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Requested by: @osbvpdsc

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Mortality was never something Loki concerned himself with, much less thought about.

Granted, he had faked his death once or twice, thus proving his apathy, but was that any different from the way his bumbling brother drank copious amounts of Asgardian ale until he passed out for a day or two, especially to celebrate his own birth, something Loki personally thought was a dark mark in the history of the universe?

He didn't think so.

In short, the god of mischief did not usually have a reason to worry about mortality for he had a skill unmatched in avoiding death and for some reason, Thor was just irritatingly hard to kill no matter how many times he surprise-stabbed him.

He supposed there was the matter of the Avengers as well, but if he was being completely honest, he'd tried to kill them all once. If someone else finished the job, he wouldn't be particularly bothered about it even though he was forced to work with them under condition of his own freedom. This was his mentality when he first came to Earth and there was nothing much that such an inferior people could do to change his mind.

At least, until YN came back.

He knew they always talked about YN and were very concerned with her well-being, for an accident had befallen her and prevented the young woman from joining them in the Battle of New York, so when she did return, she was very surprised to find the god of mischief lounging at the kitchen table as though it were normal. Loki didn't much care for her, at first—her presence was just an addition to the collection of humans that annoyed him.

What he hadn't anticipated was the friendship that would begin to bloom between them over the course of a few weeks.

He was quick to realize that YN was a very blunt person.

If she had something to say, she would say it without hesitation and he supposed this was a reason he tolerated being around her.

She herself could barely do the same, but she noticed something about him, too. 

Loki wasn't really doing anything.

He wasn't training for or going on any missions.

There was nothing productive in the way he occasionally prowled around the Tower or how he would sit in his room, locking himself away from everyone. She blamed her own team as well as the god of mischief for his indolence.

They didn't want anything to do with him as much as he didn't want anything to do with them.

So, she decided to change that.

And mornings suddenly became Loki's personal hell.

YN was up before the sun even dared to peek it's head over the horizon, ordering him out of bed and dragging him into the training room. He was so adamant to stay under the covers one morning, that he tried to get away with creating an illusion of himself.

She later told him that the bucket of water accidentally slipped out of her fingers when she figured out what he'd done.

She had thrown the whole bucket at his head.

That first day, Loki didn't think he could hate anyone more than he hated YN—she pushed him through six hours of "light" training that left him feeling like a limp noodle as he lay facedown on the floor of the boxing ring, gasping for air like a fish out of water. Sure, he had lived a few more lifetimes than she and saw much more bloodshed and battle, but the despicable young woman had wrung out every single iota of energy he had in his body and was still bouncing around the ring waiting for him to get back up.

"You're going to kill me, you foul woman," Loki had grumbled when he finally caught his breath.

"Really? From what I hear, you can't be killed that easily," she replied, nudging his calf with her foot.

"Come on, we're not done."

"No."

"One more hour."

"I said no."

YN had sighed and walked to the corner of the ring to grab her water bottle. She set it down beside the god of mischief who eyed her suspiciously.

"You did really good for your first day."

Loki would never admit it aloud but after such a remark, he felt rather proud of himself.

He also wouldn't admit that it was the reason he kept going back—he was a creature that delighted in any form of praise and as he slowly began to improve during their training sessions, she continued to push and scold and correct and encourage him.

YN was a little proud of him as well.

The speed in which the god of mischief learned and applied himself was more than she could hope for and they would spend meals together afterwards going over things he could do better and things he was excelling at.

After some time, they grew to be attached at the hip much to everyone's surprise.

He was still stubborn with her and she was still snappy with him, but they learned to tolerate each other's company as best they could and were rarely seen apart.

Two long months later of intense training, YN finally decided to present the idea of taking Loki on his first mission to the team. As she expected, neither party was exactly thrilled by the suggestion though Thor was an entirely different story and genuinely overjoyed to be able to work alongside his reluctant brother.

There was little anyone could object to since he was technically fulfilling his purpose of being on Earth, anyways, so it was decided that he would come along.

When the dreaded day came and everyone was ready to go, Loki followed YN onto the first Quinjet where she sat down on the bench and patted the spot beside her.

"You ready?" She said with a wide grin.

He noticed the same excitement that came right before she tortured him with hours of training in her twinkling eyes and decided to give her a moody scowl.

"Such a grump. Maybe some time spent shooting things will cheer you up."

"That sounds promising."

YN rolled her eyes when Clint walked past them with a raised brow.

"Partners, huh?"

"Jealous, Barton?"

"In your dreams, YLN."

Loki watched him join Natasha at the front of the jet before turning to YN.

"Partners?" He questioned.

"Just stick with me. We're the dream team right now."

She lifted her hand and the god of mischief stared at it blankly. With a sigh, the young woman grabbed his wrist and connected their hands with a satisfying slap. It was only for a few seconds, but Loki noticed that when she wasn't using her hands to strangle him in the boxing ring, they were actually quite soft.

By the time they reached their designated location, he was still staring at his hand as if it had sprouted five more fingers and YN tapped his ankle with her foot.

