#because kid loki opens his mouth to ask about how there can be 1 throne but both born for it and he CLOSES HIS MOUTH

[worstloki]

To get you ranting again, explain how loki was abused by Odin please

bold of you to expect a rant

[wrenhyperfixates]

Loki Odinson’s Guide on How to Woo a Noble

Chapter 2: The Feeling of Friendship

Pairing: Loki x reader Summary: Now that Loki made a good first impression, you became fast friends. Determined to get a day out of the palace, you and Loki sneak into the nearby village for some fun. Warnings: fluff, fluff, and fluff (did I mention fluff?) A/N: Just more young Loki and his crush. There’s references to the first chapter in this, but I realized you could probably read it as a oneshot if you really wanted. Anyway, one more chapter to go in my first attempt at a miniseries. As always, my lovely readers, I hope you enjoy :) Chapter 1 | Chapter 3 | Epilogue

Disclaimer: Gif not mine

About a month after that night in the gardens, Loki once again found himself brooding in a tree. This time, however, it had nothing to do with you. Odin had left earlier that morning for a diplomatic mission to Alfheim, taking only one of his sons with him. Needless to say, it wasn’t Loki. The young god couldn’t fathom his father’s decision to bring Thor and not him when his brother was so reckless and brutish. Deep down, Loki knew it was because the Allfather was grooming his eldest to take the throne, but it wasn’t fair. Loki was still in the running to become king, but he’d never win if he wasn’t given the same opportunities as that oaf.

Loki sighed. He was aware of the fact that it wasn’t Thor’s fault he’d been left behind, but he still felt angry at his brother. After all, it was doubtful he spoke up on Loki’s behalf. With nothing else to do, Loki began to practice the latest spell his mother had taught him. Focusing on the energy in the air, he pictured what he wanted to happen. One deep breath later, he’d successfully produced a ball of light in his hand, a trick that would be useful the next time he was sneaking around in the servant passages. The next part was considerably harder to accomplish as it required much more control, but Loki was determined to feel like he was good at something. Slowly, he produced the desired effect, and the light began to pulse in his hands.

“Hey, Loki! Come down here!” you called, pulling him from his fixation on his spell and causing the light to fade away.

“Hello,” he replied, swinging off the branch he was seated on with impressive agility. “How did you know where to find me?”

“Simple. I just followed the pulsating ball of light. Not to mention you seem to have a thing for sitting in trees.”

You both laughed at that, and he felt a light blush color his cheeks. After the stargazing, Loki assumed that you’d be friendly to him when you passed each other in the halls of the palace, but was pleasantly surprised when it went beyond that. You’d begun to actively seek him out and, sure enough, had found him in a tree quite a few times. He wasn’t exactly sure when that habit started. He just knew that it was one of the best places to avoid people. Luckily, you happened to look up often. Or, perhaps, you were specifically searching for him among the twisted branches. Either way, the fact that you initiated conversations gave Loki the confidence to do the same. Soon, walks in the garden became a weekly occurrence. He was certain no one else knew yet, for if they did, it would surely be the subject of much gossip. Not to say that you were actually courting each other, though. It was merely friendship.

“Fair enough, I suppose. Where are you going?” he inquired, noticing the cloak you wore over suspiciously casual clothing.

“I think the better question is where are we going?”

“Ok, fine. You still haven’t answered the question, though,” he persisted as you started off down the path.

“Into town, obviously. Which reminds me, you’ll be needing this.”

You pulled out another cloak from a satchel that was hidden by the flowing cashmere fabric of your own. You were met with a hesitant look from Loki when you held it out to him.

“Are you sure about this? It seems ill-advised that we go out unaccompanied. Besides, that might clash with my outfit,” he mused, examining the cloak.

“Relax. We’ll be fine,” you reassured him. “Plus, the whole point is that we’ll look inconspicuous. No one will even notice what you’re wearing. Not to mention you look good in anything.”

You slapped a hand over your mouth once the words you’d just said registered in your mind. Though you hadn’t meant to say that last part out loud, it was exactly the push Loki needed to agree. Anyway, he never could resist a chance to stir up a little mischief. Walking side-by-side, the two of you made sure to stay quiet as to avoid detection from someone who could stop your plans. Eventually, you reached the wall surrounding the palace, but much to Loki’s confusion, not the part where the gate was.

“You are aware that there is no exit here, correct?” he inquired, though he was certain that you had some trick up your sleeve.

“Haha, very funny. This is where you come into play. Can you magic us out of here?”

Loki frowned for two reasons. For one, he wasn’t confident enough in his ability to get one person to the other side, let alone two. For another, what if that was the only reason you’d invited him to tag along? Not only would that mean you didn’t actually want his company, but he was also positive he’d let you down.

“If that is the only reason you have asked me to come along, I apologize, but I will have to disappoint you. Teleportation is not exactly my strong suit,” he admitted, eyes locked on the ground.

“Loki, gosh, I thought you knew. I seek you out because I like spending time with you. If you’re really not comfortable using your magic, that’s ok,” you consoled him as you stepped closer. “We can figure something else out. I do believe in you, though. All you have to do is get us to the other side of the wall, not into the village or anything like that.”

Loki bit his lip and stole a quick glance at you. He felt ashamed that he’d let his insecurities show to you, of all people. But, ignoring that for a minute, it felt good to hear you say you enjoyed his companionship. And you believed in him and his ability, which was another rare thing. Now, he had practiced teleportation before with some success. Well, that is, if you could count moving two inches as success. The wall before him was, what, nine maybe ten feet? Then he’d have to add an extra foot or two to ensure a safe landing. You were looking at him expectantly, already forming a plan in your mind in case you had to get past the guards.

“I can do it,” Loki decided, shaking out his doubts and squaring his shoulders.

“Perfect!” you squealed in delight. “Ok, let’s do this.”

“Just a couple of things if this is going to work. We need to stand as close to the wall as possible. And well, um, we are going to have to hold hands,” he added sheepishly.

“Oh! I-I mean, yeah. Of course. If that’s uh, a thing that has to happen then, sure. Yeah,” you rambled and looked away as you offered him your hand.

Once you interlocked fingers, Loki grinned at the familiar feeling. It took him right back to that perfect night that had led to this moment. Though he never knew why, Loki had always run on the cold side, so the warmth emanating from your palm was extremely welcome. He offered you a shy smile, which you returned with an encouraging one. He shut his eyes and furrowed his brows. You were careful not to make a noise, understanding the intense concentration he’d need to accomplish this task, something that he appreciated.

Loki started just as his mother had taught him, picturing the place he was trying to get to. He imagined the lush, green grass on the other side of the obstacle keeping you from your destination. Next, he focused on the distance he needed to travel. Once he had a clear image in his mind, the young god took a deep breath and prepared to complete his most impressive feat to date. That is, if he could actually accomplish it. A gentle feeling of wind passed by him, accompanied by the tingling sensation of his magic.

“Loki! You did it,” you cheered, pulling your hand away from his to throw a hug around his shoulders.

He slowly opened his eyes and embraced you, too. Now that he’d succeeded, he allowed himself to acknowledge the fact that, had he messed up, you could both be dead right now. Needless to say, the thought caused him to shake a little. That was soon replaced, though, when he realized that you were still hugging each other. You must have also noticed because you pulled away and nervously shifted your weight from side to side.

“We should probably get going now,” you said, starting to walk in the direction of the village.

Loki nodded and followed you with a dorky grin on his face. He was starting to be thankful that his father left him in Asgard. Unfortunately, remembering that did sour his mood, but he did his best to hide it. After all, he didn’t want to ruin his time with you. He’d almost entirely forgotten about it by the time you reached the houses on the edge of town. The two of you pulled up the hoods of your cloaks and joined the flow of people in the streets. That was when Loki realized he had no idea what exactly you planned on doing here.

“Well, what now?” he whispered to you, eyes shifting from side to side, expecting to be caught any second.

“Now, we shop! And don’t look so nervous, we’ll be fine.”

Eyes shining with excitement, you grabbed Loki by the wrist and pulled him into the busy marketplace. For once in his life, Loki decided to relax and enjoy himself. Besides, it’s not like anyone would be paying attention to him. As far as they knew, he was just another common kid running around. Granted, he might look a little more lost than anyone else milling in the streets. From the way you expertly navigated in the crowd, Loki could tell this was not the first time you’d been here. It wouldn’t surprise him if you also snuck out when your family spent time in your manor, which was even closer to the village than the palace was.

There were many potent perfumes and scented oils at the booths of the market square, filling the air with their heavenly aromas. They were starting to make Loki’s head feel a little foggy by the time you finally paused in front of a stall that sold candles, examining their wares. You were tapping your chin with the most adorable contemplative look on your face. The way the light was glimmering in your eyes completely transfixed Loki for a minute before he regained his senses and pointedly looked away before you could catch him staring. It was then that an item at the next booth over grabbed his attention.

“I will just be over there for a second,” he informed you, pointing at his destination.

“Ok, I’ll be done here in a minute. Don’t get lost without me,” you teased.

After squeezing through the mob of people that separated the two booths, Loki stopped and got the attention of the clerk.

“I would like that bracelet please, my good sir,” he said, gesturing to the one he wanted.

It was a thin gold band that, upon closer inspection, was designed as a snake with its tail in its mouth. A single emerald that served as the eye of the serpent was set in the medal. It was as if it was made for the sole purpose of Loki being able to present it to you. Unfortunately, the salesman did not share the same point of view.

“I’m sure you would, sonny, but how ’bout we find something more in your price range.”

He laughed then and gestured to the brightly colored, obviously cheap jewelry made of beads and string. Loki became indignant at the comment. Not only did this man think he’d be gormless enough to ask for something he couldn’t afford, but he also indicated that Loki had poor taste by suggesting he would like such an ostentatious accessory that was only fit for children and street performers. It took all his energy not to place a hex on him or reveal himself as a prince of Asgard. Instead, he quickly eyed the price tag and then emptied a pouch of gold coins that had enough money and then some.

“Believe me, it is, what was it you said? Oh yes, ‘in my price range.’”

Between the haughty, mocking tone of voice Loki used and the seemingly endless bag of riches, the clerk was left standing with his mouth agape. He eagerly inspected the coins, wanting them to be real but not quite believing it. Satisfied that he wasn’t being duped, and having no good reason to accuse Loki otherwise, the man handed over the bracelet in an ornate box.

“Will that be all, sir?” he asked, still not entirely trusting what just happened.

“Yes. Thank you,” Loki replied, pleased with the new respect in the man’s tone.

Spying you working your way through the throng, he went to meet you halfway. Based on your empty hands, it seemed that you’d decided not to purchase anything after all. On account of how noisy your surroundings were, Loki decided to wait until you’d made your way out of the market to present his gift to you.

