Gathering: Kisses at Midnight

[concierge]

With the party still in full swing, the approach to midnight comes on fairly quickly. While some of the partygoers have left and some of the drink and food service had begun to die off, the waiters quietly and quickly cleaning things off stay in the background to allow for the continuing revelry to go on. Outside, the brisk weather is something to bear, but at midnight, fireworks are being drawn up to go off in the sky amidst the stars and to make the Nexus Hotel glow with gleaming colors of every sort. And of course, with the countdown comes the tradition of a kiss at midnight for good luck in the new year.

As the clock begins to wind its way down, shouts are heard throughout the party, giving notice that there's only so much time to roam through the hotel and find something for that kiss. "Five minutes to go," calls out one of the hosts from their spot at the front of the room, giving fair warning. With that, he continues on his way to mingle through the party, leaving the guests to do what they will.

Comments

[thelostprince]

Loki was loathe to end it, dazzled as he was by the gentle, loving, oddly intense creature his old friend had suddenly become. As strange as it was he was tuned into her and each movement, the way she responded to his touch and moved against his lips. He could track her as he could easily track the movement of planets; she seemed just as inevitable and distant, yet somehow cradled in the palm of his hand, miraculously.

Even though he told himself he would stop, he didn't intend to, but the sudden silence was almost a shock to his ears as the last firework fizzled out, and he pulled back. Just enough to break the kiss, though, and his lips hovered over hers, temptingly. He didn't know what to say, if there was anything to say. Were they supposed to explain themselves? Loki hoped not. Maybe he should quit while he was ahead, make a break for it. Or he could wait and see if Sif would be the one to bolt, and scale the hotel wall to get to her room and escape.

[bornagoddess]

It was odd to Sif how unexpected Loki's behavior was to her, when at the same time it couldn't possibly have been anyone else's. This was not a facet she knew of him, but she couldn't misplace it even so. And yet, she remained surprised. Sif never believed him so cold as he seemed on the surface, she had guessed at the warmer passion lurking beneath with every hint he shown over the years. It was that he had shown this to her that shocked her, she decided. It had always seemed to her like sometimes he couldn't decide whether he was fond of her or not, or perhaps he was simply not fond of what she represented; so he kept her at a distance but did not actively avoid her.

And now, here he was, still so close even though he had broken their kiss. Sif had gasped softly in surprise, and she was unsure whether the 'spell' was broken along with the kiss or not. Loki was still there, still holding on, her hand still caressing his cheek. Her breath had only slowed down a fraction when she elected to look up at him, the only time Sif had ever looked at him with a mix of shyness and expectation as unlike her as all else that had transpired.

But it wasn't unlike her, as it had happened. Sif refused, despite the fear, to simply explain this away as a moment of insanity or whatever else people liked to say to avoid responsibility for their actions. And she especially refused to do it when she wasn't even sure she did not want to kiss him again. But perhaps that would be pushing her luck.

[thelostprince]

He had not pulled away completely and so he was still tempted to kiss her. Instead he leaned his face into her hand, her palm rough from countless hours of sword-fighting. He should probably leave. He wasn't sure if he was pleased or irritated by this development, if he should understand it as a natural movement into his future or an aberration in the timeline. Surely if he had been meant for Sif, this would have happened by now. Or would it have?

As usual, his thoughts were loud and complicated and cluttered, weaving in and out of each other. It was easy, then, to let them turn into a background din. "You seem speechless," he said, idly. At the moment, he could think of doing nothing beyond trying to diffuse what was, frankly, a bit of tension. It was uncertainty that hung over them, a chaotic element that Loki normally enjoyed. Right then, though, it was simply another obstacle between them. "It's very becoming."

[bornagoddess]

The simple gesture of leaning into her touch had Sif's brow furrow in some form of wonderment she could not give voice to. It felt like affirmation that being affectionate was not off limits, that the line she had always imagined between them (perhaps between Loki and everyone else safe for Frigga) might not have been there. At least it might not be there all the time. Either way, when Loki leaned in she caressed his cheek again, even though she was now becoming fully aware of the fact that they sat at an impasse of sorts. She was becoming painfully aware of everything now.

She did not reply when he stated she was speechless, simply swallowed hard. It was irritating; despite all this some part of her did not want to give him that satisfaction. Being quiet was not the same as being speechless. One, Sif had learned to use to her advantage. The other was demeaning. When he showed a liking for it, Sif felt a pang of disappointment, and although she did not let go of him her grip sagged. Her lips curled into a wistful smile, a hint of bitterness. She had been told that before, countless times, in her youth. Before she tired her authority figures out and went off to the Valkyries, while she tried and tried to change her fate, she had been berated for the same loudness Asgard loved in its boys. Despite the bitterness, Sif's voice was soft, if raspier than usual again. "I doubt your purpose was simply to quiet me. If you had one at all."

[thelostprince]

And there she was again, taking everything entirely too seriously, misreading what he was saying, finding insult when there was fondness. At least that was something familiar in all of this, something that made sense. He smiled, faintly, even apologetically. "You're right. That was not my purpose at all," he said, not bothering to tell her that he had been teasing her. "Your silence has never appealed to me."

He had meant to simply kiss her on the cheek, with that usual shadow of mischief, and then all of this had happened. Perhaps that was just payback for all the trouble he had caused himself, all through simple, delicate actions. But he didn't prefer to think that way. He would just as soon believe that his past had simply gotten the better of him.

He leaned in, but this time instead of a kiss he went further as if to tell her a secret, angling his face so that his lips were almost brushing her ear. "What are you thinking of, Sif?" he asked, softly. He didn't honestly think she would tell him, but there was no harm in asking - and in taking advantage of their closeness, either.