Ok my lovelies, this chapter is a bit umm... IDK what to say. The three couples, that is Pepperoni, Brutasha and Stucy, their conversations are divided and interlinked... I hope I'm making any sense and I hope you have got what I'm trying to say...*sigh* I should stop. Let's start...
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Pepperoni...
"What?! How!? When!? Why!?" Tony overexcitedly bombarded Pepper with questions, the screwdriver falling from his hand.

Pepper smacked his arm. "Don't be such a drama queen. Trust me, it's true. Rose loves Loki. And hopefully he loves her back too. " Pepper said in a low voice and kept glancing around to check if anyone's eavesdropping or not.

"But they were friends right? I mean I'm so smart but why didn't I notice it then?" Tony asked, still unsure.

"They were friends dear. They are lovers now."

Brutasha...
"So it means that whatever we were guessing that day, is correct?" Nat nodded at a surprised Bruce. "But I was not serious Natasha! I mean Rose and Loki! Really?" Bruce stopped watering the plants.

"Really! Pepper, me and Lucy forced her to confess but still she is confused. She is so naive!"

Stucy...
"Yeah, I know I'm naive too, but Stevie, she is much more naive than me!" Lucy said, wrapping her hands around Steve's neck as he locked his arms around her waist.

"Mhmm... Are you sure that there's something between those two?" Steve asked, tucking a lock of her curly hair behind her ear.

"101% sure! She passed all the criterias that shows she has fallen for him. But that stupid is not believing us." Lucy whined.

Pepperoni...

"How will she believe you all? I mean this thing is totally new for her! And she's an innocent soul while Loki was the most wanted criminal. See Pepp, I'm not judging the boy but... their relationship is like that of a wolf and a lamb!..." Tony stopped to look at Pepper. "What?"

"You're being overprotective, Tony."

Tony scoffed. " She's my duty, Pepp. I've taken her charge. I promised to keep her safe. I adore her Pepper, like my daughter..."
Tony sighed when Pepper placed a hand on his cheek.

"Well not only the three of us, but the person whom you promised her safety, ships them too!" Pepper grinned.

Tony frowned. "What do you mean?"

"It means Aunt too sees them as a perfect couple. She thinks that they are made for each other."

Tony smiled, surprised. "What!? Woah!..." But his grin fell. "But Rose is all childish, innocent with a hurt soul and Loki... I know that he is changed too but.... " He shrugged.

Brutasha...
"I understand what you are trying to say, Bruce. I know that you don't want Rose to get hurt but... isn't Loki hurt too? He too had a torturous past but he has changed now. He's a good man. We all have seen his loving side. We have seen how he cares for her, handles her like a glass doll who might break if misplaced." She paused, sitting beside Bruce.

"You yourself said that day, that this Loki is different. You showed us the footage where he cleaned her wounds with so much care. Let's give them a chance..." Nat placed her hand on his.

Stucy...
"But how can you say he loves her back? As much I know, he never-"

Lucy interrupted Steve. "It's simple dear. The way he looks at her is the same when Mr. Stark looks at Miss Potts. Bruce looks at Natasha. You look at me. With adoration and love. " Steve smiled.

"Oho! My silly girlfriend knows so much about love?" He brushed his lips against hers, making her giggle.

"Stop it Cap! Focus on what I'm saying."

Pepperoni...
"Do you know why the hell we are trying so hard to set her up? Because she needs to get to know that love can do wonders. She needs a man who holds her and makes her loneliness disappear. Loki too needs an anchor in his life. They two need each other and-"

"Alright! Say no more Miss Potts." Tony cut her off, snaking his hands around her waist. "Now tell me what I have to do?"

Pepper smiled. "When she comes for your advice, which I know she will, just motivate her. Understood?"

Tony nodded, batting his eyelashes at her. " Yess ma'am!"

Brutasha...
"Got it?"
"Yes Natalia!"
"Good!"

Stucy...
"So...?" Lucy kissed his nose.
"I'll do it, my love." Steve laughed, placing his lips on hers.

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Later that night...

Rose lay awake on her bed, her hands and legs wrapped around the teddy bear. She had gone to take advice from the males of the tower and now she is pondering over their suggestions.

"You two indeed look good together. Just think about it properly." Bruce had said, smiling.

