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tampered2007-02-26 12:40 pm
unsheathe.livejournal.com) wrote in tampered2007-02-26 12:40 pm
Log; Complete
When; Sunday afternoon.
Rating; PG [Innuendos, whut?]
Characters; Loki, Reiya and Heimdall.
Summary;Loki is a woman Loki and company go to the Zoo and run into a familiar face.
Log;
Reiya; "Ah!" Reiya cried as she hurried two steps ahead of him, her tiny feet carrying her to one of the nearest cages that held something she had yet to see before. She stared at the creature in complete and utter silence for a good while, eyes alight with her growing curiosity.
She had never seen anything so unique, not even in her storybooks!
So, with that in mind, she tilted her face a little and shot Loki and curious glance, accompanied by her sweetest smile. "Loki-sama, have you ever seen one before? A Bandersnatch? Reiya hasn't!" While her face might have conveyed some sort of carefree amusement, her voice betrayed her.
While it was a curious creature, and she did want to know more about it, it also did well to scare her a little.
Loki; Really, even Loki was a little impressed at the wide variety of animals this zoo housed. It almost made him worry a little bit, knowing that Mayura was off on her own. She had first been interested in solving why zebras had stripes, but with such mythical creatures present, he knew she could get into rather unique types of trouble.
But until he sensed anything amiss, or people started screaming, he would try to relax and concentrate on helping Reiya have a good time. When the City attempted to make your life miserable at every turn, it was the small things that could bring a smile back.
Hers was especially charming.
"Hm, no I haven't... They aren't supposed to actually exist, I don't think. Only mentioned in stories and poems. I'm not sure offering it a snack would be very wise."
Reiya; Reiya, as if on perfect cue, gasped and retracted her hand before scurrying over to gingerly clutch one of Loki's arms with both of her own. He had saved her life again, she decided, and thus she did little more than smile as she led him away from the Bandersnatch and towards another area, one where a lot more people seemed to be gathering.
"Birds? Loki-sama, do you like birds? I had one once, it was a song bird!" She looked up towards the cage and smiled. "But these birds are much bigger than Reiya's song bird and I don't think they would sing if I asked them to," the girl added sheepishly.
They, while appearing to be most lovely to the eye, seemed much more intent on clicking their beaks at passerby's. An idle bit of chatter? A plea for a snack? If they wanted a snack, it certainly wasn't what was in the tiny paper bag that Reiya currently clung onto.
Loki; "A song bird, hm? If you want, we can see if we can get another one for you during our stay in the City. Would you like that, Reiya?" There was a smile on his face as he looked down at her, and his eyes were gentle, but he didn't much feel like talking about the larger birds.
They were rather annoying, in Loki's opinion.
Thinking he caught something out of the corner of his eye, Loki turned suddenly, spotting a hawk in one of the other bird cages. Vaguely amused, he shrugged his shoulders to look back to her.
Reiya/Heimdall; Reiya looked up at him, surprised but not displeased in the slightest. In fact, after it finally sunk in, she tilted her head and almost seemed to be worried. "Are you sure, Loki-sama? Song birds can be really loud, even if their songs are really pretty to listen to! They made Reiya feel better when she was sad, like Loki-sama does! Mm, even if they woke me up sometimes.."
Good things come to those who wait they had said, and so he had waited then. He had waited until the throbbing within his hollow socket had become so loud that it threatened to drive him mad, to split his mind in two. Split in two, that's what he wanted to do, he wanted to sink his talons into Loki and revel in his screams as he tore him in two.
He was tired of waiting, he wanted it back.
So why, he inwardly seethed, was he wasting time in a Zoo? He was here, Loki was here and the sooner he found him, the sooner he could retrieve his eye and put an end to his own inner turmoil. His thoughts might have wandered further had his feet not led him to the Zoo's rather diverse aviary.
She wasn't here, he noted, and while the loss of companionship was irritating, he would survive. It was strange, however, how something as mundane as a cage full of birds could draw such an annoyingly large crowd.
And how something as mundane as a cage full of birds could make him smile like he was right now, even if it was only a little, as he reached a hand out as if he meant to touch one of them. It was easy to forget he wasn't a child, easy to cast aside the obligations that came with his mission when he gradually let his guard down.
He almost looked peaceful, at least until he turned, let his hand fall and finally the smile disappear.
Loki; It was enough for today, this wasn't a vacation.
Loki lifted up a hand to rest under his chin while he thought. "Well, I'm a pretty heavy sleeper, but it won't do if it's keeping you up, Reiya. Perhaps a song bird isn't the best way to go."
Resting his hand over hers, he turned away to lead her further through the crowd.
The flash of purple didn't go overlooked, and it made him slow down. Through the crowd of people laughing, making poor bird calls, and others simply having warm conversations, he could see the profile of a figure that would be impossible to mistake.
There was an odd little smile on his face as he just kept walking, behind, and past Heimdall. "Also, that kitten you have now might think of a bird as a tasty snack. We don't want it to get eaten."
Reiya/Heimdall; "Oh, no!" Reiya shook her head, curls swishing every which way before she opted to give Loki her determined face. "Reiya will sleep just fine! Mm, but we should tell Mayura-san first!" She laughed, quietly, and shot no one in particular a fond little smile. "She might thing Songbird-san is a mystery!"
"Maybe Reiya shouldn't.. what if the neighbors--" She began, but was forced to stop when a boy's voice rang out over hers, a voice that was calm yet almost seemed gentle. "A lovebird," he murmured, stuffing his gloved hands into his pockets as he went on. "If you want a bird, then you should get one of them. They're affectionate but some think it's cruel to buy them sans their pair."
And they chew, he inwardly mused.
"Ah?" Reiya was timid at first, until she saw the boy appeared to be no older than her or Loki-sama. "A lovebird? Loki-sama, could we get two of those them? Reiya.. doesn't want Lovebird-san to be lonely!" Wide violet eyes, lightly pleading, lingered on Loki's own.
Loneliness just wasn't fair.
Loki; With an eyebrow raised, Loki shrugged. Really, taking in any animal suggested by Heimdall was never a good idea, but Reiya really had mastered the puppy dog look. Maybe even better than Fenrir.
"I don't see why not. Two it is. We can take Mayura with us to a pet store later today or tomorrow, and pick them out." Tilting his head to the side, his gaze wandered from Reiya back over to the boy who had offered his suggestion.
"Kazumi-kun really is very helpful. When did you get here?"
Reiya/Heimdall; "Kazumi-kun? You know him, Loki-sama?" Reiya turned back to the boy, this Kazumi-kun, and smiled before she gave him a curtsy. "My name is Reiya! I think it's good that we ran into Loki-sama's friend! Reiya almost bought the wrong bir--" Her giggling died down, however, and her cheeks became flushed when the boy took her hand up almost too gently and pressed a kiss to the back of it.
"Loki has so many cute friends, I'm almost jealous."
He turned then, to meet the gaze. "This morning. Did you miss me?"
Loki; Loki's eyes narrowed just a touch, and he reached out to take Reiya's hand back, ever-so-gently guiding her back beside him. Well, perhaps an inch or so behind him.
"I feel just terrible. Things have been very chaotic, you understand, and honestly I hadn't even taken the time to think of you." Smiling, he tilted his head to the side. "But you'll forgive me for that, won't you?"
Heimdall/Reiya; "Of course, you have a lot to tend to," Heimdall paused, eye drifting towards Reiya for no longer than a few seconds. "Don't you?" He turned to face them both before he lifted a brow and looked around. "Oh? Mayura isn't here?"
"Pity, I was looking forward to seeing her again." He heaved a sigh, almost as if he were truly disappointed and then blinked, tilting his face off to the side. "Did I interrupt a date?" If Reiya wasn't red before, she certainly was now as she fumbled for a proper reply. "N.. no! Reiya asked Loki-sama to take her to the Zoo today! Mayura-san is here! She just.. she walked away.."
Loki; Loki already had a headache. The last thing he needed was Reiya's head getting filled with even more of those kinds of thoughts. At least Reiya had answered that question for him, so he didn't have to worry so much about how to reply without hurting Reiya's feelings.
"I'm sure she's missed you too, Kazumi-kun. I think she said she was going to look at the zebras..." Shifting, he looked back to the girl at his side. "Reiya, why don't you go find Mayura and take her home so that you can prepare some tea? I would like to catch up with my old friend here."
Reiya; "Oh! Mm, I'll go find Mayura-san! It was nice meet you, Kazumi-san!" Reiya let go of Loki's arm and, without missing a beat, proceeded to jog in the direction she remembered the zebras to be. She was secretly hoping that Mayura wasn't doing anything too silly, as she had been embarrassed enough already this afternoon! Another part, however, expected no less. It just wouldn't be Mayura if she wasn't being silly.
Heimdall; "Let's talk again, Reiya," He spoke up sing-song like as the girl waved to both of the boys and disappeared behind one of the next exhibits. It was then and only then that his face lost any sort of kindness that it held before. "Freya's container? They just keep getting younger, your mortals."
Loki; With a smile on his face, Loki waved after Reiya as she disappeared, hoping that the little girl wouldn't get lost. That would be rather awkward if he returned to the apartment and found Reiya and Mayura still weren't home.
Investing in a cellular device might have made things easier, but...he really didn't like them. They were so noisy, and run at the most inopportune times.
"You were the one who led me to her, Heimdall. I should thank you for that. It's just too bad your plan didn't work..." With a much too friendly chuckle, he waved his hand dismissively. "But then, they never do."
