' im only a fool for you, and maybe you're too good for me, im only a fool for you'

"MASTER, NEVER SHOULD I DOUBT YOUR EVERLASTING knowledge, but how have you uncovered the knowledge of a stone being here?"

Stepping forth, the man looked at his child with a wise glint in his eyes, tilting his head. "You are smart not to doubt me, Corvius," he responded after a beat of silence, glancing up to the cloudy skies as he inhaled deeply.

Seemingly taking the hint, Corvius simply nodded and stood to attention, awaiting for his next order, his next command. Instead, his master turned to look at his followers, standing tall and proud.

"Corvius has asked a wise question. You are not to doubt me, that is a given, but staying inquisitive is important," he weaved between his followers as he spoke, boots firmly thudding against the smooth grounds of Xandar.

"Follow me, children, for there is something you should see," he spoke as he lead them a few metres away, his followers following hot on his heels.

Using one of his boots, he scraped away an odd patch of rock from the land, continuing to graze it as a shape appeared beneath. Once all the debris had been mostly cleared away, the image seared into the ground was unmistakable, a sign left behind by a previous visitor. A visitor who surely was also looking for a stone. A visitor who likely did not find it.

Inscribed in the blue tinged floors of Xandar, was the marks of the Bifrost.

Thanos grinned widely.

"Looks like our Avengers have joined the race."

"DANGEROUS? You thought it was better to hide him from me? Don't bullshit me, Fury, I am not that stupid," Wanda seethed through her clenched teeth, accent deeper as the anger seeped out of her.

Sighing, Fury sat down in defeat after yet another attempt at explaining which proved to be trivial. Glancing up tiredly, he looked at Loki and gestured towards Wanda, as if telling him to do something. Loki was not one to listen to Fury, or any authority that is, but he did suppose all this anger probably wasn't good for her. She clearly saw the motion, but didn't turn to acknowledge the deity sat behind her.

Hesitantly, Loki stood up, reaching out an arm as he began, "Darling, maybe you shou-" He was cut off abruptly by Wanda with,

"Sit down, Loki."

He conceded without protest.

Fury glowered at Loki for a second, but there was something amused in his gaze. He had never seen the God of Mischief fold to someone's demands so quickly. Despite it, he returned his gaze to Wanda with a sigh.

"Miss Maximoff, I appreciate you are angry but we are doing this for his own good, he is doing much better than when we found him."

Seeming to have finally let off some steam, Wanda huffed and sat back down, shuffling into her seat as if to escape from the room. The motion didn't go unnoticed by Loki, but he chose to give her space, sending a tight yet reassuring smile her way which was half-heartedly reciprocated.

Simmering down, she bit her lip before hesitantly asking, "When can we see him?"

"A few days at most, but you have to understand, Maximoff, he won't be the same after HYDRA-"

"I know," she snapped, before inhaling slowly through her teeth and softly repeating, "I know.."

After a beat of silence, Wanda rubbed her clammy palms against her thighs, before standing up with a shaky inhale, fortifying herself. "Thank you, Director," she began, unable to stop herself, "For what you're doing for him."

With that, she twisted on her heel and left the room, leaving behind a stunned Loki and Fury.

Tugging off her gloves, Wanda tossed them across the room stubbornly, leaving them strewn across the floor as she huffed and ruffled her hair down from its ponytail. Flicking up a hand, she let a cloud of scarlet energy wash over her and change her outfit from her battle gear (which she had changed into to be intimidating) into a soft red jumper and a pair of black joggers.

Then, she strolled into the common area, hoping to find Steve or maybe Nat to talk to as a distraction, only to find the room empty. Biting the inside of her cheek, she sighed in defeat before slouching onto one of the couches, pressing on the remote. The screen burst alight and Wanda squinted at the sudden brightness of it before adjusting and switching to a random channel for the background noise as she attempted to collect her thoughts.

It was hard. Its always hard. Its almost as if she expects her thoughts and issues to approach her in a neat, orderly fashion in a single filed line instead of bombarding her all at once until all she could do was curl up into a corner. But she had lived far too many lives doing that, from the icy streets of Sokovia to the unwelcoming, dark rooms of HYDRA's top security cells, Wanda had hidden for too long. Somehow, after overcoming that again and again, with so many false promises that she would be better, she always found herself in the corner. Always afraid. Always hiding. She had learnt younger than she should have that running never works, but she had grown to know that hiding doesn't work any better.

