#colour is awful but heyho

[onlymywishfulthinking]

Paul, what is wrong?

[sserpente]

In a heartbeat (Chapter 12)

A/N: Heyho there my lovelies! Here’s the next chapter! Enjoy reading! ♥

Find all chapters on my masterlist!

The prospect of a hot shower was numbing the pain in your limbs as you eagerly followed Loki back to his apartment.

“You know… you didn’t have to hit me so hard.” You started to break the peaceful silence between you—never an uncomfortable one. Knowing this filled you with pride, the butterflies in your stomach swallowing imaginary LSD.

Loki laughed quietly, instantly sending a shiver down your spine as he opened the door to his apartment and moved to let you step inside first. At this time of the day, the hallways were nearly empty. The few guards you had come across, so you figured, would never harm you as long as he was right next to you—you were his property, after all.

“Pain is a good teacher, little minx. Tomorrow, you won’t be making the same mistakes.”

“Sure. Laugh at me. The day will come where I will pin you to the ground.” You teased him in response, grinning wildly as you headed for the bathroom and got rid of your mangled jacket.

Loki smirked. “Is that so? Well, in this case, with me as your teacher, you might manage in a couple of centuries.”

“Great. Motivating… just you wait, you’ll see.” You replied playfully, winking as you did before disappearing into the bathroom and closing the door behind you to remove the rest of your clothes, throwing them to the floor in an untidy pile.

They were ruined already. There was no need to treat them with care, besides, what instead kept your mind busy when you stepped under the shower and enjoyed how instantly, warm water tickled your naked skin, was the fact you realised with a start what you’d just done. You had been flirting with him. You had been flirting with Loki! If the God of Mischief noticed, he did not tell but quite certainly, you had to be more careful, for if you continued like this, he would notice your excessive liking into him faster than you could say mischief.

After what felt like an hour of washing yourself with the scented foam and soaps, you were finally ready to leave the now steaming shower again, your naked and still moist form wrapped in a turquoise towel. You wanted to enjoy the feeling of being clean for a while longer before putting your dirty clothes back on. You almost gagged at the thought of it.

“Do you think they have washing machines on this planet?” You called, hoping Loki would hear you.

He smirked when he appeared in the threshold, his blue gaze boldly roaming over your half naked form. It made you flush so furiously you resembled a mellow tomato.

“I doubt that,” he replied amused, then briefly looked to the dirty pile of fabric on the tiles to your feet. “You won’t be needing them. Now you stay here and get ready. I will… take care of my brother’s… task.”

Get ready? Ready for what? Oh.

“Wait… I’ll be joining you?” The contest of champions. Loki would be one of the Grandmaster’s cherished VIP guests. “Do you really think that’s a good idea?”

“It certainly is an idea. You know he is very fond of you.” It was then you actually did gag. Loki chuckled. “Now get ready.” And with that, he vanished.

You were just about to open your mouth once more and ask him how you were supposed to get ready without any clothes when you suddenly spotted an emerald green dress made of the softest fabric you had ever seen right on the bed sheets.

Your lips parted when you reached for it to properly examine it. It was beyond beautiful, revealing just enough to be sexy but still appear modest. Had he asked the Grandmaster’s lackeys to bring it for you… or had he created it himself? Pouting in awe, you made a mental note to ask him later and dropped your towel to put it on. It fit like a glove. Yes, you thought. Definitely magic.

It took you a while until you riddled out what to do with your hair until you decided to simply let them fall over your shoulders. In one of the bathroom drawers, you even found some utensils resembling make-up among a few bottles of nail polish, remembering that the Grandmaster himself had… blue nails.

You shook your head and instead settled for framing your eyes with the dark coal. You didn’t recognise yourself once your eyes met your reflexion in the mirror. This woman didn’t look like Loki’s beloved pleasure slave wearing his colours. This woman… looked like his queen.

Taking a deep breath, you suppressed what the delicious thought did to your mind and body and then flinched, alarmed, when Loki appeared right behind you. Perhaps you were unconsciously summoning him whenever you daydreamed about him.

The corners of his thin mouth twitched as he eyed you down from head to toe, approving of your appearance with a court nod. You didn’t know what you had expected. A compliment, maybe, an impressed gasp at the very least but of course, you were hardly as ravishing as Valkyrie.

“Your shoes will not do. Put on these.” He said, handing you pair of golden sandals. You simply nodded, grateful for not having to leave barefoot.

It left you wondering if he still thought about her naked body under his. You knew Loki was hurting, his trust issues putting stokes in his wheels. You could barely imagine he would sleep with someone simply for the fun of it… the way his blue eyes had sparkled that day they had returned from Helheim… Valkyrie calling him a monster had hurt him. Perhaps he was not in love with her—hell, you sincerely hoped so—but he certainly didn’t hate her either. Not like you did.

