Asgardian Princes and Midgardian Fairytales

[littlerubyred]

It seemed to Ruby that the moment she began to really look for the door back to Storybrooke, it had appeared and not moved a single time since. She'd been wary of it at first, only sticking her head through to have a look around before scuttling back to the Nexus. For all that she needed to go home, she was wary of leaving the Nexus behind for too long, lest it disappear entirely and take all her friends and Graham along with it. That had not been the case the two times Ruby had made her way back to Storybrooke to check on Granny and on her friends there, none of which seemed to notice that she'd been gone for any amount of time at all.

Knowing all of that, she'd invited Loki to go home with her as they'd discussed after running into him on one of her days off. Graham had disappeared for a while, then seemed distant upon his return, and Ruby, unknowing of how to handle it, had left him to his own devices. She wasn't sure what was going on, though she was not the sort to pester or plead when she invited someone to confide in her and they declined, and she'd decided to wait to tell him about the door to Storybrooke for when he seemed in better spirits as well. He would come to her in his own time, and she'd deal with whatever sort of revelation he wanted to lay upon her then.

"I do hope your prepared for a lovely dose of small town quaintness," she teased Loki as she swung open the door and took his forearm in her hand so that they could both pass through. "I don't know if it's necessary to actually be holding onto each other," she said. "Is that necessary when going through the home door?" She asked once they were in the bright sun of Storybrook outside of Granny's Diner and she could let his arm free. "Either way, here you go. This is home. Spin around and you can see it all in its entirety, I'm sure."

Comments

[thelostprince]

As good sense - and Ruby's recommendations - dictated, Loki had dressed down for this affair in an approved outfit of jeans, shirt and jacket. He was not there to make waves or be noticed, as on most days Loki did not care whether he stood out or blended in. But this was Ruby's door, her home, and therefore even if he was partially there to coax out a 'Granny-like' reaction out of - yes - Ruby's grandmother, he was also there to see Ruby's home. So naturally, he wouldn't try to get in the way of that.

"You don't need to hold on, in my experience," he said, remembering his wandering through Olaf's door. "But it's good to make certain your companion is actually following you through, I think." He found her taking his arm and leading him through, as one might a somewhat rambunctious child, amusing and endearing, though naturally his attention went immediately to the town they had arrived in.

"I don't know what small town quaintness is, but I suppose I'll find out?" he said. He glanced around. It reminded him of a village; Midgard on a small scale. Oddly enough, that was more forbidding to him than one of the large cities he'd wandered in.

[littlerubyred]

Ruby had grown so used to Loki's crowned prince of leather look that seeing him dressed casually and definitively Midgardian was quite something to behold. He'd had a few inches on Graham to begin with, and the current awkwardness between her and Graham had kept her from volunteering Graham's closets to outfit another friend, this one being male all the way around. So she'd gone with him to the shop to instead procure a few items of his own, and with a few suggestions Ruby was confident that the end result would be one to inspire a few swoons when he stepped foot in Storybrooke. When she turned to look at him upon walking through the door, the immediate weight of attention upon them proved that her theory had been mostly right.

There was something to Storybrooke now that Ruby couldn't quite place, a scent or an overall feel that she'd never felt in all her life, but seemed all the clearer to her now that she was back upon home ground. It was an energy that crackled in the air like a thin veil, as though she could lift her hand and brush aside a sheer curtain to see something more substantial on the other side, but for all intents and purposes nothing had changed with any of the residents, as far as she could tell. It'd made her hesitant to stay too long, or rather, it was one of many reasons that she continued to keep her visits to Storybrooke brief, though she was glad to have Loki with her on this side. If anything major happened, there was a chance he might be able to help out. Then again, it was just as likely as he wouldn't.

"Yes, well," she said, nodding at a woman who craned her head to look Loki up and down several steps after she'd passed him, "there's your first glimpse. Can you imagine if you'd shown up in your normal attire? Handsome strangers are like UFO sightings around these parts."

Strangers were so very rare in Storybrooke that she was sure the news would spread around quite quickly, and there might even be an appearance from Regina or Mr. Gold, if Loki appeared to be interesting enough. "Right this way," she said as she walked toward the door to the diner and swung it open to motion Loki inside. "This is where I've worked for as long as I can remember."

