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high-functioning-lokipath · 3 years

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Prompt: "I'll Be Here To Protect You" - Loki x Reader - Words: 2,564

A/N: This sort of follows the oneshot "Worthy" but can be read alone. Basically, Reader is Silver Shadow (see Marvel character list for reference), Loki and Reader are married, yada yada, you'll see…

"Silver? I think you should take a look at this," Cap said over the comms. You, Cap, Loki, and Widow had gone to investigate a Hydra base you'd received intel on. You'd been informed that the base was abandoned but that they still had some records stored there.

"On my way," You replied to the Captain, teleporting over immediately. "Oh my goodness," You gasped at the sight that greeted you. There, lying curled up in a small cage, was a girl no older than 5 or 6. Cap ripped open the cage and gently pulled her out, holding her in his arms. She whimpered slightly and you could tell she'd been beaten. Instantly, you wanted to kill the people who'd done that to her.

"Can you help her?" He whispered, not wanting to startle her any more. You nodded and held out your arms to take her. As soon as you touched her, you started working.

"You might need to hold me up," You warned the Captain. "This is going to be tiring."

"Alright," He nodded. "Then let's get you out of here." He easily lifted you both and carried you out to the quinjet. You vaguely heard him talking on the comms but were a bit too focused to actually make out his words. He set you down on one of the chairs with the girl curled up in your lap. After a while, before the others got back, she seemed to be healed and sleeping. You were exhausted so you adjusted yourself slightly in the chair and dozed off as well.

"Y/N?" You turned your head, eyes still refusing to open with exhaustion, and groaned slightly feeling the kink in your neck from sleeping weird. "Y/N! Please wake up, hm? Please?" Someone said. Now they were poking your arm. Your other arm however seemed to be asleep, as you couldn't feel it, and you had a weight on your legs and chest. Suddenly remembering what all had transpired, your eyes shot open. "See? I told you she would wake up if I did that!" Natasha said, with what you knew to be false happiness, to the girl on your lap. The girl simply glared back at Nat before turning her attention to you, with a completely different expression. Her eyes widened and she tried smiling as though she was out of practice and waved slightly.

"Hi there," You smiled. "My name's Y/N. What's yours?" She frowned and looked away before mumbling something. "Hm? I couldn't hear you," You said.

"Helius," She replied with a frown.

"Oh," You replied. "Well, do you like that name?" She shook her head vigorously. "Would you like a new name? One just as pretty as you?"

"Really?" She asked, eyes lighting up once more.

"Yep! And then you'll have a special name for yourself! Just like I do, and just like Natasha," You said pointing at the redhead. "And-" You were about to point to your husband when you realized for the first time since waking back up that he wasn't with the team anymore. Your eyes darted back to Nat who looked worried.

"Y/N?" The little girl said quietly, pulling on your sleeve.

"What is it, dear?" She whispered in it in your ear and you nodded. "Oh yes, um. The bathroom's right over here." You took her over and opened the door.

"I get to use that?" She asked, surprised.

"Yes," You replied slowly.

"Wow! You're really nice!" She hurried inside and closed the door herself. You stood there for a moment, shocked, and Nat walked up behind you.

"She's not even accustomed to using a normal bathroom, Nat!"

"Those people, if they even should be called that," she said, shaking her head. "Are monsters." You looked around once more, trying to see if Loki had shown back up. "He's up with Steve," She said, pointing to the cockpit.

"What? Why? He's willingly spending time with the Captain?" You said teasing.

"He said he needed to think."

"Did he give any clues?"

"Not verbally. But I think he's nervous."

"About what?" You exclaimed. She nodded towards the bathroom door.

"Being a Dad."

"A Da-" you interrupted yourself, chuckling lightly. "You think just because we found her means we'll be her parents?" Nat smirked and nodded. "First of all, Tony will probably have a cow if we wanted to keep her."

"Well your husband had a horse, may I remind you."

"That was a made up story! Would you please stop referencing it!" You shrieked.

"Only when it stops being funny," She laughed.

"Second, there's probably already some rule in place that states we need to put her in the custody of Child Protective Services."

"We'll see about that."

"She's yours!" Tony said 2 hours later once you'd arrived home and gone straight to a conference room to meet with him.

"What?" You exclaimed. You hadn't even had the chance to talk with Loki yet. You glanced outside the room at the girl sitting in the hallway. The whole team was there with you but Loki had still not said a word. You looked at him but he refused to make eye contact and you couldn't read his expression. "Don't get me wrong, Tony. She's wonderful and I think she deserves the world but why?"

"You found her! Who knows if she has powers? It's best to have one of our own caring for her just in case. And besides, according to Romanoff's story, the girl practically glared daggers into anyone else who came her way."

"Alright I guess. I mean," You sighed. "Loki? Darling? Um, what do you think?"

"You've already made the decision, Stark. I will respect that and allow my wife to make the necessary changes to our living quarters to care for the child. Now is there anything else you'll be needing at the moment? I need a shower."

"Uh, no. It's-we're done," Tony said, seeming surprised at Loki's attitude just as you were. You all started to head out but Tony stopped you for a moment. "Here," He said, handing you a credit card. "Buy whatever you want for her." You smiled and shook your head.

"What do you know? The man of iron does have a heart."

"Yeah but don't tell anyone," He chuckled.

About a week later, Helius was in her new bedroom, thoroughly showered in gifts from Tony, but still not talking to anyone. Neither was Loki for that matter. You yourself were exhausted, staying up late nights keeping the girl company when she woke up screaming from nightmares. When you eventually came back to bed, you often found your husband had gotten up already and disappeared somewhere to 'be alone'. With Helius, you offered her a few ideas for a new name but she didn't like any of them. You even told her some ideas the others had suggested but she hated those even more. You seemed to be the only one she was comfortable with. With Loki, you'd tried to talk to him, even calling and texting him but he wouldn't answer. Today, though, you decided you needed to do something about both of them or else you were probably going to go crazy. First, though, you had some formal paperwork to take care of with Tony in order to have legal guardianship of her.

"I don't know what to do about it, Stank," You sighed, hours later. Tony wrinkled his nose slightly at the nickname but listened. "Half of this I honestly still can't fill out for you because she won't pick a name. I don't know how to make her socialize and I sure don't know how to get Loki to spill what's bugging him." Tony got up and walked to your side, putting his hand on your shoulder.

"I'm not sure what to tell you either, Shiny."

"Watch it," You hissed, whipping out a knife you always kept on your person and holding it dangerously close to his baby-maker. He backed away quickly.

"Maybe you just need to corner your husband and, uh, pull that trick on him," He chuckled nervously. "Ok, well, um, just hold onto that paperwork and send it to me when it's done, alright?" You nodded and gathered it together before heading back to your floor. It was early afternoon and you thought you may have a shot at talking to your husband while Helius took her nap. She'd found her own little routine to keep her occupied during the day in her room even when you weren't there. But you always had to be home when she slept because of her nightmares and she refused to socialize with others.

"I'll be in the bedroom until dinner is ready," Loki said upon your return.

"Can we please talk first?" You asked.

"There's nothing to discuss," He replied, quickly walking to the bedroom and slamming the door.

"Oh yes there is!" You exclaimed, teleporting yourself inside the bedroom.

"I hate when you do that!" He yelled.

"Well I hate when you do this! Now man up and tell me what's wrong or I really will back you in a corner with my knife!"

"I don't want to talk about it, alright?" He hissed. "Now keep your voice down or else you'll alert the child that we're having a disagreement."

"Oh, so you're finally acknowledging her?" A guilty expression flashed over his face and he turned away. "What is it, Loki?" You pleaded. "I don't want to argue. I just want to know what's going through your mind. Ever since we found her, you've been-"

"You found her," He said. "I want no part in raising a child that is not my own."

"What about your own blood?" You asked, wondering for your own future if he was against kids in general or not.

"I-" He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "I don't know. But I certainly don't want to adopt. I've never seen a good result of adoption."

"Oh," You said slowly. "So that's what this is about."

"What do you mean?"

"You're worried about your own background. Is that it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," He huffed, crossing his arms and further distancing himself from you.

"Loki, please. Listen to me. You may not have had the best family situation yourself, but that doesn't mean you won't be a great Dad. I think-no-I know you'd do wonderfully! Please believe me!"

"I-"

"Mommy!" A voice called out, sounding frightened. Your eyes and Loki's widened in surprise. She'd never called you that before.

"I had better check on her," You sighed. Loki nodded and you rushed off. Half an hour later you came out of her room to find Loki waiting for you on the couch.

"What happened?"

"More nightmares," You groaned and slumped down next to him.

"Is that why you're never in bed anymore?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah. It seems she can't go more than half an hour without having another one." He nodded silently and took your hand in his.

"Well, I suppose I should commend you for your sacrifices for her. I just don't know if I can-" You shushed him, pressing a finger to his lips.

"I understand, Loki," You smiled sadly. "Mind you, I don't exactly agree. But I respect how you feel. I guess I can talk with Tony tomorrow about finding her a new home." You got up quickly, to hide your own emotions from him, and went to prepare dinner. That night, Loki made you go to bed extra early so you could actually get some sleep. You appreciated it, but your internal clock had gotten so used to it already that it woke you up a few hours later about the time Helius would be having her first nightmare. When you didn't hear anything from her room, you got worried. You rushed out of your bedroom and, as you approached her room, heard voices.

"Where's mommy?" Helius cried, again sounding frightened. Drawing your knife outside her closed door, you were ready to teleport in a surprise whatever intruder was there.

"She's sleeping, sweetheart. Do you think your new Dad could help you?" You nearly cried at hearing Loki's voice so soft and gentle with her. It took you a few more seconds to process that he'd referred to himself as her 'Dad'.

"I thought you hated me," She whispered.

"I don't hate you, little one," He assured her. "Do you want to know why I haven't talked to you yet?" You didn't hear a reply but as Loki went on you could only assume she nodded. "I never had a good father. And when you came along a week ago, I was so worried that if I tried to be your father I would mess something up. And I couldn't let that happen because you are too wonderful and too beautiful."

"I don't have a beautiful name," she sighed.

"Hasn't mommy come up with any good ideas?" He asked.

"No, well, yes but I didn't like any of them. They're pretty but," she trailed off, leaving the sentence unfinished.

"May I suggest one of my personal favorites?" You cracked the door open just a little so you could see. Their backs were to you, sitting on the edge of the bed. Loki had his arm wrapped around her as she curled onto his side, dwarfed by his height even sitting. She nodded slowly in reply to his question. "How about Arabella?"

"I love it!" She exclaimed, standing quickly and jumping up and down. "Thank you, Dad," She said smiling brightly as she threw her arms around his neck for a hug. He was surprised but gladly gave her a somewhat awkward hug back. "But what if the monsters come back?" She asked, voice trembling slightly.

"I'll protect you."

"Always?"

"I, Loki of Asgard, hereby make a promise to you, Arabella, my daughter. I'll be here to protect you forever and always." Arabella hugged him again and started crying. "Why are you crying, my dear?"

"Because you're the most bestest Dad I could ever ask for."

"Well, I, uh, thank you," He stuttered, not used to that kind of compliment. "I've got an idea. How about tomorrow morning I introduce you to some of the others here?"

"Why? I don't wanna!" You bit back a chuckle at her childish exclamation.

"But they're all really nice and they'll be like your new Aunts and Uncles!"

"Well, maybe," She conceded.

"Good! Now why don't you go back to sleep and I'll stay right here until all the monsters go away for tonight." She nodded and gave him another hug before allowing him to tuck her in. You smiled, wiping away your own tears, and snuck back to your bedroom. A couple hours later, Loki snuck back in himself.

"So how's the bestest Dad doing?" You whispered. Loki tensed up when you said that.

"So you heard us?" He said. You got up and wrapped your arms around his waist from behind.

"Yep," you said. "And I couldn't be happier. You really mean it? This means I don't have to talk to Tony tomorrow?"

"Absolutely not!" He replied grinning.

"Well then I have some very exciting news for you." He turned around, quirking his eyebrows questioningly. "How would you like to be a father to two?"

#loki #loki oneshot #loki imagine #loki fanfic #loki x reader #loki x oc #silver shadow #marvel #avengers

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lokifantasies · 3 years

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Her Decision PART 2

Summary: Jade and Loki have lunch, and Jade realizes she knows what she needs to do.

A/N: Should I post part 3 tonight, or do you guys wanna wait? lol

Character(s): Loki, Jade, & Reader

Read the Mischievous Life series here!

Follow Jade, Loki, and Reader!

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Jade realized that she was kidding herself when she thought that going to school would help her get her mind off things.

All it did was cause her more anxiety – spending the day constantly trying to get her parents to tell her what to do – talking with friends about what they feel she should do.

If she had a penny for every time she heard the words, "it's your decision," then she'd be able to buy a car. Luckily, Loki has decided that he's going to make coming up and eating lunch with Jade at school a father-daughter bonding thing. To Jade's joy, he's in the cafeteria waiting for her when she and some friends walk inside.

"Dad," Jade calls out to the god, who is sitting at an isolated table and scrolling on his phone. Loki smiles when his sixteen-year-old approaches him. He can't help but to glance at her stomach – hating what his daughter is going through.

"Hey my love," Loki greets Jade lovingly – standing up to take her backpack off for her like it's a coat. "How're you feeling?" Loki conjures a box of chicken nuggets for Jade – knowing that they're her favorite thing to eat.

Jade shrugs – dipping a nugget into the BBQ sauce. "I'm trying not to feel."

"Sweetheart, we'll get through this," Loki promises. "Our family – you – are stronger than you could ever imagine...strength that I admire wholeheartedly."

Jade flashes a short smile at her dad. "I don't know," she sighs. "I can either deal with it and be a sixteen-year-old single mom, have an abortion, or put the baby up for adoption."

At the sound of the last option, Loki glances down at the table – remember how he felt when he first learned that he was adopted. However, he knows that he can't let his personal thoughts and feelings affect Jade's decision. If she made a decision based off his thoughts and regretted it, he knows she'd never forgive him. "Dad?"

"Huh?" Loki says – realizing that he zoned out for a moment.

"I asked you what do you think the best route would be?" Jade restates her question.

Loki sighs and reaches out for Jade's hand – holding it gently on the table.

"It's not my decision," Loki reminds her. Tears immediately spring to Jade's blue eyes. "This is your body, your baby, your choice. Your mother, friends, and myself can only give you our opinions...but we can't tell you what to do with yourself. You know yourself better than anyone."

Jade wipes a tear away from her eye with her hand that's holding a half-eaten chicken nugget. "I can't have a kid, dad," she mutters. "I don't think I could go through with an abortion, and the foster care system in this country is...ridiculous, to say the least. I'd hate myself if my baby was without a home."

"Yeah," Loki nods quietly.

"Daddy, can I ask you something?" Jade questions.

"Absolutely...anything, my love."

"How do you feel about being adopted?" the teen asks her father. "I mean...I know that your situation is unique and different, but..."

"It feels normal to me," Loki answers before she can finish speaking. "It only feels normal to me because I don't know what anything else would feel like. I grew up as Odin's son and Thor's brother. I can't even think about how different it would've been being raised by Laufey." Jade nods silently as Loki's words repeat in her head. "Sweetheart, this isn't something you have to decide today, alright? You have time."

"I know," Jade acknowledges, "but if I put too much thought into it, then I'll start second guessing and overthinking, and then I'll make the wrong choice because I'm afraid that my first decision was wrong, but in reality my first deci -,"

"Relax, my love," Loki chuckles – cutting off Jade's rambling and panicked words.

"I need to smoke," she groans. "I can't deal with this – this constant anxiety – all this worrying and questioning. But of course, since I'm growing a fucking person, I can't do that."

Loki nods – figuring out a way to voice his next thought. "Well, as I said, you know yourself better than anyone, so if you already know that your first decision you made is the right one for you, then no one can stop it."

Jade's father's words take what feels like a ton of weight off her shoulders as they go through her mind. "Then I think I know what I'm gonna do."

#loki laufeyson #loki fanfic #loki fandom #dad!loki #loki x reader #loki x you #mischievous life #ongoing series #requests open #send requests #loki family #jade lokisdottir

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wrenhyperfixates · 3 years

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Home Is Such a Lonely Place

Pairing: Loki x reader Summary: When Loki is handpicked to be part of the Avengers new space force, it causes some problems in your relationship. Will distance make the heart grow fonder or is it too much to bear? Warnings: none I believe :) A/N: Based on the song Home Is Such a Lonely Place by Blink-182. This has been sitting in my drafts since February so here it is. Hope you enjoy :)

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Disclaimer: Gif not mine

Loki was perfect. No, you weren’t exaggerating; he really was everything you’d ever wanted. It was the circumstances that were the problem. Because you were born a mortal and he a god, so you were relegated to Earth while he spent increasingly more time in space.

The Avengers and SHIELD had both reached the same decision that Earth needed to be protected from extraterrestrial threats. So, who better to send out to space than those with the most experience out there? A team had been assembled, and Loki was put on it, traveling with them for a good many months now. You could still remember when he’d first told you.

“Darling?” he called out, coming home from work that fateful day.

“In here,” you called from the kitchen.

He walked into the messy room, hugging you from behind. Loki rested his head on your shoulder after placing a quick kiss to your cheek, breathing in your scent. You sighed as you relaxed against him, but there was an odd, nervous sort of tension in his body. Frowning as you tried to figure out why, you got an idea.

“Here, try this, love,” you suggested, holding a steaming spoon of pasta sauce to his lips.

After blowing on it a bit, he’d taken the spoon in his mouth, swallowing the sauce. He’d smiled at you, cupping your cheek. “Delicious, my sweet darling.”

“But...?” you’d prompted.

“It could use just a dash more oregano,” he conceded, pinching a small amount of the herb between his fingers and tossing it in, stirring the pot. Mimicking your actions from just moments ago, he held out a spoonful for you to try. “Well?”

“It’s perfect, Loki,” you beamed, pulling him closer. “So perfect, in fact, that I think you need a taste too.”

“Oh, is that so?” he chuckled.

“Mhm,” you hummed before kissing him, the taste of the sauce still on your mouth.

“You were right,” he purred, pulling back a little bit. “Absolutely perfect.”

Troubles momentarily forgotten, the raven haired god set the table for two as you finished cooking dinner. The two of you sat, chatting and eating and holding hands. Everything was going so well, and then you asked a question that made his smile falter.

“So how was your day?” you’d inquired.

“About that,” he said, setting down his utensil. “We need to talk.”

“Uh oh,” you responded. You felt a little nervous as you put down your fork too. “That doesn’t sound good. Is everything ok?”

“Yes... and no,” he sighed. “SHIELD is putting together a team to take care of threats from other planets. A team that they have told me I am to be on.”

“Oh,” you replied, trying to keep your face neutral. You didn’t want to be upset if it was something he was actually excited for. “And it’s required you go?”

“Not exactly. If I plead my case, I’m certain I can stay. Believe me, I do not want to leave you. I will stay, if you wish me to.”

“Well, how long would you be gone for?”

“I am uncertain. It could be three months, or it might be ten.” He bit his lip. “But, darling, tell me to stay and without hesitation, I shall.”

It felt like the floor was falling out from under you. Of course you wanted him to stay, but would that really be fair? Could you let yourself be the one to hold him back? If there was one thing you knew, you loved each other. As long as you didn’t forget or doubt that, you could weather anything.

“No, Loki, it’s a great opportunity,” you said. “You should go. I’ll be waiting here when you get back.”

“Oh, darling,” he whispered, sliding out of his chair. Kneeling before you, Loki rested his head in your lap, and you ran your fingers through his silky black hair. “I swear these next three weeks shall be the best of your life. I will dedicate all my time to you before I leave.”

“My love, I would like nothing more, but I don’t want to monopolize all your time,” you hesitantly said. Though you wanted to spend as much time with him as you could before he left, you didn’t want him to feel obligated to. “If you really don’t mind, though, please do.”

Of course, he was more than happy to and spent just as much time with you as he had promised. But now he’d been gone for six months, and you missed him terribly. You laid on the roof, petting the cat Loki had bought you before he left. So you never got lonely, he said. It had shiny black fur and beautiful green eyes. As soon as Loki gifted your new friend to you, you’d named him Loki Jr., earning you a playful eye roll from the trickster god.

Remembering that night brought a brief smile to your face. Now, you looked up at the moon, Loki Jr. purring as you pet his soft fur. You wondered where your lover was out there in that great expanse of space. Was he looking at it like an empty void? Or was he appreciating the stars and the wonders that were held out there? Maybe he was just indifferent to it, you thought. After all, he’d grown up on Asgard, so perhaps he was used to it.

