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modestlyabsurd · 5 years

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Compromised (Loki x Reader)

"We're gonna need reinforcements."

Steve Rogers tensed at Natasha Romanoff's grim implication.

The thought rolls around in his mind - all the possible conflicts, outcomes, subsequent issues. It's the last thing he wants to do. But those scenarios meshed with the image of God knows what's happening to you right now at the hands of God knows who.

All of them would rather not do it. What choice do they have, though? With the loss of your cell phone signal, and with no knowledge of who's behind this, it leaves them in an uncomfortable helpless rut.

For a second Steve gets angry at the matter. Of everyone in the compound - every employee, every intern, every agent, and not to mention the Avengers - why would someone target one of the youngest, most caring, innocent, good-doing people in the facility? Why you?

And then he realizes; the answers are there. They're obvious. That's why Natasha is resorting to this, knowing what it encompasses. This leaves him no choice but to use his training to twist that anger into pure determination before someone gets hurt.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," he concludes out loud.

Natasha gives a tight nod and rushes to go find Bruce Banner and Agent Maria Hill.

Illuminated by blue screens and beads of sweat, the agents' faces clearly reflect the matter at hand. Bruce presses his fingertips into his temple, Maria bites her nails in concentration, while Steve and Natasha exchange apprehensive glances. They can't bring themselves to look at the screen, the words "waiting for communication" looking coldly back. It never seemed to take this long for a reply.

Tony Stark and Clint Barton were promptly notified hours before at the beginning of the circumstance. While the rest of the world must continue to turn when duty calls, they've both been put on direct standby if needed.

Steve's wondering, staring that white spinning circle down, controlling his temper. Are these guys gonna pull through when needed the most? At this rate, going on twenty minutes of lost time spent waiting while you're still gone, he's losing patience. And with that, he's losing trust. Respect.

He only has faith in one God. But these guys are supposed to be dependable.

"Maybe we should reconsider this."

Natasha sighs, "Steve - "

"Look, we're wasting time." He uncrosses his arms defensively. "We need to be aggressively searching and we're just gonna sit here like lumps on a log?"

"We are searching, we've got every unit on it and every one is coming up cold. This is clearly out of our hands if we can't find any breadcrumbs whatsoever. It's our best bet."

"How do we even know they can help?"

"Don't be ridiculous." Natasha's rolling her eyes at Steve's frustrated nonsense when a distinct ping sounds from the oversized monitor, followed by Bruce stammering.

"Wait wait wait hold on, I got something," he clicks the mouse and types rapidly.

"Connection is established," a computerized female voice speaks. Everyone lets out sounds of relief simultaneously.

"Can we get verbal communication now?" says Maria impatiently, swiping her fringe from her eyes.

Bruce shifts as she hovers over him at the computer desk, "Should be able to - yeah, just give me a second ... " he trails off while clicking away at the tabs and windows popping up on the screen.

Steve shifts on his feet as well, anxious to make some sort of progress. He stares at the computer for answers, only to become even more frustrated because he doesn't understand anything he sees.

He does, however, understand the words "communication unavailable" in red letters spread across the screen. A swear word wisps from his throat quietly enough that no one else knew, along with words from the others.

"That's alright, just calm down. I still have a connection and can send them a distress signal," says Bruce.

"Well, get on it then!" Steve snaps.

It's not often that Natasha is the voice of reason. But when she needs to be, she's damn good at it. She may not even mind it, being the pacifier from time to time.

She steps in front of Steve's view, gentleness in her eyes looking up at him. "Why don't you go take a break? You might wanna recharge for a minute." She grins, "For lack of a better term."

Leaving everyone to their devices and standing idly by is not Steve Rogers' forte. Especially not when the life of someone he cares about is on the line, up for grabs. Out in limbo. What in the world happened her? he thinks, as a wave of pain ripples through his forehead. A stress-induced headache.

He massages the bridge of his nose in anguish. Maybe Natasha has a point. Come to think of it, he hasn't even had breakfast, as it draws into late-afternoon.

Little does he know how Natasha's manipulation skills are working so well. She convinces herself it's for the greater good - and she's right. What good is a distracted soldier in a war?

Steve gives in. For a little less than an hour he's supposed to be "recharging". When Agent Hill runs to the gym in Stark Tower and finds him destroying a punching bag down to the stuffing with his bare fists, she knows he's been fully charged.

Exactly what they needed.

Out of breath, she tries to catch Steve's attention. In his controlled stupor he hears nothing.

"Steve," Maria huffs, "Steve!"

He whips around mid-punch - sweaty, red-faced, arms bulging. Furious.

