Hi guys! I am so sorry it took me this long to update, but this semester is the most important and the hardest in my life and I am either doing math or having a marathon of some TV series. There is no time and energy for writing down all my ideas and let me tell you, I have a tons of them :) But I hope you enjoy it, I will try to write and finish the story as soon as possible, best till may :) Love you!

Let me know if there are some spelling or grammar mistakes.

I own nothing but my OC and plot.

XX

There is always the most deafening silence after all hell breaks loose.

Leo was fully convinced that what had happened must had been a very twisted kind of dream. A massive one while everyone could remember it like it was real. No way a beautiful evening like that could turn into a bloody chaos in seconds. He still couldn't understand some parts of it as he was sitting at the dining table sipping a cup of very strong coffee, ignoring rising headache. Why the hell does he have to have a hangover right now?

He closed his eyes for a while, the only kind of rest he allowed himself. Yes, he was tired as a person could possibly be, but he was certainly not leaving Milla alone. He hadn't seen her for a while but for sure she will look for some comfort after it all ends. And Leo was willing to be that man.

The sounds of people cleaning the house had united into one single cacophony and Leo was able to force the sound out of his head. So when he heard some door open and close, a new sound, he instantly stood up and was looking for a familiar face. Emma passed him in a hurry, carrying some clothes. Leo recognized the dress Milla was wearing to the party - ivory one with a green ribbon around the waist. It was soaked in blood.

"Emma." He reached for her as she within a reach. "Please, stop."

"Just a minute," she said without stopping. "I will come back in a minute."

And so he waited until she went back upstairs with a big cup of coffee in one and a glass of whiskey in another hand. She looked more focused than concerned and that was what made him even more uneasy. Leo knew how she hated when Milla drank during the day, especially alone and it was early afternoon and one glass in her hand. He didn't have to be incredibly clever to know that what was happening was bad. Really bad.

In a few more minutes, he heard the door again and this time Emma went down the stairs slowly and headed to him. She sat right next to him and sighed. "I am sorry. Sorry you had to see all this. And I know she is too, it is just a little..."

"Complicated?" He suggested. Emma nodded and looked to the table. Leo could see that she was just as affected by all this as Milla, only in a different way. Although he was not sure what it was all about. "Who is he?" he asked the question that burned in his head since Emma ran to the garden.

She looked at him with eyes red from exhaustion and tears and was looking for words. "A friend. His name is Felix."

"Do you know what happened to him?"

"No," Emma sighed again and rubbed her face. "He is unconscious."

Leo was looking at her silently, unable to come up with any more questions even though he had so many just minutes ago. "You should get some rest."

"Yes, I know, but I don't believe I would fall asleep now." She shook her head and looked at him. He was sure it wasn't a pretty sight. "What about you? Are you all right?"

He opened his mouth to answer, but then he closed it again. Was he all right? In fact, he had no time to think about it. Everything happened so fast and he was so tired that thinking about his mood was not one of his interests. All he could see in front of him was Milla's concerned and horrified face when she saw the body on the couch.

When he ran into the house, just a second after the girls, he stopped abruptly in shock. He hadn't seen so much blood in his life and his father had come covered in it countless times. But this was something different. A puddle of iron stinking liquid was getting bigger every second and there was screaming and chaos everywhere. He looked at Milla and she was so pale he was afraid she would faint. But no. Immediately, she ran to the couch looking as calm as she could be and went on her knees.

"Emma, you know what I need. NOW!" She shouted and the girl nodded and ran upstairs. To his surprise, Emma looked as self-controlled as Milla. A terrible thought occurred to him, that maybe they were used to this bloodbath.

Finally he took a few steps forward although everyone else was stepping backwards after she told them to. As he was close enough to see her hands trembling, he stopped and all he managed was to look. Milla was putting some pressure on the wound that seemed to be the most fatal. He heard her muttering something but it was too quiet to hear. He decided it were some soothing words when she stroked his hair.

Emma ran back with a lot bandages and herbs, a lot of bottles filled with some liquid and a book.

"OUT! Everyone, OUT!" Milla screamed as she saw her friend coming. And so people went as far as possible as fast as they could. All but Leo. He found himself unable to move.

"Don't you dare die on me, don't you dare. You don't want to make me angry, do you?" He heard her repeating as she was listing in a book. The blood was everywhere. Leo never thought there could be so much blood in one person. "I will fucking kill you if you die, you fool. Stay with me. Stay, you bastard." She continued. Well, not soothing words at all.

