Author's note: Hey guys! So sorry for the wait! Thanks for the reviews and to the guest who reviewed and I couldn't reply to, I appreciate them! I always get so happy seeing what people think!
I hope you enjoy the next few chapters!
Chapter 7
Is it not worth the risk?
Darcy groaned as work restarted; she had been enjoying the little break, even if it was highly inappropriate and she should be grateful she still had a job. Sure, most places had their shops and whatnot restored, but the lives were impossible to bring back. Tony was talking about creating a monument for the lives lost, and Darcy thought that was a pretty spectacular idea. Then she could have somewhere to pay her respects. Darcy was the kind of person who visited churches and cathedrals even if she wasn't religious just for the architecture and such. Lighting a candle and donating a dollar. She also had a thing for taking pictures; she had all sorts of pictures from all the different places she had been. Although, a few of the pictures she had were a little tainted. Apparently her picture of one of the buildings was the one Loki had gone in and terrorised in some tailored suit. Stupid Norse God.
Her job was the same as ever; assisting Jane with her work, making sure she didn't die from starvation, thirst or exhaustion, writing up notes and other such things. S.H.I.E.L.D. was giving her a salary, especially since they were looking into her work and would decide whether or not to take her on. Her degree would apparently come in handy for them and her observational skills had also been noted. That and Jane was a damned good reference, bless her heart. Darcy wasn't sure what she would be doing with S.H.I.E.L.D., but if she was going to actually get some use out of the thousands of dollars she had spent to get that degree, then she was very happy. She'd realised about halfway through working for it that she didn't actually know what she would do with a Political Science degree. Oh, she had Computer Science on the side, but it wasn't the major, you know?
Darcy didn't mind working for Jane, especially now that they knew each other better. At first, back before Thor's arrival, she'd been viewed as a bit of a nuisance because she didn't have a clue about what everything was. Of course, she soon learnt a lot about the technology. She was pretty damn good with computers. Something she was able to discuss in a lot of length with Tony and hot damn there was no outsmarting that guy. She knew a loss when she saw one. It was still fun learning about his technology; naturally she didn't get to learn any secrets, but most people didn't have a clue about technology other than how to use it. Behind the scenes? Lost.
Work was going well and she decided to take her break at 1 o'clock. Darcy got her pot noodle and various snacks and a drink before taking them upstairs to Tony's lounge. She was about to sit down when a green light caught her attention and she looked out of the window, moving closer until she could see the back of Loki with the green light projecting up into the sky. What the hell was he doing? Darcy stepped outside, making sure that her footsteps would be heard, before going to the ledge he was on.
"What are you doing?" Darcy asked, curiously. "You're not sending the killing curse to the sky, are you? We kinda need it, you know." Okay, so she couldn't help the joke. She didn't even know whether he would get the reference.
"No, I am clearing your atmosphere of its pollutants," Loki replied, sounding tired.
"Oooh. Oh wow. You can do that?" Darcy asked. "Hey, how long have you been up here? You sound like you—" She dropped her food as she saw him slipping. Automatically, Darcy found herself wrapping her arms around his chest and, oh God, was he heavy. She tried ever so hard to pull him back over, but as she started yelling for Thor, she was falling over with him, her shins scraping on the ledge as she'd tried in vain to grab it with her legs and oh, God, she was falling and she was going to die.
Loki had noted the time at 10am and there was no Darcy. No, the last time he had watched a film with her was three days ago and although he had seen her since, he found he kind of missed it. It was a frustrating feeling, missing someone, because he hadn't felt such an emotion in a very long time. Not consciously, anyway. The films they watched were sad and he would not particularly want to re-watch them, but there was something about watching someone with no compulsion to hide her emotions weep over something fictional. He might pretend it was a silly notion to cry over something that wasn't even real, but fiction had the power to draw you in and let you feel the emotion of the characters. Especially books. Perhaps he didn't cry, but he certainly felt when he read books. And he had read a lot of books. Some were dull, but some were riveting.
So Loki made his way back up to the top floor and exited through to the balcony he had fixed the city from. He sat upon the ledge and stared up at the sky for a moment. There were some differences, of course, but it was not completely different to the sky of Asgard. There was, however, something wrong with it and he knew it had to do with the technology the mortals created that shifted great amounts of what he knew to be pollutants into the atmosphere. Therefore he decided to help clear that up. He was here to assist Midgard and by helping with something that wasnot his fault, Loki would show them that he wasn't just doing it because he had to. Hopefully. In all honesty, he wasn't sure if he would ever put himself in a good light.