Maria nods rapidly, wide eyed. "We've got 'em on the line."

Steve and Agent Hill speed walk down the corridors to the computer lab. No sounds but that of their boots hitting the descending floor levels and their pounding heartbeats.

On the way Steve clears the rest of the clouds from his mind, what the workout couldn't get rid of. "How'd you get the connection?" he asks - not really meaning to out loud, but it filled the silence and slowed his mind down.

"Fury gave us the access code into one of our astro-energy receptors," her voice cracks with her steps, "Banner contacted Stark and was able to link JARVIS to the system which gave us a communication inlet. They've been exchanging written messages but ... we all agreed that you would likely be the best one to break the news."

"All this time with a line of communication and you haven't even told them?" Steve begins, but quickly stops himself. Now's not the time; this is good, this is progress. He doesn't skip another beat until they arrive to the lab.

When they walk in, Maria takes a backseat to Steve as he hesitates halfway to approach the computer. From across the room somewhere, Bruce sees something on the screen and squeezes by Steve's unusually intimidating frame. His eyes light up, "Looks like we've got a voice connection now."

He barely hears Bruce say that they've successfully got them en route, before politely shoving by him and Natasha to see the screen - again feeling like a caveman trying to comprehend it.

As a silence fills the thick air, Natasha knows why. She glances down and notices Steve's fingers twitching ever so slightly. From her position beside of Bruce, she lightly hits Bruce's bicep and motions to what she's seeing; Captain America instead of Steve Rogers.

Not quite as reassured as Natasha, Bruce watches his demeanor further. He follows his eyes studying the words on the monitor. It's then that it clicks; what's causing the change. Bruce gently prods him in the arm. "You wanna talk to him or ... ?"

"Yes."

After some clicks and typing, Bruce has the microphone set up. Steve looks off in the distance - away from what he's about to do.

"Does anybody copy?" he says.

A few seconds pass.

...

"Ah, the soldier." A mocking voice comes through. "Now what on Earth could ever bring you to speak to me?"

The room goes cold. Everyone's skin jumps just a bit as old memories flash back, but only for a moment. Composing himself, Steve speaks again.

"Loki ... She's been compromised."

Earth's mightiest heroes. That's what those incompetent fools call themselves.

The ones charged with keeping their home planet and those who reside in it protected from danger have allowed one of their own colleagues to be captured, right beneath their noses. And yet, the humans still trust them gravely. A mockery. A damned disgrace. Midgard never ceases to astonish.

On any day, issues such as this would be but the buzzing of a fly - it would never concern Loki, or any of Asgard for that matter. An alliance has been made and continues to be upheld, but no need to call in the help of another realm unless absolutely necessary.

But if they hadn't contacted Loki, if he'd found out on his own, they would've had to restrain him like an animal and pray it would save themselves from being torn apart limb from limb.

Luckily for the Avengers, it didn't happen that way. Instead, he's here. Hiding under invisibility in the shadows of this dark, barren planet, far away from home. Surrounded by eerie black skies free of any sunshine. Feeling his way through cool walls of rock beneath his palms. All too familiar; a place he wished upon no one to be. Well actually, on second thought, he would possibly like to send the Avengers here ... but the last person deserving of this place is you.

You. His little Midgardian dove.

Your shy touch, soft eyes, your sweet kiss. Your warm embrace; him hating the fact that he loves - no, needs it. Your clammy hands; your blushed cheeks when he tangles his fingers with them. Your entire self lighting up whenever you see him, and for what he'll never understand. Your lovely little way of keeping him firmly grounded, yet on his toes at the same time.

Your captors took that when they took you. Left behind was a murderous rage in Loki.

But he doesn't act on it. Not just yet.

He's made himself a perch, a bird's eye view from ground level. Looking on at the place where everything changed just a few years prior, the fear he remembers, while just below the surface, seems a light-year away at the moment.

Over a boulder, he sees one of their ships in the distance. Steady streams of smoke coming from the rear indicated either an emergency landing, or failure from the ship's operator. He dials in closely. Guards lay motionless spread on the ground. Could it be ...?

Loki goes to gate of the ship. His suspicions are confirmed.

It's them. It's him.

Upon closer examination he sees their hideous faces twisted in agony, frozen in time. A smile pulls at him in brief satisfaction. Fitting, he thinks. He can't tell how the three of them died, but it's clear they're dead. He forces himself to peel his eyes away from the gratifying sight.

And just as soon as he does, he senses a presence approaching. Immediately he's contemplating a move before the being even knows he's there.

Loki drops the invisibility spell and starts to enter the rubble that's left of the ship. Nothing's really there to be found - though he's absolutely positive that at one point, possibly just moments ago, there was indeed something to be found.

