Silent Cellmate

6. Nightmares

Ash's POV:

It has been a little over two months now with Loki, my time with him has been a dream but I can tell he is getting irritated by me.

Ever since I verbally apologised to him he has tried to get me to speak every single day. I have refused to utter a single syllable which is slowly eating away at his patience.

I have had a stutter ever since I learned to talk, but I was quickly silenced. "No one wants to hear your pathetic broken voice" were words that I heard early on until the day I finally stopped speaking.

Loki's voice makes me feel safe and secure, whereas mine would surely grate on his temper far more than my silence.

I am afraid that he will have me sent to my own cell if I stay silent much longer. In honesty, I would rather he killed me than tossed me aside. At least that way I could die with the person who has shown me the most love and compassion in my entire life.

I look over at him breathing softly next to me in his slumber. He looks so relaxed and free from troubles when he sleeps. I can't help but lift my hand to lightly brush away a stray hair that has crept across his face.

As I continue to watch him sleep I notice beads of sweat appearing on his forehead. I watch as his eyebrows draw together and he lets out a small whimper. This must be his third nightmare this week.

I cannot bare to watch him suffer another night so I gently shake his shoulders. His face contorts further and he lets out a small cry.

Panicked, I call out to him "Loki! It's okay, your safe. P..please wake up!". He suddenly bolts upright and grabs me around the neck.

I let out a cry that was quickly cut off by his grip on my throat tightening. I look into his eyes and see that he is plagued by the pain and fear of his nightmare.

My vision starts to go blurry and I see the darkness creeping in. Tears spill from my eyes and I manage to choke out his name. I see his eyes change from rage to horror.

He instantly lets go of my neck and I begin to gasp and cough, desperately trying to bring enough oxygen into my lungs to cling to consciousness.

Once my breathing had slowed I slowly turned to look at Loki. I was shocked to see him curled up at the foot of the bed sobbing into his hands.

I started to move closer to him when he yelled for me to stop. I froze in place waiting with bated breath to see what would come next. "I'm a monster, I'm not safe for you to be around. I will request they move you to another cell tomorrow. They should never have left you with a monster like me who only causes pain and suffering".

I instantly curled up next to him and pulled him into my arms. I could feel his sobbing subside but his tears never slowed. After some time I pulled him upright so that he sat facing me on the bed.

"Loki, y..you're not a m..monster. I want to s..stay with you". He refused to meet my gaze and just started to shake his head.

"No you don't understand, I'm the monster parents tell their children about at night. I am a dangerous and hideous beast. If I showed you my true form you would beg to leave." He cried out with shaky breaths, trying desperately to compose himself but failing.

"Show me" I stated simply. The only way I could put his fears to rest is to prove them wrong. Though I did fear what I would see, I would do what I could to make him feel safe. He would never hurt me on purpose, at least not yet, I owed it to him to try.

Loki refused to meet my eye as his skin began to change from porcelain white to a deep blue hue. Intricate ridges appeared across his face and his eyes changed to a crimson red.

For a moment I was shocked at his appearance, but I did not fear him for it. He still had refused to look at me, fearing that he may see horror or disgust across my face.

I slowly raised my hands and cupped his face. After a moment he raised his tear-filled eyes to mine. "Your beautiful," I said softly and offered him a warm smile.

It was obvious he didn't believe me so I bravely leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. The look of shock that spread across his face would have made me giggle if I wasn't so heartbroken at his self-hatred.

I gently pulled him down so he was lying in bed properly and lay next to him. I couldn't help but trace the complex ridges on his face as he slowly relaxed. He let a few more tears fall but I'm a small smile made its way to his face.

"You are the only person to have touched me in my natural form." He stated softly, "most would run in fear, but you do not fear me. You are a strange mortal little one, but I hope you never leave my side".

I smile at him again and cup his cheek in my hand, softly stroking his cheekbone with my thumb. I plant another kiss on his forehead and he emits a sound similar to a cat's purr.

He instantly clamps his hand over his mouth as I begin to giggle. He shoots me a soft glare before beginning to laugh himself. "Well, I certainly didn't know Jotuns did that." He chuckled contently.

I decided to chase away the last of his fear by peppering his face with kisses. This resulted in his deep laugh being mixed with his soothing purr. I decided that that was my favourite sound in the world and smiled down at him.

We cuddled together for a long time that night as we both were in need of comfort and safety. After a while, I fell asleep to the sound of him purring softly in my ear.