Going back to your room that evening, your bed felt empty. Your home just felt so lonely without Loki. The real Loki, anyway. As much as you loved Loki Jr., it just wasn’t the same thing. Was your love thinking the same thing, you wondered? You hoped so, but didn’t want to think about it too much, lest your brain make you believe he didn’t miss you.

Sighing, you buried your nose into Loki Jr.’s fur. You had no one to blame except yourself, really. Loki had asked you repeatedly if you wanted him to stay, but you always said no. Told him he had to live his life to the fullest. That he couldn’t wait for you to give him the ok. You’d still be here when you got back, and you had your job at the Tower to keep you occupied. Of course, every mission you observed from there reminded you of Loki. How you’d met and all the shy glances you’d shared. You couldn’t help yourself from wondering how he was doing. He’d be alright, you were sure. But until he got back, it seemed there was nothing you could do to ease your worrying.

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Space was beautiful, there was no denying that. But it was kind of cold and empty too. Especially since the trickster god had to be without you, his beloved. Now that’s not to say he wasn’t having fun or wasn’t enjoying the time he got to spend with his brother. He just still really missed you and your company.

Loki ran his fingers over the picture he had of you. Not too much longer until he could brush his fingers over the soft skin of your beautiful face. Oh, how eight months could feel like a million years, Loki didn’t know. Well, in a way he did; any time spent away from the one you loved with your whole heart as he did you was bound to be tedious and feel drawn out. He’d be arriving back home tomorrow. Or, rather, today, he realized with a thrill as he checked the clock, reading midnight.

It was a bit of a struggle, but soon he was able to fall asleep. When he woke up, there was a mere hour left before reentry into Midgard’s atmosphere. Even with as empty space was, it somehow felt even lonelier with you. And now he’d be back with you in your shared apartment. He couldn’t wait until that night when you got to lay together just holding each other, basking in the other’s presence.

“Well, brother, are you ready to head back?” Thor asked, clapping Loki on the back.

“You have no idea just how eager I am, brother,” Loki replies. “It has been too long away from my beloved.”

“And certainly, they are missing you, too,” the God of Thunder assured.

“I can only hope. But what if they have moved on? We have not even been able to talk to each other in over a month. What if... What if they do not love me anymore?” Loki let himself be vulnerable, utilizing the relationship he and his brother had cultivated on this journey. “They did, after all, encourage me to go. Quite a bit.”

“Yes, but you know they just did not want to hold you back. Cheer up, Loki. Everything will be just fine.”

By the time they landed, Loki had mainly eased his worries, though he did feel a twinge of panic in his heart when he didn’t immediately see you while walking off the ramp. Luckily, you were there, he’d just missed you in the crowd.

Immediately, you ran to him, giving him the biggest hug you could. He reciprocated, beyond happy to feel your frame pressed against his. Tension relieved from both your bodies as you held each other.

“Hello, sweet darling,” he smiled.

“Hello, my love.”

Kissing the top of your head, Loki led you, following the gathered group as they walked further into the Tower while laughing and chatting with their recently arrived teammates. Loki kept an arm around your shoulder, and you one around his waist, the need to keep each other close quite obvious.

You and your boyfriend had to separate for a little while as Loki went to a debriefing. Soon he was back out, and the two of you joined the Avengers for a little welcome party of sorts. It was really just a get-together for the team to catch up. Even though it was a ton of fun, you were more than happy when you and Loki were in your car, driving back to your apartment.

“Welcome home,” you grinned, opening the door. Loki Jr. immediately came and rubbed himself against your legs. Loki smiled as you bent down to pet the cat, glad to know his plan had worked, at least in some degree. “Did you miss it?”

He cupped your cheek, looking deep into your eyes. “You have no idea, darling.”

Unable to wait any longer, Loki leaned in and kissed you. You responded immediately, brining him closer to you. He lifted you up and put your body between his and the wall. You giggled when the two of you finally broke for air, and Loki planted a million little kisses along your neck.

“I missed you, too,” you panted, still breathless.

“Next time,” he said between kisses, “I am telling them I am staying here.”

“Wait.” You brushed a few of his raven locks behind his ear, cocking your head at him. “Next time?”

Loki sighed. He knew he shouldn’t have brought this up so soon. The last thing he wanted was to make you upset on the day he came back home. All the trickster god wanted was to be with you, but of course he had to mention it. You had an adorable inquisitiveness in your eyes as you continued to play with his hair, twirling some of it between your fingers. He wondered if there was still a chance to save the day after his blunder.

“Yes. Fury wants to ship the team back out in a few months. After so long away from you, my darling, the thought sounds torturous. I will stay here. With you,” he explained, setting you back onto the ground.

“But that’s not fair to you,” you protested. “I shouldn’t be the only thing tethering you here. I don’t want to hold you back.”

“No, darling. I want to stay with you, I swear,” he vowed. You frowned, and he felt his heart drop a little. You said you missed him, and yet you were telling him to go again. “Look, sweet darling, it is late already. Let us just enjoy this night together. There is plenty of time to decide.”

“Ok,” you agreed, burying your face against his chest as you hugged again. You really didn’t want him to go, but a human like you shouldn’t tie down a god like him, you thought.

You led him to the bedroom you’d so missed sharing with him. After getting ready for the evening, you both laid in bed, talking of lighter topics. Neither of you could keep your hands off the other, and constantly maintained some kind of contact. Loki hadn’t even realized how late it’d gotten until your sentences began to be punctuated by yawns. Though you would have rather continued the conversation, you acquiesced when he suggested getting some sleep.

“You know,” you said, cuddling up to him, already half asleep. “If you do want to go on the next mission, I won’t be mad, my love.”

“I know. But I want to be with you. Yet you keep telling me to go and...” he trailed off, absentmindedly rubbing your back. “We will talk another time. Just sleep for now, my sweet darling.”

“Alright,” you hummed against him. “Goodnight. I love you. I promise, I’ll never stop loving you.”

“And I promise the same. I love you too.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was only a month left before Loki would leave again. If he left again. You were both still debating, though you had eased up a bit after he voiced his concerns.

“Really, you should go. I- What’s wrong?” you’d asked during one such argument when he frowned.

“You say you love me, but you try to send me away,” he replied, a few tears gathering in his eyes, threatening to spill. “Why?”

“Oh, Loki, I really do love you. I swear on my life.”

“I believe you,” he assured while you kissed his forehead, though with an unmistakable hint of doubt behind the words.

“It’s just you’re a god. And I’m a mortal. I don’t want to hold you back. Hold you here. I don’t really want you to leave either; home is lonely without you. So if you really want to be on Midgard, of course I’ll support that too. I just can’t imagine you wouldn’t rather be free to roam.”

“In all honesty, my darling,” Loki began, “I do quite enjoy space travel. The settling down is nice too, of course, but there is something about being out there that’s freeing. So no, it is not that I want to be on Midgard, but that I want to be with you. I need to be with you. I love you so, so much, and I cannot bear to go without you for so long again.”

“Well, that’s it then. I need you too because I love you too. And you don’t want to go without me, but what about with me? We’ve been so caught up in our argument, we didn’t even consider another option.”

“Bring you with me?”

You nodded nervously. Maybe he was going to tell you it was too dangerous. Maybe he was just being nice saying he wanted to stay with you. But no, he wouldn’t have been this stubborn if that was the case. Just as you were going to try to recant your suggestion, Loki surged forward and kissed you.

“Darling, you’re a genius!” he exclaimed, pulling away. “I cannot believe we did not think of it sooner. You can work on the ship to monitor the missions, just like you do here. And we will be together. It is perfect!”

“Is it ok if we bring Loki Jr. too?” you asked as the cat plopped himself in your lap.

“For you, my sweet darling? For you I would do anything, so of course it is,” he chuckled as he cupped your cheek and kissed you again.

When you broke apart again, you felt happier than you had in a long time, knowing you wouldn’t have to part again. After all, he was your home, and you were his. So as long as you were together, home could never be a lonely place.

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i-dreamed-i-had-a-son · 3 years

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Alright so I've seen a lot of opinions floating around and now it's time to add my two cents: the show's Loki is both similar to and distinct from the Loki we remember, and that is, or at least can be, a good thing

We have this idea of the "Loki we know," and we're frustrated that he's not being adapted faithfully--and to a degree, this is correct. Marvel very intentionally chose 2012 Loki as the version to resurrect, because that is when Loki was at the height of his popularity. By doing this, they could get the fanbase that Loki has always had to watch the show, while also avoiding much of the character distortion that came after TDW. A great idea! But then, instead of bringing this character into the show and authentically representing him, they smashed him up with Ragnarok Loki's portrayal. This was mostly done to engage general viewers and to maintain a slightly lighter tone, but both of these are mistakes: first of all, the general viewership has never been Loki's core, active fanbase. But I get it--you want to make money. The second, more egregious mistake, is that you absolutely could have kept a lighter tone with 2012's Loki, and then easily adapted him from there. At the end of Avengers, he's making jokes, and we see even more of these in Endgame. That's humor that's authentic to the character, and doesn't feel disrespectful like Ragnarok was. When we see the Ragnarok style of humor popping up, we immediately get defensive because of how that movie treated him, and we say, "This isn't the Loki we know." But the Loki we know is, to a degree...wrong.

This might seem a bit harsh at first, but I think the fandom as a whole is unwilling to let go of a slightly distorted version of Loki, and that's coloring the fan response to the show. Because we've spent so long with a character that has had relatively few instances of development or even screen time, we've become attached to the version of the character we think we know, sometimes without realizing that collective memory has shifted our perception of him slightly. We're unwilling to let the character change at all, even if at points this growth could be done well--and even if the character was faithfully adapted, he would be met with criticism because he wouldn't be "what we know"; he couldn't be, because we as a fandom created that character, over time and without really recognizing it. To a degree, that kind of misplaced criticism is mixing with the legitimate critiques of the series. It makes us unwilling to look at the good things that are present, even among the flaws.

As an example, let's talk about Loki as a planner, and how his actions in the series compare to those in the earlier movies. A common sentiment I've heard is that throughout episode two (and to a degree, episode one) Loki is just kind of going along with everything. He doesn't seem to have a plan, and this makes people uncomfortable, since the "Loki we know" was a great planner. Wasn't he?

Most of the basis for the "Loki we know," comes from Thor and Thor: the Dark World, so I'll be using those as my "proof texts," so to speak. In those two movies, we see plenty of examples of Loki making spur-of-the-moment decisions to take advantage of a situation; he's a very flexible, adaptable character by nature (as I've discussed before), so this makes sense. The trouble is, I think the fandom memory of Loki has shifted enough that we forget exactly why and how he makes these decisions, and how they turn out. In contrast to what those films actually show us, we tend to think of Loki as a very strategic character, who is too clever to be caught off-guard. That's not the case.

Loki, in those films, has very little grasp or consideration of the consequences of his actions, because his emotions cloud his judgement; because of this, his plans (which are created responsively), and even actions he does not plan, fall apart disastrously. In Thor, when Thor is banished from Asgard, Loki sees an opportunity to step into the role his brother had filled. Then he discovers he is actually Laufey's son, and in response to this news and Odin's falling into Odinsleep, Loki plans to double-cross Laufey and kill him to prove his loyalty, taking the throne in the interim. He does have a plan, but it's one that he developed rather spontaneously based on the circumstances--he didn't plan for Odin to fall asleep so that he could assume the throne, that just...happened, and Loki forms a plan to adapt to it. But when he hears that Thor is trying to return to Asgard, all of his insecurities, compounded by having just discovered that he's actually a Jotun, come back full force; desperate to keep the small bit of identity he thinks he's managed to find, Loki sends an Automaton to kill Thor--whom he loves, and has even said so several times in the film--and then tries to destroy the Bifrost to keep Thor from coming back. These are decisions Loki hasn't truly evaluated; if he had, he wouldn't have made them, because they don't line up with his actual goal, as we see when Thor arrives. When Thor confronts him, Loki essentially has a breakdown, admitting in tears that his real motivation for all of this was just to be considered Thor's equal. He didn't hate Thor, he didn't hate Odin, he didn't even want to be king--he just wanted to be loved as much as his brother. But along the way, his real goal was clouded by his emotional state, and he stopped thinking clearly, instead just lashing out in a desperate bid to protect himself from more pain.

We see something similar occur in Thor: TDW. When Loki sends the guards "up the stairs to the left," he's not thinking about who they might find--he's just lashing out because he's been abandoned by his family, and he wants to exert whatever influence he can over the situation. He wants to do something, especially if it causes problems for Odin and Thor, and he thinks the opportunity has just landed in his lap. He hardly planned for it, but he's not going to pass it up. So he takes it unhesitatingly--and his mother dies. (Coincidentally, after both his father's rejection and his mother's death, Loki nearly dies himself, and at least one of those instances was deliberate. Hmmm...Loki doesn't want to live with the consequences of his actions? It's too painful for him to face what he's done?? Hmm??? But that's beside the point.) Once again, Loki's goals are unclear, and things go wrong because he's just acting on emotion.

All this to say, for Loki, plans are very flexible things that are basically defined as "whatever works best to get what I want," so to say that Loki is just going along with things in the series, and is thus out-of-character, is a bit of an unfair criticism; despite our misremembering, he is, as he's always done, very much acting as a reactive planner. As I've spelled out before, when Loki is thrown into the new environment of the TVA, he immediately starts gathering information, and shaping his responses based off of what he finds. He takes the chances he has to feel things out (at the Renaissance fair, for example), but mostly he bides his time and actively observes until an opportunity arises. This is standard for him, but viewers haven't really been receptive to it, because it isn't what we're expecting.

Now, Loki claims to have a larger plan (something that we think we remember being common), but that's not actually the case. When speaking to Lady Loki/(Enchantress??), he says his ultimate goal is to overthrow the TVA--but he also framed his supposed overall plan as "get an audience with the Time Keepers" when speaking to Mobius. Neither of these are true. In order to more effectively manipulate others, he pretends to have large-scale motivations: with Lady Loki/Enchantress, he knows she will likely only respect him if he claims to have an endgame, since she so clearly does herself, so he manufactures one she likely wouldn't oppose. Mobius, on the other hand, would likely be suspicious without the red-herring Loki throws him; since Mobius believes Loki's trying to get an audience with the Time Keepers, he doesn't become suspicious about how quickly Loki becomes eager to catch the other variant, which would otherwise have been an appropriately huge red flag. But these are just misdirections, further things that Loki is doing to keep himself in the best position possible. That's why his claims of a grand plan (particularly to Lady Loki/Enchantress) sound sudden or unrealistic: they are. But because we think we remember Loki being someone who would have a larger plan, we aren't able to see that he doesn't need to.

This time, unlike in Thor and TDW, Loki's immediate goals are clear: escape the TVA. Be free. Despite Mobius' attempts to get him into a hyper-emotional, and thus, less careful, state of mind, Loki keeps his wits about him. He's intentional with his decisions. He's not lashing out. For once, he's aware of and considers the consequences of his actions--we see him weighing the options as he stands in front of the portal--and he makes the right decisions because his goal is clear in his mind. And this makes all the difference. Loki plays the game expertly, and for the first time, he wins--he escapes.

And I think this is an excellent development, one that deserves more appreciation than we're giving it. It's a good thing that he's not behaving how we think we remember him, as some master planner--that would be being unfaithful to his character. Loki isn't the same as Lady Loki/Enchantress. He doesn't have a grand plan. He just, finally, knows what he really wants. That shows growth, and that is the kind of change we have to want to see, and be willing to accept; so in that regard, it's even good that this Loki is different than he actually was. The Loki we see in Thor and TDW is a highly emotional, and very broken, character, who reacts to his environment often without thinking of the potential consequences; the Loki we're being shown here is still emotional, still clearly affected by what he's gone through, but is now able--or is now being allowed!--to demonstrate his actual capabilities. He ACTUALLY GETS WHAT HE WANTS. That's the first time that's happened, the first time his attempts to protect himself or outsmart someone have actually ended in success instead of disaster. And that's exactly what you should do with a character.

Now, a valid quibble with Loki's characterization is that these things are not obvious, and that is a very legitimate criticism. It's hard to see that Loki is manipulating Mobius by pretending to be helpful, because the show seems to be framing it in a way that encourages us to take Loki at face value. Loki's behavior is an intentional obfuscation, but it can be hard to realize that if it seems like that's what the show is telling us Loki really is. Personally, I justify this by saying that the show is showing us Loki as he wants to be perceived--when Loki is bluffing in episode one, he seems cartoonish and over the top, but certainly nothing like he actually is, and this is what he intends. When he seems too jovial and trusting in episode two, that's because that's what he's presenting to Mobius. It's about whether we buy into the act as much as the other characters do--which is why Loki's most in-character scenes come when he's alone. When he has no one to perform for, he stops performing for us, too, and we see the genuine presentation. But, I could be wrong--maybe this isn't intentional at all. Maybe the writers really are just trying to revamp a character from 2012 and are doing it clumsily, and that's why he seems out of character in moments like those. It's too early to say, and honestly, we may never be sure.

But there are real, valid, and undeniable moments of positive development, the likes of which Loki has never had the space to experience before. They are present if you are willing to look--but they are much less obvious to people who don't want to see them. I agree, they are hard to see, and if I'm being honest, I haven't loved the show anywhere near as much as I would have liked to so far. But I think the fandom as a whole is so caught up in this idea of the "Loki we know" that they don't see the Loki we have for what he is--people are too attached to a misremembering of Loki's previous actions to realize that the change in his behavior isn't a regression or a flaw in his writing but a sign of growth. We're too attached to his brokenness and weakness to let him become strong.

We are defensive about Loki's character because of how it's been mishandled in the past, but if you actually look, you'll find that there is actually a lot of good in what we're being given. I'd agree that the show has to get better about making that obvious if it wants to succeed. But I think some of the harsh criticism the show has been receiving is unwarranted. It might not be perfect, and some of these decisions on the parts of the writers might not be intentional, but Loki has always been a character we've had to think about in order to understand him. Just like this show, there is much good about him beneath the surface. And for as much trouble as it causes sometimes--I'm glad that isn't changing.

#loki #loki series #loki series spoilers #meta #marvel #my meta posts #i just want us to give it a chance ok? if we give it a chance and think about it who knows--maybe it will surprise us just like loki does #and i do think that we have grown so attached to 'our' version of loki that we haven't realized it isn't truly attainable #we've had nothing for so long that we've formed this idealized image of the character that no portrayal can ever live up to #and while this is a natural consequence of how marvel has handled things i don't believe it's fair to judge it so quickly #we should keep an open mind is how i see it. who knows? maybe things will change.#and i have a feeling that that openness to change will be a major theme of the show #loki as a character is finding himself and perhaps we can find him along with him #because some change is necessary to bring him successfully into the present mcu. and they can handle it better--but so can we #this might be a hot take? idk i just have a lot of thoughts #but please no discourse! discussion is encouraged and i know emotions run high bc loki is very important to us but let's be kind ❤️#kay has a party in the tags #kay can i just catch my breath for a second #quality meta seal of approval #not to hype my own post up i just put that on all meta posts so that i can find them

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zoufantastical · 3 years

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What do you think of how much more bad ass they have made Sylvie over Loki in terms of action? (I'm not complaining big fan of it) Do you feel as if the show runner herself is giving Sylvie as much screen time and moments that often eclipse Loki bc she may be a character who's main purpose was to uplift and expand Loki's character, and that was her only original purpose? As if maybe she wasn't intended to last in the Marvel universe, at least in this incarnation? Seeing how most of this show is ran by the point of view of some women, that what we have with Sylvie is what we get bc of this reason? Do u feel it would have been different had it been otherwise? Or do you feel differently then my observation? Would love any point of view.

Why First Impressions Matter

Let me just say I was ecstatic over this ask. Finally something different (not that I don’t enjoy the previous asks) that forces me to talk about something that has been lingering in the back of my mind since the show started.

If you guys could be patient with me, I would appreciate it. I’m going to deviate a lil bit and talk about a point that relates to this ask and basically explains this user’s concern.

So, my mother says that she gives a show around ten minutes or so to grab her interest. At first I thought it was a bit ridiculous, since that means she’s missing out on a lot of great potentials because of this rule. I respected her opinion of course. Now, ever since the Loki show started though, I understand why she believes in it.