The disturbance also caught the attention he wanted, an inhuman noise cutting the near silence.

"You do not belong here, Asgardian," it speaks in a guttural snarl.

Loki smirks and plays along. Without turning around, he raises his open hands in surrender. "Yes, you're right. Though I do terribly apologize for whatever has happened to your ship," he slowly turns.

Oh yes, it is them. He'd almost forgotten just how repulsive these creatures truly are. And they have you in their cold, evil hands.

Luckily, self-control is something Loki is quite skilled at.

The being that distinctly resembles the one he dealt with who he knew only as Other, tilts its head to the side, evaluating him.

Loki interjects before it can speak again, "If I may explain myself ... In truth, I've come looking for something; and on my search I came across this, this, wreckage. Ah, what a shame." He shakes his head, feigning pity. "But since you've survived, perhaps you would be willing to assist me."

The being grows suspicious.

"I may even be able to return the favor."

It bares its disgusting teeth and gums. "A gamble with the Chitauri?"

"I prefer a bargain. After all, you seem to be in a rather large predicament here," Loki motions to the crash site.

The creature appears to sadden at the loss of the ship for just a split second. That's all Loki needed - he knows it's convinced that their predicament is more severe than his. A breeze howls, blowing dark blue dust behind the creature's metal boots.

Seconds pass. Loki never breaks eye contact with the being, and lets his lack of fear be known.

"Yes," the creature hisses, "it would seem so. Of what assistance could you be to us?"

There's more of them somewhere, Loki's mind jumps.

He plays it off well. "I'm quite good directionally. If you tell me where your people's destination was, I could get you there faster than this ship would've."

Careful, he reminds himself. Seeing the two thumbs on the creature's gray hands flexing is a good indication not to get too snarky.

He thinks of you. It keeps him calm.

But then, the air changes.

Under his armor the skin of his arms raises in goose flesh. A shiver threatens to ripple through his body. He feels himself moving, although both him and the creature have remained still. Locked on each other. The sensation brings about memories he doesn't wish to revisit.

The being begins to raise its hand, to test him. To use its power to tear apart Loki's mind from the inside out. To graze him with concentrated pain. A defense mechanism, a torture method, and a good one at that.

It never got the opportunity. It fell to its knees after noticing Loki had disappeared. Pain barely registers behind its legs before a horrible stinging, burning, pounding feeling pours from its shoulder.

A continuous hissing wail erupts from its throat. Blinded by white hot pain. Instinctively a deformed hand reaches up to the wound, only to feel a handle of some sort sticking up from it.

The wails begin to get weaker, as the world darkens around the creature. As though it is falling into a bottomless pit; just before it slips into the abyss, an uncontrollable vivid vision plays in its mind.

Loki squeezed the creature's forehead as hard as he could, just for good measure.

He closed his eyes and watched the images. He recognized so much of it. The throne hovering above ground. The incredible starlight. He saw figures of those standing guard as well as the one in their grip - struggling, flailing, screaming. Fighting.

He grew angrier and angrier. Your hair, your clothes. Your body.

You.

Loki saw red. Dark, metallic, sticky red.

"Where is she?"

He made a point not to kill the being. A small dagger strategically laced with poison to keep the victim awake.

The being pants, mouth desperately hanging open. It drawls in a wave of pain, "I do not know who ... "

Loki twists the dagger.

Over gurgling yells, he growls next to the creature's head, "The girl. The human. The Midgardian, where is she?!" He screams the last of it.

Before it takes another breath Loki pulls the cold dagger out, then sinks it into the other shoulder. As the poison works, the being inwardly wishes for death. "Closer ... than you think," it chokes out.

"Where?!" He twists the dagger again, rendering the being morbidly defenseless.

It screams something in a foreign tongue. Loki's brow furrows, about to pivot the knife to pop the shoulder off when the images around him alter.

In a cloud of smoke, the rubble left from the crashed ship is revealed to be nothing but an illusion. The smoke clears to unveil the hidden sight; Chitauri standing in a defensive line ready to attack, and just behind that line is three or more of them - he cautiously looks closer to find that they're surrounding you.

That's all he needed.

He hesitates no further at the sight of you to raise the stabbed creature up, roughly pulling out the dagger and exposing its neck to it.

It's when he speaks that he realizes he's ran out of breath and his blood is running hot.

"Let her go ... or I will retrieve her myself."

The creature in his grasp shakes violently, whimpering, a blood-like substance oozing from both shoulders. Loki feels it getting on his hands, on his chin.

"Make your move," he taunts them.

A few of them cock their heads.

Then one of them raises a spear.

