IDUNA (Loki x Reader)

Chapter 3 - Stay a While

Your morning was spent picking some apples to bring back with you to Earth. They'd last as long as you needed them, never rotting. You hauled the heavy baskets out of the orchard back to the palace, walking along the streets as people flooded to various vendors selling foods and handcrafted goods. You felt many eyes on you.

It was known in all of Asgard that you were the purveyor of immortality. People also knew that stealing the apples from you wouldn't give them the desired result. You had to give it to them willingly, and only after many altercations with Asgardian thieves did this become common knowledge.

You tried to push through a crowd of people and avoid getting asked for the fruit. You'd never found it easy to say no.

As you emerged from the chaos, a hand touched your shoulder from behind you.

"Hello, Iduna?" Said an unfamiliar voice. You turned.

A tall man now stood before you with a scruffy, bearded face. You still didn't recognize him

"You don't know me, but I was meaning to talk to you the next time you came back to us." You felt your palms get sweaty and the twisted wicker in your hands slide down towards the tips of your fingers. Just as you noticed the sensation, you saw his eyes dart down to the basket beside you, then locking his gaze back on you.

"You see, my family recently lost our oldest member. He was a man of great wisdom and strength, my grandfather. We haven't been the same since. In fact, my grandmother, his wife, has become sick herself. She spends her days in bed crying, asking for him. We never know what to say. She's fading."

You tried to seem sympathetic, but your heart began to race and you tried to swallow your guilt as it crept up your throat. You knew what was coming. If you gave in, a line of people would start to form all around you, everyone giving you their own personal tragedy. You saw people in the marketplace begin whispering and pointing to watch for your choice.

"I'm very sorry to hear that."

"I know this may be a bother, but it would mean so much to my family if we could have one of the apples, to help her. We can't bear to lose someone else."

You stared blankly at him as he continued, hardly hearing anything he said after he asked. Should you give in to your guilty conscience or lose tonight's sleep as you avoided being pummeled by other Asgardians? To stop the ringing in your head, you handed one over forcefully.

"Thank you," he nodded. "This will change everything."

As he finished his last word, he shoved the fruit into his own mouth, his animalistic slobber almost shooting at you. You didn't know what to do. There was nothing you could do.

You heard voices rumble around you, and that is when the man lunged toward you and onto the ground, his body only just missing you as you briskly stepped back. On his back was a black boot as Loki went to kneel down on the ground beside his body, lunging his weight deeper into his spine.

"You have made a grave mistake." He said as he ripped the leftover core from the man's hand and tossed it aside, a dog running over to it as it landed. He grabbed the man by the back of his neck, guiding him back up to his feet and quickly wrapping a chain around his wrists behind him and securing it with a lock. He then pushed him from behind, making him stumble before walking in front of him. You followed behind them and avoided eye contact with any of the others that had formed an audience.

-

As Loki fiercely pushed the man into a cell in the palace dungeon, he turned back to you. You didn't know if you should thank him or be offended that he didn't give you a chance to handle the situation yourself.