Author's note: Hey guys, it's been a pretty wild last few days for me, I had to finish school three months early (I've been at the academy for seven years and now I'll never go back... we had a day's notice) and all my exams are cancelled so I don't know whether I'm going to university or not now! Fun times xx On a serious note I hope y'all are doing okay <3 Here's chapter eighteen, enjoy, and stay safe :)
...
When you woke up it was light, but you had no clue what time it might be. Your body didn't feel like it had just been in a washing machine anymore either, which was good news. Loki was gone, but that didn't surprise you, Tony wouldn't have been too pleased to find him asleep here this morning. You trusted that he was somewhere nearby.
You tentatively swung your legs over the side of the bed and stood up slowly. You didn't collapse, as you had been doing a lot recently. That was a good sign. You were still wearing the clothes you had been in for your initiation yesterday; you needed a shower. You made your way to your room and had a hot shower, relishing in the fact that you could move your limbs without it hurting already. Being Asgardian had its perks. As you stepped out of the shower and wrapped yourself in a towel, you could hear panicked voices in the corridor outside.
"She's gone, he's fucking taken her, I knew something like this would happen, right after the stupid initiation show we had to put on..."
"Tony, calm down, I'm sure she's fine..."
"She is not fine, she has been kidnapped."
Oh no.
You opened your door and stuck your head around it, smiling at a very dishevelled looking Tony and a sceptical Nat.
"Hey there. Who's been kidnapped?"
"You! Where have you... why would you..." Tony spluttered, gesturing wildly.
"Why would I have a shower? Hygiene?" you replied, earning a smirk from Nat.
"We thought he'd gone and taken you with him." Tony told you.
Shit. How to act? Shocked? Indifferent?
"She knew. You knew he was gonna do a runner?" Nat immediately deduced, cocking her head and raising an eyebrow at you.
"...give me a minute." you requested, swiftly closing your door again before Tony could absorb what Nat had just said. You got dressed quickly and tied your wet hair into a bun before making your way to the kitchen. Tony, Nat, Steve and Thor were sat on the sofas in the lounge; you tried not to feel intimidated as you sat amongst them.
"Hear me out first, okay?" you asked, as Steve opened his mouth to speak. He nodded at you to go on.
"I only found that Loki could use magic like two days ago, even though he's been able to use it for weeks - please! Don't interrupt." you begged, as they all made noises of protest.
"He has been able to use his magic for weeks, but how many times have you seen him using it? None. It's unfair, Tony it's like... I don't know, not letting you have access to your workshop and suits. Thor, it's like not being able to have Mjolnir."
"That's different." Tony said, ignoring your request not to be interrupted.
"You're right, it's worse for him. It's a part of him. It's unnatural to take it away from him. Also, I asked him to come to my initiation, that's why he was at the mission in time to save us from getting crushed, and all the civilians who were still in the building when I couldn't hold it up anymore. I don't suppose you thanked him." you concluded, feeling as though you had put up a strong argument. Tony, Nat and Steve looked thoughtful, but Thor was smiling at you almost as though he was proud.
Thank you.
Nosy. Are you ever not listening to me?
Only when you're too far away to hear. How do you feel?
Intruded upon.
You know what I meant. Physically.
Fine, it doesn't hurt anymore.
Good.
Where are you?
The penthouse.
"Y/N? Earth to Y/N." Steve was trying to get your attention.
"Yes?" you replied, trying to look like you hadn't just been having a completely different conversation. You really needed to work on this having two different conversations at once business.
"How come you zoned out like that? Do you feel okay?" Steve asked. Now Thor was looking at you knowingly.
"Yeah I'm fine. What were you going to say?" you asked.
"Even if we were to invite Loki back here, Fury won't allow it unless he categorically can't use his magic. If that can't be guaranteed..."
"We didn't exactly chuck him out. He just disappeared."
"You threatened him." you said.
"What I'm saying is that he can come back, but how are we going to tell him that?"
You felt relief wash over you. That had been a lot easier than you'd been anticipating. Nat didn't look best pleased.
"I have a feeling Y/N might be able to help us with that." Thor said, smiling at you.
Hey, you can come down if you want.
Did Stark say it was okay?
Don't pretend you weren't listening. And since when do you care what Tony says?
Good point.
A second later he was sat on the sofa next to you.
Show off.
I don't know what you're talking about.
You didn't miss the smirk he showed as Tony, Nat and Steve all stared disbelievingly at him, and had to fight down a laugh yourself. You'd never seen Nat's face more expressive.
"What did you do with the cuff?" Nat finally spoke.
"I'm still wearing it." he said, pulling up his sleeve to show them.
"We need Fury to think you can't use your magic, that'll mean Tony 'making' a new one." she said.
They're helping me?
Yes.
"I can just make it a bit bigger. Fury has no way of checking." Tony thought aloud.
"But, this is only temporary right? We'll have to talk to him eventually, Loki can't just keep pretending to be locked up here without his magic forever." you asked.
"It's a short-term plan." Tony said, slapping his knees and getting to his feet.
"Don't mess up Reindeer Games, or next time you'll be gone for good." he added, as he left the room.
Steve and Nat got to their feet too and removed themselves to the kitchen on the other side of the room, out of earshot of you, Loki and Thor.
"Where did you go brother?" Thor asked.
"That is none of your concern." Loki replied coolly.
"Well, time to be on your best behaviour from now on, you heard what Stark said."
"Behaving is boring, I've been doing it for far too long." Loki sighed.
"You broke literally the only rule you were told to follow about three weeks after you got here and lied to everyone about it for a month. I'd hardly call that behaving." you observed.
