You Want It Darker? (OC x Loki x Winter Soldier)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

As the Winter Soldier reaches for the drive, I playfully tease him by pulling it just out of his reach, a mischievous grin dancing on my lips.

"Not even a thank you?" I pout, waving the drive in the air before his tall figure. His eyes, those piercing blue eyes, flicker with a hint of amusement, a silent challenge passing between us.

He reaches for it again, and I try to flinch away, but his human arm firmly grabs my wrist, holding it above my head mid-air. I glance at the drive, then back at the soldier, still firmly grasping it between my fingers.

"You gotta say the magic words," I give him a stupid pout and in a swift motion, I attempt to grab it with my free hand, reaching up to the locked arm, but the soldier is quicker.

Without so much as an effort, he locks both my wrists above my head in the air with his metal arm, my hands squirming in his grip as I clutch onto the delicate drive. I struggle to pull away, but his grip is firm yet oddly gentle, his fingers wrapping around my wrists, holding me in place.

Our breathing quickens in unison, the tension between us palpable as we lock eyes with an intensity. The Winter Soldier looms over my body, keeping my hands in place above my head mid air, and slowly reaches with his human hand to my fingers. He softly places his thumb and index around the drive, making gentle contact with mine as he pries my fingers away to unlock the small device. I hold on even tighter to the device, not wanting to give in just yet, but that only results in the metal hand gripping tighter around my wrists. I winch and let out a short breath at the sudden jolt of pain, resulting in my grip loosening on the drive. My eyes widen in surprise as the soldier pries the piece of plastic from my grip.

With his metal arm still holding me in place, my arms dangling above my head and hands mid-air, the Winter Soldier lowers the drive to his face and closely analyses it. The dim kitchen light illuminates the text engraved into it. Ichor. As I closely watch the Winter Soldier, I notice his eyebrows slightly frowning as he reads the title.

"Good," is all he responds, his voice low and husky.

He lowers his gaze back to me again, and slowly studies my helpless form squirming under his steel grip. Without him noticing he had raised his metal arm slightly, forcing me to stand on the tip of my toes, as my arms stretched into the air above me. I'd expected him to let go of me already a while ago, but for some reason this moment seemed to entertain the metal armed man. I could see the fascination hide behind that stupid little smirk in the corner of his mouth.

"Yeah ha ha, real funny." I roll my eyes. "Now put me down."

I didn't want to admit it, but a hint of fear laced my words as I tried to say them in a casual tone. I'd never seen him go along with my jokes, let alone fully engage with them, and I'm not sure I'd ever thought what would happen if he did.

And as if to confirm my already growing suspicion, his faint smile grows into a full on grimache, and for a short moment he pulls my wrists up even higher, momentarily leaving only the farthest end of my toe on the floor. A small yelp escapes my mouth, and gasp for air as I try to balance my body. The moment only lives shortly, and at last the Winter Soldier releases his metal grip from my wrists and allows my body to lower to its original height.

"Asshole," I breathe out and cup the sore wrists in my hands.

"You did well today," the soldier replies with a surprisingly soft voice as he walks towards the bedroom with the drive, turning his body away from me. His unexpected praise caught me off guard and a small smile appears on my face and I walk over to the couch and sit down.

Rummaging through our bags, the soldier returns with two electronic devices, handing me one and gestures to me to move over.

I push my back to the armrest, pull my bare feet up on the couch and place the electronic device on my lap. The Winter Soldier slowly lowers his body onto the couch next to me and opens the computer. The screen lights up and illuminates his face, displaying his concentrated neutral expression yet again. He reveals the drive and pushes it into one of the slots on the side of the computer. A small electronic sound responds and a few windows pop up on the screen.