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batsutousaiTitle: Doing Something Right
Fandom: Marvel (movie 'verse) & Real Person Fiction
Author: Batsutousai
Rating: General
Pairings: Tom Hiddleston/Loki
Warnings: Loki is a sweetheart, fluff
Summary: Tom will be home soon, after a couple weeks away. Loki gets it into his head to make sure everything is absolutely perfect.
Disclaim Her: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Marvel. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. The character of Thomas "Tom" Hiddleston is based on a real person, and no offence is intended; this is only for the amusement of myself and other like-minded (read: mentally ill) fans.
A/N: darthvaderwife, in response to my request for fluff prompts, requested 'Tom is getting stressed from work and Loki has no idea how to help him. So he TRIES to make a romantic weekend during Tom's free weekend.'
Got a fair few of these to work through. Next one is Harry Potter.
Thomas might as well have teleportation magic himself, with how many countries he visited on his film tour. Loki never joined him on the aeroplanes – something about Luke's nerves and 'pressurised compartments' – but he did teleport to his lover once he'd arrived. Loki had suggested teleporting all of them, but Tom insisted he needed to be seen at the airports, getting off the aeroplanes. Still, all the travel was clearly taking its toll, as the mortal fell into bed as soon as he got in for the night, sleeping the sleep of the dead.
It was the second-to-last night of the tour, and Loki was sitting in the window, the curtains opened just enough that he could look back and see his lover, without the light from outside disturbing him. Luke had made a joke, over dinner, about sleeping for a week. Thomas had laughed before replying, 'I'd rather a couple of days at home, just Loki and me'.
Loki had replied with a disparaging remark, ever pleased by the disappointed look Luke couldn't help but give him. Now, though, in the quiet of the deep night, he thought back on Thomas' words.
Their house had been empty for almost a little over two weeks, and Thomas would be unable to sit down until things were clean again – it was a particular bad habit of his that Loki despised and adored in equal measures. There were also groceries to be bought, a garden to pull weeds in, and post to be sorted.
If only everything could have been taken care of before Thomas walking in the front door.
And then it hit Loki: He could take care of all the chores. And dinner, too, so Thomas didn't have to stand in the kitchen as soon as he got in.
Loki would need multiple days to do everything in – his magic and housework didn't mix, so it would all have to be done by hand – and probably a willing assistant to go to Sainsbury's for him, unless he wanted to test his patience and manage the shopping on his own. That meant he needed to leave tonight, while Thomas was still sleeping. He hated the idea of leaving his lover to finish the tour on his own, but it would be worth it.
It would.
He left a note for Thomas, claiming it to be Asgard business pulling him away – it wouldn't be the first time – and promising to meet him at the house once he got back to London. Then he teleported home, into a stale house, and grimaced.
Uncaring for the chill, with Thomas away, Loki turned off the heat and flung open all the windows. The breeze kicked up dust everywhere, and gave his skin a distasteful blue hue, but Loki told himself to ignore it and went hunting down the cleaning things.
Dusting was tedious and, insofar as Loki could tell, completely pointless. Casting a spell to banish all dead skin and loose hair did a far better job of cleaning the place up than any amount of dragging a flannel over flat surfaces. (He would remember that trick for the next time Thomas announced he needed to dust before he started sneezing.)
He found the act of vacuuming to be slightly more sensible, as he'd been given that particular task a couple of times, after complaining about how long it took the mortal to clean the house. Magically lifting the furniture out of his way made the task quicker, though Thomas insisted it was a cheat.
Sorting the post kept him busy until he couldn't keep his eyes open any more and fell asleep on the couch, nose buried against the fabric on Thomas' side, breathing in the lingering scent of him.
The door opening woke him. He stared at it with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, certain that he'd failed, but it wasn't Thomas who stepped in.
"Oh, I should have guessed," Emma complained, kicking the door shut behind her, keys rattling as she dropped them into her purse. "Only you would think the windows all needed to be open when it's four bloody degrees outside."
