"For fuck's sake Loki just quit, I'm not going anywhere." I snapped, losing my patience as he let out a low, agitated growl and backed me into a wall, his eyes gleaming with a cruel anger, washing down in crimson waves over the hurt that shone out like a dulled headlight from his stare.

He opened his mouth to snap something back, pinning me in place with the powerful fury in his glower, before shutting it again, exhaling shakily, his cool breath quivering with blood red frustration, digging into me like spears of frozen venom. My eyelids shuttered closed for a second, accommodating the pain his slow breaths and cold stare served me.

"Loki." I breathed slowly, my eyelids fluttering open as my eyes begged to gaze upon his stunning, cerulean complexion once more, and lose myself in his scarlet gaze just as I did every time I gazed deep enough, to find myself slipping, edging closer to the turbulent, hypnotic insanity that lay within them.

I took another stuttering breath, finding my grounding before I spoke again.

"I'm not running." I practically whispered, taking a deep breath to clear the haze that had melted over my vision, knocking me dizzy.

"I won't." I spoke again, more confidently as I chewed my cheek and rolled my eyes at his responding scoff and sneer.

"If I found you repulsive, I wouldn't be fucking standing here right now."

"Oh is that right?" He growled, his tone cruel, feigning apathy, though we both caught onto the pained shudder that curled off of his glassy words as they rang out in the toxic air between us. But I braved every shard that carved into my chest, biting back a wince as each one constricted my chest. I just gritted my teeth, staring strongly into his blood red depths as I fought for the right words weaving between every screaming thought that ran wild in my head.

"So tell me why I can't take my damned eyes off of you." I spat out, my wounded query seemingly rhetorical as I spoke, but it was the one question circling my mind and I couldn't think for the life of me, of a suitable answer. And I needed one. I needed this reasoning as much as I needed the air flowing deeply into my lungs as I struggled to fight for breath at his demanding stare.

His eyes flickered with a solemn wariness, lighting up his painstakingly transparent gaze as I watched him swallow thickly, not quite believing the words that hung tragically in the air between our breaths, burning brightly with a truth I couldn't have faked if his life had depended on it. I sighed, biting my cheek as I took his hand, ignoring him when his eyes narrowed and he shot me a dangerous glare. I brought it up between us, pressing it against my chest as my hand closed over his and the searing chill from his palm sent a wonderful ripple through my spine, wracking my entire body. His breath shuddered but he stayed tense, still, glaring at me.

"Tell me why my heart is fucking racing." I whispered, swallowing thickly as his eyes momentarily flickered to our hands and I tried so desperately hard to predict his next move, finding I couldn't even begin to guess. But he just blinked, his eyes flashing with loathing, but not directed at me, as his stare fell on the startling mix of our starkly different coloured hands wrapped around each other.

"Fear, most likely." He pondered scathingly.

"Don't flatter yourself." I cut back with a smirk.

"I'm not scared of you, bitch boy."

His eyes flickered briefly with a hint of amusement, quickly morphing into a playful glare of warning, which then faded and I was met again with the same, helpless anger he had held before. The same wary insecurity flooding his every expression. I'd almost thought, just for a second, that he'd begun to believe the vulnerable truth I was stripping myself of for him. But then the cold mask had started shifting over his stare, deepening in his frown and I felt my heart race, suddenly desperate for something from him. Anything.

I physically watched as he shrank back, all vulnerability freezing over into ghastly glaciers that stilled even the crashing tremors in his gaze, steeling his emotion into apathy, and I blew out a breath, unable  to watch any longer.

"Loki-" I began, but my body had reacted quicker, and I pushed myself up to him, lacing my searing lips with his, sighing at the thrilling coolness that seeped into my mouth as my hands slid to cup either side of his face with a frantic urgency, unable to bear the sinking thought of letting go. He immediately stiffened, even tenser than he had been before, before I let out another sigh, pooling heavily with vital crippling emotion and he melted against me, wrapping two blissfully icy arms around my torso as his mouth melded to mine.

I bit back a moan at the sensation, unable to familiarise it in any way other than it being similar to an ice cold glass of water on the most humid, warmest of summer days, my parched lips frantically moving against his for more, insatiable. He growled low, deep in his throat, grabbing at my hips as I ran my fingers over the raised markings that outlined his face, down his neck and over his chest, shuddering with every thrill. It was addictive, sensational, every inch of his chilled flesh sending shockwaves through my arms as I sighed into his mouth out  lining every mark.

