#loki deserves the world and more and you can not convince me otherwise

[kiki-shortsnout]

For intimacy prompts: #36 being pushed against a wall for Frostironstrange! 💚❤️💙

I might have cheated a little and made it a door....

***

Jealousy wasn’t an emotion Stephen had much experience with. He’d been top of his field when he’d been a doctor, a pioneer, a trailblazer, he was the one people regarded with envy. Even in his romantic life, jealousy wasn’t an emotion he’d fallen victim to, never having formed a lasting attachment to another person.

He knew the root of the emotion stemmed from a feeling of insecurity, that the best thing he could do was turn his gaze inward and think about his own personal growth, to address his feelings of low self-esteem.

This…didn’t feel like feelings of low self-esteem. It felt like a coiled ball of barbed wire and razor blades sitting in his stomach, strangling the life out of him every time he saw them together.

The words on the page wavered as his eyes went unfocused, his ears straining to hear sounds of them whispering, torturing himself further by hearing fragments of their conversation, his mind filling in the blanks.

Why couldn’t it have been me?

Stephen had fallen in love with Tony first. He’d agonized over that, spent countless nights thinking about the reason why, if the rationale behind his jealousy was born from some adolescent feeling such as, I saw him first so therefore he’s mine, but that wasn’t it.

A bond had formed between them when fighting Thanos, a trust that Stephen seldom found in others. He knew Tony, probably better than anyone else in the world after his little exploration of millions of possible outcomes, but that wasn’t what made him fall in love.

It was the man’s determination, his courage, his sarcasm, all wrapped up in an appealing aesthetic package that was Tony Stark. He had been willing to sacrifice himself for the world, just as Stephen had sacrificed countless lives in the Dark Dimension, and at that moment against Thanos, Stephen knew he’d found someone in this huge, boundless universe who could understand him.

He looked up at that moment, staring at Tony across the gloomy Sanctum library. His legs were folded beneath him on the armchair, his elbow on the desk as he rested his head on it, idly swiping through his Starkpad as he worked.

Stephen hadn’t been able to let him die, had used every possible resource he possessed and those around him to save his life. He hadn’t even known Tony that long, but he had still sobbed alongside Rhodey and Pepper as Tony finally inhaled a lungful of battle charred air after excruciating seconds of being dead.

Sensing Stephen’s stare, Tony glanced up, giving him a gorgeous smile, the type that sent euphoric sensations squirming through his stomach. Ignoring Tony’s mouthed question asking him if he was okay, Stephen turned back to his book.

He’d never understood what it meant to love someone until the moment he’d lost Tony. Despite already witnessing millions of potential lifetimes, ignoring millions more, Stephen still wanted to remain by Tony’s side, as a friend, a lover, whatever capacity he was allowed as long as he could be part of the man’s life.

‘What’s got your attention, Anthony? I’m over here.’

Then Loki had happened.

The trickster had faked his death at Thanos’s hand. Not for his own personal gain this time, it was the only way he could save Thor and Bruce, ensure that Thanos would leave whatever Asgardians he hadn’t slaughtered alone. Stephen had doubted Loki’s intentions were as honorable as that, believe a large part of his actions were to save his own hide, but he wasn’t made of stone, despite how he was perceived, and Thor begging him to help find his brother hadn’t fallen on deaf ears.

It was Tony asking him to help bring Loki home, to give him the second chance they’d all had at some point in their lives, that swayed Stephen into action. The man didn’t even know about his repressed feelings, and even then, he was powerless to Tony’s wishes.

‘Lokes, I can barely concentrate as it is when you’re near me,’ Tony flirted.

He ripped the corner of the page from the tightness of his grip.

Stephen couldn’t actually put a finger on the exact moment where his feelings for the God of Mischief had changed from irritation to begrudging respect.

And then into complex complicated feelings of their own.

But he’d known when Loki’s and Tony’s relationship had changed, had seen the way both of them looked at the other, the swollen lips after they returned from meetings.

‘Stephen? Everything alright?’ Tony asked, destroying the painful recollections, making him look up at them both. They were trying to hide their relationship from him, and he wasn’t sure why.

I’m not important enough to know.

‘Yup,’ Stephen snapped, slamming his book shut and throwing it onto the desk between them.

‘Usually, you only look like that after I have spoken to you,’ Loki teased, placing both hands flat on the desk and leaning forward, goading him. That was their relationship, provoking each other, encouraging character growth through spite and teasing.

Today it felt like salt was scouring the wounds on Stephen’s soul.

He needed to control these feelings, these emotions. He’d already convinced himself that he was content with being Tony’s friend, that whatever stirrings of interest he had towards Loki had to be his libido talking. Tony Stark deserved whatever happiness he could find, and Stephen was the biggest advocate for it.

‘No, you’re not, honey.’

Stephen flinched in his chair as he looked up, Tony directly in front of him, his hand reaching out. The way his eyes had become soft and tender with worry for him made Stephen want to weep, to launch himself forward into his arms and speak his deepest desires.

They already have each other. There isn’t room for you.

He batted Tony’s hand away, ignoring the way the man flinched even as a wash of shamed nausea crept over him.

What are you expecting, Strange? That they’ll include you? That Tony will leave Loki for you? Normal people don’t have two partners.

‘Hey, it’s okay…I didn’t mean to scare you, we can leave if you’ve got things on your mind,’ Tony reassured, taking a step back.

‘Nothing’s on my mind,’ Stephen answered straight away, his voice coming out too loud and panicked. He saw Loki’s eyebrow raise in question, the Asgardian looking between them both, analyzing.

Shit.

‘Stephen, something’s obviously wrong, and I don’t think it’s because you don’t understand…’ Tony paused, tilting his head so he could try and read the title of Stephen’s book. ‘Yeah…I don’t know what you’re reading. Look, if it’s something I did don’t be shy,’ Tony told him with a playful grin, but Stephen knew what was behind it, the insecurity he hid behind those smiles.

‘No! It’s nothing you’ve done,’ Stephen lurched forward to grasp Tony’s elbows before remembering who else was with them. Immediately he let go, shoving his chair back with the force he used to escape. Cursing his treacherous body, his gaze went to Loki who was watching the whole thing unfold with shrewd eyes.

‘Come on, asshole, what is it? I’m not a mind reader you know.’

‘No, but I am. I have a glorious feeling this is going to be fascinating,’ Loki’s silky voice wrapped around them both, his fingers lit up with his magic.

He can’t find out.

‘Leave me alone…’ he spat, his hands readying themselves to create a portal as he leapt to his feet. ‘You can’t be serious?’

‘Deadly,’ Loki growled, extending his fingers with a snap, his emerald magic twisting forward and nullifying the portal Stephen had been trying to create.

I need to get out of here.

‘What? What’s going on? Loki, stop it don’t-’ Tony yelped as Stephen launched himself into a run, barreling him over in his haste to escape. Loki gave chase, both of them scrabbling against the wooden floor as they sprinted to the door.

Tony can’t know. Neither of them can know.

Stephen ignored Tony’s frantic shouts for them to stop, the burn in his lungs as he ran, the pain in his shoulders as he collided with the bookcases. Books rained down on him, the library around him fading to one, singular point.

Get to the door!

He could hear Loki hot on his heels, felt the tendrils of his magic trying to ensnare him, his snarls of frustration as Stephen ducked and weaved around the bookcases, no finesse to his movements, just a dogged determination to escape the situation.

Crying out in relief when he made it to the door first, he skidded to a halt when the Cloak billowed up, blocking the way, trapping Stephen inside.

‘They can’t find out! Move!’ Stephen hissed at the Cloak.

The Cloak shook its collar, spreading itself out so it appeared huge.

‘Please!’ Stephen pleaded, his voice cracking. ‘I’ll lose them both otherwise!’

‘What the hell is going on? Are we under attack?’ Feet pounded on the floor behind him, the sounds of his suit forming was audible even over Stephen’s pounding heart.

Think. Think!

Reaching forward to rip aside the Cloak, Stephen found himself slammed against the back of the door, a lithe muscled body pressed against him, and a hot mouth sealed over his. Despite wanting to moan into it, the electric current of unbridled lust surging inside of him, he didn’t stop fighting to escape.

He didn’t want to hurt Tony with his lustful feelings and burgeoning affection for his lover, didn’t want to damage their friendship. Then there was Loki, whose tales of cruelty had reached them all. Who knew what he would do to Stephen for coveting his lover? He would desecrate the feelings he held dear, spinning this into a story that they shared with other while in bed, their mocking laughter surrounding them.

‘Desist your struggles, Strange,’ Loki whispered when he stopped, leaving another scorching kiss on his lips as he held him still. ‘Your feelings are making you foolish. You know I cannot read minds, yet you crumbled under your fear and left your true self bare.’

Stephen strained against the hold, his head banging back against the heavy door, nails gripping the wood. Loki didn’t budge, his strength far exceeding Stephen’s, but he moved his hands to his forearms, allowing the blood to flow back into his damaged hands with a pained hiss.

‘Sorry,’ Loki murmured. ‘It is not my intent to-’

‘You already knew I had feelings for him,’ Stephen hissed, looking over Loki’s shoulder, trying to understand what the expression on Tony’s face was, memorizing the detail of him before he’d be no longer allowed to look.

I never wanted this to happen.

‘Yes, but I did not know of your attraction to me. Which makes this conversation so much simpler,’ Loki answered.

‘What conversation?’

‘You are not alone in your feelings, darling,’ Loki called over his shoulder, his sharp green gaze never leaving Stephen’s.

He slumped in Loki’s hold, hanging his head as shame burned his cheeks.

‘You’re not listening to my words, Stephen.’ Loki brought his head down to whisper in his ear, adjusting his grip so Stephen could rest against him, holding him instead of restraining him. Even with all of the panic making him light-headed, his chest flayed open for all to see, Stephen still took the time to breathe in Loki’s scent, the unique alienness of it.

‘Stephen? Is Loki right? Do you…have feelings for me?’ Tony asked, his voice wavering in bewilderment.

Rubbing his head against Loki’s shoulder for a moment, Stephen took a huge, quivering breath before he drew back, trying to find his courage.

‘No, Loki’s voice rumbled through his chest, oscillating through to Stephen’s skin. ‘It isn’t just lust you have for me. You hold feelings for us both.’

‘Stephen?’

‘Yes. God, I’m sorry, I fell for you, months ago, Tony,’ Stephen sighed, not looking at him, staring at the glossy black hair brushing against Loki’s collarbone. ‘I knew you were together, thought I could be happy…No, I wanted to be happy for you-’

Stephen stumbled as Loki vanished from before him, flailing until he was caught by Tony’s smaller frame. He only had a second to figure out what had happened before he was being kissed again, a sharp whipcrack of shock drowning out any thoughts.

He retained enough sense to break apart, his gaze seeking out Loki, fearful of retribution. Loki’s façade cracked at his stare, relaxing into an expression he’d often seen him look at Tony with.

‘You were blinded by what you did not have, saw only what you wanted to see. You never realized that Anthony was watching you too, snatching gazes of you when you were preoccupied with your melancholy.’

Stephen looked down at Tony in his arms, his brown eyes blazing in that look of determination he’d fallen for.

‘Stephen, I…you too? I never thought…you never gave any indication of-’

Stephen silenced the words with a kiss, reaching up to cup Tony’s face with his hand, expressing everything he could through his actions, his longing, his repressed desire, his love. Their tears mingled together, seeping down to their lips, binding their kiss with suffering sweetness.

‘Idiots, the both of you,’ Loki said, wrapping his arms around them. ‘I know this type of relationship might not be considered… acceptable on Midgard, but I believe now that I know of your feelings, it would be wise to explore the possibilities.’

‘This, this isn’t normal though,’ Stephen mumbled against Tony’s lips, lifting his free hand so he could grip hold of Loki.

‘Who cares about normal? I’m Tony Stark, I do what I want,’ Tony asserted, kissing him soundly on the lips, before turning and kissing Loki’s jaw.

‘Ineloquent as always, but I believe this time the sentiment comes across nicely,’ Loki said, eyes closing as he accepted Tony’s bestowed kiss.

‘You both? How long?’

‘Since Thanos-’

‘Since you found me-’

They answered together. It was Loki who blushed though, uncertain how his own declaration would be taken.

‘I’ve known Tony longer, understood and accepted my feelings for him before I found you, but that doesn’t mean what I’m feeling towards you isn’t real, Loki,’ Stephen assured, his confidence growing, the earlier panic and fear dispelled by their touch.

Loki swallowed and nodded once, his grip tightening before he took a step back, gesturing at the Cloak to move aside.

‘I realize we’ve forced this confession from you, and if you would rather take some time to-’

‘Do you want to go on a date?’ Tony interrupted.

‘A date?’ Loki deadpanned.

‘A date? Like drinks? Food? Music? Somewhere we can get to…well not know each other better, but talk. About what this means for us?’ Tony encouraged, his gaze darting between them both.

‘Anthony. I do not think-’

‘A date sounds great,’ Stephen interrupted him this time, pressing his lips together to hide his amusement at Loki’s confusion, reaching down to take both their hands in his.

#frostironstrange #fanfic prompt #ask answered #thank you so much #thanks for this! #stephen strange #tony stark #Loki #Yet more Kiki prompts!

[danddymaro]

Perfect | Bucky Barnes x Reader

Who Is the Perfect man for (f/n)?

-Something Corny, and sweet.

Word Count:  2826

Perfect 

He found it impossible to compete with his closest friend, not just because it was morally wrong to try and get the same girl, but because all in all, he had no chances with her, and he was well aware.

'Because even if I'm wrong,' He started, '...Even if it's not Steve... then I'd still be the last person in the world you’d ever look at,' He silently declared, truly believing it.

'You could always do so...so much better than me,' He thought with dejection.

'I know it...but even then, I'm willing to make a fool of myself. 

 I want to let you know because it's getting harder and harder to just sit back,'

"(f/n)" He said while following up with a harsh swallow,

"I'm not perfect like Steve," Bucky started, "...I’m not someone who’s loved by everyone, and looked up by just about every child on the damn planet," he confessed, and at his sudden outburst she let out a surprised peep, turning to him with wide eyes,

“Wha-”

" And I'm sorry! I'm sorry I'm not him!" He cried out. " But I wish I was..." he added, knowing just how much the woman idolized the other man.

"I really wish I were." He added with a short mutter.

 (f/n) eyed his pain-stricken face with concern, because there was an obvious shine of heartbreak in his steel-colored eyes, causing a hitch in her breath, her heart stopped by the sight before it tore in two, further breaking as she saw his expression grow even more with anguish and melancholy as his chest heaved with heavy breaths.

- This was the endgame, the all or nothing for him,

"In Fact, I'm the furthest thing from a hero and I know that." he continued on, a dry laugh tailing the words because he found it almost amusing how little he was in comparison to the perfect blonde.

‘When I stand next to him… I can’t help but feel like I’m less.’

"- I know what I am," he added, trying his best to let his wavering smile last.

He wanted to at least look brave, to look like a real man and not the groveling mess he really was as he forced out the words, battling rough the pain that threatened to take over.

Her (e/c) colored eyes went wide as he said that, and she immediately rushed to his side, " No Bucky, please don't start with that, you're a good person!" she said with a certainty that almost convinced him.

Like many times before, she rushed to his side, both Metaphorically and in literal actions, trying her best to assure him, and it was yet another reason why he cherished her so much.

"It can't be true if I don't believe it," She said stubbornly, throwing him a glowing grin as she said the words, the expression brightening even more as he looked at her dumbfounded,

"What does that even mean?" He asked her, a little chuckle leaving him.

"Just what I said," She went on, " It can't be true if I don't accept it," She reiterated.

He let the words settle in, and it wasn’t long before eye understood, by then offering  her a tired, little smirk  as he shook his head, "So, it’s just that easy?" He asked her, the moronic simplicity of it amusing him.

"For me it is," she told him, "For me, it's easy to accept that you're not a monster. It's easy for me to believe it, and even if you keep telling me otherwise, Buck...It won't change the way I see you," She explained,

"So just think of it that way, that, even if the entire world believes it, you included, there's not a damn thing in the world that will let me fall into the same train of thought.

As long as I'm kicking there's doubt,

And as long as there is doubt, it can't be accepted as truth," She spelled out, the certainty she displayed showing to be unwavering.

‘Only you...’ He thought with disbelief, 

“You really are something else,” He muttered, the little grumble rousing a little giggle.

She was the anchor to his unsteady boat and all the while the kindness she showed him made him fall harder under her spell, giving him more excuses to come closer to her, it also scathed him, because he knew that she only saw him as the pathetic mess in need of care.

And he wanted much more than that. 

He shook his head and took advantage of the closeness of their bodies by taking hold of her, his hands at her upper arms,

"- (F/n)," He started, mauling over how it had taken him months to find the perfect moment, the instant where he'd risk everything.

‘This is it,’ He told himself.

"You don't need to coddle me like that," he said with a soft sound of amusement escaping his nose. Afterward, he then took a deep, slow breath through his parted lips, before he tightened his hold by only a small degree, careful to not hurt her with his metal arm.

"Look... I can't be him, and I'm sorry," He said softly, truly sounding regretful for something he had no control over.

"I can't be Steve, and there's not a day that goes by that I don't wish I could stand in his shoes for just an instant, and feel what it's like to have you see me with anything but pity.” He revealed, “ Because then...(F/n) you’d see me in the way I really want you to look at me as...as a man." he confessed.

‘I don’t want you to feel bad for me anymore. In fact, I don’t want to be swallowed up by the same pity myself,’ He thought to himself.

" Look, I'm not as smart as Banner, because I still struggle with the technology of today and I know it'll get annoying," he said trailing off, not finding a single strong point he held in the field, "But I'll try... I really will," he swore.

At the confession, a small smile made its way onto her features, because he was right, he was a helpless mess when it came to the more modern things, but, to her, it was adorable.

She found it cute, and just another reason to stay by him a bit longer.

Watching him fiddle with his phone with that adorable, little face of confusion he gave her was all the more reason to sit closer to him, taking hold of his hand within hers to lead his finger across the screen and navigate through all its apps and features.

" I'm not wealthy like Stark… in fact, I could never have that much money and spoil you as much as he could." He told her, " I know some women like fancy jewelry and nice expensive dinners, but the most I can do for you now is a small bouquet of ( favorite flowers)...because I know how much you like them," He said softly, having noticed how much she stopped by to visit the little patch of them as they took small walks.

"Sorry," She said with a sheepish smile, " I know it gets annoying," She said while petting the small petal, " But I really like these flowers," She said while gazing at the blossom,

" They're my favorite," She told him, having to only mention it once for him to remember, ingraining it in his brain that if he ever got her flowers they'd be the ones she loves most.

' I know everything about you,' he thought with fondness. ' Because...Because I always remember everything you have to say...I cling to every word because I know that sometimes you think you’re not heard.'

"I remember every bit of you, down to the stupid little faces you want me to forget," he said making her hold back a small chuckle as she glanced away, turning pink at the mention.

"I'm not a prince like Thor.. or ...even a God..." he continued on, speaking with just abit more lightheartedness while gazing at the sweet expression she wore.

"I'm not funny like Clint since you seem to love his jokes so much...for whatever reason," he said with furrowed brows, seemingly stumped on that one because Clint Barton’s humor was just simple, stupid puns that made everyone else roll their eyes.

"And don't get me started on Sam..." He muttered, detesting how easily the two flowed with each other, all to the point they seemed to share a single, working  brain cell, and it only made the older man wish he had the same ability to just work with her without the awkwardness and fear.

‘But I just get so nervous...’ he lamented, ‘ I just end up overthinking it all, and it’s because you have this effect on me,

In fact, it’s a miracle I’m even getting through this now,’

(f/n) shook her head at him, because Bucky didn't need to tell her jokes to smile, and they didn't need to make stupid banter either.

she didn't need to find a reason to smile with him, because, she just did, naturally.

- It was like second nature while at his side.

"I'm not as charming as that Loki guy.

I see the way you smile at the sound of his voice and I'd be lying if I said I really didn't wish mine sounded like his," He said with a dry chuckle, knowing he grew especially jealous when the other man purposely pronounced certain words for her, just to make her giggle, living for the attention he received.

'Oh...Bucky,' (f/n) thought while shaking her head, because, truth be told, the sound of his voice was much more her taste. She loved the sound of it from when it goes higher with joy, or mellows down in serenity, and even when it trembles as he tells her his worries.

‘I don’t think you realize how expressive you’ve become,’ She mused, ‘ Oh Buck, I could go on forever listening to you instead.' She thought to herself. 'I'd love nothing more than to hear you every morning, and not just outside my door. 

I mean first thing...right as I wake up.

And then...afterwards, fall asleep to your murmurs.' she inwardly spoke with the same bashful expression that had yet to cease,

'Bucky...' She thought with a soft smile. 'You’re such an idiot.'

"- I'm just not... not him. I'm not any of these men.

I don't have anything to offer you...

Not a single thing to my name that can bring you pride, " he admitted while looking down at his hands, both gloved limbs because he detested looking down at what actually lay beneath the piece of clothing.

"My arm is like a spoon on a stove on most summer days and a block of ice on winter ones.

So, I could never give you a fully warm touch, one that’s comforting and that I know you deserve." He said softly, having gone over the thought so many times that it haunted him.

"I'm not perfect..." he said dejectedly, saying so in a way that seemed as though it was meant for himself to remind him of just who he was before he got his hopes up too far.

‘What am I even doing...?’ He asked himself, his shoulders slowly falling as he weighed in the facts.

‘Oh...I'm not either Bucky,' She thought while feeling her heart race.

What he believed to be perfection was all misguided, because All the details and traits he wanted to have were things he didn’t need.

"I know I'm not.

I'm at the point where I'm still struggling to remember who am...and much more, somehow make up for all the wrong I’ve done.

(f/n) , I'm Still struggling to accept what I've done...which is a lot." He confessed, sighing deeply. " I've done so much wrong that I don't ever think ill be able to atone for my wrongdoings.

In short, I could give you a list of the many things wrong with me, and it'd run for miles, but there is one thing that I know is right,

And...And it's that I love you." He said while finally uttering the three words he's wanted to tell her for ages now.

"I love you so much (f/n), it hurts right here when I'm not with you, " He admitted, clutching his chest, placing his palm right above his bouncing heart.

Taking her hands in his he lifted them to his lips, offering her a tender kiss to each Knuckle, and all the while she stood watching, still stunned by his confession.

"Doll, you make my heart race like crazy!" he said with astonishment, peering down at her with glowing eyes.

"Sometimes, you make me feel like I'm back where I was when everything was simple and good, and for those moments, I feel fully human.

Yeah, There are times when my brain goes haywire, and I get stupidly tongue tied, but, when I’m not  rendered stupid, with you...everything feels right.

 And just looking at you does that to me!" he said cocooning her hands in his.

"You give me nostalgia of good times and make me forget I'm a mess, and that's all I want now, to feel like a regular guy and...maybe, settle down.” He revealed, letting her know what she inspired in him.

‘A family? For me?’ He asked himself, ‘ You make me think of building an actual future,’

“-I know one thing for certain and ...and It's that whatever I become after this will revolve around you,

Always.

Because you're the center of my universe (f/n).

I didn't want to force you into loving me, to pity you into accepting me, that's why I've been silent, but I also can't keep this to myself anymore, because I feel like it’s slowly killing me," He said while tightening his hold on her.

“Keeping this from you is torture,” He added." If I lose you because I was too afraid to take the risk I don't know what I'd do with myself. And I know that even if everyone else in the world has a better shot than me...Even if they're all better in every way, no one else can love you the way I do,” He told her. 

“And you deserve to be given the world, if not the entire universe!

(F/n) ,  I'm asking for the chance, The chance to try and hand it to you, " he pleaded. "That's all I need, it's all I need to prove myself. I'll try my best to make you happy and treat you like a prince- no like a queen. " He went on, rambling and unwinding everything he'd kept silent.