Heimdall; "Shut up," Heimdall hissed before he brushed passed him to glance towards some of the more interesting enclosures. "And tell me where the hell we are." He didn't wait for an answer but, rather, opted to go make friends with the Bandersnatch. He may not have had feed for the creature, but the idea of chucking Loki into the cage had crossed his mind once or twice.
He would rip him apart later. For now, he wanted answers.
Anytime a mortal brushed him, he felt his talons twitch. His mission, it was all he could think about and all he ever would until it was complete. If someone got in his way, then heaven help them, because he wasn't merciful. This place, it just wouldn't do, it was too annoyingly crowded with his mortals for anything worthwhile to be done. So he would wait, because good things were supposed to come to those who waited.
Or so he'd heard.
Loki; Oh, so Heimdall didn't even know where they were at yet? It figured that he wouldn't have actually asked anyone for help. Sometimes, Heimdall's pride was more than a little foolish.
"Well, not on Midgard... But I'm sure you already knew that." Turning, Loki watched him warily while he spoke. "This place is called The City... Not very original. Apparently, there are more than just nine worlds out there. And this place, or so I'm told, connects all of them."
Slipping his hands into the pockets of his coat, he smirked. "But what makes you think little old me knows any more than that?"
Heimdall; "Because you're willing to make friends with the mortals, and I'm not." Heimdall turned and leaned back against the rail that separated him from the actual cage. "And the ticking?" He lifted a hand and touched the tips of his fingers to the area where his eye should have been beneath his hair.
"It's--" He made and fist and then dropped his hand, never coming back to what he was previously going to say. "You and your mortals, you're the only three here?" After tilting his head back, squinting against the sky, he closed his eye. "She isn't here," he murmured more to himself than anything else.
His hawk, the one that could calm the ticking he heard when he was by himself, the ticking that only seemed to amplify the ache of his missing eye. But it was no matter; he would deal with it, because he wasn't about to make friends.
He wasn't here for that.
Loki; "Yes... Well, and Freya. I trust you'll stay away from them." Heimdall had already tried to use all of them enough times to get to Loki, so he doubt another try would work really well.
Of course, Loki had plenty of other new 'acquaintances' of sorts, but Heimdall didn't need to know about them. "And mortals are not the only ones here... Can't you feel it?"
Heimdall's soft musing almost brought a look of pity out of Loki as he observed him. "...The ticking bothers you when you're alone."
Heimdall; "They're unnecessary," he murmured, "Your mortals, these mortals, the unique." He smirked despite himself. "This is a new battleground, Loki, I have new tactics. You will return my eye to me."
The ticking bothers you when you're alone.
Heimdall blinked his eye open just in time to catch the faintest glimmer of pity in Loki's face. Pity. His face twisted in rage and he gritted his teeth, turning his back on him. "It's tolerable."
Loki; Loki sighed, almost wearily. His smile was gone. There was no sport in arguments like this... Not when Heimdall was going to be unreasonable, and he knew he was.
But even knowing that, he still had to insist. "Heimdall, I don't have your eye. And if I did, do you think I would have had a chance to bring it here with me? I'm sure this place brought you here without any warning just like it did me."
Stepping forward, he reached out to settle a hand on the other boy's shoulder. "A truce, for now. The ticking gets worse the longer you're alone. If you stay with us while we're here, it should be bearable."
Heimdall; The way he flinched, one might have though he had just been burned as his entire body went rigid and he glared at Loki. He lifted a gloved hand and roughly swatted Loki's hand away from his shoulder before he took a step back. "Don't touch me, I'm not one of your mortals."
"I don't need you, any of you. I've suffered worse," he scoffed. "This noise, it won't get the best of me." It was strange, he noted, when Loki had first touched his shoulder? He almost thought of giving it a chance, that truce.
But thieves didn't get second chances, the only thing they were given was judgment.
Loki; Another sigh tried to slip out, but Loki held it in. Heimdall was obviously irritated enough. "...If you say so. But just because you've suffered worse, doesn't mean you have to keep torturing yourself."
It really was difficult to stop offering looks of pity, so Loki chose this as his time to turn away. Knowing Heimdall was already unstable, he didn't want to think about what the ticking would do to him. It was unfortunate his hawk wasn't here to keep him company.
"But I don't have time to waste right now." Walking off, he gave a dismissive wave over his shoulder. "This isn't Asgard, and this isn't Midgard. Fighting with you would be even more pointless than usual. Good luck."
Heimdall; "Don't dismiss me," Heimdall began, seemingly more annoyed than anything else. "Like I'm one of your loyal subjects." He had opted to take a seat, much to the surprise of a few onlookers, on the railing that he had previously been leaning up against, just a breadths distance away from the Bandersnatch.
"If you want a truce," he ground out through gritted teeth, "Then for a day, just one, I'll accept it." He could only glower at his back for so long before he grew bored and, thus, he opted to look elsewhere, namely at that creature looming behind him. It wasn't supposed to exist, he knew that much but, truce or not, it didn't mean he couldn't plot.
And oh was he plotting.
"But this doesn't mean for a second that I'm living with you and your mortals." Deadpan, he leaned over and proceeded to pet the Bandersnatch.
Loki; Loki stopped at that, then turned. He had asked Reiya to go home and put some tea on... But it wasn't like he hadn't made them wait before. Many times, in fact.
Sometimes he just got a little busy. It couldn't be helped. At least Yamino understood that.
He watched, unimpressed as Heimdall made friends with the mythical bird, and rested one hand against his hip. "Then we should talk. But not here." Not with all the people staring.
After all, they supposed to be two cute little boys, right?
Heimdall; "I'm not going to run off and play in the mud with you or anything and if I have to wrestle with you, I'm seriously going to kill you," Heimdall grumbled, having watched mortal boys in their foolish play on Midgard, and slid off of his perch before stuffing his hands back into his pockets and walking ahead of him. "We don't have anything to talk about, I just want to know more about his place."
"So why do we have to make this annoying trip?"
He may not have admitted it outright, but the company was welcome, even if it wasn't exactly the company he would have preferred. Being alone with that sound, it took a lot out of him, especially when the headaches set in and he found himself dwelling on things, on his failure to accomplish his missi--
Truce, Heimdall, truce.
Loki; "Oh~? And here I thought you liked playing in mud. My mistake... That must have been a one time thing."
Loki waited until Heimdall got close enough so that Loki could murmur and still be heard, and he turned to walk away, assuming Heimdall would follow. The jotun also did his best to wipe the smirk off his face so that Heimdall didn't get too offended.
"What else should you know... Oh, there are ones who call themselves gods here...but none that we know. They merely run this place, and enjoy inflicting curses of sorts on the inhabitants."
Heimdall; "You're making this truce increasingly difficult to maintain, Loki," Heimdall seethed, his talons just itching to claw that smirk off of the other boy's face. Alas, a truce was a truce and he would not break it until the end of the day, so he would endure this and save his rage for later.
Maybe it would help his plans some.
"Gods? Curses?" He rolled his eye, lagging behind him a step or two as he huffed. "More tricks. I'll be as fond of them as I am of you, then."
Loki; He couldn't help but chuckle. Ah, there was no sport in arguing over things like Heimdall's eye, but riling him up over silly things was something Loki could rarely resist. The humiliated blush he got on his face was sometimes half the fun.
"Is that so? I should feel insulted. You're already planning on hating someone else as much as you do me. But, be warned, they have proven themselves to be rather powerful at times. They make it so that the dead can walk here, and they can take lives away without so much as lifting a finger."
He shrugged. "They say the City feeds off of negative emotions..." Heimdall ought to be like a rich dessert for it, if so.
Heimdall; "I hope you aren't telling me to wear a stupid smile all the time," Heimdall, feeling slightly indignant, folded his arms. "It's hard enough acting like a sweet little boy for your mortal girl, it's definitely not something I want to become an everyday occurrence." And he wasn't going to hold up this truce forever.
"I could never hate anyone as much as I hate you," he, amusingly enough, almost seemed to scold him for ever thinking something like that. "You aren't trembling at their feet, are you, Loki?" His lips twisted up in a grin before it faded just as quickly, and he turned his eye back on the sky.
"I don't plan on dying anytime soon, not until I get my eye back," he looked away from him when he said this, but there was a touch less malice in his voice.
But only a touch.
Loki; As they walked along, Loki chose to ignore... (E) All of the above.
Responding to any of that the way he wanted to would have just started a fight. So he remained quiet this time as they walked along, head tilting while his gaze trailed absently along the signs, cages, and isolation areas before he spotted an ice cream cart.
"Ah, ice cream! I haven't had anything since breakfast." Ditching Heimdall for just a second at least, he ran off ahead, feeling like two scoops of cherry flavor sounded awfully delicious right about then.
Heimdall; Heimdall didn't follow Loki at first, but he did stand there and watch him bound towards the ice cream stand like, well, a child. A god, the god who stole his eye nonetheless, had been reduced to something like this. So why, pray tell, was he running after his enemy like ice cream was the coolest thing since sliced bread?
Because it so was right now.
Humiliated? Most definitely, but that didn't stop him from demanding three scoops of his own just to better Loki, all three being chocolate. He shot Loki a glance, one that dared him to make fun, before he glanced away and frowned.
"It's hot out, ice cream didn't sound half bad."
Loki; Loki offered a light shrug, attempting to not look as amused as he really was at Heimdall's blatant attempt to 'better him' by getting that extra scoop. Just in case that ice cream vendor wanted 'payment', Loki had a piece of string in his pocket that he found on his bedroom floor that morning.
