Before We Dwell On It [part One]
Author: shadowsonthewalls
For: stardate64783
Wordcount: 1,567
Summary: Of all the strange things in Loki’s life, and there have been many, the mortal currently asleep in his armchair has to be amongst the strangest.
Prompt: Red Skull and Steve were sucked into the Cosmic Cube’s portal during that fatal flight. Steve crash lands in Prince Loki of Asgard’s chambers. Loki now has a new charge and Steve makes Loki feel loved.
A/N: This is the point when I apologise for being a failboat because this is only part one of something bigger. Your prompt just clawed its way into my head and wouldn’t go away, I just couldn’t make it work in short for. So I hope you enjoy this with the promise of there a lot more.
Schmidt picked up the cube, his mutilated face alight with triumph.
“The power of the gods is mine; the world will fall before me. You will know the true meaning of despair Captain as you stand powerless bef-“
The cube screamed in Schmidt’s hand, cutting off his speech as the bluish light started to consume him. Steve let fly with the shield. Whatever the hell that cube actually was Steve couldn’t let Schmidt control it. The shield collided with Schmidt’s forehead, snapping his head back. Schmidt jerked his head up with a snarl, holding the screaming cube above his head. Steve brought the shield up and threw his whole weight behind it, driving Schmidt backwards. Together they tumbled across the deck, scrambling for purchase. They collided with the console again, cube screeching in Schmidt’s hand.
“No!” Schmidt roared. He scrambled at the controls to try and reset the autopilot before the fall sent them flying weightless again. Steve reacted on instinct, slamming the edge of his shield into Schmidt’s neck. And then the cube slammed into the side of Steve’s face.
Pain erupted through him. Steve couldn’t hold back the scream that clawed at his chest. He was on fire, it hurt. Nothing felt like this, nothing, worse than the serum worse than anything so much pain. The cube was shrieking, its blue white light filling the plane, until there was nothing but pain.
And then stars.
*************
Loki stopped so suddenly that Thor nearly walked into him.
“Brother? Are you alright?” Loki tamped down on the urge to snap at Thor, of course he was ‘alright’ he’d only stopped walking, not collapsed in a puddle of blood. Then again the cause of his stopping was far more worrying than bleeding out in a hallway. Not that Thor would understand why. “Loki?”
“I’m fine Thor. I’ve simply realised I know where I might find some useful information about our… unexpected guest.” The easiest lie is one told with the absolute truth.
Thor’s lips quirked into a smile. “And you couldn’t have remembered before you reached your rooms? Besides you know you don’t have to make excuses to hole yourself up in that dusty tomb.”
“It’s the library Thor. Library. And it’ll certainly prove a lot more useful than hitting him with Mjolnir.” Thor laughed at that, like Loki had told the world’s best joke. He slapped a hand down on Loki’s shoulder, hard enough to make Loki wince.
“Each to their own, brother. I am going to see if the skalds have any tales of this day yet. Try not to choke to death on all that dust!” Thor laughed again, striding down the hall, cape swishing out behind him.
Loki sent out a trail of magic to make sure Thor really had left before he pressed a hand over the door to his chambers. His warding spells buzzed angrily under the surface of the wood. Through them he could read the traces of the magic that had shattered his charms and nearly destroyed his chambers. Something incredibly powerful, and wild. Unchained magic. Just the hint of that power coiled through the door and into Loki’s hand, making him shiver.
There was something else too. The beating of a heart. Loki spared a brief thought of thanks that the locking and concealment charms had held. Had Heimdall seen any of what had happened here all of Asgard would be trying to cram themselves into Loki’s chambers. And he had no desire to have that happen. Again.
Loki unsheathed his knife. For all Thor’s mocking and Loki’s own preference for magic, he could certainly hold his own with a blade. And a visible threat was always an easier way to play with someone’s mind. He thought briefly of calling his armour from the shadows, to appear as a true prince to whoever was in his chambers. But staying in his light tunic breeches would be disarming if to someone expecting an attack from a fully armoured warrior.
With a push the door swung open just wide enough for Loki to slip between it and the frame. He shut it behind himself with an audible click. The sight that met Loki’s eyes was… unusual to say the least.
