[the ultimate vacation]

[justabitoffun]

Loki awoke in the middle of the night, restless and feeling caged in his huddle beneath the sheets with Coulson, and Raun purring silently between them as the kitten slept peacefully. He was anxious and preoccupied with anticipation and...something else. He wasn't quite sure what and that distracted him into unease.

An hour later it finally dawned on him what it was. He was afraid. What he feared was that Coulson would get to work and find some excuse to push back the vacation, possibly indefinitely. After all, why would the agent want to waste so much of his precious little time with the moody and disastrous god?

In his anxiety he acted on the spur of the moment. He ran a soothing hand down the kitten's back to assure it in its sleep so it wouldn't wake as he disappeared from its side.

Another hour later he returned to the room, his expression calm and serene now that he'd come to his conclusion and acted upon it. His emerald green eyes watched the agent and cat sleep undisturbed for a long moment with unhidden fondness in his gaze.






The forested lands of Álfheim were beautiful at any given season of the long years. The God of Mischief had always favored the never-ending sea of green vegetation that was only broken up by the occasional glittering river that criss-crossed through the landscape like a long, winding sapphire gilded snake. He spent many hours soaring through the skies in his favorite form of the falcon in this realm as a youth and had always felt as much at home here as in Asgard. Perhaps more so. Here, in the land of the spiritual elves with their mysticism and magical natures he never felt out of place, was never given a side-long glance for his shifting ability or magical traits. Here, he never felt as if he were at odds with everything surrounding him. Here, he was at peace.

It was to the Realm of the Álfar that he took Coulson in the middle of the night. He did not wake the mortal (or the accompanying feline) from slumber. He simply let the magical tendrils wind around the three of them and take them far away from the mortal realm and the agent's work.

The room was made completely out of the surrounding tree, as all dwellings in this realm typically were, and the deep, pungent scent of carved wood filled every open space with its rich aroma. The scent was soothing, welcoming and accompanying it was the constant gentle, almost imperceptible swaying of the tree that somehow was relaxing rather than disorientating, like being rocked gently to sleep by the large, caring arms of a gentle giant. There weren't many windows carved into the walls yet still somehow the entire dwelling seemed open and lite, like the perfect cabin in the woods from some storybook that ended on a happy note, and when the sun came up later in the day that was all that was needed to brighten the entire place with warmth and light. Everything looked, felt, and smelled fresh and clean as only nature ever could manage without trying too hard.

The bedroom where Loki left Coulson and Raun was simply but adequately furnished, and the bed they slept upon was large and accommodating despite the small size of the room. It was also ridiculously soft and comfortable, with even softer sheets and covers adorning it to keep the occupants snug. When the first signs of morning began to creep into the dwelling Loki made his way back into the room.

He wasn't about to allow either agent or feline awake to unknown surroundings without his familiar presence.

Comments

[sonofcoul]

And there was something about the surroundings that made the agent sleep a good deal longer than he would have normally. It wasn't the lack of alarm clock, because he usually woke up before it went off in the first place. Whatever it was, though, morning had well and truly begun before consciousness crept up on Coulson.

Before he even opened his eyes, he knew that something was off. Every other sense was practically screaming it. He did not know where he was, but he knew it wasn't home, and instinct and habit called that dangerous. He tensed ever so minutely, still feigning sleep, listening out for any indication of what was going on, practically ready for battle straight out of sleep.

[justabitoffun.livejournal.com]

Loki sensed more than saw the agent tense in the bed and he turned his attention away from the view outside towards the mortal. For a moment nothing moved in the room, and then without any motion to disrupt that stillness a heavy weight settled beside Coulson on the bed. A slender hand and long arm reached over the agent, reaching for the fluffy bundle sleeping carelessly next to the human. Gently, the hand stroked down the kitten's back slowly, soothingly.

He made no noise or other indication of who he was or what was going on as he simply smoothed the kitten's fur over repeatedly in that calm, tender way.

[sonofcoul]

Coulson lay there breathing calmly for a moment before one of his eyes fluttered open the least bit, taking in what of his surroundings he could before he, still somewhat warily, opened his eyes completely.

"Where is this?"

[justabitoffun.livejournal.com]

"Álfheim," the god answered succinctly.

He continued to pet the kitten soothingly as if that were somehow what kept the peace of the room stitched precariously together. He deigned it wise not to move in closer to the agent just yet. The petting seemed safer.

[sonofcoul]

He nodded, just a bit, silent for a moment. It was a testament to Coulson's innate self control that his voice was completely level when he spoke again.

"All right. And why exactly are we in Álfheim when I should be at work right now? Or barring that at least on my own planet for another day?"

[justabitoffun.livejournal.com]

The time it took for Coulson to come down didn't bother the god in the least. In fact, the shapeshifter was lounging belly-down on the ground, his tongue lolling out of his mouth in easy pants as he grinned up at the agent. His tail wagged in greeting.

:Are you? I want to try something. Say that you are willing.:

The white wolf stood and moved over to Coulson's side, leaning his shoulder against the agent's waist as he plied for petting with a huge grin turned up in a silly manner at the agent's face.

[sonofcoul]

The agent was barely even fazed by the shift. He easily reached down and scratched behind the wolf's ears. Normally, he'd ask what exactly it was that Loki wanted to try, but they weren't in anything approaching Coulson's familiar surroundings. And Loki was the expert. Besides, the asking was a good sign in the first place.

"All right. I'm willing?"

[justabitoffun.livejournal.com]

The wolf's head lolled against the agent's hip in bliss as he directed the scratching to one side and he made a soft, pleased huff. At the answer the wolf's eyes snapped open and he moved away from the agent despite the pleasurable petting. He sat on his haunches directly in front of Coulson and gazed up at the agent with a solemn expression. Then he wolf-grinned again.

