Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Title: Will you accept me?
Pairing: Loki Laufeyson x Avenger!Female!Reader
Word count: 4.1k
Author: Heloise Daphne Brightmore

Loki Laufeyson was nothing, but a mischievous little boy stuck in a man's body. His mere presence lit a raging fire within you, wanting to remove that smug grin across his face. God of mischief they said countless times in the past three years, but you could only see a man who found enjoyment in dancing on your nerves.

The first time you met him, it became very clear to you that there would be no boring moments around the man, so when he left earth, you finally felt like you could breathe again as if all your frustration disappeared into thin air. You had nothing against Thor, but you wished he would just stay in one of his many realms and leave Earth forever. Of course, it had nothing to do with him per se, as far as you were concerned Thor could have stayed on Earth and it wouldn't have bothered you. But Loki was brought along like an unwanted package, making your life miserable as though you were his little toy. So, each time Thor returned to Earth, you didn't feel like welcoming the God of Thunder because his lap dog was attached to his hips.

As to why Tony Stark decided to give him a place to sleep in the compound, you didn't understand, after all Loki had tried to wipe out your planet. Tony was one of those who hated Loki the most, but somewhere along the line, as though he had gone mad, he decided to give him a second chance. So, for the past 3 years you have been trying to refrain yourself from carving Loki's eyes out, from trying to stab him in his sleep when he stayed longer than he should have. It took you a great deal of effort not to murder him in his sleep.

It doesn't mean you haven't tried. Oh, you did indeed. Although it took you two years to get to a point where you couldn't handle him anymore.

One night, feeling brave or reckless, whichever is a more reasonable statement, you snuck into his room, rage building up inside you, wanting to end his miserable life. Oh, but you were naive. As you swung your dagger, stabbing it straight into his chest, it went straight through his bedding set, the astral projection of his body disappearing.

"My sly little vixen, did you really think I would make myself so vulnerable?" He asked as you looked over your shoulder, his dark form seated in the corner of his room. A proud smirk was plastered across his face, his smug smile lit by the lights towering over the large building on the outside, carefully finding their way through the blinds. "But regardless of your intent on taking my life, I'm rather pleased with your bravery," he chuckled as he stood up and walked over to you, earning a loud groan from you as you held your dagger to his chest, this time feeling his flesh under the edge of the blade.

"I could kill you now," you hissed through gritted teeth.

He leaned closer, his mouth right beside your ear, his cold lips brushing against your earlobe. "I dare you to," he whispered into your ear, his hushed voice sending electricity through your spine, making your breath hitch. "I'm waiting, my little vixen," he smirked. Although you couldn't see it, you didn't need to, you could read his tone, his body language, the little games he was playing. He found enjoyment in riling you up and you fell victim to him. He leaned back to be able to look in your eyes, his signature smile still plastered across his face. "You see, I understand that rage within you, feeling exhausted from our little games, but that's only the surface. If you dig just a little deeper, you will find that even if it's only a tiny part of your fragile mortal body, but it craves that attention, it enjoys our games. You can deny, oh you have been doing that for the past two years, but a part of you, a part that's honest and dares to accept the truth knows that I'm right."

A part of you wanted to argue and push the dagger further into his chest, wishing to watch his gaze become glassy, his soul moving onto Hel or Valhalla, though the latter seemed unlikely. But even against all his manipulation and tactical little games, always steps ahead of you, it was clear even to you that he was right. A part of you, even if it was hard to accept, found your shared games somewhat amusing. But you couldn't say it out loud, you couldn't agree with him. It would have broken the spell, the core of your entertainment. It was fun only because you never accepted to enjoy it. If you ever voiced the truth, it would have ended it all.

"You wish," you hissed through gritted teeth as you dropped your arm beside your body. "I will have many other chances and when you expect it the least, that's when I will be giving you a chance to go back to wherever the hell you came from," your lips formed a thin line, your gaze holding determination. Those were the words you said aloud, but nothing like the ones you thought of. "Watch your back, Loki," you whispered into his ear, before you headed towards the door, ready to scold yourself for the night in hopes of regaining your sanity.

"Good night, darling," he chuckled silently as you stepped out of his room, shutting the door behind you with a loud thud. You couldn't care less about who could have heard it, as fun as your little games were, they were also playing with your mind, leaving you flustered and frustrated. Loki affected you in many ways from your body to your mind, physically and mentally. You hated it, but at the same time, a part of you enjoyed it.

You tried to shake off the memory, but some of your encounters often appeared in your mind at the most unwanted times, as though a part of you missed him already. It's only been months since he has left with Thor again, but since then life seemed somewhat boring. Although it was refreshing to focus solely on your duties as an Avenger and work hard for your people, but at times it felt as though there was a lack of something in you, a tiny part of emptiness.

Leaning back against the sofa, you continued to clean your guns. It was a small task that you could have entrusted F.R.I.D.A.Y. with, but this little chore brought you a sense of familiarity, a calming sensation in the midst of your storming thoughts.

"My dearest, why do you look so upset?" You heard his voice, but you didn't look up, knowing it wasn't reality. Another little game that your mind started to play with you, making you feel as though you were going insane. "Have I made you mad?" He chuckled playfully. You lifted your head, eyes growing wide as realisation hit you. He was indeed there. He was standing right beside Thor, wearing a smug grin, your presence seemingly bringing enjoyment to him. A part of you wanted to smile, mirror his expression, but instead you chose to play his game and rolled your eyes.

"Yes, you have. The day you decided to appear on this goddamn planet," you groaned, concentrating back on your gun, cleaning it with a dirty cloth. Those words that left your lips weren't the ones you wished to say. But you were afraid, terrified of being honest. You knew as soon as you admitted enjoying his company, he would stomp all over you as though you were a mere bug on the ground. A useless piece of life that he had no gain in caring for. So, you bit your tongue and played along.

"Now, now, my dear, that's not a nice way to welcome a guest," he smirked, raising a brow quizzically, finding your tone amusing.

"You are no guest to me," you huffed as you placed your gun back in one piece. "You are nothing but an itch on my back, a fly circling around me, an annoying presence that I can't seem to get rid of," you lifted your head, meeting his emerald-green irises, their colour even brighter than you remembered. His gaze felt as though it was burning you up from the inside, your unrhythmic breathing drying your lips, your heart taking on a dangerous pace.

"Why, thank you," his smile didn't falter if anything it grew. "I must be doing something right if you can't get rid of me," he chuckled with a playful glint in his eyes. "Tell me, do you think of me often? Do you find yourself remembering all those memories we had the pleasure of spending time together?" He leaned closer, placing his hand on the small of your back, his touch making you shiver, his cold lips brushing against your ear, just like on that particular night you could never forget. "Do you think of me before you go to bed, maybe whilst you are in the shower?" He leaned back with a smug grin still painted across his face. "Or perhaps as soon as you wake up, your first thoughts are occupied by your memories of me? If I'm that hard to get rid of, I'm terribly proud of myself," he chuckled as he let go of you and stood up. "Well, unfortunately I have to leave, but as always it's been a pleasure meeting you," he watched you with an intense gaze as he licked across his bottom lip, before he turned away and joined his brother.

As soon as he was out the door, you had sunk deep into the soft couch, planning a way to clear your head, because you weren't sure how long you could play Loki's games before you were declared completely insane. A small part of you just wanted to be honest and tell him how you really felt that indeed you enjoyed his company, that there were more to your feelings than simple entertainment, but a larger part of you knew if that ever happened, Loki would be long gone before a surprised gasp could even escape your lips.

To avert your thoughts, you decided to head to the training room and beat some sense into yourself. Trying to get rid of your frustration meant your body needed to tire out, so for hours you kept hitting and kicking the punching bags, imagining one particular person in its place. You hated him, you despised him, or so you tried to tell yourself, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. Your feelings were indeed strong, but not of hatred, rather some sort of an attraction that you couldn't really explain because you convinced yourself that hating him would be the logical decision, regardless of your feelings not matching your thoughts.

Time flew by quickly and before you knew it, the sun had gone down, and darkness ruled over the sky. You headed back to your room, taking a hot shower to clear your mind before you decided to grab a bottle of wine from Tony's collection and drown yourself in your toxic thoughts. There was no escape, you might as well just give in, at least that's how you thought.

You leaned against the kitchen counter as you opened the bottle of wine. Ignoring formalities, you didn't take out a glass to pour yourself from the liquid, you placed it straight to your lips and chugged as much as you could, hoping it would silence your thoughts.

"Darling, you seem to be troubled," you heard his voice, a sharp exhale leaving your lungs as you turned in his direction. He was leaning against the doorframe, wearing a small smile that you haven't seen much of. It was usually smug or playful, but in that moment, the expression across his face just seemed soft.

"I wasn't until you arrived," you rolled your eyes, taking another long sip of your alcohol, trying to numb your mind.

"Shall I help you relax?" His face changed into his usually smug grin as though he was planning something.

"I think I can manage. As a mischievous God you would just cause more trouble than you could possibly help," you huffed, knowing he always had a plan a, b, c, the whole alphabet and beyond.

"I'm not a mischievous God, I'm the God of Mischief," he corrected you with a momentary surprise before he regained his composure.

"Same difference," you shrugged nonchalantly, earning a silent chuckle from the man.

"If that makes you feel any better, call me whatever you want," he stepped closer to you, stopping right in front of you as you took another sip of your drink. You watched his green eyes staring at you shamelessly, studying your face as though he was trying to read you.

"Can you stop staring?" You asked with a questioningly raised brow, but it only earned a silent chuckle from the man.

"No, I don't wish to," he replied as he stepped closer and with a swift movement, he turned you around. Your head shot back around over your shoulder as you met his playful gaze. "I mean no harm," he meant to relax you, but you didn't trust him, nor did you trust yourself in his presence. His cold fingers caused goosebumps on your neck, making you slightly shiver as he brushed your hair to one side and placed his palms on your shoulders, slowly massaging the tense muscles. You gasped at the feeling, the idea of a god massaging you felt unearthly.

"What are you doing?" You asked cautiously, although the feeling of his fingers on your skin made you feel weak in your knees, his breath fanning your skin making your heartbeat speed up. A part of you just wanted to lean into his touch and enjoy the moment.

"I'm helping you relax," he whispered in your ear as you realised you were completely devoured by his presence. You couldn't even recall when he leaned so close to you, you could only focus on his cold touch burning your skin.

"Why would you do that?" You questioned his intentions, a silent gasp leaving your lips as he found a tender point.

"Do I always have to have an ulterior motive?" He asked, but you could hear the proud smile in his tone. You turned back around, a deadpan look across your face, his touch leaving your skin.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" You asked, squinting suspiciously.

"Fine, I'm often motivated by certain ideas, but that doesn't mean I can't be genuinely helpful," he tried to convince you, but you shook your head.

"Loki, what do you want?" you tried to just finish the conversation to drown yourself in your bottle of wine.

"How long has it been?" He asked, earning a confused frown from you.

"What are you talking about?" You tried to take a step back, but the kitchen counter stopped your movements.

"How long have you been pretending to hate me when in fact you know it couldn't be farther from the truth?" His face fell serious, his previously playful expression long gone.

"I haven't been pretending. It's not my fault that you think it's a game. I hate you and I think I made myself very clear from the first time we met," you attempted to convince him, but his smile returned even wider than before.

"Still adamant I see," he scoffed as he stepped closer, his arms caging you against the furniture behind you, his face getting closer to yours, only leaving just enough space for you to be able to breath. "So, you mean to tell me that my presence doesn't affect you in any other way, it only brings you hatred?" He asked as his gaze wandered down to your lips, watching them intensely as though he was an animal wanting to catch his prey. Your breath hitched as his arm wrapped around your waist and pulled you against his chest, a silent gasp leaving your lips as you shivered in his cold touch, still your skin burned feverishly.

"That— that's right," you stumbled through your words, your own confidence leaving you vulnerable.

"For once, be honest with me, dear and accept that you enjoy my company," he whispered against your lips, your mind feeling dizzy, incapable of forming a simple, coherent sentence.

"I— That's not— I hate you," you finally composed yourself and pushed him away from yourself.

"Why can't you just accept it?" He asked, this time more serious than before. "Why is it so hard for you to be honest with yourself?"

"Says you, who can't be trusted even when you ask a question? Oh, please, Loki, you should know better," you huffed as you folded your arms in front of your chest. "You say I should accept that I like being around you, that I don't hate you as much as I say so. But why would I do that?" You asked as you walked up to him this time, standing in front of him sternly. "Let's say, hypothetically of course, that indeed I don't hate you per se and a part of me might enjoy being around you from time to time. If that was true, why would it be beneficial for me to accept it? I know you Loki and if I was to agree and say you were right, you would walk all over me and disappear faster than I could take a breath," you huffed as you shook your head.

"Well, my little vixen, hypothetically speaking," he started in a humorous tone, "if you stopped acting like you have no feelings for me and finally accepted that your hatred might not even be hatred but something more, we could actually break down this wall between us that you so carefully built and we could enjoy being in each other's company," he explained as though it was the most natural thing.

"Loki, you can't possibly believe your own words," you scoffed, earning a surprised expression from the man, your resistance catching him off guard.

"And why is that?" He asked curiously.

"The only reason you enjoy playing around with me is because I behave the way I do. In reality, nothing is black and white and so if I was to hypothetically enjoy your company, that means there would be disagreements, there would be fights, there would be emotions and Loki, let's be honest, you find it even harder to trust people than I do and as soon as things would turn serious, you'd run," you explained your worries. Even though the conversation was supposed to be theoretical, both of you spoke the truth, but the lack of trust hung high in the air.

"If that was my intention, I would have run a long time ago. I had the option to do so many times before, but I'm still here, am I not?" He asked as he brushed a piece of hair from your face behind your ears, his touch sending electricity through your body.

"I just feel like I can't trust you," you shook your head, letting your face fall forward, massaging the bridge of your nose, before you lifted your gaze again "I feel like if hypothetically speaking of course, I accept that there's more to it than simple hatred, it will end in my feelings stomped on and my heart crushed into piece and I'm not naive enough to let that happen," you tried to reason with him, but in reality you were trying to convince yourself why not to put your trust in him.

"I have to admit, I would have done so, years ago that is, but the one who I am now wants nothing more than to claim you mine," he spoke in an endearing tone, his voice serious, but somewhat caring, unlike his usually cocky personality. Your eyes widened at the confession, his words ones you never thought you would ever hear from someone like him. "If it was someone else, I wouldn't care what happens to them, I'm not a saint after all, but with you it's different. You are my sly little vixen, my other half and nothing and no one can change that, only you if you wish to of course," his voice was barely a whisper as he spoke, his words making you feel uncertain about what to do. Your mind and your heart battled against each other, confusing you further. "Will you accept me finally?" He asked with an expectant expression.

"I have been trying to stop myself from murdering you for the past three years, it's not as simple," you tried to argue, but the words leaving your lips were more to convince yourself.

"Well, that is very romantic," he replied with a low chuckle as you mirrored his expression. "That's a good start," he pointed out the smile across your face. "I'm not saying it will be easy, nor do I see it will be perfect, but isn't it worth a try?" As much as you wanted to argue, he was right. If you didn't accept your feelings, it would forever be a 'what if' stuck in your head and deep down you knew you wanted to see where you two could go from there.

You stepped closer to him, placing your hands on his chest to balance yourself, or so that was the plan, but as soon as you touched him, your hands went through his body, his astral body disappearing. "Loki!" You raised your voice in a warning tone, your deadly gaze looking for the man, his silent chuckle coming from behind you. You turned around in a swift motion, hitting him across the chest with gritted teeth both out of frustration and testing if it was his real self this time.

"I'm so sorry, love, I wasn't sure how you would react, you can be rather unpredictable at times, so I had to have a backup plan," he tried to explain himself, piling up excuses upon excuses. "But now that we are on the same page, we could get back to what you were trying to do. Did you want to kiss me? It looked like you were about to kiss me. Shall we try again?" He smirked proudly as he stepped closer and wrapped his strong arms around you. You tried to resist, attempting to push him away from your body, but his strength was unearthly, you didn't stand much of a chance.

"Not happening. That was your one and only time to see a weaker side of mine. I don't even believe what you ask anymore. I hate you, Loki!" You groaned, trying to get out of his hold.

"No, you don't," he replied with a smug grin across his face, dipping his head down to your level, but he didn't move any closer. Your breath stuck in your lungs, your gaze fixed on his lips, however you tried to battle against your heart, your reasonable thoughts flew out the window as soon as Loki closed the gap between the two of you. His cold lips touched yours, sending a shiver across your spine, thousands of butterflies awakening in your stomach. Could you have resisted? Yes, if you really wanted to. But deep down you were craving for him and when his lips met yours, you melted into his arms and bathed in the physical pleasure his arms around you provided, the feel of his touch on your skin burning, a long-awaited connection bonding the two of you. As you finally parted, you gazed up into his green eyes, a loving look painted across his face.

"I still hate you though," you added with a mischievous smile, as he mirrored yours.

"You really should watch that tongue of yours," he warned you as his gaze fell on your lips.

"Why don't you watch it for me?" You asked with an inviting tone and without a second thought Loki captured your lips again. It was hard to believe that he was holding you in his arms, but you chose to trust him and even though you knew there would be difficulties with the God of Mischief, a proud man being your other half, but not for a second did you think about taking a step back. It just felt right. 

Chapter Text

Title: Open your eyes
Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Avenger!Female!Reader
Word count: 5.8k
Author: Heloise Daphne Brightmore
Warnings: Stabbing, shooting, injury, typical avengers stuff

You were running across the metal bridge of the submarine, trying to get to the engine room when you caught sight of a Hydra agent. You could have left him; you could have shot him. Either way you could have just followed the order you have been given and head to the engine room. But it was boring and at times you found recklessness more fun than to just follow orders that didn’t satisfy your playful needs. As though you were a cat, you jumped from the bridge lending on the lower level, barely causing any sound that would be out of the ordinary. A proud smile appeared on your face as you sneaked up behind the man and tapped his shoulder. He turned around in a quick movement, gun pointing right at your chest.

“Well, hello pretty boy,” you smirked, your tone inviting and flirtatious, causing the man to smile at you as though he lost focus of his mission. “It’s a shame that you have to leave so soon,” you chuckled, a devilish tone to your voice. His eyes widened as you grabbed his gun, pointed it upwards and stabbed your knife into his flash, a silent scream escaping his lips, before his body landed on the floor.

“Is this really necessary,” Bucky appeared on the deck above you, jumping down to your level as he rolled his eyes.

“Is the big Bucky Barnes jealous?” You snickered. You knew he would never admit it, but you were more than just a fellow colleague of some sort.

“No?” He replied, though it was more of a question than a stern statement. “I just don’t think all these little games of yours are unnecessary,” he added quickly, trying to change the subject as he always did.