“So, what did you get?” you questioned once it was quiet enough.

“Well, it is for you, actually.”

Loki opened the box and showed you the trinket. Now that he’d done it, there was no taking it back, but he suddenly became very self-conscious. Was it even appropriate for him to get you a gift if you were not courting? He was sure that his tutors would disapprove, but it was just hindsight now, and there was simply nothing he could do. The worst part, though, was that you’d yet to say anything. Rather, you were just standing there with a surprised look decorating your features.

“Of course you do not have to accept it if you do not like it,” Loki added somewhat dejectedly. “Or for any other reason, either.”

“Loki,” you breathed out in a soft voice. “It’s beautiful. Thank you so much.”

The sincerity in your eyes chased away any lingering doubt he still had. Carefully, he picked up the bracelet and slid it onto your outstretched wrist. It was a perfect fit, and Loki’s skin tingled with magnetic energy from where it brushed yours. For a minute, neither of you said anything and instead just got lost in the other’s eyes. And then you were interrupted by a growl from your stomach.

“I, um, I guess I’m hungry. You?” you stammered, sheepishly fidgeting.

“Absolutely famished,” he replied, hoping to alleviate some of your embarrassment. “Well, I suppose we should be heading back to the palace then.”

“Are you kidding me? The best food is right here in town! Come on, I’ll show you.”

With that, you were once again bobbing and weaving through the crowds. Finally, you came to a cart emitting a delicious scent. After a short wait on line, you ordered some laufabrauð and urrädla for you and Loki to share. The crispy, fried dough treats were light and delightful on the tongue. Loki hummed in joy at the pleasurable taste.

“See, what did I tell you?”

“Well, it is delicious, I’ll give you that. But better than what is served at the palace? I think you are crazy,” he said with a friendly laugh.

“Maybe. But you like crazy, don’t you, God of Mischief?” you teased right back.

Loki once again found himself blushing. He hoped you did not know too well just how right you were. At least, when it was applied to you. The clever remark Loki was preparing died on his tongue as he noticed a pair of royal guards approaching where you stood. You looked over your shoulder, following his gaze, and saw them, too.

“It’s probably fine,” you said. “They’re just walking in this general direction, right?”

“Perhaps,” he responded, though something about their urgent gait did not sit right with him.

The Einherjar were doing their best to avoid looking at the pair of young nobles but kept glancing at you to make sure you hadn’t bolted. Unfortunately for them, you both noticed, and with a small nod to each other, you took off, trying to lose them in the crowds. Though Loki had received training for battle, even his nimble feet couldn’t keep up with yours,  experienced in traveling the busy streets. When you noticed he was falling behind, you seized his hand without thinking about it. Sadly, it did more harm than good because Loki couldn’t focus on his footing when your fingers were interlocked with his.

Finally, you found a stack of boxes to hide behind. You dove down, pulling Loki behind you. Thinking you’d lost the guards, you both dared to peek out to make sure. After identifying their retreating forms, you and Loki descended into a fit of giggles. Unfortunately, you were too busy laughing to notice the figure approaching you.

“What are you two doing away from the palace? Running around unsupervised, no less.”

Your chuckles came to an abrupt stop. Looking up, you saw Heimdall standing over you, arms crossed and eyebrows raised. Loki was pretty sure that was a rhetorical question, and that he’d be in deep trouble even if it wasn’t. You shot him a concerned look to which he responded with a shrug of his shoulders.

“Oh, wow. You’re right. This isn’t the palace,” you ventured, playing dumb. “Did you notice, Loki?”

“I had absolutely no idea! How confounding, don’t you agree?”

You nodded along, saying, “Indeed. Well, I suppose we should be heading back, now. Thank you, Heimdall, for alerting us.”

You and Loki started heading back in the direction of the palace, though neither of you actually had the intention of returning yet. You’d already started quietly giggling between yourselves, but it was cut off by a loud, exasperated sigh from the all-seeing god.

“It is no problem at all. Since we are all returning to the palace, we can walk together.”

You and Loki had no choice but to agree, and so you sullenly started your walk back, for real this time. The young prince was beginning to be annoyed by having his time with you cut short. It happened far too often, in his opinion. When he risked a glance at you, though, you were smiling.

“Don’t look so upset,” you whispered, elbowing him in the side. “I still had a good time.”

“Me too. And,” he whispered back, lowering his voice even further, “I rather think that we will have to do this again.”

You nodded, eyes lighting up in excitement. It made Loki’s heart flutter in his chest. The whispering continued all the way back to the palace. Once you’d reentered the gates, Lupus came running up to you.

“Hi boy!” you greeted the wolf pup, bending down to pet him. “Did you miss me?”

Loki bent down to pat your pet on the head, which was met with a lick on his face. He sputtered as Lupus’s tongue caught him right on the mouth, earning a laugh from you. It was then that your mother’s maid came rushing up to you.

“There you are!” she exclaimed. “Your parents are looking for you. Come along now, best not to keep them waiting.”

She grabbed you by the arm to whisk you away, and you helplessly waved goodbye to Loki, Lupus running behind you. He waved back and stared wistfully off into the direction of your abrupt exit. The light caught the golden bracelet hugging your wrist, and he couldn’t help but break out into a huge grin.  Heimdall, who was not about to let Loki off the hook so easily after his little escapade, cleared his throat, bringing the young god back to reality.

“Alright, fine. I apologize,” Loki conceded, though it was quite hard for him. Then a bit more nervously, he added, “You will not tell my father, will you?”

“You know I am required to report any significant events to your father,” he said. “Though, since this is only a minor infraction, I am willing to turn a blind eye, as it were.”  

“Thank you,” Loki said as Heimdall turned to leave. He made a mental note to work on ways to avoid Heimdall’s all-seeing gaze in the future. “I truly appreciate it.”

“You are welcome, my prince. Oh, and one more thing,” he said, turning back around, “they really do enjoy your company.”

He bid a stunned Loki goodbye and was on his way once more. Naturally, you’d expressed that you liked spending time with Loki, but he never could fully rid himself of doubt. Heimdall was certainly telling the truth, though, instilling Loki with a newfound confidence. He swaggered into the palace, completely certain that when he told you how he felt, whenever that may be, you would feel the same way, too.

[blackypanther9]

Part 15 - Everything went wrong...

No one's POV...

"- Until it rips Jotunheim apart.", you heard Loki say.

Wait....what....? You shook your head, saw Loki throwing Thor back and listened again.

"Why have you done this ?", Thor asked.

"To prove to Father that I am the worthy Son. When he awakes, I will have saved his life, I will have destroyed this race of Monsters and I will be true heir to the throne.", he answered.

'Monsters...? So that's how he thinks...huh ? After all I showed him.... He....'

"You can't kill an entire race.", Thor said.

"Why not ?", Loki asked.

He smiled and laughed. He went down the stairs.

"And what is this new found love for Frost Giants ? You. You've killed them all with your bare hands.", Loki said.

"I've changed."

"So have I."

Loki hit Thor with the staff on the cheek. Thor's head snapped at the touch to the left. Loki leaned in and said coldly.

"Now fight me."

And he hit Thor again to the right, this time with all his strength. Thor fell to the ground and Loki was walking on the other side.

"I never wanted the throne ! I only have wanted to be your equal.", Loki said.

"I will not fight you, Brother !!"

"I am not your Brother ! I never was !"

You saw Loki tears near.

"Loki this is madness !"

"Is it madness ?! Is it ? Is it ?!"

Step two, Loki sounds and breaths different and twitches a little here and there...yup one wrong move and he will drop one or two tears... Thor looks at Loki and shuts his mouth.

"What happened on Earth that turned you so...soft ?! Don't tell me it was that woman !"

.....Woman ? ......Soft ? Thor stares at him and again shuts up.

"Oh ! So it was ! Well maybe, when we're finished here...I'll pay her a visit myself !!"

Okay....Loki let a tear slip...And he is fucking mad... Thor had enough and started a battle cry. They fought, dodged and attacked. After some time...Thor flew with Loki through the wall of the capsule. They landed on the rainbowbridge and continued fighting there. Loki tricked Thor with an illusion of himself that he will fall, Thor as dumb as he is...fell for it and Loki attacked him as soon as Thor turned around. Loki made many other illusions of himself and laughed at him, Thor had an outburst with the words 'enough' and threw lightnings everywhere. Loki fell again and Thor put his hammer on his chest. Because Loki isn't worthy, he can't lift the hammer and needed to lay there. Thor tried to safe Jotunheim and the Bifrost. But he couldn't safe both. He needed to get rid of the Bifrost.

"Look at you.", Loki said and Thor turned around to look at Loki.

"The mighty Thor...With all your strength !"

He spoke with hate and jealousy.

"And does it its use now huh ?! UGH !! YOU HEAR ME BROTHER ?! THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO !!!", Loki screamed.

Thor called his hammer from Loki's chest and hits the rainbowbridge. You were shocked. You need to get away from there. You were still on the side of the Bifrost. You ran until you were safe. Loki slowly sat up and looked at Thor shocked. Thor hits a second time and Loki found his voice again, after the sixth hit.

"What are you doing ?!", Loki says.

Thor hits another time.

"IF YOU DESTROY THAT BRIDGE YOU'LL NEVER SEE HER AGAIN !!", Loki screamed at him.

Thor ignored him and hits another time and another, the bridge made now cracking sounds. Loki stood up, grabbed the staff and ran to him. Thor raised his hammer one last time and said...

"Forgive me Jane..."

He hit again and Loki was in the air to stab him. The rainbow bridge exploded and sent them in the air. You ran away more from the falling everdark abyss. You saw them fall and Odin appear. Thor and Loki held the staff, Loki on the end and Thor on the beginning. Odin held Thor onto his boot. You ran to them and exposed yourself again, with a frown. Loki saw your face and knew...you heard and saw everything.

"I could have done it Father ! I could have done it ! For you ! For all of us !"

Odin hesitated before he said softly.

"No, Loki."

You looked at Odin shocked and then back at Loki. He frowned and...What is he doing ? No...

"Loki no..."

He will let go...

"Loki ! Stop !"

He looked at you and stopped his movements.

"I believe you. You could have done it. But this was wrong. Your anger did lead you. I don't hate you, for what you said and did. But please...no matter what you want to do....DON'T LET GO !! THEY WILL FIND AND TORTURE YOU !! JUST LIKE ME !!!"

Loki looked at you with tears.

"Why should I believe you ? You saw and heard everything, but didn't stop us ! You aren't even my friend anymore !", he screamed at you.

"Loki, this will be a big mistake if you do this ! I can bring you everywhere you want, but please...DON'T LET GO !! You ended the friendship not me ! You said I should take my time with chosing and I did ! I am here because I want to try it again ! If you let go, it's your death, silver - tongue ! He knows who you are and what you can do ! He won't fall for your tricks ! Try and he will kill you ! I know it ! I was there 10 years !!"