:Close your eyes, and don't be frightened. I am going to change you.:

And so he did. His magic wrapped around the human and slowly shifted the man into a wolf.

[sonofcoul]

He promptly closed his eyes when directed to do so. He could feel himself changing. It obviously wasn't the first time he'd been affected by Loki's magic, but this was an entirely different sensation from the teleporting. His senses became much more acute, even with his eyes closed. It was the next best thing to a jackpot for someone so reliant on observation.

When he felt his form settle, he opened his eyes again, glancing down at his no-longer-hands.

:Well. This is different.:

[justabitoffun.livejournal.com]

When the transformation was complete, Loki cocked his head as he eyed his fellow canine in reckoning. He decided he liked what he saw, and with a happy bark he trotted up to the agent-wolf and bumped into him in greeting. He licked at Coulson's jowls to show his pleasure.

:You are beautiful.:

[justabitoffun.livejournal.com]

The best part about being a wolf was the endurance. Traveling long distances wasn't fun but it was possible. Hours later, and closing in on the evening, the two wolves made it back to the area with the treehouse. Loki sat and waited for Coulson to draw near, then he licked at the other wolf's jowls and wagged his tail twice and rubbed his head fleetingly along the other's side.

Then he wrapped the agent-wolf in his magic once more and transformed the beast back into the man. Loki was there close to steady him.

[sonofcoul]

Which he needed, because it was a bit disorienting for a moment, but he regained equilibrium rather quickly. He glanced around, readjusting to his human senses, which were not nearly as vibrant. But on the other hand...

He glanced down at his hands. "Welcome back, thumbs." He reached downwards and gave the still-shifted Loki a scratch right behind the ears.

[justabitoffun.livejournal.com]

The wolf's tongue lolled out happily as the agent scratched. He sat on his haunches and leaned his weight against the human as he simply fell into bliss and wallowed in it. He could have stayed that way forever.

[sonofcoul]

He kept up the treatment for a while longer, just smiling some. "As much as I'd love to do this longer, we should probably head in." Saying so didn't make him stop, however.

[justabitoffun.livejournal.com]

Loki was glad that the agent didn't. :You make it sound as if you're waiting for something, Agent Coulson. The cold, the darkness, a phone call... It won't get below chilly, the night will be beautiful, and, well.

:But if you want to go inside, you'll have to stop first. That feels good.: And he let out a content whine just for emphasize.

[justabitoffun.livejournal.com]

Loki had fun the next few days showing Coulson around the forest, hanging out at the cabin and telling wild stories, and playing with Raun. There were no more shifting experiences for the agent, not just yet, but lots of walking both through the trees and on the trees to reach their destinations. Loki brought Raun with them once before he decided the effort wasn't worth the trouble. The kitten didn't seem to have any qualms about being locked up in the cabin anyway as long as they came home at a reasonable hour so it wasn't that much different from home in that regard.

But some time during the middle of the vacation Loki decided to change things up. That morning he was up early. He laid out a specific outfit for Coulson and then disappeared entirely.

[sonofcoul]

Coulson had started to kind of get the hang of this whole sleeping in thing. Not that his sleeping in wouldn't equate to almost anyone else's regular wake up hours, but it was still long enough to miss Loki in this case.

He rose, noting the god's absence, and went to wash up before getting dressed.

[justabitoffun.livejournal.com]

Loki appeared out of nowhere just as Coulson finished getting dressed. If the god didn't look enough like a Renaissance enthusiast in his usual wardrobe then the added green cloak covering his features today tipped the scales completely. He could easily have been the cliched wizard at a LARP convention.

In his hand was another cloak that matched Coulson's current wardrobe and this he held out to the agent. "Put this on."

[sonofcoul]

Coulson blinked, but nevertheless took the cloak, running his fingers lightly over the fabric before tossing it back over and around his shoulders.

"What's the occasion? Three thousandth annual Álfheim Ren Faire?"

[justabitoffun.livejournal.com]

The god gave Coulson a look for the remark. Joke or no, apparently Loki wasn't too keen on that one.

"Well I hope you don't mind the 'old-fashioned' bazaar," the god replied haughtily, "because otherwise I might as well just leave you here. Now are you coming or not?"

[justabitoffun.livejournal.com]

When the next to last day came Loki insisted on spending the entire day simply lazying about the cabin. He played with Raun several different times in the day, and took sporadic, sprawled out naps with the kitten too. By evening time however it appeared that the god was waiting for something. He seemed more awake and impatient the longer the hours grew.

Eventually the god strolled up to Coulson and draped himself around the agent. "I bet. This entire time. You have been wondering about one thing."

[sonofcoul]

Coulson leaned back a bit into the god. He spoke with a slight hint of amusement shading his words. "Aside from how many messages I'm going to have waiting for me when we get home? Or is that what you were going for?"

[justabitoffun.livejournal.com]

"Well, yes. But that is hardly important." He dismissed with a quick roll of the eye. Well it wasn't important to him at any rate. "I bet you have been wondering each morning what in the Nine Realms that one outfit in the wardrobe is all about."

[sonofcoul]

"Okay, yes. The thought had certainly crossed my mind a time or two. Or every time I picked out something to wear." And he had gone the entire time without once picking out the suit that was part of the wardrobe.

"I take it my curiosity is about to be assuaged?"

[justabitoffun.livejournal.com]

"Correct! I am going to dress you in that outfit tonight and we are going to go to the most elegant place in the Realm. And we are going to have a...ball of a good time." He grinned cheekily, quite fond of his ridiculous pun despite, or probably because of, the absolute ludicrousness of it.