Her (e/c) eyes were wide and her brows rose as high as they could, shaking like a leaf in his hands, and seeing that he felt anxious,

"Don't be afraid of me, please. You can even say no if you want, just don't leave me.

 Even if you don't want me as a man, I still want to be able to see you, I still want to be a part of your life, no matter how meaningless it is, because I just want to make you happy."

His eyes then met hers, and in that one glance, his heart exploded into little bits and pieces.

Her eyes were glistening with tears, but beneath that, they twinkled with the glee. They sparkled like they never had before and he couldn't help but stare at the woman, becoming dumbstruck.

" You took all this time to list the things you're not Bucky..." she replied, finally speaking, finding her voice. " but you forgot to mention everything that makes me want you instead," She told him.

She then wrapped her arms around his neck, latching onto him, unashamed at coming closer.

Without skipping a beat he lifted her up and wrapped his arms around her waist.

Spinning her around he smiled,

"Doll... I'll make you happy, I promise...I'll find a reason to make you smile every single day." He swore, heading down for a kiss he'd craved.

Through her response she smiled, kissing him back with the same yearning, thinking of no one else but the man that held her so dearly,

“I love you too,” She said back, the words filling him with even more joy because while he wasn’t in any way near faultless, she loved him.

‘I’m not perfect either,’ She mused, ‘But you think I’m worth being handed the entire world and more,’ She went on, truly touched by his declarations, 

In spite of his every insecurity and doubt, she saw him as her own perfection, finding it amusing because all the while, she’d been afraid to take the step closer, 

“I couldn’t ask for better,” She breathed, 

“I couldn’t love anyone else,”

#bucky x reader #bucky x you #bucky x y/n #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x reader insert #Bucky Barnes x female reader #bucky barnes x y/n #james buchanan barnes #the winter soldier fanfic #the winter solider fanfiction #The Winter Soldier x Y/N #the winter solider x reader #the winter soldier x reader insert #the winter soldier x you #captain america #The Avengers #The avengers fanfiction #The Avengers fanfic #the avengers reader insert #mcu fanfic #Marvel MCU #mcu fandom #MCU #mcu x reader #marvel fanfic #marvel cinematic universe #marvel x y/n #marvel x you #marvel x reader #james bucky barnes

[mimisempai]

Together we can get through anything

Summary:

Mobius has just stolen the Tempad from Ravonna and discovers the truth about the TVA. He goes to visit Loki's Timecell ready to do anything to be forgiven.

___________

I keep trying to explore Lokius throughout the episodes. And if many people seem to be desperate after the last episode, I am not, so let me give you the content you deserve. My faith in Lokius has not moved an inch. And Marvel won't change that. They deserve each other. They deserve to be happy together. And here they will be.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/32288020

2637 words - Rating G

Part 9 of The Story of Loki and Mobius

Mobius had to act quickly before Ravonna realized he had switched their Tempad.

He went to hide between two shelves in the archives, pretending to look for files, and turned on the Tempad

He quickly found what he was looking for, the debriefing of the C-20 mission. He pressed play.

When the screen opened to show C-20 talking, it only took Mobius a few seconds to see that she wasn't crazy like Ravonna had claimed.

"You're not hearing me. I was there. This was real, what I saw. This is a place that I've been."

Mobius looked over his shoulder quickly and returned to the video.

"This wasn't the TVA. This was a memory. I lived down there. I went to that bar. I had friends. I had a whole life on the Sacred Timeline."

Mobius didn't want to believe it, but in the face of all that was being revealed to him, how could he not?

On the video, the interrogator told C-20 to calm down.

She retorted forcefully, "Calm down? I'm a Variant. So are you. So is every single person in this place."

"I'm ending this," it was the voice of Ravonna whose face then appeared on the screen and then staring at it, she turned it off.

It was all a lie. All variants. All stolen lives.

Among the thoughts that swirled in his head, one began to emerge, a single name.

Loki.

Loki had been right. Loki had not lied to him. Or hardly ever. Not where it mattered.

Suddenly, mixed with the elation he felt, came a sense of shame. He had gained Loki's fragile trust and at the first hurdle he had reacted like all the others who had not believed in Loki before him. Just because he was jealous. Because he had seen the complicity between Loki and the Variant, Sylvie.

For the first time in his work, his feelings had been stronger than his reason, and the way Loki had lashed out to defend her had deeply upset Mobius.

He had been cruel. Even if she really had been Loki's girlfriend, it was cruel to make him believe that she was dead. Even for the purpose of gaining information.

He had seen Loki in the Time Cell admit that he deserved to be alone, while Mobius had done everything to convince him otherwise before their disastrous parting in the supermarket.

And what had Mobius told him in the end?

"Wherever you go, it's just death, destruction, the literal ends of worlds. Well, I'm gonna have to close this case now, 'cause I don't need you anymore. Yeah, or as you might say, our interests are no longer aligned."

Loki had looked so hurt at that moment, and had said to him as the guards were taking him away, "You know, of all the liars in this place, and there are a great many, you're the biggest."

Mobius had asked him, sneering, "Why? Cause I lied about your girlfriend?"

Loki had just replied, seriously, "Oh, no. That I can respect. I mean, the lies you tell yourself."

He hadn't looked back once this time before walking through the door of the Time Cell.

As he made his way to a safe place to open a Timedoor to the Time Cell, he figured he would have a lot to make up for this time.

As he walked through the door, he found himself facing Loki who looked agitated.

He immediately asked him. "What are you doing?"

"Passing the time." Loki answered ironically.

Because Mobius couldn't help it, because the memory of the jealousy he had experienced was too strong, he asked without transition, "Do you care about this variant?"

Loki answered him directly, rushing the words as usual, "Sylvie? I'm not sure if caring is the right word. We've covered this back in there."

Mobius interrupted him by shouting, "Shut up!" he paused to calm himself, he was not there to blame Loki, he asked sincerely, "Do you really think you deserve to be alone?"

Seeing that Loki didn't answer, he called out, "Loki!"

The cheeky bastard replied, "You told me to shut up." Since when did he do what Mobius told him? Mobius repeated his question, "Do you believe you deserve to be alone?"

Loki, annoyed, replied, "I don't know."

"You better figure it out quick, because the nexus event the two of you caused, whatever that connection is, can bring this whole place down. So we better understand…"

"We"?

Mobius' heart sank at the way Loki said " we ". Because Mobius had made any possibility of a we vanish by withdrawing his trust from Loki. Loki's disbelief this time was entirely his own fault.

He asked Loki urgently, "Do you swear she didn't implant those memories in Hunter C-20?"

Loki didn't hesitate a moment before answering, "Mobius, no. I believe her!"

"So, I just have to trust the word of two Lokis?" Mobius answered rhetorically because the trust he had in Loki had risen from the ashes and even if he doubted the variant, he now knew that his trust in Loki was total.

"How about the word of a friend?"

Mobius gasped at the words he didn't expect in Loki's mouth.

Then he exhaled softly. Loki called himself his friend. Mobius still had the right to be his friend. Their bond was not broken.

So even if Loki's friendship it was the only thing he would get. If that was the only thing Loki would offer him, then he would accept it. He would cherish it, he would fight for it. He would be the loyal friend that Loki deserved.

He continued urgently, wanting to prove to Loki that his trust was real, "You were right, about the TVA. You were right from the beginning. And if you wanna save her, you need to trust me. Can we do that?"

He needed to hear Loki say it, to confirm that the trust between them was back, maybe not like before, but that it was there.

"Yes."

Once again a straightforward answer, without embellishment. A simple yes that said everything, that told the truth.

Mobius sighed with relief, "Okay."

He couldn't dwell on everything he'd said before, on all his false assertions dictated by ugly jealousy, disappointment and feelings of betrayal.

That's why he added, in an insistent tone, wanting to convince Loki with all his heart, "You could be whoever, whatever you wanna be, even someone good."

Loki looked at him, his eyes full of emotion, the same look he had had when Mobius had told him that he did not consider him a villain. The dawning hope of someone who didn't dare to believe it. Then Mobius continued to convince Loki at all costs, smiling sheepishly, "I mean, just in case anyone ever told you different."

Loki's smile, a smile that Mobius had never seen on his face before, was the best reward he could have received. A sense of mutual absolution, a feeling of shared respect, and perhaps something more that Mobius refused to name because he felt he had no right to.

He was walking towards the Timedoor when he felt himself being pulled back by Loki who had grabbed his sleeve.

"Mobius, wait!"

He turned back to Loki who was still holding him by the sleeve.

"What? Is there something wrong?"

Loki exclaimed, "Is there something wrong? Is there something wrong?!" he ran his hand through his hair with frustration, "I'm not the one who was just told that his whole life, what he was fighting for, the world he lived in, was a lie! Believe me I know what that feels like! So it's me asking you, how are YOU Mobius?"

At that moment Mobius became aware of the extent of what he had just discovered, of what it meant for him.He put his hand to his chest, his breathing quickened and a cold sweat ran down his body.

He heard Loki's voice as if in the distance and felt vaguely that the man was helping him to sit on the ground with his head between his legs.

Little by little, encouraged by Loki, he found regular breathing.

Loki put his hand on his arm, gently, as if not to frighten him.

"Mobius, I need to know, first if you can you close the timedoor and then, how time is passing here?"

Mobius closed the door and replied, "In this cell, it's like time doesn't flow outside, so no matter how long we spend here, it will take Ravonna and the Hunters a little while to find us."

"Good."

After a few moments of silence, Mobius spoke up, "You know what torments me the most now that I know? I wonder if I am real. Is what I've experienced real? And was what I believe or have believed in, real for a moment?"

Loki answered him softly, "You are real, just as I am real." seeing the distress in which Mobius found himself, he continued, "And if you don't believe me, I will show you what is real to me if you will let me." He just put two fingers on Mobius' temple without pressing, waiting for his answer. Mobius nodded.

A small green light connected Loki's fingers with Mobius' head.

Mobius saw sequences in his head racing by, as if he were moving from one room to another at full speed.

Mobius held out his hand to help Loki up.

Mobius remembered that moment of course, but the emotions were not his own, it was as if he was in Loki's head.

This time Loki didn't hesitate to take it. Once on his feet, he didn't want to let go of that hand, the only non-violent human contact he'd had in years. He didn't even realize that he was tightening his fingers on Mobius'.

He asked the question that had been burning in his mind, "If I'm not the villain, then what am I?"

They still hadn't let go of each other's hands and now Mobius' thumb was gently stroking the back of Loki's hand.

Mobius tilted his head a little, seeking Loki's gaze even more.

He said with that smile that Loki was beginning to appreciate, "I don't know, but we could search together, if you want."

Loki nodded slowly and answered with a slight smile.

Next scene.

"Oh once again, shut up!"

Loki replied with a mocking smile on his lips, "Make me."

It was as if a dam broke in Mobius.

He grabbed Loki's tie to pull him to him and before the god had time to wonder what he was doing, Mobius leaned in and placed his lips against Loki's.

Their first kiss in the elevator…

Next scene.

Mobius spoke with difficulty, still out of breath, "Later," he said, "We'll continue this later, I promise. We'll have to talk. But we really don't have time right now."

Loki nodded, and placed one last kiss on Mobius' lips before they parted, their reluctance more than obvious.

Seeing the uncertainty return to Loki's gaze, Mobius took his chin and said firmly with his eyes in his head, "Loki, I'm serious, we really will continue later. I swear I'm not playing, okay?"

Loki scrutinized him for a few seconds before nodding again and answering with that familiar mischievous grin, « Ok, let's go catch whoever thinks they are me."

Then he pushed Mobius forward and they went on their way.

Their second kiss... in the archive room.

Next scene.

Loki nodded but said nothing. He gently withdrew his hand and put his collar back on. Seeing that he was reluctant to speak, Mobius turned fully toward him and pulled him by the sleeve until he was standing between Mobius' knees.

Mobius remembered, it was the day when Loki had taken care of him, had given him the illusion of being on a jetski and then in return Mobius had shown Loki what he would want on a first date.

Looking at Loki from below, Mobius asked gently, "Loki, speak to me."

Loki replied just as softly, "Is this the kind of thing you like, the kind of thing you'd like to do...with me?"

"We could start with that after this whole thing is over, what do you say? Ah unless there's a rule that says gods don't date?" asked Mobius, raising an eyebrow.

Spreading his arms, a mischievous smile on his face, Loki said with his trademark emphasis, "Hey, I'm Loki, the god of mischief, since when do I follow rules?

Quickly checking behind his shoulder that no one was there, Mobius pulled Loki's head to his own with a gentle tug on his tie and proceeded to wipe the arrogant smile from Loki's lips in the only way he knew to be effective.

Next scene.

"Oh no Loki, I never wanted you to think you were a villain, I wanted you to see that you were not the one you insist on parading to the world."

Loki protested, "But you told me I was born to cause pain and suffering and death. That's how it is, that's how it was, that's how it will be. All so that others can achieve their best versions of themselves. "

"Yes, I told you that not because I think that's what you are, I was just showing you that that's what you were limiting yourself to because you yourself think you're only capable of that. Because you want to rule so badly, that you don't see that you are made for bigger things. You asked me to trust you yesterday. I did it because Loki I have faith in you and since you've been here you keep proving it. In your own way. Because you are undoubtedly the god of mischief. Unique. Not. A. Villain."

Mobius took his chin and placed a kiss on his forehead before standing up.

Their last moment together before the Alabama mission.

Loki gently removed his fingers from Mobius' head.

"Mobius, to me this was all real, everything we said to each other, everything that happened between us. It was probably the most real I've experienced in a long time."

Loki took her head in his hands and kissed her forehead, then whispered, "You. Are. Real. Mobius." then he kissed him gently, almost chastely before pulling back a little while still holding Mobius' head in his hands.

Mobius looked amazed and asked him a little hesitantly, "After everything that's happened, you would be willing to give me another chance?"

"Huh?" asked Loki, looking surprised, "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the fact that at the first opportunity, I preferred to believe the worst rather than you, I let you down cowardly, blinded by the feeling betrayal and jealousy while I was the one who betrayed your trust "

Loki shook his head fondly.

"Oh Mobius, believe me I am a master of betrayal, low blow and jealousy. I never expected you to be perfect. After all, I tried to betray you at the first opportunity too. There are so many other parameters that we didn't know and still don't know. It's not about giving you another chance, it's about giving us another chance. So let's not waste it and let's make it something beautiful and good."

Loki stood up, and this time it was he who reached out to Mobius and helped him to his feet.

In an echo of a few days ago, it was he who gently stroked the back of Mobius' hand that he had kept in his own.

Mobius looked deeply into Loki's eyes again and asked him with a slightly hoarse voice, "If this is all fake, then who am I really?"

Loki replied with a smile, "We'll search together."

"Yes, yes, that I can do. " answered Mobius with a tightened throat.

Then he could not resist the impulse, the desire that was deep inside him since they had caught Loki and Sylvie.

He hugged Loki, the face in his hair, and, happy to find familiar sensations, he whispered into Loki's neck, "I'm so glad you're back safe and sound. You can't even imagine how much I missed you."

Loki tightened his arms around him and they stayed like that for a few seconds before pulling apart.

Mobius, opened a Timedoor and looked at Loki who nodded.

They crossed the door side by side, together, for all time, always.

______

🌈 Happy (last day) of Pride month ! 🌈 (Be pride every day!)

To celebrate, 1 day, 1 story. Phew done !

Be ready for smiles, laugh, fluff, tooth rotthing fluff, positive vibes and a lot of love! I hope you had enough !

#lokius fic #loki #mobius m mobius #lokius #moki #wowki #loki x mobius #timefrost #time husbands #lokius rights #developing relationship #episode related #episode 4 : the nexus #forgiving Loki #Lokt Mobius

[det-loki]

poison & wine part two

 “I don’t have a choice, but I’d still choose you.”

warnings: angst, cursing, slight smut, talk of death/kidnapping

pairing: detective loki x fem reader

word count: 3,213

A/N: feedback is welcomed, enjoy!

1  ⌽   3  4  5  6

  You and Loki arrived at the aunt’s house later that night. You followed Loki through the hall as he spoke to Holly Jones about Alex. You observed her simple home trying to find any lead as she watched Loki look through Alex’s room, taking interest in a toy RV. Walking into her home was like walking into a time capsule, everything seemed old and outdated. So far, you had nothing, not a single thing.

Opening the passenger car door of the old Crown Vic, you huffed as you sat down in the seat, hand coming up to your face trying to wipe away the exhaustion. Beside you, Loki sat still, watching you as your mind run rampant. He wished more than anything that he could take away your grievances. He hated what this town did to you, what this case was doing to you. You deserved better than this. Better than this town and better than him. 

“Let’s go home, get some rest, visit the parents in the morning. We can’t solve a case when both of us can barely stand, let alone think. I have a feeling this case is going to be tough.” You didn’t have the energy to respond, only nodding as Loki put the car in reverse and changing gears into drive, pulling onto the road towards your shared home. His hand found yours, intertwining on top of your thigh, his thumb brushing across the back of your hand. You wished this was easy, going to work and being able to leave it at the door. Your life with Loki was complicated, some days you were madly in love, others you were just coworkers. You hoped tonight you were in love, you didn’t think you could keep your head above the rising water of emotions if you weren’t.

The warm water cascaded over your back, unthawing your chilled bones as you heard the shower curtain open. Loki’s calloused hand finding its place on your hip, pulling you against his chest. His head dropped to the crook of your neck, lips moving along your shoulder as his fingers wandered from your hip to the space between your legs, murmuring in your ear, “Hey baby.” The soft circles he made sent pleasure through your body, softly whimpering as you leaned further back into his embrace and melted. You needed this. Needed the feeling of comfort and pleasure even if it was just 5 minutes out of the 24 hours in a day. Loki was more than happy to give it to you without the expectation of receiving it. He knew you needed this, needed to feel the overwhelming feeling of his hands, his scent, him. Tonight you were in love, managing to keep each other from crumbling apart and running down the drain. 

Neither you nor David slept well that night. Beside you, David tossed and turned and you couldn’t get your brain to turn off. Two little girls were out there missing and you were trying to sleep in a warm bed next to someone you loved. It wasn’t fair. You counted the days it had been since it happened. You lost count after 2,500, the years and days blurring together. 

Morning came faster than you liked. The clock read 6:14 A.M., mocking you. You could hear the shower running, you were sure David had been awake much longer than you, he rarely slept through the night. You knew he didn’t need to shower, thoughts of the previous night floated through your head. He was only doing it to wake up and mentally prepare himself for the day. You swung your legs over the edge of the bed, standing and making your way to the kitchen. You needed coffee. 

Sitting on the couch in the living room with your mug in hand, fingers gripping the handle much harder than you needed, knuckles flexing white. You watched the news display information about the case of the two missing girls with bleary eyes. You had written the media release last night which was now being played all across the state. David emerged from your shared bedroom, kissing the top of your head as he walked past you. He had on fresh clothes, his blue button-up fastened up to his neck like normal, his dark circles more pronounced, eyes already tired. You, on the other hand, opted for something more comfortable, not having the capacity to care about your appearance as much as you normally would, a basic sweater and slacks, face void of any makeup, only leftover mascara the shower didn’t wash away. This case had your full attention. 

"This morning we'll go by the parents. I can do the talking. You can stay in the car if you need to." David looked at you softly as he sat next to you on the sofa, bringing your sock clad feet to his lap, fingers working the tender muscle. Cases with children were always the worst, tension findings its way into every muscle in your body. Especially with your background. David didn't want to see you spiral, he would do anything to save you even if it meant jeopardizing himself in the process. He had done it before and he would do it again. You were his person, the only one in his life that knew enough to be considered more than acquaintances. You knew his coffee order by heart, how he hated nutmeg, refused to wear gloves even when the weather permitted them. It gave him the excuse to shove his ice-cold hand against your neck just to hear you laugh. You also knew the deep dark depths of what made him who he was. The boys home, the priests, the lack of familial support, the illegal activities he used to take part in. You were literally and figuratively his everything. It was always you and Loki against everything. 

"No, I'm fine. I'll be okay, Loke." Loke. The nickname you gave him at the delicate age of 14 when you met him. It wasn't special by any means, anyone could have come up with it themselves, but when it came out of your mouth, it meant everything to David. 

"Okay, but if you need a break, you have to tell me, baby." Your heart physically aches at Loki's words. He would save you from any cliff even if he was tumbling over with you. 

You look up from your mug at him with a soft smile on your face that didn't quite reach your eyes, "Same goes for you."

Loki pulled up to the Birch's home as you take a deep breath, attempting to calm yourself. Your stomach was clenching in pain, a knot in your throat, choking you. At least it wasn’t raining today.

"Y/N, you can stay in the car if you need to." David was worried about you. He knew you like the back of his hand. Hell, you were literally tattooed on the back of his hand. Your zodiac symbol etching itself on his ring finger knuckle so many years ago, his version of committing himself to you. A month after the funeral.

 "I'm fine, David." He nodded, wanting to believe you as you both exited the car, walking towards the Birch family's front door. Each step taking entirely too much energy. 

After three quick knocks, Franklin Birch pulled open the door, his bloodshot eyes meeting David's then yours. David knew that feeling. Helplessness.

You walked into the home after David. Walking around the corner of the entryway you were met with a sight that tore your heart in two. Nancy Birch sat at the dinner table surrounded by half-eaten Thanksgiving food from the night before, numb. You knew that feeling. Although your little girl didn't go missing. She didn't even have a chance at a decent childhood, let alone a decent life. That was torn away too soon. 

You quietly excused yourself, darting out the door and towards the car, avoiding Loki's concerned gaze. Your hands trembled, you were never able to get rid of the feeling of her body in your arms on that fateful day. You hated the universe, angry at the world for what it had done to you, what it had done to David. You shouldn’t have even gotten out of bed this morning. 

Minutes later, Loki returns to the car with pictures of Joy Birch in hand. "Hey, you okay? You practically ran out of there."

"I just-, I fucking hate cases with kids. I know it's not that case, but that doesn't make it any easier."

It’s not that case. It’s not that case. It’s not that case.

"I know." That's all he could say. He knew. He knew what you were feeling, all too well, the indescribable pain nipping at your heels, slowly making its way up your body and consuming you whole. It was only day two.  

The next stop was Dover's. To say you were dreading it was an understatement. Loki put the car in park and turned to face you, his brows furrowed in concern, regret swimming in his eyes. 

“You ready?” You knew Loki was giving you a way out, he was more than okay with going in alone. 

“Yes, I’m ready.” No, you weren’t. You were going anyway. You had to in order to restore some sort of justice for your little girl.

It’s not that case.

You sat next to Loki, who was next to Grace Dover on the sofa with a blanket sprawling across her lap. You were sure it belonged to Anna judging by the color and the pattern. That poor woman.

“So, did we pass?” It was clear to you from Grace’s voice and the dark circles under her eyes that she hadn’t slept at all. 

You gently nudged Loki, who had been on his phone answering emails, “I’m sorry, what did you say?

Grace croaked, “The poly thing. The lie detector we took this morning, did we pass?”

“Oh, yeah, yeah. Sorry.” Loki responded before looking back down at his phone and sliding it into his coat pocket, “Yes, we appreciate your cooperation.”

Grace speaks again, “It’s embarrassing, all this-all this fuss. Everyone’s gonna think we’re crazy when those two come out of hiding, wherever they are.”

“Do you have some reason to believe they ran away?” Loki asks. In a perfect world, these girls wouldn’t even be missing, but in an ideal world, they did just run away. The sting in your gut said otherwise.

“No. They’re happy. They must have run away. I think they must have run away. Right?” She wasn’t trying to convince you or Loki, she was trying to convince herself.

Loki tries to show a comforting smile but the words won’t come out, he can only nod. 

