"Wow, that was easier than I thought!" I stretch my now wingless back and sigh in relief as the added weight is gone. "I like them." Loki mumbles quietly, and his deep voice rumbles in his chest as he talks. I turn to him. "They do look pretty cool." I admit. "Loki tilts his head, opening his mouth to say something, but then shakes his hand and chuckles softly. "They do."

My brows furrow. He's been hiding something for weeks now. He always looks as if there's something on his mind but everytime when I'm sure he'll finally spill what ever it is that is bothering him, he always gets quiet and then agrees with something I said or ruffles my hair or does something else that is absolutely un-Loki-like.

Additionally, his emotions got more difficult to sense. He's been closing off his mind for me ever since Tony told him about my powers. Only sometimes, when he's having very strong emotions, they sometimes slip past his barriers. And when he sleeps, his shield seems to weaken as well.

"Loki." I drop my arms to my sides and turn to him. "There's something you're not telling me." Slowly approaching him, I sit down on the floor in front of his reading chair and look up to him. "What's the matter?" Hugging my knees to my chest, I lock eyes with him.

He gazes into my eyes as if searching for something. He doesn't say anything, and the silence starts to fill with tension. Then, a soft smile lifts a corner of his mouth as he leans forward, beckoning me closer. I shift a little forward, resting my head on my knees as I look at him expectantly.

One of his hands reaches out and runs through my hair, tucking a lost strand behind my ear before I feel his nails scrape over my scalp. "I was thinking about going back to Asgard. I have some unfinished... business." He sighs. Lie. Well, not exactly, but it's not the thing he was thinking about, that I am sure of. Nontheless, this piece of information makes my heart drop.

"You are leaving?" I choke out, and I'm sure all colour has drained from my face. I've grown so used to his presence, his proximity, his touch. I'm intoxicated by him, and I fear that losing him could be the final bit to shatter me. I can not bear the thought of losing a person I gave my heart to yet again.

Would he miss me? Would he remember me? Why does he have to leave? "How long will you be gone?" I ask, trying not to sound too desperate, but somehow the handsome god notices that I am a little distressed. Well, not just a little. "I don't know." He sighs and reaches down to play with a strand of my hair. "A month. Maybe two." What?!

"Don't worry, darling. I've grown rather fond of Midgard, actually, and I can't just leave my little mortal all alone, now, can I? I'll come back. I promise." Two months? Two entire months? Two months where I won't be able to see him? To hug him? To smell him? I nod, trying not to burst out in tears. I know I've grown incredibly attached to him, and my steadily growing feelings definitely make this a lot harder.

Instead of letting my tears flow, I swallow them down before plastering a smile on my face, making sure it reaches my eyes before playfully poking his leg. "You better come back." I poke him again. "Afraid you'll miss me too much?" He teases. If only he knew... "Yes. I will miss you, Loki." He freezes, and I sigh.

Finally, after what felt like hours eventhough it couldn't have been more than a couple seconds, he lets go of the strand of my hair he'd been playing with and drops from his chair, kneeling behind me. I feel his warmth embracing me as he wraps his arms around me, pulling me into him. "I'll miss you too, my little mortal."

***

"Everyone knows what to do?" Tony asks one last time when the Quinjet quietly lands on a field surrounded by large trees and bushes. Everyone nods, and Tony turns to Loki. "If you try anything funny..." The god rolls his eyes and smirks. "Let me guess..." He tilts his head. "You'll kill me?" "Exactly." Tony answers, unfazed by Loki's mocking.

"Okay. Stick to the plan and keep your comms on. You never know if something might go wrong." Tony reminds us again before he starts to tamper with one of his gloves. "If something goes wrong, report immediately. No heroic solo efforts!" Steve looks expectantly around until everyone has nodded to indicate that Steve's words have been received and understood.

"Very well." It is strangely quiet as everyone checks their weapons and gets ready to leave the jet and head into the unknown building. Uncertainty about what we will find is heavy in the air, but everyone knows what they have to do, and it is no one's first time on a mission. And apart from that, there have been tougher missions.

Well, it's Loki's first time on a mission, but judging by his confident, almost bored expression, the whole thing is no big deal to him. But after Thanos, probably nothing will scare him anymore."You look worried." Tony states as he walks past me to a luggage flap and stows something inside. "Don't worry about the mission. Loki and you, you will just turn off the alarm and then stay in the background."

I nod. "Switch your radios to receive, and if anything is wrong, you'll have help with you within seconds." He gives me a smile before going to the control panel in the cockpit and opening the cargo door. "Let's do it." Within seconds, we are all out of the small plane and moving towards the forest, which completely surrounds the field we have arrived in.

The jet camouflages itself and is difficult to see, and when I look back for a moment, I am amazed at how good the camouflage actually is. When I realise that the rest of the Avengers are already a good distance ahead of me, I quicken my steps and catch up before I stick to Loki. As soon as we leave the border of the forest behind us, it is suddenly incredibly dark.

Hardly a sound from outside sounds through the bushes and shrubs, and, strangely, we don't see or hear a single bird. Only the gentle rustling of the leaves accompanies us on our way through the dense undergrowth. The further we advance, the more tense my nerves become. I flinch at every sound and involuntarily look around before pulling myself together and telling myself not to be so damn jumpy.

