**Trigger Warnings - Mentions of Nightmares - Mentions of Physically harm**
**Stay safe besties, and enjoy! Don't forget to vote and comment too!**
Tonsburg - Freyja's POV
I sat bolt upright from the depths of sleep, dazed and slightly confused as my ringtone blared through my dark bedroom. I scrambled to find it and answer it, panic rising as I did so.
No one phone's in the dead of night unless it's an emergency.
I saw Bucky's number flash on my screen and sighed as I answered it.
"James this better be important, its the middle of the night here" I sighed into the phone.
"Freyja! Oh thank God, are you ok?" Came the rushed and panicked reply from Bucky.
"Yes I'm fine Buck" I said more gently, shifting on the bed, feeling guilty for my exasperated tone "What's going on? You're worrying me" The anxiety building in my stomach. Bucky sounded truly scared.
"I had a nightmare, it was so damn real, I could still taste it" Bucky rushed down the phone "I felt everything, it was like I was actually there, like it was really happening, but I couldn't stop it, I couldn't stop what was happening" He continued to babble.
"Ok Bucky, shush shush shush, it's not real, you're safe. Just breathe with me" I tried to calm him and started to take deep breaths in and out loudly down the phone, urging him to follow me.
I heard Bucky start to take the breaths with me.
"In... hold... out..." I repeated slowly several times as Bucky followed me, eventually I heard his breaths start to steady "Ok Buck talk me through it what happened?" I asked gently, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.
"It was him, I was the winter soldier, but I wasn't" Bucky began to tell me about the nightmare.
"How so?" I asked, my sleep idled mind not full up to speed just yet.
"It was like I was watching through his eyes but had no control over his actions, how it was when I was really him, it wasn't like it normally is, normally it's like watching someone else doing it, but i was in his body this time, it was me but it wasn't, like i was just some hitch hiker watching through the windows of his eyes, I could hear my own voice screaming for him to stop, I just couldn't control him" Bucky trailed off to a whisper.
"It's ok Bucky just take your time" I said softly, giving him time to work through his thoughts, wondering why he'd called as he'd never contacted me before directly afterward a nightmare, opting to just wait until our next session.
I heard Bucky taking a few more deep breaths as he tried to calm himself once more. As I was listening and waiting for him to continue, the light from my door crept into the room, I turned wide eyed towards the light source to be met with a set of concerned blue eyes, framed by wild black hair.
"Everything OK?" Loki asked quietly, worry etched across his face as his long fingers gripped my door. His dark green, silk pajama covered frame was just visible around the wood.
I covered my phone and nodded.
"Yes, I'm on the phone to a client" I whispered as quietly as possible, hoping Bucky didn't hear. The last thing he needed was to think someone else could hear him whilst in his current state.
Loki just nodded once, closing his eyes briefly as he did so, and slinked back out of the door, without a sound and closed it.
Turning my attention back fully to the phone I could still hear Bucky taking deep breaths.
"It's ok Bucky" I repeated trying to help calm him.
"I just couldn't stop him" Bucky sobbed slightly "He wouldn't stop, he... he... I wanted him to stop. I couldn't stop him" He broke off with another sob.
"It's ok Bucky, nothing bad has happened, it's just your brain trying to reconcile past memories. Nothing further has happened" I tried to comfort him.
"No Freyja" Bucky cut me off "This wasn't a memory"
"Then it wasn't real Bucky, you are safe. He can't hurt you anymore" I said gently trying to bring him down from his panic.
"Freyja!" Bucky almost yelled in frustration "You don't get it. He hurt you" Bucky's words rang in my ears, shocking me into silence for a moment.
"Bucky" I started as I collected my thoughts "I am safe and nothing has happened to me. Is your window open, and your heating off, as the body produces nightmares of this kind when your body is getting too hot" I worked through the logical reasons for Bucky's nightmare, hearing that it wasn't the standard Bucky type.
"It's wasn't that, I mean yeah I'm dripping but the apartment isn't warm at all" Bucky tried to brush off my logic.
"I know it seems like a strange reaction to being warm..." I started
"Freyja the God damn mask is on my couch" Bucky cut me off once more, and my jaw dropped "It was next to me when I woke up"
"Are you sure?" I asked out of pure shock and disbelief.
"I can send you a photo if you like?" Bucky growled, getting angry at my disbelief.
"No, I'm sorry that was wrong of me Bucky. I apologise" I soothed him swiftly.
"It's ok, it's pretty hard to believe, but it's here, I can see it clear as day" Bucky softened slightly.
"Maybe you slept walked and found it somewhere" I began again to work through the logical reasons as to why his winter soldier mask would be on his couch next to him when he awoke.
"No, I burnt everything I had that was to do with the winter soldier. There's nothing in my apartment that belongs to him or my time as him" Bucky disproved my theory of sleep walking.
"OK" I said slowly, racking my brains "Check your doors and windows, look for any sign of a break in, and call Sam" I urged "This must be someone trying to play a cruel trick on you, I don't even want to think about it being something worse. But if this isn't sleep walking then someone has to have planted that mask and you both need to find them and find out why" I finished, shivering with anxiety and adrenaline, an awful sinking feeling building in the pit of my stomach.
