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Chapter Text

            Daphne Myer had been born a mutant. She didn’t have super awesome powers like some of the mutants and enhanced peoples had, or even something cool like the aliens with their magic. Instead, Daphne had been blessed with feline features like cat ears and a tail, as well as a pretty serious set of claws if she ever got into danger. The white ears and orange tipped tail she expertly hid so that no one would know that she was a mutant. The claws were a little harder, but she put on acrylic tips, and no one ever seemed to comment or notice. Her mother had taught her to hide out of fear of what would happen to Daphne if she was discovered. As a result, Daphne kept to herself and worked in the family business. A small antiques shop with a specialty for finding rare books that was located in upstate New York.

            Today was no different from any other day that Daphne had worked, presumably. It was colder than usual with a bunch of churned up snow in the streets and icy sidewalks. Daphne loved a cold day because no one questioned why she was wearing a wool beanie. Today’s choice of clothes was a purple, wool beanie, a long skirt with a floral pattern, and a purple sweater that tied it all together. Her tail was tied around her left leg so that no one noticed it and hid well under the skirt.

            Daphne was kneeling on the floor, pulling books out of a box and deciding whether or not they needed to go to the bindery or if they could be shelved. Reaching into the box, she got excited as she pulled out an old tome that seemed to deal with Norse mythology or something. She was always excited about getting a tome like this in, especially since there was proof of the Norse gods being real. Daphne had followed what had happened with The Battle in New York with almost an obsession. The reveal of heroes and villains had been like a temptation to her. While many of the people her age at the time had been oogling how attractive they all were, she had just been excited to know she wasn’t alone out there.            

            The bell above the door jingled and Daphne shouted over her shoulder, “I’ll be there in just a minute!”  There was no response, but that wasn’t out of the ordinary for the type of clientele that came into the shop. She stood up, still carrying the book, and headed to the front of the shop. When Daphne turned the corner, she felt her stomach drop out from under her. Standing in the room, looking at the jewelry case, was Loki. After her obsession with the Battle of New York, she’d recognize him anywhere. Daphne went to speak but couldn’t form the words, dropping the book that was in her hands as she began to feel a little lightheaded.

            “Let me get that.” Loki walked over and she felt like she was going to hyper ventilate. He picked up the book, looked over it, and smiled. Daphne looked up and up and up as he towered over her with his 6’4” lithe frame. Licking her lips, she went to speak again, and a squeak came out. “Are you alright? You look a little peaky, darling. What’s your name?”

            Darling? This was the man who had terrorized the planet, and he was chatting her up. Everything began to feel hot, and the room was spinning. The last thought that Daphne had before she fainted was that Loki had the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen, a deep greenish blue that seemed to swallow her up.

~*~*~*~*

            When Daphne came to, she was on the couch in the breakroom and Loki was hovering over her, a light green light surrounding her. Her eyes flitted around, and he smiled at her. “Good, you are awake again.” He offered her a hand to help pull her to sitting and she took it, feeling embarrassed that she had fainted.

            “Sorry.” She whispered softly, looking around for a second to regain a sense of her surroundings. Daphne froze when she saw her purple beanie sitting on the table and her eyes darted to him in a panic. “Oh…oh!” Her hands flew up to her head and she realized her white, fuzzy ears were on full display.

            “Whoa, whoa, hold on.” Loki was trying to keep her from panicking as she began to shrink from him. “You were hot, I had to take the beanie off. I did not mean to make you…uncomfortable.”

            Daphne went to say something and a jingle from the front of the store interrupted her followed by a New York accent. “Loki, it’s been twenty minutes! What are you doing?”

            “Back here, Captain.” Loki spoke up. “In the…storeroom?” He looked at Daphne who tried to scramble for her beanie but was still too wobbly and fell right into Loki’s grasp. “It’s okay. What’s your name, darling so I can introduce you properly to the good Captain.”

            Looking into his face, her ears began to twitch a little. “It’s Daphne.” She whispered, looking past him as Steve Rogers himself took up the doorway to the break room. He was wearing a cream sweater with a beige coat and a pair of jeans. Captain America himself was in her family antique store. “Oh!” Her ears went flat, and she squirmed out of Loki’s grasp, trying to hide herself. The tip of her tail was flicking uncontrollably under her dress.

            Steve froze and stared at the scene in front of him. “Loki, explain.”

            “This is Daphne. I think she works here. She fainted when she saw me.”

            Steve nodded. “Daphne…um.” The American hero was at a loss for words as he took in her ears. “Are those, um, I’m sorry I don’t know how to ask…”

            “I…my mother always said I was just different. I realized a few years ago that I was a mutant.” Her voice came out meekly, her eyes flicking between the two men. “I…please.”

            Loki’s brow furrowed. “Please what?”

            “Please don’t…take me away. I know I’m different, but I don’t hurt anyone. I just run the shop and I hide everything…even my claws.” By the time she finished talking her voice was a whisper.

            Loki reached out and grabbed her hand, observing the tipped claws and frowned. “Captain, I didn’t know people had to hide here.”

            “They don’t. Not anymore.” Steve looked concerned. “Miss Daphne, would you be willing to come to the compound?”

            Daphne shook her head vehemently. “No.”

            Loki looked concerned as he turned to look at Steve who nodded before speaking. “Alright, Daphne. Well, if you need anything, anything at all the compound is only a few miles from here. Loki, we need to get going, did you find what you were after?”

             The god stood, helping Daphne stand as well. “I did not, but I can come back another day, Captain. Would that be alright, Daphne? If I came back?”

            A blush crept up Daphnes cheeks at the way he was staring at her, but she nodded. “Yea, that’d be okay.”

~*~*~*~*~*

            Daphne walked into the house she shared with her brother, Eddie, with a little bounce in her step. Tossing her beanie to the side she undid the strap at her leg and freed her tail with a sigh and pulled it through a slit she had sewn into her skirt in the back. It was secured with a button and wasn’t able to be seen unless someone was staring really hard. Daphne headed to the kitchen pulling out the ingredients for her and Eddie’s dinner.

            Eddie was five years older than Daphne and had despised her since their father had left. Daphne had been not just a surprise, but also a home birth. When her mother had seen the ears she had refused to take the newborn mutant to the hospital for fear they’d take her away. Daphne’s father had promptly left, adamantly convinced that Daphne’s mother had cheated. When Eddie and Daphne’s mother died in 2020, Daphne was at the mercy of her brother. Home birth had meant no birth certificate, no social security, no schooling. She was nonexistent as far as the powers that be could tell.

            The relationship between her and Eddie was not a good one. There had been fights and scrapes over the years. Incidents that had led her to having to makeshift bandage wounds or sprains. Daphne put up with it because there was nowhere for her to go and she was more afraid of the outside world thanks to the instilled anxieties her mother had given her. The problem with her brother now was that he had developed a gambling addiction and had made it so their sole source of income, the shop, wasn’t enough. When her mother had been around, Daphne was given fish and treated with respect. Now she ate Eddies scraps.

            The back door opened, and Eddie came into the kitchen looking like he was spoiling for a fight. “What took you so long to get home? Dinner was supposed to be ready almost an hour ago!”

            Closing her eyes, Daphne took a deep breath to center herself, so she didn’t explode on her brother. “There was a new customer today. He had a pretty extensive order I needed to put in.”

            Eddie rolled his eyes. “I don’t care about that, you were supposed to be home hours ago, Daphne.” The way he said her name was filled with venom, as if her very presence disgusted him. “Don’t let it happen again! AND you’ll be working Saturdays now.”

            “NO way Eddie! Saturdays are my only day off!”

            “Not anymore.” He glared down at her, daring her to defy him. “Eight am to six pm. Every day. That store is losing money, and we’d make more if you’d be open on Saturdays.”

            “That is not fair Eddie!” Daphne felt tears spring in the corners of her eyes. “Why can’t you help?”

            Instead of responding verbally to her, Eddie slapped her across the face with a force that made her feel like her cheek was going to explode. Fear gripped her and she backed up a couple of steps before crouching down in the corner of the kitchen, her ears flat. “Don’t fucking question me again. You’ll do it and you’ll shut the fuck up about it. Now make dinner.”

