Chapter 36
The Grand Hall was huge and had numerous long tables along the walls with the longest being where Odin, Frigga, and the rest of my family were. Candles were strewn across the room on the tables and hung from the ceiling as the sun sets outside, making everything look that much more beautiful. "Wow. This place is huge."
"Yes, it is. I do wish we were back on the ship, however." I glance around and notice everyone was looking at him, most of them with hate in their eyes. "Most of the people here have a grudge against me. And wish me dead." I wrap an arm around his shoulders and pull him close.
"That ain't gonna happen when I'm around." He smiles and pats my hand gently.
"Thank you, Rogue." I walk toward the table with him and he sits to the right of his mother while I sit to his right, Thor on the opposite side of Odin.
"Why did you not pull out her seat, Loki?" Odin asks with disappointment in his tone and I notice Yondu and Martinex sit too, watching.
"She is capable of pulling out seats on her own, Father." He looks disappointed still and Loki looks uncomfortable.
"I don't like people doing that type of thing for me so I asked him not to." Odin nods, disappointment leaving his face, and Loki seems relieved.
"Thank you," He whispers and I smile a bit at him. The food is brought out and drinks are too.
"Thor, when are you going to find yourself a nice lady as Loki has?" Frigga asks as I was taking a drink and kind of spit it back into the cup at the nice part. Since when am I nice? "Are you alright, dear?"
"Um, yes... I'm fine..." I clear my throat and notice Rocket opening his mouth.
"Nice? That ain't a word I'd use to describe that kid."
"Rocket," I growl and he smirks.
"What would you use to describe her?"
"Insane."
"Idiotic," Martinex adds and I look at him.
"Who even asked you?"
"Rude," Aleta adds and I roll my eyes, taking another drink.
"Good shot," Kraglin says and I don't spit back into the cup, I instead inhale the drink.
"Good thief," Stakar adds and Yondu nods his agreement.
"Tha' girl is summin', a'ight. Ain't look like it, but she got summin' in tha' fool head 'a 'ers."
"Gee, thanks, Gramps," I cough a bit and Loki pats my leg slightly.
"Yeah, she's pretty smart," Peter says and I finish my drink, pouring some more because this is all awkward as Hell.
"A'ight, Kid. Ya gotta say summin' nice 'bout yerself." Well shit. I open my mouth to say something and Kraglin cuts me off. "An' it ain't 'lowed ta 'ave anythin' ta do with drinkin', fightin', shootin', stealin', lyin', an' cheatin'."
"Then I got nothing."
"I have heard that you are loyal, brave, and strong," Odin says and I don't respond, not knowing how, as I take a drink from my cup. "As well as resilient."
"Ah, um... Yeah, I guess..." I clear my throat awkwardly and Thor notices, changing the subject away from me.
"Is Lady Sif here as well, Father?"
"Yes, she is. She has just arrived." He nods and bows his head slightly, leaving the table to go talk.
"He is very enamored with her," Loki supplies softly and I nod a bit, just glad the focus is off of me.
Music starts to play from a band somewhere and I notice Mantis looked excited, smiling as her antennae light up. "It seems as though Mantis wishes to dance with you," Loki murmurs with a smile and I sip on my drink, ignoring him for now. The kids had eaten and Indri and Morgan go dancing along with Clint and a woman I hadn't seen before. "Clint's wife. His children are also on the ship now as well."
"I see. The vein on Tony's forehead is about to explode." Loki looks at Tony and smirks at how pissed off he looks. "Gods, this is amazing." He nods his agreement and we watch him get more pissed off before he stands. "And now I've got to make sure he doesn't kill my brother. Shit." I go over quickly and get in front of him, smiling charmingly. "What's up, Tony?"
"I'm going to kill him."
"Nah, don't do that."
"Look at him and tell me he wouldn't deserve it." I glance and see the trainwreck that is his dancing.
"Oh, dear Jesus..." I rub my neck slightly and grab Tony by the shoulder. "Hey, hey, hey. Hey. Chill. I'll deal with this. Relax."
"By cutting off his hands?"
"Relax," I repeat and he growls before going back to his seat while I go over to Indri and Morgan, having to watch the trainwreck turn into a trainwreck that's on fire. "Dear Gods..."
"Having fun?" Indri smiles and Morgan shrugs a bit as they stop. "What's wrong?"
"You said you knew how to dance."
"I do! Kind of..." He runs a hand through his hair and was blushing. "It's harder than Mom and Dad made it look..."
"Yeah..."
"OK, I'm sorry, but that was a disaster," I say from behind them and they jump, looking at me. "There is no way you learned how to dance from Dad with trainwreck moves like those."
