"It's not exactly a subtle reason to visit," you say, balancing the very full tray of meats and fruits in your hands as you walk.
"Yet it is an excuse. One of the only ones we have to send you repeatedly into the dungeons, sister," says Thor, who swipes an apple from the tray and brings it to his mouth. But before he can bite down, you use your seidr to zap his hand, and he nearly drops the fruit.
"Grabby hands, Sparky. Put it back," you say sternly.
Thor pouts, but puts the apple back on the tray. You make the rest of the walk from the kitchens to the dungeons in silence, pondering how you were possibly going to explain to Loki that you would be the one bringing Loki his meals instead of Thyra, who had been responsible for delivering the god's food for the past three days.
"You're nervous, my lady?" Thor says, glancing down at you.
"Not nervous, exactly," you say. "Anxious. Excited to see him, but scared I might say the wrong thing. Happy to spend time with him, but devastated to know that he doesn't....doesn't..."
You trail off, and Thor places a gentle hand on your back, patting it a few times.
Upon reaching the top of the stairs Thor offers to go down with you but you say no. You need to do this on your own. He kisses your cheek and departs, leaving you at the top of the stairs staring down into the darkness of the cells below.
Slowly, you make your way to Loki's prison. You clutch the tray so tightly your knuckles go white. This is the first time you'll really be spending any time alone with him, and you remember what he was like your first encounter in the tower. At least you have some small sense of comfort knowing the his seidr has been bound.
Stopping just a few paces away from Loki's cell, you take a deep breath and focus on raising your mental walls, unwilling to let him through should he try. Once you're ready, you take those final few steps and are surprised to see Loki standing and facing the barrier - as if waiting for you.
"42 seconds," he croons as you punch in the codes to lower the barrier.
"Where do you want this, and what are you talking about?" you reply coolly to Loki, who slowly seems to circle you as you enter his space.
"You stopped over there for 42 seconds. Only a few strides away. Why?" he asks, his piercing emerald eyes hunting down yours from across the cell. You had forgotten what this side of him feels like. The angry, bitter, violent side.
You decide to ignore his question and make an executive decision for yourself. You pass by the small table, covered in books and writing papers, and set it down on his bedside table before turning back to face him.
"Eat," you say, pointing to the tray. "It's been too long since you've eaten real food."
"Apparently so," muses Loki. "Considering I'm missing three years of my life. I wonder when the last time I truly ate was?" he says. But not in a genuine way. He doesn't really care.
YOU ARE READING
Undaunted (Loki x Reader)
Fanfiction'The end may justify the means, my Valkyrie - but only if there is something out there that justifies the end itself.' With the nine realms now facing a threat far greater than you could have imagined, you and Loki are sought by those once considere...
