**IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!**
FEARLESS is the final part in the Frigid Immortals Trilogy. These stories can NOT be read individually. Make sure to read FRIGID (part 1) and FALLEN (part 2) first. You can find them in my other stories. If you read the final author's notes section in FALLEN, then you know that I no longer update this third book on FF. The first 3 chapters are already available, and I will update once more in April 2019 to give you Chapter 4 as a tease, but you'll have to visit Archive of Our Own to read the rest.
Quick disclaimer: I do not own any characters created by Marvel. Absolutely no copyright infringement intended.
There are two edits of this story. On FF, in order to comply with restrictions on adult content, there have been significant cuts to the original story that is available on Archive of Our Own. The "edited for TV" version on FF is rated M for some language, suggestive content, non-graphic violence, and adult themes. If you wish to read the full/uncut more emotionally impacting and plot thick story and are of an appropriate age/maturity level to do so (18+ imo), look for it on Archive where there is no censoring of non-gratuitous sexual or violent content, strong language, or darker thematic material. I kept the rating at "M" over there because I don't deem it so graphic that it needs the "E" (explicit) rating that they use on Archive rather than "MA". Still, though it is in no way gratuitous, it is intended for adults. Personally, I think if you discovered this rated-M story on FF and chose to read it, you should be 18+ anyway, but I can't control what anyone chooses to read.
Alright, here we go. FEARLESS begins now….
**Cuts made for sexual, but plot significant (i.e. not gratuitous), content and strong language in Chapter 1. Full version available at Archive**
Chapter 1: You'll Have Your Answers Later, Stark.
~Prologue~
How does one describe life after death?
Not physical death, though at times Loki had thought the unknown blackness of the universe was indeed Helheim, but death that masked itself as captivity. Isolated from the nine realms in complete and utter darkness, Loki had been broken, beaten, bested, and somehow offered the chance to be born again by his great unnamed torturer. He'd been a starving man offered a feast. A homeless man offered a castle. It had been too good to be true for certainly his torturer had the most destructive intentions possible, but Loki had jumped. Head first. All in.
Freed suddenly from his desert cage in deep space by the expansive wings of a blue cube, he'd flown across the universe and had crash landed on a little world (Earth, to be exact) unsure of what lay ahead. Indeed, the relief he'd felt upon seeing the humans after having spent three months with nothing but hideous bestia and Chitauri was to be expected. Though, dear gods, relief didn't begin to cover what had gone through his mind.
The great cocktail of emotions swirling in the pit of Loki's stomach had bemused him. Why hadn't he been overwhelmed with joy? Why after escaping further torture, fear, anxiety, and sadness accompanied that relief? Well, quite simply, because it wasn't that easy. Sadly, he couldn't have simply flipped the switch in his brain. Death, agonizing as it had been, once he'd done it for a bit, had become normal. Thrust back into the world of the living, feeling anything other than misery would have seemed just ... wrong. Every day on that desert island he'd order his drink:
I'll have the lonely, sorrowful, pained, wearied, weighed down with melancholy usual, please and thank you.
Angry with everyone in one moment, he'd then cry and speak unintelligible words in the next. Misery had become his comrade. Much like someone with chronic pain, he'd become used to it, doubtful of the possibility of any real lasting relief. He had completely forgotten how to feel positive emotions. Perhaps he was afraid to allow himself to, lest he get his hopes up only to have them squashed again. Wouldn't it be better to remain numb? To keep his guard up? To not allow any hint of 'I'm the happiest most grateful man in the universe' creep into his psyche?
Yes, that had indeed been his intention. Stay strong. Stay focused. Stay numb. Hel, stay miserable, if you must. Guard what little was left of your shattered heart. Do not let the pieces crumble even further. What's more, do not use your heart at all. Do not allow it to speak. Use only your head. It will keep you safe. Then he'd heard her.
Sigyn's throaty strained cry of 'NO!' had broken through the stoic resolve which his mind had clung to upon first standing in Tony Stark's basement laboratory.
Misery?
GONE.
He'd tossed it aside to make room for pure unadulterated euphoria. Shattered heart whole once more in the span of two seconds. Reunited with the love (please don't break me again!) of his life, he'd probably cracked her ribs in his crushing embrace. What good thing had he done to deserve that?
