Chapter 9! Woop, woop!
It's funny, because I didn't actually intend on posting this story - not originally - but I must say I'm really happy that I changed my mind :) Thank you, all of you! You are so kind, and it means so much to me!
Short chapter, this! I'll try to get chapter 10 up soon!
Disclaimer: ain't mine, y'all!
-o-
Chapter 9 - It Will Be All Right
A few days later, Loki came out of the bathroom – again hearing Amber talking on the phone.
Except this time, she sounded distraught.
"Yes, sweetheart, I miss you too," she said, and the pain was audible in her voice. "I love you too. You know I do." There was a pause. "Don't cry, dearest mine." There was a longer pause, and then Amber continued in an almost broken voice. "I know I promised to always be there. I'm sorry I'm not there now. I'm sorry I'm so far away."
Loki's heart gave a painful twinge from the sound of her voice.
"Please, sis," he heard her say in a shivering voice. "You are breaking my heart. Please..."
He had never heard Amber like that. She wasn't exactly the first to break under pressure.
But this was her sister. And he understood.
He listened to her silent, sad voice until she hung up, and then there was a long moment of silence before he heard a sound. A quiet sob.
Loki acted before he really considered what he was doing. He walked into the living room, over to where she was sitting in the sofa, took her hand, pulled her to him, and wrapped his arms around her, nuzzling her hair.
There was a moment of absolute silence, but then she relaxed in his arms, buried her face in his shirt, and cried in such a broken-hearted way that he wrapped his arms even closer around her.
"I know," he murmured. "I know. It's all right. It will be all right."
-o-
He didn't know how long they had been standing there, but eventually her crying stilled.
"I'm sorry," she hiccupped. "I didn't mean to… It's just - my sister is having a rough time, and I promised that I would be there for her. But I'm so far away, and it hurts to hear her voice like that. I didn't mean to cry all over you, though. I'm sorry."
He tightened his arms around her. "You have nothing to be sorry for."
She drew a shivering breath. "Thank you. I…thank you, Loki."
"You do not need to thank me, Amber."
-o-
She had ordered pizza, and then asked if he wanted to watch a movie with her. He had of course said yes, and it was like she was relieved over it.
Foolish woman, he thought. Of course I will watch a movie with you. Whatever that entails.
He would probably do anything for her today, because the lingering sorrow in her eyes made him uneasy. Amber was not made for such lingering sorrow.
-o-
She looked...frail, somehow, where she sat in the sofa, looking at the TV. She was apparently 'browsing Netflix'.
"Something funny," she said. "Yes, I think that would be a good idea."
'Shaun of the Dead' was her choice in the end, and she explained the concept of a zombie apocalypse – ridiculous, which he told her, and she laughed, agreed, and proceeded to tell him how much the concept of zombies terrified her.
The woman who faced death with unwavering courage was afraid of zombies.
He found it stupidly endearing.
-o-
Watching movies was definitely something he wanted to do again. It was highly entertaining. The only problem was – Amber. She didn't laugh. She smiled, yes, but she should have been laughing. He knew her well enough to know by now.
He didn't know what to do to 'fix' her. He generally had little idea of how to comfort someone. But he had to do something, because she was utterly distracting. She smiled again where she should have been laughing, and it prompted him to act – without thinking.
"Amber," he said, and opened his arms to her in a silent offer of – he didn't quite know. Comfort? Closeness?
And he immediately regretted his actions. No matter how relaxed she seemed around him, how comfortable she seemed, no matter how many words of praise she rained on him – it did not mean it was true. Such things were rarely true. And this was him. Of course it was not true. She had accepted his comfort earlier today, yes, but that was different. She had been distraught, and he had not exactly given her a choice in the matter, he had merely pulled her to him, without asking whether it was welcome or not.
This, however, this was different. He was giving her the choice. And no one willingly chose being close to him. No one sought him out for comfort. Thus, he regretted his actions. But it was too late to change it, because she was looking at him.
Preparing for yet another bitter rejection, he gazed at her, watching her expression go through the motions – slight confusion, realisation, surprise. He closed his eyes for a moment, and that was why he missed it when her eyes filled with warmth. He opened his eyes again, and was utterly baffled, because suddenly there was a woman in his arms. Said woman seemed to be struggling with her blanket, so he just took it from her, draped it around her, and pulled her closer. She was sitting with her knees pulled up to her chest, and she was…ridiculously small. It was hard to believe that this was the woman who stared death in the eye, and didn't flinch.
He didn't quite know how to act - he didn't even know if this was something she truly wanted, but when she let out a soft sigh, and then relaxed in his arms, he realised his closeness was welcome.
-o-
Apparently, he could 'fix' Amber merely by putting his arms around her, because a little while later, she was laughing. There were still traces of that lingering sorrow, but it was slowly but steadily letting go.
She grabbed something from the table, and leaned back into his arms. "Loki?"
"Hmm?"
She turned her head to look at him, holding up the thing she had grabbed from the table. "It's overdue for you to try these."
He rolled his eyes when he saw what she was holding. "Honestly, woman. Will you ever give up?"
"No," she said, and plucked a straw-shaped, red thing from the packet. The infamous twizzlers. "Please," she continued, holding out the thing for him.
He could actually lean forward and take a bite, he realised, so he rolled his eyes again, and relented. Her eyes widened briefly when he took a bite, but then she gave him an amused smile.
"On a scale from 'wow, gross' to 'utterly delicious' what is it?"
He chewed the thing for a bit. The consistency was unfamiliar, but the taste was not unpleasant.
"It is...surprisingly less foul than I expected."
She laughed a genuine laugh then. "I will choose to translate that to 'mmmh, I need this in my life'."
He gave her an amused smile. He couldn't help it. "That is because you have selective hearing."
"I have very...optimistic ears."
He chuckled. "Matter of debate."
"Whatever," she quipped, and then turned to look at the movie again.
-o-
The movie ended, and he found himself rather saddened by it. He was terribly comfortable, after all, because the warm, soft woman in his arms was very comfortable, indeed.
"Do you want to watch another?"
He definitely wanted to watch another - especially if that meant she would continue sitting exactly where she was right now.
She got up from the sofa, and he realised she would probably go back to her usual spot in the sofa when she returned.
"We need more popcorn. And soda," she declared, and swept into the kitchen.
Loki just stayed where he was, listening to her rummaging around the kitchen, and her humming. That was when he realised she hadn't been humming at all today. And he realised that had unsettled him, even if he did not realise at the time.
She swept back into the living room, and he tried to not hope that she would come back to sit in his arms.
The frail hope died when she sat down in her usual spot, but then she proceeded to grab a pillow before scooting over to him. Her eyes widened for a moment when she realised perhaps he wanted her to sit in her usual spot, but he ignored it, and pulled her to him, resulting in a small sigh of relief.
"All right. You choose this time."
"What?"
She gestured at the screen. "You just read the descriptions, and decide what sounds interesting, and we will watch that. Anything."
She handed him the remote, and he briefly felt like a complete imbecile, but then he figured it out, and began 'browsing Netflix'.