Rendez-Vous À Minuit
The lights buzzed wearily in the old kitchen.
"Ah, just another day of soul crushing mundania…"
She pivoted sharply. The half empty milk carton almost slipped through her long, lithe fingers. A half second of imbalance forced her to retreat a step. One hand raised to her chest in shock, she stared wide eyed into the shadows on the other side of the fridge door.
A silent eternity passed between the two.
"Loki," she breathed, at last.
He merely pursed his lips.
She let out a sigh, dropping the carton disdainfully back onto its shelf. It landed with a thuk.
A slight crease furrowed between her brows. "Why… are you here?"
"Why not?" he asked, eyebrow raised challengingly.
She folded her arms, shifting her weight onto her left leg. She glanced down, and with it came the slight biting of her lower lip. Her blonde ponytail fell over her left shoulder.
"This isn't mundania," she answered at last, finally looking up. "This isn't a dull monotony of nothing. This isn't boredom moulded into days and stretched out into eternity… This isn't… bad. It's life, and life is good. But that's not why you're here."
"No," he murmured thoughtfully, distantly. "It's not."
"And you won't tell me what it is," she countered. Her eyes glinted then: hard as steel and as beautiful as diamonds. "Can you at least tell me why now?"
He folded his arms too, settling against the countertop. A coy sparkle lit his eyes. A smirk played at the edges of his mouth.
She let out a sharp exhale. The fridge door was promptly shut, the room falling into near complete darkness. Only the far off streetlights from the non-adjacent room next door lit the dismal little kitchen.
"I'm going to bed," she said, and turned away.
"Maybe I wanted to speak with someone intelligent."
She faltered, eventually slowing before finally coming to a hesitant stop.
"Don't you have minions for that?" she asked coldly.
"Minions are strength by number," he said simply. "Intelligence is a foreign concept to them."
She glanced over her shoulder to the dark spot he had inhabited. "Oh, I'm sure you've got a physicist or two in your ranks somewhere. Maybe even a superior alien race. They could give you all the mental stimulation you need. Just give them their orders."
His voice barely changed. "How cruel you are."
She turned on him, hard eyes flashing and simmering with fury. "This isn't mundania. No matter what you think. No matter how you act – you can be as haughty and as arrogant as you want, Laufeyson. You'd never understand anyway. This world isn't pathetic, nor is it weak. And we're not waiting for our Master to come and crush us underfoot! We are ungrateful and angry and stupid and… and… And we're happy. Here. We're happy here. And that's more than you could ever give us."
A car passed. Its bright, gaudy light flashed, penetrating the dark house and illuminating her wrath. Then the light went out, vanished. She shook her head.
"Honey?"
She raised her head. "I'm here."
The torchlight turned in her direction. "What's going on? I thought I heard something?"
"It's just me," she answered. "I was thirsty. Let's go back to bed."
"Okay…"
She wrapped an arm around his waist, and he an arm across her shoulders. Slowly, groggily, they made their way back to their bedroom.
I would have asked after you…
Author's Note: This was written before I saw the 'Avengers' and 'Thor' movies, but the character of Loki is popular, and for that reason has been on my mind lately. I found him intriguing. My knowledge of Norse Mythology only served to worsen my curiosity. I had looked for fanfiction on Loki, the types pertaining to tragedy and romantic love most of all… and have generally only been disappointed. He is too often made generic, in my mind. Whatever it is that has made him so popular, it can't be that. Then this idea came to mind. Being so intrigued by his character, I thought it would be good to gauge my views on his portrayal with a 'before' and 'after' kind of model.
But, now having seen the movies, I don't think my portrayal was too generically unsalveagable.