Skel: Here it is, chapter 7. And a very Merry Christmas to all you Lodar lovers – this is my inadequate present to you all. May Santa bring you all much more adequate presents this year – such as doppelgangers of Loki to stuff him in your stockings :D
And another huge thanks to Frakkyfire for making this piece so much better – without her this would be a grammatical disaster
Chapter Seven
Loki sat on the end of Darcy's bed with his head in his hands. Any sense of logic that he had once possessed was now completely lost, only to be replaced by a disturbing uneasiness. The only time he could ever remember feeling so frustrated was when his father had told him he was adopted.
He closed his eyes. Where did that come from?
There was nothing for it - his mind was lost to him. Ever since he had arrived here it had been lost to him. He'd been consumed by these insane notions – impulses and urges which he'd thought to be dormant and hoped would remain so for the rest of his life. His all-consuming hatred and rage seemed to have dimmed in the wake of this strange spell which had been cast over him. Not to mention the fact that he hadn't been paying proper attention to any of his doubles, and the information they brought to him was practically non-existent. All of his plans to spy on the Avengers1 team and infiltrate Selvig's research had been poorly neglected, too.
Loki sighed. Why this sudden change?
Darcy was still asleep behind him, completely at peace. He caught himself watching her, and started to feel his mind wander beyond his control.
He noticed that she juxtaposed him in almost every way - what with her bolshy attitude and strange words. And even now, as he turned to gaze into her face, she modelled perfect peace and calm – totally unconcerned and without a care in the world.
His exact opposite.
He could remember a time when that had been him. Indifferent and aloof. But over the past few days he'd become… almost paranoid. He thought about everything – the miniscule details about things he should have no care for: Darcy's thoughts, her strange ability to see him, what her opinion was of him, why she did the things she did.
"Darcy…" he whispered. Without cause or reason he found himself moving towards her.
Whenever he was pensive – which seemed to be constantly now – he felt something about her trigger a response in him. It was a strange, involuntary response which he'd felt since the café. A pull which made him do things, and say things, and feel things…
Since when did the God of Lies feel anything? He thought bitterly. I am a monster.
And that ridiculously poor judgement with Nicholas Fury was a completely irrational decision. Where on earth had that come from? Loki was not one to act upon impulse unless it served a purpose. What purpose was there in protecting Darcy?
It was to protect my new asset. He thought, feverishly grabbing at straws. If she were harmed or put into solitary confinement, her powers would be lost to me. And they may come in very useful in the near future.
Yes… that's it. That's the only explanation. He wondered, too, if these unsettling stirrings within him were the result of her strange powers. Along with her ability to see through his spells, she may also possess some inane talent for enchantment.
And I am definitely enchanted,he thought. Ugh! Enough. There they were again – those spontaneous thoughts.2 Furious with himself for allowing such a lapse, he turned away from her. His brow was furrowed and his lips were a hard line of frustration as he attempted to reason with himself and his actions.
"Loki…?" Darcy mumbled from behind him. His thoughts broken, Loki spun around and saw her sitting up in bed, rubbing her eyes like a child. Without a thought, he smiled softly at her and reached for her upturned hand.
He caught himself, flinching slightly. It is to satiate her… not because I simply wish to touch her skin. If she feels comfortable with me, she won't run away. She's an asset… remember, she's an asset.
"Darcy," he rubbed her knuckles slowly, "How are you feeling?"
Unaware of his severe internal conflict, Darcy yawned and mumbled, "I bit sideways."3 She sat watching their hands; absently biting her lip as she observed how their pale fingers intertwined.
"Um… Loki4?" she whispered, now staring him straight in the eye. "What… what happened?"
He stiffened, his eyes darting away from her face to watch the floor. "What do you mean?"
"Why did you stop Fury?" she breathed.
He swallowed. A very good question. "I… didn't like his attitude. Not to mention the fact that by frightening him, I knew I would irritate him beyond measure," he quirked a smile.
She seemed to buy it, though her face was still suspicious. "You know what this means now, don't you?" she said.
He sighed, "Nothing I do is without a purpose, Miss Lewis." Let's hope she buys this lie too.
Before she could reply, there was an urgent knock at the door.
"That's them," he said seriously, standing up straight and letting go of her hand. He narrowed his eyes for a moment then seemed to relax. "They just wish to see if you are okay… and… they wish to ask you something," he arched his brow. "Interesting… very interesting indeed." He looked at her, and found her staring with her mouth open and eyes wide.
"Y—you5 can read their minds?"
He frowned, "I've always been able to read minds, Miss Lewis."
She choked, "What?" and shook her head slowly. "S—so… does that mean you can6 read mine?" Her voice was a strangled squeak.
He smiled, ignoring her. After a moment he gestured towards the door. "Are you going to answer it?"
She blinked. "Uh, yeah…" She swung her legs out of bed and fumbled her way towards the door, then hesitated before answering it. She turned back to him.
"This conversation isn't over, buddy."
He just watched her indifferently. With a huff she yanked the door open. It was Fury and Jane.