He'd known the answer to that question instantly. Not a task he had accomplished before his fall from the bridge, but a new mission, a new purpose, had earned him this new life. Dying had made him stronger. It had made her stronger. This great task, this glorious purpose, would likely cause them both a world of suffering, but with Sigyn's help, he absolutely had to take back the throne of Asgard. In doing so, they just might save the Realm Eternal from destruction ... and Earth with it.
~Day 1 on Earth~
~58th Floor, Stark Tower Two, Los Angeles, California, USA~
Trying not to think about how much he would miss his Catalina compound, Tony led his alien (or Asgardian, whatever) guests through the bullet resistant plexiglass helipad access doors to his Stark Tower Two penthouse. He scowled, deep wrinkles creasing his forehead. God, he hadn't even been able to take his Belassi B3R Sport jet ski out on the water yet.
Shake it off, man, just shake it off.
"Alright folks," he said, clapping his hands and rubbing them together, he turned around to face Loki and Sigyn, an entirely fake smile plastered to his face, "welcome to Stark Tower Two. Fifty eight floors…" he trailed off, mouth turning down at the sound of Bach's suite no. 1 in G major coming through the speakers.
Holding up a finger, he raised his voice, "Jarvis? My ears are actually bleeding. Make that noise stop, or I'm going to throw myself out the window without my suit."
Speaking under her breath, Jane looked down. "By all means, keep the music going then."
The British accented slightly electronic voice of Jarvis filled the room. "Of course, Mr. Stark."
Startled by the voice from seemingly nowhere, Loki looked around quizzically, one eyebrow raised.
His gaze landed on Sigyn, and leaning down, he whispered, "Who said that?"
Shrugging, she tightened her grip on his waist and suppressed a yawn. "I know not, and I care not," she mumbled into the back of her hand. "I do care to know where we might find a bed. I am positively spent."
Classic cello transformed then into an electric guitar riff coupled with a solid drum beat.
"Now that(1) is classical music," Tony said, bobbing his head in response and singing along. "Here I come again now, baby, like a dog in heat. Tell it's me by the clamor now, baby. I'd like to tear up the street-"
"Now everyone's ears are bleeding, Tony," Pepper cringed. "Do not quit your day job."
Tony put his hand over his heart in mock offense. "Are you suggesting that I don't have a Nugent-esque set of pipes, sweetheart? I'm crushed," he deadpanned and turned to Sigyn. "What d'ya think, Alice? Asgard have anything like this this?"
Sigyn sighed, putting a great deal of effort into not rolling her eyes at being called Alice again (could the man not see that Loki was real and not a little white rabbit, for Hel's sake?). No, Asgard did not have anything resembling this. Asgard was all lofty violins and deep pounding drums. What she was now hearing, though, sounded like some type of altered stringed instrument. Immensely altered. The musician wasn't plucking the strings (she was indeed hearing a stringed instrument, wasn't she?) so much as strumming them and the sound was positively hypnotic. However, she did not wish to further encourage Stark's unparalleled ego by conceding that she actually adored his music, so she simply shrugged and shook her head.
Tony continued bobbing his head. "It's called Stranglehold. Damn, it never gets old," he smirked at Sigyn, somehow able to tell she was a fan. "Good, right? They're called eee-lec-tric," he drew out the enunciation, "guitars, in case you were wondering-"
"What, pray tell," Loki cut him off and held up his hand, "is the purpose of this lengthy discourse on your musical tastes, Stark? Please do kindly get to the point."
Setting his jaw, Loki rolled his eyes. It was incredibly difficult to not sway his hips to the infuriatingly mesmerizing rhythm, but something about Stark rubbed him the wrong way, and he didn't want to agree with the man on anything. Even something as pettish as the man's musical tastes.
Glaring, Tony's lip twitched. What was with this guy? Tony had just saved his ass (he'd saved all their asses!) from an explosion of biblical proportions, and this was what he got in return? The audacity of this asshole.
"I am getting to the point," he snapped.
"Well, get there faster," Loki growled, taking a step forward only to be held back by Sigyn's steadfast hand on his shoulder.
Returning to his place beside her, he gripped the back laces of her armor, knuckles white with restrained exasperation.
Conceited fractious insufferable human.
His irate thoughts echoing through her mind, Sigyn pulled his neck down and whispered, "Calm yourself."
