The Mark

The battle was over. Loki had been taken to Asgard, and you were uncertain of what to make of this. Were you relieved that the earth was no longer threatened? Yes, you were. After getting over the general shock of the soulmate revelation, you had defended New York, but were you disheartened that your soulmate was taken away from you? Yes, you were.

So were you happy when Thor and Loki returned to Earth?

Maybe you were.

Loki had been exiled from Asgard, and he was supposed to work with the Avengers and live with them, under their and Thor's supervision. His 'magic' had been stripped away from him and he were to regain it by proving himself, if ever. 

You, on the other hand, were still in a daze. Sure, the entire team knew of your connection to Loki at this point, and thankfully they never commented on it (Not in front of you, at least), but your soulmate was a God, for God's sake-

This is all so confusing!

Then Loki was assigned the room right in front of yours, which, you later found out, was due to arrangements made by Thor to get you two closer.

The rest of the Avengers, already fond of you, were not happy about this, but they played along.

The God ignored you, and you ignored him. Your mark was now a faded black color, barely noticeable, due to your soulmate not having any physical contact with you for (arguably) a long amount of time. 

The marks were supposed to disappear completely when the two soulmates reciprocated and confessed their "undying love" for each other, and their soulmate's name was supposed to appear on their wrist, similar to a tattoo, forever embedded into one's skin.

A sign that they were meant to be, that their "love", or bond, could surpass all challenges and was infinite.

Right.

You wanted to grow closer to Loki, to give him a second chance, but you weren't sure how to approach him.

-------------------------------

Loki was enraged. Extremely enraged. Why must he stay with these mewling quims? Why could he not suffer his sentence in Asgard, in peace? Why was he assigned a room right in front of his "soulmate's", the white door, almost always closed, being a stark reminder of how both of them were so close yet so distanced?

And why did he hate the distance?

The God, now sitting in the library (A miserable excuse for a library really - His personal library in Asgard was so much better!) of the newly remodeled and reconstructed Avengers tower, reflected on his actions throughout the past few days. 

The new-found 'connection' was terrifying. It scared him to no end, although he would never admit it. The mortal, whose name he had discovered to be Y/n, already held a place in his heart, an advantage, and he barely knew her!

------------------------------

As you entered the library, your favourite spot in the tower, you sensed another presence here.

Somehow, the presence was comforting. It was foreign but felt like home at the same time.

Your eyes found the source of the mysterious presence, only to discover none other than your soulmate seated where you usually sat. 

Should I stay?

What if he doesn't want me here?

Pfft, I've been here longer than he has. 

I will not go away. That is my seat. I- I knew the library existed way before he did...?

Annoyed at your brain for providing you with such useless information, you went for the wisest (?) option: Ignoring the God.

This way, you could read in peace and also show Loki that you weren't intimidated by him.

You grabbed "The Silent Patient" off the shelves which were dedicated to psychological thrillers and sat a safe distance away from Loki, but kept him in eyesight...

-----------------

The mortal's presence kept pestering Loki.

Why must she feel obliged to use the library when I'm inside it?

Is she keeping an eye on me?

The God repositioned himself on the couch (which was rather comfortable, he might add) and this resulted in him facing the swing that Y/n was sat on.

He froze when he observed that Y/n had been cautiously peeking at him from behind her book, almost the entire time she had sat there.

The tension in the room was palpable, and could be sliced through with a butter knife.

"Ehm," Y/n addressed him, "would you mind passing me that cushion?"

"Oh, sure" He grabbed the object in question and extended the hand holding it towards her.

No more words were spoken.

Looking back on the little interaction, Loki thought that her company hadn't been so bad. In fact, he had become somewhat relaxed after a few minutes and had no longer felt the need to stay alert in her presence. Her energy was.. Welcoming. It wasn't threatening.

Had she really meant no harm?

----------------------------

Why was she so comfortable around him?

Okay, maybe the universe's way of playing cupid was one factor, but had she really ever believed in soulmates?

And why is he so attractive-

These thoughts kept bothering Y/n. It had been a week since the library confrontation (Was that the right word?) and Y/n had not seen Loki during that time. He kept reappearing in her mind, she never seemed to forget him!

If she only knew that the feeling was mutual..

Once again, Y/n entered the library. She found Loki sitting on the same spot again. This time, she gathered enough courage to sit down on the same couch as him.

Not too close to him, she reminded herself. One step at a time.

He didn't move away. That was progress.

He did look her way, though, an eyebrow raised in question. She shrugged. Might as well get this "actual" confrontation over with.

"So... Do you hate me?" She said, abruptly.

"I- Do I hate you? The real question is whether you hate me, not the other way around."

"I don't hate you", she said, rather too quickly, "But I-"

"How do you not hate me then? I tried to take over your world, didn't I? And doesn't being my soulmate give you a bad look?"

"What- no, I mean, I don't appreciate the taking over the world bit, but I don't hate you, no.. And trust me, I'm not really known for a great moral compass. There are the occasional times when my conscience starts killing me, but then again, I haven't committed any real crime. But you didn't tell me whether you hated me or not? Because I feel like you do but-" 

"No, no, I certainly do not hate you.. This is just- this is all too confusing, isn't it?" The God sighed.

"Yeah. I hope that we can, y'know, help each other out?"

"Yes, I would certainly appreciate that. May I ask you something?"

"Yeah, sure."

"What novel were you reading yesterday? The cover looked interesting."

"Oh, yeah, that book is awesome. It's titled 'The silent patient'.."

And so they talked. They talked like they had known each other their entire lives. And maybe both of them weren't perfect, but at that moment, they realized that maybe this could work out.

Sure, nothing would be perfect if you have a chaotic God with a moral compass which can vary from moment to moment as your boyfriend. And courting an equally chaotic mortal who is obsessed with books and movies and various actors and singers and whatnot- and who is also an avenger, would be tough for Loki.

That day, the mark on Y/n's throat and the one on Loki's hand started fading, and on both of their wrists appeared each other's names, etched onto their skins forever. A sign that they were each other's, whether they liked it or not. The marks on their wrists would gradually become more prominent, proving that maybe..

They could make it work, together.