bulletsandbracelets | New York Fun Times [closed to hashisreasons]

As if fate were designed to tempt them, the music changed. The beat became slower, something that rang in the blood and echoed with a heartbeat. A tempo struck up that could only be called sensual and while, in times past, such a change would have had her leaving the dance floor... Times had changed.

"Then keep me close."

"As you wish," he purred. His hand moved back down to the small of her back and he did keep her flush tight against him. His lips turned up in a smile as he swayed her around the floor, not caring about anyone but themselves. Nothing else mattered in that moment.

His lips brushed against her ear. "What if I don't want to let you go?"

Let it be said that Diana was very aware of the fact that Loki was a fantastic dance partner. And never let it be said that she was ignorant of the fact that he was a very attractive being. It was just that - for the majority of their time knowing each other - she had opted to keep the latter fact as simply an observation. When they danced? She always let it be a little more. If only to herself.

She smiled at him, a softness in it that he would recognise. "We may be able to come to some arrangement."

His eyebrow raised and he couldn't hide the grin if he tried. "Who are you and what have you done with Diana?"

He stepped back, twirling her out of his arms and then back into them again easily enough. She was the most beautiful creature ever seen to him. She moved like a graceful warrior and she felt like a doll beneath his fingers.

"I'm open to negotiations."

There was another delighted laugh, smile wide with that type of happiness that only tends to come when a person is in the company of another whom they care for greatly. Even the jest was taken with all good humour, knowing that Loki was simply being himself in one of the few ways that no one could object to. The question that came next was how could she respond to keep him light. Or, rather, to make her intentions clear.

(They were not exactly her intentions at the start of their day, but it was something she had considered a few times during their century of knowing each other. It finally felt as though if she broached the subject, it may not damage things beyond repair.)

She waited until she was pressed against him on the twirl to respond.

"Why don't we start with sleeping arrangements?"

Loki smiled warmly at her, watching her glide and come back to him with such ease. It made his heart skip a beat just to look at her. While he knew she would never truly be his in the way that he had wanted her for years now, he would take her kindness and run with it for what it was. At least he was able to have her company for a small window of time. And more than her company, they had mutual trust. Very few could say that about the Asgardian. Yet, he did trust her.

He was afraid to admit he might even love her.

One hand moved up, running through her soft hair, gliding down her back as the other found her hand once more. And then he froze. Completely. Loki couldn't even continue dancing at the words that he had to blink to make sure he heard correctly. "Wait, what?"

Because he would need to hear her say it again. "Sl... Sleeping arrangements?"

Diana nodded slowly, keeping her eyes locked with her.

"I think the time has come," she said slowly, "for us to re-discuss our unspoken agreement regarding that matter." It was surprisingly hard for her to say such a thing, even though she was sure that it was finally the right time to address such a matter. It had been... perhaps 30 years that she was positive her feelings for Loki were beyond that of merely friendship.

"Perhaps we should sit down." She needed to explain. She owed him that.

"I think that might be a fair assessment."

Loki smiles, as he always will for her, but he also knows she can read him. He's shaken by her statements. His hand moves, pressing against the small of her back as he escorts her back to the table and even pulls out a chair for her. He can be charming when he wants to, especially when he's trying to cover for something. In this case, it's his feelings.

He hates feeling vulnerable on the best of days. With her? It's a tricky dance.

He pulls his chair around so that he's sitting at the setting to her right, not facing across from her. He wants to be as close as he can in case he needs to speak softly. "There was a reason our agreement was unspoken. May I ask what changed?"

Diana did not let out an irritated sigh, for she knew fine well that it was purely her own selfishness to blame for the situation she know found herself in. Her own want had lead to her concealing things for so long and now she had to try to explain it all. Folding the skirt of her dress into herself she frowned a little, trying to find the best words to start with.

"It is not a sudden change, if that is your worry," she assured him, knowing he would be shaken and wanting to assure him. "It has been near 30 years that I've been thinking such things." Quite a long time, by Earth standards. To an Asgardian, hardly any time. "But I grew... selfish. I did not want to change a comfortable arrangement," she said truthfully. She glanced down at the table. "I did not want to open myself to someone who was only there part of the time. Even if I did find more excuses to bring you here."

Tickets for a show, a party for work, just wanting his company for a weekend... She wondered if it had been obvious, even though there was still good space between each time.

"Each time I thought myself brave enough to say something, the words would catch in my throat." There was a bit of a laugh. "You see, you are not the only one to hide."

