Hello, Lunchies! TW for PTSD, past torture, and... kidnapping. YEE
Yes, Loki no longer wanted to die, but that didn't stop anything else. The nightmares remained, for instance. Almost every night, he'd wake, screaming and thrashing, drenched in sweat. He'd cling to Sigyn, silent tears running down his face for hours, long after she fell asleep again. Sigyn started finding food hidden around their floor, and when she tried to ask Loki about it, he got upset, and asked her not to touch it. She put it away, so that it wouldn't attract vermin, but that just seemed to upset him even more. He would often spend hours doing nothing but stare out the window, face contorted in misery. When Sigyn approached him during these times, he would ask her strange questions, like, "I belong to you alone, yes?" or "Am I… useful?".
He was obviously trying to hide his episodes from Sigyn and Vali, but it was sometimes unavoidable, like the time he stood up and stretched, but his joints popping sent him into a panic attack for some reason. Or the time when she'd found him staring in horror at the running shower, wrapped in a towel, his expression terrified. "What's wrong, sweetheart?" She'd asked.
"Please don't make me…" He'd whispered, pointing with a shaking finger to the cascade of water. Sigyn had reassured him that he didn't have to take a shower, if he didn't want to, so he hadn't, that day. He didn't seem to have a problem with it, afterwards. He seemed nervous and afraid when presented with choices, even menial things such as which ice cream flavor he wanted.
He'd started avoiding sleep, for fear of the nightly terror it gave him, and spent hours in the lab with Tony, listening to rock music, and working on some project of theirs. Vali would often join them, but no later than nine. Loki and Tony became extremely close, and she was glad he had a friend. Eventually, his eyes developed dark circles underneath them, and he found it hard to concentrate on anything. That was when Sigyn insisted he sleep. Reluctantly, he would lay down for an hour or two, before the nightmares woke him up, again. He'd never liked sleeping with his shirt on, and the few hours Sigyn told him to sleep, she would sit beside him, looking over the myriad of scars on his torso. Some were from the whippings his father used to give him, and the butterfly scars around his eyes that she concealed every morning were from the serpent, but the large majority were from a far more brutal hand. Burn marks, stab marks, claw marks, marks that seemed to come from electric shocks, bite marks on his shoulders and collarbone, and on his left bicep, the Chitauri slave brand. He'd filled out considerably since he'd returned, still lean and wiry, but no longer skeletal. Small mercies, Sigyn supposed. He never let anyone else see him like this, not even Vali. Even though the days were getting hotter, he'd always wear long sleeves, covering up the scars.
On days he needed an extra confidence boost, he'd wear his helmet and coat, much to the amusement of Tony, Bruce, and Steve. Natasha had warmed up to him, as well, and they trained together in the gym every morning. He obviously missed his magic, and Sigyn could tell when he missed it the most, because he would flex, then clench his fingers repeatedly. She knew that Sedir was like a muscle. If you don't use it often enough, it becomes stiff and sore.
They'd spent two months in the tower, and Sigyn was due any day, now. Loki almost never let her leave her bed, only allowing her up to wash and relieve herself, but he almost never left her side, either. He'd sit with her, telling her funny stories, or braiding her hair. He'd feed her meals by hand, making her feel like the princess she was, who didn't even have to lift a finger. Sometimes, he would rest his head on her shoulder, and have an extremely one-sided conversation with Sleipnir. He'd explained that he'd done the same with Vali and Narfi, so he saw no reason not to do so to Sleipnir.
More often than not though, he would merely lie next to her, his arms around her neck, silent, and placing the occasional kiss on the side of her face that was towards him. Saying nothing, just adoring her presence.
Exactly one week after Vali arrived, Loki was lying awake, next to the sleeping form of his wife. He was extremely impatient for Sleipnir to arrive, but, of course, his impatience would not cause Sigyn's labor.
It was a quiet night, especially for New York City, and Loki was enjoying the silence. Of course, there was nothing wrong with chaos, in its own right. Just, too much of it became tiresome, like everything else. Loki smiled as Sigyn shifted so that her head was on his shoulder. Lazily, he wrapped one of her fiery red locks of hair around two of his fingers, playing with the strands affectionately. He heard a soft click, suddenly, and there was a cold ring pressed to his temple.
"If she wakes up, you die." A voice whispered in his ear. "If you move before I say, you die. If you make a sound, you die. Do you understand? Nod if you do."
