Guns and Roses: The Drabble Challenge

One: Beginning

0o0o0o0o0o0

Rose sometimes took the bus from Torchwood after work to a parking garage on the far east outskirts of the city. She liked the anonymity if public transit, as well as the freedom to dwell in her own thoughts rather than having to focus on the road. With the dimension canon she was hardly home anyway, but she would rather have a house on the Channel where she could get away from the stress of work when she could.

But now the stress of work didn't stop when she left the Tower, and the reason for that was a certain blue-eyed and leather-clad humanoid that was her little secret from the rest of Torchwood. For now, at least.

Loki, he had eventually told her to call him. He offered no other background information, which bothered her. He seemed gracious enough to her hospitality, but for all Rose knew he had turned into an elephant while she was gone and destroyed her living room.

So she picked up some dinner from her favorite sandwich place, trying to placate her increasing sense of anxiety as she slowly made her way home.

Her first impression as she peeked through the front door was to find the house quiet and untouched.

"I'm back," she called, closing the door behind her and tossing her briefcase onto the couch.

"No need to shout," a low voice muttered from the kitchen threshold behind her.

"Oh. Sorry. Well, you okay today?"

"Adequate," Loki replied, his gaze even and slightly bored. "I browsed through your library. I hope you don't mind."

"No, have at it." The office was mostly unused, she initially had it as a study room. She stuffed her head with astrophysics, temporal mechanics, and mathematics; anything to finish her A-levels and help her team at Torchwood develop the canon. "You eat supper yet? I'm not a Top Chef or nothin', but I make a mean chicken sandwich."

"I'm fine, Rose. Don't worry yourself." His brows furrowed suddenly, and his nose wrinkled. "What is that smell?"

"Chips. Want one?"

The look he gave her was a cross between disdain and amusement.

"Wha'? Don't have deep fryers back home?" she grinned. "Honestly, they aren't poisoned. Here." She popped another in her mouth and offered the bag to him. He simply shook his head and walked into the guest room, where he stayed the rest of the night.

Later she would learn that Loki preferred his chips drenched in ketchup, and that he would tease her about how nasty her breath was after soaking hers in vinegar. But in the beginning everything was like this; cautious, cold, and more than a little curious.