Energy - Loki x Reader

Shawarma

After a minute of intense pain, though nothing compared to what you endured during your vacation on Thanos' ship, the doors open and smoke billows around you. You try to take a step out, but stumble. For a moment you think it hasn't worked, until Loki runs to help you stand and you realise that you feel his energy around you before you feel him. 

'How do you feel?' He asks, searching your eyes. You laugh giddily, wanting to cry and run and fly all at once. 

You clap your hands together and they glow as bright as they used to. You tear your eyes away from your fists and see everyone staring at you, relief clear on their face. 

'It worked!' Tony exclaims, clapping Bruce on the back.

'Oh, God, I've missed this!' You rush into your dad's arms, who looks like he's about to cry. 'Thank you, Tony'

He's clearly not a fan of all the emotion in the room, so he diverts. 'Anybody else craving Shawarma?' 

You grin. 'Race ya?' You jump out the window, with Thor and Tony, Peter swinging behind you all. 

'Don't mind us! We'll walk!' Clint shouts out the window. He turns to the others. 'Gets her powers back and doesn't need us anymore.'

'Typical.' Loki says.

'Oh quit your bellyaching. She's better!' Wanda wraps her arms around Clint. She's had it rough worrying about you the last few months, but she's not the kind to express it in front of everyone, so this means the world to her. 

-

'Hey, Tony, so where's this shawarma place?' You ask over coms. 

'Why? You bored of flying already?' He taunts. 

'Yeah, as if.' You do a loop-the-loop just to prove your point, but on the way back down, the ground seems to be approaching faster and faster. 'Oh, fuck.' You get dizzy and you lose your grip on the energy around you. 

'Quit dicking around, y/n' Tony says, flying past you.

'Why isn't she stopping?' Peter asks, his anxiety working in your favour.

'Guys I've got no hands on the wheel here!' You shout, ground getting closer and closer as you accelerate more.

'I don't think she messing around,' Thor says.

'Yeah no shit Thor!' He starts spinning his hammer, but Peter gets to you before he can. 

'I've got you' He grunts as you two collide at full force. 

Once on the ground, everyone lands around you. Tony suit comes down to reveal his face. 'What the hell was that?' He asks, breathless.

'Growing pains.' Everyone looks at you sceptically. 'Seriously. I think I just did too much, too fast. It's no big deal.'

'No big deal?! You almost pancaked, y/n!' 

'Maybe we should head back...' Peter says, clearly uncomfortable.

'No! No we can't!' You say. They all stare at you. 'I'm being serious. If we head back now then they'll make us explain why, and my dad and Loki won't ever let me fly again, and Bruce will want to run loads of tests, and I just can't do it. So please, I'm begging you guys, don't tell them.' 

Tony looks at you sternly. 'Ok. But take it easy until you've gotten a grip on things.'

You sigh, relived. 'Thanks guys.' 

'Shall we walk to the Shawarma place?' Thor suggests. You chuckle and loop your arm through his. 

As you're walking, your smile fades. You'll be fine. It's just growing pains. You're fine. You're fine. You're fine. You're fine, you're fine, you'refine,you'refine,yourefineyourefineyourefine-

-

A few days later, everything feels back to normal. Conversations at the dinner table have lapsed into subjects like TV shows and 'Who keeps putting empty cartons back into the fridge?'. (9 votes for Tony. 1 for Thor. 1 for Loki. Loki wasn't best pleased when you put your hand up for him.) These topics were a refreshing change from either complete silence or on one occasion 'Why gets your room when you're gone?'. Clint pushed Tony off his chair for that one. 

One morning, you're in the kitchen trying to get your cereal off the top shelf. It's 5 am, so you know it can only be Steve when you hear footsteps coming down the hall. He's bound to ask you why you're awake, and he's going to give you the eyebrows if you say just because. But it's always so awkward to explain that you've been having nightmares ever since you got back from Thanos' ship. It makes you feel weak. Here you are, with the actual literal Avengers, who all have their fair share of trauma, and you have nightmares. 

'Oh, let me help,' He offers when he sees you struggling. 

'No, no.' You smile at him. 'I've got it.' You feel the energy around the box and lift it off the shelf.

Steve chuckles. 'Show off.' You bump him with your hip as you walk past him to the island and pour yourself a bowl of cereal. You notice a wet feeling on your upper lip and realise your nose is bleeding. 

'Shit,' You mutter, and wipe it away.

He frowns at you. 'Hey, you ok?' 

'What? Yeah, I'm fine.' You wipe the blood off on your pyjama shorts discreetly, before he can notice. 

He senses that you're uncomfortable and moves on. 'How come you're awake, anyway?' 

Damn. Knew you wouldn't be able to avoid that one. 'Come on, Steve. You're gonna make me talk about my nightmares?' 

'You get nightmares?' He pulls up the stool opposite you.

'I guess that's a yes, then' 

'You can talk about it, y/n. It's not some horrible weakness.' 

'I already get treated like glass, Steve. I can't take my dad's watchful eye and the look you're giving right now.'

He burrows his eye brows and tries to change his expression inconspicuously. 'I don't know what you're talking about.' 

'It's really no biggie. I'm fine when I'm conscious. Isn't that what matters?' 

'Not if you're not getting enough sleep because of them. You need your rest, y/n. You almost died. That's traumatic.' 

You sigh and push the bowl away from you. 'You've all nearly died. I just need to get over myself.' 

'Hate to break it to you. But we all get nightmares.' 

You manage to look at him when he says that. 'Really?'

'Yeah, welcome to the club. Nat gets nightmares about the red room, Peter has his Uncle, Tony has his kidnapping, I have the war, Bruce has the Hulk, Wanda has everyone else's nightmares and losing her parents and your dad has, well, losing you.' He pauses. 'I guess Thor doesn't get them. He just snores.' 

You smile. 'He has nightmares about ladybirds.' Steve raises an eyebrow. 'He told me. Says they're the scariest thing he's see on Midgard.' 

'See? You're not alone. You can talk about it with us. It doesn't need to be with me, but it needs to be with someone.' 

He gets up, stool scraping across the floor, and squeezes your shoulder as he passes.