Apparently it was an equal exchange, and the vendor tipped his hat as Loki turned to walk off, merrily licking at his ice cream.
"Mm, would you believe snow was on the ground not two weeks ago?"
Heimdall; "Did you just--" Heimdall paused where he was for a second, ice cream cone clutched awkwardly within a glove. Loki had just paid the man in string and, what was worse; the man actually seemed quite pleased with their transaction. With a shrug, as he'd seen stranger payments, he followed semi-close at Loki's heels, eying his ice cream.
"Snow?" He murmured, though he hardly seemed interested in the fact, especially since he had just plowed his triple scoop cone into the side of his face and lost a scoop due to the very unfortunate laws of gravity. Sneering, he shifted it to his other hand and shot Loki's back a spiteful glare as he wiped his cheek free of chocolate via a glove.
If he had his eye right now, that wouldn't have happened and he would have still had a towering mass of ice cream that bested Loki's by one. Oh, yes, he would find a way to blame him for the simplest thing, truce be damned.
"Che. Stupid ice cream."
Loki; It was a rather pitiful scene, really, and a woman passing by even offered Heimdal a sympathetic look. But oh well. A little boy didn't need three scoops of ice cream, anyway.
"We could always go back and get you another scoop, if you really want," Loki teased before pausing to reach up, his fingertip brushing at Heimdall's cheek. Drawing his hand back, he licked the tiny bit of melted ice cream off his finger, an almost thoughtful look on his face as he started walking again.
"Hm. Chocolate and cherry go well together..."
Heimdall; "Loki!" Heimdall shouted, jerking his face away from his fingers as he recoiled and fell back a few more steps. "I told you before, I'm not one of your mortals, so don't do that again." He lowered his voice a bit, though it was still audible enough to be caught by Loki, and grumbled out. "And don't try my ice cream without asking, it's mine."
"I wouldn't know, I've never tried cherry." He let the other comment pass, but only because he had contented himself with nibbling at his own ice cream.
Loki; With a smirk, Loki glanced over his shoulder. "Oh? But I'm the one who paid for it." Sure, it had been with a piece of string, but that wasn't the point.
Resting a hand on his hip, he stopped and turned to hold his ice cream cone out. "Would you like to try it? They really do go rather well together. Next time I'll try getting a scoop of each. And maybe try not to run your face into it this time."
Heimdall; "You paid for it with a piece of string!" He cried, then proceeded to seethe because, once again, Loki was right and he was oh-so wrong.
Heimdall stared at the presented cone as if it had suddenly grown a pair of arms. It was hard to tell what he was feeling then, judging by the fact that it was a face he rarely wore. Was he surprised? Appalled? It wasn't for quite some time that he dawned a familiar expression, once of annoyance, and stared at him in disbelief.
"You licked it already."
Loki; Feigning offense, he pulled the ice cream cone back so he could look it over, as if scanning it for any issues. Then, he shrugged and took another lick, offering a light wink before taking off again.
"My my, I don't remember you minding that in the past." This really was too much fun. Heimdall had quite a variety of expressions if you played him just right.
Heimdall; "You--" He appeared to be slightly taken aback before, with a hiss, he leaned over and gave one of the cherry scoops a little lick. "I don't know what the hell you're going on about." Heimdall feigned indifference, licking his lips before he went right back to enjoying his own ice cream. It wasn't a bad flavor, he decided at first, they made a good combination.
It was funny. If a stranger had seen the two boys walking together, one might have almost thought they were the best of friends.
Loki; "Of course you don't," he mused, turning the cone in his hand before rather blatantly licking his cherry ice cream in the same spot Heimdall just had.
Perhaps, he ought to take a break with the teasing. At least until they found Heimdall a place to stay... And that was just what Loki was doing. Building 10 was the closest, so he walked towards it. At least while they were having a truce, he would help his 'old friend' get settled in.
That's what best friends were for, after all.
Heimdall; "Bastard," he began, but paused when he saw they were walking towards a building.
"This truce only lasts for a day," Heimdall began, "I don't think I want you to be my realtor, Loki." With that in mind, he stopped right where he was and took to looking at the surrounding apartment buildings. The accommodations weren't half bad and, if the currency was indeed string, livid expenses wouldn't be much of a problem. Even if said method of payment was laughable.
It was times like these, he noted, that he almost missed Freyr's company.
Loki; Loki rolled his eyes a bit at Heimdall's stubborn nature. "All the buildings are the same, Heimdall. Rooms have different décor, but it doesn't matter if you pick this building or another one. This one's just closest, and if you've been walking around since this morning, I thought you might want to rest."
Making short work of his ice cream, and miraculously not getting a headache from it, he began crunching on the cone its
Heimdall; "Is it far from your building?" Heimdall also proceeded to devour the cone, but with less than satisfactory results. He winced and clutched at his forehead for a second or two, murmuring under his breath something along the lines of; stupid ice cream. Once his temporary brain freeze passed, however, he walked towards the building, hands placed upon his hips and proceeded to admire the structure.
"I'm not tired." His face betrayed him, amusingly enough.
Loki; Loki chose not to reply to that, because he knew poking fun at Heimdall too much and too often wouldkill the romance just start an unpleasant fight.
Popping the last bit of the cone into his mouth to chew, the trickster god absently sucked some stray ice cream off a finger while he went into the building and hit the elevator's up arrow. Some technology he liked.
Heimdall; "Starting to warm up to their technological advancements?" Heimdall spoke as if he were really curious but mildly distracted -- because he was. While Loki could quite easily rid the ice cream from his fingers, he was having a much more difficult time coping with his ice cream-sticky covered gloves.
He stared at them, more annoyed that anything else, and shook them every which way in a fruitless attempt to dry or somehow rid them of the stickiness. It was comical, but also Loki's fault, he noted.
He would just have to wash them later.
Loki; "Elevators aren't so terrible. The ride is short, after all." Cars were the worst, though. They were so cramped that he couldn't even walk around, and with all the turning and changing speed. Just thinking about it nearly made him shudder.
Nearly.
Folding his arms across his chest, he stepped into the elevator and leaned back against the bar, watching Heimdall shake his hands like that would actually do anything. "Just take them off. People probably wouldn't stare here... I'm sure you noticed there are already some odd creatures walking around."
Heimdall; "You're just lazy, then." Heimdall added as he leaned back against the wall across from Loki and proceeded to remove his gloves. His talons, though still quite impressive, were only a fraction of their beauty outside of Asgard, but were most appropriate to the form of what should have been a fragile child.
"They had a Bandersnatch in captivity," he shifted his hand, to flex his fingers in Loki's general direction. "That much was obvious." He lowered his hand, nails drumming idly against the elevator wall as he waited. And waited.
And waited.
It may have been convenient for Loki but, for him? Being in an enclosed space for any length of time was annoying enough without having to share it with someone he hated. His agitation was more than just a little obvious.
Loki; Loki had selected the tenth floor, so it did take a few long moments to get up there. Still, he knew Heimdall liked having his 'views' and whatnot, even if Loki didn't particularly think there was anything interesting to look at here. Not anymore, anyhow.
The place had mostly certainly lost that 'shiny and new' feeling.
When the elevator let out it's ding and the doors opened, he was the first to step out, and then he waited. "You can pick whichever one you want... But some of them are occupied. Be careful not to walk in on anyone."
Heimdall; "If they're in the room that I want, I'll tell them to leave," Heimdall murmured as he walked past Loki and started down the hall, eye lingering on the doors until, at last, he stopped in from of room eight. Without missing a beat, or really seeming to care if someone else might be lingering behind the door, he swung the door open and waltzed right on it.
It was decent, he wouldn't be staying there for any length of time anyhow, and there was really only one thing that mattered.
With that in mind, he crossed the room in order to reach the window and pushed the curtains aside. He enjoyed the view more than he let on but, as he let the curtains fall again and turned back to Loki, he retained his apathy.
"This will do."
Loki; Of course Heimdall would tell them to leave. Loki had almost hoped they would walk in on somebody, just to see that happened. It would have been comic gold, for certain.
Loki stepped into the apartment after him, almost disappointed that it was empty. Tilting his head to the side, he noticed there were three keys resting in a tray beside the door. Must have been a three bedroom, then. Still, if only one person was going to be living here, that was an awful waste.
When Heimdall turned back around to face him again, there were only two.
"Oh? Well then, I suppose I'll leave you to your ticking and brooding."
Heimdall; "You know where the door is." Heimdall returned to the window and brushed the curtains open again. The view would suffice, especially when it came time for the sun to rise and set. It might even be perfect. While it wasn't like the view he had enjoyed on Midgard, it would do for the time being.
It would be a cold day in hell before he offered him a word of gratitude, he thought. He wasn't going to thank him, because he never asked him to help him in the first place. Loki was always helping people, even if they were less than enthusiastic about it. Being helpful didn't make up for the fact that he was a thief and a liar, nor did it--
"Thanks," he spoke up before he even had a chance to think about it.
Loki; It was moments like these that Loki wished he had a video camera... Not that he liked the damn things, but Heimdall rarely looked so peaceful, and him being gracious was rare enough to make Loki smile without a hint of malice before turning and grabbing the door knob, pulling it closed and walking off.
Acknowledging the gratitude out loud probably would have only brought more attention to it, and Heimdall would have found a reason to get mad about it, just like he did everything.
