When Love Bites (LokixReader)

Chapter Six

(Loki's Pov)

"Loki Laufeyson, until you can prove yourself worthy, you are hereby banished from Asgard!"

Well... Shit.

After his attack on New York, Loki thought at worst he would face a beheading. Perhaps a few prison years, at best an unrealistic shrug off of the events.

But banishment? On the condition he became worthy?

Over a millenia alive, and never once had he found himself worthy. Of wielding mjolnir, of belonging to a family, of deserving others' attention. Not even to become the crown prince, when his brother didn't want to be king in the first place.

Loki could only assume it would be another few millennia before he found a way past these rules. And by then, why even go back to Asgard?

If Midgard didn't kill him first.

"Oh, cheer up brother!" Thor placed a hand on Loki's shoulder, as they walked the grand halls of Asgard for the last time. "I am sure the Avengers will understand your situation."

Oh yes, poor Loki who attacked our planet, tried to kill us all both individually and as a team, let alone is the sole blame for the city's destruction. If his plea of mind control didn't work on Asgard, he doubted his chances with the victims.

*

"Absolutely not!"

Exactly.

"No, Thor. Loki is not staying here!" Loki sighed internally, wondering where else Thor might think of to stash his villain brother. Jotunheim? Shield? Vahalla? None of these places seemed pleasurable, and yet what other option was there? With every realm refusing to serve the god, what places were left?

"He has no other place to go! Loki has been banished from Asgard until he can make up for his mistakes." Ah, so that was the lie this time around. It seems Thor had learnt a thing or two about trickery from the god of Mischief.

Loki looked about the room in boredom. Chained and muzzled, it's not like he had much say in his fate. Not that it mattered much. Practically anywhere would be better than the void.

"What is everyone yelling about?" A soft voice asked from across the room, still hidden behind the divider wall. No Avenger bothered to answer, arguing amongst themselves and Thor. Even sending the occasional open-ended question toward the prince, completely aware he had no capacity to answer.

But with everyone here, Loki wondered who else could possibly be on their team? Surely not a relative, and yet...

"Hey!" For some strange reason, his heart started beating faster. "Why are you guys being so freaking-" She strode into view, facing down the Avengers. Before her eyes landed on Loki's, freezing mid-sentence. "-loud." she barely whispered the last word, refusing to look away from him. Yet Loki found himself in the same position, unable to do anything but focus on her. Her words, actions, the way she looked- and more importantly, looked at him.

In a moment, her eyes flashed a brilliant green. A magical, shining green, that he could only compare to his own.

"Y/N, this isn't a conversation for you." Natasha said, moving to pull her away. Before she could, however, Y/N pulled up the hood of her jacket, running back the way she came. Natasha watched after her a moment, before sighing and resuming the loki-stay or loki-go situation with the others.

Lady Natasha had been able to drop the odd circumstance without hesitation. To drop the subject of this girl without hesitation. As did the others, who resumed bickering as if no one interrupted them in the first place.

So why is it that whenever Loki tried to think of anything else- his condition, the muzzle, his magic, Asgard, fighting, possible escapes... literally anything else- every thought led back to her? The mysterious Y/N, newest member of the Avengers? A beautiful name, in his opinion. He could think of nothing besides her, even when the Avengers agreed to let him stay. Even when his place for the next few thousand years of imprisonment was decided, he couldn't tear his mind from her eyes. From her voice. The way she defied the Avengers so.

"Damn it." Loki practically whined, what felt like an eternity after settling in his room. Chains and muzzle gone, he couldn't even relish in this small freedom without thinking of Y/N again. Why had her eyes turned green? Why did she run off like that? Somehow the action left him feeling more alone than he ever has, as if she took a piece of his heart with her. A piece of his lo-

What possessed his mind to think such things? Loki sat on his bed with his head in his hands, trying to figure out how. Not how to escape, how to annoy the Avengers, or even how to convince his brother to convince the Allfather of the dark prince's return. Only... How did Y/N manage to attach herself so strongly to his mind, after only a moment in his presence?

Loki didn't even notice the knock on the door, until the crown prince's voice called out from within his room. "Brother?"

He glanced over surprised, a late thought telling him to place a mask over his emotions. "Yes, Thor?"

Whatever question Thor was going to ask died out when he saw Loki's smitten expression.

Smitten.

Loki hated how his own mind came up with the word to describe himself, and yet there was no other word to describe the overwhelming fascination he felt for this woman. The unquenchable desire to know more about her, to ask every question and hear every answer come from her lips, in her voice alone.

"What's happened?"

Loki thought for a moment. He couldn't say all this to his brother- not without giving his own embarrassing thoughts away in the slightest. First day on Earth and he's fallen for a mortal. A magical mortal, no doubt- but mortal nonetheless. Thor would have a lifetime of laughter from that confession. And the Avengers? The snarky, back-handed comments would never end.

And yet, he couldn't just ignore this feeling either. The magic made it impossible to do so. "I don't know." The magic... perhaps she placed a spell on him. A midgardian witch, then. Dishing out infatuation spells where and whenever she pleased.

Has he tried the counter-spells for such magics yet? Loki found it hard to remember. A small voice tugged at his heart strings, making him partially never want this to end.

"Really?" Thor smirked, the sudden dip in the bed the only registered warning as the thunderer sat down. "Because you are thinking as if you know exactly what you want."

Y/N.

His brain pulled the answer, as Loki tried to shoo such thoughts away. The Avengers gave him one chance to show he's 'changed' and whatnot. But what about Y/N? Did she know of his predicament? Was she in this situation as well? Or, had she been the cause?

"You look just like you were the night after your first kiss-"

Loki snapped toward his brother, hating how his guessing game was already leaning so close to the truth. "I do not!"

"A little bit?" Thor did that insufferable pinched face, that always seemed to convince the others of his innocence.

"No." Loki said flatly, quite fed up with this conversation. All the while- as much as Loki hated to admit it- Thor may be the most reliable source for information about this Lady. Enough that he might be able to figure out what exactly had befallen him.

No. Trusting Thor with this would not end well. At least not now, on the night they've arrived. The dark prince isn't supposed to care about the smallest of others' lives, even the magical ones.

"Really? Because I-"

"Is that all you wanted to ask?" Loki said suddenly, cutting off his brother's next comment. "If it is, I would like to find sometime to rest before tomorrow."

Thor huffed, standing. Stopping only briefly at the door for a final farewell. "Goodnight, Loki."

Loki said nothing, only reassured once the door was closed. Unless he wanted the entire team to know about his condition, he'd have to be more careful. Try and break this spell in whatever ways he knows how, before they catch on.

And yet, a smile still found its way onto his face, sleep seeming so far away in comparison to the sweet thoughts of Y/N.