Loki held the empty mug, walking into the kitchen that Wednesday morning. Outside, the backup alert of the large, flatbed truck went off as they brought in the new wrought iron gates for the house. Heavy machinery standing by to lift them into place, and the two men waiting to guide them. A man in the house nodded to him, installing a sensor in a window for the alarm system and he tipped his now empty cup at him. The house was a flurry of activity, and he began to wonder if all of this rwally was going to make the house more secure.
Maria turned when he entered, her smile on him as he gave her a polite bow as he moved around the freshly mopped spots on the floor. She stopped, waiting for him to pass and he walked toward the sink and turned the water on.
He had met her wrath once, and the shoe she threw at him while saying some rather colorful adjectives in her native tounge, kept him wary of where he walked. For such a small woman, she definately had a good throwing arm. It took a few days for the bruise on his hip to go down after that.
"Good morning, Maria. It is a pleasure to see you again." He said in her language, and she gave him a laugh as she cleaned the tile floor. He rinsed out the dregs in the bottom of the cup, and put it in the dishwasher as the woman regarded him a moment.
"You seem happier Mr. Loki, you smile more with your eyes. It is good, and I am happy for you." She replied, and he turned and felt the blood in his body creep up the back of his neck and he smiled. "Miss. Sara looks happier too, she was treated so mean by Miss Darla."
"I have many reasons to be happier, I will get out of your way. Give my regards to your daughter, and my hopes that her baby is born healthy." He replied, and he left her as she laughed and gestured to the refrigerator.
"My daughter and I made Empanadas for you and Miss. Sara. enjoy them." She replied and went back to her work, singing along in Spanish with the radio clipped to her hip. She had a pleasant voice, aged well, and slightly husky. He could hear the happiness in it, and he walked to the Den. He saw the man and paused to observe what he was doing, standing in front of the television and speaking into a radio to the other at the gate.
"Yeah, Ben, tilt the camera down just a little bit. I can't see the license plate on the truck, a little more... perfect." The man said, and he could see the men mounting one half of the heavy gate into place with the help of a crane. He watched, his hands in his pockets and he became impressed as the man in front of him scrolled through different camera frames. He saw the interior of the barn from two different angles, Sara walking with a man with a tablet in his hands as he pointed out the cameras as they spoke. The man pressed a button, showing the front door from another two angles from the porch, and then the back door from a single angle. He then called up a view with multiple angles, leaving it as the other Tech cursed as he installed a pad next to the foyer door.
"Fuck." The man hissed, shaking his hand and flexing it. Loki watched as he went back to work then, realizing the man had scraped his knuckle on the wall. He liiked back at the television, and put his hands in his pockets. The Tech turned around, and jutted his chin at him.
"Hey, pretty cool huh?" He turned, looking at Loki and gave him a nod. Loki watched the other man worked for a moment, and he gave the man a polite nod in return.
"This system is top of the line, all activity is recorded and stored for nine months. Ms. Pruitt is getting her money's worth on this one." He said, and Loki watched as he scrolled through the feeds again. The exterior of the house was monitored at all times, and she would see who was seeking access to her home from her television. He moved on, looking out the windows as two men wired a floodlight to the side of the barn. Focused on the task as he stood in the window and watched them, and he let out a long breath.
He could not shake the feeling of a presence in the house Saturday Night, and he was angrier at himself for not sensing it earlier. He let his guard down, and left his friends vulnerable. Someone had been there, and he wanted to make sure it did not happen again.
He made a mistake, and it would not happen again.
He watched Sara walk toward the house in her oversized hoodie, and she waved to the man and she let him go back to work as she climbed the steps. She rubbed her shoes on the mat, and she smiled as she opened the door and almost walked into the man installing the panel for the alarm.
