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Recap:
The siren made it look easy.
♤
Around half-past three, Reyna decided that enough was enough and excused herself to go and find her bed. Most had already disappeared to their rooms, while others had fallen asleep on the couches. The only ones still awake were Sam, Thor, Tony, and Vision, who sat immersed in an exceptionally consequential game of go-fish by the time she left. She wandered through the hallways, singing and humming to herself, disappearing into her mind. Suddenly, she ran straight into the tall and lean frame that was Loki, who was just exiting his room.
"Watch where you're going, huldra." Loki's voice was cold and foreign to her ears as he pushed past her. Reyna looked at him like she had never seen him before. Why was he so bothered all of a sudden?
"What?"
"Not fulfilling the courting of the Captain, I see," he commented, his glaring green eyes freezing her in place. Of course, he was mad about that. Why wouldn't he be?
"Loki-" he cut her off.
"If you'll excuse me, I have to return to the common room." The god gave her one last bitter glare and turned around. Oh, if only looks could kill. Reyna grew irritated. She knew how stubborn Loki was. He had seen something he didn't like and would refuse to listen to reason if Reyna didn't force him to, and to do that, she needed him to stay put. The mutant let a string of smoke shoot forward and grab hold of the god. It pulled him back into his room and threw him onto the bed while Reyna calmly locked the door behind them. Huh, her magic didn't go haywire immediately, like he said it would. Interesting. Loki's voice brought her back on track.
"Eager, are we now? Did you grow bored with him, so you're going to seduce me instead? Have me unable to stop you?" Loki demanded with a disgusted tone as he propped himself up on his elbows. Reyna tensed. She slowly turned around and studied the glaring god for a moment. Did he actually think she, of all people, was going to force herself on him?
"I'm not going to sing you into submission, you moron," Reyna informed him, disgusted at the mere thought of doing something so cruel. She walked out of the small hallway and leaned against the wall.
"Then what do you want from me?" He snapped.
"Oh, stop being so goddamn dramatic. I know you're pissed about what happened earlier. I also know that you are way too stubborn for your own good. So, if we don't talk this through now, you will go around moping and glaring daggers at everyone for days, and, frankly, I do not have the energy for that," Reyna argued. Loki scoffed in disbelief.
"So, you want us to talk about your little fascination with the Captain? Is that what you have locked us in here for?"
"You really are a moron, aren't you?" Reyna chuckled as her head tilted.
"I beg your pardon?" Loki spat.
"What happened there was me participating in a bet. Nat, Wanda, Clint, and Tony betted on if I could seduce Steve without magic. The girls told me about it, and I was on board. I have no interest in that man and no intention of going all the way," Reyna explained as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"You seemed rather interested to me," Loki sneered. Reyna huffed and rolled her eyes. Why did he have to insist on being such a pain?
"And you have to learn to read intentions, my dear prince. Plus, he's not my type. Too much righteousness and patriotism for my taste." Something seemed to click in Loki's mind at her words. A dark chuckle that sent shivers down her spine left his mouth as he slowly rose from the bed.
"Then what is your type, my pet? A fallen prince? A monster? Do you want someone who has slaughtered without cause? Someone who has enslaved, tortured, murdered, started wars, and ruined the lives of millions. A man who would do it all again for his woman, his queen? Someone who can make your darkest fantasies a reality? Is that what you want?" Slowly, he stalked closer. Each step he took made her entire body tense in anticipation. Loki stopped mere centimeters from her. Just one deep breath would fuse them together. Something Reyna found she desperately wanted but seemed unable to. She opened her mouth to answer him, but the words caught in her throat. He raised an eyebrow, spurring her on. Loki's presence loomed over her, daring her to back down or meet him halfway. Finally, she found her voice again.
"Yes." Reyna almost cringed at the sound of it, all breathy and inviting, not the firm and confident tone she had gone for. Loki chuckled again, though this time it was bitter.
"You're drunk, Reyna," he declared as he backed off. He walked over to the window and looked out into the darkness. Reyna had to take a second to breathe before she could shake her head at his complete and utter denial of the truth she'd given him.
"What about you?" Reyna pushed off the wall and took a step forward.
"Pardon?" Loki turned around, facing her again and leaning against the windowsill.
"Do you care for me, Loki?" The Latina took another two steps.
"Why does it matter?" he asked coldly.
"Let me ask you the same questions. Do you want the slave girl, Loki? One who has nothing to her name other than deadly magic? Has nothing to offer a kingdom like Asgård. One whose innocence they ripped from her when she was eight. Was used for entertainment since ten. Who murdered 50 men at fifteen? A ruined toy? A whore? A demon who would tear the world apart if you were taken from me?" Reyna copied Loki's stalking until she was upon him, but instead of leaving a gap, she pressed herself against him. Loki smirked. He hooked a finger under her chin and guided her face up closer to his.
"I want nothing more, my vittra." The god relented with a dark whisper and a mischievous smirk. He was so close Reyna could feel his breath against hers, the scent of old books and mint leaves hugging her senses. His finger was barely touching her, but he might as well have been holding a leash, and it would have been easier to get out of. The sole thing she craved was to fuse them completely. But he hesitated. She sighed.
"But?" Loki sighed as he let go of her face, and his shoulders slumped as he looked out the window, unable to meet her gaze. He was afraid.