I don't know how long we move through the forest as quietly as possible, but suddenly Steve raises his hand, and everyone ducks further into the bushes. And then I see it, too. We seem to have reached the edge of the forest, and there, where the bushes are clearing, something is moving. Steve, Nat, Bucky, and Bruce break away from the group and sprint ahead as we continue our normal pace.

As we slowly get closer, we clearly hear sounds of fighting. Guns are fired, and alarmed shouts resound. When we finally arrive, everything is quiet. Steve comes towards us. He carries his shield casually on his arm. "Everything is under control." He reports, and a smile tugs at the corner of my lips. Of course, everything is under control. They're the best of the best.

We finally stop at a grey steel door, and Bruce holds a small device to the control panel. Immediately, the door bursts open, and Tony sprints through. As fast as he can, he hits a red button at the beginning of the corridor. He makes it in time within the five-second countdown, and the alarm for a security break does not automatically turn on.

Fortunately, Caden has drawn up a detailed map of the facility and was able to point out some traps and guard posts. Clint carefully closes the door behind him, and together, we move down the corridor until we come to aińer junction. Now it pays off that we have gone over the plan Tony devised with Steve umpteen times. Everyone knows what they have to do, and so it doesn't take any words to get Bucky and Steve to separate from the group and take the left-hand path.

Little by little, more and more small groups split up, and when there are only four of us left, Loki and I also turn off. The door to the power supply room is surprisingly poorly secured, and so it only takes a moment and a snap of Loki's fingers for the door to open and for us to slip through. As the door slams shut behind us and I raise my head, my breath catches in my throat.

There are cables everywhere. Caden has mentioned that he has never entered this room in his time down here and could therefore not give us a detailed description of what it looks like in here and which plug we have to pull where, but I didn't imagine it to be that bad. "Holy shit," I whisper and let my eyes wander through the jungle of power cables.

"Indeed." Loki agrees with me quietly and steps further into the room. "I'd say it's not as bad as it looks, but.... I'd say it's even worse." I'm too speechless to reply, so I settle for nodding slightly. A low hum fills the room, and even though the cables are all insulated, I imagine I can feel the tension. "What do we do now?"

Inappropriately, Tony now joins in, who seems impatient. "Y/n, Horns, what's taking you so long?" I'm about to reply when Loki already is halfway through a snarky reply. He skilfully ignores the nickname Tony has given him. "If anyone had told us what exactly we were getting into here, we would have asked for six hours more time. They don't seem to put much stock in order here. So unless you have a schematic at your disposal, shut up and wait until we're done."

He breaks the connection and carelessly steps over a few cables. He mumbles something unintelligible as he pushes a few cables aside. I watch him helplessly. Loki seems to have as little idea of what he is doing as I do. "Loki, we'll just have to pull some cables, I think." "Absolutely not. That way, they'll see there's a malfunction."

"Do you have a better idea?" I ask grumpily and watch as Loki digs through a pile of long colourful cables. A silver box appears on the wall, and Loki smiles at me as he opens it. "Indeed. Ready to run?" "What?" He grins at me. "I'll take that as a yes." With a flourish, he pulls down the big lever in the box. The lights go out, and an alarm goes off somewhere. "Whoopsie." He grins.

When I don't react quickly enough, he rushes past me and grabs my wrist as he passes me. Deftly, he pulls me behind him until my feet obey me again, and I keep up the pace of my own accord. We run around a few corners until Loki pushes open another door, manoeuvres us inside and then lets go of my wrist as he rushes to a control panel, lets his Seidr flow and the alarm goes off again. "Phew." I wipe the sweat from my brow, and together, we leave the room again, making our way towards the exit.

Suddenly, there are footsteps just around the next corner. We freeze, and Loki pushes me behind him. He is tense, and that makes me nervous. "I'll be back in a minute. Wait here, okay?" Before I can stop him, he rushes around the corner. Almost instantly, I can hear the sound of guns being fired. The urge to follow Loki grows. But then I hear his typical laugh, assuring me that everything is okay.

Sounds of fighting resonate in the hallway, then more heavy footsteps and more sounds of fighting. The noise slowly moves away, but Loki does not return. Not after a minute and not after two. It tears me up inside, but I know I won't find Loki again on my own. So I decide to go back to the exit like planned and wait in the quinjet for the rest. But I have barely finished this thought when a deafening bang ruptures my eardrums before a sharp pain runs through my leg.

Instinctively, I pull my small gun from my belt, and with a single, well-aimed shot, the sentry collapses and lies motionless. He is alone. Tears gather in my eyes at the pain that is just spreading down my leg. Still, I try to pull myself together. I make it about fifty metres before my leg gives way under me, and I collapse, gasping, in the middle of the corridor.

Seeking shelter, I crawl into a dark corner, gritting my teeth to keep from screaming as I drag my injured leg behind me. And then I wait. My headset has disappeared, and I have the uneasy feeling that I lost it unnoticed during our sprint out of the control room. So I have no choice but to wait here and hope that someone will look for me.