Trickster's Game - Chapter 7 (LokixOC)

    „You cannot hide in there forever.“, Loki chided through the tightly closed – and locked – bathroom door, “Abby, we have to leave soon.”

    It was ridiculous, yet he had not expected anything else from her. How could a person be so insecure about themselves, even more so a woman like Abby? Shaking his head, he smoothed out the wrinkles in the dinner jacket he was wearing for the sponsors’ ball of the British Museum tonight. He had actually found a dinner jacket and dress pants in deep, noble black, and a waistcoat in darkest green. Abby’s mother had possessed treasures that could almost hold a candle to Asgardian tailoring, almost.

    “Abby…”, Loki muttered again, his temper rising in impatience.

    “Alright, alright!”, she called through the door and he heard her sigh in defeat, “Just… don’t laugh.”

    Loki could not help himself, he did laugh at her words and asked, “Why should I laugh at…?”

    He stopped dead when the bathroom door opened and Abby stood there before him. Had he not known that she had disappeared into it an hour ago, he would have sworn every oath that the person in front of him was not the shy curator he had come to know.

    She was beautiful. Regal and nothing short of divine as she stood there in a dress that flowed around her form, the lush material rippling like a stream of cool water, shining golden one instant, then green the next depending on how the light met the fabric. And her face… her eye make-up was also gold and green and there was nothing else, no unnecessary paint to hide the natural beauty he had believed to hide behind her shy expression. And for once, he could see that her hair reached down halfway her back, as she had only half of it up, whilst the other half was down in soft, dark brown waves. The dress was loose around her form, but tight around her chest and for once, Loki got a pretty good idea just what Abby was usually hiding under her roomy blouses.

    It was stupid, instinctive and purely male and animalistic, but his hands twitched with the desire to cup her breasts, to give them a tight squeeze and just find out how they would feel against his palms, how they would fill his hands. Loki doubted that his hands would really be big enough.

    “Uhm…”, Abby mumbled and this tore his gaze away. He had been staring, had been caught staring, embarrassing.

    But he regained his composure and looked into Abby’s dark doe eyes before he sincerely said: “You look like a queen.”

    Looking like that, she was fit to be a queen.

    “We…ah, we should…go.”, Abby stuttered and once again, she simply left him where he stood as she dashed to the wardrobe, practically yanking a stole of the same fabric her dress was made of from the shelf and slipping into her shoes. Again, Loki could not help it, he had to look, but the dress showed absolutely nothing of Abby’s form. Except the form of her chest, but she crossed her arms over it and hid behind the stole as if it was an impenetrable wall.

    Sighing, Loki offered Abby his arm as he pointed to the door, but all she did was stare at him in disbelief.

    “You know, I can be nice if I am trying really hard.”, he joked and she smiled, but shook her head, “I know, it’s just…”

    A car horn honked outside and Loki was sure that he would never hear the end of Abby’s sentence.

    “Oh, never mind.”, she mumbled and opened the door, “The cab is here.”

    Saying nothing more, they both entered the car and were soon on their way to the ball. Loki was fine with it, festivities had mostly bored him in Asgard, but they had also always been an inexhaustible opportunity for mischief, and he was determined to take full advantage of this. Abby, however, was biting her lip, even more so than usual and her hands were restless, fidgeting with the folds of her dress or her purse.

    “Relax.”, Loki asked of her and, as she stared at him, he took a hold of her right hand, “It is just a party.”

    “I hate parties.”, Abby muttered and withdrew her hand, but he could only shake his head, “Why? How can you hate parties?”

    She looked at him, rolling her eyes, a pleading look in them, but Loki continued: “There is food and drink, music. You can dance and chat.”

    “Which is exactly why I don’t like them.”, Abby informed him grumpily.

    “Pardon me?”, he began again and Abby scoffed in exasperation, “There are people, lots of people! You have to talk to them, keep them entertained because, you know, they are sponsors or potential sponsors and if they happen to be interested in your field, then you have to actually talk to them and…!”

    “Abby.”, Loki interrupted her with a barely restrained chuckle, “Are you saying you don’t like people?”

