Music: Middle Finger - Bohnes

(Y/N) = Your Name
(E/C) = Eye Colour
(L/N) = Last Name

:Chapter Seventeen:

"Don't worry. He may seem really mean, but underneath it all he's a big softy." Natasha told the teenager standing by the door, "He will work you to your hardest, but it's all worth it in the end."

(E/C) eyes worried looked over at the male, staring at his tall stance. A dark mop of hair dropped over his face and reached his shoulders. She saw the metal arm, moving as if it were normal until he held out his hand to her.

"Hey, I'm Bucky." he spoke, waiting for her to react. (Y/N) drew a breath before slowly walking over to him, grabbing his hand to shake it. He nodded in approval, "Wow, strong grip."

"(Y/N)'s had some training through me," Natasha spoke, "But I thought she may be able to bond with you more, Barnes."

Bucky nodded, "I understand what you've been through (Y/N). Although it's not the same, people used to experiment on me as well." he told her, "Nat told me to assess your skills, maybe try and improve them."

Throughout the afternoon, (Y/N) was put under immense pressure. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy the competition, but Bucky was far stronger than her in many ways. First off, his bionic arm gave him that extra strength and second, he was much larger than her and could crush her in an instant.

"Come on, (Y/N), more power!" he snapped.

Through the training exercises, he had become much more strict, making sure to assess her to her limit. He wanted to see what she could and could not keep up with, telling him what she needed to improve on.

(Y/N) swung her arm around again before ducking quickly as he attacked. His shoulder length locks covered his dark analysing eyes, watching every move she made. She brought her arm around again, but he gripped it in his metal palm, yanking her towards him.

"You have powers, right?" (Y/N) nodded, "Then use them. Yes, you may not always be able to rely on them, but when you have them, use them to your advantage. Many would kill for the power you have - don't underestimate it."

-----

"Where the hell have you two been?" Loki and (Y/N) looked in the direction of the voice, watching as Clint made an appearance, "Stark is beyond pissed at you and it's nearly four in the morning!"

(Y/N) rolled her eyes, dumping the keys to the car on the side, "Why?"

"Why?" he chuckled, "Because you took a prisoner out of isolation. Thor is out looking for you two!"

The female sighed, dragging the God to the elevator, "Loki hasn't done anything bad."

"Did you forget about New York?"

"It's always about New York, isn't it?" (Y/N) snapped, noticing Natasha and Dr Banner walk through the hallway and look at her, "Why can't you people think of the fact that maybe, just maybe, Loki really has changed."

"We've no reason to believe he has." Natasha spoke, "He's already escaped once, and with this incident, we thought he'd tried again and taken you."

"Well he didn't. If anything I took him." she seethed, clenching her fists, "None of you seem to appreciate the fact that Loki has also been there for me. He's helped me more than you know. He's not the enemy anymore."

Before anyone could respond, (Y/N) spoke to the AI, "My floor, JARVIS."

"I'm afraid Mr Stark has requested your presence in his lab, Miss (L/N)." he answered.

(Y/N) dragged a hand through her hair with a groan, leaning against the elevator wall, "Fine, take me to Mr Stark's lab!"

-----

"What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking of my friend!"

"You friend now, huh?" Tony glared at the teenager in front of him, "He's still a dangerous God of Pranks, whatever he is."

"God of Mischief." Loki corrected him, standing at the edge of the heated argument.

"No, you zip it, Reindeer Games." Stark snapped at him before turning back to (Y/N), "You're lucky Fury doesn't know about this, young lady. You took a criminal off the premises knowing full well that he could-"

"He can't do anything!" (Y/N) shouted, stamping her foot, "He can't do anything because Odin stripped him of his powers. He can't do anything because people see him as the enemy and I'm sick of it!"

"We see him as the enemy because he is the enemy." Tony answered, dropping the screwdriver on the desk before walking towards her, "Or did you forget?"

"I couldn't ever forget, but he's paid his debt. He hasn't done anything wrong since he's been with me, other than maybe that small escape, but even then, he didn't do anything did he?" She asked, "He didn't because he's changed."

"How could you possibly see if he's changed?" Stark spat.