            Eddie stormed out of the kitchen with a finality to his statements. Daphne stayed in the corner a few minutes before rubbing the tears off her cheeks. There was no sense in making him more upset than he already was. Images of Steve Rogers inviting her to the compound flashed in her mind, but she shook her head, pushing it out. Daphne Myer was not superhero material.

Chapter Text

            Per Eddie’s orders, Daphne started working 10-hour days, 7 days a week. Then she would head home, make dinner for the two of them that she definitely did not enjoy, clean a part of the house, and then go to bed only to repeat the next day. By the time the first part of Loki’s special order was finally procured and delivered, it had been 22 straight days of Daphne burning herself out because of Eddie’s high demands. The store was bringing in a bit more money, but not more than a thousand dollars. It angered Daphne that she was being treated so poorly. Loki had been a couple days a week for the past three weeks. Of course, he was only there to check on his order. Though, a silly part of Daphne hoped and dreamed he was there for her. What if a god rescued her? Her fantasies ran away with her more often than not these days because of exhaustion.

            The jingle of the bells above the door barely registered with Daphne as she imagined Loki scooping her up and carrying her off into the sunset. Daphne knew that she shouldn’t be having these thoughts about him, he was a god, and she was a mere human. Not even a normal human, a mutated one with ears and a tail. Short, plump, and a complete scientific anomaly. A mixture of emotions was building in the pit of her stomach when the scent of patchouli and spice invaded her space. A feline growl escaped her as she was startled to find him mere inches away with a bouquet of pink roses and white carnations.

            “Oh! Daphne, darling, I’m so sorry. I thought you heard me come in.”

            Shaking her head, her eyes focused on the flowers. “Oh, those are beautiful, Loki.”

            “I’m glad you like them; I got them for you.” He offered her the flowers and Daphne felt everything get hot as she took them, their fingers brushing lightly. Daphne’s sapphire blue eyes went wide, and she looked up at Loki, locking eyes with the god who had a very pleased expression on his face.

            Pulling the flowers close, she sniffed them, and then made her happy noise that was between a chirp and a purr. “Thank you so much, Loki! They’re absolutely gorgeous. I can’t wait to put them in the vase in my room.” Daphne was trying not to look too into the flowers, trying not to get her hopes up. She went to speak but a vicious yawn took over, tears springing to her eyes because of it. “Oh goodness, excuse me. One…one of your…” another yawn. “Packages arrived today. I’m so sorry! I just…haven’t been sleeping well.”

            It was a lie, obviously, but she hoped that Loki wouldn’t notice or comment. That hope was short lived as she realized she had just told a boldfaced lie to the god of mischief and stories. Loki gave her a skeptical look, as he leaned in, tucking one of her bouncy copper-colored curls back under her beanie. “Darling, what’s going on?”

            It was so kind and genuine, an honest question from someone she never expected something like that from. More tears welled up in her eyes and she began to suck in deep breaths as the pressure in her chest began to be too much. A panic attack was coming and there was nothing she could do to stop it this time. Daphne backed away from the counter and frantically looked around for a corner or a place to hide away from like she always did. “Need…need…”

            Loki turned around and in a few quick steps locked the front door to prevent any more people from coming. The next thing he did was walk around the counter, grabbing Daphne by the hand gently and leading her towards the back room. As soon as his hand was laced with hers, she gripped him tighter than she meant to, the tips of the acrylic on her claws poking at his hand. He sat on the small couch in the breakroom and pulled her down next to him. “I know a panic attack when I see one, get it out darling.”

            Daphne thought she was doing well to hold it together, but when he called her ‘darling’ again, she lost it and collapsed on the couch next to him. Burying her face into her hands she began to sob uncontrollably, mumbling through intakes of breath. “I’m so tired. I’m so tired. Eddie has me working so much. I cook, I clean, I run the shop. I handle the procurements. I’m so tired.”

            Loki’s arms went around her, pulling her against his side and chest, rubbing her back. Softly he shushed her, whispering softly to her. “It’s okay, Daphne. Shh. Let’s get you some rest.”

            “Can’t, still have five hours to work the shop and then I gotta make spaghetti.” Her face turned up in disgust at the mention of the meal she hated, and the tears began to come faster. “I miss mama. She always made sure I had shrimp or fish or even chicken. Eddie won’t buy me fish, says mama spoiled me.” Daphne didn’t know why she was word vomiting on Loki other than he had been the first person to ask her what was wrong for the first time in two years.  “Then I gotta clean the bathrooms and then I can rest.”

            Loki’s frown deepened. “Daphne, you’re going to make yourself sick. Come, let’s get you home.”

            “If I go home…he’ll…” She shook her head vehemently. “I can’t go home. Not until dinner time. And if he finds out…” The realization that Loki had locked the front door and quickly stood, stumbling. The god effortless grabbed her and pulled her back down, cradling her to his chest.

            “What will he do that is worse than you pass out from pure exhaustion?” Loki phrased it so simply.

            Daphne looked up at him and the fear of Eddie was prevalent in her features. After a very long silence, she whispered. “He’ll hurt me.”

            Maybe it was her imagination, but she felt Loki’s grip tighten for a fraction of a second. “Then sleep here. I will keep watch of your shop and take detailed notes so you can help customers tomorrow.” Loki conjured a blanket with a wave of his hand and a flash of green. It was a cozy, fluffy black blanket that he wrapped around Daphne.

            Too tired to really argue anymore, she allowed herself to be laid down on the couch and covered with the blanket. Loki took his jacket off and laid it across the back of the couch before going back to the front of the store. Loki had no intention of running the antiques shop. Instead, he pulled out the phone that he had been given and called Thor.

~*~*~*~*~*

            Daphne woke up a few hours later to Loki rubbing her back gently to rouse her. “Darling, I need you to wake up.” Pulling the blankets up higher, Daphne whined at him. She was still exhausted, and the taste of sleep had left her craving more. “I know, we’ll get you some more rest soon but for now you need to get home. Can I walk you there?”

            Popping her head out of the blankets quickly, she looked at Loki in shock. “You want to walk me home? Why?”

            Loki gave her a smile and tucked a curl behind her ear. “Well, originally I was going to ask you on a date. That’s what the flowers were for.” She could swear that he looked shy about what he was saying. “But you’re so busy, I’ll be happy just walking you home so I can get to know you outside of this little shop.”

            She stared at him for what felt like a very long time before nodding. “Okay, you can walk me home…” Daphne’s stomach did a flip when Loki practically beamed at her. Could it be he liked her?

            The two of them set out from the shop about twenty minutes later after Daphne downed some caffeine and steeled herself for not being able to sleep for another several hours. Most of the thirty-minute walk was spent in silence until they got to her house. “This is where I live.” Daphne bit her lip, staring at her worn down shoes. “You should probably go so my brother doesn’t see you.”

            Loki grabbed Daphne’s hands, tugging her closer to him gently. “Make me a promise, Daphne, that you will be careful.”

            Curiosity peaked inside her and she tipped her head. “What do you mean?”

            “Your brother sounds dangerous. I don’t want to see you hurt.”

            “I’ll be careful. I know how to handle Eddie.”

            The god leaned down and pulled her hands to his lips, kissing the backs of them, and causing Daphne to turn a deep red. The tip of her tail was twitching in excitement and she let out a nervous giggle which made Loki’s eyes lock on her face. “I will see you soon, darling.”

            Daphne watched as he turned and left, sighing before she went into the house to deal with Eddie, hoping that he was in a good mood this evening. Loki’s little display of affection towards her made her feel like she was walking on clouds, causing her to hum as she made the spaghetti that Eddie loved, and she hated. The idea that her feelings for Loki were reciprocated had her dancing a little as she cooked, oblivious to her brother coming into the kitchen and discreetly snapping pictures of her with his cellphone.

~*~*~*~*~*

            Two Days Later

            Natasha tapped a button on the conference room table and brought up a black-market ad that was being advertised. It was a picture of Daphne dancing in her kitchen with an ad underneath it.

            For sale, one feline mutant. Subservient, virgin, hard worker. 1 million, OBO.

