Chapter Two – Far Better to Perish Than to Flee

A/N: Here you go! This chapter has some Adult Times within it, and I've sectioned it off with tilde's so that those of you who don't want to read it can skip over it easily.

This chapter is entirely from Ilmr's perspective. Also note that this chapter contains a departure from the movie-verse and into Norse mythology in the form of the Einherjar. Wikipedia has a good article on their role in the mythology, if you have an interest!

Hope you're enjoying it so far even though we're still in the early, early stages of this story!

Lyrics in this chapter are from Sia's "Fire and Gasoline".

But it's a bad death,
A certain death
But I want what I want
And I gotta get it
When the fire dies,
Dark in the skies,
Hot as a match,
Only smoke is left

It was not until she and Loki retired that he circled the air once more and spoke of their earlier conversation.

"I fear I know the weapon Inghard spoke of. At least, what it is made of."

"Oh?" Ilmr raised her eyebrows at him in the mirror as she unbraided her hair.

It irked her, but she took pleasure in the appreciative glance he gave her. Between them, Tony Stark and Bruce Banner had found a way to rid her of the scars the Titan had given her. Pepper Potts, in her excitement for Ilmr, had taken her shopping. Ilmr had not resisted the urge to purchase a new green night shift to replace the one Thanos had ruined. It seemed Loki too appreciated the purchase.

"The weapon I used to defeat Thanos was made of a particularly strong metal. It was unusually malleable until it cooled, and then it was near indestructible. I fear this enemy has a weapon made of this material, though I do not know how he came about it."

"How did you?" She knew little of his search for her. She had not asked and he had not offered. Truth be told, she had not been in much of a state previously to hear his tale.

"By chance. I needed rest and a meal and took shelter in the first realm I passed that did not seem hostile. The creatures there, Trillets, mine a silvery substance that exists in their realm in great abundance, as gold did in Asgard. They made me a weapon from the metal in the far-flung hope I would be able to best the Titan."

"Because they trusted you, or feared you?"

"Trust. They had little to fear. Much like I mask my Jotun heritage, so too do they mask their true size. Truthfully, the one I saw shift grew from no higher than my waist to be the size of a ten story building."

"Could this adversary not have gained their trust?"

She watched Loki shake his head, face grim. "They are unusually canny. I do not think they are the sort to be misled."

Ilmr smiled at that. "So says the God of Lies." Rising, she turned to face him, regarding him quietly for a time.

She had finally felt herself for the first time in more than a year. Almost two. The Titan was dead, and yet she was throwing them headlong into a conflict with an enemy that could, and likely would, kill them.

They had both survived thus far though the odds had been against them. She thought perhaps one more test of the Norns' favor was in order.

Ilmr seated herself next to him and watched him carefully for his reaction.

"If I can place one of us in the path of this foe, we can be victorious with your blade. If we can't destroy his weapon, we can take it from him."

Loki raised his hand and ran the thin lace shoulder strap through his fingers. When he spoke, it was the tone he used to persuade her or rile her that she had not heard in far too long in such a setting.

"Place me in his path, and I will relieve him of both his weapon and his life."

Ilmr felt a sly smile grace her lips. "Oh? And what is it that you'll be relieving me of?"

He was clearly not anticipating such a response from her, given the way his pupils dilated and his eyes snapped, if only briefly, to the lace between his fingers.

Little made Ilmr nervous, but she found herself suppressing an uncomfortable, rather girlish sensation in her stomach. She realized at that moment it had been nearly four years since they had taken their pleasure in the other.

She was worried she would be terrible and too nervous. She hoped they would be awake much of the night.

Loki leaned in tentatively, still holding gently to the lace of her night shift. He had kissed her face, her knee even, since he had returned her mind to her, but he had not kissed her as he had before Thanos took her from Asgard.

And now, suddenly, he was: soft at first, his lips pressing gently but insistent, until she felt his tongue skim her bottom lip and she opened her mouth with a quiet sigh she hadn't meant to let escape.