“Did you… did you get the access codes?” You asked him when he led you outside, shortly before one of the Grandmaster’s servants picked you up to escort you to the arena.

Loki winked at you in response. So he did. A shy smile spread on your lips. You did love his playfulness, after all.

“Loki! Come here, come here, sit with me on the couch, are you excited? I am, I am, oh and you brought your pet! Hello there, little pet. Come on, let’s sit now.” The Grandmaster was fuming with enthusiasm when you entered a large VIP lounge. Loki was handed a glass of expensive wine upon your arrival and, much to your surprise, he offered it to you before taking the first sip.

No. Alcohol would make your brain even fuzzier than it already was. Your wit had to be crystal clear if you wanted to survive this evening.

Soon, the Grandmaster grabbed the God of Mischief and seated him on a long and white leather couch. The VIP lounge was located dozens of feet high up in the air, the large window protected by a transparent glass pane bragging with a marvellous view over the entire arena.

You were just about to kneel down on the floor and swallow your pride to not get him in trouble, when suddenly, Loki firmly wrapped his hand around your wrist and yanked you close until you came to sit on his lap. Your heart skipped several beats at once.

“What are you doing?” You hissed quietly—not that you were complaining. The sensation of his strong thigh on your backside and his arm around your hips felt like Valhalla.

“Keep up the act, little minx.”

His smooth voice instantly sent pleasant shivers up and down your spine.

“You will love this. Have you made your bet yet? Between the two of us, my champion is invincible. You can make a lot of money if you trust my judgement.”

Loki laughed, yet you could tell it was fake and so unlike you had laughed together back in his apartment.

“I cannot wait to see him fight.” He responded politely, shifting nervously on his seat. He was struggling. Struggling with… what? Frowning, you opened your mouth to ask if he was okay when you were precipitously interrupted by a cheering crowd.

A broad man made of… stone? Yes. A stone man entered the arena. The fights were about to begin, leaving you no time to pry into Loki’s bets with the Grandmaster.

“This is barbaric,” you murmured quietly. Three battles in, you watched a couple of scrappers dragging a bloody and half-dead body away from the arena, a red trail following after them. “Why would anyone enjoy this?”

Loki sighed. “He is a lunatic, I know. Just… pretend you are fascinated.”

Nodding, you bit your lower lip. The Grandmaster turned his head, his greedy eyes widening with curiosity. “What are you whispering about?”

The God of Mischief faked another content laugh. “Forgive me, she is… not used to spectacles like these, it flusters her being allowed to watch.” He explained rapidly, making you dig your nails into his left knee. His hand covered yours in an instant, stopping your attempted payback and making you suck in the cool air as his warm skin touched yours. His palm was soft, his long fingers intertwining with yours to remove your nails from his knee.

“Ah, yeah, I can imagine that!” The Grandmaster mused with a smug grin on his face. His blue make-up looked even more ridiculous today and you were beyond grateful Loki only settled for yellow accents on his clothing instead of painting his face with body paint as well.

“Well, I will be right back. We always take a short break before the final fight.”

Relieved, you watched the crazy old man getting up and leaving the VIP lounge, his yellow cloak flattering behind him. All of his guests made space for him to pass, making you shake your head in disbelief. Finally, you allowed yourself to slide off of Loki’s lap, still, however, kept so close to him your legs were touching.

“You think they have a bathroom here somewhere?”

The God of Mischief rolled his eyes. “Really, now? Can’t that wait?”

“Not exactly. I don’t have the bladder of a god, unfortunately.” You spared him from threatening you would actually piss on him if you didn’t find a toilet.

“Fine,” he spat. He wasn’t angry with you—that you would have known. Much more did you feel like a motherless little girl he had to babysit.

He never let go of your arm when you stepped into the hallway full of oddly dressed people. Scrappers were rushing through, accompanied by the gladiators who had been spared of tonight’s contest and, much to your dismay, new contenders they had snatched for a handful of coins.

Another lost soul caught and sold as a doll, his short hair wild and stubby. He moaned in pain when one of the scrappers buried his shoe in his stomach, the blue obedience disk, which you had learned were attached to all of the Grandmaster’s slaves, ready to stun him. Turning his head, his blue eyes roamed around defencelessly in the hopes of support, help or a way out.

The Grandmaster, appearing beside you both enthusiastically, clapped his hands. “Ah, Loki, look, there he is! If he proves to be as skilled as you promised, you will be greatly rewarded.”

