You were unable to speak for a good ten seconds.

"I... can anyone else see him too?" you finally asked shakily.

"Yes. Yes, he's there." Thor said disbelievingly, standing up.

"Y/N wait..." but you weren't waiting, you were gone, hurtling down the stairs and skidding across the lobby to the front doors where you slammed your hand against the hand recognition device to open the doors. Outside, you heard a huge rumble of thunder, and then, as the doors opened, the heaviest rain you'd ever seen. Relieved laughter bubbled in your throat; sometimes Thor was as awful at controlling his emotions as you were.

"Sorry! Sorry." you heard him call, before you were running out into the rain towards Loki.

Your chest was tight and you were breathless by the time you got to him, even though it was only a short run, but you couldn't care less. He was here, he was okay. You tried to say his name but no sound came out, just a relieved sob as you reached out to him in the rain.

"Gods, are you okay?" you finally managed, blinking rain out of your eyes. You could barely see it was so torrential, but something... felt wrong.

"Yeah, I'm all good, I'm so glad to see you babe!" he replied, pulling you into a tight hug. You froze up. Babe? Loki had never called you babe; you doubted the word had ever left his lips before now. In fact, you were sure they hadn't, because whoever had you in this bone-crushing embrace right now was definitely not Loki, despite the fact that he looked and sounded exactly like him. Your mind raced, what should you do? This was obviously magic, which meant that you were currently trapped in the embrace of one of 'the men'. You fought the urge to shove him away, no, think strategically. But now he was pulling away, think Y/N, think.

"Let's get inside huh?" the man disguised as Loki said, and put a hand on your lower back, propelling you towards the door leading into the compound. You could see the others crowded at the window looking down at you, and you mouthed 'help me' as subtly as possible, praying that they would understand. 'Loki' looked up at the window too, and gave everyone a cheery wave. Gods, this guy had not done his homework. At least now everyone else would know something was wrong; you were relieved to see Tony had already disappeared from the window.

But until he got here, it was your job to make sure that this guy didn't get into the compound.

"Whoa hey! Did you see that?" you said suddenly, spinning around and pointing at the sky.

"No, what...?" the man was cut off as you shoved him away from you roughly and the compound and concentrated your magic around him, holding him down to the ground. Loki's face stared up at you incredulously, and then broke into a grin.

"Well aren't you a clever girl?" he sneered, pushing back against your magic; you were struggling, he had stronger magic than yours, you could feel it.

"Where's Loki. What have you done with him?" you practically hissed, using all of your strength to keep this guy down.

"Oh don't worry, he's perfectly safe... for now." he taunted, and then you were flying backwards through the air, and landing hard on the wet ground with a thud. Before you even had time to move you were being hauled to your feet, and then there was something cold and sharp to your neck: knife. You watched in horror as more men – the same as yesterday, surrounded the area.

Your friends spilled out of the door leading to the compound, Tony in the lead with his suit on, stopping short when they saw your position. For a moment you all stood frozen, in the torrential rain. Another rumble of thunder sounded right over your heads.

"Let her go." Tony said, the first to talk.

"Mm, no, I don't think I will." the man said casually, pressing the knife harder to your neck. You didn't dare breathe, for fear the knife was going to pierce your skin. He no longer sounded like Loki, or looked like him; his hands were shorter and fatter now. Your magic was fighting to get out of you and into this mans face, but you knew you had to wait. Sparks flew from your fingers; you clenched your fists.

"You see, we were unsure about whether we'd even be able to obtain one prisoner, let alone two! And now we have them, so now it's time to negotiate."

"Negotiate what?" Tony ventured, slowly making his way further and further forward towards you.

"We'll be asking for two things, in return for two prisoners." the man told Tony.

Oh gods. These guys couldn't get their hands on anything that was in the compound, Tony had some ground-breaking stuff in there; you dreaded to think what these guys would do with it. But you knew Tony. If he thought you were in danger...

You were going to have to attack, but first you needed to know if Loki was anywhere near. This rain was so heavy; you were starting to get cold. Couldn't Thor control it?

"You only have one prisoner." you breathed, scared to move your throat in any way.

"You what?" the man behind you said, tightening his grip on you.

"I only see one prisoner, me. Where's the other one." you asked boldly.

Just show me Loki, tell me he's here too.

Tony understood what you were trying to do.

"No negotiations until we see the other prisoner unharmed." he told the man behind you.

"Fine, someone bring the other prisoner." the man scowled, and two men turned and ran into the darkness. Where were they keeping him? A jet?

