AS WE FLEW out of Asgard, I set my sights on the Ark - which was flying away from the turmoil on the rainbow bridge. I spotted Hulk grab onto Thor and Valkyrie before jumping incredible heights to reach the Ark, gaining entry onto the spacecraft just in time.
"In the back, there's another hangar," Loki told me, his breath hot on my neck as he shouted over the wind racing by us. I nodded, following his advice and soaring towards the other side of the spaceship.
On the other side, just as Loki had said, there was a small alcove of the ship, perfect for landing smaller spacecrafts; in our case, perfect for our diamond chariot.
Loki, like a gentleman, helped me off the chariot and I leaned into his side. I definitely could have walked on my own, but I wanted to feel him holding me. It was nice to have someone to lean on after the trials we faced. Loki, with his arm around my shoulders, also used me as support. Together we walked through a metal door, before getting blasted with cold air and entering a longer hallway - probably something to do with oxygen and gravity (it was a spaceship, after all).
"Hm..." I began to wonder aloud, "I think this is my first time traveling in space."
Loki looked down at me. "Really?" He paused, thinking as well. "I suppose the Bifrost doesn't count, does it?"
I shrugged. "Maybe. But, this time I can really enjoy it."
He smiled. "We can travel space together, if you'd like. There's plenty of planets that are quite beautiful."
I nodded enthusiastically, before sighing. "We should. After, you know, we get to Earth."
His face fell a bit, worry coming over him. "Right. Earth." Swallowing uncomfortably, he raised an eyebrow at me. "It's going to be absolute havoc; your team meeting me once again."
I scrunched my nose and smiled at him, shaking my head. "We'll be fine. We already have Thor and Bruce with us, and I'm sure the others will come around. Whatever happens, we'll handle it together, okay?"
"But--"
"No buts!" I shut him up quickly, squeezing his arm encouragingly. "One problem at a time. Let's get cleaned up first, alright?" I looked down at myself, feeling sweat and grim on my skin. "I need a shower."
His eyes took on a mischievous glint. "Can we do that together, too?"
I suppressed a laugh, but I didn't say no.
◇
Loki had lead me to a section of the spacecraft that held living quarters, complete with bathrooms. Our room was now covered in a thin layer of steam, thanks to the piping hot shower we--- I mean I, had just taken.
Loki had finished (showering) before I was done, so when I entered the bedroom from the bathroom, scrunching my wet hair with a towel, I found him laying out my suit on the bed. I watched him curiously, pulling the other towel I wore around me tighter.
"Don't bother with that," I said, looking at the suit with distaste. "It's probably too dirty to put back on, anyways."
Loki eyed me, a smile spreading across his face. "So you prefer to wear nothing at all?" His smile turned darker. "Excellent."
I threw my hair towel at him, and he easily dodged, chuckling. "I'm kidding, Y/N." He caught himself, cocking his brows. "Well, half kidding. What I mean, I cleaned your suit, as I did my own. It's fresh."
I approached his side, looking over the suit with surprise. No way it was already clean - I was only in the shower for a few extra minutes.
But to my surprise, Loki was right. As if my suit had been taken to a dry cleaners and given a complete workup, it was indeed clean, pressed, and free of any cuts and blood.
I glanced at Loki for an explaination. "How did you--?"
"Magic," he answered simply, waving his hands and sending me a proud smile.
I reached for the suit, my shoulder aching as I outstretched my arm. The arrow wound still hadn't healed.
"Still not feeling better?" Loki questioned. "I thought the bleeding had stopped."
I grimaced, eyeing my bad shoulder. The arrow hadn't lodged too far into my back, thanks to the protection of the suit, but it still took a chunk of out my skin. The hot water from the shower had stopped the bleeding for a bit, but unfortunately the blood had began to seep through again.
I bit my tongue, pushing away the pain like the stubborn Stark I was. "It's nothing. Just a flesh wound, really.
Loki scoffed and turned me around, pulling my hair out of the way to get a better look. Silently, he grabbed a long black scarf from nearby and began to wrap it around me.
It was quiet in the room, dimly lit by lights along the walls. With the steam from the showers, it was comfortably warm, even though I was dressed in only a towel.
Mentally, I forced myself to hold onto this moment. Loki and I, alone in complete peace and quiet. His hands in me, putting the utmost care into his actions to bring me comfort. Even though I wore basically nothing, I wasn't anxious or insecure; I was completely comfortable with him.
These seconds, right now, were so precious. Life felt perfect; the man I loved taking care of me in a stress-free environment.
Loki wasn't the only one worried about how the team would react to us. But, I tried not to make myself go crazy with worry - we would cross that bridge when we get there.
I wondered, would it really be possible to live like this forever? Thanks to HYDRA and their sick experiments, they did give me something I don't take for granted anymore - delayed aging. Loki and I would have plenty of years to look forward to, if we could find a quiet spot on Earth to settle together. As he said, we could travel, too - the Earth and space. But it all seemed....too good to be true.
Standing here with Loki, in the tranquility of this moment, I wanted to hold onto it forever and make the rest of my life look the same.
"What are you thinking about?" Loki asked me suddenly, his voice soft to not disturb the quiet.
"Maybe I'm not thinking at all," I hummed in response, "can't I just enjoy the silence?"
He chuckled, pulling me onto his lap where he sat on the bed. "If I know anything about you, Y/N Stark, it's that you like to talk," he spoke playfully, "and in the rare moments you are quiet, it means your mind is brewing."
