Pairing: Loki x reader
Content: Cussing, negative criticism/demeaning, violence/fighting, death, fluff. Maybe some innuendos and hinting towards sex but nothing explicit.
A/N: I’m rolling around in wonderful challenges and this is a one-shot to a brilliant challenge by @serpienten. Due March, sure, but I once I got the idea (based on a dialogue prompt which is highlighted in the text) I just had to write.
The blue sparkles flare from your fingertips to condense into a blossom. So pretty. The light flickers as soon as your mind gets distracted by the appearance of the magic. Desperately summoning the Focus within, you try to re-establish the flow and sustain the illusion, but in your rush, you cause the blossom to flare up in an explosion that sends you hurling backwards into the mound of pillows strewn about for just this reason.
“Tsk,” the cold voice utters beyond your closed eyes.
Gods, you hate that sound. Day in and day out you have been training under the condescending yet watchful eyes of Loki at this cottage far from anyone and anything. Ever since your parents realized your skills, they have pestered the Avengers to take you in, train you. Well, Superheroes are busy. Rather than have Wanda or Doctor Strange become your mentor, you are stuck with a pompous bastard on parole.
“Get up!”
At least he can’t see your eyes roll behind the lids, but you know delaying the inevitable will only make him worse to be around, so you get onto your feet. How much longer today? It feels like you have been stuck in the barren room for ages…unfortunately the clock on the wall claims it’s only been a few hours.
“I expect more of you,” Loki sneers, “a simple Illusion yet you manage to mess it up? At this rate you will never even master Projection!”
You bite your tongue, not wanting to say anything he could take the wrong way. Sure, the others claim that he is good now…better safe than sorry, though.
Okay, calm down. A slow inhalation to fill your lungs before exhaling through your mouth in a carefully controlled pace which you follow with your arm as you stretch it in front of you with a bent wrist, fingers delicately pointing to the floor. Flower from earth. As if stirring slowly, you imagine holding a seed between you fingers to soak up the energy around it needed to grow (here, you flip you palm up to present the still invisible seed). Grow and glow. The words aren’t an incantation but simply a way to remember the movements, and again you feel the tingle of magic connect each outstretched finger and condense into the flower from your dreams. You do not dare to look at the result.
“Finally. Keep holding it,” Loki hisses.
You can hear your own breathing and the soft whistling from the air conditioning. There’s no hint of what the greasy-haired maniac is doing. Probably about to scare the shit out of me. You have half a mind to drop the magic and look for him…problem is it would make him insult you for the millionth time and you really aren’t sure how much more of it you can take. The only option is to keep calm and allow the Focus to survive anything Loki will throw at you.
Despite stalwart resolution, the Illusion falters and fades when the building shakes from an explosion and something heavy barrels into you. You try to get your bearings amidst scattered pillows, dust, and the green cape Loki insists on wearing. The Asgardian has thrown himself at you to shield you from the blast without a care for the shrapnel.
“Why did you do that?!” Your voice is shrill with anger and shock. “There’s a billion ways to test my Focus but tha-?!”
A cold hand clamps your mouth shut. Green eyes with a hint of red give you a onceover before scanning the surroundings. “This was not my doing, pet.”
You nod demurely. “Mm.” Wait, pet??
“Now be quiet.”
It’s not like you have much of a choice with his hand still covering almost half your face. That’s when you realize just how the two of your are positioned, chest to chest as he sort of straddles you, but because he still has worried about covering your legs…well, pelvis to pelvis is also a way to get to know someone.
You don’t have time to worry about it, though. A creaking, groaning noise of tree splintering makes both of you look up to see the ceiling caving in. Without thinking, you grab hold of Loki in the hopes of rolling both of you out of the way. With a crash a mass of debris and limbs lands where you just were, and the god is off of you with his daggers magically appearing together with his full armour.