"Sorry, I didn't see you." She said, and he shrugged as he went back to work. He plugged more wires into the back of the pad, and let her pass as he ran diagnostics on all the sensors. "That flood light will be great for walking to and from the cars at night. They are putting it on a motion sensor, and adjusting it so the cat or a raccoon does not set it off." She said, and she gave him a soft smile as she saw his expression. She walked over to him, and he put an arm around her and she kissed his chin. "Maybe it was one of the Ghosts that you felt, even I don't notice them as much as I should. Stop beating yourself up, okay?"
"It was not a spirit, they are different, feel different even." He replied, and she frowned a bit as she looked up at him. She hugged him tighter, and he gave her a smile, her finger rubbing between his eyebrows.
"Stop letting it bother you, you are going to get wrinkles between your eyes. This system will let us know before anyone approaches the house, and we will know everything that goes on." She chided gently, and he smiled a bit more at her. Her phone went off, and she rolled her eyes as she saw the number. She answered it, making her sigh as she became tense, knowing that she had an event coming up that she had to be at for the sake of the Company that she now owned.
Worse yet, Stark would be there. And the arrogant man would be able to see him, in his fallen state. He ground his teeth, and flexed a fist, careful for the almost healed over fingers and he heard Sara talking in a rushed manner to someone on the phone.
"Yes, I know, I will have Security, but I don't think I will need it at all... Why high heels? You do know I am going to be walking on a dock right?" She groaned, and let out a long breath. "I will read the speech, throw the champagne bottle, ring the bell, and clap my hands like a trained seal... I got it." She groaned, throwing her head back, and rubbed her face. "Tomorrow is going to suuuccckkkk!"
"If I can endure it, you can as well." He said, and she smiled at him. She walked back to him, giving him a hug and he held her. "I suppose, that we will be together in this torment."
"You have more faith in me than I do. I'm nothing but something pretty to dangle in front of the investors. Show them the cute girl, and they will keep putting their money in stock options." She sighed, rubbing her face and she looked at him. He hated seeing that look in her eyes, the lost one where she felt out of her league.
"I am sure you will make everyone rather happy then. I am sensing something more causing you discomfort though." He replied, and she sucked her lip into her mouth and nodded a bit. She began to look down, but lifted her chin to look at him.
"I... I don't do well in front of people, the idea of speaking makes me nauseous." She admitted, and he looked at her and understood what she was feeling. She lived away from the spotlight, conditioned from a young age to avoid it with pain and threats. Now, she would be in it, and she would have to perform at the behest of other people.
"I will be there, right behind you. Just think about that." He said, and she walked over and hugged him. Her hands held onto the fabric behind his back, and he gave her a kiss to the part in her hair.
"Just play nice with Tony Stark, the Company needs his technology to cut shipping fuel costs. This is supposed to be big, and I am glad I only have to do this shit once. But if it goes wrong, I am going to get the blame." She replied, and he shrugged as she let him go and walked toward the stairs. He crossed his arms, his eyes on her denim clad bottom and he called after her.
"I will be on my best behavior, you have my word." He said, and she leaned over the bannister and looked back down at him. She blew him a kiss, and she vanished as she stepped back and went up the rest of the stairs to her office.
--
She stepped out of the vehicle, the Driver holding the door for her as she shook hands with some of the employees of Pruitt Logistics and Shipping. She looked elegant, her hair in a graceful updo, and her royal purple dress and suit jacket coming to her knees as she moved. She had the pearl choker around her neck, and delicate pearl teardrops hung from her ears as Loki followed her. She wore a coat of black wool, and she smiled as she greeted people.
He fought the urge to scratch at the back if his neck, the scarf draped over it becoming a bit itchy as he walked forward in his black suit with the wool coat over it. His eyes focused on her though, and she reached out a leather gloved hand to shake a man's hand politely. She walked on, the large ship looming over them, and a few reporters for some newspaper publication snapped her picture.
She looked confident, and she was managing to keep her chin up as she walked, smiled, and shook hands.
The two Personal Security Men walked behind him, and he kept a respectable distance to not seem like he was hovering over Sara. His hands remained relaxed, and he flexed the band aids over his fingers that he used to cover the unsightly wounds from sight. His eyes ahead, and he watched her as she laughed with a man.
