#loki mcu

“Aw, it still has a sense of humor.” Loki said. 

“Bite me, asshole.”

Loki smiled, “Only if you ask nicely.”

“Enough you two,” Thor cut in, his voice deep and demanding. “Loki, have you seen mother?”

“A meeting, I believe.”

Two sets of heavy gold doors suddenly opened. “I’m here.”

As Thor launched into a long winded explanation of what had happened, Frigga turned her full attention onto you. 

Between the heat of your body, despite the fact you felt like you’d been shoved under a constant freezing shower, and the pain beginning to grow in your bones, you could barely register the feeling of her hand on your forehead. 

“It’s okay,” she said, her voice gentle. “You’re going to be alright here. Our Doctors are some of the best.”

The smile on her face reminded you of Loki, though it was more warming to your soul than twisting to your stomach. 

“It’s a good job you brought her when you did.”

“Are you sure?” Loki asked, loud enough for you to hear. 

With a groan, you looked at Frigga. “Your son’s an asshole.”

Frigga, in the same way you’d seen Thor do, tried her best to hide her smile. “Ignore him, dear. He’s just being a pest because he’s not the centre of attention.”

“Hey!”

Through the pain, you managed to crack a smile. “Ha, I knew I’d like you.” Then, you managed to look at Loki as he stood on the other side of the bed. “I like your mom.”

Loki hummed, though it was all in good humor. “Well, she has her favourites.”

You managed to smile, but it quickly turned as a large pain shot throughout your body. 

“Mother, there must be something you can do.” Thor was standing somewhere by your feet, not that you could make him out through the tears in your eyes. 

Frigga nodded, determined. “There is. But I’ll need the room. And time.”

“How much time?”

Frigga looked at her sons. “I’ll come and get you when I’m finished. Oh, and boys? Ready the blue room. It’ll be calming for her once she’s in recovery.”

Loki and Thor nodded before taking their leave and Frigga began giving her orders to the staff, as they brought herbs and liquids. 

“Now, dear, I can’t promise this will be pleasant but I can promise you, it will work.”

Still shaking, you nodded. “What…whatever you need to do.”

“Brave girl.”

You passed out from the pain after fifteen minutes of her beginning her cure. 

“Will she be alright?” Loki asked his brother as they watched staff prepare the Blue Room. 

Thor didn’t know what to say. “Mother will take care of her. Since when do you care for her wellbeing?”

Loki shrugged. “It’s not that I don’t, but I don’t like the idea of her dying, either.”

“I need to go.”

“What?”

Loki tracked his brother’s movements as he travelled down the hall, past the next bedroom which Loki just happened to be staying in, and towards the exit. 

“Thor-”

“I need to find out where she’s been in the last week. I need to know where she contracted this infection.”

“You can’t just leave her here.”

Thor smiled as he turned and looked at his brother. “Sure I can. She’s got you.”

“Wha- no. Thor, no.”

“Yes.” Thor said. “You said it yourself, you care for her wellbeing.”

“No,” Loki corrected. “I said I don’t like the idea of her dying.”

Thor shrugged. “Same thing. Take care of her, brother.”

Loki shouted after him, but he was already flying towards the rainbow bridge. 

“Shit.”

“My Prince?”

Loki turned quickly on his heels to see a familiar member of staff. 

“Your mother is asking for you.”

Five minutes later, passing the golden hallways and the newly finished bedroom, Loki was entering through the heavy golden doors. 

“How is she?”

“Sleeping,” Frigga told her son. 

The final cohort of the nurses had passed him in the hallway just as he entered. Now, it was just himself, his mother and you. 

Loki let his fingers trail beside you on your bed before, without thinking, he reached out as gently brushed the hair away from your forehead. 

“She’ll be okay,” Frigga said, a warm smile on her face, as she approached the table. “She’s a strong woman.”

“Strong willed, strong-headed.”

Frigga nodded. “All the best of us are.”

Loki smiled, looking towards his mother, before looking back at you. 

Laying on the golden top table, you still looked as drained as when he first saw you. But, you were no longer in pain. Your breathing was steady and even, as was your heart rate. 

You’d be okay. 

But it would be a process for your body to recover from. 

“She’s going to need a friend,” Frigga mentioned, seeing the way Loki looked at you. “When she wakes.”

A wall came up inside of him as he stepped away and let you go. 

“I-I’m not really a friend.”

“Perhaps not before,” Frigga hummed. “But she’ll still be in need of a familiar face.”

There was a pained expression on his face as he looked to his mother, before his gaze landed back on your sleeping one. 

“Hopefully…hopefully Thor will find his answers soon. Then he can be her familiar face.”

You remained asleep for five days. 

And in those five days, as different maids and nurses came to check on you, and change you, it became a rare occurrence to not see Loki by your bedside. 

“What are you doing here?”

Loki looked up from his book to see you, finally, awake. Upon closing his book, he smiled. 

“I live here.”

You scowled, trying to move. “Were you watching me sleep?”

He held up his book. “It’s pretty interesting. The female lead pretends to hate the male lead, but she’s actually in love with him.”

You barked a laugh.

“How are you feeling?”

Settling against the pillows, you sighed. “Aching. Sore. A little dizzy.”

Loki nodded. “That’s all normal.”

“How long have I been out?”

“Five days.”

“Did you find out what it was?”

Loki nodded. “Thor’s currently trying to find its origin in case anyone else contracted it. To us, it’s like a common cold. But, to mortals…”

“It sends us to our death bed.”

“Pretty much.”

You let out a puff of air. “Bet you were praying for it to work on me.”

Loki nodded. “Oh, certainly. I’d at least get a floor to myself in your so-called Tower.”

You let out a small laugh. “Oh, please. You could just share with Thor.”

“I already have done that for the last thousand years. I don’t need another thousand of it.”

Again, you chuckled. And so did Loki. But you couldn’t lie and think about what it meant since it wasn’t long before his mother, Frigga, and some of her ladies-maids waltzed in and kicked Loki out. 

With a small bow, he closed both doors as he made his exit. 

Going through similar questions with Frigga, she helped you bathe and get dressed into Asgardian robes which had you questioning the quality of your own clothes at home. 

