Loki seemed so peaceful now that he was asleep. Reaching her slender hand out, she brushed it across his cheek, now burning with fever. At least he was asleep so he could not hear the whispers of the doctors, nurses, and the crooked nosed psychiatrist who were now analyzing his pitiful situation. The cuts and scrapes would not go unnoticed as self inflicted wounds, nor would the blood tests come back negative for traces of cocaine in his pure, godly blood. His sanity was hanging by a thin thread and certainly he would not be released from this place without scrupulous testing and questioning. Even then it was probably hopeless, for she could ave sworn she heard them talking about admitting him to the psychiatric ward. Loki wasn’t insane, he was misunderstood, she knew that better than anyone.
But it wasn’t up to her this time. Pulling her chair closer to him she laid her head against his shoulder and began stroking his long, black hair. After a while, he began to stir and turned his head towards her, yawning groggily. His eyes, still misty from the drug blinked rather slowly at her and an expression that could almost be read as a smile crossed his face for a moment.
“Hello dearest,” she kissed his forehead and he gave a small sigh. “I am ever so glad to see you.”
“Arialle!” he exclaimed weakly, nuzzling his face against her cheek.
“My dear, I am-inifinitely sorry,” the words came out wrong. It would figure that the most eloquent of the gods would come up with some fantastic apology for his dear goddess, but instead he was babbling like a child. Tears welled up in his eyes at the sight of her ashen face, pale from lack of sleep and days of worry. Reaching up with his bandaged hand, disregarding the painful tug from the IVs poking him, he brushed it against her sunlight colored hair.
“If only-if only I could give you a better explanation to this Arialle,” he felt the hot shame and guilt rise up in his completion as his eyes darted away from her.
The sight of the bandages and his tear filled eyes hit her gut with a thud. Swallowing the lump of sobs in her throat she forced a smile and placed his hand gingerly back to a less painful position.
"You don't have to explain, Loki, you know I already understand why." She could read him like a book, although the goddess of passion had always had excellent intuition.
"But you have to understand that they don't understand the past. Loki they'll keep you here now I'm afraid." His expression grew immediately distressed and she tried to calm him as she began stroking his hair again.
"The mortals do not think the way we do. They do not understand, but they have well tested methods and-" she paused trying to think of a way to put what she was thinking into words. "I feel I agree. I think it would do you good. It would do me good to know you are safe, Loki-"
His eyes filled with a look of shock and a few tears ran down his cheeks. He had guessed exactly what she had not wanted him to think-that he was insane.
But he had.
"Do not take it the wrong way, my love," she exclaimed trying to stop the anguish spreading in his face.
"You know I do not think that."
Wrong.
Arialle truly feared for Loki and the way he had treated himself was appalling, even for his persona. But she knew it hurt him deeply to believe such a thing. He who had been ridiculed mercilessly all his life, he who had always felt inferior-now to feel this.
It was unbearable, but it was for the best.