Eyes wide, his jaw dropped at her words. "How can….? What are….? He is positively…" he sputtered clumsily before her hand clamped over his mouth, and breathing heavily, he shut up.
"Look, this is my place," Tony said, defensive and increasingly pissed off with each second. "And let's not forget that it was my helicopter that saved you. You may be some sort of immortal alien, so you say, but you're still just an Eric Draven knock off to me that quite literally exploded into my lab, so let me do the talking and stop interrupting me."
Loki and Sigyn eyed each other, having a silent conversation.
Who in the nine is Eric Draven?ーhe pursed his lips.
How the Hel should I know?ーshe shrugged.
"The tower has top notch security," Tony continued, addressing the entire room then, "in other words, if you've seen it in a Bond film, I've had it installed."
"Every move you make-" he returned his eyes to Loki "-if you sneeze, if you drink a beer, if you open a book, if you steal a pen, if you brush your hair, if you take a shower or a piss, if you go anywhere at all or do anything at all, I'll know about it. So don't bother looking for the tesseract. It's locked up, away from you because, I'm sorry but there's no way I can trust you since I don't know anything about you. Are we clear?"
One corner of Loki's mouth raising, he nodded once. "Crystal."
"Good. I wasn't expecting company so forgive the mess-" he spun on one foot, doing a 360, inspecting the ridiculously clean floor and shrugged "-or not. I don't live here. Well, I hadn't lived here. Now I do. Thanks for that," he eyed Loki before continuing, "I guess we have a cleaning crew. Did I hire one? Um…."
Trying to recall if he had, he snapped his fingers, brows knitted together. "Molly Maids? Betsy's Busy Beavers? Tony's Tidy Team?" Scratching the back of his head, he shrugged. "Eh, what do I know?"
Blowing out an exaggerated breath, tired of Tony's mindless chatter about literally nothing important, Jane rolled her eyes. "Are there enough bedrooms up here for all of us," she asked, hip cocked, "or should we have brought our sleeping bags?"
Tony tilted his head sideways and smiled at her. "Of course there are enough bedrooms up here, Pipsqueak-"
"Stop calling me that," Jane snapped, crossing her arms. "I do not squeak."
He waved a hand. "Yeah, you do, but whatever. Yes, there are enough bedrooms up here, but you won't be using any of them."
"What? Where are we supposed to-"
"Tony means that he won't let anyone use this floor," Pepper cut in, glaring at him, "but there plenty other condos throughout the building. He might have been attempting to make a joke. It clearly fell flat."
Brows furrowed, Sigyn looked up at Lokiー What in the name of Odin is a condo?
Shaking his head in response, Loki slid the hand at the small of her back around her waist to pull her closer. They'd arrived in one piece, and Stark had led them to this ... place. Was it meant for living? Sigyn had assumed that Stark Tower Two would house floor after floor of commerce space or more research labs. Apparently, that was not the case. Just as she might have expected, considering the decor in Stark's now blown to smithereens compound, the furnishings here were grotesque and absurd, as well. She shouldn't judge. She should be grateful. Gods, but she was just too tired to care about being nice, apparently.
She picked at an imaginary thread on Loki's jacket. If Stark really wasn't going to provide them with a bed, she supposed it wasn't that big of a deal. Having slept naked and freezing cold in a cave behind the waterfall in Vanaheim, she was more than capable of sleeping on a shiny floor in a comfortably warm high rise, but she'd have preferred something a bit more inviting, something softer, for Hel's sake. Something private. Yes, privacy was certainly preferable. Because despite her exhaustion, she really really wanted to do things.
With Loki.
At the heavy sigh next to her, she looked up at Loki and frowned. Was he completely healed from his injuries? He'd been strong enough to lift her easily, at least. Was he healed emotionally, though? Had he ... died? What had happened during these last three months? How was he on Earth? And why? More questions than she could separate were charging through the synapses in her brain. She dropped her gaze to his neck, watching somewhat hypnotized by his pulse point. There would be time for answers later. She turned her body toward him entirely, wrapping him in a full hug. His arms tightening around her instantly, he put his nose in her hair, though he continued eyeing Tony from under his brow.
Clearing his throat then, Loki licked his lips and spoke plainly. "Where are we to stay then?"
