Kill…

The word reverberates in her mind, a haunting, devastating echo. It cuts her to the core: living a life without him had never remotely been a thought in her mind. 

“So….we will fight. Dagny has been pouring over Asgardian texts trying to find some kind of loophole or…anything, anyone to prove you didn’t do this. Your relationship may have been rocky, but you would never hurt your brother….” Vix hesitates and corrects herself. “Would never have hurt your brother.” 

“And Tony and the rest know that….they’re just letting their grief get in the way of their sense.” She’s racking her brain for every possibility, refusing to linger on the one chance that there really is no solution. “Dagny….is not like us. She would never be a part of something so underhanded for her own gain, not at the expense of others, and certainly not a stake so high.” 

“I have no say here…but that doesn’t mean I can’t find those who do, whether it’s Dagny’s way….or my own.” 

The smile she gives him is just as hollow and defeated as his own, but the intensity of her gaze and the truth of her words are entirely sincere. “Permission.” she scoffs, “Darling, don’t you know there is nothing in this universe that could ever keep me from finding my way to you.” 

Loki finds little comfort in Vix’s assurance of the other members of their extended ‘family’s thoughts on his innocence, or in any attempt to prove that it exists. Proof of his innocence would do nothing if they could not provide the true perpetrator of the crime. He relays this information to Vix. 

“The Asgardians need someone to punish, to make an example of, or it will seem that anyone can kill their leaders with no recourse.”

Dagny. At the mention of their daughter something tightens in his chest. He’d been trying to keep thoughts of her at bay, lest he wear himself away with grief over the loss of his brother and the separation from his child. He eased his mind with the knowledge that Momochi, for all he hated Loki, would not let any harm come to Vix’s blood. He would offer surrogacy and protection to Dagny as far as was in his power. (Momochi was an asshole, but he was an honorable one).

But if a scapegoat is all they needed...it could be someone much less high-profile than either of them. It could be someone from another realm altogether. 

At the mention of Dagny, Vix hesitates and shifts from one foot to the other. “She’s...” Vix is torn with how much to convey, but decides that he deserves the truth, if anything to jostle him out of his complacency. “Well..her world has just gone up in smoke. She’s lost her uncle, her home, and potentially her father in one fell swoop. All she does is look for answers. She’ll hardly even speak to me.....” Vix replies. 

Dagny had collapsed through the portal, wracked with sobs, slamming her fists futilely against the wall. Vix jumps at the intrusion, registers her daughters’ cries, and bolts to her side, scanning her for injuries. “Dagny? Dagny! Talk to me, what’s happened? “You should have been there!” she shrieks at Vix, smacking her arms away. “No, no, no!” Dagny continues slamming her fists against the wall, sending cracks reverberating out from where her skin meets the wood. “I have to get back, he needs me!” Zabuza lifts her into the air, securing her against his chest and offering soothing words as Dagny continues thrashing and screaming. “Dagny, darling, please, where is your father, what’s happening?” Vix pleads, concern and panic covering her like a second skin, her hands hovering helplessly over the demi-god. When she meets her mother’s eyes, it is with a resentment Vix has never seen before. “Uncle Thor is dead....they think Father has done it and they’re...they’re going to have him executed.” Vix falls to her knees as Dagny is wracked with sobs once more. Zabuza loosens his grip in shock, patting Dagny’s back as she succumbs to her grief. “Why....why weren’t you there...?” she cries softly. 

Vix bites her lip and attempts a hopeful smile. “Of course she misses you terribly and is resisting the unimaginable...but our daughter is resilient. She will figure something out. And above all else, she’s safe, darling. Funny enough, Michi is the only one she will talk to. The two have been inseparable, namely so she won’t try to make any daring escapes and well, he certainly has experience dealing with political overthrows.” Her attempt at humor falls flat.  “She doesn’t understand it now, but far from here is the best place she can be until we sort this out.” 

She chews on her lip, wincing as he presses on. He has every right to spew this venom and every word of it is the truth. 

