A/N: here she is folks: the final chapter. she's hefty and she took me a very long time to write because i am very good at procrastinating but she's finally here. if there's anything else you'd like to read (regarding this fic) please send a prompt or your thoughts and i'll happily add some more chapters! i really hope you've enjoyed this fic, and that you enjoy this final chapter<3 thank you for reading!

...

Everything else disappears as you stare at Loki. Behind his not quite closed eyelids lie blood red eyes, unmoving, unseeing.

His skin remains blue even after you blink hard a few times, shaking your head. Are you dead? Is he? Are you hallucinating?

As you reach out to touch Loki's arm, someone takes hold of your shoulder. You turn and look up into the face of an unfamiliar SHIELD agent.

"You need to move. This is unstable ground, it could collapse at any moment."

Unstable ground. You're above the collapsing department. Suddenly things start to make sense in your muddled brain.

Loki had teleported the two of you out of the ground. He'd saved you... but Maya, Frankie and Margo are still below the ground. Panic engulfs you again.

"They're down there, they're in the staircase." you say loudly, standing up quickly. Then you crouch at Loki's side again, the worry you feel for him making it hard to breathe. You reach out and touch his cheek with the backs of your fingers, and it stings. He's so cold.

You withdraw your hand quickly, even more scared and confused, and then the ground lurches beneath you.

"Move, move, move!" the SHIELD agent behind you shouts, grabbing you under your arms and dragging you to your feet.

"No!" you protest, but then allow him to pull you backwards when you see that two other agents are picking Loki up, making sure not to touch any exposed skin, and carrying him swiftly after you.

You shrug the agent off you and run for yourself on the unstable ground, keeping as close to Loki as you can. Eventually you get to where the ground is still, and you turn to watch the ground behind you disappear as though it's a large sink hole.

Your throat closes over as you think about the dark room under the ground you'd just escaped from, and how Maya, Frankie, Margo and James are all still under the ground. Without thinking you start back towards the fast-sinking ground, and a SHIELD agent, a different one, grabs you and pulls you back.

"Maya- she, they're still in there!" you tell him loudly. He doesn't understand.

You want to do something, anything, but you can't see any sort of door or exit to the staircase that Margo had claimed she could see the top of, and then you turn around and they're trying to take Loki.

"Put him down!" you exclaim, a sob catching in your throat as you think of them all, still below the ground.

"Calm down, you're alright -" the same agent taking hold of your arm again as you try to move towards Loki. You bat his arm away and trip after them anyway, shaking your head when you hear someone yelling your name.

It takes you more than a few seconds to work out that the shouting isn't inside your head, but is in fact Thor, rushing towards you.

As you see him you give a sort of relieved sob, clutching his arm as he reaches you. He doesn't get the chance to ask you if you're alright.

"Maya, all of them, they're still down there Thor. We were too but Loki – why is he blue, why is his skin- they're taking him! Stop them-"

"Hey, hey-" Thor says over your incoherent babbling, grabbing you by the shoulders.

"They're out, we got your friends out." he tells you.

Your knees give out and Thor has to crouch down quickly to let you sit down on the floor. They're alive.

"Maya, James -"

"They're out. And the others."

You close your eyes as the towering trees which stretch high into the sky over your head spin and dip suddenly.

"Let's get you back to the Tower." Thor says gently, helping you back to your feet.

"Where's Loki?" you ask, your voice slurred.

"He'll be okay."

You keep your eyes on the ground as you walk, and remain silent as SHIELD agents and then the team crowd surround you, talking and shouting orders. Thor's arm stays around you: a steady constant.

Now that you know Maya, Frankie, James and Margo are okay, all you can see is Loki's blue skin. His red eyes.

You don't think about the people who hadn't escaped. You try not to think of anything, and it must work because at some point during the journey back you fall into a deep, deep sleep.

...

Loki's POV

When he wakes up, his skin is blue.

He sits bolt upright, accidentally ripping a clear tube from his arm as he does so. A quick glance around tells him that he's in the medical ward back at the Tower.

It takes Loki a couple of seconds to remember why he is where he is, but when he does it hits him all at once.

The department under the ground. The cracks in the ceiling and the dizzying, spinning feeling which had rendered him all but useless. The all-consuming darkness, the sound of the ceiling falling in, and you.

You.