That doesn't stop her from trying. It doesn't subdue her primal instinct to hide away and shield herself from the harsh reality, it doesn't numb the ache in her bones or the pulsating in her chest. Just because you know it is hopeless doesn't stop you from trying.

She was knocked out of her thought spiral by the sound of glasses clinking as the couch sunk besides her. As she turned, she couldn't help the small smile playing on her lips at the sight of the God of Mischief, fully decked out in his Asgardian gear, and arms full with a bottle of wine and two glasses with a sheepish smile plastered on his face. "You look like you could use a drink, sweetheart."

He knew her so well. Gracefully, she let a weak slither of scarlet energy whisk away a glass from his arms and gently carry the bottle to the glass tea table in front of them. Pouring them both a glass, he passed Wanda one before grasping his own and leaning back, strewing an arm across the back of the couch as Wanda instinctively leaned into his chest.

"What is it in that pretty head of yours?" His deep baritone voice rang out to her as she kept her gaze trained on the ground, her head leaned against his chest so she didn't have to meet his eyes and the inevitable concern swimming in them. He cared so much. It was terrifying. It felt like being anything but okay would hurt him, would scar him. He was like Pietro in that way, fiercely over-protective, but Wanda was certain even Loki couldn't reach the level of worry her brother had for her.

"Nothing? Everything? I don't know," she replied softly, her words accentuated in a deep Sokovian accent, and almost thoughtful, as if she was somewhere else.

"Okay," he responded, softer than she had spoken, so gentle that it made Wanda want to burst out into sobs.

She didn't, of course, instead she half-heartedly retorted, "What would Asgard say if they knew the big bad God of Mischief was being so soft."

"Soft? Pfftt, I would never," he commented, playfully pushing her off him as he put a hand over his chest for dramatic flair. At her chuckle, a smile ghosted over his face as he pulled her back into his arms, planting a kiss at her temple. "They won't have to say anything, because they will never know. Only you will, burdening secret to keep, isn't it?"

"Oh, yes, the most burdening," she mocked with his British accent, her heart softening at his usual playful attitude which he had taken back up. She was so much more comfortable with this than his worrying. Of course, when he did worry, she always felt so loved and protected, but she didn't want him to be burdened with stress over her. "Don't worry, they will never know how much of a fool love has made you."

At her mocking tone, he smiled fondly before pulling away slightly to capture her jaw and meet her eyes with a firm look in his own, "I'm only a fool for you," he rasped out, before locking their lips into a passionate kiss.

"Your room is literally four steps away." Bucky declared into a monotonous voice as he flicked the lights on. Reeling back in shock, Wanda silently caught her breath as she wiped away the smudged lipstick from her face, glaring at Loki who was reclining on the couch with a rather smug look, proud of his handiwork.

Sam walked in with a hand shielding his eyes, "Are they done yet?" He called out to Bucky, who rolled his eyes and tugged the mans hand down.

"Oh don't be so childish," Wanda retorted, wincing as she realised how breathless she sounded. Sam and Bucky, luckily, hadn't seemed to have noticed, but by the way his grin grew impossibly larger, Wanda could tell that Loki definitely did catch it. Groaning, she crossed her arms and laid back against the couch, wrenching her hand out of Loki's grip as he reached for it, but surrendering the second time after realising she much appreciated the warmth of his palm.

Gradually, more of the team filtered into the room wordlessly, almost as if they all had a mental connection. Once most of the team was present, Sam put on a movie he insisted was the best of the century and forced everyone to watch it. Wanda didn't mind though, movie nights were probably the slowest, most relaxed nights at the tower.

Somewhere amidst watching the movie, Wanda felt her head loll against Loki's shoulder as her eyelids began to feel heavier, but she blinked it away, not wanting to waste any quality time she could have with the team. Noticing the motion, Loki whispered ever so quietly, "Tired, darling?"

"Mm, no," she replied stubbornly, and he had to suppress a smile at the sight of her barely staying awake as she attempted to pull off not being tired. Gently, he pulled her head onto his chest and wrapped a protective arm around her waist.

"Alright Miss not tired," he agreed without protest, knowing without doubt that she'd end up falling asleep.

And it only took five minutes until he was proven correct.

Ever since the HYDRA incident, it seemed the whole Thanos debacle had been swept under the rug.

It hadn't.

Apparently, Fury had a whole intelligence team in formulating some sort of 'grand plan' for them to stop Thanos getting the stones, using Strange's and Loki's theory as their key point. The theory, of course, being Wanda containing the stones to their keeper. He decided only now, a few days after the incident, to tell them about his so called plan, and send them on the mission to Xandar the very next day.