"I can't let you become a target for my enemies. They will use you against me to force their will. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you were hurt, or killed, because of my enemies' greed. I won't offer up your freedom by keeping you close. It would be selfish, even for me. I'm a walking minefield, Reyna. It's only a matter of time before I find a way to betray you, too." He finally looked at her again. Those deep green eyes she'd come to know, and love looked like those painted windows in one of those old cathedrals she had read about. Broken windows, sharp and fragile. They held just as much history and abuse in them, and there was nothing Reyna could do to repair them, but she could sooth the sharper edges. She smiled softly up at him. Snaking her arms around his waist, she held him there, anchoring him to this moment. Hesitantly, he did the same thing. He placed his arms so softly around her shoulders they barely touched her skin, as if scared that she would shatter like the glass in his eyes if he wasn't careful.
"You want to know a secret? I don't care. I already have hundreds of targets on my back. Why not add one more to the pile? Do you really think HYDRA will just leave me be? I am an asset they have been trying to get their hands on for years. Now that the Matron doesn't keep me from them anymore, there is no saying how far they will go to make me a soldier like Bucky. They have probably already cooked up a plan and dusted off the brain-mixer to welcome me back." Reyna held his gaze without fear, peacefully speaking of the horrors the future held for her. Even jesting about them. Loki shook his head in denial.
"They won't take you, darling. The team, I, won't let it happen. We can protect you," he insisted. Reyna smiled softly, bitterly. Her eyes betrayed nothing but calm and stability as she shook her head.
"Loki, I'm not dumb. I know they will come for me. They will stop at nothing, and they will succeed one day, no matter how hard you try to protect me. Then, when the day comes, I only hope that you will be able to stop me before I kill more people." Her tone was so calm, so at ease with her words. It frightened him how easily she accepted the probability of being tortured into submission again. To be robbed of her mind and will by those horrid people to serve their goals and ambitions. She wanted him and the team to be at ease with killing her if necessary. Something she already was, he realized.
"Reyna, I-"
"Shh, you don't need to reassure me. I'm a powerful weapon that will forever be hunted and abused. If it isn't HYDRA that gets hold of me first, I'm sure some other organizations are happy to claim me. I might become first hitman to a drug cartel in Puerto Rico, for all I know. I have come to terms with that. Even if I have been lucky to get a break from all the torture, I know it won't last forever. People like that are far too greedy to leave me in peace. I just want to live as much as possible while I can, to experience this freedom before it gets taken away from me again. When the time comes, I won't ask you to deliver the blow. I won't be so cruel, but if you don't do it, you need to make sure someone else can. You and Wanda are the only ones powerful enough to contain me. Vision might if we're lucky. But you are the only one who can shut me down from the inside out. Swear to me that you will either help them kill me or do it yourself if it becomes necessary." Reyna's stern and powerful gaze demanded his compliance, but Loki couldn't help protesting. How could she ask something like that of him? To hold down the woman he loved as one of her friends killed her, or worse, to be the one delivering the blow. If the scenario that would come to plague his dreams for a long time ever were to transpire, he was sure he would die with her. He looked away, tried to hide from the force of the Latina's fiery eyes, tried to come up with something that would save him the oath. This woman had opened a door in him that very few had been able to, and now she was forcing him to swear an oath that would slam it shut and lock it for good.
"Reyna, please-" When he spoke again, he found his voice pleading like he was begging for his own life, but Reyna cut him off with more fire and demand.
"Swear it, Loki. For my sake."
"I-" he sighed, swallowing his protests. "I swear." Finally, he caved to her will. How could he ever refuse her, even in this? It was a quality to her that Loki found himself despising at this moment. The Latina in his arms softened again, cuddling closer to him and resting her head against his chest, satisfied. Loki rested his chin on her soft curls that matched his own as he breathed in and out. He made a quiet vow to himself to do everything in his power to make sure he would never have to follow through with the oath. He held her a bit closer to him.
"Thank you. I know it's hard, but you know it's crucial."
"I know, but it doesn't mean I hate it any less."
"Me too. I just want to live to the fullest while I have the chance, and I want to spend that chance with you, my king. If he will have me, that is?" Reyna laughed as she looked up at the raven-haired man again. Loki smiled down at her, taking a moment to soak in her presence. Her brilliant eyes lighting up her tanned skin, sharp features, and flushed cheeks. Her long hair dancing around her face and shoulders in raven curls with small pearls still sprinkled like stars across the night sky. The citrusy scent he could never pinpoint the source of. The trickster god could spend an eternity with her and never find one thing he enjoyed about her more than anything else.
How could he ever refuse her?
"It would be my genuine pleasure, my queen." Reyna's beaming smile sent a warmth he had never felt before through his cold body. She unclasped her hands behind his back and brought one of them up to his face, rubbing his pale skin with her thumb. Loki couldn't help leaning into her touch, her skin soft against his. He let go of his grip around her shoulders to hug her waist. For a moment, the two just looked at each other, drunk with each other's touch. Reyna's right hand slowly moved from his face back to his dark hair, and, ever so gently, she pushed his head towards hers. He wouldn't have been able to stop her even if he wanted to, which he certainly did not. He let himself be guided, painfully slow, to her, not daring to quicken the pace as if that would change her mind and scare her off. Reyna seemed to enjoy the teasing a bit too much because she stopped him just centimeters from her lips and looked up at him through long eyelashes. She took a firmer grip on the god's hair that pulled slightly at the roots, and Loki almost growled at the feeling. Gods, this woman knew how to drive him mad.
"Do you want me, Loki?" She whispered, eyes and voice dancing with a devilish flare that should give him pause. Instead, it seemed to only solidify his answer further.
"More than air itself, my vittra," he breathed. Reyna smirked. Finally, she closed the remaining distance between them and fused them in a desperate kiss. Loki moved his hand to her hair, tangling long fingers in the mop of curls as green and black magic exploded around them in a supernova of swirls and sparks. They didn't pay it any mind and for one blissful moment, the horrors of their past, present, and future didn't seem to exist anymore.