            The Black Widow looked a little sad as she showed the team – Steve, Bucky, Thor, and Tony – the mutant that Loki had asked Thor about. “Our suspicions are correct. The brother is trying to sell her.”

            “Trafficking right here?” Steve shook his head. “I invited her to the compound, but she refused to come.”

“Probably scared, Stevie.” Bucky spoke up, not taking his eyes off the picture that was being broadcast. “With a brother like hers, she is probably afraid to do anything that would be like stepping out of line.” There was a long pause after the former Winter Soldier spoke and he looked at the rest of the team. “I’ll do it. I will pose as a potential buyer, and we can set up a sting operation.”
            “That could take weeks.” Tony spoke up finally. “What if we extract her?”

“We could try an extraction, but shouldn’t we be including my brother in this?” Thor spoke up. “I know there is bad blood here, but he is…worried about the woman.”

“Worried how?” Natasha asked.

Thor gave a deep sigh and stared up at the ceiling. “He hasn’t talked this way about another person since before I came to Earth.”

“That makes him a liability.” Bucky chimed in. “We can’t have him compromising the mission of getting her to safety.”

“Keeping him in the dark might end badly.”

Tony finally jumped in before it became a full-blown argument between Bucky and Thor. “Okay, Point Break, we understand. Let’s do a sting operation like Bucky suggested. Extraction will traumatize her more, I’m sure.”

Bucky grabbed the laptop and went about the first round of inquiries into Daphne. Surprised that within a matter of hours he had received a response. Memories of his own sister came to his mind, and he became angrier that someone would do this to their own blood. He was in the middle of typing a response when Loki passed by. The god of mischief seemed to have a small spring in his step, as if he was smitten. Bucky smiled and went back to his task of enticing Eddie Myer into a deal so that they could lock the scum up.

Chapter Text

            Loki began to come to the shop almost every day after he found out how hard Eddie was working Daphne. It was almost down to the minute that he would walk in the door carrying either lunch or another bouquet of flowers. About two weeks in he brought her a salmon and orzo pasta and she had thrown herself into his arms to hug him in thanks. A deep rumbling chuckle had come from him, and she nuzzled her face against his chest giving a soft ‘mrow’. In response, he hugged her tighter and plucked the beanie off her head. “Eat up, darling, before it gets cold.”

            Daphne barely noticed when he took her hat off anymore, instead enjoying the ability to show off parts of herself she had kept hidden so long. “Thank you so much, Loki.” Stuffing a bite of the pasta dish into her mouth, Daphne made another excited noise. “Oh, this is divine.”

            “I’m glad to hear the praise, I made it myself with some help from Darcy.”

            “Who’s Darcy?” The question flew out of Daphne’s mouth before she could stop herself and she flushed as she realized that was none of her business. “I…I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have asked that.”

            “Darcy is one of my only friends at the compound. She happens to help me navigate the Midgardian world so I can help integrate New Asgard.” Loki gave her a small smile. “Why do you ask?”

            Daphne stumbled over the words she was trying to say. “Um, well, I just…you never mention anyone other than Thor and I thought, um…” Her words trailed off.

            Cautiously, Loki raised his hand and began stroking her hair, tangling his long fingers through the curls. It was the first time that he had really ever touched her like this, and she sucked in a breath, turning to look at him as her ears flattened. “Darling, I apologize that I have not been as clear as I should have been.”

            “What do you mean?” Daphne felt herself deflating a little bit, turning her eyes back to the pasta in her lap. The hopes that she had that he would help to save her seemed to be floating away.

            Loki tipped her head back to look at him and leaned in until he was painfully close. “Daphne,” His eyes flicked to her lips and back to her eyes. “I would very much like to date you.”

             A thousand romance books had not prepared her for something like this. Being mere millimeters away from her first kiss and her heart was beating faster than she thought it could. “You, you mean…” Her voice was full of hope as the god moved the pasta bowl to the table and then reached up to stroke her cheek.

            Both Loki and Daphne were so caught up in each other they didn’t hear the jingle of the bells above the door or the heavy footsteps of someone walking towards the back of the store with purpose. Loki was in the process of pulling her into the last bit of space and kissing her when her brother interrupted, rudely. “Daphne! What the…who the fuck is this?”

            “Eddie!” Daphne jumped back without a growl or a noise, that reaction to her brother had been beaten out of her a long time ago. “What are you doing here?”

            Loki stood immediately when Daphne said who it was. “You must be the brother.” His voice was full of disdain.

            “And who the fuck are you? Daphne you better not have… I swear to you if you have spoiled yourself! You’re to meet…god damnit, Daphne!”

            Suddenly rage was building in Daphne as she realized that her first kiss had just been stolen from her. She barely heard the rest of Eddie’s rant as she dissociated from the situation. How could he be so crass? What did he mean ‘spoiled’? Several emotions flitted through her at rapid speed but when she realized that Eddie had went silent she looked up to find that Loki had a silver dagger to her brother’s throat. “Oh! Loki don’t hurt him!” She stood up and moved towards the two men, stopping when Eddie glared at her again. “What, Eddie? What has you so upset?”

            “Go on, answer the lady.” Loki said in a low tone when Eddie didn’t answer Daphne. He pressed the dagger a little tighter to Eddie’s neck, threatening to pierce the skin. “We’d all like to know why you are being so rotten to your sister.”

            Eddie tried in vain to push Loki off of him, but the god held fast. “Let me go, I mean, unless you got a million dollars, then you can have her.”

            Daphne’s eyebrows shot up. “A mill…million…Eddie did you gamble away that much money?! And what do you mean ‘have her’? You can’t sell me!” She suddenly wished she hadn’t put the acrylic tips on her claws because she wanted to scratch her brothers’ eyes out. Before anyone could say anything else, another jingle of bells interrupted them. Daphne huffed. “Loki, please don’t hurt him. I’m going to go get rid of the customer and then sort…sort it out.”

            “Not a customer.” Eddie was grinning. “It’s your new owner.”

            Daphne was already out the door, forgetting that she didn’t have her hat on, and her ears were on full display. Marching to the front of the door she stopped when she saw a man standing in the middle of the store wearing a Yankee’s ball cap and a leather jacket with one sleeve missing. His eyes locked on her white ears, and he whistled low. “So, it’s true?”

            “Oh fuck!” Daphne took a step back, realizing she hadn’t hidden herself. Glancing back at the breakroom door she then looked back at the man. “Please, I don’t hurt people…I’m just…a shop clerk.” The rage that she felt at her brother dissipated in front of this man, as the fear began to envelope her that she was going to end up being a slave to someone. “And I…please?”

            The mystery man held his hands up and that was when Daphne noticed that one of them was a prosthetic, made of what she could swear was a more expensive metal than she had ever dealt with. “Hold on, hold on. Where’s Eddie?”

            Daphne backed up a bit more and glanced at the hall that led to the breakroom. “Ba-back there.”

            The sound of the man’s combat boots as he walked down the hall sounded heavy as if each one was announcing her impending doom. There was shouting but it was muffled by the rushing water sound in Daphne’s ears. She couldn’t hear anything, and it was making everything harder for her to process. Collapsing on to her backside, she began to cry from the overwhelming sensations, putting her hands over her ears. It was all too much, and she didn’t register more people coming into the shop. Not looking up until someone touched her.

            Capped claws struck out, trying to hurt the person who touched her, but it merely caused them to jerk back. A sarcastic, feminine voice spoke. “Oh, she has claws. Of course she has claws. Hey, hey. We’re here to help.” The woman grabbed her hands, wrapping her in her arms to help calm her. “It’s okay, shh, shh. I’m Darcy, I’m a friend of Loki’s.”

            It barely registered, but it did register. “Dar-darcy?” Daphne looked at her with tears streaming down her cheeks. Jealousy bubbled in her gut because of the mix of emotions and seeing how absolutely gorgeous Darcy was. “What is this fucking day?” Looking up she gasped as she saw a few other superheroes in the shop. None of them were in uniform, but she’d recognize Iron Man anywhere. Still wrapped in Darcy’s grasp, she looked around at them. “Why?”

            “We’re here to help you, honey.” Darcy said softly. “Loki didn’t know what we were doing and things kind of went sideways, okay? But you’re gonna be safe now.”

