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A single bead of black ink welled up on his forearm, striking against pale skin. Blood followed in a lazy red thread. It was the first time that he'd been able to watch the progress of the buzzing needle and he found it utterly hypnotizing. Jim's hand moved in sure quick strokes trailing art in its wake.
"Does it hurt?"
Thor, dressed as he was in flannel and jeans, clashed violently with Loki's black jeans, piercings and neon 'Physicists do it with charm' shirt. He was perched ridiculously on a delicate looking stool, looking about him with wide-eyed interest.
"Yes." Loki hissed as Jim took on a long bold line. "Of course it hurts."
"You don't have to do this." A faint furrow started on Thor's brow.
"Too late for that."
Another long swift arc and fuck, why hadn't he remembered the sharpness of this pain? The exhilarating hideous joy of it? Unconsciously, he squeezed at Thor's hand, drawing solace from his solid presence.
"How much longer?" Thor demanded, "He's starting to sweat."
"He's an old pro at this, " Jim rolled his eyes, "sweating just means he's gotten into the zone."
And he had. That blown apart place where he felt weak and strong, high and trembling. He found a smile somewhere that clearly did nothing to reassure Thor at all.
"It's like magic." He whispered, just loud enough for Thor to hear. "It demands from me, but what I get back is worth it."
"It's another place I can't follow you." And Thor was shutting down, withdrawing and no...no...Loki needed him here on the jagged edge or he might fall.
"Stop for a second." He told Jim, who paused clearly annoying. Roughly, he tugged at Thor until he got the picture and climbed from the stool to the table. It was awkward and the table shook in protest. He settled on his knees, Loki's legs between his own.
"Look at me." Loki demanded. "Don't you dare look away."
Endlessly clear blue eyes locked onto his and the buzz of the needle began again. The high returned as he reached up to wrap his other hand around the back of Thor's neck drawing him down until their foreheads rested together. The air caught between them turned hot and thick, shared and depleted. They stayed in that soft warm private place breathing heavy with desire until the racket of the needle rattled into silence.
"You're all set, kid." One last swipe of a cool cloth. "Go ahead and take a look."
Loki didn't even glance at it before he offered his arm up to Thor. One warm hand slid around his wrist and the other his upper arm, bracketing his furiously pinking skin and the dark spread of the tattoo. Picked with perfect swollen clarity across the tender skin were the two simple runes of their names, joined by a braided lock of hair shot through with ribbon. The branches of Yggdrasil ended right at his elbow, but seemed to strain forward to embrace the fresh markings.
“I need to bandage that.” Jim tapped on Thor’s knuckles, not shrinking back from the returning glare.
Time sped up again as efficient tape smoothed over skin and the usual packet of information and lotion pressed into his hands. Thor listened to the lecture like there would be a test later while Loki dozed on his shoulder still a little unmoored.
The air outside was oppressively hot after the powerful air conditioner in the shop. Above them the first prickle of starlight poked through darkness, the thin slice of moon throwing shadows around them. In unspoken agreement, they walked home with unseemly haste and had barely closed the bedroom door before they were on each other. Thor took him hard and fast, all biting and fury, except for the gentle kisses that danced over his spine.
The tattoo eventually healed and soon after that, Loki should have ceased to notice it entirely. It should have become just another part of him, another strong mark left on his body to remind him of who he wanted to be. Instead, he became hyper-aware of the soft skin under his left forearm, stroking it idly whenever he was worrying over a problem or bored or distracted. As the desert nights grew cooler and he took to wearing long sleeved t-shirts again, he found himself pushing the fabric up over his elbow without forethought to linger over the linked runes.
One cool early morning on the couch, television flickering unseen as he worked through a snag in his research. The problem had kept him up all night and he had long ago given in to his strange impulse, slowly tracing the lines of the runes as he wracked his brain for answers. Somewhere in the apartment an alarm went off, beeping shrilly and then sharply cut off. Thor emerged from their bedroom, hair asunder and pajama pants barely clinging to his hips.
“Have you been out here all night?” He asked, settling down next to Loki with a yawn. The warmth of his body was inviting. Loki twisted until he was half in his lap.
“Maybe.”
Comfortable, Thor dozed off again and Loki went back to his equation, picking the string of numbers up from where he had left off. He wasn’t aware that he had begun tracing the tattoo again until Thor’s hand closed around his fingers, stilling them. Loki yanked his hand away, ready to go on the defensive when Thor took up where he had left off, slowly caressing the joined lines.