And then, something unbelievable happened. Something he had never seen before and never though he would. Milla closed her eyes and put her hands on his neck where the blood was leaking from. There was no light, no wing blowing as he imagines. Only silent magic. The blood started soaking back to his body, not all of it, but some. It lasted maybe a few seconds, but felt like long minutes. His eyes were running between Milla's face that looked like she was in pain and the blood disappearing. And then to Emma, whose lips were a thin line and she was watching Milla as if she was ready to stop her anytime.

And then, Milla opened her eyes again, paler than before and out of breath, but that didn't stop her from getting up and getting a needle to make stitches. "Strip him." She told Emma while she was washing her hands in a basin of water that somehow appeared. Leo was surprised how calm she sounded. He was not sure what was happening, but one thing he knew. Milla cared for the man lying and dying in front of her. He saw it in everything she did - the way she touched his face, or talked to him or the way she was looking at him. Not even once she looked somewhere else.

"How the hell..." Emma growled as she was looking for a way to undress him. It was the first time Leo noticed the clothing. Originally, it was black leather and golden armour as well as some dark green that was now mostly soaked in blood and black as well. Clothes were not from this realm, he was sure of that. It was too complicated and since he looked like soldier, no soldiers wore something like that in Vanaheim. But he stopped thinking about it as soon as Emma stepped back and let Milla take off everything to the waist with one simple move. After that he wondered how she could know how to do it.

He left after that. Or better said, he was dragged away by Johnatan. Luckily. The sight of deep wounds made him sick and fresh air could help him. He had too much to think of. But one thought kept coming back every time he pushed it away. No matter how much he wanted to ignore that, he could not. Whoever that man was, something was telling Leo that he lost before he even got the chance to fight. And he knew everything will be different now.

"Yes, I am." He finally answered. "You know what, sleeping might be a good idea. You should do the same Emma. Red eyes do not suit you."

Ticking of the clock was filling the room. It was annoying. And every tick meant another burst of pain in her head. She could kill a man for an hour of peaceful sleep.

Instead, she was controlling tons of bandages and gently taking care of dark purple bruises. They were so visible on his pale body. Paler than usual. Paler than she remembered. And he was so cold. It took all her self control to remain calm and not to fall into deep panic. She felt it somewhere inside her, a great fear that maybe she came too late and maybe the damage was too great, that maybe he will not last long. So she looked at his chest, covered in half white half red bandages to see it rising and falling in regular rhythm. It made her heart beat slower.

There was nothing more to do. He was clean and all stitched up, lying in his own soft bed, unconscious, peaceful. She counted seven broken bones, a deep wound on his neck where most of the blood was pouring from, another serious ones on his chest and around thigh artery and countless bruises everywhere. She had been wondering if she would see him again in time, but this was not the look she imagined, not even in her worst dreams. Him lying there made Milla feel helpless. She noticed her fingers tremble again as she was reaching to his hair. She cursed.

"Milla? Are you all right?" Emma entered the room with a glass of water and some clothes in her hands. Milla didn't look at her. To look away from him could mean she would miss something, that she wouldn't notice if he stopped breathing or opened eyes. If she looked away, he might not be there when she looked back and it all would be only a horrible nightmare. She wasn't sure whether she wanted it to be an illusion this time.

"No," she answered quietly. As her fingers touched his forehead, she frowned in concern. His temperature was rising. "I am not."

"Drink this." Emma handed her water, but Milla shook her head.

"Coffee would be better. And whiskey." For a short while, she looked at her friend, waiting for a lecture as at any other time. Emma hated when Milla drank, especially alone. But nothing came out of her mouth, only a silent nod showed she heard. Milla lowered her eyes back to Loki.

"You really should get some sleep. I will wake you up when something changes." She suggested carefully, looking around. "Or you could sleep here. Someone will bring a bed, no problem."

"You know I won't sleep. You go. I'll let you know when I need you."

Maybe it was something in her voice, maybe Emma was just too tired, or maybe she pitied her too much to argue. She nodded again. "At least take off your clothes and have a shower. You are all bloody."

For the first time, she looked at her dress. Emma was right. The blood soaked deep to the fabric. She liked that dress.

