13. Painful Memories
Hey guys, this chapter also involves a flashback with plenty of Loki/Daya angst, those poor separated lovers. However, you will be pleased to know Loki will be returning to Daya VERY soon, but as you know from the avengers, he may not seem entirely the same as Daya remembers him. I hope you guys enjoy it. I own nothing but Daya
Steve sat talking to Daya as she sketched patiently in her cell.
"So, I was thinking about the things you told me, last night. You said you were three hundred and thirty five right? But you have only been with Loki for the past six years. Which means that you must have been a virgin for a very long time" he asked her, batting his eyelashes at her innocently so she didn't take too much offence.
She raised an eyebrow at him as she paused in her drawing. "Steve Rogers, for a captain that is known for his manners around ladies, you ask awfully personal questions".
"I'm sorry. If it's any consolation I only ask my favourite people questions that personal" he smiled.
Daya placed a hand on her heart and swooned sarcastically. "You flatter me so Captain Rogers, and in answer to your question, yes I was a virgin for a long time. Asgardian maidens are different from yours though. We don't feel the urge, so to speak, to lie with another as much until we find the person we love. Unless you're a woman at court there for entertainment, then your fair game. Thor for example was far more interested in those women than he ever was with finding a wife" Daya told him. Her bright expression falling a little at the mention of Thor.
"You don't like him at all do you? Your brother in law?"
Daya continued to draw. "I didn't used to mind him, but he made too many mistakes after a while, and after he stopped me from finding Loki, I don't think I could ever find it in my heart to forgive him".
She held out the drawing for Steve. He took it and studied it for a moment before frowning.
"Is this Loki?" he asked, looking at Daya's impressive drawing. He saw Loki's raven black hair and expressive eyes, his thin lips and sharp cheekbones and frowned deeper. "He looks nothing like me" Steve thought. "No wonder Daya isn't into me that way. I'm the all American poster boy and he's the sturdy, British looking, bright eyed, dark haired God. We couldn't be further apart."
Fury interrupted the friend's time together.
"Good morning Captain Rogers, Lady Daya. Don't think I didn't spot your little Midnight rendezvous on the roof last night. The good news is, Daya you showed us we can trust you.
Therefore as long as you're with someone on board, feel free to walk around the helicarrier. You should know that there is a small helicopter touching down in New York tonight for some supplies. I thought it might be a good idea for you two to spend the evening on land, see New York, seeing as you will be the only two on board that aren't already tired of the damn city.
The bad news is Daya, you are still not allowed to go wondering of in search of your husband. Captain Rogers, I am leaving you in charge, I need to go, elsewhere for a couple of days, keep everything in order".
Steve saluted Agent Fury and smiled over at Daya who seemed none the wiser.
"Well that's good news if ever I heard it. I can show you my city. Well, it was my city, god only knows what it's like now" Steve told Daya.
She grinned, excited herself to see more of Midgardians culture. Steve allowed Daya out of the cell and she stretched out.
"You know, you can't go to New York wearing those robes. I think you will get heckled at in every street if you wear those. I think there is one of those walk-in closets somewhere on this thing. Let's go find it" Steve said, showing her around the helicarrier until they finally came across the closet.
"Ok, so you go in there, pick something out and I will wait out here, take all the time you need" Steve told her as he opened the door for her. She walked in and closed the door behind her and immediately began looking through the women's clothing. Midgardian attire for women was so very different from Asgardians. Their dresses were short, made from fabric that looked very cheap. Daya decided to play it safe and looked for a dress more down to earth. As she looked she found a long white, plain dress that reminded her of the day before her and Loki's wedding, a particularly painful memory for her.
Loki approached the physicians outside of their chambers, his face full of worry.
"Prince Loki. Our inspection was very thorough, your fiancé, she cannot bear children. She cannot conceive at all. I am sorry" the physician told him.
Loki raised his hands in protest. "I know, Odin told me after you informed him of the news. I do not care, I need to see her, now. Get out of my way" Loki said sternly before opening the doors. He locked them behind him and frowned when he saw Daya. She was lying on the bed, her face down on the pillows. He could hear from where he was standing, she was crying.
He walked over to her slowly and sat by her side, rubbing a hand over her back gently.
"I am so sorry Daya. I truly am" Loki whispered. He bent to kiss the back of her head. She cried harder and Loki moved her hair to one side, seeing the tears falling from her eyes.