"And you are still here."

"Because I escaped closely ! Stay. We will find another way !"

There was a long silence. Loki stared into your eyes, then down into the abyss, then back to you. Loki whispered...

"This is my way."

Loki let go of the staff and fell into the hole. Then it disappeared and he with it.

"NOOOOO !!!", Thor and you screamed.

"No...", Odin said.

After that he pulled Thor up and hugged his Son. You were mad, sad and broken. Thor came to you to hug you, you pushed him away.

"Stay away from me !", you screamed and ran to the Palace.

"Luciella !", Thor and Odin screamed after you.

You ignored them. You ran to Loki's chambers, opened his door, went inside and threw the door close, then you locked it. You jumped into his bed and took in his scent he left on the bed sheets. Even if he wasn't in the bed once....it all still smelled like him. You hugged the blanket tightly and hoped he faked his disappearence. As 50 minutes passed and he still didn't came, you knew....he was gone...maybe even forever... You....cried ? Really ? You thought you can't cry anymore... well...you did. They all did. Even Ratchel. You fell asleep after a while and hoped you will never wake up again. 2 hours later, you awoke, because someone knocked at the door.

"GO AWAY !!", you screamed, thinking it was Thor.

"Luciella, my dear. It's me, Frigga. Open the door, please.", Frigga said behind the door.

You moved your hand and unlocked the door. Frigga opened the door, went inside and closed the door again. She went to you and sat down next to you. You hugged the blanket more than before. Frigga smiled softly. She lifted her left hand and stroked your hair.

"I won't take the blanket away from you, don't worry, dear. I wanted to look after you."

"Everything went wrong !", you hit the matress...hard.

Frigga looked at you. She put a spell in the room so nobody can hear you two talking.

"What do you mean ?"

"Loki is now with bad people...And I can't go back there... I don't know where they are and if they still wait for me..."

"What people ?"

"Promise me, you will never tell anyone, even Odin and Thor, what I will tell you."

"I promise, dear. Where is my Son ?"

(Circus for a Psycho by Skillet)

"At...Thanos....and his 'Children'.", you said the word like it was venom.

"Well...when he has kids... He will surely take care of Loki and bring him back."

"You think so ?! His 'children' are stolen people or even some people who got forced to serve him ! They aren't his real children ! He kills races and takes 1 worthy man, woman or even kid with himself ! He kidnaps, kills, threatens, tortures and he is a psychopath !"

Frigga flinches and lookes at you shocked.

"From where do you know that ?", she asked.

"Easy. I was 10 years there ! They don't stop the tortures and even go so far to raping ! No matter which gender, they do it ! No matter if man and man or woman and woman ! They don't fricking care ! They did that to me ! They firstly start with whipping, then beating you up badly, then they talk shit about your friends, they call you names and if all this doesn't work, they rape you ! Until you break !", you said crying.

The more you said, the more tears escaped you. Frigga looked at you shocked. She slowly wrapped her arms around you and hugged you. You didn't flinch away. You hugged back.

"How long did you make it ?", she asked worried.

"2 whole years and they started to rape me 3 months before I yielded. I couldn't handle it anymore ! I-I-I needed a break ! They did that non stop !"

"Oh my..."

"Do you understand now, why I am so mad and worried about Loki ?!"

"I...I am...", Frigga answered crying.

"Lets hope that he finds a way out with his silver tongue. If not...then he may come back as a psychopath or under some evil control. Or he will never come back and is dead..."

"He will find a way out. I believe in him."

"I do too, but let's face the facts here. Thanos knows him, and not from me. I never told him about Loki, he knew Loki anyways. He knows about his dirty tricks and his lies. He knows his title and Thanos could easily snap his neck in 1000 pieces, if Loki tries something funny."

"Oh my..."

"I am not finished. If you are once on Thanos' side and you fail him on your first mission, he hunts you down, finds you and kills you in the most painful and slowest way he knows. He will make your life hell, if you dare to fail him or even betray him. Loki won't make it, even if he is good in everything...this is a fight he can't win."

"What happened the other 8 years ?"

"I got trained. I studied my magic and can much more than Loki will ever do. I needed to fight and use magic. This all was almost non stop for 4 months then I was like everyone else. One of them, at least I played like one. I trained with more breaks and even had normal food and water. I hoped everyday, Heimdall or someone else of Asgard finds me....but nobody came. Not even Loki. I was so alone...and I almost broke, but Thanos made a mistake. He told me why nobody came for me. Heimdall was blind. On the ship is a spell and that's why nobody found me. After all this time went on and 8 years passed, Thanos wanted to talk to me, about my first mission. He wanted that I kidnap someone..."

Flashback....   Your POV....

"You wanted to talk to me Thanos ?"

"Yes my child. Come here."

I did as I got told.

"I want someone who is unstable, with it's mind. Yes I want you to kidnap someone. This someone is from Asgard. It's a boy. In the future he is very clever, is able to lead an army and is easy to control. We may need 3 days to torture the little boy, but it will work..."

Firstly I thought I knew about who he talked...

"He is a Prince."

I thought it is Thor...

"What's his name ?"

I really thought it was Thor. But it wasn't him....

"It's your childhood friend. Loki Odinson. I want him here in a week. Tomorrow you will search him. And kill the rest of the royal family."

I nodded and played my role.

"As you wish. I shall prepare everything for tomorrow."

I stood up and was on my way out.

"Oh and Luciella ?"

I turned around.

"If you fail me...I need to kill you or punish you very bad. So don't fail me."

I nodded again and went outside. But I never went there. I ran into my room, grabbed my things I needed and used all my power I could to get out of there. I won't kill or kidnap someone. I took a safe - capsule, saw Jotunheim under me, freed the capsule and landed on Jotunheim. I destroyed the capsule and went everywhere. I met Laufey in the end and he kept me alive. We even became friends.

End of Flashback....   No one's POV....

"Since then I never saw Thanos again. He waited. I bet he knew it."

Frigga stared at me.

"He will use Loki for something... He will promise Loki something, Loki will fall for it and gets killed in the end, because of his naivety. I know it. Thanos never holds his word."

"Then it's time you learn how to meditate."

"Meditate ?"

"You can look into the future and maybe it will help you out some times. You can see through someone else's eyes also and hear through someone else's ears. Maybe you get in connection with Loki..."

You thought for a second then nodded.

"Okay. When do we start ?"

"Now."

And with that you started.

Part 16

Masterlist with all Chapters of this Story click here !  

[etherealwaifgoddess]

But Then Came You - Chpt.1

Summary: Loki tries to plan his next moves after being dropped off in a post Decimation New York City. Master list can be found HERE.

Content Warnings: A sassy reader not afraid to call Loki out on his bullshit

Word Count: 3.2k

Author’s Note: Hello lovelies! The first chapter is here! Woo. I know I said 6pm but I literally have no chill when it comes to this fic. There’s no long build up in this one, just straight to our main characters meeting. I hope you enjoy! Chapters will be posted daily. XOXO - Ash

Chapter One

New York is a shell of the bustling metropolis it once was. Loki wanders the half filled streets quietly planning his next move, still unsure of what to do. The Eluskans had been kind enough to drop him off on Earth since he had nowhere else to go. The fall of Asgard still weighed heavily on his mind, his home planet which thrived for millennia gone in a fiery apocalypse. He had been given a few thousand dollars of US currency and a change of clothes to help get him on his way. They really were the kindest people. Loki had to perpetually bite his tongue so as not to lash out at them for trying to help. It wasn’t their fault they didn’t understand what they had done in bringing him back. Their intentions were good but it doesn’t erase the dreams and memories that have haunted Loki since his resurrection. 

The city feels empty in the wake of The Decimation. It had taken Loki a full day of walking through the abandoned neighborhoods to fully understand what had occurred on Earth over the past few weeks. New York was doing what it did best though; the communities were rallying round each other, helping support those displaced by the loss of family and friends. 

The summer heat wears on Loki and he starts looking for somewhere he can cool off for a bit. He’s hesitant to use his seidr to relieve himself of the heat as it’s been spotty at best since he was brought back. The healers advised it would take some time to return to its former strength after all he’d been through. They had encouraged him to practice with it daily to help strengthen it, like one would do for a weakened muscle. Loki wants little to do with his seidr however. It was the reason they had found his body, the incessant little spark that refused to die, and had also led to his resurrection.

The cafe is empty except for the two baristas who are deep in conversation when Loki enters. He’s running on three days of no sleep and needs the small relief caffeine will bring. The icy blast of air conditioning is helping his fatigue as well and Loki hopes he will be able to linger with his drink for a while without disturbing anyone. 

“What can I get you?” The overly cheerful blonde barista asks him. Her name tag reads “Sunny” and Loki almost chuckles at how appropriate that is.

“Espresso, please. A quad shot.” Loki requests. 

“Anything else?”

“No, that will be all.”

“Name for the cup?”

“Loki” 

Your head snaps up at the name. It’s too rare to be anyone else. “Holy forking shirtballs you’re him! I mean, you’re… you.” You blurt out at an embarrassingly loud volume. 

Loki stares at you like you’ve sprouted six heads. “I beg your pardon?” His tone is almost offended, but mostly baffled by your outburst.

“Sorry, I binge-watched The Good Place on Netflix last weekend. And I didn’t mean to call you out like that, I just… know of you. Never expected to meet you face to face like this though.” 

“The Good Place? Netflix?” Loki is still lost, now bordering on irritated. You speak in the hurried way he’s come to associate with youth, your gestures animated as you talk. If he can’t be served his drink here he’ll have to trudge along for who knows how long until he can find another cafe or, Norns forbid, a Starbucks. 

“It’s a show. And you know, Netflix. The streaming service?”

Loki stares blankly at you.

You’re certain your face is the same shade as a tomato as you continue to flounder for words around him. “Or I guess you probably don’t know. I’m sorry. You know that filter most people have between their brains and their mouths? I don’t have one of those. So I’m gonna go get your espresso and leave you alone now. Sorry, again, really.” You slink away to the espresso bar and start queuing up his shots, praying that the ground will just open up and swallow you whole so you don’t have to face Loki again. 

Sunny gives Loki a grin and a half shrug, “You’ll have to forgive Y/N. I wish I could say she’s not normally quite that awkward but she totally is. She means well, you just got her a little starstruck.” 

“Starstruck?” Loki raises an eyebrow at Sunny in disbelief. 

“Yeah, totally.” Sunny nods enthusiastically, “You’re a literal god. Who wouldn’t be?” 

“It’s not the reaction I get from most Midgardians.” He confesses. 

“Oh right, because of the whole ‘trying to take over New York’ thing.” 

Loki nods at her assumption.

