Loki was still reclining against the pillows on the bed, absently petting your head in his lap. "Well, darling, now that that question has been settled, shall we get out of this saferoom? I'm sure we can go to the park or something so you can at least spend some time outside," he suggested. He didn't like that you had gone through all of this trouble to take care of him all month, especially to the detriment of your own needs.

You sat up and shook your head firmly, growling softly to shoot that idea down quickly.

He raised an eyebrow, surprised that you were actually growling at him. "The question is answered correct? Surely it's safe to leave. I know you'rein control of your wolf," you shook your head more firmly and growled again, louder. You couldn't leave the saferoom until dawn. He looked even more surprised at that. You really didn't usually growl at him, but you had to make your point very clear this time. "Easy, little wolf," he told you gently, running a comforting hand down your head and neck. He sighed. "Oh how I wish my telepathic abilities worked on you when you're in this form," he lamented, but you could see his excitement too. He loved the game of translate the werewolf, he had since the day you met. Unfortunately you only had three real answers for his questions: yes, no, and rephrase the question, so the game was frustrating on your end.

"It is safe to say I am not turning into a werewolf, yes?" you nodded agreement and licked his cheek. "Yes, yes, I love you too," he told you, distracted by his game. You snorted in laughter. "But we cannot leave this room?" you nodded again. "You said the doors would not open again until dawn, but that is no issue," you growled at that. Very insistent no."Or maybe it is..." he said dryly. "Darling, I have magic, I can teleport us out of here..." You growled. Stupid god, you couldn't leave this saferoom until dawn. "Something bad will happen if we leave before dawn?" he asked after a long pause. You nodded. He sighed. "Care to tell me what?" You lunged forward, but slowly enough that he would know that you were giving him an answer, and snapped your jaws around his arm, stopping before your teeth actually touched him. "We'll be attacked?" he asked when you sat back again. You raised a paw and poked him in the middle of the chest. "Ah, I'll be attacked. Our lovely teammates will decide if they see us before dawn that I am out of control and gotten past you and your safeguards?" you nodded and licked his cheek.

"Well that's bothersome," he replied, sighing heavily. "So how do I keep a bored little werewolf entertained all evening while she's cooped up inside?" You scoffed and rolled your eyes. You weren't that bad and could survive without playing outside on one full moon. He brushed out your loose fur for you, found a tennis ball to throw for a little while, and played a very short lived game of 'which one's Loki' with a group of illusions. He wasn't pleased when he got tackled on the first try. You could smell the illusions.

At around midnight he decided you were both hungry and made some of the cheeseburgers Tony had stocked the fridge with, just in case. There were also a pair of rabbits hidden in the main room, a sacrifice to be werewolf snacks, but they would get to survive the evening. Clint would be pleased. He'd been trying to rescue them all month. "Do you even like cheeseburgers in wolf form?" Loki asked as he was cooking them in the little kitchen. You wagged your tail and gave him a puppy yip of happiness. He tossed you one of the burgers without cheese, which was more preferable in wolf form.

Loki spent most of the night watching werewolf movies with you, reading and absently petting you while he did. He fell asleep reading a couple hours after your midnight snack, his fingers still wound in your fur, the book open in his lap. It was a nice quiet evening, not a typical full moon, but it was a pleasant evening nonetheless.

*

You woke to Loki wrapping a blanket around you. "Hmm?" you asked softly, not awake enough yet to open your eyes, even as Loki lifted you off the bed. You knew his cool touch, his muscled form extremely well and his presence didn't rouse you.

"The saferoom doors have opened," Loki told you softly, gently, cradling you safely in his arms. "Right after you turned human again. I do not wish to stay in this...cell any longer than necessary," he added, a hint of anger in his voice.

You opened your eyes at that and whined softly. Some of the wolf habits hadn't vanished all the way this time. It wasn't surprising after a full moon where you didn't go play in the woods and actually get to be all the way wolf for the evening. "I'm sorry," you whimpered at him. "It wasn't supposed to be a cell..." there were tears in your eyes. He should have known that you were an emotional mess when you were this tired. You'd worked hard on creating a safe space for you both and his words hurt.