Your hand flew up to cover your mouth when you recognised his face. It was Thor.

A/N: 3:)

[sserpente]

In a heartbeat (Chapter 3)

A/N: Heyho there my lovelies! ♥ As promised, here is the new chapter! Let’s see what happens next! Thank you so much for your lovely feedback! Enjoy reading!

Find all chapters on my masterlist!

When you woke up the next morning, the space to your right was empty, the bed unmade. Loki was gone. Bright sunlight shone into the room, illuminating the elegant furniture in the room. It all came crashing down on you then, like heavy rocks burying you underneath their weight.

Hela. Susan. Karen. Your job interview. Stephen Strange, Thor, Loki… uncountable thoughts were tumbling around in your head, making your brain all fuzzy and stealing away your balance when you first threw back your covers and stood.

Expecting the worst, you tried for the door and let out a relieved sigh when it opened, tiptoeing barefoot through the hallways. There was no way you would be finding your way back to your own room. You decided to get your shoes later.

Following the voices coming from downstairs, you soon found a large kitchen area. You blushed upon realising you had slept the longest.

“Good morning, (Y/N). How have you slept?” Strange asked cordially, gesturing for you to take a seat at the vast kitchen table. Loki was there too. He was dressed in his black suit yet again, his expression severe and unimpressed. Briefly, your eyes locked with his and for the first time since you first met, he looked away first.

Strange’s question confused you as you sat down at the opposite end of the table to bring about as much distance between the God of Mischief and you as possible. So he had not told them about your nightly visit and your most unfortunate mishap that had forced you to spend the night together.

“I… g-good. Surprisingly good,” you murmured honestly, watching how a plate full of scrambled eggs, toast and tomatoes appeared before you while at the same time, frantically avoiding Loki’s intent gaze.

“Karen knows you’re alright by the way. She’s with her parents in New Jersey right now and the police is aware you are staying with me, so you won’t be in any trouble once you leave.”

Once you leave. You still harboured the wish to do exactly that today, right after breakfast. Instead of complaining, however, you chose to invest your energy for a hopefully successful escape. You nodded gratefully.

“So, Thor, you say once you find your father, all parties involved will promptly return to Asgard?”

“Promptly,” the God of Thunder reinforced, smiling at the wizard.

“Great. Then I will help you. He is in Norway.”

“Norway? Why would he go to Norway?” You tossed in, looking at your plate rather disgusted. In spite of your stomach complaining, you had no appetite whatsoever. You didn’t even want to touch that cup of coffee Strange had set on the table for you.

“Thor can ask him that himself. I will need a strand of your hair, then I can create a portal that will lead you two right to him. Take this with you.” Despite his incredulousness, he handed Loki a strangely shaped ring.

“And then what happens to me in the meantime?” Crossing your arms in a defiant manner, you leaned back, trying to hide your shaking fingers.

“You stay here with me, (Y/N). As long as Hela is out there, your life is in danger. You are free to go as soon as she’s gone.”

Disappointment spread in your body. So he was intending to keep you here for an even longer period of time than just a couple of days. Strange was a likeable man, his company would be bearable to say the least but without Thor and Loki around, it would be, in fact, strange.

The two of them were the reason you had gotten into this horrible shemozzle in the first place. And Loki would be gone. Why on Earth would you bother if Loki would be gone?

“I object.” You muttered quietly, taking a deep breath to remain calm. What made it even worse was that you could practically feel Loki’s hypnotising blue eyes on you. It urged you to scratch the back of your hand.

Strange shot you a compassionate look before turning back to Thor to discuss details. If anything happened, so they concluded, Loki could open a portal with the ring Strange had given him so they could bring Odin back safely and flee and then, within mere moments, they were gone, having stepped through an orange portal leading to an open landscape in the heart of Norway.

“How’s your forehead?”

A weak pounding reminded you of the healing cut on your head. You had already forgotten about it.

“Fine, I suppose.”

“Good. Let me know if you need someone to take a closer look at it.”

He sighed when you said nothing, didn’t even look him in the eye.

“I’m sorry this happened to you, (Y/N) but you really should eat something.” Strange proposed when you gave your food another disgusted glance.

“I’m not hungry.”

“At least drink some water then.”

Gnashing your teeth, you started to scratch the back of your hand. Drink some water. As if drinking some water would help you deal with all of this. As if drinking some water would stop this madness.

“I just want to go home,” you whispered barely audible, adding a sigh. There was an unpleasant headache creeping up your skull, making you massage your temples. “I never wanted to be part of any of this.”