With a sigh, she obeyed and took a very quick shower. The dress Emma brought her was a comfortable beige one with long wide sleeves covered in black lace. Back in the room she found an armchair right next to the bed and a book, coffee and whiskey on a nightstand. Milla wondered what would she do without Emma. No matter how hard she was trying to look like she had everything under control, it wasn't true. She tried, but it was impossible to think straight. All that filled her head wast the image of Loki bleeding and gasping for air, all the horrible possible scenarios and all that could go wrong. She though only about how to stop feeling, how to push the tears away, how to breath normally, or forget being exhausted. She had to constantly make sure his wounds didn't start bleeding and that he was still breathing. Milla knew she was up only because of the great amount of adrenalin in her veins and fear. And all that pushed away the other thoughts.

But as soon as she sat down, drank the alcohol and sipped her coffee, she forced her mind to think about the other things while she was watching Loki's chest moving. The blood on the floor had to be cleaned. Later, she will have to talk to her employees and ask how Loki got there. The blood trail was staring in front of the front door. And apologize to everyone for the inconvenience. She was sure that Emma told everybody not to talk about it to anyone. It was a little rule at her house. And then there was the mess after the party, surely cleaned up by now. What else? Oh. Leo. She forgot about him. Strange. She remembered thinking she could let him sleep with her tonight. He is probably at home now, sleeping or doing something else. Either way, she will have to go and talk to him as well, explain all that is necessary.

She looked back at Loki's face. A little drops of sweat covered his forehead and neck. She put the coffee down and leaned over him. Yes, the temperature was higher. He was fighting. She wiped the drops away with a wet towel and stayed seated at his side, stroking his hair. It felt so familiar but so wrong at the same time. How was she supposed to enjoy the touch when he could die any second in her arms? And even if he was perfectly healthy, how was she supposed to feel about his return after he left without a word at the moment she thought everything will finally be fine? And he didn't mind leaving her heart broken to million pieces then. And he didn't care when she almost died partly because she thought it would make no difference. She thought she would never see him again. At least not here, in her house, in his old bedroom. Maybe in Asgard, in prison with Thor by her side. So how, how should she feel about all this?

And what about Thor? A lot of possibilities filled her head. What if they fought over the Tesseract and it somehow sent him here? Beaten and bloody from the battle, like when he came to her for the first time, but a lot worse? What if Thor was as injured as Loki, but there was no one to help him? She suddenly felt a new fear for a friend.

So she drank the rest of the whiskey. And waited.

Minutes passed, then hours, than night and then another day and night again. Time became a blur. Adrenaline was gone and emotions suppressed and after some time, every motion Milla did was only a reflex. A result of a routine. Every few hours when she changed his bandages, she talked to him as if he could hear her complaints about how heavy he was or how awful will this or that scar look like. When she was trying to make him drink something, she usually hummed some melody. Every time when Emma came to check her, they argued a little about the food Milla was not eating or sleep she was still resisting. Milla was too tired to care though. The few minutes of sleep she allowed herself were always interrupted by the fall of her head or a sharp breath or a grunt of pain from the bed. So when she soon gave up and tried to read some book, but failed as well. After every sentence, her eyes seeked Loki to make sure he was all right. But he wasn't.

The temperature was so high at sunrise that Milla almost started crying in despair. Whatever she did didn't help and after a few hours he was trembling with fever and if that wasn't enough, he rip stitches on one of the wounds and lost some more blood. After what seemed like hours spent changing cold towels around his waist, the shaking stopped and he was breathing easier again. And Emma had to shout to make her go to shower and change bloody clothes again.

And then, nothing changed for a day and so she waited some more.

It was around noon the third day after Loki arrived when Milla jerked and opened eyes. She fell asleep for a few moments again. At once, her eyes found Loki's face and searched for what woke her up. A groan, different than the rest, louder and more painful. She straightened her back and waited what will happen next. His breathing seemed different, more irregular. When his hand moved to his chest, Milla stopped breathing in expectation. The tiredness was gone. He was waking up.

All the feelings she ignored for past days hit her with a great strength. Only a few seconds were left till he opened his eyes, she knew. Not much time to find out how she should feel. She wanted nothing more than him waking up, but a part of her was terrified of the moment. What should she feel? A relief? Sure, she felt it. A fear? Yes, slowly becoming smaller. Maybe happiness, but surprisingly she did not feel that. Love was out of the question too. Then it hit her. She was angry. Relieved he was finally getting better, but she was furious. And hurt.

