#but I’d also bet money that he didn’t leave loki to die or whatever

[ridiculousn3sswrites]

Summer Session

*Loki x Reader

*Summary: Hanging out after one of their summer classes and talking about after college leads to an admission from Loki.

*Warnings: Swearing. Let me know if I missed anything.

*A/N: It’s been a long time since I’ve written for Loki but I just wanted to so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Also I have a lot of outfits saved as references so I’m gonna start using those in stories like I’ve done every once in a while.

Outfit

**********

As you sat dying in the lecture hall without air conditioning, you asked yourself for the millionth time why you decided to take courses over the summer. It took everything in you not to start fanning yourself and actually pay attention to the professor. The class was only an hour long, but it met three times a week in the same lecture hall that might as well have been a furnace with how hot it was. Your eyes were watching the professor, but your mind had wandered to dropping the class just so you wouldn’t have to be there.

You were pulled from your little daydream by the person next to you nudging you with their pencil. You turned to glare, even though you knew they were only trying to prevent you from falling behind. Sitting next to you was Loki, a guy you’d met in your first semester of college. The two of you never failed to have at least one class together in the few years you’d known each other, so you’d grown pretty close. “What’s wrong?” Loki muttered, trying not to gain the attention of your professor.

“It’s so fucking hot in here, I can’t focus. Would it be bad if I just dropped the class so I can stay at home?”

“Yes, then I’d have to take the class alone,” Loki told you. You just rolled your eyes; he was obviously messing with you now. “We only have twenty minutes left, suck it up.”

“I’m going to kill you,” you said, not quite knowing if you were joking or not. The heat really did that to you, and it was really amplified in the stuffy lecture hall. You really couldn’t get over how much you hated this one lecture hall in particular.

The twenty minutes seemed to drag by, and you nearly cried out in joy the second the professor dismissed you. As soon as you and Loki walked out of the room, you could feel the difference in temperature. It wasn’t much, but it was enough. “So, are we going to head to the library? We should probably study for the midterm,” Loki said, looking at the calendar on his phone. 

“Yeah, we’ll do that in a bit. I just really wanna get ice cream before I completely die from the heat,” you told him. Loki nodded, so you led the way through campus and into the city. Since Loki first showed you this ice cream place freshman year, it had become a habit to go once it started heating up. With both of you being broke college kids, a single scoop for less than two dollars was the best thing that could happen for you in the summer.

The entire walk to the ice cream shop consisted of you complaining about the lack of air conditioning in the lecture hall, with Loki just smiling at your antics. It didn’t take long to get there, and it was early enough that there weren’t as many people in the shop as normal. The two of you left the shop, cones in hand, with nowhere to be for a few hours at least. Well, that was if Loki didn’t actually insist on going to the library to study.

The two of you found a shaded spot on one of the campus’s lawns, looking out across the empty field surrounded by libraries. “You know, this is the quietest I’ve ever seen campus,” you said, taking a lick of your ice cream.

“It always is during summer. You’d see it more often if you stayed during breaks.”

“Shut up, you know I like going home, I just can’t go home for too long or else I get bored. But now I have the apartment with Natasha and Wanda so I can actually stay for my last couple summers here, maybe after if I decide to stay in the city.”

“You might not stay?”

You shook your head, looking out towards the field as you took another lick of your ice cream and thinking over your next sentence. You hadn’t told any of your school friends that you might not stay in the city, especially since most of them were planning to stay. You liked the city, but you didn’t know if you wanted to stay here for the foreseeable future. “I dunno. I don’t wanna go back home, but I might go to a city near there. I don’t know yet.”

“Isn’t there anything here that you’d miss?”

“I mean, yeah, I’ll miss my friends and stuff. But if I’m being honest, I don’t think anyone’d really miss me if I left. Plus, there’s things like FaceTime and stuff to make calling more personal or whatever.” You shrugged, thinking it was the end of the conversation. Sure, you and Loki had a tendency to just end up in deep conversations without meaning to, but this was the first time you’d gotten a bit cynical about your future.

“I’d miss you. After we graduate, I won’t really have an excuse to see you so often, especially if you don’t live here anymore,” he admitted.

