L'etoile Filante

Pain.

Loki was seething.

He was outraged.

A Midgardian, as his soulmate, and that too a Midgardian who he was almost completely certain that he hated with a passion.

How could they be soulmates?

He stormed into the room that Hela was staying in, ready to demand for answers.

"Haven't you heard of knocking?"

"Natalia is apparantly my soulmate."

Hela looked up from the book she was reading, raising an eyebrow her her brother. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I went to confront her and we argued, then we fought, then we kissed, and then there was this whole vision that played out-" Loki rambled, still shocked and confused.

"Back up, you two kissed?"

"...Yes- yes we did.."

"And you mentioned a..vision?"

Loki nodded, recounting what he saw, tone slightly bitter but confused at the same time. "How is this even possible- it shouldn't be- you and Agatha are soulmates, how did it happen-?"

"Pretty close to this, but it wasn't confirmed until she got hurt."

"Got..hurt?"

"She got stabbed, and I felt the pain in my side. Exactly where she was stabbed."

"Well I doubt that is going to happen. After all I hate the redheaded quim."

As he said those words, he felt an uncomfortable pang of emotion, like his whole body was telling him that he was lying. His brain may have told him that he hated her, but his emotions seemed to disagree.

"Hate her, huh?"

"Yes. I absolutely despise her."

°•°•°•°•°

Natalia sat on her bed, just trying to make out what the fuck had just happened.

She and Loki had...kissed. And she actually liked it.

And then..the vision.

She let our an annoyed sigh, laying down and resting her head against her pillow.

She hated him...didn't she?

"Yes you do." She thought to herself, trying to reassure herself.

"Whatever..." She muttered. "I'll figure this out later."

She just lay there, stating at the ceiling until her eyes slowly fluttered shut, and she slowly fell asleep.

••

"Useless. Absolutely useless." Ivan berated her, his Russian thick and angry.

"I'm sorry- I'll comply next time- I'll do better- I promise- please-"

He paid no heed to her words, kicking her to her knees, landing hard blows on her face.

She could feel a coppery liquid filling up her mouth, and she spat out the blood onto the floor.

Ivan..he took this as insolence.

Tying her up, he stabbed and slashed at her, beating her until she was a bloody, bruised mess.

"See...so much better when you just shut up and listen. Such a pretty little thing as well."

She grit her teeth, knowing what was coming next, as she was pushed down onto a table

••

Shooting up, Natalia woke up, gasping, her head pounding with voices and memories that she didn't want to hear or see.

She stood up shakily, walking into the bathroom and turning on the tap in the sink. She splashed her face with the cold water, once, twice, thrice, trying to jerk herself out of whatever slump she was in.

But it didn't work.

She looked at herself in the mirror, face pale and stained with tears, eyes bloodshot, and something in her head snapped. She punched the glass once, twice, once again, the mirror cracking each time she hit it, her fist cutting, blood staining her skin and the glass.

The broken shards fell onto the counter, and she picked one up. She tried to tell herself to drop it, but she couldn't convince herself, and she brought it down on her forearm, the glass digging into and dragging down her skin, blood spilling, covering the counter in her favorite color.

Red.

°•°•°•°•°

Still seething, Loki flipped through the pages of one of those old Midgardian books - Tolstoy, the cover said.

That's when he felt it, that sharp sting across his forearm, and he hissed slightly, looking down at it in confusion.

Hela's words, about how she knew Agatha was her soulmate when she got hurt, replayed in his head, and he internally cursed himself for even remembering it.

And then he felt the same pain again, except on his other arm, and he stood up, on impulse, walking down the hall to where he was pretty sure her room was.

"Romanova." Loki said dryly, knocking on her door. "Open up." He kept his voice loud, so that she'd be able to hear him.

The pain stung his arms, again and again and again, and he was compelled to flick his wrist, breaking the lock on the door, pushing it open and barging in. He heard the shower running, pausing. Maybe she was showering? Or something like that? But then he heard a small hiss of pain, a yelp, almost, and he pushed open the bathroom door.

And for a moment he did not know what to do.

Natalia Romanova, on her knees in the middle of the bathroom, her face paler than the whitest sheet of paper, streams of blood running down her arms, onto the shiny white tiles, drying in the grooves.

And as much as he hated her - mostly, most of the time - this could not be how it ended for her.

Rushing forward, Loki was on the floor nexr to her, pulling her into his arms. "Hey- hey, Romanova." The blood trickled down her arms, onto his, as he cradled her, rocking the both of them to try and keep her awake. "Natalia. Natalia stay awake for m- just stay awake. Stay awake, please."

Loki's murmuring never stopped, as he started to work his magic, the cuts on her arms slowly closing up, holding her to him whenever she squirmed with pain. "Shh shh shh, hold still, hold still." He whispered, rubbing the side of her shoulder, as her heavy eyelids fell shut, lulling her into a thankfully dreamless sleep.