#empath abilities

You spun around, your sword slicing through several golden-skinned men. You hadn’t learned what they were called, but damn were they relentless. Thor’s hammer flew towards your head, and you ducked while kicking a few men off of their feet. 

“(Y/N), behind you!” You heard Steve’s voice call. In one swift movement you had turned, raised your palm and sent the creature flying backwards with a loud crack. 

Around and around you went, stabbing and slicing your way through enemy after enemy. You used your magic when you could, but you weren’t strong enough yet to rely on it. You were yanking your sword out of the golden chest of one of the creatures when another one came up behind you. You had barely retrieved your weapon in time to block his blow, and his sword was getting worryingly close to your throat as you tried to hold him off.

With a groan, you realized that more were closing in on you. Where was everyone else? This was your first mission, shouldn’t they be here helping you? You reached behind you and sent daggers flying, hoping you had at least hit a few of the creatures. You couldn’t hold him off much longer, he was quickly overpowering you. With a significant whoosh, a sword whipped through your attacker and he fell to the ground, revealing a frowning Loki. 

“There are too many!” You yelled, overwhelmed by the surge of creatures around you. “Where are the others?”

Loki scowled. He grabbed onto your arm, and you gasped as a flood of emotions filled you. You were so overcome that you didn’t realize he had transported the two of you elsewhere in the woods. Tears streamed down your face, and you felt a rippling ache stab at your heart. You heard yourself scream, felt the anger and the heartache coursing through your veins like a drug. You felt hatred, not only for others but for yourself. 

Loki shouted something at you, but you couldn’t hear him. You had touched him, and his emotions were spreading through you like a raging fire. It was your curse, but never had you felt such heartbreak, such anger and resentment. You could usually block out the emotions if you concentrated, but this was too much. You had worn yourself out on the battlefield, and Loki was such a troubled man. You had always known that much, but you never imagined that he carried all of this around with him every day. 

Slamming your fist into a tree, you cried out and hit it again and again. You couldn’t make yourself stop, and even when Loki forced your hands away, you struggled mercilessly. “What is wrong with you?!” He yelled over your screams, “They’re going to hear us!”

Digging your nails into your palm, you collapsed into his arms and tried to get a hold on yourself. How did he do it? How did he hold all of this inside? You were shocked when you felt him pull you close, his fingers dipping into your wild hair. You’d never seen him show affection for anyone, and his method of comforting was usually in spitting insults. You focused on the feeling of him holding you, and felt the overwhelming emotions begin to slip away. 

“Oh my God, Loki,” you murmured, “I’m so sorry.” You gripped onto his battle coat, the feeling of his hand stroking your hair bringing you back to yourself.

Before he could respond, the sound of a rapidly approaching group of creatures filled your ears. “We have to run,” Loki said gravely. He suddenly released you, and you took off after him. 

It didn’t take you long to tire, especially because learning to harness your power was exhausting. “Loki!” You called out, looking behind you to find the creatures not too far behind. “I can’t keep going!”

Honestly, you expected him to ignore you and keep running, but instead he appeared in front of you and formed two daggers out of thin air. “You’re an ugly bunch, aren’t you?” He said to the creatures with a smirk, then ran head first into the battle. You unsheathed your sword and followed after him, because you weren’t about to be indebted to the God of Mischief. Though you were weak, you were still able to cut through your attackers. You walked backwards, swinging your sword and decapitating three more. Your sword pierced the heart of a golden man, and you kicked him backwards so he slid off of your weapon. 

Your back collided with Loki’s, and he almost looked surprised to see you in the battle. “I am no weakling,” You said through gritted teeth, watching in astonishment as Loki sent daggers flying in every direction, each one focused on a different enemy. You, however, were lucky if yours even scraped an enemy when you tried that move.

He raised his own dagger and struck a creature to your right, yanking it quickly back out of the body. You let out a sigh of relief when each one of them was gone, their blood staining the ground red and filling the air with the stench of death. 

“Where are the others?” You asked again, exhaustion overcoming you. You went to lean against a tree, but your hand came back slicked in blood. Grimacing, you wiped it on your pants and just hoped you wouldn’t fall over.

“They went to find Stark’s ship and left me here to babysit you.” He spoke bitterly, but you knew now--you knew why he treated everyone so coldly. You put a hand on his arm, partly to steady yourself and partly to show him you cared. 

“Loki,” you repeated, “I’m so sorry.” A single tear rolled down your cheek as you were flooded with his emotions again, this time much less intense than the last. 

“You’re an empath,” Loki stated, as if he had just realized so. Everyone knew that you were learning to control your sorcery, but Loki must not have known about your empathy. 

You nodded, leaning into him a little more. “It’s a curse, I hate it.” Your abilities had ruined so many of your relationships, both romantic and not. 

Loki chuckled lowly,looping his arm through yours to support you while striding back towards the field where you had come from. “Not when you learn to control it.”

You grunted, rolling your eyes. “You sound like your brother.”

