She had been absent lately, and you assumed the missions were to blame. That maybe she had been assigned to a lot more than usual in the past month. But when you mentioned this in passing to Steve, he disagreed. To his knowledge, she had been in the tower far more frequently than he was.
Yet you rarely saw her around.
Only catching a glimpse of her in the bi-weekly team meetings. You’d catch her eye and throw her a friendly smile. She’d return your smile quickly, though hers seemed a bit strained. It was odd.
Then you started to feel her eyes on you more and more, especially when you weren’t looking her way. But that didn’t prevent you from feeling her intense stare burning into you.
Her strange behavior made you feel uneasy, and eventually, you planned to find out what was going on with her.
However, you found yourself short on time lately, hence why you hadn’t tracked her down to talk to her yet. Your classes were about to start up at NYU again. You had about a week and a half until you started school again, and you were just as excited as you were the year before.
You ensured you were registered for all of your courses and extracurriculars that you thought would look good on your resumé. You wanted to do all you could to participate in everything going on around you.
There was even a mixer the school was throwing for women in STEM that you were getting ready to attend tonight. As much as you disliked those kind of events, you knew it’d be smart for you to network as much as you could. It was a pretty important thing to do for your career.
You looked around your room with a heavy sigh. Thanks to you, it was a complete mess.
Clothes were strewn across your bed and all over the floor as you tried on a bunch of different outfits. Everything from pantsuits to dresses and anything in between. Yet nothing seemed to do the trick.
Huffing in frustration, you continued to dig through your closet and pull everything out until you finally found something that you liked.
The dark blue dress you adorned was good enough. It felt appropriate for the event. It wasn’t too flashy but also not completely boring. It seemed to fit the ‘business casual’ dress code standard. Whatever that meant.
A knock on your door interrupted your frantic trek to the bathroom. Spinning around on your heels, you hurriedly ran to the door.
Assuming it was Natasha coming to provide you with much needed help, you pulled the door open without hesitation.
“Perfect timing! Can you help me- Oh.”
You blinked in mild surprise as you came face to face with Loki.
“Sorry, I wasn’t expecting you. I thought you were Nat.” You chuckled.
He stood there with his hands in his pockets, observing you with a curious look on his face.
“Am I interrupting something?” He inquired, lightly raising a brow.
“Yes. No? I’m not sure.” You shook your head, gesturing him inside. He closed the door behind him.
“Just trying to get ready for this school event at some fancy restaurant. I don’t do very well with dressing for these kinds of things. If it was up to me, I’d show up in denim overalls.” You joked half-seriously.
Neither of you thought twice when he followed you into your bedroom. It wasn’t the first time that Loki had been invited into your space.
His brows rose at the state of your room. You knew it wasn’t exactly a pretty sight.
You rubbed your forehead, looking around. “Yes, I know. It’s a mess. This is basically what my brain feels like whenever I have to do things like this. I just feel so overwhelmed.”
Padding barefoot over to your vanity, you placed your hands on your hips as you contemplated what to do next.
“You shouldn't concern yourself with your appearance. Not to this extent. It is quite unnecessary.” you heard him say.
You spun around to see Loki sitting at the edge of your bed with an expectant look on his face.
“There’s nothing unpleasant about you, and no reason to drastically change who you are, especially not at the expense of others. You are what makes you, you.”
You looked away from him, turning back to the mirror. You were pretty sure you still looked a hot mess, at least to your standards.
But one thing you knew about Loki was that he didn’t mince his words. He wouldn’t lie to you.
You cleared your throat. “Well, um, thanks,” you muttered. “I still need to fix my hair.”
You grabbed a hairbrush and a couple of hair products and turned to face him with a sheepish smile. “I’ll be right back.”
You could feel his eyes following you as you fled out of your bedroom and into the bathroom.
You didn’t understand why such a simple comment from him made you feel all strange inside.
Loki was your friend, and the last thing you wanted to do was make things weird between the two of you. You didn’t know why this was happening but you had to get yourself together. Fast.
You supposed that things felt different because Loki was no longer in a cell. He was free (mostly), and you both were finding yourself in different circumstances and situations. Things were evolving and that included your friendship.
You just hoped it was for the better.
When you were done messing with your hair, you entered the bedroom again, finding Loki standing by your bed with a picture frame in his hand.
It was the one you placed on your nightstand with you and your mom. You were about four years old in that particular photo, smiling widely with a couple of missing teeth.
“She looks just like you.” He said, a small smile growing on his face as he observed the photo.
“Technically, I look like her,” You chuckled, slowly walking towards him.
“She cared for you immensely. That I can tell,” he said with a slight furrow of his brows. “I can see it in her eyes.”
You nodded in agreement. “She really was the best. I miss her a lot.”
He smiled halfheartedly, suddenly looking to be saddened by the photo, and you had a feeling you could guess why.
You trailed closer, biting your lip nervously.
“Do you… Do you miss your mother?” You inquired with slight hesitance.
He placed the frame back down carefully.
“Yes,” he wearily confessed. “Very much so.”
He paused for a moment, seeming to be in deep thought. “I don’t believe I have ever experienced a loss with such intensity before. Not with anyone else.”
You moved to the bed, taking a seat on the edge. “What was she like?”
He followed your movements, walking over to slowly sit beside you.
“She was… good. One of the purest yet strongest people I knew. Her name was Frigga.”
“Pretty name.” You looked down at your lap, smiling. “I may have heard of her before. She was a powerful goddess, after all.”
Loki hummed, nodding his head. “Mmm, quite powerful indeed. She taught me how to wield seider, among many other things.”
“Sounds like she made quite an impact. Especially on you.” You remarked. “Her legacy lives on within you and Thor. I’m sure she’d be proud of the person you’ve become.”
He frowned deeply as he stared in front of him, mouth opening and closing as if he wanted to protest against your words.
“Do you believe so? That she would… be proud?”
You let out an amused scoff, a wide grin growing on your face as you faced him. “Yeah! Of course, she would. One of her sons is the Loki Laufeyson after all.”
You nudge him playfully. “He’s kind of a big deal around here. Just as much as his brother. An Asgardian prince? The god of mischief? Ring a bell?”
An amused smile of his own slid onto his face. “Yes, I think so.”
“If Thor asked me if I ever said this I would totally deny it,” You prefaced. “But if I’m being completely honest I think your god status is super cool. Even better than Thor’s.” You smirked playfully.
“I mean, the god of mischief? That’s so sick. What a cool title to have! The god of thunder on the other hand….” You trailed off, searching for the right word.
“Sounds kind of… pretentious.”
The melodious sound of Loki’s laugh almost startled you.
It was a sound that made you truly appreciate having the ability to hear. His rich, warm tone resonated through your room. You felt a pleasant warmth in your chest as you observed him. You found yourself desiring to do everything in your power to keep him making that sound. It was wonderful. Magical even.
When his laughter eventually calmed, you hadn’t realized that you’d been staring at him until Loki turned to face you, head slightly tilting as he met your gaze.
You snapped out of your brief trance, looking away quickly and catching sight of the numbers on your alarm clock. You rose to your feet in an instant, eyes widening.
“Shoot! I gotta get going or I'll be late for the mixer.” You stressed as you frantically searched around your room. “Shoes, shoes, where are my shoes?”
You crouched down to grab a pile of clothing from off the floor. “I can’t find it in this mess.”
“Do not fret, little one. Allow me.”
Loki stood up from the bed, and with one quick motion of his hand, your room was back to normal in a green flash.
The floor had been cleared of any clothing, and so was your bed. You looked down at your now empty hands, the items you previously held had also disappeared.
You spun around to face him with a look of disbelief.
“Wha...How did you do that?” you asked incredulously.
He shrugged lightly. “Simple cleansing spell. Nothing extraordinary.”
“Well, that was pretty damn extraordinary to me.” You huffed in amusement, searching around the now tidy room. “Where did everything go?”
“Back where they belong I’m assuming. Check your wardrobe.”
You opened your closet to see everything back in its rightful place, including the pair of heels you had lost in the masses of clothing.
You grabbed them, standing on one wobbly foot to put them on.
“I didn’t know you could do that. Actually, I don’t think I know the full extent of your-”
As per usual, you failed at your attempt to stay steady on your feet, stumbling forward clumsily as you tried to put the second shoe on.
Loki quickly caught you, grabbing your waist to keep you steady. “Careful now.” He gently warned. “Don’t need you hurting that pretty little head of yours.”
Your cheeks heated as you straightened yourself, apologizing for your clumsiness.
“I don’t know why I’m such a clutz. It’s a miracle if I can get through the day without tripping over a leaf.” You shook your head, meeting his eyes with a gentle smile.
“Some things just never change I guess. Thanks for your help tonight.”
He nodded, hands finding their way back into his pockets.
“Anytime. And truly,” Loki searched your gaze before his eyes traveled down the rest of you. His green eyes were earnest when he met your gaze again.
“You look beautiful, little dove.”
The mixer was being held at an upscale restaurant located in downtown Manhattan. You stepped inside, attempting to fight off your pestering nerves so you could somewhat enjoy the evening.
You glanced around, spotting a few people you were already familiar with. You had shared classes with a few of them, and when you made your presence known, you were greeted graciously, immediately being pulled into the conversations the women were in the midst of having.
About half an hour in, you began feeling more comfortable, finding yourself fitting in seamlessly with the other attendees. You had even exchanged numbers with a few other people who were in your program. Having connections for future projects would work to your benefit. Plus, gaining more friends wouldn’t hurt. There was no such thing as having too many intelligent women in your life.
Then you heard your name being called out. You turned to face Kayla as she neared your direction. She greeted the other women as well before focusing all of her attention on you.
“I’m so glad you’re here! I was afraid you wouldn’t make it.” She said, blue gaze filling with excitement. “I have so much to catch you up on, but I think I need a drink first.”
You agreed, having the feeling that you were also going to need one as well to get through whatever she was going to tell you.
You both took a seat at the bar, putting in your drink orders with the bartender. A tequila margarita for her and a vodka cran for you. Blame Natasha for that choice.
Kayla took a few sips of her drink before turning to you with an exasperated look. “I’ve had such a long week. You have no idea how exhausting it’s been. The most pressing issue being my brother’s MIA status.”
You took a larger gulp of your drink than you intended to as she continued.
“Apparently, my parents can’t get in touch with Jacob. They’ve tried to call his phone several times, but every call just keeps being sent straight to voicemail.” She groused.
“Oh,” Your brows pinched in feigned concern as you tried not to show your heightened apprehension. “That’s… not good.”
“Yeah, I know. He and my dad are supposed to go on a business trip together in like a week, so they thought he’d be back by now.” She shook her head while observing the other guests nearby.
“I’m used to him being irresponsible but this is a new low for him. He usually never ignores my parents. Not for this long.”
Biting your lip, you looked away. “Yeah, that um… that doesn’t seem fun. I’m sorry you're dealing with that.”
“So am I,” She responded. “But honestly it’s whatevs. You know my brother. He’ll be back sniffing around here soon when he runs out of money or something.”
She shrugged before turning to you with a narrowed gaze. “By the way, I’m literally so upset with you. I can’t believe you’ve been keeping secrets from me.”
Your eyes widened slightly in panic. “Huh?” you let out cautiously. “W-what secrets?”
“You know what I mean.” She raised a perfect brow.
Your nerves started to ease when you saw the subtle signs of a smirk appear on her lips.
“Why didn’t you tell me that the prisoner was that freaking hot?!” She exclaimed, slapping a hand on your shoulder.
“Prisoner?” Your brows furrowed. “You mean Loki?”
“Yes!” Her expression transformed into one of awe.
“I mean he’s tall and extremely attractive. That wavy dark hair? Those piercing green eyes? That velvety smooth voice paired with that sexy accent? It’s the perfect combination.”
You simply stared at her, not knowing what to say to that.
“If I had known that was who you were working with all this time, I would’ve begged Tony to let me work with him too.” She winked. “You go, girl!”
“Oh, um, that’s not…” you trailed off. “Loki and I are just friends.”
“Hmm,” she gave you a sly look. “Well, if nothing is going on between you two, then that means he’s up for grabs, right?”
Your brows rose. “I-I guess so, but I don’t think he’s-”
“Enough said. That’s all I need to know.” She smiled flirtatiously before finishing her drink. She hopped off of the bar stool before fixing her dress. “I’m gonna go say hi to the other girls. See ya later.”
With a wink and blowing of a kiss, she left to make her rounds.
You were still sitting at the bar staring into space, trying to wrap your head around what just happened.
Did you just accidentally give Kayla permission to pursue Loki?
It certainly wasn’t your intention, but it happened nonetheless without you explicitly saying those words.
Kayla and Loki could not be around each other for obvious reasons, but she didn’t know that. Especially after the visceral way he reacted to her presence at Tony and Pepper’s anniversary party. You had no idea how you were gonna fix this, but you needed to do so fast. Maybe you could speak to her about him again to try to ward her off.
“Damn it,” You muttered with a sigh, looking down at your now watered-down drink.
“You can say that again. She was certainly a talker.”
An unfamiliar voice spoke from beside you. You turned to meet a girl with friendly brown eyes and an amused smile sitting on the seat to the left of you.
She held her hand out to you and you took it.
“I’m Lana. Lana James.” She introduced herself before asking you for your name. You told her and she nodded.
“Yes, I think I saw you in my biochem class last semester. There’s like a hundred students in that room, but I think you sat two rows below me.”
“You look pretty familiar too. Nice to finally meet you face to face.” You smiled.
That’s all it took for you both to dive straight into a long conversation ranging from school-related topics to personal hobbies. Lana James was also in her second year at NYU, majoring in environmental biology. She had a friendly visage; wild curly brown hair and cocoa skin. Her demeanor was chill, and there was a cool and collected aura about her.
You surprisingly felt at ease around her in a very short amount of time, and by the time you glanced at your watch, the mixer was almost over. You both had sat at the bar chatting for what seemed like hours.
After exchanging phone numbers, you gave her a sheepish smile.
“Well, I should probably start making my way back home since it’s getting pretty late. But it was nice chatting with you.”
“Oh yeah, girl. This was fun! We’ll have to get together again before classes start up.” She smiled with a twinkle in her eye. “Now go home to your man before your friend tries to steal him away from you.”
You almost choked on your own saliva as you gave her a double take. “What?”
She pursed her lips. “I may or may not have been eavesdropping on your previous conversation with the blonde Barbie doll over there, but from what I gathered based on your stricken expression, she’s trying to swoop in on someone that’s already yours. I’m assuming you’re just too afraid to tell her to back off.”
Your mouth went agape as you tried to deny her statements. “No, no, it’s not that. It’s… sort of complicated. I wish I could explain but I just can’t.”
“Isn’t it always?” She smirked lightly. “Don’t mind me, I’m just being a tease. I’ll text you soon so we can figure out our next meet.”
You nodded your head and parted with a goodbye, still a bit taken aback by her observation.
After saying goodbye to Kayla and a couple of other people you knew, you left the restaurant.
Nothing was perfect, but things were starting to feel pretty good.
You let out a quiet oof as Steve pinned you to the ground for the third time in a row that morning. You didn’t miss his frustrated sigh as he lifted himself off of you, lending a hand to help you up.
You took it graciously, groaning as you rose from the mat.
“Okay…” he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. “You’re usually able to get through a few rounds before I’m able to restrain you so quickly. What’s going on?”
You were tired. That’s what was going on.
And you were feeling even weaker than before. But Steve couldn’t know that.
You stalled a bit, grabbing your water bottle and taking a sip before shrugging lightly.
“Think I just didn’t get enough sleep but I should be better in a couple of days. Then I’ll be the one pinning you to the ground again.” You joked halfheartedly.
Steve was not amused, blue gaze scrutinizing you in concern. “Are you sure? I wasn’t going to bring it up, but you’ve been off your game lately. I’ve been noticing it more in the past week.”
“I’m fine, Steve,” you responded a bit sharper than you planned to.
His hands rose in the air defensively. “I’m not trying to pry, just asking as a friend.” He expressed. “Just want to make sure you’re okay.”
Feeling a bout of guilt and shame, you looked down at the floor and a quick apology left your lips.
“I know, but like I said, I've just been a bit tired lately, that’s all. School’s about to start, and work has been keeping me pretty busy. All good things but they can be sort of exhausting at times.”
He smiled wryly, looking down at the floor before meeting your gaze again. “I get it. Just like to check on my little Angel from time to time.”
You flashed him a timid smile before looking away.
“I-um, I do owe you an apology for the way I was acting during game night,” Steve confessed, causing you to turn back to him.
He shuffled closer with a sigh. “What I did wasn’t right. I shouldn’t have acted that way or said those things. It wasn’t the right time or place. I know that now.” He frowned, looking as if he was still disturbed by something.
“But… when I saw how he was with you, just sitting next to you, laughing and smiling like everything was fine… how the two of you were interacting with each other, I didn’t really like it.”
“What exactly didn’t you like about it?” You asked, trying to understand where Steve was coming from.
His lips thinned. “I don’t know.” He shook his head. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt. I don’t want you to become one of his victims.”
“Loki would never hurt me.” You declared in complete confidence. In fact, he had done the complete opposite. Saving you from Jacob’s grasp was no small feat.
But that was your experience with Loki, not Steve’s.
You had to accept that he was having a harder time getting over his issues with Loki than the others were. You were sure that Nat, Bucky, and some others still didn’t completely trust him, but they were still doing their best to move on.
“I’m not trying to negate your feelings about him, Steve. I have no right to do that. I didn’t know how he was in 2012. I didn’t experience the battle of New York firsthand like all of you did. But what I can say is from the time I have known him, he is a completely different person than he was back then. He’s changed and is still changing every day for the better. He wants to be better. But it really makes it harder for him to do so when you antagonize him like that.”
Steve’s gaze met the ground, nodding solemnly.
“All I really ask is for you to be cordial with him, or at least not purposely provoke him like you did that night. He’s trying his best, but he is no saint. And neither are you, so I’m trying to give you the benefit of the doubt as well.”
He was silent for a moment, seeming to contemplate your words before he looked up at you again, nodding firmly.
“You’re right.” He conceded. “I need to move on. Things have changed and I need to accept that. I will be better about… things moving forward.”
You let out a breath of relief. “Thank you, Steve. I would appreciate that.”
For the first time in a while, Steve was finally seeing things your way. You knew he could be stubborn, but he was still your friend. If you wouldn’t give up on Loki, you couldn’t give up on Steve either.
He pressed his lips together in a small smile, placing a hand on your back. “Of course, Angel.”
The beeping of his watch drew his attention away, and he sighed. He slowly moved to start collecting his gear.
“Looks like I’ve been summoned for an impromptu mission. I have to go find Bucky and Sam.”
“It’s okay, duty calls. Have fun!” You waved him off as he exited the training room.
You took a deep breath, glad to finally have some time alone to yourself. All that flipping around on the mat had made you a bit dizzy.
You took a seat on the bench, drinking your water with your eyes closed.
A small noise nearby made you open your eyes. You almost jumped out of your skin at the figure that stood only a few feet away from you.
“Wanda.” You laughed nervously. “You almost scared me half to death. I didn’t hear you come in.”
She stood still with her arms crossed. Just staring at you with an off-putting yet indiscernible expression.
“I was already here.” She eventually answered. “In the women’s locker room.”
“Well, that explains it. Are you training this morning too? I can get out of your hair.”
She didn’t respond to that, only continuing to observe you intensely. You felt the hairs at the back of your neck prickling.
“Is there something wrong?” you asked nervously.
Slowly, she began taking steps toward you before stopping barely a foot away. You leaned back as she leaned forward, frowning as she studied your face. You were getting ready to ask her what she was doing before you heard her utter those dreadful words.
“You’re sick.”
Your face dropped and your heart rate instantly picked up. You opened and closed your mouth, trying to find something to say to that.
“Sick?” you chuckled awkwardly, shaking your head as if you didn’t know what she was talking about.
“Very sick. You have an illness.” She affirmed.
“I-I don’t know-”
You gasped when she firmly pressed a hand to your forehead.
You were stunned. So completely taken aback that you froze in place.
When she closed her eyes, you started to panic, not knowing what was happening.
You didn’t understand what she was doing until it finally clicked.
Wanda was using her powers. On you.
You instantly swatted her hand away, but it was too late. By the completely stricken look on her face, you knew she had seen enough. She saw too much. She knew.
“Wanda! Why would you do that?” You said angrily. She had never used her powers on you without your explicit permission.
“You had no right!”
She backed away, face contorting into something you had never seen her aim at you before. Anger. Disappointment.
“Ever since you came from the hospital after your attack, I knew something was wrong. Something was off about you.” She began, fist clenching at her sides. “This whole time I have been trying to figure out what it was. It wasn't very noticeable, but I could sense it growing inside of you. I could see it in your physical appearance. I can feel it when I touch you, and I can catch the scent of the drugs you’ve been taking.”
“Wanda…”
“When were you going to say something?” She cried. “When were you going to tell us that you were diagnosed with Leukemia?”
Your eyes squeezed shut at hearing that dreadful word come out of her mouth. However necessary it was, you disliked discussing this with Dr. Cho, and you certainly hated talking about this with Wanda.
“I don’t really wanna talk about this right now,” you responded with a shake of your head.
She let out an incredulous scoff, crossing her arms. “You were never going to tell us, were you?”
You avoided her fiery gaze.
“After everything you’ve been through, especially with Jacob, you still believe you need to keep secrets from us? Especially with something so life threatening like this?”
“I’m fine, Wanda. Don’t you see?” You snapped, throwing your hands up in the air. “It would make absolutely zero sense to tell anyone about my personal health, especially if I’m handling it. It would do nothing but upset everyone and make them treat me like a child again. I’m not some damsel in distress and I’m not a doll that needs to be taken care of and looked after all the time.
“I have it all under control. I’m taking my prescribed meds and going to my checkups with Dr. Cho. I’m getting my blood taken and getting scanned in these stuffy machines left and right. The last thing I need is for everyone to be concerned about me. They’ll only freak out, just like you just did.”
“Well imagine how they’ll feel if something happened to you and they never knew about it. To learn that they had no clue you were dealing with such a severe illness. You have cancer for christ’s sake!”
You immediately shushed her, not liking how her voice was carrying throughout the room.
She glared at you, shaking her head at you disappointingly.
“You can’t keep this a secret for much longer or-.”
“How do you feel now that you know what’s wrong with me? Huh?” You interjected heatedly, voice rising in agitation and embarrassment.
She scowled silently.
“Do you feel better knowing the truth? Especially knowing that you can do absolutely nothing about it?”
“You don’t know that. I can do some research… experiment with my magic-.”
You stood up from the bench, facing off with her. “There is no cure for cancer, Wanda, and you know that. This is exactly why I didn’t want to tell any of you. I don’t need any false hope.”
She quieted for a moment, face strained as she tried to come up with a suitable response.
“You still need people.” She concluded. “I don’t care if we aren’t able to help you, at least we can try to be there for you. We want to support you. How can we do that if you don’t even give us a chance?”
You shook your head, eyes watering. “I have the support I need. Everyone is already supporting me whether they know about this or not. I don’t know how this will go, and I don’t know how much time I have. It may be years, it may not be. That’s how these things go.” You shrugged sadly. “But what I want is to have a normal life. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life having people worry about me. This.. this disease is not me.”
She crossed her arms, looking away sadly.
“I need you to promise me something…” You quietly requested. “I need you to promise not to tell anyone else, okay?”
The room was filled with tension as she stared at you in silence. After a while, she let out a frustrated sigh.
Her hazel green eyes pierced right into you. “What about Loki? Does he know?”
You don’t know why, but that specific question threw you off. You didn’t respond, but she knew the answer by the pained look that spread across your face.
Her face slowly dropped, and she looked panicked. Frightened even.
The breath seemed to leave her lungs as she stumbled back, staring at you as if you did something majorly wrong.
“You haven’t told him…” She muttered. “I stupidly assumed that he would be the first one you told. The only other person who knew.”
“I can’t… I can’t do that to him. I can’t tell him about this.” You shook your head sadly. “At least right now. It’ll only distract him from the work we’ve been doing. He needs to focus.”
Suddenly, her face sobered up. “You have to tell him.”
“Wanda, I can’t-”
You gasped as she stalked closer to you and took hold of your shoulders, holding you tight.
“I know creatures like Loki,” She said. “He is not the type of person you keep secrets from. Especially not one of this nature. He may not like it, but the longer you keep this from him, he is not going to react well.”
“Wanda, let go of me.” You whispered.
“No!” she shook you slightly. “You need to listen to me. I’m not only telling you this because I care about you but also for everyone else’s well-being. You need to tell him.”
“I can’t.” You cried, tears falling down your face. “Not now. It’s not the right time.”
“There is no right time.” she chastised. “You have to tell him before it progresses. Please-”
Suddenly, you were released from her strong grip. You witnessed Wanda being forcefully, almost violently pushed away from you.
Panic rose in your chest as you viewed the scene before you.
Loki now stood between you and Wanda. His green eyes were practically glowing, blazing with an intense fury. His defensive stance radiated barely restrained hostility as he sharply pointed a finger in her face.
“What is your problem, witch?” He spat harshly.
To Wanda’s credit, she stood tall, glaring at him before her eyes slid back over to you.
You shook your head slightly, eyes pleading with her not to say anything.
She ignored Loki’s question, eyes focused on you as she said her parting words.
“You’re going to regret this decision. I don’t have to see the future to know that chaos will ensue, and when it does…” She whispered, gaze slowly returning to Loki again. “God help us.”
You swallowed, watching as she departed the room. Loki stood on guard between you both until she was out of sight.
He turned to you, taking hold of your arms in a much gentler manner.
“Did she hurt you?” He asked, a highly concerned expression on his face.
You shook your head. “No… no she didn’t. She wouldn’t…”
“I assumed so as well before I witnessed her handling you with such carelessness.” He growled. “Is the witch not your friend?”
“Of course she is.” You answered, tears welling up in your eyes. “Or at least I think she still is… she was.”
"What was she going on about?" His eyes narrowed. “What was she trying to accomplish by treating you that way?”
You looked at him, taking in the worry and care that was held in his green eyes.
You couldn’t tell him. Not now. You shook your head, giving him a watery smile. “Nothing really important.”
Loki frowned at your answer, seeming to be deep in thought.
You were sure he heard Wanda’s last words before she left. Luckily for you, it seemed as if that’s all he witnessed.
By the skeptical look on his face, you knew he didn’t fully believe you. Thankfully he didn’t push this time, only nodding and rubbing your arm softly.
“Well, I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” He gently stated.
“I hope so.”
Loki searched your gaze, watching the tearful look on your face before pulling you into his arms and engulfing you in a hug.
Tony had recently hired a live-in chef for the team, one whose services you certainly didn’t hesitate to take advantage of.
Loki on the other hand did not seem to share in your enthusiasm as he stared blankly at the breakfast spread before him.
You had all but dragged him from his room to sit out in the common area for breakfast. He made sure to vocalize his complaints and grumbled about as normal, but he still did as you requested.
As you ate through your sleepy haze, you barely noticed Loki’s attention had shifted onto you.
You paused in your eating, sending him a cautious look. “What? Is there something on my face?”
He shook his head negative but continued to eye you strangely.
“I…” He hesitated, brows pinching together slightly as he observed you. “Are you well?”
You sat your fork down with a clink and cleared your throat before nodding. “Yeah. Why do you ask?”
Leaning forward on the table, his eyes narrowed slightly as he studied you. “Something seems… different.”
You frowned, rubbing your forehead. “Yeah, I know. I haven’t been getting much sleep lately for some reason. I’m sure I look kind of bad.”
“That isn’t it. I am used to your constant appearance of fatigue. The lines under your eyes are ever-growing.” He smirked at the look of disbelief growing on your face.
Your mouth dropped. “That is so mean!”
“Only the truth. However, there is something unusual. I simply cannot put a finger on it.” He hummed.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” You uttered. “But what I do know is that the team has been pretty satisfied with how our outings have been going so far.”
He stared at you for a moment before raising a skeptical brow. “Truly?”
You grinned, relieved he didn’t notice your swift subject change.
“Yes! They have been approving more and more outings for us which is very exciting.”
“Yes, very exciting indeed.” He muttered dryly.
“That’s the spirit! I’ve already started planning our next outing.”
“Which is?”
“We’ll be visiting the Men’s Covenant House of New York.” You grinned before taking another bite of your food.
His face screwed up in distaste. “Excuse me?”
“It’s a homeless shelter a few blocks away. Tony donates to them pretty regularly. I thought it’d be good for you to see what non-rich people or princes' lives look like.” You shrugged. “Plus, it’s always good to give back when you can. I know you don’t necessarily cook or anything like that, but maybe you can provide some sort of encouragement or conversation for them.”
The bewildered expression on his face was almost kodak worthy. He blinked rapidly before leaning forward slightly.
“Firstly, your planet does not house all of its inhabitants?” His pitch rose to a comical level. “And second, what could I possibly say to these pitiful humans? We are clearly not the same. Complete opposites if I must say.”
“Sadly, we do have a large homeless population here in the U.S. We’d rather spend money on destructive wars than help people in need.” You sighed. “And you do have something to share. You have your charm, your charisma, and your confidence. A lot of these people have been through so much and have lost their spark.” You smiled, placing a hand on his. This quickly grabbed his attention.
“If anyone can help them get it back, it’s you. Let’s put that silver tongue to good use for once.” You grinned.
He stared at you in contemplation for a moment before finally giving in with a dramatic roll of his eyes.
“If I must.” He obliged, sighing heavily.
You placed your fork down on your plate to do a little happy dance in your seat. You didn’t miss the subtle twitch of his lips as he watched on, attempting to hide his amusement with a steady look of annoyance.
Sam walked into the room, quickly greeting you with a quick fist bump. “Hey, missy,”
“Hey, Sam.”
To your shock, he didn’t hesitate to acknowledge Loki as well. “What’s up, Loki.” He nodded politely.
“Samuel,” Loki remarked tensely, causing Sam to grimace.
“Please, not the government name, man. Just Sam. Or Wilson. Really, anything but that.” Sam pleaded while filling his plate with food before pausing.
“Wait, not anything… whatever. You know what I mean.” He rasped, shaking his head.
Loki only smirked.
That little interaction made a smile grow on your face. You doubted those two would ever become the best of friends, but it was nice to know that there was a lot less tension in the air.
Things were seeming to move forward in a positive direction.
******
You fidgeted nervously as you sat upright on the examination table, the bright shine of the fluorescence above you making you feel a bit queasy.
You stared down at your hands, noticing how short your nails were getting. Nail biting was never your go to coping mechanism before, but lately, you’ve found yourself subconsciously doing it more and more.
A light knock sounded on the wood-colored door before it opened. Dr. Cho walked in. She greeted you with your name and a brief smile.
Glancing down at the clipboard in her hand, a look of stoicism was quickly shrouded upon her elegant features.
“So we ran a few more tests with the fresh blood samples you provided us earlier and just received the results.”
You rubbed your sweaty palms against your pants, swallowing nervously. “And?”
She paused a beat before meeting your gaze. “I think it’s best if we upped your meds.”
You blinked. “Oh.”
“It shouldn’t be permanent. Just for now. We’ll continue to monitor your levels and will reduce your intake when they go back to a normal and safe looking position.”
You looked down at the floor with a hesitant nod. “Alright. I’m assuming this means that things aren’t improving like we wanted them to.” You felt defeated. You’ve been doing everything she instructed you to do, but you guess that didn’t matter much.
“I’m sad to say so. Your vitamin deficiency has been spiking, and your red and white blood cells count is decreasing. Luckily it’s happening at a slow rate, which is good. It was almost undetectable, but since we’ve been keeping an extremely close eye on you, it sparked a bit of alarm for my team.” She sighed. “Have you started noticing any further symptoms?”
Unfortunately, you had. “Yes, a few more, but I mostly feel tired and worn out more than usual. A few coughing fits here and there but I think I have that under control.”
She nodded at that. “The best thing for you to do is take the new meds I’ll be prescribing you. Please be careful that you take them during their scheduled time, every time. Missing any one of these doses could make these symptoms increase.”
“I understand. Thanks, Dr. Cho.”
You hopped off of the table and began gathering your things while she lingered by the desk, still watching you with a tinge of concern mixed within her gaze.
She cleared her throat. “I don’t normally like to get so up close and personal with my patients, but like I said before you are quite special. I suppose I wanted to know if you have anyone um, waiting for you in the lobby?”
Your mouth thinned and you shook your head silently.
Her disappointed look told you that was not what she wanted to hear. This was the fifth visit you’ve had with her in the span of two months, and you came alone each and every time. And each time she’d take note of the guarded look on your face that expressed your discomfort with talking about the others in regards to your health. Thankfully she hasn’t pushed you any further on it, remembering your previous conversation about doctor-patient confidentiality and discreteness when she first broke the unfortunate news to you.
“Thanks, again.” You said to her before exiting the room.
“Of course. Take care of yourself.” You heard her say before the door closed behind you.
*******
After receiving such grim news, you really needed a mood booster.
Luckily for you, it was game night at the tower, or “family game time” as Tony liked to call it.
You found yourself on the other side of Loki’s door, asking him- no begging for him to attend.
“Come on, it’ll be so much fun! I promise.” You sang while leaning against the other side of the apartment door. He hadn’t even had the decency to let you in but blamed yourself for that y since you texted him about your intentions beforehand.
“I said no.” His semi-muffled voice repeated from the other side of the door. “I am fairly confident you understand what that word means. If not, I am happy to let this be an example for you.”
“I’ll be right by your side the whole time.” You insisted.
“I’d feel more at home in a room full of sharks than I would if I had to spend even one second in their presence. Especially if he will be in attendance.”
You raised a brow at his dramatics, knowing exactly who he was talking about. Yet, you didn’t give up on your task.
“I know, but sharks may try to eat you. This’ll be different. It’ll just be a group of friends playing a few fun games together, not the Avengers.”
He went quiet on the other side for a moment, and you thought you had him. The door flew open and you were met with his critical stare.
“Are those not the same people?” He questioned.
You tilted your head. “Well, yeah but-”
“Then no.”
You felt a strong gust of air rush past you as the door closed right in front of your face.
Your smile dropped into an unamused frown. It was time to wave your white flag and admit defeat. At least you tried.
“Fine.” You grumbled to yourself. “I’d really like it if you would come by. You wouldn’t even have to stay the whole time unless you wanted to. But I’ll leave you be tonight. Maybe next time.”
You accepted your defeat and moved on, only to be pleasantly surprised when Loki shuffled into the game room an hour later with a strong look of disinterest on his face.
He looked around the room, seeming to be searching for someone until his gaze met yours. You perked up and waved him over, and with what seemed to be a great amount of reluctance, he made his way over.
You were in the middle of playing a game of spades with Sam, Bucky, and Natasha who had yet to notice his presence until Loki stiffly sat in the empty seat next to you.
The group faltered in their movements only for a second when they registered who exactly it was who joined them, but to their credit, they continued on with the game. Sam even provided Loki with a friendly nod.
Loki didn’t nod back, but you did see him relax a little. The others were located in different sections of the room, deep into their own games. You noted that everyone was in attendance save for Tony and Steve, which was probably for the best.
You noticed them glancing your way every now and again, Thor even sending Loki a friendly wave which in turn made you smile and Loki roll his eyes.
You leaned his way, nudging him lightly in the ribs. “See, not so scary after all.” You whispered. “Much better than sitting in a room with sharks.”
“We’ll see about that.” He retorted lowly.
As the night went on, you found that the team was being surprisingly cordial with Loki. Your mood picked up even more because of that. You knew that this wasn’t easy for anyone, but the fact that they were all trying was a great improvement.
You moved around the room to join in on the different games the others were playing. Loki was right by your side the whole time. If you moved, he moved. It seemed to be an unspoken rule, and you were just fine with that.
Regardless of his unfamiliarity and slight discomfort with the situation, his face remained neutral, which was much better than the permanent scowl he tended to put on around others.
There were times where a look of mild uncertainty would cross his face if anyone spoke directly to him. He would look to you for directions on what to do and you’d give him a subtle nod in return. He didn’t speak or interact with the others much, but he didn’t straight up ignore them if spoken to. So much progress was being made, and you were feeling on cloud nine. Not once had your mind wandered to your earlier visit with Dr. Cho.
There was a point in the night where Loki became more vocal. Sometimes he would tease you about how bad you were doing at a game, and other times it would be him throwing semi-insulting remarks at Thor from across the table.
Having made it to the last game of the night without a fight, you were just about to call the night a success. Then Steve sauntered in.
He walked over to the large table where everyone sat, taking a seat next to Natasha before apologizing for his lateness.
“Thought you were skipping out on me, punk,” Bucky remarked to him.
“No, I just got caught up in a project. Tony’s still knees deep into it but I’ve had enough for the night.” Steve explained, adjusting in his seat.
“Oh yeah? I just assumed you didn’t feel like getting your ass handed to you in bingo yet again.” Bucky smirked.
You snorted in amusement, covering your mouth. Of course, they’d be competitive at the world’s most elderly game.
Your laugh caught Steve’s attention, and he glanced your way, only to freeze when his eyes caught onto someone else. The mirthful look in his eyes disappeared immediately.
He had finally noticed the outsider in the room.
You felt Loki tense up next to you, and without thinking much about it, you carefully slid your hand atop his from underneath the table. A small smile formed on your lips when you felt him physically relax ever so slowly.
Steve on the other hand still looked taken aback, his unwavering gaze directed at Loki.
When his eyes connected with yours, you sent him a reassuring smile, yet he barely returned it, lips only twitching before sliding his gaze back to Loki.
By the way the conversation died down, it was obvious everyone else had noticed the tension in the room but were trying to not make it even more noticeable.
Sam leaned over to clap Steve on the back, breaking him out of his trance.
“Glad you could join us, man.” He chimed. “We’re just getting started.”
“Yeah.” Steve nodded distractedly. “Me too.”
Then the game began. Time passed and everyone seemed to be having a good time. Steve was unusually quiet but had yet to say anything to Loki which you were grateful for.
However, his eyes frequented your side of the table throughout the game more often than not. You paid it no mind, especially when it didn’t seem to phase Loki at all.
“How pitiful,” Loki remarked as you picked up a losing card. “Getting fired from one’s employment is no small feat. I’m afraid of what might happen to you next.” He smirked, giving you a suggestive look. “Jail, perhaps?”
You scowled at him and playfully pushed his shoulder. “Keep talking and I’ll flip your family’s car over.”
“Physical abuse and an intent to murder my tiny people? Well done, I am so proud of you! But unfortunately, imprisonment might be sooner than you think if you continue at this rate.” He grinned teasingly.
You shot him a look, shaking your head before turning back towards the board game. Your smile faltered when you saw Steve’s intense stare focused directly on you. You could practically feel his gaze burning into you as he studied you and Loki, eyes flitting between the both of you.
You gave him a tight-lipped smile before averting your eyes. You began to feel a slight sense of discomfort at his fierce observation. You understood that Steve was not a fan of Loki, but hoped he would work on moving past it just as everyone else. Even Loki himself was behaving much better than expected tonight.