            “Safe?”

            “Yes, safe.” Darcy was rubbing her back and looked around. “Tony, can you get Loki up here please?”

~*~*~*~*~

            When Bucky walked into the breakroom he was shocked to see Loki there with Eddie pinned to the wall. Loki looked at him and frowned. “What are you doing here, Seargent Barnes?”

            “Loki…what are you doing?”

            “He was rude.” Loki shrugged. “Suggested he was selling his sister.”

            Bucky nodded. “Yes, to me.”             Loki’s eyes flashed in anger and Bucky held up his hands. “Thor told us you were worried about Daphne. We did some research, and we were going to put him away for trafficking.”

            Eddie went to speak, and Loki growled, digging the knife against his neck a little deeper until a drop of blood appeared. “You will not speak.”

            Bucky’s reached over and carefully moved Loki’s hand. “Loki, I need you to go take care of Daphne. I hear a commotion up front, and I fear she might not be okay. I will take care of this…loser.”

            About the time Loki reluctantly pulled the dagger from Eddie’s neck, Tony appeared in the doorway. “Loki, Darcy is summoning you.”

            “I’m on my way.” It didn’t take long for Loki to get to the front where he saw Darcy sitting with Daphne. He quickly crouched in front of the pair and reached for Daphne’s hand. “Daphne, darling, I had no idea that this was happening…” She cut him off by pulling away from Darcy and throwing herself into his arms and knocking him back onto his ass. Daphne pressed her face into his chest as she finally let herself go and began to sob against him, ruining his silk shirt. Loki immediately wrapped her in his arms and whispered to her softly. “We need to take you to the compound, to just talk, okay?”

            Daphne nodded against his chest, gripping his shirt a little tighter. “Please stay with me?”

            “Of course, darling.” Loki and Darcy exchanged a look and then they both began helping Daphne up, taking her to a waiting car while Tony and Bucky effectively arrested her brother.

~*~*~*~*~*~

            Once at the compound, Loki did everything he could to make sure that Daphne wouldn’t get overwhelmed. He took her to a lesser used common room and sat with her on the couch. “Do you need anything, Daphne?”

            “Was…was it a trick?” Her voice was soft as she stared down at the carpet, wriggling her stockinged feet against the plushness of it. Everything at the compound seemed extravagant.

            “Was what a trick?”

            “That you were going to kiss me.”

            Silence fell between them as Loki stared at her as she decidedly stared at the carpet. “Daphne, please look at me.” Timidly she looked up at him, her sapphire eyes searching reluctantly locking with his. “Darling, since I walked into that shop looking for ancient Norse texts I have wanted to scoop you up and shower you with….” His words trailed off as he heard the booming of his brother coming down the hall and sighed. “By the Norns this conversation should not be this hard for us to have!”

            Daphne looked shocked at the exclamation and then looked up to see the god of Thunder standing in the doorway. The blonde wall of muscle grinned at her. “You must be Daphne! My brother has not stopped talking about you for the past two months.”

            Loki immediately looked annoyed with the brashness of his brother and Daphne bit her lip and fidgeted. “So, it’s not a trick?”

            “Not a trick.” Loki said softly, throwing a glare at his brother.

            “What did I do?” Thor said as he sat down across from them, clearly inserting himself into the conversation.

            “Are the others back yet?” Loki asked, pure annoyance in his voice as he addressed his brother. “Because if they are, I suggest you go see them.”

            Thor looked confused and Daphne, picking up on what was happening between the brothers, stifled a giggle. “Loki? Where is the bathroom? I want to…is…would it be okay if I took my tail out?”

            Daphne had mentioned having a tail to Loki, but he had never seen it. “Of course you can, darling. The bathroom is right across the hall.”

            It took about five minutes, but she got her tail to come through the black skirt she was wearing, and she took a deep breath as she stepped out, intent on showing something new to not just Loki, but people that she had been taught to hide from. She came back to the common area to find that Thor had left, and it was just Loki again. “Where did Thor go?”

            “I ran him off. Come here, please.” Loki’s eyes cut to the tail and then back to her with a smile. “It has orange in it, the same color as your hair. It’s beautiful, Daphne.” Shyness overtook her and she moved slowly to the couch, going to sit next to him. Loki pulled her to him, being mindful of her tail. “Now, as I keep trying to tell you today, I am very interested in you. Since I first saw you, even before you fainted in my arms,” Daphne flushed but the tone was pure teasing, no malice to it. “I wanted to get to know you. So, I did. Now…now there is more that I wish to see of you.”

            Daphne leaned into him, putting one hand on his chest and closing her eyes. “I’ve never…”

            “We’ll go slow. I will do everything in my power to make sure that I do not harm you.” His hand went into her hair and began stroking it gently. “I only want to make you happy, Daphne.”

            Burying her face against his side, she hid a big grin as she realized all the good things that were happening to her. “Is this real life?”

            Loki, without knowing why he did it, scratched right behind one of her ears and she made a happy noise, melting against his side with a soft purring. He arched an eyebrow and kept up the gentle motion. “It’s real life, Daphne. I promise.”

            Grabbing her tail and pulling it into her lap, Daphne snuggled down against Loki’s side as he continued to pet and scratch her soft ears. “No one’s ever done this. It feels…” She shivered and made another excited noise. “Right and wrong all at once.”

            “Does it feel good though?”

            “Oh very! Please don’t stop.”

            That was how Darcy and Bucky found them twenty minutes later. Daphne curled into Loki’s side with him holding her tight and stroking her softly. She was almost asleep against him, the perpetual exhaustion winning over the adrenaline rush. The two backed out slowly when Loki gave them a look, deciding they would disturb them later. Realizing that the whole team was back, he carefully adjusted and scooped Daphne into his arms, even though she weakly protested. “I’m going to take you somewhere you can sleep, darling.”

            With a flash of green they were suddenly in his private quarters where he sat her on the queen-sized bed. Daphne looked around but she was already so tired all she could do was curl up into a ball, grab the pillow that most smelled like Loki, and finally let herself drift off. Loki sat on the chair that was in his room, pulling out one of his books and began to read while he watched over her. They would deal with the ramifications of her being public once she had rest.

Chapter Text

            The next few days were spent at the compound doing paperwork and interviews and establishing Daphne’s identity. While it wasn’t as exhausting as what she had been doing, it was exhausting. Then came the exams. Bruce Banner and Dr. Helen Cho were eager to examine Daphne and see what made her different from everyone else. On the 2^nd day of exams, Loki was brought in because she had hidden herself under a table, refusing to come out. Crouching down, he reached under the table and gently coaxed her out. “Darling? What is going on?”

            Daphne didn’t know how to convey the absolutely overwhelming onslaught of emotions she was having. The first day of exams had just been questions. That had been very simple and straightforward for her to participate in. Today, however, had been a physical exam. Dr. Cho had tried to talk her through it and prepare her, but Daphne had panicked anyways. Biting her lip, she looked into Loki’s eyes and whispered. “I’ve never been to a doctor.”

            Realization dawned on Loki’s face, and he pulled her into his arms. “Oh, Daphne, you must have been so scared.” Rage was simmering just beneath the surface for him, even though his tone was soft and gentle with her. He definitely planned to give a piece of his mind to the two doctors when he got a chance. “What can I do to help?”

            Daphne wrapped her arms around him suddenly, clinging to him as if he was the anchor that would keep her from freaking out further. “I would really like um…” Daphne gave a small huff as she glanced about, realizing that both doctors and Darcy were still in the room. Instead of finishing the answer to the question, she hid her face against Loki.

            Loki suddenly realized what she wanted and nodded. “I will be taking Daphne to a day of relaxation.” He turned his attention back to her. “Does that sound okay, darling? Some relaxation?”

Daphne nodded against him, still too frazzled by the people in the room to answer. It was Dr. Cho who objected. “Loki, we need to do these exams to make sure she’s healthy. We have Darcy here to try and explain, but she needs to see the gynecologist that I brought in at the very least.”

“Not today.” Loki said with finality. “You’re overwhelming her, and she’s never been to a doctor. What is happening now is cruel.”

