Chapter Text
There were many things Loki hadn't planned for that week. Like getting caught by the Assasin’s syndicate and being forced to join its ranks and hunt down other freelance assassin’s, as he used to be. Neither had he planned to go investigate an old building that was supposedly a safe house for freelance assassins, and even less, ran across the crumbling building, chasing the rogue assassin that had set timed bombs in the fundations of the building to trap the assassins who were following her.
Loki managed to reach a safe zone just as the roof collapsed behind his back, agitated but not defeated, he promptly ran after the blonde in a suit that had run away from the place. He followed her through narrow streets and alleys until she got to an escape car, before she could open the door, Loki pulled her by the arm and the gleam of a knife made him step back. She struck again but Loki dodged, grabbed her by the clothes and shoved her away from the car. She kicked and he parried, he punched and she blocked it. And they fought in a fluid and elegant dance even when both were out of breath.
Neither paid attention to the people in the street screaming and running away from them, or those who actually approached to witness the fight. It was then, with the time he had bought by fighting her, that a team from the Syndicate led by Ravonna turned from the corner.
In a slip, the fugitive assassin managed to get the door handle but Loki pulled her back. The door opened and the bomb inside the car detonated, sending them both heavily against the brick wall. And all the witnesses, including Ravonna’s team, were pushed a few meters back too.
Loki hit the wall heavily, his ears buzzed, he fought to recover his senses. He saw her standing on her feet again, running to a car that had stopped due to the explosion and pulling the driver out of the car to steal it.
He saw his chance and took it. Loki ran as the car drove away and managed to elegantly jump in the passenger seat.
“What are you doing?” she spat angrily, punching him yet not stopping, leading the car through the streets.
“Same as you, trying to escape the syndicate!” he answered, trying to stay out of the reach of her punches.
“Well, then get your own car!” she yelled, yet not stopping or slowing down.
“Like you got to your car?” he mocked. “What was that by the way?”
“Someone put a bomb in my escape car, you idiot. Probably the syndicate. Now get down!” she insisted, slapping him in the arm. Instead, Loki put on his seat belt and wore a smug smile.
She growled and fixed her gaze on the road ahead, leading them from the small street to the highway, passing by all red or green lights.
Their breathing calmed down, the rush of the fight and the escape was fading now there was more distance between them and the disaster behind. Loki took a look back to make sure they weren’t followed.
“I think we’re good for now-” he shut up when he saw her shaking from head to toe. “Are you-”
“I’m gonna pass out,” she said in a whisper.
“Then stop the car!” he yelled, taking a hold of the wheel.
The car lost speed, Loki managed to lead the car to the side of the road and held the trajectory while she struggled to stay awake. When the car finally came to a stop, Loki pulled the manual brake and she leaned back, finally passing out.
He acted quickly, unfastened his seatbelt, got down the car and ran to her side. If they were getting chased by the syndicate, he needed to act fast.
So he opened her door, unfastened her seatbelt and was about to drag her out when he saw the metal piece, debris from the early explosion, stick just above her hip, where the clothes were already dark with blood.
He hesitated for a moment, he could leave her by the side of the road, take the car and be done with her. He took another look at her, she was pale, her blonde wavy hair was tied in a messy bun and the loose strands stuck to the sides of her face by the sweat. He had assassinated younger and prettier women for money before, but there was something with this particular one that made him hesitate. Maybe it was the fact that she almost got him killed by crashing a while building on him, that she had planned and orchestrated all that by herself, or maybe he had hit his head really hard back then. Loki sighed and picked her carefully in his arms, a sharp, stinging pain in his back held him back for a moment but he ignored it and carried her to the other side; then placed her on the passenger seat, fastened the seatbelt and hurried to sit at the driver’s.
He checked back on the road again, making sure they weren’t followed and started the car. He took the highway and started fidgeting with the radio.
When the fog faded from her eyes and she regained consciousness, she found herself now sitting on the passenger's seat while the idiot that had been chasing her drove the car. She tried to sneakily take the knife on the back of her belt but even the slight movement triggered a wave of sharp pain coming from her hip.
She held back a whine, but he noticed her movement anyway.
“Ah, you’re awake! How’s the bleeding?” he asked right away.
Her shaking hand went to her hip, and she could finally take a look at the metal piece that had gone through her suit, shirt and skin, now stuck just above her hip; With the blood dripping, soaking everything, even her pants now. Still, she moved slowly to get what she needed.