“Come on, Barnes, let me have fun,” you groaned. “I like to play with my toys,” you offered him a mischievous smile as you stepped closer to him, your chest flush against his. You felt his heartbeat quicken, his breathing turning shallow as your lips grazed across his. His light blue eyes usually held kindness behind them, but as a darker shade took over, you could feel his lust surface. “You could be one of them if you didn’t play hard to get,” you bit on your bottom lip as you jabbed your knife under his arm right into the man’s stomach behind him. “I would treat you better though,” you chuckled as you stepped back, swiftly pulling your knife out of the man. Bucky looked over his shoulder, his attacker lying across the metal floor. “You’re welcome,” you winked at him as he shook his head and rolled his eyes, but you didn’t miss the tiny smile in the corner of his lips and the barely visible pink tint spreading across his cheeks.

“You know you could do all this without being too dramatic, right?” He asked, heaving a heavy sigh.

“What would be the fun in that?” You laughed, leaving the man behind, and heading towards the engine room.

It took you a couple of bruises and scrapes to get through the heavily protected area, but with Bucky’s help you finally found yourself surrounded by the submarine’s engines. “We are here, what now?” Holding onto your earpiece, you waited for a reply from someone who understood physics more than you did.

“There are two wheels, one on each engine,” you heard Tony’s voice and you started looking for the objects, walking around the gigantic metal machines surrounding you. “They look like circles,” he added, earning a loud groan from you.

“Just because I don’t understand engines, it doesn’t mean I’m stupid, old man,” you huffed, a silent chuckle leaving Bucky’s lungs. “Do you think something’s funny?” Your head shot back around; a deadly gaze directed at the man.

“Considering you have walked past the wheels twice already—" he snickered without finishing his sentence as he watched your face turn confused before a sharp exhale left your lungs.

“I hate both of you,” you groaned as you stomped back towards one of the wheels, whilst Bucky grabbed the other one. As hard as you tried, yours didn’t even move an inch, and whilst Bucky had his vibranium arm, even he was struggling with the jammed object. “You can barely turn it with your god-like powers, how am I supposed to move it?” You huffed as you watched him struggle. “Can’t we just blow it up?” You asked somewhat trying to joke around, but partially being serious.

“No!” You heard Rogers’ panicked voice. “No smashing, no blowing, nothing that could cause bigger damage,” he instructed you in a firm tone.

“Fine!” You huffed. “You are boring,” whining, you finally concentrated back on the wheels, but it didn’t want to budge.

“Move,” Bucky said as he stepped beside you and peeled your hands off the wheel.

“What a gentleman,” you snickered, placing a hand on his shoulder. “There are a couple of other things in my room you could help out with,” you chuckled as a loud, throaty groan left his lungs. It was a mystery if the sound was caused by your words, the hard work he was putting into moving the wheel or both for that matter. But either way, you loved riling him up.

“We are good,” Bucky spoke in his earpiece as the submarine started moving again, causing you to unsteadily stumble back, before Bucky wrapped his arm around your waist and caught you. His gaze fell on you, watching you intensely, almost as though he was studying you. “Why are you doing this?”

“I’m not sure what you mean,” you replied with an innocent expression. “As far as I’m concerned you are the one holding me,” your gaze turned to his arm, still wrapped around you strongly. As much as you wished to smile, you had to stop your facial muscles from forming a smile and giving you away. He quickly let go of you and heaved a heavy sigh.

“There’s always a double meaning to your sentences, always telling me suggestive things, always flirting with me,” he exhaled sharply.

“I thought I made myself very obvious,” you chuckled, trying to mask how awkward you felt having to say what you felt out loud. “I like you, Barnes,” his eyes widened at your words, but he quickly composed himself, as though a part of him already knew it.

“You can’t keep thinking about things like this when we are busy trying to just survive missions after missions,” his tone was commanding as if he was telling you to stop your feelings at all costs, but his gaze seemed different. It was soft and caring, the complete opposite of his words.

“The world is always in a war, it’s inevitable. And even if I tried, I would not be able to just put a stop to my feelings. You know damn well that’s not how it works,” you scoffed.

“Well, you have to learn then. I’m over 100 years old, I could be your grandfather,” he argued, earning a deep frown from you.

“James Buchanan Barnes, are you trying to make up excuses?” You asked as you folded your arms in front of your chest. “Because it sounds like you are trying to convince yourself why you shouldn’t have feelings for me.”

“I don’t have time for this little game of yours,” he replied sternly as he started heading back to the control room. You pulled a face, grimacing at the man, sulking in a child-like manner. “Just because I don’t see you, it doesn’t mean I don’t know about the faces you make,” he let out a silent chuckle, earning a confused look from you.

“God, you freak me out sometimes,” you huffed as you followed in his steps.

“Can you two please stop flirting and get back?” Stark spoke up in your earpiece, earning an annoyed huff from you. Silently, you both headed to the upper deck to meet the rest of the crew, finally getting rid of Hydra on the ship, and stopping them from taking over the submarine.

It took another 5 hours for you to get back to the compound, but when you finally did, you dropped down on the couch in the lounge, exhaling deeply, feeling your body relax on the soft sofa.

“Some space would be nice,” Natasha spoke standing beside the couch with a small smile and a questioningly raised brow.

“Just so you see how generous I can be,” you smirked proudly and sat up, offering her the other side of the sofa.

“Very much so,” she chuckled, but it quickly died down as Tony asked for your attention.

As usual, he talked about the efficiency and effectiveness of the mission and team performance and by the time he finished you were about to take a nap on Natasha’s shoulder, drifting into a short slumber. But you couldn’t sleep just yet as you felt her shoulder move, silently shaking you awake. You offered her a deadly gaze, before you realised everyone was already gone.

“Oh, we’re done?” You asked as you looked around and stretched your back, standing up from the sofa. Natasha nodded in response and ushered you to head to your room, suggesting you didn’t look too well which earned a grimace from you.

You attempted to rest and try to finally have a good night sleep, but unfortunately after hours of rolling and groaning you gave in. However you tried, you just couldn’t get yourself to sleep and it left you frustrated. You wished to be able to control your mind and forget about certain things whenever you wanted, but unfortunately you couldn’t do that, and it always left you with one particular person on your mind.

James Buchanan Barnes.

You were wary of him at the beginning, he was the Winter soldier after all, and you have heard and seen what he was capable of. But the trust Steve put in his friend pushed you to give him a chance too and you never regretted it. When you finally got closer to him and he opened up to you, talking about his past, you couldn’t possibly imagine how he could keep himself in one piece. The pain, the trauma, the memories that haunted him scared you, even though you weren’t the one living them all over again.

But somewhere along the line, you fell for him. You tried to spend more time with him and at first, he seemed interested, you were there for each other whenever in need, but something has changed. That night played in your head over and over again, hoping to understand what went wrong, but you couldn’t find the solution.

You were seated on his bed, leaning against the headboard as he placed his head on your lap. Caressing his hair gently, playing with his long locks always soothed his worries and you hoped he would feel better. Sometimes you weren’t sure how to make him feel better, so you did what you always did, listened to him.

“I— I can just hear their screams, the last terrified look in their eyes, the realisation that— that they are about to die,” his voice was shaking as he stumbled across his words. You ran your fingers across his hair, removing the escaped locks from his face. “All these memories are coming back, and I just— I just don’t know what to do,” a heavy sigh left his lungs, as though trying to get rid of all the horrible memories.

“It’s not your fault, you are not responsible for it. You weren’t in your right mind, Bucky, they were controlling you” you tried to sooth his worries, but it didn’t seem to work. He shook his head, another throaty sigh escaping his lips.

“But it was me. Regardless of not being in control of my own mind and body, it was still me,” he groaned as sat up, looking into your eyes. Placing a hand on his cheek, you caressed his stubbly face, hoping it would calm him down. He tilted his head into your palm, enjoying the feel of your warm touch, but then he turned away and abruptly stood up.

“Hey, are you okay?” You asked as you stood up from the bed and walked up behind him, placing your hands on each of his shoulders, squeezing them reassuringly.

“I think you should leave,” he spoke, but his gaze didn’t meet yours again. He avoided looking at you and even though you wanted to object, you understood he needed space.

However, that space was standing between you for the past 3 months. You were understanding and supportive, knowing of his past it was inevitable that he needed to think things through, but you were tired of waiting. It’s been 2 years since you fell for the man and it didn’t help that he was always close to you physically, but never enough to be able to touch him mentally. You knew he wasn’t indifferent towards you, there was an invisible connection between the two of you, but he clearly avoided you and paused whatever was going on before he decided to keep his distance. You tried to keep your cool and act as though it didn’t affect you, but as time passed, it started to become hard to put on a brave face.

Shaking your head, trying to get rid of your thoughts, you jumped out from your bed. Attempting to cool yourself down, you headed to the kitchen to grab something to drink, your throat feeling as though it was covered in cotton.

“Can’t sleep?” Rogers’ spoke as he stepped inside the kitchen, watching you take out a bottle of water from the fridge.

“Not really. I’m guessing you are struggling too,” you raised a brow, earning a nod from the man.

“I’m glad we can’t sleep. I meant to talk to you,” he spoke as you took a quick chug of your water, a questioning expression painted across your face.

“What about?” You asked with a deep frown. It wasn’t often that Steve and you had anything to talk about unless it was to do with a mission. “If you plan to scold me for my behaviour today, just save it,” you added, already prepared for his nagging.

“Actually, it’s not about that. It’s more of a personal matter,” he replied as he took a seat at the dining table, pulling out the chair beside him to offer you a place to sit. You furrowed at the subject matter; personal subjects weren’t your thing after all.

“What did I do?” You asked cautiously, earning a silent chuckle from Steve.

“Nothing, I just wanted to talk to you about Bucky,” he spoke as your eyes widened in surprise. “I’m not blind, none of us are and your little conversation today didn’t go unnoticed,” he pointed at his ear. You felt your cheeks warm up as you realised, they have all heard your confession. Scrunching your nose, you awkwardly cleared your throat and whispered an apology. “No, no, don’t apologise, please, it’s fine. But it made me want to talk to you even more.”

“I know you are Bucky’s best friend, but I don’t think we should have this discussion,” you chuckled awkwardly, uncertain of how to react.

“I agree and I don’t want to go into details. He is a very good friend of mine and it’s not my place to talk about him with you, but I thought it would be important to tell you that since you have been around, he has changed. I know he doesn’t show it well, but he cares for you. He just needs time to understand himself and you and the situation you are in,” he explained with a soft smile.

“Do you think I don’t know? I see how he looks at me, I see how he behaves around me. The little things that he does whenever I’m in need of help. But I can’t possibly do anything when your friend makes up the stupidest excuses to suppress his feelings and pushes me away,” you shook your head in response.

“Just give him time. He will come around. There’s a limit to how long he can lie to himself,” he attempted to encourage you.

“Look, I can’t possibly understand what he has been through, but I can only hope he gets it together, because I’m running out of options,” you pursed your lips in a humorous manner to lighten the mood as you stood up from your chair. “Two years, it’s been two years, Cap,” you chuckled darkly. “At this point, even a rejection is better than tiptoeing around our situation.”

“Yes, I understand,” he offered you a consoling smile. “Go, try to take some rest.”

“Well, I wish I could,” you smiled as you headed towards the exit. “Have a good night, Cap.”

Another week passed and there was no progress in your situation. You caught Bucky’s eyes on you, but each time your gaze met, he abruptly turned away. It felt as though you had tried everything to get close to him once again, but the man was stubborn and you were out of ideas. You were on the verge of giving up. Wanting to talk to him, you headed towards his room to tell him that you were done, and you understood that you were probably seeing things and maybe misinterpreting your situation, but before you could have reached his room, Stark stopped you.

“I need you,” he said, grabbing your arm and fairly forcefully dragged you across the compound.

“You know, I could just follow you, right?” You asked with a deep frown as he finally let go of your arm and you continued in his steps, heading to the lounge.

As you arrived, Nat and Steve were already seated on a couch, whilst Barton sat at the table, waiting for Tony and you. Before you could even take a seat, Stark has already started explaining your mission against another Hydra hideout. According to his resources and F.R.I.D.A.Y.’s intel, it seemed it was only a small warehouse where they exchanged weapons and since the mission was a rather small one, not all Avengers were needed.

Within an hour you have already discussed the tactics and you were on your way to the warehouse not far from Texas. Taking an old S.H.I.E.L.D. jet that Tony tweaked up, you have arrived at the abandoned area within a couple of hours. Steve and Nat went straight for the entrance, whilst you and Barton used the backdoor, closing off any escape route according to F.R.I.D.A.Y.

But as you stepped inside the building, it became clear that the tactic you have discussed and the blueprint F.R.I.D.A.Y. showed has not been updated. “Is it just us or have you found yourself in a completely different part of the building too?” You asked Steve and Natasha through the earpiece as you looked around, realising nothing was even remotely similar to your expectations.

“Same here,” Natasha replied with a heavy tone.

“Oh well, we like a good improvisation,” you chuckled silently. “Let’s get the party started.”

“Stay aware,” Rogers warned you, knowing how reckless you were at times.

“Pfft, yes boss,” you replied with a grin and even though you couldn’t see it, he shook his head.

Barton and you separated, each of you inspecting a different area of the building with all kinds of metal boxes hiding thousands of weapons in them. As you headed towards the back of the building, you heard gunshots from not far away and you started running in the direction of the noise.

“Which one of you was that?” You asked, but for a second no reply came.

“It was me, but it’s all good now. Easy targets,” Barton replied in a smug tone.

“Don’t get cocky,” Steve replied as you headed back in your direction.

“Yeah, yeah,” he chuckled silently. You shook your head at the conversation, their bickering always making your mood a little lighter, a little happier.

As you continued to a segregated area, you heard the rumbling sound of a machine. Walking through the room, you held your gun up, ready to fire, but there wasn’t a soul around, only a dozen desks. Arriving next to the computer on top of a desk connected to a large, old looking machine, you touched the seat in front of it, it’s leather still radiating heat. It was enough information for you to know that someone was close by.

You didn’t need more time to find out you weren’t alone as the sound of a gunshot shook the room, the bullet grazing your face. You immediately ducked and jumped behind another desk as your opponents started shouting at you vigorously. Beside the table you peaked out to look at the size of your enemy as you caught 3 men, each hiding behind a table just like you did. Adjusting the gun in your hand, you turned it toward your first target, shooting him on the chest as he fell back with a loud scream.

Your next target was farther, but it didn’t stop you from shooting him on the shoulder and his stomach. However, the third man was relentlessly shooting at you and all around the room not even trying to spare his bullets, so you hid back behind the table.

“Maniac,” you whispered.

“Are you alright?” You heard Natasha’s voice through your ear.

“Yep, I just have a mental-case on my hand,” you replied as you started shooting back, hitting him right across the chest as he fell back, gasping for air. When everything turned silent, you could only hear the rumbling of the machines again. Standing up from behind the table you headed to the 3 men, gun in hand, ready to shoot if any of them were alive, but they were laying on the floor, limbs spread out in all kinds of directions, no sign of survival. You didn’t think twice before you headed back to the computer and took out a USB stick to copy the files. However, as you waited for the process to finish, you heard a loud groan. Turning around in a swift movement you saw one of the men raising his gun at you, so you shot. But before your bullet could reach him, he fired his weapon, burning a whole straight in your abdomen, the pain forcing you on your knees as a silent cry left your lungs.

“Fuck,” you swore as you held onto the side of the desk to assist you in standing up, whilst your other hand was trying to apply pressure on the wound, stopping you from bleeding out.

“That didn’t sound good,” you heard Steve’s voice.

“No way, captain obvious,” you groaned as you pulled out the USB stick, shoving it into your pocket and grabbed your gun, throwing its strap over your shoulder.

“Are you okay?” He asked, ignoring your previous comment.

“Been worse,” you replied, attempting to hide the pain in your voice.

Trying to balance yourself against the wall, you headed towards the exit, but each step seemed heavier, more difficult to take. Another room and another room followed, and it felt as though the exit was running away from you. Stopping in one of the rooms, you slid down on the wall and took a seat on the floor, feeling like you didn’t have energy anymore, not even to take another step further.

The pain was unbearable, worse than any other injuries you’ve ever experienced before. You’ve been shot before, but it was always somewhat numbing when you sat down to take a breather, but as you stayed still leaning against the wall, the pain just increased. Closing your eyes, you tried to think of happy thoughts. The first time you met the Avengers, feeling as though you found a new family, the first time you met Bucky, his child-like smile painted across his face as he introduced himself, though you’ve heard of him already. There were many happy thoughts running through your head as you slipped in and out of consciousness. You could hear someone’s voice, but you weren’t sure if it was through your earpiece or if someone was beside you, but it didn’t matter anymore. It was tiresome to stay awake, so regardless of the voices telling you to open your eyes, you shifted into a deep slumber.

“You know, I wouldn’t mind if you woke up already,” you heard a voice, but you couldn’t identify it nor could you see the person. It remained dark and somewhat scary where you were. It wasn’t often that you felt terrified, but all your efforts to open your eyes seemed fruitless. The steady beeping of a machine beside you and the voice you heard seemed familiar, a cold feeling around your hand sending shivers through your body. You could hear your own groan, but it felt as though the voice didn’t belong to you.

“You’re safe! Come on, open those beautiful eyes,” the voice tried to encourage you. “You can do it, I know you can. Just open them.”

Another loud groan left your lungs as you fought hard against the darkness, before your eyes fluttered open, the bright lights above you burning your vision. As if your visitor could sense your discomfort, they dimmed the light as you felt the cold sensation disappear from your hand.

“Do me a favour and open those pretty eyes, okay?” He pleaded with you, his voice sounding familiar, his tone holding a great deal of worry. It took you a good few moments to adjust your vision to your surroundings, before you could force yourself to look around. Without a second glance you recognised the hospital wing of the compound, before your gaze fell on Bucky’s scruffy face, clearly avoiding his razors lately.

“Hey,” you wanted to greet him, but your voice was barely a whisper, your throat burning from the dry sensation.

“Wait, here,” he stood up to offer you a glass of water and he gave you the end of the straw. Chucking it down, trying to regain moisture in your throat, you almost choked on the liquid. “Careful,” he warned you as he took the glass from you. Luckily coughing up the liquid seemed to do the trick and within seconds you felt better.

“Thank you,” you tried to smile, but it quickly disappeared as you attempted to sit up and a horrible pain shot through your stomach, making you cry out in pain. Bucky placed an arm behind your back and helped you into a seated position, watching as you squeezed your teeth tight, not to let out a sound. He shook his head disapprovingly and that’s when you realised the dark circles under his eyes, the deep frown between his brows as if they were permanently stuck there and his lips chapped from dehydration. “You look awful,” you snickered, but the pain in your stomach quickly put an end to it.

“Not worse than you,” he replied with a soft smile, the wrinkles between his brows started to slowly flatten.

“That I believe,” you nodded, feeling as bad as you possibly looked. “How did I end up here? Last time I checked I was in the warehouse,” you asked with a humorous tone, but Bucky’s face quickly turned concerned.

“It’s not funny. They found you unconscious and they brought you back. You’ve been out for days. You were covered in blood, in and out of consciousness. How could you be so reckless to get shot?” He scolded you and for once you felt guilty.