She felt his lips curve slightly against hers in a smile before he pressed the kiss deeper, brought a hand up to rest gently around the back of her neck. Ilmr realized, feeling him pressed against her from shoulder to knee, that she had unconsciously moved closer.

His other hand came to rest on her knee and Ilmr felt herself release a breath that sounded like his name. He squeezed her knee.

There was much caution and care in his movements and he did no more than kiss her: along her throat and jaw, her mouth, until she had shifted and sat herself facing him in his lap. At that, he gripped her hips hard and ground up against her, grazing her teeth over her throat as he did so.

Without thinking, she pressed against him in return, keeping her knees splayed wide on either side of him to keep him as close as she could.

It was slow, and Ilmr realized Loki was savoring it as much as she was, after so many years, so many trials. Hands roamed freely, over and under night shift and tunic alike. Mouths too had free reign and she felt as though the taste of his mouth, his skin, was something she had nearly forgotten.

He seemed to think similarly, lapping at the hollow of her throat, teeth grazing over a sheer-shift-covered nipple, hands pressing hard and gripping tight: a man dying of thirst in the desert.

It took too long and yet no time at all before the only thing separating them was her shift. She could feel him easily through the thin fabric, bucking hard and slow against her, mimicking the way he would move inside her.

Snaking a hand between them, she wrapped her hand around his length and was rewarded with a pleasured groan as she began to pump her hand, a tight hold around him.

He did not give her long and before she knew it, she was sitting astride him facing his feet and mere moments later, she felt his tongue lave at her folds, alternating between teasing her clit and delving into her with a quick, hard press of his tongue.

She was unable to clench her mouth shut around several soft moans as he teased her with his lips and tongue and teeth and so instead she lowered her head, licking up along his length, tugging at the head of his cock with her lips, before shifting her head even lower and taking him into her mouth.

He faltered for a moment then, rocking his hips up towards her mouth before redoubling his efforts, a tight grip on her hips to keep her from shifting away when she wanted a respite.

Loki made her come twice, breathless around him still deep in her throat, before he loosened his hold enough for her to shift away from his mouth should she want. When she didn't move for a moment out of need to collect herself, he gripped her tight once more and didn't let go again until she cried out around him a third time.

Ilmr suspected he only let her go this time purely because he felt himself closing in on his climax and was as yet unwilling to let go of his self-control.

With a last long, hard lick, Ilmr released him from her mouth and carefully moved to face him, settling so that he pressed between her folds but not into them, and shifted back and forth to rub along his length. His eyebrows rose a fraction in pleasure and Ilmr smiled at the sheen on his chin left over from her climaxes.

She leaned down to kiss him and just as he slid his tongue into her mouth she felt him buck his hips just enough to press slowly inside her. Ilmr found she was not the only one unable to check a sound at the feeling after so long.

After several moments relishing the sensation, Ilmr pressed Loki's shoulders back against the mattress and rocked her hips up and down in short, hard movements that seemed as though she were trying to tug his erection higher and rub against the sensitive spot just inside her entrance at the same time.

Her let her move in such a way for just long enough to have her near her edge again before turning them over and easily pressing her knees back on either side of her head. At that moment, Ilmr was thankful for the yoga Pepper had introduced her to soon after their move into the Tower.

He drove into her again and again with such force behind his thrusts that had it not been for their position she may well have been pounded out of his reach.

His arms were quickly becoming slick with sweat and from time to time a drop or two fell from his face or hair onto her skin.

She felt the fingers on one hand twitch and she took his fidgety hand and placed it over her throat, giving his wrist a squeeze. With a groan, he squeezed with slowly increasing pressure, only ceasing but not letting up when she gave a slight nod.

At that, with each hard thrust he ground against her when he was fully sheathed within her. The ragged sounds that escaped him signaled how close he was, yet Ilmr felt him stop once more. He smiled, letting out a pleasured breath. Ilmr was still shuddering around him, his hand still at her throat, and he was in all likelihood immensely enjoying her writhing beneath him.

After several agonizing moments in which he was completely still, Loki released his hold around her throat and directed her to kneel on all fours before him, knees wide.

