Utter Darkness

For hours or maybe weeks, he struggled with the mental clock that he had heard ticking since his banishment, it thundered in his mind making it difficult to think. It was an internal battle. He needed clarity. He raged against the clock, it was maddening, but he would not succumb to madness again. He had survived too much, struggled to regain some measure of sanity, this battle was his. He delved into the darkest recesses of his thoughts; he began to pull mentally at the tangled web that bound the clock to his mind. The clock pounded ever louder; the more he fought it the faster it ticked. It seemed as though years, decades, centuries, millennia past in an instant. He knew there was some way to loose it from his mind. In his desperation, he cast about and hoped for anything, some tool that might be the difference between the madness Odin’s clock seemed to be driving him towards, and the sanity, the wholeness that he longed for.

Unbidden a single memory crept into his thoughts, “I think someone needs a hug,” in the moment that she held him he had felt peace. She did not care about the color of his flesh, the hated Jotun blue, all she seemed to care about was him. The pounding rhythm of the clock began to falter. Her compassionate, “I feel like I’m here to help you.” The sound was beginning to lessen. She did not fear him, but rather stood up to him when he was courting madness. The hold the clock and Odin’s spell seemed to have on him was becoming tenuous. Something about her touched him. She was able to break the thread of Bestla, her touch healed him, the water she brought him refreshed him in a way no healing potion ever had. The sound of the clock was almost non-existent. “Please don’t worry about the blue; I think it’s a really nice color. And by the way, I think you’re way too good looking to be considered a monster.” He felt the last of the threads that linked his mind to the clock snap. He was free. Time seemed to slow significantly. As it settled, he began to feel so weary. The internal battle had nearly exhausted him mentally.

The clock had been another facet of Odin’s punishment. So the question was, how long had it truly been? “Trust your instincts my beloved son.” Instinct said what had ticked away as days and weeks were but minutes and hours, it was not months between her visits but the scant hours between dawn and dusk. His imprisonment had been far shorter than he had originally believed, maybe only a few decades. However, Frigga’s words nagged at him. “There is no equation to match the time spent there with the time spent here.” What he had believed to be over ten years since she first started visiting him had actually been only six weeks. He had to question her carefully to get a better sense of the amount of time since his banishment, because if it had been a shorter time she may come to recognize him as the monster that tried to subjugate her world.

Exhaustion began to creep up on him. A yawn so large his jaw cracked, hit him and he be began to retreat mentally. These thoughts were enough to nearly overwhelm him in his current weakened state. The worst battles were those of the mind. His retreat was a petite curvy brunette that willingly wrapped herself around him. She was buried in his psyche now.

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

She stood half dressed in her bedroom, debating. Her wet hair was still wrapped up in a towel and she wore her yoga pants with ZUMBA printed across the butt. Her internal debate that night wasn’t about what to wear but rather, whether or not items placed in the pockets her hoodie would travel with her into the void. The water bottle was a must of course, possibly a hairbrush; she was considering bringing the bolt cutters and maybe a watch, because he seemed to have a difficulty keeping track of time.

He had acted so weird last night. He freaked out about the blue, which could be understandable if he thought he appeared one way and instead appeared the other. He had calmed down but still, hmm, well maybe the bolt cutters should wait till another night. Which also meant the watch wouldn’t be of any use. But he really seemed focused on how many weeks it had been, as if maybe; it had been way longer or shorter for him.

Hmph, whatever, she would never know the answers if she didn’t go to sleep and ask the questions. She tossed the towel in her hamper and pulled on her black Culver U hoodie. Into the pocket, she shoved a cold water bottle and her hairbrush. She climbed into bed and hoped this would work. She was keyed up and sleep seemed far away. It was only 10:30, but she knew she was going to have to get up early in the morning. She was still a little peeved that she was going to have to work on a Sunday, but she knew that now that Jane had gotten so close there would little chance of rest for a while. But, hey at least it wouldn’t be forever. Four weeks wasn’t that long, she’d have to let her alien know about the change. She tossed and turned a bit trying to comfortable with the stuff in her pocket. She squinted at the clock, 10:53, crap. Fine! 250, 243, 236, 229, 222, 215, 208, 201… 19…4, 1…8…7, 1… 8… … …0

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

173… … Yes! The water bottle and the hairbrush were still in the pocket of her hoodie! He was sound asleep; he looked so weary, like he had fought an long illness in the few hours she had been gone. Hopefully the water would help tonight. She took the opportunity to just stare at him, blue or not, sick or not, he was still damn fine. There were ridges of scarification on his forehead and ones that ran along the sharp ridges of his cheekbones. He hung limp, his tangled hair covering his face a bit. She reached forward and gently pushed his hair back over his ear, her palm lightly grazing his cheek in the process. He startled awake with a gasp at her touch, his red eyes popping open.