When he finally pulled away I almost whined at the loss of contact, immediately biting my cheek as I looked up into his scarlet eyes that still knocked me dizzy every time I glanced at them, burning bright and dark with a haze of lust and something else.

"Stay like this...for a while...please." I whispered, heart fluttering as a slight smile ghosted the edge of his mouth for the first time since he'd revealed his true form. He let out a small, tired sigh and he just shook his head a little, looking down to my hands still splayed over his chest. He chuckled lightly but the sound was forced and it caught in his throat, before he cleared it and finally spoke.

"This is- unnatural, little hex."

"Its beautiful," I cut back in a whisper, so quickly I hadn't realised it had tumbled out of my mouth until I'd closed it again and I felt his arms tighten around me. I couldn't see how he was looking at me now, only watching my hands as they drew along the markings on his chest; obsessed with the stunning way my porelain skin looked against his vibrant, azure flesh. addicted to the blissful clash of extreme temperature with every brush of contact.

I cracked my mouth open in a wide yawn, feeling soothed into relaxation with the feeling of his hand  stroking gently up and down my spine and his cool, steady breath between every kiss he planted against my hair. He let out a low, rumbling chuckle, pulling me closer as I felt a familiar tug within my gut and soon I could feel the soft mattress and the sheets draped warm and comforting over my shoulders, still wrapped up in his cool arms.

I turned to him, eyes wide as I looked up at him, gnawing at the inside of my cheek.

"Please don't change back. Not tonight." I whispered quietly, voice strong, almost at a demand. His smile dampened a little and his brows pulled into a light frown, relaxing a little when I took my bottom lip between my teeth and trailed my hand down his arm. He sighed lightly, his eyes clashing with a clear battle but eventually he nodded, pulling me into him so he was lying on his back, me laying across his stomach with my arms wrapped loosely around his neck.

"Only you." He muttered so softly I believed I maybe hadn't meant to hear it. But I did and as I rose up a little to look him in the eyes, I saw his face soften with something, his lips parting slightly as he let out a ragged breath. When he leaned forward to place a light kiss on my forehead, I lost any lasting energy I had left and I dropped my head back on his chest, my head spinning and my chest feeling...empty. Not empty, but...heavier, with something warm and comforting, no longer held down by the suffocating weights that had been wrapped around my ribs before.

I felt light, in a carefree haze, and soon my eyelids began to close, the last image burned onto my gaze being the way the flames from the fire danced over the skin of our hands, wrapped together in an intoxicating swirl of royal blue and pale pink almost white. The last sensation being his hand drifting in lazy circles over my back. And I willingly surrendered to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~

LOKI'S POV

It didn't take her long to fall asleep. Within ten minutes or so, her breathing slowed and deepened and I lowered my head to kiss her head once more, leaning back as my skin writhed with the sensation of being in this form I had not taken for this long since birth I was sure. I couldn't sleep, not tonight anyway. But I would lie here with her, allowing her warmth to seep into every crack in my skin and her breathing to lull me into a deep relaxation.

I lay there for a while, my mind racing with thoughts and words I kept pondering over, mostly the one question that yelled its racket, demanding an answer I didn't have. The question that had eaten at me from the start.

Why didn't she run?

I'd revealed it all to her, I'd exposed the final part of me I'd been concealing from almost everyone in my life, knowing that all it did was exhibit my true monstrous nature, the creature that parents warn their children about at night. She'd seen it, the blue, the red, the markings, my ice cold skin. And she'd just stayed. She'd begged me to stay in this form, curling up on my freakish body to sleep, like she had no other care in the world. And for what?

My brain ran wild with all these questions, growing louder and louder until I'd glance at her small, softened features pressed up against me again, and in that moment I'd find peace, if only for a brief second. This was my final act, the finale to end all, but she wouldn't settle, the show wasn't over just yet- she'd made sure of that.

