An Errorful Invitation

As the minutes ticked away, Loki's brain was ticking faster. He had been with Nevaeh ever since he was made King and he had done nothing unique which could further flourish Asgard. He wondered over the fact of how he had been so distracted by her that he had never once taken advantage of Thor's absence, who had always managed affairs without Loki's help or even his opinions regarding the matter, while he watched him from his shadows, always pondering how he would've managed it differently. Loki had no idea how long it would take to permanently eliminate the threat of war with Jotunheim. He certainly had great plans for doing the same, but he was lost as to when he might commence those. Time was a tricky thing, even for the God of trickery. But, he chose to make things clear with her nevertheless, and to ask her something that had been bugging him since quite some time.

'If I am to bring Asgard into prosperity, then I would have to strive quite hard for it,' Loki said, watching her cautiously through the corner of his eye.

Nevaeh nodded in approval. 'You sure do.'

Loki nodded as well. 'Yes, relentlessly, and who knows how long it would take to bring peace throughout the realms,' Loki added, still watching her from the corner of his eye, squinting a little.

'Good things require time,' Nevaeh agreed.

'Exactly,' he said, waiting for a response, but she clearly had no clue where this conversation was heading. Loki sighed heavily, but continued. 'What about –'he paused and sighed again, thinking hard about the easiest way to put his thought into words. 'What happens –'he paused again to run a hand over his face.

'Why are you acting weird?' Nevaeh asked.

'What – what would you be doing when I shall be ruling Asgard?' Loki finished slowly, as if it took a lot of energy to ask that question.

'I don't understand,' said a frowning Nevaeh, making Loki a tad annoyed.

'What would you be doing when I am proving myself to be a rightful King and a loving son? What would you do then?' Loki asked.

Nevaeh stared at him with a confused expression on her face. 'I would feel very happy for you—'she was interrupted by an increasingly irritated Loki. 'I am not asking how you would feel! I am asking what you would be doing!' he snapped.

'If you want me to assume what I would be physically doing, then, I don't now – watching Star Wars, I guess?' Nevaeh said with a hint of uncertainty, slightly feeling ashamed of the huge difference between their day-to-day activities.

Loki nodded smilingly. 'Yes, good. You would be watching Star Wars, sure. But, where?'

Nevaeh finally realized what Loki was trying to imply. Her heart was beating fast as she stared into his sharp eyes, wondering how to safely frame her words. 'Well, you don't have a TV or anything—'she said laughingly.

'I can get you one,' Loki said promptly.

'Oh,' she said, as if having a TV was the only requirement one has in their life. 'You want me to stay here?'

'I don't want it,' Loki shrugged, being casual. 'But I wouldn't mind if you stick around.'

Nevaeh suppressed a grin as she watched him try and desperately be cool about it. 'Why?' she asked. Although she didn't really wanted to know why, she felt like knowing wouldn't hurt.

Loki blinked at her, wondering the correct way to answer her question. 'I – I think straight when you are around. I don't lose my mind or act out in rage. My actions are more humane.'

Clearly this was not an acceptable response for Nevaeh as he watched her nostrils flare up. She scoffed with bitterness. 'So, you want me here to act as a cooling agent for your raging bitch fits? Like, some kind of Anger Management coach?' she asked scathingly, anger rising inside of her. 'That is why you need me here? Not because you want to be with me, but for the way you behave around me?' She didn't wait for an answer. 'You say that you behave properly around me, yet you told your brother all the false, horrid things and made that hokum deal with the Frost Giants! Humane?' Nevaeh said as she stared disbelievingly at Loki, who scoffed, but Nevaeh interrupted him as soon as he opened his mouth to retort. 'You were being your rational self while you did that? No! You were being selfish and cruel!' she snapped.

'You think that was cruel?' Loki laughed coldly. 'Well then I should enlighten you, thoughts so vicious that you can't even dream of were dangling in front of my eyes and if I hadn't ran into you on that fateful nighy,' Loki said, taking a step towards her, 'either Asgard or Jotunheim would've been destroyed and everyone would've perished under my rage!'

Nevaeh waited for her palm to erupt in emerald flames, but it didn't. 'I thought you hated bloodshed and war? Despised petty squabbles?'

'I do! I think they are petty! I did not lie about those things! My plan never intended on spilling a single drop of Asgardian blood! There would be no bloodshed! Only victory!'

'So, you have a plan?' Nevaeh asked slowly.