"Because I care enough to look!" (Y/N) shouted angrily, "None of you in this building care about him, just like no one did when he was in prison. Loki has learned. Why can't any of you see that rather than judge him as soon as he steps in the room? All he needed was a friend, someone who cared about him, someone to be there for him! You all look at him like he's the enemy, so no wonder he doesn't like any of you-"

"Agent (L/N)."

"WHAT!" (Y/N) snapped before facing Director Fury, "...Sir."

"I see you've caused quite the disruption here at Stark tower." Fury walked over to her, ignoring the God standing there. (Y/N) glared at the ground, fists clenched, "I'm glad to see you're awake. Now maybe you can shift that anger over into a mission."

With gritted teeth, she snatched the folder from him and walked away, Loki trailing behind her, "Of course, Sir."

"Be ready in two hours. I expect you to be in full uniform and ready to leave."

-----

(Y/N) yelled angrily, fists rapidly hitting the punching bag until at long last it swung enough to fly off it's hinges and across the room. It crashed into the kitchen cupboards, shattering the glass and breaking multiple dishes inside.

She breathed heavily, still staring at the mess she made, "Why can't they see that you're not the enemy anymore?"

"But I am the enemy." Loki responded, standing in the lounge area and away from the destruction she has caused.

(Y/N) swiftly turned around to him, "Don't do that," she pointed at Loki, "Don't you dare say that about yourself."

"But it's true." he muttered, green eyes finding her (E/C) ones.

She walked over to him, fists still tightly clenched, "No, you're not. You've changed. You've become better." She growled angrily, "And no one cares enough to see it!" she snapped, walking past him and out the balcony door for some fresh air.

Loki slowly followed behind, slightly confused by this female. He didn't understand what he was feeling. (Y/N) was standing up for him, she was partially betraying her friends and SHIELD by being on Loki's side, and she didn't seem to care or worry about it.

He'd never had anyone fighting for him. The God was usually the one fighting everyone else, shrouding himself in the hatred they had for him - that's the only way he got attention. Lady Sif and the Warriors Three always hated him, and the only attention he got from them was when they were warning him not to betray Thor.

"Why do you care so much?" he asked, watching her knuckles whiten on the balcony railing.

"I don't know." she muttered, staring out at the city.

"You have to do better than 'I don't know'." he spoke. Loki had to know. No one had made him feel this way before, and he had to know why. Why did she make him feel like this? Like he was... loved.

(Y/N) turned, try to speak the words she did not know. Itwas strange – different. She couldn't be sure what it was because she was so inexperienced in this emotion. It was new and... she hated it. But every time Loki was there,it burst something inside – every time. And she didn't hate it anymore.

"Because I... you-you... ugh!" she gritted her teeth, clenching her fists.

"Why won't you answer?" Loki asked, getting slightly angry.

"I can't!" she snapped at him, light energy evaporating from her palms at her anger.

"Why not?!"

"Because I don't know!" she yelled back at him, stepping closer, sizing up to him despite being much shorter, "I can't tell you why because I don't know! This is new, I've never cared about someone or wanted to protect someone so strongly as I do you! I've never known or felt whatever this is!"

Loki's arms suddenly gripped (Y/N)'s jacket, yanking her closer until his lips connected with hers. It was a sudden, fast movement that caught her off-guard. The kiss was hard and passionate, full of all the words neither of them could say.

After a frozen moment of shock, (Y/N)'s orbs slowly closed, arms reaching up and over his shoulders. Loki's hands unclenched from the jacket, slipping down to wrap around her waist, pulling her flush against him. Her hands gently ran through his silky, raven locks, tugging slightly when his hand went a little further than what she would've like.

Pervert.

She could feel Loki smirk slightly into the kiss, but she ignored it, tilting her head slightly for a different angle. Loki slowly pulled back, eyes still closed, "That's what this is." He breathed lightly.

They stayed silent, the tingle of each other still on their lips, until a voice broke them apart, "Miss (L/N), you're required for a mission in five minutes." JARVIS spoke.

(Y/N) opened her eyes, staring into the God's emerald pools staring right back at her. No words could be formed between the two anymore, but Loki still held her tightly in his embrace.

"I..." she looked down, gently removing his arms from her before stepping away, giving him one last glance before walking away and to the elevator.