Unbroken

Chapter 41

Loki woke up from his nightmares with a sharp gasp for breath, he was in a cold sweat and breathing very hard.
"Loki" Trinity said to get his attention, Loki hadn't realized that she was even there and pulled back when he saw her.
"What- what are you doing here?" He asked her, he didn't know what she was doing or why she was in his room, when he was woken up he assumed it was either Thor or Frigga, he didn't even consider Trinity.
"I heard you when I walked past your room. I wanted to see what was going on, you sounded hurt" she told him. He swallowed hard and tried to get his head out of his dreams so he could speak.
"I'm not hurt" he said simply, but Trinity's eyes instantly shifted down to the three large marks on his chest. The wounds were starting to heal, so now he had three obvious pink scars. Loki saw where she was looking and quickly got up and grabbed a robe to cover up the scars.
"I'm fine" he said as he folded the rode around himself.
"You don't seem fine" Trinity said as she got up and went over to him. he was taking some deep breaths and then Combed his hair out of his face with his fingers.
"Well I'm fine.... it was just a dream" he told her, though she was pretty sure he was trying to convince himself of this fact, not her. There was a long silence as Trinity tried to decide what to do, she wanted to help him but she didn't know what was going on inside his head.
"Is there anything I can do for you?" She asked after a few minutes of them both being quiet. Loki turned his head to be looking at her.
"No... thank you, I'm-" Trinity cut him short.
"Fine. I know" she said, to which Loki nodded slightly, but he knew she didn't believe him, she was still here.
"Really, I'm alright, these nightmares happen all the time, I'm used to it by now. I get a little shaken up at first but after a few minutes I'm alright" he explained, and he was already looking much better, the color had come back to his face and he wasn't sweaty or clammy anymore.
"Well... sorry I startled you when I woke you up. And I'm sorry I came into your room uninvited" she said, she didn't know if he felt uncomfortable with her being in there or not.
"No it's fine.. I appreciate you waking me up" he told her "sometimes I can't get myself to wake up and it just keeps getting worse" he added.
"Well then I'm glad I took the shortcut and was able to help" she said "I'll leave you alone now. Goodnight Loki" she said as she turned to leave the room, but she found herself not really wanting to leave him, she wanted to talk to him more and she wasn't sure why, she just wanted to spend more time with him, and not just as someone who was tending to a wound.
"Hey... sometimes tea helps people go back to sleep, do you want to come to the kitchen with me? I'll make you a cup" she offered, which surprised Loki a bit. She didn't have to do that for him.
"Oh... um... that- that would actually be great.. thank you" he said back, being very pleasantly surprised by her offer. "I'll get dressed" he said as he got some clothes and went to the bathroom to put them on. Trinity smiled to herself once he disappeared in the bathroom, suddenly she wasn't very tired.
After a minute Loki came back out of the bathroom and then the two of them left the room to head to the kitchen. The palace was much more quiet when it was this late, and Loki was a little afraid he'd wake someone up. Then he remembered that they're going to the kitchen, and no one would be there who would be bothered by them.
"What kind of tea do you like?" Trinity asked Loki as they reached the kitchen. Loki wasn't sure how to answer, he had never actually drunk tea before, But he didn't want her to know that.
"I don't know... what kind do you like?" He asked her, he'd just take whatever she said was good.
"Well when I want to sleep I like peppermint tea, it's soothing." She told him as she got out the kettle and filled it with water and put it on the stove to boil the water.
"Well then I'll have peppermint.." he told her. She nodded a bit and got the dry tea form a cabinet.
"Good choice" she said as she got a cup for him and prepared it for when the water would be ready.
"Can I ask you a few things?" Trinity asked as they waited for the water to get hot. Loki wasn't sure what she was going to ask, but he nodded anyway.
"Yeah... sure" he said.
"Okay... why were you sleeping on the floor?"  She asked. Loki had been expecting a lot worse, so he was relived when she asked an easy one.
"Oh... um.... its just what I'm used to" he told her "when I try to sleep in bed I feel like I'm sinking" he explained.
"How long Have you been sleeping on the floor?" She asked, she hoped that he hadn't been there ever since coming here.
"Well..... I've been sleeping on the floor since the queen gave me my own room..." he told her. He wasn't really sure why he told her, he had been keeping this a secret form Thor and Frigga and Odin, so why was he telling her? For some reason, he trusted her not to tell the royals.