Sliding in as slowly as he could, Ilmr felt him simultaneously wind her hair around one hand until her head was leaned back on his shoulder, the hard hold of her hair keeping her from moving and tugging just enough in painful pleasure at her scalp.

He, however, had been moving in and out of her the entire time at a maddeningly slow pace. With a long lick of the length of her throat that ended in a bite just behind her ear, he increased his pace just as he began to hoarsely whisper. Things he had thought of doing, that he wanted to do, that he would do, about the way she felt around him, the way he felt inside her. Delicious, scandalous things that made her shudder involuntarily and think that she had not been the only one waiting out her frustration with thinning patience.

His silver tongue did not need to touch her to bring her to another shuddering climax. Her vice-tight grip around him was more than he could take this time and she felt the hot pulse of his release mere moments later.

Loosening his hold of her hair and sliding that hand down around her waist, Ilmr soon found herself curled up beside Loki, both keeping close enough that he would not slip out of her just yet. They lay quiet for a time, catching their breath.

"Do you think your brother heard that?" Though Ilmr could not see his face, she could hear the sly smile in his voice.

"Did you create a sound barrier?"

Loki chuckled. "Only for our conversation beforehand."

Ilmr could not help the laugh that escaped her lips. "Then yes. And with any luck, he's sufficiently horrified the doesn't bother us overmuch for the remainder of his stay."

Again silence reigned. Ilmr could feel Loki's recovery and his breath on her neck as he leaned in closer.

"Shall we make sure of that?" The low tone was again the one that always riled her and she felt a thrill rush through her at it.

She could not keep from smiling, pushing her hips back against his. "Yes, please."

She had been wrong to worry that she was rubbish after so long. She had been right that it would last through the night. The first rays of sun were peeking over the horizon when they finally laid down and slept.

By the time they rose, it was early afternoon and Ilmr was delighted to find Inghard seated in the living room, mug in hand, and looking rather worse for the wear.

After procuring her own mug of tea she seated herself by him. "Brother."

Inghard cringed, though he made a show of trying not to. "I had thought that perhaps the marriage was purely political. Surely my sister, for all her rash decisions, would not be so imprudent as to wed the God of Lies in earnest."

Loki was still in the shower.

"Did you sleep poorly? You're far more venomous than usual at this hour of the day." Between the night before and the enjoyment of her brother's discomfort, it was difficult to keep from smiling.

"I—"

"—Madam, Mr. Stark is on his way."

Ilmr did her best to suppress a smile at Inghard's discomfort. "Very well, JARVIS." She rose, speaking now to her brother. "Tony Stark built and owns this building, and most of the things in it. You would do well to be respectful."

It seemed the edge in her voice was received, given the upward tilt of Inghard's chin.

Fenrir had grown fond of the Man of Iron, though Ilmr hadn't encouraged it and Loki outright detested it. Vidar remained cautious of all but Loki.

"Ilmr. Morning. I heard you had a visitor last night." Stark was in sweatpants and a t-shirt, apple in one hand. He ruffled Fenrir's fur with the other.

Stepping aside so he could enter the space further, Ilmr motioned to her brother. Inghard rose only when Ilmr's eyebrow did.

"My elder brother, Inghard, arrived late yesterday evening."

Stark gave his hand a single, firm shake. "How's it going?"

"Poorly. Ilmr and her husband will return with me to Vanaheim by week-end."

"Whoa, what?"

"We did not have the opportunity to speak with you yet today. We must return to Vanaheim post-haste. It seems war has broken out and my brother is unable to manage on his own."

"Not everyone is a strategic mastermind, my wife." Loki came around the corner dressed for the day.

"Wait, so you're leaving? For good?"

"For the remainder of the war. It may well be that we do not return in your lifetime."

Stark furrowed his brow. "JARVIS, Blackout." At the signaling beep, Stark continued, this time speaking to Inghard. "You better have a good reason, buddy. She's invaluable to my security team and the hospital down the street kinda needs him."

Ilmr held up a hand before Inghard could retort. She made a demand of her brother instead. By her tone alone, she made it clear she was overriding Stark's question. "Tell me of this army."