Sadly, your hopes fell through the cracks when Steve loudly cleared his throat. You inwardly flinched when he said your name and your gaze hesitantly met his.
He sat back in his seat with his arms crossed, a curious (and very scrutinizing) look covering his face.
“I have to say, I’m a bit surprised you brought him along with you tonight.” He professed, nodding his head over at Loki. “Thought you’d keep him away from the rest of us as much as possible, considering the history he has with everyone at this table.” He shrugged nonchalantly.
That caught you completely off guard. You sent Steve a confused look before looking around the table.
The playful and competitive chatter between everyone completely stopped. No one said a word, but everyone looked pretty uncomfortable at Steve’s obvious but unnecessary observation.
But not Loki. He kept his attention on the board game in front of him with an intense focus. As if he hadn’t heard Steve utter a word.
“Um, y-yeah” you finally voiced. “I thought it would be good for everyone to be around each other. It is game night, after all. Everyone on the floor should be included. I don’t think anyone has a problem with that. Do you?”
You looked around in question and heads shook.
“Nope. All is good.” Sam remarked before turning back to the game. “Now, where were we? I was just about to choose the righteous path of getting my college degree-”
“Really?” Steve interrupted Sam’s clever attempt to move on. He looked around at everyone with a high brow, gaze narrowing. “Is that truly the case?
Your pulse increased slightly when you noticed Loki direct his gaze towards Steve from the corner of your eye. That was not a good sign at all.
“It appears as if you are the only one to have an issue with my presence, considering you are the only one constantly yapping about it.” He sneered.
Steve's gaze flitted back over to Loki, and a slow smile spread across his face.
Your hand quickly found his underneath the table yet again. But, this time he didn’t relax. He was already on the defense, body rigid and expression firm as he met Steve’s gaze with fierce challenge.
Seemingly triumphant in his goal of finally getting Loki to tick, Steve let out a wry chuckle, tilting his head to the side mockingly.
“You see, I find it really hard to believe that no one has a problem with you being here, sitting with the rest of us like we’re all just the best of friends.”
“Steve-” you tried to interject but he went on.
“So what that the team as a whole decided to move past your most recent events? You got lucky this time around, but what about the personal attacks you made on us? Do you not remember throwing Stark straight through a window he could’ve possibly dropped 300 feet to his death? Or when you controlled Clint’s mind with that stupid scepter to turn him against us?”
Clint shuffled uncomfortably in his seat at the mention of that.
“I can’t even remember how many times you’ve tried to kill your own brother. You tried it with Bruce, and we all know how that went.” Steve snorted before pointing over at Natasha.
“And when you said those disgusting things to Nat?”
“Steve, not now,” Natasha warned, glaring at him from underneath her lashes.
“What was that you called her? A mewling quim? How charming of you.”
Your eyes widened in shock.
“Yet, here she is, forced to sit around a table with you, playing games like you never said those words to her.
“No one can force me to do anything I don’t want to do,” Nat stated, directing her glare at Steve. “And thank you for that, Steve,” she spat. “I'm sure everyone loves hearing their past mistakes replayed in front of an audience.”
Steve frowned at her. “Mistakes? No, everything he did was intentional.”
“If I recall, he was under the influence of Thanos, cap,” Sam muttered, yet Steve wasn't having it, waving his hand in a gesture of refusal.
“That was his choice. All of it was. And now here he is sitting here like we’re like he didn't try to destroy our lives time and time again.”
You sat forward, about to speak in Loki's defense, but Loki himself beat you to it.
“You’re right.” he concurred, causing everyone, including Steve, to turn their attention to him.
“Your claims are true. I cannot deny any of those incidents, and I am sorry to anyone I have harmed in my previous path to power.” He assured carefully. You were surprised to find a note of honesty in his tone.
“I do not plan on repeating my past mistakes. Nevertheless, things have to move forward, yet you are the only one who cannot seem to get over it. The one person who I've barely laid a finger on.”
You swallowed nervously trying to think of the best way to end this conversation before it spiraled out of control even more.
“You, Captain America,” Loki mocked, “are an utter joke. Your whole existence stems from a foolish experiment, and since we seem to be in the mood of reminding each other of our respective pasts, do you recall being a five foot nothing fragile stick of a man that no one respected?”
Steve’s expression darkened considerably and Loki grinned.
“Hey,” Bucky’s warning tone met your ears. “I think that’s enough.”
Loki didn’t bother to spare him a glance, continuing his verbal assault on Steve.
“We are all aware that no one wants me here. I am used to not being wanted, but let me remind you that your own country did not want you. The country you still fight for today. You weren’t even good enough to fight for them until after they injected you with that pathetic serum.” He spat tauntingly. “With that being said, I would suggest you do as the others have done and get over yourself. I am disinterested in this petty grudge you continue to hold against me.”
You could tell that hit home at the sight of Steve's chest rising and falling rapidly. His jaw was clenched and his brows were lowered.
A tense and uncomfortable silence filled the air between them as they glared daggers into one another.
You sat rigid in your seat, not really knowing what to do or say to make things better. It was probably too late at this point.
Bruce was the first to speak up. “Alright, that’s enough monopoly for the night, folks.”
“We were playing the game of Life,” Sam weakly corrected him.
“Same difference,” Bruce replied before getting up out of his seat with a quiet groan.
Most everyone else followed, gathering their things and trailing out of the room. You stood up from your chair and placed a hand on Loki's shoulder.
“Come on, let’s go,” you whispered, giving him an encouraging squeeze.
Thankfully, he listened to you, finally tearing his fiery gaze away from Steve and rising gracefully from his chair.
You walked Loki out, turning back to glance at Steve once more. He sat at the table alone, staring off into the distance with a dejected expression.
hey! would you be opposed to writing a loki x reader one shot where he sees the reader's drink get roofied and protects them? i love me a good fight scene for the reason of romance 😌
You met Thor while on a leisure trip in Norway. He was doing his routine check-in with the Valkyrie, the recently appointed King of New Asgard, and you were spending most of your time exploring the land and working on your pieces.
On the last day of your trip, you gathered your work materials and settled down in a nearby park. Thor Odinson, of all people, happened to stumbled upon you in your natural habitat, intensely focused and covered in paint while working on your latest piece. Slowly, he crept up from behind you to take a look at your painting and was immediately blown away by your creation.
“Oh my, you are exceedingly talented!”
His unexpected jovial tone startled you, causing you to jump and accidentally swipe a blotch of red paint across the entire canvas.
You blinked, disappointment rising within you before looking back at the cause of your now ruined painting.
Your eyes widened when you saw who it was. Yes, you were aware you were vacationing in New Asgard but the last person you expected to see in the park on a Sunday morning was the god of thunder.
“Oh no! My sincerest apologies, my lady.” He uttered, frowning guiltily at your destroyed painting. “I fear I forget that my presence can be quite jarring to others at times.”
You shook away your frustration, granting Thor a small smile. “No, it’s alright. It’s only one painting. I make lots of them.” You shrugged, removing the canvas to set it on the ground and grabbing a blank one to set on the easel.
“Yes, yes, I see. They are truly magnificent,” He praised, observing the various canvases you had lying around. “Are you available for commissions?”
You stopped in your movements, brows rising in surprise. “Umm y-yeah sure,” You stuttered. “I do commissions, but unfortunately this is my last day here. I’m heading back home tomorrow morning so I won’t be around for much longer.”
“Oh? Where do you reside?” He inquired curiously.
“A place far away from here. I’m a New Yorker. ”
You watched as a knowing grin grew on his friendly features.
“Oh, that is perfect.”
The next thing you knew, you and your paintings were shooting off to New York in a quinjet headed towards the Avenger’s New Facility. That was where you were introduced to Tony Stark, the man who not only bought a lot of your original artwork, but also commissioned several other pieces from you.
You were even asked to design and construct a mural pretty sizable mural in the compound’s main lobby.
You couldn’t be happier for the amazing opportunities that came upon you just from your coincidental meeting with Thor, in another country of all places, and made sure you thanked him every time you saw him.
Thor became a very good friend, frequently inviting you to hang out with him and the team any time he was in town. A lot of these hangouts ended up being parties thrown at the tower.
That’s where you first met Thor’s brother. Loki Laufeyson.
If Thor and Loki were like night and day, you and Loki were like oil and water. You didn’t mix well at all.
To put it lightly, you and Loki did not get along from the start. When you first met him, you were pretty optimistic, however, that changed immediately when he didn’t even give you the courtesy of speaking to you. Or even smiling. He stared at you as if you walked into the room with two heads, sharp eyes scrutinizing every inch of you as Thor introduced you to him. Then he left, only parting with a hum that felt just as judgmental as his disapproving gaze did.
After that, you thought things would get better with him, but it only got worse. You tried to hide your annoyance for a while but couldn’t help it. You could only take so much. His icy green stare and offensive backhanded remarks made your blood boil anytime you had to deal with him.
It was no secret that you both hated each other.
One moment you were way too happy for him to be around and the next you were utterly boring. Nothing you did or said seemed to make him like you, and eventually you gave up. His approval didn’t mean shit to you anyway.
You were sick of him turning his nose up at you for god knows what and you began returning the favor since he was always being a pompous ass towards you for no apparent reason.
Thor tried to make excuses for his younger brother, stating that he was like this with almost everyone, but something within you knew that Thor didn’t even believe that excuse himself.
Loki was just being an asshole just because he could. He was a spoiled brat and thought himself above you for whatever reason. You tried not to let it bother you but sometimes you’d find yourself daydreaming about smashing his stupid, perfect face into the nearest wall. You weren’t a violent person by any means, but he was starting to make you wish you were.
Thor and the others did not help the precarious situation between you and both, only seeming to stoke the fire even more at times by watching you two argue. The team seemed amused by your bickering, especially whenever you got in a really clever insult that seemed to make the dark-haired Asgardian tick.
Eventually, they came to the obvious (and much safer) conclusion that it was a bad idea to have both of you around at the same time. They didn’t want to be responsible for allowing you to rip each other's heads off and did their best to keep you separated as much as possible.
You didn’t want to be invited to another gathering unless there was a one hundred percent guarantee that the god of aggravation was not going to be in attendance.
So imagine your surprise when you arrived at Thor’s birthday party with multiple gifts in hand, only to nearly drop all of them when walking right into an unexpected firm, unyielding body.
Frowning, you glanced up in surprise, not having seen anything or anyone in your path beforehand. A cool green narrowed gaze stared down at you, scrutinizing your presence as usual.
“Why are you here, mortal?”
Your face sobered and you felt the beginnings of a hot ball of irritation bubble up in your chest.
“I came to flip burgers.” You droned sarcastically before shaking your head with a sigh. “Why do you think, Loki? I’m here for Thor’s party, obviously.”
“That oaf informed me that you were not invited.” Loki groused, towering over you like some bodyguard.
“Well, he told me the same thing about you. Apparently, he lied to both of us.” You said wryly. “And don’t call your brother an oaf.”
“Why do you care what I call him?” He snidely questioned.
“Because I’m his friend and it’s rude to call him names. Now move out of my way.” You demanded, barely giving him a second to move out of your path as you charged past him.
You couldn’t even get through the door without witnessing Loki’s overcritical expression and judgy attitude. That man could annoy you like no other. It was as if he made it his full-time job to bother you.
Walking through the room, you spotted the gift table and trotted over, setting your presents down carefully.
“Ah! There’s my favorite artist. Good to see you, friend!” You heard a familiar booming tone and turned to see Thor pranced over towards you.
“Hey, big guy. Happy Birthday!”
He engulfed you into a hug before letting you go and instantly turning his focus towards the gifts.
“Are those for me?” He inquired with an innocent grin.
You raised a brow, shooting him a look. “No, they’re for everyone else but you.” You joked before laughing. “Yes, Thor. They’re yours.”
He feigned a look of shock before grabbing one of your gifts off the table. It was thin and rectangular, covered neatly in dark blue wrapping paper with golden thunderbolts.
Your brow crinkled in uncertainty. “Wait, you’re gonna open it now?”
He looked at you and shrugged. “Yes, of course. It is my birthday after all.” He smirked with a wink before tearing into the carefully folded wrapping paper.
You watched as his features transformed into a look of curiosity, then quickly switched to one of pleasant surprise as examined the gift thoroughly.
It was a portrait-style painting of complete his family: Thor, Odin, Frigga, and yes, even Loki. From what you understood, all traces of his family heirlooms vanished into space when Asgard had been destroyed in Ragnarok, so you assumed there were no other pictures he had of them all together.
“Wow, this is spectacular! And extremely thoughtful of you. I never thought I would see all of us in one setting again.” He said in awe as he continued to observe the painting.
You crossed your arms with a nod. “I remember you briefly mentioning how you missed your family, so I thought this might be something you would appreciate.”
“I certainly do. Thank you. I couldn’t ask for anything better.”
“You haven’t even opened all of the others yet so how would you know that?” You scoffed.
“There is a method to my madness. I opened yours first because I know you always bring the best gifts.” He stated as if it was common knowledge.
“I’m not falling for your flattery sir, but I am really glad you like it.”
“No, I love it. Thank you, my friend.” Thor said with a genuine smile, placing a hand on your shoulder.
“Of course, buddy.”
In typical Thor fashion, his attention was pulled away, focusing on something behind you. You watched his eyes light up, and he began waving his hand back and forth, attempting to grab someone else’s attention.
“Hey! Loki!” Thor bellowed across the room. “Come here, brother. I have something to show you.”
You tensed and your gaze followed Thor’s across the room, landing on the last person you wanted to see.
You were slightly startled to see his gaze already fixed on you, green eyes simmering with something indiscernible. As always, he appeared to be upset just by your mere presence.
You’ve been at the party for barely ten minutes and hadn’t done anything to deserve his ire. The man was confusing as hell.
“She has created a portrait of our family. Come see!” Thor prattled, doing his best to get his broody sibling to come closer.
Loki continued to glare daggers into you, barely giving Thor a glance before stalking off elsewhere.
You frowned, more offended on Thor’s behalf than anything else.
“What’s his problem? Does me being here really bother him that much?” You scoffed, crossing your arms. “He can’t even get over himself long enough to make this a good day for you.”
“It is alright, friend.” Thor retorted, looking more amused than you expected him to be. “Loki has been having a tough time. I thought this painting might have cheered him up a bit. Among other things…” He trailed off with a raise of his brows.
“What could he possibly be dealing with that put him in this bad of a mood on your birthday? Did he not get his breakfast on time today?” You smirked.
“No, nothing of major consequence. Let us just say he is fighting against himself when it comes to his feelings about certain things, or certain people.”
Your eyes squinted, not fully understanding what he was getting at. “Huh?”
Thor waved his hand. “Oh, nothing truly of your concern. He shall learn how to navigate eventually.”
“Sure,” You replied, giving him a skeptical look. “I should’ve known you weren’t telling the truth when you said he wouldn’t be here.”
Thor had the nerve to look sheepish, his hand reaching to scratch the back of his neck. “Ha- yes… about that-”
“Thor! Get over here, man. The DJ’s about to start and we need to tear up this dance floor.” A voice called out to him.
You turned to see Sam Wilson, who also greeted you with a nod.
“Oh, I do enjoy a good disc jockey,” Thor said excitedly before turning to you. “Would you like to join us?”
“Maybe later,” you replied. “I’m gonna go find Wanda and Nat so we can discuss how old you are now. I’m planning to get in a few old man jokes before the night is over.”
“If you must. Though I am still fairly young by Asgardian standards.” Thor proclaimed with a flex of his muscles, causing you to laugh and Sam to roll his eyes.
“Yeah, yeah, enough showing off, birthday boy. Let’s get on the floor.”
Once they left, you ambled around the room, eventually finding the others and stopping to chat with them. Thor’s party was now in full swing with people crowding the entirety of the room, all looking like they were having a merry time.
After a while, the music became a bit too loud so you headed out onto the balcony for a bit of quiet.
Walking towards the edge, you leaned onto the railing and breathed in the fresh night air. It was quite peaceful. However, that peace only lasted for but a moment.
“Is there not any place I can be rid of you?” a deep, resonant voice complained.
Your whipped your head around, meeting Loki’s forever accusing gaze as he stood less than five feet away from you. His arms were crossed as he glared at you, looking as if you were the one disturbing his peace.
You straightened and turned to fully face him, having had enough of his unwarranted antagonism against you for one night.
Placing a hand on your chin, you provided him with an exaggerated expression of thoughtfulness.
“Oh, I know! How about you just, I don’t know, leave?” You gestured with your hand. “The door’s right there.”
“I was here first, therefore you should be the one to leave. You’re in my space.” He argued.
“I was here first.” You mimicked his accent. “What are you, a five year old? God, I cannot even breathe without you getting bothered. You have some serious anger issues.”
“Perhaps you should stop breathing at all.” He sneered, taking a menacing step towards you. “That way I’d never have to see your face again.”
You flinched, taken aback by his increasing hostility. His malice towards you truly had no boundaries.
“Wow,” You breathed out in disbelief. “Are you sure you’re related to Thor? Because you are nothing like your him. I’m starting to think you were adopted and your real parents were probably monsters.”
His face dropped immediately, and you were about to claim your victory until you saw him swallow hard, a look of intense hurt appearing on his beautiful features.
Just as quickly as it appeared, his pained demeanor was gone, replaced with a look much more sinister. Angrier.
He took slow deliberate steps toward you, and it took everything in you not to back away.
“Are you aware of how pathetic you are? How pitiful you look while shamelessly flirting with my brother like some desperate harlot?”
Your eyes almost popped out of your head. “What? I never-”
“It is an absolutely nauseating sight to be forced to witness. As if someone as repulsive as you could compare to an Asgardian god. As if your own species would even want to be around you. You are nothing but an insect I’d willingly crush with the bottom of my boot. A pest to be rid of.”
You stood with your back straight and rigid, watching as he took one last step toward you, barely an inch between your bodies as he leaned down towards your face and whispered harshly through clenched teeth.
“You absolutely disgust me.”
The air was quiet between you for a moment, your chest heaving as you met Loki’s searing contemptful gaze.
No one was more shocked than you when tears started rolling down your cheeks. Loki blinked, his breath hitching quietly as he realized what he had done.
He opened his mouth, yet no other words came out to your utter relief
You bit your lip looking away, embarrassed at the knowledge that you had finally cracked.
You didn’t want to look weak in front of him. You didn’t want to cry. He was the last person who deserved your tears.
However, you couldn’t ignore the feelings of extreme hurt filling your chest. You didn’t know how much more of his hatred toward you could take.
This was it. He won.
Slowly, you lowered your gaze towards the ground and took a step back while nodding your head.
“Okay,” You voice came out weaker than you wanted it to. “You made it extremely clear about how you see me. You don’t have to worry about me coming around anymore. Bye, Loki.”
You backed away and turned your back to him, ignoring his gentle call of your name as you returned to the party.
You wanted to leave, to go home and curl up in a ball and sulk for the rest of the night. You told yourself that you didn’t care about his opinion, yet the hot, tight feeling in your chest was telling you otherwise.
But you held strong. You couldn’t leave Thor’s party yet. Especially since this was most likely going to be the last time you’d see him in a while. The thought of having to see Loki, or even thinking about him made a huge lump form in your throat.
You didn’t want ever see him again. He was a complete and utter jackass.
You trailed over to the bar, eyeing the glass bottles with a sad gaze. You weren’t planning to drink at all, but now you felt like you had to be able to get through the rest of the night. A margarita or two wouldn’t hurt.
Sitting down on a bar stool, you stared into space, mind replaying what Loki had said to you. What he had professed to you with a burning passion. The worst part was that you believed he meant every word. He was switched from being petty to cutthroat in only a second.
Did he really think that you wanted Thor? Did it truly seem as if you were always flirting with him? You did love Thor as a friend. How could you not? He’s literally changed your life for the better after meeting him.
You could barely afford to pay your bills on time before he recommended you as an established artist to all his friends and colleagues. You were appreciative of his support and genuine friendship, but by no means were you interested in a romantic relationship with him.
Loki’s perception of you was completely wrong, and he didn’t even give you a chance to tell him otherwise.
“Fuck him,” You grumbled, taking a small sip of your drink before walking over to sit at an empty table in the corner.
You eyed the dancing crowd not too far from you. Thor and his friends looked like they were having a blast. They were indeed tearing up the dance floor. If Loki hadn’t ruined your night, you would’ve happily joined in.
“Who are we fucking?”
You turned your head to the side, startled to see a blonde haired man sitting down beside you. He was certainly not familiar.
“Excuse me?”
“You said, and I quote, “fuck him”. I was just curious about who we were talking about,” he replied with a charming smile.
We? You eyed him skeptically before answering. “No one, just some asshole that I don’t need to spare a second thought on.”
“Then don’t.” He said. “Talk to me instead. I’ll be your distraction.”
You hummed, slightly confused but not immediately put off by the idea.
“Are you one of Thor’s friends?” You questioned. You’ve never seen this man before in your life.
“No, kind of a friend of a friend.” He said with a shrug before holding his hand out to you. “John Walker, and you are?”
You shook his hand, providing him with your name as well.
“Pretty name for a pretty woman.” He winked before nodding towards your now empty glass. “How about I buy you another drink?”
Your brow quirked. “You know we don’t have to pay for these right? It’s an open bar.”
He blinked in surprise, looking perturbed. “Shoot. Then who did I give my credit card to?”
Your eyes widened but you quickly realized he was joking when a smirk crossed his face.
“Just kidding.” He said, chuckling at your expression. You rolled your eyes with a small smile.
“I’ll go get you that drink. Be right back.”
He left for the bar, returning shortly with a glass of red wine. Sitting next to you again, he continued asking you more questions about yourself. You didn’t normally give men who flirted with you right away the time of day, but considering he was doing a good job keeping your mind off the person who shall not be named, you started to enjoy his company.
At least he didn’t think you were a disgusting insect that should stop breathing.
The drinks were helping, you thought, but you knew you’d have to stop eventually. You had to get home somehow and didn’t want to put pressure on anyone else here to take you because you had one too many.
“Another one?” John offered after you finished your second drink.
You declined. “Um, no, I think I’ve had enough for the night.”
Your brows pinched as you felt your head start to spin. You only had two drinks, yet you felt as if you had about five. Your body felt lighter than usual, and the music seemed extremely loud.
“Are you okay?” He asked, sounding genuinely concerned for you.
“Um, I-I don’t really know.” You huffed, holding your head. Your vision was getting blurrier by the minute. Panic started rising in your chest.
“I think I need to go to the restroom.” You slurred, attempting to stand up from your seat. When you stumbled on your feet, John shot up and grabbed you, holding you steady.
“Woah there! I think you had more alcohol than you led me to believe.” He tutted, throwing your arm around his shoulder while wrapping one of his around your waist. “Here, let me help you.”
You shook your head and immediately regretted it as it made you even dizzier. “N-no I got it.”
“It doesn’t look like it.” He protested. “Come on, let’s get you out of here.”
“But-”
You didn’t get to finish your sentence before John practically carried you through the busy crowd and out of the room.
“No Joh… please. I wanna stay.”
He shushed you, leading you to a nearby restroom. You were confused when you entered, only feeling more alarmed when you realized it was a private bathroom.
He released you and you stumbled backward, hitting the wall as you tried to move away as far as possible from him. He stood on the opposite side, locking the door before turning to leer at you.
His hungry gaze traveled down your body and you shivered.
“I’ve been watching you all night, you know.” He admitted while biting his lip. “I noticed you as soon as you walked into the room, and immediately knew that I wanted you.”
“Please..” You stammered, slowly shaking your head back and forth. “I don’t like this.”
He strolled over to you, running a hand down your face while shushing you. “It’s okay sweetheart, you will soon. Trust me.”
You attempted to push his hand away but failed, barely able to move your arm correctly with your lack of strength.
“Stop,” you whimpered, tears now streaming down your face. “Please stop or I’ll scream.”
He laughed in your face. “Go ahead. Do it. No one will hear you, sweetie. I made sure of it.”
His cruel words made your panic transform into anger, and suddenly a rush of adrenaline surged within you. You used that moment to raise your foot as high as you could before slamming it back down onto his as hard as possible.
“Fuck!” He yelled, stumbling backward. “You fucking bitch!”
You scrambled towards the door in a clumsy hurry but failed to open it. You yelped as you felt John grip your neck before shoving you into the wall.
Then you heard the loud slam of the restroom door as it burst open from the other side.
A tall, blurry figure stood there, letting out a loud curse before charging in. The painful grip on your neck was instantly removed, and you sank to the floor with your back against the wall.
The sound of pained grunts and cries of anguish filled the room. You peered upward, attempting to focus your gaze on the violent commotion going on before you.
Your eyes widened at the familiar sight of the man who was currently beating into John as if his life depended on it.
Loki?!
Your mouth went agape as you watched John struggle to remove the other man away from him as Loki continued to pound his fist into his face.
“You fucking snake!” He yelled, one hand gripping John’s neck and the other hitting his face. “Is this what you do?! Huh? Prey on innocent women and keep them trapped while you take advantage of them?! Is this what you have to do to get attention?!”
His eyes were wild and dark curls were untamed as he drilled his fists into John’s boy repeatedly. His shirt became stained with red, the same red that John’s face was now covered in.
He looked to be completely feral.
“Pathetic. Fucking. Weasel!”
When John stopped struggling you knew you had to do something. Though the man clearly roofied you and tried to take advantage of your weakened state, you didn’t want Loki to get in trouble for murder.
“Loki,” you called out to him shakily. “Stop.”
Either he didn’t hear you or he decided not to listen, fists still hammering into John’s now unconscious body.
“Loki, you’re gonna kill him,” You whimpered lowly. Your hope to save John, and Loki by extension, was looking worse and worse as he continued to beat the man underneath him.
“What is going on here?!” A loud voice thundered as they ran into the room.
You breathed out in relief when you saw Thor crowding the doorway, other partygoers crowding behind him watching and gasping in horror at the disturbing display of violence they were witnessing.
“Thor, please… stop him!” you pleaded weakly.
Thor immediately took action, taking hold of his younger brother and pulling him off of the bloodied and deformed body crumpled up on the bathroom floor.
“This man doesn’t deserve to live! Release me at once!” Loki hissed at him, chest heaving and adrenaline running through his veins.
“Whatever he has done, he doesn’t deserve your attention right now. She does,” Thor insisted adamantly. “I can handle him, but she needs you, brother.”
Loki’s gaze slid to you, his blood splattered face going white and features tightening. He pulled away Thor, the other man releasing him and carefully watching as Loki made his way over to you.
He crouched down to where you sat on the floor, back against the wall, and head lolling to the side as you struggled to keep your eyes open.
He said your name softly and you blinked slowly at him.
“Is it alright if I take you out of here?” He asked in a gentle tone, gaze the most tender you’ve ever seen them.
You gave a slow nod, wrapping your arms around his neck as he carefully lifted you from the ground.
As he exited the small room with you in his arms, you glanced over his shoulder to see Thor, Steve, Bucky, and Sam standing over John’s mangled body, most likely discussing what they were planning to do with him.
“Are you alright?” Loki asked as he carried you down the hall, his normal velvety tone now deep and gravely. The sound providing you with more comfort than you expected it to.
You peered up at him with a small smile. “I should be asking you that.” You rasped. “I didn’t expect the night to end with you coming to my rescue. I thought you didn’t like me.”
He scoffed lightly. “My issues with you wouldn’t have stopped me from caving that bastard’s face in. He was hurting you and planning to do much worse.”
“But for me? I thought you found me pathetic… and disgusting,” you mumbled, closing your eyes.
Loki flinched, not liking to hear his own deplorable words he growled at you only hours ago repeated back to him. He was ashamed that he let his feelings of jealousy for you and Thor’s relationship cloud his vision and paint you in a bad light.
The look on your face when he said those awful things to you earlier made him realize how much of a misguided jerk he was being.
You were right. He was an asshole and you deserved to be treated better, and he was going to treat you how you deserved from now on.
“No, you are not those things, pet. Nothing I said was true.” He whispered, not really sure if you were conscious enough to hear him or not.
“You are truly wonderful, and I care for you more than you could ever know.”
You walked down the corridor with a pep in your step, feeling much better than you had in a long while. Loki fell into step beside you, looking the complete opposite of how you felt. His dark brows were low on his forehead and his lips were thinned. He looked as if he was ready to turn back around at any moment.
You glanced over at him with raised brows. “If you keep this up I’m afraid you’re going to be the one blowing a gasket soon.”
Your comment had its intended effect, his displeased expression instantly morphed into one of utter confusion.
Green eyes squinted in your direction. “I beg your pardon?”
I knew that would work, you thought to yourself.
“Listen, I know this is the last thing you want to do, but since you can’t go back to Asgard yet the plan is to get you accustomed to life here on Earth. Or at least, the city of New York.”
He made an unimpressed face at that before opening his mouth to speak.
“And yes, it’s necessary,” you added before he could ask that exact question in his petulant princely manner.
A week had passed since you and Loki had reunited in your bedroom, the night ending with you in tears as you peacefully fell asleep in his arms. When you awoke the next morning, he was gone, only leaving a note placed on your nightstand stating that he did not want to scare you when you woke up and discovered that he was still there in your room, so he had left.
Strangely, you felt a pang of disappointment and loneliness surge through your chest at the knowledge that he was gone, but you understood why he had left. If you were being honest, you didn’t know what you would have said if you woke to him still in your bed with you. Tell him sorry that I cried like a five-year-old and blubbered all over you?
Maybe you would’ve thanked him for providing you with the much-needed comfort you didn’t know you needed until he was there. Who knows.
You had dressed and went about your day, deciding to reach out to Loki yourself and ask to meet so you could discuss things further. Tony had given him an iPhone, which you could tell he was not a fan of but it did come in handy when you needed to contact him and had no idea where he was.
When you got the chance to meet with him again (in a setting that was not your bedroom), you informed him about the details of his image rehabilitation and how you were going to go about it, but not without thanking him for what he did for you the night before.
Maybe he expected that you’d be upset with him for some reason, but to be relieved at your more relaxed state around him. The news that he’d have to actually participate in making himself look more personable to humanity fully didn’t sink in until a bit later. Hence why he was currently in the grumpy state he was in at this moment in time as you both walked through the tower’s lobby.
“I know it’s your favorite pastime but unfortunately you can’t continue to stalk around the tower brooding and hissing at people all anymore. We need to make you more likable to the people here just as much as we want you to have a better public image.”
Loki raised a dark brow in challenge. “Firstly, I do not brood or hiss, and secondly I am an exceptionally likable being. Do you not agree?”
“Yes, I know you can be very charming when you allow yourself to be, but unfortunately other people don’t get to see that. We have to make you seem more approachable to others. If not the team, the average person needs to see you as friendly and harmless.”
“I am not friendly,” he grumbled. “Nor harmless for that matter.”
“Well, you’ll learn to be because today we’re taking you out of the tower so you can be around other people. It’ll just be a day trip around the city but eventually, I’ll bring you to some cool events so you can make friends and stuff like that.”
“This is needless. I don’t want friends.”
You shook your head, lightly touching the back of his arm as you continued the trek to your destination. “You may not want them, but you need them. Everyone needs friends, silly.”
You nodded your head at the two heavily armed S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who were waiting for you at the entrance of the tower before glancing over at Loki.
“I know you’ve um, sort of visited before but your view of the place was kind of obscured by everything that was going on back then,”
The agents opened the doors and you peered out at the blue skies and crowed sidewalks, smiling in excitement.
“Now, let me show you the real New York.”
Loki’s first outing had been interesting, to say the least. You wanted to catch the subway but realized on second thought that would be a bad idea since you didn’t know how people would act around him yet in such a jam-packed space. You doubted that they’d immediately recognized him but you didn’t want to take any chances. Thankfully Tony provided you with a driver and you took the town car instead.
You decided to take him on a tour around the city to introduce him to its wonderful infrastructure and historical sites. Unfortunately, he did not seem to be impressed. He came from a place where they were probably way more technologically advanced than humans were even a millennium ago.
Still, you decided to drag him around to your favorite spots, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents trailing not too far behind you. There were more than a couple of times (several, actually) when you had to pivot Loki’s attention away from the many people who were staring at him. He didn’t seem to like the idea of practicing smiling at them, instead producing something akin to a grimace.
You stopped by an old greasy food truck to get some lunch when noon hit. As you got closer to the truck, Loki twisted his face in disgust, asking you if this was what Midgardians ate in this city and you nodded with a smile.
“Yeah! I know it’s not the healthiest but if you’re out and about and in need of a quick bite, food trucks are the way to go.”
You offered to buy him a sandwich to try which he quickly declined.
He seemed to be even more disturbed when walking on the crowded and messy sidewalks filled to the brim with bustling New Yorkers. He did not want anyone touching him, instead, deciding to charge through the crowd while dragging you along by your wrist. You stumbled past the annoyed onlookers, apologizing profusely as you tried to get Loki to slow down.
Needless to say, the S.H.I.E.L.D agents had a hard time catching up with you both, eventually pulling you to the side and giving you a warning that Loki had to be within their sight at all times or he wouldn’t be allowed to leave the tower anymore.
Taking them at their word, you kindly asked Loki if he could slow down a little, empathizing with him that you knew this was a lot to handle all at once. However, he had to work with you at least a little bit in order to make any progress that the team (and Nick Fury by extension) would find acceptable.
He stared at you with a blank face until his gaze finally dropped, sighing heavily and nodding his acquiescence. You didn’t expect for him to listen to you so quickly, but to his credit, he did behave in a more acceptable manner for the remainder of the outing. That was until you visited your favorite local bodega.
You sent Loki to the checkout counter to purchase a few items while you continued to look around the store to see if there was anything else you needed. A minute barely passed by before you heard a commotion coming from the front of the shop, one of the agents swinging by to get your attention.
When you arrived at the checkout counter, Loki was glaring menacingly at the nervous-looking cashier who looked as if he was ready to duck under the counter.
“What’s going on?” You asked, glancing from Loki to the shaking middle-aged man.
Loki spoke first, an irritated growl shrouding his voice. “This mongrel is insisting that I provide him with more payment than I deem necessary for such a small amount of items we are purchasing.”
You frowned in confusion, looking at the calculated total on the cash register. It appeared to be at a normal rate. Was it still a bit pricey? Yes, but that was just the average inflated NYC prices.
“I-It's the right amount man, I promise. I ain’t trying to swindle you or nothin’.” The man stammered, causing Loki to scowl at him even more.
You placed a hand on his arm and backed away. “Loki, he’s right. That’s the correct cost,” You mumbled, wondering if you should have spent more time explaining to him how currency worked on this planet. “We have to give him the money or we won’t be able to buy anything.”
“What? That’s preposterous,” He voiced out, “Am I not to bargain with him until he concedes? That is how we operate on Asgard. He was close to yielding under my gaze until you interrupted us.”
You actually slapped a hand to your forehead, not knowing whether to laugh or be taken aback by his unusual shopping methods.
“No, that’s not how that works here. If we don’t give him the correct amount of money he could probably ban us from coming back here, or worse, call the police on us.”
Loki smirked conceitedly. “I have never been one to back down from a challenge.”
You crossed your arms, giving him a somewhat stern look. “Yeah? Well, you will today. I know you can’t help but be mischievous and all but I do not want to have to explain to the team how we ended up in jail on your very first outing. That wouldn’t be a very good track record for either of us.”
He had the nerve to look disappointed at your words, pouting like a child. “Fine. If I must.”
He reluctantly handed over the cash to the man, who accepted it with trembling hands before whispering for you both to have a good day.
You had no doubt that both you and the cashier shared the same amount of relief when you and Loki left the bodega with no one getting hurt in the process.
You returned to the tower after that, deciding that was enough of an adventure for one day. Loki looked absolutely worn out. When you gave Tony a report of the outing later that night, he seemed to be pleased with the turn of events, only raising a skeptical eyebrow when you mentioned having only a “minor misunderstanding” at the local convenience store.
It was a few days later when you decided to take Loki on his second outing. You were planning on waiting until at least a week later to take him out again, but the team was still being extremely standoffish with him and it was not helping anyone. They didn’t include Loki in any activities or even attempt to have any meaningful conversation with him.
Besides Thor, Wanda seemed to be the only one who made any attempt to interact with Loki, though he only seemed to hum and grunt in response to her questions.
He appeared to be just as uncomfortable inside the tower despite your best efforts. He had even snapped at you once when you simply asked him a question about Asgard, to which you only raised a brow at him in response.
He quickly apologized but he didn’t really need to. You understood how he felt. Loki was homesick, and being stuck on Earth for so long was really getting to him.
So you decided to get him out of the tower again as soon as possible.
The next outing went similarly. This time, you took him to a grocery store. He looked appalled at how large it was inside and asked if every human in the city came to this one place for food.
“No, silly. There are lots of supermarkets around the city. This isn’t the only one.” You laughed at him and he appeared to be both confused and offended at the same time.
“There are more?” He questioned in an incredulous tone. “Humans do consume quite a lot.”
You nodded. “Food is life. Literally.”
Later that day you ended up at a nice little cafe located in Brooklyn which you thought Loki would enjoy a bit more. He liked drinking tea and the occasional coffee which the cafe had plentiful brews of both. He appeared to be more relaxed and a bit more in his element as you both sat at a table in the corner, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents idling right outside of the shop’s exit.
“How’s your tea?” you asked, taking a careful sip of your oat milk latte.
He averted his gaze away from something behind you and eyed the drink that had been placed in front of him. “Subpar.” He sniffed and you scoffed at his answer.
“Let me guess, it’s not up to Asgardian standards.”
He smiled at you. “Your words, not mine.”
“I don’t know,” you state skeptically, “You seem to have been enjoying yourself a little more today. See, living on Earth isn’t that bad.”
It was his turn to scoff. “Those words will never be uttered from my mouth.”
“Never say never.” You grinned. “Don’t worry, you’ll be having tons of fun by the end of your stay here, whenever that will be. I’m planning on taking you to other-.”
“What does that mortal want?” Loki groused, eyes narrowing just past you on something you couldn’t see. You blinked, turning around to see one of the baristas behind the counter looking your way. He looked to be around your age, shaggy brown hair falling into his face.
He smiled politely when he caught your eye, and you smiled back awkwardly before turning back around to see Loki still focused on the boy.
“Maybe he’s just curious,” you guess with a shrug. Loki’s disguise was good but it wasn’t that full proof. The guy was probably just intrigued by him.
“Curious? About me, or you?”
“What?” you laugh. “Why would be be curious about me?”
“He has been ogling you the entire time we have remained in this establishment,” Loki stated with annoyance in his tone.
“Oh. Maybe he recognizes me from school or something. There are so many people in my classes that I can never remember what they all look like.” You explained with a small chortle.
“I suppose.”
The boy behind the counter finally noticed Loki’s not-so-friendly gaze, and quickly looked away, focusing his eyes on the espresso machine he was currently operating.
“Don’t scowl at him, Loki. Remember, you want to come off as nice and approachable, not suspecting and accusatory.” You reminded him. “Plus, he hasn’t done anything wrong. People stare sometimes. It’s normal.”
“I do not like it.” He said tersely.
“Yeah, I don’t like when people stare either. I know it makes you uncomfortable but eventually you’ll get used to it and the looks will stop soon enough.”