Heimdall; Step. Step. Tick. Step. Step. Tock.
Why was it louder than it had been before? That damned noise. Wherever that clock was, he would find it and break it in two. But for now, any peace that he had felt before the window had melted away and become a pool of anguish.
With every step that Loki took away from the room, the volume of the ticking seemed to increase, until it became a familiar throb, right behind where his right eye should have been. He had felt an ache like it only once before, and that was when his eye had been removed in the first place. It was maddening, but he would tolerate it, because he wasn't going to ask for that bastard's hel--
He turned and dashed across the room before he threw the door open and shouted down the hallway; "LOKI!"
Loki; Almost managing to look irritated, Loki stopped halfway to the elevator and turned to see his self-proclaimed mortal enemy standing in the hallway looking like he was about to start killing things in frustration.
How, Loki wondered, did Heimdall expect to live on his own here, if he couldn't take ten seconds alone in his apartment?
Folding his arms back across his chest, he walked back over towards him. "I have tea to get to. What is it?"
Heimdall; Eager, he had seemed too damn eager. Heimdall gritted his teeth and pushed away from the door as he pocketed a key, face clearly displaying his annoyance. "They waited this long, they can wait longer." He huffed. "The grocery store, where is it? I need to pick up some things."
And a Bandersnatch, he inwardly mused.
"Tell me that much and then you can go have your tea with your mortal women." He would have had to be blind to miss the fact that Loki had a knack for keeping fairly attractive company but, or so it seemed to him at least, their beauty had managed to eaten their brains.
Loki; Hmmm.
"You think I would know? I don't do the shopping." Dropping his arms, he held up his chin and walked past him to head back into the apartment. "You just found a new place to stay, and the first thing you want to do is go back out? Really, Heimdall... There are some mortal traditions you should practice more often."
Casting a sly glance over his shoulder, Loki wandered further in to explore more of the apartment. "You're supposed to break it in.
Heimdall; "I don't want to practice mortal traditions, they're all yours."
He didn't plan on sticking around long after he killed Loki anyhow.
"More like breaking in. Oi!" Heimdall turned and followed him back inside, folding his arms across his chest. "I didn't say you could come back in, I told you to tell me where the grocery store was!" Exasperated, he threw his hands up and opted to plop down onto the sofa. The noise was gone for now, at least, even if he did have a certain mortal enemy prowling through his living room right now.
Loki; He didn't seem to feel very bothered by Heimdall's irritation. In fact, he completely ignored him, leaving the living room once he was finished checking it out. He didn't even bother looking at the kitchen, really... He rarely used them.
For another minute, he was gone, poking around in the bedrooms and the bathroom. "There's actually a lot of space here," he called out after looking in the large closet in the hallway. Slipping his coat off, he tossed it onto the kitchen table when passing it on the way into the livingroom and over to the couch.
As if it were as natural as commenting on the weather, Loki moved so that he could crawl practically on top of Heimdall, straddling his lap, with one hand lightly gripping his chin. "There are plenty of places to break in. Take your pick."
Heimdall; "I don't care about the space, I won't use any of it. The couch is comfortable, I'll just sleep he--" Heimdall went completely quiet for the second time that afternoon and actually choked on his words, if only out of surprise. "Che. You know breaking and entering isn't my thing, that was only a one time deal."
He tilted his face back, freeing his chin from Loki's hold and leaned it back against the seat. "For someone who called for a truce, you're getting a pretty big kick out of dancing on dangerous ground." His hands remained idle and calm at his sides, as his lone red eye narrowed on the tricker's face.
"You don't even have a partner. Off."
Loki; "Mmm? Not that kind of breaking in, Kazumi-kun. We're the best of friends, aren't we? It seems like you're the best partner I could have, don't you think?"
Carefully, oh so carefully, he slid forward so that Heimdall was rather effectively pinned against the back of the couch with Loki's own body, and he propped one elbow against the cushion just beside the other boy's head. Like that, it was only too easy to grip Heimdall's hips with his thighs, and his lips twitched into a smirk while he stared down at him in challenge.
"Why don't you? Get me off?"
Heimdall; "I'm not one of them, one of those people you can toy around with how you please," Heimdall pushed forward nonetheless, until they were almost painfully flush and tilted his face up. "And I don't like this game anymore, Loki." His hands, once idle, now reached up to grab a fistful of the other boy's shirtfront as, with a sneer, he tugged him forward until they were nose to nose.
"Get off of me, and then get out." His lips, which were previously pressed into a firm, thin line, twitched up into a smirk.
"Or I'll kiss you."
Loki; That was enough to actually make Loki pause and rethink this plan. Really, part of the reason he was doing this was because Heimdall was obviously lonely, but he would be lying if he claimed that it wasn't also for his own perverse enjoyment.
But then, Loki lied all the time, when necessary.
"Is that so...?" Sometimes, letting Heimdall 'win' the battle was victory enough for Loki, simply because they both knew he was letting him. But this time, he knew, if he backed down, Heimdall would be the winner. Or at least, if he backed down right at that moment. Maybe a little later...
"You seem to like kissing. Why is that, Heimdall?" Moving his free hand, he cupped the other god's cheek while he leaned down close enough for their lips to brush. "Craving the intimacy?"
Heimdall; "Maybe," Heimdall cooed right back at him, at least until he felt their lips brush. It served to do little more than anger him, so much so that his once playful smirk became almost threatening as he met Loki's stare.
"There wasn't enough intimacy when you took my eye? I thought we were pretty close then," he added on before he pressed a hand to Loki's chest and gave him a rather rough shove backwards.
"Now get out."
Loki; Heimdall's words actually made the smile drop from Loki's face just before he was shoved, and it was certainly hard enough to completely knock him off balance. For a second, he almost reached out to try and grab at Heimdall to keep himself steady, but at the last second resisted, and down he went.
Sprawled on the floor, he groaned softly as he rubbed at his head. It had hit the nearby chair, and that didn't feel very good in the slightest. Shaking his head, he tried to snap himself out of his daze as he sat up to look up at the one who'd pushed him down.
"Heimdall! I don't even know what you're talking about... I wasn't the one to take your eye! What...happened...? How did it happen?"
Heimdall; "I saw you," He began, tone low and painfully clipped. "I saw you standing there, though the veil of my blood. You were standing there with that pitiful look on you face, as if you actually regretted it." Heimdall lazily pushed from his chair and leaned down to become level with the now sprawled out over his floor Loki before he touched a hand to the side of his face.
"Did it hurt?" Briefly, his eye lingered on the chair he had bumped before he began to stroke his cheek in an almost too gentle fashion. "Because that's nothing compared to what I have in store for you, Loki." His eye softened as he leaned in and pressed a kiss just above the boy's brow, whispering against it. "Oh, no, I have so many surprises for you, partner. Best friend."
He relinquished the hold on his face and opted to step past him and take his place before the windowsill again, a hand making short work of the curtains that continuously obstructed his view. As he kneaded his talons in the material and cast it aside, he began again. "This charade, end it, it's getting annoying," he murmured to his reflection, but seemed to be focusing on the faint glimpse of Loki's reflection that he caught against the glass.
Loki; After having remained a little too calm during the exchange, he finally shut his eyes for a moment as he pushed off of the ground and stood back up. His arms hung idle at his sides, and he observed Heimdall's reflection back, though it wasn't very clear to him from this angle.
There was no smile on his face, no look of remorse. He didn't even look particularly irritated. Just...sad. Pity was something he didn't feel a lot...it was special, just for Heimdall these days.
"Did I look like this, Heimdall? If I had taken your eye, do you really think I would have attempted to look like I felt bad for doing it?"
Heimdall; Shut up. Shut up. Shut UP.
"You're a liar, you lie to everyone when it's convenient for you!" Heimdall whirled around and folded his arms across his chest and he leaned back against the windowsill. "Why should this time be any different? Loki," he gritted his teeth, having dutifully noted the other boy's composure, and forced himself to look away.
He was a liar. Odin wouldn't lie to him, because he trusted him. If the trust hadn't been there, then this mission would have been pointless. So why, he wondered, did he almost want to believe him? The feeling was fleeting and, thus, he paid little mind to it, but it had still been there at some point. Odin's golden boy, he didn't need his emotion when he had amost every other god in Asgard kissing his ass.
Loki; Loki started to look like he might have something to say, lips parting for a moment...but then he merely turned and walked away, over to the kitchen table where he could retrieve his coat.
Why should this time be any different? What could he say? Many things. Reasons. Excuses. But Heimdall wouldn't listen to any of them. Odin had blinded him in one eye and placed a false idea in front of the other. Anything for the aesir to grab onto in his moment of rage.
And Loki didn't have time for these childish accusations. Why had he bothered to come back into the apartment? Even he wasn't positive any longer.
Heimdall; A liar through and though, he decided, when Loki turned his back on him and started towards the exit. There were a hundred and one things he could have said at that moment, anything to add insult to injury, but he said nothing at all. Everything he wanted to say, everything he wanted to do -- it had already been done.
He had wanted to say something, hadn't he? Words were useless now, everything that rolled off of Loki's deceitful little tongue made him angry. Loki was the last person in the world whose pity he wanted and here he was, getting it in obnoxious doses. When he walked away, he almost felt satisfied, but there was that twinge again.
What if?
What if he was telling the truth? What if Loki hadn't taken his eye? If that was the case, then what had all of this been for? When the trickster looked at him, it was rarely with any sort of malice lest it came to his mortals and children. It infuriated him, his doubt, and so he chose to sate it as he turned his back the boy and let him leave.