Marvel is very lucky they have loyal fans like us who will eat up whatever they spoon fed us. Even amongst heavy criticism. Despite people hating on the character Loki in his show by calling him “Larry” , the writers “clowns” or calling him OOC and a sidekick on his own show (please if you have the time, read the short post I linked), I finally understand their sentiment, which in a way is misplaced because of what I’m going to mention:

The first ten minutes of the first episode of Loki could should have been better.

What do I mean by this? Two things actually.

Imagine that you are a new MCU fan and you want to catch up on the movies or someone wanting to binge watch the entire saga again. You finish the first avengers movie but you decide to deviate and watch Loki, which is based on 2012 Avengers Loki. What’s one thing that’s going to throw them off immediately? Guess.

If you did congrats.

It’s the hair.

As a loyal fan, this will ALWAYS confuse me. There’s also the fact that they shot new scenes with the overly long spiky ends wig. So…why the sudden change in appearance? I started headcanoning that traveling through space and dimensions fucks up your evil blowout just for my sanity.

Already we are on the wrong path.

Now you may think this is minor and shouldn’t matter but appearances DO matter and sometimes we don’t pick up on inconsistencies right away, however, they do stay in our minds and form this domino effect later on which is what is happening with a lot of displeased fans.

The second is this joke of a scene.

If there was any time that Loki needed to display some of his abilities we were introduced at the end of episode two and throughout episode three, this would have been the perfect moment. Loki may be cocky, petty and boastful, but he is not stupid.

He just barely escaped with the tesseract. He would not approach ignorantly and all cocky mighty, a group of people who seem to look very dangerous. This is 2012 Loki. You know the dangerous god that a group of talented individuals joined forces to stop because it would have been the end of their world as they know it? A Loki who will be on high alert because not only will SHIELD and the Avengers be looking for him but eventually the Other and Thanos as well.

What I would have done to rewrite the strength and seriousness of the TVA without outright humiliating Loki in the process, this scene instead should have been a fight scene. Loki would have been full of adrenaline, displaying all his feats only to be caught off guard by B-15 and THEN you could make this infamous scene.

We already know that the TVA agents are trash fighters and easily beaten grunts based on later scenes. A scene like what I recommended would have prepared us for that. Otherwise now we are calling the rest of the fight scenes in this show also inconsistent with what we were presented in their first appearance.

Another rewrite I would have done is NOT start off the show using the Endgame Loki escaping scene. A great majority of people watching the show are because they already KNOW this Loki escaped with the space stone. Starting off with a recap, a recap all the way to the elevator scene no less, is not only way too long but unnecessary.

To peek the audiences’ interest, one should have started with a short scene of TVA hunting The hooded mysterious Variant and the latter killing them. It could be anywhere in time. Not only would that peek ones interest and wonder who this figure is, they’ll assume they are trouble and that they might cause an issue with Loki if they were to cross each other’s path etc basically you’ll have the audience’s mind scrambled and excited. THEN after the marvel logo you can put the recap scene.

[If you made it this far, congrats, because I’m finally going to start answering this user’s question]

What do you think of how much more bad ass they made Sylvie over Loki in terms of action?

And this is why I made a big deal of explaining what I’ve said above. Is not that Sylvie is more badass. In fact, Sylvie should have more scenes than the ones we are given. It’s the fact that the Loki actions scenes started off misplaced and were not started strong enough to make an impactful expression. It’s why they are calling him all sorts of things like weak, clown, OOC, stupid, inconsistent etc even though later on he is shown to be intelligent and strong.

Unfortunately (but not surprisingly) Sylvie’s character has been bound by her male counterpart’s. The majority of her scenes are with Loki, whether they were fighting or developing her character. This…is not the best writing choice but given this is only 6 episodes and time is short, they are pitting these two together as early as episode two in order to establish their partnership/relationship.

This choice sacrifices character screen time so the plot can move forward. Sylvie so far has only three meaningful scenes ever since being introduced (without Loki) and personally I feel that’s not enough.

Being paired with Loki 95% of the time is why you and many believe that she is taking Loki’s shine. We hadn’t had time, as a viewer, to fully appreciate Sylvie despite her not wanting to be called or relate to the name Loki. We haven’t had time to BREATHE and actually enjoy this new character especially since the majority of her scenes she is bounded by the hip to Loki! You are also right to believe that her character seem to have been created to “uplift and expand” Loki’s character-because SHE IS! And the latest episode basically confirms that!

I wouldn’t be surprised if Sylvie is a character exclusively used for the Loki show. So far there are no plans of using her beyond the series. Which is unfortunate because it means that even with female writers behind the script, decisions were made and accepted to have the Sylvie character move and react to the plot along side a male character. It’s fine for that to happen but when it’s the majority of their screen time, then it’s an issue. So your observation is correct.

Don’t get me wrong, I have been enjoying the show so far. Not loving it but it’s been entertaining despite some of it’s…creative choices. One thing that has been in common so far in MCU series is that they aim too high with a big budget only for them to not put the same time and care on a story they want to tell.

It really is unfortunate because there are moments in the show that has been done great! But again many choices has to do with the fact that Marvel and Disney are obsessed with keeping up this schedule and milking a show as much as they can. Because that’s their brand.

I can’t tell you additionally what I would have done differently. I guess we would have to wait till the Finale for me to properly answer that question.

#Loki #Loki show #Loki series #mcu loki #mcu #loki laufeyson #loki odinson #loki friggason #Sylvie #Sylvie laufeydottir #marvel #disney plus #loki negativity #loki discourse #asks

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imagine-loki · 4 years

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Omega Mine

TITLE: Omega Mine

CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: 10/?

AUTHOR: nekoamamori

ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Loosely based on: Imagine Loki discovers the Avengers have an omega who has healing powers living with them. He’s an Alpha and he wants her, badly.

RATING: M (eventually )

NOTES/WARNINGS: Also on AO3 click here

The team all turned to look when they heard your ring’s pieces falling to the ground. You felt all the blood leave your face. Fuck. What were you going to do? Why did your rings keep breaking?

Nat rushed over to you and somehow managed to discreetly get your hand out of Loki’s. “Meimei? Are you alright?” She asked you gently as she forced you to look her in the eye.

You nodded and gave her, and then Loki, a reassuring smile. “I’m alright. It was just surprising that the ring keeps breaking,” you admitted. You’d never heard of such a thing happening before. You could understand the old ring breaking over time. You’d had it for years. But the one Nat had given you was brand new. It shouldn’t have broken.

Nat nodded. “I’ve heard of the rings breaking before, but not like this,” she agreed. You could hear the concern in her voice. You didn’t like the Beta sounding unsure and concerned and whined softly before you realized that you were doing it. Nat being upset and confused immediately upset you.

Omegas were sensitive to the emotions around them. You were no exception. Your calm gentle aura usually helped soothe emotions, helped keep the peace, but even you could be overwhelmed. And you were overwhelmed right now. It was all too much. Loki, the feelings, Nat being upset, all of it was getting to be too much.

Suddenly, there were cool arms around you and you found yourself pulled against an equally cool chest. “Shh, Elskling. You’re safe. Everything’s alright,” Loki soothed as he stroked your hair. You felt his Alpha presence wrap around you, surrounding you with his safety and protection. Any Alpha in the room could’ve done the same thing, but it felt so much better coming from the Alpha who so strongly called to you.

“Th-thank you,” you said softly when the emotions around you stopped being so overwhelming. You enjoyed the feel of Loki’s arms around you. You enjoyed his scent and safety of his presence.

His fingers were under your chin a moment later, forcing you to look up at him. You melted into his emerald gaze. “Elskling? What was the significance of the ring?” He asked you gently. You could hear the concern in his voice that it was an heirloom or something equally sentimental.

“It…” you felt yourself blush. “It stops unexpected heats,” you explained softly, not really wanting to explain it to the man who kept causing your rings to break.

Loki seemed to consider that. He still held you close, still forced you to look up at him. His dominance and Alpha aura surrounded you. You couldn’t help purring at the feeling. It was so wonderful. And you knew it wasn’t just the pheromones talking.

“Loki, let her go,” Nat said, her voice was steady, even making such a demand of an Alpha. Especially when she was stupidly ordering said Alpha to let his Omega go. You saw in his eyes that he felt you were as much his as he felt like yours. But Nat knew how hard of a time that you were having

Loki ignored her. He wasn’t hurting you, so you didn’t feel a need to extricate yourself from his strong grip. He considered Nat’s words. “And that is the second ring that has broken in my presence,” he said astutely. He’d been paying attention, it seemed. You weren’t terribly surprised, not with how drawn to each other you were. “And that is a problem?” He asked gently. “I would help you through it…” he reassured you gently.

Any Alpha would make the same offer. The good ones knew how to see an unclaimed Omega through a heat without claiming them if that wasn’t wanted. It was seen as a duty to the Omega, with nothing expected afterwards.

“I… don’t want to risk a permanent mating until I know the Alpha in question well enough to know we’ll be happy together,” you admitted softly, finding it hard to look into his eyes while you explained such things. You noted that the team was watching carefully, ready to drag Loki away from you if he caused you any real discomfort or problems. You’d only been there a couple of months, but they were already very overprotective of their Omega.

Loki considered the words. “That is a wise decision,” he agreed. “A permanent binding is a large commitment. When is your next proper heat due?” he asked. Generally, that would be seen as a rather rude question, but it was expected from the Alphas you lived with. They had to be prepared for you to go into scheduled heats and to help you through it. Just like you had all of their rut schedules for the same reason.

That didn’t mean you didn’t blush over the direct question. “In a few weeks,” you replied sheepishly. It would be your first heat with the team and you would have to discuss with them how best to help you through it.

Loki considered that and summoned a beautiful gold ring with a green snake pattern etched into it all the way around. It still managed to look delicate and like a ladies’ ring. He slipped it onto your finger. “That will keep you safe until then,” he promised. “Even against my aura,”

You felt yourself relax. His aura was there. You felt it pressing against you as ever, but you were safe for a few more weeks. Safe to get to know him without having to fear you’d do something stupid.

You leaned up and kissed his cheek. “Thank you, Loki,” you said warmly, your gratitude in your voice. You pulled out of his arms to take your seat for dinner.

And couldn’t help noticing the light purple blush on his cheeks.

It seemed that you affected him as much as he affected you.

#Loki #Lover #Submitted fic #submission #omega mine #chapter 10 #nekoamamori

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just-dreaming-marvel · 4 years

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Love Is Not Forced ~ 8

MAIN MASTERLIST

Love Is Not Forced MASTERLIST

< previous chapter

Word Count: 1,500ish

Summary: Y/N attends a lunch with her suitors.

Warnings: none

Before she fell asleep, Y/N made sure that Wanda knew to tell the guards that no one was allowed to bug her the rest of the night. She also told Wanda that she was not to wake her up early for breakfast, she needed to rest. The Princess also wanted to avoid the King of Brooklyn as long as possible. Though she got to sleep in passed breakfast, Y/N was still woken up by servants bringing dresses in.

“What’s going on?” She muttered as she sat up.

“I had a whole new wardrobe made for you,” her Father said, waltzing into her room. “You missed breakfast.” He came over and sat on the edge of her bed. “I was worried that you still weren’t feeling good after last night. Should I call in Doctor Banner or Doctor Strange?”

“No, I’m good. I just told Wanda to let me sleep. Last night was a lot to take in.”

“It was. But I’m proud of you.”

She gave him a small, tired smile as she glanced at the servants who were still bringing in dresses. “What’s with the new wardrobe?”

“I had it made for you to try and impress the suitors.”

“Why? Aren’t they all leaving today? I was under the impression that I’d only have to impress them like once a month until a decision was made.”

“They’re all staying for a few weeks.”

“What?” Now she was wide awake.

“Yes. They all want the opportunity to court you. Well, all except King T’Challa. He said that you two made an agreement to be friends?”

“We did. Is he going to be staying too?”

“For a few days.”

“Good,” she breathed a sigh of relief. She was happy that she at least would have T’Challa as a safe place.

“Plus, you haven’t met King Steven yet. And I think you’ll really like him.” Her Father smiled.

“I’m sure.” She gave him a tight-lipped smile.

She was sure there was nothing that the King could do to fix what he had said about her in the garden. He had made his decision on what she was like, so she wasn’t going to try that hard with the King. Y/N didn’t want to be stuck with him either.

“We’re going to have lunch in the garden today, with our guests.” Tony stood up. “So choose one of your new dresses and be sure to make a statement.” He winked at her before leaving the room.

The Princess bathed before looking through the new dresses the King had had made for her. Each of them were gorgeous. The King had done it once again. He constantly surprised her. Y/N chose a dress with branches, flowers, and birds embroidered down in. It was stunning, in her eyes.

Wanda helped her into it before doing her hair and sending her on her way. The Princess was excited to see T’Challa and Loki again, even Thor. But she didn’t care to officially meet the King of Brooklyn. She made sure to take the long way, so that she was the last one there. Her Father did tell her to make a statement.

When she finally arrived at the garden, everyone was already there, just like she had hoped. They’d even started eating. The first one to notice her coming was Loki. He was up before anyone could say anything and moving towards her.

“Princess,” he smiled, giving her a slight bow and grabbing her hand for a kiss. “You look beautiful. But I suspect you always do.”

“Thank you, Loki,” she gave a kind smile.

He led her to the table where Thor and T’Challa were the next to greet her. King Steven was last. He came up looking almost too attractive for his own good. King Steven was practically thinking the same thing about the Princess. In his eyes, she was the most gorgeous woman that he had ever seen.

“Y/N,” her Father called, “this is King Steven of Brooklyn.”

“Your Highness,” Steven bowed. “I’m very sorry that I didn’t get to meet you last night. I had some troubles arise in my own kingdom that I had to deal with before I came here.”

“No need to give me excuses, Your Majesty,” the Princess said curtly. “You have a kingdom to rule. A simple birthday ball would obviously be the least of your concerns.”

The Queen almost choked on her wine. She swore that she had raised her daughter to be nicer to people, especially other royalty, then what she had just witnessed. Peter and King Anthony simply chuckled. Her Father was definitely not surprised. Her wall that she had created before she would allow herself to trust, was definitely up and higher than ever. That is why King Anthony had invited the suitors to stay. They weren’t going to be able to fully get to know the Princess without being here, actively gaining her trust.

“I feel that I do owe you my excuses, Princess,” King Steven continued, “it was your special night and I had promised your Father that I’d be there for a dance.”

“Well, my Father shouldn’t have made you promise that. Especially if you had felt that you weren’t going to be able to keep it.”

“Okay, enough, enough,” Tony chuckled. “Let’s all just sit down and eat.”

They all sat down, with T’Challa and Loki on either side of Y/N and Steve right across from her. King Anthony kept control of the discussion topic, mainly politics and his inventions.

“Do you enjoy inventing things like your Father does, Princess?” Steve asked.

“I don’t.”

“What does her Highness enjoy doing?” Loki asked.

“Reading, painting, horseback riding. You know, all the things the typical Princess is suppose to like doing.”

Tony chuckled before he spoke, “Y/N wishes do to something more with her life. Though she hasn’t quite figured out what yet.”

“Wakanda is proud to support women in whatever they wish to do,” T’Challa stated. “Princess Shuri is actually in charge of our advancing technology and our head guards, the Dora Milaje, are all women.”

“I would love to visit Wakanda one day, T’Challa,” Y/N said, wishfully.

“Wakanda would love to host you, Princess,” T’Challa smiled. “Just say the word and I’ll make it happen.”

“Maybe in a few weeks, the Princess can take a tour of all the kingdoms,” her Father suggested.

“Really?” The Princess excitedly questioned, turning to her Father with hope in her eyes.

“Really. I think that it would be good for you to get out of the kingdom and learn about the other kingdoms. You will be ruling one of them one day.”

There is was. A reminder of why these men were really here. Why they had celebrated last night. What the Princess’ purpose was: to marry for political gain for two kingdoms. King Anthony noticed the moment her hope and happiness faded from her eyes. He immediately regretted the last words that left his mouth. The Princess was silent for the rest of the meal. As they finished up, Loki turned to Y/N.

“Would Your Highness care to join me for a stroll around the garden?” He asked her.

“I would love to,” she smiled at him.

Loki stood up, taking her hand and helping her out of her seat before slipping her arm through his and guiding them into the garden and away from everyone else.

“I apologize for my daughter’s mouth,” Tony said to Steve, once Loki and Y/N were out of ear shot. “She’s still trying to figure out how she feels about getting married off.”

“That’s okay,” Steve said. “I did not make that great of a first impression either.”

“You’ll have time, King Steve,” Thor laughed. “If you can get her away from my brother.”

“What does your brother want with my daughter?” Tony asked. “He is not the heir to the throne nor he does he have a good reputation.”

“I think that he’s just wanting a friend. She is the first person to look at him and not immediately say something about his past discretions.”

“Maybe that’s because she doesn’t know of them? Here’s the thing, Your Highnesses… in order for this to work, my daughter needs to marry a King. And, fortunately and unfortunately, the Princess and King T’Challa here have already made an agreement that they will not be trying to pursue anything. So that leaves you two.” Tony pointed to Thor and Steve. “I promised my daughter that I’d try to make the decision based on her happiness, but I will put my foot down when it comes to Prince Loki. So, you two need to sweep her off her feet.”

next chapter >

Tag List: @dreamilyunaffectedwreck (won’t link) @freya-xo @laic2299 @kissesofdeadforme

#Tony stark x reader #Tony stark x daughter!reader #Steve Rogers x reader #loki x reader #thor x reader #t'challa x reader #Tony stark imagine #the avengers x reader #avengers x reader #Steve Rogers imagine #loki imagine #thor imagine #t'challa imagine #marvel imagine #avengers imagine #marvel fanfiction #avengers fanfiction

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bat-besties · 4 years

Text

Dead Dove: Do Not Eat

Remus is the most eccentric customer who visits Janus and Virgil's café. When he goes missing after talking to a mysterious stranger, Janus resolves to investigate further- and Virgil isn't letting him go alone.

AO3 10k

Huge thanks to @mariniacipher, I could not have written this without her. She let me talk about the idea for hours, it has somehow developed into a series, and the story itself took a real twist because of talking to her! Another massive thank you to @5-crofters-jams, who did a marathon edit of the entire piece for me, and has made the story so much smoother and more effective (and much less British because my original dialogue did upset her American sensibilities XD) Also thanks to @tulipscomeinallsortsofcolors, who knew everything I needed about pigeon corpses!

CW: dead bird, touching the bird corpse, bird funeral, Remus levels of comments about gore and innuendo, drug mention, mention of vomiting, kidnapping and captivity, feeling nauseous from anxiety, light dehumanization, brief allusion to racist violence

Remus was...

(There was usually a little gesture there: Virgil’s rolled eyes, or Janus’ helplessly fond smile, or a disapproving look from Remy-)

....Remus.

Their anarchist cafe saw its fair share of unusual customers but only one of them was, well, Remus.

Morning sunlight threw beams which striped the posters covering the walls- old propaganda posters mixed with ads for tutors, food banks, and drag shows. There was a quiet chatter of customers, occasionally broken up by bursts of laughter or a called greeting to another patron as they came in. Kids from the skatepark sat on a pile of beanbags charging their phones, having given up the comfortable chairs for a small group of elderly butches with stretched tattoos who were now speaking with slang from fifty years ago. A mother whose baby was trying to grab onto her braids was trying to feed him with one hand and hold her husband’s with the other. A college student frowning at their laptop screen and consuming coffee at an alarming rate was seemingly oblivious to the punk trying to discreetly read their laptop stickers. One of a Pan-African flag matched the full-sized one on the wall, swaying with wafts of coffee and baked goods along with spider plants and assorted pride flags. Old photos of a Black Panther group in the town, reprinted and signed by some of their patrons, were framed proudly on the walls.

Since everyone had been served, Virgil was taking a few breaths to check over the register and prepare for the next rush. The rhythm of checking, preparing, and letting the background chatter fade into the background blended into a pleasant, thoughtless routine. Cups out. Setting out more sandwiches. Look over the register. Maybe get something from the back-

“Morning, shitwad!”

Virgil ducked under the counter as something thumped into the coffee machine behind him, and a few of the regulars laughed in good nature.

“Oh, good morning, darling,” Janus replied smoothly, appearing from the kitchen. He was wearing a yellow shirt which contrasted with his deep brown skin perfectly, as well as a bowler hat and dapper bow-tie. He pulled plastic gloves over his hands with all the elegance of a debutante preparing for a ball.

