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It was a lazy day for the second Prince of Asgard and his wife, the Goddess of War. They’d eaten a small breakfast and then returned to bed, with Sif dozing in and out of sleep while Loki read. But she was awake now, her hazel eyes regarding her husband curiously. “What is it, wife? I can hear the wheels turning from here,” he murmured, setting a bookmark in his book and setting it aside so his full attention could be on his wife.
“Will you show me your Jotun form?” she asked softly.
Loki, shocked, jumped from the bed and immediately started pacing. “Why would you want to see that?”
Sif sat up slightly, her back propped against their headboard. “Because it is your face. The face you were born with.”
Loki sneered. “It is the face of a monster.”
Frowning, Sif shook her head. “No, Loki. It is your face, and you are not a monster.”
He turned on his heel, facing the bed once more and let a sinister sneer take its place on his face. “Don’t forget that I have been capable of monstrosities, my dear.”
Sif’s eyes hardened and she shook her head. “Any monstrosities you committed were done wearing this face, not that one.” She slowly rose from the bed and made her way to Loki, her hand rubbing her belly contemplatively. “I have never seen a Jotun outside of battle. And…I am curious, Loki. What if our babe favors your heritage?”
Loki shook his head, steeling himself as Sif reached out and laid her palm on his cheek. “Eir assured me that Asgardian features are almost always more prominent in a child of two realms.”
Her brow furrowed. “You already asked Eir about the possibility?”
“Of course,” he scoffed. “I wouldn’t subject our child to the sort of ridicule that would come with wearing his father’s cursed face. It’s enough that he will be my son, the last thing he needs is for his Jotun heritage to be obvious. I would have never agreed to a child if Eir had told me otherwise.”
Sif nodded and regarded her husband carefully again, knowing she had to tread lightly. “You know, I would still love our child if he looked like a Jotun.”
Loki’s eyes widened in surprise. “You would?”
“Of course, I would. He would still be a child borne of our love. Years ago, I wouldn’t have even thought that was something that was possible. I never thought we’d find our way to each other again, not after everything. But here we are. And I am carrying your child. And I would love him no matter what he looked like. Wouldn’t you?”
Loki’s hands flew to her belly, as if he could assure their babe of his love through his touch. “Sif, of course I would. Of course.”
“I love you, no matter what you look like too, Loki. Remember that time you lightened your hair to resemble Thor’s? It looked hideous and I still harbored quite the secret crush on you.”
Loki couldn’t help but laugh and shake his head. “Even then?”
Sif grinned at him and nodded. “Even then. And that must be much worse than your Jotun form.”
Loki’s laughter faded and his face became serious again. “I wouldn’t count on it.” He turned away from her and she watched as he shook his head. “I don’t even know if I can do it on command. It only happened before when I touched the Casket of Ancient Winters.”
“That doesn’t sound like the Loki I know. My Loki would stand in front of the mirror until he had it perfected and could shift back and forth. Never know when it could come in useful for a trick,” Sif said knowingly.
Loki’s head tilted in acknowledgement, but he kept his back to her. “I’m afraid, Sif. I’m afraid that you will see the face of a monster and you will recognize me in it and realize that you were fooling yourself all along in thinking you could ever love me.”
Sif folded her arms across her chest, if only so she wouldn’t smack the back of his head, so he’d see sense. “Well, that’s a stupid thing to think, Loki,” she said, absolutely deadpan. A soft smile crept across her lips as he chuckled at her reply.
“Loki…you don’t have to show me if you don’t want to. But…this is a part of you, Loki. We won’t hide it from our child like your parents hid it from you. Remember? We agreed to that. And I hope…I hope that you will trust me enough to let me see you. But I know that I have betrayed your trust before…” She was so tempted to reach out to him, but it was hard to read his mood with his back still turned to her. “I love you, Loki. Every part of you. And the face you were born with won’t change that.”
“Do you promise, Sif?” he asked, his voice small and vulnerable.
“I promise, Loki,” she swore solemnly, knowing that now was not the time to tease him as she so often did.
She held her breath as Loki slowly started to turn. She could already see the blue tint to his skin, instead of his usual Asgardian fair skin. Quickly schooling her face, she made sure she gave away nothing as Loki turned fully to face her. She took a step forward and Loki instinctively flinched back. “Don’t touch me,” he said harshly, his voice sounding choked.
“I know,” she murmured soothingly. “I just want to get a better look.” She took a step forward again and Loki closed his eyes and turned his head slightly, as if he couldn’t bear her scrutiny. She drank in his appearance, the dark blue of his skin, the raised markings all over his face. He was wearing just a simple tunic and leggings, and she could see the hint of markings on his chest as well, but she knew not to touch him or to ask him to take off his tunic so she could see more. He was vulnerable enough.
“You’re beautiful,” she whispered. His eyes snapped open and focused on her immediately and she couldn’t help but hold his curious gaze, taking in the deep red of his eyes. “You’re still just…you.”
He shook his head, clearly bewildered by her statement. “Sif…”
“Change back now, please? I want to kiss you,” she said definitively.
“Kiss me? Sif, how could you possibly want to kiss this?” he asked, gesturing to his face.
She smiled. “Well, technically, I can’t kiss this,” she said, mimicking his gesture. “And that is why I need you to change back. I want to kiss the lips that won’t give me frostbite, thank you very much.”
His eyes still wide with disbelief, Loki simply nodded, and Sif watched in amazement as his skin became pale again and his eyes turned to their normal blue. Her fingers reached out slowly to where his tunic gaped, and her fingers brushed against his clavicle. Loki hissed at her touch.
She slid her hand up to his neck and buried her hand in his hair, tugging him close for a kiss. She tried to pour everything she was feeling into the kiss – the love she had for him, the comfort she wanted to give him, the gratitude that he was willing to trust her enough to show her the face he was born with. When they finally broke apart, she smiled up at him as she stroked the back of his neck soothingly. He looked down at her in awe.
“You really aren’t disgusted, are you?”
Sif shook her head. “No. It is just another side of you, Loki. I love you. I know of all the terrible things you chose to do, and I love you still. Showing me the face you happened to be born with will not change how I feel about you. You’ve become a good man. You will be a good father. And I adore every inch of you, Loki.”
“I don’t deserve you, my lady,” he murmured, lowering his lips to hers again, before she could reply.