“What, you’re saying you’re not gonna call after I leave?” You tried to lighten the mood. It was too nice of a day to get depressed about the future, even if the morning had started out pretty terrible. Loki stayed quiet, looking at his ice cream as it dripped onto the grass. You silently ate your own ice cream, waiting for Loki to say something. You weren’t going to force him to speak, especially if you’d just put him in an awkward situation.

The two of you sat there in silence, the only sounds coming from the campus around you. After a few minutes, Loki finally spoke. “Of course I’ll call.”

“Then why’s it matter if I leave after graduation?”

“I like spending time with you, and I can’t do that if you leave. I like talking to you in person, that way I can see all of your little reactions. I just… I really like you, (y/n). I’ve liked you since we had that first study group together,” Loki admitted, spilling his heart out to you. You froze, not knowing how to respond. You weren’t exactly the best when it came to feelings, especially when you weren’t expecting anything like that to happen.

“Loki, I-”

“You know what? I’m sorry, I shouldn’t’ve said anything. I should go,” Loki said, taking your hesitance for rejection. He stood, somehow managing to still have a solid grip on his ice cream as he did so. Before you could even fully register what was going on, he had already started walking away.

“Loki, wait!” You tried calling to him, but he only walked faster. You watched as he threw his ice cream away before disappearing from sight. You looked down at your own cone, the melting sweet in your hand making you feel ill. You didn’t know what to do anymore, so you did the only thing that came to mind: going home.

**********

“Alright, what’s wrong?” Nat asked, standing in front of where you were laying on the sofa. A couple hours had passed since your last interaction with Loki, and you spent those hours just laying down, staring blankly at the television in front of you.

“Nothing,” you mumbled, shoving your face into a pillow.

“Bullshit. You hate that class but you never come back like this.”

“Nat, it’s nothing. Really,” you tried insisting. You felt the cushion dip as Natasha sat on the couch beside you. Nat wasn’t going to let this go until you told her what happened, and you both knew it. “Alright, fine. After class, Loki and I went to get ice cream before studying and he ended up telling me he likes me.”

“And that’s a bad thing?” Nat questioned. “(Y/n), you’ve liked him since freshman year, what’s the issue?”

“I don’t know! I kinda just froze up and now he thinks I don’t like him like that even though I do!”

“Then go tell him that! Literally all you have to do is go over to his place and clear things up. I’d go before it gets too late, though. I don’t like the idea of you walking alone in the dark.”

“It’s not that easy.”

“And why isn’t it?”

You didn’t have an answer, because it really could be that easy. The only real issue was seeing if Loki was actually at his place, and that could be solved by sending a quick text. You looked over at Natasha, who had a little knowing smile on her face. She had you there, and now you were basically forced to face up to your feelings. “Why are you so smug about this?” You whined.

“Because I’m happy for you! I had to listen to you talk about Loki for so long and now you guys will actually be a thing,” Nastaha replied.

“There’s no guarantee we’ll be a thing, though.”

“Now you’re just trying to talk yourself out of telling him. He told you he likes you, you like him, there’s really nothing to lose if you tell him. All the cards are in your favor right now and if you don’t tell him, then I’m gonna kick you out of the apartment until you do.”

“What? You can’t do that, I pay rent here too,” you argued. Natasha just raised a brow as she looked at you, and you questioned if she would actually do it. You wouldn’t put it past her, so you sat up and began putting on your shoes before she could act on her threat.

“Well, my work here is done,” Natasha said, standing up and stretching.

“Where are you going?”

“Clint’s. It looks like he owes me money.”

“You guys were betting on this?”

“Yup. He thought it would take until graduation,” Nat told you. “I said it would be before senior year.”

“You’re the worst,” you said. Nat just laughed as she left the apartment, letting you have a moment to back out. You could just go to your room and take a nap before studying, but you’d never hear the end of it from Nat if you did. After a few minutes, you found your resolve and sent Loki a text asking if he was home. Loki responded almost immediately, letting you know he was. With that, your mind was made up and you made your way to Loki’s place.

**********

You didn’t live too far from Loki, a fifteen minute walk tops. It wasn’t enough time to actually figure out what you wanted to say, but how hard could it be? All you had to do was tell Loki that you liked him too. You couldn’t help but still worry about how things would turn out. The entire reason you never did anything about your crush was because you didn’t want to not only lose a friend, but also potentially break up your friend group if anything happened. And if everything went south, then you had your backpack so you could just spend the night studying in the library.

