Rise of the Phoenix (L. Laufey/Odinson)

28.

Nina wakes, two days later, to Bucky's ugly mug watching her, he smiles when he notes her state of consciousness and leans up a little. Nina reaches up and pulls the oxygen mask from her face with a scowl. She feels so....weak.

"What happened?" She asks Bucky who strokes her hair a little.

"Loki found you passed out on the floor...." He answers. She hums a little and looks around the clinic for Loki.

"Where is he?" Nina asks Bucky. "Where's Loki?" He lets out a breath and takes her hand, showing that her memories are back.....for now at least.

"He went to try and figure out a way to fix what happened..." He answers. "He must have..." he touches her head and smiles. "If you're awake and you remember him" She frowns at him.

"What are you talking about?" She asks him. Bucky raises an eyebrow, obviously whilst she has her Loki memories back, she does not remember the events of the last three days. 

"Oh, boy" Bucky whispers. "Okay...so...." He then explains everything to her.

............

Nina lays staring at the ceiling of the clinic processing everything Bucky had told her about her memory loss and her subsequent clinic admission, that she was basically coughing up her insides. Something was wrong with her, and then suddenly she is fine. She feels fine. Her memories are back. The clinic door opens and Loki walks in, Nina sits up seeing him there. He smiles and moves straight to her side. Bucky stands from the seat and then silently leaves the room, leaving them to it. The only way Nina is going to feel better about what happened is to talk to Loki alone.

"I'm so sorry," Nina tells Loki. "I..forgot you" he shakes his head and clutches to her face. "I forgot you..." Her voice breaks, because the idea of losing her memories again, of forgetting who she is, who the people around her are, breaks her heart, it terrifies her. She never wants to forget her life again. She wants to know everything she has ever done, good, bad, the new, the old. And him. She never wants to forget him.

"It's alright, it's not your fault" he brushes his thumbs under her eyes. His hands cold on her skin, but he has always been cold to her. "I'm here now" He assures her softly. "I'm right here" He leans closer and brushes his lips over hers before he kisses her. He pulls back and smiles at her. Nina touches her lips and frowns a little. Loki sits at her side and takes her hand, her eyes watching him. Something is wrong with him.

............

Bucky sets an apple into Nina's lap as he sits at her side, she picks it up and turns it around in her hand. She's been discharged from the clinic but told to take it easy for a few days, just till they are sure whatever it was that happened to her has passed and this isn't an eye of the storm situation. Loki reluctantly left Nina's side when she asked him to get her a box of happy cherries, a candy that she hates, which means that there are none in the facility and it will take him a while to get them. He fussed too much. Hovered. Which just adds to her suspicions that there is something not right with him. She is sure of it.

"Bucky" Nina whispers, he hums a little. "Something's wrong with Loki," She tells him, he frowns and turns to face her.

"Wrong?" he asks her. "What's wrong with him?" He adds as he sets his arm over the back of the couch to stroke her hair.

"Urm....when he kissed me, it felt different" She admits. "He felt different"

"Maybe he was just really happy to see you....he thought he was going to lose you, Nin, that's probably part of it" She looks away from him and touches her lips. She is sure that there is something going on with Loki, something in her that's pushing her to feel that way. Something is very wrong.

..........

Loki holds out the box of candy to Nina who takes them from her and smiles at him, but it doesn't reach her eyes, and if he notices, he doesn't say anything. He sits next to her and instantly touches her face, brushing her hair back and behind her ear, his eyes on her, locked firmly on her. Nina swallows a little and clutches to the box of candy.

..........

Loki, the real Loki, glares at Gonseyt who hums away to herself, happy in her victory as she stirs at some pot over a fire. He can't believe that Nina will fall for Býleistr's deception. He knows she is smarter than that. And he hopes they are closer than that.

"Nina will figure it out" Loki points out. "She's an intelligent woman"

"She is human" Gonseyt counters. "She will believe what she wants to..." Loki clenches his jaw and pulls on the chains holding his hands over his head, but they do not budge, they are made to hold Jotun. "Your mother" Gonseyt sneers at him. "That Vanir serving girl...." Loki lets out a breath through his nose. "She should never have been allowed to share Laufey's bed" Loki snorts a little.

"You sound jealous" Loki points out, he knows she is, Edwayen has already told him how Gonseyt felt towards his mother and Laufey. "It's rather pathetic"

"Laufey should have wed a high born Jotun, a daughter of an elder, but he chose that....creature instead" She stands and moves towards him. "And it bore you..." Gonseyt gasps as a spear pierces her chest, her eyes wide, even Loki's are as he watches her fall, behind her, Mairead stands in full battle armour. Loki looks surprised but pleased to see a friendly face, even a considerably young one.

"Mairead?" Loki asks her as she pulls the spear free of Gonseyt's body.

"My mother taught me to fight" She admits and moves towards him. "And every girl should be ready to defend her people..." She adds as she stands up taller.

"How did you know?" He asks as she unlocks the chains, she smiles at him.

"Lucky guess" She teases, he laughs a little and nods. "When I saw the other you.....something seemed off..." She undoes the last shackle and he falls forward a little, catching himself on the floor. "Let's go get you back to Nina, before the spell is complete" She tells him as she helps him to his feet.

"Spell?" He asks her.

"Grandmother found a page missing from one of the dark magic books, the spell was to make the change permanent" Mairead admits as she leaves the cave, Loki follows after her. Eager to get back to Nina before it is too late.