"The movie was rated R! That is a funny joke!" She said, and he handed her a bouquet of flowers and she accepted them. One of the Security Men took it for her, and she was handed a heavy, bright yellow, jacket that said "Pruitt" on the back. "My own Dockworkers Jacket! Thank you so much! It looks so warm!" She said, and offered the man a hug. He became reluctant, and waved his hands.
"I stink from work." He said, and she smiled and still held her arms out.
"I smell too, its okay." She said, and he took the embrace. The men around him jeered a bit, their laughter filling the air as she was guided on by the two Security men. Loki followed after, and watched her as she walked in the dainty shoes. His eyes on the back if her head as she waved, trying to remain calm himself as he watched the crowd.
She climbed the steps to a platform, and Loki followed with the Security Detail. An older man helped her out of her coat, and kissed her cheek as she shook his hand.
"You grew up so pretty, Sara. I doubt you remember me, I am Charles, your Father's friend and V.P." He said, and she smiled in recognition. She laughed, and he gestured to a seat behind them. His gray hair and mustache was as neat as his suit, and she smoothed her skirt over her knees like a lady.
"I do now, I was eight when I first met you! You gave me cookies from your desk, and let me play pinball on your computer!" She exclaimed, and he laughed. He pinched the end of her nose, and she gave him a hug as he smiled. Loki walking to be out of the way, and standing under the canopy to the side as she smiled and sat in the chair left for her. All waiting for Tony Stark to arrive, and that was a factor he was not excited to have to endure.
He focused on Sara, his eyes on he as she folded her hands and talked to the man next to her. She looked like the Queen of a foreign land, surveying all that was her's as the ship behind her waited at the dock. The man gave her a reassuring smile and she, to his suprise did not lower her eyes to look at her hands.
"You carried around that big book under your arm all day, only putting it down when I let you play that game. I told your Father that you were going to be a beautiful woman one day, and I am glad I was right." He said back, and she blushed and laughed. "I do hope you visit the Main Office in Seattle some day, I will make sure to show you yours. We just had your nameplate put in the holder on the door."
"My... My name? I have an office?" She asked, and he laughed and parted her folded hands. Shaking his head, and he nodded. "I never thought I would have my own office one day."
"Of course, this is your Empire now. You are the Queen of the Castle, so to say." He said, and Sara smiled back. Loki could see the nervous tremor in her hands, but she hid her emotions well behind the mask she was wearing. She knew the game, and she played it like 9t was second nature. He let them talk, and his eyes turned toward the vessel behind them, the name of it painted on the side, and his eyes stared a long time at those letters.
"Sara Ellen." Was the name of the vessel, it was named after the woman sitting to his side. Her ankles crossed, and he studied the vastness of it.
He had never seen a ship so large, the massive size of it causing him to stagger a bit mentally at the scale. It was longer than any he had ever seen before, and was stacked high with metal containers, destined to take the goods inside them to Foreign Ports.
Her laugh pulled him away from his musings, and he let a small smile pull on his lips as he saw her become more animated. She put a hand on the arm of the older man, and he checked his watch.
"Looks like someone is fashionably late. Probably stuck in Seattle Traffic, maybe we could start without him." Charles said, Sara agreeing with a nod. They still waited a bit more, and a roar overhead had everyone looking up. Sara unfolded her hands, and he could see her expression flatten as she rolled her eyes. Stark was arriving, and with his usual showmanship.
"Primadonna." Sara muttered to the older man next to her, and he laughed as Stark stole the attention from Sara. Loki clenched his jaw, and from the corner of his eyes he saw him, the Archer.
Barton.
He was on the roof of a building across from the port, and he was watching everything with his bow in one hand. Stark flew in, landing and his suit vanished into a case at his feet. He straightened his tie, and the workers of the shipyard applauded and cheered. Loki hated Stark for stealing the attention from Sara, but he kept his face neutral and Tony approached the podium to speak.
