34. Romance Released

                                    

                                          

Chapter Text
Something weighty held you asleep, kept you from wanting to come back completely to consciousness. You floated somewhere between dreams and waking, aware only that you were comfortable and safe, but not processing anything further than that. You drifted in and out of awareness, coming closer to reality each time before sinking again.
.
.
.
Wasn't there something you were supposed to be doing?
.
.
Surely, someone would come for you if there were.
.
Right?
This time, when consciousness came within your grasp you held onto it. Your eyes opened slowly, as if the muscles had forgotten how. Waiting for you on the other side of sleep was Loki's face: simple, serene, and watching you.
"Hello, love," he said.
You smiled, warmth flooding through you, and wriggled closer to him, near enough that your noses touched. It was the barest brush of his skin against yours, hardly together at all, but you felt the touch down to your toes.
Loki's gaze dropped to your mouth, then returned to your eyes. In the instant he'd looked away, a sensation of unease shivered through you. Something in his expression was wrong, just off enough to strike you the wrong way.
"What's wrong?" you asked. You brought your hand to his cheek, lightly stroking along his jaw as if you could ease the tension there.
"Nothing, love." Loki turned to kiss your palm. "I'm happy."
You frowned. His expression had said something else. You couldn't shake the feeling that it was a lie, that Loki was (once again) hiding something from you. But... you'd lived in uncertainty for so long. Perhaps your mind simply refused to accept a new reality, one in which you were with Loki, one in which you belonged with Loki.
You curled into his arms, needing reassurance and not sure how to get it. You nestled your head under his chin, surrounding yourself with his scent and warmth. You couldn't explain why you suddenly felt like Loki wasn't really there with you.
"What time is it?" you asked.
"Late," Loki said. "You've been in bed the whole day." Stars, really? Loki traced his fingers down the length of your spine. "You haven't been sleeping much lately."
"And whose fault is that?" You tried to sit up, but Loki's arms held you in place. "I have to go," you protested. "I need to—"
"You don't need to be anywhere but here." Loki's embrace tightened around you and he pressed a kiss to the top of your head. "The world will wait for us." Loki took a deep breath, his chest expanding to press against you, and rubbed his nose against the top of your head, mussing your hair. "You're alright, sweet," he said. "Everything is fine."
You stretched up to kiss him, slow and sweet. Loki let the kiss linger, turning it into long exchange, equal parts affectionate and demanding. It seemed to last forever and built a bigger need in you. Loki was yours now. Yours. You wanted to celebrate—damn it—and you wanted to claim him.
Your body was too hot. You moved restlessly against him, arching to try to get closer. But he held you back, keeping his movements sweet and unhurried.
"Loki..."
"You're so impatient, spitfire. There's no need; we have all the time in the world."
And it seemed like Loki intended to use every second of it. His hands mapped your body, smoothed over every inch of skin. Even when you finally stripped him of his clothes, even when you finally had him inside you, his every motion was slow and deliberate, carefully calculated to drive you insane.