“Hi,” she whispered. “You okay? You don’t look like you feel well, are you sick or something?”

His eyes drifted shut and he leaned into her hand. “Or something. Hello, Darcy, it’s good to see you,” he sighed, his voice sounded rough and worn.

Her hand slipped away as she pulled out the water bottle. His eyes slowly opened as he heard the crackle of plastic. She gave him a long drink, and he smiled in thanks. “Better?” He nodded. “So, I didn’t get a chance to make up a list. My boss had a huge breakthrough in the project she’s working on and so we’ve been busy ramping up to finish the last part of the project. Which also means my visits here might get shorter. I don’t know when I’ll get a chance to make a big list. But I’ve been thinking about the whole thing about your name. You kinda look like a Tom; can’t I just call you that?”

He frowned. “I’d rather you attempt to figure out my name.”

She shrugged, “Okay, no big. So is your name Jake?” He shook his head. The game of guess my name went on for about twenty minutes before he finally put a stop to it.

“A valiant effort Darcy but I grow weary of this. Perhaps you could tell me more of this project you and your employer are working so diligently on.”

“Well I can kinda tell you about it. I’m not the expert, my boss is. I’m just the lab assistant. Jane is attempting to build an Einstein-Rosen Bridge. From what she’s explained to me is we can’t really build the bridge itself but the we can create the wormhole and point it at the other planet that we’re in contact with and then they should be able to connect to it. So we should be able to theoretically jump between worlds.” Darcy smiled at her explanation.

So the Midgardians were trying to create an abutment for the Bi-frost. “But how do you know the other planet has a way to create the bridge itself?”

Darcy was quiet as she thought about how to word her answer. “Well, there have been visitors to earth before who used the bridge. It got broken for a while but word is that they’ve fixed their end. So now, we want a way so that we can control the jump. We want to be able to go there without having to call for help every time.”

He was quiet for a long time as he regarded her answer. It wouldn’t have taken Asgard long to repair the damage done by Thor, a year at most. The repairs had been nearly finished when Thor had dragged him before Odin. As for the Midgardian technology, he was unsure. How long would have it taken for the mortals to create their end of the Bi-frost was unclear. The god of lies carefully schooled his features to portray innocent curiosity. “So how long has your employer been working on this project?”

“Umm, well Jane’s always been interested in astrophysics but she’s been on this specific project for about a year and a half.” Darcy did a mental count. “Well no, I guess it’s been more like a year and nine months.”

“And is the idea for this project, all hers or is she building on the theory of others?” he asked quietly.

“Well kinda both. See, while others came up with the basic ideas like 70 or 80 years ago, all of it, string theory, wormholes, the Einstein-Rosen Bridge, it was all just hypothetical until we got the first visit to our planet about two years ago. After that, everything seemed possible.”

His carefully constructed mask did not falter, but inside he was reeling. It had been a mere two years since Thor’s banishment and less than a year since his imprisonment. Less than a year, not over three thousand years, less than a year. Suddenly he felt exhausted. This new revelation coupled with his earlier battle against Odin’s spell was far more taxing than he could bear. He sighed heavily. “I find myself still overtaxed from my earlier difficulty. Could I have another drink?”

She smiled softly as she gave him another drink. “Umm, hey,” now that she had to ask it felt awkward. “I, uh brought a hairbrush with me, and I was um, well, do want me to brush your hair? It’s way tangled,” she stammered.

“I think that is the kindest thing that anyone has ever asked of me. Although…”

“I know all your nerves are out of whack so I promise I’ll be gentle, umm, well, here let me show you.” She floated around him, carefully threaded her hands into his hair, and gently started rubbing his scalp. He hissed in pain. “I knew it would hurt as your nerves woke up so I thought I would be better if I kinda got you past the pain part before I brushed your hair.”

“That is very thoughtful.” He spoke softly through gritted teeth.

She moved her hands in slow soothing circles, around his temples, his forehead, and all the way back to the nape of his neck. She continued to rub his scalp until she could feel him begin to relax. His skin was cool to the touch. She moved her hands slowly down his neck, still in small soothing circles. She rubbed his neck and shoulders gently pressing her fingertips into his tight muscles. She moved with slow firm precision. As she worked through the tension in each muscle, she could feel his pain easing away. She smiled as she continued her ministrations, his shoulders, his upper arms, and his back. His body temperature seemed lower than her own, making her hands tingle slightly. She could feel each muscle, he was lean, but she could feel the strength he possessed. His shoulders were broad, not in an obvious burly way, but still gloriously strong. His back tapered down to narrow hips. She carefully massaged every bit of his back that she could reach. She could feel the ridges of his scars through his thin linen tunic. Her hands slowed as she explored the patterns created by the scars. He let out a soft sound as she ran a fingertip down the ridge that followed his spine. “You’d tell me if I was hurting you right?” she asked softly.

