An Exposing Kiss

After bidding their farewell and discussing a few final living arrangements, her parents walked out the doors and were quickly joined by Nevaeh and Loki. Their next hour passed in strolling through the corridors of the temple. They explored the chambers which Nevaeh was allegedly planning to occupy and her mother was suggesting where she could arrange all her stuff. When Ariel said that Nevaeh could put her beloved action figures on the adjacent shelves, Loki had a nervous sensation inside the pit of his stomach which increased drastically when Nevaeh participated in that conversation with much enthusiasm. He faintly wondered how many toys she is going to bring along with her and immediately decided to put a stop to that menace. Soon they departed the temple and walked out the gates to head back home.

Nevaeh was looking overly bright, whose planet-shift was decided to be commenced after two days. After listening to her parents' decision of allowing her to stay on Asgard, all the questions she had regarding their discussion had vanished from her mind, leaving nothing but excitement for the adventures she was yet to embark upon. Nevaeh was about to pat Loki's back chirpily when Loki quickly stopped her which went unnoticed by her parents who were strolling ahead.

'You! Why are you still here?' whispered Nevaeh.

'What do you mean?'

'We have finished the tour, we are all done! Where is Loki?' she whispered frantically.

'We will leave for Midgard right now along with your folks and he will come home later tonight—'

'Over my dead body!' snapped Nevaeh.

'Excuse me?'

'Our work here is done, Loki! Who do you need to stay back for?' Nevaeh asked. Loki's heart skipped a beat as he heard her say who instead of what. He gazed into her suspicious eyes with a slight frown; he merely wanted to know more about what the Vanir had foreseen about him, and to make sure that none of the whispers of his arrival on Vanaheim reached anywhere near Asgard.

'What's the matter? Is everything alright?' Loki asked.

'Yes, everything is fantastic! My parents agreed to let me leave with you! We can do whatever we want now! Don't you see it? Of course you don't! That's why I want my Loki back, the one who went through all this trouble, so that we can celebrate,' Nevaeh said.

'Well, then you have me,' he said. Loki glowed a delicate green before kissing her on the forehead and taking her ahead by the hand. Nevaeh clutched his hand tightly as they went ahead to catch up with her parents, wondering what made Loki change his mind so abruptly, because she knew for a fact that Loki was impossibly stubborn with his own personal, already made-up decisions, but she kept walking with him nonetheless. She figured she was worrying too much. They all were here, they were heading home, and almost every detail of their little plan had worked out perfectly, thanks to Loki, about which she was dying to hear.

She took a last look around the entire compound, unable to tell apart the things that actually existed from the ones that were created by Loki's sorcery. The people of "Asgard" were preparing themselves for the afternoon snacks and they could still hear the laughter echoing throughout the stretch of land.

Soon, they teleported back to her home and landed in the living room. After a late lunch her parents left to meet Raphael and tell him all about her upcoming plans. Loki and Nevaeh paid a last visit to Heaven's Rooftop before her big move. They occupied the same corner near the fountain but this time Nevaeh warned him to let people sit close to them without any interventions.

Nevaeh was wearing a white skirt with a pink tank top under a white net shrug, with all her hair tied high up in a ponytail which flowed till her waist, paired with equally high pink boots. She lit a cigarette and glanced at Loki who was sipping his wine. Nevaeh's finger was locked into his and Loki was starting to worry a little for her. Ever since they'd returned from Vanaheim and had departed her parents' company, Nevaeh hadn't let go of the touch of his skin for more than a minute. Even now, she was smoking her cigarette and sipping her wine by one single-handedly while the other rested uselessly, holding on to Loki's finger.

'Remind me to get scones for us on our way back. I don't think we will have scones there. Speaking of which, care to share where we were?'Nevaeh asked arching an eyebrow. Loki took one long lingering look at her before saying, 'Vanaheim.'

'Oh, I should've guessed by the trees!' said Nevaeh, punching the air by her fist lightly, making the smoke flow all around from the tip of her lit cigarette. 'Is that where we are planning to stay? Because I would totally love that.'

'Yes, you would. But no, we are not staying there,' Loki said.

'I hope wherever we stay, it would be as beautiful as everything back there,' Nevaeh said.

Loki lifted their entwined fingers to hold her palm. He brushed his lips gently on the back of her hand. 'It would be better.' Her eyes twinkled.

Loki had never seen Nevaeh happier and he never wanted it to end. She leaned ahead on the table and kissed Loki on the lips. He smiled and kissed her back once again. She sharply parted her lips away from his and was frowning at his mouth.

'Something is wrong,' Nevaeh whispered. Loki rubbed his nose gently against hers and cupped her cheeks by his hands.

'What's wrong?' he asked and kissed her again. Two seconds later Nevaeh once again sharply withdrew her lips, backing in her chair and letting go of Loki all together. 'Nevaeh, what's wrong?'