There was no place for that uncertainty if he didn't have to look him in the eye.
Rating; PG [Innuendos, whut?]
Characters; Loki, Reiya and Heimdall.
Summary;
Log;
Reiya; "Ah!" Reiya cried as she hurried two steps ahead of him, her tiny feet carrying her to one of the nearest cages that held something she had yet to see before. She stared at the creature in complete and utter silence for a good while, eyes alight with her growing curiosity.
She had never seen anything so unique, not even in her storybooks!
So, with that in mind, she tilted her face a little and shot Loki and curious glance, accompanied by her sweetest smile. "Loki-sama, have you ever seen one before? A Bandersnatch? Reiya hasn't!" While her face might have conveyed some sort of carefree amusement, her voice betrayed her.
While it was a curious creature, and she did want to know more about it, it also did well to scare her a little.
Loki; Really, even Loki was a little impressed at the wide variety of animals this zoo housed. It almost made him worry a little bit, knowing that Mayura was off on her own. She had first been interested in solving why zebras had stripes, but with such mythical creatures present, he knew she could get into rather unique types of trouble.
But until he sensed anything amiss, or people started screaming, he would try to relax and concentrate on helping Reiya have a good time. When the City attempted to make your life miserable at every turn, it was the small things that could bring a smile back.
Hers was especially charming.
"Hm, no I haven't... They aren't supposed to actually exist, I don't think. Only mentioned in stories and poems. I'm not sure offering it a snack would be very wise."
Reiya; Reiya, as if on perfect cue, gasped and retracted her hand before scurrying over to gingerly clutch one of Loki's arms with both of her own. He had saved her life again, she decided, and thus she did little more than smile as she led him away from the Bandersnatch and towards another area, one where a lot more people seemed to be gathering.
"Birds? Loki-sama, do you like birds? I had one once, it was a song bird!" She looked up towards the cage and smiled. "But these birds are much bigger than Reiya's song bird and I don't think they would sing if I asked them to," the girl added sheepishly.
They, while appearing to be most lovely to the eye, seemed much more intent on clicking their beaks at passerby's. An idle bit of chatter? A plea for a snack? If they wanted a snack, it certainly wasn't what was in the tiny paper bag that Reiya currently clung onto.
Loki; "A song bird, hm? If you want, we can see if we can get another one for you during our stay in the City. Would you like that, Reiya?" There was a smile on his face as he looked down at her, and his eyes were gentle, but he didn't much feel like talking about the larger birds.
They were rather annoying, in Loki's opinion.
Thinking he caught something out of the corner of his eye, Loki turned suddenly, spotting a hawk in one of the other bird cages. Vaguely amused, he shrugged his shoulders to look back to her.
Reiya/Heimdall; Reiya looked up at him, surprised but not displeased in the slightest. In fact, after it finally sunk in, she tilted her head and almost seemed to be worried. "Are you sure, Loki-sama? Song birds can be really loud, even if their songs are really pretty to listen to! They made Reiya feel better when she was sad, like Loki-sama does! Mm, even if they woke me up sometimes.."
Good things come to those who wait they had said, and so he had waited then. He had waited until the throbbing within his hollow socket had become so loud that it threatened to drive him mad, to split his mind in two. Split in two, that's what he wanted to do, he wanted to sink his talons into Loki and revel in his screams as he tore him in two.
He was tired of waiting, he wanted it back.
So why, he inwardly seethed, was he wasting time in a Zoo? He was here, Loki was here and the sooner he found him, the sooner he could retrieve his eye and put an end to his own inner turmoil. His thoughts might have wandered further had his feet not led him to the Zoo's rather diverse aviary.
She wasn't here, he noted, and while the loss of companionship was irritating, he would survive. It was strange, however, how something as mundane as a cage full of birds could draw such an annoyingly large crowd.
And how something as mundane as a cage full of birds could make him smile like he was right now, even if it was only a little, as he reached a hand out as if he meant to touch one of them. It was easy to forget he wasn't a child, easy to cast aside the obligations that came with his mission when he gradually let his guard down.
He almost looked peaceful, at least until he turned, let his hand fall and finally the smile disappear.
Loki; It was enough for today, this wasn't a vacation.
Loki lifted up a hand to rest under his chin while he thought. "Well, I'm a pretty heavy sleeper, but it won't do if it's keeping you up, Reiya. Perhaps a song bird isn't the best way to go."
Resting his hand over hers, he turned away to lead her further through the crowd.
The flash of purple didn't go overlooked, and it made him slow down. Through the crowd of people laughing, making poor bird calls, and others simply having warm conversations, he could see the profile of a figure that would be impossible to mistake.
There was an odd little smile on his face as he just kept walking, behind, and past Heimdall. "Also, that kitten you have now might think of a bird as a tasty snack. We don't want it to get eaten."
Reiya/Heimdall; "Oh, no!" Reiya shook her head, curls swishing every which way before she opted to give Loki her determined face. "Reiya will sleep just fine! Mm, but we should tell Mayura-san first!" She laughed, quietly, and shot no one in particular a fond little smile. "She might thing Songbird-san is a mystery!"
"Maybe Reiya shouldn't.. what if the neighbors--" She began, but was forced to stop when a boy's voice rang out over hers, a voice that was calm yet almost seemed gentle. "A lovebird," he murmured, stuffing his gloved hands into his pockets as he went on. "If you want a bird, then you should get one of them. They're affectionate but some think it's cruel to buy them sans their pair."
And they chew, he inwardly mused.
"Ah?" Reiya was timid at first, until she saw the boy appeared to be no older than her or Loki-sama. "A lovebird? Loki-sama, could we get two of those them? Reiya.. doesn't want Lovebird-san to be lonely!" Wide violet eyes, lightly pleading, lingered on Loki's own.
Loneliness just wasn't fair.
Loki; With an eyebrow raised, Loki shrugged. Really, taking in any animal suggested by Heimdall was never a good idea, but Reiya really had mastered the puppy dog look. Maybe even better than Fenrir.
"I don't see why not. Two it is. We can take Mayura with us to a pet store later today or tomorrow, and pick them out." Tilting his head to the side, his gaze wandered from Reiya back over to the boy who had offered his suggestion.
"Kazumi-kun really is very helpful. When did you get here?"
Reiya/Heimdall; "Kazumi-kun? You know him, Loki-sama?" Reiya turned back to the boy, this Kazumi-kun, and smiled before she gave him a curtsy. "My name is Reiya! I think it's good that we ran into Loki-sama's friend! Reiya almost bought the wrong bir--" Her giggling died down, however, and her cheeks became flushed when the boy took her hand up almost too gently and pressed a kiss to the back of it.
"Loki has so many cute friends, I'm almost jealous."
He turned then, to meet the gaze. "This morning. Did you miss me?"
Loki; Loki's eyes narrowed just a touch, and he reached out to take Reiya's hand back, ever-so-gently guiding her back beside him. Well, perhaps an inch or so behind him.
"I feel just terrible. Things have been very chaotic, you understand, and honestly I hadn't even taken the time to think of you." Smiling, he tilted his head to the side. "But you'll forgive me for that, won't you?"
Heimdall/Reiya; "Of course, you have a lot to tend to," Heimdall paused, eye drifting towards Reiya for no longer than a few seconds. "Don't you?" He turned to face them both before he lifted a brow and looked around. "Oh? Mayura isn't here?"
"Pity, I was looking forward to seeing her again." He heaved a sigh, almost as if he were truly disappointed and then blinked, tilting his face off to the side. "Did I interrupt a date?" If Reiya wasn't red before, she certainly was now as she fumbled for a proper reply. "N.. no! Reiya asked Loki-sama to take her to the Zoo today! Mayura-san is here! She just.. she walked away.."
Loki; Loki already had a headache. The last thing he needed was Reiya's head getting filled with even more of those kinds of thoughts. At least Reiya had answered that question for him, so he didn't have to worry so much about how to reply without hurting Reiya's feelings.
"I'm sure she's missed you too, Kazumi-kun. I think she said she was going to look at the zebras..." Shifting, he looked back to the girl at his side. "Reiya, why don't you go find Mayura and take her home so that you can prepare some tea? I would like to catch up with my old friend here."
Reiya; "Oh! Mm, I'll go find Mayura-san! It was nice meet you, Kazumi-san!" Reiya let go of Loki's arm and, without missing a beat, proceeded to jog in the direction she remembered the zebras to be. She was secretly hoping that Mayura wasn't doing anything too silly, as she had been embarrassed enough already this afternoon! Another part, however, expected no less. It just wouldn't be Mayura if she wasn't being silly.
Heimdall; "Let's talk again, Reiya," He spoke up sing-song like as the girl waved to both of the boys and disappeared behind one of the next exhibits. It was then and only then that his face lost any sort of kindness that it held before. "Freya's container? They just keep getting younger, your mortals."
Loki; With a smile on his face, Loki waved after Reiya as she disappeared, hoping that the little girl wouldn't get lost. That would be rather awkward if he returned to the apartment and found Reiya and Mayura still weren't home.
Investing in a cellular device might have made things easier, but...he really didn't like them. They were so noisy, and run at the most inopportune times.
"You were the one who led me to her, Heimdall. I should thank you for that. It's just too bad your plan didn't work..." With a much too friendly chuckle, he waved his hand dismissively. "But then, they never do."
