#then LOKI ALMOST CONFESSING APPARENTLY??? Tumblr posts

[hansoeii]

I'm very much not normal about loki and mobius right now

[jimintomystery]

What kind of tree would you be?

I'm a little bored over the holiday weekend and I realized I never circled back to talk about the Loki finale. So let's get into that.

I think the ending works, and I was personally gratified that it touched on points I raised during season 2:

Loki's problem isn't just how to save the TVA, but how to save them without losing Sylvie.

Loki (almost) fails to realize his efforts are leading him down the path that He Who Remains laid out for him.

Loki can't truly win in the end until he recognizes that Sylvie wasn't entirely wrong to kill He Who Remains.

What I didn't expect was that Loki would find a way to win by removing himself from the board, so to speak. All season long he's been preoccupied with protecting his friends so he won't be alone, and he finally finds that he can best protect them by being alone. It's bittersweet but it works perfectly.

I'm still a bit disappointed Loki and Sylvie didn't talk through their relationship issues, and apparently they never will. But I get why the show didn't go there. They couldn't even begin to get into their personal feelings for one another until they settled the conflict from the season 1 finale. And by the time Loki came around to seeing Sylvie's side of it, he had to know he was going away. A love confession or a goodbye kiss would have been pointless except as a statement of his devotion, and in that respect neither gesture could compare to shouldering the ultimate duty to give her the ultimate liberty.

The tone of the finale suggests Loki is gone forever, but I can't really buy the idea that he's stuck, alone, at the end of time. He Who Remains lived a solitary, sedentary existence, but that may have been by choice, since he wouldn't have had any friends to hang out with in the first place. We know Sylvie has the means to travel there, and no reason to withhold that from the TVA. And while the nature of Loki's new role suggests he has to stay put, his time-slipping powers indicate he can leave for centuries and return to the instant he left.

Indeed, it's conceivable that Sylvie, Mobius, and the rest of the gang have already visited Loki, before the final scene. If you think Sylvie seems unusually cavalier about Loki being gone, maybe it's because she just saw him the other day. And if you think that wouldn't square with Mobius being so troubled, maybe it's because Loki's absence isn't what's really weighing on his mind. It's all up to the multiverse of fanfic now, which feels fitting.

[justsomerandomfanfic]

Party Games - Steve Rogers X Loki Odinson

Title: Party Games

Steve Rogers X Loki Odinson ; ft. Tony X Pepper, Eddie X Venom, Sam X Bucky, and Vision X Wanda

Additional Characters: Tony, Wanda, Vision (Mentioned), Pepper (Mentioned, Eddie, Venom, Sam, Bucky, Natasha, Carol, Stephen, Pietro (Mentioned), Thor, and Peter

Requested by Anon!

WC: 1,824

Warnings: Teasing, taunting, Pocky Challenge, flirting, Pietro's alive, Loki never died, slight angst, fluff, and everything is fine

Steve sighed, adjusting his shirt collar in the mirror. Loki slithered into the bathroom, wiggling his eyebrows through the mirror, giving his boyfriend a smile. "Looking good, Captain." Loki complimented, eyeing Steve up and down teasingly.

Steve only sighed again, "Hello, Loki." He ran a hand through his hair.

"What? No 'thank you'?" Loki continued to tease, before his smirk turned into a smile, watching Steve mess around with his hair, seemingly worried or stressed in some way. Loki hummed, stopping Steve from messing up his hair and fixing it for him. "You look fine, love." He sputtered out a small laugh, "It's not like you're meeting someone new, just hanging out with the puny Avengers."

"You know," Steve began, turning to face the God of Mischief, "I am part of the 'Puny Avengers'."

Loki's smirk reappeared once more, "Mmm," He gave Steve another once-over, "You're not puny."

Steve sighed deeply, leaving the bathroom with slightly pink cheeks, Loki following close behind, following all the way out of their shared bedroom, into the elevator, and into the main room where the rest of the Avengers were chilling.

"Ayyyyy! Steve, Brother!" Thor exclaimed, pulling a man both Steve and Loki didn't know into his side. "This is Eddie Brock! And his partner Venom!" Both Steve and Loki furrowed their eyebrows, not seeing another person with Eddie, but nonetheless, Steve gave Eddie a polite smile and went over to shake his hand.

"Steve Rogers, nice to meet you, Eddie." Steve greeted, shaking Eddie's hand. 

"Nice to meet you too, Cap. Love your work." Eddie spoke, before Steve looked down at their shaking hands, seeing a small, black slimy thing slide across his hand. Suddenly, a face appeared from the black goo, giving Steve a wide, toothy smile. "We are Venom."

Steve blinked, before speaking, "Oh, hello." 

Before anything else could be said, Venom went back inside Eddie, and both Steve and Eddie dropped their hands. Eddie chuckled awkwardly, "Uh, normally people freak out when they first meet Venom." Eddie fidgeted, and Steve shrugged.

"We've seen worse." Steve began, side glancing towards Loki, remembering the Chitari of 2012 before looking back at Eddie, watching as Venom moved to appear on his shoulder. "I mean, we've also fought a giant purple alien. It's not like we'd scream or something." Steve chuckled, before glancing around the room, seeing the looks on the other Avengers' faces. "Uh, right, guys?"

Tony looked to the ground, the same went for Clint and Sam. "Uh, I screamed," Sam muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

"And I almost fainted," Clint spoke up, as Steve looked at the three dumbfounded.

He sighed, looking at Tony. "What about you, Tony? What did you apparently do?" He asked as Tony shrugged.

"I peed my pants." He confessed, but from the look of his non-stained pants, Steve sighed, rolling his eyes.

"You three just love to prove me wrong," He then turned back to Eddie, giving him an apologetic smile, "Sorry about them."

Eddie just shook his head, "No, it's fine, if they said anything wrong, Venom would eat their brains. We've dealt with worse. Right, V?" He turned to the symbiote on his shoulder.

Venom grinned, nodding, "Right, Eddie, now when is this party starting?" He asked in a deep voice, as the rest of the attendees found a place to sit on the many couches and chairs.

Everyone was silent for a moment before Peter spoke up, "We could play hide-and-seek?" He suggested, only for Tony to point an accusing finger at him.

"No, we are not playing a child's game, you child." He scolded before his frown completely disappeared as if it was never there. "We should play Seven Minutes In Heaven." To that, most of the Avengers facepalmed as Peter looked at Tony in offense.

"We could play Truth or Dare?" Sam spoke up, as Natasha raised an eyebrow, looking at the man.

"What are we? Five?" To that Sam gave her a bright smile, nodding.

"Yep."

Before long most of the team were in a dilemma, fighting over what game to play or not to play. Steve sighed, rubbing his cheeks in annoyance, as Loki looked around the room pleased with the chaos; until a deep voice rang out.

"We should play the Pocky Challenge!"

“Not again…” Eddie muttered.

At that, the room fell silent as everyone turned to each other, nodding and mumbling to one another before agreeing surprisingly.

"Yeah, that sounds fun," Natasha spoke, crossing her arms and legs, and leaning back on the couch beside Bruce. "But I'm not playing." She added, making Tony groan.

"You're no fun."

Thor nodded, "Tony would also call you a 'party pooper.'" As Tony gave the man beside him a smile and nod.

"I would say that." He then turned back to Natasha, frowning once more, "You, my dear, are a party pooper."

Natasha rolled her eyes, "I thought girls didn't poop." She remarked and Tony paused, opening and closing his mouth, multiple times.

"Yeah, girls don't poop." Sam exclaimed, turning to Bruce, "Do they?" He asked in a hushed tone as Steve just sighed, rubbing his face with both hands at this point.

"This conversation is getting nowhere, can we play now?" Wanda asked as Peter nodded rapidly beside her.

“Yeah, I am so confused.”

"Yeah, we can, but we don't have any Pocky," Carol spoke up from on the armrest of Stephen's chair.

"Uh, I do," Eddie spoke up, pulling out a red box of Pocky from his black hoodie pocket. 

Loki raised an eyebrow, "You just have that on you?" To that question, Eddie nodded.

"Yeah, Venom loves chocolate." To that Venom purred happily, staring down at the Pocky box.

"Chocolate!~ Yummy!~"

Eddie nodded, giving Venom a look, “Yeah, my love, chocolate.”

Tony clapped his hands, standing up and walking over to Eddie, who passed over the box. "Well, who wants to play?" Peter immediately raised his hand, and Tony quickly shut him down, "Yeah, no."

"I guess I'll play," Sam spoke, giving Bucky a side glance as Tony handed him a Pocky stick.

Soon enough, Eddie, Sam, Tony, Loki, Wanda, and Pietro all had Pocky sticks, as Eddie began to explain how to play. "Now, uh, you just find a partner, and put one end of the stick in one mouth, and the other end in the partner’s mouth. And then you both nibble on the stick until you get into the middle and whoever, uh, lets go first, loses." He spoke sort of sheepishly, as Eddie put the end of the stick in his mouth, turning to Venom only for the symbiote to just take the entire stick from Eddie's mouth and eat the whole thing, making Eddie sigh. "Venom doesn't usually follow the rules. He just, uh, eats the chocolate."

Sticking one end of the Pocky stick in his mouth, Sam turned to Bucky, wiggling his eyebrows. Bucky stared at Sam and at the stick and back, before shaking his head. Sam frowned, the Pocky stick drooping comically as he stared at Bucky with puppy dog eyes. "No fair," He muttered, before just sighing and breaking the stick in half, handing the other half to Bucky. "Guess chocolate is not a good excuse to kiss me."

"I don't need an excuse to kiss you." Bucky spoke up, nibbling at his half of the Pocky until it was gone, feeling his face flush pink, "Just don't want people looking at me, is all, bird."

Sam sighed dreamily, eating his Pocky, "He calls me his bird."

Wanda and Vision were already halfway through their game, both freezing in the middle as the intense stare-down started. But Vision broke it off not before long, his own robo-self feeling a bit flustered as Wanda ate the rest of the Pocky happily before she pressed a quick kiss to Vision’s cheek. Pietro zipped over in a blue light, stopping beside Natasha, wiggling his eyebrows, only for her to turn away with a roll of her eyes. Pietro frowned, glancing at Stephen as he raised his hands in defense, "Nope." He simply spoke up as Pietro sighed once more, before eating his Pocky alone.

Tony snickered evilly, holding his Pocky stick in the air before he jumped up from the couch and ran out of the room in search of Pepper. Loki twisted the stick between his fingers, staring at the chocolate before turning to Steve. Steve stared at the stick, then at Loki and back. "Stevie, darling, it'll be fun." Loki teased, waving the Pocky in front of Steve's face.

Steve sputtered a laugh, “You have an odd definition of the word ‘fun’.”

"Just one game."

Steve sighed, taking the stick from Loki's grip, "Fine, but one game." He muttered as Loki smirked, "Only because you'll hold this against me or prank me or... Something." He muttered as he placed one end of the Pocky stick in his mouth, waiting for Loki to bite off the other end. 

"Or something." Loki teased, before biting on the other end, staring intensely at Steve as he cockily took the first bite.

Steve chewed slowly, staring at Loki with narrowed eyes. Once he swallowed, Loki took another small bite, before finally swallowing, cheekily then taking a larger bite, slowly moving each other's faces closer to each other. Steve, now in competition and determination mode, also took a large bite. They both continued until Steve's face was inches from Loki's, making the God's eyes widen and slightly go crossed before he smirked at Steve who glared at him. The two of them were so concentrated on each other that they didn't notice when Tony rushed back into the room, defeated and sad, his non-eaten Pocky stick in his hands.

Before the two of them knew it, they were just centimeters from their lips touching. Their breaths mingled together as they closed their eyes, both of their noses brushing against each other. As if in slow motion, Steve felt himself lean forward and pressed his lips gently against Loki's, his free hand sliding behind the god's neck, deepening the kiss by tilting his head to the side slightly. The chocolate was completely eaten, only the taste of it remained on their lips. Loki smirked into the kiss, while Steve, after a few moments, pulled back, looking slightly breathless and blushing fiercely before smiling sheepishly at Loki. It was silent in the room for a second before everybody exploded in a fit of applause and cheers. 

Steve rubbed the back of his neck, bashful and embarrassed as Tony nudged the Captain on his shoulder, Loki just smirked, raising his hand to teasingly ruffle Steve's hair. "Flustered are we, dear Captain?" Loki continued to taunt, causing Steve to blush even more. "Adorable."

As Thor grinned, slapping Steve on the back, "That's the spirit!" The blonde God announced, grinning. "I'm starving! Let us feast!" 

And to that, the team cheered.

[themculibrary]

Bucky And Loki (Winterfrost) Masterlist 3

part one, part two

A Sacrifice Far Greater (ao3) - lionessvalenti E, 16k

Summary: In order for the Asgardian refugees to stay in Wakanda, Bucky must marry Loki to keep an eye on him. What he's giving up is nothing compared to what he gains.

Asteroide (ao3) - SailorChibi T, 6k

Summary: When Loki hears rumors of an unstoppable killing machine that could aid him in his quest, he goes to Wakanda. But the James Barnes he finds is not the Winter Soldier he expects, and it changes everything.

Bad Ideas (ao3) - Unforgotten M, 6k

Summary: "How old are you?"

"Eight-hundred and two. Why?"

On one of the screens in front of them was Loki's basic stats. Under Age, it said 1053.

Bucky and Shuri exchanged a glance.

"Who's the current King of Asgard?" Shuri asked.

Loki rolled his eyes, then grimaced, like rolling his eyes had hurt. "My father. Odin. Obviously."

(After the destruction of Asgard, an amnesiac Loki falls into Wakanda.)

Cellies (ao3) - gwyneth rhys (gwyneth), RenneMichaels T, 9k

Summary: Rolling his eyes, Stark said, “Whatever. I’m decidedly unthrilled about Goth Barbie and Murderbot Ken being in such close proximity, and such close proximity to me. What happens if he decides to whammy this one?” and he pointed at Bucky.

Confession Is Good for the Soul (ao3) - Dont_touch_the_phlebotinum T, 2k

Summary: While Bucky and Loki haven't actively been trying to keep their fledgling relationship a secret, nobody else has any idea about the pair's habit of sneaking into each other's beds and they're happy for it to stay that way. But in Stark Tower, things don't tend to stay quiet for long.

Cracked Actor (ao3) - Dont_touch_the_phlebotinum E, 11k

Summary: Everybody had secrets. Most people's weren't nearly as interesting as they liked to think they were.

There were always exceptions to that rule, though. Loki had just never expected Bucky Barnes to be one of them.

On Earnestness and Other Hassles (ao3) - Unforgotten M, 6k

Summary: Loki only slept with his new husband on their wedding night.

Once was enough, apparently.

On the Subject of Time (ao3) - lionessvalenti E, 8k

Summary: When staying on Earth is too dangerous, Bucky goes into hiding on Asgard. He expects to wait out his time in boredom, until he meets the king.

Restless Nights (ao3) - thehellfire G, 3k

Summary: Request: "Maybe where Loki has to live with the Avengers in the tower and Bucky joins in, or the other way around...?"

Rub a Dub (ao3) - Unforgotten M, 2k

Summary: After Bucky breaks his right hand and his metal arm in the same week, he has trouble with pretty much everything.

Loki's surprisingly good about helping out.

Salvation {Bucky x Loki AU} (ao3) - itellmyselfstories E, 75k

Summary: Set in modern day NYC, where Bucky is a former US Marine now employed as a computer scientist at Stark Research after losing his left arm in an IED blast. Through his colleague Natasha he meets a group of friends, including bookshop-owner Loki, where he is accepted and welcomed more readily than he expected.

the rubble or our sins (Loki x Bucky) (ao3) - LokisxMischief M, 10k

Summary: Mentions: flashbacks of trauma (torture/abuse), self loathing, torturing, mild violence (including torture), angst and some fluff

The Winter Wolf (ao3) - RenneMichaels T, 84k

Summary:: If there is one thing this damn mission did not need, it was a leather wearing bastard with horns getting between him and his target. Not that Loki gives a good god damn what Hydra Assassins want.

To smooth the jagged edge from a stone (ao3) - cruellae (tinkabelladk) M, 11k

Summary: When the dark-haired stranger shows up at the door of the simple Wakandan home where Bucky has been living quietly for the past few months, Bucky has almost completely repressed the urge to grab for the carving knife hanging on a magnetic strip on the kitchen wall. He doesn’t slink toward the door with the weapon concealed behind his back. He has been to enough therapy that he can open the door like a normal person and greet the man on the other side. It feels wrong, but he does it anyway, because that’s what’s healthy and sane and what he’s supposed to be doing.

The man in the doorway gives him a charming smile, his artfully messy black hair a shock against his pale skin, his eyes an unsettling shade of green. “The Winter Soldier, I presume?”

Bucky shuts the door.

(Infinity War never happened, and now after the events of Thor:Ragnarok, the Asgardians are settling on Earth. Bucky is chilling on that farm in Wakanda. AKA the Bucky/Loki fic you didn't know you needed.)

You've Seen the Butcher (ao3) - Dont_touch_the_phlebotinum T, 3k

Summary: They didn't stay the night in each other's beds. It was a simple rule, one they had never even felt the need to formally establish, clear as it was. Their encounters were about flesh and nothing more. If they drifted into sleep afterwards, as they often did, they would simply return to their own chambers within Avengers Tower long before the sun rose. In the light of day, their nocturnal activities had never happened. But as it turned out, even the simplest of rules could be broken.

[donaweasley]

Their Little Secret

Pairing: Loki x Fem!Reader

Plot: This can be read as a sequel to What If or even as a solo.

The reader and Loki have been best friends for long, but eventually realised that it was more than just friendship. As they secretly step into a new world, the entire team, unbeknownst to it all, makes it their mission to make the love birds realise and confess what they feel for each other.

Warnings: Fluff, slight angst in relationship, a happy ending! Oh! And late-night hazards and a long read. Sorry!

Read time: ~26 mins

“(Y/N), could you please take a look at this once?”

Loki waltzed in through (Y/N)’s door with a file in his hand. She was reading a book, when he knocked.

“It’s pretty late. I thought you said you’d go straight to bed. What are you doing with this poor old piece of rat-food now?”

“I did. But then I couldn’t sleep. So...I thought of doing something boring enough to lull me to sleep. But this old file actually turned out to be quite interesting,” he explained animatedly. “I just couldn’t understand one part. So, here I am!”

She eyed him suspiciously as he spread his arms to accentuate his royal presence.

“That, or you wanted to see me, and this file is a flimsy excuse,” she drawled.

“Come on, darling! I’m fond of you but not to the extent that I’ll have to make lame excuses to see you. Besides, why would I need to lie to you?”

After taking a moment to consider his words, she stepped beside him and asked him to show the file.

“It is here - this part,” he pointed at a chunk of printed information.

“This one is…” She pondered aloud. “That doesn’t make sense! Loki, w-where did you get this from? That doesn’t look like any mission report or anything. It looks like...an excerpt...from...a book?”

Before she could register, a kiss landed on her cheek. It was immediately followed by Loki excitedly wishing her, “Goodnight, darling,” and vanishing into a green glow.

She stood stunned for a while. Gradually, the tingling sensation where Loki’s lips had caressed her skin began to spread like wildfire through her face, and soon she was blushing and smiling like an idiot.

“Idiot!” She cursed him as she flopped back on the bed.

After a few seconds of fiddling with the bookmark, and staring at blurred lines on the page, she closed the book, and decided to call it a night. After what Loki just did, nothing else could compare to a happier ending to the day.

As she closed her eyes, sunny memories started flooding her mind.

It had all started hardly two months ago, when they were having their usual midnight snacks, casually talking the day’s stress away, talking nonsense - just the usual best buddy night.

But then something happened: a childish game of “what-ifs”.

It was fun, for the most part, until Loki had asked her about her intentions if she met the love of her life the next day. Already stained with painful memories of past relationships and with the hopelessness about her love life, she tried her best to evade the question. But Loki, being Loki, kept proding her until she gave him a genuine reason for her frustration.

And everything changed after that. Because in trying to save the other from falling down the emotional cliff, they had saved each other. They had found each other.

She laughed softly as she remembered the hesitancy in both their hearts as they had crossed the threshold of friendship.

That was the first time that she had kissed him. On the cheek. And that was even before she had fully realised that her feelings for him were no longer platonic.

That was the first time Loki had put an arm around her and pulled her close to him.

Another giggle escaped her as she remembered the moment when the soft morning light, and a stiff back had awakened her from her sleep.

Both were still sitting in almost the same position as they had been when they were chatting.

She had found herself cocooned in the arms of Loki, her legs tangled with his, both of them safe under the thin blanket that Loki had picked while preparing for their night. Her head rested on his chest, while his rested on the top of her head.

The last thing that she remembered from the previous night was them promising each other that no matter how things turned out, they’d always be beside one another. And then Loki had pulled her closer, and gently laid her head on his throbbing chest.

It was now peacefully moving up and down with his sleepy breaths. Before opening her eyes to reality, she stole a few moments to let this feeling sink in.

When she had closed her eyes the night before, there was an excitement so high in the air that Thor’s thunder would have been ashamed. It was the hammering of Loki’s heart that had eventually put her to sleep.

The morning brought a peaceful rhythm beneath her ears. It was beautiful, it was calm, it was...reassuring. She loved it more than the thrill of the past few hours.

But no matter how long she tried to soak herself in the feeling, the incidents of the night before still seemed somewhat unbelievable. How could something months long change overnight? Was it all a mirage then, cast by the treacherous night?

The darkness of the night sets the mind free to imagine anything, take any decision. But the clarity of the day brings logic to the forefront, which sometimes turns out to be good but sometimes not so good.

But...it had felt right. She took a deep breath to clear her mind. It still felt right. That was all the assurance that she needed for the moment.

As she turned in her bed, she remembered the raspy voice in which Loki had wished her a good morning.

The close proximity, the husky, sleep-laden voice, the sudden change in the air - everything made blood rush to her cheeks and ears. Loki had sleepily chuckled at her flushed state, though he was only slightly better than her in hiding his own flustered state.

Ever since, not a single day had passed when the two of them hadn’t thanked the stars.

She used to think that she loved Loki’s friendship more than anything. She was happy to be proven wrong when she experienced Loki’s courtship.

A different flower everyday, sometimes inside her room, laid carefully near her door, sometimes on her bedside table, and on some mornings, beside her pillow.

She was used to going out with her best friend Loki, but going out with her boyfriend Loki was an experience on a whole new level. Light brushes of the fingers, sometimes an arm around her shoulder, intertwining of fingers, occasional brushes of his lips on her temple, and not-very-occasional blushes that tinted both their skins.

Every day, before parting for the day, she was blessed with bear hugs from him - something that she had never expected him to be fond of.

It was the best time of her life! Almost every doubt that she had about this relationship not working out had evaporated long ago. It was - she dared to say - perfect!

Except for one small hiccup: they had to keep everything off the radar.

For one, they were still testing the waters. No matter how happy and confident they were with one another, their newfound relationship was still at its infancy, and they didn’t want to declare anything to the rest of the team right away.

Second, everybody in the compound had been teasing both (Y/N) and Loki about “getting a room” for a long time. They didn’t want to give them the satisfaction of knowing that they were finally correct. Well, figuratively.

Unfortunately, the team did not know that they had already confessed their feelings to each other. And so, they were desperate to make the love birds see the truth of their emotions. The Avengers, tough and stubborn as they were, never gave up. And Loki and (Y/N) simply decided to play along.

For instance, around a month and a half ago, Tony had thrown one of his usual parties at the compound, and had brought a line of apparent suitors for (Y/N) and a host of gorgeous ladies and lads to introduce to Loki.

Though the new couple was initially confused at the unbridled attention, they eventually understood what was going on: Tony Stark had decided to use the age-old recipe of jealousy to crack either one or both of them.

