⚠️TRIGGER WARNING⚠️:
Mentions of rape! Mentions of self-harm!
You smile nervously as the doors open.
You run out and into the circle that surrounds Loki's cell.
You can see right through his illusion, and it makes your smile drop.
He's sitting against the opposite wall. His shoulders are slumped with blood on and around him.
When he looks up at you, his eyes are full of pain and surrounded by dried tears.
-Loki's POV-
I make eye contact with my beautiful Y/N.
The audacity my lonely brain has.
"Great, now my mind is playing tricks on me," I mumble.
"No, it's really me." My sweet angel's voice replies.
I let out a pained laugh.
Again, the audacity.
"I'm obviously going crazy..."
Y/N walks over to the door of my cell and gives a small smile. The smile I've missed oh-so-much.
"Can I come in?" She asks gently.
"Do what you want. You're not real." I sigh.
I watch in shock as she opens the glass door, but I quickly shake my head, accepting that I have decided to try and deceive myself again in an attempt to fill the empty void I've been drowning in... but all I do is cause the lies I tell myself, and the tricks I perform to shatter my own heart.
"I really am insane." I breathe out.
My lovely Y/N's expression turns to sympathy as her eyebrows knit together.
"You're not." Her gentle voice states confidently.
I watch as she walks over to me and kneels beside me.
"I'm real." She whispers.
She wraps her arms around my neck and tucks her head in the crook of my neck, making me freeze.
She's alive...
I slowly wrap my arms around her, returning her comforting hug as my eyes flood with tears.
"You're alive!" I exclaim, shocked but more than happy to have my love back.
She pulls away and weakly smiles as I see her breathtaking e/c eyes flood as well.
She nods with a small grin, "Yes, my darling."
Tears drip from her eyes, and tears escape my eyes as well. Neither of us can hold back the flood of tears reuniting at last caused.
"I told you before I left. You can't get rid of me that easily." She chuckles, tears still flowing freely down her face.
She gently wipes the water trickling down my face, and I do the same to hers.
She kisses me softly and lovingly. I can taste the warm salty water from the paths they created after running over our lips.
When she pulls away, more tears fall from my eyes as I still can't believe my beloved is back with me.
She wipes my fresh tears again, and I take hold of her hands. I lay them on my face and lean into her touch.
"Oh, how I've missed you, Y/N... I've missed everything about you," I confess.
She gives me her warm smile that always puts me at ease.
"I've missed everything about you too." She admits as well.
Because of the pure shock and incredible happiness I feel after being united with my one true love again, I failed to notice the bruises she bears on her body, particularly on her neck and wrists.
"What happened?" I ask, scared to hear what had been happening to her.
She removes her hand from the side of my face and rubs her neck.
"...I-I was at Hydra..." She mutters, pain dripping from every word.
It concerns me what they would have done to her.
She's already been there, for fucks sake, and it was horrible! She was treated like a puppet and a weapon!
"How bad did they hurt you?" I inquire quietly, afraid of her answer but needing to know nonetheless.
She breathes out a laugh, "Pretty fucking bad."
She laughs lightly again in an attempt to mask her pain with humor, but I see right through it.
I gently rub her thigh to comfort her, but she flinches and looks away from my eyes.
My eyes fill with salty water again, and my jaw clenches with the realization of why she flinched... they touched my precious love...
I swallow hard, "They did that to you?" I manage to get out.
She slowly nods, still not making eye contact.
"Almost every day." Y/N whispers, barely audible, "But that's not all... the man wore technology that... it made him look and sound like-" She cuts herself off by clearing her throat to keep from crying again, "Like you..."
It breaks my heart knowing that they did this to her.
"My gods... my love, I'm so sorry... I-I hope you know I would never-"
"I know." She quietly interrupts, finally meeting my eyes again.
She lightly rubs her thumb over my cheekbone.
"It'll just be a while before I feel comfortable." She smiles.
I gently place my hand on her cheek.
