Who am I? (A Sequel to 'Who are You?' A Loki love story)

Chapter Nine - Avoiding Subjects

The nightmares were getting worse. Over the past three weeks, they've been getting more and more gruesome, the scars taking longer to go away each time. Not even having Loki there helped anymore, but he stayed just the same. When I woke up screaming, he held me, whispering to me until I calmed down. When I got too hot, he would be there to cool me down. Right now, he was the rock in my psychotic world.

Currently, I was training in the gym in the tower, my music blasting over the loudspeakers as I wailed on a punching bag. It was the fourth one in the last hour, and it was on it's last leg, about to join it's buddies in broken punching bag land. "What is it," Tony says as he walks into the gym, "with you and Rogers insisting on breaking my stuff? Constantly, I might add."

"Fine. I'll just hit you next time." I say, faking a serious face.

"Never mind." Tony says, raising his hands. "Continue breaking my stuff. Just not me. This face can't be damaged." I let out a snort of laughter.

"Why? Is the press picky now?" I ask sarcastically. Tony rolls his eyes.

"Of course not. But no one wants to see my gorgeous face hurt. I don't want the public to riot." I roll my eyes, and spin around, making the bag tear in half with a roundhouse kick. "And I'd rather not be decapitated...." Tony trails, arcing an eyebrow at the bag.

"Eh..." I study him mockingly. "I guess your head wouldn't look that bad separated from your body. At least then we'd be able to get you to shut up." He scowls, and I laugh, walking over to a bench and picking up a water bottle.

"Yeah. Thanks kid." I glare at him.

"Not a kid. I'm twenty for goodness sakes." I say.

"Okay." Tony says annoyed. "When did you turn twenty? It's annoying the crap out of me. One minute you were nineteen, and suddenly you were twenty."

"That's kinda how age works, Tony." I say, not liking how this conversation was going.

"Yeah, but you had that one moment when Loki came back." He says, thinking. "You said you were nineteen, but then checked the date and said that you were actually twenty. Did you forget or something?" He asks. I stay silent. My birthday is a topic that treads on dangerous grounds. He raises his eyebrow at me when I don't answer. "Okay then.... When is your birthday?" Silence again. "Mines really soon."

"When is it?" I ask. Anything to get the topic away from me.

"May twenty ninth. But that's not the point. When's yours?" I look at him.

"Tony, that's over five months away."

"Five and a half. Still not the point." He says.

"Actually, that reminds me. I need to go Christmas shopping!" I grab my stuff and start out the gym.

"Wait... Sophie! I was talking to y-"

"Thanks Tony!" I speed walk out of the room, and head towards my room. Well. That was horribly avoided. "Jarvis, remind me to go Christmas shopping." I say as I walk down the hallway.

"Yes Miss Crest." I walk down the hallway, wrapped up in my own head. What was I going to get everyone? I only had two weeks. How did I forget Christmas?! It's my favorite holiday! I head into my room, and I peel off my shirt, getting ready for a shower I really needed. The worst part about training was the BO afterwards.

"As much as I like the view...." I let out a quick scream, grabbing my shirt off the floor and covering my bra. I flip around, one hand holding a crumpled shirt to my chest, which it was only half covering, and my other hand had grabbed hair brush off my desk and was ready to throw it. "It's just me, Love!" Loki yells. He had been sitting in the big armchair in my room, and I saw a book next to him. He was holding his hands up in defense.

I take a shaky breath, dropping the hairbrush and using my arm to hug myself and cover myself up. "Gosh darn it Loki." I breathe out. He chuckles. "It's not funny!" I say defensively. "You scared the bejezzus out of me." He raises an eyebrow.

"Bejezzus?" He asks, trying to hide a smirk. I glare at him, quickly walking over to the bathroom.

"It's an expression." I sigh,opening the bathroom door. I go to shut it, but Loki blocks it. "Really?" I ask, pushing on the door. I playfully push him away, until I notice the smirk has been wiped from his face. I follow his gaze down to my bare stomach, and I quickly move the t-shirt from in front of my bra to cover it. He quickly snatches the t-shirt away, exposing the fading scars littering my abdomen.

"Sophie..." He whispers. I hug myself, trying to stop him from looking. "They morning, you said they had disappeared."

"No." I correct. "You said that. I just... didn't correct you." I look at the book he had been reading. 'Angelfire'.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asks hurt. I can't look him in the eyes.

"I didn't want you to worry." I say quietly, hugging myself tighter. "I'm fine. They're going away, it's just... taking some time." He peels my arms away from my stomach, despite my protests, and studies the scars.

"We need to inform Banner. " He says, grabbing my arm.

"No!" I shout, yanking my arm away as he starts to move forward. He looks back at me, clearly shocked. "I... I can't. I don't want to put him under more stress. Any of them. Loki, they'll fade." He clenches his jaw.

"They aren't now." He says stiffly.

"That doesn't matter. They will go away." I say firmly, trying to believe my own words. "They have too..." My voice cracks at the end. Loki notices, and soon I'm in his arms. "I hate this." I breathe out. "I hate these stupid ugly scars, I hate these horrible nightmares, and I hate everyone treating me like glass!" I say, voice rising.

"Sophie." Loki puts one hand on either side of my head, forcing me to look at him. "Not one part of you is ugly." He says, his thumbs rubbing circles on my cheeks. "Those nightmares will only hurt you if you let them get to your head, and we are only being cautious because you keep pushing us back." He says. "Sophie, we just want you to let us in." He whispers the last part.

I look up at him. "Dang god of mischief and your freaking silver tongue." I mutter, making him chuckle. "Always knowing exactly what to freaking say." He leans down to peck my lips, a relieved smile on his face, but instead of it being just a quick peck, I hold him there, merging my lips with his.

And suddenly, I'm hyper aware that I'm only in a bra and shorts, that his hands are dancing across the bare skin of my back, and I don't want it to end. His cool touch is making my skin buzz, and slide my hands up his chest, inching them slowly around his neck. He licks my bottom lip, and I let him in, letting his tongue dance with mine. He growls, and I'm suddenly pushed back up against the wall. My lips attack his in an equal frenzy he's creating, and my hands drift down, slipping under the hem of his shirt before I start to pull it up.

Loki suddenly freezes, and I pull back, worried. "Did.. Did I do something wrong?" I ask cautiously. He looks down at me, curious, but hopeful.

"Are you sure?" He asks, and I know exactly what he's talking about.

"Loki." I say, "You've told me you love me I don't know how many times. Every time I need you, you're there, and I can't stop my feelings from wanting you. I love you so, so much." I say. I hear his breath catch in his throat. "I don't think I've ever been so sure of anything in my life."

He studies my face for a moment, before kissing me with such passion that I can barely breathe.

"I love you more." He whispers.

"Going there, are we?" I ask with a giggle. I feel a smirk on his lips as he kisses me again, and he carries me over to the bed.

"Absolutely."

Soooooo....... I'm just going to leave that there....... Yep. That's a... good spot. Little joking, lota fluff. Truth is, I've got a little writing block. Next chapter will be longer, I promise! In the mean time, what did you guys think?