He focused his gaze back on you. “That is not what I meant. I do not care if I am being observed. After all, I am a prince.”
You raised a brow in amusement. “Then what do you mean?”
He was quiet for a moment before speaking. “I have an aversion to other humans observing you.”
You blinked in surprise, leaning back in your chair. “Huh? How come?”
“I do not trust them. Especially the male species.” He gritted his teeth.
You still didn’t quite understand what he meant by that before it finally hit you. As much as you were both trying to move on from what happened in his cell, what Jacob had done was still pretty fresh for the both of you.
Of course Loki didn’t trust other people. This was evident by the way he worried for you in the safest of places. He saw what Jacob and those two guards had done to you and it still was affecting him. You weren’t the only one who had been traumatized by that incident, and you couldn’t expect him to be okay so soon after.
However, the objective was to get him familiarized with human life, and if he didn’t trust anyone then he wouldn’t be making any progress. You couldn’t let that happen.
You both sat in silence, him likely mulling over his confession and you reflecting on your new revelation. It appeared that you had your work cut out for you more than you originally thought.
You placed your hand over his on top of the round table. “It’s okay. I understand.” You said softly, meeting his troubled green eyes. His gaze softened, and he slipped his much larger hand from under yours only to place his on top, his thumb brushing your skin softly.
“I’m glad you do.” was his simple response.
********
You eyed the countless people dressed in fancy gowns and tuxes like they were attending cocktail hour at the MET.
Tonight was Tony’s and Pepper’s anniversary party and apparently, every person that they knew seemed to have been invited. Surprisingly, this also included Loki, but something told you he wouldn’t show up. He’d rather be anywhere else than at a gathering for Tony Stark, is what you remember him saying when he received the very last-minute invitation.
You bit your lip as you entered the ballroom, smoothing down your silky spaghetti-strapped lavender dress and wiggling your toes in your strappy black heels, all courtesy of Wanda’s desire to dress you up like a doll tonight. You were a little self-conscious about how the material fit on your body but Wanda was insistent that it looked perfect on you so you just went with it.
You glanced around at the hundreds of bodies that filled the space, looking for two particular people while gripping the box you held in your hand. You traipsed around until you finally found who you were looking for.
“Black bean!” Tony exclaimed before waving you over towards him and his beautiful wife. You smiled and greeted them both, giving him and Pepper a quick hug.
“I see someone dressed to impress. I almost didn’t recognize you without that old hoodie covering half of your body. Good job!” Tony grinned and you shook your head at him.
“Not like I had much of a choice. Security probably wouldn’t have let me in here if I pulled up in jeans and a sweater like I originally planned to.” You joked. “I got something for you guys.”
You pushed the small box you held in your hands towards them with a small smile.
“Oh, that’s so sweet of you! You shouldn’t have.” Pepper replied with a kind smile and Tony scoffed dramatically.
“What? Yes, she should have! Don’t mind if I do.” He said, plucking the box out of your grasp.
Pepper lightly rolled her eyes at him and gave you a look that caused you to giggle. You spoke to the lovely couple for a few more minutes until you were distracted by the sound of your name being called out from behind you.
Your body instantly froze in place, blood running cold at the sound of the high-pitched bubbly timbre. Slowly, you turned around, meeting a familiar pair of blue eyes. Eyes too alike her older brother’s.
“OMG! I missed you so much!” Kayla ran up to you and wrapped you into a tight hug. You gasped quietly, body still stiff as a board before lightly wrapping your arms around her in return.
She eventually released you, pulling back with a blinding smile. She looked even taller than before, which was saying a lot because you were also wearing heels.
“It’s been forever. What have you been up to?” She asked with genuine curiosity in her voice.
“Oh, um, just working like usual. Nothing crazy really, waiting for school to start again soon… yep.”
You knew you sounded so awkward but you couldn’t help it. You were practically shaking around her. To your knowledge, Kayla had no clue about the incident with her brother that landed you in the hospital for weeks. She didn’t know what actually happened with Jacob, and the thought of her ever finding out put you on edge around her.
“Wow, it’s been like, ages since we last saw each other. We need to hang out soon!” She twirled a piece of her perfectly curled golden locks. “I feel a bit guilty for kind of ghosting for a while. It’s just that Jake left the country and my parents haven’t been taking it very well. I don’t know what’s gotten into him but he needs to come back ASAP. I cannot handle them on my own. It’s been complete hell.” She sighed.
You nodded, letting out a nervous laugh. “Oh, yeah? I-I didn’t know that.”
“Yeah, it’s been totally crazy. The last person who saw him was my dad, and he said that Jake had seemed really upset about something, saying that he was quitting his job here at the tower. He took a bunch of money from the family account and left town overnight. I don’t know what’s going on with him but I hope he’s okay. He can be a complete ass sometimes but he’s my big brother, you know?”
“Yeah, of course you’d care about him. He’s your family after all.” You inwardly cringed at your own words, the reminder of the situation being a bit too much for you at the moment.
“Yeah, it’s a lot to handle.” She remarked with a pout before shooting you an odd look. “Although, I think you know something that I don’t.”
The blood instantly drained from your face. “I do?”
“Yeah, you do. You can’t hide it from me.”
Your palms became sweaty.
“I-I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about-.”
One perfectly sculpted brow rose on her forehead. “The alien prisoner, duh!” She proclaimed with a shake of her head. “You didn’t tell me that they released him a few weeks ago and that he’s still here in the tower. I had to hear it by eavesdropping on one of my dad’s “secret” conversations.”
The amount of relief that filled your body at her accusation was substantial. You truly thought that she was going down another path. A darker one that you didn’t want any light to shine on. Ever.
You rubbed your bare shoulders, granting her a look of pretend guilt with a light chuckle. “Oh, that! Yes, Loki’s out of his cell now but he’s still on sort of a probation so no need to worry.”
She didn’t look totally convinced, brows scrunching up in fear. “So you’re telling me that he’s just been let loose around the tower? Oh my god, what if I run into him? What do I do?” She fretted.
“Say hi? He’s not that bad, I promise you. He can seem a little… daunting at times but that’s just him. He’s not out to hurt you or anything like that.” Her constant worrying about Loki was not doing her any favors.
She crossed her arms and adjusted her stance. “I don’t know. I think I’ll just try my best to stay away from him. Avoid him at all costs. My dad says that he’s a complete psycho terrorist who would be better off back on his own planet- oh!” She interrupted herself, looking highly interested in something, or at someone over your shoulder. “Hottie alert!”
You turned around to look through the crowd, attempting to see what she was looking at. There were too many people in your way, she could’ve been looking at anyone.
“That man is a beautiful piece of specimen if I’ve ever seen one. I’m gonna go introduce myself. Follow my lead.”
She fussed over her already flawlessly styled and fitted gown before strutting through the crowd. Your brows twitched in confusion but you trailed after her anyway, slipping between chattering groups of guests as you tried to keep up with Kayla’s long strides across the room. You were just about to give up when she suddenly stopped in her tracks with an elegant practiced pose.
You stumbled in your heels, stopping just in time in order not to run into her from behind.
Placing a hand on her hip, she began speaking to the mystery person. A sickeningly sweet tone emanated from her. “Hey gorgeous, my name is Kayla, and you are?” She inquired sultrily.
You didn’t know why you followed her only to witness her flirt with some random stranger. You couldn’t see who she was talking to as you were still behind her, trapped between people on almost all sides of you. The person wasn’t very quick at responding, as she stood expectantly waiting for his return greeting for a brief moment.
It was extremely awkward, and you were not going to stick around much longer to dwell in the discomforting scene. You were preparing to turn around and go back where you came from before you heard the dark, silky tone that granted her a response.
“I know exactly who you are.” The man said in a guarded and slightly aggressive tone.
Your eyes widened in absolute horror and disbelief as you stepped beside her to get a good look at her acquired target.
Your eyes shot open immediately as you stared up at the high ceiling in confusion. Something had prematurely awakened you. Before you could look at the clock to see what time it was, you heard it again.
Boom! Crash!
“What the hell?” you murmured raspily, sliding out of bed and leaving your room. You shuffled down the hallway towards the noise while rubbing your blurry eyes.
You hadn’t gotten much sleep last night, your rampant nightmares on repeat which had made you wake up in a cold sweat several times throughout the night.
You let out a noise of surprise when you ran into something, stumbling back slightly before being righted, blinking your eyes open to see the hard wall you ran into. It was Steve.
“Someone’s up bright and early.” He commented. He stood there with his arms crossed, smirking down at you.
“Ha ha,” you sent him a sarcastic look. “What’s all that racket?”
“Racket? You from the forties too?”
You rolled your eyes and Steve gave you a small smile before it dimmed. He pursed his lips before looking down the hall. You became even more confused as you witnessed construction workers carrying things in and out of a room.
“They’re renovating per Stark’s instructions.”
You raised a brow. “Oh? What for?”
Steve glanced at you bemusedly. “More like who.”
“It’s for Loki.” a gruff voice interjected. You turned your head to see Bucky slowly walking closer with his hands in his pockets. “We made an agreement with Tony that he’d have to be on the same floor as us. Hopefully, it’ll prevent him from trying anything stupid.”
Your brows shot up in surprise. “That’s… good… I think.”
“It’s a lose-lose situation for all of us if you ask me,” Steve grumbled, gaze narrowed at the sight of the workers as if he was upset with them for simply doing their job.
Bucky rolled his eyes at Steve’s dramatics. “Don’t listen to him. He has his own issues he’s dealing with right now.”
“And you don’t?” You asked Bucky. “The last I heard, you weren’t so pleased at the fact that Loki was staying here with us on Earth,”
He nodded. “Yeah, I know, and I’m still not in full agreement but it’s already been decided. I’d rather move on and try to make the best of it than throw a tantrum.” He smirked over at Steve who was now glaring back at his best friend. “If you keep this up you’re gonna blow a gasket or somethin’ in that ancient body of yours.”
Steve scoffed, a bit of mirth creeping up on his features. “You’re one to talk, buddy.”
You slowly walked towards the room, filtering out their old man jabs at one another as you looked around curiously. There was clearly still more work to do but it was sure to be finished in no time.
Since you left the medical floor, everything seemed to be going so fast, and this was probably the first time you felt the gravity of what was actually happening.
Loki was free and would be living on the top floor with the rest of you, and he was now completely your responsibility.
You did not see Loki for most of the day, assuming he was with Thor who was also MIA. You spent some time with your father, shocked at the news that he was planning on moving out of the tower soon. And not just moving to another place in the city, he was moving all the way to the UK to start his own practice.
As happy as you were for him, you were also feeling a bit sad. Yes, you were a full on adult now, but you’ve never lived so far away from him. He was always there since you could remember, and now you wouldn’t be able to see him as often. The thought of being on your own made you scared at first, but then you remembered all the wonderful people you still had to support and be there for you. This was something that inevitably was going to happen and it was needed in order for you to be more independent like you truly wanted to be.
Sam must have noticed your gloomy mood, encouraging you to join the team game night that you were planning to skip.
“I don’t know,” you droned. “I think I just need to be alone for a while.”
Sam gave you a sympathetic look. “That’s not what you need. Come on, if you still think you need some space after ten minutes, I won’t stop you from leaving.”
You reluctantly obliged, arriving at the game night wishing you were sulking in your bed instead. But to your surprise, you ended up having much more fun than you expected to.
You weren’t the best at board games but you sure gave Tony out of all people a run for his money. By the end of the night, most everyone had left to retire to bed. You, Wanda, and Sam being the only ones left in the room playing a game of cards.
You glanced across the table at the gorgeous witchy woman, deciding now was the perfect time to talk to her about what she said at the meeting. “I hadn’t gotten the chance to thank you for what you did for Loki. I know that wasn’t the most popular opinion but you really stood up for him. So yeah, thank you.”
She smirked, looking down at the cards she held in her manicured hands. “If I am being honest, I did that mostly for you. I know how much work you’ve put into his rehabilitation and I know you are capable of transforming him into something greater. Everyone does, but they are too afraid to admit it because of their fears, ego, or whatever else that’s keeping them so closed-minded.”
She peered up at you. “They pretend to not remember that we all have made mistakes in the past, and have all done unspeakable things for the people we love. I was once on the wrong side of humanity too, scared, angry and seeking justice for my country. So was Natasha, Bucky, Tony, and even Steve. If they were given chances to start over, I believe Loki deserves one as well.”
You stared at her in complete awe, wondering how she always knew the right thing to say at the right time. She placed a card face down on the table, shrugging. “Besides, technically he was part of the reason I gained my powers in the first place. The mind stone from his scepter had quite an effect on me. Hydra made sure to use it to their advantage.”
You blinked, not expecting her to reveal such sensitive information to you. You had no idea that was where her powers had originated from. You understood she had a complicated past but Loki adjacently being involved was just the icing on the cake.
“Wow, really? I didn’t know that.”
She nodded, “Only Tony does, and now you.” She looked over to the man sitting across from her. “and Sam.”
He made a gesture of zipping his mouth shut and you laughed at that before sighing.
“Your confidence in Loki is great, I just wish I didn’t feel so unsure of things now. I think he can tell, which makes everything worse.” You admitted with sorrow in your features. “I feel I may possibly be driving a wedge between us and I don’t really know why.”
Wanda hummed at that before leaning back in her chair. “It may be because he revealed another part of him when he rescued you from Jacob. A side of him that’s not easy to swallow down.” She said softly, causing you to look at her in surprise.
“He showed you what he’s truly capable of, what he was always capable of doing. Something you may have ignored or overlooked beforehand because of your close relationship.” She hesitated for a moment before continuing. “The dreams you’ve been having are a culmination of your unheard fears and desires about what you now know to be true. However, they are not the truth, they are just dreams unless you want to make them a reality. You don’t need to be afraid of who he is, and you know he would never harm you but still must tread carefully. He’s shown you how far he is willing to go. For you and only you. You need to understand the chaos that can cause if it’s not tended to.”
You looked away, not liking how her words were hitting home. There was a sharp pang in your chest at the thought of what she was saying possibly being true. Feelings that you’ve tried to ignore were arising again.
You cleared your throat before setting your cards down on the table. “Um, I think it’s time for me to go. I’m really tired.”
Sam looked over at you and Wanda looked slightly saddened at your words.
“Okay, I’ll walk you to your room.” Sam offered.
“You don’t have to, I can go by myself.”
He nodded. “Yeah, I know that, but how about we walk together since mine isn’t too far from yours? I don’t know about you but I tend to need some company when walking these halls sometimes. They can get a little creepy late at night.” He feigned a shiver.
You knew what he was doing but decided to entertain him anyway. You couldn’t say no to him when all he was trying to do was be a good friend. He could most likely tell you were still feeling off and didn’t want you to leave alone.
You both got up to leave, but before you could get out the door, Wanda softly called your name again. You glanced back at her hesitantly.
She gave a small smile. “I didn’t mean to overwhelm you, I just want you to understand the reason you feel the way you do. That way you can decide what’s best for you.”
You swallowed before looking at the ground, nodding your head. “Yeah, I know. Thanks, Wanda.”
Sam bade her goodnight as well before you both were walking through the halls in a comfortable silence. Once you reached your room, you thanked him for the company before turning to open your door.
“Hey,” he said, causing you to turn around to look at him. He scratched the back of his neck before speaking. “I know Wanda was being a bit intense back there, but I do think she was trying to help you, in her own strange, off-putting way.” His face scrunched.
You nodded. “I know, I really do. It’s just a lot for me to hear. I feel like I’m going to let everyone down and just end up making a big mess out of things.”
Sam shook his head. “That’s not gonna happen. You know what you’re doing, just trust yourself and you’ll do great. We’re all here to help you whenever you need it because we care. Handling Loki is a huge responsibility, but something tells me that he’s not gonna make it that difficult for you. The rest of us I’m not so sure.” He smirked before his face turned serious. “I-uh, know about the nightmares Wanda was talking about. Most of us do.”
Your face flushed with embarrassment. Of course, they knew.
“One time I heard you screaming in the middle of the night. I got up and came out to check on you but someone had already beat me to it. I watched him stand at your door for a long while, looking as if he wanted to walk in but he didn’t, which is good because I would’ve yanked him out by his neck.”
Your brows furrowed. “Wait, who?”
Sam paused for a moment as if he were trying to decide if he should reveal who it was.
“Loki.”
Your heart skipped a beat.
“He’s been checking on you almost every night since he’s been here. Hovering by your door whenever your nightmares start. Watching out for you in the shadows during the day, making sure you don’t catch sight of him since he probably doesn’t want to startle you. I see him all the time but I don’t think he cares much. He’s too preoccupied with keeping an eye on you.”
Sam shook his head. “He’s like some kind of dark guardian angel. It would creep me out more if I didn’t think he was doing it out of true concern.”
You had no words. Loki was around more than you thought he was. You didn’t understand why he didn’t want you to know, but you guessed that he was trying to give you some space since you were acting strange the last time you spoke to him one on one.
You felt really guilty about that, especially how jumpy you were being. Wanda was right about your feelings of fear and now here was Sam telling you that Loki was still watching out for you regardless of how strange you acting around him.
“I-I didn’t know he was doing that.” You stammered.
“Yeah, I figured you didn’t. Just wanted to give you a different perspective. Hopefully, it’ll help a little.”
You nodded, giving him an appreciative smile. “I think it will. Thanks, Sam.” You said with genuineness.
He made a funny face, waving his hand. “It was nothing. Oh-also, this is for you,” he pulled out a medium-sized notepad out of his pocket, handing it over to you.
You took it with a bit of confusion, staring down at it. It looked slightly familiar. “This isn’t mine.”
“Yeah, I thought it might not be. I found it in Loki’s old cell when we were cleaning it up. He’d probably lie and say it wasn’t his if I tried to return it to him, so I thought it would be better if you did.”
“Oh, okay. I will the next time I see him.”
“Cool, goodnight.”
“‘Night, Sam.”
You entered your room and went about your nightly routine to get ready for bed, aka preparing for a long and most likely restless night. Once you were out of the shower, you stood at the bathroom vanity, staring into the opened cabinet.
A small orange and white bottle sat there. You sighed before grabbing it, opening it up, and swallowing the two pills that Dr. Cho instructed you to take every night. Were they working? You had no clue, but you also didn’t want to find out what would happen if you stopped taking them.
After swallowing down the way too large pills, you walked into your bedroom, catching sight of the notepad Sam had given you. You walked over to it, picking it up to observe it. It felt wrong to want to see what was inside, knowing that curiosity killed the cat and all, but you were not one to let that stop you.
You hoped that there was nothing inside that made you feel like you were intruding on Loki’s personal thoughts, but when you opened it you were relieved to see that all the writing was written in a language you couldn’t understand. It could’ve been in Asgardian, Jottunn, or even something else equally as foreign to you. You understood that Asgardian’s possessed Allspeak but this writing did not have that same effect on you.
You looked over the beautifully written script, flipping through pages before something caught your eye midway through. One word written in English out of all languages. Dove.
You tilted your head, turning more pages before pausing on something that almost made you gasp. There was a sketch, a drawing of some sort and the subject looked familiar. You continued to turn the pages, the sketches getting more prominent each time around before you finally accepted what they were. All of them were of you.
You in mid-conversation, you while laughing, you holding what you guess was a chocolate chip cookie, and even you while sleeping. The drawings went on and on and your heart swelled up in your chest. The way he drew you was so detailed and careful. He even got the little dove necklace that hung around your neck. It was like you were looking at yourself through his perspective, which you guessed you were.
All that time you thought he was just writing when he was scribbling away, but he was also sketching you. Was it out of complete boredom? Or was it something he wanted to do? There were no other subjects besides you that he had captured. It was sort of mesmerizing. Eye-opening.
You spent another hour scanning through the notepad before deciding it was time to head to bed. Before you knew it you were buried under the soft duvet in your bed, feeling more tired than you were before. You hoped that meant you’d sleep through the night for once.
That thought was shown to be futile when you were ripped from your slumber by the sound of your own voice yelling. You shot up in a panic, trying to catch your breath while covering your face.
You were so tired of this. You wanted to sleep through the night peacefully, but no matter how hard you tried you just couldn’t. You felt tears of frustration and sadness quickly build before spilling down your cheeks. You don’t know how long you sat in bed weeping, but when you heard a low tone calling your name, you flinched, whimpering at the sound.
You stared into the darkness wide-eyed, breath hitching when you caught sight of a figure standing in the middle of your room.
Your sleep-deprived brain malfunctioned, thinking that you might have been still trapped in one of your nightmares. It was a lot different than your usual ones but conjuring up your very own sleep paralysis demon was surely possible.
The figure stepped towards you and you cowered. “Please, no,” you moaned dreadfully. “Leave me alone.”
“Dove.”
You opened your eyes, slowly turning your head back towards the figure as it moved closer, the dim light coming from the window outlining the person more clearly.
“Loki?” You whispered shakily.
He held a worried look on his face, sparkling green eyes focused only on you. “I’m sorry, I understand that I am intruding in your space but I needed to see you… to confirm that you were unharmed.”
You swallowed, using your arms to sit up further. “Are you… are you really here?
“Yes.”
“Like, physically? Not a projection?”
He wandered closer until he was barely a foot away from the bed. You could feel his body heat radiating from him, causing you to hold your breath.
“Yes. Is that a problem?”
You shook your head slowly before climbing out of your bed. You looked up at him as he stared down at you, observing you with a soft look on his face.
“How did you get in?” You were certain you locked your door.
He was quiet for a moment before speaking. “Do you truly think a measly Midgardian lock would be a formidable opponent for me?”
To your surprise, you let out a laugh. “You’re lucky that Sam didn’t catch you. He’d have your head.”
“Neither a lock nor Wilson would prevent me from seeing you. I tried to stay away, I truly did, but I could not ignore the sound of your distress. I needed to ensure your safety, to know that you were well. Are you?”
You smiled sheepishly before it turned watery. You shook your head, attempting to blink away the tears. “No, I’m not. I’m not.”
Strong, warm, comforting arms immediately wrapped around you, engulfing you in a tight embrace. You hugged him back just as tightly, sobbing into his chest.
“I-I’m so sorry.” You cried, not even knowing what you were apologizing for.
He shushed you, holding you firmly as you made a mess of his shirt. You both stayed like that for a while and eventually, you calmed down. You closed your eyes, basking in the feeling of being with Loki again. You felt safe. You felt secure. Being in his arms felt like home. You missed him. You missed Loki.
It was an odd feeling, and for the first time, you ignored the scary feelings that would normally pop into your mind and make you pull away and hide away from him. You swallowed down your fears and worries and just let him hold you.
Neither of you said anything else that night, both of you laying embraced together on your bed as you fell into a peaceful slumber, not waking up anytime throughout the rest of the night.
A nasty storm covered the beautiful countryside for the third night in a row.
You cursed silently as you stared out of the large window in the hallway, barely able to see the mess of wind-whipped trees, stray branches, and flailing leaves violently swirling about through the thick waterfall covering the window. You had no idea how you were going to get home in this weather, as it had gotten worse as the days passed.
You overheard on the bus this morning that there was a warning for a possible hurricane in the county area where the Odinsons lived, but you paid it no mind, not wanting to have an excuse to miss a day of work. So you took the hour ride to your place of employment and were met with the flood of heavy rain as soon as you stepped off the bus.
Anyone else would have thrown in the towel and stayed within the safe walls of the manor to avoid the treacherous weather outside, but not you. You didn’t want to overstay your welcome here. Sure, one half of the Odinson's were kind but the other half you were a bit wary of.
You didn’t want any of them thinking you were trying to freeload off of them just because of some bad weather. After all, you were just one of the many housekeepers that worked here. Your only business in a place like this was to keep it as pristine as possible. Nothing else.
You flinched slightly at the sudden vibrations coming from the pocket of your uniform, tearing your eyes away from the darkness outside of the window and pulling your phone out. You sighed, being reminded of the other reason you couldn’t stay here tonight. Your baby sister.
“Hey Buttercup, what’s up?” you answered.
“Do you see the weather outside? It’s insane. When are you coming home?” The concerned voice of your younger sister rang out from your outdated smartphone.
You sighed heavily, moving away from the window and down the dimly lit hall. “I don’t know, sweetie. It may take me a few hours longer to get home tonight, but I promise I’m still coming.”
You entered Odin’s study. It was currently empty and was a good place for you to take quick, discreet phone calls. The fireplace was still lit, embers gently crackling as the flames burned and you appreciated the warmth that was radiating throughout the room.
“Oh, okay. I can wait up for you. Just, um, be careful, please. They’re saying this is the worst storm we’ve had in years.”
“Yeah, they always say that. Dramatic beings, these weather people are. But don’t worry, I’ll get home soon enough. Maybe we can watch half of a movie before bed? I know that tends to relax you whenever you get nervous.”
She’s quiet for a moment before speaking. “Y-yeah that would. I’d like that.”
“Okay, then it’s settled. See ya soon, Buttercup. Oh- and make sure you eat dinner soon since I may be late. I think we still have leftovers in the fridge.”
You could practically envision her rolling her eyes at your mothering. “Yeah, I will. See you soon, Blossom.”
“Love you.”
You end the call quickly, grabbing the nearby iron poker and using it to spread out the flaming logs in the fireplace. You only had fifteen minutes left until your shift was over and needed to finish checking the rooms on the second floor before making your much dreaded trek to the nearest bus stop which was a ten minute walk from the manor. You shivered, partially at the lack of warmth that covered the room after the flames were put out, and partially at the thought of how soaked you were going to be once you arrived at the semi-sheltered bus stop.
“Are you truly planning on leaving in this disastrous climate?” the cool voice of an unseen person inquired.
You nearly jumped out of your skin, snapping your head over to the doorway where a tall shadow lingered.
Immediately recognizing the shape of the imposing figure and their refined regal voice, you let out a breath of partial relief, grip tightening on the fire poker you still held in your hand.
“Oh, hi, Loki. You, uh, startled me for a moment there.” You send him a pained smile, doubting he could see it through the darkness that covered the room.
He only tilted his head, his dark curly locks falling to the side with the movement. He was still crowding the middle of the doorway, hands in his pockets as he simply… observed you.
He did this quite often, and it was always just as chilling each time. He observed you more than he spoke to you, so when he did, it always put you in a state of momentary shock. Out of all of the Odinsons in the manor, he was the most quiet, slinking around the house as if it was his job to watch over everyone. As if it was his job to watch over you. Sometimes he’d simply observe you, watching as you dusted the shelves, vacuumed the floors, or cleaned the laundry. He seemed curious for the most part, but other times you’d catch a glint of something else in his gaze. Something a bit less innocent and more nefarious. Darker.
At this moment, you couldn’t tell how he looked, only witnessing the shape of his familiar silhouette.
You gulped. Setting the poker back into its place before walking over to the lamp on a nearby desk, switching it on with a click. Warm light flooded the room and you were glad to finally be able to fully see the youngest Odinson of the manor. It was strange to think of him as the youngest, as he was still several years older than you.
Blue-green eyes were still focused on your figure as if he was waiting for you to say something.
You self-consciously smoothed down the errant curls at the back of your neck that had escaped your bun. “I was just finishing up here, as um, you can see. I’ll be out of your hair in no time.”
He raised a dark brow at you. “You still have yet to answer my question.”
You frowned, rummaging through your tired brain to figure out what he was talking about before your mouth formed into an ‘o’. “Oh yeah, s-sorry, I'm kind of tired so my mind’s all over the place. Yes, I’m going to leave in a few more minutes, just finishing up here.”
“Why?”
His question caught you off guard. What’s it to him?
You considered yourself a professional, so you often made it a point to answer your superiors, regardless of how strange their questions were.
“Well, I need to get home. Mr. Odinson said I could leave an hour early because of the storm.”
Loki blinked, his brow twitching slightly as he glanced away before meeting your hesitant gaze again. “That’s absurd. We have plenty of space as you obviously are also aware. You can stay for the night and retreat in the morning once the weather calms.”
Your mouth opened as you considered his words. Out of the five years you worked in the Odinson home, you had never stayed the night once. It was not something you were comfortable with doing because it was not your home. You had your own home- well, apartment near the city. It was small, and not nearly as regal as the Odinson manor but it was yours. Yours and your sisters.
You spewed out an excuse. “Um, that’s very kind of you but I think I’ll be okay. I need to get home to my sister. She’s waiting for me.”
“I’m sure she’ll be fine with waiting for you to arrive tomorrow.”
“No, sir, I'm afraid she needs me.” You bit your lip, not missing the way his analytical eyes lowered to the nervous habit you had. “I’m all she has, and her only caretaker.”
You knew you were giving him way too much unnecessary information about your personal life but you needed to make him understand that you weren’t staying the night here. His offer was kind but what you said was true. Zuri needed you.
The young Odinson looked as if he wanted to protest, staring at you as if you were defying his orders before his gaze dropped to the floor as he sighed.
“Alright, if you must,” He looked back up at you and you felt some relief at his words, but not for long.
“However, I’m taking you home myself.”
You tried your best, you really did. But if Loki wasn’t a lot of things, he sure was a stubborn man.
He ignored your carefully crafted words of decline at his offer- no his declaration to take you home. Nevertheless, you found yourself in the passenger's seat of his sleek back car that probably cost triple the amount or more than your yearly salary, holding on tightly to your bag as he maneuvered you both through the nearly flooded streets.
His car was way faster than a bus, and you knew you’d be home in no time. He didn’t say a word on the car ride home, only keeping his eyes on the road before him.
You glanced over at him from time to time, seeing the dark shadows of the rainy night pass over his face. Loki was absolutely stunning. Along with his older brother Thor, he was a beautiful specimen of a man, and from what you know of him, he was also ridiculously intelligent. It was completely unfair. He had the money, the brains, and the looks. All of the Odinsons did, but unlike the rest of them, Loki was the only one who intimated you.
He was not as kind as Thor or Frigga, he was more like his father, Odin. Odin had a similar quiet yet unnerving demeanor as his youngest son, but he still never made you feel the way Loki did. The man was not known as being very kind to the staff at the manor, or really anyone else. He seemed to barely tolerate his family, throwing disinterested remarks to Frigga from time to time while insulting his brother and ignoring his father. You’ve even witnessed him reprimanding another housekeeper for entering his room without his permission. Luckily enough, he seemed to save his words when it came to you, preferring to watch you like a hawk instead which was just as unsettling.
Loki reminded you of the treacherous and highly dangerous weather you were both driving through. He was like a silent storm, just lurking around the manner, sneaking up on you and looking as if he was going to reign down terror on you at any moment. But he never did.
You were just a housekeeper, no one important, yet here he was taking you to your hole-in-the-wall apartment building that was miles away from his family’s secluded home in the countryside. You didn’t know why he was doing this, but you were also too afraid to ask, not wanting to offend him in some way. You were fine to just assume that he wanted you to get home in one piece so you didn’t show up for your next shift at his home sick as a dog because you were stubborn enough to try to take the bus home in this weather. That made the most sense to you, and you liked things that made sense.
When Loki arrived at your apartment building, you tried your best not to cringe in embarrassment as he observed the surroundings. The neighborhood you lived in wasn’t terrible, but it was not as clean and fancy as the one he lived in.
You pulled the handle to the door, attempting to open it, yet it didn’t budge. You slowly peeked over towards the man in the driver's seat, not surprised that he was already watching you.
He ran his eyes over your tense frame before turning his head towards the front window of the car.
“I expect this storm will not prevent you from tending your duties at the manor tomorrow, correct?”
You blinked at his question before nodding. “N-no sir, of course not. I will be there for my shift in the afternoon as soon as the weather clears up.”
He nods stiffly, squinting his eyes as if something displeased him. You thought about your answer, trying to figure out if you said something wrong.
“Very well, goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Mr. Odinson.”
Though he looked reluctant, he unlocked the door and you exited the car, heading into your apartment building and up the three flights of stairs.
When you got inside, you headed into the bedroom, seeing Zuri sound asleep in her bed. Your shoulders dropped in relief to see she was okay. You knew she got nervous when she had to be alone for a while.
Quietly you walked over to the small window, peeking between the blinds. You were surprised to see the familiar black car still idling by the curb in front of the building.
It was another five minutes before it left, speeding down the dimly lit and water-flooded streets.
You woke up in a cold sweat, your heart beating wildly in your chest. With closed eyes you sat up in your bed, taking slow deep breaths and not moving until your heart rate slowed to a somewhat normal pace again.
Glancing over at your alarm clock, you read the bright white numbers on the transparent screen. 3 am.
Throwing your head back, you let out a lengthy sigh and slowly got out of bed, shivering before tightly pulling on a fluffy robe and shuffling out of your bedroom towards the bathroom. You were still getting used to the new space that the team had set up for you but it was still taking some time to adjust to it all. You’ve only been out of the clinic for about four days now, but it felt as if it was just yesterday.
You’ve been cooped up in your brand new spacious and way too luxurious room since you returned. Dr. Cho gave you clear instructions on continuing to rest and only getting up for a few minutes of exercise, so the team made sure you did just that.
They left you alone for the most part, Nat and Wanda checking on you periodically while Sam and Bucky provided you with the most dramatic version of room service you’ve ever experienced. You missed everyone dearly and couldn’t wait until you had enough strength to get back to your normal, everyday life.
You found it odd how tired you still were but after your last conversation with Dr. Cho, you could guess why. As shocking as her news was to you it was also not something you wanted to focus on at the moment. Was it pretty serious? Yes, but there was no way you were going to let it control your life. Her news only made you want to work harder. Live harder.
Of course, you were still going to follow her instructions and do as she said, but you weren’t going to let it plague your mind every hour of the day, and you weren’t going to let it stop you from living a normal life. No one but yourself and Dr. Cho knew about your condition and it was going to stay that way if you could help it. She was bound by doctor-patient confidentiality and you certainly were not going to open your mouth about it to anyone else.
You liked your life how it was and you wanted to keep it that way. You weren’t going to let anyone start treating you differently because of something so small. They were already waiting on you hand and foot like you were some kind of damsel in distress because of the incident.
You received emails from Dr. Jan letting you know she was available to schedule more therapy sessions whenever you were ready to get back into it. You hadn’t even told her about the nightmares you’ve been having since you got back home.
They were more than just dreams, they were a mix of real memories and new fears. Bloody faces and rough hands that squeezed you so tightly your bones cracked. They were vivid and quite terrifying but what made it easier for you to deal with them was that you understood why you were having them. It was just your mind trying to cope with the recent trauma you experienced.
After your bathroom trip, you walked out into the small living space of your mini apartment, only to pause in the middle of the room when you thought you heard a sound. Your body immediately tensed as your eyes slid over to the door that led into the hall.
Jacob is gone. Jacob is gone, you told yourself as you stared at the dark shadow that appeared from underneath the door. The fact that no one had knocked made you feel more on edge because someone was clearly there.
You nervously stared at the shadow on the other side of your door for another minute before slowly creeping closer toward it. Once you got close enough, you stood on your tip toes to peer out of the peephole, preparing to see who the stranger at your door was, only to be met with the sight of an empty hall.
Frowning, you crouched down to the floor trying to catch the shadow again, peeking underneath the small opening but seeing nothing but the hall lights reflecting off the pristine flooring.
You stood on your feet and ran a hand tiredly over your face, shaking your head.
“What am I doing?” you muttered to yourself, convinced that your drowsiness was the reason you were seeing things that weren’t there.
You trailed back to your room and immediately got back into bed, staring at the vase of red poppies sitting on your vanity before you eventually passed out.
******
When Tony had called to invite you to a meeting, you hadn’t expected it to be so soon but you guessed they were in some sort of hurry. Or maybe they just wanted to get it over with. Bad news was hard to keep from a person.
Everyone was gathered in the meeting room before you entered. They looked like they had been in the middle of a very tense discussion as you glanced around nervously.
They all greeted you as you took a seat, and your eyes eventually settled on Tony.
He sent you a smile. “Thanks for joining us, black bean! As glad as I am to see you up and running again, I need to apologize for interrupting your much-needed rest for this.”
You shook your head. “It’s okay, Tony, really. I’m perfectly fine to come back to work. I’ve had plenty of rest and don’t need to stay locked up in my room forever.”
“I know, I know, but obviously your health and well-being come first. Everyone can agree on that for sure, but it’s just this one thing we can’t agree on that’s caused me to summon you.”
Steve crossed his arms and sent Tony an intense glare. You raised your brows skeptically.
Tony ignored Steve’s visible irritance towards him, only focusing on you. “So, basically-.”
“Tony, Thor, Sam, Wanda, and I think we should keep Loki here on Earth while Steve and the others think he needs to be sent back to Asgard.” Nat interrupted, causing Tony to now be the one sending a glare in her direction.
“Excuse me, madame death spider, I was trying to break it to her in an easier way where she could understand the full extent of things.” He groused.
She scoffed. “What’s not to understand? That’s what this is all about. It’s the reason that you dragged her all the way here.”
Sam looked over to you. “To be fair, I’m not for it but I’m not exactly against it either. Clint and I are Switzerland, okay?” He said raising his hands in defense. “Steve, Bucky, and Bruce think that Thor should pack Loki up and Bifrost on out of here.”
“Hey, I never said that!” Bruce interjected with an offended look before turning to you. “All I said was that it wasn’t a great idea for him to be walking around in the same space as me. That guy knows how to ruffle my feathers like no other.”
“Thank you for your opinions, but she doesn’t need to hear any more announcements from the peanut gallery.” Tony contended. “What we need is for her to make her own decision based on what she knows.”
He turned to you, looking slightly uncomfortable. “You… trusted him. You also just went through a completely terrifying situation that may have changed your perspective, and I need to hear your thoughts on this matter before we make a decision.”
You bit the inside of your cheek as you glanced down at the table, avoiding everyone's gazes.
“You’re putting a lot of pressure on her, Stark.” Bucky voiced out, and you looked up at him in surprise. “Loki saved her life, we all know that. It’s clear that he’d do anything to keep her safe,” He shook his head, expression hardening. “But it doesn’t change the fact that he murdered three men in cold blood. I haven’t seen anything like that in a long time and I don’t think we should continue to keep him here just to possibly see it again.”
“Barnes, do you truly believe my brother is going to run around murdering people on your planet?” Thor asked and Bucky gave him a hard stare.
“Yeah, he’s done it before, hasn’t he? No matter how much you think he’s changed, this latest catastrophe just proved that he would do it again. Especially if he was motivated for the right reason,” Bucky glanced back at you.
Your eyes widened as it dawned on you what he was saying. His words caused a million thoughts to run through your mind all at once. Did he truly think that Loki would go on a murder spree just for you? And was he wrong to think that? You didn’t know how to feel about that.
Your gaze flitted over to the quietest person in the room who still had the loudest presence. Steve still had his arms crossed as he silently glared down at the table. Everyone had spoken for him but he had yet to speak for himself. It’s not like you didn’t know his stance, but you still wanted to hear what he had to say about all of this. He was still your friend and you trusted him.
“Steve?” You called out to him quietly. He looked at you from beneath his lashes before giving you his full attention.
There was no question on what you were asking him so you didn’t have to say much more. He glanced down, face contorting into a multitude of emotions before he looked at you again.
“We covered up a murder,” Steve said lowly.