Around the early hours of the morning I'd glanced at her for what seemed like the 1000th time, sighing despairingly when I saw the rosy red of her lips had frosted over into a deep purple and her arms were spiked with retaliatory goosebumps, her own unconscious aversion to my deeply iced flesh and cold blood running throughout me. I quickly transformed back into the Loki I usually assumed, biting my lip as I carefully laid her across the mattress instead, wrapping a blanket around her in attempt to retrieve the pink flush her skin glowed brightly with when warmth eneveloped her.

She was so ethereal, painted in dim firelight with deep oranges and golden strokes. Her corruption curled away to the darkest part of her, hidden from my gaze as it so often tried to be. But I saw it, I watched it. I had done from the start. It drew me to her as much as her stunning form had done and it leaked a kind of pain I couldn't understand yet, an insecurity I couldn't read, that she wouldn't let me read.

I loved it. I loved the blackened shell she'd built around her, I loved the soulless apathy she carved deep into her features and I loved the choked pain that swam hypnotically beneath it, visible only to the prying nature of my ceaseless gaze.

My dark assassin

She claimed to hold no more than an empty space between her lungs but the thump that I felt beat from the space in her chest, the place that was sized like the fist she clutched to my shirt, it was there, hidden but there. I wanted it, as selfish as it could be- I needed it. God knows she had the ruined remains of whatever pumped so constantly inside my chest, held in her perfect hands of chaos, with the choice on the tip of her finger. To destroy as they so perfectly could, or to hold, to keep, to shield.

It was a dangerous game. And somehow, she'd placed my counter right in the centre, drowning in her ploys, fighting for the finishing place.

And I loved it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ACE'S POV

We left fairly early the next day after I'd kicked up a fuss in my usual way, deciding I'd had enough of the judgemental asgardians and the gold plated toilet seats. And the consistent teasing from Kustaar and Raoul. As much as I hated to admit it, I was fairly fed up with the constant worry, for someone else I'd left behind, taking up most of my thought capacity at random times of the day. I just needed word from her, and I couldn't get that with the ridiculously sparse methods of communication in this stupid fucking realm.

And so, we'd headed back, albeit grudgingly on Loki's side.

I'd woken to him gone this morning, revelling in a blissful moment where I'd forgotten the events of last night. And then they'd hit me like a ten tonne truck as much as the soreness had. Because Of course. I'd have thought I'd be used to the morning after by now but each time my pained waddle proved me wrong. Oh boy.

Originally I'd been disappointed to not be greeted with the form Loki had taken last night, when I finally escaped his chambers and sat in a fountain drinking Asgardian spirit while the local citizens all watched, only to be dragged like a sack of potatoes back to the palace by Raoul and Kustaar. Instead I was not only met with a thoroughly pissed off Loki, it also happened to be the Loki that had taken the form of the king, in front of the rest of his guards. My least favourite sight to behold.

He'd played the part of treating me like a prisoner in front of everyone in the room, spitting at me like I was no more than a foul smelling inconvenience he'd stepped in, as I just scowled at him and vowed to get him back for it later on. Probably by stabbing him a few times; ratting on him to Fury or something like that.

Then I'd ended up slung over Raoul's shoulder as he walked down the bridge with Loki and Kustaar to the bifrost, after I'd kicked off and nearly shot an Aesir in the head for calling me dungeon scum. Loki had obviously called Raoul to detain me, but I'd seen the conflict written on his face, wondering if he could let me actually shoot the guy, or whether he'd do it himself. I'd seen Loki's clenched fists as the man had spoken and thoroughly hoped I could get away with braining him. But of course he'd chosen the 'sensible' option and kept up appearances, sneering at me instead as Raoul scooped me up.

He was so fucking dead.

"I'd almost say I'm gonna miss you." Kustaar mused, still chuckling at me as I raised my head from sulking at Raoul's back, feeling slightly light headed as I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Damn right you'll miss me. Everyone in this god forsaken realm is so far up their own arses they resemble a reincarnation of the human centipede." I concurred bitterly, poking Raoul in the ribs again, hoping for a good reaction, If any at all.

"Feel like I'm the only sane one here." I concluded bitterly which prompted a scoff from Kustaar and I felt Raoul's shoulders shake a little as he laughed under his breath, a deep rumbling chuckle. I let out a huff of indignation and scowled at Kustaar as he grinned at me, going to pull at my hair before I snapped my teeth at him and he pulled away quickly.