He deflects the spear flung from the dust cloud, returning the greeting with a steely weapon of his own. You see what he does next only because he has shown you each part of the gesture that calls forth a host of clones of him and you perched on any surface of the place. Why not just…lock them up with magic? In the heat of the moment your brain forgets what class of magic Loki excels at until the laughter of the intruder makes your skin crawl.
“Trickery won’t help you, snake,” the voice cackles, “I see through your lights and smokescreens.”
You can make out the shape of a man most pro wrestlers would be envious of.
“Then make a move,” all the Loki’s in the room cajole.
The ground shudders by the weight as the enemy leaps into action, lunging to the left at the last moment. Steel meets steel, proving that he faultlessly has picked out the real Asgardian even though you were fooled (which in reality isn’t unheard of because the asshole loves to mock your lack of skills by showing off).
The man is partially naked, the broad chest exposed to display a blond patch of hair and a few scars from injuries that with any fairness should have killed him. His trousers are not unlike those harem pants that were all the rage (again) a few summers back but tied together around the calves before disappearing in a pair of heavy boots. Whoever this guy is, he has faith in his own abilities. Regardless, the attack is a glancing blow, allowing Loki to slip sideways in an attempt to skirt the attacker.
“Impressive.” Of course Loki still sounds mocking but he drops half of the Illusion, leaving only the copies of you milling around.
You get the hint. Leaping into action, you mimic the imagined crowd in the hopes of being harder to target.
Too bad it doesn’t work.
As if in slow motion, the attacker grabs the horn on Loki’s helmet, yanking it harshly backwards and causing the normally slippery guy to go flying into a wall that absolutely isn’t an Illusion. Meanwhile the intruder has continued the spin to his advantage – using the momentum he hurls the spear towards you. It’s only a perfectly aimed knife that saves you even if the larger weapon skewers your sweater and pins you to the floor. Heart frozen in your throat, but speed back to normal, you try to get free by yanking at the oversized “nail” with sweaty hands. No good.
The men are in each others’ faces again, both formidable fighters using the surroundings to their advantages. Still, it’s an unbalanced match because the slimmer of them keeps trying to draw the opponent away from you, forcing the enemy to have his back towards you. The enemy has no one to protect. His jabs and sweeps are methodical, each step countering the effort Loki makes to keep you out of the danger zone.
He can’t keep going like that! Bitter realization sears your stomach.
Wiggling and twisting, you crawl out of the sweater and onto the knees where instinct takes over and brandishes your hands in a flurry of weaving movements. Blue sparks shoot from the fingers, forming a rope as they speed towards the unidentified enemy and snake around his wrists. You feel the pull from him through the conjured restraint and have to use physical strength to hold him back.
Focus! Squeezing your eyes shut, you fight to follow all the instructions Loki has been drilling you with. There’s a grunt of surprise.
Must…use my…Focus! But the magic breaks, leaving you tumbling backwards once more.
“No!” Shooting back up, your breath stops at the sight of the two men apparently embracing each other. “No…no…”
Only a fool would think they actually are hugging. Did he…? If the attacker has managed to kill Loki, then you are done for too, and your heart screams with a million fears as the naked arms let go of the smaller man. Crap. But the man goes limp, sliding to his knee with the groan of the dying. Loki, now visible, pulls out a blade from between the ribs.
“A Conjuration…” Unreadable eyes study your face and hands before returning to the situation before him. “I’m impressed.”
As if. Turning to find an intact pillow, you feel the bitterness well up. Loki doesn’t give compliments. Loki doesn’t praise efforts, only perfection, and the attempt to bind the attacker had not lasted.
Yeah, well…I’m proud. “Even though that’s dripping with sarcasm, and definitely isn’t genuine, I’m gonna take it.”
“[Y/N]…I push you because I know what your potential is, and I have faith in you.” Somehow, he’s come to stand right in front of you, hands clasping your shoulders gently. “I mean it. You are amazing and it’s because of your magic that I could strike him down.” Oh. “Thank you, my dear.”