"No, I am sorry. I can't give you what you need as future ruler. I can't give you heirs. You can't marry me, I will hold you back. Without heirs, people will look to Thor as ruler more than you. I love you but you need better" Daya sobbed.
Loki lay next to her, pushing himself up on one elbow, still stroking her back with the other hand.
"I don't care about all that. I spoke to my father already, he said as long as I am comfortable with the situation, I still have the right to marry you".
Daya wiped her eyes and turned over on her back, Loki held his arms out for her and she cuddled up to him.
"But you need heirs to be king, especially if you're the youngest son. You need sons, you need children to carry on your line. Any normal man would want children, let alone a king. Loki I love you enough to walk away, so that you may have what you deserve, reign as king" Daya cried.
"Do you want to walk away?" Loki asked, looking at her questioningly.
"No, no, no not at all. It will kill me to do it but, I love you so much that I want to see you rule, I want to see you achieve everything you have ever wanted" Daya told him.
Loki sighed, and kissed her forehead softly. "Let me tell you something, something you need to hear so very desperately. I want you, nothing more. I don't care about pleasing my family, or Asgard, or becoming king. I just want you. I have made my choice, and it is you. Now, if you made your choice, and you choose me as well, you will walk down that aisle tomorrow and marry me. We will grow together, as one, we will have everything we ever wanted, and it will be with you and I remaining exactly how you are now, no changes, no exceptions. Just you and I" Loki said rather forcefully.
Daya looked at him, eyes wide and soul bared. "Yes, I want you Loki, only you, and I am sorry I cannot be perfect for you, because you need perfect, you deserve it".
Loki smiled and kissed her softly. "I found perfect the day I met you. I love you. I love all of you, your eyes, your smile, your hair, your personality and your very soul. I love your body, including your stomach" Loki grinned as he ran his hand over her tummy gently. "I love it and not what can or cannot grow underneath it. I love you, and not an unborn child that we don't even know. So again, I tell you, I choose you".
"Oh Loki I do choose you. I was only worried you might not have wanted me, after learning such horrible news. Will this make you unfaithful to me? Will you look to have children with others if you cannot have them with me?" Daya suddenly looked so very fearful of the future.
Loki shook his head and exhaled deeply. "Do you not trust me at all? Of course I will remain loyal to you. I know that there are so many tales of god's that have thousands of children all over the realms but, there are no men like me, and I would not be so foolish as to treat a woman as gracious as you so badly. You have my promise my love, and I will make that promise known to everyone when we marry tomorrow".
Daya could scarcely believe her luck, how could she have stumbled upon such a wonderful man, and such a wonderful love, she would never have believed, Loki felt exactly the same way.
Daya wiped away a tear as she continued her search for the perfect outfit. The memories just made her miss Loki more, she remembered him for all the perfect things he had done, for how perfect he really was deep down. All those good things must have counted for something, they erased his mistakes, he deserved another chance, and he always had. Why didn't everyone else see that? Was it just because they couldn't see him in the same light she did, because Loki would never be to anyone else, what he was to her?
Daya finally found a dress she thought was the right choice. It was vintage, a floral sleeveless, knee length dress. It was light blue, like the colour of her eyes and the flowers were white and very pale pink. She found some plain white pumps to wear on her feet. Daya usually wore her long wavy blonde hair down, but she had noticed some of the Shield workers wearing their hair up. She found a white ribbon and used it to tie her hair up in a ponytail before putting some cherry red lipstick on. Daya never wore much make-up, Loki had always told her she never needed it, and the Midgardians seemed to wear very bold, bright colours, Daya held back from piling the make-up. Not wanting to attempt to put it on and end up resembling a clown.
As she stepped outside, Steve took a deep breath in.
"Wow, Daya, you look so beautiful. Really, you do. Fury said we could leave now if we wanted? If you're ready?" Steve asked her, taking the sight of her all in.
She nodded. "Yes, I'm ready, let's go" She grinned back at him. They made their way to the helicopter in the loading docks and Daya stared at it, her lips pursing.
"That can fly? It looks so unstable? It's making an awful lot of noise that does not sound healthy Steve" Daya shouted above the sound of the propellers.
"It's ok, I've seen worse, I'll take care of you, don't worry" Steve smiled, taking her hand as he helped her into the helicopter.
It didn't take long for them to reach the ground down in New York, but Daya's hair had taken a turn for the worst, even with it up it had turned rather frizzy from being swept up by the winds caused by the turning propellers. She decided to take it out of the ribbon and work the whole "windswept and interesting" look.
