“You do not,” he protested softly, glancing down at her and sighing softly. “Love you told me you would rest.” He said softly, brow creasing in worry. “Magnus told me you weren't eating either.” He added, leading them to their room at the end ignoring the hall.
She paused for a second, replying gently, "I rested as much as I could, I promise." Avalin didn't meet Loki's eyes, walking alongside him. Yes, she had really tried to sleep as much as she could. But nightmares made it difficult, and so did her worry. Not eating though…she knew he wouldn't like the excuse of her just not being hungry. "I'm sorry," She mumbled, barely glancing up at her husband.
He took a deep breath, trying not to be so worried. She was more capable of taking care of herself then he could ever know. He pressed a kiss to her head and lead her inside the room. He hugged her close for a moment and tucked her safely underneath his chin. “Don’t be sorry my love. It’s going to be alright now. Well clean up a bit, get some rest then go out into the city to find a place to eat.” He said with a small smile, gazing down at her and gently brushing her cheek
Avalin nodded slowly, tightly hugging him back and glancing up at him with a tiny smile, "That sounds perfect." She nodded to the bathroom, then took one of his hands and led him towards the bed, adding on gently, "I'll start water running for a bath for you, I'll take one after you. You can stay here." She pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek before starting off, reluctantly letting go of his hand to get the water started.
Loki reluctantly nodded, about to argue that she should be the first to shower and to not worry about him but she’s had already disappeared into the washroom. He sighed softly with a smile and walked around the room, seeing that everything had been left in its place before they had left. He glanced out the window, looking out onto the city below, awashed in purples, golds, and blues. It had been a while since loki had seen the city, hell, it had been a while since loki seen a lot of things. He smiled softly and leaned against the wall, gazing out onto the city, ready to be free of walls.
It didn’t take Avalin long before she was back, the sound of running water clear from the bathroom. She smiled gently at him and walked over, pulling him into a soft hug before adding, “There you go, all ready for you.” It took her a second before she let go of him though and sat on the edge of the bed, gazing out one of the large windows over the city. It had been a long time since she had been out of the palace walls and she was dying to go out. After getting some rest that was.
He smiled softly and pressed a kiss to her head. “Thank you, love. You didn’t have to do that.” He hugged her gently before breaking away to shower.
He let the warm water wash over him after he had stripped out of all his clothing and discarded them. He sighed in relief and stayed still for a few moments.
After showering, Loki stepped out and conjured a simple black shirt and pants, nothing that would stand out. He ran the bath for Avalin, waiting until it got warm before walking out into the bedroom. He smiled softly and settled next to Avalin. “Go ahead, then we can go out.” He said softly, gently rubbing her back
Avalin had almost fallen asleep by the time Loki got back, but quickly she fluttered awake, sitting back up just as quickly. "I won't be long," She said, offering a soft smile to him before heading to the bath. She slipped in quietly, her clothes sitting in a neat stack next to the bath. A relieved smile washed over her face and she took her time washing off, though kept her promise in mind and was out fairly soon.
Feeling much less grimy and gross, she slipped out of the bath, watching it drain for a second. Instead of pulling back on her working clothes, she pulled a towel around herself when she came out, padding softly over to her closet to find something better to wear than her dirty work clothes.
Loki shut his eyes momentarily, letting the sound of rushing water and city below calm him down. He cracked his eyes open when he heard Avalin come out of the bathroom and watched her walk over to the closet. He stood from the bed and gently wrapped her in his embrace resting his head on her shoulder. “Want to rest first or eat?” He asked softly, lips brushing over her ear as he spoke. He pressed a gentle kiss to her shoulder and nuzzles her head, enjoying just having her in his arms after so long
She softly smiled and leaned back into his arms, replying gently, "I suppose we could go eat, then we can rest." Avalin didn't move from his arms even though she had to, just rested against him and brushed her wet hair over her shoulder so he didn't get his shirt wet. She looked up at him over her shoulder, adding on in question, "Where do you want to go?"
“I’m not sure, we can just walk around until we find a place.” He replied, brushing one final kiss to her shoulder before letting her go. “Well she what we can find.” He said with a small smile, shutting his eyes again as he waited patiently for Avalin to get dressed.
Avalin nodded, spinning around and pressing a soft kiss to his cheek before turning to get ready. Her outfit was just as simple as she picked one. A simple dark blue flowy skirt that fell right below her knees and a black top to match her husband, as well as a pair of simple black shoes. She hummed softly as she changed, then grabbed her brush and started to fight with brushing out her hair, sitting on the edge of the bed as she did so.