First pet and now dear? And he…?
Nothing makes sense, least of all when the Asgardian tilts your face up by your chin and kisses you hesitantly. No logic. Only a warm tingle, but this time it’s in your chest and has nothing to do with magic and you find yourself giving in to it.
Synopsis: What happens when Loki meets someone who actually calls him on his bullshit instead of running and hiding?
Word Count : 1318
A/N: Angst and stuff in this part. Also quite a few gifs / visual aid. This part was suppose to be up last week sorry.
Part One - Part Two - Part Three - Part Four - Part Five - Part Six - Part Seven
You ran down the halls. Your heart pounding in your ears, blocking out everything else. Images of the procedures used on Sergeant Barnes mentally flashed before your eyes. You had been useless in saving Bucky, the only mission you had ever failed in your entire life ... your job had been to eliminate the Winter Soldier and return Sergeant Barnes safely... you had drastically failed Bucky.... but you wouldn't fail this time... you wouldn't fail Loki.
You got to the door, Tony and some soldier where standing guard outside it. They looked up at you at the same time. Confused to see you.
" Y/L/N... What uh... what you doing this side? "
You evened out your breathing as quickly as possible to respond to Tony... to lie or to tell the truth you wondered.
" I was actually just looking for Nat, you guys seen her? "
You asked as you stepped closer to the pair.
" Well actually she-"
Before Tony could finish responding (and before you could even think it out properly) your punched him square in the face, dropping down low you used your leg to swipe the soldier off his feet. You jumped over the men and yanked open the door , running into the interrogation room. The sight before your eyes stopped your heart, it knocked the wind from your lungs and made you feel nauseated all at once. Loki sat in a chair, beaded with sweat, looking sick and exhausted.
He lifted his head to look at you and instantly tried to straighten up as much as he could. He was trying to compose himself, trying not to look as wounded as he really was... even in this type of situation. Anger poured through your veins
" WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE?!?! "
" Someone get her out of here. "
Thaddeus said as he was calibrating the next electrical current. One of your old Shield co-workers walked forward but you stood your ground.
" I wouldn't do that if I were you."
" Y/N... please you have to understand we-"
" Understand? "
You scoffed.
" Understand that you are using a machine to torture a good man? "
Thaddeus walked over to you.
" A good man? Loki is hardly innocent-"
" I never said Innocent Secretary Ross. I said good. He has given you all the information you have asked for, he is working to redeem himself so what reason could you possibly have for this? "
You asked throwing your hand up to gesture at Loki and the machine.
" He is Loki, God of Mischief, a terrorist, and a smug sarcastic son of a bitch, he is always hiding more-"
" He would have given it up by now. You do this to him you are no better then the monsters we fight Thaddeus."
" That is Secretary Ross Miss Y/L/N... an honestly agent he is our prisoner to do with as we please. "
" Last time I checked he was only permitted into your custody by The Avengers , but please correct me if I am wrong? "
Thaddeus laughed maliciously at you.
" Who do you think gave us the machine to do it? "
You were taken back a moment.
" They would never, and even if by some horror they did, all contracts are overseen by Fury and I don’t think he... it would mean that he would have to... it means he-"
" I am the one who gave them the machine? "
You whipped around to see Nick standing there staring at you.
" I was hoping you wouldn't see this part of our operations but now that you have I guess I should explain.... All the higher powers that be want this man to suffer for the losses in New York, and for good reason, New York was a massive hit to us, so they suggested this machine... and more. We have only just started getting into the more part now. Loki has grown use to this machine-"
" So use to it that he still screams? "
" Tony upgraded it during the week... "
You could feel the bile bubbling in your stomach, threatening to come up at any moment. The people you looked up to had become disgusting.
" We have a job to do, now please, return to the room-"
" No...I don't believe Tony would allow this, you can't just treat a person like this Fury."
Fury sighed and looked at you.