Grace changes the subject, trying to smile although the only thing it reached was her mouth, “Um, your police captain told me that you two have solved every case that you’ve ever been assigned. Is that right?” There was never a time Captain O’Malley didn’t brag about the two of you. You just wished he didn’t do it now, not with this case. It gave too much hope to the parents. Too much pressure that you were sure you or Loki would eventually collapse from. Again, neither you nor Loki could find the words. 

Grace begins to get emotional again, hand clutching her mouth, you couldn’t blame her. However, what she spoke next ripped apart your soul that had just begun to get stitched back together by the calloused hands of David, “Do either of you have children, detectives?” You’re back straightened and your mouth fills with the rancid taste of bile. Suddenly you’re nineteen again, in pain and scared, tears streaming down your face, hands raw from scrubbing off the blood that never seemed to go down the drain, bleach stinging your nose. Like so many years ago, David is next to you, except this time he isn’t in a hospital chair with his head in his hands finding out his daughter had been pronounced dead at the age of two. No, this time he was a detective trying to comfort this poor woman about her own daughter. You shoved your trembling hands in your coat pocket, although Loki already took notice. He didn’t even have to look at you to know, you and Loki were connected on a much deeper level. 

It's not that case.

Loki speaking brings you out of your toxic minefield of thoughts, “We’re going to find your daughter, Mrs. Dover.” Pausing, he speaks again, shoving his own emotions down, “We believe that they came back here after they left you at the Birch’s yesterday.”

Keller Dover appears from the hall with bloodshot eyes, “They were looking for Anna’s red whistle.” You shakily stand alongside Loki, your body swaying as he shakes his hand, “Right. I read your statement. I’m Detective Loki, this is Detective Y/L/N. We’re heading up the investigation into your daughter’s investigation. Please, sit down.” 

Keller disregarded Loki, choking out words to the best of his ability, “Uh, uh, m-my son already told you th-that the guy was inside the RV just watchin’ em’, right?” 

You speak up from behind Loki, finally finding your voice, “We haven’t found any physical evidence inside the RV. Or his aunt's house where he lives.”

Keller looks at you as disbelief paints over his features, “Nothing?”

“Alex Jones, unfortunately, has an I.Q. of a ten-year-old. There is no way someone with the I.Q of a ten-year-old could abduct two girls in broad daylight and then somehow make them disappear.” You were able to confirm your suspicions about Alex’s cognitive ability early this morning after a briefing with a forensic psychologist. 

“Uh. well. How can he drive an RV? If he can’t answer a question?” Being honest, it didn’t make much sense to you either, it was a fair question.

Loki speaks up in front of you, “Well, he has a legal Pennsylvania license.”

Keller pushed, “And he ran, right? They said he tried to run away. Why would he do that? Why would he run?”

Loki speaks before you, “We’ve just spent ten hours questioning this boy. Okay? I hear what you're saying.” 

Keller speaks in disbelief again, this was overwhelming, “Uh, did- did you give him a lie detector? You gave us a lie detector. Did you give him one?”

“Sir, I understand what you’re asking me, yes we did. We gave him a lie detector and there's no way of-” Loki cuts short, stifling a laugh and scoffing. Not at Mr. Dover or the case, but at the number of unanswered questions we had, “A lie detector doesn’t work if you don’t understand the questions.”

Mr. Dover’s face changes, angry, “Well, maybe he wasn’t on his own. How could he drive an RV with the IQ of a ten-year-old?”

You speak with a softer tone attempting to de-escalate the situation, “Hey, we’re considering all possibilities.” You were, everything mattered. Everything.

Keller shakes his head, “I don’t think you are considering all possibilities.”

Using a sharper tone, you tell Mr. Dover as he interrupts you, “I-I hear what you're saying. Sir- Sir-”

“You listen to me! Just shut the fuck up for a fucking second!” Keller booms as his wife flinched on the couch beside his standing form. You take a step back as Loki positions himself in front of you, throwing his hands in front of him in a calming gesture, Loki speaking, “This is what I’m gonna need you to do for me. I need you to calm down.” You hated yelling, you despised it. Although you understood Keller and had no animosity for him, he was living in hell and you had no room to judge. You had been there. 

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Please listen to me for a second.” Keller was pleading and he didn’t need to. You would sit with and listen for hours if you could. But you couldn’t, you had to find his daughter. You had to fix this. 

“Mr. Dover, I understand this is an incredibly hard time.” Loki did know that, better than anyone. “But I have every uniformed police officer in this state looking for Anna.”

From behind Loki, you can see Keller’s face break, “I don’t understand what any of this means. They said he ran. They said he tried to get away. I don’t understand why he would try to run away.”

“We’re considering all possibilities, Mr. Dover. I hear what you’re saying. We’re not crossing anybody off our list. Just, let us do our job.” 

Walking out of the Dover’s felt like you were trudging through molasses, you hated this case and it was only day two. You sat in the passenger seat as David put the keys in the ignition, Keller Dover running out of the house made him pause.

“Hey! Detectives!” 

Both you and David mutter “oh shit” under your breath as Loki rolls the window down to speak to Mr. Dover.

Keller approaches, eyes darting between you and Loki wildly, “Hey! He stays in custody until my daughter is found, right? Right?” 

Loki shakes his head, not wanting to upset Keller any more than he was already, “We have a 48-hour hold on him that ends tomorrow unless we bring charges.”

“Well, charge him with something. Charge him.” It wasn’t that easy, you wished it was.

Loki protests, “Mr. Dover, I understand-”

Keller interrupts, “Detective, detectives, two little girls have gotta be worth whatever little rule you have to break to keep that asshole in custody. Now, I know you can’t promise me anything, I understand that, but I’m asking you to be sure. Be 100% sure. Thank you. I appreciate it.” and with that, he walked away back into the house.

Loki sat idle as you turned to him, “We have to at least try. If we- I would have wanted to someone to at least try when-”

Loki snaps at you, stopping you, “No. No, this isn’t that case and you can’t think that. We will do our best, but I can’t have you going down that road.”

“I know it isn’t that case, David. But we can’t pretend that it isn’t similar. Ours was attempted kidnapping, she-” You’re chest stung as you tried to get out the words, lungs on fire and brain pounding. You were too close.

“Y/N, saving these little girls won’t bring ours back.” Loki's voice cracked on emotion. You knew that. God, you knew that. A freak incident, a failed abduction. The smell of antiseptic burning your nose, David’s hand clutched tightly in yours as the doctor left the room after telling you your little girl didn’t make it. A suspect was never found. You had only gone inside for a second. 

Neither you nor David spoke for the entire ride back to the station. There wasn’t anything to say, it all had been said before in the late hours of the night, everytime one of you woke up with a nightmare, whispering words to each other, too afraid to say them too loud, staring at the ceiling. You were living in a nightmare you couldn’t wake up from.

taglist: @lexie-wayland @whew-oh-em-gee @winterlavenderskysworld @buck-this-nasty​ @heeyirenee 

#detective loki #detective loki imagine #detective loki x reader #detective loki fanfic #detective loki fanfiction #prisoners #prisoners 2013 #jake gyllenhaal #hugh jackman #keller dover #poison and wine #fanfiction

[kitkatopinions]

Is it bad that i want ironwood to be alive in the show and travel with the ace ops and have a redemption? I know most of his fans are happy that he is dead so they cant ruin him anymore but still, his ending is so wrong to me like they redeemed cordo, emerald, FUCKING HAZEL, but not james? I was pulled back into rwby because of james and the atlas arc. v6 last episodes pissed me off so much i didnt even watched the finale to this day but then i saw scenes of james and winter and the ace ops in v7... and now i just want him to swim up from the ruins and be the amazing character he was before v8. His death is so fucking sad to me even with how much they ruined the character... he deserved a redemption arc the most (and better writers, sorry the ask got so long but james ironwood gives me so much feels)

You know, I am right there with you, anon. Here's the thing about James. We didn't see an on screen death and the writers kept his semblance completely unmentioned in volumes seven and eight, but made it public. Yes, Miles Luna said 'rest in pieces' (the total douche) when talking about him in a cameo, but tbh, Miles Luna is sloppy and unprofessional, he could straight up say whatever to try and make the next 'twist' in RWBY surprising.

In fact SPOILER ALERT. I don't remember who, but after Avengers Infinity War when Loki died, people in the project 'confirmed' that Loki was good and truly dead this time, and of course no one believed them and of course no one was surprised to see some version of Loki escape alive in End Game. They had a better ability to twist a not-quite lie out there, due to multiple universes and time travel or whatever (idk the details, I stopped paying attention after I watched and hated Thor Ragnarok.) But still, it stands that if you want to make a character death believable in today's day and age when 'character death' is taken back so regularly and sometimes multiple times per character, writers should A. show the death/show a body (which they didn't do for Ironwood or Watts,) and B. Not leave any character threads hanging.

With Ironwood, they didn't delve into enough emotional responses to things (like Oscar/Oz getting shot off a cliff, or Qrow ever confronting him,) which leaves his story feeling like it lacks a solution and like there's still a lot to be resolved there already. But confirming his semblance outside of the show proper, which seems to act as a form of at least partial mind control, is obviously one giant thread too. Of course, this is MKEK, so the likelihood that they were foolish enough to give Ironwood a semblance that forced his actions at least in part and then not address it, kill him off, and expect everyone to just be happy with that on top of the lack of emotional depth they bothered to give other characters in regards to his 'fall' is high. However, that doesn't make James feel dead, he still doesn't feel like a dead character to me, yet, even if I know a lot of the reasons for that feeling stem from bad writing.

But on top of his semblance being a very big thread that was left untouched, his semblance also would be a very easy out if the writers did want to bring him back or if they wanted to bring him back and redeem him. His semblance could help him survive Atlas and Mantle falling, and it could easily be explained as having pushed him into his acts of villainy. It would still feel like a big ol' retcon (especially with how hard they tried to convince everyone he's pure evil,) but for once, I would like a retcon that actually goes my way in this show. XD

On top of that, you're absolutely right that in the show where Hazel can get 'death equals redemptioned' and tell life lessons to Oscar, Ironwood could be able to be redeemed even without the semblance. In the show where Hazel can beat a child while victim blaming the already-a-victim-of-abuse guy in the kid's head for *checks notes* training young women to be able to fight the soulless monsters who will devour anyone (four to six year old child or not,) and then get redeemed within 24 hours of that... yeah, Ironwood could be able to be redeemed. Emerald can murder Penny, try to kill everyone else at Haven, try to murder Penny again in Atlas, and then join the friend group enough that everyone good naturedly ribs her, including Penny who giggles over Emerald saying 'switched sides' despite the fact that Emerald never once apologized for literally murdering her in cold blood. So yeah, I don't think it'd be off brand of the show to have the 'does bad for good reasons' guy get redeemed even if they did make him express regret that he hadn't tortured children. Clearly, the standard isn't 'if they apologize they're worthy of redemption,' and the standard isn't 'if they only always had good intentions they're worthy of redemption' or 'only kids who are villains can get redeemed,' or even 'so long as they haven't tortured or tried to kill children they're worthy of redemption.'

However, here's where things get a little tricky. Because the standard in RWBY seems to have much more to do with what was done personally against the main group that made them mad or sad, rather than actual moral standings, harm done to the world, intentions, etc. I've talked about that idea in another post, that the show (whether intentionally or otherwise) is treating going against Ruby and her team as worse than actual criminal acts. Emerald's actions are easily brushed aside without her ever admitting she was wrong or trying to apologize, but Ozpin's act of not explicitly trusting Team RWBY with dire secrets months after knowing them is so unquestioningly bad that he has to give an in-depth and very serious apology while explicitly saying he was in the wrong, which the mains then begrudgingly and seriously accept (even though they were laughing with Emerald mere seconds before.) Which isn't to say that I don't think Ozpin had anything to apologize for, just that the framing of Ozpin's dialogue and reception versus Emerald's is ridiculous. Therefore Ironwood being redeemed after wishing he could torture, shooting a child off a high place, and threatening to destroy a town... In the narrative of the show, that can be brushed aside fairly easily. But both the show and the FNDM at large have constructed a narrative where going against the mains is what's treated as hard to come back from and worthy of all the ire and disgust in the world - unless the character comes crawling back, bowing to Ruby's whims in every plan, and regretting ever doubting Ruby's amazing simple soul and the protagonist approved goals she's decided on.

If the price of Ironwood coming back and being redeemed is him kissing up to Ruby and joining the gang of people who just pat her on the back and assure her she doesn't ever need to change or listen to others... I might kindly ask MKEK to keep him dead. Ironwood belongs to his fans now as far as I'm concerned.

They can bring James back, and they even have an easy way to redeem him in their back pocket. But I don't trust them as far as I can throw them, and with the way they've been writing their show, I'd just as soon let James rest.

#rwde #anti rwby #pro james ironwood #pro ironwood #ironwood defense #good ironwood #pro general ironwood #pro IW #IW antis please leave me alone #rwby hate #anti mkek #anti fndm #rwby bashing

[cateringisalie]

My list of bearable Binal Bantasy VII tags is thinning...

But seriously. Being skeptical of Tifa’s narration of past events is not without merit. By the time the Lifestream scene rolls around she has been through three comas and some grevious injuries. The Lifestream scene is as revelatory for her as it is for Cloud.

The new assertion she was in any way actually friends with Cloud is not only in conflict with the OG’s portrayal but counter to Cloud’s development, her development, the growth of their relationship as adults and why (in general) people have them stay together post game.

Its unnecessary, frustrating and further damaging Tifa’s character who is spinning off further from who she was.

That Tifa and Cloud were not actually childhood friends does not mean they do not have a relationship in FFVII. It does not mean they cannot be together. Tifa “falling in love” with Cloud at the water-tower does not for a second make their later relationship any more meaningful.

All this new ship information does is make the relationship have longer longevity than previously assumed. As if whichever relationship has lasted longer is betterer and stronger. As if this should automatically undercut any other relationship Cloud or Tifa can possibly experience.

(in fact - and darkly cynically - this feels a lot more like enforcing that Cloud/Tifa and Zack/Aerith operate in near exactly the same way. The pairs fall in love in record time (two years prior to the Nibelheim incident both times as far as I’m ware), the boys go missing and the girls never move on with their lives. I get the boys have gone missing without a shred of explanation or closure, but now for both of them people are willing to wipe out a quarter of their lives waiting. Teenagers are resilient you know? They will be inconsolable if this happened but they would bounce back a lot faster and cleaner than they would expect. The approval of the never moving on this is purely to keep the shipping uncomplicated. There can only be one pairing for Tifa, there can only be one pairing for Aerith. And if you think otherwise you’re wrong in canon. And who wants to write or read about a non-canon ship? Unless its yaoi/yuri in any case. I am so tired)

Childhood friends incidentally is not, however much some insist, a common trope of the series - unless you stretch it a fair amount and it encompasses a trivial number of the pairings. And none of the big ones (you know; Squall/Rinoa or Tidus/Yuna).

Could Tifa do with more backstory? Of course. Did Tifa’s mother deserve a name? Absolutely! But not like this. Not when Cloud helping round up cats in Remake is now tied to finding Tifa’s cat in a new authored backstory. This speaks again to the constant magpie-ing of existing imagery and moments from older parts of FFVII to feed the present. The retconning in of importance by changing the meaning of otherwise unimportant moments.

Tifa is not and never was under any obligation to like Cloud as a child. She did not bully him, but neither should she expected to involve him in anything she did. I understand the book has muddied this gloriously, but for what effect?

I mean, I know where the desperation to make Cloud and Tifa childhood friends stems from. I know why you want Cloud to have fallen in love with Tifa at like age 5 or something and for Tifa to fall in love with him at 13. And I rail against it all the time that its not necessary. Being first does not mean better.

Maybe I am old, cynical and exhausted, but I kind of like watching Cloud and Tifa grow closer in FFVII. I like watching Cloud and Aeris grow closer in FFVII. I like to experience these things where I can... experience them? I don’t like reading books which assert things in blunt statements that clarify exactly what the writer intended. I certainly don’t have the patience to wait for a later book to clarify what happened on-screen when I have drawn my own conclusions based on my preferences. Especially as this is all contributing to that continued sense that the OG is a smelly, badly designed embarrassment we would rather tiday away for the crime of being graphically inferior (never mind it was championed on its looks on release) and “goofy” (and apparently unable to run the gamut of emotions I remember from serious to comedy, to silly, to tragic, to pessimistic and quietly optimistic and moving).

I’m coming back to this point to stress it - I want to see the relationship growth. Remake gave me that for Aerith and Cloud even if the details aren’t to my taste. First meeting is awkward because hey, random stranger/Cloud is tired. Cloud gets involved and spends more time with Aerith. And the high-five thing is used as a clumsy/awkward/eh but clear metaphor for how their relationship develops over the course of their time together.

To the point that yes, it makes sense for Cloud to want to rescue her. Less sense for Elmyra and Tifa to be “Well they might not vivisect her” and then delay for two full chapters, but the whole thing flows.

And here’s where I get accused of being a fake fan: I don’t like how Cloud and Tifa’s relationship develops in Remake. Flirting. Tifa being mildly fazed by Cloud claiming its been five years. Scared when he almost kills Johnny. Maybe hurt depending on your resolution scene (hey podcast people! No Gold Saucer multiple dates because too expensive? How are there branched resolution scenes in Remake then?). But there isn’t growth. They seem to fit into each other’s lives without worry, bit of flirting, strange super-intense moments jammed into inappropriate sequences (the train roll, climbing the plate, Cloud remembering the promise unprompted, Tifa not actually engaged with Avalanche’s plans). There’s no sense anything has changed between them, the missed five years has done anything to them.

And I’m sure some would take this as proof of correctness. But... somehow Remake is better for realism despite a lot of new clumsy, but this relationship is not dinged for being implausible? No way does that five year gap not seriously impact any prior relationship to say nothing of developing from scratch.

See this was a neat thing about the OG; while Tifa seemed to have an edge over Aerith by knowing Cloud longer, he was in effect meeting them at the same point in his life and more or less starting from scratch with both. Both ships are valid, and even if Cloud is with Tifa come the end, it doesn’t mean he can’t have romantic feelings about both women.

Oh, but Nojima has changed his mind/always intended it this way. And? I can change my mind about liking what he’s written - and my patience and tolerance of Nojima has waned massively since 1997. To the point where his involvement invokes a pained groan from me.

Plus the hilarious attitude that this is from the same people who insisted “the OG will always be there, stop moaning about Remake”. Well guess what? I don’t like Remake and I don’t really want it around. The OG is better.

Yes, Tifa is under-served and sure, it could be clearer about shipping (but the apparent hostility to ambiguity and personal interpretation is deeply distressing. These things can mean something to you and don’t have to mean the same thing to everyone. Interpreting the romancs - again - not a competition).

BUT

I will take the OG version of Tifa where she believed in the cause, where she had friends (again, yes, the relationship between Tifa and the rest of Avalanche is not well depicted, but it was better than actively curtailing it), where she ran a bar THAT ACTUALLY OPENED AND SERVED CUSTOMERS, where she hated Shinra, where she didn’t know how to treat Cloud because she had only really talked to him once in her life and DESPITE THAT that they great closer and spent their last night before THE END OF THE WORLD together over the Remake.

Where Tifa is wary of Cloud for about 5 seconds, twice and then defaults to constant flirting. Where Cloud is near smothering Tifa every second they’re together and she doesn’t tell him to fuck off once. Where she’s allied with Avalanche but hates their methods (and the pacifists are in a shop around the corner and she is not with them because...?). Where she has some absurd contrived plot about medical bills and buying Seventh Heaven for Barret and Marlene.

Which would lead to a whole other rant titled “Marle is the Worst” but this has dragged on quite long enough.

But seriously; if you argue that we can’t hate Remake because OG is always there, then you have to stop applying Remake back to OG and using it as proof. Which is exactly why many people bemoaned the Remake at all. OG is one thing, Remake is another. I don’t care for the latter.

And I know if anyone does read all this it will be about the meanie Cleriths who diminish Tifa for no good reason. And yes, they are indeed acting in bad faith. But what makes you think for a second evidence will convince these people?

In particular, the argument has raged so long and always will because if people do not like a ship they will not accept it as canon (if they care about this as a factor) NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS. Literally. Look at Loki if you want the most recent example of this.

Canon is to many “what I want” and often does not tally with the general interpretation. And you know, if being “canon” or guessing right early wasn’t triumphed as such a vital thing, we might not get these really terrible and pointless arguments.

Canon is a prize but here’s the big secret: fandom - in general - does not care. FFVII is an excellent case example given Sefikura overwhelms the other ships (and I think AZGSC is close?). And that’s not canon. That’s not even in the ballpark of the Cloud/Tifa vs Cloud/Aerith arena (even give that the former is roughly twice the size of the latter, you already won, so please stop?). Canon is only important if you think its important - and you get some more official art of sequences you can gif. And maybe you get kissing/implied sex/marriage/kids, but most of all you get a smug sense of superiority. And the last is why I have no patience with this.

[wrenhyperfixates]

Of All the Places

Chapter 10

Pairing: Loki x reader Series Summary: Washing up in a small town in Oklahoma was definitely not part of Loki’s plan when he came to conquer Midgard. There is one good thing about it, though: No one recognizes him as the one who just wreaked havoc in New York. So, Loki plans to recover from the battle and move on with his life. The only problem? He’s not sure he can leave you. Chapter Summary: The time has come for Loki to tell you how he feels, and he insist on doing it right. Now he just has to hope that you feel the same way he does. Chapter Warnings: zip, zilch, zero A/N: This was a really fun chapter to write, and I’m so excited to share it. Want to tell me what you thought of it or what you think will happen next? I’d love to hear it! Updates every Friday. Happy reading, all :) 

Tag List: @lucywrites02 @frostedgiant @lunarmoon8​ @twhiddlestonsstuff​ @marvelousdaydreams​ @parkastoria​ @lokistan​ @thelokiimaginechroniclesficrecs​

✥ Start at Beginning ✥ | ← Previous Chapter | Next Chapter →

Disclaimer: Gif not mine

His promise to John was one Loki intended to keep. He’d gotten hardly any sleep these past few nights, trying to think of the perfect way to tell you how he truly feels. And, he had to confess, he already missed your warm mortal body snuggling up against him while slept, and waking up to your arms wrapped around him, safe and content. Well, that was all terribly off topic, and Loki refocused on the task at hand, which, in addition to figuring out his dilemma, was not burning breakfast.

The atmosphere in the kitchen was very awkward right now. Papa had stepped out for a minute, so it was just Loki and Mama. They hadn’t spoken since the confrontation in the barn, and he wasn’t sure if it was because she still hated him or felt bad about what she said. He sighed, knowing if he were to ever be with you, it would certainly hurt your relationship with your mother more. It pained his heart to think that you’d never get to meet his mother. That he’d never get to see her again, either. The thought gave him all the confidence he needed to do what he knew he must.

“I am sorry,” he said.

“What?” she said, utterly surprised. Then more hostilely, she added, “What did you do.”

“I have, perhaps, not been as polite to you as I should have, and for that I am sorry. But I need you to know that I mean it when I say I would never do anything to hurt this family. I could not live with myself if I did.”

“You know what James always said?” Mama asked after a moment of silence, her voice breaking and tears welling in her eyes. “He said everyone deserved a second chance. That we’re all just trying to do the best we can, and we shouldn’t judge anyone too harshly. I’m thankful every day that he wasn’t as cynical as I am. So I’m sorry too, for not giving you a chance.”

Loki fetched her a tissue to dry her her eyes. He never had been very good at dealing with emotions and was unsure of what the correct procedure here was. In the end, he just bowed his head and gave her a moment to compose herself.

“I know what you’ve been planning, and though you didn’t quite ask for it,” she began once her tears were dry, “you have my blessing. I really do want my babies to be happy, it’s just so hard to let go.”