He thinks he might say your name aloud as he practically falls from the hospital bed, but he can't tell because of the ringing which suddenly fills his ears as he starts thinking of all the horrible things which could have happened to you.

It's only about six seconds before he spots you in the bed directly opposite him, but it's probably the worst six seconds of his life. He almost trips in his haste to get to you, to check that you're breathing. You are.

He collapses in the chair next to your bed, breathless with relief, and then leans forward, reaching a hand out to touch you. It's only then that he remembers he's in his real form. He can't touch you without hurting you.

The realisation is a physical pain in his chest as he casts the illusion which is as familiar to him as breathing to hide himself again. But now he can brush his fingertips on your arm without risking hurting you.

Had you seen him? He'd clearly been successful in teleporting you both out from under the ground, but he remembers nothing after the darkened room below the surface. After holding you against his chest so tightly that he could feel your heartbeat hammering away in your chest, beating so hard it felt as though it was trying to get out.

Loki allows his hand to make its way down your arm to your hand as he thinks about it.

As he thinks, he remembers Maya's voice calling your name, and looks around so suddenly that he almost cricks his neck. Had the others made it out?

He sees Margo first, and then Maya, lying still and sleeping in beds further down from yours. Frankie and James are nowhere to be seen. An awful feeling twists its way into Loki's stomach. If they hadn't made it out it would be his fault. There's another woman too, next to Maya but he doesn't recognise her.

Trying to push any unpleasant thoughts away, he looks back at you and starts. Your eyes are open, and you're looking at him. Soon after this first realisation comes a second: he's holding your hand.

Panic and reflex instantly makes him try to pull his hand away, but when he does he makes a third discovery. You're holding his hand back.

Your POV

Waking up to find Loki sat next to you holding your hand is decidedly not he worst thing that has ever happened to you.

When he realises that you're awake and his eyes meet yours he jumps as though you'd startled him and tries to pull his hand away, but you hold on. For a few seconds you stare at each other, and then you open your mouth to tell him that you've been in love with him ever since he stopped following you around all those weeks ago.

"Wait." he says, before you can so much as say the word "I". You close your mouth and take your hand from his. He looks worried for a split second before he realises that you're just trying to sit up, and leans forward to help you.

When you've successfully managed to sit upright you don't give him the chance to lean back into his chair. You wrap your arms around him, holding him against you in a tight hug. He doesn't pull away, or even hesitate as you thought he might, but instead puts his arms straight around you and rests his chin on your shoulder.

You close your eyes, so thankful that you're both alive. When you open them again you see Maya, and Margo. Then come the tears.

You've just been drugged and kidnapped; taken to the organisation which had given you your powers and taken four of your closest friends from you. You've almost died twice, and you've seen the worst day of your life repeating itself right before your eyes. Yet you still feel like a fool for crying.

Loki holds you tighter as you sob, moving one hand to rest on the back of your neck. He doesn't say anything, and neither do you. It's enough that he's here.

"Where are Frankie and James?" you finally manage to ask, choking back more tears. You have the most horrible headache.

"I don't know." Loki tells you quietly, pulling back from the hug and taking your hands instead. You probably look a state, but he looks at you the same way he had when under the illusion back in the underground department. Like you were the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

As you look back at him, you remember his blue skin and red eyes with a jolt.

"You-" you start.

"Please – let me speak first." he asks you, and you nod. His hands are shaking.

"I'm... I don't really look like this. I'm not Asgardian." he tells you, his voice filled with something like hatred.

You don't say anything as he removes his hands from yours and sits back in the chair. Or when he closes his eyes and turns his head away and all of a sudden his skin is blue again.

He stays that way for a while, eyes closed and head turned away from you, a muscle going in his jaw.

"Look at me." you finally say. It's a tentative question, rather than a statement.

"The eyes are worst." Loki says, his voice breaking. He sounds the same.

"Red." you say, and he does turn to look at you then, eyes open and surprise written across his features. His very blue features. You swallow hard.

"You blacked out after we... you got us out from underground. You looked like this." you tell him. He doesn't reply straight away, just watches you intently as if he can gauge what you're feeling from your facial expressions.

Even you don't know how you're feeling, so you'll be extremely impressed if he can work out what emotions you're feeling before you can. Nervousness springs to mind, because you think you know why he's telling you this now after all this time.

