Of Greater Sires

Many days had passed. Raeyn did not know what happened to the remaining rebels, nor did she want to. All around, though, she heard of the demonstration and how many of the rebels were killed on the scene, while few escaped or were captured. And all of these places mentioned a man in a super hero suit, flying through the city on what looked like rope that he could conjure from his hands. He, of course, had been the one to help the rebels escape before it became all too hopeless, and escaped himself.

She sat on one of the many couches near the fireplace, staring out over the city in silence. Everything was silent these days. Even JARVIS hadn’t spoken.

Loki emerged from his quarters as usual that morning, just as the orange sun began to peek over the skyscrapers. Raeyn didn’t bother to turn around, though, until she didn’t hear him delicately press the elevator button as he did every other morning.

Turning slightly in her chair, she saw him moving to sit across from her instead. She blinked at him in surprise, refusing to let hope grow in her. Not yet.

“I thought you may like to know that the two girls woke up this morning and were perfectly fine. They were startled when they woke, of course, but they did not recognize me or your name, so I sent them out. They should be happy.”

Raeyn bit her lip and nodded, already missing Lew… and Eyre, of course, but less.

“I never got to thank you for telling me,” Loki said softly after a long moment.

Raeyn’s head jerked up to look at him. “Th-thank me?”

Loki nodded, looking at her earnestly. “What you did was difficult to do. You cared for them.”

“Not as much as I care for you,” she said briskly. “Which is why I chose you, of course. What’s gotten into you?”

He sat back. "I felt like you betrayed me as soon as you told... It was-" Loki hesitated, sending both of their thoughts back to that night. Though Raeyn had never been in Loki's quarters, she imagined that they were now riddled with hole where he had put his fist through the dry wall, and perhaps a few with singe marks from after he had gotten his hands around his scepter. She hoped he would eventually get some new trainee soldiers to fix that up so they could both forget about it.

"It was difficult for me. More difficult that these past months have been, because for the first time... I thought that I was alone."

Raeyn nodded. She too, had been alone. She had curled up in some air duct in the Tower, stuffed the hem of her dress in her mouth and screamed until her voice was gone. Even then, she stayed, alone, and cried until she fell fast asleep.

She shuddered involuntarily as Loki continued. "But as the days passed, I realized that if I never spoke to you about it, then I would remain alone until the day I died. There's no one out there, no one, Raeyn, besides you who cared about me. You are the only thing I have left."

Raeyn looked up at him, and she was positively shocked to find his raven eyes brimming with tears. Tears. Her lips parted as she tried to say something, but he finally continued.

"I remembered what you said for the first time, last night. How you cared about me more than the nine realms. Someone once told me that I didn't deserve the love of those I betrayed, and at that time I disagreed with him. Those who I betrayed did not love me, and those who loved me also betrayed me first. But... not you. I don't deserve your care and I did betray you by becoming angry. Right after you told me, I wished... I wished horrible things on you. I wanted..."

He never finished his sentence. Raeyn was glad he didn't because at this point a few unshed tears had begun to form in her eyes and the next words he used could have been fatal weapons to break her.

Raeyn shook her head slowly. "I'm sorry..."

"I'm not done." Raeyn closed her lips quickly, surprised at the sharpness of his voice. "I should be the one apologizing, and not just for how I have treated you these past few days, ever since the raid. The night that you were injured, when I... when I..." He rested his head in his hands, unable to finish his sentence.

Raeyn had caught on, though. "All this time you have been saying that we were no longer going to be alone," she said slowly, inching towards him. "But this has been so distant. You know how I feel about you, Loki, and sometimes you act like you feel the same way and this entire time I'm just waiting-"

All of a sudden, her words were cut off when Loki suddenly wrapped his cold hand around her neck and brought her lips to his roughly. Ending her words quickly, she was suddenly melting into him, letting the hope grow that she had suppressed the past few months. All the feelings that she had never let herself linger on finally came forth as she tangled herself onto him, wrapping her arms around him and clutching his hair, his clothes in her small fists.