He glanced around the living room, as Tony had called it, and gestured to the couches with a forced smile. "It seems large enough to house more than a few guests, if you'd be so kind."
Eyes narrowed at the incessantly sarcastic and decidedly ungrateful man in front of him, Tony couldn't hold his tongue. "You do realize that this is all your fault, right?"
Sigyn turned around to face Tony, her jaw clenched so tight it hurt her teeth. "His fault?" she questioned, wincing at the unattractive shrieking sound of her voice. "What the Hel do you mean by that?" She had a good mind to set his perfectly tousled hair on fire. Rather than that, thankfully, she just turned back around to snake her arms around Loki's waist.
Clucking his tongue, Loki shushed her. "Don't bother asking him questions, love. I do believe the phrase ' what do I know' came from him. Isn't that correct, Stark?"
Eyes sliding closed, Loki shook his head. He was beyond exhausted. He couldn't even form a proper quip for Hel's sake. That last one had been pathetic. Traveling through the cube had taken its toll (an enormous toll) and he wanted a bed. Now. With Sigyn to keep him company. In various positions.
He rolled his eyesーTypical.
He was right back where he'd been as king. Bone-tired but ready and willing and up (quite literally) for anything. Pulling back just enough to get a good look at her, he pushed a few loose strands of raven hair behind her ear, marveling at those stormy grey green eyes, red with lack of sleep though they were. Gods, she was so pretty.
Staring at the two stupidly hot (scratch that, Loki was NOT hot) aliens across from him, Tony threw his hands up. He knew he could've handled this better, but there had just been too much shit going wrong with stupid SHIELD lately. And Pepper kept looking at Loki. Not to mention his house in Catalina. He loved that stupid house. And that water. Those waves crashing up on the rocks. The sunsets.
And. So. Much. Equipment.
His lab, his suits, all his work. Gone. Just ... gone. Sure he had more equipment and suits here, so all was not lost. But still. Loki (again, NOT hot) and his little snide retorts weren't helping Tony's mood.
He glared at the couple. "I do know some things, Prince Vlad. For instance, I know that our parking garage on the bottom level features a lovely cement floor for you to curl up on," Tony said carefully, managing to hold back a myriad of colorful words.
Thinking maybe a little humor would ease the painful tension in the room, Pepper held up a finger. "I thought he was a king? I mean obviously he would have been a prince first, but still, wouldn't King Vlad be more accurate?"
Her cheeks flushed red, not only because no one laughed (come ON, people), but also Loki turned his extremely intense (see: gorgeous) eyes on her for the first time.
Oh good lord, Pepper thought, averting her eyes.
"Indeed it would be more accurate, Miss…." Loki trailed off before continuing, "I'm sorry. I'm afraid I don't recall your name."
Tilting his head slightly, one brow raised, he pursed his lips before grinning at her. Clearly, he had an effect on these women, and it was more than a little entertaining to hear these mortal females silently wondering what a god was like in bed. He winced as Sigyn's elbow collided with his ribs.
Eyes wide, brows raised, he looked at her with the innocence of a school boyーWhat?
Come now. He hadn't had sex in three months. Three months was positively absurd considering the longest he'd gone without, prior to the sixteen years before his first time obviously, had been those two months after he'd met Sigyn when Odin had forced him to keep his distance. Shrugging, he leaned down, and kissed her forehead, his thoughts of her sans clothing beneath him jolting to a stop when Stark's woman spoke again.
"Pepper."
He looked back up and stared blankly at her. "What?" He'd clean forgotten the conversation. Had he asked her name? Who cared? When was he going to get that bed?
Clearing her throat, Pepper raised her voice a notch. "My name. My name is Pepper. You asked what to call me."
Loki frowned. That woman's name was a seasoning for food? Poor woman. Her parents must have been quite disappointed with their baby girl to have given her such a ridiculous name. Well, it could have been worse. They could have chosen Paprika or Tumeric or Cumin or Ginger. Actually, Ginger wasn't that bad. Wait...no...ginger wasn't a spice. Was it a root? He looked up at the ceiling, squinting.
"Is that really what you are thinking about at this moment?"
Sigyn's voice interrupted his thoughts on seasoning which had led to thoughts about food which had led to his stomach growling. His new muscles requiring more sustenance than he was used to, he looked around the space. Where was the scullery in this hideous place?
