Runemarks fic

[alyssa]

Hey guys Although this site is brilliant, I seem to have found something missing... Runemarks fics! I know probably most people haven't read it but it really is an amazing book, and the second one is just as good. So, I thought even if noone else here knows the fandom I will try to introduce it to the forum My best friend and I are both obsessed with Loki (yes the norse god/guy from the avengers/Thor/various other things but this is him in Runemarks) and so take a guess who this is about!

There are spoilers for the first and second books so I recommend you read the books first if you care about that, and that you read the books even if you dont care!

So, merry christmas everyone!

Oh yes, apologies for any problems with this, spelling/typos or anything are down to the fact i got a new computer for christmas and did the editing on this story on that, it feels really different from my old one. And any other problems, such as the fact its kinda OOC because of my crappy writing and the fact I wrote this pretty fast late at night XD Hope you guys enjoy!

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“Mbaddy, let mbe ind! Combe ond , it’s freezing out here! I kndow you’re upset about your sister but will you please just opend the door?” Loki had been knocking on the door for what felt like an age – probably about five minutes. It was winter and raining in this part of Asgard, he guessed that Maddy had brought the normal weather patterns of Malbry with when she had created her hall. Weather patterns including the heavy rain that was currently pelting down and the biting cold. He shivered and banged on the door again.

“Hold on Loki, I’m coming.” He finally heard a familiar voice yell from somewhere in the house. A moment later the door opened and Maddy greeted him with a small smile. “Hey, what’re you doing here?” It had only been a few weeks since they had rebuilt Asgard and in that time Maddy had spent most of her time in her hall - either around Red Horse hill, at her little house or in Little Bear Wood – either alone or in the company of Odin. Loki had spent most of his time in Asgard with his small family, getting reacquainted with his wife and sons and happier than he had been in a long time.

“You had to – heshoo! Hat’choo! – had to bring the authendtic weather with whend you built this place didn’t you?” He complained, teeth beginning to click together as he shivered in the cold air. Maddy frowned. Sure it was raining and a little cold but not that bad, certainly nothing to warrant the violent shaking that the man was caught in, especially since he was used to the somewhat cooler temperature in the caves of the world below.

“Nobody forced you to go out in it,” she answered, expression slightly amused at his overly dramatic response to the weather.

“What amb I ndot allowed to combe say hi? Would you mbind if I cambe in, by the way. It really is rather undpleasandt out here.”

“Sure, come on in. I’ll, uh, find something for you to change into.” She moved aside, allowing him to enter the house, noticing that he was completely soaked. Figuring he could manage by himself for a few minutes she headed back to her room to try to find something that would fit him so that he could change out of his soaked clothes. After several minutes looking she managed to find some of her dad’s old clothes for the trickster. She headed back to the living room where she assumed the god would have gone. Sure enough she found him standing in the middle of the room dripping wet and shaking violently.

“Choo! He’choo, hushoo!” She heard him sneezing loudly into his elbow and to her surprise he quickly dissolved into a harsh coughing fit. The coughs were deep and congested sounding and strong enough to bend him in half.

“Hey, I found you some dry clothes. You gonna live?” She asked as he struggled to take a breath.

“Yeah… I’ll be… okay… ind a mbindute.” He wheezed out between coughs. After another minute he was able to regain control of his breathing and looked sheepishly at Maddy.

“So, what was that about?” She asked him, raising an eyebrow and waiting for him to explain.

“Umb, what was what about?” He asked, trying to look innocent but failing entirely. At Maddy’s irritated expression he tried a different tactic. “Just got a bit of a cold.”

“You can get sick?” Maddy was surprised at the sudden revelation. She had been living around the Æsir and Vanir for three years now and had never seen one of them get ill. Of course, Loki wasn’t really one of the gods, he was a child of chaos adopted into the Æsir by Odin, but she had assumed that he would be immune to illnesses of the Folk.

“Yes. Apparendtly being bornd fromb chaos does ndot guarandtee you a great ibbunde systeb. You’re surprised?” He sniffed, the congestion in his voice becoming more pronounced as he spoke.