It was fun, they both admitted later, to dance to the tune, and give the host a frowning face when he realised that neither were biting the bait. Instead, both seemed to be enjoying themselves flirting or dancing with their respective “baits”.

What escaped the eagle eyes of the team were the furtive looks that both (Y/N) and Loki threw at each other from time to time. It wasn’t easy to masquerade those longing glances with playful teases that two friends might share. But they had to.

Late into the night, after the party was over, Loki teleported into (Y/N)’s room. The security cameras were still a threat to their little secret.

“Hello beautiful!” Loki purred when she didn’t turn all her attention towards him as she usually did, but kept herself apparently busy in making the bed.

“Is this my consolation prize for all your flirting this evening?” She tried to keep it casual but her displeasure seeped into her tone.

“Ooh, someone sounds jealous,” he drawled.

“Speak for yourself, God!”

Loki stepped towards her, and gently caught her hand, putting a pause to her actions.

“Look at me. Please?”

She smiled as she faced him, but he could easily catch the facade.

“I know what you're trying to do. You can’t fool me, (Y/N).”

“And what is it that I’m doing?” She tried to question with the same casualness but her voice kept betraying her.

“You are trying to make it look like it didn’t affect you - me being with all those lovely people. But in reality, you are hurt, even if it is a tiny bit.”

Her smile faltered. Of course, she couldn’t fool the God of Lies!

Closing her eyes, she shook her head, “I don’t know why you’re saying this Loki. I’m perfectly fine! Why would I-”

“You and I understand each other perfectly,” Loki gently cut her off. “Or did you forget that?”

He reminded her of the one line - of the one realisation - that had triggered the tiniest thoughts of them being possibly together, if at all.

Realizing that all doors were closed for her, she tried to turn away from him, only to be stopped by the trickster.

“If it makes you feel any good,” he resumed, “it did burn me a bit, too, to watch you dance and laugh with those clowns.”

At this, she burst into laughter. Loki was glad at the change of mood, and allowed a few happy creases around his eyes as well.

“Is that true,” she asked, “or are you simply trying to make me feel better?”

He shrugged, “What do you think?”

“I’d like to believe that it’s true,” she confessed shyly.

“It is.”

“Well then,” she said after suppressing a wild grin that tried to crack its way through, “I guess that makes us even.”

“Guess so.”

“I’m sorry, Loki,” she sighed, “I lied earlier because I didn’t want to put any kind of pressure on you or anything. I mean...jealousy? That’s the first stage of obsession. And...I don’t want you to think that...”

“Hey,” Loki held both her hands in his, “your feelings for me will never suffocate me. On the contrary, they help me breathe. You have given my life a new purpose. I thought I was happy being your best friend. But this...this is even better. Never think that you’re putting any kind of pressure on me. None of those men or women out there, or anywhere for that matter, can bring me what I feel with you, for you.”

Words seemed insufficient for what she wanted to say. So, she simply nodded, and wrapped her arms around his torso.

“Thank you,” she murmured into his chest.

He chuckled as he ran his hand on her head, “Being jealous actually makes you look cute.”

She unwrapped herself from him just enough to look at his face, “Says the man who just confessed being jealous himself!”

“I never said I don’t look cute,” he shrugged again.

Shaking her head and laughing, she pulled his face down, and placed a warm kiss on his cheek.

“Go now, before I punch that cute face of yours.”

“When you say ‘punch’,” Loki drawled, “do you mean…’kiss every inch of’...?”

Blushing furiously, she pushed him towards the door.

“Shut up, and just go!”

Loki laughed as he wished her a lovely night, and disappeared into his usual green glow.

---------------

But the Avengers were not the ones to give up.

Not many weeks later, Natasha planned an evening at one of her favourite nightclubs. While Steve, Vision and Bucky backed out of the plan, given their previous not-so-delightful interactions with the loudness and the crowd, Thor and Tony were adamant on dragging Loki with them.

“We thought you liked a little fun! Since when did you start wearing grandpa’s knickers?” Tony snorted.

“C’mon, brother, don’t embarrass me,” Thor’s voice boomed in Loki’s room. “(Y/N) has embarrassed me enough. She didn’t want to go either. Said she’d rather sleep than be tormented by the blasted noise.”

She said what? That means she’s going to stay back-

“Wait, what?” Tony turned towards Thor with a perplexed look, “She said that?”

He turned around to face Loki again, “Are you two planning something or have you both become boring?”

No, no, no! They’ll add up…

“I am not boring!” Loki declared. He decided to stay quiet on the other option that Stark had mentioned.

“Well, then join us,” Tony shrugged.

With a dramatic roll of his eyes, Loki agreed.

Needless to say, his eyes went wide when he saw (Y/N) dressed up and ready for the outing when he was expecting her in her pajamas. When she silently questioned him, he immediately realised that he had been tricked.

I have to be more careful.

The team’s plan soon became obvious when, after a few rounds of shots, everyone made a beeline to the dance floor, leaving behind a string of excuses, and Loki and (Y/N) at the bar. Even through the crowd, the duo’s trained eyes could catch glimpses of their teammates shadowing them.

“Do they really think getting drunk will make us confess?” She shouted over the sound of the music.

“I’m a God,” he shouted back. “Midgardian liquor doesn’t affect me anyway.”

“Well, it affects me,” she shrugged and drained another shot down her throat, “and I love it!”

Last one.

She had started feeling dizzy. Getting wasted could be saved for another moment when she wasn’t being spied on.

A few minutes passed in silence as neither was fond of shouting to communicate. (Y/N) bobbed her head to the music while Loki eyed the mass of bodies swaying and moving with the beats.

“Would you-” Loki began but stopped midway.

While her eyes questioned him, he silently slipped from the stool, and came to stand almost behind her.

His hot breath, dipped in a faint whiff of alcohol, hit the shell of her ear as he purred, “Would you like to dance with me?”

She was rendered immobile for a while. A small corner of her mind wondered if Loki knew what he was doing to her.

I bet he knows what he’s doing.

“I’d have loved to!” She drawled. “It’s a shame there isn’t room for a waltz here, and I wouldn’t want a God like you to hop like teeangers in the crowd.”

She felt his chest brush against her back.

“I was actually hoping that you’d be up for that dance,” he pointed at a section of the crowd where bodies were gliding against each other in the most provocative ways.

Her breath hitched again. She didn’t need to turn her head to know that Loki was smirking at his achievement.

But this time, she wouldn’t squeal, she wouldn’t push him away with a timid smile. Diffidence and boldness both tugged at polar ends of her heart until boldness won the war.

Not this time. Two can play the game, darling.

“So, what’s stopping you?” Her lips almost brushed his earlobe as she tilted her head to whisper in his ear.

Where did that come from?!

Loki wasn’t prepared for this.

It was usually him who threw mildly suggestive comments which she pushed away with a shy gesture. He never expected the tables to turn so quickly.

She did not even have enough shots to get drunk yet, he noticed.

“What happened, did the cat get your silver tongue?” She smirked.

“I-I...uh...”

While Loki continued to gape at her, an inkling of panic nudged her chest.

Did I take it too far? He obviously wasn’t ready for this, but…

It all must have been another prank for him, and I…

No!

With a cackle, she sliced the apparent tension in the air. “So, finally got you, ha? Mischief!” She winked.

Turning towards the bartender, she ordered another shot.

Loki’s brain was still trying to decipher her behaviour.

Did she really mean it…? It didn’t look like a joke though…

As she focused on her drink, he thought he saw a flicker of disappointment cross her face, but the incessant dance of light and shadows made her features almost unreadable.

“You should get back to your seat, y’know?” She told him with downcast eyes.

“What?”

“The team might notice and...they might know.”

Did her voice just...tremble?

Loki hated the place: the noise, the dim lights, the secrecy - he hated the way everything seemed to veil her from him.

“I think I’ll go find them.”

Downing another drink, she hopped off her seat, and disappeared in the crowd, leaving Loki to his thoughts.

Once they were back in the compound, Loki went straight to (Y/N)’s room. This time he did not sneak into her room using magic; he knocked on her door. This wasn’t the moment to play a game of cat and mouse. If the entire compound was prying on him, he would gladly allow them to. Well, maybe not gladly.

“Hey! Hi, Loki!”

Her smile was as bright as ever.

Was it all in my mind then?

“Are you alright?” He tried to sound calm but his anxiety turned out to be more stubborn than him.

“Yes, I am. What- Come inside first.”

She stepped aside, allowing him to stride into her room, and flump down on the bed.

“I’m sorry,” he began honestly, “I thought...I thought you were upset. At the club… I thought I saw you...sad? I’m not sure. I just had this feeling that you’re probably not okay, and-”

“Loki,” she held his shoulders and gently hushed him, “I’m fine.”

Her assurance enabled him to breathe normally again.

Caressing his face, she placed a light kiss on his forehead.

“Thank you, Loki! For everything. For caring so much about me.”

“(Y/N),” he held her hand, “are you hiding something? From me?”

He didn’t miss the way she gulped before replying.

“Why would you say that?”

“Look, I’m sorry if I cross the lines sometimes. I know I tease you but those are… I’m sorry if I’ve ever made you uncomfortable or have hurt you.”

“You are an idiot! Do you know that? You’ve never hurt me or made me uncomfortable. Now, get these stupid thoughts out of your little brain, and give me that devilishly charming smile of yours.”

Despite all her compliments, his eyes did not light up as they usually did.

“Are you sure?” He asked her.

“Absolutely!”

“You’ll tell me if you’re upset, won’t you? Promise me.”

He took note of how she licked her lips before nodding.

Something is not right.

“Come here,” he pulled her in his arms, and buried his face in the crook of her neck. “And I’m not an idiot. I am smart.”

---------------

The next few weeks turned out to be more and more challenging as the team was now hell-bent on getting them exposed. What made them so sure of their relationship was still a mystery to the couple.

“Are we that obvious?” (Y/N) asked Loki one day.

“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “It is said that it shows on the faces of those in love. So, I guess...”

The words, coming from him, filled her with warmth. If that be true, and if everyone could see that they were in love only by looking at them, then she’d happily trade their secrecy for more obviousness.

But every time they came close to taking the relationship to the next level, she would find Loki backing away. Every time they had the opportunity to reveal their beautiful secret to the team, he would quickly shield both of them.

Why, Loki? Do you not want us?

---------------

It was a rainy evening when Tony had gathered everyone in the living room. At first (Y/N) thought that it was an urgent meeting for a new mission. But when she knew the actual reason behind it, she couldn’t prevent the snort that escaped her.

“Excuse me?” Tony pointed at her. “You got some problem, princess?”

“Truth or dare? Like, how old are we? Twelve?”

Tony spread his arms as if to silently make a point. “Since when did you start categorizing fun into ages? Ever since you started dating Rock of Ages?”

“Hey!” Loki made a tiny protest at his nickname.

“We are not dating,” (Y/N) deadpanned.

“And there goes my question,” Wanda sighed from across the room.

In response, (Y/N) simply rolled her eyes, and grumbled, “Kids!”

Once the game started, the team wasted no time in getting to the point: (Y/N) and Loki.

The first one to get attacked was Loki.

“No, no truth for you,” Sam chimed in just as Loki sucked in a breath to choose “truth”.

“He’s the God of Lies!” Sam announced, “He can easily slip away with any lie!”

“The bird’s got a point!” Tony agreed, followed by everyone else. “‘Dare’ for you!”

“This is not how it works,” Loki protested.

“Did you play this on Asgard? Thor?”

“No, we had never even heard of it until we came here,” the big brother responded.

“But-”

“Nah-ah!” Tony didn’t let him finish. “This is exactly how it is played. Who wants to give the God of Mischief a mischievous dare?”

(Y/N) wanted to protest; she wanted to tell Tony that he was bending the rules to get to them. But any word of support would further corner them both. All she could do was play along.

“Kiss (Y/N). And you know where I mean.”

Nat’s voice yanked her out of her thoughts. She watched in horror as Loki’s expressions changed from shock to anger while the entire team cheered.

“Nat!” (Y/N) jumped up from her seat, “do you even hear yourself? He’s my best friend! We can’t just...”

“Why not?” Sam questioned with a smirk. “You seemed to be enjoying it when I was asked to kiss Buck. He’s my best buddy.”

“Speak for yourself,” Bucky mumbled.

“C’mon, it’s just a game! Don’t be a spoilsport.”

Steve?? Et tu?

Rubbing her eyes, (Y/N) tried to find a way out of it. She knew well that if Loki kissed her, she’d melt into it. Everything would become obvious.

No, no, no!! This can’t be. They can’t just expose us like this. Loki would be so....

Wait, why isn’t he saying anything?

She opened her eyes to see Loki standing. His expression was unfathomable.

Oh no! Is he going to…

“This is outrageous!” Loki snapped and turned on his heels to walk out of the room.

Oh!

For reasons she did not want to explore then, (Y/N)’s heart dropped several feet. She was expecting a similar reaction from him but wasn’t hoping for it.

Quickly gravitating back to the situation in hand, she stammered an excuse or two for his behaviour, and followed his tracks to check on him.

Once both of them were out of earshot, Tony leaned towards the group, “Did we save it or kill it.”

“Looks like we killed it,” Sam sighed.

“Trust me,” Wanda smiled, “we saved it.”

“Vision? What do you think?”

“I still do not understand why you have to torment them like this. Let them come out when they want to. It’s-”

“Okay!” Tony interrupted him. “Sorry I asked! My bad!”

The door to Loki’s room was half open when (Y/N) arrived. Gingerly, she admitted herself inside.

Loki was standing at the window, with his back towards her. His head was bowed but his hands were curled into fists on both sides of his body.

“Loki?”

The name came out so softly that she couldn’t be sure if he had heard it, given that he did not move at all.

But before she could call him again, he spoke.

“I did not want this to happen,” his voice bore that particular kind of seriousness that usually preceded an unwanted or unhappy revelation.

What?

“I am sorry, (Y/N).” He turned towards her, and she realised in an instant that he wasn’t fooling around.

“What are you talking about, Loki? What did you not want to happen?”

Her chest felt tighter with every passing second.

Please, not what I’m fearing.

“This,” his hand vaguely gestured towards the hallway. “Whatever happened just now. I knew they would come down to this one day. I never wanted-”

“It’s okay,” she interjected. “I did not like that either. Although they meant no harm. It was just for fun… And I understand if you're having second thoughts. This entire thing between us was just something… y’know, a spur of the moment kind of thing. I totally understand if-"

"(Y/N)! Where is this coming from? What are you even talking about?"

She couldn’t make herself look at him, for if she did, he could clearly see the moisture pooling in her eyes. She needed to appear strong.

“Loki, you’ve always been my best friend. And I’ve loved that. You know it. And it’s okay if this new turn in our relationship does not turn out to be something that you had hoped for. It happens. It’s okay-”

“It’s not okay for me,” Loki grasped her hands. “What are you saying? Why? A-are you not happy with me? Have I done something wrong? Did I offend you in any way?”

What is he saying? I thought…

As she looked up at him, a couple of drops ran down her cheeks and on her shirt.

“(Y/N), please tell me. You had promised to tell me anything and everything that upsets you. So, tell me what happened. Why do you speak of our relationship as if it was a mistake?”

“It never was a mistake for me,” she breathed, “I thought you felt...I thought you...”

“What?”

The shaky way in which the question came out of him stung her more than any thought of Loki not wanting this relationship. It was then that she realised how badly she had hurt him.

He never wanted to leave! He always wanted me? Us?

She didn’t know what to say.

“I’m sorry,” she finally managed. “I thought that you...didn’t want...this. Us. I-”

“Why would you even think so? Why would you bear such thoughts when I love you with every fiber of my being?”

Her head snapped up.

“You love me?” Her own voice became shaky.

“Of course, I do,” he gently placed a hand on her cheek, “always have. At first I thought it was a love for friends until that night, when I realised that I wanted to be more than just friends with you.”

More tears fell down her cheek as she rejoiced in the moment. Loki wiped them all, and placed soft kisses on each cheek.

“And all this time, I was afraid that you’re having second thoughts,” she confessed.

“And why is that?”

“Because...”

How do I say that it’s because you haven’t kissed me yet? And ran away from the one moment we had today, albeit in a not-so-comfortable situation?

“Because I haven’t kissed you yet?” Loki asked her.

Her heart beat so violently, she could have sworn that Loki could hear it. Her tongue felt too heavy to speak.

“I didn’t think you were ready,” he admitted. “That is the reason why I did not dance with you in the club either. I was teasing you, yes, but when you responded I was definitely taken aback. I wasn’t sure if it was you or the ambience talking. So…

You have always shied away from any comments that I make, and...I did not want to push anything on you.”

“Oh, Loki!”

She hugged him so hard that even the Asgardian had to take two steps back to balance himself.

“I’m so, so sorry,” she wept into his shirt. “I misunderstood your actions for… I pushed you away. I thought you weren’t ready for this relationship. I’m sorry!”

Tears of both apology and relief flooded her. He tried to sush her as he rocked her slowly from side to side.

After taking a moment to compose herself, she stood straight. Loki looked at her red-eyed, tear-stained face and tutted.

“Doesn’t suit you, darling. Show me your crazy, grinning face.”

With a chuckle, she gave him a funny face-splitting smile, making both of them laugh.

“(Y/N), I didn’t want to kiss you because of a game or under the watchful eyes of that insufferable bunch of imbeciles. But if you will allow me now, I-”

“Just stop being so polite for a change, and kiss me,” she tugged at the collars of his shirt.

Loki didn’t need to be asked twice.

---------------

In the hall, the Avengers were busy speculating the outcome of their little plan, when the couple in discussion walked in. Hand in hand.

“Yes, we had changed our relationship status around six months ago,” (Y/N) announced to a stunned audience.

“And yes, we kissed. Just now. And I hope you know where I mean,” Loki added before dragging his love away towards the elevator.

“What was that?” She whispered as she was being whisked away.

“What?” Loki asked innocently, although his eyes stated otherwise.

“You didn’t need to declare that we just kissed!” She laughed as the doors of the elevator closed.

He shrugged while jabbing at a button. “They wanted us to kiss anyway. So, I gave them the satisfaction of knowledge. Besides, they need to know who you belong to now.”

“Aha! Possessive?”

“No! I also made it clear who I belong to now.”

He smiled as the doors opened to the hallway that led to his room. And once again, his words had rendered her speechless.

Silver tongue!

***

-----------------------------------------------

You can read the backstory here.

And here's a song to sing along and keep the mood floating...

[beyondspaceandstars]

Hi!

I've been reading some of your posts and I am a big fan🥰

I was wondering if its okay, maybe you could do a Loki x reader where they were best friends and denied each others feelings all the time and when Loki was brought to the TVA, he found reader there and lots of angst and fluff🥰💞😁

Have a great day😁😁💞💞🥰🥰

Nothing Gold

Relationship: Loki x Reader

Warnings: N/A

Word Count: 1.9k

A/N: thank you so much for enjoying me work I am so glad that makes me so happy! thank you so much for the request. I really liked this idea and I think it came out okay - sorry the ending it a bit abrupt! thank you again :)

Masterlist

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Loki had to do a full-on, dramatic as hell, double-take while walking through the TVA library. He had come down to look for a variant file but had apparently ended up finding something else. More specifically — someone else.

You. You. You.

You, his best friend. You, the sweet girl he had a never-ending crush on. You, the one who had just gone missing one day.

Loki could never forget. It was like something wouldn’t let him.

He had invited you around the palace for breakfast before you left his chambers for the night. You two had been up late reading together. You frequently popped over, usually claiming to stay for a few hours, just enough for Loki to read to you some verses of a poetry book, but those hours got longer and longer each time.

Next thing you two knew, it was nearly morning and you needed at least a few hours of sleep in your own bed. He had walked you out, asking you to come back for breakfast in a few hours. You happily agreed, giving him a quick hug before parting. Loki didn’t want to let go. He remembered that detail very well. He wanted to pull you back in his chambers, just hold you for hours. Days. Months. Forever. But he didn’t. He let you go, watching as you made your way back to your modest home. He never realized that would be the last time he saw you.

Well, actually, it technically wasn’t. Because he was staring at you right now. You were at a table near the back of the library, head buried in some files but he could still recognize you. Could always point out that lovely, long hair and those soft, gentle hands. You were always a stark contrast against him.

Loki just watched you for a few moments, completely and utterly confused by the situation. The shock was wearing off and now question after question filled his brain. How did you end up here? What had you done? Were you okay? A million thoughts came over him but his legs had their own agenda. The next thing he knew, he was approaching your table. He almost didn’t know how he got there.

He stood opposite of your sitting form. You weren’t noticing him, apparently very invested in the file you were studying. Loki had to admit, that was quite like you. You were always one to get lost in the words, way deeper than he did.

Eventually, Loki cleared his throat, hoping that’d do something. Slowly, you lifted your head, brows furrowed in confusion as you looked at him from head to toe. You didn’t recognize him, Loki could see it in your eyes. He was just a variant turned agent to you. Something in him felt like it was stabbing his heart over and over again.

"Can I help you with something?" You hesitantly asked but your voice was still so sweet and kind, just as Loki remembered. You were far more patient and soft-spoken than he was.

He said your name like it was the greatest plead but you didn’t react. Loki didn’t know what to do then, realizing you were you but you also…weren’t. His face fell.

You were getting uncomfortable. "I-I’m sorry, I’m not sure I know who that is—,"

"You don’t?" Loki couldn’t help the hurtful gasp he let out.

"Sir, I’m sorry…" Your eyes began searching around frantically. Something was going on. You were getting scared, way past uncomfortable. You wouldn’t look at him anymore.

Loki said your name again, much forceful than the last. You jumped. You weren’t directly responding but Loki could see something in your eyes. He said your name again. Then again. Like it was the only thing he knew. Your eyes met one another intensely, hypnotically.

After maybe the sixth time, you snapped. You jumped out of your seat, breathing heavily, scared, surprised. It had all happened too fast Loki was also taken back. You two were more than just staring at each other. Your wide eyes were taking him in.

"Loki?"

He felt so relieved to hear his name just float off your lips. It was as sweet as he remembered. Like a little lullaby. The stabbing in him stopped.

Loki nodded. "It’s me."

"What…" You looked around as if you had no idea where you were. And maybe you didn’t but Loki hadn’t expected your name to just snap you out of it. This opened a lot of questions for him but he didn’t have time. He raised his hand, cutting off your words.

Loki nodded towards one of the bookshelf aisles further away from everyone. You nodded in understanding, following him down the rows.

Once you were a safe distance away, Loki wasted no time collecting you in his arms, his head buried in your shoulder. You were surprised for a moment at the gesture but then you fell into it naturally, like you had just hugged him yesterday. And really that was how it had felt. But Loki knew better. You had been gone for so long…

"Loki," you mumbled his name, your head pressed into his chest. "What is going on?"

Loki stilled. "Why don’t you tell me what you know."

You scoffed, breaking off the hug. You were a sweet one but Loki was no stranger to your tiny temper. You put distance between you two and Loki allowed it despite how much it hurt.

"What I know?" You repeated, folding your arms. "What I know is that I’m standing in a library with you." You looked around at the space, noting an actual lack of real books. "What kind of library is this anyway? How did I—,"

"Do you remember anything before you got here?"

Your gaze dropped as you studied your shoes. They were some nice black flats but Loki knew that wasn’t your style. You were not the business causal type, usually pleased with the feeling of Asgardian silk gowns.

Something was coming to you as you let out a soft gasp. "I was walking home. We-We had just finished a poem written by that Midgardian… Gosh, what was his name? Winter or something—,"

"Frost," Loki mumbled. "His last name was Frost and you enjoyed his poem about how nothing gold can stay. You found it relatable. I’ll admit, you may have been onto something."

A light had gone on within you. "You thought it was pretentious." Your gaze met Loki’s once more. "I called you a fool and laughed. Then we saw daylight breaking and… and I had to go home. I missed my bed. You wanted breakfast in a few hours. I agreed to come back."

