Thaw

"𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢'𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮; 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬, 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝𝐬, 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐢'𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢'𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮."

❅ 

"We did it!" Thor shouts joyously as he watches the retreating frames of the villagers in the courtyard. 

"Suck it, losers!" Sam yells, and would most certainly be flipping them off if he had a hand to flip them off with.

"We did it, Buck!" Steve yells, hopping over to his husband. "Bucky?" He whispers again, staring at the frozen fire poker in front of him. "Oh, Buck..."

"Just like Budapest, huh?" Nat says, turning to Clint with a sad smile on her feather duster face.

"It was an honor to fight with you one last time," Clint agrees, catching Nat's stiff, lifeless body in his arms before laying her down to the ground one last time. 

"I'm sorry we couldn't do more," Wanda says to Sam before her doors shut.

"Me too," Sam agrees, gazing at Steve and Bucky's lifeless frames before his own eyes shut.

"Peter! Pepper!" Tony shouts, rolling down the stairs in a panicked frenzy.

"Tony!" Mrs. Potts yells, rolling over in her cart to her husband. "I can't find Peter! He ran off!"

"Mom, Dad?" Peter screams, hopping over to his mother and father as fast as he can.

Just as Peter reaches Mrs. Potts, her features fade, and Peter lets out a choked cry.

"Dad?" Peter says again, slumping against his father's frame. "I don't feel so good."

"You're going to be alright, Pete," Tony says for the sake of his kid, bracing them both as they fall to the floor.

"I don't want to go, Dad," Peter keeps repeating. "I'm sorry."

Tony slowly lowers Peter's lifeless frame to the ground before laying down next to him.

"I'm sorry I couldn't do more."

"Thor?" Clint says, turning to his last remaining companion. "I can't- I can't speak."

"It's all right, Clint," Thor says to his friend sadly, gazing at his clock frame one last time before his eyes faded. "It was an honor to know all of you, my friends," he says to the group of scattered, now completely inanimate objects around the small entryway, before his flames slowly flicker out before vanishing completely.

❅

"Loki," Belle sobs, holding his lifeless frame in her arms. "Please, don't leave me."

Tears running down her cheeks, Belle presses a soft kiss to Loki's forehead, her breath shaky with choked sobs as she cradles him closer in her arms.

"Please don't leave," she repeats breathlessly against his cold forehead. "I love you."

Behind the pair, the discarded, crumpled rose petals scattered around the dead flower surge with life once again, flying up to the top of the rose gently as they are overtaken with their original bright blue hue.

A loud, abrupt shattering sound from behind them causes Belle to whip her head around to the small table, a shocked gasp leaving her lips as she sees the sight before her.

Encased in warm golden light with little green flakes, the deep blue rose petals surge forward towards the pair, softly yet firmly pulling Loki's body from Belle's grasp and up into the air before her.

Belle subconsciously takes a step back from Loki's floating form as the blue petals and golden light swarm around him in a vortex.

Her eyes alight with confusion and disbelief, Belle can only stand and watch as the pale blue hue of Loki's skin begins to turn back to a pale ivory color, starting from his hands and slowly creeping up the rest of his body.

Still caught in the small tornado of gold light and scattered blue rose petals, Loki's body slowly turns away from Belle, the skin on his back mending itself from the bullet wounds and the material of his shirt and pants sewing itself back together as well as shrinking in size a bit to sit his human body.

Slowly, Loki is lowered back to the ground on his feet, still facing away from Belle as he raises his hands in front of his face, examining himself in shock.

"Loki?" Belle whispers in disbelief, her breath hitching in her throat when Loki finally turns around, allowing for her to see his face for the first time.

Although he had been a bit taller as a frost giant (and quite obviously very blue), Loki didn't look that different as a human. 

His slightly tousled coal black hair cascades just down to his shoulders, reaffirming his sharp and chiseled jawline. Although obviously confused and in awe, Loki's lips are curved upwards, a seemingly natural state for him by the looks of it. 

Loki's bloodied shirt has been replaced by a soft, forest-green tunic that brings out his emerald green eyes. Those eyes.

As Belle slowly walks up to Loki with uncertainity, she can't help but smile as she catches sight of his beautiful green eyes, glimmering like a thousand emeralds in the moonlight and alight with admiration as Loki stares down at Belle.

Belle reaches a shaky hand to caress Loki's cheek, not quite convinced that the sight in front of her is real as she makes contact with his warm skin--quite a contrast from his previously cold touch.

Still in shock, Belle lets out a breathless, half-gasp, half-chuckle as Loki brings his own hand up to brush a stray strand of her hair behind her ear before resting it on her cheek.

Loki's eyes flicker down at Belle's lips before meeting her eyes once more, as if to ask 'may I?'--a question to which Belle answers by closing the gap between them, meeting Loki's lips with her own.