"I know how to make an entrance, but this young woman behind me is the real show stealer." He said, and gestured to Sara. She gave a polite smile, and waved with a blush as she sat politelty. "She is definately a nicer view than her predecessor, may he rest in peace. I feel like these CEOs put prettier and prettier women at their head, to impress us older men."
The Gathered people took pictures, and Sara's smile faltered as her hands clenched over the pages Charles placed in her hands. She steadied herself with a breath, and the smile returned as Stark droned on about how he was proud of his technology. He then gestured to Sara, and she stood, removing her gloves and stepping to the podium to speak. She unfolded the speech, and her hands trembled as she stood and she swallowed hard and folded the pages back up and slipped them into her coat pocket.
"Thank you Mr. Stark, for that very colorful description of the engines that will now grace our shipping lines. And for making me feel like I am ten years younger than I am, you sure know how to make a girl feel sixteen again." She said, her voice hiding the nervousness in it. The audience laughed and applauded, and she waited for them to calm. "Since the days of William Pruitt, and his Galleons, that crossed the oceans in a month's time, Pruitt Shipping and Logistics has been at the forefront of the Shipping empire. What started with wooden boats, and canvas sails, gave way to coal engines, and then fossil fuel burning engines. We have wanted for the longest time to end the dependence on Carbon producing fuels, and to reduce costs of operating our entire fleet of vessels."
"This ship behind me is the first of many that will be retrofitted, using Stark Industries technology to make our vessels more reliable, faster, and cleaner to operate for our planet." She said, and everyone listened as she spoke. She folded her hands, lowering her eyes and Loki had to fight not to grin as she was taking back what Stark had stolen.
"I cannot claim all the credit however, and neither can Mr. Stark. Because all of you here today, are the reason Pruitt Logistics continues to be the best in shipping. It is your back breaking, hard work that keeps the vessels on the ocean, and keeps Global Trade running smoothly. For that, I thank all of you, and extend my most humble appreciation for all that you do." She finished, and the crowd erupted into cheers as she smiled at the men and women below. She turned, the older man giving her a bottle of champagne that was tied to the ship by a rope, and she held it. The man leaned close to her, saying something, and she gave it a hard swing from the platform to smash the bottle against the hull of the ship. The people cheered, and the boat roared to life and they began to walk up a wooden plank to board the ship.
Stark walked with her and studied her in her unbalanced, heeled shoes as she moved. Loki, following after Stark walked up and onto the ship and she greeted the crew of the vessel. She shook their hands, after slipping her gloves into her pocket to help her over the lip of the entryway. She talked to the people who would be taking the ship out, and Stark walked up an put his hand in the middle of her back. She moved away from the contact, and he lowered his hand.
Resting on the deck were two helicopters, and Loki folded his hands as he kept his eyes on her. The Captian, in his shirt, jacket, and denim jeans shook her hand, and he could not hear what they were saying as she spoke to the man. He was smiling, and gestured her toward an inclosed wheelhouse and they all made their way up the stairs.
Stark passed her, moving her to the side with his hand on her back, and she carefully made her way up the grated stairs behind the men. The glare on her face evident, and she quickly buried it again.
Loki followed after, and she stopped and almost stumbled backwards. He put his hands out to brace her, and the Security detail held her hands as he looked down and saw the heel of her shoe was stuck in a hole in the grate. Loki tapped her ankle, and she slipped her foot from it, and he freed the heel so he could put her foot back into it. She climbed more carefully, making sure to not get her foot caught again.
Inside, she was offered a seat as Stark looked over at him and narrowed his eyes. He pretended not to notice the animosity, and stood near the back of the room with all of it's controls and the Capitan smiled at Sara and opened the logbook for the ship and presented it to her.
"Miss Pruitt, with your permission, I would like to take this vessel out to sea." He said, and the older man offered her a pen, and she smiled as she signed the book and Stark watched. She crossed her ankles, and she smiled at the man as another took pictures if them.