When you got to Loki’s place, he was sitting on the stoop, waiting for you. He looked up as soon as he heard your footsteps, looking like a child waiting to be scolded. “(Y/n), I’m so sorry,” Loki said as you walked up. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable or anything, and I understand if you would rather we didn’t talk anymore. I would rather be your friend than nothing, though, and I really am sorry-”

“Loki!” You cut him off before he could ramble more. He looked up at you, brows slightly knitted as he waited for you to continue. “You don’t have to be sorry, you didn’t make me uncomfortable, and I really gotta tell you something.”

“What?” Loki asked, concern evident in his voice. You could tell that you were just making it worse the longer you dragged it on, so you needed to just say it.

“I’ve liked you for a while now. I was just… shocked to find out that you liked me too,” you explained. “It’s not that I don’t like you or anything, it’s like the opposite actually. So yeah.”

You could tell you were rambling at this point so you cut yourself off, just waiting for Loki to say something. This entire thing was nerve wracking, even though you knew he liked you too. It seemed to take a few seconds for Loki to actually process what you just said, but those few seconds felt like an eternity. You could tell when your words hit him by the small smile and look of disbelief he gave you. “Really?”

“Yeah, really,” you told him. “So, what now?”

“I don’t know, I didn’t think I’d get this far.” You couldn’t help but smile at the reference. “Well, would you like to come in? Thor’s out for the night, so maybe we can study for a bit then watch a movie and order some food if you’d like.”

“Yeah, that’d be nice.” Loki stood from where he was sat, motioning for you to follow him up the steps to the front door.

“Just so you know, this doesn’t count as a date. I’m going to take you on a proper date once the summer session ends,” Loki told you as he opened the door for you. “I would do it sooner but we’re both suffering in the class right now.”

“Trust me, I don’t mind waiting,” you replied, following Loki into his place. You’d already waited two years, what was a few more weeks?

**********

Permanent Tag List: @spidey-pal

#loki x reader #loki imagine #marvel imagine

[largebeeffriedrice]

Choose Your Deity Carefully - Chapter 2

Also on AO3 if that floats your goat more. 

Chapter 2: Terms and Conditions

There's a 90's country song that goes something like, '...before I know it Saturdays gone, but it's Sunday now and you can bet that I'm alright.'

Indeed, the Sunday following my run in with Loki was quite uneventful. Which was marvelous for me.

I'd stayed in my apartment and nothing bad happened to me. My cable didn't cut out, all the neighbors were surprisingly quiet, and someone even ordered a pizza that I got because somehow the driver had the wrong address but also somehow had an extra pizza.

That last one I was very suspicious about and wondered if my potential new deity had anything to do with it. If he had then I was pretty prepared to accept becoming a worshipper. My only problem was that I was still a skeptic and wanted proof that this act was tied to him.

Especially since he didn't seem like the type to do good will favors or at least not without some fanfare. Even if it was just to convince me to convert.

But by Monday, I was back to dragging my feet and attempting to not cry at every misfortune that befell me.

The bakery I went to every Monday was closed due to a handful of health code violations, my bus drove right by my stop, and the sole to one of my flats suddenly started tearing away. Forcing me to walk to work with my stomach growling and my foot aching from the continuous slap of my sole smacking into my heel with every step.

I tried to reason that this is just stuff that happens to people.

Especially stuff that happens to me. But it was just getting more and more unusual how much happened in one day. Even one week. Hell, I'd go so far as to even say a month!

But I'd be damned if it didn't make me more tempted to take up Loki's offer.

The temptation rose when Megan from accounting visited me on the third floor to ask me again how to spell my name and, "Oh, weird. I'm not even showing you on the payroll now."

It reached its climax when I went to go take my lunch and found that someone had eaten all of my food before putting my empty lunch sack back into the fridge with a note that said, 'Should have put your name on it.'

My full name was still visible on the wrinkled up bag.

After lunch, I had returned to my desk and started researching what I could about Loki and then, once I'd learned some mythology, started looking up what kind of offerings Norse Gods accepted.

