Thinkin bout fake engagement Meloki again and I think I wanna go for drama instead of a comedy of errors
I can probably still work the comedy part with the whole "Fandral questioning why Mel was seen walking from Loki's chambers after midnight with the air of 'we think you're fucking the prince' and it leads to a whole bunch of dumb shit" thing but I think that can come post-agreement to be engaged (or at least after she'd asked him to think about it)
Like I can just picture something happening on Locar where they've decided Mel should become queen and let her parents retire, which means everyone will expect her to start courting for a king sooner rather than later since it's "improper" to be a lonely queen for whatever reason
Mel getting really upset about it not bc she has to be queen now but mostly bc she can't bring herself to marry someone she doesn't love but there's just so much pressure and expectation from her people that she feels like she can't avoid it for long
(Gonna make the assumption that for this fic Loki is already aware of her people and culture n all that shit so it's not like a double whammy for him to deal with "by the way I'm a boogeyman" and "will you fake marry me" at the same time)
Loki and Thor would be the only people that would know about the non-Asgard half of her identity bc it's literally not safe for her to tell anyone else bc of the terrible relationship between Asgard and Locar so Mel has to try really hard to keep her abilities under wraps bc they'd be a dead giveaway to her identity
But she has a hard time controlling them when she's upset, and by the time she goes to Loki about it, she's very upset. There wasn't supposed to be any rain on Asgard that day, but they had a bit of flash flooding because Mel couldn't calm herself down
It's a good thing she went so late at night because if anyone else had been out there, they'd have seen the rain clouds that seemed to follow her. If that wasn't concerning enough, it definitely would be when they follow her inside.
Luckily, the closer she gets to Loki, the calmer she feels, and the clouds disappear by the time she arrives at his chamber doors. The halls are minimally wet, but she's absolutely drenched, which is not a sight Loki was expecting to be woken up to
She knocks on his door at like two in the morning and he answers to find a rain-soaked Melody standing there and something is very obviously wrong but he can't tell if the water on her face is rain or tears. And then he remembers which other realm she belongs to and it clicks. The rain basically is her tears (though she's spilled plenty from her eyes as well) and they're all over Asgard. Whatever happened, it's not good.
They just kinda stand there for a moment staring at each other, both too afraid to speak before Mel finally bites the bullet. Her voice comes out shaky, and he's shocked to realize that she's just as scared as she is sad. He has limited experience seeing either, and he's definitely never seen her like this.
"I need your help." Subtext: didn't know where else to go.
He's been in love with her for a while now and been grappling with his feelings the entire time, trying to push them away and call them "improper" and ignore them, but when he sees her this upset, he can't. "Anything." That's all he says, and he means it. He'd do anything for her. And it scares him just as much as having to ask for help scares her.
He brings her in and wraps her in a warm towel and has her sit on his bed and drink some water to try and calm down, but it doesn't seem to be working. She's got too much on her mind, too much to say, too much to ask, but she can't think of another way out of it. She hates being in this position, and she hates that she's dragged him into it. It doesn't help that he's been so good to her, taking her in and comforting her and being willing to listen and wrapping an arm around her to try and give her solace. She can't ask this of him. He deserves better. Or so she thinks, anyway. She tries to change her mind.
"It's too much. I've no right to ask you, no right to get you tangled up in this mess; it's too much. I can't." She stands up and looks like she's about to start pacing or running away.
"If you truly believed that, would you have come in the first place?" He grabs her hand and the look he gives her tells her to come back to bed, come back to him, to sit down and let him help. It's not the kind of look a friend would give another friend. He meant it when he said he'd do anything for her, and it doesn't have platonic undertones.
She can't bring herself to sit back on the bed. She's too anxious, too fragile, too worried that she'll sink into his touch and never come back. She's supposed to be entertaining the idea of marrying someone on Locar; she can't afford to fall in love with her best friend. It's too bad that happened years ago.
So, she opts to stand in front of him, still wrapped in that towel that smells like him, staring into those eyes that are ready to go to war for her, holding hands she never wants to let go of. Maybe she's not sitting down, but she knows she still can't run. He's fucking magnetic to her, pulling her closer even if he's not touching her. She can't run from him. She's already here. He was the first place she ran to. No hesitation, no thought of anyone else; she came here. And he won't let her go.
"I need you to marry me."
He doesn't say anything. He's entirely too shocked for words. Had he really woken up? He'd dreamt of marrying her before, but the proposal had never been like this. Her upset felt too real to him to be a dream, but her words didn't seem like reality. Seeing his confusion, she explained:
"Politically. I'd say 'a fake marriage', but I'm afraid it would be very real, at least by law. And by... expectations. Kingship, ruling, adopting the culture, binding our souls, having children; the whole mess of it."
He's still dumbstruck. He's got a total deer in the headlights look: eyes wide, mouth agape, barely breathing, staring at her like he can't believe the words coming out of her mouth. He's beginning to think more and more that he's dreaming. It's a weird dream, but not an unwelcome one. Unfortunately, she mistakes his silence and stare for something negative. She breaks her hands away from his, turning to face away from him, shaking her head.
"See? It's too much! I can't ask it of you, I cannot take away your choices and your life like that; you deserve more, to be bound to someone of your choosing at the time you choose it. It would be too selfish of me to take that away from you. I shouldn't have co—"
Now, it's her turn to go silent. She's not sure she heard him right. She's asking the world of him, to permanently alter his life without giving him anything in return, and he accepted? Even though he told her he'd do anything, she did not think he would go this far. All she can do is stare as he stands up from the bed, takes her hand in one of his, and rests the other on her cheek.
"It is my choice and my life. And I choose to be bound to you, since you've asked. You are not taking away my choice by asking; I could tell you no. I choose to tell you yes. When I said anything, Melody, I meant anything." The only thing he left out is that it's selfish of him to agree. Perhaps she felt selfish for asking, but his acceptance was entirely self-motivated.
"Loki, if you do this, it cannot be undone. You would be mine, permanently, forever. Locar believes strongly in soulmates; our very souls would be bound in front of the entire kingdom, and the only way out is through death. This is not a decision to be made lightly. If any part of you may regret it, I cannot let you accept, however noble your intentions may be. I won't let you hurt yourself just to save me."
Loki just shakes his head. "You could never hurt me. I would be honored to be your savior."