There was a shrill wolf whistle. “Those are some sexy wrists!” was the next comment, followed by a squawking laugh, and Virgil rolled his eyes as his friend brought a flustered hand up to adjust his collar. Every day, he faced the deep attraction between the most sophisticated person he knew and the most outlandish, and he didn’t know which was more obnoxious. As Virgil popped back up, Janus reached over to the projectile on the back counter. It was the small, feathery body of a dead pigeon, carefully wrapped in cling wrap.

Virgil gave Janus a long-suffering look and got out a bottle of disinfectant. “Morning, Remus,” he grumbled, despite his irritation. “What can I get for you today?”

“My friend died at 3am last night,” he replied instead. “I need to store her in your fridge until you both get off work, and then we’ll hold her funeral!”

When they were alive, Remus treated the pigeons as gently as they did each other-

That is to say, he was ruthlessly protective of chicks, ready to grab and move anyone encroaching on territory, and, if pecked, was fully ready to bite back. Still, at his two-tone whistle a whole flock of assorted birds would fly down to meet him. His eyes would shine bright as they flew around him like a feathered whirlwind, and settled on the surfaces all around him like a hopeful congregation as he fed them with whatever he had. Despite their number, almost all had names and ascribed personalities.

Exactly how he could tell the difference between two seemingly identical pigeons Virgil had no idea, and he wasn’t entirely sure that Remus wasn’t fucking with him about it.

“Why did you throw her if you’re trying to preserve her?” Virgil said, but he tried to keep the frustration out of his voice. In fairness, it didn’t look too damaged by the blow. It would take a lot to change the kindness Remus showed the doves, as roughly as he showed it.

“I thought you’d catch her, emo! It would have been a beautiful moment!” he protested, throwing his grey eyes open wide.

Virgil took a deep breath and nodded. “You know what? Yeah, maybe it would have been. But you forget-”

“Fight or flight,” Remus filled in. He shrugged. “I guess that makes sense.”

As usual, he was dressed in as many layers as he could be, with only a hint of pale skin showing on his face and through a pair of fingerless gloves he had cut himself. Everything else was an amalgamation of black and brown leather, denim, flannel, a puffy coat, a long flowing skirt in leopard-print, and fishnet tops over cotton T-shirts, leaving barely any Remus-outline at all. It didn’t matter what the weather was; his outfit might change components, but it never revealed so much as his neck.

Everyone had their reasons, Janus would quietly say at almost anything their customers said or did. It wouldn’t have crossed their minds to ask why he covered himself so much, but it was something Virgil couldn’t help but wonder about sometimes.

Maybe Janus was right and Remus was handsome, but his face was so obscured by his moustache, stubble, and makeup in purple and green- or whichever colours he felt like- that he seemed to be aiming for ‘gives you a headache after you look at him too long’ more than anything else.

His hair was almost literally a bird’s nest. He had completely rejected offers of a hairbrush or a comb, insisting he preferred it the way it was. The third co-owner of the cafe, Remy, with whom he was staying at the moment, had made many attempts to detangle his hair, all of which had been met with screaming and gnashing of teeth. After each clash, Remy would send Virgil a barrage of complaints by text. But while Janus had offered for Remus to stay at his own apartment, Virgil and Remy had made a mutual decision to save them from 24/7 pining by volunteering instead. Janus had refused even considering dating him the very first day he had barged his way into the cafe- and into its founder’s affection. As long as Remus came to them for food and shelter, it would be an unfair balance of power.

Remus reached into an inner pocket of his coat and slid a purple pin with a spider silhouette on it over to Virgil. “You could stab this into those big brown eyes of yours,” he said, widening his own at the barista.

“Sweet, thanks,” Virgil said, pinning it onto his apron string. It did match with his spider-web hair design. “Then I won’t have to look at Janus getting flustered any more.”

Remus grinned at Janus, who was trying to act as if he’d been so invested in carefully holding the pigeon that he hadn’t heard. He leaned on the counter and dropped his voice into a stage-whisper. His eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled. “I think he’s sexy.”

“That’s disgusting,” Virgil whispered back. “I’m going to throw up in your coffee.”

He shrugged. “I’d still drink it. Then I’d just be able to judge you based on your stomach bile.”

“You’d be so fucking impressed by my stomach bile,” Virgil retorted. “It’s so acidic from anxiety it would kill you immediately.” He turned to start wiping down anywhere the pigeon had even possibly touched.

“Bartender!” Remus yelled in an exaggerated English accent, banging on the counter. “Bartender! I would like a coffee and a sandwich, please!”

“One moment, my dear,” Janus said in a more passable impression, opening up the freezer door and placing the tiny corpse into an empty ice-cream container well away from the rest of the food. “I’m just cryopreserving- what’s her name?”

"Her name is Loki,” Remus supplied, his voice dropping to a matter-of-fact tone which was surprisingly tender coming from him. “She's good at stealing chips from tourists. And flying and shitting at the same time.”

Janus threw away his gloves, thoroughly washed his hands, then made a small note: "Loki: not for consumption." He glanced up at Remus so he could see the note, who repaid him by throwing his head back so he could laugh. Janus' mouth quirked into a snicker too, and the rest of the coffee shop seemed to fall away from the two looking at each other.

"We're going to get a violation," Virgil interrupted, because that was the expression of a Janus who would complain and pretend not to pine for hours after Remus left. He turned on the coffee machine to hopefully distract from the moment. "It's a dead fucking animal."

"So is the rest of the meat," Janus dismissed without looking at him. "And it is wrapped up and away from the rest of the food."

Ever since Virgil had joined the team and the cafe had begun to establish itself as a firm success, the city council had done everything in its power to shut it down. Each time, the cafe had won, even if their most recent fight was one of the most nerve-racking experiences of his life, and their personal lives had been dragged through the dusty carpet of every courtroom in the city. Each step of the way, Janus insisted that the risk was worth it.

After all that, Virgil was not letting the cafe close on account of a dead bird, as skilled a thief as she might have been.

"It’s a pest animal you let in here," he insisted.

Janus dismissed him with a shrug. "Come now, so is Remus."

The customer grinned. "You flatter me, rattlesnake." His eyes traced Janus' face as they scrunched up with joy. "Can you tell me about Dodgy Knees again?"

He closed his eyes as if pained. "Diogenes! Diogenes! I'll break your knees if you mispronounce-"

"Kinky!"

He rolled his eyes fondly. “Oh, is that so?”

So Virgil tried to ignore the disaster scenario of the cafe being shut for good, fixed a cup of coffee and a sandwich for Remus, and somehow got caught into a conversation about the pros and cons of leaving society to go feral in the woods.

“No, I do agree, but wolves-”

The door rattled, and an older white man with salt-and-pepper hair and a pinstripe suit walked in. He wasn’t entirely out of place amongst the clientele, but he honestly looked more like the businessmen in some of the cartoons Janus had papered one wall with. Remus ignored the bell as he leant his elbows on the counter, gesturing with his sandwich as he talked to Virgil while the barista came up to the register.

“How can I help you today?” Virgil asked the man, who was glancing around the decor. That type of customer was almost certainly drawn by the coffee, all blends hand-picked by Remy.

“I’ll be in and out in just a moment,” he replied with a small smile, and Remus stopped talking. “An espresso to go, please.”

Virgil nodded. “Sure, a moment-”

A blush crept up Remus’ cheeks, and he ducked his head with uncharacteristic shyness. As the man caught his eyes his entire expression softened, the hard lines of his face seeming to melt as his lips parted slightly, like he would say something. But, for once, he was speechless.

Janus looked as though he had been slapped in the face. “Are you acquainted?” he asked, in such a casual tone that Virgil knew he was deeply hurt. He arched an eyebrow as he waited for an answer.

“I- yes, I believe we are,” the customer gave a genial smile in return, his eyes fixed on Remus’. “Some time ago.”

Janus’ eyes narrowed. “Where do you know him from, Remus?”

There was a crinkle of plastic and leather as Remus shrugged. “Long story,” he said distantly.

Virgil slid a cup of coffee over to the man, who tapped a black card to the card reader and gave him a quick smile. “Keep the change,” he quipped. It was a tip some ten times greater than their recommended 20%.

“Thanks,” Virgil mumbled, but his focus was on his friend, who was drifting out of the door, as he tended to do at the end of a conversation. “Hey, Remus, we’ll see you later?” he called after him.

“Sure, Virgey!” he replied, giving him a quick grin before he held the door for the businessman, and the two of them walked out together. The older man ducked his head to whisper something into his ear, and Remus laughed and linked their arms as they headed into the street.

As soon as the door swung shut, a cloud settled over Janus’ expression. “Well,” he said, adjusting a sandwich which was just slightly out of line with the rest. “They say a stranger is a friend you haven’t met yet. It takes all sorts. To each, indeed, their-”

Before he could utter another saying, Virgil interrupted with a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sure it’s not what it looks like.”

“And what does it look like?” Janus asked caustically. “Remus was acting unusually, yes?”

“Sometimes people get nervous,” he ventured. “If they like someone-” There wasn’t a single trait Remus said wasn’t his type; a silver fox with money was as good as any.

“Don’t say ‘like’, it’s so middle school,” he snapped, and Virgil flinched at the tone in his voice. He grabbed a cloth and headed over to a table which some regulars he knew were just vacating to wipe it down. Poor Loki’s funeral was going to be a tense event.

Except, as night fell and the cafe began to glow with the golden lights and the warmth of the ovens, and as Remy arrived to help them with the evening rush, Remus didn’t show up for the body in their freezer.

The brief liveliness Janus had shown bustling between the kitchen and the front faded as the final family trickled out. He waved away most of their offered money, seeing as it was a birthday party and he knew them, and Remy and Virgil made meaningful eye contact but didn’t protest.

As they closed, Remy filled the awkward silence with chatter about the men he was dating, the new hair product he had tried, the fact Remus never washed up when he was told to, and he was, like, so sick of it-

But no Remus appeared to defend himself, even after they left half-an-hour late and each one tried to call him.

He didn’t appear at Remy’s to sleep overnight, and he didn’t come into the cafe at all the next day.

That next night, Janus disappeared into the back, leaving Virgil to clean up by himself.

His stomach was upset, and he couldn’t help but think about that man over and over.

Long story- what exactly did “long story” mean?

Remy used the phrase when it really was a complicated story full of exes and rumours and friends of friends-

Virgil used it when he was asked why he didn’t speak to his family any more.

But he’d never seen Remus look like that before, and the guy had seemed nice- and there was an obvious suggestion for why his friend was busy overnight.

He realised he’d been wiping down the same table for the past five minutes.

“Virgil,” Janus said quietly behind him.

“Yeah?” he turned, and his brow immediately furrowed at his friend’s sombre expression.

He had his phone in one hand, and his hat in his other. “I’m going to ask you for a favour,” he said slowly. “You are quite free to decline it.” He paused. “I want to go to the house of the man who Remus went out with, and check that he’s alright.”

“I...don’t know that’s a good idea,” he said, twisting the spider badge on his apron so he could avoid the weight of his friend’s expression. “I mean...it could be an invasion of Remus’ privacy, if that was an old friend or-” Scared of causing further upset, he tilted his head to fill in ‘something else’.

“Yes, I know.” He sighed, looking out into the night through their plate-glass windows. “You know I’m not one for hunches-”

“Eh, you turned out a guy for being an undercover cop in like two seconds because he asked about ‘The Antifa’-”

Janus gave him a look with almost the level of exasperated fondness Remus engendered, and Virgil fell silent.

“I’m not one for hunches, but I’m usually right when I have them, then,” he finished lightly. “I have a very bad feeling, and a Google Search for anyone in the town who could possibly have a black card doesn’t make me feel any better.”

Anxiety coagulated in his stomach, but he tried for his final hope. “Are you sure it’s not...jealousy?”

He gave him a long, tired look. “The thought has never even been a worry of mine,” he said drily. “Still, I can go by myself, and make my own self a bother, worse, a fool.”

And it wasn’t really a question at all whether Virgil would let that happen. “Two of us is just a bother,” he replied with a confidence he didn’t feel, unclipping his badge from his apron and slipping it into his hoodie pocket.

Janus hung up his hat and put on a neat suit jacket over his outfit. “Thank you, really-”

He shook his head, opening the door so that a rush of petrichor and tarmac washed out the pervasive smell of coffee and food from the cafe. “Let’s go.”

They walked out into the night, still damp from the earlier rains. The lights of the shops around them reflected against the wet tarmac, and music pumped out of passing cars giddy with the promise of the coming weekend. They headed to the bus stop, Janus politely greeting every person they passed, and Virgil ducking his head so he didn’t have to. He didn’t know if the people who replied were familiar to his friend from the neighbourhood, or just trying to be polite in turn.

As soon as the bus stopped with a hiss of steam, Janus led him down to the back, and sat by the window, checking the map on his phone again. “It will be some time,” he said. “But, I ask you to be patient.”

“Course.” Virgil rested his head on Janus’ shoulder and closed his eyes. “Just tell me the stop before and I’ll be...right with you.” Moving vehicles lulled him to sleep anyway, and he would just worry the whole way otherwise.

“Of course.” Janus wrapped an arm around him, so he wasn’t jolted as the bus started again.

As Virgil dozed in fits and starts, the window changed from views of convenience stores and fast food shops to blocks of apartments, to anonymous offices and retail outlets, to high-walled parks, and then houses set back from the road by sweeping drive-ways or pavements almost as wide as the road was. Finally, his head was jostled off Janus’ shoulders, and he blinked as the stop dinged, too loud after the fog of sleep. Outside, it was pitch black but for the pools of light beneath the streetlights, and the golden glow which the mansions kept far behind barred gates.

They stumbled off the bus, and Janus checked his phone just once more before they headed off down one of the identical sides of the road.

Virgil pulled his hoodie close around him against the night chill. He considered putting his hood on to protect his ears from the nipping wind, but they were already two black men alone in a very white neighbourhood. It wasn’t worth it when his stomach was already rolling with anxiety. He rubbed his thumb over the badge in his pocket and tried to breathe the cold air in 4-7-8. They walked over empty roads, past rows and rows of similar houses, until they turned a corner and cars lined the road, piling into a single driveway which was illuminated like a Christmas lights display. A few fancily-dressed guests stood by the cars, but most of the noise came from inside. The house towered even its neighbours, and was built in the faux-Classical style which he hated.

Janus checked the address against his phone, then nodded. “That’s it. What did you call those, again? False temples?”

“Temples to dumb rich Americans and bad architecture,” Virgil supplied with a quirk of his lips.

“Quite right,” he replied, assessing the entrance. “And in all likelihood, Remus is stuck inside with his…”

“Yup.” He looked between his own patchwork hoodie and Janus’ dapper suit. “Maybe you could sneak in, but I definitely wouldn’t fit in.”

He straightened, and adjusted his bowtie. “Then we’ll go around the back,” he replied.

Virgil shook his head. “Nope, nope, nope, that’s- Jesus Christ, no, that’s a great way to get arrested or even shot. No.”

“Virgil,” Janus said quietly. “These past two months, Remus has visited us every day except that brief time after the fight over the milk cartons, or whatever it was-”

“I asked him to clean up a drop of milk and he poured the rest of the carton over my kitchen,” he said sourly, which he felt he was entitled to despite the situation.

“Yes, yes,” Janus dismissed. “Anyway- he always comes, doesn’t he? So now-”

“I have a really, really bad feeling- and bad thought, and bad everything-” he protested, backing away from the gate.

An orange sports car swerved past them, and parked horizontally across the driveway, and a young white man in a tracksuit the same colour as his car leapt out and gave them a wide grin. “Hey! Hey! Hello!” he yelled, and flashed them peace signs, to which Janus replied with a pained smile and Virgil a small wave. “Everything’s started- have they done the fireworks yet? Or the, shit, thing with the melted chocolate and it flows-”

“Chocolate fountain,” Janus supplied with the smile he reserved for his more aggravating customers. He slipped his arm into Virgil’s and pulled them forwards. “We were hoping to arrive for that too, ah-?” He waited for the man to supply his name, but instead-

“I like your hair!” he said to Virgil, admiring the spider web design. “Rad!”

“Yeah, thanks,” he replied, subtly trying to pull them backwards as Janus marched him to the door after the guest. “Your car is...yeah, that sure is a car.”

“Sure is!” he replied with a blindingly white smile. He flashed something at a bodyguard at the door- who had sunglasses, earpiece, everything- Virgil noted with a sickening thrill of fear.

“And your friends, sir?” the bodyguard asked.

“Yeah, yeah!” The guest tossed his car keys at his chest and headed through to a foyer filled with well-cut suits and low-cut dresses, champagne glasses and trays of canapes. Marble floors reflected the lighting, which glinted out from chandeliers above. A wide staircase glided up to the hidden upper floors.

“Oh, hey! Hey, you!” the young man yelled as soon as he got in, bounding over towards a woman who greeted him with a grin, raising her glass like a toast.

Janus and Virgil just blinked at each other. “Are you...sure?” Virgil asked quietly. “Remus is here?”

“I’m honestly not so sure any more,” Janus muttered to him. “But let’s not rely on whatever chemicals are keeping our dear friend happy, and start looking around.”

They moved through a throng of people and out into a wide ballroom, filled with yet more guests and a live string quartet playing in one corner. Along with the music was the trilling of occasional birdsong from tropical birds fluttering inside several oversized golden cages dotted around the room. A few others held white marble statues, but they couldn’t compare to the shifting flurries of reds, blues, and greens. Without agreeing on it aloud, the friends first went over to a small party congregated by one of them, in case the birds had attracted Remus.

“No, but then I said-” A balding man was proclaiming. “I said, Rudy, that’s not the Dow Jones Industrial Average at all.”

The group burst into laughter, Virgil gave Janus a bemused look, and they moved on.

Everyone was well-dressed, in sparkling necklaces or ties in jewel colours or even in more casual clothes, like the man from the sports car, which still seemed to drip wealth. Wearing sneakers with a suit wasn’t that fancy a look, but when even Virgil recognised that pair from an ad campaign for a luxury fashion line which would come out next month, he guessed it didn’t matter. Nobody looked at them twice. Still, there was nobody dressed in the contents of an entire rummage-sale bin with purple eyeshadow used as contour.

“There-” Janus whispered- “Is that?”

They both froze as they watched a man with a moustache waltz past in the arms of a lady dressed in black. It wasn’t Remus.

Virgil scanned the room again, eyes passing over the gilded cages, and the tropical birds and statues inside them- nobody in the crowd admiring them was any business of his-

As they parted, the figure inside the tallest gold cage became clear. It shifted position- an animatronic? He looked more closely as it moved after everyone had turned away, fiddling with golden chains around its-

“Oh God-” he whispered. “Look.”

Virgil was an avowed atheist, but if the person inside the cage wasn’t a statue, he must have been an angel. His shining hair was cut short to show of the clean marble lines of his face. His chest was sculpted too, covered in scars which looked like they must have come from a golden sword like the one he was gripping. He looked as if he would swing it into position if not for the gold chains wrapped around his arms, tethering him to the delicate bars of the cage. He was gazing out into the distance.

Most striking of all, dove-grey wings crested over his shoulders and trailed all the way down to his ankles. His white tunic contrasted the hints of pale purple, pink and blue shimmering in his wings.

It was one of the most beautiful sights Virgil had ever seen.

He glanced at Janus for his reaction.

He found only an expression of absolute horror. Janus was completely silent for a moment, struggling for words, before he gasped. "Oh, Remus- what did they do to you?”

A cold feeling washed over him.

No- those were their friend's grey eyes, and that was the shape of his face, stripped of his facial hair and usual tacky makeup. No wonder Virgil hadn't recognised him.

Compared to the usual chaotic spark in his expression, he looked blank. As if his mind was somewhere else entirely- or like he'd been drugged.

Still, Virgil couldn’t help but be drawn back to his wings; they were hyper-realistic, even twitching as he tried to tense his shoulders to alleviate the pressure of the chains on his arms. And the amount of feathers it would have taken to make that shifting, downy gradient...not even all of Remus’ flock had that many. It was compelling, but sickening.

It felt wrong to look over his arms and legs when he was usually so adamant about covering them, so he dropped his eyes and tried to erase the knowledge of how muscled Remus was beneath his usual shapeless outfit.

It wasn’t that Virgil found his friend attractive exactly, but with wings like that, dressed like that- he was a centerpiece, clearly, and even as his stomach churned with the wrongness of the display, it was a palpable effort to keep his gaze from snapping back to him. “I’m gonna be sick,” he muttered to Janus.

