Loki Laufeyson - Saviour {2}

Chapter Thirty - Sledding... or at Least Trying To

Pepper eventually managed to drag us out of the cold air, saying we were all going to get a cold otherwise and she made it very clear that she didn't want to have to look after us when we were sick.

When we were all ushered back into the heated compound, Pepper began to pull roast potatoes and a roast lamb out of the oven that I hadn't even noticed her ducking off to do it all. Tony put Christmas music on again and we all sat around the table chatting. When everyone was finished eating, they all pitched in to help clean it up before Tony ushered us all back out into the snow.

Everyone hovered around in groups as Steve and Bucky disappeared to the garage, reappearing a couple of minutes later carrying multiple wooden things on their shoulders and dragging them on the snow behind them.

"Pair up everyone." Tony called out as Bucky and Steve dumped them in a pile.

I stood there, my eyes darting around and looking at everyone as they began to pair up, leaving me to stand around awkwardly.

"Have you ever been on a sled before?" Asked a voice and I jumped, spinning around to see Loki standing next to me, his arms folded as he looked down at me.

"No." I admitted, briefly looking back at the wooden things again that must have been sleds. "How do they work?"

"Come on, you can watch." His lips twitched in the ghost of a grin and he turn his head back ahead as I noticed everyone walking through the snow in the direction of a hill just on the edge of the tree line.

We slowly began to trek after them, the snow crunching under our boots. I stuffed my hands into my pockets, sending a little bit of my fire through my veins to give me a shot of warmth as my breath came out in swirling clouds. I found it easier to step in the tracks of someone else's boots and soon, Loki and I were standing at the side of the group as everyone stood at the edge with their wooden sleds.

I watched curiously as Nat and Steve walked to the very edge, laying their individual sleds down in the ground before laying down on them and pushing off the edge, sliding straight down at a very fast speed, not helped by the steepness of the hill. I gasped and hurried closer to the edge, my heart pounding in my chest as I watched them go down, relaxing a little bit where their cheers and yells faded away as they disappeared down the hill.

"Isn't it dangerous?" I asked nervously, looking back at Loki, who was watching me.

"Not at all." Loki chuckled. "They all choose to lay on their front, which is the most dangerous, but you don't have to. Come on, I'll grab some."

I followed after him hesitantly, my feet crunching in the snow as Bucky handed us the spare sleds he had hauled up the hill, glaring at Loki the whole time. I slowly took the sled Loki held out of me, swallowing nervously as I watched Wanda and Vision lay down on their sleds. They counted down from three before pushing off and sliding down at quite a speed. I watched them nervously as the hill began to level out and they slowed down, their laughs heard all the way from the top of the hill.

"Come on." Loki urged me, gently putting a hand on my back and nudging me forward. "Remember, you don't have to face it head on, you can just sit on it."

"No." I shook my head as I hesitantly followed him to the edge of the hill, trying to psych myself up as we put down our sleds. "I want to go headfirst."

I just didn't want to look stupid being the only one sitting up on the sled. It honestly seemed pathetic that I was this scared of something, I had done much worse and terrifying stuff, put for some reason, I couldn't bear the thought of sliding down a steep hill head first towards snow.

"Ready?" Loki asked, pulling me from my thoughts as we slowly lay down on the sleds.

I looked over at him nervously, taking a deep breath and nodded. He nodded in encouragement and counted down from three. When he reached one, he pushed off from the hill, leaving me with no choice but to follow. We went sliding down through the snow and I clung on desperately as the snow flew under me at a terrifying speed.