Loki nodded, encouragingly, but your words had fallen off. "What happened next?"

You shook your head, that blank expression washed over you again. "I don’t know."

Loki let out a sigh and leaned back on the shelf. "Do you remember anything after that?"

You looked back down at your outfit. At least the pencil skirt was nice. "Yes," you admitted. "I was hired here. I report on variants to protect the sacred timeline." It sounded to Loki like you were reading a script. What the hell was going on here?

"But you don’t know how you got from Asgard to…here?"

You sighed, a bit annoyed. "How did you get here?"

The snippy temper was back. You were still you. Loki could’ve kissed you, a feeling that had come over him before but was suddenly more intense than ever. He would, he promised himself. He couldn’t leave you again without doing so.

"I had a bit of an…incident."

"Really? You? I never would’ve guessed," you said, the sarcasm on your words dripped heavily. Loki gave quite the dramatic eye roll. You let out a little giggle.

"Yes, well, never mind what got me here, I am here," he said, motioning towards nothing. "And I am assisting with the hunt of a variant."

"You’re helping them?"

Loki scoffed. "Don’t act so surprised." A beat. "I didn’t have much of a choice."

You bit your lip, trying to hold back a smile but failed miserably. Loki had missed this. If he focused really hard, it almost felt like you two were back in Asgard, lounging around, talking about nothing. Teasing one another. His heart was aching.

"What do you know about the variant?" You eventually asked.

Loki glanced away. "It’s me."

"You?"

He shrugged. "Well, a version of me. Another variant."

You slowly crossed the aisle, coming to stand right next to Loki, your shoulders pressed against one another. Loki’s breath hitched just a bit. He would never get used to this.

You asked, "Well, what have ‘you’ done?"

Loki resorted back to his witty humor. "Nothing good as you could assume."

"This mischief of two Lokis is unthinkable."

Loki let out a laugh which you followed suit with. You two were laughing over nothing in this random library in wherever this place was. He could barely understand it and you were absolutely clueless. But the moment of laughter was good, was familiar. Too bad it couldn’t last.

"I’ve missed you," Loki admitted after the laughter had faded out unceremoniously. You looked a bit surprised at the confession.

"Truly?"

He nodded.

You blushed and looked down. "I’d say I missed you too but I don’t feel like we’ve been apart. How long has it been?"

When Loki wasn’t giving an answer, you forced yourself to turn back to him. He was staring at you quite intensely. You shivered under the gaze. It was an expression you hadn’t seen before, he hadn’t allowed you to see. It was one full of love and interest and adornment.

"Too long," was all he said before his lips were on yours. Loki finally took what he had been craving and it was happening in the TVA library. The fucking TVA. Loki’s head was still spinning with worries about this whole thing but, slowly, he got lost in you. In your lips and softness. Your hands grasped his shirt as you deepened the kiss — you. You wanted more from him. And he was happy to give.

His hands caressed your sides lovingly, feeling and holding you in the way he had always dreamed. It was better than anything he could’ve conjured. It felt right and real. Good and… Too good. Too powerful.

An alarm was going off somewhere now. You hadn’t seemed to notice it, still captivated in the kiss, but Loki was aware. He forced you two apart, reluctantly. You looked at him, ready to protest, but before you could ask anything, Loki was placing a hand over your mouth.

Footsteps were approaching. They were coming towards your aisle. Whatever had happened here wasn’t good, something had gone haywire. Had he broken the timeline? Was that even possible here? Loki didn’t know but what he did know was there was an army on the hunt for them. Without thinking twice, he grabbed your hand, looking for an escape route.

"Loki," you finally were able to speak, keeping your voice hushed as you two maneuvered the maze of shelves, "what did we do?"

"We love each other."

"Love?"

Loki stopped despite there being no time to stop. "Am I wrong?"

You didn’t answer. That was all he needed. Now to only get the hell out of here. Loki couldn’t tell if his encounter with the TVA had been a blessing or a cure as he held you close to him, refusing to lose you again to whatever trap this place planned to lay.

[fangirlfics]

Trouble Sleeping (Loki x reader)

I swear if this deletes for a third time Im gonna cry 

KINDA A SLOW BURN BOIS

also I didn’t finish reading it over for mistakes bc I’m lazy 

summary: y/n and Loki used to be very close friends and sometimes when she had bad nightmares he’d use his magic to calm her mind, a few years have passed and they’ve grown apart. Her nightmares come back and hesitantly she seeks Loki’s help again 

word count: 3,592 wahahahaha

y/n leaned over one of the balconies that overlooked the kingdom’s private garden. The weather was perfect, the temperature ideal, sky blue, and the plants were all thriving feet below her. Despite the scenery however y/n’s attention was fixated elsewhere. 

Down in the depths of the garden, propped up on one of the fancy golden benches was the youngest Asgardian prince-Loki. His dark raven hair was combed back as he turned to the next page in his novel, the cover matching the shade of green displayed on his clothes. y/n couldn’t help but sigh as she watched the handsome prince, they had once had an unbreakable bond. It was always Loki and y/n-best friends, one wouldn’t be seen without the other. But somewhere among their late teenage years, Loki had become more cold and distant towards y/n-leaving her alone in the giant halls of the castle to wander alone. That’s when her and Thor’s relationship grew stronger-she had always been friends with the God of Thunder but after her and Loki’s relationship crumbled to pieces he was there to cheer her up. 

“Oh there you are!” Thor’s voice boomed-pulling y/n from her daydream. y/n glanced once more at Loki before turning her attention to her tall friend. “I was looking for you!” He beamed. 

“What can I do for you, your highness?” y/n asked with a playful voice.

Thor smiled, putting his hands together before continuing, “I was hoping that you would join me and-” his words faded as he glanced down to the gardens and caught sight of Loki. y/n’s attention soon turned to the railing in front of her as she traced her fingers along it’s smooth surface. “You still watch him.” Thor told her, his normally enthusiastic voice was now dry and serious. “How long have you been thinking of him?”

y/n furrowed her eyebrows, playing with her fingers. “I never stopped.” She confessed, “I know it’s foolish but I can’t help it, I..miss him more than I can even begin to explain.”

Thor was silent as he watched the girl glance back down at the gardens then to the sky. “Let’s go...horseback riding.” He suggested, getting y/n attention. “To lift your spirits, we can go with Sif a-”

“No.“ y/n blurted out, “nobody else-I don’t want to embarrass myself again by falling off my horse.“

Thor chuckled, “nobody is going to think low of you-” he looked at y/n once more sensing her silent plea ”very well then, just us.” He agreed, making her smile.

“Thank you.” She laughed, giving him a hug. It caught Thor by surprise but he then loosely wrapped his arms around y/n in return. “Thank you for everything,” y/n whispered, “really, I don’t know what’d I’d do without you. I’m blessed to have a friend like you.”

“Of course.” 

Neither of the two friends noticed that down in the gardens Loki clenched his jaw, snapping his book shut and silently retreated to his room-they also didn’t notice the pair of blue eyes staring through the window at them, when they returned laughing on horseback. 

_____________________________________________________________

 There was fire everywhere, thick black smoke made it impossible for her to breath. She was choking-desperate for air. She fell to the ground as the fire closed in quickly-it’s heat trapping her in the room. There was no hope, no help was coming and it was impossible to escape, with a loud crack the ceiling caved in leaving her trapped screaming out as the furious flames burned her alive. 

y/n woke up with a start, beads of sweat lined her forehead although her room was cool and she found that her hands were shaking. Realizing it was just a dream she lied back down, covering her face with her hands as she tried desperately to fall back asleep. She got no more sleep that night.

The same thing happened again in the coming days and three days later while in training, y/n who was running on less than four hours of sleep was doing rather well. In one quick movement she jumped up-kicking the sword right out of Fandral’s grip. 

“Very good!” Volstagg commented from across the room.

“Yes.” Fandral agreed, “show me that move and I’ll show you some of mine.” He winked.

“Just give me a time and place.” y/n responded playfully, earning a laugh. 

“Impressive.” Fandral commented at her response. (she normally responded to his joke flirting with an eye roll) 

“Yes impressive.” Loki commented from behind Fandral. “That y/n can apparently chase after two men at once.” He said this while staring casually at Thor. Sif went stiff inder the tension and Thor opened his mouth but y/n spoke first.

“I’m sorry?” 

“Well by the looks of it, you can’t seem to decide between Thor and-” 

“Brother that’s enough.” Thor warned, taking a step forward.

“I’m just putting out a warning, you do know what they say about these sort of things.” Loki remarked, not meeting her eyes.

“You know full well that I am not chasing after anyone.” y/n said, growing aggravated. 

“It sure seems that way.”He then opened the door to the room and left.

“You know what?” y/n responded, dropping her sword to the ground with a loud clang “I am tired of this.”

 “y/n I think it best if you ignore him.” Sif spoke up, “nobody is accusing you of anything, we all know you aren’t that sort of person-”

“Thank you Sif, but I am not taking this.“ y/n exited the room in pursuit of Loki, who was a few paces ahead of her walking calmly. 

“I don’t like being followed.“ He simply called out to her, because his room was only about a minute walk away from the training room he reached it fairly quickly.

“What is your problem?“ y/n asked him, putting her foot in between the door and it’s frame as Loki was about to shut it.

“I don’t have a problem, now if you’d excuse me I’d like you to leave me alone.“ 

 “Then leave me alone.” She huffed, “hold your silvertongue and stop acting as if you’re above me because you’re not.”

“Is that all?“ He asked her calmly, “you’re done with your childish tantrum?” 

“Oh you are so-“ y/n narrowed her eyes.

“So what?“ Loki asked with an eye roll.

“Terrible.“ y/n blurted, earning a cold laugh from the God of Mischief.

“So I’ve been told.“ He stated bored.

“No, I mean you’re really terrible and for so many reasons.”

“Such as?“  

“You want a list?“ y/n asked with a bitter laugh, “ok well you think you’re better than everyone and you’re not, you poke fun at other people because it’s amusing to you and-and everyone-I mean everyone thinks that you’re a snake, ever since we were younger, and I can’t believe I’m just now realizing that..they’re probably right.“ He swallowed hard furrowing his eyebrows, “you used to be my best friend Loki, I’d defend you from people’s accusations when you weren’t around and..I wasted my time because you are everything people say you are and worst.“ She saw the look in his eye, she hurt him-good now he understood how it felt. 

Loki glanced away-looking down at the girl again. “Is that all?” He asked, trying desperately to remain collected. y/n scoffed. “You may think you know me but I know you much more, don’t forget, I’ve been inside your head. People may think I’m a bad person but I can live with that, you on the other hand can’t stand the fact that someone might not like you, so much so that you’ll break down about it. You’re a weak fighter, you’re not as clever or as witty as you seem to think, and frankly I don’t understand the fascination Thor seems to have with you, you’re nothing special.”  

y/n pulled her foot from the doorway. What happened to us? She was about to cry and she did not want him seeing that. “Is that all?” She asked, reciting his previous question.

“Yes.“ He spat coldly. 

“Good.“ She turned to walk away as Loki stayed in his place trying to keep the impression that he didn’t care.

Late at night y/n tossed and turned in her bed, trying to fall asleep after waking up from a particularly realistic dream-she had thought that by laying still she’d trick her body into falling asleep but that didn’t happen. She knew that she had been able to power through the last few days with almost no sleep-but she’d certainly crash if she didn’t get any sleep soon. The thought of making a visit to Loki for help came to her mind, but she really didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing she wanted/needed his help. Screw it. She thought after another couple of hours, her clock read 2:35 as she swung her legs over her bed and slipped on her slippers and robe. 

The halls were dark and empty except for the occasional guards, which she was careful to avoid (she didn’t want to raise any suspicion). Thank God her room was only a three minute walk from Loki’s. It was once she was already in front of Loki’s door that she started getting second thoughts, but she was there already and the worst that could happen was getting the door slammed in her face or no answer. She raised her cold knuckle, letting it hover over the door’s fine wood before knocking. “It’s y/n..” She announced barely above a whisper, “trust me I really don’t want to ask for your help but I see no other option an-”

The door opened a small crack. “you do realize what time it is, right?” Loki’s annoyed voice asked-he didn’t sound like he had just woken up, maybe he was having trouble sleeping also.

“I know.” At her response Loki opened the door wider, revealing himself in a pair of emerald colored pajamas. “Look I know-” at the sound of approaching footsteps (guards) Loki stepped aside, giving her a cue to get in. She did, turning to face him one he closed the door again-his back facing the door he put his hands on his hips.

“What do you want?”

“I can’t sleep.” She said sheepishly, “I just-I’m getting the same nightmares again and I thought that maybe just this once you could, you know..” She put hands up, wiggling her fingers to imitate magic.

Loki rolled his eyes, “first off that’s not at all how magic looks, second why should I help you?”

“Just this once!“ y/n practically begged, “please. I’ve have not been sleeping at all I just need one hour. I won’t make you sleep on my couch like I did when we were younger, you can just...alter my thoughts or something and I’ll leave and-” 

“Fine.“ Loki agreed, grumpily. He walked back over to his bed, getting in between the covers on the left side. “Well?“ He asked when she stared blankly at him. He rolled his eyes again, “Obviously if you go back to your room I won’t be able to sense when I have to alter your thoughts and you’ll just come back to make a racket when you have another nightmare.“ y/n nodded slowly, making her way to the right side of the bed. “Besides it’s a big bed, just stay on that side-away from me.” She laid down, hesitant at first as she tightened her robe around herself. Loki leaned over, placing a finger and thumb over her temples to enter her mind. 

When she woke up she was in the same exact position that she was in when she went to bed and Loki was standing directly above her looking annoyed once again. It was still dark outside as he looked down at her from where he stood. “It’s about time, I’ve been trying to wake you up for the last two minutes.”

“What time is it?“

“6:05..the castles about to start waking up, you should leave before more people get uo to avoid being seen.“ y/n nodded in agreement. 

“Ok“ she walked to his door, turning to watch as he laid back down in his bed. “And Loki..“

“What?“ He sighed.

“Thank you.“ She said softly, leaving the room right after. Loki was left surprised.

“Look I know I said just once-” y/n whispered that night outside of Loki’s door, it was past 2 a.m. again, but surprisingly Loki let her in again.

“The faster you stop pestering me, the better.“ Loki told her harshly. He had woken her up at 6 a.m. again like he had done the the last time. The time after that Loki woke her up at 7 and the time after that she had woken up past 8 to see Loki sitting in a chair some feet from her sharpening his knives-when she had asked him why he hadn’t woken her up he had simply reminded that he could just teleport her back to her room, that way nobody would know she had spent the night there.

Flash forward a month later, y/n tiptoed to Loki’s room in her nightgown again, the nights were getting hotter which had led to her to leave her robe behind. When she had reached Loki’s room she didn’t need to knock, since he now left it unlocked for her. 

Once she laid down on the right side of the bed (more towards the middle now rather than all the way on the edge) Loki laid down about a foot from her. They didn’t go to bed right then however, since they had formed a habit of talking before falling asleep. “Have you been sleeping better?” Loki asked the girl beside him.

“yes.” 

“Good...”

y/n rolled onto her side to face Loki, “Thank you again.” He nodded. “You know for someone who hates me, you’re actually quite kind to me.” The corner of Loki’s mouth folded up slightly,

“I don’t hate you...” He rolled over onto his side to face her, “but what I do hate-“ he then had explained the entire plot of a book just to express his hatred for one detail in it. 

y/n woke up in the middle of the night with a start, her nightmares had came back. As it turned out Loki wasn’t in the room but when he got back with a glass of water he noticed she was off right away. “I’m sorry.” He quickly apologized, sitting beside her, “I was just-I didn’t think-”   

“I know, it’s fine.“ y/n told him, but his hand was still on her shoulder and his blue eyes still held worry in them. “I’m just-I’m going back to bed...“ Loki nodded, watching as she laid down again. 

“Are you sure you’re alright?“ She nodded.

As she began drifting off she felt Loki take her hand in his. Later on in the night y/n woke up randomly, but she wasn’t facing Loki anymore-instead she was facing his dim window, she felt warm but not from the covers and to her surprise she realized that the prince’s arm was around her waist, keeping her close. Their legs were tangled mess at the bottom of the bed and she could hear his slow breathing as he slept peacefully. She looked around slowly, trying to figure out a way to move away to avoid the embarrassment when he wakes up-but just as she began to shift around she heard him speak up. “What time is it?” up. 

“Sorry...” She apologized growing red, “I don’t know how-“  

“It’s fine.“ She heard Loki whisper. 

“It is?“

“This is quite comfortable.“ He whispered again, then he moved slightly closer-resting his head on her shoulder and he fell asleep again-she assumed that he was half awake and didn’t fully process what had happened. She decided it didn’t matter and fell asleep again, after all he wasn’t wrong-it was comfortable.  

There was a loud noise that woke y/n right up, making her jump. Now she realized that she was facing Loki again, her arms were wrapped around his neck like in a hug, his head was nuzzled in the crook of her neck-their legs still a tangled mess. Bang! Bang! There it was again, she lifted her head, looking towards the door as it came again-bang! Bang! 

“Loki” She whispered, gently shaking his sleeping form. He ignored it, pulling her closer in response instead. “Loki, someone’s at the door.” She whispered, trying not to laugh. He sighed looking up towards his door.

“Just ignore it, they’ll go away it’s probably a servant or-”

“Loki!” Thor’s voice came from the other side of the door, “Loki, I know you’re in there! Open the door.” Loki rolled his eyes, standing up to make his way towards the door. 

He opened the door a few inches, “what do you want?” He hissed.

“I-” Thor paused, “are wearing your nightwear?”

“Why is that of any importance-what do you want?”

“er, Loki is there someone in there with you?“ Thor asked. 

y/n held her breath, afraid that somehow Thor would hear her from the doorway. “I-no!” Loki snapped, “What are you talking about?”

“Alright, alright I apologize. I’m here to ask if you have seen y/n? I’ve been searching for her, she’s normally turned up somewhere at this time it’s past 10.” 

“No I don’t know where she is, I haven’t seen her. Check the garden, she’s most likely wandering around there.“ He shut the door, turning back to y/n. 

“Past 10?“ y/n asked, covering her mouth, “I should’ve been awake two hours ago.” Loki shrugged. “Can you teleport me back to my room, I should go to the gardens since Thor’s looking for me.” Loki looked at the ground with an unfamiliar look in his eyes before nodding. “Thank you.”

The girl had spent more time with Thor training than she had expected that day, leading her to take an extra long shower at night to get clean. She hadn’t realized until she looked at her clock that it was past 10-normally she’d already be at Loki’s room by now. Quickly she dried her hair and changed into her nightwear. 

She was about to leave and opened her door and unexpectedly Loki was there with his hand raised looking like he was about to knock. They stared at each other for a moment before she spoke up, “Loki? What are you doing here?” 

He glanced to the side, not wanting to meet here eyes as she awaited his response, “I thought..” he said glancing at the ground before back to her, regaining his composure “that you-“

“Weren’t coming?“ She finished for him, he nodded.

“So I came to see if you were ok, I’ll leave.“

“Wait, no.“ She told him, grabbing his wrist and taking him by surprise, “I was just coming it was just taking me longer, but you can sleep here if you want since you’re already here...?” He nodded in agreement, stepping into her room.

He settled himself into the bed, opening his arms for her to crawl into which she quickly did. The two laid there for a moment, listening to the quietness as Loki slowly brushed through her hair with his fingers.      

“remember the other day when I said that you were terrible?“ y/n suddenly asked, getting Loki’s attention. He stopped running his fingers through her hair. 

“Yes, why do you ask?“ He responded cautiously. 

“I was just mad at you. I’m sorry.“

He took a moment to think to himself, “I didn’t mean what I said either."

“Can I ask you something?” y/n asked after a while later.

“What?”

“Why did you push me away?” She asked, shifting herself to meet his eyes.

Loki sighed-only it wasn’t from being aggravated this time. He backed up a few inches from y/n-staring straight up at the ceiling. “It’s because..”

“Because what?”

“I had noticed that you and Thor were becoming closer and decided to..abandon you before you did me. I thought it’d hurt less that way.”

“What do you mean?” 

“Well, everyone always seems to choose Thor over me, I just assumed you would, in time, do the same.“ He confessed, still not meeting her gaze. 

“Loki...“ she set her hand on his shoulder waiting for him to look at her. “I would never abandon you for Thor, sure Thor is my friend but so is Fandral, so is Volstagg, so is Sif and I’m not abandoning anyone for them.“

He nodded.

“And tonight..“ y/n spoke up again, “when you thought I wasn’t coming-“

“I assumed you wouldn’t need me anymore, especially after you had spent so much time with Thor.“

“Loki!“

“What?“

“Don’t be like that!“ y/n told him, sitting up, “I do need you! I’ll always need you, I need you don’ t doubt that, and not just because of stupid nightmares, because I care for you and I love you, ok?”

Loki smiled to himself, “you love me?“

“Yes you stupid-“ she stopped talking because Loki had leaned in, capturing her lips in a kiss, taking no time to hesitate she leaned into him further deepening the kiss. After about a minute they pulled apart-resting their foreheads together. 

“I love you too.“

[imnotusedtobeingloved]

F - FEELINGS

FROM THE SCENARIO ALPHABET WITH LOKI ODINSON

REQUESTED BY: @lazypeachsoul​

f - feelings (they see someone else confess their feelings to their s/o. what do they do? would they intervene?)

It was agony.

The prospect of spending the entire evening on Asgard, in a throne room filled with people dancing and laughing under the shining lights of the chandeliers, might not have been everybodys nightmare, but it sure was Loki's. Especially because this wasn't just any ordinary occasion.

It was Thor’s birthday.

Which meant he did not only have to participate, no.

He had to be nice to his buffon of a brother.

"Loki!" he could hear the god of thunder yelling with his booming voice. He barely had the time to roll his eyes before an arm, as thick as the trunk of a tree, was slung around his shoulders. "Are you enjoying yourself brother?" Thor grinned, his breath carrying the smell of mead.

"Get off me, you mewling quim!" Loki grunted shrugging his arm off, careful not to get any drops of the drink in Thor’s hand to spill on his black suit. "Oh come on, brother! Eat, drink and enjoy the feast! It is my birthday after all."

"Happy birthday." Loki bit, grabbing a glass from a passing servant and drowing it’s content in one gulp. Thor laughed, giving him a strong pat on the back that almost left him chocking on the liquid. In all honesty, Loki had no idea how old his brother turned today, but then again he wasn't sure if any of the other attendants knew. Including the God of Thunder himself.

"You know, i was thinking," Thor started and Loki had to hinder an 'oh gods' from passing his lips. "about what we should do about those fairies in the blah blah blah blah blah..." Somewhere along the lines of Thor's grand imaginations Loki always lost track. So instead of listening to him blubber about, he busied himself with searching the the big hall for your silhouette.

Eventually he caught a glimpse of you near the dancefloor, wasting no time to leave Thor in your favor. Loki took a step back, leaving a convincing clone in his place and circled around his brother who would be occupied with his good-looking replacement for quite a while.

He made his way through the masses and Thor’s drunk companions, desperate to reach you, only to spot that someone else had made it to your side first. Loki did not bother to remember his name, but the man looked familiar. The eyes of the nobles had been onto you all night, as a mortal amongst them was quite the unusual thing to see, tough there had been no bad comments towards you.

Partially because everyone knew you to be involved with the God of Mischief, and partially because some found the differences quite interesting.

Too interesting apparently, Loki thought and grumbled as he saw the poor fool expressing his interest to you. In wide strides he crossed the room, looming behind you like an intimidating shadow until the noble started to stutter under his sight. The change in the man’s demeanor caused you to pause, turning around to see what was the matter.

“Loki!” you exclaimed happily upon seeing him and had the God smiling like an idiot. When it came to you there wasn’t much effort needed to comfort him, but with the tension leaving his body the man opposite to him also seemed to get too relaxed for Lokis liking. He wanted to enjoy your company and he wanted to enjoy it alone.