    “No, I was saying…!”, she began, but then fell silent and admitted, “Not really, no. Most of them are…so…so…”

    “Stupid.”, Loki prompted and she sighed, “Yes. And they don’t even see. They hurt you and they don’t even stop for a second to wonder, it doesn’t even occur to them.”

    Now he was at a loss for words and looked out the window in the vain hope he would find his silver tongue out there. To no avail, of course, so he had to make do with the clumsy words he was able to think of: “That is not what I meant. Their stupidity is annoying, they are in fact annoying. They do not see… and it will be their demise.”

    “But…”, Abby objected and even though he shot her a glare, she continued, “Then you have to make them see. It is unbelievable, you know, the feeling that you actually taught someone a valuable lesson. But it is so rare…”

    Frowning, Loki turned away again so that she did not see his face. She wanted to teach people, to displace their stupidity with knowledge, when instead she could take advantage of their simple-mindedness? Why would she? That was utterly insane.

    “It is rare.”, he agreed, not knowing what else to say as he turned to Abby again and added, “So it is a surprising and precious thing to find wisdom in another being. Just for once.”

    “True.”, Abby smiled and this time, she reached out and took his hand and Loki was the one who withdrew it only a moment later. Something was…off, terribly wrong. He had a pretty good idea what it was, yet he forbade himself to think about it. It was foolish to hope that ignoring it would actually make it go away, but he would take his chances.

    He was relieved that he would not have to think about this complication just yet as the car came to a halt in front of their destination, a fine mansion belonging to one of the sponsors as far as he knew.

    “Thank you, good night.”, Abby wished the cabby after she paid their fee and Loki offered his hand, helping her out of the car and onto the gravelly ground. With her heels on, the top of her head barely reached the tip of his nose and he reprimanded her: “As the gentlemen between us two, I should have paid.”

    “Since when?”, Abby asked in genuine incomprehension and he answered, startled, “Ever since? The gentleman is supposed to pay.”

    “I know that.”, Abby smiled, “But since when are you amongst them?”

    For a moment, he was speechless and Abby made good use of that moment by grinning at him and walking past him.

    Making a sound between a scoff and a chuckle, Loki followed her and offered his arm again. As she took it, he rebuked: “I earned my membership in the honourable club of gentlemen when I told you that you are beautiful.”

    She blushed and Loki knew he had won this argument… when Abby surprised him again: “You said I looked like “a queen”. They do not necessarily need to be beautiful.”

    “Aren’t you cheeky today.”, he observed with a smirk, “Where is my Abby Goddard and what did you do to her?”

    The words were out before he had been able to think about them, but he would not take them back now.

    “Well…”, Abby drawled and smirked up at him, “Maybe I decided to give her a night out. Seeing that the dress and the make-up are apparently not as horrible as I had thought…”

    “You are beautiful.”, Loki told her again, putting emphasis on his words by squeezing her hand on his arm, “You truly are. A beautiful lady fit to be a queen.”

    “Stop it.”, Abby muttered angrily, “A hot-red blush doesn’t go well with that dress.”

    Now he laughed out loud and she soon joined him, apparently aware of the looks and the attention they drew at themselves, but she did not seem to mind too much.

    Showing her invitation, they were admitted and were engulfed by music and the scent of good wine. The ball had already begun, but Loki would not complain. Somehow, he had missed festivities.

    Looking around, he could not help but smile. There was life in the air, vibrant and pulsing, an infinite resource of minds and feelings to be toyed with. He had absolutely missed that.

    Abby sighed at his side and he saw her check her watch.

    “Don’t you think it is rude to check the time already?”, he joked and gently poked her side. Admittedly, he did not only wish to tease her, but also know just how she looked already. He had lived as her lodger for weeks by now and he had absolutely no idea about her form as she always hid in baggy clothes, often elegant, yet still too roomy and leaving everything to his imagination.

    She squeaked in discomfort and jerked away, but then, directing her gaze straight ahead, she whined: “Uh snap…”

    Following her gaze, Loki spotted Julian amidst the other guests.

    “Did you really expect to be rid of him for one evening?”, he dead-panned and Abby responded in kind, “A girl can dream.”

