49 Morning Has Broken and So Has My Heart

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Annie woke up slowly, becoming aware that she was waking up as she went to roll over and found that she couldn't. She pulled her eyes open and blearily looked at the reason why. 

Loki was laying on top of her. She had slipped down from her position of sitting against the bed's headboard just enough to be slouching against a pile of pillows. Sometime during the night, Loki had settled against her, straddling her torso. He had come loose enough from the covers that he could put a leg on each side of her. His head tucked up under her chin, Hulk and Thor under his.

He smelled like her shampoo. She circled her arms around him, hugging him while trying not to wake him. Pretty soon she was going to need to get up to pee but for now, she could wait. She glanced at the window, it was still dark outside but she could tell daylight wasn't far off.

She softly rubbed at Loki's back, absently stroking small circles as her mind picked up where it had been as she had fallen asleep. What to do about and for Loki. 

He needed so much attention, he needed to be smothered in love. He deserved it. But she doubted she was the right one for that job. She'd never had kids. Heck, she'd never even had a pet unless you counted the stray cats she'd given scraps to as a teen. Speaking of, her history made her the last person to know how to take care of a kid. Annie's thoughts skittered away from that line of thinking and back to what little she had been able to do so far.

She'd been able to give Loki a bath and get him to fall back to sleep after a nightmare. Big deal. Anyone could have done that. Okay, anyone except Thor as far as the bath. But besides that, she hadn't really done anything but spend a lot of Thor's money. She winced at that thought, God, she'd spent money like it was water. Granted it was for things they needed and would use, like food and clothes but still. Annie brought her free hand to her forehead and rubbed at it with her fingers. She was feeling the start of a headache.

She looked back down at the top of Loki's head, she needed to pee. Shifting slightly and sitting up she tried to slip out from under him while scooting him carefully to the mattress. She froze when he took a deep breath as his face scrunched for a second before settling back into sleep. Seconds ticked by while she waited to see if he would wake up. When he seemed to have gone back to sleep she tried again.

This time he rose higher from sleep, enough for his eyes to flutter while he rubbed his face into her chest. His body moved and she watched as he woke with a deep exhale. Gradually he became aware that he was laying on someone, his face jerked up to look into Annie's eyes. Green eyes widened as she felt his body grow tense then she saw the moment he recognized her. Slowly he relaxed and lay his head back on her. She watched as he pressed his nose into her and sniffed hesitantly.

With a bemused smile, she spoke softly, her own voice still raspy from sleep."Hey, buddy."  She ran a hand over his hair, smoothing the little bits that stood up. "Did you sleep okay?" She didn't expect an answer and didn't get one, no sound or movement to acknowledge he had even heard her. Which was fine since she figured he might ask if she was an idiot since she had been there when he'd had his nightmare. Her need to get to the bathroom increased. "Hey?" She gave his back a few rubs. "I need to go use the bathroom. Can I scoot you off me and I'll be right back?" Again there was no sign he had heard her. She went ahead and began sitting up, slipping him towards the spot she had been in since it was warm. When he didn't protest she finished getting up.

Loki was laying on his side, Hulk and Thor captured in his hands, little fingers moving as he squeezed them. He kept his eyes on Annie as she backed away from him, sleep still making them droop lazily.

"I'll be right back." She gave a half-smile, "Promise." Turning she ducked from the boy's room, she could use their bathroom but she wanted to quickly wash her face and run a brush through her hair. Who knew when Thor would get back and she didn't want to look too much like a slob when he did.

Working Title : Loki & AnnieWhere stories live. Discover now