“I understand,” he said. “And thank you. My sole mission in life shall be to make them happy.”

Mama gave a sad little smile, almost like she did not believe him. Or perhaps she was just upset for herself at having to move on. Either way, he was grateful they’d come to an understanding. Hopefully a lasting one this time.

“Loki, one more thing,” she said.

“Yes?”

“Your waffles are burning.”

He quickly saved the batch before they were ruined completely. Thankfully, Papa came back to help him soon. Though they were a great deal harder than pancakes, they still came out pretty well, making Loki’s chest swell with pride that he was assimilating so well. He smiled to himself, thinking how this could be the rest of his life with you. Maybe the two of you could even get your own plot of land one day, right near this one. This whole mentality of thinking optimistically was much easier than constantly preparing for the worst, Loki decided.

“Morning, Loki. Did you make those?” you asked, spying the plate of waffles. “They smell great.”

“Thank you,” he blushed. “Would you like to taste one?”

You nodded, and he impaled a small piece on a fork. He held it to your lips, and you ate it, the interaction making his heart stutter.

“It’s delicious! You’re quite the chef, if you ask me,” you complimented him, grabbing the whipped cream and syrup to put on the table.

“Again, thank you, my darling. I’m sure it’s nothing special, though.”

“Sounds to me like you should try it, too,” you said, mimicking his actions from before and feeding him. Needless to say, his cheeks went bright red. “See? Delicious.”

“Morning guys,” John said, walking in. “Congratulations, Loki. I’m glad you finally did it.”

Loki started motioning for him to shut up, immediately understanding that John thought your behavior was due to him telling you how he felt. Alas, that was just how the two of you behaved with each other. Though, perhaps it was good, and he should see it as a sign that you reciprocated his feelings.

“Finally did what?” you asked, completely perplexed.

“Oh, uh, just making waffles. Big step up the breakfast ladder,” John said, giving Loki a subtle thumbs up.

“Indeed! That’s it,” Loki heaped onto the cover up. “In fact, we should eat them before they get cold.”

He shepherded both of you to the table where the rest of the family joined you. He could tell you were all being genuine when you said how much you enjoyed the food. Lies were his specialty, after all, and he couldn’t spot a single one. Except his entire reason for being there, obviously. There was always that untruth hanging in the air, ruining what would otherwise be bringing him bliss.

“Sorry about this morning,” John said as they headed out into the fields later that day. “Hope I didn’t spoil anything.”

“No need to worry. It was a close one, but we covered it up just fine,” Loki replied. “In truth, I have not even found the right words to tell them. And believe me, I’ve been wracking my brain.”

“Well, maybe that’s the issue.”

“What is?”

“That you’re thinking so hard. Just speak from the heart.”

“Perhaps, but the scene must be set just right. I insist upon having that planned out, at least.”

“Fair enough. Don’t worry, we’ll think of something.”

They set about the usual chores, and Loki thought about the situation the whole time. It wasn’t until they were heading back in for the evening that inspiration struck. You were waiting for them on the porch, waving as they came in. Besides the fact that it was rather picturesque, it made him realize you'd had some important moments there. Like that day when you went to the creek, the first time he’d really felt close to you, it had started with you talking on the porch. When you’d almost kissed the day of the party, that was on the porch, too. Perhaps it was just the place to start the next phase of your relationship.

“John,” he whispered as you walked inside. “I believe I have the perfect idea.”

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

“What do you think, little one? Is it perfect?”

“Hmm,” Matt said in reply, then adjusted a napkin ever so slightly. “There. Now it is!”

“Thank you. Everything must be just right for tonight.”

“And it will be,” Ana said, laying a comforting hand on Loki’s shoulder.

“She’s right,” John added, coming out of the house and placing a kiss on his wife’s cheek. “You planned it out all week.”

“I know, but these nerves will not settle.”

“Well, maybe it’s time to just go for it.”

“He’s right,” Ana encouraged. “Once you do it, there’ll be nothing left to worry about.”

“I suppose you are right. No time like the present.”

He shook himself out, feeling more nervous than he had in his whole life. Even with the encouragement of his friends, he wasn’t sure he could do this. Though, the fact that he even had friends did give him a boost of confidence. On the flip side of that, he was saddened by the fact he could not share this with his family. Because even after all this time, he still thought of them as that. Well, Thor and Frigga anyway; Odin, not so much.

“You can do this, Loki!” Matt cheered, hugging Loki’s legs.

He fondly smiled down at the boy and pat his head. “Thank you, little one.”

“And don’t forget, no one can resist a god,” John said with a wink after Ana and Matt were gone, then headed in himself.

Loki waited a minute before going in, too. As he traveled the halls to your room to invite you down, he recalled all the time he’d spent in the house. Before he came here and met all of you, he was convinced he was doomed. But now, he thought happiness was possible again. He’d been so broken, but you’d healed him with your gentle touches and kind words.

This world around him, he owed all to you. You’d showed him a way to live he’d never even considered before, extended the offer of a place in your home to him. He deeply wished he could do the same for you, raise you to the level of the gods in Asgard. He wanted to show you the gleaming, golden city, give you a tour of the place where he grew up. It was pointless, though, for he knew it could never be.

“Darling,” he said, knocking on your door. You opened it up, and he tried to calm his wild heart. “Do you suppose you could meet me on the porch in, say, ten minutes?”

“Oh! Yeah, sure. What for?”

“You will see,” he smiled before going back down to check over everything one final time.

After giving everything a once over, Loki conjured a bouquet of your favorite flowers on a whim. It felt almost strange to use his powers after keeping them hidden so long. It came back to him rather easily, even so. He hoped that one day he would be able to show you all the tricks he could do. To amaze you with magic out of your wildest dreams. If tonight went well, he was certain he would.

“Loki. I’m here. I-” you paused, taking in the set up on the porch. “What is all this?”

He gulped, hoping he didn’t go overboard with the twinkle lights and lanterns. Your family had said that it wasn’t too much, but maybe they were wrong. For once, your face was unreadable. Although, maybe that was just because he was going through a million emotions of his own.

“It’s for you. I was hoping we could dine together this evening,” he told you, presenting the flowers, which you gratefully accepted.

“Of course we can. But, if you don’t mind my asking, why just the two of us?”

“To be perfectly clear, my darling, I like you. I like you as more than just a friend, and I want to be more than that. So, I suppose this is me asking you on a date.”

“Then, this is me accepting.”

You both stood there grinning like idiots for a minute before he cleared his mind. He pulled out a chair for you and then sat in his own. Papa had been enlisted to help Loki cook one of your favorite meals. You raved about how good it was, and Loki had never felt lighter. It was like he was floating on air. The dessert, too, you thoroughly enjoyed. Everything was going swimmingly, but Loki was still not satisfied with his confession when there was so much else he wanted to say to you.

“My darling,” he began, circling around to your side of the table. You got up, too, and invited him to sit on the porch swing. “I must admit, I do not think it sufficient that I have not completely expressed how I feel. You see, when I first came here, I was so lost. But then there was you, so kind, so accepting. You became my direction, the only place I want to be, regardless of where I was before all this. You’ve said before that you do not think your life would be complete with me in it. Well I have yet to tell you that I feel exactly the same way, but I do. More than I can even express.”

You whispered his name, and he yours in reply. It was both a question and an invitation, full of desire and longing as his hand cupped your cheek. He leaned in towards you. A part of him did not want to do this until after he’d shared the whole truth, something he’d originally planned on doing tonight. But right now, the overwhelming majority of thoughts in his head were urging him to follow through with this. The second before your lips were going to meet, the front door slammed open.

“I thought you two might like to come inside,” Mama said. “It’s going to rain, and it’s getting awful late.”

Whether the part about the rain was true or not, Loki did not know, but either way he did not appreciate the interruption. After all, sitting on the porch you did have protection from the elements. He thought she was okay with him dating you, but apparently not. It didn’t particularly matter though, since he wasn’t going to call her out on it.

“Thank you,” he said instead. “I guess we should be heading in then.”

You nodded and began the trek up to your rooms. How he wished you could have finished that moment on the porch, but it was too late now. You bid each other goodnight, and he cast a longing glance over his shoulder at you. Before his hand could touch the knob of his door, you spun him back around and placed a kiss to his lips. It was hasty and sloppy, but it was still perfect.

“Goodnight, Loki,” you whispered breathlessly and leaving him in a daze.

He flopped onto his bed and stared at the ceiling, quietly laughing to himself once he fully processed what had happened. Tonight had gone better than he ever could have imagined. Except for one thing. He realized he never told you the truth about who he was. His heart sank, thinking how he might ruin what he’d just gained if he did come clean now. But he knew he must. And soon. Because if there was one thing he’d truly meant, it was that he never wanted to hurt you. He could only hope that telling you wouldn’t do just that.

#loki x reader #loki x you #loki x y/n #loki laufeyson #loki odinson #loki #mcu loki #loki fluff #fluff #loki angst #angst #reader insert #gender netural reader #endgame timeline #loki multichapter #marvel #mcu #marvel reader insert #marvel fanfiction #loki fanfic #mcu reader insert #loki friggason #loki friggason x reader #loki laufeyson x reader #loki odinson x reader #marvel multichapter #mutual pining

[lovlydovlyjaycie]

Ævi - Frontlines

Hey again! This will be a continued series. The first Ævi series is in my masterlist and is only four parts. This is going to be a ongoing series, so there is going to be a lot more of Ævi to come. :)

Summary: Y/n or also known as Ævi has lived through varies of world events. Now it is 1941, she has excepted that some things cannot be changed so Loki has convinced Y/n to go to New York and live a normal life, a life Y/n always wanted. Or as normal it can be, because new introductions lead to events that didn’t go down in the history books.

Warnings: Fluff

Characters: Y/n, Loki, Bucky Barnes, Steve Rogers

Part 3

After the date Bucky had brought me back to my hotel. It was such an amazing night and I had so much fun. More fun than I’ve had in a very long time. I felt at ease with Bucky, I felt like I didn’t have to worry about anything when I was with him. It was ridiculous, I had only seen him three times now but yet I still felt like that. I laid down on my bed and turned to my side. On the nightstand I had a picture of me and my friend Vera. She used to live in Kattegat, but left when she turned 25. The day she left we had a picture taken together in Borgheim in Norway. The picture was made seventeen years ago already. She’s in her forties now, married and has one child, Else. Over the years Vera had sent me pictures and I could see Else looked exactly like her mom. I missed Vera, she was such a good friend, still is a good friend. Even Loki likes her, which never happens cause he dislikes everyone. Anyway, hopefully I get to see Vera soon again. I’ll write her. 

-

“I found a place in Brooklyn! We can finally leave this awful hotel now. We’ll just get some gold from Asgard and we’ll take it.” Loki said, exhausted from living in a hotel. “You know, you can’t just show up with random gold. They’re not gonna take it. We need money.” I explained to a already irritated Loki. “Well how are we going to get money?” He asked crossing his arms. “Traditionally, you work for it, but seeing I have been alive for over a thousand years and lived almost that entire time here.. I already got the money. But I wanna see the house first before buying anything. So can we drop by there?”

And Loki happily took me to the house he had seen. It was big. To be honest it was too big. I wanna be under the radar, but with a house like that, that would be impossible. The house looked fairly new, it had three floors, six bedrooms, 5,5 bathrooms, two kitchens, soooo many sitting spaces, an office, an enormous garage, a gigantic backyard. “No way Loki. There is no way I’m getting a house like that.” I was walking away from Loki already. “What? Why not? You have the money. It’s better to live luxurious than anything else, right? Love?” He said in a mocking tone. We had to pretend we were husband and wife otherwise it would raise a lot of questions why a woman and a man where looking at houses. “Well, yes I do have the money, but I also wanna keep the money.. Darlin’.” I mocked back. 

Still I was not growing any older and only until I know when I grow older I’ll be saving my money. “I was more thinking of an apartment.. In the city and not over an hour away from it.” I told him. “You can see the city from that house.” He told me. “That’s not what I mean or want.” Loki made me stop and stand in front of me. “Y/n, you’re basically a God, you deserve everything. You deserve a house that is made from gold, you deserve to bathe in it. You will never get that by staying on Midgard. You are attached to something that you had a long time ago. And you will not get that life back for at least eighty years. You know whatever is going to happen over the next eighty years you will not be able to change. So why stay at all? These people don’t deserve you.” Loki always had the same speech. These people do not deserve me. But... “I am these people. I am one of them Loki. I understand it is different for you, you are Asgardian, they are your people. Not mine. So if these people don’t deserve me and I’m not Asgardian.. Where do I belong then?” 

He was silent at that. Thinking of his next words carefully. “There are more worlds out there. You know this, you’ve been to different worlds before. We’ll go together.. Find a better one.” I gave him a sad smile. “What about Kattegat?” It is my home, I swore to protect it and it’s people for as long as I shall live.” “Kattegat is holding you back y/n. It is making you live in a time that no longer exists. What if you broke the barrier spell and let it be part of this world again? Would it honestly be so bad?” I shook my head no. “Loki I promised Bjorn. I can’t ju-...” Loki grabbed both my arms. “He has been dead for over a thousand years y/n. I know how you feel about your promises, but sometimes they need to be broken or it will break you.” He interrupted. “Whatever. I’m not buying that ugly house and I’m not gonna leave Kattegat for dead, because yes, I do take my promises seriously.” I shook him off and I walked off. I wasn’t sure where I was going, but I was for sure going away from Loki.

-

I think I had been walking for over an hour. I was in the busier part of Brooklyn, but it was still relatively quiet. It was a little after noon on a Sunday, so a lot of people were probably going out for lunch now or just got done having lunch. Some cars where passing by, people where chatting. When I passed an alley I heard some rumbling. Usually I would ignore it and keep walking, but this time I decided differently. Not like I couldn’t take whatever or whoever was out there. As I came closer, I saw a tall man fighting a much smaller man. He was skinny and had blonde hair. Oh my God. Steve. “HEY!” I yelled. The tall guy was holding Steve in a choke hold. Steve looked at me with shocked eyes. His right eye looked like it was gonna bruise. It had a small cut right under his eye that looked like it was going to swell. “None of your concern lady. Keep walking.” He ordered. “Let him go!” I said as I came closer. “It’s ok y/n. I started it.” Steve said pulling on the arm that was around his neck. “And I’m gonna finish it pal.” The bigger guy said as he pushed Steve back. He made a start to try and kick Steve, but I quickly kicked him and he fell to the ground. “Wow!” Steve said. “Next time pick someone your own size.” I told him as I pulled Steve with me out of the alley.

“I have never seen an dame with such strength.” Steve said with wonder. “You’ll be amazed by how powerful women are.” I told him. We ran a block and rounded a corner in hope of losing the idiot. “Is there somewhere we can go? To maybe take care of your eye. It doesn’t look too good.” His eye was bleeding and it was starting to swell badly. “I’ll be ok. real-.” “Nonsense. Where do you live? Lets go there and have a better look.” Steve looked down. “I don’t think that is an good idea. What will people say?” I laughed at that. “Right now, Steve, I’m worried about your eye. Come on, you lead the way.” I said as I gave him a little push to start walking. 

After about five minutes we got to his apartment. It all looked rundown and it wasn’t the best neighborhood. Steve opened the door of his apartment and let me in. “Well, it isn’t much, but it’s our home.” As I walked in there was a couch to the left of me pointed to a radio. Behind the couch there was a door, I don’t know where that led, maybe a bedroom. Then at the back on the right there was a kitchen and on the left of the kitchen there were two doors, maybe more bedrooms. And lastly in the light corner by the entrance there was a book closet. It actually had quiet a few books in it. It was small. “Uhm, your eye. Do you have clean cloth? And something to sterilize the cut under your eye with?” I asked. Steve nodded and got the supplies I asked for. “Ok if you can sit down here I’ll have a look.” I said as I pointed towards the couch. We both sat down and I took a look at him. His eye was almost swollen shut and it would stay like that for a while. I had an idea to help him. Over the years I have been alive I learned a few tricks. And specifically this one trick I think is coming from the Life stone I protect. It restores or heals wounds. And with small ones like these it wouldn’t be as noticeable. I will heal it just enough that it will be slightly bruised, but it won’t be annoying. “Alright I’m going to clean your cut under your eye. You might wanna close your eyes.” I told him and he did what I asked. I put some alcohol on a cloth and lightly pressed on the cut. Steve hissed from the sting. Now was the chance. My right hand started to slightly glow with white and gold energy. I slowly brushed over Steve’s cut and it healed. The swelling went away as well. Now it only was red. At least for now it was red. He will still definitely get a black eye. The glowing energy went away from my hands. “You can open your eyes. It doesn’t look too bad anymore. You should cool it down with something and you should be fine.” Steve nodded. “Thank you.” He said as he walked over the the fridge and put some peas on his eye. I stood up and walked over to the books. 

There were quite a few books in there. “Which book is your favorite?” I asked Steve as I was reading the titles of some of the books. “Oh, most of the ones in there are Bucky’s. Mine are in my room over there.” I turned around and saw Steve point to the door behind the couch. Alright that’s Steve’s room. So one of the other two doors leads to Bucky’s room. I was curious what he kept in there. I read some more titles. ‘The Hobbit.’ Hmm, Bucky likes fantasy books. Good to know. Then there was some rattling at the door and it swung open. “Word on the street is you got into another fight, Steve! Why this time?” Bucky said upset. “Steve?” Bucky asked again. This was my time to clear my throat. Bucky turned his head towards me with big eyes. “Uh.. What- What are you doing here?” He stammered. “I got him out of that fight and took him home.” I told him as I folded my arms over my chest. “You should’ve seen her Buck!” Steve said still impressed with the situation. I’ll note that if something like that ever happens again I might not want to use all my force. “Steve, your not helping your case.” Bucky turned towards Steve. “Well why did you do it?” Bucky asked again. “This guy was treating a dame unfairly and I had ta say somethin’ about it.” Bucky dropped his head and sighed. “Then go to the police. Steve your a small kid. This time you were lucky, but next time.. Who knows.” Bucky said. “I’ll stop when there are no bullies in the street.” 

Bucky sighed again shaking his head and looked at me. “Thank you for helping him.” He said sincerely. “Really, it was no problem. Lucky I was there.” I said smiling. I was happy Steve was ok now after some help and from the looks of it Steve didn’t know what I did exactly, which is good. “Didn’t think Steve would be the one to show you our apartment.” Bucky laughed. “Oh, so you have thought about bringing me here then?” I asked in a joking tone. I could basically hear him gulp. I laughed at that. “How else was I supposed to find out what kinda books you have here?” I said as I showed him the Hobbit. “Didn’t think you were a Hobbit kinda guy.” I said smiling. “Oh these are Steve’s books.” Bucky tried to explain. I narrowed my eyes at that. “Is that so?” I asked and I heard Steve laugh. “Sorry Buck. I already told her those are yours.” Both Steve and I were laughing. And Bucky narrowed his eyes at Steve and he immediately stopped laughing. “Welp, this is my que to leave.” He said as he quickly made way out of their apartment. 

“I like the Hobbit. It’s been a while since I’ve read it though.” Almost a thousand years to be exact, but couldn’t exactly tell him that. “You have?” I nodded my head at Bucky and put the book back. “Uh, would you like something to drink? Or do you have to be somewhere?” Bucky asked hopeful of the latter. “I can have something to drink. Water please.” I asked. Bucky motioned for me to sit down on the couch and got me some water. He got something for himself too and sat down next to me. “I like your apartment.” I told him. I tried to nonchalantly scooch closer to Bucky as I got my water. Being close to him felt nice, warm and safe. “You do? It’s not much.” He tried to brush off. “I like it.” I said again, followed with an awkward silence.

It was tense for both of us. I couldn’t stop staring at his chest. His breathing was heavy. He cleared his throat and went for some water himself that was on the coffee table in front of us. He took a big gulp and some water drippled down on the side of his mouth. I reached for his face without a thought and went to wipe the drop away. I lingered my right hand on his face for a moment before I put my hand back in my lap. “Sorry.” I said quietly. “Don’t-, don’t be sorry.” He said the last part quietly as well. I looked him in his eyes. In that moment we both moved closer. It was almost like something was pulling us together. He put his right hand on my hands and his left over the back of the couch. I looked at his hands, they were a little dirty. “Did you work at the fabric today?” I asked him. That made him move away from me. “Sorry. I should’ve showered.” He said noting that his clothes and hands were dirty. “You didn’t know I was here Buck. I don’t mind.” I pulled on his left hand holding it. “With a pretty dame like yourself? You’re probably used to everybody being dressed to impress.” I rolled my eyes playfully. “You don’t have to do anything to impress me, Bucky. I- I like you.” I stammered the last part. I couldn’t look him in his eyes for that. I was too embarrassed. What if he didn’t feel the same. “Hey.” He said softly. Putting his right hand on my chin. “I like you too. A lot actually. A LOT!” He said to make sure I actually heard it. I laughed at that. Slowly I inched closer to him looking in his steel blue eyes and he did the same. We were touching noses his breath was fanning over my skin. Bucky slowly rested his head on mine. Both waiting on what the next move would be. I waited for a moment before I moved closer and locked lips with him. It felt like fireworks went off, like sparks were flying, like, like love. I moved my head to the left to deepen the kiss. Bucky moved his right hand behind my neck to pull me closer. I shifted more towards him, my leg almost in his lap. He switched his hands and put his left hand on my neck and his right on my leg. I felt lightheaded. I wanted him. My heart was racing from excitement. From the movement my skirt was slowly riding up, exposing my leg more and more. I felt Bucky’s hand slowly move up on my bare leg. I put my hands on his chest to pull him closer to give him the ok to do so. I put my leg all the way over his lap riding up my skirt even more. Bucky came closer to my upper thigh. I felt myself get aroused by this moment.

Then the door swung open and Steve walked in. I couldn’t move away faster from Bucky and he from me. I quickly fixed my skirt to cover myself again. My heart was still racing from the moment. Steve looked at us, but I don’t think he noticed what just went on. “Oh, hey, I didn’t think you’d still be here.” Steve said with an awkward smile.

-

One month later

I had basically been seeing Bucky everyday since our first date. Some make out sessions here and there. We both couldn’t get enough from each other. We were becoming inseparable. Which Loki didn’t really appreciate. Loki had tried to distract me with other things, he even mentioned going back to Europe to fight. Which was very out of character for him. But nothing worked. I wanted to be with Bucky. And today I had something to give him.

“Hey Buck! I got you something.” I said as I walked in Steve and Bucky’s apartment. I gave him a quick kiss and continued walking towards Steve’s door knocking on it. “What is it?” Bucky asked a bit confused, cause I never went over to Steve’s room. “It’s a surprise for both of you.” I told him. Steve came out of his room and greeted me and asked what was going on. “Well, you have both talked about this certain game.. Where there were no tickets left for.” I put my hand in my purse and pulled three tickets out. It was for the Phillies and Dodgers. “NO WAY!” Bucky said running over to me. I gave him the ticket and he gave them one quick look. “No way!” He said again before lifting me up and spinning me around. “It’s ticket to the Phillies and Dodgers!” Bucky exclaimed. Steve looked on with big eyes. “Really?” He asked. “Yup and we gotta go now, cause the game starts in a couple of hours.” I told them.” Bucky was already getting his shoes. “How did you get them doll?” He asked. “I have my connections.” I told him. I had some connection with the guy that owned the stadium.

- 

“This was amazing y/n! Thank you!” Steve told me as we walked away from the stadium. It was a good game and both Bucky and Steve were really enjoying the whole game. It was fun to see the be so passionate about something. “Thank you sweetheart.” Bucky said as he kissed the top of my head. “I’m happy you guys enjoyed it!” I told them as Bucky put his arm around me and we headed on back towards their apartment.