"Please do, I cannot wait to see how smoothly this vessel moves." She said, and the operators took their places. He watched as the engines began to hum, and he could feel them up his legs and into his back as he stood by. Stark sat next to her, and she gave no indication that she was impressed by the man. She merely folded her hands in her lap and smiled as the ship began to move.
"How much water does a ship this size displace?" Stark asked, and Sara looked at the Captian and he smiled.
"Almost three hundred thousand tons, when fully loaded as it is now." The man replied, and Loki went still at the statement. It should be impossible for a vessel this size to float, but it was. And it was moving away from the dock now, and slowly passing other ships. It rocked a bit, and Sara put her hand out and on the console next to her as she sat. Stark leaned over toward her, and he said something that made his teeth clench in response.
"Keeping your friend back there on a short leash? Frankly, I would have volunteered to throw him off the deck of my tower." He asked and Sara did not turn her head as she watched the bow dip and rise. She leaned her head over, and replied in a low voice.
"I can always rescind this partnership, do not insult my ability to trust people." She warned, and smiled as the photographer took another picture of them. Loki gave a grin, and she looked at Tony Stark, forcing him to stare into her eyes. "I may just be the just a pretty woman, but I don't have to give you an ounce of respect to keep this contract between our Companies. Especially since it was an Anti Depressant, manufactured by Stark Pharmaceuticals that gave me the Lymphoma that almost killed me."
Her words made Stark go pale, and his mouth fell open as she returned her gaze toward the front of the ship. She watched, her hands folded neatly in her lap, and not a single strand of her hair out of place. She took back the power he tried to steal, and Loki allowed himself a small smile at her mastery of the verbal reprimand.
He was proud of her, and found her sudden confidence attractive, and he would be sure to tell her later.
--‐--
The helicopter descended and she felt the craft lurch, her heart leaping as she reached out and grabbed Loki's arm and the arm of the bulky Security Man that traveled with Tony Stark. She let out a shriek, and she shook at the jolt that almost threw her out of her seat and the man held his hand over her hand politely.
"It happens sometimes, it will be fine Miss. Pruitt." He reassured her, and Tony stared at her as she disengaged her hands from Loki's and the Security Man's arms, one finger at a time. She caught her breath, and another lurch caused her to almost leave the seat and someone threw an arm over her chest and waist to hold her in her seat as she shook. Tony raised an eyebrow, and she realized that it was Loki's arm across her that was keeping her in her seat.
"Thank you. Chivalry is not dead after all." She said, and they finally met the ground and she was able to breath again. She tried her best to not shake, and she looked at Tony who gestured toward the door that was opening.
"Ladies first." He said, and she stood up, Loki offering his hand to steady her. She took it, and carefully stepped down. A man below her held his hand out for her to take, and she carefully stepped onto the macadam below and smiled at him. She waited, and turned to see the rest leave the aircraft as she stood under an umbrella that the man held for her. She smoothed her dress, folding her gloved hands and Tony offered her his hand. She refused it, keeping her hands folded and smiled at him, he looked over his pale lenses sunglasses at her. He could be as arrogant as he wanted to be, but she was her Mother's daughter, and she did not owe him a thing after his comment.
"I pulled that medication myself, I did not know about the side effects, until it was too late." He said, and straightened his suit. She looked up at him and she swallowed as he turned and looked at Loki. "I'm sorry it made you that sick, but it wasn't me. Take my advice about your house guest Princess, he is a snake. Nice to look at, but far from a domesticated pet. You want something save, get a dog or a cat, and send him back to whatever hole they dragged him out of."
"May I give you some advice, if you don't mind?" She asked Tony, and he gave her a polite nod. "Learn to give people the benefit of the doubt. Sometimes, there are circumstances beyond the black and white, that can only be found in the gray areas of the story. Stop focusing on one chapter, and learn to look at the entire book before you jump to conclusions."
