The Sound of Silence

Chapter 24

 You jolted awake...in your bed. You looked around frantically, realizing that this was your room, your bed, not the living room with the pillow fort. What's going on? "What is it, love?" Loki asked calmly from beside you, his voice reminding you of his presence.

[Where'sSammi?] you demanded, your fingers flying too quickly in distress.

"Sammi? Given that it is 2:42 in the morning, she is most likely at home in her bed. Do I need to take you to see her?" he asked. You realized he would. He would teleport you across town at 2:42 in the morning to go check on your best friend if that's what it took to reassure you that everything was ok. Her dad would kill him, but he'd do it anyway.

You shook your head and tried to calm the panic enough to tell him what happened. [Sammi is here. We were having a sleepover downstairs. The whole team was watching movies] you told him firmly.

He shook his head sadly. "That wasn't real, darling. The last time Sammi was here was before you were taken," he told you softly. You just looked at him with tears in your eyes. How were you supposed to know what was real? It seemed so real.

You took one breath, then another. You were going to heal. You had to. You had to be able to rebuild your life. [What was the last thing that was real?] you asked him. You had to know where you'd lost track of reality.

"We rescued you... yesterday since it is after midnight. I walked you up to bed, left to have a conversation with the team, and then rejoined you for sleep," he explained carefully. Three weeks. You'd imagined three weeks and thought they'd been real. "Tell me, darling. Let me help. What did you see?" he asked. So you told him about the next three weeks. Told you what you'd seen and how very, very real it had felt. "Well, it sounds like we're going to have a fun three weeks at least," he commented so very dryly while he thought over the problem that you couldn't help but laugh. He smiled in return. "There's my darling siren." You curled yourself in his arms. He absently petted your hair while he thought, and kept summoning and vanishing texts to refer to. He was up to something, but if you were patient, he might explain what he was doing.

He finally vanished the last scroll he reviewed and turned his attention to you. He sat you up, then sat cross legged in front of you. "I really wanted to let your mind heal on its own, but I cannot let you suffer like this, not if the visions attack you all the time, and not just when you're injured any longer. I have an idea of how to help, but you would have to trust me, absolutely trust me. I know that is an unreasonable request coming from the god of lies, but I swear, I would never harm you." You nodded firmly. Anything that would help get a grip on reality again. "Do you trust me?" he asked again.

"I love you," you whispered, knowing he would catch your words.

He smiled softly, then lifted his hands, placing glowing green fingertips against your temples. "Close your eyes. I'm going to enter your mind and see where the injury is and what I can do to fix it." You closed your eyes obediently. You heard him take a breath, steeling himself before he began. A moment later he was with you inside of your head, but...not, he was also around you mind, surveying what was done. It was a strange experience at best. He was gentle and courteous as he worked. He didn't pry into memories that weren't for him. It felt like a moment and an eternity before he finished and you were left alone in your own head again. "That should help," he announced as you opened your eyes again. "It's not the best solution, I'll admit, but it was the best one I could come up with on such short notice when healing is not my strong suit." You raised and eyebrow, wondering what he'd done. You didn't feel any different. "It's complicated, but the...gate... that protected your mind from visions was blasted open by being forced to see them all the time. I can't fix that tonight. I will keep looking for a solution. What I was able to do was make it so when the visions do come through, you will be able to distinguish them from reality,"

[How?]

He gave you a proud smile at his solution. "The visions will appear in black and white and there will be a ...reminder... that things in black and white are not real," he explained. You could tell he was having issues coming up with proper explanations for magical concepts at nearly 3am. You didn't blame him, but you thought you understood, and at least having a way to distinguish the visions from reality would be a huge help.

You launched yourself across the distance and wrapped your arms around his neck, laughing when he tumbled backwards, not expecting your reaction. "Thank you," you whispered in his ear.

"Anything for you, my darling," he replied. "But you need sleep," he added when you yawned. You pouted, but he got you resettled in the blankets curled safely with him and Lokibear and he read you Asgardian poetry until you fell back asleep.

The first vision in black and white came that night. Your mind knew automatically that it wasn't real, at least not in the present, as you were sucked into the scene. It was a single image of Loki with manacles on his neck, wrists, and ankles, all held together with chains. He was led a couple steps by guards, the chains rattling as he walked.