Strolling to the bar, Tony pulled out a glass and searched for whatever had the highest alcohol content by volume. "So, Loki," he started, pouring two fingers of whiskey, "as I was saying, this is your fault because you're the one who pissed off the tesseract which then pissed off my steel framed house. You should be grateful that I allowed you to get in my chopper at all."
Eyes widened in mock horror, Loki put his hand over his heart. "Do forgive me, good sir. Where were my manners? Thank you for the seat in your meager little flying contraption."
Sigyn rolled her eyes and hissed, "Will you please control your tongue? This is not helping to get us a bedroom, Loki."
Nostrils flaring with barely controlled anger, Loki quirked his jaw as Tony smiled, pointing at Sigyn. "You've got a smart girlfriend there, Mister Rabbit. Maybe you should let her do the talking."
Lips pursed, choosing to ignore the Mister Rabbit part, Loki leaned down to Sigyn and whispered, "Dare I ask what a girlfriend is?"
Sigyn stifled a moan. His breath was so cool on the skin just below her ear, but her insides were positively melting. Shivers running down her spine, she suppressed the urge to start ripping those strange Midgardian garments off him right there in front of everyone.
"Apparently it's what I am to you," she answered softly, working hard to control her breathing as she spoke. "Romantic partners. Lovers. Oh, and apparently you are my boyfriend."
Much to everyone's surprise, Loki laughed out loud. Shoulders shaking, he could barely spit out his words. "Who in their right mind would call you a girl? And even more preposterous, who would call me a boy?"
"No one, because you're a godsdamn man," Jane whispered, eyes glazing over as she looked him up and down.
Loki stopped laughing and cocked his head, one eyebrow raised, "What was that?"
Cheeks burning, Jane gaped. Had she said that out loud? Out LOUD?
"Oh god," she said, mortified, behind the palm of the hand she'd brought to her mouth.
Grinning crookedly, Loki winked at her. "Indeed, god is quite accurate."
Sigyn pulled away from him, glaring at himーWhy the Hel are you FLIRTING with these HUMANS? I'm standing RIGHT here!
Rolling his eyes, he grabbed her and wound his arms around herーOh keep your armor on, Sig. I'm not flirting. I'm jesting. On second thought, please don't keep your armor on.
Eyes narrowing, she scoffedーKeep it up, Loki, and you'll get nowhere NEAR my lady parts.
Pulling her tighter as she fought to untangle herself from his arms, Loki smirkedーCome now, love, you know very well that when I DO keep it up you let me all over your lady parts.
Sigyn couldn't hide the smile spreading across her face in response. Chuckling, she shook her head and wrapped her arms around him. Gods, she'd missed that clever tongue of his. No one else in the universe had the same always-at-the-ready wit. Only he could make her laugh so easily. Although she wished he would turn off said clever tongue when it came to Stark. Loki was just aggravating the man. Not helping.
Still utterly humiliated at her comment, Jane ran a hand through her hair and cleared her throat. She needed to get away from that might-as-well-be-sex-god who also happened to be Thor's brother and who appeared to be having a silent conversation with Sigyn. Oh god, could they read minds? Escape was officially necessary.
"Tony," she asked, "where is your bathroom?"
Thrusting his thumb behind his shoulder, Tony chuckled. "That hall. First door on the right. I hope you're just looking for the toilet or sink, because you're definitely not gonna find your dignity in there."
"Screw you!" Jane shouted over her shoulder and headed for the hall.
Chasing after her, Pepper whispered to Tony as she passed him, "Tony, why do you say crap like that?" She didn't wait for his response.
Frowning, Loki's eyes shifted from Sigyn to Tony. Did the women here typically beg that man to bed them? Was that why Tony had said such callous words to that poor girl? Because she was quite obviously (and rightly) more attracted to an Asgardian king? He snorted.
"You have a rather sensitive ego, Stark."
Tony rolled his eyes. Okay, so his comment to Jane had been unnecessary, but it wasn't worth getting into. Straightening his shoulders, he blew out a breath and looked at Loki.
