To be Loki'd - Loki x fem reader

Chapter 38 - Gems

A sharp inhale was drawn. Then another, replacing the stunned exhale.

It curled up in the frosty air, dancing above the shells of people lying around them. 

Being surrounded in blood, bodies and frost made tangible the massacre that this wedding had truly been. Even Elena's pristine white wedding dress was stained in blood, whilst all of you arboured numerous bruises and cuts, ranging from just a scratch to a massive wound. 

Your collective breaths heaved whilst silently contemplating this desolating carnage. 

When all was not said but done, you spun round on your heels and the rest followed suit, closing the dark ebony doors to something still unsaid. 

Over the next few days, things went in a bit of rush.

 Loki abdicated his Jotun throne for this was his birthplace but not his home and it encased too many painful memories, written in sharp ice. Therefore, it went to Jalid, the coronation swiftly taken care of in order to restablish Jotunheim and reassure the citizens. Laufey's murder was surprisingly unspoken of, whether in the markets or the courts, nobody dwelled on it. Perhaps here it was normal to murder family for inexplicable reasons. Or most likely that he wasn't a very appreciated monarch, go figure out why.

 Bucky, Wanda and you had needed to remain in the realm for an extra month or two, smoothing out diplomatic relationships, even though Jalid was very much favorable to all of you. However, the Jotuns had needed reassurance that an event like this wouldn't take place again, lest a civil war erupt. A peace treaty was drafted, drawn and signed in the briefest delays by all parties present; one of Jalid's first monarchial acts. 

Besides, you didn't know if you'd be welcome back on Earth. Nobody brought you news of down there, but it probably wasn't all in good. All of you were used to being shun, pointed out and excluded so it wasn't much of a change. Bucky barely spoke, too lost in memories involving cold lands and rathered staying indoors, trying to find something useful to do.

Ever since Loki and you reunited, every moment from rise to set was spent with each other. Before, it had been a passionate, whirlwind enamour, swept by this new feeling of love and being loved. However now, it was also soft, intimate and caring, relishing in the little things that weren't valued enough before. It was encaptured in the waves of his hair, in the grazing of his hand, in the fluttering of the pages thumbed along, in the scent of the other, in the breaths you took, in the ribbons you discarded, in the laughs you shared. 

Both of you realised the value and extent of your love for one another after that. It was already known to some extent, because after this long time and multiple adventures, it would have been hard not to be aware of it. For some individuals this could seem scary, even toxic. But the bond that knitted the two of you ran deeper than whatever bone, flesh, blood or promise. It was tighter than anything the nine realms could offer. Two people broken in half now fit the other perfectly, equally. Completion, of some sort.

One lonely morning in the palace's numerous sitting rooms, all of you were assembled, doing various activities. The room was filled with numerous plush couches, loveseats, bookshelves and the softest of ivory carpets. Even the wallpapers, oak planks and blue velvet curtains with window sills seating added the warmth to this previously cold palace.

"Y/n?", Wanda asked. You raised your head from a book written in Norse, making you struggle to decipher it piece by piece. It was strenuous and long: each word having to be read, enter your brain, translated then assembled back into the sentence. So far, you had understood the sheep magic produced the strongest of wools for the warriors. Or was it the magical sheep? Did it work as a noun or adjective? This hurt your head, making you grateful for Wanda's little interruption.