“We are not trying to be cruel, merely establish a baseline…”

“ENOUGH.” Loki stood, careful to make sure Daphne was still protected in her current state. “If you have a problem, you make take it up with my brother.”

Daphne was looking up at him in shock and awe. The shouting had startled her, sure, but he was doing it to protect her. The god bent down and scooped her up, carrying her out of the examination room. She wanted to protest that she was too heavy for him to be carrying her like this, but all she felt in the moment was something she hadn’t had in a long time. Her arms slipped around him to steady herself as he carried her to the kitchen.

Loki sat her on the counter of the kitchen and gave her a small, apologetic smile. “Sorry for shouting, darling.”

Shrugging, she reached out and curled a piece of his hair around her finger. “It’s okay. What are we doing here?”

“Well, first thing of a relaxation day for you is to find you some good tea.” He tapped her nose lightly and she gave a small giggle. “Then, maybe we can hide away from everyone and just, spend time together?”

Daphne nodded. “I would love to spend time with you. It’s…it’s all I’ve wanted since I got here.”

Tony and Steve had been very kind to provide Daphne with her own room at the compound until everything with her could be sorted out. The lawyer, a nice blind man by the name of Matt Murdock, had said it could take six months to a year for her to be considered a legal citizen. Daphne hadn’t understood much, but the one thing she had grasped onto was more time with Loki, however, since she had been at the compound, she had barely seen him because of the paperwork and the exams. Everyone was nice enough, until today, when they had tried to force her to do this gynecological exam.

Loki began to move around the kitchen, prepping cups of tea for the two of them. “All you’ve wanted is to spend time with me, huh?”

Biting at her bottom lip, Daphne gave a small nod. “Yea. But Captain Rogers and the doctors keep pulling me away.”

After starting the electric kettle, he turned around and leaned against the counter, looking at Daphne. “Would you like me to talk to them?”

“No, it’s ok. They’re just trying to help right?”

“That’s what they say. But if it’s overwhelming, darling, I can help mitigate.”

Daphne shook her head. “Helping with the doctor appointments was good. I know I have to do them, Darcy explained how important they are. I just got scared…”

Loki was suddenly in front of her, rubbing her arms. “It’s okay that you got scared, Daphne. Like you said, you’ve never been to a doctor before.”

“Do you think, I mean Darcy offered to stay with me during it, but do you think you could?”

One of his hands moved to her face, cupping it lightly. “You want me to sit with you in the exam room?”

“You’re the only person I really know here.” Daphne seemed to deflate a little, as if she was second guessing herself. “You feel safe.” Her statement stunned him into silence, no one had ever felt safe around him. Loki had hoped that Daphne liked him, he didn’t know that he made her feel safe and comfortable. “It’s like, all the noise goes away when you’re near, Loki. I don’t second guess myself. I’m not afraid to hide as long as I know you’re there.”

Loki smiled at her and stroked her cheek. “Alright, darling. Tomorrow I will go with you to the exam.”

“Thank you.”

“Of course, Daphne.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

            Once the tea was ready, Loki pulled Daphne to a secluded corner of the compound. It was a small love seat hidden behind a couple stacks of shelves in the archive library. Loki had found it a few weeks after he and Thor had come to stay at the compound and had spent many a day here before he had went out with Steve to the antique shop. Now, he was just happy to share his slice of quiet with Daphne. When they went to sit on the love seat, Daphne sat cross legged, adjusting her ankle length skirt, before she looked up at Loki who smiled at her. “You look like you have something you want to say, Daphne.”

            “I do.” Her voice was timid and shy as she looked down at her lap, picking at the acrylic tips on her claws.

            Gently, Loki reached over and grabbed one of her hands, holding it in his. “Please, speak. We’re fairly alone here and I won’t let any harm come to you.”

            A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips. “Are you really into me? I mean, I’m…” She took a big breath. “Like, I’m not some sort of pet project? You’re…you. A prince, a god, and…and so gorgeous. I can’t compare with that! I’m fat and…”

            “Daphne,” Loki cut her off with a firm but gentle voice. “Look at me, Daphne.” She turned her sapphire eyes up to look at him and he pulled her hand to his lips, kissing it softly. “Now listen very closely to what I say. You are the most dazzling creature I have seen in ages. Definitely the best that Midgard has to offer.”

            “So, you were going to kiss me.”

            Loki chuckled. “Yes, darling, I was.”

            There was a long silence between them as Daphne squirmed a bit under the intense gaze. “Do you still want to kiss me?”

            “Yes.”

            “I’ve never been kissed. I think I’d like to be kissed by you.”

            Without warning, Loki was suddenly very close to Daphne’s face, causing her to give a nervous giggle. “You want me to kiss you, darling?” An eager nod was his response. Loki traced his thumb along her bottom lip before leaning in and kissing her softly. Daphne’s eyes slid closed, and she gave a soft sigh as electricity began to course through her just from him pressing their lips together. One of his hands slid into her soft, orange curls carefully as he deepened the kiss. His tongue swiping through her mouth twice before he pulled back to check on her. “You okay?”

            The response he got was Daphne gripping him by his black button-up shirt with her left hand and pulling him in for another kiss. Her right arm slid around his shoulders as she hugged him to her. It was more than okay, it was heavenly. Loki’s hand slid out of her hair and he carefully untangled her hand out of his shirt. Daphne whined as she realized he was pulling away. “I like it.”

            He chuckled. “I can tell, darling. But we could be caught here, by anyone walking into the archives. Let’s go to your room?”

            Daphne shook her head. She liked the room that they had given her to stay in at the compound for now until the paperwork was squared away, but it was a little small. “It’s too small. My bed is a twin.”

            “Then mine?”

            “Just kissing?”

            “On my honor, just kissing.”

            The rest of the evening was spent with Daphne curled up against Loki in some fashion with occasional kisses. When he trailed down to her neck she gasped, her eyes staring at the ceiling as he kissed and nipped at the tender flesh on her neck. Loki was careful to not leave any permanent marks, but it was hard. He wanted to bite down and make sure everyone in the compound knew who had done it. However, he didn’t want to overwhelm her so he kept her free of marks for now.

Chapter Text

**Two weeks later**

            Daphne was sitting on the floor of Loki’s room with a pile of clothes next to her and a pair of fabric shears in her hand. The room they had her in was too tiny for her to do most of her sewing and modification work, so she had taken over the extra space in his room. Just like when she had lived with her brother, she did everything by hand, so the modifications sometimes came out a little wonky, but she didn’t mind because they were flowy skirts. Now, however, she was trying to modify blue jeans and it was proving to be disastrous. Frustrated with the work she was doing; tears began to form in the corner of her eyes as she realized that modifying pants for her tail was more difficult than she thought.

            “Fuck!” She set the scissors down and threw the pair jeans in the vicinity of the trash. The door opened, however, as Loki came in looking shocked to hear her swearing and throwing things. “Oh! Loki, I’m so sorry!”

            “Daphne, darling, what is going on?” He picked up the jeans and inspected them. “Is the sewing not going well?”

            Daphne shook her head. “No, modifying pants is completely different and I don’t know what I’m doing with them. And it isn’t like I can find a tutorial on how to put a tail in pants!”

            Loki walked over and offered his hand to help her up off the floor, pulling her into a hug when she accepted. “You are very upset; how can I help?”

            “Magic the tail away!” Daphne buried her head against his chest, tears had begun to fall and she was clinging to him.

            Loki pulled away just enough for Daphne to be able to look at his face. “Listen to me, darling, you are perfect the way you are. There is nothing about you that needs to change. I like your tail.”

            “But it’s in the way and it makes everything harder!”

            Loki guided her over to his bed, sitting on the edge with her standing between his thighs. “Daphne, we just need to figure out a solution, okay? Why don’t we ask Darcy or Pepper if they know someone who does alterations?” One hand began to rub a small circle on her lower back in an attempt to soothe her. “I happen to absolutely love your tail, darling. I think it’s gorgeous and suits you so well.”

            A blush crept up Daphne’s cheeks and she hung her head. “Really?”

