Sorrow felt a heaviness in her eyes as she woke up. She had no idea what time it was, but it was late, perhaps midnight. She shivered as a breeze blew through the room. Loki always liked to keep the doors to the balcony open at night. She didn't mind it. But for some reason it was colder tonight.

She forced one of her heavy eyes to crack open, peeking out of her bundle of blankets. The room was dark, an almost purplish tinge to the light. She could hear the pitter pattering of rain, the salty smell woven into the breeze, and the growling of thunder outside as the rain wavered from a hard pouring to a light shower. She shifted under the blankets as she shivered once more, turning to face the other side of the bed, where Loki slept. He always slept on the side closest to the balcony.

There was nothing there. Her heart sped as she sat up, her eyes scanning the room for her husband. She touched the ruffled sheets next to her, but they were cold. He had been gone for a while. She felt herself start to panic. Where could he have possibly gone this late?

It was then that she realized there was a dark silhouette out on the balcony. It was undoubtedly Loki. His hands were gripping the rails tightly, his muscles tight and stressed. He was staring up at the sky, watching the flashes of light high up in the clouds as lightning played with the rain. He was shirtless, as he always was when he slept. It was too dark, but she knew what crackled across his back. The raised lines that ran across her own back. The scars only earned from a whip. Every time she saw them, they made her shiver. From memories or reality, she didn't know.

She thought about just going back to sleep, letting him work out whatever it was that was bothering him on his own. She had barely gotten any sleep the last few months with Hela constantly crying, needing to be fed, changed, rocked back to sleep, and a few minutes later woken again. But she couldn't leave him out there alone. Exhausted or not.

She swung her legs out from under the covers, goose bumps prickling across her skin at the sudden cold. She pulled her night gown down over her legs, straightening it as she stood up, brushing away the wrinkles. The pads of her feet made a dull thump as she made her way across the tiled floor she had, at one point, scrubbed over and over.

If Loki heard her coming, he didn't show it. He remained facing the storm.

When Sorrow finally walked out onto the balcony next to him, trying to keep her shivering under control, wanting to go back to the warm blankets that seemed to call to her, she noticed how stressed he was. His hair was disheveled slightly, his shoulders were tense, and his grip on the railing was turning his knuckles white. Thunder cracked overhead.

Drops of rain splashed lightly onto her face, but not enough to annoy. She took a step towards Loki, wondering what she could say. Why had she even come out here? Maybe he wanted time to himself and she was only bothering him. She turned to leave.

"You can stay, love." Loki's voice called gently over the storm.

Sorrow didn't say anything in return, but she walked up next to him. He was still tense.

"Are you alright?" She asked almost too quietly.

Loki sighed. "Peachy."

Sorrow refrained from rolling her eyes. It seemed that was his favorite word as of late. The silence resumed. She could tell his dreams had troubled him. There was a look in his eyes whenever They visited his memories. Fear. Unquenched fear. His eyes would be set in one place as he replayed the images in his head. It made her feel as though there was nothing she could do to save him from these nightmares. He had told her of the contents sometimes. Some, He had stolen Hela and killed the small infant in front of him. Others, it was about herself. Her packing up and leaving because he snapped at her or made a mistake. And the worst ones included everyone he cared about. Frigga, Thor, Jane, Hela, herself… and even Odin, though he would never admit it, not even to himself.

Sorrow's eyes traced over his lean figure. His tense shoulders. His defined muscles. His clenched jaw. His set eyes. She touched his shoulder and he immediately tensed once more, almost painfully so. Sorrow smiled quietly as she walked to face his back. Her hands were shaking from the cold now, but she began to knead and massage his upper back and shoulder blades.

Loki leaned into her touch, his eyes closing as her hands worked across his tense muscles, soothing them. He sighed in content as she rubbed his neck. "Where… where did you…." Loki could hardly form sentences as his thoughts went blank, only wanting to enjoy the feeling of her small hands massaging his scarred back.

"I learned quite a few things as a slave. You would be surprised."

They didn't know how long they were out there. The storm calming and raging as she concentrated on working her hands across his shoulders as he relaxed, almost falling asleep. When she finally did stop, her hands cramping and tired from the same motions, Loki was sitting on a stool they kept out on the balcony, his head leaning back onto her chest as she ran her hands through his hair, smoothing out the black strands.

"Loki?" She asked in a whisper. The rain had died down, but was still drizzling out of the sky.

Loki hummed in response, indicating for her to ask.

"Did you dream again?"

Loki's blue eyes opened slowly. "Yes."

"What was it about?"

Loki paused, as if recalling the memories he had almost forgotten. "It was very much the same dream I have had. Thanos, a barren planet, his whip." He stood up, reminding Sorrow how much taller he was than her. He turned towards the sky again, this time he was relaxed though, almost no tension visible. "It is funny how things you have seen a thousand times can still haunt you."

Sorrow stared at the scars on Loki's back. The pale scar tissue stretching every which way. She felt the scars on her own back tingle. She knew the pain of a whip. The stinging lash. The angry cuts that burned and seared and made you cry out as you moved or made you whimper in pain. The eyes on the back of your head. The cruel smirk of the one inflicted the pain. How many times had she wished for someone to embrace her and heal her and love her before she had finally given up and turned dull.

She wrapped her arms around Loki from behind. She felt him tense at the sudden contact. She felt his hands clasp over hers, wanting her to stay. She kissed his back tenderly, innocently. Her lips lingered on his skin as Loki shivered. He had been trapped in the world of pain for so long, he had not expected the soft, sweet touch of lips to his marked back.

They stood there, her forehead now resting on his back as she embraced him from behind, pulling herself close. No more words were spoken, for none needed to be.