She held back a cry of pain as a consequence of the movement and taking the knife, she pointed to his throat. “Where are you taking me?” she asked, and the quick movement made him jerk away and the car swayed before he controlled it again.
“Would you stop that?” He yelled angrily. “I can’t drive properly if you keep trying to kill me!”
“Well, you’re full of it because you need me as a bargain in case the syndicate catches you. That’s the only reason you helped me back there,” she said, putting the knife down.
“Maybe… yeah, I mean, sure… that too.”
“So what, you’re taking me to the Syndicate then?”
“No, I want to get away from them too. Honestly, I’m not sure where I’m taking you,” he answered, giving her a side glance, with an expression far too calm for what the situation required. “I was thinking of the nearest gas station or dinner to take a look at that wound…”
“I don’t need your help,” she retorted.
“You’re so weird,” he chuckled.
“Listen, I’ve been running from the syndicate for a long time,” she started. “As soon as we find a stop, we’re taking separate ways.”
“Okay, okay…” he surrendered. “Next gas station is a few miles away,” he pointed out to the sign beside the road. “So what was your plan by the way? Blowing up that old building…”
“The fact that I’m trapped in this car ride with you doesn’t mean I want to hear your voice,” she said looking away. Trying to masquerade the pulsing pain the metal shard had her on.
“I’m Loki by the way. What’s your-”
“I’m Sylvie,” she answered shortly.
She leaned back in her seat, resting her head and closing her eyes. She took a deep breath trying to resist the pain. Now all the adrenalin had subsided, it was getting worse by the minute, except for the bleeding that seemed to be decreasing.
“That’s not very assassin like,” Loki smiled at her, and Sylvie whined in pain, not because of her wound this time.
“You never shut up?” she asked exasperated.
“Rude! I was just trying to make conversation.”
“Let's just ride these last few miles in silence, okay?” She proposed, barely able to speak now.
He finally fell silent, and Sylvie could take in the situation more calmly. Her plan to trap and kill a handful of assassins from the syndicate had worked. Hopefully, that would send the message and they’d leave her alone for a while. Or, it could double their efforts in finding her and that could take her to the head of the syndicate. The man she was actively trying to kill for more than a decade now. All considering she made it out alive and well from this car ride with… Loki.
She looked at him up and down from the corner of her eye. He was tall and lean, probably well built under his suit, it was required for their line of work. His pale skin was a hard contrast to his dark hair that almost reached his shoulders in curls. They guy looked like he could kill, but was stupid enough to get caught by the syndicate.
She had to make it alive.
“We’re here,” Loki announced as he left the highway and made way into the small gas station and parked.
Sylvie opened her eyes yet didn’t move immediately, the pain was increasing and her legs weren’t responding. Loki seemed to notice her distress.
“I’ll go ask for the restroom,” he said, leaving her on her own.
She took it slowly, moving one foot at a time and getting her legs ready to hold her weight. She opened the car door and slowly shifted her position. With both feet on the ground, she used the car door as leverage and stood up slowly and painfully, barely letting out a groan in the process.
She looked back at the car. Loki had left the keys on, she could take the car and get away if she wanted, thus risking passing out again in the process. Also, both seats were stained with blood. Her blood. They’ll also need a new getaway car, this one was probably being searched for already.
“This way,” Loki said, coming to her side and signaling the way around the building to where the restroom was. “I can carry you-”
“I can do it on my own,” she stated murderously, and limped her way towards the restroom while Loki followed her closely behind, covering her from the few customers in the place.
He opened the door for her, she groaned, rolling her eyes in annoyance, but before she could lock the door, Loki stepped inside behind her, closing and locking it behind himself.
Her hand was again on her knife, ready to frustrate any attempt of murder from him, but instead, Loki looked confused and chuckled.
“Why don’t you put that down so we can have a look at the wound?” His voice echoed in the small room making it feel crowded, smaller, suffocatingly smaller. His hands stretched towards her trying to convey calm.
Tired and in pain, Sylvie put the knife away and leaned back on the wall. He could have killed her already, though he might still need her alive just in case the syndicate caught them so he could bargain with them. But whatever the options were, it was best if she actually cooperated now.
Both inspected the metal shard stuck just above her hip. It had gone through all the layers of clothes and was pinning them, but at least wasn’t bleeding anymore.
Loki took a generous amount of paper towels from the dispenser in the wall and placed them just under the wound.
“You think you can pull it out yourself or want me to do it?”
“I can do it,” she said with a shaky breath and a determined nod. It was going to hurt.