“Hello darling.” he purred, pulling you close and hugging you to his chest. Over your shoulder he shot the man a glare who already set to excusing himself, but Loki wouldn’t let him get away with it that easily.

For that the tousled, chin-long hair on the nobles head looked far too tempting.

WIth a weave of his hand the strawberry blond strands turned into snakes of the same color, quite similar to those silly little tales of that serpent-headed gorgon the mortals liked to tell, Loki imagined. Medusa was her name, he reminisced as the man started yelling over the hissing and sizzling of the animals around his face.

“What was that?” You asked, muffled against the fabric of his suit. But once you looked back, the man was gone.

“Nothing, darling.” Loki persuaded.

“But i heard—”

“Don’t worry your pretty little head about that. Now would you mind stealing some time away from this party? I have been dying to get you alone all night and i’ve had quite enough of socializing for today.”

Loki sighed in relief when you agreed, kissing the crown of your head. Thor could stretch the festivities until dawn for all he cared. While they would  pile on top of each other, he would get to sink into your arms. And you bet he did not loosen his grip on your waist until the two of you were truly by yourselves.

[mimisempai]

I started loving you long before I met you

Summary:

Loki comes home from work and tells Mobius about his day. A harmless and domestic moment turns into a heartfelt confession as Mobius reveals to Loki his biggest secret...

Notes:

I've been toying with the idea that Mobius has been studying Loki for years, and in my head canon, he's already falling in love with him at that point. I started this story with the intention of writing just a tender moment, and in the end these two clowns had their way... 200th fanfic and 90th Lokius fanfic !

https://archiveofourown.org/works/34417777

1230 words - Rating G

Loki had just come home from work and was telling Mobius about his day in an uninterrupted stream of words accompanied by energetic hand and arm movements.

They were sitting on the couch and as often happens, Loki was lying with his head in Mobius' lap.

Loki's eyes were bright with excitement and it was a sight Mobius could not get enough of. He had feared that life at the TVA and with Mobius would eventually tire of Loki, after living a castle life and all he had experienced before, but Loki had embraced this life as a real new opportunity and seeing him talk about his missions in this way was a source of joy for Mobius.

Not that their life was all restful, their work at the TVA was not routine, as demonstrated by what Loki was telling him at the moment, even if he was only listening with one ear, fascinated as he was by the hypnotic green eyes of his lover.

Mobius buried his hand in Loki's black curls and began to gently massage his scalp. Loki closed his eyes for a moment and leaned into Mobius' hand, interrupting his story to let out a sigh of contentment.

Loki kept his eyes closed, clearly enjoying the feel of Mobius' hand in his hair, and continued to recount his day, albeit a bit more calmly.

He had come to his last mission on a planet whose atmosphere had apparently been particularly foul. Clearly disgusted just at the thought of this planet, Loki had a little scrunch of the nose that Mobius found adorable. So adorable that he couldn't help himself.

He leaned over and pressed his lips to Loki's, not worrying about interrupting his lover, who let out a little hiccup of surprise before returning the kiss with a moan of pleasure.

Once they caught their breath and Mobius lifted his head a little, he saw a small glint of irritation in Loki's eyes.

His lover had a little pout that made Mobius want to take his lips back immediately, but as he leaned back in, Loki asked, "Did you even listen to me?"

"Of course, Loki," Mobius answered immediately, wanting to reassure Loki, "But..."

Loki interrupted him, "It's true that I talk a lot and only about myself and I didn't even let you speak-"

Mobius pushed a strand of hair back behind Loki's ear and said softly, "Sweetheart, tell me something I don't know. But I like to hear you talk, about everything, even about yourself and if it really annoys me, then I know how to shut you up."

Loki protested, "So I'm right, and you kissed me to shut me up!"

Mobius shook his head, "Nope, not at all, I kissed you just because I was craving it and we haven't kissed since we left the house this morning."

He planted a light kiss on Loki's nose before resuming, "I love seeing you so passionate about what you're doing, The way the excitement makes your eyes shine, giving them a special glow. And when you did that little nose wrinkle well... I'm only human, I couldn't resist."

Loki blushed to Mobius' satisfaction and muttered, "That's not fair, I can't blame you if you praise me like that."

Mobius chuckled softly, "Hey, let me have a few tricks up my sleeve too mister god of mischief."

Loki abruptly straightened up and sat astride Mobius' lap putting his hands around his neck and looking at him with a glare that made Mobius fear the worst before saying, "Really? Let me show you how mischievous I can be."

He leaned in until his lips almost touched Mobius' and continued the story of his day in a low voice almost as if he were whispering words of love to him.

Then while speaking, he moved his lips along Mobius' jaw, torturing him with his breath without ever touching him.

Then, arriving at his ear, he whispered into his ear, "This way, I'm one hundred percent sure I have your attention, love."

Mobius straightened up, moved Loki so that he was facing him again. He took his head in his hands and whispered to him in a determined voice, "You've always had my undivided attention, sweetheart and that's even long before we met for the first time."

Then to avoid the question that would not fail to come, he kissed again Loki, but his lover was not ready to be distracted, he put his hands on those of Mobius and moved back a little.

"What do you mean 'long before we met'?"

Mobius swallowed, realizing that he was going to have to reveal his biggest secret, the one thing he hadn't told Loki yet.

"Um... well... the first time Sylvie reappeared on our radar, long after she'd run away from the TVA as a little girl, I was in charge of her case and so I followed everything from you, the Loki of the main timeline. I saw you. And you became my obsession. Every episode of your life when you fell and got up again, even more mischievous, determined to go beyond your destiny, without succeeding, I wanted to be there. I wanted to be the one to help you up. That day, when I finally had the opportunity to do so, both real and figurative, I felt whole. You were my glorious purpose Loki. And most importantly I knew I was lost, that I was definitely and madly in love with you."

It was Loki's turn to swallow and Mobius saw the moment when Loki realized the full implication of what Mobius had just confessed.

Loki said in a low voice, clearly overcome with emotion, "Does this mean that what you told me that day in front of the elevator was true?"

Mobius knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Because I see a scared little boy, shivering in the cold.  And you kinda feel bad for that ice runt."

All Mobius could think of to say was, "I'm sorry I called you an ice runt."

Loki shook his head, "No, because I am, I used to be a runt, but when you said that, I felt the compassion in your voice, and it was the first time I felt like I was being seen for what I was by someone who wasn't my mother or my brother. And to know that from the beginning you saw me that way, wow... Mobius, knowing that is even stronger than when you told me you didn't see me as a villain. I... I..."

He had to stop, his throat knotted with emotion, and Mobius wiped a tear from the corner of his eye with his thumb.

"You don't know how happy I am that you ran away with the tesseract, because I was finally able to tell you everything I had always wanted to tell you. Because you haven't stopped since that day to show me that there was the good in you that I thought you were capable of. That all the good I saw in you was really there and was just waiting to come out. I am so proud of you, that this ice runt is a great god capable of the best."

Mobius embraced Loki's amazed expression and proceeded to show him the depth of his feelings in a way that didn't require words. _____ Series of Oneshot : Together, for all time, always

As always, bear with me as it is not beta'd and english is not my native language I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless🥰

[avengershumanresources]

blood 1 - Strange/Stark!Reader

Relationship: Dr. Strange/Princess!Stark!Reader

Rating: M

Warnings: Adult Themes, eventual smut (like, wayyy down the line), adult language, implied sexual violence, general violence

Synopsis: Reader is the daughter of the legendary King Anthony Stark, Uniter of Lands, The Iron Defender, and leader of the realm. When the king disappears during battle, hope is lost and he is presumed dead.

When the late king’s uncle, Obadiah, takes the throne until your brother Peter is of age, he quickly arranges a marriage for you with a wicked king in a neighboring kingdom.

With the realms politics in question, and rumors of an upcoming siege to overthrow Peter’s rule before it starts, you quickly learn who is loyal to the crown and who is not.

Masterlist 

Chapter Playlist

1 - an empty grave

Cast:

The Royal House Stark:

King Obadiah Stark (Obadiah Stane)

King Anthony Stark (presumed dead)

Queen Virginia Stark (Pepper)

The Late Queen Alexandra Stark (your mother)

Princess Stark!Reader- you

Prince Peter Stark (Peter Parker)

Princess Morgan Stark

Knights:

Sir Samuel Wilson

Sir Steven Rogers

Sir Clinton Barton

Spellcasters/Master Sorcerers/Sorceresses:

Stephen Strange

Wanda Maximoff

Master Wong

Loyal to House Stark:

Natalia Romanoff (Natasha)- Assassin

James Barnes- her partner

Prince Thor- of Asgard, United with Stark’s kingdom

Prince Loki- of Asgard

Lady Brunhilde- of Asgard

Lady Sif- of Asgard

King T’Challa- of Wakanda

Princess Shuri- of Wakanda

(---) 

In a final twist of irony, the day of the funeral was bright and warm. 

You’d stood quietly while the priest recited his words, while candles were lit, while the Queen trembled silently next to you. You held Morgan’s hand, you listened while the choir sang, the ominous sound reverberating through your chest. 

The mourners in black whispered while the royal family walked up to an empty coffin. You touched the polished wood, fist tightening at your side. Pepper bowed her head, reciting a quiet prayer. 

How stupid. All of this was stupid. Praying to an empty box, crying over nothing. 

You kept your eyes down, lest you betray your own thoughts. Now wasn’t the time for rebellion. Not when your queen step-mother was relying so heavily on tradition and ritual to get through the day. It’d be borderline cruel to start antagonizing her in this way. 

No, you’d wait. 

Peter, your half-brother in blood but full brother in heart, touched your elbow, pulling you from your thoughts, and guiding you away from the coffin. He kept his eyes forward, expression stoic while he lead the family back to their positions in the massive cathedral. 

“They’ll pay for this,” he murmured low into your ear, as if reading your mind. The words were laced with a malice you’d never heard from the normally cheerful prince. 

You didn’t reply, instead you grabbed your younger brother’s hand and gave it a tight squeeze. A silent agreement. 

The attack had been a betrayal of one of the kingdom’s oldest allies, a neighboring kingdom ruled by someone your father had once trusted with his life. 

Apparently nothing was sacred anymore. 

The funeral ended somberly, mourners murmuring amongst each other, ladies fawning over Pepper, though the queen looked none too pleased with the attention. 

You searched the crowd for a pair of familiar of blue eyes, finding their owner tucked away from the crowd in a secluded corner. He was speaking quietly to the sorceress, Wanda, his eyes flicking up to meet your gaze. With a small nod, he signaled you over.

Weaving through the mass of people, you slipped into the conversation with Wanda regarding you, frowning in sympathy.

“I’m so sorry, your highness,” she whispered, bowing her head. “Your father was a good man, and an honest king. The realm is less for this loss.”

“Thank you,” your tone was colder than you’d intended, a reflection of the bitterness taking form within. Clearing your throat, you tried again, softer and more agreeable this time. “He truly was the best of us.”

Stephen sent Wanda a quick glance and the sorceress excused herself, parting the hall in a hurry.

“You’re angry,” he noted quietly. 

“Am I?” you hummed, quirking a brow up at your friend. “I thought I was supposed to be sad?”

“You’re allowed to be angry,” he replied, folding his hands behind his back. “It just means you understand the injustice of it all.”

“Peter wants revenge,” you stated, mimicking his motion and staring out at the sea of royals and court members. 

“Understandable,” he murmured. “I imagine a number of officials feel similarly.”

“He isn’t old enough to take the throne,” you supplied. “We can’t go to war without a seated leader.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time an heir succeeded in an unorthodox manner,” he noted before turning his head to look at you. “How are you, truly?”

You opened your mouth to reply, words catching in your throat. You felt hollow. You felt like you wanted to scream until you woke up from whatever nightmare you were caught in. Your heart felt like it had been ripped from your chest and stomped on. 

“I’m not certain,” you finally confessed, hands straining against each other behind your back. “Part of me wants to ride through the night and kill that traitor. The other wants to curl on the ground and fill the empty grave myself.”

He nodded in understanding.

“Grief is a powerful thing,” he replied softly, scanning the room before turning and giving you his full attention . “Would you like hide in the observatory a while?”

You looked up to him in surprise. The room was still full of mourners, citizens, and members of the court. Your duty would be to talk to everyone as they passed, pulling the burden off of Pepper.

“Can we?” you asked, voice cracking at the thought of having to converse any further.

Stephen gave you a mischievous smirk, nudging you toward a side door of the church. You followed his lead, slipping out of sight and tucking yourselves away from the crowds inside a small alcove. 

“They’ll want to focus on Peter and the queen anyway,” he noted casually, drawing up a portal with his fingers. “No point in dwelling. I’ll tell anyone who asks that you fainted from the stress and required immediate medical attention.”

“I’m sure they’ll all believe it,” you retorted with a matching grin, taking his hand and letting him help you through the portal with all of your heavy mourning apparel. 

The observatory had been a new addition to the palace after Stephen had arrived as its master sorcerer. Before, it’d been an abandoned archer’s tower, last used by the late king’s father, Howard, as a means of defense against the previously antagonistic kingdoms. 

After King Anthony had taken the throne and negotiated trade and peace treaties with the nearby kings, the reinforcements had largely been forgotten. 

Stephen had suggested it as an ideal place to study the cosmos above, and after some urging on your part, your father agreed to let the two of you repair the small space. When the foundation had been fixed to his specifications, Stephen added another enchantment to increase the size internally.

From there, the two of you worked to fill the space with objects of learning and interest. 

The walls had been lined with stacks of books, maps of the universe, and healing runes. Tables had been set with with all sorts of alchemical experiments, glowing amulets, and charmed quills. A small greenhouse had been established on one of the many turret balconies, where you helped tend to some medicinal herbs and enchanted florals. 

It was a place of peace and knowledge in a world of chaos and ignorance and in it, Stephen had taken the time to teach you the secrets of the universe. It was one of the few places you knew you truly could belong without judgement. 

“I’m not convinced this isn’t sabotage,” he stated once you were alone, the glowing orange portal snapping shut behind him. 

“What makes you say that?” you asked, lifting a book, flipping through a few pages in an attempt to distract yourself from his blunt words. You agreed there was some kind of malice involved in the attack, but sabotage suggested someone within the kingdom had betrayed your father. For such as honest and good your father was, your heart couldn’t handle such a reality.

“Whispers in the village,” he answered tersely. “Wanda was giving me her report when you approached. She is traveling to the next village over as we speak.”

“Rumlow betrayed his alliance,” you replied bitterly, refusing to look up from your book, though you couldn’t tell what the thing was about. Plants? Chaos magic? “What more is there to discover?”

“Why did he do it?” he asked. “What motivation does he have to sever one of the strongest military alliances in history?” 

“Greed? We’ve had a surprise in economic activity since the scholar agreement with Wakanda,” you guessed with a shrug. “This isn’t a smart man we’re dealing with. I’m met him once before. He’s ambitious and motivated, but not particularly clever.”

“Peter is almost of age, your father has prepared him for his new role thoroughly,” he continued, pacing the space. “It doesn’t make sense. Everyone is well aware he will be of age to take the throne in six months time, and now this just ensures his placement.”

“Not everything does,” you reminded him. “You taught me that. Or don’t you remember?”

You paused after a moment, peeking up from the book after letting his words settle.

“Maybe he plans to use Peter’s inexperience against him?” you suggested quietly. It wasn’t a pleasant thought, but even with the training and learning, Peter was a different person than your father, perhaps not in morals but certainly in other areas like strategy and planning. 

“I intend to get to the bottom of this,” he stated, his hand tightening at his side. You’d never seen Stephen so inflamed before. “At the very least, I can try to retrieve his body. Negotiate a dignified exchange.”

The words pierced your heart far more painfully than you’d anticipated, your hand gave a jerk and you dropped the book you’d been fidgeting with while he spoke. 

The mental image of your fathers head on a pike outside of Rumlow’s keep was enough to make you nauseous. 

“I’m sorry,” Stephen’s tone shifted at your reaction. “I’m getting ahead of myself.”

“Don’t apologize,” you assured him, clearing your throat and composing yourself. “You’re just doing your job. It’s why he trusted you to the position. You’re asking the questions that need to be asked.”

He watched you pluck the book off the ground and toss it on a nearby table with a low sigh. This was a precarious position he found himself in. 

On the one hand, he’d been appointed as the Master Sorcerer of this castle and this realm. He had an obligation to serve that role and ensure the safety of the kingdom’s inhabitants. Not to mention, his obligation as a peacekeeper in his position as Sorcerer Supreme at Kamar-Taj.

On the other, you were his dearest friend and companion, and the obvious hurt you were suffering made his other duties nearly impossible to focus on. It was no wonder Kamar-Taj frowned on intimate attachments, they did provide a distraction from the ambivalent roles sorcerers and sorceresses were bound to play. 

He wanted to serve as an unbiased judge in this troubling time, but his heart wanted him to seek justice and bring peace to your troubled mind. 

His eyes drifted to the telescope at the edge of the room and an idea hit him.

Perhaps a distraction was best for the time being? A small respite to pull away from the doom and gloom of the immediate future.

“Do you remember that star cluster I showed you last week?” he asked, hooking and arm over your shoulder and guiding you toward the window. “There’s a fascinating change that’s been occurring.”

It was still relatively bright out, though with the sun was just starting to dip over the horizon, there was enough darkness to point out the phenomena he’d discovered the night before. 

“Let me adjust-,” he tinkered with the measurements before signaling for you to lean in. “Do you see it?” 

“They’re changing color,” you noted with a small gasp of excitement. “That’s a promising omen, isn’t it?” 

Your expression had brightened considerably when you looked up at him. 

“It is,” he nodded. “The specific colors suggest a period of tranquility and prosperity after a short struggle.”

“Then maybe it isn’t all terrible,” you tried voicing optimistically. It sounded strange, like you still weren’t entirely convinced, but the evidence was clear before you. 

Stephen knew the stars never lied and had taught you as much over the time you’d spent together. 

You sighed sadly, giving the stars another peek and shaking your head when you pulled away. 

“I miss him,” you murmured, looking up at Stephen miserably. 

The sorcerer frowned sympathetically, before he moved toward you and pulled you into a tight embrace.

You pressed your cheek against his chest and allowed his arms to wrap around you. 

“I know,” he replied softly, resting his chin on your head. “Just know he loved you very much, and wouldn’t want to see you so hurt on his behalf."

That seemed to break something in you, and you buried your forehead into his chest, shaking with suppressed sobs and held back tears until finally you choked out a wave of emotions all at once.

He spent an hour sitting with you while you cried into his tunic, yelling about how angry you were to how miserable all of this made you feel. He listened, offering a handkerchief and when you started to calm down, summoned a fresh pot of herbal tea.

“We will find answers,” he stated, blowing gently over the steaming cup in his hand. 

“You sound so sure,” you noted with a bitter chuckle, eyes swollen and red from your tears.

“I’ve tampered with seeing the future from time to time,” he replied cheekily. “Perhaps I’ve had a vision?”

“And what did that vision show you?” you pressed, playing along with a ghost of a smile behind your own cup. 

“We win,” Stephen replied firmly, his expression falling serious.

“Doesn’t feel like it,” you confessed quietly. 

“Victory seldom does,” he watched you take a sip of your tea. You closed your eyes and relaxed your shoulders with the calming scent.

You opened your mouth to ask him a question when a knock at the observatory door broke the small spell of peace that’d fallen over the space.

“I’ve got it,” he gestured for you to stay seated, moving toward the door and slowly peeling it open. 

It wasn’t that he was overtly concerned for your safety, but given recent events, Stephen didn’t want to be lax in covering all possibilities. The world had gone mad and he wouldn’t put an assassin with a dagger outside the realm of potential visitors.

“Is the princess here?” Loki, Prince of Asgard, asked with a tone laced with annoyance upon Stephen’s appearance. 

“Loki?” you must have heard his voice and stood, setting your cup aside. “Stephen, let him in. It’s okay.”

With a glare at the prince, Stephen stepped aside and allowed the emerald clad royal through. 

He didn’t like outsiders in the observatory. Especially when you were around. 

It made him especially uneasy inviting another magic user inside, where they could potentially measure its wards and security for later aggression. 

“Peter mentioned you might be here,” Loki glanced around the room, arms folded behind his back. “I apologize if I’m intruding.”

That last part was directed toward Stephen with the smallest smirk. 

“No, it’s okay, we were just having tea,” you replied quickly, gesturing to the steaming pot on the table. “Could I make you a cup-?”

“No-,” he cut her off and cleared his throat apologetically. “I’ve come to say farewell. My father is ordering the borders to Asgard closed until Rumlow’s nation offers an explanation to this… tragedy.”

“I see,” your expression fell at the news. 

Certainly Asgard closing its borders was a worrisome sign. They were the kingdom’s greatest allies and largest trading partners. The effects of such a move would be felt for quite some time, both in security and in the local economy. 

“I’ll write,” he promised with a curt bow. “Don’t fall behind in your studies. I’ll be testing you the next time we meet.”

You smiled before he took your hand for a brief kiss on the knuckles. Rolling your eyes, you pulled away and threw your arms around his shoulder in a hug. 

“What a sad parting,” you laughed at his bewildered reaction. “And you’re going to kiss my knuckles like we haven’t known one another for years? On the day of my father’s funeral? Unacceptable.”

He barked out a small laugh, reciprocating the embrace with an arm before pulling away. 

“Stay safe,” he urged her before looking up at Stephen with a steely gaze. “Do well to keep her protected, Sorcerer.” 

“Always,” Stephen answered tersely, a little offended at the prince’s casual disregard for his abilities. He’d always kept you safe, and had absolutely no intention of letting that guard slip now. 

“Travel safely,” you called after him and he gave a final wave before pausing in the doorway when Stephen moved to close the door.

“Keep her close,” Loki warned quietly, the smirk disappearing completely. “There are whispers in the village of treachery and assassination. Do not let anyone have the opportunity to take advantage of the situation.”

“My associates are building wards around the castle and her quarters as we speak,” Stephen replied in agreement, a quick glance in your direction to ensure you weren’t listening. 

“The tea was a nice touch,” Loki noted with a hum. Stephen nodded curtly. 

The tea had a protection enchantment included in the mixture of herbs. Something small, but effective if you found yourself in danger without him, Wong, or Wanda nearby.

“Be well,” Stephen closed the door once Loki was out of sight, turning and finding you digging through his trunk of cloaks at the back of the room. “What are you doing?”

“I want to see Natalia and James,” you answered, pulling out a large blue cloak and holding it to your shoulders. 

“Absolutely not,” he crossed his arms. “Your father was just killed, possibly murdered. You’re not going to the village unprotected.”

“That’s why you’re coming,” you threw a crimson cloak in his direction, fastening the blue one over your shoulders. 

“Did you miss the part where I said murdered?” he asked in disbelief. 

“Then it’s a good think I’m friends with assassins,” you chimed back, pulling the hood of the cloak over your head. “They might be able to tell us something.”

“I’m sure Wanda and Wong have already talked to them,” he shot back, folding the cloak over is arm. “You should stay at the castle, at least for tonight.”

“You already know I’m going to go regardless,” you replied. 

“Because you’re a headstrong idiot,” he sighed, reluctantly pulling the cloak over is shoulders. “Who clearly has a death wish. What if your family comes looking for you?”

“They won’t,” you answered with a confident grin. “Mother is going to be with Morgan and Peter is going to lock himself away in the armory or training fields until the knights give up and make him retire to his chambers.”

“You’re so confident in your knowledge of the castle,” Stephen snorted, tying the cloak around him. 

“It’s what happens when you’re the eldest daughter of a king,” you replied, patting him on the shoulder. “You see everyone, but no one sees you.” 

“Poetic.”

“Also, you owe me an ale for enchanting my tea,” you quirked a brow toward him when he stammered back a response. “Didn’t think I would notice?”