I sarcastically rolled my eyes. "Fine, fine. I just..." Stopping myself, I took a second to look up at him and find the right words. "I just really, really like us. This. Me and you."
"Me and you," he agreed, his voice so low it was almost a whisper. For a few seconds, we were lost in each other's eyes. Then, Loki spoke up again. "I suppose we should--"
I cut him off. "-Should take a nap? Right here on this comfy bed after that stupidly hard, exhausting battle?" I sent him a cheeky grin. "Yes, I agree."
He clicked his tongue. "Well, I want nothing more than to agree. But you and I both know my brother is probably worrying what has become of us."
Letting out a long, dramatic sigh, I picked myself up and reached for my suit, planning to put it on. Loki's hand pushed away my arm. "Dear, did you forget?"
He waved his fingers and my body shimmered with green light; my outfit changing within milliseconds. Suddenly I stood with my hair in a side braid and my suit fitting perfectly on my body.
"Magic." Loki winked at me, standing up at my side before sauntering to the door. "Are you coming?"
I knew he had magic, it was just something I forget was, you know, a thing. Finally picking my feet up off the floor, I walked towards him with a slightly confused look on my face. "Why don't you use that more often?"
He laughed, putting his hand on my back. "I do, you just don't notice."
Loki and I walked through the Ark's corridors, we passed a few dozen Asgardians who were sitting against the walls.
Some thanked us, some quietly smiled in gratitude, but most comforted each other over the loss of their home. There was equal amounts of grief and hope within the air of the ship, and I felt as if Loki had those mixed emotions as well. As we traversed the halls, our hands remained interlocked.
After asking a few people if they had seen Thor anywhere, we were directed to another level where more living quarters were. When we entered, there was steam in this room too. Thor must have showered as well - in fact, I could hear the water running in the other room.
Loki quickly pulled me to his chest and clamped his hands over my eyes.
"Hey!" I pulled at his hands, stumbling, but Loki remained locked onto me, my back pressed against his back. "Hush," he replied dryly, "I'm not about to let you see my brother without clothes on."
I gave up fighting once I understood his reasoning, but I began to pout a bit since I felt like a child. "Come on, Loki, I've seen Thor without a shirt on before."
I felt his cold hands tense. After a moment, he questioned quietly, "When?"
I rolled my eyes, feeling my eyelashes against Loki's palms. "Once or twice. He's gotten hurt on missions before, so we've checked him out in medical--"
"Checked him out!?"
I groaned, seeing how Loki was now taking this in the wrong direction. "No! Stop it, Loki, you know better."
"Well," he huffed, still not moving his hands, "once or twice is already too many times. My brother's physique has an odd effect on women and I don't want you to--"
After hearing that, I put all my strength into pulling away from him, hearing a tinge of insecurity in Loki's voice. I twisted my body so I faced him, finally wiggling out of his grasp on my face. Throwing my arms around his neck I kissed him deeply, shutting Loki up for good.
I kissed him until I felt him relax, then pulled away - but he resisted, and kept our lips locked together and kissed me more.
"Oh! Well. I'm--- hello. Hi. You two. Alive. Good."
Oh, gods. Perfect timing, Thor. Thor's usual deep voice sounded very squeaky as he greeted us.
Loki and I pulled away, and I turned to greet him -- with an apology.
To my surprise, Thor was naked.
"Agh!" Now it was me who had a squeaky voice. I slapped my hands over my eyes and turned my back, pressing myself against Loki as much as I could.
"Told you," Loki snickered, pulling me into his chest. I think our mini-makeout session gave him some confidence, but his snarky attitude was not helping at the moment.
Thor snapped out of his shocked state and I could hear rustling and him mumbling frantic apologies. Loki patted my back comfortingly, then slowly turned me around when the coast was clear after a minute.
"Well," I cleared my throat. "Thor. Hi."
"Hello, Y/N," he replied back cautiously. Loki suppressed a laugh from behind me. "Well, this isn't awkward at all."
A blanket of awkward silence covered the room. My mind swarmed for any way to break the tension.
"It suits you," I blurted out, hoping to push the conversation along.
Thor glanced down at his own crotch (now covered by his armor).
My eyes got wide as I tried to explain myself. "No! No, not your-- not your, um...Ugh!" I slapped my own forehead, facepalming myself. "The eyepatch! I'm talking about the eyepatch."
There was another silence between the three of us, before we simultaneously began to chuckle, which grew into genuine laughs.
This situation was utterly ridiculous, and finding humor in it was the only way we managed to get through it.
After catching his breath from laughter, Loki agreed with me, "She's right, it suits you. The eyepatch."
Thor smiled and played with his hands, feeling a bit insecure about the new patched look - but it made him look more like the warrior he was. Honestly, losing an eye must suck, but Thor was pulling the look off.
"Fury might think you're copying him," I added, hoping to make Thor laugh again. He sent me a knowing smile as we imagined what Nick Fury would do when he saw us again.
"Fury," Loki murmured, like he was testing out how the word sounded. "So, that's what's next?"
Thor nodded, approaching us but walking past us, out the door. "Indeed," he gestured for us to follow by grasping Loki's shoulder. "We should set course to Earth as soon as possible."
My heart soared. I was going home! Looking back, my time on Sakaar was a blessing since it's the place Loki and I really grew together; but I was glad the adventure and fight was over. It was time to for a break.
Blowing a shaky breath out, Loki nodded and flexed his shoulders, visible signs he was incredibly anxious about our destination.
I squeezed his hand three times, hoping to silently message him that everything was going to be okay.