Stephen and Loki shut it down instantly.

Scoffing, Loki threw his arms up before leaning back in his chair, shaking his head in utter disbelief, "Let me get this straight. You, who knows nothing of the stones or their power, has come up with a plan, with the help of people who also know nothing about the stones, to contain them? Wow, you more amusing than I give you credit for, director."

"I cannot believe I'm saying this, but Loki's right. Respectfully, you are way out of your depth going after the stones," Stephen agreed dryly, glaring at the man. Loki shot him a dazzling grin at his agreement. Noticing the motion, Stephen rolled his eyes at the God.

Sighing, Fury intertwined his fingers as he leaned his elbows against the desk, his face uninterested, "Listen, we understand that we don't have as much knowledge on the stones, but I know damn well how to run a mission. This plan will work."

"Tomorrow? Isn't that a bit soon?" Steve asked hesitantly, it wasn't like him to ever step back from a mission, but he would try his luck to delay it. If not for him, than for his team.

"We don't have the time to waste, last mission the urgency seemed to ring out to you, I wonder where its gone now," Fury retorted, an obvious stab to Loki and Stephen for their criticism. Loki sentenced him with a mocking nod and smirk, while Stephen just snorted with amusement, leaning back in his seat. "I assume there are no more complaints."

"And what happens when I can't contain the stone?" Wanda interjected, the room falling silent as she addressed the unspoken fear floating in the atmosphere. A doubt lingering in all of their minds, but hindered out of pure respect. Only because they didn't want to offend her, didn't want for her to know they doubted her. But she doubted.

"What happens when your plan fails.. because I don't have the strength to contain them."

"You do," Stephen assured, voice almost uninterested. She couldn't help the flare of pride and hope that erupted in her chest at the tone of voice, he had enough faith in her that just the idea of her not being able to do it was ridiculous enough to bore him. Pursing her lips, she repressed the smile playing at her lips.

"Well then," Fury snipped out, "It seems there is no more objections. You head out at six sharp tomorrow morning. Pack light."

A chilling gust of air blew across the planet, drowning it into an eternal winter. Wanda shivered, her bones stiff as the icy breeze encased her body. Glancing around, she took in the sight of a planet drenched in complete and utter blue. The vast expanse of the sky to the glistening lakes below were engulfed in a midnight blue shade. The reflection of the dark skies glinted in her irises, illuminating them in an allure of blue.

The ground was completely iced over, and Wanda considered herself to be sliding rather than walking around. Shuddering, the witch clutched the jacket draped around her shoulders closer to her body, searching for comfort in the faded leather material. It was the jacket Pietro had stolen from her to shield her from the cold of the streets during harsh Sokovian winters all those years ago. Maybe she wore it too often, but she practically lived in it. It was like a kiss of the past against her skin.

Taking in a deep inhale of icy air, Wanda continued walking. They were searching for signs of the stone, they had to find it in the open to be able to tether it back to its stone. It seemed that last time, the reality stone had been smart enough to attack them knowing they would be caught off guard. It carefully tailored its hostility for their oblivious nature. But now, they were purposely trying to trigger it.

Despite the unbridled faith everyone seemed to have in her, Wanda couldn't help the doubt dragging her through the dirt. Because how could she do this if she didn't understand her own power? She knew its abilities were endless and a world altering amount of powerful, but simultaneously, it was uncontrollable, unpredictable. It lashed out when she didn't want it to, it wasn't hers to use. It was chaos.

But so was she.

Fortifying herself, she banished the thoughts, punctuating her decision by allowing for a snake of scarlet energy to erupt from her hands and pulse around her, letting a pulsating barrier of energy scan across a local radius in search of any sign of the stone, before dissipating. Smiling despite herself, Wanda let her power come back to her. As uncontrollable as it may be, her red was hers, and she would treat it as such.

Unfortunately, her flashy show of power, and the clearly detectable trace of energy it left behind was not enough to lure the stone out of its hiding. Huffing, Wanda took the defeat, halting in her steps as she kicked out a small hill beneath her, leaving it in a pile of stray rocks.

Shutting her eyes firmly, Wanda exhaled in frustration, the stone was being stubborn. Somehow, it prompted the doubt to come trickling down her spine again, it was like a parasite. No matter how hard she fought it, it would thrive off her. With a shake of her head, she settled for continuing to aimlessly wander around, better than nothing she supposed. Strangely, she hadn't seen any of the team in a while. It may of concerned her, but considering the size of the planet, it wasn't surprising.