There was a human standing in the centre of Loki’s study. He was poised in a defensive crouch, a brightly patterned shield held high to cover his torso. He was also standing in the midst of the utter ruin of Loki's rooms. Shattered furniture and the tattered remains of a library’s worth of scrolls covered the floor. And as Loki stepped further intothe room broken glass crunched under his boots.
“Well, it’s always a join to come home and find your life’s work in ruins.”
The man’s eyes widened almost comically. Whatever he’d expected to walk through the door Loki clearly wasn’t it. Slowly the mortal relaxed out of his defensive crouch, although he kept his shield raised. Experienced fighter, Loki thought, and not easily fooled by appearances. Loki sheathed his knife and stepped forward again, holding out his palms to show the man he was unarmed. The man lowered his shield, studying the way Loki moved, distrust written in every line of his body. Loki paused; this was the type of moment he relished. Right now he could prove or disprove every one of the mortal’s fears. This was the moment on which the future turned.
To tell a lie and spin the web, or tell the truth and fly blindly into the future? Truth or lie?
Truth.
“You wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with the man with a crimson skull for a face, would you?” The honesty was worth it just to see the change in the mortal. He straightened to his full height, snapping to attention, the wariness and lingering fear vanishing in an instant. Loki was a little impressed.
“Schmidt’s here too? You need to get him contained, he’s dangerous. The lives of your people are at stake. Thousands, maybe even millions could die by his hand if he isn’t stopped.”
Loki raised a hand to silence the mortal. “Schmidt, as you call him is already in custody. Since his first act on arriving on Asgard was to try and murder the Crown Prince and his friends, and managed to hold his own, all be it briefly, we are quite aware he is dangerous. Not even the strongest warrior of Asgard could break free of the cell he’s contained in, a mortal, even one as… unusual, as Schmidt stands no chance of freeing himself.”
The man gave a sharp nod, his gaze trailing over to the window and the view beyond. “Asgard? Is that the name of this city, or” The man swallowed hard, his voice waving a little as he continued “Or the name of this world?”
“Both. Asgard the city takes her name from Asgard the realm.”
Loki took the moment of silence to study the man more closely. He was tall, nearly as tall as Loki, with broader shoulders and a heavier build. Together with his shield it suggested someone like Thor or Volstagg, a powerhouse who relied on their sheer strength in battle. Or it would, if not for the lightness of his armour, the way he watched Loki from the corner of his eye and the casual grace he held himself with. A fighter with speed and agility, and the strength to hold his own in a close fight. Grief, and anger, in his bright blue eyes, mouth set in a thin line, chin held high.
People were so easy to read. Even aliens.
“I can’t leave this room can I?” The mortal’s voice was hard, just shy of an open challenge. “It’s not just that another human wouldn’t be too popular after whatever Schmidt did. Even if we don’t look much like each other.” He smiled, sharp and humourless. “I’m sorry for destroying your room, but that’s no reason to keep me prisoner, is it?”
Surprise flickered through Loki’s mind. Oh, you are fasinating. He thought gleefully. Perhaps this man wouldn’t be so easy to read after all.
“You are free to leave whenever you wish.” Loki said. He stepped aside to leave the way to the door free. The mortal gave a short snort of laughter.
“Sure. And what’ll happen to me if I do?”
“Imprisonment at best, at worst, being torn apart for the purposes of discovering whatever information you may have.”
“And if I stay here?”
“You willingly tell me everything you can about the magic that brought you here and in exchange for that information I will do all I can to return you to Midgard.” Loki said. It was surprisingly hard to resist the urge to pull a face; this honesty thing appeared to be habit forming.
The man was silent for a long time. Loki could almost see his thoughts, he was trapped and he knew it. To face prison or torture at the hands of the unknown, or stay here, trapped with a man he knew nothing about.
“Alright” The mortal said finally. “Do I at least get to know your name?” He held out a hand. “I’m Steve, Captain Steve Rogers.”
Loki took the offered hand. “Loki Odinson.” Steve smiled again, still sharp but with a little warmth creeping in. “High Sorcerer of The Nine Realms and Second prince of Asgard.”