"I'm gonna have to hard disagree on that one chief." Kustaar laughed, grinning even wider when I slyly called him a cunt under my breath.

Soon we'd reached the entrance and Raoul slid me down from his shoulders, catching me when I stumbled a little from the pins and needles that lit my legs on fire, causing them to buckle under my weight. I sent him a sneer, to which he raised a shapely eyebrow, then I sidled over to Loki, slipping the dagger out from my sleeve as he transformed back into his usual form, greeting the bald guy curtly.

What was his fucking name again?

"I see you're taking the criminal back where she belongs." I heard him mutter, sending me a bitter scowl as I smiled at him sweetly, quietly twirling my blade between my fingers. His eyes widened a little when he glanced at my hand and he cleared his throat, taking a step back as Loki turned to me, a frown marring his features as I quickly hid the knife behind my back.

"Yes, I didn't exactly...flourish with the locals." I shrugged, narrowing my eyes as he swallowed thickly and held the large sword a little tighter in his grip. I flashed him another grin and shrugged Loki off as he pulled me into his side, almost protective as his grasp on my waist stiffened. I had the slightest feeling he knew he'd witness some bloodshed if his 'entrusted gatekeeper' kept mouthing off like this.

Correct again.

I'd given Raoul and Kustaar a quick farewell whilst Loki quietly spoke to the man I was itching to skin alive. And then we were gone, once again plummeting through the sickly, blinding tunnel of flashing colours. I felt my gut constrict and once again felt the nausea of breathlessness claw at me for what seemed like an age, only finding safety in the tight embrace Loki had pulled me into.

Once my feet had finally found the floor again, I sighed in relief, glad to be grounded once more, in the place I immediately recognised as a temporary home I'd finally begun to feel comfortable in. Though my vision was still coursing in and out in waves, I was less nauseous now, but Loki still hadn't let go. The arm around me was just as tight, but it felt more like a desperate embrace for him than it was for me.

"Fuck I hate that thing." I mumbled into his chest and I felt him stir, his hold loosening as if he'd been dragged back into reality by my voice. I stepped out of his seize and wrapped an arm round myself as the stuffiness of the air inside the kitchen began to hit me, only looking up into his eyes when I couldn't resist anymore. And he looked strangely distant, his eyes swimming with something as he seemed to look through me.

It was odd, an emotion that seemed weirdly familiar pooling in his eyes as I gazed into them, finding ranks of goose flesh prickling my flesh despite the heated air around me. His eyes shuttered with a kind of melancholy understanding. Like he was leaving something behind, something he was fighting to let go of, and it unsettled me.

A bird sang a sweet, short melody outside and the loud crack of a car backfiring splintered the silence in the air; and just like that he returned,
Glazed eyes hardening again as he clenched his jaw and forced a tight smile, leaning down to press his lips against my forehead. He then walked past me, opening the cupboards to find a glass as he turned on the tap and filled it up.

"Something wrong, Greensleeves?" I queried warily, leaning over the counter as he turned back to me, forcing another small smirk.

"Yes. I'm waiting for the raging storm you're going to cast down on me for what I did to you before." He uttered lightly, a familiar, amused smirk winding up the corner of his mouth.

At the recollection of that specific thought I scowled, sending him a dark look before I leaned over and plucked the glass of water from his hand. I took a sip and set it down, ignoring his amused grin. I clenched the dagger in my hand and briefly dreamt up a number of different ways I could use it to draw a significant amount of blood from his pale skin, before pocketing it again, deciding I would wait until after I sorted out my immediate priority.

"Fascinating." He mused, and I raised a single, unamused eyebrow in question.

"I wasn't aware you consumed anything that didn't contain ethanol." He added off handedly, pouring his gaze over my face as my frown deepened and I shot him a dangerous glare, turning to grab my jacket off the coat hook.

"Eat a dick, Laufeyson." I cut back, sneering as I picked up my keys from the bowl.

"You're high up on my shitlist right now pal, and you're definitely paying for it after I rescue that poor girl from Stark's place." I warned, hoping to see a glimmer of wariness flash in his eyes. But they only seemed to darken a little, his smirk growing devilish as he chuckled lowly.

"Oh I do hope so."