We had a few drinks until Steve excused himself to go to his room. “This was such a amazing day. I cannot thank you enough, doll.” He told me again. “I’m glad you liked it. I’ve been trying to get the tickets for a while.” I leaned closer and rested my head on his shoulder. He put his arm around me to pull me closer. After a moment of silence Bucky spoke. “Shoot. It’s late. Do you want me to take you back to your hotel?” He asked my hurriedly. “What if I stayed?”

...

..

.

Let me know what you think :)

If you wanna be tagged let me know!

@darkdragonphoenix​

#bucky x y/n #bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x you #james buchanan barnes #james bucky barnes #tfatws #winter solider x reader #winter solider x you #winter solider imagine #winter solider x y/n #bucky barns fanfiction #bucky barnes imagine #steve rogers #captain america #first avenger #avengers #the avengers #mcu #mcu imagine #bucky barnes fluff #winter soldier #loki #loki imagine #loki marvel #steve rogers imagine

[phantomchick]

List of wips - aka struggles

Call Me A Jason Todd fic I started two years ago and still go back to poke at longingly, will the second and final chapter ever be posted? Who can know for sure.

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I tell myself that I don't need Anyone (But the truth is no one needs Me) Another Jason Todd fic I haven't completed, posted two years ago for whumptober, it was the only day of whumptober I participated in, intended to be full of Captain Atom and Jason Todd interacting during the fall out of Bludhaven getting chemo'd but he doesn't show up in the first chapter and have you ever tried to read Infinite Crisis? It's a fucking mess. With this wip I have a close to justifiable excuse in that I refuse to write without knowing the canon, and reading through all the canon that's relevant is A Task.

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The Monster in The Man A Merlin fic floating around my drafts, currently at a good bit over 5k wherein Merlin gets POSSESSED by an old enchantment gone mad. Written because a Merlin fic I read ended on a horror style cliffhanger and I couldn't handle it so I charged my way through the first 2k of a sequel and I've been adding to it ever since. Angst with a hopefully happy ending, if I ever frikking finish it.

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The Dragon Lord In the aftermath of his father's death after Merlin inherits his father's dragon lord abilities he notices some minor changes to his interactions with his friends, the thing is that Merlin is a dragon lord and unusually what he hoards is people, things might just turn out the better for it.

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Maelstrom A Naruto time travel fix it fic that wouldn't leave me alone until I got the first chapter out, ironically it has left me entirely alone since I finished the first chapter and I have no idea if inspiration for it will ever return or when that will be.

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You Don't Know Anything Long long ago in a land of asks and a time of legend @paradise-runway sent me a fic request for "one where the other Bat boys find out the circumstances of Jason's death and resurrection and their reaction?" it has been lingering in my drafts haunting me ever since, someday, someday I shall fulfill what has been promised.

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Of Curses and Covenants A longfic exploring the magical underbelly of Gotham's history, focuses on the intertwined relationship of the Wayne Family and the Zatara Family brought about by how often Waynes through the generations have ended up being cursed. I have an index of all the curses ready, the problem with this one is the plot and the story.

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Vicki Finds a Bat (temporary title) Vicki Vale stumbles upon a still alive young adult Jason Todd at a wafflehouse on the way back from snooping into Cobblepot's latest criminal schemes. Convincing the young man to go back home to his loving father might prove more of a challenge than she thinks however. (will have a happy ending if I ever fucking finish it, for now it looms in my drafts like an unhappy gargoyle)

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Hug Deficit A fic about Jason being touch starved and his family fixing it, hurt/comfort all the way, post resurrection.

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Stephanie Brown and The Mansion of Man Pain Robin Era Steph, she and Alfred have pumpkin spice lattes together, it's their thing because I say it is. Includes, Alfred raised 5 boys counting Bruce, he's not sure how to handle a little girl and Bruce trying to dad plus Steph trying her best. Would be a lot easier to write if I was any good at comedy.

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Another Time, Another Place Some twenty years or so after their death, Martha and Thomas Wayne appear in the middle of Wayne Manor's ground floor parlour room, the major problem with this? Not only are Bruce and Dick away, Alfred's on holiday in England! Which is why Jason as the eldest has been unwillingly nominated by his younger siblings to deal with the situation at hand. Martha and Thomas in this are heavily inspired by @unpretty's amazing portrayals in her fics with them.

- Queen Blackfire and the Lazarus Lord An au with Soulmate identifying marks: Jason Todd was having an okay time as de-facto leader of The Outlaws, a band of misfits and rebels with hearts of gold (or at least silver) saving the world the best they could and filling in the gaps the more straightforward heroes tended to miss while they were at it. Then he found out he was soulmates with the Alien Warrior Queen bent on declaring war on planet Earth if the Justice League didn't find her soulmate for her. Things with his friend, team mate and potential future sister in law Kori just got super awkward and the only good thing he can find about this situation is how angry (and protective? But maybe he's just imagining that) Bruce seems over the whole thing.

Side note: Kommand'r freaked out during the years Jason was 'dead' and accidentally brought peace to a huge chunk of space and intergalactic society via building up her empire after throwing herself into work to escape the grief.

- To Grasp The Hand of a Fox Naruto and Kurama travel back in time to save the world but unfortunately they land in the same moment that Kurama's just been put under a genjutsu by Madara Uchiha, Naruto has to make his way to Konoha and wake Kurama up before the villagers seal him away inside Mito. Can he save his friend in time to save them all?

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Those Winter Sundays Mcu fic. Snapshots of Tony working hard for the avengers and no one noticing. Civil War Team Iron Man.

- Salvation Rides a Solar Wind Iron Man fic in a Science fiction / Western style fic where Tony's presence is described through the eyes of the aliens he helps. Au where the war with Thanos goes very differently. The type of fic that needs like 5 multi chapter fics in a single series to truly shine, hence why I will likely never finish it.

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And We Break Away Again Jason goes back to Talia after Damian is brought back from the dead by Bruce. It's not that he begrudges his little brother his resurrection, the opposite, but he can't ignore what Bruce did to him by taking him to the magdala valley and he can't ignore what Bruce doing for Damian what he didn't do for him, (do for Dick, do for any of them besides the blood related one) means. So he decides to go back to the only person who ever seemed to understand why he wanted to avenge himself in the first place, the only person who seemed to agree that he had a right to be angry that he'd died at all, the only person he can trust to hold him together while he feels like he's falling apart that won't judge him against the heroic mold while they're at it. Not sure if this will be a oneshot or a series but we're going good Talia with this one regardless, DC's been ruining her lately but through fanfic all things are possible so fuck them.

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Fan The Flames In the aftermath of a magical fire taking hold of the Daily Planet in Metropolis, Superman is missing, can Batman and the rest of the Justice League find their friend as well as the identity of the evil arsonist before Lex Luther does it first?

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In a Whisper (In a Wish) Ichigo Kurosaki protects people, it's not just who he is, it's what he is, down to the core of his very soul. The only problem is, that a few weeks ago he sacrificed half his soul to protect the world. It aches inside where he knows something important used to be. When everyone he cares for is avoiding him and he's starting to feel more like a shadow than a person, that aches at him too and he can't help but wish, quietly, privately, painfully, to himself if no one else that things were different, that he wasn't so broken or so alone. But if wishes were fishes they'd fill a whole sea (just be careful not to whisper them within the hearing range of the Hōgyoku).

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An Honest Conversation (Is A Bitter Thing To Crave) Jason kidnaps Bruce but things don't go as Bruce expects. First of all the reason Jason was able to kidnap him was because Stephanie of all people was his insider, why would she support someone Batman knows she's only met once. And second of all the reason he's been abducted - So that Jason can drug them both with the same substance. And when Bruce asks what he's doing this for Jason only responds, "We don't trust each other enough to have a truthful conversation otherwise" and refuses to say anything more while they wait for it to kick in. What will be revealed by this forced honest encounter on both sides? -

carrying the world on thin shoulders Midoriya Izuku deserves better from literally all the adults in his life so this is part whump part hurt comfort part fix it fic that sprawls out from time to time but it's pretty bad tbh, at some point I'll probably make it neater and give it something resembling a coherent plot. Hopefully. -

Trust Issues HP fic. Harry gets dosed with a potion that's supposed to reinforce your strongest survival instinct, the person who drugged him might've intended to be helpful but said potion happened to be at extra strength and he was given what would be a normal fix for the regular version but for this one is twice the recommended amount. Great.. The biggest problem about all this - beyond his internationally wanted godfather Sirius endangering himself by hiding out in a cave near Hogsmeade against all rational advice, his best friend Ron hating him, everyone in school besides his other best friend Hermione also hating him or avoiding him and the entire Goblet of Fire problem - is that he can't bring himself to trust anyone enough to tell them what's wrong.

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Truth is Treason in the Empire of Lies A post marvel avengers story, thor pov probably, made because I like to dive into a pool of thor & loki sibling feels sometimes: Starts off as Thor regales his new human shield brothers with the story of his banishment and return to Asgard ending with Loki falling into the Void and the Avengers have some questions, questions Thor had not thought of, remarks on things that Thor doesn’t know how to explain away.  After he goes to Loki’s cell and asks him some things he becomes more and more angry despite having no one he can punch > Gets drunk and criticises Sif and The Warriors Three after they try to calm him down > mention of Loki still being underage by Aesir standards during Thor 1 seeing as Thor was being crowned due to being of age in the movie > heavy inspiration drawn from queen regnant by peaceheather. “For while the Treason I detest, the Traitor I love still.” Currently just an outline.

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Separation Split personality disorder Red Hood and Jason Todd, alternatively, Red Hood is a demon/parasite latched on to Jay. A lot of work necessary considering right now it’s currently just an idea inspired by a cool tumblr fanart.

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A Trinity of Head Wounds The dcu trinity in the aftermath of a fight against some alien invaders (or something along those lines), whump, hurt/comfort, starts with them arguing, ends with them bleeding on each other in a friendship way, whole thing should take place in a single room on the watchtower and be a oneshot so it's gotta be a short and sweet one-two gut punch with the feelings which is difficuuult.

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A Stark in The Stars an mcu fic, a really over complicated mcu fic, mostly because of Steve Roger's timeline fuckery, Tony's alive but he's not supposed to be, but so are a lot of people who were dead but aren't now you might say what with the snap and the blip. The thing is that Steve's timeline fuckery is making it so that everyone keeps getting confused between the two different timelines of events, obviously more confused the more that their characters were connected to the films/the events that were altered, the punchline of this particular fic though is that Tony's still alive and he's unaware of the timeline of events where he died. And as he's currently in space he's also unaware that everyone on Earth thinks he's dead (because why wouldn't they? he died in endgame after all). That makes this fic super tough to write because like ultimate unreliable narrator right here and not sure how to tie in the whole 'oh wait actually everyone on Earth thinks I'm dead because of the canon timelines' thing in or at what point of the story to do that at. The fuckery of it all gives me a headache. Plot is hard. Also all of that's basically background to the actual focus of most of the fic thus far which is Tony travelling around space in an Iron Man suit up until the point where it won't be background.

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Magic Chained Merlin au. When you put magic restraining cuffs on Magic himself you don't just bind him you bind all magic the world over. It is therefore, infinitely lucky that Uther Pendragon never became aware of this fact.

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A Child in The Cold bnha Midoriya deserves better also Recovery Girl and Aizawa have shit to answer for as far as I'm concerned.

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#i have #so many #wiiiiiiiips #there's probably more hidden in various word docs but #blah #personal

[valkyriesryde]

Release the Hounds {10/?}

Chapter 10: Face Value

Pairing: Persephone!Steve Rogers x Hades!Reader

Chapter Summary: Steve gets himself into trouble and nobody is really surprised by that. But there’s only one little flower that can get him out.

Word Count: 2,392

A/N: Wow I’m back to being awful with updates, I’m sorry my lovelies, uni and mental health have been kicking my ass but this was half written and while i procrastinate with everything else in my life I wanted to get it done for you all. I hope you enjoy it!!

Everyone caught wind about what Demeter was up to pretty quickly in the following weeks. Steve heard it from Bucky who heard it from Natasha who heard it straight from Thor. From then on he was constantly looking over his shoulder, the curtains were constantly drawn shut and he feared leaving the apartment. 

Bucky stopped visiting him so often, it wasn’t safe and Steve understood that but it didn’t make it hurt any less. He was lonely, he was scared and every day when the walls creaked or there was noise outside he held the black dahlia in his hand just in case. 

Hades heard the news too, Peter kept her updated on what he heard and as the messenger of the gods he heard quite a bit. Nobody suspected he was helping Hades at all, nobody suspected where his loyalties lay. So he told her how she was searching for Steve, about how Demeter demanded Hades be blamed for his disappearance, about how she had nymphs and monsters searching the mortal world for her son. 

Demeter claimed, even if it was of his own accord he was not safe. Hades had brainwashed him somehow, Hades was going to hurt him somehow. She was losing her mind and people were letting her go crazy because of it. 

She tried to drag Quill into it, tried to get him on her side because Hades punished him and he must hate her but Quill refused to go anywhere near Demeter. Bucky knew why, Bucky knew it was because Quill had already chosen his side and he knew Demeter was all talk, especially compared to Hades who he had seen only as a person of action. 

Most Olympians, they avoided Demeter, they kept working, they left Thor and Jane to deal with her because Thor hadn’t chosen a side yet. He listened to Demeter’s demands, but he also claimed there was no evidence of wrongdoing, which there wasn’t. From an outside perspective, Steve had run away from his controlling mother. From a slightly more inside perspective, Steve had run away from his controlling and abusive mother. 

From Bucky’s perspective, he had saved his friend from a lifetime of torture, and knowingly put into motion a prophecy he knew about. If he wasn’t the god of fortune he would have suspected that the consequences for his actions be dire, but he didn’t care about the prophecy, he cared that his friend was safe as long as Demeter didn’t get her dirty hands on him.  

Because Bucky couldn’t leave Olympus as often to bring Steve supplies Steve had to venture out into the world on his own. He kept a dagger on him at all times, he keep the black dahlia in his pocket wherever he went and he was constantly aware of his surroundings. 

He had some money, nothing extravagant but Bucky had left him with an emergency fund. It’d been two days since he last ate and he needed food soon before he started to starve. He’d put off going out for too long and now he had no choice. So he took all precautions as he ventured out to the streets of New York. 

It took half the trip before he noticed someone was following him. They had been since he left the supermarket, perhaps they caught sight of him when he had taken his hood off in the store. 

Nonetheless Steve’s steps quickened. He turned left instead of right just to see if they were following him. Their speed quickened too and they turned after he did. 

About 50 metres behind him the figure followed. He couldn’t quite make out what they were, he didn’t recognise them, he knew they were male from the reflection he caught in the shop window but that was it. No nymph he knew, probably a monster of some kind. 

Another left and a right. They’re still following him and he’s almost broken out into a run. At this point his new home was about an hours walk away. He didn’t know the area he was in and if he knew better he would have caught on that he was being herded as three other men followed his movement from various locations around him.

Steve was being hunted and he had a gut feeling things were about to turn bad. 

In his head he heard Hades’ voice; “use the dahlia…she has no eyes in the Underworld…I’ll protect you there…use the dahlia” 

He could protect himself, perhaps he was just being paranoid. His hand held the paper flower tightly in his pocket just in case though.

When Steve noticed a second man on the opposite side of the road, an exact replica of the man behind him, he knew he was in more trouble than he had initially thought. In a couple steps there was an alleyway, he turned down it, weaving past the bodies and as soon as he rounded the corner he tore off a petal and let it fall to the floor.

As soon as his foot hit the petal it was as if the ground swallowed him and immediately he disappeared. Seconds later the first man rounded into the alleyway but there was nothing there. Not even a trace of magic or a flower sprouting. He was gone.  

Steve appeared in the throne room of Hades’ home, his back to the throne itself, his vision was blurry as he regained his footing on solid ground again. A yelp came from his side and he spun around to meet Wanda standing by the window.

“This can’t be good,” she said but there was no worry on her face, just a welcoming smile. 

“I uh, I had to use,” Steve puffed looked around him but there was no one else in the room, his searching was cut short though as his eyes caught the window Wanda stood in front of.

It was large and so clean he thought for a second the windows were wide open but the slight breeze that swept through the grass told him otherwise. Underneath the window was a table decorated haphazardly in fruits, books and papers. Steve’s attention was on the view, the fields that he’d never seen so beautiful. He could just make out the moving souls, how some scurried around the field, how others stayed in one place. He couldn’t help but think how beautiful it would be if it weren’t for the overcast in the sky. He wondered if the sun ever did shine brightly in Hades, if the souls ever felt the warmth, if the light reflected off of them or went through them. But the sky was grey, it threatened warmth and rain at the same time.

“It looks almost sad,” he muttered to himself, “the grass needs sun…” he muttered about different techniques and plant types that would be better for this environment.

“None of us really have a green finger,” a deep and annoyed voiced sounded behind him. Sam stood tall and protective with his arms crossed, glaring at Steve while a boy, who looked to be the same build as Peter stood behind him, copying Sam’s protective stance.

“Is this him?” The boy asked Sam.

“Sadly. Hades know he’s here?” He directed his question to Wanda but the boy spoke first.

“I thought the Underworld was shut from any outsiders, he’s an Olympian, better yet he’s the reason she’s in this mess!” The boy’s voice rose with anger and disapproval at Steve, he looked the god of spring up and down and shook his head. It was clear he blamed all the trouble Hades had been through on Steve, as he should. “Harley!” Wanda scolded.

So this was Harley. This was Hades son, that was Thanatos, that was the one she trusted to bring souls to Chiron. No one knew much about Hades family. They knew she was the oldest of the three, Thor, Loki and her. They knew she was never the leader. They knew she saw her judges as family and treated them as such. The gods knew that Harley was her son. They also knew that he and Peter were friends, that they worked together often. Yet no one really knew anything about the relationship between Hades and Harley. 

There were rumours of course, some said that he was born similarly to Natasha, some thought he was the product of an affair with Pietro or some other lesser god in the underworld. Some even thought he wasn’t hers at all and she just saw him as a son. They were wrong. He was her blood. There’s no sad backstory, there’s no deeper meaning to the dynamic between Hades and Harley. They are mother and son. They are the centre of a wider family. That’s all there is. Steve was just surprised to see the boy he’d only ever heard about.

“She doesn’t know,” Wanda’s eyes moved around the room nervously Steve bowed his head, he missed her glance to the thrown but Sam caught it. 

“I had to use a petal from the-“

“I figured as much.” Sam bit back though his tone wasn’t as harsh as it was initially, perhaps his stoic exterior was more habit than his actual feelings towards the god of spring. 

“I don’t understand though, she said it would take me to her but she’s not here?” 

“You’re friends with Bucky, you should know not to take things you’re told at face value.” Sam was right about that, Bucky always told him that in magic and prophecy things are never quite as they seem, ‘don’t trust the words themselves’ he’d told him one night. 

“So why did she bring me here?”

“You’re coming to Asphodel with me, you want to learn about the fields and it’ll distract you.” Wanda spoke up as she pulled a jacket over her shoulders, “don’t worry, you’re safe here. Come on then.”

The pair walked past the men and out the front door towards the fields, from the window where Steve had stood in the throne room Harley watched them walk down the path towards Asphodel while Sam lounged across the steps at the base of the throne.

“Why are you letting him hide here?” Harley asked.

“Because it’s the least we could do. He doesn’t deserve to be hunted Harley,” her voice was soft and understanding. She knew Harley didn’t trust easily, especially Olympians. It had taken a millennia to convince him Peter was a friend and that was only after Hades had openly shown her acceptance of him. 

Hades sat on the large black throne, her legs draped over the arm rest and her helmet hanging off a spike above her head.

“You’re really doing this then? Letting him stay here?” Sam questioned as Harley sat beside him, they both looked up at the queen. “Do you want to start a war with Demeter?”

“Could be fun to have him here,” she shrugged and Sam stared at her with his mouth hanging open.

“it cOuLd Be FuN that’s what you sound like.” Harley mocked.

“You’ve officially gone fucking crazy. Does Thor know he’s here? Are you going to tell him? You were told to stay out of this as much as you can, this doesn’t prove your innocence at all!” Sam cried out, he tried to reason with her but she brushed him off.

“You know the prophecy-“

“Oh come on! You’re trying to prove it wrong then? Indulging in his fascination with you or this place doesn’t do that. Getting close to him doesn’t do that!” Sam was getting more and more irritated with Hades as her attention stayed on Harley who had turned back to look out the window from his seat on the steps. He couldn’t see Steve and Wanda anymore. “Were you not listening to what I said to Steve? You can’t take these things at face value, you’re not who the prophecy says you are!” 

Harley’s eyes squinted in the sun as it shone through the window making it even harder to find Wanda in Asphodel. “Then there shouldn’t be a problem with him being here.”

“What?” 

“Exactly, thank you Harley.” 

“Sam’s right,” he said.

“Yes, thank you” Sam beamed.

“What do you mean?” Hades asked, her legs swinging off the armrest and her feet dropping to the floor. 

“You both are in a way,” he turned back to them suddenly, worry and excitement on his face. “Him being here could be a good thing, it could also start a war if Demeter found out. And the prophecy, we don’t know it’s actual meaning we only have speculation and theories but we shouldn’t just assume the worst from it.”

“Harley I don’t understand, you know what it says, you know what it means for me, for the Underworld?!” Hades furrowed her brows as Harley stood and pulled her hands to bring her to the windows. 

“Olympus is in the northern hemisphere yes?” 

“Yes?”

“It’s almost October, it should be getting colder. It has been for weeks now here because we have the same seasonal calendar as the northern hemisphere of the mortal world just like Olympus.” Harley kept explaining as the three of them stood before the windows, Sam felt it first, the warmth on his face, the sun in his eyes. “So tell me why the sun is shining.” He paused as Hades gulped and squeezed his hand. “When the wind is still…”

“…and the air is cold…” Sam continued.

“…the sun will shine in Hades,” she choked out. 

“Maybe you’re right to be wary of it mum, but I don’t think it’s all bad.” Harley said, he tried to ignore the tears in his mother’s eyes as she nodded her head.

“I think you’re right. You’re too smart for this world,” she smiled at him. 

There was no stopping the prophecy Cassandra and Bucky had given her all those years ago. It was here, it had begun and whether she liked it or not, it put her and everyone she loved in danger. But for now, for now as they looked out at the fields of the Underworld and saw Wanda, Steve and Pietro walking along the outskirts, at least the sun was shining. Even if she didn’t quite know what that meant for the days to come.

Chapter Eleven: Wine Plays Tricks on the Tongue

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[writers-block246]

Loki x Reader Oneshot- “Is This What True Love Feels Like?”

Warning: Heavy angst (unresolved)

Notes: Italics are thoughts and emphasis. I also realize that Loki may appear a little OOC, as he is normally very eloquent and well-spoken. However, his grammatical errors are intended to show his emotional struggle and the deep impact the events have on him.

——————————————

Y/N’s POV:

“I don’t love you.”

The coldness in his voice startled you. He stood firm and tall in the center of the room. To you, he was stone, unmoving, unwavering in his statement.

“You don’t mean that, Loki.” You truly believed he didn’t. You had seen the love in his eyes, felt the adoration in his touch. There was no way he didn’t love me just as much as I loved him. Nonetheless, your voice still wavered under his steely scrutiny.

“Oh, but I do, pet. You are but a mere mortal, and I, a god. To me, you are nothing.” The words flowed from him so smoothly, almost making you believe him. But this was the God of Lies, and he could play anyone like a fiddle (but he had never played you). More importantly, though, you know Loki.

Something is bothering him. He is trying to push me away for a reason. But you wouldn’t let him.

“Just tell me what’s going on, baby. We can figure this out together.” You trembled, but tried to keep your voice firm.