Loki took the cue, placed a hand on her waist keeping her in place, it was a firm hold that Sylvie considered unnecessary, yet didn’t complain, she just focused on her task. Sylvie took the shard carefully yet firmly. They shared another nod, Sylvie pulled it out in a single attempt with a faint whine. Loki moved her clothes away and promptly pressed the towels against the wound that started to bleed again.
“Are you okay?” he asked, and Sylvie took a moment to overcome the pain that came after taking out the shard. Her ears drummed for a moment but when she focused again, Loki’s green eyes were far more close and intense than she expected. She couldn't help but blink several times and then nodded.
“I’m gonna take a look now,” he informed and she nodded again.
Loki was standing in front of her but then, to her utmost surprise, he kneeled down, now he was at eye level with her wound. Sylvie had to remind herself of the real situation here for her cheeks had suddenly flushed at his action.
Before he actually removed the paper towels, both inspected the metal shard and realized the wound wasn’t that deep, for the debris had been stopped by the clothes.
Sylvie held her clothes out of the way, her belly and sides were stained with dried and wet blood, so were her clothes and his too, making a whole mess of the situation. She took a deep breath when Loki removed the towels and the wound bled slightly.
“The cut looks clean,” he said. “There’s a few fabric fibers in there but I can pull them out. Though you’re going to need stitches.”
“I have a sewing-” They said at the same time. “...kit,” they also finished together.
Loki moved first and took a small metal box from a hidden pocket on his jacket. Inside, there were needles, thread, tweezers and other objects to use in these scenarios.
“Hold this, I’ll go wash my hands,” he said, giving her the small box and pressing the paper towels back to her wound.
“Wait, you’re going to stitch the wound?” she asked bewildered. “Why?”
“I don’t see that you’re in any position to do it properly.”
“I’ve stitched myself in worse situations.”
“I bet you have,” he nodded, approaching again, now with his hands rinsed. “I can watch you do it, or… you can let me do it. It’ll be faster.”
She took a deep breath and actually considered the situation. She could do it, but it would be slower. Her hands were already shaky from the fight, the explosion, the escape and the loss of blood.
“You don’t have alcohol with your kit?” she asked, handing the box back to him.
“Afraid not…”
Sylvie rummaged the inside front pocket of her jacket and revealed a metal flask she unscrew open with a single hand and poured a few drops of it inside the sewing kit, soaking everything with it.
“That will do,” he smiled back, and readied the needle and thread.
He kneeled again in front of her, nodded for Sylvie to remove the towels and first removed the few threads of fabric inside the wound. Then signaled for Sylvie to rinse the wound with the content of the flask. She jerked slightly for it, but she had to avoid an infection. When all was clean and ready, Loki got to work. With careful yet skilled movements, he pierced the skin near the wound with the needle and Sylvie couldn’t help a hand tugging at his hair.
“Not so rough, dear,” he jested, and gave her a mischievous smile.
It was an involuntary movement. The wound was in a sensitive place, swollen and aching, so her primitive reaction was to hold on to the nearest thing she had. She softened her grip, yet didn’t let go. But Loki didn’t comment on it further and continued his task.
Sylvie held on, inhaling and exhaling, withstanding the pain of the needle every time it pierced her skin, the passing of the thread joining the edges of the wound, and the twisting knot every time Loki closed a stitch.
She had to resist the dizziness that came with the pain and the blood loss. And also the closeness she had with Loki. They had barely met a few hours ago and he was stitching a wound. So smug and confident that Sylvie could hardly believe this was real.
By the end, it came to four stitches, that Loki rinsed with the alcohol in the flask. That was the first time that Sylvie actually moaned painfully since they had met a few hours ago.
“Good girl,” he smiled at her, standing up and taking the flask to his lips to drink. “This is cheap whiskey!” he complained with a raspy voice.
“Sorry, dandy,” she teased, taking the flask from his hand and taking a sip herself. “Couldn’t afford scotch this week.”
He gave her a smirk, and Sylvie noticed for the first time how tall he actually was, almost passing her by a head. She also noticed how close he was, and the smell of his expensive perfume mixed with blood and gunpowder.
“So, thank you,” she said, rather regretfully, keeping the flask in her pocket again.
Loki turned to wash the blood from his hands and Sylvie cleaned herself a bit too. Trying to improvise a patch with more paper towels.
“You think you can drive?” He asked suddenly, and Sylvie remembered her own words to him during the car ride.
She made a mental check, a pain check on herself, and had to admit, “I don’t think so.”
"I can give you a ride, then," he smirked at her again. Then turned to the toilet, spread his legs a bit and unzipped his pants.