"First, be sure of your and his feelings and then confess at the right time. Just like Lucy did. Look how happy she is." Mr. Stark had advised.

But what irked her the most was Steve's reply.

"I am so happy for both of you! I just can't wait to see you both getting married! Just imagine... little Lokis and Roses running around me!"

Oh! How badly she wanted to strangle the man, but didn't for Lucy's sake.

She rolled on her back and clutched the pendant, a sigh escaping her lips. The crystal was glowing. But it didn't faze her. It glowed every night since Loki's departure but there was no response, nothing from the other side.

"I don't know, if you're really able to hear me or not... Two weeks... It has been fricking two weeks and I don't even know if you are..." She couldn't complete the sentence as her throat tightened. She was dead worried and couldn't help but think about the worsts.

What if he is imprisoned or...dead?

"You're making this so difficult for me. I swear if I meet you again, I'll kick your ass so hard that you'll hit the moon and come back. What the hell will I do with this piece of jewelry? I can't help but think that you lied to me... Just say something! Please!" Her eyes pricked with unshed tears.

"You are bad. Very bad Loki." She muttered, closing her eyes in fraustation. "It would have been better if I didn't care about you. But as usual, my luck stinks and here I am, missing you terribly."

Her eyes has started to droop as she yawned loudly. She rubbed her eyes and rolled to her side, hugging the teddy again.
"Good night Snuggles... Good night to myself." She brought the pendant to her lips. "... good night Loki."

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In Asgard...

Loki sat up, abruptly waking up from his deep slumber. His hands were shaking and whole body was covered with thin layer of sweat. But he didn't have any nightmares. He looked around and frowned. It's still night. Past midnight maybe. A strange restlessness was tingling inside him as he struggled to breathe properly.

He wiped off the sweat beads from his forehead by the back of his hand and raked fingers through his now wet hair. He took a deep breath to calm down his heart but failed. "Why...why am I feeling like this? So restless all of a sudden?" He whispered, rubbing his face. Then suddenly, he felt something vibrate against his cold chest.

The pendant.

He clutched the, now warm, crystal and his heart skipped some painful beats.
"Rose..."

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Loki, well his illusion, appeared near the side of the bed of Rose who was completely covered and tangled with a heavy blanket. Her breathings were ragged as she thrashed in her sleep, getting more tangled. It was clear. She was suffocating but too unconscious to remove the blanket.

"Holy shit! Rose! Wake up! Can you hear me?" Loki panicked, trying his best to wake her up and not somebody else in the tower. He can't even touch her or anything, lest he'll disappear. "Oh Norns! What will I do now? Rose! Rose!" He half yelled. Suddenly, he had an idea.

"Ceiling man? Can you hear me?" Loki whispered.
"Yes Mr. Laufeyson." Jarvis whispered back.
"Good. See if somebody's awake. Alert them and ask them to quickly assist her. She's suffocating."
"Sure sir."

Within a minute, Natasha banged open the door. Thankfully, Loki stayed hidden behind the wardrobe, away from Nat's sight.

Natasha quickly peeled away the heavy blanket from Rose whose face was all red and clampy.

"Rose! Wake up! Rose!" Nat shook her hard, but it made Rose whimper more loudly as she parted her mouth to take in air.

Finding no other option, Natasha slapped her hard. So hard that even Loki's hand flew up to his cheek as he cringed slightly.

Rose eyes shot open as she bolted up in a sitting position and started coughing and wheezing. She was all chocked up and was gasping for air. "Hey ssh! I'm here now. Breathe. Just breathe darling." Nat rubbed her back as her uneven breathing and gasping continued. Rose kicked away the blanket from her feet and hugged Natasha.

"I... I-I-I am dying..." Rose croaked out as she tried to control her uneven breathing and shaking.

"No no no. You are alive and fine... Safe with me... Just breathe slowly. Breathe." Nat cooed in her ear and continued to rub her back till her breathing pattern became normal.

"You wanna talk about it?" Natasha asked, wiping the tears and sweat beads away from her still slightly red face.

Rose nodded as tears filled her eyes. "Th-they dragged me into a-a room. Forced my...my head into a tub of wa-water. I thrashed but-but couldn't fight them. I couldn't breathe and was-was dying." Rose stumbled over her own words. Natasha picked up the glass of water from the bed stand and handed it to Rose who gulped it down quickly, letting out a sigh of relief.