"Come on, Horns, it's go time."

They'd arrived in the middle of nowhere—trees towering over them for miles any which way they looked and the last of the sun's beams shining furiously as it sank lower in the sky. Clint and Natasha followed them out of the jet where Steve, Bucky and Sam waited.

The plan had been discussed before arriving, but they went over it one more time before parting ways.

Loki was having a hard time keeping up with YN as she darted through the trees and almost lost her twice when they finally arrived at the outskirts of the wood.

There was a wide clearing and in the middle of it sat an enormous cement bunker with a glass dome.

She glanced at Loki.

"Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

The god of mischief certainly had nothing to worry about as he followed YN into battle—he'd faced much worse and much bigger than that of which he was up against and together, they were an almost unstoppable force of nature as they slashed and hacked and shot their way through the droves of HYDRA agents that came out to meet them.

He held reluctant gratitude for YN as he began to see all of the training he'd endured pay off.

But, none of what she taught had prepared Loki for the moment he heard, amidst the gunfire and shouting, a single cry of pain, high-pitched and agonizing, that made his heart come to a complete stop.

The usually so rigorous and exact YN, distracted while in her element, had failed to completely incapacitate one of the men. He turned just in time to see her fall to the forest floor with her gun raised, shooting her assailant just as she hit the ground.

And as Loki swiftly killed the last of the HYDRA agents with a formidable rage before sprinting to YN's side, it was the very first time that he, the god of mischief, began to fear mortality.

Falling to his knees, Loki carefully scooped her up from the pine needles.

Blood was streaming from a wound that he could not see and he desperately searched for the source, his hands trembling furiously.

Her breathing was ragged and her eyes were wide and there was something in them that he had never seen before.

She was just as afraid as he was.

There was shouting over the communication system, but he could understand none of it and tried explaining the situation as best he could though he was having a hard time getting the words out as he watched YN fight to stay awake.

But, despite the struggle, her eyes slipped closed.

He could feel the waning of her life force, the iron grip she had on his wrist loosening and her hand falling to the earth.

And so, his heart did what his mouth could not do in that moment of confusion and turmoil.

It begged for her life to be spared.

Surely, whatever entity in the vast universe could do something so simple?

Could save her?

"YN!"

"Please," he croaked, raising his head and holding her out to Sam and Bucky who had come running while Loki was stumbling over the comms, "help me."

"We need to take her back to the Compound. Come on!"

"There's no time, I just—I need to find the wound. I can't do this by my—"

His throat was thick with emotion, cutting him off, and the men didn't hesitate to jump into action.

Loki gave them a grateful nod as they knelt down beside him.

Bucky cradled YN's head while Sam carefully located the stab wound and once he did, the god of mischief quickly placed his still-shaking hands over the injury.

"You got this," Sam said encouragingly.

Loki took a deep breath.

What occurred next was something he had done a thousand times before, but this time was different.

As thick, green tendrils of his healing magic surrounded the wound and began to glow, it was fueled by an emotion so rarely felt by the god of mischief that it's power sent a strong energy coursing through YN's veins and, with a sharp inhale, her chest began to rise with new breath and the color returned to her once deathly pale cheeks.

The ripped skin steadily threaded itself together, leaving behind a faint scar and Loki sat back in the leaves with a heavy sigh.

"She's not waking up," Bucky said worriedly.

He shook his head.

"The magic takes a toll on both of us. She's only sleeping."

"Come on," Sam patted his shoulder, "let's get her back to the jet."

—————-

YN finally woke up hours later with nothing more than a slight headache and a desperate need to go right back to sleep.

She was in the medical wing of the Compound and in the corner of her room, the god of mischief was reading a book. She watched him for awhile, studying the way his brows were furrowed in concentration and the way his lips moved just slightly as he read.

"Staring is rude."

She only smiled.

Loki returned the gesture for a moment before giving her a little glare.

"Don't ever do that to me again," he muttered.

"Almost die? I'll try not to."

"You'd leave me all alone with a building full of imbeciles, you know. I couldn't stomach the thought."

"You're so dramatic."

"Only when I have to be."

He closed his book and walked over to sit in the chair beside her hospital bed before taking her hand in his.

There was a worry he held for her in his eyes that she could see clear as day and she squeezed his hand tightly in a way of comfort.

"I don't know what you'd do without me sometimes," she said, blinking sleepily.

Loki threaded his fingers through hers.

It was true—mortality wasn't something someone like Loki had to worry about when a few lifetimes was considered to be nothing but a blink of an eye.

But, he had seen YN balance on the edge of it.

He had watched the light slowly fade from her eyes and felt the slowing of her breath as he held her in his arms.

She was truly so much more vulnerable than him despite her strengths, as fragile as a flower petal, and Loki was eternally grateful for the abilities he had that brought her back to him.

He silently promised himself just then that, as long as she needed him to, he would protect YN with his very life.

Loki gave her a little smile.

"I wouldn't dare to imagine, love."