the stranger (l.l x reader)
There was a man in your living room.
You had no idea who he was, or how he’d even gotten there in the first place, but nonetheless there he stood, still managing to look rather imposing amongst your furnishings despite the fancy dress costume and the long cape.
“Put that thing down, would you? I’m terribly sorry but the fact you believe that would protect you from me is pathetic.” His aristocratic drawl was the first bout of noise that filled the silent room, the pair of you having been staring at each other for the past few moments.
You were lost for words at the casual tone he used, glancing around the room as if he belonged there.
“I-I don’t..” You stuttered, cautiously lowering the timber weapon still grasped in your now admittedly sweaty palms. “Who are you? And what are you doing in my house?” You finally managed to squeak out with as much conviction as you could muster.
At this, the dark haired stranger rolled his eyes, a devious smirk playing across his features.
“You think I chose to be here, of all places I could have gone?” Sniffing in disdain, he eyed the coffee table parallel to where he stood as if to prove a point. Frowning, you furrowed your eyebrows.
“How did you get in? I bolted the doors and I certainly didn’t hear the locks being picked or broken..” You started, creeping slowly towards the tall figure. He was huge in comparison to you, and as you drew closer, you had to angle your head up to keep locked onto his sharp gaze. However, before he could reply, your interest was piqued by something you had noticed before.
A glowing blue cube enclosed in his right hand, it almost glittered- no, it shone brightly, so brightly in fact that when you averted your gaze to avoid hurting your eyes, you saw the man was staring between you and the object, his grip on it becoming tighter as his knuckles turned white.
“You think Midgardian security is any match for the powers of a God?” He replied finally, stepping towards you as you flinched at the sudden movement. Either this guy was some freaky mutant, or he’d just taken a hell of a lot of drugs, as you’d never seen anyone dress or speak like this before.
Sighing, you ran a hand through your hair, frustrated at his lack of information.
“Look, I don’t know who you are, I don’t care where you came from, but if you get out of my house now, I promise I won’t call the cops..”
That same smirk was back on his face as the smooth baritone of his voice filled the air once more.
“My name is Loki, darling. God of Mischief. Ring any bells?”
This guy was definitely on drugs.
“No, it doesn’t ring any bells, and even if it did I don’t want you in my house!” You hissed, starting to get a little impatient with his attitude and lack of cooperation. Reaching for your phone to dial 911, you let out a gasp of surprise when your hand went straight through the device and the side table it rested upon as if you were nothing but an apparition. As you glanced upwards, the man who called himself Loki just smirked, eyebrows raised in a triumphant manner.
“Look, whilst this is certainly not the place I would have chosen for myself, I am in need of some assistance. I thought I was above begging a mere mortal woman for help, but in this case I will get down on my knees if that’s what it takes.” He sighed, as you glanced between his face and the blue object still held in his hand.
“What’s the glowing thing?” You finally asked, your curiosity getting the best of you as you nodded down to the item in question. You heard the dark haired man sigh, as you smiled inwardly at his exasperated tone.
“I promise everything has an explanation and I will tell in time, but if you really want me to beg at least tell me now so I can get it over and done with..”
Glancing back up at the man, you studied him careful, one hand still on your baseball bat just in case he really was a psycho. You could see he was tall, long black hair that was probably once slicked back but now stuck up every which way in a disheveled manner. His costume was a smoky grey with green tones, it reminded you very much of the snakes you used to see at the zoo when you were younger.
He didn’t look like a serial killer, and with him not looking so well, the least you could do was give the poor man some food and water in the state he was in. Sighing, you rolled your eyes, before nodding your head once.
“You don’t need to beg. What do you need?” You gritted out, crossing your arms over your chest after finally setting the baseball bat down on the rug beside you.
You could have sworn you saw the briefest flash of relief cross the man's face, before his expression was back to that same smirk.
“Some water would be very much appreciated, I’m feeling quite parched, as well a-”
Whilst you were busy staring at the curious blue object as he was speaking, your head snapped up as soon as his speech seemed to cut off mid sentence. You caught his gaze just in time before his blue eyes became hazy and unfocused. Acting on instinct, you moved forwards a few paces, arms outstretched just in time to catch the man before his knees buckled and he fell forwards, body going limp against your as his toy landed on your woollen rug with a soft thud.