“I don’t think I’ve thanked you yet,” you said, turning to face Frigga properly. 

“No need, dear.”

You nodded. “But I do. You saved my life, so…without knowing how I can repay you…thank you. For everything.”

Frigga smiled a warm and gentle smile as she took your hands in hers. “You are welcome, my dear. But you needn’t worry. And, although I have to admit, it’s not the way I thought we would have met, I am glad to finally be meeting you.”

“You are?”

“Loki has mentioned your name a few times. Still does, especially when he talks of his time on your Earth.”

“He has?”

Frigga nodded. “Oh, yes.”

You chuckled a little, watching as she let your hands go and crossed the room towards the shelves. 

What followed turned out to be the three weirdest weeks of your life. 

You began to learn about Asgard and their people, about Frigga and how she became Queen of Asgard. You began to hear stories of when Thor and Loki were just kids. 

And, perhaps the oddest thing of all, you saw Loki. 

And not just physically. 

You began to see him. 

Was he still an asshole? Yes. You figured he always would be. He wouldn’t be a Trickster without being a little bit of an asshole. 

But you saw how he treated the people around him. And how he treated his mother. You saw how he acted when he was alone, thinking no-one was watching him. 

There was something calming about him. 

For a while, you stood in the doorway of his room which was right next door to yours. He was no longer in his full royal attire but rather trousers and a shirt. 

Having discarded his black tie over the back of one of the chairs, he was walking back and forth between his desk and the floor to ceiling bookcase. 

Most of the time, his nose was buried in at least one book. Though, you had seen him read two at the same time, flipping between the chapters as he made notes in a completely different book. 

“I didn’t think you’d be like this.”

Loki almost tripped over himself as he turned and looked towards his door to see you. “Y/n.”

Slowly, you walked inside. “I thought you might have been sleeping in a cave, upside down like a bat. And only ever coming out to, I don’t know, pull dark pranks on people you wanted revenge on.”

“I still do, but I tend to leave that for the winter.”

You cracked a smile, rounding his desk, feeling his eyes trace every single movement you made. But at no point did he try to stop you from snooping. 

“Instead, you’re…a librarian, an entertainer, and a mediator. When you want to be.”

“I find it more entertaining harbouring peace in my home, these days, than I used to.”

“It’s a good look on you.”

Loki cocked his head a little, a teasing smile playing on his lips. “Was that a compliment?”

“I’ll deny it if anyone asks me.”

He chuckled, his laugh a little more breathy. “Of course. Anything I can help with?”

“It’s more what could I help you with,” you pointed out. “I’ve been watching you for the last ten minutes-”

“Now who’s the stalker?”

“And you seem to have your hands full.”

Loki studied you for a moment. “Recovery is getting to you, isn’t it?”

“I’ve never been more bored.”

Loki laughed, walking forward and dropping the book he’d been holding onto his desk. “Well, in that case, welcome. I’m sure you’ll be running back to the bi-frost in no time.”

Surprisingly, you didn’t. Instead, it became a highly entertaining evening as you helped Loki sort through his books as he hunted through each of them for information that might help Thor in his search for the origin of your infection. 

However, as the moon began to creep into the sky, a long needed tiredness began to take over. And, just as the moon passed its highest point in the sky, you fell asleep on Loki’s bedroom desk. 

The moment he noticed, Loki quietly shut his book and tidied up a little before laying a gentle hand on your shoulder. When you didn’t wake, he chuckled and leaned down. 

In two delicate movements, Loki lifted you in his arms and began to carry you back towards your bedroom. According to his mother, your recovery was still on-going, so falling asleep at a desk wouldn’t exactly help speed up that time. 

“Shush,” Loki whispered quietly to you as he laid you down in your bed and you woke for a brief moment. “It’s okay, go back to sleep.”

You hummed in your sleep before turning onto your side. 

For a moment, he took a mental image of you. Often, when he visited your planet, you seemed…worn. Tired. Exhausted from the fights you had to carry out in order to save the people around you, as well as make it home safe. And, often, there was also a scowl on your face when it came to looking at him. 

But, over the last three weeks, that scowl had slowly transitioned into a light smile that you couldn’t hide, even if you tried. There were still times you scowled at him, but it wasn’t as deep-seated as the others had been. 

Reaching out, Loki pushed the fallen hair away from your face and back against your pillow. Finally, covering your sleeping frame with the blankets, he leaned down and pressed a light kiss to your temple. 

“Sweet dreams, Y/n.”

And you did. Except, what you woke up to wasn’t as sweet. 

“Well, how long has she been here?! She’s no more use than that last mortal idiot who-”

“She’s not an idiot, and her name is Y/n!”

Loki’s voice had echoed throughout the hallways so much that everything that made a noise in the silence following his exclamation was almost deafening. 

“Dear, she was sick and she is still in need of recovery,” Frigga’s voice carried towards your room, followed by footsteps. 

“Really? How quickly did she pass out when you started to heal her? Ten, twenty seconds?”

“Fifteen minutes.”

The footsteps came to a halt. And the hallways became deadly silent. Even the soft ruffling of your bed covers felt loud in your ear drums. 

The trio began talking again, however quieter. And barely thirty seconds later, with Loki’s voice carrying a plea of, “Father-”, the doors to your room opened without a single knock. 

Yet, all three stared at the empty but made bed before their eyes turned around the room and landed on you. 

“Odin, I presume?" 

“Ms Y/n?”

You nodded, watching as Frigga reached out and held onto her son’s wrist whilst Odin began walking towards you. 

“My wife tells me you lasted fifteen minutes before you passed out from the pain of her cure. I have to say, even I haven’t lasted that long under the duress of pain.”

You shrugged. “Women have been known to have a higher pain tolerance.”

Odin laughed, turning to look at his wife. “She’s smart.”

Frigga smiled. “Told you I liked her.”

Odin turned back to you once more. “My son also tells me you work with my other son, back on your home planet.”

You nodded. “I do. Well- I try. Both of your sons seem to have a mind of their own, most of the time.”

You were glad to catch a glimpse of Loki’s smile. It warmed something inside of you. 

“I see,” Odin said as he studied you. “Well, stay for as long as you need. My son has spoken highly of you, but he has also told me you're rather…bored. Perhaps I can find some use for you here. At least until you return home.”

