A/N: Oi . This chapter was like death. I couldn't find the right things the write and finally, FINALLY after about three doses of caffeine and sugar I finally got it out. Anyway, I hope you like it. There are a couple of phrases in Norwegian and they will be translated in the ending Author's Note.
Disclaimer: I own nothing…
Chapter 7
Women and Children
The sting from the back of Odin's hand across his cheek made his face burn. The older man hadn't said anything, merely struck him, causing Frigga and Thor to both cry out in shock. Loki glared at his adopted father and kept his tongue silent. If he dared to strike the older man back with his words he knew it would ruin his chances of getting Tony back. Instead he lowered his head in fake defeat. Odin seemed pleased and walked away from him. As soon as the man's back disappeared out the door, followed by Fandral, Frigga rushed forward to examine the red handprint on her son's face.
"Oh, my poor boy! Are you alright?" She asked gently cupping Loki's face in her hands. He pulled her hands away from his stinging cheek and held them in his own.
"I'm alright mother," He reassured. Thor was beside him then, his large hand grasping his shoulder.
"He should not have done that, Loki," He said in great disappointment. "I never thought father would do such a thing." Loki scoffed and turned to the large blonde.
"That is a trivial matter at present," Loki said turning and walking a few paces to get some distance from the pair. "On our way here, Tony and I overheard Mr. Banner and the Captain speaking about the damages that the ship has endured. We do not have much time."
"What has happened exactly?" Thor asked, a frown marring his features. Loki took a deep breath before looking at his mother, worry etched into every gently line on her face.
"We hit an iceberg," He explained. "I'm not sure of the extent of the damages but I do know that we are in a crisis." He chewed on his bottom lip and turned his gaze to Thor. "Brother, do you know where they are taking Anthony?" Thor thought for a moment before slowly nodding.
"I believe so," He said. Loki nodded before going to Frigga and gently placing his hands on her shoulders.
"Mother, I need you to go on deck, warmly dressed and with your lifebelt on," He said softly, trying to ease the fear he saw in his mother's gentle eyes. "I'm sure that they are giving out these orders already. Find Ms. Potts and Jane, keep them close and calm. Do you understand?" Frigga nodded.
"Be safe, my sons," She said hugging each of her sons before going to put on warmer clothes and her lifebelt. Loki looked at Thor when Frigga left the room.
"Now…we were about to plan a way to get Anthony free." Thor grinned, a deep chuckle rumbling through his chest. Loki smirked.
The young man looked over Captain Fury's shoulder and his eyes widened. He looked up at the captain with confusion in his eyes as he asked, "C.Q.D.?" Fury stood, holding the paper in his hands. There was a beat of silence that stretched on for some time before Fury nodded.
"Yes. C.Q.D. The distress call," He said looking over the slip of paper in his hands again before handing it to the young man. "This is our position. Tell whoever responds that we're going down by the head and that we need immediate assistance." He turned and left, leaving the two young crewmen staring at the retreating back of their Captain. The man sitting at the telegraph machine cursed and quickly turned around, shoving the headphones on over his ears and starting to tap out the message that Fury had instructed of him.
Outside crewmen had gathered to free up the lifeboats and prepare them for passengers. Ropes were pulled and loosened from knots, orders were barked and men scampered back and forth to complete them. Bruce Banner was making his way around the deck, his eyes searching for the passengers, but he hardly saw any of them. He frowned and made a quick beeline towards one of the crewmen.
"Mr. Wilde!" He hollered over all the noise, catching the man's attention. "Where are all the passengers?" The crewman swallowed and motioned to the windows beside them.
"We sent them back inside, sir," He said. "It was too cold and noise for them." He turned away from Bruce and started to give orders again. Bruce glanced down at his pocket watch and then into the windows of the smoking room where Mr. Wilde had said they'd sent the passengers. They didn't have much time left. He walked around to the door and entered the room, his ears filling with the sound of cheerful, elegant music as he walked around the chattering people, all of them in their lifebelts. He stared at the band that was playing and then at the waiter who offered him a glass of sparkling champagne. He shook his head at the man and continued through to the dining room. A hand on his arm caught his attention and he turned to see Loki Odinson standing behind him, a look of forlorn dancing in his green eyes.
"Mr. Banner, I must know the truth of the matter at hand," He said calmly. Bruce looked behind him to see the older son, Thor, behind him, his face just as serious as Loki's. Further back he noticed their mother with young Jane Foster and Pepper Potts. He looked back at Loki. "I saw the iceberg when it hit." Bruce swallowed. The truth it was then. He was a terrible liar anyway.
"In about an hour, maybe longer, the ship…," He paused and took a steadying breath. "The ship will sink." The look that passed over Loki's features only proved to Bruce that he had just confirmed the man's worst fears. "Get your family to a lifeboat as quickly as possible. But don't…don't tell anyone about this unless it's necessary. I don't want them to panic…it will only make it worse." Loki nodded and turned to Thor. The blonde nodded and moved quickly to the three women.
