Lost in Glorious Mischief

The Exam

You wake up the next morning feeling better than expected. You turn around slowly, not wanting to hurt yourself.
Loki is still asleep. A feeling of comfort wash over you. You relax into your pillow and grin at him.
After a moment of gazing upon his face, you lean in and kiss him gently, waking him slightly.
"Mm, not a terrible way to wake up," he says, smiling. His eyes still closed.
"I am sorry. I didn't mean to wake you," you say, laying your head back onto your pillow.
Loki opens his eyes and smiles at you,
"Don't be sorry, darling. It is the best way to wake up," He says, wrapping his arm around you. He pulls you close and kisses you again.
After a minute of playful kissing, you both settle into your pillows.
"How are you feeling this morning?" Loki asks.
"Uh, pretty good. I think I'm going to go to the lab and have Bruce take a look. Maybe I can get back to training sooner than planned," you say, sitting up and sitting against the headboard.
"I truly think you need to take as much time as possible to heal," Loki says, sitting up to face you.
"I know, but the sooner I can get back the better,"
"Love, I know you are eager to get back to work, but you push yourself too hard. You need to take time to recover." Loki says, reaching for your hand.
"Fine, but I am still going to Bruce," you say smiling, as you get out of bed.
Loki smiles and rolls his eyes at you.
As you are standing at your dresser, holding onto your side; Loki walks up behind you and wraps his arms around your waist,
"Have I told you how stubborn you are?" He asks, nuzzling your neck with his nose.
"You might have mentioned it," you joke, turning your head to the side, smiling.
Loki turns you around to face him.
"Why don't we take one more day and just stay in bed?" He asks.
You smile at him and kiss him,
"If Bruce suggests more rest then we can take another day of old movies and cuddle in bed. Okay?" you say, looking up and meeting his eyes.
He lets out a sigh,
"Fine, but I am going with,"
"Ugh, fine," you say, playfully.
You walk away from Loki and go into the bathroom to change.

~

Loki and you both leave your bedroom. You head down to the lab. Bruce and Tony are chatting as you walk in.
"Hey Claire, how are you feeling today?" Tony asks when he sees you walk in.
You make your way across the room,
"Better."
Tony looks at Loki,
"Is she doing better?" He asked him.
"I truly believe she needs one more day of rest," Loki says looking down at you. You nudge him with your elbow and smile
"However, she believes she is doing better and is eager to get off the bench," he continued.
"Well, Claire fractured ribs don't heal overnight. We can take a look but I still would like if you allowed yourself to heal fully," Bruce says, concern in his voice.
"If it is still bad then I will rest. This is the first time since the shock therapy I'm not in terrible pain. Please, just look and we will go from there," you plead.
Bruce looks at Tony. They exchanged worried looks before Bruce clears the table off.
You look at Loki and smile.
You unzip your jacket and slip it off. You hand it to Loki. As you walk around to the table Loki notices your side. The bruise is practically gone. Only yesterday it was dark, almost black.
You sit on the table.
Tony and Bruce turn to you and both notice the bruising is almost completely gone.
"How is that possible?" Bruce asks.
"Claire, the bruising is almost completely gone, did you not notice this morning?" Tony asks.
You look down and notice only a light bruise remains where your very large dark bruise was the day before
"No, I didn't notice when I got dressed earlier. I guess I was tired of seeing it and didn't look when I slipped my jacket on.
"I am going to take some scans. Can you lay back?" Bruce asks
You lay back.
"Friday take a scan of internal structures, X-ray of the right rib cage, and vitals," Bruce says.
Within a few seconds, Friday responds,
"Internal structures normal, X-ray shows slight cracking on 8th rib, vitals are normal,"
Bruce and Tony look at each other, confused
They both turn to the computer to view your X-ray.
You look at Loki who is staring at Bruce and Tony.
"Claire, we aren't sure how but two of the three ribs are completely healed, one has a small crack," Bruce says looking at you.
"Yesterday all the three were severely fractured. One more kick or punch you would have broken them completely. Have you ever healed yourself before?" Tony asks.
You look at Tony, confused,
"Not that I know of. When I was with Hydra they would keep me up for days, starve me and deprive me of water; they would make me combat one of the stronger soldiers as further punishment. Usually causing me to break something. After, they would throw me in my cell. Most of the time I would fall asleep as soon as I hit the floor, despite the amount of pain I was in. When I woke up the pain would be practically gone. I just figured I was asleep for a few days and skipped over the unbearable part, " you explain.
Bruce and Tony look at you and then back at the computer.
You look back to Loki, now concerned.
Loki looks down at you and forces a grin. He too slightly concerned.
"Claire, I believe you have some sort of healing capabilities, " Bruce says.
"After the shocking, did you sleep decently?" Tony asks.
"Okay. I mean, it wasn't great sleep, unlike yesterday when I slept all day. The pain medication helped though, " you say.
"What if her body only heals when she is deep sleep. Her body isn't running at full speed. She isn't training or using her power. She isn't using her energy for something else. In deep sleep, her energy can be used to healing whatever is injured." Bruce theorizes with Tony.
You sit up,
"You're saying I can heal myself?" you ask.
"I think so, it is the only explanation, " Tony says, looking at you.
"I want you to stay benched today. Take the pain medication tonight when you go to bed. Tomorrow we will have another exam, but the way it looks is by tomorrow you will be back to training, " Tony says.
Loki shifts his weight but remains silent.
You smile at Bruce and Tony before getting up and walking back to Loki.
Loki holds your jacket up and you slip your arms through the sleeves and zip it.
"Am I good to go?" you ask.
"Get out of here. No training today, " Tony reminds you.
You nod your head. Loki and you walk out of the lab together.
Loki is still quiet.
"Are you alright?" you ask, turning to him as you continue to walk down the hall.
Loki turns to you and stops walking,
"Yes love, " he says as he runs his hands down your arms. Stopping at your hands and taking ahold of them,
"Have I told you how much you amaze me?" he asks, smiling.
"I don't think so, " you say, playfully.
"I didn't think so, " he says, leaning in and kissing you.