Steve led her out to a less crowded street as they walked Daya spotted a man with a small dog, it looked like a pug puppy. Daya ran to the dog with Steve close behind.
"Oh, I've heard of these, are these called dogs? They are very cute" Daya asked Steve as she bent down to stroke the dog. The owner had overheard Daya and looked at Steve with a very confused expression on his face.
"Sorry about this, she has lived a very sheltered life sadly, she just came out of an insane asylum actually. She's perfectly harmless, just a little cuckoo. Um, yes that's a dog Daya. It's called a pug, now let's leave the nice man alone" Steve said. He helped her up and they walked on. As they walked and talked, Steve stopped to get them some food, picking up two hot dogs. He handed Daya one and she laughed at it.
"These look very odd? You eat them? What are they called?"
Steve swallowed a bite and stopped a bit of mustard from falling onto his checked shirt. "It's called a hot dog, some things never change. These were my favourite things growing up" he answered.
Daya almost dropped her hot dog in surprise and gasped suddenly. "A hot dog? You mean we are eating the same creature we just saw? That's awful" she frowned.
Steve laughed. "No, no, they are just called hot dogs. It's not the meat of a dog, its pork. I don't know why they call them hot dogs but believe me they are not real dogs".
Daya laughed along with him before biting into her hot dog. A bit of tomato sauce stained the corner of her mouth and Steve reached over and wiped it off gently.
"Want to check out Rockefeller plaza?"
Daya, not knowing what anything was in New York just nodded in agreement. Steve took her to the famous landmark and she stared at the couples down below skating in the ice ring. One elderly couple caught her eye particularly. She turned to Steve. "Isn't that lovely, they no longer have their looks to spur their love on but still they stay with each other, and are probably just as happy as they were the day they married."
Steve nodded. "Yeah, that's adorable. It seems so rare in this new Midgard though, love doesn't seem to last".
"You should come to Asgard when Loki and I return. You would find lasting love there" Daya answered him. She shivered and Steve took his brown leather jacket off straight away and placed it around Daya's shoulders.
"Thank you very much" she smiled.
"I don't think it would be fair for me to go to Asgard. I would have to see you and Loki together all the time." Daya turned to question Steve on what he had just said but he spoke again before she had the chance. "I mean, if I fell in love with a girl there. I would die so young, and she would carry on, all lonely, without me".
Daya shrugged. "When you find love, you don't think about those things, if the love is that strong, it just engulfs you entirely, and logic no longer matters".
Steve took her hand. "Come on, let's go skate".
Daya laughed as he led her down to the skating ring and they quickly put ice skating boots on.
Steve helped her to the ring and held her hands as she stumbled around the ring clumsily.
"Steve, I am awful at this, it's embarrassing" she laughed.
"Nah, you have never done it before, you will be fine. Here, I used to do this with my friends when I was a kid. Hold on to my waist and I'll skate, I will just drag you along" Steve told her. She did so and Steve sped off on the ring with Daya dragging along. They carried on, skating, laughing, and talking as someone watched on from far away.
"You see, she has already grown accustomed to living without you Loki. She doesn't care about you, she has forgotten all about you".
A tear ran from Loki's face, he no longer tried to hide them. "No, she hasn't. You saw her talking about me Rogers the other night. She was crying earlier, and she, she can't have forgotten about me so easily" he argued.
"Give it a few more months and she won't even register your name anymore. You need to focus on the task at hand. We move in now to gather the tesseract, then you will destroy the avengers before they can get in the way of any of my, I mean, our plans" the same voice that had haunted Loki for so many months now spoke.
"I only care about getting Daya back. I will do what you say, but only because I need her back" Loki frowned.
"Fine, get your careless wife back if you so wish, but do what I have ordered you to. Believe me when I say that if you fail your task, the only time you will get to see Daya again, is in a stone cold tomb".
Loki nodded. "Fine, but let us go now, and start this, I want to hold her in my arms once more, and remind her who is her husband. If that captain gets in my way, I will kill him in-front of her myself".
Hey guys, hope you enjoyed chapter 13, just to let you know that guess who will be returning in either the next chapter or the one after that, it depends how much the next chapter covers :D I know you are all just itching to have Loki back, fear not, I will deliver. I wanted to create some demand with Loki, which is why he has been so absent. All these chapters also explain why Loki was so angry in the avengers, because he has missed Daya so much, and wants those avengers out of his way. Until next time readers :D 3