He groaned, “I assure I am not experiencing any pain.” His voice dropped to a low rumbling purr.

She trembled slightly. Hot damn, his voice gave her chills and yet at the same time she felt herself hot to the core. Something was changing between them if she continued this way she was going to do something crazy like kiss him senseless. “I’m going to brush your hair now,” her voice was breathy. She dragged her hands slowly up to the nape of his neck, gathered his hair in one hand, and pulled out the hairbrush. She worked slowly and carefully brushing through his knotted hair. His hair was a little on the greasy side but it wasn’t like he’d had the opportunity to wash it lately. It was so inky black it almost had a blue sheen to it. It took far less time to brush through his hair than she thought; she had hoped to get her reactions to him under control before she had to face him.

“There we go, all done.” She floated around in front of him and his eyes had darkened to almost a burgundy color. She looked away as she chewed roughly on her bottom lip. She floundered for something to say, something to break the tension. “I uh, found a pair of bolt cutters; I think I’ll bring em with me tomorrow night.” Her voice had dropped to a whisper, she was no innocent, but the look he gave her made her feel shy and new.

“Darcy,” her name came out as a growl. She glanced up at him and felt scalded by the heat in his gaze. Her breath caught sharply like her lower lip between her sharp white teeth. She stared down at her hands as she struggled to remember how to breathe. “Darcy, look at me,” he ordered softly.

She shook her head, words failing her. “Why ever not?” there was a wicked lilt in his voice, as if he knew precisely how melty her insides felt from the way he spoke her name. “Darcy, please.”

“Oh god, if I look at you I may not be able to control myself.” She whispered, closing her eyes. Her voice was almost unrecognizable, husky, and low.

She heard his bounds rattle; he was making small movements bringing himself closer to her. “Look anyway.”

The last bit of her resolve slipped away when she heard the pure unadulterated need in his voice. When she finally looked up he was inches away from her; his eyes drank her in as if he needed her, like water, like oxygen. He was dangerous, like sin, his eyes like dark red wine. Her hands moved of their own volition. Slowly she slid her hands up his strong hard chest, coming to rest on the column of his neck. She pulled him closer and kissed him. Gentle and tentative at first, his lips were cool and dry. He pressed closer, the lack of gravity pushing her further away. She let out a frustrated little mew, and pulled herself closer, one hand behind his neck, and other slipped down under his arm and around his back, pulling them together into intimate contact. Her hand tightened reflexively on his back and her nails lightly scratched one of the ridges on his shoulder blade, he growled low in the back of his throat, and pressed into her.

He seemed intent on possessing her; his lips moved forcefully, his teeth grazed across her full lower lip. When she gasped in surprise his tongue snaked in. It was like making out with a popsicle, but somehow it only turned her on more. He did wicked things with his mouth, things that sent a flush of arousal through her. Again, he tried to press closer and when she felt herself slipping back, she wrapped her legs around his waist. His bound hands clutched her ankles, holding her to him. Goosebumps crawled over her skin, his hands were like ice. She gasped at the cold, arched against him and threw her head back. He placed open-mouthed kisses on her exposed throat. She moaned when he found that sensitive spot at the back of her jaw below her ear. She ground against him, the distinct bulge in his leather trousers said alien or not they were compatible. He sucked harder; she could feel the capillaries break under her skin. “Oh my god,” she moaned.

“Yes, yes I am.” He gave her a wicked smirk.

She leaned back slightly to look at him. His blue lips were flushed a slightly purple color and a little swollen from the urgency of their kisses. “Don’t brag,” she teased.

“It’s not bragging if it’s true.” He grinned in response.

She leaned closer to kiss him again when she realized their time was almost over, she could almost hear her alarm clock blaring Black Sabbath in her head. She gave him a quick kiss, and tried to pull back. “It’s almost time for me to go,” she whispered sadly.

His hands tightened on her ankles. “Don’t,” he growled, and leaned forward to catch her mouth again in an all-consuming kiss.

She groaned, and clutched at him, she could feel her body temperature rising. Finally, she pushed firmly on his shoulders and floated back with a curse. “Damn, I’m bringing the bolt cutters tomorrow night and we’re going to do this properly.” She winked at him and disappeared.

Notes