Giftless

Chapter 36

"I thought you two said you would behave," Tony growled from the doorway and indeterminate amount of time later. You cracked your eyes open and looked up at him from your cool, Loki-shaped pillow and made a small noise at the disturbance. You'd been comfortable and your Loki-shaped pillow was not only cool, but had been reading in the most pleasant accent ever.

"We are behaving," Loki protested. He'd been really good and kept you in bed and resting. Tony just glared at him. He didn't believe Loki, especially when you were still holding on to Loki like he was a teddy bear and refused to let him go, even with your uncle in the room. "I am sure you are aware how she feels about hospitals. She was ready to have a panic attack and flee from here back to her rooms. I kept her here and safe where all the nice healers are," Loki added reasonably.

"Go 'way Tony," you murmured. "Was sleeping." Your words were slurring with exhaustion. That wasn't a good sign. Why couldn't he let you rest?

"Can't imp. Fury wants to see you. You have to wake up. And let go of your plushie," you groaned, but let go of Loki and sat up. Extremely reluctantly.

"Do I even want to know what a 'plushie' is?" Loki asked as he reluctantly got out of the bed.

You didn't bother answering him. "Does that mean I can leave the infirmary?" you asked Tony with desperation in your voice as you forced your tired brain awake. You could be awake for awhile if it meant you could get out of the hospital wing. If Fury wanted to see you, maybe you were free to go get out of this... overly clean smelling hellhole. You swung your legs over the side of the bed to do just that. Loki grabbed you before you could actually get up and hurt yourself ripping out needles or stitches or something.

"Not yet, imp. Hopefully soon," Tony looked concerned, though he should know how much you hated the hospital. You sighed. You really did hate it there. You just wanted to go home.

Fury came in and briefly confirmed you were alive and relatively well. He told you you'd get back to training after you healed.

Healer Julia came in next. "Please tell me I'm healed enough to go home," you begged her.

She sighed. "And that's why you were in a healing sleep for two days," she replied. You looked up at her with a hopeful expression. "One more healing and you can go home," she finally said. "Provided you have someone to look after you,"

Tony growled. "Kat, I'm on patrol all weekend, and I'm not leaving you with him," he glared at Loki. you rolled your eyes.

"Uncle Tony, he's been my guard for the past, like, 6 months and my boyfriend for nearly as long. He's not going to let anything happen to me," you protested, using logic on him. Loki was usually effective.

"I don't trust him. Besides, the last time you were in his care you nearly died," Tony replied, just as logically.

You rolled your eyes. Loki had said if you died, he would too. Even if he didn't love you, he wouldn't risk you for that fact alone. "Uncle Tony...."

"Fine, but if he tries anything, stab him first and ask questions later," he gave the same order again. It was then that you remembered the two clowns who had shot at Loki, the ones who had ended up with your daggers in their throats.

"W-what happened to the clowns?" you asked them, your voice stuttering as you remembered what you'd done. You weren't sure you wanted to know, but you needed to. You needed to know if you'd killed them.

"Kat..." Tony started.

"They are dead, love," Loki said simply, but gently. He wouldn't mince his words on something that important and you were grateful for it. "It was us or them. There was no good choice there,"

"We don't kill people..." you whispered, staring down at the bed clothes. Supers didn't kill people. It was against how you worked, against everything that you were.

"That rule does not apply when your life is in active danger. You know that, Kat," Tony told you firmly. It was one of the first lessons the new supers learned.

"I killed two people, Uncle Tony!" you looked up at him with tears in your eyes. He pulled you into a hug.

"I know, imp. It's hard for everyone the first time. You know what I had to do in Afghanistan to survive. We do it when we need to, but only when we need to. It hurts every time. There's nothing wrong with feeling remorse, or feeling the pain you caused, but never, ever, feel sorry that you saved your life, or protected someone in your care." You nodded and sniffled and he let you go. You wouldn't forget what you had done and you was nowhere near over it, but you had done the only thing you could to live and to make sure Loki did too.

Healer Julia cleared her throat. "Boys, if you can't behave, you'll have to leave. I need to get to work if Kat's going to get her wish of getting out of here." Tony and Loki moved away from the bed and let Julia get to work. She placed her glowing golden hands over you and began the healing. When she was done, she unhooked you from all of the annoying machines. "You need to rest. No training, no nothing. If it involves walking further than downstairs for dinner, it's off limits. If you don't, I'm dragging you back here until you're fully healed," she ordered. You nodded sheepishly. She was already doing you enough of a favor getting you out of here early.

"Thank you," you told her softly.

She nodded with a wicked grin on her face and took a step back from the bed. "Now, which of your young men will be carrying you to your room?" she asked, her eyes sparkling with mischief. Before she had even finished the question, Loki had swept you off of the bed. You giggled as he did and at Tony's angry expression as you wrapped your arms around Loki's neck. "And the boyfriend wins," Julia announced with a smile.

"You better not try anything, other imp," Tony warned Loki, but he said it with enough of a smile that you thought he might be willing to forgive Loki. Someday. Someday he might even accept the fact that you was dating Loki. "I really need to stop leaving you troublemakers together," Tony sighed and left to go do more work.

"'m not causin' trouble," you mumbled, half asleep already. Being under such heavy healing spells was straining to the body and exhausting.

"I know, darling. Now let's get you home," Loki told you softly. He carried you upstairs like you weighed nothing and settled you in the bed, knowing you were too out of it to walk yourself. "Are you awake?" he asked you, concerned. You blinked quickly to focus on him, and managed to nod. He held a hand out toward you, a green glow around it. "Would you like real pajamas instead of the hospital clothes?" he asked gently.

"Tha-d be nice," you murmured, exhaustion slurring your words. Really, he was lucky you were still coherent at all. Healing wears out the healed, he should know that.

He sighed. "What am you going to do with you?" He leaned down and kissed your forehead. The green glow of his magic, flashed over you and you were in fuzzy warm pajamas. Seconds later, you were fast asleep, holding on to his hand.