I'd opened a couple different tabs from some sketchy looking websites but had to admit they seemed pretty detailed. Though some of the stuff went over my head--- was I supposed to actually find real dragon blood or just the incense?--- I felt confident that it would be easy to keep the trickster pleased with small tokens of worship. Who doesn't like alcohol and burying coins in exchange for good luck?

I was about to Google and see if there were particular prayers or something required of me when my computer screen suddenly went black.

I tapped, banged, and pleaded with the screen to come back on. I even unplugged and replugged in the tower to try and get the piece of shit working. But, inevitably, I had to accept defeat and call someone from IT to come look at it.

It was while I was waiting that everything fully cemented into my mind. Full acceptance of Loki's deal washed over me, as I realized that I was going to have to explain to some tech guy why I was looking up Norse mythology when I was supposed to actually be working.

~~

Later that night, I set to work making a sort of altar spot for him in my living room. All of the blogs I'd seen had dedicated the color green to him so I went with it. I'd bought green candles, incenses, a tiny planting pot for whatever coins I found around the apartment, and a pretty fake plant.

The plant was really more for me but it seemed to fit on the crate I bought for all my worshipping needs so I left it there.

The faint aroma of burning meat started flooding my apartment as I lit the candle and incenses and carefully placed them away from the plastic leaves of my plastic hydrangea.

That was another thing I had ended up learning. Not from my computer but from the IT person sent to fix the damn thing. After she had tried to explain to me what was wrong with the computer, thankfully not a virus, she had then chatted me up on the content still sitting guiltily in my browser.

Apparently, she was a major history buff and had been more than pleased to tell me about how people would go so far as to burn meat as a form of sacrifice to the old gods. Something about how it symbolized their level of devotion since they were willing to give up valuable food to keep the deities happy.

It made sense after she explained it and I even agreed to talk to her more about it over lunch one day; partially because I wanted to know more and partially as a way to thank her for her willingness not to tell anyone that I hadn't been working.

Of course, I didn't really have money to go out and buy meat specifically for this so I had to accept the burning crisp death of a roast I'd planned to make for dinner that night. Maybe I'd ask for a favor that involved Megan from accounting since I felt like this was somewhat her fault.

But as the meat burned, the candles flickered, and the incense tickled my nose, I realized nothing was happening. I'd completely forgot to finish looking up what else I was supposed to do to actually summon Loki back to me. I should have asked the IT woman.

So, I did the only thing I had some knowledge of and kneeled beside the homemade shrine and bowed my head to pray.

"Loki. I don't even know what I'm supposed to say in a prayer. But I'd like to discuss the deal you offered me. Umm. Very interested. Thank you."

That was good. Right?

Still, nothing happened.

I stayed kneeling next to the altar for a few more moments before finally deciding to go check on the meat. The way my luck had been running I was risking sending my apartment up in a fiery blaze from my antics.

I rounded the corner into the kitchen and stopped dead in my tracks at the sight. My prayer had been answered.

Loki sat crossed legged on the island, staring worriedly at my oven, and mindlessly rubbing at his chin.

It is still not clear if he just happened to notice me standing there or if I had maybe made a gaspy noise, but his eyes suddenly flicked my way and he finally said, "Mortal, you know that you have a perfectly ruined piece of roast in here, right?"

'Yeah, it's a sacrifice or something for you."

The arched eyebrow look again, "How mundane and wasteful. We could have had that for dinner."

The annoyance that surged through my body helped me move into action and I stomped further into my kitchen to turn the oven off and 'save' the roast from it's burning coffin.

"Well, it's not like you told me how I was supposed to call upon you or anything."

He didn't respond as he continued eyeing the roast. Even as it sat burnt and black on the stovetop. I'd never been great at reading people but it almost seemed like he had a hungry gleam in his eyes.

It was enough of a glint that I decided to risk it and ask, "I can fix something to eat if that's really what you want?"

He licked his lips, slowly, before answering, "No. I don't have time for that now. We need to talk about you doing a better job as my acolyte."

How long had he been in here staring at the charred hunk of meat? I tried to think about how long I had been in the living room preparing but honestly couldn't remember.

"I haven't actually agreed to it yet."

"But you want to. I already know," his hands rolled around one another, causing a flash of green light to abrupt in the empty space between them. The light blindly filled the whole kitchen and then quickly faded to reveal a rolled up scroll.