“You don’t have to worry about that with us.” Sunny assures him, “Matter of fact, Y/N did a whole paper on it our first year at Columbia. I think she did it just to piss off our psych professor but it was some of her best work. She argued that it was proof anyone can be peer pressured into anything.”

“Peer pressure?!” Loki sputters incredulously. 

“Well, yeah. I mean, Y/N can explain it better, but basically she drew parallels between Thanos preying on your weaknesses, ie. your desire to rule somewhere, and getting you to do his dirty work for him, to a bully preying on a weaker kid’s insecurities and pressuring them into doing something bad.” 

Loki scowls over at your back, displeased to have a deeply traumatic event reduced to something so simplistic. “I don’t think it was quite that simple.” Loki grumbles. 

You hear his grumble, unable to ignore the conversation going on behind your back. “It kinda was though.” You mutter beneath your breath. Or at least, you meant for it to be under your breath. 

“I’m sorry, Y/N, was it?” Loki’s tone is bordering on venomous. “Please, come tell me how you know better about a part of my life than I do.” 

The blush that had started to recede flares up again and you force yourself to remain calm and steady as you finish pouring the espresso and turn to face Loki. You spent a whole semester working on that paper and stand by your conclusion. Like hell were you going down without a good fight. “I’m not saying I know your life better than you do.” You clarify, “But I do think the whole ‘Battle of New York’ business is a prime example of peer pressure.” 

Loki’s eyes widen, he’s surprised you’re standing by your preposterous notion even with him glaring daggers at you. “Do I look like an emotionally fragile child to you?” He demands.

“No, but that’s the point. It can happen to anyone. Maybe I’m wrong, but let’s get a few things straight first.” Your brain has gone into investigator mode and you’re in your element now. Loki waives a hand dismissively letting you continue, “Who sought out who? Did you go looking for Thanos or did he find you?”

“He found me.” Loki replies evenly.

“Before you met Thanos had you ever considered attacking New York?”

“No.” 

“Would you have tried attacking New York or any other place by yourself?”

“Well, no. But…”

“Nope. No buts, mister.” You ignore his scowl, you’re on a roll. Excitement is thrumming through your veins, his answers lining up just the way you want them to. “And how did Thanos convince you to try? Did he by chance remind you of all the awful things your adoptive family did to you? Hiding your heritage, denying you of your rightful throne?” 

“It was common knowledge.” 

“Mhmm. And he offered you a place to rule. You only had to help him with one simple, little thing. You knew your brother favored Earth, right?”

“He is overly fond of this planet, yes.”

“And Thanos probably hinted that you’d be ruling the place that was special to your brother. The brother that was given the throne that should have been yours.” 

“Thor and I have reconciled since…”

“But not six years ago you hadn’t.” You shot Loki a cocky grin, you had him right where you wanted him. “So let’s recap, shall we? A more powerful person reached out to you, reminded you of the alienation of those closest to you, played up your supposed right to rule, offered you a chance to do so, and get back at your brother in the process. He offered you everything you could possibly want and the means to get it. Despite the means being wrong and you knowing they were wrong. Sounds like a bully and peer pressure to me.” 

Loki scowled harder to suppress the smirk that was trying to upturn his lips. You had impressed him more in five minutes than anyone else had in five hundred years. “Insightful little Midgardian. I don’t agree with your theory but you clearly put a lot of thought behind it.” 

“I did, thanks. But how are you here? The news said you died in transit to Earth from Asgard. Not like you haven’t fake died before, but still. It seemed pretty legit this time.” 

“The news was correct, I did die. And now I’m here. Waiting on that espresso you’re holding.”

You look down at the steaming cup in your hand, “Oh, right. Sorry. Here you go.” You pass the drink to him and his surprisingly cold fingers brush faintly over yours making goose bumps prickle along your arm. “So, what are you doing here in New York? Other than getting a caffeine fix?” 

Loki takes a sip of his coffee, sighing softly in relief before replying. “I’m not sure yet.” 

You give him a half smile and a shrug, “Well, enjoy your drink.” 

“I will.” Loki nods and moves off to the table in the far corner by the window. 

You turn your back on Loki to face Sunny, eyes wide, your face splitting into a grin. You mouth oh my god to her dramatically and she stifles a giggle. Loki is only across the room and you’re not too keen on making a fool out of yourself again in front of him. Unsure of how long he plans to stay, you busy yourself cleaning the espresso machine to pass the time. You’ll have a lifetime of gossiping with Sunny once he leaves.

Loki sits quietly watching people pass while he drinks his espresso. The dark brew hits his system like a gut-punch and he can feel the drowsiness retreating a little. It’s enough to keep him going a bit longer and that’s all he can ask for at this point. He knows he will need to sleep at some point soon, god or not he’s still flesh and bone. Sunlight hits the curly golden brown hair of a woman across the street and images of his mother blossom in his mind unbidden. The ache in his chest threatens to double him over but he steels himself, clenching the cup in his hand as hard as he dares without crushing it. 

Your eyes keep wandering back to Loki who’s transfixed looking out the cafe window. You try to keep busy but it’s difficult with him so near by. You’d seen many pictures of him and learned so much while working on your paper; it’s no surprise he’s attractive but you had clearly underestimated how attractive he is in person. You notice the second Loki sees something upsetting, the way his eyes darken and his face takes on a haunted expression. You give up pretending you’re unaffected by his presence and head across the room, settling down in the chair opposite him at the table. “You okay?” You ask him softly.

Loki’s eyes remain staring outside and you wonder for a moment if he’d heard you. “I’m fine.” He says finally. 

“I doubt that.” 

Loki’s reply is a perturbed frown in your direction.

“Look, I don’t expect you to talk to me. But I’m guessing some shit went down or else you wouldn’t be sitting here sipping espresso and looking like you’re about to pass out.”

“Some shit indeed.” He bites out deprecatingly. 

“Do you at least have a place to stay?”

“I’ll find one easy enough.” 

“Not right now you won’t. It’s move in weekend for the colleges around here. Plus all the people displaced by The Decimation. There won’t be a free hotel room in the city until at least  next week.” 

Loki curses internally. He can’t just wander around aimlessly until he passes out somewhere like a homeless person. Showing up at SHIELD’s front door asking for a room isn’t an option either, he’s still persona non grata with the organization. He doesn’t think they’re still actively hunting for him though. Loki had been told Thor was unavailable when he’d tried to reach out the day he arrived on Earth and he didn’t push, mostly out of fear of rejection. He’s momentarily consumed with agony and anguish again, thinking of his brother and his current aimlessness in this changed world. This is what he had been brought back into, a painful, useless existence. 

You watch him struggling internally and you can’t just sit idly by. “If you need a place to crash, Sunny and I live a few blocks over with our friend Chelsi. We had another roommate but she graduated and we haven’t found a new one yet. You’d have a bed and a safe place to stay until you find somewhere else to go.” 

Loki looks at you then, meeting your eyes and it makes your breath catch in your throat. He makes a hum sound that isn’t a no and it spurs you on. “I know I’m a stranger but you probably don’t have many friends in the city and I really just want to help. Take your time deciding, we have books over there to be borrowed if you want to just hang out and read for a bit. My shift ends in two hours and….”

Loki cuts you off with a wave of his hand. “Stop talking for a minute, will you.” He knows he’s in a tough spot and you have managed to both intrigue and amuse him in the short time since he met you. It’s entirely possible you’re being genuine and want to help but you could also be an assassin. He can't be too careful and he has to be certain. Taking your hands in his, he stares into your eyes and lets his seidr flow through him into you. You feel a sight rush, like when you stand up too fast and your blood pressure drops, and you hold on tightly to his cold hands. Loki searches quickly through your memories and thoughts, digging deep down to the core of your being until he’s satisfied he’s seen enough. There are things buried deep he knows you probably won’t appreciate him seeing but he can be discreet. 

Loki holds on to your hands just a moment longer than he needs to, letting your memories wash over him. You at five, running around the playground with your friends and inviting a sad looking little blonde girl to join you. You at ten, laying outside in the dark with the same little blonde girl looking much happier as you study the stars. You and the girl, recognizable as Sunny now, at fifteen when your parents died and you move your things into the guest room next to hers. You at twenty, moving into your first real apartment off campus, excited and terrified all at once. Hundreds of other memories flutter by as well, blurring together to make up your lifetime. School days and old friends, boyfriends and a few bad breakups, vacations and quiet moments spent at home. Loki is soothed by the simple ordinary memories distracting him from his own past. Regretfully he pulls his hands back, breaking the spell of the moment. 

“What did you do?” You ask in a hushed tone. You aren’t angry, just curious.

Loki swallows hard, relieved you have forgiven his intrusion. “I had to be sure you weren’t a threat.”

“You could have just asked.” You point out. 

“And you could have lied.” 

“Touché. So, what did you find?”

“Nothing of concern. I’ll take that room you offered.” 

You’re pleased he’s agreed to come home with you, hoping that you might get to know him a little while he’s there. “Okay.” You agree, unable to hold back your excited smile. “I’ll text Chelsi and give her a heads up. Sunny heard us for sure but,” you raise your voice pointedly, “she’s too damn polite to admit she was listening while she pretends to wipe down a perfectly clean counter top!” 

Sunny laughs and throws the rag down. “Mi casa es su casa, Loki.” She calls back. 

“Thank you, Sunny.” Loki calls back with an indulgent smile. He can’t help but be slightly amused by the pair of you. You’re both so young, the cheery optimism of youth still clinging to you and it's a breath of fresh air to him. He doesn’t look much older than you but he’s pushing 1,500 and after all that he’s been through he feels every single year of his age. 

“Grab a book or play on your phone or whatever until my shift is over if you want. Alex will be in at five so we can head home.” You tell him as you stand up and head back to the barista bar with Sunny. 

Loki wanders over to the bookshelf and pulls down a copy of the first book that catches his eye. Settling into a padded, dark blue velvet chair by the bookshelf, Loki loses himself in the book. He almost doesn’t hear you coming hours later when you stop over with a steaming mug of something topped with foam and sprinkled with cinnamon. “I figured you probably shouldn’t risk more espresso, god or not.” you tell him. 

“What is this?” Loki asks, accepting the warm cup from you.

“Chai tea latte. I don’t know what you like but this felt like it might be a good fit.”

“And why is that?” Loki takes a sip and waits for you to speak before he passes judgement on the taste.

You feel your cheeks heating. You won’t dare tell him your thought process in choosing the drink. Spicy but sweet, complex, an acquired taste, just like the god sitting in front of you. You swallow past the lump of nerves in your throat, “Just a guess, I guess.” 

Loki doesn’t believe your simple answer for a minute but he doesn’t push. “Well you guessed correctly. It’s good.” Loki takes a longer sip, enjoying the rush of sugar across his tongue. He would never admit to something as undignified as having a sweet tooth, but he will admit to himself that he’s enjoying the drink more than anything else he’s had since arriving back on Earth. 

