[ The padd is easily disposed of, tossed off to the other side of the bed, but the tea is slightly more complicated in that Chris has to gulp down a bit more before he feels it's safe being deposited on the bedside table so that he can use both hands to wrap Loki up in his arms since apparently it's snuggling time two point oh. ]
I mean, you can if you want to, but it's not necessary.
[ Waiting until he can squirm around and rest a shoulder against him, he brings his hands up to cup Chris's face and says, in a heavily Norsk-like language that the universal translator doesn't recognise, ]
Þinn augerr lítendlessr blár lopt, ek munu fyrirallrtími haldþúr sem minn.
[ Chris holds himself still until Loki gets settled between his legs, leaning up against Chris's chest so their faces are close and he has both hands free to cup Chris's cheeks in his palms and hold him steady.
Those pretty green eyes of his, almost eerily bright, scan Chris's face with the kind of scrutiny that might be uncomfortable were it not coming from someone Chris is so comfortable with.
The lilting words he speaks sound so tender that Chris can't help but smile in response, painfully charmed even if he doesn't understand what was said. ]
That's cheating.
[ He's pretty sure Loki said something nice. Although, it would be just his luck that he called him an ugly bastard in a language the Universal Translator doesn't know. It seems unlikely, though. ]
You should learn Asgardian then, shouldn't you, kærr?
[ Chuckling, he kisses him softly and brushes through that silvery hair with lingering affection. The cosy bed where they have holed up after good food and an exhausting bout of sex is now his favourite place to be, resting his head on Chris's shoulder. ]
I want to be here with you always, Chris. I'm sorry I can't.
[ Accepting the kiss and the fingers in his hair, Chris keeps smiling, feeling remarkably content with his life and how things are going in it. It's amazing how, even with certain death and destruction looming on the horizon, things can still be good and you can still be happy if only you try.
He strokes his hand up and down Loki's back, smoothing out his soft shirt and feeling the shape of his shoulder blades beneath his skin. ]
I know, sweetheart. But you have your own responsibilities too. I can't keep you here, no matter how much I want to.
[ Not when he could be squirrelled up in bed with Chris, nosing at the toasty curve of his neck. ]
I'll return as soon as I can. I ... don't know when that will be. Oh! [ Sitting up suddenly, he summons his Starkphone into his hand and unlocks it, opening it to his phone number. ] This allows me to be contacted across any time or plane of reality, it might work across universes too! How, uh, could we convert my phone number into something you could use?
[ Chris has no idea what Jotunheim looks like, but based on the frost giant comments earlier and how cool Loki's skin is when he hasn't been touching Chris for a while, he can take what feels like a fairly educated guess. Having grown up in the desert, he can understand Loki's sentiments, if perhaps for slightly different reasons. ]
You're not going to leave just yet, are you?
[ Surprised, he lets Loki scramble up out of his arms, watching with raised eyebrows as that little display device he used earlier comes sailing into his hand as if by magic. Because it was magic that brought it to him. ]
I don't see why not. It's just a comm code, right? It might take a little tinkering, but I bet we could make it work.
I'm not going to run away five seconds after you've dicked me down, no. Fear not.
[ Smirking, Loki swipes up the discarded padd and leans back against Chris's chest, balancing the screen on his bent knees. He sets his phone atop it and green runes light up on the surface, scattering into the padd as he types. The blue of the ship's computer mingles with the lime of Loki's coding and he starts half-writing, half-casting the spell into the padd in a blend of techno-magic he usually keeps to himself (when he isn't breaking into Avengers Tower) while using Chris as a comfy armchair. ]
I'll try to link this device to mine, that way you can call me whenever you want. If you're not busy.
Speaking of running away five seconds after being dicked down, [ honestly, what the fuck, Loki, ] what's this asylum thing about?
[ Watching Loki work is fascinating. Chris has a pretty basic understanding of technical systems, knowing how to write new code and fix established systems, but he's not very gifted with it. He could manage to pass his exams, but it never really appealed to him, and so he always focused his attentions on other things, things that grabbed him more, things that felt more exciting than lines and lines of data.
What Loki's doing looks very little like what Chris had to learn to do in school. ]
I'd like that. [ He leans in to press a kiss to the tender skin where neck and shoulder meet, where his shirt gapes just enough for Chris to fit his lips there. ]
Oh, there's always one of me trying to murder me in another universe if I visit, but since you don't seem to have Asgard here I suppose I'm safe. It's a good excuse to stick around, though.