"Hey guys," she said cautiously, "What's up?"
"Darcy!" Jane leapt onto her and squeezed her tightly. She eventually pulled away and gripped her shoulders. "How are you? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Jane." she smiled sheepishly. "Really."
Fury cleared his throat, "Miss Lewis…"
"Hey boss. What's the problem? Need more files edited?" She attempted a smile.
Fury frowned, "Miss Lewis. The real reason we're here is… well…"
"Don't worry," Darcy sighed resignedly, "I know why you're here." She looked back at Loki with a look that said "This is your mess; fucking fix it."
Loki just smirked.
"Miss Lewis?" Fury invited himself inside. All good, Fury. No need to ask. Waltz on in.
He was standing in front of Loki now, who was conveniently invisible. Darcy narrowed her eyes at him and then he…
Poked out his tongue.
"Bahahahaha!" Darcy blurted out, doubling over. She caught another glimpse of Loki and he'd composed himself, a little taken aback by Darcy's outburst.
"Darc…?" Jane touched her shoulder, "You okay?"
"Ahhh, it's nothing," she wiped her eyes. "Just… remembering Fury's Batman briefs," she rubbed her eyes again and Fury's nostrils flared.
"Miss Lewis, I don't have any time for games," Fury said crossly with his fists clenched. "Where is he?"
"He?" Act dumb, Darc.
"Yes, Miss Lewis. The man who teleported you."
"I – I don't know what you're talking about."
"It is quite alright, Mr. Fury," Loki suddenly said, sitting on the end of Darcy's bed, now utterly – heartbreakingly7 - visible. "You need not ask the girl any more questions."
Fury whirled around, suddenly producing two guns from his belt and aiming them straight at Loki's forehead. But Loki didn't even flinch; he simply unfolded his perfect long legs and slunk up to tower above the agent, a constant look of indifference painted all over his pale features.
"Loki…" Fury growled through gritted teeth. He was so tense Darcy could almost see veins popping all over his skull.
"Uh…8 boss…?" Darcy was a little tense too. But mainly because Fury was aiming a gun at Loki's head - and that did strange, very unsettling things to her stomach. "Fury, put the gun down."
"This bitch tried to destroy half of New Mexico!" Fury yelled, not taking his eyes off of Loki. "I will not put the gun down."
"Fury," Jane's voice was a high squeak, "It's9 pointless. He's a god. He's basically immortal like… like—"
"Like Thor, Miss Foster?" Loki smirked knowingly. Jane's eyes widened.
Eeek ... this is a little too intense.
"Hey guys, hey now, let's all just calm down, okay? I've… I've got Nutella!" With a sudden spark of an idea, Darcy raced into the kitchen excitedly and grabbed a pot from one of the cupboards. She'd set aside an entire shelf just for freaking Nutella. Nutella is an ambrosia of sorts… maybe it can chill these freaks out.
Loki joined her, flashing in and out of the air in an instant. She started a little, but then continued busying herself with the lid of the new jar, kind of used to his teleporting by now.
"Allow me, Miss Lewis," Loki's fingers brushed against hers as he reached for the lid, too. A hot red flush spread across her cheeks.
Jane stiffened. "Oh no…" she whispered. "Jesus, Darcy, a—are you two…?" She let the question hang.
Trying to ignore the stab of hope the question sent through her chest, Darcy glanced to Fury who was still facing the bed with his guns raised. I think he's in shock… if secret agent boss-men can go into shock10.
"Uh… no. No, nothing like that at all. He's just… chilling here for now…" she realised how ridiculous her words sounded, but decided to roll with it. To her, everything was the norm now. Relatively.
She wondered what Loki made of Jane's insinuation and glanced at him, but he seemed to have ignored it. Or missed the point entirely, which was probably the case. He was a bit slow with things like that.
"Where is Rogers?" Jane said, interrupting her thoughts. Jane's little hand was pressed against her forehead with worry. "Isn't he supposed to be with you all the time?"
Darcy stiffened. Oh yeah, the Cap.Come to think of it—
"He is with her. In a way," Loki said from her side, placing his hand gently on her lower back. She flinched slightly.
"W—what?" Darcy asked.
"I have made sure he's been … occupied," Loki was watching Jane and Fury, who seemed to have found the ability to move. The two were now a few feet away from him, eyes wide and mouths open.
"Occupied… how11?" Fury was the personification of his unfortunate last name.
"A simple illusion," he waved his free hand as he stroked Darcy's back softly. "A copy of Darcy is enjoying a cup of coffee with the good Captain as we speak, and he is completely oblivious," Loki grinned. "I am the God of Trickery, after all."
"What?" Darcy was slightly pissed now, "And you didn't tell me?"
"It has only been a few days, Miss Lewis," he looked at her softly now. "I wanted to wait until it was the right moment to inform you."
