Things Left Unsaid

By: Thessaly Corgin

Chapter 2: One Way Glass

o

"Doctor Selvig has arrived," announced one of the security guards. Darcy looked to see Erik Selvig coming through the doors. He was a funny old man - stark, quiet, and then oddly hilarious at some of the best moments. He came and stood next to them, a smile on his face as he took in the sight in front of him.

"Why do we even have a holding tank?" Darcy asked vacantly, secretly excited by the situation and trying desperately to break the silence and find out what was going on.

Behind the thick, apparently 'soundproof' one way glass of the 'holding talk' Loki lay on a bench. The bench was rigid and metal, but the way that he lay across it made it look like it was a bed made of feathers. He stared at the ceiling with an air of nonchalance, a smile surely waiting behind his blank expression.

"Probably in case we ever intercepted criminals by accident?" Erik responded, "But honestly kid I have no idea, but those fancy agents thought it would be a good idea. Thus we have one."

Darcy nodded, going back to staring at the man behind the glass. He gaze travelled around the room, landing on Darcy.

"Erik I think he's looking at me..."

Erik shook his head, "It's one way glass, he's looking at his reflection - vain bastard."

"Oh. I must be going crazy or something, too much excitement. Jane, are you okay?"

Jane had gone absolutely white, her lips firmly pressed together. Without saying a thing she walked out of the room, the door closing loudly behind her.

Darcy made a move after her and Erik grabbed her shoulder, stopping her.

"No, don't go after her. She's just upset. Can you imagine waiting months for the man you love and getting his brother as a consolation prize?"

"Yeah… I guess. But someone should make sure she's okay."

"Just give it time."

Darcy looked at her watch.

"We got him back here at 11:30pm last night, and they've been in there ever since. I woke up at about 6:00am and just came over about half an hour ago and she was just sitting here. Staring."

"Just give it time."

Erik put his hand on her shoulder and ushered her out of the room, taking her upstairs to the cafeteria for some poorly made cups of bitter black coffee. Not long afterwards, Jane came up to join them. She appeared grim and close to tears. Erik stood up and hugged her while Darcy looked around nervously, thinking about the man with dark hair - were they going to let him out of the cell? Erik turned to Jane.

"Jane… I think that you should get some sleep."

Jane's eyes were dark and tired, her hair still frazzled from the night before and her clothes dirty, "But… someone has to watch him…I can't keep him in the cell all day, that's cruel."

Erik nodded, turning to Darcy, "Guess what, Darcy? You just made a new best friend. Keep your eyes on him and don't let him run around on his own."

"What? What am I supposed to do with him?"

"You can play tennis for all I care. Just keep him out of trouble, Jane needs to sleep."

Darcy nodded and finished her coffee, basically skipping as she made her way out of the cafeteria.

o

The whole area was freezing cold, and the holding cell appeared to be made completely of metal. She could honestly say that it didn't look like the most comfortable place to spend time in - she hoped she never ended up being a criminal or something. Loki still lay draped across the bench, his boots and cloak piled on the ground beside him. She walked slowly up to the glass, trying to get a better look at him while she had the chance to be a voyeur. The second she stepped close he looked up, staring directly at her with a smirk.

"One way glass my ass..."

She mumbled, walking around to the door. Now that she had access to what she had been so curious about the night before, she was starting to wonder if it really was a good idea or not. So far as she knew he had the power to kill her with his little finger. Before she put in the access code to get into his room, she looked through the glass in the door at him. He still has handcuffs on. He is not going to kill me. She walked in.

"Hello."

He said, his voice coming from right beside her. Darcy yelped and nearly jumped out of her skin, absolutely baffled that he had managed to get so closed to her so fast. He stood right next to her, his mouth smiling but not his eyes.

"How did you -" Darcy desperately tried to regain her composure, taking a few deep breaths, "well I-I'm Darcy and you can kind of think of me like your babysitter. Apparently I'm not allowed to let you out of my sight or you might run off and cause trouble, so don't try and make my life harder than it is, okay?"

Loki gave her an evaluating look - he was much taller than she was and much wider, the size difference startling her slightly. The night before he had seemed crippled and week, but there was no question now that he was a god. He made a noise that sounded like brief laughter.