As his right hand grabbed at the floating parchment paper, his shockingly green eyes finally looked away from the roast and pinned me with a fiendish smile.

Loki held the paper out to me and softly spoke, "This is the terms and conditions."

Hesitantly, I reached out and gingerly took the scroll from him. A thought flitted through my mind and briefly, I paused and wondered if I was technically accepting the offer just by taking the paper.

But curiosity was my worst enemy and I clutched the paper a little tighter and fully pulled it from his hand.

His mirthful expression only grew as he watched me unravel the scroll and scrupulously read over it.

"Wait. I thought I was the one asking you for favors?"

"I said that there would be times I would require acts from you. Those are just the ones that I know about ahead of time."

"You want me to help you gain how many new followers?! You are the same guy who attacked New York aren't you?"

This only earned me a quick scowl before the God of Mischief recovered and replied, "Yes, but look at the benefits."

"Literally the benefits of me helping you get that many worshippers are that you don't kill me. I could always refuse to not accept this deal and not die. Right?" I didn't wait for him to answer as something popped into my brain, "Why do you even need this?

What are you really getting out of 'helping' me?"

Loki tsked me and shook his head disdainfully as if I was stepping out of line by asking such a question. I gave him another second or two before it became obvious that he had no intention of clarifying anything.

I wish this had rattled me more than it did at that moment. But sadly I just accepted his silence and had gone back to reading over the terms and conditions. Letting myself get swept up into the whirlwind chaos of the God of Mischief.

"So, you don't have an actual church?"

"Ew, no."

"Where are people supposed to go to pray to you then?"

He childishly turned up his nose and crossed his arms, "Praying is terrible and I want no part of it. It's dull, unimaginative, and normal."

"How am I suppose to truly worship you then? How am I supposed to communicate with you when I can't find you?"

These were the right questions and his jade eyes fixed on me with a flare of excitement.

With a quick and loud snap of his fingers, a second scroll appeared in his left hand. He pointed at me with the rolled up paper and hissed, "Once you sign and agree to that paper, I will gladly hand over this list of everything you'll need to know for proper offerings and all the works. Plus, I'll go over how to send word to me."

My eyes narrowed and kept glancing back and forth between Loki's smug, long face and the scroll resting loosely in his hand.

Again, past me should have followed her gut on how shaken she'd felt at having heard that the actual required acts were being kept on a different paper for AFTER she sold her soul.

But whatever. I'm still here. For now.

"Are you actually going to kill me if I don't succeed with your side mission?"

'No. Too messy. I'm already in enough trouble. But I can make your life very miserable."

That obviously didn't sound promising but the allure of having a year of better luck somehow won out in my mind. If my death was messy then no way he would actually really commit to tormenting me forever. Right?

"Also, I don't have to have sex with you, right? If that's on that paper in your hands then I refuse."

An exasperated huff, "No. That's not on the paper."

"Okay then, God of Mischief and Chaos," I paused when he held a finger up as if to correct me, but he scrunched his nose up instead and motioned for me to continue, "Get me a pen and I'll agree to a year of being your lackey."

"Wonderful," another snap of his fingers and a pen apparated into my right hand, "this is going to be so much fun."

As I signed the document in my hand I noticed that a symbol had appeared in the section marked off for Loki to sign. It didn't surprise me that he'd use magic instead of his own hand but I couldn't make out what it was supposed to be.

"What is that symbol for?"

"It's my corresponding rune."

"Oh."

And just like that the ink of the paper glimmer and glowed in a golden aura before I had to slightly shake my head and blink rapidly. It looked as if there were double words on the paper and I couldn't figure out why my brain was hallucinating that.

Except my mind wasn't.

The doubled ink suddenly pulled itself together at the bottom of the paper and then slowly bled and trickled its way towards my left hand. I gasped and roughly started shaking my hand, trying to get it to let go of the scroll.

But my fingers held tight against my will and the wild shaking did nothing to deter the ink from continuing its path now towards the inside of my wrist. Once it had all gathered there the ink started to sizzle against my flesh and then evaporated completely by the time I could even release a pained howl.

Where the ink had just been there was now a seared version of "Loki's rune" resting on my pink and inflamed skin.

