Chapter Eight

Something was wrong with her intern. Staring at Darcy, Jane knew that was nothing new. Darcy was on a whole different level than the rest of them. Darcy was just crazy enough to argue with Fury. To his face. Over an Ipod.

But that was nothing out of the ordinary where Darcy was concerned. Something was off, she just couldn't place it. Darcy could chat animatedly with herself and that wasn't odd to her at all. Jane was used to. Darcy could get work with the ipod blaring away in her ears.

What was wrong was that Darcy was quiet.

Darcy was never quiet.

She sat there at her assigned desk across the room, chin cupped in one hand while the other moved a pen back and forth between two fingers. Jane could hear the music blaring. She was just staring off into the distance, completely out of touch with reality.

"Hey."

Darcy didn't respond, just sat there idly moving the pen back and forth.

"You ok, Darce?"

Still nothing.

Jane sighed and picked up a paperclip and flicked it at her zoned out intern.

Darcy lifted her head when something hit her in the forehead. She frowned when the offending thing fell to the desk. A paperclip. She lifted her head. Was this Loki's way of informing her he was tired of her throwing shit? Well, too bad. If he kept sneaking up on her, she was going to keep throwing shit. Maybe one day she would hit him.

She lifted her head and opened her mouth but closed it when she realized Jane had thrown the paperclip. She picked up the paperclip between two fingers and sent it hurtling back. "Paper football is so much cooler."

Jane dodged the clip and then leaned down and picked it up and set it back in its desinated area on her desk. "Ah, no. You've been weird lately."

Darcy spun in the chair to face Jane. She was tempted to give the chair a go-round. She loved these swivel chairs. Fury had threatened to nail hers to the ground whenever she was in one of his facilities. "Specify weird, cause we all know I'm the shit here." She was going a little overboard on that one. She was just the "intern" here, and probably even less at SHIELD. If not for Jane, she'd probably be out of a job period.

She might even be off the "radar". She knew way, way too much.

"You haven't touched those chocolate chip cookies in an hour."

Sure enough, Darcy had forgotten about the package sitting to her right. Remedying the matter she tore into the package and stuffed a whole cookie in her mouth. "Trying to go on a diet, but you just ruined that." She said around a mouthful.

She was going a little crazy, waiting for Loki to appear again. He'd made a habit out of it. He'd followed her from fucking Asgard, for Gods sake. Could she even say that? 'For GODS sake'. If that was the case...

For Loki's sake. Nah, didn't have the same ring to it.

He hadn't showed up last night. Not even a whisper in her mind. This was so, so, sooooo bad. She couldn't even relax because she was scared shitless the moment she did, he'd appear while she was asleep and draw a dick on her face or something. Well, probably not the drawing part. He was probably to refined for that, wasn't he? But he could turn her into a frog. EW!

In Asgard, he'd been fucking there. In her reality and in her mind. He was like Patrick Bateman in American Psycho, but he looked a lot better than Christian Bale. A lot, lot better. Why hadn't Loki auditioned for that part? She could imagine his backside enough for it.

"Ah HELL." Darcy said outloud and pushed her chair back, standing up when she realized where her train of thought had taken her. Loki didn't have to be here to make her psychotic. That was probably his aim.

"I'm fine." She said when Jane opened her mouth. "PMS!" Darcy said over her shoulder. There was no point in staying in the Office. She wasn't going to get anything done but emptying the coffee pot and cookie crumbs everywhere.

And PMS had nothing to do with it, she thought angrily.

SHIELD had provided them with temporary lodgings. She wasn't complaining on the temp part. Better than the RV that was way too cramped for her peace of mind. Eric snored and Jane never slept. Not a good mix. She took the elevator two floors up and then turned right.

The room was still clean, which was an enigma to her. She wasn't a very tidy person. What Loki had done had been AWESOME. Her room had never been so clean. Her bed was rumbled, but that was because she didn't see give a rats ass about a made bed. It was a losing battle, though, she knew when she saw the single pair of pajamas on the floor. She'd get those up. Eventually.

Not bothering with her shoes she threw herself backwards onto the bed and then pulled herself up so that her head was against the pillows. Crossing her legs at the ankle she pushed the earbuds in and thumbed through her ipod until 'Echosmith's - Cool Kids' came across the screen.

Bingo.

The bookcase was anonymous, just sitting there idly against the wall. All the books were lined up along each shelving unit, all in alphabetical order. She didn't have the patience for crap like that. But Loki had done his...voodoo magic and all she'd had to do was wave her hand...just like he'd done.

Sometimes, she still had a hard time believing Gods were really Gods, that green monsters existed and that it was cool for grown men to wear superhero costumes.

What had he done?

"She sees them walking in a straight line,

that's not really her style

And they all got the same heartbeat,

but hers is falling behind

Nothing in this world could ever bring them down.

Yeah, they're invincible

and she's just in the background."

He'd done something because that shit wasn't possible with her. Not only was it impossible, it was laughable. When he'd left she'd stood there in shock at his sudden absence and trying to get a grip on what she'd just done. She'd waved her hand again, as if expecting the books to come flying off the shelf with the movement.

Good thing it hadn't worked, because she so did NOT want to pick up the mess it would have resulted in. If those books ended up on the floor again, they were staying on the floor. She might stack them up in uneven piles, but that was it. She'd get to them...eventually.