The low grumble of thunder rung out behind her, but Wanda shrugged it off, narrowing her eyes as she focused on searching for the stone, blissfully unaware of the growing, angry clouds accumulating behind her. Beneath them, however, a crack of blue light tore from the horizon.

She didn't realise it.

Well, for the first thirty seconds at least.

Another angry, harsh clap of thunder erupting from the sky prompted Wanda to spin on her heel. When she was met by the sight of a sharp, midnight blue energy raging in the sky, she stumbled backwards, eyes growing to the size of saucers.

Collecting herself, she narrowed her eyes, flashing them a dangerous scarlet as a smirk grew on her lips.

"Caught you, сука"

Clenching her jaw tightly, Wanda imbedded her heel into the ground, digging it roughly into the rocky material of the planet. Cracking her fingers, she let the energy settled against her stomach rush up and crackle at her fingertips, illuminating them in rings of dark scarlet energy. Throwing her arms up, wisps of energy launched into the sky, slithering around almost gracefully to wrap around the stray power in the sky.

As soon as she thought she had a grip on it though, it slipped out of her grasp, piercing through the gaps of her floating energy and emerging again. Slackening slightly, Wanda watched it slide to the side, splitting into parts and going soaring through the atmosphere. She focused on the energy still in the air, attempting to use her energy to tether as much of it as possible, but it was too spread out now.

It seemed she had been too distracted though, as she barely caught a flash of intense blue in front of her before feeling a throbbing pain at her hand. Cursing, she frantically wiped off the blood on her trousers, biting her lip as she observed it continuing to ooze out.

"Come on," she breathed out, urging her power to work. It did, but it was significantly weakened now that her hand had been temporarily disabled. Letting out a colourful string of curses, Wanda shook it off, biting her tongue as she stared up at the sky with new determination driven by anger fuelling her blood. She thrived off her anger. It was her survival technique.

She let it fill her body, spew out of her pores, she let it complete her being, she became it. The anger gave her power. It enraged her red into an impossibly darker scarlet.

Pulling her arms together, she let the energy accumulate between them and connect, forming a hex between her hands, fingers contorting as she channelled more energy into it, she pulled it towards her chest, eyes illuminated that same scarlet, so dark that it overpowered the reflection of the planet's innate blue. The energy crackled and pulsated between her fingers. Bringing it away from her again, she hastily snapped her hands together, before jerking them in opposite directions, sending an extended rope of energy crashing into the sky.

That seemed to do much more damage than her previous attack, leaving an angry red scar tearing through the sky, it was an opening almost. Squinting her eyes in confusion, she tilted her head. Despite it, she decided she could use it to her advantage.

The stone, though, was angered now, splitting at her from all directions, sending short but sharp blades flying towards her. Leaping out of the way of another attack, she cast a magic shield around her body, intending it to protect her, but it would definitely weaken her attacking energy further. It was a sacrifice she'd have to make.

But after a third attempt to let out another string of energy to pry at the wound she had already inflicted to the stone, only for it to barely graze the surface, she decided the barrier was too draining. This was too important, she knew it was risky leaving herself defenceless, but she was getting desperate. Anything to save the universe, right? She cringed. God, she was terrible at lying to herself.

Letting her barriers drop, she was swift to immediately continue tearing at the sky. Noticing her vulnerability, the stone accumulated its energy, forming an arrow shaped blade which was charging straight towards her.

Wanda paid no attention to it, despite how dangerously fast it was moving toward her, because finally she had caught a grasp on the side of the stone. Albeit a wavering grasp, but her energy was holding on tightly, and so was she. Grunting, she wiggled her heels further into the ground as she conjured a rope like strand of energy to make her pull easier. With all her might, she gripped onto the rope and tugged.

Jaw falling open into a scream of effort, Wanda's features scrunched up as she tugged and tugged. The arrow was gliding through the air at an impossible speed by now, and soon, it was just a meter away, a few inches-

But simultaneously, she had the stone. She had it. Calling upon every force in her, she felt herself shine a light so bright that even she had to look away as her energy blasted out of her. The arrow was an inch away. Her power, an inch away from tearing apart the stone.

A blinding blast of energy obscured her vision, obscured the world for a second. It filled her senses. It overcame her.

And then, it stopped.

The world fell dark.