She rubbed her own lips by two of her fingers while heavily frowning at him. 'I don't know. It's your lips. They taste – they feel kind of – slutty,' Nevaeh said the last word in an urgent whisper.

'I beg your pardon?' asked a confused yet indignant Loki, now wondering if she was having a stroke. Nevaeh's frown turn into a glance that hinted the merest suspicion and she narrowed her eyes a little. She clutched her wand and pointed it at his face.

'You heard what I said, Loki. Get up,' Nevaeh said, suddenly getting up from her chair and gesturing Loki to do the same. Loki was still blinking at her in confusion, unable to understand her sudden outburst as he slowly stood up while glancing around. A group of six friends were sitting not far from them and were already watching them with slightly questioning looks. Loki stood up and brushed his clothes when Nevaeh impatiently grabbed his hand and pulled him right towards the edge of the rooftop.

Loki sighed. He rested one elbow on the edge, bending his knee a little and raising an eyebrow as though waiting for an explanation from Nevaeh. Loki's hair was fluttering gently in the wind. His green eyes sparkling as he stared at her with an arched eyebrow.

She grasped his arm and slid it from the edge, snapping, 'No one told you to pose handsomely. There are no cameras clicking your pictures!' She straightened Loki's posture. Loki shook her hand away from his body with a wriggle.

'Why are you man-handling me?' Loki asked in a baffled, high-pitched voice.

'Because – I felt something,' Nevaeh said.

She wrapped her arms around Loki's waist and hugged him tighter than he would've been liked to. Realisation dawned on Loki and pure horror filled his eyes. He quickly ran a hand through Nevaeh's hair and wiped a slightly green finger on his lips. Nevaeh was now running both her hands over Loki's back and waist. He wiggled a little while chuckling. Her expression grew a little frantic as she twirled her wand over his body.

Loki sharply clutched her by the shoulders. He pulled her in a warm embrace and once again kissed her lips. Nevaeh frowned a little as she did not experience any of that feeling this time, but she quickly forgot all about it as he kept kissing her and finally her face cracked in a grin when he kissed her on the nose.

'What was all that?' Loki asked, although he was already pretty sure what she had experienced. Amora had quite intentionally left behind her lust mark on his lips which Nevaeh had registered as "slutty"

'I just felt something which we would rather not discuss,' Nevaeh said. She lit another cigarette and blew the smoke behind her back, slowly turning around to watch it float over the city. Loki did not want to pursue the topic further either, for obvious reasons and he figured she needed a distraction.

Nevaeh suddenly turned around and punched Loki on the chest. POW! Loki wondered if she was still reacting over what she felt before. She again slapped his hand.

'I forgot! Thor! Oh, Loki! How despicable can you be?' she said and punched him again, but he merely chuckled. Her blows did hurt in the slightest, but it was worth it.

'That was a sight to behold, was it not?' he laughed.

'That was horrible! What if I had said something?' Nevaeh said, although she couldn't suppress a laugh as she stared at his chuckling face, clearly enjoying the memory of his Prince-brother, the slave. 'You handled it quite well. Even after seeing Odin. You surprised me, I did not expect you to handle it so well,' Loki said as though she had amused him by not shrilling.

'Well, I was obviously surprised by both the encounters; horribly and pleasantly respectively. Your anger for your brother was once again revealed by your, let's call it your "elaborate imagination" But I don't understand why you chose your father,' Nevaeh said.

'Keeping aside our colourful history, Odin has been the only man capable of intimidating me; someone who struck out as wise, an intellectual. The kind a child can look up to. Someone who knows more and is not afraid to show it. I wanted your parents to feel safe with you staying there, and my father's presence can do that to one's conscience,' Loki said with a sigh. He closed his eyes for the fraction of a second when Nevaeh's arms flew towards him, wrapping him in a hug

'Oh, Loki – that – that was beautiful,' sobbed Nevaeh.

'What the hell? Are you crying?' Loki asked. He pulled her behind to see her tear strewn face.

'I wasn't expecting you to say something this touching,' Nevaeh said, clapping her hands on her chest as though he was just done complimenting her instead of Odin.

'I was merely being honest,' Loki said.

'That's the beauty of it,' she sobbed, 'you are such a loving person, Loki. No one in the entire universe—'Nevaeh was saying in between her sobs, gazing at Loki through happy yet tearful eyes when a young waiter halted in front of them.

'Is everything alright? I saw you—'the waiter's voice faltered as Loki shot him a lethal glare. Loki glanced at Nevaeh who was hastily wiping her tears and already turning around, diverting her attention completely towards the boy. She was giving him a well-deserved compliment, and this lowlife had interrupted him. Couldn't he have interrupted them when she was scanning him for "slutty marks" He had to be nosey during a compliment! Why? Whyyyy? Loki felt like he might burst with frustration.