[thelostprince]

It was a strange place, Storybrooke. It reminded him of when he had taken a good look at Ruby, searched her for any indication of something beyond the ordinary and found that there was something off which he hesitated to place. In fact, it was more than a little maddening, a small mystery that was suddenly multiplied here. Perhaps everyone in this town were secretly wolves; who knew. It was something that felt like an itch at the back of his head as Ruby led him into the diner, preoccupying him enough that he almost missed (but didn't) the looks he was getting.

"I had a feeling any attempt to go below notice would fail, but this is a little strange even for me," Loki remarked, dryly. Not that he found a huge problem with it; it was simply entertaining, especially after having enjoyed the blissful anonymity of the Nexus. This was still anonymous, but he was drawing perhaps even more attention than he ever had going out and about in Asgard.

He glanced around the diner, noting everything - everything - from the arrangement of the chairs, the decorations on the walls, some crumbs on the counter which, through hiding by a ketchup bottle, had missed a hurried swipe with a cloth. "I like it," he told her. Partially out of politeness, but also because it felt, very definitely, like Ruby. Not in the physical sense, but the strange emotional blanket that seemed to settle over everything.

[littlerubyred]

"Now you understand why I was so bowled over by you when we first met," she teased, as it was all too easy to remember how everything about Loki had seemed interesting when she'd first met him, from his look to his accent to the sort of gentlemanly manners that a girl who had lived in a town with the same boys all her life was not quite used to. She still found him impressive, though now that they'd worn themselves around the edges enough to fit into the friend mould she found it more entertaining than anything when he visibly set someone's heart to fluttering. She still wasn't sure she knew him well, but she did know him, and she had a feeling that when it came to someone such as Loki, that was truly saying something.

"Have a seat," she said as she gestured toward the stools at the counter, making her way around behind to pluck her apron from the hook on the wall and tie it about her hips. It was a long lost routine that she settled back into easily, and she walked over to where Loki had taken a seat to brace her hands on the counter in front of him and grin. "I'm glad you like it," she said. "I suppose it wouldn't be a terrible place to visit for a small amount of time. Are you hungry? Or thirsty? I make some mean hot chocolate."

[thelostprince]

Loki moved to seat himself where she indicated, watching her and the practiced way she tied her apron, which was a strangely natural movement for her, the way picking up a sword might be for Sif. Ruby settled into her surroundings with barely a whisper of complaint, and he knew this was her natural state - and yet. Underneath everything, something was still tickling at his subconscious, like a melody he knew but couldn't name.

"Well, with an offer like that, I'd have to go for the hot chocolate," he said, placing his elbows against the countertop and giving her a grin. He didn't have that much of a sweet tooth, but he certainly never said no to it. As captivating as she was, his attention was still on the diner around them, the scattering of people at tables, a low hum of chatter which, if he listened closely, he could hear every word of. No privacy in the diner; perhaps much of the town was the same.

"So do you know everyone here?" he asked. "By face, at least?" He wondered at her familiarity with people here, which he could compare to back at the Nexus. Certainly Ruby was a kind woman who involved herself with others, but he wodnered if that was normal or a response to her being in new surroundings.

[littlerubyred]

"That's because you're a smart fella," Ruby said with a bright grin and a wink as she pulled her tablet out and made a note of the hot chocolate she was going to make for him, not that she actually planned on handing Loki a bill when it was all said and done. It was all a matter of habit, the same that had her reaching for her apron as soon as she walked behind the counter, and the same that had her moving around behind the counter and through the kitchen with enough practiced ease that she could've easily navigated it blindfolded. For all that it felt strange to her now, it was home, and there was a certain amount of comfort and even confidence that came from being there again.

"Sure do," she said when he asked if she knew everyone in there, her smile still wide. It pleased her to have Loki in her home environment, to see him looking at his surroundings with curiosity and interest for the same reason that it was always pleasing to share a bit of one's self with a friend. Ruby was quite open by default, but it wouldn't have been just anyone she invited home with her, so she was glad that he hadn't wanted to turn his nose up and leave upon setting foot in the place she'd grown up. "Why, would you like some introductions?" She teased. "I could hook that up. I know a couple of cute girls but all of them have guy problems that would make your ears bleed if I told you, so how about you look around for who seems interesting, and I'll be right back?"