“I know, I could have jeopardised the mission,” you added with a heavy sigh.

“What?” He asked with a stunned expression, furrowing at your words. “Who cares about the mission? You could have gotten yourself killed,” he raised his voice, filled with concern and anger. You’ve never seen so many emotions from him nor has he ever raised his voice with you.

“I’m sorry,” you apologised, another rush of guilt taking over you as you let your head fall forward. It wasn’t your intention to get shot after all, it just happened, because once again you were reckless and didn’t pay attention to the details.

“I’m just glad you are okay,” he added as he sat down beside you.

“Oh, were you worried about me?” You chuckled, trying to lift his tense mood.

“Yes, I was,” he stated firmly, concern clearly painted across his face.

“Is it a friendly worry,” you asked with a mischievous smile, “or it’s an ‘I almost lost the love of my life’ worry?” You snickered playfully.

“It’s an ‘I’m going to murder you next time if you try something like this’ kind of worry,” he huffed, earning a heartfelt laughter from you, but it quickly disappeared as the pain shot through your stomach, as though someone stabbed you. “Stop playing around, can’t you just be serious once?” He groaned, your recklessness playing with his nerves.

“You made me laugh, so don’t nag me,” you pulled a face, an annoyed grimace which earned a disapproving look from the man as he leaned back in his chair, folding his arms in front of his chest. “If I knew I needed to get myself almost killed to get your attention, I would have done it earlier,” you replied with a humorous tone, but with a straight face, trying to lift the mood once again. Of course, you knew it could have gotten you killed, and you were glad that you were alive and fairly well, but it was easier to joke around than to stay serious.

Bucky shot up from his chair and started walking up and down in front of your bed. “You know it could have ended worse, right?” He asked with a stern look and you nodded in response, this time stopping yourself from trying to joke around. “You could have died,” you weren’t sure where he was going with it, but from the grave and solemn emotions across his face, you knew he was very serious. “What if you died, huh? You wouldn’t be joking around now; you would be six feet under the ground. Would that be funny?” He asked, almost as though he was demanding an answer.

“No, it wouldn’t, and I don’t want to die obviously. I just didn’t want to see you so worried so I thought it would be better if I joked around and you would be less— I don’t even know, tense I guess,” you huffed as you played with your fingers in your lap nervously. Bucky heaved a heavy sigh as he sat down in the chair beside you and placed his elbows on the edge of your bed, watching you intently. He lifted your hand and leaned his forehead against your knuckles as he closed his eyes, a comforting silence falling between the two of you. “I’m sorry,” you apologised again, this time sincerely. You never wanted to make him so worried, let alone see him this concerned. He shook his head, but he didn’t open his eyes.

“I was worried because you were dying, but that wasn’t the only reason,” a heavy sigh left his lungs as he lifted his head and kissed your knuckles, his words leaving you in confusion. His gaze fell on you, watching and studying you as though he was trying to read you. “I was worried because I thought I would lose you before I could have even told you how I felt. I was worried because all this time I have been pushing you away instead of giving us a chance and I thought I would never be able to tell you this. I honestly thought I was about to lose you and it was eating me up from the inside,” you took your hand from his and placed it on his cheek, caressing his stubble as he placed his hand on yours, leaning into your touch. “When I heard your voice and watched you fighting to wake up, it felt like I got a second chance with you.”

“And what about all your excuses? You are older, you are broken, your mind is not there. What about all of those excuses?” You raised a questioning brow, but you couldn’t hide the tiny smile in the corner of your lips.

“I still think I’m older than you,” he replied with a wider grin this time.

“And here we go, James Barnes is back with excuses,” you huffed shaking your head as you rolled your eyes.

“I will always think like that, but it doesn’t mean I love you any less,” your eyes grew wide at his sudden confession, a shocked expression taking over your facial muscles.

“Lo— love me?” You asked, stumbling through your words, feeling like you were dreaming, like you were in an alternate universe, an unfamiliar scenario playing.

A heavy sigh escaped his lips, a soft smile spreading across face. “Yes, I do love you.”

His words once again shocked you, but as he repeated them, they started to feel more real. “Does— does that mean that– that you would like to give us a chance?” You stuttered, your own confidence betraying you.

“I would like nothing more,” he smiled softly as he squeezed your hand. You watched his blue eyes, trying to understand if it was indeed reality or if you were in some sort of dream, but the genuine, loving expression across his face, his eyes holding your gaze endearingly gave you all the answers you needed.

“It took you long enough to open your eyes,” you scolded him, but you couldn’t mask your happiness. “So, how is it going to be? Do I have to wait for the first kiss until our first date? Sorry, I only dated people my age,” you snickered playfully. He shook his head with a wide grin across his face as he stood up and leaned closer to you, hinting a small kiss on your forehead.

“There’s your kiss,” he chuckled as you pouted, his actions making you feel soft as though you were more than just an agent, but a woman once again.

“What about on the lips?” You asked with an awkward smile.

“You really are impatient,” he replied with a scolding tone, but a cheeky smile in the corner of his lips and he did as you wished and connected his lips with yours, kissing you softly, filled with love and care. As he pulled away, he sat back in his seat, both of you beaming happily. A warm sensation rushed through your body when he held onto your hand again, leaning his face against your knuckles, his happy, worriless smile making you mirror his expression. In that moment, you were just plain happy and no one could take that away from you.

Chapter Text

Title: Clouded judgement
Pairing: Loki Laufeyson x Asgardian!Female!Reader
Word count: 4.8k
Author: Heloise Daphne Brightmore
Challenge: This is for @sventeen-daybreak's 600 followers writing challenge on Tumblr and I used the overall vibe of the song.

“What would it feel like if you tore me apart? / Come on chew on my heart” [Chew on my heart by James Bay]

Thor has always been a brother figure to you, you grew up together after all. He was someone who was always there for you when you needed him, but mostly got on your nerves intentionally. He found enjoyment in your grimaces and child-like sulking. Regardless of how irritating he was at times, you loved him dearly. However, Loki was different. You never looked at him as a brother or a friend. You pretended to see him in that light, of course, not wanting your secret to be revealed, but your feelings for him were deeper, rooted in a romantic interest.

You tried to hide it and treat them equally, but at times you found it rather difficult. Sometimes you wished to run up to Loki to give him a hug, whilst you fist bumped Thor, but you knew if you differentiated them, your secret would be at risk. So, you pushed your emotions aside and used a logical part of your mind to make decisions that would ensure the safety of your secret.

Though you carefully planned out how to go about your feelings, others had different ideas. Loki always voiced how he just wanted to be an equal to Thor, someone who had just as much opportunity, someone who received as much love and care, someone who was no different, but when it came to you, he wanted to be above his brother, he wanted to be first and more important to you. He wasn't happy with your carefully concocted plan to be stuck on the same level as his brother, especially because he didn't feel he was.

Loki was growing tired of being a shadow of his brother once again. He wanted you to look at him differently, to treat him as though he was more important to you. He had to admit he was jealous and though the word itself made him enraged, he tried to conceal it. He envied the relationship you had with Thor. Even though you thought you were careful and treated them equally, Loki's genius mind was clouded by his emotions, his jealousy.

Thor and Loki's relationship had been a rollercoaster, but finally they were at peace with each other and even Odin was proud of his younger adopted son. Everything seemed finally calm between the brothers, but it didn't matter how proud his brother made him and how supportive he had been towards Thor, Loki found himself taken over by an envious storm once again.

He leaned against the door frame of your room in the Royal Palace of Valaskjalf, his arms folded in front of his chest, his body language screaming indifference. He acted as though he couldn't care about the loud laughter that left your lips, the small crinkles appearing beside your eyes or the way you threw your head back as another fit of laughter erupted from your lungs. Loki tried to pretend that it didn't affect him, that his heart didn't ache from the sight of another man making you laugh wholeheartedly as he watched from the side-line. But deep down he was burning in jealousy, eating him up from the inside. He knew he should have been happy for you as a friend and he tried, many times before, but he couldn't control the little demons that discouraged him from ever expressing his feelings to you. He believed, if it came to making a decision between him and his brother, the mighty Thor, the God of Thunder, you would choose his brother without a hint of doubt. The feeling of not being equal, only a second to Thor once again messed with his head and as he stood in the doorway, watching you laughing at something his brother told you, he made a decision he felt was long awaited.

"Why do you keep standing there? Come here," you smiled softly as you patted the golden couch beside you, offering him a place to sit. But instead of taking up on your offer, he just shook his head with a solemn expression. "Is everything okay?" You asked, slightly worried about the look on his face. Instead of a reply, he just nodded. With a heavily beating heart, you stood up from the sofa and walked up to him, placing a hand on his face, gently caressing his cheek with the tip of your thumb. "You look troubled. Is there a way I could help ease your worries?" You asked, eyes filled with hope to help the man you loved so dearly.

Loki wanted to lean into your palm, enjoying your soft touch against his skin, the connection making him feel as though your mere presence radiated safety, a feeling he only felt with you. But he had to remind himself of his plan. He grabbed your wrist and with a harsh movement pushed your hand away from him. His actions surprised you, making you slightly jump at the unexpected reaction. The coldness in his eyes was unfamiliar, your concern for him greatly growing. "I don't need your help," he replied firmly, a chill running through your spine at the emotionless tone. Even when you did something silly, he was always there to reassure you that it was all going to work out, because whatever you wanted, you were capable of achieving. He was always there to encourage you and offer you his endless support. He was the one who always kept you in one piece, even when you were going through hardships. But as he stood in front of you with his gaze empty, his jaw tightened, his tone cold and emotionless, something felt off and you weren't about to let it go.

"You are acting strange, Loki," you spoke with a deep frown across your brows, your eyes studying his face, trying to understand what could have gone through his mind.

He raised a questioning brow as he tilted his head. "No, I'm not. Perhaps you just don't know me well enough," he shrugged nonchalantly, his whole demeanour making you feel as though there was an invisible wall between the two of you.

"That's ridiculous. I know you, Loki. We have been friends for long enough," you scoffed at the absurdity of his words.

"You are no friend to me," he spat the words filled with hatred. A silent gasp left your lungs, his words painfully piercing through your chest, as though a dagger stabbed you in your heart. Feeling your chest tighten, your air cut off for a mere moment, you stumbled back in your place, your knees weakening as your brain processed his words. Loki didn't mean what he said, the words he spoke weren't the ones he meant to say, but they escaped involuntary and regardless of how painful it felt, he couldn't take them back.

"Loki!" Thor raised his voice warningly at his brother, but both you and Loki ignored him.

"What are you talking about? I don't understand you," you grabbed his arm desperately, but he just shook it off. He could see the pain in your eyes, the tears threatening to escape. His only wish was to wrap his arms around you and apologise repeatedly, to tell you that he didn't mean a word he said, but he couldn't do that. His pride stood in the way, the thought of being a second again enraged him.

"Wasn't I clear enough. Must I explain everything in detail?" He spat in anger. He didn't want to hurt you, but before he could have even thought of the words he wanted to say, they escaped him without a warning.

"But Loki, what have I done?" Your voice was tiny as though it wasn't even your voice. It was weak and desperate, somewhat needy. None of what Loki said made sense and the cold look in his eyes, the firm stance he took up on, it wasn't the Loki you knew.

"Nothing," he replied with a straight face. "You are simply no use to me anymore," he spoke, his words even surprising him. He didn't mean to make you feel as though you were a toy, he grew tired of. He realised it was time for him to not say another word. He knew what he had done, he knew you hated him and that it was too late for him to take it back. Opening your mouth, you were ready to strike back, but no sound left your vocal cords. You stood in front of him as if you were a fish out of water, suffocating. Tears fell down your cheeks, streaming down heavily as the words finally reached you. You were of no use to him anymore.

The sight of your tears, the devastation he saw in your eyes made Loki internally scream. It reminded him of the last words he spoke to his mother, breaking the heart of the person he loved more than anyone else. And now as he stood in front of you, intentionally hurting you, he just wanted to travel back in time and take it all back. The look on your face terrified him, the thought of causing you pain made his heart churn in agony. He couldn't bear to watch your heart shatter right in front of his eyes, all because he was a coward.

But you weren't a fool, you knew something was wrong. The unshed tears you desperately tried to keep from escaping blurred your vision as you stood in front of him unsteadily, wiping away the remaining evidence of your silent cries. Grabbing his arm once again, this time you didn't let him shake you off and you purposely changed your whole demeanour. You knew him, you knew who he really was, and you decided you weren't about to give up on him.

Your strong hold around him surprised Loki, he didn't expect you to cling to him after he treated you so disrespectfully. Once again, he tried to shake your hand off, but you didn't give in. There was a raging fire of determination in your eyes that Loki couldn't place and certainly couldn't understand. You caught his facade crumble for a mere moment only, wavering under your stubbornness, but it was enough for you to know there was something behind his nasty behaviour. "You can't fool me, you dumb man. It doesn't matter how hard you try," you hissed in anger as his cold exterior once again trembled at the sight of your firm stance against his ruthlessness, but he quickly rearranged himself as though he realised his slip-up.

He roughly removed his arm from your hold, your gaze capturing his stunned look once again, long enough for him to know you weren't hurt anymore, you were mad. Your eyes held anger as you looked up at the man and you didn't plan on hiding it. Loki knew he had gone too far and seeing your heart broken and enraged wasn't his plan. He just wanted to distance himself, never to feel like a second behind his brother, but he had gone too far. Before he could have made another foolish decision, he turned around with his jaw tightly shut, his fingers curving into a fist as he left you without a reply.

"Loki!" Thor shouted after his brother, but he didn't turn back. "I will talk to him," Thor shot up from the sofa and squeezed your shoulder reassuringly with a pained smile across his face.

"He is too stubborn to listen. There is something else behind his behaviour," you replied through gritted teeth, wanting nothing but to punch his younger brother.

"Then I shall bring him back so you can talk to him," he offered, earning a nod from you as he hurried after his brother, his heavy steps still audible from a distance.

You couldn't understand what had gotten into Loki, you couldn't pinpoint where this absurd behaviour and disrespectful manner came from, but the way he talked to you, the coldness in his eyes were ones you have never seen from him before. At least not towards you. His distanced behaviour lit a raging fire within you, wanting to confront the mischievous god, giving him a piece of your mind. He hurt you, it was terrifying to hear those words leave his lips, but the anger you felt towards him overpowered the initial aching in your heart, the heavy weight sitting on your chest.

Loki rushed through the corridors of the Royal Palace in haste, not being able to look at you any longer. He didn't mean for things to happen the way they did, he didn't mean to hurt you. When he realised what he had done, the only thing he could do was run. He knew he was a coward, but the pained look on your face terrified him and as soon as he realised you weren't having any of his foolish play, it scared him. His whole plan was reckless and stupid, he knew, but he couldn't find it in him to walk back to you and apologise. Loki thought if he was to go back, he would have to watch you growing closer to his brother and he couldn't bear the thought of you and Thor together.

So, he fled Asgard.

It's been a week since Loki disappeared and you couldn't handle not knowing where he was, what he has been doing, why he acted the way he did. You thought after all this time your anger would subside, but it weighed on you heavily just like on the day Loki decided to hurt you. A part of you was enraged, wanting nothing but return the pain you felt, however another part of you was worried about him, concerned for his safety. Walking up and down nervously in your room didn't help your case. Thor's letter about finding his brother awoke hope in you, but not the kind where you wanted to jump in his arms anymore. The kind that gave you the opportunity to tell him what a coward he was for running away.

A guard knocked on your door, pulling you out of your thoughts. He didn't need to speak, you knew Loki and Thor were back. You gave clear instructions to the guards to inform you upon their arrival. In haste, you headed to the entrance that led you to the Rainbow bridge, a storm of thoughts swirling around in your mind, scenarios upon scenarios playing every possibility of your reunion.

As you stepped outside the arch of the entrance, you caught sight of the brothers. Thor pushed on Loki's back as though he was a prisoner. He even wore a pair of handcuffs to stop him from trying anything. Frowning at the sight, you tilted your head innocently, Thor's actions seeming a bit much for your liking. You wanted Loki back, but if he didn't come on his own, did it really make a difference? You knew he would only listen to you because he had no other options.

Whilst Thor's extreme measures slightly bothered you, the anger that you have been harbouring screamed louder in your mind than to care about how he returned Loki. Whether with or without Loki's consent, you were to lash out on him, because he deserved it after the way he treated you.

"Well, well, well, look who found his way home," you arched a brow, but he didn't look at you. His gaze was fixed on the ground, not daring to meet your eyes. "Uncuff him, please" you instructed Thor, who did as he was told, knowing he had no place to join your disagreement. He helped as much as he could, he brought his brother back, but whatever was going on between you and Loki was none of his business, so after a reassuring nod, he left you.

Loki massaged his wrist where the handcuff cut into his flesh, but still didn't dare to lift his gaze. Everything seemed more interesting to him, but you. It angered you even more, but instead of losing control, you tightened your jaw and squeezed your lips shut. You patiently waited, though you didn't know for what. An apology maybe, an explanation, even an annoyed groan, but Loki was silent. Silence wasn't his strength, the man loved to talk, and this side was certainly new to you. For a mere second it occurred to you that he might have changed, and you just misinterpreted him the last time you met. But those thoughts quickly disappeared as you remembered his facade fall for a second, seeing him vulnerable even if for a mere moment.

"So, is this how it's going to be?" You asked with a straight face, hoping to earn a reply, some words maybe or even a sound. But Loki kept his lips sealed. "Look at me!" You raised your voice, but he didn't lift his gaze, he avoided meeting your eyes at all costs. There was a certain hopelessness you felt, a part of you burning in anger to know more, to have some sort of an explanation, but he didn't give in. "Talk to me!" You shouted at the man, but he just tightened his jaw and kept quiet.

Loki wanted to talk, he wanted to apologise, he wanted to look into your eyes and see what he had done to you. But he didn't have the courage to see the damage he had made. He was afraid of what he would see, the raging hatred in your eyes, the pity for the pathetic person he was, the anger his cowardness lit within you. It was all his fault, and he knew he had no right to speak, not even to apologise. His words would mean nothing to you, he let himself treat you so rudely after all.

"Talk to me! Open your mouth! You could never shut up, why are you starting now?" You asked, enraged at the silence. Walking up to him, you started hitting his chest, each blow harder than the previous one, but Loki just took it diligently. "Why are you doing this?" You shouted as you pushed on him, desperately trying to get him to say something, the silence driving you mad. Loki though he didn't have the right to stop you, each blow you struck at his chest was well deserved. He would have taken even harder punishments, he deserved it after all, but if that was what made you feel better, he would let you keep hitting him.

Your next blow halted in mid-air, tears collecting in your eyes, ready to escape. "Do you really hate me that much?" Your voice barely a whisper, a weak voice you have never heard from yourself. Loki's eyes found yours for the first time, swallowing visibly at the words you used. The thought of him ever hating you felt impossible for him and as he watched your desperate gaze, he knew he needed to say something.

"I could never," he replied finally, earning a shaky sigh from you.