You could both hear and see the apparent discomfort of every single person in the room. Some were better at hiding it than others, but they all heard Steve’s words loud and clear.
You swallowed, feeling uneasy, solemnly looking at him as he continued.
“In fact, we covered up several murders, and everyone wants to pretend like what we’re considering here is something normal. There is no question about whether him defending you in that situation was right or not. Of course it was, but I don’t condone what he did to those men. He murdered them and put the responsibility in our hands. We had to clean it up by lying to the public.
“We are the Avengers,” he spat, looking around the room. “We don’t lie to civilians and fight for terrorists, but somehow we find ourselves doing just that, and for the person who made it clear that he’ll do whatever he wants regardless of how it affects those around him.”
“Yeah, you’re right, but we all know why we’re doing it, including you,” Tony said, looking pointedly at Steve. “We’re not hiding this just to cover for Loki and you know it. You hate the guy, I get it. We all did at some point but when it comes to her,” Tony pointed towards you while still meeting Steve’s gaze. “We’ll do anything to keep her safe, and if that means saving Loki’s ass too, that’s what we’re going to do without hesitation. Now suck it up and move on Cap, because that’s what the rest of us will be doing.”
The room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. The air was tense, and no one said a word as Steve and Tony faced off, glowering intensely at one another before, surprisingly, Steve was the one to back down.
He looked at you again, really looked at you, searching your entire face and the tiredness in your eyes.
He bit the inside of his cheek and he closed his eyes. Shaking his head, he opened them again before taking a deep breath.
“I’ll respect whatever decision you make. It’s your choice, angel.”
It was the next day when you found yourself roaming the halls of the tower in the middle of the night. It was 4 am this time, and you had been startled awake from another nightmare. You were still a bit shaken and a tiny bit grouchy for not sleeping throughout the night, but at least you were making progress.
Instead of staying cooped up in your room, you decided to take a walk around the tower. You headed to the kitchen in the common area, remembering that one of the drawers was stocked with Wanda’s nocturnal herbs and spices. A cup of warm tea and some peace and quiet seemed like the best way to relax until you were able to sleep again.
You opened a cabinet and pulled out a mug, mindlessly going through the motions of warming the tea kettle and waiting for the water to heat up. You leaned back against the counter, crossing your arms while staring blankly into space, flinching slightly when you heard the sharp whistle of the kettle.
Turning the heat off, you poured the steaming liquid into the cup, keeping the tea bag inside and carefully lifting it into your hands. Turning to make your way over to the window, you looked up from your cup, only to immediately halt your movements. Startled at the sight of someone before you, you gasped sharply and the mug slipped from your grasp.
Before the ceramic could hit the hard marble floor, it quickly disappeared in a green glow before appearing back on the countertop undisturbed. You stood wide-eyed, staring at the person in front of you in perturbment.
Concentrated green irises stared back at you edgily as he stood only 6 feet away. It was odd seeing Loki anywhere but inside of his cell, but considering that it had been obliterated into pieces, you assumed that he was being held somewhere else.
Him roaming freely about the tower had certainly not been what you expected.
He looked somewhat different. His body still held a tenseness but his features were absent of their usual sulleness. His midnight curls were a bit shorter, neater. Instead of wearing his usual Asgardian garb, he was clothed in what looked to be normal human clothing with touches of his princely heritage. They weren’t anywhere near as glamorous as the Asgardian ones but on him, they looked just as rich and well-crafted for his figure.
The dull fluorescent lights you were used to seeing him bathed in were no longer, the now warm lighting causing his pale skin to emit an ethereal glow.
He looked… beautiful. Nothing about him screamed normal and it never would, however, he no longer looked as if he was ready to go into battle at any moment. Yet, his new clothing did not take away from his astonishing height and vigorous presence.
You both stood there observing each other in the dead of night before you finally found your voice.
“You… your seidr’s back.” You whispered, barely remembering how the dangerously hot mug almost crashed to your feet because of your clumsiness.
He visibly breathed in at the sound of your voice and pursed his lips, gaze flitting briefly over towards the mug that sat on the counter.
“Yes… it is. At least a majority of it,” He glanced back at you, eyes running down your robe and pajama-clothed form before meeting your gaze again. “and you look… well. Safe.”
You smiled sheepishly. “Yeah, I am.”
“Good. That’s excellent to hear.” His tone was genuine. “I did not intend to intrude in your space. I should leave,” He glanced away.
“Um, you don’t have to. This space is open to everyone. You were probably here before me but I just didn’t notice.” You picked up your mug once more, slowly facing him. “I-I should probably just go back to bed.”
You caught the immediate disappointment in his features before he could hide it. “I suppose that is probably for the best. It is quite late.” His mouth opened as if he was hesitating to say. “Or you could stay here for a bit longer if you’d prefer. Would you like to take a seat?” He gestured over to the sofa by the window.
Your eyes trailed to it and snapped back to him apprehensive. You didn’t know why the thought of sitting with Loki simultaneously elated and frightened you. You didn’t like or understand the feeling.
You swallowed with a nod, agreeing to his offer. Taking a seat by the large window that overlooked the city, you bit your lip anxiously as you inspected the mug in your hand, breath hitching when you felt his presence as he sat only a few feet away from you on the other side of the sofa.
Both of you sat still, taking in the quietness of the early morning hour. It was still dark outside, but you knew it wouldn’t be long before the sun started to make an appearance.
“Perhaps this is not the most appropriate time to say this, but I do want you to know that I am sorry.” He said softly.
You turned your head to look at him from the corner of your eye.
He was quiet for a moment, staring ahead of him. “I am sorry for what you had to witness.” he breathed. “You should not have been subjected to… what I had done. I never wanted you to see that part of me.”
You stayed quiet, running over his words in your head.
“I wish that… that I got to you first. I should have taken care of you first, but I was so bloodthirsty.”
Even through the warmth of the robe, you felt the hairs on your arms rise.
“What he did, what they were doing to you was not something I could just let go of. I knew that once I got my hands on those disgusting fiends they wouldn’t ever see the light of day again.”
You lifted the cup to your lips, swallowing down the now semi-warm liquid as you closed your eyes. When you opened them, Loki was no longer on the other side of the couch. He was right next to you, looking at you with a hint of longing within the depths of his jade pools.
He moved his hand slowly towards you, causing you to flinch and lean away from him before you knew what you were doing. Your eyes widened as you stared at him, surprised by your own actions.
He retracted his hand eyes filling with sadness as he looked down and swallowed. “You’re afraid of me.”
“No,” you promised, quickly trying to come up with a reasonable excuse. “No, I-I just… I think I just need a little time to gather my thoughts.” It was partly true.
“My mind’s still a bit hazy. I’m still trying to come to terms with everything around me. I still trying to settle into my new room as well.” And your new nightly self-medication routine per Dr. Cho.
Loki faced you with a nod of his head. “I understand. This must have been quite jarring for you. But I do want to profess that I am here if you ever need me.” He searched your eyes. “Whenever. It does not matter for what. If you require my presence I will be there.”
He looked down at his lap. “But I also understand if you need some… space. Away from me. I will grant that as well.”
You mulled over his words, giving him a small nod in acknowledgment. You didn’t know what your friendship would be like now that things had drastically changed, but you knew that you’d both figure out how to navigate things soon enough.
You pulled your feet under you, making yourself more comfortable as you turned towards the window. Your body shivered as you gently placed your hand on top of his, taking in how warm he was.
You heard his breath hitch, but he didn’t make a move. You both sat there for another hour in complete silence, just watching the sunrise.
And as peaceful as it felt, something in your gut was telling you that it wouldn’t last for very long.
The next time you saw Loki, you noticed the black device wrapped around his ankle. It was thin and not very bulky like many of the ones you’ve seen before, but you knew exactly what it was. It was a safety measure and the thing that allowed him to roam about inside the tower.
You observed how everyone eyed him in some form of suspicion or another. Thor seemed to be the only one in the room practically bouncing with excitement. He could barely hold his joy, and it seemed to radiate off him. His elatedness was contagious and you found feeling a bit more positive about this meeting than you were beforehand.
Loki, on the other hand, you couldn’t exactly grasp. He sat next to Thor, face devoid of any emotion. You assumed he also didn’t know how to feel about any of this, so he was trying his best to protect his outward appearance. Unfortunately for him, you didn’t think that mattered.
If glowering at someone could be used as a weapon, Steve and Bucky would have burned a hole straight through Loki’s head by how intense they were staring at him.
Wanda smiled sheepishly at you, and you watched as she discreetly nudged Steve’s side under the table, causing him to break his stare. He looked questioningly at her then at you, sobering his face into something less severe.
Tony eyed Loki before loudly whispering to Thor while jabbing a thumb out towards his younger brother. “Did we have to include him?”
“Yes, of course we do. Loki would greatly benefit from being a part of these conversations. They are about him, after all.” Thor whispered back just as loudly.
“I guess but what if he gets angry and decides to annihilate the whole room?”
“Stark, that will not happen. He promised me that he would be on his best behavior.”
“And you believed him?”
Thor nodded vigorously. “Yes, yes, partly.”
A loud clearing of the throat was heard from the dark-haired Asgardian in question, causing Thor to slowly lean back in his chair with a guilty look on his face and Tony to roll his eyes.
“Well, this is awkward,” Tony began in a normal tone, and Sam let out a snicker that was cut short once Bucky elbowed him.
“Now that we’ve established that Professor Snape here will be staying on Earth, for now, we need to plan out where we’ll be storing him and what he’ll be doing because, buddy,” Tony gave Loki a pointed look. “You can’t stay in this tower for free. You need to work for your newfound freedom.”
“Really?” Loki raised a dark brow at the billionaire. “and here I thought you were preparing to throw me in the dungeon again for another ten years.”
Tony tilted his head, “You weren’t down there that long, but we can certainly have that arranged if you prefer that.”
“Try it and I’ll arrange something myself just for you.”
It had only been two minutes into the meeting and it was already going downhill because of Tony’s snarky comments and Loki’s inability to let them slide.
Much to your relief, Thor leaned forward, interjecting himself into the conversation with an awkward laugh. “Stark, what Loki is trying to say is that he has the utmost gratitude towards you and everyone else for allowing his stay on Midgard.” The blonde-haired Asgardian sent his brother a pointed look. “Because of this, he is looking forward to doing whatever he is tasked with in order to prove his worthiness.”
“Mhmm,” Tony narrowed his gaze, turning from Thor to Loki. “Is that right?”
“Why did you not just ship me back to Asgard you oaf?” Loki sneered at Thor. “It is clear that no one desires me here. Take me somewhere I can do some real work. Our people need me.”
Thor frowned. “Brother, I do not mind bringing you back to our realm, however, it is not just my decision to make. The Asgardians are not, eh, very excited for your return.” He scratched the back of his head. “I made a deal with the Valkyrie that you would continue your stay here for as long as it takes until you prove you are ready to return to Asgard and help lead our people.”
Loki did not look very happy about that, tearing his gaze away from Thor with a sour look on his face.
“Since we all know that will likely never happen, at least not in my lifetime, we need to figure out something else for you while you’re stuck here.” Tony leaned forward, crossing his hands together. “The issue is that we have no idea what to do with you. You’re not exactly a team player and you have little to no intuition to work for the good of humankind, so you certainly won’t be going on missions with us. Anyone else has any thoughts?”
Everyone looked around the room at each other.
“Come on, I know there’s gotta be something we can do with him. Bruce! How about we send him to the lab? He knows about all that alien tech stuff. Remember that magic staff he tried to hypnotize me with?”
Clint's jaw dropped immediately. “What? No! Unlike you, he did in fact, hypnotize me and made me do some awful things. Why would we want him anywhere near technology? The guy could turn a fridge into a spaceship if we let him.”
Loki smirked but didn’t say anything.
Bruce agreed. “Yeah, and no offense, but there’s no way I’m letting him into my lab. He’s kind of…” Bruce glanced at Loki who was eyeing him intensely. Instead of finishing his sentence he looked back at Tony and swirled a finger around his temple.
You were one hundred percent sure Loki understood what that meant.
“We could get him to cook for us!” Sam voiced out, causing everyone, including Loki to look at him as if he were insane. “What? We don’t have a chef and it could be a good hobby for him, you know, to find his inner humanity.”
“I have no inner humanity.” Loki deadpanned.
Nat scowled at Sam, ignoring Loki. “And what happens when he tries to poison us, Sam? That’s such a terrible idea. Are you even trying?”
You completely understood where Nat was coming from. Sam’s suggestion was quite ridiculous, but he did say something that piqued your interest.
Everyone was arguing back and forth about what to do with Loki as he sat there in the midst of them, looking annoyed and bored out of his mind.
In order to save him from having to sit there any longer listening to everyone talking about him as if he wasn’t there, you decided to finally speak up.
“I think I have something that could work.”
Tony shushed everyone as he turned to you. You felt Loki’s curious gaze set upon your form as if he just remembered you were also in the room.
“Considering it was my responsibility to monitor Loki’s progress and keep him on the right track while he was still in the cell, I think it makes sense for me to continue doing just that. I can get him acclimated to how humans live their lives here. I’m sure it's not exactly the same as Asgard, but that could help him learn how to better serve his people when he eventually returns to the palace. You guys are busy literally saving the world and all, the least I can do is jump in and handle this.”
“Absolutely not,” Steve said sharply. “This is different from when he was in the cell, and we all saw how that ended. We are not putting your life in the hands of a murderer. I won’t allow that to happen, angel.”
You caught Loki’s face as he eyed Steve carefully. He wasn’t necessarily upset, he looked… pensive. Calculating even.
“That’s not all that happened. What I saw was Loki saving her life.” Wanda voiced out, surprising you and everyone else. “What he did was not great, but we’ve already been over that. He needs a chance to move on and show us what he can become, show us who he truly is, not what he used to be. What better person would be able to help him do that than her?”
If Steve didn’t believe Wanda’s words, you sure did. It was as if she plucked them straight out of your head. She wasn’t touching you at the moment so you doubted she was actually reading your thoughts, but you don’t think you would ever understand the extent of her magic. Regardless, she said exactly what you were too tongue-tied to say yourself at the moment.
“Lady Maximoff is correct. If Loki is to listen to anyone, it is lady bean. She is giving us an opportunity that would benefit us all. If this recent tragedy taught me anything, it is that my brother will protect her with his life. He is not likely to betray her trust, so we should instill our own trust in her as well.”
For a moment, Steve said nothing but eventually, he did give a small but reluctant nod. Thor was right, Loki wouldn’t hurt you and he did trust you more than anyone else here, maybe even more than his own brother.
No one, including Steve, could deny that.
You glanced over at Loki, nervous to see how your proposition affected him. He appeared to be a lot less tense, no longer looking to be quite so annoyed, but you could still tell that he was on edge. This meeting was a lot for him.
“Well,” Tony uttered, throwing a hand in the air. “I got nothing else. Can’t really beat that. I say let's do it. We have nothing else to lose.” He threw Loki one more suspicious gaze. “Hopefully. I’ll make sure to upgrade the systems and have JARVIS keep a severe- I mean secure eye on him.”
Turning back to you, Tony nodded, giving a proud grin. “Let’s do it, black bean. He’s all yours.”
The steady beep of a machine was the first thing you heard. Peeling your heavy eyelids open with a struggle, you dazedly stared out of focus. You were in a room. It looked like a hospital room, but the usual eye-frying fluorescent lights were dimmed enough for you to only have to squint slightly.
The next thing you spotted was various flower bouquets placed around the room. Before you could get a better look around, you heard the sound of your name being called softly. Slowly turning your head, you were met with the sight of a woman with brown hair and green eyes.
“I knew you would awake soon,” she said softly, gazing at you with a sad smile.
You closed your again briefly before opening them with a dazed frown. “W-where am I?” your hoarse tone sounded unfamiliar to your sensitive ears.
“You’re still in the tower, on Dr. Cho’s medical floor,” Wanda explained, rising out of her chair to move closer to you. “You’ve been here for a few days, about three. After we found you and Loki…” She trailed off with an unsure expression.
Your eyes opened up a bit wider at that. “Loki!” you choked out. “What happened to him? Oh my god- I- he saved me from Jacob and–!”
Wanda placed a hand on your arm, calming you down from your sudden panic attack. “I know, we know.” She responded before handing you a glass of water from the bedside table. “Drink this first and I’ll explain.”
You nodded, shakily bringing the glass up to your lips. She waited until you slowly downed half of its contents before continuing.
“We got the security alert as soon as they broke into the tower. We were halfway to Europe by then but we had immediately turned the plane around. It was utter chaos.” She breathed, shaking her head. “Tony’s backup feed caught everything that was happening in real-time. Everyone was completely out of their minds. Steve…”
She closed her eyes briefly as if she was experiencing what happened right at this moment. “He was… not good.” Her eyes opened and you could practically feel the pain they held. “He was out of his mind, everyone was. We couldn’t believe that we failed you again.”
You shook your head slowly, trying not to give yourself a bigger headache than you already had. “No, it wasn’t your fault. It was no one’s fault but Jacob and the guards.”
You didn’t want her or anyone else carrying the weight of your attack, it wasn’t fair.
“What’s… what’s happened since I was out?”
She sighed heavily before returning to her seat. “Unfortunately, S.H.I.E.L.D has gotten involved but we are handling them. Fury is, for lack of a better word, quite furious about the situation and is trying to keep things as quiet as possible. The last thing we need is the US government knowing about this.”
Her troubled eyes met yours. “We may… understand why Loki did what he did, but it’s doubtful that anyone else outside of our circle would. The whole world finding out would be the end of… well, all of us.”
Faded memories of pained screams and splatters of dark red plagued your mind. You didn’t notice that your hands were rapidly shaking until Wanda called your name again.
Your eyes snapped to hers and she was transfixed on your trembling hands. You tried to get them to stop shaking, awkwardly placing them underneath the sheet that covered you.
“I’m okay,” you murmured, looking away from her worried gaze. “How does the team feel about all of this?”
She was quiet for a moment, most likely contemplating on what she was allowed to tell you.
“We have been… divided. This kind of incident has never happened before and I think everyone is still processing. We see death all the time, yes, but this was something completely different. What Loki did to those three men was completely barbaric. I have never seen anything like that in my entire life. Yet if I am to be honest, from what I witnessed on camera, I am not one hundred percent sure that I would have done much different than what he did in his position. Jacob could have killed you,” Her voice slightly broke, but you could still hear the anger and fear in it. “and no matter how anyone else feels about the methods Loki used, they knew that Jacob deserved some of what was coming for him.”
You rubbed your forehead, feeling a headache coming on. “Does everyone know what happened to him? Kayla? The rest of the Bale family?”
She shook her head. “No. We… wrote a letter to his family. From Jacob’s email account. All they know is that he was fired from Stark Industries and moved overseas to start a new venture. It was something he talked about with his family often, so it wasn’t very hard for us to make it believable.”
You were stunned into complete silence, mouth slightly agape. If what Wanda was saying was true, that meant that…
“You’re covering it up? His death?” You whispered with a horrified face.
“Yes, we are. Less or more,” Wanda replied quietly.
Slowly, you leaned back into the bed, eyes stuck on the ceiling and head resting on the pillow. Everything was suddenly feeling incredibly disorienting, and it wasn’t just because of your head injury.
You felt as if you had woken up to a dystopian world.
The Avengers were covering up a murder, and for who? You or Loki?
Your lip started to wobble as you thought about the man in question. He must have been so afraid of everything that happened. Your memory was a bit spotty but you remembered the quivering sound of his usual steady and confident voice, and how his body shook as he held you in his arms.
Your head swiveled towards Wanda, eyes focusing on her. “What happened to Loki?”
Her brows rose as she glanced away. “Initially, he was sent into S.H.I.E.L.D’s custody. They claimed that we weren’t able to control him anymore. But yesterday, Tony, Natasha, and Thor had a meeting with Fury to petition for Loki to be released back into our supervision. The meeting took hours, and I have not spoken to them since then so I don’t know how it went.”
You blinked. Thor was of no question, but Tony and Nat trying to get Loki back was certainly a shock to you.
“If it makes you feel any better, he has been compliant the whole time and hasn’t tried to cause any trouble. Maybe it’s because he knew what he did was well beyond anything else he’s gotten punished for.” Wanda muttered.
“What about when you found me? H-how was he?”
Wanda stared at you with a grave expression on her face before sighing. “It’s… It’s not exactly something I can describe with words.”
Looking at you hesitantly, she rose from her seat and gently placed her hand on your forehead. Your head titled back and your eyes closed.
The team had burst into the room, doors completely ripped from their hinges as they readied for a fight, but what greeted them was well beyond their what they could have ever expected. They were met with the petrifying sight of a murder scene.
Tony was completely frozen, strapped in his iron suit while staring at the chaos in front of him. Natasha covered her mouth and stepped back, and you could feel tears running down Wanda’s face as she let out a horrified gasp.
Torn limbs, broken body parts, and glass shards were lying in a pool of blood that covered most of the floor. But past all of that, there sat Loki on a bed with you lying unconscious in his arms. His hair was wild and matted with dark red, clothes torn and eyes wild as he shielded over your now blanket-covered form. He did not flinch or look up at anyone else, only continuing to stare down at your bruised face. The same bloody hands that had caused the massacre that laid before them were now glowing a deep green as they held onto you. His whole body was trembling but he was determined to keep a tight hold on you.
While the rest of the team were wide-eyed and in too much shock to do or say anything, Steve was the first to take a step forward before Thor placed a hand on his arm, giving him a look. Reluctantly, Steve stayed where he was while everyone watched as Thor carefully stepped through the nauseating and grotesque mess.
When he got close enough to Loki, he scrounched down to his level and looked at him carefully.
“Brother,” He said softly. “We can take it from here. Pass her to the Captain and I will help get you cleaned up.”
When Loki didn’t move, Thor reached out to grab you causing his younger brother to emit a deep growl and snap his head towards him. This was the first time he was looking at someone else that wasn’t you.
Thor raised his hands. “Hey, it is alright. We are not here to harm her any further, you understand that. Your powers are low, and you can only do so much. Let us take her to a proper Midgardian healer, please.”
Thor could see so much emotion in his brother's eyes, but the one that shone mostly was fear. He was scared of letting you go. Thor could tell that he had gotten through to him when tears sprung in his wide green eyes and his sharp expression transformed into a pained one.
Loki shakily turned his head slowly to look back at your unmoving form before rising to his feet with you still in his arms. He caught eyes with Rogers, making his way over to him before carefully placing you into his arms.
Steve immediately took you out of the room, and Loki stared after you with regretful eyes while Sam and Bucky took hold of him before cuffing his hands together behind his back.
Your eyes shot open as soon as Wanda released you from the vision. You were utterly speechless. Seeing Loki in that state brought tears to your eyes and you let out a shaky breath.
Wanda backed away, staring back at you somberly.
“That’s enough information for today. I now realize I shouldn’t have shown you that. You just woke up and are probably still in a state of shock. I’m so very sorry.” She shook her head, cursing to herself. “I’m going to leave so you can rest more. I will be back soon.”
You nodded your head while avoiding her gaze, and in a matter of seconds, you were alone again. You laid unmovingly in the bed for a while. You weren’t upset with Wanda for sharing, you were just shaken from seeing everything from a much clearer point of view.
You stared up at the ceiling for what seemed like forever, but eventually, your lids slowly closed as you were pulled into the dark abyss of sleep.
When you woke again, a dark-haired woman in a white lab coat was now in your room. She seemed to be checking on the machines while scribbling on a clipboard. The overhead lights in the room were brighter, and you lightly groaned as you tried to sit up.
“Hold on,” She said, while gently leaning you back down on the bed. “There’s an easier way. See?”
She pulled out a small remote and pressed a button that slowly raised the back of your small bed.
“Um, thank you,” you muttered, glancing at the beautiful woman. “Are you Dr. Cho?”
“Yes, I am,” She replied with a smile, still scribbling on her clipboard. “and you are a very lucky young lady. You had a lot of people scared there for a minute, but you’re pulling quite a speedy recovery.”
You blinked. “I am?” Not that you didn’t believe her, but you still felt like absolute shit.
She nodded, finally tearing her eyes from the papers and meeting your confused ones. “If Loki hadn’t used his powers to begin the healing process, you would have most likely been in a coma for as long as a month. The drugs you were attacked with were poisonous, and he helped extract most of it out of your system.” She scoffed lightly, raising her eyebrows. “It’s a miracle how much he could accomplish without accessing his full strength.”
You swallowed dryly and she passed you your now full glass of water. You squinted down at the glass, “Wait, aren’t you a famous geneticist? Why are you here wasting your time taking care of me? You must have so many more important projects to work on.”
She dropped down her clipboard and sent you a look. “You may not be a project, but there is no question that you are very important. I learned how to be a doctor before I dived into the field of genetics. I am honored to be able to provide care for someone like you. You are a very special girl, for many reasons other than you studying to become a physicist.” She winked at you.
You glanced down at your sore form. You were lying in a bed wearing an unsightly hospital gown and a pair of thick non-slip socks with a sheet thrown over you. Nothing about you seemed significant at this moment. To be completely candid, you felt pretty ugly and disgusting.
“When will I be able to leave?” You asked her. You were certainly grateful for all she had done for your recovery, but you didn’t know how much longer you would be able to stay in this room without going insane.
Her brows furrowed, lips thinning as she peered back down at her clipboard. “I’m only expecting to keep you for a few more days. Your vitals are looking stronger by the day, but now that you’re awake I need to run a few more tests before I release you.”
“Is something wrong?”
“No, nothing I can see now. I just want to be one hundred percent sure, that’s it. Nothing you need to worry about.” She gave you a reassuring smile which did not make you feel any better.
Patting your arm, she backed away towards the door. “Right now you should focus on resting and getting yourself well-hydrated. I’ll release you as soon as all the tests are complete.”
A few more days passed by but you didn’t hear much more from Dr. Cho about your upcoming release. The uncomfortable clinic bed wasn’t helping your stiff limbs, and the best you could do was lift them up and down to get some movement going. You still had tubes stuck in your arms so you weren’t allowed to get up and walk around just yet.
On the first day of your awakening, you did as Sr. Cho ordered, resting a lot, and the few times you did wake up, there was a new card, balloon, or flower bouquet in your room. It was obvious that people were visiting you while you were still asleep, but it saddened you greatly that you weren’t able to be awake whenever they came by.
On the second day, you were able to stay up long enough to enjoy a visit from your father. Your eyes lit up when he entered the room and you had never been more happier to see him. Yes, your last conversation with him wasn’t great, but he was still the only family you had left.
To his credit, he seemed even more grateful to see you. You could tell that he had been regretting his past choices that directly drove a wedge between you two. It did not have to be said that he felt awful about his part in Jacob’s delivery, but to your surprise, he did admit his wrongdoings.
He looked haunted. His eyes were sunken, his skin a bit ashy, and his body looked at least fifteen pounds lighter. He apologized to you countlessly, and you accepted his apology with a hug. You knew you had a lot more to discuss with him, but this was not the right time to do so, as you were still feeling a bit out of sorts.
When you started looking drowsy, he left you be so you could rest, and the next time you opened your eyes, the whole team had gathered in your room to surprise you. Even through the tragedy of the situation, they made sure to put on big smiles for you and you did the same, genuinely being excited to see them all.
Thor held a huge cake that had a photo of you on it which you thought was funny for many reasons, one of them being that you couldn’t eat any sugar until all of your blood work was done. It was all theirs to enjoy.
Tony and Clint talked your ear off, catching you up on the latest happenings and the rest of the team hung out in the room, chatting with you when they could.
Steve made sure to grab a few minutes with you, filling you in on how they moved your entire room into a much larger one that was closer to his and Bucky’s. You wanted to tell him that they didn’t have to do that, but you refrained when you remembered all of the strange things you experienced in your old room. Jacob completely ruined it for you. Furthermore, by the way that Steve was looking at you and constantly asking if you were okay, you figured this room change would reassure everyone that you’d be a lot safer.
You wanted to ask about Loki, but since no one brought him up, you assumed it was too soon. It was no secret that you cared about him so if there was any bad news, they probably wouldn’t want to tell you while you were still stuck in the clinic.
Thor must have noticed the hesitance on your face, as he lingered in the room a bit longer after everyone else left. You gave him an apprehensive stare as he placed his hand in the pocket of his jeans while facing you.
“He is okay, my lady.” He said with a gentle smile. He sent you a farewell nod and exited the room before you could gather the courage to ask him any more questions.
On the third day of your stay in the clinic, you were able to get through most of it without taking more naps than an elderly cat.
However, you did wake to see a singular flower laid on your bedside table. It immediately caught your eye as it was the most vibrant red you’ve ever seen. It looked to be a poppy flower. You were never a fan of that kind before but this one was entrancing you by how gorgeous it was. You felt as if mere presence gave you the strength to get through the rest of the day.
You had a few more visitors but still no news of Loki.
Then the morning of the fourth day, you work up to a fresh new glowing red poppy flower that was placed beside the old one. This intrigued you enough to ask Dr. Cho if she knew who was leaving them in your room.
She paused before looking at you with an indecipherable expression on her face. “I don’t know, but security did mention that someone has been coming by after all the staff leaves for the night. They stay for hours before leaving without a word. I would assume that they are on the list of people allowed to visit you, so it could just be one of your friends.”
“But they never wake me to let me know they’re visiting.” You say with a frown.
She gave a thoughtful look. “Maybe they don’t want to wake you. I mean, they are visiting in the middle of the night so it’s a good thing they have consideration for your rest. It’s needed for full recovery.”
You hummed at that, accepting her answer as it made sense. Could it be Kayla? It was a possibility but you also couldn’t see her leaving flowers for you. At least not that kind.
“On the other hand, I have something else I’ve been needing to talk to you about.” Her face sobered up, making you focus your attention on her.
“Do you know much about your parent's medical history?” She asked.
You shrugged. “I know my dad’s. Not so much about my mom’s.”
She nodded, briefly looking down at the linoleum floor. “Yes, that’s what I thought.” She looked back up at you with a solemn expression. “As you are already aware, there’s a reason I have been keeping you here for this long. My lab has finished running all your blood tests and after double-checking them, there’s something that you need to know.”
You didn’t take your eyes off of hers as you asked the dreadful but unavoidable question.
I plan to upload the first chapter of Freedom and Chaos within the next few days (crossing my fingers). I obviously have a lot planned for the second part of this series but what do you guys want to see? A lot of you have been reading this fic for a while now so I want to know what you think.
After that I plan to get back to the fic requests in my inbox and knock out some of those, then I’m gonna continue writing new fics!
April is also my bday month so please please give me all the reblogs and comments you can if you actually like my writing. Like are nice but they don’t actually help the writers.
You stare at the man sitting across from you, jaw dropping in disbelief from the words that just left his mouth.
“Wait, what?”
“Jacob’s been fired.” He repeats with a somber look on his face. “He’s done and will never step foot into this building, or any other building I own again. What he did- what he was doing to you this whole time,” He shakes his head, a mixed look of anger and disappointment spreading across his face. “I can’t even tell you how disgusted I am with him, how disgusted I am with myself. You were trying to tell me this whole time but I wasn’t listening. How could I be so ignorant?”
You didn’t really know how to respond. You weren’t used to Tony being this serious. “It’s not your fault, Tony. I’m the one who kept it hidden from everyone for so long.” You profess.
He shakes his head vigorously. “That doesn’t matter. All the signs were there and I- we should have paid more attention. I was an idiot to think that you guys had something going on between you romantically. Even if there was, he had no right to treat you that way, and that’s why he’ll never work in this part of town again if I can help it.”
Your brows furrow. “But how can you just… fire him? Wouldn’t that be hard to do since it’s just my word against his?”
Tony leans back in his chair, gaze narrowing. “Yeah, it would have been seen as unethical if I had laid him off without solid proof. Fortunately for us, he was an idiot who thought that I wouldn’t be able to access deleted camera footage. I have backups of the backup’s backups. There’s nothing anyone would be able to hide from me if I really wanted to know.”
His eyes grow heavy with guilt as he leans forward on the desk. “I saw everything. Your fight in the lab, him breaking into your room, and a whole slew of other things he thought he could hide from me. Turns out when you’re a billionaire you don’t immediately recognize when someone is stealing money from you.”
Your eyes widen at that. “He was stealing money? Doesn’t he have his own?”
“Nope. Turns out Daddy Bale was no longer giving up the money for free, hence another reason why Jacob took the job here at Stark Industries.” Tony smiles wryly. “Guess that’s what I get for hiring someone I didn’t know very well. I guess I thought I did because he’s the son of a loyal colleague. However, you didn’t deserve anything he did to you, and for that, I am deeply sorry. I know I let you down, we all did and it will never happen again.”
A huge wave of relief washes over you, making you almost want to cry. There was no better feeling than knowing that you were safe and didn’t have to look over your shoulder everywhere you went. At least not around the tower. Jacob possibly being able to get to you on the outside was concerning, but that was a problem for another time. Right now you deserved to bask in the feeling of knowing he was no longer going to be an issue. Jacob Bale was gone, and so was his reign of terror upon you.
“Thank you, Tony. You don’t know how much this means to me. I’m sorry that it got to this point. I never would have expected this to get so out of hand. I know you’re probably burning bridges with the Bale family because of this, so I am sorry for that too.”
He scoffs, waving his hand. “No partnership is worth keeping if the cost is so high, and that cost was your well-being. I have a strong feeling that Bill Bale is smart enough not to try and stir up trouble over his son’s abysmal behavior. All he will end up doing is continuing to enable Jacob and make him worse, and I don’t want no part in any of that.”
You nod sadly. “Jacob can be pretty convincing when he really wants something, that’s why it was so hard for me to tell you guys what was happening. As relieved as I am that he will no longer be around, I hate knowing that he will probably still have no other consequences and get away with this. No other person should have to be targeted and terrorized by him.”
“And they don’t have to be.” Tony eyes you. “I would never tell you what to do in any circumstance, but I highly recommend you think about pressing charges.”
Your mouth goes agape. “You want me to sue him? Do you think it would work?”
Tony shrugs and rolls his eyes. “There’s no guarantee since our legal system is utter crap. You have no idea how many things I used to get away with because of money and reputation, but this is something I am willing to fight for whether we lose or not. Our job is to protect and defend you, and this is part of it.”
You stay silent, thinking about your options. Tony was right, Jacob deserved more than just a slap on the wrists for the awful things he’s done to you. With the Avengers behind you and having access to proof of Jacob’s harassment, you had a chance at actually making him face the consequences of his behavior. The only worry you had was that Kayla might hate you forever because of it.
“I’ll think about it.” You answer. “As much as I want to say yes right now, I know that this would be a challenging process for all of us, so I really want to think this through.” You look away with a deep sadness in your gaze. “If I am being honest, out of all of the things that Jacob has done to me, the only thing I hated him the most for doing was taking Lucky away.”
Tony sighs, a look of contrition appearing on his face. “Well, you see, about that…”
You meet his gaze with a questioning look and he scratches the back of his neck.
“What?” you ask apprehensively.
“Lucky’s not really gone.”
Your eyes widened. “What? He’s here?”
“No, not here, but at the compound upstate. Steve goes to check on him several times a week.” Tony admits.
“And you’re just now telling me this? I thought Jacob sent him away.”
“Yes, he did. He tried to send him to some animal breeding place, but we weren’t having that. I don’t usually lie to my employees but Steve and I had already discussed what would happen before we called you into that meeting. We wanted to see what Jacob would do in this situation, and unfortunately, we had to make it seem real, hence why we didn’t tell you.”
You don’t know if you’re feeling angry at Tony for keeping this information from you or happy at this surprising news, but the overwhelming feeling of relief hit you the hardest. This whole time you thought Lucky was somewhere terrible and that you’d never be able to see him again. You were practically vibrating in your chair from all of the mixed emotions you were feeling.
Tony lifts his wrist to glance down at his watch. “Speaking of the devil, here he comes.”
You were about to ask him what he meant by that before you hear a knock on his door. The door swings open and in walks Natasha with Lucky on the side of her, Steve slowly trailing behind them.
You jump up out of your seat and scramble over to the fluffy dog and he does the same, almost knocking you onto the ground with the force of his big body.
You squeeze him tight, laying your head on top of his. “I missed you so much.”
Lifting your head you look at Nat. “You knew about this too?”
She shakes her head. “I was just as clueless as you. I almost punched this guy when he told me where they actually sent Lucky.” She says, nodding at Steve and he holds his hand up in defense.
You send him a genuinely happy smile, remembering when he told you not to worry about Lucky. Now you understand why Steve and Tony were acting so strange and out of character that day. They knew something was up with Jacob and wanted to test it without being too obvious.
“Thank you, Steve.” You say with gratitude in your voice.
He nods and smiles softly at you. “You’re welcome, angel.”
A couple of days pass by and you’ve never felt more at peace with things. Jacob’s absence was noticeable in a good way. A lot of the guards he brought on were outside of Stark Industries so they went away when he did, being replaced with more trustworthy and experienced men and women.
Even though you were the number one target on his list of abuse, it turns out he was tormenting other people as well. Many of your coworkers and staff came out and expressed how demeaning and degrading he was to them. This pissed you off further, knowing that Jacob was also subjecting many other helpless people to his disgusting behavior. If you hadn’t thought to go through with pressing charges against him, you sure would now. You would not only be doing it for you but for all the others who had to deal with him as well.
All of the team were going on a mission out of the country for a whole week. You were invited to come with them several times, but you politely declined saying you could use the alone time to think about things. They were clearly reluctant to leave you alone for so long but accepted your choice.
“Alright, kid. When we get back the first thing I’m going to do is call my lawyer. We’re going to sue the hell out of that son of a bitch.” Tony said, ruffling your hair and you chuckled.
Steve looked at you with a friendly gaze. “Are you sure you want to stay? It’s not too late to change your mind.”
“Yes, I’m positive. I need this time to sort out some things. I’m gonna take a break from work and try to relax. I can’t really do that while traveling through Europe.” You said.
He nodded. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. If you need anything don’t hesitate to call me. Take care of yourself, alright?”
You confirmed that you’d do just that before you hugged them all goodbye.
They had left hours ago and you linger in the common area for a while, just taking in the silence. You had made a choice and knew what you had to do, and this was the perfect time to do it. However, you were afraid and wanted to give yourself more time to think, but there wasn’t much more you could think of that would make a difference.
Getting up off the couch, you make your way into the elevator, using your thumbprint to travel down to the basement. You take a deep breath before stepping off of the elevator. There were no other employees working down here today, another thing you were grateful for.
You walk in silence, hearing the echo of your shoes bounce off of the walls. You pause when you get to the door, seeing no guards. No Conner and no James. They must have left along with Jacob, which was another relief. You didn’t think you could handle any of their assholery today.
You walk into the room and immediately meet the gaze of the man you’ve been avoiding for days. He lifts his head, dull eyes meeting yours, yet they seem to sparkle like rare gems the moment they settle on you.
You walk closer to the glass, giving him a small smile. “Hi, Loki.” You say meekly.
“Hello,” He simply replies, eyeing you warily. You could see how tense his shoulders are, his lithe but powerful body moving carefully as he strides closer towards you from the other side of the glass wall.