“I’m glad.” you say over your shoulder, walking away to help a new customer who just walked in. 

Loki hums in appreciation, letting himself have just a few more decadent sips before his self control kicks in and he sets the cup just slightly out of reach on the table next to him.

[mostfacinorous]

Stoki Whumptober Day 17: I did not see that coming [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]

When Thor arrived, the sky announced his mood before the expression on his face did. Both could be described as stormy, and Loki whimpered a little and all but hid behind Steve. 

“That’s Thor?” He asked, voice hushed and a new fear taking root there. Steve swallowed-- this whole situation was messed up, and this new version of Loki felt like something he shouldn’t be seeing. He knew the Loki they knew would never want to be seen like this. 

It had been a revelation, the expressions he was capable of, the openness that a younger Loki in this body was capable of. Even his bearing was looser, less restrictive, less uptight. 

Steve hadn’t really realized how rigidly Loki held himself, both figuratively and literally, until he had this version in comparison. And, for all that he seemed vulnerable and innocent and all of Steve wanted to protect him, he couldn’t help but want the Loki he knew back. Which was a confusion sensation, and one that didn’t need to be scrutinized too closely. 

He was more helpful as a fully grown adult, was all. 

“Loki.” Thor’s greeting sounded more like a warning, and Steve found himself raising his hand to keep Thor back a pace or two. 

“There’s been an accident, Thor. He’s not who you think he is.” Steve spoke quickly, then paused, aware he’d already messed it up. “Well, he is, he’s Loki but…” 

“Thor, I messed with a timestone, and the things they’re saying-- none of it makes any sense. Mother dead and I’m banished and you-- what happened to your eye?”

Loki sounded plaintive and young, and from his position between them, Steve could see the way his words hit Thor like a slap. 

“What is this?” Thor demanded, pulling his gaze to meet Steve’s, then Tony’s, then finally Bucky’s. 

Bucky held up the time stone.

“No trick. Just what we said, an accident. He says he’s like, five hundred years old.” 

Loki, thankfully, didn’t correct him about the exact age. But Steve could feel him all but trembling behind him. 

“Thor?” Loki asked, voice small and lost sounding. “Why do they hate me? Why do you?” 

“We were hoping you’d know how to tell if he was faking it.” Tony said, suddenly, and Steve glared at him. 

He didn’t know how anyone thought Loki could be this good of an actor. 

That possibility seemed not to have occurred to Thor before then, but he turned a considering look back at Loki, and Steve knew he wouldn’t like whatever came next. But he figured Thor wouldn’t hurt his brother. Especially not if it was what it seemed like, and the brain in Loki’s head hadn’t done anything wrong, yet. 

“I cannot tell.” Thor said finally. “I have rarely been able to see through the best of my brother’s lies. But I can think of a test.”

“I’ll take it!” Loki said eagerly, stepping out from behind Steve. Steve wished he wouldn’t, wished he’d stayed back there, where he could keep him safe, but he fully acknowledged how ridiculous that was. The guy might be a kid inside, but he was at least a full inch taller than Steve, and could shoot magic out of his hands and probably still deadlift a semi truck. 

He caught Bucky staring at him, and shrugged, hoping that conveyed that they should go along with it. 

“Loki, what would you think if I told you that you were adopted?” Thor asked, and Steve felt his mouth fall open.

That was a hell of a way not to pull a punch, considering that was apparently the news that had sent Loki into a homicidal rage spiral in the first place. 

This version of Loki, though, younger, less grown into his powers, merely went still. 

“That’s not true.” He whispered. “I-- it can’t be.” He sounded doubtful, hurt, like he might cry again. Steve rolled his hand into a fist, telling himself to ride it out, wait and see where this was going. 

“It is. Father brought you home from Jotunheim after the last battle with Laufey. You are a Jotnar runt, who was left to freeze to death, and he felt sorry for you. My parents lied to you your entire life.”

Loki shook his head horrified, and took a few steps back, and still Steve let him be, let Thor do what he needed to-- trusted he was doing this for a reason. 

“Why are you saying this, Thor? I thought-- you can’t mean it. Mother’s dead, isn’t she? She wouldn’t have… she would have told me.” 

“Oh, she did.” Thor advanced, eyes skating across Loki’s face, looking for something. Steve hoped he found it soon; this was painful to hear, and much worse to watch. 

“She told you, Loki. Right before you killed her.” 

Loki backed into a wall, his hands pressed against it at his sides, and shook his head. “I didn’t. I wouldn’t. I-- please Thor, tell me this isn’t true.” He was begging now, pleading. 

“And then you killed Odin.” Thor continued, advancing ruthlessly. Steve didn’t think it was the truth, but for all he knew it could be. “And then you tried to take the throne. Tried to have me killed.” 

“No, not you, Thor, not Mother, not-- why? Why would I-- I couldn’t, I didn’t--” Loki had tears streaming down his face now, and he looked like he was going to be sick. 

“And when you were banished from Asgard for your treason-- allowed to live because I still thought of you as my brother--” 

“No--’ Loki moaned, the past tense clearly not having escaped him. 

“You came here, and brought an army of mercenaries, and you slaughtered-- how many, Stark? Hundreds? Thousands?” 

Loki slid down the wall to grasp at his knees, rolling into a ball and keening. 

“I don’t-- I’m sorry. I… If I did all of that, you should just kill me. I don’t know why I--” His words dissolved into gasping sobs, and Steve had had enough. 

“Okay, Thor, back off. Do you have your answer yet?” He demanded, putting a hand on Thor’s shoulder before he could take the last couple of steps toward Loki. 

Thor turned and sighed. 

“Aye. He is not lying. He does not know the truth of any of this, and he did not deny it or defend himself. This is my brother, though… from long ago.” 

“Great. Fantastic. Thanks for that,” Tony said, babbling through his own horrified reaction. 

Bucky was looking around as if he was weighing something, but Steve didn’t have time for that. 

He knelt beside the ball of misery that Loki had become. 

“Hey, Loki? Hey, listen, that was-- that was the test, okay? You passed, it’s okay now-- everyone believes you.” 

“But I’m a monster.” Loki moaned, and curled into himself more, if possible. 

Steve looked up and glared silently at Thor, demanding without words that he fix this. 

Thor heaved a sigh and sat down on the ground in front of his brother. 

“Loki?” He asked, the name now a soft rumble that was much less of a threat. “I need you to know that I lied.”

Loki looked up, his face streaked with tears and his nose running, his hair sticking to his face in wet tendrils that curled slightly in the damp.

“I’m not--?” He asked, looking hopeful, and Thor shook his head. 

“You are my brother.” He said firmly. “You did not kill our parents. I am sorry, Loki. I needed to tell these falsehoods because the older you would know the truth, and would not be able to resist the urge to clear his name.” 

Loki sobbed again, then launched himself forward and into his brother’s arms. 

Thor held him, and Steve felt again as if he was intruding. But after watching all of that, he didn’t feel like he should leave, either. 

“Thor?” Bucky asked, and they all looked up at him, surprised at the interruption, all but Steve probably having forgotten he was there. 

“If you have a sec, I need to talk to you about this time stone, and how we go about fixing this whole,” he waved his hand at Loki, then at his own arm, “thing. And I’d like to talk to you alone.” He gave Steve a significant glance that Steve didn’t know how to decode, but when Thor nodded and gently pushed Loki away, he realized it probably meant that he was on babysitting duty. 

And judging by the way Tony had retreated to the bar, he was probably on his own. 

“Why don’t you take a break, Tony, maybe pull up the tapes for them in case Thor has some insight on how to reverse what happened?” He framed it as a suggestion, btu Tony snapped off a salute and looked about as relieved as Loki had upon hearing the false accusations had been lies. 

“Yeah, I can do that. Cool.” Tony took off, carrying his glass with him, and Steve eased Loki back up and over to the couch before steering him into sitting down. 

“Alright there champ, that was… rough.” He winced, not sure what he was supposed to be doing, much less how to do it. 

“But I passed.” Loki said quietly, looking down at his hands in his lap. 

“You sure did. And now Thor’s here, with any luck, we’ll get it set to rights soon.” 

“He said he lied,” Loki said slowly, before looking up. “He didn’t say it was all lies. And he didn’t tell me the truth. You said my mother was dead. Is that true?” 

Steve swallowed, feeling very much out of his depth. 

“It is. I’m sorry.” he confirmed. Loki just nodded and looked down again. “Thor said it was a-- a dark elf, I think. During an attack on Asgard.” 

“But they are extinct.” Loki said, looking back up, his face full of distrust. 

“I don’t know the whole story.” Steve admitted, pulling out his stark phone and pulling up a video, “But I know that some of them came to Earth, and there’s some video of Thor from our news, fighting them.” 

Loki accepted the phone and watched the screen, a mingled look of fascination and horror on his face as he watched Thor fighting the dark elf leader. When the video ended, he passed it back to Steve delicately, as if he was afraid he would break it. 

“So Thor avenged her, at least.” He said, as if he was trying to find some comfort in that. He took a deep breath, then pushed on. “What of my father?” 

“That one I don’t know.” Steve admitted. “I just know that Thor has had to split his time between here and Asgard since his passing.” 

“So he is also dead.” Loki confirmed. Looking up this time, and Steve wondered if he was trying to get the tears to stay in his eyes by sheer force of gravity. 

“And me?” Loki asked, not looking back at Steve. “Is it true, what he said, about my being adopted?” 

“Seems like it.” Steve said, apologetically. “Sorry about that. And it sounds like… when you found out for real, when you were supposed to in the timeline… it was a bad time for it. Hit you hard. You uh… did some bad things.” He winced, wishing he knew better what all that entailed, beyond the vagaries of the reports they’d put together based on Thor’s rambling and nonlinear retelling. 

Loki’s mouth thinned into a tiny line, and Steve knew for certain he was trying not to cry. 

“Hey, it’s okay, all right? It’s done, it’s in the past.” He reached out to wrap his arm around Loki’s shoulders, trying to be comforting. 

“For you, maybe.” Loki muttered, pushing the arm away and launching himself up and to his feet to begin pacing around. “When I go back, I hope I get to keep all these memories. I’ll confront my mother-- in my time she still lives. And I will tell Odin, my father, that the dark elves yet live, and we can hunt them down and stop them before they kill her, and I won’t do… whatever it is I am supposed to. I won’t become whatever I was that made you fear me.” 

That gave Steve pause. 

Did he fear Loki? Mistrusted him plenty, for sure, had a healthy respect for his abilities and strength, but he was trying to think of the last time he actually feared him. Maybe back at the beginning of all of this, when he walked in and found him on his couch, drinking. He’d thought maybe he’d come to kill him, but that had quickly gone away. 