[ Master Hacker Skillz(TM) flitting over the two screens as Loki weaves coding like paint on a canvas, he tips his chin up to accept the kiss on his neck, leaning into Chris with a distracted smile. ]
I might just stay until you get sick of the sight of me.
[ Chris never had to visit what Discovery's crew started calling the Mirror Universe, where poor Ensign Tilly was Captain Killy, where the Phillipa Georgiou he knew as a sharp and capable Captain was actually a genocidal Emperor, but he did get to meet that version of Georgiou, and it was...unsettling. He'd never asked her what he was like in that universe, and he doesn't want to know, because chances are he was just as bloodthirsty and menacing. Or, perhaps worse, he wasn't, and he was murdered early by a rival trying to claim his position.
He keeps his hands nice and chaste around Loki's waist, not doing anything to distract him, but he doesn't stop himself from planting a few more kisses along his neck just because it's a tempting thing to do. ]
[ One of his hands lifts to cup the back of Chris's head as soft lips send tickles down Loki's neck, encouraging him to stay there with a pet. ]
Why? [ Saving the coding so far, he turns his head to seek out a chaste kiss of his own, savouring the easy trade of affection. ] Afraid you'll miss me if I leave and never come back?
[ After having gotten used to this back and forth, to having this affection within reach again after so long without it, the idea of losing it is pretty damn scary, yeah. Especially if Loki never comes back. Chris has so few years left to enjoy, he doesn't want to waste them. ]
[ Expression falling as Chris morosely agrees, Loki bumps his forehead with his own, noses aligned. The devices slip off his legs as he turns enough to cup Chris's cheek and make a little world between them, all soft touches and the kind of intimacy sex might have encouraged but could not have built, not without the very real feelings they share. ]
I may be a flighty, unreliable sort, but I care very much for you and I will return, Chris. Kærr, why do you fret so?
[ Luckily, if only for the mood of this evening and not for anything else, Chris is excellent at compartmentalization, and the moment he realizes he's been a little too melancholy and Loki has picked up on it, he brushes those thoughts aside and locks them back where they belong, deep in the recesses of his mind. He can worry about his mortality another time. ]
Maybe I'm just the fretting type. [ He turns his cheek into Loki's palm, brushing his lips against the meat of his thumb. ] You learn to plan for contingencies in this line of work. Or at least try to prepare for them as much as possible.
Are you sure that's all, and that you don't doubt me?
[ He asks gently, thumb skimming the apple of that cheek (little bit of stubble growing by now, he likes it). Loki wouldn't blame Chris if he didn't believe him; God of Lies, etc. It would hurt to be doubted but not a ground-breaking surprise. He knows what he is. ]
[ Chris doesn't say that he doesn't know him well enough to doubt him, because for all that they've only spent a few days together cumulatively, he feels pretty confident that he does know Loki well. This Loki, at least. His Loki.
Chris has always prided himself on being a good judge of character, able to empathize with others and see their point of view, capable of understanding them in ways others might struggle with. In Loki he sees someone desperate for approval, for trust, for care and affection, all things Chris is more than happy to dole out in spades. Loki blooms under Chris's attention like a hothouse flower given the specific requirements it needs after months languishing in a darkened corner. ]
[ It would be a phenomenally bad idea to fall in love with someone from another universe. It happens all the time, of course, he can't count the amount of superheroes back home who have fallen through the cracks of their own dimensions and who skip to others to lead two lives (Spider-Gwen certainly gets around) yet there's a sneaking suspicion in his gut that he would hate to be without Chris for long. The distance would be too great, after a while.
He doesn't want this to be ruined before it has even begun. ]
Alright. [ But he does think he loves him, or is starting to. So, what the fuck is a god to do? ] Alright, then. I believe you.
[ He settles back with him, curled more to face Chris this time as Loki brings his knees up and ignores the padds glowing off to the side. Chris's thigh gets a light thwap. ]
You're going to take me back to wherever it is on Earth that you keep hundreds of horses and make me pancakes before we go riding. Maybe not right now but eventually. We're going to spend some time together that isn't on a dust-ridden planet or inside a flying tin can, lovely though it is. We will be fine.
[ At least his sincerity seems to reassure Loki, whose face smooths away that little frown that was starting to form and instead creases into what Chris has learned is a pleased little expression that means he's trying to suppress a bigger smile.
Curling up in his lap once more, twisted so that they're more perpendicular than before, Loki snuggles in close and Chris folds his arms around him so that they're nice and cozy and comfortable, murmuring quietly to each other in his half-lit room. ]
Good.