Loki clenched and unclenched his fists, his teeth grinding as a wave of fury and guilt washed over him. He hated seeing her so shaken and broken. But what he hated the most was just standing away helplessly and watching her suffer. He wanted nothing but to hug and kiss all her fears away but...he can't.

Natasha got up and took out a thin blanket and dropped it on the bed. "Rose, try to sleep. Do I need to stay?" Rose shook her head yawning widely. "No. No you can go. "

Just as she was about to lay down, her eyes fell on something lurking behind her wardrobe. She can recognise this 'someone' anywhere in the whole universe.

"Loki?!" The name tumbled down her tongue as a whisper.

Loki's heart almost stopped when his green orbs met her wide shining aqua-violet ones. Fortunately, without wasting a second, he vanished away.

"LOKI!!" Rose jumped out of her bed and was about to rush towards the wardrobe when Natasha catched her wrist.
"What's wrong? You need to-"

"Natasha-Nat! Loki... He was in my room. There!" Rose pointed out her finger towards the wardrobe.

Nat looked where she was pointing and then shook her head, frowning.

"Belle, no one is here except for you and me. You are just imagining him. Now lay down." She forced the girl to sit on the bed. Rose was still perplexed.

" But-but I saw him! Nat I-I saw him there!...he was here in the room. I'm su-"

"Enough Rose. Sleep now." Nat interrupted her, as she helped her lay down on the bed.

"But... I'm sure it was Loki." Rose yawned, her eyes drooping.

NAT smiled and tucked her properly. "It happens with everyone. Sometimes you miss someone so much that you start seeing the person."

"But...but I waas not 'maginin..." She slurred.

"Hush now dear. Good night and sweet dreams." Natasha kissed her forehead and turned off the light before leaving the room.

"...he...here...'m ssuree...fuk...." Rose mumbled in her sleep.

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Loki paced in his room, waiting for the crystal to stop glowing. Sleep had departed away from him, a long time ago.
When his eyes met hers, he had thought that his game was over but bless the Norns, he was quick to vanish his illusion.
The dark green crystal dimmed and eventually stopped glowing, indicating that she's asleep now.

It has been a week that he started to spent some hours of his night, appearing beside her bed, and watching her sleeping. No one knew about it. He never got caught and he had ordered Jarvis not to tell anyone about it. But today, he thought that he would be exposed but thankfully, he got saved.

He appeared again, beside her bed and sighed deeply. She looked utterly beautiful. The moonlight fell on the tip of her nose and forehead. Her lustrous chocolate brown hair was spreader on the pillow, surrounding her head like a halo. A sigh escaped her lips, as she rolled to her right side, facing Loki. "...I....no lie...he...here..." She murmured in her sleep.

"I am here sweetheart. Sorry for troubling you so much." He kneeled beside her bed and chuckled when she snored softly.
"I've started to care for you so much. So much that it even scares me." He smiled. "I engaged myself in trainings and other activities to keep you out of my head but it seems like you have owned a part of my mind." He paused and then quitely added. "...and some pieces of my heart too."

He stayed silent for some more minutes, drinking in her face.

He stood up. "I've to go now..." He leaned down near her face, his eyes traveling down to her plump, rosy lips that was parted a bit. He blinked slowly and gulped down the strange stupid urge to plant his lips on hers to check whether they fit perfectly or not. He peeled away his eyes from her lips and  kissed her forehead gently which made him start to disappear.

His lips curled up seeing her smile in her sleep.

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Next morning...

Rose checked the place properly, the fourth time, to see if there's a secret portal or something that can transport one to some other realms.

She was sure, it was Loki.

Yes, she was sure because the way his eyes widened and his lips parted with a shock look plastered on his face, it can't be imagination. Can it?

It seemed too real. He seemed too real.

"But what if Natasha is correct and I'm wrong?" She asked herself, standing at the spot where she saw or imagined Loki last night.

"Rose, everyone is waiting for you to join them for breakfast." Jarvis announced. Right. She is not having time to think about it anymore now. She has a lot of work today. She will repaint her and Loki's room. Maybe someday he will come back. It would be a nice surprise indeed.