"Sure, I'll play along with that. I don't exactly feel like causing any big trouble right now. But I'm going to admit, I took the handcuffs off. They stop being fun after a few hours."

He held up two completely free hands, and motioned to the pair of hand cuffs on top of his piled cape. Now that he had Darcy on edge, he returned to his spot on the bench. Darcy noticed that, although he was concealing it well, he was limping, one hand clutched to his side.

"Okay, you broke the cuffs. Why haven't you escaped yet?"

Loki looked at the locked door.

"No reason to leave. I could get out, but there's honestly nothing out there that appeals to me more than what I have in here. It's far too much fun to mess with the lot of you."

He gave her an open mouthed smile, which didn't appear friendly at all. Darcy blushed and picked up the few articles of clothing he had dropped on the floor. She was hardly surprised to find that the boots and cloak were incredibly heavy.

"You… haven't really been messing with us that much, though. We're all a little tired around here at the moment."

"Well, I'm sure that I'll get my chance eventually."

"Well I'm taking you to your new room. I don't really think that you could actually leave if you wanted to, so just come with me. I'll let you out."

Loki's smile faded as he didn't look very amused that she wasn't playing into... whatever he was trying to make her play into. She didn't know. She expected him to say something sarcastic but instead she found that he was gone, and she was alone in the steel cell room.

With a sigh she went up to the keypad and opened the door to leave. Before she left she looked at the 'one way glass': the only thing she could see in it was her own reflection. She walked out the door and looked around, both corridors appearing to be empty.

"Uh... Mister Loki? Or whatever? You can come back now."

With a thump he appeared on the floor next to her, and he didn't look like he was very comfortable.

"Are you hurt or something? Or did you mean to do that?"

He struggled to stand up, and leaned against the wall facing away from her.

"I'm fine... don't you dare think... yes of course I meant to do it, it was just unwise of me to use magic like that while injured."

He said while panting. Darcy went to put her hand on his shoulder, and he jerked away violently.

"Don't touch me, girl. Take me to my room."

Darcy didn't say anything in response, surprised by how snarky he had become so fast. They snaked through the maze of a building, eventually finding themselves in the residential wing. In the last nine months since Thor's departure the Albuquerque research facility had expanded tenfold, now housing decent food and more than trailers to sleep in. It also appeared to be getting larger weekly, with rumors of a pool on the top deck and a library hidden somewhere. Darcy opened the door to one of the unoccupied rooms and Loki walked in. He frowned.

"The bed is not sufficient. I require a better bed."

Darcy scoffed, dropping the cloak of his she was carrying onto the ground.

"That's the same kind of bed everyone else has, so it's going to have to do. Sorry we're not luxury five star accommodation - we're a remote base in the middle of nowhere, New Mexico."

Surprisingly, without any more protests, Loki walked in and began to remove his remaining clothing. Darcy's first instinct was to turn away, but she could't helped but watch him take his shirt off. He wasn't as built as Thor - not by a long shot - but his arms were toned and back muscled. He was obviously built for a different type of strength. He undressed the rest of the way and crawled into the bed, pulling a pillow over top of his head.

"Seriously, you're going to sleep? It isn't even 9 in the morning yet."

"Do we really have to talk about this? No, don't answer. There's nothing to talk about. Leave," Loki mumbled back from under a pillow he had put over his head. Darcy sat down on a chair and pulled it up next to the bed.

"Well I can't let you out of my sight or Jane might get angry so I'm going to sit here and watch you."

"I'd really rather if you didn't. Just - don't touch me."

Darcy for a while Darcy listened to him breathe, staring off into space.

"Can I ask you a question, Loki?"

Loki took a moment to respond, his voice quiet, "Yes?"

"Have you lied to me yet?"

Again he was silent for some time, before responding, "No. Of course not."

Darcy continued to stare off into space, wondering how long it would take for everyone to perk up and start having fun again. Summer was just around the corner, after all. It's a shame, though... Darcy thought to herself as she played each conversation over and over, I can already tell he's lying.

o

29/07/2012 - Edited to perfection. Follow on tumblr for updates! tcorgin