Catch Me If I Fall (PJO/Avengers Crossover)

29

Loki had already spent a week in his new cell, and was already bored out of his mind.

A week before, he'd entered Asgard via the Bifrost bridge, gotten a boring lecture from Odin that he'd barely listened to, then had a 2-day-long trial. He'd been sentenced to spend the rest of his life in this cell. The thought terrified him.

And, with a shock so great that it felt as though it might crush him, he realised he might never see Percy again. Longing had been overcoming him ever since. Longing for Percy's touch, for his kiss, even hearing his voice would be enough at this moment- just one word, one word to convince Loki that Percy was real. That he was still somewhere out there. That Loki hadn't made him up. Anything.

He remembered the vial, which was similar to Percy's sword in that it always returned to his pocket no matter where it was. They'd tried to take it from him when he entered Asgard, but about ten minutes later it had returned to him. Loki used it to ground himself, to keep himself from going insane. It reminded him that, no matter what happened, someone was waiting for him. Someone actually valued him; someone didn't see him as a problem. That idea was probably the only thing keeping him alive.

Thanos had shown Loki snippets of what Percy had tried to do with that wretched book. He had forced Loki to watch helplessly as the only person he'd ever loved tried over and over again to end himself, and it made Loki pledge to himself that he'd find Percy before he could manage it.

Now they were separated. Again.

Loki wished there was some way he could contact Percy without wasting the vial. Maybe a letter, an Iris message, anything. Just so he could hear from him, see how he was doing. Although whether it would be for his own sanity or for Percy's was a mystery to him.

Boredom was constant. He'd went five days no without talking to a single being. Most of the dungeon was completely empty, so he hadn't actually seen another being, either. A normal prisoner would share their cell with another to save space and keep them from going mad, but it seemed that Odin didn't care whether or not Loki became unhinged.

Odin. That wretched, idiotic fool who called himself a king. He, who punished Loki so harshly even though he himself had committed his own fair share of murders. Odin probably didn't think Loki remembered, but, oh, he remembered every word. He remembered the stories Odin would tell to Loki and Thor as children, stories of bloodshed, violence and war at his hand.

So why should he receive punishment for something Odin himself has done to a much worse, much more serious degree? He had taken eighty lives, and while that statistic made Loki want to be sick, he knew that it was hardly even a handful of the amount Odin had taken all those years before.

And yet he had taken Loki from Jotunheim just hours after, giving him a new name, new life, new so-called 'chance.' Then Odin had acted as though Loki owed him for that.

But Loki knew things would've been much, much better if Odin had left him to die that day. If Loki hadn't been born at all.

He resented Odin, he resented Laufey, he resented Thor, he resented himself. Hatred for everything around him crashed down from above, and Loki found himself finding it hard to breathe properly.

"Loki?" A voice pulled Loki out of his thoughts, and he opened his eyes to see his mother standing in front of him.

"Mother," he reached out to touch her hand, but realised she was but an illusion, and touching her would make her disappear. He stepped backwards, clenching his fists apologetically. She smiled sadly.

"How are you?" She asked.

He laughed humourlessly, not meeting her eyes. "Positively elated," he replied sarcastically. "Truly jubilant. In fact, I can hardly contain my delight!" He paused, realising what he said, looking back to his mother. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright," she smiled again, and Loki realised she wasn't happy about this either. "You're allowed to be angry."

"Yes, but not at you," guilt settled in his stomach. "You don't deserve that."

There was silence, before Frigga drew a breath. "Perseus asks about you day and night. He's been sending countless Iris Messages to me, you know. He's a good..." she smiled knowingly at Loki. "...He's a good friend."

Loki went a brilliant shade of red, and Frigga put a hand over her mouth to contain her laughter. "How did you-? What did you-? I thought-"

"Perseus made it exceedingly obvious," she smiled. "He's a horrible liar. Don't worry, I won't tell your father."

"I'll have to have a talk with him if I ever see him again," he smiled at the thought, not even acknowledging the fact that Frigga had called Odin his father. He lost his smile and looked at her. "Will I see him again?"

Frigga sighed. "It's hard to say. Whilst he is obligated to visit Asgard for meetings every once and a while, I doubt your father will allow him to see you. I'll see what I can do, alright?"

Loki nodded. "Yes, mother, thank you."

"I'll see you soon, Loki," she was about to get rid of the illusion, but stopped herself and grinned. "For the record, you and Perseus are wonderful together." Then she disappeared, leaving a smiling, blushing Loki feeling the happiest he had been since... since before the fall, really.

Frigga could do things like that to people. Even at someone's very lowest, she always seemed to be able to lift their spirits. To put it simply, the exact opposite of Odin.

But Loki didn't want to think about that halfwit. No, he didn't intend to ever see that lying, hypocritical excuse for a ruler ever again. For now, he'd bide his time. He would not, as Odin had so kindly suggested, rot in the dungeon until kingdom come. He'd wait for his opportunity, he'd think everything through, not wasting a thought.

He'd get out of this prison. He'd get out if it was the last thing he ever did.

********

Hello guys!

I wanted to write a chapter in Loki's POV so we could see how he was doing, so I hope you guys liked delving into his thoughts and stuff!

I'd actually like to make a little poll here:

So, a few chapters from now, Loki is obviously going to fake his death because that's just where we're approaching in the timeline. So would you all prefer it if Percy KNEW Loki had faked his death from the moment it happened, have Loki reveal it to him at Loki's funeral 2.0, have Percy remain oblivious and have no idea until just after the whole fight in Civil War OR something different? You guys aren't obligated to vote, I'm just a very crappy decision maker and I'd prefer it if I included what YOU want to see.

That being said, stay safe, stay home, stay sane and I'll see you all soon <3