When War and Lies Collide

Sleeping Ashes

"I am so terribly sorry, Sif."  Loki says as the fire is at last put out, only a few more embers glowing in the night.  She had long ago run out of tears, her body exhausted from lack of sleep and stress.  He could see the pain in her eyes as she stared at what was left of her house, the house she had grown up in.

"It isn't your fault."  She replied, her voice cracking from pain.  Loki winced at the sound, feeling a pain in his chest.

Even though the Prince knew that it wasn't in any way his fault, he still felt like he should take some blame.  "Do you need a place to stay?  I can help you gather the remainder of your things that survived the fire tomorrow, but I think you need some rest."

She looked to Loki with sad eyes, nodding.  "I don't have any place to go."  She says quietly, her voice drenched in misery.

"You can stay at my place until we get everything fixed up, but you need to sleep before you fall ill."  Loki says, helping her up.  She doesn't argue, just staring blankly ahead as she walks forward with him.

The walk back to Loki's room felt like it took ages, Sif moving slowly as if she was suddenly switched to auto pilot.  She was in shock.  

Loki swung open the door, leading her inside.  "I'm assuming you don't have anything to change into."  He says, shutting the door and walking over to a dresser.  "You can borrow something, it isn't a problem.  I'll just have to find something that might fit you."  Loki begins to sift through his drawer, finding a dark green tshirt that he had used to disguise himself with during his trip to Earth.  Unfortunately, he could not find any pants that would fit her as she was much shorter than he.  His only options was boxer shorts.  He scowled at his misfortune, shaking his head.

He didn't know what would upset the warrioress more, saying that he didn't have any pants for her to wear or that she would have to wear a pair of his boxer shorts, and the fact that the boxer shorts probably wouldn't fit well.

"Well would you like to hear the good news first, or the bad news?"  He asks with a sheepish smile, looking back at her slumped shoulders.  She looks up from staring at the ground, her eyes looking dead.

"Good news, please."  She replies, rubbing her head as if she had a headache.

"Well, I found a shirt you can wear!"  He tosses her the tshirt and she catches it easily.

"The bad news?"

"I don't have any pants your size."  He says awkwardly, biting his lip.  "But, I do have, eh, a pair of shorts that might."

"Shorts?"  She raises a brow, not quite believing him.

"Boxer shorts."  He admits, scraching the back of his head.  "Don't worry, they've barely ever been worn- I mean that pair hasn't."  He fumbles, internally giving himself a facepalm.

"Give 'em." She says, really too tired to even care.  He hands them to her as she walks to the bathroom, locking the door behind her.  He grumbles to himself, not knowing how the situtation at hand could get any worse.

He slips into a fitted tshirt and some sweatpants quickly before Sif exits the bathroom.  He tries not to stare, but he can't help being satisfied by the look of her in one of his shirts.

The shirt is baggy on her, and a little too long, the boxer shorts barely hug her hips tight enough.  They stop at her knees yet don't leave much to Loki's imagination.  He coughs, shifting awkwardly.  "You can have the bed, I'll be fine on the couch."  He says, gesturing to the black leather sofa to his side.

"Thank you, Loki."  She says with a yawn, climbing into the bed without much thought and tossing him a pillow and a blanket.  He catches them, noding his thanks as he lays down on the couch with a tired sigh.  He hears her lay down, magically turning off the light with a smile.  Something about her laying in is bed, her head resting on his pillow, in his bedroom with him in it causes a warm feling to spread throughout his body.  

"Sleep well, Sif."  He says into the darkness, stretching his arms behind his head as he lays on his back.

"Goodnight, Loki."  Her soft voice carries to him.  He can't hold back his smile as he hears her yawn and shift into a more comfortable sleeping position.

Finally, the two fall asleep listening to each other's even breaths.

***

Loki's eyes flutter open, the room still dark and the moon high in the sky.  He hears Sif whimper in her sleep, instantly remembering that she suffers from nightmares.  He can't imagine how bad they must be after the events that occurred that day.  Concerned, he whispers.  "Sif, are you alright?"

He's answered with a yelp from her.  He can't just let her sleep like that, being tormented until the sun comes up again.  He sits up, rubbing his eyes from sleep and pads over to Sif, resting a hand on her shoulder lightly.  "Hey, Sif.  Sif, are you okay?"  He asks gently, eyebrows furrowed.

Her eyes slowly open at the sound of his voice, but he can tell that they are filled with fear.  "Loki?"  Her voice is quiet, waterlogged with the effects of sleep.

"It's alright, I'm right here.  It was just a dream."  He says, rubbing her shoulder comfortingly.  She reaches out an arm sleepily, pulling him towards her.  He doesn't fight it, but is startled at her action, laying down next to her.

She wraps him in a hug, her head resting on his chest.  He's almost positive she had no idea what she had just done, but he doesn't want to wake her fully, for she has had enough lack of sleep in the past months.

Soon enough, he relaxes in her embrace and they both fall asleep cuddling.

For the first time in years, they fall asleep smiling.  Sif doesn't have a nightmare for the rest of the night.

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OH THE SIFKI FEELS ARE SPLENDID!

Anywho, I hope you enjoyed it!  Please vote and comment if you liked it!