Eagle (A Loki love story)

Chapter 125

Between the sixteen of us, we still couldn't finish all the food we had made. Either we had grossly overestimated how much food we needed, or the others had eaten far too many appetizers. We had enough left to feed Thor, the Warriors Three, Sif, and Hannah easily! While the others were finishing up, I shamelessly grabbed a third helping of potatoes, corn, and a soft bread roll.

"Mira, if you keep eating like that, your food baby will be bigger than your actual baby."

"TONY!" Pepper was appalled and I flung a forkful of potato at him, making sure it hit in square in the face. He instantly looked like he wanted to retaliate.

"Don't. You. Dare." Hope's voice was icy, but it was directed at Scott, not Tony, "The only one of the two of us allowed to start a food fight is me and I think Mira's actions were well warranted." I sent an appreciative nod in her direction. A sixteen-way food fight was the last thing this house needed. However, my amusement quickly faded when I took a bite of potatoes. As soon as I closed my mouth and started chewing, I felt unbearably full, to the point where I felt sick. But I knew spitting my mouthful out would only worry Loki, so I swallowed and pushed my plate away from me.

"You done, Mira?" Sam came up beside me, hand reaching for my plate. I nodded, that queasy feeling growing still, "Hey, you ok?" I forced a small smile.

"Uh-huh. My eyes were too big for my stomach. Sam laughed.

"Yeah, I get that! This food was great!" I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding when he walked away, but that single exhale was the end of me. I felt a sharp, sudden pressure against my stomach and at that moment, I knew I was going to throw up. My heart jumped to my throat as I stood as calmly as I could. The pressure came again, a little stronger this time, and I moved for the hallway. I felt like everyone was watching me.

"Mira, are you ok?" Well, if they hadn't been watching before, Tony's legitimately concerned tone drew all the attention in the room.

"I–" The pressure came a third time, right as I opened my mouth, and I retched all over the floor. At that moment, several things happened at once. There were several sounds, ranging from disgust to concern, dishes clattered in the sink and on the counter, I think I heard something shatter, and a chair clattered to the ground as Loki made a beeline for me.

"Oh honey, honey, honey." She guided me down to a clean spot on the floor, "Do you need a bucket?" I clasped her tight shirt with trembling hands, but shook my head. My body heaved again, but this time I managed to keep it down.

"Shh, shh, shh." One hand was rubbing my back and she held a washcloth in the other, gently wiping my mouth and face. A green flash in my peripheral told me she'd cleaned up the mess I'd made. Only then did it register what exactly I'd done. The others had worked so hard to prepare the perfect meal, and then I, their host, had had the nerve to puke it up in front of them!

"Don't cry, my love. You've done nothing wrong."

"Loki, I'm s-so embarrassed!" I hiccupped and belched a bit, but nothing came up, "They all worked so hard to make this all for us and here I am not finishing it and then throwing it up right in front of them! I'm such a terrible host!" A finger hooked itself under my chin and forced my eyes to lock with emerald green orbs.

"Listen to me. You are NOT a terrible host. I doubt most of the people here could successfully pull off having so many guests stay for so long."

"Tony could."

"That's not the point. He's not nine months pregnant. The food was delicious and you simply ate too much. End of story. They don't think any lower of you because of what happened right now. You're hormonal, you were hungry, and the food was incredible. That's not the best combination and they certainly do not blame you or think you ungrateful." When that did nothing to console me, she embraced me fully, "Sweetheart, they've all been sick before, it's a fact or mortality."