"Then why are you doing this?" You asked, hoping that the barrier he so carefully pulled up between you would finally crumble. But no other words left his lips. He was silent once again. He didn't know what to say to you, he couldn't possibly be honest. He knew you would look at him as though he was a pathetic man and he never wanted to see you look down on him. He was better off being hated by you than to ever feel like you pitied him. He knew he deserved it, what he had done was unforgivable in his eyes, though he couldn't get himself to tell you that. "Speak!" You shouted once again; your desperate tone shook him out of his thoughts. He locked his eyes with yours, searching for more than rage, but you were harbouring so many emotions, he couldn't possibly read you.

You had no idea what was going through his mind, the only thing you could see in his eyes was a mess. Swirling emotions and thoughts, you could barely read the man. You needed answers, but as you looked into his eyes, you couldn't possibly find them. You needed words, confessions, explanations, apologies, it didn't matter, but the only way you could understand him was spoken words and he denied them from you. His silence made your head spin, feeling hopeless in your situation. Once again you hit him on the chest as though that was the only reason, he replied to you.

"You big, old, man-child, open your mouth and speak!" You shouted at him, striking another fist full of blow against his chest. "Say something!" You screamed, filled with rage. "After all you've said, you had the audacity to run away, flee from all the problems you have caused. How could you do that? Do you realise how worried I was? Not knowing where you went, what you were up to, if you were even in one piece," you cried. You thought he didn't care, but you had to say it, you had to let it all out. "Your words hurt me and I'm so mad at you, I want to hurt you as much as you hurt me, but I was still worried. I'm as much of a fool as you are," you breathed in a calmer manner. Loki's eyes grew in astonishment. He expected your anger, lashing out on him, but he never expected you to worry about him, to show such affection. Not after all he has done to you, not after he has broken your heart.

"I'm sorry," he breathed weakly against his better judgment. The desperate need in your eyes, the anger building up, the tears collecting, he knew he needed to say it. He didn't want to be a coward anymore and as hard as it was to accept it, he couldn't care less if he was only a second to his brother. If he could only remain beside you as a mere friend, he was to do everything in his power to earn your forgiveness. "I'm so sorry," he repeated himself. Your eyes grew wide at the apology, if anything those were the last words you expected to hear from him. His head fell forward, his gaze fixed on the ground. Loki was never one to apologise, let alone seem so guilty. You felt as though you had entered a completely new territory. But it didn't make you feel less hurt or upset.

"Do you think an apology can erase it all? Do you really think a simple sorry is enough?" You asked with a straight face, arms folded in front of your chest. Of course, Loki knew it wasn't enough, but it was a start, however minor it seemed to be.

"No, it's not. I know I've gone too far," he spoke as he lifted his head, searching for your eyes. His voice was heavy with emotions, his cold demeanour falling into pieces. "I didn't mean anything I said to you, I didn't mean to hurt you. It was not my intention," he took a deep breath as though he needed time to carefully plan his words. "I'm a fool and I don't expect you to forgive me, but I am sincerely sorry for what I have done," he breathed, his shoulders falling forward, his usually self-confident appearance now seemed weak and vulnerable. You had to stop the urge that wanted you to wrap your arms around his frame and tell him that it was alright, because whilst you felt bad for him, it was all his fault. He hurt you, he spoke those words that felt like daggers twisting your heart.

"Why, Loki? Why did you talk to me like that?" You asked, needing an explanation. The Loki you saw that day was indeed different from the person you knew, but the reasons behind his behaviour were beyond you.

"Because I thought it would be better," Loki debated to be honest with you, but as he looked into your eyes, your gaze desperate for the truth, he couldn't deny it from you. He knew you would look at him differently, he knew you would be even more enraged, but you deserved the truth. "I didn't want to be a second again. Finally, everything fell into place with my father and Thor. I felt equal, which I wanted to be for so long. But once again I found myself in my brother's shadow and I couldn't handle it. I was a fool and I thought if I pushed you away, I wouldn't have to repeat the same mistakes again, but I did," a heavy sigh left his lungs as he searched for the right words. "I never meant to hurt you, but I couldn't bear to be stuck in my brother's shadow again," you furrowed at the man, his words making no sense to you.

"I always treated you the same. Why would you think you were in his shadow? I love you equally," you attempted to convince him, but he just shook his head.

"Maybe you think you did, but I was envious of your relationship with him. I know, I'm the worst, but I couldn't control it," he scoffed at his own words. "I didn't want to be a close second, I didn't want to be an equal. I wanted to be more important to you, but I knew it would be impossible," your eyes widened as the words left his lips, a silent gasp escaping your lungs.

"More important?" You asked with a stunned expression. "Why?"

"Because my feelings for you aren't platonic," he confessed, his chest feeling lighter as the words finally left his mouth. He wished to say it for so long, regardless of how terrifying it seemed. Whether you felt the same or not, he felt as though the heavy weight previously seated across his chest was now finally gone.

You stood in front of him in utter shock. You longed to hear those words since the very first time you realised your own feelings, but you could never imagine hearing them. It felt like you were in a dream, a blissful moment. As the puzzles finally started to make sense, you walked up to him and wrapped your arms around his neck. "You are a fool," you breathed against the skin of his neck. Your sudden affection surprised Loki, but his arms involuntarily wrapped around your waist, pulling you closer. "Did you really push me away for this? Couldn't you just say something?" You asked as you tightened your arms around him.

"I was afraid," he confessed, his words weak as though he found them hard to declare.

"If you were just honest, this whole situation could have been easily avoided," you replied as you pulled back to be able to look at him. You placed a hand on his cheek, caressing it gently. "If you asked me, if you had spoken to me, I would have told you the truth. I haven't seen you as a friend for years. My feelings for you grew a long time ago," you confessed as Loki's eyes grew wider. "You were never a second or an equal to Thor in my eyes. You were always more important," you spoke as you brushed his hair behind his ear.

"I'm so sorry," he breathed as he finally found his voice and pulled you closer, hiding his face in the crook of your neck, enjoying your embrace around him. "Thank you," he murmured against your skin.

"What for?" You asked with a deep frown.

"For your existence," he replied, earning a loud chuckle from you.

"You're welcome," you snickered playfully. "Though I'm still mad at you," you warned him as you pulled back to establish eye contact. "You will have to make up for all the mess you have created," you spoke with a straight face, your words strict, but holding no anger.

"I will do anything in my power to earn your forgiveness. Anything!" He declared. He knew he was a fool, but he wasn't stupid enough to hurt you ever again. He needed you to forgive him, because he knew he couldn't forgive himself until you had done so.

"You could start by declaring your undying love for me," you giggled with a mischievous smile across your face.

"Excuse me?" He asked, eyes wide in surprise.

"You could start asking for my forgiveness by kissing me," your voice was less confident than the first time, fearing you have been too bold. But as soon as Loki processed your words, a heartfelt laughter escaped his lungs.

"Yes, ma'am," he replied as his laughter died down and placed a hand behind your neck, meeting your lips halfway, kissing you in haste, wanting to pour all his feelings in that kiss. He needed you to understand all those feelings he has been harbouring silently and he was ready to give you anything you ever wished, even after he has finally earned your forgiveness. 

Chapter Text

Title: Memory lane; That particular first encounter
Pairing: Loki Laufeyson x Avenger!Female!Reader
Word count: 1.4k
Author: Heloise Daphne Brightmore

You sat across the sofa, legs hanging over the arm of the furniture, your back leaning into Loki's side. It was a moment of calm, a well-needed silence you have been craving to spend around the man you loved so dearly. Earth has gone through a lot, people were snapped away for 5 years to then appear again in a world they couldn't quite understand. It was a difficult time for everyone, and all the lives that were given for a bigger cause left a mark on people. It was a heavy weight on your chest that you had to carry around every single day and now that you finally stopped and found a moment to concentrate on yourself and the person you loved the most, the feeling felt unfamiliar.

"You are awfully quiet," Loki said as he got hold of your hand and played with your fingers.

"I'm just thinking," you replied, your voice monotone.

"What about?" He attempted to get you to talk.

"About things," you breathed. Laying in his arms, your body was physically present, but your mind was wandering elsewhere, particularly on all the recent events that happened on earth, a storm of thoughts occupying your mind.

"Perhaps about me?" He asked with a playful grin and even though you couldn't see his expression, it was obvious that he would find himself funny.

"You know, you are not all I think about, right?" You asked as you turned around in his arms, pushing him down on the couch and scooting closer to him, lying beside him. You placed your head on his chest, listening to his rhythmic breathing.

"Yeah, I don't believe that. You have been taken by my unearthly charm since the very first day we met," he snorted in a playful manner, earning a dumbfounded expression from you as you lifted your head to look at him.

"I have been— hold on, what? I hated you the first time I met you," you argued with clear disbelief painted across your face.

"No, you didn't," he shook his head with a proud grin. Your brows arched higher, eyes growing wider as you realised you had a completely different memory of your first meeting.

"Yes, I did," you scoffed. "It was what, 4 years ago, when—" you started, heading down memory lane.

You were seated at the conference room, going through a couple of mission files, when a loud rumbling sound shook the compound, the table in front of you sliding to the side from the force. Ready for battle, you stood up from your chair and headed towards the loud voices you could hear from the entrance, knife carefully fixed in your grasp. It was a mix of laughter and annoyed groans, leaving you utterly confused about the identity of the arrivals.

When you stepped inside the lounge, you saw two men standing at the entrance. There was a large man, made up of muscles on top of muscles, his long blonde hair falling in his face, his hand wrapped around a large hammer. You weren't sure, but from the object in his hand, you were quite certain it was Thor, the God of Thunder as some called him. The other man, standing right beside him was slightly smaller both in height and frame, his shoulder length black hair enhanced his vividly green eyes as a proud grin sat across his face.

"Who's that pretty face?" The stranger asked with clear interest in his voice as his eyes met yours, earning a deadpan expression from you.

Stepping closer to the commotion, you looked around as Bruce rolled his eyes, Natasha exhaled sharply and Tony massaged the bridge of his nose as though he was fed up already. Everyone seemed slightly tense, but you have never met the two, you were fairly new to be around all these heroes and superhumans, you couldn't have known everyone.

"Did I miss something?" You asked with a deep frown, feeling slightly left out. "You are Thor, aren't you?" You questioned his identity as you stepped closer.

"Yes, indeed," he beamed happily as you extended your hand for him to shake it.

"And who is this?" You asked, looking up and down the man standing beside Thor, studying him as though you have seen him somewhere.

"Ouch, that hurt," the man placed a hand on his chest, acting as if he was hurt by your words. "I'm Loki, God of Mischief," he replied with pride.

"Hold on a minute," you stopped as realisation hit you, your grasp around your knife tightening. "Loki, as in the bastard who tried to wipe off our planet?" You raised a brow questioningly, anger bubbling up inside you. "The one who decided that we were worthless, and we should be ruled over?" You asked through gritted teeth.

"Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration," Loki tried to save the situation with a faux smile, but his words meant nothing to you.

"Yes," Thor replied with a smug grin across his face. "That's him," he nodded.

"You jerk!" You spit in anger as you walked up to him and punched him straight across his jaw, his head snapping to the side as you tried to ignore the pain that shot through your arm. He certainly had a strong bone structure but hitting him made you feel slightly better.

He adjusted his jaw as he intensely studied your face, before his smug grin returned. "Well, hello to you too," he chuckled. "I have a feeling we will get along just fine," he smirked as he took a step closer to you, but you placed your hands on his chest and pushed him away.

"You wish," scoffing, you turned to Thor who had a wide smile across his face.

"I like this one," he laughed silently as he patted your shoulder with a certain pride. You took another look at Loki, grimacing at the god, but instead of hatred, he was smiling at you as though he found you amusing. Rolling your eyes, you turned around and headed back to the conference room to continue your research.

As you finished reminiscing, Loki nodded heavily, chuckling at your grimace. "As I said, you were completely captured by my charm," he smirked.

"Are you kidding me? I punched you," you argued, trying to make him realise that there was nothing but anger in you the first time you met.

"And that was a very sexy punch," he laughed out loud, closing his eyes as a single tear rolled down his cheek.

"Whether it was sexy or not, it doesn't mean I liked you," you huffed, feeling as though you were talking to a wall.

"I saw the way you looked at me," he wriggled his brows playfully.

"And in what way did I look at you?" You asked as you rolled your eyes and heaved a heavy sigh.

"You were filled with lust and need, you wanted me," he chuckled, earning a punch on his chest from you.

"Yeah, I wanted you alright. I wanted you dead," you scoffed as you attempted to wiggle out of his hold, but he didn't let you.

"Fine, I will agree to your side of the story on one condition," he arched a brow, a mischievous look in his eyes.

"There's no blackmail in this house," you groaned, trying to unwrap his arms from your body, but as always, he was stronger than you.

"It's not blackmail, it's an agreement," he replied.

"Fine, what's that?" You asked with a bored expression, knowing Loki was playing around once again.

"Give me a kiss," he smirked.

"What? Your agreement is a kiss for accepting the truth?" You asked suspiciously.

"Yes, I'm feeling generous," he nodded with a wide smile across his face.

"You idiot, I would have kissed you without the agreement, though it is more beneficial for me" you snorted as you leaned closer and closed the gap between the two of you, enjoying the cool feelings his lips offered. His arm held you stronger, pulling you closer to his chest, his other hand sneaking behind your neck, minimising the space between you. Being held by Loki felt natural, comfortable, and safe. Even though he was the God of Mischief and you never had a boring moment, being in his arms meant home. He was your home, regardless of how dead you wanted him to be the first time you met him. 

Chapter Text

Title: Will you accept me?
Pairing: Loki Laufeyson x Female!Reader
Word count: 1.9k
Author: Heloise Daphne Brightmore
Request: [Tumblr]

Loki Laufeyson x Reader, using the prompts below
#13 - "Uh oh, I know that look. What do you want?”
#15 - "There’s something in the corner of your lips… can I?”
#33 - "Can you please stop biting your lip…it’s distracting.”

Addictive. The only word that seemed to be close enough to what Loki felt when he thought of you. You didn’t need to kiss him, nor did you have to touch him, your simple presence made him addicted to you. It took you an effortless gesture, brushing your hair behind your ear, offering him a soft smile and he was ready to kneel for you, ready to do whatever you wanted from him.

He knew he was foolish; he was over a thousand years old. Still, a mortal being, someone who was supposed to be nothing but a life passing by had him begging for your presence just to be beside him. He could have claimed himself to be insane and that alone would have made more sense. A thousand years, maybe that’s what it was. It was a possibility, he has gone mental, and it was all because you existed.

It was driving him crazy to know a human could have such a power over him. He tried to fight it. For months and months, he was battling his own feelings. But when it came to you, deep down he knew he lost the moment your gaze fell on him for the first time. Even the air stuck in his lungs, momentarily paralysing him as he caught your eyes resting on him. Even his lungs deemed you more important than oxygen itself.

He fought hard; such feelings were foreign even to a god. But the harder he fought against his feelings to retain his sanity, the more difficult it seemed to keep himself away from you. Deep down, even though he didn’t dare to admit it, he knew he couldn’t stay away from you. A simple whisper, his name rolling off the tip of your tongue was enough for him to come crawling to you. You were a mortal indeed. But his mortal. Screw sanity, he needed you like addicts needed their daily dose. You were his personal drug, his doom, but one that he was ready to give up anything for, one that only needed to whisper his name in that sweet voice, making him shudder and fall to his knees.

“In the end, you will always kneel,” he said once to all those mortals. He never thought he would be one of them, that his knees would ever touch the ground for anyone else. But that was before he met you and without a word, he was ready to do whatever you wished from him. The power you held over him was unearthly and you didn’t even know. You were his even before you realised, even before he finally accepted, he was done for. But if being beside you was his doom, he was ready to take every blow just to spend one more second holding your hand, see that sweet smile spread across your face, the soft voice that always felt like home to him and the light caress of your thumb along his jawline. Each and any simple movement of yours was worth to be wrecked for.

“Uh oh, I know that look. What do you want? What are you planning?” You asked with a questioningly raised brow, squinting suspiciously, earning a stunned expression from Loki.

“Pardon?” He asked, trying to recall any of your words as he realised, he was sitting in the restaurant you had taken him to.

“Nothing, I’ve only been talking to myself for the past 10 minutes whilst you were clearly somewhere else,” you replied with a smug grin. “Where were you? Planning another apocalypse?” You snickered playfully as you bit on your bottom lip, chewing on the skin.

“That depends. Would you be my queen if I was to attempt to take over Midgard again?” He smirked proudly, earning an eye roll from you.

“Firstly, I think Steve and Tony would have a couple of rather unkind words to offer you if you were to even try. Secondly, I have no intention of becoming a queen or rule over anyone. And thirdly, before you even think about taking over the Earth, you should learn how to pay attention to your girlfriend. If you can’t deal with one person, I feel like billions of people might be a bit of a big bite for you, God of Mischief,” you giggled at the deadpan expression he offered you.

“Forgive me for not paying attention. It seems you are in a rather feisty mood, aren’t you? Maybe you should hold onto that attitude until we get home,” he winked at you as his smile grew wider. You let out a scoff, but you couldn’t hide the corner of your lip curving at the thought. Instead of offering him a reply, you turned back to your food, finding it more interesting than embarrassing yourself further. “How is that saying? Cat got your tongue?” He chuckled playfully, earning a silent snicker from you.

“It’s a date, Loki. An innocent little date. Let’s keep it that way,” you tried to scold your boyfriend for his behaviour as he dug into his food. He tried, so hard he tried to concentrate on his food, but after each portion he found himself staring at you. You felt it, it was hard to even keep your eyes off him, but you knew if you gave him the satisfaction of looking up, you would lose.

For minutes you sat in silence. Not a comfortable one, nor an awkward one. It was a battle of silence. Which one of you could keep it shut for longer. Or at least it felt like that. But mostly it was simply to not look into each other’s eyes and leave the restaurant like two hormonal teenagers unable to keep their desires at bay.

But then it went on for too long, it was becoming unbearable to sit in silence for so long. You lifted your gaze, hoping he wasn’t looking. But he was, intently, studying every inch of your face as though he still found something new even after all this time. A small snickering sound left your vocal cords as your eyes wandered down to his lips. "There’s something in the corner of your lips…,” you snickered once again. He was a god, but he sure was clumsy at times. “Can I?” You asked as you leaned over the table with a napkin already in your hand and wiped off the corner of his lips, transferring the sauce onto the tissue paper.

A silent giggle left your lungs as you pulled your bottom lip between your teeth, trying to muffle the noise. You expected him to roll his eyes as a result of your humorous tone, you expected him to scold you for being so careless with a god as he liked to emphasise his title. But instead, you found yourself gazing into his vividly green eyes as he stared at you for what seemed to be forever. Whatever he found so interesting in you was unknown to you, but his intense gaze burned your face, beginning to cause your cheeks to heat up as his eyes studied every movement of yours.