“I could set a ring on your finger for you to twist instead.”
“How many times will I have to mark myself before you own enough of me?”
“There is not an ink or bit of metal that exists that could accomplish such a feat.”
Tilting his head back, Loki claimed a long soft kiss that stretched with the molasses texture of early morning. When they parted it was reluctant and flushed. Loki closed his eyes and licked his lips.
“I’d wear a ring. Or braid my hair or scratch your name a thousand times onto my skin.” He said softly. “Whatever you need to believe me.”
“I have no doubts of you.” Thor took up his arm again laying his hand over his rune. “We cannot be bound by trinkets, but they can remind us of many vows.”
“Then where’s yours?” Loki sniffed, suddenly irritable. “Why must I bare them all?”
“Buy me a ring then.” Thor grinned at him and snuck a last kiss before bounding off the couch towards the bathroom. “Or a necklace or any other thing you want. I will wear it proudly.”
The promise stuck with him and distracted him all day. He used his phone to check his bank balance and did some quick calculations. The answer was dismal. The gesture would have to wait until he wasn’t broke.
“Why do you look like someone pissed in your cheerios?” Darcy started the car, frowning as the engine gurgled before catching and humming to life.
“How do you mark the unmarkable?” He rubbed his forehead with the heel of his hand.
“Uh...is this about trying to give hickeys to an immortal? Because I’m pretty sure that you have way more experience with that then I do.” She slammed into reverse narrowly missing a pedestrian.
“No!” He hesitated, “Well. Sort of. I mean, I can’t afford a ring, but a hickey is hardly a decent substitute. And neither is permanent enough for what I want.”
“Are you getting married without telling me?” Her eyes narrowed dangerously and the car veered into oncoming traffic.
“The road!” He shrieked, grabbing ineffectually at the door.
“Hm? Oh.” She moved back in line with traffic, breezily flipping off the cars honking manically at her.
“It’s not marriage. It’s ownership.” He muttered once everything was back under control.
“You guys have a seriously damaged relationship. You’re like two seconds short of slapping a collar on him, aren’t you?”
Loki stared at her.
“Darc...you are brilliant!”
“Of course I am.” She preened then wrinkled her nose. “Oh ew, you’re not really going to put a collar on him, are you? That’s like...way too kinky.”
“I thought you supported me in all my life choices.” He sniffed.
“I think I’m being pretty flexible here with the insane pseudo-incestuous co-dependent mythological thing you’ve got going on. Especially the part where he only pays like a fifth of the rent.” She pressed down hard on the accelerator. “If you start whipping him, I am so booting you from the apartment.”
A collar felt wrong, anyway. It was too simple to remove, a fleeting marking that could be torn away in battle. He drew his hand over the dark ink on his arm. Tattoos wouldn’t work on Thor, too much like a casual scratch, his body repelling the ink within minutes. A piercing could work, but he couldn’t really imagine Thor with an earring or more laughably a nose ring of some kind. It did open a new chain of though though. Piercings did stay on as Asgardians which meant they wouldn’t heal over metal. The idea came to him little by little as if it hardly dared to break over him all at once, so immense and threatening was it. Yet once it did solidify in his mind, it was all he could think about. The though obsessed him and he spent all the spare time he had away from Thor crafting what he needed. It was possible that Thor would reject the idea outright, but on the bizarre chance he agreed, Loki wanted to be ready.
Hard won patience saw him waiting for a night when Darcy was sure not to be home. When she announced that she was returning to her parent’s house for weekend, he made up his mind to ask that Friday night. Work dragged, but he got home reasonably early to find pasta boiling away on the stove. Thor was bent intently over the pot until Loki pressed a kiss between his shoulder blades.
"Hello there, love." Thor turned to wrap his arms around Loki's waist, dropping a kiss to his forehead.
"Hello." He purred. "How was your day?"
"Long, but not tiring." He tipped his head down to kiss Loki fully, licking into his mouth long and slow. Loki made a soft approving sound into his mouth, rubbing his thumb over the back of Thor's neck.
"I have a brilliant idea."
"That is usually a dangerous sentence for myself or other people."
"I'd say that it won't hurt, but that would be a lie." Loki grinned. "But you heal which is sort of the point."
"I've never been afraid of pain."