You strained your eyes, looking through the darkness and the rain to see him, but the man behind you grabbed your hair and pulled it back sharply so that you were looking up at him.

"No funny business girl. It doesn't take an idiot to work out that you and the god are fond of one another, we saw you go back into the fire when you finally realised he was gone – we thought you would never notice!" At this your eyes stung with angry tears; you prayed he wouldn't notice with the rain running down your face. "So, you try anything, and I kill your boyfriend. Deal?"

You were shaking with rage as he let go of your hair to let your head drop, and then felt your knees nearly give out in relief when you saw Loki not thirty feet away from you. He looked... you couldn't find a word to describe how angry he looked. He had his gaze fixed on the guy behind you, looking... incandescent with rage. You could see a muscle going in his jaw; it was evident he couldn't move because of the magic, because if he could you were certain the man holding the knife to your throat would not be in great shape. Apart from a bruise on his forehead, he looked fine, and now the relief was fading... and anger was taking its place. The man behind you was talking again, but you weren't paying attention, why hadn't you attacked him yet? You could see Steve shaking his head violently at you – he knew you too well. He would also be aware that you were about to completely ignore him. The men all around were backing up nervously, and one of them said "Uhh, boss?" You were quite literally glowing with magic.

The man spun you around to face him, anger distorting his features.

"I'm afraid that glowing counts as 'funny business' girl." he hissed, the knife still to your neck.

"Oh yeah? And what about this?" you asked innocently, slamming your head hard into his and grabbing the wrist of the hand holding the knife. He flew backwards surprisingly far, now without the knife, and then you were on top of him, and the knife was in his shoulder. He roared in pain and started yelling, but you didn't hang around to hear his curses, because fighting had exploded between the other men and your friends behind you. You flew back over, fighting against the rain and scanning the situation quickly. Negotiations out the window, the men were attacking the compound now, so everyone had formed a circle around the door. Tony was missing, but the compound was being put into complete lockdown; you assumed he had something to do with that.

You flew lower, squinting against the rain, where was Loki? Panicking slightly, you spun in a full circle, still unable to see properly, this stupid rain! Suddenly, there was the loudest rumble of thunder yet, and then lightning, which hit the ground far over the other side of the compound grounds. It was Thor. There was a small huddle of men over there, and a huge jet, hiding in the night. And in the middle of them, Loki. That was twice you'd nearly lost him in the last day, all because of these men. It was really quite annoying, you thought, as you hurtled down towards the small group. You hit the ground hard and used the force to release a powerful blast of magic which travelled through the ground and knocked all the men off of their feet, apart from Thor.

"Get Loki out, I'll hold them off." he told you, gripping Mjolnir and turning to face the hoard of men which had broken away from the compound are were now heading over here. That was all very well, you thought, creating a shield around you and Loki (a welcome break from the downpour), but you had no clue how you were meant to get him out. You turned to Loki and couldn't help but choke up a bit when you saw the worry in his eyes when he looked at you. This was definitely your Loki. Forgetting the fight raging outside the protective bubble you'd created for a moment you cupped his face in your hands and pressed your forehead against his, closing your eyes in relief. You were never letting him out of your sight again. You felt him exhale heavily through his nose, and you opened your eyes to meet his gaze, which flicked to the fight outside and then back to you.

"I know, I just don't know how to get you out of... this." you said, dropping your arms to your side and flinching as another lightning strike hit the ground right on the other side of your shield. You pushed your dripping hair back from your face and frowned at Loki, whose eyes were searching your face imploringly, trying to tell you something.

"You know how to get out, how?" you desperately tried to understand what he was trying to tell you. Loki rolled his eyes.

"Yes, I know you can't speak... blink for yes okay? Do you need me to do something?"

He blinked, hard.

"My magic?" you asked. He blinked again.

You shook your head, at a loss. "My magic isn't powerful enough..."

He glared at your hand, and then stared down at his hand meaningfully, then back at you.

You reached out and took his hand, puzzled, and immediately felt the weirdest sensation, like your magic was being sucked away. You pulled your hand away in surprise, and then realised what he was doing.

"You need my magic." you realised. Relief flooded Loki's eyes as he blinked again, and you couldn't help but smile.

"Will... will I be able to use it after?"

Loki hesitated, then blinked.

You exhaled heavily. You were just going to have to trust him. It was probably safe.

