I have to admit, I was having a pretty perfect dream until I jerked awake. I stared out of the window on my right, wondering what woke me up.
I sat up and looked around, confused.
I was about to go back to bed. That is, until I heard a sound that sent shivers down my spine.
Screaming.
In my dream, I was in my kitchen, but it was dark, and it seemed to stretch on forever. It was like a long tunnel. Too long and dark to see the other end.
There was someone standing in the kitchen, and he had glowing white eyes and milky blonde hair. He was holding an intimidating black sword while smiling with razor sharp teeth. He was swinging the sword around like he didn't have a care in the world.
His smile grew when he saw my eyes widen with terror. Chills rippled up my spine due to the power that radiated off of the black sword and because of his eerie smile.
Without warning, he lunged at me and sliced the blade toward my head. The sword was about an inch away from my face when I let out a scream and sat up in bed, still screaming when I opened my eyes.
My whole body was shaking terribly and I had broken into a cold sweat as I clutched my arms. Terror made my blood rush as my heart pounded fearfully.
A sob escaped from my throat as I rocked back and forth, willing the panic to be driven from my body. I felt icy tears roll down my cheeks and splash against the blankets as I attempted to calm down.
A second later, I nearly jumped out of my skin as my bedroom door was opened quickly.
"Are you alright?" Came Loki's tired voice at the doorway. In the moonlight, I could just make out his white undershirt and black shorts, as well as his black hair that was a tangled mess. He looked ready for battle, though he held no weapon.
"Yes," I replied shakily. "Just a...a nightmare."
It didn't seem like a nightmare. It had felt more like a vision than a dream created from my own imagination. Still, I was not really someone who received visions.
"Okay," Loki replied. He hesitated in the doorway as I crawled back under the covers. Then, he began to retreat, closing the door as he went. The kiss from yesterday morning briefly flashed in my mind during the expecting silence between us.
"Loki?" I called out in a whisper before the door closed. He paused, so I knew he was listening, even in the darkness. "Can you stay with me?"
There was silence. I would have thought he had left if I couldn't just barely see him. I saw him approach after a minute. Loki knelt beside the bed, close to me.
"You're just tired," he murmured, but I barely heard him. With him close, I easily drifted into sleep.
I woke to a winter sunlight streaming through my window, sparkling on the wooden floorboards.
I opened my eyes and saw Loki's face right next to mine. He looked so peaceful when he was sleeping.
He was still kneeling at my bedside, which had to be painful on the hardwood floor. His forearms were resting on the bed, and his head was down, tilted to the side so that his cheek rested by his elbow.
Still half asleep, I reached my arm over to gently stroke his face. His blue eyes fluttered open at the touch and he fixed me with his glowing icy gaze. "Hi," he mumbled sleepily.
I pulled my hand away when I realized what I was doing. I almost said sorry, but I swallowed the apology when I realized that Loki hadn't exactly been opposed to my blatant intimacy.
Loki rubbed his knees as he stood up, groaning. This time I did apologize, "sorry."
I hugged my chest, rubbing my bare arms as the covers tumbled onto my lap. "Breakfast?" He asked, stretching out his legs. "Do you...mind teaching me how to cook?"
"I would love to," I replied, climbing out of my bed. We walked out into the kitchen. I noticed that the entire mess we had created on the floor from yesterday's breakfast was clean and gone. My eyes soft, I glanced over at Loki, and saw that his eyes were tender as well. One of his eyebrows was slightly raised, which made all of his features look sweet and childish - like a puppy.
"Thank you, Loki," I whispered, though I wasn't sure what exactly I was thanking him for. For cleaning up the mess, for kissing me yesterday and making me feel wonderful, or for staying with me last night. It was surprising how many things I could thank the God of Mischief for.
He gave me the smallest of smiles in response. There was silence between us before I finally broke the light tension by saying, "we need to have the eggs out, bacon, bread, and butter. Please."
Loki nodded curtly and went over to the fridge. He pulled out the eggs and butter and bacon. I got the bread for the toast, taking a deep breath while I did so.
Loki put the ingredients next to the burner and looked at me expectantly. I laughed lightly, pulling out a pan and showing it to him. "This is a pan," I confirmed jokingly. Loki chuckled and I put the pan onto the burner and turned it on, showing him as I did so.
"Now, I always make the eggs first. The pan is easier to rinse off for the bacon after the eggs. When the eggs are done, I start the toast so that the timing is correct. Now," I said, handing him an egg, "you need to crack this egg into the pan. Crack it lightly on the edge of the counter first and then open it with two hands into the pan. Try your best not to get any of the shell in the pan." I showed him how to do it first. "See? Easy."