Vix had learned most of the story long after it had been decided; after their fallout, the Momochi’s had separated themselves from their newfound family, moving back to Japan to have the children closer to their father’s roots and to have their mother far from any temptation. Nevertheless, the triplets kept in constant communication with their sister; Vix knew something was direly wrong, but willfully ignored it to play the Happy Wife and Mother. This answer is a thousand times worse than her simple absence could ever be. 

He is so close to her, yet more distant than he’s ever been. She wants nothing more than to push through the barrier between him and take him into her arms. At least providing the solace of her touch, where everywhere else she had failed him. 

All these years I thought.. 

Her heart breaks at his hopelessness; her eyes are pleading, but he’s already distancing himself once more, reminding her of all their tarnished silver. 

Vix inhales deeply, steeling herself. This was not about her. This was about saving him. She attempts to push back all the emotions running rampant in her chest and focus on the one thing the two of them excelled at more than anything: survival. “You’re right. Words can be…empty.” She paces in front of his cell. “But you can’t deny that I know you, Loki. Better than your brother, better than our daughter, hell, in many ways even better than yourself.” She pauses with her back turned to him, fidgeting with her fingers.  “I wasn’t here when you needed me….and I am not asking you to forgive me.” Vix turns to look at him with a soft expression and presses her hands against the barrier. “But I am here now, my love. Just tell me how I can help you.” 

Her open, vulnerable expression is like a knife in his heart, twisting so mercilessly he cannot catch a breath. For all his haughty words, he cannot doubt for an instant her intentions in this moment. Damn her, though she may be flighty and distant and impossible to pin down ( and would he want her any other way? ) she is also piercingly straightforward and direct with her desires. And right now, her desire is to help him. This he must believe. 

However …

“I …” and the truth presses in on him, making this cage seem smaller by the second. His voice is far softer than he intends for it to be with the admission, “I don’t know that there’s anything to be done. I don’t think …”

He’d gotten out of impossible scrapes before, but nothing so dire. The last instance he’d found himself imprisoned in this tomb was for crimes against the Earth — more demonstration than anything else given how little Odin weighed the lives of Midgardians. But this. No, the Asgardians would not abide regicide, not with their government and place amongst the Realms as broken and uncertain as it was. This would mean his death. How could it not? 

“This will not stand. They will kill me. If I run they will never stop searching. And who is there to believe my innocence? Your word alone will not be enough.” Even as he says it, he registers how tired he is of running. He feels like his been running toward this conclusion all his life.

The word reverberates in her mind, a haunting, devastating echo. It cuts her to the core: living a life without him had never remotely been a thought in her mind. 

“So....we will fight. Dagny has been pouring over Asgardian texts trying to find some kind of loophole or...anything, anyone to prove you didn’t do this. Your relationship may have been rocky, but you would never hurt your brother....” Vix hesitates and corrects herself. “Would never have hurt your brother.” 

“And Tony and the rest know that....they’re just letting their grief get in the way of their sense.” She’s racking her brain for every possibility, refusing to linger on the one chance that there really is no solution. “Dagny....is not like us. She would never be a part of something so underhanded for her own gain, not at the expense of others, and certainly not a stake so high.” 

“I have no say here...but that doesn’t mean I can’t find those who do, whether it’s Dagny’s way....or my own.” 

As he speaks she eyes him carefully, searching for some sign of certainty or uncertainty that would reveal the truth of the whole affair. Her eyes soften empathetically when he mentions his brand and she can’t help but think back to the fateful night she stumbled upon him. As much a prisoner then as he was now…but at least he had his brother.

For a brief moment, his words cast doubt on the memories. Was it another part played? Did she take his bait? However the thought quickly dissipates. She had been the only one to deceive in their relationship: by minimizing her love, by keeping her distance, by carrying on as though she could ever be happy away from him.

The kunoichi remains quiet for some time after he finishes before meeting his eyes. “/I’m/ listening,” she answers softly.

“You say so,” he concedes. “And yet my truths seem to have fallen upon deaf ears for all the good it’s done me.” He leans even closer to the barrier of his cell; as close as he can possibly get without bearing scorch marks on his skin. 

