Saturn Gardens (Loki Laufeyson x wife!Reader)

Chapter III: Narcissus Flower

Empty. You felt so empty inside. No matter how much food you consumed, it was never enough. Never enough to make it go away. The tvshow was long forgotten and merely reduced to background noise, something to make you feel less lonely in this black and white house. The clock on the wall kept making noise, reminding you how slow this day has been passing by.

"Thank you, miss." The security guard that Natasha had sent to "protect" your house was nice enough to chat, and he even ate the food you prepared for him. You chatted for at least twenty minutes, about all kinds of stuff possible. For once after years, your house wasn't cold anymore, instead, a cosy warm sensation had replaced it.

"It's no problem." You kindly smiled at him, placing the coffee mug on the table. "I'm sorry, I don't remember asking for your name."

"Jackson Sullivan. I'm a newbie on this job, it's my first time actually." Jackson replied while drinking from his own mug.

"And they sent you to deal with the crazy widow? I feel sorry for you." You chuckled and arched your eyebrows slightly.

"You're not a crazy widow, miss (L/N), you don't have the at least ten cats nor do you live in the middle of the mountains." He added a cheeky comment at the end, which wasn't probably that funny, but the caffeine made you laugh like Jackson had just told you the funniest joke in the world.

"I hope I didn't bother your day with sending you here, it's probably so unnecessary since there's no actual threat." You began to clean breakfast's dishes. You watched as the water made contact with your skin, chilly at first but quickly numbed out. Shaking your head softly, you put those thoughts aside for now and focused on the task. You had to control your zooming out from now on.

"Not at all. You've been very welcoming since I've arrived."

Should you ask for his number? Go on a date? No, you'd be too hasty or desperate. You barely know this guy and he just came here to work, maybe later. After all, you didn't need love right now.

A raucous and screech sound was heard, blocking you from your thoughts. Something had striked against your kitchen's window, a raven. Jackson, for security measures, had his gun in hand while you two ran outside to see the bird. Even if the sunlight blinded you for a few seconds, it didn't stop you from running to the house's backyard and hope to still save the bird.

"It's just a bird, love." Loki comforted you. His voice was always so soothing and calm, like a beckon of light in the middle of the night. "It was his fate."

"His fate was to slam against a window and die ?" You frowned, clear tears streaming down your cheeks. Your boyfriend, however, did not share the same compassion as you did, but he carried a tender warmt in his eyes.

"The Universe has its ways." He simply replied, and took the black raven from your hands, "We'll give him a proper funeral."

"Miss (L/N)? Ma'am?" You stared at the grass, then you looked around, even at the window. There was nothing here, not even a single feather, nothing. Did it fly away? Or maybe it was never here at all. You took a deep breath, and from the corner of your eyes you saw Jackson inspecting the grounds and surroundings. "There's nothing here."

"You heard it. We heard it. Something slammed against my window." If you were alone in this precise moment, you'd think you were hearing things again. Your mind playing tricks against you, again. But no, you are not alone, you're in the company of a security guard named Jackson Sullivan, and you both heard and saw a black raven hit against the glass.

"Maybe it flew away, right? What other explanation is there?" He asked, his eyes meeting yours before you looked away. Something else catched your attention, something in the garden. Ignoring the guard's callings, your feet moved towards the white flowers blooming.

Narcissus flowers.

"Your favorite plants."

You turned around and raised an eyebrow at Jackson.

"What did you say?"

"Beg your pardon, miss?" He looked confused, as if those words didn't leave past his lips right now. Besides everything you two spoke about earlier, you didn't mention those flowers to him, nor that they were your favorites.

"How did you know they are my favorite?"

Jackson seemed to stop and think for a brief minute, before glancing a charming smirk at you. "Captain Rogers told me about it, he thought I should order those flowers for you." It's almost as if he was trying to please you, to be as convincing as he could be."

"Steve?" You took a step in his direction cautiously, not letting him out of your sight. "It was Natasha that handled your assignment here, not Steve. Why would he tell you that?"

"I was lucky enough to cross paths with him."

The conversation wasn't pleasant, but you didn't know what to do about it. Should you ask for another security? Maybe the story he told was true, but you weren't naïve. It had a plothole. Were you, in fact, onto something though? Maybe you were bored, looking for a cheap adventure to occupy your mind.

Your hands slowly caressed the photograph you held, taken five years ago. It showed Loki and you hugging each other, you were smiling and your boyfriend didn't seem to notice the picture being taken at all. His eyes were upon you, in the most sweet gaze you could ever imagine; he preserved that look only for you. Only you could that side of him. The vunerable, loving side.

Loki wasn't the face everybody painted, no, he was your golden boy.

But then it all fell apart. The grief you felt was overtaken with emptiness over time, your mind still didn't accept Loki was dead. How to accept it, if it seemed like yesterday that he was here? The memories were still so alive, so vivid. Like his presence still lingered around. You denied the fact that he was gone, you wanted so desperately for this to be a horrid nightmare.

For you, it looked like the last time you spoke to him was this morning. Then, in the blink of an eye, he was gone. Slipped from your grasp just like that. That's how the universe works, you suppose. People fade away as quick as the last time you saw them. One moment they're here, the next they aren't. It always happens to the people that less deserve it, ironic is it not?

Suddenly, your phone ringed.

"Hey Nat, how's it going?"

"Hey (Y/N), just called in to check in on you and also warn you that the security guard I assigned to you called sick early morning, so another one will replace him."

"What? That's impossible."

"What do you mean?"

"He's here."

"Ralph Williams?"

"No, no. Jackson Sullivan."

You heard her speaking to somebody in the background for a few seconds, before she got back at you.

"(Y/N), I'll need you to play as cool and normal as possible. We're going to your house right now."

"What? Why?"

"Listen to me," Natasha said, her voice tune was worrying the soul out of you, "Jackson Sullivan doesn't exist."

"Now, now. It's not pleasant to talk behind your husband's back, darling."