"So, um... I'm fully aware that both of you are uh- fully capable of wielding your own power and strength so this is going to be more of a teamwork thing," Steve explained. He stood with you and Loki in the middle of the training room looking even more hesitant than usual. You wore small silver bands on each of your wrists that matched the ones that Loki wore. You both got them before entering and didn't have the energy to question the guards who put them on. It was only the three of you in the bright room but you knew the eyes of the entire team were on you. You guessed they were watching from somewhere safer and farther away from you.
"Going straight for weaknesses I see," you smirked. You noted as he stiffened and clenched his jaw as if he were holding back.
"Self awareness is the first step, (Y/N)," he answered. His hands hung at his sides, clenched in fists.
"So what do you intend we do?" Loki questioned. Steve let out a breath of relief as if he were glad someone interjected so you couldn't say anything else.
"Well since it seems that you two share more of... a bond with each other than with anyone else on the team we're going to leave you two alone in here to face a series of challenges and see how well you do," Steve told you both. There was a certain pride in his voice that made you realize that this plan was all his. You knew it was better to bite your tongue and shut up but that pride covered any amount of hope you knew he had for you.
"So the cell has games now. How long are we going to be in here? A few weeks? Are we doing that again?" you shot. Steve turned his back and began to walk away without a word. Loki looked down at you with genuine concern and reached out for your burning finger tips. You wanted so desperately to accept but you pulled your hand out of his reach before he could grab it. You were all to aware that all eyes were on you and you could not damage your reputation for anyone. You couldn't give them another thing to dangle in front of you.
"Finish this and we'll see. Don't disappoint me," Steve instructed before leaving through the only door and shutting it behind him. You heard the lock snap shut, leaving you with no way out.
"Alright let's see what you two can do, this first one is just a warmup so don't stress... but don't die," you heard Stark's voice through the speakers on the ceiling.
"That's reassuring," you called back, not knowing if he could actually hear you. You heard nothing else from above you.
"So are you in 'no physical contact' mode?" Loki asked. The annoyance in his voice was clear.
"Just keep your eyes up and off of me so you can concentrate, alright?" you responded. The stare you held on the door was as cold as your tone. You just wanted to get this done so Clint could stop bothering you constantly. You were finally getting a chance to show what you were capable of and you weren't going to have it ruined.
The door slid open revealing a dark and empty hallway. You anticipated some kind of robot gladiator creation to come charging forward but everything was still. Before you could question the situation You felt a tug on your right wrist before it snapped and hit Loki's left hand.
"What the hell is this Stark?" you yelled.
"You two seemed like you wanted to get closed so I thought I'd help you out," you could hear the smirk on his face. You tried to pull away from Loki and he did the same but your efforts were useless. Before you could try to figure anything else out you heard a large noise coming from the shadows of the open doorway. You tried to run to the weapons rack but were held on the spot.
"Oh what? Is the god of mischief too high and mighty to use a mortal weapon? I need something to slice the head off of this thing and unfortunately I can't create butter knives out of thin air," you complained. The steps kept growing closer.
"Well my 'butter knives' are sharper than any sword you could ever wield. You distract it and leave the slicing to me. We're supposed to be working as a team, remember?" he answered.
"Well I don't work with a 'team' in combat and clearly neither do you so what's the point of this?" you spat.
"Because we have an audience," he reprimanded through gritted teeth. You knew he was right and didn't have much time to argue anymore. You roller your eyes and directed your focus back to the hallway where a tall, metallic figure was beginning to appear. You drew up all of your power that you could, feeling your hands begin to heat up. You reminded yourself that you had to try and direct all of your power to your left hand because no matter how much he was annoying you, you didn't want to hurt Loki in any way. You saw a dagger appear in his hand and his look of determination on his face out of the corner of your eye. You faced the metal beast before you and didn't hold back.
~~~
"You aren't much of a team player," you commented from your bed. Loki was closing the door behind him as he entered the room.
"Oh and you're one to talk," he answered. There was something off in his voice and his eyes didn't seem as bright as they usually did when he talked to you. "They said that we did well enough for them to keep us up here. Clint seemed less than thrilled but my idiot brother was happy about it," he rolled his eyes.
"Well I think your brother is wonderful," you insisted. Loki scoffed. There was so much annoyance in his expression.
"Why don't you go to his room then? You clearly aren't happy with me today so why don't you go pick the favorite brother like everyone else?" he was seething. The words hit you like a ton of bricks but you didn't let your temper off of it's leash.
"If you're still mad about earlier today than just know I only did it because everyone else was watching," you spoke calmly. Each breath was an effort not to let yourself start yelling.
"So? Are you ashamed of me?" he yelled.
"I'm in no position to be ashamed of anyone. I simply didn't want to give them any ammunition to use against me or you in the future. I'm conditioned to keep any feelings or things I care about hidden so I don't get them taken away from me. It was nothing against you. Look, I'm too tired and if we want this thing to go anywhere, I don't think arguing every other night is the most useful method," you explained. He stopped where he stood. You could see the wheels in his head spinning as he contemplated your response.
After a moment of silence he answered, "You're right. I brought you tea if you'd like it." You let a small smile grace your lips as he changed the subject. A light pink dusted his face as he tried to hide any amount of embarrassment he felt. You took the cup from him and invited him to sit with you.
"You know I really did want to take your hand," you admitted, breaking the silence. Something like shock passed over Loki's eyes but as soon as you blinked, it was gone.
"I just wanted to be there to help you. I respect that you can take care of things yourself, but if anything happened to you I wouldn't know what to do with myself," he confessed.
"That's new," you smiled, " I think I like it."
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Hey hey hey! Yay for new chapters even though this one's a little bit shorter than most of the others. It's like three in the morning and I'm very tired from solving cryptic puzzles from Twenty One Pilots all day so I'm publishing this right before I pass out. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Thank you for all of the love and support! <3
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Burn (Loki x Reader)
Fanfiction(Y/N) (Y/L/N) is a living flame. She was raised as a weapon by HYDRA after being left in the snow by parents too afraid to maintain the girl on fire. The organization didn't hesitate to exploit everything the poor girl was, turning the tortured sou...
