Oh my goodness, seven chapters already. There's lots of raging Loki in this one, but we finally get some back story for him. Hm, yes. Also, more characters next chapter. Thank you guys so much for all of the feedback once again!
Disclaimer: Only the OC, the rest if Marvel's.
Wynn held her foot against the gas pedal dangerously hard, rage and betrayal working through her like a poison. Loki studied his nails over in the passenger seat, seemingly without a care in the world. But the air was so heavy with tension it almost suffocated her.
After she had dragged Seth up the steps to his house and propped him against the door, Loki watching her with a smirk, she had started yelling. Very colorful words, in fact, that he returned with fervor. Her reaction was not surprising at all, considering Loki had just done about half of what he wasn't supposed to do.
Between "you're an asshole" and the responded "you're a wretched, irritating quim", a light across the street had flicked on. Before the cops could get called, she had shoved Nanook in the backseat and proceeded to move the car before Loki had even shut his door all the way.
The only explanation Wynn could find was that Fury had lied. He had told her that Thor admitted to Odin blocking Loki's magic from him. But what he used had most definitely been magic, no matter how slight. The thought of it made her grip the wheel so tight she thought her bones might crack.
"You're not supposed to have your powers," she ground out, eyes firmly on the road. The lights of the city sped by at a dizzying pace, blurring to one bright spot in her peripheral. Loki scoffed, as if chiding her.
"Magic is second-nature to me," he said coolly, as if bragging. "There are aspects of it that are nearly habit to my person and even Odin cannot erase them."
Those words, decidedly smug, rang in her head as she pulled up to Stark tower. The car was scanned for identification before the wide metal door of the ground floor pulled up.
"Okay, but you're not supposed to use them! And on innocent kid, nonetheless! What were you thinking?" she snapped, parking sloppily next to Stark's prized Ferrari. Suddenly, Loki slammed his forearm down on the dashboard, his metal cuffs loud as a shotgun, and the violence of it made her recoil. Somewhere in the back, Nanook whined in fear.
"I do what I want, girl," he snarled. "You are under a foolish pretense that you are safe from me, that I cannot unravel whomever I choose. What did you expect? For us to become friends, to sit back and watch my brute of a brother and his idiotic friends save the mortals from whatever threat passes by?"
"Shut up," Wynn said lowly, and though the words were soft, they sounded very loud in the tight atmosphere of the car. Loki, who had twisted in his seat to face her, leaned forward, his face approaching hers. The automatic lights on the ceiling had come on, so she could see the threat in his eyes, the mocking. He was amused. Wynn pressed her back into the car door, away from him.
"Is that what you thought, Miss Randall?" he crooned, a bit of white teeth glowing as he smiled at her. The smile seemed private and comforting, as though they were having a heartfelt conversation. But his eyes spoke volumes – he meant to hurt her.
"That we would be friends? That I would look at S.H.I.E.L.D's little subordinate as something more than expendable and irritating? That having a dead father and accidental immortality would make me see you as anything more than pathetic? It's a grand joke," he spat. The words hit her like shrapnel, and for a moment the only thing they could do was stare at one another.
Loki leaned back, smile gone, eyes cool.
Wynn dug her fingernails into her palms so hard that she could feel a bit of warm blood ooze out.
"I hate you," she all but whispered, and then the smile was back.
"You say that as if it matters," he said, turning away from her to open the door. He climbed out and began walking, not even bothering to shut the door behind him.
Wynn watched him go, eyes wet more from shock than anything else. Her mouth tasted sour and dry, as though it had absorbed the cruelty and absolute truth from his words.
She moved through the motions numbly, gathering Nanook and her bags, shutting the door Loki had left hanging open, and shuffling to the elevator. But as she rode up the elevator, her numbness gradually morphed back into anger, increasing at every floor. How dare he?
He acted like he still had power, that he was still the villain everyone feared. He was no more than a bitter prince, put-out by the fact that he had failed in his endeavors. The elevator doors swooped open, and she stomped out, Nanook trotting behind her. She threw the bags crudely into her personal room, slammed the door, and went searching for Thor.
The God was bent over the glass table, working under a study light. He scribbled furiously on a piece of paper, the pen all but disappearing in his bear-like grip.
"Hey Thor," she called, and he looked up, brow still furrowed in concentration. It gradually eased out as he smiled at her.