“He’d never, ever choose to dress himself like that in front of everyone," Janus whispered, anger crackling red at the edges of his quiet voice. "And even if he did, he’d never shave off his moustache.”

He shook his head. “So...what do we do?”

In response, Janus sauntered over to the left, took a champagne flute from a waiter, and then gestured for his friend to follow. They zigzagged through the crowd until they got closer to Remus, whose eyes remained glazed and distant.

They stopped just by him. Up close, it was clear the tunic was some kind of cotton material, and the sword had blunted edges. He was wearing makeup too, and a lump in his mascara made Virgil feel another sharp pang of pity. As ridiculous as painting them on would have been, how real the scars looked in comparison to the rest of the outfit was jarring. He was built and scarred like a fighter, and all the little touches to make him look delicate only emphasised how roughened he was. Both were at odds with everything he knew of his friend.

“Remus,” Janus whispered. The name fell like a plea. “Remus, it’s us.”

All of a sudden, the man’s eyes snapped to them, his expression melting into disbelief. “Remus?” he echoed. It was as quiet as a whisper from a crypt. “You know him?”

“You’re-” Janus’ face fell. “Remus, that’s you-”

The man almost imperceptibly shook his head. “Twins, we’re twins- you know him? Please, is he okay?” He looked almost identical, though up close the differences began to stand out. He was probably more muscular, but who could tell under all of Remus’ clothes? The main differences were a gap between this twin’s front teeth and, more than that, his eyes. Even as he looked at them desperately, there was something missing from them, some jolt of hope or excitement which just wasn’t there. Their heaviness was an uncomfortable weight on Virgil’s face.

He wrapped an arm around himself. “Sorry, he went missing-”

“But we tracked the man he left with back here,” Janus filled in. “Isn’t he here too?”

The man shook his head again. “No, I- I’ll earn more information, after this. I don’t know anything,” he whispered. “I just know he found him, and he wants him to come back without a fight.”

Virgil never should have just watched as that man walked Remus out of the coffee shop. Long story his ass- “What the fuck is happening?”

Remus’ twin tried to shrug and then winced as the movement tugged on the chains. His wings fluttered with the movement. “They just tranqued us the first time. I don’t know why he’s delaying recapture-” He took a deep breath. “Just tell him to run away as soon as he can.” His grey eyes hardened to steel. “He might as well keep doing it.”

“I will if I can find him, thank you.” Janus took a small sip of his champagne. “What exactly was the capture for, if I can ask?”

The captive glanced around the room, and at the movement Virgil cut his eyes to the side. Nobody watched that he could see. “The wings, of course,” he said with a bitter smile. “Yes, yes, they’re real, go ahead and look at them.”

Janus’ eyes widened, subtly taking in the wings.

“My name’s Roman,” he continued in a low, urgent voice. “Tell him that Roman said to run, okay? Don’t listen to any of their offers or threats. I’m not a gladiator anymore; I’m here instead. It’s...not too bad.”

As Janus opened his mouth, Roman shook his head. “Don’t talk to me too long.”

“We can get you out,” Virgil said before he knew what he was thinking. “Whatever this is-”

“Go,” Roman insisted. “It’s not worth trying to do anything for me. And don’t call the police-”

Janus rolled his eyes. “You really don’t need to worry about that.”

“Fine.” he lifted his eyes to the middle distance again. “You should go now. Please.”

Virgil gave a little nod, taking Janus’ arm. “Okay. We’re gonna go.”

“Thank you,” Janus added. He opened his mouth as if to say something else, but then let Virgil lead him away.

He steered them back through the ballroom with their backs to Roman, trying not to glare into the eyes of each of the guests they passed. It would almost have been easier if there was a big fuss and show about the captive man, rather than the chatting and dancing and gossiping with, oh, a living being as a conversational curiosity-

As they came back into the entrance, Janus began to turn towards the sweeping staircase.

“No,” Virgil said under his breath, trying to tug him back to the doorway. “No fucking way. I know you’re angry but-”

“I’m not angry,” he replied coolly. “I am, rather, curious. Because I don't think they tell everything to Roman, and we’re not going to get luck like this again. Any information will help.”

He glanced up at where the staircase twisted out of sight. If Remus was up there, he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself. And, despite his words, Janus was throw-ignorant-customers-out-of-the-cafe mad. Except, he wasn’t quoting memoirs of increasingly obscure activists or putting neat yellow gloves on in warning, so Virgil didn’t know what he would do.

On cue, Janus reached into his breast pocket and drew out the gloves. He slipped one on, tugging it into place. “Better for fingerprints, and more neat.” He glanced at Virgil. “You don’t have to come with me, in fact it may be better if you didn’t.”

It wasn’t fair for Janus to pull on his ridiculous gloves like a boxer about to face a much bigger opponent, and ask him not to fight by his side. Even if Virgil had decided to leave the party, it wouldn’t have been fair.

“I will,” he said, tucking his hands into hoodie paws. His heart was thumping against his ribcage as if it would break out- that was a thought to tell Remus when they saw him. “I’m gonna complain about it afterwards.”

Despite his apparent composure, it took Janus a moment too long to answer as his eyes traced Virgil’s face. “Of course.” He took his arm. “Shall we?”

He was half-expecting an alarm to blare as soon as they set foot on the first stair- but nobody noticed. They took another few steps, feet sinking into the thick red runner. The back of his neck prickled with stares, but he knew from long experience that those were imagined. Or were they? No, that was anxiety. Janus’ hand tightened on his forearm and he stopped. Above, someone paced past on a wooden floor in the measured rhythm of a guard. He gagged.

“Deep breaths,” Janus murmured.

“I hate this,” he replied. Then he forced a breath in his nose and out of his mouth.

After the footsteps faded, they kept walking until Virgil moved his heavy boot onto the polished wood floor as gently as possible. Identical two-panel white doors stretched along the hallway without any noticeable distinction, until the corridor took a right turn at the end of the row.

“You take the left, I’ll take the right,” Virgil whispered, and Janus nodded.

With their footsteps echoing almost too loud on the floor, they each crept to the far ends of the hallway. There was nothing beyond the corner except another staircase, and thankfully no more doors.

He tried the door handle on the far right with his sleeve over his hand, and it turned. He nudged it open and peeked in to see a huge bedroom strewn with suitcases and clothes, and a sparkling necklace of diamonds carelessly draped over a black dress. But no Remus. He shut it and moved onto the next.

Locked. The next was too. His hands were shaking like there was a motor in them.

He closed his eyes and leant his head against the wall, trying to ground himself in the sensation. Okay. Next one- unlocked.

It was a bathroom, all white marble and gold like downstairs. He closed the door and glanced over to Janus, who shook his head.

He glanced at the staircase before crossing the corridor and turning the handle of the middle door slightly.

A voice rose behind the door, deeper and smoother than Remus’. “Hello?”

Virgil reached in desperation for the next door handle as footsteps sounded from inside, and tugged it open in time for Janus to walk in quickly and efficiently in the rhythm of the security guard. He followed with a few strides, shutting the door behind him in with a fumbled click. The room was an empty guest bedroom. Janus was hiding himself under the bed before Virgil caught his arm and pulled him out. He headed to the big sliding window.

“Please, please-” he whispered to himself, trying to lift it. Locked, locked, oh God-

Janus searched the mantelpiece for a moment before pressing a cold key into Virgil’s hand. He tried to put it in but his hands were shaking too badly and he couldn’t-

Janus took it off him. It fit with a click.

Virgil pushed up the window in a rush of cool air. He climbed out onto the little ornamental balcony running between a few windows and stood flat to the wall, chest heaving, before Janus followed with a tumble. He reached over and shut the window while Janus crouched down below the sill. The room was still empty.

Virgil slid down the wall, trembling hands over his mouth. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears and he was sure he would be sick-

Janus had curled into a ball, forehead to the stone of the balcony.

He wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that.

After a while, they ended up both sitting side by side in the space between the two windows, hands twisted together. It was silent.

Virgil glanced back into the room. “It’s empty,” he whispered. “We should leave.”

Janus nodded. “One moment-” He crept towards the other window and peeked in the bottom before he dropped to the ground, hand over his mouth.

Virgil widened his eyes. On cue, his heart finished its brief rest.

Janus pointed to his suit jacket, then made a rectangle shape with his fingers. Virgil frowned. His friend repeated the gesture, and it clicked. Black card.

He so, so badly wanted to run now, but instead he crawled over to poke Janus in the side so he would move over to give him space by the window. Their eyes met, and Virgil pulled his hood over his cold ears to settle in for a wait. He kept his head down, pillowed on his forearms, while Janus risked peeking up every few minutes.

Suddenly, Janus grabbed his arm. Virgil lifted his head. He could just about see Roman standing in the doorway, rubbing at the deep red marks around his forearms, and the captor leaning back in a leather armchair holding a glass.

Janus put his hands up to the window-

“Janus,” Virgil hissed, but then the window slid a crack upwards and voices travelled through.

“Quite the party, wasn’t it?” the captor said, pouring himself a drink.

Roman nodded too quickly. “Yeah,” he said in a hoarse voice, attempting a smile which didn’t reach his eyes, which were fixed on a closed silver laptop on a side table. “Yes, it was...very grand!”

He rolled his eyes. “What did you think of the decor?”

“Quite magnificent! Like a- an aviary in a palace.” His wings were trembling as though there were a breeze running through them.

Tilting his head and looking Roman up and down, the captor spoke just as genially as he had in the cafe. “You really aren’t as interesting as your brother was. Too many blows to the head, no doubt.”

Roman’s mouth tightened. His fists had too.

Against the deep, comfortable, red-brown tones of leather and what must have been genuine mahogany, and the backs of books all bound neatly and sticking out of the shelf as though frequently read, Roman’s outfit stood out as even more fake. Gold accents in the sandals he was wearing matched the subtle gold trimmings of the room, but if the study were a convincing stage, Roman looked like a badly cast understudy.

The captor laughed. “Predictable. This isn’t the fighting pits.”

Virgil and Janus shared a look before watching again.

“Your brother’s been living like a tramp and he’s still more beautiful than you are, under all the mess,” he commented, as casually as if he was observing the weather. Roman’s eyebrows drew together, watching for the end of the statement. He brought up a hand to cover a scar along the edge of his neck. “He’s not as scraped up as you, of course. And he really-” He swirled his whiskey for a moment before taking a sip of it. “He really is genuine. You can imagine worse things than this, can’t you?”

He paused, then nodded.

He shrugged. “He can’t. That’s the difference.”

Janus grabbed Virgil’s hand. He curled over and pressed it to his own forehead. Virgil rested his hand on his back and bent to whisper in his ear. “Hey, only I need to listen, so-”

He shook his head and Virgil cut off, peeking back over the windowsill.

For just a moment Roman glanced at the window before he asked, “So, where is Remus anyways?” He seemed to freeze as he waited for the answer, a statue once again.

“That’s the question, isn’t it?” He held his hand out and Roman looked at him blankly. “The laptop,” he snapped.

“Oh!” He grabbed it from the side table and tried to hand it over from a distance.

He took it and flipped it open. Roman stepped back immediately, hopping from one foot to the other like a boxer. Virgil felt himself tapping on Janus’ back in sympathy.

The captor flipped the screen open and typed for a moment before he began to read something. Virgil felt Janus’ chest go still.

The captor laughed. “Oh, would you look at that- “Queer Eye’s Karamo Brown urged to cut ties with Salvation Army”.” He shook his head. “There’s nothing worse than a hypocrite- did you know about this?”

Remus’ brother’s jaw tensed and he shook his head.

He carried on reading for a little while, tutting, and then switching to another tab. “Okay, fine- come and look.”

He crossed the room to stand behind the man, hands gripping onto the back of the sofa as if he would fall over without its support.

“Don’t touch the furniture.” With a roll of his eyes, he reached his hand behind him, twisted his hand into his captive’s wing- then tugged. As he pulled a handful of feathers away Virgil winced, but Roman only reacted with a tightening of his hands. Then he took a measured step back from the couch.

“You know,” the captor said so softly that Virgil had to strain to hear him. “You know, Remus would have cried and cried at that.” He scattered the feathers, spotted with blood, over the floor. “That, or started swearing- and the crying would come after that.”

“You’ve told me before,” Roman snapped. As soon as he spoke, he froze again. “Oh, uh- I’m sorry-”

The laptop clicked shut. “I asked you to behave this evening,” the captor said, getting up and tucking it under his arm. Virgil and Janus crouched down further. For some reason, a tiny chip in the stone paving caught Virgil’s eyes. A tiny fissure ran from it into the rest of the solid slab. “That meant all of this evening.”

“Please-” His voice broke, and pitched high it sounded like Remus’. Janus’ hand tightened on Virgil’s until it hurt.

“Out.”

Virgil tugged on Janus’ hand and bent his head to his ear. “C’mon, we need to go.”

Janus looked up. His eyes were shining, and at the same time Virgil felt like a monster for not crying and a sharp annoyance that his friend had given into his emotions. He took a deep breath, and both feelings passed. He tugged on his hand again. “Okay, time to go,” he whispered.

He decided not to risk closing the window while the man was still in the room, just nudging Janus to the side. They crept across the balcony, slid up the far window, and climbed through one after the other, painfully slow.

They padded through the empty room, then opened the door and slipped out together. Downstairs, the last of the party guests were trailing out, either upright with exhaustion shining in their eyes to match the sparkle of their jewels, or with the help of a few discreet employees supporting champagne-soggy legs. Wordlessly, Janus slung his arm over Virgil’s shoulder, and he let his friend lean on him as they passed security and walked down the long drive to the dark street. He was heavy, but Virgil was careful not to stumble.

They carried on walking that way until the corner, when Janus straightened up and adjusted his jacket. Still, they crossed the road side-by-side and didn’t speak.

As they walked, the bottom of the sky was being washed out into greyness. The houses were unlit now, and they looked smaller in the dark. It just barely smelt of metallic dew. Virgil thought he might start screaming if he opened his mouth.

They reached the bus station sooner than expected. There was half-an-hour before the first early-morning bus. With a huff of air, he sat down on the pavement and leaned his back against the pole.

“Well that was just what we expected, wasn’t it?” Janus said lightly. He stayed standing, facing the mansion they had come from. Virgil looked up at him in silence. “I’m going to murder that man,” he continued in the same tone. “The security for that house is shocking. I’m sure it isn’t that hard. Perhaps I should let the twins do it, though.”

He nodded. “I’ll help bury the body.”

“You know, Virgil,” Janus met his eyes. “You really are the best friend anyone could ask for.”

"What?" he mumbled as he looked down. "He was a dick."

"Come now, you also broke into the house of someone connected to illegal fighting rings whose interior decoration tended to the alive and miserable.”

Heat flooded into his face. “Least I can do.”

“Quite a bit more than the least.” His lips quirked into a smile. “Especially for someone who was terrified of talking to customers a year ago.”

"Oh, shut up." He poked Janus' neat brogue with his boot. "Mr. Sherlock Holmes here figured out the whole thing anyway." His chest felt funny, and he hugged his arms around it.

"Well, Watson," He took a deep breath and decided to stop tormenting Virgil with his tenderness. "I have our final deduction- the man had no clue where Remus is."

"Really?"

Janus shook his head. “He was just looking for an excuse for Roman to slip up the whole time. Taunting him, the furniture, physically hurting him- it was all trying to push him to some tiny ‘infraction’ so he could bluff about the information.”

“Huh.” He replayed the events and nodded slowly. “Sure, I can see that. Still, we don’t know if he’s always like that. He didn’t deny the information when Roman touched the furniture- which is a fucked up rule, Jan- I don’t know if him not saying where Remus is was an excuse at all. He said Remus was better than his brother, and he gets pissed when you suggest cutting those clumps out of his hair. He must have been-” He regretted saying it to Janus, but it was deduction time. “He must have been really- cruel to him for Remus to act anything like Roman. He enjoys being cruel, clearly.”

“You’re right.” He twisted the finger of his glove. “Still, surely telling Roman about how scared Remus was would upset him. And he didn’t, so something doesn’t add up.”

Well, his intuition hadn’t lied before. “So what do we do?”

“We find Remus first.” He straightened his shoulders. “Remy would have texted if he went back to the apartment, we can assume he’s not at the cafe since he was found there, and he could have gone to his usual parks and streets but if he’s being watched he wouldn’t. So, where would he go?”

“It wouldn’t be anywhere with a lot of people,” Virgil added. “Or maybe even with a lot of birds, since they all come to him. Somewhere abandoned?”

Janus nodded. “I think we could check out some of the old warehouse districts.”

He nodded. “Sounds like a start. That one’s only ten minutes after the home one.”

They waited quietly, each caught up in their own thoughts. The bus to their district began trundling past until it slowed down for them and the door opened.

Janus shook his head at the driver. “Sorry, we’re not coming.”

She began to close the doors again without comment.

“Wait!” Virgil waved at her. “Wait a moment! Wait-”

She stopped with a huff almost as loud as the bus’ exhaust. Janus let Virgil pull him through the door by his hand, tapping his card dutifully.

He raised an eyebrow as they stumbled into some seats.

“Where’s the place we were talking about running to just before, uh, bird-friend left?” Virgil whispered, even though he doubted the tired commuters would be listening in for names and details. “And where can you bury the kind of bird friend in our freezer? And where wouldn’t be a place you’d search?”

“The forest?” he replied. There was only a scrubby patch of it outside the city.

“Yup. Look, we should go back to the cafe to get Loki, anyone asks and we’re just, you know, getting rid of the health violation in the fridge in a way which isn’t a health risk to a park or anything.”

Janus stifled a yawn. “That’s very smart.”

“Thanks, it was kinda impulsive, but-” Virgil shrugged as he looked out the window at the unrelenting row of houses. “I’m happy to be out of there.” He tucked his arm around his friend. “And you can nap until we get there.”

“I’m just fine, Virgil,” Janus replied, affronted. “Besides, I don’t want to rumple my outfit.”

Virgil gave an exaggerated yawn himself, and Janus immediately followed. He glared at him, which only made Virgil give him a small grin. “Bedtime.”

He was met with a head thunking onto his shoulder. “You had better wake me up in time,” he threatened.

“I will.” He readjusted so he was more comfortable. “We’ll be fine.”

By time they reached the cafe the sky was white and grey. Virgil waited by the bus stop, leaning his head against it as a half-asleep Janus unlocked the front. After enough time for Virgil to consider if he could sleep upright (five minutes), he reappeared with a canvas bag with a rainbow flag hand-printed on it, and a stack of three sandwiches, which he handed to Virgil.

The bus came soon after, and they collapsed into one of the back seats.

They had barely finished the sandwiches by the time they reached their next stop. They got out onto a cracked bit of sidewalk and looked at the trees rising above them. Silent, they walked forward until the concrete suddenly ended.

Virgil breathed in the stench of wild garlic and dug his toe into the slimy layer of dead leaves. Damp air curled in his mouth as though it would die peacefully there. Something chittered in the distance, and then cut off suddenly. He tried to tilt his head up to look at the trees and suddenly the vertigo of only sleeping for a few hours on the bus journeys hit him.

It was a world away from the gilded cage and the dizzying party.

He took a deep breath. “This feels right.”

Janus nodded. He tucked the bag under his arm carefully. “I hope…” he trailed off softly. “Well, Virgil, let us venture onwards.”

He touched his friend’s elbow for just a moment before he walked into the dark trees. After a moment, Janus followed, and they walked on together.

There was occasional litter, plastic bags and water bottles, but as they got deeper into the thick trees and tangled brambles along the forest floor it disappeared. Janus winced as he tried to lift his perfectly shone shoes over a muddy patch Virgil’s leather boots trudged through with ease. The trees were stout and gnarled, fungus protruding out of them like infections.

They wandered without any real direction, just trying to make their way further into the labyrinth of trees.

Virgil suddenly caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye and he grabbed his friend’s arm.

It could have been a pile of abandoned clothes and torn out feathers-

But there was a glimpse of leopard print, and the vague outline of wings, and a low crooning coming from the figure curled there.

Janus crouched down six feet away from him, laying Loki’s bag by his side. “Remus,” he said so softly that Virgil barely heard it. “Remus, it’s Janus.”

Remus froze. Then his wings curved up around him. They were a lot taller than Janus was crouching. A pair of grey eyes came up to meet Janus’. His lips parted as he looked over the two of them. His purple and green makeup was smeared together until it looked like a black eye, and even his moustache seemed to have its own case of bed-head.