"This is not about ego. Let's just get to the point. We've been tossing around words pointlessly, partly my fault, so that's my bad, but it's getting old. I want answers, Loki. You owe me that much. You owe everyone that much. You're gonna be staying in my tower, so I think I deserve to know a little bit about the guy who claims to be immortal royalty and came through the tesseract and blew up my house. No more games."
Loki responded flatly. "I've not been playing games, Stark. I told you that there would be time for answers later."
"Yeah, you said that on the way here-" Tony crossed his arms "-now we're here. Now is later."
Fighting the urge to hurl one of the hideous armchairs at the man standing behind the wet bar, Loki fisted his hands. Did Stark have no sense of propriety? No manners, at all? Was it not obvious that he truly was exhausted? He could hardly think of a clever retort, much less explain the events that preceded his appearance in this realm! Why was this infuriating short little man not showing them to one of the guest quarters? He'd said he would give the man answers later. And no, now was most certainly not later. Chest puffing, Loki set his jaw. It was a good thing indeed that Coulson and his team of agents weren't present for if he were to lose it and rip out Tony Stark's tongue, at least there wouldn't be twenty guns aimed at him. Not that the tiny weapons would hurt him in the least, but still, he didn't wish for the humans to turn on him. Rubbing a hand down his face, he sighed heavily.
"Later is a relative term. You clearly interpreted the word differently. I meant after a night's rest. All jesting aside, Stark, I am utterly spent. Did it not occur to you that travelling across the universe through the cube might have been a bit more than slightly taxing?" Loki shook his head. "You will have your answers. Tomorrow."
Scoffing, Tony gaped and looked at his watch. "A night's rest? It's seven o'clock in the morning. A night's rest would have been last night. As in, when you arrived. The sun just came up. You telling me that you're gonna sleep all day and then all night, and then we'll talk in twenty-four hours? Are you shitting me?"
Cutting off Loki's retort which was sure to only escalate things further, Sigyn put a finger to his mouth. If he wanted to rest, they needed a bed, and he wasn't going to earn them one with all this snapping back and forth. Eyes moving to her face, he relaxed, and Sigyn nodded before turning to Tony.
"Mister Stark, you can hardly imagine what Loki has been through. We may be immortal, but we still fatigue," she paused, her voice raising, thoroughly vexed now, "so kindly do cease this pettish arguing and give a us a damn bed."
Sighing heavily (these Asgardians clearly weren't gonna give it up) Tony rolled his eyes. Whatever.
"Fine. Forty-second floor. All yours. Kitchen. Bath. Beds. But," he held up his first finger, "I expect answers before lunchtime tomorrow or you can kiss your royal treatment goodbye."
Nodding once, Loki grabbed Sigyn's hand, pulling her toward the contraption that Stark had called an 'elevator' and pressed the down arrow. She groaned at the sound of Tony's voice yelling after them.
"Friendly reminder. Cameras. Everywhere. No sneaking around."
Rolling his eyes, fairly certain they would end up stuck in that position after today, Loki led Sigyn into the mirrored little box that would take them to their new residence for the unforeseeable future, and slamming his palm against the forty-second button, he turned to face her. Licking his lips, he crossed the space in one long stride. Pressing her against the back wall, one thigh between her legs, he brought his hands to her neck and kissed her. Norns, she tasted like Valhalla.
Seconds later, the doors slid open. Arms wrapped tightly around her waist, his mouth still on hers, he walked backward into the condo. Condoーwas that what that Pepper woman had called it? Why did he care? He didn't. He had better things to think about. How had he forgotten the utter rapture he felt with her mouth on his? One hand moving up her spine to the back of her neck, the other holding her flush against him, he walked her toward the closest wall and resumed what he'd started in the elevator, pushing his thigh between both of hers.
"Loki-" she gasped into his mouth, trying to catch her breath (not that she was complaining) "-the cameras ..." she trailed off, her eyes rolling back as he trailed his mouth slowly down her jaw.
He whispered against her neck, "What was that, love?"
He pushed his jacket, which she'd clearly stolen from his dressing room back home (he smiled at the thought of home) off her shoulders and tugged the too long sleeves forcefully down. He needed her out of her clothes. Now.
Arching her back involuntarily, she blinked, trying to gather her witsーLoki, stop ... just ... hold on a moment.
