🖤BUD🖤

Chapter 7

The soft glow of candlelight flickered against the stone walls of my room, casting warm shadows that danced across the room like silent ghosts. My muscles ached from the day's brutal training with Loki, each bone in my body begging for rest, yet sleep hadn't claimed me just yet. I sat at my desk, hair damp from a quick rinse, when a quiet knock echoed against the thick wooden door. 

Before I could answer, Thor entered, his massive frame nearly filling the doorway. He carried something in his hand-an envelope, slightly crumpled at the edges but unmistakably marked with Dad's Stark Enterprise logo. My heart skipped.

He handed it me to me silently, offering a faint smile. Printed on the front were the words: "Read me."

M fingers trembled slightly as I broke the seal. I unfolded the paper carefully, pressing it flat on the desk, and read.

Hey Monkey,

What technology do they have? I'm going to send you a device I need you to hook up to scan their tech... Wait a second, do they even have electricity? Do you just walk around with candelabras? Are you living with the Vikings-like wooden boats and horses? What century are they living in?!

Why are they still in the stone ages over there? They need to upgrade and get with the 21st century.

(Long pause-intentionally dramatic)

That's still old tech. We're on the 22nd century here at Stark Tower.

Anyway, I'm tired of this Messenger of Thunder delivering old-fashioned communication. The device I'm sending WILL let us talk in real time-finally.

P.S. Jarvis says hi as he's writing this.

A soft, involuntary laugh escaped me, a sound that echoed through the quiet room like a ripple on still water. Typical Dad. Even halfway across the universe, he was still roasting entire civilizations. I grabbed a sheet of parchment from the desk-yes, parchment, he'd lose his mind-and dipped a quill into the ink pot, still smiling as I scribbled my reply.

Hi Dad and Pepper,

Correction: they're like in the 25th century. Their boats fly, and I'm NOT doing that, Dad!!!

For one, we're in different realms. Two, that's rude-you want me to spy on them?! They agreed to help me!

But... I miss you guys at home. A lot. Love ya, Dad. Hopefully I can see you soon.

♦️

The silence in my cell had become familiar-too familiar. I sat in the shadows of my own self-inflicted exile, the cold stone walls offering no comfort, only reflection. Father's words still echoed in my mind like a curse. His expectations. His disappointments. His demands for my redemption. Redemption... what a loathsome concept. As if I were something broken in need of fixing.

I heard her footsteps before I saw her-soft, determined, echoing down the corridor with quiet fury. She always carried her presence like a blade: beautiful, sharp, impossible to ignore.

"You've been avoiding me and ignoring me for a week now, Loki," she said the moment she reached the cell, her voice laced with frustration. "Since the whole thing in the training arena. Why? I thought we were going to work on the dreams and how I could subside them." I didn't respond. I stared ahead at the wall, letting the silence dig into her like I knew it would. "Loki, you're supposed to be helping me. This isn't going to help me control it." Still, I remained quiet. What could I say that wouldn't make it worse? What could I say that wouldn't betray how I felt  when she was near? "Stop ignoring me!" her voice cracked, just slightly.