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[dothelokimotion]

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[thirtythird]

[Very natural to lean against that light touch. Also quite natural to sit carefully in the presence of the injured while looking as casual as ever; a subtle but well-practiced skill.]

Oh-- nothing less than a proper manor house, love. [It's a foolish fantasy, but it makes him smile to ponder.] We'd have a little summer cottage up north, but-- a real house most of the year. With tall ceilings and lovely staircases.

[dothelokimotion]

[ loki tilts his head at william curiously. ]

Is it normal to have two houses?

[thirtythird]

One is more-- average. [Admittedly.] But there's not much better to spend a fortune on.

[No need to get into how many palaces existed, surely. That got a bit dizzying.]

Quite nice, if you can manage it.

[dothelokimotion]

It shouldn't be too hard.

[ says the prince. ]

I've never thought about it before. Having a place of my own.

[thirtythird]

[There's a proper smile for that, despite the softness of his laugh.]

Of your own? Will I only be allowed in one of the houses?

[dothelokimotion]

Oh. Yes, of course. My apologies.

[thirtythird]

It might be the secret to a happy marriage, having our own houses.

[They've been doing well with their own spaces--and he could certainly imagine his mother would have preferred a house without his father in it from time to time.]

It is quite nice, really. Having a space all your own.

[dothelokimotion]

I had my own rooms, of course, but after . . . [ his brow furrows. ] . . . after I left, I didn't have anywhere else to go.

And settling down seemed too dangerous when I was being hunted.

[thirtythird]

[Logical, but based upon an unpleasant premise. There's a practiced thoughtlessness to reaching to tangle their fingers together.]

Something to explore, then.

[dothelokimotion]

Mmmm.

[ his eyelashes flutter even as he twines their fingers together in a squeeze. ]

My mother liked gardens.

[thirtythird]

We'll have to plant a large one. Just under the bedroom window. [It's actually thoughtless but entirely comforting to run his thumb across Loki's knuckles.] Calla lilies do well enough in the south of England.

[dothelokimotion]

[ william's act of remembrance brings a smile to loki's face. ]

What would you add to the house? Specifically for yourself?

[thirtythird]

A library. With great big chairs you could fall asleep in.

[Another silly thing, admittedly, but it twists the corners of his lips up all the same.]

And a good writing desk.

[dothelokimotion]

[ the corners of his eyes crinkle. ]

I loved the library in the palace. I used to stay there for days. Thor had to drag me out.

[thirtythird]

And you were probably actually reading, clever thing. I only want a quiet place for a nap.

[dothelokimotion]

There are worse places for a nap.

Were you trying to hide in the library?

[thirtythird]

[William has to blink at that. It's hardly surprising Loki is perceptive; it's just strange, after all these year, to still be learning things about himself.]

Sometimes, yes.

[dothelokimotion]

[ loki smiles faintly. ]

We all need places to hide ourselves away.

[thirtythird]

The best and worst company one can find, hm?

[dothelokimotion]

. . . I don't really remember if I ever had company there.

[thirtythird]

Aye, the company of oneself. The person who remembers all your accomplishments and failings best.

[His attention drops to their joined hands, studying the patter of twined fingers.]

I had one of my first kisses in a library.

[And it had taken a while to get that one out of the failings category, apparently.]

[dothelokimotion]

[ ah. his fingers tighten briefly. ]

With whom?

[thirtythird]

[A slight shift presses his wedding band more firmly in against his own finger. That gets a pleased twitch of his own smile despite the oddity of wading through this particular memory.]

A friend. A boy called Malcolm. [Another shift to set his thumb smoothing idly across Loki's knuckles, contemplative; present.] I'd just kissed his sister the day before, and I was fairly certain he was going to rough me up a bit for it. But... he kissed me instead.

[Brave, William can now acknowledge. Foolish, all the same.]

And then I hid in my father's library for-- days.

[dothelokimotion]

[ loki looks seemingly confused. ]

Because of a . . . kiss?

[thirtythird]

I had no idea what to make of it. That it had happened or that I had enjoyed it.

[A problem very much of his place and time--which is, as ever, an oddly wonderful thing to realize.]