The knife sinks into the dying creature's neck and Loki drops it, conjuring and strategically throwing two more in a matter of seconds. Three Chitauri drop dead.

Five more come forward. Loki creates another two daggers and uses their momentum to slash critical points - the neck, chest, and head. He hits each with precision. Two larger Chitauri come barreling toward him as he conjures an illusion of himself, leading them a few feet away before throwing knives into their necks from behind. They drop with bleeding wounds.

One grabs his shoulder. Loki whips around with incredible speed and kicks the creature behind the knees then twists its neck, killing it instantly.

He's now facing you. Through wild strands of hair he makes eye contact with you. You're a distance away, held in place by chains to a boulder. His throat flutters at your loving eyes.

He gets lost in them, as always. His feet slowly take him over to you, and he sees the marks on your face. No, no no no, his mind starts racing at what they've done to you, when a hard blow to the middle of his back knocks him to his knees.

He sees the sky, now a dusty brown haze.

He feels the tip of a cold metal at the back of his neck.

You gasp, afraid to make a sound. You can't breathe, you can't think, seeing Loki with a spear to his neck.

The alien son of a bitch says something to him, but you can't hear it from your position as well as over the amplified sound of your blood pumping. Loki's face curled up in pain ...

His hands are up, his eyes squinted shut. The alien begins stepping closer to his back, angling the spear downward toward his spine. He winces, making your entire body jerk against the restraints like a rabid dog. A defenseless rabid dog.

Loki opens his eyes, locking with yours. You watch as the alien steps flush against his back, the spear pointed straight down against his skin. You see something in him you've only seen maybe once - and never in such a circumstance - fear. He's scared of dying.

You panic. In a frenzy you look around for something, anything, and quickly realize there's nothing you can do. No way to distract. No way to kill. You can barely even move for fuck's sake.

Loki eyes you, trying to ask something. You shake your head, not understanding, but then you quickly see it. Unbeknownst to the alien he's conjured another blade, but he can't see where to swing it.

You become his eyes. He needs a kill shot. The blade is in his right hand. Keeping eye contact, you wiggle your left foot. Rock scrapes beneath your shoe.

Thank goodness, he understood that primary gesture.

He whips his arm around and slices the alien's Achilles tendon open.

The ground thumps with the fall. Loki stands up and crouches over the alien; you see his arm swinging down near its face multiple times, until it doesn't move anymore.

This time, when he sees you, he doesn't walk leisurely. He runs his ass off and nearly crashes into you.

As his hands go to the chains around you, you can't take your eyes off him. It doesn't feel real. None of it feels real up to this point. All this time you've felt so heavy, like cinder blocks. The smell of travels, sweat, blood and that of Loki envelopes you, his frame shadowing you from the massacre that just occurred.

You've been staring at his chest. You lift your head to his face, and you feel light as a feather. Pure, unrefined relief in a physical form looks like Loki. You can almost taste it it's so sweet.

You hear his heavy breathing, the washing sound of a radio speaking the words "Congratulations, you're an Avenger now", and the clangs of metal falling to the ground piece by piece. The coldness falls from your skin, replaced by the familiar coldness of his hands on your cheeks.

He says something, you don't quite catch it. "Are you alright, my dear? Did they hurt you?" he says louder, gently shaking your head.

"You found me," it comes out as a weak whisper. "How ... ?"

His face flashes with disdain at the thought of those imbecile Avengers. "I had a bit of help. A small, small bit," he smiles at you, resisting the want to hold you close to him and never ever let you go again. He squeezes your cheeks in his hands and gives you a long kiss to your forehead.

You smile tiredly, falling into his chest. "I've never seen you fight like that," you murmer.

He tenses, "I know. I'm so sorry. You didn't deserve to see that."

You look up, your chin against the brass of his chest plate. "I thought it was pretty hot."

tag list: @arttasticgreatnessoftheawesome77 @afinedilemma @fire-in-her-veinz @paradisaicsam @drakesfiance

#loki x reader #loki imagine #loki x reader angst #loki angst #loki odinson #loki laufeyson #loki #tom hiddleston #thor #thor odinson #thor ragnarok #the avengers #avengers x reader #marvel #mcu #marvel imagine #modestlyabsurd

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tandyoaken · 6 years

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TWO PINK LINES → BRANDY

TAGGING → Bryce MacGuffin (@brycemacguffin) & Tandy Oaken

TIMELINE → February 3rd, 2018

SETTING → 1161 Wizard Way

SUMMARY → Tandy finally takes a certain test that she’s been putting off, thinking no one else is home... TW for pregnancy scare.