The look that crossed Loki’s face was pure disgust, like you had compared him to a roach. “How do you do it?” You blurted out, earning a confused look from the God of Mischief. “I mean, how do you hold it all in? I would be going absolutely crazy with all of that hurt and hate inside of me.”

He snorted. “You’re talking to the god who has been thrown in the dungeons more times than he can count. I don’t hold it in, I feed it into my magic. I let it drive me, push me.”

“I always thought you were just a jackass,” you confessed. 

“And I always thought you to be a weak mortal.”

You looked up at him, taking a second to appreciate the way his hair moved with the breeze. He really was handsome, much more so than any other man you had met. 

“And now?” You prompted.

“You may not be so terrible,” He said gruffly. “That doesn’t mean that I like you. You’re still a mortal.” You rolled your eyes, and Loki stopped in his tracks, stopping you with him. “Have your opinions of me changed at all, I wonder?”

Smiling mischievously, you shrugged. “No, not really.” 

Loki huffed indignantly, turning to look the other way. Overcome with a sudden admiration, you braced your hands on his shoulders and lifted yourself up to press a kiss to his cheek. His head whipped back to look at you, his mouth hanging slightly open in bewilderment. Then, in one swift movement, he pushed you against the nearest tree and crashed his lips onto yours. You felt an admiration and confusion that you knew wasn’t yours, but more than anything else, you felt a burning desire tugging at you. 

His hands gripped at your waist, and yours found their way into his soft hair. His tongue sneaked into your mouth, dominantly clashing with yours in a passionate dance. His hands crept under your shirt, and the feeling of his cool hands sent pleasant shivers up and down your spine. 

“Brother!” A gruff voice called out from the field--Thor. He was looking for you, and by the sound of his footsteps, he was quickly approaching. 

You pushed Loki away and straightened your clothes just in time for Thor to come striding towards you. “(Y/N)!” He said unsuspectingly, “Are you all right? We were worried when you and my brother disappeared.”

“I’m fine,” You assured him. He offered you his arm, but remembered your abilities and decided against it, knowing how exhausted you already were.

You felt Loki’s eyes on you the entire walk back to Tony’s ship, and when Thor wasn’t paying attention, Loki leaned in so that his lips were brushing against your ear. 

“We’ll continue this later, pet.”

“I’ll come too!” You quickly stumbled into your battle boots, trying to keep up with the other Avengers as you zipped up the brown leather. 

Steve paused, moving his shield to his back. “From what I’ve heard about last time you came on a mission, I don’t think his one would be safe for you.” His eyes locked with yours in concern and slight sympathy. 

From behind Steve, Tony was nodding fervently. “You were trying to kill us all, Reindeer Games Jr.” You narrowed your eyes at the new nickname.

“I have to agree with Steve and Tony on this one,” Thor added, swinging Mjölnir carelessly. “A lot is at stake this time, and if something were to happen to you, it would be devastating.”

You rolled your eyes and crossed your arms. “You guys, Loki’s been helping me control it! I’m a lot stronger now. Besides, I could use some fresh air and good kick or two to the face.”

Nobody looked convinced.

Tony shifted uncomfortably. “Right, because Loki has such a long history of being trustworthy. Look, (Y/N), I don’t know what’s going on between the two of you, if you’re hooking up or something, but you should stay away from him.”

“I second that,” Steve said. “He’s dangerous, and none of us want to see you get hurt.”

You scoffed, your eyebrows shooting up incredulously. “Are we seriously having this conversation right now?”

“She’s right,” Thor stated, pulling Tony backwards by his elbow. “We have to go.”

You started after them, but Steve gave you a look and held onto your shoulders, keeping you in place. You focused on a wall in your mind, blocking the foreign emotions that weren’t yours. It was weak, but enough to keep the Cap’s thoughts out of your head. 

“You have to stay,” He said in his best authoritative voice, “You’re not strong enough yet for this mission. We would all be putting you in serious danger if we let you come.” 

When he realized you weren’t going to say anything, he removed his hands from your shoulders and jogged towards the others. “See you later, okay? It’s for your own safety!” He called out, rounding the corner.

You clenched and unclenched your fists, still processing all that had just happened, when Tony’s head popped out from around the doorframe. “No sex on my bed!” He said sternly, pointing at you. 

“Fuck you, Stark, go save the world without me.” You flipped him your middle finger, and he flashed you a grin before disappearing into the hallway again.

“No sex on my bed,” You muttered bitterly to yourself, huffing and starting off towards your room. Their comments about you and Loki were completely inappropriate, even if they were just trying to look out for you. You weren’t hooking up with Loki. . . But you wouldn’t shy away if the opportunity arose.

Ever since that Emberling touched you on the battlefield and got inside your head, the Avengers had been babying and watching you like a volcano that could erupt at any moment. Thor had the most understanding of your empathetic abilities, and was never as infuriatingly careful with you as the others were. 

“Come to my room,” Loki’s voice suddenly said in your mind. It got slightly less startling every time he did that, but the first time he’d communicated with you telepathically, it scared the shit out of you. Now, you just wished you knew how to do it. 