The making of the hot chocolate took a few minutes as she made it from scratch, and when she returned with the large, steaming mug topped with cinnamon, she sat it down in front of Loki and rested on her elbows to watch him take his first sip. "If there's anything but unparalleled ecstasy on your face I'm going to be so disappointed."

[thelostprince]

Loki didn't laugh, but he almost did. He gave her a crooked grin instead. "No, no introductions, please," he said. "Not until needed." The thing about growing up on Asgard was that almost everyone knew exactly (well, not exactly) who he was, and he never knew anyone else until the moment arose, or his interest peaked. While the lack of anonymity could be hard, it was all he knew, and up until recently he hadn't minded the fact he'd never needed any introduction. That had changed, though, and it was incredibly obvious when he was a sudden and unexpected stranger in a tiny diner on Midgard. If it was Midgard.

"Hurry back; I don't do well with crowds," he warned her, teasingly. When she disappeared into the back he turned his head, slightly, to the side, noting how he was being watched (and then, hurriedly, un-watched). He reached over and plucked up a newspaper, two days old, that had been left on the counter, figuring the contents would be illuminating. And they were - in the few minutes Ruby was gone, he was able to surmise much. After all, it was a small town; it seemed everything made it into the local paper.

When she returned with a mug overflowing with whipped cream and something dusted on top, he raised his eyebrows at her. "Oh, you know I don't emote," he said, putting the newspaper down. "I can try, though. As long as you don't film it or take a photograph or whatever it is you people do here. I have a reputation to maintain, and it doesn't involve whipped cream."

[littlerubyred]

"Well, okay," Ruby said, her smile brightening at his crooked grin because full-blown Loki smiles were surely amongst some of the best things in the world. "Though I might not have a say in it if you stick around here for too long. You're gathering interest like bad credit right now, and some of these people have more gusto than others."

She wasn't particularly worried that anyone would be rude to Loki, but she knew how much curiosity a stranger such as himself would garner. Gossip was one of the truest forms of entertainment in Storybrooke for some of these people, so she doubted Loki would go entirely untouched as far as surprise conversations went. Still, Loki was surely one of the cleverest people Ruby had ever encountered, with ample charm to go along with it. She was sure if she got called away he could fend of the hordes with little help from her.

When she returned from making the hot chocolate to find him reading the paper, she flicked the pages of it once he'd sat it aside in favor of looking at the mug she'd sat before him. "Such interesting reading, isn't it," she joked. "Did someone's cat get stuck in a tree again? It made the front page last time." She pushed the mug at him. "I won't take a picture if you don't want, though I think you should honestly reconsider. I stacked that whipped cream so you're probably going to get some on your nose, and I think a picture of you with whipped cream on your face would really showcase you're softer side, Lokidoki."

[thelostprince]

"No, no cats, but there's a sale for bread at the grocer's, and I think a coupon for this diner, which has already been ripped out," Loki replied, giving the newspaper another glance over, as if to make sure that, yes, there was indeed a ragged hole where he had first seen a ragged hole. "So I guess I have to rely on a friend discount, yes?"

It was true that somehow Ruby managed to bring out the lighter side of him - she encouraged smiling, she appreciated wit, and she was overly complimentary of everything, it seemed, sometimes. It was very different from what he was used to, where he was treated with trepidation, or at least the expectancy that he would be less than pleasant. Still, that didn't mean whipped cream on his face was a look he was going for, so he swiped his fingertip through the topping to lick a bit of it off. The topping she had dusted on it was a sort of spice, warm and sweet.

"I have no soft side; I'm all sharp angles," he said, picking up the (now, much more manageable) mug of hot chocolate and taking a sip and doing his best to avoid whipped cream, which he was only vaguely successful at.

It was very good. He hadn't exactly sampled these sorts of drinks over his long life, but he had to say, it was jostling for a spot in the higher rankings, particularly alongside mulled wine. "It's very good, Ruby," he said. "You'll have to make some for my mother, when you meet her. I think she would like it."