“I’m sorry for taking so long to come down. I just needed some time to process everything.” You explain, twisting your fingers.
“No need to apologize. I completely understand.” He says. You could see the way his jaw twitches as he eyes your neck, and how his eyes dull again when they traveled to your bare wrist. You weren’t wearing either the necklace or the bracelet and you could tell he was put off by that.
“So… I spoke to my father. It was messy, but he told me everything.” You say, looking at Loki with a somber expression. “Did you know how horrible her death was? Obviously, you know now since he showed you the files, but back then, did you know? When you…” You trail off, clearing your throat lightly. This was not something that was easy to speak about, but you had to ask him.
He sighs heavily, eyes closing shut. “I was… on a mission. I had one objective at that time. One goal in mind, and I wanted power. I wanted Odin and Thor to hurt, and hurting others was only a means to an end. There was a level of expected brutality but no, I was not fully aware of how barbaric it was.”
You swallow, not knowing how to feel about his confession. He continues looking down at the floor before meeting your gaze again, a melancholy expression on his face.
“I want you to know that… I don’t enjoy hurting people. I don’t enjoy it.” He admits with vulnerability in his tone. “I do it because I have to, because I’ve had to. Because it’s part of the illusion. It’s the cruel, elaborate trick conjured by the weak to inspire fear.”
Your mouth opens at his confession as you stare at him in awe.
He lowers his head, eyes closing shut. “I am a villain.”
You stay quiet, not having been prepared to respond to his unanticipated feelings of self-loathing. You understood that Loki was not happy with himself and his actions, but it was complicated. His words now showed how further complicated the situation really was, how complex he was. You had spent so much time trying to make him a “good” person but now you realized that he could only be better. He was not just a black-or-white type of person. Sometimes he could be pure, and sometimes dark, but overall he was intricately gray.
He lifts his head, gazing at you with deep sorrowfulness. “I am so sorry. I have done so many terrible things, but this is the most shameful I have ever been. I cannot change the past but if I had known that my actions would have affected you in any way I would have chosen differently. I never want to cause harm to anyone close to you. You have been so selfless, granting me with your time, effort, and energy when I did not deserve it. No one else would spare a second thought to help a monster like me, but you have continued to do so.”
You swallow, avoiding his intense gaze.
“I hurt you in the most unimaginable way and I am sorry. I do not know what you have decided, and I would understand if you never want to see me again. With that being said, I would also like to let you know that is not what I want.” He shakes his head. “Not that my wants succeed yours, I simply believe that you should know how I feel about you, regardless of your decision.”
You try to swallow down the angry tears you feel building up behind your lids. Pointing at the god, you narrow your gaze at him.
“No, Loki, don’t do that.” You say tearfully. “You can’t just place me in this horrible situation and tell me that you don’t want me to go. You don’t deserve to say things like that.” You shake your head. “You just can’t…”
He looks down, nodding his head in silence.
“I mean, do you truly understand the situation I’m in? You say you do, but I don’t think you really have a grasp on how complicated this is for me. What you did in 2012… you killed so many people, and my mother was one of them. She died all because of your little power trip. I understand that it was more than that, you weren’t exactly yourself. Thanos…”
You see him visibly flinch at hearing the name of his worst enemy, the mad titan.
“... he played a huge part in that, I know. So did Thor, Odin, and all of the others who let you down. You were neglected and told you would always be less than, that you didn’t belong and so you tried to go and find your worth in other places. By doing terrible things and being what people expected from you. I understand that.”
You take a breath. “But that’s absolutely no excuse. You’ve treated me horribly in the past, you’ve bullied me, said terrible things to me, you’ve used me, and hurt my father.” You say tearfully. “But I would endure every single thing again with no hesitation if that meant my mother would still be alive today. And as upset as I am with you for what you did, and at my dad for hiding this from me, I am just as upset with myself. Maybe even more. I am such a hypocrite,”
You scoff. “I mean, what kind of person am I if the only reason I felt the severity of a whole war you led was just because I recently found that someone I loved died from it. Yes, I felt sorrow for the people who you harmed, but I was so willing to look past every single thing you’ve done because I had no personal consequences, and that feels so sickening to me.”
He shakes his head. “You have done nothing wrong. It is only natural to feel that way.”
“But not for me!” You exclaim. “If I am such a caring person that you say I am, then why do I find myself ignoring my values and adjusting my morals because I got attached to you? Loki, I find you so interesting. You are extremely smart and tragically charming and that blinded me.”
“You were so young when we first met.” He says as if it was a good excuse for you to be blinded by him.
You nod. “Yeah, but I’m not anymore. And if I am who you think I am, who I say I want to be, then I have to start making decisions that align with that.” You mumble, eyes traveling away from him. “No matter how hard it may be.”
You can see him staring at you from the corner of your eye, and your heart sinks when he lowers his head slowly. His shoulder droops and he looks so sad standing there before you.
“Yes… I understand.” Loki mutters solemnly.
A tear drops at that, and you sniffle. “I’m glad you do. Thank you.”
You bite your lip hard, squeezing your eyes shut tightly. “Then you know how hard it is for me to make this decision.”
He acknowledges you with a short nod of his head, meeting your gaze with a pained expression. He opens his mouth as if he wants to say something, but stops himself, looking away again.
You couldn’t believe how much you’ve both grown in your friendship. You remember when you were just some naive and way too curious little 15-year-old girl, running away from the scary, intense god anytime he saw you. Now the roles were reversed. Here was telling you that he didn’t want to lose you because of his mistakes, and here you were wanting to do just that. You want to walk away from him and never look back.
You let out a small sob, wiping away the tears rolling down your face.
“That’s why it’s so hard for me to say that…I’m not going to just walk away from this. After everything you’ve done, I still want to be your friend. I still want to help you, and I am determined to get you out of this place.”
His head shoots up and he stares at you in disbelief. “What?” he gasps.
You shake your head, giving him a tearful smile. “Loki, I can’t seem to hate you even if I tried, and to be honest, I really considered it. I can’t seem to tear myself away from you no matter what you do. I care about you deeply and I still want to be friends with you. I can’t afford to lose another person that I care about, and neither can you.”
You walk closer to the glass. “What’s happened is in the past, and I know my mother. She would not want me to hold a grudge against someone for the rest of my life, or sabotage something that could be so great. I know that you have the power to do so many great things. You had a very rough start and have held a lethal amount of anger and resentment that you misplaced on others who care about you, but I could see that right from the start. You are more than just a trickster, a liar, or all the other things that people have misjudged you for. You’re more than all the things you were told to believe, and what you have told yourself in turn. You have so much more to give and I want to be the person to help show you that.”
You place your hand on the glass. “You could change the world, Loki. You could be whoever you want. I believe in you.” You say in a soft and genuine tone.
Loki feels his heart race as he quickly stalks closer to you from the other side. He looks down at you with a furious expression which catches you off guard.
“You senseless, naive little girl. Are you insane?” He asks, almost sounding genuinely upset with you. “You have every right to hate me and walk away from me. You deserve to be away from the abysmal creature that I am and I thought you were going to be smart enough to do so this time, regardless of my desires.”
He breathes heavily, anguish spreading over his face as he leans closer. “I should ban you from this room. Prevent you from being able to come back for your own good.” He whispers, before his face drops. He looks as if he was being tormented as if you were the one tormenting him. “But as much as you are a selfless creature, I am a selfish one and I cannot seem to do that.”
You smile sadly at him. “I guess we’re both pretty pathetic, huh?”
His laugh is sincere and hearty as he shakes his head.
“I am assuming this means we are still… friends?” He asks nervously and you nod.
“Yes, we’re still friends… at least for now.” You narrow your gaze at him playfully and he grants you with a smile you can only describe as being utterly beautiful. Loki was mesmerizing, and you almost melt right into a puddle as you gaze at him in awe.
You jump at the sudden sound of obnoxiously loud, slow clapping from behind you. Spinning around with alarm, you gasp loudly at the sight before. You watch as the person you didn’t expect to see ever again walks from behind the pillar that hid the secret entrance where the staircase used to be.
You hear Loki say something, but all you are focused on is Jacob Bale standing across the room from you, arms crossed with a smug look on his face.
“Wow, that was absolutely beautiful, it’s almost sickening.” He remarks mockingly.
Your body goes rigid as you eye him warily. “Jacob, I don’t know what you’re doing here but you need to leave. Now.” You demand in a harsh tone. “You no longer work here since Tony fired you. Do you not remember that?”
“Yeah, I know that. But I don’t care. I came back because I have some unfinished business to take care of.” He shrugs while eyeing you. “I bet you’re wondering how I slipped through. Let's just say you’re not the only one who knows about secret passages. All I had to do was follow you one day to find out about this one.”
You feel anger steadily rising in your chest, ignoring Loki’s insistent pleas for you to stop behind you.
“You’ve been stalking me?”
Jacob's smirk grows as he tilts his head at you. “Is that not obvious by now? I’ve been following you for so long you’d probably kick yourself for not noticing it sooner. When you were out in the city walking your precious mutt, I was there the whole time. When you were out in Brooklyn having dinner with America’s golden boy, I was there. Hell, when you stormed into the room and slapped your father into next week, you were so pissed that you didn’t even notice that I was sitting on the other side of the table from him!” He laughs.
“By the way, how does it feel to know that your father is a lying piece of shit and your “friend” here is a murderous traitor?”
“Don’t talk about them like that.” You glower intensely at him. “You know nothing about them. The only piece of shit here is you, that’s why Tony fired you.”
“Why not? I mean, it’s true! Your father lied to you about your mommy dying a horrible death, and your alien is the one who committed the crime. Yet here you are pining over him like some desperate slut.”
Before you can say anything, Loki quickly interjects. “You dare to insult her character as if you are not a venomous fiend that’s been preying upon her very being? You are a vile creature, dripping with the filth of your own malevolence and I will tear you apart if you ever dare to utter those words to her again.”
The smug look on Jacob’s face drops into a stony one as he turns his attention towards the god behind you.
“Oh really? I would like to see you try. You’re not so tough when you’re stuck in a box, are you?”
“Just as you weren’t when I had you in my grasp, wringing your fragile little neck so hard that I could have ripped your head from your body with one. little. squeeze.” Loki says darkly.
While Jacob pales at the memory you frown, not having knowledge of this happening. Clearly, Loki and Jacob had a fight but you were never told about this. Shaking your head, you glare at Jacob, absolutely tired of his antics. It seems as if everything bad that was happening in your life right now was the result of turning down a spoiled, entitled, jackass. It was getting old, and he was pissing you off beyond belief. You couldn't hold it in anymore.
You glare at him with so much hatred in your eyes. “You did all of this just to get back at me? And for what? For not wanting to sleep with you? You stalked me, hurt me, messed with my father, all because you can't have me?”
He smirks at your words, but it falters when he sees you laugh at him. “Jacob, are you really that stupid to think that any of this would work? You may have put me in impossible positions but no matter what you do, you will never have me. No amount of money, looks, popularity or repulsive tactics will make me bend you. I would die before I ever let you have any part of me.”
Jacobs' smile slowly fades away, and his eyes go empty. He looks like a soulless monster as he starts walking closer to you.
Loki calls out to you, saying your name gruffly and telling you to get inside of the cell. You start to back away slowly, not wanting to take your eyes away from the maniac in front of you for one second.
“Dove, get inside. Now.” Loki repeats urgently while staring at Jacob. The god's nostrils were flared, lips pressed in a tight line as he harshly eyes the man slowly creeping towards you.
“Get away from her you filthy parasite!”
Jacob doesn’t give Loki even a glance at Loki, tilting his head at you as he walks closer.
“See here’s the thing, for the longest time I thought you were thwarting my advances because you were so hung up on being Cap’s bitch, but you have no idea how surprised I was when I found out that you wanted to fuck an alien instead. Here I am, listening to you both profess your undying care and loyalty to each other as if it means something. It’s laughable! Like anything between you two could ever work.” He sneers, a terrifying look of entitlement on his face.
“I’m repulsive? No, you are absolutely disgusting. You had a perfectly good man right in front of you and you fucked it all up. I'm not incarcerated, I haven't murdered tons of people, I'm rich, successful, and I'm actually human. But I guess that's not enough for an adventurous slut like you, huh?”
Loki’s basically shouting at you to get inside the cell, and Jacob laughs at him. “What’s wrong, Loki? Are you scared for your little human whore? I bet you wish you could just tear me to pieces.” He mocks before looking back at you, still talking to Loki. “Too bad you’re locked in there and not out here because that’s exactly what I’m going to do to her.”
Loki yells and you gasp, springing into action when Jacob lunges towards you. Dodging out of his way, you run towards the cell entrance, almost reaching the door when suddenly you feel a hand grips your hair and you yelp.
You’re being yanked backward onto the cold floor, the breath being knocked out of you as Jacob stands over you.
You are conscious of Loki yelling and backing on the cell door, and that’s enough for you to ignore your pain, quickly moving your legs to swipe Jacob’s from underneath him, causing him to stumble on the ground. You try to stand but he grips your ankle, pulling you back down and rolling on top of you.
You both fight for dominance over the other and you’re grateful to feel more adrenaline than fear at this moment. Nat, Bucky, and especially Steve spent so many years making sure you had adequate training in preparation for an unfortunate event like this, and you couldn’t let their training go to waste.
It was obvious that Jacob was stronger than you, but that didn’t mean that he had the skills to use that strength wisely. Jacob pinned your wrists above your head with a triumphant laugh, and seeing no other way out, you headbutted him, causing him to groan and loosen his grip on you.
Snatching your arms out of his grasp you push him back with all your might. You roll from underneath him and when he tries to take hold of you again, you knee him right in the face. You hear a scream and the sound of cracking as Jacob stumbles backward holding his nose. Blood drips down his face and he groans, shaking his head and pointing at you.
“You broke my nose you fucking bitch!”
You turn your head when Loki calls out your name again. “Get in here now. I need you to let me out.” You blink at his request, still tired from your fight with Jacob, but eventually you find yourself hurrying to his cell. You grab the handle but before you can open it, a sharp pain enters your neck and you stumble, involuntarily letting go of the door.
“NO!” you hear Loki shout from inside of the cell.
Turning your head, you see two figures crowding the entrance to the room. Both guards stand there, Conner with his arms crossed and James pointing what looks to be some sort of gun at you.
You reach back to feel a needle in your neck and you quickly snatch it out, throwing it to the ground before stumbling around. You feel wobbly on your feet and your vision goes blurry. Loki is pounding on the walls, you can hear the utter strength in his hits and the worry in his voice which worries you in turn.
Loki never sounded worried, and you realize the reason for his concern when two pairs of hands grab your arms, lifting your limp figure upright and dragging you closer to a bloodied nose pissed off Jacob.
“Get your filthy hands off of her!” Loki growls.
The god's voice renews what little strength you have in you, causing you to flail around. You go wild, successfully yanking your arms away from one of the guards and using the freed limb to throw a punch at the other. You’re aware that you’re fighting against two men who are much larger than you, but that realization doesn’t hinder you. You do what you can in your drugged state, biting, kicking, hitting, and scratching against them until you can't.
Until Jacob takes control of the situation by reaching towards you and grabbing your neck in a chokehold. The lack of air stops your movements, allowing Conner and James to return their grip on you, even harsher than before. You can feel their fingers digging into your skin and you squirm in discomfort.
“Keep a tight hold of her,” Jacob tells them before letting his death grip around your neck go.
Your lungs are filling with air but before you can do anything else, your head shoots back and a hot searing pain hits your face. You blink rapidly as you try to focus, dark spots appearing in your vision as you come to the frightening realization of what just happened. Jacob had punched you.
Loki’s a complete animal in the cell now. You’ve never heard him yell so loud. He was clawing at the glass, screaming, thrashing around, and throwing large objects. He was trying to use his magic which was obvious by the green particles that we flying everywhere. You could barely even hear him through the ringing in your ears and the sound of your own heartbeat. You were so utterly exhausted. The drugs from the needle made you weak, and Jacob hitting you in the face made things even worse.
“Yeah,” He says while leaning into your face. “How do you like that, huh? Now you know how it feels to be hit in the face.”
His constant threats, yelling, and pounding on the glass become background noise as your hearing fades in and out. You hate how unlike himself he sounds, how scared he must be at having to see all of this. It breaks your heart.
“Fuck you,” you spit out at the monster before you.
Jacob gives a bloody smile. “My pleasure,” He says before yanking you out of the guard's grip and dragging you closer to the cell.
“No,” you mumble, body too weak to fight him off. Your head was pounding, preventing you from being able to think clearly. You know what he wants to do, and you’re too weak to stop him. Tears build in your eyes and you sob as Jacob drops you to the ground, straddling your body.
“You know, I’ve thought about doing this so many times, but not like this.” He says, pulling out a knife from his back pocket. “I got close the time you were over at my sister’s house. She tried to keep me away from you, but you know Kayla, never good at keeping her word.”
He takes the knife and saws at your shirt, tearing it in half. “ You act so tough but you’re very soft to the touch. It’s amazing really. If only I wasn’t interrupted in my exploration. I would’ve fucked you write there in my sister's house.”
You use what little mobility you have to try and push Jacob off of you. It was a weak and pathetic attempt, but Jacob was not happy nonetheless. He called both Conner and James over.
“Grab her arms.” Conner took hold of your arms, placing them above your head.
“Get off of her! Please!” Loki begs, pressing his hands against the glass. “I will do anything.”
“There’s nothing you can do buddy,” James says to him with a smirk. “All you can do is just watch and enjoy the show while you can. And after we’re done, your time is up. We’ll make sure the Avengers think that this was your doing. With your reputation, no one would even question it.”
You turn away from Loki, not being able to look at his pale, stricken face as the men before you manhandle you. Jacob laughs menacingly as he rubs his body against yours. He takes the knife and presses it to your collarbone, lightly trailing it down your chest and your stomach.
Your panic increases more and you start to shake your head mournfully, eyes closing and tears spilling down your cheeks.
“It's okay sweetheart,” Conner whispers into your ear. “This will all be over soon. We're just gonna have a little fun first.”
Jacob successfully pulls your pants down your legs. Once they are fully off you can feel the knife tearing into your shirt next. It rips right open and he yanks it off, leaving you in your bra and underwear. His hard, dry hands start to roam all over you, squeezing your breasts and scratching your skin harshly.
Then you feel the knife slowly graze over your skin. It travels to your arm and he puts more pressure on it until you feel the sharp blade cutting into your skin. You feel the warmth of your blood dripping down your arm as you writhe and gasp in pain.
Your hearing is still impaired, but you can hear Loki's roars and struggles getting louder. The glass seems to be shaking as he bangs on it, trying to get out. The floor is vibrating with his intense movements.
This was it, you thought to yourself. This is how it ends for you. This is how Loki will remember you. And out of everything else that was happening right now, that’s all you cared about the most.
Then, you hear the sound of a deep, thunderous roar and everything freezes right before an ear-splitting explosion of glass shatters all over the place. Rubble falls around you and a weight is being pulled off of you, the three men no longer surrounding you.
Your eyes are closed but you can hear a loud commotion of gunshots and yelling, then the sickening sound of bodies hitting the floor with screams of absolute terror following after.
The nauseating sound of bones breaking and flesh being torn into is something you try to drown out. The screams persist and you try to open your eyes to see who it was coming from, but you are too weak at this point. The blood loss from your arm and whatever other injuries Jacob gave you were making you light-headed. You’re exhausted, confused, and absolutely terrified.
You don’t remember how long it went on, but eventually everything stops. An eerie silence fills the room, and nothing but the sounds of your barely there breaths and the shaky breathing of another person is audible. Appreciating the peace and quiet you feel yourself start to drift off into the land of unconsciousness before you’re pulled back in by the sound of someone walking towards you. The person fell to their knees before you.
You let out a whimper, feeling scared for your life, but relax when gentle hands scoop you up, sliding under your legs and your back, lifting you off of the concrete floor and into strong arms.
You’re being placed on something a lot softer, and hands trembling hands are on you again, roaming over your face, your throat, and your arms. They continue roaming over you as if checking for injuries.
“Little dove, are you still with me?” He places a hand over your heart. “Please tell me you didn’t leave me. Please…”
Using all of the strength you could muster, you peel your eyes open, meeting the hauntingly beautiful green eyes of Loki Laufeyson. His usual neat dark locks were wild, his eyes slightly crazed, and his face was covered in crimson splatters.
“Please, beautiful, tell me that you’re okay.” He begs, lightly gripping your face as he holds you in his arms.
Unable to speak, you nod your head slightly trying to provide him with what little comfort and reassurance you could.
You take a quick look around you and immediately wish that you didn’t. You were grateful for your limited vision, as what you could see was utter mayhem. Death was there in the room with you. Dark red pools of blood stained the floor, along with various pieces of clothing and body parts. You catch sight of a dismembered arm donning a familiar-looking expensive watch that was dripping in red. If you weren’t feeling as exhausted as you were now, you’re sure you would have wretched onto the floor.
You feel the hand on your face pull your gaze away from the horrifying sight and back towards the man holding you in his arms. He sighs, pulling you closer to him to hold you tight.
You close your eyes, taking in the comforting feeling of being wrapped in his arms. You don’t know what will come of this chaos, but what you do know is that there’s nowhere else you’d rather be if this would be your last moment on this Earth.
Loki leans down, placing a firm but gentle kiss on your forehead, then buries his head into your neck while stroking your hair.
“It is okay now, my love. I’m here. I’ve got you.”
WHAT THE FUCK (this is the best piece of literature I've ever read) IM GOING TO SCREAM (it's truly a work of art and I owe you my life for letting me read it for free) HOW TF AM I SUPPOSED CONTINUE AFTER THAT LAST LINE (I would die for you)
Chapter Summary: You find out the truth behind your mom's death.
A/N: This is a long and emotional one. Reblogs, comments, and likes are appreciated!
You walk into the room, only pausing in your stride when you take in the dimly lit space. Frowning, you cautiously step inside the spacious cell.
“Loki?”
He stays still, not moving an inch a the sound of you calling his name. He barely acknowledges you as you move closer to the armchair he sits in, a look of concern growing on your face.
“Hey,” you greet him with an unsure smile. “Today’s the day we get to finally take you out. Isn’t it exciting?”
He continues looking off into space with a troubled expression on his face. His usual thoughtful green eyes were blank and glossy while his dark brows were set into a a deep furrow.
Eventually, his gaze makes its way to you and you can truly see how unsettled he looks. His eyes held a great deal of pain and sorrow which set you on edge. Today was the day you’d get to take him out of this depressing cell and out into the world. You had the whole two hours of his release planned minute by minute and were excited to get him out of here for a bit.
You expected him to be just as eager as you were, if not more.
You crouch down next to the chair, lightly touching his knee. “I’m sorry, is this too soon? If you’re not ready yet we can reschedule, it’s no problem at all. There’s like twenty guards outside of that door waiting for us, but I’ll just go out there and tell them to scram.”
“That… that won’t be necessary.” He finally says, adam’s apple bobbing as he swallows hard.
“Oh, so you still wanna go?”
“No,” He states with a shake of his head. “There is something that I need to discuss with you.”
“Now?” You chuckle lightly. “Can’t it wait until later?”
“No, I am afraid not.”
You blink at him, rising to your full height as you wait for him to continue.
He gestures to the chair across from him and you take a seat.
“What’s got you so wound up? Did Thor come and visit you again?”
“This is not about, Thor,” he says, and your brows raise, shocked that Loki said his brother’s actual name and didn’t refer to him as a ‘that blond oaf’ this time around.
He takes a deep breath. “This is about you,” He pauses before meeting gaze again. “And your mother.”
Your breath hitches at his words, and your heart feels like it skipped a beat. You hadn’t any idea of what he was going to say, but that was certainly not expected.
You stay staring at him silently and he continues. “I…what I have to share with you is information that you need to know. You deserve to know the truth, no matter if you will hate me afterward for disclosing it.”
Glossy jade pools gaze at you with a level of vulnerability you’ve never seen before, as if he, Loki of Asgard, god of mischief, was afraid of you or what he was planning to tell you.
Loki stands, running a hand through his messy dark locks. “If you have not discovered this by now, I… care for you. I have made countless efforts to push you away, yet you still return as if I somehow deserve to have you as a companion.”
He shakes his head, heavy gaze pained and sorrowful. “But as much as I would like to continue this… what we have, and what we are doing for very selfish reasons, I cannot in good conscience lie to you. I cannot keep this from you because I respect you enough to want to tell you the complete truth, no matter how immensely difficult it is.”
You feel a lump in your throat as you stare at him with an apprehensive expression. In all the years you’ve spent with him, you’ve never known Loki to be nervous to tell you something. Not like this. This was something else, and as much as you hoped that what he had to say was not going to be that bad, that feeling in your gut was telling you otherwise.
“I-I do not want to lose you, but what I am about to reveal to you may cause that very thing to happen.”
“Loki, what is it?” you whisper slowly, dread filling your entire body.
He meets your gaze with a pained expression. “I… I am the reason why your mother is dead.”
Your face falls and a queasy feeling churns your belly as you tell yourself that there is no way you heard him correctly.
“The… attack I led against New York… was on the day of your mother’s passing. I was not aware of this until the doctor revealed this information to me last night.”
His expression is haunting as he looks at you with so much guilt. “I am so incredibly sorry, my little dove.”
Your sight gets blurrier by the second as tears rise from underneath your lids. You don’t know how to react, what to think, or how to feel. Your world spins as you stare at him like he’s a complete stranger.
You back away with a stumble and he reaches a hand out to you but you quickly dodge it, backing away from him even further.
“Don’t-don’t touch me.” You whisper sharply.
“I know this is a lot of information for you to take in but I need you to know that I would never have done so if I knew… if I knew how much I would come to know you and care for you, and…”
You shut your eyes as you turn your back on him, not wanting to listen to his excuses. Not right now. All you want to do is leave. You needed to get as far away from him as possible. You couldn’t be around him. You couldn’t look at him.
You could not stand the sight of Loki at this moment, and so you ignore his desperate pleas as you run out of the room.
*******
“How could you?!”
All eyes gravitate towards you when you burst through the doors of the dining hall, storming into the room like a bat out of hell.
“What the-.” Tony’s remark was interrupted by the sound of a loud smack echoing in the room.
Suddenly, everyone jumps up out of their seats, springing into action. Sam’s stepping between you and your father, holding his hands out defensively as the older man holds his stinging cheek. Steve takes hold of you, preventing you from getting to your father again and Nat appears on the side of you, trying to get you to talk to her.
You ignore everyone’s frantic questions as you keep your heated gaze focused on your father’s stunned one. “How dare you tell him the truth before you told your own daughter? You lied to me for years. What kind of father are you?” you exclaim before whipping your head around to Steve. “Let go of me, Steve!”
“No, angel, you’re not thinking straight. This isn’t helping either of you.”
Steve starts backing away, tugging you along with him. Your shoes scrape against the floor as you try to pull your arm out of his grip.
“No, I’m not going anywhere until he tells me the truth! About everything.”
Steve sighs before apologizing to you in advance. You didn’t get the chance to wonder what he was talking about before you’re suddenly being lifted off the ground onto his shoulder as he walks out of the room with you.
You start yelling at him to put you down, only stopping when you see the team's worried gazes following you. They’ve never seen you this angry before, so it was safe to say that they had to be shocked by your actions. You should be embarrassed at your own behavior, and if you weren’t now, you knew you would be later. Right now, you were too upset to care about what anyone thought of you.
“Where are you taking her, Steve?” Natasha asks while trailing you and Steve, Bucky and Sam right behind her.
Steve ignores her question, barely sparing any of them a glance. “We’ll be back. Just handle the doctor, alright?”
You took one last heated look at your dad who sat in his chair calmly, looking at you with so much pity on his face, like you were the one who needed help. Maybe you do, but it’s partly because of him and his lies.
“It was for your own good, bean.” Those were the last words that came out of his mouth before you and Steve exited the room.
******
The car ride began in a silence that lasted all of ten minutes. You sulked in the passenger seat as Steve drove through the artificially lit city. His lack of explanation to where you were going made you more irritated by the minute, causing you to finally break.
“You had no right to take me away, you know?” You glower and he simply just shakes his head, irritating you further. “I was talking to my dad and you just pulled me away like some child.”
“No, you were having a tantrum and I separated you before it could get any worse.” He smirks.
You scoff, crossing your arms and narrowing your gaze at him. “Do you think this is funny? Because it’s not.”
“No, of course, I don’t think it’s funny. It’s just that I’ve never seen you so…. passionate before. It was certainly a sight to behold, for everyone I’m sure.” He responds before glancing over at you.
“But that wasn’t you, and I think you recognize that as well.”
Your eyes travel down to your lap as you fight the urge to have a full-on sob fest right there in the passenger seat. Steve doesn’t say anything else, simply navigating you both through the dark streets of New York.
After about twenty minutes more, the car stops and he puts it in park. You look up with a frown, staring at the unfamiliar establishment through the windows.
“Where are we?” You ask, turning to him.
“My favorite diner in Brooklyn. The place doesn’t look very attractive on the outside but it’s a hidden gem, trust me.”
“Yeah, but why did you bring me here?”
He blinks at you. “Well, I’m assuming you skipped dinner since you weren’t there with the rest of us. You need to eat. It’ll make you feel better.” He gives you a small smile. “Come on.”
You both exit the car and grab a seat at a booth once you enter. You take a moment to look around the place. Besides an elderly man reading the paper and the sole waitress on shift, the diner was pretty empty. It had an old-fashioned but charming and comfortable vibe to it. You eye all of the trinkets and photos on the wall. Baseball cards, pictures of whom you guess were family members who used to work there, and many signs that advertise cash only.
You warily eye Steve as he sits across from you while staring down at the menu in thought. You wonder why he’s being so calm. In the past, Steve was known to be anything but, however, you don’t question it, feeling a sense of peace and grateful that he wasn’t currently badgering you with questions.
When the waitress comes by, he orders for the both of you: a cheeseburger with fries and no ketchup for you, and a coffee for him.
You raise a brow as the waitress fills up his small mug with the dark liquid and he catches you staring while he raises it to his mouth, taking a large sip.
“Coffee? At ten thirty at night?” You question, and he just shrugs.
“Sort of a habit more than anything else.” He explains. “Doesn’t really affect me like it would someone without the serum.”
You slowly nod your head at his answer, not being able to deny the latter.
The waitress brings you your meal and you stare at it for a few seconds. You slowly pick up a fry before munching on it. Before you knew it, you were face-deep into your dinner, not having realized how hungry you actually were. Steve lets you eat in silence and you’re grateful for that, needing the time to think as you regain your energy.
After your plate was completely cleared and his third cup of joe was empty, Steve straightens in his seat. Serious but concerned gaze now focused straight on you.
“What happened back there?” He asks calmly.
You lean backward into the booth. “First, tell me what happened with Lucky.”
“You don’t need to worry about him. What you need to do right now is focus and tell me what’s going on with you.”
I just need to know where Jacob took-.” You protest but Steve cuts you off.
“and you will get the answer to that later. This isn’t just about Lucky, and I know it. I heard what you said to your father. I know that things have been a bit rough between the two of you lately, but not like this.” He shakes his head. “I’ve been away for a while because of all the missions, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t noticed how stressed and on edge you seem most of the time, especially in our training sessions.”
“I haven’t been stressed and on edge…” You trail off when he shoots you a look.
“There’s no need to lie to me, angel. I’m not here to make you feel cornered. I’m sitting here with you in my childhood diner as a friend. I want you to know that you can trust me enough to tell me when something’s wrong. Seriously,” He sighs, running a hand down the back of his neck. “I know we’ve had our disagreements and I’ve reacted unreasonably in the past, but I want us to turn over a new leaf. As hard as it was for me, I gave you the space you needed to navigate things on your own. You didn’t need me crowding over you and being the first person to nag at you about every mistake you made. I realized how I was coming off and I didn’t like it very much. I was being sort of an…”
“Asshole?” You point out and he shoots you a half-hearted glare.
His brows pinch, lips pursing. “I was going to say an overbearing friend, but I guess I can’t deny that either.”
You feel the beginning of a smile threatening to tug on your lips but hold back.
“Regardless of how I acted in the past, I just want to start over and be of help to you, and right now it seems as if you need some real help from a friend.” He says gently and you look down at the table, giving a hesitant nod.
When you glance back up, you meet Steve’s blue gaze as he searches yours. “I want you to tell me everything. Don’t leave any details out. I don’t want you hiding things from us anymore. I don’t care about what your dad, Stark, or anyone else you’re worried about thinks. I have a strong feeling that there’s a lot more going on than you’ve let on, and I want to get to the bottom of it. Whatever is going on with whoever, we’re going to fix this, alright?”
You nod, feeling the heavy build of tears welling up in your eyes. Steve slowly grabs your hand and squeezes, giving you a reassuring look before letting it go.
You grab a napkin and dab the moisture from the corner of your eyes before looking down at the table, taking a deep breath.
You begin telling the story of the day you found out your mother had died. It was a car accident, your father told you over and over again. Something that happens every day to unsuspecting vehicles. He spared you the details and you never pestered him for them since it didn’t seem like something he wanted to replay in his mind.
You go on about how the situation really affected your mental health, and how your father drowned himself into work, leaving you alone for most of the time. Your mother was the glue that held you all together, and you couldn’t cope with knowing she was gone and never coming back.
Then your father proceeds to work with a known war criminal, and you find yourself wanting to protect your only parent from danger. If you only had known how right you were, not because of Loki’s violent history, but because he was the person who had killed your other parent. However, you hadn’t known that at the time.
Your father put himself in danger for the most selfish reasons, and if Loki was as horrible as everyone said, he could have killed your father and you would have been left completely alone. To everyone’s relief, Loki did not murder your father, and you eventually convinced everyone to let you work with him as well.
“This whole time, I was staring at the person who led the war that took away my mother in the face, telling him that he was better than whatever he did in the past. I urged him to learn how to forgive himself for his mistakes and things that he couldn’t control, not knowing that his very actions were what had gotten my mom killed.” You sniffle, glancing around the diner with exhausted eyes before meeting Steve’s.
“How can I just move past that? How can I forgive that, Steve?”
Steve sends you a sympathetic look. You were aware that he was probably not the right person to talk about Loki to, but you had no one else at the moment.
“My mom died in 2012 during the Battle of New York, and my dad kept it from me this whole time. He couldn’t even tell me himself, and he most likely wouldn’t have ever. He chose to keep that information hidden away until he wanted to use it against the person I’ve grown close to.”
You catch the slight narrow of Steve’s gaze, but he stays silent and listens.
“And why did he decide to do this? In order to gain some revenge? In order to get into Loki’s head and make peace with my mom’s death? He’s a psychologist for Christ's sake. None of that makes any sense whatsoever.”
Steve nods with furrowed brows. “Yeah, I can see how you would think that, but maybe you should speak to him in order to get the full truth. Maybe this time without slapping anyone.” He raises a brow and your cheeks burn in embarrassment.
Steve gently presses you to continue, and you do. You express to him how hurt you are, how betrayed you feel. How it felt to have your own father keep such crucial information from you even after you finally gained the courage to ask him yourself. Yet still denied it. He didn’t care enough about you or your feelings to just tell you the truth, no matter how hard it would be to do so. How he kept the truth from you under some delusional guise of protecting you, like you were still just a child that couldn’t handle any bad news.
Furthermore, you did not really know how to feel about Loki. He was not aware of what he had done until now, not that it truly mattered. He was still responsible for your mother’s death, and that was a huge pill to swallow.
One unexpected emotion that showed through your jumbled mess of a mind was a sense of relief. You feel more clarity now that you finally know the truth, and it was not the bullshit your father had given you. That was only a lie that you convinced yourself to believe so you could move on with your life. Now, everything was out on the table and it was just as scary as you could have ever imagined it to be.
Everything was so extremely overwhelming, and the words continued to flow out of your mouth. All of a sudden you find yourself revealing way more to Steve than you expected to.
Your chest feels heavier as you speak about Jacob Bale and his weird and dangerous fixation on you. You tell Steve how you met him the day of your sixteenth birthday party. By the look on Steve’s face, you could tell that he remembered that night as well.
You explain how you had to turn the man down time after time, going out of your way to avoid him until you couldn’t anymore, and how he couldn’t take no for an answer. How he threatened to hurt your father’s career and you believed him because you were naive. How he continued to target you since then at every chance he got. How Kayla tried to help you but couldn’t. Nat and Wanda knew about it but you swore them to secrecy. How you tried to tell Tony about it so many times but everything else kept getting in the way. How you didn’t think that anyone else would believe you, so you stayed quiet, hoping that at some point he would get bored and leave you alone.
But he never did.
You watch the subtle signs of Steve’s body language stiffen as you continue to share with him every single foul thing Jacob has done to you. His expression is tense and you catch a hint of guilt on his face as you explain how devastated you were when Jacob got Lucky sent away. Steve likely felt bad about not trying harder to defend the poor little guy and you wish that he did.
Biting your lip hard, you meet Steve’s somber gaze again, shaking your head. “Steve, I-I don’t know what to do to get him to leave me alone for good. I’ve tried everything but nothing seems to be enough. I thought he was done when he got rid of Lucky, but then he.-” You cut yourself off, the familiar feelings of nausea and terror entering your body, causing your limbs to tremble. “-he broke into my room when I was gone and…”
“Hey, it’s alright.” Steve’s reassuring voice meets your ears, but when you glance at him, his face is the total opposite.
He was clearly outraged like he couldn’t believe all of this was happening right under his nose without him knowing.
He takes a deep breath. “What you’re telling me right now is absolutely insane, and as much as I want to ask you so many more questions, all I really need to know right now is if you’re okay.”
You pause at his question, lip trembling as you slowly shake your head back and forth. “I should probably say yes like I always do, but no, I’m not okay.”
You immediately feel the floodgates open and you bring your hands up to cover your face, and before you know it, Steve slides to your side of the booth, wrapping his arms around your shoulders and pulling you into a hug.
“I-I don’t know what to do, Steve. I don’t know how to fix any of this.” You let out a muffled sob.
Steve just holds you tighter, shaking his head as his brows furrow deeper.
“You don’t have to do anything, angel. No more trying to solve everything by yourself.” He soothes while rubbing your back. A look of determination was set in his gaze.
“I’m gonna fix this, once and for all.”
******
It’s the next day when you’re sitting at a small table in the far corner of a local coffee shop in Manhattan. You stare down at your drink in deep thought, feeling incredibly worn over the last day’s events. Your body ached and your mind was tired from lack of sleep, but that didn’t stop you from getting out of bed this morning.
You were still very unsure of how to move forward, but you were taking the first step towards figuring it out. The sooner you have a conversation with your father, the better. That way you could finally move on from all of this.
The chair on the other side of the table scapes against the floor as it’s pulled out, and you peer up to meet the man you were waiting for.
“Hi Dad,” You greet quietly as he sits down across from you.
“Hi, bean,” He gives a lackluster smile, eyes void of their usual brightness. “Thank you for meeting me here.”
You nod silently, glancing back down at your coffee.
He clears his throat and adjusts his position. “I um… I guess I want to start by apologizing. I know it’s late, but you do deserve an apology.”
“Do you even know what you’re apologizing for?” You ask, eyes lacking any sympathy for him.