"Lady Wynn! You've returned," there was a pause, before he asked, "Where is my brother?"
Wynn shrugged, not caring one bit. Her anger still snapped about like some sort of creature, a combination of his actions and speech. The words were fresh and sore in her mind.
"Asleep, or pouting, either one. He's in his room. I checked."
And she had checked – she had opened the door of his room to see him sitting on the bed, concentrating on a book. As soon as he looked up, she had slammed the door hard enough to make the frame vibrate. Childish, maybe, but completely satisfying.
"Pouting! That sounds like Loki," Thor said, bending down to pat Nanook on his head. When he wasn't shoved away, the dog propped his head on Thor's massive knee in delight. "This creature is curiously friendly. What do you call it?"
"That's Nanook. He's a Saint Bernard…that's the type of dog. There's literally thousands of breeds," she replied, sitting down across from him at the table.
Thor scrubbed the dog's ear and picked his pen back up from where he had dropped it.
"I'm working on writing up old folk tales for Jane. She's coming next week, you know." The smile that unconsciously lifted Thor's lips when he talked about the woman was endearing, and Wynn felt almost jealous. She had met Jane Foster a couple of times, and the girl was a princess, perfect for Thor. It was like some cracked Disney movie – and she had gotten stuck with the villain.
"So, Thor," she started casually, "I was wondering if you'd tell me a little bit about Loki."
Scratch that.
"Actually, tell me everything that you know. I need to know what makes him tick."
Thor gave her a confused look before a wave of understanding swept across his features.
"My brother is…angry. He has given up his quest to rule any race, or destroy it, but no resentment has left him. Did he give you trouble?"
Wynn watched Thor fold one hand under his chin, eyebrows creasing again. Apparently, the fact that Loki was so pissed and wrecked made Thor upset because he truly cared for his brother, and she wondered why Loki couldn't see that. Was he really that deluded?
"Ah, no...well, maybe a little. But why is he so mad, Thor? You love him, I can tell, so why?" she asked, and Thor nodded slightly at the words.
"I do love my brother, but there lies the problem. He is not my brother, not by blood. Loki was taken by my father from a temple during a time of war with the Jotunn, the frost giants that reside in Jotenheimr. Laufey is his true father, their past king, and he abandoned Loki for being a runt. My father thought to use Loki as a future binding between our kingdoms for eternal peace."
Wynn stared at the table, and there it was. That small bubble of pity welled up inside of her, full to burst, pushing her anger aside. She hated him for his words, using his magic on Seth, but there was an understanding there. He was hurt.
"So Laufey left him, and your father took him. You mean to say he's actually a frost giant?" she reviewed, making sure her facts were straight. When Thor nodded, she said, "So he has daddy issues. Sad, but that isn't enough motive to justify the level of damage."
"Loki, he…in Asgard, brawn and strength are favored for war. They are seen as the highest qualities," Thor said.
"And Loki has none of that?"
Thor leaned back in his chair, and the wood squeaked dangerously under his weight. "Loki is a talented warrior, but he is cautious. He does not throw himself to battle. The people of Asgard see him as weak."
"Because he chooses to use magic instead?" Wynn guessed, and Thor nodded again. That, and I'm sure anyone would look weak compared to their monster brother, she thought dryly. There was no doubt Loki was slight, all lean muscle and angles. She could imagine how he appeared next to a raging Thor on the battlefield.
"My father…" Thor began, and then stopped abruptly. The words seemed to struggle on his tongue. "Loki believes that our father favored me, that Odin never thought him good enough. He always sought my father's approval, and when he tried to obliterate the Jotunn to appear a hero, it bit him. His lies and trickery served only to disappoint my father. He abandoned Asgard the same day I destroyed the Bifrost."
The God's words swirled around in her brain for a minute before she held out her hands. "Wait, Loki tried to kill an entire race? To win his adoptive father's approval?"
When Thor gave her a look of agreement, she sat back.
How desperate was this boy that he would murder an entire race? After that thought, it occurred to Wynn that Loki's sense of being an outcast, the lowest on the pole, went far beyond what Thor recognized. He did not see it because he was the golden child and never had to worry about such a thing.
Wynn crossed her arms and said, "So he got thrown out into space and came to Earth to rule us because he wanted to be king, to be favored?"
