Captive - HIATUS

Chapter Twenty-Four

Captivity

Kidnapping

Compliance

Lima Syndrome

Crying

Begging

Caine's POV

"How much longer?"

"Very soon. Be patient. It takes time for this stuff to be built," Caine tells the man on the phone. He doesn't know who the man is. It's often his clients choose to remain anonymous. Normally he can find some way to identify them, but this man has his tracks covered. "Maybe a week, two tops."

"Good. Thank you."

"You can thank me with cash."

***

Loki's POV

Loki has given [Y/N] her space, leaving the house to give her the entire place to herself. She has every right to be upset. She's wrong about his intentions, but she has plenty of reason to believe the way she does. He kidnapped her, that's more than reason enough to not trust him. There's nothing he can do to convince her, and whatever he does she will be scared. But that's better than what would have happened if Loki had not interfered.

And, yet, he can't make himself open the front door. Loki can only imagine what [Y/N] is thinking. Probably something along the lines of him punishing her for shouting alongside her feelings of resentment. It already aches so much to see her shudder when they're in the same room, hear her voice shake when she speaks, and watch tears well up in her eyes the second she sees him. Surely, [Y/N] will be much more terrified now. Standing in the same building will terrify her.

Loki sighs. This can't last forever. He slowly turns the doorknob, listening for [Y/N]. As he steps inside, light shimmers around him as he swaps out his Midgardian clothes for his Asgardian leather. These are much more casual than what he normally wears, and hopefully look less intimidating. Loki tends to wear less formal clothing around [Y/N] for that same reason. Loki takes a deep breath before he walks forward to search for [Y/N].

When Loki doesn't find her anywhere else, he stops in front of her bedroom's door. He lifts his fist up to knock before pausing. He takes a deep breath before finally tapping his knuckles against the door. After a second, he hears a faint shuffling sound from inside. After what feels like millennia, [Y/N] opens the door.

Her shoulders are slumped, her head bowed, her hair covering her face. One hand is wrapped around her wrist in front of her, holding tightly. She trembles like windchimes, shrinking in on herself with every second. She sniffles every few seconds as she and Loki stand at the doorway, Loki not knowing what to say, and [Y/N] (probably) too scared to speak. Her soft, barely audible sobs all but tear Loki's heart out. Just as Loki is about to break the silence, [Y/N] starts whispering in between sobs.

"I'm sorry, I, I shouldn't have done that." She hugs her waist as she continues. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please don't be angry, please. I swear, nothing like that will happen again. I'm sorry." Her sobs increase the longer she speaks.

"Darling," Loki says as calmly as he can. "Dearest, there's no need for that. I'm the one that should be apologizing to you."

"That, that's not true," she stutters. "I, I yelled at you and, and-"

"And I more than deserved it, darling, every word. You're the one that deserves apologies, not me. You didn't tear me from my life and drop me into a new, confusing environment with hardly any explanation. You didn't tie me down for a week just to keep me trapped in a house-sized cage. You haven't terrified me every time we're in the same room. All of which and more I have done to you."