"And you didn't want to try to get used to the bed? It's a lot more comfortable" she told him. He shrugged a little bit and started to look like he was thinking a bit harder about how to answer.
"Well.... I just didn't want to deal with sleepless nights.... it's not worth it to me.." he told her, not wanting to mention that his nightmares were worse when he slept in bed.
"Well I guess it's up to you.... why didn't you tell me when you got injured when you were trying to find the horse? I would've stitched up the wounds for you" she asked, trying to understand how he thinks.
"It just wasn't a big enough problem... they were just surface cuts" he explained. She nodded a bit.
"And your hands?" She didn't miss the fact that his knuckles were raw.
"Oh... punching bags. Apparently you're supposed to wear gloves. I didn't now that" he said, looking at his hands a bit.
"So you've been exercising then?" She asked. He nodded.
"Yeah... every day" he told her, again, leaving out the details that would make him seem weak or foolish. She just nodded a little bit. She wanted very much to ask him some things about Jotunhiem, but she didn't know if he'd let her ask such personal questions. She decided that if he didn't want to answer, he didn't have to, but she was going to ask.
"Loki..." she said softly as she looked up into his blue eyes, she didn't even realize that her hand had extended and was now holding his wrist gently. "Why was Laufey so cruel to you?" She asked him quietly, as if someone might be listening to them and she wanted to keep this question a secret. Loki glanced down to her hand that was holding his wrist, then back to her striking green eyes. He rarely made eye contact, but he couldn't take his eyes off of hers, something about the way she was looking at him made him want to look back. Maybe it was because she wasn't looking at him like he was a lost puppy who needed her to save him, she was looking at him like he was just another person who she wanted to get to know.
Everything in him said not to talk about his past life, it would disturb his sleep and make him sick, but he found his voice rebelling and beginning to answer.
"Because.... I'm-" he was cut off by the sharp whistle of the tea kettle. Trinity jumped a bit and broke eye contact with him, letting go of his wrist at the same time, both of them came back to reality.
"Well, I guess your tea is ready" she said as she poured the hot water over the leaves in the infuser, then handed him the cup.
"Careful, its hot" she said as he took the cup from her, she then got down another cup and made herself some tea as well.
"Mind if I drink with you?" She asked, she thought she was getting through to him a minute ago, but then the stupid kettle Interrupted.
"Go ahead" he said as he blew on his hot drink. "There's a bench outside, do you want to sit down?" He asked her, he didn't know why he was finding it easier to talk to her.
"Yeah, it's probably nice outside" she said, and they both left the kitchen and went to sit down outside. The cold night air felt good to Loki, though he wasn't sure if Trinity would enjoy the cold as much.
For a few minutes they both drank their tea in silence, Loki tried not to let Trinity know that he kept glancing at her. There was something about her that made him unable to get his eyes off her for more than a minute.
Trinity wanted to ask about why Laufey had been so mean to him again, he was about to answer and she wanted to know, but he seemed to get a bit uneasy when she asked the first time, and she didn't want to add to his stress again. Not right now.
"Thank you for this.." Loki said after a few minutes of quiet. Trinity looked up at him.
"For what?" She asked as she sipped some tea.
"This... making tea for me. I know you want to go home, so thank you for helping" he said to her. She smiled a little bit.
"You're welcome" she said, she was again hoping that he'd return her smile, but he didn't. She was starting to wonder if he'd ever smiled before in his life, she doubted he would ever have had a reason to, but she couldn't imagine living her whole life and never smiling.
They continued to drink their tea with little conversation, they were both sitting on the bench looking over the city, and loki had his free hand resting on the railing in front of them. After a little while he noticed that Trinity's hand had found its way to be gently resting on his wrist again.
After a little while longer Trinity had finished her tea and stood up.
"I should get home, it's late. And you probably want to go back to bed" she said. Loki stood up too, and -before he was able to think about what he was saying- spoke up.
"I'll walk you home if you'd like." He offered "it's late, and probably not safe for you to be out alone" he added when he saw her surprise.
"Oh... that's very nice of you. Thank you" she said with another smile that made Loki glad he offered.
Trinity told Loki where she lived, and they both left the palace to go to her house.