naturally leads me to believe that there is a mutual care for each other.” The words begin to pour out, now that I’ve started.
“I am certain, for myself at least, that I care for you. I know that you are lovely, and that you are the most amazing woman I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. I just want to know… do you feel the same?” I finish, and I wait for her to respond, a few moments that are extended to what feels like hours of agony.
Serendipity nods, taking a moment to carefully consider her answer. She wanders in a small circle, before turning back to me.
“I definitely agree that there is a mutual feeling. I care very much for you as well, however annoying you can be,” She jokingly adds. “I do very much feel the same.” She states, 100% certain. “Would you, I mean, would we, I-I. Would you like to court?” She stammers, blushing.
I smile, feeling my pounding heart quiet into butterflies, sliding into my stomach.
“It would be an honor,” I tell her, sweeping her hand up to my lips in an elegant gesture, watching the blush that spreads across her face with glee. Both of us blush as an intern passes by, clearly trying to ignore us.
Noting this, I grab my witch by the waist, pulling her to me until our noses touch. I close my eyes, just enjoying being near her, especially now that she really is my witch. I can smell the ocean on her, even though she rinsed all of the ocean off before the meeting.
I can feel my cheeks beginning to ache, my soul full of happiness. I open my eyes again, studying my little witch up close. Her pale skin, her deep blue hair. My little witch. I could get used to that.
“Hey! Reindeer games!” Comes a singsong voice from behind us. Both of us jump, and I roll my eyes. Heimdall help me. I turn around, finding the one and only Tony Stark, aka the most obnoxious Midgardian I have ever met.
“Hello, Stark,” I say, my voice full of loathing. He walks towards us, giving a pointed look at Serendipity and her arm still around my neck. “Is this- are you- are you guys dating??” He asks, being obnoxious. I turn back to Serendipity with a questioning look in my eyes.
She shrugs, giving me permission. Without looking back at Stark, only at my beautiful witch, I tell him.
“Yes, we are, Stark. Is that a problem?”
He walks around, back into my field of vision, but continues on until he is in front of Serendipity. I fight the instinct to pull her closer to me, only keeping a loose arm around her waist as she turns to face him. He gets up in her face, scrutinizing her.
“You wouldn’t happen to be under mind control, would you, Ariel?” He asks staring directly into her eyes.
“No, I wouldn’t. Loki and I are... dating, as you called it.” She declares, and I can’t suppress my happiness.
“Alright…” he says, hesitant to believe us. “I’ve gotta tell Natalie!” He says, sounding identical to a small child, before grabbing Serendipity by the wrist and pulling her after him. She stumbles, trying to catch up as she trips over her shoelaces. I sigh and follow them, concerned.
He pulls her into the cafeteria, interrupting what appears to be Natasha and Steve acting as if they have been married for several hundred years.
“Guys, you will not believe this.” He says, ecstatic. He gestures to Serendipity, and when she doesn’t respond, just makes a panicked face. “C’mon, just tell them what you told me!” He encourages. Her eyes flit around, looking like a caged animal. She darts under Stark’s arm and scurries back over to next to me.
“You tell them,” She says quietly. I nod.
“As Stark is already aware, Serendipity and I are officially courting.” I say, emotionless, waiting for a reaction. The first of which are Natasha and Thor, immediately rushing over to us. Natasha pulls Serendipity away into a hug, and Thor claps me on the back, nearly making me collapse.
“Congratulations on your courtship, brother!” He says, proud of me.
“...Thank you. Brother,” I say, a smile finding its way to my face knowing that he is proud of me.
“However…” He says, his voice dropping. “You may want to go save your maiden before the man of iron scares her out of her mind,” He suggests, shrugging a shoulder towards Serendipity, looking quite annoyed.
“Oh, no, she’ll be fine,” I tell him, watching her glancing around the room, looking for something.
“Are you certain? I would hate for it to go sour already, brother,” He says, concerned.
“Trust me, just watch,” I answer, smirking. He relents, and we both watch as she sings, not even for two seconds, effectively soaking Stark with the water from everyone’s cups. Thor snorts, watching Stark come to terms with being soaked.