" You raised me to fight people who did things like this, you are now worse then them, then the monsters who created this machine, the ones who turned Barnes into the Winter Soldier. At least they weren't hypocrites on top of it all. Honestly I don't know who you are anymore Nick... and quite frankly I don't think I want to know. "
You took a deep breath as your voice cracked.
" I will finish this contract with you and then I am done, I am washing my hands of you... of all of you. If I wanted to work with Hydra I would have stayed at my last job. He sure as hell doesn't deserve this."
You made to walk out but turned, walking back to Loki and taking off his straps.
" What are you doing Y/L/N? "
Thaddeus asked with irritation in his voice
" That's enough for today. "
Thaddeus interrupted you taking off the straps.
" You wanna help this monster? Do me a favor, show her what he really looks like huh? "
Before you could do anything they shocked Loki again. He screamed loudly but wouldn’t do what they wanted.
“ Don’t be stubborn now boy. Higher voltage. “
Just then Loki’s skin turned blue and his eyes red. They stopped soon as he turned and looked at you with a smug expression. Loki looked at you, you could see he looked ashamed.
" See.. he is a monster. "
You turned to Thaddeus now.
" Only monster I see in here are all of you, we are going back to our room now. "
" Yea I don't think s-"
Your elbow flew back into the Secretary's face, initiating a crack from it as soon as they met. You whipped out your gun and aimed it and the agent who had rushed over to help Thaddeus.
" I said... that is enough for today and we are leaving. "
The Agent looked in your eyes and nodded. You turned to Loki and finished getting him off the machine, wrapping his arm over your shoulder and dragging him out with you. You got to the door and Tony had just sat up. He looked at you and Loki confused, his eye drifting past you to the machine, tears filling his eyes. He snapped out of it soon as the door closed. He looked up at you mortified.
" I didn't.... I didn't know. They said it... it was for research... to help Barnes... I didn’t... I didn’t know they brought it here... for this. I’m.. I didn’t "
You felt a pang of relief at his words.
" Mind helping me? "
Tony nodded and grabbed the other side of Loki as you all made your way towards the room.
You sat there watching as Loki drifted into sleep. Your heart aching to see him look so defeated. You dabbed off some more sweat with a cloth and stood to leave when he grabbed your wrist.
" I'm sorry. "
" For what? "
" That you had to see me like that. "
You sat back down and looked at him.
" Don't be stupid Loki."
You reached forward and placed a soft kiss onto his lips, he gasped in shock but quickly returned the kiss. You gently pulled back and smiled at him.
" Now get some rest."
You got up to leave when he grabbed you again.
" Will you stay? "
You sat down and held his hand. You knew what he really meant, it wasn’t meant for just this moment. But in general.
" So long as you have need me. "
You pulled the blanket up over him as you waited for sleep to take him. He was exposed... vulnerable and exposed, all his emotions raw, open and for display to anyone who was paying even a speck of attention. Soon as he was asleep you went to sit in the next room so you could try convince them to save him. You walked in and started making yourself something warm to drink. The team all sitting around the room.
" So what now? "
Thor asked as he looked at Tony. Tony was shook his head angrily, he looked up at Nat.
" You knew... you knew and you let them do it, you let me make the machine worse."
Nat sighed.
" Look, we all do things we regret, I didn't have a choice- "
You angrily interrupted now. Not biting your tongue anymore.
" You didn't have a choice? Bullshit Romanov! You are the Black Widow, your the best of the best and could have gotten out of it if you wanted to. Don't sit here and act the victim now, own the shit that you have done. It was a mistake, you were apart of it, end of discussion. Honestly I expected it from you... but Nick..."
You winced just thinking about it.
" So what are we going to do now? "
Banner asked as he rubbed his face stressful. The room was silent for a moment until Steve finally spoke up.
" We exile him back to Asgard... "
You breath hitched and you felt your heart stop. If he went back there... he would spend the rest of his days imprisoned and you would never see him again.