"Thank you, Mr. Banner," Loki said with a small bow of his head. "I appreciate your honestly. May the gods be with you." He gave Bruce's shoulder a light squeeze before moving to join his brother and the women. Bruce's hands clenched into tight fists. Why in the name of God did this have to happen?
"Right this way, sir," The master-at-arms said pulling Tony over to a large pipe sticking out of the ceiling. Tony mocked him and earned a swift whack to the back of the head.
"Hey! Watch it!" Tony spat, glaring at the uniformed man. "You almost made me hit the pipe!" The man almost hit him again but stopped when a younger man in a slightly different uniform came into the room.
"Sir, they need you in the second class purser's office. There's a mob up there," The young man said quickly. The master-at-arms nodded and quickly fastened Tony's wrists back into the handcuffs so that he was hugging the pipe.
"You go on," Volstagg said, nodding towards the door. "Me and Hogun will keep an eye on him." The master-at-arms nodded and left quickly, passing the key over to Hogun as he went. Volstagg looked over at his companion. "You keep watch outside." Hogun nodded and stepped outside the door, just out of sight. Volstagg sat down in a chair and looked smugly up at where Tony stood against the pipe.
"Oh, what? Am I a fucking animal in a zoo now?" He asked rolling his eyes. Volstagg smirked.
"You might as well be," He said crossing his arms. Tony glared at the man. If only he wasn't in handcuffs right now… He turned away from Volstagg and glared at the wall instead. He hoped that he'd read Loki's expression right earlier. He did not want to spend his last hours in the company of a giant pig.
"Sir!" A young officer hollered, running up to Captain Fury as quickly as he possibly could. Fury stopped and waited for him to catch up. "The Carpathia says they're making 17 knots. Full steam for them, sir." Fury took the small piece of paper from the man's hand and glanced over it.
"Is she the only one responding?" He asked looking up at the young man.
"The only one close, sir," He said shaking his head. "She says they can be here in four hours." Fury's brows knitted together and his eye widened slightly.
"Four hours?!" He exclaimed, losing his composure for a moment, making the young man take a step back. Fury drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly before nodding. "Thank you, Bride." He nodded to the man and he ran off to confirm with the Carpathia of their arrival. For the first time in a long time Captain Fury felt the icy claws of fear gripping him. Four hours? They could all be dead by then. And most likely…they all would be.
"Sir, we are swung out and ready," A crewman said from Fury's side. He looked over at the man and gave him a nod in acknowledgement.
"Good. Get the women and children on the boats first," He said. The man nodded and went about instructing the passengers gathered there to have the women and children come forward to be loaded onto the lifeboats. Fury watched as the band came out and set up on the deck to play as he'd instructed them to. They started to play a cheery tune in hopes to keep the passengers calm. It was the least he could do.
Steve had somehow managed to grab three lifebelts from the steward and handed them to Natasha, Peggy and Clint. Rhodey had gotten one and snagged a second from the ground, passing it to Steve. He thanked him for it as he fastened it to his body. Once he was sure that everyone had a lifebelt he led them towards the stairwell that would take them up to the deck. But there was a blockade. A man was shouting down at them that it wasn't time to go to the boats yet and for them to wait. He held Peggy's shaking form close, hoping to sooth some of her fears away, but he didn't know how. He was just as frightened as her, if not more.
Looking around him he saw panic in the eyes of every adult and confusion in the eyes of the children. How had this happened? Why had this happened? With his new found friends around him he waited, even though every instinct he had screamed at him to run. The panic inside of him clogged his throat and welled in his chest, but one look around him quelled that panic. Everything would be alright. He would live, and so would Peggy, so would Clint and Natasha, and so would Rhodey and Tony. Tony! Where was Tony?
Looking around herself, Frigga could see all the faces of people she knew and people she'd only just glanced at. She wished she did know these people so that she might be able to comfort them during this dark time. She looked up into the determined faces of her sons, both birthed and adopted. Thor's face was set into a grim scowl; Jane pressed against his side in attempt to both warm and quell her rising fears. Pepper was standing next to Frigga, tall and proud, but her eyes were fearful, just as Frigga's were. If Odin had been here she would be pressed against his side much like Jane was, but her husband as well as Fandral had gone in search of a faster way onto the boats for them. They were loading all the women and children into the boats first. That was perfectly fine, but having Loki standing there with that guarded expression on his face tore at Frigga's heart.
"Loki," She called softly, making him turn to face her. "You and Thor must go. The girls and I will be fine." Loki and Thor both shook their heads. Thor's arms tightened around Jane.
"No, mother," Loki said taking one of her hands in his. "We will see you, Pepper and Jane safely onto one of the boats before we move from here." Frigga huffed and her eyes hardened with determination.
"There is a young man somewhere below deck waiting on you," She said. "If you don't leave now before your father comes back you will not be able to." Loki looked at his mother for a long moment, but anything he might've said died on his tongue as Fandral came into view.
