Beneath A Moonless Sky: A Thor Fanfic

Powers and Propositions

Lanie kept dreaming about that night. The way Loki had carried her inside the apartment when Coulson had left, the way he'd whispered an apology in her ear as if it were a sacred promise. Emily kept telling her she was romanticizing her trauma as a coping skill, which very well may have been true, but it didn't make Lanie any less satisfied. It didn't help that Loki had all but vanished after that, and had left her with confusing memories that she questioned on the daily. If Emily hadn't shared them, Lanie would have sworn her brain had made the entire fiasco up. He had left an impression on her, that was for sure, she couldn't get the God out of her mind.

Thor had dropped by the house after leaving SHIELD, in search of his brother. When he realized he was gone, he ran off after him, but not before Emily passed along Coulson's tidbit of information. She sincerely hoped it helped him, with whatever it was he needed, but she was truthfully so glad that when he and his brother were out of her life for good. Not that she hadn't been attracted to Thor, oh no, he was the most beautiful man she had ever had the pleasure of knowing. But one thing Emily could not handle was drama, and she was not willing to spend another second with that crazy duo than was necessary. Even still, she could not keep him from her thoughts at night; his accent, his hair, his face, those sweet eyes...but then, her dreams would be shattered as she was seized cruelly from her sleep repeatedly.

Lanie was laying on her stomach, face buried into her pillow as she thought of those piercing blue eyes, and ice-cold hands against the warm of her flesh. She had been sleeping so soundly, drifting deeper and deeper until suddenly--it happened again. It happened like it did every night, like clock-work. Lanie's body shot straight up as she heard Emily scream, and she knew instantly what was happening. She ran down the hall to her best friend's bedroom, forcing the door opened with a hard jerk.

"Are you okay? Which was it this time? Ice or energy?"

Emily whimpered as she looked at the dark circles under Lanie's eyes, the guilt eating her alive. It had been a rough couple of weeks for them both, and it was killing her that she was keeping her friend awake. She brought her hands to her face in shame. "Do you even have to ask?"

Lanie glanced around, assessing the damage. The fish bowl that sat on the nightstand was cracked in several places, and the water was frozen solid. Emily's fingertips were frostbitten, and Lanie sat down on the edge of the bed to gently warm her friend's hands in her own. "Poor Beckham. I had such hopes that we wouldn't murder this one." She said sadly, looking on the little beta popsicle that was frozen in place near his fishy castle.

"I can't keep living like this. I need to know what that bastard did to me."

Lanie nodded, running her fingers soothingly through Emily's hair. "I know, honey. Let me go to Mr. Stark about it, it wouldn't be that big a deal, I bring him coffee every morning. The man has a Starbucks addiction that rivals my grandmother."

Emily shook her head hard. "No, no! You can't tell him, if I ignore it long enough it will go away."

Lanie sighed hard, rubbing her hands together on Emily's in an attempt at easing her symptoms before actual frostbite set in and did any permanent damage. "Em. It's been three weeks. I don't know how to help you and you don't have control over it. You're starting to frighten me."

Emily slumped over against her shoulder, laying her head on her arm and taking several deep breaths. She needed to collect her thoughts, concentrating on her breathing and attempting to find her happy place. Too bad her happy place took her straight to a bright pair of blue eyes and a boyish smile. She whined. "I hate Thor."

Lanie laughed, checking her watch and letting out a long groan. It was pushing six in the morning, and that meant she needed to be getting in the shower. "Okie dokie, I need to be getting ready, and so do you. I must be at Stark Tower at 8:30 and it's an hour commute into the city. And you, missy, are not missing another day of school. I know you're scared, but you're gonna get dropped if you keep ditching. It'll be fine, I'm gonna talk to Tony about it whether you like it or not."