“I just didn’t think that the gods could get sick.” She answered, looking more closely at him. He did actually look rather unwell. His skin was even paler than it usually was and his nose was beginning turn slightly red and was running a little. He also looked exhausted, dark shadows under his eyes stood out from the unusually pale skin and his eyes kept drifting shut as the spoke. She held out the dry clothes she had forgotten she was holding. “Go get changed then, you shouldn’t be wet while you’re already sick.”

“Thagk you.” He took the clothes with a smile, even his crooked smile was less energetic than usual she noticed. He headed down the passage to where he knew the spare room was located. Maddy could hear muffled coughing and sneezes that grew gradually louder as he returned to the room.

“I hugg by wet stuff up id the bathroob so it could dry a bit. Is that okay?” The soft voice sounded nothing like his usual self. That was just something else that showed her how sick he was and told her that he was definitely getting worse. Usually he would have just told her what he had done, sure that that would have been alright. He was also still shivering hard despite the warm coat she had found for him.

“Yeah that’s fine, do you want a drink or something to eat?” She asked him, concerned that he didn’t seem to have any energy. Usually he was always doing something; planning some sort of prank, trying to work his way out of trouble after the prank annoyed one of the other gods, playing games of some sort of working on various other things. Whatever he was doing he always seemed to be full of energy, but that was not currently the case. Maybe something hot to eat or drink would help to bring his normal joking personality back.

“A hot drigk would be great if you have ode.” He replied tiredly.

“You can sit down or something, I’ll be back in a minute.” She told him, heading towards the kitchen to make drinks. While preparing the drinks she considered all the things she had done with the trickster. They had stolen journeyed through the World Below, freed the whisperer, stolen it back from the Vanir, broken the Æsir out of the Netherworld and many other things but even when he was terrified, reluctant or upset she had never seen him like this. The closest was when the whisperer had been invading his brain three years ago during their journey to Hel. Through all that they had been through together he had been excitable and lively, always with something to say or do, even when he really didn’t want to go through with whatever was happening.

She picked up the two mugs, carrying them back to the living room and looking over at her guest. He was sitting on the couch, head leaning against the back and eyes closed. He gave no indication of noticing her presence and she guessed that he must have fallen asleep. Setting the mugs on the table she noticed that a slight flush was beginning to work its way across his cheeks. A quick touch to his forehead confirmed her suspicion that his temperature was far too high.

“Wake up, you can go to sleep again in a little while,” she murmured, gently shaking him awake.

“Wha-” He croaked, throat protesting the faint sound. Dragging open his eyes he saw his young friend leaning over him, her expression concerned. “What’s goigg od?” He attempted to speak again, voice slightly clearer although no less painful and about half an octave deeper than normal.

“You’re at my house, you fell asleep,” she answered, voice laced with worry at his obvious confusion. How high was his fever? Or was he just half asleep still?

“Oh, right, sorry.” He whispered, sitting up again so he was facing her. “Hey, what’re you doigg?” He tried to move his head away from the cold hand that was suddenly on his forehead.

“Hold still,” she told him sharply, trying to figure out if his temperature was high enough to be dangerous or just uncomfortable. Finally she removed her hand, figuring that if he was well enough to try as hard to move away as he was then he couldn’t be dangerously sick.

“Heh’knxt! Esch! Eshoo!” He pulled away from her, sneezing violently into his arm.

“Hey, you okay?” He held up his hand, face still buried in his elbow and she guessed that he wasn’t done yet.

“Ha’kishoo! Heh…eshoo!”

“Done?”

“For dow,” he sniffled miserably. Maddy picked up one of the mugs, handing it to the trickster.

“It’s tea, I put some herbs in it that should help you feel better.”

“Thagks Baddy,” he replied faintly, taking the drink from her and breathing in the steam.

“Eww, that’s disgusting Loki!” She complained as he dragged his wrist under his nose as the steam began to make it run. “I can get you a handkerchief or something if you need to blow your nose.”

“Fide, if you idsist.” He rolled his eyes at her complaint. “That would be good thagks.” She nodded and left the room, returning a moment later and handed him the piece of cloth. He took it and scrubbed at his nose, turning it even redder than before.

“So how are you feeling?”

“Ugh, like I had adother rud id with Jorgi.”

“If you’re that sick why aren’t you at home with Sig and your boys?” From what Maddy knew of Loki’s wife she guessed that the woman would be more than happy to care for her sick husband.