I knew Sam and Bucky where constantly targets for the bad people of this world, those that didn't want superheros around to stop their wrong doing, and those that just didn't like Bucky and still thought of him as the winter soldier, so an attempt to send Bucky off the deep end wasn't completely out of the question.
"Ok Doc" Bucky had reverted back to his nickname for me, indicating his brain was calming back down, now he had a plan of action "I'll call Sam now, get the place checked over and find out how that thing got in here" I could hear the confidence returning to his voice as he spoke.
"Yes, that's a good plan Buck, and please keep me updated with what happens, I'll do everything I can to help and support you" I replied, ensuring he knew he had support.
"Ok Doc, thank you, I'll ring Sam now, thank you" Bucky said, and I could almost see him nodding, mind whirring as to why someone would do this to him.
"Goodnight Bucky" I said softly
"G'night Doc" Bucky replied and hung up. I held my now dark phone in my hand just staring at it, trying to will answers from it.
As I sat in the dark silence, bed sheets pooled around me, my door opened once more.
"Are you finished on the phone?" Loki's gentle voice brought my attention to the door once more and I nodded.
I saw he had two cups in his hand this time, as he crossed the room and sat on the edge of my bed.
Loki offered one of the steaming cups to me. Taking it gingerly, I frowned at him and the intrusion.
"Chamomile" Loki flashed a concerned smile at me "From what I could figure, that wasn't exactly a pleasant conversation. I thought you could use something to calm your nerves." He explained.
"You eavesdropped!" I exclaimed angrily, glaring at him.
"No! No, good heavens no!" Loki shook his head fervently "I just meant from the late hour, the look on your face when I walked in just now and the panic in your eyes when I first checked on you is all" Loki quickly explained his assumption "And you are shivering, not a usual reaction, I think, to good news, even for a Midgardian" He smiled softly.
I visibly relaxed, and softened my face.
"Ok" I sighed out "Because patient, doctor confidentiality is paramount with me" I said sternly, taking a sip of the hot tea in my hand.
"Umm, this is delicious. What did you put in it?" I looked up at Loki in surprise.
"Just a little honey" Loki smirked "I promise" He chuckled and sipped his own tea.
"Um" I raised an eyebrow skeptically at him.
"Madam, just because I am the God of Mischief, does not mean I do not have a heart" Loki smarmed with an arrogant smile, and I laughed at his indignation.
"Thank you Loki," I smiled genuinely.
This is definitely a better side of him...
"Are you ok?" Loki said with a more serious tone, looking at me under his lashes and placing a hand on my knee, the light touch of his fingers causing my heart to race even more.
I looked down at his hand, swallowing against the sensation of his touch, then to his worried face.
"Yes" I smiled and shook my head clearing it of the thoughts trying to push their way to the front "I'm fine Loki, thank you" I looked back down at my tea and he removed his hand. To my surprise a quiet whine sounded in my throat at the loss of contact, but my eyes remained on my cup, not daring to look at Loki for fear he had heard the noise also.
Not the time Freyja, and most definitely not the right person...
"Then I shall leave you to your rest" Loki smiled, standing up, not indicating whether he had heard the noise I'd made or not "If you need me just shout, or come find me, my door is always open" He smirked the last few words.
Was he flirting?...
No. He's just being nice...
There's that word again. Nice...
"Thank you Loki, I will" I smiled and kept my eyes away from his face, I could feel the warmth creeping through my cheeks.
"Good night once more Lady Freyja" Loki whispered softly as he closed the door.
"Good night Loki" I sighed quietly.
Oh God, I can't be...
New York - Bucky's Pov
After I'd hung up from the Doc, I'd rung Sam. He'd panicked down the phone, and I'm pretty sure he'd crashed into something as he was trying to get dressed while on the phone to me.
Judging by the noise and the muttered swears, but he was now on his way here. It made me feel a little better, even though I had told him exactly what had happened in the dream. I doubt I could ever tell anyone the exact details, it made me feel sick just thinking about it. How could I ever look at the Doc the same again?
Pacing the floor again I kept looking over to the couch to confirm the mask was still there, it hadn't moved. Confirming it was indeed real, but I needed Sam to get here and see it too before I really believed it. What the hell had the dream meant? It wasn't the same as the usual ones. The usual ones were things that had happened, sometimes faces morphed into someone else but it was always recognisable.
This one was completely different. The soldier had never been given a mission to do... that...
What if this meant the winter soldier was trying to break free? What if the treatment in Wakanda hasn't really worked and he'd just been hiding? What if it meant he was after the Doc? What if I hurt her?
Panic started to rise again, and by the time Sam knocked on my door I almost jumped out of my skin.
I stared wide eyed at the door for a few moments before my brain registered it was Sam.
"Come on Barnes, it's freezing out here" Sam's frustrated voice floated through the door, and I rushed to open it.
"Hey Buck, you OK?" Sam asked with a frown, as I opened the door, watching me closely as he began to enter "You look like you've seen a ghost"
"I have" I answered as he walked past me and I shut the door once more.
I came to Sam's side and pointed down at the couch and the offending mask.