[ Huffing when Loki whacks him on the leg, he feigns exasperation all while failing to hide an amused smile. ]
I don't keep hundreds of horses anywhere, thank you. I have two horses, a perfectly reasonable number. And they're in Montana right now, at my house. My neighbors run a proper ranch, they come by to look after them and make sure the house is kept in good repair. Mine's really just a hobbyist sort of set-up, I don't take any of it seriously. Hard to, when I'm this far out for so long.
[ Loki howls with laughter, rolling onto his back to hold his sides. He kicks at the bed with his heels, giggles taking over so it's funnier because it's funny, and he's lost wheezing as he flops his way back toward Chris. ]
[ Watching in bemusement as Loki seems to wind himself higher and higher, giggling at the force of his own giggles, Chris patiently waits until he tires himself out before reaching out and ruffling those dark strands. ]
[ If anyone's doing any kicking out, it should be Chris. He's obviously not going to, though, considering he lets Loki crawl back into his arms without any protect at all, leaning in to kiss that still-giggling mouth. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[ The padd is easily disposed of, tossed off to the other side of the bed, but the tea is slightly more complicated in that Chris has to gulp down a bit more before he feels it's safe being deposited on the bedside table so that he can use both hands to wrap Loki up in his arms since apparently it's snuggling time two point oh. ]
I mean, you can if you want to, but it's not necessary.
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Þinn augerr lítendlessr blár lopt, ek munu fyrirallrtími haldþúr sem minn.
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Those pretty green eyes of his, almost eerily bright, scan Chris's face with the kind of scrutiny that might be uncomfortable were it not coming from someone Chris is so comfortable with.
The lilting words he speaks sound so tender that Chris can't help but smile in response, painfully charmed even if he doesn't understand what was said. ]
That's cheating.
[ He's pretty sure Loki said something nice. Although, it would be just his luck that he called him an ugly bastard in a language the Universal Translator doesn't know. It seems unlikely, though. ]
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[ Chuckling, he kisses him softly and brushes through that silvery hair with lingering affection. The cosy bed where they have holed up after good food and an exhausting bout of sex is now his favourite place to be, resting his head on Chris's shoulder. ]
I want to be here with you always, Chris. I'm sorry I can't.
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[ Accepting the kiss and the fingers in his hair, Chris keeps smiling, feeling remarkably content with his life and how things are going in it. It's amazing how, even with certain death and destruction looming on the horizon, things can still be good and you can still be happy if only you try.
He strokes his hand up and down Loki's back, smoothing out his soft shirt and feeling the shape of his shoulder blades beneath his skin. ]
I know, sweetheart. But you have your own responsibilities too. I can't keep you here, no matter how much I want to.
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[ Not when he could be squirrelled up in bed with Chris, nosing at the toasty curve of his neck. ]
I'll return as soon as I can. I ... don't know when that will be. Oh! [ Sitting up suddenly, he summons his Starkphone into his hand and unlocks it, opening it to his phone number. ] This allows me to be contacted across any time or plane of reality, it might work across universes too! How, uh, could we convert my phone number into something you could use?
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You're not going to leave just yet, are you?
[ Surprised, he lets Loki scramble up out of his arms, watching with raised eyebrows as that little display device he used earlier comes sailing into his hand as if by magic. Because it was magic that brought it to him. ]
I don't see why not. It's just a comm code, right? It might take a little tinkering, but I bet we could make it work.
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[ Smirking, Loki swipes up the discarded padd and leans back against Chris's chest, balancing the screen on his bent knees. He sets his phone atop it and green runes light up on the surface, scattering into the padd as he types. The blue of the ship's computer mingles with the lime of Loki's coding and he starts half-writing, half-casting the spell into the padd in a blend of techno-magic he usually keeps to himself (when he isn't breaking into Avengers Tower) while using Chris as a comfy armchair. ]
I'll try to link this device to mine, that way you can call me whenever you want. If you're not busy.
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[ Watching Loki work is fascinating. Chris has a pretty basic understanding of technical systems, knowing how to write new code and fix established systems, but he's not very gifted with it. He could manage to pass his exams, but it never really appealed to him, and so he always focused his attentions on other things, things that grabbed him more, things that felt more exciting than lines and lines of data.