“We-” Virgil cleared his throat against a sudden lump. “Well, Janus, mostly, he found the guy’s house? And we went there, and, uh, we were worried about you so we looked.”

His eyes widened.

“We found your brother,” Janus said in a quiet voice. “Roman. He told us to tell you that he wasn’t a gladiator any more; he was there instead. That it, uh, wasn’t too bad.”

For a moment, Remus stopped breathing. Then he brought his hands up to his head, slumping his shoulders and letting his wings wrap around himself. “Bullshit,” he said hoarsely. “What else did he say?”

Janus bit his lip. “He told you to run away as soon as you could, and not to listen to anything they offered or threatened.”

Remus made a strangled yelping laugh which set Virgil’s teeth on edge. His wings were trembling so much that there was a slight breeze on his face. “Roman’s saviour goddamn hero bullshit-” He twined his fingers into his hair and started tugging. “He’s not- fuck,” he winced as he caught a matted section. “Not pathetic enough for that job.”

Janus tried to reach a hand out to untangle his hands from his hair, but Remus only stilled and leaned his head into his glove. Janus gently tugged at his wrist, but Remus wrapped his fingers around his hand and held it to his hair.

“Dude, you’re not pathetic. You broke out of that place all by yourself?” Virgil found his voice off-putting in the silence, but he kept speaking. “That’s hard. And you hid in the same town, in plain sight, for ages. And-”

“I ran away,” Remus said into his knees. “And I knew he’d get punished or die. He had to fight people. All goring out eyeballs and pulling out guts by the handful. Or the clawful. Depended on what kind of people were captured.”

“There are more people like you?”

He shrugged and, just like his brother, the movement made his wings move. “With the weird animal thing? Oh, sure. I would rather have a tentacle dick but you get what you get.” He spoke without humour.

Janus pressed a tiny kiss to the back of his hand, not seeming to care about the smear of dirt on it. “Darling, I’m sure you’re well enough endow-”

“No!” Virgil yelled, holding his hands up. “I have risked myself too many times today for you two to have to listen to that from you.”

Remus shrunk back further into a ball. “Sorry.”

For a moment Virgil was struck genuinely speechless. Then his brow furrowed. “Hey, no, I was just teasing.”

Janus turned to glare at him. He widened his eyes in response. Maybe he should have guessed Remus would be more delicate, but, well, it was Remus.

“Anyway, it’s okay, alright?” he attempted.

“Yeah, sure.” He lifted his head and smudged his makeup even more with the heel of his hand. “Fine.”

Virgil pulled the third sandwich out of his pocket and handed it over. “Figured you’d want that.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

Remus took it and began to carefully undo the wrapping. He took a small bite of the corner. “Mom and Dad are normal but Roman and I just were just born this way- oh there ain’t no other way,” he sang as he shimmied his wings. “But we lived in the middle of nowhere, and we stayed at home our whole lives, even though we talked a lot about hiding ourselves so that we could move. We kept ourselves to ourselves and we had a farm.” He threw his crust to the forest floor, seemingly by habit of having his flock around him. “Hope they didn’t search there for me; that would suck. Our parents saw us get captured, so at least they know what happened.”

Janus nodded as he listened. “How long ago was that?”

“Two years.” He stuffed the rest of the sandwich into his mouth.

“Goodness,” he said softly. “I can’t imagine.”

The corners of Remus’ moustache twitched up into a smile. “Nah, you couldn’t. Thanks,” he said through the remains of his sandwich.

Virgil waited for him to finish eating.

“We brought Loki with us, in the bag,” he said. “We figured it would be a good cover, and we can hold the funeral here.” He reached into the bag to pull out a trowel. They definitely hadn’t had one in the cafe, so Janus must have stored it there after Remus disappeared.

Janus reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and drew out a bag of classic Lays. He handed them over to Remus. “I do hope the flavour’s alright. I think it’s a classic.”

“Perfect,” he muttered. He stumbled up to his feet with a wince, holding his wings out for balance. Even without them fully spread out, the wingspan blocked the entire section of tree behind him. He rolled his shoulders back and flapped his wings.

Both of them stared.

Remus grinned and widened his eyes. “I can fly, you know. I could shit on you midair like-” All at once, his face crumpled and he held a hand up to his mouth. “Sorry, it all hit me again,” he said with a voice like sandpaper.

Virgil put his hoodie sleeve over his mouth as he swallowed back a guilty laugh. He started digging into the soft forest soil to distract himself.

He heard a flutter of feathers- had he been missing that under the whisper of all Remus’ shifting clothes before? - and then sobbing into a suit jacket. It was kind of scratchy on your face, Virgil knew, but it hid tears pretty well. He moved his whole shoulder into his digging, watching a depression form as the other two murmured words of upset and comfort to each other.

“I thought it was you,” whispered Janus against the shell of Remus’ ear. “And- my heart just stopped.”

“I wish it was.” Remus leant his forehead against Janus’ chest.

“But then how would I hold you, hm?” he replied, and there was the brush of fabric on fabric. “We’ll get him out.”

“You promise?” Remus said, and Virgil’s hand clenched around the handle. It wasn’t a good idea to-

“Promise. Split my chest open with a pickaxe and hope to pickle my heart.”

There was a wet laugh. “Kinky.”

“Come now, that was romance as well as kink.” His best friend’s voice was unbearably soft.

A warm feeling settled in Virgil’s chest despite the chill of the weather. Dammit. He stabbed the trowel into the ground again, ignoring the wetness in his own eyes.

He kept digging, until a set of feathers nudged into his face. “Did you poke me from all the way over there?” Virgil asked incredulously. Remus’ wing was as wide as he was tall, and he used it to poke him in the cheek again. It was a little disconcerting to see how much it moved like, well, a limb of his.

A feather brushed over the tears on his cheek. The wing retracted, and Remus came over to kneel by him and take the trowel. He sunk it into the ground, gouging out a huge section of earth with a small battle-cry. He flung it over his shoulder rather than adding to Virgil’s careful pile and then grinned at him.

A smile tugged at his mouth as he reached for the bag. “I think you finished the grave.”

He carefully wrapped the pigeon in the canvas bag Janus had chosen for her and handed it to Remus.

He looked at the little bundle in his hands for a long moment. Then he took her out of the bag. He began to unwind the plastic wrap.

Janus winced.

“That’s not clean-” Virgil whispered.

“It’s going to pollute the forest otherwise,” he replied without looking away from the corpse in his hands. “This is more natural. Besides, they’re pretty clean birds.”

So they watched in silence as he carefully took it all off and placed her in the grave. She was still intact, though her body had stiffened. “Thanks for being here, even if you were technically using her to stalk me,” he said. “Um, this was Loki. She was mischievous, and bold, and really smart. I’m going to miss her.” He cleared his throat and nodded, eyes wet. “Okay. Ready.”

Virgil scooped a handful of dirt with his trowel and scattered it over her. It pattered softly against the earth. Remus was staring hard into the distance. A few rays of sun poked through the trees as he pushed the rest of the dirt back into place. “Should we leave some rocks or something?”

Janus nodded. “I can collect-”

“I thought Roman was dead until a few days ago,” Remus interrupted. It sounded like a statement from a scratchy vinyl recording. “Ghosties are easier to carry around than big living brothers who got jacked from murder. Whatever you need me to do to get him out, I’ll do it. Killing, going back- whatever.”

“I don’t need you to do those things,” Janus said firmly. “All I need you to do now is come to my apartment,” he turned to his friend. “I’m not putting you in any further danger, Virgil-”

“Bullshit.”

He paused, brow furrowing. “Beg pardon?”

“That’s bullshit,” he repeated. “This is the part where you’re you’re going to think you’re being really smart about everything,” he held his hands up, “but you stick to your principles too much and you risk yourself and maybe those two-”

“Thank you for your confidence, Virgil,” he said acidicly.

“Anyway.” This was a spectacularly bad idea. “I’m helping.”

Defensive, his voice grew more formal. “If this is about the court cases, or the job, I promise you that you owe me nothing-”

“I like you, and I like Remus, and I don’t like what’s happening.” He shrugged. “It’s not a big thing; it’s just as simple as that. Okay?”

After a moment, Janus gave a nod.

“Aw, you like me?” Remus cooed. He wiggled his shoulders and grinned, his eyes crinkling up at the corners.

Virgil rolled his eyes. “Course.”

Janus gave Remus a helplessly fond smile. “Then it’s decided. I think we could all use some sleep, then we start this evening.”

#ts fic #sanders sides #remus sanders #janus sanders #virgil sanders #dukeceit #platonic dukexiety #hurt/comfort

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lokiandbuckyaremine · 4 years

Text

Some Saturday Morning...

Prompt: Hi! I saw your prompt list and I think 2+12+20 would be an interesting combination for a Loki imagine/drabble!! Just saying 💜~ Anonymous

2. Whoa, what is with the attitude change?

12. Feel free to admire me

20. You’re the biggest dork of the century!

(PROMPT LIST)

Summary: Your boyfriend, Loki, doesn’t like to get involved with much. But when it comes to helping you or making you happy, he will immediately join in. Desperate measures come when your coffee machine breaks, and your heroic boyfriend jumps in to save the day. Hehe.

Warnings: Some swearing, floofy Loki, mentions of smutty times?, and bad writing haha

You HATED mornings. The grogginess that filled your head, the disgusting taste in your mouth, the headache that pounded through your temples, and just the pure evil vibe it gave you. The only thing that made it better was your mischievous boyfriend, who laid beside you in a peaceful slumber. His jet black hair sprawled out on his pillow as his soft pale skin glowed in the morning light. God, he was gorgeous. You smiled to yourself, thinking of the night before. Loki was an interesting person, kept to himself mostly, but when it came to you he was at his prime. He loved you more than words could say and wanted to be yours forever. When you decided to move in together, you swear it was the best decision of your life.

Since your body was awake, and you knew sleep was a lost cause, you dragged your body out of bed, careful not to wake the man on the side of you. Immediately when you stood up, a headache flooded to your temples. This means coffee. Caffeine headaches at their best. If “coffee before talkie” was a person, you’d be the living version. If Loki was up before you, he already had a fresh pot brewing. But today was not the case and you’d have to face your doom....the coffee machine. Every time you tried to start or run that damn thing, it always broke down. You were in no mood to deal with that today, so you were determined to make that stupid machine work for you.

Trudging over to the counter, you opened the cabinet to pull out your mug. It was a gift from Loki, that had a picture of the both of you in front of a giant Christmas tree. Fumbling through the rest of the cabinets, you came across your premium roast coffee grounds and a filter. Double checking the right measurements, you placed the filter in the top part of the brewer, and then began to scoop the grounds in. Feeling bold and in need of a stronger coffee, you added a few more scoops in. Next you added the water, something you quite often forgot to do, and pressed the brew button. Crossing your fingers, you stared at the machine in hopes of it finally working. A whirring sound arose, and you got happy since that means it was filtering the water through.

All of a sudden, the machine made strange and loud gurgling noises and coffee began spewing out of the top. You freaked and frantically started grabbing and throwing towels at the machine. Screaming at the machine, you unplugged it and slouched down on the counter. “I FUCKIN GIVE UP!!!!” If anything was going to make your headache worse, it was definitely this. Moments later you heard loud footsteps down the stairs. “My love, what is going on?! I thought the house was falling” Your shirtless boyfriend rushed over to find you in a ball on the kitchen floor, covered in dry coffee. He couldn’t help but giggle at your defeated state.

Noticing his presence, you looked up at him with annoyed eyes. He hummed quietly and sat down next to you, pulling you into his long arms. Pressing a lingering kiss to your head, he rested his chin on your shoulder. “Sorry love, but you look so cute, defeated on our kitchen floor. Coffee machine trouble again?” You huffed and nodded. “Yep, and my head fuckin hurts. Every fuckin morning is a disaster if you aren’t up before me. It’s like I break everything I touch.” Loki started to rub circles on your arm, and smiled to himself. “You haven’t broke me yet.” Looking up at him and rolling your eyes, he flashed back his signature mischievous smile. “Would you like me to fix it, love?”

You sat up quickly and stared at him blankly. “Whoa, what is with the attitude change?” Loki ran his hands through his hair, tying it back loosely. He stared back, and asked “Uh, what do you mean?” You giggled softly and batted your eyes back at him. “Mr. ‘I don’t help anyone’ now wants to fix my coffee machine? The same man that tells me I’m on my own. You feelin ok there, babe?” Loki laughed along and stood, stretching his arm out to help you up. “If it means making you happy, I’ll do anything. And plus, my hands are quite useful,” he said wiggling his eyebrows at you. You lightly slapped his bare chest, and reached up to kiss him. “You’re the best, thank you.” Walking over to your mess on the counter, Loki sighed. “Damn girl, you really aren’t the best when it comes to machines. I have to ask, did you or the coffee start the fight?”

Rolling your eyes, you pulled up a stool and sat at the counter. Staring at your tall and hunky boyfriend lean over the counter, you couldn’t help but bite your lip looking at his muscles flex with every movement he made. This is what made mornings better....seeing Loki in barely any clothes. Being the slickster that he was and sensing your gaze, Loki looked over to you and smirked. “Feel free to admire me. But it looks like you’re doing that already.” Blushing, you grabbed a sponge that was lying on the counter and threw it at him. “Shut up, your Highness and get back to fixing my machine.” He chuckled deeply, and started to remove the top lid from the machine. “Mmm I love when you’re demanding, baby.” Hearing his submissive yet silky voice had you squirming on the stool, as you attempted to stop the heat that was rising below your stomach. You wondered if he would just take you on the counter right now....

Loki’s verbal “aha!” pulled you from your dirty thoughts. “Did you find what’s wrong babe?” He nodded and looked over to you, unamused. “Love, you plugged the filter. You sure you put the right amount of coffee in it?” You shifted your eyes around (attempting to look innocent) as he walked over and placed his hands on your lap. Gulping, you looked up at your boyfriend’s crystal blue eyes. “Well, uh, ya see I was super cranky this morning and had a huge headache so I thought ‘what the heck?’, I could use a stronger coffee. So i might’ve added a few more tablespoons of grounds more than I should have, causing a rainstorm of coffee that dried all over me.” Your awkward rant sent Loki into a roar of laughter, as he pulled your small body to his. “You’re the biggest dork of the century! You know that?” Pressing kisses to your forehead and face, you smiled at his tender touches. “I know, but you love me anyways.”

Running your hands over his chiseled abs, which were eye level with you, you winked up at him. “I love you more than words could say, my princess. BUT next time, just wake me up, love. I’ll make you one without breaking anything in the process.” You darted your eyes and him and hopped off the stool. “Yea yea, whatever you say, Loki. Now can you please fix this damn thing so I can have my coffee?” Before he could answer, he quickly swept you up bridal style and smothered you in a passionate kiss. “Nope! You’ve been staring at me all morning, my pet, and we are going to do something about that.” Maybe Saturday mornings weren’t so bad after all....

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A/N: Anon, I really hope you enjoyed! This is actually based off of something similar that happened to me, but I made it more fun. PLEASE LIKE, REBLOG, and COMMENT as always. REQUESTS ARE OPEN

Tag List (Open): @jobean12-blog @littlenerdgirl16 @jokesonjess @jewels2876 @mashtons-dirtbag @hernameiswhatt @ballyhoobarnes @lauxeyson @thiddlestoff @thatbitchsaidhi @marvelous-heroimagines @iamwarrenspeace @violentlybarnes @moondancewrites @toddneilanderperry @mizz-kraziii @lovelybones81 @thinemineours @godohammers @buckywhoops @thatfangirl16 @thummbelina @notyourtypicalrose

#loki x reader #loki #loki x reader fluff #coffee #marvel imagine #loki imagine #story prompt #tom hiddleston #requests

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lonelyghosts-stuff · 4 years

Text

Chapter 2: Dead Man Walking

Word Count: 2186

Chapter 1 | Chapter 3

Master List

Warnings: None

The brunette who took out the guard next to here revealed herself to be Agent Maria Hill. After briefly introducing herself, she pulled out a laser cutter device and proceeded to quickly cut a large hole through the floor of the transport vehicle you all were in. When the car came to a momentary stop, the five of you slipped out through the hole and made your getaway to another vehicle on the side of the road that was awaiting you. Without hesitation, you followed them into the car, taking a seat.

youtube

Thousands of thoughts raced through your mind as you tried to get some semblance of an understanding of what just happened. Panic and pain dominated your mind as you began to fixate on the injury to your shoulder. You tried to think slowly and thoughtfully, trying to comprehend everything that happened, anything to distract you from the pain. It wasn’t so much of the physical pain in your shoulder that hurt, but the overwhelming confusion and panic that was bearing down on your subconscious. You began questioning yourself and your decisions.

‘Why did I do that?’

‘Why did I try to be a hero?’

‘Why didn’t I just trust that Captain America had it under control?’

‘Why am I here?’

‘What’s going to happen to me?’

‘Where are we go-’

Your train of thought was suddenly cut off as you felt the car stop. Stepping outside, you realized you were parked outside of a large dam in a forested area. You followed the others out of the car and towards a metal, barred door that led into the inside of the dam’s facility; Captain America was assisting the redhead to walk as she clearly was in more pain than you could ever relate to. You felt as if you were going through an out of body experience, feeling like you had no control over your legs as they made you follow along. It was almost as if your brain was telling you that it was too late to turn back now.

Once inside the dark, damp innards of the dam, a man started to run to you guys, alert and awaiting confirmation.

Agent Hill quickly informed the man of the redheads and your conditions. “GSW, Natasha has lost at least a pint.”

“Maybe two.” Sam added, concern lacing his voice.

“This one doesn’t appear to be too hurt, but she’s clearly very shaken.” Agent Hill gestured to you.

“Let me take them!” The man responded in a helpful, but serious tone.

Before you could respond, Agent Hill did and held the man off briefly. “She’ll want to see him first.”

Not wanting to overstep any boundaries, you sucked it up and suppressed the pain and panic and followed Agent Hill as she led Captain America, Sam, you, and the now identified Natasha, into another room. Once you stepped into the room you saw a man with dark skin and an eye patch over his left eye lying in a hospital bed.

To your surprise, given the nature of the situation this man appeared to be in, he snarked, “About damn time.”

After settling down and having people attend to yours and Natasha’s injuries, the man (revealed to be called Director Nick Fury by the man caring for your shoulder) went on to describe the numerous injuries he has as well as the fact that he faked his death using something called Tetrodotoxin B which slowed his heartbeat down to one beat per minute. You got patched up and continued to listen to what Nick Fury had to say; seeing as you had nowhere else to go, you figured you might as well commit all the way.

You were filled in on the situation (some information was clearly omitted, not to your surprise as the whole thing seemed very confidential) as well as more formally introduced to the others on a name basis. The organization S.H.I.E.L.D has been compromised as members of a terrorist organization known as HYDRA have infiltrated and gained power within. Additionally, you learned about a project called ‘Project Insight’ made in order to take out threats to society before they could occur by the means of weaponized helicarriers and DNA and psychological evaluations and algorithms used as a targeting system. Under the influence of HYDRA, the project was planned to commence soon, something that would result in the deaths of thousands upon millions of people. While the group continued to converse, discussing what to be done, you backed into the corner of the room. Your whole reality felt like it was crashing down on you and that you were sinking. If this was something that had even Captain America nervous, it must be serious.

“Y/n,” Natasha gently yet sternly said, snapping you back into focus. “Are you okay? I mean, you didn’t even really have anything to do with this.”

“I...I’m not sure. I don’t know how I could be of any use-but it’s not like I have anywhere else to go now. They-whoever they are-know my face now. If I tried to back out of this, I’d just be walking into a trap or something.” You breathed, shakily. You felt tears welling up in your eyes as you felt more and more overwhelmed with each second that passed.

“Sorry to break it to you, but even if you don’t help us directly, we wouldn’t exactly be able to just let you walk out of here anyways.” Nick Fury added. “You know too much about this whole situation, as a civilian no less, to just let you get out of here at the moment.

Your heart sank into your stomach as you felt a lump in your throat form. You hadn’t even thought about that; even if they do manage to take down HYDRA and stop the helicarriers, there’s no saying that you’ll be free to go. The gaze of the other fell hot and heavy on your skin as they awaited your response.

“Nick, we can’t just keep her here like a prisoner… And we sure as hell can’t force her to join us!” Nat abruptly shouted as she stood, wincing a moment as she grasped her shoulder.