Heimdall; "Shut up," Heimdall hissed before he brushed passed him to glance towards some of the more interesting enclosures. "And tell me where the hell we are." He didn't wait for an answer but, rather, opted to go make friends with the Bandersnatch. He may not have had feed for the creature, but the idea of chucking Loki into the cage had crossed his mind once or twice.
He would rip him apart later. For now, he wanted answers.
Anytime a mortal brushed him, he felt his talons twitch. His mission, it was all he could think about and all he ever would until it was complete. If someone got in his way, then heaven help them, because he wasn't merciful. This place, it just wouldn't do, it was too annoyingly crowded with his mortals for anything worthwhile to be done. So he would wait, because good things were supposed to come to those who waited.
Or so he'd heard.
Loki; Oh, so Heimdall didn't even know where they were at yet? It figured that he wouldn't have actually asked anyone for help. Sometimes, Heimdall's pride was more than a little foolish.
"Well, not on Midgard... But I'm sure you already knew that." Turning, Loki watched him warily while he spoke. "This place is called The City... Not very original. Apparently, there are more than just nine worlds out there. And this place, or so I'm told, connects all of them."
Slipping his hands into the pockets of his coat, he smirked. "But what makes you think little old me knows any more than that?"
Heimdall; "Because you're willing to make friends with the mortals, and I'm not." Heimdall turned and leaned back against the rail that separated him from the actual cage. "And the ticking?" He lifted a hand and touched the tips of his fingers to the area where his eye should have been beneath his hair.
"It's--" He made and fist and then dropped his hand, never coming back to what he was previously going to say. "You and your mortals, you're the only three here?" After tilting his head back, squinting against the sky, he closed his eye. "She isn't here," he murmured more to himself than anything else.
His hawk, the one that could calm the ticking he heard when he was by himself, the ticking that only seemed to amplify the ache of his missing eye. But it was no matter; he would deal with it, because he wasn't about to make friends.
He wasn't here for that.
Loki; "Yes... Well, and Freya. I trust you'll stay away from them." Heimdall had already tried to use all of them enough times to get to Loki, so he doubt another try would work really well.
Of course, Loki had plenty of other new 'acquaintances' of sorts, but Heimdall didn't need to know about them. "And mortals are not the only ones here... Can't you feel it?"
Heimdall's soft musing almost brought a look of pity out of Loki as he observed him. "...The ticking bothers you when you're alone."
Heimdall; "They're unnecessary," he murmured, "Your mortals, these mortals, the unique." He smirked despite himself. "This is a new battleground, Loki, I have new tactics. You will return my eye to me."
The ticking bothers you when you're alone.
Heimdall blinked his eye open just in time to catch the faintest glimmer of pity in Loki's face. Pity. His face twisted in rage and he gritted his teeth, turning his back on him. "It's tolerable."
Loki; Loki sighed, almost wearily. His smile was gone. There was no sport in arguments like this... Not when Heimdall was going to be unreasonable, and he knew he was.
But even knowing that, he still had to insist. "Heimdall, I don't have your eye. And if I did, do you think I would have had a chance to bring it here with me? I'm sure this place brought you here without any warning just like it did me."
Stepping forward, he reached out to settle a hand on the other boy's shoulder. "A truce, for now. The ticking gets worse the longer you're alone. If you stay with us while we're here, it should be bearable."
Heimdall; The way he flinched, one might have though he had just been burned as his entire body went rigid and he glared at Loki. He lifted a gloved hand and roughly swatted Loki's hand away from his shoulder before he took a step back. "Don't touch me, I'm not one of your mortals."
"I don't need you, any of you. I've suffered worse," he scoffed. "This noise, it won't get the best of me." It was strange, he noted, when Loki had first touched his shoulder? He almost thought of giving it a chance, that truce.
But thieves didn't get second chances, the only thing they were given was judgment.
Loki; Another sigh tried to slip out, but Loki held it in. Heimdall was obviously irritated enough. "...If you say so. But just because you've suffered worse, doesn't mean you have to keep torturing yourself."
It really was difficult to stop offering looks of pity, so Loki chose this as his time to turn away. Knowing Heimdall was already unstable, he didn't want to think about what the ticking would do to him. It was unfortunate his hawk wasn't here to keep him company.
"But I don't have time to waste right now." Walking off, he gave a dismissive wave over his shoulder. "This isn't Asgard, and this isn't Midgard. Fighting with you would be even more pointless than usual. Good luck."
Heimdall; "Don't dismiss me," Heimdall began, seemingly more annoyed than anything else. "Like I'm one of your loyal subjects." He had opted to take a seat, much to the surprise of a few onlookers, on the railing that he had previously been leaning up against, just a breadths distance away from the Bandersnatch.
"If you want a truce," he ground out through gritted teeth, "Then for a day, just one, I'll accept it." He could only glower at his back for so long before he grew bored and, thus, he opted to look elsewhere, namely at that creature looming behind him. It wasn't supposed to exist, he knew that much but, truce or not, it didn't mean he couldn't plot.
And oh was he plotting.
"But this doesn't mean for a second that I'm living with you and your mortals." Deadpan, he leaned over and proceeded to pet the Bandersnatch.
Loki; Loki stopped at that, then turned. He had asked Reiya to go home and put some tea on... But it wasn't like he hadn't made them wait before. Many times, in fact.
Sometimes he just got a little busy. It couldn't be helped. At least Yamino understood that.
He watched, unimpressed as Heimdall made friends with the mythical bird, and rested one hand against his hip. "Then we should talk. But not here." Not with all the people staring.
After all, they supposed to be two cute little boys, right?
Heimdall; "I'm not going to run off and play in the mud with you or anything and if I have to wrestle with you, I'm seriously going to kill you," Heimdall grumbled, having watched mortal boys in their foolish play on Midgard, and slid off of his perch before stuffing his hands back into his pockets and walking ahead of him. "We don't have anything to talk about, I just want to know more about his place."
"So why do we have to make this annoying trip?"
He may not have admitted it outright, but the company was welcome, even if it wasn't exactly the company he would have preferred. Being alone with that sound, it took a lot out of him, especially when the headaches set in and he found himself dwelling on things, on his failure to accomplish his missi--
Truce, Heimdall, truce.
Loki; "Oh~? And here I thought you liked playing in mud. My mistake... That must have been a one time thing."
Loki waited until Heimdall got close enough so that Loki could murmur and still be heard, and he turned to walk away, assuming Heimdall would follow. The jotun also did his best to wipe the smirk off his face so that Heimdall didn't get too offended.
"What else should you know... Oh, there are ones who call themselves gods here...but none that we know. They merely run this place, and enjoy inflicting curses of sorts on the inhabitants."
Heimdall; "You're making this truce increasingly difficult to maintain, Loki," Heimdall seethed, his talons just itching to claw that smirk off of the other boy's face. Alas, a truce was a truce and he would not break it until the end of the day, so he would endure this and save his rage for later.
Maybe it would help his plans some.
"Gods? Curses?" He rolled his eye, lagging behind him a step or two as he huffed. "More tricks. I'll be as fond of them as I am of you, then."
Loki; He couldn't help but chuckle. Ah, there was no sport in arguing over things like Heimdall's eye, but riling him up over silly things was something Loki could rarely resist. The humiliated blush he got on his face was sometimes half the fun.
"Is that so? I should feel insulted. You're already planning on hating someone else as much as you do me. But, be warned, they have proven themselves to be rather powerful at times. They make it so that the dead can walk here, and they can take lives away without so much as lifting a finger."
He shrugged. "They say the City feeds off of negative emotions..." Heimdall ought to be like a rich dessert for it, if so.
Heimdall; "I hope you aren't telling me to wear a stupid smile all the time," Heimdall, feeling slightly indignant, folded his arms. "It's hard enough acting like a sweet little boy for your mortal girl, it's definitely not something I want to become an everyday occurrence." And he wasn't going to hold up this truce forever.
"I could never hate anyone as much as I hate you," he, amusingly enough, almost seemed to scold him for ever thinking something like that. "You aren't trembling at their feet, are you, Loki?" His lips twisted up in a grin before it faded just as quickly, and he turned his eye back on the sky.
"I don't plan on dying anytime soon, not until I get my eye back," he looked away from him when he said this, but there was a touch less malice in his voice.
But only a touch.
Loki; As they walked along, Loki chose to ignore... (E) All of the above.
Responding to any of that the way he wanted to would have just started a fight. So he remained quiet this time as they walked along, head tilting while his gaze trailed absently along the signs, cages, and isolation areas before he spotted an ice cream cart.
"Ah, ice cream! I haven't had anything since breakfast." Ditching Heimdall for just a second at least, he ran off ahead, feeling like two scoops of cherry flavor sounded awfully delicious right about then.
Heimdall; Heimdall didn't follow Loki at first, but he did stand there and watch him bound towards the ice cream stand like, well, a child. A god, the god who stole his eye nonetheless, had been reduced to something like this. So why, pray tell, was he running after his enemy like ice cream was the coolest thing since sliced bread?
Because it so was right now.
Humiliated? Most definitely, but that didn't stop him from demanding three scoops of his own just to better Loki, all three being chocolate. He shot Loki a glance, one that dared him to make fun, before he glanced away and frowned.
"It's hot out, ice cream didn't sound half bad."
Loki; Loki offered a light shrug, attempting to not look as amused as he really was at Heimdall's blatant attempt to 'better him' by getting that extra scoop. Just in case that ice cream vendor wanted 'payment', Loki had a piece of string in his pocket that he found on his bedroom floor that morning.