You smiled, “Happy to help where I can.”

Odin nodded before finally bidding you good-day and going about his business for the day. 

“So that’s Odin.”

Loki nodded. “That’s Odin.”

A little over a week later, when you thought all the weird was gone, a shock came to your system. 

For the last month, whilst you’d been recovering on Asgard, yourself and Loki had come to an…unspoken deal. That, for the sake of those around, you would both keep the verbal jousting to a minimum. 

What you hadn’t calculated, however, was that it left an open space for you to begin to see Loki. And it gave him space to see you. 

And, somewhere within four weeks and that space that just kept seemingly growing, you and Loki had become friends. Of sorts. 

Late nights, you worked together. He at his desk, you at yours. But, somewhere between supper and midnight, you’d migrate together. 

As you sat criss-crossed on the sofa, Loki sat on the floor beside you. When you needed a script, he’d hand it over to you, and you’d find the information he was in need of, from the book that laid open on your lap. 

Some mornings you’d wake in your bed, despite knowing you’d definitely fallen asleep on the sofa. Other mornings, you’d still be asleep, but Loki would be on the floor beside you, your hands barely an inch from each other. 

Most days, you talked to each other. He explained a few things about Asgard before telling you stories he’d never told anyone. Not because they were a secret, but simply because he’d never felt the need or the want to before. 

Teasing you over your Mid-gardian style, Loki would lay in wait for you to eventually tell him stories of your own childhood, or of working with the Avengers. 

And when you did, he saw you light up in a way that had been rare before Thor had brought you home. 

To his home. 

But, now, you are leaving. 

“He loves you dearly, my child.” 

You jumped a little at the voice that came from behind you. For the last two minutes, you’d been watching Loki in – surprisingly – a little pain. The thought of leaving him was…you didn’t fully know what. 

What you did know was that part of you wanted to stay. 

And a small part of that was down to him. 

Turning, you smiled at Frigga. Her warming and loving smile was something you’d definitely miss. 

“Frigga.”

“He does,” she told you as she took your hands in her own. “More than you may ever know. More than he may ever know.”

Looking down the grand hallway, you watched as one of the servant's children ran towards Loki, showing him a picture he’d drawn of the palace. 

Loki often pretended to have no feeling towards his people. But you saw the look in his eyes when he spoke of them and you could guarantee, one hundred percent, that when you opened up the draw inside his desk, you’d find that exact picture along with two dozen others they’d drawn for him. 

“We’re just…”

“Friends?” Frigga asked. “Well, it was more than you were before you arrived here. I am going to miss you, terribly, my dear. It was nice to have another woman around this place.”

“You know, I don’t know how often you can visit other places but…if you’re ever in New York…”

“That sounds wonderful, my dear.” Frigga pulled you into a motherly hug. “I might just do that.”

You smiled at her, hugging her back. 

However, what you failed to notice as you did so, was Loki turning around in the hallway and stopping just short of his office. The image of you and his mother talking and smiling and enjoying each other’s company would be a memory he’d cherish forever. 

He disappeared into his office before you could spot him, but the moment he left, you felt his absence. 

“Ready?” Hemindal asked you as you stood beside him. 

You’d said your goodbyes at the palace. Frigga had hugged you tight, Odin had bowed his head and Loki had stood there. 

Neither of you had been able to move, but you simply smiled and said goodbye. 

However, standing beside Hemindal, something small started to grow in the pit of your stomach and your arms ached for…

For Loki. 

“Wait! Y/n!”

Turning around, you spotted the Trickster running towards you. 

“Just- just give me a minute?”

Hemindal stepped back, a smile on his face. “Take your time, my lady.”

Your voice was quiet as you stepped away with a, “Thank you”, before rushing towards Loki. 

“What are you-”

Almost as if he’d read your mind, you were suddenly pulled tight against Loki before you managed to wrap your arms over his broad shoulders. 

“I don’t want this to be goodbye.”

You smiled into him. “If you make it back to Earth, this is just ‘see you later’.”

He nodded, setting you back down on your feet but continuing to hold you in his arms. “I mean it. This isn’t goodbye.”

You glared, a little playfully. “Is that a threat or a promise?”

He chuckled. “Both.”

“Good.” 

As Loki’s gaze bore into yours, he smiled a little more. “I’m glad we’re friends now.”

“So am I.”

But I wish we could be more, said a quiet voice in the back of your head. You hadn’t been expecting it, but it wasn’t a thought you wanted to disappear too quickly. 

“Don’t be a stranger,” you told him once you made it back to Hemindal. 

“I promise,” Loki smiled as he waved you off. 

Then you were back home. Back to work. Back to reality and Earth. Constantly thinking about the last person you thought would ever be on your mind. 

“Hello? Earth to Y/n,” Bruce said, shaking his hand in front of your face to grab your attention. 

“Yeah? Sorry.”

“Are you alright?” Bruce asked, a breathy chuckle leaving him. “You’ve been kinda distracted lately.”

You nodded. “Yeah, sorry. Just…in my own head, I guess. I’ll focus more, I’m sorry.”

He shrugged it off. “Don’t worry about it. What’s going on? Is this, like, a side effect of the Asgardian Flu?”

You shook your head, a tired smile on your face. “No, just me. I’ll try and focus more.”

Bruce just shook his head as if to say Don’t worry about it, but he kept his eye on you. 

You continued to work at the same pace you always did, but it was almost like your body was on auto-pilot. You were doing calculations to the fabric of the universe whilst physically building something from the opposite side of science. 

“She’s not ill, is she?” Kate asked. 

Joaquin shook his head. “No. Asgardian’s fixed that problem.”

“Could she be constipated?”

The pair turned and looked at Scott who had just appeared. 

“What? She looks pensive.”

“Who are we stalking?” Thor asked, scaring the trio practically shitless. “Sorry.”

Kate hitched a thumb over her shoulder towards you in your lab. “Y/n. She’s quiet. And we’re trying to figure out why.”

Thor, as he crouched with the three of them, looked towards you. “Oh, she’s in love.”

Then he walked away. 