"Good. I want to stick metal under your skin until it heals over and leaves a lovely outline that duplicates my tattoo." He said in a rush before he could take it back. "What do you think?"
"Would that work?" Thor raised an eyebrow, his fingers still playing with the hair at the nape of Loki's neck. Not shocked then and half of Loki’s worry melted away.
"I'm not sure." He admitted, "But I'm starting to think I'm not really a jewelry giving person and not much leaves a permanent mark on you."
"I'll do it, then." Thor caught the other's arm, bringing Loki’s forearm to his lips to lick at the tattoo. Loki shivered, running his free hand over Thor's hair, sinking his fingers into it.
"Could be messy. We should do it in the bathroom." He said faintly, taken off guard by the gesture almost as much as the acceptance.
“Your friend Jim cannot do it?" Thor continued to trace the marks out with his tongue, a hand gripping at his waist.
"It's not exactly a regular practice." He wiggled to test Thor's grip, found it pleasing strong. "And...I want to do it. I want that. So that even if it doesn't work, I'll have seen it. Felt it."
"You want to make me bleed." Thor held tighter, raking his teeth against the skin.
Loki swallowed hard and then said, very clearly and without a hint of a tremor:
"Yes. I want your blood on my hands."
"In this way, I wouldn't mind." Thor pulled back, his hand rising to touch the other's cheek. "I love you, and trust you. I want this."
"I'm really not sure why everyone thinks I'm the crazy one. You’re insane." He knew his grin was wide and jagged, but couldn’t bothered to reign it in.
"I think we’re both equally mad and doomed.."
“Well, we can eat pasta before the doom."
"Fair enough." Thor slid his hands down, gripping Loki's ass, pulling him up flush. "Though we might delay the doom after that, as well."
"Sounds like you might like this idea almost as much as I do."
"Why would I not?" Thor raised an eyebrow. "You want to posses me, as much as I wish to be possessed. Do not ever think I do not need you as much as you need me."
"I don't." Actions spoke louder than words and Thor's tended to scream. "Just the whole, I want to cut you up and stick things in you part. Thought that might be a turn off."
"You are the one doing it, so I will like it." Thor’s smile turned wicked. "You are not the only one who likes a bit of pain."
"Darcy told me that if we become sado-masochists, she's kicking us out of the apartment. That's where she draws the line, apparently."
"So we'll find a new place." Thor chuckled, kissing him again. "I need to check on the pasta."
"All right, I should change anyway."
Loki donned an older pair of jeans and a white undershirt, too heated to pull on another layer. Nothing he would regret having to sacrifice to the trash afterwards. He padded into the kitchen and took a chair.
"Smells good."
"It does, doesn't it? Besides breakfast and Mexican food, I think this is my favorite."
"Your list of favorites is ten pages long." Loki teased, idly spinning an apple. "I think you should steal a Midgard chef to take back with you."
They ate quickly, laughing and glancing shyly at each other until the inevitable couldn’t be further delayed.
"I need to get some things ready." Loki said quickly, once the plates were soaking in the sink. He wanted to sterilize everything again and sharpen up his stolen scalpel.
"I'll take a quick shower then, clean up."
"Don't get dressed." He said firmly. "Your clothes would only get ruined."
Loki poured over his supplies over and over again. He still wasn't entirely sure what the best approach would be despite copious googling that he hoped no one was monitoring. Then he just sat and breathed for a few minutes, trying to gain some kind of equilibrium. The pipes stopped banging signaling the end of Thor’s shower. He rose, kit in hand, and pushed open the bathroom door.
Thor had obeyed the request to stay naked and he dripped steadily onto the tile. Loki found himself momentarily distracted.
"I assume you wish to do this in here?" Thor asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, tile is pretty easy to clean." His hands were disturbingly steady as he carried everything into the bathroom and put on latex gloves. Thor settled on to the edge of the tub, watching him closely.
The edge of the tub wasn’t the best perch, but it would have to do. Loki settled next to him, laying his hands on Thor’s arms, powerful muscle tense just under the surface. He wanted to say that he didn't want to hurt him, but it would have been a lie. No, he wanted to dig deep into the meat of his lover and leave his name signed on every cell. The scalpel flashed silver and hungry in his hand.
"I could get some kind of numbing lotion or something."
"No, I'd rather feel it all."
"We should have a safeword." Loki decided as he cut into Thor's golden skin. The scalpel parted flesh with ease, a knife through butter. Blood welled up. It smelled of nothing in particular and fell as red as a mortals.
