Nightmare Material
The next time she visited Loki, he looked a little worse for wear. The bags under his eyes were darker, his face was devoid of all colour and he looked more frantic and beady. Fury really must have done a number on him in the past week. It was suggested that she put some time between their visits, since the last one went in a less than desirable direction. Hopefully, when she returned, he would give more thought to the deal that was proposed.
She didn’t say anything when she entered the room, and by the look on his face it was clear he was expecting Fury. But as soon as his eyes caught sight of her, his mouth snapped shut and he sat back in his seat. She pulled out the metal chair, this time it was her flinching when she heard it scrape across the floor. She sat down waiting for him to say something, anything.
“Not chatty today?”
He simply stared at her like he could see right through her, down under the skin and to her rotting mess of organs. It was eerie and quiet, and for once… she wasn’t quite sure what to do.
“I hope you’ve given some more thought to our deal–”
“Leave.”
Her stomach turned in on itself. She was about to argue until she saw his expression. So instead, she rose and walked out the door.
*****
She went in the week after, and if it was even possible, he looked worse. There was some unknown feeling swirling within her.
“I just-”
“Get out.”
She obliged.
*****
Their interactions went much like the previous ones had for the next two weeks, until-
“It has been another week then?” He asked, his eyes even more sunken. What was Fury doing?
“Yes.” She sat down, unlike the other weeks where he would tell her to fuck off before she even had the chance. “I’m hoping you’ve finally come to your senses and will accept the deal.” He remained silent for some time, the uneasy, eerie feeling returning. “Will you please say something?”
“Fine,” He uttered, almost so quiet that she couldn’t hear. “I will do it.”
“Excuse me?”
“Must I repeat myself, girl?” His voice raised in aggression, “I. will. do. it.”
“Good,” She nodded. “I uh— I’ll have Tony release you.”
*****
“And he agreed to all of it?”
“Yes, Stark.” Georgia stood with her arms crossed, observing Loki from the cameras, he was sitting patiently, like an obedient child. “You just watched the footage.”
“Yes, but he could have somehow tampered with the cameras or something.” Tony’s eyes were fixed on the monitors.
“For someone so smart, you say some really dumb shit.”
“I have heard that my brother has agreed to our terms?” Thor entered, his voice a touch too loud for the room.
“Begrudgingly, but yes,” Georgia’s eyes were still glued to the image of Loki, and the weird stirring in her stomach when she saw how downtrodden he looked made her unsettled.
*****
“Alright,” Georgia began, “before we can let you out of here, there’s a few things we need to do to ensure that you don’t just kill us and escape.”
Loki grumbled in response, the chains chafing against his wrists and ankles. She was sitting in a chair across from him, the table gone, their closeness noticeable. A man in a S.H.I.E.L.D uniform stood behind her, his hands behind his back. Stark stood to the side slightly, leaning against the back wall, being uncharacteristically quiet. But Loki wasn’t going to complain. He already had a headache.
The man in the S.H.I.E.L.D uniform stepped forward, a small device in his fingertips, Loki suddenly felt the urge to shuffle his chair back. “No,” He said.
“Excuse me?” Georgia replied, as Loki quickly eyed Stark, still not saying a word.
“No,” He repeated, “you do it.” Georgia’s brow furrowed, he let his gaze harden on her.
“Are you seriously–”
“You do it. Or no one does.”
Georgia sighed, clearly unwilling to enter into another fight with him. She turned towards Tony, shrugging in question. Tony sighed, sounding much like Georgia. Loki was astounded by how similar they were, if he didn’t know better, he would have thought she was his daughter. Stark rolled his eyes, offering a quick blasé hand gesture.
Georgia stuck out her hand to the agent who looked slightly hesitant, before he dropped the device into her palm.
“Okay,” She got up, moving to stand behind him, “This isn’t going to tickle.” He heard her take a steadying breath, before he felt her fingers brush the back of his neck, moving his hair to the side. Something cold and flat pressed to his skin, Loki rolled his eyes at the lack of pain, chalking her warning up to mortal weakness–
There was something suddenly clawing and digging into his neck, like it was trying to crawl inside his spinal cord. Loki sucked in a sharp breath, trying to mask the pain that was simmering within him. Before long, it was over, only a dull throbbing was left to remind him that the device was even there. He saw her return to the seat, sticking her hand out to the agent again. He placed a key in her palm. Smart girl, Loki thought, a smirk rising on his features.