“Where were you when they accused me? When they accosted me and dragged me away.” He’s shaking with barely contained anger and pain. “It’s bad enough to have lost my brother, and to have been condemned for a heinous crime that I did not commit. But to have no one — not even you — of a supposed family take my part. All these years I thought—” 

What did he think? What had he allowed himself to believe? That I had a place in this universe. That even monsters like me can change. That monsters like me can be loved. All vain hopes dashed across the rocks of cruel reality, as they always have been. He fights against every burning feeling that has him trembling with emotion, shoves it into that carefully constructed hiding place. He straightens, backs away, shoves a smile onto his face as if he had any chance of hiding from her.

Vix had learned most of the story long after it had been decided; after their fallout, the Momochi’s had separated themselves from their newfound family, moving back to Japan to have the children closer to their father’s roots and to have their mother far from any temptation. Nevertheless, the triplets kept in constant communication with their sister; Vix knew something was direly wrong, but willfully ignored it to play the Happy Wife and Mother. This answer is a thousand times worse than her simple absence could ever be. 

He is so close to her, yet more distant than he’s ever been. She wants nothing more than to push through the barrier between him and take him into her arms. At least providing the solace of her touch, where everywhere else she had failed him. 

All these years I thought.. 

Her heart breaks at his hopelessness; her eyes are pleading, but he’s already distancing himself once more, reminding her of all their tarnished silver. 

and maybe 

                          when all of this suffering is over 

     I will see you on the other side 

                                        and we will build something real, 

“WELCOME TO THE REUNION CONCERT OF A LIFETIME!”

“Never lost his sunshine, huh?” “Nope.” 

“I…I couldn’t believe what they said. They were always looking for reasons to single you out, from the start. You’d done awful things before, but…” she hesitates, fidgeting with her fingers. Under his gaze, she finds herself excruciatingly visible. She knows nothing will go unnoticed with him. “I thought if i came to see you, maybe you would….open up. Tell the truth or something.” The more she speaks the more ludicrous the idea sounds. Sighing, she shoves her hands in her pockets to halt the nervous tic. “We trusted each other once, Loki.” 

For a brief moment, his words cast doubt on the memories. Was it another part played? Did she take his bait? However the thought quickly dissipates. She had been the only one to deceive in their relationship: by minimizing her love, by keeping her distance, by carrying on as though she could ever be happy away from him.

“I...I couldn’t believe what they said. They were always looking for reasons to single you out, from the start. You’d done awful things before, but...” she hesitates, fidgeting with her fingers. Under his gaze, she finds herself excruciatingly visible. She knows nothing will go unnoticed with him. “I thought if i came to see you, maybe you would....open up. Tell the truth or something.” The more she speaks the more ludicrous the idea sounds. Sighing, she shoves her hands in her pockets to halt the nervous tic. “We trusted each other once, Loki.” 

He does not turn to face her; he does not need to. He stands with his back to the magical barrier of his cell, as tall and proud as he’s ever been.

 “It’s only a week tops. I’m sure you can avoiding accidentally killing or maiming our child for that long.” “Yeah, but I make no promises for any time after that. Just…come back in one piece, woman. For the kid’s sake…” “And yours?” “Yeah, yeah, and mine too, shut up." Laughing, she kneels to ruffle her boy’s hair. “Be good for your father, Hikari.” “Okay, Mommy. When you come back, we’ll go to the dango shop, right? As a family?” With his signature grin, he throws himself into his mother’s arms as she plants a kiss on his head.  “Yes, my love, our little family.”

“But when I came back....nothing was the same. I didn’t know...” she pauses and exhales a shaky sigh. “You remember...you’d looked at me like you’d seen a ghost and I had no idea.... All I remembered was you.” She turns to look at him now with pleading eyes. Maybe if he understood how much he meant to her, he’d understand all the decisions she’d made. “You were there, and you loved me, and I didn’t need anything else. By the time everything came back, we had our own life, Michi. We were so happy and I...I couldn’t give you up....and I couldn’t bring myself to shatter Hikari’s childhood any more than I already had....” The tears start falling again and so she tears her gaze away to look at the ground.