Fixated

Tony walked into his room to find Edie was still curled up on top of the sheets, fast asleep. He rolled his eyes as he realized she had probably been out for fourteen hours. He never understood how she could sleep so much.

“Someone better call security, there’s a Brazilian in here,” he said as he nudged her awake.

Edie groaned, “I’m only half.”

“Yes but it’s the important half. The half that gave you the last name so you could get more scholarship money instead of being fined for being related to me,” Tony said.

“That’s true,” Edie giggled. She stretched and sat up on the bed, yawning.

“You look like a cat,” Tony said as he threw himself on the bed next to her.

“How long have I been out?” she asked, disregarding his comment.

“Well when I found you it was eight o’clock at night. Now it’s ten in the morning,” he answered.

“Holy shit, I’ve been out for sixteen hours,” she said, eyes wide.

“How on Earth did you sleep that long? Hibernation isn’t an excuse, it’s not even winter,” he said and she giggled.

“I have no idea,” she yawned and stretched again. “Is it sad that I’m still tired?”

“You’re a sleep junkie. You are literally addicted to sleeping,” he said, slightly shocked.

“Well hopefully you have been doing something productive,” she retorted.

“Yes, actually I have been working on locating the Tessaract and breaking into SHEILD’s files,” he smirked, proud of himself.

“Tony!” she exclaimed, mouth agape.

“Hey, that’s Uncle Tony to you,” he pointed.

“I swear you are the worst good guy ever,” Edie rolled her eyes.

“I wouldn’t have to be this way if Fury were a little more honest about his intentions with the Tessaract,” Tony defended.

“Yeah, something doesn’t seem right about that,” Edie nodded, pursing her lips in deep thought.

“You’re still on my team, right?” he asked.

“I’ll always be Team Iron Man,” she smiled brightly.

“That’s my girl,” he smirked and they bumped fists. “I brought you some food, it’s there in the corner.” Before he could finish his sentence Edie had crossed the small room and was shoving the contents of the grey trey in her mouth.

“Oh my God I’m starving,” she said with a full mouth, returning to sit on the bed.

“That’s attractive,” he commented.

“Nom, nom, nom,” she said jokingly, chewing with her mouth open.

“I asked for the news, not the weather,” he added. As soon as she finished chewing she stuck her tongue out at him.

“I like food,” she shrugged.

“That much has been made very clear over the years. So how do you plan on avoiding trouble at all costs today?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Don’t jinx me,” Edie joked. “But I was thinking about getting up and taking a shower.”

“Good, no one likes a smelly soprano. Your high notes are torturous enough,” Tony shot and Edie shoved him with her shoulder before rolling out of the bed.

“Alright well, when you’re finished meet me in the lab and we’ll go over SHEILD’s secrets,” he wiggled his eyebrows.

Edie rolled her eyes, “You’re terrible.”

“I’ll still see you in an hour?” he pointed.

“You got it,” she gave him a thumbs-up.

“Go scrub up. Love you kid,” he winked.

“Love you too,” she grinned as she shut the door to the bathroom behind her. She loved the way she and her Uncle Tony could be absolute cornballs together.

Edie turned on the shower and undressed. The bathroom was very small, similar to the one she had at her apartment in SOHO, but she briefly wondered how Tony was coping with it. He didn’t do well in small places.

When the hot water hit Edie she felt all of her muscles relax. A throaty groan escaped her lips as she stood, letting the hot water massage her aches and pains. After a few minutes she began lathering up, washing her body and then delicately rubbing shampoo into her hair.

Edie stepped out of the shower and was relieved to see there was a hairdryer. Since cutting her hair to her shoulders Edie didn’t have to take as long drying it, but she knew she needed to grow it out for her role as Christine. The wig was too hot and pretty heavy.

As soon as Edie finished running a brush through her hair, there was a loud explosion and she was knocked to the ground. She gripped the towel around her and looked up, alert and afraid. She ran into the room and threw on clothing as fast as she could, her only thought to find her uncle and make sure he was okay.

Edie ran out the door and into the chaos. She began sprinting down the hallway, dodging the SHEILD agents as they breezed past her. Her only thought was getting to the lab and making sure that her only family was still alive.

She banked around a corner when another explosion knocked her into the wall. Her head hit a piece of metal and she collapsed to the floor.

Tony, she thought as she struggled to stay conscious. Her head throbbed and she winced in pain. But her fight was futile, and soon the darkness overcame her. Everything was black.

[***]

Loki growled angrily as he picked himself up. The puny human whom he had recently stabbed still managed to blast him through the wall. Oh well, at least he had dealt with his brother.

As Loki was dusting himself off he turned to look around the hallway he had been forced into. A figure lying pathetically on the ground caught his eye and when he looked more carefully, he saw that it was wearing civilian clothing.

He walked closer, rolling the figure over only to have his assumptions confirmed. It was Edie, lying still and injured. He brushed the hair from her face and saw she had a bleeding gash on her forehead. He gently ran his thumb over the cut and it disappeared, her skin looking like it had never been injured in the first place.

“Edie, Edie wake up. Look at me, Eden,” he tried as he held her face in his hands. But it was no use; she was unconscious and possibly had a concussion. He looked around at the chaos surrounding them and sighed. He would have to heal her later.

Loki scooped the poor girl up and made sure her head rested safely against his chest. To say he was irked would be putting it mildly. He thought he would at least be able to rely on the Iron Man to care for his own kin once the attack began, but apparently he was otherwise occupied. Loki had hoped to find her well and to use his scepter to truly make her his own. But as events unfold plans must change.

He walked with purpose as he exited the craft and climbed into another plane. “Make haste,” he commanded before gently laying Edie on a series of seats nearby. He ignored the confused looks he was given and looked down at the unconscious girl before him.

Edie’s brows were furrowed slightly, giving the appearance that even when she was senseless she was still worried. Loki took her face in his hands and smiled as he ran his fingers through her soft hair. Soon enough she would have nothing to worry about, he would make sure of that.