Her silent plea was clearly falling on deaf ears as he ground his hips into hers, multiplying that ache between her legs by a hundred. Moaning, mustering the willpower to put some space between them, despite the fact that the extremely obvious arousal in his pants made her want to rip into him (creepy cameras be damned!), she grabbed the roots of his hair and yanked his head back. Yanked hard.
"Ahh!" he shouted, wincing at the pain spreading across his scalp. Eyes narrowed, he reached behind his neck and pulled her hands away. So she wanted something rougher, hmm? Oh, he could do rough.
Before he could kiss her again, or bite her more likely, she put her fingers on his mouth. Breathing heavily, she swiped her hair from her face and pointed to several cameras scattered throughout the room high on the walls near the ceiling.
"Get rid of them," she ordered, breathless.
Jaw jutting out, Loki growled and stepped away from her reluctantly. Pulling off his own jacket, he tossed it on the couch and walked toward one of the pesky contraptions. Jumping, he grabbed the camera from its spot six feet over his head and ripped it out of the wall. He then proceeded to detach the rest as Sigyn wandered down the hall opening and closing doors.
Bathroom. Another bathroom. A library. A room with a desk ... business quarters perhaps? But where was ...? Throwing open the last door angrily, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank. The. Norns."
The room had a positively gigantic white bed, and the entire eastern facing wall was an exposed glass window flooding the room with light. It would have been lovely to wake up to, but not so lovely at the moment considering she was interested in sleeping. Well, not just sleeping. She walked to the absurdly huge window and yanked on the drapes, laughing quietly at the sounds of Loki swearing at the 'evil godsdamn sneaky artificial little peeping monsters' and the resulting little crashes, which she assumed was the sound of Loki throwing them across the room.
She shrieked then, startled as his arms came around her from behind. Oh gods, he'd removed his shirt, and the feel of his exposed torso behind her was sending actual shivers down her spine. Leaning her head back on his shoulder, she reached up around the back of his neck as he bent down, lips going to the hollow of her throat. When she opened her eyes (she needed to see his eyes), she pulled away abruptly, glaring at the sight of another camera.
"By Hel!" she shrieked, "Tony Stark is the most paranoid man I have ever met."
Sighing, Loki shook his head and removed it along with the other four in the room. Crushing them in his palm, he looked around, one eyebrow raised. "All clear?"
"I believe so, yes," she said, barely making out the words before he was on her again.
Unbuckling his belt with one hand, mouth never leaving hers, he shoved her against the wall, or more accurately, into the wall. Yelping 'Ow!', the too soft dry wall crumbling behind her back, she winced. Loki's eyes flew open at her cry, and he gaped at the wall before shaking his head quickly.
"So," he touched the damaged wall with the tips of his fingers, "it would seem wall sex is out of the question in Midgard." He then lifted her off the floor and pulled her legs around his waist. "No matter. I'll take you anywhere," he whispered, looking around as though unsure where to go.
"Take me to the bed, you ridiculous man," she chuckled into his hair, adoring the feel of his shoulders shaking, his throaty laugh tickling her ears. Valhalla, she loved him more than ever.
"Right," he said, smiling. "That would be the natural choice. Now, let me get you out of these horrible clothes."
He had no idea how long he managed to last (probably not very, for shame, after three months of nothing), and for a second he thought he'd really hurt her because she'd winced at the first joining of their hips, but she'd assured him she was fine, and he'd taken her word for it. He had zero complaints, though. He was back where he belongedーwith Sigyn, in one bed. Who cared that it was in Midgard? They would get back to Asgard eventually. He didn't know how they would accomplish that, but hopefully he would learn how to use that damn cube. Wait...how had Sig come here? Had the bifrost been repaired so soon? He squeezed her tighter, adoring the feel of her breath on his neck.
Stop thinking, Loki, he urged himself silently. There would be time for questions, for answers, for strategies, for treading softly, for everything.
Tomorrow.
Fearless Playlist:
1. "Slow" by Matoma ft. Noah Cyrus
**Did my best to keep the spirit of the original "director's cut" as I like to call it, but there is major plot in future chapters (available only on Archive) that hearken back to the uncut version of this chapter, and I'll be honest here, it's going to be a bit confusing to not know what is being referenced. Sorry, guys. Nothing I can do about that other than to write an entirely different plot, which isn't going to happen. Still, I very much appreciate favorites and follows. You all rock**