Bryce Macguffin had a strange relationship with belief. He believed in some government conspiracies as quickly as he dismissed the existence of things like wisps, but one thing he'd never believed in was fate. Life, it seemed, was a series of unconnected moments. Things happened, people reacted, and so on and so forth. It's not to say he was wrong to not believe in fate, but it is worth noting that if he'd left his house even a moment before on this day, if he hadn't insisted on waiting for a text to hear that it was okay to go over to a friend's cottage, he wouldn't have heard the scream.

It was a scary noise, not the kind of scream one does when seeing a spider where it isn't expected - it was more like the sound one makes when their home is being broken into or when they drop a flat iron on their foot, and it elicited Bryce from his room faster than anything else had ever. With all the worrying about what was happening, he didn't have to worry about the who, at least. It was distinctly a girl's scream, and he only lived with one girl.

"Tandy?" The name he'd barely said escaped him, loudly and awkwardly and more worried than he probably intended. "Are you okay?" He hurried through the cottage to where he'd heard the sound, to the bathroom. His hand made it to the doorknob and for a moment it occurred to him that he might be bursting in on something inappropriate. What if she had fallen naked or something? The thought didn't last long though, because danger was worse than any potential embarrassment at least on his end and the instinct to help was too strong, and so he twisted the doorknob and opened the door, concern etched all over his face.

Tandy should have taken the test while Dolly was there. She shouldn't have taken it alone, but she'd been so hopeful that it would be nothing, praying that the test would tell her that she'd been worried for nothing and she could show up and surprise her bestie with a bottle of wine and a big smile afterwards... But it wasn't nothing. It was a pink plus sign, and as soon as the result had flashed in front of her eyes, Tandy had fallen to her knees and screamed. Why her? Worse, why with him ? It was a girl's worst nightmare, messing up and getting pregnant on what had turned out to be one of the worst nights of her life even before the added complication... and she didn't know what to do with herself now. She was almost paralyzed, unsure of what to do next, wishing she could wake up from this horrible nightmare.

The nightmare only got worse, though. The door flung open, and she blinked up in shock at the face hovering over her -- her roommate, Bryce or Bruce or whatever his name was. He was nice, but so quiet she hardly noticed him most of the time... so quiet she hadn't even realized he was home when she'd taken her test. She tried to open her mouth to go away, to tell him she didn't want anyone here and she didn't need anyone, either... But instead, she held up the test meekly for him to see as sobs finally wracked her body, realizing the seriousness of the situation she'd gotten herself into.

It was true that Bryce hadn't seen Tandy a lot despite their living situation, but even so he could hardly remember seeing her look so small before. The face she had wasn't one he'd seen anywhere else before, and his eyes were so locked on the horror behind hers that it was hard to even tear away from them long enough to gauge anything else about the situation but he had to. She wasn't bleeding, she wasn't naked, and she was alone, and nothing was knocked over, and so his worries were assuaged for a moment when he considered that perhaps he'd imagined the whole thing and that the worst thing about this situation was that he'd invaded someone's privacy. It wasn't until she held up the test that it truly hit him what was happening. His jaw dropped slightly and he felt like an intruder in this moment that was clearly traumatic and that she was going through, apparently, alone.

There were a million questions that came to mind, but the only thing he wanted to do was hug the girl. They weren't close enough for that, or for him to know if she even liked being touched, or if she preferred alone time or company, and he didn't know how to proceed. They weren't friends, they weren't anything to each other, but she was scared and if he could do anything to make that better right now, he would. "Hey, it's okay," he heard himself say as he lowered to the ground besides her. If she wanted him to go, he'd go, but right now maybe what she needed was to not feel alone. "It's all okay, and if it isn't okay, it will be." He bit his lip, the guilty thought of asking who the father was flashing through his mind when he was almost positive he could guess if he really tried. Instead he settled for asking "Do you want to talk about it?" in a quiet voice, waiting to see how he could be most useful to her in this situation.

“It’s okay.” Bryce’s words bounced around in Tandy’s head for a few seconds, but the weird part was, she knew he was right. She’d had weeks of putting this off to start to wrap her head around what might be growing inside of her body right now, and at the end of the day, it wasn’t even the thought of a baby that she was dreading. It was the thought of who it belonged to, how small and stupid and insignificant she felt to the baby’s father -- because the test confirmed what she’d been worried about, the test proved there was a baby on the way, now -- that had her screaming in agony. If it had been anyone else -- Eli, Robbie Liddell, hell, even Dawn... so many attractive guys in this town who hadn’t treated her like garbage -- she might almost be happy right about now. Instead, she’d wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, to let her frustrations out... and Bryce had caught her, leaving her feeling small and embarrassed all over again.