"And you could do better?"
"Literally any of us could do better than that." Indri blushes more and glares at me.
"How would you do it then?"
"Get a feel for the beat, dude." I pay attention and tap my foot for a moment before doing a quick few steps, spinning to kick my duster up to my hips before splaying my hands out to the sides. "Ta-dah."
"Do that again." I do it again and Indri glares at me again. "Slow down!"
"That kinda defeats the purpose of the smooth movements if I do, but sure." I do it again, slower, and they copy it. "Alright, nice. Do it again." I smile and feel my mind drift slightly.
"Can you teach me and Sta to dance?"
"How'd you do that?" "That looks hard..."
"Nah. Super easy." "See, you just gotta listen to the music, lose yourself in it."
"Rogue?" I shake my head slightly and look at Indri. "You OK?"
"Yeah... Yeah... Um, look... Why don't you talk to Sol and Sta on the crew and they can help you out with the dance moves, yeah?"
"Who?" I think about what I just said and rub my temples slightly.
"Um, never mind... Talk to Gramps and Krags, yeah?"
"OK... You sure you're OK?"
"I'm fine, Indri. A lot better than those moves you were using earlier."
"Yeah, you're fine," He scoffs and I ruffle his hair, heading back to my seat. I sit and take a deep pull of my drink, not liking the memories that came up. Why did those have to come up right now? Worst possible timing ever.
"Rogue," Loki says softly as he rests a hand on my arm and I look at him. "Are you alright?"
"Some crappy memories came up... A lot of things still haunt me..."
"Well, I will be here to help you through them." He gently squeezes my arm and I smile gently at him, resting my forehead against his.
"Thanks, Loki..."
"It is my pleasure, my treasure." I smile a bit and pull away, not noticing his parents watching us. "We do need to talk about when the wedding will be and where." He leans closer to me and I look at him. "Father is not happy that it is taking so long," He whispers and I smile a bit, thinking as I look outside.
"The stars look beautiful... I don't look at them much anymore... What if we were to do it here? Tonight? Under the stars?"
"Father and Mother want to get things ready."
"Your Mother taught you how to do illusions. That's all that we'd need."
"Not in their minds."
"How much time would they need?"
"Until tomorrow night."
"Then we'll do it then." He nods and leans toward Frigga, telling her. She smiles brightly and tells Odin as well. He nods and the two of them bid us farewell before leaving.
"That was odd," Thor says as he comes back with Lady Sif and she was looking at Loki with contempt. I wrap my arms around his torso and pull his back to my chest, making her eyes widen slightly in shock.
"We told Mother and Father that we are going to have the wedding tomorrow night."
"And they need to prepare for it." Thor nods as Stakar leans over slightly and looks at me.
"When is it happening?"
"I do not want any more of the Clans than what is already here at this one."
"It's a tradition."
"Pops, come on. I don't want them at this one. Please."
"Fine. We will be having another celebration with all of the Clans later on. During summing on Terra."
"You mean summer?" He nods and I nod a bit, able to agree with that. "Alright, fine." He nods and Loki refills my cup, setting it down as he nudges my plate to silently say Eat. I look at the plate and see fancy food, frustrated. "I'm not hungry," I murmur to him and he nods slightly.
"While I do wish you'd eat, I understand," He murmurs back to me and holds my hand under the table before handing me my cup. "At least drink. Please." I drink and he rests his hand on my leg, thinking.
"I'm tired as Hell. Where are your... Whatever you call them?"
"His chambers?" Lady Sif asks with a smirk and I finish my drink.
"Yeah, those."
"I will take you so that Loki may stay with the children and socialize with family," Thor says and Loki nods, gently squeezing my leg.
"I shall see you shortly, my dear Captain." I nod my agreement and peck his head before I follow Thor out, making sure Nebula would keep an eye on Loki because I didn't trust anyone.
"Later, Mom!" One of the kids hollers and I raise my hand to them to say bye. Thor leads me to Loki's chambers and opens the door.
"Rest well, Captain." I nod and go inside, shutting the door behind me with a soft thanks. I go over to the bed and collapse face-first into it, falling asleep before I can take anything off.
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I wake to someone taking my boots off and roll onto my back, looking at Loki. "Hello, my treasure." I give him the tiniest of smiles and he looks at me sadly. "You need help from me and you have for a while. I apologize for not noticing and dealing with it sooner."
"S'OK," I murmur and he shakes his head.