-
You had to hand it to him, the man, Loki, as you’d now started calling him, was much stronger than he looked, as it took you half an hour and a lot of cursing to drag his lithe yet heavy frame up the stairs and into the guest bedroom. Once he’d been deposited in a position that didn’t look like it’d ache his neck or back once he woke up, you set to work grabbing as much food as you could (mostly the calorie-infused protein bars you kept stocked) and bottled water as you could, hauling it back up the stairs and to the man who was still passed out, dead to the world on your spare bed.
Staring at his form for a few moments, you retreated back downstairs once more, immediately drawn to the discarded blue object on the floor. Kneeling down carefully, you poked it once. It was cool to touch, and almost felt like glass. Closing your grip around it, you picked the glowing item up, turning it over and examining it closely. Whatever it was, it seemed to be pretty important to Loki.
Trudging back up the stairs, eyes never leaving the object held in front of you, you jumped slightly when you were greeted with the sight of the dark haired man propped up on both elbows, his face now a worryingly pale colour.
“You really shouldn’t touch what doesn’t belong to you..” He drawled, his voice noticeably more strained when he spoke downstairs.
Ignoring his comment, you put the blue cube down on the dresser opposite the bed, rushing to where you’d left the food and water at the foot of the duvet.
Unscrewing the cap, you offered the plastic bottle to the darker haired man, who eyed it curiously, coughing ever so slightly.
“What is that?”
“I haven’t poisoned it if that’s what you're wondering..” You deadpanned, still holding the liquid in front of his face. “It’s water, drink it, you’ll need it after you passed out..”
Your answer seemed to pacify him for the time being, as he gingerly took the bottle and took a few sips, his chest heaving with every gulp. As he was replenishing his thirst, you quickly began to unwrap a ‘peanut-butter belter’ protein bar, offering the rectangular substance to him in the same fashion.
“Gosh, do you people really eat that stuff? It looks revolting..” His features contorted into a grimace, the colour of his face slightly better but still much paler than before.
“Just eat it, please..” You sighed.
He surveyed the bar for a few more moments, before using just two fingers to pluck out of your grasp, taking a hesitant nibble at the corner.
It turns out he could only manage half of it, before handing the half-eaten item back to you to dispose of.
His dark hair made a stark contrast to the white linen bed sheets as his head finally hit the pillow, a loud exhale emitting from the man’s mouth. His eyes closed as you stayed in silence for a few moments, allowing his eyes to flutter shut.
“Who are you, really? And what’s that thing over there?” You finally asked, pointing behind you at the blue object giving off a pleasantly soft glow in the darkened room. You heard Loki sigh, before both his eyes opened, focusing on yours.
“You ask far too many questions..” He rasped, as you gave a half-hearted snort of laughter. “I already told you anyways, I’m Loki..”
“But what’s that?” You pushed, pointing behind you. His eyes focused briefly to where you were motioning, before he replied;
“I promised you an explanation and you’ll get one, just not right now..” His voice faltered slightly, before his head fell back sharply and his hair hit the pillow.
The bastard had passed out again.
-
Loki slept for the best part of three days in your little bedroom, only waking up a couple of times to force a few bites of a stale protein bar and a couple of sips of water. Of course, you were constantly checking on him, but every time you entered the room bar one, he was still in the same position, hands clasped across his chest with his long hair fanned across the pillow, chest rising and falling with every breath.
A few times you’d had to leave your house, locking the door to make sure nobody else came in and found a random stranger resting, and every time you returned, you half expected him to be gone as quickly as he’d appeared, nothing but a figment of your imagination. Alas, the man stayed, and he rested.
Nearing the fourth day of his visit, he finally woke up.
-
“You need to stay still if you want this to work.”
“This is utterly embarrassing, and I’m sure I could do it myself..” Loki grumbled, attempting to move away from your touch as you reached for his shoulder once more.
It had been a week since you’d found the man standing in your living room, and to be honest, you liked him better when he’d been sleeping non-stop. He’d woken up a much better colour than he was even when he’d arrived, that same arrogant smirk now a permanent occurrence across his features.
It had only taken a forced change of clothes for you to notice Loki was subject to a nasty cut across his right shoulder, to which he had started complaining about yet insisted he didn’t need you to heal him. Constantly pressing for even a slither of information after arriving at the conclusion the man wasn’t nearly as rude and heartless as he initially made out, you were eventually rewarded with an explanation on the eighth day of your hospitality.
