Chapter Text
Loki felt more than saw the mortal disappear.
Looking at the place where she used to be, he smirked as his form dissipated into nothing. He sat in his chair, facing the fireplace. His eyes stared intensely into the roaring fire while he thought over what just happened.
In truth, he did not know why she was there, in the manner that she was. Her appearance had been so sudden and unexpected that he sent a clone to investigate, keeping himself hidden from view.
He did not know why, but he knew how. It wasn't uncommon for beings to dreamwalk in other realms. Mortals would call it an 'out-of-body experience'. They usually just wandered around the realm, in awe of its beauty and light, thinking they'd created their own perfect little fantasy land. Few have memories of their journey though, once they returned to their physical forms. They're the dreams that fade as the day wears on.
It took Loki minutes to realize this as he regarded her in his bed. Her form appeared solid. But as his clone drew nearer to her, his magic tingled from the energy that emanated from her astral form. After realizing that, he merely wanted to toy with her.
She wasn't quite what he expected. She was quick and somewhat clever, an intriguing little kitten. Not easily swayed, she refused to believe that he was real. While the initial denial stung and tested his patience, he enjoyed the prospect of adding another level to his toying with her.
It had been a while since he had a pet, one from Midgard no less. Acting quickly, Loki used his magic to trace the residual energy left over from the mortal's astral projection until he located her. A small smile played on his lips as he thought of all the fun he was about to have.
~x~
Sweet, sweet Saturday
Lyla sighed as she woke up. She had nothing planned for the day, save for dinner plans with an old friend of hers in town, and she was looking forward to doing nothing all day.
It had been a stressful week. Her client, dubbed 'Creeper', had a bit of a tantrum when he realized that they were purposely stalling his project. Instead of moving on and finding some other way to play 'rebellious billionaire heir' though, he decided to come back with a new product and advertising idea. And because 'Creeper' was oh so interested in her 'talent', he made her head of the project. Her boss went along with it because that meant 'Creeper' was busy for a few more weeks, and he could keep an eye on him through her. It was like she was babysitting!
Lyla was a little proud of herself though. Ever since that dream, she became determined to not read anymore fanfiction, assuring herself that the fantasies were apart of why she dreamed about Loki. It had been such an odd experience. She had been so sure that it was a dream, and yet, it felt like she was really there with him, feeling his breath ghost across her skin as his fingers trailed along her chest.
That was about a week ago. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on your point of view, she hadn't dreamed about him since then. She had, however, thought about him. Whenever she had a moment to herself, she'd think back to his burning gaze, his smirking mouth, and how he felt being so close to her. She had to remind herself it wasn't real, no matter how he tried to convince her it might be. She would often counter it with, If that was real, then may he show up in my office right now and prove me wrong. But that lead to dirty thoughts about office sex, vivid thoughts.
From her boss telling her to keep 'Creep' occupied to 'Creep' telling her to come up with an ad campaign to make his product sound better to trying to not think about Loki, it had been a week of hell.
But now? Now, it was Saturday, and she planned on letting her brain turn to mush with mindless television.
Coffee in hand, a remote in the other, Lyla sat down and prepared herself for a morning of relaxation.
Flipping through channels, she saw nothing that really caught her interest. Finally, she came across a 'Marvel Entertainment' title card on screen. She smiled excitedly, hoping for the Captain America movie, but what she found instead was...Thor.
With a groan, she turned off the television.
"Who needs TV?" She asked no one in particular.
As she sipped her coffee, she looked around her apartment. Suddenly, it came to her. Excited, she gulped down her coffee and got dressed for the day.
When she re-emerged from her room, she was dressed in her black workout capris and an old large shirt that hung off her shoulder. Tying the shirt in a knot at her back, she surveyed her apartment.
"Time to clean," she said with a smile as she put her hair up in a ponytail.
Cleaning was always something Lyla loved to do to take her mind off things. Work, love, and life stress could make you feel anxious and panicky. But when it comes to cleaning, there's no stress or panic about it. You just do it, it gets done, and you've cleaned out your place as well as all the stress that's cluttered your brain.
Unfortunately, Lyla liked to clean at least once a week. So, within mere hours, she was finished cleaning with only the laundry to finish and fold.
While she waited for the wash to finish, she took a bottle of water from her fridge, and chugged. From the corner of her eye, she caught sight of her laptop sitting on the kitchen counter. I could use this time to check tumblr and talk with some of my tumblr buddies..., she contemplated. Finishing her sip, she set the bottle down and closed it as she thought that through. But that might lead to checking fanfic tumblrs out of habit. And before you know it, I'm five fanfics deep in Loki frustration.
Contemplating the harm in looking at one little fanfic update, Lyla ran her fingers over the surface of her laptop. Just as she was about to open and start it up, a voice sounded from behind her.