[littlerubyred]

"Of course!" Ruby said when Loki mentioned the 'friend' discount. "I would not accept your money here, especially not after I invited you. Isn't that how friendly dates work?" She patted the counter. "Sure you wouldn't like some cake or a danish or something to go with your hot chocolate? Because I mean, if you're going to indulge you might as well go full on sugar coma, right?"

Ruby laughed as he swiped his finger across the top of the whipped cream in an attempt to keep it from getting on his nose, a concession Ruby had to allow for how adorable it might've been otherwise. She often got the sense that she saw sides of Loki that probably weren't necessarily unavailable to other people, but sides that perhaps people didn't expect were possible. "Aww," she said when he took a drink and only got the tiniest bit of whipped cream on her nose, picking up a clean, dry towel from under the counter to pat at the tip of his nose with it. "There. Still so dignified, even with cream on your nose."

She was pleased that he liked her hot chocolate, of course, and she preened a bit in happiness when he said she would have to make some for his mother. "I would love to," she said. "I would love to meet your mother, period. However, I think I'd be more nervous than I've ever been in all my life." She looked up at the familiar sound of Granny's voice, and over to where Granny spoke to someone else, but kept her eyes on Ruby and Loki all the while. "That's my Granny," she whispered to Loki, then, louder, "Granny. Come meet my new friend, Loki."

Granny's lips pursed as she made her way over to Ruby and Loki, looking at him over the top of her little granny spectacles in a way Ruby often thought Granny assumed made her look intimidating, but it so rarely worked. "Hello," Granny said. "Are you staying in town long?"

[thelostprince]

He waved her hand away as she tried to blot his nose clean, though he was smiling at her, still, so she would not be offended. "You needn't concern yourself. Unlike most princes, I can wipe my own nose," he said.

"My mother is a most impressive woman," he agreed. Which wasn't truly boasting; Frigga was the Queen of Asgard, and considered by most in the realm to be the most dignified and wisest individual there. She also had a habit, Loki discovered, of making more than just her sons feel welcomed, even loved. While Frigga didn't suffer fools, any friend of her sons was a friend to her, it seemed, so he didn't think Ruby had anything to worry about. "I just won't tell you who she is," he said, with a smile. "Or perhaps you've met her already and didn't know it. She's not that frightening, you know, and she's very kind."

The arrival of Ruby's grandmother was a very, very strange thing. It wasn't that Loki was unused to such introductions. It wasn't even that he was in a small town pretending he was just a regular passerby and not an interdimensional acquaintance. It was the fact that as the woman came forward - old, yes, but sure on her feet - and Loki extended his hand to her in greeting, he realized that the same things off about Ruby were reflected in her grandmother, as well. Was the whole town like this?

"Hello," he greeted, politely. "No, not very long, I don't think."

[littlerubyred]

Loki waving the towel away from her face was a reaction she'd expected, so she patted at his face again, lightly and teasingly hitting both cheeks with the towel. "Are you sure? Are you sure you princes know how to get it all?" She teased. "I think I saw some behind your ears, your highness." She was grinning widely as she said it, and glanced up to realize that a good chunk of the diner were watching her with Loki in either a blatantly obvious sort of way, or very demurely looking at her out of the corner of one eye. It wasn't something she minded necessarily, though she was glad that leaving Storybrooke to return to the Nexus was an option. Sticking around for the tidal wave of questions that would follow Loki's leaving town would not be a pleasant thing, she had to think.

"I would think she had to be," Ruby said. "Since she was responsible for all of this, generally speaking." Ruby made a gesture toward Loki, though it was meant to indicate his intelligence, wit, and princely bearing rather than the good looks that were presumably a miracle of genetics. Ruby wasn't an unconfident woman, and she felt like she could be suitably charming enough to at least make Loki's mother not dislike her upon sight, though it did not negate her nerves entirely. It boiled down to wanting to impress Loki's mother, and all the apprehension that went along with offering oneself up to someone who was so respected and who's opinion carried such weight with Loki. "Does your mother have your leather kink? I don't think I've seen any regal, gorgeous, queenly types decked out in black leather. Well, except for you that day I found you in the gardens, but that's a moot point."

