Working Title : Loki & Annie

Chapter 33 - The Scent of Clean

Annie gave Loki's back a few more gentle rubs over Thor's cape as she blinked away the left over moisture from her eyes. The sounds in the kitchen consisted mainly of the soft noises of the movements of the three of them and the occasional quivering intake of a deep breath from Loki. Like a child who had cried himself out, he seemed to need that extra stuttering breath. She could hardly feel the weight of him against her body, only a little warm spot pressing in close to her.

 On an exhale Annie breathed out, "Ohh kay." She knew tasting the tear meant something to Loki, and maybe to someone who knew more about traumatized kids than she did, but since the moment appeared to be over, she wasn't gong to think too hard about it. At least not right now.

Because he was sitting right up against her, she was becoming aware that he still needed to finish his bath. She could smell him, even though his hair was short, it still reeked. She recognized some of the smells but not all of them. She was thankful for small favorers.

"Thor?" The god looked to her, ready for whatever she asked of him. "We need to finish his bath." She ran a hand over his spikey hair, it felt like it had too much gel in it, and had collected every stray piece of fuzz, dirt and loose piece of filth that it had ever been near.

Thor could only hope Loki would allow them to finish. The blue eyes dropped to take in any reaction from the boy but there was none. Thor looked back to Annie, "What do you want me to do?"

"How about you help us up for starters? He's light but still more than I can lift from the floor straight up." Annie leaned back to attempt to peer into Loki's face. "Alright? Thor's going to help us stand up. Okay?"

Loki's head remained against her chest as she tightened her arms around his waist. Thor simply reached out and, grasping Annie by her arms, lifted her easily as he himself stood. He continued to hold her until she had gotten her feet planted back under herself, keeping one hand on her shoulder and the other on Loki's back.

"Steady?" His voice was concerned.

"Yeah, we're good." Annie moved closer to the sink, setting Loki on the edge while she asked, "Would you refill the bowl with hot water? I'll make sure Loki's settled."

Thor nodded and picked up the bowl, glancing down into it he quickly looked away from the brown water.

Once Thor was walking away Annie gave Loki a firm hug, he just felt so birdlike. All bone. Skin pulled tight over shrunken muscles and tendons.  His legs were now hanging down against the sink cabinets but his arms were still loosely around her neck and she pulled the cape tighter around him. His head was resting against her chest, she could feel his body move as it pulled in those small breaths. Leaning down she spoke into his ear, trying to be as reassuring and encouraging as she could. "Are you ready to finish your bath? I know you had a scare but I hope you realize that your safe. And we'll be extra careful now. And you'll feel a hundred times better once you're totally clean." She leaned her head to the side so she could look at him with a supportive smile. "Yeah?"

Those bright green eyes rose ever so slightly to meet hers, and she found there was a contemplative look in them. It was strange to see after having seen nothing but blankness or only subtle emotions in them before. Even when Thor came back and they heard the sound of the bowl quietly touch down on the counter, neither one broke eye contact.

Annie allowed Loki to search her face, to take his time to find whatever he was looking for. She continued to rub his back in small motions, hoping to further soothe him. After what seemed like long minutes he huffed out a breath as he looked away then back up at her again. He nodded one time but it was firm and he was looking Annie right in the eyes.