He stalked closer to you, all feline grace and beauty, making you want to reach out to touch him, hold him, anything. Finally, he stopped mere inches from you, towering above your form. It was moments like these that reminded you of his power, his strength. Usually, they were a comfort, but now they only served to intimidate you.

“You pathetic being, how hard is it to understand that I could never hold devotion for such a simple creature. You are not fit for a god, darling,” he sneered. Darling. A name that typically caused butterflies to erupt in your stomach. At this moment, though, they caused a wave of hurt. You desperately tried to maintain control over your emotions, and reminded yourself that this was not Loki, not your Loki. It doesn’t matter what he says. He doesn’t mean it. He just needs my help.

Steeling yourself, you forced your eyes to meet his. “Loki, lets just calm down and talk about what’s going on in that head of yours. I can help you if you’ll only just let me.”

His sneer turned into a face full of hatred. “You stupid, weak human. Don’t you listen? There is nothing you could say to me that would make me want to be around you any longer!” he yelled.

You flinched. In his outburst he had risen his hand to express his frustration, and while you knew that he would never hurt you, you couldn’t help your reaction.

It was then that his face fell. The angered facade he had kept throughout the entire exchange gave way to hurt, fear, and loathing. It wasn’t until now that you realized the hatred you saw in his eyes wasn’t direct toward you, but himself.

You immediately backtracked, beginning to panic that he would think you feared him, something you knew he, himself, feared. But it was too late.

Too late.

The tone he spoke in seemed calm and collected, but you could see the mirage of emotions flash across his face: anger, confusion, sadness, and self-contempt. “I knew you spoke only lies. Years of claiming you were different, that you didn’t fear me as everyone else did. All lies. And to think, I, the God of Lies, himself, did not notice. Not at first anyway. But perhaps you have bested me at my own game, darling. Because I, contrary to popular belief, never lied to you.”

His normally emerald green eyes had turned black, as black as the chasm that now separated you both. “I guess I truly am the monster everyone makes me out to be.”

Before you could even fathom a response, before you could tell him that he was utterly, entirely wrong, he was gone. Gone. In just a few short steps he had left your life. The months it took to even be able to greet him, let alone hold a conversation with him, were gone. The late nights sitting quietly reading together, were gone. The days spent introducing him to music, movies, anything and everything, were gone. A turned back and a closed door had ended it all. Killed everything with a bullet you couldn’t touch. And that’s worse, isn’t it? To see the death, the destruction, and not be able to prevent it? Could I have prevented it?

No more talks about the universe and life. No more coffee dates. No more evenings of playing with his silken hair. All erased from the world in a few steps.

A few steps. Steps. So small, and yet, so impactful. But perhaps it makes sense. After all, steps lead you to wherever you’re going. And now it seems, they are to lead Loki away from you.

You were never one to base your life off of love, truly. But your life had just walked out the door, and your world came crashing down with him, leaving you adrift, not truly knowing where you’ll land.

Is this what true love feels like?

Loki’s POV:

He so desperately wanted to believe you. To believe the false comforts that fell from your lips.

But how could he?

How could he when all he saw when he looked in the mirror was a grotesque figure, a being capable of death and destruction? (The blue skin of his natural form did nothing but fuel the fire of his self-loathing).

How could he when everyone else looked upon him with eyes that spoke of their hatred? Of their terror.

How could he when even you, someone who claimed to hold no fear of him, flinched at the raise of his hand? But I would never strike you, didn’t you know that?

How could he when Odin, the man he once knew as his father, believed him to be a monster? To be lesser than the Æsir, than his brother.

His brother.

His brother who had gotten everything. The love, the fame, the crown. Loki was always lesser, always second place. Why did he even think he had a chance? Why would the throne, the adoration, be given to a monster?

(Perhaps they were right. He would think himself lesser, too. After all, look at what he has done).

How could he?

You were too good for him. Too pure. His touch was a taint on your skin. A shapeless being that threatened to consume you. To pull you down to the depths of hell (where he belonged) with him. Oh how I wished you belonged with me.

But no.

Why couldn’t you just see? Know what he knows?

The universe would never give him you. Not after all the horrid acts he had committed. Not after all his treachery.

The world wouldn’t give a monster an angel.

So he had to push you away. Had to end it before it was too late. Before I could never manage to leave.

The God of Lies was done lying. In fact, he had told his last lie: ‘I don’t love you’ (even though he had claimed to have never lied to you. That, however, was the only lie he had ever uttered to your beautiful face). Too long had he gone on with the charade. Too long had he looked the other way. He knew, no matter the feeble attempts of convincing himself otherwise, that he couldn’t continue with your relationship. It would only end in destruction. Because that’s what he did, destroy. He would destroy you, whether it be now, tomorrow, or forty years in the future. Maybe it’s better for it to be now? To lessen the pain? Right? He would eventually demolish everything that made you beautiful in his eyes. He knew, for once, that he made no mistake in this. Right?

His hands trembled. (Just like they did when they hesitated on the knob of your front door).

His past self would laugh at him, he knew. He had once wanted the throne, the power, so desperately. And now, he only wanted you. He would have done anything, then, to garner what he believed was rightfully his (not Thor’s. He could have, would have, made a better king. But he wasn’t the favorite. Was noone’s favorite. Hell, he wasn’t even Odin’s actual son. Wasn’t Frigga’s actual son. What would she think if she saw me now?). But he met you, and his priorities changed.

But his past self would still laugh at him. After all, a god was not meant to grovel at a human’s feet. But I want to. Want to turn around and beg your forgiveness.

Alas, a few steps had taken him out of your life. A few steps had devastated any chance of happiness or healing he ever had. A few steps had allowed for your happiness in the future?

A few steps saved the Beauty from the Beast.

(You always did like that movie. Thought the Beast deserved a second chance. Do I?).

No.

Lightning struck overhead, and he gave a bitter laugh. Even now, Thor continued to overshadow him.

But a monster deserved to be overshadowed. A monster deserved to be confined to the outskirts. (He used to thrive in the shadows before you showed up. You had taught him to flourish in the light).

He had called you a liar. And you were. Had to be. You could not help him, could not change him. There was no possibility that you loved him as you claimed. He was not capable, nor ever would be, of receiving love.

He continued walking because he knew if he stopped now he would turn around and find himself at your door. The door that had separated them both, left them adrift in a sea of confusion.

So he would take those remaining steps away from you, away from your life. He would do anything as long as it ensured your happiness, your safety.

If this was the only good thing he would ever do, then he could, would, be happy with it.

Is this what true love feels like?

-Admin Cheyenne

#loki #loki x reader #loki (marvel) #loki fandom #loki fanfic #loki of asgard #loki of jotunheim #loki angst #loki and you #loki and reader #oneshot #marvel angst #marvel #mcu imagine #mcu #oneshots #fanfiction #loki x y/n #loki x you #loki friggason #loki laufeyson #loki laufeyson x you #loki laufeyson x reader #loki friggason x reader #loki friggason x you #loki laufeyson x y/n #mcufam #mcu fanfiction #mcu x reader

[norabrice1701]

An Offer Received - Part IV

A Jaguar Villain Tom Hiddleston Character (Thomas Conrad) fanfic

Pairing: Thomas Conrad x Fem!reader

Summary: Life as Mr. Conrad’s foot soldier has consequences.

Rating: Controlling behavior, threats, f-bombs, Dark!Conrad 

Previously: Part III.2 - 5 Months

A/N: Still here, and still going! The life delay took longer than anticipated, but excited to wrap this up! Thank you to everyone who’s liked and followed this tale! 

GIF credit to original poster via the Tumblr search! 

Part IV - 5 Minutes 

You only limped for two weeks while the incisions healed. But every time you took a step, you swore you could still feel the VI emblazoned in your skin. His mark. His brand. A constant reminder of what you’d been folded into. And, worse, given your word to support.

It should repulse you more, but strangely…it hadn’t been bad so far. Nothing in the office environment changed. You still reviewed divisional output, provided daily briefings, and assisted with whatever Mr. Conrad needed to keep LOKI as the industry frontrunner. He remained just as cold and detached as he had before he marked you, except for a searing, possessive gleam that darkened his eyes if you held his gaze for too long. As if he dared you to give the situation a voice, dared you to press him for everything that remained unspoken. 

But you bided your time. At first, you had wondered – now that you were a marked foot soldier – if you would be privileged to know more about the mysterious Operation ‘Blue Sea’. But apparently there were still limits to Mr. Conrad’s trust. As infuriating and frustrating as it was. 

It made you wonder if he could actually do it. Would he build the sixth greatest empire that the world had ever known? Was that even possible? And if he failed, what then? How many foot soldiers would go down with him?

Those thoughts shouldn’t concern you right now, though. Mr. Conrad had a meeting in 29 minutes and he needed your notes from this morning’s divisional alignment meeting. Your fingers flew over the keyboard with swift accuracy, recounting the discussion as it happened and nothing more. Mr. Conrad was more than capable of drawing his own conclusions. 

“Hey, you.”

The familiar voice warmed your insides and you couldn’t help but look up with a smile. Sebastian Barnes had always been handsome with his dark hair and stormy eyes, and those lips that always edged a playful smile. You’d been surrounded by so much cold precision as of late and Sebastian was a welcome wave of comforting warmth. 

He chuckled softly, gaze dancing over your face. “It’s good to see you, too. Been a while.”

You hummed in consideration. “Too long, probably.”

“Too long, but hopefully not too late.” He glanced around the office suite. “Swanky new digs. It’s obvious the new gig agrees with you. Certainly suits you, anyway. Mr. Conrad’s never had someone represent him so directly.”

You arched a dubious brow. “He doesn’t trust me that much.”

“Doesn’t matter. You’re good at everything you set out to accomplish. I admired that about you from the start.” His smile brightened boyishly as he stole a quick glance to Conrad’s closed doors before turning back. “But hey, I was wondering if we...could do dinner tonight. We’re both guilty of work getting in the way, but…I think I’d like to make that change. At least, for myself - new year, new resolution and all that. So, yeah….dinner tonight?”

Your throat tightened, so desperate to say yes, to enjoy a night of easy conversation and free laughter outside the delicate web of Conrad’s design. But how could you possibly take that risk? You shook your head slowly, regret softening your face. “That sounds wonderful, Sebastian, really - but I’m…I’m not available. Tonight...or any other night.”

His brow pinched in obvious confusion. “No? Oh, no – please don’t tell me I’m too late. What…is there – is it me? Or…someone else?”

You bit your lip, not wanting to lie to him. “I – yeah, I guess you could say there’s someone else.”

“How did I lose out, huh? We had a good thing – good, if infrequent. How did I get bumped out of line?”

It was a fair question. You’d never said you were exclusive with Sebastian, but you weren’t the kind of girl to play a string of lovers. You sighed, glancing quickly to the clock on your computer screen. Time was running out before Conrad’s meeting. “I didn’t mean for it to happen,” you started softly, “it had nothing to do with you – I really did enjoy our nights together. But this other guy, he just…just swept me up.”

That seemed to take him aback as he pulled a confused face. “What does that even mean?” He glanced up from you, around the suite. All at once, an idea flashed on his face, revulsion and disbelief seeping into his eyes. “Oh, Christ…I didn’t want to believe it. But it’s true, isn’t it?” He stared at you as if he’d never seen you before. “You did fuck him to get the job.”

“No, god no. I didn’t fuck him to get the job.”

“Oh, so you just fucked him after you got the job?”

You glared up at him, feeling your cheeks flush, betraying the truth. “It’s not like that.”

“Jesus.” He scrubbed a hand through his hair and down his face. His eyes locked to you, passing undeniable judgment. “I defended you, you know. I thought ‘no, she’s above sleeping with a guy for professional gain.’ I mean, you slept with me with nothing to gain.”

“Sebastian, stop talking. Please-.”

“How could there possibly be another explanation?” He studied your face, tilting his head as he seized on another idea. “Wait…please don’t tell me that you actually like that cold bastard?”

“It’s…it’s complicated.”

“It’s really not. Unless he forced you…,” he blinked, eyes probing your face for more, “please don’t tell me he forced you. Or, better yet…please do. It would be gratifying to take down that smug son of a bitch.”

“No, he didn’t force me. And you should really stop talking now.” You cast a sideways glance towards the still closed double doors. “You do realize that he can probably hear you.”

“Don’t know that I care much. Whatever he did to you, said to you…he stole you from me. And that…,” he paused for a breath, sadness seeping into his face, “that hurts, you know. I like you – well, I did like you. But I guess you weren’t the girl I thought you were.”

You sighed, welling with heartache and hoping this would be the end. The last thing you wanted was for Conrad to make an unwelcome appearance, so better to just rip the bandage off. “Yeah...I guess not.”

He opened his mouth as if to speak, but closed it just as quick. He half-nodded, still looking hurt and baffled, but then he turned for the office suite doors. Your heart longed to call out after him – he really was a decent guy who deserved someone better than you. Someone better and stronger who wouldn’t have fallen into Conrad’s calculating clutches.

The hydraulic hinge hissed as the door closed behind him and tears stung your eyes. You bowed your head, fighting them back. You knew that you needed to focus now – this meeting was soon. Your notes were expected. You could cry all night, pound the pillows in frustration, and numb yourself with wine later. Later.

“…Darling?”

Your head shot up on the gentle endearment, startled at the suddenness of the voice.

Conrad stared down at you with an alarmingly compassionate, concerned edge. His expression looked so genuine, but you knew him well enough now to know that it wasn’t genuine. How could it be? He hadn’t been genuine with you since that first meeting.

“Darling,” he repeated, his voice so achingly tender, “you look so terribly upset.”

You forced yourself to summon a smile, hoping your eyes and cheeks weren’t too telltale red. “I’m fine, really. Just...early spring allergies.” You sniffled, mostly for effect, but also to help clear your tears. “But I do appreciate your concern, sir.”

He shook his head, the concerned façade disappearing to reveal pure disgust. “You’re a terrible liar, and you should know better.” He crossed behind your desk in a predatory flash, standing alongside your chair, a firm hand on the back to hold you steady. You breathed deep his subtle cologne as he leaned down, warm breath against your ear. “Tell me the truth. Right now. Otherwise…well, you remember what I said about punishment?”

You squeezed your eyes shut, hanging your head. What did you have to lose? Sebastian already thought the worst of you. You already wore Conrad’s brand. You swallowed hard. “A lover’s quarrel, that’s all. A quarrel that ended hurtfully.”

Chilled fingertips crept across the skin of your neck. “Good girl. Though, I confess myself disappointed - you never told me that I was second. That someone else in this building was first to convince you to spread your legs.” 

You froze, suddenly confused. “I...I wasn’t a virg-”. Your words choked off as his hand wrapped around your throat, squeezing just enough. Panic rose in your chest as you forced yourself to keep breathing. 

“Don’t be stupid.” His words were little more than a deadly hiss. “It would be embarrassing for a woman of your age to still wear that mantle. Just as I won’t be made a fool of playing second fiddle to a man like Barnes.” His thumb stroked delicately against your skin as he continued to hold you, lips skimming the shell of your ear. “So, you will tell me each detail - how he touched you, how he fucked you. And only when I am satisfied - only when you have earned it, and you’re begging me - will I fuck you until you forget his name and yours.” 

You twitched in your chair, feeling your heart race. Nothing about that should sound appealing, but some dark part of you thrilled at his show of dominance. Even if it was, at base level, nothing better than a threat. 

You swallowed, gaze darting to your computer clock to stall for time. “But, sir -.” You gasped as his hold tightened. 

“You’re not invited to speak unless asked a direct question.” 

“But - your meeting!” You tried again, voice ragged. “The notes you need-.” 

He sneered a discomforting laugh. “Fuck the meeting. Believe me, this time next week - it won’t matter.” 

Fear raced along your spine, both at his words, and the sudden withdrawal of his hand and suffocating presence. You gasped for breath, trying not to jump as strong fingers pressed to the underside of your chin, tilting it sideways and up to look at him. 

His eyes burned with dark, glacial fire, his posture the mark of controlled composure. “My office. Five minutes.” 

He turned for his office, nothing hurried in his stride, and you drew a deep breath. You didn’t realize you’d forgotten to breathe as the words slammed home in your brain. 

His office. Five minutes. Fuck the meeting. Everything he expected you to tell him. 

You rested your head in your hands, fighting to bury every last feeling you had for Barnes. They wouldn’t help you, and you refused to give Conrad the satisfaction of seeing you cry. Perhaps you could - well, not lie exactly - but stretch the truth. What you shared with Barnes was not Conrad’s business, and if he thought he could make you think differently...then, he had another thing coming. If he wanted to control you, flay you open and rebuild you in his image, then...then you damn well wouldn’t give him that satisfaction. 

Two minutes now. You hit the ‘do not disturb’ setting on your phone and computer status before rising, steeling yourself. Your heels sank into the carpet as you approached his open office door. 

He stood at his desk, grey suit jacket slung across the back of his chair as his fingers worked at his tie. Your throat went dry at the sight - he’d never been seen around the office without his tie perfectly placed. 

With a whisper of fabric, he pulled it free from his shirt collar, letting it drop to his desk. His gaze landed on yours as his fingers turned to his cufflinks. “Close the door.” 

Your heart accelerated, feeling the heady pulse of adrenaline as you followed his order.

The cufflink clinked to the glass desktop, nimble fingers now rolling up his sleeves to expose strong forearms. “You understand my expectations?” 

You bit your lip. “Yes, sir.”

He turned his attention to his other sleeve, letting the anticipation, the tension build. 

His office had never felt so suffocating, the air so thick you might choke. You watched as he came around the front of his desk, fingers skimming the discarded tie in an unspoken threat, an unspoken promise. An unbidden current of heat flared to life within you. 

He leveled you with those piercing eyes. “Now, where were we?” 

Up Next: Part V - 5 Days

#tom hiddleston #villain #the art of villainy #hiddlesedit #good to be bad #world domination #loki #avengers reference #fanfic #an offer received #wannabe writer #tom hiddleston x reader #tom hiddleston x you #not rpf

[toohardtoforgetcth]

Too Hard To Forget

Chapter Two

Warnings: Swearing, angst, the usual 

4,570 words

A/N: I’ve been waiting to post chapter two of this fic until I got some interest in the first bit so here it is! Feedback is so so appreciated since this is the first piece of writing I’ve ever published and I’d love to know what you think!

It had been twelve days since Parker’s awkward exchange with Calum at the record store, and eight days since he had put the fear of God into her outside Grace’s room. She was surprised to discover he hadn’t been in to visit Grace in four days. In the short time she’d known him, she’d come to realize that it was unlike him to go more than a day or two without visiting.

Despite being downright terrified of him, Parker felt drawn to Calum. Every time he knocked her down, she found herself wanting to come running back for more. Parker’s curiosity got the best of her, and she couldn’t stop herself from asking Grace where he’d been.

“Everything okay with your grandson—Calum, right? Haven’t seen him all week,” she asked nonchalantly, but the old woman saw right through her.

She smiled a knowing smile, making Parker blush. “I told you he wasn’t so bad, didn’t I?” she winked.

Parker made a face. She would never say so, but she had to disagree with her on that one. She wondered if Grace really knew the effect her grandson had on people.

“Anyhow, he’s been so busy with work. Poor boy. It’s a terrible job. He could do so much better, he just doesn’t know it.”

Parker pondered this for a moment. Hating his job would explain why he was so moody all the time—she couldn’t imagine having to wake up every morning and work your life away at a place that made you miserable. “If anyone can convince him, it’s you, Grace,” Parker smiled.

» » » » » »

Friday afternoon, Parker still hadn’t seen Calum. She had been hopeful every time the front door opened and disappointed to discover it wasn’t him. She wasn’t sure why she felt that way—Calum scared her, and she should really learn to just let it go. Maybe there was a part of her—a competitive part—that wanted to win his friendship, simply because his cold demeanor made him a kind of challenge.

Calum wasn’t a nice guy—that much was obvious. He had given Parker plenty of reasons to want to stay away from him. He was clearly not interested in her—as friends or otherwise. In fact, he had been nothing but hostile towards her since their first meeting. But still, she couldn’t stop thinking about the man with the chocolate brown eyes. She daydreamed about those eyes, his muscled frame, soft brown curls. He was alluring, and Parker wondered what he was really like, under all the black and tattoos and leather, wondered if he had a soft side that anyone besides Grace was ever privileged enough to see.

• • • • • •

Calum was sick and fucking tired of Tom’s bullshit. He was this fucking close to quitting today and telling him to go fuck himself when he got a call from Gram. No matter what kind of shit Calum got himself into, Gram was always there when he needed her most, saving him when he didn’t even know he needed saving.

“Hi dear,” her shaky voice sounded from the other end.

Calum sighed deeply. He missed her voice. He missed her. He felt like shit for not going to see her, but he’d just been feeling so inexplicably angry and irritable the past week, and honestly, it was draining him. He knew he should visit, wanted to, but Calum couldn’t hide anything from Gram and he didn’t want her to worry. And he had to admit that subconsciously, he’d been avoiding Parker. Calum thought maybe some distance from her would keep his mind from wandering back to her, but so far he had been unsuccessful. He had a pretty good idea why he had been so bitter lately, and it was because of a pretty blonde with grey eyes. Parker was throwing him off—he’d never spent more than one night thinking about the same girl—and he didn’t like it.

“Hi, pretty lady,” he breathed, relaxing a little.

“Everything alright, honey? I haven’t seen you all week,” she sounded sad. It broke Calum’s heart. You piece of shit, he thought to himself. She doesn’t deserve this.

“I know,” he exhaled. “I’m sorry, Gram,” he said sincerely. “I don’t have a good reason. I gotta get back to work, but I’ll come see you tomorrow, okay? I promise.”

• • • • • •

Parker was coming back from her lunch break when she noticed Calum emerging from the double doors of the lobby. Her heart skipped a beat when she locked eyes with him. His dark eyes bore into hers, leaving her feeling strangely exposed. He said nothing, looking away from her as he put a cigarette between his lips, stopping to light it as the door shut behind him.

She hadn’t seen him since he lashed out at her for listening at Grace’s door, but apparently Parker had a death wish.

“Hey,” she greeted quietly with a small smile as she approached the door, more out of politeness than to spark conversation. She knew he wouldn’t stop to chat with her, but Parker wasn’t going to ignore his existence, the way he did with her. Hopefully he didn’t rip her head off for trying to be polite.

Calum caught her by surprise when he responded.

“Hey.”

Progress, Parker thought. A definite improvement from the complete silence or burning hostility that he usually greeted her with. Taking advantage of his sudden mood change, Parker stopped in front of Calum. He watched her with curious eyes, taking a drag from his cigarette and blowing a cloud of smoke to the side.

“Haven’t seen you in a while,” she observed casually.

“Been busy,” he replied with a shrug.

God, he made it so difficult to have a normal conversation, but Parker was determined to change his falsely skewed opinion of her.

“Grace has been missing you. She talks about you all the time,” Parker commented, heart picking up as she noticed his eyebrows drawing together and his shoulders tense. Shit, wrong thing to say. Fuck, here we go again.

“Like I said, I’ve been busy,” he pushed off the wall, standing to his full height and looking down at Parker. “Doesn’t really concern you, anyway, does it?” he spat bitterly as he flicked his half-smoked cigarette to the pavement, stalking away.

Parker stared after him, wishing she had kept her mouth shut. What was his problem?

• • • • • •

Later that afternoon, Jenna sat cross-legged on Parker’s bed, painting her nails. Parker lay on her back, Loki curled up between her legs.

“What’s got you all moody today?” Jenna pressed, recognizing the face Parker usually made when she was overthinking.

“Ugh,” she groaned, flipping over onto her stomach. Loki let out a displeased meow at being disrupted, launching off the bed. “Stupid Calum,” Parker rolled her eyes in frustration.

“Ooh, hottie grandma’s boy? Elaborate, please,” Jenna gushed, scooting closer.

