Unfettered (Loki x Reader)

Chapter 29 - Mingling and Missions

No computers. No iPads. No technology. It seems as if this small, hidden corner of the library has been completely forgotten. 

Retreating down the narrow stairs, you wander through the silent, empty library wondering if it holds any other secrets. After all, it would be very "Tony Stark" to hide secret passages and rooms within such a magnificent, ornamented space. 

As you take in the opulence, you decide to linger. The library is...quiet. Between training, bickering team mates, and JARVIS's incessant notices and alerts it's rare to find quiet. 

But that's just what the library is. Quiet. And dark as the afternoon sun shines in through narrow window slats. The dust in the air makes it clear very few come into the library. As tiny little particles dance in the air it reminds you of the day of the invasion.

Loki's invasion.

For seemingly endless hours, the world around you had fallen into little more than embers and ash. Blood and slime and gore and screams.

And death.

Tiny little particles of dust just like these had made it hard to breathe as you sat curled up on the floor of the flyer - rubble in your hair and blood in your palms.

You can still taste the dust. 

"I've been searching for you," a sultry voice croons in your ear. 

You gasp in surprise, startled as a familiar set of hands grabs you by the waist, gently spinning you around and pinning your back against the book shelf. "I'm glad to see you walking on your own again," he says, nuzzling your neck. "I wondered how long it would take you to seek out my bedchambers," he whispers against your ear. "Imagine my surprise when no knock sounded."

As Loki lowers his lips from your ear to your neck, you lean your head back, giving him free access. But after a few gentle kisses, he notices how your arms lay stiffly over his shoulders, and your eyes stare off into space. 

Loki pulls back just far enough to use a single thumb to guide your face back to his. For the briefest moment, a flash of latent fear sends shivers down your spine as memories of blood trickling down cracks in the sidewalk flash across your eyes. 

"Oh dear," Loki frowns. "May I?" he asks, arching a pointed brow. 

Your eyes widen and your heart lurches. You know he's asking to step inside your mind - an improvement over his usual 'ask for forgiveness' approach. But you can't let him in. Not to see this. 

"Uh, n-no, I'm fine," you stammer, placing a hand on his chest. But that hand is firmer than you intended. Bracing - not embracing. Loki notices, and releases you fully, taking a step back. For a moment his eyes study your face. Your posture. Your expression. Whatever he finds within them must provide an answer as clear as your thoughts would have, as after a moment of intense study he casts his gaze to the floor, and tightens his fists at his side. 

"I'm sorry," you whisper. "I didn't mean to-."

"I have done terrible things," he interrupts. 

You swallow nervously, desperate to get the lingering memory of the taste of dust off your tongue. "It doesn't change how I feel, Loki," you offer. 

"Perhaps it should," Loki says solemnly. 

"You know...we never really talked about it," you say. "About everything that happened. Here. On Earth."

"I told you what you wanted to know," Loki says stiffly. "There is nothing else to discuss."

"Really? Nothing?" you counter. "Because I can think of a few things."