Melting instantly from the kiss that just felt so right, Belle rises to her toes, grasping the strands of obsidian hair in the nape of Loki's neck with just enough force to bring him a bit closer. The kiss is slow and sensual, full of longing and love that had been hidden for so long. 

Loki's skin smells faintly of peppermint and sandalwood, bringing a small smile to Belle's lips as she pulls away from the kiss for air.

"Hi," Belle whispers breathlessly as she rests her forehead on Loki's, both lingering in each other's embrace with their eyes still shut.

"Hello, Darling," Loki whispers back, a smile curving his lips upwards as he attempts to bring her even closer to him, if that was even possible.

Unbeknownst to the couple, all around them, the previously dark and gloomy outer walls of the castle begin to melt into a pure, golden color as the sun emerges from behind a cloud at last, illuminating the castle and restoring it to its former glory for the first time in years.

Down below on the castle steps, the previously lifeless servants stranded across the cold steps are revived with a new vigor.

Buried up to her waist in fabrics of every color imaginable, Wanda sits dumbfounded as her red hair cascades messily down her shoulders, her green-brown eyes gazing over at Sam, who is standing across from her with the same shocked look on his face.

"What the fuck?" Sam yells, his mind running a mile a minute as he tries to figure out what just happened.

"Hey! No cursing around my son!" Tony, a tall, well-set man with messy dark brown hair yells at Sam, holding the hand of a boy around the age of ten with wide, curious eyes.

"Dad," Peter whines, dragging out the 'd' and tugging on his father's hand as his mother approaches them both, the family embracing in a real hug for the first time since they could remember.

"Tasha?" Clint asks, nudging a large pile of white feathers with his foot. "Are you in there?"

"Give me five more minutes, Clint," Natasha groans jokingly before she emerges from the pile, her flaming red hair in a tight braid down her back as she dusts any remaining feathers off of her body.

"Bucky!" Steve shouts, running over to his husband with the biggest smile on his face, wrapping his husband's frame in his muscular arms.

By this point, the villagers in the courtyard had made their way back up to the castle stairs, their memories restored once the curse had been broken.

"Thor?" Sif yells, tears of joy in her eyes as she rushes up to her now-remembered husband.

"Wanda!" Vision shouts simultaneously, running up to the spot where the woman was still attempting to make her way out of the sea of fabrics around her.

"Vis!" She replies happily as he reaches her, grasping his hands tightly before pulling him into a passionate kiss of their own.

"Clint?" A voice asks from behind the man, and both shock and pure joy are written across his face as he turns to see his wife and their three children running over to him as fast as they could.

"Laura!" He replies, moving towards them in an almost inhuman speed as he picks up his youngest son, spinning him in the air before setting him down and kneeling down to hug his other two children.

"We remember everything," Laura says when he rises, giving him a tight hug as their three children hug their parents' legs.

Sif, still clutching Thor's hand as they interact with their rediscovered friends, suddenly spots two figures emerging from the castle doors hand-in-hand, and pulls on her husband's hand slightly to get his attention.

"Thor, look," she says, gesturing to where Loki and Belle are now walking towards the couple.

"Brother!" Thor shouts, his voice laced with pure joy as he envelopes Loki in a bone crushing hug that the younger brother would have once scoffed at.

"Hello, Brother," Loki says instead with a smile, returning Thor's gesture happily.

"It's so good to see you," Thor says, tears of joy in his eyes threatening to spill over as he enjoys the embrace of his brother for the first time since he could remember.

"Belle!" Wanda yells, towing Vision behind her as she runs up to the girl and gives her a hug as well. "You saved our lives!"

Belle breaks her hug with Wanda as she feels a tugging on her skirt, and turns to see a boy with brown hair and a goofy grin smiling up at her.

"Belle, it's me, Peter!" He says, his face gleaming with childlike joy. "You might not recognize me since the last time you saw me I was a teacup, but-" 

Belle cuts the boy off when she bends down and hugs him gently. "It's great to see you, Peter."

Peter gives her another boyish grin before running back over to where Tony and Pepper undoubtedly were.

As Belle rises again from her crouched position on the ground, she raises her eyes to see Loki's own shining emerald green eyes watching her exchange with Peter with fondness and admiration.

"I must say, you've got quite the castle here, My Prince," Belle jokes as she walks back over to Loki, looping her arms around his neck as he instantly wraps his own around her waist.

"It's yours now too, Princess Belle," Loki says right back, and although he's joking, Belle can't help but blush at the truth behind his words.

"I love you, Loki," Belle whispers just quiet enough so that Loki could hear but anyone around them couldn't.

Loki brings his right hand from Belle's waist to cup her cheek gently, his eyes sparkling in the sunlight like magic as he leans in and presses a soft, tender kiss to her lips.

"I love you too," he whispers against her lips once they break apart.

❅❅❅