"A few12 days?" Jane gasped. "What the hell, Darc! You've been with this creep for a few days13? Why didn't you tell me?" She looked pretty angry. Damn14. 'Pissed off Jane' was a Jane she didn't much like to be around. Along with 'super excited Jane' and 'super sciency nerd-burger Jane' and—
"Miss Lewis, I think you had better come with me," Fury said slowly, moving towards her with his guns still raised.
In an instant Loki flashed into Fury's path, standing over him ominously with a face no longer masked by indifference, but full of agitation.
"Leave. Now." He clenched his jaw. "You have outstayed your welcome."
Fury blinked. "If she has been living with you for a few days then we need to run some tests. Interrogate her. She's a fucking liability!"
"All the same, you have outstayed your welcome," Loki growled. He moved closer15 so that his face was just inches away from the agent's incredulous stare. With articulate disdain Loki hissed at him:
"If you touch her again you will regret it profusely."
After a moment, Fury came to his senses and decided to back down. Darcy was watching him cautiously, then her eyes flicked to the Loki statue, which seethed with rage. She didn't really like it all that much. It made her feel16 lonely.
Hoping she could somehow calm him down, Darcy cleared her throat and moved to stand beside him.
"H—hey… listen…" Nervously rubbing the back of her neck, she stuttered, "I—I know Loki's supposed to be17 the super bad guy18 or whatever here but… I—I don't think you need to be so freaked out." She didn't dare meet Loki's gaze, which was now trained on her intensely.
"Darcy…" Jane's voice was strangled and quiet.
"No, hear me out. I gotta say this." She squeezed her hands together tightly. She hated public speaking. She'd rather type out her opinions on Tumblr instead of saying some meaningful crap in public like she was doing now. Regardless, it needed to be said. For her sake and theirs.
And Loki's.
She found a little more confidence when she realised that she did kinda care about the stupid motherfucker.
"Okay," she breathed. "He's… a bit of a dick, sure. But I mean, aren't we all? Sort of? Like... so okay, I haven't murdered anyone or tried to commit planet-scale genocide, but… well… if you think about the level of pressure he has on him, being a prince of the freaking universe with an arrogant airhead for a brother and a Nazi for a dad… well, can you blame him?"
The three members of her little audience stood completely still, eyes bulging out of their skulls. Loki especially was shocked beyond his limits. This girl…
She swallowed. Shit.Crash and burn time… oh god it's the Apocalypse in here19…
"Darcy…" Loki whispered.
"Thor's not an airhead or arrogant," Jane said hotly, folding her arms and pouting. She looked like she was going to cry. "Thor would never cause someone to turn so evil," she glared daggers at Loki, who hardly noticed.
"Hey!" Darcy cried out, "I get that you're jealous for your boyfriend20, but don't take it out on mine!"
She froze.
Fuck.
FUCK.
—
"I mean friend boy…" she whispered.
There was an awkward silence to last an age which suffocated everything. Darcy felt like she was going to throw up.
Never do public speaking. Or even just speaking. Never do that again. Bad idea. Very, very bad.21
"I think you should leave," Loki eyed the other two22 from Darcy's side. He was very close to her now. Deliciously close. She had a strange feeling like she were some tantrum-throwing child who'd just ruined the birthday dinner, and now the parents were asking everyone to leave.
I am awkwardness personified. My life is over.
Fury and Jane exchanged a glance, then slowly backed out of the room. This latest revelation was way too much to handle, even for a certified badass like Nicholas Fury.23 Before he disappeared behind the door, however, he turned back.
"This isn't over yet," he growled."I want to have a proper conversation with you," he stabbed a finger at Loki24, and with that he stomped out of the room and closed the door.
Darcy let out a long, heavy sigh. "Jesus Mary mother of Joseph Stalin…" she breathed.
"I think you are in need of a proper Midgardian history lesson," Loki said with a laugh in his voice. "I am quite sure the Virgin Mary was not the mother of—"
"Yeah, I know that! It's just a freaking expression."
"I do not believe I came across that expression when I studied Midgardian colloquial—"
"Whatever!" she threw her hands up, turning to face him with her arms folded. "What the hell, dude? I thought you were trying to lay low?"
"There was a… change of plans," he clenched his jaw and Darcy felt that same rage boil in him and roll towards her. Yeesh… this guy has anger issues.
"O—okay," she furrowed her brow.
There was a tense silence which stretched between them. She hated it. She felt that same loneliness again, like he were purposefully trying to push her away.
After a moment she decided to be gentle.
"Look… Loki. I know we're not all that close and – and that I'm probably the last person you'd wanna talk to about… well, anything, but… if you need an ear to spew into, about anything that's… like, troubling you or—"
"That's quite alright Miss Lewis," Loki said in a low voice, his eyes downcast and his shoulders hunched in a very uncharacteristic pose.
He slumped over and flashed out of sight, reappearing suddenly on the couch as the T.V. flickered to life. Darcy blinked and tried to fight back the strange feeling in her throat. That feeling you get when someone rejects you.
Rejects you in so many ways.
Skel: Oh also ignore the random numbers, I just couldn't be bothered to delete them. Chapter 8 coming soon after Christmas!
