Giftless

Chapter 37

It was three days before Loki and Tony would let you go farther than your bathroom. On the fourth day, you threatened to set them both on fire if they didn't stop smothering you. Not that you could control setting them on fire, but you'd figure out how as you were going stir crazy. It still took until Loki saw that the wound was healed before he'd believe you. It had scarred, but at least you were alive. Loki didn't seem pleased, but wouldn't tell you what was bothering him.

"Come on, Loki, we can at least watch TV downstairs. I can't stay cooped up in my room anymore," you told him, getting out of the bed and trying to keep the whine out of your voice. You were still winded easily, and weren't nearly fully healed, but you were better enough to at least see the rest of your adopted family of supers. "Stop worrying so much," you told him when he stayed brooding and grumpy. He still didn't move, so you went over to him. "What's wrong?" you asked him gently. Something was obviously wrong.

"I promised my family that we would come visit once you were healed," he explained softly, though that really wasn't an explanation. You didn't mind going to see Asgard again. "I cannot postpone the trip much longer and there is still quite a bit of preparations before we can go," he added. Ok, preparations could be a problem.

"What kind of preparations?" you asked, assuming that was the real problem and the real thing bothering you. You grabbed his hands and pulled him to his feet. He was coming to dinner with you downstairs. He sighed. "Loki, you have to tell me," you reminded him. You would outstubborn him.

"They will want to have a full ceremony and celebration for the soulbond," he finally said. "And you must be presented as a princess of the realm," he added after another hesitation. You smiled at him. Neither of those things sounded that bad. You were used to being a Stark and in the spotlight.

"Stall them for another week and prep me for it then. I learn fast," you reminded him. "We'll get through it together," you tried to keep your voice perky and optimistic.

"Truly, you would act the charade for me?" he asked, sounding heartbroken at the question.

You looked up at him confused. "What charade?" you asked. You really loved him and wanted to stand beside him with whatever he needed.

He chuckled and kissed the top of your head. "How did I ever find someone as perfect as you?" he asked.

You walked hand-in-hand to dinner and all of the supers cheered to see you out of bed. You promised you would watch a movie with them. Loki didn't look pleased by that either, but he let it slide. Since you were injured, you got dibs on the loveseat of honor in front of the good TV. You watched a couple movies with your family, both knowing it was your last night of peace for awhile.

Since you were nearly healed, you had light training with Fury on your powers every day. It still went super poorly, since your mind hadn't healed. Every use of your powers hurt, besides the powers that you had gained through the bond with Loki. Loki was also prepping you on the details of the ceremony you would have to go through when you returned to Asgard. You also had to memorize the speech for it.

There were a lot of details to learn.

One evening Edna called you down to her domain. You'd never been to her workroom, so you were a bit nervous to go. You were amazed when you got there. The whole place was filled with costume mockups and fabrics. "You are a true super now. You get a costume, yes?" she asked in her heavy accent. You nodded meekly. She was tiny, but intimidating, though she had no powers of her own. "No masks and no capes,"

"Don't all the supers have masks?" you asked her. You didn't care about the lack of capes. That wasn't important.

"Not you. Not Loki. No masks. It is stupid to risk hindering your sight when your identity is already known. Come, darling," she led you deeper into her realm. "Your costume is made already. I outdid myself this time." She handed you a bundle of fabric and shoved you behind a screen. "Put it on. I know it fit." You sighed and used one of the simple spells you'd learned from Loki to put the costume on. It was black and blue and seemed to be made of some kind of protective kevlar material. It looked like something Lady Sif wore in the Thor movies. The costume was completed with combat boots. It also was obviously for protection and not to show off your body, for which you were grateful. You would be able to move and fight in it too. You stepped out from behind the screen to show Edna. "Yes. Perfect. It is fireproof, of course, can withstand any magic, bulletproof, and you can fight in it. Go. Show the others," she ordered, seeming pleased with herself.

"Thank you, Edna," you told her politely and went to go show the rest of the supers. You got more cheers from them when they saw your costume.

Tony gave you a hug. "Welcome to the team, imp," he told you, grinning. He was pleased that you were finally a real super.

"We're celebrating tonight!" Nat called. Cheers came from the crowd. She glared at them. "Girls only!" she yelled at them. "Go change and we're heading out!" The girls all ran upstairs to get changed. You rolled your eyes and went to where Loki was waiting on the couch.

"So, a girl's night?" he asked, sounding amused.

"Apparently. They mean well. I'll try to get us home at a reasonable hour," you told him and gave him a kiss.

"Have fun, darling," he replied. You took a step back and changed your own clothes with magic to a sparkly black dress that only went down to your kneels and strappy black heels. Loki gave you an appraising look. "You look ravishing, my dear," he told you as he stood. He pulled you into his arms and kissed you deeply.

Hands attached to giggling girls grabbed your arms and pulled you away from Loki. You kept your lips attached to his until the last possible moment. They all giggled and you let them drag you away.

You ended up at a local dance club. Most of the supers frequented the place, so they weren't surprised at your presence, and let you in even though you were under 21. Nat promised them that you were under her care and she would take responsibility. You was surprised that worked on them, but they didn't seem to mind bending the rules in order to keep the supers who protect the city happy. At long as your group didn't cause trouble. Which you wouldn't.

It was a lot of fun dancing with the girls and drinking fruity drinks, even if your didn't have any alcohol in them.

The whole evening was going wonderfully, until you walked out of the ladies' room and straight into a damp cloth that smelled like chemicals over your nose and mouth.