Loki was always thinking, he always had something on his mind whether plotting his plans, thinking of a way to rile you up or coming up with a way to prank his brother which he never grew out of. But in that moment as he watched you, sitting across him with a soft expression across your face, just casually staring back at him, Loki couldn’t begin to fathom what good he had done to deserve you by his side. He didn’t think he deserved to be around you, let alone being loved by you, but still, you were there, mere inches away, a simple smile on your face, choosing to love him.

“You are staring,” you spoke up nervously, swallowing hard under his heavy gaze.

“I know,” he replied with a straight expression, not even trying to turn away or hide those eyes he had forgotten on you. “Have I ever told you how stunning you are?” He asked as though it was the most natural thing to say to someone.

“Erm— I think— I don’t know,” you struggled to create a coherent sentence, stuttering through the words. After all this time, Loki still had a way to make you feel slightly embarrassed. You didn’t know how he did it, but a simple word, a simple look gave you butterflies, and he was giving them to you effortlessly. You played with your hands in your lap, not daring to look up. Running your tongue along your mouth, you wet your chapped lips and bit on the bottom one, hoping the slight pain would decrease your nerves.

“Princess,” he called out to you, but you didn’t move. He leaned over the table and placed a gentle finger under your chin to lift your gaze. “Sitting across from you and behaving myself is a struggle enough. So, can you please stop biting your lip?” He arched a brow in a questioning manner. “It’s rather distracting and certainly doesn’t help me in having innocent thoughts.”

“As if you could ever have them,” you scoffed, before you clapped your hand to your mouth, realising what you have said. You didn’t mean to bark back, but that was an opportunity you couldn’t miss, it was almost like a reflex.

“It’s an innocent little date, you remember?” He offered you a smug grin as he ran his thumb along your lips.

“Well, I’ve finished with my food,” you put on an innocent smile, but Loki knew better than to believe you.

“Have you now?” He nodded more to himself as he pulled back and waved at the waiter to ask for the bill, but his eyes never left yours, not even when the waiter took his card, Thor’s card, which was actually Tony’s card. You stared back at him just as intently, not even trying to look away, as if it was a silent agreement. “Are you ready to go?” He asked in a tone that sent a shiver down your spine, causing goosebumps to appear on your lower arm. Without a word, you just nodded and followed him out of the restaurant as he reached back to get a hold of your hand and interlock your fingers. Watching his hand around yours, it felt rather large beside your small, sweaty, and just plain human ones.

But before you could have pondered on the differences between your hands, Loki’s arm sneaked around your waist, earning a surprised gasp from you as he pulled you into an alley and pushed you against the wall. Within a second he pressed his lips to yours, catching you slightly off-guard as your eyes fluttered shut at the feel of his warmth. His fingers found their way to the nape of your neck, angling your head to deepen the kiss as you grasped each side of his jacket and pulled him closer, the distance between you and him driving you crazy.

A silent chuckle left Loki’s lips at your neediness as he placed his forehead against yours. “You don’t even know what you are doing to me, woman,”

“Maybe we could hurry home so you can show me,” you offered with a playfully smile across your face, earning a wholehearted laughter from the man, his voice music to your ears.

“Who am I to deny myself from you,” he replied, hinting a small kiss on your lips before he got hold of your hand again and led you home. Though his steps were faster than usual, you couldn’t blame him. It seemed innocent dates weren’t your forte, though you knew you would try over and over again. 

Chapter Text

Title: Lucky charm
Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Female!Reader
Word count: 3k
Author: Heloise Daphne Brightmore
Request: [Tumblr]

Bucky Barnes x Reader
Fluff #4 - “Did… did you just kiss me?”
Fluff #11 - "Your bed hair is really adorable.”
Fluff #12 - "Aw, you’re blushing.”

Warnings: Mention of dinner, alcohol

It was a chilly late evening as you walked across London’s streets with Peggy Carter on your side, heading to Whip and Fiddle. You had better things to do then to chase some American superhero, but after hours of convincing from Peggy, you finally gave in. As an independent agent currently working with the British Forces in England, it was now your duty to follow Agent Carter around as though you were her lapdog. You liked the woman, you had nothing against helping her, but you hated useless missions and you especially despised following orders that made no sense to you. Agent Carter was a highly respected member of the Strategic Scientific Reserve with more than enough training to be able to protect herself. Still, you walked beside her on that chilly evening, following her diligently towards a pub you didn’t even want to go near, to meet some superhero you didn’t even care about.

“Could you keep sighing any louder?” She chuckled lightly, knowing how much you hated following people around.

“I understand how important your presence is, but I did not sign up to be a babysitter. No offence,” you exhaled sharply, feeling useless in your situation.

“None taken,” she smiled sweetly. “I understand how frustrating it can be, but if you are stuck with me, you could very well lighten up a bit,” she winked, trying to lift your mood.

“We are heading to a pub full of drunk people who will stare at us as though we were their prey. I can’t seem to understand why any of that should make me lighten up,” you scoffed as you adjusted the gun tucked into the band of your skirt behind your back.

“I’m not saying you have to have fun, but think of today as a well-deserved vacation,” she tried again, earning a deadpan look from you.

“This is most certainly the farthest possible option from a vacation I’d envision,” you huffed as Peggy stepped into the bar, her head held high, attracting people’s attention. As you looked around, you had to wander if instead of a pub, you might have missed the direction and stepped into a zoo. Men were shamelessly drooling over Peggy as she walked across the little room, hips swaying in her crimson red dress as she headed towards another adjoining room. Rolling your eyes, you followed her, trying to listen to the sound of your own high heels, hoping it would avert your growing anger from the animals hiding in human bodies.

“Captain,” you heard her voice calling for the superhero, a flirtatious tone behind her words. You could barely swallow the chuckle that threatened to erupt from your lungs. Peggy was anything but subtle about her interest in the man.

“Agent Carter,” he replied, his tone holding confidence. You stepped inside the adjourning room, leaning against the doorframe with your arms crossed in front of your chest as you caught sight of the Captain with a slight blush across his cheeks, his eyes awkwardly studying every inch of the Agent, the confidence in his voice barely reflecting his nervous state. If it wasn’t for your training, you would have missed it. The Captain could have seemed confident to a simple bystander, he could have fooled anyone, but to you, the way he fidgeted with his hands under his sleeve, the frequent, long bobbing of his Adam's apple and the tiny sweat drops on his forehead gave him away. The man was more than interested in Peggy.

But you couldn’t hear the rest of their conversation, nor did you care as you already knew about their mission. Your attention however was more occupied when you caught sight of the man beside the superhero, his broad shoulders and confident stance projecting power. For a second you thought you liked what you saw, but that was only until you realised his eyes hungrily running over the Agent’s figure, shamelessly staring at her curves. You imitated a gagging sound, more to yourself than for anyone to see.

“I see your top squad is prepping for duty,” Peggy spoke up, referring to the drunken team members across the pub, but her eyes stayed intensely attached to the Captain.

“You don’t like music?” The other man cut in before Rogers could reply, his eyes almost undressing Peggy.

“I do actually,” she replied, her gaze never leaving the Captain’s as though they were the only ones in the room. “I might— when this is all over— go dancing,” she added suggestively, hoping Rogers would understand her indications. But before he could have said anything, the other man once again interrupted them.

“Then what are we waiting for?” He asked, clearly not understanding Peggy’s interest in the Captain. You found it both humorous and somewhat pathetic.

“The right partner,” she replied, her gaze watching the superhero with an inviting gaze, her words causing a loud fit of laughter to erupt from your lungs, this time having no time to stop it. All three heads turned to you with a questioning look as you tried to hide your laughter behind your palm.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt the show, please feel free to continue,” you snickered as you removed an escaped drop of tear from the corner of your eyes, your vision slightly blurred. It took you a good few seconds to calm down, but as you finally regained yourself and lifted your gaze, in that instance, you felt the air get knocked out of your chest as you caught the other man’s mischievous blue eyes. A charming grin started spreading across his face, turning into a rather cocky smile.

“Where have you been hiding this pretty little thing?” He asked his friend, but his eyes never left yours. With slow steps he headed in your direction, his smirk growing wider, hypnotising you. You have seen a few too many good-looking people throughout your career, but as you stood in front of the Captain’s friend, you had to admit, he was possibly the most handsome man you have ever met. He stopped right in front of you, barely leaving any gap between you as he sneaked his fingers around your hand. “If you don’t mind, I would like to introduce myself. James Buchanan Barnes,” he spoke as he hinted a small kiss on the back of your hand, his eyes attached to yours, watching every single tiny movement you could have made. “But you can call me Bucky,” he smirked.

“James it is then,” you added with a tiny smile in the corner of your lips as you introduced yourself as well, earning a deep chuckle from Bucky.

“What a beautiful name. I have a feeling we will get along just fine,” he replied even more confidently than before, gently squeezing your hand that he was still holding onto. “Would you like to drink something? I would be honoured to get to know you better,” he held his hand out towards the bar, as though he was offering you anything you could ever ask for. But the playful little glint in his eyes reminded you to be cautious. You knew the type of man he was, running after anyone with a skirt.

“If I didn’t think you were a gentleman, I’d believe your intentions are anything but pure and innocent,” you raised a questioning brow.

“For you I would become a priest,” he replied as he licked across his lower lip, his cocky smirk never faltering.

“And how many times have you used that line before?” You asked, squinting suspiciously.

“It’s the first time,” he nodded proudly.

“I’m inclined to believe you have offered to become various things to various women,” you bit on your bottom lip playfully, his intense gaze burning your cheeks as his eyes wandered to your lips.

“But never a priest,” he wiggled his brows playfully, earning a loud chuckle from you as you shook your head.

“Unfortunately, we have to leave,” Peggy added with a small smile.

“You forced me to come with you and told me to have fun and when I finally enjoy myself, you want to drag me away?” You asked with a mischievous smile as you took a quick glance at the woman, before you focused your attention on Bucky again. “Well, unfortunately she is right. We have to take care of a couple of other things, before your briefing tomorrow,” you added as you watched his eyes grow wider.

“Agent?” Peggy called for you, Bucky’s head whipping around in a swift motion.

“Agent?” He asked, stunned as he turned back to you. “Will you be at the meeting?” He asked as he finally started to process your title.

“Wouldn’t miss it,” you smiled, pulling your hand out of his hold and walked out of the bar with Peggy on your side, without even glancing back at the mischievous man.

“James, huh?” Peggy offered you a knowing look, earning a scoff from you.

“Hey, I’m not planning on marrying him, but he is certainly good to look at,” you shrugged, trying to hide your smile and regain your usually strict features, but you found it rather difficult.

“I didn’t say anything,” she replied after a moment of silence as she studied your face, a small smile growing across her pretty face.

“Stop staring at me, Agent,” you said, but she didn’t seem to care about your ‘polite’ request, she just kept smiling to herself, which left you groaning.

As the next morning arrived, the meeting room of the headquarters filled up with people. There were soldiers, sergeants, agents, captains, and everyone that basically mattered and had anything to do with the upcoming mission. It was rather packed, and you didn’t want to take a seat between the two generals who had a spitting problem, so instead you leaned against the wall and waited for some of the missing members to arrive whilst studying your notes.

Reading through some of the key orders in your notebook, you lost yourself in planning some tactics. Your mind was so occupied when a man decided to stand beside you, inch by inch reducing the proximity.

“Morning,” you heard a deep voice and immediately looked up, meeting Bucky’s eyes. He wore a lazy, lopsided smile, his hair a mess, his eyes seemingly too tired to stay open.

“Aw, long night?” You asked, smirking at the man as a low growl left his lungs.

“Don’t even. I can’t even remember how much I drank. I’m surprised I didn’t wake up in a hospital,” he huffed, earning a chuckle from you. “I feel like shit,” he scoffed as he closed his eyes and leaned against the wall. “Sorry about the language,” he quickly apologised for his swearing.

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, your bed hair is really adorable,” you smirked up at him as his eyes shot open, meeting your twinkling gaze. “Oh my, you’re blushing,” you snickered at the faint pink colour covering his cheeks.

“Adorable?” He asked with a questioningly arched brow. “That is not something a man likes to hear,” he pouted, his face contorting in a grimace, but if anything, his childish sulking was even cuter.

“Men and their big ego,” you heaved a heavy sigh as you turned back to your notes, the corner of your mouth curving into a tiny smile as you scribbled down some ideas. But Bucky wasn’t done yet.

“It’s not that it’s a bad word, but a man wants to feel handsome, masculine, and sexy. If you said my bed hair was sexy, I would have liked it more,” he offered you a challenging gaze as though he wanted you to repeat his words, but you weren’t about to give in.

“Barnes, is it?” You asked, though you knew his name already, you couldn’t have forgotten. “A second before I complimented you, you said you felt like shit and I could have gone and said you looked like actual shit, but I was being kind. So, if I were you, I would just accept the compliment and put a lock on my mouth,” you offered him a faux smile and turned back to your notes.

“Feisty,” he chuckled at your monologue. Leaning down to you, his lips caressed the shell of your ear, making you shiver. “I like that,” he said with a smug grin across his face as he pulled away, making you roll your eyes and let out an annoyed sigh. But you couldn’t stop the tiny little butterflies from appearing in the pit of your stomach, nor could you halt your heart from starting off at a heavy pace and your cheeks feeling warmer.

Without any further comment from either of you, the meeting has begun, your complete attention focusing on all the details you dotted down. You could have sworn Bucky’s eyes fell on you repeatedly, but you ignored his gaze and forced yourself to listen to every word the generals discussed, trying to ignore the distraction Bucky’s presence beside you caused.

The meeting finished fairly quickly and after most of the attendees left the room, you decided to head to your office, Bucky trailing behind you in a healthy distance.

“Can I help you,” you asked as you turned around to face him, his steps halting. He wore a wide smirk as his eyes met yours, but no words left his lips, not even a sound. “Well, that is helpful,” you scoffed as you turned around and continued your way to your office.

As soon as you arrived, you left the door open and sat down behind your desk, rearranging some of your documents. Bucky entered the room as well, not even waiting for an invitation. He knew you left the door open for him, he didn’t debate that.

“Are you planning on speaking, or do you find enjoyment in staring at me?” you raised a brow questioningly, earning a half-scoff, half-laugh from him.

“Actually, I do enjoy looking at you,” he shrugged nonchalantly. “It’s a beautiful view.”

“Oh, please, has that line ever worked?” You laughed as you shook your head.

“Never tried before, but from your expression, it seems it is,” he wiggled his brows playfully, before he took a seat in the chair across your table. “Regardless of my shameful staring, I did have a question for you,” he added, making you frown.

“Okay, what would that be?” You asked as you leaned forward and propped your elbows on the table, placing your chin in your palm as you waited for him to speak.

“I was wondering—,” he started, but paused momentarily, “if you’d let me take you out for dinner,” he said, his eyes watching you intently, for a moment even making you forget your own name.

“Erm—,” you cleared your throat as you looked at the watch on your wrist. “Don’t you have a mission to attend to in about 5 hours from now?” You asked.

“After the mission, of course,” he chuckled playfully, though you could see his nerves, the way he fidgeted with his fingers, regardless of how confident he showed himself to be.

“You are going to have to return first,” you offered him a playful smile, though deep down you didn’t even want to think of a scenario where he didn’t return.

“I will, if you say yes,” he gave you a questioning look.

“That’s not very fair,” you chuckled at his silliness.

“I never said I play fair,” he bit on his lower lip, impatiently waiting for an answer.

“Fine, but you better prepare your pocket, I like my food,” you said, earning a wholehearted laughter from him.

“I will keep that in mind,” he replied, his gaze lost in yours, for a moment just enjoying your presence beside him. Your heartbeat pulsed in your ears, your palms felt sweaty. You wanted to say something, but before you could, he quickly cleared his throat, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. “I should go,” a nervous chuckle left his lungs as he stood up from your table and headed towards the exit. A part of you wanted to stop him and tell him to return safely, whilst the other felt too proud to move or even let out a sound.

But your pride quickly got shoved to the back of your mind as your legs moved on their own. Standing up from your table, you quickly closed the distance between you and grabbed his wrist, turning him around. A shocked expression sat across his face, but you didn’t wait for him to steady himself. Standing on your tiptoes, you cupped his face and pressed your lips against his. He gasped into the kiss, but he quickly collected himself, his arms sneaking around your waist, pulling you closer as he enjoyed the feel of your soft lips against his chapped ones, the warm and slow touch you offered him, your thumbs caressing his cheeks as his fingers drew small circles on your lower back.

As you parted, his cheeks were painted in a darker shade of pink, his lips falling open, shock clearly written across his face. “Did… did you just kiss me?” He asked as his small, but proud smile grew wider.

“Well, I’m not sure what you call it in America, but in England, yes, it is called a kiss,” you snickered.

“Why?” He questioned, stunned, his arms still wrapped around you as your hands rested on his chest. He didn’t want to let you go, he didn’t want to go back to reality. But you didn’t mind. You had to admit, it was too comfortable to get lost in his arms, enjoying his strong hold around you.

“Take it as a lucky charm so you can return in one piece,” you giggled, slightly nervous about your boldness, but his increasing grin made your nerves settle.

“There’s nothing that can stop me from coming back,” he said, his smile radiating positivity, making your cheeks flush. He leaned down and pecked your lips, only for a moment, before he pulled back.

“Good,” you replied as he let go of you, but reached for your hand to kiss the back of it, his eyes still connected to yours, keeping your attention only to himself. “Good luck,” you breathed softly, earning a playful wink from him, before he turned around and left you in your office, giggling to yourself as though you were a child once again. 

Chapter Text

Title: Memory lane; Feelings that weren’t meant to be
Pairing: Loki Laufeyson x Avenger!Female!Reader
Word count: 1.8k
Author: Heloise Daphne Brightmore

Chapter Text

Title: Possibilities
Pairing: Tom Hiddleston x Female!Reader
Word count: 3k
Author: Heloise Daphne Brightmore

Events, galas, award ceremonies. You weren’t a popular actress nor a famous singer, or social media influencer. You had a simple 9-5 job that would hardly ever get you into these events. But regardless of your status in society, you were known and not because of any talent you possessed that could have made you famous, but because your best friend was none-other than Tom Hiddleston.

You have been friends for years, you adored everything about the man. He was sweet and kind, always polite, but just as playful. It was a friendship you felt lucky to be in, a friendship that you held so close to your heart, it would have broken every little piece of you if it ever ended. Often, you found yourself staring at him with a little smile in the corner of your lips, watching his every move, the way he joked around with his co-stars on set, the way he exercised in the gym for a role, the way he winked at you with a mischievous smile as he caught your eyes on him.

“Do you need my autograph?” he asked with a wide grin as he opened the door of the luxurious car he booked for the event. Once again you have forgotten your eyes on him— his dashing looks, the perfectly fitted suit, the playful twinkle in his eyes. He never stopped teasing you about it.

“Shove off, Tom,” you nudged him as he got out of the car and held out a hand for you, waiting for you to accept his help. So, you did. Wrapping your fingers around his hand, you let him help you out of the vehicle as you rearranged your stunning dress and ran your hand down its length to remove any creasing. Cameras were flashing, reporters’ loud voices filled the pathway to the entrance, a long red carpet leading your way inside the building towering over you like a modern castle.