"My worry is you, Diana." Loki reached out, taking her hand in his and threading their fingers together. It was nice to know that she had been thinking about it for a few years. Time was an illusion that he didn't begin to try to understand. It moved differently in different realms. Those like himself who could live a very long time counted time differently. The number of years didn't matter so much as what she had been contemplating.

His head nodded and he looked sadly at her. "It was an ideal situation. Should something change, you were worried about the dynamic," he murmured.

In truth, he had been thinking about it as well. Every time she found a 'reason' for him to visit, he tried not to get his heart excited about it. They were friends. And yet, the more they spent time together, the more he had always hoped he wasn't just imagining it.

He leaned in close, brushing his lips against her ear. "You don't have to hide with me. You've told me many a time I need not hide with you," he murmured. "Why hide what is in plain sight of you?"

"Never worry for me," she asked him, squeezing the hand that held hers in a fond manner. There was comfort in the small action, in the weight of his hand nestled against her own. She had spent too long on Earth, he would say, if she was judging things by their time. Perhaps he was right, but where else was there? She saw the sadness in his eyes, and nodded to confirm his thought

"I was selfish," she said. "I hide because I feared that the change may have been ... that it may have brought damage that we could not fix." It did not need to be said that so much had changed since then. So very much in such a short space of time, even by his reckoning of it. In an odd way, it was the rapid change that spured her on.

"But now, I feel as though I cannot keep ignoring or pretending otherwise," she leaned against him just slightly, making sure she was close so that she could be heard over the music - especially since a loud number had just begun. "Loki, you know I would not pretend to you, not about this."

Her thumb stroked his. "I would like it if we could be more than friends."

Loki smirked. "I'll stop worrying for you when you stop worrying for me." He raised an eyebrow, daring her to argue with him. And yet, he couldn't stop staring at their hands together.

He leaned in close, lightly kissing her temple. "It's hard. I more than most understand your fears. I had them myself. My family. My friends, well... The ones I had on Asgard before I revealed my true natures," he murmured. "There were women, but none of them lingered. None of them cared like you did." His free hand reached up, brushing a lock of hair away from her eyes.

"You do know how badly I've wanted that. Every time I tried, you pushed me away." He smiled, pulling back enough he could stare into her eyes. "I'm not the nicest man. You see that. You put up with it. I'm lucky to have you," he murmured. "I vow I will never let anything jeopardize us, not even my ego."

Which, even he could admit had its moments.

"Dance with me again?"

She couldn't argue with him because - as he well knew - he was right. She would not stop worrying for him, how could she? If she stopped worrying for him, it would be akin to saying that she did not care and that was the furthest thing from the truth. She just smiled, and shook her head, what else could she do? Likewise, she wasn't surprised to hear he had partners on Asgard. She would have been more surprised if he hadn't. Diana was more than aware he was an attractive being.

"You are yourself," she looked at him, smiling though there was a slight tiredness there. To be fair, she felt as though they had had this particular discussion many times. "It is not in your nature to be the nicest man, and I would not wish it were because you would not be you." Her free hand goes to his cheek, stroking. "You are the God of Mischief, and I will not have you as anything other than you. Ego included."

She leans forward, a kiss pressed to his cheek, near his mouth.

"Always."

Loki shook his head. "Oh no, you don't." Smirking, he reached up and turned her head, so that he could give her a proper kiss. His lips brushed against hers and he ran a thumb along her jawline. He didn't want a kiss on the cheek.

Especially with her being happy with him. She was the only person that he'd ever met that did not care he was the God of Mischief. In fact, she seemed to be amused by it. He liked it that she liked his ego. Mostly because she was able to keep him in check. Even Thor couldn't claim that all the time.

"Don't tease me," he moaned against her lips. "I'll keep you as my dance partner for life."

Diana is not the type who melts at a touch and yet it is the only word she can think of for how it feels to finally kiss the person she had spent some time not allowing herself to do so. (Even if that did sound overly dramatic to her own mind, and definitely not something she would openly tell him because she knew he would make mocking comments. Though, to be fair, so would she.) She finds herself grateful for the anonimity that the dance club they have come to allows them, as she knows anywhere else someone would have made comment about the couple kissing at a table. Here, it is simply a thing that happens.

"As if you are not teasing me right now," she murmurs back, a hand curling around his wrist.

Loki wouldn't care if someone did say something. He was the type that he was going to kiss Diana and he didn't care what people had to say about it. For him, to finally be able to make up for lost time, he was going to hesitate twice.

Both hands moved up to cup her face as he kissed her, sucking lightly on her bottom lip. "Tell me to stop," he murmured. "Push me away, my demigoddess."