“The boys have beed sick.” He began to explain, pausing to take a sip of his tea and blow his nose. “They mbust have picked it up whend they wendt to Worlds Edd to take a look aroudd, they foudd a couple of boys to play with add mbust have picked up sobe bug frob theb. So they’ve beed dowd with sobe butadt cold frob Hel for dearly a week add I was gettigg bored beigg stuck id the house and havigg to be quiet. So I wedt to go explore Red Horse Hill, see if what you dreabed up was adythigg close to how it was. It was, by the way, well dode. Adyway, I fell asleep add whed I woke up, well I felt like crap. So I left the hill and got soaked by the wodderful weather that you created up here add so I cabe here. Your house is closer thad bide add hodestly, I did’t feel up to flyigg.” His voice was beginning to give out by the time he finished explaining and he took another sip of tea to try to soothe the burning in his throat.

“Well I guess you’re going to be staying here for a couple of days at least then.” She frowned that he was obviously feeling bad enough to tell her that he was feeling bad. Loki usually attempted to hide any form of weakness or being unable to do something but here he was telling her that he didn’t feel up to flying back to his and Sig’s home.

“Doh, I cad leave if you wadt be to. I just wadted to get out of the raid for a little bit.” He sniffled, mood visibly drooping.

“Hey, don’t be silly. Of course you can stay here. You can’t go out and get soaked again while you’re sick; you’ll catch pneumonia or something.”

“Are you sure? You bight catch this add believe be, it’s dot buch fud.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “I have a pretty good immune system. Besides, there’s no way I’m letting you make yourself worse by running around in the rain.” She finished the last of her drink and put the cup back on the table.

“True, the Æsir dod’t get sick ofted but it is still possible.”

“Well I guess I’ll take that chance. You tired?” She noticed him starting to yawn more frequently.

“A little.” He mumbled, eyes slipping closed. It was taking far too much effort to drag them open, and an almost unbelievable amount to keep them that way.

“Come on; let’s get you into bed then.” Shaking his arm to keep him from falling asleep again she took the mug out of his hands and placed it back on the table.

“Baddy, I really dod’t feel up to that right dow. Add as buch as I would love to have Odid add Thor after by blood agaid I really dod’t cherish the thought of theb both at the sabe tibe, especially dot dow that your dad has Bjoldir back.”

“Oh haha. Very funny Loki, somehow I don’t think your wife would be that pleased with you either. Come on, you need to sleep.” She frowned as she helped him to his feet, supporting most of his weight on her shoulder. She led him to the spare room that in the small cottage back in Malbry had been her father’s and still held most of his belongings. Apparently when she had dreamed the little smith’s house into her hall she had brought it as it was, complete with her and her father’s belongings. The only major adjustment she had unconsciously made was to have comfortable beds instead of the uncomfortable cardboard mats that the people of Malbry had slept on to prevent themselves from dreaming. She dumped the nearly asleep trickster on the bed and turned to find some clean handkerchiefs in case he needed them, which, judging by his stuffy breathing, was very likely. When she turned back around she saw that Loki had laid down properly, pulling the blankets around himself and his green eyes were open and watching her dully. Setting two cloths next to the bed she knelt down next to him.

“You need anything else before you go to sleep?”

“Hashoo! Eshoo!” He sneezed into his pillow and sniffed thickly before answering. “Doh thagk you Baddy.”

“Okay, sleep well then.” She smiled slightly as he closed his eyes. She turned to leave the room when a soft voice caught her attention again.

“You take after your graddfather.” Turning back to him she saw the he was smiling affectionately at her.

“Goodnight Loki.” She replied, giving him a warm smile in return. She would ask him about that comment when he was well again, right now he just needed rest. She left the room to the sound of her friend’s stuffy breathing, smiling at the idea that she took after the man who had been her only friend for so many years.

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So there you go guys Hope you liked it, it'll probably stay as a one-shot as I have no immediate plans or ideas to take it any further. Please comment and let me know what you thought! And once again, i strongly recommend that you read the books! Merry Christmas everyone!