“I’m losing my touch,” he sighed, waving a hand and summoning a bag of coin.

“No, you’re just turning into a fussy mother hen,” you grinned, the smile looking far more relieving than the grief he know you wore on the inside. “It’s endearing.”

Wha danger was a short outing for the evening? It was arguably safer in a crowd than alone in her chambers, especially while Wong was still working on the wards.

Besides, the assassins you’d found friendship in would do well to keep threats away as well.

And while Stephen pondered this thought, you were already part-way out of the room and headed toward one of the hidden passages in the hall. 

(---)

2 - a night at the pub

TAG LIST (MESSAGE ME IF YOU WANT TO BE ADDED)

@ayamenimthiriel​ @drstrangely-strange @ladynothing​ @im-a-bi-disaster-help​

[thisisarcanereverie]

Twilight Skies and Tea (Loki x Reader)

ULTIMATE MASTERLIST

Loki often felt like an outcast no matter where he went. In Asgard he was typically reserved and more mischievous compared to the rest of Asgard. Didn’t help that after years of thinking it was because he was his mother’s son, he finds out that wasn’t even the case. He had been taken from Jotunheim as a political pawn, as a relic until Odin had some use for him. Even on the Jotunheim he was out of place, his being raised in Asgard had left him with different habits and ways of thinking from his Jotun brothers and sisters. 

Midgard... well Midgard was obvious. 

Loki wouldn’t admit this but he barely remembered him invading, bits and pieces but the rest was a blur. Like he wasn’t in control, and that terrified him. He had underestimated the power of the mind stone and fell victim to it’s madness. 

Despite him barely remembering, he carried the weight of the lives he had taken whether it be directly or indirectly. He knew Midgard would never forget what he did to New York. 

As punishment for his crimes he was sent to Midgard by his brother and mother. Odin had wanted to let Loki rot in a cell, however Thor and their mother insisted that Loki should try to correct his wrongs by working with the Avengers in protecting the world. 

Tony and the rest were hesitant about it at first, however Fury had forced their hand and in the end Tony was the first to agree that the more man power the better. Although it seemed the tin man had seen better days when he agreed. 

They didn’t make it easier at first. Their hatred and judgement was nothing compared to that of Asgard but still, it hurt. However as months turned into years they had let up and eventually considered him a friend. Even Clint had come to consider Loki a friend eventually. 

Even though his relationship with Thor had improved as well as his relationships with the rest of the Avengers, He still felt very out of place. He began to accept the fact that maybe he’ll always feel like that when you came into the picture. 

You were the latest person to be added to the Avengers team. Loki immediately sensed great power coming from you alone, sure Wanda’s was overwhelming, but yours seemed to match his and that was nothing to scoff at. 

Loki felt a connection with you that he had never felt before. Something akin to companionship but stronger. 

Apparently you had felt it too because you naturally drifted to Loki. You were calm and tranquil most of the time. Both of you enjoying each other company in the library reading Mary Shelley and Charles Dickens respectfully, and it seemed as though you two were naturally nocturnal because you often shared freshly brewed pot of tea with the god at unseemly times of night to discuss recent reads and a few playful remarks here and there on the roof and watch as the sky turned. 

It almost seemed like you two were on the same wavelength.

“You know that I don’t believe you were in control of the New York attack.” You blurt out randomly. You two were on the roof again, this time watching the twilight skies. That sentence took him aback for a second. 

“Why?” 

“I took a look at some of the footage that you were caught on and now that I’m looking at you I can see a clear difference.” You take a sip of the warm tea in your hands before continuing. “It seemed like the scepter was draining the life out of you, and your eyes were borderline bloodshot and glowing blue. I think the mind stone had taken over you and controlled you.” 

Loki couldn’t help shaking slightly, he had never told anyone, not even Thor of not remembering what he had done. He had doubted anyone would believe him. 

You seem to have noticed and placed a warm hand on top of his cold one. 

After that you and him had made it a habit to drink tea and watch the twilight sky on the roof everyday. It was the closest thing to therapy you two ever had. 

“I feel very out of place here sometimes,” You had just gotten back from a mission with the rest of the team, and immediately you came to the roof where Loki had found you waiting for him. He sat beside you and gave you an understanding nod. 

“I feel like that too here.” 

“Here’s the strange thing,” you said leaning your head to rest on his shoulder, “I don’t feel that out of place right now though. When it’s just us on the roof drinking tea.”

“Are you sure you’re not a mind reader?” he had asked playfully, you had laughed silently. 

“I’m sure if I was I would have gone completely mad years ago.”

“What wrong with a bit of madness.”

“Absolutely nothing.”

You smiled at each other before turning your gaze back to the sky. You sat there until the stars and the moon had taken their place in the sky before you spoke again. 

“I’ve done horrible things Lok,” you admitted silently. By now the tea was cold and discarded and now you two just laid on the roof watching the stars and admitting things in the comfort of darkness. 

“I know,”

“Not completely,” you said. There was a weight in your words that Loki quickly recognized. 

“I volunteered for HYDRA experiments, not out of wanting to change the world like Wanda or was forced like Bucky.” You paused taking a deep and shaky breath in and out, “I volunteered for revenge.” 

You then told him what you didn’t tell the others. Your family was the most important thing to you, the sun had risen and set on them. However people did unforgivable things to them, things you weren’t ready to say and perhaps never will. You had lost the thing you held dear and you made a list. A list of the people who had ever hurt them and went to HYDRA. Told them you were a willing volunteer and that they need only pay you in bringing in the people on your list. One person for each success. 

You discovered your control over fear that way, by using it repeatedly on those who harmed your family. 

How the weight of what you had done still weighed on you. 

Then Shield found you, gave you immunity for what you did before, so long as you put those powers towards good and joined the Avengers. 

Loki understood loving your family, he wouldn’t admit it aloud but Thor was his brother and Frigga is mother. In all terms of the words, it didn’t matter if he hadn’t been theirs by blood, he considered them as such. 

He would lose his mind if something were to happen to them that appalled even him. 

Revenge was something he knew even better, he had felt it consume him as he picked up the scepter in it’s overwhelming rage and anguish. 

He had intertwined your hands as you laid together. 

“Rame.” 

“what?”

“It’s an old word in your language,” he explains, “It’s an adjective for something that is both joyful and chaotic at the same time.” he felt your shaky laugh beside him. Loki turned to see one tear streaming from your eye and your laughing face. He couldn’t help thinking about how beautiful you had looked in that moment.

“I think that describes us perfectly.”

“I believe so darling.” 

He was a goner since that day you came to the tower. 

It just took him this long to figure that out. 

---

After that you had somehow transitioned from that of tea and confessions in the safety of the twilight skies to that of library dates and stolen kisses where no one could see you. 

Loki also started to use a lot of old but beautiful words when conversing with you. 

The first night you spent together as lovers he described as Elysian. He had spent the rest of that night whispering that word to you. 

However it wasn’t always idyllic between you two. 

the God of Mischief and the woman who can literally manipulate the fear of others were bound to argue at some point. 

Usually it was something as simple as the opinions of authors or of tea flavors and even then it was more along the lines of bickering that ended with a sweet kiss. 

However, there were times where it was bickering. 

You had come back from a mission with a bullet graze on your arm and bruised ribs. You weren’t paying attention when a bullet grazed your right arm and an HYDRA agent snuck up on you and kicked you at your side. 

All things considered the injuries weren’t the worst thing you’ve experienced physically and Loki knew you could take care of yourself. 

Didn’t stop him from immediately rushing to the Med Bay when he heard that you had to stop there for stitches and bandages. 

“(Y/n),” he called your name as soon as he entered the Med Bay. 

‘I’m in here” you responded. Almost as soon as you had finished responding he pulled back the curtain to reveal where the doctor was finishing bandaging your arm and prescribing medication for the pain. 

She had nodded to you after getting the gist that the god wanted to talk to you alone. 

“What the hell happened.” You could see the anger practically coming off his body, if it was any other circumstances you would’ve found it hot. However, you knew now wasn’t the time or the place. 

“I got shot at-”

“No really I couldn’t tell.” He sassed, he often got like that when he was properly angry, You were the one who got shot at and you had yet to take the pain meds that the Doc prescribed so you weren’t in the mood to deal with it. 

“I’m not in the mood Loki,”

“Not in the mood?!” he exclaimed, “You were shot at and taken down. If Steven hadn’t been there, there would’ve been a bullet in your head!” 

“However he was and therefore I’m only merely grazed by the arm.”

“This isn’t something you can just brush away (Y/n)” He was seething. The mere thought of losing you was enough to almost bring him to his knees, and it was times like these where he knew that there will come a time where he will have to say goodbye to you. You were originally from Midgard, you were born mortal and therefore he will outlive you. When that day comes he has no idea how he would handle it. 

“Lok,” You softly spoke, you knew he wasn’t angry at you. He was angry because the reality of the situation was hitting him again. How mortal you were. You gently raised your hand to cup his cheek and gently brush your thumb over the tears that leaked out. Loki had fallen to his knees in front of you. 

There had to be a way, there had to be some way that he would never have to say goodbye to you. 

---

Thor had dragged Loki to Guy’s Night. Usually Loki would be vehemently against this, instead preferring to spend the evenings with you in your shared room. However Loki didn’t put up much of a fight this time. Instead Thor had to do minimal dragging of his little brother. 

Loki had only gone because he needed to talk to his brother about something in privacy. Something he couldn’t risk you or the others overhearing.

Thor had brought Loki and the other male Avengers to bar hop. Going to one bar after another, something that Darcy had taught Thor of when he first came to Midgard and Thor seemed to enjoy it. 

As the group of men walked Loki quickly cast a glamour to make it seem as though Thor and Loki were talking of something small and light. 

Thor quickly caught on after having learned now when his brother cast magic and turned to look at his brother. Ever since you had come back wounded from a mission he could sense something was off about his brother and it worried him deeply. Loki was never surrounded by fair maidens like Thor was back on Asgard, but there were a few who sought the comfort of Loki rather than Thor. His little brother was never interested in them however, you were the only exception. 

“Brother,” Loki started, the guys still laughing ahead of them in a group, “what I say to you next must stay between us and only us for the time being. Lady Jane or Sif or any of the others must not know. Understood.” His tone was serious, no room for any of his regular mischief to sneak in. 

“Brother I would never betray your trust.” 

“I am in love with (Y/n).” 

“Yes, this isn’t new news to me.” Thor said, although Loki never really said the word ‘love’ often he knew that in those rare moments either one of two things were to happen next. Either Loki will be sharing some heart wrenching and shocking news or Loki was about to stab someone. There was no in between. 

“Brother I plan on doing the Bonding Ceremony with her.” The Bonding Ceremony was more serious than that of marriage. Forming a bond ensured that whether it be your life or his, your souls would be bonded together. When one of you dies the other does too. 

Not many had heard of the Bonding since now it was typically frowned upon. Loki and Thor only knew it since Frigga was the one to teach them such things in case they ever found someone they couldn’t bear to lose. 

Loki had. 

Thor felt his footsteps stop. This would be the closest thing Loki could do to either grant (Y/n) immortality or to make himself mortal. This was the ultimate gamble. 

“Are you sure brother?” 

“I’ve never been more certain about anything in my entire life.” Loki firmly confirmed, “There will be no other love for me brother, she is it.”

Thor felt his heart swell in pride when he looked at his little brother. Loki’s eyes which were usually sharp and calculating were soft and full of a love that Thor only had a mere taste of. Thor didn’t doubt for a second that if something were to happen to Lady (Y/n), whatever force took her from him would surely pay the price. 

Thor clapped a hand on his brother's shoulder, bringing him back to reality. 

“Well then when do you plan on asking her?”

“Soon brother,” Loki said, “all good things come to those who wait.” 

---

Your powers were useless against the titan in front of you. With all your might you had tried to use your powers on him to no avail. While you were panting on the ground, weak and exhausted, the purple dickhead barely broke a sweat fighting off your attacks. 

His associates were easy enough to deal with, not nearly as immune to your powers as their leader. Most were crumpled in a ball sobbing or took their own life. Thanos almost seemed impressed with you, how you managed to take down a fair amount of his followers single handedly. 

If only you weren’t so emotional. He would have taken you as another daughter. 

You weren’t even meant to be there, Loki had tried to prevent you from coming with him and Thor on the search for their father. However, you weren’t much of a listener. 

After Ragnorok, Loki realized he waited too long to give you the beautiful emerald ring he had always carried with him since that Boy’s Night almost a year ago. He had been so afraid of rejection that he hadn’t considered how much time was passing and how fleeting life was. 

You both cried in each other's arms after you accepted. 

Then this douchebag had to come and ruin everything. 

“Wait!” Loki yelled as Thanos took one step closer to your exhausted figure. He took out the Tesseract that he had taken before Asgard was destroyed. 

“If you spare her life and the rest of the people on this ship I will give you what you came here for.”

Your eyes widened as you looked at your fiance. His hair hid the majority of his face from your view, if it wasn’t in the way you would have seen the look of acceptance in his eyes. 

It wasn’t until you were too late did you notice the knife in his other hand. 

You wanted to scream at him, ‘you dumbass why would you try to pull a knife on this monster!’. You could only scream and try to physically fight the titan to let Loki out of his grasp and Thor was struggling against his restraints. 

When you heard the sickening crack of Loki’s neck as his soul left him. You felt the last piece of your compassion and love die with him. 

His body crumpled to the ground, unmoving and dead. Just dead. 

When you lost your family you had been filled with the flames of white hot anger. 

This time it was as though ice filled every part of your body, you were cold. There were no flames, just the icy feeling of loss. You could only stare at his body, nothing seemed to move. Not one muscle, no one took a breath. 

Then it came. 

The scream that was ripped out of you was inhuman and reverberated throughout the entire ship. 

All the restraint you put on the darkness inside you broke as you crawled to his body. You crumpled over his body, holding on to whatever warmth he still had for dear life. 

Meanwhile Thanos’s eyes had widened, the dark cloud that was leaking out of you had taken the entire ship. He barely could manage to see anything in it. The cloud seemed to capture any light and immediately darken it. 

Then the feeling he knew all too well came to almost overtake him. 

It was loss, pure unadulterated loss, and anger, and sadness. 

Suddenly he found himself on Titan again, more specifically the day it all was destroyed. How no Titan citizen was safe from the wreckage. Not even his family. All of his darkest memories played before him and nearly drove him mad. 

Thanos has never met a person quite like you. Not one so powerful. 

He wondered why you hadn’t shown this strength before? 

He wondered just how much you were holding back. 

Without a second thought he put the space stone in the gauntlet and gathered his remaining followers and left. 

He needed away from you before your darkness engulfed him completely. 

---

You were still cold as you, Thor, Rocket, and Groot made your way to Nidavellir. You sat next to the blonde God of Thunder, who was in no better shape than you were in. 

Apparently when the Guardians found you, Thor had been holding onto you, he was probably the only reason why you didn’t freeze to death in space next to Loki’s corpse. 

Absentmindedly you fiddled with the emerald ring resting on your finger, it amazed you how it wasn’t lost in the middle of that havoc. You looked at it for a second, briefly it was a symbol of you and Loki’s love and commitment. Now it was just another cruel reminder of all you’ve ever loved and lost. 

You barely remember Thanos attacking, you just remember crawling over to Loki’s body and holding onto him as tightly as you could. Trying to bring him back to life. 

You felt Thor envelop you hand with his own and tightly hold onto it. You knew what that meant without needing to communicate with words. 

Revenge. 

Thor will avenge his brother and you will get revenge for your lover. 

It was a promise. 

---

“BRING US THANOS!” You and Thor screeched. You were in the smack in the middle of the battle in Wakanda. Already you saw faces you haven’t seen in years. 

Steve now had a beard which was weird, but cool. 

Your hands outreached and darkness sprung from them. The darkness enveloped at least the first 30 beasts in front of you, choking them the same way Thanos had choked Loki. 

You and Thor had trained during your spare time on each of your powers. 

Thor had truly become a force to be reckoned with, especially with his new axe. 

You had further developed the powers you had once been terrified of. Learning to embrace the darkness and the fear of others, letting it fuel your powers further. 

Even Hela would be terrified of you. 

You followed Thor’s lead, you never being too far behind him taking out enemies left and right. You only strayed when you saw Wanda being cornered, after helping her you quickly located Thor and followed him. Not bothering to stay and chat. 

The air seemed to chill as you felt Thanos’s energy. 

Thanos just came to the party. 

You and Thor made an immediate beeline to him.

Thanos was just about to snap his fingers when Thor threw his axe in his chest. 

Thor drove the axe further into the purple dicks chest as you let loose almost every ounce of darkness in you to invade Thanos’s senses. disabling him from feeling everything but fear, anguish, torment, everything you had ever felt. All of your loss and darkest thoughts. How you imagined torturing him. Replaying pushing Gamora off the cliff again and again, watching in third person, never changing course. All the people he had ever loved, a pile of dead bodies all over the cliff. 

“I told you,” Thor said as you allowed Thanos to see and hear your brother in law. “you’d die for that.” 

Thanos mumbled, you were too focused on torturing him to see his hands start to move. 

“You should have gone for the head.” You noticed all too late before his fingers snapped. 

At first you felt nothing, until you slowly saw your fingertips begin to crumble into dust. 

You welcomed death. 

---

You thought you had died, however, you opened your eyes and saw a portal. 

“Darkness,” You turned your head and saw a man with a red cape and a weird looking necklace around his neck. 

“Only my enemies call me that.” You retort, your hands already beginning to move. 

“I’m not your enemy,” he assured, “I’m Doctor Strange, you’ve been dead for 5 years and I came to you personally to ask for help.” 

“Why?”

“Because without you Thanos will win again and the alternative timeline isn’t so cheerful and I would like to try to avoid that.” 

“I meant why should I trust you.” You didn’t need much convincing, you would love to have a second chance at killing Thanos. You just needed to know you could trust this man. 

“You should trust me because the Universe depends on it.” He arrogantly said before adding, “plus we both know the only other person who hates Thanos as much as you do is Wanda. In fact I’ll need both of you.”

---

Strange told you to follow T’Challa and he will lead you to where you and Wanda will defeat Thanos. 

Sure enough there Thanos was, and Wanda landed right in beside you. 

“Nice of you to drop in.”

“And let you have all the fun, never.” Wanda replied, her eyes glowed menacingly at Thanos. 

“You took everything from me.” Wanda said. 

“ And you will pay for what you did.” You followed. 

“I don’t even know who you are.” Thanos said. 

“You will.” You and her say at the same time. 

Thanos had tried to no avail to stop your advances to him. Wanda’s red magic enveloped him as your darkness invaded his senses, showing him his future self that you had fought. 

“Wanda!” you yelled, capturing the red heads attention briefly. 

“Go for the head.” 

Her smile was chilling as her magic changed from picking apart his armor to slowly ripping his head off his body. 

Red magic gathered at his throat and ran through him as though he had been made of butter.  

Thanos’s head rolled on the soot covered ground, his eyes lifeless but his scared expression forever etched onto his features. 

---

After their leaders demise his armies ceased and it was fairly easy taking care of them after that. 

After the battle you reunited with Thor, time had clearly not been kind to your brother in law. He was bigger now, and his hair was longer and he reeked of alcohol and B.O. 

You spent the next few weeks taking care of him and catching up on what you’ve missed during the past five years, although you didn’t really want to. 

While for you the past five years seemed to pass by like a good night’s sleep, for everyone it dragged on. 

Thor had been living in his guilt and grief for five years while for you it was still fresh. 

Part of you wished you hadn’t returned, the only joyful part of coming back was ending Thanos with your own hands. 

You went to New Asgard with Thor, you didn’t really care about staying behind after the battle. Tony did the same thing, he went back home to his family with Peter. 

You looked out to the sea of green grass before you, a blanket under you, a cup of fresh tea in one hand and another tea right beside you. 

You instinctively made two teas, one for you and one for the ghost of your Loki. It was a hard habit to break. Twilight engulfed the sky as a Mary Shelley book laid face down on the blanket next to Loki’s tea. 

You could almost feel him next to you, and if you closed your eyes you swear you could hear him move next to you. 

“Hey Thor.” You greeted without looking. He often came to check on you around this time of day. 

“Lady (Y/n),” He greeted as he sat next to you opposite where Loki’s tea was. 

“I suppose you heard about my departure tomorrow.”

You had, You heard he named Val King of Asgard and was planning on leaving with the Guardians tomorrow to travel across space. You were sad to see him go but happy that he was finally moving on. 

You nodded. 

‘You could come with us.”

His offer was tempting, an adventure across space would’ve sounded like a dream come true to you.

“No matter where I go I’ll still think of him,” you said before turning your gaze to the blonde god. “For you it may have been years ago, but I still feel his absence as intensely as a knife in the heart. I don’t mean to disregard your mourning for your brother, but it’s still a fresh and bleeding wound.”

You twirled the emerald ring on your finger, a habit you did when you thought of him. It was the only physical thing you had left to remind yourself of him beside a few pictures you had taken. 

There was a long pause before either of you spoke again. 

“My brother was a complicated, mischievous man. Always scheming, he kept people at arm's length.” Thor said, “I don’t think he felt like a belonged anywhere, until he met you.”

Your heart broke. 

“You brought out a man that I thought long dead in him. You gave me back my brother and our mother her son. Loki was going to Bond with you.”

You stared at him in confusion, Thanos’s attack had been so sudden that Loki didn’t fully explain what Bonding was. 

“Our mother taught Loki and I most things. She once taught us about a wedding ritual that was ancient but typically frowned upon on Asgard. Your souls would become Bonded until one of you died.” Fresh tears rolled down your face as he continued. “It was the closest thing that Loki could do to either give you immortality or to make himself mortal. He couldn’t stand the thought of being without you, even for one day.”

“Why are you telling me this now?”

“Loki loved you more than he had ever loved anything,” Thor put his hand respectfully on your shoulder, “He would never want you to suffer one day with or without him. You and I are too much alike sister in law,” Tears littered his mismatched eyes. “We both lost all that we had ever loved, our family being the hardest loss among them. I don’t think they would want us to sit and let life pass us. Instead they would want us to live it to the fullest with little regret for them.”

Thor made sense, if the roles had been reversed you wouldn’t have wanted Loki to continue to live. To live as though he was living for you as well. 

For the first time since he died you cried. Sobbing uncontrollably into Thor’s shoulder. 

You missed Loki, and you knew you would never love anyone the way you had loved him. You know there will be a lifetime’s worth of restless nights and grieving ahead of you. But Thor had a point, you needed to drink the rest of that tea, look away from the twilight skies, and put away the book. 

You needed to live. 

If not for you then for him and your family. 

---

After that Thor helped you pack and soon you were off on your own adventure. 

Making sure to live everyday, with little to no regrets, the emerald ring safely secured on a chain around your neck.

[make-me-imagine]

Weakness

This is for @gaitwae​ ‘s one shot event!

Required prompt: Loki knocks on your door, bringing with him a sense of urgency. Something has gone wrong. What is it? How do you handle it? Is Loki coming to you first, or are you the last resort? ((Inserted one word -“again”- to make it fit more into my dialogue))

Pairing: Loki x Gen!Neutral Reader

Triggers: None        Words: 1,664

Other Event Writers:  @bwemph @twhiddlestonsstuff @lucywrites02 @megthemewlingquim​, @trashywritestrash

Readers Taglist: @just-the-hiddles​

Marvel Taglist: @thebookbakery​ and @aquariuslavenderhoney​

If I missed anyone who is doing this I’m sorry! I took the tags from the originals event post list :)

**Lokis POV**

Loki stared at the screen, a mixture of anger and annoyance on his face as the aggravated alien yelled at him through the screen. Just one of the many enemies Loki had made along the years.

“You have betrayed me one too many times!” the alien seethed “And you have taken from me, stolen from me, and now I think I should do the same to you!” 