“I ran into him at work today. I haven’t seen him all week, and then he showed up out of the blue. He actually said hi to me, so I tried to make conversation since that’s the most he’s said to me, like, ever.” Parker sat up, facing Jenna. “And then he just—snapped at me. I don’t know what I did—why he hates me so much,” she flopped back down on the bed, blowing out a sigh.

Jenna giggled. “Not everyone is going to like you, babe. That’s life. Anyway, he sounds like a total d-bag. Why do you even care what he thinks?”

“I don’t know,” Parker admitted. “He just seems—different. I can’t help but feel like there’s this whole other side to him and I don’t know why but I feel this, like, need to get to know him. He is a d-bag,” she laughed, “but I can’t stop thinking about him.”

“Sounds like you need a distraction,” Jenna’s face twisted into a sly grin. “We’re going out tonight.”

• • • • • •

Calum was sitting comfortably on his couch, trying to unwind with a beer and a bad movie after a particularly shitty ending to an otherwise great visit with Gram. He had been avoiding Parker, and after a week of not seeing her, he felt the unwelcome feeling of butterflies in his stomach the second he laid eyes on her. It was a sensation he was wildly unfamiliar with but had grown accustomed to feeling whenever she was around.

And then she had to open her mouth and ruin everything. This girl really knew how to get him going.

To be fair, she hadn’t really said anything wrong. Her comment only pissed Calum off because he had already been feeling guilty for blowing off his visits with Gram and he was mad at himself. His response was harsh—he could tell it hurt her. He wished he didn’t care, but he did. As much as he hated to admit it, Calum was intrigued by Parker, and it was unsettling. He didn’t like feeling captivated by her—it made him feel vulnerable and Calum was not vulnerable. Parker made him feel like he had no control, and he hated it. He was trying and failing to come up with a way to get this girl out of his head when his three best friends burst through the door of his apartment unannounced.

“Put a shirt on, we’re hitting the town tonight,” his friend Michael shouted enthusiastically, heading straight into the kitchen and rooting through Calum’s fridge for a beer. He pulled out three, handing one to Ashton and Luke before opening his own.

Besides Gram, Calum loved only three people in this world; Michael, Ashton and Luke. The four of them had been best friends since high school, and they loved Calum unconditionally, despite his harsh tendencies and his troubled past.

“Boys, I’m relaxing,” Calum stretched his long legs out on the coffee table. “I’m not in the mood for your drunken misadventures tonight.”

Luke launched himself onto the couch, head landing in Calum’s lap. “Too bad, babycakes, we’re going out. So get up, get dressed, get pretty. You got ten minutes.” Luke reached up and pinched his cheek affectionately, taking a long swig of his beer.

Calum rolled his eyes at the tall blonde with the bright blue eyes, but he couldn’t help the grin that graced his lips. He’d been thinking about Parker all day, and truthfully, he could use a night out with his boys.

• • • • • •

Parker was feeling good, having downed several drinks since arriving at the bar with Jenna and a few of her other friends, but she was getting tired of dancing. Deciding she needed a break, she and Jenna wove their way through the crowd of tightly packed bodies before reaching the bar. She ordered a vodka and cranberry for Jenna and a beer for herself. She was sliding her cash across the bar top when she felt Jenna’s hand close around her forearm.

“Oh, my god,” she leaned in. “You’ll never guess who’s here.”

Parker followed her friends’ gaze to the other end of the bar, where Calum was leaning against a pillar, talking with three other ridiculously attractive men. Parker groaned. She came out tonight to think of things other than Calum, and there he was, in all his glory, demanding her attention.

“Why are they all so hot?!” Jenna gaped.

As if on cue, Calum turned his head in their direction, his dark eyes meeting Parker’s. His face fell, clearly not impressed upon seeing her here. She looked away immediately, flushing.

“Oh, Jesus. He saw me staring. Kill me now.”

“Oh, stop being so dramatic,” Jenna brushed her off with a wave of her hand. “Come on, let’s go back.”

She grabbed Parker’s wrist, dragging her back to the dance floor. Parker threw a subtle glance over her shoulder, where she caught Calum’s eye again. He was still watching her, not a trace of a smile on his lips.

• • • • • •

Calum stood by the bar, unmoving from his spot by the pillar. He’d been nursing a beer for the last hour, no longer in the mood to get drunk. His focus was on the blonde dancing with her friends, hips swaying and body moving in all the right ways. He hadn’t expected Parker to be here tonight, and it killed his vibe. The very thing he had come here to distract himself from was dancing fifty feet from where he stood, and he couldn’t tear his thoughts—or his eyes—away.

Calum was nothing if not experienced when it came to women. He had an attitude and a hard edge that women just seemed drawn to. He would never understand the obsession they had with the bad boy type, but he wasn’t complaining. Calum was not a relationship guy. He had two rules—never stay the night, never bring them home. Their place, quick and dirty, then disappear when they fell asleep—that’s how Calum liked it. He liked to be in control. That’s why Parker unnerved him—he’d never been drawn to anyone the way he was to her. She fascinated him in a way he didn’t understand. He’d been watching her all night, and he was starting to get irritated. He needed something else to occupy his racing thoughts.

“You got your eye on that pretty blonde one, don’t you, pal?” Ashton nudged him, snapping him out of his reverie.

“What?” Calum shook his head as if to shake the image of her out of his mind. “No. I just—I know her.”

“Bullshit. I know that look,” Ashton mused.

Calum scoffed. “I don’t have a look.”

Ashton was the oldest of the four of them, and he knew them better than anyone. There wasn’t a thing he could hide from any of his boys, least of all Ashton.

Ashton’s expression turned sympathetic. “Cal, you can’t tell me you don’t get lonely. All you do is work, and Gram is the only girl you spend more than a day with. Don’t you think it’s time to try sticking with one girl, maybe?”

“Fuck off, mate. It’s none of your business,” Calum snapped.

Ashton’s expression softened. “I’m just worried about you, man. We all are.”

Calum pushed off from the pillar, annoyed. He knew Ashton meant well—it was obvious how much he cared for his boys. Like brothers. He was the glue that kept them all together. He was wise for his age, and he was the one they went to when they needed advice. But Calum wasn’t in the mood for his profound bullshit tonight. He needed a smoke.

Calum pushed through the throngs of people in the bar, earning glares from a few of them as he shoved them out of his way. He felt himself calm down almost immediately once he opened the heavy metal door at the back of the bar, the cool air hitting his face. He stepped out onto the deserted patio, pulling a cigarette from the pack in his pocket. He lit it and closed his eyes, leaning back against the brick wall. He let the smoke burn his lungs, but it didn’t clear the fog in his brain like he had hoped it would.

Calum considered what Ashton said to him inside. He was pissed off at Ash for calling him out, but he had a point, though Calum would never admit it. He couldn’t explain why he didn’t want to settle down. It wasn’t that he didn’t like the girls he slept with, it’s just that he couldn’t see himself doing ordinary things with any of them. They were all just nameless faces, there to satisfy a need and that was it. He couldn’t picture himself waking up and making breakfast, staying up late watching movies, grocery shopping, with any of them. The only person he daydreamed about doing those things with was Parker. And that scared the living shit out of him.

Maybe his problem was that Calum didn’t know how to be someone’s boyfriend. He hadn’t grown up with parents, his grandfather died when he was only eight, and Gram never remarried. Calum was good at being alone. He wasn’t happy, but it was all he had ever known. The only girl he ever had somewhat of a relationship with—if you could even call it that—was Kendra, his first year out of high school. The rest of the boys went off to college while he stayed back and worked, and they dated for all of a month until she started sleeping around on him. He never loved her, but after that he decided that would be the first and only time he let himself care about someone.

When he finished his cigarette, he stubbed it out under his boot and headed back inside. He ordered himself another drink, returning to where he left the boys. Parker was still dancing, and Calum used all the strength he had in his body to force himself not to look at her.

A dozen feet away, he locked eyes with a cute brunette in a tight dress, leaving very little to the imagination. She flashed him a sexy smile, raising her drink to him.

Yeah, that’s exactly what he needed right now. A distraction in a tight dress.

He returned her smile with a lazy one of his own, which she took as an invitation to approach him. Good. Calum liked it better when he didn’t have to do all the work.

“Can I buy you a drink, handsome?” she asked in a sultry voice.

“Depends. You gonna take me home?”

• • • • • •

Parker took a break around midnight, her feet aching and her mouth dry from the alcohol. Walking past the bar to the bathroom, she caught sight of Calum sitting on a stool, a beautiful girl with long, dark hair standing between his legs. He was smiling, his hands on her hips, and Parker felt a pang of jealousy hit her in the chest. You have nothing to be jealous of, she scolded herself. He’s an asshole—why do you like him? In that moment, Parker realized that she most certainly had feelings for Calum, even if she didn’t really know anything about him. Even though she was confused about what those feelings were, she knew she didn’t like seeing him with another girl. Parker changed her mind about taking a break. Seeing Calum with someone made her want to down several shots and forget he existed.

• • • • • •

Half an hour later, Calum said his goodbyes to the boys, leaving the bar with his arm slung around the shoulders of the brunette. As they passed the dance floor, he scanned the crowd for Parker. Calum spotted her in the same place she had been earlier, only this time she looked up and their eyes locked. He flashed her a cocky smile and winked, feeling equal parts satisfied and guilty at the expression that crossed her features.

He’d have to be blind not to see that look. It was written there, plain as day, on her face. She was hurt.

• • • • • •

Calum untucked himself from the grip of the sleeping brunette, slipping out of the bed that wasn’t his own. He didn’t even remember her name. She was pretty, but Calum hadn’t really been in the mood tonight. Something didn’t feel right, and a nagging voice in the back of his head told him it was because of a certain grey-eyed girl. He found his clothes on the floor, quickly dressing and shrugging on his leather jacket before finding his boots. He tugged them on as he shut the door silently behind him, leaving the girl with nothing but his first name and a night she wouldn’t forget.

Calum couldn’t say the same.

Calum stepped outside, thankful for the fresh air—the girl’s apartment was stuffy as hell. She didn’t live too far, taking Calum only 20 minutes to make it back to his apartment on foot. Enough time to have a smoke and clear his head. Despite the smoke burning his lungs, he was unable to erase the image of Parker’s face when he left the bar. Why had he taunted her, on purpose? What reason did he have to want to hurt her? When Calum finally settled in his own bed, he found himself wishing he never went out tonight.

» » » » » »

Parker spent most of Sunday morning being lazy in bed, hiding under the covers until the early afternoon, moving from her bed only to be lazy on the couch instead. She was having a great night dancing with her friends and letting loose until a certain moody, tattooed brunette ruined her night by going home with another girl. She wished that it was her going home with Calum, and that thought disturbed her. He was an asshole and Parker knew nothing good could come of her feelings for him, but she couldn’t stop thinking about him. She had left the bar shortly after he did, her good mood spoiled when she thought about what he was doing.

» » » » » »

Parker awoke on Monday in a foul mood. She spent Sunday sad and stewing over Calum and how she’d never have him, but today she felt downright angry. Calum was a jerk and he was trying to hurt her, and for what reason? She deserved far better. Her sour mood only got worse when she arrived at work and spotted Calum in the hallway. He had his usual scowl on his face and he ignored her as he passed by, yet again.

Normally, she’d let it go and pretend not to let it bother her. Normally, she was a people-pleaser and hated confrontation.

Not today.

No, today there was no holding back. She was going to give him a piece of her mind.

She whirled around as Calum walked in the opposite direction, away from her.

“What is your problem with me? Did I do something to offend you, or are you just an asshole all the time?” she demanded.

Calum stopped, slowly turning around to face her.

“Excuse me?” he replied dangerously, taking a step towards her.

“Since the first time we met, you’ve acted like a complete jackass. Every time I see you, you either ignore me entirely or you try and scare me with that stupid badass attitude,” she paused. When he said nothing, she huffed in annoyance. “Get over yourself, pal. We all go through shit, there’s no need to be a dick about it.”

Parker was surprised at herself for her outburst, which was completely out of character for her. But Calum had pissed her off one too many times—he wasn’t getting away with it again. She placed a hand on her hip, eyebrows raised, waiting for an explanation.

The cocky smirk he wore turned into a menacing glare. He took two more steps towards her, their toes touching. He was so close that she could feel his breath on her face. He smelled incredible, like the woods, and spice, with a hint of smoke. Stop it, dumbass. You shouldn’t be thinking about how good he smells right now. His tall frame forced her to tilt her head back to look at him. His dark eyes glittered, but not in a kind way. He grasped her chin between his thumb and forefinger. “Watch your mouth, doll,” he said threateningly.

Parker’s spine chilled, goosebumps raising along her arms and the back of her neck. His use of a pet name gave her butterflies, but she knew he didn’t mean it in an adoring way. Calum frightened her—this she already knew. But confronting him was clearly a bad idea, one she hadn’t thought through—she was stupid for getting on his bad side. It was obvious he wasn’t one to be messed with, and he definitely didn’t have any qualms about voicing his opinion.

The rest of her workday she spent thinking about their confrontation. The unsettling feeling Calum’s presence gave her weighed heavily in the pit of her stomach. She didn’t know whether her feelings towards him were attraction, fear, or a dangerous mix of both.

• • • • • •

This girl was going to be the death of him. Calum had been stunned when Parker called him out this morning. He hadn’t expected it from her, of all people. She was usually so bright and cheery, going out of her way to be nice to him even when he lashed out at her. And even though her words made him angry, all he could think about was putting that mouth of hers to good use. Calum didn’t know how much longer he was going to be able to keep this up. The more she pissed him off, the stronger the pull was to her. It was beginning to become difficult to deny that he felt things for Parker.

» » » » » »

Parker and Jenna were dancing the night away at a club downtown on Thursday night, much needed after working overtime hours this week. She had had one too many drinks, her head fuzzy and spinning. She had Friday off, and she was looking forward to nursing her hangover on the couch, curled up with her cat and watching Netflix. Parker excused herself to use the bathroom. She splashed cold water on her face in an attempt to sober herself up a bit, and when she returned, Jenna was wrapped in the arms of a guy that was exactly Jenna’s type. It was getting late, and Parker was drunk; she wanted to go home.

“Hey, I’m gonna head home. You coming?”

“I think I might stay,” she said, obviously distracted by the handsome blonde dancing in front of her. She turned to Parker. “Unless you want me to come. Do you need me to come with you?” she asked.

Parker appreciated Jenna’s offer, but she knew she didn’t want to go. “No, you stay. I’ll call you tomorrow.” Parker turned to make her way off the dance floor. “Be good,” she added with a smug smile.

• • • • • •

Parker sat on the curb outside waiting for her cab. She should probably have waited inside the bar, but she had hoped the fresh air would sober her up a bit. Her head was still spinning, and she could hardly keep her eyes open. It had been at least fifteen minutes and she was beginning to get tired of waiting. She could probably have walked halfway home by now, so she stood on shaky legs and headed in the direction of her apartment. She silently thanked her sober self for picking sneakers over heels. It was a warm night, typical of August, but she pulled her denim jacket on anyway, not wanting to have to carry it.

Walking through a particularly sketchy area of downtown, Parker got an uneasy feeling in her gut that she was being followed. She chanced a quick glance over her shoulder, and her heart started pounding when she realized her suspicions were right. There were two men walking behind her, picking up their pace as she attempted to pick up her own, but her legs were still wobbly from the alcohol buzzing in her veins. She should have stayed and waited for the stupid cab.

“What’s your hurry, sweetheart?” one of the men called out from behind her, his gravelly voice sending a shiver down her spine.

“Where’re you off to? We can take you home, honey,” the other one drawled, turning Parker’s stomach.

Parker all but broke into a run, desperate to make it onto the nearest busy street before they caught up to her. She could hear their footsteps closing in when a black 1970 Charger screeched to a halt at the curb. Parker stopped dead, panic setting in. Her instinct was to run, but her feet were frozen in fear. A hooded figure emerged from the car, slamming the door behind him. This is it, Parker thought. She prepared herself to fight back, but the three against one odds were not in her favour. The streetlights illuminated his face as the stranger approached her and Parker’s chest flooded with relief when she recognized those familiar brown eyes.

Calum.

On second thought, Parker wasn’t sure why she felt relieved to see Calum. She wasn’t sure if she was more afraid of him, or the two men following her. At least, she didn’t think Calum would hurt her. Would he?

“What the hell are you doing, walking around this neighbourhood at night by yourself?” he demanded, pushing his hood back.

“I—” she started, but Parker had to admit she didn’t have a good reason. It had been stupid to leave the club alone. She should have waited inside for the cab. “I don’t know,” she confessed sheepishly. “I wasn’t thinking.”

“No shit,” he muttered, rolling his eyes. He turned back to the car. “Get in,” he commanded.

Parker looked behind her, but the two men were gone. She was relieved they had seemingly given up when they realized she wasn’t alone, but her heart was still pounding. Whether it was from her close call with them or being close to Calum, she didn’t know. She followed Calum to the car and opened the passenger door. The smell of leather and spice enveloped her when she sat down, and it was oddly comforting.

“What were you doing out there alone?” he repeated once they were in the car.

“I was out with my friend Jenna. I wanted to leave, but she didn’t, so I called a cab—but it never came so I just started walking,” she explained.

“You should know better,” Calum berated, irritated. “Where’s your place?” he asked shortly.

Parker told him her address. She briefly wondered if it was a good idea, him knowing where she lived, but it was too late now. He did just rescue me, she thought. If he wanted to hurt me, he would have left me alone in the street.

She leaned her head back against the headrest, closing her eyes as her drunken state overpowered her ability to stay awake.

Calum pulled the Charger onto Parker’s street and glanced sideways at the blonde passed out in his passenger seat.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” he muttered. He got out of the car, opening her door and scooping her easily into his arms. She didn’t stir, but he could feel her breath against the bare skin on his neck. It tickled his skin, giving him goosebumps. She smelled like alcohol, and there was a faint trace of a flowery perfume. He carried Parker up the stairs of the front porch, using her key to unlock the door and stepping inside. He was greeted by a little grey cat meowing at his feet. He followed Calum through the house as he fumbled his way in the dark in search of Parker’s bedroom. He took a guess when he found the only room with a bed, setting her gently down and pulling the duvet over her.

Calum lingered in the doorway for a moment, his eyes scanning over her face, staring at her parted lips and then glancing at the cat that had curled up in a ball on the pillow next to her. She looked peaceful, and she was really kind of beautiful when she wasn’t running her mouth.

He let himself out, locking the door behind him and dropping into his Charger.

What the fuck are you doing, Cal, he thought to himself. He started the engine and peeled away from the curb. He drove for a while, no specific destination in mind, when he found himself parked outside of Ashton’s house. Subconsciously, he must have known he needed to talk things out with someone.

• • • • • •

He knocked sharply on the door, waiting impatiently. A few moments later, a tired-looking Ashton opened it, shirtless and in blue basketball shorts, his black hair in disarray from recent sleep.

“Cal?” he mumbled groggily. “What’s wrong?”

Calum pushed past him, walking to the kitchen to get himself a drink.

“It’s the middle of the night, man,” Ashton groaned. “What are you doing here?”

“I need to talk to you.”

Ashton sighed in defeat, sinking down onto one of the barstools in his kitchen. Calum leaned against the island, downing his drink in one swallow.

“You were right. The other night, at the bar. The girl I was staring at.”

Ashton remained quiet, prompting him to continue. He couldn’t fathom why this couldn’t wait until the morning, but he didn’t tell Calum that.

“I think I have feelings for her. And I don’t know what the fuck to do about it. She drives me insane and she gets me so riled up that I lash out at her every time I see her, but when she’s not around, I can’t stop thinking about her. What the fuck is wrong with me?”

Ashton sighed, raking his hand through his messy hair. “Cut yourself some slack, Cal—this is new territory for you. There’s nothing wrong with you,” Ashton assured him.

“So why do I feel angry? Why do I keep trying to hurt her?”

“Maybe you’re just scared,” Ashton shrugged. “Opening up to someone puts you in a vulnerable position, and you don’t like losing control. You’re pushing her away ‘cause that’s all you’ve ever done, and maybe you’re angry because she’s making you feel unsteady.”

“Then how do I stop?” Calum questioned, feeling a little hopeless. Parker was kind, and gentle, and good, and Calum was none of those things—he didn’t deserve her. She was afraid of him—there was no way she was going to let her guard down around him after the way he’d treated her.

“You just have to let her in, man. You’ll never get a handle on your feelings if you don’t allow yourself to feel.”

» » » » » »

On Friday morning, Parker awoke with a hangover from hell. Her head felt like it had been split open, and her stomach was churning violently. She sat up, slowly, and noticed she was still in her clothes from the bar, minus her shoes. It was unlike her to collapse into bed without changing first. She checked her phone, several missed calls and texts from Jenna to make sure she got home safely. Then, the memories came flooding back to her. Calum brought her here. He must have tucked her into bed. He hates me—why would he do that? For the life of her, Parker could not figure him out.

taglist: @treatallwithkindness

#calum hood #calum hood fanfic #calum hood imagine #calum hood fanfiction #calum hood fluff #calum hood angst #calum hood smut #calum hood one shot #calum hood fic #calum hood preference #calum hood x OC #5sos #5sos preference #5sos fanfic #5sos fanfiction #5sos imagine #5sos fluff #5sos smut #5sos angst #5 seconds of summer #5 seconds of summer fanfic #5 seconds of summer fanfiction #5 seconds of summer fluff #5 seconds of summer imagine #5 seconds of summer smut #5 seconds of summer angst #5 seconds of summer preference

[xfandomwritingsx]

The Sweet of Night – Loki Laufeyson – Part 2

-gif source unknown-

Description: After growing up besides Loki and having a complicated friendship with him, you visit him in his cell at night.  

Warnings/Labels: None. Unless Loki is his own warning.

Approx. Word Count: 2,500

A/N: Yeah… I totally just got myself into another slow burn series here. Buckle up, my darlings.

You resist for a mere three nights and you hate yourself for not having a stronger will. You pride yourself on being a strong woman. You should have been able to stop yourself. On the other hand, there is nothing wrong with going to visit Loki and if it’s what you want to do, why stop yourself? You use this justification as you pull your robe tighter around you in the dark corridor leading to the cells. The guards, again, say nothing as you pass.

He lays on his cot in the same position as before, reading the same book, but on an earlier page. Rereading it then. Did he enjoy it that much or did he lack options, you wonder. He doesn’t give you much time to ponder it. He shuts the book, without marking a spot this time, and tosses it in a haphazard manner onto his nightstand.

“You are a wonderfully horrible liar, my dear,” he greets, his voice that infuriating shade of smooth. You force your composure and again fold your hands in front of you.

“I thought it cruel to leave you alone,” you tell him calmly. It’s not a lie. Perhaps it’s not the full truth, but a lie it is not. “Even those like you deserve company.” His eyes are amused.

“So noble.” Sarcasm drips from his words so thickly that you’re surprised they did not accompany an eye roll. He pauses in thought, face shifting into something more pensive as he sits up and faces you. “Do you fear me lonely?” You can sense the danger in the seemingly simple question, the dozens of ways he can twist and turn your answer into whatever he deems fit.

“I only know that I would be incredibly lonely if I were locked away,” you tell him. “And I’m not beyond showing you kindness.

“And what about them?” He sweeps his hand out, motioning to the prison cells behind and around you. “Will you be extending them the same kindness once you’re through here with me?” You feel mocked. You have to stop yourself from bowing your head in belittlement and instead simply cast your eyes down.

“If you wish me not to come, you only need say so.” You cringe at how pathetic and defeated your voice sounds.

“That is not what I said.” He stands from his bed and starts a slow approach to the barrier wall. You continue to look away from him, but the exasperation starts to set in.