“What?!” Kate and Joaquin shouted as they looked at each other before racing after Thor. 

“What do you mean?” Scott asked, catching up to them. 

“She’s in love,” he repeated, as if it didn’t just shatter their view of you. 

“With who?”

“My brother. Ah, there’s the kitchen.”

The trio looked between each other before racing after Thor once again. Finally pushing their way into the kitchen, they found Thor opening a box of pop-tarts. 

“As in…Loki?”

Thor laughed. “Who else?”

“But they hate each other.”

“And,” Thor began. “I left them alone for a month. Together. I believe it’s called Forced Proximity. At least, that’s what Darcy told me it’s called. Apparently it’s in her new favourite book.”

“You…you used a romance book as…as a manual?”

Thor thought on it for a moment as he chewed on his poptart. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“And we’re sure it’s Loki?” Joaquin asked. 

Thor nodded. “Of course. But, he’s been in love with her for a lot longer so I guess he’s had time to deal with it.”

“WHAT?!”

Thor nodded. “Yeah, like, what? Three years?”

“Three- Oh, my god.” 

“Whoa,” Kate said, catching Scott with Joaquin’s help. 

“I think I need to sit down.”

“Yeah,” Joaquin agreed. “You and us both.”

“What do you mean he’s been in love with her for three years? They’ve done nothing but fight for three years.” Kate pointed out. 

Thor shrugged. “Loki is a trickster. He knows how to keep people from seeing the truth. You’ll spot the signs eventually, it just takes a couple hundred years. Give or take.”

“Give or ta-” Scott ran a hand down his face. “Do you have orange slices? I feel like I’ve just shrunk from being big, again.”

Kate nodded and ran towards the fridge to grab them. 

“Thor, how much do you know about your brother’s feelings towards Y/n?”

What followed was a three hour story of how Thor came to realise Loki was in love with you, and how he’d hidden it all this time. 

The biggest give away was the fact you were the one repeated name in his stories when he spoke to his mother. 

And, despite the annoyed tone, both Thor and his mother could hear the admiration behind his voice. 

Then came the day Loki himself realised he was in love with you. It came six months after meeting you. He’d been helping Thor and the rest of the team with a Hydra…thing when Sam had pulled, in your words, “The most reckless and stupidest move ever known to the history of man.”. 

Wilson had nearly gotten himself killed and you chewed him out on it. And when the others tried to step in to calm you, you chewed them out too. 

However, when Loki held out his hands and stepped forward, you’d turned before he could even fully plant his foot on the ground. 

“Hey!” 

Your finger pointing at him, your eyes remained on his. Your breathing was heavy and your eye contact felt deeper than ever. But…you didn’t chew him out. You didn’t shout or yell at him. 

You just stared. Like a silent conversation was taking place. 

You never said a word until you turned back to the others, yelling at them to “Never do that again!”. 

As you took your leave from the hallway, Loki remained in shock as his eyes trailed after you. Part of Loki wanted you to have yelled at him. He got a kick out of your verbal spars with him. But there was something deeper about him wanting to talk to you at the moment. There was something deeper about why he wanted to follow you down the hall and make sure you were okay. 

But, he didn’t. 

Instead, when he returned home, he paced around the palace for three days before returning back to earth where he was told he’d be sharing a floor with you since he wasn’t there often and it was the only other floor that held a spare, but separate, room. 

Then he paced for another three days until he’d finally accepted his conclusion. 

After that, he became more simple than he thought. 

“Holy shit.”

“I know.”

“I can’t believe we’re Avengers.” Scott announced. 

They all turned to look at him. 

“We’re meant to know, like, everything. And we can’t even see when one of us has feelings for someone?”

“We’re…” Joaquin was lacking in excuses. “Avengers. Not Detectives.”

“Good one,” Kate whispered quietly. 

Joaquin held out his fist and Kate bumped her own against it. “Thanks.”

“Seriously, how did we miss this?” Scott asked. 

As the days began to turn into weeks, more and more Avengers joined the trio in watching your movements. 

You were still on auto-pilot when you worked, but when you were just sitting still, all you could do was think. They tried talking to you, but no reply would come. Not that they blamed you. 

Finding out you're in love with the last person you ever thought you’d even catch feelings for, took a lot of time to sink in. 

They could practically hear the cogs turning in your head. 

“Should we help her?”

Scott shook his head, eating from the bowl of popcorn. “No. Hope says she’s got to figure it out for herself. That way she knows it’s real.”

“But she’s been like this for almost a month. I don’t like it,” Joaquin said before pouring some of his m&ms into Kate’s hand. 

“I don’t like it either,” Kate whispered. “But Scott’s right- well, Hope. We can’t interfere.”

An idea struck him. “What if we don’t?”

Scott stared at him for a while. “Nope, you’ve lost me.”

“We don’t have to interfere,” Joaquin said. “But we know someone who could.”

Kate clicked her tongue. “Sam and Bucky both agreed with Hope-”

“Not them. Though, that does surprise me that they don’t want to meddle. No. I was thinking of someone a little more…God-like.”

It took four days of planning but the trio finally had an idea sorted out. 

And the minute Kate saw the flash of light outside her room, she ran directly down the hall, banged on Joaquin’s door before throwing herself inside. 

“Look outside.”

Shoving him closer to the window, she pointed. “See him?”

Joaquin smiled. “I see him.”

The moment Loki stared up at the Avengers building, he wiped his hand nervously on his legs. He hadn’t seen you in just over two months, and yet you hadn’t left his thoughts once. 

He’d been dealing with the same thing for close to four years, but not once in those four years had either of you been friends. Not once in those four years could he have held out hope that you might be happy to see him. 

But after your stay on Asgard…he wasn’t so certain that stuffing the hope away was the right thing to do. 

You told him not to be a stranger, hadn’t you? And that you were glad he was your friend? 

Or had that all been a dream? 

“Brother!” 

The greeting was the same as always. Care, if a little caution. But, all in all, the evening was fun. Games were played, stories were told. 

But Loki couldn’t help but notice someone was missing. 

You. 

“Looking for someone in particular, Loki?”

Loki turned, forcing a laugh into his drink. “I have no idea what you mean, brother.”