Loki let out a smirk, shaking his head “I assure you, there is nothing you could take from me that would hurt me”

“Oh really?” the alien sneered, his teeth showing with a dangerously confident smile.

Loki felt his heart jump slightly in his chest, surely he couldn’t have found anything to hurt him with? 

“Because I heard a little rumor floating around, that you found a little friend on Midgard, one you care for rather deeply” the alien let out a chuckle.

Loki tried hard to hide the fear he felt swell in his chest. Your face crossed through his mind. Surely they didn’t know about you, they couldn’t, how could they? Did they have allies, spies, on Midgard? 

Loki feigned an innocent expression, filling his voice with as much confidence as he would as he stared into the eyes of his enemy “I do not know of any rumors, but I can assure you that there is no one on Midgard I would deem worthy of my time” he lied. 

The alien moved closer to the screen, his eyes boring into Loki’s “We will see about that” 

Before Loki could respond, the screen went black as the transmission ended, leaving Loki alone on his ship as he stared out at the vast space before him. Only one thought crossing his mind. 

He needed to get to you before they did. He needed to save you. 

**Readers POV**

“What?” you asked with surprise, your heart leaping in your chest.

“You heard right” Fury said as he paced in front of you “We got word from Strange that Loki is on Earth”

You tried to process the information, “Why would he come back to Earth? And why doesn’t Stephen just trap him?”

Fury shook his head “Apparently Loki has cast some sort of spell to hide his whereabouts from Strange, and as for your other question, I have no idea. But apparently it’s got to be very important if he is risking getting captured” 

You sighed as you stared at the table you were sitting at. You had feelings for Loki, no matter how much you shouldn’t, you couldn’t help it. Working with Thor off world on occasion, you found a soft spot for his troublesome brother. Though you weren’t sure how he really felt about you. There was flirting, sure, and sometimes he even seemed to care about you. But he was still hard to figure out. 

Breaking from your thoughts you looked back up at Fury “Have you been able to get into contact with Thor?” 

Fury shook his head “Nope. And we have no leads on where he, or where Loki is or why he’s here, so, since you know him, at least more than most of my agents, I’m going to need you to keep your eyes and ears out. If whatever he needs or wants is important, he might come to you”

You nodded your head as Fury dismissed you. As you walked down the hallway your mind was filled with curiosity and questions. Why would Loki come to Earth? What was happening? 

These thoughts plagued you for the rest of the day, even as you sat at your kitchen counter, unable to focus on anything else. You weren’t sure how long you were sitting there before sudden knocking at your door made you jump in surprise. 

You don’t know how, but you knew it was him. It was as if you could feel his presence. You didn’t need to ask who was there, or look through the peephole to know. It was him, you froze in your seat for a moment, unsure of what to do.

Loki knocks on your door again, bringing with him a sense of urgency. Something has gone wrong. What is it? How do you handle it? Is Loki coming to you first, or are you the last resort?

Making a decision, you rose from your seat, making your way to the door, unsure of what string of events was going to play out once you opened the door. As you did, you were almost surprised to see a look of relief cross over Loki’s face when his eyes met your own.

And you felt a weird sense of relief knowing you were right about it being him at the door. But that feeling faded quickly when your mind filled with questions. 

“What are you doing here?” 

Loki was startled at your greeting, no sense of surprise, as if you knew he was going to come. You must have found out he was on Earth. You must have known he would come to you. 

Saying nothing he walked past you into your apartment, his eyes wondering around, noticing the small personal touches that made this your home.

“I’ve made a mistake and I am afraid you are going to be the one to pay the price” he turned and faced you after he spoke.

You hesitated for a moment after processing his words “What the hell does that mean? What have you gotten yourself into Loki?” you asked as you approached him.

He looked down at you, taking a deep breath as he tried to figure out how to word what he needed to. 

“I have...enemies. Many enemies; and they found out that I had an...allegiance with someone on Earth, and I think it’s you, well it has to be you, it certainly isn’t Bruce. They threatened to come take you, to...kill you, I assume.”

“Me? What, to get back at you for something? Why would they think I was important enough to hurt you by killing me?” 

Your words seemed to sting him. Of course you did not know how he felt. Besides the flirty banter, he never truly showed how much he cared for you. When he spoke next, his voice was so soft and sincere it seemed to cut right through you “Because you are important. To me. You are my weakness” 

He watched you closely as you opened your mouth to speak, only for nothing to come out, surely due to the surprise of his confession. Finally you managed to mutter out a few words “But, why me?” 

Loki let out a soft chuckle “How could it not be you? Besides my brother, you are the only other being in this whole universe I truly care for” he took a step closer to you, looking down into your eyes. Your breath hitched as he did this “And I need to keep you safe” 

You stared into his eyes for a moment; the tension being cut-off by the sound of gruff voices from the hallway. Both yours and Loki’s heads snapped in the direction of your door. The voices outside clearly not speaking any human language. 

Moving quickly to a nearby cabinet, you grabbed your hidden weapon. Loki quickly grabbed your wrist as he pulled you towards the window “It’s best we escape without being seen”

Opening the window, you both stared down, seeing the clear alleyway as you both climbed out to escape. Landing on the ground, you were taken by surprise when you were grabbed from behind.

Reacting quickly, you threw the alien away from you, with one swift motion Loki knocked it out before running past you, grabbing your hand and pulling you along. 

“Where are we going?!” 

“I have a ship hidden nearby” 

After running through various alleys, you entered into a large empty lot behind some old warehouses. Seeing Loki tap something on the device around his wrist, you saw a small ship become visible in front of you. 

Quickly boarding the ship you watched the city below you become smaller and smaller as you began to fly off. Loki quickly fleeing towards the sky.

“Are we leaving earth?” you asked as you stood behind him in the pilots chair. 

“Yes. I know somewhere safe we can go” after setting the course he rose from his seat and turned to you. He met your eyes, he could see the apprehension in your gaze. Did you still not fully trust him? 

“Fury is going to be so mad” you finally commented as you looked out at the now darkening sky as you left Earths atmosphere.

Loki smirked lightly “I’m sure he will understand”

“I’m still not sure I do” you admitted quietly with a scoff. 

Loki studied you for a moment before he placed his hands on your shoulders, looking deeply into your eyes “Understand this” he hesitated for a moment “I truly care for your well being, and as much as you may not trust me, I will do my best to finish this, so that you can return home. Because I was telling the truth before, you mean more to me than I think I was willing to admit to myself.” He lifted his hand, stroking your cheek before he leaned down, pressing a soft quick kiss to your lips “I only ever want you to be safe.”

Your chest felt heavy, as you stared into his eyes “You’re wrong” you saw a flash of panic cross his face before you continued “I do trust you.” Relief crossed his face as he realized what you were saying. “And I believe you. And...I feel the same.” you admitted, feeling the weight on your chest seem to lift “And whatever you’ve gotten both of us into? I intend to help you fix.”

A smile spread slowly across Loki’s face as you spoke. Pressing a kiss to your forehead he looked back into your eyes “Let’s finish this then.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

If you liked this please consider reblogging, as it is the best way to help spread creator’s works past their followers. Liked and comments are highly appreciated as well!~

If you’d like to be added to a taglist (for any character or fandom) let me know!~

[dilfbane]

Your Weeping(Your Need For His Touch)

Summary: When things go south on a mission, you have to confront more than just the sketchy town, cartoon villains, and one-bed hotel room you’re forced to share with Loki. You have to come to terms with not only the consequences of being captured, but also the God of Mischief’s feelings for you - Because for all that he might be an asshole, sometimes, he really does have a heart. Written for the Picture Is Worth A 1,000 Words 6k Follower Writing Challenge by @startrekkingaroundasgard 

Pairing: Loki/(Female)Reader

Warnings: Descriptions of injuries and medical treatment, as well as discussions of the inevitable mindset around sacrificing oneself for the mission that I feel like being part of the Avengers would entail. Also swearing, because at its core, this story started out as a bit of a crack! fic. 

Word Count: 7.8k. 

A/N: So apparently when I have mental breakdowns they result in me writing crack-fic that takes a 180 veer into angst and fluff for absolutely no reason. For the sake of the crack-fic, in this timeline Loki was forced to help the Avengers take down bad guys directly after the end of the first Avengers movie, so… Is that a confusing plot hole I didn’t know how to account for except by making this AU? Maybe. Did I do it anyway?…. Yeah. This really was meant to be a crack-fic about Loki and the reader confessing their feelings set in the bizarre world of meme culture, I didn’t realize there were going to be feels in it until it was three in the morning and all of a sudden this happened. That being said, your girl went there, so enjoy! 

“Oh, shit,” You say, as you take in the grimy hotel room. The walls all smeared in what looks like dried blood, the putrid smell of rotten eggs, a crack-screened television with a fine dusting of some suspiciously white powder. And, of course, “There’s one bed.” 

“Hmm?” Asks Loki, turning towards you, briefly, from unpacking. He had dumped his suitcase(Magically plucked out of a chaotic liminal space) unceremoniously on the bed’s scratching, pilling coverlet without so much as a second glance at the rest of the room. And why do you need a suitcase, anyways?? You wonder. It isn’t like we’re planning to be here that long. In fact, you hoped with every fiber of your being that you’d be here for as little time as possible, because this town might actually be the sketchiest place you’ve ever seen in your life; no small feat, for a bona-fide member of S.H.I.E.L.D. 

You’ve kicked alien ass on a mutated purple Mongolian death-worm three thousand feet over New York City. You’ve run reconnaissance to rescue debatably-magical items sequestered away in an ancient cave labyrinth plastered in paintings and untranslatable runes, gunfire and what could only be described as the baying of hellhounds in the near distance. You’ve fist-fought a gigantic hive-mind robot in a field of artificially sentient feral steel suits - You’ve even survived Tony’s parties. 

Yet none of those scenarios hold a candle to this fucking town. 

And Loki, the asshat, seems utterly, competently - no, maniacally - unfazed. 

“There’s one bed,” You repeat, into the air. 

“Ah,” Says Loki, straightening. 

“You don’t see that problem with that?!” 

“Should I?” He asks you, walking across the room in long, graceful strides to stand in front of you. He wears the same expression he always wears, amused and indifferent, but this time with the addition of a single, elegantly-arched eyebrow. You drop your head, refusing to meet his somewhat-curious gaze. It physically hurts, how attractive Loki is. Not for the first time, you curse whatever god decided that you and him would once again be mission partners - in this case, you belatedly realize, and choke back a thick laugh, said god is, unsurprisingly, Thor. 

If you survive this, you make a note to beat his head in with Mjolnir. As it is, you are here in this room with Loki, with perhaps twenty IPP agents and a reckless poisoner dogging your every move, and there’s a high chance that you won’t live long enough to navigate whatever the hell sleeping with your crush-who-has-murdered-men. Ok, so ‘murdered men’ isn’t entirely accurate. More like ‘caused the murder of men inadvertently through his schemes’. It doesn’t seem to make much of a difference, right now. 

And what about Loki? He is still staring you down, like you’re some wind up toy moments away from going off. Funny, that, you think. If ever there were a time to not have a mental breakdown, it would be here, with him. You’ve crossed a lot of moral lines in your life, but you will be damned if you let Loki Laufeysson see you cry. Loki is graceful. Composed. Sarcastic. Lithe. Rolls his eyes at almost every statement that comes out of somebody’s mouth. But he is, also, beautiful. Shockingly comforting, in his own nihilistic way. You don’t know what it says about you that you find comfort in statements like, Try not to die, you know that I hate funerals. Part of you - most of you - doesn’t want to. But it gives you strength, somehow, to shrug off the day and ground your flailing mind in evading Loki’s calculated manipulation. I won’t show you my weakness, you think to yourself. It’s not enough, but it’s a start. 

“No,” You tell him - too quickly, he’ll pick up on that - “You’re right, you shouldn’t. It’s fine. We have - a lot to deal with, is all.” 

Loki nods, seemingly accepting your answer, but his eyes are still narrowed, watching you like he’s calling your bluff. You talk right past that look - have to, to keep yourself sane, to not think about the one bed that looms large over this entire conversation. It doesn’t even look like a comfortable bed. 

“We have two days,” You say, to stop yourself thinking of it. And, also, to talk your way through your disarmingly disjointed thoughts. Loki nods. It would really help if you said something, you think. Swallow the thought, hot and thick, down your throat. What’s the point of a mission partner if you can’t even soundboard off them? “The Pink Cobra could strike anyone, anytime. The IPP is planning something in New York - “ 

“Isn’t everyone, these days, planning something in New York?” 

He sounds regretful, and for half a second you want to offer him the reassurance that his very presence offers you. But you are sure he doesn’t know what he does to you - with his words, with the sidelong glances that you’ve felt linger on your form far too long in the heat of a fight. If you didn’t know any better, you would say Loki worries about you. 

“We have to shut him down,” You say. Focus on the Pink Cobra, because honestly, that’s easier. “Find out where he manufactures. Not get poisoned,” You add, at the end. 

“Yes,” Loki says, tone dripping with sarcasm, “We should certainly try not to get ourselves killed. Failing that, I suppose, we can at least request that no one in H.Y.D.R.A gets autopsy access.” 

“Loki?” You ask. Rhetorically. “You’re not helping.” 

He smirks at you, then. He knows. 

“What do you propose that we do then?” He asks, taking a step towards you, getting so close that you can feel his hot breath. “About the Pink Cobra?” 

“Find him.” You say, fumbling, blush rising high on your cheeks. 

Tonight? 

One bed? 

You are screwed. 

                                                             ***

When you were a kid - think really little, Capri Sun pouches and still believing that true love wasn’t complicated - your father told you that every story needed a good supervillain. You aren’t sure if the Pink Cobra counts as a good supervillain, but he’s the least confusing one that you have to deal with - and, as far as villains go, a fine enough challenge to face. He’s like a madman out of some high fantasy novel, with dark eyes and a sable-sewn cloak and a penchant for poisoning. He is adept in all the arts of the woman’s murder; he has a keen grasp on the side-effects of arsenic and camphor and tansy and cyanide and strychnine. He’s been found to have dropped crystal phials filled with belladonna and ricin while fleeing a scene. If all else fails, he’s more than practiced with daggers. 

In other words, he’s the kind of villain that none of you, with your flying suits and telekinesis and super-strength, are anywhere near prepared to waylay. 

The plan, as far as team Avengers is concerned, is easy: 

You and Loki. This town, where the webs of his manufacturing production and the few glimpses of information that Thor has totally legally excavated out of his captured minions has led to. Two days until some undefined grand attack bears down on the city you live in. Two days to find the Pink Cobra and kill him. The more time passes with no headway, the more you think that this is an impossible task, but you know what Tony would say. We have our best minds on it. 

The thing is, you aren’t sure that that’s true. The minds that have been set to this task are you and the God of Lies. It’s hardly the best they could have come up with, considering your track records. Actually, you take that back - Loki was a good choice for this mission, because, not three hours after arriving in this hellhole of a city, he seems to have somehow developed the ability to read minds. More specifically, yours. And that could prove stunningly useful. 

The scene, as it stands: Loki, sprawled across the lumpy bed, three pairs of crisp white shirts, a plaid scarf, and a full set of Asgardian battle armor neatly hung in the mothball-infested closet, flicking through channels on the grain, cracked television with an apathetic expression and one arm thrown haphazardly over bent leg. Propped up in such a way that he could jump or spin or parry at a moment’s notice, yet perfectly, devastatingly languid, leafing through Nick Fury’s dossier on the Pink Cobra. He looks at you like a god, you think, and then remember. He is one. 

You, on the floor, because on top of all the other things this hotel doesn’t have, like two beds, there isn’t anything even resembling a desk, shifting through a glowing, holographed file archive from headquarters that barely runs on your severely outdated laptop. It’s a point of pride to you, keeping the laptop - not because it’s good, but because it’s survived five years of being an Avenger, which is something not even all the Avengers can claim to have done. You’re also fairly certain that Tony’s attempts to update the firmware had infested it with some sort of renegade virus. Elevated above your screen, the files are split into two groups, the sum total of everything that you know about both of the groups that are avidly trying to kill you. 

There’s the wealth of information containing the Pink Cobra’s poisoning sprees, but those aren’t the files that interest you, and you know that Loki’s not much interested in them either. That honor falls to the fanatics at the IPP, the Imminently Predictable Psyops organization, which you know even less about than you do about the Pink Cobra, chief among which the fact that they need a new name. Imminently Predictable Psyops?, Tony had said, when you’d finally apprehended one of their proxies. What do they think this is? Some type of ARG? 

What you’ve gleaned, from months worth of studying the network, is that they operate as a sort of cringe-oriented death cult intent on ‘reshaping the universe through meme agents’. They’d been on S.H.I.E.L.D’s radar for a long time - upwards of a year - before anyone at team base learned they existed - which, you can almost hear Loki saying, was a failure in the extreme. Currently, it was your job to obsessively worry over whether they were going to send ‘meme agents’ to bust through the door of your seedy hotel room and off you both. You hated - truly loathed - how casually Loki was taking it all. 

He’s acting like nothing was wrong with this situation, when, in fact, you’re ninety-nine-point-nine percent sure that this night will end up with one or both of you dead. It is, to say the least, disconcerting. 

Kill switch, the holograph files read. Cross-referential Neil Cicierega acoustic weaponry. Your mind sees the words, but doesn’t comprehend them, and you run a hand up to rub at your bleary eyes with annoyance. You risk a glance upwards; on the bed, Loki scans page after page after page with disinterested nonchalance, punctuating the flipping over of each document with a noncommittal hum; as if to say, I understand you. As it to say, This could be worse. You try to slip into that mindset. Certainly, things could be worse. 

Actually, though? Not really. 

Because, for all the world, the holo-file in front of you just said ‘Pepe The Frog Chaos Banking Laser Initiative’. 

“What the fuck does that even mean?!” 

“Sorry?” 

You whip your head around. Loki, raising an eyebrow. Damn that - perfect - eyebrow. 

“Sorry,” You echo back at him, rubbing your eyes again, perversely glad for the break, even if it is this awkward. “I … said that out loud, didn’t I?” 

“Marginally,” He tells you. “Yes.” 

“Sorry,” You - well, it’s not a whine, not exactly. You’re tired, and there’s no way you’re going to sleep tonight, so you feel like your tone’s justified. “I didn’t mean to do that. I think I’m just - this is. Completely nonsensical.” 

“Show me?” He asks, and you snort. He could totally just look up, but - 

“Do you have a P.h.d in memes?” You ask him, and, before he can answer, “Because unless you have a P.h.d in memes, I don’t think you’ll be able to help.” 

“You’d be surprised,” Loki says. Vaults over the bed with the speed and grace of a panther, filling the air with a cringing wheeze as the rusty springs bend underneath him, and landing in front of the holo-file, pushing you aside slightly to get a better view. When his fingers brush against your side, cool and firm, you flinch. 

“Tired,” You offer, when he shoots you a momentarily concerned look. “Just. Need to sleep, later, I think.” 

But Loki is already scanning the file, and when he looks up, not five seconds later, you want to hit somebody. Preferably, you think, him. 

“I would assume,” Loki says, “That they’re using time travel in order to obtain and store monetary value by way of a Pepe-the-frog inspired laser array.” 

“Oh,” You say. You blink once. Blink twice. Still have no idea what that means. “Right.” 

“Do you not know your memes, love?” He asks you, smirking. And oh, if you don’t feel things. 

“I don’t go on the internet, much,” You tell him. “Too busy, you know, trying not to get killed.”

 Loki shrugs. Sidles away from the file. The groan and squeak of those springs tells you he’s back on the bed, giving you some well-needed space, but you can’t bring yourself to look. 

“You can sleep,” He says, “If you want.” 

“Ha!” You yelp/choke/embarrassingly bleat out into the room’s stale silence. Underneath the rotten eggs, you catch a whiff of bong-water. “No.” 

“There’s a bed,” Loki says, cocking his head pointedly and patting the lumpy covers. 

“Yeah, that’s - kind of the problem.” 

“Why?” He asks you. 

“You - really?” 

“I was only asking,” Says Loki, re-focusing his attention on whichever Pink Cobra document’s next in the folder. “If you aren’t comfortable telling me - I merely thought, seeing as you were tired, you might take this opportunity to rest.” 

“Yeah,” You  tell him, “Of course, that’s - nice of you.” 

It comes out stilted. Patently off. If he notices, he doesn’t say. 

“Are you going to - um. Do you need help, with the rest? The ones I have seem kind of hopeless. I mean,” You say, when he doesn’t look up, “I don’t think that we have to worry about getting demolished by trans-dimensional Agarthian wormholes.” 

“Of course not,”” Loki says, scoffing and incredulous, gaze, you are sure, on his page. “If they wanted to kill us, they’d send someone with a gun.” 

In reality, it’s several someones. 

                                                             ***

“You jinxed it,” Is the first thing you tell him, when the men leave you. They’ve thrown you into a one-room warehouse, rickety shelves stacked with cartoonish tubs of green goop and mildewing boxes filled with grenades and machine guns and what appears, at second-glance, to be twelve-fingered latex gloves. You’re tied wrist to wrist, ankle to ankle, and your throat feels uncharacteristically parched. Fear, you tell yourself. Apprehension. “Can’t you just - use your seidr to magic us out of this?” 

If you could see him - which you can’t, because you’ve been tied back to back - you’d swear that Loki was glaring. 

“Do you - do you have a plan?” You ask, after a moment. 

“I’m working on it,” He says. 

“That’s all?” You say. “We were dragged out of our drug-dealer’s hotel room by a bunch of robed men with guns and the only thing you have to say is ‘I’m working on it?’” 

“I’d get it done faster,” Says Loki, “If you wouldn’t interrupt me.” 

“Ok,” You tell him, “No interrupting you. Got it. That’s - Alright.” 

Unfortunately, not interrupting him is easier said than done, because without the sound of your voice, you are left to your thoughts. 

The men had broken in nearly immediately after Loki’s glib, sardonic retort to your worries, shooting the glass out of the room’s already half-smashed-in window and kicking the door in simultaneously. A bit much, isn’t it?, Loki’d asked, and you had wanted to smack yourself on the forehead. Really not the time, you had hissed, but Loki hadn’t seemed to hear you. Do you do this with everyone they send you to assassinate?, he had asked, instead. The men had been dressed in long, billowing cloaks of bright red, embroidered with orange snakes framing a picture of Beaker from the muppets with early 2000’s emo hair. Chaotic meme agents, you had thought to yourself. So that’s what they’re supposed to look like. 

You hadn’t picked up, until now, on the snakes. 

“They’re working together,” You say, when you can’t stand the playback of Loki being disarmed after spinning and tossing his silver daggers at the men, of the men kneeing him in the balls and twisting your arms behind your back, holding a gun to your head to stop you from trying to fight. Waking up in the back of a van that smelled like microwaved fish. Being tossed like garbage onto the floor of the warehouse, painted in bruises and cuts from the small pieces of glass that had dug their way into your skin. “The IPP and the Pink Cobra.” 

“Obviously,” Loki says. Sharply. 

“Did Tony not -“ 

“Stark,” Loki practically growls, and, ok, you’re not losing it but that did make you jump in your skin, “Is an idiot. He wouldn’t know how to connect the dots if they were presented to him in a Buzzfeed Unsolved episode.” 

“That’s - You had that on Asgard?” You ask him, momentarily distracted. You wish that you could see Loki’s face, and are very glad that you can’t. 

“That isn’t the point,” Loki says. 

“I know,” You tell him. You’re scared that your voice is trembling. Scared that he can tell, even though he’s not facing you, how badly your fingers are shaking. Scared that he knows your worst, biggest secret - 

That, despite being an Avenger, you are anxious. That, despite him being Loki, despite him being here, and wonderfully, infuriatingly himself, he cannot help you, this time. 

