The Sound of Silence

Chapter 36

 You found yourself pacing Loki's sitting room in the middle of the night after he had eventually fallen to sleep. You couldn't tell him your fears. He wouldn't understand and would take them personally. That wasn't something you could do to him.

You slipped out of Loki's suite into the hall and made your way to Thor's. He was the only other one here who you could remotely trust. You trusted Loki, but you couldn't break his heart by voicing this particular fear to him. So you knocked on Thor's door politely, then loudly, then burst in without invitation.

Thor was in bed, snoring loudly and you prayed he was wearing pants this time as you shook him awake. He bolted upright and grabbed Mjolnir from next to him in the bed. You yelped and raised your hands to defend yourself as you scrambled away from his bed. "Sorry," you said softly and turned to leave, thinking this was stupid now that you'd been scared by something more real.

"Y/N, wait! I'm sorry. You startled me," Thor told you as he got out of the bed. You kept your back turned, wisely realizing that he probably did not wear pants to bed. You suspicion was confirmed when you caught a glimpse of his hand pulling a pair of pants off of the floor. "Why are you here? Did something happen with Loki?" he asked when he was decent. You wrapped your arms around his waist, tears in your eyes. He held you in his strong arms, his warm muscled presence reassuring.

"I'm scared, Thor," you admitted in the whisper the Asgardians could handle.

"Did Loki hurt you?" he demanded, jumping to the obvious, but wrong conclusion. "Even when you are married, he has no right to force you-" still obvious conclusion. Still wrong.

You shook your head. "No, not that." Fuck, you hadn't even thought of that. Yet another thing of this whole whirlwind wedding that you weren't ready for. Loki was a gentleman, you reminded yourself firmly and wouldn't press. "It's not Loki, not anything he's done," you corrected quickly, used to dealing with Loki who would call you on the lie.

"What is it, then?" Thor asked gently.

"I have to get married tomorrow, Thor. I love Loki more dearly than anything, but, I'm scared. Neither of us chose this," Thor held you while you poured your heart out, divulging all of your fears. He listened and didn't interrupt, letting you spill your worries.

"My brother loves you. If you had seen him during the year you were abducted you never would question that. I know it is happening sooner than either of you would wish, but I believe wholeheartedly that you would have wed eventually. What Father did and these orders are...unconscionable, but you are both alive and out of the dungeons," Thor reminded you. "Listen well, I know Loki better than anyone, besides Mother. He will know you are afraid and will make sure nothing about your relationship changes until you are ready for it to. And if he even thinks about pressuring, well, Mjolnir and I will have some things to say about that." You actually giggled at that. Thor was always so overprotective. "Everything will work out alright,"

Thor's door burst open again. "Thor? Have you seen Y/N? She's missing!" Loki's voice was frantic as he burst into the room to the scene of Thor's arms around you. He snarled and rushed over. "What's going on here?"

Thor chuckled, ignoring the dagger at his throat. "Little sister was suffering a slight case of pre-wedding jitters," Thor explained lightly as he removed his arms from around you. "I knocked some sense back into her for you, brother. It is my job after all, especially as she has no maid of honor to do it," Thor's open honesty diffused Loki's jealousy efficiently.

You went to Loki and wrapped your arms around his slim waist. "Are you alright, darling?" he asked, vanishing the dagger and holding you.

You nodded. "Just nervous," you told him softly.