Cryptic Hush - Chapter Twenty Eight -
Dark: Ooh, drama again XP I like this chapter. Enjoy! And sorry about the wait, I had exams and other stuff to deal with ;P


"You sure you want to join in Tony?"

"Sure. How hard can it be?"

"Steve right, it's pretty hard for a delicate young girl like you to try..."

"Oh shut up Clint."

"Yes honey."

Tony growled but gripped the fishing rod tightly in his hands and cast the rod into the water.

Upon arriving at the river, the gang had found a secluded spot on the inside bend of a meander. They had rented a BBQ and a couple of fold-up tables from a hut upstream and were sitting on the bank while they watched the three guys standing fish.

"So... We just stand here till one of us catches something?" Tony asked after a minute of just standing there. The others had wandered off and were now beginning to set up the tables.

"Pretty much. Told you this was for the big lads only, or would you rather go do your makeup?"

"Shut it Clint." Tony growled again then frowned as he felt a tug on his rod. "Hey! I think I got something!" Steve and Clint rose their eyebrows at they turned then their eyes widened when they realised he was telling truth.

"What are you waiting for?! REEL!"

Tony did as they said, tugging and applying pressure as well as he manger to pull the fish out of water. It flew in the air and landed in front of Tony, gasping for air as it flapped hopelessly on the ground.

"Quick! The bucket!" Steve said as he picked the fish up and held onto it as it thrashed in his arms. Tony was impressed that he was able to hold onto it before he dropped it in the bucket.

"Whoo! Nice one Tony. Beginners luck?"

Tony shrugged then winked. "Lets find out."

-/-/-

Half an hour later and no-one had caught anything else much to their disappointment.

Bruce and Natasha were manning the BBQ and gutting the fish Tony had caught, a job only Natasha volunteered for as no-one else wanted to do it.

Pepper, Betty, Jane and Loki were setting up the table and sorting out various salads and other food that everyone had brought with them. Thor was helping with the BBQ too but had gone off into the surrounding woods to take a leak.

"Loki? Could you bring me some of the plates? Not all at once though!" Betty called out from the picnic bench. Loki nodded then picked up half the plates and started to carry them over to the table.

As he passed the food preparation he happened to turn his head for a moment as the sun's glare caught something shiny. He froze as he saw Natasha holding a bloody knife above the fish as she gutted it. Its silver blade seemed to gleam evilly at Loki where the deep red blood was not staining it.

His mouth dropped open as a breath caught in his throat, memories of that night coming flooding back to him all at once which was too much to handle. He dropped the plates and clutched at his head as he cried out and started to back away.

"Loki? What's wrong?" He heard someone say, though he was not sure who. Everyone stopped what they were doing, except for the fishers who hadn't noticed anything yet, and eyed him worriedly.

Loki frantically shook his head as tears came to his eyes and he continued to back away. "No... Not now..." he whispered then sunk to the ground as his back hit the high riverside cliff that enclosed the area. Bruce rushed forward with concern and placed his hand on Loki's knees but Loki gazed off to the side, his eyes distant and glazed as his breathing quickening in his panicked state.

"Loki? What's the matter? What happened?"

Loki's head slowly turned to face Bruce's then he choked out a sob. "Knife." was all he said, was all he had to say for Bruce to understand. He quickly turned to Natasha and hissed,

"Get that cleaned up and out of his sight, its apparently effecting him." before he turned back to Loki.

"Tony... Where's Tony?" He croaked out between sobs. Bruce smiled sympathetically then turned sharply around.

"TONY!" He cried out to gain the other boys attention.

Tony frowned then half turned around with an annoyed expression. "Wha..." he trailed off as his expression changed to one of concern and a sudden fear."Steve, take my rod!" He said as he thrust the fishing pole into Steve's hand. He then ran up the bank, ignoring the fact that he had taken his shoes off to fish and was running over sticks and stones, as he ran over to Loki's side before sitting down and wrapping his arms protectively around him.

"Shh, I'm here Loki." he said softly as he stroked Loki's hair. Loki sobbed into his shoulder and gripped the back of his t-shirt. "What happened?" Tony asked then kissed his forehead lightly. Bruce shrugged.

"I dunno, he was carrying plates then I assume he saw Natasha's knife and freaked out."

"Why when he saw the knife?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." Bruce said then jumped as he heard Thor's return.

"LOKI?!" He ran over to crouch by the other side of his brother as he stared worryingly at him. "Brother? What's wrong?"

Loki immediately let go of Tony and sniffed as he looked into Thor's concerned blue eyes. "It happened again... I remembered, Thor..." Loki managed to choke out before the tears engulfed him again. Thor seemed to understand straight away and pulled him into a hug.

"Loki, it is over. This is now, it is not happening again... We are all here and do not forget that. Never Loki. We're here."

Thor's words of comfort towards his brother seemed to go over everyone's heads but it calmed Loki down enough for him to stop sobbing.

After a minute, Loki pulled away and gazed up at the concerned faces of everyone. "I am sorry to have concerned you all... I'm fine now..." he said as he wiped his eyes and blushed.

The others smile and said encouraging words, saying that it was alright and that he should maybe rest for a while. Tony elected to stay with him, which was agreed by everyone who then left to continue with their tasks beforehand, glancing over every so often at Loki just to check he was fine.

Tony moved so that Loki was leaning on his shoulder and his arm held his boyfriend close. "Do you want to tell me what that was about?" he asked carefully as he felt Loki tense up.

"No." he said quickly and snuggled closer into Tony who smiled at how cute he looked at that moment.

"Are you sure? I might be able to help or-" he was stopped when Thor placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled sympathetically.

"It is best not to push him on this subject." He said before moving away. Tony sighed then kissed Loki's head softly, and tried to come up with his own conclusions for what had just happened.


Dark: There are so many innuendos in this if you look when it says about the rods XD But poor Loki :( Next chapter will come soon but no promises ;P