Steve didn’t know what to say to that realization, and was spared it by the return of Bucky, Thor, and Tony. 

“Alright, short stack, I think we’ve got it figured out.” Tony announced, and Steve saw him clearing the video of before from his tablet. 

“So the metal my arm is made of, vibranium, it takes power aimed at it, and bounces it back amplified. But the metal that Thor’s hammer is made out of, it sucks power in like a sponge, and Thor knows how to safely discharge it.” 

Steve frowned, considering the implications. 

“You’re going to use the hammer on Loki?” He asked, and Thor tipped his head a little in acknowledgement. 

“Gently,” he added, obviously a little amused by Steve’s defensiveness. “Mjolnir has never taken Loki’s power before, and I do not expect that it will begin to now. We tested on the stone itself, though, and it seems it can siphon the power from it. And so…” 

“And so the hammer’s going to suck all the time juice out of Loki, and if that doesn’t put him right, Thor can zap him with it.” 

Loki clasped his hands in front of himself, then nodded. 

“Do it.” He decided, and Steve wanted to argue, but the plan seemed to have some logic to it, and it wasn’t like he had anything else to offer. 

Thor took the hammer from his belt and held it out. 

Loki reached out, closing the distance, and laid his hand on it. 

“What do I--” he started to ask, and then his eyes rolled back in his head, and a green light arced from his head to his hand and into the metal below. 

Thor’s eyes glowed with restrained lightning, and Loki’s legs folded, letting him drop like a sack of potatoes. Steve was right there to catch him, though, and he helped him to the ground, making sure he didn’t his anything on his way down. 

The power stopped as soon as it had started, and Thor shook his head, replacing the hammer by his side. 

“That ought to be that,” He announced. “I could feel his years returning to him. But if you will excuse me, I would rather not be here when he wakes. I don’t imagine he’s going to be too pleased with any of us-- most especially me.” Thor looked around, but no one objected. 

Steve considered it, but in all honesty, he figured Loki might be better off without Thor hovering while he recovered from this one. 

“Yeah, I’ll walk you out.” Tony said instead, and Steve nodded. 

“Thanks, Thor. For everything.” He wasn’t sure he really meant it, but Thor didn’t seem to notice, or mind. He raised his hand in farewell, and headed outside with Tony in the lead. 

“Well.” Bucky said. “That was one helluva show. Bet no one saw that coming.”

Steve looked down at Loki’s unconscious face, and wondered if his life would have been easier if he had-- if the small version of him had actually been able to go back with the knowledge, and make the changes he wanted to, how much differently that might have turned out. 

How much differently it might be to know him now, the type of people they’d be…

“Nope.” Steve answered. “I did not see that coming.”

[josiewinters1999]

When Ice Melts: A Loki Fic

When Ice Melts: A Loki Fic

Loki x Original Female Character

Chapter 1

Contains: Mentions of blood and injury, post endgame Loki, original characters

Summary: After stealing the Tesseract in 2012, Loki finds himself stranded on a planet of intense gravity, blistering heat, and red people. He is taken prisoner by the natives, only to find the chieftess of this civilization is oddly familiar...

A/N: This will be the first chapter in what I hope will be a long slow burn fic. It’s kinda short but I don’t want to bombard you guys with too much at once lol. Luckily I already have a few chapters ready and I hope to continue writing. The chapter art was done by myself and I would really like to make something new for each upload. Hope you all enjoy!

Yet another boring day in court, Willie thought to herself. As she sat upon her throne of red stone, expertly crafted thousands of years before she was born, each carving intricately detailed with care, she stares off into space, faking her attention on the people in front of her. Can they not take care of anything by themselves? She wondered, her large headdress feeling heavier with every passing second.

She shifts in her seat, the long red robes dragging the stone floor as she does so. The Galfreskan chieftess is pulled from her thoughts as one of the representatives from the farming district gives her an almost loud look for approval.

Only half paying attention to what he had said, she waves a tired red hand to him, “Yes, yes,” she mumbles in her native tongue, “rotate the wheat. If you don’t the fields will dry up.” He nods, wringing his hands and looking down nervously. “I don’t really understand why you felt the need to come to me with this issue,” Willie groans, “I made sure you were more than capable and intelligent enough to manage the fields.”

He bows slightly, his own robes swaying as he does so, “I’m sorry Miss. Forgive me for wasting your time.” He stands, “I’ll see to it as soon as possible that crops are rotated for the next planting.”

Resting her cheek on her propped up palm, Willie sighs, “Yes, now please leave. Your company is growing tiresome.” Straightening himself, the man scurries out of the throne room, through the stone archway into the corridor beyond.

On his way out, a familiar face speed walks in, worry and confusion plastered on his face. The dim lighting of the various candles and torches in the room allow Willie just enough lumination to see the features of the approaching figure. Sitting up she smiles and lets loose a relieved sigh, “Ah,” she exclaims, “Voorsha! My sweet apprentice, what brings you to me at this time of day?”

Voorsha is a young man standing about six foot tall with the same atheltic build and red skin of his leader. The only things that differentiate their physiques are their hair color- the chieftess having a golden blond and Voorsha having long, dark brown tresses.  

He, covered in a thin sheen a sweat, something common for a planet with an average temperature of 100 degrees, pants, struggling to get his words to spill to the chieftess before him.

Catching on to his nerves, Willie’s smile fades, and she leans forward more in her seat, not yet getting up, “Voorsha? What’s wrong?”

He looks up at her, chin tilted down to swallow the lump in his throat, “Miss, I’m not sure how to bring this news to you…”

A feeling of slight fear clutching both her hearts, Willie is now on the edge of her seat, feeling herself beginning to perspire, “What?” she demands desperately, “out with it kid!”

Clenching his fists, the man, clad in traditional warrior clothing, the intricately tied belt around his waist signifying his loyalty and servitude to the chieftess, takes a deep breath, “We’ve captured a prisoner.”

Furrowing her brow, Willie’s tense shoulders fall slightly, “A prisoner? What type of prisoner? A Galfreskan  prisoner? Because, truthfully boy, that’s nothing to bother me with I trust your judgement-”

“No,” he interrupts, shaking his head, “A foreigner. A white man. I don’t know what he is, but he’s not human or Galfreskan .” There is a moment of silence between them, Voorsha studying his master’s face and Willie wracking her brain to think of the possible unexpected guest her guards have just captured.

“However,” Voorsha continues, “He speaks English. I heard him.” Taking another deep breath, he goes on, “When I was out along the canal, making the inspections you ordered, one of my men claimed he heard a voice from the treeline. We go to investigate and find a man with white skin and black hair stumbling around like he couldn’t walk.

“Seeing that, I knew he had just arrived and isn’t accustomed to the increased gravity yet. I ordered my men to stay hidden but alert as I watched him. He was grumbling angrily to himself. Finally, he noticed me. He shouted and began attacking. He didn’t wield any weapon I had ever seen before, not even on our visits to Earth.

“He held a glowing blue box, and I could sense the power from it was immeasurable. I ordered my men to shoot his hand, to get it away from him. They did as they were told and he became powerless. From that point, it was fairly easy to apprehend him. After knocking him unconscious myself, my men and I brought him back here and he should be in the dungeon by now.”

The events of Voorsha’s story only made Willie even more confused, it was simply too much information to process in such a short time. “I don’t understand. Why is this so hard to tell me?”

Swallowing one last time, Voorsha closes his eyes before uttering, “Before he lost consciousness, he yelled at me. None of the other men understood him but I knew his language. He said, 'Do you have any idea who I am? I’m Loki, son of Odin'.”

All the color from Willie’s face drained immediately and she almost felt herself faint. Loki was a name that, for the past almost decade now, she had only heard in her dreams. The grip on her stone armrest instantly loosened as her face filled with even more confusion, words not bearing to pass her lips.

“I’ve heard enough of your stories, Miss,” Voorsha continues, “that even I know who that is and what he means to you. I wanted to be the one to personally deliver the news to you.”

Shooting her head up and snapping herself from her daze, Willie pleads to him desperately, “Take me to him.”

Nodding quickly, Voorsha steps back as Willie emerges from her throne, long, regal, red robes flowing behind her. “Yes, Miss,” he says, “as I said before, I made sure he was taken to the dungeon.”

Without another word, Willie pushes past Voorsha, him hot on her heels, as she races down the Great Temple’s corridors. He wrapped feet slap against the stone, the wind created by her swiftness shaking the flames of the torches behind her.

Dashing through the temple and occasional stairs, Willie’s mind races, mostly with fond, romantic memories of her long lost love. How she yearned to even see him one more time, if for nothing else than to have her last vision of him be a pleasant one and not of him lifeless on the cold floor of a spacecraft, neck snapped in two.

For once in your miserable life woman, listen to me and stay hidden. I’ll be back for you. His last words to her echo in her head, the feeling of his bloody hand gracing her cheek making her eyes water.

She nearly trips on her robes running down the final set of stairs to the dungeon. Catching her headdress before it falls, she regains her composure. Taking a moment to breathe before passing through the final arch to the dungeon’s main room, she pauses. Voorsha finally catches up, himself also slightly out of breath.

Noticing the chieftess’ nervous state, he places a reassuring hand on her shoulder, “You can do this Miss. You mustn’t let yourself fall in front of your people.” She nods at his words, finding the courage to make the steps into the darkness.

In the black of the dungeon, she sees a light by the former preparation area for sacrifices. Since the discontinuation of that practice, the space had lain bare. Approaching the light, Willie sees him, her mouth falling slightly open.

He was on his knees, two guards with large spears holding him to the ground by his shoulders. His hand was clutched to his stomach, bleeding through the bandages the third guard off to the side has presumably put on him.

The prince wears his typical green and black armor, something it seemed he never took off. The coolness of his clothing and his pale skin contrasts much with the warmth of the room and the red of everything around him.

Sensing the chieftess’ presence, all three guards straighten themselves. Loki seems to not notice anything happening as they speak to her in a language he can’t understand. “Your honor, he was injured in his apprehension. The wound is still bleeding but he should be fine.”

She nods, remembering Voorsha’s story of him being shot in the hand with an arrow. Willie steps forward, a small pebble beneath her rolling forward and making just enough noise for Loki to notice.

He looks up, wincing in pain and covered in sweat from the intense heat of the planet he found himself on. “Who’s there?” he asks to the darkness, unable to see the two people before him, “Show yourself.”

One of the guards shoves Loki to the ground hard and he grunts loudly. Sitting back up, he watches a woman emerge into the dim light. She was tall, fairly muscular, her build showing even under her loose robes. Her red skin and strong facial features matched those of the other natives he had seen thus far. However, her golden hair, as well as the large thing adorning her head, indicated to him she was special.

“Who are you? The queen of this kingdom?” He asks with cynicism lacing his voice, once again wincing in pain after he spoke.