Apparently it was an equal exchange, and the vendor tipped his hat as Loki turned to walk off, merrily licking at his ice cream.
"Mm, would you believe snow was on the ground not two weeks ago?"
Heimdall; "Did you just--" Heimdall paused where he was for a second, ice cream cone clutched awkwardly within a glove. Loki had just paid the man in string and, what was worse; the man actually seemed quite pleased with their transaction. With a shrug, as he'd seen stranger payments, he followed semi-close at Loki's heels, eying his ice cream.
"Snow?" He murmured, though he hardly seemed interested in the fact, especially since he had just plowed his triple scoop cone into the side of his face and lost a scoop due to the very unfortunate laws of gravity. Sneering, he shifted it to his other hand and shot Loki's back a spiteful glare as he wiped his cheek free of chocolate via a glove.
If he had his eye right now, that wouldn't have happened and he would have still had a towering mass of ice cream that bested Loki's by one. Oh, yes, he would find a way to blame him for the simplest thing, truce be damned.
"Che. Stupid ice cream."
Loki; It was a rather pitiful scene, really, and a woman passing by even offered Heimdal a sympathetic look. But oh well. A little boy didn't need three scoops of ice cream, anyway.
"We could always go back and get you another scoop, if you really want," Loki teased before pausing to reach up, his fingertip brushing at Heimdall's cheek. Drawing his hand back, he licked the tiny bit of melted ice cream off his finger, an almost thoughtful look on his face as he started walking again.
"Hm. Chocolate and cherry go well together..."
Heimdall; "Loki!" Heimdall shouted, jerking his face away from his fingers as he recoiled and fell back a few more steps. "I told you before, I'm not one of your mortals, so don't do that again." He lowered his voice a bit, though it was still audible enough to be caught by Loki, and grumbled out. "And don't try my ice cream without asking, it's mine."
"I wouldn't know, I've never tried cherry." He let the other comment pass, but only because he had contented himself with nibbling at his own ice cream.
Loki; With a smirk, Loki glanced over his shoulder. "Oh? But I'm the one who paid for it." Sure, it had been with a piece of string, but that wasn't the point.
Resting a hand on his hip, he stopped and turned to hold his ice cream cone out. "Would you like to try it? They really do go rather well together. Next time I'll try getting a scoop of each. And maybe try not to run your face into it this time."
Heimdall; "You paid for it with a piece of string!" He cried, then proceeded to seethe because, once again, Loki was right and he was oh-so wrong.
Heimdall stared at the presented cone as if it had suddenly grown a pair of arms. It was hard to tell what he was feeling then, judging by the fact that it was a face he rarely wore. Was he surprised? Appalled? It wasn't for quite some time that he dawned a familiar expression, once of annoyance, and stared at him in disbelief.
"You licked it already."
Loki; Feigning offense, he pulled the ice cream cone back so he could look it over, as if scanning it for any issues. Then, he shrugged and took another lick, offering a light wink before taking off again.
"My my, I don't remember you minding that in the past." This really was too much fun. Heimdall had quite a variety of expressions if you played him just right.
Heimdall; "You--" He appeared to be slightly taken aback before, with a hiss, he leaned over and gave one of the cherry scoops a little lick. "I don't know what the hell you're going on about." Heimdall feigned indifference, licking his lips before he went right back to enjoying his own ice cream. It wasn't a bad flavor, he decided at first, they made a good combination.
It was funny. If a stranger had seen the two boys walking together, one might have almost thought they were the best of friends.
Loki; "Of course you don't," he mused, turning the cone in his hand before rather blatantly licking his cherry ice cream in the same spot Heimdall just had.
Perhaps, he ought to take a break with the teasing. At least until they found Heimdall a place to stay... And that was just what Loki was doing. Building 10 was the closest, so he walked towards it. At least while they were having a truce, he would help his 'old friend' get settled in.
That's what best friends were for, after all.
Heimdall; "Bastard," he began, but paused when he saw they were walking towards a building.
"This truce only lasts for a day," Heimdall began, "I don't think I want you to be my realtor, Loki." With that in mind, he stopped right where he was and took to looking at the surrounding apartment buildings. The accommodations weren't half bad and, if the currency was indeed string, livid expenses wouldn't be much of a problem. Even if said method of payment was laughable.
It was times like these, he noted, that he almost missed Freyr's company.
Loki; Loki rolled his eyes a bit at Heimdall's stubborn nature. "All the buildings are the same, Heimdall. Rooms have different décor, but it doesn't matter if you pick this building or another one. This one's just closest, and if you've been walking around since this morning, I thought you might want to rest."
Making short work of his ice cream, and miraculously not getting a headache from it, he began crunching on the cone its
Heimdall; "Is it far from your building?" Heimdall also proceeded to devour the cone, but with less than satisfactory results. He winced and clutched at his forehead for a second or two, murmuring under his breath something along the lines of; stupid ice cream. Once his temporary brain freeze passed, however, he walked towards the building, hands placed upon his hips and proceeded to admire the structure.
"I'm not tired." His face betrayed him, amusingly enough.
Loki; Loki chose not to reply to that, because he knew poking fun at Heimdall too much and too often would
Popping the last bit of the cone into his mouth to chew, the trickster god absently sucked some stray ice cream off a finger while he went into the building and hit the elevator's up arrow. Some technology he liked.
Heimdall; "Starting to warm up to their technological advancements?" Heimdall spoke as if he were really curious but mildly distracted -- because he was. While Loki could quite easily rid the ice cream from his fingers, he was having a much more difficult time coping with his ice cream-sticky covered gloves.
He stared at them, more annoyed that anything else, and shook them every which way in a fruitless attempt to dry or somehow rid them of the stickiness. It was comical, but also Loki's fault, he noted.
He would just have to wash them later.
Loki; "Elevators aren't so terrible. The ride is short, after all." Cars were the worst, though. They were so cramped that he couldn't even walk around, and with all the turning and changing speed. Just thinking about it nearly made him shudder.
Nearly.
Folding his arms across his chest, he stepped into the elevator and leaned back against the bar, watching Heimdall shake his hands like that would actually do anything. "Just take them off. People probably wouldn't stare here... I'm sure you noticed there are already some odd creatures walking around."
Heimdall; "You're just lazy, then." Heimdall added as he leaned back against the wall across from Loki and proceeded to remove his gloves. His talons, though still quite impressive, were only a fraction of their beauty outside of Asgard, but were most appropriate to the form of what should have been a fragile child.
"They had a Bandersnatch in captivity," he shifted his hand, to flex his fingers in Loki's general direction. "That much was obvious." He lowered his hand, nails drumming idly against the elevator wall as he waited. And waited.
And waited.
It may have been convenient for Loki but, for him? Being in an enclosed space for any length of time was annoying enough without having to share it with someone he hated. His agitation was more than just a little obvious.
Loki; Loki had selected the tenth floor, so it did take a few long moments to get up there. Still, he knew Heimdall liked having his 'views' and whatnot, even if Loki didn't particularly think there was anything interesting to look at here. Not anymore, anyhow.
The place had mostly certainly lost that 'shiny and new' feeling.
When the elevator let out it's ding and the doors opened, he was the first to step out, and then he waited. "You can pick whichever one you want... But some of them are occupied. Be careful not to walk in on anyone."
Heimdall; "If they're in the room that I want, I'll tell them to leave," Heimdall murmured as he walked past Loki and started down the hall, eye lingering on the doors until, at last, he stopped in from of room eight. Without missing a beat, or really seeming to care if someone else might be lingering behind the door, he swung the door open and waltzed right on it.
It was decent, he wouldn't be staying there for any length of time anyhow, and there was really only one thing that mattered.
With that in mind, he crossed the room in order to reach the window and pushed the curtains aside. He enjoyed the view more than he let on but, as he let the curtains fall again and turned back to Loki, he retained his apathy.
"This will do."
Loki; Of course Heimdall would tell them to leave. Loki had almost hoped they would walk in on somebody, just to see that happened. It would have been comic gold, for certain.
Loki stepped into the apartment after him, almost disappointed that it was empty. Tilting his head to the side, he noticed there were three keys resting in a tray beside the door. Must have been a three bedroom, then. Still, if only one person was going to be living here, that was an awful waste.
When Heimdall turned back around to face him again, there were only two.
"Oh? Well then, I suppose I'll leave you to your ticking and brooding."
Heimdall; "You know where the door is." Heimdall returned to the window and brushed the curtains open again. The view would suffice, especially when it came time for the sun to rise and set. It might even be perfect. While it wasn't like the view he had enjoyed on Midgard, it would do for the time being.
It would be a cold day in hell before he offered him a word of gratitude, he thought. He wasn't going to thank him, because he never asked him to help him in the first place. Loki was always helping people, even if they were less than enthusiastic about it. Being helpful didn't make up for the fact that he was a thief and a liar, nor did it--
"Thanks," he spoke up before he even had a chance to think about it.
Loki; It was moments like these that Loki wished he had a video camera... Not that he liked the damn things, but Heimdall rarely looked so peaceful, and him being gracious was rare enough to make Loki smile without a hint of malice before turning and grabbing the door knob, pulling it closed and walking off.
Acknowledging the gratitude out loud probably would have only brought more attention to it, and Heimdall would have found a reason to get mad about it, just like he did everything.
Heimdall; Step. Step. Tick. Step. Step. Tock.
Why was it louder than it had been before? That damned noise. Wherever that clock was, he would find it and break it in two. But for now, any peace that he had felt before the window had melted away and become a pool of anguish.