"I can easily pull away.”
"I meant in the long run of things. Yesterday we were having nice normal sex, today I'm cutting you open. One of us should have a safeword." The blood was warmer than Thor’s skin, dripping over his fingers like spilled coffee.
"I don't know if our sex is ever really normal." Thor's breath hitched in his throat, tongue flicking over lips. "But if you think it's necessary, I will have no objection."
"Maybe not necessary." He laughed, rough and unsteady. "I'm not sure we could hurt each other more than we already have."
"I wouldn't like to find out if that is true, really." Thor leaned over, pressing his lips to Loki's temple softly.
"It would have to involve things otherwise only seen in horror movies." He pressed gently at the wound, the skin gaping obscenely open. "Are you sure?"
"Do it." Thor’s grip on his own thigh tightened to white knuckles, but his face was utterly serene.
With a hard swallow, Loki slid the first rune under the golden skin. He’d used a delicate wire, twisted and smoothed to hold the shape of their names. He had chosen his own first, in case Thor could not take a second piece. It writhed under the skin like a parasite, burrowing into unwelcoming flesh. Nearly biting through his tongue, Loki forced it the last few inches, trying to ignore Thor’s hitching breath.
"Fuck." Loki wrapped his fingers around the cut when it was finished and his own breath stuttered sickeningly in his chest. "I…should probably stitch this back up. I…is it too much?"
"It's fine." Thor sighed softly. "And stitches might be wise. Would not be good to go through all that trouble, only to have it fall out."
"Surgical glue." He said helplessly, lost to sense as blood continued it’s steady path down Thor’s arms and over his own fingers. He lifted his hand to his mouth and sucked one digit clean with a groan.
“My name before you close the wound.” Thor insisted, eyes fixated on Loki’s mouth. “I want them both as you have.”
"You taste….it should be awful. It isn't." Loki looked up dazed, reaching blindly for the second piece.
"I've tasted my blood often enough to know the bite." Thor shifted, moving to place a hand behind Loki's neck, locking him in place for a long exploratory kiss. Loki surrendered hopelessly, sinking into complete submission despite what they were doing.
"Should stop getting punched in the mouth then." He retorted weakly when they separated.
"I should do a lot of things." Thor smiled, settling back into position. "Finish, love. I'd rather your hands stay steady."
"I think we're beyond hope of that." But his hands did stay steady as he pierced dear flesh again, biting the inside of his cheek to stop himself from groaning.
"You are enjoying this a great deal too much." Thor had a thin layer of sweat on his brow, his body reacting with adrenaline as the foreign objects were arranged under his flesh.
"How can I not?" He swallowed hard. "This is…it’s feeding into the worst part of me, you know that?"
"Is it the harming or the owning, that appeals the most?"
"I don't know." He admitted. "Both, somehow. It's…you're supposed to stop me from doing things like this."
"You wanted it," Thor said simply. "How good am I at ever denying you?"
"So there's no one watching the road then?" He laughed shakily. “I’ll push and push and you’ll allow me everything?
"You would never go father than this." Thor frowned slightly, flexing his fingers.
"How do you know? How can you possibly know?" He stared at his hands streaked with drying and fresh blood. He reached reluctantly for the surgical glue.
"Because I do. It is simple as that. I have faith."
"What if you're wrong?" Tenderly, Loki cleaned the wound and did the best job he could sealing it.
"Then I'll pay for it." He reached awkwardly over to stroke Loki’s hair.
"I don't want you too. I don't want you to ever regret me."
"I never could." Thor didn't try to hide the warmth in his voice, dipping his head down. "Even if it all went ill, I never would. You are my heart."
"You're mine." He brushed a kiss over Thor's forehead, "How do I follow this up?"
"What do you mean?" Thor furrowed his brow, flexing his forearm, hiding the wince.
"It's…intense. Anything we do after this tonight is going to be a come down." Loki rubbed a hand over his face, only realizing his error when he registered wetness on his cheek. He hadn’t yet washed his hands.
"We'll sort it out. Though carving me up nightly isn't going to be the solution."
"I think that would kill me anyway. It'd be too much. This was…even if it doesn't take. It's…unspeakably good."
"There is some part of me that is worried I'm not concerned about any of this." Thor chuckled with him, the sound resonating deep in his chest. "You're a mess, my Loki."
