Silvertongue & Golden Wordsmith (Loki Fanfiction)

Chapter 14 Torture and Truth

Halldora looked at Loki as he sat bolt upright in bed. They hadn't spoken since they'd danced, and neither of them were particularly hungry either, so they'd both individually decided to go to sleep early and not discuss it. Except they still had to share a bed. Halldora was just inside the doorway, looking at Loki cautiously. He looked up at her and she gave him a reassuring smile.

"May I?" She asked, motioning to her side of the bed. Loki nodded and she climbed in next to him, curling up while he kept himself sitting stiffly. She curled tighter, nervous because for the first time in weeks Loki wasn't holding her. She felt him shuffle on the bed, almost lying down.

"May I?" Loki asked, finally speaking. He placed his hand ever so gently on her waist to indicate what he meant. She turned her head to look up at him and he quickly took his hand off her. She gave him a sleepy smile and nodded, letting him know she was alright with him touching her.

That night Loki seemed to hold onto her tighter than usual, tangling one hand in her hair as the other tucked around her middle and his face buried deep into the back of her neck. She didn't get hot during the night, because Loki seemed to balance her temperature perfectly. Loki's dream replayed their dance in his head, her singing as if on a loop as she sang the words 'you're the one' in his ear. He smiled in his sleep, but Halldora thankfully didn't see.

Halldora wondered whether she'd done the right thing, dancing so closely to him. He was an Asgardian, and there were rules about those sort of things. Rules she'd been brought up on. But, she reminded herself, they were rules that had stopped her from doing things in the past. Like kissing Loki back when they'd met for the second time, when he'd kissed her. Now though, they were in a realm which was neither of theirs to rule, and they could build their relationship naturally. That was, if Loki didn't get so offended by her actions that he left her. She felt his hand gripping her tightly by the waist, the strong pull towards him reassuring her that he needed her. If only for warmth at night for now. But he needed her.

~~~

The next morning, Loki woke up first. His eyes opened quickly, feeling Halldora curled up next to him, asleep and oblivious. He smiled, relaxing back around her. He thought about the dream he'd just had, wondering why his mind had tried to play such a dirty trick on him.

He was back on Asgard, watching Thor swagger through crowds of people. It was, unfortunately, Thor's coronation. Except, the Frost Giants never came. Thor was crowned King of Asgard, and then the chaos began. His dream had suddenly jumped into the future, Thor's wedding to Sif. He was pushed aside so that the Warriors Three could be Thor's 'Oxen Men', his attendants for the wedding. Thor seemed to be forgetting he even existed. Another jump, and Thor and Sif had had their first child. A daughter. Odin and Frigga had started to forget about him too.

Then, without warning, he was suddenly tied to a sharp edged rock, calling out for someone to help him as a stinging liquid burned his neck and chest. That's when he'd seen Halldora, sobbing in a cage and shrieking as Thor and the Warriors Three groped at her like she was an animal, tearing her dress to leave her almost bare and free for them to touch. He'd been furious, and terrified, calling out to her that he was going to save her, but she didn't hear him. Her skin was plagued by the marks of torture, and her face was torn in despair. She couldn't hear him, and he couldn't save her. He'd cried out in his dream, but all it had done was wake him up from it.

He tightened his grip on her, wanting to make sure she was real and safe. Safe from those monsters. Safe from Thor. It was then that she woke up, rolling backwards slightly so that she was practically laying on his chest. She looked up at him sleepily, her hand reaching up to touch his face. "You okay?" She asked, though not really registering what she was doing.