Utter Darkness

He awoke with a gasp. His eyes darted around the room. The late afternoon sun filled the room with a soft golden light and it was quiet. The Iron Man and Thor’s woman had left. He was finally alone with Darcy. She was curled around him. He adjusted himself a bit; using a small amount of magic to remove his boots and set them quietly on the floor. He gently pulled Darcy unto his lap and threaded his hands into her hair to run a simple diagnostic spell over her. She was improving at a surprising rate; he smiled and ended the spell. He cradled her form against him, adjusting the blanket to cover her sleeping form and laid the bed back to be somewhat more comfortable. She shifted, restless in her sleep, her arms wrapping possessively around him. Her brow furrowed and her breathing hitched as though her dreams were upsetting. He risked expending even a little more magic to soothe her into a deeper more restful, healing sleep. He ran a gentle hand across her brow as her breathing evened out and a small smile played in the corner of her full lips.

He took stock of their situation. His magic was slowly returning, it would be fully restored in a few days, provided he was able to rest comfortably, and stopped using what little had returned. SHIELD’s agents believed he was simply another human. Stark seemed to know that Darcy was lying but was for some odd reason covering for her. Stark’s underlying motives could end up being problematic, but for the moment, that was not his greatest concern. Darcy was not fully recovered, that could be another week or more depending on her fragile human state. He could heal her after his magic was fully restored, but that would deplete him once again and leave him vulnerable and unable to protect her.

Loki sighed, all those issues notwithstanding; the most significant problem was one that only he was aware of. Darcy had been so upset about his “death” that she had not heard The Other’s plan.

The door creaked, as Stark returned still wearing that irritating smirk. The smirk faltered a bit when he found Loki in Darcy’s bed once more. Loki gave the other man a wicked smirk in return. He sat in Darcy’s bed, still shirtless with the girl clinging to him. Loki opened his mouth to speak but Stark held up one hand to stop him.

“JARVIS, is this room secure?” Stark asked

“Yes sir, there are no listening devices of any kind, other than myself, in this room or on this floor of the hospital.”

“Alert me if anyone approaches this room.”

“Yes sir.”

“Alright, I understand why Darcy lied earlier. She’s trying to protect you. What I don’t understand is what your angle in all of this is. Were you just using her to get free? Did you just manipulate her, or have you done something to her mind? I know you don’t have the glow-stick of destiny anymore but somehow I think being the god of lies and all, that’s probably not really necessary.”

Loki cocked his head to the side as he examined Stark. The man was sharper than he seemed. “How long have you known my identity?” Loki allowed the glamour to fade; there was no need to waste the magic.

“Quid pro quo, I’ll answer your questions, you answer mine. I’ve had my suspicions since she used the seam ripper to set your mouth loose. After I met your brother, the god of thunder, I read up on Norse Mythology, not the first time you’ve received that particular punishment. My suspicions were confirmed when she called you by name in her sleep. Of course, her reaction was so bad, I thought she was gonna be done with you. Did you know she almost overdosed on painkillers because of you? She spent the next three days trying to avoid sleep; she even stole prescription meds from me hoping to avoid you in her dreams.” Tony shook his head. “So my question is… what the hell did you do to her, to make her go from wanting to avoid you like the plague, to this?” He gestured to her clinging form. He arched an eyebrow. “Truth for Truth.”

Loki’s arms tightened slightly around Darcy’s sleeping form. “I dislike your implications Mr. Stark.” He growled. “I have done nothing to Darcy. I have not manipulated her in any way. Up until the night she called me by name, she did not know my identity. While she had loosed my mouth, my tongue was still bound and I was incapable of revealing my identity. When my magic began to return, I believed she would reject me so I attempted to make her despise me. I do not know what caused her to care for me but I am a selfish man and whether I deserve her affections or not I shall take them. Now quid pro quo, you say? Knowing my true identity, why would you mislead the SHIELD agent?” He arched an eyebrow and scowled. “And just how did you know she called my name in her sleep?”

Tony was about to speak when JARVIS interrupted him. “Sir, Miss Potts, and Dr. Foster are coming down the hall to this room.”