Granny was studying Loki obviously, no doubt making all sort of assumptions and generalizations, but letting none of them show on her face as she looked him over. Ruby had to wonder if Granny had always been so suspicious of men, and if so, how she'd ever managed to have a husband and start a family. "I run a bed and breakfast. You probably saw it on your way in, " Granny said. "If you'll be staying the night, it's the only place in town to rent a room so you can talk to me about that, if you would like." A smile formed on Granny's face as she studied Loki for a beat more, then turned to look at Ruby. "There are other customers in the diner today, Ruby," Granny said, not unpleasantly but Ruby understood it was a reprimand for paying such singular attention to Loki. "If you've brought him his chocolate, leave the man in peace and do your work."

"I was just getting ready to do some rounds," Ruby said, smiling with forced brightness at Granny. "Loki and I weren't talking for that long."

"Uh huh," Granny said, then stared at Ruby until she sighed and picked up her notepad before walking out from behind the counter to approach her first table and collect their glasses for refills. When Ruby was out of earshot, Granny looked back at Loki and said, "My Granddaughter isn't looking for a relationship. Not the sort that only lasts a single night, or otherwise. You're welcome to stay, but please keep that in mind."

[thelostprince]

Loki tipped his head to the side, slightly. Everyone kept referring to his penchant for leather as a 'kink', and he wasn't sure he entirely understood it. Still, he supposed there was some sort of common thread running through it all; he would just have to discover it. "My mother wears gowns," he decided to settle on. He didn't bother to mention that he was adopted, and his resemblance to Frigga was faint at best. Still, no one could say he hadn't taken after her.

Ruby's grandmother was the sort of steely old woman that Loki suspected was secretly some sort of warrior or giant killer - she had that sort of strange way about her. Still, looking at her, smiling at her, Loki felt that odd sensation, the same he'd had when inspecting Ruby for anything otherworldly. It wasn't that a curse seemed to hang on her; it felt as if she was a curse. And her grandmother - Granny - felt the same to him. Did that make her dangerous, like a predator, or like rapids, or a rockslide? Was their danger incidental or personal? He wondered if he would discover it sooner rather than later.

While Ruby was scolded Loki didn't say anything, not wanting to interrupt or unsettle her. He just smiled faintly, and watched her leave. At the reprimand - it wasn't phrased as such, but it undoubtedly was - he turned his attention back to Granny. He remembered how Ruby had said she wouldn't mind her grandmother having an adverse reaction to him, and his own habit to try to charm anyone that may not like him. He wasn't sure what route he ought to truly take, but when he understood the core of what the woman was saying, he found he couldn't resist a third option.

"I have nothing but respect for Ruby," he said, deciding to defend her instead of himself. Showing fear was a mistake - also untrue - and so he met Granny's gaze without a flutter of worry. He was an otherworldly prince, why would he be nervous? "You seem to, as well. So let us not insult her by inferring you make her decisions, yes? You do run a lovely establishment, though, and she must be of great help to you. I hope that's not what directs your concerns."

[littlerubyred]

Ruby's job at the diner was as familiar and comfortable to her as a worn blanket, and she easily went through the motions of smiling and speaking with the people she'd known all her life, while simultaneously attempting to keep one ear out for Granny's conversation with Loki. Ruby felt an almost adolescent fear of being embarrassed in front of her friend, as she well knew what sort of things Granny would be saying to Loki as soon as Ruby was a distance away. It was silly, she knew, just as she also knew that Granny was far too suspicious of men, especially the sort that were as handsome as Loki, to believe that he and Ruby were just friends even if Ruby were to sit her grandmother down and tell her the whole of her life experience over the past few months. Still, she'd forewarned Loki time and again of what her Granny was like, and she supposed there was nothing to be done now that he was being shown evidence of it other than to ride out the storm.

"Yeah, I'll bet," Granny said at Loki's declaration of respect, but her words had lost a bit of their hard edge. She turned at the sound of the diner door opening and her lips thinned a bit as a woman in a sharp pantsuit made her way inside, her gaze falling instantly to Loki as though he were as bright and obvious in the crowd as a lighthouse on the shore, and perhaps he was. "Well, you'll be a celebrity for as long as you're in town," Granny said before reaching out to lift Loki's cup of hot chocolate and slide a pair of napkins underneath just in case of a spill. "When you need someplace to rest, remember what I said."

