- Chapter 30 -
Mjolnir was in Thor's hand before he even felt her there. How dare he?! Little trembles of rages shook him. He understood that his Little Brother was in the guise of a woman, it was probably just a guise. That made no difference if Loki was truly with-child. How dare he?! Stark was abusively disrespecting his Little Brother while Thor watched it happen. It set his blood to boiling. He and Stark were going to have words about this. It would probably involve fists as well. In fact, there probably weren't going to be many words involved at all.
"Thor!" Frey's tone was sharp. When his nephew took up his hammer the change in the air in the room was palpable. A storm was brewing. Frigga still didn't move to deal with Thor which prompted him to act. So much for not irritating her, he griped silently to himself. His nephew hadn't turned to face him, but attention was being paid, nonetheless. "Do you have the right to dictate who may or may not spend time with Loki?"
Besides being glad that he had a hand on the keyboard to pause the file again, McCorrmick was also glad that he had the reflexes to do it quickly. His reflexes were the only thing pleasing him though. What he was seeing inside of people, what he was hearing from them, disturbed him. The surface of the tiny sun in Thor's chest was rippling quickly. An angry yowling was coming from it that was sharply contrasted by the soft ballad the beautiful lady was singing. Is that normal? It doesn't look normal.
Almost yelling as he stood quickly, Mjolnir was still in Thor's hand, "Uncle Frey, how can you defend this? Stark is grossly disrespecting Loki! This is abuse! How do you tolerate this?! Why do you not remove Loki?! Someone should! I would!"
"After what you have done, what you now know you've caused, do you think you have that right anymore?" Frey kept his voice cold and calm. He didn't care to see Loki and Anthony argue either. However, since Anthony learned to use a Regenerative Weave he never failed to place weaves on Loki during the few arguments he'd seen. He never worried overly. So long as it wasn't violent then it wasn't his place to intervene.
Mjolnir found its way back to his belt. Thor's shoulders slumped. His uncle was right, and it hurt him to acknowledge that. "But Uncle Frey ..."
"Thor, sit quietly and do not interrupt!" Frigga's voice cut across the room. Both Frey and Thor were surprised by the sharpness of her tone. Neither were expecting it, but both would listen. This wasn't the time for Thor to interrupt. She was angry enough that Stark was manhandling Loki again. Being forced to tolerate it was angering her. Everything they were discussing hurt her. Tolerating an interruption as well wasn't going to happen. As soon as they'd retrieved Loki then this despicable manhandling wasn't going to be allowed to happen anymore either. Frigga still wanted to believe that they could bring Loki home. She wasn't certain what she would do if they couldn't retrieve their youngest son. If they couldn't wrest Loki away from Stark, then there was very little chance of them being able to do anything for Loki. That wasn't something she wanted to think about just yet.
"Yes, mother." Thor sat back down quietly like a chastened child.
As she felt the urge to giggle come and go Natasha locked a calm expression onto her face. Like a whip crack the Queen's voice split the air around her. The grown man and powerful warrior who was her son felt its sting and retreated from it. For just a moment, the Queen reminded her of Gospozha Ivanova. She too had a voice, like a barbed lash, that commanded respect and attention.
Just a little bit of a smirk crossed McCorrmick's face as he unpaused the file. Queen Frigga had much the same tone of voice that his mother did when she was angry. Neither his father nor Eidesh had that tone. Both of them had a deeper bass capable of carrying heart-warming pride or soul-crushing disappointment. Each was capable of catching anyone's attention across a parade field but neither had that tone. It cracked in the air next to a person's ear as though they'd been smacked with a voice alone. The cringe and urge to apologize was instantaneous. He wondered if that was just something that young mothers got along with diapers and patience.
.-.-.-.
After he took a few more deep breaths Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. He tried hard to shove the anger down. He loved Loki so much that it hurt sometimes. His love for Loki was nothing like what Disney movies said it should be. There were the moments of adoration, the moments of carefree, airy love. Mostly, there was a raging fire burning through the center of him. It was the same feeling he had when Loki threw him out of his own skyscraper window. It was exhilarating, thrilling, and terrifying. He'd never been more afraid then when he thought he might lose her. He'd never felt more alive than the moments he was buried deep within her, arms wrapped tight and seidr flowing thick. She knew how much he loved her; he knew that she did.