"I'm sorry. I should have told you sooner." he says, his skin fading back to its original shade, the red bleeding from his eyes until they're green once more. It's an odd sight to behold.

"Why?" you ask, your heart in your throat.

"You deserved to know." he says simply, placing the ball well and truly in your hands.

"Thank you for telling me." you say. He nods.

"And thank you for getting me out... of there. Earlier." you do mean it, but you both know that you're stalling. You inhale shakily.

"I don't care about... that. What exactly was... that?" you say, gesturing at Loki, who looks slightly ill.

"Jotun. I'm Jotun. A Frost Giant."

Your breath catches in your throat.

"Right. Well, I don't care. I wouldn't have cared before and I don't care now." you tell him firmly.

"Before what?" Loki asks you. His eyes are locked with yours with an intent that's almost frightening, and he's clutching the edge of his chair as though it might disappear from beneath him. You can't help but smile, allowing a nervous laugh to escape you.

"Are you really going to make me say it?"

"Yes." he says, before you've even finished your sentence.

Your heart is about to fall out of your chest; you're unsure if you're physically going to be able to say the words aloud.

"Fine." you say.

Silence. Loki watches you still.

"Before I-" the words catch in your throat and you look away, smiling.

"Tell me." he says, his voice almost hoarse. Desperate. You look back at him, unable to stop smiling.

"Before I fell in love with you."

You feel mentally exhausted once you finally manage to get the words out. You're smiling, but you also feel like you might be about to throw up. All your cards are on the table. You've never done this before.

The corner of Loki's mouth twitches.

"You know I only brought you those coffees because I was bored."

Your heart drops.

But he's smiling. You allow an indignant, relieved, terrified exhale to escape you and then before your brain has time to work out what happens next he's moving towards you and his hands are cupping your face and he's kissing you.

And you're kissing him back.

Time ceases to exist, everything ceases to exist except for Loki and the feel of his hands on your face and his lips against yours. The only emotions you know are love and relief and you slide your fingers through his hair like you've wanted to do for weeks and weeks and everything is right in the world.

You never want it to end, but when it does you get to open your eyes and see all the emotions that you're feeling reflected back at you in his eyes, and it's almost better than the kiss itself.

Loki sighs and pulls a face.

"I think I'm in love with you."

A thousand fireworks go off in your chest, and you have to bite your lip to stop the grin which spreads across your face from stretching right over the edges of your cheeks.

He looks away, embarrassed, but smiling. You grab his chin and turn his face back towards you, lifting your other hand to cover his hand which still cups your jaw.

"That's only half as embarrassing as me knowing I'm in love with you."

You almost have to look away from him, such is the intensity of the look which he bestows upon you after you speak. It hurts your chest, in a good way.

"And you made me say it first." you say, leaning back, not wanting to be away from him but needing to ease the tension in your back. You blink, and Loki is lying on the bed beside you, holding an arm out.

You lean back against him comfortably, and he puts his arm around you.

"I implied it first." he tells you. You roll your eyes.

"If we're doing this, I went out with Henry to try and make you jealous." you tell him, finding his hand and lacing your fingers through his. He chuckles quietly.

"Why do you think I put up with Amber for so long?" he asks you. You turn to look at him incredulously.

"We wasted too much time." he says softly.

"A month or so. That's nothing." you say. It had been meant to make him feel better, but instead he falls quiet. His silence gives you the time to realise that, to him, it was less than nothing. Just like the sixty or so years you have left to live. That's nothing to a god.

He gives you a look, and you turn back around, resting your head against his chest, listening to his heart beating. He pushes his cheek against the top of your head and sighs.

You stay like that, in silence, for a while.

"I hope James and Frankie are okay." you finally say.

"I'm sure they are. They're tough, you saw them down there." Loki replies. You nod. You're thinking again about how Loki is a god, a Frost Giant, a prince. And you're just Y/N. Emotionally scarred, physically mutated Y/N.

But fifteen minutes later when you're finally starting to drift back off to sleep and Loki shifts slightly beneath you and presses a kiss to your forehead, squeezing your hand, all of the doubts and worries fly from your mind.

It's hardly a match made in heaven; you've both almost died at each other's hands, and the circumstances under which you met had hardly been conventional.

But you're here, he's here. Together. And you can work through all of the problems that you're bound to face together too.

You think you might send Thor to break the news to Fury, though.