“If I didn’t know better, I would think your interest in me goes beyond friendship,” he chuckled as he held his arm out to you, waiting for yours to be placed over his, his eyes following every little movement of yours. A sudden rush of heat travelled up to your cheeks, your breathing slightly laboured as you tried to calm your heavily beating heart. He was not wrong after all. It’s been years since you have been harbouring these feelings, but you hadn’t had the heart to confess them. Tom was more important to you than to ruin it over some silly feelings.

Sometimes, when you caught Tom’s eyes on you, watching you intently, a soft smile spread across his face, it made you think if maybe, just maybe he was harbouring similar feelings towards you. But the idea was quickly swept away by your doubts, the thought of such an amazing man falling for you seeming impossible. You knew your worth, you didn’t write yourself down, but Tom has always been perfect in your eyes, and you couldn’t imagine him wanting you even if at times a certain silly part of your brain whispered otherwise.

“I love your healthy self-confidence,” you finally gathered your ability to be able to reply, earning a comical huff from him. You have been trying hard, to deny your romantic interest in him, but rumours about the two of you have become a reoccurring news and it didn’t help your case to shove your feelings in the back of your mind.

“Ready?” He asked as his gaze turned towards the red carpet. Heaving a heavy sigh, you nodded and murmured a ‘yes’ as a response.

As soon as the cameras started flashing, hundreds of photos of Tom and you being taken, you conjured a sweet little smile that the tabloids loved. You were always nervous when it came to these events. It was Tom’s job to answer some of the questions journalists asked of him, which meant they were to ask about your relationship. It was becoming repetitive, making you feel uncomfortable. The questions themselves didn’t bother you but repeating over and over again that the man you have fallen for is merely a friend, felt like a stab in your heart, each time you responded.

“Tom! Tom!” One of the reporters shouted his name and he led you to the side of the red carpet, halting right beside the metal cordons. Questions were flying around, photos had been taken, but you didn’t concentrate. Your senses were heightened as Tom pulled you in his side, his arm now wrapped around your waist, gently, but firmly holding onto you. Looking up at him, you studied his face, his ice-blue eyes focusing on the reporter, an excited smile across his face. He seemed so relaxed, so collected, meanwhile even events after events you were still nervous. As though he could feel it, he turned to you with a soft, reassuring smile, giving you a nod, silently asking if you were alright. For others, the movement could have easily been missed, but to you, it was like an earthquake, shaking your heart, making you fall even deeper for him. In a reply, you nodded and offered him a smile as you squeezed his hand that rested on your waist.

“So, Tom, this might be a bit more personal, but everyone has been talking about the two of you,” he started, and your eyes immediately darted towards the man. You knew the question, heard it a thousand times already, so you prepared your heart to give the same reply as always. ‘We are just friends,’ you repeated time after time, hoping they would finally understand and let you be, but they didn’t seem to budge. “You have been friends for a long time, and your fans have been talking about how close the two of you have become. Do you think, maybe in the future, there’s a possibility for romance to blossom?” He asked with an expectant expression, a sly smile in the corner of his lips.

“As we have said before,” you spoke up, ready to reply as you always did, “we—"

“You never know what the future holds for you, there are many possibilities” Tom cut in with a mischievous smile, your eyes growing wide as you looked up at him. Tom chuckled at your expression as he leaned down and kissed the top of your head. “Tell me I’m wrong,” he arched a brow questioningly, his words starting your heart off at a faster pace, your cheeks feeling warmer under his intent gaze, those blue eyes you often found yourself lost in.

“Well—, I mean I can’t argue with that statement,” you replied, feeling slightly awkward. A confused smile started growing wider on your face as Tom led you away. “Why did you do that?” You asked as you finally stepped inside the building, his arm still resting around your waist as you headed towards a large room filled with all sorts of foods and drinks, people dancing in the middle, the dim lightning offering a rather intimate mood. “You just created even more gossip,” you scolded him, but seemingly he didn’t mind. He led you to a table where his name was printed on a nametag and pulled the chair out for you before he took his seat beside you.

“I didn’t say anything,” he smiled at you as innocently as he could manage, the corner of his eyes crinkling.

“You did. Exactly because you were so secretive, people will want to read between the lines. They will think there’s more to us than friendship,” you huffed as you hid your face in your palm and heaved a heavy sigh.

“And is that so bad?” He frowned, earning the same expression from you.

“What?” A silent scoff left your lungs. “What are you trying to say?”

“Is that such a big problem if people think we are together?” He asked, his confident tone stunning you.

“Of course, not. I don’t care what rumours are being spread about me, but I don’t want them to gossip about you,” you reached for his hand on the table and wrapped your fingers around it, giving it a gentle squeeze. His expression stayed emotionless; you couldn’t read him entirely, but you knew he seemed off.

“I will go grab us a drink,” he said as he stood up, leaving you frowning. You weren’t sure what you said that made him upset, and regardless of trying to put on a straight face, you knew he wasn’t happy with your response.

You watched as he walked over to a small table filled with the most delicious looking cakes and a couple of bottles of champagne, ready for the guests before they brought out the main course. Tom grabbed a battle of champagne and two glasses, filling up both halfway, before he placed the battle back into an ice bucket.

“What is it?” You asked as he returned and gave you one of the glasses.

“What do you mean?” He asked, taking a seat beside you.

“We’ve known each other for quite a long time. I can read you like an open book. What’s bothering you?” Trying to get him to open up, you shuffled closer to him, your chair scraping the floor, turning heads in your direction. “Oops,” you scratched the back of your neck awkwardly, earning a chuckle from Tom.

“Very subtle,” he mocked you.

“Don’t change the subject Mr. Hiddleston,” you raised a questioning brow, a tiny smile hidden in the corner of your lips.

“Nothing is bothering me,” he added, but your suspicious gaze didn’t falter. “I’m being honest, darling,” the sly little fox knew his nickname for you would make you soften up and he used every opportunity to say it when he felt cornered.

“Fine,” you squinted. “But we aren’t done! I’m not blind, I can see something is on your mind.”

“Yes, ma’am, I can’t wait for this conversation to come back around,” he mocked you once again, making you huff as you gently punched his shoulder.

Throughout the night, said conversation was forgotten, the alcohol consumption rose, the amount of people dancing around the room grew, meanwhile others sat at their tables, trying to digest the previously served delicious meals. You couldn’t deny that you had a good laugh with Tom and his co-stars from all sorts of movies he had been in. It felt like a little family, people coming together to just have a joyous time.

The way Tom smiled at his friends, praising each other, before turning to mock one another forced your eyes to rest on his excited features. He looked so alive, so happy and the feeling of the man you loved being in his element meant everything to you. Tom was radiating enthusiasm and you couldn’t look away as you watched his ever-growing smile, his nose scrunched up at an unexpected subject, his head falling back as a loud laughter erupted from his lungs. He was always handsome, but when he was happy, it filled you up with a certain warmth that you couldn’t explain. Like you always wanted to make him happy just to be able to see that cheerful smile spread across his face.

He turned to you, catching your gaze on him once again. His arm sneaked behind you, pulling you closer and leaning down to your ear. “You are staring at me again,” you couldn’t see it, but you could feel his smile spreading wider.

“I like to see you happy,” you shrugged with a soft smile as you leaned back to be able to meet his gaze. His smile faltered, but his eyes softened.

“Dance with me,” he said as he offered his palm to you, and you placed your hand in it.

“I take no responsibility for broken toes,” you said with a silent chuckle as you followed him to the dancefloor.

“Don’t worry, darling, it’s worth the injury,” he mirrored your expression as you stopped in the middle of the dance floor. A slow, romantic song started playing in the background, his arms finding their perfect position around your waist as yours sneaked around his neck.

It was a slow and peaceful dance, not requiring much knowledge and talent. You just enjoyed each other’s presence, gazes meeting, smiles forming, swaying to the slow rhythm of the music. You didn’t speak a word, but the silence wasn’t uncomfortable. It never was with Tom. A soft smile, a quick glance, a simple gesture meant more than thousands of words when you were with him.

You laid your head against his chest, listening to his fast heartbeat, taking on a quicker pace just like yours did. “I miss you when you are not with me,” he spoke for the first time as he leaned down and kissed the top of your head. You didn’t move away; his embrace was too comfortable, and you couldn’t care about people watching you.

“I always miss you. You are the one travelling all the time after all,” you chuckled lightly, not wanting to ruin the moment.

“I could be only a mile away and I would still miss you,” he replied as you pulled back a bit to meet his soft gaze, but there was no smile present across his handsome face. As the song finished, you found yourself standing in front of him, slightly confused about the conversation. “Do you want to go to the balcony? Have some fresh air?” He asked, taking on a more cheerful expression, but you knew him more than to believe it was genuine. In a response you nodded and linked your arm with his.

Following him through the sea of people, you finally arrived at the balcony, looking down to a smaller version of a park, a water fountain standing tall in its centre. You leaned against the rail as you watched the trees battling the silent wind, fallen leaves being blown across the walking path. Tom joined beside you, his eyes following the same direction as you did before they halted on your face. “You are being strange tonight,” you spoke up, feeling his gaze resting on you before you turned to him, meeting his eyes.

“I’m just thinking,” he added with a half-hearted smile.

“About?” You asked as you reached for his hand resting on the rail and placed yours on top of his. He turned his palm upside down and lifted your hand, hinting a small kiss on your knuckles as he heaved a heavy sigh. “Tom talk to me,” you squeezed his fingers reassuringly, his eyes watching you, not leaving your gaze for a moment. “You have been rather quiet around me,” you added.

His whole body turned to you, as though he was focusing his complete attention on you. Reaching towards you, he brushed your hair to the side, gently tucking it behind your ear. You leaned into the touch involuntarily, only realising your actions when he caressed your cheek with his thumb, before moving down and running it across your lips. The feeling burnt you, starting your mind off in a very dangerous territory, one that you have been avoiding. ‘He is your friend’ you tried to remind yourself. But once the tip of his thumb brushed along your lips once again, you couldn’t stop yourself. Stepping forward, you placed your hands on his chest, steading yourself and rose on your tiptoes, pressing your lips against his.

Your own bravery surprised you, but Tom didn’t seem affected. As soon as your lips met, his arms wrapped around you, pulling you closer. He didn’t hesitate, he wasn’t surprised. He just held you, gently running his lips along yours, tilting his head to deepen the kiss. But as much as you wanted to enjoy the moment, realisation hit you. You were kissing your best friend. You gently pushed him away, stumbling back from the force, covering your mouth with your palm. “I’m so sorry,” you breathed, panic rising in your chest. “I have no idea what happened, I don’t know why I did that, I’m so sorry,” your words were rushed, your heartbeat loudly pulsing in your ears.

But Tom’s gaze twinkled. A soft, warm smile grew wider across his face as he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around you. “I’m not,” he said as he pressed his forehead against yours. “I’ve been wanting to kiss you,” he breathed as he closed his eyes momentarily, slightly shaking his head. “I’ve been wanting to tell you how much I love you; I’ve been trying to gain the courage to say it out loud,” he scoffed. “I’m a fool for dragging it out for so long, but I love you,” his voice shook as he said the words, but his arms tightened around you, safely holding you against his chest. It took you a second to understand what he meant, that your feelings weren’t unrequited, that he has been harbouring the same feelings you have.

A heavy sigh left your lungs, as though a weight fell off your chest. Your lips curved into a smile as you placed your hands on his cheeks, running the tip of your thumbs across his jawline. He mirrored your expression whilst leaning into your touch, planting a small kiss on your palm. “I love you too,” you replied finally,” the words rolling off the tip of your tongue easier than you expected. “I love you so much,” you giggled, wanting to repeat the words over and over again, until you finally understood that it was real, that you weren’t dreaming. “You never know what the future holds for you, huh?” You asked, repeating his words from earlier in the evening, earning a loud chuckle from him. “So, is this one of those many possibilities?” you raised a single brow.

“Could be. I have a couple more ideas,” he said, his soft smile turning into a confident grin.

“You are terrible,” you gently hit his chest as you grabbed his suit-jacket and pulled him down to you, meeting his lips halfway, smiling into the intimate moment you have been craving for so long. 

Chapter Text

Title: Memory lane; A situation that no one could predict
Pairing: Loki Laufeyson x Avenger!Female!Reader
Word count: 2k
Author: Heloise Daphne Brightmore

You were cuddled up to Loki’s side in your bed, trying hard to keep your eyes shut, but sleep seemed harder to get hold of. Insomnia was no stranger to you, especially when Loki was away for a longer time, leaving you behind, filled with worry. But now that he laid beside you, his breathing even and rhythmic, you couldn’t pinpoint what made your night sleepless.

Removing Loki’s arm from your shoulder, you tried to get out of bed as silently as you could manage, knowing his senses were heightened compared to yours. You lifted your bathrobe from the sofa chair beside your bed and picked up a glass of water from your nightstand, chugging down its content. Looking back over your shoulder, you watched Loki’s relaxed form with adoration. As he laid on the bed he didn’t seem like a God or someone with unearthly powers, he looked like a vulnerable man who finally had time to rest and enjoyed every moment of it. His limbs were all over the bed, thrown in four different directions, his hair was a mess as it laid on the silky pillow. He scrunched his nose and scratched it before his body relaxed into the same position once again.

The dim lights of the city fell on his face as they found their way through the blinds, enhancing his sharp jawline and long lashes spread across his cheeks. He was just perfect for you and whilst you knew if he realised you were staring at him, he would never let it go, you couldn’t take your eyes off him, his beauty mesmerised you even after all this time. Seeing him in such a calm state made you feel content, as though a part of you was responsible for his peacefulness and you just wanted to bathe in that serene moment.

“Stop staring at me,” his hoarse voice made you jump, expecting him to be in a deep slumber.

“When did you wake up?” You asked with a hand on your chest, trying to reorganise your breathing.

“Now? It’s rather difficult to sleep when you are staring at me,” he replied as he stretched his back, his eyes fluttering open. “If you find me so irresistible, why did you get out of bed?” He asked with a mischievous smile hidden in the corner of his lips.

“I just couldn’t sleep,” you explained. “And don’t get cocky with me, I only looked at you for a mere second,” you corrected him, feeling your cheeks flush.

“I think you meant to say minutes,” he looked at you expectantly, his tone humours.

“If you only woke up now, then how would you know?” You retorted, wishing to just win one of your many battles, but Loki was always a step ahead of you.

“Well, ‘now’ is quite relative. Now could be a minute, but it could also be 10,” he shrugged as he sat up, the duvet falling off his naked chest, giving your eyes just the perfect opportunity to wander across his toned muscles shamelessly. “At least you could do it less obviously,” he let out a throaty chuckle.

“It’s mine, I can stare at it if I want,” you replied in a cocky tone as you crawled back on the bed and straddled him.

“Well, I certainly have no intention of arguing with that logic,” he replied with a smug grin as he laid back on the mattress and pulled you down to kiss him. His arms swallowed you in a safe embrace, his lips hungry for your kisses, his body needy for your touches, his whole being greedy to have you all to himself.

“I love it when you hold me,” you breathed against his lips, earning a wholehearted laughter from him.

“And I love to hold you,” he hinted a small kiss on your forehead. “Though, correct me if I’m wrong, I remember a certain situation where you weren’t so happy finding me beside you in bed,” he chuckled at the memory.

“It’s not that I wasn’t happy, it was simply unexpected. I was too out of it to think, before I even realised what happened,” you tried to explain.

“Nothing happened,” he frowned at your words.

“Well, waking up beside you wasn’t nothing,” you chuckled.

“It wasn’t my plan either,” he grinned playfully as he headed down memory lane with you.

There were missions after missions, your body and mind had been on the verge of giving up. You were exhausted, but your mind couldn’t rest, sleep always avoided you, making you even more tired. It was a vicious circle you wished to overcome, but you felt you were just stuck.

For days you hadn’t even left your room, you barely ate, but regardless of the time you spent in your bed, couped up in your room, you still couldn’t shift into a relaxing slumber. Loki wasn’t one to worry about such trivial things such as a Midgardian’s health. He had nothing to do with it. But rather he was just trying to convince himself. A part of him wanted to know if you were okay if you were still alive. Noone has seen you for days and as much as he tried to deny it, he was worried.

Heading towards your room, he picked up a glass of water and a tray, placing a slice of bread, a silver knife, and a cube of butter on it. He wanted you to eat finally. A Midgardian’s body, a mortal’s health was even more fragile, and he couldn’t let you fall any sicker. He knocked on your door with the tray in his other hand, but no reply came. He knocked again, hoping there would be an answer this time, but there was only silence. He prepared himself to get a good old scolding from you, but he needed to know if you were okay. Heaving a heavy sigh, he opened the door and peeked through the tiny gap.

You were laying on top of your duvet, your eyes covered by your arm, heavy breaths leaving your lungs. Loki walked in, placing the tray on top of your nightstand. A loud groan left your lungs, but you didn’t have any energy left to move or to open your eyes. A shiver of worry ran though Loki’s spine as he moved your arm and placed his palm on your forehead, earning a relieved sigh from you at his cold touch. Your body was burning up, your forehead sweaty under his hand. He was no healer, nor did he know much about Midgardian medicine and illnesses, but he couldn’t ask for help, everyone else was already asleep. He didn’t know what to do, he didn't know why he was even there. His head was a mess of thoughts, but he knew he wanted to help you.

“Is there a way I can help you?” He asked, his tone filled with concern. But you were too weak to reply, instead you put your hand on top of his on your forehead, enjoying the coolness of his skin, even though your body heat slowly started warming it up. He took his hand from yours and placed the other on top of your forehead, earning another relieved sigh from you. “I’m assuming you need something cold,” he spoke to himself, searching for something that could lower your temperature. He pulled his hand away and went to the bathroom, grabbing a towel and placing it in the sink, running the cold water on it, letting it soak the cool liquid in. Before he headed back to your room, he squeezed the towel to remove the excess water and then placed it on your forehead. It seemed to do the trick, but within a minute or so, the towel was already warm again.

Loki felt helpless not knowing how to ease your pain as the high temperature burned your body from the inside. Your face turned into a pained grimace, every part of your body aching at the raging fire within you. This time Loki placed both his hands on your cheeks, hoping it would be more efficient, earning another sigh of relief from you. He knew it was only a temporary solution, but he couldn’t think of anything better.

“I— need you—,” you stumbled through your words, your breath as hot as fire.

“I’m trying to help, but I’m not sure what to do,” Loki replied, his mind racing for a viable solution. But the gesture he got from you caught him off guard. You patted the soft mattress next to you, gesturing to him to join you on the bed. His eyes widened at the realisation; he couldn’t just lay down beside you in your most vulnerable state. He has done some questionable things, but this wasn’t one of them. He couldn’t ever see himself using someone’s vulnerability in such a manner.

“I— I— want you to hold me,” you struggled with your voice, eyes still closed, finding it hard to even breathe. “Your skin— it’s cold,” you added, hoping he would understand. But he still felt the situation was concerning. He didn’t want you to wake up and attempt murdering him for finding him beside you.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” he replied as he placed his hands on your neck this time, though he could feel his skin wasn’t as cold anymore, your temperature warmed his palms up.