Stepping forward a half step, Tony wrapped his arms around her so that he could rest his head on her shoulder. He never liked saying it. He hated saying it. Rhodey was wrong about this one thing. This was never going to get easier to say. "I'm sorry, Loki. I was wrong. I'm not angry at you, and I shouldn't have yelled at you," Tony managed to get it out of his mouth. He pulled back and took her hands in his. He placed a gentle kiss on her lips. "Forgive me, please?"
After pulling Tony to her Loki kissed him. It was slow and soft and filled with passion. It was another minute before she let him move away. "Now, you're forgiven," Loki said firmly. "Are you sure you don't want to go cheer for some lava?"
"I do, I really, really do. But I need to know. You condensed each time down into a single sentence. It wasn't even a descriptive sentence," Tony stopped to run his hand through his hair. "I owe Frey and I didn't even know it. The man has practically been a father to you, and I was a complete bastard to him when we first met. If I'd known I would've said thank you until I couldn't anymore. Hell, I should've apologized years ago. I haven't, and he probably thinks I'm as much of a jackass as Thor."
"I'd be careful telling my uncle that you owe him. He will come to collect," Loki warned. A little smirk followed that. Frey wasn't a man you wanted to owe. He always settled his debts.
.-.-.-.
How rude were you to King Frey? Steve frowned slightly at the screen. He also suspected that it was Loki who kept Tony alive after he was that rude. The King hadn't flinched even a little when his sister started aiming lightning in his direction. Making a man like that angry wasn't tactically or strategically smart to Steve, but he knew what a problem Tony had with running his mouth. No matter what anyone else wanted, Tony just wouldn't shut up until he felt like it. Rhodey was the only one who'd managed to get him to stay silent for any protracted period.
A soft chuckle came from Frey. It might be useful if Anthony believed that he owed a debt. He tucked that knowledge away for later. He smiled as he thought that perhaps both of them should've apologized years ago. They silently agreed to never speak of it again. A few drinks eased that along. Perhaps that silence should be broken. He thought it was probably time.
What Stark mean that he was a bastard to her brother, Frigga wondered. If he were disrespectful then Frey would put him in his place. She wondered how rude he might have been if he thought he owed Frey an apology for it so long after it was done. Stark impressed her as a crass beast who was to ill-mannered to apologize for anything. He hadn't apologized properly for being so disrespectful to Loki. It was a poor apology he gave, and not at all acceptable. Loki was owed better than that.
A sharp spike of anger jammed through the shame encompassing Odin's thoughts. I am Loki's father, not Frey! His eye narrowed in irritation as he looked at Stark. There was a seething anger that this man had married Loki without his permission. It was his place to preside over his children's weddings. That Stark had somehow claimed Loki without his permission was enough to cause Odin to grind his teeth just a little. Once he had Loki back in Asgard, if he was able to return him home, then he was going to annul the marriage. He'd recognize his grandchildren officially first. He wasn't going to turn his grandchildren in Royal Bastards just to get rid of Stark.
.-.-.-.
"Let him come," Tony replied. "I owe him. I would never have had you if he hadn't noticed that you needed help and done something. No one else did a damn thing. So, if he wants to come ask me to do something weird, I don't care. You're worth it." He looked at her and hoped she understood, "Do you understand me? You are worth it." He ran his fingers down the side of her face, "You're worth everything I've done." Everything I'm still doing. He was grateful then to his rage for covering that thought. Loki wouldn't forgive him for that if she found out. Tony moved back to lean against the counter so that he was facing her.
Loki smiled at him before she started picking at her shirt hem again. He was still waiting, stalling more wasn't going to work. "My original plan was to simply go swimming in the lake but having them along forced me to improvise. We arrived at the lake and began our climb up the cliff face. They rushed ahead towards the top leaving me alone on the cliff. I needed the right spot, someplace slippery. I kept climbing closer to the waterfall. They made it to the top long before me. Thor kept yelling down at me to hurry. I moved slowly, deliberately, searching for the perfect spot to 'accidentally' fall from. As I climbed I began to fear that I wouldn't find it. I never did."
"Thor and the others must have grown tired of waiting. They walked away, upstream I suppose. When I realized that I wasn't being watched, I just let go. I hit the water then I swam down into the dark to wait. It only took a moment before I could feel something moving in the darkness near me," Loki swallowed nervously.