"Tell them I'm coming."
"Sure."
Before leaving, she once again peeked behind the wardrobe.

"Creepy..." She muttered before rushing out of the room.

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In Asgard...

There was an important meeting going on in the throne room, in the presence of Allfather, Allmother, the Princes, the warrior three and Sif with some other officers. Everyone was busy, trying to prove their points and plans.

Well, all except for one.

"I think we should wait for them to make the first move. Maybe it will-"

"Ehehehe heheheee!!" Fandral was interrupted by a particular laugh coming from a black haired Prince.

Everyone's head snapped towards Loki's direction, who was chuckling without any reason.

"Loki." Loki's smile vanished when Odin called his name. He gulped, straightened up and slowly looked at the unamused King.

"Yes?"

"May I ask what is amusing you so much that you are laughing in the middle of an important discussion." Odin glared at him.
Loki shook his head. "Nothing just..."

"What?"

"Pardon me. Let's continue with the matter." Odin nodded slowly, still glaring at him.

His eyes met Frigga's amused and knowing ones who winked at him. Loki offered her a tight smile and returned his attention towards the discussion going on. But soon he found himself smiling again at the funny moments spent in Midgard with...Rose.

He remembered the first time he tried to help her in the kitchen and that resulted in a big explosion. First, a bag of flour fell on his head, covering him from head to toe with white flour. It was Rose's trick.

Next when he was given eggs to break, he just crushed them in his palms which earned him yellings and smacks from the furious Miss chef Rosabelle and was nearly kicked out of the kitchen by her.

How she tried to juggle 3 eggs just to show off and the eggs ended up spoiling the marbled floor. She had glared at him which quitened his mockings.

How he tried to tickle her which made her run and slip on the slippery eggs substances on the floor. How hard he had laughed when she fell down on her face, directly into the floor bag. And how she kicked Thor's jewel when he teased her about that matter.

"Father, I don't think they will revolt. I don't see any needs of revolution because we have supplied every-"

"Heeeheee! Ehehe!" Thor's statement was cut off in the middle by Loki who had his hands clampled over his mouth to muffle his laughs.

This time, Thor prayed to the Almighty because everyone in the hall knew that Loki Odinson is ...screwed.

"Loki!" Odin yelled. "Are you out of your mind? Do you find this meeting funny? Are you drunk?"

Loki paled.   Shit! Shit! Shit! Damn you Rosabelle!

He threw pleading glances at his mother. She was the only one who can save him at the moment from a long, embarassing lecture from Odin. Frigga shook her head, smiling slightly and placed a hand on Odin's shoulder, dampening his anger.

"Loki, I want you to return back to your room. No outings for you today. Am I clear?" Frigga said, in a strict voice which Loki knew was absolutely fake. He faked a serious and hurt expression.

"Yes mother. Forgive me." He bowed, got up and walked out of the hall before winking at Thor who rolled his eyes. While departing, Loki felt several pairs of eyes boring into his back and neck.

"What in the nine realms is wrong with him?" Sif whispered to Volstagg who shrugged and secretly took a bite from the pie he had sneaked in.

"I don't know. Everyone's saying that he has changed and has become cheerful since his return from Midgard." Volstagg whispered back.

"What do you think, Hogun?" Volstagg nudged the quite man.

"I don't know and I don't care. Maybe he's planning to trick us again." Hogun replied.

"Ah! Stop this whisperings and ask me. I think it's some girl." Fandral piped in which received him 'are you mad' look from his friends. He rolled his eyes.

"Didn't you see how he was laughing without any reason? Then what can it be, huh?"

"Really Fandral! A Midgardian girl? I can't even dream of Loki courting a mortal girl!" Volstagg scowled.

"Maybe he has turned mad atlast." Sif answered with a flat tone.

"But I am so-" Fandral was interrupted by Thor who cleared his voice to signal them to stop their whisperings.

"Drop the topic about him. " Hogun murmured and others nodded, accepting it.

Finished!!! Sorry, I think I was a bit late... And there's something I need to say you all... Thanks a lot for giving your precious time to read my story. Trust me dears, it matters to me a lot a lot a lot. Love you all...

I hope you liked the chapter. Do me a favour and please don't forget to vote and comment your opinions. I'll try to update soon. Till then, Bu-Byee. Take care.🥰😘😋