“Do you know how to make a good cup of tea?” Tandy asked weakly, not sure what else to say to this guy who lived under her roof but was practically a virtual stranger. She should be calling Dolly or Dawn or Tawny and updating them on what she’d just found out, but... telling them would make it real. Realer than it already was, at least, and she wanted to just have some calm, to really process it, before that moment came and she had to start really considering what to do. “Maybe without caffeine? I haven’t really... researched what I am and am not allowed to have at this point,” Tandy admitted, biting her lip. She was usually so confident, but this was new territory for her, and she didn’t know what to do. “And I’m sorry for yelling like that, or scaring you. I just... didn’t think anyone was home to hear me. You won’t tell anyone, right?”

Bryce grinned a little awkwardly at her request, but nodded. Thankfully, tea was his drink of choice, but the truth was that even if he didn't know how to make a cup of tea, he'd Google it or something to be able to do it for Tandy right now. They might not be friends but she deserved at the very least a modicum of human kindness. "No caffiene is probably a good call. You can't go wrong with herbal teas there. Do you like chamomile?" he asked hopefully, since that was the flavor he always had the most of at any given time. He shook his head immediately at both her apology and her question. "No, don't say sorry for that. It's okay, really, I'm just glad you're not hurt. And this is your news. It's not my place to tell anyone," he answered honestly. It was Tandy's business and Tandy's business alone. And, well, probably the business of whomever the father was, but that information wasn't his business either. Getting to his feet, Bryce offered Tandy a hand so that they could rise and head to the kitchen.

As they waited for the water to boil, it occurred to Bryce with minor amusement that this was the most amount of time he'd ever spent with his roommate. They weren't the kind of people that ran in each other's circles, he supposed, and as he packed his tea infuser with tea leaves and poured the hot water in, he wondered idlly if they'd have ever talked if it wasn't for this. He poured a cup and looked up at her, nodding his chin as he asked, "Do you like honey or sugar or anything?" He poured himself a plain cup and placed it to the side, waiting for more infomation so he could finish Tandy's drink however she liked it. "I know it's probably a dumb question, but do you want to talk about...anything?" he asked, handing over her cup and sitting across from her, wondering if it was better to talk to her about it or to leave her alone. He had a feeling he'd find out sooner rather than later, because from the little he knew about Tandy, he knew she wasn't shy about what she wanted.

Tandy didn’t really speak as she watched Bryce shuffle around the kitchen, her arms folded protectively over her stomach -- because now, she was almost positive there was something inside of there to protect. She just had to go to a doctor to find out for 100% sure, but she was beyond late on her period, she’d been feeling so off moodwise, and there was a pregnancy test to confirm her worst fears. Or... some kind of fears, at least, because as much as she loved family and as much as it was weirdly easy to picture being a mom, there were plenty of things still scary about this equation. She let her mind start to wander, barely even noticing Bryce was talking to her until she felt his expectant stare on her, and she shook her head to clear it as best she could. “Honey would be nice, please,” she said meekly, trying to keep her stare from glazing over and getting vacant this time, especially since Bryce seemed to want her to talk about what was going on.

“I shouldn’t have made Dolly leave; you shouldn’t have to deal with this,” Tandy murmured, staring into the finished cup of tea miserably. “This is my problem, mine and... Ajax’s,” Tandy muttered darkly, not sure why she’d let the name slip past her lips. But all of Walt would know soon enough, wouldn’t they? Her stomach would start growing and growing, and Ajax may have been stupid enough to call her the wrong name, but he wasn’t stupid enough to not at least ask who the father was if she got pregnant. Was he? The fact that she didn’t know if he’d even care about her having his kid or not made her eyes well up with angry tears, and she buried her head in her hands, rubbing her eyes for a moment. “I just... it’s weird, I haven’t even admitted this to my best friend, but if it were anyone’s but his I think I’d... want it, you know? But it is his, and I don’t want anything to do with him ever again, and now I don’t know what to do.” She stirred her tea idly, bringing it up to her lips and blowing on it to cool it off before putting it back down without a sip. “What would you do?"

Bryce bit his lip, but his musings of how to best phrase the notion that she wasn't alone fell to the ground with a crash like broken glass when he heard the name Ajax. Ajax . He'd known Tandy and Ajax were sleeping together, it wasn't exactly a secret, but he hadn't even considered that Aileen's Ajax could be the father of Tandy's baby. Not that he was Aileen's Ajax anymore, but that's how Bryce had thought about him for so long that even now that Bryce and Aileen were finally giving dating a try, his first thought when he heard the name Ajax was to think of the red-headed girl he was so fond of. His second thought was about this red-headed girl and the way she'd said Ajax's name, the way it made her cry. Brycec stayed silent and listened so he could absorb everything she was saying, nodding as she went to let her know he was paying attention, and he definitely was. A million questions were racing through his head, among them 'What had Ajax done to Tandy that made her so mad?' and 'She wanted this baby, to an extent, but what would that mean for her life?'. There was so much to consider, he didn't envy the sudden hundreds of weights of responsibility that had fallen on her shoulders.