What Loki's doing looks very little like what Chris had to learn to do in school. ]
I'd like that. [ He leans in to press a kiss to the tender skin where neck and shoulder meet, where his shirt gapes just enough for Chris to fit his lips there. ]
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[ Master Hacker Skillz(TM) flitting over the two screens as Loki weaves coding like paint on a canvas, he tips his chin up to accept the kiss on his neck, leaning into Chris with a distracted smile. ]
I might just stay until you get sick of the sight of me.
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[ Chris never had to visit what Discovery's crew started calling the Mirror Universe, where poor Ensign Tilly was Captain Killy, where the Phillipa Georgiou he knew as a sharp and capable Captain was actually a genocidal Emperor, but he did get to meet that version of Georgiou, and it was...unsettling. He'd never asked her what he was like in that universe, and he doesn't want to know, because chances are he was just as bloodthirsty and menacing. Or, perhaps worse, he wasn't, and he was murdered early by a rival trying to claim his position.
He keeps his hands nice and chaste around Loki's waist, not doing anything to distract him, but he doesn't stop himself from planting a few more kisses along his neck just because it's a tempting thing to do. ]
You're going to be here a while, then.
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Why? [ Saving the coding so far, he turns his head to seek out a chaste kiss of his own, savouring the easy trade of affection. ] Afraid you'll miss me if I leave and never come back?
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[ After having gotten used to this back and forth, to having this affection within reach again after so long without it, the idea of losing it is pretty damn scary, yeah. Especially if Loki never comes back. Chris has so few years left to enjoy, he doesn't want to waste them. ]
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I may be a flighty, unreliable sort, but I care very much for you and I will return, Chris. Kærr, why do you fret so?
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Maybe I'm just the fretting type. [ He turns his cheek into Loki's palm, brushing his lips against the meat of his thumb. ] You learn to plan for contingencies in this line of work. Or at least try to prepare for them as much as possible.
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[ He asks gently, thumb skimming the apple of that cheek (little bit of stubble growing by now, he likes it). Loki wouldn't blame Chris if he didn't believe him; God of Lies, etc. It would hurt to be doubted but not a ground-breaking surprise. He knows what he is. ]
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[ Chris doesn't say that he doesn't know him well enough to doubt him, because for all that they've only spent a few days together cumulatively, he feels pretty confident that he does know Loki well. This Loki, at least. His Loki.
Chris has always prided himself on being a good judge of character, able to empathize with others and see their point of view, capable of understanding them in ways others might struggle with. In Loki he sees someone desperate for approval, for trust, for care and affection, all things Chris is more than happy to dole out in spades. Loki blooms under Chris's attention like a hothouse flower given the specific requirements it needs after months languishing in a darkened corner. ]
I don't doubt you.
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He doesn't want this to be ruined before it has even begun. ]
Alright. [ But he does think he loves him, or is starting to. So, what the fuck is a god to do? ] Alright, then. I believe you.
[ He settles back with him, curled more to face Chris this time as Loki brings his knees up and ignores the padds glowing off to the side. Chris's thigh gets a light thwap. ]
You're going to take me back to wherever it is on Earth that you keep hundreds of horses and make me pancakes before we go riding. Maybe not right now but eventually. We're going to spend some time together that isn't on a dust-ridden planet or inside a flying tin can, lovely though it is. We will be fine.
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Curling up in his lap once more, twisted so that they're more perpendicular than before, Loki snuggles in close and Chris folds his arms around him so that they're nice and cozy and comfortable, murmuring quietly to each other in his half-lit room. ]
Good.
[ Huffing when Loki whacks him on the leg, he feigns exasperation all while failing to hide an amused smile. ]
I don't keep hundreds of horses anywhere, thank you. I have two horses, a perfectly reasonable number. And they're in Montana right now, at my house. My neighbors run a proper ranch, they come by to look after them and make sure the house is kept in good repair. Mine's really just a hobbyist sort of set-up, I don't take any of it seriously. Hard to, when I'm this far out for so long.
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[ That's far too funny, lolling away in faux-escape as he laughs. ]
What are their names?
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What's wrong with Montana?
[ It's very pretty there. He likes the mountains. ]
Tango and Mary-Lou.
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Ahhh, help, I have a stitch!
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Are you done?
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[ An ineffectual push is all he manages, cackling his last as he crawls his way back into Chris's arms looking thoroughly delighted. ]
I want to ride Tango!
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[ If anyone's doing any kicking out, it should be Chris. He's obviously not going to, though, considering he lets Loki crawl back into his arms without any protect at all, leaning in to kiss that still-giggling mouth. ]
No. You can ride Mary-Lou.
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