Willie’s heart drops. He doesn’t recognize me. Stepping back into the darkness, she hears him complain as she gathers her thoughts.

In the events with gathering the infinity stones through time and space, Willie remembers Steve Rogers telling her that Loki, a Loki from another time, took the Tesseract from that world and left without a trace.

Since that day in New York, she had changed so much. She looked absolutely nothing like she used to. She is taller, more tan, has gained weight, and simply just older. It was no wonder he didn't recognize her, even after all their time together. However, it didn't diminish the pain.

Her eyes dart to the third guard to the left of the prisoner on the floor. He holds a blue box, the light it gives off illuminating his face full of confusion. She then looks back to Loki. Young, full of anger, a fire in his eyes she hadn't seen in him in ages. Since that day in New York.

The pieces begin to slowly fall into place. This wasn’t her Loki. This wasn’t the Loki who knew this aged, war torn, face. This wasn’t the Loki who grieved the loss of his mother and vowed he would make her proud. This wasn’t the Loki she got the privilege to see change into a better man. It wasn’t the Loki she got to fall in love with for a second time.

This Loki was angry. This Loki knew only betrayal, lies, and a need to prove himself to a father he felt abandoned him. This Loki was from a different time.

“Don’t you speak English woman?” He shouts through gritted teeth. He demands, “Answer me! Who are you?”

Taking a deep breath, Willie steps back into the light, knowing what she must do, “The better question” she answers in English, “how did you get here?”

He sighs, slightly relieved there is some communication going on, “Thank the gods, you people can speak English,” he looks up, still clutching his bloody hand, “If I knew how I got here, I wouldn’t have come.” Looking around he notices he never figured out exactly where here was.

“Speaking of which,” he says venomously, “Where am I?”

Raising her chin and looking down upon him, the headdress clad woman answers, “This,” she starts slowly, “is The Great City of Galfreski, a place nearly impossible to find if you aren’t invited. So needless to say, your arrival is very concerning.”

Loki raises a brow in confusion, “Galfreski? How is that possible? Galfreski was destroyed over a thousand years ago.”

The chieftess chuckles, gesturing around her, “It would seem that it is indeed still here.” This Loki wasn’t there to hear her tell him she had found it, miraculously and inexplicably back from the dead, and she planned to return home. That had happened in another time.

He shifts on the cold, dry, stone, “In that case, there is someone I would like to speak to.”

Swallowing and using all her willpower to keep her composure, the woman almost stutters, “Who would that be?”

Through sweat soaked black hair, he spits, “A woman named Willie. She is of this planet and I’m sure she will kill you where you stand for doing this to me,” he gestures to his injured hand.

Thinking for a moment, Willie speaks, “She has no jurisdiction over me .” If she wanted to change Loki the way he had changed in the other timeline, the chieftess had no choice but to pretend she wasn’t herself. She continues with pride, “You have no right to complain about getting an arrow through your paw, either. My men told me what you were accompanied with.” She looks to the tesseract then back to her prisoner.

“Then you should know how much power that thing has and it belongs in my hands,” Loki barks, “none of you possess the needed power to wield it.”

She scoffs, “And you do? I know exactly what that thing is and I also know exactly who you are, Loki of Asgard.”

He is taken aback by her words for a minute then he smiles, “See, that is where you are wrong. You know nothing of me you cruel wench. I’m not of Asgard. I’m-”

“Yes, you were born in Jotunheim but raised by the allfather,” she interrupts, waving a hand in dismissal, watching the shock on Loki’s face with a smug smile, “Again, Loki Odinson, I know exactly who you are, and what you’re capable of.”

Looking to his hand once more, she notices the blood pooling on the ground around his knee, “You should be lucky my men didn’t kill you. Had it been my call, I would have ordered it.”

Stepping towards him, he scoots back, stubbornly clutching his wound. Willie squats, “Let me see it,” she holds out a red hand to him.

“Why?” he asks, smugness dripping from his simple question, “You want to see me die.”

Biting her tongue at the mere thought of seeing that again, the chieftess sighs, “I don’t want to have to burn your body when you're gone. So for the time being, I’ll keep you alive,” Thrusting her hand toward his pale one, she demands, “Let me see it.”

He cautiously gives his bandaged hand to her. She just as cautiously removes the bandages, occasionally looking up into his beautiful green eyes. More than anything, she wants to throw herself into his arms and weep tears of joy. It had been so long since she’d been this close to him and her body ached to touch him more.

Removing the last bit of fabric, Willie sees what damage had been done. A small hole goes straight through his hand, an entry and exit wound allowing light to pass through. Feeling guilty for causing him this much pain, she bites her lip.

“Voorsha,” she calls to her assistant, switching to their native language. “Go fetch one of the healers. It’s bad.” She looks up to the guard that originally cared for Loki, “You, go get some water and clean this out once more,” she looks back to all the blood, it beginning to coat her own hands, the reds mixing together in one big mess, “You’ll need more bandages as well.”

Switching to English to speak to her prisoner, Willie raises her head to make eye contact with him, “I’m sending for some people to treat this.” Standing to her full height once more, she steps back, “After your cell is prepared, I’ll have some food brought to you as well. You must be very weak after losing all that blood.”

His eyes widen, “Cell?” he scoffs, “you can’t expect to keep me here. I demand you call my father and have me sent home.”

Willie shakes her head laughing, “That won’t be happening my dear. You’re staying here on this planet until I feel you’ve repented for your actions against Earth.” She leans down slightly, staring him down with vengeance, “I know what you did Loki and don’t think you won’t pay for it.”

With that, she flicks a hand, her guards knowing exactly what she wants done. They pull Loki to his feet, them now being eye to eye with one another. His knees go weak and they have to hoist him up again. He frantically looks between the large red skinned men and then to his captor, “You can’t do this, the allfather will have your head for this!” he spits.

“I don’t think he’ll see an issue with it.” Willie says, a bit of sorrow in her voice as she watches her love get carried away to be locked up once more.

*TAG LIST*

@bambamwolf87​

[the-irish-mayhem]

Day 1: Jane and Thor as Parents Happy Fosterson Week! I am JAZZED and ready to go. Thor 3 AU-ish type fic. Knowledge of Thor 3 is probably helpful for context, but not required. Assumes Jane and Thor have been together since 2013 (post-TDW), and Thor has been back and forth from Midgard after Age of Ultron.

The mysterious, apparently Asgardian, scrapper blew the flame out on her drink and tipped it back. From behind the lasers, almost hidden by her gauntlet but still unmistakable, the dark bronze tattoo on her brown skin was a familiar design.

“My god, you’re a Valkyrie,” Thor breathed.

She slammed her bottle down against the bar, and Thor suspected he only had a few moments before she either left or shocked him again just for fun.

He continued, “I used to want to be a Valkyrie when I was younger. My wife and I named our daughter after you.”

That seemed to pique her attention, even if just for a moment as she crossed to the opposite bar.

“Well, I suppose not you since I don’t know your name, but we named her Valkyrie. Val. I hope she gets her mother’s brains. She’s certainly starting to get my brawn. She’s still young yet, but I--” Jane always teased him that once he got to talking about Val, he could never stop.

The scrapper hadn’t left yet, so he had hope that he might yet reach her.

But before he could truly plead his case, a loud voice shouted, “Lord of Thunder, you’re up!”

“Please,” he said. “Help me. I need your help.”

“Bye,” she replied, taking her purchase and turning away from him, the absolute picture of brusque uncaring.

A jet of fury shot through him. “Fine,” he spit, “then you must be a traitor or a coward because the Valkyrie is sworn to protect the throne.”

That froze her. She turned swiftly on heel and stalked up to the barrier. “Listen closely, your majesty,” she said, “This is Sakaar, not Asgard. And I’m a scrapper, not a Valkyrie.”

One of the mercenaries grabbed at his arm. Taking too long for them, apparently, so he threw a punch and was swiftly taken down by the implant in his neck.

She added, “It’s a shame about your daughter, but no one escapes this place. You’re going to die anyway. Make your peace with it.”

It was difficult to say that the day was won when Asgard was destroyed. Burned right off the face of the galaxy. At least he’d managed to save some of his people, and he had a strong team of allies at his side. (Well, he still wasn’t sure how to qualify Loki, but if his brother was on his side for now, he would take it.)

They arrived in Midgard space with little fanfare. The old ship could almost resemble something of Earth’s creation with how ancient it was compared to more modern space-faring vessels, so he wouldn’t be able to simply enter the atmosphere without a care in the world. Earth weapons could probably do damage, and he refused to lose anymore people.

“We’re going to need official permission to land,” Thor said. “But before that--” he looked to Heimdall. “Can you send me to them?”

Heimdall’s ancient amber eyes crinkled in a smile. “Yes.”

Val scooped a handful of sand onto Darcy’s hand as Jane half-worked from her data station nearby.

“I’m going to bury you!” declared Val, her vocabulary and diction far beyond that of an ordinary toddler.

Darcy poked her in the cheek with the yet-unburied hand, prompting a fit of giggles. “Well then, you better get going before your mom finishes her science stuff over there.”

Jane was only half worried about scorpions or snakes or other such things one should probably worry about when she brought her kid out with her in the New Mexico desert, but with Thor’s near-invulnerability, Val wasn’t the one she had to be concerned for.

“Val, honey, just make sure--”

She was nearly startled out of her skin by the sight of the Bifrost opening about ten yards from when Val had abandoned her burial project.

The rainbow bridge hadn’t yet cleared, but Val knew exactly what it meant. “Daddy!” she screeched, pushing herself onto her feet and running as fast and with as much coordination as her two-year old legs could manage.

Jane wasn’t far behind her daughter as she stepped out from behind her work unit, abandoning the data she’d been looking at without a second thought.

The bridge disappeared and the dust settled, and revealed Thor. He took several steps to meet Val’s course, swooping her up in his arms to a chorus of excited squeals.

“Oh, my darling girl, I’ve missed you so,” he murmured, holding his daughter close.

Jane nearly stumbled to a halt at the edge of the Bifrost ring.

“What happened to your hair?” probably shouldn’t have been the first thing out of her mouth when she hadn’t seen her husband in six long months, but there it was.

It was unmistakably him, but with short, cropped hair, different armor, and-- “Oh my god, and what happened to your eye?”

Jane was solidly 0 for 2 on good, loving greetings but she sent her husband off with two eyes and a full head of hair and he had returned with neither.

Val immediately started peppering him with questions, not completely unlike Jane’s own. “Where’s your hair? Why are you wearing an eyepatch? Where’s your big cape? Where did you go? Did someone cut your hair? Did you do it? I’m so happy you’re home--”

“Yes, my love, I will tell you all about it in a moment. Can I greet your lovely mum first?”

