When all had become quiet again, he ventured out. She was leaning up against the cliff wall, head back, legs stretched out in front of her and her damaged hand lying in her lap; the other hand unconsciously tracing those endless patterns in the dust. He sat down next to her and it occurred to him that he had never seen her cry. Her eyes showed no sign of it now, nor had they when he'd found her earlier. Had the years prolonged by sorcery burned the heart out of her he wondered? He also wondered if she were hiding anything from him. What else had they done to her that wasn't showing on her face?
"Did they tell you what the purpose was, of the fingers and the nail pulling?"
He proffered the flask and she took it in her good hand, unscrewing the cap with her teeth.
"Punishment they said. For you. Because I had you."
"I think I had you," he baited lightly.
"Keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better," she said caustically, "whichever way you want to look at it, we are ordered to refrain from any further sexual intercourse."
"The Other said that?"
"Thanos. He didn't use those exact words."
"Which words did he use?"
"He said, and I quote, 'If you let that Asgardian whoreson rut you again I will make him fuck you in the mouth until you choke to death.'" She took an anxious swig of water and then looked at it in vexation. "I would kill for a bottle of Glenturret right now."
"Did Thanos…."
"No," she barked. Then more softly, "... no. He talked about it a lot, what he would do to me, while he dislocated my fingers. He seemed to be content with inflicting pain though. Perhaps he can't get it up?"
"Perhaps." Loki found he didn't want to speculate but it did make him wonder what was going on, "I take it you are still providing them with information?"
She threw him a rare, unguarded look, somewhere between apprehension and brittle vulnerability. Her mouth opened to speak but, when the words wouldn't come, she sealed it shut and dropped her eyes away. She might have a prize-winning poker-face but, he realised, when it came to the crunch, she was unable to lie to him. For some reason he was pleased about that.
"Have they asked you for any specific information?"
She shook her head and he smiled shrewdly to himself, "Can they see us in this place? Hear us?"
She shook her head again. "I don't think so."
"Listen to me. I don't think your role as infiltrator has any meaning. I believe they are playing a different game so tell them whatever you want but don't fight them - I don't want you to get hurt." That hadn't come out quite the way he had meant. He swore inwardly; the situation they were in was forcing this bond, this fragile alliance and he should not give it any credence. But the way she was looking at him with those dark eyes, as if she knew everything about him – he felt skinned, flayed and butchered open before her like a ritual sacrifice.
He held her eyes for slightly too long until she brought her lips to his in an innocent, soothing kiss. When she pushed the tip of her tongue delicately in to his mouth he met it with his own and they lingered, lost in the elusive, subtle caresses.
Later, needing to be alone with his own thoughts, he went inside to sit by the pool. Staring at the water his mind felt so dull; even though his broken body was healing, every movement was still a painful effort and he had to force himself to think. They'd set her to spy on him then left her to starve to death as if she didn't matter at all. The threat of rape seemed to be continually implied yet never carried out. They physically tortured her but didn't bother killing her. They were grooming him for some other purpose they seemed not to want to tell him about. None of it made any sense and it infuriated him. If he could work out what these creatures were up to ….
"The Tesseract..."
The voice of The Other startled him out of his musings, "What?" He scrambled to his feet, feeling stupid to have been caught unawares.
"You asked what we wanted from you." The creature seemed to glide rather than walk and was beside him before he could react. "We want The Tesseract. You will find it."
The belt of pure energy that hit him was like nothing - nothing he had endured so far. His body convulsed in a seizure so violent he felt his tongue sever completely in two and hot, coppery liquid choked him. He was held in a prison of pure, white pain and he could only wish for an end that would never come.