"Well, shit" Sam muttered under his breath.
Turning to look at me, Sam went straight into Cap mode.
"Have you touched it?" He asked all business.
"No, apart from when it brushed my hand when I woke up. I've not been near it since" I replied.
"Ok, Windows, doors, hatches, any other ways of getting into this place. You checked em all yeah?" Sam moved onto his next question.
"Yes, Sam" I sighed "Nothing, no signs of forced entry anywhere" I ran my hair through my hair again, frustrated that there was no clue to how this had happened or who was behind it.
"Right, I'll get Torres over here with a team in the morning to check for anything even your super soldier eyes can't see" Sam nodded and teased me slightly, causing me to chuckle and shake my head.
"Ok pal, I guess I best just head to bed then huh?" I sighed and smiled.
"No," Sam answered abruptly, making me frown at him. "You're coming with me, we don't know why this has happened and if they are after you, you're best not being in the place they expect you to be" Sam explained his reasoning.
"But what if they come back and remove the evidence?" I countered, not relishing the idea that whoever it was could come back and make me look like a madman by taking the one thing we had as proof.
"That's why it's coming with us too" Sam grinned and flicked out an evidence bag in front of me.
"I'm not touching it" I said and backed up away from Sam and the couch.
"It's ok, I'll get it" Sam said, rolling his eyes and moving over to the couch, to retrieve the mask in the bag.
"Careful Sam" I cautioned as he bent to pick it up.
He turned mid bend and threw me a questioning look.
"It might be boobietrapped" I blurted out.
Sam chuckled at me.
"Don't you think it would have exploded when you touched it, if it was gonna? This is New York Buck, not some crazy superhero action movie" Sam laughed as I grimaced at him, and turned back to the mask, scooping it into the bag without physically touching it himself. "There, no explosions" Sam smirked as he walked back towards me "Now go grab an overnight bag and let's get outta here" He patted me on the shoulder and grinned.
Tonsburg - Loki's POV
I lay on my back, in the cool darkness of my room, staring at the black ceiling. Thoughts whirling through my mind.
She had looked so panicked when I had first gone to check on her. I had only gone because the shrill noise of her phone had drawn my attention. I couldn't be angry for being woken up as I had been laying there for hours staring at the same spot I was currently staring at.
God this was ridiculous, I had wanted to sweep her into my arms the instant I saw how worried she was. To soothe whatever ailed her. To stop her shivering, and make her feel better.
Ridiculous.
Then instead of choosing to return to my chambers I decided to make tea. What am I stooping to? Servant work? For a Midgardian?
She did seem somewhat appreciative though, after berating me for eavesdropping. Honestly, why would I want to listen to her and her patients? I've got far more important things to think about than the worries of some other Midgardian and their minuscule problems.
I rubbed my finger tips together in front of my face, watching them, I could still feel the warmth of her skin on them, where I had put my hand on her knee, I sighed, bringing my fingers to my lips. And that delightful sound she had made when I removed my hand. I grinned to myself in the darkness.
But her knee was as far as I was bold enough to take it, even if I had wanted to wrap her in my embrace. She looked so shaken, it had awoken something within me I hadn't felt before.
The need to protect her.
The feeling had shocked me. Do I care for this woman?
Surely not...
No. This is just some silly infatuation, brought on by the fact she did not instantly fall for my charm. Although I will admit I hadn't been trying too hard. I had the same problem with Lady Sif, and I know truly that I did not care for Sif, even before I cut her hair off for being so boastful. I smirked at the memory, Gods she had been so angry. Mother had chided me severely for that little trick. Serves her right, though, for being so self involved. She is not that pretty, especially without her beloved hair, I chuckled quietly in the dark.
Not like Freyja, my mind drifted back to her beautiful face gazing at me from the bottom of the staircase earlier. The way the moonlight had made her hazel eyes glow like warm honey, and had reflected the red hues of her soft chestnut curls. The gentle slope of her shoulders as she stood before me when she had bumped into me coming out of the bathroom. The way her chest had risen and fallen as she seemed to fight something within, as she gazed at me. The warmth of her skin beneath my hands. And just how stunningly beautiful she had looked adorned in my colour. I sighed and let my hand drop to my side.
It had taken everything in me not to kiss her several times this evening. I sighed again.
Enough of this, I am not some love struck teenager, listing after a pretty face. Clearly my time spent with Thor had clouded my thoughts and his love of these humans was rubbing off on me.
I am Loki, of Asgard. And I was born to be a King, not a lovesick fool.
Still the draw of this woman was magnetic. Perhaps I should just make her mine for a short while and allow the infatuation to run its course, as it invariably does. It could be fun, I smirked.
Yes, that is what I will do. Tomorrow should be interesting, time to use the full force of my charm. She would be unable to resist especially when she sees how adept at horse riding I am. And there will be plenty of chances to hold her close as I teach her. No Asgardian woman, or man for that matter, had ever been able to resist me while riding a horse, why should she be any different. I grinned to myself again, rolling over and pulling my covers further up my body allowing sleep to finally take me.
Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, please comment and vote, and let me know what you all thought!
But for now besties enjoy!