Working Title : Loki & Annie

70 The Offer

Inside her bedroom, Annie held a still upset Loki who would occasionally let out a stuttering breath but had stopped his cry for the most part. Little noises still escaped from him but for the most part, he was quiet. He seemed to have exhausted the strongest of his emotions.

Laying back on her bed with her back against her headboard Annie ran a soothing hand through Loki's short hair while the other hand rubbed his back. She had pulled her covers back and now lay under them in the hopes she would be able to scoot Loki from her arms and onto the bed once he had fallen asleep. She'd tried a couple of times but he had gripped at her shirt and made little whines so she resolved to simply hold him through the night. She didn't have to work tomorrow which was perfect because she needed to get some things done. Glancing at her bedside clock she realized that it was today, she didn't have to go to work today but she did have to go tomorrow. She mentally groaned, she was so not looking forward to going back to work.

Shifting just slightly Annie listened to the sounds of the night. She had left her door open, if Thor needed to talk she would have listened but she never heard him and was relieved. Just because she would have listened to him didn't mean she wanted to. Besides, she couldn't think of anything that couldn't wait till morning. Closing her eyes she thought back through their entire conversation right through to the Event. She thought of it with a capital letter because it was a huge deal.

Loki snuffled in his sleep, and she opened her eyes to see his fingers tightening for a few seconds in their grip on her shirt. He was breathing through his mouth, little puffs of air flowing between his lips. Loki was falling asleep while listening to Annie's heartbeat. It made him feel better and he liked feeling better.

In the light coming from her bathroom Annie watched as he settled, then she leaned forward so that she could grab another pillow with one hand and swing it behind her. Sliding down against the pillows she turned carefully so that Loki was laying on his back with her arm under him, still holding him. A few more seconds of watching him let Annie know that he wasn't going to wake up.

Much more comfortable now that she could relax, she closed her eyes again. She needed to decide what she was going to do. Once and for all she had to draw a line in the sand and this time stick to it. Thor just couldn't be allowed to continue to destroy Loki, it didn't matter if they were brothers or not. She had no idea what would happen when she went back to work tomorrow. Annie groaned quietly, she was exhausted just thinking about having to go to work. She had no desire to deal with Creepy Kevin and his lazy friends.

She was too tired to think beyond that, she had to do something to fix this situation and she had no idea what it could be. It was with that thought spinning through her head that she slipped into sleep. Annie knew she had fallen asleep because she woke up in what felt like only minutes later.

Loki still lay in her arms, the arm under him was asleep. She didn't know what had woken her until she heard a whining cry come from him and she reached over to rub at his back. With a sleep scratchy voice, she murmured, "Hey, buddy. Wake up, time to wake up." Annie cleared her throat and spoke a little louder, "Come on Loki. You're okay. Wake up, hun."

Loki whimpered louder while scrunching his face up as a hand came up to rub at his nose before he tucked his face back against Annie. When he woke just enough to feel her rubbing his back he hummed a protest and shoved his face deeper against Annie. The sound clearly said he didn't want to wake up.

Annie couldn't stop her lip from twitching, "I know how you feel buddy, but I need you to wake up." She could tell his Pull Up needed changing and she didn't want him staying wet for any longer than he had to. The last thing either one of them needed was a diaper rash. "Come on now, open your beautiful eyes." She scratched her nails through his hair, watching as it fell back into place.