"You should be worried." He tried to put force behind that and failed utterly. "Another shower then. For both of us though let me bandage you first. Probably be healed over by morning."
"All right." Thor gave him a quick, bright smile, and offered his arm up for bandaging. The metal forms didn’t shift and Loki could pick their details out easily through the skin. He shivered.
"Does it hurt too much?" Loki wrapped it with gauze and surgical tape until he was sure it was well protected.
"No."
"Would you tell me if it did?" He mused, even as he stood to strip.
"You'd notice, even if I didn't." Thor stood, leaning against the back of the shower, watching.
“You do stoic very well though." Loki caught his gaze and slowed his movements, not quite a strip tease, but more than just practical clothing removal.
"And I've never been able to hide well from you." Thor smiled lazily, running a hand over his stomach.
"Must be because I'm looking so closely." He discarded his boxes and closed the space between them.
"As long as you continue." Thor wrapped his good arm around Loki's waist, pulling him in closer.
"You'll just have to keep being interesting." He smiled lazily and leaned up to kiss him as he turned on the shower.
"You are going to wash away all the blood, you know."
"As appealing as the thought of sleeping with dried blood on the sheets may be, I think I'll pass."
" As you wish." Thor’s good hand pulled him flush, the water turning noticeably pink around them.
"Then I wish you to fuck me." He looked at him under his eyelashes. "You going to grant that one?"
"I think it can be arranged." Thor smirked, quickly shifting their positions so Loki was pressed with his chest against the tile. Leaning forward, he slowly rocked his hips against the other's ass. Loki spread his legs, forearms pillowing his head against the wall.
"Didn't think to bring lube in here, be creative."
"I'll never be as creative as you..." Thor smirks, raking his teeth across the back of Loki's neck. "But I'll sort it out. If you look, I'll step out and you won't get a thing, understood?"
"Yes…yes all right." He laughed a little breathlessly.
A slick finger rubbed with familiar proprietary over the entrance to his body and he groaned, curiosity ebbing away even as he heard the sound of something distinctly metallic landing in the sink. His world narrowed to the slow stretch of fingers and the obscene promise of Thor’s tongue on the back of his neck. Steam billowed up, muffling Loki’s rolling urgent groans and Thor’s heavy breath.
“Please...please...” He was saying mindlessly into skin, sinking his teeth into his own flesh to keep himself steady. “Need you...”
“Shhh...”
The snub nose of Thor’s cock replaced his unyielding fingers and Loki only had time for a quick breath before Thor was sinking into him in one thick motion. The burn forced Loki’s eyes shut as he relearned how to breath.
When he opened them he saw Thor’s hand solid against the tile, dripping red. But his hand should be clean, there was no reason for it to be spilling down the tile wall like a horrific waterfall. Every hair on his body stood on end.
"Thor." He said quietly, "Are you fucking me with your blood?"
"...and lotion." Thor smirked against the other's shoulder, moving to wrap the cut hand around Loki’s cock, stroking slowly. “Blood alone would dry too quickly.
"You…" There were no words. He watched helpless with unspeakable emotions as Thor's strong hand turned his cock red with blood. He took a long shuddering breath.
"You like it?" Thor pulled his hips back, only to push them back hard at just the right angle.
"I think I have to just…I can't…"
Loki came in on long terrible shudder that ripped from him and left him weak. Maybe he should have been embarrassed by how quickly it had happened, but he was fairly sure he was dying of too much sick, slick joy and couldn’t be bothered.
"I'll have to remember that." Thor must have been smiling, Loki could hear it though he lacked the energy to look over his shoulder and confirm it.
"Don't stop, it still feels good." Loki laughed breathlessly.
"You’re sure?" Thor shifted, slowly rocking once more, letting out a soft groan against the other's skin.
"It's not about the orgasm." He chided. "You always feel good to me."
"That..."
Bracing his hand against the wall again, Thor set up a deep, steady rhythm, pressing Loki hard against the tiles, teeth scraping against one shoulder. Each thrust sent a warm rush through Loki until he was sure he might pass out from sheer over-stimulation. When Thor finally came it was with a soft sigh. Loki leaned forward a few inches to lick the blood and water from their joined hands.
"I need to bind that." Thor smiled and slowly eased out of Loki, keeping an arm around his waist to keep him upright.
"Mmmhmm." He agreed, sleepily.