"What the hell!? I didn't agree to be branded!"

The God of Mischief laughed hardily at my indignation and even slapped his hand on his knee a few times.

The merriment ended just as suddenly as it had begun and in its place, an exhausted expression took over Loki's face. It was as if he'd aged a couple sleepless years in an instant. Dark circles rested below his eyes and some frown lines were a little more visible next to his mouth.

With a tired sigh, he held out the other scroll and murmured, "Hold on to both of those papers. They are going to be your best tools for the next year."

I'm not even sure what had happened to the pen--- and I never gave it any thought until just now--- but I reached out my right hand and tugged the paper quickly from him. Not wanting anymore more trickery tonight.

He simply arched another brow in amusement and then blinked out of existence.

Leaving me standing alone in my kitchen with a burnt roast and two old ass looking scrolls.

"Okay. So. That all happened," I muttered while making my way back towards the shrine in the living room, "Though I don't know what I'm going to do about work since I'm not allowed to have a tattoo."

With my own weary sigh, I blew out all the still burning candles and snuffed out what was left of the incense. Then I rolled the contract up and placed it neatly next to my new fake plant.

I'd intended to just leave the new scroll rolled up with the contract, and look at it tomorrow, but something tickled at that back of my head and wouldn't let up until I started to unfurl the parchment.

Sure enough, my hands began shaking and one of my eyes started to twitch rapidly.

"THIS PAPER IS BLANK, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

I had failed to consider that Loki was not just the God of Mischief. Not just the God of Chaos.

But most importantly... he was the God of Lies.

#loki fanfic #loki fanfiction #loki fic #loki (marvel) #loki god of mischief #choose your deity carefully #chapter 2 #terms and conditions

[ninjakitty15]

Chapter 17: Bigger Fish, Doo Doo Doo Doo (Loki x OFC Pairing)

No matter how many times I visited Salem in the past, I never got tired of shop hopping every touristy store or authentic wiccan shop in the city. Of course with it being so close to All Hallows Eve, that wasn't what ended up happening when the streets were packed with street vendors and all their beautifully handcrafted delights. Under normal circumstances, I'd abhor walking through so many crowds of people but this was the only time of year I really felt strong and alive again, with the veil between worlds being so thin it was like Ned Flanders ski suit. Of course even before all the necromancy stuff I loved the holiday, there was nothing more liberating than dressing up as whatever the hell you want and no one judging you for it or making you feel less for doing so. Plus free candy, you can't go wrong with free candy despite all those urban legends about drugs or razors being mixed into that. Just don't go trick or treating to places/neighborhoods you aren't familiar with, it's common sense people!

"Steer clear of the fake psychics while we're here, they don't like me much," I warned Loki as he eyed a palm reader tent.

"Why, what did you do?"

"Called them out and made them lose clients, it's their own damn fault preying on desperate people who just want to talk to their recently deceased loved ones and capitalizing on it. For just this amount of money I can get them to talk to you, even make them solid so you can see em one last time. That's fucked up, you're giving them false hope and a bigger hole in their wallet. The real ones also charge you for it but they're not as over the top."

"Is there a way to tell a difference between them without being sucked in by their claims?"

"I can tell them apart, one is actually linked to the dead, the other is just greedy bastards. But I kinda doubt others can tell them apart and that's how they lure em in. Like an angler fish."

"Hideous beasts those creatures are from what I've seen of them, hope you don't go fishing for them like other big fish," Loki muttered.

"We tend to not go for deep sea creatures because as you said, the deeper they are the uglier and freakier they get and that's not remotely appetizing."

"You'll eat squid and those crustaceans though and they're not that pretty either."

"Because they're not deep sea and they're fucking delicious, I will fight whoever says lobsters especially aren't delicious, that's my favorite food in the whole multiverse."

"I have a strong suspicion you haven't even been off this planet let alone another universe."

I glared playfully at the cocky god and scoffed. "Minor details, it's still the bees knees."

We wandered and splurged till the evening and returned to the field by the sea while there was still sunlight, enjoying the quiet as vendors started to simmer down before the night festivities started up.

"You really wanna stay here? With me?" I asked him quietly as we watched the skyline.

