Beneath A Moonless Sky: A Thor Fanfic

Beer and Bruises

Tony lay still in his bed, not entirely in the mood as his wife kissed up and down his jawline roughly. His conscience was eating him alive, and he didn't know how much more of it he could take. He knew what was going on. He knew Fury had hired that creep to bring Emily to Avengers Tower and lure out Thor. He prayed that she wasn't in any pain, and regretted that she was caught up in all this. Hell, she deserved Avenger status after being put through the ringer, when it was really Lanie that Fury wanted his hands on. It was unsettling to him that Fury relayed this information through Anne, as if it were necessary to involve her in any of this. How often did she leave the tower to speak to the Director? And why? He knew better than to ask questions he didn't want to know the answer to.

Anne noticed that Tony wasn't reciprocating any of her kisses, and sat up with an annoyed huff. "Since when are you not in the mood for sex?"

Tony didn't know how to answer that without picking a fight, and kicked his legs out from underneath the covers. "I'm going downstairs to work on the NMI." He tore from the bed without so much as a goodbye peck, and fiddled a bit with the settings on his watch. "JARVIS, order a pizza would you?"

Anne folded her arms across her chest and chewed heavily on her bottom lip. She grabbed her phone off of her nightstand and pulled up Nick's number. Tony is acting weird. Maybe we should start interacting via a middle man. Make sure Eckard gets Ramsay here in a timely manner.

Though, little were the Stark's aware, that Mr. Eckard had no intention on bringing Emily anywhere near the Avengers. That wasn't the deal. When Eckard drove into SHIELD's base, Emily unconscious and tied up in the back of his van, he his took 5,000 for the dirty work and lifted the rear door so the director could take a peek. Fury examined her body for a moment, shrugging his shoulders as he pulled the door back down with ease. "Good work. Her vitals are strong, trauma to the head isn't too severe. You'll get the other five grand when the job is done. Take her home, have your way with her a little, rough her up. Make a swift retreat back here when Thor inevitably shows up, I'll be here to pay you up front, and my agents will have your apartment surrounded. They'll take it from there."

Eckard smiled his filthy, crooked smile and shook Fury's hand hard. "Oh, thank you. It will be my pleasure."

Back at the palace, Loki had finally drug Lanie kicking and screaming to the hospital wing. She was laying on her back, Loki's hands nestled supportively in her hair as they both watched with intent gazes at the screen of the ultrasound currently being performed. Loki had gone to fetch Frigga, who had barred the doors to the examining room and ordered that the doctors keep this information to themselves. No one was ready for how Odin was to react when he found out that not only was Loki back in Asgard, but that there was quite possibly about to be another him running around the realm in nine months.

Frigga had her hands happily clasped at her mouth, happy tears shining in her eyes as she looked at the little blob on the screen. She knew what it was. "Is that my grandchild?" The nurse nodded, pointing out the tiny sac to the new parents, who still looked unsure of what they were staring at. It was barely the size of a sesame seed, but it was there, and Loki couldn't help the small smile that tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Lanie noticed, looking up at him with damp eyes as she fought to keep herself under control. She was terrified, but at the same time her chest felt like it was about to explode with happiness and she didn't know what to do about it. "Are you happy, Loki? Is this what you want?"

Loki couldn't speak for a moment, bending to kiss her chastely, lovingly. He regained his composure, a bright grin lighting his expression as he looked away from all the eyes that were on him, embarrassed of his display of emotion. "Strangely enough, yes. I think so. Is it what you want?"