Loki sighed, taking in a long breath. 'I had a plan. Before I found out about my true self. One which gains peace with Jotunheim without the need of war, sparing the lives of countless Asgardian warriors. I never ran it by Odin, but that was my biggest bet on winning my father's approval. Thor's banishment came as a surprise and I'd intended on running it by Odin shortly after, but you are familiar with what happened next,' Loki finished, trying to keep the final part out of his head, knowing that it would jumble up his emotions again.

'Then why did you make a deal with Laufey?' she asked in confusion. 'Why not carry out your plan in which you have so much faith?'

Loki shook his head lightly, knowing that the time to come clean was here. 'The deal I made with Laufey was just a ruse to get them here, on my turf, so that I could finish him. I never intended on killing Odin,' he said quietly.

Nevaeh's face was swarmed with relief and happiness. 'I knew you loved him! I knew you could never take his life!'

'Yes, yes, congratulations,' Loki muttered, but smiled a little as she rested her head on his shoulder. 'Despite all he has done, I could never kill him, or allow him to be killed. It is rather pathetic, but what can you do?'

'Not pathetic,' she said. 'It's your compassion. Do you want to tell me about your plan?'

'Not really, no,' Loki said honestly.

Nevaeh chuckled. 'It doesn't matter. I know you will do the right thing.'

'Of course I will,' he said confidently. 'The question is, would you? You still haven't answered whether you would stay here with me.'

She gazed at him and wrinkled her nose, smiling a little, but didn't say anything. 'Well, would you?' Loki asked again.

'For how long?' she asked

'Indefinitely,' Loki shrugged.

Nevaeh's cheeks turned a deep shade of red and she simply stared at him, as if she were petrified. She smiled thinly, averting her gaze from Loki's unblinking, green eyes to look at the magnificent night. Loki waited impatiently.

Nevaeh marvelled on how her days on Asgard could be like; she could meet Crystal any time, have breakfast with Loki's delightful mother, learn more magic from her and have deep conversations with Heimdall regarding all the knowledge he has. She could even attempt to restore Loki's love for his brother to its fullest. Nevaeh looked over the rainbow bridge, imagining Loki and her sitting over the bridge as they glanced down at the ocean after a tiresome day in Asgard while gossiping over the day's events. The mere thought of it was splendidly weird.

Loki was getting incredibly impatient, and a tad anxious. She was taking a ridiculous amount of time to answer a simple question about switching the planet she was currently living in. He needed an honest answer.

'You haven't smoked since you arrived here. I am not complaining, but just out of curiosity, why?'Loki asked suddenly.

'Well, I am on Asgard—'

'You have smoked on Asgard before, like a dragon, I daresay—'

'Yes, but not inside the palace, and certainly not inside the King's bedroom!' Nevaeh snapped, making Loki heavily frown at her words. 'Nevaeh, I am still the same person—'

'No you are not!' she eyed him up and down. 'What you were was a poor, orphan boy, who was alone and unloved, and had no special kills other than pulling out fancy daggers from his leather jacket!

'What is exactly going on inside your head?' he asked sharply, glancing at a distracted Nevaeh.

'Nothing! About smoking, I thought it would somehow be disrespectful, I don't know,' Nevaeh admitted awkwardly.

Loki was looking at her with suspicion, thinking that there was definitely more to what she was thinking. She still hadn't answered his question regarding her stay. Why the hell was she taking so long? He'd reached the end of his patience.

Loki flicked his finger. A box of cigarettes appeared inside his hand. He pulled out a cigarette, gave it a tap and gently placed it on her lips as she looked at him with amusement. 'Now, do not take this as an encouragement for your viciously twisted habit,' Loki warned. 'I am doing this because you have been through enough tonight and have coped with all the shocking information without those nasty cigarettes.'

Nevaeh nodded mutely and rummaged in her pocket to pull out her wand in order to conjure her lighter. Loki hastily put his right palm in front of her. Nevaeh was pleasantly shocked as emerald fire flickeringly erupted inside his very palm. Nevaeh watched the green flame crackle amidst his hand and he beckoned her ahead by raising his eyebrows. Nevaeh smiled lightly as she bent down to light her cigarette, feeling deeply flattered by Loki's mystical gesture.

Loki smiled mischievously as he saw Nevaeh inhale her first puff, her neck glowing green for a mere second. He quickly flicked his finger to modify the green smoke burning from her lit cigarette to make it appear like regular smoke, just before she blew the first smoke behind her back. Loki watched her cautiously as she closed her eyes for a second just to open them again. He noticed that her pupils were dilated by the tiniest fraction. He watched her slowly blink and puff in once again. . Loki knew that she wasn't strong enough to fight it. He quickly began thinking hard about what to ask her first. Nevaeh had gotten all the answers she needed, but now it was Loki's turn...