“May I ask what this… device attached to me does?” Loki said, seeing Georgia’s concentration waver as she undid his hand cuffs.
“It does many things,” She offered, popping off his chains. “Mostly it’ll stop you from teleporting, but depending on the situation I can control what abilities you have access to.”
Loki shot Stark a look, the smirk spreading across his lips told him that he was the genius that created the annoying little gadget. It was starting to itch. “Interesting,” Loki muttered, “I could also murder you in your sleep. Hands work just as well as seiðr.”
Georgia's eyes shot up to focus on him, making Loki almost chuckle. “Yes, well,” He could see her deliberating, having a conversation in her own mind as her gaze moved from her hands to his ankles. She sighed, slowly lowering herself to the floor, “We are also employing a certain amount of trust, but as long as you can’t teleport, I think it’s fair to say that you won’t exactly find it easy escaping.”
The shackles on his ankles fell to the floor with a clang, Georgia began to call out, “Okay, Tony, you can turn it off.”
“I don’t know if I want to,” Tony grumbled, eyeing Loki.
“Well, we have to eventually.”
With a shake of his head, Tony reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone. With a few quick taps it was like Loki could finally fully breathe again… well almost. There was still a small part of him missing, but he would get that back soon enough. She pushed back up onto her seat, he could see a small glimmer of mischief in her eyes. “There’s also another… precaution we took.”
She suddenly materialised a small dagger in her hand, the hilt facing towards him. Loki’s eyes narrowed, taking the blade tentatively.
“Go on,” She urged him, offering out her arm, “I know you want you to.”
“Kid–” Tony began to warn.
“Stark,” She shot him a look over her shoulder. “Do it,” She turned back to Loki.
With a raise of his brow, Loki reached out, taking her arm in his hand and slicing her skin. She winced, the cut going deeper than he intended. “Was that supposed to–” He suddenly clutched his chest, feeling a small portion of his power begin to tear away.
“Do you feel that?” She whispered, he wanted to strangle her. Of course he fucking felt it. “If you hurt me, even the smallest cut, your power will start to trickle away. Depending on how bad the wound is, you will lose power accordingly. But if you kill me, well, you can guess what will happen.” She said sternly, it looked as if she was about to smile when his scowl deepened, “You can kind of say that you’re, I don’t know, bound to me? I lose my life at your hands, you lose your ‘life’, simple.”
He merely looked at her as she sat back in her seat, fully smiling now, making sure to send a reassuring glance to Stark who was standing a little closer, his stance guarded. She looked down at her arm, “I didn’t expect you to go so deep.” She placed her right hand above her arm, hovering it over the wound. He could see the skin knitting together slowly, the flesh sometimes opening up again.
Loki rolled his eyes. “Be gentle,” He said, grasping her hand. “You’re using too much force. Unlike throwing a body against a wall, healing is a much more delicate art.” She scowled at him. “Here, let me show you.” He picked up her arm once again, his hand smoothing slightly above her skin. “Do you see how I am not breaking a sweat? Delicate touches of power.” He closed the cut half way, “Now you try.”
With another dirty look, Georgia raised her hand once more. This time, the flesh began to knit together neatly, leaving only unblemished skin behind. She looked up at him, halfway between a smile and another glower. “Thank you,” She said begrudgingly.
“See,” He smirked, “A delicate touch is useful for many things. I can show you more, if you’d like?”
“Alright,” Tony interjected, “That’s enough. Get him up, kid. Unfortunately, we need to show him to his room.”
She stood, Loki trailing close behind her, whispering into her ear, “Another time, then.” He chuckled as she almost stopped in her tracks.
*****
Her nails were biting into the skin of her palms. Everything seemed to move out of her way as she passed. There was heat crawling up her neck, her cheeks warming. She couldn’t tell if this was embarrassment or anger or… Or?
Or nothing.