Thor nodded with a knowing smile before leaning a little closer. “She has a new lab on the third floor. We’ve all tried to get her to leave it. Perhaps you might have a little more luck?”

As Thor picked up a bottle of tequila and walked away, Loki took all of thirty seconds to decide to go in search of you. 

And it wasn’t long until he found you. 

Just like Thor had told him, you had a new lab on the third floor. In fact, it made up the entirety of the third floor. 

“The way I hear it, you’re missing one hell of a party.”

You yelped a little, dropping the spanner from your hand into the tray table in front of you. 

Turning, you found Loki leaning against one of the storage units, fiddling with one of the broken web shooters Peter had asked you to take a look at. 

“Loki,” your voice came out with a smile on your face. “You’re here.”

Smiling at you, Loki placed the web shooter back before strolling closer to you. For a moment, you tried to keep yourself busy. 

Holding onto your spanner once more, you started to work on your current project. You needed to do something that kept your hands from shaking in his presence. 

“I missed you upstairs.”

You nodded, slowly. “Yeah, I, uh, I guess I just lost track of time.”

“Anything I can help you with?”

A smile appeared on your face again as you looked towards his own. “Uh, no. No, I don’t think so. But thank you.”

Loki simply nodded and took a small step back from your working table. 

“Are you alright?” He asked as he took a turn around your lab. 

“I’m fine. Why do you ask?”

Loki turned slowly on his heel and looked at you with an intrigued expression. You had answered his question way too quickly. Even by your standards. 

“Well, I know that’s a lie.”

“It’s not a lie.” 

You lied again. He knew you had. You knew he knew you had. 

Shit. 

You sighed, “It’s not something you can help with.”

“Are you sure?”

You nodded. “I wish you could. Believe me, it’s taken me months and I still haven’t…”

Your eyes locked with his from across your lab as your sentence died away. 

Maybe you were right. Maybe he is the last person, but he’s also the first…

“Figured it out,” you eventually managed to finish, although slightly breathless. 

There was an edge to Loki’s smirk as he looked at you with a small courteous nod. “Well,” he said. “Here’s to hoping you figure it out soon.”

“Yeah.” 

“So…” Loki continued, “How have you been?”

You back to him, a little relieved he’d fallen back into ‘Asgard’ territory. At least, that’s what you’d been calling it in your head. 

Most normal people would probably just call it being civil and talking. 

“Well, whatever your mom’s magic did, it seemed to cure pretty much everything inside of me.”

“Including your ‘cold, dead heart’?”

You chuckled. “Ooh, no. Sorry. I’m afraid nothing can cure that.”

Loki laughed, and so did you. But in the silence of it all you started to realise that maybe, just maybe, that ‘cold, dead heart’ you’d once spoken of, was thawed and beginning to warm. 

Especially towards Loki. 

“How is your mother?”

“She’s well. She asks about you often. I believe she wishes to visit you soon.”

The normal side of talking continued for…you didn’t know how long. But it was long enough for Kate to get drunk on Asgardian liquor and come running to find you. 

“How long do you think she’s gonna be hungover for?” 

When Kate had come down to your lab, blabbing about…something (most of her words were slurred. The most you could make out was “I love you guys, so much,”) yourself and Loki had carried her to bed. 

“Asgardian liquor can have different effects depending on the mortal. How is she with normal liquor?”

You shrugged. “Depends on the type and the quantity. I banned her from tequila when she cried for three hours and then proceeded to send pinterest pictures of cute animals to her ex.”

Loki couldn’t help but chuckle. Both at the information, and the way you reported it. Almost like it was an announcement on the evening news. 

“I’ll stick around for a few days. Thor’s been given an assignment and I’ve suffered through enough of those hangovers to know the better cures.”

You smiled, “Thank you.”

But it was only as he was bidding you goodnight after walking you to your room – despite it being in the same hallway as his own – that you realised what that meant. 

Loki was staying. 

With you. 

In the tower. 

For more time than usual. 

On a normal day, before Asgard, you would have ignored him to the best of your ability. But now he was your friend. And…and the person you wanted more with. 

You managed to survive three days, which is more than you could say for Kate who had been dealing with the world’s worst hangover, quite literally. 

“Here, drink up.”

Loki placed a tall glass of something blue in front of her. 

“What is it?” Kate couldn’t even open her eyes as she looked up. 

The minute she sniffed it, she gagged. 

“Oh, my god,” she drew out. “What the hell is that?”

“Probably best you don’t ask questions.”

With a grimace, she looked at Loki before looking at you. You could only nod and look at Loki. He looked like he was going through it with Kate. 

“Here goes nothing.”

It took Kate all of an hour to finish the drink without throwing up. 

“I’ll make you another one in three hours.”

As Kate made a wretching noise, you led her back to her room which smelled a little less of alcohol stained clothes. 

“That was totally disgusting.”

“Just lay down and try to get some sleep. I’ll wake you when dinner’s ready.”

Kate shook her head. “I can’t eat. Not after that drink. Just…wake me up when the next century hits.”

Chuckling lightly, you covered her up and closed the blinds until her room was encased in darkness. 

It took you ten minutes to get out of her room without bruising yourself…again. 

“Sleeping?” Loki asked as he met you in the hallway. 

You nodded. “For now. She says to wake her up next century.”

“Noted.” Loki nodded along. “I’ve made some tea, if you’d care for a cup?”

With a tired sigh, you followed him back to the kitchen. “Love one.”

“Solve your problem yet?” 

Laying the steaming cup down, you shook your head. “Not yet. But I’m close. I think.”

The edge that had taken over his smirk three days ago suddenly reappeared. “Let me know when you do. I figure whatever it is, will have an interesting conclusion.”

“Maybe,” you agreed. But you weren’t fully convinced. 

After all, how could the last person on any planet be the first person you’d thought of in a romantic futuristic sense. Sure, there had been past relationships and dreams but, when it came to Loki, it all felt more real somehow. 

Like, if you said them outloud, they would come true. 

And you didn’t know if that scared you shitless, or intrigued you to the point of excitement.

But it all came to a head one night just a little after two in the morning. 

You’d fallen asleep just a few hours before, comfortable in bed, only to wake in a cold sweat and someone calling your name softly. 

