Marvel Imagines

Loki Laufeyson-A Buried Heart

You weren't going to pretend like everything was fine. Everything was certainly NOT fine.

The bomb that Steve was in charge of setting off to take down the HYDRA base had gone off three seconds too early, making you and Loki miss your window.

It was a miracle you were able to prevent the building from coming down directly on top of you two at the last minute, but that in itself was a huge strain on your body. You had an unusual amount of telekinetic power, but it was too strong to be used daily and often you feared it was almost uncontrollable. The both of you were trapped under a huge amount of rubble and although you were calm, your body shook with the fear of being in such a tight space with nothing but the dark and the possibility of being crushed. What made it worse was the fact that you and Loki only had about five feet of space between the two of you. You squeezed your eyes shut as a burst of chatter erupted from your comm.

"Y/N! Loki! You were supposed to be back on the jet before Steve activated—"
"We got buried, Sam." You replied weakly.
"What?!" Tony yelled.

"Y/N, give us your location. We'll dig you out."
"How could she possibly know where she's buried, genius? They're under a shit ton of rocks!"

Tony and Steve began to argue and you instinctively rolled your eyes. You felt a hand lay softly on your shoulder and you could see Loki, his skin a pale beacon of light, just inches away from you.

"We'll be fine, Y/N. They'll find us."

His soft spoken voice wasn't very comforting, but you were grateful you weren't alone. You nodded as the team desperately tried to pinpoint your location, shouting through the comms at each other. His thumb lightly traced circles on your collarbone and you took his other hand, squeezing it tightly.

Loki had become one of your best friends and if time had permitted it, maybe even more, which was why you had chosen him as your partner for this mission. Something you were fast regretting as you inhaled the thick dust of broken concrete.

"Loki..."
You could feel it.

Oxygen was decreasing and your chest clenched as your lungs began to fight for air. They wouldn't make it to you two in time. They didn't know where you were buried and even with everything they had, you knew they wouldn't be able to read your heat signatures under the wreckage.

"Is...is the mission...is it complete?"

"Thor, we're running out of oxygen!" Loki said urgently as your voice drifted.

"Hang on, we're coming!"

They were only echoes in your head as the darkness overwhelmed you, stealing the breath from your lips. Loki put his arms around you, pulling you into his chest and pleading softly for you to keep your eyes open, to stay with him.

"Try to-"
"Location"
"Coming"
"Stay"

It was all a meaningless jumble of words and the realization of imminent death hit you as you listened to Loki's steady heartbeat.
This couldn't be the end for him.

You refused to let him die. Not like this.

"Loki." You whispered.
"They're coming, my love. We'll be okay."
"I...I have to get you out."
"Y/N, listen to me. We will both walk away from this. You must. I won't live without you."

"Do you trust me?"
"You know I do." He said quietly.
"Then let me do this."

Ignoring his pleas, you pushed him away and summoned the last of your power, thrusting out a hand to hold him back. The familiar burn flowed weakly through your body and you willed it to grow, to spread using what little strength you had left.

"Y/N, no! You'll kill yourself!"
"What is she doing?!"
"She's draining herself to get us out!"
"Fuck, Y/N! Don't you dare!" Sam yelled.
The team's loud protests were blocking your concentration and you ripped out your comm.

"Y/N, please. Please, I love you. Don't leave me." Loki begged.
Your hand trembled when he began to struggle against his invisible bonds and you threw up an energy shield around him as your powers gathered in your core.

He knew you wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice yourself if it meant saving him and he felt his heart twist in excruciating pain as he watched your already weakened state begin to deteriorate even more. Rocks shifted far overhead and a glimmer of hope passed through your mind, distracting you for the merest second.
Searing, white lights began to emit from your entire being and you could finally see Loki pounding on the energy shield, the wild look in his eyes, the tears running down his dust-streaked face as you used all the power you had left in you to save him.

"I love you."
"Y/N, NOOOO!"

Tony was the first to arrive at the scene.

He had put everything he could into finding you two, but when he saw the blinding white explosion that had lifted millions of pounds of rubble into the air and disintegrated it into dust, he knew. There was no way you could have possibly survived after such a powerful energy blast.

The others quickly followed behind him, stopping when Tony lifted his hand to keep them from advancing. Loki was cradling your lifeless body to his chest, mumbling softly into your hair.

"Loki." Thor whispered.
He lifted his head.

He had a glassy stare in his eyes as though he couldn't see any of them and a trickle of blood ran from a cut on his forehead down to his chin, but he didn't seem to notice. He didn't care at all about the condition he was in. He'd rather have died right there with you, but instead he had watched you sacrifice yourself. For him.

"She's gone, brother." Loki said in a hoarse voice.
"She took her life...to save my own."

He broke off, a lump of guilt blocking his throat.
Wanda covered her mouth to hold back a sob and Steve put a comforting arm around her shoulders, lowering his head sadly.
The rest of the team mimicked his action as a sign of mourning for their loss.

But, none of them could possibly come close to the pain that was eating at Loki's heart.

The very organ that kept him alive felt like it had been ripped in two, only holding together by the thinnest string that threatened to snap at any given moment. And when he closed your eyes with a trembling hand, that's when it gave in. Breaking quietly and killing him slowly on the inside from that moment on.