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[dothelokimotion]

@ tricks
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[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.]

[dothelokimotion]

[ loki continues to look a little perplexed, but he nods. asgard was very traditional in certain aspects, but gender and sexuality had never been one of them. loki was loki, regardless of which form he took or who he enjoyed. ]

Ah. A confusing time.

[thirtythird]

It's quite difficult, being young. [Regardless of the constraints or freedoms society allowed, he's fairly certain.] Trying to sort through yourself. Build the person you'd like to be.

[Although he's fairly certain it had been easier for his friends who weren't concerned about the legal status of their sexual inclinations.]

Do you remember your first kiss?

[dothelokimotion]

[ loki shakes his head. ]

No. It was centuries ago and there was never anyone . . . real enough to connect to. I believe I did it simply because I felt I was . . . falling behind the rest in carnal matters.

[thirtythird]

[His laugh is reedy, head shaking very slightly.]

No winning, is there. You get in trouble for starting too young and a panic for starting too old. [Another tight squeeze of fingers before he pulls his husband's knuckles to his lips.] Bit easier with every year, though.