HOUSE CHAPTER
Tony had obviously figured out how to set a house-wide alarm because Loki and I were woken up promptly at 6am to AC/DC. I had a miniature heart attack and Loki let loose some....not so nice words. Nevertheless, we got up and went up to the upstairs kitchen where we had a quick, informal breakfast. Tony convinced me that the jet had food and that I'd already done enough. Once everyone was packed, we all went down to the foyer for a final farewell. I got a hug from all of them and Loki got respectful nods from Clint, Rose, and Pepper, a brief hug from Steve–which was slightly odd but I didn't question it–and a handshake from everyone else.
"We'll inform Fury of our decision as soon as we get underway."
"Thank you."
"Fare thee well, my friends. I look forward to our next meeting."
Thor left about an hour after the others, he and Loki spent that time talking politics and the affairs of other realms. I sat absentmindedly beside Loki, not very interested in anything other than his hand running up and down my back. When Thor departed, it was Loki who initiated the hug between them. Thor looked very surprised, but accepted the gesture nonetheless.
After everyone was gone, Loki and I turned to each other for a moment.
"It's so quiet." I whispered.
"It is rather odd, given that we have been surrounded by others for the past week."
"What do you want to do?"
We ended up moving the kittens to our room before ending up on the sofa flipping through channels and we settled on Castle. If Loki didn't have the record he did, he would've made an excellent detective. He seemed to know who the guilty party was as soon as they appeared on the screen but he soon learned to keep it to himself after I slapped him (lightly) a few times.
It wasn't until we got up to get lunch that I started to feel a little strange. My head was light and I staggered as I stood. At first, neither of us seemed to think it was that big of a deal, but it soon became apparent that that was not the case after I stumbled several times during lunch and clipped my hip on the island on the way back to the sofa. One moment I was walking straight (I think) and the next I was sprawled on the kitchen floor with Loki kneeling over me. I had hardly felt the blow to my hip and thought it had just been a tap until Loki put pressure on it. It hurt badly enough that I knew I was going to have a bruise there tomorrow.
"Mira, something isn't right. I'm calling Eir."
"Loki, I haven't been using any magic. I'm fine."
"I'm not taking any more risks with you!"
"Loki! I'll be ok. Eir won't always be available to come running to our aid 24/7. All the excitement from the Avengers being here in finally catching up with me. I'll take it easy for the rest of the day. I promise." Loki looked skeptical but eventually conceded.
"Alright. But if this continues into tomorrow, we call for Eir. Agreed?"
"Agreed." My voice was soft and weak as Loki helped me back to my feet and swept me into his arms. He left me alone on the couch briefly as he vanished to take care of the kittens.
During the rest of the day, I noticed that my dazed state wasn't getting any better. I was having trouble concentrating on the Castle and often stopped understanding what was going on. On top of that, I noticed that my throat was becoming dryer and dryer, despite the water I was drinking. In fact, swallowing was starting to get uncomfortable if the water was a above a certain temperature. My head was also starting to bother me a bit but then again, I had been in front of a screen almost all day. I decided that I would see how I was feeling in the morning and not tell Loki. No need in worrying him over something minor.
Loki's POV
I couldn't sleep. I was too worried about Mira. While I wanted to believe that she was alright, I just couldn't shake the foreboding feeling that something was seriously wrong with her. I must've fallen asleep at some point because the next thing I knew, I woke up in the middle of the night, precariously balanced on the edge of the bed. One wrong move and I was going to fall. But why was I so close to the edge? I rolled over and quickly discovered why I had subconsciously moved to the edge of the bed. Mira was taking up the rest of it and her body felt as if flames were roaring beneath her skin!
"Mother!" I called through the ring.
"Loki. The sun has not yet risen here. What are you doing awake?"
"It's Mira. Something's terribly wrong with her."
Mira's POV
The next morning, I woke up to Loki rubbing my back but the pleasant sensation of his hand was quickly buried under the plethora of bad ones. My nose was so stuffed I couldn't breathe through it, my throat was burning, my head was killing me, and I was sticky with sweat. When I tried to talk, the vibrations from my clogged vocal cords grated against the soreness in my throat, slurring my words into moans.
"Shhh, Kitten. You're going to be alright." I tried to clear my throat so I could speak but that only made the pain worse, not to mention it sparked a series of agonizing coughs.
"Mother came here earlier. She says you have something called a 'cold'. Very ironic since you are significantly warmer than usual." I didn't know why he bothered to continue talking, I mean, it wasn't like I could respond.