Loki had summoned the strength to hobble down the flight of stairs you’d hauled him up when he’d passed out on the day he’d appeared in your living room, although you still walked steadily behind him, arms outstretched as if he was going to fall, much to the dark haired man's chagrin (‘“This is utterly mortifying, I’m not going to fall for Odin’s sake!”’ he had protested through gritted teeth- you were yet to ask who Odin was).
Settling on the couch in your living room, you poured him a cup of green tea, which he had acquired a serious liking for over the past couple of days, and seated yourself opposite him, watching carefully as he delicately lifted the mug to his lips, taking a hesitant sip.
It wasn’t uncommon for the two of you to sit in silence; in fact, you’d developed a habit over such a short time. You’d walk up the stairs and bring Loki his tea and whatever food he could manage (he was partial to hunks of malt-loaf, surprisingly), and as he ate, you’d sit by the bed and read in a comfortable silence. It worked for both of you, and it meant you could still supervise the man without him pushing you away and complain you were ‘bothering’ him.
That’s why you were shocked when his voice interrupted your thoughts after a few minutes;
“I suppose you deserve an explanation after all you seem to have done for me.”
Raising your head to meet his gaze, he sat facing you, one leg crossed over the other, and in the warm sunlight filtering through the glass panes compared to the darkness of the spare bedroom, you were pleasantly surprised to see he looked better than he had done since arriving. The dark bags had almost disappeared from under his icy blue eyes after resting, and while his bone structure was prominent and angular (you assumed that was just natural), he had filled out a little more so he didn’t appear as haggard.
Instead of offering a verbal response, you simply nodded your head, surprised he had even given you the option in the first place. You had assumed he would heal to full strength, thank you (probably), and disappear without a trace, never to be seen again.
Sniffing, Loki adjusted his position, setting both legs on the floor and leaning forwards slightly.
“The object upstairs you so ardently wanted to know about is a tesseract, something very important to me..” He started, before his eyes trailed to the plush carpet beneath. “At least, it used to be. Now I’m not so sure..”
Keeping your mouth shut, you decided it was best to let him continue without interruption.
“I don’t suppose you remember the attack on New York? You people must have seen it on those box things you have..?” Loki inquired, and you smiled slightly at the realisation he meant a TV. However, your expression darkened once again when you also realised he was referring to the New York attacks three years ago. Of course you’d seen it on the TV, mass destruction from alien-like creatures you’d never seen before, Chitauri if you recalled the name correctly, but the horror of fires and falling buildings was hard to forget.
“The expression on your face says it all, I thought you might remember.” Loki broke the silence before you had a chance to respond. Instead, you nodded, motioning for him to continue with his story.
“You see, the Chitauri, everything that happened, I’m afraid that was my responsibility, completed with the help of the tesseract..” He motioned upstairs to where you knew the object still stood on the old dresser, glowing as brightly as when he first dropped it.
“Th-that caused the destruction of New York?” You whispered, poorly-concealed horror lacing your tone at the fact a murder weapon (more or less) was now in your house.
“Alas, the tesseract merely helped, it was I who used it to my advantage, and in a way that I now see as extremely irresponsible, meglo-manically, if you will..” He replied with a sigh, his gaze now not quite meeting yours.
“You see, I was taken back to Asgard, where I’m from, after my capture. I assume you’re familiar with my brother, Thor?”
Gasping, you stared at the man in front of you. Of course you knew who Thor was- you’d seen him on TV and in newspapers along with the other Avengers, especially after bringing down the attack on New York you’d now learned the man in front of you was responsible for.
“B-but, if Thor is your brother, then that would make you-”
“A God. Correct.” He smirked, as your eyes widened even further in shock. “If we’re being technical, Thor is only my brother by name, I was adopted by Odin, found when I was very young, but yes. Loki, the God of Mischief at your service..” Finishing, you couldn’t help but give a laugh of disbelief. Of course, the way he spoke and carried himself certainly didn’t give the impression of him being the God of anything else other than that. Typical.
“Anyways, I was taken back to Asgard and captured. My escape was relatively easy, the people who live there are awfully dense, but it took me a while to locate the tesseract. After my failed attempt in New York, I believe I was ‘blinded by rage’, as I’ve heard Midgardians say, and I still wanted to use it to become powerful, the leader I thought I was destined to be.” You watched as Loki shifted uncomfortably, eyes glazing as if recalling an uncomfortable memory. He stayed like this for a couple of moments, until you gently nudged his foot with your own, gesturing for him to continue with a reassuring smile.