He looks taken aback, not being used to you taking on such a direct tone with him. His lips press into a thin line and he nods.
“Yes, of course I do. I’m sorry for keeping secrets from you. I apologize for allowing you to work with the very person who killed your mother. I should have told you from the time I started working with him. I put you in danger, and that’s not okay.”
You send him an incredulous look. “No, Dad, that’s not all that you should be apologizing for. You should be apologizing for keeping the truth behind Mom’s death from me. For lying to me when I gave you so many opportunities to tell me.” You scoff, blinking back the tears that were rising. “I mean, was she even in a car accident? Was all of that just a well-crafted lie too?”
“No, I didn’t lie to you about that. We were in an accident.” He says quietly. “It was just… something more than just a car accident.”
You stare at him, patiently waiting for him to continue. You observe as he takes a large swig of his beverage, swallowing it down quickly. He was clearly uncomfortable, but his comfort was not important at this moment. He owed you this, and this would be the last time you allowed him the opportunity to tell you the full truth.
“Your mother and I… we were on a business trip here in New York the day it happened. The day that Loki and his army of Chautari soldiers invaded the city. Your mom and I were in a taxi stuck in the middle of traffic, heading back to our hotel for the day when all of a sudden we heard the sound of screaming. We looked out only to see civilians frantically running for cover. Explosions were happening all over the place and we didn’t know what to do.” He sighed shakily, eyes going blank as he stared into space, recollecting that dreadful day.
“We should have gotten out of the car but we were too scared to move. Bodies were dropping everywhere so we stayed inside, hoping that our driver would get us all somewhere safe, and he tried. He maneuvered his way through the chaos, dodging the lifeless bodies and terrified people running across the streets. But then we crashed into another passing vehicle,”
His eyes close and he struggles to get the words out. “And when we all recovered from the hit, we saw one of the Chitauri standing nearby. He was standing over the cab and before we knew it, the driver was being pulled right through the window. Your mother screamed, and not too long after that, the door on her side of the cab was being ripped off, and I…” He pauses, taking a deep breath. “I-I tried to hold onto her as tight as I could as it grabbed her arm, but I was too weak and it ripped her from my hold, dragging her out of the car… and you know the rest.”
You give a slow, sad nod, wiping away the tears that escaped.
“No, actually, you don’t know. I’ve tried my best to spare you the details, but clearly, you want to know everything, right?”
You barely get out a response before he continues, leaning across the table as he speaks. “I had to sit there and watch as an otherworldly monster plunged its hand into her chest and ripped her heart out.”
Your eyes fall shut, lip trembling as you try to keep it together. As upset as you were with your father, he was right about this one thing. You wanted to know the truth, so here he was giving you the honest, brutal truth.
You look at him when he lets out a humorless laugh. “And do you want to know what I saw right after that happened? Or to be more specific, who?”
You don’t respond, knowing that he was going to tell you anyway.
“As my wife was being murdered on the ground, there goes your precious god of mischief speeding through the air on one of the Chitauri cruisers.” Your father glowers, shaking his head. “The look on his face was so smug as he watched everything around him, witnessing all of the chaos and death that he was causing as if it was some sort of achievement.”
A strong look of indignation crossed his features.
“Before the alien could get to me next, suddenly it went completely limp, dropping to the ground once Iron Man directed the missile to the mothership, taking the rest of the Chituari down with it. If only they were a few minutes sooner. And while I was still in pain from the car crash, and in shock from witnessing the brutal murder of the woman I loved, all I could think about was what would make someone so damaged that they would delight in causing mass destruction and violence? Especially on such a large scale.”
Your father leans back in his chair, looking like he’s aged a decade since he first started telling you the story. “Loki clearly had no regard for human lives, so I made it my mission to get an answer from him. From that day on, I worked tirelessly to get into the Avenger’s circle. The public wasn’t privy to Loki’s incarceration on Earth, but I had a feeling that he was still here, and I was right. Once I got close enough to convince Stark to allow me to take Loki on as a client, that’s where my work began.”
“Does Tony know?” You hesitantly ask.
Your father nods. “Yes, he was the only other person who was privy to this information.”
Your eyes narrow in disbelief. “and he still allowed you to work with Loki? That seems like such a bad idea.” It was a bad idea.
“Yes, he did. He was desperate for a solution, and I promised him that I wouldn’t try and sabotage Loki’s progress, and true to my word, I didn’t. I did my job like I said I would, with as much hard work and honesty as possible.”
You look away from him, begging to differ. He may have worked hard, but his position was based on nothing but dishonesty from the start.
Seeing your reaction, your father stares at you with a pained look on his face. “Can’t you see, bean? The person you are trying so hard to save is a murderer. He killed hundreds of people with no hesitation, and one of them was your mother. Who knows what would’ve happened if you had gone on that trip with us? I could have lost more than just my wife. I could have lost my only child too. My little girl.”
“But you didn’t. I’m right here. I’m alive and well, and so are you. What Loki did was absolutely horrible, I don’t disagree with that, and I don’t think he does either. Not anymore.” You sniffle, meeting your father’s gaze. “As much as I want to hate him for what he did… as much as I should hate him… I don’t think that I can. And I’m sorry because I know that’s not what you want to hear.”
Your father’s face tightens at that and he looks away from you.
“Loki is responsible for causing the event that led to Mom’s death, but he didn’t kill her himself. From what I know, he was not creating chaos because he’s just some evil psychopath. By no means am I defending him or making excuses for his actions, but there were some very complex things going on that led to his decision, and I think you know this too.”
Your father says nothing at that. You both sit in silence for a while, stewing over the heavy conversation. Eventually, you rise from your chair, grabbing your things.
“Where are you going?” Your father inquires.
“I’m going back home. I need some time to myself to think more clearly.”
He sends you a look of disbelief. “Don’t tell me that you’re still considering working with him after everything that I told you.”
You turn and look him in the eye. “Dad, I love you, but whatever decision I make is going to be up to me. Whatever I decide to do, whether it’s about Loki or not, is my choice.”
You turn around and head towards the door, ignoring your father's calls as you exit the shop.
As heavy as the truth was, you feel like a weight had been lifted off of your shoulders.
Story Masterlist
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Chapter Summary: Your father unveils a tragic secret to his worst enemy.
A/N: Please don't hit me after reading this... Reblogs, comments, and likes are appreciated!
You giggled furiously as you tried to squirm away from the pair of hands that were grabbing at your sides.
“N-no!” you squeaked out, voice slightly higher than your normal tone. “M-mommy st-op!”
The woman before you relented in her efforts, instead, pulling you into a warm embrace. You sighed out in relief that you were not going to be tickled to death anymore.
You threw your shorter arms around her back, squeezing her tight and relaxing into her warm embrace. Other kids at school hated it when their parents showed any sort of affection toward them, but not you. You loved being wrapped in your mother’s arms. It felt warm and safe like no one could ever hurt you.
The other kids made fun of you for that, said you were weird, and you could never understand that. But it didn’t matter because you had your mom and your dad. They were all you ever needed.
Your mother finally released you, leaning back to gaze at you as a wistful smile sat on her face. You looked back into eyes that were so much like your own, giving her a crooked smile.
She sighed, eyes dimming a bit as she attempted to smooth your hair back into place. “Beanie, I miss you so much.” She said, “I am so sorry to have left you and your father so early.”
You let out a small laugh, not really understanding what she was talking about. “You’re right here, mommy. You didn’t leave. I can still see you.” You replied, lightning poking her nose.
She smiled but her eyes did not follow, looking more and more saddened as time passed.
“Yes, of course, I am, honey. I will always be with you, but you may not always see me.”
You frowned, not really liking her response and your lower lip started to wobble. “But I want to see you. Always. I miss you and need you.”
Suddenly, your voice is no longer high-pitched and you are almost the same size as your mother. Your hair has grown longer and your gaze has gotten more focused.
She leans forward, wiping away a stray tear running down your cheek.
“My love, you will see me again, I promise, but you’ll have to wait a while longer. You have so many great things ahead of you and I can’t wait for you to experience them all. You are my extraordinary girl, made for great things beyond what you could have ever imagined.”
You squeezed her hand, starting to sob. “But, I don’t want to do this without you. I-I don’t want to be alone anymore.”
She squeezed your hand back. “Oh little bean, trust me, you’re not alone.”
Her eyes strayed behind you and you turned around, only feeling the light breeze of the wind, but seeing nothing of notice.
Green eyes snap open and stare at your sleeping form on the bed. He only meant to check in on you to make sure that you weren’t still having strange nightmares because of the spell he cast on your bracelet. He never meant to intrude on something so… soft and pure.
Loki was not meant to be there for very long, but he couldn’t help but watch the interaction between you and your mother. It was not so unlike him and Frigga when he was a very young boy, and it made him miss his own mother.
He could see how much you loved her by the way you seemed to never want to let her go, and he could tell that she loved you just as much, maybe even more. He escaped your dream before you could notice his presence, not wanting to interrupt your time with someone who truly loved you, whether it was real or not.
******
The doctor’s heart feels as if it is going to freeze up and fall out of his chest as he watches the footage being shown to him. His hands shake, face heating up in a mix of anger and worry as he sees you being lifted into the air by the dark-haired Asgardian, flinching when you are suddenly thrown harshly into the glass wall.
“Stop,” He says sharply, looking away from the screen. “That’s enough! I’ve seen enough!”
Jacob pauses the camera footage, doing his best to hide his smirk when he witnesses how stricken the doctor is at seeing his daughter being thrown around like a rag doll, video courtesy of Conner and James. They may have been idiots, but they always knew how to deliver whenever Jacob needed anything.
He puts on a serious face when the doctor looks back at him. “I know, I am so sorry you had to see this doctor, but it had to be done. I couldn’t keep this from you any longer.”
Your father frowns. “When did that happen? Why would you keep this from me in the first place?”
The dirty blonde-haired man sighs dramatically, running a hand through his strands. “This was recent… but I suspect that incidents like these between them have been happening for a while now. Months, maybe even longer. And as far as why I kept this from you until now?” Jacob shakes his head sadly. “Well, I didn’t know how you were going to take it. This is your precious daughter being brutalized by a war criminal. Not many parents would be able to see this without losing their minds. Plus, she’s an adult, and I thought that she would have said something to you, or to anyone by now.” The man shrugs. “But she hasn’t.”
The doctor gets out of his chair and starts pacing the room. “I didn’t want to believe it. I truly didn’t.” He mutters. “But I should have said something when I first caught those bruises on her a while ago. I knew that something was up when she had the bandage on her hand but I was so busy that I couldn’t take a moment and ask her about it. I raised her to be honest and truthful, and so I gave her time. I was waiting for her to come and speak to me about what was going on, and if there was anything that she needed help with. I should have spoken to her first and dragged it out of her, but I didn’t want to make her upset. Especially after the conversation we had about her mother.”
Jacob nods, giving the other man a sympathetic look as the doctor runs a hand down his face.
“But this? This is something I would have never imagined she would keep from me. This is my absolute worst nightmare, and it’s sickening to witness. As much as I warned her not to go down there, not to visit him, not to work with him, she did and now he’s… he’s hurting her.”
The doctor sounds choked up, and he feels his knees weaken. Jacob is quick to help the devastated older man, taking his arm and guiding him to sit back down.
“I’m worried about her, sir,” Jacobs says, and the doctor swallows, meeting his gaze.
“I know, son. We-we need to tell the Avengers, show them footage so they can do something.”
Jacob leans back against a nearby table crossing his arms. “Yes, we could show this to the Avengers, but really, what good is that going to do? One, they willingly let her work with a vicious criminal, so that should tell you how much they care. Two, the Asgardians dug his claws deep into your daughter. If she hasn’t come to you by now, what makes you think she won’t try to protect him? She’ll say the footage is fake and that Loki has never harmed her, However, you and I clearly know that isn’t true.” Jacob eyes the doctor. “You care about your daughter, right?”
The other man nods his head, eyes glossy. “Yes, of course I do.”
“Then we’ll have to go about this another way if you truly want to see her away from him. A way where he can’t mess things up. You’re her father, not him. You have the right to protect your daughter. No one else may be on your side, but I’m certainly going to help you.”
Your father nods, looking at Jacob with a grateful gaze. “What are you thinking?”
Jacob takes a deep breath before tilting his head in thought. “Maybe you should go and talk to the prisoner? Tell him what’s going to happen if he continues to play games with her. Tell him that you’ll get him executed if he ever touches her again.”
Your father frowns at the dark tone in Jacob’s voice. “I’m not really sure I can do that. We didn’t end on a good note after I threatened him the first time. Do you see where that got me? Absolutely nowhere.”
“Yeah, and now he has everything you didn’t want him to. He’s using your daughter for god knows what, and abusing her whenever she doesn’t comply. You have to try again, sir, but stronger this time around. Don’t listen to the Avengers or anyone else but me. They don’t know what we know, and if they did, they wouldn’t take it seriously.” He strolls closer to the doctor.
“In my line of business I find that if you go directly to the source of the problem yourself, you are able to achieve better results. You can get through to him, you just have to really think about how. If you’re going to be serious this time, you have to use a different tactic. Everyone has something they know about someone that they can use against them, but the trick is to pull it out only when it’s absolutely necessary.”
The doctor frowns deeply as he ponders Jacob’s advice, thinking about all the things he could threaten Loki with in order for him to leave you alone for good. All of these things were valid, but he knew that none of them would work on someone as stubborn as the god was. Nothing would change your mind and convince you to see how evil and vile he is. You were in too deep, too brainwashed to see him for what he truly is. He was a trickster, an abuser, a murderer…
Suddenly, a lightbulb goes off in your father’s head, but not brightly lit. This one was dim, dark, and very scary. The thought that crosses his mind makes him swallow in both fear and anger.
Jacob was correct. Your father did have something on Loki. It just wasn’t something he ever wanted to bring up again.
******
James looks down at his watch before he pivots his head, sending Conner a look. Conner blinks before slowly opening the door, peeking in to see that you and Loki were still deep into conversation, neither of you noticing that he was watching you both.
Closing the door quietly, he nods his head. “Let’s go.”
The two guards find themselves in a small meeting room, Jacob strolling in not too long after they arrive, a smug look set on his face.
“I got him, and I got him good.” Jacobs gloats, crossing his arms while looking between the two men. “He’s just as stupid as his daughter. All it took was for me to butter him up and show him that video. By the way, nice work on the footage, Conner.”
Conner smirks, shrugging. “Didn’t have to do much. Half of it was real, I just put a little twist on the other half.”
“Well whatever you did looked pretty convincing, and that’s what matters.”
James eyes Jacob with a frown, tilting his head. “How is this going to give us what we want? What’s the point in all this?”
The smug look on Jacob’s face immediately falls as he looks at Conner. “This is most likely going to get me what I want, and in turn get you what you want.” He says.
James narrows his eyes. “And what exactly is it you want?”
“Revenge,” Jacob answers. “Plain and simple. That bitch thinks that she can just shoo me off like I’m some fucking fly? Then she’s got another thing coming.”
“Not that I care, but haven’t you done enough?” Conner chimes in. “I mean, you did get rid of the dog.”
“And jizzed on her bed,” James says, face twisting up in mild disgust.
Jacob frowns. “No, it’s not enough until she feels exactly what I felt when she rejected me over and over again. Pain. Embarrassment. I want her to suffer like she never has before, and getting her dad to do something stupid is just another check mark in the long line of suffering she will have to go through. I riled him up enough for him to put himself in danger, and I hope that alien rips him to pieces. That way, I get what I want by him getting hurt, and you guys get what you want by Loki being punished. You hate him, right?”
“Of course we do.” Conner agrees aggressively. “And we hate that alien-loving whore by extension. She’s spent years trying her best to make him seem likable and redeemable, but he could never be either. How is she dumb enough to think that he could be anything else than a destroyer of our planet? A terrorist. The battle of New York was not that long ago!” The chubby man exclaims. “I can barely trust the idiots on my own soil, what makes you think that I would trust any alien from a different planet? Thor and his brother need to fly back to Narnia and never come back.”
Jacob raises a brow. “You mean Asgard?”
Conner shrugs. “Yeah, wherever the fuck they came from, they need to return. I don’t trust foreigners.”
Jacob rolls his eyes at the moronic idiot before him.
“Captain America is the only Avenger we acknowledge. He’s the only one who has worked hard for this country and continues to do so.” James adds.
“Okay, whatever,” Jacob shakes his head. “I don’t give a damn about who you like and dislike, I only care about our mutual problem, and it’s about to be solved soon.”
“How do you know this will work? What if the deadbeat doc is too chicken shit to fuck with the Asgardian?”
Jacob purses his lips, a dark glint appearing in his eyes as he smiles. “Oh, I have another plan up my sleeve, but they’re really not going to like this one. Haven’t you realized by now that I’m determined to make this girl miserable at all costs?”
He lets out a chuckle and his smile drops. “Even if someone is killed in the process.”
******
Jade green eyes the man standing on the other side of the glass in pure disgust.
“What do you want?”
The doctor looks evenly at the god, recalling the many difficult conversations they both had within the many years of sessions that took place. He remembers how Loki always looked at him as if he was nothing but an ant ready to be stepped on by a large Asgardian boot.
He didn’t know why and he probably never will, but Loki never opened up to him as much as he wanted him to. He tried over and over again, yet the god was insistent on not telling him a thing worth knowing, only throwing a massive amount of insults his way as he tried to get under the doctor's skin. And oh boy, he did.
Loki could talk about his deceased wife, as the doctor had willingly given up that information in order to gain favor with the Asgardian prisoner. His ultimate goal was to share bits and pieces of himself so Loki would feel comfortable and safe enough to do the same, yet he never did.
Not only did Loki not open up to the doctor, but he decided to keep hitting lower and lower below the belt of what was acceptable.
Then he brought you up and the doctor's world almost spun. You were off limits, no matter what. He never wanted you to be involved, yet Loki somehow knew about you and decided to use that as ammo. And it worked.
But instead of the Avengers protecting you from the maniacal god, they let you convince them to allow you to be around him more, and the doctor couldn’t take it.
He found himself avoiding you, but not on purpose. It was like he was subconsciously trying to distract himself with work and traveling so he didn’t have to think about what you were doing. So he didn’t have to think about how you could get hurt any second of any day.
And it worked for a time, especially when over a year had passed and you had yet to be harmed. You seemed like you had things under control until he saw the bruises on you. The cut deep you had on your hand, and the apprehensive look you carried in your eyes anytime you were around, especially at dinner time with the team.
Something was going horribly wrong and he couldn’t figure it out. If you were still a child he would have pulled you aside immediately and demanded that you tell him what was going on. But you weren’t a child anymore, and you had made that clear. There was no way he would be able to help you if you did not want it, and the team had made it clear what side they were on when they allowed you to start making bad decisions on your own. There was a time when his say was the only one, but that time was long over.
The doctor faces the otherworldly prince, his head held high.
“Leave my daughter alone.” He demands.
Loki laughs, but not humorously. “Your daughter? Tell me, doctor, when did you become a father? Because I was not aware that she had one.”
The man bristles at the backhanded insult. “No? Well let me firmly remind you that she does, and I care about her way more than anyone else ever could.”
Loki nods his head slowly, face twisting in thought. “Hmm, well that is a surprise to all of us, isn’t it? I am sure that it is a shock to her as well.”
The doctor tries his best to keep calm, reminding himself of what he came here for. What his purpose was.
“I don’t care what you, the Avengers, or anyone else thinks about my relationship with my daughter. No matter how old she gets or how things change, I will always be her father and it is my job to protect her from anything and everything that would cause harm to her. And your-.”
Loki stands closer to the glass, eyes hardening as he interrupts the doctors. “Well, you are doing an absolutely lousy job at it. Your lack of this so-called protection has been unsatisfactory-.”
“And it’s your fault!” The doctor yells, face heated.
Loki quiets at his uncharacteristic outburst.
“You…. You couldn’t just leave it at that. Y-you hurt her.” The doctor’s voice cracks and Loki frowns.
“You lured her into your trap and you hurt her. Why would you do that?”
“What on Earth are you talking about?” Loki inquires sharply.
“I’ve seen them, the bruises, the cuts. You did that to her and convinced her to cover them up, to not say anything.”
Loki stared at the doctor in silence, mind blown by how incredibly ignorant he was being.
“You imbecile, I would never hurt her. I have never laid a hand on her and never will. I’d rather burn in hel than see her harmed by my own hand. You have the nerve to accuse me of doing something so horrendous!”
The doctor shakes his head. “You can deny it all you want, but I know the truth. I’ve seen the footage of you throwing her around like she’s nothing. She deserves respect and if you don’t stop, I’ll make sure she never bothers with you again.”
Loki's face twists in anger, hands stretching and closing into fists before he closes his eyes. “I have always disliked you, doctor. But I have to say, I have never despised you as much as I do now. Not until I discovered that you have miraculously produced a creature such as her.” He opens his eyes, expression filled with disgust and sadness as he focuses on the man standing behind the glass. “The troubling fact that someone as dreadful as yourself is capable of creating a human like her should be a terrible sin. How can someone so despicable have raised such a gentle and forgiving soul? Are you completely sure that she is yours?”
The doctor’s mouth drops at Loki’s insinuation, and his blood starts to boil even more.
“You son of a bitch!” He explodes. “You are the reason why I cannot protect her. You tricked her, trapped her, and ensnared her into believing that you were just some misunderstood person who needed her help. And you know where she gets that from? Certainly not me. She got that from someone just as sweet as her. Her mother.” The doctor spits. “Who you murdered, by the way.”
Loki’s face sobers up and his eyes widen so large that the green is almost swallowed up by white.
He says nothing as the doctor pulls out a thick manilla folder, places it into the glass box and backs away.
Loki eyes the doctor, still stuck on what he just accused him of.
The man nods over to the box. “Go ahead. If you don’t believe me, the files will tell you everything that you need to know. The truth.”
Green eyes flit over to the folder that sat in the box. Slowly, Loki opened the small door and grabbed it.
He opens it up, sifting through the statements, photos, and documents one by one. As he turns each page, his face slowly transforms into an expression the doctor had never seen before.
He looks stricken, horrified even. Loki starts to breathe heavier, chest rising and falling at a dramatic pace.
He drags his gaze from the folder and looks at your father. “She does not know?” He asks, tone heavy with disbelief and repugnance. “You have not told her?”
Your father shakes his head, crossing his arms.
“No, she doesn’t, and she never will. Not as long as you stay away from her.” Your father declared, gaze strong and unyielding.
And at that exact moment, Loki’s whole world fell apart.
Story Masterlist
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Chapter Summary: Jacob is confronted about his behavior.
A/N: Reblogs, comments, and likes are appreciated!
Your lighthearted whistling bounces off the walls as you casually stroll along the empty halls. You were quite surprised to see that no one was around at this time of the day. Even Conner and James were nowhere to be seen as you slid through the doors and entered the room.
You start to pull out some of the books and snacks you had stuffed in your bag. “Hey Loki, I brought you a little some…thing.”
Pausing in your steps, you blink when you realize that you cannot spot the Asgardian in question. In fact, the transparent cell was completely empty. You drop your bag onto the floor, not caring about any of the contents that spilled out as you ran over to the cell entrance.
You step through the entrance to see the whole cell cleared out. There was no trace of Loki or any of his belongings.
You feel panic start to rise in your chest. “Loki?” You call out, spinning in circles as you search for him frantically. Then you halt in your movements, closing your eyes as you let out a small laugh.
“Oh, okay, I see.” You bite your lip hard. “This is all just a joke, right? I have to say, making all your things disappear along with yourself is pretty impressive. But this trick is getting a bit old, don’t you think?”
You stand there, waiting for him to appear, but yet you are greeted with silence.
You roll your eyes and sigh. “Alright, so we’re playing this game, are we now?” Walking to a corner, you lower yourself onto the floor, wincing when your bottom meets the hard cold metal.
“You could have at least kept that super comfy Asgardian rug here. The one that’s all cushy and nice.” You mutter legs spread out in front of you.
You slide your phone out of your pocket, deciding to play a few games on your phone while you wait for Loki to cut the act. After a few minutes pass, you huff and slide your phone back into your pocket, bringing your knees to your chest.
Leaning your head back on the wall, you find your eyes gently closing shut. The next time you open them, you’re startled, realizing you had accidentally fallen asleep. Looking around, you frown when you realize nothing has changed. By the way your neck and back were aching, it was clear that hours had passed by. Checking your phone, you realized that at least an hour and a half had passed.
You swallow, slowly placing the device back in your pocket and looking around the empty room.
You sit in silence for a while, eyes aimlessly wandering, scrutinizing every corner and crevice of the empty cold box you were sitting inside of.
Another hour passed and there was still no sign of Loki. You were starting to think that something was very wrong. No, you already knew something was wrong when you first stepped into the room, but you convinced yourself that it wasn’t. That he was just playing some strange trick on you. That this was just a joke.
You felt the familiar burn of tears build up under your eyelids, but you refused to let them drop.
“Loki?” You call out again in a whisper. This time you weren’t expecting an answer back. You knew that he wasn’t going to respond.
He was gone. You didn’t even have anything to remember him by.
Time passes as you sit alone in the empty cell, and before you know it the lights dim, indicating that it had to be late in the night.
You were now lying in the middle of the cell, curled up into a ball as you continued to whisper his name over and over, tears streaming down your face and dripping onto the cold, hard floor.
“Loki….. Loki….. Loki…”
You gasp when you suddenly feel a strong hand on your arm.
“Loki!” You exclaim, eyes shooting open and meeting a pair of seriously concerned green ones.
“Wha..?” You garble, blinking rapidly.
“Are you alright?” He asks, hand still holding onto your arm as he leans over you.
“Um, yeah, I think.”
He helps you sit up on the bed, and when you take in your surroundings, that’s when you remember what happened the previous night.
After you discovered the absolutely horrendous mess that Jacob had left on your bed, Loki had demanded that you leave your room immediately and you agreed, hurriedly collecting various items and shoving them into a backpack.
When he asked where you were going your voice shook as you told him that you didn’t really know. Maybe another room in the tower or even getting a hotel for the time being. You just knew you could not stay where you were. If Jacob had access to get into your room, then he would most likely have access to all of the others as well.
“No, it is not safe for you to be alone.” Loki had said, his projection running his hand through his dark locks out of frustration. “You need to be in a location where he would not expect you to be. Somewhere someone can watch over you.”
You knew he was right. You couldn’t be alone. You would have gone straight to someone else’s room, Wanda's, Nat’s, or maybe even Steve’s since you were so desperate, but they all just happened to be elsewhere for the night.
Your hand shook as you grabbed your phone, preparing to call someone, anyone who could take you in at the moment so you didn’t have to be alone for the night.
After seeming to be in a momentary state of intense thought, Loki aimed his heavy gaze at you. “Come down to my cell. Now.”
He didn’t even give you a chance to think more about his command before he disappeared out of sight.
Not long after that, you found yourself taking the secret entrance down underground. You and Loki stayed up late in the night, you being way too stressed and freaked out about what you found in your room, and Loki too angry and concerned to take his eyes off of you. The last thing you remember was that you were lounging in one of the comfy armchairs, but when you awoke you were lying on an even comfier bed. Loki’s bed.
You all but yanked him towards you, pulling him into a hug. He tenses in surprise for just a second, arms eventually find themselves wrapping around you.
You feel real tears coming to your eyes as you hug him tighter, not wanting to let him go. He continues to hold you back for as long as you want, eventually letting you go once you loosen your hold on him.
“I’m sorry,” you sniffle and he hands you a tissue that seems to appear out of nowhere. You take it, dabbing your face with the soft material.
“There is no need to apologize,” he says in a soft tone, hand still placed on your arm. “I am assuming that you are stricken because of your dream. I did not have a chance to take a glimpse of what was happening. Would you like to discuss it?”
You shake your head, looking down at your lap. “No, not really. I’m kind of embarrassed to even mention what it was about.” You laugh lightly. “It was kind of pathetic.”
Loki tilts his head at you, lightly rubbing your arm in a soothing manner. “Nonsense, little one. Tell me.”
You swallow down your nervousness, continuing to avoid his eyes before you tell him. “It-it was about you. You… you had left. You had left the cell… you were gone. You left…”
“You,” Loki whispers. “I left you.”
You suck in a breath, not having been prepared for how hard those simple three words hit you. You nod, tears threatening to spill out of your eyes as you glance up at him.
*****
“You bastard!”
You storm up to him before a loud slap rang through the air, your hand stinging in return, but you were way too heated to care.
Turning his head slowly while he held his now red cheek, Jacob gave you an incredulous look before his face transformed into an infuriating grin.
He chuckles, removing his hand from his face. “I would ask what that was for, but I have a pretty good guess as to why.”
“You think this is funny?” You frown deeply, your body shaking with anger and frustration. “What you did was absolutely disgusting! What would make you do something like that? What did I ever do to you to-.”
“Cum on your bed?” He interrupts you, giving you a hard look. “Ruin the place where you sleep? I should have done much worse. Next time I’ll shit in it.” He snarls while stepping towards you and you back away.
“Haven’t you done enough? Not only have you been torturing me since we’ve met, but now you’ve gotten rid of Lucky. What else do you want from me? Clearly, I’m not interested in you and never will be, so you might as well give it a rest.”
“And if I don’t?” Jacob asks with a smirk. “What are you going to do? I made sure that Tony was on my side, so whatever you tell him now will just go straight through one ear and out the other. He cares more about his image than anything else, and I will always have him on my side because of that. And your father?” Jacob laughs. “I have him right where I want him. It seems as if your relationship with him has been a bit strained lately. Surely believe that I will use that to my advantage.”
Your face falters at that, and Jacob lets out a humorless chuckle.
“You’re nothing. You. Don’t. Matter. You never have and never will. As long as I’m here I’ll continue to make your life hell because guess what? I can!” You swallow hard as he continues to stalk towards you.
“You are just a little plaything that I’ll continue to toy with until I’m bored. And you better believe that I won’t stop until I get what I want out of you.”
You stop as your back hits the elevator doors. “And what do you want?” You ask in a shaky voice.
He bites his lip. “Do you really have to ask that question? How about I make it easy on you? You take off your clothes and open those pretty legs for me, and we’ll see what happens after that.”
Your body visibly shudders and you send him a look of utter disgust before slamming the button and slipping into the sliding doors of the elevator. Jacob stands there giving you a sinister smile before the elevator doors shut between you both.
******
After your little interaction with Jacob, he was highly amused. He didn’t know that the little lamb had a bit of lioness in her too. That made him want you even more than he did before. Lately, you were beginning to show a different part of yourself that he didn’t even know existed before.
As far as he knew, you were just a docile little nobody who happened to be under the wing of the Avengers, but oh boy had he been mistaken. After countless tries at persuading you into his arms and into his bed by proxy, he was surprised to find that you were not easily convinced.
Not one to ever turn down a challenge, he continued on until his annoying brat of a sister started to nag at him about leaving you alone. According to Kayla, you were hers, but that wasn’t true at all because he had seen you first. Ripe for the picking while still being young and impressionable enough for him to mold you into whatever he wanted.
He even got his chance to feel you the night you were sleeping over at Kayla’s. His sister tried to hide the fact that you were there but she was a bad liar, always has been. Once he knew where you were, he couldn’t pass up the chance to come see you. If only he had a little longer before someone came banging at the door.
Being the eldest child of a multi-millionaire, Jacob was used to getting what he wanted and when he wanted. So when you were rejecting him at every chance he got, anger started to rise within him. For some reason or another, you thought that you were above him, and that pissed him off.
He no longer wanted you just because he wanted an easy, quick lay. He needed you now. He needed to show you who was in charge, and how little you mattered compared to him.
No one would keep you from him. Not you, not your father, not the Avengers, and certainly not the disgusting alien prisoner that you somehow convinced to defend you.
Speaking of the prisoner, Jacob was currently entering his room since it was his duty to routinely check in on him. Not that he really did it much at all. He left the grunt work to Conner and James, only stopping by from time to time for appearances. James had mentioned that the alien was throwing a fit, so Jacob had to come by and put him in check himself this time. The guards were happy to not mention anything to Stark as long as they continued to be paid extra, and luckily, Jacob had the funds to do so. This way he could spend more time doing whatever he wanted, one of his objectives involving taking you down. Showing you how meaningless you were compared to him. No one rejects Jacob Nathaniel Bale. No one.
As Jacob steps into the room he peaks into the transparent cell, slowly observing the glass box. The Asgardian was currently lying on his bed, appearing to be sound asleep. Jacob guessed that Loki’s latest temper tantrum had caused him to tire himself out.
Rolling his eyes, Jacob’s immediate thought is to leave and go find something else better to do, but then another thought pops into his head. He feels for his gun before sliding it out of the holster, and slowly walking into the prisoner's cell. Once he enters, he creeps his way over to the bed before he stops in his tracks, blinking in befuddlement when he doesn’t spot the Asgardian anymore. The bed was neatly made like no one had just been lying on it.
Curiosity piqued him. He didn’t know what color aliens had bled and wanted to find out. If he shot the prisoner, he would just have explained to Tony that it was a defense tactic. The man was known to harm humans so Jacob would certainly be justified in his reasoning.
However, now that Jacob was inside of the cell the god was nowhere to be found. Brows furrowing, Jacob scans the cell cautiously, gun aimed and cocked, ready to blow the head off of any threat that appears before him.
Then suddenly his gun was gone. It was snatched out of his hand at an incredible speed and suddenly he was up against the wall, heaving heavily and scratching at the strong hand that was holding him up by the neck, choking him until he started seeing dark spots in his vision.
“Ge-get off….me.” Jacob wheezes as Loki glared up at the fragile man, eyes burning with fiery hatred.
“Now why would I do such a thing?” Loki purrs in a dangerous voice, hand squeezing tighter around his throat.
Jacob continues to choke while pulling at Loki’s hand. “Dude.. I didn’t..” He gasps for air. “..do anything to you.”
Loki lets out a humorless laugh before he raises the man higher in the air and Jacob’s eyes widen.
“Oh, how wrong you are. You are an ignoramus weasel. Continuing to chase after women who would never desire you a day in your life. And because your insignificant feelings are so easily wounded, you turn to foul tactics to get what you want.”
Jacob’s still choking on his words while Loki barks at him, the god's chest heaving rapidly as he continues to squeeze tighter.
“I should strangle you to death, but I’m afraid that is not what a snake like you deserves. No, you are deserving of much worse. Something much more painful and unspeakable.” Loki snarls, eyes alight with bloodlust. “But lucky for you, I have become a slightly better god.”
Jacob’s lungs are overwhelmed when they’re suddenly filled with the much-desired oxygen he needs once Loki loosens his grip.
His feet return to the ground but before he can double over in exhaustion, a sharp blade is aimed right at his genitals, causing him to push himself back against the wall, still wheezing for precious air while he trembles.
Loki stares him right in the eyes, hand gripping the blade tightly to prevent himself from slicing the man's tiny organs off.
“If you ever think about touching her, looking at her, or even being in the same room as her again, I will do so much more than just burn your hand. I will turn your whole world upside down. And when you think it is all said and done, I will end your life with no hesitation.” The Asgardian fumed. “No true man would do something as vile as you have, not to a creature as pure as she is. I should execute you for that and all of the other disrespectful things you have done to her.” Loki’s voice grows deeper, darker. “If it wasn’t for her keeping me sane, you have no idea of the things I would have done to you by now. You would have been completely ripped to shreds the second you stepped into this cell.”
Jacob gulps as another dagger appears out of nowhere, getting closer to his fragile neck. Loki’s hands shake slightly as he tries to control his urges, holding himself back from tearing the pathetic human to pieces. Eventually, he retracts his hold, daggers disappearing into thin air as Jacob falls to the floor on his ass. Loki looks down his nose at him, nostrils flaring.
“Now leave of my sight before I change my mind and completely rearrange atrocious your face.”
When Loki backs away, Jacob finds himself not caring about his pride or ego, scurrying out of the cell in a hurry.
******
Your serious eyes scan the room, meeting the gazes of the other nine people at the table as you take a deep breath and begin.
“As you all know, I have been officially working on Project 12, Loki Laufeyson, for over a year and a half now.” Eyes stay on you as you continue to give the speech you’ve practiced for several months. “Loki is doing very well. He has improved and shown no signs of anger or animosity since I have been working with him. I have seen the path to his tremendous growth and have not witnessed any setbacks at all. He is less hostile and more amenable to human interactions and culture. I even found that he enjoys some of the things we partake in.”
You click the button on the laptop and the projector shows images of you and Loki playing board games, eating food, listening to music, and reading books together. There are several different reactions in the room, but most seem surprised.
You continue on with your proposal. “Yes, these are recent photos of our interactions together. It may take a long time and a lot of effort, but it is very possible for Loki to trust people. He can trust humans. No, he is not perfect, but none of us are. That does not mean that he can’t change into a better being, and he has. I can show you all the photos and videos in the world, but nothing will truly be as convincing as seeing him in live action.”
You take a deep breath. “So I am proposing that we give him a chance at that. He needs to be out in the world, interacting with people in order to become even better. His isolation is only hurting him at this point. And no, I am not saying that we should release him with no precautions, I am proposing that we simply give him a chance. Test it out. Get him out of his cell and into a different setting with people. Of course, there will be guards and many other security measures, but I don’t think they will be needed because Loki will be just fine.”
You stop speaking, looking around the room with nervous eyes and taking in everyone's expressions. After a while of silence, you continue. “If any of you are worried about who will monitor him, the answer is me. I will be the one to guide him and keep him in line. I promise.”
Silence shrouds the room again and your eyes catch Steve’s. His brows are deeply furrowed as he gives you that signature intense Captain America stare, yet you don’t look away, not wanting to show an ounce of weakness as you basically called for Loki’s release. Or at least, partial-release.
Ready to go head to head with the Captain and the rest of the people in the room, you are drastically taken aback by the words that exit his mouth.
“Alright.” He states with a nod of his head. “It’s your call.”
Tony whips his head towards Steve, his mouth dropping as he looks to be in complete disbelief. Nat narrows her eyes at him and tilts her head, looking utterly confused. Sam crosses his arms slowly while scrutinizing Steve, and Clint just smirks. Wanda looks down at the table with a small smile and Bucky blinks, looking around the room to gauge all of the reactions.
Lastly, you the god of thunder smiling as bright as the sun. You’ve never seen Thor look as happy as he did at this very moment.
“Wait, excuse me?” Tony leans forward in his chair. “What did you just say?”
Steve sends Tony an annoyed glance. “I said, why not.” He nods towards you, giving you a small smile. “As much as I don’t trust Loki, one thing for sure is that I do trust her. If she’s saying that he needs to be let out every once in a while, I don’t see why that would hurt. She has a good handle on him, right?”
“Yes, of course!” You nod enthusiastically at Steve, still in disbelief that he was rallying for you but also incredibly happy.
Bucky frowns. “Weren’t you the main one throwing a hissy fit when she first started working with him?”
Steve glares over at his best friend. “Yes, I was not very trusting, but since then she has shown that she knows what she’s doing. She has not gotten hurt and he has not caused chaos since we gave her the responsibility of reining him in. This doesn’t mean that I no longer have concern for the situation, it means that I am giving her the chance to prove us wrong once again. I’m not going to be the one to stop her from continuing to exceed.”