"Greetings, little kitten," said the voice.
Lyla jumped at the sound, snatching her hand away from her laptop as if it were the surface of a hot stove. She turned around to see Loki standing before her, a few feet away, blocking her exit from the kitchen.
He looked down at her, enjoying her reaction to his sudden appearance.
Hand to her chest, she looked up with wide eyes at Loki's stupid, sexy, smiling face. "Oh god," she spoke under her breath.
Turning to the counter again, she laid her head in her hands as she continued, "I'm dreaming again."
Normally, she wouldn't have a problem with it, but she could've sworn she was awake. After all, that cleaning took energy out of her. Are you suppose to feel tired in dreams?
"I assure you, this is no dream," Loki responded, walking over to her before pinching her butt.
"Ow!" She exclaimed as she spun around. Shoving him, she yelled, "What'd you do that for?"
"Is that not what you do on Midgard when trying to prove you are not dreaming?" He asked, looking a little too innocent in his inquiry.
She narrowed her eyes at him and put her hands on her hips, "That may be. But did you have to pinch me on my butt?!"
"When presented with such an enticing opportunity, how is one to resist?" He countered with a smirk.
If she could narrow her eyes any further, she would have. Then realization dawned on her. If I'm not dreaming, then that means-
"Oh shit. I'm hallucinating!" She said, dropping her hands at her sides. Lyla started pacing in her kitchen, muttering to herself, "Work stress must have finally gotten to me, combined with my lack of love or sex life, I just must have...Wait."
She paused in her pacing to look back at Loki. He was still standing scant inches from her, watching her as she fought herself.
"I felt you pinch me! And then, and then I shoved you!" As if to prove it to herself, she reached out and placed her palm on his leather-clad chest. It felt so real, but.. she wasn't ready to let her mind accept that just yet.
Pulling her hand back, she took a step back and eyed him warily, "If this is one of those Tyler Durden, split personality hallucinations, I swear-"
"I assure you," Loki replied. He stepped up to her until he backed her into the opposite counter, trapping her there with his body. Bending down, he moved to skim his nose along the length of her neck before whispering in her ear, "You are not hallucinating."
Lyla shivered from the contact. Recovering, she answered breathily, "Right." Rolling her eyes at how she answered, she continued in a dry tone, "And you're not the God of Mischief."
He huffed a laugh by her ear before moving before her face. There was amusement in his eyes, "I am, but that does not change the fact that this is very real."
Straightening up, Loki placed one hand on her back and the other on her chin. He caressed the skin of her back with slow strokes just below the knot in her shirt, causing her to inhale sharply while stiffening her back. He tilted her head up to look at him.
Leaning in, he spoke softly, "You are not dreaming. You are not hallucinating."
Looking into his eyes, she was almost entranced by his emerald gaze. Had it not been for the slight quirk of his lips, she would've been ensnared completely.
"And I'm supposed to just believe you?" She challenged. Their noses were a few inches apart by now.
A mischievous look came to his eyes as he grinned at her. "Let me show you."
With that, he closed he distance between them, trapping her arms between them. The force at which his lips met with hers caused Lyla to break her stance, causing her to lean back over the counter. Loki followed her. Her eyes stayed open, but then, so did his. They were dilated with desire, but there was also a look of determination in his eyes.
As the kiss continued, neither relented in their resolve. While Loki was trying to get her to give in, Lyla was trying her best to not give in. His lips moved against hers, opening and closing, moving from one position to the other. She followed suit but made no move to deepen the kiss or push things forward.
Just because she fantasized and read Loki fanfiction did not mean she was ready to give into her loss of sanity. She knew she was being ridiculous. The evidence was stacking against her and her sanity. There was the option that she wasn't crazy or cracking under pressure, but she needed further proof than this. However intense this is.
Seeing that she was still fighting him, Loki changed tactics. His hand slowly dragged over her skin, stroking slowly down her neck to her shoulder and back. The hand on her back began to climb up her spine, tickling each vertebrae with his fingertips as he went.
The sensations were not lost on her. She may have pushed her way into the kiss a little more.
He smirked against her mouth, pushing right back. His hands abandoned their posts, making their way down her body. Loki grabbed her ass, forcing her to gasp. He moved to invade her open mouth with his tongue.
A knock sounded at the door, causing both of them to freeze.
Lyla looked from Loki to the clock on the microwave.
"Oh, thank god," she breathed. She had lost track of time. Her friend was at the door, ready and waiting to go out for the night. Someone's here to witness my insanity....or strange turn of luck. She smiled to herself at the thought.
The knock sounded again, this time a voice followed, "Lyla, you there? It's me!"
He narrowed his eyes at her, almost daring her to answer.
"Yeah," she called, still staring at Loki while she caught her breath. "Be right there."