“Please,” you begged him, backing Loki into a situation where he couldn’t find the right solution. He could have left, but he couldn’t handle the thought of you suffering. He could have placed another and another towel on you, but it felt somewhat useless, since they warmed up quicker than his own hands. He could have kept doing what he had so far, placing his hand on your forehead, cheeks, neck, but that was only a temporary solution. A concerned sigh left his lungs as he debated his options. “Please,” you pleaded with him, this time finding his worried gaze, begging him to help you. Loki gritted his teeth, feeling hopelessly useless as he started taking off his jacket and shirt, but kept his trousers on. He already felt it was too much, but he knew with clothes on, it would be just as useless. He climbed into your bed and pulled you on top of his chest, earning a shaky sigh of relief as his cool skin touched your burning body, relaxing you in his arms. You wrapped your arm around his exposed chest and placed a leg over his thigh, enjoying the cool sensation.

“Now try to sleep and please don’t murder me in the morning,” he added humorously, though he was worried about your reaction.

“Honestly, that was one of the best sleeps I’ve ever had,” you replied as Loki finished reminiscing.

“Not your best morning though,” he chuckled playfully.

“You can’t blame me. I had a fever, I couldn’t even remember the last two days, so finding you in my bed was the last situation I expected to wake up in,” you explained. “I was surprised that you hadn’t done anything inappropriate to me though,” you spoke in a whisper, hoping he wouldn’t hear you, but his hearing was better than a simple mortal’s.

“Wasn’t it inappropriate enough for me to agree to such a reckless request?” He sighed, massaging his temple.

“Maybe, but I was certainly touched by the fact that you didn’t try anything funny,” you smiled softly.

“Love, your standards are very low,” he scoffed, his eyes growing wider, astonished by your reply.

“That’s why I’m stuck with you,” you snickered, earning an annoyed groan from him.

“You little—,” you didn’t let him end his sentence, you closed the gap between you and kissed him, pouring all your love into the connection, making him forget any words he wanted to say. Though letting him sleep beside you was a situation you could have never predicted, it was certainly one that brought you closer together, so in a way, you were glad to fall sick and manage to be brave enough to mutter those words. 

Chapter Text

Title: Memory lane; A power that doesn't rightfully belong 
Pairing: Loki Laufeyson x Avenger!Female!Reader
Word count: 2.3k
Author: Heloise Daphne Brightmore

You were trying to clean your house before Loki's return, so you brought your ladder to the living room and stood on it, cleaning the higher shelves with a wet cloth, rearranging some of your items in the process. In the last couple of weeks, you have had quite the time to spend alone and do random, non-important duties around the house as the avengers have been lacking the necessary number of missions that would require your presence. Though you were happy things seemed to have calmed down, it was also driving you mad. Meanwhile you found your life utterly boring as you kept on doing house chores, Loki voiced his opinion about the opposite. He found it relaxing that he didn't have to worry about you, though his words were meant only to your ears, his mischievous image couldn't have been compromised.

Stepping higher on the ladder, you reached for the top shelf hanging on your wall, but your foot slipped in the process, your fluffy slippers flying in the air as you fell backwards. Before you could have hit the carpet, two arms caught your underarm with a sharp exhale leaving your saviour's lungs. You didn't need to think twice to recognise even the way he took an annoyed breath.

"Thank you, love," you giggled as you looked back over your shoulder, meeting Loki's deadly gaze.

"Can't I leave you alone without attempting to die?" He asked as he helped you up, steading you on the ground, but still keeping an arm around your waist in case you decided to fall over your own two feet.

"My leg slipped, it's not like I planned to fall down," you huffed as you removed his arm from your waist and picked up your slippers that flew in different directions.

"Regardless of your intentions, it keeps happening. You are beyond reckless and clumsy at times, perhaps I need to hire someone to guard you," he raised a questioning brow, his tone serious, but from the tiny smile in the corner of his lips, you knew he was joking around.

"I'm not going to babysit someone so you can feel better," you groaned, earning a stunned expression from him.

"I don't think we understand each other. They would babysit you," he corrected.

"I'm an avenger, I'm fairly sure it would be me who would end up looking after them," you offered him a sceptical look.

"Right, you are an avenger. I didn't know the title came with a life insurance," he scoffed, both as a result of his smart reply and knowledge on trivial information about mortals.

"If that was an attempt to be funny, it didn't work," you huffed, shaking your head.

"Need I remind you that the only reason you are alive is me?" He asked with a concerned look.

"Need I remind you how mad I was?" You retorted with a sceptical expression. He chuckled at your reply as he sat down on the side of your bed and pulled you on his lap, kissing your neck softly.

"Aren't you happy to be here with me?" He asked with the sincerest look across his face.

"I am and I can't thank you enough for what you did, but Loki, that was very reckless of you, it could have ended very differently," you tried to explain as you locked your arms behind his neck.

"I know, but I could not bear the thought of losing you," he replied with a serious expression painted on his face, the events still vividly replaying in his mind after all this time. "When I arrived at the compound and you were nowhere to be found, I thought you were just out on another mission, nothing out of the ordinary, but the sight that greeted me, made my blood freeze," he exhaled sharply.

Loki stood at the entrance of the compound, right beside his brother, Thor, before he decided to look around the building. It seemed to be empty, only the sound of computers and F.R.I.D.A.Y.'s greeting interrupted the silence. Heading back towards the entrance, he heard the significant sound of the avenger's plane. He didn't dare to admit how glad he felt to know you were coming back, you were rather new at the relationship phase, but regardless of the cool demeanour he tried to keep up, he hurried out to see you arrive.

4 women in white robes, perhaps doctors, rushed out of the building that Loki thought to be empty, two of them pushing a gurney towards the plane as Steve held a limp body in his arms. Loki couldn't see who the injured person was until Rogers placed the body down onto the stretcher and stepped aside. He felt his blood stop, air stuck in his lungs, incapable of breathing as he saw your body covered in blood and some sort of dust that seemed to be of ash.

He ran up to the stretcher, feeling as though his eyes betrayed him, but the sight disappointed his expectations, it was indeed you, laying on that bed, looking worse than he first thought.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y., I need an update," Tony spoke up as he attached a digital bracelet around your wrist.

"Life functions are critical," she said as one of the women placed a tube in your throat and attached an oxygen pump to the other end of it. Before Loki could have even interrupted the nurses, they rolled you away. Thor placed a hand on his brother's shoulder, heaving a heavy sigh.

"She will be fine," he tried to encourage him, but Loki shook his head.

"Are you blind?" He asked as he looked towards the door, they rolled you through. "She— she is dying," he stumbled through his words, feeling hopeless in the situation.

"You can't think of the worst, Loki," Thor squeezed his brother's shoulder reassuringly as he gently nudged him towards the entrance and forced him to take a seat beside the operating room. Loki was still in shock, the noises, the rushing people, none of it making sense to him. The last time he saw you, you waved goodbye to him with a wide smile across your face and he couldn't even recall it without the memory being blurry. The only thing he could remember clearly was your face covered in blood and dust, your limp form being held by Rogers.

"Chances of survival: 29%," F.R.I.D.A.Y.'s voice came from behind the closed doors as Loki tightened his fist in his useless state. He wanted to do something for you, he wanted to be there beside you, encourage you to wake up, but as he stood up, Tony stopped him.

"Let them help her," he replied with a stern look as though he believed the doctors would be successful. But Loki felt nervous, there was a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach that sent shivers through his spine. He knew something was wrong, he saw the way you looked when he first laid eyes on you. It was hard for him to believe that some mortal healer would be able to snap a finger and fix you up.

"Chances of survival: 17%," F.R.I.D.A.Y.'s voice announced once again. Loki exhaled sharply through gritted teeth, his leg bouncing up and down in his nervous state.

"It will be okay," Thor tried to calm his brother down, but even his voice wavered.

Loki could hear the ticking of the clock, the silent noise frustrating him even more as though time itself wanted to remind him that there was a time limit on your life. Without hesitation he stood up from the seat and kicked in the door, scaring the doctors working on your body to heal you.

"You can't be in here," one of them attempted to grab him by the arm and drag him out, but he just harshly shook her off as he stood beside your bed, breathing shakily.

"Chances of survival: 10%," F.R.I.D.A.Y.'s voice announced once again as Loki held his hand up and placed it on your chest. He wasn't sure of what he was doing but he knew if he didn't try his possibly ridiculous idea, you were to leave him anyway and he couldn't let that happen.

A green flash of light beamed between his hand and your chest as he tried to transfer some of his powers to you, hoping it would save you, hoping he would never have to lose another person he finally let close to himself. A sharp exhale left your lungs as your wounds started healing on their own and eyes fluttered open. Looking around the room in shock, you were slightly confused about where you were and what happened, but as you laid your eyes on Loki, a small smile spread across your face.

"Loki," you whispered as you grabbed his hand on your chest. He let out a relieved sigh at the sight of your warm smile. "What happened?" You asked as you tried to sit up, groaning, your body feeling sore.

"You were in the middle of an explosion," Steve spoke up as he stepped inside the room followed by Tony and Natasha who were standing behind him with a stunned expression.

"How long was I out for?" With Loki's help you climbed off the table and steadied yourself on the ground, Loki's arm wrapped around your waist securely.

Steve took a sharp breath as though he was debating what to say, so Tony spoke up. "Three hours," he nodded, his eyes still wide in surprise at the events he witnessed.

A loud chuckle left your lungs, Stark's unexpected humour catching you off guard. "Come on, how long?" You attempted your question once again.

"Three hours," Natasha replied this time, her words making you frown.

"I don't understand," you spoke in confusion, your gaze falling to the ground as you tried to process the situation. "How?" You asked as you looked at Nat, who clearly stared at Loki beside you, then you turned to Tony whose gaze also fell on Loki, before you moved onto Steve who tilted his head with a questioningly raised brow as though he was asking 'what do you think?'. You turned around, furrowing at the God of Mischief, his eyes wandering anywhere around the room but never meeting your gaze. "What did you do?"

"I'm sorry, I had to do it. I didn't have a better idea," he attempted to explain his situation to you as his eyes fell on you, but you were having none of it.

"What did you do?" You asked firmly this time.

Loki let out a heavy breath as he spoke up. "I transferred some of my powers to you," he bit the inside of his cheek nervously.

"You did what? Are you mad? I'm a human, Loki, my body can't possibly carry some god's power," you replied in complete astonishment, your heart's rate increasing in your angered state. "Get out!" You shouted, pointing at the door, but the man didn't move. "I said get out!"

"What was I supposed to do?" He retorted in frustration, feeling helpless, an emotion he has never experienced before that day.

"I don't know, but certainly not giving me your power," you raised your hands in the air, as though you were stating obvious facts.

"I'm sorry," he apologised with a stern look across his face as he raised his voice. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't bear to see you die. I just couldn't let that happen. If you are mad at me for making a stupid decision, then be it, but I wouldn't take it back even if I knew how. I couldn't lose you. I wasn't going to risk that," his tone was firm, but the words leaving his lips couldn't have held more feelings. It was the first time you ever heard him speak so passionately, so emotionally.

You took a deep breath as you thought about it and you knew if it came to a situation where Loki came back injured, you would do anything in your power to heal him, regardless of how dangerous that would be. You placed a hand on the back of his neck and pulled him down to meet you halfway, closing the gap between you. The action surprised him at first, but he quickly wrapped his other arm around you and pulled you into his chest as he put all his feelings in that one kiss.

Pulling away, you offered him a sceptical look. "I'm still mad though," you spoke, earning a loud laughter from him, a wide, but soft smile taking over his worried look.

"I never want to experience anything like that ever again," he shook his head as he buried his face in your neck, the memories weighing heavily on his chest.

"I mean, I obviously don't want that either, but it has had some benefits," you chuckled as you lifted your hand and green lights sparkled above your fingers. "I kind of grew close to these little magic tricks," you smiled warmly.

"I'm glad you like it, but I wish the story behind it was different," he hummed against your neck.

"At least, now we know it's not dangerous," you smiled as you hinted a small kiss on his temple and ran your fingers through his long, black locks, soothing him.

He lifted his head and gazed into your eyes as he opened his mouth to talk. "At least we do," he heaved a heavy sigh. "I don't know what I would have done if I lost you. You make the good days brighter and the dark days lighter, without you I would feel empty," his words left your heart warm and fuzzy as you beamed at him lovingly. Each time that certain memory came up, Loki showed a concerned side of his, and you felt the need to console him, to tell him it was okay, because you were better than ever, and you could only thank him for it. 

Chapter Text

Title: Gods-damned distraction
Pairing: Loki Laufeyson x Reader
Word count: 0.8k
Author: Heloise Daphne Brightmore
Request: [Tumblr]

"Bedroom" 
#33 “Can you please stop biting your lip…it’s distracting.”
#35 "How mad would you be if I kissed you?"
#37 “That was the prettiest sound I’ve ever heard.”

Loki had been on edge. For hours. He was close to using his magic on you just to stop you from pulling your lip between your teeth, to stop you from affecting him with such simple acts, making his mind wander to places he was not supposed to. Not because he couldn't. Oh he could! He had done not only thinking, but taken actions to use that insolent mouth of yours to more useful things. But that was different.

You've been sitting beside him with a book in your lap, sweet innocence radiating from every inch of your body, completely lost in your book. He wanted to just give you that rest, that ease, however, he found his relaxation anything but relaxing. Trying to focus on his book, he read the same sentence for the 5th time in a row, before he found himself gazing at you again, your bottom lip safely tucked between your teeth. He couldn't control the animalistic, deep growl that left his lungs. Your head shot up at the sound, eyes growing wide in surprise.

Before you could have asked what caused his outburst, Loki interrupted you. "Can you please stop biting your lip...it's distracting," though he meant to be demanding, his voice came out like a plea, as if he was begging you to just stop what you were doing.

"I— I'm sorry, I didn't even realise I was doing it," you chuckled awkwardly as if you were indeed to be blamed for such a minor act. But you quickly regained your composure as your gaze hardened. "Hold on a minute, why should I stop? It's not like I'm doing it on purpose," you let out an incredulous chuckle.

"That's exactly my problem. You don't even know what you are doing. What you are doing to me," he added with an arched brow, his suggestion making your lips part in surprise.

"Oh," was all that you could find to respond with.

"Oh?" He asked, tilting his head. "Is that all you have to say?" He scoffed.

"Well, what do you want me to say? That I will stop? Why? What are you going to do if I don't?" You arched a questioning brow, a mischievous smile growing wider across your face whilst Loki's features tensed as if he understood the invitation for a play. Though you expected him to move, to pounce on you, he didn't do any of them. "I thought so," you smirked proudly as you turned back to your book and focused your complete attention on the pages.

However, Loki didn't quite want to finish the conversation, nor did he feel like picking up the book he was previously reading. He couldn't even recall what it was about. Instead, he crawled over to you and hinted a small kiss on your neck, before he moved upwards and nipped at your earlobe.

"Loki, I'm trying to re—" you attempted to scold him, but your own moan silenced the words you wished to utter, Loki's lips finding just the right spot to avert your attention from those damned pages.

"That was the prettiest sound I've ever heard, love," he purred into your ear, the sound of his deep inviting tone pulling a veil over your thoughts.

"Loki, I really am trying to read," you muttered, but he didn't stop his movements. Instead, his lips travelled to your chin, your cheeks, even the tip of your nose, but somehow never to your mouth.

"How mad would you be if I threw that gods-damned book across the room and kissed you instead?" He whispered against your ear, silently waiting for your answer which you needed a good few seconds to form.

"Other than the throwing-away-my-book part, I'm quite content with your suggestion," you cooed and pulled him close enough to press your lips against his, only for a mere moment. "That is after I finished this chapter though," you whispered against his lips as you gently pushed him on the side, watching as he fell back on the bed with a stunned expression. You fought against the laughter that threatened to erupt from your lungs, but in the end, a playful grin found its way across your face.

"Oh, you'll be begging me for it in the future and I will enjoy each and every moment of denial from you," he smirked proudly.

"Except that we both know you always give in before me," you huffed in a humorous tone, earning a deadly glare and a dissatisfied groan from Loki, before his usual mischievous smile was back in place. He pulled you into his arms, supporting your back with his chest, burying his face in the crook of your neck as you went back to reading, though no words seemed to make sense as you leaned further into Loki's embrace.

Chapter Text

Title: Be careful what you wish for
Pairing: Loki Laufeyson x Reader
Word count: 1k
Author: Heloise Daphne Brightmore
Request: [Tumblr]

"Avengers compound/tower" More specifically I used the kitchen
#20. "Quick, kiss me!"
#27. Character A: "Where have you been all my life?"
Character B: "Hiding from you"

Leaning against the kitchen counter beside you, Loki wore a mischievous grin across his face, watching you make a cup of tea. He didn't say a word, nor did he show any indication of wanting to initiate a conversation. Instead, he stared at you with that shit-eating grin across his face.

"Stop it!" You groaned as you poured the steaming water in the cup. A silent chuckle left Loki's lips, his stare unfaltering. Exhaling sharply, you turned towards the God of Mischief, glaring at him as intimidatingly as you could manage. "Stop it!"

"Now, why would I do that, love? You're absolutely adorable when you're pissed off," his grin grew wider, knowingly taunting you. Sometimes he was a torn in your side that you just wanted to get rid of whilst other times he was the only person you could rely on, the one who listened to you regardless of what you had to say.

A heavy sigh left your lungs as you turned back to your tea. "You're insufferable," you groaned whilst taking a sip of the hot beverage.

"It seems you like to keep insufferable beings around then," he chuckled, earning an eye roll from you. You couldn't deny that even though he was annoying, you still liked to hang out with him and in all honesty, you even missed him when he wasn't around.

Silent footsteps headed towards the kitchen, panic settling in the pit of your stomach. You knew who was about to enter the kitchen, his footsteps following you around most days like a loyal little puppy. "Oh no," you whispered faintly, shoulders dropping as you anticipated his arrival.

"That's an interesting reaction," he arched his brow. "I thought you and that Parker kid were friends," he added, curiosity hidden in his voice.

"He is a really good friend of mine, but that's not the way he looks at me," you shook your head as you remembered overhearing Peter's conversation with Steve, asking for dating advice, more specifically, how to ask you out. "I don't want to reject him, it feels cruel, but I want him to realise there won't be anything between us," a sharp exhale left your lungs as you rubbed the bridge of your nose. Peter's steps halted as he talked to someone.

"Get a boyfriend. He'll have to understand then," he shrugged nonchalantly. You thought about it for a second, before a wide grin appeared across your face.

"You're a genius," you giggled with excitement, but instead of feeling honoured, Loki frowned as though he didn't trust your words.

"Why do I have a feeling there's more to that excitement than you let on?" He asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"Because there is! You'll be my boyfriend," you chuckled as you clapped your hands together.

"Excuse you?" His eyes widened as though his whole life flashed in front of him.