[Corinne]

Eee! Runemarks! Someone else has read them!!! Poor Loki's stuffed up voice makes me want to melt I don't even have a favourite part, I love it all! But Maddy and Loki's interactions I especially loved :3 They have the awesome-est friendship in the Nine Worlds

[alyssa]

Thanks Corrine! I'm so glad you liked it, they really are the most awesomest ever aren't they! My friend who I originally wrote this for (a bunch of us do writing challenges all the time) asked me to do a second part and I just couldn't resist some more Loki and Maddy fluff so here it is, hope you like it, it takes place a couple of days after the first part. Be forewarned, it's kinda really crappy but I am working on a couple of other fics and so I rushed it a little and got the characters not really right but I hope it's okay still!

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Knock knock.

The door swung open a moment later and Maddy was faced with Sigyn, Loki’s wife.

“Oh hello Maddy, nice to see you again. I assume you’re here to see Loki?” The woman gave a kind smile and led her guest into the house. “We can go see if he’s awake if you like. Thank you again for bringing him home and taking care of him the other day.”

“It’s no problem, really. He needed to be at home while he was sick; you know how to help him far better than I do.”

Sigyn led Maddy through the house to a closed door from behind which Maddy could hear painful sounding coughs. The woman sighed, her expression upset by the sound. She opened the door and quickly went over to gently rub her husband’s back until he was able to stop coughing. Maddy took a moment to look at her friend. At that moment he made the very picture of misery. He was curled in bed, nose red and running, coughing harshly. His red hair was messy, hanging loose around his face instead of tied back as it usually was, his face was flushed and his usually bright and energetic green eyes – when he opened them after he finished coughing – were dull and glassy with fever.

“He’kishoo! Ishhh! Ha’shoo! Eshoo!” He sniffed loudly, grabbing a handkerchief and blowing his nose at Sig’s stern look. “Thagks Sig. Hey Baddy, what’re you doigg here?” His voice was completely wrecked from his illness. Hoarse, far deeper than was usual and heavily congested it did little to lessen the impression that he was far from healthy.

“Do you need anything?” Sig asked him worriedly, moving her hand from his back to his forehead. “You still feel rather warm.”

“I’b fide thagk you.” Loki murmured weakly.

“Okay, I’ll bring you some soup in a little while. I’ll leave you two to talk, call me if you need anything.” The look she gave him as she left the room was one of complete love and it took Maddy by surprise to see any of the gods looking so lovingly at the trickster. In fact it was extremely unnerving to see any of them who did not actively wish harm on him, let alone actually care about him.

“How are you feeling?” Maddy asked awkwardly. She was struck by the same feeling that she had been when he had shown up at her house days before, shock at the complete lack of energy that was so unusual for him. He certainly seemed no better than he had been then, in fact, judging by the pink that was staining his cheeks, his fever was most likely worse.

“Just a cold, dod’t look so worried.” He gave her his crooked smile, trying to ease her concern a little. “I dow it looks bad but really, I’ve beed sick before, worse thad this. I’ll be fide id a couple of days. You cad sit dowd you dow. ” Maddy tried to make her worry less obvious as she took a seat next to him on the bed and gently touched his forehead as she had seen Sig do. He was definitely still running a fever, although it was not as high as she had feared. He frowned and pulled her hand away. “Cobe od, dot you too. Sig’s beed fussigg over be eved worse thad she was with the boys! I’b dot dyigg or adythigg.” He was obviously still unused to having someone to care for him and was struggling with the adjustment. Sig was a wonderful caretaker, making sure he had everything he wanted and was as comfortable as possible but it felt so foreign after so many years of being without that sort of love. It was starting to get rather stifling actually.

Maddy laughed at the face he made when he mentioned his wife’s care. “She’s just trying to take care of you; I would have thought you’d appreciate it, given your record with family.”

“Ah, but life is so buch less idterestigg without the codstadt death threats,” he joked, also beginning to laugh although stopping when it led to a painful coughing fit. “It’s just a lot to get used to. You dow I’ve dever beed a good father, I bead, you saw how Hel, Federis add Jorgi absolutely adore their dad. Add dow I have a chadce to do it right, add Sig is great, sobetibes a little idtedse but still.” He allowed a smile to creep over his face as he thought of how nice it was to live with his small family, finally getting the chance to live without having to fear for his life most of the time and to have someone to take care of him when he was ill, even if the care was a little too attentive for his taste. “Hi’kishh! Eshoo! Hah’tchoo! Ugh sorry. You bay dot wadt to sit so close, I’b probably codtagious still.” Maddy just rolled her eyes at his comment, not making any attempt to move.