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Stark?" I called out, stepping foot into the room Pepper had directed me toward, giving me a sympathetic grimace I didn't quite catch the reasoning behind as I slipped through the door. I felt the presence of Loki behind me and bit back a sneer again. He'd insisted he accompany me despite the fact I'd told him I didn't need it and that he'd only get himself sent back to Fury and I'd be in a huge steaming pile of shit.

But now here he was, stood beside me, disguised in the form of Some tall, blonde man I didn't quite recognise, after we'd argued over his appearance for so long.

I could hear the low murmur of voices and the electrical whir of machinery echoing from the room next to us and I hesitantly phased over to the open doorway, peering inside as my gut began to twist in a strange tension that surprised me, given the current circumstances.

"The fuck are you doing?" I queried incredulously, stepping inside the room to see him glaring at Charlie as she aimed what looked like Tony's iron glove at a robot in the middle of the room. At my voice, his gaze snapped over and his eyes widened for a moment, before he let out a quiet sigh, already discerning my reaction.

Charlie was a little late to realise but when she did I saw her quickly slide a glass of what looked like straight alcohol closer to Tony and stand up, slipping the gloved hand behind her back. I just rolled my eyes and muttered darkly under my breath, sitting on the desk Tony was sat at and shuffling along when he slapped my thigh to move me off of his papers.

"Hello again to you too." I grumbled, biting back a smirk when Charlie bounded over, carefully watching the unfamiliar man stood behind me.

"Damn, thought you'd be away a bit longer." She murmured, feigning disappointment, but she struggled even then to keep the grin off her lips.

"So did I." Stark muttered pointedly and I aimed a kick at his leg, missing when he swerved out the way and flashed me a smirk, sipping his scotch. His light expression seemed forced however and he twiddled his pen as he watched me, clearly wanting to tell me something that he didn't quite know how to say.

"Who's this?" He remarked instead, gesturing to Loki with his glasses as I shrugged, not moving my stare from him. I looked into the dark pooling mess of his eyes, trying to work out just what it was that was swirling round his head, not even coming close to finding an answer.

"Just a friend."

I opened my mouth, about to query Stark's uncomfortable state, when Charlie suddenly gasped, stumbling off her chair as she grinned at me.

"He made me a suit." She quivered excitedly, clasping her hands together as I raised an eyebrow, plucking Tony's glass of the table to take a long sip. I surveyed him carefully from my seat, weighing him down with the warning that beamed from my glare.

"Oh did he?" I uttered quietly, hearing Tony sigh as he gestured to the bouncing sixteen year old to go and get it.

"He did." Tony admitted, fixing me with a look when she scooted away.

"Lovely. Now can we quit the bullshit Stark."

"Last name basis now? I'm quivering." He cut back dryly and I narrowed my eyes, waiting until he'd locked gaze with me again. When he finally did, his demeanour seemed to crumble a little. He let go of a heavy sigh and leant on the desk, rubbing his brow with his thumb and forefinger.

"Okay so do you want the good news first or...the...potentially life changing news." He queried bluntly, folding his arms and giving me a long, calculating stare that sent an uncomfortable chill wracking through my veins. I frowned, seeing Loki slowly approach in my peripheral.

"Good."

"Okay well, good news. the kid's fine. Completely unscathed apart from the small bruise on her leg where the clumsy little shit fell into my desk." He remarked lightly, noting my unamused stare as I raised an eyebrow and waited for the main thing he seemed hesitant to tell me.

"The other news." He began, my knuckles clutching the desk as I prepared myself for whatever happened next.

"You have a visitor. An old...old friend."

He paused again, gaze flitting to my face as he read my unchanged expression. Then he delivered the final blow.

"A...brother."

~~~~~~~~~~
Heeeeyyy....heeeeey how y'all doin 👀👀

So like I'm INACTIVE ASF recently and Low-key am behind on ✨all my work✨ which is super funsies.

I wanted to get this chapter out and I was just unable to fucking finish it for the LIFE OF ME.

But here it is in all of its unglory ✨👑✨

Hope ur all having a time and I can't wait to read ur comments I love u all ❤️❤️❤️

'Throwawaym8's free time' was ejected。　　　　•　 　ﾟ　　。
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• 'Throwawaym8's free time' was not the imposter •. 。　.