"I take it you're surprised I've suggested such a long term commitment to someone I've not known that long and it's understandable your reaction but I meant it."

"You know we can't have a family, well I can't, apparently you can if those myths about you were true."

He gave me an unamused, pointed look, knowing full well that I knew they weren't true as he himself made that clear. "All I want is to be with you, in the end. What comes after that, whatever it is, we'll handle it together."

"Bring it on," I agreed.

"If you say so," a new voice interrupted.

I spun around just in time to feel something big and burning strike me right in the chest, knocking me back off my feet and several feet away from Loki who's face went from horror to furious and instantly went back to his preferred form of black hair and green Asgardian attire, a dagger in each hand. I scrambled to my feet only to be shot at, not by magic this time around but by rock salt, not just good against ghosts like in Supernatural. Black blood instantly spread from the chest wound and up my throat as I coughed to clear it, still stunned from the magic punch and weakened from the salt. "Motherfucker!" I couldn't see from where I lay which rat bastard of the traitors knocked me down but I could definitely see the Hydra agents closing in on us. I looked over to where Loki was and his eyes locked on mine and he instantly knew what I was trying to convey, we couldn't fight them when I'm down and out, and I didn't wanna fight them in my happy place anyway, we needed an out. He didn't hesitate on the idea and created a thick green smokescreen around us as he rushed to my aid, picking me up in his arms and teleported us away from the oncoming chaos.

We were suddenly in NYC, Loki still holding me in his arms, surrounded by buildings in one of the parks, probably Central.  

"We can't be out in the open," I gasped, turning my head away from him to spit out more blood.

"And we don't want to draw the Avengers attention either, I assume, so where?"

"Do you need an address? I don't know where exactly but I have an idea of where."

"Think of it and I'll get us there."

So I did and green magic took us into a set of apartment buildings in a rough part of the city.

"You sure this is a good idea?" he asked me softly.

"I just need a place to lay low till I can get all the damned salt out of my system, its hindering my ability to self heal."

Loki carried me to the first door we could find that I felt would be the safest bet and knocked on it softly.

"One second!" a familiar somewhat squeaky voice called from the other side before hurried footsteps were heard coming to the door and it was pulled open. "Mr. Loki! What are you doing here? Oh my God, what happened?"

"I got shot, can we come in, please?" I asked the kid in front of us.

"O-of course, man, it's a good thing May's out having a date tonight though, good timing there," he muttered. "Why here though?" He stepped aside to let Loki carry me in where I was gently placed on the couch, my head propped on a pillow propped on his lap while the host propped on the farther armrest.

"I needed a place to lay low and away from the Avengers, so you can't tell Tony I'm here, like at all, same for Loki."

"O-ok, but wouldn't he be able to help you, there's nothing I could do here, he'd have more experience and resources."

"None of which can help heal someone already dead, hun, all I need is a place to hide that's off the radar and seeing as none of your enemies know where you live, I kinda suspect your place is my best bet right now. I won't stay long, just gotta recover and I'm off like a herd of turtles."

Peter looked at me with an expression between concern and curiosity. "Who shot you? I thought you said most weapons don't work."

"Hydra are on my tail again and they have people, my people helping them track me down. Most weapons don't work on their own, I got hit by something else first that weakened my defenses down to a normal human's so I wouldn't be able to heal myself when I got shot after." I looked at Peter then, really looked at him, I didn't need ghost vision to see he was a good kid, insatiable curiosity and all. He worshiped Tony without question or hesitation, stuck to his morals, and did his best in all he could which couldn't be easy as for a kid, he could do a hell of a lot.

"Are you going to be okay?" he asked me.

I wanted to shrug but pain didn't allow much movement. "What's good for flushing salt from a wound?"

"Water and foods rich in potassium, um sports drinks with electrolytes in them."

I wrinkled my nose at the last one. "Of all the choices Tony made, the one he made on you takes the cake. I think you need to submerge me in water, you do have a tub right?"

"Of course. Do you need help with that or...?"

"I've got her," Loki assured him.

"What he means is I'm about to get naked and he doesn't like sharing the view," I joked. "Ain't that right, babe?"

"Even when you're bleeding out, you still manage to tease me over this," he growled. "Maybe I should just drown you."