Granny walked away and, her customer's tended to, Ruby made her way back behind the counter and over to Loki. "Madam Mayor has come to have a look," she whispered conspiratorially with a direct look as to where the dark haired woman in the expensive suit had paused to talk to someone. "And I'm sorry for whatever my Granny said. I would like to believe she was all charm, but I have a whole lifetime's experience to the contrary."

[thelostprince]

Loki just smiled at Granny - not in an infuriating way, more in a way that he understood her, or at least why she was doing what she did. If Ruby was all Granny had, he could understand a little protectiveness. In any case, in some suspicions she was probably quite right - Loki did represent a wide, wild world for Ruby to run off into. Granny just clearly didn't understand she had already done so.

When Ruby came back, he was looking at the napkins under his cup in bemusement. "Has she?" he asked, not bothering to turn and catch a glance - he'd see what she looked like soon enough, of course. He was curious, though, because after meeting Ruby's grandmother, he wanted to see if there was anything he might glean from someone else in the town, about how natural or supernatural they might seem. "Oh, don't worry about your grandmother. She's quite solid, I suppose."

[littlerubyred]

There were some days when Ruby thought nothing at all of Regina. She was the mayor, a woman who was known to be less than friendly on occasion, but mostly tolerable on a day in and day out basis. Ruby could not ever think of a time when she'd been suspicious of Regina outside of the general wariness reserved for politicians, but there was a feel to the woman's gaze when she looked upon Ruby and Loki that reminded Ruby inexplicably of an oil slick. Her spine tightened and she stood straight up, and Ruby had a strange, fleeting thought that dipped in and out of her consciousness just as quick. If there was a curtain over Storybrooke, it was a curtain of Regina's design.

The unsettled feeling made Ruby want to climb over the counter to put herself in between Regina and Loki, not because she thought that Loki couldn't defend himself against someone like her, but because she sensed Regina would know that Loki was not simply a stranger traveling through town. She didn't know what Regina could possibly do about it, but Ruby felt like she did not want to find out.

"Madam Mayor!" Ruby said brightly in an attempt to distract. "Don't you look wonderful! You're usual?"

Regina's acknowledgement came in the brief flick of her fingers, her gaze already locked on Loki's profile, and she moved past Ruby as though she wasn't even there to claim the seat beside Loki. There was a smile on her face, but it was as slick as her gaze, and equally unsettling.

"Regina Mills," she said and did not offer her hand. "Hello. How did you wind up in our little town?"

[thelostprince]

He had not bothered to turn and look at the Mayor when she came in; but as she edged nearer into his focus, Loki regretted that, because now he did, he wanted the casual turn easily hidden by the mild curiosity of a visitor. She prickled at his awareness. These were people of a different make, beyond the realm he knew, and his senses were not finely tuned. He was expecting to find something strange or off about the place, and that's how it felt, and maybe that was why he was able to notice it.

He could only hope this Mayor would have a similar experience, and not see how much stranger Loki's visit to the town really was. She would undoubtedly pick up on something, of course; but hopefully something much too blurry for her to accurately guess at. Though it itched at him he waited until the woman was sitting beside him to turn, one elbow leaning casually against the counter.

She was a very good looking woman, older than Ruby, with a more settled, domineering look to her. He knew a sorceress when he saw one, though, and even though she didn't offer her hand, he smiled and offered his - much more brightly than he would have, normally.

"I suppose the same way everyone else did," he said, cheerfully, knowing his demeanor might surprise Ruby, but that was a chance he was taking. Mysterious stranger was not a title he wanted in a small town with a sorceress who, for all he knew, ruled its undercurrents with an iron fist. And boisterous, cheerful people we far less interesting, and far less mysterious, than calm, wry intellectuals. If it had been only him, he wouldn't have cared so much - but this was Ruby's place. If he made a mess and left her in it, who knew how it would turn out? "It's a beautiful little spot."