"Am I going to have to carry you out of here?" Thor chuckled and turned off the water.
"No." He rubbed his face and stared at the bottom of the tub, still splattered pink and red. "We have to clean this up before Darcy comes home and thinks we staged a slasher film in here."
"I'll do it." Thor pressed his lips to Loki's and now he could see and feel that glorious warm smiling. "Get into bed."
"Thanks."
Loki roused himself enough to running fingers through the soaked tangles of his hair, before stumbling toward the bedroom. The bed was all too welcoming and he curled up in a nest of blankets prepared for a deep sleep. Long hazy minutes later, Thor’s step on a creaky bit of floor woke him from his daze. He blinked up at him.
"Hey." He managed with a yawn, lifting up the covers.
"...For the record, I think that might have been my line." Thor climbed into bed, smelling deliciously of soap, semen, blood and sweat.
"Maybe, but I said it better." He moved over, then melted into Thor, tangling their limbs together. "How do you feel?"
"My arm hurts. As does my hand." Thor grinned, running a foot against Loki's long lean calf. "I'm also quite happy."
"I hope it heals well." He ran fingers lightly over the shape of the runes under Thor's skin. "I don't think my body could handle that much stimulus again."
"I'd rather not see if mine could." Thor rested his head against the pillow, letting out a deep sigh. "But I'm happy to have this mark from you."
"You are, aren't you?" He shook his head and kissed him. "You make very bad decisions, love. Thank you."
"Bad decisions that usually benefit you. Otherwise, my judgement is known to be relatively sound these days."
"I think that works out just fine then." A though occurred to him. "Going to be hard to explain this when you go back, isn't it?"
"Most likely." Thor pulled Loki still closer. "And I find that do not care."
"You should." He huffed. "Or at least come up with a story or something."
"You're the one who weaves lies. Come up with something for me."
"Will you keep to it if I do?" Loki mused,"Or just break down the first time someone looks you in the eye and asks you the questions twice?"
"Do you really think me that weak?" Thor raised an eyebrow.
"I think you that honest." He kissed his neck placating. "You never were good with holding onto a lie."
"And yet I have kept this..." Thor gestured to the two of them, and the bed, "Quiet."
"You cannot tell me that that doesn’t pain you."
"It does. But I'd rather lie and be with you, than say the truth and lose this."
"You will never lose me." Loki said fiercely, rediscovering a depth of conviction he thought long lost to him "I'll find a way. No matter what happens. This is close as we can get to married and I'm not the kind of man that lets someone take his husband from him without a fight."
Maybe he wouldn't have said it if he weren’t still high on endorphins. Maybe the words would have gone unsaid for months or years. But what would have changed? Thor already had every part of him that mattered. Certainly they had laid every possible claim on each other. What was left, but this final uncrossable bridge? It was the right thing to say, the words had come easily and he would not take them back for all the world. Thor seemed struck dumb, searching Loki’s face as if waiting for a spiteful laugh. Which was rather unfair considering. Finally, Thor said softly,
"And happily enough, I am of the same mind." Then he was kissing Loki like there was nothing else he would rather do.
"Mmm. I think I much preferred this to some inane ceremony and cake, anyway."
"You've my blood in you now. I think that is deeper." Thor’s smile should probably be illegal it was so large and sunny. "But cake would be nice, anyways. I like cake."
"I'll bake you one tomorrow." Loki laughed, then yawned so hard his jaw cracked. "With the good cream cheese frosting."
"We should get some sleep; you'll be exhausted tomorrow.'
"Too late. I'll be staring into space dreamily and texting you obsessively all day anyway."
"I love you, you know that?" Thor chuckled, rubbing the other's back. "I'll just...take a day off. I'll need to heal."
"Then I'll stay home too." Surely this was the kind of occasion that sick days were made for? "Be like a very short honeymoon."
"I like that idea." Thor straighted the covers over both of them, "I'll get up and make breakfast then, after a good lie in."
"Good plan." He suppressed another yawn."Wake me up if you’re in too much pain, all right? I can take it out again."
“No, you won’t.” Thor kissed his shoulder and Loki gave into sleep with a smile linger on his lips.
They slept deeply even as Thor’s body knit itself back together, skin stretching taut over the intruding wire. The runes stood proudly molded by golden skin, laying stark against the spread branches of Yggdrasil on Loki’s back.
Outside the ash tree trembled, beating against their window.