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[dothelokimotion]

@ tricks
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[thirtythird]

Far stranger than usual.

[Even now, after all, there were still days of waking up with the distinct impression this had all been a dream.]

This morning I could have sworn I remembered you dragging me through a fire with your face painted blue.

[dothelokimotion]

[ oh. the silence that follows stretches on for a little too long. loki finally clears his throat. ]

Not painted. You saw my . . . true form.

[thirtythird]

Oh?

[The faintest pause of consideration. This is a matter of delicacy, he knows, underlined by the long quiet from Loki.]

Do... you mind, darling?

[dothelokimotion]

No.

[ a beat, grudgingly. ]

Maybe. It's not something I'm terribly fond of. And I doubt anyone enjoys being subjected to it.

[thirtythird]

[Almost something worth leaving. Almost not something to dig at while they're both exhausted. Then again,]

It made me feel quite safe, you know.

[dothelokimotion]

[ a dry chuckle. ]

You were also suffering from blood loss and a woozy head. I think if you saw it with fresh eyes, it would not seem so . . . comely.

[thirtythird]

Any easy time to feel rather unsafe, I'd say.

[Still.]

Besides, I don't know that one really wants a protector to be less than fearsome.

[dothelokimotion]

Yes, nothing like a demonic blue creature with blue-red eyes and a touch that can wither gods to strike fear in the hearts of people.

[thirtythird]

It's what the Picts were after, hm? And... [A brief pause; the little absent quiet of consideration over which words to place in what order.] ...you're always you, in the end. Yes?

[dothelokimotion]

. . . I try to be.

[thirtythird]

You've shown it, love. Time and again.

[dothelokimotion]

[ he sighs. ]

Perhaps. I've gotten better at recognizing my true form and untangling the lies I was told but . . . I've never grown to love it.

Not even Thor has seen it.

[thirtythird]

[Another pause, where the impulse to reach out lives and has to be quashed by the distance between them.]

Would it help, do you think?

[dothelokimotion]

. . . I don't know. I don't know what I'll see in his eyes.

[thirtythird]

Something to ponder, perhaps.

When you're proper well. Not now.

[dothelokimotion]

Mmm. It's not important.

When we're properly recovered, I'll show you my spoils.

[thirtythird]

You're important, love.

[Always important to underline.]

Anything particularly fetching?

[dothelokimotion]

[ oh. that's . . . nice to hear. important. it's warming to the soul. ]

Plenty of gold and jewelry, some strange gemstones and a lot of alcohol.

[thirtythird]

[His laugh isn't quite right, too tired at the edges, but it's very much rattling its way down the line.]

Good man. [His voice is still warm as, at least.] Strange how?

[dothelokimotion]

I'm not sure yet. I can't quite tell if they're magical or not.

[thirtythird]

If anyone can sort it out, love, it's you.

Later, mind.

[dothelokimotion]

Of course. It can wait.

[ loki pauses, thor's words stewing in his head. we're trying to find the way to best love you. if only loki knew what that looked like. ]

I, ah, didn't mean to scare you. I know that is a poor apology and I have . . . difficult treating my life as . . . something of import. But I assure you, I was always — I am always going to choose you.

[thirtythird]

[As with so many things, it helps and hurts to hear, all in the same tangled sensation.]

Will it get easier?

[dothelokimotion]

Ah. Which part?

[thirtythird]

Knowing the value of your own life.