Loki smiles softly and scooted closer to her, pulling her into his lap and took the brush, gently brushing out her hair. He hummed softly, gently massaging her scalp as he brushed through her hair. When done, he gave her back the brush and started to braid her hair. “Anywhere else you’d like to go? We can always save that for tomorrow if you’re tired, of course.”
She opened her mouth to say she could manage as he grabbed her brush but quickly relented, closing her eyes as she let him brush through the mess of hair. "Maybe just for a short walk, but nowhere in particular," She said gently, playing with the brush as he braided her hair back, "We should most likely get some sleep before we go many places." As soon as he finished she turned and pressed another kiss to his cheek, murmuring softly, "Thank you."
He nodded, stifling a yawn and gently leaning into her. He smiled at the kiss and tilted his head to capture her lips with his, cupping her cheek to draw her closer. He broke away empty and pressed their head slightly together. “I love you my queen.” He murmured, hugging her close for a moment before slowly standing and offering his hand. “Ready, love?”
"I love you too my king," She whispered back, returning the hug and reluctantly breaking away. All she wanted to do was stay with him, whether they were out in the city, or just here. Avalin took his hand and stood, hugging him tightly once more before leading they way towards the door.
He followed with a small smile, conjuring two cloaks, not really wanting the attention from the city just yet. He wrapped an arm around her waist as they walked to the city, seeing that many things changed since they were first there, the city more vibrant and alive than when Thanos had destroyed so many lives. He felt a twinge if guilt, knowing that many were suffering when he was, even if it felt like the universe was only against him at the time. He took a deep breath, hoping to make that right one day
Avalin didn't hesitate to step closer as his arm went around her waist, taking comfort in his presence again. She was relieved to see that the city was thriving once more, but she was almost sad to know that so much had changed while she had been stuck inside the palace. Glancing up at Loki, she hugged him softly, seeing the slight guilt in his eyes, "It's alright my love." She looked up at him, then around at the city, pointing towards a small restaurant tucked away, "Do you want to try the food there? I've never seen it around before."
He broke away from his thoughts and smiled at her thankfully, pressing a kiss to her head. “Let’s try. I think it’s fairly new.” He looked up at the cozy looking restaurant, finding it charming yet simplistic. Not many people were there, though it was a bit early. He assumed that the place would be packed by tonight.
She nodded, smiling back at him gently and letting him lead the way to the restaurant, staying by his side the entire time. The restaurant looked inviting, and even just the smell of food left her stomach growling already. Avalin hoped the cloaks would allow less attention to be focused on them, knowing that she wanted to be out in the city but at the same time wanted to be alone with Loki. She didn't want to deal with too many people, especially if they were there to explain how sad they were for the loss of the child. She didn't want to deal with that pain tonight.
He led her to a small table in the corner, pulling out the chair for her to sit then he went to sit in his own. He looked at the menu quickly before glancing around the small area. He found it peaceful, glad that no one had recognized them, that or they didn’t want to bother them. He laced his hand with Avalin’s and smiled softly. “Find anything you like yet?” He asked, looking down at the menu and scanning the different options
Avalin scanned over the menu after sitting down, glancing up at him with a tiny smile and a shake of her head, "I haven't found anything yet. It all looks so good." She squeezed his hand gently and didn't let go as she searched. Anything looked good, but eventually, she settled on a pasta dish, intrigued by it. "Anything you like?" She asked, memorizing her choice only then pulling the hood of the cloak off of her head. Her hair wouldn't stand out horribly and she preferred seeing without the hood hiding her.
He scanned over the menu again, kind of interested in soup. He nodded and showed her the option on her menu. “This seems good.” He mused, knowing that he needed to eat something more filling. He gently rubbed her hand with his thumb, playing with the wedding ring ring a bit. After a while, he too pulled down the hoodie, daring a glance around. He reminded himself he didn’t need to hide anymore. He was used to being look at like an anomaly. He really didn’t need that attention at the moment, now that him and Avalin were finally together, all he wanted to to was relax, as well as properly grieve for his son.
She nodded, letting her eyes close for a second as she just concentrated on him playing with her ring. No one had come up to bother them yet, and for that, she was extremely grateful. The only person she wouldn't mind bothering them was the waitress or waiter, and even then she really wanted them to order quickly and be alone again. "I missed you," She murmured, "So much. I'm glad you're here again."
He smiled softly and pressed a kiss to her hand. “I missed you too my love.” He replied, glancing up as the waiter came by to take their orders. Along with the soup, he ordered a water, then handed back the menu with nod in thanks.
“I’m sorry about the dreams. Hopefully those will go away now.”