Loki performed an intricate spell, glowing green in colour, before sending it up into the sky. It would take a long time and sometime into it he saw Iron Man fly up into his vision. He didn't really care what the man was doing in his suit despite there being no threats, but naturally the man wasn't going to leave Loki alone.
"What are you doing, Reindeer Games?" Stark asked.
"Clearing your atmosphere of all of that dirt your technology produces," Loki replied, his eyes not leaving the sky.
"Well, my technology is clean, but…yeah…wow. No, that's really cool. Magic can do a lot, huh?" Stark asked.
"Yes, though there are some limitations," Loki responded.
"Let me guess: you can't bring back the dead?" Stark asked. Loki stiffened a little, but carried on with the spell seamlessly.
"Correct. I have heard tell that there are ways to bring back a dead person, but the price is high," Loki said.
"Like, for real? Not all Fullmetal Alchemist shit?" Stark asked. Loki blinked. "Nevermind, it's a reference I doubt even half of Earth will get. Anyway, yeah, that makes sense. I do hope evil people aren't brought back; we don't need those Chittauri back."
"The guardian of Helheim would not allow it," Loki said dryly.
"That's good. I'll leave you to it," Stark said, before shooting off somewhere. Leaving him in peace as he carried on with what he had set out to do. It must have been a few hours before he heard the deliberate footfall of another visitor. Darcy Lewis. She got very close to him and he noticed now he was getting tired, before everything went black.
When Loki's eyes shot open after a brief moment of unconsciousness, he saw the city in a fast blur and realised he was falling. He also felt the feeling of arms around him and the pounding of her heart, the soft whimpers and words that were incoherent in her terror. It was Darcy. She had tried to stop him from falling over the edge and now she was paying for it as they fell to what would definitely be their deaths. Loki swivelled in her grasp on him and wrapped his own arms around her before closing his eyes and using his magic to slow them down a great deal. His magic wasn't strong enough to transport them instantly, but he could slow their descent and turn them around enough to eventually land on their feet.
Well, kind of.
Toppling to the ground, Loki lay with Darcy sprawled on his chest, staring up at the sky with wide eyes. His heart was beating quite fast and he still held onto Darcy. The girl in question shakily got up onto her elbows, the points resting on the leather of his garb and looked terrified. As she rightly should be.
"You-you…we…oh my God," Darcy wheezed, falling back down and dropping her face onto his chest, not caring to get up. People were mulling around them, shocked and scared. Some recognised him from the footage of the attack and ran away screaming, others were probably wondering how the hell the two of them had survived. Loki didn't care enough to get up and quickly leave. Instead, he just lay there. The mortal on top of him made another attempt to lean on her elbows.
"That was scarier than that time you sent the giant robot," Darcy breathed, and he could still feel her heart beating frantically. "You saved me…though I guess you had to, what with the whole unable to hurt me thing and all." Loki shook his head.
"Not because of that…" Loki breathed. His breath came out shuddering and a single tear left each of his eyes. "I did not want another death to my name." He heard the strained noise come from Darcy and the next thing he knew, her lips were on his. He blinked a few times and had no time to consider responding to it before she pulled back and rested her head against his chest.
"Thank you," she whispered.
The next thing he knew, Thor came into his vision and helped Darcy up before offering Loki his hand too. Loki looked at Thor for a moment before inwardly sighing and allowing himself to be pulled up. He did step away from Thor and walked back into the building, ending up in the elevator with the two.
"Loki, what happened? Jane saw you and Lady Darcy falling," Thor inquired.
"I used too much magic and must have been rendered unconscious. Miss. Lewis—" Loki started.
"I tried to grab him before he fell, but the momentum caught me. Thank God he woke up," Darcy said, shivering a little. Thor put an arm around her before looking at Loki.
"I think you should perhaps be more careful, brother, but I am truly grateful that you saved her life," Thor said, smiling widely. Loki just waved his hand at him, tired. The doors opened and Loki strode through the corridor, coming to the door of his room. With one last look at Darcy, he entered his room.