Loki nodded once, frozen in place. His green eyes darted around, trying to see who his assailant was, but the man was behind him. "Very good." The voice purred. "Now. Get out of the bed without waking her, and put your hands above your head. Any disobedience will result in your death."
Loki glanced down at Sigyn's head, weighing down on his shoulder. How was he supposed to get her off without waking her? "Sigyn." He murmured, and the ring of cold steel pressed against his temple warningly. He nodded, again. "Beloved, I can't feel my arm." Sigyn mumbled a sleepy apology, and rolled over, Loki breathing a quiet sigh of relief. It had worked! He slowly, without making any sudden moves, slid to his feet, lifting his hands over his head. Again, he glanced around, but the man stayed behind him, and wrapped a cloth around his eyes. "Walk forward." Came the command.
Loki bit his lip, and obeyed, the gun rotating to a comfortable spot between his shoulder blades. Loki kept walking, his hands shaking, until he was pretty sure he should've walked into the window. The floor under his feet had changed, and he felt like he was no longer on solid ground. "Sit down." Loki complied, seating himself on a bench in whatever vehicle he had somehow been transported to. He felt the lurch of a Midgardian engine, as something, probably cuffs, clicked around his wrists, and then the familiar sway of motion. Suddenly, the blindfold was ripped off, and he blinked up into the harsh, bright lights, eyes squinted. He was sitting on a bench in the middle of a white room, handcuffed with his hands behind his back. An agent, dressed entirely in black stared at him coldly, a weapon aimed towards his head.
Then, just as Loki thought this couldn't have gotten any worse, the door opened, and Nicholas Joseph Fury strode inside, looking highly ticked off.
Sigyn awoke the next morning alone. That was odd. Typically, Loki was either still asleep next to her, or already up, but still in the same room. "Loki?" She called, thinking he might be in the washroom.
No answer. She sat up, looking around her near vicinity for a note, or something that could indicate where he'd gone.
Nothing.
She sat back on the bed, assuming he'd probably gone to the kitchen to prepare breakfast, or something. She reached for the book that sat on her nightstand, idly flipping to the place she'd read up to, and waited for her husband.
About an hour later, she looked up, again. Still no Loki.
"Jarvis?" She asked, snapping the book shut.
"Yes, Princess Sigyn?" The robot immediately replied.
"Where's Loki?" She demanded.
The AI hesitated. "He is not in the building."
What? Sigyn sat bolt upright. "Come again?"
"He's not in the building, Princess Sigyn." Jarvis repeated. "And he hasn't been since 1:07, this morning."
Sigyn slid off the bed, snapping her fingers to change herself into normal day-time clothes, then walked (Read as: waddled) to the elevator, quickly pressing the buttons until Jarvis opened the door. "Anthony's floor." She ordered sharply.
"Do you mean the floor Anthony is on, or his private floor?" Jarvis asked.
"Just take me to him." She snapped, twisting her fingers anxiously.
The robot meekly complied, and when the doors opened, she hastily stumbled into the lab, her face flushed with exertion. "Anthony!" She cried, flopping in a very un-ladylike fashion onto one of the chairs.
"Heya, Sigs!" The engineer grinned, looking up from his work. He had a smear of oil down one side of his face, and he looked like he hadn't slept in days, but the cheerful grin remained. "Haven't seen you in a week. You ought to be any day, now, huh?"
Sigyn nodded curtly. "Did you give my husband permission to leave the tower?"
"No." Tony's face turned serious extremely quickly. "Is he back? How bad is it? Did you ask Jarvis where he went?"
"He's not back. Jarvis was the one who told me he left." Sigyn quickly replied.
"Alright, Jarv, pull up the footage."
"I'm afraid I can't, sir." Jarvis protested.
"What do you mean?"
"The footage for those seven minutes in which Loki vacated the building appear to have been deleted."
Tony's jaw hung open. "Deleted? By who?"
"Whom." Sigyn corrected.
Tony rolled his eyes. "By whom, then?"
"By Agent Brock Rumlow, of SHEILD." Jarvis replied.
Sigyn's eyes flew wide. "SHEILD? That's the organization you work for, is it not? Would they treat him kindly?"
Tony pressed his lips together, shaking his head. "Afraid not. If they've got him, they're not going to be nice."
