No Name -Ch. 5-

Loki waited for her in the park as usual, but he feared she wouldn't come. She fell asleep before she could attempt to convince him to come back, but he came, anyway, because this would be the last time he could see her. After nearly an hour of standing in the cold, he debated whether or not he should see if she was home.

He reached the apartment after a few minutes and hesitated at the door. After a moment, he built up the courage to raise a slender hand to knock.

His little German girl answered the door with teary eyes. He gave a sort of sympathetic look. She was wearing a baggy shirt, blue jeans and a ribbon that matched her eyes. She gasped when she realized who it was and quickly wiped her eyes.

"Have you been crying?"

"Ah! No, ah, well... You see, I hit my head on the corner of the table there and it hurts," she lied as she rubbed her head. "Come in, come in!"

"Thank you."

The girl moved aside and he walked through. Tonight was the last night he was going to be able to see her. Part of him didn't want that.

She ushered him to the couch as she turned the radio on.

"Do you pay for this apartment yourself?"

Loki watched as her ears turned red.

"Well, no, my mother and father do...You see, when I started college, I lived in a dorm with a couple of roommates. But they were very mean. They would try to cut my hair or they would put gum and candy in it. I'm a big baby, so I went crying home, but I still want to take classes there."

"So why are you here?"

She looked down at her feet.

"Mother says that she doesn't want to deal with me anymore. She says I'm too rebellious, that I can't control my temper; that I'm too much like my brothers." She raised her eyes to meet his and had a look of protest in her face. "But it's not my fault! My two older brothers raised me that way! 'Don't let anyone take advantage of you' they taught me. She favors my younger sister because she knows how to 'be seen and not heard'. But I'm not like that!"

She furrowed her brow and crossed her arms.

"Sometimes, I feel like I hate her, but really... she still does so much for me." She paused to look around the apartment. "I owe my parents so much. Still, maybe if I were like my sister, mother would be happier with me."

Loki's eyes flickered, and on impulse, he took her hand and pulled her towards him. She sat there for a moment, stunned that for once he wasn't acting so cold. After the shock wore off, she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest.

She looked up at him after a minute with confusion in her eyes and he couldn't resist. He pressed his forehead against hers and placed a slim finger under her chin. He moved his hand to her cheek and caressed it with his thumb.

"Besides, I have something my sister will never have."

"What's that?"

"I got to meet you."

His eyes widened and he moved away from her.

"When I first saw you, I knew I was meant to know you. Even if it's only for a little while, I'm happy."

She moved toward him and wrapped her arms around him once more. She placed her head near his neck and he hugged her tightly in return. This had to stop now. This was the last time he could see her, and it troubled him, but there was nothing he could do about it.

"I have to go now," he whispered. "I just came to return this."

Loki pulled the locket out of his pocket and held it out to her. She thanked him as he lowered it into her hand.

She began to untie the ribbon that held her hair back, but he stopped her by placing a hand on her elbow.

"Don't. Tonight is the last night I can see you. I mean it this time."

She continued to untie the ribbon. She wrapped it around his neck and tied it there. As she hid it with his collar, she spoke up.

"Maybe we can meet again someday."