    They exchanged a quick look and then both burst out laughing. Whatever had happened to her in that bathroom, not only had it transformed her into an apparition of beauty, no, it had also made her more confident. This new found confidence would make it difficult to manipulate her, but still Loki found it refreshing and was glad she rebutted all his jokes. And her replies were not too shabby, either. He had to think about this.

    “I will get us drinks.”, he suggested and she nodded with a grateful smile, but as she opened her mouth to place an order, Loki grinned at her and guessed, “Orange juice, no alcohol, watered down a bit.”

    She blinked at him, baffled speechless and he chuckled to himself as he darted off to get their drinks. One of the first things he had learned about Abby was that she despised alcohol. She tried not to show it, but it was plain.

    The barkeeper, a young girl with a pretty smile, tried to flirt with him and it astonished Loki that he did not respond to it. Sure, she was pretty, for a mortal… but he was not in the least interested. She was a mortal after all… yet so was Abby.

    Collecting the glass of orange juice for her and ginger ale for himself –refraining from alcohol as it would make Abby happy and therefore more gullible, he thought – Loki turned around to look at her. And immediately growled deep in his throat. Julian.

    That imbecile just did not know where to draw the line. Judging from the unhealthy flush on his face, the glass of whiskey or whatnot in his hand was not the first he had had tonight and he was standing a tad too close to Abby. She was withdrawing from him, her shame and disgust plain on her features, yet upon Julian these hints were utterly lost.

    “Defend yourself.”, Loki muttered under his breath; she had to learn to deflect such idiots. Sadly, she was getting nowhere, clearly, so Loki made his way over to them.

    Just when he got into earshot, however, he stopped and eavesdropped, hearing Julian’s already a bit slurred speech: “C’mon, sweet, I’m here and willing. Where is that bloke any way?”

    “Loki is getting drinks.”, Abby answered with a sweet smile, but then her voice grew so cold it was almost palpable, “And I would strongly advise you to be gone when he returns. It is in your own best interest.”

    “Are you threatening me with that idi…?”, Julian began, but Abby cut him off, “By no means. But I guess it would hurt your delicate feelings to see my ravishing him here and now, on the spot. Wouldn’t it?”

    Julian stared at her and so did Loki, but he then chuckled to himself, whereas Julian flushed with anger again and scampered off, muttering furiously: “Bitch…”

    He should not have said that…

    Angry, Loki went after him, but Abby called after her colleague in the sweetest voice, yet dripping with acid: “A nice evening to you too!”

    Loki’s own anger subsided and he laughed again.

    “Well played.”, he told Abby, standing directly behind her and she gave a violent start after he had whispered those words into her ear, “You made him run for his money.”

    She giggled nervously and gladly accepted the glass of orange juice, immediately hiding behind it as she took a gulp. What made him do it, Loki was not sure, maybe it was the intent of mischief, the feeling of having to do something rewarding for Abby, the wish for revenge or merely the desire to have fun, he looked at Julian and with a jerk of his hand, he made the glass in Julian’s hand topple over, spilling its dark liquid contents all over the man’s white shirt and blue jacket. Satisfying.

    He chuckled as he saw the shock and disbelief on Julian’s face and the commotion it caused also drew in Abby’s attention. When she saw what had happened, she burst out in breathless laughter, but immediately clasped her hand over her mouth, obviously shocked by her own well-deserved gloating.

    “He deserved it.”, Loki told her in a morose growl, but she stuttered, “Kind of, yes, but…laughing at him is a horrible thing to do.”

    And she was already shy again. Touching her shoulder, Loki told her sincerely: “No, he earned that. And you did great. I saw that he was there and I would have stepped in had he overdone it, but I wanted you to defend yourself. And you did, marvellously so. You did not need help.”

    “Maybe not this time.”, Abby dismissed his words, “But what if…”

    “Then I will be there.”, Loki promised.

    Why in the Nine Realms he had said that, he did not know, but he knew it was true.

    Abby blinked up at him, an expression of utter disbelief on her face and he guessed that it was mirrored on his own face.

    “There you are!”, a pleased interjection saved him from delving deeper into those dangerous waters he was not ready to explore yet, but the voice also startled them both. Abby’s head whipped around to the speaker and Loki was sure that she had strained her neck by that motion since his own neck was also protesting fiercely.