            The hand at the small of her back slid down and stroked the fluffy white and orange tail. Daphne’s eyes went wide, and she stared up at Loki as her cheeks turned bright pink. No one had ever touched her tail in a gentle manner like that.  Eddie had yanked on it cruelly when they were children, but no one outside of Daphne had ever treated it with care. With reverence. The god smiled when a violent shiver went through her body at the touch. “Yes, really, darling. I would change nothing about you.”

            Another shudder went through Daphne, and it suddenly felt like words were hard to form, like her throat was closing and everything came out thick with desire. “Um, no one’s ever touched my tail…”

            Loki’s hand pulled back immediately, and he apologized. “I should have asked, I apologize, Daphne.”

            Daphne bit her lip, worrying it slowly for a second before she whispered. “I didn’t say stop.”

            A laugh bubbled out of Loki before he pulled her into a soft kiss. “Would you like me to keep petting you?”

            “Just want you to touch me. All the time, everywhere.”

            Loki brought a hand up to her face, stroking her cheek as the tone of the conversation suddenly became very serious. “I don’t think we’re quite ready for everywhere, but I think I can start touching you more if you want.”

            Nodding, Daphne whispered. “I would like that very much.”

            “Good, then we will arrange for that this evening. First, however, we must go seek the advice of Darcy or Pepper because I would very much like to see those jeans on you properly.” A hand squeezed her ass through her skirt and Daphne giggled, burying her face against his shoulder.  “Come on now, darling, we must leave this room to seek the help you need.”

~*~*~*~*

            It took a week for Pepper’s personal seamstress to fix the clothes that Daphne had been having trouble with making the alterations on and now it was time for her to try them on. It took a little bit of adjustment, but she was able to get her tail through the slit that had been made and the jeans were decently snug against her curves. She stood looking at herself in the large mirror in her bathroom for a long time. Daphne was unsure how long she stared at herself, trying to take in the new image that she saw before Loki tapped on the door. “Darling, you’ve been in there so long, is everything alright?”

            “Oh! It’s fine!” Quickly pulling on a forest green v-neck tee before opening the door. “I just couldn’t decide how I felt about it.”

            “Come on out, all the way.” He stepped aside, giving her space and watched as she walked to the center of her small room. Loki’s eyes narrowed as he stared at her curves and the way her tail swished as she walked in them. All he wanted to do in this moment was touch her, everywhere, just like she had mentioned a week ago. He cleared his throat and adjusted himself. “Daphne, they look absolutely delightful on you. But how do you feel?”

            Turning she caught the look on his face, and she tipped her head at him curiously. “Did I do something wrong?” She took a couple of steps towards him, trying to figure out why he was looking like he wanted to devour her.

            “Oh no, darling. You have done absolutely nothing wrong.” A sly smile slid over his face, and he reached for her, pulling her to him so that she had to wrap her arms around him. “I simply think you look extraordinary in those pants.”

            “Ohhhhh.” Realization dawned on Daphne, and she buried her face against his chest.

            Loki laughed and began rubbing her ears gently to relax her. “Are they comfortable? How’s your tail?”

            She mumbled against his chest. “Yes, it’s very comfortable.”

            “That’s all that actually matters, come, let’s go thank Pepper.”

~*~*~*~*~*

            A week passed with little excitement other than Daphne finally going through with the rest of the physical exams that the doctors wanted to give her – provided that Loki was there. Loki had gladly accompanied her without complaint, being her advocate and making sure that the most uncomfortable parts weren’t as bad as they could have been for her. Today, however, Loki was going to have to upset Daphne. He was not looking forward to telling her that he had to go to the New Asgard for the next few days at least. The two of them hadn’t been apart more than a day since they had rescued Daphne from Eddie.            

            Loki came into his room to, once again, find Daphne curled up on his bed reading what looked to be one of those romantic novels that she had a weak spot for. The feeling that he got seeing her on his bed was always one of excitement. He honestly couldn’t wait to ravage her; however, he was waiting until things got less hectic for her. The compound didn’t lend itself to a romantic air as far as he was concerned.

            Daphne looked up from her book, sitting up, and smiled at him. “How was your meeting?”

            “Bad news, I’m afraid, darling. I have to go to New Asgard for at least a couple of days.”

            “Can I come?”

            “Unfortunately, no, you’re not able to come with. I already asked. The powers that be said that until we have paperwork that proves you’re a citizen of this country you can’t visit mine.” He sighed, looking annoyed. “It’s why the meeting ran over a half hour.”

            “Oh.” Daphne looked down at her lap and closed her book, her ears going flat. “I’ll be okay.”

            Loki crossed the room and kissed her forehead. “I’m sorry, darling. It’s completely out of my control.”

            “I know…I know.” She dug her fingers into his shirt and looked up at him. “We talked about the possibility of you leaving, and I understand that it has to happen, I just didn’t know it would be so soon.”

            Loki kissed her on the lips and stroked her cheek. “I need to pack, stay in here while I’m doing it?” She nodded happily and went back to reading while Loki reluctantly packed a suitcase.

Chapter Text

            Bucky Barnes had gotten a raw deal if he was being honest. Brainwashed, stored on ice, mind wiped, made to murder innocents. He was trying to make amends; he had done the apology tour and lost friends. Hell, he was even helping Steve with his Avengers in an attempt to wipe his slate clean. What was really grinding his gears right now, however, was that some people were getting rewarded by the universe after the evil they had put into the world. Today he was watching as what had to be the prettiest girl he had seen in decades say goodbye to someone who had been a downright bastard as far as Bucky was concerned.

            Loki had killed 80 people in two days, a rate which Bucky was sure the Winter Soldier had never even done. Yet, it appeared he was being rewarded for trying to conquer Earth, along with whatever other despicable things he had done. Daphne looked at Loki like he hung the moon, and it was currently the thing that irritated Bucky the most. Why couldn’t he find someone to look at him like that? Sure, Steve used to, but now things were different. The trajectories that their lives had taken made it difficult for them to come back together on that front. Plus, Steve was dating Natasha.

            Bucky had vented his frustrations to Steve, they were still best friends after all, and that was why Daphne had been made to stay at the compound with some bullshit excuses that Steve had gladly supplied. Both the super soldiers had come to the conclusion that it was simply Daphne’s lack of awareness about the world and the situations that had been caused by Loki combined with the god being the first person to show interest in her that had led to her being so enamored of him. Steve was staunchly of the opinion that she simply needed exposed to the fact that Bucky was interested in her, so he had shipped Loki off to New Asgard for a task that could be handled by King Valkyrie if the truth was being told.

            Bucky’s mood soured further as he watched Loki pull Daphne into his arms and kiss her sweetly before assuring her that he’d be back before she knew it. Loki rubbed her ears and kissed her forehead. “Daphne, darling, I promise I’ll be back soon. This shouldn’t take long at all.”

            The red head nodded at him, hugging him, and nuzzling against him for a moment before he pried her off of him. Her expression turned into a pout, but she stepped back at his insistence and watched as he left on the quinjet before turning and going back into the main building. Bucky fell into step with her when she passed him and smiled. “Hey, doll.”

            Daphne looked up at him and gave a small smile, close to the bright smiles that she gave Loki. “Hi, Bucky.”

            “Would you like to grab lunch with me? You look like you don’t want to be alone.”

            Daphne bit her lip, her ears twitching a little as she thought. “I’m not going to be very good company right now, Bucky.”

            “Doll, you couldn’t be bad company if you tried.” He winked at her, and confusion swept through Daphne. “Come on, let me help you get your mind off the time.” It took a little more back and forth, but Daphne agreed when he mentioned that he had a craving for shrimp fajitas. Bucky led her into the kitchen and opened the fridge to pull out the things that they needed. “Damn, there’s no shrimp. Did you eat the last of it?” He gave her a playful wink. “Why don’t you come with me to the store, doll?”

            Immediately she shook her head. “Oh, no. You go, I can stay here and read. I promise I’ll come eat with you.”

            “I insist you come with me. You’ll be absolutely safe with me if that’s what you’re concerned about.” He gave her a reassuring smile. “Or is it me you’re scared of?”

            “What? No!” Daphne suddenly felt like if she didn’t go Bucky would be offended so she sighed and nodded. “I’ll come with you. Should I put my tail away?”