“I met a man- actually, he wasn’t really a man, more of a mutant from the planet Titan. He-he told me if I brought him the tesseract, he would help me because we share the same goal. So I did, I-I took him the tesseract..” Loki said quietly, as you observed him clasping and unclasping his hands nervously. “I was a fool. He took me in, took the tesseract and locked me away. I was tortured, beaten, I can barely remember half my time in there..”
At his confession, your heart lurched for the man you barely know, and you recalled bandaging the wound on his shoulder a couple of days ago, which he must have been given whilst locked away. Compared to the regal, self-assured God you’d cared for and gotten to know the past week, you suddenly realised it was nothing but a facade. There was a broken man sat in front of you, haunted by the mistakes of his actions, that much was clear.
“I don’t even know how I escaped. I must have had something in me left to trick Roman..” He muttered, although you didn’t press to ask who Roman was. “I took the tesseract and attempted to transport myself back to New York. I knew that’s where my brother was, he still lives with Stark and his minions, but I was exhausted, not thinking properly-”
“And that’s how you ended up here.” You finished, eyes wide at his revelation. Loki had never brought himself here on purpose to cause any harm to you, he’d simply meant to go somewhere else, and his arrival in your living room had been nothing but a mistake.
“I was worried you wouldn’t believe me..” He said quietly, finally meeting your eyes once again. You felt your heart ache at his saddened expression, as well as the way he shifted uncomfortably.
This man had been a villain at one point, intent on wiping out the population of New York City to appoint himself as a cruel leader, and yet here he sat in front of you, beaten, bruised and broken, nothing but remorse swimming in the depths of his murky blue eyes.
You weren’t sure what came over you, maybe it was the sudden surge of protectiveness over the God of Mischief, but your legs powered forwards until you were sat at Loki’s side. He glanced warily at your sudden closeness to his tall frame, but made no effort to move away as you flung your arms around him, pulling the man into a tight embrace.
You felt him stiffen up for a few moments, clearly not used to this kind of affection, but you didn’t pull away, and after a few beats, you felt his shoulders relax, as you whispered into his chest.
“I’m so sorry this happened to you.”
“It was nobody’s fault but my own, darling.”
Your heart fluttered slightly at the pet name he issued. Until now, it had been your name or nothing at all. You found you didn’t mind it at all.
Pulling away, he was quick to place his large hand against your cheek.
“You truly are the most extraordinary human I’ve ever met.” He whispered, face so close to yours you could now feel his warm breath fan across your face. You were about to respond when the sensation of his soft, warm lips pressed against your own.
You assumed kissing a god would be far different than kissing a normal human, but it appears you were wrong about that, too. His own mouth melded against yours as the kiss became more urgent, his palm sliding across your cheek to hold you in place by the back of your neck. He was considerate, gentle, and basically all the things he’d painted himself out to be the opposite of all the time he resided in your house.
Pulling away, Loki rested his own forehead against your own, soft wisps of dark hair falling over his face and tickling your cheeks as you gave him a warm smile.
“I don’t think you’re a bad person, Loki. I think you just need someone to help you build yourself back up again.”
“I think you’re correct. And I think she’s sitting in front of me right now.” He replied, before leaning back in for another kiss.
-
*FOUR YEARS LATER*
There was a man in your living room.
He wore a black suit, his hair carefully slicked back from his face as he always did, holding a single red rose in one hand.
As you descended the stairs, he turned to face you, a smile gracing his handsome features.
“Darling, you look absolutely wonderful.”
You smiled, stepping towards him, placing your hand on his chest as he lifted the other up, depositing a gentle kiss over your knuckles.
“You look rather dashing yourself, Loki..” You complimented, admiring as his smile grew even wider at your admission.
You were both broken from your trance at the loud blare of the horn from outside, Loki rolling his eyes.
“Alas, it appears my brother is waiting outside for us along with the righteous captain and Stark’s driver..” He muttered, glancing out of the front window while you grabbed your purse.
“Well, I guess we shouldn’t keep them waiting, not like last time..” You laughed, moving to the front door. However, as you grasped the handle, you were pulled back by your waist, settling into Loki’s strong chest as his large hands caressed your waist. Sighing, you couldn’t help but let go of the door handle, settling into his warm embrace.
“I love you, dear wife..” His smooth baritone hummed in your ear. Smiling, you turned in his arms, moving your own to drape around his shoulders
“And I love you too, husband.”