With every step that Loki took away from the room, the volume of the ticking seemed to increase, until it became a familiar throb, right behind where his right eye should have been. He had felt an ache like it only once before, and that was when his eye had been removed in the first place. It was maddening, but he would tolerate it, because he wasn't going to ask for that bastard's hel--
He turned and dashed across the room before he threw the door open and shouted down the hallway; "LOKI!"
Loki; Almost managing to look irritated, Loki stopped halfway to the elevator and turned to see his self-proclaimed mortal enemy standing in the hallway looking like he was about to start killing things in frustration.
How, Loki wondered, did Heimdall expect to live on his own here, if he couldn't take ten seconds alone in his apartment?
Folding his arms back across his chest, he walked back over towards him. "I have tea to get to. What is it?"
Heimdall; Eager, he had seemed too damn eager. Heimdall gritted his teeth and pushed away from the door as he pocketed a key, face clearly displaying his annoyance. "They waited this long, they can wait longer." He huffed. "The grocery store, where is it? I need to pick up some things."
And a Bandersnatch, he inwardly mused.
"Tell me that much and then you can go have your tea with your mortal women." He would have had to be blind to miss the fact that Loki had a knack for keeping fairly attractive company but, or so it seemed to him at least, their beauty had managed to eaten their brains.
Loki; Hmmm.
"You think I would know? I don't do the shopping." Dropping his arms, he held up his chin and walked past him to head back into the apartment. "You just found a new place to stay, and the first thing you want to do is go back out? Really, Heimdall... There are some mortal traditions you should practice more often."
Casting a sly glance over his shoulder, Loki wandered further in to explore more of the apartment. "You're supposed to break it in.
Heimdall; "I don't want to practice mortal traditions, they're all yours."
He didn't plan on sticking around long after he killed Loki anyhow.
"More like breaking in. Oi!" Heimdall turned and followed him back inside, folding his arms across his chest. "I didn't say you could come back in, I told you to tell me where the grocery store was!" Exasperated, he threw his hands up and opted to plop down onto the sofa. The noise was gone for now, at least, even if he did have a certain mortal enemy prowling through his living room right now.
Loki; He didn't seem to feel very bothered by Heimdall's irritation. In fact, he completely ignored him, leaving the living room once he was finished checking it out. He didn't even bother looking at the kitchen, really... He rarely used them.
For another minute, he was gone, poking around in the bedrooms and the bathroom. "There's actually a lot of space here," he called out after looking in the large closet in the hallway. Slipping his coat off, he tossed it onto the kitchen table when passing it on the way into the livingroom and over to the couch.
As if it were as natural as commenting on the weather, Loki moved so that he could crawl practically on top of Heimdall, straddling his lap, with one hand lightly gripping his chin. "There are plenty of places to break in. Take your pick."
Heimdall; "I don't care about the space, I won't use any of it. The couch is comfortable, I'll just sleep he--" Heimdall went completely quiet for the second time that afternoon and actually choked on his words, if only out of surprise. "Che. You know breaking and entering isn't my thing, that was only a one time deal."
He tilted his face back, freeing his chin from Loki's hold and leaned it back against the seat. "For someone who called for a truce, you're getting a pretty big kick out of dancing on dangerous ground." His hands remained idle and calm at his sides, as his lone red eye narrowed on the tricker's face.
"You don't even have a partner. Off."
Loki; "Mmm? Not that kind of breaking in, Kazumi-kun. We're the best of friends, aren't we? It seems like you're the best partner I could have, don't you think?"
Carefully, oh so carefully, he slid forward so that Heimdall was rather effectively pinned against the back of the couch with Loki's own body, and he propped one elbow against the cushion just beside the other boy's head. Like that, it was only too easy to grip Heimdall's hips with his thighs, and his lips twitched into a smirk while he stared down at him in challenge.
"Why don't you? Get me off?"
Heimdall; "I'm not one of them, one of those people you can toy around with how you please," Heimdall pushed forward nonetheless, until they were almost painfully flush and tilted his face up. "And I don't like this game anymore, Loki." His hands, once idle, now reached up to grab a fistful of the other boy's shirtfront as, with a sneer, he tugged him forward until they were nose to nose.
"Get off of me, and then get out." His lips, which were previously pressed into a firm, thin line, twitched up into a smirk.
"Or I'll kiss you."
Loki; That was enough to actually make Loki pause and rethink this plan. Really, part of the reason he was doing this was because Heimdall was obviously lonely, but he would be lying if he claimed that it wasn't also for his own perverse enjoyment.
But then, Loki lied all the time, when necessary.
"Is that so...?" Sometimes, letting Heimdall 'win' the battle was victory enough for Loki, simply because they both knew he was letting him. But this time, he knew, if he backed down, Heimdall would be the winner. Or at least, if he backed down right at that moment. Maybe a little later...
"You seem to like kissing. Why is that, Heimdall?" Moving his free hand, he cupped the other god's cheek while he leaned down close enough for their lips to brush. "Craving the intimacy?"
Heimdall; "Maybe," Heimdall cooed right back at him, at least until he felt their lips brush. It served to do little more than anger him, so much so that his once playful smirk became almost threatening as he met Loki's stare.
"There wasn't enough intimacy when you took my eye? I thought we were pretty close then," he added on before he pressed a hand to Loki's chest and gave him a rather rough shove backwards.
"Now get out."
Loki; Heimdall's words actually made the smile drop from Loki's face just before he was shoved, and it was certainly hard enough to completely knock him off balance. For a second, he almost reached out to try and grab at Heimdall to keep himself steady, but at the last second resisted, and down he went.
Sprawled on the floor, he groaned softly as he rubbed at his head. It had hit the nearby chair, and that didn't feel very good in the slightest. Shaking his head, he tried to snap himself out of his daze as he sat up to look up at the one who'd pushed him down.
"Heimdall! I don't even know what you're talking about... I wasn't the one to take your eye! What...happened...? How did it happen?"
Heimdall; "I saw you," He began, tone low and painfully clipped. "I saw you standing there, though the veil of my blood. You were standing there with that pitiful look on you face, as if you actually regretted it." Heimdall lazily pushed from his chair and leaned down to become level with the now sprawled out over his floor Loki before he touched a hand to the side of his face.
"Did it hurt?" Briefly, his eye lingered on the chair he had bumped before he began to stroke his cheek in an almost too gentle fashion. "Because that's nothing compared to what I have in store for you, Loki." His eye softened as he leaned in and pressed a kiss just above the boy's brow, whispering against it. "Oh, no, I have so many surprises for you, partner. Best friend."
He relinquished the hold on his face and opted to step past him and take his place before the windowsill again, a hand making short work of the curtains that continuously obstructed his view. As he kneaded his talons in the material and cast it aside, he began again. "This charade, end it, it's getting annoying," he murmured to his reflection, but seemed to be focusing on the faint glimpse of Loki's reflection that he caught against the glass.
Loki; After having remained a little too calm during the exchange, he finally shut his eyes for a moment as he pushed off of the ground and stood back up. His arms hung idle at his sides, and he observed Heimdall's reflection back, though it wasn't very clear to him from this angle.
There was no smile on his face, no look of remorse. He didn't even look particularly irritated. Just...sad. Pity was something he didn't feel a lot...it was special, just for Heimdall these days.
"Did I look like this, Heimdall? If I had taken your eye, do you really think I would have attempted to look like I felt bad for doing it?"
Heimdall; Shut up. Shut up. Shut UP.
"You're a liar, you lie to everyone when it's convenient for you!" Heimdall whirled around and folded his arms across his chest and he leaned back against the windowsill. "Why should this time be any different? Loki," he gritted his teeth, having dutifully noted the other boy's composure, and forced himself to look away.
He was a liar. Odin wouldn't lie to him, because he trusted him. If the trust hadn't been there, then this mission would have been pointless. So why, he wondered, did he almost want to believe him? The feeling was fleeting and, thus, he paid little mind to it, but it had still been there at some point. Odin's golden boy, he didn't need his emotion when he had amost every other god in Asgard kissing his ass.
Loki; Loki started to look like he might have something to say, lips parting for a moment...but then he merely turned and walked away, over to the kitchen table where he could retrieve his coat.
Why should this time be any different? What could he say? Many things. Reasons. Excuses. But Heimdall wouldn't listen to any of them. Odin had blinded him in one eye and placed a false idea in front of the other. Anything for the aesir to grab onto in his moment of rage.
And Loki didn't have time for these childish accusations. Why had he bothered to come back into the apartment? Even he wasn't positive any longer.
Heimdall; A liar through and though, he decided, when Loki turned his back on him and started towards the exit. There were a hundred and one things he could have said at that moment, anything to add insult to injury, but he said nothing at all. Everything he wanted to say, everything he wanted to do -- it had already been done.
He had wanted to say something, hadn't he? Words were useless now, everything that rolled off of Loki's deceitful little tongue made him angry. Loki was the last person in the world whose pity he wanted and here he was, getting it in obnoxious doses. When he walked away, he almost felt satisfied, but there was that twinge again.
What if?
What if he was telling the truth? What if Loki hadn't taken his eye? If that was the case, then what had all of this been for? When the trickster looked at him, it was rarely with any sort of malice lest it came to his mortals and children. It infuriated him, his doubt, and so he chose to sate it as he turned his back the boy and let him leave.
There was no place for that uncertainty if he didn't have to look him in the eye.