"Hello ladies, Thor, Loki," He said with a great smile. "Odin sent me to make sure you were all okay." Frigga gave Loki a look that proved she had been right. Loki sighed, his shoulders slumping. A crewman motioned for the three ladies to step forward. Frigga waited as they seated Pepper and Jane. She turned to her sons, pulling Thor into a hug first, whispering something that Loki could not hear into his ear. She then wrapped her arms around Loki.
"Please…do the right thing," She whispered before letting go. She gave her sons a small sad smile, wishing that her husband was there.
"Frigga!" The booming voice made Loki jump. Odin came running into view, only stopping to gather his wife into his arms. The loving way he embraced her forced Loki to look away. His arms ached to wrap around broad shoulders and his fingers itched to card through soft dark brown hair. He looked up to see Odin carefully helping Frigga into the boat. "Jeg elskerdeg, minelskede." Odin pressed a kiss to his wife's knuckles before letting go of her hand.
"Jeg elsker deg også, min eneste," Frigga replied a soft smile curing her lips upwards. That was the Odin that she knew and loved. If only he would show the same kindness to his son. But when she looked up to see her sons again, they were gone. Fandral came into view looking angry and rubbing his cheek that was starting to swell into the unmistakable print of a fist. And by the size of it, it must have been Thor's fist.
"They're gone, Odin," Fandral said throwing his arms out to the side. "They've gone to save that damned disgrace down below deck!" Odin didn't look away from Frigga as he answered.
"Let them. I was wrong to deprive my son of his needs." Frigga's heart leapt with new found hope and the boat started to lower towards the water. Finally…Odin understood.
Tony was sure he'd glared a hole through the wall by now. Volstagg was sitting at the desk rolling a freaking bullet across the wooden surface. The noise was driving the brunette absolutely crazy. He fiddled with the chain between his bond wrists for the millionth time. Time was crawling and the water kept creeping up the small round window beside his head. He had a little mantra in his head going 'Don't panic. It's okay. Don't panic. Just don't fucking panic.' It wasn't working too well. He was ready to start screaming if Volstagg didn't stop rolling that fucking bullet any time soon.
The rolling stopped. Tony sighed and thanked some god up there, but stopped short when he heard the magazine of the gun being loaded. He gulped and chanced a look over his shoulder at the stockier man. Volstagg grinned at him before standing.
"I've got a little gift for you from Fandral, Hogun and myself," He said holding the gun up towards Tony's head. "Well…mostly myself." Volstagg's fist slammed hard into Tony's stomach, making him fall to his knees. The pressure of the handcuffs on his wrists only made it worse. He coughed and glared up at Volstagg.
"Is that seriously all you've got?" He asked. Damn him and his mouth. Volstagg's knee slammed into his ribs this time.
"Have a good evening, Mr. Stark," He said with a satisfied bounce in his step. Tony heard the door shut and he sat there and wheezed until he felt the air return to his lungs and he could actually stand up again. He shook his head to clear it and looked out the window. Oh…water. No big deal. 'Relax…just relax…' Despite trying to calm himself his panic rose to frightening levels. He was going to drown and for some reason that wasn't his main concern.
Loki; that was his main concern. Was Loki okay? Was he safe? Was he on his way here? Oh God! If he was on his way here…he'd be in danger. Fuck! Tony cursed. He had to know that Loki was safe. He had no way to get out of the handcuffs; the key had walked out with Volstagg. He had to do something. Maybe there was someone still on this level. With that in mind he started to bang on the pipe with the handcuffs and scream his lungs out for someone to answer him. Nothing. No one. He groaned and dropped his head against the pipe, trying to remember how to breathe properly. A sound so soft he wouldn't have normally heard it made him look down at the doorway.
Water. Tony's eyes widened as he stared at the water creeping in under the door towards him. An array of colorful curses fell from his lips as he climbed up onto the desk to avoid the freezing water. He struggled with the handcuffs, trying to get them over his palms but to no avail, they were on tight and were there to stay. He stared at the water as it came pouring into the room. He hoped Loki did the smart thing and get into a lifeboat. Tony would've liked to have kissed him again. To have held him close and heard his laugh, his voice. But he had to believe that he was safe. He wasn't sure how long he watched the water as it rose. His breathing calm and steady, stealing himself for the end.
"Anthony!" Huh? Oh…guess it wasn't the end. "Anthony!" Loki? That was… Tony's eyes widened and his head snapped up to the direction the voice had come from. Definitely Loki.
"Stark!" Another voice. Deeper and less familiar-Thor.
"In here!" Tony hollered, banging the handcuffs against the pipe again. In a few short seconds the door opened and deep, poison green eyes found his.
A/N: Sooo…yeah. I hope you guys enjoyed it :3 Reviews are always loved and appreciated.
Translations:
Jeg elskerdeg, minelskede-I love you, my beloved.
Jeg elsker deg også, min eneste-I love you too, my only.
