A/N: I hope you all had a lovely Yule/Christmas! Here's to a great New Year!
Loki ran his fingers along the stone. The field was deserted, as he had wanted. He doubted any mortals would wish to explore on this day; the weather was truly horrific. But he did not feel the iciness of the wind biting his cheeks; it was a perk of his heritage, if ever there was one.
He sighed, watching the vapour of his breath billow before his eyes. They would think him strange, to be outside with so little clothing. A suit and no coat. No gloves. No hat. A scarf, yes, but nothing that could be considered warming; it was more of an aesthetic feature to satisfy his vanity. An unearthly creature. Born of ice and snow, none of that flesh which humans so easily tore and bruised. He was a god, after all. Their god.
But then what did that make Eva to them? Oh, he knew what many thought of her, and he knew that it hurt her. But was she his goddess? Their goddess?
Ah, but she is flesh and blood, as they are, a voice reminded him. She is no deity. She will die as they die. What is it they say? Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust. You won't have her youth for much longer. A decade at most. A mere blink, to you.
As his fingers trailed along the stone, residue left its mark. But not the residue associated with mess, with unpleasant substances. No. This residue was a pale green, almost smoke-like – and it swirled around the stone. Words of power left his lips – words borne from his native tongue. The tendrils of smoke seemingly illuminated, a bright, sudden moment – and then the light faded, drawn into the stone.
Loki exhaled, and he pressed his forehead to the rock, the roughness almost soothing. He could only pray that it would succeed.
But he had no one to pray to.
"Hey there, queenie."
Eva raised her head from the book in her hands – and an eyebrow arched. "Tony? What on – "
"Well, after the fiasco on the Helicarrier, you fell off the radar," Stark said idly, stepping from thin air into the room. He gazed around at his surroundings. "Man, he really likes the good stuff."
"So do you."
"Well, yeah – "
"And he did grow up a prince."
"That too."
Eva snapped the book shut, rising to her feet. "Why are you here, Stark? I thought the last place you'd want to be would be here."
The scarlet-suited billionaire paced around the living area, gazing at the art on the walls.
"How was your Christmas?"
Eva's eyes narrowed.
"Busy," came the curt reply. "Answer the question."
"He actually let you go home?"
"Tony."
"As in, stay with your family?"
"Tony."
"Y'know, I wouldn't have thought he'd let you do that, what with his own issues and all – "
"Continue this conversation and I will punch a hole through that suit and crush your balls."
He seemed to realise she was serious, and held up his hands as if in deference. "Hey, no foul. I was just not expecting him to be so… accommodating." The mask retracted, revealing a tired but alert face, and the familiar dry humour lingering in those brown eyes. "I actually came by to deliver the news. Fury is out, and Hill is in."
Now, this was interesting. Had she still been sitting, Eva would have leant forwards; as it was, her eyes glinted with intrigue.
"I'm not surprised; Fury was bordering on madness the last time I saw him," Eva responded steadily. "Admittedly it was Loki's fault, but still."
"Yeah, where is the Rock of Ages?" Tony asked, glancing around as though the trickster would appear on demand. "I thought he had you guarded like a damn trophy."
"Clearly not if I went home for Christmas." She gave him another look, but dissolved into laughter a moment later. Oh, she had missed him. He was light-hearted in a way Loki wasn't, carefree in a way no family member could ever be. The man himself cracked a smile, but then his eyes turned confused, his brow furrowing accordingly.
"What?" Eva said, tilting her head.
A moment later, realisation wiped his expression, and Stark sighed.
"Sorry about your kid, sweetheart."
That was so unexpected that for a second Eva froze.
"Oh… Yes. Thanks." Halting, robotic, thrust suddenly into memory, and a hand momentarily touched her belly. "That obvious, is it?"
"Well, you're not showing. Not hard to guess," Stark replied, unusually gentle. "You okay?"
"Better than I was," Eva answered quietly. "It was hard enough without having extra family members in the house. Difficult to face aunts and uncles when you've just miscarried the hated 'king's' heir."
"I'll bet."
"You've not experienced this… have you?"
Stark cracked a grin. "Nope. Pepper wouldn't have trusted me with a teenager, let alone a baby. And I don't have any bastard children from illicit liaisons, to my pretty extensive knowledge."
It was the first time she'd seen Tony not look grieved at the mention of his lover. Her eyes widened slightly, but she made no comment, choosing instead to gesture. "Coffee?"
"Sure Reindeer Games won't flip a table?"
She gave him an arch look. "If I remember rightly, that is Thor's speciality, not Loki's. And Loki is out. Otherwise you'd probably be strung up and gutted by now."
"I figured as much. Alright. One coffee. Black."