"Loki, I'm not angry with you," Tony said reassuringly. He was trying hard not to be. He was still upset, but the Regenerative Weave was driving back the ache. Her keeping things from him hurt. Only the truth was going to make that go away.
Nodding jerkily, Loki continued on. "Once I felt it nearing, I exhaled all the air I could. At the last moment, then inhaled as much water as I could. A second later I felt all four of its spikes tear through my shirt before it latched on to me. The poison sunk in quickly." Loki rubbed her arms, trying to be rid of the feeling that came with the memories. The poison burned in her blood. The burning didn't mask the feel of its limbs on her skin.
"The limbs look like cold stone, but they feel warm and slimy. All I could think was, 'It will work this time.' I remember the first two rounds, smashing against the rocks. I could feel my bones bend and break. Even underwater I could hear them snap like dry twigs. I didn't expect that. On the third round, everything went black. I was grateful," Loki looked peaceful.
.-.-.-.
The memory of that day popped into Thor's mind. Impatience took him away from the edge to look out into the forest. He wanted to go hunting immediately. When he went back to see what was taking so long, he saw the ripples in the water. Blood was spreading on the waves. He didn't stop to think, just dove in after Loki. It took him only a moment to find his Little Brother floating close to the bottom. He remembered the rocks at the bottom, and Mjolnir's light touching a rounded muddy lump near them. It was rather large and looked like primitive brickwork. Thor grabbed his Little Brother so that he could drag him quickly to land.
Once they were on the shore, Thor saw the full extent of his Little Brother's injuries in the glaring sunlight. The tears in his Little Brother's clothing showed him where the blood was coming from. That's when the terror set in. As a warrior, he was accustomed to blood and injury. He'd never been squeamish about either of them. This was different. This was his Little Brother. Loki was bleeding so badly and was so still. Jagged bones cut through the flesh of his left shin and the right side of his chest looked crushed in. His right arm hung out of its socket, bent crookedly at the elbow. A long gash down the side of his face had peeled away the flesh so that he could see the bone of Loki's skull. There were four deep wounds in his back. They were blackening the flesh around them and oozing a strange blue sludge that clung wickedly to the skin. Each one was pouring blood. There was so much blood everywhere. Loki wasn't breathing.
He turned Loki onto his belly and began pressing hard on his back to try to get the water out of his Little Brother's lungs. Only two presses completely covered his hands in his Little Brother's blood. Thor still remembered how Loki's right shoulder blade snapped in half as he pressed. The crack as it gave way was sickening. It worked, that was all he cared about. A thick stream of bloody lake water flowed from Loki's mouth onto the sandy shore. A moment later Loki coughed weakly and drew breath into his lungs. Thor scooped him up and flew him directly to the healing rooms of his uncle's palace.
By the time he got there Loki was even paler. Much of his Little Brother's blood was covering him. The healers rushed out to meet him when they saw him land on the balcony of the healing rooms carrying his unconscious Little Brother. The younger healers pushed him out of the room as the elders began tending to Loki's wounds. One of them was nice enough to clean Loki's blood from him before she went back into the room and shut the door behind her. Thor was still nearly panicked when his companions arrived back at the palace more than an hour later.
The long hours spent pacing the hall outside of the healing rooms were burned into Thor's mind. He learned later that his Uncle Frey hadn't been on Vanaheim when it happened. That's why he arrived late into the night. Thor didn't notice the passage of time except to note that it seemed to crawl by while he was waiting for word of his Little Brother. All they would tell him was that there was a powerful toxin in his Little Brother's blood that was soaked into his organs. It was slowing their work. He was determined not to leave, he wanted to see Loki.
His Uncle Frey's odd questions finally made sense to Thor. Were there crystal rocks on the shore? Was there an animal den in the water? Did anyone see how Loki fell from the cliff? He understood it all now. At the time Frey asked him he hadn't understood the odd questions, or why his uncle was so powerfully angry. Frey said he would handle Loki and ordered him back to his chambers. Thor found no sleep that night. He and his companions were sent home without Loki the next day. Thor remembered being terribly angry with his Uncle Frey for sending him home without his Little Brother. He'd been even angrier when he asked his father to bring Loki home and his father refused to remove his Little Brother from his uncle's care. Thor wanted his Little Brother to come home. Had I not been impatient, would this have happened? Would Loki have found another way? How did I not see?
