The Island of Misfit Toys

Chapter 8

Chapter 8 Trust Restored

Shouting drew me out to the common living room. "Clearly she isn't safe with you! She was nearly stabbed because of you!" Tony was the one shouting. "MORE THAN ONCE!" I came into the living room to see him facing off with Loki. Loki wasn't fighting back; from where I was standing I could see Loki had tears in his eyes. Tony was pushing him back, Loki didn't raise his hands or look at him. He just stepped back.

"Tony that's enough," I said coming over to Loki and putting my arm around him.

"Lyra, you're in danger just being around him. You could get hurt."

"I could get hurt doing a lot of things Tony; I want to be around him." I kept eye contact with Tony, accepting his challenge. Loki and I were bonded in a way he could never understand. I would always be by Loki's side.

"What if it's more than one guy next time Lyra?" God, Tony was insistent. I rolled my eyes. I stepped toward Tony, my body stiff, ready to fight as I kept my hold on Loki.

"Look around you Tony; I train with them almost every day." I kept my tone firm, people seemed to forget that I lived ten years of my life on the street. Everyone had gathered, including Nick Fury.

"HE CAN'T KEEP YOU SAFE!" Tony yelled. "You can't transform in a store! Even you can't fight off a mob!" I growled at Tony.

"I just want her to be safe," Loki said just loud enough for Tony to hear. I stopped and looked at him. I didn't want to take my eyes off Tony but I knew that he wouldn't hurt me, not physically anyway. Tears were running down his face and his body started to shake. Everyone stopped for a moment and just looked at him. "I don't want you to get hurt because of me Lyra."

I pulled Loki to me as his legs went weak. I carefully lowered him to the floor and pulled him into my lap. I made sure we had our backs to the rest of the team to give us some privacy. He normally only showed this to me. Everyone had been hounding him. I knew he felt awful about what was happening. I wanted to defend him. It was about damn time someone gave a damn about him. "Loki what happened in the store is not your fault. You're not responsible for his actions, he decided to go for you and I placed myself between you and him. You didn't decide to have him attack you. You understand me Loki? You're not responsible."

He was sobbing into my neck as I stroked his hair. "I don't want you hurt," Loki said again.

"Part dragon remember, I have a coat of armour beneath my skin," I said resting my cheek on his head. "I'm not going to let anyone hurt you Loki, I don't want to see you hurt. You've been through so much already." I remembered when Loki told me everything; his past, what he had done, what his father had said to him. I couldn't believe his father had called him 'a worthless child'. Now I really wanted to tear Odin apart. "I want to protect you Loki; I'll stand between you and them any day. That's what people do when they care about each other. I care a great deal for you."

Behind us I could hear the others talking but I ignored them. "You shouldn't," Loki said looking away from me. "After all the hurt I caused you. People have tried to kill you because of me."

"Oh for heaven's sake," I said pulling Loki to me and placing a kiss on his lips. After a moment he kissed back and we broke apart for air. "I told you, I don't care what others think. I want to be with you, I love you Loki."

He wrapped his arms around me as he started to cry again, "I love you too."

Thor's POV

I could hear Tony shouting from the gym. Only one thing pissed him off that much, my brother. I headed up to make sure Tony didn't get thrown through a window. When I arrived Lyra was already at Loki's side, holding him close to her. "I could get hurt doing a lot of things Tony; I want to be around him." She was equally pissed but much more level headed than Tony.