"Obviously not my actual boyfriend. I just need to use you a little," your explanation didn't seem to help the situation, Loki still stared at you as though you grew a second head. "Just play along, please" you stepped closer, caging him against the counter. "Kiss me!" You instructed him, his eyes growing even wider if possible. "Quick, kiss me!" You pleaded desperately.

"What?" He asked incredulously.

"Please, my life depends on it," you pleaded, but Loki just shook his head.

"I don't think it's a good idea," he said, earning a contemplating look from you. A heavy sigh left your lungs as you stepped back.

"I guess you're right. I'll find another way," you said as you wore a phony smile. Though you understood him, a part of you felt disappointed by the failure of your plan. Curiosity got the better of you. You wanted to know what it'd feel like to kiss the God of Mischief.

"Hey—," you heard Peter's voice from the entrance, but before you could reply, Loki's arm sneaked around your waist, pulling you against his chest, his other hand curling around the back of your neck whilst he pressed his lips against yours as though his life depended on it.

You thought it'd be an innocent kiss, a peck on the lips, but as Loki licked across your bottom lip, you lost your self-control and grabbed his shirt, pulling him even closer to you. His scent made you feel intoxicated, his lips wiping any and all thoughts out of your mind, his tongue making your knees go weak. But before your legs could give in, Loki pulled away, both of you panting frantically, trying to regain the oxygen you didn't even feel you needed whilst Loki made your mind go hazy and your body weak.

"Where have you been all my life?" He whispered against your lips, not letting you move away. His gaze was hungry, hungry for more, and even if for a second you thought it was nothing but an act, you couldn't deny the look in his eyes mirroring your own.

A silent giggle left your lungs as you cupped his cheeks. "Well, it depends. For the first half of your life, I possibly wasn't even in existence. As for the second, I've been actively hiding from you," you snickered at your own witty comment.

"Very smart," he scoffed, shaking his head, his mischievous grin back on his face. "Perhaps I should kiss you again to stop you from talking nonsense."

"What are you still waiting for then?" You asked with an inviting tone, the thought of Loki's lips against yours sending a warm shiver through your body.

"Be careful what you wish for," he said with a toned-down warning in his voice, but you couldn't care. You wanted to feel his lips on yours again and before you knew it, you leaned forward and kissed him. His arms tightened around you in an instant, securing you against his body. Warnings or not, whatever that kiss brought out of you, you wanted to explore more of it and within seconds, Peter was forgotten.

Chapter Text

Title: It's teasing, love
Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader
Word count: 1.4k
Author: Heloise Daphne Brightmore

For the past three days, you’ve been stuck in bed, coming down with a terrible cold that seemed to enjoy your company more than you did. Your nose felt stuffy, your voice was barely audible, and your fever was coming and going like a yoyo, making your head spin. Though a part of you knew that a couple of days of rest could only do you good, your less reasonable part was screaming to get out of that damned bed and move.

Unfortunately, each time you tried to escape from under the layers of duvets and blankets to go to the bathroom, your legs threatened to buckle under you, your head feeling woozy from simple movements. Even your eyes felt heavy and tired at all times, regardless of how much you slept. But it didn’t stop you from reading. Tucking yourself under the layers of covers, you leaned against the headboard, sinking deep in your fluffy pillows and immersed in the fictional word you found yourself to be entranced by.

“It seems I cannot leave you alone, not even for 5 minutes.” A deep baritone voice made you jump from across the room and as you lifted your gaze, Bucky looked back at you with a sceptical look across his face, arms folded in front of his chest, his muscled body leaning against the frame of the bedroom door.

“One chapter. One chapter, that’s all,” you nodded, though you couldn’t fool him. It was more of a plea to yourself than to him, knowing how often you got carried away and one chapter turned into multiple, if not the whole book.

“Am I supposed to believe that?” He arched a brow and fixed his narrowed eyes on you, his gaze threatening to read your mind.

“I promise?” You asked, your nasal voice sounding squeakier and higher, making Bucky scoff with a humorous undertone. His reaction brought out your already built up, bed-ridden frustration and in turn you huffed at him and pouted, before turning your gaze away, focusing back on your book in your lap.

“Don’t go sulking on me, love. I’m worried about you,” his tone softened as he walked into the room and took a seat on the edge of the bed, but he frowned regardless. “Can you hear me?” He asked, but you just ignored him. To be honest, anything could have sparked your frustration at that point, even a too hot or too cold cup of tea. Everything and anything had become irritating to you. Even yourself. A simple huffing sound was all you managed to indicate you heard him. “Hey,” his voice was barely beyond a whisper as he reached for your face, the cool metal against your skin making you let out a content sigh against the touch. “Oh, you like that, huh?” A playful smirk started growing across his handsome face, but you couldn’t be mad. Not when that cool sensation his touch offered you finally started clearing your mind.

“That’s— that’s nice,” you breathed as your eyes fluttered shut and you leaned against his palm.

“If you could see the look on your face—,” he didn’t finish the sentence, but you could only imagine the satisfaction that he could read off you. The thought made your cheeks heat up, but you couldn’t get yourself to move away from his touch as he turned his hand and placed the back of it on your cheek, earning a silent moan from you. “Now that is outright teasing, love,” he arched a brow, watching your eyes slowly open, still in complete daze of the sweet coolness against your skin. “If you keep acting like that, I’ll have no choice but to kiss you,” he warned you, though it only made the corner of your mouth curve up. You were as desperate as he was to finally feel his lips on yours, but you basically forbade him from coming any closer to you than his side of the bed. “Three days, love, it’s been three days and I obeyed, but I have my limits too and when you purse your lips like that, it’s stretching my patience thin.” He wasn’t lying, his eyes seemed to be enamoured by your lips, his gaze attached to the sight of them shamelessly.

Once he turned his hand back again and placed the cool plates of his metal palm against your skin, you couldn’t control the inaudible moan that escaped your lungs. Before you could even say anything, Bucky pushed himself off the edge of the mattress and leaned towards you, his eyes closing as he anticipated that sweet kiss he’d been waiting for days.

You had just enough wit to stop his lips with the back of your book, watching his eyes shoot open as he felt the paper against his mouth. His eyes grew wide as he realised you stopped his attack, daring to separate him from you before he could succeed. “That is just rude,” he groaned with a deep frown and placed his index finger on the top of the book, gently nudging it down to your lap. “I’m over 100 years old with super soldier serum running through my veins. I survived stab wounds, bullet shots, even falling from a mountain. I can reassure you, a cold is nothing to me. So, if you could kindly give me those lips, I’d very much appreciate it,” for a moment you debated whether to laugh or kiss him, but at last you grabbed the neck of his shirt, pulling him closer and pressed your lips against his.

The desperate groaning sound leaving his lips made you smile into the kiss. Eager to please, you licked across his bottom lip, waiting for permission to devour his mouth. Without hesitation, he opened for you, but he didn’t let you lead. He fought for dominance and as he dug his metal hand into your hair, pulling you closer by the back of your neck, you let him take control, offering yourself up to him.

It felt like fire was scorching through your veins, fever seemingly retracting from the incoming heat Bucky had the audacity to awaken in you. He pulled away for a mere second to give you time to breathe, but before you could have enjoyed the ticklish feeling his breath on your lips offered, he pounced on your lips like a wild beast ready to devour its prey. Grabbing his shoulders, you tried to ground yourself, his sensuous attack turning your mind into a mess of thoughts consisting only of Bucky and his body pressed against yours.

But then he pulled away, leaving just enough gap for both of you to organise your breathing. “I think that’s enough for now, love,” his voice was hoarse, his eyes dark from lust, still he halted his attack on your body, mind, and senses, each hyper-focusing on Bucky as though he was the sole purpose of your existence. You would have felt shame for such a thought if it wasn’t for the hazy mind that could only think of Bucky’s hands on your body, his lips pressed against yours, his body becoming one with yours. A loud whine left your lungs, disappointment filling you up as you finally realised that was all you’d get.

“But Bucky—,” you wanted to object, but he ran his metal thumb across your lips, leaving you with a content sigh.

“You’re still sick and I need you to recover as quickly as you can,” he said with a stern tone. “Once you’re alright, I’ll do anything you wish me to do to you.” The mischievous glint in his eyes, the offer hanging in the air left you silent for a moment, tasting those words as you could just imagine what waited for you once you recovered.

“Anything?” You arched a brow as you pulled your bottom lip between your teeth, Bucky’s eyes immediately focusing on your movements. He cleared his throat, prying his eyes away from your playful mouth, fixing his gaze on yours.

“Anything,” he replied, his eyes darkening, anticipating each and every naughty little idea that could possibly come to you.

“Fine, I guess I’ll have to recover quickly then,” you said with a wide grin. Bucky just shook his head in a reply, mirroring your expression, before he took the book from your lap and placed it on the nightstand. He laid down beside you, pulling you into his arms and let you rest on his chest. He pressed a small kiss to the top of your head, securing his arms around you tighter, basking in the closeness you so rudely denied from him all this time. 

Chapter Text

Title: Silly Midgardian
Pairing: Loki Laufeyson x Avenger!Female!Reader
Word count: 2.2k
Author: Heloise Daphne Brightmore
Notes: Not my best fic, but I decided to share it anyway because I felt bad about deleting it all. :)

The music was blasting from the speakers at the latest party Tony has organised. People drunkenly stumbled across the room, champagne, and wine spilling on the floor, but no one seemed to mind. The party has been going on for hours and you could barely spot one or two people who weren’t intoxicated. Of course, that included the Asgardian Gods, Thor, and Loki, who felt no effect after drinking your Midgardian beverages. How could they? Once you tried only a sip of their godly wine and you felt as though you had drunk ten whole bottles of whiskey. And the hangover that followed was even sweeter. No medicine could help the 3 days of headache you suffered through as if someone was hammering your brain from the inside.

You would have mingled with the crowd if it wasn’t for the younger Asgardian god. The mischievous bastard who had the audacity to frown at the sight of you, possibly as a result of your clothing for the night, his gaze wandering over each and every curve of your body. Sure, it was a bit short and certainly more revealing than you were used to, but Natasha said it would help you finally catch his attention. To finally make him look at you as a woman, not just another avenger amongst many. But Nat’s plan seemed to turn things worse. Instead of the anticipated jaw dropping reveal, Loki barely looked at you.

It bothered you that he judged you for what you wore, of course it did, he had no right to judge your choice of clothing. But what bothered you the most was the fact that instead of being complimented, he looked angry. Angry! He had no right to be upset. It was your body after all, and you could do however you wished with it. So, for the rest of the night, you were sulking in a corner, leaning against a wall, crossing your arms in front of your chest, huffing every few seconds in frustration.

Gazing around the room, you watched as Nat and Tony got into a silly argument before you turned towards the other side of the room to see Thor and Steve having their own little competition of strength. Rolling your eyes, you turned away from the pair and trailed toward the entrance, accidentally meeting those beautiful eyes you wished to look at you with love and adoration. Instead, he stood beside the door watching you with an intense gaze as if studying your every move. Which only earned him a scoff from you as you turned away and continued watching the overly drunk crowd.

“Why do I have the feeling you are mad at me?” His voice came from beside you, somehow managing to close the distance without you realising.

“Well done, your people-skills are spot on,” you clapped with a faux grin before you folded back your arms in front of you.

“How long are you going to keep sulking?” He asked with a deep frown as though he didn’t understand you.

“As long as I wish,” you huffed, not even turning to look at him.

“Is it because of the way I reacted?” He asked, but you didn’t even look at him, let alone answer him. “Look, I didn’t mean to offend you—,” he started, but you cut him off.

“I don’t care what you meant to do, just leave me alone,” you shrugged, trying to play it cool and nonchalant.

“You are acting like a child,” he huffed, clearly annoyed by your behaviour.

“Then why are you still bothering me?” You turned to look up at him as his lips pressed into a thin line whilst he inhaled sharply.

“I’m sorry, okay?” He said, though it lacked some sort of genuineness and soon you turned your gaze back to the stumbling crowd.

“That was the most half-assed apology I have ever heard,” a bitter chuckle escaped your lungs.

“What do you expect from me? To tell you that you look gorgeous, that you look stunning?” He asked with an incredulous tone.

“I expect nothing. As far as I’m concerned, it’s you who still can’t close this subject,” you shrugged and inspected the tip of your nails just to have something to do.

“You are infuriating,” he growled in a low tone, earning another fit of bitter laughter from you.

“And you are still here. Why can’t you do us both a favour and disappear if I’m so childish and so infuriating?” You asked as you finally turned to meet his gaze.

“As if I could do that,” he whispered, but you didn’t miss the words.

“What?” You asked with a heavy frown spreading wider, eyes studying the god as he leaned against the wall beside you, not letting another word slip. “Fine, do whatever you want,” you said as you pushed away from the wall and started towards the exit. You didn’t miss the footsteps that followed you, nor did you miss his minty scent that travelled to your nostrils. As you arrived at your room, you halted before the door and swiftly turned around.

“What is wrong with you?” You asked as you looked up at him. “You call me all sorts of names and then you follow me like a puppy. What’s the matter with you?” You huffed angrily.

“There’s nothing wrong with me. Tell me, why did you wear that dress? Come on, tell me!” He pushed the subject, but you were over it already.

“Because I can and because I wanted to. It’s none of your damn business,” you hissed.

“I think it is when I have to watch men drooling over you like you are some sort of an object,” he groaned as he stepped closer. “You might be blind to it, but I certainly am not. I see the way men in there looked at you. Drooling over you, staring at your body, devouring you with their eyes,” he listed, hissing each word, his voice angry and harsh. “I don’t care how you dress. As far as I’m concerned you can walk around naked. What bothers me is the fact that I know how these men look at you, the way they want to rip your clothes into shreds and have their way with you. It makes me want to rip them into ribbons,” his anger, the tension emitting from his body stunned you for a mere second.

You wanted to tell him off, you wanted to explain to him that you were to wear whatever the hell you wanted, but it took you a good moment to understand it wasn’t your clothing that he found issues with, rather the men around you. But the anger that still bubbled inside you made you want to argue, and you found it hard to suppress those emotions. But before you could have voiced your opinion, he continued.

“Look, I’m sorry for how I reacted. I have gone overboard, and I know I shouldn’t have. But I’m not angry at you,” he shook his head, his voice dejected somehow. “I’m angry at those men. I’m angry at myself. I’m frustrated because I can’t do anything about it.”

“Loki, I don’t care what others think,” you said softly. “I wore this dress for a purpose,” you continued watching him process your words. “I wanted to impress someone.” Though you weren’t sure where you were going with this, you felt like you needed to let it out.

“Oh, a special someone?” He asked but the curiosity you expected from him was non-existent, instead he seemed more distant. “Did that work out?” He asked, earning a frown from you.

“Does it look like it?” You asked with an arched brow.

“Well, if it’s worth anything, they are an idiot. You do look stunning, and they are blind not to see that. If you ever need me to talk some sense into them, let me know,” he said in the most genuine tone you have ever heard from him. “Anyways, I really am sorry. I’ll let you sleep now. I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said with a half-smile and turned around to leave.

“I’m letting you know now then,” you spoke, and Loki’s steps halted. He turned around with clear confusion across his handsome face. “You said you’d talk some sense into them. I’m waiting,” you shrugged nonchalantly as his confusion grew thicker and he looked around, attempting to find that someone.

“I don’t think I understand,” he shook his head.

“I’m saying, talk some sense into yourself,” you said with a certain determination in your voice and for a second you wanted to laugh at how his usual brightness seemed nowhere to be found.

“Me?” He asked as his frown spread deeper, before his eyes grew wide, realisation hitting him hard. “Me!” He exclaimed with a certain excitement in his voice that even surprised you, but then you slightly nodded to confirm. “You wanted to impress me?” He asked, his frown returning. “But why?”

“Oh wow, do I really have to spell it out for you?” You scoffed at the absurdity of the situation. “I thought I’d made myself clear. I thought I made it obvious that I liked you. But you kept treating me like a mere friend. You never even considered looking at me beyond friendship. I had no other ideas left to make you realise that I’m a woman too.” Tears welled in your eyes as you watched him process your words. His eyes were impossibly wide, his lips parted in surprise and for a moment you were wondering if he was even breathing. You weren’t sure if any of your words got to him after all. “I didn’t dare tell you because I didn’t want to make a fool out of myself, but I wanted you to see me for who I am, beyond those ridiculous suits. I wanted you to see me as someone who you might be able to come to like beyond a friendship, someone who wished to make you the happiest person. But—, can you please stop me, so I don’t make an even bigger fool out of myself?” You pleaded with him, but he shook his head.

“Not a chance!” With long strides, he closed the gap between you and cupped your cheeks in his hands, firmly pressing his lips against yours, the force of it knocking you against the wall behind you. A stunned gasp escaped your lungs as Loki parted your lips, his arm wrapping around your waist to close any and all possible space between you.

“Loki,” you tried to whisper against his lips, but he didn’t care for words. He kissed you as if there was no tomorrow, as if he could never feel the touch of your lips against his, as if he could never taste you again.

It took you a good few moments to finally pull away from him, after all you didn’t want the moment to end. But you needed to collect yourself before you were to fall into his arms like a damsel in distress. Loki’s kiss didn’t only start your heart off at a dangerous pace, it also clouded your mind and burned your whole being in a feverish passion, his mere presence seemed to make your knees weak.

“You silly Midgardian,” he scoffed as he pressed his forehead against yours, eyes still closed and seemed to remain so. “How can you go on a ramble like that thinking I have no feelings for you? You foolish woman, I have just told you that the sight of those men watching you makes me infuriated,” his eyes opened to meet your own, his gaze holding a strange fire you’ve never seen in them before. “I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember. Not being able to stand next to you and show those bastards that you belong to me, that you have me made my blood boil,” his voice was harsh and stern, but you knew that slightly gentle undertone was meant for you only. “I don’t care what you wear, what you do, what you say for as long as you let me stay beside you.”

You stood on your tiptoes and pressed your lips against his, but only for a mere moment. “For the record, I can protect myself,” you said, and Loki was ready for the counterattack.

“That’s not—,” he started, but you didn’t let him finish.

“I know that’s not what you meant. I’m just saying that I don’t need a bodyguard,” you gave him a stern look, but you couldn’t mask the playful grin in the corner of your lips. “But I could do with a godly company,” you raised a questioning brow, earning a chuckle from Loki. “Does that sound like a beneficial deal?”

“You don’t need a guard, nor do you need me to protect you. So, what would be my role?” He asked with a grin and the mischievous look in his eyes told you all he was planning, none of his thoughts innocent for that matter.

“Something handsome to look at?” You shrugged in a reply, earning you another fit of chuckle from Loki.

“Oh, you little,” he started before pressing his lips against yours once again, his hand wandering towards the doorknob to open the entrance to your room, gently nudging you inside.

“Excuse me, what are you doing?” You asked with a smug grin spreading across your face, trying to play hard to get, but Loki saw through you.

“Giving you something handsome to look at,” he scoffed with a playful smirk before he shut the door behind him and showered you in pleasure until you could only remember his name.