“Loki?”

“Yeah,” his voice was softer than usual. “It’s me.” 

He whispered in the darkness of your room, his hands reaching out to hold you.

It was the first time you’d felt comforted. Though, with a mother like Frigga, you shouldn’t have been surprised. 

“I-I couldn’t-”

Loki nodded. “I know. It’s okay. You’re safe. They can’t hurt you anymore.”

“It felt so real.”

Smoothing down your hair, Loki mumbled light words into your temple before pressing a kiss in the same spot. 

“It’s okay, you’re safe.”

A small gasp left you. “Did I wake you- Loki, I’m so sorry.”

He shook his head. “No. No, Jarvis alerted me. And I’m glad he did. Can I get you anything?”

You shook your head, still a little out of it. “Can you stay?”

“Of course.”

In the comfort of darkness, you let Loki wrap himself around you like a protection barrier from the nightmares you’d just suffered through. 

Laying in between his legs and on his chest, his palm settled over your head. “Rest now, my love. You can rest now. You’re safe.”

Only when he was certain you’d drifted off did he add, “I love you.”

Waking in the morning, you found your position barely changed. Loki’s arms were still around you, only you lay facing each other. Beneath the new addition of a green blanket, no doubt conjured up by the Trickster God himself, your legs tangled and wrapped around his own as if he was your own personal anchor to the real world. 

When he finally woke, you both just laid there. Neither one of you moved, nor did you say a word. 

The longer the heavy silence carried out, however, you came to a conclusion. 

“I think I’m falling in love with you,” you admitted, a little confused by yourself. 

“Is that your conclusion to your problem?” A small smile toyed on Loki’s lips as he spoke. 

“I think so. I just…I don’t know for certain.”

“What’s holding you back?”

“Our beginning. I mean, we hated each other, didn’t we?”

A breathy, quiet laugh left Loki. “I never hated you. I never could. And, for whatever you may be thinking, I don’t think you hated me either.”

“How could you know that?”

“Because you’re not capable of it.” Loki’s gaze softened as he looked at you. “You used to laugh over having a ‘cold, dead heart’, but you never saw how bright it shined. You care deeply, especially about the people you love. You also have an understanding of people. I’ve seen that with my own eyes. But it’s not in you to carry hatred in your heart.”

Taking in your expression, Loki continued. 

“I see you, Y/n. Even when you think no-one’s looking.”

He didn’t know it (or maybe he did), but he just hit you like a freight train. And the hits just kept on coming. 

His smile was soft. Genuine. “I’ve waited a thousand years to even have the chance to meet someone like you, Y/n. You can take your time to figure us out. I’ll wait forever for you, if you’ll let me.”

I love you enough to leave, if that’s what you want me to do. But please don’t. 

Unsure of what to say, you did the only thing you could think of. You reached out for him. Though you didn’t have to reach far. 

Still tangled with him, you softly laid your palm on his cheek and watched as his eyes fluttered closed for a moment and he leaned into your touch. 

Almost as if it was second nature to him, Loki laid his own hand over yours as he turned his head. He pressed a long kiss to your palm before opening his eyes once again. 

He was slow to hold you and remove it from his face, though at no point did he drop it. Instead, he held it in both of his hands before his fingers traced each line of your hand as if imagining the parts of your life he hadn’t seen. 

All the parts of your life that led you to him. To your (fateful) first meeting. To your stay on Asgard. To this very moment, lay in his arms, finally knowing some of what he’d been carrying for you for almost four years. 

Flushing his own palm against yours, you allowed your fingers to interconnect with his own.

Neither of you spoke. You didn’t have to. Enough was being said in the shared silence. 

It took two more weeks and a visit from Frigga for you to understand just how deeply the feelings you’d discovered you had for Loki ran. 

And, although you may never be able to fully comprehend how your life was destined to meet a God and have him be your First Person; especially when he was the last person you would have ever suspected it to be.

You knew one thing for absolutely certain, and that was that you loved him. And he loved you. Most likely, as Frigga said, more deeply than either of you knew. 

For Loki, you had been written in the stars for him. As for you?

For you, Loki had roots buried deep within your Life Line. 

He was close enough now that you could just barely hear his footsteps, his boots against the ground. You gulped, and right as you decided that you were about to turn and bolt as far and fast as you could, you felt hands on the backs of your shoulders. You screamed in terror and the chuckle that came from behind you was both comforting and frightening. 

"I thought you had learned not to trust what you see or hear when with me, love." 

As if you'd just ran again, your breathing was fast. He squeezed your right shoulder once, a subtle question to make sure you were well. You nodded lightly. He proceeded. 

"Did you really think it would be fair? Going against me? Someone so beautiful, so cherished, running from me and expecting me not to catch her?" 

You realized suddenly that the footsteps you'd heard, maybe even the twig snapping, hadn't truly been his doing. Simply an auditory illusion, or one of his doubles in the case you looked over. He could've been watching you this entire time. Somehow. 

His body pressed against yours, pressing you further against the rough tree bark. You could smell him so well from here, and you felt yourself salivate slightly. Something cool yet soothing, the smell of leather, and a more persistent smell of his musk from the usual do the running he'd done. 

"Tell me, was it scary? Running from me?" 

You nodded, turning your head to the side so you could see him. Loki looked the same as his usual, besides his slightly mussed hair and his cheeks being lightly flushed. You tried not to focus on how pretty it made him look. You most definitely were not meant to think that about him now. 

He looked back at you, and he looked fierce and severe, but you (and no one else would have noticed) noticed how his eyes seemed to briefly soften when yours found his, as if he, too, was endeared at how you looked after your (much less graceful) running through the forest. 

"Why did it have you fearful? Tell me." He demanded, taking one of your hands and placing it by your head, against the tree bark, one of his quickly following it. 

"I did not know... where you would come from. Or how fast you would be." You'd finally found your voice, much to the relief of you both. 

"Very fast." He whispered into your ear. You shivered pleasantly at the feeling of his breath against your neck. 

"I wonder what I shall do now that I have caught my wonderful, priceless prize. Perhaps I shall take her home to admire her. Or..." his other hand moved around your waist, pulling you flush against him. A soft whine came out of you at the feel of him hard against you. You'd already wanted him upon waking. It was practically unbearable at this point, your gusset soaked. 