You are going to die, covered in cuts and abrasions, on the floor of a meme network’s headquarters, at three a.m in the morning. They are going to come in with umbrellas that shoot poison darts or the ex-presidents Point Break masks and mow you down, and Loki has no fucking plan. You feel the ropes tighten where they’re knotted, itchy and fierce, and you have to fight to keep yourself from whining in terror and nerves. Whining isn’t what Loki needs right now. Whining’s not going to save you. 

What is going to save you, you try and remind yourself, is Loki. If you can shut up. If you can let him decipher what needs to be done. If he can figure out some way to do it before the blowtorch-wielding robed vigilantes or some disincarnate meme god comes back and draws their electronically-sharpened fingernails across your throat hard enough to split skin and sinew, send waves of blood down the front of your shirt like a river of sweet, thick red honey and toss your corpse in a ditch by a highway and - 

“Y/N?” It is foggy, barely-heard. Posh. “Y/N!” Louder, this time. There are fingers on your wrist, bent backwards to grip you. Squeezing, insistent and there. “Breathe.” 

Fuck, you think. You’d started to hyperventilate. To shake, with a full-body tremor that forecasts a great, unstoppable wave of sobbing panic. And Loki had noticed. “I need you to trust me,” He says. “Trust me to get us out of this. Can you do that for me, darling?” 

He has never called you darling before, but God how you’ve wanted him to. You feel like you’re being stabbed in the heart - because there is no way he means it, no way that this is anything other than a desperate and cruel attempt to get you to calm down. Something that belies how obvious you are. How needy you are. How pathetic. And yet - 

And yet, he doesn’t say it meanly. He speaks like he cares about you, and in the face of your impending death, you want to think Loki cares. You’d let him say anything, do anything to you, right now. More than that, though, more than any of that - as you think back to meeting him, to your blossoming late-night friendship and twitchy banter and the quiet moments you’ve shared with him in-between battles - 

“I trust you, Loki,” You tell him, and feel your breath quiet in you. Feel yourself growing still and calm with the certainty that Loki will do as he’s said. 

That you will survive this. 

That -

“Good,” Loki says. Not relieved, but determined. Leaving you no room to argue. 

“So what do we do?” You ask him. 

“Nothing,” Says Loki, and you can hear his wide grin. 

“Nothing?” You ask him, gawking.

 “Nothing,” Says Loki. He gives your hand a tight squeeze. 

And then the Pink Cobra walks in. 

                                                             ***

This will end badly, you think. It’s about the only thing that you can think, preoccupied as you are with - 

It might be easier not to - 

Fuck. 

The thing is - and you really do try not to move, not to groan, not to scream - the thing is, you thought that when Loki said he had a plan, that said plan wouldn’t involve you being collateral damage for a LARP-er who’d most likely broken out of an asylum. I wish that we could be back in that shitty one-bed hotel room, you think to yourself, and - alright, not the best timing, but it rips a laugh out of you, spiraling and unhinged, before you feel the Pink Cobra, resplendent in coral cloak and villainous swagger, slug you one in the jaw. It hurts worse than you’d thought it would - you’ve never really gotten injured on missions, you’re usually good at talking yourself out of things, which is why the Avengers keep you around. You can speak any language, as long as you’ve heard it once, and your customary daily awkwardness can shift into persuasion like flicking a light-switch on. 

Usually, though, you had an opportunity to speak, and weren’t rendered speechless by - 

Loki, if you’re being honest. How much you want to kiss him. How much of an asshole he is. Trust me, he’d asked you. Can you do that for me? The Pink Cobra’s grip is sharp and bruising on your side; he’s slipped his fingers up your shirt and is pressing the point on your side that threatens to make your knees buckle, making bile rise up in your throat, driving you wild with the aching need to flee. He has one hand clasped over your mouth, now that you’ve quieted, and you can feel something - pain, and a pill - pressed snugly into his palm. He will force it down you, you know, if Loki so much as sighs wrong. 

You’ll never trust him again. 

You wish that you knew what the time was. If you end up dying at 4:20, you’re going to throw fists with somebody in hell. 

You wish, also, for aspirin. Avengers training has left you woefully unprepared for the reality of getting punched in the face. You can already feel your jaw starting to swell, taste an egregious amount of blood. You’re pretty sure that the force of the blow knocked a tooth out. 

What strikes fear into you, though - a fear somehow deeper than the absolutely bone-chilling, blood-curdling knowledge of what the Pink Cobra might do to you - is the look you’d seen on Loki’s face in the seconds after he’d grabbed you, before it fell into practiced, amused apathy. He’d gone white, and his eyes had blown wide. His fingers had spasmed with anger. 

He’d looked as scared as you feel. 

And you have no idea why. 

It isn’t like you’re anyone special. Not any more than the rest of the team. Less so than most of them. You aren’t a god, like Loki and Thor are. You don’t have stealth-assassin training, like Bucky, or super-strength like Steve. You can’t seamlessly pilot mechanical suits over the New York skyline like Tony, or use a crossbow like Clint, or beat thirty people in single-hand combat like Nat, or change into a nitro-fueled rage machine like Bruce. 

You can’t do anything, much. 

Except, apparently, die.

You squeeze your eyes shut, not letting yourself look at him. You won’t let Loki’s disinterested face be the last thing that you see. It makes the Pink Cobra’s words all the worse, when he speaks. His voice is dark and sick and timbered, and you feel maggots crawling over your skin as he slots you closer to his body, tightening his already painful grip on you so that you can’t move even an inch away from his tensed, coiled muscles. 

“So,” He says, “You are superheroes? How long did it take me, to apprehend you? Ah - three and a half hours? Tell your boss-man, do better next time.” 

“I’ll pass it along,” Loki says. His voice sounds different. You can’t place why. Still won’t look. 

“You won’t,” The Pink Cobra says. You can feel his shoulders rise, then fall. Feel him smirk. You love Loki’s smirk - secretly delight in drawing it from him, sometimes - but the Pink Cobra’s only fills you with yet more terror. You’ve pursed your lips tightly shut against the intrusion of his hand, but when Loki speaks he forces your bruised, bleeding jaw open and shoves the pill into your mouth. The pain of your injury tears through you like white lightning and you thrash, trying to escape. A keening sound claws its way out of you, fevered and anguished, and you feel your hands, still bound up in ropes, trying in vain to push off and away. The man behind you sighs, and then aims a swift kick at the back of your knees, which sends you down before you can so much as yelp. Your knees hit the floor, and he’s holding you by your hair now, twisting it so hard that you’re almost sure he’ll scalp you. He’s pulled something - too big to be be a knife, some kind of shortsword?! - Out from beneath his cloak, and is pressing it up against the column of your throat. You feel the weight of the capsule between your teeth heavily now, and realize what it means in the split-second before the Pink Cobra bends and whispers, Your choice; stale and rancid into the shell of your ear. 

Next, he addresses Loki. 

“You’ll be wanting to know what our plan is,” He says. Our, you think. We were right. “Hmm? I know how you people are. Always wanting to know. Tell me this, Mischief Man. What will I get, if I tell you? What price are you willing to pay?” 

You know what this is. You know it like the ache in your heart when Loki brushes you off. Like the safety you feel in his arms. You open your eyes. Take in Loki’s face - he’s trying to hide, but you know, you know how he feels. You know what he’s going to choose. 

And you know that you can’t let him choose it. 

“You’ll let her go,” Loki asks, “If we let you leave here?” 

“The thing could be managed.” 

No, you think. No, Loki, don’t! Whatever the Pink Cobra’s going to do, whatever the IPP’s planning, knowing’s worth more than your life. 

“One thing I want to know,” Loki says. He’s twirling a knife of his own, a slim silver number he keeps on him at all times, and you feel the blade on your own throat start to dig in - not enough to draw blood, but enough for you to feel it. The threat of it. The promise of it, and the coldness of the gleaming metal. “You and the IPP? How does it fit?” 

“You want information from me?” The Pink Cobra asks. Lets his blade bite you, just barely, and the strength it takes for you not to scream is more strength then you’d known you possess. 

“Yes,” Says Loki. “It’s not like I’m asking for much.”

He meets your gaze. You meet his. You hope that he cannot read it. His eyes are so worried, so desperate, you nearly break down. 

“I suppose,” The Pink Cobra says, “That you’ve earned it. Getting here - getting this far - it must have been no easy task. Fine. There is no Imminently Predictable Psyops organization. They were a - what do you call it? Red herring? A scent of blood for the shark.” 

“You fabricated them,” Loki says. “Why would you fabricate them?” 

He is losing his composure, you can tell. You will never be ready for this. He will never be ready for this. You hope that he will forgive you, and you know that he never will, and you swallow the pill in your mouth. 

“Because it was fun,” The Pink Cobra says. 

And then your body knows pain. 

                                                             ***

“He didn’t think I would do it,” You say. Your mouth feels thick, clotted with blood and shock, and your body is one raw, gaping wound, but the giddy feeling of victory has begun to course through your veins. Pure, unfiltered adrenaline. You had waited for the moment of death to come, and it hadn’t. The pill is fake, your mind had screamed. But there’d been one thing left, that might work. You had breathed as slowly as you possibly could, forced every muscle of your scared, writhing body into single-minded limpness, rolled your eyes backwards into your head,  drew one last breath in, and fallen. Twitched, for a few seconds, like a rag-doll. Then made yourself still. 

Loki had slit the Pink Cobra ear to ear, beaten him within an inch of his life as he bled out, screaming like a man deranged. He’d left him a wet, bloody mess on the floor, and the blood had run down the not-quite-steady plane of it, pooling around you and mixing with the blood from your jaw, from the evening’s earlier glass cuts, from the deep, burning stab wound the Cobra had got on your arm. 

You breathe, and your body knows pain. 

You look at Loki, and your body knows pain. 

He is shaking. Visibly shaking. His hands are clenched into fists at his side, and he looks as pale as bleached bones. His eyes are shot red - he had sobbed, when you fell, and a howl had torn through his body. You don’t know what to do, what it means, what the hell even to say to him. His cheeks are tear-stained, his breaths ragged. 

You blink, and your body feels pain. 

“We won,” You croak out. “Loki, we won.” It hurts worse than anything you’ve ever felt in your life. “I think he broke one of my ribs.” 

You don’t mean to say that last part, but you do, and you are the one crying now, because it feels like he probably has, and you can barely even stay awake through this pain. It feels like the Hulk is pulling you limb from limb. Like all of those nightmares you’ve had where Loki decided to leave you - to go back to Asgard, and never speak to you again. 

Stupid, you think. He won’t, again. Not after this. 

Loki still hasn’t spoken. He’s looking at you, and his eyes are wild. Desperately, jaggedly roaming your body. His fists twitch with every new part of your body they land on. 

“That bad, huh - Oh, fuck.” 

And just like that, the tension leaves Loki’s body. The dam that had held him firmly in place is broken, and he’s running towards you with none of his usual grace. Dropping down by your side. He hoists you, and you hiss, and the tears won’t stop coming, so you bury your face in his shirt, nose pressed at the crisply ironed collar. Don’t care that it’s bleeding, because Loki’s here now. Holding you. Keeping you real. He’s got one hand stroking your hair and his touch feels right, nothing like the Pink Cobra’s, and he’s whispering: You brave, precious, idiot, how dare you, how dare you throw your life away like that?! 

“It worked,” You exhale - it’s the most you can manage. You would laugh, if it wouldn’t shred you to pieces. Loki cradles you fiercely, hands grasping at the sweat-and-blood soaked fabric of your shirt, running over you as if he doesn’t believe you’re alive. “It - hurts,” You get out. Barely. “Loki, it - I can’t -“ 

“Don’t,” He tells you. His voice has gone brittle, choked with thorns. “Don’t talk. Don’t - Don’t ever do that again. Do you hear me? You will never do that again.” 

If I need to, I will, you think. And you wonder if that’s why you’re here. Wonder if that’s why you’re strong. You wonder, and hurt, and believe. Feel the strength of him, clutching you like you’re the only thing in the world, taking in greedy lungfuls of your weeping, your need for his touch. 

You can’t talk, anymore. It hurts too badly. But you surge, upwards, up into where he’s holding the back of your head, pressing your forehead into the dark, warm space under his jaw that smells like smoke and peppermint. Loki is taller than you are - you fit right into the curve of his neck, and his long curls curtain you in a bubble of warmth and content. 

“Promise,” You say, but it comes out unintelligible, and Loki’s hands are running, so gently, over your skin. 

“What was your plan?” You ask him, forcing it out of your body. 

“Hush,” Loki says, “Later.” 

There might not be any later, you think. Not like this. 

                                                             ***

In the hotel room, an ocean of scattered pages and ceiling mold and blessed privacy, you balance, cross-legged, on the bed. The wind blows wet and cold from an earlier rain through the busted out window. You have managed this out of sheer stubborn-ness, because it is the most that Loki allowed you to do. You’d passed out, twice, on the journey back - he had magicked you there, though it had taken a considerable amount of effort that you weren’t sure you really deserved - and had immediately propped you up on the pillows and stooped to ruffle through his suitcase, emerging not long after with binding tape, cat-gut thread, and a needle so sharp you could feel it slicing your flesh. You had opened your mouth to protest, but Loki had silenced you with a glare that could fell Director Fury. So you had gone quiet, and caved, letting him kneel over you on the distinctly lumpy mattress and begin inspecting your wounds. It had taken a few tries and a Please to convince him to let you sit on your own, and it hurt much more than the manner in which he’d arranged you. You were starting to, slightly, regret it. 

“You don’t have to do this,” You say, pulling it from bleeding lips. He shushes you with a harsh, stern tut. “You’re not my mother,” You tell him. 

“You could have died,” Loki says. There’s a snarling undercurrent to it that you can’t even start dissecting. “What were you thinking?” He asks. It is easier, though still painful, for you to answer him - he had used nearly half of his Thor-limited magic reserve to perform a basic stasis spell on your injuries, but the spell wouldn’t last forever. You’ll need stitches, he’d said, choking it out like he was the hurt one when he’d seen the number the Cobra’s blade had done to your arm. 

“I’ve had worse,” You say, grinning weakly. 

“Are you lying to me?” He asks you, with the tone of someone who’s distinctly not in the mood for joking. 

“I thought,” You say. Steel yourself. “I thought you weren’t going to do what needed to be done. So I - Did it myself.” 

“What needed to be done.” Loki says, enunciating every word. 

“We couldn’t let him walk away,” You say, meeting his eyes. Emerald, clouded with fury. You don’t let yourself flinch from that anger. You don’t let yourself run from your choice. “You know what he would have done.” 

“I don’t,” Loki says. “I know nothing. I know - I know that you think that your life means so little I wouldn’t care if you were gone. That I could - Live, without you.” 

That’s… different. 

“And I know,” Loki continues, “That I told you to trust me, and I meant it.” 

“I do,” You say. There is no hesitation. “I trust you - Loki. Of course I trust you. It’s not - it wasn’t -“ 

“Stop talking,” He snaps. Gentles, when you jerk your head away, blink back a fresh wave of tears. “You need rest,” He says. “And - This is. This is going to hurt.” 

You nod. 

“Best get it over with, then.” 

“You should keep your eyes closed,” He says. 

“No! I want - I need to look.” You bring your eyes up to your arm, which he’s settled onto bed’s chewed, scratchy quilt without you realizing, but Loki tilts your head up with a barely-there graze of his fingers, achingly gentle to avoid aggravating your swollen jaw. He holds your gaze for a long time. Doesn’t look mad, anymore. 

“Are you sure?” He asks you. Like all of this could be over with, if you wanted. 

“How bad it could it be?” You ask back. 

The injury is horrendous. You’d thought - honest-to-God, you’d thought the pain was terrible, but you weren’t ready for what your arm has become. The line of the wound runs in a craggy jigsaw from just under your shoulder to the tip of your elbow. Small wonder you can’t move it, can barely think through it at all. 

“Y/N?” Loki asks, “Are you -“ 

“Fine,” You say. Blink, and your body knows pain. Try not to let how scared you are show, when you look back up at Loki. The Pink Cobra’s dead. You shouldn’t be scared, anymore. “It’s really bad, isn’t it?” 

Loki sighs. Long and low and sad. 

“Will I have to - “ 

“Bite,” Loki says, and shoves something - the sleeve of his shirt, crusted in blood which you realize, sickeningly, is yours - into your mouth. “It’ll help.” 

It doesn’t, but he holds your hand through it, hushing you through the pain with furrowed eyebrows, thread and needle flying deftly through skin, air, skin again. His fingers move precisely, deliberate,  quick, and when, on one stitch, you audibly whimper, he pauses to lean down and press a soft, utterly unexpected kiss to your hairline. You are unable to fully express how much it means to you, so you do the next best thing and kiss him yourself, pressing him back once he’s finished the last of his stitches and breathing all the the words you can’t say into him. You press every fear and gratitude and lingering nerve into the warmth of his lips, wending your fingers through his dark hair despite the pangs of agony still thrumming through every inch of your body. Your face hurts, but the kiss is all you’ve ever needed and more, and Loki is so, so gentle with you, pulling away with creased eyebrows and a look of genuine concern. 

“I wanted to,” You tell him, mustering all of your strength. “It didn’t hurt.” 

“Stop,” He tells you, voice cracking, “Stop lying.” 

“I’m not,” You say. “I wanted to, Loki, I did.” 

“And you wanted to -“ 

“No.” You are vehement about it, for a broken-ribbed, broken-jawed, freshly-stitched person coming off the high of his teeth and his tongue. “Not that, I swear, never that.”

 “Why did you do it, then?” Loki asks. He has steepled his fingers under his chin, and his narrowed eyes pierce through you to the soul. You couldn’t lie to this man, you think, if your life depended on it. 

You know that you have to tell him, this time. Really tell him. You don’t. 

“”Why didn’t you use your magic?”

“You know why,” He says, and you do. You’d remembered it as the white pill turned to white powder in your gums, as the Pink Cobra’s knife had carved its way into your flesh. Thor had put a set limit on it, as condition of Loki’s release - Proof, he had said, We can trust you. Loki had thought to save it for later, that you wouldn’t need him right then. He had thought you’d talk them out, to safety. 

You’d failed him. 

“You didn’t,” He tells you, voice raw. He goes to grip your chin, to force you to listen to him, but with a glance and ill-concealed wince at your purpled jaw he thinks better of it. “You think that you failed me? You let yourself be - be beaten and stabbed - just so people you’ve never met in your life wouldn’t die, and you call that a failure?” He runs a hand through his hair. Bites back a snarl. Drops your arm. “I need you to listen to me,” Loki says, “Very, very carefully. You’re going to tell me why now, love. And then we’re going to fix it.” 

You raise an eyebrow. Worse than he does, you’re aware. 

“Sleep,” He amends, with a pointed look at the bed underneath you, “And then we’re going to fix it.” 

“There’s only one bed,” You tell him, “And I feel like I just got run over by a truck.” 

Loki huffs, a puff of warm air that you feel, from how close he still is. A grin twitches at the edge of his lips. It sets off sparks inside you. 

“I thought -“ You say. Shake your head, and restart. “You would have let the Pink Cobra attack. You would have let him just walk away, and I couldn’t just - let that happen.” 

“Enlightening.” 

“No,” You tell him, “I mean it. I couldn’t - I’m not - I’m not worth more than anyone else. We’re the Avengers. It’s our job to save people, Loki.” 

He’s regarding you carefully, eyes still narrowed, all vestiges of softness gone from his face. When he opens his mouth, it’s to close it. Form thoughts. Discard them. Exhale. 

“My mother once told me,” He finally says, “That I would never know what it meant to be human until I found the person who made me want to bleed the world dry. Take all of its’ suffering, all of its’ cruelty, and leech it out of the very fabric of time, just to keep that person from anguish, from harm.” 

“I don’t -“ 

He holds a hand up. You still. 

“She never said they would infuriate me,” Loki says. “She never said they would make me laugh, or smile, or question my sanity on a regular basis. She never said that they’d try and get themselves killed, and that I’d have to watch, and that I would feel like my heart was being ripped from my body and torn to a bloody pulp; that I would make the sky rain blood and fire at the sight of it alone. But she was right about one thing - Many things, but also this. She told me that it wouldn’t matter. That I would - love you - anyway.” 

“You don’t,” You say, not daring to hope. It’s an automatic retort. 

“Foolish girl,” Loki chides, and you blink back fresh, stinging tears. How long have you wanted to hear Loki say that to you? How many sneaky looks have you stolen in the heat of your missions, just to see his smart mind and tricky magic at work? How many nights have you sat up together, sequestered from your insomnia in a bubble of hard-earned banter and peppermint tea, fighting the tight, coiling urge to push aside your steaming mugs and pull him into your needing? 

He could not - he can’t - feel the same. 

“Loki,” You say, stumbling over the words, “You can’t - This is - This is me we’re talking about.” 

“Is there anyone else here,” Loki asks you, “That I could be talking about?” He seems nonchalant, now, as if this - this cruel fucking joke, when you already feel you’re on fire - is merely a fact of his life. “We’re going to leave this excuse of a town, and get you - proper care. Fix it. Because I will not, on my honor, watch you suffer in pain. But first, you’re going to sleep.” 

“There’s only one bed,” You tell him, and feel your resolve as it shatters. You cling to the statement like it’s the last remnant of the girl you were and the woman that you’ll never be, “And the shower doesn’t work. And I’m covered in blood.” 

But when you look at Loki, his eyes twinkle, mischievous. 

“Will you stay with me?,” You ask him, biting your lip. 

“You astound me,” He tells you, and rolls his eyes, and it feels - it feels normal. Good. A tender heat unfurls in your heart like orchid petals in the sun, numbing the persistent ache in your ribcage. “To even think that I would do anything else.” 

Later, you will ask him why. Why do you love me?, you will ask, and Loki will hum, low in his throat, curled around you just like this first night; your back pressed into his chest, your legs tangled up hopelessly, his fingers tracing nonsense patterns onto your spine in the dawn-light’s syrupy gold. Because, he will tell you, trailing a line of soft kisses up the scar on your arm - an ugly thing, but it functions, mostly, and only ever seems to hurt on the days when he isn’t there - I was given no choice. 

But if you’d had one?”, You will ask, and spin around, propping yourself on your elbow. 

You tempt me, He’ll tell you, baring his sharp teeth. Shouldn’t you know better than that? 

You will lie there, next to each other, not needing a single word. Because you will know. Because he will have told you, a thousand times, a thousand ways, exactly how he feels about you. 

Tonight, though, isn’t that night. It takes a moment to get settled in his hold, and the rain spits and drums against what glass remains in your window, slicking the carpet with dark, greasy splotches. It figures, you think, that even the rain in this city has the smell and the texture of oil. You feel like a bag of bones, stretched too thin. But safe, in his arms, in a way that you’ve never felt, before now. Loki is with you, you realize. Wrapped around you like a traveler’s cloak, the comforting weight of a slim, balanced blade at your side in a fight. He is cool, around your afraid. Warm, where his clever fingers whine and needle their way through your skin to your heart. 

“I hate you,” You tell him, “You know that?” 

Loki laughs, a deep, rumbling purr. 

“Go to sleep.”

[theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin]

[tomione thing] Thanks for the recs! I actually was looking forward to the rant, I like how you break things apart so they make sense in a very unique way.( I don't have any strong feelings to the pairing if that was your concern, I just think the stories about them have the potential to be fantastic because I enjoy intelligent characters going through life and solving problems and, usually, in fanfiction there's focus on only one smart character.

So, you people are just poking me with sticks to see what ridiculous opinions spew out then. I’m onto your game.

With that said, let’s get to answering then, and know that you bring this upon yourself.

I loathe Tomione. I put up with it, sometimes, because I will read almost any fic featuring Tom Riddle as a main character. (Want the Carnivorous Muffin to read your fic? Tom Riddle as a main character. Even if I disagree with 110% of your premise I will probably still read your story.)

However, it’s extremely telling that my recs the other day were hilariously small, and one was actually Hermione/Loki. The Tomione exists, I just hate it.