"Oh, really?" Sylvie asked outraged, rolling her eyes and turning around to give him privacy. "We'll need another car," she said over the watery sound of his leaking. "The one we got here with is probably being searched right now."
"Alright, I'll get some things from the store, and when you're ready," he said, zipping up and turning to her. "We can procure another car."
He walked to the door with light steps yet confident, but Sylvie stood on his way, staring at him in silence.
"I forgot to wash my hands, okay-"
"How long have you been with the syndicate?"
"A week, probably? A bit more, why-"
"They vaccinated you, where?"
"Uhm, they did but wh-"
"Where?" She demanded to know, raising her voice.
"In my arm, why does it matter?"
"They chipped you," she explained, taking her knife out again. "Every time the syndicate gets a new recruit, they put a GPS tracker under your skin. So they know you're here. They've been tracking us and will keep doing so wherever we go, unless…" she finished pointing her knife at him.
"Well… it sounds like something the syndicate would do actually…"
"Show me," she insisted, and rather reluctantly, Loki freed his left arm from the jacket and rolled up his sleeve.
"It was around here…" he showed her.
Sylvie wrapped a hand around his bicep, pressing gentle with her thumb, massaging the area.
She knew this was the way of the syndicate, she had to take her own GPS out of her arm herself more than a decade ago. So she kept searching for the one Loki had.
She had to go up and down his arm, outlining his firm muscles, tracing old scars, feeling his warmth, until she felt the small bump under his skin.
"There it is," she whispered, holding up the knife.
"Are you sure about this?" He asked unsure.
"Yeah, this is how I took mine. Take a deep breath," and before Loki could say anything, she pinched his skin and poked it with the tip of the knife. The blood dripped, Loki gasped, and she held her prize high.
"Smaller than a rice grain," she presented him with the small device, covered with blood but without a doubt foreign to his skin. "They know we're here. We need to leave fast."
Loki nodded and left.
Sylvie still had her doubts about Loki. He had proved to be somehow useful and not a complete idiot. But she wasn't sure where his loyalty lay or if he was just playing the long game with her just to turn her down to the syndicate later. So she took her time to wash away the blood from her hands, clean some other wounds and looked like she hadn't been near two explosions that day and an open wound a few minutes ago.
She peaked from the door and found no one. Then slid out the restroom and peaked from the corner of the building to the parking area in front of the store.
The place wasn't crowded, no one was filling gas, and in the parking lot, a family was climbing to their car. A bag was neglected while the parents fastened the kid's seatbelt. Sylvie sped up, limped actually, and managed to toss the gps tracker into the bag without being noticed. She kept walking and entered the store. It was empty besides the cashier and Loki rummaging through the snack aisle.
“I got rid of the tracker,” she informed him, coming to his side. “But we'll need to wait for someone else to arrive to get a car. And be ready.”
“That gives us time to come up with a plan. Look at these chips, figgy port flavor, have you tried them?” he asked, presenting the bag to her, changing the subject.
“I don't like fancy shit,” she said tiredly. “I like these spicy cheddar.”
“I want to know what this figgy port tastes like,” he said, taking both bags and moving to the beverages.
“Do you have any weapons on you?” Sylvie whispered, following him closely.
“I still have a pair of daggers, I lost my gun and the spare one in the explosion,” he said, looking at the many choices for drinks.
“I still have a spare one, with only six shots though,” she lamented. “And my knife of course.”
“I think we'll manage for now,” he encouraged her, taking a couple of bottles from the showcase that Sylvie didn't quite see what they were. “You look awful by the way, very pale. How's the wound?”
“Hurting, Loki, how else would it be?”
“Rude. Do you want something to eat? A hotdog maybe?” He pointed at the “hotdog” sign near the cashier.
“Loki, we're literally running away from the assassins syndicate, what part of imminent death you still don't understand?” She asked, gritting her teeth.
“What about an ice cream while we wait for another car to arrive?” He insisted.
He was testing her patience to its limits. For him, this was a trip on a Sunday afternoon while it was in fact a matter of life and death. And still, Sylvie had never turned down an ice cream in her life.
“Mint chocolate,” she answered, frowning and folding her arms over her chest.
“Excellent choice!” Loki cheered up and walked to the freezer, juggling the bags of chips and bottles in his arms. Eventually, Sylvie took the chip bags from him so he was free to rummage through the many favors of pallets until he found what he was looking for.
They went to the cashier and laid everything on the counter.
“Do you have first aid kits or band aids,” Sylvie asked the cashier.