Loki felt his mouth go sour as a flashing light blinded him, his arms shooting up to shield his eyes from its harsh abuse. They were a second too late. His legs burnt from the sprint he had attempted, but clearly not good enough.

They were just a second away.

Stephen jumped into action much faster than Loki, who stood stunned, gaze trained at the sky, ready for attack.

But as the light cleared out, left in the darkness was not a stone, but a witch. His witch.

Perhaps it was just glancing at her, looking so drained and lifeless against the ragged edges of the grounds of Xandar that made him leap back into action, his senses regaining. He was by her side in an instant, collecting her into his arms as he rest her head in his lap, shutting out the presence of Strange beside him who was pressing two fingers against her neck in search of a pulse. He shut out the sound of the other avengers rushing over, their heavy breathing a testament to their desparation. His vision tunnelled until she was all he saw.

Her gorgeous scarlet locks sprawled out across his legs, dangling over them and draping on the floor, her arms limp by her sides, her chest barely rising. Was it rising it all? He couldn't tell. And then, her face, she was too pale, she looked drained, exhausted, lifeless. Her lips were whitened, brows smoothed, she looked so eerily calm, as if she were just asleep. But much to his dismay, her beautiful emerald green eyes which he loved so dearly were firmly shut.

Voices rung out behind him, but they were muffled, and he barely recognised the feeling of someone grabbing his shoulder until a brush of golden energy broke him from his trance. Stephen?

"What," Loki hissed out, snapping his neck around.

Ignoring his hostility, Stephen urged him to take his jacket off to transfer her head onto. He needed to use his powers to wake her up, and apparently it was unsafe to do whilst she was in his lap. Hesitantly, Loki conceded, clasping onto her hand as he gently lay her head onto his green jacket. If Stephen noticed the death grip Loki had on her hand, then he must've chosen not to mention it, the distress evident on the God's features despite his best efforts to conceal it.

Kneeling besides her, Stephen let his eyes fall shut as he conjured a golden string of energy, twisting it into a ball before hiding it into his fists, opening it again only to show a pile of sparkling energy. Transferring it between both his hands, he allowed it to stretch into a larger spark of energy, its power intense enough to begin lifting him from the ground. With a grunt, he pushed himself down with all his might, sending the golden hex down against her chest.

A beat passed.

Another.

And then-

Her eyes snapped open, and she lurched up, looking around frantically.

"Hey, hey! Calm down," Loki consoled, recollecting his voice after seeing her so clearly distressed. It felt a weight lifted off his chest though as he saw her finally move. Stubbornly and flailing around? Yes, but it was Wanda. He didn't expect anything else. "You did it."

"Huh?" She breathed out, drawing a chuckle from some of the team who began surrounding her, kneeling down so she didn't have to look up.

"I knew you'd kick ass, red," Sam added, and Bucky hummed in agreement. With a chuckle, Steve clapped a hand on his shoulder as he sat on the ground, letting out a sigh of relief.

Looking around with an expression somewhere between confusion and exhaustion, Wanda shook her head before laying her head back onto the jacket, drawing an exasperated chuckle out of Loki as he brought a hand to cup her cheek.

"You did it," he murmured to her whilst the team was distracted with either celebrating or gaining back their energy sat in a little circle. Leaning down, he placed a gentle kiss against her forehead.

"Yeah, I did," she echoed, gripping onto his hand as she played with the rings on his fingers. Repressing a smile at the nonchalant motion, Loki glanced to his left to meet Stephen's gaze.

'Thank you,'  he mouthed, a genuine gratefulness strung through his features. Stephen only nodded curtly, a slight smile on his lips before occupying himself with listening to Clint complain about the stupid stone which was apparently chasing him. Despite the teams celebratory cheers in the background, Loki managed to find himself solely engaged in gazing at Wanda. His Wanda. Her eyes were so stunning when they glimmered in the sunlight. Pulling their intertwined hands to his lips, he placed a gentle kiss to her hand, running his fingers over her knuckles.

And just by looking at her, a soft smile on her face as she chuckled at a remark Sam had made or replied to one of Clint's jokes, Loki came to a decision.

He prefers it much more when she's alive.

A/N:

i wanted to be mean and leave it at her destroying the stone, but a) it has been ages and you deserve a longer chapter and b) it has been ages and you deserve better than a cliffhanger

anyways the team capturing this stone may seem rushed but i promise theres a reason hehe. also this chapter took legit months for me to write and i am so sorry for that

i hope you liked it, i promise im working on the next chapter of war of hearts rn. love you always <3