"Or," He continued lowly, biting your earlobe. "I can have my prize here. Since I am incredibly generous, I'll let you voice your opinion."

"Here..." Your reply was immediate and breathless. There'd been some agreement to keep the game going for a while longer after he'd caught you, to have you playfully try and flee one last time, but you couldn't possibly be expected to remember details like that when your handsome husband was moments away from ravishing you against a tree, his hard cock pressing into you. 

Also, why in the world would you ever willingly free from his embrace once you were already in it? 

Loki chuckled softly against your head, clearly surprised that you'd changed the script like this. 

"So eager, my love." He purred, and you knew that this was him, not the role he was playing. He was utterly enamored with you right now. 

"Mmm, I want you." 

"I can see that." You could feel his grin against your temple. "So desperate for your husband's cock that you cannot even play a game properly with me before I give it to you, hm? What should the Realms think?"

"The Realms have no business knowing." 

"Mm, indeed. Moreover, I am sure they know just how happy you are from the way you so love clinging to my arm during celebrations." 

It was becoming incredibly taxing to try and pay attention to his words while having him pressed to you like this, tempting you. You did your best to move against him as best as you could, both hoping for some relief and hoping to tempt him into actually taking you like he'd promised.

"Look at you..." He cooed, eyes moving down to watch the way you pressed your backside repeatedly against his cock. "You debauched thing." 

"Loki... you promised." 

"Yes, I did indeed, but you usually have more patience than this, my love. Has this new setting inspired you so deeply? Made you a feral tigress, perhaps." 

You fought against his hands holding you the tree, wanting to turn around and kiss him deep, but he held strong. 

"We do this on my terms. As we agreed, my love. Do you remember?" He whispered, voice darkening slightly (for effect and dramatics of course). 

You nodded silently, and Loki seemed pleased, almost as if your previous game had begun anew. 

"So, my beautiful prey wishes to be at my mercy in this lush forest, hm? She does not wish to delay her fate... what a brave darling." 

You shivered, feeling half-mad at this point. Loki had always been one for the theatrics, and you hated him for it right now. His idea for the two of you to be intimate in the wild forests by the palace of Asgard had been devious and utterly salacious (like most things he came up with), and you were currently more aroused than you felt you'd ever been, which is exactly why you wanted desperately to shut him up, as much as you loved him and his dramatics. He would not leave something unfinished, however. You knew this full well and when it extended to your marriage bed, you were usually more than happy to encourage him. But not now. 

You huffed, resting your forehead against the bark. 

"And now she wishes to misbehave, it seems." He tutted sharply, and you felt a small, secretive smirk pull at your mouth. 

"Will you apologize?" And he was smirking, too. 

You both fully expected the shake of your head that followed.

"I shall remember this..." He promised, his voice quiet and calm. It made your insides tighten pleasantly. 

Unable to help yourself, you were utterly gleeful when you felt one of Loki’s hands begin to pull up your skirts.

“I wonder, are you dripping down these thighs, pet? I wish so desperately to devour you…”

You whined, pressing back against him. You ached to have him inside of you.

“You frenzied darling… do you need my cock?” He was teasing you, and enjoying this far too much.

“Yes…” You replied with no hesitation.

“Touch it, then. Reach for it.” He goaded.

You did not wait a moment longer, sighing as he released your hand, moving it between the two of you and moaning at the sound of him freeing himself for you. You took him in hand, squeezing his hardness and salivating at the thought of it inside of you. At the thought of it in your mouth. Though you knew he would not let you now. He was far too eager, much as he tried to deny it, to have you properly. Perhaps he would let you tonight, if you batted your eyes at him enough. In truth, you knew with certainty that he would gladly let you do anything to him, but he liked to make a game of everything.

“Do you see what you have done to me? What the thrill of running after you, after your luxurious skirts has made of me?” Loki pressed his mouth to your ear, kissing your jaw gently. “What thrill I have experienced at the mere thought of what lies beneath this dress?”

“Loki…”

He shushed you gently, kissing your cheek. He hissed at how you began to stroke him. You could feel how eager he was. He was utterly hard, and his cock twitched when you gave it a particularly slow, playful stroke.

“Tell me, do you wish to be fucked?” He whispered darkly, all while holding you lovingly and making sure he shielded you when a stronger gust of wind blew through the forest.

“Yes, please…”

“Ask for it, pet.” You were certain he wished to sound demanding, but it sounded like a plea to your experienced ears.

“Please… please fuck me.”

He let out a shaky breath at your words and rucked your skirts up to your hips, bending you over slightly. He soon followed, caging you in with his chest to your back.

“I felt it only right… that I take you like this. To have us like wild beasts.” He whispered.

And you honestly did not care. He could have chosen to take you in any position, and you would have welcomed it. You just needed your husband here and now. You placed both of your hands back up against the tree trunk, stabilizing yourself in your utterly exposed position. You felt a flash of vulnerability in such a position, in a place like this, associated with dangers, but your heart did not allow you to dwell on it. Because Loki was here with you, and you trusted him with your entire soul, and knew he would not let anything hurt you. Because you knew that your souls were yours as much as each other’s.

You came back to the present when you heard him chuckle darkly before delivering a light slap to your right ass cheek (and then squeezing it indulgently). You felt yourself tighten at the sensation, and you could tell he enjoyed the sight.

“You delightful darling… no undergarments, all so that I might feast my eyes on this sweet jewel all the quicker.” He praised you as if he hadn’t pulled off your undergarments himself in your chambers before you’d left for the forest and had a taste.

Your eyes rolled back at the feeling of the tip of his cock gently running up and down your slit. Loki’s other hand moved to your hip, rubbing it soothingly with his thumb.

“Are you ready for me, pet? I ask out of the sheer kindness of my heart and the manners I was raised with. I can clearly see you are prepared to take me, my excited minx.”

You nodded, your legs feeling as if they were ready to give out from anticipation. It was like this every time with him, and yet you never could get used to it.