Her question gave him pause and he let out a breath. "There's so much that this affects, it's hard to know where to start," Bryce answered carefully. "But, for starters, I know Ajax. Not personally," he admitted, "but he dated a friend of mine. I know he isn't the brightest or the most reputable. He's not who anyone would chose to have a child with, but it isn't about him. At the end of the day, it's about yout. If you want a baby that never knows its father, that's your right to decide as the mother. A lot of happy and healthy people were raised that way and if you have the means and the support system, it's an option. If you want to wait before having a child, that's your right to decide, too. There are tons of options, and everything else, from the father to your friends to your school or professional life can adjust to what you choose." He took a sip of his own tea and put it back down. "It's a lot of big decisions and I wish there was a way to make them easier. You don't have to decide anything immediately though, you have time," he tried. "And right now, you can just do what you need to do, whether that's absorb or rant or rest." He paused then cracked a nervous smile when he realized how much he'd been talking. "I'm sorry the first time I talk to you is me basically lecturing you," he said, looking down at his tea. "And I'm sorry for everything that's happening. And for not saying congratulations yet. I wasn't sure if it was, you know, appropriate."

“Believe me, I know,” Tandy muttered darkly, her shoulders tending when Bryce mentioned that Ajax was his friend’s ex. Even though she knew the whole thing wasn’t Aileen’s fault by any means, it was easier to harbor a grudge against the other girl than to blame herself. She’d gone into everything with Ajax no strings attached, and she’d done her part of the deal — Tandy hadn’t gotten attached emotionally to the demigod at all. He was the one who’d broken their pact; using her as a substitute for an ex that he couldn’t have? That was a big fucking string, even if it wasn’t tied to her she’d still gotten tangled in their knots. “And it’s fine, it’s not a lecture,” Tandy said, lifting her tea up to her lips and taking a deep sip of it. She suddenly didn’t want to talk much more; she didn’t want another man in her life who cared more about Aileen Dunbroch than they did about her. “It’s kind of nice hearing someone say all the same things I’m thinking, at least it makes me feel like I’m kind of doing something right here.” Letting her tea rest on the table, she hugged her arms around her stomach again, surprised by how nice it felt to hear Bryce congratulate her. Her ill will of a few seconds earlier — were those the kinds of moodswings she had to look forward to now that she was pregnant? — evaporated, and happy tears welled at the corner of her eyes now instead. “You’re the only person who’s said that. Everyone else just made me feel like a fuck up, whether they meant to or not.” It wasn’t a fair thing to say, not when she’d been stressed and no one else even had confirmation yet, but Tandy had needed to hear it more than she’d realized. “If I do decide to have it, I know he or she is going to be one hell of an amazing baby.”

Bryce was used to only being around people he'd known his whole life that reading Tandy's reactions was no easy feat. It felt like she went through emotions so much faster than he did, and he didn't know if he was helping or making things worse as he went along. He did smile just a little when she said it wasn't a lecture, though; even if he wasn't doing this right, at least he wasn't doing it so wrong that he was making her feel trapped in some mansplaining of pregnancy. Just when he thought he was getting a footing on her feelings, she was hugging herself and crying and he was thrown for a loop all over again. As she spoke, though, he thought he understood her pain, at least a little. There was a lot to dislike about the situation, but the situation was still a baby . She probably even kind of loved it already, whether she ended up having it or not. "I'm sure that people just don't want to say the wrong thing," he tried, "especially in tough situations. But you have a lot of people that love you and they'll be happy with whatever makes you happy, you know. Your dads, and your family, your friends." He didn't know much about Tandy, but he from what he'd heard about her dads and her family and from all the times he'd seen her going out with friends, he knew that she seemed like one of the least alone people he'd ever met. "And I know I'm only your roommate, but I know enough to know that if you decide it's time to be a mother? You're going to have one happy baby. Because you're smart and you're brave and you, um, know how to keep a bathroom clean," he smiled, hoping the anti-climatic compliment would cheer her up a little bit more.

