Loki, my darling

XXI

After about thirty minutes of roaming the halls, countless shocked faces as just an hour ago we were both basically considered dead, we finally made it outside. It was really nice, I hadn't even realized how much being inside the small rooms had been suffocating me. I closed my eyes and let the sunlight warm my face as my lungs were cleaned of the indoor-air. I felt Loki's eyes on me the whole time, which only made me laugh more than being finally outside and feeling the whole relief wash over me. "So, what now?" I then looked at him and smiled, "Now we just walk." And that we did, we just started walking on the streets, every other face looked shocked seeing us, there were some whispers, kids were whispering about how I had saved the world, adults were whispering about them thinking we were dead. I didn't pay it that much attention though, I was focused on my hand being in Loki's and the happiness this moment brought me. And so we walked, soon finding ourselves out of the city, walking between farmers' fields and through Wakanda's forests. When we somehow had found ourselves in this cave that was hidden inside a mountain and opened to a view of Wakanda we stopped and sat down. His arms were wrapped around me as the sun was setting, it reminded me a lot of our life before Thanos came, before everything went wrong and then right. I suddenly felt tired, but I was scared of going to sleep. I feared I'd wake up with him gone, so I tried to get up and shake off the feeling of tiredness, but Loki wouldn't let me get up. "Shh, don't fight it, you deserve some sleep, I'll be right here the whole time," he said, as if he had read my mind, just like he used to at home. And so I stopped fighting it, I trusted him, and fell asleep in his arms once again. I had thought I could never do that again.

After a while I felt myself being picked up in my sleep and just assumed it was Loki, carrying me back, without waking me. And so I didn't really think much of it and slept on, but when I was put down it didn't feel like a bed or a safe place at all actually, and Loki's hands weren't around me. I opened my eyes, as I couldn't feel him anywhere near me with my hands, only to find myself in some kind of a space-ship. My eyes were still getting used to being open again, but I realized a blue robot-like girl was pointing a gun at me while another guy, who looked like a human to me, was pointing a gun at... Loki's head. Loki's face was stuffed with some kind of cloth so he wouldn't make a sound and while I would probably get out of this situation alive without a problem, the risk of him getting hurt would be too high. I felt tears running down my face, terrified as he was already in danger again and it was again because of me, or so it seemed like at least. "Who are you? What do you want from me?" I sobbed looking back and forth between the two kidnappers. "I lost my everything just like you lost him," the guy started talking, pushing the gun at Loki to "point" at him. I then recognized him, both of them actually, I helped them come to safety through the portal during the battle amongst others. "You brought Loki back, now I want you to bring Gamora back for me," the guy continued. I had no idea who that was but I would gladly do that to save Loki, if only I could... but I hadn't been given the ability to just bring everyone back from dead... "I can't do that," I sobbed, "Then he dies, again, simple as that," threatened the guy, ready to push the trigger. "Please... don't... I can't lose him again... I am begging you.." I got out as panic and fear were taking me over. "You bring back Gamora and I won't, just BRING HER BACK!" he yelled. I could see he had tears in his eyes, she had obviously meant the world to him. I really wished I could help him... but it didn't work like that. "I can't, I wish I could... but I am not capable of it, Loki was different, I.." I closed my eyes as I felt a stabbing pain in my head, could've been a panic attack or something else, I didn't really care. "She's right, she literally can't, she could only bring me back because we share a soul," I heard Loki, who had somehow managed to get the fabric out of his mouth, say. "Shut up!" I heard the other guy say and hit Loki's head with the gun. "I NEED GAMORA BACK, JUST DO IT!" he once again, yelled at me. "I can't" I whispered, hoping he wouldn't hear me and therefore wouldn't hurt Loki. "Yes you can," a voice suddenly said, but that voice came from inside me. "Just focus on it and you can let me out, I am not dead I'm simply trapped inside the stone, or now inside you, I guess" it then went on. I opened my eyes. The guy was starting to pull the trigger, I looked at him, "or maybe I can.." I said now. Loki looked at me and shook his head, he thought I was bluffing to save him, but I really now thought there might be a possibility. The guy let go of the trigger and looked at me expectantly, "Just give me a second," I said and closed my eyes. "Gamora, right? How do I do it? I want to help you, but you need to explain to me how," "Focus on me, try to feel me, and then try to feel me into the real world, if that makes sense," "Surprisingly, it does," I replied, because it did. A lot of weird things had made sense after I became one with the stone. I think it had given me not just new powers but also new knowledge. I had no idea if any of the conversation could be heard outside me, but instead of contemplating over that, I focused on her. I felt her, just like I could feel other things outside me when I focused on them, and so I tried to focus on the outside as well as her and slowly started binding the two together until I could feel her in the outside world. I then opened my eyes and found a green-skinned girl standing in front of me. I had done it. I looked at the guy who had been holding a gun to Loki's head, he now only had eyes for her, let go of Loki, and ran to hold her. The second he dropped his gun Loki ran to me and wrapped his arms around me. "I am so sorry, I shouldn't have fallen asleep when you did, I just.." "Don't be," I looked at him, now completely calm, "if this hadn't happened she could've stayed trapped forever," I said, nodding at Gamora with my chest. "Right, how did you even... wait, did you say trapped?" asked Loki. I nodded, "She wasn't dead, she was trapped inside the stone, and since the stone and I are now one she was trapped inside me. I didn't even know that up until she started talking to me now and helped me let her out," "So let me get it straight, that's it for bringing people back from the dead, right?" he asked. "Yeah, that's it."