"They attack only at night. They say that the enemy was near invisible in the dark, but that a deep, abiding sense of terror gripped them."

Ilmr watched her brother for a time. There was something he was not telling her.

"Go on."

Inghard glanced to Loki and Tony Stark but found no relief there.

"The one who slew Njordr, he was the only one I could see. He was small, insignificant. Until he grew."

"He grew?" Loki sat forward as he spoke. "How large?"

Inghard shook his head and Ilmr loosed a mirthless laugh.

"Oh, Brother," she began, before letting her voice take on a dangerous edge, "you did not stay to see for yourself? For shame."

"I would have been slain."

"And Orvar would have taken your place! Far better for you to perish than flee; you instill fear in your men when you should have bolstered their wavering confidence."

"How many siblings do you have?" Stark cut in.

"There were nine of us, originally. Now there are seven." Ilmr again turned her attention to her brother. "Some with less courage than others."

"The one who grew, he bore the weapon you'd not seen before?"

Inghard nodded to Loki. "Yes. It is he and the army."

"What did they demand of father?"

Again, Inghard shook his head.

"I am quickly tiring of your ignorance."

"I do not understand what was said. I was not there, it was merely relayed to me."

"And?"

Her third brother seemed to think for a time before speaking again. "He has not failed again and she tires of waiting." He paused. "I do not know what it should mean."

"You need not understand it." Loki sighed. "I do."

Ilmr dismissed her brother after it was clear he knew no more. At her glance, Loki circled the air.

Before she could speak, he did. "Leave, Stark."

"He may stay. I wish his counsel."

Stark had not moved from his seat, but at Ilmr's words, tossed a brief, smug smile Loki's way.

Loki rolled his eyes, but said nothing.

"I believe the army to be that of the Einherjar." Ilmr selected a text from the shelf. In the time they had been living in Stark's Tower, they had acquired a number of useful books.

"It matters not. We will not go." Loki sat back, arms crossed.

"What? Why, didn't you already agree to –and didn't he kill the big bad already?" Stark looked between she and Loki.

"Death herself is behind this."

"Whoa. Do you ever fuck things up halfway, or do you always go all-in?"

"Enough. We will go. He may be ignorant of much, but Inghard is not as foolish as he appears. The army started on Vanaheim. They may have left for now, but make no mistake they will return. When, is the question."

"Oh shit." Stark spoke through something he was eating. "And hubster here signed a contract saying he wouldn't do any more damage to Earth than he already has. Midgard. Whatever."

Ilmr nodded. "If we stand by and wait, the fight will come here eventually and then not only will we have nowhere to go, our only security will be gone. Loki, we must go."

For the first time in a long time, Ilmr waited patiently under Loki's glare. When he finally looked away, she spoke again.

"Then it is decided."

"How do you do that without flinching? He's terrifying. Was that all thanks to Thanos?"

"As I mentioned before, Stark," Loki ground out from between his teeth, answering before Ilmr could, "her innate sense to question perceived authority was just one quality I admired in her. That she does not fear me is another."

"As if. You love being feared."

"Not by my wife."

Stark pulled a face before speaking. "So Death has an army of creepy guys that seem like they're really hard to kill. Now what?"

"Death has an army of Einherjar: warriors who died in battle and were chosen by the Valkyries to journey to Valhalla. She has an army of the dead."

One corner of Loki's mouth lifted in a joyless smile. "Likely for an attractive price, given that Valhalla is not within her purview."

"Alright, fine. They're already dead and creepy. I saw how that went in The Lord of the Rings. So now what?"

At Stark's question, Ilmr smiled. Her library had expanded greatly in the short time they had been in the Man of Iron's home, but she had learned that JARVIS had access to infinite knowledge.

"JARVIS, find us a solution." She leveled her gaze at Stark. "We read, Mr. Stark." She could see Stark's phone light up, notifying him of incoming documents. She was sure both she and Loki could expect the same on their devices. "We have one week."

The Man of Iron grumbled an "I hate homework." But nonetheless picked up his phone and shook it in his hand in a parting gesture as he retreated towards the elevators.