My Sweet Flame

Chapter 38. Did I seriously come back here?

As I silently walked towards the glass cage, I saw that he was lying on the bench on his back with his eyes closed. He had one hand behind his head and the other rested on his stomach.
I reached the wall of the glass prison and gently pressed my right hand to the glass.

"Loki."

His eyes snapped open and he whipped his legs around the side of the bench to a sitting position as he grinned mischievously.

"Oh, My sweet Y/N, I knew you'd come."

I looked at him with a straight face, "Loki, Why are you doing this?"

He looked at me slightly confused as he stood, "After everything that has happened, after I saved you earlier, that is the question you ask?"

"Loki, please don't do this. Come home." I felt my voice break involuntarily, "Come back to me."

"Oh, but I have. I'm right here."

"No you aren't. Not really. You aren't the same, Loki." I pleaded, "Don't do this, you don't know what will happen, what the consequences are-"

"Oh but I do. You see, no sooner than I get out of this cage, I will be free."

"Free of who controls you?"

He slammed his fist on the glass. "No one is controlling me! This is me, Y/N. It always has been, always will be."

"No."

"What?"

"This isn't you, Loki. If it was, I wouldn't have fallen for your trickery and lies."

"It was no trickery!" He spat. "I never would have lied to you!"

"Alright," I paused, "Suppose that it wasn't, suppose you truly did return the feelings I had for you, suppose that none of this happened and you didn't die. Do you have any idea how much time we've lost? How much I missed you? How much I longed to feel the warmth of your body beside mine in the middle of the night? How much I wanted to understand why you did it? Why you're doing this now? Loki, listen to me, please." I paused, "Come home. Give this up, Loki we could have everything again. We could get married, just like we planned, have a family even. All it takes is you giving up the Tesseract and coming back to me. We can go home." My voice felt like it was going to break again, "Together at last."

Loki thought for a moment, looking me up and down as he did so, "Why don't you come with me?"

"Loki, I can't." I said sadly, "Even as much as I want to come with you, I can't. It's for the good of this Realm. They're innocent people. They don't deserve this," I paused, "And neither do you."

"Then what do I deserve, Y/N?" Loki spat, "I love you, and I know that you return such feelings, as you've so proven with those delectable lips of yours. So then, Why don't you be a dear and release me from this prison? Darling, I know you want to. You need me back, and I promise you," He put his face closer to mine through the glass and banged his fist upon it once again. "No sooner than I escape this vile prison, I will heed all of your requests, Darling. I will take you, slowly, intimately, in every way I know you crave." He laughed, "Yes...You've waited for me. I can see it in your eyes. You've hoped so unwillingly that I would return to you, that things could be just as they were, Haven't you?" He laughed again as my chin rose a bit, "I know you have, Y/N. Crying in your chambers, staring into an empty helmet you crave had never been emptied." He sighed, "Ah, yes. I was unable to return to you, but I was plenty able to watch you. Day by day, I watched you suffer, so wishing it was a dream. Wishing that I was just behind you, keeping you warm and safe during the night?"

I looked away from him as my hand slowly slid down the glass, unable to find words for what I wanted to say.

"Your body is surely luscious, My Bright One, But your mind..." Loki sighed. I looked back up at him, locking our eyes once again, "Ah, so sharp and devious and fierce. Mischief is a broad canvas. Chaos takes much wrangling. Will you not bring me your wits as well as your sighs, My Sweet Flame? Come, Darling. Join me. Together," He paused and raised his palm to where mine had been. "Together we will sculpt fog, forge weapons from mist, conquer and rule our inferiors."

"No."

He stared at me confused, "What?"

"No. No, No, Loki I-I don't understand. Why are you doing this? Why all of a sudden do you think we can do something like this? Why do you need to rule the human race? Why-Wh-Why did you shut me out?" My voice began to rise, as did a slight bit of fear in his eyes, "Why do you shut the world out? What are you so afraid of?!?!"

"Enough!" He shouted. His voice wavered a bit, "I'm doing this because I need to, Y/N. I have to, it just......Look, I know you do not understand, but I need you to. For reasons I can't explain, I need you to understand that I must do this. I must prove myself."

That's when it clicked.

He's been tortured.

*gasp*

The sunken eyes, the extra support towards his back, the paleness of his skin (even more so than the usual), Why hasn't I seen it before?

I looked deep into his eyes, and saw that he understood what I had found. And that I was right.

"Okay." I took a deep breath and set my palm on his on the other side of the glass. "I don't know why you're doing this, but," I sighed, "If you must do this, then I won't stop you. Spare the lives of the innocent, treat the people well, and yes, I will make my greatest effort to understand. Just know that I will do everything in my power to protect the Earth."

His eyes smiled at me with the happiness of knowing that I knew enough to play along.
My hand slid down the glass and I took a step away.

"Do you need anything right now? I could get you a book, an iPad I suppose, something to eat? Surely you don't want to die of boredom in there."

"No.......I must be free of distractions for what is to come."

I sighed and turned as I began up to the door.

"Y/N."

I raised my head a bit.

"Hakuna Matata. What does it mean?"

"It means no worries."

"You dress like a teenager."

"You dress like a murderer."

"I love you."

I put my hand on the door handle, "I know," and shut the door behind me.