    “I had hoped to see you again today, Miss Goddard.”, Mister Tivan greeted her, again with a kiss on the back of her hand. Loki, on the other hand, he ignored completely. Again an unpleasant shiver ran through him and he found his contempt for the man only growing stronger. If he only knew…

    “And i-it is good to see you-u too.”, Abby replied, her stutter showing just how uncomfortable she was. Before he could think about it, Loki put an arm protectively around Abby and pulled her close to his side as he greeted Mister Tivan: “Good evening. I do hope you are enjoying the ball.”

    “Now I am.”, was the reply he got, but even though the words were directed at him, the sponsor’s gaze was not. Abby blushed even more furiously and she squirmed to get away from Loki, but he held her firmly in place. He would not leave her alone with this man.

    “Have you found out more about the Gem, per chance?”, Mister Tivan enquired and Loki barely managed to refrain from snapping a rude reply at him. Abby, however, oblivious to his anger, answered: “Not as of yet, unfortunately. It has its secrets, but it also guards them well. I only know that…”

    “If you would be so kind and excuse us, I just spotted another sponsor. She is especially interested in the Viking exhibition, even offered a few pieces of her private collection as a loan. And she specifically requested to meet both of us. I hope we can talk later, but she gets so impatient.”, Loki interrupted before Abby could share any findings he did not want Mister Tivan to know about.

    Not really waiting for a response, but noting all the same that Mister Tivan smiled generously and dismissed them with a nod of his head, Loki pulled Abby away and towards the other end of the hall.

    “Wait…!”, Abby breathed and wrenched free, “What is going on? Which sponsor did you see?”

    “No one.”, Loki snapped taciturnly, still pulling her away from the sponsor they just left.

    “But you said…?”, Abby began and he shot at her, “I lied.”

    Amidst all the other guests, Abby stopped dead in her tracks and, as Loki tried to pull her onwards she stood her ground and stared at him, silently demanding an answer he was not willing to give.

    “Why?”, she voiced her question as he stayed silent, “Why are you so protective of me?”

    He was dumb-founded and could do nothing but blink at her stupidly. He had expected to be asked why he tried to keep her away from Mister Tivan, but not…this.

    On the other hand, the answer was almost the same: He wanted to know she was safe. As to why he wished that, he was not going to elaborate on that.

    Thankfully, the until now gentle background music rose in volume and it gave him just the idea he needed: “May I ask for this dance, Milady?”

    Abby frowned at him and he knew that look, but not from her. He knew it from his mother… Frigga. She had always had the same frown, a slight wrinkling of her nose when she had known that he was lying…and nevertheless allowed him to get away with it.

    To his great relief, Abby did the same, giving him a lopsided smile as she offered her hand. She was going along with it, but he knew that the awkwardness of this moment would come back at him at some point. By then he would be ready, but now he just wanted to dance.

    Once on the dance floor, Loki pulled Abby closer for a dance and he silently chuckled to himself when he felt her go rigid as she was a bit uncomfortable, just as he had expected. But she relaxed in his arms and smiled up at him. The look she gave him out of her doe eyes went directly into Loki’s core and he knew, once again, that no one had ever looked at him like that, so… gentle and somehow happy to see him.

    “I’ve been meaning to thank you.”, Abby murmured so quietly he almost did not catch her words over the sound of the music around them, but even so he had trouble believing his ears had not deceived him.

    “What do you mean?”, he asked before he could stop himself and Abby blushed, but did not trip in their dance. Quietly and whilst avoiding looking directly at him, she replied: “You gave me… I don’t know. Apart from saving my job…”

    “You did that yourself.”, he interrupted, but Abby shook her head, “No. I had a part in it, but so had you. And fighting off Julian like I just did… before I met you, that would not have been possible for me. I simply would not have done it.”

    “Why not?”, Loki asked, still not comprehending what she was going on about.

    “I… have no answer for that.”, Abby admitted with a nervous giggle and he whirled them both around in their dance, catching her off guard which made her laugh breathlessly before she continued, “I simply would not have dared. But knowing that you are there… it helped. You gave me more self-esteem.”