            “No. I don’t want you to hide anything about yourself, doll.”

            Bucky walked her outside, opening the car door for her, and doing everything in his power to be the perfect gentleman, drawing on that charm he had in the ‘40s. The truth of this situation was that he wasn’t taking her to a store. Steve may have been right that it was only time that was necessary for her to get used to Bucky and see that he was a better option than Loki. Bucky, however, was letting a darker side of him take over. Daphne felt nervous, something felt off, but she knew she was safe with Bucky because he was an Avenger, right?

            The conversation finally flowed easily once Bucky began talking to her about books and coaxing out her likes and dislikes. He even got a few giggles out of her which made his chest swell, made him feel like that soldier who could charm any girl out of her panties with a smile and a wink. The smooth talking that Bucky was utilizing managed to keep Daphne distracted for fifteen minutes before she realized that they were well past the turn off for the grocery store that Loki had taken her to. “Bucky? I thought the grocery store was back…there?”

            “Trust me, doll. I’m gonna get your shrimp and take care of you.” Bucky’s tone came off as menacing to Daphne and she shrunk a little, fear curling in her belly. He reached over and grabbed her hand. “Hey, don’t get all shy on me, sweetheart. I just want to show you who you could be with.”

            Realization dawned on Daphne’s face, and she stared at Bucky, frozen in place. She was being kidnapped by the god damned Winter-fucking-Soldier. Daphne wanted to scream. Wanted to claw at him but what good would that do when they were barreling down the highway at almost 90 miles and hour? Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes in an attempt to center herself, trying to think of what she knew of Bucky. “Bucky, can we go back to the compound now, please? I really don’t think this was the best idea.”

            Bucky squeezed her hand with his. “Doll, you’re getting worked up over nothing. You’re going to be just fine with me. Promise.”

            An air of darkness filled the car and Daphne shivered before she pried her hand out of his finally and looked out the window, trying to shrink away from him in the car seat as much as she could for the rest of the drive.

~*~*~*~*~*~

            After another two hours they pulled up to what appeared to be a safe house that hadn’t been used in some time. It was a small cabin buried in an alcove of extremely tall trees that under better circumstances Daphne would think was a beautiful setting to spend time. When Bucky opened the car door her ears went flat as he offered his hand to help her up and out of the car. He was standing in the way and that left her no option but to take it to get out of the car. Shakily she reached out and put her hand in his, letting him appear like a gentleman. Bucky didn’t give her much space as he led her into the cabin, almost as if a part of him was afraid that she was going to bolt.

            Daphne looked around the two rooms of the cabin. There was a living room with a fireplace that was attached to a kitchen that looked like it could comfortably seat two people, four in a pinch. The second room was a bedroom that had a queen-sized bed and a bathroom with a shower only. Taking in the surroundings, Daphne froze as she realized that either a.) this was a well-used safe house, or most likely, b.) Bucky had been planning this because the cabin was stocked and clean. Her fears were confirmed when Bucky came in with two suitcases and a duffle bag. That would mean that Steve had been involved in the plan. Fear ran through her like ice as the gravity of the situation really sunk in.

            “Was Steve in on this?”

            Bucky shot her a shy smile. “Yea, Stevie helped me a little bit so that I could get some alone time with ya, doll.” He moved toward her with one small step.

            “There’s only one bed.” Daphne took a step back from him, shaking a bit as he approached her.

            “Suppose there is.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets, stopping his advance. “I’ll sleep on the couch.” Then he winked at her. “For now.”

            Daphne’s eyes went wide, and she bumped into the bed in her eagerness to get away from him. “Bucky…Bucky, I don’t know about this. Please, please take me back to the compound.”

            “I can’t do that, doll.” His tone took on that serious edge again. “You gotta see how good I’m gonna be to you first.” The Brooklyn accent came out thick and it sent a shiver down Daphne’s spine. “Why don’t you get cleaned up, I’ll go make that shrimp I promised you.”

            The door shut with a firm click and then a horrifying snap as it was locked. An involuntary sob came out of her chest, and she sat on the bed, covering her mouth tightly so that Bucky didn’t hear. Eddie used to bully her by locking her in rooms or yanking her tail, and she had learned when she cried things got worse.

Chapter Text

            Daphne opened the luggage after she finally pulled herself together and she felt absolutely sick to her stomach. These were her clothes that had been in her room, which mean that not only had she been kidnapped, but her privacy violated as well. This was behavior that Eddie used to exhibit, and she couldn’t believe that she hadn’t noticed someone digging through her things. It made her skin crawl. There was a knock on the door that jolted her from her thoughts before the door was unlocked. The knock was obviously just a courtesy.

            Bucky smiled at her. “Oh good, you’ve started unpacking. Forgive me for going through your things, I just wanted to make sure you had what you needed here.”

            All she could do was nod, as if she was forgiving him. Pure bewilderment was the only emotion she could identify. Trying to figure out how the script had gotten flipped like this and she was now being held captive by an Avenger. “Bucky, please, can we go back to the compound? I don’t like it here.”

            “Doll, you just gotta give it a chance. The noodles are almost done for dinner, why don’t you come out and eat.” Her ears went flat at the tone of voice he used but she followed him out of the room and to the small sitting area where the table was set for them to have dinner. To an outsider it would look like a domestic scene. Bucky pulled a seat out of Daphne and then pushed it in before serving her. “Here you go, Daphne. Shrimp alfredo, a Caesar salad, and of course, a glass of wine.”

            Daphne avoided the wine, something felt off about it once Bucky started pushing for her to try it. It wasn’t aggressive, but it was obvious that he wanted her to drink it. “I don’t like wine.” She was lying, she loved a good glass of wine, especially when Loki would share his Asgardian wine that was sweeter than anything she had tasted. “Can I have some water instead?”

            “C’mon doll…I’ve seen you drink that stuff Loki gives you.” The way he said Loki’s name was pure venom and Daphne couldn’t understand what she was now in the middle of. “Drink. The. Wine.”

            “No.” Daphne pushed the chair back and started to clear the place. “I really don’t want to drink the wine, but I’ll clean up.” It was an attempt to placate him, something to show that she would be docile. “I like cleaning.”

            Before she could get more than a couple of steps away, his Vibranium arm reached out and grabbed her, pulling her back against his chest. “Daphne, drink the wine, doll. It’s not gonna hurt you.” Daphne tried to squirm out of his grasp, but he was quicker, the metal hand grabbing her throat and holding her to him. “Shh, shh. Just drink it okay?”

            Reluctantly, Daphne let him pour the wine that was most definitely spiked into her mouth. The wine was bitter, and she wanted to spit it out immediately. Fear of what Bucky would do kept her from doing that, however. Once she had finished the glass, Bucky whispered sweet praises to her. It made her skin crawl when he wiped the spilled droplets off her lips with his thumb.

            “There we go, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Bucky reached up and scratched her ears and they immediately went flat. His touch was too rough, too foreign and invasive.

            Bucky walked her to the couch and sat her down just as she began to feel woozy. “Bucky, Bucky, can I please go back to the compound? I…oh!”

            “What’s wrong, doll?” His voice was laced with false concern. He knew exactly what was wrong and was playing dumb. “Let me take care of you…”

            It was only a few more seconds before Daphne completely passed out. Bucky smiled once she was asleep, scooping her up and carrying her into the bedroom. Carefully he changed her clothes, putting her in a powder blue nightgown that he had found amongst her belongings when he had stolen them. He took more pleasure than he should have in pulling her tail through the hole, stroking it for much longer than was necessary. A soft noise came from Daphne, and she squirmed around, pressing against Bucky’s hand. Bucky chuckled and reluctantly pulled away from her. He’d deal with this later; he couldn’t rush things.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

            So, it went on for three days. Spiked drinks, weird wakeups, locked doors, barely any privacy, and worst of all was the suffocating niceness that Bucky wrapped it all in. It was as if he thought that his nice words would make up for the cruelty that he had subjected her to. Every time she asked for him to take her anywhere else he would change the subject or lock her back up.

            Tonight started out no different. The weird niceness was getting under her skin more than usual, however. Daphne wasn’t sure what Bucky said to set her off, but she snapped at him, trying to hurt him. She had picked up on the fact that this entire situation was sparked by Bucky’s jealousy of Loki. “No matter what you do you’ll never be half the person that Loki is.”

