subjunctivemood asked: I have a yen for fic that hurts my heart, so #41 [ghost/living person au] Lokane?
Didn't-even-bother-with-wordcount drabble courtesy of the tumblr numbered AU prompt list. Also for blushingoreo, who requested the same number. Embrace ALL the tropes!
The payphone has a big sign marked ONE CALL ONLY and doesn't need quarters.
Jane only has a single number memorized: her own. But since her cell is missing — along with her purse, her memories, and apparently her mind — there's at least a chance of an answer, so that's what she tries. "Pick up," she whispers, counting the rings, knowing that when she reaches five she will be sent to voicemail. "Pick up, pick up, someone pick up—"
Someone does. "Who is this?"
Oh, for the love of— "Loki?" She should have known. It's another one of his stupid tricks. "Typical. Don't you have anything better to do with your time than torment me?"
There's no reply.
"I really hate you."
Silence.
"If you don't pick me up in the next ten minutes, I'll have Thor fly all the way back from Oslo just to kick your ass."
Nothing.
"Loki? Can you hear me?"
"When I find out who this is, I will kill you." Her brother-in-law's tone is soft, smooth, and deadly. "I don't threaten. You'll have no voice with which to scream for mercy by the time I'm finished."
Huh? "Loki, it's Jane. What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Say her name again and I'll find your family as well."
"Are you off your meds?" Please let it not be that. He's dangerous when that happens. "If you drugged me I swear I'll press charges this time."
He doesn't respond, which is a really bad sign. "Loki, knock it off. You win, okay? You win. I'm scared. I don't know where I am and I don't remember what happened and I'm scared and I'm tired of this."
"So am I." Now there's an almost playful note to his words. He's far gone and has been for a while. "You sound like her, I'll grant you that."
"I am her— I mean, I'm me."
"Prove it, then. Tell me a secret. Something only she would know. Go on."
He's going to be institutionalized this time, she can tell. "All right. About five minutes before I walked down the aisle to marry your brother you tried to make out with me in the stairwell. I stomped on your foot and broke two toes, but you danced with me at the reception anyway because you're you and you knew I couldn't refuse without making a scene."
"…and what did you say during that dance?"
Jane swallows. "I said if you ever tried it again I'd knee you in the balls," she tells him. "And you said to go ahead, because you didn't want children unless they were mine. Is that a good enough secret? Will you come get me now?"
For a moment she wonders if she's lost the connection… then she hears a ragged, sobbing breath that doesn't fit with her idea of Loki at all. "Jane?"
"Finally."
"Jane. Jane Foster. Oh, God."
"I know it's tough, but I need you to focus. Where did you leave me? None of this looks familiar."
"I left you under the tree at St. Agnes."
She frowns. St. Agnes is where Thor and Loki's mother is buried. "There's no trees here." There's no anything here. Just a phone booth. "Loki, please. I want to go home now. Please just come and get me, okay?"
"You know I would. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
In all the years they've known each other he's never sounded like this. "Loki, be honest: how long has it been since you took your medication?"
"Long enough, it would seem. I don't care. Just don't hang up."
"I… I wasn't planning on it." She tries to smile, even though he can't see, because something is very wrong. "You might need to plug in after awhile, though."
That, of all things, makes him laugh. "Since this mobile hasn't been active in three years," he says, chuckling sickly, "battery life is the least of our worries, don't you think?"