"I'll never rush you, my love." I reassure, "I'll wait as long as you need me to. If you're never ready and never want to do it again, that's fully okay. I'll never ever leave you."
She grins and curls up, sitting between my legs, her back to my stomach. I wrap my arms around her waist, finally feeling whole and happy again.
"I've missed this," I whisper in her ear.
"Same here."
She intertwines her fingers with mine while I still have my arms around her waist.
"How did you end up in here?" She asks.
I freeze, not being able to bring myself to respond.
What if she thinks me a monster?
"I-I killed... and tortured your father and Viktor..." I mumble.
She doesn't reply for a bit.
"I understand. I would've done the same if the roles were reversed."
I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.
"Gods... thank you. I thought you would think of me as a monster."
She pulls my arms from around her so she can turn around and look me in the eyes.
"You aren't a monster. You are my sunshine, my happiness, my calm, my safe place. You mean the world to me..."
Y/N lays her hand on my cheek and smiles, "I love you." She whispers.
Once her words soak in, I beam at her and lay my hand over hers.
"I love you too."
Her grin grows, and she pulls me into a soft kiss.
After we pull away, she hugs me again before gesturing to me.
"Now, let's take care of you."
She summons a medical box and sets it beside her.
"My magic is a bit weak after all the things Bruce and Tony injected in me, so I'll only be able to heal you partway." She explains as she opens the box.
"Oh yeah... my wounds..." I mumble.
"Were they self-inflicted?" She asks softly.
I breathe out a laugh, "Why, of course... I-I didn't know how to deal with losing you, so I, uh... tried some things to cope."
"Well, I'm here now."
I smile, "Yes, you are. I have my queen back."
Y/N tries to hide a smile but fails, and a massive grin spreads across her face.
"I'm your queen?"
"You're my whole world, Y/N. I love you."
She beams and blushes. Then she kisses me before starting to clean my wounds.
Y/N sighs sadly, "I'm so sorry you did this to yourself. I feel like it's my fault."
I grab her hand before I lift her chin, so she's looking into my eyes.
"It's not your fault," I assure.
Y/N continues to stare into my eyes before she grins, "I still get them." She whispers.
My eyebrows furrow in confusion, "Still get what?"
Her smile grows, "Butterflies. You still give me butterflies."
I beam back and gently kiss her.
"You give me butterflies too, my love."
She giggles a bit before returning to cleaning my wounds.
"You know, I thought about you every second I remembered you. I never thought I'd get out of there and see you again, but when I'd imagine your face, I'd immediately feel at peace."
I smile weakly, "I'm glad. For me, hearing your voice was the thing that kept me sane." I admit.
Y/N's brows knit together in confusion, so I pick up her phone.
"Oh my god, darling... I'm so glad you had it." She shakes her head, "At least I knew you were alive, but..." She tears up again, "I-I'm so sorry."
"You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm just glad you're back."
I wipe the tears from her eyes.
She laughs quietly, "Me too."
She hovers her hand over my arms where I'd cut. Her golden magic wraps around my arms and begins to heal all of my wounds.
Her magic weakens and stops leaving cuts just deep enough to leave scars.
"I'm sorry. I healed all of your veins and muscle, but it will leave scars."
I tuck some of her hair behind her ear, "Don't worry, love."
She nods with a slight smile.
Y/N stitches my wounds, then she bandages my arms.
"There." She sighs, "All better."
My lips curl up, "All better."
She vanishes the medical box before settling with her back against my stomach again and my arms wrapped around her, fingers intertwined yet again.
This is my home. She is my home. This is where I belong. I belong with her. My heart is hers and always will be.
We talk for hours about everything and nothing, sometimes falling into a comfortable silence.
Eventually, she falls asleep in my arms.
I gently pick her up and place her on my bed before curling up in front of her and wrapping my arms around her protectively.
She sleepily nuzzles her face into my chest, causing me to smile before, I too, drift off to sleep.