"Okay." you said, and picked up both of his hands with both of yours, stepping closer to him. The sensation started again, and you closed your eyes. After a couple of seconds, you felt Loki's hands squeeze tighter around yours, and he pulled you closer to him. Your eyes flew open, it was working! A few more seconds passed, and then just as you started feeling dizzy, your shield disappeared and you were both instantly soaked by the rain; the noise of the fight was suddenly and deafeningly loud.

Your head was spinning – you'd almost gotten used to this by now; it wasn't something you wanted to become a regular occurrence.

"Hurry up!" you heard Thor yell, but a second later there was another shield around you and Loki, this time green.

"Y/N..." Loki was holding your shoulders tightly, staring at you intently.

"I'm okay, I'm fine." you replied, swaying slightly. "It worked, now go... fight."

"No, you need your magic back, that was too dangerous what we just did."

You nodded vigorously. You did need your magic back, you felt horrible, empty.

"Tell me if it hurts, even a tiny bit." Loki told you, taking your hands.

Ten seconds later, you couldn't even remember what the problem had been; with your magic back things were crystal clear again, it almost felt like you'd just be reborn.

"Okay?" Loki asked nervously, still holding your hands.

You nodded, watching the glow of magic return to your hands, relieved that it hadn't gone horribly wrong, and then Loki had his arms around you, tight.

"Usually I'm not one to complain, but I think they could use some help out there." you suggested, watching Thor nearly trip over as he swung Mjolnir around his head.

"Yes, of course, let's go." he replied, quickly detaching himself from you.

Was he crying? Loki didn't cry. Ever.

"This time, would you actually stay close to me please?" he asked, shooting you a look. A pang of guilt went through you, even though he meant it to be funny.

"I'm right behind you." you smiled.

Then the shield was gone, the rain was in your face and you were in between Loki and Thor, blasting the men again.

"About time!" Thor said loudly. "I thought you'd be stuck in there forever."

"Let's get back over to the compound!" you yelled through the rain.

"Brother, can't you stop this deluge?!" Loki shouted, grabbing you as he rose into the air with Thor.

"You think I haven't tried? It's out of my hands." Thor replied, and you flew back over to the compound with your shield protecting the three of you.

"There you are!" Tony yelled in relief as you landed; he was back in his suit after putting the compound into lockdown and fighting alongside the others.

"Why are they not getting less!" Wanda shouted in desperation. "They're still coming!"

"YOU!" a voice bellowed through the darkness, and suddenly you were flying away from the rest of the group and landing in a sprawling heap on the grass, again.

Suddenly the man who was holding a knife to your throat was back, his shoulder covered in blood and now he was on top of you with the same knife. He didn't look very happy.

"You. Ruined. EVERYTH-" And then he wasn't on top of you anymore.

You sat up breathlessly to see Loki holding the man up in the air with his magic – the same spell they'd been keeping him under. Thor was by your side instantly to help you up, and then to ward off the men still fighting who weren't watching Loki levitate their boss.

"Listen very closely to me. If you so much as lay a hand on her one more time, I will personally see to it that you never feel anything again. Understand?"

The mans face was going slowly purple as he stared daggers at Loki through the rain.

"Loki." you said gently; you didn't want this man's blood on his hands because of you.

Loki dropped the man unceremoniously on the ground and observed him as he struggled to his feet. It was obvious that he knew he'd lost.

"This isn't over." he spat, before turning around and marching off towards the jet. Thankfully, all the other men noticed him retreating and followed suit. You breathed a huge sigh of relief – you couldn't have taken much more of that. Tony refused to take the compound off of lockdown until they'd taken off and were out of sight, and when they were he ushered you all inside and then locked the building down again. The minute you were all inside, the rain stopped. You all turned to glare at Thor, who threw his hands in the air.

"Is everyone okay? No serious injuries?" Tony asked, giving the group a once over.

"Guys! Are you okay?" Bucky hollered from upstairs.

"All okay!" Steve yelled, and gestured up the stairs. "Hot showers and food?" he suggested.

That sounded good to you.

You all traipsed up the stairs, battle worn and aching, but you only made it to the first floor before you had to stop, breathless and weary.

"Y/N? What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Loki asked, concerned.

"Don't worry, breathlessness and fatigue are common after-effects of a heart attack." Tony told him, having hung back to make sure you were okay.

"Common... a heart attack?!" Loki asked incredulously.

"It was... just a little one..." you panted, holding your thumb and forefinger a centimetre apart to demonstrate, doubled over with pain from your chest.

"And you didn't think this information was necessary to tell me before I took your magic?" Loki asked sarcastically.

"It's fine... you needed-"

"Before you what?" Tony exclaimed, turning to Loki.

"I know, I wasn't happy about it either, but it was the only way I could..."