            That definitely struck a nerve because the next second Bucky had her pinned up against the wall by her throat, mere inches from her face. “Watch it, doll. You’re going to make me upset if you keep talking like that.”

            Daphne growled back, scratching at Bucky’s face, and landing a mark across his cheek. The acrylics had been picked off this morning when Bucky wasn’t looking, and she was glad she had. “I want to go back to the compound, Bucky. I do not want to be here. I do not want to be with you.”

            The hand that reached up to scratch him again was snatched by Bucky’s metal hand and slammed into the wall. “Daphne, doll, I’m gonna forgive you this time, okay? I know that this is a new situation and you’re…adapting. But do not think for a second I won’t win. I’m the good guy, remember?”

            “I will never belong to you.” Daphne hissed, anger coursing through her as she tried to struggle against his grasp.

            “Let me tell you something, doll. First, I want to say that you are an absolutely delightful looking piece of ass. You have curves everywhere that matters and you’re so, so soft.” The hand that was on her throat slid down to her cleavage, stroking the tops of her breasts lightly. “You’re a little plump though, don’t you think? Do you really think there is a long-term plan with a god?” He gave a cruel laugh that actually managed to sting Daphne. “Did you think you were going to be his princess?”

            Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes and she looked away, her ears going flat. “Why won’t you take me back?”

            “Cause you need to learn who you belong to.” His hand dove into her top and she flushed with embarrassment as he began to grope her chest. “You blush so pretty.”

            “P-please, Bucky. I’ve never, please don’t do this.” Fear gripped her as she realized how bad this could get with Bucky. “I am a virgin.” She whispered, looking away from him. “Please don’t.”

            Another cruel laugh as he leaned in and whispered. “So, Loki never made a move? Doesn’t that just prove my point?” Suddenly he was out of her space, his hand on the back of her neck as he led her back to the bedroom. “I’ll be back to bring you to dinner.”

            Bucky pushed her forward into the room, not seeming to care that she stumbled to the ground. Daphne managed to hold herself together until she heard his footsteps walk away from the door. Tears fell freely as she pulled herself into the bed, burrowing under the covers. Part of her knew that Bucky was wrong, that Loki did care for her. His little dig at her weight, however, stung and made her feel like there was a bit of truth to what he said.

~*~*~*~

            Four more days passed. A week, or was it more than a week? Daphne couldn’t be sure anymore and she had almost given up on asking Bucky to take her back to the compound. She wasn’t even sure if anyone had been missing her from the compound either. Unable to hear any phone calls Bucky may be getting, it was easy to begin to believe what Bucky told her. Once Daphne began accepting the lies that he was feeding her, she just began willingly drinking the spiked drinks. The respite into soft dreams of floating in a pool or basking in the sun made her hopeful she’d get to do those activities again.

            Daphne was, once again, giving into the sleep that was taking her as she lay in the bed. This time, however, Bucky was there pressing up against her back and pulling her tight to his chest. Try as she might, Daphne couldn’t get away from him. Her limbs were too heavy, everything felt sluggish. A large hand was palming at her chest, and she was trying so hard to get it off but she felt weak. Bucky nuzzled against her ear and whispered. “Shh, doll, just sleep. I got you.”

            Protests bubbled up at her lips, but they came out heavily slurred. “Please, no…No.”

            Bucky gave a soft chuckle. “Nothing is gonna happen to you, Daphne. Just go to sleep.” His right-hand kept roaming, groping at her as she began to fall asleep against her will. Once she was asleep, Bucky’s touches became more insistent. Hands pulled the nightgown he had coerced her into over her hips. When he had went to gather her clothes, he had planned not to grab any underwear. He was highly pleased when he had found out that Daphne didn’t own underwear. The assumption he came up with was that it was too difficult for her to modify for her tail, but he was excited to say the least.

            An involuntary groan came from Bucky as his fingers traced over her side because she was so soft. He pressed his lips against her neck, trailing kisses over her skin sloppily. Bucky had told himself that he wasn’t going to do this, wanted Daphne to give herself to him willingly but he couldn’t hold back anymore. A taste was needed. He couldn’t wait any longer. The Vibranium arm was wrapped around her, holding her to his chest while his right hand began to touch and feel everything that he deserved.

            Daphne, for her part, slipped into a dream. Since she had been drugged her dreams were just of her in strange places trying to find a way out. This dream, however, was different. It was Loki’s room back at the compound and he was sitting on the bed in front of her. Her hand reached for him immediately, but she couldn’t reach, and she whined. The god smiled at her, and she remembered how much she missed that smile. “There you are. I’ve been trying to reach you, something keeps interfering.”

            Confusion must have been written on her face as she kept trying to reach out to him and couldn’t touch him. “Why can’t I touch you?”

            “This is a dream. I’m projecting myself into your dream, Daphne. Did you leave on your own, darling?”

            Daphne shook her head in the negative. “No. Bucky…” A flash of anger lit up in the projection of the gods’ eyes and she glanced away, a sickening feeling in her stomach as she thought about the way Bucky’s eyes flashed with anger. “He tricked me. Told me we were going to the grocery store.”

            “Are you okay? Has he hurt you?” Fear coiled in her belly as she nodded in the affirmative, watching a menacing look clouded the projections features. Daphne was sure that she had only ever seen him that angry in the footage after the Battle of New York when he was in cuffs. “Where are you?”

            “I’m not sure. It’s a cabin. It took two or maybe four hours to get here. I don’t know!” Helplessness filled her as she realized that the best she could do probably wasn’t going to be enough. “He keeps me locked up in a room.”

            “Try and imagine it.” His tone had softened a little as if he could tell that he was part of why she was frightened. “This is your dream, imagine the room for me sweetheart.”

            Dream Daphne squeezed her eyes shut tight and tried to remember her little cell of a room. Something in her subconscious was keeping her from doing it, however, as if it was protecting her from something. “I can’t,” came out as a sob. “I can’t. I think something bad is happening. I don’t know.”

            Outside of the dream, Daphne was getting restless, struggling against Bucky’s grip as best she could. Bucky was keeping her pinned snuggling against him, however, and his fingers had trailed from her hip to in between her thighs, circling her clit lightly. He was whispering soft platitudes to her, trying to keep her close. “Oh doll, you’re so soft…I can not wait to be buried in you.” He kissed her neck softly as he slipped his fingers lower, teasing at her entrance spreading the small amount of wetness around.

            A frustrated whine came from Daphne as she fought whatever drug Bucky had given her. Desperate to get the dream-projection of Loki the right information. The backdrop of her dream began to change, slowly, as her body reacted to Bucky of its own accord. Instead of in front of her, Loki was standing beside her now staring at the scene her subconscious finally conjured up. It was the view out the window of the cabin in the room. Loki spoke softly. “I can work with this.” And then he was gone.

            Daphne looked at where he was and whined his name. “No, Loki…”

            Bucky growled when Daphne called out Loki’s name. “What have I told you?”

In his anger he unceremoniously shoved two fingers into her tight entrance. The sudden intrusion caused her to wake up immediately, eyes snapping open. Tears sprung to her eyes as he began to finger her roughly. It took too long for the reality of the situation to kick in for her liking but when it did she started to fight harder, the adrenaline racing through her helping her wake up. “Ow! Bucky, stop.”

“You were into it until you had to bring him up again.” He scissored his fingers, and she cried out loudly. It hurt more than anything she could imagine. Worse than the exam the doctor had given her, and she had thought that was absolutely horrible. “Must have not dosed you right tonight.” Daphne whined again, going limp as she realized she was no match for the super soldier.  “That’s it doll, just relax.”

“Please, stop.”

Before Bucky could respond, there was a flash of green light that filled the room. Turning her head towards the flash, Daphne saw Loki standing there with horns on and daggers in hand. Bucky swore loudly. “What the fuck?” The super soldier scrambled off the bed, pushing himself up and away from Daphne. “How did you fucking get here?”

“You shouldn’t concern yourself with how I got here, Bucky. You should really wonder if you’re going to see the light of day again.”