“Well that’s too damn bad.” Nick stood, “But unfortunately for her, she’s gonna have to stick around until at least we fix this situation.”

Natasha opened her mouth to respond, but you cut her off as you stood up as well. “He’s right, Ms. Romanoff. I can’t just go back out there. I’d be a sitting duck. Besides, who would I be to say no to helping the Captain America?” A strange and sudden surge of confidence filled you. You couldn’t even believe the words coming out of your own mouth and, based on the facial expressions the others made, they certainly weren’t expecting it either.

“Y/n, firstly, you can call me Natasha or Nat. Secondly, what do you think you’re doing? You can’t possibly be thinking of putting yourself at even more risk?” Natasha blurted.

“Yea, and you’re not really the ‘soldier’ type. You’d only get yourself killed. And I don’t want that.” Captain America, or Steve Rogers, added with a hint of solemnity.

“I mean, she did put up a pretty good fight on the overpass.” Sam chimed in with a snarky and mischievous smile plastered on his face. “And you better believe I’m coming to help too! Pass up an opportunity to help Captain America? I’d have to be even dumber than those HYDRA bastards.”

The room fell deathly silent for a moment as the look of deep thought took place on everyone’s faces. You fidgeted in place, nervous about what they were going to say, nervous about what would happen to you in either situation, nervous about the situation overall with the looming threat of weaponized helicarriers, and nervous about what kind of support you could even provide.

“Fine. Help if you want. But I can assure you no responsibility for anything that may or may not happen to you will fall on me.” Nick Fury finally responded, breaking the silence.

Steve looked as if he was about to object, but he instead held his tongue, turning to instead give you a grateful, yet concerned smile. Immediately, the air was filled with the sounds of planning. Nick Fury had three, large computer chips in a case that he displayed to all of you. Agent Hill went on to explain that, in order to prevent the helicarriers from being able to reign down their terror, each one would need to be infiltrated and have one of the chips inserted into the main system drive of each ship, disconnecting HYDRA’s control over them.

After the plan was set, you all had some breather time. Steve went outside for some fresh air, followed by Sam, while you remained inside to talk to Natasha.

“Hey Ms. Roma-I mean, Natasha.” You approached Natasha when she was on her own. “I was wondering if you could, maybe, just if you’re willing, to possibly… give me some pointers? I know you can’t give me the full training deal or anything with this limited time but… I want to be as useful as I can. If I’m going to get taken down, I don’t want to go down easily.”

A caring and gentle smile appeared on Natasha’s face, “Yea, sure. But before I show you anything, you have to tell me. Why are you so set on doing this? I mean, first you randomly jumped into a fight that wasn’t even your own, but now you’re going in further to infiltrate a high security compound to help take down a terrorist group. What’s your motivation?”

“I-I…” You took a deep breath, “I don’t know… I mean, I kinda do I guess? Okay, um, let me start from the beginning. Back in 2012, my whole world was shaken. I mean, it turns out, aliens and Norse gods exist apparently. And some aliens and one particular Norse god really had it out for us. I was on a trip in Stuttgart, Germany to visit an old friend of mine when he, or… well, Loki, appeared. I was in that crowd he had boxed in. I felt like I was trapped in a nightmare. When he commanded us to kneel, I hesitated. I didn’t want to give in to some random dictator, but then he shouted it, and I caved in.” You hesitated for a moment before continuing.

“After a little while, one, elderly man stood up, right next to me. He said he would not bow to men like Loki. I wanted to stand up too and remain strong, but I couldn’t move my legs. It’s like they were made of jelly.” As you continued recounting your experience, Natasha simply nodded, listening intently.

“That’s when Loki aimed his spear, scepter, thing, right at him. He said he was going to make an example out of him and a bright blue light began forming at the end of the scepter and then… well, and then he fired it right at the man. I was right there and I felt the power of it rushing towards us. I was too close to the man, I was going to get hit too. Right then, my life flashed before my eyes as I was paralyzed with fear. Suddenly, Captain America jumps down right in front of us, deflecting the beam right back at Loki with his shield.” Tears threatened to spill over your eyes, but you held them back to continue.

“He saved my life. Mine and many others. I was frozen there, in awe and fear at the same time. When the people started scattering, I stayed there. I felt so weak in comparison, I felt like I didn’t deserve for him to have saved me, seeing how cowardly I am. When he began fighting Loki, I suddenly snapped back into reality and ran to a safe distance from which I watched him fight. Even when Loki seemed to have the upper hand, Captain America never gave in. He fought until Iron Man showed up and together they took him down. Something changed in me that day. I resolved to never be the one who just stands to the side while others do the work, or to never be so helpless and in need of rescue. I got registered to carry a gun for self defense and I also took classes in self defense for the past year and a half. I mean, I’m no super soldier or fighter like you, but I can handle my own at least for a short time. I just feel like I need to help. Not only to make it up to Captain America, but to just do something, anything I can to help people in general.” You took a deep breath as you tried to calm your heartbeat down after revealing your story to Natasha.

“Well…” Natasha started as she placed a hand on your back, “guess we better get started on some training and practice!”

#winter soldier #avengers #captain america #fan fiction #fanfic #bucky fanfic #steve rogers #sam #falcon #falcon and the winter soldier #mcu #marvel #marvel cinematic universe

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moonflower-31 · 4 years

Text

Nightmares - Gabriel x Reader

No warnings, just keep in mind that I have not seen season 13 yet, so this is just my interpretation of Loki.

And also know, that this is based off the Norse Myths.

Characters: Gabriel and Loki, Dean and Sam (mentioned)

You couldn't sleep for the life of you. You tossed and you turned, you moaned and you groaned, but you couldn't get to sleep. The previous hunt had messed you up. The creature had decided that killing small children was it's favorite pass time. It was a shifter. It shifted into the children's parents before they would go and kill the poor kid. It just didn't sit right with you. Not to mention Gabriel had disappeared soon after they had finished the hunt, not leaving you any sort of explanation or mental note that he often sent you. That was the perk of having a pervy, mind reading archangel as a boyfriend.

To top it all off, your head was pounding, and you couldn't find relief in any of the painkillers or the semi-cold pillow you tried to cool your head off with.

You had curled up in your bed with Gabriel's red shirt on your frame, trying to focus on something other than your pounding skull and your sudden inability to sleep.

You climbed out of bed and yawned, stretching your limbs as you wandered to the nearest bathroom. Maybe a hot shower would help.

You climbed out of Gabriel's shirt for a moment and then began running the water, deciding last minute to turn the shower into a hot bath.

You couldn't help but worry about the archangel. He never usually played pranks on you. And when he did, it was never about making you think he had gotten hurt. Which at the current moment, wasn't far off from where your head was at.

You shook your head and stepped into the bathtub, sinking down into the water and closing your eyes. No sounds. No distractions. Just you, alone with your thoughts. How dangerous.

For being a hunter, the last hunt messed you up more than it should have. But who could blame you? Demons had possessed your parents and had tried to kill you, so the hunt had struck a nerve within you. Gabriel was the only one who knew about your past. Other than the Winchesters, obviously. They were the ones who exorcise your possessed parents, and offered you to come on the road with them when they ended up not surviving the exorcism. It had been the best decision of your life.

Gabriel met you soon after, being in hiding, of course. He was the janitor at Crawford Hall, and you had instantly felt something off about him. That he couldn't just be a trickster. Sam and Dean hadn't listened to you. Turns out, you had been right.

Gabriel had taken a liking to you from the very beginning. He liked flirting with you, making you blush, annoying the Winchesters with how obnoxious it often got.

At first, you didn't know how to react, and got flustered really easily. But over time, whenever the trickster and archangel was around, you grew to expect it. And a crush began forming around the flirting and the banter that began between you two.

A smile formed on your lips as you recalled how you had met the archangel, and how he had attached himself to you and your life ever since. Even when you took a small road trip away from the brothers when you had found out you still had family, Gabriel had managed to tag along.

The warm water gently moved over your bare body, slowly lulling you to a long awaited sleep.

When you opened your eyes inside your dream, everything was dark. The trees, the sky, even the sun. It was like someone had turned the contrast up on the world.

You wandered around the dreamscape, seeing nothing lifelike. The trees were barren, and the grass was pale. A harsh wind bustled by your ear and sent a roaring sound pounding through your head. Then the sound started to turn from incoherent roaring to... speech.

It sounded like someone crying for help. Someone familiar. But you couldn't figure out who.

So what do you do? You turn around, and walk towards the voice, despite the roaring wind that still persisted and hollered as it passed you.

As you grow nearer, the voice grows louder, and you can almost tell who it is. Its on the tip of your tongue, you could feel it. And then it hits you. Its Gabriel.

You take a few more steps forward before the scene in front of you changes, and you can suddenly see Gabriel.

Gabriel is being held up against a tall rock, being held there by ropes that were... of unidentifiable origins. His arms and legs were bound, and a snake was hoisted above him, venom dripping from it's fangs down towards his face.

Gabriel let out cries of pain as someone stands in front of him, staring him down. You couldn't hear what they were saying, but you knew by Gabriel's reaction, it wasn't good.

You immediately called out Gabriel's name, but he couldn't hear you. You raced forward and tried to rip the ropes off, but they wouldn't budge.

You cried oug in frustration, striking the rock in anger. You rushed to Gabriel's side, and found a bowl on the ground. It was then that you were able to see and hear the other figure, making you freeze when you saw him.

"So you want to be me? Huh? Wanna be in hiding? Well then you gotta take all the perks along with it. You look the part. Now you get all the punishments too." The man sneered, smirking as he stared at Gabriel.

The man looked exactly like Gabriel. All the way to the eyes and the hair. Yet he wore something more Scandinavian than what Gabriel wore. And his pupils were much more slender. It all suddenly hit you. This was Loki. The actual god of mischief that Gabriel had impersonated for his 'Witness Protection'.

Had this actually happened? Had Gabriel dealt with Loki's infamous punishment for killing Baldur?

Your heart ached at the possibility. You looked back up at Gabriel, watching as the venom dripped down and burned his eyes, making him cry out in pain. You immediately picked up the bowl and climb up to the top of the rock, holding the bowl over Gabriel's face, catching the falling venom, even for a second.

"I hope you enjoy all the perks, Feathers. You deserve 'em." Loki sneered, and then looked up. "Huh, maybe you are meant to copy me. You even got yourself a whore to collect the venom for you." Loki jabbed, winking at you. You almost lost your balance, seeing Gabriel below you finally staring up at you with a sad look in his now dull and reforming eyes.

You tried to speak, but nothing came out. Loki stepped forward and gripped your chin, making you squirm. Gabriel let out a growl from below you, making Loki smirk. He said nothing, and merely pressed a meaningless kiss to your lips, and forced your lips against his. It felt wrong. It was nothing like how Gabriel kissed you, despite his lips being the same as Gabriel's. It was lacking in love completely.

Then, suddenly, the bowl in which you had been collecting the venom in, was forcefully tipped over, covering Gabriel in the venom, making you cry out his name, praying over and over that he was okay. Gabriel had immediately let out a loud cry of agony, his limbs and body tensing in pain. Loki laughed maniacally at your terror, and suddenly all of your senses shifted, and you quickly sat up in the bath, having finally woken up from your terrible nightmare.

You skook terribly as you climbed out of the bathtub, draining the now lukewarm water. You wrapped a towel around you and grabbed Gabriel's shirt, carrying it off to your room.

You immediately dropped the towel once your door was closed, and pulled Gabriel's shirt over your head, wrapping your arms around yourself as you whispered a silent prayer to the archangel, just wishing for him to respond. For you to know he was okay and not with some evil, demonic demigod.

Soon a flutter of wings entered your peripheral of audio, and you immediately turned around and hugged the now present archangel.

"Woah! Sugar, I didn't expect a hug from you, especially this early in the morning." He joked, his arms wrapping around you.

You sniffled and pressed your face in the crook of his neck, fighting off the incoming tears.

Gabriel frowned, and began ro rub your back. "Hey... what happened Sugarplum?" He asks, wanting desperately to find out what made you cry, and smite it out of existence.

You sniffled again, and tightened a grip onto his shirt and jacket, not letting go of him. "I...I had a nightmare about you. I had to make sure you were okay..." you admitted through your quivering voice.

Gabriel sighed, squeezing you tighter against him. He kissed the top of your head, and just held you. He lifted you into his arms and carried you to bed, laying you down on the mattress before he climbed in beside you.

"Sugar...whatever it was, its not real. I promise. Im right here, aren't I?" Gabriel asked. You nodded, looking up at your boyfriend, staring into his whiskey colored eyes. He smiled in response. "Then you have no reason to fret. Cause Doctor Sexy is here to make it all better." He teases, booping your nose.

You let out a soft giggle, scrunching up your nose at the contact. Gabriel smiled at you, and looked you up and down, raising an eyebrow as he saw his shirt on you.

"Is that... my shirt?" He asks, laughing a bit at the tail end. You blushed a bit and wrapped your arms around yourself, pouting a bit.

"So what if it is?" You protested. Gabriel let out another laugh at that. His arms tightened around you, kissing your forehead again.

"All the more proof that you're mine." He says, smirking slyly as he held you close. You leaned your head against his chest, humming softly as you heard the soft thumping of his vessel's heart.

"I promise... I'll always be here Sugar. Even when I'm not." He assures, pressing his hand against the side of your head to encourage you to lay against him.

You smiled softly to yourself, and then closed your eyes again. This time, you knew the nightmares would come, but you'd have your archangel there to chase them away.

#supernatural #gabriel #spn fanfiction #gabriel x reader #fanfic #fanfiction #loki #gabriel x reader supernatural

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thepancakeboi · 4 years

Text

My Demons

Spoilers below for Persona 5, told from Goro Akechi’s POV directed at Ren/Joker, written based off the lyrics of “My Demons” by Starset (the lyrics themselves are colored red). Starset is definitely one of my favorite bands of all time and after the sad-fest that was Liar, my “Goro Akechi isn’t dead” mindset had to write a sequel. So here it is in the beautiful, glorious mess that it is meant to be because...well, I’ll explain it at the end.

Starts on December 16th with each break being a time skip to the next day.

“Mayday! Mayday! Abandon ship!”

I barely repress a maniacal chuckle as shadows and cognitions alike run, bleating like the lost sheep they are. The grin spread wide across my face is the only crack in my otherwise calm facade. Wait, why are they panicking again? Oh, that’s right. The ship is slowly sinking around them. This chaos isn’t my doing, as far as I’m aware, but I bask in its glory. This is the chaos I had sought to bring to reality before...

Before what? What has changed? Was it...the fight against you, Joker, and your band of thieves? It’s the last thing I remember vividly. Sae’s Palace, the betrayal, shooting...you, finding out you were still alive and that you must be making a move on Masayoshi Shido, all of it leading up to this grand finale: the showdown between the former ace detective and the Phantom Thieves. I know why we fought. I had truly thought that I needed to eliminate everything in my way to get my revenge, no matter the cost. They think I'm crazy but they don't know the feeling of having everything you worked for so hard to be both so tantalizing close yet crumbling down into pieces. Their words meant nothing to me...at least, that’s what I had led everyone to believe. You, however, saw through the act, at least, I think you did. Even if your stupid feelings for me kept getting in the way at every turn, you were always one step ahead of me until the end where the wall separated us.

They're all around me, Shido’s cognition of me and the shadows ready to tear me apart should he lose to himself. Surrounding me, circling like vultures waiting for their next meal: Goro Akechi, the bastard son of this ship’s “captain”. They want to break me and wash away my colors from this world and the real one, but I refuse to go down without a fight. I face myself, our bullets fire, and-

That’s...the last thing I remember.

Everything else is a blur. I haven’t been able to think clearly since that fateful moment. My memory, usually so immaculate and infallible, has been failing me. I can’t recall anything, least of all how I survived. Had I fought tooth and nail through the hordes of enemies, desperate to survive another day? Did I perhaps summon Loki from the dredges of my waning strength in a last-ditch effort to destroy Shido’s plans for me? Or had I collapsed from exhaustion and been left for dead when I still had some sliver of life left in me? I find that I don’t know the answer to that question. All I know is that I’m still here, on this cruise ship from hell, feeling like I have nowhere else to go. In a sense, they did wash away my colors, and now all that’s left is my true self. The me I’ve been hiding for so long that it feels unreal.

It’s almost...freeing.

If only you could see me as I am. You could take me high and I'll sing like a canary of what I had done. I’d tell you of every little thing that led us to that moment. Maybe that’s what pushes me to make my way off the ship because I’m just now realizing that...

Oh, you make everything okay.

Okay...

Okay. Just a little bit further. My wounds from before make for a slow, painful escape but, through either some miracle or curse, I find myself back in the real world. I don’t stick around. I know you likely weren’t far behind, and I don’t really want you to see me like this: broken, hurt, and with no one to turn to.

I crash on my bed, finally able to rest after my agonizing escape. Normally, I would welcome the pain to keep my mind from going places I didn’t want. Not even this pain is enough to stop my thoughts straying to you. Even now, you’re just as distracting as ever. We are one in the same, similar in almost every way except for one: our ability to cope with our situation. I caused you so much pain and trouble, and despite what you said back there, I can’t bring myself to believe any of it could be true. But...you take all of the pain away.

Away...

Away is where I need to go. You wanted to save me, yet you can’t.

Even if I want you to save me if I become my demons.

—————

I wake up in confusion. How did I get here? Where was Shido’s palace and why was I not there? How-

I wonder if I cannot stop this sickness taking over. Something is clearly wrong with me if I don’t even remember yesterday clearly. Was it even yesterday? I don’t know. I think I escaped Shido’s palace, but I don’t remember how. Whatever it is that is afflicting my mind, it takes control and drags me into nowhere. It’s frustrating, not being able to remember.

I do remember one thing clearly: you.

You wanted to save me. I wouldn’t let you. I still won’t let you, even if-

I need your help. I don’t want your pity or any cliche bullshit. I don’t even want your damn forgiveness. I just want...

You.

—————

I wake up in confusion. How did I get here? Where was Shido’s palace and why was I not there? How am I alive? What-

I...think I remember reflecting on these lost memories before? I feel like I’ve pondered this, but I’m not quite sure. Whatever it is that is afflicting my mind, I can't fight this forever. In a spur of the moment decision, I turn the television on. What I see shocks me.

Masayoshi Shido, my father, is confessing to his evil deeds.

You...You actually did it. You...kept your promise. A sense of relief overtakes me. Everything is finally over. I’m free from his influence at long last.

Are you seeing what I’m seeing? Why am I even asking? I know you're watching, for you wouldn’t miss this moment for the world.

I can feel you out there, somewhere in the crowd...

—————

I wake up in confusion. How did I get here? Where was Shido’s palace and why was I not there? How am I alive? What happened regarding Shido? Did-

Didn’t something important happen...? I pull out my phone, hoping for some clue as to what has occurred. It’s apparently December 19th. Odd...I don’t remember the last...four days? Or is it five? Shit, I don’t remember-

Wait a minute...yesterday...didn’t...didn’t Shido confess his crimes? No one...no one’s mentioning it outside of lamenting Shido’s “poor health” or some bullshit like that. How could they acquit him so easily!? There’s also no mention of the psychotic breakdowns or mental shutdowns, or, more accurately, that I was the perpetrator. The thought of that makes me laugh. I’m almost tempted to go and turn myself in if only to do something regarding the piece of shit I had for a father. They could take me high and I'll sing of everything I did for that bastard.

I can’t, though. Not yet...it would be too hasty and reckless. I suspect Sae-san is putting together a case against Shido at this very moment. She wouldn’t be the type to let this slide so easily.

I...wonder what you’re thinking about all of this. All of your fighting, and for what? The public to ignore you? Oh, I know you though. You make everything okay.

Okay?

Hahah...okay. What a strange thought. It feels familiar though. Have I thought about this before? I don’t recall...

—————

I wake up in confusion. How did I get here? Where was Shido’s palace and why was I not there? How am I alive? What happened regarding Shido? Did everything go according to your plan? Where-

Have...I asked myself this before? Something doesn’t feel right.

We are one in the same, two sides of the same coin, thesis and antithesis as I had remarked all those months ago. It’s funny how my thoughts immediately drift to you. I guess I cannot help myself. I really did mean what I was thinking back then. I truly had planned on dying for you because...I love you. Oh, it’s hard to admit that. But you take all of the pain away.

Away...why am I staying away from you?