She made to move around him. But he wasn't budging, so she maneuvered herself onto the counter so she could climb down the other side. As she did so, his hands remained in place, skimming, almost groping at her thighs and legs as she went. He was not make this easy for her. Feeling him go down her legs made her just briefly wonder about what it would be like to have him go up her legs and possess her in one of those kisses against this counter top. Looking up, she caught Loki eyeing her hungrily. Lyla gulped, her face reddening. This is probably where we would've ended up if we hadn't been interrupted, I guess.
Her friend started singing the Jeopardy theme song on the other side of the door.
"Coming!" Lyla answered.
Scooting off the counter, she made for the front door. When she opened it, her friend launched at her, giving her an attack hug.
"Lyla!" She exclaimed, "About time! I missed you!"
Lyla laughed before speaking, "Danny! I missed you too!"
She spun the hug so that she could close the door while also checking to see if Loki was still in the kitchen.
He was gone.
She craned her neck, feigning at readjusting the hug, to see if he was somewhere around the living space.
He wasn't there.
She sighed. Shit. Well then, I must be crazy.
Patting Danny on the back, she released from the hug with a smile.
"See? No one calls me Danny where I am! It's all professional, 'Danielle' or 'Mrs. Hyde'. I missed my buddy!"
Danny threw her arm over Lyla, leading her to the couch while she looked her friend over.
"My buddy who is currently not dressed for the night out!" She berated with a frown
Sitting down on the sofa, Lyla gave her friend a half-smile. "I'm sorry. I got so caught up in cleaning that I lost track of the time. You know how I can be!"
Danny rolled her eyes. "Yeah. I know. So anyway, how've you be-b-b-b-be be-CHOO been?"
"Bless you!" She handed her a box of tissues. "You alright there?"
As Danny recovered from her sneeze, she said, "Yeah. That was weird. I don't have a cold, I swear. Maybe just aller-ch-n. Ow! I bit my tongue!"
Lyla rubbed her friends back to comfort her when she felt something soft jump into her lap.
"What the-?"
A black cat with green eyes had hopped into her lap.
"Oh! That explains it! Why didn't you tell me you got a cat?" Danny asked.
"I didn't! I would never-!" Her eyes narrowed then. She looked down to see the cat staring at her knowingly. Relief washed over her at the thought of him being really there, followed quickly by annoyance at his decision to suddenly sit on her lap in cat form. He was purring and rubbing against her chest to show affection. He then played at circling and kneading her lap before he got comfortable and settled down. Looking up, she realized her friend was still waiting for an answer.
She smiled, "I would never get a cat with my mom's cat allergy. This is my neighbor's cat though. He always comes around. I swear, I don't know how he get's in!"
"Does he have a name?"
"I don't know his name, but I call him boomy." Lyla went to scratch his head extra hard with her nails. He wants to play a cat, let him. "Like boomerang. On account of the fact he keeps coming back."
Danny looked from the cat to Lyla. "He's really not yours? He seems to have staked his claim on you, the way he's sitting on you like that."
"Positive. You know me. I'm more of a dog person! If anything, I'd have gotten a goldie and named him Thor." She laughed at that before hissing in pain. Loki had extended his claws into her thighs.
Her friend sneezed again.
"Alright. I'm going to let you out now so that my friend doesn't sneeze herself to death," Lyla said to Loki. She gave him a stern look as she walked over to the window and let him out onto the fire escape.
Shutting the window, she turned back around, and said, "Give me five minutes, and we're outta here."
Lyla ran to her room to change into something a bit more fashionable. When she picked out her lacy black dress that flared out from her waist to the knee, she went to change before freezing. Looking around, she made sure there was no sign of Loki, cat or otherwise. When she was sure he wasn't around, she changed into her dress.
A few minutes later and she was ready to go out the door.
The night had gone on without a hitch. There was no sign of Loki anywhere while she was out to dinner and getting drinks with her friend. Now that she was aware that he was real, she found herself on edge. Dream or Hallucination Loki was one thing. With them, she probably would've felt some semblance of control. But with a real, live Loki? There's no telling what his end-game was. It made her nervous.
It wasn't until the drinking portion of the evening that she was able to let go of her tension just a little bit. She was able to laugh, enjoy time with her friend, and even flirt a little with the bartender.
At around 2am, Lyla stumbled into her apartment. As she shut the door, a shiver passed through her, followed by the presence of someone standing behind her.
"So," she sighed, still facing her door. "I guess you're real, then."
One blink, and she found herself spun around, her back pressed against the door.
Lifting her head up by his finger, his eyes looked into hers with playfulness and desire. He spoke softly to her, "Oh yes, kitten. I am very. much. real."
He leaned down and captured her mouth for a kiss.