Sigyn twisted her fingers so hard, they popped. She sat up straight in her chair, staring forwards. "They took him. Anthony, they took him, and I did nothing."
"Jarvis, start hacking into ol' pirate's cameras." The engineer crossed the room, laying his hands on Sigyn's shoulders, not heeding the grease staining his fingers. "Listen, Sigyn. We're going to get him back before Fury does anything to him."
"Fury's going to do something?" Sigyn's face turned pale. "Anthony, how? What are you going to do against him? How are you ever going to get him back? I can't fetch him until after Sleipnir's born! That could still be weeks! I can't…" She broke off, her hand suddenly clutching Tony's arm. "Mmmm!"
Tony's eyes bugged out of his head. "Oh, god, please don't tell me you're…"
"Anthony…" She whimpered. "It's the baby… You've got to find Loki, please…"
The engineer panicked. "But I can't just leave you here! You're… you'll get baby juice on my suits! Or something might happen, and you could die! Um… Jarvis, how do you deliver a baby?"
"I cannot answer you that in simple terms, sir. It's a step-by-step operation." Jarvis sighed.
"Loki!" Sigyn sobbed, hunching over her pregnant belly. "Find him! I'll be fine!"
"No!" Stark insisted, stamping his foot like a small child. "For one, Loki would kill me, for two, you'd probably haunt me. I don't want a haunted tower, so J, what's the first step?"
"Step one: put the mother into a car, and drive her to a hospital." Jarvis stated.
"No time for jokes, Jarvis! I'm pretty sure she's already too far along for that." Stark scratched his head. "I should probably wash my hands, right?"
"That would be optimal, Sir." The robot quipped dryly.
"Why did I have to program an AI with a sass factor?" He grumbled, running over to the sink.
"Sir Stark!" A familiar voice boomed, and Tony spun around to see Thor striding into the lab, two women, and a young man behind him.
"Oh, hi, Thor! What's going on? Do you happen to know how to deliver a baby, because I'M GOING OUT OF MY MIND!"
"I do not, but my mother and Sigyn's do." Thor stated. "May I introduce my Mother, Queen Frigga of Asgard, and my sister-in-law's mother, Queen Galadriel of Alfheim. This is Sigyn's brother, Prince Legolas of Alfheim."
"Lego-Legolas?" Tony choked. "Like, elf, shoots with a bow, prince of Mirkwood, Legolas?"
"That's right." The prince nodded. "Are you the Man of Iron?"
"I… Yeah, that's me." Tony nodded. "Woah, dude, like… we gotta talk about the war of the ring! Like, this is epic!"
"What is he talking about?" Legolas turned to Thor, as Frigga and Galadriel teleported Sigyn out of the room.
"The war of the ring!" Tony repeated. "You know, when you teamed up with the hobbits?"
"What's a hobbit?" Legolas tilted his head. "Thor?"
Thor frowned for a second, then smiled in realization. "I believe he's referring to a Midgardian fanfiction."
"You made fanfiction about me?" Legolas grinned. "I'll have to read that… later. I understand my brother-in-law has been abducted?"
The engineer nodded. "Yeah, word travels fast, doesn't it?"
"…Yes." Legolas narrowed his eyes. "Where is the rest of your band?"
"My band?" All Tony could think was AC/DC.
"Yes, your team." Legolas persisted. "The… Revengers? Is that what you call yourselves?"
"Oh… The Avengers." Realization hit Tony like a semi. "Yeah, J, summon the Avengers."
"On it, sir."
Legolas jumped three feet in the air, his hand snapping to the hilt of his dagger. After a quick glance around, he turned back to Tony. "I believe your tower is haunted."
Thor's booming laugh rang throughout the room. "No, Lego, this is merely Sir Stark's mechanical servant without a body."
"As if that makes any more sense." Legolas rolled his eyes. "Anyway, what battle plan have you for re-claiming my brother?"
"Erm… Battle plan? I only found out he was missing twenty minutes ago."
"Tony, what's the issue?" Cap's voice called.
The Avengers had arrived.
Oh, hi, Thor, do you happen to know how to deliver a baby, because I'M GOING OUT OF MY MIND! Ah... Tony... Writing him is the funnest...
Next chapter, you'll get Legolas being cool, Sigyn being... Sigyn, and maybe some other stuff as well.
A heart lets you give Loki a hug, a review lets you figure out what gon happen to him!
TheOnlyHuman.