I want to find you and find out what you think of this situation, but why should I bother? I’m not worth a second of your time. You’re the hero, and I’m little more than a nuisance who realized too late that he was doomed from the start. My pride refuses to admit it out loud, but...I want you to save me if I become my demons. I need you to take me over the walls below, the walls I had built to distance myself from you. I want little more than to fly forever with you.

You probably think I’m dead. Maybe I should keep it that way. I don’t want you worrying over me, yet I also want to feel your warm, comforting embrace. I...I’m not sure what I should do. All I can ask of you is please don't let me go, for I need a savior to heal my pain when I become my worst enemy.

I don’t want to betray your trust ever again. I don’t want to be the enemy of the Phantom Thieves...of you.

—————

I wake up in confusion. How did I get here? Where was Shido’s palace and why was I not there? How am I alive? What happened regarding Shido? Did everything go according to your plan? Where are you? Why-

There’s this sense of deja vu in the back of my mind...like I’ve asked myself these questions before. It’s an unnerving sensation because I don’t remember if I have.

You could take me high and I'll sing like a canary of what I had done. I’d tell you of every little thing that led us to-

Wait a second. This sounds familiar. I know I’ve had this thought before, but the “when” or the “why” eludes me. I wonder if you would know. The thought of walking over to Leblanc almost gets me to leave my room for the first time in...however many days. I chuckle at my own foolish longing. I’m supposed to be dead. A dead man can’t just walk into the cafe of the rival who thinks he’s forever gone. Would you even want me there? I don’t know. All I know is that you make everything okay for me.

We are one in the same, two people locked by fate in situations we cannot escape, but while I cause misery wherever I go, you take all of the pain away.

—————

Shit, I thought I was remembering something. For a moment, I...I could have sworn there was some fragment of my memories I could latch onto.

Take me high and I'll sing... Wait, haven’t I had this thought before? The memories feel so close to clarity, but I either can’t or don’t want to remember.

Oh, you make everything okay...okay, okay? This is familiar too...but why?

I give up on trying to remember, for now. Instead, I let my thoughts drift to the one person that ever made me truly happy: you. Ren Amamiya, a simple transfer student who just happens to have a false criminal background. Akira Kurusu, a name I’ve seen you use a few times in more...dangerous situations. Joker, the charming and daring leader of the infamous Phantom Thieves of Hearts. Pick whatever name you’d prefer me to call you; they’re all the same raven-haired beauty who caught my interest that fateful day in June. We are one in the same...more than I can ever imagine. We’re stuck in whatever sick, cruel game the universe is playing with us. I really hope you can escape it because I know I sure as hell can’t. At least...not without your help...

Oh, you take all of the pain away...away, away-damnit, I thought I had it!

Am I...going insane? Am I remembering things that didn’t happen, thoughts that never existed? All of this is just so frustrating! Shit, do I need you so badly right now, if only to verify my own memories are real. I need you...need you to save me if I become my demons.

Speaking of demons, didn’t Shido confess...? A scandal like this would be all over the news, but there’s...nothing. I can barely contain my fury. Is the public really this foolish? I knew before that the judicial system had its corruption, but how can people be so complacent? They should be in an uproar!

So how the fuck have they not convicted him yet!?

—————

This last question breaks through the fog that has become my memories. For the first time, I feel like I’m thinking clearly. I...don’t remember anything before our fight, but...I feel like I’m not going to forget anything anymore. I may not remember when I said I wanted you to take me high and I'll sing but now it’s not important, because oh you make everything okay. And for once, I truly mean it. You made my life feel like everything could be okay.

Okay, so why is everyone saying all the changes of heart were psychological disorders? That the Phantom Thieves...never existed? Bullshit!

We are one in the same. No one remembers us. Either that or no one seems to care.

I know you won’t let this hold you back. If there’s one thing I know about you, it’s that you take all of the pain away, away from your targets, away from me. And now you’ll have to save all of society from their inept laziness. I still need you to save me if I become someone I don’t want to be, but right now there are greater things at stake. Shido has to be brought down, and justice has to be served. Even if it spells my own downfall.

I’ve made up my mind. I’ll go find you tomorrow. Surely you wouldn’t turn me away on Christmas Eve...right? I just hope you won’t reject me before I become consumed by my demons.

Alright so the explanation behind this bullshit, and the reason it’s a bit...repetitive with each day. So in the game, if you’re paying enough attention they make it very clear that the victims of the psychotic breakdowns do not remember committing the crimes/actions that they did.

Now remember who ended up using that same power on himself during the fight against him.

I’d go more in depth than that, but that starts getting into even deeper spoilers for things I haven’t actually experienced in the game myself.

#this is a mess #but it's a mess on purpose #does that make not a mess then?#source: starset #persona 5 fic #fanfic written with lyrics #p5 #persona 5 #p5r #persona 5 royal #goro akechi #akechi #ren amamiya #akira kurusu #p5 joker #akeshu #shuake #my demons starset

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reidingandwriting · 4 years

Text

The Archer

Word Count: ~3200 words

Ship: Clint Barton x Stark!Sister, Tony Stark x Stark!Sister (brotherly/platonic role) Loki x Stark!Sister (platonic) Natasha x Stark!Sister (platonic)

Warnings: Language, a few moments of an unhealthy relationship, a tiny bit of violence

A/N: This was requested by @stellastyless, I hope you like it!! I’ve never done a fic focused on Clint as a major character, so I hope I portrayed him well 🥺 This was my first request, I hope I didn’t let you down, darling! This one is not reader-insert due to a requested character!

✨ Masterlist ✨

Katanas: twin swords

Scabbard: sheath for swords

As the younger sister of Tony Stark, you spent the last few years of your life with the superhero team called the Avengers. You had your brother’s personality and where he excelled in the sciences, you excelled in fighting. You weren’t an enhanced individual nor did you have a special suit like many of the other members of the team, but with your agility, intelligence, and skill with your katanas, you were a valuable member to the team. You got along with the Avengers pretty well, except for one person: Clint Barton. To put it nicely, you had an interesting relationship with the archer known as Hawkeye. Truthfully? You considered each other rivals.

Your personalities were too similar, both fought for dominance. Every sarcastic remark and sassy quip you made knew how to rub Clint the wrong way. You were just as stubborn as your older brother, the true mark of a Stark, and your temper wasn’t much better. Tony figured it would take some for the two of you to learn to tolerate each other, but even after years of working together, the love-hate relationship you two shared leaned very close towards hatred more than love. And god forbid you two disagree on anything.

“Tonight!”

“Tomorrow!”

“Tonight!” You slammed your palm on the table, brown eyes narrowed as you held eye contact with Clint.

“My god, does it matter? It’s literally movie night, it isn’t that serious.” Tony groaned. “Brucey, I know I said I’m sober, but they’re about to drive me to drinking again.”

***

“I told you to go left!” Clint’s voice sounded through the comms, and you rolled your eyes. You lifted your hand to your ear, speaking.

“I’m sorry, Cap. I must have missed the debriefing where we decided Clint was the boss of me.” The sarcasm dripped from your tongue and you heard the familiar strangled groan fill your ears.

“Can we continue the lovers spat later, please? Maybe at a time we aren’t on a battlefield? Barton, Romanoff needs covering. Stark, board the quinjet, I’ve sent my coordinates to Banner. He’s waiting for you, I’ll need backup. Can we handle that?”

“On it.”

***

On the other end of your relationship, you had each other’s backs. No one was allowed to beat on Barton except for you and vice versa. You two were both skilled with your weapons, and you often trained together. You were the first person he’d come to after a mission, and you did the same. During weekly movie nights, you always found yourself settled into the couch beside him, a blanket draped over both of your laps, sharing a bowl of popcorn. Quit hogging the popcorn, you ass! To mend Tony’s ego, you sometimes sat beside your brother, but your gaze was often drawn to Clint. The peaceful moments between you two were seldom, but much enjoyed- by you two and everyone else in the compound.

“Damn. You made it back after all.” You stood in the hangar, hands on your hips as you watched the battered team come out of the jet.

“Couldn’t leave my favorite Stark without giving her this.” Clint reached in his pocket and you watched as he pulled his hand out, showing you his middle finger. You shot him a glare, but the playful smirk on your lips showed your true emotions.

“Tones, take him back wherever you came from. I enjoyed the silence without him.” Tony’s laughter followed and he stepped ahead of Clint, pulling you into his arms. You hugged him back tightly, sticking your tongue out at Clint who lightly brushed shoulders with you as he walked into the compound.

***

“Barton.” Your voice echoed through the empty living room, your footsteps silent as you approached the man sitting on the couch. “You were supposed to meet me outside half an hour ago. I didn’t get dolled up,” you gestured to your outfit consisting of athletic shorts and a sports bra, “to be stood up.”

“Sorry.” Clint wringed his hands together, brows slightly furrowed in a grimace as he looked up at you. “Hands have been killing me lately, nothing’s been helping.” You frowned and silently sat on the floor in front of him. You took his left hand in yours and gently rubbed your thumb over his knuckles. “What are you-”

“What’s it look like? Massaging your hands.” You gave him a ‘duh’ expression, applying light pressure as you massaged each knuckle and down his hand. “You may be one of the best archers I’ve ever met, but you aren’t immune to wear and tear on the old joints. It’s not a cure by any means, but it can temporarily help ease the pressure in your hands.” You explained as you continued, switching to his right hand a few moments later.

“Aww, you do care.” Clint teased. He paused for a second before speaking again. “Thank you, by the way. You didn’t have to do this.”

“I know.” You offered him a small smile before looking back down. “But it won’t be nearly as fun annoying you if you’re in too much pain to fight me back.”

“You truly are something else, Stark.”

***

You two also worked together on missions fluidly, as if you were one. You could anticipate his moves before he even made them, and he brought in different perspectives that you never would have seen. You often took the lead in missions, and Clint trusted your decisions- these things made Fury partner you up together more often than not. You were on another mission now, collecting information on a possible new weapon of mass destruction being created by one of the few remaining HYDRA bases.

“There’s our guy.” Clint’s voice spoke through your comms and you brushed your hair over your shoulder, speaking into the earpiece.

“Copy that. I’ll give you the signal once it’s safe for you to pass.” You held your head high as you walked to the HYDRA agent standing guard, clad in a disguise made to look like the HYDRA uniform. You were there to distract the agent guarding the hall while Clint gathered all the files regarding the new weapon.

“Excuse me! What are you doing down here?” The agent took in your face. “I haven’t seen you before.”

“I’m sorry, sir.” You tucked a loose strand of hair behind your ear, standing inches away from him. “I’ve been at a different base for most of my time here. My director sent me here, and I had to learn from the best.” You rested your hand on his arm, sending him a smile. “You’re Spiel, right?”

“You’ve heard of me?” His accent was thick and his brows were furrowed.

“Of course! We all have. The moment I found out you were working where I was, I insisted that I get to learn from someone who was the best, and everyone says that would be you.” The agent’s lips curved into a smug smile, and you knew you had him distracted as he turned to face you. You sent the subtle signal to Clint, and Clint silently made his way down the hall and into the room with the new HYDRA files. You continued to flirt with the agent and minutes later, you heard the archer’s voice faintly through your earpiece.

“I’ve got the files we need. I’ll meet you at the extraction point, I’m stepping in if I don’t see you in five.” You looked up at the guard, noticing how much closer he got during your conversation. You tried to excuse yourself, giving him some bullshit excuse, stopping as his hand grabbed your shoulder.

“How about we meet for drinks tomorrow night? I’d love to hear all the stories you’ve heard about me.” The arrogant smirk on his face made you want to scoff, but you gave him an award winning smile.

“Why not tonight?” The man opened his mouth to speak, stopping when you both heard Clint’s voice.

“There you are, darling!” You could see the fire in Clint’s eyes and you assumed it was from how close the guard was to you. Recognition took over the guard’s face and he began to call for backup as Clint grabbed him, knocked him out, and let his body slide down the wall. “Sweet dreams.” And with that, Clint walked out of the base with you and you boarded the quinjet, going back to the compound you called home.

———

“Barton! Can I talk to you for a minute?” Steve asked as he walked into the gym. Clint looked up at Steve and nodded. Clint walked over and stopped in front of him.

“What’s up, Cap?”

“I was wondering if you’d like to teach Stella archery. She’s expressed interest in learning, and I thought you could teach her. If you don’t want to, I can find someone who will teach her.” Steve added when he sensed hesitation in Clint’s body language.

“No, no, no. I can handle it. Besides, bringing someone new in?” Clint shook his head. “I can teach her.”

“Great. I’ll go tell her while you get ready.” As Steve walked off, Clint sighed to himself.

“What have you gotten yourself into?”

———

“Okay, Stella.” Clint spoke and stood beside you. “Nock the bow.” You felt for the notch in the arrow and lined it up with the bow. “Good. Now, draw.” You lifted the bow into position, pulling the bowstring back. “Wait.” You rolled your eyes as Clint stopped you again.

“You sure are saying wait a lot, but I don’t see you helping me.” You snapped, your frustration evident. You had been practicing with Clint for what felt like hours, but every time you went to release the arrow, you were stopped. “Can you help me? Please?” Clint’s face softened at your ‘please’ and he walked over immediately.

“Here.” Clint’s chest was so close to your back, you could feel the heat radiating off him. His hands rested on yours, guiding your hands into the correct position. Your hands tingled at the touch and while it felt odd, it also felt sort of nice? “Now, release.” You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding before releasing the arrow. Bullseye.

“I did it!” You threw your arms around Clint, surprising yourself and him. Clint hesitated before hugging you back, smiling wide.

“You did amazing, Stella.” Clint hugged you tight once more before letting you go. He opened his mouth to speak again but his gaze drifted towards Natasha a few feet away. Natasha was sparring with Steve and Clint glanced at Stella again. “I’ll be right back, Stark.” Stella watched as Clint walked to Natasha and you felt a weird feeling in the pit of your stomach. You shook your head and faced the targets and tried to focus on your archery practice. After your gaze repeatedly went to Clint, you sighed and walked over to Clint and Natasha.

“Nat. Can I borrow Barton for a minute?” You called out as Natasha took a drink from her water bottle. She waved her hand, sending Clint over with you. “Sorry for stealing you. I think I need some more help.” Your tone was apologetic and Clint smiled at you.

“Of course, Stel. Let’s try again.”

———

Everyone thought you and Clint had made progress during your archery lessons, but the peace was very short-lived. You sat on a bench in Tony’s workshop, hands gesturing wildly as you talked about the fight you and Clint had after a mission the other day.

“I swear, it's like you have a death wish!” Clint paced as you sat on a bed in the med bay, getting a wound in your side treated. “I told you to stay put, but you didn’t. And now look at you!”

“I’m fine, Clint.” The nonchalant tone in your voice only furthered Clint’s anger. “I moved out of the way in time, and I don’t need you or anyone else babysitting me. I get enough of that from Tony, thank you.”

“Clearly not enough, or you wouldn’t be here. What if you hadn’t moved? What if you would have been alone? You could have died, Stark.”

“But I didn’t, Barton. So calm the hell down.” Clint stormed out after that, and you didn’t see him for the rest of the day.

And let’s not forget the fist-fight he recently got in because of you.

“Clint! Get off him!” You jumped off the barstool, Natasha and you pulling Clint off a man at the other end of the bar. Natasha sent the man a glare cold enough to freeze a desert and he scampered away, blood dripping from his nose and eye swollen shut. You grabbed Clint’s arm, dragging him out through the back of the bar. “What the hell was that?”

“He was being a damn pervert. The black eye ought to teach him a lesson if the bloody nose doesn’t.” You sighed, running your fingers through your hair.

“I heard him, I know he deserved it. But you can’t just start fights with every drunk in a bar that makes inappropriate comments about me, Nat, or anyone. They aren’t worth it.” You looked down at his hands and frowned. “Those need to be disinfected and wrapped when we’re back. Let’s get Red and we can leave.”

***

Natasha wrapped Clint’s hands, letting him rant as she listened silently. When he stopped, she spoke.

“You like her.” Clint’s eyes widened and he stammered.

“W-what are you talking about? Me and Stella? As if.” Clint protested and Natasha shook her head fondly, smirking to herself.

“You’ve never been in a bar fight for me.” Natasha said.

“You can handle yourself.” Clint responded.

“And she can’t?” Natasha countered.

“I didn’t say that!” Clint exclaimed.

“You kind of did.” Clint groaned and stood up.

“You’re impossible. I’m going to bed.” Natasha sent him an over-friendly wave and Clint shot her the middle finger as he left.

“Clueless, the both of them. Completely and utterly clueless.”

———

“Tony! Are you even listening?” You groaned, your brother’s gaze never leaving his project.

“I’ll be honest, I tuned out everything after ‘Barton.’ But on the bright side, your ranting makes great background noise.” Tony held up the finished product, wincing at the glare you were sending him. “I know you’re frustrated, kid. Have you talked to him about it?” You paused for a moment before scoffing, and you hopped off the bench.

“Talking, yeah. That fixes everything.” You walked towards the door.

“Stella.” You stopped as Tony called out your name. “I’m serious. Maybe he doesn’t see that he’s acting like a babysitter more than your teammate. Consider talking to him. If that doesn’t work, I’m sure Reindeer Games has ideas.” You rolled your eyes at the nickname your brother gave Loki.

“Loki always has ideas.” You stepped out of the lab, calling out a goodbye to Tony as you walked to the elevator. “FRI, to Loki’s floor, please.”

“As you wish, Ms. Stark.” As you made your way up to Loki’s room to continue the conversation you started with Tony, you knew you had to talk to Clint sooner or later. Later will have to work, you thought as you walked into Loki’s bedroom. Early the next morning, unknown to you and Clint, your brother and best friends were scheming in the living room.

***

“As much as I hate the idea of my sister dating Legolas, their game of who can be more oblivious is really getting old.” Tony spoke before he took a drink of coffee, sat on the couch with Natasha and Loki.

“We’ve tried everything.” Natasha leaned back against the couch, frustrated. “We’ve had them train exclusively with each other. They always go on missions together, and we’ve left them alone in the compound more times than I can count. They’re both too stubborn to make the first move.” A lightbulb went off in Loki’s head, and he spoke up.

“There is one thing we could do.” Loki explained his plan, and the three agreed to execute it as soon as possible.

———

“Anthony Edward Stark, you asshole! Let me out of this damn room!” You pounded against the door, FRIDAY’s voice responding.

“I apologize, Miss Stark. The room has been soundproofed, no one can hear you.” You cursed up at the ceiling.

“The second I’m out of here, I’m kicking his ass.” You grumbled and Clint rolled his eyes.

“Listen, I’m not happy about this either, but yelling isn’t doing anything. Neither is your complaining. Can we just talk so they can let us out?” You spun towards Clint, an anger in your eyes he hadn’t seen in a long time.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know I wasn’t allowed to be irritated without your approval. I’ll be sure to schedule it next time.” Clint stalked towards you, neither of you backing down.

“Why are you always so difficult?”

“I could ask you the same question, Barton.”

“Because you act like a child, Stark!”

“You make me act that way!”

“And there we go again.” Clint’s eyes narrowed. “Why can’t you accept responsibility instead of pushing the blame onto everyone else?” You growled, going to shove his chest but his hands wrapped around your wrists, stopping you. Your strength wavered when you spoke again.

“Why can’t you treat me like we’re equals?” Clint froze, surprised at the 180 you had made. “You act like you’re above me, like I really am some child you have to babysit instead of an equal member of the team.”

“I… I didn’t know you felt that way. I never meant to make you feel like that, and I’m sorry for treating you like I was above you. I’ve never considered you to be below me, Stella. You’re such an important part of this team, and you’re important to me- us. You’re important to all of us.” Clint had calmed down by now, and you stood inches apart.

“I know you didn’t mean to. I just, it frustrated me that you treated me like I was a kid. Because I really like you, and I thought you hated me.” Your eyes widened when you realized your slip-up. “I didn’t mean to say that. Or didn’t mean that. You know how I get when I get worked up, I go on and on and-” You were cut off by Clint’s lips meeting yours, and you melted into his touch as you kissed him back. You two were interrupted by the sounds of Natasha and Loki cheering over the intercom, and your brother making sounds of disgust. You laughed and looked up at Clint.

“I really like you too, Stella. If our meddling friends let us out, we can change and maybe go out for dinner?” The door clicked open and you two ran out of the room, off to your rooms to get ready for your first of many dates.

Taglist: @daughter-of-stark @agent-barnes40 @spideygirl2003 @ditttiii @5aftermidnight @stellastyless ❤️ Taglist and requests are OPEN!

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