Loki carefully cracked the egg, and held it over the pan. I lightly grabbed his hands and moved them so that the egg fell into the pan. "Just like that," I said quietly.
"Easy," Loki replied, his voice just as soft. I glanced at him.
"I usually do four eggs; two for each of us. You try," I said pulling away.
For the rest of time we cooked, I tried to let him do it on his own, but he kind of sucked at it, so I was forced to help. He was good at buttering the toast, though.
When we sat down to eat, I had to admit, I was worried about there being egg shells in my eggs.
"Not bad," I informed him as we ate.
"You're better," he replied.
"Well, I haven't had servants cooking for me my entire life," I said jokingly. "It's...kind of shocking that you would want to give that all up. I mean, live in Asgard as Prince or rule over a bunch of incompetent humans. No competition. I would have stayed in Asgard."
I meant it as a joke, but Loki didn't seem to find it very funny.
"It's not like I could go back to Asgard, even if I wanted to," Loki responded, his voice slightly harder. "Not with Odin there."
I decided not to push the subject. We ate in silence after that.
I began to clear the plates and clean the counters and dishes while Loki sat silently watching.
"So what do you want to do today?" I asked him, folding the towel when I was done. Loki didn't respond, so I looked over at him and gasped. "Loki?"
He had gone extremely pale, and his hands were gripping the edges of the counter so hard that his knuckles were going purple. Sweat was gleaming on his face and he was gasping for breath.
"Loki, are you--"
"Natasha, go! My bathroom, under the sink. Get the pendant and go!"
What the hell was he talking about?
"Loki--" I began, hearing intense panic in my voice.
"Now!" He barked before collapsing in his seat. He went crashing to the floor, and when he opened his eyes, they were all white. I stifled a scream as I dashed to Loki's room and then into his bathroom. I opened the cabinet under the sink and saw, sitting on top of the white towels - Havbølger - the pendant that was causing all of the problems in my life.
The pendant was small and blue, but it radiated power. I touched it and became instantly dizzy. I decided not to risk putting it on as I shoved it in my pocket.
Demon-Loki was waiting in the kitchen. He was standing up, apparently getting used to being in Loki's body.
"Give me the pendant, girl," he ordered. His voice made me shudder. It was a deep, clear American accent that did not work coming from Loki. "Loki Laufeyson stole it for us and brought it here. Now it's time that we take back what is rightfully ours."
"Never!" I growled back. I remember what Loki had told me. These demon creatures could use the pendant to destroy the world. Giving it to the demon would be suicide.
"Dammit, I'm losing connection," the creature said angrily. "Your Loki is a strong one."
His eyes seemed to flash blue for a second before turning white again, signifying to me that Loki was taking control of his body again. He was in there somewhere.
"Here's how this is going to work," the demon-Loki said, grabbing my gun that was (damn me) on the kitchen table. He pressed the barrel of the gun against his own temple. I heard a click as he readied the trigger.
"No!" I cried out. If the creature killed himself, he would be killing Loki along with it. My stomach twisted as I thought about it.
"I don't have enough control of this body to kill you now, but you will meet at Stark Tower tonight. With the pendant. Do I have your word?" He moved the gun threateningly. "Taking his life will mean nothing," he added.
"You have my word," I replied shakily and felt a buzz in my pocket where the pendant was.
"Good," said the creature, giving me a sharp-toothed smile. "See you tonight."
Then, Loki collapsed, dropping the gun as he fell. The gun went off with a loud bang, but I hardly cared.
I rushed over to Loki and shook him. "Loki, are you alright?" I asked.
"Yes," he responded shakily after peeling his eyes open. "I was half-conscious. I heard everything. Natasha, why would you agree to that? You can't give them the pendant, whatever happens."
"I won't. I never said I would, I only said I would meet them at Stark Tower. The Avengers will be there. We can fight them off," I said, helping him up. "The real question is...why did you steal the pendant from Stark Tower? It was safe there!"
Loki stared at his feet. "I'm sorry," he whispered. He flinched when I tilted his chin to make him look at me. "They have a lot of power over me. Though I find it's easier to resist them each time they try to take over my body."
"So they took control of you when we were at Stark Tower for the Christmas party? While I was talking to Bruce and Clint?"
He ducked his head. I sighed. "We have to get this to Stark Tower. We have to inform the Avengers as to what is happening." I paused. "It's going to be okay."
He smiled at me and my heart melted, longing for him. Longing for him to be safe, for me to be safe.
Everything was going to be okay.
I hope.