You felt your heart warm at Steve’s words, sending him a look of genuine appreciation. Ever since Lucky had been sent away, you and Steve’s friendship had been pretty strained, but because of his newfound trust in you, you could see yourself thawing your icy feelings towards the blonde.
Tony scoffs, turning away from Steve and looking around the room.
“Hey, former assassin, what do you think?”
Both Bucky and Natasha look at Tony before glancing at one another, then glancing back at Tony again. The man rolls his eyes. “The one that speaks Russian.”
They both continue to look unsure before Tony sighs, pointing at Nat. “You. What’s your take on this?”
Natasha purses her lips. “Do you really have to ask me that, Tony? I’ve already told you what I thought about the situation a while ago. But just to make it clear to everyone else, if she trusts Loki, then I think we should too.” She then gives a hesitant look. “Well, maybe at least we should try to trust him.”
“It’ll take some time, that’s for damn sure,” Sam spoke, looking at you. “You’ve done a hell of a job with him but you’re right, we have to see it for ourselves. I say bring him up here and let’s see how he does.”
“I agree!” Thor chimes in, seeming to be just as excited about Loki’s possible release as you were. “Samuel is correct in his statement. Lady Bean has done an excellent job at ensuring my brother behaves, and now he is ready to move on to the next step. I fear if we continue to keep him incarcerated longer that it will be detrimental to his well-being.” He explains before standing up dramatically. “I say we set him free!”
Tony stands as well, waving his hands. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down Point Break. We are not setting him free.”
You deflate looking at Tony and Thor’s face screws up into something dark. “Stark this is madness! My brother-.”
Tony interrupts the blonde Asgardian. “I said no. He’s not being released.” He pauses dramatically. “At least not completely.”
You send Tony a perplexed look and he sighs. “Look, you're right. I can’t deny that reindeer games have seemed to improve on his previously psychotic behavior, but there is absolutely no way we’re just releasing him out on Earth so he can do what he wants.” Tony gives Thor a pointed look before sliding his gaze over towards you.
“However I agree with your idea of testing it out. Let’s put him on a few field trips. Just once a month. Guards will be heavily placed and at least one of us will have to be there at all times. Nothing less.”
Thor grins widely and you almost squeal in delight but held in it to appear more professional.
“Thank you, Tony. You won’t regret this, I promise.” You say with conviction.
He sighs. “Yeah, yeah, sure. You won’t be saying that when you see the amount of paperwork you’ll have to fill out.” He grumbles.
******
The plan was set in motion, and no one was as ecstatic about it as you were. For the first six months, Loki would be able to be let out once a month but after that passed, you convinced Tony to let him out bi-weekly. As long as he didn’t throw a fit or cause anyone harm on his outings, he would continue to be able to have his regular releases.
You planned to continue this until it was decided that he’d be released completely, and you know that would happen eventually as long as everything went well. Progress was made in small steps, and it was your job to guide Loki through his lengthy progression.
Tony was not kidding about all the paperwork that needed to be filled out. After your meeting, you spent three whole days having conversations with the team, reading over, and signing tons of documents. It was decided that you would have to cut down your work in the lab and your trips with the Avengers in order to be able to take on this project fully. You would have to spend a lot of time prepping Loki and all the details that came with his release.
“I tried to warn you, but now he’s officially your problem.” Tony had said to you with a sigh. “Of course, we’ll always be the first to step in if he gets out of line, but I am trusting you to make sure that he doesn’t.”
You agreed, knowing that your responsibility had just tripled but not caring at all because this is what you have been wanting for a long time.
Not only was there a tremendous amount of paperwork and prep to get done, but treaties also had to be signed. If Loki was to be able to roam around in public, the mayor and governor of New York had to approve it as well. These treaties were still in progress and had not been approved yet, but you couldn’t wait to tell Loki, practically skipping to his cell and telling him the good news.
Loki looked to be in disbelief for a moment, searching your face to gauge if you were truly joking or not.
“No, I’m not joking. This is serious, Loki. You’re going to be able to get out of here. And if you do well, we’ll be able to get you released for good!”
Before you knew it, you were being lifted into the air by a familiar pair of strong arms, and you wrapped yours around his neck.
He pulled back and let you down back on your feet, holding onto your arms.
“It is truly a pity that no one’s ever told you how incredibly ingenious you are.” He says while looking at you as if you made the world spin. “You are a very intelligent and powerful woman. Do not let anyone ever make you believe otherwise.”
You blushed, smiling shyly up at him. “Is that so? Well, maybe you can tell me a bit more about how powerful I am, hm?”
He chuckled, green eyes filled with mirth and something else you couldn’t quite point out as he squeezed you in his hold.
“Whatever you desire, my little dove.”
Neither of you noticed the person peeking inside the slightly opened door of the room, the guard frowning deeply while closing it shut. Pulling out his phone, James called his boss in a hurry.
“Yeah, it’s official,” He said with a roll of his eyes.
“They’re letting him out. It’s time.”
Story Masterlist
A/N: I hope this chapter makes up for some of Jacob's atrocious actions. I know it doesn't make up for all, but trust me, this is not it.
If you enjoy my work, please consider supporting me on Ko-fi ✨: https://ko-fi.com/darkserenity24
Chapter Summary: You continue to deal with the consequences of Jacob's ire.
A/N: Another chapter will be coming soon since this one is so short (for me). Reblogs, comments, and likes are appreciated!
A Couple of Months Ago
“I mean, can you believe it? He really had the nerve to think that I would believe anything that came out of his mouth, especially when it’s about my own employees.” Tony scoffed, hip leaning against the counter as held a mug of coffee in one hand. “I should have told him off. Actually, I did. It’s been a long while since someone told Professor Snape the true reality about himself, so he needed quite a large reminder of who he really is.”
Natasha and Wanda briefly glanced at each other before looking back at their fellow team member and tech billionaire. Tony had just arrived back from his meeting with you, and to say that he was vexed was an understatement. Though not with you. He was still fired up from his very tense, impromptu conversation with Loki and needed to vent to the others about it since they would understand how he was feeling more than you would.
He knew you were a bit biased towards the Asgardian and so he kept most of his irritation held in when he quickly discussed the situation with you. He did not want you to think that he thought you were doing a bad job with reigning Loki in, so he saved his colorful words and very descriptive retelling for the others. Only Wanda and Nat had been around, being the unfortunate victims of a very lengthy Tony Stark rant.
Natasha crossed her arms and Wanda’s brow furrowed slightly at Tony’s recollection of events. Finally noticing their unusual silence after a long span of tirading, Tony narrowed his eyes, sending both women a look of wariness.
“Why does it feel like you’re both trying to tell me something without actually saying it?” He inquired in a slow manner.
Wanda ran a hand through her hair, pushing it towards the back of her head and out of her face. “I know this may sound crazy considering who you are talking about here, but did it ever cross your mind that he may be telling the truth? Or at least some of it?” She asked cautiously.
Tony’s head shot back at her question. “Um, No. Why would I? So he can just slither his way back to freedom through trickery? He shouldn’t know about anything going on outside of his cell, and he doesn’t know anything, meaning he’s just using his frighteningly creative imagination to just make things up.”
Natasha placed a hand on her hip and sent Tony an unamused stare, having heard enough of his blabbering. “Yes, we all know that he’s capable of causing confusion and chaos because he’s Loki, but yet again, he’s Loki. Do you truly believe that he has no idea about what goes on up here?” She shook her head, shoulder-length red tresses flowing with the motion. “He’s been stuck down there for ages and as much as I dislike him for what he’s done in the past, currently we have no valid reason to think he’s going to try anything.”
“But he has before,” Tony raised a finger. “Multiple times.”
“And when was the last time he did? At this point, it’s been years since he has done anything insane.” She sighed, eyes becoming serious as her mind raced. “Honestly Tony, I do understand where you’re coming from. I used to feel the same way. Having the feeling of being on edge all of the time, having the constant reminder that we have an otherworldly terrorist locked down below that could escape and rip us to shreds in our sleep at any moment. That’s all that used to run through my head, especially in the earlier time of his capture when he was much more volatile. But now I can’t say that I feel that way anymore. You wanna know why?” She asked rhetorically then said your name.
“It’s because of her. You know, that incredibly smart and capable girl we gave the impossible responsibility of managing a prisoner to? The one who was handling Loki for years before we even found out? The one who fought tooth and nail in order for us to allow her to continue working with someone we all hated, and were also too chicken to admit we were afraid of?” She scoffed. “Not only is she smart but she was also free of any biases that we all personally held against him, and that right there gave her an advantage that none of us had. You said yourself that she’s been working miracles ever since, and now we know why.”
Tony looked away from Natasha with a somber look on his face as she continued.
“So yes, if Loki out of all people took the time and effort to warn you about anything going on with the people around him, especially her, I’d believe him. To be frank, if anyone was troubling her he’d most likely be the first to know about it before any of us did.”
Wanda nodded in agreement, not having anything else to add since Natasha had said it all without actually breaking the promise they made to you about snitching on Jacob. It looked like Loki was doing it for them which was an unusual but pleasant surprise. She hoped that this would spur Tony into finding out the truth sooner in his own way.
After a bout of silence, Tony turned back to Natasha, disturbance shown in his features. “Well, as much as I’d like to consider what you’re saying, I’ve already spoken with her right after my conversation with Loki, and she denied everything that he was saying.”
Wanda’s face fell at that and Natasha sighed deeply.
Tony hesitated. “I took what she said as is… but honestly I do feel that something feels off. I’m just not exactly sure what it is. I didn’t look any deeper because I didn’t want to believe that all of this was going on right under my nose without me having a clue.” He shook his head. “I mean, how could all of these things have happened and she didn’t tell me about any of it? I didn’t want to believe it. I still don’t.” He admitted.
Natasha spoke. “Tony, I know you don’t want to hear this but I don’t really care about your feelings right now. This is not about you, and once you realize that you’ll see the truth. That’s all I’m going to say for now.”
Tony frowned. “Yeah, well I can’t really do anything about it if she continues to deny it. I’ll check the camera feeds and so on, but she needs to tell me straight to my face, that’s the only way I can remove Jacob from Stark Industries.” He said. “A lot of board members along with his father had highly recommended him for the HoS position, and because I’ve known him for so long I didn’t think anything of it. But I promise I’ll try and keep my eye out for him from now on.” Tony promised before giving Wanda a side glance.
“Oh, and by the way I’m not afraid of Loki like the others. He may have thrown me out the window of my own building once, but he won’t get that chance again. That’s for sure.”
Natasha rolled her eyes and Wanda smirked.
The situation obviously hadn’t been solved then, but the women had to be satisfied with what little progress was being made toward your concerning situation.
As promised, Tony had kept a careful eye out for you and Jacob, but he didn’t find anything out of the ordinary. He did notice some sort of tension going on between the two of you but neither of you had really interacted with one another. He’d catch Jacob looking your way sometimes, and you seemed to be trying to avoid him at every turn. He didn’t understand how he never noticed any of these little things before.
Not too long after his conversation with Natasha and Wanda, the team was submerged into a flurry of missions and he found himself being away from the tower much more than he was there. As busy as he was, you were still in the back of his mind, and he’d send you a text here and there to check on you, which you would always answer positively to.
Everything seemed fine for a while, but then he got a message from you asking if you could speak with him once he got back from his latest mission. He agreed, curious about what you wanted to speak with him about. He was looking forward to his meeting with you that morning but was unexpectedly hit with a limping Jacob entering his office, causing Tony to pause dramatically.
“Do I even want to know what happened?” Tony said while cautiously looking the man up and down. He looked like he’d been through hell and back.
Jacob was still catching his breath like he had just ran straight there, but he still had enough energy to glare at the man sitting behind the desk. “Yes, you do,” He huffed and started to lift up his pants leg, causing Tony to rise out of his seat in alarm.
“Whoa there! I don’t know what you think this is bu-.”
“Stark, that fucking dog bit me.” Jacob snarled and Tony paused when he caught the sight of the nasty bite mark.
“Dog? What dog?”
Jacob’s face darkened even more. “You know which one.”
Jacob wanted to smile as he watched the color drain from the other man’s face.
The Present
You stare off into space as the murmuring of impassioned voices are being thrown back and forth across the table, not realizing that you are being stared at as your name is being called for the second time.
“Kid? You gotta tell me what happened. I want the truth, okay?” Tony declares with a serious expression on his face.
You swallow before looking around at the table, seeing the faces of Tony, Natasha, Wanda, and to your utter disgust, Jacob. Tony had wanted to meet with only you and Jacob but Natasha refused, saying that you needed some support in case things went awry, and to your surprise Tony allowed it.
“I-.” You cut yourself off when you witnessed Steve walk into the room and take a seat at the table. Apparently, he was also permitted to be a part of this conversation as well.
You start again, nerves going wild as you try to avoid Jacob’s menacing stare. “Lucky is a good boy. He’s a sweet dog and has never once harmed anyone before, not until today. He was just trying to defend me because he thought I was in danger.”
“Danger? Why would he think you were in danger?” Tony asks with a frown.
You take a deep breath and briefly meet Jacob’s gaze before looking back at Tony. “Well, because-.”
“All I was doing was trying to help because she spilled coffee on herself.” Jacob rudely interrupts your explanation before you can even start. “I know that we aren’t friends and yeah, I barely know her but I knew that she works closely with you guys. Every time I’ve tried to speak with her she acts like I’m a bother.”
Steve’s brows raise at Jacob’s unnecessary rant.
“I’m sure that dog was trying to be protective of its owner but it probably picked up on her feelings towards me and attacked my leg. However, that is no excuse. It is dangerous to have feral dogs running around the tower, just waiting for the chance to bite anyone its owner doesn’t like.”
Natasha sits up straighter in her seat. “First off, no one asked you to speak. You already had your chance. Also, Lucky’s not feral, засранец. He has never ran wild around the tower attacking people. Clearly, he had a pretty damn good reason to have attacked you, seeing as he’s never done so to anyone else before.”
Jacob finds himself sneering at Nat before he transforms his face into something more palatable. “None of that matters now that I’ve actually been attacked, and to be honest I’m afraid of what might happen next. I live here and I don’t want to be fearing for my life every time I see that animal.”
He turns to Tony with a faux look of concern on his face. “If this happened to anyone else in this room, we would not even be having this conversation, and you know that.”
Your mouth goes agape when Tony nods, sending Jacob a look of understanding.
Natasha leans back in her seat with an incredulous scoff. “Tony, come on. There’s no way you’re believing this guy. He’s the head of security for Christ's sake, and he’s whining like a hurt child over a measly dog bite.” She then gestures over to your shocked form. “He didn’t even let her explain her side of the story which I’m pretty sure is much more insightful than his. Don’t you remember the conversation we had a couple of months ago? Don’t you see what’s happening here?”
Tony briefly squeezes his eyes shut before opening them again, running a hand through his hair. “Yes, I remember it clearly, but Jacob is in the right here. We can’t deny that. Lucky has never caused any trouble until now, but the fact of the matter is that he did bite someone. And from the looks of it, he got him pretty good. That can’t happen anymore.”
“And it won’t!” You speak up, finally finding your voice again. “This was such a one-off situation and he won't ever do it again. I swear.”
Tony sighs, shaking his head. “That’s not enough, I’m afraid.”
You frown, the unwelcoming but familiar feeling of dread rising in your chest. “What do you mean?”
“I think that Lucky needs to be sent away for a little while. Where? I’ll have to let Jacob decide since he’s in charge of these types of situations.”
Your eyes widen, Wanda gasps and Natasha immediately jumps up from her seat, glaring down at Tony. “You cannot be serious.”
The billionaire has the gall to look apologetic. “I’m sorry, guys. This is how these things go. It’s protocol to immediately remove any dangerous entities that reside in the building.” He glances over at Steve. “Cap, you have anything to add to this?”
All eyes dart over to Steve who looks both confused as well as exhausted since the moment he stepped into the room. He meets your pleading eyes and you hope that he rallies for Lucky like the rest of you.
Instead, all you receive is disappointment as Steve slowly shakes his head. “Not really. This one is not up to me, unfortunately.”
Your face drops and Steve glances away from you.
“Alright, then it’s settled. Jacob will decide where to send Lucky and the amount of time he’s gone. Hopefully, this will solve the problem and we can all move past this.” Tony says quietly.
Jacob nods in agreement and you catch a ghost of a smile on his lips, but he quickly hides it.
You sit unmoving in your seat as Nat noisily storms out of the room. Your eyes begin to water and you turn to meet Wanda’s saddened gaze as you feel her warm hand on your shoulder.
Your name is being called again and you look over to Jacob who’s sending you an overly dramatic look of sympathy.
“I’m truly sorry for you and your dog, but this is for the best. Maybe Lucky can come back sooner than later if he behaves better, hm?”
You shoot him an angry glare and he grants you a sheepish smile.
The group adjourns and everyone slowly files out of the room, save for Steve and yourself. You were glued in your seat, trying to figure out how everything went south so fast. Steve walks over to you, placing a hand on the back of your chair, and whispers a soft apology. Ignoring him, you get up and walk out of the door, leaving him standing alone in the room.
For the rest of the evening, you and Nat spend one last emotional, tearful, but loving night with Lucky before he was to be sent away in the morning.
******
Nothing was right anymore. The tower wasn’t the same without the large, white, fluffy animal roaming the halls of your floor. No one realized how much joy Lucky brought to everyone until he was gone. Neither Tony nor Steve were huge fans of the animal, but you could even tell a difference in their overall demeanor.
This was because of Lucky’s absence, but it was about Jacob’s influence and power over the situation. You hated Tony’s decision so much that you stopped talking to him for the time being. Steve was also getting the same treatment from you as well, which you could tell bothered him greatly. If Natasha was not an Avenger who had to communicate with her fellow team members on a regular basis, you were sure that she’d follow in your footsteps.
But as angry as you were with Tony, you couldn’t fully blame him. Of course, you still wanted him to defend Lucky and not have sent him away so quickly, but you knew that would not have been a good look. Jacob would have most likely made more of a fuss about it and got other people involved, which would have caused unnecessary stress for everyone. Tony had to make a tough decision and you despised him for it.
To make matters worse, you never got to tell him about Jacob. You were so set on telling him that day but after the whole debacle, you found yourself not having the care to tell him anymore. It would have looked suspiciously convenient if you decided to bad-mouth Jacob right after he sent Lucky away. If you had ever thought that Tony would believe you, he definitely wouldn’t now.
You slowly trudged around the halls in mourning, not really caring about anything you once put so much effort into thinking about before. You didn’t care when you continued to see Jacob and your father having hushed conversations around the tower, and you didn't even spare a second glance to the guards who seemed to be keeping a sharper eye on you than they did before. For some reason they stopped taunting you, only resorting to watching you and Loki together even more when before they would just stand outside of the doors. Loki noticed but you didn’t give it much thought. What else could they even do?
Jacob won, yet again. Your heart was broken, and you didn’t know how else to fix it. Not much made you feel better, the only thing making you close to happy was spending time with Loki in his cell. After going back and forth with yourself about whether you should inform him about what happened with Lucky, you ended up telling him the bad news anyway. By the sharp tick in his jaw and the dark look in his eyes, you knew that he was definitely not happy with the way things turned about.
Instead of causing an uproar as you expected him to, he discussed the situation with you calmly. He could tell how much this took a toll on you and didn’t want to create another stressful situation you had to deal with. You needed him to be a soothing, reasonable voice in your ear and that’s what he was.
Sometimes you’d both just sit in silence and as you’d stare off into the room, he’d scribble in his notepad, glancing up at you every once in a while.
One particular evening you were feeling quite vulnerable, glossy eyes trailing towards the dark-haired Asgardian as you asked him a question you had been avoiding for a while now.
“Why didn’t you leave?”
Green eyes glanced up at you from the notepad as he blinked in confusion.
“I’m sorry?”
“The night of the power outage. You had the chance to leave but you came back. Again.”
He swallowed before closing his notepad and sitting it down on the table next to him. He twiddled his fingers while looking down at his lap.
“I…I did not leave for many reasons. One being something I have been reluctant to admit to myself for a while. The truth is… I do not know where to go. I do not know where I belong in this shamble of a universe. No one on my home planet wants me to return, I am certain of that, and your people are not thrilled to have me here either.” His forehead pinches slightly. “I have considered searching for some empty remote planet far away just to settle there and never return. It would be best for everyone if I did so.”
“That’s not true.” You said with a frown. “I want you here, and so does Thor. We like you a lot, and when other people finally get to know you, the real you, they will like you too.”
He met your warm gaze, sending you a small smile. “Oh my dear, you have a substantial amount of faith in me and others. And all we have done is let you down over and over again. Yet you still choose to believe in us, to believe in me.”
“Well, I'm not easy to get rid of, you should know that by now.” You winked.
It seemed as if every day that passed, you and Loki were only growing closer, causing you to be more nervous about what you had planned for him. If you brought your ideas to the team and they shot them down, you don’t know what you would do. You would most likely keep trying until they gave in because Loki deserved to have something good happen in his life for once.
Eventually, you started going back to see Dr. Jan again, and luckily she seemed to be happy to see you as well. You spent time catching her up on your progress with Loki but also your loss of an innocent companion, and she gave you advice on how to cope with things as best as you could.
Outside of your visits with Dr. Jan, you continued to put work and effort into your next project. You also made sure to avoid Jacob at all costs. One day you were going to finally be rid of him, but for now, you had to focus on the things you could actually control. He had left you alone for the time being, and you were grateful for that small amount of peace for the time being.
However, something happened when you walked into your room one night to get ready for bed. You had just finished showering, throwing on a large t-shirt, ready to hop into bed after a long, busy day.
Yawning, you pulled back the covers only to gasp sharply and jump back away from the bed, hand slapping over your mouth. The longer you stared at the bed the more panicked you were feeling. Losing your footing, you stumbled backward, back meeting the wall with a thump. You didn’t even jump when a familiar presence suddenly materialized in your room.
Loki’s concerned face appeared before you, touching his bracelet as he took in your terrified expression.
“Dove?” He asks. “What is it? I felt…” He looked towards your bed to discover what you were staring at so fearfully. He never finished his sentence, face turning red by the second as his eyes settled on the sickening milky white substance smeared all over your sheets and pillows.
It was no mystery to either of you about what it was and who had done it, a yellow sticky note stuck on your pillow that read:
“Here’s a little something you can play with in exchange for your missing mutt.”
Story Masterlist
If you enjoy my work, please consider supporting me on Ko-fi ✨: https://ko-fi.com/darkserenity24
Chapter Summary: You have a very strange dream, you recruit help from the strongest Avenger, and you have a unfortunate run in with a difficult someone.
A/N: Reblogs, comments, and likes are appreciated.
The steam coming from the water clouded the room as you took your sweet time in the shower, lathering the warm, sweet scented body wash all over yourself as you lightly hummed an old Nordic tune. You were not very familiar with Norse culture, so you had never heard this particular hymn before, but once it popped into your head out of the blue you couldn’t stop singing. It was hauntingly beautiful, and paired with the warmth of the water pouring down on your aching muscles, you felt absolutely relaxed.
You pause in your humming when you hear a faint noise coming from outside of the shower. Slowly, you move the shower curtain to peer out into the room, assuming that one of your various hair products fell off of the bathroom counter. Seeing nothing out of place, you shrug, moving the curtain back and closing your eyes, continuing on with your shower.
Then you heard it again, but this time it was much louder. Your eyes snap open and you rip the shower curtain open again, eyes scanning the spacious bathroom more thoroughly. Once again, you don’t spot anything out of the ordinary. That’s until your eyes travel over to the door. You frown in confusion, noticing that not only was the door wide open, but the doorway was pitch black. All of the lights in your bedroom were turned off which confused you, as you could have sworn that you left the lamps on and had shut the door behind you.
Turning off the water, you grab a fluffy white towel, wrapping it around yourself before carefully stepping out of the shower. You're still dripping wet when you pad into your bedroom, sliding your arm over the wall to feel for the light switch. You switch it on but nothing happens. After several tries of switching it on and off the lights did not turn back on just to your luck. You huff in frustration, coming to the likely conclusion that the bulbs must have burned out in the overhead lights.
Walking over to your desk you switch on the lamp, but that too doesn’t work which makes your brow furrow in puzzlement.
“That’s strange.” you murmur to yourself. The power couldn’t have gone out because the spotlights in your bathroom were still on… weren’t they?
You turn towards the bathroom and suck in a sharp breath when you look back to see that the normal warm yellow glow of the spotlights was absent, now replaced with an ominous dark red glow.
An eerie feeling starts to creep up on you, causing you to shiver slightly and pull your towel tighter around your body. The bedroom was still dark, almost pitch black even though the lights of the city were twinkling outside of your window. Everything in your being was telling you that now was the perfect time to leave, to just bolt out of the door as nothing was quite making sense at the moment. It didn’t matter if you were clad in only a towel, you could simply run over to Wanda’s room and borrow some of her clothes for the time being.
Yet, like a curious injudicious woman in a 90’s horror film, you find yourself heading towards the bathroom despite your feelings of alarm and paranoia. But you couldn’t fault yourself, it felt as if something was drawing you towards the crimson glow like a magnet. Taking slow, shaky steps, you stop before the doorway, hesitantly peeking in to find the source of the peculiar lighting only to be forcibly pushed from behind into the bathroom by an invisible energy. Letting out a startled yelp, you scramble on your feet, stumbling back into the shower in your attempt to not crash face first on the tiled floor.
Before you could completely right yourself, you feel a pair of strong hands yank both of your arms behind you to pin them on your lower back as your front is being pushed up against the shower wall. Your towel clings on for dear life with nothing but the wall against your chest holding it in place, but you find that is the least of your worries as your mind is busy focusing on the uninvited stranger that was currently restraining you. They were so close that you could feel their body heat against your back.
“Hey! Stop! Let me go!” you yell pathetically, face squished against the wall as you try to thrash your body around in an attempt to escape out of the much stronger person’s hold. They had such a firm grip on you that you could barely move. When they did not let you go like you demanded, instead powerful grip tightening on your wrists, tears start to build up in your eyes. You were panicked and terrified out of your mind, your body shaking like a leaf while you involuntarily let out small, shaky whimpers.
Yet you find your whole body freezing up when you hear the sound of a low, dark and sinister chuckle right beside your ear. Your eyes widen when you catch the glint of the crimson light reflecting off of the blade from the corner of your eye. No, not a blade. A dagger.
“Aw, is the little weak mortal afraid?” A familiar voice coos mockingly in your ear, causing a chill to run up your spine until you place a name to the eerie but recognizable timbre.
“L-loki?” you stammer in consternation and relief, feeling yourself slightly relax in his unforgiving hold. “What are you doing? How are you here? I-I’m so confused.” You confess in a high pitched incredulous voice.
Suddenly, you’re being spun around to face the god in question, your head leaning back against the shower wall as you gasp in surprise at the quick change of position. As you peer up at him he is glaring down at you, gaze dark and unwavering as he observes you, one sturdy hand pressing you into the wall by your abdomen, the other holding a sharp dagger. His pale face was shadowed by darkness as the light glowed from behind him, still you could still catch sight of most of his elegant features. Dark pools of jade slowly examine every part of your face as if he was seeing you up close for the very first time. He doesn’t look particularly angry or upset, but that did not ease your worry. He looks like he did when you first met him. When he caught you in the hallway, menacing yet curious. Troubled yet a bit manic.
You swallow hard when he raises his dagger upwards, inching closer and closer to your face.
“What am I doing here, you ask?” His silky smooth tone takes on a faux honeyed lilt as he gently brushes the stray hairs from your anxious face. This causes your eyes to involuntarily fall shut as you relax in the feeling of his infrequent but treasured touch. That’s until you feel something cold and sharp press into your neck.
Tearing your eyes open, the mischievous curiosity that was previously presented on his face from before was now replaced with a deep, forbidding scowl as he scrutinized you. A strong sense of déjà vu suddenly came upon you and a knot of fear tightened in the pit of your stomach. Your limbs start trembling again, no longer in the relaxed state they were in before the obvious danger was being presented.
Finally, he answers your question, lips pulling into a sneer as he leans forward.
“Just finishing what I started.” He snarls before quickly slicing the blade across your throat.
You wake up with a start, eyes tearing open as you rise up into a sitting position from your deep slumber. Your chest rises and falls rapidly as you try to catch your stuttering breath, eyes darting wildly around the room, trying to spot any signs of danger. The sun was up and shining through the windows as it was already morning, but that doesn’t stop your mind from running wild as you try to collect your thoughts and understand what just happened.
When your pulse finally returns to its normal pace, your face screws up in bewilderment and you could do nothing but voice your feelings out loud.
“What the actual fu-.” You’re cut off by your cell phone blaring loudly, your scheduled alarm going off, indicating that it was time to start your day.
*****
Well, this is awkward , you think while sitting across the table from the very man you just dreamt about. Of course he had no idea, or at least you think so. To your knowledge, he was utterly clueless as he sat scribbling in his notepad, writing about god knows what as you tried to make conversation with him.
A week had passed since his almost escape attempt and to say the least, dealing with the aftermath has been challenging for you both. After it happened, you had no idea how you were going to explain to anyone how the entrance to his cell was completely torn apart, as that seemed highly suspicious in itself. However, they needed to be repaired as soon as possible, which spurred you into finding help from a trusted source at the crack of dawn the very next day after the incident.
Bruce was known to be a very early riser, so it was no surprise that he was working bright and early in the lab when you had arrived. You may not have been surprised to see him but he had certainly been shocked to see you stroll into the lab at such an ungodly hour of the morning.
“Hey, what are you doing here so early?” He asked with a curious expression on his face. “I don’t normally see you til around ten.”
As much as you wanted to stall and beat around the bush about the reason you were coming to him, you knew you only had a short amount of time before the guards did their regular walkthroughs of the building, which included checking Loki’s cell at the same time every morning. You had no time to BS about this.
“I need your help.” You say nervously, sliding closer to where he stood. At your tone and serious expression, Bruce’s face sobered up, transforming from curiosity to worry as his bushy brows furrowed.
“Oh? Yeah sure. Is it about that new formula we’ve been working on for NASA? I knew it was a bit tricky. I can jump in if you need any assistance.” He kindly offered, glancing back at his work.
You twisted your foot around nervously. “Um, no. That’s not it either. I kind of need… a favor of sorts.”
You thought he couldn’t look more inquisitive than he already was, but you were wrong.
“Yeah?” He raised a brow.
You looked around the room, checking to make sure no one else was roaming about. It was certaining too early for anyone else to be up, but you didn’t want to take any chances so you lowered your voice as you spoke to him.
“Okay, but um, before I continue, you have to promise not to speak to anyone else about this. This is sort of…confidential.”
Bruce blinked at you, waiting for you to continue.
“So, something sort of happened yesterday during the power outage. Loki’s cell got damaged a bit and I need your help to fix it.”
At the mention of Loki’s name, Bruce straightened his posture and immediately started shaking his head. “No. No no no no no, I am not dealing with anything that involves Loki. That already sounds like more trouble and stress that I don't need to be put through.”
“But I need your help.” You pleaded. “The entrance to his cell needs fixing before anyone finds out.”
His eyes narrowed as he shot you an incredulous look. “There are so many things wrong with what you just said. First off, the doors to his cell have been what?! Secondly, why would you come to me for help with this? Tony’s the main architect. He could fix it much faster than I could.”
“I don’t want Tony’s help. He already doesn’t trust Loki as far as he could throw him without his suit. I’d also have to explain to him why they’re damaged, which would make him unnecessarily worried.”
Bruce let out a disbelief huff. “If you haven’t noticed, none of us trust Loki as far as we could throw him, and I could throw him pretty far if he got me upset enough. Also, did you think you could really get me to agree to something like this without telling me the reason why his cell has been tampered with?” He asks.
“No, of course not.” You said while shaking your head defensively. “I was planning on telling you what happened. I am going to tell you what happened. It’s just sort of uh, complicated.” You grimaced.
Bruce tilted his head, sending you a bemused look. “Let me guess, when the power went out, all the security measures were basically nonexistent, giving Loki the chance to try to escape again.” He sighed. “Tell me I’m wrong.”
You opened and closed your mouth several times, taken aback by his on the spot guess and trying to come up with something that made this seem less terrible than it sounded. Yet, you couldn’t come up with anything believable. You weren’t good at lying. Especially to people you looked up to.
“No he- I- he was just-” You stammered and Bruce closed his eyes, running a hand down his face.
Finally, you paused and took a deep breath, shutting your eyes before opening them again.
“Yes, he tried to escape.” You sourly admitted.
Bruce’s eyes shot open and he shook his head, shooting up out of his chair. “I knew it. I was really hoping you would prove me wrong this time but I knew it. It’s just expected from someone like him. I gotta let the team know about this before he tries to do it again.”
You rushed to stop his departure, standing in front of him with your hands held out. “No, no! Please.” You plead in mild panic. “Dr. Banner, you can’t tell anyone. At least not yet. Yes, Loki tried to escape but he’s still here. He didn’t leave! He was tempted, yes, but he didn’t leave. I swear. He’s still here.”
Bruce paused, looking like the conversation had already aged him over a hundred years. He crossed his arms, sending you a skeptical look. “And why would he do that? Why would he break through the cell to escape, only to suddenly change his mind. You’re seriously telling me that he made the decision to stay of his own will? That doesn’t sound like something Loki would do.”
You dropped your arms. “Yes, I know exactly how it sounds. Trust me, I’d have a hard time believing it if I did not witness it myself. I was there and he didn’t escape. He realized that leaving wasn’t the right thing to do. It wasn’t the right way to go about things. Not after we spent so much time trying to gain everyone's trust.” You lightly scoff. “I mean if I’m being completely honest here, of course he’d try to leave! Who wouldn’t in his situation? Yes, he’s done some horrible things in the past, but it’s been years, and he has come to terms with his behavior. You know how most people change every five years? He is not the same person anymore and he wants to make amends.”
The physicist did not look convinced. “You know that Loki is like over a thousand years old, right?” Bruce questioned. “He is not like us. He’s not human. If we change every five years, he changes maybe every fifty, and that’s being generous. I don’t doubt your influence over him, but I do have to question his influence over you. Do you think he has really come to terms with everything he’s done? Trying to take over a planet and killing people while doing so is not just some small mistake. That’s not something someone can just get over in a few years.”
You swallowed, suddenly feeling bogged down by the heavy conversation. “I-I think he does. I mean, he has to, right?” Your shoulders deflated as you gave him a hopeful look at him.
Bruce sent you a sympathetic glance. “If you have to ask that question, you should know the answer already.”
You silently looked away which made Bruce even more uncertain about what you just told him.
“How do we know he’s still here? He could have tricked you into thinking that he stayed, but in reality he could have left the moment you were out of sight.”
The blood drained from your face as you considered his question, and you looked at him with wide eyes.
“I guess we’ll have to find out for ourselves.” You whispered after a bout of silence.
To your and Bruce’s relief (and maybe his extreme hesitance too) Loki was exactly where you had left him the night before. He was lying in his bed face up, gaze focused on the ceiling with his hands folded together on top of his stomach as you walked in, treading over to him before quietly letting him know that Bruce was here to fix the doors.
He had simply nodded, still looking up at the ceiling as you bit your lip nervously while simultaneously eyeing him and glancing back where Bruce was as he worked on the fixing doors. Loki didn’t move an inch, or say much for that matter while Dr. Banner was deeply focused on the wiring and installation of the new materials.
It was a huge relief that he wasn’t giving Dr. Banner a hard time, but you had an inkling that Loki knew not to mess with Bruce. Not if he wanted for the whole building to get destroyed, which could possibly work out in his favor. However his demeanor was unusual and his silence seemed to come more from lack of desire.
For the time being you accepted his current behavior and let Bruce finish his work in peace, the man sending suspicious glances towards Loki every couple minutes. Some time later when he was done, you walked out of the functionally working doors, thanking him profusely for this favor.
“Seriously, I don’t know how to ever repay you.” You said, giving him an appreciative look.
He hummed, cautiously glancing at the dormant Asgardian in the newly secured cell before looking back at you.
“How about you pay me back with a promise? A promise that you won’t get yourself caught up in whatever he or anyone else in this tower has going on. You’re an excellent young woman with extraordinary talents, and I’d hate to see you waste your energy on something that could possibly hurt you.”
You nodded, not really knowing what Bruce was getting at but you were willing to promise him anything after his major participation in getting the cell fixed.
“Yes, of course. I will be careful. Always.” You promised with a small smile
Bruce nodded, sending one more apprehensive glance Loki’s way before turning to pick up his gear and leave.
That brings you to the present, where you were still watching Loki avoid your gaze as you observe him scribbling furiously in a notepad. He’s been doing this for months, but more so after the almost escape. You never know what he writes, and you don’t plan on asking because you don’t want to intrude on his privacy more than you already have.
You sit in silence, letting him write as his emerald gaze was cast downwards, glued on the page he was working on.
After a while you try to conjure up some conversation again. “Um, so I know you don’t really like the plan that I had written up for you, but I’ve been approving upon it…. At least I think so. Do you wanna take a second look? I’ll be happy to show you.” You offer with a small smile.
Loki freezes in his scribbling, eyes closing briefly before he focuses them on you. You both stare at each other, you with hopeful, nervous eyes and his unreadable.
Your heart skips a beat when he says your name. “As much as I appreciate your tremendous efforts, I have finally accepted that I am not leaving this place anytime soon. I understand that you may not want to hear this, but I believe you are wasting your time continuing to advocate for my freedom.”
You look down at the floor, fiddling with your fingers. That’s what you expected him to say. You couldn’t really fault him for feeling this way. He basically had his freedom ripped away from him at every chance he got. And it wasn’t only because of the Avengers, it was also because of you. You tried to deny it as long as you could, but you had to face it for what it was. You were causing him to rethink his decisions. You were causing him to change his behavior. You were changing Loki, but maybe not in a good way.
You thought that him staying here was for the better, but seeing him wallow in hopelessness had sent you to the scary realization that yes, it was you. You were unknowingly causing Loki to be depressed.
This was not good. You hadn’t seen this coming, and if you had, you would have gone another route. Leave it up to you of all people to take away a Norse god’s tenacity , turning him into only but an empty shell of hopelessness.
You were highly disappointed with yourself, angry even. You had only wanted to help him but you may have actually made him worse.
You confirm your thoughts as you watch him sigh deeply while closing his eyes. He most likely thinks that you were in agreement with him since you did not respond back to his words of melancholy, only looking around dumbly as you tried to find the right words to say to him, but you were just as lost as him. You had to do something. You had to regain his trust and work harder than you ever have before to get results for him. Forget responsibility. He was your friend and you couldn’t let him go down this path.
Clearing your throat, you bite your lip as you squirm in your seat, deciding to change the subject and ask him something that has been on your mind since you woke up this morning.
“So you know how you can visit people’s dreams and all, right? I was just wondering about… how often you visit mine.” You inquire, and his eyes open, slowly trailing to meet yours. “I had an um, sort of confusing dream that I’m kind of curious about…”
“Let me guess, I was the star of this dream of yours.” He drawls out, surprising you.
