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Description
You wander through the corridor, searching for a way out. How did you get here? What was this place? The hallway seemed to go on forever and there were no windows, no doors. As you wander down farther and farther, you start to feel a panicked feeling fill your chest. Is it ever going to end? And then you hear a noise. First, it sounds like a scratching against the wall, but as you walk closer, you realize it's someone whimpering and sobbing. You hurry along the corridor as your heart pounds. Is someone else stuck too? But as you get even closer, you realize you recognize the crying.
You hurry faster, desperate to find the reason behind the heart wrenching noise. It's Loki. You're sure. You only heard him cry like this once and that was after his father had collapsed and he had discovered he was a frost giant. It had only happened once, but his sobs had been imprinted into your mind for eternity. Loki wasn't the type to cry openly, he didn't like to seem vulnerable, so you knew that when he cried, he cried for a very serious reason. This only makes you break into a run.
"Loki!" You cry. Would this corridor ever end? Finally, out of nowhere, it does. A door stands in front of you and you can clearly hear Loki behind it now. You grab the knob, some ornate gold design, and twist it hard, desperate for it to open. But it doesn't.
"No!" You are sobbing now, because you know something terrible is behind that door. You slam your hands against it. "Loki!! Loki, let me in!" You pull on the knob again, somehow hoping that it will help open the door. It doesn't. Loki's cries are louder now and you feel hot tears stream down your face as you try harder and harder to jerk the door knob. Nothing seems to work. You sink to the floor, your back against the wall, as the hope drains out of you. With each sob from the other room, your heart wrenches painfully in your chest. You bury your face in your hands, begging for it to stop. Then, it does. The silence becomes deafening. Only, instead of the comfort you were hoping for, it only seems worse. You hear a creak. You lift your head from your hands and see the door has swung open slightly. Only a dim light seeps through. You rise slowly, terrified of what you'll see, the adrenaline that was running through you earlier now turned to fear.
"Loki?" You whimper, approaching the door and resting your hand on it to push it open. You see Loki and your eyes widen as they take in the sight. He's in his frost giant form, and he stands over a body, breathing heavily as tears drip down from his eyes. His hands and clothes are covered in blood, contrasting sharply against his blue skin. You look more closely at the body, compelled to see what could make Loki so upset. The face is turned from you, but as you stare harder, it's head rolls toward you. The glassy eyes staring back at you causes you to scream.

You jerk up in bed, breathing hard. You feel sweat dripping down the sides of your forehead, causing your hair to stick. You feel the tears from your nightmare still on your face. Your heart is pounding and as you recall the dead face staring back at you, you start to cry again. The bed shifts beside you and you feel a hand on your back.
"(y/n)?" Loki says sleepily. "What's wrong?" You just shake your head, too terrified to answer. Loki sits up and pulls you close, brushing his hand over your hair. "You're shivering." You realize that you are.
You try to speak. "No-nothing. It was a nightmare," you whisper, clutching Loki's arm tighter around you.
He presses his lips to the top of your head. "Care to share?" He whispers.
You had been having your share of nightmares lately, as had he, and everytime you had both shared them with each other. Mostly the nightmares stemmed from Loki discovering who he was and he had them more than you did. But ever since Thor had been banished, they had come to you full force. This nightmare, however, had been by far the worse and you didn't think you could share it with Loki this time. You knew how much his heritage affected him and your support meant the world to him. If he thought for even a second you were afraid of him, you would lose him.
And you hadn't been afraid of him. At least, not until now. Ever since a couple weeks before Thor's ceremony, he had been acting strange. Then, when his father had fallen into Odin sleep, you suddenly had the fear that you didn't really know your husband after all. He had always been upset by Thor and his father, but never before had he seemed so angry. This dream only intensified your fear that, maybe, you had lost the Loki you knew.
Loki grips you closer and he starts rubbing his hand soothingly along your back. "Love?"
You realize you have been silent for a long time. Your breathing starts to even and here in the dark, as Loki holds you close like he always has, your fear starts to lessen, too.
You pull away slightly so you can see Loki's face in the dim light. "Loki, I love you."
You see his lips twitch into a smile, despite the worry evident in his eyes. "I love you." Then his face turns serious. "You know you can tell me anything, darling."
You lean your head back against his bare chest, sighing. You stay quiet for a few moments. "I know," you whisper finally.
But you couldn't. Not this. Because no matter what happened, you would always love Loki. You knew you would never have to protect yourself from him. Rather, you had to protect him from himself. Because the dead face in the nightmare wasn't you. It was Loki. After a while, you both fall asleep again, Loki holding you tight. This time, your sleep is dreamless.