That was some Harry Potter crap right there. The image of Loki decked out in a black cloak with a red and gold tie and riding a broom flashed through her mind.

He who must not be named! Bow before me you mewling quim...

Her lips twitched. She looked at the bookcase again and then lifted her hand. She flicked two fingers towards the bookcase again and wasn't surprised when nothing happened. He'd started it. He'd definitely done something, something that involved magic.

She sighed.

"And she says,

I wish that I could be like the cool kids

Cause all the cool kids

they seem to fit in"

Her right foot bounced along the other gently to the beat of the music. She didn't fit in either, she thought. Jane and Eric were the smart ones. SHIELD just kept her around because of Jane. Her lips pursed. She could make coffee. SHIELD had her to thank for THAT.

"He sees them talking with a big smile,

but they haven't got a clue

Yea, they're living the good life

can't see what he is going through

They're driving fast cars,

but they don't know where they're going

In the fast lane, living life without knowing"

Was that how Loki felt? Sure, the God of Mischief had supposedly done a turn around, but people still talked about him. They talked behind his back and to his face. Though, she hated to see what he did to those who dared talk to his face. Clint didn't trust him. Eric hated Loki with a passion. Thor was wary, but he trusted Loki. Jane, well, Darcy didn't know what Jane thought.

How much had Loki been through, living in the shadow of Thor?

Sure as hell wasn't a shadow now. Loki had made sure of that. The man had gotten himself a first row seat. Loki would probably call it a throne.

"And he says,

I wish that I could be like the cool kids

cause all the cool kids

they seem to fit in..."

She turned her head and Loki was in the center of the room.

She sat up and one of the earbuds fell out before she jerked the other one free. She pressed a hand against her chest, her heart thudding. Jesus, Mary and Joseph! How the hell could he not be there and then the next he WAS?

He didn't say anything, just stood there. He was dressed as finely as always, his hair slicked back. He looked confused for a moment before he looked around and then a sour expression crossed his face.

"Ever heard of knocking?" Darcy muttered.

She was surprised when his frown deepened and all he said was "no".

Asgard may be made up of Gods and gold, but she was sure they knew how to knock. He just chose not to. He didn't move towards her. In fact, he didn't even insult her. Not even a single promise of retaliation. He looked...annoyed. She'd rip him a new one if he even tried to blame that one on her. His annoyance wasn't here fault. Not this time, buddy!

She swung her legs over to the side of the bed and stood, dropping the ipad onto the nearest stand. "Whatcha' want?" She asked casually, though she didn't feel casual in the least. There was nothing casual or cynical in how he stalked her and how she responded. Ok, she admitted, he wasn't stalking her. His presence wasn't entirely unwanted. She wanted to win an argument with him. Just once.

She gave him a florishing bow, bending at the waist with her arms spread wide. "What are you doing here, oh mighty Loki?" She said, her tone dry. 'Mighty' her sweet ass.

His answer surprised her. It was brief and low. He wasn't mocking her or interrogating her. He frowned as he answered. "I don't know."

Just those three words.

His body wavered and then flickered in and out of transparency.

She realized he wasn't even here. Not really. So cool, but...

He grimaced and then his eyes met hers before he vanished altogether.

Loki forced his eyes open. The venom burned the skin on his shoulder. He'd dropped his head forward, his hair hiding his expression. The position placed his back and shoulders forward. The green leather along his shoulders couldn't hold up to the venom and smoke spiraled up as it hit the leather and burned a path through. One drop after the other. Sometimes they hit the same spot, leaving crooked holes in his jacket, sometimes they hit seperately.

He knew Odin would return. His intention wasn't death. It was punishment and a lesson. He anticipated each drop with agony. Because it was nothing like the Silencing Thread. At least that represented itself with an escape.

But there was nothing to numb the pain of the venom. He writhed, grimacing. His body was slow to heal as the time wore on. Eventually, he wouldn't heal. He was a God; but he could die.

It felt like years, but he wasn't foolish enough to believe it had been so long.

He tilted his head back, staring up into the gaping mouth of the snake. The silence was peaceful to him, only broken by the sound of his flesh burning with each drop, every hiss he gave, every groan.

And then he'd thought of her.

He hadn't meant to. His intention hadn't been to project his image but the next he'd known, he was there. He'd been confused. He hadn't realized where he was. When he saw her and realization hit, he'd been angry.

He hadn't lied when he'd said "I don't know."

He hadn't known, he still didn't, why he'd conjured himself there of all places.

Darcy Lewis. Sigyn.

Then the pain had brought him back here and he'd writhed, his arms held straight out against the chains.

Staring up at the row of dagger like teeth, a single drop of venom fell and landed right below the corner of his right eye. He cursed and dropped his head.

He cursed himself. He cursed Odin. But most of all, he wanted to curse his little Sigyn.

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Author's Note

I wanted to give you all a look into Darcy's mind, on how she is dealing and coping with Loki. She's confused but annoyed at the same time. And intrigued. She's seen a side of him that not many people get to see. When she'd helped him when he'd been under the spell of the Silencing Thread.

And Loki. I wanted to desperately describe the pain he is feeling fromt he venom. It's not POURING it. It's a drop from each canine fang. One at a time, one after the other. Over and over. He's helpless to stop it. And even through his pain, he finds himself lost in thought over Darcy.

I hope you all caught the last sentence where he WANTED to curse Darcy, where he WANTED to blame her but didn't.