It was nothing. So much so that she stomped up the stairs to her bedroom, too impatient to take the elevator. There was a grumble down the hall when she slammed her door, most likely Steve who had told her multiple times about the hinges. The smell of her room embraced her as she collapsed into the armchair in the corner.
The S.H.I.E.L.D uniform was still clinging to her skin. A little too tightly for her liking. She peeled it off, leaving the items discarded on the floor, favouring something more pleasant and breathable. Just as she felt herself relaxing there was a knock at the door.
“Won’t be a moment,” She huffed, pulling on a pair of socks and taking her hair out of its braid.
Whoever was on the other side of her bedroom wall was insistent, knocking once more. With a reluctant flick of her fingers she flipped the lock.
She sighed, “Come in.” Georgia bent down to pick up the clothing scattered around her feet.
“How quaint,” A voice behind her commented.
She spun around, her lips in a deep scowl. “It’s you.”
“It’s me,” Loki parroted, taking a slow stroll around her room. “These are a bit much,” he lifted his cuffed hands. They were simple old cuffs this time, no longer draining him, but they still seemed to be a nuisance. Georgia couldn’t help but take a small amount of pleasure in his uncomfortable restrainment.
“I’d argue they’re not enough,” She replied, folding the items in her hands and placing them in their rightful space.
He perused her bookshelf before taking a quick glance at her desk. “Is everything here so meticulously organised?”
“Why are you wandering around anyway?” She crossed her arms.
“Stark told me to get to know the compound.”
“And that means my room?”
“Precisely,” He smiled brightly, bending down to read the titles on the bottom shelf. “And I am to be your protégé after all.”
‘What?” No one had told her that. It was bad enough that she was roped into the Russia assignment due to her and Loki’s similar power set. Now she had to spend the weeks leading up to it with him as well?
“You are to be my guide–”
“I know what protégé means,” She snapped, falling into her arm chair once more. “I don’t understand why I have to train you. Can’t Nat? And it’s not like you haven’t been fighting for millennia”
He moved onto examining every inch of her dresser, his eyes caught on the photo of her, Thor and Tony. “Preaching to the choir, dear.”
“Georgia.”
“Pardon?”
“My name.” She gritted her teeth. “It’s Georgia.”
He finally let his gaze fall on her. “I know, darling.”
“Insufferable,” She muttered. “Please leave.”
With one more smile he made his exit. “I’ll see you in the morning,” He took a step out the door, “Georgia.”
*****
“Stark.” Georgia grumbled as she stormed into the kitchen.
“Oh, playing the last name card,” Tony sat at the dining table with his laptop open, hand rummaging in a bag of chips. “What have I done now?”
“Why do I have to train Loki?” She pulled out the chair across from him, throwing herself into it. “What about Nat? She’s usually the one to train new recruits. Even Clint would be better suited to the job. I am not good at dealing with assholes, I am going to lose my mind.”
“I beg to differ. You deal with me pretty alright.” He looked up with a cheesy grin.
“Not the point. I’ve known you for months and Loki is…” Her gaze darted around the table beneath her hands. “Well, he’s Loki.”
Tony went back to his work. “You’ve always liked a challenge. I know you can do it, Georgia.”
“Don’t Georgia me,” She spat. “Oh, what about Thor? His brother. Surely he’s a better choice than I am.”
“No can do, I’m afraid.”
Georgia let out a groan of frustration, her chair squealing against the tiles as she stood. “Loki doesn’t even need training. He can fight better than most of us here. I don’t understand why you’re so insistent on this.”
“Look,” Tony shut his laptop slowly, looking up to where she was biting her nails and pacing. “It wasn’t my order. Fury was the one who suggested it.”
“Fury?” She stopped in her tracks. “Why?”
“Something about making you a stronger pair before your expedition. A bonding exercise or some bullshit like that.”
“Can’t you talk to him about it?” She crossed her arms protectively. “Please? It’s bad enough I’ll have to spend god knows how long with him in Russia. Can’t I just have these next two weeks to myself?”
“I wasn’t very enthusiastic about either, kid.” Tony pinched the bridge of his nose, “He’s not budging, I’m afraid.”
“This is a nightmare.” Georgia let her head hang back with a sigh.
“Indeed.”