forum “I’m much more attractive than this.” “Pfft, yeah right.” | Loki, Romance?? OxO | Open

Started September 01, 2021 by @cryptic-glitch

tune

Loki said nothing, but crossed their arms and followed Damien, looking around and making a mental map of the apartment.

Damien grabbed the first aid kit out of the tiny linen closet as they went to the bathroom. Once there, he gestured to the counter. "Sit there," he said, not quite looking at the other. "If you could take off as much as you feel comfortable and show me where you're hurt."

Loki impatiently took off their hoodie and jeans, revealing bruises and cuts, the most prominent across their chest and back.

Looking back up at Loki, Damien gasped. "Oh, kitten," he murmured, eyes softening as the previously teasing nickname slipping out. It pained him to see the other's injuries, even if he was annoyed with the god. He reached out to gently place a hand on Loki's side, feeling his ribcage. "Alright, let's get you patched up."

Loki slapped Damien’s hand away, hissing in pain. “Do. Not. Call. Me. That.” They took a step backward, eyes glittering with anger and defensiveness.

“Okay, I’m sorry,” Damien said softly, holding his hands up placatingly. “I like to give people nicknames and it just slipped out. I won’t call you that again, Loki, but please let me touch you so I can help.”

Loki watched Damien for a moment, then said, “Fine,” in a low monotone. They didn’t move, keeping their gaze locked on Damien.

Wordlessly, Damien got out the supplies he would need, plus a clean cloth. “This might hurt a bit, but it will clean the wounds and keep them from getting infected,” he murmured, soaking the cloth in antiseptic and oh-so-gently running it along Loki’s skin. “Then I’ve got some antibiotic cream and bandages, plus pain meds, which I’m assuming you’ll need more of since you’re not human.”

Loki just grit their teeth and kept their eyes on Damien. It hurt like hell, but they stood still and tensed their muscles. “I don’t know how pain meds work, so I can’t give you an answer.”

"Okay, then we'll start with the max dose for humans, and you can take more if it doesn't help," Damien reasoned, setting the cloth to the side and grabbing the tube of ointment. He carefully began to apply it to the worst of the bruises and abrasions, heart twinging knowing that Loki was in pain. "You could also use an ice pack, sometimes those just feel good, if nothing else."

“Be gentle, for Odin’s sake!” Loki flinched away. “Ow.” They lightly touched their side, sure their bones were bruised.

"I'm sorry, I'm trying," Damien soothed, capping the ointment. "You have some bad bruising, so it's pretty tender, but this will help, I promise." On impulse, he raised a hand to gently cup their face, avoiding the worst bruises, and lightly stroked their cheek with his thumb. "You need to relax, Loki, I know it's hard, but staying tense won't do anything to help you feel better."

Loki yanked Damien’s hand away and shoved him backward. “You have no right to touch me like that. I am not your pet. And I’ll do what I please.”

Damien’s face crumpled slightly before returning to an expression of polite concern. “I am aware of that, Loki, and I did not intend to imply otherwise,” he said stiffly. “Since my help is clearly not wanted, I’ll leave you to it. I’m going to get the chicken out of the oven, help yourself when you’re done. I will be in my room.” With that, he stepped back and turned to leave the bathroom.

“I didn’t say I didn’t want your help. What I don’t want is to be treated like a child! You overstepped my boundaries.” Loki pulled their jeans back on and tugged their hoodie over their head. They ruffled their hair slightly and looked at Damien with a combination of insult and ruefullness.

Damien spun around to look at Loki. “I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t mean to overstep any boundaries. I just… physical affection is how I care for people. I wasn’t treating you like a child, I was treating you like a person who was hurt and I wanted to comfort,” he explained, arms wrapping around himself protectively. “You’re hurt and I thought… I thought it would be nice if someone was soft towards you. It’s what I wanted when I was kicked out.”

"You could have asked," Loki said angrily. They knew Damien was hurt, and they took a weird sort of pleasure in that fact, knowing they had power over him. "I don't need comforting." They frowned. 'Why were you kicked out?"

Damien shrunk in on himself slightly; he never dealt well with people being angry with him, no matter how often it happened. And here he had thought that this day couldn’t get any worse. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he muttered, not looking at Loki. “I was kicked out ‘cause apparently not caring about your partners’ gender is a crime in my family.”

"That's bullshit," Loki proclaimed. "Now are you going to get the chicken or just stand here like a frightened rabbit?" Loki scowled at Damien. "How long ago was this?"

Damien laughed mirthlessly. “No shit Sherlock. It was four years ago, I was seventeen,” he answered, running a hand over his face. “Yeah, the chicken’ll be on the oven and I’ll be in my room.”

“I don’t know who Sherlock is,” Loki said. “But I can tell that was an insult. Look, I made an effort to be nice to you, okay.”

“By asking about why my parents got rid of me?” Damien snorted. “And that’s only after you were rude over every attempt to help. If you need me, I’ll be in my room.” With that, he finally left the bathroom and went to his room where he fell in the bed with a quiet sigh.

“Wait,” Loki said. “I don’t know what to do with the food! And I really was trying, you know. I was being. . . sympathetic.”

Having barely heard Loki’s words as he left, Damien sighed as he fell into his bed. He ran his hand over his face, scrubbing at his eyes.
I really did not need this today…

"DAMIEN!" Loki said, growing more irritated. "Fine, I'm sorry. I did not intend to make you sad, or angry, or anything of that variety. However, if you just sit there and let the chicken burn, I will decisively make you sad and angry."