She couldn't help but smile into the kiss, eyes closed with a blissful expression on her face. This was more than worth waiting for, even if the waiting had been her own stupid decision. There was a soft laugh, her eyes opening to just look at him.

"Never."

As if to prove her words, she pulled him closer, nipping at his own lips and a hand curling into his hair. She did not care if anyone did say anything, she was enjoying this too much.

One hand moved out, slowly guiding itself to her hip. It was just a kiss. And yet, it was a passionate and powerful kiss. He moaned against her lips, leaning into her hand as his tongue slipped along her upper lip. "So beautiful," he murmured, a shiver running through him. She was amazing, like an electric shock to his system.

"You make me want to dance all night," he whispered against her lips. "You make me never want to go back to that compound, that ship..." He sighed, gently cupping her hip, holding it firm beneath his fingers.

After his mention of never wanting to go back to the compound, Loki may be surprised to see a hint of mischief appearing in Diana's expression. It's a small glint in her eyes, and the way her mouth quirks upwards as if expecting rebuke but not ashamed of the reason why. She gives a soft laugh, looking up at him with that expression of mischief, and leans close so that she does not need to fight to be heard over the music.

"Then it is a good thing I had not planned on taking you back tonight, no matter what, isn't it?"

If Diana wanted to shock Loki, she was doing a damn fine job of it. In all the ways that he had planned the night to go, this was not how he saw it ending up. Her soft lips on his, welcoming his tongue and his hands in a way he’d always fantasized about. The soft purr of her voice in his ears doing things to his body that he’d always imagined. And now, her words tempting him in a way that he’d never expected, ever. He swallowed, staring at her in shock, wordless.

Finally, after a few moments of silence, he finds his voice. “I guess. Shall I just pay the bill now?” He was half-teasing, but there was a part of him that wanted to whisk her straight away. His lips brushed against her neck, nuzzling the small spot behind her ear as he inched his chair closer to her. ”Diana…” He sighed, breath warm against her skin. “Do not tempt me. I’m not sure my heart could take it.”

It was kind of amusing to see Loki so lost for words, if only because she didn't think it had ever happened before in all her time of knowing him. That being said? She did give a look as if to ask him who she thought he was.

"I would not lie about such a thing," she said. "Though I must admit when I did come up with the original plan, I did think I would be getting two separate rooms."

"Oh no. There is no need for two rooms." He smirked, pulling her hand up to his lips and gently kissing it. His lips ghosted up her arm to her shoulder, before wrapping around her and pulling her side to his chest. His lips glided over her neck, up to her ear as he teased at her skin. It was so soft, so delicate, all he wanted to do was mark it.

"You... I feel like this is some trick. I know not if I should be nervous or proud," he whispered. "Though, I know it is no trick. I cannot help but be confused and torn, my beautiful demigoddess." One hand trailed down her side, lingering at her hip. "Let me take you somewhere more private."

The slight shiver at his touch was new, though she knew (and would reasonably assume he knew as well) that it was not from cold, but something altogether more pleasant. A build up of nerves that was getting near to the surface and creating a sensation that could only grow before it managed to break free. A something that she found herself very much looking forward to experiencing. Her hand gripped at his free one, squeezing in at the fingers in a gesture of... anticipation? Perhaps. It did feel like the best word to describe everything at that moment. A anticipation brimming below the surface. She could feel it, could feel everything in a way that was so much more. Delicious anticipation.

Her other hand drifted over the the one of his on her hip, and she did not move from her close lean into him. "If you are ready, know I am ready," she said, words soft even in the loudness around them. "Shall we?"

While he wasn't ready to just drag her out of the club or magic them back to her car, the impatience he had in his eyes was there. His head tilted and he slowly pulled back from her. His movements were fluid as he stepped behind her, waiting for her to rise to her feet so that he could offer his arm to her as escort.

The feelings he had of anticipation were just as sensitive as yours. He couldn't put into words the excitement that was coursing through him. He felt like he would never be able to sleep or eat, anything else that may be vital to survival were second to finally being able to spend time alone with her. This wasn't like any other time before. This was new.

"Back to the chariot, m'lady?"

She took the offered arm, oddly grateful that he hadn't just used his magic to remove them, even though she knew he was more than capable of such a thing. She gave the arm a small squeeze, the same kind of gesture she had given to his hands. It was reassurance for herself as much as it was a gesture of reassurance towards him. This was happening. It was not a trick of either of their minds, and it was not something that would turn to be a trick.

"Yes," she said. "The hotel I am staying in," because she had to have somewhere to stay while in New York and she did not want to be in a position to have to rely on Tony Stark, "is a short drive from here. There is a nice view from my window."

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