The Tear of Celeste

Chapter 24: Burning

Loki has been right about the magical spell vanishing. As you started burning with your fever he could no longer even touch your forehead without it feeling like he was sticking his hand into an open flame.

Loki had followed every instruction Friday had given him on how to make you better, but nothing was working!

"You said the medicine would bring the fever down!" He snarled at the machine, which just calmly answered that it should and she did not know why the medicine was not working like it was supposed to, but that it was a very bad sign.

"If we do not get her temperature under control it could put her into a critical condition."

"WHAT?!" Loki asked shocked, were you burning as much as he was when he touched you? "What can we do?! Put her in a freezer?!"

The computer strongly advised against that, stating that 1: you should not be moved and 2: the freezer might just hurt you too, they needed to get your temperature down in a safe way!

Loki had tried everything! Medicine! His magic! But nothing was working. You were laying on the medical bed unconscious and burning, and there was nothing he could do about it!

But then a thought hit him, a memory from shortly after he had joined the Avengers. He remembered the survival training he and the others had to go through, standard boring stuff about basic first aid skills, but he had tried to listen patiently.

He remembered a lesson about warming up a person's body after they had fallen into an icy river, how you would have to remove the cold wet clothing, and that in the worst-case scenario, you could try to use your own body heat to warm them up since their own body was unable to at the moment.

Tony jokingly had told Loki that lesson probably would never really apply to him, him being a popsicle and all, and his joke had earned him a dagger thrown his way.

But what if he could use that lesson, he was cold, yes, but he is a healthy cold, his touch might feel like ice, but it was not below freezing! If he used his temperature to bring yours down when your own body was unable to, he might be able to bring your fever under control..... But your skin would burn him, it would feel like stepping into a fire and burning for hours!

His body rejected the idea, and the pain that would follow it, it refused to go willingly into such a hell of pain.

... But you were burning yourself, standing alone in flames that you had no way of fighting, and it was most likely destroying your body.

Swearing at himself for doing this and threatening Friday that none of the others must ever know, he quickly took his shirt off and walked into the flames for you.

༺☆༻

Loki was sure it would be hell for him, pure agony and nothing else, standing in the fire and burning would but nothing else but torture, and at the start, his fear was only confirmed. It was like he was on fire, and his body was shaking from the pain.

But as soon as he had gotten under you, pulling you against his cold chest, he had found that it was worth it. His lips pressed together to not make the agonized sound of what pain this brought him, and that had let him hear the sound you made.

You had been making noises before, whimpers and agonized cries, it was one of the reasons he had not been able to simply let you burn alone. You had sounded so pained and alone.

But as soon as his cold skin was against you those noises changed from pained to pleased. You almost gave a purr-like sound as you lay against him, and a peaceful sigh.

That sound alone was enough for him to ignore the pain for a while.

It had still been painful for him, but the knowledge that it was helping you had let him ignore it, and now you were back to your normal temperature, sleeping on his chest with a peaceful smile, and he knew all the pain had been worth it.

You were still dressed, but the outfit you had on did not cover a lot of skin. And he had dropped his shirt so that his cold temperature could reach you easier. So your skins were touching, with nothing in between.

And once again, Loki marvel at the fact that it did not hurt, he tried to argue with himself it was because the fire from before had hardened him, that the pain from before was simply too painful for him to note the lesser pain now, but as he stayed still to let you sleep he quickly realized that was not the case.

He could feel your heat, but it was... Pleasant. He suddenly could understand all the times people had explained to him the wonders of heat, the feel of a warm hand in yours, the comfort of a warm drink in your aching throat, the warm rays of sunshine that melted away the snow. All the wonders of the heat and sun that he had never understood.

But now he did.

Feeling your warmth touch against him let him know you were healthy and alive, safe in his arms as you had a peaceful sleep.

The warmth of you seemed to be seeping into him, into his very core, warming and healing some aching that he had never noticed before now. Like his heart and lungs had been frozen and for the first time ever he could really breathe and feel his heartbeat.

His life had felt like an endless night, always stuck at midnight, and you were the brightest star ever, breaking the darkness and enveloping him in warmth. It should have been blinding, but it was not. It was like you had stolen all the small points of light in his life, all the little things, and were shining it back at him, reflecting them in magical patterns and giving all of it new life.

Your hand was on his chest, just over his heart and he took a deep breath. He knew he would never admit how wonderful this felt, having you up against him, sleeping peacefully. Safe, and sound.

His fingers lightly trace your hair. He had touched it before when picking out what products it needed, but now he was touching it... Just to touch it. Letting his fingers run through your locks, feeling your hair between his fingers, feeling like silk caressing his hand.

How had a mere mortal girl with nothing super about her besides insane stamina captivated him so much?

He knew the answer. It didn't matter if you were just an ordinary human, you had captivated him. The way you acted, the way you spoke, the way you were, and the way you thought.

It was all so new to him and he had found himself being pulled into you.

He tried to think back to when you captured him, what moment was the start.

Was it you telling him that even if he was a villain that did not make him bad?

No, it was before that.

Was it when you hugged him for the first time and slept on his lap? Your skin never touched but even then your warmth reached him.

No, it was before that.

Was it watching you shop for the first time? Clearly displaying that you had never once done something like that, and you were trying to buy other people stuff all the time instead of yourself? Yes, he had noticed that every time you went into the store to buy something you had also gotten something for someone else.

No, he realized, it was before that.

You had caught his attention the first moment you walked down those stairs. He had noticed you, first just because you were the new thing, but then it was like your mind was broadcasting your thoughts to him, and he saw the way you were seeing him, and the way you had described him in your mind, with no filter but just your true honest thoughts had been the first moment he was captivated.

He shook his head as he stroked your cheek with just a single finger, looking at your sleeping form with a smile, knowing that you had completely captivated him, and he was unsure of how to escape, or even if he wanted to.

No, he realized, he did not want to escape, for now, he wanted to lose himself in this feeling.