Autumn Leaves

First-Aid Kit

He stops abruptly, as if he's just been stung. And, in a way, he has. Light suddenly floods into the room, temporarily blinding her. When her eyes adjust to the sudden influx of light, she looks to her left, where Loki is cradling a hand in his lap. It looks badly burnt, and Savannah feels a familiar pang of guilt. She hates hurting others, always has, but she honestly felt as if she had no other choice. And as much as she dislikes the idea of hurting anyone, she detests the feeling of being cornered more than anything. Still, she has a conscience, as annoying as it can be at times, and Loki seems as if he is genuinely hurt, as much as he tries to hide it. So she gets up, and walks to the bathroom, standing on tiptoe to retrieve the First-Aid kit on top of the bathroom mirror cabinet. She can't reach it, though, and she curses under her breath.

Who pushed it so far back?

Loki, probably, in an effort to irritate her. She's far from being short, yet Loki towers over her, and she swears that he puts things on top shelves just to annoy her. She eventually gets hold of it, and nearly sneezes herself off of the chair she is forced to stand on. 

Damn, the thing is covered in dust.

Come to think of it, she hasn't ever used it, and neither has Loki. They rarely get injured, and when they do, they end up hospitalized. The injuries they do sustain are hardly plaster worthy. Anyway, the box is bloody dusty, and she can sense her nose twitching already. Ignoring it, she strides purposefully back into the adjoining bedroom, and sits next to a rather perplexed looking Norse deity.

'Sorry,' she says, sheepishly, 'Here, hold out your hand.'

He does so, watching her curiously.

'What?' she protests, 'I am sorry. You were just too... close, and I started panicking.'

Loki looked as if he was about to say something, but Savannah cut in first.

'And no. I don't want to talk about it, ever.'

'That wasn't what I was going to ask about.'

'So why were you staring?'

'My hand,' he said, 'Normally a burn like that would have healed by now. Much more severe burns have healed faster on me. When you burnt me the first time, they took a week to stop looking raw. I was just wondering if there was something different about Ravennha.'

'Probably.'

'I think you should get some sleep.'

'So do I. But I can't. Sleep, that is. I keep having really bad nightmares, that I can't wake myself from.'

'You should try, at least.'

'Fine.'

Loki carefully tucked Savannah in, and then slid in next to her. She didn't feel so uncomfortable about cuddling him now, and so she wriggled as closely as she could to his body heat.

And if, during the night, when the nightmare got particularly bad, Loki held her hand, who's to tell?

And so what if, in an unconscious state of mind, she squeezed back?