Loki Laufeyson - The Experiment {1}

Chapter Twenty - Can't Sleep

I lost count of how many movies we watched that night. It would have to have been at least three, but I kind of stopped paying attention after the first one, I still watched it but I didn't really take in anything that was happening. I had eaten all my food halfway through the movie, and because I had a full stomach, I was very tired but I fought to stay awake. I did feel sort of safe around the Avengers, but I knew I couldn't defend myself if anything happened to me when I was sleeping.

"Emily." A voice spoke up softly and I jumped, turning around and looking up to see Tony still awake. He, Nat and Loki were the only ones still awake, the colours of the TV illuminating everyone else's sleeping faces. "You know you can go to sleep if you want."

"I'm okay." I shook my head, fighting back a yawn.

"You look like you're about to fall forward asleep." Nat spoke up, speaking quietly as well so she didn't wake the others. "You can go to sleep if you want." I opened my mouth to refuse again, but a yawn interrupted my words instead and I slowly nodded.

"Okay." I gave in, standing up and gathering up the blanket, holding it out to Nat.

"Keep it." She smiled at me, shaking her head. "For next Friday." I hesitated for a moment before nodding, swallowing back another yawn as I brought the blanket back to my chest.

"Goodnight." Those who were still awake said to me as I began to walk towards the stairs. I gave them a small smile over my shoulder before I slowly climbed up the stairs. I opened up my door, yawning several times as I walked down the hallway before I collapsed into my bed, not bothering to get changed before I fell asleep.

-{+}-

Halfway through the night, I suddenly jerked upright, alert with my heart pounding and chest tight. I sat there, trying to get my bearings on where I was and why I had woken up suddenly. I quickly looked down at my hands, afraid that they would be covered in sparks, but thankfully there were none in sight and I breathed a heavy sigh of relief. I pushed the sheets off my body and slid out of bed, fixing up the loose braid I had done after my shower. I rubbed my tired face with my hand and walked slowly over to the balcony, the bright lights from the mostly sleeping city catching my attention. I quietly slid open the class door before shutting it behind me, wrapping my arms around myself as a cool breeze blew around me. The brightly coloured boards along the buildings were still flashing the same things as they had during the day. The city was still quite alive, considering that it was well past midnight, the roads weren't as busy as they were during the day, but there were cars still tooting at each other. My eyes followed some cars as they weaved in between the buildings. My eyes were drawn to three black fans travelling straight, not making any turns unlike everyone else.

"Emily?" A voice said behind me and I jumped, clutching the balcony railing as I spun around. However, when I saw that is was only Loki, I breathed a heavy sigh of relief. He was dressed in a loose grey top and pants, his hair slightly messy as he gave me a tired smile. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's okay." I shook my head, loosening my grip on the railing. "I didn't hear the glass door open." He nodded and moved next to me on the balcony, looking out at the city.

"Did you have another nightmare?" He asked softly and I shook my head, leaning on the railing as I didn't move my eyes from the city, the black vans I had been watching long gone.

"I just woke up randomly." I replied. "Once I wake up, it is very difficult for me to go to sleep again." He nodded and we fell silent again. A couple of seconds later, I notice the same three black van as before and my anxiety immediately told me something was wrong. I leaned further against the railing, but they split up, turning down three different roads.

"Everything okay?" Loki's voice interrupted my paranoid thinking and I leaned back, huffing out a quiet sigh.

"Yeah." I nodded looking up at him. "How did you know I was awake?"

"Stark's AI." He replied. "Stark has programmed it for me to be the first alerted when you have a nightmare or something. It probably sensed that you were awake and decided to get me to check up on you." I wasn't sure if I should be worried that JARVIS was monitoring me so closely or be grateful that they cared for me that much. I nodded and smiled softly, still looking out at the city.

"Well thank you." I said quietly to him. "I hope I didn't wake you up."

"Its fine." He grinned, shrugging. "I don't tend to sleep well at night anyway." I smiled, slightly sympathetic, and looked up at the moon in the sky.

"But we should probably both rest." He said after a couple of moments of silence. "I think Rogers wanted to start you on combat training soon." My brain was suddenly filled with memories from HYDRA at the training I had to undergo and my hands clenched the railing tightly as I tried to force them away. However, Loki noticed and gave me a small smile.

"It won't be like HYDRA." He said. "I promise. Nothing can be worse than there." I looked up at him and nodded before we both moved away from the balcony and back into my room. Loki walked over to the door and opened it, revealing the dark mini lounge room outside, before he paused, looking over his shoulder at me.

"Goodnight Emily." He smiled softly and I smiled back slightly.

"Goodnight Loki." I replied before he walked out, shutting the door quietly behind him. I stood there for a couple of seconds before walking over to my bed and flopping down onto it, staring at the ceiling. I didn't even bother trying to get back to sleep, I knew I wouldn't be able to, and even if I did, I would just have another nightmare and wake up Loki.

So I settled for just laying there instead, loosing myself in my thoughts until the sun began to peak over the horizon.