When Thor said nothing, she got her answer.
"He wanted recognition. Granted, it was the completely wrong way to do it, but I understand what he was trying to get at," she concluded. The God stared at her for a moment, as if he wanted to say something, but looked down to pet Nanook instead. There were a few beats of silence when he spoke up.
"Loki is my brother, and there is no doubt I love him. No matter what he does, I can't stop loving him. I do not excuse his actions, and I admit that I hardly understand him, but…"
"I know," Wynn said, softly. For a second, she considered telling Thor that Loki was able to use some forms of his magic, but she didn't want to ruin the small amount of peace that Thor held. Loki wasn't able to use much magic, only the basics, so what harm could be done? At least, this is what she convinced herself of.
Thor cleared his throat and scribbled something down before looking up at her.
"Would you like to hear the story of our creation?" he asked. The attempt to change the subject was not at all disguised, and she appreciated that.
"Sure. Just let me raid Stark's refrigerator first and we'll get to it."
The week passed quickly, despite Wynn's fear that it would drag along painfully. Her days followed the same pattern, but were remotely different. She would get up and shower before heading to Loki's room. They would walk to get food in silence, and then the rest of the day was spent in silence as well. The few words that were uttered were either questions on what he preferred to eat that day, or to explain something Midgardian to him.
Wynn wrote and reviewed reports Fury sent her, sitting on the couch in Loki's room while said God read or watched TV. After she had taught him how to work it (in very few words, she might add) he latched on quickly. The guy was smart, no doubt about it. He liked the crime shows, but would switch the TV off with a sound of disgust if he accidently landed on a reality program. Wynn observed it all over the brim of her laptop, trying not to laugh at his own personal dramatics.
It wasn't tough being angry with him, at first. Even with his back story, she couldn't forget how harsh he had been or what he had done, defying Fury and his brother's orders. He knew he wasn't supposed to mess with humans, but had done it anyway. To a person she knew and actually liked, for that matter.
But she had pity for him, and understood what he must feel, in her own way. Life in her household had gone none too smoothly. She had no siblings to be eclipsed by, but knew what it felt to be belittled, to feel small and alone. Wynn considered sharing, but figured that it would just annoy him, if he even listened or cared at all. Besides, not many people particularly enjoy talking about their demons. And Loki seemed to have several.
It was on Friday, the day before Jane and her crew were set to visit, when she broke their odd, stuttered argument. Normally she'd leave his room around 7 and head back to hers or seek out someone to hang around. But this time she stayed on the couch, staring at her laptop like it was something important, when instead she had pulled up the TV schedule for their area.
"You know," she said, not looking in his direction, "my dad got me watching horror movies when I was really little. The guy was a fanatic. There's an airing of "Night of the Living Dead" on tonight. Starts in about five minutes."
Wynn glanced at him to see him still sitting cross-legged on his bed, book open in his lap. He wasn't looking at her, but she could tell he was listening.
"It's a classic. You probably won't think it's scary, more stupid than anything, but it's entertaining. We could watch it. If you want."
Slowly, so slowly it seemed calculated, he shut the book.
"It sounds awful," he said, but threw the book to the side and stood up anyway. Their eyes met for a moment before she grinned.
"It is awful. But I love it."
She patted the cushion next to her, and while he sat as far away from her as humanly possibly, it was progress. At least he didn't flip the table in her face. Wynn switched the TV onto the appropriate channel and they settled in, some sort of weird relief hanging between them. A truce had been reached.
About halfway through the movie, after the gas pump exploded and the zombies wandered around chewing on body parts, Loki let out a laugh. It was sudden and short, almost a bark, but it was a laugh. She looked at him and smiled.
"It's from the 60's, give it a break."
"I admit the effort is there. Somewhat."
"Yeah, but wait till I show you "Dawn of the Dead". The graphics are crazy good."
Loki's gaze lingered on her for just a second longer before he returned his attention back to the screen, and Wynn realized what she had done. She had implied that there would be a next time, that they would be friendly from now on. He didn't approve, but he didn't deny either, and Wynn felt a small thrill of joy at this improvement.
She wondered then if he was as lonely as she believed him to be, if he was as lonely as she often was. The last of whatever anger she had managed to hold on to dissipated when she realized the answer was probably "yes".