"I know darling. Hush love, please don't cry." He bid you quickly. Omega tears tended to upset everyone around. "It was meant as a safety precaution to protect everyone, most especially me, and I appreciate that. But I have spent enough time in cells that even a safe room can make me uncomfortable," he explained. "So let's get you tucked into a real bed in a real bedroom so we can both rest easy," he added softly. You sniffled, unsure and not completely convinced, but nodded and snuggled more comfortably in his embrace. He kissed your forehead.

"The team is waiting to see us," you told him softly, remembering that you were supposed to tell him that message. The team wanted to know what happened last night. Thor most of all.

He sighed heavily. "Very well," he grumbled. He just wanted to get you safely tucked into bed, but would put up with the others.

"They want to know you're safe," you told him sleepily.

"Sure they do, little wolf," he told you sarcastically. You leaned up and kissed his cheek.

"They do," you told him simply.

He stepped off the elevator on the main floor. The entire team was waiting. Thor was pacing nervously and looked like he hadn't slept all night worrying. He rushed over to the pair of you. "I was just about to come check on you. Stark insisted we wait until it was clearly past dawn," Thor started babbling. He was nervous and worried.

You looked up at Thor from where your head was resting on Loki's shoulder. You tried to give him a reassuring look, but you were too tired after your long night and the long month of preparations with little to no sleep that you couldn't guard your words like you should. You should have let Loki just take you straight to bed. "Stop worrying, Thor. Loki didn't turn," you told him, trying to stop his worries. The sighs of relief in the room broke your heart. Yes, you hadn't wanted Loki to turn either, since he hadn't made the choice to, but you would have embraced him either way. Their open relief hurt, though. Would it have really been so awful if he had turned? Yes, it would. No matter how much the team seemed to embrace you, you were a still a monster...

"Don't worry, he won't be a monster like me," you added, your hurt in your voice. That's what they had all been concerned about. They didn't want Loki to be like you. They didn't want him turning into a werewolf, didn't want him to be a freak and a monster too. "Loki, put me down," you told him firmly, fighting back tears from your voice. You knew you were a monster. You'd known it all your life. It hurt to be reminded of that fact.

Loki was shocked into actually doing what you said and setting you carefully on your feet. You held the blanket firmly around you, sure your clothes weren't appropriate as Loki's spell was still only up to producing lingerie. The rest of the team rushed to try to reassure that they didn't think you were a monster. "Guys, just stop. I know werewolves are monsters and your lies hurt my nose," you told them loudly enough to be heard, but no louder, your voice was sad and haunted. The wolf was sad they still couldn't seem to like her. Most of them hadn't even seen you in wolf form outside of the heat of battle.

You stood up on your toes and kissed Loki's cheek. "I'm going up to bed," you told him softly. He nodded and kissed your forehead, seeming at a loss for how to help besides letting you get some sleep.

"Sleep well, Y/N. I shall hopefully be up shortly," he told you warmly. You caught his use of your actual name, his purposeful reassurance that he cared for you and had accepted that the wolf was part of you. You decided to take the stairs instead of dealing with the elevator. "Let her get some sleep," Loki was telling the others. "You all know how hard she's been working this month. I don't think she's gotten a full night's sleep since we visited that prison where she had been kept, she didn't rest yesterday despite the moon fever, and you know her emotions and temper are off around the full moon,"

"I... didn't know she felt that way," Stark finally said.

"Of course you didn't. She doesn't advertise her own negative feelings. She stays bright and happy to her own detriment sometimes. She was abused for years for not giving peace to the pack and does not wish to lose the only home she's ever had, so she hides behind that puppylike exterior you like to call annoying,"

"We didn't-"

"We thought-"

You stopped eavesdropping and went up to your own bed, knowing your emotions would be back to normal once you got some sleep. Loki was right that the full moon messed with your temperament. Proper sleep now that you didn't have to worry about Loki's health should do wonders.

So why did you feel like curling up in a ball on your bed and sobbing your heart out?