Doesn't Play Well With Tricksters

Rachael rounded the corner into the library, intent on finding one last book to verify her suspicions, only to find Loki lounging in her favorite spot.

"Afternoon," he greeted, his eyes roaming up and down her body for a moment before meeting her eyes.

"Hi." She answered nervously, turning toward the bookcases. Why was she so nervous around him? They'd been trading sexual innuendos for weeks, she'd broken him out of curses neither of them fully understood, so what had changed?

She now knew he worried their differences would keep them apart, that's what changed. Because if he worried something would keep them apart, did that mean he wanted more than just a casual fling? Did that mean he wanted something more lasting?

And why did the thought of him wanting 'something more' leave her with a giddy feeling in the pit of her stomach?

"Looking for something specific?"

"Have you seen that book on magic weilding siblings? The big red one with the gold and black trim?" She vaguely motioned with her hands, giving him an idea of just how big the book was while stubbornly ignoring how his question could have easily been a continuation of her wayward thoughts.

He waved his fingers, making the book in question float down into her outstretched hands.

"Thanks." She set it down on the small table in front of him and started flipping through pages until she got to a curious case of twins weilding two very different types of magic and the footnote after it, encased in a leaf green box. "Here it is!" She pointed excitedly. Loki sat up so he could lean over her shoulder and read.

"Interesting. The cousin used the same magic as the older twin."

Rachael nodded. "And, because the magic originated from the same source, they had all kinds of strange things happen including-"

"Transferrance." They echoed.

"That may explain why the curse jumped from me to you." Rachael tapped the page, looking around for a pen and scratch piece of paper.

Loki materialized both in her hands.

She read aloud as she jotted down notes. "As of the printing of this book, the side effects included unintentional transference, a boost in magical potency, and unspecified psychic occurrences." She look up at Loki. "What do they mean by unspecified psychic occurrences?"

"Sounds intentionally vague. What state were they from?"

"What does that have to do with-" She narrowed her eyes and tried not to smile. "Was that a joke?"

He smiled openly. "That bad?"

"You know, Royalty was just as bad an inbreeding stigma as Kentucky and Alabama combined."

"Not where I come from."

Rachael shrugged, "If you say so."

He quickly scooped her up in his arms and started toward the door.

"Where are we going?" Rachael demanded.

"I'm taking you to Thor. If anyone would know about the sexual misdeeds of royalty on Asgard, it would be him."

"Stop being ridiculous and put me down." She huffed.

"Speaking of sexual misdeeds..." he let the phrase trail off as he lowered her feet to the ground, intentionally brushing their chests together until her feet were firmly on the ground.

She pressed a hand to his chest, willing her legs st stiffen up and stop acting like they were going to buckle every time he touched her. "Focus. We have a lead to follow here."

He smirked. "We could always test your hypothesis."

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Why do I get the feeling you're up to something?"

"When am I not?"

---

Twenty minutes later, in their magical sparring area, Loki and Rachael stood in the middle of the room, facing off with just over ten feet between them.

"If you're right, and our magic is linked, this could get very interesting." Loki smirked.

"Not sure if I like the sound of that." Rachael grumbled.

"I've heard stories of linked magic. Never had the opportunity to test it though." He elaborated, letting his eyes roam over her suggestively.

"Oh," her eyebrows jumped up toward her hairline. "That interesting?" 

He wiped the mischievous look from his face. "Guess we'll have to find out."

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"Ready?" He smiled, that glimmer of mischief sneaking back into his eyes.

In an instant, a thin green mist surrounded them, growing darker until she couldn't see outside the bubble.

"How is this helping?" She asked.

"Modesty, darling." He smiled, his eyes wandering over her again.

"I think I've changed my mind. You can let me out now."

"Not for all the realms of Yggdrasill." He moved his fingers in a caressing motion between them.

At first Rachael raised a single eyebrow in a sceptical manner, but when a phantom hand brushed her hip, she couldn't help but gasp. "What the Hell was that?"

He smiled, motioned as if to grab her hips, and answered "The proof for your theory."

Rachael bit her lip as phantom hands caressed where he motioned, roaming from her hips, down her thighs, around to the back of her legs, trailing up lightly until they took hold of her ass.

"Okay," she whispered, fully aware of how husky her voice sounded. "I think we've proven a point."

"Maybe." He whispered and she could feel the warmth of his breath on her ear. "Or maybe we've just begun."

"You're going to take advantage of this every chance you can, aren't you?"

He smirked. "Oh definitely."

She shook her head and opened her mouth to say something else, but was stopped by the feel of his finger on her lips.

"Oh, but there's more."