"You are strangely wise, but your kind heart may get you killed one day. Be careful where you stick your hand, it might get bitten." He said, and gestured with two fingers in a quick motion over his shoulder. She looked past him, and saw a man holding a bow with an arrow at the ready on a rooftop and her eyes went wide as she saw where he was aiming. She looked at Loki, and she blinked, her mouth falling open and he lowered his fingers. She glanced up to see the man lower the arrow, and her attention returned to Tony. She let out a breath, and closed her eyes for a moment and tried not to shake.
"Thank you. It is a pleasure to do business with you Mr. Stark, but don't assume that I'm not a She Wolf. Stick your hand into my cage, and I will give you a bite that you will regret." She said, and he turned and walked to his own waiting vehicle. The man at her car, opened the door for her, and she let a shiver travel up her spine as she glanced back at the other man before the door was closed to take her home.
"That was facinating." Loki said, and she nodded. The driver started the car, and she sat back and put her seatbelt on and let out a long breath. "I was impressed with the grand scale of the vessel, I have to admit that... are you well?" He studied her for a moment, and she nodded. She felt the tension of playing Miss. Perfect melt off of her and she let her shoulders relax as she looked at her hands in her lap.
"Yes. I am just really tired right now, too much excitement and all. I think I will take a nap when we get back to the house, and burn these shoes." She said, nodding at him as they rode toward home. Her heart sank, and she realized that they still saw Loki as a threat, and it hurt. He was far from that, and she saw him for who he truly was.
--‐--
She dug her hands into the second pumpkin, scooping out the seeds and dumping them into a bowl as she scraped it clean with a spoon. She wiggled her fingers, trying to clean them off a bit and the cold seeped into them from the wet insides of the gourd. She scooped out more, dumping the mess into a bowl as she looked up and saw Loki standing in the doorway.
"That looks disghusting." He said, amusement lacing his voice as she pointed to the first pumpkin with her little finger.
"It feels disghusting, but is part of the tradition. What do you think of my skills at carving a pumpkin?" She asked, and Loki picked it up. He looked at the face on it, smiling a bit. She gave it a pair of triangke eyes, and a round nose, even the rectus of a grin had some random teeth, and he smiled at her work. He set it down, and shrugged as he watched her gut the one in front of her.
"This is part of the celebration?" He asked her, and she nodded as she dumped that last of the scrapings into the bowl for the compost bin. She walked to the sink, washing her hands, and she watched him as he picked up a knife and began carving a face into it.
"It is part of a superstition, people used to believe that Jack O Lanterns kept bad spirits away from your house by scaring them off. It became tradition, and now we carve pumpkins to celebrate." She explained, drying her hands on a dish towel and watching Loki carve the nose out as she gave him a hug from behind. He worked carefully, and he looked back at her and gave her a thin smirk.
"Something bothered you near the end of the event today. What was it?" He asked her, and she let him go and she sat in the chair. She shook her head, and worried about his reaction. "I know Barton was one the roof, and that he was aiming an arrow at my heart. I saw him during your speech, and knew he would kill me the first chance he got. But I sensed something more."
"It wasn't that." She admitted, sitting in a chair with her eyes on the floor and he looked at her from his carving. She let out a breath to steady herself, and she looked at him. "I was put on different medications for my seeing things, like I told you before. One of them was an experimental drug from Stark Pharamceuticals, one for anxiety and depression. What no one knew, was that the CEO, Obadiah Stane, bribed some people with the Government to just push the medication through and make it available to the public. I was on it for six months before it was pulled, and in that time, the damage was done. It poisoned me, and I had no idea it was, because of how much I wanted to be normal."
"The cancer." He said, and he lowered himself into the chair near her. She nodded, and tried not to cry and failed. He lay the knife down on the table, remaining calm, and she looked up at him. He rubbed his bottom lip with his fingers, thinking as he did so, and he shook his head. "Damn them all, I... I could..."
"Calm down please, you are making me a little nervous." She said, and he looked at her. She gave him a smile, and he reached out for her hand and she took his.
"You could have died, all for their greed and desire for wealth." He said, and she squeezed his hand and took in a breath to finish her story.