Loki was truly taking it far this time. He got closer to you, and decided to keep torturing you both by pressing his tip inside of you and then pulling it out, and this repeatedly. You could feel how frustrated he was (even though it was his own decision to do this) by how his hand around your hip tightened slightly.

“Ohh, I’ll make you mine forever, pet, once you take me in.” He growled lowly, his eyes on where you were both joined.

You moaned lowly and pressed back against him, taking his cock further. It was enough to have him give in, and he simply let yourself sink back onto his cock with a soft groan.

“Yesss…” He hissed, placing his other hand atop yours on the bark.

From there, it became as wild and animalistic as he’d promised. You both did not hold back on your sounds of pleasure, and he held you tight, pressing hot kisses to your neck.

"Norns, I love this sweet cunt. My very own piece of Valhalla, hm?" He was panting in your ear. 

"I love you, I love you-" You babbled, panting and jostling forward with his thrusts. 

"I know... I love you, too, my darling. My angelic beauty, my siren, my nymph." He groaned, pulling you in closer and lifting both your torsos up by wrapping an arm around your middle. He then turned your head and angled it towards his for a messy kiss. 

You'd both been playing this game for far too long, teasing one another and letting pure adrenaline course through your veins. You knew you would not last much longer, and by the way Loki was clutching you and had finally forgone your game, you knew he wouldn't, either. 

He seemed to know, as well, likely from how he felt you tightening around him, and feeling your thighs start to tremble. 

"Reach down and touch yourself, my love." He ordered and it came out sounding far harsher than he'd meant it with how he was panting. 

And you, eager to make you both feel as good as he was making you feel, reached down with a trembling hand and began to touch yourself, rubbing your clitoris. Your body's reaction was immediate, and the way you tightened around Loki's cock was nearly his undoing. 

"Nornssss," He hissed, though it sounded much like a whine, too. "I am... besotted with you, and your sounds, and the feel... of you." He panted, pulling you back against his cock more firmly, a sign he was nearly at his peak. "I would chase you... through the Nine... Realms-"

"Loki..." You cried his name into the serene echo of the forest, and that was all it took for your husband. 

He let out a low groan of your own name, his forehead pressing to the back of your head as he gave a few more sharp thrusts before stopping, buried to the hilt inside of you. You could feel him coming to completion, warming you from the inside. You kept up the pace of your fingers' own movements, so very close to your own peak, but it wasn't long before Loki, still pit of breath, moved your hand aside and took over the movements for you. 

"My darling... grant me this one wish, this one blessing... come around me, please." He pleaded with you, his words so very moving in a moment so fiercely erotic. "I wish to feel the pleasure I give you." 

A cry of his name came a few moments later from your throat, and he nodded against your temple, speaking soft words of encouragement and kissing the side of your face tenderly. 

You both slumped against the tree, breathing hard. Then, Loki moved you both around, so he could sit down with his back to the tree trunk and pull you into his lap, holding you to him. He tenderly brushed his fingers across your back, kissing your forehead a few times and letting you catch your breath. When he felt you relax and go lax in his arms, he tilted his head to look at you.

"Well? How was that?" He grinned. 

"Utterly debauched, husband. I feel like an unruly bride who has just eloped with her love, unable to wait a moment longer.”

“Ah, then you would be the prettiest unruly bride that ever was, my perfect vixen. You were exquisite.” He was utterly smug and he was unafraid to show it. He seemed to even sit taller somehow, even when sitting up against a tree in a damned forest.

“Do you feel well?” He proceeded, now much more genuine and gentle. “Are you hurt anywhere? Were you scared whilst we played chase?”

You shook your head, pressing the side of it against his chest. He gently rested his chin atop your head, in turn.

“That gladdens me, my love. Do you need anything? I shall get us into a bath once we are back home, and then I shall get you beneath our furs to warm you.” He promised tenderly.

“I am alright, darling… Perhaps a bit unsteady on my feet at the moment, is all.” You replied, your voice a tad hoarse.

“It shall pass, my love.” He replied, attempting to hold back his pride at your confession.

“Did I mention how perfect you were and how beautiful you looked? It was utterly enchanting to chase after you, my love. You were like an elusive nymph, made in shape and mind solely with tormenting me in mind. And you played the part of a scared doe so very well, my little performer.”

“Perhaps next time you shall be the doe. Except I will not chase you.”

He laughed softly.

“If I was to be your prey, my love, I would willingly come to you. You are utterly irresistible.”

You remained in quaint silence for a short while.

“…Do you think we are missed in the palace? Perhaps we should begin making our way back so that we are back before dark.”

“We shall go soon, my love. But I cannot possibly let you go as you are.”

“What do you mean?” You asked, watching as Loki suddenly pulled one of his thicker cloaks out of a bit of green mist, setting it easily down onto the ground by the both of you.

“Sit there, my darling.” He urged you patiently, helping you sit yourself onto the cloak, much to your confusion. From there, he gently helped you lie back on it all while settling himself between your legs with a boyish glimmer of mischief in his eyes.

“My love, I do not understand-”

“-Shh, my darling. Will you allow me to do this? I would not, in good conscience, let this go to waste.” Loki murmured, slowly rucking up your skirts. You looked at him with slow understanding, reaching towards him.

He simply caught your hand in his own, pressing a kiss to it.

“Husband, that is incredibly filthy…” You began, watching him with trepidation (and a bit of undeniable thrill).

“It is not, my love. It is simply the two of us.” He reasoned softly, finally seeing your bare cunt come into view again, now messy from a mixture of your respective cum.

“You cannot truly wish to-”

“Do you want me to stop?” He asked softly, watching you seriously.

You shook your head a bit too quickly and he smiled before leaning in to lick a line up your slit, unbothered.

You moaned, your other hand going to his head and curling into his hair.

Loki, all too happily, pulled away after a few moments of uninterrupted silence, licking at his lips.

“I must say, dearest, I am upset I have not thought of this before. We taste quite nice.”

You groaned, embarrassed just as much as you were aroused.

“You are truly devious, husband.”

“I shall take that as the highest compliment, especially coming from my muse.”

“Your muse?” You repeated, raising a brow, watching him fix your skirts.

“Naturally, my love. Who else would have inspired me to come up with such a filthy adventure?” Loki grinned, leaning over to kiss your covered hip.