"It most certainly is not OK, Rogue. You have been hurting inside and I have not helped. No need to worry, however. I will amend that now." He stands and I pull him to me, holding him closely. "Rogue," He says in a low tone that's laced with warning and I bury my face in his shoulder.
"Just... Just let me stay here for a bit... Please..." He trails his hand up and down my spine, sighing softly.
"Alright."
"Thank you," I whisper and he keeps trailing his hand along my spine, helping me relax a bit. I take my gloves off and reach up to gently run my fingers through his hair, relaxing more as he lets me. He hums softly and his eyes drift close, just as exhausted as I am. I continue and he falls asleep. "I love you," I whisper, kissing his head gently, and stand up carefully, pulling my boots back on then my gloves before I leave the room. I shut the door quietly and lean against it, looking out the archway that would be a window if there was glass there.
"Mom?" I turn and see Gamora looking at me from a doorway, rubbing her eyes. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, kiddo. Just... Woke up and can't get back to sleep."
"Oh..." She comes over and hugs me. I return it after a moment and gently guide her back to the room, getting her back into the huge bed with the other girls.
"Sleep well, Gamora..." I pull the covers over her and she falls back to sleep with a soft hum. I smile a bit and turn to leave, freezing for a moment when I see someone in the door, relaxing when it's just Yondu. "Hey, Gramps."
"Wha'cha doin', Girl?"
"Getting Gamora back in bed." I leave the room and softly shut the door behind me, looking past the archway again. "You?" He shrugs one shoulder and I see Lumes coming over before she wraps her arms around Yondu's waist from behind.
"Hello, Captain."
"'Ey, Baby." He wraps an arm around her and kisses her head, making me smile slightly.
"Hello, Rogue."
"Hey, Lumes."
"I thought you were going to sleep?"
"I did. Now I'm awake. And I can't get back to sleep."
"Ah. I heard that you have always had that problem." I chuckle softly and nod a bit.
"Yeah, I have. Ain't got a lot to do right now though. So..." I go over to the archway and lean out it to look above it. "I'm going for a climb." I step onto the ledge and grab the top of it.
"I do not think that that is a good idea, Rogue," Lumes says carefully and I shrug, not noticing Loki's door open slightly.
"Better view of the stars from up there." I grin and climb up carefully and seamlessly. "Besides, I am an excellent climber."
"Yes, you always seem to climb your way to new extremes of stupid stunts to pull," Loki's voice says and my hand slips slightly but I land on the ledge seamlessly, grabbing the edge of the archway calmly.
"Hey, Loki! I thought you were sleeping?"
"I was. And I woke to find you gone and find out that you are climbing on the side of this building which is on a cliff." He sounds pissed and I grin charmingly at him. He crosses his arms over his chest and I chuckle nervously, thinking of a way to get out of this situation quickly. "Rogue," He growls and my eyes snap to his face, seeing that he was indeed pissed. "Do not do anything stupid."
"I am offended that you think I ever do anything stupid."
"Coming from the woman who pressed a Nova Corpsman's blaster to her forehead and told them to blow her head off."
"Ya did wha'?" Yondu barks and I grin slightly nervously with another nervous chuckle.
"Funny story, actually... Um..."
"Shut up," He growls and my mouth shuts with an audible click as I nod a bit, noticing the rest of my Misfit Family, minus the kids, show up with Odin, Frigga, and Lady Sif. Jumping off the ledge is looking more tempting by the second...
"Captain, would you please go back to my Chambers so that we may talk?" Loki asks slowly and it seems like a question and request to the others. But I know better and I rub the back of my neck slightly as they look at me.
"Sure. Sounds good." I get off of the ledge and wave slightly at the others.
"Good night, everyone." Loki comes in and shuts the door.
"L-"
"Shut the fuck up. Now," He growls, not looking at me, and I shut my mouth, knowing he's not to be fucked with when he swears. He points down with one hand to silently tell me to Get down and I drop to my knees on the floor, hanging my head slightly. He walks over and grabs my chin, making me look at him. "I am immensely angry right now. Do not speak yet," He says when I open my mouth slightly and I shut it, keeping my eyes on his. "I am currently not in a good mindset to deal with your latest transgressions. Seeing as how these are my Chambers, I believe it would be better if you were to leave." He lets go of my chin and I feel my chest tighten.
"Loki...?"
"Now, please." He walks away from me and I swallow slightly, nodding a bit before I stand. I leave and notice everyone was still there as I shut the door.
"You weren't in there long. Trouble in paradise?" Rocket smirks and I don't respond, walking away. "Hey, you alright, kid?" I ignore him and walk outside, stomach in knots while my chest was too tight.