“Alright, I probably deserved that,” He admits. Serendipity nods, agreeing, before making her way through the kitchen area, finding food. I pat Thor on the back, going over to join her.
“Are you alright?” I ask, for her ears only, my mouth barely moving.
“Now that I get to spend the rest of the night knowing that Tony is soaked, yes, I am,” She says, laughing. After we collect our food, she grabs my hand, tugging gently so I stop. I turn around, worried something is wrong.
“Would it be ok if we ate back home?” She asks. “Tony is already a little off because he heard me earlier, and I don’t want to make it worse.” She says, embarrassed.
“That sounds wonderful, darling. And just to be clear, don’t feel bad for doing that. You can’t be expected to not talk forever. If you want to go eat in our rooms, that is perfectly fine, as long as that’s what you want,” I tell her, meaning every word. She doesn’t deserve to feel guilty for existing. She nods, it is what she wants.
“Alright, little witch,” I say, watching her laugh at my nickname for her. I take her hand with mine, using the other for food. We walk back to the group and tell them that we’re retiring early. The patriot narrows his eyes at me, making me very aware of the implications here.
Walking through the now dark Helicarrier; most agents having departed recently, it’s peaceful, just me and my witch. We get back to our hall, and both of us go through the security check, making sure our entrance is documented.
“Whose room would you prefer to dine in?” I ask, turning to her.
“Ummmmm,” She says, considering. “Let’s do yours tonight,” I nod, passing her my plate so I can do a room sweep. Once I am sure it is safe, I flick on the lights and have Serendipity come in, closing and locking the door behind us.
“I wonder if Steve can sense that we’re in a room together…” She mutters under her breath, and I laugh.
“Most likely, and he is probably appalled,” I tell her, grinning. She sets our food down and takes a seat. I make a big show of conjuring up a beautiful blue bellflower to present her with, and she presses a hand to her chest with gratitude, playing the game.
As we eat, she fills me in on what happened in the meeting, this time without crying. A couple times I see a flash of fear in her eyes, and I take her hand, rubbing my thumb on the back of it. Once she finishes and we’ve cleaned up from dinner, I offer a suggestion for our next activity.
“If you would like to, I would be willing to come swim with you again?” I ask, even though we swam already today. She would swim all day if she could, and it is my honor to join her.
She eagerly nods, her face lighting up.
“I need to change then, because director pirate is upset about my clothing as well,” I tell her, chuckling at the memory of him scolding me. Serendipity practically runs out of the room and into hers. I wait outside the door for a moment, waiting for her to verify that there’s nothing out of order in her room. She calls from probably her bedroom, telling me it’s all good. I close her door, and head back into my room to change.
Having found a dry set of swimming shorts, I carefully empty out my pockets, making sure I haven’t lost anything of importance today. Once I am certain everything is still there, I head back into the hall, locking my door and sliding the keys into a convenient zipper pocket on my ‘swimtrunks’ as Midgardians call them. I turn around, about to cross the hall to Serendipity’s room when I end up face to face with Director Pirate. And he looks very, very cross.
“Ah. Hello, Director,” I say awkwardly. His glare doesn’t soften in the lightest. “Is something wrong?” I ask, slightly scared.
“I’ve heard that you and Miss Dipity are an item?” He says, questioning this information. Probably from Stark. He tells everyone everything.
“Oh, yes. That is accurate,” I say, hesitating.
“If you break her heart, Laufeyson,” My eyes open wide in shock at the use of that heavily classified tidbit of information. “You’re going to have to be peeled off of the street like eggs on a pan you didn’t grease. Understood?” He says, intimidating. I gulp.
“Understood, sir.” I tell him, terrified.
“Good. Enjoy your night.” He says, backing off, just like that. I stand there for a moment, gathering my wits, before I knock on Serendipity’s door. It opens nearly as soon as my knuckle hits the door to reveal a wide-eyed witch.
“I am so sorry about him, Loki. I swear I had nothing to do with that, I’ll talk to him about it tomorrow. Has anything else-“ I cut off her rambling by kissing her, which is my preferred mode of stopping her words.
“It’s worth it for you.” I tell her, as she pulls me into her room and towards the pool for the third time today