affectionate

So he can be nice

I wake up screaming in the middle of the night. A nightmare, again. I've been waking up from nightmares since I've been here. But it is the first time that I wake up screaming. It was the worst nightmare I've had so far.

I was back at HYDRA, they beat me up and said terrible things about me.

I sit with my back against the headboard of the bed with my knees pulled up. I feel a hand on my shoulder, I gasp and quickly pull away. "It's okay, it's just me." says the warm, low voice I've been hearing for weeks, or months? I Don't know.

A candle starts to burn and I see I was correct. Loki is in front of me with a concerned look on his face.

I run my fingers through my hair and sigh in relief. "What are you doing here?" I ask in a shaky voice. "You were screaming."

"I'm sorry I woke you up."

"What were you dreaming?" He asks.

I look at him in surprise. What does it matter to him? "nothing." I answer.

"Well if it's nothing why were you screaming?"

I break into sobs when I think back to my dream. Loki pulls me towards him and holds me protectively in his arms. "Ssssh, it's okay. It was just a dream." he soothes.

"I-It was about m-my time with H-HYDRA..."I say between sobs.

Loki strokes my hair, "You're here now. Nothing is going to happen to you anymore."

It takes me a while to feel my body completely relaxed in his embrace. I don't know if he cast a spell on me or not. But I don't care, it feels good.

"Go back to sleep, little one."

"No..." I protest.

"No? Why not?" He asks.

"I don't want to go back to sleep, because when I do they'll come back."

"What will come back?"

"T-the nightmares..."

He holds me tighter. "Do you want me to stay?" He asks with a little hesitation in his voice. "If it is not a problem." I say and look up into his eyes.

"of course not," He smiles. "Do you want me to read for you?"

"That sounds nice."

Loki gets up and walks over to my bookshelf, he takes the book I was reading in and comes back to the bed. He sits down with his back against the headboard of the bed. I crawl over to him and put my head on his lap.

It looks like he is ssurprised by my actions . I understand that I also surprised myself with it, but I was already moving before I could think about it properly.

He puts the sheet over me and rubs the hair out of mij my face.

"Were you reading this book?" He asks

"Hmm? Oh yeah I put a bookmark on which page I was on. But you can also start from the beginning if you want."

"No that's not necessary, I've read this book thousands of times." He says.

I look up at him. "Really?"
"Yeah, it's one of my favorites." He says looking down at me.

I smile a little at the thought of him reading a romantic book. I mean there's nothing wrong with it, I just... didn't expect that.

"There's that smile that I love." Loki says pulling me out of my thoughts.

He opens the book and starts reading. The words sound like a lullaby and after a while I feel the sleep taking over and I welcome the darkness.

Loki's pov:

(y/n) is asleep on my lap. I close the book and put it on the bedside table. She looks peaceful.

She must have had many nightmares since she is afraid to go back to sleep. Why didn't she tell me? I'm here to take care of her. I could never hurt her.

the thoughts immediately leave my head when I see her smile in her sleep. She must have a nice dream.

I can feel myself smiling at her. Wait no! I'm not getting soft! She's not my weakness! She can't be my weakness...