A possible prompt could be Victorian Era Loki? I don't know, that was the first thing that came to my head, apologies if that isn't helpful 😅
Oh my god this was actually so helpful! Taking me out of my comfort zone and racing against my dying battery I managed to actually write something! I hope you enjoy!
Rumors
Loki x Reader
One Shot
In Asgard, people talk.
It was compulsory amongst the small populace to spread rumors, happening as frequently as commenting on the weather. Every family had a moment of gossiping noteworthiness, and no one person was immune, not even the Odinsons.
"I hear he sends letters to a young lady in Midgard."
They say about Thor as the gaggle of busybodies observe the man in question between the moving bodies of dancing, whispering couples. It was Thor's party and it had been the subject on everyone's lips after obligatory pleasantries. You had heard this fact one hundred times and in one hundred different ways.
"I hear she's a scientist."
You had heard that bit too.
"Well, I hear he almost refused his father's inheritance for her."
Nothing about this conversation was new to you, and yet you couldn't escape it. You could see everyone's lips moving, making the same words over and over again. They made you dizzy, made it hard to breathe.
"Excuse me." You offered out of a requirement of decorum, but didn't actually wait for anyone to acknowledge you before slipping away.
Thor's party was supposed to be a mid-afternoon garden party, but the weather had turned nasty the day before and the grounds were still soft and damp keeping the party-goers packed inside. The sky was a slate grey wall of mauldin clouds and the air was sticky with rain but it was thankfully silent and thus preferable to being warm and dry inside.
But silent did not mean you were alone. Somehow amongst the dancing and schmoozing and gossiping the youngest Odinson had managed to slip away as you did. There was a cool nod from him, then an answering curtsy from you, and then more silence.
It was so rare to be in the company of another and not speak, maybe that's why you felt the need to fill the silence with the very dribble you had been escaping.
"I heard your father didn't even consider you for this inheritance."
If Loki was hurt by the rumor he did not display it openly. He simply raised an eyebrow and glanced out across the lawn.
"Why would a man pass his legacy on to a son that is not his own?"
Now that was news to you and you could not hide your shock. Loki Odinson was not a son of Odin? This fact came so easily to Loki. How could no one else have made any uttering of this claim; true or false?
"Ah, so that hasn't made its way out to the masses yet then?"
You shook your head, suddenly wishing you had kept your mouth shut. You would rather an awkward air lay between you than the weight of what you now knew.
Loki's demeanor changed entirely, as had yours. He was now facing you full, eyes roving your face and he indulged in reading your thoughts through your eyes. He wore a small smirk that only grew when he spoke again.
"So what rumors have you heard about me then, darling?"
Placing his hands behind his back he stepped closer to you then began to circle you slowly. You felt dizzy all over again and no amount of deep breathing slowed your racing heart.
"Or should I be asking what rumors about me you have spread yourself."
"No." You denied swiftly. Wanting to stamp down any impression Loki had that you were the cause of any hearsay. You thought you heard him chuckle, but it was so breathy that it may have just been a breeze on the back of your neck.
"Tell me."
"I heard you weren't considered for Odin's inheritance…"
It was a cheap way to stall considering it was the same rumor that put you where you were now, but you needed to borrow time to consider yourself. This was Loki's home, his brother's party, where you were a guest, and this wasn't idle gossip between uninvolved parties. This was looking Loki in the eye and repeating every word you had heard about him. Oftentimes rumors were not flattering or tame. What you could say here could have you removed from the party or worse.
"Yes, you've said this one before. What else?"
He was standing directly in front of you now. No longer circling like a vulture over a slowly dying animal. There was amusement on his face, pleasure in making you uncomfortable, and it was enough to urge you into speaking. With a deep breath and a hard gaze you looked him in the eye and began to repeat.
"I heard you cling to your mother's skirts like a child."
Loki simply shrugged.
"I love my mother. As we all should. What else?"
"I heard you almost got your brother killed."
Loki laughed openly, but briefly, like a memory came and went simultaneously.
"Thor is perfectly capable of doing that himself. What else?"
"I heard you practice...dark arts?"
This was a rumor even you didn't believe, but Loki kept asking and you felt compelled to keep giving information.
"I see nothing wrong with reading about other religions or practices. What else?"
You stumbled for a moment, overloaded with new information about Loki. For all you had heard of him you realized you never truly knew him, that you had never truly spoken to him until now. Is this all it took to know if gossip was true or not? Was it as simple as asking the person in question? Or was it only simple because of who you were asking?
"I heard you were a liar with a silver tongue."
"I assure you my lady my tongue is but muscle and blood."
When had he gotten so close, crossing the line of what was appropriate of two single members of the opposite sex? If anyone were to join them outside or peak through a window the whole party would know within the hour. The threat to your reputation forced you to take a blind step back.
"Anything else?" He probed.
Loki was offering you an escape, had recognized a line was crossed perhaps, or maybe had just grown bored of the conversation, but you weren't bored and you weren't uncomfortable. You felt exhilarated and oddly free in this exchange. Plus, there was one more rumor the fluttering in your heart begged you to repeat and hear the truth for.
"I heard you...keep the company of men and women. Married and unmarried. I heard you-"
You hadn't realized you had taken another step back until the damp dirt below your heel set you off balance. Fighting the heat in your cheeks you accepted Loki's outstretched hand and allowed him to guide you back onto solid stone, only he did not let go of your hand once you were steady.
"I believe you have found a rumor more exciting than the truth."
You looked at Loki then, felt his fingers hold your hand gently, thought about how he had chosen those words more carefully than any other, how he had for once deflected from answering. You needed him to answer.
"And what is the truth?"
Before your eyes Loki reverted back to staring at some far point beyond away from your gaze, the corners of his lips landing in a natural frown. It was now your turn to offer a graceful exit from this conversation. You pulled your hand gently from his. Loki's eyes met yours almost instantly, as if some part of you had to connect to him.
"The truth is, for me, whether man or woman, attraction arises from truly knowing someone and letting them know you in return."
He extended his hand to you again and without hesitation you offered your own. He bent low, meeting the back of your hand with his lips. Warmth spread through your body from the appendage, making your own lips tingle and when his eyes met yours just above your hand your breath caught in your throat.
"It was a pleasure getting to know you, my lady."
Tag list
@bluediamond007 @kybaeza @myownviperroom @arch-venus25 @instantnoodlese @bambamwolf87 @dyanlzbb @sebstanhun @thoughtfullhuman @sbluehi @fanfictionrecommendations-com @spacezombiie @friendly-neighborhood-lich-queen @titty-teetee @alt-er-love-er-alt @bornfortherainydays @venitia89 @always-irrelevant @darkphoenixrisingwrites @drakesfiance @katzenwahnsinn @mywinterwolf @kcd15 @somewereinthegalaxi @justalilsad5 @becs-bunker @reading--mermaid @reviewfanfics @iamverity @evolving2deppression @darlingtholland @700teacups @lovemesomepietro @lyka-k @dark-angel-is-back