He climbed off the couch and absently motioned all the windows of the house closed before walking over to the heat controls. "Thomas isn't due back until tomorrow evening," he pointed out as he turned it back on.
Emma gravitated to the nearest radiator, gloved hands held above it to warm them. "Oh, I know. I woke to an email from him. Apparently, his boyfriend had to return to Asgard for some mysterious reason and he's feeling lonely. I figured I'd do a bit of shopping for him, so he could just come home and eat and sleep." She eyed him over her shoulder. "This looks suspiciously like not Asgard."
Loki huffed and waved a hand at the neat piles of post on Thomas' little-used desk. "I was cleaning."
Her eyes went to the mantle of the fireplace, easily in her line of sight, and she stared at it dumbly. "Holy shit. You actually are." She looked back at him. "Who are you, and what have you done with that fuckwit my brother calls boyfriend?"
Loki bared his teeth at her, biting back the urge to growl. "You think me incapable of decency?"
"Yes," she returned bluntly.
"Go rot," Loki snarled.
Emma burst out laughing and pointed one gloved hand at him. "See that? That is exactly why everyone but Tom thinks you're a self-centred twat."
Loki spun away from her, looking for where he'd left the broom. "What is that mortal saying? 'It takes one to know one'?"
"Ouch." Emma laughed and her keys jingled. "I'm going to get the groceries from my car. If you're really in a giving mood, feel free to help me."
Loki waited until after the door had closed behind her before giving up on the pretension and following her.
Their neighbour from across the street – Ella or Ida or something – was next to Emma's car, brow furrowed. Her forehead smoothed out slightly upon seeing him, and she offered him a vaguely concerned smile. "Hello, Lo', dear. Aren't you cold?"
"Sweden," he reminded her, because that was the story he and Thomas used to explain to their neighbours and acquaintances about Loki's indifference regarding the cold. (And his accent, though Londoners noticed that less often.)
She huffed. "Still. It's terribly cold out here."
He smiled at her and motioned towards the boot of Emma's car, which was filled with reusable grocery bags. "Only come out to help bring things in," he promised.
She shook her head. "I saw those open windows, young man."
Emma let out a helpless giggle, as aware as Loki that he was more than ten times this woman's age. "Danger of Tom letting him come back early," she offered for Loki before hefting a bag and turning to hand it to him, her expression strained.
"Good on Tom, then, sending you after Lo'," the neighbour told Emma while looking at Loki, one eyebrow raised.
Emma handed Loki another bag and patted his arm, grin wide and obnoxious. "One of these days, we'll get you to react to cold like a normal person."
Loki snorted. "You will be better served readjusting your perception of 'normal'."
The neighbour laughed outright. "Oh, you just need a tropical holiday. That'll sort you right out."
Loki shuddered and took the two bags Emma handed him before turning away from the car. "Should I have wish to melt, I shall recall that," he bit out on his way back into the house.
He took great pleasure in slamming the door on Emma and the neighbour's laughter.
He had most of the food put away when Emma came in with the last three bags. "Nora's right, you really do have a shoddy sense of humour," she commented upon observing his foul mood.
Loki scowled at her. "I should find amusement in the misery of unbearable heat?"
Emma sighed and patted his shoulder. "What do you want me to do to help?"
Loki considered sending her out to the garden, a petty punishment for her amusement at his vulnerability to heat, but the thought of Thomas' reaction stopped him. "I have yet to sweep or mop the kitchen and bathroom. You may do that."
"Or?"
Loki raised an eyebrow at her. "The garden needs attention."
"The garden is dead," she returned drily, glancing out the windows overlooking the patio. Loki smirked as she did a double take. "Oh my God, you absolute cheat! How long have you been magicking your garden?"
"Two years."
"I hate you. How much kneeling do I need to do to get you to do the same thing to mine?"