“We have band aids, do you want normal or with Avengers designs?”
“Take the ones with Avengers design,” Loki smiled broadly. “I'll be paying,” he added as encouragement.
“Those are for kids,” she smiled, though turning it into a grimace to hide the laughter that tried to escape her. “The normal ones, please. And since you're paying, add this gum,” she smirked, taking a blueberry gum from under the counter and adding it to the pile of groceries.
“Anything else?,” asked the cashier, uninterested.
“A box of condoms,” he said calmly.
“You're disgusting!” Sylvie complained next to him.
“Extra large, please,” he added with an even bigger smirk.
Sylvie huffed annoyed, took her ice cream and left the store leaving Loki to pay.
Outside, she leaned against the wall and looked at the sky. The sun was getting low, they still had a few hours left for the day, but they needed a plan, beyond just leaving the gas station in a different car.
“It was a joke,” Loki said, coming to her side and copying her actions on opening the ice cream pallet. “You shouldn't be embarrassed of buying condoms, it's perfectly natural,” he insisted, in a mix of mockery, but softly and casual enough to lighten the mood.
“I'm not embarrassed of doing it, it's just not the time- Ugh, I'm just in a lot of pain right now for these jokes of yours,” and saying so, Sylvie shifted her weight to lessen the pressure over her wound.
“I'm sorry. How's your ice cream?”
“It's really good actually,” she sighed deeply, taking in the cold and sweet of it.
“Good. So, indulge me in a question, when was the last time you actually bought condoms?”
“Excuse me?”
“Well, I mean, what I really want to know is… There's this rumor that says the women that work for the syndicate have all their insides… you know,” he said, twirling his finger around his belly. “Removed.”
“It's called an hysterectomy,” she corrected him. “It's true,” she shrugged, taking another bite of her ice cream.
“Oh, so… they did that to you?”
“They tried,” she admitted, scrunching her nose. “I escaped before they could.”
His eyebrows shot up and he let his jaw fall open. He was impressed, and he didn't try to hide it, he looked cute like that.
“So, you were part of the syndicate once,” he followed up.
“It's a long story, and we don't have time.”
Sylvie had been looking straight ahead the whole time, she gave Loki a short nod for a car approaching the parking lot in a hurry. It was an SUV, black, screamed business man with a small dick all over it.
“Well, this looks fun,” he sighed tiredly.
“Come on,” she said, finishing her ice cream.
“We can’t stab him in plain sight,” Loki warned her.
“Who said anything about stabbing?”
“All your plans involve stabbing!”
The car parked right in front of them, unceremoniously. Sylvie wasn't wrong, the man that came down, keeping the car keys in his suit pocket, was bald, overweight and heavily sweating. He entered the store in a rush.
“He’ll ask for the restroom,” she began. “We’ll surround him around the corner, knock him out, get the keys and we’re off. If he puts up a fight and we need to stab him, it’s entirely up to him.”
“That’s just basic mugging, besides, you're a bit of a cripple right now,” he said condescendent. “ We're doing this my way. Hold this.”
He gave Sylvie the bag with the groceries and followed the man who was skipping his way to the restroom. Sylvie wouldn't leave this to Loki alone.
“Hey, excuse me sir-”
“I got here first!” The man whined in agony turning the corner.
“I just need a moment-”
“Fuck off!” He yelled when Loki stepped between him and the restroom door.
“If I could just-”
“I told you to- '' and when the man's face was burning with rage and Loki was just babbling incoherences, Sylvie stepped in.
“Thanks for holding it, I really need the restroom,” she said with her best smile, holding up a bloody hand. “I just had a lady accident, if I could just use the restroom first, I made a mess of my car and-”
“Okay, lady, but hurry up!” the flustered and disgusted man said, looking away.
So Sylvie got in the restroom again. She quickly washed her hands and used the moment to improvise a patch for her wound with paper towels and the band aids they got from the store. She heard the muffled voices of Loki and the man outside. She hurried out, for the man really looked like he needed the loo and if Loki was actually as clever and he believed he was, he should have got the keys by now.
As soon as Sylvie exited, the man rushed inside, locking the door. Loki held the man's sweated jacket in one hand and showed off the car keys in the other.
Both shared a mischievous smile and hurried for their new escape car.
Sylvie was the first to take the passenger seat, Loki was about to close the car door when the cashier from the store came running.
“Hey, that’s not your car!” She scorned him.
“Oh, well, you’ll see-” Loki tried.
“Get this over with!” Sylvie hissed.