You hesitated for just a moment before pushing the door open and entering the bedroom that smelled of herbs and old books. “I can teach you,” Came Loki’s voice from across the room. He was standing at the window, his back turned to you with hands clasped behind him. Raven locks cascaded down to just past his shoulders, leading your eyes to the soft-looking green T-shirt that he wore. You’d never seen Loki in a T-shirt, but now that you had, you could hardly tear your eyes away. It clung to him perfectly, showing off his muscly torso and even though he wore that color green constantly, it suddenly looked brand new. 

“Finished yet?” He asked, turning to you with a smirk that brought a blush to your cheeks. You hadn’t put up a wall, and he was listening in on your thoughts--not that any barrier you could have put up would’ve been strong enough to deter Loki. 

“You can teach me?” You ignored his question, shifting uncomfortably. 

Loki nodded and started towards you. “It’s simple, really. It’s even easier to communicate with those who are devoted to you, especially for gods.” He locked eyes with you pointedly, and you knew that he wasn’t just speaking generally. He was talking about you, you were devoted to him. You were, in fact, wrapped around his finger.

You were startled back into reality when he took your hand, and you were just barely able to water down the emotions before they hit you like a brick to the face. They were still there, burning hatred and heartbreak behind your primary thoughts, like a simmering pot on the back-burner. It stung like a sour memory, and you fought back tears that threatened to spill over. You hated how Loki was treated, you resented Odin for the things he made Loki feel. You wanted to drive a blade into everyone who had ever hurt him--not enough to kill them, but enough to make them suffer.

 “Look at me, pet,” Loki murmured, stroking a gentle hand against your cheek. You lifted your gaze to meet his eyes, and he looked back down at you solemnly, with understanding. You opened your mouth to speak, to apologize, to express your resentment for everyone who had ever scarred him, but he shushed you before the words could form. 

“I want you to look at me, and to think hard about what you want me to hear. Say it in your head, feel the words inside you.”

You looked down at his hand, slender fingers intertwined with yours. “Well how do I know if it works if you can just listen in on my thoughts anyways?”

Loki chuckled. “I won’t, I swear. Just think about what you want to say to me, and say it to yourself like you need to make yourself believe it.”

I don’t know, hey? What’s up, Trickster?

It didn’t work. You struggled to find something to say, your thoughts coming up in a tangle of nonsense. It was hard enough to control the flood of emotions threatening to break the dam, but to concentrate on telepathy was another thing all in itself.   Loki squeezed your hand, his blue eyes sparkling in either amusement or admiration, and you realized just how easy it was for you to get lost in them. Those eyes had seen so many things, had lived through countless experiences--wars, heartbreaks, victories and losses. You wanted to hear about every single one. 

“Think it like a prayer,” Loki said softly.

It came to you almost effortlessly, like it was written on your heart. 

“I want to know you.”

You knew it worked that time, you felt the connection, and you saw it in Loki’s features. His eyebrows knitted together in confusion. 

“You already know me better than anyone else,” Came his reply. 

He was right, of course, but he also knew that wasn’t what you meant. “I want to know you, Loki. I want to know everything about you, to memorize you inside and out.”

“Why?” He asked aloud, his features flooded with a mixture of emotions that were churning in your mind. Confusion and fear. Hope and admiration. Love. 

Mindlessly, you reached down for his other hand, holding onto him like a lifeline. “Because during my time here, I’ve realized that you are so much more than what everyone makes you out to be. Today, Tony and Steve tried to tell me to stay away from you, but they don’t know you like I do.” You drew in a deep breath. “And they don’t know me like you do. Nobody does.”

He looked at you with wide eyes, his lips slightly parted. You knew he didn’t want to open himself to you completely, that he was afraid. His hands were shaking--or maybe those were yours. 

“And I need you more than air,” You added, the sudden realization knocking the air from your lungs. 

“My gods, (Y/N). . .” Loki murmured, his face flushed a light shade of pink. “How in hel have you done this to me?” 

Before you could ask what he meant, his lips were on yours. You gasped, and he released your hands to move his to your waist, bringing you slowly into him. You rested your palms against his chest, then let them snake up to toy with the ends of his silken hair. 

“Never in my entire life have I ever thought I’d fall for a mortal,” Loki explained, pulling away to rest his forehead against yours. “But you, my dear, are anything but ordinary.” His hands wandered up your sides, and he murmured something about perfection. With a content sigh, he asked, “Are you certain you aren’t a goddess?”

With a short, breathy laugh, you nodded. “I’m pretty sure.”

“There is no goddess like you anyway,” Loki stated, bringing his lips back down to yours and walking you backwards until your calves hit the side of his bed. “You are so much more.”

“Loki,” You pleaded, letting him push you down on the mattress so he was above you, his hair forming a curtain around your faces. 

He wet his lips, and as he waved his hand, you heard the distinct sound of the door locking. “You say you want to know me,” He said lowly, “And there’s no time like the present.” 

You impatiently tugged on his hair, drawing a growl from his lips.