“Thanks, JARVIS.” He turned to Loki. “Better do your magic thing and hide your face. Oh, hey what do I call you?”

Loki’s face shifted as he answered. “Tell them my name is unpronounceable for humans, that I told you to just call me Tom. Why are you hiding my identity from Miss Potts and Dr. Foster?”

“I have my reasons.” Tony smirked.

Loki narrowed his eyes but nodded anyway, “I ask only one thing from you; that you continue to keep my identity secret until such time when we can mutually agree the others have need to know.”

Stark nodded as Jane came in first looking like she was ready to burst. “Why the hell did you send Agent Hill away? Shouldn’t she be taking this guy to lock-up? He’s obviously manipulating Darcy somehow and we need to keep her safe.”

“Ms. Foster poses an interesting question. Why did you mislead the SHIELD agent? Oh, and Mr. Stark? I will know if you are lying, so if you please, the truth?” Loki grinned.

Tony cut his eyes at the god of lies but spoke to Jane. “My number one objective in all of this has been Darcy’s well-being. She believes this guy to be reformed. She has also spent far more time with him than I have, so I’m inclined to trust her judgment. As far as SHIELD goes… What do they do with anything they don’t recognize or understand? They take it away and take it apart in a lab. I didn’t think Darcy’d appreciate them doing that to her ex-con boyfriend.” Tony glanced sideways at Loki as he continued to speak to Jane. “Besides if, I let her take him home then I can keep a close eye on him myself. Maybe even be there in case he tries to talk her into doing something stupid or reckless.”

Jane looked worried and angry. “You know Tony, for being a certified genius, you can be pretty stupid.” Pepper laughed. “You’re the high and mighty Iron Man, but that doesn’t mean you can do everything, protect everyone. You may have just bit off more than you can chew this time. I hope I’m wrong about this.”

A nurse knocked on the door and poked her head in. “Mr. Stark? We’ve almost finished with the transfer papers. We need a few signatures from yourself and Dr. Finklestein, and then we can finalize the transfer arrangements.”

“I’ll be right back.” Tony ducked out to take care of the paper work.

Pepper wrapped her arm around the smaller woman’s shoulders. “Don’t worry, Tony doesn’t always make the best decisions, he can be reckless and arrogant, he almost always takes on more than he can handle, and…” She scrunched up face, “Where was I going with that?”

Loki chuckled, “I believe you were trying unsuccessfully to reassure Ms. Foster of the quality of Mr. Stark’s decision making skills.”

“We are so screwed.” Jane moaned.

Loki laughed, “I assure you, my deepest concern is Darcy’s welfare. If at any point I become a detriment to her, I will voluntarily remove myself from her life.”

“No way buddy!” Darcy’s arms wound around him tighter. “You’re not going anywhere.”

Loki’s attention centered exclusively on the girl occupying his lap. “Min elskede, you’re awake. You’re still healing you should be resting. Did I wake you?”

“It’s alright. Hey magic man…” She smiled at him. “I’m glad you’re here I had this awful nightmare that I just imagined you being here.”

“I promise I am going nowhere.”

“Hey is your magic up and running yet? Cause I think I’d like to bypass all the drama that going home is gonna entail.”

“No, I’m afraid it will be at least several days before I am at full strength again.”

“It’s all good. Then has Tony got it worked out so we can go home yet? I’d really like to show you my place,” her voice dropped to a whisper. “… specifically my bed.”

His eyes darkened and he dipped his head to whisper in her ear. “You and I both have a great deal of recuperating to do before that becomes a reality. But you have no idea how much that idea appeals to me.”

She wiggled slightly in his lap. “Oh, I think I have a pretty good idea.” She threaded one hand into his hair and kissed him, uncaring of the others in the room. Her other hand roamed across his bare chest, she could still feel the defined ridges of his scarification even though they were invisible in his current form. She lightly ran a fingernail across one, Loki deepened the kiss, his arms tightened around her, and she let out a tiny involuntary moan.

“Okay, so I can see we’re gonna have to set down some ground rules for the Tower. No PDA in the common areas.” The couple ignored him. “Oh come on Lewis we don’t wanna watch you two swap spit.” Tony’s voice cut through whatever mood they were working on.