But once more, he quickly pulled away from her. This time, however, his feelings were unguarded and showed on his face easily -- guilt, hurt, and most of all regret. Her heart sank... or perhaps it was only in the process of breaking. Her thoughts didn't linger on it.

She leapt up, stomping her foot angrily as she glared down at him. "Why do you do this to me, Odinson?" she shrieked, only using his old name in a moment of hurt and anger. "Why do you keep acting like you care, and then pull a stunt like this? Does this make you feel better about yourself, huh? Is that all I'm here for?"

Her chest heaved, and finally the tears spilled over her cheeks, only adding to the furious glare she was giving Loki. He rose slowly, only looking down at her when he completely towered over her. Slowly, he wiped the tears away and tucked a stray lock of gold hair behind her ear gently. The loving look he was giving her made her want to melt on the spot, quickly forgetting all the words she had just yelled, all the accusations she had just screamed. His sadness was contagious, the passion in his raven eyes almost too strong for her to continue looking into.

"I am not a son of Odin," he breathed, blinking a couple times. It took a long moment for the words to be heard, but by then Loki had buried into her golden hair, his eyes closed tight.

"Wh...What?" Raeyn breathed, her eyebrows knit together. "You are not Loki?"

The god gave a humorless laugh. "No, I am Loki. But I am not Loki Odinson as I once thought."

He stood up straight again. "I have something I need to show you," he whispered, taking her hand gently in his and walking to the elevator.

They stepped out in a dark room, with only one pathway slightly lit up. Still holding her hand, Loki stepped forward and they walked a little ways until a new light shown -- a blue one, from some sort of box radiating energy. Loki dropped her hand and continued to walk forward alone.

"When the Great War ended, Odin broke into one of the Jodun temples to take the Casket of Ancient Winters from Jodunheim. It was their greatest power source, and without it, they would be crippled. Before he reached it, though, he found a baby. Abandoned, and left to die by the Frost Giant Laufey himself."

Raeyn watched with wide eyes as Loki grasped the Casket in both hands. He was trembling, and the breaths he took were uneven. He remained there for a moment, and all things were silent. Slowly, Raeyn began to walk towards him, and once she stood right behind him, hearing his uneven gulping breaths, she raised a hand to reach out to him. But in that moment, he turned sharply to face her. He looked down at her menacingly, and her jade eyes widened in shock. They darted all over him, trying to reinforce the notion that Loki had suddenly turned blue and his raven eyes red to her brain that just wouldn't accept the fact. After a moment, when her hand did not fall, she raised it to touch his searing cold skin, and to trace the delicate designs now seemingly cut into him. Her brows relaxed and her fingers continued to travel across his face until they reached his jaw, and then to the back of his neck. She was quickly succumbing to the pitiful look of want and pain in Loki's eyes. And without any hesitation, she pulled him down closer to her and kissed him as passionately as she had moments before.

His shoulders tensed, rising in desperation as he clung to the small girl, his body shifting even closer to her before he seemed to snap out of it and pulled away from her. When she opened her eyes, his skin had faded back its usual pale complexion, his eyes now raven, and the cuts no longer visible.

"I brought you here because I thought you would understand! I cannot feel that way about you!" Loki cried desperately.

"Why?" Raeyn snapped, her despair evident on her golden face. "B-because I am Asgardian and that is not good enough for you?"

Loki gave her a look of pure shock. "Never! You deserve another Asgardian, a man who has the honor of being a god. Not a Frost Giant who can't live up to anyone's expectation. You deserve someone... someone like Thor..."

Raeyn was completely taken aback. "What? Thor? What are you even going on about? I want you, Loki, not Thor, not some other bubble headed Asgardian, I want you, Loki Laufeyson!"

She never even got to draw breath after her rant before Loki's lips were once more pressed against hers, hungrily kissing her with the passion he had withheld these past months.