“Then perhaps you should say what you mean.” He furrows his brow, stopping in his advance and you snap your eyes to him, annoyed by his play at innocence. “You speak in twists and turns that leave everyone around you guessing at riddles and piecing together puzzles. To make it even more infuriating, you coat it all with charisma and charm. It’s both endearing and vexing.” Your folded hands fall apart and your eyes cast away again. “I just wish for you to speak plainly. To tell me what you want.”

There’s a pause as he considers your words. Another prisoner is snoring somewhere else within the cells and the sound fills your ears. You pinch your eyes closed, hating the way you want nothing more than to smother whoever is making that ridiculously loud noise. You take a deep breath to ease the irritation prickling your skin. This is not what you came for.

“I do not want your kindness,” Loki tells you. Something inside of you crumbles, but you keep your composure. At least you can go to bed now. You resolve to turn and leave, but he keeps speaking. “I do not wish to be another tally mark in your book of good deeds. I do not desire pity.” His voice is cold and composed, carefully concealing a soft, delicate fear. You look back at him, an apology nipping at your tongue. You take a moment to find the right words, to swallow the instinctual apology and find a new course.

“I’m not here out of pity.” You anticipate his next question and rush to find a suitable answer. Then why are you here? Gods, what was the answer?

“I enjoy your company, just as I always have,” he says instead, starting once again to slowly walk towards you. “So I offer you a deal. An agreement.”

“I’m listening.” It’s intriguing and a little terrifying, honestly. What in the worlds does he have up his sleeve?

“You come to me whenever you like. There is only one rule.” He stops in front of the barrier and you’re not entirely sure if you have a desire to step away or step towards him. “Honesty.” Your mind knows it sounds like a deception, a lure to ease into something. You just don’t know what. You should not be so captivated. “Our conversations and interactions are to be honest. No trickery.” He motions to himself. “No lies.” He motions to you and the look in his eyes dares you to be offended. You ponder it for a moment, trying to discover his loophole.

“This sounds like a ploy to get me to answer inappropriate questions.” A genuine smile breaks out onto his lips and puts you at ease.

“Saying you do not wish to answer a question or speak about a particular subject is still being honest.” He was correct and in saying so, in allowing you to remove yourself from any conversation you don’t want to be in, he anchors a little more trust from you. “So what do you say, my darling?”

“What do you get out of all of this?” You’re still not fully convinced there’s not a hidden motive behind his alluring demeanor.  You want to trust him, feeling that metaphorical pull towards him that’s brought you right here.

“As I said, I enjoy your company.” He shrugs and motions back to his end table. “Drab history books filled with knowledge already known only do so much to cure boredom.” He turns back to you, taking another step closer to the barrier. “The companionship of an old friend is not so undesirable.” Even though he manages to make it sound as least complimentary as possible, there’s a warm happiness that fills you at his admission.

“On that, we can agree.” You give him a friendly smile and for the first time in what feels like a long time, it’s genuine and makes you feel relaxed. You’re only slightly surprised to see he returns it.

“So am I to assume that since you find yourself in enough boredom these past nights to be here with me, that your mother hasn’t managed to marry you off yet?” he inquires, causing a truly amused laugh to bubble out of you.

“Oh but how she’s tried,” you tell him. “The law still remains that she lacks the authority to arrange a marriage without my consent. This hasn’t stopped her from arranging many meetings however.” Loki enjoys the roll of your eyes. “I feel as though I’ve met every available nobleman in Asgard by now.”

“None to your liking?” There’s something that sounds like pleasure in his tone. You consider questioning if he’d be jealous if you had a suitor, but it’s so light and subtle that you’re almost sure you’d imagined it. And even if he would be, Loki’s jealousy is certainly nothing to swoon at.

“None worth marrying,” you say simply. There are many fine men around, some even intriguing and tempting, but none of them had yet proven to be a suitable future husband. It isn’t like you’re actively looking either, but your mother pushes the notion.

“And what of Thor?” You furrow your brow.

“What of him?” Loki gives a tilt with his chin, curious at your confusion.

“Has he not proposed?” He asks so plainly, as though it was an obvious thing. Your jaw hangs agape and you scoff out a laugh at the very idea. His look of confusion remains.

“Thor?” His name is no more than a laugh on your tongue. Loki must be joking, right? The raise in his eyebrows, indicating he’s expecting an answer, says otherwise. “Why in the heavens would he propose to me? He has that Midgardian woman he’s completely infatuated with as much as he tries to deny it.” A dawning of realization washes over his face and he smiles like he would to a child who made a foolish, but humorous error. “What?” you ask exasperatedly, arms crossing over your chest.

“I certainly did not mean to imply any romantic relations between the two of you. That would end mundanely for you at best, disastrous at worst.” He shakes his head, ridding the idea. “As king, Thor does not have the privilege of marrying for any reason besides political. Romance is removed from the equation entirely.”

“And marrying me would be a wise political move?” You feel strange even thinking about being married to Thor. The reason behind it need not matter.

“I didn’t intend on making you queen because you’d look nice on my arm,” he tells you in an even, serious tone before a smirk graces his lips and a sparkle comes to his eye. “Although… you would look good next to me.” You can’t help but smile as you roll your eyes and turn your head away from him. His flirtation feels good. It feels nostalgic even and easily slips you back into old times, makes it so simple to forget everything that’s happened, as though no time has passed. You uncross your arms and relax a little more.

“Perhaps I’d look even finer standing next to Thor,” you tease, shrugging your shoulders.

“Oooh,” he hisses, feigning offense and tilting his head. His smirk doesn’t leave his face. “He does not suit you in nearly the same way.” You turn your head back to look at him with raised eyebrows.

“And yet you suggest I marry him?” His smirk finally settles and he shifts back to his more serious nature as easily as a snake slithers into grass.

“You would make a wonderful queen.” The honesty in his voice is powerful, almost physically so, causing your breath to catch in your throat. “Your intelligence, strength, and kindness intermix in just the right way to make you the perfect candidate. Your duty and moral compass always point you towards the best for the people of Asgard, which is exactly what it needs in a queen.” You’re not sure anyone has ever given you such a high honor of a compliment and he says it as though it’s as obvious as the stars. A blush touches your cheeks and you shift your weight from foot to foot, unsure of a proper way to respond.

“Well,” you falter, blowing out a breath and forcing a laugh. “Wouldn’t that thrill my mother?” He smiles gently at your jest.

“You can consider thrilling your mother as a perk,” he suggests lightly. You chuckle and run a hand through your hair, mussing it slightly just to give yourself something to do other than take another step towards him, which you find yourself doing anyways.

“Well, Loki,” you sigh. “I do believe you’re the only one who has ever had the notion of putting myself on a throne.” There’s a glimmer in his eyes that draws you closer.

“Oh, you don’t know how wrong you are,” he nearly whispers, watching you approach the wall until you’re standing as close as you can without your toes brushing it. In return, he approaches the same. “I confess the idea was not originally mine.” He looks down at you and watches as this time, you’re the first to bring your hand up to the wall. He doesn’t hesitate in placing his own over the image of yours, the need for physical contact bubbling within you both. “But when the current queen puts forth a suggestion for her successor, you listen. And if you’re smart, you tend to find she’s right.”

You can’t prevent the small, sharp gasp that comes from you. Frigga suggested you as queen? It sounds absurd. You do not have much interaction with her and yet she apparently values you enough to suggest such an important role.

Loki watches you carefully, gently as you process his words. He’s quiet, letting you soak it in and doesn’t try to pull you back to him. He notices your eyes drift to your hands and he rotates his on the wall, turning his fingers to the side of your palm as if to hold onto you. You can feel the particles of the barrier vibrating between you as he curls his fingers.

Your focus shifts from thoughts of queens to the feeling of wanting to touch him so badly. You and he were never extremely physical before in your day-to-day, but now that he’s behind a wall, it seems all you want to do is be able to touch him. A part of you still feels as though he’s a ghost, an illusion. If you could feel his solidity in your hands, perhaps that feeling would fade.

“I can see your mind churning, pet,” he says softly, finally breaks your thoughts. You’ve drifted into a bit of a trance and are unsure quite how long you had been simply watching your hands. “What is it you’re thinking about?” You hesitate, unsure of how to answer and how to answer honestly.

“You don’t feel real,” you tell him in a whisper. When you let your eyes leave your hands and look up at him, it feels a foolish thing to have said. He looks very much real behind the yellow flicker of the wall with his eyes examining you so delicately.

“I assure you,” he breathes softly, shifting so he’s nearly pressing against the wall. “I am very much real.”

The prisoner’s snore returns, shaking you from the little, intimate bubble Loki has wrapped you in. There’s a brief look of frustration when you duck your head and lean away from him. Your hand remains on the wall and his fingers instinctively bend as though to hold onto your hand and keep you near.

“It’s late,” you tell him, you voice a little louder and clear. “I should let you get your rest.” He chuckles, but lets his hand fall away from yours.

“I’m in a cell for the rest of my days. Rest is not something I’m short on.” He tilts his head in amusement and steps back, allowing you the strength to do the same. “However, if you’re concerned about the hour, perhaps you visit earlier next time,” he suggests.

“You wish me to stay longer?” Even you’re not sure if you’re teasing him or truly inquiring. He continues to step back, retracting further into his cell towards his cot.

“As I’ve said, your company is not undesirable.” He sits down and reaches for his book, silently dismissing you. “We shall meet again soon, I’m sure.”

#loki imagine #loki laufeyson imagine #loki x reader #Loki Laufeyson

[allaboutthebooz]

Up In The Air Pt. One

Summary: True love conquers all, right?

Warnings: Just fluff right now, but that will change as the series goes on.

A/N: I’m so excited for this. I know that I See the Light was a mini series, but this will have at least ten to fifteen chapters. I cannot wait for every to read it. Enjoy! Also, I have created pin boards on Pinterest for the series! My username is the EXACT same on there as it is here! It has everything that is mentioned or will be mentioned in the series, inside of the pin board. Check it out!

“Incoming.” Bucky calls from his left, making Steve look at him. He watches his best friends smile and nod his head forward. Steve follows his gaze and everything around him falls away, except for his rising heartbeat. The doors at the end of the great glass building have opened and the music has begun to play. Nat, Wanda, and Laura each begin their descent down the aisle. Their dusty blue dresses swaying with each step. Morgan and Nate both taking duties as ring bearer and flower girl very seriously. Morgan makes sure that each flower gets a well-deserved home on the white walkway, as Nate holds tight to the pale-yellow box that he believes holds a very important piece of treasure. Lila and Cooper following behind them to make sure neither stray from the path.

The doors close once more as everyone settles into their places, the music changing to a familiar tune that still makes Steve smile, every time he hears it. They knew this song would be a major part of their wedding, since it has been a part of the big moments of their relationship. ‘I See the Light’ plays softly through the Palm House as the doors pull open to reveal Y/N standing with Clint in the doorway.

Steve breath stops in his chest at the sight of the love of his life. He hasn’t laid eyes on her since yesterday afternoon, when they separated after the rehearsal lunch. Lunch, because Tony was dragging Steve away for one last hoorah, before the big ‘I Do.’

As the music played, Y/N and Clint moved further down the aisle. He tried to take in as much of her as possible, as if he were afraid this was a big dream and if he blinked then she would disappear. Her dress was perfect and was made to fit her. Her hair half up with a veil attached to the back. She’s just as beautiful as always and he couldn’t believe that she was about to become his wife. She’s smiling the whole way down the path, it’s infectious and causes his own smile to grow on his face.

Clint stops her right in front of him, almost guarding her. “Take care of her or I’ll kill you.” Everyone standing at the front with them, laughs. “I’m serious.”

“Don’t worry, Clint. If I hurt her, she’ll probably kill me first.”

“Damn straight.” Y/N replies. She tugs at Clint’s arm, urging him to hand her over to her future husband. For a moment, Steve can tell he is a little reluctant to give away one of his closest friends, but he nods and kisses her cheek before placing her hand in Steve’s.

“Мы любим тебя, маленький персик.” Clint grunts in almost perfect Russian.

Y/N sucks in a breath, swallowing down the lump in her throat. “You learned Russian, just for this?”

“What, like it’s hard?” The marksman says simply, making everyone laugh again.

“Who would have thought that Loki unleashing the Chitauri on New York, would lead us here? I guess we have something to thank him for.” Natasha confessed to those watching her, while they chuckle. “I’ve known Y/N for a long time. We’ve been through everything together-“ Clint coughs. “Oh yeah, Clint was there for a lot of it to.”

“большая голова.” Y/N calls from her place at the table.

“Steve, I couldn’t ask for anyone better to love my best friend. The world has constantly put you both through the ringer and you have both come out on top, stronger together. And if I ever hear that you’ve made her cry, well you know what’ll happen.” Steve holds up both hands in surrender, smile in place. Y/N rubs his shoulder, laughing. “I love you guys and I hope you have the best life together.” Nat smirks, finishing her speech as everyone claps.

The night goes on, everyone dancing and having fun. Cake eaten.

Steve is standing by the bar with the guys, while Y/N is dancing with Clint and Natasha.

“Where are you headed for your honeymoon?” Sam asks.

“I haven’t told her, yet. I told Nat what to pack in her bag. I wanted it to be a surprise. Tony managed to book us a few hotels in Europe. She’s always wanted to visit Italy, so I figured we could spend a few days in Venice and then travel to Paris, before finishing our trip in Rome. Actually, spend some time enjoying the countries, instead of saving them.”

“No stops in Russia?” Bucky jokes.

“Not this time, jerk.” Steve shoves him, before checking the time on his watch. “And actually, I need to get my bride home. We have a flight to catch in the morning. Want to get everyone ready for the sendoff?”

“Yeah, man. We’ll get everyone ready.” Sam claps him on the back.

Steve sets his beer bottle on the bar and moves towards his wife. His wife, how did he manage that? He puts a hand on her back. “Hey.” She turns her attention to him, smiling bright. “Ready to go?”

“Yes! I love you, but this has been exhausting. Let me get my stuff and we can go.”

“We got it. It’s already in my car and I’ll drop it all off tomorrow after you guys are gone.” Nat tells her. “Let’s get you lovebirds out of here.” She signals the DJ, letting him know it’s time for the couple to leave.

“Alright, everyone. It’s time for the happy couple, to get the hell out of her. Head to the designated area to say goodbye.”

Everyone begins to file out, letting Y/N and Steve to properly say goodbye to their closest friends as they join the crowd, leaving the two alone for a moment.

“Hi, husband.”

“Hi, wife.”

Y/N hums. “I like that.”

Steve smiles down at her, taking her hand, and guiding her out. The stepped through the exit to find the path lined with their guests, each of them holding candles to light the way. The children holding sparklers. Some people were blowing bubbles. Smiles on every face as Steve and Y/N passed them by. He helped her climb on the back on his bike, that had been traditionally attacked. Soup cans, tied to the back of the bike, with a just married sign resting just behind the sissy bar that Steve had installed specifically for today. He tried to convince her to ride off in his truck, but she insisted that they ride his bike, and he wasn’t going to argue with his bride.

He swung his leg over, careful not kick her in the face or at all. He pulled the bike up and hit his heel against the kickstand. The motorcycle roars to life and they wave goodbye to their friends and family before Steve takes off out of the parking lot and down the street, Y/N holding tight to his waste and resting her head against his back. Her hair whipping him in the neck and face every now and then, giving him whiffs of her lavender and vanilla perfume. The stars shining above them and cars honking when they pass, as they head back to their apartment.

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[veliseraptor]

fic rec meme: 2019 edition

Rules: Post links (Ao3, ff.net, etc.); specify fandom/pairing/etc; don’t answer the same fic twice - spread the appreciation; tag other people; you don’t have to answer all the questions, but leave them in the list so the next person can answer if they want.

I was tagged by I think a couple people - @aphrodaisyacs and @aninfinitenumberofmonkeys. I’m going to try to keep this pretty short because I have a tendency to go on and then not finish these kinds of things because I overwhelm myself. 

I also cheated a bit on a few (a lot) of these because I read a lot of really good fic this year. And tried to include some recs I haven’t seen from others in my circle/fics I don’t see recced that often (though that’s not true of all of them).

I also shuffled things around so I didn’t repeat them, though a lot of these could be included in more than one category.

1. Favourite complete fic you’ve read this month (multiple chapters/parts): I did not read a single complete multichapter fic this month. Meant to, but didn’t do it.

2. Favourite complete fic you’ve read this month (one-shot): The mirror has a mirror in its teeth by deadendtracks. Peaky Blinders, Tommy/Lizzie, messy as hell in the way that I love.

3. Favourite WIP you’ve read this month: But I’ve read so many good WIPs this month. I’ll go with Contraction by NamelessDragon, MCU, Loki/Bucky, sequel to Compression (also amazing), which I’m finally catching up on after being stuck on reading almost everything for months.

4. One fic/series you’ve read which you keep coming back to again and again: (those yesterdays bleeding through by wnnbdarklord (MCU, time loop set during The Dark World) comes to mind, as, of course, does Bargaining by proantagonist (alas! for its vanishing), but to pick one that kept coming up this year I’m going to have to go with the nine in the tree by bereft_of_frogs, MCU, Thor & Loki-centric, post-Ragnarok AU.

5. Most underrated fic you’ve read this year: It feels like cheating to do this for a small book fandom, but you know what? My small book fandoms deserve more love. Based on lowest kudos I’m going to go with that he on dry land loveliest liveth by skyvehicle, Lymond Chronicles, post-Pawn in Frankincense. 

6. Most underrated fic you’ve read EVER: God, I don’t know. Again, it would be a small book fandom. You know? Because it deserves it and I love it and it probably is the most underrated fic, if only because it’s in a tiny fandom - In Memoriam by Tedronai, Malazan: Book of the Fallen, I love grief/mourning fic.

7. Favourite whump/angst fic of the year: This was tough since this is the genre I read most of in general, but because I managed to get a lot of fics on here via other categories, I’m choosing Into the earth I trampled it down by deadendtracks, Peaky Blinders, grief/mourning featuring Polly and Tommy. This fic was ouch all around, and beautifully written, and excellently characterized, and just...well, I’m clearly going to be reading everything that deadendtracks writes from here on out.

But I’m also going to slide In Cold Blood by NamelessDragon (MCU, Loki & Bucky, canon divergence AU) on here too, because it just updated and it really is fantastic, and I am so excited for more. It has all my favorite tropes written all over it, and promises some truly excellent whump based on the writer’s history.

8. Favourite hurt/comfort fic of the year: Again, a category with a lot of faves, but I settled on Walked In These Quiet Hazes by ratsats, MCU, AU where Loki comes back from the dead and is majorly fucked up, as is most everyone else. It’s rough, and it’s beautiful. And calling it “hurt/comfort” is probably...well, it takes a while to get to the comfort, I can say that, but it’s worth it. 

9. Favourite fluff fic of the year: Did I. Did I read any fluff this year? I suppose some of the Good Omens fic I read probably qualifies, though it doesn’t feel like fluff to me so much as...comedy? Wait, I’ve got one: Love Wounds Me With Soft Pillows by verbaepuchellae, Lymond Chronicles, Francis/Philippa, post-Checkmate.

Oh yes, after I wrote this I found another one: such surpassing brightness by Handful_of_Silence, Good Omens, Crowley/Aziraphale. Beautifully inventive, and fits into a very specific genre I can’t get enough of.

11. Favourite smut fic of the year: Shockingly, I didn’t read a lot of smut this year. I’m going to go with The Beast That Chose It’s Own Bridle by thespectaclesofthor, Doctrine of Labyrinths, Felix/Murtagh, post-series, (less than) kink negotiation, WIP. 

Oh, and also Chains of Gold by Anonymous, Lymond Chronicles, Lymond/Gabriel, hoo boy. My glorious Lymond/Gabriel fic I received for Yuletide. I can’t wait to find out who wrote it so I can lie down on their doorstep and beg for them to write more like this.

10. Favourite gen fic of the year: The Thanos Problem by Ranowa, MCU, post-Ragnarok AU. Okay, this is technically a series, so sue me. I especially liked When the Hammer Falls.

12. Favourite fix-it fic of the year/ever: This might be the hardest one. I read a lot of fix-it fic this year. I wonder why. I’m going with “the year” because otherwise it is just far too overwhelming and I couldn’t choose.

After a lot of debate with myself, and by eliminating other fic by virtue of sliding it into other categories, I settled on two: the only soul I’ve ever saved by valkyrisms, MCU, Loki survives Infinity War fix-it. I overall got pretty quickly annoyed with the genre of Loki-and-Peter Parker fics, but this one was just...so good. The Peter voice was amazing, the working with Loki’s Jotun biology as part of the whump was inspired, it was well written as all of valkyrisms work is, and just...so good. 

The other (I told you I was cheating!) is Keep It In Your Sights Now by LuckyDiceKirby, Shades of Magic, Lila/Kell/Holland, fix-it fic. I needed this fic in two ways - the threesome it involves, and the fix-it it involves. Delivered on both.

13. Favourite crack-fic fic of the year: I really don’t read crack-fic anymore.

14. Favourite sick-fic this year: Castaway by ariaadagio, Lucifer, Chloe/Lucifer, is me cheating again because “sick-fic” it is only loosely, but I want to include it because it was very good. Though I think technically I reread it this year. Apparently I didn’t read much sick-fic? Weird.

15. Favourite kid-fic this year: Another thing I don’t read very often, and apparently this year (at least based on my bookmarks) don’t have a rec for. 

15. Fic this year which you didn’t expect to love as much as you do:  Demonology and the Tri-Phasic Model of Trauma: An Integrative Approach by Nnm, Good Omens, therapy fic. Okay, so, in premise and everything this did have “me” written all over it. But I certainly didn’t expect to find it, and I definitely didn’t expect it to be as good as it was, right down to making me love an OC (which is rare).

16. Fic which convinced you to ship a pairing: This is cheating because technically it was another fic on this list, but since I wouldn’t ship it without it I’m going to rec As much what it is as what it’s not by deadendtracks, Peaky Blinders, Tommy/Lizzie.

17. Favourite AU you’ve read this year: I slid some of my fix-it fics over here, because canon divergence AUs are my jam and maybe that wasn’t the intent of this question but I don’t care. 

After some debate with myself, and rereading several favorites, I’m settling on my fearful trip is done by valkyrisms, MCU, the one where Steve runs into an unexpected child of Thanos in Wakanda. It’s real good, you guys. And yes, this does mean that I’ve put two valkyrisms fics on this list and I’m not sorry.

18. Longest fic/series you’ve read this year: This one’s easy! Eden!verse by ImprobableDreams900, Good Omens, Crowley/Aziraphale, the first fic in the series made me cry more than anything I’ve read in years.

19. The last fic you’ve read: The last new fic I read, since I reread a bunch of new things on this list while I was sorting through what I was going to choose, was to prove they are not dead by alreadybroken.

20. Wildcard fic you haven’t mentioned but deserves a shout-out + why: I waffled back and forth between two fics and what the hell, you know what, I’m going with both. The first is Miles to Go by josiepug, Peaky Blinders, which satisfied my desperate Tommy whump itch (for a time, it’s back now); the second is Where Is the Power That Made Your Pride? by Drag0nst0rm, The Silmarillion, aka the one where Celegorm lives and things are still bad. Not an AU I knew I wanted, but I guess I’m not surprised. 

Bonus Category: 

Best horror fic: dark underground//violent sky by bereft_of_frogs, MCU, I can’t tell you more than that because it would spoil it. I love horror fic and I have missed it since leaving Supernatural fandom. This one scratched that itch and I’m still thinking about it. Maybe it’s time for a reread.

As usual, I’m sure I’ve missed/forgotten some faves. I always do. 

I...lord, I feel like most of the people I’d usually tag have already been tagged for this? If you’re a mutual of mine and you haven’t been, go for it! I’m always excited to see more recs.

#long post for ts #fic rec #meme