She was watching as he opened his eyes and looked around, vision unfocused and apparently, he was confused as well. And weak, as she saw when he tried to sit, but his hands didn't support him. Milla knew she should run to him and help him, check his temperature and puls and make him lie down and then calmly explain what had happened. But she was only sitting there, with a sudden cold mask on her face, waiting again.

Loki took a sharp, painful breath and bit his lip. He still didn't notice her.

"I hope it hurts." She said in a low voice without once looking away.

Now he did notice her. He froze and then slowly, he turned his head to her. Their eyes met and Milla had to bite the inside of her cheek not to start neither screaming or crying. So many days she had been thinking about those eyes, so many times she imagined the colour, but when she saw them, it was completely different. Nothing could prepare her for that. For him coming back so unexpectedly. She should be happy. But it was a pure anger she felt. And suddenly, she could not bear the look anymore. Milla stood up abruptly and before Loki could say or do anything, she slammed the door behind her and this time, it was her leaving.

Emma was watering flowers when she heard the door slam and saw Milla almost running to her room. During a second when their eyes met she saw anger and tears. Something went horribly wrong if Milla stormed out of the room she refused to leave for says. Did Loki wake up and said something to her?

She immediately went to his room. As she expected, he was awake, trying hard to sit but failing. He tore his stitches and bandages were soaked in blood again. Breathing was a struggle as well and he was visibly shaking. But she could not be happier right now.

"Welcome back." She sighed. "You scared us to death."

His eyes, little unfocused, found her and Emma thought there was a relief on his face. He opened his mouth to say something, but she interrupted him. "Don't say anything, try to have a rest and gain energy. I will explain everything." Gently, she pushed him against the pillow and took a knife from the night stand to cut the bandages. How big was her surprise when his hand was suddenly crushing her wrist that she almost forgot to scream from the pain.

As soon as he noticed what was her intention and how he reacted, he released her and frowned. He was paler and breathing more heavily. "I am sorry." He said, voice hoarse. He was so weak. "Sorry. Emma I..." he was muttering, trying to put all thoughts in order.

Emma put the knife down and sat on the bed, holding her wrist. It hurt. "It's all right. You may be in shock. I need to repair your stitches and for that I need to cut bandages. Can I? I won't hurt you." She was saying patiently. In fact, Emma was a little afraid of him, but unfortunately this kind of behaviour wasn't unknown to her. There were times, when Milla attacked her too after coming home from somewhere, where her instincts and defence were more expected than a calm turning around. And sometimes, when Emma woke her up from her nightmares, she went back to sleep with bruises. Milla didn't talk to her for days after that and later gave her some great gift and apologised violently. Emma pitied her then.

After a few seconds of consideration, Loki nodded and Emma did what she had to do as quickly as possible. They were not talking, but Loki's eyes never moved from Emma's face. She wondered what he could think. But maybe, she didn't want to know, for her sake. As soon as she was done, she looked at him to see him smirking. She raised her eyebrows.

"What is so funny?"

"The last time we saw each other you were covered in blood just like now." He said slowly in a low voice. It seemed like every word was a torture to him.

Emma smiled. "That is not funny. Do you know what happened? How did you get here?" She asked while checking his temperature and pulse. He was still too hot.

"A spell. Went wrong. I had no choice if I wanted to survive."

"You almost died Loki. You were unconscious for three days."

He was looking at her like she was talking in another language. "I guess they know it all by now." He whispered. The smile was gone.

"Know what? Who?" As he didn't reply, she continued. Whatever whoever knew by now was not her concern. Whatever it was, it had something to do with Thor's visit and it was bloody. She should be angry with Loki, for so many reasons, but she wasn't. Whatever he did, she was only glad he was back. "All right, I don't want to know. But...but Milla will ask."

This time, he avoided her face as much as he could. "I don't believe she will talk to me."

"She will," she whispered, a sad smile on her lips. "in time. Give her some. Of course she is still angry. She thinks you left and after all this time, you came back only to almost die twice. Of the blood loss and fever. She haven't slept properly in four days."

"What?" He looked confused.

"She spent all this time in this chair, taking care of you. I had to argue to make her leave the room for a ten minute shower."

Loki said nothing. Slowly, he closed his eyes and without Emma talking, he drifted to sleep in minutes. It was better this way. Oddly enough, Emma was sure this was the more pleasant part that the one that will follow. She knew that the moment he will recover enough to talk for more than five minutes without getting exhausted, another hell will break loose. Milla will have questions and they will argue.

But they all needed rest now. More than ever.