"You took her magic! Do you know how dangerous that is, even without her having had a heart attack less than twenty-four hours before?!"

"Yes, funnily enough I am aware of the ins and outs of magic, and I decided that she was strong enough..."

"Oh, you decided did you?"

"I knew what I was doing! I would never do anything like that if I thought that Y/N couldn't take it, which she could, and did!"

"Yes, evidently." Tony scorned, gesturing to you, still doubled over and breathing heavily.

Then they both seemed to realise that you were still present.

"Here, I'll carry you..."

"No, Loki, carry on flirting with Tony, I can climb a stupid flight of stairs by myself." you said, pushing his hand away and standing up to carry on, swaying on your feet.

"I know you can." he said, putting your arm over his shoulder and picking you up, following Tony up the rest of the stairs. You rested your head against his chest, feeling your eyes droop already.

"Tony..."

"Don't worry, she just needs to rest." Tony said shortly. "Listen, I'm sorry, but if anything had happened to her..."

"I know. Sorry." Loki said.

"You're both going soft on me." you muttered, and heard Tony chuckle.

"Rest, Y/N, no more magic now alright?" Tony instructed.

You were too tired to do anything other than nod.

When you got to the top of the stairs you insisted on Loki putting you down ("I'm not an invalid Loki!") and went to your room to have a hot shower and get comfier clothes on which weren't soaked with rainwater, mud, and blood.

Then, you joined Loki on the sofa in an empty living room. You were nearly drifting off, lying comfortably across the sofa with your head on Loki's lap, when he spoke.

"That was a nice headbutt you pulled off back there."

"I know right? Hurt like a bitch though."

"I see that." he replied, tapping your forehead.

"Is there a bruise?" you frowned. You hadn't noticed, although, there wasn't much time for checking out your reflection in battle.

"Yeah, a bit." Loki smiled, brushing his hand over your head.

"We're matching." you commented, pointing up at his bruised forehead.

"We are." he replied, sounding choked up again.

"What's wrong? Why do you keep getting upset?" you asked, reaching up to cup your hand around his cheek. He leaned into it and closed his eyes, putting one of his hands over yours.

"Loki?" you asked again, watching him with concern.

"I thought you were dead." he whispered. "I thought it was my fault."

You sat up abruptly and turned to stare at him.

"Why would you think that?"

"I heard you... after I thought you'd all got out of the fire safely and they'd already... got me. I heard you calling for me and I couldn't get to you, and then they dragged me out... I couldn't move, or make a noise..." Now he definitely had tears in his eyes. "I didn't know whether you'd managed to get out or not..."

You moved to sit on his lap, and then wrapped your arms around him, resting your cheek against his.

"I'm just so glad you're okay." he breathed, blinking hard.

"I went back in for you, when I realised you weren't in the Quinjet. I felt awful for not realising you were missing earlier, everything was just so hectic, and the smoke..."

"Why would you deliberately fly into a burning building you idiot?" Loki laughed, squeezing you gently.

"Tony had to drag me out." you admitted. "It was pretty stupid."

"Tony got you out?" he asked.

"Yes, so stop being horrible to him." you replied, smiling to show you were joking.

You were silent for a couple of minutes after that, and you started to drop off again.

"Lie down love." Loki told you, and you put your head back in his lap and stretched out across the sofa.

"I knew that it wasn't you straight away, by the way." you murmured, entwining your fingers with his.

"What?"

"The man who was pretending to be you, with the magic, I knew it wasn't you."

"Hold on, he pretended to be me? I'm going to need you to elaborate slightly." Loki said, incredulously.

"He turned up in the grounds looking like you, and I went outside, that's when it started raining. He called me babe, and then waved at everyone in the window." you said, smiling at how stupid it sounded.

"And you knew it wasn't me straight away did you?"

"Well, pretty much."

"What does that mean, 'pretty much'?" he asked indignantly.

"Well, from fifty metres away through the pouring rain, yes, I thought it was you, but I knew it wasn't you even before I got near enough for him to hug me."

"He hugged you." Loki repeated.

"Yes."

"Should've killed the bastard."

"Loki!"

"I'm kidding! Kidding..."

"I think we did them enough damage for today." you mused, your eyes shut again.

"Maybe." Loki said.

You were asleep within five minutes, and only woke up briefly when Loki was carrying you to bed.

"Stay." you whispered, once you were under the duvet and already falling back asleep.

"You say that as if you were under the impression I had other plans." he replied, climbing in with you, making you smile sleepily.

You slept well that night.