This is for two main reasons. First, I just don’t believe the ship would ever work under any circumstances and the pair are naturally doomed to loathe one another. Second, fanfiction has a collection of tropes associated with Tomione that are in unbearable (likely caused unconsciously by the first, Tomione doesn’t really work, so we do terrible things to make it work). 

Tomione Doesn’t Work: Change My Mind

So, remember we’re living in Muffin-land for this. I’ve explained some of my headcanons regarding these characters, and I’ll offer brief explanation for why I think what I do here, but I’m not going to expand on it too much.

Tomione has appeal under the premise that either you or someone else previously mentioned: they’re both so smart, of course they belong together.

The trouble, Hermione’s not nearly as smart as she thinks she is. What we see of Hermione’s cleverness boils down to having a very good work ethic and reading a lot of books. She tends to outsmart Ron and Harry because she actually puts in the work to do her homework and, my god, read her text books. Also, as I’ve covered before, Harry’s an idiot, so that’s a low bar.

Because Hogwarts can be passed by the likes of Crabbe and Goyle, and the curriculum seems to boil down to “pronounce this fake Latin correctly, ooh look, a spell”, actually reading her books not only gets Hermione by but skyrockets her ahead of her peers. Who, apparently, have no ear at all and don’t understand the swishy motions are important and probably never bothered to read their books.

This isn’t to say she’s stupid, she’s by far one of the more intelligent characters in the series, but it says a lot of not so good things about Hogwarts that Hermione is the “brightest witch of her generation”. In my mind she has never compared to characters like Tom Riddle, Lily Evans, Severus Snape, or Albus Dumbledore.

Hermione never questions how magic exists, why wands work, or why pronunciation is so weirdly important and why we’re using spells that are gibberish Latin instead of English or simply Latin. She never takes that step outside the box I would expect a truly intelligent person to take.

An example, Hermione completely throws out the entire discipline of divination. This is part because she believes it’s stupid, but she also only spends about two seconds thinking about it, and she doesn’t appear to be any good at it. If Hermione’s not good at it then it must be a stupid subject for stupid people.

Now, that alone doesn’t doom her, but it does put a huge chink in the major appeal of Tomione: they’re both just so brilliant that they’d be great together.

What dooms them is that Hermione both a) thinks she is as brilliant as all these other people and b) has this pervasive need to be the smartest person in any room she walks into. Hermione comes across Tom Riddle in the past or just chills with Voldemort in the future, she will inevitably try to show him up. This isn’t just to assure us that good is better than evil, but because she can’t help herself, because being the smartest is how she defines herself.

As a result, especially if we’re in the time travel/school setting, she would inevitably get in competition with him to prove she’s so much better/smarter than he is. It would undoubtedly be on her terms, probably revolving around school work, and she’d throw a fit when Tom wins because he understands the value in being concise where Hermione would quite easily write a hundred page Potions’ essay (that had a five page limit) with the subtext “PRAISE ME” written on every page.

I can’t imagine Tom Riddle would find this anything but completely obnoxious and a waste of his time.

Now, part of this goes into headcanon land, but I have always imagined, 100%, that Tom Riddle in Hogwarts was treated like a muggleborn, that he didn’t find out his ancestry until at least part of the way through, and he never confessed to being the Heir of Slytherin. I can back this up, but that’s another story for another day, I’ll just say that no matter what Dumbledore says any other backdrop makes no damn sense.

So, Tom has clawed the respect of his peers into reality with bleeding hands, he came from nothing in a way that even the ‘good’ purebloods wouldn’t have sympathy for. Even the muggleborns I imagine thought they were better than him. Tom is an impoverished orphan, so poor he has to stay at Hogwarts over the holidays, he was not having a fun time at school.

Tom has ambitions, is mired in hatred, and is not really all that wrapped up in Hogwarts except to get him where he wants to go.

Now, imagine Hermione suddenly shows up in front of this Tom. Suddenly he’s being challenged to essay competitions, she probably leaves cryptic remarks all the time about how evil he is and how amazing she is because she’s not evil and smarter than he is, and if he thinks he’s smarter than her then he better find time to prove it.

It’s like talking to a Dumbledore he can never escape from.

Tom doesn’t have time for this bullshit.

Tomione not only insists that he does but that he lives for this bullshit. Forget Voldemort, Hermione making weird comments about how Tom has a mutilated soul, or that Dumbledore is so much cooler than he is, is where it’s at. 

As for Hermione, ultimately, I don’t think she’d ever really be attracted to Tom Riddle because he’s too much competition. The guys we’ve seen Hermione with are all safely much dumber than she is, Hermione likes being in relationships with men she feels in some way better than. Tom Riddle is not that guy. 

Add on top of this that Hermione’s righteousness would never allow her to even think about dating someone like Tom and we get her, at best, trying for the sake of destroying him (if she seduces Tom then she destroys Voldemort!) but ultimately failing.

Because the thing is, circling back to where we started, there are different kinds of intelligence, different levels of intelligence, and intelligence alone isn’t a reason to get along. Smart people might gravitate towards smart people, but they still have to have compatible personalities. Reading books isn’t magical glue that can bind people together.

No matter what way I look at it, Hermione and Tom would absolutely loathe one another in every capacity. 

Hermione ends up back in time accidentally and goes to Tom with Hogwarts: utter loathing.

Hermione ends up back in time on purpose and tries to save Tom’s troubled soul or else murder the shit out of him: utter loathing with an extra dash of “what the fuck?!” on Tom’s end.

Hermione ends up back in time after Hogwarts when Tom’s a store clerk: utter loathing (Hermione walks into Tom’s shop to tell him how cool and interesting she is to enter into the typical Tomione mind games, all Tom wants is commission.)

Hermione enters into deals with devils with the horcruxes: utter loathing complete with Tom’s triumphant/Nelson laugh when he inevitably betrays her to get his own body.

A young Tom Riddle somehow winds up in the future and is forced to attend Hogwarts because Dumbledore does what he wants: utter loathing (Tom has to sit there and enjoy Harry and especially Hermione telling him how evil he is and how Hermione’s so much smarter than him because she’s muggleborn and reads books.)

Lord Voldemort takes Hermione hostage during the horcrux hunt: utter loathing (though this would be sadly less irritating to Tom than the others, I imagine, if only because Hermione would probably be more terrified and less righteous. But she’d hate him with the fire of a thousand suns and inevitably pull a horrific revenge scheme on either him or his Death Eaters. No one crosses Hermione. No one.)

You name it, I think it’s going to end with the pair hurling chairs at each other and just being completely and utterly uninterested in every capacity. 

Now, onto how Tomione is typically written, which just makes it so much worse.

Tomione Fics Breed Awful: Change My Mind

Tomione, to me, is born from a few things. It’s born from the author’s desire to have an intelligent, female, borderline SI lead and to shove her together with another edgy smart person with some degree of a bad boy persona.

In this way Tomione fics are very similar to Snape/Hermione fics, are similar to Lokane from Thor/Avengers, are similar to Zutara back in the earlier seasons of Avatar the Last Airbender, etc. 

As a result the fics almost invariably spiral into: “Hermione is so smart, she’s so much smarter than everyone else, she impresses Tom because she is so smart. Tom is so smart but so evil, he sexy growls at her, and confesses how much he hates love every other chapter.” 

Only, as I noted above, while there are many interpretations of Tom’s character (and mine certainly doesn’t agree with the vast majority) I can’t help but think every single version would hate her.

To make him not hate her the author will often turn him into one of two Tom Riddles: Emotionally Deficient Robot Tom or Growling Sexy Sociopath Tom. Emotionally Deficient Robot Tom will often have paragraph long tangents to remind us he doesn’t compute your human emotions, “Beep boop” but despite this Hermione’s out of control hair makes him feel urges “bloop bloop”. Growling sexy sociopath Tom usually goes on a rant about how love is beneath him, backs Hermione into broom closets, and growls as he sexily makes out with her in a non-romantic manner because “ew love”. 

In other words, Tom is made an unbelievably flat character. He becomes a base archetype of sexy villain character. He never really gets redeemed, even if the story insists he does, he usually doesn’t have a reason for the way he is (”um, love potions!” the author often cries), and he and Hermione always think they’re much more important than they are.

The story rarely, if ever, goes anywhere because the entire point of the story is mind games between two sixteen-year-olds who think they’re smarter than everyone else. So we get a lot of chapters of Hermione and Tom running around, being very clever to each other, but doing nothing.

Sometimes authors do deviate from this, we will have an actual plot where we’re not just in Hogwarts again or it’s not just centering on ridiculous mind games. However, even then, Tom is usually is some variant of a very flat cartoon villain while Hermione is... Well, one would think the way she’s described that she’s the smartest, best, most beautiful, most brilliant thing to ever grace this earth.

TL;DR

Tomione is not my jam.

[boop-le-snoot]

PARTY FAVOURS I CHAPTER 38

💖 first time reader click here 💖

Fluff and snowball fights. Forgiveness is a path and everyone's making their happy way down it. Friendly Steve slander. Hulk interaction!

"So, what now?" I asked, eyes still closed, not resisting the desire to remain under the covers, nested snugly into Stephen's side. On his other side, Tony snored away, sprawled like a starfish in what looked to be the first decent shut-eye he got in months. I could smell the coffee and omelettes from Tony's kitchen and the soft jazz music playing where Bruce was taking care of the breakfast.

It was an unambiguous decision to take it easy after the last battle. Bucky and Natasha had been ironing out the details from the interrogation after Stephen had un-possessed Cabre, Wanda and Loki were itching to get a minute with the mercenary on their own and Veddie, as I started calling my uncle and his symbiote after experiencing the incredibly immersive symbiosis with Venom, hovered nearby in case Cabre would make a good snack.

"What do you want to do?" Stephen's morning voice was, ahem, an experience. He put Corpse Husband to shame and I knew that it wasn't only me who got hot and bothered by it but Tony as well...

Speaking of Tony, I still had no idea where we stood. My engineer had been less than happy about my actions and I thought I blew it. He wasn't as warm and playful, and while I kept telling myself that it was just the exhaustion from weeks of stress and worry, I knew better.

"I don't know. I didn't think this far," I admitted, damn well knowing what I wanted. I wanted things to be like they were - clear, honest, easy. My mother's voice rang out clearly again. I was being childish. Of course I was.

"I'm sure Tony will have my head for this, but seeing as there's no stopping you, I'm sure Natasha and Barnes will be happy to train you," Stephen sighed, his breath warm in my hair.

I blanched, stiffening in his arms, confused. "Where did that come from?" My eyes finally opened to stare at his sleepy face.

His eyebrows rose. "You don't want to..?"

"Be a hero, like you? No," I shook my head, then snorted. "I was trying to figure out how to tell you I don't want to go to college just yet, maybe take a gap year. In fact, I want to avoid actual in-person classes as much as humanely possible. And I still don't have a clue what major exactly I want to pursue." I was being honest, prepared to be judged. In-between my three men, there were at least ten PhDs whilst I was only nearly done with the first step of my education.

"So what, it was a one-time deal? Let an alien parasite take over your body for a coupla' hours and then continue with your life?" Tony's scratchy voice startled me; apparently, he'd been awake and actively eavesdropping.

I wasn't prepared for this conversation, but then again, I'd never be. Might as well rip the bandaid off. "I'm not that flavour of stupid," I immediately retorted, heart beginning to pick up speed. My mouth was gonna get me in trouble. "I am not delusional, I know things aren't and won't be the same. I did what I did because there was no other option, I'm not sorry and I will do it again if the need arises. It's not what you want to hear but it's the truth." I paused, well aware that my speech was becoming quicker, I was well on my way to nervous rambling. "I'm not hero material, I won't go on a death march for a rando," Justifying my actions? No. I stopped myself again. "I am sorry for lying. I am sorry for hiding things. But I am not sorry for putting my own ass out there so we can get some fucking peace." I finally settled, fisting my pajama top under the blanket in an attempt to release some of the tension.

Twin sighs erupted from my men, as if their bodies synchronized in response to my stubborn nature. Stephen's hold tightened on me as Tony rolled over, sleepy eyes blinking from the space opposite of me on Stephen's chest. Tony's hand reached for my face, stroking the side of it wordlessly - he wasn't the most vocal about his feelings but his eyes said it all. Tony was sad, hurt, a little bit angry but mostly he was relieved. It was the way he moved - nearly no traces of the tension that had gathered on his face in the previous weeks.

"Natasha should still train you, some basic hand to hand and weapons training, in case someone has it out for any of us. SHIELD's security has holes, you're basically one of us now. Everyone and their mother saw Clint hauling you to the quinjet," Tony finally grumbled, admitting his defeat. Everyone knew that if it had been up to him, I wouldn't leave the tower without an armed escort at all times. Thankfully, Bruce was there to screw on Tony's bolts right each time he wanted to go overboard. They thought I wouldn't notice, but I did.

Stephen's free hand landed in Tony's hair, the sorcerer effectively calmed both of us down with his gentle, unobtrusive support. He was far more empathetic than he liked to show. "That seems like a smart idea," He rumbled as my eyes began to drift shut once again.

With each steady breath, my heartbeat slowed and the feelings of guilt and dread began to dissipate. Tony might not had forgiven me yet but I was on my way to inner peace once more. I remembered feeling exactly the same way before our relationship, when every time I took a step inside Tony's lab, I tensed inwardly, shielded my feelings from his eyes, too focused on the outcome I thought would be absolutely disastrous. I had always thought he'd laugh at me, and yet... Laying on Steph's chest, inches away from Tony, my past panic seemed ridiculous.

"What's so funny?" Stephen asked, amused.

I didn't even notice the snort that managed to escape me. "Nothing," I answered immediately, feeling my face heat up. Oh my Loki, what kind of an idiot I had been...

"Sure," Tony's finger poked my cheek without preamble. "Staging a world domination plan, aren't we?" He snarked, much more like his usual self.

"I was just remembering when I was so terrified you'd find out I have a crush on you and you'd laugh at me," I mumbled, willing to placate Tony to avoid any more unnecessary lies and deceit.

Tony, did, in fact, laugh at my confession, but so did Stephen and I am pretty sure I heard Bruce snort from the direction of the archway leading into the spacious bedroom. The bed dipped as the scientist sat down, running a palm over my leg.

"I was pretty sure you would laugh at me," He admitted just as quietly and bashfully. Stephen and Tony only laughed harder. I heard the sound of a pillow hitting Steph in the face. "Let's go, Princess, let's leave the mean geezers alone. I made breakfast."

I could practically hear the pout in Bruce's voice and couldn't resist to comply, leaving a grumbling Tony to stretch and roll out of bed like a disgruntled cat.

"You're older than me, Bruce," Stephen rolled his eyes, I could feel his stare linger on my exposed thighs before Bruce picked me up. My sorcerer boyfriend switched to staring at Tony's bare back, which was an action I wholeheartedly supported.

"Cocky bastards," I stuck out my tongue a moment before we turned the corner and then all I could focus on was the feast of gods Bruce had made for us. The man was really too sweet and too kind, he never ceased to make me mushy and stuff. I stole a kiss, and then another one, and another one, until Tony's whining about the toast burning interrupted our moment.

The bread was fine. Tony was just being himself.

Our phones beeped at the same time - mine being already in my hand, as all normal young people did in the mornings - I looked at the message expecting another assemble and feeling my eyebrows crawl up at Steve's suggestion we all get some fresh air that day.

It had snowed. The whole city was covered in white, crisp snow, and Bucky has been liking nothing but other people's snowman pictures for several days. I suspected the brunette had convinced his boyfriend to take him out to build one or something, but as Steve was known to be exceptionally dense at times, Cap'n Jolly had unanimously decided it was a team bonding-slash-relaxing opportunity.

I relayed my thoughts to my own boyfriends, all of us giggling at Steve's eagerness to cater to his boyfriend and his cluelessness when it came to all things romantic. I was tempted to shoot Steve a text explaining his epic gamer moment but before I could even open the app, Bruce's eyes turned green briefly as he had a very obvious internal conversation with Hulk.

"Is that offer to spend time with Hulk still up?" The scientist asked timidly.

I had a lightbulb moment. "Absolutely!" I replied, watching my other two boyfriends. They didn't even bat an eye, evidently at peace with the green situation. "As long as the snowball fight is had with Thor, Steve or other enhanced individuals." Personally, I had no desire to be flipped over by a snowball the size of a watermelon. Or get any of the pretty but cold stuff under my clothes.

Bruce's responding grin was mostly Hulk.

It was a couple of days before Christmas. I was never one much for the holiday season, but something magical had seeped into me - it wasn't the shiny lights throughout the tower, it wasn't Clint's ugly Christmas sweater and the smell of gingerbread cookies and cinnamon that came from Wanda's apartment. I had no clue what it was, but it seemed to be tied to my boyfriends and Loki and many others who lived in the tower.

Bruce was all but wiggling during the car ride to the park - rationally, I knew it was the Hulk being excited but I still couldn't take my eyes off the usually reserved man. Bruce was happy. It made me smile and hold his hand like we were middle-schoolers in love. The rest of the team pretended to not notice it, or maybe they didn't care, or maybe they had already gotten used to my unconventional relationship.

Either way, Bucky had whisked Steve away almost immediately and I did what every kid ever had dreamed of. As Bruce went to a more secluded space to transform into the Hulk and Tony went to retrieve his thermos of coffee, I ushered Sam over to Steve's car and unlocked it, retrieving his shield from the trunk. It was heavier than it looked but did it stop me and Sam from running up the nearest hill and fighting over who gets to go first?

No, it did not. In mere moments, my ass was being frozen to the metal despite my snowsuit as I parked it inside the shield , holding onto the straps as Sam pushed on my back, hollering "Yeet!" at the top of his lungs, sending me in a steep slide towards where Thor was enthusiastically explaining something to the rest of the team.

"Oh shiiiiit!" I screamed, unprepared for the sudden increase in speed and the surprisingly good gliding abilities Captain America's shield possessed. "Watch o-o-out!" I yelled as the group scattered at the last moment. I heard some strong Russian words coming from Natasha, paired with snorts of badly concealed laughter.

The tree line grew closer by the second but the shield had no plans of stopping any time soon. Whoda thunk that things made of vibranium had all the characteristics to be the perfect sled? Something green entered my field of vision, stopping my crazy train with a grunt.

I answered with an oof of my own. One green palm was securely wrapped around me and the other held Steve's shield. "Hello," Hulk snorted, lifting me up like I was but a feather and setting me on his shoulder. "Puny Princess, don't hurt yourself," He stated firmly as I looked down at him, intrigued by the sudden change in his speech patterns. He sounded almost human.

"Hey, Big Guy," I ruffled his hair. "Aren't you cold?"

"No," He replied, setting me onto his shoulder. Hulk appeared to be completely unaffected by the December cold in his purple shorts. I felt my rear end begin to thaw, such was the heat that he emanated from his body. Meanwhile, Hulk caught Steve's eye, preparing to hurl the shield back to the frowning Captain.

Steve caught it effortlessly while Bucky ignored the interaction whatsoever, caught up in rolling an obscenely large ball of snow a ways from the group, tongue all but hanging out in concentration. I caught myself thinking he was gonna build a snow dick instead of a man and it made me feel...

"Wanna build a snowman?" I asked my green companion, rubbing my mittens in excitement.

The Hulk pondered for a brief moment, adopting that mischievous gleem, eyes shooting to Tony and Stephen who stood regally on the side of the clearing, sipping their hot beverages like the adult men that they were supposed to be. I snorted and Hulk echoed the sound, taking quick strides to a patch of land opposite Bucky. "No," Hulk shook his head. "We build a fort. Then smash," The green bean was all but vibrating in excitement.

Realistically, I knew I was gonna get snow stuck in uncomfortable places and might even get knocked over by an overeager person with super strength. But was I gonna pass up an opportunity to show off my superior construction skills? Hell naw.

It wasn't long before Stephen and Tony wandered off to us and began to pile up snow with a resigned huff, unsuccessful in their attempts to rebuff me ordering them around. In the end, we split in three teams, snow flew everywhere and by the time the battle was in peak heat, all of us were cold, wet and red-faced.

"To the death! BLOOD AND VINEGAR!!!" I screeched, hopping up and down after a series of small rapid snowballs I threw hit their target - Steve had a face full of snow and Bucky wasn't faring much better next to him, having had let a few of them hit him in the chest because he was distracted, doubling over in laughter at Steve's indignant, red face.

"You're bloodthirsty," Tony smirked from my side, dumping a fresh batch of ammo between me and Stephen. "It's hot."

@another-stark-sub @mostly-marvel-musings  @vozit @littlegasps @pilloclock @shereadsinquiet @downeyreads @hermione-grangers-wife @individualistfem @sleep-i-ness @capbrie @lillsxd @agustdowney @dee-vn @justanotherblonde23 @fanngirl19 @persephonehemingway @softie-socks @schemefrenzy @letsby @romeo-the-cactus @jelly-fishy-babie @mikariell95 @gladiosamicitias @warrior1-19 @toomanyrobins

[mittensmorgul]

I wanted to thank you for your response to the anon. Your phrase, "NOBODY should be made to feel like shit when engaging with something that is supposed to be fun." resonated with me in a way that "don't feel guilty about unfollowing" never did. I'm not seeing drama, but 80% of my dash is fandoms that I have no interest in. Thank you for the push I needed!

Oh gosh! Well I'm glad I could be helpful in any way! :D

I do have to confess that I follow a few people who I haven't shared fandoms with in years, but most of them don't even post on here all that often so it's more like occasionally seeing an old friend and having a wave across the street at them before going our separate ways again for a few months, and not a daily deluge of content I just have to J key my way through.

It's hard unfollowing people you like, but that you've just grown away from as far as the content you're each here for. Maybe someday you'll find them again, find you have fandoms in common again, and will happily reunite to share your mutual love of something new! But until then, most of us have a limited amount of time to engage with our hobbies and interests, and I'd rather spend it on the content I'm personally interested in than in feeling frustrated that everything I actually had time to scroll through was about fandoms I know almost nothing about.

I expected a lot of people who focused mainly on spn to begin drifting into other fandoms when the series ended. And that's happened, to an extent. I've seen more Untamed stuff on my dash (I keep meaning to watch that lol), Marvel stuff with the new Loki show on, etc. But Supernatural apparently will not give us peace, either. :'D

I'd been hoping we would all have an evergreen ending to the main story of Supernatural to rest on, and a relatively chill post-canon fandom to explore and have fun with. People still create for the original Star Trek series, you know? That fandom is still alive (partly due to the additional franchises in the series, partly just because of the fandom elders there that refused to let it die). I think Supernatural will eventually settle into something like that, but even with 16 years of fandom, we're barely getting our driver's licenses here as a fandom, too, compared to ST :'D

In the meantime, like everyone else, it was cathartic to vent after the finale we did get, but even with last night's drama and what it potentially holds in store for ongoing future drama, I'd hope that folks remember that nobody's experience of this site is the same as anyone else's, and it doesn't have to be all drama or stuff you're not really interested in.

I had this same experience during the last few years, when the term "doomscrolling" was coined to define the experience of looking at twitter. I realized I would spend five minutes looking at my dash (I don't even really do much fandom over there... my TL is mostly authors and publishing professionals), and my jaw would be clenched and I'd just want to start yelling. I culled a lot of the political stuff from my feed, because honestly I did not need to get my news from social media, where I was supposed to be spending that five minutes forgetting the world was on fire. Sometimes *literally* on fire. I didn't want to be angry ~all of the time~ and I was losing my personal outlets for actually trying to feel happy about anything at all.

The same is even more true of tumblr. This is supposed to be fun. Some people use this site for news or PSA's or the like, but the counterpoint is that if this *is* your escape from the horror of the "real world," then by all means actually make it function that way! It's not ALL drama ALL the time, unless you curate your dash to be that!

(well, except on nights like last night... it's impossible to escape that sort of drama without logging off for a day or two :'D)

But I'm happy you're finding more happiness on your own dash! :)