Tandy nodded solemnly; there was only so much that could be said about the topic before it felt like she was going around in circles. She'd been thinking on this non-stop for weeks, ever since the time for her period had come and gone, and she just nodded weakly. What could Bryce say that she hadn't already thought for herself? She'd be shocked if he said anything at all that was new to her, but it was kind of sweet of him to try, at least. "My friends and family are pretty great, huh? Even if my sister says she won't touch the baby until he or she is five," Tandy said with a watery chuckle. The tightness in her chest felt a little lighter now; she was past the worrying, and into the acceptance phase. Barring a miracle when she went to the doctor, this was happening -- in some form or another, there was a decision to make, but for now she was content to imagine this baby as a real, concrete thing unless she decided otherwise. "And hey, maybe now Ajax will actually learn my name," she said with a roll of her eyes, unable to resist one more jab at the only dark shadow hanging over this. "Apparently he doesn't appreciate my bathroom cleaning skills as much as you," she added, trying to brush away her bitterness with weak jokes and hollow smiles. "I had no idea you noticed, I clean the sink drain with old toothbrushes like, twice a month."

Bryce kind of laughed at the mention of Tandy's little sister - Tawny? - being reticent to hold the baby. "She seems like a smart girl based on the robot war comments I've seen her make, she'll come around to holding a baby before that . They're nicest to hold when they're still small and don't kick you for holding them, or at least that's what I think," he admitted. Being one of the four largest clans in Scotland meant there was always a baby to hold at any given time, and before long they were toddlers who talked back and stole pastries and played with weapons when they shouldn't. His brow wrinkled at the comment about Ajax, though. "I'm sure he knows your name," he tried, although he wasn't too sure at all. He didn't have much against Ajax but he'd always considered the giant guy to be a little bit on the slow side. It kind of sounded like Tandy just wanted him to notice and appreciate her and Bryce wondered if she was in love with her baby daddy, though this probably wasn't the right time to ask. "Of course I noticed. I clean sometimes too, but compared to how often I had to clean in my high school cottage, this place is a godsend. And I kind of assumed it wasn't Eli or Winter," he said, though he didn't know much about the other two roommates they had at all.

"When it's yours, it's probably nicest no matter what stage of life its in," Tandy said wistfully, hoping she was right. Or maybe hoping someone would tell her she was wrong; as sure as she seemed that she could do this in the moment, she could wake up tomorrow entirely over her head instead. Her mood soured again when Bryce insisted that Ajax probably knew her name, though. "You don't get it -- he does know my name, but he called me Aileen when we were... you know," she sighed, shaking her head. "But I don't want to talk about it. It just kind of... spoils things, that those are the circumstances that this baby was made under, you know? But it's fine. I'm fine." She drained the last sip of her tea, standing up from her chair and saying, "I kind of think I need a nap before I call Dolly and tell her what happened. But um, thank you. For listening and stuff," Tandy said, crouching slightly to give him an awkward side hug. "We should, I don't know, actually talk again sometime. I can tell you all about the things I do to clean the baseboards when you're not home," the redhead joked weakly as she gave a small wave and retreated to her room to cry again.

Bryce nodded in agreement. He'd never had a child before so he couldn't say for sure but family was a huge part of his life. He couldn't even imagine what it'd feel like to have his own. He didn't get to ruminate long before that bomb of information about Ajax and Bryce's current...girlfriend...type thing exploded right in front of his eyes. "What?" he blinked, not understanding for a second until it clicked. And when it did finally clicked, he wasn't sure whether to first be mad at Ajax for hurting Tandy's feelings like that or to focus on the fact that this could mean that Aileen's ex still had feelings for her. On the one hand, he'd considered Aljax to be dead in the water since their high school breakup, but on the other, it made everything with Tandy make a little more sense, like why she was so mad at Ajax and why it was a dark cloud over this whole baby situation. He wouldn't want someone who showed him such little regard to be permanently tied into his life either, and he wondered when or if she would tell Ajax now. He could only nod dumbly as she insisted on needing a nap. "Of course," he replied, returning the awkward side hug to the best of his abilities. He probably would've talked to Tandy again anyway, if only to check in on her or offer her tea again randomly, but he liked that the suggestion came from her and smiled. "And that would be nice. I'll be seeing you, Tandy. " He waved back as she walked out of sight. It was a lot of information to absorb in only a few moments - and he could only imagine what it felt like for her - and he sat there longer trying to figure out what to feel that he almost forgot that he'd been on his way to meet Aileen when he first heard his roommate scream. He almost wanted to text and cancel and just stay in, to further digest everything he'd received and in case Tandy screamed again, but he knew that wasn't likely. He got up to the front door and, sparing one last look down the hall to Tandy's room, exited quietly.

#brycemacguffin #para #para:bryce #bryce #para:twopinklines

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