“Y-yeah, you were, sort of.” You mumble, scratching your head, and he frowns at you. He straightens up and scrutinizes you, taking in your movements and noticing your avoidance of eye contact.
“What was this dream about?” He probes in curiosity, and your nervous eyes meet his once again.
“You don’t know?” You whisper and he shakes his head slowly.
“Am I expected to?” He raises a brow.
You swallow, trying to figure out how to explain the very odd dream you had that involved him. It wasn’t something normal and silly that you could tell with a laugh or a straight face. It wasn’t even the normal sort of dreams you’ve had in the past. You suddenly feel warm. Loki surveys you as you shift around in your seat.
You clear your throat, eyes blinking rapidly as you try to explain. “Ehem, erm you see… I was, uh, just doing one of my daily routines, and you uh, jumped in and appeared. Making me wonder if you, you know, purposely did so or not?” You tentatively ask, peering at him from beneath your lashes..
He stares back at you for the longest time. Then, you’re hit with the warm, rich sound of his humorless chortle. “Alright… allow me to attempt to understand. No, allow me to say what you are not saying.” His eyes narrow, making you squirm. “You had a nightmare that involved me, and now you want to know if I purposely tormented you in your sleep.” He concludes and you shake your head furiously.
“No! I wouldn’t accuse you of doing anything like that. I just wanted to know if you were aware of this… or not.” You say meekly.
“No.” He blinks. “Firstly, I do not have the power to do such things on such a regular basis. It takes many days for me to muster enough strength that’s required in order to enter someone’s unconscious state.” He mutters in thought before frowning deeply.
“Well, I guess I’m just having strange dreams that involve you for some reason and I don’t really know why.” You laugh nervously, relieved that Loki wasn’t actually trying to kill you in your sleep.
“I believe I do.” He confesses and your eyes widen slightly. “The protection spell I cast over you was not very, how do I say, innocent .” His dark brows furrow more. “In order for you to truly have efficient protection it had to involve an active defense, which is evolved from a…. darker sort of magic.” He says hesitantly as you narrow your eyes at him.
He sends you an apprehensive look. “It was the only way I could guarantee you would be able to be protected from harm's way if anything happened that you weren't prepared for, and it worked. The problem is that it doesn't just stop there. I’m afraid it’s seeping into your subconscious now.”
You let out a breath of disbelief, placing the palm of your hand on your forehead as you tried to take in this new information. “So, you’re telling me that this bracelet contains dark magic that can not only harm another person, but can also give me nightmares?”
He has the gall to look slightly guilty as he confirms your thoughts with a nod of his head.
You scoff, standing up out of your chair to pace the length of the cell. “What- oh my god! Loki, why would you do something like that? Especially without preparing me first.”
He sighs, standing to follow you. “Dove, it wasn’t ideal, no, but it needed to be done. I could not stand the thought of you allowing that creature to roam around you freely. I had to do something.”
You furrow your brows, looking at him silently for a moment before your face relaxes, shoulders dropping as you plop down back in the chair tiredly.
He steps closer, eyeing you with a regretful gaze. “I am sorry.”
You look up at him and shake your head with a sigh. “It’s okay, Loki. You were just doing what you thought would help me. Plus, we’ve already been over this. There’s no need to keep going in circles. I’m done with letting Jacob run all over me.” You scoff. “But now I’m stuck having nightmares about my friends trying to…” You cut yourself before you could finish that sentence and Loki tilts his head. You shake your own, attempting to change the subject. “Nevermind, it doesn’t matter. I’ll deal with it. How long does this spell last anyway?”
Green eyes narrow in thought. “There is no set duration. It could last for months, maybe even years if it’s strong enough.”
You almost choked on your saliva. “Years?!”
“That’s only in extreme cases. Once I gain my full powers back I’ll reverse the spell.” Loki placates and you blink at him.
“Loki, we don’t know when you’re getting your full powers back. If this protection spell sticks with me for years, I’ll go absolutely insane. No way I want to be stuck with having nightmares every time I fall asleep.”
“They are not always nightmares, and it will not happen every night. Just more often than not.” He admits, giving you a faux hopeful look. “But do not fret. I will work on reversing the spell as soon as I can. Just do not remove your bracelet. Allow me time to fix this.”
You nod reluctantly and he smiles, sending you a peculiar look, making you frown slightly.
“What?” you ask, wiping your face just in case you had something stuck on it.
He shrugs, attempting to look innocent which makes you even more wary.
“You have yet to tell me what your dream entailed.” He muses.
“That’s because it wasn’t important enough to talk about. All I wanted to know is if it was dream Loki or real Loki I was dealing with.”
“No? Oh well then. If you do not want to share with me about what happened, I will just have to believe what I have conjured up in my own head. You know how that typically goes.” He warns playfully.
Your eyes narrow. “Doesn’t matter. You can think whatever you want but it’ll probably be wrong. My dreams aren’t that interesting.” At least most of the time , you thought to yourself.
“Hmm, I cannot say that I agree.” Loki tuts tauntingly. “I beg to differ. I have had the pleasure of visiting the mind of your unconscious state here and there. You have quite a colorful imagination.” He smirks. “I do not bother you, I just simply observe. They are much too entertaining.”
You eye him suspiciously, getting the feeling that he was just bluffing. Loki was not mean to you, not anymore, but one thing he never stopped doing was teasing you, and you didn’t make it any better because you got flustered pretty quick and he rejoiced in it everytime. Teasing you was his favorite pastime.
“There was that time you built a castle completely out of ice cream. You argued with yourself on whether to use neapolitan or cookie dough in case it started melting and you had to save it by eating it all yourself.”
Your mouth drops. Apparently he wasn’t bluffing.
He continues with a sparkle in his eye. “Or the one where you road tripped across the entire world in one day.”
“Okay, okay, I get it, you don’t have to rub my strange dreams in my face.” You groan.
“Or that one when you became a exotic dancer in order to save your planet from a deadly meteor strike.”
You face twists in horror. “I did what?!”
Loki looks over to you with raised brows. “Oh, do you not remember that one? What a shame. That was my favorite. Especially when you grabbed the pole and l-”
“Loki!” You exclaim, covering your ears with your hands. “Please, no more. I don’t even want to know. I’ve heard enough.”
He laughs and you glare at him.
“Relax, dear. I am only just jesting. You do always make it so fun.” He says before sighing, eyes suddenly losing their humor. “It is one of the very finite number of things I have to look forward to.”
Your heart clenches and you slowly rise out of your chair, walking over to him and grabbing his hand with yours. He looks down at your hands for a few seconds before returning your gesture, intertwining his larger one with your smaller one.
You smile, then look up at him with earnest eyes as he returns your solemn gaze. “I know I’ve said this many times before, but you’re going to get out of here. I’m going to get you released and you can go wherever you’d like, do whatever you please, just as long as you’re not stirring up too much trouble.” You light heartedly laugh. “I understand that this is hard and it doesn’t seem like we’re moving, but we are. Your case is getting stronger, and my plan may sound ridiculous to you but I think it may just work. Give me some time to show you that it will. You showed me that I can trust you, now let me prove that you can do the same for me.”
He says nothing, just continuing to stare deep into your eyes. It felt as if he could see inside your soul, and for some reason you were willing to bear it for him. Chills ran up your spine but they weren’t the unpleasant kind, so you welcomed them.
After I while he nods, gaze still searching your eyes and face as he lets out a gentle sigh.
“I trust you.”
******
Things have been going swimmingly for the past several weeks. You had completed your first year of college which gave you some much needed reprieve. You liked school a lot but you had one hell of a first year, that’s for sure.
Now that you were on summer break you had more time to spend on other things. You have a couple of small projects that have been waiting on you in the lab, and you wanted to get those started as soon as possible. You were also looking forward to working more with the team as a whole. Steve recently promised that you’d be able to go on smaller, safer missions with them for research purposes. This was obviously great news for you, as you’d be able to travel more and possibly see them in action from time to time, but on the flip side this also meant that Steve was upping your training. This was a big deal for not only you, but all of them and you’d have to be equipped with the necessary skills if you were actually going to be out in the field.
As much as you weren’t looking forward to getting your ass whooped on a more intense level by Steve, Nat, and even Bucky at times, you couldn’t help but feel ecstatic about being a part of the missions.
Speaking of Steve, he had been pretty easy going lately, and you appreciated that immensely. You didn’t dare ask him about it, assuming that your hundred and one conversations about you knowing how to take care of yourself and not being a child anymore had finally ingrained itself into his head.
Just as you were busy with all of your routines and responsibilities, so was he, so you hadn’t had much of a chance to speak with him outside of training and meetings. You did miss hanging out with him, as he was always great to be around. Similar to Bucky and Sam but so much different at the same time. A nice, sometimes too intense, but calming presence.
Though there was that day when you both were in the middle of combat while training, and you had gotten the upper hand on Steve which was extremely rare. Turns out he had seen the bandage on your hand, the one you applied to cover up the bloodied mess of your palm that resulted from your incident with Jacob. You had applied a fresh one that morning, but the cut was deeper than you thought. A dark red stain had seeped through the bandage. This had caused Steve to falter, allowing you to push him to the ground.
He looked up at you with furrowed brows, questioning you about the injury. You quickly made up some story about accidentally cutting yourself while cooking. By the steady look of concern and confusion on his face, you knew that he did not believe you at all. He looked as if he wanted to say something more, but instead he simply warned you to be more careful.
At the time, you were relieved to not have been caught in your lie, as adding Steve to the messy situation would not fare well for anyone. He would certainly have blown up the plan of you trying to quietly fix the problem. But when you thought back on everything you were doing to keep Jacob’s harassment a secret from everyone, in the present day you felt completely stupid.
Because of your nervousness and naivety, Jacob had you fooled that no one would believe you or take your side, and clearly that was false. But you couldn’t completely blame him, as you also were a big part in keeping things secret since you hated confrontation. You’ve grown a lot in the past years but you still had a lot to learn about people and how the world works, and you were finally starting to realize that thanks to Loki. Too bad it had to take many arguments and stressful situations for you to finally have come to an understanding.
Jacob had been uncharacteristically quiet lately, but this time you didn’t fool yourself into thinking he would continue to behave. It was most likely only a matter of time before he decided to do something heinous again. You didn’t know when, what, or how, but you were not going to wait around until it happened. There was no need to just be a sitting duck. Not anymore.
You didn’t want anyone going after Jacob. Not Nat, not Wanda, and definitely not Loki. This was completely your responsibility and it was time to put action into your words. Today was the day you were going to report him to Tony, forreal this time.
You had planned on talking to Tony sooner than later, but when you needed him the most, the man never seemed to be around. He had been on countless missions overseas just like the rest of the team, but whenever they came back for a day or two, the billionaire would still be absent.
You thought about texting him, but realized that would be a terrible idea as you didn’t want to be the cause of him getting distracted while out in the middle of nowhere fighting enemies. This was not something you could just text or even pass on, you needed to sit down with him and tell him everything.
In a stroke of luck, Tony had returned to the tower today and when you texted him asking if you both could meet this afternoon in his office, he obliged.
You were currently out in the city with Lucky trotting by your side, a steaming hot cup of coffee in your hand. You never have much time to spend with the fury creature most days, so you make sure to routinely take him for walks on weekend mornings. You quickly glance down at your watch to check the time, when all of a sudden you feel the body of another person forcefully slam into your shoulder, causing you to yelp and spill hot coffee on your shirt.
You look down at your chest, quietly cursing the random New Yorker who bumped into you before you hear a familiar voice.
“Oh, shoot! Totally did not mean to do that.” They say, stepping closer to you. You eye the pair of expensive loafers before frowning, reluctantly looking up to see none other than Jacob Bale grinning at you like you two were best friends.
Taking a step backwards, you fix him with a wary look and he chuckles.
“It was an accident, I swear. No need to look so skeptical.” He defends, and you roll your eyes before sighing.
“Sure. Whatever.” You say while gathering Lucky’s leash in your hand before trying to turn around to walk the other way. You neither wanted to speak to him or be around him, and soon you won’t have to be once you told Tony how much of a creep he is.
Your movements are halted as a hand takes hold of your arm, causing you to snatch it away.
“Don’t touch me.” You snap, causing Lucky to be on alert, tail freezing and eyes focused on the unfamiliar man that was interacting with his owner.
“Seriously? I just accidentally made you spill coffee on yourself. The least I can do is be helpful and get you cleaned up.” He retorts, reaching for you again.
Lucky took that moment to jump in between the two of you, growling deeply at the man before him. Jacob jumps back in surprise before glaring down at the dog. He narrows his eyes at you and decides to ignore the animal’s warning, side stepping Lucky with determination and attempting to grab at you again. You made a noise of protest, using your quick thinking to successfully block yourself from Jacob’s grasp.
However, you weren’t the only one that was upset by Jacob’s unwanted advances. Lucky let out a deafening growl before lunging towards the disrespectful man and clenching his sharp canines around Jacob’s ankle.
Jacob’s scream is sharp and as much as you hated the man, you couldn’t let him turn your sweet dog towards violence. Hurriedly you grab Lucky, pulling him away from the injured man and take off down the block with him.
You didn’t stop running until you hit the tower, going up to the top floor. When you make your way into the common area with Lucky in tow, you take a moment to finally breathe properly, leaning against the wall as Lucky ran over to Natasha, Sam, and Clint who were sitting on the couch.
Natasha grabs Lucky in a hug, ruffling the top of his head with a big smile on her face before she catches your eyes. Her face slowly morphs into a look of concern.
“Where the hell have you been? And why do you look like you just got splashed by dirty rain water from the sidewalk?” Clint asks before Natasha could open her mouth.
You sigh, not even trying to hide the fact that someone’s been tormenting you anymore. “Jacob.” You simply say, and Natasha stands up with an angry look on her face while Sam and Clint look confused.
“That motherfucker.” She growls. “Is he still bothering you? I know you don’t want to stir up any more trouble but it’s time for me to go give him a piece of my mind.” She flexes her hands. “Physically.”
“No, Nat! It’s okay. I’m meeting with Tony this afternoon so I ca-.”
“Tony?” She scoffs incredulously. “The hell with Tony.”
Sam and Clint quickly rise from their seated positions and watch as Natasha begins to storm out of the room.
Before she could leave, she’s halted in her steps when Steve steps into the room, a deep frown already on his serious face.
He looks around before spotting you. “There you are. Tony wants to meet with you.”
You blink in confusion. “Yeah I know, I have a meeting with him in a couple hours.”
“No, he wants to see you right now,” Steve repeats, then directs his gaze over to the fluffy white dog.
“And leave him here. With me.”
Story Masterlist
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Chapter Summary: As you make plans to get Loki closer to freedom, you both almost take a huge step backwards.
Chapter 48
Entering into the semi busy bakery, you search around until you spot the person you were looking for. Before walking over, you get in line to order a pastry and cup of coffee before heading over to the table your friend was occupying.
“Hi.” You greet with a small smile while taking a seat, meeting familiar crystal blue eyes.
She greets you with your name. “Hey! Good to see you.” Kayla smiles. “Thanks for meeting me here.”
You nod awkwardly and look down at the table before meeting her gaze again. “Yeah of course.”
This was the first time you’ve seen Kayla in person since the night of the sorority party. Though you attempted to defend her actions to Natasha and Wanda, you didn’t bother reaching out to her. You had hoped that she’d reach out to you first, preferably with an apology for completely abandoning you with strangers after inviting you to the party. When you hadn’t heard from her in weeks you had given up on expecting an apology at all. That was until she texted you yesterday, asking if you could meet her at the local cafe on broad street.
She looks down at your warmed pastry sitting on the saucer. “Seriously, that cheese danish is so delicious. Ever since I cut down on dairy I haven’t had one in like, years, but I still remember how much I used to love those!”
You nod again, scratching your hand. “Oh, yeah, it looked pretty good. Guess that’s why I bought it.”
She smiles and you bite your lip looking around. After a few moments of awkward silence, you hear Kayla clear her throat, drawing your attention back to her.
Her eyes are focused on you and her usual easygoing expression now displays slight concern.
“I…I just want to say that I’m sorry for what happened that day, you know. I swear I didn’t know that Jacob and his friends were coming. I know that you don’t really get along with him and I would have never asked you to come over if I knew he was going to be there.” Her brows furrow as she shifts in her seat, leaning on the table. “I know you’re probably upset with me about that, and I don’t blame you.”
You let out a short laugh while scratching the back of your hand. “I um, I’m not really upset. I was just sort of confused when you left me… alone. I didn’t really know anyone else there at the party that well, especially any of Jacob’s friends.”
Kayla nods. “Yeah, totally. I completely understand and I’m so sorry about that too. I just… um… I think I just had too much to drink and needed to go home. I was planning to stay over at Beth’s but when Jacob came it kind of ruined my plans.”
“Yeah, okay. I think I understand.” You answer. You definitely didn’t understand, but that doesn’t mean that you weren't trying.
“Yeah? Omg that’s great. I was hoping you would. I know I made things a bit strange between us by totally bailing on you but I promise I won’t do anything like that again next time. Please tell me we can forget about all of this and still be friends?” She asks with pleading eyes.
You find yourself automatically nodding. “Yeah, yeah, we’re still friends. No worries. Thank you for clearing things up. All is forgiven.”
She squeals, reaching over the table to give you a hug, causing you to tense up, and you feel some relief when she finally lets go.
“I’m so glad! Okay, now that we have resolved that I can finally give you the deets on why you haven’t seen me around the tower lately. I’ve been on a small break, just needed to get my thoughts together. I went back to my house out of the city. I’ve been kind of stressed lately and needed to just like, chill out. But soon I’ll be back and we’ll get to see each other more.”
Your brows raise at her explanation. Of course she was able to just drop everything including work and school in order to be able to take a break. Kayla was kind and down to earth (as much as she could possibly be) but she was still very privileged and took advantage of it anytime that she could. To be honest, you couldn’t even blame her. If you had the luxury that she had you would use it too. Just maybe not in the same ways she does.
“I completely understand.” You respond with a smile. “Will you still be working in the lab?”
She tilts her head in thought. “Sort of. I’m going to be doing some work with my dad as well since he wants me to learn parts of the family business since he doesn’t fully trust Jacob to run things himself. He has an office in the tower so that’s where I’ll be working instead.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that your father had an office in the tower.”
She nods enthusiastically. “Yeah, totally. He doesn’t use it often, mainly Jacob does but now he’s gonna have to make room for me.” She winks and you hum in response, not really knowing what to say to that.
*****
Slouched in your chair, you stare at the dimly lit screen of your laptop. You adjust your position in your seat and start to furiously type again but soon after, you find yourself deleting half of what you wrote.
Sighing out in frustration, you slam the laptop close shut. You close your eyes, rubbing a hand slowly down your face. You’ve been holed up in your room for hours now trying to write something down that made sense. Something that came off as intelligent and encouraging. Really anything that was worthy of taking seriously, but nothing you had typed out seemed to do the trick. It didn’t feel right.
You weren’t working on a school assignment. Not this time. You were working on something else that you considered to be way more important, and much more difficult. The art of persuasion was not your forte, but you were trying your best to make it be.
After you and Loki had your little tiff, or petty quarrel as he called it, you both took a moment to calm down and talk things out. You had tiredly flopped down on the floor by his bed, leaning your back onto it, and to your surprise he followed you.
Not only did he apologize for his words and distasteful actions (if you could call him dangling you a few feet in the air distasteful), he also expressed his feelings of dread for your situation, explaining why he was so adamant on trying to get Jacob away from you. The more you listened to him express his worry and concern, which you’re sure was not an easy thing for him to do considering how prideful he is, you felt like a complete ass.
Loki was your friend. Of course he’d want to help you when you were in a tough situation. He was doing the same things you would have done for him if the roles were reversed. But not only were you trying to stop him from helping you, you weren’t doing anything to prevent him from worrying. At least not anything useful. Hiding things from him was basically impossible and had led to things getting worse, and you didn’t want that anymore.
You didn’t want to keep fighting with Loki, you didn’t want to continue hiding things from everyone else, and you certainly didn’t want to continue dealing with Jacob’s harassment anymore. You tried it your way, doing your best to take the high road, hoping that Jacob would finally leave you alone and everything would work out. You thought things would be fine after you got over this difficult little hump of a situation.
But who were you kidding? Really. You were being absolutely delusional. Hearing Loki speak so softly and carefully to you about protecting yourself because he couldn’t was absolutely heartbreaking, but it made you open your eyes and decide to do better. Not only for yourself, but for him.
You were no longer willing to deal with Jacob’s bullshit. He may have taken a pause for some reason or another, but your gut was telling you that he wasn’t done just yet. Loki was right, you needed to start fighting for yourself. And not by hiding out with a tiny blade to defend yourself with, but actually using your words and the influence you have. If Tony didn’t believe you then that was on him. However, you haven’t said anything to Tony yet, so you couldn’t put any blame on him. You had to give him the benefit of the doubt that he would believe you when you finally told him. And that’s what you were going to do.
But first, you had other matters to deal with. Not only were you planning to do better for yourself, but you were also going to do better for Loki. And that didn’t mean talking to him and telling him to behave better, or to get along with the Avengers and his brother. Those things were only precursors to what was truly important. It meant doing a lot more work and applying yourself more. It meant doing the harder tasks, the ones where you tired yourself day and night to accomplish.
It was the next step in his progression to freedom, and you were dead set determined to get him there. But first, you had a lot of work to do.
*****
Giving up on your work for the night, you decide to go grab some dinner and maybe catch a movie with Sam and Bucky or something. Expecting to walk out of your room to an empty hall as usual, you stifle a gasp when you’re met with the very unfortunate and highly confusing sight of Jacob walking out of your dad’s room with your father in tow.
Before either man could spot you, you retreat back into your room and close the door, leaving only just a sliver of space open for you to peek out of.
Jacob grins at your father while they shake hands. “Thank you for inviting me, sir. This was a much needed conversation.”
Your father waves his hand. “Of course! It was nice working with you young Man. I look forward to our future meetings. Oh, and feel free to call me by my first name.”
Jacob chuckles. “Will do. See you soon.” They shake hands and your father nods, retreating back into his room while Jacob walks away with a pep in his step, making you raise your brow in suspicion. You’re quick to quietly close and lock your door before Jacob walks pass.
You listen out for his footsteps, waiting for him to pass by your door, but your brows furrow when you realize you couldn’t hear him anymore. He wasn’t exactly a quiet walker, the bottoms of his ridiculously expensive shoes could be heard from a mile away. After a few minutes pass without you hearing a peep, you sigh in relief, thinking that he must have left quickly enough for you to not have heard him.
Opening your door, you peek out to see nothing, but when you finally step out and turn to walk down the hall you are stopped by the exact man you were trying to avoid as he stood right beside the wall of your room.
You gasp sharply before backing away, narrowing your eyes at him.
“What do you want?” You sneer while eyeing him sharply.
Instead of being met with his signature smug expression you were hit with a look of deep annoyance as he stares you down.
When he continues to pin you with his angry gaze without saying anything, you repeat your question.
“What?” You ask again, this time in a sharper tone.
His jaw clenches as he narrows his eyes at you before shaking his head slowly, letting out a low sinister chuckle.
“You think you’re so clever, huh?” He bites out and your brows furrow in confusion.
“What are you talking a-.”
He cuts you off. “Don’t play stupid.” He sneers. “I’m talking about your little alien boyfriend. I know what he did.”
Your eyes widen and you shake your head. “W-what? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I know that he put some sort of spell on me. He had to. Otherwise, how did this happen?” He lifts up a hand to your face and you take another step back. “And before you try to lie to my face, I’ll let you know that it’d be a waste of time and energy. He told me himself.”
Your breath hitches in your throat at Jacob’s revelation. “What do you mean he told you himself?”
“Exactly what I said. He told the guards that he wanted to speak to me and when I got down there he started spewing all this crap about me and you. He said that he would do much worse than what he’s already done, and I don’t take threats lightly. You better tell him to back off and mind his business or there will be more consequences for the both of you.” He demands through gritted teeth.
You blink as you stare back at him, trying to take in everything he just told you. He’s met with Loki? And to make matters worse, Loki threatened Jacob? You already know that Loki had a meeting with Tony, but he never said anything about meeting with Jacob as well.
Snapping out of your initial shock, you school your face into something that displays less of surprise and more of seriousness as you square your shoulders.
“First off, you have no idea what you are talking about. Loki has no power or access to his magic, so how would he have been able to cast a spell on you?” Instead, he casted one on your bracelets… or more like a few. But Jacob didn’t need to know that, you thought to yourself.
“Secondly, why are you trying to provoke an Asgardian god? I don’t have to be a genius to tell you that wouldn’t be a good idea. Loki may not be able to get to you, but don’t forget that there's more than one Asgardian on this planet, and he’s not incarcerated.”
Jacob scoffs, placing his hands on his hips. “What? Do you honestly think Thor would come after me for talking to his brother? They don’t even like each other, so good luck with that.”
“Oh, if only you knew.” You smirk at him and he eyes you as he tries to hide the nervousness that he was now clearly feeling. “And I’m not done. Last but certainly not least, if you think you can continue bullying me until you get what you want, you have another thing coming.” You make a bold step towards him. “I’m done with your childish games and disgusting behavior. You may have started whatever this is, but I will finish it. But unlike you, I won’t stoop down to the despicable level that you have lowered yourself to in order to antagonize me. But trust me when I say that doesn’t mean the consequences won’t be critical.”
You stop as you get close enough to Jacob to show him that you weren’t kidding this time. You cringe inwardly, hating to even be within 50 feet of him, but nevertheless you did not back down. You needed to make a point, show him that you were completely serious this time. You were done running away from him, done trying to ignore him. You would have to face this monster head on if you wanted any results. If you really wanted him to finally leave you alone for good.
Loki already risked so much for you by trying to do what you were too afraid to do yourself, and as grateful as you were for his help, you couldn’t let him continue to fight your battles for you while you ran and hid away.
Jacob’s brow raises high to the heavens as he peers down at your smaller form challenging him.
You mimic him, raising your own brow high as you tilt your head mockingly at him. He appears to not like this, a look of disdain growing on his face.
When he doesn’t respond to you it’s quite surprising, as you didn’t expect for him to freeze up like a frightened hen. A confident smirk grows on your face as you back away from him slowly before turning to head back into your room, slamming and locking the door.
As you place your ear to the door, you listen out for the sound of his boisterous footsteps, hoping that he would actually leave this time. To your relief he did, stomping away not so quietly.
Suddenly, you were feeling everything you were trying to fight against in order to stand for you to stand up to Jacob. You plop onto your bed and look down at your hands. They were starting to shake, and your heart felt as if it was going to beat out of your chest any moment. Trying to soothe your nerves, you squeeze your eyes shut, taking in more deep breaths in order to calm yourself down.
No matter how uneasy and apprehensive you felt, you were very proud of yourself for what you just accomplished, as it was no easy feat for you.
Facing Jacob was all your doing, but you certainly had to thank Loki for your newfound courage, bravado, and a few bits of stolen vocabulary.
******
“Why are you wet?”
You step into the cell as the door closes behind you, shedding your raincoat onto the floor and stepping out of your long boots.
“Oh, I just got out of the shower. I didn’t feel like taking my clothes off so…” You trail off with a shrug, walking over to sit in the chair next to Loki.
Multiple expressions cross his face before he pauses and a look of bafflement crosses his features before he narrows his captivating jade eyes on you.
“Ha ha, how funny you are.” He says dryly, making you chuckle.
“You probably can’t hear how loud it is upstairs but it’s raining cats and dogs. Lightning, thunder, the whole production really.”
Right after you say that a loud boom can be heard from above that startles you, causing you to jump in your seat. You witness the ghost of a smirk pull on the god’s charming features, causing you to glare at him.
“Well, I guess you can hear it after all.” You mumble.
“What could possibly be so important for you to willingly travel out into such dreadful weather?” He questions.
“Um, just had to go run some errands and stuff.” You answer while looking away from him.
A dark brow knits as he blinks at you. “You are lying.”
“Am not,” You scoff. “I was just trying to- I wanted- oh whatever!” You groan, giving up on trying to make excuses for yourself.
“If you must know, I was out for a walk. I like the rain, thunderstorms especially.” You explain, trying to make it not sound like you were crazy for willingly taking a walk in unfavorable weather. “It’s very relaxing and it helps me clear my mind. I’ve had a lot to think about lately and just had to take a moment to myself outside of the tower.”
Loki seems to contemplate his answer before responding.
“Unfortunately I do not share in your love for lightning, as I do not particularly enjoy what follows.” He drolls. “But if that is your interest I suggest you speak with Odinson. Maybe he can perform a show of some sorts for you.”
“Wait, you’re not going to make fun of me for liking thunderstorms?” You ask in disbelief, causing Loki to grin slyly.
“Oh I understand your desire to be free from the creatures of this building but I still think it is absolutely absurd for you to happily trot out into such chaotic downpour as if you are not just but a wisp of a human. I am astonished that you did not get blown away by the winds.” He says with a teasing smile.
You roll your eyes in a playful manner. “Yeah, that’s more like you.”
“Do not fret dear, you may be easy to tease because of your unorthodox antics, but I do have to admit it is equally as adorable as it is strange.” Loki tuts.
You feel your face heat up at his words. Trying to pretend like the god of mischief did not just call you adorable, you laugh lightly, avoiding eye contact as you pull a notepad out of the messenger bag you brought along with you. You flip a few pages before clearing your throat and meeting his gaze again.
“I-uh, I have been working on some new ideas for you. More specifically, how to grant you more freedom than you have now. Wanna take a look?” You implore
Loki eyes your notepad skeptically before nodding and sliding closer towards you, peering over your shoulder to scan the page. It took only but a few seconds before he was moving away, sending you an unamused look.
“Is this a jest? It is so ridiculous that I almost laughed out loud in disbelief. This will never work.”
You let out a weary exhale. “Yes it will. Maybe not anytime soon, but it’s better to start planning now so when it’s time for this to happen we already have a complete strategy and agenda.”
Loki abruptly stands from his chair, crossing his arms as he starts to pace. “No, you are wrong. This will not happen anytime soon or probably ever. At least not in your lifetime. I do not understand why you are wasting your time on something like this.”
You want to be mad at his adamant rejection of your new plan, but you can’t be. Loki had every right to feel like it wouldn’t work, and because of this reason he seems to be agitated by you trying to convince him otherwise.
“I know it’s probably a long shot and you don’t want to get your hopes up, but it's my job and you are my friend. If this did actually work it would be so good for you.” You insist.
“I do not care. It is not possible and so I do not want to speak of it anymore.” He retorts dismissively and you find yourself standing up, flipping through more of your notes and pointing directly to a page.
“I know but if you just hear me out for one second I can-”
“Dove, please, stop!”
In a split second you register the familiar sound of a thunderous boom as the ground rumbles slightly and the whole room goes pitch black. You yelp and flinch in surprise at the unexpected blackout. You can hear the mechanical drone of the HVAC system shutting down. Your eyes become as large as saucers and your body stiffens as you feel on edge, not exactly sure what was happening.
“L-loki? Are you still here?” You call out to him in a meek shaky voice.
“Yes, I am, darling.” You take in his warm smooth timbre in your ear before feeling a hand resting on the small of your back, which makes you jerk forward from the shock of the sudden contact before you’re being pulled back gently by your arm.
“Relax, it is just me.” He soothes while rubbing small circles on your back with his thumb. “The storm must have fried the power source.”
Then an eerie red glow cast over the room and you could see once more. You swivel your head to the side, meeting Loki’s equally curious gaze and realizing how close you were to one another.
He removes his hold on your form and steps away from you, scrutinizing the room.
You snap out of your trance, grabbing your phone from out of your pocket, seeing several alerts pop up about the unanticipated power outage.
“Crap, this can’t be good at all.” You grumble while biting your lip in worry. Memories of the last time the tower was hit with a huge power outage came flooding back to you. It seems as if it happened ages ago, as it was a time when you were still getting settled into your new life in the tower. The red emergency lights were just as bright, but this time you weren’t alone, you were with…
“Wait,” You whisper, your countenance turning grim as your mind starts racing. “If the power is out in the whole building, then that means…”
“... That everything is down. Including most of Stark and Banner’s technology.” Loki breathes.
Your gaze shoots over at the doors to the room, wondering why Conner and James haven’t come inside yet. It was strange, but you had to guess that maybe they were rallied by others to fix the source of the power outage.
Turning slowly to look at Loki, icy dread crawls up your body as you catch a peculiar look forming on his face. You couldn’t describe how, but at that exact moment, you knew what he was thinking and as he slowly glanced over at you, you could see the confirmation in his eyes.
You didn’t waste a second, racing over towards the door as Loki’s long strides were dangerously close behind you.
Swifty, you spin around with a defensive stance, holding out your arms to block the exit with your whole body.
“Loki…” You say quietly, looking at him pleadingly as he stands before you, fists clenched and jaw taut.
“I would advise you to move aside immediately.” He demands, bass strained with urgency.
You shake your head stubbornly, refusing to give him what he wants without a fight. “No, you can’t do this. Not now. We have a plan. Please.” You beg desperately, body suddenly feeling overheated.
“I can, and I will. Your plan is nothing but pretty words and desperate lies.” He snaps, stalking closer towards you. “Now, get out of my way or you will find that I have no issue with removing you myself.” He not so lightly threatens, causing you to shiver in fear.
Loki wouldn’t hurt you, no, but you wouldn’t put it past him to do something drastic when he was staring freedom right in the face with nothing but a weak human standing in his way. The power was out, meaning that the several security measures that were placed around and within his cell, and in the whole tower wouldn’t be operating properly. And with the guards nowhere to be seen at the moment, they were probably distracted enough to not recognize that the prisoner locked in his cell would suddenly have access to freedom.
You take a shaky breath, looking him dead in the eyes, trying to do your best to plead with him to not escape. It wouldn’t do anyone any good. Not only would he be making things worse for himself, but he would erase all of the progress you made together. The Avengers would never trust him, or you, ever again.
You make another hopeless attempt. “Loki, please… I-I need… this can’t happen. We have so much more work to do. We’re so close, I promise! I just need more time.” You stammer. “We’ve made so much progress and put so much effort into this. You can’t just go out and leave, and you can’t go and…” You gulp down fear as you come to another terrifying realization that Loki could now just march straight to anyone and get his hands on them. Jacob, your dad, really anyone in the building that he hates in the building which was most people. You didn’t want to see complete chaos ensue. You wouldn’t be able to handle it.
He shakes his head indignantly at your desperate plea, gaining closer to you with each step he takes, a look of determination stuck on his face. When he finally reaches close enough to simply move you from his path, he doesn’t, and you’re tempted to stand in his way for as long as it takes so he doesn’t leave.
But Loki was unwavering in his stance. You could tell how much he wanted to throw you out of his way by how heavy he was breathing, chest rising and falling quickly and face darkening each second that passed. Sensing that he was not going let up and that you wouldn’t be able to do anything to prevent him from escaping again, you swallow in resignation. If your words and pleas won’t work on him, then nothing will. Dropping your arms to your side, you feel your eyes start to water and your head drops down in defeat as you step to the side, allowing him complete access to the exit he frenziedly desired.
He follows your movements guardedly, staring down at you for only a few measly seconds before making quick strides towards the exit. Not bothering to witness his hasty escape, you continue to stare at the floor but you do hear the ear piercing screech of the iron handle of the door being twisted. Only a sound a being of unbelievable strength could initiate. Soon after, you hear the grinding noise of the second set of sliding doors being forced open.
More tears slide down your face and splash onto the floor as you hear him pull open the last set of doors that led out into the halls. A brief silence passes over the room before they slam shut. Dropping to the floor, you lean back against the glass and draw your knees up into your body. Placing your arms around them, you lean your head down and start to weep silently.
He was gone. All it took was another stupid power outage, just a chink in the armor of Avengers tower, and he took no time to vanish from the cell. From the tower. From your life.
Apparently, nothing ever really mattered. Not the years you spent trying to help him become a better person, not your strange and unlikely friendship, not anything. He came back to the tower for you after he escaped to find you at Kayla’s house, but that was just a one time thing. Clearly he regretted it and thought that was a stupid decision, and maybe he was right.
You weren’t upset that he wanted to leave, of course he did. He deserves his freedom and you wanted that for him just as bad, but the way he just left with no regards to your feelings was what hurt the most. He didn’t believe you or fully trust that you could get him out of here the right way. He didn’t care to listen to you. He simply just slipped away, and that hurt you enormously.
You don’t know how long you sat there on the floor balled into a weeping mess, but eventually you raise your head, feeling too numb to cry anymore. All you wanted to do was just go upstairs and sleep the night away. Maybe even sleep away a few days.
The power was still out and none of the guards or the Avengers for that matter had come down to check on Loki, but it was only a matter of time. And if you ran into any of them on your way upstairs, you don’t think you’d have it in you to say anything.
Picking yourself off the floor, you glance out of the glass cell and your breath catches in your throat at what you see.
Instead of being met with an empty room, you observe the outline of a familiar sizable, lithe figure standing in the middle of the room. He was looking down at the floor with a pained expression on his face. His usual confident posture was subdued as if he was carrying a heavy weight on his shoulders. Slowly, his mournful gaze draws up to meet your own and you let out a breath when you meet haunted mossy eyes.
He drags himself across the room and walks into the dilapidated entrance of the cell. He doesn’t stop until he stands before you, his enchanting eyes wide and unblinking.
You peer up at him, not sure what to say, or if you needed to say anything at all. Suddenly, he drops to his knees and you exhale sharply as his head droops down, shoulders going slack as he looks at the ground defeatedly before looking up at you with tears in his eyes.
“I…I cannot do it.” He says. Simple words that tear your heart into pieces and completely overjoy you at the same time. Without hesitation you reach out to wrap your arms around him, pulling him closer to you as he lays his head on your chest.
“It’s okay… It’s okay.”
*****
The power was back on in no time. It seemed as if it was out forever, but in reality it was only about an hour and a half. All you can remember is a long stretch of being shrouded with red as you sat alone in the darkness, weeping over a companion you thought you lost forever. As you make your way back to your bedroom, you try to push all of the dreadful feelings of the last hour away.
You step into the room and close the door with a thud, trudging over towards your bed and flopping face down onto it. You roll over onto your back and take a few deep breaths. Everything was so confusing and overwhelming. You skipped a few sessions with Dr. Jan in the last couple of weeks but now you felt as if you needed to return as soon as possible for one big mega session.
But for now, all you need is some sleep. Hopefully rest would give you the much needed energy and motivation you required in order to be a functional human being tomorrow. You planned to take a shower before going to bed, but you find yourself dozing off from complete exhaustion before you hear a small noise coming from somewhere in your room.
Your eyes shoot open and you sit up, searching the dark space before your eyes catch onto something on the floor. A small folded note card was placed by your door. Someone must have slipped it under the small crack.
Frowning, you walk over to pick up the paper, opening it up to read the note. Instantly, regret and fear creeps up onto you as the note starts to wobble in your shaky hands. After crumbling it up and throwing it into the trash bin near your desk, you stand in the middle of your room trying to decipher the strange, ominous message that was printed onto the note.
Be careful what you ask for.
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