"You're welcome to try but I should remind you first that I don't breathe so that kinda won't work. Pete, lead the way and thank you."

I let myself sink to the cold porcelain bottom of the tub, staring up through the water at Loki who watched me worriedly as the water started turning dark with blood. To lighten the mood, I started singing Singing in the Rain like Alex in A Clockwork Orange, as after this bath I'd be cured alright.

Peter knocked on the door during one point, making sure I was doing okay without peaking in, being the little superpowered boyscout he was. While I was flushing out salt, he was nice enough to clean and dry my clothes for me at nearest laundromat which I was thankful for and also surprised he got out the black blood stains, maybe I should just wear black for the purpose of hiding blood but then it wasn't often people made me bleed my own blood. Once I was strong enough to move without crumbling, I allowed Loki to pull me out and dry me before he returned my clothes fresh out of the dryer and I sighed at the warmth before collapsing back on the couch as Peter insisted there was no rush to leave.

"What could've made your defenses that weak?" Peter asked.

"Not a whole lot actually, I wasn't brought back from the dead just to die by any ordinary means."

"It had to be mine," Loki murmured.

"What?"

"The color of the energy blast was green when it was fired at you and you flickered to your old form when you got hit by it. They must have gotten it from me while I was contained with you back there."

If I wasn't already unnaturally pale, I would be now. "They're getting smarter, those bastards, how the fuck did they figure that out?"

"Does it matter? They know I'm your weakness more than metaphorically now, while I doubt they can keep using what they got from me initially, as long as we're both still around they'll be after us."

I groaned and dropped back on the couch dramatically. "This is why I wanted more power to begin with, to stop being a target and level the playing field or wipe out competitors. Should've kept the receipt on that deal."

"There's always a bigger fish," mused Peter.

"Yeah well I was promised I'd be great white status and Hydra ain't remotely close to Megalodon so I shouldn't be dealing with them like I'm forced to."

"Megalodon?" questioned Loki curiously.

"The biggest shark to exist on this planet, could swallow the biggest animal easily if it were still around but it presumably died out with the other prehistoric monsters of earth. Could eat a whole pod of whales and still have room for more."

"Hold on, what do you mean presumably?" squeaked Peter.

"There's speculation they're just napping at the bottom of the sea somewhere, I mean it makes sense since sharks are still around when all other prehistoric beasties are out of existence, they're survivors. I mean yeah there's relatives of them walking around now but sharks stayed sharks, just smaller over time. Much like people, they too shrink with old age."

"Is that why you're so short?" teased Loki.

I opted to simply punch him in the arm but as I hadn't completely recovered, while the bleeding and flickering had stopped and the wound was closing, I apparently still had mortal strength and the very audible sound of fingers breaking happened as a result. "My me-time hand!"

"That shouldn't be an issue when you have me," Loki noted.

I scowled. "Yeah well that ain't happening anytime soon, my moral compass might not point north but I'm not shagging in a tiny little apartment as a guest, we'd destroy the place and the host's sanity and innocence in the process and then Tony will really be after us."

"Have it your way, oh wait you can't as your good hand is broken," he retorted.

"Peter, how strong are your webbings, could they muzzle a god for instance?" I asked the hapless kid watching us.

"I-I'm not sure that's a good idea, Nell. I think with you being injured and him being an actual god, he might actually be the strongest here."

"Nah, give him to Dr. Banner on a bad day and he's just like the rest of us. You on the other hand, you're young and super strong and can stop a speeding bus with your bare hands or hold a ferry together. I can see why Tony has such faith in you, you got some serious potential...don't fuck it up."

"I won't...and thanks."

"You're a good kid, Pete, with a big heart and a serious case of wounded puppy look, don't let anyone change you, you've no idea how rare someone like you is in this world."

"That's-that's really...are you okay? I mean, I kinda thought you didn't like me and now you're..."

"Nah you're okay, just before when you were at the compound, you were a fucking moment killer, pun intended and that insatiable curiosity can get on my nerves when I'm already in a mood by you ruining my good one so you kinda had it coming then but seeing as I interrupted you this time around, we good." My hand bones began to fix themselves as my body was slowly returning to it's dead stasis state of unbreakable but not alive either. I wiggled the fingers once they set themselves back properly and sighed happily. "It's good to be dead."

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