Loki's Little Witch [en]

chapter 9. a much needed break

Wanda blinked a couple of times, feeling the brightness of the first rays of sunlight streaming  through her window land on her eyes. She couldn't believe how fast morning had come. In her mind, time had stopped, or at least that's how she wished it had been as she found herself lying on the asgardian's bare chest.

"I'm sorry."

The redhead blurted out, breaking the longest silence they both had shared up to that moment. They had simply lay together for hours, where Wanda had done nothing other than rest her head on his chest, listening closely to the beating of his heart, despite being able to feel it inside her, fearing that it would stop at any moment as it had done when he fell at Mordo's feet. Loki, on the other hand, had simply dedicated to caress her back, feeling the softness of her skin under the oversized gray sweater that covered her naked body.

"Shh," he begged her, "don't apologize for anything, little witch. It wasn't you."

She sighed as she heard those words come out of his mouth, "everybody keeps telling me that, but I know it was me," she swallowed as she squeezed her eyes, ashamed of what she was about to confess, "I know it because deep down some of the things I did and said still feel right."

Loki stopped his hand, unsure of what to say next, "your mind was fractured for a long, long time. You had feelings and thoughts that weren't your own, so I imagine it's quite understandable that you have these doubts about yourself. But I know it's you now, the real you, and I bet they know that as well. All of them."

"How can you be so sure?" Wanda inquired in a mumble, "you didn't know me before."

"But I get to know you now," he couldn't help but smile, "and I know you can't bear watching the people you love suffer and that's how I know it's you now. Because as soon as you broke the spell you finished him and his entire army. You did that."

Wanda sighed this time, "but that doesn't mean it's over."

It certainly didn't, and Loki was well aware of it, "the important thing is that you're home now, and you're free from him. You are yourself again and I can't wait to get to know this you."

Wanda smiled, a real smile, the first one in a very long time, nevertheless, it barely lasted more than a couple of seconds, before the same angst covered her face once more, "I really thought you were gone."

Loki grabbed her by the chin with his free arm, forcing Wanda to raise her head, making their eyes meet for the first time after long hours and he swore he saw her eyes shine under a ray of sunlight. He hadn't really realized how green her eyes were until that moment.

"I'm sorry I made you suffer that much, but I couldn't figure any other way to free you from his spell. Trust me, I tried many times."

She licked her lips, slightly looking away from him, "were you there when he casted it?"

He sighed, before nodding, "yes."

"You knew it would make me the person I was?"

"No," he didn't hesitate this time, "I didn't know which lies he would feed you with, but when I did, I regretted it immediately. They love you. They truly do, and they never did anything to you, not like he told you."

"I know," she muttered, locking eyes with him again, "I saw how worried they were that I told them the truth," she continued as she pulled away from him, taking a seat to look at him face to face, "I told them I loved you."

Loki raised her eyebrows at Wanda's confession, "alright," he mumbled, trying to process her words, "I would ask how they took it but I'm sure I can take a pretty good guess."