"I would." Loki said, crossing his arms.
"Do you want to go and train? After breakfast though, I'm starving." you said, suddenly realising how hungry you were.
"No, you're still recovering." Loki told you.
"I'm fine. Let me grab some breakfast and then we can go..."
"No. You're still healing." Loki repeated.
"I'm done healing, I slept for about fourteen hours last night!" you replied indignantly.
"You might be physically healed, but you need to leave time for your magic to recover too."
"Fine. But I'm starting training again tomorrow, okay?"
"You should be back to normal by tomorrow." he nodded.
"Why do I get so exhausted so easily?" you huffed. "You didn't even flinch when you took the weight of the building off of me, you were already using magic for a disguise, and then you managed to teleport away after."
"That's because I've been using magic for centuries, and you have only been learning for a month. Also, you will have noticed that I was properly asleep last night, for the first time since I arrived here, apart from when I had to heal your legs."
"And why would Lady Y/N have noticed that you were asleep last night?" Thor asked, having apparently been listening to your conversation.
You heard Loki cursing in his thoughts, loud, and you furiously fought not to smile.
"Because..."
"We usually talk when I can't sleep. Last night he wasn't replying, so I knew he was asleep."
"Didn't you think he might have left?" Thor asked.
"No." you replied.
That pleased Loki. You could tell. You were getting quite good at this mind reading business.
"Y/N, you want some food?" Steve called over to you from the kitchen.
"I do." you replied instantly, getting to your feet, then turning to Loki and Thor.
"You guys want breakfast?" you asked.
They both shook their heads, so you joined Nat and Steve in the kitchen.
"You and Lady Y/N can communicate through your thoughts? Why is that I wonder?" Thor asked Loki suggestively.
"I suggest you stop talking brother." Loki advised.
"I thought only Asgardians with a special kind of connection can communicate through their minds... or am I remembering it wrong?" Thor continued.
Loki didn't reply, watching you talk to Steve and Nat across the room.
"What was it? Soulmates-"
"Stop." Loki said abruptly, turning to look at Thor instead.
"That's just superstitious nonsense, there's no evidence to prove it."
Thor simply raised his eyebrows, tilting his head in your direction.
"Wouldn't that explain why the two of you have bonded so quickly?" he prompted.
"Why do you sound so hopeful?" Loki scorned.
"I want you to be happy. She makes you happy." Thor plainly stated.
Loki turned back to look at you. For once, he couldn't argue with Thor's logic.
"It's not real. But even so... don't tell her." Loki said.
"But if it's not real..."
"Just, drop it Thor." Loki insisted, becoming annoyed.
To Thor's credit, he did drop it after that, but Loki couldn't get the idea out of his head.
"Hey Y/N, have you seen the news?" Bruce asked, coming into the room and grabbing the remote from the coffee table to turn on the TV.
"No, why?" you asked curiously, walking over to the TV with your breakfast.
"You're getting some good publicity from yesterday." he explained, as a birds-eye view of you holding up the block of flats from yesterday appeared on the screen.
"Whoa." you said, watching the same situation you'd been in yesterday from a different angle. It looked pretty cool, you couldn't lie. There was more footage of the building, luckily with little to no focus on Loki, whose disguise had apparently worked well, and then some tearful interviews with the citizens you had saved, including...
"Oh my god." you said, as your foster parents appeared on the screen, looking less than pleased.
"First she leaves without paying her dues, and now she's gone and ruined our home! She's scrounging off of the richest man in New York now, so she should be able to pay back what she owes, you hear me Y/N? We want our money-" the interview cut off there, apparently having only been there for comedic effect, and moved on to a tearful mum with two children, thanking the Avengers for saving them.
There was an awkward silence in the room.
"That was your foster dad?" Nat asked you sympathetically.
"Yep. Charming right?" you said, forcing a laugh. You felt sick.
"Asshole." Nat said, giving your arm a squeeze.
You nodded vigorously; your throat felt really tight.
After watching the report for another five minutes and letting conversation continue around the room, you abandoned your breakfast and subtly escaped back to your room, where you could cry in peace. Why you were crying was a mystery, you'd never had proper parents, why was it hitting you so hard now?
Back in the living room, Loki was fighting a fierce internal battle. Kill that man on the television, or try and make you feel better by talking to you. It was a hard decision. After a few minutes of you letting your emotions run riot just down the corridor, he decided to try and talk to you: he was meant to be behaving after all.
You had just managed to get a grip when Loki's voice arrived in your head.
Are you okay?
Yes. Thanks.
No you're not.
Why did you ask then?
Sorry.
There was a pause, and then you broke.
Can you come in?
Twenty seconds later, Loki was sat next to you on your bed.
"I'm not very good at dealing with emotion, but my father was an 'asshole' too, as Natasha so eloquently put it." he told you, making you smile at his use of a curse word.
"Mm, I've heard all about Odin." you nodded, thinking back to all Thor had told you on the roof that night.
Loki blanched. How much had Thor told you? Did you know about his heritage? Surely not.
"Oh?" he responded, inviting you to continue, but you didn't. You couldn't know about what he really was. None of this would be happening if you did.
"I need you to look at something." you said suddenly, getting to your feet and moving to your pinboard, on which you had pinned the picture of your apparent parents.
"Do you recognise these people?" you asked, returning to the bed and showing him to picture.
Loki scanned it, frowning, and shook his head.
"I don't, but that's not to say they're not on Asgard. I can't remember every face in the kingdom." he told you, handing the picture back. You stared at it morosely.
"You'll find out about them one day, I'm sure of it." Loki reassured you, and you smiled at him through red-rimmed eyes, hoping it to be true.