    “No.”, Loki objected, “You know who you are, you know your worth.”

    “Well, maybe I just had no idea about it.”, Abby shrugged with a smile, “All the same, you made me see. And I am grateful for it. So thank you.”

    The smile she gave him made his mouth dry. Loki could not comprehend her words, why she was grateful. He had teased her, he was using her… and she was grateful for it. A year ago, he would have revelled in such knowledge, now it only filled him with revulsion… at himself.

    Distracting himself and hopefully also Abby before she spotted the disgust and disbelief in his gaze, he gave her a cocky smile and suggested: “Well then, it is about time you put that new-found self-esteem and the self-confidence that is also in the package to good use.”

    Frowning and retreating a bit, Abby looked at him, trying to catch his meaning. Instead, Loki caught her and pulled her closer again before she could slip out of his grasp and then changed the topic: “You know the Norse mythology and its legends better than most. I do not have to remind you about all the things Loki did.”

    “No.”, she agreed, clearly unsure what he was aiming at, “He brought the whole universe to the brink of destruction, more than once.”

    He gritted his teeth, not entirely happy that she had dug up this particular bit of legend.

    “True, but he has also saved it a couple of times. And he is capable of shape-shifting.”, Loki prompted and she smiled, “Yes. Legend has it he transformed into a mare once. Wonderful story.”

    He could not agree with her on that, because living it had not been as enjoyable as laughing about it later on, but he had her where he had wanted her, so he smiled and added: “Well then. If he managed to transform into a female animal, then why not a woman?”

    “A woman?”, Abby asked with a beginning smile and then nodded with a grin, “Lady Loki. I like that.”

    “Good.”, he smiled at her, “Because you would make a wonderful Lady Loki.”

    “Me?”, Abby stuttered and this time, she also tripped over her own feet. Loki did not interrupt their dance, but pulled her against him, steadying her body when he was about to seriously unhinge her mind: “Yes, you. I can think of no one else who would be up for it and make a good show during our tours. You would be very convincing.”

    “N-no…”, she stuttered and practically clawed her fingers into his shoulder to steady herself, “I could never…”

    “A month ago you would have said that you could never fought off Julian on your own.”, Loki stopped her and she stared at him before she sputtered, “True, but…”

    “True.”, he seized her admission, “So what is keeping you? Go for it. Trust me, as your personal Loki of the British Museum, when I tell you that it is great fun.”

    “But who will guide the tour?”, Abby asked and Loki shrugged with a smile, “I have seen you give the tour often enough. I guess I can manage it, especially with you as Loki by my side, throwing in snarky remarks when I don’t know the answer to a visitor’s question.”

    “What, should I just say “Typical, mortals, they do not know a single thing. What you see here is of course a depiction of the necklace I made the dwarves forge for Freya”? Something along those lines?”

    “Absolutely.”, Loki nodded, thoroughly impressed by her improvised sassy remark that was truly worthy of a female version of himself. And, if he truly had to take the form of a woman, he wished for a form with Abby’s looks.

    She frowned in shock, but then meekly asked: “Do you really think that was any good?”

    “It was perfectly fine to me.”, Loki reassured her and he knew he had won even before she sighed, “Alright. Give me a few days and I will try. Maybe!”

    “No, surely.”, he teased, “By now I have put the idea in your mind, you will do it because you will want to do it. Trust me.”

    Clearly at a loss for words, Abby then resorted to sticking the tip of her tongue out to him. Loki raised one dark eyebrow in a silent reprimand and they both laughed.

    “Alright, you win.”, Abby chuckled and Loki purred in response, “Good.”

    He had always liked to win, but this time, manipulating her, it was more than merely winning. For once, it would be great fun to mess with her head a bit more. And in the end it would get him the Gem, the only chance to regain magic. It was just… looking at Abby, thinking of the way she was grateful and of her professional no-nonsense-attitude, he found it hard to think this ridiculous episode of him acting the fool in a museum would end with him getting the unrestricted access to the Gem he needed.

    When he saw Abby cocking her head in a silent question, he put a reassuring, yet faked smile on his face and her concern abated.

    He would not think about this for tonight, a night of a ball and a shared dance. Just for this one night.