“We’re friends with the car owner-”
“He went to the restroom,” the woman insisted. “you’re taking his car-”
“Back away!” Sylvie yelled, crossing an arm in front of Loki, pointing a gun at the cashier who took a couple steps back.
Loki finally closed the door, started the engine and backed from the parking spot.
“They are stealing the car!” the cashier yelled at the other workers near the gas loading stations. Alerted by this, three men came running to their escape route. Loki slowed down.
“What are you doing?” Sylvie asked angrily.
“I’m not running them over-”
She pulled down the window and half of her body out, pointing the gun at the workers. “Get out of the way,” she demanded, but when only two stopped and one took a few steps forward, Sylvie shot the ground. Several screams and yells erupted from inside the store and from the workers.
“Keep going!” she rushed Loki who followed her demand.
A couple of workers jumped out of their way, and Sylvie crossed her arm in front of Loki again to shoot at the air through the window, a last warning so no one followed them.
“Fuck! Don’t shoot so close to my ear!” Loki whined as he took the highway and they left the gas station behind.
“FYI, that wasn’t even a plan,” she commented as soon as they settled in and took the highway again. “Plans have multiple steps, stealing a car is just doing a thing.”
Loki remained silent and she rejoiced in that. A moment passed and all the events of the day suddenly fell on her. The wound hurted her, but the tiredness was bigger. She couldn’t hold back a big jawn.
“Oh, if you’re tired, feel free to take a nap, I’ll be driving,” he smiled.
“So you can turn around and deliver me at the syndicate’s door? No way.”
“You’re still with that? I’m trying to run away from them,” he gestured, annoyed. “And since you took off the tracking device that I didn’t even know about, so thank you for that, now I can just… go, I guess…”
“Sure, we’ll see about that,” she answered, folding her arms over her chest.
Sylvie didn’t care if he felt insulted by her lack of trust in him. He was actively trying to capture her under the syndicate’s order some hours ago and suddenly he had a change of heart and decided he didn’t want that anymore? She wasn’t falling for that. She needed this ride to get away as far and fast as she could.
“Could you at least hand me the chips? I’m getting really hungry,” he asked calmly, with a voice loaded with fatigue. “You should drink something too, look for what I got in the bag.”
Sylvie roamed in the bag, finding an electrolyte beverage in two different flavors. “Really?” she asked incredulously.
“You lost a lot of blood, you can pick the color, I don’t mind. But pass me the chips, okay?”
Sylvie sighed deeply, going over all the decisions she had ever made in her life that led her to this situation. She opened the weird flavored chips bag and handed it to Loki, then opened hers and both snack in silence for a while.
Then, the realization hit her.
“Where are we going?” They had been so focused on running away that neither had actually set a destination.
“I’m just driving honestly…”
“I need to rest for tonight-” she said, biting the pain away, again.
“Oh, so… what’s your style, a night at a fancy hotel? Or a cheap motel like the spirit in your flask?” he asked cockily.
“I have a hideout for this kind of situation. I have several, actually.”
“Oh, we could spend the night there-”
“Beg your pardon, we?” She asked, offended at his audacity.
“Well, I thought that, since I helped you stitch that wound and now I’m driving you off, maybe I could-”
“Forget it,” she cut him off. “You’re leaving me close to my place but then we’re taking separate ways. You can go wherever you want, back to the syndicate, to a cheap motel or fancy hotel, whatever…”
He mumbled something Sylvie didn’t quite catch. “What was that?” she asked, annoyed.
“I broke a rib, or at least cracked it,” he corrected himself.
“I’m not falling for that, Loki,” she sighed tiredly. “Just take us to Blüdhaven, it’s around an hour ahead and you can go your own way.”
He didn’t answer, just shifted his head uncomfortably and kept his eyes on the road. Sylvie rejoiced in the silence again, and relaxed against the seat. It was a pretty comfortable one.
She was fighting the tiredness, and despite the constant and pulsing pain, her eyelids were heavy. She couldn’t fall asleep, she had to make sure Loki would take her to Blüdhaven and not turn around or make a smart move. But she could rest her eyes for a while, that would help her restock energy. She wouldn’t sleep, just rest her eyes for a bit.
If I could escape
I would, but first of all let me say
I must apologize for acting, stinking, treating you this way
'Cause I've been acting like sour milk all on the floor
It's your fault you didn't shut the refrigerator
Maybe that's the reason I've been acting so cold
- The Sweet Escape, Gwen Stefan
Bonus: Comic page from a scene