“I know. I trust Thor to take care of Hela. I’m sure you can leave soon. There is nothing personal about—“

“Susan is dead because of Hela.” You interrupted. “Of course, it is personal, Stephen. And I hope Thor and Loki will kick her bloody arse and send her back to wherever the hell she came from.”

Strange nodded. “Helheim. She came straight from Helheim, that’s all I know.”

Helheim. What was that? Hell? Was Hela Satan? His wife or daughter? For all you knew, she could be. You wanted her suffering and you wanted her dead, even if you had to be the one to bring about her demise.

You almost gasped at your wrathful thoughts and you realised only then that your grief had been replaced by a burning, gloating anger boiling up deep in your stomach. It felt good to be angry, way better than to be sad and terrified, though with your mere self-defence skills, you had but your spiteful words.

You spend the next hour forcing the eggs down your throat. Much to your surprise, they tasted abnormally delicious and with every bite you took, your appetite came back. Soon, you had emptied the whole plate, earning you an approved nod by Strange. Only when you watched in awe how the cutlery and the dishes disappeared from the table and had him summon your shoes for you, he suddenly frowned.

“What? What is it?”

“Something’s not right…”

“What do you mean?”

“They’re in trouble. Hela must have found them, I can feel Loki trying to use the ring.” Fear flooded your body, your blood running ice cold. You had seen her fight before but now, Stephen Strange was here with you.

If she harmed them, then… where was that biting sorrow coming from? You should be scared for your own life and mourning your best friend but instead, you dreaded what could happen to Thor and most of all Loki—and that after how distastefully he had treated you yesterday night!

“I’m gonna help them. You stay here exactly where you are, so I can—“

The orange portal opened right before him, the impact knocking him into the kitchen counter while at the same time, you jumped up from your seat so forcefully the wooden chair crashed to the ground audibly.

Hela had found them. Her crude smile was horrifying when she stepped through the portal and studied her new surroundings interestedly. The ring Loki had used had slipped under the kitchen table, the man who had used it himself was stumbling to his feet as graceful as he could muster, quickly followed by Thor who, clenching his fists, turned around angrily to fight the intruder.

“Bring us back!” Loki shouted up to the ceiling. He sounded frightened, triggering your own fear. If the God of Mischief was afraid… Bring us back? Where to?

“No!” Thor roared.

Bright light came smashing through the ceiling, ripping apart several floors in the process. It formed a circle right around the area Thor, Loki, Hela and you were standing before a strong invisible force pulled you off the ground and sucked you up into the sky.

Ice cold air flushed past you, the colours of the rainbow blinding you as you flew, higher and higher. It felt like all air was being pressed out of your body, making you nauseous and dizzy. Panicking, you looked around you, spotting Loki a few feet underneath your own form.

“Loki!” You yelled, barely able to properly open your mouth to shout. Perhaps he was a war criminal but whatever was happening in this very moment, you were not supposed to be here, that you were sure of—he had to help you, somehow, anyhow!

Growling mutely, Loki turned his head around to face you, endeavour glistening in his blue eyes. He seemed to stomp his foot then—and within a matter of seconds, he was next to you, allowing you to wrap your arms around his middle. Cool leather pressed against your cheek, filling your nostrils with a sharp but alluring scent as you squeezed your eyes shut tightly, hoping this terrible ride would end soon.

It did even sooner than you anticipated. Reluctantly, you opened your eyes again in the hopes of finding Thor in the bright chaos of colours but not matter how hard you tried, you were unable to lift your head. Instead, you looked down, sensing how Loki’s muscles clenched when he flung a dagger down at a very enraged Goddess of Death. She dodged it easily and then threw one of her own swords at the God of Mischief in return.

You screamed when you realised that it would kill you both, closed your eyes again to die seeing peaceful darkness instead of this ferocious monster beneath you but the painful intrusion of a pointy blade never came.

Loki ducked just in time, pulling you with him as the impact of the bright light scattered around him and sent him flying through the cosmos. Pain shot through your body, the firm jerk rippling through your limbs like jolts of electricity and then, after what felt like minutes of falling, you clunked to the ground, your nails digging into moist earth and pieces of debris and litter.

It took you a while to manage to breathe again, forcing yourself not to get lost in another panic attack as you rolled off Loki, who had, fortunately, absorbed most of your fall and checked your body for any injuries. Your left elbow felt like it was sprained, other than that, however, you were fine.

Loki moaned as he propped himself up, taking a suspicious look around himself before locking eyes with you.

“Are you alright?” He asked, surprising you with his sudden care. Even if you wanted to, you were incapable of responding in a full sentence.

“Physically,” you stated out of breath, your voice shaking along with your trembling body as you followed his example and examined the place you had landed on.

You came to one conclusion. This was not Earth anymore.