"Coming up." Eva moved to the small kitchenette that had been installed upon her request; it frustrated her to have others cook for her. She wasn't used to servility the way Loki was. She doubted she ever would be.
"How are the others holding up?" she asked.
"Okay. SHIELD's still adjusting to Fury's breakdown. But we're as stable as could be expected. Waiting for Loki's next move."
"Is it his move?" She kept her voice carefully neutral.
"You know it is. We're not strong enough to push him yet. So we wait."
"We wait."
Silence fell, at first comfortable, but increasingly tense as Eva felt Tony's eyes burning her back.
"What's he planning, Eva?"
"If I knew, I couldn't tell you," came her instant reply. Perhaps too instant, for the billionaire's gaze narrowed, and Eva found herself unwilling to face him.
"Don't go silent on me now, queenie."
"I don't have a choice, Stark. I'm not in trouble if I tell you. Loki won't flip. But there's more at stake. I'm not sure he even meant to tell me that much – "
There was a crash, and Eva whirled, dropping the carton of cream on the floor in shock. Glass littered the floor – and Loki lay on the floor, coughing. Sarcasm rose to her tongue, as was so often her way.
But then she saw the blood.
"Loki, Jesus – "
She was by his side in an instant, cupping his cheeks. His chest was sticky; Eva nearly vomited when she saw the blade protruding from his stomach, and the cold hand of realisation clamped down upon her heart.
That's a Chitauri blade. Holy -
"Get Thor!" she yelled at Stark. But the billionaire did not move; instead he only stared at Loki.
Waiting for him to die. Oh my god, he's waiting for Loki to –
"Get him now!" she screamed. "If Loki dies, we are fucked! Do you hear me? If he dies, Earth follows! Now go!"
That seemed to jolt Tony into action, and he shot out of the shattered window, a speck in the distance within seconds.
Eva turned back to Loki, whose face was whiter than she'd ever seen it. Panic threatened to crash over her, and she stared at the wound, feeling utterly helpless.
"What do I do?" she choked, hands hovering over the blade, uncertainty lining every tremble of her fingers. "I don't know, tell me, what do I do?"
Loki coughed again, blood bubbling at the corner of his mouth. His hand moved to hers, and he guided it to the hilt of the blade. Pull. His fingers closed around hers, and she shook her head.
"I-I can't. What if it kills you?"
A harsh rasp of a laugh sounded, faint amusement twinkling in his eye. Even she could see the irony in that question.
Pull, came the silent command again. Do it.
Wincing, hating every fibre that gripped the dagger, she pulled.
The dagger came free with a horrible, horrible sound, and she dropped the blade to the floor. Loki's hand grasped hers and pressed it to the wound. He groaned, and Eva flinched.
"What do I do now?"
"Keep… pressure," he said slowly, eyes flickering as they gazed upon her. "Asgardians heal faster… than mortals. I will not… die."
"Well, that's a relief," Eva muttered, and to her surprise she meant it, despite her sardonic tone.
Thor arrived minutes later, and Loki raised his head, laughing yet again, though weaker this time.
"Ah, Thor. Look at me. Would you like to… kill me now? It… wouldn't take much. Then you might have your… precious Earth."
The Thunderer ignored his younger brother's jibes to walk over to the trickster. He placed Mjolnir on the floor with a metallic thump before gently moving Eva's hand away from Loki's stomach, even as she opened her mouth to protest. Was that even safe? Wouldn't Loki die without pressure? Thor's eyebrows creased as he observed the blood still steadily pumping, and he looked at Eva, eyes sharp.
"Do you have bandages?"
"I – there might be some in the bathroom." She scrambled to her feet and hurried to the aforementioned room, hurriedly searching for any material that could be used. A thin roll for small wounds was uncovered, but she knew it was not enough. He would bleed through it in seconds.
"Only one thing for it – "
She ran to her wardrobes and pulled out several scarves, long and thick enough to staunch the wound. Hurrying back, she handed them to Thor. Loki arched an eyebrow.
"Red and gold flowers… Lovely."
"Shut up," Eva said, barely glancing at his face whilst she watched Thor take them and wrap them around Loki's now bared torso without a word. He was oddly focused and precise; Eva wondered if the legend declaring him a god of healing was true. Handy if it is.
"Eva." Thor's voice jolted her out of her reverie, and she looked up to see Thor holding Loki in his arms. She almost laughed at the absurdity of the image, but Loki's ashen face warned her off such a thing. She rose to her feet. Thor inclined his head, expression sombre.
"I will return for you when his condition is stable," he said softly. "I promise."
With Mjolnir in one hand, he shot out of the window, a weakened Loki held by the opposite arm.
"Please be safe," Eva found herself whispering as she watched their shapes fade into the horizon. "Please."
A/N: If any of you guys want to say hello - my PMs are always open!
Lightning xoxo