“I think I’ll be okay. You said yourself that the Æsir don’t get sick often.”

“Fair poidt. So why did you cobe? I’b dot exactly the best cobpady at the bobedt add if you wadted advice or help or adythigg Odid would be the better optiod.”

“What? Am I not allowed to come say hi?” She grinned as she echoed the words he had spoken days earlier. “I came to see that you were still alive, I saw my father and Sif yesterday and they said you hadn’t done anything objectionable in days. Sif said it was almost worth nearly destroying the nine worlds to finally get some peace from your jokes.”

“Well I guess I’ll have to rebidd her how buch fud I ab.” He smiled mischievously. “So what do you wadt to ask?”

“Hmm? What makes you think I want to ask something?”

“Cobe od Maddy, give be sobe credit. I’ve knowd you for what, three years dow? That’s your ‘I wadt to ask sobethigg but I’b dot sure if I should’ expressiod.” He yawned widely, the effort of keeping up the energy he had managed to muster obviously beginning to catch up with him.

“It’s okay; it can wait until you’re better.” Well he had obviously learned to read her expressions over the last few years. When they had first met he had relied largely on Bjarkán if he had wanted to know what she was thinking or feeling, much as she had with him although he was far more skilled in hiding his colours than she was.

“Just ask.”

“The other day you said that I take after my grandfather, what did you mean?”

He laughed softly, of course she would want to know that. “Whed I used to fall ill id the old days, before Ragdarók, add Idud was udavailable or elsewhere thed Odid would act as you did. He would bake tea, it tasted a lot like what you bade actually. Did you kdow that? Adyway, he bade tea add thed bade be go to bed add rest, kidd of like you did. You just rebided be of hib.”

Maddy smiled at the thought of Odin taking care of Loki when he was sick, the image triggering another memory that she had all but forgotten. “Actually I did know about the tea, I nearly forgot but I actually learned to make it from him. Once when I was seven I got a cold while he was in Malbry and he taught me to make it, said it would help me feel better.”

Loki chuckled. That sounded like his brother all right. He would never have acted as Sig did, fussing constantly, but he cared in his own, less suffocating way. He seemed to have a soft spot for caring for his family; the others had always questioned why he bothered to look after the trickster when he was sick but Loki had never needed to. They were brothers, not by birth but in bond, and he would have done the same had the need arisen. He yawned again, eyes drooping shut again.

“Do you want to sleep?” Maddy noticed him beginning to fall asleep again and figured that he was probably done talking for the time being.

“Dod’t thigk I have buch of a choice,” he mumbled, lying down again and pulling the blankets over himself. “Thagks for cobigg over though, it was dice to have sobe – hi’kishoo! Eshh! – sobe other cobpady.” She watched for a moment as he relaxed and fell asleep, marveling at the fact that he was able to go from mostly awake to completely asleep in a matter of minutes. He had done the same thing when they had first met, back when she knew him as Lucky.

She curled the fingers of her left hand into a familiar shape and looked through the rune at her friend. His colors were different to how she had ever seen them before. The vibrant purple was faded from exhaustion and there were greyish green threads of illness that she could see clearly, but the purple was lighter than she had ever seen it before and threads of yellow and brighter violet told her that he was happy. Despite his reservations about having a family, it was obvious in his colors that he was enjoying the life that they were creating together. Smiling she looked away, letting the rune drop from her fingers and getting up to leave the room.

She had been unsure how the gods would react to being in Asgard again, all of them had such high expectations of the Sky Citadel that she had been sure they would never be satisfied with it, but that seemed not to be the case. They were all happier than she had ever seen them, ecstatic to finally be back in their full Aspects, and fighting far less than she had ever imagined they could. This place was definitely the wonder they had all described to her.

She said goodbye to Sig, letting her know that Loki was sleeping, and left the little house. She would go to Odin’s hall. He had promised to teach her to shift Aspect one day and it certainly seemed like a faster way to travel than walking. She would go to his hall and they would spend the day as they used to, before everything had happened, as teacher and pupil and as friends with him passing on the knowledge that he had gathered over the years.

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Yeah so there you go... I hope anyone who reads this has enjoyed it! I adore getting comments so please let me know what you think!