Woodland Whispers & Loki's Love

Part 9- The missed mission

As I laid in my bed the familiar siren started blaring in my room, Jarvis called out "Avengers assemble" on repeat. I rolled over to look at my phone, it was 3am.

I jumped from my bed and clumsily pulled on my tactical gear. As I went to turn the door handle I noticed that the sleeves fully covered my hands, I took a second to compose myself, shift to my human form and calmly turned the handle.

As I poked my head out my door, Loki stepped out of his, I stopped still in surprise at the sight of the god in front of me. Clearly woken from a deep sleep, he rubbed his eyes, still drowsy and oblivious to my presence. The green pyjama trousers I had given him sat low around his hips, revealing the sharp lines of his hips and accentuating his lean, muscular frame. His chest was bare, showcasing a surprising expanse of well-defined muscles that I hadn't even considered imagining in such detail. His dark hair, slightly tousled from sleep, framed his face and fell in light curls resting just above his broad shoulders. As the alarm system continued to blast he seemed momentarily disoriented, his eyes still heavy with sleep, giving him an unexpectedly vulnerable look that contrasted with his usual, more calculated demeanour.

After another quick glance in his direction I realised that it was not only an invasion of his privacy, but could be argued as a waste of time given the sirens calling for action. I moved loudly and clearly, not looking up at his door. Knowing he would have heard me, I pretended not to have seen him yet. In the seconds it took for me to make my presence known Loki had created an illusion of his Asgardian robes, his hair was now slicked back and straighter than it had been, his eyes wide awake. The shock I felt at seeing his quick change of appearance made me jump, which helped immensely towards giving off the impression that I had not seen him in a state of undress.

"What in all the realms is that noise?" He asked me, clearly irritated. I had almost forgotten about the alarm. Between watching Loki and my habit of drowning out loud noises for the last two years it had slipped my mind.

I looked up at the speaker in the hallway "It's the alarm to let the team know there's a mission, it's okay Loki the alarm will stop in a second and you can go back to sleep" I said as I closed my door and headed towards the lift. As the lift doors began to close I watched Loki, his eyes fixed on me for a second before he returned to his room.

By the time I got to the kitchen most of the team were already there, set up in tactical gear. Clint was counting arrows while Cap polished his shield. We were only waiting on Tony who walked in with a frustrated look on his face. No doubt he was upset by his beauty sleep being interrupted.

"Right kids, listen up" he said as he organised himself into one of his suits "We got a call from shield, it looks like there's some sort of riot going on in the city. I don't know why they're bothering to call us in. It's hardly dangerous and there are no big scary aliens" he huffed. The room noticeably relaxed. "But the police aren't getting it under control and it seems that the powers that be are getting annoyed. So make sure you have all your crowd control kit and let's get moving".

It took a few seconds for everyone to kick into gear. As we headed out the door Tony stopped me. "Hey kid, sorry to do this to you, but we don't need you on this one", I looked at him confused. I'd never been 'uninvited' to a mission before.

I opened my mouth to protest but he stopped me "y/n go back to bed, I promise if we need you, I'll call okay?". Realising that fighting him would only slow the team down I reluctantly admitted defeat. As Tony walked out the room I turned to stand at the window and watched my family load into the Quinjet without me.

I stood in the room alone, the dim lighting of the kitchen reflecting the deflation I felt. When the mission siren goes your body fills with adrenaline, and now I was stuck pumped up with nowhere to go.

As I took a deep breath a voice spoke into my ear "Do they usually leave you behind?". In the combination of the adrenaline coursing through me, my frustration at being left out and my surprise I spun around. My hands moved swiftly to a seedling in my pocket, shooting out a vine that threw the voice away from me. It was only when the body hit the wall that I realised who I had pinned to it.

"I yield, I yield!" Loki called, his hands in the air as he dangled above the ground. I retracted the vine and he clattered to the floor. Picking himself up he dusted himself off, "Careful y/n, this is fine Asgardian leather". As he stood the look on his face was a mixture of surprise and irritation.

"By the goddess Loki, you scared me!" I gasped as I moved to make sure he was okay. "Yes, well my apologies my lady" he huffed as he rubbed the back of his head. I moved to the freezer and pulled out an ice pack, they were of no short supply in our kitchen. He took it gratefully and sat on the sofa. "I must say, that was almost impressive, of course you were only able to pin me as I did not intend to fight". I rolled my eyes and joined him on the sofa.

As I turned back to the empty space where the Quinjet had been I felt tears prick in my eyes. The guilt of hurting Loki adding to my confusion. As a tear began to fall Loki placed a tentative hand on my shoulder. "Lady y/n" he said in as soft respectful tone "My sincere apologies, I had no intention of upsetting you". I smiled weakly in response, "In answer to your question, no, they don't usually leave me behind" I sighed.

"Will you return to bed?" He asked, still keeping his tone respectful. I shook my head, there was no way I could sleep while the team were out there. I reached for the remote and turned the TV on.

I reached a vine out behind me and pulled out two tubs of ice cream. "I'm going to watch a film and wait" I said calmly. "You're welcome to join me should you wish". I could feel his guilt for upsetting me, and so he settled down next to me on the sofa.

We fell into an easy silence, and as the film played I noticed once again him sneaking glances in my direction. "Have you ever sat down and watched a film before Loki?" I asked, realising he likely hadn't engaged in much Midgardian culture. He shook his head.

"I must admit it is an impressive feat to capture a play to be watched and rewatched" he said, musing to himself. "Wow, a compliment to the Midgardian's" I jested, "Be careful Loki, that's a slippery slope". He snorted lightly next to me, took a spoon of ice cream and returned to watching the film intently.

As the film rolled on I felt myself getting tired, the adrenaline had worn off and I felt my head begin to lull. I looked to my side to see that Loki was soundly asleep, head tilted back, resting on the now melted ice pack. Where the condensation had touched his hair it had began to reform into light waves, and his gentle breathing had become a small and soft snore.

Smiling to myself I curled up on the other end of the sofa, laying my head on the arm rest I watched the film through half closed eyes till I drifted into a peaceful sleep.