Darcy turned and glared at him, “Killjoy,” she grumbled.

“Alright then, everything’s been arranged. You’ve officially been released. We can all head back to the Tower and Dr. Finklestein will monitor your recovery there.”

“Hey, what happened to Dr. Lecter?” Darcy asked.

Tony grinned, “According to Agent Hill, both Dr. Jones and Dr. Hinkler are to be stripped of their medical licenses and won’t be heard much from again. I think they both got sent to ‘help’ in an impoverished village hospital in the hills of West Virginia. They’ll be empting bed pans till they retire.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Several hours later, they were finally settled in Darcy’s apartment. They lay side by side in Darcy’s bed. Tony had offered ‘Tom’ his own apartment, but Darcy insisted on sharing. Tony had also tried to insist on getting ‘Tom’ his own separate bed. For which Darcy kicked Tony out of her apartment. Dr. Finklestein had given her a thorough check and declared all she really needed was three or four days of bed rest, no strenuous activities for at least two weeks, and that, he wanted to see her again before he released her from those restrictions.

She was exhausted, it was late, but she finally had Loki beside her in her bed. She rolled to her side and grinned at him. Her hand reached for him.

He caught her hand in both of his and spoke softly, “Darcy, I know what you’re thinking but I think the doctor is correct in his assessment. It would not be wise to follow through with those thoughts yet.”

Darcy pulled her hand back, gave him a hurt look, flopped back onto her back, and threw her arm over her eyes. “Fine whatever.” She grumbled.

After the doctor had left, Loki had helped her change in to a loose shirt and a pair of comfy shorts. As she raised her arm, her shirt rode up exposing most of her soft pale stomach. He rolled to his side watching her. His hand seemed to move of its own accord lightly brushing across her skin. He watched as goose bumps followed in the wake of his hand. Her breathing hitched. He leaned close to her and whispered in her ear, his hot breath fanning the tiny curls at her temple. “By Valhalla woman, you are temptation embodied.”

She gasped softly, the arm covering her eyes dropping softly to the bed, though her eyes remained closed. “Lo…”

He kissed her, smothering his name. His mouth moved over hers in a sensuous dance, heating her to the core. Suddenly her thoughts felt muddled, thick.

“Do not say my name aloud.” She gasped and her eyes flew open. He was staring at her as he continued to kiss her.

“Holy Crap!” He grinned at her. “Are we talking telepathically?”

He winked mischievously at her but continued to kiss her.

“That is so freaking awesome! Okay so why the subterfuge? And why can’t I say your name, we’re alone in here.”

“We are not as alone as you think, I strongly suspect Stark has your apartment under surveillance.” She gasped again.

“That son of a bitch! Let me up I’m gonna tase his ass!”

She arched against him trying to throw him off. He rolled slightly to hold her down bodily. “He also knows who I am.” She stopped fighting but grabbed his shoulders pulling him close. He gently lay half/on half/off of her. His hands played on the long waves of her dark hair. “I am unsure what his motivation is, but for the time being he is content to keep our secret, even from his lover and Dr. Foster.”

Darcy sighed. “Fine, I’ll let the jerk live. So what do we do now?”

“Now, we rest and recuperate. After we are both fully healed then we shall see…” He sighed and her thoughts were once again her’s alone.

“It is late, we should both rest. There is much more to discuss but it should wait till morning.” He stood and walked over to the light switch. Darcy watched him hungrily as he moved. The pajama pants Tony had loaned him hung loose and low on his narrow hips, exposing the v of his hipbones and a light treasure trail.

“Dammmnnn,” she whined soft and low.

Loki turned and noticed her appreciative gaze. “Darcy…” he admonished.

“Hey, just because I can’t do anything about it, doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate the view.” She smirked.

He flipped off the lights, crawled into the bed, and pulled her close; wrapping his long frame around her. “Sleep, min elskede, sleep.”

Notes

I had a wonderful reviewer on ffn recommend a song to go with this it's called Salvation by Skillet. I really enjoyed it! I recommend listening to it with the lyrics . I agree it really fits this story.