Sinbound: Variants

Part 17

Author's note: WOW HEY SORRY IT'S BEEN A WHILE but I've been so busy working, I miss this story so much. I'm finally able to get back into it and pull out a chapter or two this weekend, yay! Also, slight warning this chapter gets kind of sad.

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I think it's going really well lately. The variant has agreed to go by her... my... our middle name instead of 'Variant' to keep it humane. Sometimes I'll bring her food, other times I'll bring her music and books. She's still in her cage and wears her de-magic cuffs, but I'm doing the most I can to keep her steady.

"Morning, Fleur." I say to her this morning, bringing a bag of mini marshmallows. 

"Morning, Ayca." She says unimpressed. "For breakfast, really?"

"Nah, this is a snack. You're going to have to behave if you want breakfast." I say. Loki and I have a plan no one liked, but it's a trial and error sort of idea. Between the two of us, we believe we can manage her now. At least for a little bit. Plus, I want to lend her a copy I made of mom's journal.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asks, scoffing at me.

"Well, if you give me attitude like that, you won't find out."

She stands up straight and adjusts her clothes. I've been giving her some of mine that I don't wear too often, or extras that Pepper gave me a while ago. She clicks her heels together and pretends to curtsey, then says, "I am most proper, Madame." in a pretty convincing British accent. I giggle, and from the doorway Loki emerges. Her act drops suddenly, looking angry and confused. "What's he doing here?"

"Fleur, I know you're jealous."

"Thanks a lot!"

"Hear me out. We just want to help you." I say, trying to keep her calm.

"I assure you, Fleur, I mean you no harm or disrespect. But neither should you if this is going to work." He says in a charming, confident tone. "We are hear to bring you to breakfast this morning. Your cuffs will stay on and you will be tethered to me. If you should try anything, you will find yourself back in the cage before you can say 'tesseract', are we understood?" He lays down the ground rules. Damn, he's hot when he's in control. We're going to have to come back to that later.

"Yes, your majesty." She play curtsies again, shaking her head like Alice in Wonderland when she was talking to the Queen of Hearts. I can't help but giggle while I watch Loki transport himself into the cage and secure her cuffs while also binding one of her wrists to his with a slightly glowing chain. I'm guessing it's magical since it appeared out of nowhere. Classy, Loki. Real classy. 

He transports her out, and she just stands there a moment to breath in the little freedom she's just gained. "Fleur?" I ask her, watching her head tilt back and her eyes close in bliss from the sun slowly creeping across the floor and onto her face as a cloud passes over. She exhales out her mouth, then looks to me. 

"What's for breakfast?"

We walk her down the hallway, anticipating the reaction from others. They knew we were bringing her, but we left out almost everything else to keep for conversation. The less they know and the more she talks, the more I'm hoping she thinks they care about her. I need her to trust us. When we get to the kitchen, it's nearly a disaster.

Steve is complaining about how Captain Crunch isn't a real captain and giving Natasha a hard time about it while Tony is trying to teach Peter about the 'right kind of coffee', who just isn't too into it. Bucky is peeling an orange but the juice is getting into the creases of his metal arm, making his hiss and grunt with annoyance. I feel like that meme of the pizza guy walking into a burning, chaotic room.