The Monster Within - Loki x Fem!Reader

Chapter 11: The Match

Recap

In the back of your head, this reminded you of something, something that teased to be tangible but was just out of reach. Like when you first wake up and you try to grasp the last fading wisps of a dream. But you decided to ignore it. Nothing good would come of it. Not tonight at least. Maybe another time.

You pushed it away as Loki stepped aside so you could get up. You hardened your focus to the here and now and looked to Loki, "Okay, let's do this for real this time. Are you ready?"

He rolled his shoulders back and stretched his neck, "As I'll ever be."

Maybe this will be fun.

~~~~~~

You both put your guards up, waiting in anticipation. The other afraid to make the first move, or more so waiting for the other to give in. You tried your best to remain calm and be patient. That was the best way to approach any fight. You knew people like Loki, it was only a matter of time before he became impatient and threw the first move.

As you watched him, you noticed the little things in his movement. The way his jaw tensed, how his eyes burned with anticipation, the ever so slight jolt in his legs, and the way his fists clenched. It was just as you thought. Any moment he would move, and you had to be ready to catch what he was going to throw. You saw the ever so slight change in direction of his eye; it lowered to the left. Immediately you knew he was going to go for your shoulder. You took a breath, and you saw his body tense. He was going make his move.

As quick as lightning he threw his fist towards your shoulder. Just as you'd thought. You moved your body to the side, avoiding his blow. Using his momentum against him, you grabbed his arm, twisted it behind his back, and shoved him to the ground. He let out a faint grunt as he hit the matted floor. You wanted to congratulate yourself but you knew that this fight was far from over.

You felt movement under you so you tightened your grip. Loki grimaced but continued. He took his free arm and grabbed the wrist you had in a lock. You couldn't push his arm up anymore. You knew what he was doing but you couldn't stop it in time. Using all of his strength, he ripped away from your grip. You lost your balance and fell to the side. You used it to your advantage and moved away before he could do anything else.

You both popped up, returning to your guarded stances. Your chest heaved as you took a deep breath and let it out. You looked at each other, studying the other. Every minuscule detail, sound, or movement was taken into account. From the way his eyes hardened you knew he was taking this seriously, and you thanked him for that. That means he was giving it his all. And that means you couldn't underestimate him. You knew that he was good from the encounters you had with him earlier, but you wanted to gauge him one last time.

You gave him one last look. With no warning you dropped and swung your leg at his feet with as much force as you could manage. He jumped out of the way and out of range from you. You continued to work with your momentum to help you bounce back up.

Once Loki had regained his balance he lunged for you, fist readied. You moved to the side and felt the air from his punch brush your face. He threw another punch and you pushed it away, using his momentum against him.

You were in it now. You felt yourself zero in on Loki. You heard the blood roaring in your ears, the feeling of adrenaline in your veins, and the thumping of your heart against your rib cage. Your chest heaved as you drew in a quick breath and let it out.