Bend Around the Wind by Scyllaya

Chapter 22: Juyu and Bee [3]

Chapter Twenty-Two

Juyu and Bee Part III

Andromeda Galaxy

Filipima System

Planet Wobb-Lar

Stark was a fool, insufferable, sentimental, damn wretched fool! Like they needed more problems in their lives! Because he had to be the hero, run to save some damsels in distress. Although damsel was not a word he'd use to describe the females. The fact that they seemed to be in a system where keeping Skrull slaves was acceptable told a lot and left Loki uneasy. It meant that Filipima was not just not part of the Empire, but obviously hostile towards it. Their ship was not Skrull of course, but it still meant that they were not exactly in a safe zone.

Having two Skrulls with them would not help with that at all. They did not need the hostility of whoever ran this system. They had one ship, one, and a cargo ship at that, and it was just the two of them, this could end horribly wrong. Would Stark listen? No, of course he would not. He was too idiotically sentimental to realize what danger they were getting into. And for what? Two random slaves they have never seen in their lives! Who did that? Who risked their safety for something like this? It made him think of Thor and that just made him angrier.

He would have to convince Stark of leaving the Skrulls behind, but he knew that it would not be easy. Stark was stubborn and Loki saw it in his eyes that he was serious about this. Damn it all. He fought down the urge to beat the human's stupid face in and drag his unconscious ass back on the ship and kept walking until they reached the dune-runner. All the while he could feel that pair of red eyes staring at him.

When they got there Stark made some place in the backseat for the Skrulls, then reached out to help the small one get in. Only for his arm to be smacked away with force, Stark pulled back with a hiss of pain and put his other hand on the angry red lines that appeared on his forearm from the attack.

'Please don't touch her,' the taller Skrull told them. 'She's just... just don't.'

'Okay,' Stark said looking at the two, then shaking his arm, probably to get the sting of pain out of it. 'No touching, no worries, just get in then.'

The Skrulls did so, albeit uncertainly.

'Stark,' Loki called.

'Not now,' the human told him.

'Yes now, Stark,' Loki insisted angrily and went to walk a bit away from the dune-runner. Stark followed after a few moments. 'I'm not leaving them here just like this.'

'You are getting us into greater danger than you realize,' Loki started.

'I'm still not leaving them,' the human insisted. 'I can't.'

'What do you think you're proving with this?' Loki asked. 'Are you this eager to placate your own conscience? Pretend to be a hero?'

'Maybe I am!' Stark said. 'Maybe I need to prove myself, alright? Maybe I have to show myself that I'm not turning into a heartless machine! That I can still care!'

'This proves nothing. It's just for your own benefit.'

'I'd say the girls get something out of it too. I don't think it's so irrelevant for them.'

'Don't pretend you're not doing this for yourself.'

'I won't,' Stark answered. 'It is for me too. Maybe this can make me hate myself a little less.'

'Stark-'

'You won't convince me,' the human told him firmly. 'I will do this. You can fight me about it, you can glare and yell and threaten, but I'm still gonna do it. You can either help me or shut up.'