Loki raised an eyebrow at her, considering that. Thomas would not be impressed if he demanded too much, but Loki wasn't about to do magic for free. "Desist with the name-calling for three months."
She groaned. "Seriously?"
He shrugged and turned back to the groceries. "It is Thomas' preference," he pointed out. "And I cannot cast the spells until it is warmer."
"Yeah, fine," she muttered before leaving the kitchen. "Where's the broom?"
"Upstairs," Loki decided, since he couldn't remember having seen it downstairs since he pulled it out.
It must have been there, because he didn't hear anything more from her while he finished putting things away. He stacked the empty bags on the table, made a mental note to remind her to take them when she left, then stepped out into the garden to see to the line of dirt against the side wall and the planters sat on either side of the weather-worn bench Thomas liked napping on in autumn.
They went out to the café down the block for lunch, Emma forcing him to put on Thomas' leather jacket to lessen the questions. After lunch, Emma made him rub a damp flannel over all the flat surfaces, to pick up what dust his banishing spell had missed, while she washed the insides of the windows, claiming they were filthy.
When she finally left after dinner, the house looked as though Thomas had spent a weekend taking it to task. Loki was...more than a little impressed with himself (and Emma), and he dropped to sleep on the couch again, after sorting the post from that afternoon.
He woke late the next morning, and scrambled to find recipes he could manage for dinner with what Emma has bought.
When the front door opened, admitting Thomas, Loki had managed a mostly edible shepherd's pie – it was a little crusty around the edges, but that could be avoided – and set out candles at the kitchen table.
"Loki?" Thomas called, stopping in the entrance and staring around at the clean living room.
Loki stepped out of the kitchen and smiled at him. "I made dinner?" he said, trying not to sound hopeful.
"I smell it," Tom agreed, peeling out of his winter wear. "How long have you been home?"
Loki shifted. "We should eat before it gets cold," he replied, avoiding the question.
Thomas followed him into the kitchen. "No, really. How long have you–?"
He felt silent as Loki motioned the lights off, the candles flickering as the god pulled out Thomas' usual seat and motioned for him to sit. "Sit?" Loki said when Thomas didn't move right away.
Thomas moved then, looking out the window at the back garden as he passed. "You never went to Asgard," he guessed once he'd sat and Loki was rounding the table to his own chair.
Loki paused, barely long enough that anyone would notice. "No," he admitted as he sat. "I came here."
"You cleaned the house," Thomas stated, staring at Loki between the candles.
Loki forced himself to remain sitting straight and not give in to the urge to slouch. "I only wished to see to it that you didn't spend the night scurrying around, cleaning everything," he snapped. "I will spend time with you tonight. Conscious, not–"
Thomas laughed and held a hand out over the table. "Thank you," he said, smile gentle and honestly grateful.
Loki laced their fingers together and squeezed them. "Eat. Before I refuse to try cooking again."
Thomas laughed again and set about serving them both, refusing to let go of Loki's hand to make it easier.
They ate with their fingers still entwined, Thomas occasionally rubbing his thumb along Loki's. He didn't stop smiling, and complimented Loki's cooking at least three times. (Loki tried not to be too smug about his accomplishment.)
After dinner, they retired to the couch, Loki lighting a fire to stare into while Thomas rested against him, a comfortable weight.
"Thank you," Thomas murmured as the fire died down, his voice weighted with sleep, "for knowing exactly what I needed."
Loki blinked back dampness in his eyes, brought on by surprise; he'd done something right. Completely and utterly right. "I love you," he whispered into Thomas' curls, because he couldn't think of anything else to say.
Thomas twisted in his arms and leaned up to kiss his chin. "Carry me to bed?" he requested with a perfect, happy smile.
Acquiescing was really the only possible response.
.
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Date: 5/2/14 15:53 (UTC)no subject
Date: 5/2/14 15:54 (UTC)*totally made this same comment as anonymous and wants to kick self for that*