"Three months before you came to New York, I started feeling sick. I passed out while cleaning the dining room, and my Dad called an ambulance. At the hospital, they found the growth on my lymph nodes, and other growths at the base of my spine." She said, wiping her eyes and she blinked. "It did not take long to go terminal, it was faster than the chemotherapy. I was given a death sentence, all because one man wanted to please other men with money. I swore, I would never be like them, I would try to be better, and today reminded me that I was just like them. I make money off of putting people in danger, they operate those massive ships to make me a profit."
"When I say him in is flashy suit and tie, his expensive haircut, and thousand dollar shoes. I was no better, I was him, the Queen of an empire founded on blood." She said, and Loki pulled her into his lap, he held her and he let her talk. He let her purge her soul to him, and listened.
"I wanted to get so mad, scream at Tony Stark, punch him in his face and tell him about how sick I was, that I was more than just a Pretty Girl. I wanted to scream about what his fucking pills did to me, and how I suffered so he could make a profit!" She said, and she looked at Loki and he clenched his fists as his eyes darkened. "You saw me, I was barely alive, and when he insulted you... Treating you like you were the monster in my fairy tale... I had to throw that in his face, he was the monster, he was the evil king that poisoned me. I wanted to savor the look on his face, and it felt so fucking good to finally get my jabs in at him. I could have died, nothing left of me, and just been another ghost in this house."
"I can understand your anger, I feel it with you now. You were prepared to face your death, and you were given a chance at life." He said, and looked away. She turned his face back toward her and wrapped her arms around his neck, his hand rubbing her back. She gripped the back of his sweater, and looked into his green eyes and she made sure he knew what he meant to her.
"You saved my life, you offered me hope, and I let my guard slip when I saw your life being threatened." She said, and he smiled at her. She buried her face in his sweater, and his arms remained around her as the clock in the next room ticked away.
"You do not have a heart of stone Sara, it bleeds, you feel, breathe, and dream. The best revenge for you to have, is the easiest to obtain." He said, his voice warm as he spoke. She looked at him, and he smiled at her and caressed her cheek.
"What is it?" She asked, and his smiled grew as he held her cheek and kissed her. She was lost in it, drowning in it, and she never wanted to come up for air. He moved back a bit, and he ran his thumbs under her eyes to dry her tears.
"Be happy, and live each day you can to the fullest. Treat them like a gift, and let the others stay stuck in their misery." He said, and she smiled at him as they sat in the kitchen. She hugged him to her, refusing to let go as they were alone in the house full of ghosts.
The chair under them groaned in protest, and they ignored it as she kissed him, her lips against his. Her breath becoming his as his fingers wound in her hair, and she held onto his sweater. She didn't want him to stop, but the chair had other ideas, another groan signaled its demise, and they both yelped as the cracked shot through the room amd they hit the tile floor together. Loki groaned on his back, and Sara looked at him.
"Are you okay? Nothing broken?" She said, and he laughed as he looked at her.
"The chair, and my pride is rather injured." He replied, and Sara laughed as she carefully got off the floor so he could sit up. She picked up the broken leg, and shook her head as she sighed.
"This chair was older than me." She said, and he sat up and laughed as he looked at her. She giggled, laughing back at him and she gave him the piece of wood.
"We should have this mounted on a plaque, to commemorate the first piece of furniture we damaged together." He said, and shook his head. He got up, and Sara lifted the back of his sweater to check if he was injured, and saw only a small bruise on his lower back. She felt relief wash over her, and she laughed as she kissed the bruise and made him jump.
"Sara!" He exclaimed, and she giggled as he bent over and picked up the chair. She pointed out the back door, and shrugged.
"You never complained before. We can break it the rest of the way down later, and dump it in the trash for pickup. I have another one in the basement that matches the table, and we can use that one." She shrugged and he gave her a grin as he took the broken chair outside. She leaned against the wall, covering her face and burst into laughter as she heard him toss the chair onto the back porch. "We better go easy on the furniture from here out! I don't want the ghosts mad that we keep breaking stuff!" She shouted, and laughed as he returned and shook her head.