Val nodded resolutely. “Yes. She missed you a lot. Almost as much as me.”

“Oh, almost?” he replied with a quirked brow, and met Jane’s eyes over Val’s head.

Jane’s joy at seeing him was momentarily tempered by the look in his eye. She could see how much effort it was taking him to put on a brave face for Val, and Jane quietly suspected she wouldn’t be getting the full story either until much later.

Thor placed Val down, if a bit reluctantly (on both parts).

Darcy seemed to read the mood perfectly because she said, “Hey little hurricane,” to Val, gesturing with her hand, “come over here and help me start putting away your mom’s stuff so we can go home with your dad, huh?”

“Okay!” Despite being an advanced toddler, she was still a toddler, and Jane would take advantage of her daughter’s diverted attention for as long as possible.

Thor nearly fell into her, burying his face in her shoulder. She could feel his exhaustion and sorrow, and hoped that her arms around him could offer him some amount of peace. She threaded a hand through his cropped hair, scraping along the back of his scalp in motions she knew he found soothing.

He trembled against her, so very slightly, and Jane had to physically bite her tongue to keep from asking, What in God’s named happened to you?

“Mjolnir was destroyed,” he said into her neck, “My father is dead. Loki is alive. I had a long-lost sister who tore out my eye. Asgard is gone. The last of my people are aboard a ship orbiting the planet.”

Every piece of information felt cataclysmic in the relatively stable world they’d built for themselves in the past five years. Jane just breathed, held back her questions, and held him tighter.

“I know you have questions,” he said, still not pulling away from her. “And I will tell you everything, I just... I need to hold you.”

“It’s okay,” she soothed.

They stayed that way for a few more moments, but they knew they didn’t have forever.

Jane didn’t let go until Thor did, and when he pulled back, she could see that his strength was back in place, masking the hurt she knew was lying right beneath the surface. God, she loved him.

“So what do you think of the new look?” he asked teasingly, and she nearly cried.

She loved him so much.

“I think I can get used to it.”

They weren’t done, not by a long shot. She imagined there would be a lot of administration he’d have to handle trying to relocate the Asgardian refugees, and she’d need to fill him in on the Avengers drama over the Sokovia Accords, and--

There was just so much.

But at least he was home.

[mattymattymerduck]

Into Infinity (Pt. 2)

Summary: Imagine randomly being pulled through a portal. When you awake, you find yourself in the Marvel Universe. More specifically, Tony Stark's lab. Guess this is what happens when Tony Stark 'examines' an Infinity Stone.

Part 1

Warnings: None

Word count: 1800

A/N: There’s not a lot in this one, but I hope you guys like it regardless! The next chapter has a bit more plot to it, and things’re gonna ramp up from there :D

"I'm sorry, the last time you fooled around with alien technology you created a blood-thirsty robot, and you didn't learn anything from that?" This scene was looking terribly familiar to you, except there were so many more people in the room than when Tony announced his plan to create Vision, and this time you were actually in the room with them. It was ultimately nerve-racking, having all these superheroes you daydreamed about glaring at you like some sort of alien pathogen ready to infect their society. You couldn't help but nervously raise your hand - there was no way you were gonna be a smartass under this pressure without permission.

"What?" Bruce asked, distrust and wariness edging his normally soft tone. You slowly brought your hand down and glanced around the room.

"Well it's just that, in all fairness, Tony also made Vision - more or less - and he turned out pretty worthy. Also, Ultron was a genius, the only flaw there was that he had his own identity. If he hadn't gone rogue because of his individual thoughts you all would have seen peace in your time. Like, just imagine what he could have done if you implanted say, Steve's moral code." You wanted to continue, but their glares weren't getting any softer and you just accidental diluted your first point by siding with a villain. Oops.

"The point is, we don't know who she is or what she's capable of. And you just teleported her straight to us?" Steve clarified, staring hard at Tony and making you pray Civil War wasn't about to unravel right before your eyes.

"Technically, no. It was the Infinity Stone, while I was out of the Tower, and we don't think it was a teleportation device, she's from a completely different universe."

"Or so she'll have us believe." Natasha's eyes never left you for a second; her voice just as distrusting as her gaze.

"I'm sure I can prove it." You blurted out before you had the chance to think about what you were saying. Every pair of eyes fell on you again and you regretted opening your mouth to begin with.

"I mean, in my universe or whatever, all of this is fictional. Like, comics and movies and whatever. I can tell you guys all about every moment of screen time you've had - mostly Steve and Thor and Tony though. Bruce maybe a little bit, but they recast you for the Avengers so it's a little iffy. We're still waiting for the Black Widow movie to be put in production, the Russo brothers said they'd love to make it but Marvel's not really on board yet so..." You trailed off again when all you were getting back was raised or furrowed brows and disbelieving gawks. You turned to Steve, knowing it could prove something if you could recount all his misadventures from the 1900's.

"Ask me something about you before you were frozen. If it was in the movie I should be able to answer, but choose something that wasn't recorded in the Smithsonian or somewhere where I'd be able to find it if I were from here." Even if Steve didn't quite trust you, he couldn't say no to your pleading eyes. He took a moment to dream up a question you shouldn't have been able to answer.

"Where did I first meet Howard Stark?" He felt a little intimidated when a broad smile cracked across your face.

"Well the first time you really met him was when you were getting injected with the serum, but the first time you saw him was the hovering car exhibition with Bucky and those two girls the night before he was shipped out. That was the same night you got recruited by Dr. Erskine I think." Steve's jaw dropped open and Tony stuck his arms out to you in a gesture that screamed, see?

"That was easy, someone give me something harder." It was like playing a trivia game, and suddenly you were having fun instead of being intimidated and starstruck.

"My brother, is he in these movies of yours?" Thor boomed effortlessly and you spun around to meet his blue curiosity.

"Loki? Oh yeah, he plays a bigger part than Odin or Jane."

"Then tell me where he is right now." Your mouth went dry. Of course you knew that he was impersonating Odin on the throne in Asgard, but Thor thought he was dead. You didn't know how telling him that would affect this world, but you could guess altering the timeline wouldn't be good.

"Well, I-uh," You were struggling to word it in a way that wouldn't allude to Loki being healthy and whole.

"She has no idea. This is ridiculous Tony, she'd just some crazy history buff."

"That's not true, I can answer it's just, well, spoilers." They weren't catching on though, so you huffed and said what you knew Thor knew.

"You think Loki's dead. There was a bunch of fake betrayal where he pushed you down a hill and pretended to cut off your hand, Jane was super confused and he ended up sacrificing himself for you. The last words you said to him were about telling Odin about it but he said it wasn't for him and then he died in your arms. His body's still there somewhere." It wasn't actually, but you weren't about to go meddling in matters that you had no part in.

"What about the rest of us then?" Natasha spoke up again, still not entirely convinced that you weren't a really well informed Hydra agent.

"I can tell you that when Wanda used her magic on you you saw the Red Room, dancing and going through 'initiation'." You frowned a wordless apology and turned to the others.

"Steve saw Peggy and all the other soldiers he fought with. Thor was back in Asgard with Hiemdall telling him he doomed them all. Tony saw all of you dead because of him,  and Clint wasn't touched by it. Nice job by the way, that was an awesome scene."

Bruce sighed because this was insane, but you had an answer for every question and there just wasn't any other possibility. The other members of the team shared a glance and seemed to unanimously agree to believe you. That didn't mean they had to trust you though.

"So where you're from, we don't even exist?" Tony clarified, still trying to wrap his head around that thought.

"Well, your actors do. and your characters, but no, not they way that you exist here. Do you think our worlds have the same timeline? Like, I've already been here for four hours, have I been gone from my world for four hours or do you think everything paused and it'll just pick up where it left off when I get back?" The worst thing about all this was that it was literally all grey area. The most you knew about dimensions, alternate universes, and time travel were from the various movies, shows, and books you'd read. There was no actual science to back any of it up, so in a way you were in uncharted territory.

"You know about as much as I do at this point, but I'm sure JARVIS and I can crack this whole thing open with a bit of time." Tony shrugged and you felt your stomach drop a little, like there were a bunch of wires suspending it and one of them spontaneously snapped.

"Okay. I guess I should find somewhere to bunk until then. How hard do you assume it'll be to get a job when I haven't technically existed for more than a few hours?" You ran a hand through your hair a zoomed through all the things you'd need to do if you were going to be around for a while.

"You want to get a job? What for?" Steve asked, clearly not trying to hold back his confusion.

"Well yeah, I'll need to be able to pay the hotel I crash at. Plus, I only have one pair of clothes and food isn't free. If I'm gonna be here longer than a day I'll need a couple bucks to my name."

"There's tons of room here, you're welcome to hole up on one of the billion floors if you want." Tony offered and for once, you were the one sporting a confused look.

"Really? But I'm a stranger. What happened to not spreading my crazy germs around your Tower?" Obviously there was nothing you wanted more than to get settled in the same building as all the Avengers, but you didn't want to impose, and you could only begin to comprehend how weird it must be for all of them, having a living wiki page walking around, knowing a great deal of their past and their secrets. Then again, maybe that's why they didn't want you wandering the streets.

"It's not all that crazy anymore. I mean, it is, but now you're an anomaly instead of a genderbent Norman Bates. And it'll be easier to run tests if you're only an elevator ride away."

"Makes sense I guess. But only if you're all okay with it." You looked around the room and saw nothing but nods and shrugs.

"Looks like you're in kid, just don't try to cut any throats while we sleep, you won't make it to morning if you do." Clint was entirely serious in his threat and you laughed nervously under his heavy stare.

"I don't think you have anything to worry about, but I got it. I promise I won't try to assassinate you."

"Okay, now that the threats are over with, I'll have Pepper get you settled." You slapped a hand over your mouth to keep in an excited squeal.

"Pepper Potts? I get to meet The Pepper Potts?" You were practically bouncing and it made Steve laugh seeing someone so utterly happy.

"Yeah? Maybe I'm getting the wrong message here but you seem more excited about meeting her than you were to meet us." Tony mentioned incredulously and watched you bite your lip in anticipation.

"Yeah, I mean I love you guys but Pepper is like, your whole world! She's amazing, and she's perfect for you. Like sure, Darcy's a good match too, and I've seen so much FrostIron it makes my head spin, but Pepper's a whole other level. She tops Stony a million times over."

"FrostIron...?"

"Stony?"

"You really don't want to know; believe me." You chose to ignore the strange look both Thor and Tony were giving you and stuffed your hands into your pockets anxiously. "So, Pepper, can we do that now?" There was too much raw hope in your eyes for anyone to deny you, so Tony called his girlfriend up and sent you on your way.

"Oh, one last thing." You called down the hall before getting into the elevator. Tony spun around on his heel to see your raised eyebrow.

"When are you gonna tell Fury about this?"

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