"Can you move?" Once I tried, I found that I could indeed move but it had to be slow, otherwise I would fall victim to a dizzy spell.
"There." He said once I was sitting up, "I made you breakfast." I shook my head. I wasn't hungry.
"Mira, you must talk. I cannot read your mind." I narrowed my eyes.
"You are weaker than usual, your mind would not be able to handle it as well." I could hardly see Loki because the lights were off but worry was woven into his tone. Instead of talking, I looked towards my laptop, hoping he would get the message. Fortunately, he understood and before long, I had a blank Word document up and ready.
"I'm not hungry."
"Mira, you have to eat something. It will help you get better faster."
"NO! I'm already miserable."
"Alright, then what about water?"
"Fine. But it has to be cold. Like, really cold."
That was just the beginning of my first day in hell. The water, no matter how cold it was, only made my throat worse, I had already used every tissue in the house before noon, and I really didn't want to get out of bed. I didn't even have to go to the bathroom. It was like my body had shut down almost completely. The only sounds I ever made were pathetic groans right after a coughing fit. I was too tired to read and it was a monumental effort just to turn over or scoot to a cooler spot on the bed. Loki hardly ever left my side, he sent a clone to take care of the kittens and another to make him food when he got hungry. He was my saving grace the entire time. He read to me, told me jokes to distract me even a little bit, and kept me as cool as he deemed safe with his Frost Giant abilities. He had practically forced two Advil down my throat, followed by a mouthful of water, convinced they would make me better but they did nothing to curb the agony. I had to breathe through my mouth because my nose was too stuffed up and every breath progressively dried my throat. If it got too dry, I would cough and to prevent that, I had to swallow but that aggravated me just as much. There was no lesser of the two evils. The entire day, Loki pestered me about having something to eat, even if it was just straight bread, or even candy and each time, I turned him down. The thought of food did nothing for me, even though I had had nothing to eat all day.
"Ok. Then I am going to make contact with Bruce. He has to be able to help you."
"He's not that kind of doctor, Loki."
"But he has to know something." He picked up my phone and easily unlocked it, not knowing the significance of the passcode. "How do I contact him?"
"I don't have his contact info."
"Then who does?"
Loki ended up calling Steve, who happened to know Bruce's number and was kind enough to give it to us.
"He may not answer though, he doesn't tend to answer unknown numbers."
"Well it won't be unknown for long." Just as Steve had predicted, the call went to voicemail.
"Leave a message. Wait for the beep then start talking." I heard the beep just as Loki saw my message.
"So....I just talk?" I nodded, "I am in need of your assistance. Mira has fallen gravely ill and I do not know what to do." He hit the red button and looked at me, pleased with himself. Now all we could do was wait.
Ten minutes later, my phone rang and Loki scrambled to answer it but I grabbed it first and put it on speaker.
"Hello? Mira, are you there?"
"She's not talking." Loki spoke for me.
"How ill is she?"
"Mother called it a 'cold' and said it was not serious but Mira can't talk, won't eat or drink anything, and hasn't gotten out of bed all day."
"What hurts?"
"She says her throat, her head, she has been blowing her nose nonstop, and her body burns like fire."
"I need to talk to her or at least see her. Can you switch this to FaceTime?"
"Uhhh...." I did it for him and Bruce's eyes widened when he saw me in my half-dead state.
"This isn't any ordinary cold, is it?" I shook my head.
"Has Loki taken your temperature?" I shook it again.
"We don't have a thermometer." I showed him the text.
"Then you're going to need to get one. How bad is the pain in your throat?" I tried to mime about how bad it was.
"Mira, you're going to have to talk. I don't speak sign language."
"'S terrible." My throat screamed in protest and I didn't recognize my own voice.
"Is it constant?" I nodded, "Ok, then you're going to need Loki to check for strep and if it really looks bad, then you're going to have to go in for a strep test. Do you think you can fall asleep?" I shook my head.
"Ok, just try it tonight but if it doesn't work, then get Nyquil. It's a sleeping drug that works really well. Can Loki drive?" He nodded but I shook my head.
"Not on his own."
"I can too!"
"Loki, it would probably be best if you found a different way to acquire what you need. She is alone there and driving is much more perilous than it seems." His tone left no room for argument, "Call me tomorrow and let me know of any new developments."
OK, so there really is a heck of a lot of truth behind this illness, I came down with it just like she did a few months ago and it really was HELL and I didn't have Loki. I was absolutely miserable for four days and still felt like §µ*† on the fifth. So Mira's got a lot of fun stuff to look forward to (not)