Cuts
Warning: angst, mention of self-harm, mention of scarring
Tony had gone on another mission leaving Alice with in the care of Bruce, Bucky, and Thor. Although they all left her to her own devices. The team would be back by midnight and had left early this morning. With the people who were supposed to be keeping and eye and ear out were in their own little world Loki snuck up to Alice’s room for a Disney marathon.
“So, the child has magic. This woman stole this child and pretended to be her mother. And told her that outside is dangerous and she knows best then locked her up... in a tower.”
They had just finished watching Tangled and Loki was trying his best to not point of the obvious similarities between the character’s situations and Alice’s. He’d keep his thoughts to himself for now.
“Lion King or The Little Mermaid” Alice looked up at Loki he was laying on her bed smirking.
“Flynn Rider”
"what??"
"Flynn Rider, I want to be your Flynn Rider. I want to get you out of this tower and show you the world- no the galaxy” Smiling Loki moved across the bed closer to her. He was being dead serious. He wanted to take her away show her all she was missing and what no one else had yet to see.
She giggled thinking he was all but joking. Why would they run away? They couldn’t. They wouldn’t.
“Well, Mr. Flynn Rider, I don’t think my father would like that. He likes to keep me high up in this tower. Plus he’d cut my hair I have no way down.” Loki’s smile flattered as she spoke. She joked because that what he was doing, but he was not. Maybe she didn’t understand or wasn’t ready he wasn’t going to push her either way. He left it as a joke.
“I’ve got magic I’‘ll let you down. Anywhere you want to go” he pulled her closer she giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck. “ Just tell me” he leaned in closer.
Alice runs a hand through Loki’s hair. She was the one who was allowed to touch his hair. Alice squealed as Loki’s fingers danced along her side his grin frowing bigger with every word and every laugh. The two on the bed Loki tickled her all over trying to make her laugh more as she fought back.
"Stop...can't breath... can't breath" she was laughing so hard the sound was non-existent it was so good she wasn't even breathing. Finally, Loki decided he had had enough of torturing her. He collapsed next to her both of them out of breath legs and arms tangled together still laughing.
Loki’s laughter came to a sudden halt as he looked at her arm her sleeves were pulled.
In all the time Alice had lived in the tower Never in the months, they accompanied each other she had never pulled her sleeves up she always wore sweaters and long pants she never wore less never showed more, and now he understood why.
Her arm was covered in scars. Like snowflakes against her skin. They ranged from big to small from little nicks to long jagged lines faded but deep, all decorating her arms. As hideous as they were strangely beautiful.
As he reached out to trace her scars, she pulled down her sleeve and sat up "Sorry".
“What happened?”
“it’s nothing”
“It’s something”
He tried to touch her again but she brought her arms to her chest and pulled away. “ are you going to tell me? or do you want to wait?” he asked.
“Are you mad?” Alice looked at him teary-eyed.
“I’m not mad. I just... can you tell me what happened?”
Slowly rolling up a sleeve to show her scars.
“I have these abilities. I can control my blood ... I use to practice by cutting myself to bleed. Other times I did it just because. It turned into a bad habit.” she watched as he slowly and gently traced her scars one by one “Then my dad found out. I’ve never seen him so angry before. He stopped visiting for a while. He came back when I started covering myself.”
Alice watched as Loki finished tracing her scars “On Asgard our warriors are celebrated for their scars because it means they’ve survived.” He pulls down her sleeve “ You don’t have to cover up for me. You’re safe with me. I see nothing but your beauty” Alice blushed at his comments and her heart leaped as Loki kissed the back of her hand.
She didn’t know what to say.
“Lion King sounds interesting” he spoke for her.
Thus began a week of listening to Loki sing and mumbled his favorite songs from the movies. And lovely voice he had. Alice enjoyed his singing while the Avengers wondered when he got into Disney.